Scent of Danger

A nod. "She knows my plan. I'll be calling my grandparents this afternoon to fill them in, as well. That's going to be a difficult conversation, especially if it turns out I'm a compatible kidney donor. The president of Ruisseau part they'll handle; the surgery is another thing entirely. But they're bright people. It won't come out of left field. And my mother will drive over there this evening, to help field the media if they start calling—and to ease things with my grandparents' circle of friends."

"What about you? Are you ready? The media's going to hunt you down like a fox."

"I know. I'll manage."

"You'll stay at my place tonight," Dylan stated flatly. "At least that way they can't hound you until the wee hours of the morning."

Sabrina gave him a faint smile. "But you can?"

"Mercilessly. Any complaints?"

"Not a one."

Their welcome moment of banter was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

With a deer-in-the-headlights look, Sabrina leaned over her desk, picked up the receiver. "Sabrina Radcliffe." A pause. "Can't you just tell me...? Fine. I'm on my way."

She hung up, turned to Dylan. "That was Mary in ICU. She said Dr. Radison wants to see me now. He's on his way up from the lab—with the results."

"Did she give you any information?"

"No." Sabrina spoke slowly and calmly, but inside she was quaking. "She said he needs to speak with me directly." Scribbling a note for Donna, Sabrina snatched up her purse and headed for the door. Abruptly, she stopped and turned around, wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue and fighting her stubborn need to always appear strong. "I'd rather not do this alone. Would you go with me?"

A tender look flashed in Dylan's eyes. He picked up the phone, dialed his secretary's extension and got her voice mail. "Nina, it's me. It's about seven-thirty. I'll be out of the office for a chunk of the morning. My cell will probably be turned off, so I'll check in with you when I can. If there's an emergency, call Mount Sinai. I'm joining Ms. Radcliffe there for a meeting." He replaced the phone in its cradle. "Come on. Let's go."

8:10 A.M.

Mt. Sinai

Dr. Radison was waiting when they were shown into his office. His brows lifted when he saw Dylan, but he didn't comment, just gestured for them to have a seat.

"I asked Mr. Newport to be here with me," Sabrina explained in response to the questioning look. "I want him to be part of this discussion. In all ways but blood, he's Carson's son. He's been part of his life a lot longer than I have. So even though my biological ties are crucial here, so is Dylan's presence."

"I have no problem with that." Dr. Radison opened a file on his desk. "I won't waste time. Here's what we've got. Without getting too technical, there are six criteria in the crossmatch test. If three or more of those criteria match, a transplant is feasible. Obviously, the more, the better. In your case, we've got five out of six."

Sabrina's heart started racing. "Five out of six? That's very good, isn't it?"

He nodded. "In addition, it doesn't appear that Mr. Brooks has any antibodies that would attack your kidney. In short, these results are extremely positive."

"Positive," Sabrina repeated. "But not conclusive. Not to the point where we know the transplant's a go."

"Assuming it's needed," Radison reminded her. "And, no, we're not at that point. Not yet."

Dylan leaned forward. "What happens now?"

"Now, Ms. Radcliffe sees Dr. Renee Mendham, one of the finest nephrologists in the country. Dr. Mendham's already got Ms. Radcliffe's medical history. I forwarded that on to her. I'm sure she's reviewed it. Next, she'll do a complete physical and a battery of lab tests. We have to make sure Ms. Radcliffe is in perfect health. Otherwise, there's no way we'd consider letting her undergo transplant surgery."

"And if all that goes smoothly, there's that renal angiogram you mentioned," Dylan remembered aloud.

"Exactly. That will give us a look at Ms. Radcliffe's kidneys, the surrounding arteries and veins that transport the blood supply to and from them, and the ureters that do the draining into the bladder. The idea is to get a technical look at the area to determine which kidney will be taken for the transplant—preferably the left because the vein is longer—and to establish the details of your specific procedure. Obviously, we also want to make sure there are no anatomical complications that would preclude the surgery. Dr. Mendham will describe the test to you in detail. It's an out-patient radiological procedure, using a local anesthetic."

"There are still so many question marks," Sabrina murmured. "I want guarantees."

"There are none. But concentrate on the fact that you've cleared some major hurdles. The results of the tissue-typing and crossmatch put you right up there in the probable category. Let's move forward with that in mind."

"How soon can I see Dr. Mendham? Today? Tomorrow? Say the word, and I'll clear my schedule."

Radison shot her a wry look. "I'm beginning to see the family resemblance. Father and daughter steamrollers. Lucky for you, I'm getting used to it, after two weeks with Mr. Brooks. So I jumped the gun and called Dr. Mendham. She moved her schedule around, as well. She'll see you Wednesday morning at ten." He passed a business card across the desk. "Here's her office address and phone number. She's a shoot-from-the-hip, top-notch nephrologist. You'll like her."