Free Fall

Chapter One: The Diagnosis

Seven Months Earlier…

Kenzie distinctly remembered the day she was diagnosed. She had gone to the 24 hour clinic on her street for a headache and dizziness and left with a stack of doctor referrals to the hospital for tests and no diagnosis. So, she called in to her internship at the NYPD and spoke with Captain Stacey, her overseer. He told her to take the time she needed to complete all the tests, and he emphasized all, before coming in to work.

She was in her second year of studying forensic science and was hoping for a CSU position in the police department. So far, things were looking great. She had a 4.0 GPA and Captain Stacey seemed very pleased with the work she had done so far. Apparently she made the best coffee in town.

St. Anne's hospital was busy as usual. Gun wounds, knife wounds, car accident victims all paraded in front of her till a nurse called her name and led her to a small room off of the ER. She had blood taken, pulse, blood pressure, temperature and a quick look in her eyes, ears and mouth. The nurse wrote all the numbers and comments down in silence. Kenzie wanted to say something funny but was too scared and didn't know why.

"Are you currently on any medications?" the nurse asked.

"Multi-vitamin, but not very regularly."

"Have you had any surgeries?"

"No."

"Are you pregnant?"

"Not unless there's another immaculate conception."

The nurse raised her eyebrows and Kenzie tried to look apologetic. "No, not pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

Kenzie bit back another smart-alack remark. "Yes."

The nurse nodded and closed up the folder. "Your doctor requested a CAT scan so if you would follow me, we'll get that underway."

"So what kind of cat do you use? Burmese, Siamese, Himalayan?" She had a very bad habit of making light of a serious situation, especially when it directly concerned her. The nurse looked displeased so Kenzie kept her mouth shut the entire walk to the CAT scan. She was handed a standard hospital gown and told to lay still for an exact amount of time.

While she tried not to fidget in the tube while it did it's job, she ran through the possible outcomes of this situation. One, it could be absolutely nothing. Maybe she needed glasses or had an inner ear infection. Or two, it could be something very bad. Brain tumor seemed to pop up in her thoughts every few seconds. She tried to think of what she needed at the grocery market instead.

Milk, eggs, brain tumor, cereal, some apples, brain tumor…

Well, that didn't work at all. Kenzie bit back a sigh of frustration and told herself that a brain tumor was the worst possible outcome. How common were brain tumors? Besides, her mother died had died of ovarian cancer, so if she was going to develop cancer, it would most likely be ovarian. She would probably be diagnosed with migraines, given medication and get back to the lab by 3:00 PM.

The bed they had her lying on moved and she was staring up at the nurse once again. "How did I do?"

"Very well," the nurse murmured. "You can get dressed and we'll let you know if the images are good enough to evaluate your condition. If they are, you'll be free to go. We'll have a radiologist read the images and send a report to your doctor who will then contact you."

"How long will that take?"

"24 to 72 hours."

"3 days?" Kenzie stood up and pulled the gown closer to her body. "I won't know what's wrong with me for 3 days?"

"Possibly sooner." The nurse pointed to the pile of her discarded clothes on a plastic chair. "You can get dressed now."

Kenzie nodded and waited for the nurse to leave. Once she did, Kenzie tore the paper gown off of her and quickly put her clothes back on. Three days. That was an awful long time to wait. She sat in the plastic chair and pulled strips off the paper gown.

Yes, I have a brain tumor.

No, I don't have a brain tumor.

Yes, I have-

The nurse came back in and interrupted her altered "He loves me, He loves me not" game. "The images are fine. You're free to go."

Kenzie stood and wadded up the gown before she remembered she was on a "yes." She finished pulling the strip of paper off and then pulled another strip.

"No, I don't have a brain tumor," she whispered before throwing all paper in the trash.

It took two days, not three. Her doctor scheduled an appointment for her in the morning. Thankfully, it was her day off. Captain Stacey had urged her to call him whenever she heard the news, whether good or bad. He knew her situation, no father to speak of and a mother who passed away just a few months ago. He had taken it on himself to watch over her without seeming meddlesome. He was a kind boss and she appreciated his efforts to try to take care of her.

Her doctor came into the closet-sized office grim faced. He was usually cheery, always smiling and the neighborhood kids just loved him. Maybe that's why she went to him. He still had that inner child that he let come out and play on a daily basis. Kenzie believed strongly in that inner child.

"Hello, Kenzie."

"Hi, Doctor Ramirez."

He was a short man, with a couple extra pounds on him and thick, round glasses. He always wore a Hawaiian shirt, each one more tacky than the last. But he had a fun, kind way about him which Kenzie appreciated. If he had bad news for her, she could take it from him.

"I received the test results from your CAT scan." He folded his hands on his desk and leveled a very serious look at her. "I don't want you to be discouraged. I have a very good friend on staff at St. Anne's who's already agreed to take you on as a patient."

Kenzie laughed nervously. "This doesn't sound good."

"It seems you do have a brain tumor."

It seemed as if all the air left the room at once. Kenzie struggled to remind herself that the air was still there and to continue to breathe. "Shouldn't you have an oxygen mask that drops from the ceiling when you tell someone that?"

He rewarded her with a small smile. "I'm still trying to find a contractor who will install one." Then he turned serious again. "I want you to know that as serious as this sounds, it is cancer and can be beat. I've spoken with my friend, Dr. Hito, and he's ready to start you on an aggressive dose of radiation followed by chemotherapy."

"Can they do surgery to remove the tumor?"

"That's going to be a last resort." He opened the file in front of him and pushed a picture of the scan of her brain over to her side of the desk. "As you can see, the tumor is right up against your carotid artery. It hasn't connected, which is good, but if radiation and chemo can reduce the size and get it away from that artery then the surgery will be a safer option."

Kenzie stared at the picture in front of her. She could easily make out the small round object that shouldn't be there. She wished it were one of those games you play as a child where you find what doesn't belong, circle it and then you win. But the thing is, the object still remains in the picture, whether you've circled it or not. It doesn't magically go away or disappear. It's still there.

"When do I start radiation?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Kenzie nodded, suddenly feeling very numb. "I have to call my boss."

"I've already spoken with Captain Stacey. He told me to do everything I can for you and you're not to worry about your internship." Dr. Ramirez smiled slightly. "He says you've got the job if you want it after you graduate."

"If I graduate."

Dr. Ramirez leaned forward on his elbows. "When you graduate, Kenzie."

She did her best to smile but wasn't sure if she was successful. She nodded and went to say "thank you" but stopped before the words left her mouth. Did you say that when someone tells you have cancer? She left the doctor's office and just started to walk. She didn't know where she was going and she really didn't care. She just walked until her legs hurt from the effort. When that happened, she headed for the train. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she had to put as much distance between her and the doctor's office.

Kenzie found a seat near the window, and just watched the buildings fly past. She bought a roundtrip ticket so she had a long trip ahead of her. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she rested the back of her head against the cool glass, silently hoping the bumpiness would knock the tumor loose. Brain tumors were so unpredictable. She could have more side effects than just headaches and dizziness.

A motion outside the train caused her to turn in her seat, trying to see what was going on. There was a blur of movement that was gone as soon as she saw it. Thinking her mind was now playing tricks on her, she sat back in her seat. No sooner did she turn back in her seat then the ceiling caved in, well some of it.

People were starting to stand up from the seats and Kenzie did the same. The next thing she knew, the door panels next to her exploded and Spiderman was hanging sideways on one of the poles. Everything seemed to slow down in her mind as she stared at the red and blue clad superhero. Danger didn't seem to cross her mind as she watched him jump effortlessly to the pole in front of her. It was almost like watching a wild animal that is close to extinction. A selfless hero should be on the extinction list, right above the giant panda and snow leopards.

Before she knew it, he was gone in a red/blue and mechanical armed flash. Mechanical arms? What was New York City coming to? Kenzie pressed her face against the glass, trying to get a view of what was happening but the only thing that she could see was more indents and could hear clanging on the roof. Then things got worse.

Everyone was thrown back as the train accelerated. Kenzie blinded reached out for anything to keep her balance and her hand came in contact with the pole that Spiderman had originally landed on. She could feel the warmth from it and seemed to take strength from that. She thought she heard a shout to hold on but it was hard to hear with everyone around her screaming.

The train was still speeding along and blew right through one of it's stops. Kenzie thought she heard the whispers that the track hadn't been completed past this point but just as those words reached her, she could feel the train start to stop. She didn't know how Spiderman was doing it but soon everyone quieted and she could hear the anguished cry coming from the front of the train. And then silence and stillness.

Everyone took a deep breath of relief and started to shift around the car. A blonde woman with a baby patted Kenzie's shoulder in relief even though she didn't know her. She looked back towards the front of the train and could see the passengers passing a body over top of their heads. Whoever it was had brown hair…and was dressed as Spiderman. Without thinking, Kenzie stepped forward and placed her hands under his shoulders blades and passed him to the men behind her. They were the ones that placed him reverently on the floor of the passenger car. Murmurs of "is he alive?" rippled around her but she could tell he was breathing.

"He's just a kid."

"He's no older than my son."

Kenzie felt tears prick the back of her eyes. He was no older than her. And he stopped a speeding train. Granted, he had some super powers or really neat gadgets, but the fact remained he risked his life to save theirs. He started to stir and Kenzie sucked in a breath of air. She hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath.

Horror seemed to play across his face when he realized that he was unmasked. Two kids came up to him and handed him his mask, one of them promising that they wouldn't tell anyone. Kenzie laughed slightly. It wasn't like they found his wallet with his ID in it. He quietly accepted the mask and pulled it over his head. Then the one with whom he was fighting came back for round two.

Four mechanical arms waved wildly around him. So this was "Doc Ock" the Bugle had been running articles on. Kenzie remembered him when he was just Doctor Otto Octavias. She had tried to read some of his stuff (being the science buff she was) but found it all to be over her head. She guessed there really was a thin line between genius and insanity. Apparently, he had come for Spiderman.

One brave New Yorker stepped out in front of the Doc and bravely stated that if he wanted Spiderman, he would have to go through him first. Then a second person stepped up, and a third and then a fourth. Kenzie lost track but she too stepped in front of the hero. The adrenaline rush felt good and she felt noble. If she was going to die, she was going to do it bravely and staring the enemy in the face. She couldn't stare the cancer in the face but she could certainly stare this six armed freak down.

He nodded his head and said something she couldn't hear and the next thing she knew, Kenzie was pressed up against the glass by one of those mechanical arms. She struggled against it but it was too strong for her. After a few uncomfortable seconds, she was released and Spiderman and his villain were gone. She stepped out of what was left of the train and could see emergency vehicles and choppers on their way to the scene. From what she could tell, no one was seriously hurt, just abrasions and cuts.

As she stood there next to the smoking silver train, she felt something awaken inside of her. She didn't know if it was bravery, the fighting mentality or just plain survival that was rearing it's head. Whatever it was, it was enough to get her through this day and into the next. Radiation, then chemo and then they see if the tumor goes away or can be operated on. That was the course of action Doctor Ramirez suggested and that was the course she would follow. Pulling out her cell phone, Kenzie dialed the number for the clinic and asked for the doctor. Within a couple minutes, just as the ambulances rolled up, Dr. Ramirez picked up.

"Kenzie?"

"Yeah, Dr. Ramirez. I forgot to ask you, what time does my radiation treatment start tomorrow?"