The Unexpected Journey Part Two

Chapter 19

"When?" Maddie breathed. "When does that meeting need to take place?"

"Friday." The doctor answered without blinking. "I feel comfortable waiting until the end of the week but not any longer." Shaking her head, she leaned forward. "I would imagine that we'll want to get moving with the plan no later than Monday. We'll want to insert a port and..."

"Okay," Maddie held up her hand again, wanting the conversation to just stop for a moment. "Okay. We can do Friday. I..." She stopped, turned to look at Harry, a move that brought instant tears to her eyes. "Can we do Friday?" Her voice cracked and his strength gave way. As his hand pressed to his chest and he did his level best to fight off the tears that were welling up, he nodded.

"Of course we can do Friday."

Okay, Maddie mouthed the word, unable to find her voice for a moment. Struggling as she did, she pulled her eyes from Harry's and looked down at her lap. Taking a few deep breaths, she sniffed, wiped at her eyes and then looked up to the doctor. "Would you put the meeting together for Friday morning? First thing?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, making quick notes, making mental plans.

"And I trust that this...news..." Maddie's mouth had a hard time putting words to all of this. "Will stay between us until..."

"This will absolutely remain confidential Ma'am," the Doctor's eyes were wide and genuine as she looked between Maddie and Harry. "I'll speak with the team, lockdown the conference room. Please, please don't worry about that detail. You and you alone are in charge of how and where and when this news is released."

News. Maddie pressed her eyes closed, leaning back in her chair as the tears swirled in her eyes, as her world spun around her. Oh God, she felt her stomach turn, felt her anxiety and upset and fear grow louder and louder in her head, as the room grew silent. The thought of telling anyone this news made her want to simply disappear. And she nearly did. Her mind had nearly drifted away from the moment when somewhere among the chaos of it all, she heard Harry's voice.

Deep and heavy with emotion, it was just above a rough whisper. "Maddie?"

With her eyes pressed closed, she shook her head, sniffing at the tears, struggling with her control. "I don't...I don't know what to do first...who to..."

Over the stillness in the room, she could hear him swallow, she could hear him clear his throat. She could almost hear him will himself to be strong. "Doctor, would it be okay if we had just a moment alone? Could we possibly use your office for just a..."

"Of course," she cut him off, already in motion, more than happy to surrender her space to them for as long as they needed. "I'll just step out. You can let my assistant know when you're ready and she'll bring me back in."

"Thank you," Harry offered, sincerity and gratitude mixing in with his tangled emotions. He rose to his feet, watching as the doctor stepped from the room, waiting for the door to close behind her before he turned back to his wife.

His wife. Just thinking the words made the ache in his chest twist and turn and grow. They had been through so much, too much. And now this? This thing living inside of her, attacking her. This thing that they still knew very little about–how big it really was, how exactly they were going to stop it.

"Harry?" The sound of her whispering his name, the notable crack in her voice, the way her eyes had opened wide and wet and pleading as she looked up to him.

"I'm here," he bent down, crouching next to her chair, his hands moving to the arms of her chair. "Maddie, I'm..."

"Don't," she shook her head at him, afraid of what he might say next, of what it might do to the resolve she was working so desperately to hang onto. "Please just don't say it..." She gulped at the lump in her throat, the lump she was sure wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.