Until Tomorrow

Untitled

Summary: Nick is settling down to life as a freshman and everything seems relatively stable, but the sudden arrival of a strange boy who could be Nick’s double and devastating news will change all that and throw the life Nick thought he had into absolute chaos.

Warnings: angst and a bit of gore--if you don’t like needles, that is.

Part Two

Chelsea, Mi

September 2007

Chapter 1

Nick stood outside the double doors that would lead him to his first day of high school. He was scared, excited, and nervous all at once. He and his family had come back from their summer home up north in mid-July and he had spent the rest of his summer with his friends. He was especially close to Alexis, who had somehow ended up as his girlfriend. He was happy about it, but yet there seemed to be a hole in his heart. Nick shook his head He wasn’t going to think about that; it would only make him sad. He had a chance to start over again and be a different person and that was what he was planning to do. Taking a deep breath, he mounted the steps and entered the building. He found himself in a long hallway painted a light green color. He easily found his way to his locker; he and his parents had gone through every single hallway several times so that he was extremely familiar with the layout of his new school.

For the last four years of his education, his parents had made the decision to send him to a private school in Chelsea, about twenty miles from their home out in the country. The good thing was that Alexis and all his friends were going to the same school as him. The bad thing was that he had to wear a uniform.

Well, it could be worse, he thought as he gathered the books he needed for his first several classes. He doubted that he’d need them on the first day of school, but it was better to be prepared. He shoved the books he needed into his bag at his feet and slung it over his shoulder. He slammed his locker door closed and turned around to see Alexis right there. She giggled at the sight of his dazed expression.

“Good morning, Nick,” she said with one of her dazzling smiles.

“Good morning, Alexis,” he said politely. Holding hands like a good couple should, they walked down the hallways. “Where’s your first class?”

“I actually have no idea. I didn’t have time to look for it.”
“Well, what is it?”

“Introductory Algebra.”

“Teacher?”
“Mr. Spitz.”

“Room number?”

“2704.”

Nick nodded. “That’s up on the second floor in the math wing. If you want, I can take you there.”
“Oh would you? That would be so great!”
“All right then. Come with me.” He showed Alexis to her classroom. Then, he went downstairs to his first class, which was Introductory French. He chose a seat near the middle of the classroom, where he would hardly be noticed by anyone. After he had gotten himself settled, he pulled out the book he was currently reading and buried his nose in it. He didn’t resurface until well after the bell had rung and the teacher had started calling roll. He grimaced when the teacher butchered his name.

“Niyko-leech?”

“Here,” Nick said softly. “You can call me Nick.”
“Nick,” the teacher seemed satisfied and went back to calling roll. At the end, he passed out many papers including many forms that needed to be filled out. Nick made a face; he always hated filling out those sorts of forms. He made sure that he wrote neatly so that the teacher could read it and at the end, he laid his pen down, shook the cramp out of his hand, and read over what he had written.

Name: Nikolych Rashovitz

Age: 14

Date of Birth: December 25, 1991

Parents’ Names: Kalil and Jake

Parents’ Occupations: Diplomat to the Arabic Nations and a bodyguard

It went on and on for what seemed like forever, asking everything from phone numbers to allergies, to hobbies, and so on. He turned the forms in and went to sit at his desk and read until the end of the hour.

Nick’s several classes were almost the same way with lectures on behaviors, rules, and filling out lots and lots of forms. After second period Earth Science, taught by a short, squat man named Mr. Robertson, he had English and Literature with the evil Mrs. Fox. Nick knew from the moment he stepped into the classroom that she hated him and made sure that he steered clear of her. Unfortunately, that proved impossible when she rearranged the room according to a seating chart she had made and put him right in front of her desk in the first row. She pronounced Nick’s name nearly correct and refused to call him anything but his proper name. She lectured for half the class period about how she expected strict discipline from her students, then launched into the first lesson on grammar. She bombarded Nick with loads of questions and got more and more irritated as he irritated as he answered each one correctly. Perhaps it was because of this that she assigned so much homework.

Nick’s fourth period was World History, which he had with Alexis. It was the first class he had with a friend.

“So how’s your day so far?” Alexis asked as they sat together in the back of the room before class had started.

Nick made a face. “French sucks because I’m pretty much fluent in the language already, Earth Science is taught by the most boring teacher in existence, and my English and Literature teacher hates my guts.” Alexis laughed. “You can laugh, but it’s true. I knew from the moment I walked into her classroom that she hated me.”

“Who’s the teacher?”
“Mrs. Fox.”

“Ooh, I’ve heard that she’s tough.”
“She’s a freaking Nazi!” Nick took a deep breath to calm himself down. “So….how has your day been so far?” Nick listened to her story. Then, the bell rang and she had to interrupt her story. The teacher entered. He was a tall, thin, balding man. He had watery blue eyes, a rather pointy chin, and a pointy beard to match. He folded his long white fingers neatly and regarded the class.

“My name is Mr. Stevenson and I am your teacher for this year,” he said in a hoarse tone. He had an accent that Nick could trace as Eastern European. “I will begin by calling role. Andrew Addson.” Andrew raised his hand. One by one, he called their names. When he reached Nick’s name, he paused momentarily. “Nikolych Rashovitz.” He pronounced his name perfectly.

“Here.” Nick raised his hand, slightly surprised. Mr. Stevenson gazed at him for a while, but didn’t say anything. He finally moved on and called the rest of the names. “I have a list of the supplies you will need for this year. I advise you to get them as soon as possible. Tomorrow, I start the lecture on the Prehistoric Peoples. For homework tonight, please read Chapter One in your textbooks and make an outline. I will check it in tomorrow at the beginning of class. It is not a very long chapter, so you should have no problem finishing it. And now, onto other business.” He rose from his desk and passed out a small packet. Then, he passed out several other sheets. “This packet will tell you all my rules and expectations. I’m not going to sit here and read it to you; you’re freshmen in high school now and capable to read on your own. I would like you to take a look at the sheet I handed out and fill it out to the best of your ability. Bring it up to me when you’re finished.” He resumed his seat at his desk and watched as they filled the sheet out. Once all the sheets had been collected, he rose.
“And now,” he said, “let us learn a little more about each other. I would like you to tell me your name, age, if you know where your ancestors are from, and one interesting thing about yourself. As a teacher of history, I think it is important that we not only learn the history of our world in order to prevent the mistakes that our predecessors made from happening again, but also the histories of ourselves; where we are originally from. There is a project that I do near the end of the school year that is quite fun, actually. I will tell you more about it when the time comes. For now, I will start with who I am and where I’m from. My name is Viktor Stevenson. I’m in my late forties, I know that my mother came from Bulgaria and my father came from Hungary, and I like to collect and examine maps.” They went around the room introducing themselves. Mr. Stevenson bombarded them with questions. When it came to be Nick’s turn, he took a deep breath before speaking.

“My name is Nikolych Rashovitz,” he said loudly. “I am fourteen years old. I’m from the country formerly known as Serbia and is known today as Serbia and Montenegro and I was adopted when I was twelve years old.” There was a hushed whisper from all across the room and Mr. Stevenson was staring at him in interest.

“You yourself are personally from Serbia and Montenegro?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” Nick answered truthfully, causing the class to whisper more.

“Where did you live?”
“In Belgrade, until I was four.”
“Did you come to America then?”
“No.”
“Where did you go then?”
“I lived in Budapest for roughly around six months and then Prague for another six months.”
“Then after that?”
Nick let out a long breath. “I lived in Kiev for a year and then lived in Russia until I was twelve.”
“Then you said you were adopted?”
“Yes. I lived abroad with my family for a year before coming to America.”

“I see. Interesting. Very interesting.” They continued the introductions and had just finished when the bell rang.

“Remember, read and outline chapter one of your textbook for tomorrow,” Mr. Stevenson called out as everyone packed up and exited. After World History, Nick and Alexis had lunch together, and managed to find several of their friends who jabbered about their classes. Everyone at their table agreed that Mr. Stevenson was creepy. After eating, Nick started the homework Mrs. Fox had assigned. Even for him it was difficult; he was only a third of the way finished when lunch ended. He hurriedly packed his things and went to his next class, which was Algebra I. He had Mr. Spitz, the same teacher as Alexis. He was nice, but boring. Sixth period, Nick had chorus. He liked to sing, though few knew it, and so had signed up for the class. He immediately knew that he and the teacher, Mrs. Woods, were going to get along well. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was generally a happy person. She completely butchered his name, but was so good about it. He was one of the only boys, but he didn’t care because Alexis was in it as well. Mrs. Woods had them do several vocal exercises and wandered around, listening to them.

“Come on, Nick. Let me hear your lovely voice,” she said, stopping in front of him. He blushed and sang the best he could, which wasn’t very good.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled when he was finished. “I’m really nervous.”

Mrs. Woods chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. You just need to have a boost in confidence. That’s something we’ll work on in here. It’s natural for you to feel scared at first; a lot of people are.” She moved on.

Nick’s seventh period class, the last class of the day was Physical Fitness, the resident gym class that was required of all freshman. The teacher was a mean man named Mr. Anderson. He had a buzz cut and a badly sunburned nose. He barked at them all hour about rules and regulations. They would be starting the next time the class met, Monday.

Briar Rose Academy was a school with one of the strangest schedules, for high school at least. It was built in a similar manner as the colleges with certain classes meeting on certain days. All the academic classes were five days a week, but the elective classes rotated every day. Monday, Nick had Chorus and Physical Fitness. Tuesday, he had Cooking and Sewing and Introduction to Music. Wednesday, he had Parenting I and Introduction to Art. Thursday, he had Introductory German, and Government. Friday, he had Introduction to Drama and Study Hall. He quickly fell into a routine with school, just has he had in middle school. He hated all his classes except for Chorus, Introduction to Music, and Introduction to Drama, where he shone.

Chapter 2

The new boy was introduced as Kivan White, who had just moved to America from Tokyo with his father, stepmother, and half sister. Nick first saw him in his Chorus class on a Monday afternoon about one month after school had started. Now there were several boys in Chorus. Nick, who was hidden by several people, didn’t get a chance to see Kivan until he was told to sit next to him. Nick saw his face and gasped softly; Kivan’s face was exactly identical to his. They had the same long, lengthy face and high cheekbones, and even the same eyes. The only thing different about them was their hair color; Nick’s was curly blonde and Kivan’s was tawny brown. He didn’t look remotely Japanese.

“Okay, class. In a couple days, we’re going to have auditions to see where you should be in the chorus. I know it’s already been a month, but you’ve needed some instructions, so I pushed the auditions back. Our concert won’t be for a while though…” Nick felt his heart drop like a stone. Auditions…he hated auditions. He always blew it because he was so nervous. He also couldn’t keep his mind off Kivan. Somehow, he knew exactly who he was even though they had never met…

By the next morning, it was all around the school that a boy who could have been Nick’s double had suddenly appeared. People whispered and stared whenever Nick passed and it was very distracting. He found Kivan in several of the same classes as him; Physical Fitness, Introduction to Music, Parenting, and Introduction to Drama. He was getting worse in school it seemed, and to make matters worse, he completely blew his chorus audition.

Mrs. Woods had been so kind about it, but he was heartbroken. The evening after he had learned the results of his audition, he shut himself up in his room for the rest of the night, refusing dinner, and refusing to speak to anyone. He tried to ignore Kivan as much as he could, but he seemed to be unable to do so, because Kivan seemed to be everywhere. He refused to talk with nick, but he was there, observing him it seemed.

Life went on. Nick improved in school, though it proved to be exhausting. His teachers loved giving piles of homework. The students were worse than the teachers. They all talked about partying, drugs, drinking, and sex, things that Nick particularly didn’t care about. Indeed, the lead male singer, a boy named Adrian was gone so much and stoned on the days he actually came to school that he made Mrs. Woods worried. The December concert was coming up, and if they didn’t have Adrian, all would be lost. It would be wise to have Kivan to sing instead of Adrian, in Nick’s opinion, because Kivan had a beautiful voice, but for some reason, Mrs. Woods wouldn’t replace Adrian.

On one cold November afternoon, Nick stayed after school, a recent habit of his, and sat in the ancient fire escape at a less frequently traveled end of the building, singing softly. The solo that Adrian was to sing at the December concert was a very beautiful old song and it was the song that Nick now sang.

Say you’ll stay by my side

Promise you’ll never leave

Take my hand and hold it

Tell me it’s okay

When I’m scared

You’re the only one I want

And without you, I’m nothing

He didn’t realize that he wasn’t alone and continued the song.

You are everything

The reason that I breathe

Hold onto me now

Don’t let me fall

The light of my life

Suddenly, he stopped, aware that he was being watched. Kivan was staring up at him.

“Was that you singing?” the brown-haired boy croaked.

“Uh…yeah,” Nick blushed.

“That was…amazing. Why don’t you sing like that in class? Mrs. Woods would go nuts!”

“I have terrible nerves. I can’t sing unless I know that no one is watching.”
“Maybe, but I think that with some practice, you’ll be able to sing with everyone watching.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.”


Kivan somehow managed to convince Mrs. Woods to let Nick sing for her. He had practiced with Kivan every day after school since he had been caught singing, but he still wasn’t sure he was ready. Tension mounted within him as he stood in front of Mrs. Woods during Chorus one day. The rest of the class was occupied so Nick was only really singing for Mrs. Woods, but he still couldn’t help feeling nervous. He stood frozen with fear, unable to form the words. He was suddenly aware of Kivan gently shaking him by the shoulders.

“Hey, you can do this. I know you can. Just sing like no one is watching, like the day I heard you sing,” Kivan whispered. Nick closed his eyes. He tried to remember the emotions he was feeling on that cold November day.

Sadness…loneliness…melancholy…

He had been thinking about Danya and their summer romance, if it had even been a romance.

His eyes snapped open. Mrs. Woods was walking away, but he didn’t care. Suddenly, the words fit. He took a deep breath and starting singing.

Say you’ll stay by my side

Promise you’ll never leave

Take my hand and hold it

Tell me it’s okay

When I’m scared

You’re the only one I want

And without you, I’m nothing

You are everything

The reason that I breathe

Hold onto me now

Don’t let me fall

The light of my life

No matter how hard I fight,

You keep coming back

Haunting my dreams

Slowly draining my sanity

I can’t let you go

Why can’t you see

How we were meant to be?

Don’t let me go

Don’t let me fall

Lift me up

So I can soar

With angel’s wings

You are everything

The reason that I breathe

Hold onto me now

Don’t let me fall

The light of my life

He stopped singing, aware that everyone was staring at him. The room had fallen dead silent.

“Nick that was…amazing. I knew you could do it. I knew you just needed some confidence. I would be…honored if you would sing the solo at the concert instead of Adrian,” Mrs. Woods said breathlessly.

“Okay,” Nick replied. He saw Kivan smiling at him and returned the smile.

The news that nick was replacing Adrian at the December concert spread through the school like wildfire and for the second time, Nick found himself the subject of whispers. He had formed an unlikely friendship with Kivan and won even more admiration from Alexis, who was the leading female vocalist in the concert. The concert was a big deal because the patron of the school would be there, the descendent of the founder of the school. Everyone was getting edgy as the concert approached and on the day of it, none of the teachers assigned any homework, save for one. Mrs. Fox could always be counted on to assign piles of homework at the worst times.

Nick was too nervous to eat that evening. He had somehow managed to finish Mrs. Fox’s homework and waited in his room until it was time to leave. He was dressed in a nice pair of black slacks, a white shirt, and shiny black shoes. He paced around backstage as the concert went on, featuring both the band and chorus. Finally, it was Nick’s turn. He stepped onto the stage as Mrs. Woods gave the introduction and blinked at the audience. There were so many of them. There was a brief silence and then the piano intro began.

Sing like there’s no one watching. He thought. The intro finished and he banished his fears. He opened his mouth and began singing. The words came easily now and he sang each note perfectly. At the end, there was stunned silence, then loud applause. Kivan was sweating badly and was glad when he was finally able to get out of the hot stage lights. The concert was over. He was greeted backstage with applause and compliments. There was a huge crowd. He started to push his way through. He had a pounding headache and wanted nothing more than to get away from everyone. Suddenly, Mrs. Woods was holding his arm and dragging him away.

“Come on. The patron wants to meet you,” she said. Nick felt slightly nervous as he let Mrs. Woods take him to meet the patron. Finally, they stopped in front of a small group of people. Mrs. Woods gently tapped one of the taller people on the shoulder. “I’ve brought him.” The man turned around to reveal that he was a teenager, not much older than Nick himself. Nick recognized his face at once and felt himself go weak in the knees.

It was Kai.

When Kai saw that the male singer that Mrs. Woods had brought him was none other than Nick, he uttered a loud Russian curse. Thankfully, it was drowned out by a scream by Mrs. Woods. Nick had suddenly started to fall sideways into Kai. Without pausing to think, the Russian teenager caught him, though the unexpected weight caught him off-guard and the two of them fell to the ground. Kai’s bodyguards started to react, but one swift shake of Kai’s head kept them still. Nick’s blue eyes were slightly glazed, but still open.

“Get some water!” Kai snapped. Someone brought a water bottle. Kai shifted Nick on his shoulder, twisted the cap off, and held the water bottle to Nick’s lips.

“No, no,” he murmured, shaking his head and spilling some of the water on Kai’s lap.

“Drink,” Kai urged quietly. “It’s okay, it’s just water.” He finally managed to get some of the water past Nick’s lips. He swallowed, breathing heavily. Kai pressed the bottle to his lips again and he drank some more. Nick’s parents had arrived and Kalil was in a state of utter distress. Mrs. Woods kept apologizing over and over again. Jake knelt down by Kai’s side and gently brushed Nick’s bangs out of the way. He looked up and addressed one of the men with him and Kalil.

“Take Kalil outside,” he ordered in Arabic.

“Yes Master Jacob,” one of the servants, a man named Abdul nodded. He turned to Kalil. “Come Master Kalil.” The blonde-haired man didn’t answer. He was trembling badly. Abdul put his arm around him and spoke to him softly in Arabic while leading him away from the scene. The other servants followed, as if given a silent command from Jake. Satisfied, Jake turned his attention back to Nick, who was finally coming around. “Nick. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Hot…tired…head…pain,” Nick moaned in broken English.

“What words are you looking for? Tell me in your language.”
“Hot and dizzy. My head hurts so bad. Can’t breathe,” Nick whispered in a tongue familiar only to him and Jake.

“I’ll take you outside. Maybe if you get some fresh air, you’ll feel better.” Nick nodded. Jake scooped him up in his arms and swiftly carried him towards the nearest exit. Kai followed. Outside, Jake deposited Nick on the nearest bench and sat next to him.

“Take deep breaths. Relax,” he urged softly. Kai watched from the doorway. Nick slowly calmed down. Abdul appeared out of thin air.

“Will we need to take Master Nick to the hospital?” he questioned in Arabic.

“No, I don’t think so. He seems to be all right,” Jake answered. He rapidly switched languages and addressed Nick. “Are you feeling better now?”

Nick nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“We’ll be at the limo in a couple minutes all right?” Jake turned back to Abdul.

“Very well, Master Jacob. We will be waiting for you.” Abdul bowed and left. Jake and Nick were silent as they sat on the bench together. Several snowflakes fell from the sky and touched Nick on the cheek.

“Snow,” he murmured softly. He looked up at the sky and watched the snow falling. “It always reminds me of home.”

“Do you miss it?”
“Sometimes. I can’t remember it very well, but I remember the snow.”

Jake smiled. “Come on. Kalil will be worried. Can you walk?”

“I think I can manage.” Nick slowly stood up and walked away. Jake threw a glance back at Kai, who was still watching from the door. Kai recognized the look at once, a look of gratitude. He smiled. Jake turned and walked away. Little did he know that a plan was forming in Kai’s mind.

Chapter 3

Nick returned to school the next morning and life went on. His parents, however, noticed several changes; he was eating less and seemed to be losing weight. They decided that the best way to deal with it was to take him to the doctor.

Nick fidgeted nervously in his seat. There was something about going to the doctor that just made him so nervous.
“Nick Rashovitz?” a nurse finally called. Nick rose.
“Do you want one of us to go in there with you?” Kalil asked.
“No, I’ll be okay,” Nick answered with a smile. He followed the nurse into a back hallway where he was instructed to take his shoes off and step on the scale. The nurse wrote down his weight on a clipboard.
“108 pounds,” she said. Then, she measured his height, five feet, nine inches. They went into one of the examination rooms and while he sat on the long table, the nurse took his blood pressure and temperature. They chatted for a while and then she left. Nick waited for nearly half an hour before the doctor finally came in. He was a tall, thin man with receding black hair and brown eyes.
“So, what’s going on Nick?” he asked, sitting in a chair across from Nick.
Nick took a deep breath before answering. “Well, I haven’t been feeling so great lately. I’ve felt feverish and I’ve been having difficulty breathing. Also um…” he lowered his voice. “I’ve had these weird bruises.”
“All right. Why don’t you put on one of the gowns and I’ll have a look.” The doctor took out a flimsy paper gown and handed it to Nick. “Everything off except your boxers and put the gown on. I’ll wait outside.” Nick pulled off all his clothes except for his boxers and put the gown on. It was not his first choice of clothing; it seemed like it would break easily and there was no back to it. He almost felt naked. There was a knock on the door and the doctor came back in. He did a complete examination of Nick from his head to his toes. Several times, he frowned and muttered to himself.
“Are your parents here with you today?” he asked once he had finished.
“Yeah,” Nick answered slowly.
“What are their names?”
“Kalil and Jake.”
“All right. I’ll be right back with them.” He did not offer a further explanation. He returned after several minutes with Kalil and Jake behind him Kalil sat in a chair on the other side of the room. Jake stood next to him. The doctor took his place across from Nick.
“Doctor…what’s wrong?” Kalil asked.
The doctor sighed softly. “I think your son may have leukemia.” Kalil’s eyes widened.
“No! Oh no!” he breathed, his eyes filled with tears.
“How did this happen?” Jake asked.
“Well, I can’t say for sure because it’s not my specialty, but it’s often linked to environmental hazards and sometimes, smoking. An oncologist will be able to tell you more. I’m going to have some blood work done. It’ll be able to tell us for sure if he has leukemia or not.”
“Okay,” Jake nodded.
“How…how long until we know for sure?” Kalil asked.
“It’ll take a couple hours for the blood samples to be analyzed and tested. I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”
Kalil nodded. “I’m…I’m going to make some phone calls. I’ll meet you guys outside when you’re done, okay?”
“Okay.” Kalil left, trembling slightly. The doctor left and Jake waited outside while Nick dressed. They waited for about ten minutes before the nurse came in with a tray. Nick shuddered slightly when he saw the needle and turned away. While the nurse got prepared to draw his blood, she chatted with him to keep him distracted. He flinched slightly as the needle slid under his skin and blood filled the container the nurse held.
“You’re done!” the nurse announced cheerfully, patching up Nick’s arm. Nick quietly thanked her and he and Jake left. They checked out and found Kalil waiting for them with Abdul and the others. They drove in silence. Once they got home, Nick went straight up to his room and locked himself in. Kalil left for a meeting he could not afford to miss and Jake waited by the phone. The call didn’t come until nearly two that afternoon. Jake jumped up and answered it at once.
“Hello?” he croaked.
“It’s Dr. Alfred,” Nick’s doctor sounded grim. “I’m afraid we got the blood work back for Nick and…” he sighed softly. “I’m afraid he has leukemia.” Jake froze, holding the phone tightly to his ear. He sank down weakly in a chair by the phone.
“Oh my God,” he murmured.
“Master Jacob?” one of the servants, a man named Jamal asked, but Jake waved his hand to quiet him; Dr. Alfred was talking again.
“St. Joseph Mercy Hospital has a very good oncology center, and, even though it’s pretty far away from your home, it’s the best choice. I have a colleague, Dr. Anderson, who is an oncologist there who can assist you. Take Nick to the Emergency Room at St. Joe’s and Dr. Anderson will meet you there.”
“Okay,” Jake said. They talked for a while longer and finally hung up. Jake struggled to keep himself calm. He turned to Jamal. “Go and call Kalil. Tell him that it’s very important that I speak to him.” Jamal and vanished. Jake went upstairs. Axel, Nick’s personal bodyguard was waiting outside Nick’s room. He was not Arabic, like the rest of Kalil’s guard, but Hebrew. He could immediately tell that something was wrong when he saw Jake.
“Master Jacob, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Axel, Nick has leukemia,” Jake answered grimly.
“Leukemia?” Axel asked blankly.
“It’s a disease of the blood that can be deadly.”
Axel gasped softly. “Does Master Nick know?”
“Not yet, but…I need to tell him. Can you help me? It’s not going to be easy.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Jake knocked on the door. “Nick, can Axel and I come in?”
“Sure,” Nick answered in a muffled voice. “The door’s unlocked.” Jake opened the door and went in, with Axel behind him.
“Nick, there’s something we need to tell you and it’s not going to be easy for you to hear,” he said gently.
“Let me guess. The blood tests came back positive?” Nick asked, rolling from his side to his stomach.
“How…how did you know that?” Jake asked, astonished.
“I could hear you talking with Axel in the hall.”
“Oh.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“I’m going to take you to the hospital and we’re going to meet up with an oncologist, a cancer specialist…”
“I know what an oncologist is,” Nick said quietly.
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“Right. Anyways, why don’t you pack a suitcase? I’m not sure of how long we’re gonna be there. Axel can help you.”
“Okay,” Nick nodded. Jake went back downstairs. Jamal was waiting for him there.
“I haven’t been able to get hold of Master Kalil yet. Do you want me to keep trying?” he said.
“Yes, please. And could you tell the others?”
“Tell them what?”
“Tell them…” Jake sighed softly. “Tell them that Nick has been diagnosed with leukemia and that I’m taking him to the hospital.” Jamal looked surprised, but hurried off. A few minutes later, Nick came down the stairs wearing a T-shirt and a pair of loose fitting jeans, his blonde curls brushed neatly back out of the way. Axel was behind him, carrying a suitcase.
“Come on. We should get going,” Jake said, stepping forward. Nick nodded and followed his father out the front door. The limo was waiting for them in the driveway for them. Without saying a word, they slid into the back of the limo. The driver closed the door and they began their new journey.

Chapter 4

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital loomed into view after nearly an hour of driving. It was a large, sprawling complex with numerous buildings. To Jake, Nick, and Axel, it was a daunting labyrinth of roads and driveways, but Ian, the driver, seemed to know where he was going. He expertly navigated his way to the Emergency Room and parked outside. Jake, Axel, and Nick exited the limo and went into the Emergency Waiting Room. Axel took Nick to sit down while Jake went to talk to the receptionist. Twenty minutes later, Nick was taken into the Emergency Room. He changed into a hospital gown and the nurse started him on an IV. In the middle of all the confusion, a tall, blonde, young doctor arrived and introduced herself as Dr. Anderson. She was very kind and didn’t seem bothered when Jake explained about Nick’s other “father”, Kalil. They talked about their families for a little while, and then Dr. Anderson became very serious.
“I’m going to have more blood tests ordered. I know you won’t like being poked by more needles, and I agree with you; it sucks. I’m also going to have what’s called a spinal tap done, which is where a large needle is stuck in your spinal cord and this tells us if there’s cancerous cells in your nervous system. And then there’s also the bone marrow aspiration, where a needle is stuck in your hip and some bone marrow is taken out, and analyzed to tell us what type of leukemia you have. Finally, there’s also some chest x-rays that we need to do.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Anderson, but we don’t know much about leukemia,” Jake suddenly interrupted.
“Of course. I’m sorry. I got a bit overexcited. Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow, which is where blood cells are made. When someone has cancer, the cells don’t function like they should. The cancer sort of hijacks the cells, if you will, and spread. There are two main types of leukemia, acute or chronic and lymphoid, or myeloid. There are four subcategories as well; Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL, which is most common in children, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML, which is most common in adults, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, or CLL, which is a royal pain to say, and is most common in older folks, you know, over 55, and Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, or CML, which is just as bad to say as CLL, and is seen mostly in adults. There are some risk factors that make a person more prone to getting leukemia, but it doesn’t mean that they'll get it.”
“What are the risk factors?” Jake asked.
“Smoking can lead to AML, they've found, and several environmental concerns, like exposure to certain chemicals, radiation exposure, like from an atomic bomb or something, and chemotherapy drugs, which I don’t think is an issue with you.”
“What treatments are there?”
“There are four main treatments; chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, peripheral blood stem cell transplant, and radiation therapy. First, though, we need to find out what sort of leukemia you have and where it is.”
“What are you going to do first?” Nick asked nervously.
“I think we’ll have one of the lesser evil procedures done first; the blood work. Then, I’ll have the chest x-ray done, then the bone marrow aspiration, then I’ll let you have a break from all the poking and the needles, and then I’ll have the spinal tap done tomorrow. That one hurts the most. Is that all right with you?”
“Yeah,” Nick nodded. He frowned. “How long am I going to have to stay here?”
“A couple days at least.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to go and make a couple phone calls, all right?” Jake asked Nick.
“Okay.”
“Will you be all right by yourself for a little while? I know you hate needles.”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I have Axel to take my mind off the needles.” Jake smiled and left. Dr. Anderson was about to leave as well, but Nick stopped her. “Dr. Anderson, wait. I have a couple of questions.”
Dr. Anderson turned back around. “Of course, Nick. What’s on your mind?”
“Can you tell me exactly what’s going to happen to me with the bone marrow aspiration and other stuff you’re doing to me?”
“Of course. The blood work and chest x-rays are just standard procedure. Have you been x-rayed before?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’m not worried about that or even the blood work.”
“For the bone marrow aspiration, you’ll probably be sedated, which means that you’ll be put to sleep and stay asleep for the entire procedure. You’ll be lying on a table on your stomach and I’ll wipe the spot where I’m going to put the needle in, like when you get your blood drawn or an IV put in. Then I’ll inject some anesthetic into the skin and a part of the bone so it’s numb, then insert a special needle, and finally take out some of the marrow.”
“I definitely want to be asleep when that happens,” Nick shuddered.
Dr. Anderson smiled. “I’ll make sure the nurses know that.”
“Thanks. And what about the spinal tap?”
“It’s the same sort of thing, but the needle is different and goes in your back in between two of your vertebrae instead.”
“Can I be sedated for this one too?”
“Yes. I should probably let the nurse draw your blood before she gets too cranky.” Nick smiled as Dr. Anderson left. A few minutes later, a nurse came in, grumbling under her breath good-naturedly.
“Okay. I’m sticking it in,” she said. Nick gritted his teeth as the familiar feeling of the needle sliding under his skin came back to him. He looked at Axel and didn’t take his eyes off until the nurse announced that she was finished. “I’ll go and drop these off and I’ll be back to take you over to x-ray.”
“Okay.” The nurse disappeared for nearly twenty minutes and came back with a wheelchair. With some help from Axel, she got Nick into the wheelchair and the three of them made their way to the x-ray room. Nick had to lie extremely still while the nurse took the x-rays of his chest. It took a very long time until Nick was back in his cubicle in the Emergency Room. Jake had returned by then and was waiting for them. The nurse vanished, leaving them alone for a while.
“I finally got to talk to Kalil. Unfortunately, the meeting he’s attending is in a deadlock and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to come here for a while,” Jake said.
“Is that really why he’s not going to be here or is it just an excuse he made up because he hates hospitals so much?” Nick asked.
“Nick!” Jake was astonished at the uncharacteristically harsh tone Nick used. “Yes, I know that Kalil doesn’t like hospitals, but I know that he’d never do that to you. He’s tried so hard to get out of the meetings, but he can’t.”
Dr. Anderson suddenly came in with a man behind her. “We’re getting ready to do the bone marrow aspiration and I’m going to introduce you to the anesthesiologist who’s going to sedate you.” She stepped to the side. “This is Dr. Werner.”
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you, Nick,” he said, warmly shaking Nick’s hand. He was older than Dr. Anderson, around thirty-five or thirty-six years of age, with shiny black eyes like a beetle’s, and a bandana covering head with little teddy bears on it. Suddenly, Nick felt very childish, though he could not find a reason for it. “And…” he turned to Jake.
“I’m Jake, one of Nick’s fathers,” Jake said, also shaking Dr. Werner’s hand. “And this is Nick’s companion, Axel.” Axel shook hands with the doctor as well.
“Now, I’m going to use a drug called propofol that goes right in your IV bag. You don’t need any injections or anything. Dr. Anderson will also give you a shot of something called Lidocaine to numb the place where the needle is going to go in. Has it been a while since you last ate?” Nick nodded silently. “When was that?”
“It was this morning. Around eight I think.”
“Did you eat lunch?”
“No. I was too upset from the trip to the doctor’s office.”
“All right. You should be okay, then. Ivy is going to wheel you up to the pre operating room and I’ll meet you up there to give you the propofol. Your dad and your companion can be with you, okay?”
“Okay,” Nick nodded.
“Do you have any questions?”
“Not right now.”
Dr. Werner turned to Jake and Axel. “Do you guys have any questions?” Both of them shook their heads. “All right then. I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” They said goodbye to Dr. Werner and he left. The nurse, whose name was Ivy came in.
“Hi Nick, I’m Ivy. I’m what they call a day nurse here. I’ll be taking care of you until my shift ends at eight. Then you’ll meet your night nurse, who'll be taking care of you through the night. She’s got the dreaded night shift.” Nick smiled as Ivy started wheeling the bed he was lying in down the hall. Jake and Axel followed. “When you wake up from the bone marrow aspiration, you’ll be in the post-operating room and then after we make sure that you’re all right, I’ll take you up to the oncology floor.”
“And my dad and Axel?”
“They'll be waiting in the waiting room and then they'll come in and see you in the post-operating room.”
“Okay.” Their journey was extremely long and silent.”
“Here we are,” Ivy announced. They went into a large room, with numerous cubicles set up like the Emergency Room, but there were fewer here and it was much quieter. There were several other patients, most of them elderly. Nick was given a cubicle in the corner, away from everyone else. Ivy vanished for a while.
“Where exactly are we?” Nick asked when she returned.
“This is the Ambulatory Surgery department way on the other side of the hospital from the Emergency Room.”
“But what are we doing all the way over here?”
“Well, the OR's of the ER are all being used and rather than wait until they're open, Dr. Anderson decided to take you over here to borrow one of theirs.”
“There are more than one here?”
“Oh yeah. There are three or four. Since this is a very minor procedure that won’t take more than an hour to complete and since it’s not very busy here, we’re borrowing one of their OR's. It’s something that doesn’t happen very much.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Dr. Anderson and Dr. Werner are here now so I’ll see you after the procedure.”
“Bye,” Nick said weakly. All of a sudden, he felt like his mouth was made from sandpaper. Ivy pulled the curtains around Nick’s bed and left. A few minutes later, Dr. Werner and Dr. Anderson came in.
“Hi Nick. How are you doing?” Dr. Anderson smiled.
“Okay,” Nick answered. “I’m a little scared.”
“Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.”
“I’m going to give you the sedative now. It should work relatively fast. You’ll start feeling sleepy and when you do, don’t fight it, all right? Don’t force yourself to stay awake.”
“Okay.” Dr. Werner started fumbling with Nick’s IV bag and injected a milky white substance into it. At first, Nick didn’t feel anything, but then he suddenly felt extremely tired. He was slightly aware of Jake holding his hand and then he was sleeping…


“Nick?” a voice asked far away. Nick slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing but a dense white fog. “Nick?” the voice was getting louder. Nick slowly turned his head to the side. It felt very heavy for some reason. Slowly, the fog faded away. He could see Jake now, his face etched with lines of worry. He was looking at something else.

“Nick!” the same voice as before called. Nick suddenly recognized it.

“Axel!” he gasped.

“Master Jacob! Master Jacob!” Axel called. Jake didn’t answer. “Jake!” Jake turned around. “Look.” Axel motioned to Nick. Jake looked over at Nick and gasped softly.

“Nick,” he murmured.

“Dad,” Nick said sleepily.

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired and a little sore.”
“We were starting to really worry about you. You were taking a long time to come off the anesthetic.”

“How long?”
“Nearly an hour.”

“Wow.” Nick started to close his eyes.

“No, Nick, don’t go back to sleep right now. I know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta stay awake,” Jake gently shook him.

“I can try,” Nick murmured.

“Axel, go and get Dr. Anderson and Dr. Werner,” Jake ordered. Axel nodded and vanished. He returned several minutes later with both doctors behind him.

“Hey Nick. How are you feeling?” Dr. Werner asked at once.

“Tired and my leg hurts,” Nick answered.

“It’s normal to feel some pain. If you’d like, I can give you some medication for it,” Dr. Anderson said.

“I’d like that.”

“All right. I’ll talk to Ivy.” Dr. Anderson left with Dr. Werner behind her. A while later, Ivy came in carrying a tray with a small plastic dish with two pills in it and a cup of water.
“Here you are, Nick. This is just regular old Tylenol. Let me get you sitting up so you don’t have any trouble swallowing them,” she announced cheerfully. She set the tray on a rolling cart at the foot of Nick’s bed and helped him into a sitting position. Then, she handed him the pills and the cup of water. He swallowed them quickly. Ivy took the glass from him and set it on the rolling cart. Nick was slowly regained his senses and that included being able to feel. He had been slightly aware of gentle throbbing sensation in his hip when he had woken up, but now the pain was reaching unbearable levels. He could now see that he was lying in a cubicle as before with the curtains drawn around his bed for privacy. A heart monitor beeped steadily in the background and Nick could almost hear the dripping of his IV. He was starting to feel more awake now, though he was slightly dizzy. Dr. Werner and Dr. Anderson came in. It was starting to feel crowded in the cubicle with them there, as well as Jake, Axel, and Ivy.

“You’re looking better, Nick,” Dr. Werner said.

“I’m starting to feel better. I think I’m finally waking up.”
“That’s good. I think you’re ready to be moved up to the pediatric oncology floor.”
“Okay.”
“I need your dad to come with me to fill out some paperwork. Unfortunately, it’s standard hospital procedure so there’s no way of getting out of it,” Dr. Anderson said. Jake nodded and let go of Nick’s hand. Without saying a word, he followed Dr. Anderson out of the cubicle. Dr. Werner said goodbye to Nick and Axel and excused himself from the cubicle. Ivy bustled around, preparing Nick for his journey. Dr. Anderson came in.

“Your father’s going to meet us up there. He had to take a very important phone call,” she explained.

“Oh. Okay,” Nick replied, slightly disappointed. He had really hoped that Jake would remain by his side for the journey up.

“Do not worry, Master Nick. I’ll be here so you don’t have to go up alone,” Axel whispered, as if he had read Nick’s thoughts.

“Thank you,” Nick smiled. Dr. Anderson opened the curtains surrounding Nick’s bed and Nick was wheeled out. They left the Ambulatory Surgery Department and went through a maze of hallways. They went into another part of the hospital and waited outside several elevators. The doors slid open and they went in. All of them, including the bed, fit snugly. They waited while the elevator went up. It stopped and the doors slid open. They went out and down another maze of hallways. They stopped at a nurse’s station and Ivy and Dr. Anderson talked to one of the nurses on duty. Nick looked around. He could definitely tell that he was in a pediatric wing; there was a lounge with a lot of toys strewn around on the floor and some children waiting with their parents. Nick was pushed down a short hallway with doors on either side. Some of them were open and Nick could see other children, some looking healthy and others hooked up to many machines with wiring and tubing running everywhere. He saw one child (he couldn’t tell the gender) who was no more than four years old and looked incredibly close to death. He turned away, his blue eyes swimming with tears. Axel caught his glance and took his hand.

“It’s going to be all right, Master Nick,” he murmured. His words gave Nick little comfort. They finally stopped outside a small room and Axel was forced to stand outside and wait while Ivy got Nick settled. He was moved into a larger, stationary bed. Once Ivy had finished, he looked around at his new temporary home. It wasn’t bad; the walls were painted a pale blue color and it was rather small, but it could have been worse. As Nick and his family adjusted to their new lives, they wondered if they’d ever feel normal again.

End Part Two

Note: St. Joseph Mercy Hospital is an actual hospital that’s located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. And propofol and lidocaine are actual drugs that are sometimes used in hospitals. I did a bit of research before I wrote this...


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