“Why does radiology always take forever?” I mumbled.

“Calm down.” Nick stared at me. Okay, so I was a little fidgety. I was nervous. The sooner Brian was taken down for radiology, the sooner they could tell us that his voice was going to be okay.

“And you know what is even more annoying? They take you down there and then they just leave you there. Come on, is that really necessary?” I persisted.

“Ellie.” Nick warned. Brian gave me a small smile, despite the situation.

“Sorry.” I said sheepishly.

“It’s okay.” He smiled now to show me he wasn’t mad. “Oh hey, I forgot to tell you, I found out who that reporter was. I called around earlier this morning. His name is Leon Marquez and he is a reporter from channel 8. Apparently this isn’t the first time he has harassed someone. He has already had one warning and after three you’re out the door. He just got written up for the scene he caused.” Nick informed me.

I widened my eyes. “Wow! How did you get all this information?”

He grinned smugly. “I have my ways.”

“What happened?” Brian whispered.

“Just a dumbass reporter giving Ellie some crap.” Nick shrugged.

“What did he say?” Brian whispered as he looked back and forth between Nick and I.

Nick glanced at me and very slightly shook his head. I got the picture. “Nothing really. Just being a jerk.”

Brian rolled his eyes, but gave it up. I don’t think he had the strength to keep pressing. Just then there was a knock on the door.

Since Brian could not, Nick called out instead, “come in!”

A man and a woman came in, both wearing white. The man was pushing a huge machine that I recognized as the piece of equipment that would give Brian his x-ray without leaving the room.

I raised my eyebrows. “Didn’t the doctor say he was going to radiology? Not you guys coming here?”

The woman laughed slightly. “Appears to be that way. Apparently he forgot that his patient just had surgery and isn’t quite ready to make the trip down there. So he crossed out the order and rewrote it so we would come here.”

“God, that is really scary. He forgot?!” Nick exclaimed. Brian only stared.

The woman chuckled again. “Dr. Johanson is a tad forgetful that way. Lack of sleep no doubt.” I think she read the uncertainty on our faces and added, “He really is the best though.”

During all this the man was hooking up the machine and making adjustments. Now he turned his attention to Nick and I. “I’ll need you guys to step out of the room a second while we take these pictures. You can wait out in the hall if you like and we will holler when we are done.”

“Okay, see ya in a few Bri.” Nick called as we went into the hallway. I just gave him a smile.

Once in the hall, Nick let out a sigh. Then he turned to me. “Do you really think that there isn’t anything wrong with his voice?” He asked hopefully.

“I wish I knew.” I shook my head and shrugged. “I would think that it would be normal to be hoarse after having a tube down your throat, but totally not being able to talk? I don’t know.”

After ten minutes of waiting, the radiologists were done and Nick and I went back into Brian’s room.

“Now what?” He whispered.

“I guess we wait for Crazy Doc to come back in and tell us the results.” I suggested.

Nick laughed. Brian didn’t though. I could tell that this was making him really nervous. Geez, it was making me nervous too and it wasn’t even my voice.

For the next half hour Nick and I tried to keep things light while we waited. Honestly, it doesn’t take that long for the films to be ready. What was taking so long?! I was about to get up and go find out when Dr. Johanson came back. I was hoping to see a “we were worried for nothing” smile, but instead he looked serious.

“The x-ray doesn’t quite give me enough information. We’re going to have to do an Endoscopy.”

“Hey, I ha-” I stopped. Geez, I have a big mouth sometimes.

“What is that exactly and when am I getting this?” Brian whispered.

“Fortunately, they are preparing a room in the OR right now.” He saw the look on Brian’s face and added hastily, “It isn’t really surgery, don’t worry. What they will do is put a tube into your throat with a tiny camera in it. We will then be able to see what exactly the problem is. Of course you will be sedated.”

“Another tube? That’s gonna hurt.” Brian whispered weakly.

“It will be a little uncomfortable,” Dr. Johannson admitted. “They will give you a topical anesthetic so it won’t be as painful. Dr. Barry is the surgeon that will be doing it. He’ll explain everything that he is doing before he does it so you will be more relaxed.”

“Can I go with him?” Nick asked hopefully.

Dr. Johanson shook his head. “They won’t let you down there. I’m sorry. Is there any questions?”

Brian shook his head.

“Okay, well I will come back with whatever we know as soon as the procedure is done with.” The doctor smiled reassuringly.

“Oh, yeah, how long will it take?” Nick spoke up.

“Anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours, just depends.”

“Okay.”

Only minutes after Dr. Johanson left, a couple people from transport came for Brian. Brian’s nurse, Amanda, also came in.

Brian focused on us. “Will you tell my parents and the rest of the guys?” He whispered. He looked so worried.

“Of course, buddy. We’ll be right here when they bring you back okay? You’ll do just fine.” Nick encouraged as he gave his best friend’s hand a squeeze.

Brian nodded and tried his best not to look scared. I wished he didn’t have to go down there alone. The alone part was the worst part about everything.

“We’ll be praying for you too.” I added.

He smiled and mouthed “thanks.”

After that the guys from transport carefully eased Brian from his bed to the gurney. He grimaced, but didn’t make a sound. Then it dawned on me that he couldn’t. That thought upset me, but I pushed it away. Everything was going to be fine.

After a few more minutes of getting everything situated, they were ready to take Brian down. We followed the crew to the elevators and watched as the doors closed. I knew he was scared. Hell, I would be too. Truthfully, I was.

Nick turned to me. “We gotta call everyone. Let’s go to our waiting room. I’ll call Harold and Jackie, you call Kev’s cell.”

I nodded. I had forgotten there was a phone in our room. That was convenient. Nick rattled of Kevin’s number and then used his own cell to call Brian’s parents.

“Hello?”

“Kevin, it’s Ellie.”

“Everything okay?” He asked immediately.

“Yes and no. Brian is okay, but something might be wrong with his voice. He can’t talk, just whisper. They are taking him back down to the OR to do an Endoscopy, where they stick a tube down his throat with a camera on it.” I explained.

“Damn, that doesn’t sound good.” He said quietly. “We’ll be there in fifteen minutes okay?”

“‘Kay.”

I looked at Nick. He looked frustrated.

“I didn’t get an answer in their room. I called AJ though. He’s already on his way.” He told me.

“So are Howie and Kevin.” I replied.

We sat there silently until AJ came into the room. He was holding several bags of McDonalds.

“How much longer before we hear anything?” He asked as he dumped the bags onto the table.

“They said it would be anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple hours.” I said.

He nodded. “I didn’t get drinks cause I couldn’t carry em all.”

“That’s fine.” Nick mumbled absently.

Another 15 minutes went by before Howie and Kevin made it. During that time Nick had tried to call Brian’s parents again, with no success.

“Anything?” Kevin asked as soon as they came on the room.

“Nope. We might as well eat cause we won’t know for awhile yet.” AJ said.

Nick glared at him. “How can you even think about eating right now?” He demanded.

“Funny to hear you say that.” AJ retorted.

“Shut up!” Nick snapped.

“Hey, cool it.” Kevin looked up at Nick who was pacing back and forth. “You do need to eat. We don’t want something to happen like what happened earlier, right?” He looked pointedly at me. I got the picture. I could also see that Nick needed a break for a bit. It was nervous energy.

“Come on, let’s go get some coffee.” I said to Nick. Good thing our supply in here had run out. It gave us an excuse to have something to do while we waited.

“Okay.” He agreed. “Call if you hear anything.” He said, even though it was still too early.

As soon as we stepped into the hall, Nick made a face. “Man, he makes me mad.”

I laughed. “No, really?”

“Smart ass.”

“Better than being a dumbass.” I offered.

He laughed. We took the elevator to the basement floor where there was a small coffee shop. “What are ya getting?” He asked.

My first thought was, of course, my favorite. A mocha. That brought back a whirlwind of memories. I was ordering my mocha when I first met Brian. It was unbelievable how much your life can change in just a few days. We turned a corner and I started to tell him what I was thinking. I didn’t get the chance.

I didn’t notice the figure standing in the doorway. I didn’t even notice the arm that reached out at me. That is, until it grabbed ahold of my arm and spun me around. I gasped from pain and shock.

“Remember me?”