Just Say Yes

The girls made it to the hospital in record time, a usual almost five hour drive was cut down to a mere three hours with Lisa's lead foot firmly planted on the gas almost the entire way. Erin hesitantly entered the hospital, a mix of anxiousness and dysphoria pulsed through her.

Her mind traveled back to several years ago when her grandfather was placed in one during his final days. However, he had been sick for months prior so when his final days came, it wasn't nearly as shocking and disheartening as when she was brought to the hospital to say goodbye to her ailing mother.

She remembered being a scared twelve year old with a six year old Jon's hand in hers, as Corinne led them through the stark white corridors only to end up in a small, cold room. All she remembered about her mother from that day was that she had wished to never see anyone she loved like that again. She had chosen to forget the bandage wrapped around her mother's blonde head, the various gashes along the exposed skin of her arms and face. And most of all, Erin had chosen to forget the tube being fed down her throat, supplying her failing body with oxygen.

Erin felt tears reemerge with past memories filling in her head. She wiped at her eyes as Lisa's arm was linked with hers as they moved throughout the hospital silently. Lisa rubbed Erin's arm soothingly, and tightened her grip when the elevator stopped on the level that the woman at the front desk had told them Corinne was on.

As soon as the elevator doors opened Erin caught sight of David sitting in one of the hospital waiting chairs with his head bowed down. For a moment, she felt like she had been taken back in time with how much of a resemblance he bore to her father the day Corinne brought her and Jon to the hospital.

“David!” Erin called, breaking away from Lisa and over to her former boyfriend. He looked up, upon hearing his name and Erin immediately noticed the forlorn look in his eyes. She sighed heavily as she stopped in front of him, her eyes held a puzzled gaze.

David got to his feet, his tall and bulky frame towering over her. “I've been trying to get the fucking doctor to talk to me but he won't.” David explained then muttered a few more curses before Erin stopped him.

“What happened?” She asked softly, her eyes pleaded for him tell her even if he thought it'd be better if she heard it from a doctor.

“I saw her at the grocery store this morning and she looked really, really tired so I left her alone, ya know? I didn't want to bother her.” David sighed heavily, running a hand over his dark, short cropped hair. “Next thing I know she's fainted and there's an ambulance being called.”

Erin nodded as she felt Lisa's hand rub her back lightly.

“I told them I was an off duty officer and an old friend so they gave me the hospital name but they won't give me the-- Hey!” David called to the doctor passing by, his head was down as he read one of the charts in his hand.

David pointed at Erin as the doctor looked at him with a hint of annoyance. “Her granddaughter is here now, can you please tell her what the hell is going on?”

The doctor, who then introduced himself as Dr. Saracen led the three of them to Corinne's room. As the doctor opened the door and she caught sight of Corinne in the hospital bed, Erin felt as if the air had been knocked out of her. Corinne lay there motionless with her eyes closed, an IV drip running into her left hand and heart monitors attached to her chest. The breathing tube that David had mentioned to her over the phone was gone thankfully. Other than looking to be slightly skinnier than she was the last time Erin saw her, she looked as if she were simply sleeping.

“You're grandmother is suffering from a virus that affects the lungs. Given her weakened immune system it's not uncommon.” Dr. Saracen began, as he looked to each one of them before settling on Erin.

“It's what caused her to faint earlier this morning. Her lungs weren't working properly so the breathing tube was put in for precautionary measures but thankfully once we gave her the antibiotics it wasn't needed. She's doing quite well considering.”

Erin let out the breath she had been holding as he explained Corinne's state. Her mind was instantly put at ease at the assurance that it was merely a virus and not something worse. Lisa smiled softly at Erin who smiled back in response.

Erin slowly walked over to the side of the bed, taking Corinne's hand into hers. She ran her thumb gently across the top of her hand, trying to blink away the tears that were once again forming behind her red, puffy eyes.

“When can I get her home?” Erin asked softly, breaking the silence in the room. All eyes turned to Dr. Saracen, who shifted on his feet and tucked the chart he held under his arm.

“Probably a week, but we'll see how things go.” He flashed an encouraging smile. “She needs to continue taking the antibiotics though until all symptoms of the virus are gone. Although occurrences like this are common in cancer patients we like to keep them here just to make sure they're as healthy as they can be when they're taken home to continue they're treatment.”

Erin stopped listening at the words 'cancer patient', she had been under the assumption that Corinne was just there because she had caught some virus that affected her breathing not that she was undergoing treatment for cancer. She was convinced she was hearing things, there was no way Corinne had cancer and didn't bother to say anything.

Erin glanced at Lisa and David, their faces told it all, she knew that hadn't heard the doctor wrong.

“Cancer patient?” Erin spoke meekly, her voice slightly cracking. The doctor furrowed his brows at her before glancing down at the chart. Erin prayed that he had merely confused Corinne with another one of his patients and other than her virus , she was perfectly healthy.

However, her prayers went unfulfilled.

“Yes, she has Stage one pancreatic cancer...” He said, noticing the surprised expression on each of their faces. “You didn't know...” Dr. Saracen seemed taken aback at the notion of Corinne's family not knowing of her condition.

Erin sadly shook her head, pursing her lips to keep from crying. “I've been in California for the summer. S-she didn't tell me.” Erin took a seat on the end of Corinne's bed, wistfully watching her grandmother's chest move up and down.

“I'm very sorry, I thought you knew.” Dr. Saracen explained slowly. David flashed the doctor an angry sideways glare before he slowly backed himself away from the larger man. “I'll give you a moment.”

Erin felt two sets of hands rest on her shoulders, in an attempt to console her but her eyes shifted from Corinne to the retreating doctor. She watched him slide the chart he had been looking at earlier into a plastic holder that was attached to the door. Erin eyed the chart and waited until he was out of sight until she made her move towards it.

“Erin, I don't think you're supposed to look at that.” Lisa warned as Erin removed the chart from the plastic holder.

Erin ignored her friends warning and proceeded to let her eyes scan over the paperwork. Words like prognosis, tumor, malignant and chemotherapy specifically caught her eye. Making her realize that it was all, in fact, real.

Even with that realization she didn't feel any worse than she had when Dr. Saracen had broken the news to her. It wasn't until she reached the last page that she felt her stomach drop completely and a sick feeling wash over her.

“I-I have to go call Jon.” Erin said dryly, flipping the papers back into place. She rushed towards the door, as David and Lisa watched her frantic movements. “And my uncle in Seattle.” She mumbled, slipping the chart back to its proper position.

She didn't let either of them stop her as her body moved quickly down the hallway, letting her tears flow freely once again.

- - - - - - - - - -

“Lisa!” Brian called as he eagerly stepped off the elevator, Zacky and Jimmy close behind. The brunette woman was leaning against the stark white walls opposite the elevators, her eyes slightly red from crying and her cell phone in hand. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them, she quickly took Zacky into her arms before turning her attention to Brian.

“Corinne's in room 304,” Lisa told him, he immediately headed in the necessary direction. Until he felt Lisa's cold hand grab his arm lightly. “She really needs you right now.” Lisa said referring to his girlfriend. There was a sadness in Lisa's eyes that told him she probably knew of Corinne's condition.

Brian nodded solemnly before making his way down the offensively bright hallway, stopping when he reached the correct room. As he stepped inside he heard the faint beeping of the heart monitor, and saw a small fragile woman laying peacefully under several blankets.

He studied her face as he sat down next to her. Her cheekbones were more prominent now, most likely due to the significant amount of weight that had been lost during treatment. He couldn't tell with all the blankets piled on top of her but he could only assume her body was probably the same.

He didn't know how long it would take for her to wake, so to kill time he counted off each beep of the heart monitor. At first it seemed like a daunting task, but with nothing else to keep his mind busy it proved to be effective. He was at six hundred and seventy-three when he heard someone behind him.

He turned around in the chair to see Erin standing awkwardly in the door way. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks glistened with freshly fallen tears. Her once smoothly drawn eyeliner was smudged and her cheeks which once held a vibrant color were now pale. Blonde hair that was usually falling freely was currently messy and slightly tangled, but given the circumstances he knew that all of those things were the least of her worries.

“Hey,” He said, standing up from the chair. Erin shifted on her feet, before looking up at him.

“Can I talk to you outside?” She asked, with a tone that told him whatever she had to say was of importance.

He nodded softly as he followed closely behind her. Once they were in a secluded area of the hospital, she stopped abruptly, causing him to bump into her slightly. He muttered an apology but it went unrecognized. Instead she gazed up at him, studying his face closely. Her once vibrant and sparkling blue eyes held a much different quality now, one that he couldn't quite pin point.

He reached out to tuck a piece of her messy blonde hair behind her ear as her eyes fluttered closed. He could've sworn he saw her frown at his touch.

“Can I do anything?” He asked softly, watching her eyes open again. She stood there staring at him for a moment before licking her chapped lips and narrowing her eyes.

“How about telling me the truth?” She spoke softly, her voice coming out not much louder than a whisper. Due to the solitude of where they were standing, he was able to hear her.

He felt his body tense at her words. “Okay...” He answered, hoping that she wasn't talking about what he thought she might be.

He saw her bottom lip tremble slightly before she opened her mouth to speak. “Did you know? All this time?” Her eyes glistened with tears, as they scrutinized his every move.

Brian inhaled a jagged breath before his thin lips pursed together tightly. “Erin...” He gazed at her, his eyes giving the truth away, no words needed to be spoken. Her brows furrowed sadly as he reached out for her hand but she pulled it away before he could.

“Oh my god.” She mumbled, backing herself away from him. “You did.” She breathed, letting her tears loose. A hand came to rest over top of her mouth as she shook her head at him.

“She asked me not to tell you.” He explained, taking a step forward which only made her take another one away from him. “I'm sorry.”

“Is that why you invited me to California so you could help her keep this from me? And making me fall for you was just an added bonus?” Erin irrationally cried, he hadn't ever seen her this distraught or angry. He hadn't been aware she could've ever gotten that mad until he saw it with his own eyes.

“What? No!” He took a long stride towards her, his hands firmly planting themselves on either side of her face. Bringing her eyes up to meet his. “She told me after I asked you, I swear. Everything that happened between us was real. It still is.”

A soft cry escaped her lips. “Then why do I have such a hard time believing that?” Brian's eyes closed at her words, feeling like everything was slowly falling apart all because of one bad decision.

“I'm sorry, I did what I felt was right at the time. I didn't mean for you to find out this way.” He said honestly, but it was clear by the look in her eyes that she wasn't going to believe him.

“Then when were you going to tell me, Brian?” She spat his name like it was venom on her tongue. He sighed heavily, releasing his hands from their position on her head.

“I don't know.” He shrugged and watched her wrap her arms securely around herself. “She told me she was doing better.”

“Don't put this solely on her!” She leaned her tired body against the wall. “What if something happened to her and I wasn't here?” She argued as her breathing was now unsteady and she was borderline hyperventilating.

“I'm sorry.” Was all he could muster in response. He knew nothing he had to say would be good enough and anything he did would only make matters worse.

She sniffled, her eyes set to the floor for a moment. “You know I've always prided myself on being a forgiving person...” She trailed off as her gaze slowly locked with his.

“But this is one thing I don't think I can forgive.” The hardened look in her eyes told him that there was no faltering in the words that escaped her lips.

Brian felt his heartbreak completely at her words. She looked away from him and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the hoodie she was wearing, which happened to be the one he had given her.

“So that's it?” He questioned, trying to make eye contact with her but she refused to look at him.

“David offered to drive me to the airport to get Jon, so I have to go.” She said firmly, running one of her hands roughly through her messy hair. “I think it's best if you were gone by the time I get back.” She concluded and turned on her heels to walk away.

Brian watched her retreating form, his mind mentally berating himself for the thoughtless decisions that had led to this moment. He wanted to hit something but pushed aside the urge as he saw Lisa meet Erin at the end of the hall.

The blonde looked back at him before Lisa led her out of his sight and apparently out of his life as well.