A nurse put the three of them in a room and took Michael Vincent's vitals.
"So, he still has a fever, and his heart rate is higher than what's expected. And you said he's been really fatigued? He looks very pale," The nurse said, "I'm going to get someone to come in here and draw some blood. She'll be right in."
Jack and Angela exchanged worried glances; things don't usually move this quickly unless the health care practitioners are concerned.
There was a knock at the door, and a pretty, blonde, young doctor let herself into the room.
"Hi there, Mrs. Montenegro and Mr. Hodgins, I'm Dr. Freedman. And hi buddy, you must be Michael!" She turned towards the parents, " So I'm gonna need to draw a bit of blood from him, do you mind distracting him in some way? It doesn't hurt, but when kids see a needle they tend to freak."
"Hey, buddy," Jack said, "Let's count the racecars over there on the wall, see them? Yeah how many do you think there are?" He continued until Dr. Freedman had what she needed.
"I'm going to get a rush on these tests, but it still may take a while. Make yourselves confortable."
A knock woke them from their very short nap.
"Let's talk," Dr. Freedman said as she entered the room, "I just got the results from the CBC, and… I'm concerned. Michael has a very high white blood cell count, but a very low red blood cell count. I also looked at a smear and achieved similar results. And with his other symptoms... I'm not sure if you know what this means… Do I need to explain it further?" She asked.
"No," Angela croaked, "We know exactly what that means." Her eyes became red and glassy, and her voice waivered as she asked, "So are you doing the bone marrow biopsy right now? Or are we going to wait until tomorrow?" She no longer had any control over her emotions. She fell into Jack's arms, heaving and shaking with heavy, loud cries. When Angela was able to compose herself, Dr. Freedman spoke again, "I'd like to do it right now, if you don't mind. Let's just get it over with."
"Of course I don't mind," Angela agreed, "Let's just get it over with."
She picked up Michael Vincent who had fallen back asleep, and cradled him in her arms and she walked toward the path lab.