#4 Red and Blue Chicago Stripes

Chapter 3: Keeping a Secret

Arabella woke up to the sound of a baby crying. She groaned as she sat up on the couch, remembering where she was. Andrius had asked her to come over and help with the baby, so of course she came. Arabella got up and headed into room across from Andrius'. She picked up Serenity, rocking her back and forth. Andrius walked into the bedroom with a bottle in his hand.

"Thanks for grabbing her," yawned Andrius as he reached for his daughter.

"I got her. Why don't you go start a pot of coffee?" suggested Arabella, wanting to spend time with her niece.

Andrius thanked his sister before heading into his little kitchen. Arabella walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She smiled down at the little girl as she fed her the bottle. She couldn't believe adorable Serenity was. Andrius walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to his sister.

"She's precious, isn't she?" smiled Andrius as he stared down at his daughter.

"She really is," marveled Arabella, "So you have any plans today?"

"It's Saturday and I kind of just found out some big news... so no," sarcastically replied Andrius.

"Don't be an ass. Why don't we go shopping today to get this little lady a proper nursery set up? Because your rickety old crib kinda worries me."

"Relax little sis. I wouldn't put her in danger, but it would be nice for her to have a cute little nursery."

"So we're going shopping?"

"We're going shopping."

Over at Chicago Med, Carson and Skylar were getting their vaccinations for their trip to Uganda. Carly, his sister, was administering the vaccines in one of the exam rooms. There was a knock at the door before it opened, revealing Dr. Kaitlyn Borelli.

"Hey Kaitlyn," greeted Skylar with a smile.

"Hey guys. Dr. Rhodes there's a patient requesting your assistance," informed Kaitlyn, refferring to Carly.

"Ok, can you finish up here?" asked Carly, yanking off her gloves.

"Yes of course. "

Carly walked out the door and headed towards exam room three. She knew exactly what patient Kaitlyn was referring to,  even if Kaitlyn didn't. She walked through the door to see Kristen sitting on the exam table. Carly rubbed some hand sanitizer on her hands before pulling on a pair of gloves.

"How are you feeling Kristen?" asked Carly as she pulled her laptop out.

"I've had better days," joked Kristen, attempting to lighten the mood.

"How's the wedding planning going?"

"We've only planned out a few little details. Brian wants to hold off on our wedding because he doesn't want to be in competition with Carson and my sister. But it works out for me because I wanna be healthier before I marry him."

"I still can't believe you two went to camp together when you were eight and then ended up running into each other ten years later."

"Yeah, I think it's fate. I love him to death and I know he loves me too."

"So did you tell him?"

"Carly... I can't."

"Kristen, you have to tell him. You have cancer for God's sake! I can't be the only one who knows, you need a support system."

"I'm scared Carly. I tell them and this all becomes real," confessed Carly, "And the idea of me having cancer? It terrifies me."

Kristen grit her teeth, tears in her eyes. She was in emotional hell, dealing with this on her own. She knew she had to tell her fiance and her family, but she didn't want to. Carly set her laptop down on the counter before getting up and hugging Kristen. Tears rolled of Kristen's cheeks and into Carly's white lab coat.