When he got home, Noah knew he had to tell Luke before he went into the hospital. He sent Luke a text to meet him at Java and Luke replied back that he could be there in thirty minutes. Noah took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves and went to meet Luke.
"Luke, I'm not going to Los Angeles." Noah said nervously.
Luke was stunned. "He's staying for me" he thought. He hated shoving Noah away but he didn't want to be hurt again by Noah and telling him he was in love with Reid would get Noah to go to Los Angeles.
"You need to go, Noah." Luke was being honest if albeit hurtful. "We talked about this. I'm in love with Reid and I want to be with him and not you." Luke noticed that Noah just looked like he got hit in the head with a brick.
"Luke, it's not…"
"No, you need to go follow your dreams and forget about me."
Ali walked into Java to get a cup a coffee while on a break from the hospital. She saw Luke and Noah having an intense talk. She was pleased that Noah was hopefully telling Luke about his diagnosis.
"I have leukemia, Luke," Noah yelled out before he lost his nerve.
Everyone in Java heard him and turned to look. Jeff stiffened at the counter while taking Ali's order.
Luke started laughing. Noah was stunned by Luke's reaction.
"You are so desperate to keep me that you'll tell me you have leukemia?" laughed Luke.
"It's true." He was totally taken aback by Luke's reaction.
"That's pathetic." Luke spat back not believing Noah.
"You don't believe me?" Noah was in shock as tears began to run down his face.
"No, I don't. I can't believe you would say such a thing just to get me to come back to you."
"What?" Still not believing what he was hearing.
Luke knew he had to push Noah into going to Los Angeles. He hated to but he lied to Noah. "You just need to accept that I'm not in love with you Noah." Luke tried to be as believable as he could.
"I can't believe you. You're such an asshole, Luke." Noah yelled loudly. "I tell you that I have leukemia and you laugh at me."
"You're lying to me, Noah."
Noah stood up and clenched his fists in anger. "When have I ever lied to you? Never is the answer. Fuck you, Luke," yelled Noah. He turned around and stormed out of Java.
Luke just sat there thinking about what Noah told him. "Noah seems awfully mad. Could he be telling me the truth? No, Noah can't have cancer. He has to be trying to get me back." Luke thought to himself as he looked at the door.
-P-
Ali paid for her coffee and yelled to Jeff to keep the change as she ran out the door after Noah. She found him passed out and lying on the concrete by his truck. She checked his vitals and called 911.
When Noah was rolled into the emergency room, Bob was there to meet him. "What happened, Ali?"
"He had a fight with Luke at Java and he ran out the door. I found him passed out by his truck. Luke didn't believe him about the leukemia."
Noah was immediately admitted since he still wasn't conscious and Bob started running tests on Noah.
Noah woke up about twenty minutes later. "What happened?"
"I think you got so agitated that your body couldn't handle the stress it was under and just shut down. We are running some tests now but I'd like you to stay here overnight to just make sure that your vitals have returned to their normal levels before we start chemotherapy."
"Luke didn't believe me. He thought I was making it up." Noah started to cry.
"It's okay, Noah. It's a shock for anyone to take. I'm sure he didn't mean it."
"He did. He said I was pathetic." Noah yelled as he continued to cry.
"I'm going to give you something to relax you a bit." Bob injected Noah with a sedative.
"He thought I was lying to him. I've never lied to him." Noah rambled on as he became sleepy.
"It's okay, Noah. He'll know soon enough. Just try to relax for a bit." Bob dimmed the lights in the room as he walked out, wishing he could strangle Luke.
An hour later, Bob went back to check on Noah. He was sleeping but his blood pressure was still elevated. As he was leaving, Joe walked into Noah's room. He told Joe about Noah vitals and that Noah was going to spend the night.
-P-
The next morning, Lucinda was on her way into the hospital to be with Noah when she ran into Alison in the parking lot.
"Hi Allison, where's Noah?" Questioned Lucinda as they walked toward the hospital.
"Hi, Mrs. Walsh. He was admitted last evening."
"What? Why?" Lucinda asked with a crease forming between her eyebrows.
"He met Luke at Java to tell him about the cancer. I guess it didn't go well and they had an argument. I found Noah passed out in the parking lot by his truck. I called an ambulance and the doctors kept him here for observation but he seemed fine."
"That's not good." Lucinda was upset. "I want to be kept abreast of any issues immediately concerning Noah from now on."
"Yes ma'am...Noah is refusing to unpack any of his things. He says that it would be easier on us." Ali said with worry.
"That's not good either. Thanks, Allison. Let me know if he keeps that up." Lucinda scurried off to find Bob and Joe.
Lucinda met up with Bob and Joe and was filled in on all the details of Noah's collapse the previous night, including his fight with Luke.
"I want to be notified immediately if something like this happens again." Lucinda sounded a bit pissy. "I had no idea this had happened."
They noted in Noah's chart to notify Lucinda and also told her that the surgery to put in the catheter was a success without any issues. After their conversation, Lucinda walked into Noah's room to find him sleeping, so she left to make a couple of phone calls.
-P-
When Noah woke up, he called Sam to tell him about the leukemia diagnosis and asked Sam if he could come visit him in the hospital. An hour later, Sam walked into Noah's room.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your medical issues, Noah."
Lucinda walked into the room just as Noah and Sam started their conversation. Noah smiled at Lucinda and introduced her to Sam.
"You just talk, I'll sit here until you're done darling, if that's okay?" Noah nodded.
"I know this will keep me from getting my grant but I want to document my treatment, my feelings about it and if I make it through, then I want to use what I filmed as my movie."
"Interesting idea but others have done this before."
"Yes, but my life has been interesting," chuckled Noah. "My colonel father killed my prostitute mother, shot my boyfriend and treated me like shit when I was young, I was kidnapped and I helped find a gun runner. Shall I continue?"
"Sounds horrible...but interesting." grinned Sam.
"It's time I let it all out in the open. My childhood has affected my adult life in terrible ways and I need to finally let it all go." Noah was finally ready to face his past.
"I'll see what I can do. What will you need?"
"I just need a hand held camera that can operate in low light and can be dumped to a DVD with say 3-5 hours of record time." replied Noah.
"I know just the camera you are looking for. I can't promise I can get it for you but I'll try."
Lucinda stood up and gave Sam her card. "Anything you can't get, you bill me for."
"Lucinda." Noah sounded annoyed.
"Darling, this is your legacy if things go badly. But when you beat this thing, it will be a new beginning of understanding your past...And I won't take no for an answer."
"I know enough not to argue with you."
"If you do this, you can't hold anything back. Nothing but the full truth and emotions. No matter how bad it gets."
"Even if I call you the one of the sweetest and warmest women I know." Noah grinned.
"That's slander, I tell you." Lucinda yelled out in laughter. "I'll deny it with my whole stable of lawyers."
After all the laughter in the room subsided, Noah agreed to accept Lucinda's help with his project.
"Well, I have to get going. I'll be through at least twice a month. I'll drop by if that's okay and see how you're doing and how the filming is going?" asked Sam. Noah agreed and Sam left.
As Sam was exiting Noah's hospital room, Noah turned to Lucinda and repeated her exact words. "The truth and nothing but the full truth and emotions… well that could get ugly."
"Good, because that's what every film should be. Nothing but the raw truth." said Lucinda.
"Speaking of the truth. I was wondering if you can do me a favor?" Noah asked with trepidation.
"Anything you need, I will do for you." Lucinda stepped up to his bed.
"If things go badly, I will need someone who can be my advocate...medically I mean. I don't have a next of kin."
Lucinda was touched. "I can do that. I'll have my stable come up with something for you."
"Thanks."
"No, dear, thank you. I'm glad you trust me enough to ask."
"I do. If things were different, I would have..." Noah couldn't finish. He and Luke were not together anymore.
"I know darling, I know." Lucinda petted Noah's hand reassuringly.
-P-
A couple of hours later, Joe and Bob followed by Lucinda walked into Noah's room to start chemotherapy. Joe and Bob noticed that Noah was nervous and tried to calm him down.
"Okay, Noah. This chemotherapy drip is weakened. It will test to see if you have any reaction to the chemotherapy. If you notice any problems, alert us if you can." said Dr. Barnes.
Within a minute of drip going into his catheter, Noah began to have breathing issues. Choking on his breath, Noah brought one hand to his throat and waived the other in his attempt to alert Bob and Joe.
"Something's wrong." exclaimed Lucinda.
"He's having trouble breathing." Bob said quickly. Lucinda moved out of the way of the doctors.
Joe took the drip out and injected medicine into the catheter but it wasn't helping quickly enough. Noah began to struggle against the doctors as his fear grew that he could suffocate.
"I'm going to put him to sleep. Bob, put in a breathing tube before his throat closes." Joe said calmly.
Joe was able to inject a sleeping agent into his catheter, which put Noah to sleep almost instantly. As soon as Noah was asleep, Bob moved over Noah and tilted Noah's head back to insert a breathing tube. It slipped in with some resistance. If they would have waited another minute or two, they would have had to perform a tracheotomy in order for Noah to breathe.
"Jesus, that was bad." exclaimed Joe as he checked out Noah. "He's better but I think we need to have him watched for the next hour or two before he's out of danger."
"I would agree. I would keep him sedated till morning, so his body can heal quicker."
"Nurse, I want this patent watched for the next two hours. Noah is not to be alone and you are to report any changes or if he attempts to wake up to Dr. Hughes and myself, immediately." said Joe.
"Yes, sir." said the nurse.
As soon as the doctors and Lucinda left the nurse in the room with Noah, she began pestering them with questions about what they were going to do next.
Bob and Joe came back to see Noah two hours later. The swelling in his throat was gone and he was still asleep. Joe took out the breathing tube and hooked Noah up to a respiration monitor as a precaution, which would monitor his breathing and alert the staff if Noah would stop breathing. Lucinda came in and sat with him after everyone had gone.