Chapter Five The next morning Kenz woke with a feeling of dread. She knew that she would arrive in Santa Barbara by nightfall and in two days she would undergo surgery. She needed Lance now more than ever but she was afraid that he would be too upset to listen to her reasons for leaving. She called their home just to hear his voice on the answering machine and it somehow made her feel stronger. He always had that effect on her. He could lift her spirits with a few simple words, and make her heart overflow with just a look. He never walked past her without resting a hand on the small of her back and leaning in to whisper I love you. She needed those things now but she was too afraid to ask for them. Lance and the guys spent the day trying to contact the doctor. They were told repeatedly that he was out of the office and that they were free to talk to the doctor on call. The doctor on call however was unhelpful and unwilling to listen. They gave up, frustrated, that evening and decided to go to dinner and get out of their rooms for a while. As Chris was gathering his coat and wallet from his room his cell phone rang. "Hello?" "Chris, it's Kenz, just act normal ok?" "Ok I can do that." Chris shut his door quietly and sank onto the bed. "Are you alone?" "I am, are you ok?" The nervousness was evident in both of their voices. "I don't know, I thought I was. I miss everyone so much. I need you guys, I need Lance." "Then call him, tell him that." There was a knock on the door and JC poked his head in. "Hold on a sec." Chris went to the door and told the guys he didn't feel like doing to dinner. When they had left he picked up his phone again. "Are you there?" "Yeah I'm here." McKenzie was sobbing on the other end. "Calm down hon, where are you?" "Santa Barbara." "Where in Santa Barbara?" She named her hotel and Chris laughed. "What is so funny?" "I have a friend staying there. Go to room 453." "I'm in 452." She cried out, dropping her phone and running next door. She knew that Chris would be the person on the other side. When he opened the door, she threw herself into his arms. "Shhh, it's ok, we're here." He soothed stroking her hair softly. "We? Who is we?" She asked wiping the tears away nervously. "Everyone, well everyone but Joey."  "I can't stay here, I have to go." She turned to leave but Chris grabbed her arm. "You aren't going anywhere, not till you calm down and talk to me." He pulled her to the couch and forced her to sit down. "What do you want me to say?" "Don't even try it Kenz, I want to know everything that has been going on. I also want to know why you didn't come to any of us to talk about it, especially Lance." He was talking firmly almost annoyed. She took a deep breath and turned to look out the window. "Well a few weeks ago, I found a thing, a lump. I went to the doctor right away and he did a biopsy. When the results came back positive I didn't know what to do. He referred me out here and I didn't even think about it. I made the appointment with the doctor here and came. I wanted to tell Lance, to tell you, but I just couldn't. I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me, to treat me differently." Tears were coursing silently down her cheeks and Chris reached up gently to brush them away. "Kenz, we would have tried to help you. We wouldn't have treated you any differently." "I can't put Lance through this, I love him too much to hurt him." "But you are hurting him. I've never seen him so unnerved. He has been a wreck the last few days. You know how calm and cool Lance is, but not lately. You have to talk to him Kenz, he loves you." Chris knew that he should tell her about the biopsy results but he felt that it was Lance's place to tell her. Instead he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "Everything is going to be ok, I promise." He whispered. Chapter Six Main Story Page