Chapter 24

"Would someone please tell me what this is all about." Gabe quietly closed the door to the hospital room. Bailey had calmed down. She consented to a painkiller, something she earlier refused for fear of someone doing something to her if she passed out.

Andy and Joanne exchanged a worried look. Her father took a deep breath. "She's had these problems for years ... but it's never been this bad."

"What kind of problems?"

They both deferred to the doctor who was talking quietly with them.

"Endometriosis. Do you know what it is?" She asked in a kind voice. Gabe shook his head. "It's when the same kind of tissue that lines the inside of a woman's uterus grows on the outside as well. It affects about one in fourteen women to one degree or another, although most never know it. When a woman ovulates, the tissue in the uterus swells in anticipation of accepting a fertilised egg. If a woman has endometriosis, the tissue outside her uterus—called implants—also swells. It can cause internal bleeding and be very painful."

"How painful?" Gabe asked.

"At best, mild discomfort. At worst ... think of getting kicked in the balls every five minutes for about four days straight," the doctor said. "Bailey's been seeing me about this for, what ... three or four years now. She has flare-ups when she menstruates sometimes, but other times, it's just like having cramps. About four months ago, I did a pelvic exam and found some scar tissue from the implants around her fallopian tubes and ovaries. That's why she's in so much pain right now. In the long term, endometriosis can cause infertility but it's not fatal."

"She told me something about taking her ovaries or giving her a hysterectomy," Gabe looked confused.

"We'd only do that in an extreme case or for a woman who did not want to have children. I'm Clara Chapman, by the way," she reached out with her hand and he shook it bewilderedly.

"Gabe MacKenzie."

"Yes, Bailey's told me a lot about you," she replied with a warm smile. "Normally we treat minor cases with simple anti-inflammatory drugs or even hormone therapies. Some birth control pills can reduce or eliminate a woman's period and that makes the symptoms go away because the implants don't become inflamed. I've been trying to get her to have laparoscopic surgery to remove some of the implants, but she's been resistant to that idea."

His head was swimming with all the information that had been thrown at him.

Dr. Chapman took his hand, and pulled him close so only he could hear. "Bailey trusts you—and only you—on this. This isn't life threatening, but unless she does something soon, it's only going to get more painful for her."

Gabe saw how serious the other woman was.

"I'm going to go see if we can make our girl a little more comfortable," she said and went in to the hospital room.

Gabe, Andy, Joanne and April stood in the hallway. Everyone looked shell-shocked.

"We never thought she would get this bad," Joanne said softly. "She's complained about the pain for a while, but we never had to bring her to the hospital."

"Why would she think you were going to give her a hysterectomy?" Gabriel asked.

Andy looked away. "That was my fault. I was talking to Dr. Chapman and we thought Bailey was asleep. We were discussing options and she said unless they do something soon, the pain is only going to get worse. Removing her ovaries or um ... uterus ... are only last-resort type things. We should have gone out in the hallway, but she heard us and freaked out. That's when she started screaming for you."

"Are there any other options?"

"No good ones. Bailey's been taking prescription ibuprofen for a while, but that tears up her stomach. We've talked about surgery a couple of times ... but..." Joanne's voice trailed off and she looked embarrassed. "It's so expensive."

"Not any more," Gabe said, his voice hardening. He hated seeing someone he loved so dearly in pain. He wrung his hands for just a second as he made his decision. "Andy ... Joanne ... I would like your blessing to ask Bailey for her hand in marriage."

The pair of them looked shocked. April's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"I'll take care of her," he promised desperately. "You know how much I love her. I can provide for her. She means the world to me ... and I don't want to lose her."

"We know, Gabriel," Joanne said. She reached out and took his hands. "When you showed up at the house on prom night, a part of me knew you were going to be in her life forever."

There was a sad look in Andy's eyes. He tried to smile, but he knew Bailey had already given her heart away. Gabriel reached out, but instead of taking his hand, Andy pulled him into a hug. Both men wiped tears from their eyes. Then it was April's turn to embrace her future brother-in-law.

"You're my baby girl's dream come true," Andy said softly. "And I know you'll always be good to her."

"I will," Gabe promised. "I swear to God, I will."

"Then welcome to the family."

Bailey had surgery the next day and didn't find out until years later that Gabriel had paid the bill. Dr. Chapman removed most of the scar tissue around her fallopian tubes, uterus and ovaries. She spent the next month convalescing at Gabe's house, her longest stretch ever without going home. He never left her side.

The show had gone on Christmas break so he wasn't missing too much production. When it returned, he told them that he needed some more time off. Rose and the other writers were very creative in explaining his absence and the producers assured him he would have a place when he decided to return.

Gabriel swore the family to secrecy and didn't mention getting married to Bailey; he wanted things to be perfect.

He waited on her hand and foot around the house. April was working and going to school. Bailey received special dispensation from the dean of students for a late spring registration and signed up for all on-line classes (Thanks again, Al Gore!).