One Last Breath

Noah

When I stepped into the bathing room, the heat instantly surrounded me and pushed at my skin, demanding that my tense body relax under its heavy push. I wasn't sure I could do that, unfortunately, because Skylar had already emerged herself in the hot, steaming water. The door closed behind me, making me jump, and Skylar sat up a little to look at me.

"Don't worry, I don’t bite, and I'm clothed." To prove her statement true, she sat up completely to expose her chest, which still had the tight bra keeping her covered.

"So you are," I managed to say and sat down in the chair directly across from the tub.

"So Noah," Skylar started, catching my attention, "Are you a doctor specialized in muscles, or are you just the only doctor that this place could find for me?"

That one question should have been full of bitterness, a deep anger towards her body and what it had done to her, but the girl had asked it like it was a normal question. I wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that.

"I am an actual muscle specialist. Is it unusual to have someone who knows what they're doing to take care of you?"

Skylar repositioned herself in the water again, making it slosh around at the edge of the tub. She locked her eyes with mind and the emotion in them made me want to shiver.

"Most of the doctors that I've had knew a little about my condition, but they usually had to do research to further help me. Dr. Frant was the first doctor that I had who specialized in what is happening to me."

"How many doctors did you have before her?"

And just like the earlier question should have been bitter, the smile that graced her lips should have held happiness. The only thing I saw in it was a deep, old sadness and pain.

"I stopped counting when I needed my other hand."

"How long did they usually stay for?" I asked, although I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. I wanted to erase that hurting look from her light eyes, not to further it, but I also wanted to know more about my patient.

"A month, at the most. Dr. Frant stayed for two before she left here. You can't really blame her, or them, for it though; there's only so much of this place a person can take before it starts to affect them. I just sometimes I wish I could follow in their footsteps and leave this place like they had.

"Why don't you?"

She stood up then, making the water fall violently around her until only droplets clung to her skin. She turned to me again once she had gotten out. "I can't leave everyone behind like that, especially not Julia. Leaving is like giving up on everything that I've suffered through, and I won't do that."

I stepped up to her, grabbing the white towel that had been beside me, and wrapped it around the slim girl's shoulders. She looked up to me, and it was like the perfect picture of innocence.

"If you won't leave, then neither will I."

Skylar

I could only stand there as he said that, staring into his warm brown eyes that held nothing other than sincerity. It may have been something so simply said to another person, but what Noah had said to me touched my heart. Staying here with me was a big promise to make. I'd been abandoned by so many people: doctors, friends; hearing that promise was too good to be true, but it was impossible not to believe it.

The man's large hands were still on my shoulders, sending his bodily warmth into my cold body. He seemed to realize he was still touching me, he removed his hands slowly, a red tint over taking his cheeks. I grinned, reveling in the fact that this man was so sensitive.

"Come on," I said, wrapping the towel around more of my body, "I'd like to get changed before I freeze to death."

He nodded wordlessly and left me alone to get changed. My smile stuck to my face as I fished my clothes out from the compartment underneath the bathtub, changing into the loose clothes quickly. I dried my hair as much as I possibly could before brushing my fingers though it and throwing it up into a neat pony tail.

When I came out of the room, I saw Noah leaning against the wall, saying hello to the other nurses and doctors that walked passed him. I waved at him once I caught his attention and trotted over to him, my bare feet making small noises against the tile.

"Is there anything else you have to complete today?"

I sighed, remembering that there was one more thing I had to do before I was allowed to go back to my room. "I have to do an EMG, it's been a month since my last one."

I started walking towards the elevator with Noah quickly catching up to me. "You get them monthly?"

I nodded my head, pushing the "up" button once we reached the closed doors. "It's one of the easiest ways to track the condition, how slow or fast the muscle is deteriorating, things like that."

I saw him nodding from the corner of my eye, and once the metal doors opened, he stepped into the elevator first. I walked in next to him, pushing for the fifth floor, which was an entire floor dedicated to testing facilities of all kinds. For the short ride, it was quiet between us, and I desperately wanted to know what was going through my doctor's mind at that moment.

Noah

It didn't take us long to reach the EMG room, which was empty at the moment except for the older woman who sat at the table, writing down something on a piece of paper. When she heard us coming in, he lifted her head up and smiled.

"Skylar, it is so nice to see you again."

The girl's smile was genuine as she greeted the doctor, giving her a big hug. "It's nice to see you too Nicole."

Nicole turned her blue eyes towards me, giving a questioning look. Skylar saw this and her smile widened once again. "This is my new doctor, Noah McKnight."

"Well, you can tell that I'm in the loop," the woman grumbled sarcastically, making my chuckle, "but it is nice to meet you, Dr. McKnight. I hope you will be treating my girl well."

"Nicole, can we please get this over with? Julia is going to bite my head off if I don't get back to her as soon as possible."

"Well, hurry up and get undressed then while I set up everything for the test."

My eyes widened as the girl began to strip off the clothes that she had just put on, and I cleared my throat in protest. Skylar didn't react, but Nicole turned to me. "Don't worry, boy, she's only stripping to her underwear. But if you feel uncomfortable, you're welcome to leave."

I looked over at Skylar, who was slipping off her pants, and thought of what I had said to her before. I told her that I wasn't going to leave her, and even though this wasn't the exact situation I had been talking about it, to me, it still constituted as the same thing.

"I'm fine with it. I'd love to see how this works; I'll feel like I'm in school again."

"Worst years of my life," my patient said, laying down on the table in only her black bra and underwear. Nicole rolled over to her in her chair and took some little pieces of plastic, taping it to her feet. She then turned on the machine, and on the monitor, I could see different patterns on the screen. I didn't have a clue what that meant, but the woman did as she watched and recorded it.

She did this two more times in different parts of Skylar's leg before moving up to her arm. I cocked and eyebrow.

"Why are you taking tests on her upper body?" I asked her. Without even looking at me, she answered the question.

"Skylar's dystrophy seems to be accelerating at a pace that it should not be. To keep track of it, I'm going to look at how far along the upper muscles had started to fail."

"She's… already that far along?" I turned to Skylar, who was looking at me with calm eyes. "Your upper body muscles have already started to deteriorate?"

Skylar just shrugged, which messed up Nicole and she glared, but let us continue our talk. "What can I say? I'm an advanced individual."

"You have a horrible sense of humor."

"At least I have one," Skylar counter, sticking her tongue out of her mouth immaturely.

Nicole pulled off the unit attached to the girls arm, and by the side of her face, I could tell she was going to giving the girl and unamused glance. "I still have to stick a needle in you, I can make that hurt."

"I never pictured you as a masochist Dr.Timble."

I was able to hide my laugh at the young woman's comment, but Nicole herself laughed loudly. "You are such a brat."

"I try."

For the rest of the test, we all sat in silence. Dr. Timble stuck Skylar twice, and twice she had sat there like it was nothing. She had never even winced at the needle pushed itself into her skin. It made me wonder how many times she had been pricked, or how many times she had been under the knife.

The whole thing wasn't quick, as I had thought it was going to be, but it went by faster than the clock said it had been. Once everything was done and all the information had been recorded, Nicole let Skylar get dressed.

"Now, I can relax and get chewed out by Julia. Is there anything else that you need me for Nicole?"

The woman shook her head, giving her a forced smile as she left, saying that she would see us both later. When the door closed behind her, I turned to the older woman to question her sudden mood change.

"Is there something wrong Dr. Timble?"

She let out a sigh and pushed back her blond and grey hair, curling it behind her left ear. Then her blue, suddenly intense, eyes locked with mine. "The acceleration has progressed farther and I had imagined. Her upper body doesn't look exactly the same as her legs, but in a month at the most, they will. I don't even know where her legs will be at that point. I'm hoping she'll go through a 'dry' spell."

"What are you saying?" I asked quietly, almost in a whisper.

She sniffled and turned her back to me. "If it keeps going like this, she could die within this year."