Chapter 1
"If
there's a way to infiltrate you/Sway your mind and complicate you/ I'm gonna
crash into your world/And that's no lie"
~Savage Garden's "Violet"
"How's it look, Doc?" Nick asked with his mouth wide open and a Popsicle
stick in his mouth.
"I don't know, Nick," Dr. Matheson replied, "whatever this is has a firm grip on you. You should have come sooner."
"That's what I said, but you know Nick," Sara replied as she gave him a knowing look.
"I'll leave that one alone," the tall, African American doctor replied as he looked one last time into Nick's mouth and removed the tongue depressor. "When's the baby due?"
"In March," Sara replied as she placed a hand on her now rather rotund stomach.
"That's only a few months away," Dr. Matheson responded. "Do you have everything ready?"
"Pretty much," Nick responded. "We only have to finish up a few things."
"Sounds like you're pretty much set," the doctor replied as he found the paper he was looking for. "Nick, I'll need you to fill out this form so we can schedule a blood test for you."
"A blood test? Why?" Sara questioned.
"Just to make sure everything's where it's supposed to be."
"How soon do you need it?" Nick questioned, slightly uneasy at the fact that some vampire with a needle was going to suck his blood.
"As soon as possible. It almost seems like you've got a few illnesses attacking you at once. I just want to be sure."
"We're not doing anything this afternoon," Sara said speaking up, "If we can schedule an appointment for this afternoon then we'll take it."
"Good. Let me call the hospital and we'll get this settled," Dr. Matheson said glancing over a few charts of Nick's before leaving.
Dr. Matheson left Nick's room and proceeded down the hallway to the phone in his private office. He looked over Nick's charts one last time before placing the call.
"Hello Robert? It's James Matheson… Yes, I need an appointment for a patient… Carter, Nickolas, spelled like it sounds… I need a test for an r/w count, Lyme, arthritis, and basically anything else along those lines… No, no… No bone scan. It doesn't look like it's one of those cases… Yes Robert, I'm sure… Special interest to the r/w count… Thanks… Yes, I'll call again soon… Today at 4? Sounds good… Thank you Robert… Goodbye." With that, Dr. James Matheson hug up the phone and rubbed his face. He knew the potential of the situation, but at the same time didn't quite know how to deal with the possibilities.
Meanwhile, back in the examining room, Nick was pacing.
"If everything's borderline OK then why go through with the blood test?" Nick questioned.
"Sit down Nick. You're making me nervous," Sara said as she watched the situation unfold. When Nick ceased to hear her out, she said nothing. It was the only true safe bet in these cases.
"I still don't get it," Nick muttered as he drew his pacing to a close.
"If he thought
everything was absolutely fine, then he wouldn't have taken the initiative or
the time to have this done. He's a professional and he knows what he's doing,"
Sara reasoned. She could see that Nick was tossing the idea around in his head,
but more than that, saw that the scared little boy Nick had tried to leave behind
was reappearing as a look of confusion and worry crossed his face. Reading his
thoughts, Sara's hand found Nick's and she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
Nick looked at Sara, squeezed back, and smiled. "It'll be OK Nick,"
Sara repeated. "Everything's going to turn out fine."
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