The Diagnosis - part 4

' What is it Amelia? What does it say?' Owen asks nervously.

I slowly look up at him, feeling puzzled.

' It says here negative for chronic myeloid leukaemia.' I say.

' Seriously?!' the relief is apparent in Owen's voice.

' Yep, see it for yourself' I say, passing him the piece of paper.

' But what I don't understand is why was the peripheral blood film positive for CML? Was it a false positive?'

' It could be' Owen replied. ' I've read somewhere before that the test could yield false positive results.'

Suddenly something clicked in my mind. Now I recall the one sided conversation Arizona was having earlier in the day with me. She said something about her patient actually not being pregnant despite the initial blood test showing abnormally high HCG levels. And combined with the symptoms that I am currently having...

' I've gotta go' I say with suden urgency in my voice.

' Huh? But your pager isn't beeping' said Owen confused.

' Yes, but I have an intern to teach' I reply, before walking out of the oncall room.

I reach the ER where I know DeLuca would be for the day.

I spot the intern attending to a burn patient together with April.

' Sorry April, I need to borrow him for a while' I say.

' Sure, go ahead' she shrugged.

I pull DeLuca to a deserted examination room and close the door behind us.

' Ermmm...Dr Shepherd, I don't think this is appropriate.' he said nervously. ' I know I am the hottest intern around...but as you know I am already with Pierce. Besides, I don't want to get beaten up to death by Dr Hunt'...'

' Shut it' I hiss. ' It's not about that! I am not interested! I just...' I clear my throat.

' I just want to know about that day when I asked you to send my results to the lab.

Was there a mix up?'

' Huh? I dont' understand.' he replied. ' I sent it straight to the lab like you asked me to.'

I cock my head to one side and look at him.

' Yes, but are you sure there isn't any mix up or anything?'

He suddenly gasps in horror as he seems to recall something.

' Oh... That day, I...I was waiting for the lab results, when Maggie suddenly came by to talk to me. I got distracted, and when the lab staff asked whether it was the correct patient X, I just said yes and took the envelope without checking the ID. There might have been more than one patient X with results sent to the lab that day. Oh my God, I am so sorry Dr. Sheperd, I really am.'

' You know, I had to endure a torturous bone marrow aspiration procedure thanks to you' I say to him with clenched teeth. ' You try it and see how it feels like'

' I am so sorry Dr Sheperd, I really am.' he says. He sounds apologetic enough, and besides, he even prepares delicious breakfast for us whenever he sleeps over in Maggie's bedroom. So I decide to let him go for the moment. Besides, I have more important matters to attend to.

I wave him off. ' I should've noticed that the ID was wrong too' I say. ' I was too busy looking at the peripheral blood film results that day to notice. Just go- you have lives to save. Go!' He gives me one last apologetic look and walks away quickly.

' Oh, and one more thing' I stop him before he leaves. 'You better go and ask Dr Robbins about her patient this morning who turned out to not be pregnant after all. And deliver the bad news to her that not only is she not pregnant, she has chronic myeloid leukaemia'. I say, patting his shoulder. ' It will be a good training for you to deliver bad news.'

' So...if this is positive...' I say, wincing as Owen sticks the needle in my arm.

' Then we have another baby' he grins, removing the needle and placing my blood into the test tube. He then kisses me on the cheek. ' I love you' he whispers, before going off to send the blood to the lab himself. He has decided NOT to trust interns to send blood anymore.

I remain at the nurse's counter, fidgeting with my hands nervously. Of course, I would very much prefer this diagnosis compared to CML, thank you very much. But there is this little part of me that is filled with trepidation. How am I supposed to endure another traumatic childbirth so soon after I almost died giving birth to Charlotte? Would I still be lucky this time around? How can I cope with not one, but two young children? How will Owen cope taking care of 2 young children if I am not around anymore? Also , I barely got back into the groove of work, and now I would have to take maternity leave again after several months. How am I going to be the top neurosurgeon if I keep on bearing children at this rate? Oh my. I rub my forehead with my hands.

Just then, a trauma comes in, and all is forgotten for the moment.

That night, Owen and I sit in our bedroom, holding hands, as I hold the envelope bearing the results of my latest blood test. This time, it is in anticipation of good news, unlike the previous time I was holding an envelope in my hands.

' You open it this time' I nod at him, giving him the permission.

He looks at me as if to confirm whether I really want him to do the honors.

'Yes' I confirm.

He slowly pulls out the results from the envelope and I know the results immediately upon seeing the look of pure joy erupt in his face.

It is contagious, as my initial feeling of trepidition about this diagnosis is replaced by the feeling of joy too.

He pulls me into a tight hug.

' We are having another baby' he whispers, kissing me on the forehead. ' God Mia, I love you so much'

' We are having another baby' I repeat, tiptoeing to kiss him on the lips.

Visions of another baby, maybe a boy, maybe a clone of Owen this time, is now appearing in my head. I am thinking of buying a Big Sister onsie for Charlotte soon. But first, I would have to book an antenatal appointment with Arizona tomorrow.

But all these thoughts are erased from my mind temporarily, as Owen kissed me back on the lips hungrily and we are both lost in a moment of celebration.

So there you go! How do you like this final diagnosis? Better than the first diagnosis right? ;)

I have a sequel for this planned- with Cristina visiting Seattle a few months later.