Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Second Chances (Bryce x Kyra)

Summary: WhenKyra returns from her world trip to work at Edenbrook again, she wonders aboutwhat could have been and what could be.

With one diagnosis Kyra Santana's life had been turned upside down. She had been 22 and had recently graduated with a degree in accounting. When a seasonal cold and cough had refused to clear, she visited her doctor to get stronger antibiotics. After all, that had worked well before.

What followed was a barrage of blood tests, X-rays, CAT scans and procedures that Kyra had never even heard of. The final diagnosis was that she had a rare type of lung cancer with a tiny rate of survival. The doctors told her they would do everything they could, but she should get her affairs in order.

Kyra remembered sitting there in disbelief, her mom and sister beside her, each placing their hand on hers as silent tears tracked down their faces. She recalled the fog that took over her brain as the doctor explained next steps. Chemotherapy was mentioned and that's when fear took hold that this was her life now.

Over the next few months, Kyra went through denial, pain and guilt that she could have done something different in her life. Anger at why her when others her age were living their lives fully, followed by bargaining with the higher powers to let this not be real, and then deep depression when nothing worked. It got so bad that getting out of bed to go for chemo became impossible.

Eventually, as grief turned to acceptance, she realized that if this was her life she was going to live it on her terms, not her cancer's. She'd fought like hell, sometimes it felt like that was all that kept her going. And then her cancer had started to retreat, little by little, and her doctors started to become hopeful.

By the time Kyra Santana met Cassie Valentine and the latest cohort of residents at Edenbrook Hospital, she had been in remission for almost six months. But ever mindful of how short life could be, Kyra fought for every moment as if it was her last and therefore as equally precious as her first.

When Ines had told her that her cancer was back, Kyra had shut down. Tired of fighting and always losing. It was Cassie's bone-deep stubbornness that had gotten her to see the light and restart treatment. And Bryce Lahela's unshakeable confidence and undeniable talent a year later that had rid her of cancer once and for all.

Large swaths of her lungs and heart had been replaced by an artificial material, but she was still alive and cancer-free. That's when she'd decided to live her life to the fullest. She'd quit her job and bought a one-way ticket to Copenhagen to start her world tour as a digital nomad.

She'd worked odd jobs if she needed extra cash while also working with her stateside clients virtually from wherever her feet landed. Have internet, will work had been her motto.

But the pangs of homesickness had eventually hit, and she'd found herself missing her life and her friends. She could also admit to being bored and unchallenged by the carefree life she was living.

Eighteen months after she'd left Boston, she walked through the glass doors into Edenbrook's soaring atrium. The changes to the hospital had her standing still, awestruck. Gone were the old vinyl counters and aging furniture with sagging plants dotted here and there for some color.

She knew from her texts with Cassie about the changes that had taken place, but she had never imagined this. This was modern and new, a hospital of the future, and as alien to her as some of the places she'd visited. This was no longer the hospital where she'd spent her 20s fighting the fight.

Kyra checked into the visitor's desk and clipped the badge to her jacket. Making her way to the elevator bank dedicated to the administrative floors, she took in other changes.