Disclaimer: Dude, I own NOTHING related to the OC but rights to Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, Peter and Kelly…I wish. (A girl can dream!)
A/N: Reviewers: I'm back. As much as I like this site, I wish I was still on my trip. Here's a gift for you.
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A month had passed since the benefit and Kirsten was not getting any better. Actually she was getting worse. She tried to go to work a lot but most days they ended up in failed attempts and she found herself on the couch before the boys returned home from school. That day was no exception. Ryan walked in the front door after a long day at school. Marissa had been PMS-y and Ryan hated dealing with girls like that. Seth had gone off with Summer to something after-school and Ryan had the house to himself. Well he hoped he did. He walked into the house to hear a whimper. He threw his bag down on the floor and headed into the kitchen.
"Oh my God," Ryan looked around and saw blood on the ground. Kirsten was clutching onto her forehead, "What happened Kirsten?" She was panicking.
"I collapsed and hit my h…head on the edge of the counter," she was taking short, sporadic breathes and she had a fear in her eyes.
"How long ago?" he asked her, watching as blood flew all over the kitchen.
"Two minutes ago," she told him. He grabbed a hand towel off the counter and held it to her face.
"This is really bad, we have to get you to the hospital," he explained. He helped her to her feet but she was shaky. He was afraid that she was going to have a panic-attack. He scooped her up into his arms. He knew how weak she had gotten. There was blood flowing all over her face. He quickly grabbed two towels from the bathroom on the way out to the Range Rover, which was now Ryan and Seth's. It was a scary sight to see Kirsten bleeding all over his car. He quickly picked up the phone to call Sandy.
"Hello?" he answered the phone.
"Sandy!" Ryan responded, "Big incident, I'm taking Kirsten to the hospital. I came into the house and found her bleeding heavily from a medium size cut in her head. When you have cancer and get cut you lose a lot of blood. Now she is about to have a panic-attack and Seth is out so I can't be in the back watching her!"
Sandy was silent for a second and responded, "I'll be there soon." Sandy hung up the phone and Ryan knew that he was already on his way to the hospital. Kirsten groaned from the back and Ryan looked toward her. He realized they would pass the Newport Group in two minutes. He picked up the phone and called Julie.
"Julie!" he cried as soon as she picked up, "Wait outside the offices and be prepared to drive to the hospital. Kirsten can't sit alone in the back she needs help!"
"Umm…OK?" she responded confused. Ryan pulled the car into the offices and jumped into the back. As Julie came in she gasped at the sight of blood everywhere. She sped out of the parking lot. Ryan helped Kirsten as he picked up his phone to call Seth.
"Hey…it's your mom…just get to the hospital…yeah…bye," Ryan talked to Seth while holding a towel on her head and rubbing her hand. Julie pulled up the EMERGENCY doors with a screeching halt. Somehow Ryan managed to get Kirsten into his arms and into the doors. People are always snoops in the waiting rooms. They always try to see what is going on. They all started whispering.
"What happened?" the doctor asked, recognizing Kirsten from oncology, "I know that cancer makes you bleed more."
"She slipped and hit her head on the counter," he explained, "Can I go with them?"
"She's having a panic-attack too so you'll have to wait about thirty minutes," the doctor explained, patting him on the back. Julie came through the doors and took Ryan to sit. He grabbed the papers from the desk. Julie comforted him as he flipped through the papers. He looked down at his shirt and hands. He was covered in her blood. An older man across from him looked at the shirt and started talking to himself. Ryan felt his tears come to his eyes. He really didn't want to cry in front of Julie.
"You alright?" the older man asked him.
"No," he stated, continuing to fill out the papers.
"Same," he told him, "My wife just had a heart-attack." Ryan felt dizzy. He really didn't like dealing with blood and now he was covered with it.
"I'm sorry," Ryan told him sympathetically. Sitting up and looking at the man.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"Well, my mom…" he started; Julie rubbed his back, "Has leukemia. She cut her head and she lost a lot of blood and panicked." The man gave him a look and sunk into his chair.
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The whole family including Summer and Julie sat in the waiting room. Suddenly a very familiar doctor, Ed from oncology came into the room.
"She was very lucky," he informed the family. They all let out a sigh of relief, "You can go visit her in room 302." The family walked towards the elevator and hit the button for floor 3, a very familiar floor. They quietly opened the door and saw a wide-awake Kirsten looking at them. She had air flowing into her nostrils, a blood bag going into her arm, and a bandage on her head.
"Oh honey," Sandy walked over to kiss her, "I'm so glad you're OK."
"Ryan," she bypassed Sandy, "If you hadn't come home…" She gave him a look which meant she was serious. She knew that it wasn't an unlucky accident. She knew how quickly the disease was taking over her body and she knew that she had fallen because she was too weak to stand.
"Mom…" Seth began, "How are you feeling?" She looked at him for a second, he needed the truth.
"Not too good," she admitted, "On top of feeling sick my head is throbbing and the Range Rover probably needs new upholstery. I also had a panic-attack and I suggest never having one. They aren't any fun." Seth walked over and gave his mom a hug. She smiled and closed her eyes.
"The doctor wants you to stay overnight," Sandy informed her, "and he wants to talk to you about taking it easy. He doesn't want you to work for now." She looked up at Sandy with teary eyes.
"Oh God Sandy," she motioned for a hug, "This is so hard."
"I know baby, I know," he sat with her and gave her a hug, "There isn't a way to be optimistic, I feel so bad for causing this family so much pain."
"You haven't caused us any pain!" Sandy looked at her like she was crazy, "We love you so much." She looked over towards her boys. They looked so sad.
"You guys only have a week and a half left of school, then we have the summer to hang out before I…" Kirsten stopped and watched as both of her boys paled.
"Go…back to work?" she hesitated. She turned away and closed her eyes, letting the tears flow freely. Seth and Ryan looked at each other with paled faces.
"You two should go home," Kirsten suggested, "Thanks again Ryan." The truth was, she didn't want them to see her in pain. She also didn't want them to see her breakdown.
"Okay," Seth responded, "I love you mom."
"I love you both," she smiled.
"Same," Ryan grinned, "Feel better."
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"EW!" Seth cried as he walked into the kitchen. Ryan followed noticing blood all over the floor.
"Yeah," Ryan looked at him, "She bled a lot." Seth and Ryan looked at each other.
"Where are the mops?" Seth asked, looking towards the closets, "Summer'll come help. She's pretty good with housework."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Ryan started, "This is something we need to do."
"I have a good idea!" Seth suddenly broke out, "It'll take a lot of work tonight but why don't we transform the den area into the perfect room for mom?"
"Like how?" Ryan asked.
"We could put all her books in there, put movies she likes, her cards and balloons, get really cozy blankets for the couch, flowers, a mini-fridge near the couch, all her old favorite movies, all her CDs, it'll be great!" Seth sounded so set on the idea.
"We better get started," Ryan looked at him.
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Kirsten slowly walked into the door with Sandy the next morning. He had his arms wrapped around her waist as they slowly made their way into the room. She had a bandage on her forehead and looked pretty tired. She looked up towards the den where she was about to collapse on the couch. She suddenly stopped and looked around. The picture over the fireplace had been replaced with a modern looking painting that said "Kirsten's Place" that Seth had painted. The couch had been turned into a lounge, there was a mini fridge, different colored pillows and a stack of all her favorite DVDs. There was a newly installed intercom for her to call for help and the room had been re-arranged. There were balloons and flowers all over the place and cards too.
"Oh guys," she grinned, looking at her boys and walking over to give them hugs, "I needed an uplifting." Seth almost jumped back at the hug. He hadn't realized how much weight she had lost.
"How's your head?" Ryan asked, examining the bandage.
"Just a scratch," she grinned.
"Hah. A scratch my ass," Sandy joked, "That's a gash."
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A/N: There ya go.