AN: Just a quick warning; this is dramatic, probably much more so than most 'real-life' events might be, but that is one of the joys of this medium! Welcome to the wonderful world of fanfiction!
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Part 7
"Hey!" Andrew exclaimed as she appeared through the doors, "I didn't know that they were letting you out."
"It's just for the afternoon," Lainey told her partner, "I explained that I had some things to take care of, but that I'd be back as soon as I could. My parents are standing by, downstairs, but I've got some time."
"Don't worry about any of your old cases," Andrew mistook her reason for coming here, "We're taking care of everything, so that you can take all the time you need and recuperate."
He was surprised when Lainey requested him to come with her, then went and asked the Colonel and the Commander to join them as well. She led them to Coates' desk then requested a meeting with the General.
"Send them right in," Cresswell authorized, straight away.
"Good to see you back on your feet," he told Elaine, the first one in the door, "I trust your doctors have said you're back to full health?"
"Actually, Sir, that is why I requested to meet with you," Elaine told her CO, "and it's important that the Colonel, the Commander and the Lieutenant be present, too."
Elaine took a deep breath that immediately set her friends on edge and launched into the words that she had formulated and practiced with her parents, last night.
"I'm only out on day-release and I have important issues which I need to make all of you aware of…My condition is much more serious than was ever realized and a few days ago, my doctors informed me that I am in the first stages of severe kidney failure…"
Excepting the General, everyone else's mouths fell open slightly and Mac even gasped.
"It's something that has been caused by my unstable blood sugar levels, which I have been badly affected by for some time now," Elaine went on, "But to get straight to the heart of the matter; because of my diabetes and other factors, it seems that dialysis, the usual course of action in a case such as mine, would not be a long-term solution."
"What other options are open to you, Lieutenant?" Cresswell asked, feeling very bad about what he'd just been told.
"My only other option would be a transplant, Sir," Elaine told him, "My doctors said that a family member would give a greater chance of success, but testing has proved that none of my family will be suitable. Either their blood type is not compatible, or there is something in my blood that would react negatively with their tissue. My doctors have now placed me on the list for donation, but it is a list that is so long that, coupled with the shortage of donors, I could be waiting for a very long time. In the meantime, I can go ahead with dialysis, but there is no telling how long that will continue to prove useful."
By now, all of the other officers had shrunken in stature; they all didn't even begin to know how to react to this.
"Sir, if I may, could I speak to you in private for a few minutes before I go, to discus what implications all of this is going to have for my career?" Lainey requested.
"Of course, Lieutenant," Cresswell nodded, ordering the others, "Could you three leave us for a minute? The Lieutenant will see you all before she leaves, I'm sure."
Elaine nodded in confirmation and all of them stood to attention before their CO, before turning to go.
Once the door shut behind them, General Gordon Cresswell felt his heart hurt more than he could recently recall. Elaine had become like a daughter to him.
"Let me just say, Lieutenant," he spoke up, "that I am incredibly sorry to hear your news…I…I just cannot find the words…"
"Thank you, Sir," Elaine appreciated the sentiment, "I felt much the same, myself. But I remain confident that I can continue to live some kind of a life with the aid of dialysis. However, I expect that this will interfere with my military career, somewhat…"
"Something can be worked out, Elaine," the General went to interrupt her, but Elaine continued.
"But that wouldn't be fair to everyone here at JAG, Sir. I'm going to need dialysis at least four times a week, sometimes for more than six hours at a time. There's no way I'll be able to put in the hours I should."
"Then we'll give you temporary leave," Cresswell disputed.
"We have no idea how long this is going to be for," Elaine tried to reason, "I could be on dialysis for years, Sir. And then, if I get the transplant, that's more time out of action."
She lifted a white sealed envelope out of her purse and pushed it over the desk towards her CO. Cresswell didn't have to ask what it was
"No, Lieutenant…we'll make it work," he insisted.
"The transplant would be the hopeful outcome," Elaine tried another tack, "If the dialysis stops being effective and no new organ comes forward for me, I'm going to die, Sir…"
This seemed to hit the two of them like a punch to the gut. It was obvious that this was the first time that Elaine had voiced this fear aloud. Gordon watched as her brave façade crumbled and within a second, he was around the desk, taking the young woman into his arms.
OOOO
It was a lot more than a few minutes before Lainey emerged from the General's office. Harm and Mac stood with a crowd of concerned and very upset colleagues in the bullpen. Andy had retired to an empty office, to break down in private. Bud and Harriet were just about holding it together, but only by exerting extreme joint effort.
A few people jumped when they heard Cresswell's office door opening. Jen Coates stood to greet Lainey and told her how sorry she was to hear her bad news. Many other people did too, once she came out into the bullpen. But nobody knew what else they could possibly say to make any difference.
Over the next few days, people would most probably be sending cards and flowers her way, but they would all agonize how inadequate it would be. Elaine was one of their own; someone who they had fought to save from danger. They had achieved their aim, but now she was faced by this new threat. And there was nothing they could do about it. They were lawyers, not doctors and it was incomprehensible that one so much younger than themselves, one with a future that had been so full of promise, might actually be taken from them. Simply put, it was not fair.
That was the first thing that came from her partner's lips, when he emerged, disheveled and broken.
"It's not fair…"
Elaine looked round, from where Harriet was wishing her the best, to see her usually-strong Lieutenant partner looking like the kid who dropped his ice-cream cone.
"Such is life," Elaine murmured, unable to find a way of comforting her partner, not without breaking down again herself. She couldn't let her resolve soften, now. The talk in Cresswell's office had proved that she had to remain strong, had to keep it together.
The rest of the staff retreated, to give the pair a minute.
"This can't be happening," Andy shook his head, as if to wake up from a bad dream.
"It is," Elaine told him, "and it's been a possibility my whole life. It's still a shock, but it's something I've got to accept and move past."
"What were you talking to the General about?"
"My career…it's essentially over, in the face of all this…Andy, you realize that it'll be hard enough to come away from all of this with my life…"
"Don't say that!" Andy whispered, vehemently.
"Why not?" Elaine asked, "It's the truth…"
"They're going to find you a new kidney, and in the meantime, the dialysis will keep you well," he insisted, "There's no reason why you can't continue your life as normal."
"My military career isn't an option with the treatment I'll be receiving," Elaine told him, gently but firmly, "I've already handed the General my letter of resignation. But I promise to keep in touch with you all. JAG has become part of my family and you know that you've always been important to me, right from our first day on the job together."
She leaned in and hugged him, getting ready to make an exit, but Andrew held her in his arms for a little longer than she planned.
"You're important to me, too," he told her and decided to go for broke, "and you always will be, so you can't just leave me, you hear? That's why you've got to fight this and come back to me. I don't want a new partner and I promise, I'll do anything I can if it means that I can have my partner back."
"Unfortunately," Elaine gave him one last smile, "that isn't a promise you can keep, Andy…No rabbit out of the hat, this time."
With her last remaining resolve, she began to walk away towards the elevators, every staff-member's attention on her.
"Have one of mine."
Elaine froze, as Andrew's words sank in. She turned around and just stared at him.
"Take one of my kidneys," he repeated, "Hell, you can even chose which one …"
"What?" Elaine frowned, "Why? Why are you doing this?"
"Because I don't want anybody as my partner but you," Andrew told her honestly, not even thinking about all the people who were listening and watching, "Because I don't want to lose you. I couldn't live my life if you weren't here, too. I want you healthy and happy and right beside me…"
"You'd risk that? This is major surgery, Andy," Elaine asked, adding, "If you're even a match, there will be so much to go through. It might affect your life, not to mention your career. You could even die during this surgery, if something goes wrong."
"Without you, I'm dead already. I love you and I can't live without you…"
That was enough to snap any restraints either of them had left intact. When they met, it was with a passion that overshadowed any of the doubts they had ever had. And it was met with great joy by the rest of the staff, including the General who had been watching from his outer office, with the uttermost satisfaction.
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