Chapter Three
Carina took a deep breath. "This isn't my job so Dr. Shepherd, I'll let you read this." Carina handed the file to Amelia and walked near Andy.
Amelia looked over the file and her passive facial expression turned to shock. "Oh, my god."
"Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?" Andy asked, starting to panic.
"Andy, these results show that you have leukemia." Amelia watches Andy's face fall and her eyes tear up. "I'm so sorry, Andy."
Andy's mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish."I'm sorry, what?" Andy asked, shocked.
"Andy, your results show that it's stage two," Amelia told her, pushing Andy toward the bed and helping her get back in. Robert goes to hold Andy's hand.
"So what does that mean?" Andy asked
"It means that there are too many lymphocytes in the blood, the liver or spleen is larger than normal, and the lymph nodes may be larger than normal. " Amelia paused, noting Andy's eyes are still wet and Robert was gripping his wife's hand tighter.
"Is it curable?" Robert asked.
"Stage one is a lot more treatable, and has a larger cure rate. But stage two is a lot more severe. It progresses a lot faster."
"Can she beat it?"
Amelia looks down before looking at Carina and Meredith. Amelia opened her mouth but Meredith saw that she wasn't able to get the words out so she took over.
"Robert, because of the low cure rate, even if she could, she would most likely have to live with the disease and is likely to need ongoing treatment." Meredith paused and swallowed, knowing this next part would break her friend. "Andy, even if we cure it, the lifespan after treatment if a person survives, is five years." Robert gasped and Andy let the tears fall but Meredith continued. "After treatment, it can take months or years to enjoy a healthy life."
"I'm done firefighting even if I survive, aren't I?" Andy asked, voice breaking when she said 'firefighting'.
The three doctors look at each other again.
"Dr. Grey? Is that true?" Robert asked, feeling Andy grip his hand harder.
"It is. I'm so sorry Andy." Amelia told her. "I need to go and check these results. See how we should proceed with treatment." Amelia said and walked out of the room with Andy's results.
Back in the room, Andy let out sobs, Robert hugged her while Carina and Meredith watch the scene with tears in their eyes.
"I- Uh. I should get back to work. I'm getting pages and babies wait for no one." Carina told them, leaving the room.
Meredith watched Robert stand up and kiss Andy's forehead. She was going to turn around and leave the room when Andy called out.
"Mer?" Andy called out, voice small. "What's going to happen?"
"We're going to admit you, and then when we figure out which treatment will be best, we'll get you started on it right away." Meredith watched her eyes close and more tears fall when she opened them. "I'm so sorry, Andy."
Andy just nodded and leaned into Robert as he got on the bed with her. Robert wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer and she just broke down in tears. Robert tried to whisper words of comfort but nothing was working and his heart broke for Andy. The couple stayed in that spot until they both fell asleep.
A couple of hours later
It was closing in at 5 pm when Meredith and Amelia walked back into the hospital room. When they saw that the couple was still asleep they made sure to keep hushed voices.
"God, I can't believe this is happening to her," Meredith started. "She was so close to making captain."
Amelia looked at her and her eyes widened. "I'm sorry what?" Amelia made sure to keep her voice down.
"She was at station 23 but she was going to get moved back to 19 because Beckett was going to be moving houses. Ross wanted Station 19 in good, trusted hands and she trusts Herrera. She was actually on her way to 23 when they got the call." Meredith told her and they heard a broken sob come from the bed. "Oh, my god. I am so sorry Herrera."
"When did you hear about that?" Herrera asked. "How long ago?"
"A week." Herrera let more tears fall and Robert woke up.
"What's going on?" Robert asked, rubbing Andy's arm, trying to get her to calm down.
"They just told me I would've become captain today if I didn't get injured," Andy told him. "And I guess that will never happen now." Robert pulled her close again and his eyes moved to the two doctors.
"Did you figure out the kind of treatment she'll need to go through?"
"Yes. She-" Amelia was going to explain it when Andy interrupted.
"Wait. I'm sorry, but why did you know about this?"
"I overheard Ross talking about it when she was visiting another firefighter here," Meredith told her. "I'm sorry, Herrera."
Andy just nods and turns her head into Robert's chest, only wanting her husband's comfort right now.
"Andy, I can tell you just want to relax and rest right now but we do need to talk to you about the next steps," Meredith told her, trying to not make her any more upset but knew she was failing.
Amelia was about to speak when someone else walked in.
"Next steps for what?" Ross asked, coming into the room and closing the door. "I was told she just had a broken arm and a concussion."
Meredith and Amelia look at each other, trying to decide who gets to tell the fire Chief that she's losing one of her best firefighters. Amelia looks away from Meredith and she sighs.
"Chief Ross, We tested Andy's blood and we got the results back. She's been diagnosed with Stage two Leukemia." Ross gasps and she looks towards the bed and understands why Andy was curled up like a child in her husband's arms. "She's going to be undergoing treatment starting tomorrow."
"Is it curable?" Ross asked, a concerned expression on her face.
"65% of people with the disease do grow to live a healthy lifestyle after." Meredith sees Ross smile and cringes. "But it can take months or years for someone to become healthy." Meredith watches Ross' smile drop.
"So what are you telling me?" Ross asked, "Straight up."
"Even if Andy gets through treatment successfully she won't be able to return to firefighting. The treatment is intense and because it's stage two it's even more lethal to the body." Amelia stopped, not looking forward to this next part. "The toll on the body can shorten a person's lifespan. To be blunt, 5 years is what most people get to live after battling the cancer. Some can live 20, but Andy still wouldn't be able to go back to firefighting."
"Fuck."
Andy and Robert looked up shocked, never having heard the Chief swear before.
"I know this is information none of you wanted to hear, nor information we wanted to give. But, Andy. We need to start you on treatment tomorrow so we're going to move you to a more comfortable room." Meredith told the group.
Ross nodded. "I'll leave you to rest and I can update the rest of the team if you want?" Ross asked the couple and when she saw them gently nod she took that as a yes. "Okay. I'll go let them know and I'll try to come back tomorrow." Ross said and then left the room.
Meredith and Amelia looked at each other. "Okay, Andy. we're going to move you to a new room now and then we'll let you rest. We'll let you know tomorrow what our plan is." Andy's head was back on Robert's chest but they see her nod. "Goodnight, Andy. We'll be around if you need anything." Amelia told her and then she and Meredith left.
Robert felt Andy's breath begin to slow and coaxed her to sleep. "It'll be okay, Andy. we'll figure this out together tomorrow." Robert told her as she soon fell asleep. Once Robert was sure she was still asleep minutes later he got lost in his thoughts. I can't lose another wife. We just got back to a good place. Robert thought, his eye's tearing up.
S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19S19
Ross decided she needed to talk to A shift before she did anything else so she drove to Station 19. What the hell am I supposed to tell them? "Hey your former teammate was supposed to be captain of this house but now her firefighting career is over due to getting cancer."? Ross shook herself out of those thoughts and just stared out the windshield, trying to think of a way to tell A shift the news.
It was a couple of minutes later when she pulled up to the station and took a deep breath before walking in. She was going to walk into Beckett's office when she saw him standing in reception.
"Chief Ross? What are you doing here?" Sean asked, surprised.
"I need to talk to you and the rest of A shift about something. Can you tell everyone to head up to the beanery?" Ross asked and once Sean nodded she made her way upstairs.
Natasha walked up the stairs, trying to figure out how to tell them about Andy. She walked to the fridge and grabbed some water, trying to calm her nerves when Maya walked in.
"Chief Ross? What's going on?"
"I need to talk to you all about what happened on the call this afternoon," Ross told her as the rest of the group walked in.
"What about it?" Vic asked.
"Do you guys mind sitting down?" Ross asked and waited until they did. "I just came from the hospital after talking to the doctors treating Herrera."
"Okay? So you must've heard that she has a broken arm and a concussion." Travis assumed.
"I did. But the doctors also told me some unsettling news about her bloodwork." Ross watched the group's faces turn confused.
"What about her bloodwork was unsettling?" Jack asked.
"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Ross told them, bracing herself. "She's been diagnosed with Stage two leukemia." Ross heard the gasps and watched as faces drop. "I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you but I figured I should let you know. She's going to be moved to a new room tonight and start treatment tomorrow." Ross told them.
"There's something else," Travis stated. "I can see it on your face. What aren't you telling us?"
Ross sighed. "I - Um. again, I'm sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news but even if Andy beats this, she won't be able to return to firefighting."
So I don't know if all the information about the Leukimia in this story will be accurate. But I have read that stage II is extremely hard to live with. I hate that this story turned so dark :(
