Wasn't sure I could finish this one, but here it is.

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Chapter Twenty-One

Waiting in Limbo

Noah was out of the car and through the emergency room doors before the car came to a stop. He was surprised by the rush of people he had to get go through to get the nurse's desk. He really wasn't thinking about anything, just getting to Luke. He slipped past a woman demanding someone look at her cut hand. There was an older woman manning the desk. She was about 50 years old and looked like she had seen it all. Her hair was a soft grey and pulled back into a bun. Her reading glasses were resting on her noses as she looked up from computer monitor.

"Ma'am, we are working as fast as we can. The bleeding has stopped and someone will get to you,"

"Excuse me ma'am?" Noah tired to be polite, but he was really working at it.

"No! I have been standing here for forty-five minutes! Do you know who my husband is?"

"No ma'am I don't. I don't care if he is the Governor, please take your seat," the nurse said to the other woman. Noah did not have time for this!

"Excuse me!" Noah yelled. Both women stopped as well as half dozen others around him. "I just need to know about a patient that was brought here by ambulance. Please," he said through gritted teeth. "After she answers my question, you can go back to yelling about how important your husband is, ok?" He said to the woman standing next to him. The nurse gave him a onceover and smirked at his tenacity.

"How can I help you?" The nurse asked. She was glad that he was able to get the rich witch to shut up for two seconds.

"I need know about a patient that was brought in by ambulance about forty-five minutes ago,"

"Name?" She asked and he heard her clicking her long nails across the keys.

"Luke Snyder," Noah was drumming his fingers on the counter. His adrenaline was pumping and he could not help but fidget.

"Relation?"

"I'm his brother," Noah answered. Not exactly a lie, but he was stretching the truth. The whole adoption thing was a bit ridiculous, but he was going to use it to his advantage. The nurse continued to click at the keys and Noah heard the computer beep softly.

"He was taken up to the third floor for scans. There is a waiting room on that floor. I'll let the attending on duty know that you are there. Take this hallway to the elevators and get off on 3," she reached over the counter to direct him to the elevators. Noah said a quick thank you and ran for the elevators. As he waited for the elevator he could hear bleeding woman get into it again with the nurse. The noises of the ER were drown out as the doors closed.

Noah found the waiting room and could not sit for long. The room looked like any other waiting room in any other hospital. The floors were a grey Berber carpet, kind that's easy to clean. The walls were a soft beige on top with a grayish pink on the bottom. The two colors were set off by a grey and pink wallpaper border. The chairs were along the three walls while the forth wall was open to the hallway. He sat in the chair at the farthest end of the little room. This gave him a clear view of the nurses' station and anyone coming. The place had that same medicine smell that makes everyone uneasy. He would get up and pace every ten minutes or so. He looked at the clock and saw it had been about two hours since Lily had called him. His cell rang and the sudden noise startled him.

"Hello?"

"Noah? Where are you?"

"Mr. Snyder. I'm on the third floor in a waiting room," he heard Holden telling those with him what he just heard and the phone cut out. He knew that he would soon be surrounded by an army of Snyders.

Noah sat in his chair and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. He heard them before he saw them. Lily was the first one to round the corner and come into the small waiting area.

"Noah," she called to him; he could tell she had been crying. He stood up and they were in each other's arms before either one could think of anything else. They shared a long hug while the others came into the lounge area and stood around them.

"Have you heard anything?" Holden asked. Noah let go of Lily, but kept an arm around her shoulders. She clung to him and he could feel her shaking like a leaf.

"No. I have been here for over 90 minutes and no one had come out yet," Noah told him and Holden marched over to the nurses' station with Damian right behind him. Noah then felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He looked down and saw Natalie; her right ear against his stomach. Noah removed his arm from Lily and reached down to Natalie. He slipped his hands under her arms and pulled her up to his chest. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she buried her face in his neck. His arms went around her body; hers around his neck. He could hear her sniffling. He made soothing sounds, made light cycles on her back, and paced around a bit with her. He kept an eye on Damian and Holden; hoping that they get an update soon. He looked over at the small line of chairs along one wall. There sat Faith, Lucinda, and Lily. Ethan must still be in Oakdale with Emma. It really hit Noah in this moment, that this is what family means. Everyone coming together a moment's notice when one is in need. He felt Natalie tighten her hold around his neck and rubbed his cheek against her hair. He felt a bit of peace as he comforted the little girl.

Holden and Damian were still at the nurses' station when a very tired doctor came out of the double doors that only hospital personnel are allowed through. Everyone in the waiting area turned towards the doctor as he came closer. You could feel the tension in the room get jacked up to eleven.

"I assume you are all here for Luke Snyder?"

"How is he doctor?" Holden asked.

"I need to speak with his parents," he said as he gestured towards one of the smaller waiting room across the hall. Lily, Holden and Damian went with the doctor and they closed the door. Noah fought every urge he had, but he was not going to be left out of this. He handed a dozing Natalie to Lucinda and crossed the hall in two steps to the closed door. He opened it and looked in to see the three parents just sitting down and the doctor sat across from them. "I'm sorry. This is private,"

"No. I need to be in here," Noah said quite plainly with strong conviction as if it was fact. The doctor was about to protest again, but he was quickly cut off.

"It's all right," Holden said and Noah internally breathed a sigh of relief. He closed the door and stood next to Lily and waited for the doctor to continue. Lily reached up and took Noah hand in hers. He felt grounded and ready to listen.

"Luke came in suffering from severe abdominal pain. We ran every test we could and it seems that Luke has gone into renal failure,"

"Oh my god," Lily gasped and a hand covered her mouth in shock. Holden let out a long shaking sigh. Damian bowed his head and coughed to cover his unsteady breathing.

"Someone is going to have to tell me what that means," Noah said to the room in a desperate voice. Someone please tell me what is wrong with Luke.

"It means his kidney is shutting down," Holden answered without looking up. Noah felt like his legs were numb. His entire body was going cold.

"How did this happen? What caused this?" Lily was finally able to ask when she calmed herself down.

"From what we can tell, he developed an infection that went untreated for quite some time. And because he was in a weakened state, the infection attacked his kidney. Causing the renal failure," the doctor laid out. Noah felt like his entire world had been pulled out from under him. He was finally better and willing to beg Luke for forgiveness and now Luke was sick. The doctor continued with his questions.

"Did any of you notice anything different with his health?"

"Like what?" Damian asked.

"Weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, back pain, he would been feeling tired or weak, trouble sleeping or concentrating; any of this sound familiar?"

"All of the above," Noah said and the others looked at him for a moment. "At Christmas Emma asked Luke if he was feeling all right. She said he looked pale and it looked like he had lost some weight,"

"That was five months ago. Was there anything else?" The doctor asked and Damian didn't quite like his tone.

"What are you insinuating doctor? That we were negligent,"

"I am just trying to get a time frame for his symptoms. If I can determine how long he had feeling sick, then I can determine the best way to treat him,"

"What do you mean treat him?"

"There are new drugs that maybe able to reverse the damage. We have him on dialysis right now, but we need your permission to execute the new regime,"

"Do anything," Lily begged as she tightened her grip on Noah's hand. The doctor nodded and left the room. They sat in silence before Holden stood up.

"How could have not seen something?" He asked Lily.

"What?"

"My son was living with you and no one seemed to notice that he was sick?" Holden stood up and started pacing now. Lily and Holden were now face to face arguing over whose fault it was.

"STOP IT!" Noah yelled;everyone in the waiting room even heard it, but the arguing stopped right there. "Luke got sick and we didn't know because everyone was worried about me, including Luke. So, if you want to blame someone, blame me," he said in a raised voice and left the room; slamming the door behind him. He looked into the waiting room and saw Lucinda holding a sleeping Natalie and a scared Faith. He couldn't be in here anymore. He walked down the hall to the bank of elevators. He hit the down button with a closed fist and entered the elevator. He needed air.

As soon as he got outside, he suddenly wanted to be inside. The weather was warm, but Noah wasn't it. He had broken into a cold sweat while the doctor spoke and now he was freezing. He couldn't calm down. He heart was racing and he was having trouble breathing. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but then he realized what it was.

He may lose Luke.

Not to another guy or city, but forever. He had ruined everything between them. He always thought he would time to fix things, but his time maybe running out. And what was he doing; he was standing outside. He turned around and went back upstairs. He got off the elevator and went straight to the waiting room. Lily was now holding Natalie; Holden, Damian, and Lucinda were talking to each other. They all saw Noah enter the room and walk over to Lily. He crouched down and lightly rubbed Natalie's back.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper,"

"It's all right. We're all scared and none of us blame you," her hand reached out and covered his. "There's no one to blame in all of this. We'll all just be here until he wakes up," as the words left her lips, the double doors opened and a nurse came into the waiting room.

"We've moved Luke to a private room. You can see him if you follow me," she said and was followed by the assembled party that was not going to leave the hospital until Luke did. Lily carefully woke Natalie up and stood to join the others. They all walked in silence until they came to Luke's room. It was like something out one of those horror movies that Luke loves so much. You knew something terrible was beyond the door, but you had no other choice but to go in.

"You can see him, but keep the groups small. He really needs his rest. If you need anything, the call button is on his bed rail," the nurse said before she turned and walked down the hall.

"Well, how about Faith, Natalie, and I go in and say goodnight. I can take them to The Four Seasons and get some rooms for all of us," Lucinda said as he took the girls hands and led them into the room. They were out in about five minutes. Faith looked a bit paler and Natalie looked like she was sleepwalking.

Lily, Holden, and Damian went next. They were in there for a bit longer and Noah started to pace back and forth. They left the room and Lily touched Noah's arm.

"I'll clear it with the nurses. You can stay as long as you want," she said and then pulled Noah into a hug. She gave a soft peck on the cheek and followed the others down the hall. Noah rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans and a long breath before he went inside.

The curtains were drawn and the lights were on the dimmest setting. Luke was lying on his back and the blankets were pulled right up to his chest. He looked like a ghost. His skin was so pale against his light hair. He stepped closer and pulled a chair beside the bed. He sat down and just looked. He could hear the machines functioning around him and Luke's soft breathing. He wanted to touch him, but he was afraid of pulling a wire free or screwing up an IV. This reminded him of when he visited him in the hospital after that awful fishing trip. His father nearly killed him and Luke was paralyzed for a couple months. But he was so strong and vital then, now he was so fragile and weak.

Noah slid his hand under Luke's that was resting next to his hip. Noah figured it was a safe place to try. Luke stirred slightly, but stayed asleep. Hearing Luke breath and the beep of the heart monitor was enough to slowly rock Noah to sleep.

He woke up the next morning with a blanket draped over him. One of the nurses must have felt sorry for him. He looked at Luke and saw that he was still asleep and Noah's hand had not moved. He leaned forward and felt his back seize up. He groaned softly and winced as he tried to stretch it out.

"Just how comfy is that chair?" Noah heard Luke say and he felt his heart flip flop. He grabbed the call button and a nurse came in. Noah was quickly ushered out and a doctor came in.

Noah paced in front of the door; waiting for any news. The door opened and a couple nurses came out getting instructions from the doctor. Noah reached out and touched the doctor's shoulder. He turned back to face Noah.

"How is he?"

"Well, he seems to taking to medicine quite well, but we are not out of woods yet. The next 24 hours are pretty critical,"

"Can I go back in?"

"Sure, just make sure you don't keep him awake. He needs his sleep,"

Noah stepped back into the room and Luke had his eyes closed. He seemed to be sleeping. Noah resumed his place at Luke's side and took his hand again. Luke tightened his grip on Noah fingers. He leaned closer and grasped Luke's wrist with his other hand.

"You look terrible," Noah said in a soft voice.

"Thanks for the support. Wait, what?" Luke turned his eyes to Noah's face. When there gazes met, Luke knew the truth.

He could see.

"How did…when?"

"A few weeks. They operated and removed a huge blood clot,"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I…," Noah was cut off by the door opening. He thought it might be Lily or Holden, but it was the blonde guy from the coffee shop. Noah heart clenched.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" The other man asked as he put a bouquet of lilies next to the bed. Luke looked at the flowers for a second and a smile came across his face.

"Ok, just real tired. Oh, Scott this is Noah, Noah this is Scott," he introduced the two men.

Noah now knew the name of the man that took his place.

Scott now knew the face that went with the guy that Luke could not let go of.

They shook hands and Scott excused himself. He told Luke that he would be back later. Luke turned his attention back to Noah.

"You were saying?"

"Yeah, I was telling you about the surgery. I wanted to tell you, but then you would left you life here. And…,"

"Noah, stop,"

"No, I have to say this,"

"No, I mean stop!" Luke almost shouted and begun to squeeze Noah's hand. He curled into a ball and held onto his back. His heart monitor was beeping off the chart. Noah grabbed the call box and held down the red button. Noah could see Luke clench his jaw as if he was trying to hold the pain back, but his tightening grip was a strong indicator. He was in a lot of pain. Noah wanted to run into the hall and scream for help, but he did not want to let go of Luke's hand.

The door burst open and the doctor came rushing in with three nurses.

"What's wrong with him?" Noah begged.

"Get him out of here," the doctor said and it took two the nurses to get him out and door shut. He felt like he was falling down real fast. His feet were glued to the floor and his whole body was shaking. He took out his cell and made a call that he did not want to make.

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