"Wait," she called to the departing stranger. She noticed that he looked too tired to drive for any length of time. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"

The man turned around. His face registered surprise, then indecision. A perfect stranger was offering him a ride home. For a second, he almost said no, but then another wave of nausea hit him. He nodded his head and started towards her. Anne met him halfway and tried to support him with the side of her body that wasn't holding Megan. They walked out of the hospital. The early afternoon sunlight was a welcome change from the drab interior of the hospital.

Anne stopped. "Wait here," she said. "I'll bring the car around." She helped him to the nearest bench and waited for him to sit down. Then she adjusted Megan in her arms and started walking across the parking lot to her car. Her car was a blue 1981 Toyota Corolla. It wasn't in the best shape, but it got her where she needed to go. She unlocked the rear door and put Megan in her car seat. Then she opened the driver's side door and climbed into the seat. She slid the key into the ignition and turned it. Then she backed out of the parking space and drove over to the drop off/pick up lane. Megan watched as her mom got out of the car and jogged over to the strange man. He leaned on her as he tried to get up. Then her mom helped him into the passenger seat. When she closed the door, he turned around to face her.

"You've got a great mom, you know that?" He smiled at her. Megan grinned and clapped her hands.

"So, stranger," started Anne as she got back into the car and put her sunglasses on. "Who are you and where're you going?" She pulled away from the hospital.

"My name's Mark," replied the man. "And I'm going Escondido Gardens. Who are you?" He gave Anne a sideways glance.

"Anne Gracey." She desperately wanted to look at him to read his expression, but she forced her eyes ahead, on the road. She rolled down her window. "Feel free to roll yours down, too," she said. He did.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing at the hospital?" Asked Mark. "Visiting your husband?" Anne almost slammed on the brakes in surprise.

Anne tried to keep her voice even as she replied, "I'm not married. We were at the hospital for Megan..." Her voice suddenly betrayed her and began to crack. She almost started crying, but held herself together. She silently congratulated herself.

"Just a second," Anne said. She waited until she came to a stop at a red light before she made her next move. She turned to Mark. "Megan...has AIDS." She waited for Mark's reaction. There was none. "I'm HIV-negative, though. She was stabbed with a dirty needle by one of her father's friends when she was an infant. I don't know HOW he could have had his druggie friends over...anyway. I took her to the doctor for a cough about a year ago. After a few blood tests, she was diagnosed. I went home and told Jeff...he told me the whole story of her...stabbing. He'd known that Tommy was HIV positive, but he hadn't said anything! Can you believe that?" Anne turned away and glanced at the light. It changed. As she pressed the accelerator, she continued. "I sued Jeff for a divorce almost immediately. I wasn't that sorry to see him go, if you want to know the truth." She looked in the rearview mirror at Megan's sleeping form.

"Sorry for unloading on you like that," Anne apologized. "But I don't have anyone to talk to. Thanks for putting up with it." She smiled. "So what were YOU there for?"

Mark looked over at Anne. He wasn't sure if he should tell her. She did tell him about her daughter having AIDS and he was a complete stranger. Oh well... nothing was definite yet about him having cancer.

"I was having some blood tests done" he replied "I've been feeling tired lately."

"That would explain the way you looked in the hospital." Anne said. As they continued to drive, Mark explained to Anne how to get to his house.

"So... have the doctors told you what they think is wrong with you?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, they say I have cancer." he thought. "The doctors are not sure what's wrong with me." he replied. That wasn't a lie. They did tell him he might have cancer but they also said they weren't sure. As they were nearing Mark's place, he looked over his shoulder at Megan. She was still sleeping. She looked so peaceful. She really didn't look sick. He turned back and looked at Anne. He could tell that she was very tired by the rings under her eyes. He felt bad that he was so worried about something that could be nothing and here was a mother with a very sick child giving him a ride home.

"This is my house." Mark said "Thank you for the ride."

"My pleasure." Anne replied. "You get some rest now."

"Yes ma'am." he said. He took one last look at Megan before he closed the door. Anne drove off.

As Mark was walking up the stairs, he wondered what he was going to tell his parents. He figured that he would wait until the test results were back. He knew that his mom would be asking questions as soon as he walked in the door.

On cue, his mom was asking 20 questions at a time when Mark opened the door.

"What did the doctors say?" "How come your were so long?" "Who was that woman that drove you home?" "You know I don't like you talking to strange people!".

"MOM!" Mark said "I'm 24 years old and I can take care of myself when it comes to strangers. To answer your questions, the doctors said I have a swollen spleen and they wanted to do some blood tests, I took a long time because I had to wait for my blood tests to get done and that was a very nice woman who offered to give me a ride home because she thought I looked pale."

"Well, you do." his mom said. "Come and sit down, I made some soup for you." Mark told his mom that he wanted to go to his room and rest. She tried to fight but Mark just kept walking. When he got to his room, he lay down on his bed and prayed. He prayed for Anne and Megan and he prayed that he would get through this alive no matter what happened. This was going to be the longest 3 days of his life. He picked up his "Modern Lawyer" magazine and read it for about 5 minutes before he went to sleep.

The call came at 8:03 three days later. Anne was sitting at the table, watching Megan count her Cheerios. She was momentarily startled by the shrill cry of the phone. She got up and picked the receiver up.

"Hello?" She asked, still watching Megan count.

"Is this Ms. Gracey?" The voice on the other end was efficient, but warm.

"Yes, who is this?" Anne inquired.

"I'm Lynn Wilson from Dr. Gellar's office. I'm calling with the results of Megan Gracey's tests." Anne caught her breath. She'd been waiting for these results for three days and wasn't sure she wanted to hear them.

"Go ahead," Anne said slowly. She crossed her fingers and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Gracey," Anne braced herself for the rest. "But Megan has a serious illness, lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis. It's very serious, and the doctor is recommending that she be hospitalized immediately." Anne leaned against the wall and sighed. She tuned out the voice on the other end of the line, which no longer seemed warm, but cold and menacing. She heard snatches of the other woman's words, like "psychological help" and "insurance problems", but she didn't pay attention. She instinctively knew that this was the beginning of the end for her little girl.

"Ms. Gracey, are you still there? Ms. Gracey?" The voice brought Anne back from her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Anne apologized absentmindedly.

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