PREVIOUSLY

"Yeah," he answered, ripping open a package of candy corn and popping a handful into his mouth.
He listened intently.
His face blanched and his jaw dropped, several half-chewed pieces of candy corn spilling out of his mouth.
"I-I'll be right there," he said, his voice just above a shocked whisper.
"Hang on, Delgado. I'm on my way."

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Part 5: Void

Todd Manning rushed up the steps of Llanview Memorial Hospital, a bewildered Starr clutched under one arm.

He approached the front desk where the admitting nurse, a tall dark-skinned woman, was speaking animatedly on the telephone, her swirls of chocolate-coloured, dangling dreadlocks bouncing wildly as she spoke.

"I'm looking for my wife, Tea Manning," Todd said breathlessly.

"She was admitted a little over an--"

The nurse silenced him with a glare and a wave of her hand.

Panicked, Todd's eyes darted wildly around the reception area, seeking out someone who could tell him where his wife was.

"Todd?"

He turned swiftly, staring into the worried face of his sister.

"Where is she?" Todd said, trying to keep the hysteria out of his voice.

"She's in the ICU. She's conscious and seems to be doing better. We're just waiting for the test results right now."

"And the baby?"

"The baby's fine, as far as anyone can tell. It's still too early to really know anything."

"Is something wrong with Tee, Daddy?" Starr asked, her lip trembling slightly.

"We...we don't know just yet, Shorty. That's what we're here to find out."

A short, stout-looking doctor wearing pale green surgical scrubs rounded the corner, looking up from the clipboard he held in his hand.

"Mr. Manning, I presume?" The doctor extended a beefy, thick knuckled hand, his bushy white eyebrows raising.

"I want to know what's wrong with my wife!" Todd said.

He saw a brief flash of sympathy cross the doctor's face.

"That's what I'm here to tell you. We've already informed your wife of her condition."

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Swallowing the lump that had lodged in his throat, Todd pushed open the door. When he saw her face, eyes reddened, pale cheeks still wet with tears, the wall of composure he'd so carefully constructed came crumbling down.

"Oh, Tea," he choked, tears blurring his vision. He sat beside her on the bed, holding her body tightly against his as if that simple action would make it all disappear.

Regaining his self-control, he cleared his throat.

"Everything's okay, Tea. We're...we're going to be just fine."

"Are we?" Tea whispered, staring over Todd's shoulder, past the snowflakes bright on the window, and into the darkness beyond.

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Tea awoke two hours later, a persistant buzzing in her pounding head, and was surprised to realize that Todd was still there, sitting in a stiff-backed, green chair beside her bed.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she returned, attempting a small smile.

Dr. Lancaster came through the doors, a smile of false sympathy pasted on his face.

Todd felt like smashing it off.

"Oh, good, you're awake," he said, pulling up another chair.

"I'd like you both to be aware," he began slowly, "of the options that you have. There are three of them. And no matter which you choose, your ultimate decision will be an extremely difficult one."

Tea swallowed with difficulty. "What are they?"

Dr. Lancaster took a deep breath. "The first option would be to abort your child and begin to aggressively treat your cancer." Tea cringed at the word.

" Now, although the cancer is in a rather advanced stage, the success rate is quite high."

Todd looked stricken as he asked the doctor to continue.

Another option would be to induce labour before beginning treatment. However," he said, "the child would be three and a half months premature. That leaves the baby at a grave risk of infections which, having not even entered third trimester, would be difficult for him or her to ward off. "

"And the third option?" Tea choked.

"The third option would be to hold off on any sort of treatment, whether it be radiation therapy or chemotherapy--or a combination of the both--and wait a month or so until the baby is more fully developed. But it could be of tremendous risk to your health. There's a fair chance that by then the cancer will have metastasized. And if that happens, there's nothing anybody can do."

"How long do we have to decide?"

"Every moment you waste is a moment that could be spent finding a way to help you."

The doctor turned to leave.

"Dr. Lancaster?"

He turned.

"Why.....why didn't this show up before?"

"It could be a number of factors....but quite probably it's because the signs and symptoms that are usually perceived and associated with this particular type of disease were passed off as a regular part of your pregnancy. Cancer is a sneaky disease, Mrs. Manning. That's what makes it so deadly."

Tea nodded and the doctor took his leave of the room.

Tea met Todd's gaze and she jutted out her chin defiantly.

"I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait until this baby is healthy enough to be born," she said firmly.

"No," Todd said, his voice equally firm. "We are not going to risk your health, no matter what the consequence."

"Even when the ultimate consequence would be to kill our child?!"

Todd took her hand in his. "Tea, I have finally found the woman of my dreams. A woman I love so much that it hurts. We have been to hell and back to get where we are now and to throw it all away like this would be a slap in the face!" He looked down. "Tea, I...don't want to lose you."

"I can't believe you would say that! I see, every day, how much love you have for Starr. How it would kill you if anything ever happened to her. Why don't you have that kind of love for our child? How could you be willing to take its life and just move on? How would you live with yourself?" Tea's voice shook with anger.

"You know I love our kid. I love our kid as much as I love the little girl Blair and I created. But I would do anything if it meant keeping you safe. Saving your life. Ensuring that y-you and I will raise lots of other kids and grow old a-and be happy together and have the future we've been dreaming of for so long."

Tea stared in wide-eyed disbelief. She let out a shaky, tear-filled breath.

"Get out," she murmured, pointing to the door. "Get out before I say something we'll both regret."

Todd blinked.

"Out," she repeated, sensing her composure was beginning to slip.

He stood slowly and shuffled to the door.

"If it's what you really want," he said quietly. "But I will be back first thing tomorrow morning."

The door shut softly and Tea cried herself to sleep for the second time that day.

TO BE CONTINUED

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