Harris staggered back into his apartment. It looked as unwelcoming as ever. He hadn't bothered to clean it in ages. But at that moment, cleaning was the farthest thing from his mind. He extracted a cup of ice cream from the freezer and fell on the couch, hoping the searing pain inside would be quelled by something cool. The first bite barely reached his lips when the power gave out, leaving the room in darkness.
"Of course," he groaned, somehow having expected that, setting the ice cream aside.
Harris sighed. In former times, being left in solitude in his apartment wouldn't have sounded too bad. But now, it just seemed like a cruel irony.
"Guess I came back full circle, huh?" he asked himself aloud.
He was too tired to be perturbed; heaving himself to the bedroom felt like too much work as well. Somewhere out there, his friends were dealing with their problems and moving past them, and he was glad for it. Still, he thought, it didn't change the fact that he was all alone with nothing but the pain to accompany him.
Sometime later he drifted off, and for once, there were no dreams with hidden meanings nor any burgeoning thoughts swirling in his head.
However, he couldn't be sure whether he was awake or asleep; everything was still dark yet he was certain he'd heard a sound. He opened his eyes and turned his head to find a beam of light shining at him. Harris was unsure of what to make of it; he hadn't walked out of any doors, yet the orb of light was here greeting him.
"Did you come for me?" he asked.
He then saw the light's source and realized there was a person behind it. Before he could make out who it was, the room burst into view as the power switched back on.
"Of course, we did, idiot." He heard Auden's voice. And then he saw the light, it had been his phone.
But there they were. All of them. His friends. Hank, Sylvia, Auden, Laarni, and finally Roslin. Huddled together.
"What're you guys doing here?" He asked in befuddlement.
"I called them." Roslin stepped forward. Harris realized what this must be about, and instantly attempted to cover up his condition.
"I'm fin- AH," he collapsed on the ground; the fatigue had set in his body, and now his legs refused to move.
Roslin calmly walked over and helped him up. One arm was around his shoulder while the other rested near his heart, a gentle look of affection directed towards him.
"It's okay, Harris. You can stop now," she said softly, not letting go of him.
"Yeah, drop the act because I'm already really close to kicking your ass," said Hank. In fact, they all had infuriated looks on them.
"I told them about your illness," Roslin informed him.
"Why?" he asked, crestfallen.
"Because I see now this is the only way I can convince you to do the right thing. To show you how much you mean to everyone."
"Honestly, you spend all your time trying to help me with my problem when you were sitting right on the biggest one," said Auden with a shake of his head. "Not cool, man. Ever thought how we would feel about it?"
"I didn't want to-"
"Worry or upset us?" Sylvia interrupted. "Hmm, wonder how we're feeling now?"
"Harris, why would you hide something such as this?" Laarni asked.
He felt nervous to speak further. However, a glance at Roslin, who simply nodded at him with her smile of understanding, provided him with confidence.
"I thought I'd end up being a burden," he confessed.
The emotion with which he spoke had the effect of stemming the anger among the group. Sylvia and Laarni walked over to him and pulled him into an embrace.
"That's something that would never happen," Sylvia spoke in his ear while Laarni ruffled his hair; meanwhile, Roslin still had not let go.
"You think I would ever dump the guy that's been my friend since college, brought me together with my fiancé, and gave me just about the best ever verbal beating of my life...because he was sick?" Auden asked.
"And just so you know, I love you, happy?" Hank told him. "Yes, I know, the macho man of the group confesses he loves someone. Is that enough to make you believe me?"
"Besides, you have a wedding to attend soon," said Laarni. "And we're not going to have a dying man as our guest of honor. You're going to be the one jumping for the bouquet."
Harris laughed. He still had his reservations, though, remembering the experience with his friends the previous time he had been ill.
"I hope you understand what they're all saying, Harris," Roslin spoke. Harris realized she hadn't been there the last time, not this close to him, with such warmth behind those eyes. "They're not going to let you go. Just like I won't."
"Am I worth it?"
"Every single part of you," she assured him, her grip on his shoulder tightening slightly. He looked at his friends.
"YES." They all shouted in unison.
"How come you're here, though? What about Harold?"
"He and I met after a long time, and I figured he can wait a bit more. I had a friend who needed me more."
"Oh, by the way, I got a call from that clinic confirming my appointment," Hank chimed in. "Funny, I don't recall placing that appointment, and the only person I told was you...have any thoughts on the matter?"
"I figured, if you weren't calling, someone else should." Harris shrugged mischievously.
"And that someone was right," said Sylvia with her arm around her husband who smiled.
"Yeah, I suppose, Sylvia and I had a nice long talk about it and I guess it wouldn't hurt to check if everything's all right." He conceded, nodding toward Harris.
"And I think another one of us has a story, too." Laarni looked over to Auden.
"I am the best at telling stories, and I'm going to admit my problem." He raised his arms accepting defeat. "So I'll be rejoining you, Roslin."
"That's great news, but I might be a little busy with a certain someone," she looked at Harris with a smile.
"Does that mean you're joining the hospital again?"
"How can I leave my best friend just when he needs me most? You might think you don't matter much but you mean the world to everyone here in this room. And we're not going to let our world die." Roslin summed it up. "Especially not me. So, what do you say? Ready to start fighting?"
He searched their faces for any sign of the helplessness that he'd once seen in them. But there was none. They meant it. All of them. One last look at Roslin confirmed it; she had still not let go of him, and he was sure now, she never would.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
That last push was all Harris needed. In the end, it was what they all needed. Hank and Sylvia got themselves tested. Auden finally began to seriously work on himself, and with ever-faithful Laarni with him, there was no chance of him falling off the wagon.
Harris checked himself in at the hospital. However, his experience was nothing as it had been before. Each day was spent among his friends who made sure they turned up to support him in his treatment. Whether it was Hank who brightened everyone's day by cracking jokes, or Auden who introduced wheelchair racing to the hospital in which he and Harris had an undefeated streak, or if it was Laarni and Sylvia who would give all the patients makeovers just to keep the spirits high, and ensure Harris had just enough hair for them to ruffle.
Roslin was the ultimate companion to him during his pain, resolutely by his side when he needed her. She wasn't always with him, though, having truly taken the mantle of the doctor, juggling patients all day, hovering from one to the next, as her stack of successfully treated patients grew ever so quickly.
Dr. Roslin was now one of the most dedicated doctors in the hospital, always willing to offer her total dedication to her patients.
"Well, look what we have here?" She joined in one day when everyone was visiting. "Either I need new glasses or does this latest report indicate a definite reduction in your cancer?"
"I knew it!" Hank excitedly threw his hands in the air in delight and even ruffled Harris's hair to everyone's surprise. "What? I'm starting to see why you girls like it."
"Well, I do that's for sure." Roslin stroked his hair in affection, with a noticeable trace of restrained jubilation that Harris was sure she would explode she was alone in her office.
"As for more good news, I'm happy to announce... my boys are fine!" Hank shouted for everyone to hear.
"Sshh, Hank." Sylvia laughed.
"Great news, buddy, imagine what Hank Jr. would be like, huh, guys?" Auden clapped him on the back. "If we're on the topic of good news... Laarni, would you do the honors?"
"We have a wedding date confirmed!" She announced to the delight of everyone.
"Well you can add Roslin's plus 1," Harris told everyone playfully. "A certain Mr. Harold."
"Woo-hoo." They all teased Roslin.
"It's nothing, we're just meeting each other once in a while that's all." She blushed. "We're not thinking about where it's going."
"Woo-hoo." They still teased her much to her amusement.
"Besides, I already have my date for the wedding," she looked over to Harris.
"He'll be too busy being the Best Man." Auden pointed out.
"Why not both?" Harris suggested as the room rang with laughter.
His health hadn't improved greatly; there were still times when he felt too weak to leave the bed. However, his zeal for life never diminished, and that was enough for him to continue on. At times, he would feel well enough to walk about the hospital, even joining Roslin in her office.
It was during one of those times that he suggested Roslin clean out the store of the files of her deceased patients.
"Don't stress yourself, I can manage," Roslin assured him as he lugged the pile of files out of the room.
"There's still some life in these bones you know," he winked at her. "Well, that's the last of them."
Despite being empty, the room looked welcoming now, as if there were endless possibilities for its use. Harris noticed Roslin glancing at the files.
"You okay?"
"I can honestly say that it feels great," she smiled. "Like something that was tying me down is gone."
"And now with all the successfully treated patients you have, you can put those files here. Anyway, we'll talk about that later, why don't you get ready?"
"You're sure you're okay I'm going out with the rest of the group? It wasn't my idea to go on this 'couples' night'. These guys just wanted to meet Harold," said Roslin rather meekly.
"How dare you not invite me?" Harris said in mock anger. "You missed out on me sagging on my chair all alone while you all talked about your 'couple' things."
"Very funny. I'd much rather prefer having you sagging there than here alone."
"It's fine. I don't mind. Besides, they're all your friends now, too. I see you guys every day as it is. Especially you, Doctor."
Roslin picked up the plaque from her desk and gazed at it.
"Thank you, Harris. For everything."
"Don't thank me, Roslin. Truth is it's all about people. Everything we do in life. We don't come here to live alone, and we don't have to die alone. And I wake up happy every day because of it."
"You're really wise for your age." Roslin held Harris's hand who noticed she had placed something in it.
"Why are you giving me this?" He asked flipping the plaque in his hand.
"Because you're right, we do need people and we need to move on with them. I'll always love Oreo and nothing can change that. She wanted me to be a doctor, but this plaque shouldn't need to tell me that I am." She explained firmly. "It shouldn't be sitting on a desk. It was always in the hands of someone I loved, and that's where it should be."
Harris couldn't help the grin that formed on his face as he accepted the gift.
"You're not really into me romantically, are you?"
"Had to go and ruin the moment, huh?" Roslin laughed, with a pat on his cheek. "I guess I'll be going then."
"Don't have too much fun without me, okay?"
Roslin turned back to face him from the doorway with a smile.
Harris surveyed the plaque, he could almost imagine Oreo running her little hand over the faded 'Dr.' title.
To his surprise, he felt like his whole body had been cured in an instant. There was no more weakness; he felt absolutely healthy.
"Hey, that treatment's really doing the trick. I feel really-"
With just one look at Roslin, he knew why he felt the way he did. The moment remained still, the only sound was of the breath escaping his lips, and his doctor, his friend, Roslin, stood resolutely at the door frame. That last smile of hers remained still, forever to remain in Harris's memory. He knew that he no longer belonged there, that it was time.
But there was no sense of sorrow, no melancholy; there was only happiness. He would be leaving a fulfilled person. He was leaving as someone who mattered. Still, it would not be easy to part with those he had come to love as a family, especially the person he gazed at.
Roslin would always be a part of him, he was certain of that. The person that he had taught to smile, who in turn had shared her grief with him, enabled him to remember his family with pride and brought to him the gift of closure. Harris knew that he would never forget what he had learned here, that he would hold it to his heart.
The knob on the medicine room door shone bright, and Harris had no doubt what lay behind it. He twisted the knob. Sure enough, there it was -- the hallway. Harris welcomed its cool breeze; however, he turned back to look at Roslin, wanting her smile to be the last thing he saw before he left.
With a long sigh, Harris stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him.