XX

WILL

"Ms. Naomi Solace was diagnosed with an early stage of Lung cancer last March." Dr. Carter began. He was Naomi's doctor in Brooklyn and he had graciously accepted Will's request to go in JHH so they could discuss Naomi's condition.

Will, Kayla, and Dr. Carter were in the Radiology reading room looking at the computer monitor where Naomi's CT scan of the lungs was displayed.

Will's hand curled into a fist, his knuckles turning white. March. It had been that long since her mother was suffering from cancer and he had no idea about it. He couldn't help but feel like a fraud. What kind of doctor he was if he hadn't noticed right away that something was wrong with her. He was there with her in Brooklyn almost every once in a month and he hadn't noticed any symptoms that she was suffering. Now, it made sense to him, the sudden paleness of Naomi, her thin structure and even putting on a glossy lipstick just to make her face livelier and hid the fact that she was sick.

"We immediately recommended for her to be hospitalized but she refused it and insisted on drinking some medications instead." Dr. Carter said.

"Why on earth would she refused to be hospitalized?" Kayla asked.

"Because she knew that I'll be coming home," Will said weakly. "She didn't want me to know. . ."

Kayla patted his shoulder consolingly. "That's Naomi for you. She probably didn't want to burden you."

Will's jaw clenched. He was frustrated and angry that her mother never told her anything. But mostly, he blamed himself for being so ignorant all this time.

"Well. . ." Dr. Carter continued. "Because of the lack of enough medical attention, cancer became progressive over time that I even begged her to go under radiotherapy if she didn't want to experience heavy side effects right away. We even persuaded her to tell you what was happening. Of course, she flatly refused to tell you but she reluctantly agreed to do the radiotherapy last July. We did the first cycle and we were all hopeful about the result. Yet, when we did the scan, the tumor was starting to spread at the chest wall and diaphragm. Soon, it will reach the left heart chamber. Plus the fact that your mother developed an arrhythmia after doing radiotherapy is another risk factor. To be honest Dr. Solace, I was also concerned about your mother's heart. She's got a weak heart that we don't know if her heart can handle the spreading of tumor. . ."

"We can still do a surgery right?" Will asked. "Then we can go back on doing chemo or radiotherapy to prolong the life expectancy."

"Yes, surgery is still an option, but you know the risk of surgery, like hemorrhaging or ARDS worst, heart failure." Dr. Carter answered.

"But if we didn't do the surgery and proceed with the usual medication, there's still the possibility of a cardiac arrest because of arrhythmia," Will concluded.

"You are her guardian and you are a doctor too. We need your consent if we will do surgery and we need your decision fast before Ms. Solace's condition became inoperable."

Will found himself at the heliport. He didn't even remember how he had gotten there. His body must have been into an auto-pilot mode. It had happened sometimes, like when he was still a med student and his head was buzzing lots of medical terminologies when he was still a resident and his brain was refusing to cooperate anymore because of exhaustion, and when it had felt like he was going to combust because of multiple surgeries he had needed to do in a night. Tonight, Will felt like all those three at once, his head was buzzing to the point he felt like combusting right there and his brain refused to believe everything, that her mother was sick. And he was on the verge of losing her.

Will broke down on the ground.

He started to cry. He curled into a ball and wrapped his arms around his legs and his forehead leaning down on his knees.

Then all those feelings he tried to hide after seeing his mother unconscious in the ER burst out like water in a dam. His fears, pain, anger, rushing and surging forward with so much pressure and intensity. For a moment, Will Solace wasn't a doctor. He was just a regular guy, a son fearing for his mother and he let all those feelings washed over him because as a doctor he couldn't allow those emotions to take over.

He was crying so hard that he was doubling over and tears were falling endlessly. Then suddenly, strong arms wrapped around him.

He knew without looking up that it was Nico. Nico didn't say anything. He was just right there holding Will. Will shifted in his position so his head was on Nico's chest. The doctor's hand fisted in Nico's shirt as Will continued to tremble from crying.

"How could I?" Will sobbed. "How could I not know anything? We were just there last month! How could I not notice anything at that time? I feel so stupid. What kind of doctor am I? How could my mother not tell me anything. . . . All this time, she's suffering, dying alone and I have no idea. I am so useless." Will was heaving now as he started beating his head. "I am useless. . . I am. . ."

"Will stopped it!" Nico held Will's hands. "Yes, you are a doctor, but it does not mean that you have everything under control. It is not your fault that everything turned this way. This is exactly why your mother didn't tell you, she doesn't want to burden you."

"But it is my job to get everything under control so I can save lives and now it feels like I was failing my mother-"

"No, you are not!" Nico insisted, raising his voice. "Listen, you can still make this work! Use your glowing trick."

Will stared at Nico. The blond frowned "It seemed so selfish of me that I am going to use it now after I stopped using it to others-"

Nico gripped Will's shoulders and looked intently at those blue orbs glistened with tears. "Will, listen to me. Maybe, this is your call. Maybe this is your sign that you shouldn't abandon nor give up on your power, because it is a gift that needs to be used. Think about it." Then Nico's eyes softened. "For now, don't beat yourself up figuratively and literally. Don't blame yourself because of it, I'm sure Naomi does not want that. You are a great doctor, you can save her." He kissed Will's forehead.

"B-but Mom's illness is so advanced-"

"I believe in miracles, Will," Nico said. "And that's coming from someone who lived that long and seen some unexplainable things for decades. Whether that miracle comes from a capital G god or from whatever entities out there, never stop believing."

"Thank you, Nico. Thank you, for being here." Will cupped Nico's face and leaned his forehead against his. He closed his eyes and breathed, calming his entire being.

"It's my pleasure, Will. Always will be." Nico whispered against his lips. "Do you feel better now?"

Will nodded. He opened his eyes and pulled away from him.

"Now, let's go inside. It's chilly out here." Nico helped Will to stand up.

Now that Nico had mentioned it, Will shivered a little bit. Fall was really here. Will briefly wondered what else Fall had in store for them.

"How come you were with Dad and Mom earlier?" Will asked as they rode the elevator going down

"I was on my way out when I saw your dad coming out from the ambulance together with Naomi unconscious on the stretcher," Nico answered

"And that's another question, Why Dad was with Mom? Are they communicating again?" Will muttered scratching his head.

"Just asked him, he's still there looking out for your mother," Nico said. "By the way, I'll have to go. I'll just visit Naomi later."

Will nodded and kissed Nico's temple. "Thank you."

Nico nodded and vanished. The elevator door opened as Will walked out alone.

Naomi was still unconscious when Will went to her room. Attached to Naomi were the electrodes for the heart monitor, a gas mask and an IV. Will pulled the blanket up to Naomi's chest and held Naomi's hand briefly. Then he checked the IV drip and the heart monitor for any abnormalities in the heart rate. A bit later, the door opened as his father, Apollo came in. Apollo paused for a moment when he saw Will. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so Will had forgotten how similar they were when it came to their physical features. Apollo was wearing a pinstripe gray suit underneath a black dress shirt paired with gray trousers and dress shoes. He looked like he was going to attend some sort of formal music opera. Right, his father could be the flashiest when he wanted too. Apollo could be wearing a pristine suit and bow tie in his sleep.

"Hey," Apollo greeted as he closed the door behind.

"Hi," Will said awkwardly. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. He needed to brush off his interpersonal skills with his father. It was getting dusty since he rarely used it.

"How was Naomi?" Apollo asked stopping next to Will and glanced at Naomi

"Stable for the time being," Will answered, then he blurted out. "I don't understand. I thought you were in Greece then you are here with Mom. Are you two back together?"

Apollo chuckled. "No, son. It was just a coincidence. We bumped into each other in the hospital in Brooklyn last June. I got my right wrist sprained so I went for a check-up. Initially, I was in Brooklyn for vacation until my wrist healed and I can play again but I found out your mother's illness and then I was looking out for her from time to time since she's so stubborn on not telling you anything."

"How did you find out?" Will asked in a small voice.

"When we met at that hospital, a prescription paper fell out from her purse and I saw some medicines and radiotherapy written on it. Done some research and voila. I went to your mother's house to ask her about it, only to find out that she passed out on the front lawn. I accompanied your mother on her radiotherapy."

Will exhaled and briefly closed his eyes.

"It's going to be alright, son" Apollo rubbed Will's back

Will looked at his father gratefully, tears threatening to fall again but he fought the urge to cry again. "Thank you. Thank you that my mother didn't have to go through this alone. I just wished, she told me sooner. . ."

"She was about to tell you, Will." Apollo cut in. "That's why we were both here in Manhattan. Then, of course, she passed out again and that reminds me," He fished out something in his trouser's pocket. He gave a flash drive to Will.

Will accepted it frowning.

"Naomi said to give that to you. I have no idea what's inside of it, just look at it. Okay."

"Thank you, Dad," Will whispered clenching the flash drive. "Take a rest, Dad. It's already midnight."

Apollo nodded.