"What's going on?" Dylan asked as the nurse came out into the hallway.
"We're taking her off her meds and fluids. Shouldn't be more than another half hour or so before she's released."
"Released?" Dylan frowned, totally confused. "What happened? Did we get the biopsy results back or something?"
A mild nod. "We got them in this morning, yes."
And based on the flat tone, the results weren't good. Still, she had to ask, because she really didn't want to imagine the worst. "I'm not sure I understand. If you're taking her off fluids and medication, does that mean she's going to be all right?"
The nurse's expression fell a bit. "You haven't talked with her yet..."
Dylan glanced over her shoulder into the room. Her mother was sitting on the edge of her bed facing the window as she put on a sky blue cardigan sweater. She was fully dressed, hair combed and styled. Looking like she was ready to walk out of the hospital any minute.
"Why is my mother being released?"
The nurse cleared her throat. "I, um...I really think you need to talk with her about that, okay?"
As the woman left, Dylan scrubbed her hands with the alcohol gel and went inside.
"Mom?"
She pivoted on the bed and gave her a big, happy smile. "Oh! Dylan. I didn't expect to see you back so soon, baby. I would have called you later."
"Good thing I came when I did. I just heard they're letting you go home in a few minutes."
"Yes," she replied. "Yes, it's time. I don't want to stay here anymore."
Dylan didn't like the resignation in her mother's voice. It was too light, too accepting.
It sounded a lot like relief.
"Your nurse just told me the biopsy came back this morning."
"Let's not talk about that." She waved her hand dismissively and walked over to the table where the now opened box of chocolates sat. She picked up the candies and held them out to Dylan. "Try one of these truffles. They're delicious! Gordon brought them for me last night - in fact, he was here just minutes after you left. I wish you had waited so you could meet him. He wants to meet you, Dylan. He was very interested when I told him that you're going to need a new job - "
"Oh, Mom. You didn't," Dylan groaned. It was bad enough her mother had bragged to her boss about Dylan's story regarding the mountain cave, but to have her trying to find Dylan a job from her hospital bed was too much.
"Gordon has connections with a lot of important people in the city. He can help you, baby. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could help you land something with one of the big news companies?"
"Mom," Dylan said, more forcefully now. "I don't want to talk about a job, or about Gordon Fasso, or anything else. All I want to talk about is what's going on with you. Obviously, the test results weren't good. So, why are you being released today?"
"Because that's what I want." She sighed, and walked over to Dylan. "I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want any more tests, or tubes, or needles. I'm tired, and I just want to go home."
"What did the doctors say? Can we talk with them about the biopsy results?"
"There's nothing more they can do, sweetheart. Except prolong the inevitable, and only for a little while."
Dylan lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "What if I told you that I know someone who might be able to make you healthy?"
"I don't want any more treatments. I'm done - "
"This wouldn't be anything like that. It's a kind of...alternative healing. Something you can't get in a hospital. It's not a guarantee, but there is a chance that you could be cured completely. I think it might be a good chance, Mom. I think it might be the only one..."
Her mother smiled gently as she laid her cool fingers against Dylan's cheek. "I know how hard this is for you, baby. I do. But the choice is mine to make, on my own. I've had a full life. I'm not looking for miracles now."
"What about me?" Dylan's voice was thick. "Would you try it...for me?"
In the long silence that answered, Dylan tried desperately to hold back the sob that was rising up in her throat. Her heart was cracked in pieces, but she could see that her mother's mind was made up. It had probably been made up long before this moment. "Okay," she said finally. "Okay, then...tell me what you want me to do, Mom."
"Take me home. Let's have lunch together, and some tea, and let's just talk. That's what I'd really like right now, more than anything."
Chapter Thirty-two
Rio didn't hear from Dylan again until late that afternoon. When his cell phone went off in his pocket, he was in the lab with Lucan, Gideon, Niko, and Chase, the five of them discussing Gerard Starkn's apparent snow job and how the Order could best take control of things with the Gen One situation. He excused himself from the meeting and took Dylan's call out in the corridor.
"What's wrong?" It wasn't much of a greeting, but he could sense her upset on the other end as soon as the call connected and the feeling went through him like live electricity. "Are you okay?"
There was a pause, then: "I'm okay, yeah. I'm going to be okay eventually, I think."
"How is your mother?"
"Tired," Dylan said, sounding weary herself. "Oh, Rio...I've been with her all afternoon at her apartment in Queens. She checked herself out of the hospital today, and she's refusing any further treatment. She wants to...she doesn't want to live anymore, Rio. She's made up her mind about that."
He swore softly, feeling Dylan's anguish like it was his own. "Did you tell her about Tess?"