Hey, all! Sorry the update's a little late...I was away. But it's here and much longer. We've got a few more chapters to go on this, so leave me some reviews! Thanks, enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen: Audrey's Surprise
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Nor do I own the song, "There Goes My Life", which is by Kenny Chesney.
For a second, Chandler could swear his heart stopped beating. "Another.....another tumor?" he breathed. "But how......why.....where?"
Dr. Matthews held back his own urge to cry and pointed to a large white mass on the x-ray screen. "The tumor on Monica's kidney has shrunk to the point that we can operate. That's a good thing. We can remove it without harming the kidney, and that's what we were aiming for. What we missed, however, was another tumor that developed because it didn't respond to the type of chemo we were giving you. This tumor's on your liver."
Monica was finally grasping the situation. "Does that......does that mean more chemo?" she whispered, her voice pained.
"No," Dr. Matthews replied, hoping that that would calm her enough to deliver the news he had next.
"So what are you going to do?" Chandler asked, anger creeping into his voice already. How could they have missed this?
"Monica," Dr. Matthews sighed, sinking into the chair next to her bed. "I'll be straight with you, like I always have been. This tumor is large and fierce. It would take more chemo to shrink it then I think you're willing to take, and, to tell you the honest truth, I don't know if it would even respond."
"So...can you remove it?" Chandler whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Dr. Matthews pursed his lips, hating more than anything to tell them what he knew he had to. "No," he said. "Not without removing her entire liver," he followed up quickly, so as not to give them the impression he was giving up on Monica's case and delivering a death sentence. "Monica, what I'm trying to tell you is that the only way we can attack this thing is to remove your liver, and then give you a liver transplant."
Monica wasn't even sure she could talk any longer, but she managed a quiet, "A liver transplant?"
"From who?" Chandler demanded.
"That's the thing," Dr. Matthews said. "Monica......quite frankly, organ donation lists are extremely long.....and I don't think you have the time to wait. We can try putting you on a list, but......well, it would more than likely be a wasted effort. But there is one more option that we have."
"What's that?" Chandler was growing angrier by the minute.
"A living organ donor. The beauty of the liver is that it regenerates itself. If we remove Monica's liver and replace it with a small piece of someone else's healthy liver, it will grow larger, same as in the donor. All we need to do is find a match, and then I can perform the surgery to remove the tumor on your kidney and do the liver switch."
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Chandler asked. His anger was slowly disappearing; at least Dr. Matthews had a plan.
"Nothing," Dr. Matthews said. "We need to get this done as quickly as possible. I'm recommending that all your family and friends be tested, Monica."
Monica nodded, numbly. "Okay," she whispered.
Dr. Matthews realized how much this was affecting her, recognizing the signs of what he called "pure shock" when he delivered news like this. "I'll leave you two alone to get used to this. If you'll contact whoever you want to be tested, we'll do it tomorrow." He headed towards the door, and then turned back. "Oh, and Monica. I promised you once that we'd beat this. I haven't wavered on that, and just so you know-I don't intend to." With those words, he left. Once outside, he leaned against the door of room 313, and sighed, tears brimming in his blue eyes. He couldn't help it. He was involved now, attached.
But because he was, he knew he would put everything he had into saving her.
Another tumor.
A liver transplant.
Testing on all her family and friends.
The thoughts raced through Monica's head, colliding every which way. "Mon, honey," Chandler's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you....okay?"
She sighed, not knowing what to say, how to act, even how to feel. She'd never been taught what to say when you suddenly find out that a month of torture was all for naught. "I don't know," she finally breathed.
He gently climbed onto the bed and pulled his arms around her. "I don't know, either," he whispered into her hair. "But......Mon......I honestly thought that Dr. Matthews was going to say that there was nothing he could do. But......we can do this. It's a blessing, if you think about it."
"I know, it's just......" she buried her head into his chest and he felt warm tears seep through the cotton onto his chest.
"I know," he whispered gently, kissing her hair. "I know."
Chandler sat by Monica's bed that night, gently stroking her hand as he watched her chest move steadily up and down. After Dr. Matthews had left, he'd called everyone to make sure they could come the next day.
It hadn't been pleasant. Ross was angry. Angry at Dr. Matthews, angry at the hospital.....angry at life for throwing him this unexpected curve ball. He'd even started to threaten to sue, until Chandler made him realize that suing wasn't going to help Monica. Deep in his heart he knew that this wasn't anyone's fault.....there was no way they could've caught it.
He was supposed to spend that night with Audrey, but after talking to her on the phone, she'd convinced him to stay. He'd tried to explain, simply, that Monica wasn't better and needed more medicine and she was very sad. "Daddy," Audrey had said. "I'm not sad, and Monica is. I think you needa stay with her and make her happy."
Chandler felt a warm tear glisten in his eyes at the thought of Audrey. Throughout all of this, the little five-year-old girl had been his rock. She didn't know how sick Monica was, so she couldn't really be upset....unlike Rachel had been. When Chandler had spoken to her, he'd almost thought he'd have to hang up and call her an ambulance. But finally, she'd calmed down, and promised to organize as many people as she could to come in the next day.
Chandler sighed and turned his thoughts back to the small, waif like sleeping figure in front of him. "Please be okay," he whispered. "Please......just let this work. Please."
Chandler grinned as he walked out into the waiting room, his test over. He glanced around, his smile broadening; the room was packed. Rachel had truly done her job; the room was bursting with Monica's extended family, her co-workers, their neighbors....practically everyone who'd ever met her. Even a few regular customers from her restaurant had shown up. It was a true testament to how much Chandler had always known his girlfriend was loved.
"Didja get your test, Daddy?" Audrey asked, bouncing out of Rachel's arms into her father's.
"I sure did, baby doll. Would you like to go see Monica now?"
Audrey's face lit up. She hadn't seen Monica in over a week. "Yeah, Daddy, let's go now!"
Chandler laughed and turned to Rachel. "Thanks for watching her, Rach. I've got it from here."
Rachel nodded numbly; her face had turned stark white that morning when she learned the test involved needles and she hadn't lightened up since.
Audrey chattered all the way down the hall, raising Chandler's mood for the first time since he'd learned of the transplant. He stopped outside of Monica's room and put his daughter down, kneeling so he could speak to her eye-to-eye. "Auds," he said seriously. "Do you remember what I told you about Monica?"
"Yup, Daddy. Monica's sick right now and we needa be gentle and happy and just tell her we love her a whole lot," Audrey recited. "It's not hard stuff, Daddy."
Chandler laughed, and took her hand, opening the door. "Hey, gorgeous," he said.
"MONICA!" Audrey screeched, running towards the bed.
"Audrey, be careful-" Chandler warned, but Monica was already opening to her arms to the little girl. He shook his head, and turned to Phoebe, who'd been with Monica. "I don't know why I try," he joked.
Phoebe smiled. "I'll leave you guys," she said. "I've gotta go get my test," she grimaced.
Chandler smiled. "It's not bad. Just don't talk to Rachel."
"Noted," Phoebe laughed as she left the room.
"Oh, Monica, I missed you," Audrey squealed, and Chandler turned to see his daughter up on the bed with Monica.
"I missed you, too, honey," Monica said. "But I heard you cleaned my apartment for me. Thank you, sweetie."
"No problem," Audrey waved off like an adult. "But Monica, Aunt Rachel's really messy when you're not around." Chandler shook his head. Sometimes he could've sworn Audrey was Monica's child. "But Monica, guess what?"
"What?"
"Aunt Phoebe babysitt-ed me last night, and she taught me something. Wanta hear?"
"Sure," said Monica, and glanced at Chandler, curious. Chandler shrugged; neither Phoebe nor Audrey had mentioned anything to him.
"Okey-dokey!" Audrey smiled, and began. As soon as the words left her mouth, all Chandler and Monica could do was gasp.
"Couple years o' up all nights and a few thousand diapers later, that mistake he thought he made covers up his refrigarator. Oh, yeah.....he loves that little girl. Momma's waiting ta tuck her in, as she fumbles up those stairs. She smiles back at him, dragging that teddy bear. Sleep tight.....blue eyes and bouncing curls, and he smiles. There goes my life, there goes my future, my everything, I love you, Daddy, good night. There goes my life.
"She had that honda loaded down, with 'crombie clothes and fifteen pairs o' shoes and his 'merican express. He checked the oil, slammed the hood, said you're good to go. She hugged 'em both, and head off to the west coast. And he cried.....there goes my life, there goes my future, my everything, I love you....baby, good bye."
The last verse of the song he'd sung so often. And the first....but she'd added in the mother. "Baby girl....." Chandler whispered softly. "Wha- "
Audrey didn't let him finish. "Last night, at Aunt Phoebe's, the song came on the radio," she explained. "I told her 'bout how you sing it to me, but you left out the part about a mommy, and the last part, too. I asked-ed Aunt Phoebe to teach it to me, 'cause I wanted to ask Monica something." She smiled, and turned to face Monica. "Monica," she said gently. "Will you be my momma, like in the song?"
Monica's mouth fell open. "Oh, Audrey......" she whispered. "Baby, it's not as easy as all that."
Chandler nodded and came over to sit on the bed beside his girlfriend and daughter. "Auds, Monica and Daddy would have to be married for her to be your mother."
Audrey frowned. "Well, can't ya get married?"
Monica smiled. "Sweetie, that's something that takes an awful long time."
"Are you ever gonna get married?"
Monica opened her mouth to say something, but Chandler got to it first. "Baby girl...." he said gently. "There's no one I'd like to marry more than Monica. But we've got to get her well, first."
Monica held in her gasp. After all this, after all she'd put him through, Chandler still wanted to marry her? She could scarcely believe it. Audrey spoke up again. "Okay," she smiled. "So, someday, maybe Monica can be my mom?"
Monica smiled. "Yes, honey. Someday, maybe."
Chandler gazed into Monica's eyes and saw the same feeling he held in himself.
The prayer that someday would come.
I hope you guys enjoyed this....it was much longer, huh? PLEASE REVIEW....let's break 250 on this baby!