Explanations (Chapter Five)
A DAY LATER
Nathan woke up and looked beside him to make sure that Haley was there. He smiled when he saw her on her side with her face to him. He turned on his own side and ran his hand through her hair. "Hey, you, wake up," he said. Haley smiled lightly.
"Are we still at the hospital?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. She groaned in annoyance.
"The doctor should be coming with news in a few minutes," he said. Haley smiled as she moved to the centre of her bed and pushed the button to make it sit up. Once she was sitting up, she put on her robe and put the covers back on with help from Nathan, who was already sitting up.
"How are you feeling? Not too stressed out, I hope," she joked. He glared at her as she laughed.
"I'm fine. I'm concerned about you," he said.
"How weird is it that we both collapsed on the same day at the same time?" she asked.
"Very weird," he said.
"Maybe I just collapsed because I sensed you were in trouble," she said, explaining that maybe there was nothing wrong with her. Nathan shook his head.
"If anything, I would've been the one to collapse because you did. You collapsed twice, Hales," he reminded her.
"So, I am the one that's sick?" she asked. He nodded.
"Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure it's just something like an iron deficiency," he said.
"That's not good, Nathan," she said.
"No, but it's better than some other possibilities," he pointed out. Then the door swung open and two doctors came into the room. Haley frowned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. She was talking to the male doctor, not Dr. Shepard.
"It's nice to see you too, Miss James," he said. Now Nathan recognized him. It was Dr. Barnett, her oncologist from NYU Hospital.
"What's going on?" Haley asked in a panicked voice.
"I have some bad news for you," he said.
"What?" Nathan asked, holding Haley's shaking hand.
"Your platelet is really low, Miss James," he said. Haley gasped and her eyes went wide with fear.
Time stood still for Haley as she processed the full meaning of what Dr. Barnett was telling her. She had sincerely hoped that she would never have to see him ever again. There was only one other time that she had felt so scared and it was when she had first heard the word 'leukemia' in relation to herself.
(FLASHBACK)
Twenty-four year old Haley James stretched out on her bed, but winced as her muscles ached. She groggily turned the bed up to a sitting position and pulled the covers up to her waist. She threw on a t-shirt over the gown to warm herself up.
Then, the hospital room door swung open and a young male doctor walked in. He was only a few inches taller than Haley and he had on a crisp white lab coat on over navy blue scrubs. He was holding a metal clipboard that was presumably her chart. He had blonde hair and light brown eyes. Haley recognized a single emotion in them: Pity. Haley despised pity and right now, she was not too happy with this doctor. Either he had had a very bad day and he was full of self-pity or the pity was directed at Haley. He looked at her and then looked down.
Looks like I'm the winner, she thought. "Miss James," he said. He smiled kindly at her. Too kindly, in her opinion. She nodded at him. "Your test results came back and these results are conclusive. There is no mistake in this diagnosis…" he started.
"Just tell me," she said, holding up her hand.
"You have leukemia," he said. Haley looked at him in shock. Now, he knew she probably wasn't very healthy, but she had never expected to learn that she now had cancer.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
"What does that mean?" Nathan asked.
"It means that the leukemia is back," Haley said sadly. Nathan looked at Haley and then at the doctor. The doctor nodded at him.
"How advanced is it?" he asked.
"It's not terribly advanced. It just means that you're going to have to return to your monthly treatments, Miss James," he said.
"Can you give us a minute?" Nathan asked, probably catching the overwhelmed look on Haley's face. The doctors nodded and left the room. Nathan moved over to Haley's bed and sat directly beside her. She had started to cry. He put his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. She latched onto him and started sobbing.
"Not again," she cried. He kissed her head and tightened his arms around her.
"It's okay, Hales. We'll get through this," he said. Haley pulled away and shook her head.
"No. I can't go through the treatments a second time. I can't do it again. Not alone," she said.
"Hey," he said. She looked at him. He took her hands in his and brought them closer to him. "You are not alone this time, Haley. You have me. I'm your fiancé and soon, I'll be your husband. I'm not going anywhere," he said. Haley swallowed hard. "Now whatever happens, we're going to face it together, ok?" he asked. She smiled softly at him. She nodded and returned to his arms.