C h a p t e r T w o

AN: YAY! I finally got this chapter written. I couldn't decide how I wanted to get Jack to the doctor and so on, so I kept rewriting it, but I finally got it how I wanted :) Not much happens in this chapter other than Jack's diagnosis, but I have to set up the story before I can get into the good stuff.

I did my research, lol, and Arbor is a city that isn't too far (about 45 minutes) from Detroit and the University of Michigan Cancer Center is an actual hospital there, so I didn't make that part up. I did look up the medical procedures and stuff, but I'm not a doctor so I don't know everything technical, but I did my best.

And I want to give another HUGE thank you to all of those who reviewed! I know I thanked all of you personally, but I just want ya'll to know how important your reviews are. When I read them, it gives me a lot of motivation to write new chapters. With all that finally said, I hope you all like this chapter!


Jack woke up to a knock on his bedroom door. He had a throbbing headache. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was already 4:36pm.

Groaning, he answered, "Yeah?"

His door opened and he saw Evelyn come in with a tray of food.

"I'm not really hungry, Ma," he said, sitting up in his bed.

"You haven't eaten anything all day. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"For the millionth time, yes. I feel fine, I'm just really tired."

Evelyn didn't believe him, but decided not to press the matter. "Well, you should still eat something. You look like you've lost weight."

Jack shrugged and Evelyn left his room. He sighed and fell back against his pillow. He couldn't believe it was already almost five o'clock. He must've been more tired than he thought.

By the time Jack arrived at school on Monday, his headache still hadn't gone away. It was making it hard to focus. Evelyn had finally convinced Jack to let her take him to the doctor and he was almost relieved when she came and picked him up around one that afternoon. He needed to get away from the noise of the crowded halls.

When they reached the clinic it was extremely crowded, full of crying babies and screaming kids. They filled out the paperwork and sat down to wait to be called into one of the back rooms. Jack couldn't sit still. Everything about this place made him uncomfortable.

"It's just a check-up, Jack. Would you calm down?" Evelyn said, trying to calm his nerves.

Another hour passed before Jack was finally called into one of the examination rooms. Evelyn waited for his return in the lobby. She flipped through several magazines, frequently glancing at her watch. Almost another hour had passed and she started to get impatient. What could be talking him so long? All they needed to do was give him a prescription so he could finally get over this flu bug he's had and send him on his way.

A door leading to the examining rooms opened and a tall female nurse stood in the doorway.

"Evelyn Mercer?"

Evelyn quickly stood.

"Follow me, please," the woman said, leading her to the room where Jack was. Evelyn entered and saw Jack sitting in a chair watching a tall man write in some type of folder.

Noticing her presence, the doctor looked up from his papers to introduce himself. He gave Evelyn a warm smile and motioned for her to take a seat next to Jack.

"Ms. Mercer? I'm Doctor Edwards," he said shaking her hand and taking a seat across from her and Jack.

"Please, call me Evelyn. Is there something wrong with my son?" She was beginning to get nervous. She glanced at Jack and he had a blank expression on his face.

"I listened to his symptoms and did a routine check up. I noticed a few swollen glands so I did some blood work and I'm concerned about his white blood cell count. It's higher than it should be," he explained.

"What does that mean?" Evelyn asked.

"Well, it could mean a number of things, but we need to run more tests."

"More tests?" Jack asked with a groan, sliding down in his chair.

"Yes," Dr. Edwards replied sympathetically. "Unfortunately, you'll need to be in the hospital in order for us to run them. "

"Hospital? You didn't say anything about hospitals." Jack said, sitting back up in his chair.

"We don't have the machines or staff to do the test in the local clinics or hospitals in Detroit." He suddenly turned serious and looked at Jack. "You'll need to go home and pack your things and drive straight to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor."

Jack became rigid in his seat. "Right now! "

"The sooner you check in the better."

"No fucking way! I have hockey practice this afternoon!"Jack was practically shouting now."You told me this was supposed to just be a check-up!" he said, turning to Evelyn.

"Jack, I think it's best that we do as he says," she told him calmly.

"Good." Dr. Edwards said, closing the open folder in his lap. You're to be there as soon as possible. Everything will already arranged by the time you get there."

It seemed like all to soon Jack arrived at the university's Medical Center. Jack couldn't help but feel out of place while a nurse showed him and his Mom to the room he'd be staying in. It was a large room that had two beds, both of which were empty, and were separated by a thin curtain. The nursed gave them a bunch of information about what was about to happen and things such as visiting hours, meals, etc.

Jack changed into the pastel blue pants and matching shirt they gave him to wear and lay down on the bed. Another nurse came in and fitted him with an IV and told him that his doctor would be in with him shortly.

"I can't believe this is happening," he said, still not being able to wrap his head around everything that had gone on in the last few hours.

"I know, sweetie." Evelyn walked over to him a put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I called your brothers, they should be here soon."

A tall man in a white lab coat entered with a cheery smile on his face. "Good evening, I'm Dr. Haskell. I'll be your doctor here for a while."

"Hi." Jack said dully. The cheeriness the doctor had in his voice annoyed him.

The doctor explained that he needed to go for a CT scan later this evening. He then went on to explain that they would need to perform a surgery called a bone marrow biopsy. During the procedure a hollow needle would be inserted into his hipbone and a small amount of marrow would be taken out for examination. At the same time they would aslo remove some tissue froma gland in his neck.

"When are you gonna do all this?" Jack asked eagerly.

"We have you scheduled for surgery at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Great." Jack said sarcastically. He would give anything to be at home right now. It seemed like just when things were finally going good everything came crashing down.


I have most of the next chapter written, so it should be up soon! Don't forget to review!