"Her Secret"
"I can't believe this is happening again." Dustin whispers in disbelief as he and the rest of the guys waited anxiously for the results in the waiting room. It's been nearly a year or two since the last time they were in this position. However, Hunter is finally witnessing it for the very first time and it was killing him every second of the way for the last hour. He remembered sitting next to Tori in an ambulance, holding her hand as paramedics placed an oxygen mask on her and checked for vital signs. Hunter would whisper in her ear that everything was going to be okay, although he knew deep down, something was definitely wrong as an image of her lying hopelessly on a stretcher haunted the back of his mind.
"Damn. What is taking so long?!" Hunter snaps as he walks back and forth impatiently across the room. "They should be done by now!"
"Bro, please." Blake stood up in front of him with the sleeping Nathan in his arms. "Calm down."
"Calm down?!" He hisses while brushing his dirty blonde locks back in frustration. "One minute she was fine, and the next--" Hunter pauses as he forced himself to fight back tears. "I don't even know what's wrong with her, bro. Something is not right."
Dustin sighs as he places a hand over his shoulder. "Look, I've known Tori for almost my whole life. She's a fighter, and if she could survive that fall...then how could she not survive this one?"
Hunter nods. "I hope you're right. But you see...we don't even know what she could have. As far as I know it could be--"
The dirty blonde was interrupted by the sound of a squeaking door opening as he immediately turns around and finds young Dr. Evans walking in. Hunter's eyes broaden and could feel his heart beat rapidly due to the disappointed and yet, saddened doctor coming their way. This is not good, he thought worriedly as Hunter pushes himself through the other guys and stood in front of him. "Doctor," he whispers breathlessly. "How is she? How's Tori?" Dr. Evans sighs deeply as he takes one good look at the clipboard before turning his gaze over to Hunter. "Oh God." He gasps, knowing something horrible must of happened. "Tell me she's okay, doc!"
Dr. Evans fixes his reading glasses tensely. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Hunter, Shane, Blake, and Dustin listened carefully. "Let's hear the good news first." The goofball suggested.
He nods. "Well, Tori is fine at the moment. No broken bones or any fracture in the body. Tori collapsed due to lightheadedness, fatigue--"
"Okay. NOW you can tell us the bad news." Dustin interrupted sternly.
Dr. Evans heaves another sigh. "Well, the lightheadedness, pallor, weakness, and fatigue are symptoms of anemia. And anemia is basically the reduction of red blood cells. According to her history chart, Tori lost an abundance amount of blood during her pregnancy and miscarriage, which caused her to become anemic. However, anemia can be treated under a specific cause, which Tori has been doing for the last few months.
"So she'll be alright then, right?" Hunter asks with such concern in his eyes.
Dr. Evans pursed his lips before continuing on. "I'm afraid there's more. One of our surgeons here studied that her red blood cells aren't the only ones being affected. But her white blood cells as well."
The guys were completely lost as they plaster confused stares. God, I wished I'd paid more attention in physiology and biology class, Dustin thought while scratching the back of his head.
"Um...okay?" Shane arches his brow, bewildered. "And that means...?"
"Anemia is also a symptom..." Dr. Evans stated despondently as he averts from their anxious and fearful gaze. "Of leukemia."
"Hunter?" The lost Tori calls out as she walks through the forestry woods, in search for him. She turns around as soon as a tree branch caught her ninja suit. The blonde freed herself from it and continues on. "Hunter, I know you're out here somewhere." She chuckles hesitantly. "Come on now. Stop playing."
Hunter smirks as he hid behind a tree and glances over at Tori, looking at all sorts of directions. She places a hand on her hip and sighs deeply in aggravation. "Hunter! I totally give up!" She yells when suddenly two hands covered her eyes from behind.
"Guess who?!"
Tori grunts as she releases the manly hands off her eyes. "Hunter." She turns around and grins. "And how did I know that?"
He laughs. "Because you love me."
"Do I?" The blonde sticks her tongue out.
"Aww. That hurts." Hunter places a hand over his chest and chuckles.
Tori smiles. "So...why did you bring me here again? You know Sensei doesn't like it when we roam around here and disturb the academy. That is if we're not doing any training."
He folds his arms and stares at her charmingly. "You are so beautiful."
She looks away in pleased embarrassment before rolling her eyes. "Hunter, I'm serious. We could get in trouble for this."
The dirty blonde groans as he takes Tori's hand and pulls her along. "Come on. There's something I want to show you." And without jerking back, she follows.
A few moments Later
"So are we there yet?"
"Almost!" Hunter reassured her after wrapping a crimson bandana around her eyes so she couldn't see.
Tori sighs. "I hope you're not leading me to a cliff."
He chuckles. "And why would I do that?"
"You just never know." She smirks, and continues to trust him with every move. "Hunter!" She cries. "Where are we going? I feel like we've walked towards the end of the forest."
"Don't worry. It'll be worth the hike..." He looks up and shrugs. "I hope."
"Great..." Tori grunts when suddenly they stopped moving. This made her feel anxious as two strong hands were placed on her shoulder.
"Alright. Now keep your eyes covered." Hunter tells her excitedly.
"We're here? Already?!" She questions.
"Yup!" He stands behind the blonde and guides her towards their destination. Tori walks forward as Hunter leads the way to a spot where a picnic was set up with red roses scattered on the ground. Hunter smiles proudly at the beautifully decorated scenery as he unties the bandana around Tori's head and reveals it to her. The blonde opens her eyes and gasps in shock.
"Oh my God..."
He smiles happily. "So...You like it?"
"Like it?! Hunter, I love it!" Tori turns around and wraps her arms around his neck. "This is perfect." She whispers while nibbling on his ear. "Thank you."
A dark cloud rose above her beyond the misty fog as her vision of Hunter and their surroundings began fading away...
She could hear the sound of a machine [Electrocardiogram] beeping nearby in repeated variables and a recognizable hand locked onto hers as Tori slowly opens her eyes and finds an open light. She slowly lifts her neck up and sees a familiar figure laying his head on her beside. "Hunter," Tori whispers with a smile. She looks around the room and realized she was in a hospital. What am I doing here? The blonde wonders in curiosity. Without trying to wake Hunter, Tori slowly lifts herself up in a sitting position, and moves the pillows upright. Just when she thought she was being careful, Hunter begins shifting his head and giving her hand a tight squeeze. He immediately looks up and opens his eyes wide.
"Tori..." He yawns. "You're finally awake." Hunter moves his chair closer without leaving the blonde out of his sight.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She smiles sweetly at him. "So how long have you been here?"
"For a few hours now." He responds, feeling ecstatic to hear her voice once again. "And how are you feeling?"
Tori sighs. "Tired...confused." She responds while fiddling with the white sheets.
He nods solemnly, studying her fatigue features that broke his heart as he stares at the dark circles surrounding her eyes. "Do you remember anything?"
She shrugs. "Not really. I only remember dreaming about you just before I woke up.."
Hunter smiles. "Yeah? Was it a wet dream?" He winks flirtaciously.
The blonde lets out a chuckle. "No. But it was one when you took me out to a picnic for our one-month anniversary. Do you remember that?"
"Oh yeah." He smirks. "How can I not forget how beautiful you looked then...and how extremely gorgeous you are now?" Hunter smiles as he caresses her fragile face. "God, I love you. I love you so much, Tori."
She smiles as tears began to slowly stream down her cheeks. "You know why I'm here, don't you?" The blonde asks once she noticed Hunter's puffy eyes from crying. He didn't say a word. "Listen, I've been wanting to tell you, but I wasn't sure if it was the right time for you to worry about me having anemia. And really, the reason why I'm here is because of the reactions I've been getting with these symptoms, which is normal." Tori explains reassuringly. "So please forgive me."
Hunter was surprised to see how strong she is, seemingly sounding as if it was going to be okay. As much as he didn't want to scare her...he knew that she had the right to know. "Tori," He whispers while running his hand through her soft hair. "There's something you should know."
She arches her brow curiously. "Hey, I'm all ears. What's up?" He averts from her gaze to hide the hurt he was feeling at the moment. Tori squints her eyes, utterly in a confused state. She knew something was up. "Okay this can't be good, otherwise it wouldn't be hard to say..."
Hunter meets her eyes and forced a smile. "Nevermind." He says, kissing her delicate hand. "It's nothing."
From that moment, Tori knew he was hiding something. "You liar." She whispers as he slowly looks up, taken back with such abrupt approach. "I know."
And with that, Hunter could no longer hold the throbbing pain as he places his head on her stomach and begins crying uncontrollably in an instant. Tori, too started crying as she rubs his head in comfort, hoping to ease the pain that she caused. He was losing her right before his eyes and it hurted even more when he found out that Tori has been hiding this for quite awhile to protect him from falling into love again with her. And look where they end up--in a hospital with one fighting for her life...and the other, desperately finding a way to get through this. Just when Hunter finally found his way back to her heart...all he could do now was hope... and pray for a miracle to save her.
A/N: So we all know now that Tori has leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood. I interveiwed a few of my mom's doctors and did some researching on my own to get the right information, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Anyway...keep sending in more of your reviews if you're dying for more. =P