Build And Break novel Chapter 36

When they reached Dr. Gibbs office, he stopped before inviting them in. His eyes levelled with Steven's. "I'm sorry for asking this but are you...?"

"Yes, I'm Steven Morris." Steven replied with a nervous huff. Was that the time for introductions?

"No, I didn't mean that. I mean..." Dr. Gibbs trailed off and looked at Angela who understood his question.

"Yes, Dr. Gibbs, he is. Steven is Daniel's father. It's complicated and Daniel doesn't know yet so we'd appreciate if you keep this confidential in front of the boy."

"That won't be a problem, Mrs. Donahue. I mean..." Dr. Gibbs who was trained to keep composed in all situations was feeling uncomfortable at that moment.

"Call me Angela, Dr. Gibbs."

"If you insist." The doctor turned to Steven. "Excuse me if I intruded, Mr. Morris but you must be aware I can't tell confidential information to anybody unrelated to the patient. But with the boy looking so much like you I had to ask and confirm."

"It's okay, doc. We'd appreciate if you could just tell us about Daniel." Steven responded impatiently.

Dr. Gibbs was eager to escape the awkward conversation that had breached and escorted them into his office.

Soon after they were all sitting down, Dr. Gibbs began his speech. "As you know Daniel's blood levels has been dropping for the past few months. Less than two weeks ago, we had administered a blood transfusion on him as we had done in previous times when his levels got below our preference. We compared the tests with the ones we took a few days ago and it seems that his levels has gotten much lower than they had ever been."

Angela gasped then. Oh, dear. She knew it was bad news that Dr. Gibbs had brought them. She braced herself for the worst.

"Don't alarm yourself, Mrs... Angela. You were already prepared for what I'm about to tell you before we had began the blood transfusions on Daniel. The transfusions are not a long term treatment for Daniel and it's becoming less effective than we anticipated. I am now suggesting a bone marrow transplant on Daniel."

Angela reached for Steven's hand, clutched on it tight. Yes, she had been told of the possibility of that. She just never imagined they'd reach to that point in that much little time.

"It's not as bad as it may sound and it may actually change Daniel's life if it's a success."

"But we did start the process once before." Angela muttered. "We didn't find any donors."

"The other time we didn't search for a match in the donor's registry."

Until Angela spoke those words, Steven hadn't realized that Angela hadn't refused him from being involved in Daniel's care. She was giving him a chance to prove himself worthy. He couldn't blow it off.

Seconds later, Steven was sitting in the chair beside Angela. Dr. Gibbs waited for them to exhale the anger from their voice before continuing.

"So, are we going to go forward with the bone marrow transplant?"

"Absolutely." Steven quickly answered before Angela could even twitch. "We're going to do all that is necessary."

Dr. Gibbs turned to Angela for her answer. Even if Steven's answer sounded definite, he still wanted to hear her answer. After all, she was the parent of Daniel that he was certain of.

Angela nodded a few seconds later. There was no use arguing with Steven and this time she had no other option. She needed Steven to help Daniel.

"I know I've asked this before, Angela, but I think in light of the recent... changes in Daniel's family tree, I have to ask again. Does Daniel have any siblings? They're the best match."