We Band of Brothers (A Niall Horan Cancer Fic)

Chapter 3 - Just a Dream

*Two days later, Niall's hospital room*

Niall

Isn't it funny how one small, six letter word, can change your life in the blink of an eye? One moment your young, healthy, living the dream, and the next everything has changed.

" I'm sorry to inform you of this Mr. Horan, but you have leukemia. "

I just stared at the doctor, not fully comprehending what she had just said.

" Leu..leukemia..but..but that's..." I stuttered, my breath hitching in my throat.

" Cancer." The woman supplied, her tone solemn.

Cancer.

The word seemed to echo in my ears, and I just kept thinking that there had to be some kind of mistake, a mix up in the lab work, something. It was impossible. I was only nineteen years old, I had my whole life ahead of me still..I didn't even feel sick until the food poisoning! It couldn't be true. It just didn't make any sense!

" So...what happens now?" I heard someone ask.

Louis. I'd forgotten the others were here with me. I glanced over at them, my stomach clenching at their pale, worried expressions. The doctor seemed to hesitate before answering.

" Well from here we would normally begin to talk about your treatment regimen." She stated, glancing down at her shoes.

"You mean chemo...right?" Harry asked.

She nodded.

My throat suddenly went dry. I had heard of chemotherapy before. I knew what it could do to people.

" What's that?" Louis asked, confused.

" Well it's what we normally use to treat different types of cancers, to help people go into remission." The doctor explained.

" What all is it supposed to do?"

It was Zayn who asked the question this time.

" Chemotherapy is basically used as a poison to kill of the blasts, or cancer cells,in a patient's body. Now because chemotherapy is technically a poison to the human body, it is known to have some pretty nasty side effects." She explained, glancing around at each of us.

" What kind of side effects?" Harry asked, looking puzzled.

" The most common side effects of this drug are nausea, vomiting, headache, fever, chills, and hair loss. You may also experience a sore throat and mouth sores while being treated with it." She replied, a hint of sympathy in her tone.

The room was quiet as her words sank in. My heart seemed to be in my throat as fear settled in the pit of my stomach.

" What happens if I don't do the treatment?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Niall, if you don't go through with the treatment, you will most certainly die. With the treatment though, your chances of survival are greatly increased." The doctor replied, a very serious expression on her face.

I took a deep breath. This just couldn't be happening. This wasn't real, this was just a dream, just a very bad dream. A thought occurred to me.

" What about the tour?" I whispered.

" Yeah, will he be able to receive treatment while we're traveling?" Zayn asked.

" Will he even be able to perform?" Liam added.

The doctor shook her head.

" I'm really sorry lads. Niall is going to need to stay put while he completes his treatment. You have to understand, during the duration of the treatment, Niall is most likely going to be fatigued, sick, and above all that, he will have next to no immune system. It's just going to be too risky for him to travel for

awhile. "

I lowered my head, fixing my eyes on the I.V in the back of my left hand.This was it. The others would go on tour without me. The fans would eventually forget my absence, and my career would be over before it had really even started.

"Have fun with the tour lads, don't forget to bring back a few T-shirts. " I said, tears threatening to form in my eyes.

I suddenly felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up and met Harry's kind green eyes.

" Niall, mate, we aren't going on this tour without you." He stated, a gentle smile on his lips.

"But..but this our first tour! This is major!" I exclaimed, staring at him in utter shock.

"Well it's going to have to wait." Liam agreed.

" Yeah mate, we aren't going to leave you to fight this on your own." Louis chimed in.

I simply said nothing. There really wasn't anything to say. I had the best mates any person could ever have, and for that I was incredibly thankful.

"So what do we do from here?" I asked, looking at the doctor once more.

" Well where do you all normally stay when your not on tour?" She asked, looking around at us patiently.

"We have a flat in London." Zayn answered, his voice quiet.

"Good, you lads will be able to stay there while Niall completes his treatments." She stated.

" We can transfer your medical records to the hospital there for your oncologist to review." She added thoughtfully.

I nodded. I couldn't speak. I wasn't sure I was ready for any of this.

"So what now?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly.

" Well we're going to perform a few more tests here over the next few days, so that we can determine which type of leukemia we're dealing with, and then you'll be discharged. After that you'll get back to London so you can discuss your treatment plan with your doctors." She replied.

I let out a long sigh.

"What sort of tests?" I asked, dreading the answer.

" Well, we'll need to do a bone marrow aspiration, which is where we'll extract some of the marrow from your hip bone so we can get get a better look at your stem cells, and an MRI, which is is just going to let us know if there is anything else we should be concerned about, aside from your cancer." She explained.

" OK..." I said, glancing at my hands. "Let's do this."

The doctor nodded.

"Alright, well if any of you have any questions or concerns, you can contact me through the nurses station. I'm Dr.Miller, by the way. Otherwise, if you lads are good for now, I have some other patients to attend to."

And with that, she walked out, shutting the door behind her.

I sank back against my pillows and closed my eyes, thinking about all that had just happened. My life was completely changed in an hour, maybe less. One word had just turned my world upside down.

One word.

Cancer.

I have cancer.

A/N-Finally! At long last Chapter 3 has arrived! I'm really sorry for the late update, but I have had a lit going on the last couple weeks. Anyways, comment and vote! Let me know what you think guys!! More to come soon!
*DayDreamer236*