For my mother darlene i love you and want whats best for
you

Beautiful

Miss Ellie had a secret, and Jock didn't like it.
She was acting strangely, secretively, and it bothered him to know end. He knew
what he was doing was wrong, but he had to get to the bottom of things. He
started looking through her drawer, and was far from prepared for what he'd
seen.

Breast cancer. So that was the secret she'd been hiding. He felt
sick to his stomach, and he was a strong man that could handle anything. His
wife was sick. How could she keep this a secret from him? His whole world had
changed in an instant, and for the first time in his life he felt scared, truly
scared. Never had he imagined his world without his wife in in it, and the
thought truly terrified him. So he drunk, not enough to get tipsy, but enough to
give him the courage to confront his wife.

"Ellie..we need to talk." He
held out the doctor's orders and for a minute he thought she might deck
him.

"YOu were looking through my things? Jock Ewing, how could you? How
could you do this to me? You know I don't think much of a marriage without
trust," she replied as calmly as she could.

"Trust? You want to talk
trust? You have cancer and you didn't think enough of me to tell me. Ellie, what
in God's name were you thinking?"

She looked down at the floor. "I was
thinking that I didnt want to hurt you. I didn't want you to leave. I didn't
want this to happen and if I didn't handle it the way you like me to then I'm
sorry. I just didnt know what to do."

"You don't trust me Ellie,"he said
softly but firmly.

"What? I never said that."

"You don't trust me
enough to tell me you have cancer. For God's sake woman, don't you know how much
I love you? I know I don't tell you every day but you're the most beautiful
woman I have ever met, and you only get more beautiful with every passing
year."

She teared up before coming up with a response. "They want to take
a breast, Jock. Tell me how beautiful I will be to you then. You can't, can
you?"

"I can tell you that I will always think that you are beautiful.
Take what they need to. I just don't want to imagine a world without you as my
wife. That wouldn't be fitting. You are my world, Ellie, don't you know
that?"

She didn't know what to say, but took solace in his ever welcoming
arms. She felt safe when she was with him, and for the first time in weeks she
knew that she was going to be okay. Jock found her beautiful, and that was all
she needed to know.

maybe to be continued