Chelsea stared at herself in the mirror, realizing that before she knew it, she wasn’t going to look like this anymore. She had tried to prepare herself for the changes that were bound to occur from the chemotherapy, from the nausea and vomiting to the loss of all of her hair. The hair loss was one of the things she was least looking forward to, no matter how shallow that made her. She had always had beautiful, long blonde hair, and in just a short period of time, it was all going to be gone.

Abby had already told her that she would go with her to pick out a wig if Chelsea wanted to, but Chelsea didn’t know how exactly she felt about wearing a wig. It made her feel almost inferior, and she had told Abby that she wanted to wait and see how the chemotherapy went before she even thought about wigs.

Chelsea pulled her hair back into a ponytail, as she looked down at her body. She was already a thin girl, and she knew the chemotherapy was only going to make her even thinner. She felt as if she were slowly fading away, and there was nothing to do to stop that.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the bathroom door. “Chels, you okay?” she heard Brent ask, and she opened the door, plastering a fake smile onto her face.

“I’m okay,” she told him, walking past him into the bedroom where her overnight bag lay. She still hated the fact that she had to stay in the hospital for the next couple of days, but she was grateful that she wouldn’t have to stay there the entire time she was undergoing chemotherapy. “You ready to go?” she asked him, picking up her bag, which Brent swiftly took from her to carry. She looked at him, but knew there was no point in arguing with him.

“Let’s go,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the condominium. Brent had already promised Chelsea that he was going to stay with her through this first bout of chemotherapy. She had argued with him countless times, reminding him that the preseason was slowly coming to an end, and he should be with the team instead of her, but he hadn’t listened to her. He wanted to be there with her, and he knew that even if he went to practice, his mind would be with her at the hospital, and that wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

Chelsea had wished that they would get stopped by stoplights or that there would be traffic or anything else that could postpone her chemotherapy, even if it was just for a few minutes. But, nothing of the sort happened, as they had made it to the hospital in what seemed like record time.

Brent parked the car and grabbed her bag out of the backseat before putting his arm around her as they walked into the hospital. “You’re going to be just fine,” he whispered in her ear as they reached the nurses’ station. Ruth, once again, was the nurse that took Chelsea back, telling Brent that he needed to stay out in the waiting room for a little while, and that she would come get him as soon as he could be with Chelsea. Brent reluctantly walked towards the waiting room as Chelsea followed Ruth.

“How are you doing today, Chelsea?” Ruth asked, a smile spreading across her young face.

“I’m scared,” Chelsea admitted as Ruth walked into the room that the drugs would be administered in.

“That’s to be expected,” Ruth told her. “But, I promise, this is one of the best oncology departments in the entire country. You’re in the best hands possible,” she assured her, and Chelsea nodded her head. “We’re first going to take a few vital signs,” Ruth said, getting out the blood pressure monitor and cuff and placing it around Chelsea’s arm.

After Ruth had finished with the vitals that she needed, along with Chelsea’s height and weight, she pulled out the tube and needle that was going to be placed in Chelsea’s arm for the chemotherapy drugs to be administered. “We’re going to put this catheter in you and then take some blood. After that, I’ll go get your boyfriend for you,” she told her, and Chelsea let out a breath of relief, happy that Brent was going to be there with her soon.

Just as Ruth had said, Brent walked into the room minutes later, and Chelsea smiled at him. “How are you feeling?” he asked her as Ruth left to go get the Dr. Stewarts so he could prescribe the chemotherapy.

“I’m okay,” she told him. “I think it’s going to be worse afterwards, with all the side effects and all that,” she told him as he sat down in the chair next to her bed. She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Thank you for being here with me today,” she told him, happy that he had fought her this entire time and had come with her.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he assured her with a kiss on the forehead as Dr. Stewarts walked in.

“Chelsea, Brent,” he began. “Let me check a few things, and then we’ll start with the chemo,” he told them. After examining her and her blood counts, he looked down at her, saying, “Chelsea, as I’ve already told you, we’re going to be giving you four different drugs. We’re going to do two of them through the IV and then the other two we’ll give you in a pill form,” he explained. “I’m going to give you some medication before the actual chemo medicines to try to prevent some nausea, and then we’ll go ahead and give you the chemo meds. We’re going to do a slow infusion this first time, so it’ll take a few hours for the medicine to go through the IV. And, then we’re going to keep you here for the next day or two to monitor you to make sure you have no severe side effects, okay?” Chelsea nodded her head, and Dr. Stewarts smiled at her. “I’m going to go get the medications, and Ruth will be back in to administer them to you.”

“Thanks,” Chelsea called after him. She looked up at Brent. “Are you sure you want to stay here for the next few hours while I get the meds?” she asked him. “It’s fine with me if you want to leave and come back.”

“Are you kidding me?” Brent asked incredulously. “I’m not leaving you here by yourself, especially when this is your first time getting chemo. Besides, I want to be here to know exactly what you’re going through,” he added as Ruth walked through the door.

“I have some anti-nausea medicine for you,” Ruth said, handing her a small cup of water and some pills. “I’ll be back in in a little bit to give you the rest of your medicines,” she said.

***

Chelsea had finally received all of her drugs, and she was lying in bed, watching the television when they brought in her dinner. The smell of it alone made her sick to her stomach, and she didn’t feel like eating any of it, even though one of the nurses had told her that she needed to keep food in her stomach. “Baby, please just try to eat something,” Brent begged her.

“I can’t,” Chelsea told him. “I feel like I’m going to throw up just from the smell of it. I can’t even think about putting any of that food in my mouth,” she told him.

Brent opened his mouth to argue with her just as the door to Chelsea’s room opened, and Julia and Dave walked inside. “Hey, Chelsea,” Dave smiled at her as Julia put a bouquet of flowers on her bedside table.

“Dave, Julia, it’s great to see you two. Thanks for coming,” Chelsea said sincerely.

“Of course we came,” Julia told her. “I think some of the others are coming here later on. How was today?” she asked her.

“Okay, I guess,” Chelsea told her. “I’m feeling a little sick right now, but other than that I’m okay,” she said before looking up at Dave. “How was practice today?” she asked him.

“It was good,” Dave replied, knowing she was asking more for Brent than herself. He knew she still felt bad that Brent had missed practice to stay there with her. “A couple of the new guys looked good out on the ice, and Q was pretty happy with practice. I think they’re going to be making a few cuts in the next couple of days.”

“Are you guys going to be ready for your first preseason game next week?” she asked him.

Dave nodded his head. “Yeah, I think so. I think we’re pretty prepared,” he replied.

“Good,” Chelsea said, a small smile on her face as she began yawning. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I don’t know why I’m so tired.”

“It’s probably all of that medication that they gave you. It’s supposed to make you tired,” Julia said. “Why don’t Dave and I just go and come see you again tomorrow. We’ll let you get some sleep,” she suggested.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” Chelsea told her, yawning once again. “You guys came all this way. You don’t have to leave so soon.”

“We’ll see you again tomorrow,” Dave said. “I hope you feel better,” he added, giving her a quick hug.

“Bye, Chelsea,” Julia said, also giving her a hug.

***

Brent was startled awake when he heard the door to Chelsea’s room open and then shut again. He had fallen asleep about an hour ago, sitting in the chair next to Chelsea’s room, holding hands with her. She had dozed off just minutes after Dave and Julia had left, and he had followed a little while later.

He looked up to see Adam standing there. Brent quickly looked over at Chelsea to see her still sleeping, and he smiled at her. “Aww, look at that. You two even fall asleep holding hands. Are you two ever apart?” Adam asked jokingly.

“Shut up,” Brent told him as Adam took a seat in the chair in the corner.

“Seriously, though, how’s she doing?” Adam asked, concerned, as he looked over at the sleeping Chelsea. She looked so peaceful, and he only hoped that she felt like she looked, and she wasn’t being tortured from the chemotherapy.

“She’s doing good. The doctor came in earlier and said that she was doing fine, and that it looked like she wasn’t having any serious reactions to the chemo. She was a little sick earlier, and she didn’t eat dinner. I’m hoping she’ll feel better tomorrow, though,” Brent answered.

“When does she get to go home?” Adam asked.

“Tomorrow night if she’s doing well. If not, then they might keep her here a few extra days.”

“How are you doing?” Adam asked Brent. “I mean, you’ve been here all day. It has to be hard on you, too.”

“As long as Chelsea is fine, then I’m fine.”

“What are you going to do if she’s not fine, though?” Adam asked, and Brent looked up at him, confused by what he was asking. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” Adam continued. “But what happens if the chemo doesn’t work? Or if she has to stay in the hospital longer than they’re expecting her to have to. Are you going to stay with her all the time? Are you going to give up on hockey? I understand that Chelsea is your life, and you love her, but are you going to even care about hockey anymore if she’s not okay?”

“Adam, Chelsea is more important than hockey,” Brent spoke defensively. “If she’s not okay, then I’m not going to be able to concentrate on hockey, and I’m not going to be of use to anyone. I know that you guys think I’m abandoning the team right now, but Chelsea needs me more right now.”

“I get that, Brent,” Adam told him. “And, I think it’s for the best that you’re here with her right now. I’m just asking what happens when the season starts. What if she’s still undergoing chemo at that time, and it’s not working or something like that? Are you going to stay here with her or are you going to come back to the team? Like I said, I know that Chelsea is the most important thing in your life, and that’s how it should be. I’m just wondering what’s going to happen.”

“Chelsea wouldn’t let me stay here and not play,” Brent told him. “She didn’t want me to miss practice today. Do you really think she’s going to let me stay here and not play?” Brent questioned. “She’ll go through all of this by herself before she’d let me choose to stay here rather than play.”

“And, that’s why we all love her,” Adam told him. “She’ll always choose you playing over spending time with her. But, I know you too well. I know that you’re going to want to stay with her.”

“And, you wouldn’t?” Brent asked. “You’d honestly choose hockey over the one person you love more than anything else in the world?”

“If I were you, I’d choose Chelsea, too. I was just asking,” Adam told him. “And, for all I know, this first set of chemotherapy is going to get rid of all the cancer, and Chelsea will be fine before we know it.”

“That’s what I’m praying for,” Brent told him.

“And, if not, we’ll all be here for her. She’s not going to go through this alone, even if she wants it that way.”

“Thanks, man,” Brent told him, and Adam nodded his head, looking at Chelsea, still sound asleep.