A morning around the Milton house was normally pretty chaotic. Clarice had to fight one year old Julie to get into her high chair. Mischa would run around the house tripping over baby toys trying to get ready for school. In the craziness of the morning Hannibal wasn't even noticed and for that he was glad.

The last few weeks hadn't been easy on him and it was starting to show. Julie still woke up in the middle of the night screaming for attention. Mischa was on the verge of failing her math class and needed her father's help all the time. The top all of that he was sick.

A few weeks ago he had started having a bad cough. At first he had dismissed it as a cold but it hadn't gone away. In fact, he had started to get worse. The cough wasn't the only problem. He didn't have much of an apatite and he was starting to lose weight.

He was glad none of the family members had noticed it yet. He really didn't want them to worry. Co-workers of his had noticed and they were starting to worry. They were trying to get him to see a doctor so that he could find out what was wrong.

The reason hadn't gone to a doctor was because he was sure he knew what was wrong. Even though it had been years since he had quit smoking he was sure he had lung cancer. He knew that was even more reason to go to the doctor but he couldn't face it. The thought of dieing and leaving behind two great kids and a loving wife was too much for him.

Of course he knew it just a matter of time before Clarice found out what a hard time he was having and he knew she would make him go. He didn't know that the very morning he stood over the sink silently turning everything over in his head would be the morning his family would find out.

Hannibal had finally shoved all of his worries out of his head and was turning to head out the door when a wave of coughing hit him. He leaned off the sink bracing himself as he coughed. Michal and Clarice turned their attention to him. Even baby Julie stopped her screaming.

No one said anything as he whizzed and coughed. When he was finally done he could feel something in his mouth so he spit it into the sink. He groaned when he saw puddles of blood in the sink.

"Are you Daddy?" Mischa asked walking over to him. "There is blood in the sink."

"I'm fine," he said turning on the water.

"You are not fine," Clarice said. "You are going to see a doctor today to get checked out."

"I'm fine," Hannibal repeated picking up his car keys.

The look on Mischa's face made him pause his movements. She was looking at him with the most worried look he had ever seen on her face. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Alright," he said with a sigh. "I'll call and make an appointment. You guys always win."

He picked up the telephone and dialed the local hospital.

----------------------

A few hours later Hannibal sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Mischa had wanted to come along with but he had sent her to school. They would have to give him a call back about the results of his chest x-ray anyway. Plus he didn't want his daughter to worry about him.

Hannibal sighed rubbing his head forehead with a hand as he started to cough again. He reached for a tissue and covered his mouth up. He could feel a little bit more blood coming up and out of his mouth. He felt like a fool for putting off going to the doctor's.

"Will Milton," A nurse said walking into the waiting room.

Hannibal got to his feet and followed her along the hallway.

"You don't sound so well," she said looking at his chart. "Is that why you are here today?"

"Yes," he gasp. "It's got to point where I'm coughing up blood."

"That's not good," she pointed out. "You're a doctor yourself so you know what this could be. It says on your file that you quit smoking a few years ago."

"Yes," he said. "I'm terrified it's lung cancer. I have a family so I really need to know."

"Little ones?" the nurse asked.

"Two girls," Hannibal explained with a sigh. "An eighteen year old and a one year old."

"Wow that is a major age gap," she said.

"Yea it is," he said laughing slightly. "It does make life difficult sometimes."

The nurse pointed him to a door and they disappeared through it.

-----------------

An hour later Hannibal walked out of the hospital feeling much worse than he had before he went in. The doctor that had checked him out said that his breathing was horrible. Hannibal couldn't cough for him without having a bad spell.

The doctor couldn't say that it was lung cancer for sure but he said the chances were high. He said that his lungs were pretty bad off. He was supposed to stay home and take it easy until he got the phone call about his x-rays.

He took the long way home. He didn't want to face Clarice. He hadn't told her that is could possibly be cancer. He just couldn't scare he like that. She had assumed it was just a bad infection. He wasn't going to tell her anything until he was sure of what it was.

She was waiting for him when he arrived home.

"Where's Julie?" he asked hanging up his coat.

"Sleeping," Clarice said. "What did the doctor say?"

"Nothing," Hannibal explained. "He won't know anything until later. He is going to call me back about my x-rays."

"He must have said something," she said not buying his story at all.

"My lungs are in bad shape," he admitted. "But that is all I know."

"Oh Hannibal," she pulled him into a hug.

"Don't worry everything is going to be alright," he said patting her back. "I promise."

He closed his eyes tight and hoped he hadn't just lied to her.