Hudson had seemed perfectly fine at first, but just as they reached the hospital entrance, he suddenly swayed and copsed,pletely out of control.


    Calliope''s heart jumped into her throat. Instinctively, she caught Hudson before he hit the ground, his limp body falling right into her arms.


    "Hudson!" she called, panic rising in her voice. She called his name again, already checking his pulse.


    Nothing. He was out cold-like someone had just flipped a switch.


    Calliope''s face went pale. If the tumor had only affected his brain, he shouldn''t have gone down like this. Something else had to be going on.


    Without hesitating, Calliope started to shift her grip, ready to pick Hudson up and find a wheelchair so she could rush him in for a more thorough checkup.


    But as she reached for him, a strong handnded gently on her shoulder.


    "Let me help," came a familiar voice.


    Startled, Calliope looked up-and there he was. Ss, with that handsome face she knew so well.


    "Honey!" she blurted out, shocked. "What are you doing here?"


    He gave her a quick, reassuring smile. "Work trip. One of my buddies wasn''t feeling well, so I dropped by the hospital to check in. Didn''t expect to run into you."


    As he spoke, Ss already had Hudson effortlessly scooped up in his arms. Hudson looked big and broad, but illness had whittled him down-he was lighter than he used to be.


    Calliope hurried inside and grabbed a wheelchair, and with Ss''s help, they got Hudson settled and wheeled straight to his attending physician.


    She exined everything quickly, and the doctor rushed into action, ordering a battery of tests.


    "He just copsed out of nowhere, but the brain tumor shouldn''t have done this at least, not yet. I''m worried there''s something else," Calliope exined, her brow furrowed.


    "Agreed. It really doesn''t make sense for him to faint like that," the doctor said, already prepping for scans. "Let''s take a look."


    Ss stayed quietly by Calliope''s side, giving her space but never leaving herpletely alone. When he had to take a call, he stepped away to avoid disturbing them.


    Calliope and the doctor dove into the tests, discussing every possibility as they watched Hudson undergo the scans, their attentionser-focused.


    After a tense wait, the results came in—and Calliope''s face fell.


    The doctor looked even grimmer. "This can''t be happening," he muttered. "The tumor''s invaded the nerves."


    Calliope''s jaw clenched, her expression darkening. Hudson''s case had already beenplicated, but this changed everything for the worse.


    "This wasn''t in thest scans, was it?" she asked, turning to the doctor.


    He shook his head. “We did a full workup just a month ago. There was no sign of this. The tumor''s growing at a frightening speed-I didn''t expect this at all. It''s reache@the spinal nerves."


    Calliope said quietly, "Surgery''s off the table, and even shrinking the tumor will be


    a challenge. If the treatment can''t keep up with the growth, we''re in trouble."


    "Exactly. The progression is just too rapid." The doctor pressed his lips together. "What do we do?"


    "There''s not much else we can try," Calliope admitted, shaking her head.


    "If it keeps up like this, he''ll be wheelchair-bound any day now," the doctor said with a sigh, ncing at Hudson.


    Calliope knew how much that would


    devastate Hudson. He was fiercely independent, the kind of guy who''d never want to rely on anyone or let Lance, of all people, find out just how bad things had gotten.