Chelsea sat on the bed, waiting on Brent so they could go to her doctor’s appointment to get the spinal tap done. “You okay?” Brent asked, sitting down next to her as he put his shoes on.
 
“I’m scared,” she admitted, continuing to stare at the carpet.
 
“I’d expect you to be,” Brent told her. “But, I’m going to be there with you. Hopefully, they find that the cancer hasn’t spread to your brain or spinal cord,” he said, lacing up his tennis shoe.
 
“And, if it has spread?” she asked, trying to control the shiver that went up her spine at the words Brent spoke as she looked up at him.
 
“We’ll worry about that then,” he said. “But for now, let’s just focus on getting the spinal tap, okay?” he asked her, standing up and holding his hand out for her to take. She immediately grabbed it and followed him out to the living room.
 
“Are you sure you’re not going to miss practice?” she asked him.
 
“Practice is at one,” he told her as he grabbed his duffel bag just in case they were running late and he didn’t have enough time to come back and get it before practice began. “And, even if I do miss it, I’ll just call one of the guys and tell them to tell Coach that I won’t be there. I’ve already warned Q that you had a doctor’s appointment and I was going to be there for you.”
 
“I bet he was thrilled about that,” she muttered as they got into his car. She knew Quenneville didn’t take kindly to any of his players missing practice for any reason, even if it was a legitimate one like Brent had today.
 
“He wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t ask questions. I told him that I was going to be there for you no matter what, and he accepted it.”
 
“Have you told anyone yet?” she asked, looking over at him as he pulled out of the parking space. “That I have cancer?”
 
“No,” Brent said, shaking his head. “I figured we’d tell everyone when you’re ready to.”
 
“You know the guys are going to ask questions,” she told him. She was close with the majority of the team, some closer than others. If she had a problem, they would know about it, and they would be asking about it.
 
“Yeah, they probably will, and they’ll understand when I say that I’m not ready to tell them what’s going on,” he told her. “They know that you went to the doctor, and they’re worried about you, too.”
 
“I just want to know exactly what I’m facing before I tell everybody what’s going on,” she replied, looking out the window. “We’ll tell them soon.”
 
“Whenever you’re ready,” Brent told her, reaching over the center console and grabbing her hand. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot at the hospital. Brent looked over at her and could tell that she was terrified to go inside. “We’ve got to see what you’re up against,” he told her. “Either way, you’ll fight it. I have no doubt in my mind that you will beat this.”
 
“Thanks,” Chelsea said, giving him a small smile as she slowly opened the door and stepped outside. She walked around the car to where Brent was, and he wrapped his arm around her as they made their way inside. They walked to the front desk, and Chelsea stepped forward, telling the person there her name and what she was there for.
 
“Go upstairs to the second floor and turn right and then make a left. Go to the nurses’ station and give them your name,” the woman directed them. “They’ll be waiting on you.”
 
“Okay,” Chelsea said, nodding her head. She turned around and grabbed Brent’s hand as they tried to find the stairs. After walking up the flight of stairs, Chelsea followed the woman’s directions and finally found the nurses’ desk.
 
“We’re ready for you,” one of the nurses, Ruth, said when Chelsea gave her her name. “Your boyfriend can wait right over there for you,” she said, pointing towards the waiting room across the hall. “We’ll come get you when she’s finished,” she smiled at Brent.
 
“You’ll be fine,” Brent assured her, giving her a quick kiss. “I love you.”
 
“I love you, too,” Chelsea told him, following Ruth. Ruth quickly explained the procedure and got Chelsea situated on the table as Chelsea nervously waited for the doctor to come inside.
 
“Hello, Chelsea,” Dr. Stewarts said with a smile on his face as he walked through the door. “I’m glad to see that you made the appointment so quickly. Why don’t we go ahead and get started?” he asked her, and she nodded her head. He got her in the correct position on the table for the spinal tap and began feeling for her vertebrae. He then began numbing the area, and Chelsea jumped a little at the feeling of the needle going into her back. “Are you okay?” Dr. Stewarts asked her.
 
“Yeah,” Chelsea mumbled, wishing everything would be finished already.
 
“Okay, Chelsea, we are about to start the procedure,” Dr. Stewarts told her. “We need you to remain as still as possible while we put the needle into your back, okay? You will feel a bit of pressure as the needle is put in, but you should not feel any pain. If you feel any pain at all, I want you to say so immediately. Do you understand?”
 
“Yes,” Chelsea told him.
 
“Okay, here we go,” Dr. Stewarts said, and Chelsea prepared herself, trying to remain still. After a few moments, Dr. Stewarts said, “We are now getting the fluid out. This is going to take about ten or fifteen minutes to complete.”
 
Chelsea stayed quiet, not wanting to risk moving and interrupting the procedure. She stared at the beige walls, thinking about how much her life had changed in just the past forty-eight hours. When she had first made the doctor’s appointment, she never would have guessed that she had cancer.
 
Fifteen minutes later, the doctor was taking the needle out of her back and cleaning the area. “You’ll be in here for another half an hour,” Ruth told her as she took her to the recovery room. “You can turn from side to side, but you need to keep your head down. We’ll be in from time to time to take your vital signs, and if everything looks good, you’ll be able to go home. Would you like me to go get your boyfriend for you?” she asked her.
 
“Yes, please,” Chelsea told her, and Ruth nodded her head, walking out the door. Moments later, Brent walked into the room, looking at Chelsea. “Hey,” she told him with a small smile.
 
“How are you feeling?” he asked her.
 
“I’m okay,” she replied. “I just want to get out of here. I hate the hospital.”
 
“I know,” Brent said, deciding it was best not to mention that she would be spending a lot of time in the hospital once she started her chemotherapy.
 
Forty minutes later, Ruth was telling her that she was able to go home. “You need to continue lying down, though. Lie down in the car, and again when you get home for at least six to eight hours. And, you need to drink plenty of fluids, about eighty ounces each day. You may experience headaches. If they do occur, bed rest and Tylenol are your best options. If the headache gets more severe with rest, you need to contact the doctor immediately. The same goes for any signs of inflammation or infection,” she told Chelsea and Brent.
 
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Brent promised.
 
“Excellent,” Ruth smiled. “I hope you start feeling better soon,” she told Chelsea as she handed Brent Chelsea’s discharge papers.
 
“Thanks,” Chelsea told her as Brent wheeled her in the wheelchair out to the car and laid the seat back for her.
 
***
 
Brent got to the practice arena with about fifteen minutes until practice began. He ran into the locker room, throwing his duffel bag in his locker as he threw his practice gear on. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it for practice,” he heard Duncan Keith say. “Where were you?”
 
“I went with Chelsea to the doctor’s,” he replied, tossing his shirt over his head and grabbing his skates out of his locker.
 
“I thought she went yesterday to the doctor,” Adam Burish spoke up.
 
“She did,” Brent said. “She had to go again today, and I told her I’d go with her,” he added, lacing up his right skate.
 
“Is everything okay with Chelsea?” Patrick Sharp asked. “Did they figure out what’s wrong with her?” he inquired. Brent had told them that she was going to the doctor, as they had seen themselves that she was getting sick, with all of her weight loss.
 
“I’ll let you guys know what’s going on when we’ve got more information,” Brent replied, lacing up his other skate.
 
“What’s going on?” Dave Bolland asked. “Come on, Brent, you know that she’s a part of the family. We’re worried about her.”
 
“I know,” Brent said, looking up at him. He was grateful that Chelsea fit in so well with his teammates, as they were his best friends after all. She had actually been friends with everyone before she had started dating Brent. She worked at their practice arena, and she always saw the guys, and she had developed a friendship with them all, which had only become stronger when she and Brent had begun dating. “And, really, whenever the doctors give us some more news on the matter, I’ll fill you guys in on everything,” he promised.
 
“Okay,” Patrick said with a nod of his head. “We just care about her.”
 
“I know, and I’m glad you guys do. But, we really don’t know all that’s going on,” he told him.
 
“Well, let’s head out to practice,” Duncan said, grabbing his stick out of his locker and walking out towards the ice with everyone else following.
 
***
 
Brent walked in the door of his condominium nearly three hours later, dropping his duffel bag at the door like he always did. He walked back to the bedroom to see Chelsea sleeping. He laid down next to her, causing her to slowly stir awake. She lifted her head to see him lying next to her before she placed her head back on the pillow. “Hey,” she said sleepily.
 
“How are you feeling?” he asked her, moving the hair that was across her face and placing it behind her ear.
 
“I have a little bit of a headache,” she answered.
 
Brent nodded his head. “Have you been sleeping since I left?” he asked her.
 
“Mostly,” she replied.
 
“Have you been drinking your fluids?”
 
“I’ve been sleeping,” she reminded him with a small laugh.
 
“Well, why don’t you drink something now?” he suggested. “What do you want? Water? Juice?”
 
“Can you get me some apple juice?” she asked.
 
“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll be right back,” he said, walking out to the kitchen and getting her a glass of apple juice. He walked back into the bedroom, handing her the apple juice and the two Tylenol he had gotten for her headache.
 
“Thank you,” she told him as she popped the pills in her mouth and took a sip of apple juice. “So, how was practice today?” she asked as he got comfortable on the bed next to her.
 
“Good,” he replied. “The guys asked about you. They wanted to know if you were okay and what was wrong with you.”
 
“What did you tell them?” she inquired.
 
“That I’d let them know what was wrong with you when we got more information from the doctors. They care about you, Chels.”
 
“I know, and I love them for that. And, I want to tell them. I just want to know everything before we do tell them,” she said.
 
“I know, and that’s fine with me.”
 
“Thanks,” she said with a small smile before resting her head on his shoulder and drifting back off to sleep.