A Time to Live (27 page)

“I’m sorry but you will have to leave.”

“No,” Nikki whispered.

Michael shook his head firmly.
“I’m sorry, Doctor, but I’m not going anywhere. Doctor Rashid has approved it.”

The pulmologist sighed.
“All right. Then let’s get started.”

An anesthesiologist entered and the nurse started an IV.
Nikki frowned in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“We’re putting you under general for this procedure.”

“What?” she asked, her heart pounding. “They always did these under local before.”

“We don’t do that here,” the pulmologist said gently.
“I think anyone who does them under local is a sadist.”

She arched an eyebrow.
With what she had learned about Bradley and had experienced in the past, she could only agree.

A mask was placed over her face and her IV burned.

“You’re going to go to sleep now,” the pulmologist said and smiled. “Good night.”

Darkness descended.

****

At first, Michael wondered how much anesthesia it would take to get Nikki to go under.
She was so terrified. But he was relieved to see her eyes close quickly.

The doctors spoke quietly, and the pulmologist waited until he received a nod from the anesthesiologist then picked up a large, foul looking, metal instrument.
He glanced at Michael. “Now you know why we usually don’t allow family in here.”

Michael swallowed hard.
“What is that thing?”

“It’s called a
cannula. I have to put it down her throat to open her airway so I can get the tubes into her lungs.” He opened Nikki’s mouth and Michael stared in horror as the large instrument was guided down her throat.

The pulmologist backed away slightly and reached for some long tubes that were attached to a machine.
“These have a tiny camera,” he said, nodding toward a screen next to him. “If you watch the monitor you can see them go into her lungs.”

Michael squeezed his eyes shut, shivering.

A moment later, he heard a soft whirring sound. Michael pried open his eyes and saw the doctor gazing into something that looked like it was out of a science fiction novel. “I have to use the microscope to guide the tubes to get samples. She does have a lot of scar tissue in her lungs.”

“Cancer?”

“Hard to say,” the doctor said. “I’ll have to get the samples analyzed before I know if there are cancerous cells. The good news is, I see a lot of healthy tissue.”

Michael looked back at Nikki, still sleeping peacefully.
His hand tightened on hers.

The doctor worked a bit longer then carefully withdrew the tubes and the
cannula. “That’s it, we’re done now. You can wake her up.”

****

It seemed like only moments later when Nikki blinked open her eyes. “Nikki, wake up,” Michael called.

She was still in the chair
, but the nurse and Michael, gently shook her awake. She felt dizzy, but it wasn’t bad. “What...what happened?”

“We’re finished,” the pulmo
logist said. “You did very well. Another chest x-ray needs to be taken, but after that you can go.” He faced Michael. “She’s going to be groggy for the next couple of hours.”

Michael nodded and at last Nikki was allowed to get up.

Nikki looked at him, his face was gray and his eyes haunted. “What’s wrong, Michael?” she asked, feeling like she was drunk.

“You...you had to go through that procedure while you were conscious?”

Nikki shivered but nodded. “Believe me, this was much better.”

“Good Lord,” Michael whispered.
“No wonder you were terrified.”

It was late evening when they were finally allowed to return to their suite.
Nikki plopped on the bed. “I feel like I’ve been dragged through a knothole backwards.”

“Me too,” Michael said, joining her.
“And I only had to watch.”

She smiled and curled into his embrace.
“But thank you for being there. It really helped, Michael.”

He smiled and drew her to him for a languorous kiss.
“I told you I wouldn’t leave your side.” He held her for a long moment, then released her and pulled away. “That reminds me, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What?” she asked grinning.
“Do I get a lollipop for being good?”

He chuckled.
“Since you had to fast this morning and I was stuck eating breakfast by myself, I took advantage of it and went on a quick shopping spree.”

“I wondered what took you so long,” she said and sat up, watching him curiously.

Michael dug through the drawer where he had put his clothes then turned around. He moved quickly enough that she couldn’t see what was in his hand. He kneeled in front of her.

“Nikki,” he said his voice a soft whisper.
Slowly his hands moved, opening a small velvet box. “Marry me, please.”

Nikki’s eyes widened as she gaped at the diamond engagement ring and matching wedding band.
Tears suddenly fogged her vision, blurring the diamond in a spark of color. “Michael....”

“Please, Nikki.”

“But...but we don’t know the test results...the cancer....”

Gently
, he cupped her cheek and brushed away a tear that escaped. “That doesn’t matter to me, Nikki. I want you to be my wife no matter the test results. If you have one day, three months, or a thousand years, I want you to be my wife for every one of them.”

Her tears broke free and surged down her cheeks like a flood.
Suddenly, she threw caution to the wind and her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she choked. “I will marry you. I love you, Michael.”

His smile of joy dazzled her more than the diamond.
He held her tightly, then pulled away enough to put the ring on her finger. “And I love you,” he whispered. His lips touched hers and Nikki found herself swept away by his passion.

Unfortunately, a knock on the door destroyed their moment.

Michael shook his head, chuckling ruefully. He answered the door while Nikki darted into the bathroom to scrub the tearstains from her face.

“Doc...come in,” Michael said in surprise.

Nikki dried her face and hurried out of the bathroom. Doc, Rory, and Rashid entered, dressed in comfortable street clothes.

Rory removed his shoulder harness and hung it on the back of a chair.
He turned to Nikki, again surprising her with a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll be glad to know Harris is on his way back to Los Angeles.” He smiled broadly. “You did very well today.”

“Thanks.”

Doc stepped forward, also kissing her cheek. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I just had to see how everything was going.” He gripped her left hand and looked at the ring in admiration.

Nikki rolled her eyes at Michael.
“Do you tell him
everything
?”

Michael’s face turned a darker shade of bronze.
“Well...uh...yeah.”

She sank into a chair laughing.

“Don’t be too hard on him Nikki,” Doc said, settling into his own chair. “After Michael lost his parents, I practically raised him. When he wasn’t with his grandfather on the res, he was with me.”

Michael, still a little abashed, offered Rashid and Rory chairs, then pulled one up for himself.

“Don’t sit down too fast,” Doc said.

Another knock sounded.

“What’s going on, Doc?” Michael asked as he got up to answer it.

Room service stood at the door with a bottle of fine champagne and five glasses.

“I ordered that,” Doc said.

Michael brought everything to the table.
“Weren’t you a little overconfident that Nikki would accept my proposal, Doc?”

“Not in the least,” he paused and winked at Nikki.
“I knew what her answer would be.”

She looked at Doc then at Rory.
“Wait a sec, that stunt with Bradley and Michael - the fiancé thing. You knew about this too, didn’t you?”

Rory chuckled and inclined his head toward her.
“You would make a good agent, Nikki. If you ever decide to change professions let me know. The FBI needs people who can think on their feet.”

She couldn’t help but laugh harder.

Michael popped the cork and filled the glasses.

Doc lifted his.
“A toast, to a long and healthy future for our couple.”

Nikki took one swallow then suddenly stopped, staring at Doc.
She saw Michael do the same.

“Doc?” he asked softly.

Rashid savored his champagne, apparently mired in Doc’s scheme up to his neck. His dark eyes sparked merrily as he put his glass down and pulled out his notepad. “Blackthorn here still believes in the old school of practicing medicine, house calls, and the like. I don’t get that a lot in my field, so when he suggested this, I couldn’t resist.” He flipped through the pad and stopped. “We put a rush on the test results, Nikki.”

Michael moved next to Nikki and gripped her hand tightly.

“There was no sign of cancer in your lungs.”

Michael’s grip on her hand became crushing.
Her heart lurched and rattled in her chest.

“But,” Rashid said, “the drugs have weakened your lungs and there is an extensive
amount of scar tissue. That’s why you would bleed when you coughed. There is a possibility we might have to do surgery.”

Michael’s face went gray and he started to speak.

Rashid waved him off.
“Surgery will only be a last resort and after Nikki’s lungs have grown stronger. They would not stand up to that right now. And honestly, I really don’t think that will be necessary. Since she has stopped taking the experimental drugs we should see marked improvement in the next few weeks. I’m going to write a prescription to help your lungs clear, Nikki. And Blackthorn will monitor you closely. Aside from the hell you went through, I’d say Doctor Harris succeeded with his miracle. Continue using your inhaler as necessary, but I’m taking you off the morphine, we will see how you do with codeine and hopefully you won’t need any pain medication much longer.” He paused and smiled. “Congratulations, Nikki, you have just beaten the odds. It looks like you can plan on a long and healthy life...with your new fiancé.”

Nikki squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Michael pulled her to him and held her tightly.

“Thank you, Doctor Rashid,” she heard him say.

“I have to admit,” Rory drawled. “This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”

“Give us a moment,” Michael said, guiding her out of the chair and toward the bedroom of the suite.

“We should be going,” Doc called after them.

“Don’t you dare,” Michael replied.
“I’m in the mood to celebrate and this will take only a moment.”

He ushered Nikki inside and closed the door, tugging her chin up.
His amber eyes sparked with a joy she had never seen. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me,” he whispered and touched his lips to hers. His kiss was exquisite and Nikki’s heart soared. He ended the kiss and she was startled to see tears sliding down his cheeks.

“Michael, are you sure about this?”

“Of course, love. I am bound to you heart and soul.”

She swallowed hard.
“Even...even if the cancer comes back?”

“You know better than that,” he said sternly then sighed.
“Nikki, I know the cancer is gone...completely.”

“What...how?”

“It makes sense now. When I first met you, I sensed something different. When you told me you were sick, it still didn’t add up. Then when you said you...were dying...even less made sense. My infernal instincts kept telling me you weren’t dying. I know now that it was the medicines and the havoc they wreaked on your body. Unfortunately, my instincts aren’t going to convince the doctors and we had to be certain.”

She stared at him for a moment.
“I can comprehend this...I know I can.”

He chuckled and once again folded her into his arms.
“Nikki. Don’t worry. I won’t leave your side and I will be with you for whatever tests they require. You will never be alone again.”

She allowed herself to melt in his arms.
If it had not been for the cancer and for what she had suffered with Bradley, she never would have come to Shadow Mountain, Colorado. She never would have met Michael.

Nikki slowly looked up at the man she loved with all her heart.

It was all worth it.

“Let’s get back to the party,” he said. “This certainly deserves celebration.” He opened the door.

“So,” Rory asked grinning.
“When’s the wedding?”

Michael laughed.
“As soon as possible, and you’re all invited.”