Hey guys! I'm glad to be back into writing this again. I guess you could consider this part 1 of a 2 part chapter. As always,

TW: mentions of needles and bloodwork

Out of all the children, the hardest to test on was Garroth.

The way Zack and Elizabeth administered the Forever Potion on all the children was different. Travis was to drink the potion mixed with juice. Katelyn was given a vaccine. The way the potion was given to Aphmau was known only to Zack. Garroth was given IV transfusions.

Elizabeth thought it was best to give Garroth the IV directly into his bloodstream as his situation was the most dire. However, this made Garroth squeamish and anxious whenever he was to be tested on.

Zack was better with antsy children than Elizabeth was. Thus, he was always assigned to take care of Garroth.

While Zack was performing tests on Garroth, Garte sat outside of the room with Terry and his son, Travis. Derek sat across from the three of them. The businessmen were talking casually, and occasionally turning to speak with the little one, who was three.

"Is there any particular reason you want him to have the potion?" Garte inquired. He had been curious, but hadn't yet felt there was an appropriate time to ask.

"Michael and I are good friends. Have been for a long time," Terry shrugged. "It sounded like a promising opportunity, and he promised there would be no harm to come from it."

Both Garte and Derek nodded. Garte knew he had no room to press or judge - his son was in the room across from them with an IV in his arm as they spoke. Derek, however, sat alone in his judgment.

The Ultima tried not to judge, but could not fathom the willingness to let a small child experience such things. He was even starting to pass judgment onto Garte, who could not tell him about the horror in the vision Michael showed him.

"What about you?" Terry asked Garte when no response came from him.

Garte froze. He bit the inside of his cheek, unable to respond. His eyes jumped to Derek, who pressed his lips in a line and looked back at Terry.

"Um," Garte paused, desperate for his racing mind to come up with an excuse. "Just saw an opportunity and took it."

Derek sat back in his chair and let out a breath. Another round of judgment was passed - what was there that his best friend wasn't telling him?

The silence lingered until Zack brought Garroth out of the room. Once again, Garroth rushed to his father. He climbed onto Garte's lap and clung to his shirt, staring at Zack as he stood across from him and his father.

"Woah," Garte whispered to Garroth. He was stunned his son was clinging to him so tightly.
"What's the matter, Gar?"

"Garte," Zack interrupted before Garroth could respond. "Can I pull you aside and talk to you quick?"

Garte furrowed his eyebrows. Terry and Derek looked at him with puzzled expressions. Derek then inquired what it was about, as none of the children ever had issues immediately following the potion.

"We need to talk about his blood test results," Zack said calmly.

"You took his blood?" Garte asked.

He frowned and shared quick eye contact with Derek, who appeared equally as perplexed. Garroth had a terrible fear of needles, so whenever the IV was put into his arm, Garte was there. He was perturbed as to why Zack did not ask him into the room.

Moreover, blood tests seemed to be a rare occurrence.

"You'll be thankful I did in a moment," Zack replied quickly. Though he had anticipated this response, the hesitation was getting on his nerves.

Garte looked down at Garroth, "Can you play with Travis for a moment? I'll talk to Zack and then we can go home."

Garroth shook his head and clung once again to his father. This rattled not just Garte's nerves, but Derek and Terry's as well. What could the testing possibly be doing to him?

"It's okay, bud," Garte pulled Garroth off his lap. "You've got Derek right there, and we'll only be a moment."

Garte stood up and placed a quick hand on Garroth's head before walking away from him and following Zack. Garroth, though hesitant, approached little Travis and they began to play together.

"That was an odd reaction from him," Terry commented.

Derek's attention snapped to Terry as he spoke. He was previously keeping his eye on Garte and Zack walking away from them, scared to find out what they were talking about.

"His response about why Garroth is taking part in the potion testing?" Derek questioned. Terry nodded with his eyes connecting with Derek's.

Derek shifted in his seat. Something about the bright emerald color of Terry's irises was unsettling to him.

He also questioned if he should tell Terry any information about what happened. It was not his business to tell, and yet he did not want to force Garte into telling his story yet again if Terry had pressed.

"It was cancer," Derek blurted before he could think more on the issue, or check to see if Garroth was listening in.

Thankfully, he wasn't.

"Oh?" Terry's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah," Derek pressed the bridge of his nose. "It was bad. Acute myeloid leukemia."

"That's a horrifically aggressive cancer, my Irene," Terry replied.

Derek simply nodded. There were truly no words to justify the horrors of a child in hospice care. Terry seemed to have no words, either.

Meanwhile, while Derek and Terry were sharing an awkward silence, Zack was struggling to deliver news that he had once delivered before.

"What's this about, Zack? Why did you take blood from him?" Garte furrowed his eyebrows.

"Given his situation, I found it best to run some extra tests," Zack replied calmly.

"Without grabbing me first? You know he's afraid of needles. Is that why he's so worked up?" Garte inquired.

Zack took a deep breath. He hardly knew what to say the first time, let alone the second.

"Garte, forget that I didn't grab you for just a moment," Zack said, before meeting Garte's eyes. "His blood results came back abnormal."

Garte's face went pale, just as it had before. His mind raced to try and affirm that Zack wasn't saying what he thought he was saying. He tried his best to focus on what the doctor was trying to tell him, but his ears began to ring.

"Y-You're not... you're not saying..." Garte trailed off as he spoke quietly.

Zack nodded, "I don't know how, and I don't know why. All I know is that he has cancer cells. But we-"

"You fucking promised," Garte hissed at Zack while getting closer to him.

Zack saw that look only once before, when he was desperately trying to revive Garroth. It took a lot to get that aggression out of Garte. Once it was there, there was no going back.

He tried his best to remain calm and professional. Zack swallowed before continuing.

"Only you, me, and Elizabeth will know. We're going to give him the strongest potions we have," Zack replied.

"And if that doesn't work?"

Zack had considered this. Oh, how he feared it. Beyond the potions, there was little he could do. Though he had thought about it so heavily, he had no response for his friend.

"We will do everything we can. We're lucky enough that it is just in its earliest stages. If it boils down to having to go back to traditional healthcare, we will do such. Come in tomorrow and we will do what we can."

Garte gritted his teeth, mostly to hold back any fearful tears from flowing. He was fuming and angry, but he was most of all petrified. His hands shook violently with contempt.

"So help me Irene," Garte said as he directed his eyes back to Zack's. "If this was all for nothing, I will end you. End you and this whole shit show of a conspiracy."

Zack, shaken, only nodded as Garte turned to walk back and greet his son. He tried not to be fearful of that reaction - he knew Michael would have simply scoffed. He might have gone as far as to laugh.

Garte smiled as he approached the scene of Derek and Terry sitting across from each other silently while the boys were playing. He tried to put on his best face, but Derek raised and eyebrow at him. Garte ignored eye contact with him.

"Come on, Gar. We gotta get going," Garte told his son as he grabbed his jacket.

Garroth turned around, "A few more minutes, please?"

"Another time, pal. Come on, Momma's got cupcakes waiting at home."

Terry lifted his eyebrows and looked at Garroth with a smile. He was getting up to leave, as well.

"Cupcakes? You better get on home, then. You don't want them cold," Terry winked at both boys.

"You know your mom's are best when they're warm," Derek chided when Garroth showed no interest in leaving.

Eventually, after a few seconds, Garroth conceded. His father bundled him up in his coat and picked him up when he reached for him.

The four friends said their goodbyes, and Garroth and Travis said theirs. Derek and Garte walked out side by side, Garroth sitting comfortably in Garte's arms.

The cold wind hit them in the face as they opened the doors. Garroth's eyes slammed shut as he turned away burying his face into his father's neck. When they finally reached the car, Garroth showed no hesitation getting into his carseat and letting his dad buckle him in.

Once Garte had finally closed the door, Derek began to question.

"What happened?" Derek asked bluntly. "First off, why did he take Garroth's blood without telling you?"

"I'm thankful he did," was Garte's only response.

"That's sketchy as hell, Garte, and you know it."

All Garte could do was shrug. He was in no mood for Derek's unnecessary pressing.

He loved Derek like a brother, and they called each other such. But, he had his flaws. One of the biggest being that he consistently pried into other people's matters and concerns.

Even with the best of intentions, he would tell personal matters to those who didn't necessarily need to know. With the exception of business affairs, it was like he forgot what private matters were sometimes.

It became somewhat of a running joke between Garte and Zianna, especially after Derek seemed to pry himself into the business of Zianna's affair. Though Garte was thankful, and would forever be, he found it comedic. If new information came up, the running line was, "Oh, did Derek tell you that?"

"I know it is, but it needed to happen," Garte replied.

"Why? What's going on?" Derek pressed further. It was unclear whether his cheeks were turning red from the aggressive cold or from anger.

"Irene, can't you just mind your own business for once in your life?" Garte angrily began walking to the other side of his car. This time, it was far from comedic.

Derek gently grabbed Garte's shoulder. He spun around quickly with irritation written all over his face. Derek sighed and tried to remain composed before getting angry.

But, he looked into Garte's eyes. They were annoyed, for sure, but his blue eyes were showing a sadness and despair deeper than any ocean. His mind was clearly running faster than any river ever had.

Derek could put two and two together.

"It's back?" Derek barely whispered.

Garte paused for a moment. Then, he finally nodded. He told Derek to come straight back to where they were the next day and to give every hope that this would work.

No more words were exchanged, because neither Derek or Garte could find words that perfectly captured the essence of that level of suffering.