The Challenge He'd Been Waiting For

The room was filled with silence as Maria stuffed some of her daughter's belongings into a her over sized purse. Alex watched her, not knowing how to keep her from taking his daughter away. When he grabbed her shoulders in one last attempt to talk her out of it, she whipped around at him and wrapped her fingers around his neck.

"Listen Alex, do not touch me. The last time you touched me you gave me a bitter-sweet gift, and look where's it has got us," she dropped her hand, "I'll bring her back to you after I take her for the experimental medicine. In a week I would like you to bring her to the doctor and see how she is doing."

"You are going against me and then you give me orders?" his voice rose as he lightly touched the red hand print on his throat, "It does not work like that."

"Then tell me how it works."

"We will not experiment on Alexis-"

"You lost me," she scooped up their child and adjusted the toddler onto her hip, "sorry."

"Can we at least ask the doctor on his opinion?" Jack pondered, hoping that he could cool down the argument before Maria hurt his fiance any further.

Maria pursed her lips as she was thinking, but Alex didn't hesitate, "We are not going to an experimental treatment."

"I'll listen to the doctor before I listen to you. We'll go, but I cannot promise you that I am going to go along to him," she placed the baby down and pulled the clothing from her bag, "give me the number and I will set up an appointment."

She took the card that Jack pulled out from the drawer on the telephone stand, she waved her hand at him and walked out of the door. Alex gripped the hair at his scalp and gave it a quick tug out of frustration.

"He better be convincing."

"Alex, calm down okay. I'm sorry that she's doing this, but we don't need to make Alexis any more upset - did you see the look on her face when Maria grabbed you."

He nodded and opened his eyes, "Where is Alexis?" he asked his thought aloud as he scanned the room.

"She was right here," Jack replied crossing the room with wide steps to the toddler's bedroom, "Alex!"

The father jumped over the couch and ran into the bathroom, he froze as he eyes caught sight of the blood and chunks all over the tiled room and didn't even notice what was happening to his daughter. Jack had already absorbed the sight and was acting on it, he grabbed a wash cloth and stuck it into the babies mouth.

"Call an ambulance."

He remained frozen, now noticing his daughter.

"Alex! Call an ambulance, she's having a seizure. Hurry up, ask them what we can do to help her."

He shook his head trying to get rid of the shock that was running through his body. It took him a couple seconds to get out of it and pull out his cellphone and dial the number. After answering the questions and following the directions, he knelt down next to Alexis as her eyes rolled back.

"Maybe Maria is right?" he mumbled under his breath.

~x~

"Hello mate," Kara giggled softly into the phone, "how's it going?"

"She had another episode," Alex replied, pacing the length of the waiting room as he waited for his baby to wake up, "it was so much worse this time."

"What happened to her?" the girl asked, walking out of the dorm lobby and into her room, shutting herself in her closet so her roommates would leave her alone.

"Maria came over and was forcing the idea of an experimental medicine on Alexis on me. I wouldn't go for it, she's only three years old, you know? So we were arguing, the doctors said that we made her blood pressure rise, which caused her to get sick. She raced into the bathroom while Jack was trying to calm me down, but before she could make it to the toilet to throw up she ended up having a seizure and vomiting."

"Oh my god Alex, is she okay though?"

"She's stable and sleeping, the doctors said she should be up in an hour or so..."

Kara remained silent for a moment, "How are you?"

"I'm messed up right now, I need you here Kar. I don't know what to do, Jack is trying to keep me sane at the moment but it's just not the same. It worked when I lost my brother, but this is just different. I'm so afraid of what Maria is going to do now."

"I want to be there to help you through this Alex, but Jack is your fiance."

"I know that."

"Go be with Alexis, be there when she wakes up. I'll fly back home when I can, I promise you."

Alex shut his phone and walked back into the room, he leaned against the wall and watched as Maria spoke softly to the toddler. Jack wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and nestled his head into his neck, trying to bring his mood up a bit. When the mother stepped away from the bed she approached them, poking her finger into Alex's chest.

"She was never this sick when I had her, she vomited a little blood up with her acid and couldn't find her breath at other times - but never full blood vomit, never had seizures. You did this to her."

"You did this to her, you are the one who drank while you were pregnant. You hung out at bars with older men who filled the whole place with smoke and sold yourself to them for more alcohol. So no, I did not do it."

Maria pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face, leaving another red mark. "Do not talk to me like that, I didn't know I was pregnant."

"You think you would have learned, but your life style is still the same."

She raised her hand again, "Don't make me-"

"Is there a problem in here?" the nurse asked as she stepped into the room.

"No, ma'am," Maria said smiling sweetly at her.

"Okay, well, the doctor will be in in a moment to check on Alexis."

When the doctor walked in, he barely paid attention to the parents. He checked all of the machines and wrote down the numbers on his clipboard. When he finally turned to them, he had a small smile on his face.

"Well, she does not seem to be having a reaction to the medicine."

"Medicine?" Alex and Jack asked in time.

"Yes, Maria had called us earlier with a shot order that she got from the organization down the road, we went in picked it up for Alexis' arrival."

"Excuse me?" Alex pushed his boyfriend away and stepped forward.

"The experimental cure," he paused, "were you not aware?"

"No, I thought you were going to set up an appointment?"

"We talked on the phone," Maria shrugged, "even he couldn't talk me out of it."

"I cannot believe you did this."

"Yeah just blame it all on me Gaskarth. You got me pregnant and then you left me."

"I recall that it was all your idea that night and you know I would have been there for you if you told me - Jack or no Jack."

"You can say what you want, because you'll never get the chance to prove yourself right or wrong... lucky for you. Because you have the hardest time keeping promises."