"Phoebe, how is she?"
"Not so good. She starting having difficulty breathing, they had to tube her. Then they wouldn't let me go in with her, which made her freak out. The only thing that made her calm down what when I took a second and told her that if she needed me, I was just a mind jump away."
"Wait, you said tube her. What's that?"
"Yea, that's when they put a tube down your throat to help you breath. Prue, I need you to fill out some of this information. Nancy is under your insurance, and I don't know anything about that."
Phoebe handed the clipboard off to Prue, who noticed that Phoebe's hands were shaking. Realizing that now that Nancy was being taken care of, Phoebe had some time to really think about what was happening Prue knew her baby sister might need a little support now. Placing the clipboard on the chair next to her, Prue grabbed Phoebe's hands and pulled her into a huge hug.
"How are you doing? Are you alright?"
"I'm better now that you guys are here. I'm just scared, but I'm not worried, I know she'll be fine. I just hate that she has to go through those. It's difficult being the strong one."
"Welcome to my world."
"Thanks but if this is what it's like, I'll pass."
The three girls couldn't help but laugh a little. After kissing Phoebe on the forehead, Prue picked up the clipboard, finished filling out the information, and then went to the front desk.
"Thank you Pheebs"
"For what Piper?"
"Taking control. Being strong. Nancy needed someone to be strong, and take control. Lord knows I was no help, and Prue was feeling too guilty to do any good. You're going to make a great nurse, but you are a really good big sister to her."
"Wow, me a big sister. It's kind of weird."
Prue returned several minutes later with some coffee for the three of them. They sat and waited as patiently as possible, for any information. The minutes seemed to tick by so slowly as they each took turns pacing up and down. The girls could do nothing except watch the hands on the clock move from one number to the next. Two hours passed by, which to the girls seemed like two days, but finally two people walked up to them. Phoebe was relieved and happy to see some familiar faces.
"Megan, Sam, Hi. Prue, Piper this is Megan Peterson, and Samantha McCormick, their two of the student nurses that are helping me get ready for classes. Sam, Megan, these are my sisters Prue and Piper."
"It's nice to meet you guys. Phoebe has talked a lot about you. Phoebe, we've been helping take care of your cousin Nancy. Doctor Campbell asked us to come out and update you on the progress. She is stable, and being moved upstairs to the ICU. Actually, Jamie is with her right now."
"Jamie, her physical therapist, or her social worker? Who called her?"
"No Prue. This is totally different Jamie; it's their roommate, Jamie Fuller."
"Another one? Oh man, it's getting impossible to keep them straight. When can we see her?"
"Doctor Campbell said we could bring you upstairs right now. Nancy should be settled by the time we get up there. If you guys would just like to follow us."
"Thanks. How is she doing?"
"That's for the doctor to say Phoebe. You know that."
"I know, but I mean emotionally. Is she scared or anything? She wasn't exactly thrilled with the fact that they wouldn't let me stay with her."
Arriving on the fourth floor, they walked down the hall and approached the main desk.
"Jamie, which room is Nancy Halliwell in?"
"Room 9"
Sam and Megan led the girls to the room, but Phoebe stayed behind to talk to Jamie for a minute.
"How is she? Are her spirits up?"
"You guys have one very special girl. You should be very proud of her, she's a fighter. She freaked out a lot in the beginning, but once she found out we were friends of your, she seemed to calm down. She told me any friend of her big sister, can't be all that bad."
"She said that?"
"Yep, unfortunately they had to intubate her after that. She must really look up to you. Every time I mentioned your name, she would get a certain sparkle in her eye. You better get in there; I know she wants to see you."
Phoebe walked away from the counter feeling very special, and a little floored. She thought of Nancy as he little sister, but never knew that Nancy felt the same for her. As she walked into the room, she saw Prue and Piper standing over her bedside, each holding a hand.
"We'll leave you for now. Let us know if you need anything. Doctor Campbell should be in soon to give you an update"
Sam and Megan gave Phoebe a gentle squeeze on her arm as they exited the room, closing the door behind them. As Phoebe approached the bed she began to develop a funny feeling in her head. She sat down in the nearest chair thinking that maybe she was about to have a premonition.
"I thought they would never leave."
Phoebe smiled at Prue and was about to explain when the answer suddenly came to Prue.
"Prue, relax will you? This is the only way I can talk to you guys right now."
Piper was still in the dark; the other girls saw it and let Nancy explain.
"Piper, stop looking so confused. Their just listing to me. It just takes a little more work to talk to all three of you at one time."
"How are you Nancy? Are you alright?"
"I don't know. They won't say anything in front of me. I'm well, I'm…"
"Scared? It's alright you can say it. Piper and I won't freak out anymore. Phoebe told us to get a grip."
"Good going Pheebs. Has the doctor told you anything yet?"
"No. Not yet. Do you need anything? Are you in pain?"
"A little, but I can handle it. I just want you guys to sit with me, if that alright."
The girls had each noticed that when they entered the room Nancy's heart rate machine was going a little fast, but when they sat down it seemed to calm down. They allowed Nancy to close her eyes and clam down for a while; she only opened them when she heard someone else enter the room.
"Hello everyone. I'm Doctor Lucy Campbell; I've been taking care of Nancy here."
Doctor Campbell looked up from her clipboard to shake hands with the people in the room.
"Phoebe, what are you doing here?"
"Hi Doc. These are my sisters, Prue and Piper. Nancy is our cousin, and Prue is her legal guardian."
"Well I should have connected the last name. It's nice to meet you all; Phoebe has talked a lot about all of you. Phoebe is very popular in this hospital, she has her nose into everything and she is always trying to help everyone."
"Gee, we don't know what that's like do we Prue?"
"US? NO!"
Small amounts of laughter filled the room. After a moment, Doctor Campbell decided it was a good time to get back on topic.
"Why don't we all talk outside? Don't worry Nancy, we'll be right back."
"Phoebe, NO! Make her stay; I have a right to hear too."
"You know what Doc. I think that Nancy has a right to hear what's going on with her. It's only right."
"If you insist. Let me show you this."
Walking over to the x-ray box, she slid a picture out of it's folder, placed it on the board, and then flicked on the light.
"This is the x-ray we took of Nancy's back. You see this large mass right here? There is fluid build up on her spinal cord, and that's way she can't move. It is also causing swelling which is why she is having trouble breathing on her own."
"So where do we go from here? Can this be fixed, or will it go away on it's own?"
"We would like to perform surgery on Nancy's back. First, to remove the fluid, or as much of it as we can, and then to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord. It is a very long surgery, and could take up to six hours. Even after it is over, there is still no way of knowing if she will walk again, or even be able to breath on her own."
"When would you want to do this?"
"Right away. She is still very weak, and I can tell she is in a great deal of pain, even though she is trying not to show it. I'm not real she can survive the surgery, but if we are going to do it, now is the best time."
"What will happen if you don't do the surgery? Can she get better on her own?"
"There is a small chance that the swelling will go down on it's own. However she will just get weaker and weaker the longer we wait. There is no real way of knowing if her body will just absorb the fluids on it's own."
"I think we should wait for a few days. See how her body reacts."
"Prue, NO! You need to let her do the surgery. I don't think I'll make it through the night without it."
"What?"
Prue suddenly realized that she had said that out loud. She turned back to Doctor Campbell and tried to come up with a quick statement.
"Sorry Doctor, I was just thinking out loud. Could you excuse us? I think we need to talk this over as a family."
"Of course. I have a few other patients on this floor to check up on. I'll be back in a while."
They watched as Doctor Campbell exited the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone Prue ran over to Nancy's bedside to get some quick answers.
"Nancy, what are you talking about?"
"Prue calm down. Let her explain."
"My power makes me very aware of my body. I knew something was wrong long before today, I just didn't know what it was. After Doctor Campbell started to explain, I did another body check, and I know that if you don't let her perform the surgery, I won't survive. My body will not get better on it's own."
"Prue, I think we need to respect her wishes. She knows her body better then anyone. I don't like it anymore then you do, but we have to."
"I know Piper. I know. I'll go tell Doctor Campbell our decision."
Prue started to leave the room without any further comment. She took and extra second to look at Nancy.
"Thank you Prue."
"Don't thank me."
She then walked out the door to find the doctor.
"She's just scared that by giving in, she may be killing me. I don't know if the surgery will make me better, but I do know it's my only hope. Please help her to understand, don't let her beat herself up. No matter what."
Suddenly the monitors in the room began to go off all at once. Phoebe turned her attention to the machines that were attached to Nancy, and noticed that Nancy's heart rate started to climb at a very fast pace.
"Nancy, what's wrong?"
"Phoebe, my chest, it hurts."
Grabbing Piper by the arm, Phoebe pulled her out of the room and found Doctor Campbell handing a clipboard to Prue.
"Doc come quick. It's Nancy; her heart rate is climbing fast."
"The three of you wait out here."
Pushing the emergency button outside Nancy's room, she ran inside, followed closely by several other doctors and nurses. The girls could only wait in the hall for someone to come back out, and tell them what had go so wrong, so fast.
They again each took turns pacing back and forth. Several times Phoebe had to pull her sisters out of the way of people running in and out of the room with supplies they needed to save Nancy's life. After what seemed like forever, but was only fifteen minutes, Doctor Campbell came out of the room.
"Doctor, is she?"
"No, she's still alive. She gave us a good scare. The fluid is building up faster than we expected. Her heart stopped once, but we did get it going again. We gave her something to stay asleep. Do you still want to go through with the surgery? If so, I want to do it ASAP."
"Like when?"
"Right now. Nancy is stable, and her heart rate is strong, for now. The longer we wait, the more chance there is that this will occur again. Also, if we wait much longer, at the rate the fluid is building up; we won't be able to drain it as fast as her body is producing it."
"Do It."
Prue handed the doctor the clipboard, with the signed consent form. She then turned and began to walk away.
"I'll do everything I can. I promise."
"Thank you. Please Doc don't take it personally, forgive her. Of course we trust you to take care of her, but she's just worried. We all are."
"From now on you call me Lucy. Megan, Jamie, why don't you take these ladies to get some coffee. It's going to be a long night for them. I'd tell them to go home, but I know I would be wasting my breath."
Lucy waited till they were out of sight, and then turned to Sam giving her instructions with an immediate sense of urgency in her voice.
"Sam help get Nancy prepped for surgery. I don't know if this is going to work, but I'm going to do everything I can."
"Yes Doctor."