"You doing okay, Nat?"
"As good as I can be" she said.
"They're getting ready for surgery"
"I know. I was here when they told me"
"Wise cracking on a hospital bed? You are certainly one of a kind"
"May as well get used to it. I might be here for awhile"
"You're something else" Michael laughed, "Is there anything I can do for you right now?"
"Don't leave me just yet. I might start thinking about what's going to happen"
"Yeah, I can do that" he said, "I thought you weren't going to take the picture"
"Your mom convinced me"
"I can't get over the way he looks at you" he said, "He always looked at you like that, even when you were fighting, even when you were apart"
"I know" she said, "That night was just like everything fell back into place, like no time had passed. It had been years, but we picked up right where we left off"
"That was a first date? What a start"
"Yeah, it was"
"He's trying to get here, Natalie, you know that, right?"
"You know what I think"
"Of course" he said, "Well, I might just be the annoying little brother you had to put up with, but I've always just considered you my sister in law"
"There's nothing very in-law about it"
"Maybe" he said, "but you guys were practically there towards the end"
"I think maybe this is not the best topic of conversation right now" she said.
"So what would that brother of mine be saying right now if he were here?"
"I don't know, Michael" she said, "That's the thing, he knew what I needed to hear before I did. He knew me better than I knew myself"
"You'll see him again Natalie"
"Sometimes I wonder about that. There was awhile, I woke everyday thinking that was going to be the day he came back to me, I went to sleep every night, I hoped he'd be next to me when I woke up. And now, I don't what there is to hope for anymore"
"You're going to hope for you. You're going to hope that you're going to beat this for you and for Liam. You never needed anything more than that"
"Well, Dr. McBain, you have outdone yourself"
"That's why I'm a doctor" he said, "You're going to be okay. I know you are"
"Well, you are the doctor"
"Ms. Buchanan?" they heard from the doorway, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, thank you"
If it always rained here, why did no one know how to drive in the rain. He was driving nearly twice the speed limit, but it didn't seem fast enough. He couldn't get there fast enough. He'd all but sprinted to the car rental at the airport and hopped in, sped away without so much as a thought to call Michael or eat something.
He had to get to her.
After what seemed like an hour of driving across the city, he pulled into the hospital parking lot, finding a spot and hopping out. He didn't bother to remember where he parked. He couldn't even have remembered if he locked the car or not. By the time he was in the door, all but getting to her had been forgotten. He went up to the desk attendant and was immediately asking questions.
"Hello, how can-"
"I need Natalie Buchanan's room"
The attending nurse must have seen the urgency and was immediately clicking through the program.
"406" she said, "Head up to the fourth floor, turn left"
"Thank you" he said, and was immediately heading to the elevator.
He didn't think he'd ever waited so long for an elevator in his entire life. His heart was in his throat, and he didn't know what to make of that. Was he just nervous from being so close to her for the first time in so long? Was he too late? Was she in surgery already? Or could have something worse have happened? He stepped onto the elevator, hit the button for the fourth floor and futilely attempted to breathe. He only wished he knew why his heart was ready to leap out of his chest. This elevator wasn't moving fast enough, just giving him time to think about all the possible things that could go wrong.
After what seemed like an eon, he stepped out of the elevator and turned left. Four strides down the hall, and he saw Michael leaving a room.
Right behind him came a stretcher. It headed in the opposite direction.
And Natalie was on it.
He started running, trying to catch up to her, needing to see her before whatever was about to happen.
"Natalie" he yelled, trying to get the doctors to stop, "Natalie" he kept running.
"John?" Michael asked.
"Natalie" he yelled again, oblivious to his brother's voice.
"John, stop"
"Natalie" he yelled again, even though the medics had made it to the end of the hall, "Natalie"
"John" Michael tried to stop him from going any further by holding him back, "You can't see her right now"
"She doesn't know I'm here, she has to know I'm here" he said, "Natalie"
"John"
"Michael, just let me go"
"She's going into surgery"
"I just need to see her"
"John, she's already knocked out"
John struggled against his brother's arms a second longer, "I can't be too late"
"You're not too late" Michael said.
John just shook his head, "She's in there and she doesn't know I'm here, she must think-"
"Alright, let's sit you down"
"She doesn't know I'm here, she has to know-"
"I'm sure she knows"
John shook his head, not sure what to do.
"John, you can't save her from this. This is something she has to do on her own"
"She shouldn't be alone"
"You made it, you're here"
"She doesn't know-"
"John, shut up. If you want to be helpful right now, you need to be focusing on her. Forget whatever you need, she needs you to be strong right now"
He took a breath, "You're right" he said, "Just- Mike-just tell me she's coming out of that surgery okay"
"She's going to be okay. She caught it pretty early. The surgery should take care of most of the tumor and she'll get radiation to make sure it doesn't spread"
"Oh thank God" he muttered, and let out a breath he felt he'd been holding forever.
"Okay" Michael said, "Listen, I don't know if she's been checking in with Bo or not, he's the only one she told back home, why don't you call and tell him you're here" he paused, noticing John not listening, "You do that, I'll call Mom and see if she can get Liam over here"
John just nodded, but didn't move yet. Michael just took out his phone and dialed his mom.
"Hey" he said when she picked up.
"Oh, Michael, how is Natalie doing?"
"She was doing pretty good, they just took her into surgery, so we'll see how the next few hours go"
"I'll be praying for her" she said, "Are you going to wait there for her to be done?"
"Yeah" he said, "Actually, do you think you could get here, too? There's someone here I think Liam probably wants to see"
"I thought Natalie asked Bo not to fly out"
"It's not Bo"
"You mean-"
"Yeah, he just got here"
"I'll give you half an hour and then I'll come with Liam"
"Thanks Mom"