[IC] [LAU] Taslin - (Lady A & Char)

[Lady Absinthia]

~slight time jump from Best Exotic~

It had been weeks since Natasha had run smack dab right into her past. It was a lot to wrap her mind around under the best of circumstances, even more difficult now that she was in the middle of another round of Chemotherapy. The first few days she felt almost hopeful. She wasn't as sick as the first time she had been through this but things had quickly changed after that.

Each day was another round, each day she came back to the room she was now sharing with Lincoln a little sicker, a little weaker. It started off simple enough; some nausea, some vomiting, then crawling in bed and trying to sleep it off. Though as the days and weeks passed it got worse. This morning worse than some. She had woken up in the middle of the night, trying not to wake Lincoln as she rushed to the bathroom as her stomach tried to evacuate everything she had ever eaten.

By the time she had calmed down her gag reflex enough not to be hugging the basin she was too exhausted to move and did what she was starting to do many nights; sleep on the bathroom floor. It became morning and she still lay there. She looked so frail now, having lost so much weight she was nearly skeletal now, patches of her hair had fallen out, her cheeks and eyes sunken in, her skin now sickly with dark rings under her eyes. And to think she had surgery in just a few days.

[Charnobylisk]

The sounds of Tasha retching in the bathroom were a familiar sound, one that Lincoln was more accustomed to but was still unable to sleep completely through. He rolled over and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling as he listened to her expel the contents of her stomach once again. Recognition of her spew-fest coming to an end, Lincoln waited for those moments to see if she was going to be able to make her own way back to bed. He never liked forcing her to accept his help so instead allowed her the chance to decide if she had enough energy to get herself where she needed to be. The fact that she could even make it to he bathroom under her own steam still amazed Lincoln. She was so strong.

Waking from a mild moment of light sleep and knowing that the silence meant that she was probably passed out on the floor again, Lincoln threw the blanket down to the bottom of the bed and swung his legs over the side of the mattress. He rubbed his face, his fingers kneading gently at his eyes, and let out a yawn as he pulled himself up and onto his feet. He glanced down at his torso and saw the remnants of the last bruises from his introduction to Murphy. The memory of that day still filled Lincoln with all kinds of emotions. He'd found Tasha and discovered why she had left him all that time ago then... he bit his lip as he recalled their reunion but quickly shook the thoughts away as he realised how inappropriate it was.

He quietly made his way towards the bathroom and saw Tasha curled on the floor like a lost puppy. He felt the frown creasing his brow and let out a gentle sigh. "C'mon Taser, time to get comfortable..." He spoke softly as he ducked down and slid his arms under her neck and knees. He effortlessly lifted her from the floor and curled her body into his as he carried her back to bed. He gently set her on the mattress and positioned her comfortably on her side, her head resting on the pillow. Running his hand over her hair, he gently stroked the patches of skin that were showing through. He leaned in towards her and kissed each patch that was visible to him before pulling the blanket up and over her body.

She had always been slim but this was different. He could see every bump made by bone pressing against her stretched skin. Kneeling down beside the bed, Lincoln continued to watch her and stroked her hair down as he hummed gently under his breath. He definitely didn't have the ability to sing like Tasha did but he could at least give her some comforting tones to hopefully help her rest easier through the remainder of the early morning hours.

[Lady Absinthia]

Natasha's eyes creased open as she heard Lincoln's voice. Her lips parting to try to speak but her throat was raw and her mouth was parched. The best she could mutter was a gravely hoarse noise that was supposed to be "thank you." sealing her lips she closed her eyes, whimpering slightly as he picked her up, lacing her arms over his shoulders as her head rolled like a rag doll to rest on his chest; tucking her head beneath his chin.

She was in pain, her body feeling like it was burning; as if she had worked out far too hard for far to long. Yet, despite the burning and pain she was freezing to the bone. Her teeth chattering as she curled up on her side when he laid her down. Her skin though was hot to the touch. It seemed in the night a fever had set in. They had been warned that this could happen. Her immune system was shot, she couldn't fight off even the most benign of infections at this point.

Feeling Lincoln trying to comfort her she sighed lightly. She had never wanted him to see her like this but there was no hiding it now. Even if she had had the strength to carry on and try to put up a facade, the physical effects were all too clear. Looking up to him weakly her dry cracked lips thinned. "Hos..pital" she managed to croak out like a drunken frog. She had another round of Chemotherapy that afternoon, but the fever made it clear she needed to go in early.

[Charnobylisk]

Nodding in acknowledgement of her words, Lincoln stood up and quickly got himself dressed. He grabbed one of his sport bottles, the one with the inbuilt straw, from the fridge and checked that it was full enough with water. Satisfied he stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans and then slipped his arms through his shirt. He didn't bother buttoning it up yet and made his way to Tasha. "C'mon Sunshine, I got ya. Time for the not so magical, definitely not a mystery, tour to the hospital as requested." He lifted her once more and tucked her up into him again before realising he had forgotten the grab bag. "Aw shoot. Okay, we'll get you to the car and then I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail with the grab bag."

He quickly but carefully made his way out of the room with her in his arms, the room door was never locked these days, and carried her out to her truck. He gently placed her in the seat and made sure she wouldn't fall over before running off back to his room to snatch up the grab bag. He threw it over his shoulder before running full pelt back to the truck. He was glad it was early enough in the morning that none of the other guests were up and staring. He didn't think Tasha would forgive him for leaving her out there alone otherwise.

He made it back to the truck and threw the bag in the back before jumping inside himself. He made sure Tasha was comfortable and secure before starting up the engine and pulling out from the hotel parking area. He glanced down to Tasha and gave her a gentle smile, as if everything was going to be okay. Truth was though, Lincoln was terrified beyond all means.

[Lady Absinthia]

Tasha nodded slightly as he got ready, rolling to her side and megarly pushing herself into a half sitting position as she yelped out in pain. God she hated this. It was about at this point last time that she had been moved into the hospital for the rest of her treatments. Back then she had no one to help her, now that she did though she wondered if it was the right choice.

As Lincoln dropped her off in the truck and went back for the bag she stared blankly out at the hotel they called home. The last week's had been strange. She wanted to mend what they had gone through but her cancer had made her try to keep her distance some. It was hard, he was there taking care of her, he slept next to her. She just wanted to stay curled in his arms constantly, she wanted to make plans for the future, but how could she even bring it up when she couldn't even walk back to bed most nights?

Seeing him come back she just sat there, staring out as the city as it passed by and waited for him to park and get her into the ER for now. Her fever was spiking and she felt frozen to the bone, her teeth chattering as she reached out for him to take her inside. She knew the hospital would try to get her in a wheel chair or on a gurney as quickly as possible.

[Charnobylisk]

The drive was silent, they always were, but Lincoln was never going to push her to do anything that she didn't have the energy to do. He just wanted to help her, be there for her now since he couldn't before. He'd do everything that was in his power to make possible for her. Parking up and shutting off the engine, Lincoln jumped out, grabbed the bag, slung it over his shoulder and then moved around to get hold of Tasha and carried her inside. He nudged the truck door shut with his back and carried her inside.

He nodded to the nurses at the station and made his way forward. He kept Tasha close to him as if he'd never get to hold her again. "Good morning ladies. Is Doctor Kumar on duty?" He saw one of the nurses making her way around with a wheelchair which she brought towards them but Lincoln simply smiled and nodded before looking back to the nurse that was checking the roster for the doctors. "Yes. You want I should call?"

Lincoln nodded and thanked the nurses for their help. He glanced to the wheelchair and then down to Tasha before carefully tightening his grip on her. He wasn't putting her down until he needed to. Right now she seemed content against him and, despite her fever, he could feel her shaking as if she were frozen. No way was he putting her into a rickety, old, bumpy wheelchair right now. He watched as the nurse spoke in Hindi down the phone and smiled when she made eye contact with him. Come ooon... you can see she's in a lot of pain right now! Get the finger out... It was really hard not to yell out when Tasha's health and comfort was on the line.

[Lady Absinthia]

The nurse hung up the phone and looked over at the empty wheel chair. It seemed that he wasn't putting the doctor down. "This way, I need to get her vitals," the nurse said as she lead Lincoln to a seat back in triage where he could sit down and keep a hold of Natasha. Tasha closed her eyes as she was held in his arms, it was one of the few things that comforted her anymore.

The nurse took her hand, setting the pulse ox meter on her finger before slipping the blood pressure cuff on. Then it fell off. Tasha's arm was far too thin now and she had to end up switching the adult cuff off for one meant for a child. Turning on the automatic blood pressure monitor she handed Tasha the thermometer for her to stick under her own tongue. It wasn't long until vitals were taken and they weren't good. Heart rate was up, pressure was down and her fever was sitting over 104.

Dr. Kumar came in near the end and shook his head. "Lincoln, we need to take her to ICU for a heavy does of intravenous antibiotics and such. She'll need an x-Ray, blood panels, the works," he said as he motioned over to a gurney. "Know you don't want to but you have to lay her down there. Don't worry, well take care of her and you can stay by her side."

[Charnobylisk]

It was hard to watch as things got attached to her one by one. It was made even worse when he saw the cuff was too big now. Surely she hadn't lost that much weight? He glanced down and saw how easily the child one fit and he stifled a small gasp as he realised that she really was withering away to nothing. He knew enough about vital checks to know that things weren't looking good. He chewed the inside of his mouth to stop from asking too many questions and looked up as he saw Doctor Kumar entering.

Lincoln scowled as he realised he would need to put her down. He didn't want to listen but he knew better than to argue with a medical professional... He had first hand experience in that. Standing up slowly, Lincoln carried Tasha over to the gurney and carefully laid her down. He took hold of her left hand and gently kissed the back of it before stroking the side of her face with his other hand. "I'm gonna be right by your side, Tash. Promise." He softly moved the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears before kissing her gently on the forehead. He looked up to Kumar and gave him a deadpan stare. "Okay. Lets get going."

[Lady Absinthia]

Dr. Kumar waited and then got to work once Tasha was on the gurney. It was a whirlwind of activity after that. To ICU for iv's, which took nearly twenty minutes to find a vein that would actually take the line, Tasha holding Lincoln's hand and whimpering with each stick of the needle that refused to find what it needed. To Xray and MRI, where Lincoln had to step out of the room and watch through a window as she was moved this way and that.

Tasha just wanted to close her eyes and sleep but there was nothing she could do to achieve that. All the moving, wheeling about, needles, iv's, tests. One after another, only stopping as they would shove a basin to her as she started wretching again and dry heaving until it subsidised. Then back to the gurney and into a private icu room when she all but collapsed, clutching Lincoln's hand with one of her own, and her other wrapped around the key she wore around her neck still.

Dr. Kumar left them alone for a moment. "I need to go wait on the results of her blood work. I will be back as soon as I know something. For now, make her rest," he told Lincoln before he left. Tasha sighed inwardly as she looked over towards Lincoln, feeling nearly defeated at this point. "I should have made you leave," she choked out as she looked away from him and tried not to let her emotions take over.

[Charnobylisk]

The worst thing was not being able to do anything to help Tasha's comfort. Sure he could hold her hand and stroke her hair but there were some tests, like the x-rays and MRIs that he had to take his leave and watch her through the viewing window as if she were in a goldfish bowl. He despised watching the medical staff poking and prodding at her like the thanksgiving turkey too but he knew it was needed. As soon as Tasha was better Lincoln was going to take her somewhere away from all things medical and modern. Up a mountain sounded good right about now. He'd carry her all the way up if he had to, so long as she got even a single day's worth of peace from doctors and tests.

Every time he felt her hand grasping onto his he had to stop himself from crushing her fingers. He didn't want to cause her more pain but he wanted to hold her so tightly it wasn't even funny. He loved that she still kept and wore the key but he saw how much it hurt her when she had to take it off for the scans. He almost smiled as he saw how fast she tried to move to put the damn thing back over her head at the first given opportunity.

As Doctor Kumar spoke to Lincoln and told him to "make" her rest, he had to bite his tongue from saying something aggressive. He knew the doctor was just trying to help but honest to god... he could be so obtuse with things that he said. As his eyes caught sight of Tasha's, Lincoln moved closer and rested a hand on the top of her head gently. Her words cut, as they always did when she said them, but he kept it buried deep beneath the surface. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Ain't no point worrying on that now. I'm here and that's that." He carefully placed his fingers under her chin and moved her face to face him again. He lightly kissed the tip of her nose and then leaned back, letting her move her head whichever way she wanted to now.

"Who does he think he is anyway? "Make" you rest? Like you've not been trying already? For a smart guy he's a bloody idiot." His thumb gently ran over the crown of her head as he spoke, his voice at a normal level but the tinge of irritation was clear.

[Lady Absinthia]

Tasha sighed some what as she lay there and looked up towards Lincoln, she would hear the irritation in his voice. "He's just trying to help, you know as well as he does that as soon as I feel the least bit of energy up will try to get out of this bed to at least pace the room," she said with a small smirk on her lip, trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

It was a mistake, soon as her lip stretched, the dry tattered skin split and started to bleed. Wincing slightly she reached over and grabbed a tissue from the night stand, pressing it to her lip as she grumbled under her breath. Laying her head back she stared at the ceiling. "Maybe I should just stay here. You shouldn't have to stop you life for this. You could go back to work, have a break, get some real rest," she said without looking at him.

She needed constant care at this point and Lincoln had been her nursemaid since everything started. It had to be getting to him at this point and truth be told she didn't want him seeing her like this constantly. Closing her eyes, she tried to push the thought out of her mind. She didn't want him to see her like this but she didn't want to be away from him. Thing was, it might not be up to her much longer. The door slowly openly and Dr. Kumar poked his head in just long enough to motion for Lincoln to join him in the hallway. He had her results.

[Charnobylisk]

He nodded, knowing full well how right Tasha was. He was only trying to help but he could be a bit more tactful and not assume that his patient was going to... okay, Lincoln realised how stupid of a thought that was and stopped himself. He flinched as Tasha's lips started to bleed and nearly vaulted over the bed to get her the tissue to save her the effort but she was on top of it and he silently chastised himself for being overbearing, even if it was only in his mind. "Yeah... you're right." He smiled as she lay back and looked up to the ceiling as she dabbed at her poor lip.

Did she just suggest...? "No." His voice was firm but held no tone of anger, irritation or the like. It was simply matter of fact and clear in it's intent. He wasn't leaving her side if he had any choice in the matter. Hell, even if he didn't have the choice he'd still fight to stay by her side. He saw Doctor Kumar motioning him over to the hallway. He nodded but turned his attention back to Tasha. "My life stopped the minute you walked out of it. You are my life. I'll be back soon." He nodded his head towards the doctor and smiled down at Tasha. Gently kissing her forehead he pushed himself up on the side of the bed and made his way out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind himself.

"So what's the news? What's next on my learning journey of patient care? I figure finding out how to give her a sponge bath properly is next on the agenda. I can't keep giving her showers in the hotel. Maybe even how to take blood samples myself? Might be easier for me to find a vein if she and I practice finding them together without the constant need of treating her like a pin cushion..." His voice trailed off as he saw the look on the doctor's face. "Sorry, shutting up."

[Lady Absinthia]

Tasha nodded as he left, she knew it couldn't be good if Kumar was pulling Lincoln out to talk to him alone. She felt her stomach knot up, she didn't need to hear it. She knew what was coming, she'd been here before. Closing her eyes tight she let out a stuttered breath, still holding the tissue to her lips as a tear trickled down and sting her cheek.

Kumar waited for Lincoln to finish before he began. "We're passed that point Lincoln," he said before taking a seat in one of the visitors chairs in the hallway. Pulling out the xrays and mri's he looked down at them. "The chemotherapy isn't working as well as we would like, and now she has come down with pneumonia," the doctor explained before handing them over to Lincoln and continuing.

He, as delicately as he could, told Lincoln they were at the end. There was little chance that Tasha would make it out the week. The tumor wasn't shrinking, and with the pneumonia setting in she wasn't strong enough for anymore chemotherapy. Sighing he pulled his glasses off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Our only hope is surgery at this point, to try to remove the tumor. Today. But Lincoln, if we do, it's only a small chance she'll wake up. She won't last a week without it, with it, she probably won't last the night."

Sitting there he shook his head and looked back to Lincoln. "You need to say goodbye."

[Charnobylisk]

The words were there. They sounded like words. Was it English though? Yes, it was English. No, maybe he'd slipped into Hindi? Only some of the words made sense after all and Lincoln could speak English but Hindi he didn't understand fully. Lincoln looked at the prints in his hands and ran his eyes over them. They were familiar and alien all at the same time. These were Tasha? No they couldn't be. They were too small. Too frail. This wasn't his Tasha. No. She was weaker and smaller but she wasn't this bad. There was a mistake, that was the only explanation. Lincoln looked up to Doctor Kumar as he spoke and he just stared. His face was blank, his eyes completely empty.

"I'm sorry, what?" His fingers turned white as he gripped onto the prints in his hands. His legs began to bounce anxiously as he waited for Doctor Kumar to tell him that everything was going to be okay and that Tasha just had to spend a few days in the hospital. It was when the word goodbye left Kumar's lips that Lincoln realised that he had heard everything correctly. His throat dried out, his hands began to sweat and his head became swimmy.

"No. There is no need for a goodbye. No." He stood up and ran his fingers through his hair, his fingers gripping at the strands and tugging a good number of them out. He stalked back and forth a couple of times, his mind swirling with the news before he kicked out and launched his chair across the room. But not before it hit against the leg of Doctor Kumar. It wasn't Lincoln's intention but it definitely made him feel a little better. He knew it wasn't his fault but god fucking damn he needed someone to blame.

[Lady Absinthia]

Dr. Kumar just sat there, giving news like this was never easy and it never got any easier. It was the part of the job he hated the most, to have to look at someone and tell them they need to tell their loved one goodbye. He wanted to fix this, to make it alright. He would try but he knew the odds and he knew it was even worse to give false hope to people. As the chair hit his leg he grimaced but he kept his mouth shut, he knew Lincoln was just venting. Others had done far worse than Lincoln was right now. The chair crashing at down the hall got several people's attention and Dr. Kumar just lifted his hand and motioned for them to go away. He had this.

"You will regret it if you don't Lincoln," was all he could manage to say. Sighing he reached out and picked up the Xrays and the MRI's. Taking a breath he turned as he heard the door to Tasha's room slowly open and the frail woman barely able to stand leaning against the door frame. She looked at Kumar and then Lincoln.

"That bad...," she said, not asking, just simply stating the rather obvious at this point.

"Natasha, you need to be in bed," he said quickly but she just shook her head weakly and held her hand out. Dr. Kumar handed her over the fold with her test results in it and flipped through them quickly. She didn't really need to see them, she knew what was going on. She just felt it. She had been through this before. Yet she didn't know how bad, part of her holding on to a chance. Yet the numbers didn't lie. She knew what this meant. She knew it was the end. There was nothing more to do in her mind. Sure they could do the surgery but the chances were so slim why even bother. She would either die tonight or in a week. Before she had been ready for death, figuring there was nothing left for her and that Lincoln was long gone from her life.

Yet he had walked right back in and was there, there was a chance. She wasn't ready to go now. She wanted this last week. A few more days. She didn't care the pain anymore, she just wanted what ever breaths she had left to be with him and to greedily take as many she could. Her eyes seemed empty as she read over it one more time before closing the file and and with some unknown strength managed to chuck the file down the hallway towards the chair that Lincoln had just thrown. Dr. Kumar took a step back as he watched Tasha standing there, her breath heaving and her tiny body fighting to remain as her jawline clenched.

Curling her fingers into fists, nails biting into her palm of her hands, and let out a blood cuddling scream at the top of her lungs. It was nearly amazing to see that she could manage such a feat considering her condition but it was pure raw emotion right then. Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks as her lips split even more than earlier as she let out all her anger and hopelessness flow out of her before she started to collapse towards the floor in a anger filled lump. Stumbling against the wall as she screamed again, her hands clawing at it as she cried in anguish. Shuddering words of no coming from her lips as she sunk lower to the ground.

[Charnobylisk]

"I'll regret it more if I just accept that this is it!" He stood with hands balled up into fists and stared Doctor Kumar down. He didn't move his gaze until he heard Tasha's feeble voice. Lincoln snapped around and stood, watching Tasha holding her hands out for the folder. His heart beat out for her then, practically jumping out of his throat and across the room towards her but he stayed where he was. He waited until she was done. He'd know when she was finished.

Sure enough the folder went flying down along with his former chair. His eyes quickly snapped back to Tasha and he steadily walked towards her as he eyed her body tightening. What was she... The scream cut through him and his hands flew up to his ears as he winced. He had expected a reaction but not this. He moved forward as quickly as he could and practically slid across the floor as she began to sag down against the frame and slid down towards the floor. He threw himself down on the floor with her and sat in front of her, waiting until she was done getting it out of her system. As soon as the dry heaves started and the words were but a whisper, her energy having faded, Lincoln reached his arms out and took her body against his.

He shifted her body onto his lap as he crossed his legs beneath himself and held her against his chest. His face was wet but he ignored it. His chest was tight and he felt like he would throw up at any given moment but Tasha needed him now and he would hold himself together until the end for her. His comfort was nothing compared to hers. He didn't believe that it was time to say goodbye, he knew in the deepest part of himself that this was not the end. This was only the start of their next chapter it was just like a story to be blissful with an abrupt disruption which then opened up the chapter of difficulties before the run up towards the resolution and happily ever after. This was their chapter of difficulties, that was all. They still had a long way to go.

His free hand stroked her hair down and he hushed and soothed Tasha as best as he could in the circumstances. The people nearby were all staring but he didn't care. Nothing mattered but Tasha. "Shhhh... We're going to get through this. You're strong enough for this. I'll be strong enough for you too. We can do this..." His voice trailed off, that flicker of doubt making it's way past his defences. There was no way to take it back now but he meant what he had said, even if he didn't believe it 100%.

[Lady Absinthia]

Dr. Kumar just stepped away, he knew they needed time but he couldn't give them long. He said something about needing to prep her for surgery soon but Tasha didn't even acknowledge him. She just fell into Lincolns arms and curled up in his lap as she clung desperately to him, her fingers curling against his shirt. She heard what Lincoln was saying but she couldn't believe it. She wouldn't be lucky enough to survive it again, she barely had the first time and things this time were much worse and she felt so much less strong than she had before. So much weaker.

Yet she couldn't say that to him, she had to be strong for him right then. She couldn't let him know she was giving up, that she just didn't have it in her. That she just wanted to take this last week and be with him. That she didn't want the surgery but he sounded so determined that she would survive if she just kept trying. So she would, one last time, one last surgery. Even if it meant saying goodbye behind a closed door when he wasn't there.

"Alright," she said quietly between the stuttering breaths. It only felt like a moment but many minutes passed before a nurse showed up with a wheelchair to take Tasha off to prep for surgery and then for the surgery itself. Tasha blinked away the wetness in her eyes and looked up to Lincoln. It seemed as if she was memorizing his features as she reached out and ran her fingers along the line of his jaw until she pressed her worn lips to his softly and whispering against them. "I love you," was all she could bring herself to say before she was helped into the wheel chair and taken down the hallway.

She knew he couldn't come with her for this, that he couldn't watch the surgery. Turning in her chair she looked back to him as the nurse pushed her around a corner, locking eyes with Lincoln before she was gone and all she was left with was a empty feeling in her chest that that was the last time she would see him.

[Charnobylisk]

He could hardly bear to let her go. He wanted to keep her in his arms and when the wheelchair came around Lincoln was ready to kick that down the hallway too but he knew better. He had put on the brave face for her and he'd keep it on even if it killed him. Her dried and bloodied lips were odd to feel but so welcome in that moment. He kept his arms around her and took in the sight of her as she took in the sight of him. It took all he could not to blubber like a child in that moment. Her voice was quiet but the words so clear that he almost did start with the waterworks. "I love you too..."

Standing up slowly with her still in his arms, he carefully placed her into the chair. The nurse did what she had to to ensure Tasha was comfortable. He hated that he couldn't go with her, he needed to be with her. He needed to let her see him and he had to see her. This wasn't fair! He felt his hands curling back into their familiar fists and his jaw began to clench as his breathing got heavier and harder. Their eyes locked one last time before she was gone. He took a half step forward before Doctor Kumar placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. A small shake of the head and he was off down the hallway after his patient.

He didn't know how long had passed as he stood there, watching the spot where he had last seen her eyes but people were staring. A nurse had moved his chair back to it's spot and asked him if he'd like a drink. He didn't answer. He remained as still as a statue just waiting to see them wheeling her back around the corner, to tell him that everything was wrong and that she was going to be okay. She didn't need surgery. Her chances of survival were higher than expected. Something. But it never came.

His hands slowly loosened and he slipped his hand into his pocket where his cell was. He pulled it out and flicked through his address book until he reached a name that had become more familiar over the last few weeks than he had anticipated. He hit their name then the call button and waited for Murphy to pick up.

[Lady Absinthia]

Murphy rolled over in bed and yawned, stretching out as he heard his phone going off. Opening his eyes he sat up slowly and grabbed his phone, rubbing them with his free hand before grabbing a smoke and lighting it. "Sexy Irish here, what can I do fer ya?" he said, not even bothering to check who it was when he answered. Taking a deep puff of his smoke he stood up, propping the phone up between his shoulder and his ear as he searched around for his shirt. He should have been up already anyways.

Tasha leaned back in the wheelchair as they took her down the hallway, her hands dropping into her lap as she looked around. Dr. Kumar coming up next to her and handing her a tissue for her lips. She patted her bleeding lips and gums as they took her back to prep for surgery. She just sat there quietly, not really listening to what was being said as they situated her on a table and started to shave what little of her hair remained, tendrils of dried brittle hair falling slowly to the ground as the barber clipper cut away the last remaining strands.

She couldn't bring herself to say anything as they switched to a regular razor and cleaned her scalp clean as they could while Dr. Kumar kept talking, telling her how they were going to attack the tumor, how they hoped the surgery would go, yet Tasha wasn't listening her thoughts were all on Lincoln right then as her fingers curled around the key around her neck. Turning as they told her she needed to move over to the gurney so they could take her into surgery she shook her head. "No, not yet. I have to do something first."

[Charnobylisk]

The voice carried from the room into the bathroom and Cass smirked as she brushed her hair out. "Yer full of yersel' Irish!" Her voice called out from her spot in front of the basin and mirror. Since Claire had ditched her a few weeks ago to room with Joel, Cass had struggled with the climate of India. That room on the third floor was a god damn nightmare to sleep in. She'd lasted all of a week before she'd succumbed to the temptations of Murphy's offer to crash in his new digs since he was taking over one of the first floor rooms. The ones that had AC. She could not say no to that.

Taking a deep breath as he heard Murphy's voice and a muttering of Cass's quips Lincoln managed a half smile, at least some things didn't change. After his momentary break in reality Lincoln barely managed to choke out the words he wanted to say as he answered Murphy's question. "Surgery. Today. Help." His voice cracked and broke as he began to sob down the line. He had never felt this helpless in all his life. He had been destroyed when Tasha had left him before but this was new. Last time there was hope to find her again, this time...? He couldn't even bear to think about it.

He stopped his shuddering breaths and calmed himself before pleading to Murphy down the line. "Please... hurry."