Waiting was the worst.
Jenny sat in the doctor's office, leaning over in the chair in front of the large desk in front of her. She was getting tired of the smell of the hospital. So many tests had been run, CT scans, blood work. She was just ready to do what needed to be done so she could go back home and maybe finally try for a son with Piccolo. She looked over at him, giving him a faint smile as he sat uncomfortably in the chair next to her own. He actually wore jeans and a nice shirt for once. "You should wear that more often," she said quietly as she reached out to trace the collar.
Piccolo shook his head, the stoic expression still on his face. He hated dressing like an earthling. The fabric was stiff and too tight as far as he was concerned. The denim felt rough against his skin. "Don't hold your breath," he muttered in a quiet voice. "As soon as we get home, I'm giving these to Paige along with a box of matches and telling her to have at it." It only seemed appropriate, seeing as how that was the same fate his cape and turban had met at the hands of his eldest daughter. He had been rather irritated that day when he found out what had happened to his training clothes, but his little girl had blinked up at him with her big blue eyes and her mischievous little smile with a box of matches hanging out of her pocket and laughing was the only thing he could do. He looked over at his wife now, his expression softening as he reached out and ran his fingers through her short dark hair. "I hope they can figure out what we need to do," he said quietly. "Don't you worry about anything. It's all going to be fine. You'll see."
She leaned into his touch, managing a smile. "Isn't that what they say in those horror movies right before everything goes terribly wrong?" she asked, her eyes flickering over towards the door as it opened and the doctor walked in carrying a large file in his hands. Butterflies moved around strongly in her stomach as she took in the all too calm expression on his face, the forced smile as he reached out and shook each of their hands before he sat down in front of them. "So," she said nervously, "What did you find out?"
The doctor gave the woman a small smile as he opened up her folder and looked down at the tests result., "It's good and bad news, I'm afraid. The CT scan and blood work that we have done does confirm that you have a form of endometrial cancer. The good news is that surgery has excellent results of eliminating the abnormal cells and followed with a set schedule of chemotherapy we should be able to cure you."
Jenny's head spun and her world seemed to spiral down into one point around that one simple little word, cancer. She felt dizzy and was sure she could feel the blood draining from her face. The doctor seemed to be waiting patiently as she gathered her thoughts, the rest of what he had said starting to hit her full force. "I... don't... What do you mean cancer? Surgery? What does that mean?"
Piccolo felt absolutely dumbstruck. He wasn't exactly familiar with cancer, but he'd heard of it and he knew it was serious. People died from that, didn't they? He inwardly cursed himself for not learning more about humans. His kind had no such affliction. And he didn't like the sound of her undergoing surgery either. He swallowed the hard knot in his throat and reached over to take his wife's hand in his own. He had no words and clenched his jaw shut as he just listened to her talk to the doctor.
Jenny could barely feel it when Piccolo took her hand, but she squeezed back hard as she listened to the doctor explain how this particular cancer started out in the uterus. He explained the dangers of it metastasizing and how the abnormal cells usually travel to the lungs causing problems with breathing and the like, "Wait, you said surgery. What do you do? Do you just go in and take out the bad cells?"
The doctor shook his head, "No, I am afraid we will have to remove the entire uterus. If we leave the infected organ, there is a higher risk of the cancer lingering and coming back. It could begin to spread to your cervix, bladder, anywhere down there really. I am going to have to set this surgery up relatively quickly, we don't want this to go on any longer than it already has. I understand that you and your husband were trying for another child. I am sorry that will no longer be possible, but perhaps after the surgery, I can set you both up with some counselors and we can discuss other options if you would like."
Piccolo didn't know how much longer he could just sit here and listen to this doctor speak. His wife's life was in danger, there was no hope of them having any more children, and this bastard just sat there and spoke in that calm tone with the forced little smile on his face? He gripped Jenny's hand as his power level rose and he fought to press it back down. "Isn't there anything else you can do?" he growled out through clenched teeth. "You're a doctor for god's sake. You're supposed to HEAL people, not just go in and cut out body parts! There has to be another solution for this!"
The doctor kept his calm, he had seen it all before. The angry husband, the shocked wife. They would go through the stages of grief soon, "There are other options, of course, but the damage has already been done to her body. The uterus is no longer a fertile area for fetal growth. The abnormal cells inside of it right now will not allow for implantation of a fertilized egg. I could prescript a hormonal treatment or chemotherapy, but the cancer would still be there. It's like a scar. The absolute best course of action would be to remove the uterus and then put her on a treatment plan for chemotherapy to make certain that there is no recurrence of the cancer after the surgery. Does that make sense? As of now, there is no reason, no point for the uterus to stay inside of the body."
He took out a prescription pad and started writing down on it. "I'll make an appointment for you to go see the anesthesiologist and my assistants will set you up with the earliest surgery date that we can find. Most likely it will be later on this week or next Monday."
Jenny nodded numbly at the doctor, reaching out and taking the little slip of paper he handed over to her. She barely caught him saying something about counseling services for the life changing surgery. The life altering cancer that she now had in her body. Despite what it meant, that she could no longer have any children, she wanted it out of her. It had ruined everything. She bit her lip and let Piccolo guide her to stand up as they left. What did this mean now? What if the surgery didn't go as planned? What if she didn't make it through the surgery? Would she get to watch her babies grow up? Would she be able to grow old with Piccolo?
Piccolo felt like his legs were made of lead as they walked to the checkout window so that Jenny could schedule her surgery. The young woman working there was far too chipper for his taste, especially after the news they'd just received. He was so hurt and angry in that moment, he was tempted to blast the whole goddamn hospital apart just for failing his wife.
"Oh good news!" the woman grinned happily. "We have an opening tomorrow afternoon! Would you like to schedule your surgery for then? Or we can do Monday morning. Either one works!" She blinked bright-eyed at them, completely oblivious to their mood.
Tomorrow afternoon? Jenny thought her whole world was going to be falling down on her and they could do that as soon as tomorrow? She bit her lip as she tried to think. Was that enough time to say. She stopped herself, she wasn't going to say goodbye, but it would be nice to have some extra time just to visit with everyone on her own terms. "Monday morning is better," she said. The world around her seemed distant as she listened to the woman clack away on her computer. Too happy. Everything was too happy.
"Okie doke! Be here at seven sharp and remember not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before!" she grinned and handed Jenny a little card with the date and time on it. "You all have a nice day."
Piccolo all but dragged Jenny out of that hospital and scooped her into his arms as he took to the sky. He knew she could fly on her own, but he just wanted to hold her in that moment. He flew as fast and hard as he could towards their home, trying to keep his eyes as wide open as possible to hide the tears that burned at the corners of his eyes. He didn't understand this. This wasn't fair. Not only was he not going to have a son, but now he could lose his wife. He thought he could literally feel his heart breaking. It hurt in a way he'd never felt before. He tucked his face into his mate's hair and breathed in the flowery scent of her shampoo. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to fix this. Unless… "Dende," he breathed. "We'll talk to Dende. Maybe he has another solution."
Jenny shook her head, "I don't know, maybe he can." She said sadly, turning her face into his neck and breathing him in. Gods, what if she never got to do this again? She bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes and she cried.
Dende could feel his brother's urgency as he approached the Lookout. He turned towards Rose, his newlywed wife. "I have a bad feeling that the hospital did not tell them what they wanted to hear." He sighed gripped his staff a little bit harder. If there was one thing he knew about Piccolo, it was that he didn't take bad information well.
"Oh dear," Rose breathed as Piccolo and Jenny landed on the Lookout. She could see the tears in Jenny's eyes and the worry in Piccolo's. She reached over and squeezed Dende's hand as Piccolo walked closer, still carrying Jenny in his arms.
Piccolo finally set his wife down next to him, using more care than was necessary. He stood up straight and fixed his brother with an intense gaze. "Dende, we have a problem," he stated in a firm tone. "Jenny isn't well. I know you say you can't heal illnesses, but this one is serious. There has to be something you can do." He didn't like the way the last sentence came out, his voice softer, almost pleading for his brother to fix this.
Dende kept his stoic expression, but inwardly winced as he could easily pick up on the word that was crossing his mind. "Cancer," he said quietly and looked at them both carefully. "I am so very very sorry, but you know that there is nothing that I can do. Cancer cells, they are tricky. Even if I could heal her, my magic cannot tell the difference between the bad cells and the good cells. It is just not how it is done."
Jenny felt her soul being crushed a little more with each word. She wrapped her arms around her middle, tears welling up in her eyes. Failure. She was a failure. Poseidon had been right. What good was she if she couldn't even give Piccolo a son.
Rose gripped Dende's hand tighter as fear flooded through her for her sister-in-law. "Oh Jenny," she breathed. "I'm so sorry." She didn't know what else to say. It broke her heart to think of everything that Jenny was going to go through.
Piccolo grit his teeth, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "Can't you even try?!" he growled out at his brother. "PLEASE?" He drew a long breath through his nose, trying to control his temper. "It is a rare thing that I ask a favor of you. There has to be SOMETHING. Please? Please?!" To hell with appearances and pride. This was about Jenny and her health. "Dende, please?"
The Guardian closed his eyes, asking for strength from the Mother. Not to heal his sister-in-law, but to tell his brother the harsh truth of it all, "Brother, you ask of a favor that I cannot grant. It is not within my power. You must put your faith in the medicine of men to help her." He looked at Jenny, "I can help you heal after the surgery, but taking away this sickness is one thing I cannot do. I would if I were able, believe me. I would do it in a heartbeat."
Jenny nodded numbly, her fingers clenching into her shirt at her abdomen. What would it feel like when it was gone? To know that she would never again be able to carry a child, Piccolo's child. She felt like crying all over again.
"Trust the humans to take care of my wife?" Piccolo asked in a dangerous tone. "They can't even take care of themselves." He was furious at his brother, even though Dende did not deserve any of it. He reached over and grasped his wife's hand. "Excuse us," he growled and tugged on his wife's hand to lead her back to their bedroom.
Jenny allowed herself to be pulled along, trying to give them both a smile as they left, but it was no use. She didn't feel like smiling. She tugged her hand out of Piccolo's when they reached the room. "I'm not made of glass," she said as she climbed onto the bed, barely kicking off her shoes before she curled up, "I'm sorry. I don't know how this happened to me."
Piccolo frowned and tried to swallow the knot in his throat but didn't quite manage it. "I know you're not," he answered. "Is it wrong that I want to treat you that way for just a minute because I don't know what else to do? We both just got devastating news. Life changing news." He slipped off his shoes and crawled into the bed next to her, but didn't touch her yet. "I'm scared too, Jenny."
Jenny turned around on the bed, facing her husband and looking up at him. She had never seen him quite like this before. There was evident nervousness on his face, in his posture. He looked unsure of himself. "No, that's okay that you do that. I just. I don't know what I was expecting to hear today. It wasn't that. It wasn't that I would never be able to have children again." Tears slipped down her cheeks as she spoke out loud and the gravity of the situation hit her. "Piccolo, this scares me so much. What do we tell the girls? Our family? Our friends? This thing in me. It could kill me. I could die on the operating table. I could relapse." She swallowed hard and ran a hand through her hair, wincing as she thought about all those chemotherapy recounts. Would she lose her hair? Would she lose so much weight and just shrivel up and wither away? "I don't know what to do."
He thought his heart stopped at her words. "Wh-what?" he stammered. She could die in surgery? He'd never dealt with such a thing before. In fact, no one he knew had had surgery as far as he was aware. It never crossed his mind that that part could pose a danger to her. It was Thursday and she was going in for surgery on Monday. Did he really only possibly have three days left with her? He felt cheated, enraged, but most of all terrified. He scrubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand as his eyes burned and prickled. It was a sensation he wasn't used to. But the fear and the heartbreak of losing his wife was too much. "Don't," he choked out, his voice cracking. "You can't. I won't let you die. You're… you're my…" He couldn't even finish his sentence as a tear spilled down his cheek and his lungs seized up and it felt like his heart ripped in two.
Jenny's eyes widened as she saw the tears slipping down her husbands cheeks. They looked like raindrops sliding down his pristine, jade skin. She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand, astounded as more slipped down his face. She brushed her thumb over his cheek before she dropped her fingers to the mark on his neck. Tears gathered in her own eyes as she watched him cry. She wanted to tell him she would be alright, but she wasn't sure if that was the truth.
Piccolo gently pulled her to him and turned her so that her back was to his chest as he curled his tall frame around her. His eyes wrenched shut as he hugged her tightly and his shoulders shook. He wasn't used to feeling this helpless and he loathed himself for it. Crying was an exceptionally rare thing for him. Normally it was easy for him to control his emotions, to suppress them so that he could clearly and calmly work through the problem and come up with a solution. But not today.
The tears poured freely down his face as he wrapped his wife up in his arms and fear curled around his broken heart. They were too young for this. Only in their mid-twenties, he assumed they would grow old together. Or perhaps die in battle. At least that sort of death served a purpose, to give one's life for the protection of others. Not this. This was pointless to him. Unnecessary. Jenny had done nothing to deserve this. He grit his teeth as he tried to bite back a sob that escaped his throat anyway.
He felt sick. He was heartbroken about the fact that he was never going to have a son of his own. He was scared that he might lose the love of his life to this disease. And most of all, he was angry because there was absolutely nothing he could do to fix it.
Author's Note: If you're new to our writing, you can visit my profile to find the previous stories in this series. Hopefully you'll be able to jump right into this one if you want, but if you'd like to go back and read what's led up to this point, have at it! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. We love hearing your thoughts on our writing! ~LadyRavenhawk and JC 87
