Page 113 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

After she was treated the first time, Elliott briefly considered going into the medical field, figuring it might be a good path based on what she’d gone through. But the thought of all those science classes made her stomach turn, and her true love was in the arts. Photography, design, and creativity.

She also hadn’t wanted people’s lives in her hands. How on earth did Dr. Varghese do this every day?

“Hi, Elliott. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“Thanks for getting me in so quick.” She leaned forward in her chair. Well, as far as she could with Jamie’s death grip on her hand. “I, um, brought my boyfriend, Jamie.” The men acknowledged each other with nods. “Did you find out anything more from the labs?”

Dr. Varghese sat on the stool in the center of the room. “Nothing definitive. There are still several things that could be going on. It could be a virus, or it could be the leukemia has returned and is attacking your bone marrow. Or it could simply be your donor cells are losing their effectiveness.”

Elliott blinked. Relief hovered just out of reach at the thought it could be something other than cancer. But the other options didn’t sound great, either. “Can that happen? The transplant cells can stop working after all this time?”

“It’s not common, but it’s possible. The bone marrow biopsy will give us more answers.”

There was a time she’d dreaded the procedure, but by this point she’d had so many it was old news.

“Then what will the plan be?” Jamie asked.

“If it’s cancer, we’ll have to have another conversation. It will depend on how extensive the disease burden is. We might need to do a little more chemo first, and then we could try a donor lymphocyte infusion, or DLI. Think of it like a stem cell boost. That’s also what I’ll recommend if there’s no cancer and it looks like the original donor cells are losing their hold.”

“A stem cell boost?”

“Yes. If your first donor is able and willing, we’ll ask her to donate again. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get everything under control.”

The same lightheaded sensation she had on Monday crashed through her again. “The first donor?” she whispered.

“Yes.” Dr. Varghese consulted the papers in his hand. “She was a perfect match. I’ll be surprised if the cells are losing function, but like I said, it’s possible. You did so well after the transplant, using the same donor will be the best thing.”

She might need more cells from Carly. She never would have imagined that was a possibility. How could she even ask such a thing, after everything that had happened?

She glanced at Jamie, wondering if he was having the same thoughts she was. His skin was a little pale as he met her gaze, but his expression was unreadable.

“Do you have any other questions right now?”

Elliott sat in silence for a long moment, thinking. She’d learned not to hold back during office visits, and to take advantage of having thedoctor’s undivided attention when they were face-to-face. He’d always been responsive when she called in between visits, but he had other patients to take care of, too. The time blocked off for them to sit in this room together was hers and hers alone.

“What—” It came out almost like a whisper, and she paused and swallowed before trying again. “Um. What if she won’t donate a second time?”

Jamie’s grip on her hand firmed up again.

“That’s not usually an issue, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? There are other options. That one’s just my preferred one.” He stood. “I’ll go get the medical assistant, and we’ll be back to do that biopsy.”

The door clicked quietly with his exit, and Jamie immediately pulled her into his arms. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It’s okay,” he said, rubbing circles on her back. “Shh.”

Her throat ached and her eyes burned. “I thought I was done with all this.” She broke down again, and with one arm still around her, Jamie leaned to the side to grab a box of tissues.

“I’m so sorry.” He hugged her tighter. “But I’ll be here, no matter what happens. You’re not in this alone, okay?”

Sniffing, she nodded. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He wiped her cheeks with a tissue and kissed her hair.

Elliott wiped her nose and tipped her head back. Jamie’s lashes were damp, and he brushed his thumb across her cheekbone.

“Carly . . .”

Jamie smoothed her hair back, gripping the back of her head gently. “Don’t worry about that.”

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