Dr. Hall held Kate's hand and sat there crying just as her friend and patient did. This was going to be harder than she thought. Kate would have to make a decision that would affect her family and her life. What she needed to do was get hold of Rick and have him come pick up Kate, because there was no way she was going to let her leave her office in her current state of mind.

"Kate, I'm going to call Rick now. I'll have him come over to my office to pick you up."

"There's no need; I'll just take a cab home or hop on the subway," Kate said, trying to be brave.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to let you walk out that office door all by yourself! There's no way I'll let you wander the streets of New York City with a decision that you are going to need to make with your family. Rick will be here soon, so stay put."

Kate did not have the energy to argue with her doctor, so she just sat there and waited. Dr. Hall got up and made the phone call from her desk. When she returned she told Kate that Rick would be here in 20 minutes; he would have Alexis stay with the twins until they returned.

"Sarah, what am I going to do?"

"Kate, I can't answer that question for you. Only you can. You will have some emotional and hard decisions that you need to make - and soon, I might add. You know that I will support whatever you decide."

Xx

Rick raced through the lobby to the elevator, pressing the call button constantly, hoping it would come faster. The doors opened and he stepped on, willing the car to move faster when the doors closed. Before he knew it, the elevator doors were opening on the 8th floor. He stepped off, and directly across from the elevator were the doors for Dr. Hall's office. He walked through the outer doors and straight to her office, and knocked.

Dr. Hall heard the knock and got up to answer the door. The second the door swung open he bolted through it, his eyes scanning the room for Kate.

"Rick, slow down. Everything's fine; Kate is in my office."

"Dr. Hall, I got here as quick as I could - can you please tell me what's going on?"

Dr. Hall walked toward her office, not saying anything until she got closer to her inner office. She wanted Kate and Rick to talk. Then she'd stay there for any medical questions that they might have. If they wanted her to leave then she would.

The second he walked through the door he saw the anguish, sadness, and worry written all over Kate's face. He quickly went to her side and took her hand in his. When he looked up at her, a fresh round of tears was coming down her cheeks again.

"What is it, Kate?" Rick asked.

Kate knew telling him would be devastating for him to hear. But it needed to be done. She gathered up her courage and started.

"Babe, do you remember when Dr. Hall ran a routine test a couple of days ago? She didn't like what the results told her, so she consulted with two other doctors, and all day today I've been going through tests."

"Okay," Rick said hesitantly.

"The tests the doctors told me that ever since 9/11, cases like mine have been abundant. They also told me that due to my pregnancy, any treatment that I can have will need to be given to me after I have our baby."

"Kate, I don't like what I am hearing here. What happens if you decide to have the treatment now?"

"If we decide that this is the route we want to take, there is a chance that we would lose our baby. Rick, this is a decision that we both need to make. I am not going to be the only one responsible if our baby lives or dies," Kate said.

"I need to know what you're thinking," said Rick. "I can't do anything that would put our baby in danger. I'm not sure how you feel about what will happen but…"

Kate immediately cut Rick off.

"Babe, there's no question about what I want. I could never do anything like that to a life that hasn't even had the chance to experience any of what the world has to offer. So no, I am not going to put our baby at risk."

"You do realize that if you decide to do this, it will put a strain on your body long after the baby is born," Rick says with eyes that are already starting to water.

"There are questions we need to ask Dr. Hall; why don't we get that taken care of so we can ask ourselves the hardest questions later?" Kate suggested.

"Dr. Hall – Sarah –" she went on, "I need to know if there's anything that I can take that won't harm the baby but might give me the extra time to bring him or her to full term?"

"According to Dr. Khatri, nothing other than a full regiment of chemotherapy and radiation therapy would give you any kind of chance to beat this. And even that might be a long shot. I'm not too sure how late in the pregnancy you can start taking these drugs without affecting your child. I'd have to talk to him about the time frame before your baby's born. But you would have to schedule a C-section in order to start any kind of therapy prior to the baby being born. This way we can control how much medication is ingested by your son or daughter. I know one thing - it would only be about a day or two at the most. That isn't much of a head start but at least it's something. We would still have to talk to Dr. Khatri to get all the information we can."

"Dr. Hall, this would be the worst case scenario for Kate, am I correct?" Rick asked.

"Rick, I'm afraid so. If Kate elects to let her pregnancy run its course without drugs then her body will be weakened, and the disease will probably have moved further into other organs by then. We're talking about six months from now, and a lot can happen in that time. On top of being pregnant, the disease that she has will make her feel even more exhausted and run down. So you're going to have to be the primary caregiver for Kate."

"Is there any way to isolate the baby from Kate's illness?" Rick thought there might be a way around this.

"Are you asking if there is a way we could separate Kate's blood from the baby's?"

"I guess so – yeah, that would be what I was thinking. Is that a possibility?"

"Rick, while I'd like to think that could work, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to break your bubble. There is no way that we can separate Kate blood supply from the baby's. They're all one encompassing supply. So whatever Kate has, the baby is getting. That is a good idea, though."

"Listen, I know it has been a lot for you to take in, but both of you need to go home and think about this in a setting where you can be relaxed, one where you can talk, and come to a decision that satisfies both of you. I know what you said here tonight is that you would like to keep your child and I'm happy for you, I really am. But Kate, you need to understand that if you do decide to do that, this disease will have taken such a toll on your body that you won't be able to recover. Your baby won't be able to breastfeed, you won't be able to hold him or her because you will be in such a weakened state that it will be impossible to do anything other than just look at him or her. You are going to have to rely on Rick for everything in about four months from now. And if I were to guess, I would say that you would most likely be on bed rest for the last month or two of your pregnancy," Dr. Hall told them sadly.

Rick just turned from Dr. Hall and looked directly at Kate. He could see almost immediately that she had already made up her mind. And he agreed with her decision. But they would go home and let their kids know what was going on because it's what they did. So, they got up, shook Dr. Hall's hands and left her office.

They walked back home for two reasons. The first was that it was a wonderful night out. Not too hot, not too cold; it was just right. The second was that while they walked they could discuss what how they were going to tell Reese, Jake, and Alexis what was happening with their mother.

That's when Rick realized, when Kate mentioned Alexis's name, that he never told her about the tests that were run on the kids earlier today.

"Kate, I never told you what happened when we went to the doctor today. They cleared Reese and Jake with no medical issues at all. They are healthy. On the other hand, I'm afraid to say, Alexis has what you have. She has a blood disorder that they have not nailed down yet. And her respiratory system is diminished now. This is all from what happened on 9/11, when we were breathing in air directly from the outside through the air vents that were in the loft. It just came into the loft, and even though we were wearing no masks, it's still become deadly for us.

"Rick, I want her tested until there are no more tests to give her. I don't want her ending up like me," Kate said.

"Kate, there's no way I would let that happen – hell, I don't even want that happening to you. But we will beat this, Kate, I promise you that."

They finished their walk, knowing that when they got back to the loft they had a lot of explaining to do to their children.