"Hi Kevin!" Monica said cheerfully. "I was just flushing this IV for Miss Kat, and then I'll leave her alone for a few hours."

"Great," Kevin said, smiling. He kissed Kathleen's head and sat down in the uncomfortable recliner beside the bed. The room was filled with flowers and helium balloons, which Kevin had delivered fresh every day. He propped his feet up and grabbed the remote control from Kathleen's hand.

"You're such a man," Kathleen said, shaking her head.

"I know. But you love me," he replied, flipping through the channels.

"You're right. I do," she laughed. "The doctor is supposed to stop by with my test results before he goes home tonight."

"How're you feeling today?" Kevin asked, holding her hand, but watching the television. WWF Wrestling… Culture at it's finest.

"I actually feel really good today. I wish they'd let me go home," she said, pouting.

"Well, we'll ask the doctor when he gets here," Kevin said.

"Alright, my works is done," Monica said. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks, Monica," Kevin said, smiling up at her.

As soon as Monica left, Kevin climbed onto the bed with Kathleen and she rested her head on his shoulder. Monica always got onto him when he did this around her. It was apparently against hospital policy for anyone to be in the bed except the patient, but Kevin just couldn't let an opportunity to cuddle with Kathleen slip by. She grabbed for the remote, but he snatched his hand away quickly.

"Ahhh you think you're faster than me? I don't think so," Kevin laughed, holding the remote high above his head so she could reach.

"Please no more wrestling," she whined. "I'm siiiiick."

"You're not sick," he said, wrinkling his nose at her. "You're just whiny. But, since you're so damned cute, AND because Stone Cold isn't on right now, I'll change the channel." He flipped through and found Grease 2 on TNT.

"Oooooh I wanna watch that. Please..." she pleaded.

"Fine. We'll watch it. But you do realize this is one of the shittiest movies ever made, right?"

"It is not," she replied indignantly. "Maxwell Caulfield is such a hottie." She snuggled into his arms. Kathleen sang all the songs to the movie when they came on. Kevin got the biggest kick out of hearing Kathleen's off-key rendition of Reproduction, sung at the top of her lungs.

"Is somebody strangling a cat in here?" Nick laughed, entering the room without knocking. "Hey, isn't there some kind of rule about public displays of affection around here? UGH! You guys nauseate me. Where's one of those little pans so I can throw up?"

"Shut up, asswipe," Kevin replied. "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit my friend and future wife, Kathleen, whenever I want to?" Nick said, kissing Kathleen's cheek.

"Future wife my ass," Kathleen said. "I wouldn't marry you if we were the only two people left on the face of the earth."

"Yeah, but you'd sleep with me," he said, giggling.

"I'd have to be really desperate," she said. "And really, really drunk."

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" Nick asked with mock surprise.

"I ain't sayin' nothing," Kathleen snickered.

"Kevin, are you gonna let her sit there and insult me like that?" Nick said, turning to Kevin.

"Yep," Kevin answered, smiling.

They chatted for awhile about this and that when they were interrupted by the phone.

"Hello?" Kathleen answered, still laughing. "Hold on just a second." She put her hand over the receiver and looked at Kevin. "It's AJ. He doesn't sound good."

Kevin took the phone from her hand. "Hey man. What's up?" Kathleen and Nick watched Kevin, trying to read his expressions, as AJ spoke to him on the other end.

"AJ… damn it. Why?... But... You're insane, did you know that? There is no way that I'd ever do something like that ... If I get over there and she's crying... Shut up.... No, I said shut the hell up ... Why do you always destroy everything around you? ... You're such a ... No! Stop crying... Stop it.... This is your own fault ... Damn it. You're always fucking things up and leaving the cleanup for me, aren't you. Why don't you grow the hell up?..... Do everybody a fucking favor, AJ. Go somewhere far, far away and don't come back for a really long time, ok?" Kevin slammed the phone down and closed his eyes.

"What was that all about?" Nick asked quietly.

"He left her," Kevin said, not opening his eyes.

"Who left who? AJ left Rhiannon?" Kathleen asked, feeling her heart drop.

"Yep. He left her. He said he can't take being with her anymore, so he's gone."

"Did he say why?" Nick asked.

"Because she loves him too much and he feels like he's getting too involved. Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?" Kevin replied, shaking his head. "You know, he always does this shit. Whenever he gets in a good relationship with somebody who is really right for him, he fucks it up. He kills the relationship before he can get really attached. I don't understand what his problem is. But damn it, now I have to go clean up the mess he left behind."

"Go," Kathleen said softly, rubbing his shoulder. "She needs you." Kevin nodded and slowly got up.

"I love you, baby," he said. "Nick, take care of my girl, ok? I'll try to be back later."

"Can I get in the bed with her?" Nick asked, trying to lighten the mood. Kevin shot him a nasty look. "Ok, ok. I'll sit in that lumpy ass recliner and we'll watch... what the hell is this? Grease 2? Oh God... don't make me watch this... I'll call Howie. He loves this movie."

"No you won't!" Kathleen exclaimed. "I sat on the couch for 4 days rubbing your head in my lap while watching Cartoon Network when you had the flu. The least you can do is watch this movie with me."

"Oh alright," Nick said reluctantly, taking Kevin's place in the recliner. "Good luck, Kev. Tell Rhiannon I'll stop by later if she wants me to. Just tell her to page me." Kevin nodded as he walked out the door. As he made his way back to the elevator, Kathleen's doctor stopped him in the hall.

"Kevin, I wanted to go over Kathleen's test results with you if you have a minute," the doctor said. The look on his face wasn't very encouraging.

"Sure, I've got a few minutes," Kevin said, a sinking feeling starting to gnaw at his stomach.

"Ok, let's sit over here," the doctor said, leading him to an office behind the nurses station. Kevin sat down in a stiff backed chair and stared at the doctor. "Kevin, the test results aren't very good, I'm afraid. Kathleen's condition is deteriorating at a much more rapid rate than we were expecting. The echocardiogram showed significant damage to her left ventrical and her pulmonary artery. There's also some evidence that the blood vessels in her brain are beginning to weaken."

Kevin squeezed his eyes closed as the doctor spoke. He didn't want to hear this. There was a loud roaring in his ears, as his brain tried to drown out the words that the doctor was speaking, but it was no use. He was losing her. Very soon, she would be gone... and he'd be alone.

"How long?" Kevin whispered, swallowing hard.

"Two, maybe three weeks at most," the doctor said quietly. "I'm so sorry. There's just nothing more we can do. Medical science just hasn't advanced enough to correct the damage that's been done to her body."

"Ok," he said. "So are you going to talk to her now?"

"Actually, that's something else I wanted to discuss with you. She seems to be feeling fine right now. That's part of the brain involvement I was telling you about. For some reason, her pain receptors are becoming numb, and she feels like she's getting better. Unfortunately, that's not the case. In my opinion, the best thing to do is to keep her comfortable, let her go home, and let nature take it's course. She's come to terms with the fact that she's terminal. I don't see any reason to get her all upset with this latest news. I don't think it would serve any purpose except to cause her additional anxiety. If you're alright with that, we can let her go home as early as tomorrow. If her pain returns, we can always set up hospice care."

"But what's going to happen when she gets home?" Kevin asked, wiping the tears off his cheeks.

"I can't say for sure, but I can tell you what I believe will happen. I believe she'll feel fine until the end. She'll probably get more confused over the next week or two as more of her brain functions are affected from the damaged vessels and the lack of oxygen to her brain cells. Then, most likely, she'll slip away painlessly. Hopefully in her sleep."

Kevin nodded, afraid that if he spoke, he would let out an inhuman wail.

"Alright then, I'll sign the paperwork, and you can pick her up tomorrow morning. Again, I'm so sorry. I wish there was more I could do," the doctor said, patting Kevin's hand. After he left the room, Kevin broke down in sobs. He couldn't imagine living without her. His sweet angel, Kathleen. Soon, she really would be an angel... It was too much to bear. He had lost so much in his life, and now he was losing his one true love. He had to get out of the hospital and get some air. He stopped his crying and went down to his car. As he drove down the highway, he scanned the radio. He stopped on a country station playing Colin Raye's "Love Me". As he listened to the words and his tears began again.

If you get there before I do
Don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through
I don't know how long I'll be
But I'm not gonna let you down
Darling wait and see
Between now and then
Til I see you again
I'll be loving you
Love, me

His tears poured out even more as he realized that he wouldn't be meeting her on the other side... there was no other side for him. Kathleen would be in God's Kingdom, and Kevin would be on earth... for eternity.

next