Thanks to -DukeForever-, HJS-NS-23, LaFilmeMichelle, glassy waltz, I Can Hear the Sea, xlovetreehillx, SLUVER15, LeytonTilEnd, Amelie31 and Emily Carol for reviewing. I think I should let you guy know that this is completely made-up. I don't know if it's medically possible for someone to regain feeling in their legs as stated in the story. I'm just trying to make things sound relatively realistic and convincing. Katy
Chapter Two
"I'm sorry but do you mind repeating that last part?" Haley James demanded of the doctor that had been called in on a consult by Doctor Anderson, who was the attending physician in the ER of Tree Hill Hospital.
Doctor Theodore Cutler was a surgeon that specialized in spinal injuries. He was an older man, at least twice the age of Anderson. The remainder of what was probably a full head of floppy black hair had started to thin and the tips were now flecked with grey.
Cutler held a CAT scan of Haley's spine in his hand. For a small town, Tree Hill was surprisingly well equipped for medical emergencies. "It seems that there was a critical error in your diagnosis, Miss James," he replied in a monotone without even looking at her.
"Are you saying you made a mistake?" Her older brother, Anthony James demanded.
"Of course not me," Cutler replied quickly. He was obviously offended y the implication that he had made a mistake. "But someone did."
"What was the mistake?" Haley asked impatiently.
"Well, it says in your file that your spinal cord was severed in a car accident," Cutler said slowly.
"I was hit by a car on my way to school one morning about two years ago," she confirmed, annoyed that she was confined to the stupid bed. She'd much rather be in the wheelchair because then she could run into the guy's foot; pain would inspire him to hurry the hell up with whatever he was trying to tell her.
"I'm looking at your CAT scan and it shows that your spinal cord is intact," he said simply.
"What does that mean?" Anthony asked for his sister, who was now frozen in place, an expression of disbelief plastered all over her face.
Doctor Anderson came over and looked at her gently. "It means that your spinal cord was damaged, but not severed," he replied.
"The spine was bruised and severely swollen from the accident," Cutler said.
"And what, now the swelling's coming down?" Anthony asked.
"Yes, little by little, the swelling around your spine is going down," Cutler replied, looking at Haley. "That's why you can only fell your ankles right now."
Haley stared at him. "Does that mean I might regain total feeling?"
"Possibly," he replied, shrugging. "I really can't answer that until after the exploratory surgery."
"Surgery?" Anthony repeated.
"Well, surgery is necessary if you want to know the extent of the damage and then we'd go in again to try to repair it."
"Are there any risks?" Haley asked.
"Death is a possibility," Anderson replied.
"You sure don't waste any time, Doc," Anthony remarked. "Just jump in with the big ones."
"It's possible you could come out worse than you already are," Cutler said. "Instead of a parapalegic, you could become a quadriplegic."
"Is there an alternative treatment- one that's less invasive?" Haley asked.
"We could put you on steroids and hope that works," Anderson replied.
"But that could take another year," Cutler said, glaring at Anderson. "I recommend the surgery."
"Said the surgeon," Anthony remarked angrily.
"What do you want to do, Haley?" Anderson asked.
"What did you decide?" Nathan asked his girlfriend the next day.
Haley had gotten home from the hospital late the night before and left a message on his machine, telling him how her appointment had gone.
"Well, if the surgery works, I'd be on crutches for a while but then I'd be able to walk normally," she started to explain.
"So you're going to go ahead with the surgery?" he asked.
"It's scheduled for next month," she replied with a nod.
"Why so long?" Nathan asked.
"Doctor Anderson said it'd give me a chance to think it over," she replied and held up a bottle of pills to show him.
"Steroids, Hales?" He looked at the bottle. "You don't even play sports."
Haley smirked. "They're to help stop the swelling," she replied.
"But you're going in for exploratory surgery on Saturday anyways, right?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, they need to see what's going on," she replied.
"How long will you be in the hospital?" he asked.
"I'll probably be released from the hospital on Tuesday," she replied.
"My sister's been living with the knowledge that she'd never walk again for two years because of their oversight- there is no way we're settling for anything less than eight thousand!" Anthony shouted into the phone in the living room.
Nathan looked slightly amused and startled when he turned to look at her questioningly. "What's that about?"
"We're suing the doctors that screwed up my diagnosis," Haley replied.
Nathan nodded. "Understandable but what do you need the money for?"
"College expenses," she replied simply.
"But you're on a full scholarship at Stanford," he said, looking very confused.
Haley's eyes went wide with realization. "Oh, my God, I didn't tell you, did I?"
"Tell me what?" he asked, shrugging.
"I dropped out of Stanford," she began.
Nathan shot up on his feet and glared at her. "You dropped out of school!"
"Well, yeah, but-" she started to explain.
"And you're only telling me now!" He looked so hurt. "Why would you do something so reckless?"
"I wasn't-" Haley said but was once again cut off.
"I can't believe you of all people would do something so damaging to their future." He started pacing back and forth. "Your future employers are going to hold that against you in interviews- they'll think you're unstable. And when you go back- and you will because you're you- you'll have twice the workload."
"Nathan," Haley said, biting back her laughter.
"Did that season of Gilmore Girls you forced me to watch with you teach you nothing?" he asked.
"When Alexis Bledel's character went back to Yale, she not only had to go to counselling, she had to squish four semesters into three," Nathan continued.
"And cut!" Hale clapped her hands together as if she were a director.
"This is not funny," Nathan snapped, aware of her giggling now.
"I did not drop out of school!" she exclaimed.
He stopped pacing and looked at her. "You said you dropped out of Stanford."
"And I did, but-" she said.
"Then what would you call that?" he asked.
"Well, if you'd let me finish a sentence!" Haley burst out.
"All right," He said, sitting down as if he were bracing himself for bad news.
"I'm transferring to Duke next year," she replied.
He looked at her disbelief. "Why?" he asked.
"Well, there's a great teaching program there and I wasn't happy being all alone in California," she replied. He started to say something but she covered his mouth with a finger. "There's also this hot basketball player that I happen to love and hate to be away from."
"Anyone I know?" he asked, smirking now.
She regarded him closely. "Yeah, you kinda look like him a little," she replied.
He kissed her. "I love you too, Haley."
"So she is having surgery?" Lucas asked when his brother walked through the side door to his bedroom at his mother's house a few days later.
"She's having two surgeries," Nathan replied.
"Luke, your mom just called," Rachel announced as she opened the bedroom door and walked inside in one of Lucas' shirts.
Nathan stared open-mouthed at his brother's new girlfriend. "What is she doing here?" he asked stupidly.
"My mom's out of town and Rach isn't from Tree Hill so she has nowhere to stay-" Lucas started to explain.
"So we thought that I'd stay here until she came back," Rachel finished for him, putting on a pair of jeans and buttoning up the oversized shirt all the way.
"I told you that, didn't I?" Lucas asked.
"I'm going to shower. You boys have fun," Rachel said, exiting the room quickly.
"Yes, you did but I was wondering what she was doing in your room dressed like that," Nathan said.
"I think you know the answer to that, question, little brother," Lucas replied, rolling his eyes.
"I also thought you knew your mother's rules," Nathan shot back.
"She's not here and what she doesn't know won't get me in trouble," Lucas shrugged simply.
"I think you're taking the whole independence thing too far," Nathan remarked, sitting at his brother's desk chair.
"So will you please tell me what's going on with Hales?" Lucas asked.
Nathan looked at him. "She's having exploratory surgery tomorrow," he replied.
"And then is she going to have the other surgery afterwards?"
"It's scheduled for a month from now so she has time to really make up her mind," Nathan said.
"You sound as if you don't want her to have the surgery," Lucas commented, looking at him curiously for an explanation.
"Anthony is a worried about her having the surgery. He told me some of the risks and let's just say they're not very encouraging," Nathan replied.
"Haley told me that there's a possibility she could be worse or die," Lucas said, nodding in understanding of her brother's concerns. "Where do you stand on things?"
Nathan fiddled with one of his brother's notebooks that he used to write his novels in. "I don't know, man," he confessed. "I mean, obviously, I'm happy that she's regaining some feeling and if after tomorrow's surgery, it looks like the damage is fully repairable, she'll be able to walk again and that'll be amazing."
"But you don't want to lose her," Lucas realized.
"I just want her to think it through," Nathan said.
"It's Haley, Nathan, she thinks things through with lists and all that," Lucas joked.
"But she's also been confined to that wheelchair for a short time and she was miserable at first," Nathan pointed out.
"She got over that," Lucas reminded him.
"Because she knew that nothing could be done," he said.
"At least she has the drugs to see how fast they work while she makes her final decision," Lucas said.
"I think she's going to have the surgery even if they do work fast," Nathan said.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Lucas interjected. "She could be fine."
"Well, it's ultimately her decision and you and I both know that Haley will do whatever she want no matter what anybody else thinks," Nathan said.
"And that's the way she's always been," Luke added.
"I'll support her no matter what," Nathan vowed to himself.
"Where is Haley now?" Lucas asked, wondering why she hadn't come with Nathan.
"Oh, she's over at Peyton's," Nathan replied.
Lucas nodded. "Jake there too?"
Nathan rolled his eyes. "There's nothing going on between Jake and Peyton. She was helping him with his daughter and you know it," he snapped.
"It was just a question, Nathan," Lucas replied.
"No, Jake is not there," Nathan replied.
"But since you brought it up, I don't care if there's anything going on between them anymore," Lucas said.
"Because of Rachel?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows at his brother skeptically.
"Exactly," Lucas replied, looking in the direction of the bathroom that his girlfriend was showering in. "I've moved on and I'm happy with Rach."
"Or in denial," Nathan replied.
