Chapter 3: The Past is Back
[Dean]
Rory and Dean sat in the doctor's office a week later. He squeezed Rory's hand. He suddenly felt a wave of déjà vu. Rory tapped her foot, obviously nervous.
"Sweetie," Rory said. "I'm losing the circulation in my hand."
Dean released Rory's hand and apologized, when Dr. Thomas came in.
"We have a diagnosis," Dr. Thomas said.
"And?" Dean said.
"You're having a recurrence of your brain tumor," the doctor said.
Rory gasped. Dean suddenly couldn't breathe. He suddenly felt sick. The worst he thought that could happen, had happened. There was still a thing growing in his brain without his permission. That thought scared him the most.
"I don't understand," Dean said. "My previous doctor told me it was gone."
"He said you had a low-grade astrocytoma and that the chances were could that it couldn't come back," Dr. Thomas said. "Now it's a high-grade astrocytoma."
"What does that mean?" Rory asked, her voice wavering.
"It means that it's growing rapidly and it'll be harder to treat," Dr. Thomas said.
"Can you remove it?" Dean asked.
Dr. Thomas attached X rays to a portable light board. "Here's your skull, right here," Dr. Thomas said pointing to a dark area at the base of his skull. "This is the tumor. It's fixed itself in the cerebellum near the brain stem. It's the part of the brain that's responsible involuntary reflexes, which explains your dizzy spells. The tumor is pressing and trespassing into these areas. If we use a regular scalpel to remove it, you could be paralyzed."
Dean felt Rory squeeze his hand. He knew that she was probably falling apart, so he tried to be brave.
"So what can you do?" Dean asked.
"First we're going to try a drug to reduce brain swelling," Dr. Thomas said. "There are some side effects, but it will help the swelling go down so you won't be in much pain."
"What kind of side effects?"
"Water retention, puffiness, and an extreme appetite."
At was all Dean could do not to shudder.
"What else?" he asked.
Dr. Thomas took out a piece of paper and started writing. "We're going to start you on radiation treatments," Dr. Thomas said, ripping the piece of paper off the pad and handed it to Dean. "Dr. Morgan is the best oncologist here. You'll be in good hands."
Dean started at the piece of paper with Dr. Morgan's name on it and a number.
"Once it's shrunk," Dr. Thomas continued. "We're going to take more MRIs and X rays to see if we can use gamma knife surgery."
"I thought you said you couldn't perform surgery on it."
"Not with a regular scalpel, but with a gamma knife there's a high concentration of gamma rays aimed at the tumor."
"And you can't do that right away because...."
"You're tumor is 5 centimeters. We can't use the gamma knife on anything larger than three centimeters."
"What about chemotherapy?"
"That option is out the window. Chemo isn't effective for this kind of tumor."
Dean hated radiation. He had to go through it when he was ten and he was scared because they left him alone in the room with a machine pointing at the back of his head.
"Excuse me," Rory said, getting up and grabbing her jacket. "I'll meet you at the car."
Before Dean could say anything, Rory quickly ran out of the room.
"Is that all for today?" Dean asked.
"Yes," Dr. Thomas answered.
Dean thanked Dr. Thomas and tried to catch up to Rory who was running towards the exit trying not to think about all the medication he had to go through.
[Rory]
This isn't happening, Rory thought as she sped down the hallway. This is a bad dream. Rory burst throw the doors and the cool May wind blew against her face. She kept running and didn't want to look back. Suddenly, Rory tripped on her shoe lace and fell down. The pain from the fall reassured her that this wasn't a dream.
"Rory!"
Rory saw Dean running towards her. He knelt down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Rory answered. "I'm fine."
Dean held out his hand and Rory grabbed it and he pulled her up. He slung his arm around her shoulder and they walked to the car.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I already told you," Rory said. "I'm fine."
"Not about that," Dean said, unlocking the car. "You just ran out of the doctor's office."
"Oh, that," Rory said, throwing Dean's bags in the back seat.
"Yeah," Dean said.
"Why do you have to be sick?" Rory ranted. "You did nothing wrong. Except for getting insanely jealous when I liked Jess-"
"What a weird way to kick me when I'm down," Dean said.
"I'm sorry," Rory said. "But, that's the only thing you did wrong."
"I got into a fistfight with him because he kicked me," Dean reminded her.
"Yeah, but you also thought he hurt me," Rory said.
"That, too."
"My point is, you are so nice and yet you're the one who's getting sick. There are very evil people in the world who deserve tumors."
Dean wrapped his arms around Rory and kissed the top of her head.
"You know there is a possible chance that they could remove it," Dean said. "And I think it might work."
Rory lifted her head up to look at Dean.
"How are you not afraid of this?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" Dean said. "I'm terrified. But, I don't want this to rob me of what life I have left."
"I understand," Rory said.
"Now, can we go home?" Dean asked.
"Sure," Rory said, getting in the passenger's seat.
It was kind of weird that Rory was the one freaking out and Dean was the one comforting her. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't Dean supposed to be freaking out and Rory was supposed to be comforting him? There was also another question? Why wasn't she crying? Dean sat down in the driver's thing and started the engine.
"I'm sorry about the comment about Jess," Rory said.
"It's okay," Dean said, turning on the radio to their favorite station.
They spent the rest of the ride home singing along to "Calling All Angels" by Train and their other favorite bands to try to cheer up. The drive seemed like forever.
"You do know that I'm sorry about the insane jealousy thing, right?" Dean asked when they got inside.
"Yes, honey," Rory said.
She knew that was an attempt to make her forget about what his tumor, but it didn't help.
To Be Continued......
A/N: Yeah, I know that sucked, but it'll get better. Chapter 4 is coming soon.
[Dean]
Rory and Dean sat in the doctor's office a week later. He squeezed Rory's hand. He suddenly felt a wave of déjà vu. Rory tapped her foot, obviously nervous.
"Sweetie," Rory said. "I'm losing the circulation in my hand."
Dean released Rory's hand and apologized, when Dr. Thomas came in.
"We have a diagnosis," Dr. Thomas said.
"And?" Dean said.
"You're having a recurrence of your brain tumor," the doctor said.
Rory gasped. Dean suddenly couldn't breathe. He suddenly felt sick. The worst he thought that could happen, had happened. There was still a thing growing in his brain without his permission. That thought scared him the most.
"I don't understand," Dean said. "My previous doctor told me it was gone."
"He said you had a low-grade astrocytoma and that the chances were could that it couldn't come back," Dr. Thomas said. "Now it's a high-grade astrocytoma."
"What does that mean?" Rory asked, her voice wavering.
"It means that it's growing rapidly and it'll be harder to treat," Dr. Thomas said.
"Can you remove it?" Dean asked.
Dr. Thomas attached X rays to a portable light board. "Here's your skull, right here," Dr. Thomas said pointing to a dark area at the base of his skull. "This is the tumor. It's fixed itself in the cerebellum near the brain stem. It's the part of the brain that's responsible involuntary reflexes, which explains your dizzy spells. The tumor is pressing and trespassing into these areas. If we use a regular scalpel to remove it, you could be paralyzed."
Dean felt Rory squeeze his hand. He knew that she was probably falling apart, so he tried to be brave.
"So what can you do?" Dean asked.
"First we're going to try a drug to reduce brain swelling," Dr. Thomas said. "There are some side effects, but it will help the swelling go down so you won't be in much pain."
"What kind of side effects?"
"Water retention, puffiness, and an extreme appetite."
At was all Dean could do not to shudder.
"What else?" he asked.
Dr. Thomas took out a piece of paper and started writing. "We're going to start you on radiation treatments," Dr. Thomas said, ripping the piece of paper off the pad and handed it to Dean. "Dr. Morgan is the best oncologist here. You'll be in good hands."
Dean started at the piece of paper with Dr. Morgan's name on it and a number.
"Once it's shrunk," Dr. Thomas continued. "We're going to take more MRIs and X rays to see if we can use gamma knife surgery."
"I thought you said you couldn't perform surgery on it."
"Not with a regular scalpel, but with a gamma knife there's a high concentration of gamma rays aimed at the tumor."
"And you can't do that right away because...."
"You're tumor is 5 centimeters. We can't use the gamma knife on anything larger than three centimeters."
"What about chemotherapy?"
"That option is out the window. Chemo isn't effective for this kind of tumor."
Dean hated radiation. He had to go through it when he was ten and he was scared because they left him alone in the room with a machine pointing at the back of his head.
"Excuse me," Rory said, getting up and grabbing her jacket. "I'll meet you at the car."
Before Dean could say anything, Rory quickly ran out of the room.
"Is that all for today?" Dean asked.
"Yes," Dr. Thomas answered.
Dean thanked Dr. Thomas and tried to catch up to Rory who was running towards the exit trying not to think about all the medication he had to go through.
[Rory]
This isn't happening, Rory thought as she sped down the hallway. This is a bad dream. Rory burst throw the doors and the cool May wind blew against her face. She kept running and didn't want to look back. Suddenly, Rory tripped on her shoe lace and fell down. The pain from the fall reassured her that this wasn't a dream.
"Rory!"
Rory saw Dean running towards her. He knelt down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Rory answered. "I'm fine."
Dean held out his hand and Rory grabbed it and he pulled her up. He slung his arm around her shoulder and they walked to the car.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I already told you," Rory said. "I'm fine."
"Not about that," Dean said, unlocking the car. "You just ran out of the doctor's office."
"Oh, that," Rory said, throwing Dean's bags in the back seat.
"Yeah," Dean said.
"Why do you have to be sick?" Rory ranted. "You did nothing wrong. Except for getting insanely jealous when I liked Jess-"
"What a weird way to kick me when I'm down," Dean said.
"I'm sorry," Rory said. "But, that's the only thing you did wrong."
"I got into a fistfight with him because he kicked me," Dean reminded her.
"Yeah, but you also thought he hurt me," Rory said.
"That, too."
"My point is, you are so nice and yet you're the one who's getting sick. There are very evil people in the world who deserve tumors."
Dean wrapped his arms around Rory and kissed the top of her head.
"You know there is a possible chance that they could remove it," Dean said. "And I think it might work."
Rory lifted her head up to look at Dean.
"How are you not afraid of this?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" Dean said. "I'm terrified. But, I don't want this to rob me of what life I have left."
"I understand," Rory said.
"Now, can we go home?" Dean asked.
"Sure," Rory said, getting in the passenger's seat.
It was kind of weird that Rory was the one freaking out and Dean was the one comforting her. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't Dean supposed to be freaking out and Rory was supposed to be comforting him? There was also another question? Why wasn't she crying? Dean sat down in the driver's thing and started the engine.
"I'm sorry about the comment about Jess," Rory said.
"It's okay," Dean said, turning on the radio to their favorite station.
They spent the rest of the ride home singing along to "Calling All Angels" by Train and their other favorite bands to try to cheer up. The drive seemed like forever.
"You do know that I'm sorry about the insane jealousy thing, right?" Dean asked when they got inside.
"Yes, honey," Rory said.
She knew that was an attempt to make her forget about what his tumor, but it didn't help.
To Be Continued......
A/N: Yeah, I know that sucked, but it'll get better. Chapter 4 is coming soon.
