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"Come on sweetie" Mrs Carrington reached behind her in the car to tap Hannah on the leg.

Hannah gave her mother a half hearted smile. One would think that she she'd be use to hospital visits, and to an extent she was, but it didn't mean she liked going. Taking a hold of the door handle, she gave it a quick pull opening the door and stepping outside.

Walking between both her parents the three of them stepped inside Destiny City Memorial Hospital through two sets of automatic doors and approached the reception desk. "Hello, may I help you?" The girl on the other side asked.

"Yes, we're here to see Dr Jacobs. We have an appointment at eleven." Mr. Carrington placed a fatherly hand atop his daughters head. Hannah looked around the lobby area, noting a few people seated around some with children while others were with elderly parents or loved ones.

The girl on the other side of the counter turned to her computer to pull up Dr Jacobs schedule. "Name?" she asked

"Carrington, Hannah Carrington" He reached over to tap his wife on the shoulder "Why don't you two sit down?" he moved his head in the direction of a few empty seats near an aquarium.

With a nod of her head Mrs. Carrington smiled at her daughter "Come on."

"Ah, here you are!" The girl gathered a few pieces of paperwork and clipped them to a clipboard and handed it and a pen to Mr. Carrington. "Can I have you fill these out while I let Dr Jacobs know you're here?"

With a nod of his head, he accepted the clipboard and joined his family.

Xander was rather nervous about this, because generally he was in emergency medicine, but as with most recidencies he'd spent time during he training in many different part of the hospital. His mentor, his soon to be full time boss trusted him with this and with the constant in and out of Destiny City's largest hospital he new the emergency pediatrics would often handle more than emergenies. Xander steeled his nerves and pulled himself together.

The door opened and he looked up to see one of the nurses coming in to inform him that the young Miss Carrington had arrived. "Did you check her in," he asked to recieve the affirmative from the nurse before he rose and followed her out of the exam room into the waiting room.

"Miss Carrington, Hannah Carrington, Dr. Jacobs will see you now." Xander stood with a smile on his face waiting for Hannah and family to join him.

Hannah looked at both her parents, waiting for them to get up before rising to her feet. She remained silent, her mood neither happy nor unhappy. Looking across the room to the man that stood near the door that lead to the waiting rooms, Hannah struggled a weak smile in return.

When the three of them reached the nurse and doctor, Mr Carrington reached his hand out to shake Dr Jacobs hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. My name is Derek, and my wife Lisa, and this" He placed his hand on his daughters back "is Hannah."

"Hello." Came her quiet reply. She knew how this would go, check her height and weight then take her to a room to check her vitals. But this wasn't a routine check up. Hannah fell instep behind her parents as the four of them walked through the doorway.

Xander watched as the family came over to him and immediately shook the offered hand of Derek. "Please to meet you all," he said softly, "follow me the exam room is just this way." He kept a professional tone as he remembered his mentors words about choosing Xander for this case and knowing that he would keep an attentive eye on the girl. The children and teens that came into the ER responded very well to him and he didn't know what exactly it was about Xander, but there wasn't often an unhappy face when he came through.

He opened the door and ushered the family in, motioning for them to have a seat for the time being. "As I'm sure you all heard, I am Dr. Xander Jacobs. I've been assigned to Miss Carrington's case because I work very well with teens and children, in addition to my knowlegde." He turned to Hannah, "I'm sure you are accustomed to this unfortunately, but I will explain what will happen today and we can get things underway. Okay?"

One by one each of them stepped inside the white walled room. Hannah, with her back to the exam table, put each hand atop the plastic paper and hopped up. Chewing on her lower lip she watched as both her parents took a seat in the chairs against the wall next to the sink.

The click of the door shutting Hannah turned her attention to her new doctor. He seemed nice, at the very least more open than her first doctor.

"That'll be great, thank you." Mrs Carrington responded to his question.

Xander gave a smile and a nod before turning to Hannah. "Okay Hannah, first I'll be asking you a few question, just to get to know you and make you feel a little more comfortable. After that we can get you weighted, take all your vitals and talk about who you've been doing. We'll finish up with drawing blood for you blood work. Your in remission and that is good, but the blood work is still a necessary evil."

Xander looked to her parent, as if asking for their okay to start before turning back to Hannah. "Are you ready to start? I shall try to make this as quick and painless as possible."

Hannah's nodded her head in response. Drawing in a deep breath, her heart sank a little, a part of her hoped that no needles would be involved with today's visit but like he said it was necessary. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Mrs. Carrington reached over and took her husbands hand in her own giving it a bit of a squeeze. Whether it was for her reassurance or his was unknown.

Xander smiled and as unprofessional as it was, the first part of this was about making Hannah comfortable with him, so he walked the other end of the exam table and hopped up, probably surprising the family. "Okay Hannah lets start with something easy? How old are you and what grade are you in?" He started the conversation of with something simple and easy to answer. It didn't require much though and was really just an opener, plus it was nothing to be shy about because he already knew the answer.

"I'm sixteen, I'll be seventeen in about two months. I was home schooled for the last year..." She paused looked at her parents. They had just returned to Destiny City and to be honest she wasn't entirely sure if she would still be home schooled or not.

Realizing she had forgotten to tell her daughter that they were able to enroll her in the public school, since it seemed iffy because school had already started, Mrs Carrington answered the last question "She'll be attending Meadowview High School."

Xander nodded and smiled, "Just a bit younger than my little sister than. Any idea what you would like to do for you birthday. Turning 17 must be exciting. I bet you can't wait." He said before looking Mrs. Carrington and nodding. "My youngest sister went to Meadowview, graduated just 2 years ago when she turned 17. I'm sure she'll do well there and make a lot of friends. The students there tend to be very welcoming."

Xander turned back to Hannah continuing on, "excited to get into a public school?"

Hannah shook her head "I haven't told anyone we moved back here yet I kind of wanted it to be a surprise." she smiled a bit thinking how she planned on stopping by Delilah's house after they finished up here. "I've been to public school pretty much my whole life, until..." her gaze fell to her lap "this. But it'll be nice to be around friends again." Not wanting to stay sad she looked back up to Dr Jacobs and with a deep breath, smiled  again.

"Well that sounds exciting," he said with a bit of a laugh, "make sure to have a camera on hand so you can take a picture. You can pull out pictures at a later date and go remember when, this was your face." He frowned with her and nodded understanding what she meant, but smiled with her optimisim. "I hope you have a lot of fun getting reaquaintted. Lets leave some getting to know each other for the next visit."

"I'll try to remember that." She let out a soft laugh before following his instructions. Setting her shoes down on the exam table, Hannah slid off onto the linoleum floor and stepped onto the scale. "How long have you been a doctor?" she asked, slightly uncomfortable with the silence.

Xander watched as Hannah got onto the scale and went about checking her weight. However, he froze momentarily when she asked about how long he'd been a doctor. He wondered if his mentor had discussed with Mr. and Mrs. Carrington that he wouldn't be a full doctor until December. He knew he had to answer, "116 bls," he said first marking it, "turn around so that I can get your height." He adjusted the scale pulling up the height measure and smiled. "Currently I am at the end of my residency, which is three years long. So technically I've been working as a doctor for that long, but I my residency isn't up until December."

Hannah turned around, pressed her back against the wall and stood up straight. She wasn't exactly sure what he meant by his residency was almost up, "Does that mean you'll leave when it's up?" she hoped not, consider it a little self serving but she didn't want to do this all over again in two months with someone else. Besides he seemed nice, at the very least he was significantly better than her first who seemed to be all about business and big words.

Xander blinked not realizing his words would taken in that manner, but he shook his head and reassured her, "No that isn't what it means. A residency is basically an internship. I finished my schooling and started my residency, which is really more school only the experience kind. In December I finish that and will be a full time member of the hospital staff. I will continue overseeing you, but I will also being doing more work in the ER." He pulled the measure down to the top of her head and smiled, "5 feet 4 inches," he said before noting that as well, "you can step down now and hop back up on the exam table, so I can take you're pressure."

With a smile, happy that he wouldn't be leaving, Hannah hopped off the scale, put her shoes back on then jumped back onto the paper covered exam table. Without really thinking about it she instinctively lifted her arm so he could wrap the Velcro cuff around her upper arm. She remained quiet, knowing he'd need to listen with his stethoscope for a bit.

She glanced over at her parents, both of them smiling yet she could see the slight worry that graced their features. Her mother mouthed the words 'you ok?' in which Hannah nodded her head in response. Being here, going through these routine visits wasn't just hard on her, it was hard on them too.  

Xander took her blood pressure, pumping the little pump, preferring the manual one. He got it nice and tight before releasing it and jotting down her pressure on her chart. "122, over 79, healthy and normal. Let's have a listen to you heart and lungs, that we can look at you ears, nose and throat." It was all very routine, a basic checkup, necessary but mostly because of her change in doctors.

The interaction between Hannah and her parents didn't go unnoticed, but Xander just left it. It was nice to see them comforting each other while the constantly hoped for the best, silently fearing the worse. "This is going to be a little cold, just try to keep still for me, for just a few moments while I listen to your heart."

The interaction between Hannah and her parents didn't go unnoticed, but Xander just left it. It was nice to see them comforting each other while the constantly hoped for the best, silently fearing the worse. "This is going to be a little cold, just try to keep still for me, for just a few moments while I listen to your heart."

Xander noted everything, mostly silent, only every now and then giving instructions. It was fairly quick and very routine, but soon came the time he was sure poor Hannah would much rather do without. Blood had to be taking, there were tests that needed to be done to ensure Hannah healthy, blood work certainly help.

"You're in very good health Hannah, still we need to take bloods for test. Im going to give you a choice here. There nurse from earlier can take the blood or I can do it myself, whichever you prefer." He sat back placing the clipboard aside awaiting her answer, ready to either get the nurse of draw the blood, though that would need to be done in another room.

Hannah turned her head to look at the door they had come though, then back to Dr Jacobs. "Can you ask the nurse please?" it's not that she didn't trust her new doctor, actually it was far from it, rather he had been nice so far the last thing she wanted to associate him with was the one thing she hated almost as much as her illness... needles. Getting shots weren't horrible because it's more of a jab and you're done, it's when they need to find a vein for blood work or to hook her up to an IV that Hannah tended to get a bit of anxiety and a little light headed.

Xander smiled and nodded, "I'll be right back," he said before rising and heading out of the door. He was only gone for a minute before he arrived with Nurse Kimple, who introduced herself and extended a hand to next room where should could sit and have her blood draw. Xander gave her an warm smile, the Jacobs were famous for, and turned to her parent. "You can go with her if you like. It's just in the next room, once that's over with the appointment will be done for today. We will just need to schedule the next."

The sound of the paper crinkled beneath her as she slid off the edge of the table once again. Before her mother could get up, Hannah walked over to her, wrapped her arms around her shoulders giving her a hug. Returning the embrace Mrs Carrington pulled her head back to look at her daughters face "Want me to come with you?"

Shaking her head Hannah replied,"I'll be ok."

Mrs Carrington was no fool, despite her daughters attempt to be brave, she could see through the facade. Worry hid behind Hannah's dark blue eyes however not because of the results, no that came later, the cause for her daughters distress was much more simple than that... needles. With a smile she gave Hannah a kiss on her forehead and a tight squeeze before letting her go. Proud that her child was trying to face this fear head on she offered up a simple prayer. please Lord don't let her see them. Situating herself back in her seat, Mrs. Carrington gave her daughters hand one final squeeze "Ok, we'll be right here." she said with a reassuring motherly tone.

Once Hannah and Nurse Kimple left the room, the soft click of the door closing behind them, Mr and Mrs Carrington sat in silence for a moment. Being the first to break the silence Mr Carrington spoke up, "She tries so hard to be brave. Not just for herself but for us as well, but she's still just a kid. As a parent, it's hard to watch your child go through something like this, and it's worse when you know there's not much you can do." He gave Dr Jacobs a tired smile, evidence of worry, stress and sleepless nights etched into his features.  

Xander smiled at the interaction, though it made him miss his family a little. He was thankful for his sister at least being in the states with him. As the door closed he was thankful that Mr. Carrington was the one to open the conversation as he was still new to all thing, not fully, but enough. "Children are like that, versilient and strong. I enjoy working with them for that reason, even though no one ever want to see a child sick. As for Hannah, how is she doing at home? With her medication and the move?"

"The move is going as well as can be expected, unpacking is everyone's least favorite chore. But she is definitely happy to be back. Unfortunately there was no home in our old neighborhood for sale, but we found one as close to it as we could.

As for her medicine, she's still taking Methotrexate once a week though she's still getting mild and sometimes , but not often, severe nausea and headaches. Though in each case it only seems to last for maybe a day. Other than that she's taking Merca..." Mrs Carrington looked to Dr Jacobs, not sure how to pronounce the rest of the name.

Xander sat listening to the explanation and making a note of Hannah's headaches and nausea, though they were not uncommon and didn't seem to be causing much of a problem, but it was good for future reference. He nodded when she started to give him the name of the second medicine, "Mercaptopurine," he said. "Yes, that is noted here, an immunosuppressant. I think it would be best to schedule a flu shot or nasal spray if you prefer, with her next visit. The recent flu virus have been very aggressive and it would be best to give her system the best chance to prevent it. Though she could still catch the flu, it will likely not be as bad, if she does. Are their any side effects with the medicine that you would like to note."

Mrs Carrington nodded her head in agreement. "That would be great, especially if there is a way we could get it taken care of before she starts school. They're giving us till next week to get everything situated though I have been going over past assignments with her to make sure she's caught up."

Placing a hand on his wife's knee, Mr Carrington responded to Dr Jacobs last question. "Every so often she'll have a loss of appetite or feel fatigued, but we're not sure how much of that is the medicine or just her overexerting herself."

Xander nodded and thought for a moment, "well not today, not with having just gotten blood work. I feel that would be a bit much, but I can do it about midweek if you like. Again she'll have the option between me and the nurse, as well as whether she would rather the nasal or the shot. Does all that sound good to you?"

He gave a look at the symptoms he mentioned and wrote them down, but decided to play it by ear just for the moment. "I would say for now to just keep an eye on it. If it become a problem than we can discuss possibly changing the medicine, but as it might not be the medicine I can discuss the importance of taking good care of herself to Hannah. We certainly want to know for sure which it is, over exertion or the medicine. A good talk usually helps children."

"Yes, mid week will work just fine, thank you." Mrs. Carrington pulled out her small planner to mark the date on the calender. A light knocked on the door grabbed their attention...

Following Nurse Kimple out of the exam room, the sound of the soft click of the door closing behind her made Hannah turn around for a moment. To be honest she really did wish her mom came with her, but it was too late now. Closing her eyes for a moment she offered up a small prayer, Lord help me find the strength not to feint, I am scared and ask you to please be with me.

Taking in a deep breath Hannah opened her eyes and turned to follow the nurse who was only a few steps away from her standing at a crossroads in the hallway. Hospitals, such a sterile environment, white walls closing in. Opening the door, Nurse Kimple stepped aside allowing Hannah to enter first then closed the door behind them. "I need to ask you to remove your sweater then take a seat right here," she patted the back of the padded seat with an arm rest "Please."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Hannah felt her heart beat more aggressively than normal, anxiety gripping her. With shaky hands she reached up and gave the string a light tug, undoing the bow that held the sweater closed. Grabbing a hold of one sleeve she pulled the thin sweater off leaving her with a pale yellow tank top. Taking a seat on the padded chair, Hannah watched as the nurse walked over to the counter and began arranging something on a metal tray. "I just need to ask you a few questions before we get started. Can you tell me your name?"

Swallowing the rather large lump in her throat she replied, "Hannah."

Nurse Kimple turned on the sink faucet and began washing her hands. "And your last name?"

Both hands in her lap, Hannah began fidgeting with the fabric of her sweater "Carrington."

"It's nice to meet you Miss Carrington, may I ask when's your birthday?"  she turned off the water and grabbed a paper towel to dry her hands.

"December 10th," Hannah cleared her throat, watching as the nurse pulled on the latex gloves "1996."

"96 hmm," doing some quick mental math she continued with the small talk "that makes you 16 right?" Turning to face the periwinkle haired girl the nurse tapped the arm rest. "Can you put your arms up here please." Hannah nodded her head in compliance, bringing both arms up and placing them on the rest, palms up. Carefully Nurse Kimple took a hold of her left hand looking first at the veins in her wrist than her inner elbow before doing the same to her right.

Hannah's face paled at the look on Nurse Kimple's face, it was one she had recognized from before. Last time someone had a look like that on their face, she ended up getting poked twice in one arm and once in the other before the nurse was able to finally draw blood. "You can go ahead and put this arm down" she said tapping her right arm. "I'm only going to take the minimum amount, so it'll be quick ok? I promise"

Not able to find her voice, Hannah nodded instead Lord please only let this take one try, please. She turned her head to the left, keeping her eyes on the door. don't lookshe reminded herself just don't look.

The nurse turned away for a moment to grab the tray and set it down on the counter next to the young girl. Picking up the tourniquet she wrapped it around Hannah's upper arm. "Hannah, Are you ok? Would you rather lay down?" Realizing the girl wasn't responding she asked again "Hannah?"

Slowly she turned her head when the nurse called her name, the light that shone on the metal tray caught her eye, the sight of the needle in her peripheral. "Can I lay down please?"

"Sure thing sweetie, go ahead and lay down on your back and just close your eyes for a bit. It'll only take a few moments and afterwards I'll go get you some juice"


Hannah stood up, a bit light headed from seeing the needle, and laid down on the exam table. covering her eyes with her right arm she focused on breathing while Nurse Kimple cleaned the area, trying not to think about what followed. A wet cloth, a pinch, the sound of a vial being switched out twice, the release of the rubber tourniquet, a light pressure with a gauze, than a band-aid.


"We're all done," she gave Hannah's shoulder a light squeeze. I'm going to go get you some juice and let your parents and Dr Jacobs know we're done. Stepping outside of the room, the nurse turned the corner and took a few steps down the hall knocked on her exam room door then stepped inside "Dr Jacobs? She's all done, she got a bit light headed so I have her laying down for a few minutes while I get her some juice."

The knock at the door had Xander turn his head looking to the nurse. He rose with a frown, not really liking that she got light headed. "Was it before or after you took her blood. It was a small amount, it really should have been fine." He was calm and professional despite his worry, but he was seriously hoping the nurse hadn't had to stick poor Hannah multiple times. He'd have done it himself, but she said she'd rather the nurse. Next time for sure he would do it.

Xander looked towards her parents and motioned for them to follow him, "we can finish in the other room, that way she can lie down for a bit more. And if you like I can talk with her about what we discussed earlier." He looked to the nurse, "thank you Ms. Kimple."

"It was before, I was able to collect the vials in one try." Giving Mr. and Mrs. Carrington a smile she excused herself from the room to get Hannah something to drink.

Gathering their belonging, Hannah's parents rose and followed Dr Jacobs to the other room.

Xander nodded at the nurses words and continued on his way to the next room. When he got to the door, he gave a light know before heading into the room. "Heard you had a bit of trouble? I hope that everything is okay, but just in case you can still lie down for a bit. We just need to have a small chat and then you are done for the visit. I will see you again in the middle of the week for a flu shot or nasal spray if you prefer." Xander moved to the side to allow the parents better access to their daughter before pulling up a chair, so her could talk to Hannah.

The almost startling sound of someone knocking on the door alerted Hannah that someone was about to come in the room. A bit of relief came when she heard her doctors voice and felt someone slip their hand into hers, giving a light squeeze she reconized it as her fathers.

Keeping her arm draped over her eyes seemed to be the only way to keep her head grounded, and the room from spinning. "I'll be okay." she responded weakly. She would have just nodded but that might just make things worse. "Spray please." The thought of potentially going through this again so soon was far from appealing. Any option is better than one involving needles.

Xander arched an eyebrow at the quick response to the flu shot she'd be getting in the middle of the week. "You don't like needles, do you," he was asking, but he was also pretty sure. "Don't worry I've got a trip to help with that, next time I take any samples needed or give any shots. But for now, you can definitely get the nasal spray."

He gave a nod to her parents and sat up a little straighter, "now before you go I want to make sure you understand the importance of taking care of yourself and not over taxing yourself. With you delicate immune system you want to do everything you can to make sure you keep as healthy as possible. You need to make sure you are eatting properly, even if you don't feel up to it. Getting enough rest and trying to keep your stress levels downs. We are ever hopeful that your cancer will stay in remission and it should, but taking care of yourself will make it easier to catch signs faster should something go wrong. I most certainly do not want to frighten you because taking care of yourself is important no matter the situation, but with you its just a little bit more important, extra special. Does that make sense to you? Can you do that for me? Make sure you are taking the best care of yourself that you can?"

Xander was thinking about how loosing weight without trying was a symptom, and swollen lymph nodes and glands. Small things that were easier for him and her to catch the healthier she was.

Hannah made a groaning sound as confirmation that she indeed did not care much for needles. Removing her arm from her eyes, she rolled over onto her side and sat up slowly. When he offered to be the one to deal with needles here on out she nodded her head "Kay".

Mr. Carrington gave his daughters hand a squeeze once Dr Jacobs finished speaking, both her parents gave her an expecting look. Hannah stayed silent, looking at each of her parents then to her doctor. A part of her wanted to say something but decided against it instead she nodded her head "I'll try."

Xander gave a nod and looked to her parents, "well that concludes this visit. You can make an appointment at the desk for the next visit and if you like you can schedule her next check up at the same time. " He rose and offered an hand to Hannah's parents to shake, they'd had a good visit and it was always good to end on polite terms.

Mr and Mrs Carrington rose to their feet, each shaking Dr Jacobs hand. "Thank you for your time."

"Yes thank you" Mrs Carrington chimed in "We'll see you later this week for her follow up."

Still slightly light headed, Hannah gave him a weak smile and stood up as well "Thank you."

Wrapping her arm around her daughters shoulder, Mrs Carrington turned to her husband "Will you go ahead and set up the appointment while I'll take her to the car?"

"Sure thing!" He gave both ladies a kiss and the three exited the room.