Maine was standing outside Sebastian's room, watching him through the glass window, silent tears still trailing down her face. She reached out one hand and touched the glass, tracing her son's face through the window.
"You'll be all right, baby. Andito lang si mommy," she whispered. "Andito lang kami ng daddy. Please be alright."
She then felt a strong pair of arms circle her shoulders and she knew that it was RJ from his scent and presence alone. She leaned into him and sighed, thankful that he was being the strong one in this situation. Well, he always was in every situation.
"Uwi na muna tayo, Meng," he quietly murmured, turning his head slightly to plant a kiss on her hair.
She shook her head in response. "Ayoko, paano kung may mangyari kay Baste habang wala tayo? Paano kung kelangan na nandito lang tayo for any decision? Paano kung --?"
"Meng, love," RJ cut her off. "Baste is in an induced coma. Hindi siya magigising unless tanggalin sya sa pagkakatulog. Plus Sam is his attending doctor. You know he would call us if anything changes," he explained while trying to steer her away from Baste's room.
Maine looked at RJ helplessly. She hated feeling this way. She hated that she couldn't do anything for her son. She used to be the answer to all his hurts and problems. Now, she was helpless, unable to do anything but trust her son's doctors including her husband.
"Tara na," RJ told her, smiling, trying to convince her to come away with him. "Buong gabi na tayong nandito. Let's grab something to eat, take a few moments to rest and then we'll come back, ok?"
She nodded and allowed herself to be steered away from her son's ICU room. She was looking towards Baste's room as she started to walk beside her husband on the way to the elevators, his arm still around her shoulders.
Maine noticed, however, that something wasn't right with RJ. He was walking rigidly, his jaw tense, his whole posture stiff even as he turned towards her and gave her a nervous smile. Once they entered the elevator and he pushed the button towards the ground floor, she touched his arm and asked, "Love, what's wrong? Ano nga palang nangyari sa paguusap niyo ni Sam? Kumusta findings kay Baste?"
RJ's stiff posture became even more tense if that was possible. He let out a shaky breath, closed his eyes and touched his temple, bowing his head when Maine started to rub his back comfortingly. "What is it, love? Is it bad?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. "Please tell me that it's not that bad."
The elevator dinged, signaling that they arrived at the first floor of the hospital. RJ let Maine go out ahead of him and they walked silently towards the parking lot all the way to RJ's car with Maine looking at RJ every now and then, the frown and worry still showing on her brow. When they reached RJ's car - Maine rode in the passenger seat when RJ told her to just leave her car in the hospital for the time being.
Once inside and buckled, RJ drove – his eyes on the road with his hand gripping the steering wheel tight. Maine took a deep breath. She knew that, most likely, there was something that her husband found out about their son's condition. Otherwise – he wouldn't be acting this way. "Love, you're scaring me. Anong nakita niyo kay Baste?"
RJ didn't answer immediately. He started grinding his teeth, his ears starting to get red – a sure sign that whatever it was – it wasn't good. He was looking straight ahead while driving but turned slightly towards Maine to smile a little. "Wala naman, love. He's going to be fine."
"I don't believe you. Please, love. The truth?"
RJ sighed, turning towards the parking lot close to North Park, the only open restaurant at that time. "Kain muna tayo, Meng. I'll tell you over dinner. Hindi ka pa kumakain simula kanina."
Maine hung her head and just nodded in response. What could she do? She couldn't very well argue with her husband at that moment, right? And he would tell her if there was anything that was really alarming. For sure, he was just acting that way because Baste was their son and who wouldn't get affected by what you find out especially if the patient was of your blood and kin.
When they were seated comfortably in a booth and was done ordering, Maine reached out to hold RJ's hand, squeezing it lightly. She gazed at him questioningly, waiting for him to speak up. She knew he would talk eventually, he just needed to find the right words.
"Where to start?" he finally spoke, sighing. "Ayun na nga – lumabas na yung MRI brain scans ni Baste. Everything looks pretty normal, wala naman siyang head injury that we should be worried about, wala namang internal bleeding from where he hit his head. Bukas actually, pwede na natin siyang tanggalin sa induced coma, let him heal on his own."
At this statement, Maine smiled and squeezed RJ's hand once more, subtly telling him to continue as she knew he wasn't done and that he wanted to tell the good news first before delving into the bad. She was bracing herself for whatever it was, hoping that it really wasn't that bad.
"There were a couple of scans however na hindi ko maintindihan," RJ frowned while explaining, his hold on Maine's hand suddenly tightening. "No, that's not right. Hindi sa hindi ko siya maintindihan," at this statement, he released Maine's hand and started rubbing his temple. "More like – hindi ko alam bakit kay Baste may ganon. I have to double check with another neurologist friend of mine sa Cedar Sinai sa LA kung ano sa tingin niya yung mga scans na yun."
"What were your initial findings, love?" Maine asked quietly.
RJ sighed once more and looked up straight towards her. He didn't speak for a minute especially since their waiter just came with their ordered food. For a moment, both of them delved into their noodle soups albeit without any gusto. Both of their minds were with their son back at the hospital.
After a few bites, Maine put down her spoon with RJ looking up at her once more, frowning. "You didn't finish your food, Meng," he observed.
"Hindi ko na kayang kumain pa," she replied, getting her glass of water and taking a sip.
"You need your strength. Madaling araw na at wala ka pang kinain simula kaninang hapon when you got to the hospital."
"Wala na nga akong gana," she reiterated. "I'm fine. Wag ako ang isipin mo. Isipin mo yung anak natin. Ano ba yung initial findings mo? Kanina ka pa nagpapaligoy-ligoy. Hindi ko na alam kung anong iisipin ko dito."
"Love, it's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that – I don't want to tell you because I'm not sure yet kung ano man yung nakita ko," RJ replied, resigned.
"Just tell me. Please."
RJ took a deep breath, slowly releasing it after, trying to gather the courage to tell Maine of whatever it was that he saw in his son's MRI brain scans. "The last two scans of Baste showed me something that I didn't think I will see, especially on our son."
Maine was at the edge of her seat, hanging onto RJ's words, not saying anything at that moment. She didn't realize she was holding her breath not until RJ pointed it out.
"Meng, breathe," he told her. "Tandaan mo, hindi pa ako sigurado dito. Kaya nga kailangan ko ng isa pang opinion other than mine and Sam's."
"RJ... Please, just say it."
"His scans tell me that our son has a brain disease. A degenerative brain disease. I don't know what kind yet and that's what I intend to find out para malaman ang pwede nating gawin to stop it."
A brain disease? Baste? My baby boy?! No, that's impossi – NO!
