Facing It Alone: Chapter Two
Title: Facing It Alone
Author: Allie
Summery: Matt receives some devastating news. Will he give in and ask for help, or will he try and face it alone?
Rating: R
Characters or Pairing: Matt, Danny, Harriet and Jordan
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I wish I did =)
Please read and review =)
Facing It Alone: Chapter One
Facing It Alone: Chapter Two
Matt took a slow shaky breath, running his hands over his face like he always did when something was bothering him. It was a nervous habit he’d had since he was a small child.
All he had to do was write one last sketch for that night’s show, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of anything funny.
“How’s the sketch coming along?” Danny asked, walking into Matt’s office.
“Eh.”
"You do this every week, Matty. Why is everything so last minute with you?" Danny sighed, referring to the last 5 minutes of the show that were still not written; with only four hours left until show time.
“I know…”
“No wonder you’re always so stressed out. It’s like you enjoy doing this to yourself. It’s not healthy Matt…”
“I know.” Matt cut in, looking up at Danny.
“Well, I’m glad we agree on this.” Danny said, as he left Matt’s office. He was slightly taken aback. It wasn’t often that Matt was so willing to agree on something like that with him.
After Danny had left, Matt finally managed to get some work done.
Matt sighed and finished off the last bit of his Red Bull, before slowly crushing the can in his hand. He couldn’t help but let out a somewhat bitter laugh at the irony of being able to write one of the funniest sketches of his life on one of the worst days of his life.
XxXxX
“Hey.” Jordan said, taking a seat next to Matt at the wrap party later that evening, welcoming him with a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi.” Matt replied, taking a sip of his drink. “Did you enjoy the show?”
“Not a huge fan of Paris Hilton then?” laughed Jordan, referring to one of the sketches from that evening’s show.
“It’s not that I’m not a fan, it’s just, she’s so detached from reality that it’s unreal,” Matt explained, smiling slightly.
“Ha! Coming from the most stable man in Hollywood, I’m sure Paris would be flattered,” Jordan laughed, poking Matt in the side jokingly. “So, are you feeling any better?” Jordan’s tone became serious.
“Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix,” lied Matt. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to lie, these people were his closest friends, they would want to know, particularly Danny. Danny was his best friend; they loved each other like brothers, and he’d do anything for Matt. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want anyone to know. Matt always hated being a burden to others.
“Good. I don’t like it when either of my boys is ill.” Jordan smiled, getting up from her chair and ruffling Matt’s hair as she walked away.
Matt ordered himself another Diet Coke and headed over to the comfortable chairs in the corner of the room. He wasn’t in a particularly great mood anyway, but every time he thought about how ill he felt, it just reminded him of what was happening tomorrow.
“Hey you.” Harriet said, walking over and taking a seat next to Matt.
“Great show tonight.” Matt said, taking Harriet’s hand in his and giving it a quick squeeze.
“That’s hot!” laughed Harriet, referring to her scarily convincing Paris Hilton impression.
“Stop it!” Matt laughed.
"So, how are you feeling?" Harriet asked, placing a hand on Matt's forehead. "Aw, you still have a fever." She picked up the magazine on the table and fanned him with it.
"Thanks." Matt said, turning to Harriet and smiling before resting his head on her shoulder.
“Give it a couple of days and you’ll be back to your regular, annoying self,” teased Harriet.
“Yeah, a couple of days and I’ll be okay.” Matt mumbled quietly.
XxXxX
Matt woke up early the next morning. He’d had a horrible night, and had only managed to grab a couple of hours sleep. He quickly packed his bag, got dressed and headed out.
XxXxX
“Mr. Albie, the nurse is ready for you now.” The receptionist told him.
“Thanks.” Matt said as he nodded his head in appreciation to the receptionist and made his way into the room.
“Good morning Mr. Albie, or would you prefer I called you Matthew?” The nurse asked him kindly.
“Matthew would be fine, thanks!”
“Okay Matthew, my name’s Emma and I’m your oncology nurse. All I need you to do for me is roll up your sleeve, sit on the bed, and get comfortable.” Emma instructed him.
“Kay!” Matt said nervously.
Matt watched carefully as Emma prepared his treatment.
“It looks a lot scarier than it actually is.” Smiled Emma reassuringly.
Matt hated everything about hospitals - the smell, the whiter than white walls, and the clickity-click sounds that everyone’s shoes made outside in the corridors.
“Okay, has the doctor explained to you that we’ll be giving you your chemotherapy intravenously through a vein in your arm?”
Matt just nodded.
“Okay, can I have your left arm?” Emma asked gently. “You’ll be fine.” She said, smiling at Matthew as she inserted the IV into his arm.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry, did I hurt you?” Emma asked apologetically, once the IV was hooked up to the machine, which was already pumping the chemotherapy drugs into his body.
“A little, but that’s okay.” Answered Matt; somewhat embarrassed that he’d just admitted it hurt.
“I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. You’ll be hooked up to the machine for 8 hours today” Emma explained. “We’ll give you some anti-nausea medication in a couple of hours. If you start to feel unwell before then, just press the call button.” Emma told him, pointing to the button at the side of his bed.
XxXxX
Matt just lay there motionless; he’d never felt so sick in his life. Emma had taken him off the chemotherapy machine a few hours ago, and the time between that and the nausea kicking in was almost instant. How can he go through this all again tomorrow? Just as that thought came in to his head, he felt the sudden urge to vomit again. The shooting pains at the back of his eyes from being so violently sick were unbearable. All he wanted to do was sleep.
XxXxX
Matt woke up early the next morning, feeling as sick as he had the night before. How the hell was he going to get through another eight hours of chemotherapy today? Just then, his nurse Emma walked in.
“Good morning sleepy head.” Emma greeted him cheerfully.
“Hey.” Matt replied, sounding as miserable as he felt.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom or anything before I hook you up to the machine”? Asked Emma.
“No, I’m okay thanks.”
Matt watched Emma closely as she once again set up the machine for another eight long hours of chemotherapy.
“Okay, you’re all set. You’ll be allowed to go home tonight as you didn’t have any serious reactions towards the treatment.”
“But I was sick.” Matt said anxiously.
“That’s perfectly normal.” Reassured Emma. “We’ll make sure you don’t leave the hospital without some medication to minimise the nausea.”
“Thank you.” Matt said quietly.
It wasn’t long after Emma had left the room that Matt fell asleep; he was still so exhausted from last night. He woke up a few hours later to Emma checking his temperature.
“Sorry to wake you.”
“It’s okay.” Matt said, opening his eyes sleepily.
“How are you feeling?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” He said quietly.
Emma quickly handed him the bucket that was next to his bed and sat with him while he threw up.
“I’m sorry.” Matt apologised.
“Don’t be silly, it’s not your fault.” Emma reassured him.
“I hate this.” Matt said, leaning back heavily against the pillows.
XxXxX
“And I’m done.” Emma said, gently pulling the IV drip out of Matt’s arm.
“OW!”
“That didn’t hurt, you big baby.” She teased.
“Is someone picking you up?” Emma asked, filling out the necessary paperwork that would allow him to go home.
“Yes, my friend is meeting me outside.” Lied Matt.
“Okay, good. Let me go and get your medication, and you can be on your way.”
Emma came back a few minutes later with a ton of medicine for him to take home.
“As Dr. Gallagher explained to you on Friday, the best way to treat Leukaemia is using combination therapy. This means alongside your chemotherapy you’ll also be taking some oral medication.” Emma said, handing him the large bag of pills. “All the information you need is in the bag.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ve booked you in for your chemo this week, and you’ll be allowed home each night after your treatment. Any questions, you have our number.”
“Thank you.” Matt said gratefully.
“No problem. See you tomorrow.” Emma said as she left the room.
Matt gathered up all his things and made his way out of the room that he’d been kept “prisoner” in for the last 48 hours.
“Matt?”
Matt spun around when he heard someone calling his name.
TBC