Ooh, king will be 'ere soon...thank you for 'patiently' waiting. lol.
I just read Jessica's fic (The Forces of Darkness--my cousin knows her from somewhere) and I read in the reviews that you actually like Spencer and is on your 'favourite o.c.s list' and I just have to say...

OMG! You like him? (cough i do too cough) But he's an ass...people hate him. How can you like an ass? lol. No seriously...how can you?

FOURTEEN

As I kind of mentioned earlier…Normally, she would have slept like a damn log right up to the point when her alarm went off and she had to drag herself out of bed and into the bathroom, sleepy and slow. But that morning, Kathryn was awake hours later after her alarm had went off, alert, breathing heavily, heart racing gently in her chest. It was the phone that dragged her from her slumber. She didn't want to answer it but her hand obeyed a reflex of its own and reached out, fumbling, for the phone. Half-asleep, she dragged the receiver to her ear. It was her boss, Frank Atkinson. "Hello, it's me, your boss, remember me?" he asked cynically. "Why the hell are you calling so goddamn early?" Kathryn asked rudely and grouchily, screwing her eyes tight. "It's twelve o'clock in the afternoon, Kat." Frank retorted. "That's pretty early to me, and why did you call? What do I owe the…?"

"Pleasure?"

"No, that's not it."

"Anyway," Frank sighed heavily, agitated. "I called because there's this client--"

"No."

"But--"

"No."

"He's--"

"I came up with 'no'."

"But you came to work yesterday. I figured you weren't busy. I mean, I gave you some time off and you came to work. Who does that?"

"People on drugs."

"Well, are you?"

She was surprised he would even ask. So surprised she almost laughed. "No, I'm just hungover. And I came to work yesterday because there was this guy here…and I can't just stand being around him. You see…" Frank cut her off, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Your right." she sighed. "Okay. Crap, I got to go. I'll talk to you later about this new guy," Frank said.

"Okay…bye. Oh, and Frank? One more thing."

"Yeah, what?"

"There's this big, hot-shot client that wants to talk to you, I think you might know him. His name is--" Kathryn hung up and stretched out in her bed, smiling, bringing her hands up above her head and blinking into the light. How many times has he fallen for that? She laughed at the mental image of him stomping his feet and muttering about how he will get her back for that. She laid her palms gently against the dividing wall and held them there. At least he was in her apartment. At least she saw him again.

Spence realized he must've fallen asleep, because he woke up stiff and cold with noises coming through the door at him. He blinked a few times and after that, his weary gaze settled on a bath…tub? Red water. Empty bottle of painkillers. And a whiskey. Dun, da ra dun! Mystery solved. He was in the bathroom. He clawed for the painkillers and the hangover kicked into overdrive. It took him all his strength to pull himself up into a sitting position. The thumping in his chest was like a crashing symphony mixed with whiskey…oh, and also a major chest pain. He groaned and slid down, trying to get as comfortable as he could. He screwed his eyes tight and felt like he couldn't breathe. Dazed, his eyes flicked to the left. The floor was flooded with blood.

"Oh sheit." Shit. Shit. Shit. He has been getting chest pains constantly now. Then, it finally clicked. Hemoptysis, he thought. --What is Hemoptysis, you ask? Well, I'm only twelve and know it. Where has your brain been wondering off? Anyway, Hemoptysis is the coughing or spitting up of blood from within the respiratory tract. Ya get? Okay. Moving on!-- It was another one if the symptoms. Others symptoms were loss of weight and appetite, constant chest pain, of course, recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, and shortness of breath. Shit. I'm dying, he thought, holding onto the toilet and trying to push himself up. He was suddenly very dizzy that it was hard to see straight. "Goddamn…" he said, slowly trying to move his way around the room, his legs shaking and his knees weak. Dizziness is the cause of too much blood loss, okay? Goddamn. "…I ain't cleaning up that bathroom."

he thought. --What is Hemoptysis, you ask? Well, I'm only twelve and know it. Where has brain been wondering off? Anyway, Hemoptysis is the coughing or spitting up of blood from within the respiratory tract. Ya get? Okay. Moving on!-- It was another one if the symptoms. Others symptoms were loss of weight and appetite, constant chest pain, of course, recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, and shortness of breath. he thought, holding onto the toilet and trying to push himself up. He was suddenly very dizzy that it was hard to see straight. "Goddamn…" he said, slowly trying to move his way around the room, his legs shaking and his knees weak. Dizziness is the cause of too much blood loss, okay? "…I ain't cleaning up that bathroom."
Kathryn wanted him to be here but she also wanted him to go. Kathryn couldn't possibly confront Spence after what happened last night. But she always knew what he was like. Usually, when he was beyond wasted, he would forget what he said or did. Once, he actually said something that sounded smart, like doctor or lawyer smart, but after that, he forgot all about it and said some weird stuff about 'if you were a toaster, what kind of bread would you like to toast?'

She had already cleared up the kitchen and was eating some of the leftover pizza when he came and stumbled into the kitchen. And she was right. "Aw fuck…I feel like shit." he said out loud, rubbing his head as if expecting the headache to magically disappear. "Good. That fits with the whole 'you are shit' thing." Kathryn said. She was relieved that he didn't remember but then again, it pissed her off. "Shut up, nobody asked you." he scowled.

"Hey, be nice. I gave you beer."

"True." He smiled and kissed her on the lips--

-- 'Kathryn pulled him down towards her and kissed him deeply' --

--before sitting down. Kathryn snapped out of her day dream and watched him settle down in his seat. If only… She thought. It wasn't anything new. It was like a family kind of thing. You see, for years, they had spent each and everyday like brother and sister. That was like a relative, father to daughter or mother to son kinda kiss. You know, nothing else but a mere '

'I treat you like family' shit. Hard to explain but easy to understand…whatever the heck that means. And somehow, she felt safe around him. Like everything was alright and normal. "Hungry?" she asked. He shook his head, "Lost my appetite." he said simply, as if trying to hide something. Was it the fact that he's kind of losing weight? She thought. Naw, he wouldn't give a damn if it was that.

"Do you remember anything from last night? God, I know I can't. I was so drunk." she said, making it all sound so real. Hey, she was a lawyer, bullshit and lies were her thing. He shrugged and scratched his head, "No. Should I?" Damn it. Damn you, man! Damn alcohol, She thought.

"So what's in today's schedule? I'm not going to work cos I'm too hungover." she asked, changing the subject.

"Ok. We start with your mom's friend. Ask some shit…or whatever, I'm not a goddamn detective. It'll come to me in the moment of intelligence…bide away, who's the friend?"

"Oh, she's the doctor. They say she treats men like shit but if she's attracted to them, she becomes obsessive. She's famous for that…Might be hard for you. Do you want to go ask someone else besides her? Someone nicer but I don't guarantee good information."

Spence gave her a thumbs up, a sarcastic look on his face, "No, no, no. Someone nicer sucks. Mean, obsessive doctor who will eat you alive every chance she gets, goooood."

"I'm just gonna eat and then take a shower, do other random shit and then we can go." she said. "Cool. I'm fine with my clothes." he said. He was wearing worn-out levis-- his 'good' levis, as he would call it --and a bomber jacket over a black t-shirt. She tilted her head to look at him and smiled self-consciously like she was about to burst out laughing. Kind of cute. "Hmm." she smiled as he continued to talk to her. He made a funny expression, "Ew. Stop looking. I know your secretly attracted to me, but gawd." She pointed out the kitchen door, "Get!"

"But why?"

"I don't know. Just get out. Your annoying me."

"Well, FYI, I was going to go out anyway. To seek inspiration…on…on…" he stuttered, at a loss for words. "…onnn…?"

"Shit?" Kathryn asked.

"Fuck you."

"I wish you would."

He rolled his eyes and snickered.

No, I rreaaallllyyy wish you would, she thought.

"Go." she shooed him off. "Go and seek inspiration. And while your at it, go seek a highly qualified psychiatrist… not a psychologist you need some drugs. Lots of 'em, too."

"Ha. Where'd you get that line from? Rusty?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I got it from my gay-ass brother." she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"I'm glad you agree with me."

Russell Rodney Royals A.K.A Rusty, Triple R or 'that annoying brother of yours' was Kathryn's older brother. The 'loser' as some people would call him, but he was a rebel. Rebellion against school as his line "They should have a meteor…yeah…and make it hit the school…" suggested but he was a caring brother. Funny, goofy and weird. But wonderful…

Half an hour later, she padded out of her room wearing a black and white plaid skirt with a red shirt with black fishnet sleeves and converse and her hair held up in a high ponytail.

"Wow. Any guy would love to have you." he said, laughing. "Can I steal a kiss from the most beautiful woman I've ever met?" she nodded, smiling when he kissed her on the cheek. Who wouldn't love to be friends with this guy? Well, she could name a lot of people from the hospital…but…if you want to be friends, you got to have life insurance.

"Spence, I think Tellitubies has touched your heart that it boosted up enough soul for you to be nice. Still a jackass, but nice."

They found that the clinic Josephine had been attending was not really a place in its own right, but just an administrative unit within a giant private hospital facility. Small roads snaked through tasteful landscaping and led to little cul-de-sac ringed with low offices for the doctors and the dentists. The receptionist was a heavy old African American busybody who welcomed Kathryn with a measure of sympathy and as soon as she saw Spence, she chuckled. "Oh, darling. Very nice. A lot better than your other boyfriend."

Kathryn laughed softly and looked at Spence, "Oh, Nadine, this is D'Angelo Spencer, my best friend…not my boyfriend." The two shook hands, "Pleasure to having met such a nice lady." Spence said and the receptionist smiled warmly at him. Nadine looked at Kathryn, pointing a finger at Spence, smiling, "I like this new boyfriend of yours. Very charming."

Spence grinned. "Why, thank you." Kathryn rolled her eyes, "Nadine…he's not my…oh never mind." Nadine looked down at her papers and busily singed a few, "So. What are you hear for, Kit Kat?" Spence looked at Kathryn in bewilderment, mouthing the words, 'Kit Kat?' Kathryn sighed and turned to the receptionist, "We're here to see Dr. Lisa Toth…please…Nadine…if that's all right."

"Your here to see that old slutbag?" Nadine asked in surprise, she didn't wait for an answer and quickly turned to Spence, "Ooh, boy. She gonna loooooooovvvvvveeeeee you. She gonna make you crazy that you'll rip off one of your arms and beat yourself senseless with it!"

"Nadine!" Kathryn hissed.

"Too much information?" Nadine asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm just warning you, boy."

"I've been warned." Spence smiled. Nadine invited them to wait in Toth's inner office, which earned them glares from the other patients in the waiting room. Nadine whispered to Kathryn before she went in, "That boy's a nice piece of ass, don't let him go."

"Nadine!" Kathryn hissed.

Nadine chuckled, "I'm jus' sayin…"The inner office was an inoffensive place, pale and sterile and silent, with a token examination table and a large coloured cutaway diagram of the human lung on the wall behind the desk. Kathryn didn't know why but Spence was staring at it. He was starting at it, asking himself, Lung cancer. So which part of me finally failed? They waited like that for fifteen minutes, and then the inner door opened and Dr Toth stepped in, she was a plain dark-haired woman in a white coat, a stethoscope around her neck like a badge of office and concern on her face. "Kathryn. How are you? I'm terribly sorry about Josephine."

It was 99 per cent genuine, but there was a stray edge of worry there, too. "I'm fine, thank you. And thanks for everything Dr. Toth. You were very helpful." Toth relaxed. The 1 percent of worry washed away. Huh. She's worried about a malpractice suit. The patient's daughter was a lawyer, and she was right there in her office straight from the funeral ceremony. Spence thought, finally looking away from the diagram of the lung. Back when he had Lara, his boss was always like that. If you're a patient without a good enough insurance, your out. "What happened with mom?" Kathryn asked, glancing up another big diagram. Toth followed her gaze and shrugged gently, "Have you heard of the Acid Reflux disease?"

This caught Spence's attention and he looked up, "Yeah. It increases the risk of a deadly throat cancer which is known as oesophageal Aden carcinoma…the reasons for its growing incidence are unclear, but experts speculate diet, obesity and even some heartburn drugs may be partly to blame." Spence turned to Kathryn, explaining to her, "There's this new research that may offer a drug free acid reflux treatment. A team led by a Dr. Richard Holloway…" he turned back to Toth, "…of the Royal Adelaide Hospital."

Dr. Toth was looking at him as if she had met the most famous person in the world and she couldn't believe he was right in front of her. "Oh, that's absolutely right Mr…?"

"D'Angelo Spencer."

Toth nodded, smiling particularly at him, "Angelo, huh? Like Angel? Angel down from Heaven?"

"Yeah. But to my mother, I was the 'spawn' of Satan."

Kathryn glowered at Spence who shrugged in return, "What? It's true. I was always raising hell everywhere I went." Lisa Toth snapped her fingers as if trying to remember something, "Oh…D'Angelo Spencer…angel…spawn of Satan…doctor skills …Angie?" she asked and Spence nodded in confusion. Toth nodded slowly, like a puzzle had just been solved, "Ah, the famous Doctor Spencer. She spoke about you as if you were her son." Toth sat and looked at him, openly interested, she scanned his face, and then her eyes settled on his chest. He wasn't sure exactly why but he guessed it was that wet-looking spot on his shirt. Not water. Blood. He had forgotten all about the wound and the accident yesterday while he was driving Kathryn to work just made it worst. He guessed it would be that.

"Did she speak about anything else?" Kathryn asked. "I got the impression that mom was concerned about something."

Toth turned to her, puzzled, like she was thinking well, all of my patients are concerned about something, you know? Like life and death? "What sort of thing?" Toth asked.

'I don't really know," Kathryn said. "Maybe something one of the other patients might have involved her with?" Toth shrugged and looked blank, like she was about to dismiss it, but then they saw her remember, "Well, she did mention something. She told me she had something to do. Something really important before and if she passed away."

"Did she say what it was?" Spence asked. Toth shook her head, "No details. Initially, it seemed to excite her. But sometimes she would cry, just thinking. She was reluctant about it, at first. Like somebody had landed her with something tedious."

"Was it connected to another patient?" Spence asked again. Toth shook her head, "I really have no idea. It's possible, I guess. They spend a lot of time together, out there in reception. They talk to each other. Often bored and lonely…so they talk to each other."

"When did she first mention it?" Kathryn said quickly. Toth shrugged, "Not long before she went to the Philippines, I guess." Kathryn stared at her, surprised, "She went to the Philippines? I didn't know anything about that." Toth nodded, "Well, she missed an appointment and I asked him what had happened, and she said she'd been to Philippines for just a couple of days."

"Philippines? Why would she go to the Philippines without telling me?"

"As I said before, I really don't know." Toth said. "Was she well enough to travel?" Spence asked Toth and she shook her head, "No, and I think she knew it was silly. Maybe that's why she didn't mention it. I guessed it was important to her."

"When did she go to the Philippines?"

"Middle of…March, I think."

"Okay," he said. Talking fast and quick. Quick enough that Toth didn't make any objections. "Can you give us a list of your other patients during that period? Like, February and March? People he might have talked to because he was old and often lonely and bored?" That was meant to sound like a rebuke. Toth blushed, "But…uhh…that's a confidentiality issue. I can't…I can't really do that." Toth appealed to Kathryn with her eyes, doctor to lawyer, woman to woman, controlling bitch to controlling bitch - Spence laughed mentally at that - a you-know-how-it-is sort of thing. Kathryn nodded, sympathetically but Spence was quick to reassure, "Well, maybe you could…you know…" he looked down, thinking, "Ask Nadine if she saw Josephine talking with one of the others out there?" he shrugged as he looked at Toth, "There won't be confidentiality issues involved, right?"

Toth recognized an impasse when she saw one and buzzed the intercom and asked the receptionist to step inside. Nadine was asked the question, and she started nodding busily and answering before it was even finished. "Oh, yeah. Josephine was kind lady, she made friends with this other woman, too. Young woman. You know, the one with the husband problems." Nadine had mentioned the last part in a whisper and nodded again, "Josie was doin' something' for that poor young woman, I'm sure of it. She were always showing Josie old photos and pieces of paper."

"The young woman…with the dead psycho husband?" Toth asked her, forgetting in an instant that Kathryn and Spence were present. Nadine nodded, "Yep, the one who still kept her husband's last name…they were close, the two of 'em, Ms Josephine and Ms Leslie Nightshade."