Chapter 161
(DISCLAIMER: ALL MEDICAL TERMS MENTIONED IN THIS WORK ARE ENTIRELY FICTIONAL AND DO NOT CORRESPOND TO REAL-LIFE CONDITIONS, DIAGNOSES, OR TREATMENTS.)
Ciel and Sebastian quietly leave the canteen, each step heavy, Ciel with his head lowered, finding the floor more interesting and his shoulders heavy as if the whole world is pressing down on them.
Suddenly, a voice calls behind them.
“Mr. Reid!”
Ciel turns, surprised, and watches as a man in a white coat jogs up with them with a kind smile and a pair of glasses at the bridge of his nose. It takes only a second for Ciel to recognize him.
“Dr. Martin?”
“Yes, yes,” the doctor says, breathless but smiling as I'd he's just found something he's been searching for. “I've been hoping I would run into you. I've been trying to reach you since you ran out of my office weeks ago. I found out you were a celebrity, and I didn't know how to contact you. I'm glad you remember me,” the young doctor flashes him a vast smile that is almost too big for his face.
Ciel blinks in confusion. “You have been searching for me, why?”
Dr. Martin looks between Ciel and Sebastian, then he leans in slightly to whisper. “It's about the pills, you know, the suppressant you brought to me weeks ago. I found out your fiancé has a deadly poison in his body, and here in the hospital, I figured that was why you wanted to know what they did.”
Ciel shares a glance with Sebastian. “Yeah, what about them?”
“Hey, you don't have to panic. I know they are illegal, I'm not about to call the police on you, don't worry,” he chuckles, and that seems to lessen the tension on Ciel's shoulders. He continues. “I've been studying them. My team and I we've been running tests, simulations for weeks, and well, there might be a way to save your fiance. I heard he only has a few weeks to live.”
Ciel jumps in his chest. “What?”
“I said might,” Dr. Martin immediately repeats. “The chances are slim, very slim, but it's not impossible. I didn't want to say anything until we were sure, but he doesn't have much time, but if you are willing to try-”
Ciel cuts him off, grabbing his arm, hope blooming violently inside of him. “Yes, I will try anything. Please, whatever it takes or however long it takes. I just need him to live,”
Dr. Martin gives a little nod, and then his face morphs into a serious one. “Come with me then, let's discuss further in my office,”
They follow him down the corridor and they enter his office, he shuts the door behind them and motions them to sit while he walks over to a cabinet and takes out a thick folder, walking over and laying it on the desk.
He opens it and points at a series of charts and printed results. “We broke down the components of the suppressants. It's incredibly complex, some of the ingredients are borderline illegal, but more than that, they are volatile.”
Ciel frowns in confusion, leaning in. “Volatile, how?”
“The suppressants aren't designed for long-term use. It's meant to stall, not heal. Your fiancé, Mr Laurent, has been surviving on it, but the damage has been piling up in the background,”.
“We already know that. That's why his organs are failing, and he can no longer leave the hospital if he wants to survive an hour longer. What is the plan?” Sebastian goes straight to the point.
Dr Martin takes a deep breath. “We think we can replace the suppressants with a new formula. One that supports the organs instead of numbing them, but the new formula has never been tested on humans. We developed it in theory, based on reverse engineering. There is no guarantee it will work.”
“How are we so sure that this formula isn't just going to kill him in an instant, since you've only developed it in theory and haven't even tested it on humans. Is that even a thing?” Sebastian doesn't sound impressed.
“We could have kept developing it, but I believe we don't have that much time.”
Ciel's voice cracks as he says. “But there's a chance, right?”
“A small one. His organs are already failing, but we believe if we act now and support his system properly, we can slow down the damage and maybe, just maybe, start reversing it. There isn't a guarantee that it might get rid of the poison totally, but it could keep him alive till we find a cure,”
“Start the treatment,” Ciel says immediately.
“Ciel,” Sebastian warns. “We can't risk Xerxes' life like that. There's no assurance that this will work. You heard him, it's only a theory, there's no result.”
“I know it's risky, but we won't know if it will work if we don't try. I'm not trying to gamble with Xerxes’ life, I want to save him at all costs, but if this is all we got, we have to take it, Sebastian. This could be the only chance for Xerxes to live. Please, Sebastian.” Ciel lets the tears in his eyes fall, and Sebastian sighs, looking away and mutters a fine.
Dr Martin nods. “Since that's settled. There are a few forms you need to sign, and this won't be cheap, the lap work, the machine, the specialist.”
“We don't care about the cost,” Sebastian says. “We have enough to fill this damn hospital and more. Just begun with the treatment,”
Dr Martin smiles begins. “Then let's not delay this any further. We will speak with the board about this. Once they approve, we can go ahead.”
~
Ciel slowly steps into Xerxes's room. It's colder than the rest of the hospital.
Xerxes lay there, his eyes closed, tubes connected to his arms and chest, his skin pale and dry. He looks like a ghost.
Ciel slowly sits beside him and reaches out, wrapping his fingers gently around Xerxes's limp hand. “You look like you're sleeping,” his voice cracks as he whispers.
He swallows, brushing his thumb over the back of Xerxes's hand. “I didn't think I'd ever be this scared, but I am. I am terrified, Xerxes. I feel like I'm already losing you, and I-I-I can't. I don't think I can be able to live without you.”
His chest tightens, and the tears come pouring down again, warm and unstoppable.
“You said you'd be fine. You promised me you weren't dying. You lied, you asshole,” he chuckles through the tears.
He rests his forehead on Xerxes' arm. “I don't care how long it's going to take, I don't care if the chances are one in a million. I'm going to save you. You hear me, I won't let you die yet.” His grip tightens. “If you die, I die too. That's it. I won't survive this world without you in it. I won't give up hope no matter what.”
He will grasp onto every bit of hope that's left.