Chapter 41

Feb. 11, 1994

All things considered, Alexei thought, he'd gotten off lightly. He wasn't sure if his leg would ever be quite the same way again, but at least he was better off than Darren, who was having to learn how to make his hands work and struggling to string together the words to express his thoughts. He expected he'd be out soon, though in a way he didn't mind staying in bed for a few more days. He was so tired, and ached in so many places other than his leg. Probably the hangover from so many days of poor sleep, though he wondered if he'd somehow managed to pick up the flu in the midst of all this.

Gloria stopped by at the end of his first day to ask permission to run some blood tests. "We almost lost you twice. You don't want to know how many units of blood we had to pump in."

"For a leg?"

"That's why I want to run some tests."

He shrugged it off, but let her take the blood. He'd always bruised easily, so it was logical he'd bleed easily too. "Please tell Darren I vill come see him ven I get out," he said. Gloria gave him a curt nod, and Alexei wondered if she blamed him for being mostly healthy while her husband faced such a hard recovery.

Joyce kept the store closed so she and Rosario could be home with their children. She'd been there when he'd opened his eyes after surgery, and she'd brought burgers and fries so the three of them could share dinner in his hospital room. He had to be one of the luckiest men in the world, and he just hoped he'd be out in time to carry out his Valentine's Day proposal.

She was there when Gloria came back the next day with a stack of papers and a grim expression. "This isn't my specialty, but I thought you might not want to hear it from a stranger," she said. "We looked at your blood cell count. Your platelets and red blood cells are far below where they should be, and your white blood cells are high."

Alexei tried to remember what he'd learned in biology class. Well, a lot of blood had left his body, so shouldn't he be low on red blood cells? "An infection, for de vite vones?"

"We're running it by a specialist, but no, our pathologist doesn't think so. Not with the red and platelet counts. You'll need to follow up with an oncologist for the specific subtype, but our best guess is leukemia." She stopped. "If you don't know the word, that's a blood cancer-"

"It's de same vord," Alexei said. He looked at Joyce, who seemed to be processing it. Or maybe she thought it would be insensitive to ask the obvious question. "Am I dying?"

"Survival rates vary, based on what subtype it is. But you've got a chance, if you start chemotherapy soon. That's-"

"It's basically de same vord too. Vid a 'ya' on de end."

"I see." Gloria paused. "I know you two have a lot to process, but if it's all right I'll send your records to an oncologist I've worked with before. She's very good at what she does."

"Dank you."

"I'm sorry."

He didn't have the heart to do anything other than nod. He and Joyce sat in silence for a moment after Gloria closed the door. Finally, Joyce spoke. "We should get married."

"Vat?"

"It'll make it easier, so I can sign papers if you get sicker. They didn't want to tell me anything about your surgery, since on paper we're not related. The only reason I got in here is Gloria heard me going at the nurse." Alexei didn't doubt everyone had heard her. "And I know you were planning on it. I found the ring hidden in your sock drawer weeks ago."

"Oh." So much for a delightful surprise, but he couldn't get upset about it.

"We'll just go down to the courthouse and get it done once they let you out. That part will be easy." She sighed. "The question is how we're going to explain to Lily. The cancer, I mean. Not us getting married."

We'll have to explain that one once she learns where babies come from, Alexei thought, but it was at best a secondary problem. "I dink she knows. Sort of. She drew me vid no hair and said I vas sick." A thought crossed his mind. "Vat if she knows ven I'm dying? She's a baby." He was trying not to cry, but not entirely succeeding. Lily was too young for this burden, and she didn't deserve it.

"We'll deal with it if it happens," Joyce said, and pulled him into an embrace. "But first, let's try to keep you from dying."

00000000

Feb. 12, 1994

All the old friends had gathered for a quick beer before they left, a ritual which Max thought they should have adopted after their previous adventures. They took over a corner booth and pulled more tables over until everyone could fit. The bartender didn't mind, since it was the middle of the afternoon and she didn't have much to do.

They went around, sharing what they'd seen underground and speculating about why Eight had saved the scientists, and hadn't managed to make them destroy each other. El had the final word: "She's not evil. She just wants to get rid of her pain. And she doesn't know how."

They all sat silently for a moment. Will finally spoke. "This feels like the last time."

"In this town, who knows?" Mike said.

"I mean, the last time when all of us can come to the rescue," Will responded. "We're going out to California after graduation. I'm getting a job at a company that makes movies with computers."

"How do you make movies with computers?" Lucas asked.

"Don't know, but they're hiring me to draw storyboards. And Ev got accepted to law school out there."

"Proud of you, man," Mike said, and slapped Will on the back.

"I'll be going too," Dustin jumped in. "Getting my master's at MIT."

"And me," said Lucas. "Air Force."

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I'm hitting the road," Max said. "Guess I'll know when I find it. It's sure not here."

"And Jonathan and Nancy are already in Michigan," Will said. "So it's just Mike, El and Robin."

"Yeah, who needs the rest of you with a badass like El around?" Mike said, but it didn't quite hide the sadness.

"We've all got our lives, but we know we'll be there if we need each other," Nancy said. "After everything, we have to be."

"Let's drink to that," Dustin said, and they clinked their beer glasses.

00000000

Feb. 14, 1994

Ricci was Alexei's last visitor before they released him. His boss looked so put together, so unshakeable, that it was hard to imagine that the person hiding under his desk had been the same man. "Glad to see you're feeling better," he said, but Alexei knew this was just a preliminary. Ricci asked a few more polite questions about his health, then got down to business. "What exactly did you tell the others?"

"Nudding."

"You had to have told them something."

"Dey vere all so caught up in deir own panic dey didn't notice anyvone else." Ricci looked like he was searching for a lie. He would have made a fair KGB agent, if he'd gone east instead of west, Alexei thought. "I am sorry-"

"I survived Auschwitz and had some relatives who'd immigrated to New York take me in and raise me as their own. I've succeeded in every way. I don't need anyone's pity, Medvedev, least of all yours."

"Yes sir."

Ricci looked satisfied. "Since you technically still work for the lab, your insurance should cover this. I'm seeing about some funding to keep my talent from leaving for the private sector before we get the lab running again. But don't get too fond of unemployment. I want us to be up and running again by fall."

The right thing would be to tell Ricci the truth – he had no idea if he'd be well enough to work come fall – but Alexei kept his mouth shut. He wasn't sure what the U.S. government spent on scientific research, but his salary had to be a pittance compared to the total. And he had no desire to drain their savings and leave Joyce struggling if he died, or worse, was too much of an invalid to ever go back to work. So he simply said that was welcome news and let Ricci leave.

He didn't have much time to brood on his choice. Joyce was waiting for him, with his one suit jacket and his nicest tie. She had on a dress – not white, but who were they fooling? "Nancy insisted," she said, and smiled. Lily had on a dress too, which she almost tripped over running to hug him.

Most of the afternoon was spent waiting in line to get the license, and then for the judge to have a spare minute to sign that they were married, which was about what Andrei's first wedding had been like, now that he thought about it. When it was finally their turn, Lily tossed some flower petals around the courtroom, which was apparently a vital part of the ceremony, and Will insisted they say the full vows, exchange rings and pose for Jonathan to take a picture.

"I'll pay you back for de vedding rings," he whispered to Jonathan as they all piled in the car to go eat the meal Karen had prepared.

"They were cheaper than four years of tuition," Jonathan said, and slapped him on the back. "I'm just glad Mom is happy."

It was obvious Joyce hadn't told them about his illness yet, and he appreciated that. They all deserved one happy day before life interfered. Who knew how many more they might have?