We waited in the emergency department for twenty minutes after being triaged before we saw a doctor. Bridget wanted to make sure the cardiologist that treated Bella came to see Megan with the emergency room doctor. She approached the nurses station to ask.
"Can you please page Dr. Ross in pediatric cardiology to see Megan in room four?" Bridget asked kindly.
"Your sister will be seen by Dr. Greenwood first. Then, he will decide if and where she will be admitted." The nurse said dismissively without even looking up from her computer. Bridget took a breath to keep from snapping at her. Her patience was running thin while her irritability was running rather strong.
"But—"
"Ma'am, you cannot request a doctor of any discipline at your convenience. This is the emergency department. She will be evaluated by an emergency medicine physician, and he will decide who to page. It is that simple. No need for buts." The nurse's short, condescending tone and use of the term "ma'am" made Bridget lose her already limited patience.
"No, it isn't that simple. She has a family history of cardiovascular pathology in family members of similar age. She is being treated like she has the flu when she could be having a cardiac emergency as we speak. I know Dr. Ross personally. Please page him, and let him know Alec Gallagher's daughter is in the emergency department with fatigue, shortness of breath, and swollen legs. I promise you he will come and be angry you didn't page him sooner." Bridget said sharply.
The nurse finally looked up with wide eyes to meet Bridget's angry glare, "I'll page him right now, Ms. Gallagher."
It was a side of her I had never seen. I was almost impressed. She was always so polite and often timid. Seeing her advocate on behave of her sistered revealed a part of her that I underestimated.
"Jesus Christ, how did you know to say all of that?" I wondered.
"From what happened to Bella. I told you I have a really bad feeling about this." She gulped.
Dr. Ross must have been close to the Gallagher family for him to agree to see Megan before she was even admitted by emergency medicine. He was here in under five minutes.
"Bridget, how old did you say Megan is?" Dr. Ross asked.
"Eight years old."
"Are you able to walk to the door and back?" He asked. Megan shook her head.
"And, Megan, can you try to tell me what the pain feels like?" The doctor asked with a stethoscope on her chest.
"My chest hurts. It feels heavy." She said.
"You're heart is beating a little slower than it should. Can you take a deep breath for me?"
"No, it hurts." Megan whined.
"Do you feel weak?" She nodded. I began to see why Bridget had such a bad feeling. Every time Megan answered a question, Bridget looked as though she was punched in the chest.
"We are going to run some blood tests, an EKG, a chest X-Ray, and an echocardiogram." He told us.
"Dr. Ross, may I see you outside?" Bridget asked. She shut the door behind us.
"You aren't suspecting she has what Bella did, are you?" She was almost pleading.
"Unfortunately, I am. It could be any number of things, but based off of her symptoms and her age, it is looking eerily similar to Bella's case. I am going to admit her to the cardiac intensive care unit. There is a waiting area there."
Bridget looked like the wind was knocked out of her. I squeezed her hand. We sat in the waiting area while the doctors the ran tests on Megan. I passed the time determining the stories behind the faces of other families in the waiting room. Some were waiting for the confirmation of the good news they expected. Others were imagining what the their lives were about to turn into should the doctors confirm the worst case scenario. Bridget's face was an open book. The memories of Bella's condition tortured her thoughts. She pictured Megan having to go through the same thing, and it shook her to her core. Everything that happened to Bella was flashing through her mind, and it was clear on her face.
"Whatever the doctors come back with, it will be okay." I whispered in her ear.
"I–" My phone interrupted her. Nick's picture lit up the screen.
"You can get it. It's fine." She said absentmindedly.
"Hey, Nick," I answered.
"Where are you and why aren't you at Payco right now?" He asked.
"I'm with–"
"Forget it. I don't care where you are, but you need to get here now." He snapped.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I found Nate, and if you want him, we have to get to him before Kai does. If Kai find him first, he will take him straight back to Maui and isolate him from you and Abby." Before I could react, I remembered who I was sitting next to. My pulse began racing. The room suddenly felt ten degrees hotter.
"I read over those statistics yesterday, Nick." He quickly caught on to my predicament.
"Go somewhere you can talk. This is important." He said.
"You don't think I know that?" I quickly got up to go somewhere private.
"Where is he?" I asked when I was far enough away from Bridget.
"Los Angeles. Abigail got an anonymous call a few hours ago. It sounded like it could be from the people that have him. I tracked the call to LA. There was nothing in Portland. It was a decoy. The police tracked him down to a motel. They're on their way. Abby went with them."
"Is he alive? What did they say in the call?" I pressed him for more information.
"How soon can you get here?"
"I don't think I can. I'm at the hospital with Bridget. Her sister is really sick."
"Okay, stay there. We will most likely end up at the hospital anyway. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Don't do anything stupid. Stay calm and do what you need to do with Bridget."
"No, I'll try and get out of here. I'll see you soon." I hung up before he could object.
I returned to Bridget, who was doing her best to keep herself occupied.
"Everything okay?" She asked when I sat down.
"Nick called and said there's an emergency with one of our clients. I think he may need me back at the office." I began, trying to control all the energy building up in me. A mix of nervousness and excitement to see Nathan left me jittering.
"What kind of emergency? Are you leaving?" I watched as the colour left her cheeks.
"I can't say. We have a confidentiality agreement. I don't know if I have a choice." I said. She wouldn't forgive me if I left. We were quiet for a moment.
"It's okay. If you have to go, then I guess you have to go, right?" She was forcing the words out. I knew she wanted to ask me to stay.
The fear in her eyes pulled me to sit back down. Nate had Abigail, and Nick was there for both of them. If I left, Bridget would be alone when Dr. Ross confirms her biggest fear for her sister. I wasn't capable of that level of cruelty.
"No, no, I am staying. Nick will understand." I said, giving her hand a squeeze.
We spent hours in the waiting room with no news. Bridget was becoming as restless as me. Nick had not updated me on Nathan since we spoke three hours ago. If another hour of hearing nothing passed, I would climb the walls.
Finally, after what felt like another three hours of waiting, Dr. Ross had some answers. Something in the doctor's eyes gave away the news before he even spoke. Bridget didn't see it though. Her eyes still had a glimmer of hope that the doctor was going to tell her Megan had a harmless flu that would go away on its own. However, I knew that was not the case.
He pulled up a chair to sit in front of us to deliver the news.
"Bridget," Dr. Ross began, "Megan's scans showed enlargement of her left atrium and pulmonary plethora, which is consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. I suspect that she has the MYH7 mutation like Bella did."
Bridget shook her head shocked. Her hand gripped mine tightly for support. I slinked my arm around her waist.
"How is this possible?"
"In Megan and Bella's case, it is genetic. When Bella was diagnosed, your parents had all of you test to see if you are carriers for the genetic mutations. Megan and Bella were the only carriers. The results were unusual. The genetic mutation was inherited as autosomal dominant, but both of your parents are recessive for the MYH7 gene. The gene that codes for the protein expressed as Megan and Bella's form of cardiomyopathy was inherited from their father."
"What are you implying?" Bridget asked.
I knew exactly what he was saying. Megan and Bella were not Alec's daughters. Diane slept with another man.
"Assuming Megan and Bella have the same biological father as you and your other siblings, you should have all been, at least, carriers of the mutation. As I said before, Bella and Megan were the only two. Your mother was not even a carrier of the dominant allele. It is impossible that Bella and Megan share the same biological father as the rest of you. If you did, you all would have the mutation because it is dominant. All it takes is one parent. More of you would be affected." Dr. Ross explained, confirming my conclusion.
"Did my parents know that this was going to happen when they heard the results? Did they know that Bella and Megan are not my father's biological children?"
"They knew that there was a high chance Megan was eventually going to develop cardiomyopathy. There was nothing we could have done to prevent it, and they knew that. They were not told that your father is not Megan and Bella's biological father." He explained.
"Where's Megan? Can I see her?" Bridget asked.
"Of course. Go right ahead. I'll be back in a little bit to discuss the next steps. Have you contacted your parents?"
"Yes, my mom is on her way."
Dr. Ross nodded before taking us to Megan's room. My phone rang again. Bridget looked at me curiously.
"Is it Nick?" She asked. I nodded.
"You can go if you need to. I shouldn't keep you from work." She said reluctantly.
"He will understand. I'm not going to leave you before your mum gets here. I will be right back. I'm going to ring him and let him know what's going on." The words burned my lips.
Bridget walked into Megan's room and sat on the bed holding her. In the corner of my eye, I saw Nick in the hallway. I couldn't wait anymore. Without a single thought to it, I left Bridget and Megan to approach him.
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Hiii! Hope you enjoyed this back to back update. Sorry if this chapter was boring. The next one will be up soon I hope
Just want to say..I know that there is quite a lot going on and it may seem crazy but I promise it will all tie together eventually. There is a method to my plot lines I swear. Nothing (very few things) is random🖤
PS... should I be including smut scenes? Is that something you want to see more off? Please let me know