For all his flattery, all Alex received in return was a flat, unimpressed stare, before the doctor whose hair was now closer to grey than the black of her younger years lowered her head to the clipboard she was holding.
With her face as unsmiling as always, and a bun just as severe, Dr Miranda Robin raised her head after perusing the data in her hands one last time to confirm her thoughts, then looked at Alex's mother:
"Grace, it might not be… as we thought this time. Given your… medical history…"
Dr Robin paused, and threw a glance at Alex. Grace's eyes flickered with understanding. Glancing at her son, her calm voice cut through the haze of uncertainty:
"Go straight to the point, Miranda. What are you advising?"
Dr Robin's gaze lingered on Alex, but not for long. Without wasting any more time, she went along with Grace's decision with a slight nod, going back to her unflappable self:
"A surgery. Should you wish for a faster recovery to go back to work as healthy as possible, that would be the best option. I will just need more details to confirm things, because a scan is not enough."
A frown flickered past Alex's face. Grace glanced at him. Not showing whether she had noticed anything or not, she spoke to her doctor:
"I will think about it. Any other option?"
Dr Miranda Robin glanced at Alex, but didn't hesitate this time. With a straight face and a flat voice, she gave her opinion:
"It could be a cancer, no, it is likely a cancer. I can control and contain the situation for now and use fully comprehensive tests to determine the margin of maneuver. Only then will I be able to tell you what other options would be adequate."
In other words, there were other options available, only their adequacy needed to be determined to make the best choice. Despite that, however, a heavy silence fell upon the room.
Alex, whose smile had faded at some point, calmly pulled the blanket on his mother's legs up. He took a tissue to softly dab the bit of sweat that had formed a sheen on her forehead, most probably from the pain.
Grace glanced at her son. She ignored Leyna's slightly pallid face and fists clenched in frustration then looked at Miranda to accept the proposal to get further details:
"I can do the additional tests. When will the results come in?"
"By next week I will have a plan ready."
Grace nodded:
"Then let's do that. Keep the surgery as the last recourse."
"As you wish."
Giving Grace one last look, Dr Miranda Robin checked the IV bottle, then took her leave after a nod of the head.
The room remained silent. Alex spent the next while looking between the bottle on the IV pole and where the drip was connected to Grace. After a minute, he stood up:
"I'm stepping out for a moment, mom. I will be back soon, but call me if you need me for anything."
Grace calmly looked into the brown eyes of her son, then nodded:
"Go on."
Showing a slight smile, Alex kissed her on the cheek, then walked out of the room after a glance at Leyna.
"Chairwoman…"
Leyna's voice was soft as she looked at Grace with a bit of apprehension.
Grace glanced at the closed door, then closed her eyes after shaking her head in response to Leyna's inquiry:
"Let him go. Just… send Miranda a text. I'd rather she gives Alex no reason to become reckless and crash the systems of the hospital by brute-forcing his way in."
Leyna paused, then exhaled:
"Understood, chairwoman."
_ _ _
_ _ _
"Doctor, how is my mother?!"
Sharon restrained her nervousness. She did not manage to hide it, however. Restlessly fidgeting, she watched the doctor as the doctor scribbled on the clipboard within the deceptively calm ward.
But the deceptive appearance was not bad. It helped Sharon calm down while helping her forget the throng of people she had found leaving the ward upon arrival.
Her heart beating like a drum, she waited, time stretching into a slow crawl, until an answer came, piercing the haze between her tense mind and reality:
"The patient suffered from a shock earlier."
With one last tap against the clipboard, the doctor closed the medical file and put the clipboard back into the pocket at the foot of the bed. Putting his pen away, he finally turned to Sharon:
"Miss Kenner, after many years in a coma, despite our best efforts, your mother's health has ended up more fragile than we expected. The new medicine for her cancer, though mild enough, has still tilted the balance of her body far enough on one side to cause her to react negatively after just one month of treatment. Fortunately, it was nothing we couldn't solve for now. However…"
Pausing, the doctor showed the way to the door:
"Come with me."
Sharon glanced at the wan face on the bed, then turned around to follow the doctor outside. In a gloomy silence, she walked behind him to his office where she sat on the same seat she occupied a month or so ago.
"Your mother's situation is quite lucky, but at the same time, quite unlucky. We have detected the signs of her cancer early enough. Unfortunately, the same reason we managed to do that is also preventing us from taking effective measures now. Most treatments for the cancer are violent, but violence is the one thing the patient who has been comatose for years cannot withstand. Now our options have been further reduced. It will cost more to maintain the new stable state of your mother, let alone return it to how it used to be. My advice now would be to sign up for the experimental programs of the hospital. They are difficult to join, but that is where you would get the best hopes. Till then, you need to decide on the treatment plan your financial situation would allow."
Sharon felt stifled inside, the happiness she descended from the plane with all but wiped away. The difference between an hour ago and now felt like heaven and hell. Everything was just crumbling around her.
The doctor printed a form, along with the treatment plans he spoke of, and held them toward the blonde with a smile he tried to make optimistic.
"Don't lose hope. Who knows? With all the chaos shaking up her organism, your mother might just get the stimulation she needs to wake up. Stay strong. Alright?"
Sharon took the documents with a difficult smile on her lips:
"I will try. Thank you, doctor."