Outer space | klance au |

31: chai tea

"You have to at least try it," Romelle whined and tugged at his sleeve. Lance let her as he studied the cart's menu, he didn't feel bad taking his time because no one was waiting behind him. "I promise it's good!" She emphasized her point with another slight tug. The barista watched the exchange waiting for the indecisive Lance to finally pick something. The offer of a surprise drink seemed more appealing now as the minutes dragged on.

"It's not coffee though so what would be the point?" Lance sighed and looked at his best friend. Chai tea wasn't really the issue. He didn't want to do his rounds and if he took any longer they'd be late. Romelle made an exasperated sound at his question.

"Allura has me obsessed with it and you trust Allura right?" She said and Lance sighed deeply before ordering the drink. They waited in mostly silence as Romelle rambled excitedly about the album she had just preordered the night before. He half listened, his mind already wandering to his patients and a nervous worried filled him. She seemed to sense this and made a grab at his hand.

There was a slight pause as the blonde woman thought of what to say. "She's okay," Romelle smiled. It was pained but it was still a smile. "She's alive and she will get over it. These sort of things just happen." With a final squeeze, Romelle let Lance's hand go. His drink was ready and despite the barista's warning, Lance took a sip. It burned his taste buds but he didn't grimace. Allura was right, it did taste good.

They walked together and boarded the elevator with light conversation. Kaltenecker was waiting by the nurses station for them. He didn't waste time with a greeting but nodded for them to follow. They set down their cups on the light counter and waved to Queenie before following their attending.

The room was silent as they walked in. Narti looked startled as she heard them approach. "Go ahead." Dr. Kaltenecker said gruffly. He always seemed to shut down as they entered the room.

Lance's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't find his words and Kaltenecker seemed to sense his panic. The older doctor put a hand on Lance's shoulder in a comforting way. "Narti Vega," Romelle began. "Thirty-year-old female. Presented with a cerebellar tumor and early stages of papilledema. The mass was successfully removed but now seems to be experiencing post-op complications." Romelle said blankly. Lance wished he didn't feel as much as he did. His chest hurt. An impending sadness hung over him. He was waiting for it to come crashing down on him just like when he lost Claire.

"Complications," Dr. Kaltenecker mused as he stepped forward to look through her chart. "Go. McClain." He let the paper fall back as he looked at Narti who waited expectantly.

"Patient is experiencing bilateral blindness with no signs of improvement," Lance said tasting the words as he uttered them. Narti flinched at every single one of them.

Kaltenecker brought out his light and quickly flashed it before her eyes. He shut it off. "Can you see the light?" He asked.

"If I say yes will you stop subjecting me to lumbar punctures?" The woman asked and although her voice had a teasing tone the oppressive sadness in the room wore it down. They didn't laugh.

"Trick question. The light isn't on." Kaltenecker sighed. "We can try drug therapies now. It will rule out nerve entrapment. The scans came back clean." The older doctor sighed.

"I told you it there was no way you could have made a mistake during the surgery," she grinned. Her eyes darted all over the area Dr. Kaltenecker was in like she was trying to find him in the dark. "But it sounds like you're saying you got the entire tumor out," Narti said excitedly but no one else shared her enthusiasm.

"It cost you your eyes." Dr. Kaltenecker said softly. Lance bit his lip. He felt like he was interrupting this moment between them. The younger male wanted to be anywhere but there. Romelle watched carefully.