The next couple of days passed in relative calm. Ben, having been discharged by Jarred had spent most of the time curled up on the sofa at the apartment recuperating with Connie for company and Lilly had been at Finn's side as he underwent procedure after procedure prior to his next dose of Chemo.
The arrangement had worked out quite nicely actually. Connie had been given a break from the crèche and Ben had been more than happy to rest as they watched the main bulk of the Disney library together.
Finn and Lilly spent the time between procedures either reading or watching movies and, by the time Chemo day had come around, the whole family were much more rested which was a good job because, today – the day after Chemo day, Finn was not well, not well at all.
Lilly and Ben had taken up General Laundry's offer for Connie to stay at Stargate Command for a few days. It meant they could put all their strength and effort into supporting their son and now, at three in the morning as Finns vomiting escalated, they were glad they could both be with their boy.
"Just spit it out Finn," Ben sighed as Finn hung limply over the bowl placed under his chin.
Finn was growing weaker and the fifteen minute checks by the medical staff told Ben and Lilly that Mr Freeman was concerned by his condition.
When Finn weakly pushed away the bowl, Ben gently lowered him back on the bed. "Just rest Finny," he urged as Finn panted shallowly in reaction to the violence of his nausea.
Lilly dipped her cloth in the water again and tenderly dabbed at the sweat on his forehead. "This is barbaric," she sighed. "He's been through so much."
Finn lay limply on the bed as his mother continued to tend him. The cap that had permanently taken residence on his head long since discarded. He looked very ill indeed. Dark circles framed sunken eyes, his complexion was almost grey and he had nasty looking sores round his mouth.
Ben knew that the ferocity of the Chemo frightened Lilly and it was hard to explain the treatment to her.
"I know he has been through so much, my love," he grabbed her hand. "But, he needs the Chemo to fight off his bad blood, that's the only way they're going to cure this."
"I know, but the cure seems worse than the disease."
Finn started to grunt softly, still feeling the pain of the side effects of the Pegfilgrastim and Ben hung his head, feeling so sorry for him. Between the vomiting, his nausea and his pain, the poor boy was so miserable and weak but there was little they could do, other than hold him and reassure him that everything was going to be all right.
They felt utterly helpless.
"Breathe through it buddy," Ben urged, reaching to stoke Finn's forehead. "Tim will be here soon with some good drugs," he glanced at the clock and worked out that another fifteen minutes had passed and, as if on cue, the door opened and Tim walked in, pushing a med trolley.
"How ya doing, Finster?" he greeted Finn with a smile and then turned to Ben when the only reaction Finn gave to the question was to just close his eyes. "How's his nausea?" He asked, grabbing Finn's chart.
"He's been vomiting a lot," Ben sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Okay," Tim studied his chart. "He's due some anti emetics about now.
"And, he's in a lot of pain," Lilly added, dipping her cloth again and then laying it on Finn's forehead.
"Right, I think Mr Freeman has written him up for some morphine. I'll just have a feel of his tummy before I give him some." Tim approached the bed, perched on the edged and pulled Finn's sheet back a little.
"Finster, buddy," he gently tapped Finn's cheek to get his attention. "I'm just gonna feel your tummy. Try and relax." He placed his hands on Finn's abdomen and watched his face for reaction but Finn just lay limply, still grunting slightly. After his examination, Tim was happy that his patient wasn't having a diverse reaction to the drug as they were no signs of distension.
"Good boy," he praised and then pulled the sheet back up. "I'm just gonna give you some of Mr Freemans super duper medicine and then you should sleep."
Finn managed to nod before closing his eyes again.
Tim quickly took his pulse and then made his way back to his med trolley, giving Ben and Lilly what he hoped was a reassuring smile before drawing up Finn's medication, one eye on his patient at all time.
He hated round four of Chemo – it was always the worst.
xxx
Lilly watched Ben as he wrapped his arms round his stomach, curled up in his chair and closed his eyes.
It was now five in the morning and Finn was finally sleeping comfortably thanks to the morphine that was running through his veins, but her husband was looking more than a bit ragged round the edges.
After reaching to smooth Finn's covers, she moved to Ben's side, crouched down and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Why don't you go and lie down?" She sighed. "You'll be more comfortable, my love."
Ben shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. "No, I want to be here if Finn needs me," he gave Lilly a sad smile.
"I'm not suggesting that you go back to the apartment." Lilly smiled back. "The couch here is very comfortable. You need to rest."
"No," Ben started to push upright but Lilly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Please Ben, you're still recovering. Don't overdo things; you know that Mr Freeman will not be happy if you make yourself ill again."
Ben hung his head in frustration. If he was honest, his head was pounding and his stomach churning. "Okay," he capitulated with a sigh, uncurled and pushed up out of the chair. "You win," he kissed the top of Lilly's head and, after glancing at his son, happy to see that he was sleeping comfortably, staggered over to the couch where he quickly toed of his shoes, curled up on his side and closed his eyes.
Lilly stood and tip toed to the door and called Tim over. "Have you got any bed linen for Ben?" She whispered.
"Sure," Tim frowned, spotting Ben lying on the sofa. "Is he alright? He looks a bit flushed."
"I think he's just exhausted but I would appreciate it if you gave him a quick check over."
"Of course," Tim smiled, giving Lilly's arm a reassuring rub. "I'll go and grab some blankets. I'll be back in a minute."
"Thanks," Lilly returned the smile and then returned to her seat, took her son's hand in hers and then continued to watch over her boys as they gave into their illness and exhaustion.
Xxx
Tim pulled the curtains round Finn's bed after checking on the young boy. He gave Lilly, who was dozing in the chair a soft smile and then turned his attention to Ben who was restlessly sleeping on the couch, his head lolling from side to side.
He crouched down at his side, placed his hand on his forehead and registered a slight raise in temperature. Reaching over, he gently shook his shoulder.
"Ben, buddy. Wake up for me, will ya," he urged and Ben groaned before his eyes fluttered open.
"Is Finn alright?" He asked, inching up on the couch slightly.
"His resting comfortably," Tim smiled. "Mr Freeman is happier with his condition."
"Good," Ben rested his head back against the corner of the couch and Tim placed his hand on his forehead again.
"I don't think you're feeling too good though buddy," he sighed. "You've got a touch of fever."
"I know. I shouldn't be here," Ben replied, reaching up to massage his aching temples.
"You're fine," Tim removed his hand and reached for Ben's wrist. "I'm sure you're just exhausted," he smiled and then sat in silence as he took Ben's pulse. "That's fine," he reassured confidently. "Do you feel sick?"
"A little," Ben admitted sadly. "Not too bad but my stomach still feels off," he shrugged.
Tim rocked back on his heels. "Right, I'm gonna take your temp and then find you something for your fever and nausea," he smiled. "I'm sure you've just overdone things, which is not surprising. You just need to rest."
"Okay," Ben sighed and lay down again. Tim covered him with a blanket and started to make his way out of the room, pausing when Lilly called his name.
"Hey," he smiled, popping his head through a gap in the curtains.
"Is Ben alright?" Lilly asked softly so not to disturb Finn.
"He's fine, low grade fever and a bit of an upset stomach, both understandable considering the circumstances. I'm just gonna give him some Tylenol and something for the nausea. He'll feel better soon."
"Thank you," Lilly smiled.
"No problem. Just try and sleep while you can."
"Uh huh," Lilly mumbled and curled up in her chair again.
"Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine," Lilly smiled.
"Okay," Tim drew the curtains again before leaving the room.
It sure had been a long night for the Ashton family.
Xxx
Jarred Freeman was tired. It had been a long shift on the unit. Most nights were long but this one in particular. He would never get used to losing a child to the awful disease and tonight four year old Ellie Hampton had sadly passed away in the arms of her devastated parents. There was little they could have done her. She had been battling a persistent form of leukaemia most of her young life, but it still hurt to lose her.
He had just been completing the paperwork after consoling her parents when a technician from the labs bought Finn Ashton's blood results up.
Jarred had a soft spot for young Finn and his family. Although he knew that he shouldn't grow too close to his patients, there was something about the Ashton's that made them special though. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but the whole family seemed very wise beyond their years, Finn especially as he'd dealt with everything that was happening to him so bravely.
The poor boy had been so ill after his fourth Chemo but had battled back with humour and good nature with the help of his family who had barely left his side, even though his father had struggled to recover from his bout of food poisoning. However, as Finn grew stronger, so did Ben and things had been looking up for them.
Unfortunately, this wasn't reflected in Finn's latest set of blood results.
Jarred rubbed his face tiredly as he took in the information. Despite the intensive Chemo regime, blast cells were still present and Finn wasn't in remission as they hoped he would be.
Knowing that a difficult decision needed to be made, Jarred reached for his phone.
"Can you ask Ben and Lilly Aston to come to my office?" He asked the nurse on the other end, placed the phone down again and sat back in his chair.
His long night was turning into an even longer day.
Xxx
There was a subdued sad atmosphere on the unit today, young Ellie's death had been hard on everyone, the staff especially and Polly took the serious tone of Mr Freeman's request to mean that the day wasn't going to improve any time soon.
After taking a deep breath, she entered Finn's room, plastering a smile on her face.
"How's everything going in here?" She asked, watching Connie as she bounced up and down on her brother's bed making Finn giggle uncontrollably. It was a happy family picture – Ben, Lilly and their children enjoying some quality fun time together and she really didn't want to spoil it for them.
"We're fine," Ben grinned and then grabbed Constance before she bounced off the bed.
"Good," Polly nodded, fiddled with Finn's chart for a while and then cleared her throat. "Um, Mr Freeman would like to see you both in his office guys."
"Oh, did he say why?" Ben asked, grappling with his daughter who was squirming on his lap.
"He didn't say," Polly shrugged. "But, he'd like to see you as soon as possible."
She watched the colour drain from Ben's face as he exchanged worried looks with his wife and wanted to reassure the family that things were fine but knew she couldn't.
"I'll look after Finn and Constance," she offered instead. "We'll watch a movie together."
"Yay," Connie clambered down from Ben's lap and ran over to the pile of DVD's. "I wanna pick, I wanna pick," she chanted as she jigged up and down.
"You can pick, Con," Finn agreed from his bed "as long as it's not another princess one."
"Oh," Connie grouched but continued to sort through the pile.
"Mr Freeman's in his office," Polly continued as she picked up the TV remote. "Take your time, we're just fine here," she reassured.
Ben and Lilly frowned as they slowly got to their feet and Polly watched as Lilly quickly grabbed Ben's hand and gripped it tightly.
She knew the young medics weren't stupid, that they guessed that there something maybe wrong, they'd had much practice of such medical procedures. She just hoped they had the strength to deal with what might be bad news.
xxx
"Take a seat." Jarred gestured to the seats opposite and waited for Ben and Lilly to sit down. "Right," he then cleared his throat and opened Finn's file. "I've just had the latest results of Finn's blood work," he told them as he flicked through the file.
"Oh?" Ben frowned and leaned forward, hoping to get a glimpse of the results but Jarred quickly closed the file, brought his hands together and rested them on the table.
"The results are not as good as we hoped they might be," he admitted softly.
Ben continued to frown. "In what way?" He asked, tightening his grasp on Lilly's hand, knowing by the grim expression on the senior Oncologist's face that there were not going to hear good news.
"As you know," Jarred rested back in his chair again, "Finn has undergone a very vigorous series of Chemotherapy."
"Yes," Ben nodded slowly.
"And we hoped that, by hitting the blast cells hard then we would achieve remission before starting him on consolidation Chemo in the clinic."
"Yes," Ben continued to nod.
"Well," Jarred sighed. "Remission has not been achieved, I'm afraid."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that we need to regroup and try another treatment for him."
"You're thinking of a bone marrow transplant aren't you?" Ben knew from his training that this might be a possibility somewhere down the line.
"Actually, I'm suggesting a stem cell transplant. It's more effective and kinder on both the donor and patient."
"I don't understand," Lilly interjected. "Why can't we just carry on with this Chemo regime until it works," she questioned, looking from Jarred to her husband and back again.
"Because," Jarred cleared his throat "the regime is so harsh and Finn's body will not cope with it long term. This round really made him very ill and I'm not happy for him carry on with it as we would be putting his life a risk I'm afraid."
Lilly gripped Ben's hand tighter in an endeavour to stop the tremors racing through her body. "So, if Finn has this 'transplant' what does it involve and what is the prognosis?"
"First of all," Jarred began to explain, "We have to find a suitable donor. Normally it's a family member but if that's not possible Finn will go on a donor register until someone with a perfect match is found."
"Okay, so – you test both of us then?"
"Yes we do and any immediate family there is. We will do a bone marrow aspirate under light sedation first. We test that to see if either of you are compatible."
"Okay." Ben nodded.
"Now, if one of you is compatible we will start Finn immediately on Total Body Irradiation radiation and one last high dose Chemo after which will be transferred onto our Bone Marrow Transplant unit. The transplant will happen as soon as possible afterwards. The transplantation is a simple procedure. We transfuse the matched cells into Finn, just like all the transfusions he's had over the past month. The healthy matched stem cells will replace the cancerous ones and should make their way to Finn's bone marrow and encourage him to produce his own healthy cells in time."
"We understand."
Jarred took a deep breath before continuing, knowing that the next piece of information was difficult for the parents of a child who was so sick. "The next few weeks, maybe months could be very difficult for Finn. The transplant will probably make him pretty sick and, as he will have no immune system for a while, he will be wide open to infection until he starts to produce new cells. It will be necessary to nurse him under Barrier conditions again. Polly will show you his new room and I suggest you kit it out as homely as possible as you will be spending a long time in that room. Go to the library, choose some books and DVD's – anything that you think will make things easier for Finn and yourselves."
"Okay."
"We also need to be prepared for the fact that neither of you are compatible. I suggest you contact blood relatives and pre warn them that they may need to come in."
Lilly looked at Ben, panic showing on her face but Ben calmly squeezed her hand. "Let's take this a step at a time," he urged softly.
"Indeed," Jarred agreed, glancing up from his paperwork. "We'll get everything starting first thing in the morning and see what happens," he nodded, closed his file and sat back. "Do you have any questions?" He asked.
"No. We understand," Ben answered softly.
"Why don't you go and spend some family time with your boy. I'll make the arrangements and let you know."
"Thank you," Ben smiled and then stood, helped Lilly to her feet and they made their shaky way out of the room, reeling in shock about the situation.
This was so not the news they'd hoped and prayed for. Finn had another mountain to climb.
xxx
The next day passed in a blur.
Ben had contacted Daniel and told him what was happening and he'd dropped everything to be with Finn while Ben and Lilly underwent their procedures. General Laundry had again stepped in to arrange for Connie to stay at Stargate Command, it wasn't an idea situation at all but they have few other options under the circumstances.
The Bone Marrow aspirates had gone smoothly and, a part from a little drowsiness and hip pain, Ben and Lilly were both fine within an hour or so.
They were now waiting nervously for the results.
They'd joined Daniel in Finn's room as soon as they were released by the medical personel and they were all sitting round Finn's bed as the sick boy slept.
Ben kept glancing at the clock and then glancing at the door. Time was ticking by so slowly. Jarred had told them that it would take an hour or so before they had any news and the time was almost up. Soon they would know what they needed to do, whether they needed to contact Mandana or not.
After clearing his throat, he turned to Daniel, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room for the past half an hour. "What did General Laundry say?" He asked, keeping his voice low not only not to disturb his sleeping son but also to make sure others didn't over hear what they were discussing.
Daniel leaned forward. "He contacted Washington immediately and they have given permission for a team to be sent to Mandana straight away if needs be."
That's...That's great," Ben stuttered. "Hopefully it won't come to that but it's a relief to know that it would be possible if needs be."
"Did you doubt that they wouldn't?" Daniel frowned.
"Well, I know it costs alot to open the gate,'" Ben whispered. "I would totally understand if they'd said no."
"The General said that the go ahead was immediate."
"I'm touched," Ben sighed, ducking his head. "They didn't have to do that."
"You're family," Daniel placed his hand on Ben's knee. "You, Lilly, Finn and Connie are all part of the Stargate family and don't ever forget that."
Ben looked up and smiled with tears brimming in his eyes. "That means so much," he admitted softly.
Silence returned once more as they continued to watch Finn sleep with one eye on the door at all times. Funny things was, when the door did finally open, all three of them jumped in surprise, not because they weren't expecting it but more that Jarred was the one actually opening it. They'd been expecting Polly or Tim telling them that Mr Freeman was ready to see them. The fact that the Senior Oncologist stood before them with a very serious look on his face spoke volumes.
"So, no match then?" Ben sighed, pre empting the information he guessed was coming.
"No, I'm afraid not," Jarred sighed. "I'm so very sorry."
Ben reached and grabbed Lilly's hand. "So, we gone to plan B," he stated confidently, giving Lilly's hand a comforting squeeze.
Jarred pulled up a chair and joined the trio round the bed. "We need to contact all your blood relatives as soon as possible. They will need to come in for a Bone Marrow aspirate."
"We can do that," Daniel smiled at Ben and Lilly. "Leave that to us."
"Thank you," Ben smiled back.
"You say that they live out of the country," Jarred said, double checking the Ashton's file. "How long will it take for them to get here?"
Ben looked at Daniel, not really knowing to say and Daniel quickly answered for them.
"We will have them here within three days. They will need to go to Cheyenne Mountain for clearance first and we will contact you as soon as they are there."
"Okay. That's fine." Jarred grabbed his pen from his top pocket. "Can you give me names and ages? We need to make a head start on files for them."
"Um," Lilly cleared her throat. "My father, Sergi Tanger is 60. My mother, Hanah Tanger is 58, and Cara Wenton is my sister and she is 30."
Jarred wrote down the information as she spoke. "And you Ben, do you have any blood relations?"
"No. My parents died when I was a teenager and I lost my only brother to Leukaemia three years ago."
Jarred stopped writing and lifted his head to look at Ben. "I'm so very sorry. All this must bring back particularly hard memories for you."
"It does," Ben agreed softly. "Conner had a long hard battle with the disease, one he faced very bravely, much like Finn. I gain great strength from that."
"I'm glad," Jarred smiled and they all sat, lost in their thoughts for a while until Daniel slapped his knees and stood.
"Right, I need to go and make the travel arrangements," he stated, giving Ben and Lilly a reassuring glance.
"I'll come with you," Ben stood as well. "I need to collect Constance."
"No driving, Mr Ashton," Jarred said as he placed his chair back. "You've still got some mild sedation in your system."
"I'll meet you outside, I'll drive," Daniel smiled and he and Jarred left the room, giving Lilly and Ben some time alone, knowing that they really needed it.
Ben moved to Lilly's side, held his hand out and then pulled her to her feet. "Everything is going to be okay," he soothed as he enveloped her in his arms.
"I'm so scared," Lilly sobbed as she melted into his embrace.
"I know. Me too," Ben admitted, "but Finn is in the best hands. We just have to put or trust in the specialists and let them do their jobs."
"I know, "Lilly sniffed, "but it's going to be such a long hard few months and Finn is going to be so sick. I don't know if I'm strong enough..."
"Of course you are. Don't forget we will have the support of our family if your parents decide to stay. That will be wonderful, won't it?"
"Yes it will," Lilly nodded and Ben tipped her chin so she looked him in the eye.
"We can do this," he smiled, "Finn can do this," he tenderly brushed his wife's tears away. "He's an amazing boy who has an amazing family who will be moving worlds to be with him and support him."
Lilly managed to give a shaky smile. "I can't wait to see them."
"Me too so I'd best go and check in with Stargate Command, fill them in on what is happening. Will you be alright here?"
"Finn and I will be just fine," Lilly quickly dried her eyes. "You had better hurry, time is of the essence."
Ben pulled her in for another quick hug before hurrying out of the room.
Now, for the difficult task.
They had to convince the Tanger's to leave their homeland and that wasn't going to be easy.