Until My Heartbeat Stops

Baby Sister?

"Today's movie night!" Noah and Dixie were about to scrub in on a tumor and Noah decides to lighten the mood even more by announcing somewhat personal information. Dixie is a very private person both emotionally and physically she doesn't talk about anything but work at work and tries her best to disconnect from the topic outside of the building. Noah however is an extrovert talking about whatever comes to mind even if it's, not the time or place. "Is that so." Dixie wasn't trying to be rude she just doesn't like combining her personal and professional lives. "Yea, we should get dinner first though-- what movie should we do this time?- Or better yet we can finish greys I think we're on season 4 I forget, Has Meredith befriended her sister yet--" "Noah!" Dixie cuts him off because not only were some of the interns looking at them. Her fellow residences were watching like their conversation was some sort of soap opera. "We can talk about this later," Dixie said in a loud whisper keeping her eyes on the people behind her. "Okay, sorry didn't know movies were embarrassing." Dixie wanted to correct him but didn't have the energy, this was her time to practice, to mentally prepare for the patient and the surgery they were about to do, she had no time to argue about when and when not to talk about their "movie nights."

Dixie, Noah, and their interns walked into room 205b.

Dixie stops.

She stared at the patient laying on the bed, disbelief coursing through her veins like water in a river, filling her with rage, doubt, and most of all hurt. Before she could say "hi" catch up with the girl she used to know, Noah asked Ashley an intern to induced our patient. "Charli Hudson 22 diagnosed with gastric lymphoma. She was treated a month or two after finding out. They did a partial gastrectomy which killed some of the lymphomas but not all of them, today she will get a full gastrectomy and will have to complete at least 6 months of chemotherapy, and radiation therapy as well as antibiotic therapy for the powerful drugs." "Thank you," Noah said turning to Ashely and then back to Charli who was sitting too still on the hospital bed. Chase her husband was standing right next to her with a look so broken Dixie had to turn away from the fear of breaking into tears.

Charli and Dixie were never close. Growing up they had different opinions on their parental figures and it evidently drove them apart. Dixie loved Charli, and Charli knew Dixie's thoughts about their parents had some truth to them however Charli was too stubborn to admit when she was wrong, Dixie was too. They got it from their mother. "Dixie!" The harshness in Noah's voice brought Dixie back from the taunting reality of her past, She smiled a fake plastered smile. "Sorry." Noah nodded as a sign of reassurance or an "it's okay" and then continued to talk.

Dixie wasn't paying attention not even a little bit all she could think about was the fact that her little sister was sitting in a hospital bed preparing with doctors for her surgery to remove the cancer Dixie didn't even know about. She knew they weren't close but it hurt her knowing her sister didn't trust her enough to call when she found out she had cancer.

Noah was speaking to Charli about the disadvantages of the surgery as well as the risks and things to look out for. When he finished he turned to Chase then back to Charli. "Okay, we're gonna prep the OR and come get you when we're ready." He walked to the door followed by the rest of the interns. "Dixie, you coming?" Dixie shook her head, making no effort to look at Noah,  keeping her gaze locked on her sister. "Okay." Is all Noah said before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"What the hell!"

There was hurt in Dixie's voice as she confronted her sister.

"Dixie please can we not do this now."

"No we're doing this now, how the hell were you going to walk into the hospital I have been working at for the past 4 years and not tell me you had cancer."

Chase flinched at the word. He was sitting in the corner minding his business. Dixie had met Chase a while ago she wasn't at their wedding because Charli hadn't invited her but she did meet him when they were dating. She loved his composure, she felt as if he had a calm, neutral vibe to his person and she respected that, after all, Charli could use calm in her life. "Look I didn't mean to come to this hospital it was getting worse and we were close, as soon as this is over were gone, I can do my therapy somewhere else." "So you weren't planning on telling me." "No, actually I wasn't." There was a sense of rage in her words as she spoke, she wasn't yelling but she wasn't calm. "Why not I'm your sister."

"ARE YOU?"

She was yelling now. "OR ARE YOU JUST THE GIRL WHO TOLD ME I WAS WRONG EVERY TIME I BELIEVED DAD DID SOMETHING GOOD?" "That has nothing to do with this." "THAT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS." She was sobbing now tears hitting the blanket on the hospital bed she was sitting on the edge of. "You made it very clear 13 years ago that you didn't view me as your sister, that I was nothing more than the person you were forced to live with. NO, I wasn't planning on telling the girl that was supposed to be my best friend, I had." A pause. "Have cancer."

Charli was wiping her tears laying back down on the bed and sighing. "You're not my sister Dixie." "Why not?" "Because in order for you to be my sister you would have to care about me, you can't emotionally attach to anything but your work, you can't be vulnerable. You're too stiff." Dixie was on the verge of tears but was trying to keep her feelings in. "Fine, sorry I tried to care." Dixie walked up to the door turned around looked Charli up and down before saying.

"Won't happen again."