Can't Help Falling in Love

Cancer (To Me)

  "That if you say, 

  Goodbye today, 

  I'd ask you to be true, 

  Cause the hardest part of this is leaving you"   

Abby, Erin, and Patty followed Holtzmann's doctor into a medical room at the end of the intensive care hallway. When they walked into the room, they all sat around a large, circular table. The set down a whole document of papers. He looked up and back down again, he then took a big breath, and looked up again. " Jillian, as of an hour ago, has been moved to hospice. The bullet wound, we thought, had missed her lungs, but we think they could have been nicked, which resulted into water filling the lungs. Her lungs are failing her. Also, we just got our x-rays back and here they show that another bullet was found lodge in her spinal cord, which eventually cuts off connection to the brain. We were not aware and this would have required immediate surgery. We are so sorry to say, but Jillian only has to much time left. She is undergoing a very crucial surgery right now,  which there is a very little chance of improvement at this stage. We are aware she does not have any family available, so we ask you three to fill out the mortality papers just in case. We are doing everything we can right now, but please begin to fill these papers out. We will be back once we get the results. " The doctor gave them pens and her medical information. The three stared at the papers blankly. The silence was met with the sound of a door closing. 

" She was fine two hours ago. How could they not know what was going on with her. Those fucking bastards!" Yelled Abby. 

" Whoa, Abby, listen,  it was a mistake. They originally didn't see the bullet lodge in her spine on the x-rays until after the lung failure. There was no way they could have known about the lungs because when she went into surgery, her lungs looked unaffected. " Patty explained to Abby. 

Patty and Abby keep going back and forth about Jillian's condition as Erin begins to fill out the papers. " Hey, you two. Shut up and start filling out these papers. We need these done. Time is valuable right now and odds are these will be used tonight. I know this situation fucking sucks, but it is life. She got shot, nothing could've been done to prevent this. Just grow up and fill out the damn papers!" Erin shouted. 

Abby and Patty quickly stopped talking and picked up two black pens and began filling out the papers. They look over Jillian's health information as they fill out the papers. Abby can only help but laugh at all the times Holtzmann has been to the hospital based on burns from her machines. " Oh, I'm gonna tell you, Holtzmann sure did burn herself a lot. Man, this is almost her second home. " Abby said trying to lighten the mood in the room. Her attempt to get laughter did not work. Patty remained glued to filling out the papers while Erin got a lump in her throat from holding back her tears. Abby, then realizing that the joke did not work proceeded back to the papers. 

" You know, if she were to survive, wouldn't she be, ya know, paralyzed? Cause of her spinal cord. " Said Patty. 

" Most likely, but sometimes miracles happen. " Replied Abby. 

" Yeah, miracles can happen." Said Patty. 

... 

The three woman finish filling out the papers two hours later. They spent most of their time talking about their favorite memories of Holtzmann and reminisce about the time they saved New York from ghost. The three were told to stay in the room until the doctor came back. The doctor came back around 9:00 PM. When he walked in the room, he had a solemn look on his face. He did not have to say anything for the three to know what happened. He motioned for them to grab the papers.  They grabbed the papers and followed the doctor to Jillian's hospice room. As they entered, multiple nurses surrounded her. Erin ran over to the bed and grabbed Holtzmann's cold hand. She stared at her face, there was a calm, peaceful smile rested there. Erin leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. " This is not goodbye Jillian. I will just talk to you later, okay? I will always talk to you, as long as you continue to talk to me. I never knew what my gruesome and hardest moment of my life would be, but this, this is the hardest part leaving you. Talk to you later, Holtzmann. " Erin let go of her hand, turned to see that all the nurses in the room had tears either in their eyes or streaming down their faces. 

One nurse approached Erin, grabbed her hand and said, " You know, I have worked here for five years. I see things like this all the time, and does it affect me, yes, but never like this before. Know, from the bottom of my heart, that all love with you three guys as you go through this hard time. What you said over there was the most heartwarming thing to say. You are 100% right that it isn't a goodbye. Take it easy okay. " 

Erin smiled at the nurse and replied with a very grateful "thank you". The nursed gave her a hug and walked over to Abby and Patty. She gave her condolences and hugged both of them. Abby smiled while Patty held back tears. The nurse turned to go back to the bed where the lifeless Holtzmann laid. Abby, Erin, and Patty stepped to the back of the room while they reeled Jillian along with her bed out of the room. The doctor walked over to the three. 

" You know, she was always a joy to have around. Every time she came into the ER for a burn, she would always make light out of the situation and tell jokes. She truly was a joy to have around," he paused," I have been a doctor for 22 years now, but this, this moment right here are the ones that never can become normal for the job. Especially when you know them. But, sadly that's life for ya. I will just take these papers and you three, well, can go back home. We will contact you once everything is handled. " The doctor left the room. 

" Well, today has been something. I just can't believe this is really happening." Said Patty. 

" Lets just go back to the firehouse. " Said Abby. 

Abby, Erin, and Patty leave the hospital. Abby and Patty go get into Abby's car, while Erin drives the Ecto 1 back by herself. Erin turns on the radio and a cover of "Cancer" comes on the radio. She can only help but cry and sing along to the words. When the song is over, she decides to turn the music off. She drives the rest of the way in complete silence. Once she arrives at the firehouse, she hesitates to walk back in. She waits for Abby and Patty to arrive to go back inside. 

Abby and Patty arrive five minutes after Erin got to the firehouse. " Hey, Erin, ready to go back in?" Asked Patty. 

" More than ready to." Erin replied. 

The now remaining three of the Ghostbusters make their way into the firehouse. The first thing they see are all the machines Holtzmann had made. They can only smile and look at all the crazy inventions. They walk up the stairs to Holtzmann's lab where all the unfinished machines are located. They walk in the lab to be met with the goggles Holtzmann always wore. They all smiled at the sight. 

" I think it's time to go to bed. Do you all agree?" Asked Abby. 

" Yes. " Replied both Erin and Patty. 

Erin kept thinking, " The hardest part of this is saying talk to you later, cause I will never hear your voice again. " With that thought she drifted off into sleep.