Free Feel Like Makin' Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3) by Barbara Stewart

“I like hearing that laughter! What’s funny?”
    Matthew and Geni looked at the bowl Carlee pointed to, and Andy explained as Carlee ate some of the eggs and sausage.
    After ward, Carlee explained the tests she’d had that morning and some of the conversation with the doctor. She wasn’t ready to get into the deep thoughts with them – not until she needed to.
    An hour or so later, there was a knock on the door. Doctors Saunders, Mellan , and Withborne all entered. Carlee held her breath – the sight of all of them at once scared her. Geni and Andy were in chairs on opposite sides of the bed, and Matthew was on the bed beside her watching TV.
    Carlee took Matthew’s hand in hers and tried to suppress her fears by speaking first. “Good morning fellas!”
    They s miled in reply, and Dr. Mellan took the lead. “We have some things to go over with you,” he told her and looked around the room.
    “They need to hear anything you have to say,” Carlee replied.
    “We’ll start with what we can rule out; this is not vertigo It’s not anything to do with your ears, in fact.” Dr. Withborne said. “We asked a neurologist to take a closer look at the MRI.”
    Neurologist , Carlee heard again and felt bile from her breakfast in her throat. Matthew squeezed her trembling hand.
    “ He saw something he wants to explore,” the doctor continued. “We’ll be sending you for another MRI as well as a CT scan as soon as he gets everything together. He wants to zero in on a certain area to get a better look.”
    “Better look at what?” Carlee asked cautiously as the others looked on.
    Andy was on the edge of his seat, nervously waiting. Geni watched as he wrung his hands.
    “There appears to be a mass in the front part of your brain.” He pointed to the top of his head to give them an idea. “We didn’t see it from the original MRI, but a more trained eye saw it right away. The location is most likely what caused the nausea. I don’t think the fainting was a seizure; I think you were just worn out from all that vomiting. It appears somewhat small; we’ll do different views on the MRI, and then we can look into what we need to do next.”
    “Mass?” Andy choked on the word.
    “Papa, all of you, we’re going on the ‘we aren’t worrying until we know what to worry about’ protocol until we know something definite.” She said the words calmly, but her own fears were strangling her inside.
    “Any questions to this point?” the doctor asked.
    “Not yet,” Carlee said.
    “ I’ll see you again with Dr. Lincoln, the neurologist, after the MRI and CT scan results are back,” Dr. Saunders told them.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    After the trio of doctors left, the room was quiet for a while, none of them knowing what to say or ask.
    Finally , it was Carlee who broke the deafening silence. “Look here. Every one of us has seen those kids at camp who go through worse than this and come out on the other side strong and healthy. So, stop the moping. I mean it! I can’t even think of any of this, can’t process any of it, if you can’t be strong with me!” she all but shouted the words.
    The door to her room opened and the nurse entered. “ ‘Scuse me, I need to get a new IV going; can you give us a few minutes?” No one wanted to leave, but the nurse noticed that for Carlee it seemed a relief to have them gone for a few minutes.
    “Hatchet, what’s this one?” Carlee asked in a tired voice, looking up at the bag of liquid.
    “Steroid,” she replied.
    “For what?”
    “ To assure no swelling in your brain so they can get pretty pictures,” she replied with a comforting smile. “They told me there wasn’t much fluid. That’s a good thing, if you want to know.”
    “Thank you,” Carlee said.
    “You’re trying to be strong for them,” the nurse said as she was getting the drip going. When she completed the task, she sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t forget about you.”
    “Thanks , Hatchet,” Carlee