An Unpleasant Discovery
an Emergency fanfic story by Hez

Part One

January 28, 1981

The sunlight streaming in through the French doors woke Roy DeSoto, and he blinked at the bright light, yawning and stretching in bed. He rolled over, and wrapped an arm around his sleeping wife, pulling her towards him. He loved when his two days off fell on a weekend. There was no buzzing alarm clock jerking him awake. There was no frantic scrambling about to get the kids ready for school, or him ready for work. The mornings were so peaceful and wonderful. The kids were old enough now to where they, too, preferred sleeping in, rather than getting up and watching cartoons, so the house remained silent sometimes till nine.

Roy's wife sighed as she snuggled up against her husband, wiggling her bottom against him, and smiling when she felt his reaction.

"Woman, don't get me started," Roy growled huskily into Joanne's ear, as he pressed himself closer to her.

He kissed her neck, and she moaned in response. He smiled. This was another reason he liked when his days off fell on weekends, and that their children were teenagers: he and Joanne could enjoy each other's company without fear of interruption. Joanne rolled over onto her back, and Roy moved on top of her. As they made love, the two parents still keep one ear open, listening for any muted, rustling sounds indicating their children were moving about in the house. That wouldn't change for some time; they were always aware of what was going on in the house, and always ready to stop their activity if they had to. Roy clamped his hand over Joanne's mouth, and buried his face in the crook of her neck, gritting his teeth as the waves crashed over him, and bright lights danced behind his eyelids.

I can hardly wait, he thought as he moved his hand, and kissed his wife. in four years, Chris and Jennie will both be at college, and I won't have to do that.

He stopped kissing Joanne, and leaned up on his elbows, looking down at her. His wife's face was flushed, her eyes slightly dilated, and her lips were slightly swollen from his assault. She was, quite simply, the most beautiful woman on the planet, and Roy thanked God everyday for giving her to him.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she replied.

The shuffling of stocking feet on carpeted floor, and whispered conversation from the hallway beyond the bedroom door told the parents their children were up. Roy rolled off his wife with a sigh, and lay beside her listening as the kids made their way downstairs.

"If we're lucky, they'll make coffee," Joanne said.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Roy agreed as he heard dishes and silverware being rummaged out of drawers and cupboards.

"MOM!"

Joanne moaned and winced as her fifteen-year-old daughter yelled for her from the kitchen.

"MOM! WE'RE OUT OF MILK!"

Joanne stood, threw on a white satin robe, and went to the door, opening it a crack.

"SO?" She asked with playful snottiness.

"SO, LIKE, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HAVE CEREAL WITHOUT MILK?" Came the surly reply.

"SO, HAVE SOMETHING ELSE FOR BREAKFAST!" She yelled down, mildly annoyed.

"BUT, MOM, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE!" Jennie whined.

Joanne sighed. "WELL, THEN HAVE CHRIS DRIVE TO THE STORE AND GET SOMETHING!"

"CAN I DRIVE THE PORCHE?" Chris' seventeen-year-old voice flew up hopefully.

"NO!" Roy boomed from the bed. "YOU TAKE YOUR MOTHER'S CAR!"

His son's muttered, "Aw, man!" could be heard, and Roy shared a smile with his wife.

"THE KEYS ARE HANGING BY THE DOOR!" Joanne called. "BRING SOME BREAKFAST BACK, WOULD YOU? DONUTS OR DANISHES OR SOMETHING!"

"Wait!" Roy said bolting from the bed. "I have a better idea."

He came up behind his wife, pressing against her slightly, as he called out the tiny opening in the door.

"CHRIS! TAKE YOUR SISTER AND YOURSELF OUT TO DENNY'S FOR BREAKFAST!"

"BUT I DON'T LIKE DENNY'S!" Jennie whined. "THEY SUCK! THEIR EGGS ARE ALL SLIMEY AND GROSS!"

"DENNY'S, IHOP, I DON'T CARE!" Roy called down to the two teens. "JUST GO OUT TO BREAKFAST!"

Roy reached for his wallet on the dresser, and pulled out a twenty- dollar bill. He slipped it through the crack in the door, and watched it drift to the carpeted floor in the hall.

"THERE'S A TWENTY ON THE FLOOR UP HERE. TAKE IT AND GET OUT. AND DON'T COME BACK FOR AWHILE."

"Roy!" Joanne gasped and giggled, smacking his chest playfully, then called out to Chris and Jennie. "BRING BACK SOME DANISHES AND MILK WHEN YOU COME BACK."

"A LONG TIME FROM NOW!" Roy added as he pulled Joanne back a bit, and slammed the door closed.

The couple could hear their children running up the stairs, heading for their respective rooms to change their clothes.

"Gross, I bet they're gonna have sex!" Jennie muttered, and Roy felt his face grow hot.

Chris paused by their door to pick up the twenty, the light paper crunching slightly between his eager fingers. "Duh, Jen, what do you think they've been doing all morning?" He whispered, but the couple behind the door still heard him.

"Oh gross! Gag me with a spoon, Christopher!" Jennie exclaimed and slammed her bedroom door.

Her brother snickered and didn't bother closing his door while he changed into jeans and a sweatshirt.

In the master bedroom, Roy and Joanne blushed furiously, and stifled their giggles behind their hands. They listened as Chris and Jennie ran down the stairs and slammed the front door as they raced out of the house. They heard Joanne's car start up, idle for a bit, then back out of the driveway, and head down the street. When they could hear the car no more, Roy scooped his wife up, and carried her back over to their bed, gently setting her down on the edge. He removed the slippery satin robe, depositing it unceremoniously on the floor, then slowly pushed her back onto the cool sheets, and covered her body with his. He made love to her for the second time that morning, and didn't bother to cover her mouth this time when she called his name over and over again.

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Roy lay beside his wife, making lazy circles around her left breast with his fingertip. She sighed with contentment, and dozed. They had spent a magical two hours making love to each other after Chris and Jennie went out to breakfast, then showered together, and dressed just long enough to go downstairs and have a cup of coffee and eat the Danishes the kids had brought home with them. Both teens quickly vacated the house again, with Jennie running off to meet her friends at the mall, and Chris going to play basketball down at the park with some of the neighbourhood boys. Both would be gone the better part of the day, and the couple quickly returned to their bed.

Now, Roy lay pondering his wife's breasts. While not as high and firm as they were when he first encountered them under a fuzzy angora sweater in the 10th grade, they were still beautiful, perky, and seemed to enjoy his attention. Roy smiled as the nipple of the left breast responded to his touch. He leaned down to kiss it, and moved his hand to attend to the right breast. He lightly ran his fingers over the nipple, pleased when it responded quickly as well. Joanne moaned and writhed beneath him, enjoying her husband's touch.

Roy moved over to attend to the right breast, giving the nipple a gentle squeeze, and was surprised to find a small bead of clear liquid appear. He wiped it away with his finger, and held it up for a better look, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger, sniffing it, but finding no odour. It had a watery consistency, and evaporated quickly. Roy reached down, and squeezed again, and got a slightly smaller bead of fluid.

"Jo? What's this?" He asked.

"It's a breast, baby, and don't stop doing what you're doing to it," she answered breathlessly.

"No, Jo, seriously, what's this discharge?" Roy said as he squeezed the nipple harder attempting to extract more fluid.

"Ow! Roy, stop that!" Joanne's eyes flew open as pain shot through her breast, and she smacked his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Have you noticed this discharge before?"

"Discharge? What discharge? What are you talking about?"

"Jo, I just got a discharge from this breast when I squeezed it."

Their eyes locked, a mixture of confusion and concern mirrored in them.

"I don't think it's done it before," Jo said. "I haven't gotten anything out of either breast since Jennie was weaned, and that was a long time ago."

"You're not pregnant again, are you?"

"Better not be! I'll be pissed if we spent all that money and the vasectomy didn't take!"

Roy smiled a bit at his wife's indignant look, then frowned again. "No, it wasn't like when you were breastfeeding. Like I said, it was clear. Like water. Did you do your exam this month?"

Jo frowned, too. "No, not yet."

Joanne settled back onto the bed, and Roy began examining her breasts. He started with the left one, certain he hadn't felt anything unusual when he'd been caressing it before, but wanted to do a real breast exam just to be sure. Joanne winced under his rough ministrations, and bit her lip. Roy apologized for hurting her, and tenderly kissed and nuzzled the breast when he was finished.

"This one seems fine; I don't feel anything I've never felt before, and there's no discharge."

"Well, that's good."

Roy turned his attention to the right breast, the one that had emitted the discharge. He took his time feeling the entire breast, using circular motions with his fingertips to search for irregularities. When he reached the areola, he stopped. Pressing down again, he felt it. A bump. He didn't want to call it a lump. Didn't want to think of it as a lump, so he thought of it as a bump; perhaps a swelling. He had definitely never encountered it before. He squeezed the nipple, and a small bead of clear fluid appeared.

"Have you noticed this before?" Roy asked, taking Joanne's hand, and placing the fingers on the spot where he'd noticed the abnormality, pressing them into the tender flesh. The nipple was taut, and it was difficult to feel beneath it, but Joanne *did* feel something different. Something she'd never felt before. She looked up at her husband, fear in her brown eyes.

Oh God!

Roy leaned up and kissed her passionately, as though loving her hard enough could make this thing go away.

"Call your doctor, now," he said when he came up for air. "Tell them you need to see him today!"

Joanne rolled out from under her husband, reached for the phone, and dialed the number. Roy stood and walked towards the French doors leading out onto the small balcony off their bedroom. The back yard was cast in long shadows now, as the sun set on the other side of the house. It had been such a wonderful day, a magical day, he mused. Now the magic was dying, fading away like the sun, and being replaced with gut clenching fear.

He felt her hands on his bare shoulder, and turned around.

"Doctor's on vacation," Jo said, leaning her cheek against his chest. "He won't be back for two weeks, then he's booked solid till March."

"Doesn't he have someone covering his patients?" Roy asked, annoyed.

"Yes. Dr. Mitchell," Jo replied. "But between Dr. Harris' patients and his own practice, he's booked up almost till March himself."

"Didn't you tell them what the problem was?" Roy demanded pulling her out to arm's length. "Don't they know your family history?"

"Yes, I told them, and yes, they know, Roy, stop yelling at me!" Joanne's face crumbled as the resolve she'd mustered up to make the phone call calmly and confidently, left her. Roy grabbed her, and held her close to him as her tears fell.

"I'm sorry, Jo!" he said, his own fears threatening to overwhelm him. "I'm not mad at you, baby, I'm mad at them! You need to see a doctor now! You need to have tests done now!"

His mind flashed back to the fall of 1976 when Joanne's mother's sister became ill, and was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a brief, painful battle, Aunt Louise died in early January, 1977. The following summer, Joanne's mother died from the disease, and just last year, Joanne buried her younger sister, Eileen, who died only two months after being diagnosed. Since her aunt's death, Joanne had been diligent about her breast health, doing monthly self- examinations, sometimes with Roy's help, and seeing her doctor regularly. His blood ran cold at the though of what might happen to his wife.

Oh, God! How will I survive without her?

The couple stood holding each other, both of them sobbing, for several minutes, then Roy suddenly pulled away and grabbed the phone.

"Who are you calling?" Jo asked sniffing.

"Brackett," Roy said, snorting loudly and wiping his face with his hand. "Doesn't matter how busy he is, he'll see you today!"

"NO!" Jo quickly smacked her hand down on the cradle of the phone disconnecting the call. "I'm not going to see Kelly Brackett!"

"What? Why not? He's a damn good doctor, Jo. Plus he's a good friend!"

"That's exactly it, Roy, he's a friend. And, he's also your boss!! I'm not having your boss see me naked!"

"Now, Jo, you're overreacting," Roy said in his calm, professional voice. The one he used on frantic patients, or patient's families back when he was a paramedic. The one that drove Joanne crazy. "It's important for a doctor to see you today! Now! We have to get this ball rolling, hon, we can beat this if we catch it soon enough!"

"I know that, Roy," Joanne growled through gritted teeth. "but I will not see Dr. Brackett!"

"Okay, well, how about Joe Early? Or Morto . . . no, on second thought, not Morton."

"Honey, I'm not seeing any of your doctor friends at Rampart! I've only ever met them socially! I won't let any of them see me naked, let alone fondle me!"

"They're not going to fondle you, Joanne, they're going to examine you!"

"I know that, I know, it's just that. . ."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what," Roy said, once again holding Joanne tight against his chest. "Rampart's always got a gynecologist on call, for emergencies. I'll call Dixie; I'm sure she'll arrange something for us today. Is that acceptable?"

"Have I ever met this on-call emergency gynecologist?" Joanne asked sniffling.

Roy smiled. "No, I'm pretty sure you haven't."

Jo nodded her consent, and Roy picked up the phone again. He waited a moment after dialing, then tried to put a smile in his voice when he said, "Hey, Dix! It's Roy DeSoto. Say, I need a favour . . ."

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