Original Comment_fic Prompt: "Any, any, 'Close your eyes, and think of something nice.'"
Trigger Warnings: Cancer, Chemotherapy
"Mommy, I don't feel so good."
Talk about the understatement of the century! It was why she was in the hospital, wasn't she? But even a month into her stay at Stamford Children's Hospital, a part of her still can't comprehend how the medicine meant to make her feel better is what's ripping out her hair and eating away at her stomach.
"What's wrong, sweetie? Do you need me to call a nurse?"
Danielle shook her head. A nurse was why she was like this, wasn't she?
Ms. Nolan had smiled as she'd adjusted Danielle's IV bag the day prior. It was the same sort of smile she'd seen on her teachers' faces when she'd passed tests. That's all this was, wasn't it? A big test where she had somehow found herself playing the role of lab rat.
"You're so brave," Ms. Nolan had said, reaching forward and patting Danielle's shoulder.
That wasn't quite the word Danielle would have used. She'd made it sound as if Danielle had had a choice, as if she could have just gotten up and pranced out of the infusion room.
Bile burned the sides of Danielle's throat. Oh, why had her mother been so hellbent on getting her to eat that bowl of split pea soup earlier?
"I think I'm gonna..." Danielle bit her bottom lip and held her breath. She felt like a dam waiting to burst.
Oh, if she could just push it back!
Mrs. Roberts reached a hand out, cupping Danielle's in her own. She rubbed Danielle's palm with her thumb. "Remember what Dr. Lewis said. When you start to feel bad, close your eyes and think of something nice."
Danielle pressed her eyes shut, if only to escape the beige walls that had started spinning around her. Was this how Dorothy had felt when she'd gotten caught in that tornado?
Scary as it was, when she'd finally opened her eyes, Dorothy had found herself somewhere far more fantastical than her home.
Yellow brick roads and glittering green cities passed through Danielle's mind. Images of the Sea City boardwalk and the Unicorn Toy Store soon followed. Oh, to be anywhere but here!
Well, anywhere except a restaurant!