Tears force their way out of my eyes as I gingerly stroke her still hand. Dad doesn't know what to do with himself. He fiddles with his fingers and can't look at me or Lacy without getting a visible lump in his throat.
I don't want to leave her...
But it's not long until I discover I don't really have the choice.
Luke gently knocks at the door and then slowly pushes it open.
"Gen? I got a call from your... urm... Foster dad. The whole family's really worried. I told them you were here."
I offer what small of a smile I can.
"Thanks, Luke."
Luke smiles... But then his facial lines show deep concern.
I look down at Lacy, then back up at Luke.
"Luke? Wha...What is it?" I ask warily.
He seems to be struggling to control his breathing. Every beep in the room suddenly seems more ominous.
"Gen, I'm sorry but I need you to go. Something's really not right, she shouldn't be declining this fast... Maybe we need to take her off the chemo after all and..."
He starts mumbling frantically to himself as my breathing gets faster and faster.
I'm not ready to lose her. None of us are. None of us ever will be but... Not now... Not ever... Not now... Please... God? Not ever!
Luke pushes the red call button and turns toward me. I'm frozen in fear, I can't move...
"Gen, please, get out of here, I'll call as soon as we have news and you can come back. Gen..."
My hearing and vision start to get a little blurry...
A nurse, Doctor, someone came in and is now talking to Luke.
I try to stand up, but everything is fuzzy. The sound of my name being called in a concerned manner faintly reaches my ears.
Before I completely black out, someone scoops me in their arms and we start moving.... Somewhere... Somewhere...
Please God... Please.... Please....
****************
I slowly regain consciousness to the sound of a chorus of terrified voices.
"Is she coming down with something?"
"What in the name of George Washington happened at the hospital?"
"Has she eaten anything in the last 24 hours?"
"She's burning up..."
When I try to force some sort of sentence out of my mouth it just comes out as moans. The chorus goes dead silent after a collective gasp and I become aware of a cold rag on my head.
I blink a few times and discover I'm back in my room, everyone gathered around me.
Liam peeks his little eyes over the edge of the bed and asks, terrified, "Is she as sick as Lacy?"
I can hear everyone's heart break just then. Ruffling his head of hair I choke out, "No, Bubba, I'll be ok, I promise."
He smiles at that and then hops into bed next to me, snuggling up under my arm.
"Gen, what happened?" Michelle asks.
I look at Dad, as if asking for the right words to say and he just squeezes my hand.
