Chapter Four:
Mike fidgeted awkwardly in the plastic chair in the hospital waiting room, any minute now and he'd be starting his first session of chemotherapy. It didn't feel real. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of it, it was the side effects he'd read about that worried him most of all, which could be anything from tiredness to nausea and vomiting to the worst one of all, hair loss. He didn't even want to think about it.
"Good, you haven't gone in yet." said Harvey's voice suddenly from behind him; startling him a little he was so caught up in his own thoughts.
Mike just forced a smile and looked down at his hands. He appreciated Harvey's support and he knew he needed someone throughout this but a big part of him wished he could just struggle through it alone, that way he wouldn't have the issue of being disappointed if Harvey eventually stopped being there. He knew from previous experiences that relying on one person is never a good idea in the long run, everyone leaves at some point.
"Mr. Ross?" called a short, dark haired nurse as she peered over her glasses which were perched on the bridge of her nose as she scanned the waiting room.
Mike stood up slowly and walked towards the nurse followed closely by Harvey. Mike felt so nauseous as they followed her down the brightly lit hall to the room, the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety was overwhelming. He didn't know what to expect.
The nurse led Mike and Harvey down to the room and she told Mike to make himself comfortable on the bed and Dr. Kearns would be down to him shortly.
Harvey sat down in the chair near to the bed as Mike lay tensely on the bed.
"You okay?" asked Harvey breaking the silence. Mike had barely spoken since he'd arrived.
Mike nodded. "Yeah." he muttered just above a whisper. Which was far from true, he had never been so nervous in his life.
"It'll be fine Mike don't worry." Harvey said trying to reassure him, he could tell Mike was lying and he could sense his anxiety, although Harvey was surprised at the words coming out of his own mouth, he wasn't the caring type.
"I hope so." Mike whispered tapping his fingers anxiously.
A few moments later Dr. Kearns appeared followed by the nurse.
"Hello. How are you feeling?" asked Dr. Kearns coming over to Mike.
"I don't know." shrugged Mike quietly.
"Well just try to relax a little. I know it's daunting but you're in good hands. We'll insert the IV in a few minutes which will administer the chemotherapy drugs into your body. The session will take roughly two hours. I would prefer if you arrange someone to take you home and keep an eye on you for the next 24 hours once the session ends." explained Dr. Kearns.
"I'll keep any eye on him." said Harvey glancing at Mike who didn't even look up. He seemed distant and as if he wasn't paying much attention.
The doctor smiled gratefully at Harvey and instructed the nurse to begin with the treatment before going to attend to another patient. Mike winced as the nurse gently inserted the IV into the back of his wrist. She administered some anti-nausea medication and then she attached the bag of chemotherapy treatment to the IV and hung it up before hooking him up to a heart monitor machine.
"Just press the call button if you need anything." she said smiling warmly at Mike and then Harvey.
Mike watched the toxic medication drip slowly at regular intervals down from the bag into the drip entering his vein. He took a deep breath and laid his head back on the pillow closing his eyes, focusing of the soft bleeping of the monitor.
"There's basically poison dripping into my body right now." said Mike keeping his eyes closed.
"It's going to make you better though. It's going to be worth it." said Harvey calmly. All of a sudden Harvey's phone rang loudly making Mike open his eyes with a start.
"Sorry." apologised Harvey looking at Mike then at his phone, it was Donna. "I'm just going to go and answer this and then I'll be back with some coffee for us."
Mike nodded and lay his head back relaxing a little as Harvey softly closed the door behind him.
"Hello." he said answering the phone.
"Want to tell me what's going on?" hissed Donna.
"Donna, I already told you I wasn't coming in today, I'm working on a case with Mike at my place, it's easier to think."
"Bullshit Harvey. I called by your place about an hour ago. So spit it out."
Harvey sighed as he ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "Donna. It's not my place to say."
"Something's wrong isn't it?" she said quietly, her voice full of concern. Harvey didn't answer. "Harvey what's going on?"
"Mike has cancer." he said his voice shaking ever so slightly. He could hear Donna choke back a sob on the other end of the line, her breathing loud as she tried to stop herself from crying. Harvey closed his eyes; he didn't know what else to say.
"How long have you known?" she whispered.
"A week."
"A week?" she said her voice full of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Donna I couldn't, it was up to him who he told. I'm the only person who knows."
"How is he doing?" she asked.
"As you'd expect. I'm at the hospital with him now for his first chemo session." explained Harvey as he put money into the coffee machine.
"Well let me know how it goes Harvey and give him a hug from me." she said her voice quavering, she was on the verge of tears, before hanging up.
When Harvey got back to the room with the coffee Mike was fast asleep, the only sound was the steady beep of the heart monitor and the quiet dripping of the medication. He smiled sadly as he looked at Mike, he looked exhausted, before sitting down and taking out some files he'd brought to work on.
Mike woke up to the nurse waking him up gently as she began to remove the IV from his wrist which was bruised from the needle. He looked sleepily over at Harvey who sat forward in his chair.
"How are you feeling?" he asked Mike looking at him intently, his brow furrowed slightly with concern.
"Not too bad at the moment." he said propping himself up on the bed slowly, rubbing his eyes. "When can we leave?"
"The nurse is just getting your prescription for you and then we can go." said Harvey putting away the files he'd been working on.
"Can we get pizza on the way home? I'm actually hungry for a change." asked Mike smiling.
Harvey laughed. "Of course, just not from one of those cheap, contaminated fast food places you go to."
"As long as you're paying then I don't care where we go." he smirked.
Harvey smiled. It was the first time in weeks Mike seemed the slightest bit happy and although he knew Mike was going to be up and down for the next while, he never knew that a part of him would feel this happy and relieved to see Mike acting somewhat normal.