CH 16- I'll Always Be Here
Theresa ran behind the paramedics as they burst through the emergency doors of the Harmony hospital. She could feel her entire body trembling as they wheeled Ethan's stretcher into one of the vacant rooms.
"He has to be ok. Please God, let him be ok!" She worriedly whispered to herself.
Suddenly Dr. Russell appeared and immediately began inquiring information from the paramedics. Theresa frantically ran up to her, tears once more running down her face.
"Dr Russell, you have to save Ethan! I don't know what's wrong with him, but you have to save him!" She cried.
"Ok Theresa, calm down. I can only attempt to save Ethan if I know what happened. So, what can you tell me?"
"I-I don't know! He was coughing and then he began to wheeze! I tried to tell him to calm down but he just kept wheezing! Before I knew it, he collapsed and I called 911!" Theresa hysterically explained.
"Alright, I need you to stay here while I go in to check on Ethan. I'll be out as soon as I can to let you know what's happening." Dr. Russell placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before heading back into the room.
Theresa's hands shook as she pressed them against the glass, peering into the room. Her heart continued to beat rapidly as she watched the doctors hook Ethan up to several machines. The sight of his pale deadly like face made her stomach hurt. She quickly turned her head not being able to watch any longer.
"Theresa!" She suddenly heard someone call her name.
She looked up and saw Gwen, Whitney and Chad running down the hall towards her.
"Oh my god honey are you ok? We came as soon as I got your message." Whitney embraced her friend. "How's Ethan?"
"I don't know yet. Your mom just went in to see how he was." She glanced back at the window.
"Oh, Theresa. You must be in so much pain right now!" Gwen consoled her. "What happened?
Theresa wiped away a tear from her swollen eye, as she looked up at her friends.
"Well, Ethan came over to talk to me earlier and I got upset with him. He was telling me how much he still loved me and how sorry he was for the way that he treated me at Fox's party. Only instead of being happy, I completely yelled at him and got upset." She said in between tears. "I was just so angry because I fell like he was just playing with my emotions. One minute he's telling me that we can never be together and the next he's professing his love for me! I just—I just don't understand."
She turned away from them and walked over to the window, painfully staring at Ethan's lifeless body.
"Anyways, I must have really upset him because he started to cough really violently. Soon the coughing turned into wheezing and before I knew it he had collapsed in my arms."
She closed her eyes, knowing that she had left out a vital part of her story. No one could ever find out that she had slept with Ethan. It was a mistake and it should not have happened. Even if she had to lie to her loved ones, she would make sure that no one knew. Especially Fox.
"Where is my son? Ethan!"
Theresa's thoughts were interrupted by Sam and Ivy's screams as they ran down the corridor.
Sam placed a comforting hand on Theresa's shoulders as Ivy ran to the window.
"Honey what happened to Ethan?" He asked her.
"I don't know Chief Bennett. I was just talking to him and he began having one of his coughing attacks—"
"Coughing attacks? Ethan's never had such a thing!" Ivy interrupted her. "If anything is wrong with my son, it's all your fault!"
Sam held back Ivy as she lunged at Theresa.
"This is not the time for this!" He yelled. "There's no use in pointing the finger at anyone! Right now, Ethan is in there fighting for his life and neither of us no what is wrong with him. So why don't we just take this time to pray that he is ok instead of killing one another?"
Ivy quieted down reluctantly, keeping her angry stare on Theresa.
A few minutes had passed before Dr Russell finally joined the group.
"Alright everyone," she began, quieting them down. "I have the results of Ethan's current condition."
"What's wrong with him Dr. Russell? Is he going to be ok?" Theresa rushed over to her.
"Well, I've done some tests and from what I found, it doesn't look good." She sadly looked at them. "According to the way that you described Ethan's sudden coughing attacks, it looks like he may have a mild form of a lung cancer called emphysema.
"Cancer?" Ivy frighteningly whispered. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. A person with emphysema shows early symptoms that are quite similar to the ones that Ethan is showing; wheezing, coughing, constant fatigue and the feeling of shortness of breath. Even though this disease is commonly found in smokers, it is not impossible for a non-smoker to develop it."
"Is it fatal?" Sam painfully asked.
"It can be." Dr. Russell sadly responded. "But like any cancer, with lots of treatment it can help to knock it out. The sooner we begin the treatment the better his chances."
"The better his chances?" Ivy repeated. "Of what?"
Dr. Russell concernedly looked at them, the answer written all over her face.
"If we don't begin the treatment as soon as possible, there is a great chance that we may lose him."
Theresa felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her, as she struggled to comprehend what Dr Russell was saying.
"Ethan could die." She whispered to herself, staring into the window.
Even though things weren't the greatest between them, Theresa couldn't imagine her life without him. He had been the man that she loved ever since she was a little girl. She dreamed of the day when they would be husband and wife. Finally her prayers were answered when he admitted his love for her. It was the happiest day of her life. Now there was a chance that she would never see him again.
"No, we can't lose him!" She cried, keeping her stare on his lifeless body.
"Don't worry honey, we wont." Sam came over to her. "How soon can you begin the treatment Eve?"
"As soon as I get his parents consent." Dr. Russell looked at Sam and Ivy.
"Of course Eve." Ivy quickly responded. "You have to save our son."
"Can we see him?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, but very briefly. He's still pretty groggy from the medicine that we gave him." Eve smiled.
Sam and Ivy went in first, as the others sat in the waiting room close by.
Theresa still stood by the window, not being able to tear herself away.
Soon Fox, Paloma, Luis and Sheridan arrived.
"Where's Ethan?" Sheridan worriedly inquired. "Please tell me that he's alright!"
Whitney and Gwen filled them in on the recent news they received from Dr. Russell.
"Oh my gosh!" Sheridan cried. "I've seen Ethan grow up with my very own eyes. I can't imagine him not being with us anymore!"
Luis held her in his arms, as Whitney continued.
"I know Sheridan, it's terrible. Thank god he was at Theresa's when he collapsed. I'd hate to think what would have happened if he hadn't gotten to the hospital in time."
Fox listened intently as Whitney talked.
"Ethan was at Theresa's?" He whispered to himself. "I wonder why?"
He glanced over at her by the window. He just realized that she didn't even look his way since he arrived.
Walking over to her, he could tell that she was deeply hurt by Ethan's condition. Her body was slumped over and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked as though she were in a trance as she gazed through the glass.
"Hey," He gently whispered to her, but she didn't hear him. Her eyelids didn't even move as she kept her glare focused on Ethan's body.
"Theresa?" He said again, this time gently touching her back.
She jumped at the sudden contact, but then looked up at him.
"Fox," she weakly smiled. "Hi, when did you come?"
"Just now." He looked at her. "Are you alright?"
"Not really," she sadly looked back at the window. "Ethan could die."
He heard the grief in her voice and it almost tore him up inside.
"Yeah, Whitney just told us everything." He paused for a moment before he asked his next question. "Theresa?"
"Hmm?" She emotionlessly responded.
"Whitney just mentioned that Ethan was at your house when he collapsed. Why was he over there?" He watched as her whole body tensed up.
Theresa's mind raced as she struggled to come up with an answer for Fox. She slowly turned around and looked up at him. She hated lying to him, but she knew he wouldn't understand if she told him the truth, and she couldn't stand to hurt him in that way.
"Um, he came over to lend me his laptop." She blurted out.
"Laptop? Why?" He asked her.
"Because my computer suddenly wasn't working and I needed something to finish my paper. Thanks goodness Ethan said I could borrow his." She smiled up at him, hoping that he believed her.
"Oh ok." He grinned, not suspecting a thing. "I really hope Ethan is going to be ok."
He carefully slipped his arm around her waist, as they both looked in at Ethan.
"Hey guys," Gwen joined them. "Shouldn't you two be more careful?"
She looked down at Fox's arm and winked at them.
"She knows?" Fox ask Theresa confused.
"Yeah, and so do Sheridan and Whitney." She lightly giggled. "I couldn't help it."
"Hey Fox, do you mind if I steal her away for a few seconds?" Gwen smiled at him.
"Yeah sure, I'm going to go get some coffee. Do you girls want anything?"
They shook they heads as he turned the corner.
Gwen grabbed Theresa's hand and led her to a vacant couch to sit down.
"Are you alright honey?" She looked at her concerned. "You look so distant." "Well, I'm really worried about Ethan."
"We all are. But we just have to pray that the treatments work and that he will make it." She gave her a reassuring smile, but slowly frowned. "Are you sure that's it?"
Theresa looked at her and shook her head.
"No Gwen, that's not the only thing that's bothering me."
"Well what else is there? You know you can tell me anything." She gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
"Ok, but you have to promise to keep this between the two of us." When she swore to secrecy, Theresa continued. "Remember when I told you, Whitney and Chad about Ethan coming over to talk to me? Well, I didn't elaborate on the entire story."
She told Gwen about her and Ethan's argument, them sleeping together and what led him to later on collapse in her arms.
"Oh my gosh." She frowned. "Does Fox know?"
"No, and you can't tell him!" Theresa quickly objected.
"But honey I don't think that's such a good idea." Gwen let out a sigh. "Look, I don't mean to bring up the past, but wasn't it keeping secrets from Ethan that caused you two to break up in the first place? Why would you want to make that same mistake with Fox?"
"Gwen, I don't want to lie to him. But can you honestly see Fox understanding why I slept with his brother? Do you think Hank would understand if you slept with Sam Bennett?"
Gwen made a face and laughed.
"Ok I can safely say that that will never happen. But I see your point. I don't think Hank would like that very much. But that doesn't mean that I would lie to him."
Theresa gave her a confused look.
"All I'm saying is that lying can bring nothing but heartache and pain to a relationship. You need to decide what is more important to you; protecting Ethan or staying true to Fox."
Theresa was about to answer when Sam and Ivy walked out of the room.
"I'm going to go see how he's doing." She smiled at Gwen, standing up.
Theresa walked over to the door and slowly turned the knob. When she peered in she almost gasped.
Ethan was hooked up to several different machines and his face was sickly pale. He looked so different, she barely recognized him.
She carefully pulled a chair to his bedside and gently touched his hand.
"Ethan?" She whispered.
He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Theresa," he muttered.
His voice was so weak, it pained her to hear him talk.
"Shhhh, don't speak." She sighed.
"I'm in pretty bad shape aren't I?" He sadly looked up at her, wincing in pain.
She didn't say anything, afraid that if she spoke, he would have to see her fall apart.
"It's ok, you don't have to say anything. I can tell by everyone's faces." He paused for a moment to take a breath, before taking her hand in his. "I love you Theresa."
She gazed into his eyes, a single tear falling down her own.
"I know that you must be confused by me saying so, but I do. I'm sorry for lying to you and I'm especially sorry for hurting you."
She put up a hand for him to stop, but he insisted on continuing.
"I know that there is a good chance that I might not make it, and I accept that. But I don't think I can live another day if you're not here with me. I need you now more than ever."
"Oh Ethan," she cried not being able to hide her emotions. "You're going to be ok. You just have to believe in yourself."
"I don't know about that Theresa." He paused to cough and winced in pain. "I need you to promise me something."
She waited for him to continue, as the sight of him tore her apart.
"I need you to promise me that you will be here with me. I don't know what the next couple of days will bring, but I do know that I need you beside me. Please Theresa, promise me."
She looked at him through clouded eyes, not knowing what to say. She glanced out the window and saw Fox talking to Gwen and Whitney.
"Oh, Fox." She silently whispered, as she turned back to Ethan.
"I promise."
Theresa ran behind the paramedics as they burst through the emergency doors of the Harmony hospital. She could feel her entire body trembling as they wheeled Ethan's stretcher into one of the vacant rooms.
"He has to be ok. Please God, let him be ok!" She worriedly whispered to herself.
Suddenly Dr. Russell appeared and immediately began inquiring information from the paramedics. Theresa frantically ran up to her, tears once more running down her face.
"Dr Russell, you have to save Ethan! I don't know what's wrong with him, but you have to save him!" She cried.
"Ok Theresa, calm down. I can only attempt to save Ethan if I know what happened. So, what can you tell me?"
"I-I don't know! He was coughing and then he began to wheeze! I tried to tell him to calm down but he just kept wheezing! Before I knew it, he collapsed and I called 911!" Theresa hysterically explained.
"Alright, I need you to stay here while I go in to check on Ethan. I'll be out as soon as I can to let you know what's happening." Dr. Russell placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before heading back into the room.
Theresa's hands shook as she pressed them against the glass, peering into the room. Her heart continued to beat rapidly as she watched the doctors hook Ethan up to several machines. The sight of his pale deadly like face made her stomach hurt. She quickly turned her head not being able to watch any longer.
"Theresa!" She suddenly heard someone call her name.
She looked up and saw Gwen, Whitney and Chad running down the hall towards her.
"Oh my god honey are you ok? We came as soon as I got your message." Whitney embraced her friend. "How's Ethan?"
"I don't know yet. Your mom just went in to see how he was." She glanced back at the window.
"Oh, Theresa. You must be in so much pain right now!" Gwen consoled her. "What happened?
Theresa wiped away a tear from her swollen eye, as she looked up at her friends.
"Well, Ethan came over to talk to me earlier and I got upset with him. He was telling me how much he still loved me and how sorry he was for the way that he treated me at Fox's party. Only instead of being happy, I completely yelled at him and got upset." She said in between tears. "I was just so angry because I fell like he was just playing with my emotions. One minute he's telling me that we can never be together and the next he's professing his love for me! I just—I just don't understand."
She turned away from them and walked over to the window, painfully staring at Ethan's lifeless body.
"Anyways, I must have really upset him because he started to cough really violently. Soon the coughing turned into wheezing and before I knew it he had collapsed in my arms."
She closed her eyes, knowing that she had left out a vital part of her story. No one could ever find out that she had slept with Ethan. It was a mistake and it should not have happened. Even if she had to lie to her loved ones, she would make sure that no one knew. Especially Fox.
"Where is my son? Ethan!"
Theresa's thoughts were interrupted by Sam and Ivy's screams as they ran down the corridor.
Sam placed a comforting hand on Theresa's shoulders as Ivy ran to the window.
"Honey what happened to Ethan?" He asked her.
"I don't know Chief Bennett. I was just talking to him and he began having one of his coughing attacks—"
"Coughing attacks? Ethan's never had such a thing!" Ivy interrupted her. "If anything is wrong with my son, it's all your fault!"
Sam held back Ivy as she lunged at Theresa.
"This is not the time for this!" He yelled. "There's no use in pointing the finger at anyone! Right now, Ethan is in there fighting for his life and neither of us no what is wrong with him. So why don't we just take this time to pray that he is ok instead of killing one another?"
Ivy quieted down reluctantly, keeping her angry stare on Theresa.
A few minutes had passed before Dr Russell finally joined the group.
"Alright everyone," she began, quieting them down. "I have the results of Ethan's current condition."
"What's wrong with him Dr. Russell? Is he going to be ok?" Theresa rushed over to her.
"Well, I've done some tests and from what I found, it doesn't look good." She sadly looked at them. "According to the way that you described Ethan's sudden coughing attacks, it looks like he may have a mild form of a lung cancer called emphysema.
"Cancer?" Ivy frighteningly whispered. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. A person with emphysema shows early symptoms that are quite similar to the ones that Ethan is showing; wheezing, coughing, constant fatigue and the feeling of shortness of breath. Even though this disease is commonly found in smokers, it is not impossible for a non-smoker to develop it."
"Is it fatal?" Sam painfully asked.
"It can be." Dr. Russell sadly responded. "But like any cancer, with lots of treatment it can help to knock it out. The sooner we begin the treatment the better his chances."
"The better his chances?" Ivy repeated. "Of what?"
Dr. Russell concernedly looked at them, the answer written all over her face.
"If we don't begin the treatment as soon as possible, there is a great chance that we may lose him."
Theresa felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her, as she struggled to comprehend what Dr Russell was saying.
"Ethan could die." She whispered to herself, staring into the window.
Even though things weren't the greatest between them, Theresa couldn't imagine her life without him. He had been the man that she loved ever since she was a little girl. She dreamed of the day when they would be husband and wife. Finally her prayers were answered when he admitted his love for her. It was the happiest day of her life. Now there was a chance that she would never see him again.
"No, we can't lose him!" She cried, keeping her stare on his lifeless body.
"Don't worry honey, we wont." Sam came over to her. "How soon can you begin the treatment Eve?"
"As soon as I get his parents consent." Dr. Russell looked at Sam and Ivy.
"Of course Eve." Ivy quickly responded. "You have to save our son."
"Can we see him?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, but very briefly. He's still pretty groggy from the medicine that we gave him." Eve smiled.
Sam and Ivy went in first, as the others sat in the waiting room close by.
Theresa still stood by the window, not being able to tear herself away.
Soon Fox, Paloma, Luis and Sheridan arrived.
"Where's Ethan?" Sheridan worriedly inquired. "Please tell me that he's alright!"
Whitney and Gwen filled them in on the recent news they received from Dr. Russell.
"Oh my gosh!" Sheridan cried. "I've seen Ethan grow up with my very own eyes. I can't imagine him not being with us anymore!"
Luis held her in his arms, as Whitney continued.
"I know Sheridan, it's terrible. Thank god he was at Theresa's when he collapsed. I'd hate to think what would have happened if he hadn't gotten to the hospital in time."
Fox listened intently as Whitney talked.
"Ethan was at Theresa's?" He whispered to himself. "I wonder why?"
He glanced over at her by the window. He just realized that she didn't even look his way since he arrived.
Walking over to her, he could tell that she was deeply hurt by Ethan's condition. Her body was slumped over and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked as though she were in a trance as she gazed through the glass.
"Hey," He gently whispered to her, but she didn't hear him. Her eyelids didn't even move as she kept her glare focused on Ethan's body.
"Theresa?" He said again, this time gently touching her back.
She jumped at the sudden contact, but then looked up at him.
"Fox," she weakly smiled. "Hi, when did you come?"
"Just now." He looked at her. "Are you alright?"
"Not really," she sadly looked back at the window. "Ethan could die."
He heard the grief in her voice and it almost tore him up inside.
"Yeah, Whitney just told us everything." He paused for a moment before he asked his next question. "Theresa?"
"Hmm?" She emotionlessly responded.
"Whitney just mentioned that Ethan was at your house when he collapsed. Why was he over there?" He watched as her whole body tensed up.
Theresa's mind raced as she struggled to come up with an answer for Fox. She slowly turned around and looked up at him. She hated lying to him, but she knew he wouldn't understand if she told him the truth, and she couldn't stand to hurt him in that way.
"Um, he came over to lend me his laptop." She blurted out.
"Laptop? Why?" He asked her.
"Because my computer suddenly wasn't working and I needed something to finish my paper. Thanks goodness Ethan said I could borrow his." She smiled up at him, hoping that he believed her.
"Oh ok." He grinned, not suspecting a thing. "I really hope Ethan is going to be ok."
He carefully slipped his arm around her waist, as they both looked in at Ethan.
"Hey guys," Gwen joined them. "Shouldn't you two be more careful?"
She looked down at Fox's arm and winked at them.
"She knows?" Fox ask Theresa confused.
"Yeah, and so do Sheridan and Whitney." She lightly giggled. "I couldn't help it."
"Hey Fox, do you mind if I steal her away for a few seconds?" Gwen smiled at him.
"Yeah sure, I'm going to go get some coffee. Do you girls want anything?"
They shook they heads as he turned the corner.
Gwen grabbed Theresa's hand and led her to a vacant couch to sit down.
"Are you alright honey?" She looked at her concerned. "You look so distant." "Well, I'm really worried about Ethan."
"We all are. But we just have to pray that the treatments work and that he will make it." She gave her a reassuring smile, but slowly frowned. "Are you sure that's it?"
Theresa looked at her and shook her head.
"No Gwen, that's not the only thing that's bothering me."
"Well what else is there? You know you can tell me anything." She gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
"Ok, but you have to promise to keep this between the two of us." When she swore to secrecy, Theresa continued. "Remember when I told you, Whitney and Chad about Ethan coming over to talk to me? Well, I didn't elaborate on the entire story."
She told Gwen about her and Ethan's argument, them sleeping together and what led him to later on collapse in her arms.
"Oh my gosh." She frowned. "Does Fox know?"
"No, and you can't tell him!" Theresa quickly objected.
"But honey I don't think that's such a good idea." Gwen let out a sigh. "Look, I don't mean to bring up the past, but wasn't it keeping secrets from Ethan that caused you two to break up in the first place? Why would you want to make that same mistake with Fox?"
"Gwen, I don't want to lie to him. But can you honestly see Fox understanding why I slept with his brother? Do you think Hank would understand if you slept with Sam Bennett?"
Gwen made a face and laughed.
"Ok I can safely say that that will never happen. But I see your point. I don't think Hank would like that very much. But that doesn't mean that I would lie to him."
Theresa gave her a confused look.
"All I'm saying is that lying can bring nothing but heartache and pain to a relationship. You need to decide what is more important to you; protecting Ethan or staying true to Fox."
Theresa was about to answer when Sam and Ivy walked out of the room.
"I'm going to go see how he's doing." She smiled at Gwen, standing up.
Theresa walked over to the door and slowly turned the knob. When she peered in she almost gasped.
Ethan was hooked up to several different machines and his face was sickly pale. He looked so different, she barely recognized him.
She carefully pulled a chair to his bedside and gently touched his hand.
"Ethan?" She whispered.
He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Theresa," he muttered.
His voice was so weak, it pained her to hear him talk.
"Shhhh, don't speak." She sighed.
"I'm in pretty bad shape aren't I?" He sadly looked up at her, wincing in pain.
She didn't say anything, afraid that if she spoke, he would have to see her fall apart.
"It's ok, you don't have to say anything. I can tell by everyone's faces." He paused for a moment to take a breath, before taking her hand in his. "I love you Theresa."
She gazed into his eyes, a single tear falling down her own.
"I know that you must be confused by me saying so, but I do. I'm sorry for lying to you and I'm especially sorry for hurting you."
She put up a hand for him to stop, but he insisted on continuing.
"I know that there is a good chance that I might not make it, and I accept that. But I don't think I can live another day if you're not here with me. I need you now more than ever."
"Oh Ethan," she cried not being able to hide her emotions. "You're going to be ok. You just have to believe in yourself."
"I don't know about that Theresa." He paused to cough and winced in pain. "I need you to promise me something."
She waited for him to continue, as the sight of him tore her apart.
"I need you to promise me that you will be here with me. I don't know what the next couple of days will bring, but I do know that I need you beside me. Please Theresa, promise me."
She looked at him through clouded eyes, not knowing what to say. She glanced out the window and saw Fox talking to Gwen and Whitney.
"Oh, Fox." She silently whispered, as she turned back to Ethan.
"I promise."