Title: More Than You'll Ever Know
Summary: All Adam's dad wants is for Adam to make pro-hockey. All Adam ever wanted was a friend. A friend to stick by him. He'd lost one before, and when she comes back, sparks fly, but not for the better.
Main Duck: Adam Banks
Rating: PG-13 for language especially in this chapter and later violence
Time frame: After D2, before and during D3 maybe after D3 if I feel like it and if you give me reviews =p
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em. I just own Jessica, Ethan, Sally, Jason, and Andrew.
This chapter: We find out what's wrong w/ Jessica.
Ethan
"Well what do you suspect?" I asked the doctor, voicing Adam and Jessica's thoughts.
"In short, Jessica, you have a high likelihood of being diagnosed with lupus." There was total silence in the room. The look of shock on Adam's face, fear on Jess's, sorrow on the doctor's, all mixed in to complete what I was feeling.
"It's actually a very good thing you came to me. I guess that's a good thing that came out of the whole situation with your ex-boyfriend. It's not positive yet, which is why we're sending you to a rheumatologist to do a final test, okay Jessica?"
My sister nodded her head wordlessly.
"Great," the doctor continued, "Here's the address. Go now and we should have the results by tomorrow. Good luck." 'Good luck for what?' I thought, almost bitterly. Nurse Pinkston was waiting out in the car, reading a magazine. As soon as she heard us open the door, she smiled,
"Well? How'd it go? Is everything okay?" I slid into the front seat to let Adam sit in the back this time as Jess muttered,
"That depends. How do you define okay?" Nurse Pinkston looked at me questioningly. Sighing, I handed her the address to the rheumatologist, "She's been appointed to go here." I explained. Nurse Pinkston nodded.
"Do you want to eat something first?" For the first time since lunch, I realized how hungry I was. At the rate we were going, we'd probably miss dinner.
"I'm hungry!" Adam and I said together.
"Let's go eat first then," Jess offered. We stopped by the diner to grab a bit. All of us stuffed our faces except for my sister. When I asked her what was wrong, she shook her head and told me she wasn't hungry. 'That's strange,' I thought, 'Jess is always hungry.'
Jessica
The rheumatologist was really nice. She told me all she needed to do was take an ANA test from me. It's a blood test that shows a certain type of antibody or something. Other than the fact that I was terrified of needles, I was okay with it. Nurse Pinkston went in with me while my brother called my dad, against my will, and Adam called Dean Buckley to inform him of our whereabouts.
"Just close your eyes and relax, sweetie," the doctor, Dr. Hendrix, soothed gently as she swabbed my arm with cotton and alcohol. I took in several deep breaths and tried to calm down, squeezing my eyes shut. I felt a slight prick and knew the needle was in my arm. I felt a few moments of pain before Dr. Hendrix pulled it out. Quickly bandaging me up, she told me, 'I'll have the results tomorrow at five PM. Until then, go on with your everyday activities and take it easy. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks." I left, letting Nurse Pinkston talk to Ethan in the lobby. He had convinced Adam to take the bus home and I was glad that he had. It was a scary thought, knowing what I might have had to face the next day. And honestly, I wasn't sure if I was ready to face it.
The next morning I headed down to breakfast, not really wanting to eat anything and extremely tired. I'd spent half the night tossing and turning, desperately wishing that I had a room-mate to talk things over with and grateful that I didn't so I could be alone. I sat at my regular spot with the team and practically fell asleep until Scooter woke me up.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Tired," I mumbled.
"How was the doctor?" Riley asked.
"Tonight…"
"Tonight what?"
"Results from the tests." I didn't have the energy to deal with anything. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the rest of the day without falling asleep in class.
"Did you hear about Banks switching back to JV?" Labine piped. I slowly picked my head up, noticing for the first time that Adam was sitting JV that morning.
"He's just sitting with them. It doesn't mean he's on the team," I pointed out.
"No, Wilson said this morning at practice that you'll be taking his place."
"What?!" Now I was more awake.
"Don't sound so surprised," Trey Brown said, "It was almost guaranteed to happen. We don't have any more third line players.
"It's not that. I'd just rather have him around…you know as another freshman." Of course I already knew about him switching back because he'd told me just the day before. But it was so soon. And I kind of wanted to be with him…
"While you're at the doctor," Scooter stepped into my thoughts, "We'll be at hearing. They want to revoke JV's scholarships." That included Adam's. But the difference between Adam and the rest of the Ducks was that he could afford the enrollment fee. Still, I felt bad for all of JV, even if they hated me.
***
"Jessica?" Dr. Hendrix called me into her office. Ethan stood up and followed me in, grasping my hand tightly. I think he was just as scared as I was. We each took a seat in front of her desk.
"I got your test results and there's no easy way to tell you this. The results were positive." I felt my breath catch in my throat, forming a lump. What did that mean? As if reading my mind, Dr. Hendrix continued, "You do indeed have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus." That must have been the most horrible moment of my life. 'Lupus…' was the only thing that echoed through my mind.
"What's that mean?" Ethan asked as I bit back a stream of tears.
"It means that Jessica's immune system is going into overdrive, not able to tell the difference between healthy cells and germs. So it makes autoanitbodies that attack normal cells instead of the germs."
"Is there any treatment?" I asked shakily.
"I'm going to prescribe you a few medicines that will help. But there's no cure."
"Wh-what will I do?"
"Here are the prescriptions," she slid a few pieces of paper over the tabletop, "And I have set up a group of people who will act as your support group. You will meet them on Friday. By then, I also want you to think of eight people in your life that will be there for you. These eight people will also be a part of your support group. In the mean time, take it easy. I don't want you stressing yourself out or over-exhausting yourself."
"Can I play hockey?"
"I don't really suggest it. Still, if your coach lets you practice, it won't do too much harm," she explained. I let out a breath. At least now I had an excuse not to play. She continued, "I don't' want you getting a flare. Today is Monday so come back to me on Friday to meet your medical staff. I'm really sorry, Jessica." I stood up, Ethan beside me. We thanked Dr. Hendrix and left the room. Not even thirty seconds after we exited, I broke down crying. Than probably expected it because he showed no sign of surprise.
"It'll be okay," he whispered, wrapping his arm around me, "It's okay. We'll get through this together. We always do." I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or himself. Maybe it was both of us.
Thanks for the reviews:
Nebula2: Thanks for reading! Yeah, I felt bad for the Hawks at the end of the first movie so I made them okay sounding except for McGill because I always hated him. =D
Holly: SUGAR COOKIES ROCK!!! Yeah I know, the medical care around here these days…I hope you're better! Well more Adam pain in 3-4 chapters! Yes, I have those done too. I'm just too lazy to type them up. They'll be up soon though because it's a three day weekend! WHOO HOO!!
Adriana: Well this isn't a cliff-hanger…I think. =D
Eponine42: You were close!
Psychotic Coconut Observer: Nah, no leukemia. I didn't want to do something like that. So I researched another disease.
Flat*Out*Crazy: hehe, thanks. This story seems to dragging itself out the more I write it. But that's okay because it's a lot of fun =D
Anne918: I'm a devotional sap too. But yeah, you kind of guessed what would happen romantically.
Percussion: You didn't think long enough!! Lol, j/k thanks for waiting!
Please review!