all we have is now / feral boys fanfiction

~22~ tests

The vet does tests on Celeste. He looks in her mouth. He looks in her ears. He shines a light in her eyes. He takes blood, causing her to whimper.

I just sit and watch with my feet glued to the floor. My arms grip Nick as if my life depended on it.

What have I done wrong? Did she eat something? Is there something wrong with her?

"We're going to run a few tests," the vet finally says as he turns to us, "You can wait outside for a bit until then. She's in good hands."

My mouth opens to say something, but the noise doesn't come out. Nick speaks for the both of us as he thanks him. He guides me out the door. I glance behind my shoulder. Celeste is laying on a raised table. Her chest rises and falls slowly.

Nick gently nudges me towards the door. I face forwards again, but I swear I saw a tear fall from her eye.

The door shuts us out and away from her with nothing to do but wait. Nick gives me a hug to keep me from shaking which I only now realize I'm doing.

An unfamiliar hand touches my shoulder. My eyes glance up to see who it belongs to. A woman in paw-printed scrubs smiles sympathetically.

"She's in really good hands," she tries to calm me down, "Doctor Bart is known to be the best in South Florida."

"Thank you," Nick nods to her.

She smiles, knowing she really didn't help at all, and walks away.

"You hear that, Tae?" Nick whispers, forcing me to look into his eyes. "Best vet around. Just for our girl."

I nod with a fake smiling, pulling it together just for him.

I don't care if he's the best in Florida. I want the best in the country. The world. The universe. I want something that's going to save my dog.

We wait. We wait and wait and wait. That's all there is to do, so that's what we do. Wait.

It's horrible. I hate it. I sit in the same damn chair for almost an hour. I tried switching to Nick's right side. Didn't make it more interesting. I tried to take a nap. Couldn't sleep. I tried to google what could be wrong with her. No internet. So all I do is wait.

The door opens. Nick and I both perk up, being the only ones waiting in this particular Emergency Vet at this time.

He guides us back to our little room. It's blue like clear sky. Normally I would think it makes me happy, but all it does now is irritate me. This is not a happy time.

Celeste isn't even here.

"Where is she?" I ask before he can even speak. I think it's the first words I've said in a while, and the very first direct words to the vet.

"She's in a separate room," he sounds as if he's about to deliver bad news. I grip Nick's hand for support. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

He makes eye contact with Nick. I'm not sure why he chooses him, but I don't blame him. Nick seems to be the calmer one in this situation.

"We found an ulcer in your dog's intestines." he clasps his hands together, "We took some tests and were able to rule out ingestion of poison, Hepatopathy and chronic gastritis."

I suck up all the air in the room. That sounds like a sentence that would be right before a....

"But," he continues.

There it is. Like a sucker punch in the gut.

"We found something called Hepatic Disease," he says softly.

"What is that exactly?" Nick asks for the both of us. We're streamers not doctors. I don't know what in the world Hepatic means.

"Liver Cancer."