The day of her surgery, Topaz woke up to clouds and gloom, not exactly the way she had hoped it would be. Maybe it was a sign of things to come, she hoped not. She needed some good luck today. Sometimes she experienced nauseousness when she was anxious, and today was no exception. The moment her feet hit the floor, she walked to the bathroom and vomited. After cleaning up, she drank a glass of water. She hoped her stomach would calm down now.

"You look like crap." Tara said walking into the bathroom.

"Gee, sis. Thanks." As if she didn't know this already. The dark circles had returned under her eyes and her skin was a pasty white. She also felt like she was running a fever. Why today of all days did she have to be sick?

"You sure you feel up to this? Maybe you should reschedule?" Tara asked, noticing that her sister didn't look good at all.

"Nah, I'll be okay. It's not like they are cutting out my heart or anything, just going in for a bone marrow transplant. I'll be fine." Topaz said, trying to make light of things.

"Alright, if you say so. But I still say maybe you should do this another day." Tara declared, a worried look on her face. She had seen her sister look like this before, and it scared her.

" Let me take a shower and then we can go okay?" Topaz said, shooing her sister out of the bathroom.

"Okay Okay, I get the hint. I am outta here." Tara said, walking out of the room.

Topaz shut the door and stared at her reflection in the mirror. It's gonna be okay, she thought to herself. She stripped off her clothes and hopped underneath the cool water, enjoying the feeling of it on her hot skin.

******

An hour later, they arrived at the hospital. Her oncologist, Dr. Feindenberg, was waiting for her.

"How are you feeling today, Topaz? You look a bit pale, why don't we check to see if you have a fever?" The doctor said in a professional tone.

"Hey I am fine, I had to walk about a half mile to get here, the parking lot was packed and we had to park far away. I just worked up a sweat, that's all."

"We'll see what the thermometer shows ok?" Dr. Feindenberg suggested, leading her into an examining room.

A nurse in a starched white uniform came in and placed a thermometer underneath her tongue. A few short moments later she informed Topaz that she was running a high grade fever. Soon Dr. Feindenberg entered the room.

"I am going to recommend that we postpone the procedure for another day. I'd rather not inject bone marrow into a sick patient."

"I'll be fine, Doc. Just a little fever." Topaz said, coughing. She felt like her skin was on fire, and her stomach was doing flip flops. She knew she needed this procedure, and she continued to be stubborn about it.

"I don't feel that is a good idea, you should go home take your medicine and get some rest." Dr. Feindenberg consulted.

"How long have I been waiting for this marrow transplant? I am not going to let a little thing like the flu stop me from getting what I need. Now can we do this or not?" Topaz said, irritation evident in her voice.

"You'll have to sign a form then; which states that I warned you of the dangers of performing this procedure while you are ill. Are you willing to do that?" Dr. Feindenberg asked, hoping that she would change her mind.

"Yes, just give me the form, and I'll sign it."

Dr. Feindenberg motioned the nurse to get him the necessary documents needed in a case such as this. Unwillingly, he had to adhere to his patient's requests.

Topaz was led into a room where she had to change out of her clothes and put a hospital gown and robe on. As soon as she was finished changing, the nurse led her to another room where the transplant would take place. Normally the marrow was transplanted through a simple iv, but in Topaz' case, they would have to inject it into her spinal column. It was not something she looked forward to.

*****

Tara waited impatiently in the waiting area. She knew that her sister was too sick today. She could tell by looking at her that morning when she first woke up. The doctor had told them that there was a possibility her body would reject the marrow, and a possible infection could occur. Tara was scared. What if she didn't make it?

She flipped the pages of her magazine, not really concentrating on what she was reading.

"You must be Tara, Topaz' twin sister." A male voice asked her.

She looked up to see Aj McLean standing before her. She could hardly believe that he had come all this way.

"Yes, hi..pleasure to finally meet you." Tara replied standing up and shaking hands with him. She was shocked to say the least, she had never expected him to come for the surgery.

"How is Topaz doing?" He asked, full of concern.

"She's sick today. The doctor warned her that it would be better to put off the procedure, but...she went ahead with it anyway." Tara replied. "She's taking a serious risk."

Her words hit home. What if Topaz didn't survive the procedure? What would happen then?

All they could do was pray and wait....

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