All three men stood up and walked out into the hallway only to bump into Lucinda, who was walking out of her doctor's office after undergoing her annual cancer screening when she noticed Noah, Bob and Joe come out the door in front of her.

"Noah, what are you doing here?" Lucinda asked curiously.

"Uh…nothing. Why?" Noah stuttered his reply.

Lucinda knew the redness in his eyes told her not to believe him.

"All three of you back in there, now?" demanded Lucinda.

All three marched themselves back into Joe's office and stood there waiting for Lucinda to talk.

"Okay, what are you doing in this department, Noah?"

"Nothing, really, Mrs. Walsh." lied Noah. Lucinda could see Noah was frightened and knew he had been crying.

"Don't give me that shit, Noah Mayer. There's only one reason why anyone comes to oncology." Lucinda warned.

Noah knew that he better tell the truth because nobody lied to Lucinda and lived to tell about it. "I might have leukemia."

"Oh, Noah!" Lucinda wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly and her eyes welled up with tears.

Noah was trying to be strong but he started crying with her. After a few minutes she asked to be filled in by Joe. "What's Noah's prognosis?"

Joe looked at Noah, "I'll need your approval to tell her anything about your treatment, Noah."

"You can tell her anything she wants to know from now on," said Noah.

Lucinda put her hand on his at the trust he just gave her.

"We think Noah may have an early stage of leukemia. We've scheduled a bone biopsy for tomorrow morning."

"How likely is it to be leukemia?"

"Very. He has all the symptoms. We just need confirmation from the biopsy."

"What time tomorrow?"

"10:00 a.m." replied Noah.

"I'll bring you in tomorrow morning."

"It's okay. I can catch a ride in, Mrs. Walsh."

Lucinda gave him a dirty look. "I told you to call me Lucinda."

"I lost that right when Luke and I broke up," Noah looked down sadly.

She picked up his chin. "Only I can revoke that right honey, and I haven't. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"We are family in two possible ways, in the Snyder family and the cancer family, my dear. We need to stick together."

Noah didn't want to argue with her.

"How are you going to tell the family?" When she noticed he was confused she repeated her question. "How are you going to tell Luke and the family?"

"I'm not!"

"Noah, you have to tell them. We are your family."

"You haven't been since Luke and I broke up." Noah's voice was filled with sadness.

"That's not true, Noah. We still love you just as much now as we did when you and Luke were together."

A big smile broke out on Bob's face. He tried to explain this to Noah in his office earlier.

"I haven't seen anyone since my surgery...Anyway, it's hard enough seeing him in Old Town with..."

"I'm sure he will want to come see you. Who knows, it may give you a second chance."

"He told me that he's in love with Dr. Oliver and doesn't want to be with me. How am I supposed to deal with that blasting in my brain every time I see him and still concentrate on getting better?"

"That is something you need to figure out. You will not be able to keep him away, unless you push him away."

"I will not make that mistake ever again but I don't want to cause an issue with him and Dr. Oliver. I've caused him enough pain as it is."

"I don't think you're describing your relationship with Luke very accurately. It takes two to tango, dear." Lucinda replied truthfully.

"I know, but he seems to think everything is my fault, so it probably is."

"I think that's probably wrong too, dear. Let me walk you out, so these gentlemen can get back to work." said Lucinda after seeing Bob and Joe standing there patiently.

-P-

When Noah got home, he sat down on the couch and just stared out into space. He was so stunned and scared that he couldn't move. He didn't even hear Ali enter the apartment.

"Noah, are you okay?" asked Ali when she found him sitting on the couch looking out into space.

Noah snapped out of his daze. "Oh, you're home."

"Are you okay, Noah?"

"I'm not sure. I've been sitting here since I got home and I'm trying to wrap my head around everything I learned today."

"That's understandable. I stopped at the store and picked up groceries to make a cobb salad."

"I'm not really hungry."

"Too bad. Now more than ever, you need to eat healthy. Cobb salad is healthy when you cut down on some of the meat and cheese. It's one of your favorite comfort foods. Come on and keep me company in the kitchen."

Noah got up and followed her. "Cut down on the meat? But that's the best part." A smile broke out on his face.

After they washed their hands, they started cutting up all the vegetables together.

"You know with my past that I like the meat and I know you do but I need to lose some weight because I'm getting married soon and you will need to eat healthy to help your body heal, so we can help each other out."

Noah smiled at Ali. He knew she was trying to pick up his spirits.

"Are you going to tell, Luke?" Ali asked curiously. "Here, roll up the meat and we will be ready to eat."

"No, I'm not going to tell Luke." Noah rolled up the meat and cut them thin.

"Why not?" Ali was setting the table. "Just because you're not together anymore, doesn't mean he no longer cares about you."

"He's too busy with his new boyfriend to care about me." Noah put the meat into the salad and brought it over to the table. "Besides, we are barely talking now and when we do, it just turns into an argument."

"I don't think he will feel that way but you can think about that tomorrow. Are you going to unpack now that you are not going to Los Angeles?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" Ali was surprised by his answer.

"Well, if it is leukemia, it may be easier not to."

"Noah, don't think that way. You need to remain positive." Being a nurse, she knew exactly what she was talking about. She'd seen way too many patients give up on their will to live and stop fighting. She wasn't going to let the same happen to Noah.

"You and Casey are the only positives in my life at the moment."

"You won't mind if I tell Casey, will you?"

"No I don't mind...just don't tell anyone else. I don't want anyone knowing yet." Or ever he thought.

Noah and Ali didn't say anything else. They just sat and ate in silence. Ali would look at Noah every few minutes but she didn't know what to say to him. After dinner was over, Noah went into his room to lie down. He was completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally. His thoughts ran over the past year and what Bob and Joe said today. He cried himself to sleep but he had a restless night where he was awake at least every hour or two.

-P-

The next morning, Noah woke up when he heard the doorbell ring and someone knocking on the front door.

Looking over at his alarm clock, he realized who the pesky intruder of his morning was. "Crap, it has to be Lucinda." He got out of bed, threw on a robe and answered the door.

"Are you still sleeping?" Lucinda was surprised. Noah is usually adamant about being on time.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep well." He tried to shake the tiredness from his eyes.

"We still have time. I brought you breakfast. After your appointment, we will stop and get a milkshake. They helped calm my stomach down during my treatment, my treat."

"That's very kind of you Lucinda but I don't think I could eat anything right now." said Noah. He was feeling very nauseated this morning. He wasn't sure if it was nerves or the leukemia.

"I know how you feel darling, but it's an omelet on dry English muffin from Al's. It's bland, so it shouldn't bother your stomach too much."

Lucinda had survived breast cancer, twice. She knew what she was talking about. He ate his sandwich and took a quick shower.