CC McKenna

Earthquake

Chapter Eleven

Phoebe walked out of the OR after three or four hours of laborious surgery. She was still amazed of the huge amount of people that worked hand in hand to help her sister, but she was even more shocked when she found out that her sister was in a 'transplant Program' and that she even had a number on a waiting list. She tried to convince herself that it was all a mistake, that Lexie just couldn't have done all those complicated arrangements by herself and not say a word her or her sisters about it; but…she had that list in her hands; she was actually still holding on to it, staring at it, reading it over and over again, she was just… astonished.

Her knees suddenly buckled up, and she almost collapsed to the floor when she read her sister's medical chart. She steadied herself with the wall and closed the file, keeping it near to her chest. She rested her back on the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. She just sat there, lost in her thoughts, trying to find a way, to find the strength and the courage to go to her sisters and let them know about what she'd just find out. She hesitantly got on her feet, and decided it was time to go to them. She had to talk to her sisters, and it had to be right away.

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"Andy..." Prue whispered as soon as she opened her eyes. Piper tossed aside the magazine she was pretending to be reading, and gazed up at her sister. She quickly stood up but Andy made a quick motion with his hand, asking her to stay where she was.

"I've got her" He mumbled softly. Piper smiled and nodded, but discretely followed Andy's movements.

"I'm right here" Andy squeezed her hand and Prue immediately squeezed back, smiling feebly.

"L-lexie?" Prue asked; eyes closed. "S-she back yet?"

"No" Andy sighed. "But don't worry, I'm sure everything's ok…Phoebe's with her, remember?"

Prue just nodded; afraid to even move just to prevent a higher dose of the agonizing pain that she was already experiencing. Andy kissed the palm of her hand and her tensed body quickly relaxed.

"Do you want me to get the doctor?" He asked, already knowing what her answer was going to be.

"No." She said, not disappointing him.

Andy shook his head. "Prue, you have to be sure that everything will turn out fine, she's gonna make it…you'll see" He whispered softly but firmly. He wanted with all his heart to comfort her, to hold her, even fill her with kisses, but her condition was still delicate and he wasn't in the best of shapes either.

Prue barely had time to nod before falling asleep again. Andy tightened the grip on her hand and remained by her side. He just wanted to be close to her, to feel her, to love her.

A lonely tear rolled down Piper's cheek as she grabbed the magazine and went back to her reading.

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"Dad...I can't believe you're saying this, they're your daughters, for God's sake" Piper pulled her hair back and closed her eyes. She was angrier than ever to find out that her father wasn't going to arrive any time soon.

"No, of course I don't understand, I don't want to understand, and believe me, as much as I try to, I just can't… NO, I don't care how busy you are, I want you get your ass in here right now so you can be with your daughters…Dad, please…they need you…we need you" Piper kept pacing outside her sisters' room, trying to keep her voice down, but it was no use, Andy opened the door and stared at Piper, he didn't say a word, but his silent look let her know that she was shouting and that Prue was listening and aware of the discussion she was having with Victor. Piper nodded and walked a little farther away from the door. "I'm sorry" She whispered and immediately went back to her conversation.

"No, no, no, I'm not mad," She chuckled, "I'm pissed off" Piper spat through her tightly clenched teeth. "Of course Prue can understand, and I'm sure she won't mind at all, I mean, she's used to you bailing out on us all the time, but Alexia?… Dad, Lexie is just a kid, and she needs her mother, but since we cannot get her mother…" Piper waited a short moment, giving Victor a chance to reconsider, but she violently flipped her cell closed and hit her forehead with it when she heard her father's favorite line.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I just can't…"

Piper took a moment to regain composure; she pinched the bridge of her nose and took a couple of deep breaths to get rid of her fury. She arranged her ponytail and hesitantly went back inside the room, not daring to look at her sister straight into her sad, blue eyes.

"Don't worry" Prue said softly, eyes tightly closed to prevent a couple of teardrops from reaching down her cheeks. She chewed her lower lip. "We already knew we couldn't count on him…he's not reliable" She gave Andy a sad smile when he kissed her eyes to dry them away.

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Phoebe opened the door and walked into the ICU where her sisters were nervously waiting for her. She slowly closed the door as two sets of eyes immediately fell upon her.

"She's in the recovery room; the operation was a success" She explained as she leaned back on the door.

Andy smiled, kissing Prue's hand and Piper leaped over Phoebe with a smile that could easily cover her face from ear to ear. Prue was still asleep.

"Everything went just perfect" Phoebe added.

"Can we see her?"

"No, not yet, right now she will have to spend 1 or 2 days in the recovery room, 2 or 3 days in the intensive care unit, and about 7 days in a private room in the transplant unit" Phoebe walked closer to her sisters; She looked nervous. "During this time, she will have to undergo constant monitoring and testing, including regular heart biopsy procedures…"

"Heart biopsy?" Piper interrupted. "How can she get a heart biopsy? What's that? Isn't it dangerous?"

"No sweetie" Phoebe held Piper's hand between hers. "A heart biopsy involves removing small pieces of tissue from your new heart to see if your body is rejecting the organ; and if everything is ok, she will be sent home."

"R-really? Just like that?" Piper raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, but for a 3-month period after leaving the hospital, she must come back for regular checkups; but don't worry, these checkups will let members of the transplant team to watch very closely for signs of rejection or other complications; but what's important right now is that Lexie is doing great, I mean, she has a critical condition, but she's young, and her vitals are strong"

Piper sighed and stared at the floor. "I'm still nervous…what if her new heart is rejected or something."

Phoebe nodded. "I understand your fear and doubts Piper, and although most transplants are successful, some do not turn out as hoped. In some cases, the donated heart simply does not work, and sometimes it becomes obvious in the operating room or shortly after surgery, neither of these has happened, but another major cause of failure could also be 'tissue rejection', that's when the body's immune system knows that the donated heart is foreign tissue and tries to destroy it, as if it were a virus or some other disease-causing agent. There is no other way to check for signs of rejection, except through routine biopsy of heart tissue." Phoebe took a deep breath, firmly pressing her fingers against her eyes. "She had to take that risk Piper, there wasn't any other way" She added softly.

"B-but she will be ok…right? She…she won't have any of those things…right?" Piper stuttered.

Phoebe gave her a sad smile. "I wish I could assure you that she won't, but you have to keep in mind that transplant recipients have an increased risk of infection, especially during the first 3 months after transplantation, because of the medicines she must take to prevent rejection, and these medicines, called immunosuppressant, make it harder for the body to fight off disease, and sometimes these medicines can let an infection turn into a serious medical problem long after surgery…but, we'll worry about that when the time comes, right now…" Phoebe swallowed hard and turned her gaze away from her sister.

Piper frowned as she tried to find her sister's eyes. "What's the matter Phoebe?" She gently held her at arms length. "Is there something you're not telling me… us?" She turned to Andy and then to her sister, all in a swift movement, nervously waiting for her reply.

Phoebe slowly got closer to Prue's side and gently ran her index finger on her eyebrow. "I just don't know where to start."

"Phoebe…you're scaring me…" Piper's breathing became heavier and a lot faster.

"Sorry" Phoebe took a deep breath and unconsciously wiped her eyes. "What I'm going to say is going to come as a shock for you, but you have to know"

"For God's sake Phoebe, just…just say what you have to say!"

"Lexie's new heart…"

"Yeah?" Piper slowly walked towards Prue's bed and stood in front of Phoebe.

"It was Sophie's heart" Phoebe whispered.

"Oh my God" Piper covered her mouth while her knees gave way, grabbing the safety rail from Prue's bed just in time to regain balance.

Prue gasped when she heard Phoebe's words and immediately squeezed Andy's hand. She bit both her lips from the inside and took a long, deep breath. Even though her eyes were closed, she'd been awake the whole time.

"I'll get the Doctor" Andy gently rubbed Prue's back and wheeled himself outside the room, heading towards the nurses station. Prue didn't even try to stop him this time.

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"My, my; isn't it such a lovely surprise?" Zinnlar's voice suddenly filled the room. Prue flinched when she heard his sickening tone, immediately knowing well enough to whom it belonged to. She wanted to do something but unfortunately, he was standing behind her. She growled when couldn't move. Piper's heart rapidly started beating out of control but she kicked away her astonishment and quickly did what she knew best, unfortunately, just as the last time, the flickering of her wrists just didn't do him any harm.

Zinnlar staggered back a little and laughed with sarcasm, carefully straightening his impeccable, black coat. He smirked and slowly advanced towards a wide-eyed Piper. "I know this is going to sound lame, but I'll say it any way" He widened his smile, preparing himself for what he thought was going to be the ultimate 'punch line'. "Seems almost anti-climatic after all this time, doesn't it?" He chuckled; "Oh, you just don't know how much I love that line!"

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TBC

Quick survey. Are you guys getting tired of this story? Do you want me to cut it short or do I go on with what I have in mind?

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