And Then There Was You (Chris Evans AU)

Valentine's Day Part 2

Another nurse comes into the ER bay and asks us to gather all of the belongings and moves us to the waiting room. Within an hour Daphne's nurse finds us to give us an update.
"Ms. Jeffries has suffered from a ruptured ovarian cyst. She's being taken to surgery now," she tells us.
I fall into the seat behind me, no longer able to stand on my own. This is what I was most concerned of it being. I over hear Laura calling Oliver and Adam calling James.
I'm in such a daze that it takes me minutes to realize my phone is vibrating in my pocket. "Hello."
"Hey man. Chief and I just pulled in. Where are you and I'll bring you the keys to the truck," Hayden says on the other side of the phone.
I give him the info he needed and within ten minutes he and the Chief walk into the waiting room. The Jeffries greet Chief Parrs as Hayden sits down next to me. "What's the verdict?" he asks.
I lift my head that had been resting in my hands. "Ruptured ovarian cyst," I answer.
"Oh man, no wonder she looked as bad as she did," Hayden says.
Chief Parrs sits on the couch opposite of me. "Take whatever time you need, son. We've got it all covered."
"Thank you sir," I say somewhat surprised. In Miami I'd be expected to be on site in time for my next shift. Another great thing about a small community.

  The minutes pass slowly into hours. Oliver and Hazel have joined us, along with James. This is taking too long, I think. Something more must be going on.

  The waiting room phone rings alerting the woman at the desk. She writes down a couple of notes and checks her computer. "Jeffries family?"

  "Yes!" Laura responds before the rest of us can even stand.

"Ms. Jeffries is in recovery now. You can have a seat in the room on your left. The doctor will be with you momentarily," the woman tells us.

  We all enter the room she pointed us too. It's small with only four chairs. I choose to remain standing while we wait. It's quiet. No one speaks, each of us lost in our own thoughts and worries.
The doctor comes in and introduces himself as Dr. Kallen. He's tall, thin, early sixties with grey hair still covered by his scrub cap. We go around the room to finish introductions as he takes a seat across from Laura and Adam.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries," Dr. Kallen begins. "Daphne suffered from a ruptured ovarian cyst. It's a good thing she was brought in when she was because infection had started to set in, thus the spike in temperature."
Adam interrupts him, "how is she now?"
"She's in recovery. We were able to clear everything from the ruptured cyst. In the process we discovered another six cysts on her ovaries, four on one and two on the other."
"What exactly does that mean?" James asks.
I'm keeping quiet because unfortunately doing what I do for a living I know more about this than I wish I did.
"Well we can start her on birth control and see if that helps the cysts dissolve," the doctor informs them.
Laura jumps in, "she's been on birth control since she was sixteen because of irregular cycles."
The doctor makes a couple of notes in the file using shorthand. "Hmm."
Now I step in. "So if she's been on birth control for thirteen years and is still showing up with cysts, one having already ruptured and put her life in danger, what's the next step?" Even though I know the next step.
"The next step will be another surgery. It will be minimally invasive, laparoscopic," he tells the family.
I can hear Laura suck in a quick breath of fear. "When would that be? Soon?"
The doctor shakes his head. "She needs to recover from this surgery first. I'd say in about two weeks we'll have her come in. It'll be outpatient surgery and shouldn't take more than three hours from start to finish including time here in recovery."
"She's getting married in seven weeks," Hazel speaks up from her corner in the room. She glances over at me. "Will that still be okay?"
Dr. Kallen nods his head. "I don't see why not, she should be completely healed by then." He stands and shakes each of our hands as we tell him thank you. We wait again for the nurse to take us to Daphne's room.

  I sit down in the chair he left vacant. With my elbows on my knees I hang my head in my hands. I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's not a soft touch, more of a strong understanding grip. Adam offers me a squeeze and tells me it's all going to be okay. I tap his hand with my own as a sort of thank you.
  We follow the nurse to Daphne's room. She lets us know that she'll be in and out of consciousness as the anesthesia takes time to wear off but that for the moment she's awake. Laura and Adam flank their daughter one on each side of the bed. Her brothers join them.
  "Told you I was okay," Daphne tells them. "I was barely away from yall."
  "Sweetheart," I speak from my position at the foot of her hospital bed. "You've been gone for about five hours. How much have they told you?"
  "Not much apparently. I keep falling asleep," she says as I watch her eyes droop again.
  I rub her foot that is hidden by multiple hospital blankets. "It's okay, babe. Go to sleep. We can talk later."
  Her mom and dad sit on the small window seat off to the side. Hazel takes out her phone to call Rene with an update. Oliver and James ask if I want to go for a walk. I look back over at Daphne and see she's already back asleep. I check the monitor and see that her BP and heart rate are steady and normal. "Sure,"
I say as I follow them out into the hallway closing the door quietly behind me.

  Our walk takes us to an outdoor terrace area. It's 8 pm so the area is lit by garden lamps. James and Ollie both take a seat at a table as I walk over to the edge of the area, leaning against a guard rail.
  Oliver breaks the silence. "You know something don't you?" He's looking over at me of course.
  "She didn't tell me about the issues she had when she was a teen," I tell them. "If I had known about that I would've insisted stronger that she go see her doctor when she had the episode in December."
  "What else could all of this mean, Chris?" James asks.
  I shake my head pulling the corner of my lip in and chew on it. Nervous habit. "I'm not a doctor. I know just enough to make me worry about how she sees her future, her dreams."
  James sits up straighter. "What do you mean Chris?"
  "We'll keep it between us, no wives, no parents," Oliver says to try and convince me.
  "Not a word to Daphne either. Not until we get more answers," I tell them and watch each of them
nod their heads. I know they're just being protective brothers, it's admirable.
  I take a deep breath and cross my arms holding them tight against my chest. "Depending on the damage these cysts have caused to her ovaries, or her uterus, she may not be able to carry a child."
  I watch their faces drop even more. But I'm no longer concerned with them. Saying the words out loud has a different effect on me. I feel myself crumbling to the ground as a heavy sob escapes my chest.