Taylor let me have the front seat. Isaac took Dad's car. It could drive better with this kind of weather (it was beginning to rain again, with the promise of another storm in the near future). I had a blank look on my face. All I could think about was Danielle, how she had to go through this again.
Danielle Timberwood was a girl we met at our first "real" concert in Tulsa. She was a MOE member. She told us how happy she was to get to attend the concert, and especially that she got to meet us backstage. She endeared herself to us all, and we stayed in touch with her. Later, after she had left, her mom had informed us that Danielle had just had a check up with the doctor, and there were signs of cancer. Danielle had no idea of it, and her mom was planning to tell her at home that night. She was hoping that seeing us would be like a barrier to the blows she was about to receive. We kept in touch with her. She and I became especially close. Later on, about a month later, her mom told us that she didn't have cancer, and we all celebrated. About a year later, Danielle experienced the same symptoms again, and her mom and dad took her to the doctor, where she was diagnosed with leukemia. She began her first round of treatment immedietely. The chemotherapy made her lose her hair. She was in the hospital for long periods of time. After 9 months, she had beaten the cancer and was in remission. Now, five months later, we're heading back to the hospital, hoping we won't hear the same news we heard 14 months ago.
"Ike, you don't think Danielle has cancer again, do you?" I asked. It took him a long time to answer back.
"I can't answer for sure. Maybe she was just having a bad day, and her parents wanted to make sure," he said. He didn't sound so sure of himself.
We rode in silence the rest of the way. Isaac pulled into the parking lot of Cardinal Glennon and we rushed inside. We approached the information desk.
"Hi, my name is Isaac Hanson, can you please tell me where Danielle Timberwood is?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, only family members are allowed up."
"But we are like family to her! We were called down to see her! Let me see Danielle!" I exploded.
"It's all right, nurse, you can let them up," a tired voice told the desk. I looked over. It was Danielle's father. He's only 42, but at that moment, he looked a lot older.
"Okay, Mr. Timberwood," she said. Mr. Timberwood ushered us into an elevator, up three floors, and down the hall to room 316.
"Mr. Timberwood," I asked him as we were outside Danielle's room, "is Danielle okay?"
"Zac, we're not sure. There are tests being run right as we speak. Hopefully, she is okay," he said. Danielle's mother came down the hall with Danielle's younger brother, Greg.
"Hi Isaac, Taylor, Zac. The doctors will tell us when it is okay to go in," she said. She looked awfully tired herself.
"Mommy, does Danielle have leukemia again?" Greg asked.
"I don't know, Greg. We can only hope she doesn't," Mrs. Timberwood answered.
An awkward silence reigned the six of us again. Well, almost silence. Greg was sitting on the floor, vrooming a red car around the floor and over his mother's shoe. After what seemed like a lifetime, a doctor with dark brown hair came out.
"Mr. and Mrs. Timberwood? You all may come in now. The tests are finished."
"When will we know the results?" Mr. Timberwood asked.
"We'll talk about that in the room," he replied. He waved us all in. I was the last one in. I looked at Danielle. She was hooked up to a few machines, not too many, though. She wasn't awake.
The doctor must have been reading my mind. "She's just sleeping now. There were a lot of tests taken."
"When should we find out the results?" Mr. Timberwood asked again.
"Tomorrow morning. We want to keep Danielle here overnight to monitor her," he replied. "Pardon me for not introducing myself, I'm Dr. Robert Wyle." He shook hands with us all, and we introduced ourselves. Mr. and Mrs. Timberwood told Dr. Wyle about how Danielle met us and the whole story.
"Dr. Wyle?" I asked him as the story ended. "What are the chances of Danielle having leukemia again?"
"Zac, right now, I'm not really sure, to be honest," he said.
"If she does have it, will she be able to recover from it again?" Mrs. Timberwood asked.
"There is a good chance she will recover again," he said.
"Mm-mom? Dad?" a sleepy voice asked from the bed.
"Oh, Danielle!" we all rushed to the bed.
"Careful," Dr. Wyle warned us.
"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Timberwood asked.
"Okay, I guess. Ike? Taylor? Zac? Why are you here?"
"Your mom called the house this afternoon and told us. We got here as fast as we could," Ike told her.
"I didn't interrupt your practice, did I?" she asked. Out of what she was going through, she still worried about interrupting us.
"No you didn't, and even if you did, it wouldn't have mattered," Taylor said.
"Zac?" Danielle asked.
"Yes?"
She reached up and squeezed my hand. "Thanks for being here."
I squeezed her hand back and then let go. "For you, anything."
"We should let Danielle get some more rest. Probably the best thing for you to do now is to go home. We'll call right when we get something back," Dr. Wyle said. At first, Mrs. Timberwood protested, but Dr. Wyle and Mr. Timberwood pointed out that there wasn't anything else we could do, so we all said good bye to Danielle.
"Do you need anything?" Mrs. Timberwood asked her.
"I think I'll be fine. I'm only planning on being here tonight," Danielle said.
"All right, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Take care." Mrs. Timberwood kissed Danielle's forehead.
"I love you, sport. I'll see you when you wake up in the morning," Mr. Timberwood said. He kissed Danielle's head too.
"Thanks, Dad. I love you both."
"Danielle, we'll be thinking about you," Isaac said.
"Yeah, we hope that everything goes okay," Taylor said.
"Don't worry guys, it's just a one night thing. I'll be fine," she insisted.
"Good night, Danielle," I said as everyone was out of the room.
"Good night, Zac."
"Wait...Danielle? Are you telling the truth? Do you think it's really just a one night thing?"
"Yeah. I really do. I'm feeling better already." I looked into her eyes, and she was telling the truth.
"Okay. Good night. I'll see you soon."
"Ditto, drummer boy."
I smiled and I left the room, closing the door quietly. I hoped Danielle was right.
Chapter 3
Chapter 1
Watching Me Now
Kelly's Hanson Stories
