Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so much longer. My Sweet 16 was on Saturday (we saw Wicked on Broadway!) and I've just had a lot of homework and school drama to deal with. I also wasn't sure where to go with this chapter, so I wanted to think it through. Sorry again :D This one is a little short and defeinately long overdue, so once again, I am so so sorry.
Random Moment of the Chapter: Wentworth Miller is a hottie!
Enjoy!
Dr. Michaels walked into the family room of the ER, nodding at Troy's parents who were sitting on one of the couches in the otherwise empty room. He sat opposite them, opening Troy's chart.
"I'm afraid that the news isn't good," the doctor said, looking across at Mr. and Mrs. Bolton. Kellie paled visibly, grasping for Jack's hand.
"What-what's wrong?" Jack asked, his voice breaking.
Dr. Michaels sighed. "As you know we've been treating Troy for several months now. Unfortunately, the cancer's not responding as we'd hoped. If anything, it seems Troy's gotten sicker."
"You mean it's not just the chemo?" Kellie whispered, her face aghast at the thought of what the doctor was suggesting. "You mean-he's d-dying?"
"I'm afraid so," Dr. Michaels said solemnly, looking compassionately at Troy's parents. Kellie let out a cry and buried her head in Jack's shirt.
"There's not much more we can do for him at this point. We can try upping the dosage of the chemo. I also want to start looking for a bone marrow donor, which may be our best option, provided we find a match." Dr. Michaels paused, letting his words sink in. "I know this is a lot to handle, but I need your permission to type Troy's blood and bone marrow so we can start searching for a donor immediately."
"So, what did Dr. Michaels say?" Troy asked, completely oblivious to his parents' moods. Gabriella was sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping Troy's hand as she had been for the last hour. She unconsciously tightened her grip, correctly interpreting their silence.
"Mom? Dad?" Troy's face fell as he finally noticed their gloominess. "What-what's wrong?"
"Troy, sweetie," Kellie began, her voice breaking as she was overcome with sobs. Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders, struggling to keep his own sobs in check. He looked into Troy's eyes, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh, God," Gabriella whispered, her fingers turning white as she increased the pressure she was exerting on Troy's hand.
"He doesn't know how much longer-" Jack broke off, collecting himself before finishing. "What they can-" He broke off, unable to finish.
"But what about a bone marrow transplant? Or-or what about more chemo? Or-" Gabriella said, clearly struggling to maintain control over her emotions.
"They've already upped the chemo. They're trying to find a match for a bone marrow transplant," Jack replied, tightening his grip on his shaking wife. Troy remained silent, struggling with his own emotions.
"What about me? Can they test me?"
Troy and Kellie both looked up at Gabriella, surprised. Jack sighed.
"Gabriella, the chances that-"
"But he can test me, right? There's always a chance. There's always hope."
Gabriella knocked on Dr. Michaels' door, waiting for his response before walking in.
"Gabriella," he acknowledged, motioning for her to sit across from him. He was absorbed in a patient's chart, scribbling notes on one of the pages. "Just a minute." Finishing with his signature, he closed the chart, placing it atop the pile on the edge of his desk. He faced Gabriella.
"What can I do for you?"
"I want you to test me. Type my blood, whatever, I want to know if I'm a match for Troy."
Dr. Michaels sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Gabriella, I know you want to help Troy any way you can. But you have to understand, the chances of you being a perfect match are-"
"Troy's blood type is AB, right? The rarest one. Which also happens to be mine. So there's a chance, right?"
"Gabriella, it's not just blood type. We have to test you for-"
"I don't care. Do it."
Dr. Michaels looked at her intently for a moment, before replying. "Alright. We'll test you."
Gabriella smiled, reaching forward to shake the doctor's hand.
"Thank you, Dr. Michaels," she said quietly, turning and walking to the door.
"I'll get you when we're ready for the tests. It should be early tomorrow."
Gabriella nodded, thanking the doctor again before opening the door and walking out. She headed back to Troy's room. Walking in, she found Troy and Kellie asleep, the latter with her hand tightly gripping her son's as Troy slept lightly in the bed. Jack was leaning against the wall closest to the door, watching his wife and son.
"Hey, Mr. Bolton," Gabriella said quietly, careful not to wake Troy or Kellie as she stepped into the room.
"Gabriella," Jack nodded, sighing as he ran a hand over his eyes.
"How is he?"
"Not so great. I don't think he took the news too well," Jack said, turning back to watch his son again.
Gabriella nodded, walking over to the bed and gently brushing her hand over his shoulder.
"Are you sure you shouldn't be getting home?" Jack asked half-heartedly, knowing Gabriella would refuse.
"Actually, I asked Dr. Michaels to test me to be a match for Troy," she said, looking back at Jack. "He's running the tests tomorrow, so I'm just gonna stay the night."
Jack looked surprised, but a moment later his face returned to its mask of sadness and exhaustion.
"Why didn't I guess?"
Gabriella smiled, taking a second chair and sitting across from Kellie as she gripped Troy's other hand, bringing it to her lips to kiss it.
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news," Dr. Michaels said the next day, walking into the room where both Gabriella and Troy were resting. Troy had undergone an intensive round of chemo while Gabriella had had her tests. They were now sitting together in Troy's room, quietly holding hands.
Kellie and Jack looked at the doctor, their expressions becoming drawn.
"Bad news first," Troy said, his voice betraying his exhaustion.
"Gabriella wasn't a match."
Gabriella frowned slightly, but remained optimistic.
"What's the good news?" she asked, reaching over to grip Troy's hand.
"It appears that Troy's latest numbers are slightly better than we expected. The latest chemo coupled with his previous treatments seemed to have worked slightly. Unfortunately, Troy's immune system is extremely compromised right now, so I'm afraid we're going to have to keep him here for a while."
"But what if-what if he gets worse?" Kellie asked quietly, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "What if he never comes home?"
"While that is a possibility, I think we should focus more on the positive right now. It's best for Troy, and with a little encouragement there's a chance he could be able to go home as soon as next week."
Troy looked up at the doctor.
"What about school?"
Dr. Michaels sighed. "I'm afraid you're going to have to stay home for awhile. If you want to beat this, you're going to need to focus on recovering, focus on getting better. We're going to be giving you strong doses of chemo and your immune system is going to be extremely weak. You'll probably spend most of the next few months in the hospital, and it would be safer if you stay at home."
"What about senior year? College?" Troy asked.
Dr. Michaels took a deep breath, glancing at Kellie and Jack before replying.
"I know I've just given you a little bit of hope, but you have to be prepared for the chance that the numbers were a fluke."
"So are you saying that you've just given us false hope?" Kellie asked, slight anger coloring her voice.
"Not exactly. Mrs. Bolton, the numbers look positive, but it could always be a fluke. Now, if his next numbers come back the same, we'll have some concrete evidence to go on. For now, the best thing we can do is have faith."
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry that sucked and took so long. Please, please, please forgive me. I know it seemed a little weird, but it will work out in the future. Don't worry about that.
Anyway, reviews greatly appreciated, as always.
Coming in Chapter 18: Troy makes a decision about the future.