Well, here's chapter 18 : ) I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice

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Mikan fidgeted, staring at one of her closest friends. Betrayal marred his handsome face and his blue eyes were open.

"What's he doing here, Mikan-chan?" Ruka asked, stepping towards the couple (?). Hotaru reached for his hand, tugging him back to her.

"Now's not the time, Nogi." She said sternly, and turned her gaze onto Mikan, "Now what?"

Mikan held up her fingers, counting them down as she spoke, "I called my parents, and Tsubasa before I called you." She twisted around to face Natsume, "Where can we sign the consent forms?"

Natsume raised an eyebrow, "You've decided already?" A nurse rushed by the circle, and not so subtly checked out Natsume. He ignored the women, but Mikan felt a jolt of, he's mine, back off shoot through her.

A flame blazed in her hazel eyes, "If there is a way for my son to be able to walk properly, I'm going to try. There is no way in hell I'm going to let my little boy grow up paralyzed, because I want him to experience the normal things in life. I want him to be able to play things like baseball and hockey, and to just be normal." Mikan was determined, as she wiped the last tears away from her face. She wasn't going to cry anymore. She had to be strong.

Hotaru gave her an amused look, "You finally look like a mother, baka." Mikan stuck her tongue out at Hotaru, ruining the motherly image.

Natsume pulled her into a comforting hug. "You don't have to be strong, polka. We're all here for you. You don't have to change."

Her lip trembled, but she swallowed the tears. She stepped out of the hug, and gazed at Natsume seriously, "Yes, I do. I can't be the same girl I was before. She needed to grow up. I can't forever depend on friends and family. I have to be of support for my son, and not need anyone to fall back onto. I know I'll always have you guys, but I need to able to take care of myself."

"Mikan, he's our son. You won't be the only one taking care of him, nor will you be the only one to be protecting him. Can't you accept that?" Natsume exasperated, running his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated.

"Something tells me Mikan will be less annoying and ugly in the future. I swear, every time she cries, I just want to push her away." Hotaru shrugged and turned to Ruka. "Nogi, dear god, what happened to you?"

"H—he's Ryuu's father?" Ruka pointed at Natsume, his face completely bemused.

Awkward quietness filled the air, excluding the faint phone ringing and chattering of nurses.

Mikan dropped Ruka's gaze, blushing furiously, "Yes. Natsume is Ryuu's father."

Ruka was at a loss for words. "But, I—he—!"

Hotaru smacked his arm, "Out with it, Nogi. We all know that the dumbass over there is the only one she's had sex with."

Mikan glared at the wall, outraged with her friend. Natsume said nothing, and sunk into the seat. He idly watched Mikan bicker with her friends. His gaze dropped to her left hand.

Natsume's eyes narrowed, "Oi, polka, where's that ring I gave you?"

Mikan whirled around, her hazel eyes large, "It's at home."

"Why aren't you wearing it?"

"I took it off."

"Why?"

"Because I was mad, okay?" She snapped, "I barely heard from you, so I thought you didn't want to see me. So, I put it in my jewellery box."

"Out of spite?" He inquired softly, and she bit her lip.

"No, never." The doors opened to the emergency room, and all gazes snapped towards the frazzled doctor.

"What happened?" Mikan demanded. The man's lab coat was splattered with blood, and Mikan's heart rate speed up.

He saw her face and said, "It's not your sons." She breathed with relief, "However…"

"Just spit it out." Natsume snarled, glaring at the doctor.

He cleared his throat, "Right. Well, your son did indeed have a concussion. It's very risky to perform surgery on him while he has a concussion. Of course we'll have to give him an anesthetic to fix the hypertension. But there is no guarantee it will work. Plus all of his other injuries. The only good news I have for you is the blood transfusion was a success." The doctor made eye contact with Natsume.

"When can we sign the forms?" Mikan asked quietly, her voice shaking. "I'll spare no cost when it comes to the life of my son."

"Miss. Yukihira, there is an extreme risk to this surgery. If it isn't successful, your son will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life." The doctor told her seriously, trying to get his point across.

Frustrated, she said, "Spare me the details. If there's a chance, a spark even for my son to be able to walk again I want to try. I want him to know I tried to do everything in my power to fix him. Where are the forms? I want to sign them as quickly as possible and help my son get better."

He nodded, "Alright, come with me to my office. Oh, Mr. Hyuuga, I wish to speak with you as well." Natsume's eye brows pushed together with confusion.

"Ah, Mikan, what do you need us to do?" Ruka asked, trying to figure things out in his head.

She tried to smile but failed miserably, "Go back to the charity e—"

"No," Hotaru cut her off, "we'll stay here." Mikan observed her friend. The dress she was wearing made her look so out of place.

"Okay." The doctor led the worried parents into his office, grabbing the consent forms from the nurse as they passed.

"Ryuu must be in so much pain." Mikan commented as they sat down in the plastic chairs.

"Dummy, they must have given him pain-killers." Natsume replied nonchalantly.

The doctor handed Mikan the forms, and while she read, he spoke up, "Now, I know this isn't my place, but if your son doesn't have the hypertension fixed properly, I believe it will be in your best interests to hire a lawyer and sue the men who hit your son."

"It's all covered. I have a very good lawyer." Natsume waved him off, "Is that all you had to speak with me about?"

The doctor cleared his throat, "No, Mr. Hyuuga."

Mikan by this time had finished reading the consent form and groped for a pen. She signed her name on the dotted line and handed it back to the doctor. His face was creased with concern.

"Is something the matter?" She queried, raising her eyebrow. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Mr. Hyuuga, I have a question for you."

"What?" Natsume leaned forward, lacing his fingers under his chin.

"We found your medical record, simply because we needed a background check." Natsume flinched, "Tell me, what was your history in hospitals?"

"Well… I was in once or twice for alcohol poisoning and… for a disease I was born with." Mikan's head snapped to Natsume's face, eyes widening.

"What disease?" She was frantic, as her hazel eyes searched his face.

Natsume ran his hand over his face, "They haven't given it a name yet, it's that rare, but what they've called it is Type 4."

"That's not a real thing, right? You're joking, come on this isn't funny." Mikan felt the tears again, but she forced them back.

"It is real, Miss. Yukihira. Our records also conclude that Mr. Hyuuga's own mother suffered from the disease. It's hereditary." The doctor said sadly, finally taking the consent form.

"So you mean Ryuu could have it too?" With the slight nods from both the doctor and Natsume, she let out a sob.

Accusation rang out in her voice, "Why didn't you tell me? I thought you loved me? How dare you keep something like this from me!"

Natsume went to talk, before a stream of violent coughs left his throat. "Natsume?"

He wiped the blood from his mouth, "Because, Mikan, it's not something I've told anyone. The reason I lived this long was because I drank and smoke. Supposedly it prolongs your life. My mother died when I was five. None of my previous wives knew, no one was supposed to know! Okay? This disease is what tore me apart inside every day."

Mikan's face fell, "I'm sorry, Natsume." She hugged him, and he hugged her back.

"Right, well, Mr. Hyuuga, that isn't the reason I've asked you here today. It's about 'your cure'. The drinking. You said alcohol poisoning once or twice? Our records show you were admitted over ten times in your life time. That's a risky amount, Mr. Hyuuga."

Dread fell on Natsume's face, "What are you playing at?"

"Have you been having abdominal pain lately Mr. Hyuuga?" The doctor asked and Natsume nodded.

"Are you bruising easily?" Another nod and finally, "Enlarged abdomen?" This time he shook his head.

"I'd like to have you in tomorrow for a CT scan and abdominal ultrasound."

"Why?" Natsume's face was dark, as the answer dawned on him, "What about Ryuu?"

"We'll perform the surgery after this discussion is over." The doctor muttered something else under his breath.

"Please, doctor-san, what's wrong with Natsume?" Mikan pleaded, holding him tighter to her.

He gave the couple a miserable scrutiny, "We have strong reasons to believe Mr. Hyuuga has Hepatocellular carcinoma."

Natsume face confirmed his suspicions.

"Simpler terms?" Mikan was hysterical now. She wasn't crying, but her voice was breaking.

The doctor made eye contact with Mikan, "To say the least, Miss. Yukihira, we believe Mr. Hyuuga has liver cancer."

Mikan's world just shattered under her feet.

Sorry that was a little drawn out. And the surprise 'Type 4' disease Natsume has is a reference to the Type Four Alice. So, next is Ryuu's surgery and Natsume's check up to see if he has liver cancer. Soo, what do you think will happen? Will Ryuu be paralyzed? Does Natsume have cancer? Will anyone die? Tell me what you think in your review! ;)

~Emerald~

P.S- Do NOT take medical advice from me. I got all my information from medical sites, as I'm terrible at Biology—Science in general actually. Trust me, if you have questions about anything I said, check a medical site. That, or I made it up. :/ Drinking and smoking won't cure Type Four Alice… Kaoru smoked and look where that got her… Sorry about the ramble. REMEMBER ^^ Do NOT take medical advice from who? Emerald.