Chapter 37

"Tom, will he lie to me? If he does can you tell since you've known him for a long time?" Krystal asked wiping her eyes and getting ready to face the lion in his den.

"As I told you before Krys, AJ is the most honorable man I know. He said he would tell you so why do you think he would lie now?"

"He hasn't been very friendly to me up to now. Why should I trust him with my sister's life?" she asked, as Tom helped her up the walkway.

Before Tom could answer, the door opened and there stood her Commanding Officer in tight black jeans and a navy T-shirt, "Tom," he nodded at his friend, "Krystal, please come in, can I get either of you a drink?" he asked as he led them into the living room.

"Coffee for me please AJ," Tom answered looking at Krystal to see if she wanted anything.

"Nothing for me. I just want to know everything you do about Kris," Krystal replied. "Once I have all the information maybe I can get her to open up to me and we can get her help."

AJ brought two mugs of coffee into the living room and asked them to sit down. Tom sat on the couch and held out his arm for Krystal to sit next to him. AJ took his recliner and leaned forward with his hands folded between his knees facing the two on the couch. "She told you she was dying? Anything else?"

"That's it, I'm dying! Talk about a surprise, and then nothing else. Well she did say that she thought Albert sent us." Krystal looked him in the eyes. "Since I didn't know who Albert was I didn't have any problem denying that one. Tom had to tell me what your full name was."

"I should probably start at the beginning…or at least the beginning of my relationship with your sister. She came into my office, as you know, offering to give me the baby she was carrying. I didn't find out until today the reason she wanted to do that was because she is dying. She has bone marrow cancer, Krystal," he paused to take a sip of coffee.

"That's great, she can have chemo and that will kill the cancer cells. Why didn't she just tell me this?" Krystal sighed a breath of relief.

"She was told that chemo would kill the babies, so she's against it."

"Well, at least she'd still be alive and could have more children," Krystal replied angrily. "Didn't you tell her that?"

"She went out of her way to get pregnant, Krystal. She chose their lives over that of her own."

"Went out of her way to get pregnant? Are you saying she deliberately got herself pregnant in an attempt to get you to marry her?" Krystal was angry that her sister was being painted to be a manipulative conniving woman in this manner!

"No, Krystal that's not what I'm saying! She wanted a child, but she didn't have any plans to be married. Krista didn't even meet me until she found out she was dying and then came to offer me the babies."

"Babies?"

"Yes, she carrying twins."

"She's carrying your twins? And she didn't meet you till a month ago!"

"Yes, she went to a sperm bank to get pregnant and then when she found out she wouldn't live to raise the babies, she came looking for the biological father...me."

"Isn't there any other thing that can be done that won't hurt the twins?" Krystal cried. "Something that will save Kris and let the twins live?"

"Yes, there is a way to save her, but I think she's afraid to ask you.

"Afraid to ask me what?"

"That's for her to tell you. I'm afraid that's one confidence that I won't break," AJ stated firmly.

"But why would she be afraid to ask me anything?"

"Up until today she was under the impression that you hated her. That might have something to do with her reluctance."

"We worked all that out today and she knows I love her," Krystal cried. "She understood that when we left didn't she, Tom?"

"Darling, like she said, the two of you have been apart for so long, she might be afraid to ask something of you right after meeting you again for the first time in years."

To be continued…