I'm your man. - Chapter one.
Stuart Turner sighed to himself, he was growing weary. The best part of four hours had been spent sitting in a stiflingly hot car watching a mid terrace waiting for the owners to return, with the grumpiest women alive. He was confused, his usually bubbly, witty best friend was giving him the silent treatment and he wasn't sure why. He replayed the past real conversation they'd shared three days earlier and wondered if he had said anything wrong. The sweat laced his body making him very uncomfortable and somewhat grumpy. He tapped on he glove compartment tunelessly and arched his back, stretching. He let out a loud yawn and became very aware of the fact that her eyes were burning a hole in the side of his skull, he stopped tapping at once and went back to staring blankly out of the window. It had started when she'd arrived in work late on Monday and he put it down to her running late and having a bad day. She'd been moody and irritable with him and it hadn't lifted. Under normal circumstances he would have relished her being his partner on the obbo, but not recently, she had been wandering around like a bear with a sore head, and after consulting Terry about it they had decided that she was suffering with "women's problems. He felt her shifting in her seat beside him and heard her inhale a deep breath before sighing loudly. I'm going to stretch my legs for five minutes okay? she muttered neutrally and then swiftly left the car. He watched her walk, her pace was quick and her head was down - whatever was bothering her was obviously weighing heavy on her shoulders.
Jo massaged her temples and frowned, the heat of the day not doing much to lift her spirits. The truth was - she was worried, the slip of paper had landed on her doorstep on Friday, the appointment being the following Monday, this alone being enough to scare her witless - no-one got an appointment that quickly without it being something serious.
She hadn't told anyone yet and she wasn't sure if she even would, a positive smear test was something that only promiscuous women got. Promiscuous straight women. And she was neither. Deep down she knew that this wasn't her fault, but for now she was settling on self blame.
The doctor was male, usually this wouldn't bother her as she was more than capable of relating to men - but this doctor had reeled off a load of questions like he didn't care. making her feel even more alone.
Have you ever used oral contraceptives, such as the pill?
No. - of course she hadn't, she'd never needed too.
Have you ever been treated for a sexually transmitted infection?
Never.
Have you had sexual intercourse in the past three months?
Nope.
What is your sexual oriantation?
There had been no "if you don't mind me asking" he' just reeled them off without looking at her, treating her not as human being with feelings, but as some women who had caught something nasty. She' gone to work on Monday late, thankfully no-one questioned her and if anyone had noticed her foul mood then nobody had mentioned it. She felt angry. And hurt. And scared. And vulnerable and for the first time in years, she missed Tess. She missed having a partner - someone she could have confided what she was going through with, someone to come to the hospital with her the following week and hold her hand and listen to the doctor - cause she sure as hell wasn' taking in what she was being told. For the first time, she realised that she could never be certain of her health again. Before she realised it she had gone completely around the block and was climbing back into the drivers seat of the car.
You alright? Stuart asked, more grumpily than he meant to sound.
During the fifteen minutes that she had been gone he had made a decision - he was tired of the grumpy silences and the awkward tension surrounding them and anyone else that came into contact with Jo and he was going to tell her so.
"ine yeah, any sign of them yet?"Jo asked, nodding her head in the direction of the empty house.
"Look, I can'ttake much more of this... What is the matter with you?" Stuart asked, directly.
"Nothing, I told you I' fine" Jo swallowed hard, she didn'twant to talk about it, not like this.
"There is obviously something wrong, so spit it out." he snapped impatiently.
"I..."
The bile rose in her throat and her heart hammered in her chest, she is not how she had imagined that Stuart would be, she imagined calmness, strength, not this.
"The erm... The doctors, they think that something is wrong.. With me" Tears pricked her eyes and she examined her lap, determined not to cry.
"Like... What?"Stuart asked, slightly alarmed.
"Like..."Jo seemed somewhat calmer than she had been in days, calmer than she felt
"They've found.. What they're calling abnormal cells..and I just, need more tests" she gently explained.
"When did this happen?.. What's been said?.. What do they think it is?"
"Monday, they don't know.Jo stroked Stuarts neck, knowing he needed reassurance
"I'm scared and I don't know what to do this isn't me Stu.. This isnt what I do"she fiercely brushed away a stray tear.
Stuart felt the bottom fall out of his world, she was right, Jo didn't do ill, didn't do scared, he wasn't quite sure how to cope with this new Jo. Whatever he had been expecting her to say it certainly wasn't that, he felt guilty, he'd been too harsh with her and made her open up when she wasn't ready. His natural instinct was to simply pull his best friend into his arms and hold her tight. Jo fell apart, any tears that she had been swallowing back, she let flow. Stuart gave her a little squeeze, he couldn't lose her, that wasn't n option. He stroked her hair and planted a series of little kisses on the top of her head.