Fearing The Worst||; Hazel&Gus (AdultAU)
"You’re back…" Gus flashed a small smile to his wife as she came into the private room where Ava was now awake, Jason sitting close by her side while Augustus was checking over his daughter with close eyes. His day off wasn’t a day off anymore, he was already in a spare pair of his scrubs that he always left at the hospital in case such a situation were to occur, doctors jacket on. He was in his element and protecting Ava with all the hope he could muster was all he had on his mind. He knew that Hazel needed some time just to take it all in, he understood completely. But he needed her then…. He couldn’t get through it alone. Sure, he was the strong one in the family but seeing Ava brought that weak side out of him. "Hey Mom…" Ava whispered softly whispered with a small smile as she sat up in the bed with Augustus’ help as he kept asking her questions.
"I’m going to be the doctor helping you out, okay honey? I’m going to have to ask you a few questions about how you’re feeling so we can figure out whats going on with you…" The question got a quick nod from Ava as Gus was in complete doctor mode. "Now when I push my hand here beside your ribs, does it hurt? I know we numbed you down when they put the tubes in to drain the fluid in your lungs, but does it hurt when I press here?"Another small nod as her face scrunched up in pain. "My chest hurts, Daddy…" Obvious there was still trouble for her breathing. Oh how Gus just wanted to fix it all then and there. "I know, honey.. We’re going to get you healthy, I promise… At night, have you been feeling very, overheated? Like night sweats or something along the lines of it." The sadness was sweeping over the room. "Occasionally, it hasn’t been too much though. I just feel really dizzy like I did in gym - can I lie back down now? I’m tired." Gus gave her a small nod as he kissed to the top of her head, making not sure to hurt her. "The nurse will be here in a moment, she’s going to draw some of your blood so we can take it to test it, okay sweetheart?" She gave a soft smile to her father as she laid back down. "Okay, Daddy…" Resting her eyes, she drifted into a small sleep as Gus brought Hazel and Jason out of the room so he could tell them what he thought was going on.
Taking a big deep breath in, he always hated this part. “Obviously we won’t know anything for certain until we get the blood tests done and they get sent back to us, but I’ve seen the same thing happen all too many times before in kids that have came through here. It’s quite possible that she’s in the early stages of ALL, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It’s the most common form of cancer in children, with our genetics it’s just brought certain things out in it, like the fluid build up in her lungs.” He brought Hazel close to him, he didn’t want her thinking like it was her fault for what she was going through. “If it’s what we think, we’ve more then like caught it early so it’ll be easier for her to fight through. It’s about a 90% survival rate so the odds are in her favour. But we’ve just got to think positive about it before anything actually happens…” Now, it was just the waiting game. “Come on, let’s go back in there… the nurse will be here soon.”
Hazel smiled weakly towards her husband before she moved over to the side of her daughter and held onto her hand as Gus asked her questions about her lungs and how she was feeling. It was scary that it was that familiar to her. She was glad that Gus was going to be her doctor though, it meant that Ava would feel safe with her doctor, but it also meant that Augustus would see everything first hand and have to be as formal and ethical as possible, whereas Hazel would sit in the corner and cry because she never wanted anything like this to happen to her own child. "Hi honey." She smoothed her daughters face as she put on the bravest face she could. But as soon as she left she would break. It was all her fault.
"Daddy won't let anything happen to you that we can't fix okay honey. Your dad is very good at his job." She reassured her daughter, but it was more for herself than anything else. She had to remind herself that her daughter was the one in pain and possibly ridden with the same cancer as Hazel once had. Hazel looked at her daughter as Gus let Ava lay back down. "Breathe slowly sweetheart, your chest may hurt but you gotta keep breathing, don't force heavy breaths okay, take it from someone who knows. We will help you soon and ease that pain in your chest sweetheart." She spoke softly as she moved her hand lightly over the very side of her daughters chest, remembering how to helped Hazel when her mom did that to her, it meant she knew someone was always going to be there. She watched her daughter fall asleep and Hazel patted her hand and left the room.
She started pacing before she looked at her son, handing him some money. "C-can you go get someone to eat, you haven't since lunch and uh-I-I don't want you to starve." She felt like a real failure in that moment, a shitty mother, crap blood, the one to blame for her daughter in that hospital bed. She hugged her son before she wrapped herself up in her husband's arms. She bit onto her bottom lip as she gripped onto his shirt, this wasn't right. She didn't say anything but "I don't think I can listen just yet." She whispered. "But I have to don't I? I have to do it for her." She moved away and her hands went to her head. "I am such a shit mother. Th-this is all my fault." She whispered mainly to herself before pushing everything down, swallowing sobs, forcing herself to not put herself into a zombie like trance. She turned and walked into the room again with the image of her daughters lungs being placed up. "Gus, t-they look like wh-what mine were like." She turned and looked at her sleeping daughter. "D-did I do this to her?"
