At the Medical Center
After Anna came clean, Adam started running her through a battery of tests.
"Adam, tell me this isn't real!"
Dr. Montgomery burst in, having just heard the news, while Anna was mid-MRI.
"Sorry, it's true," Adam said, pointing to Anna lying in the MRI room. He sighed, "See her? Deacon injected her with a sedative hydrate—nearly buried her alive. There might be over a hundred cases like this."
"No!" Dr. Montgomery clapped a hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her face, unable to process it.
"When they caught Deacon, he didn't even deny it," Adam shook his head. "He just laid out his 'philosophy'—said he wasn't wrong, just 'cleaning up walking corpses.' That's why he never got with anyone all these years. Crime needs secrecy, and loneliness is a perfect cover."
"No!" Dr. Montgomery cried out. "I felt his love for me—he wasn't lying!"
"Maybe," Adam said gently. "But it doesn't matter now. He's a full-on serial killer. The police are digging up coffins behind his funeral home as we speak. If they find over a hundred victims buried alive in there—and you're a doctor, you know what that's like—do you really think your feelings matter at this point? I'd suggest taking some time off…"
Dr. Montgomery covered her mouth and bolted out of the room.
Adam let out a long sigh.
Talk about rotten luck! Who'd have thought the square-jawed, justice-vibes Deacon was this kind of guy?
"Damn!" Adam muttered, turning back to the scan screen. His jaw dropped. "Page Dr. Shepherd!"
"Yes, Dr. Duncan," a nurse replied, rushing off. Soon, Dr. Shepherd arrived for a consult.
"Adam, how's it looking?" Ted asked anxiously from the hallway.
"Not great," Adam said, his face grim. "Anna's got primary brain cancer. That's why she's been having headaches, nosebleeds, and hallucinations."
"What?!" Ted, Lily, and Matthew yelped in unison, horrified.
Cancer's like a dark cloud—everything turns gray the second it's mentioned.
"Can it be cured?" Matthew asked, keeping his cool better than the others.
"We can remove the malignant tumor and follow up with chemo. She might have a few years," Adam said, shooting Ted a sympathetic look.
In this timeline, thanks to Adam's chaotic butterfly effect, Ted had met his "perfect soulmate"—someone he'd originally missed out on because of Robin. Adam had thought Ted dodged the whole yellow umbrella tragedy.
But nope. First, this soulmate nearly gets buried alive, scaring Ted half to death. Now, cancer? A few years left, tops.
They say staying by someone's side is the longest love letter you can write.
But in a case like this, watching your love fade away? That's the longest torture too.
"No!" Lily sobbed, covering her mouth.
"How many years, max?" Matthew asked, glancing at Ted, who'd gone still again.
"Usually 2 to 3," Adam explained. "Rarely more than 5."
"Ted, you okay?" Matthew asked, worried.
"I'm marrying her!" Ted suddenly shouted. "I'm proposing tonight! I want to give her all my love for the rest of her days!"
Matthew blinked, stunned. "You sure?"
"Dead sure!" Ted's eyes burned with resolve. "I hate that I didn't meet her sooner, didn't give her—the girl too scared to accept love—more of it. I don't want future me regretting every second I'm wasting now! I'm marrying her! I'll be there for her! I'll make her happy for life!"
"I'm with you, Ted!" Lily, ever the softie, jumped in first. "If you pull off the proposal tonight, maybe we could do a double wedding!"
"Yeah," Matthew added. He worried about Ted facing her eventual loss, but if Ted was serious, he wouldn't rain on his parade. If it were Lily, he'd do the same without a second thought. "But is it doable?" He looked at Adam.
"Probably not," Adam shook his head. "Surgery needs to happen ASAP. Recovery and treatment take time. Your wedding's less than two weeks away—it won't work."
"Then tonight it is!" Ted declared without hesitation. "If she says yes, I'm taking Anna to Vegas right away. We'll get married there—I want her to be the happiest bride ever!"
He turned to Adam, eyes pleading. "Adam, I need your help."
Brain surgery? Forget recovery time—her gorgeous hair would be gone, and the toll would age her visibly. If she wanted to shine at her wedding, pre-surgery was the best shot.
And pulling off a near-perfect wedding this fast? Ted couldn't do it alone. Even Barney, with his exec salary, was iffy. In their circle, only Adam had the pull.
"If you're serious, of course I'll help," Adam said, meeting Ted's gaze and the hopeful looks from Matthew and Lily. "No need to drag her to Vegas, though. We'll do it here in New York. Saves time—and time's what you're shortest on! A judge will be moved by your story and fast-track it. Assuming Anna says yes, of course."
"I'm serious!" Ted calmed down, but his resolve didn't waver. "I know she'll say yes."
"As long as you mean it," Adam said, giving him a deep, thoughtful look, his heart swelling with emotion.
This is Ted! This is that damn romantic streak!
"Let's break the bad news to Anna first. After that, I'll make a call. Ted, you, Matthew, and Lily figure out what you want to do—someone'll handle the details for you."
"Thanks, Adam!" Ted's eyes shimmered with gratitude.
Adam waved it off with a smile.
Ted wasn't as tight with him as Matthew and Lily, but he was solid enough. In this life, Barney hadn't dragged him into as much nonsense, and without Robin dangling over him, breaking good girls' hearts, this Ted was leaps better than the original timeline.
If he really pulled off this long-haul, true-love commitment, Adam would admit it: Ted had changed. No more the flaky jerk shouting "true love" one minute, then bailing when the spark fizzled.
Take that girl who played La Vie en Rose in the rain for her lost love. She spent seven, eight years alone, smiling off suitor after suitor. Years later, when she finally dated someone who couldn't be refused, he proposed—and her first move? Step outside, look at the stars, and ask her late love what to do.
A breeze blew by.
Wiping tears, she laughed, "Guess that's a yes. Time to let go. Goodbye, Max."
But when she went back in? She turned down the ring, grabbed her bags, and left the guy's apartment.
She'd said she'd move on, but how do you let go of a love that deep?
A girl like that—Adam wouldn't even dare approach her himself. No way he'd let this Ted chase her either.
Time's the only test of real love.
If Ted had truly grown—if he'd stopped with the impulsive "I love you" at first sight, stopped swapping "true loves" like trading cards, and learned to wait, to let time shape him into the best version of himself for his future partner—then maybe, years from now, Adam would hand him that number.
It all depended on Ted.
Wrong time, right person? That's a disaster.
Better they never meet at all!
(End of Chapter)