Trading Places (Chapter Four)

A DAY LATER

Haley smiled appreciatively at the doctor. "So, it was stress that caused him to collapse?" Haley asked. The doctor nodded.

"Is there anything that I can do? I mean, it could happen again, right?" Haley asked.

"I hope this was an isolated incident, but there is something you could do," he replied. She was lying down on her bed that was pulled next to Nathan's so it was like they had one huge bed in the room. They shared a room now.

"When will he wake up?" she asked.

"Well, he was responding while we were taking blood from him. He's probably sleeping right now. I think you know better than I do how to wake him up," the doctor said. Haley smiled as he left. She moved closer to Nathan and got under the blankets that were pulled around him. She moved his arm so it was around her shoulders and rested her head on his chest as she snuggled up against him.

AN HOUR LATER

Nathan groggily opened his eyes. He felt strange, but relaxed. He examined the area around him and realized that he was in a hospital. He wondered how he got there until he felt something in his arms. He turned to look at his left side and smiled when he saw Haley. He tightened his arm around her and kissed her forehead. He was in a hospital gown and it was very uncomfortable. Then he felt the same material on Haley. He lifted the covers and was shocked to see that she was in a hospital gown too. Did that mean she was a patient too? He looked at the other bed and saw that Haley had an IV in her arm as well as a tube in her nose. He looked at her carefully. "Haley?" he said softly. She stirred. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Welcome back," she said stretching out and putting her hand in his.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You've been working too hard," she said. He looked at her in confusion. "You collapsed, Nathan," she explained. He looked at her in shock. "And it was because of stress. Now, either things aren't as good as they seem at work or seeing your father again has had a much bigger effect on you than you let on," she said, half-kidding. He smiled. "How are you feeling?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Weak," he replied. Haley laughed.

"That's the drugs," she said.

"So, how long have we been here?" he asked. Then Haley's weight fell on to him and her hair spilled over his face. "Haley?" he asked. There was no answer. He moved his arm to lift her head carefully, ignoring the stabbing pain. "Haley?" he asked again as he moved the hair out of her face. Her eyes were rolled up and she wasn't moving. Nathan didn't know what else to do so he screamed.

"Help!" A few seconds later, two nurses came running in.

"What's wrong, Mr. Scott?" one of them asked.

"It's not me. It's my fiancée. She just stopped talking. She's not responding and her eyes are rolled up," he said, holding Haley closer. Then the nurses came over and gently moved Haley back onto her own bed and started examining her. A nurse pushed a call button and a few seconds later, a doctor came running in.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The patient collapsed again, Dr. Stevens," a nurse said. The doctor started barking out tests and other medical jargon that Nathan didn't understand.

"Again?" Nathan repeated. Then, Lucas, his parents, Karen, Keith, Lisa, Brooke, Peyton and Jake came running in.

"Nathan, you're awake!" his father exclaimed in relief. Then, he looked in Haley's direction.

"What happened?" Lucas asked. Nathan shrugged.

"I don't know what happened! She was talking to me and smiling and then all of a sudden, she falls onto me and her eyes roll up. Now the nurses are saying that she's collapsed again," Nathan exclaimed.

"Damn," Lucas said. Lucas came over to Nathan and put a comforting hand on his shoulder while the staff worked on Haley.

"When did she collapse the first time, Lucas?" Nathan asked.

"Around the same time you did. She was brought here with you," Lucas replied.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked. Lucas shrugged.

"She refused to let them treat her," he said.

"Why?" Nathan demanded.

"She wanted to stay with you. We tried to convince her to get at least some tests run, but she was adamant about staying near you," Lucas said.

"Why didn't they just take some blood or something while she was in the room with me?" Nathan asked. Lucas shrugged.

"Haley wouldn't leave your side, Nathan. I doubt she would've let the tech or nurse anywhere near her. She wanted to make sure you were okay first," Lucas said.

"Okay, guys. She's stable now," the doctor said to the nurses. Then, she instructed them to take some blood and run a whole bunch of tests on it. She walked over to Nathan. "Your girlfriend…" she started.

"Fiancée, actually," he corrected her. The doctor nodded.

"Sorry. Your fiancée is semi-conscious. She was in danger for a while there, but we managed to stabilize her. Her eyes are back down too," she said.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. But we've taken some of her blood and I'm having it sent to the lab to be analyzed," the doctor said. Nathan nodded. "Now, we're going to need a medical history. Does she have any allergies?" her doctor asked.

"Penicillin," Nathan replied. The doctor nodded, signalling that she already knew that.

"She's smart. She wears her medical alert bracelet," a nurse said. Nathan smiled.

"Any previous conditions that we should know about?" her doctor asked. Nathan looked down and at the others. Lucas nodded, telling him that he should tell the doctor.

"She had leukemia three years ago," he said. The doctor lifted her head.

"She was in remission, then?" she asked. Nathan shook his head.

"No. She had a bone marrow transplant and it cured her," he said. The doctor nodded.

"Did she have any follow-up appointments to make sure that it was gone for sure?" the doctor asked. Nathan nodded.

"Two years ago. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health and then sent her home," he said.

"Who was her oncologist?" she asked.

"Dr. Barnett. He works at New York University Hospital," Nathan said. The doctor made a few notes.

"Okay. Thank you," she said. She left and now Nathan knew he was going to have to deal with all of the questions.

"Haley has leukemia?" Karen asked. She looked at Nathan.

"Had," Lucas corrected.

"How long have you known?" Karen asked. Lucas thought back.

"Since we met her again three years ago," Nathan said.

"I thought you said that she and Nathan ran into each other again when Peyton was hit by a car," Dan said, looking at Lucas.

"We did," Nathan said. Deb looked at him in confusion.

"Haley was a patient there. She was receiving treatment and we ran into her in the hallway when we went to see Peyton," Brooke explained.

"So, she wasn't there to see Peyton?" Keith asked.

"She didn't know when they first saw her. But as soon as she found out, she came to visit me," Peyton explained. Haley stirred.

"Nathan?" she called out. Nathan sat up and moved to the middle of the two beds. He reached out and grabbed Haley's hand.

"I'm right here, Hales," he said. She smiled as she opened her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You collapsed again," he said.

Haley didn't seem to hear him, because she asked, "When did all of you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Karen said, coming forward. Haley started to sit up but then was overcome with a wave of weakness.

"Oh, not good," she said as she slowly lied back down.

"The doctor took some of your blood and it's going to be analyzed. They're trying to find out why you collapsed," he said. Haley nodded.