Chapter 8

Dr. Samuels was running late and Elizabeth and Peter waited in silence as one patient after another was escorted to the back offices. Their appointment was scheduled for 2:50 and it was already almost three thirty. El's hand had not let go of Peter's and although the room was brim with magazines and newspapers, neither one of them had the inclination to pick one up.

The receptionist finally called Peter's name and the two of them were up like a shot, following her into the inner sanctum and being shown to one of the many examination rooms at the back of the clinic's offices.

'Please change into this gown in case the doctor wants to do a physical examination' she instructed before leaving Peter and El alone, waiting... again.

It took no more than ten minutes and the kind doctor appeared, looking very professional and reassuring, just what Peter needed seeing he was sitting there with just a thin piece of material and his pride slightly wounded. Peter didn't like this type of attention – never had. He was the world's worst patient, denying it when he was sick and not following directions willingly. El had been face to face with Peter, the rebel, on many occasions in their long marriage and she silently wished the doctor good luck as he stepped into the room.

'Peter, hello' said the doctor, shaking his hand

'And Elizabeth' he added as he smiled at her

'I have the results of your blood work and your PSA levels are, indeed, elevated. But nowadays, we are finding that there are many possible reasons for that. However, in your case, you have quite a few other signs that concern me so, today, I'd like to do a digital rectal exam. Then Elizabeth can join us in the office and we can talk about the next steps. That sound good?' the doctor concluded

'Let's do it' said Peter

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The phone on Neal Caffrey's desk at Finch and Johns rang and he momentarily tore his gaze away from the sculpture he was examining to see who was calling. Private number. It could be just about anyone and Neal hesitated before finally picking up and chirping his usual greeting.

'Neal Caffrey' he said into the phone

'Neal' the familiar voice whispered 'Is this call being monitored'

'I doubt it' Neal answered deliberately and slow '... and hello to you too, Moz'

'I finally got us an audience with The Predator' he said, sounding ominous

'An audience...' Neal repeated 'Who is this guy, Moz, the Pope?'

The humor was lost on Mozzie, as usual, and he just charged ahead, obviously on high alert.

'He said he'd see me at his usual haunt, the Primrose. Tonight... after dark' Mozzie continued, as if describing some covert operation.

'Well, let me see if my mommy will let me out after supper...' answered Neal, having fun at his friend's expense.

'Neal, this is no time for your failed attempts at humor' Mozzie warned

'Fine, fine. I said I'd go with you and I will. But we need some sort of strategy; come for dinner and we'll see what we can come up with' said Neal before hanging up

Not for the first time, he mused that whoever had coined the phrases 'high maintenance' and 'drama queen' surely had Mozzie in mind.

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'So, alone today?' asked Dr. Cooper as Sara sat across from her in the doctor's office

'Yeah, well, appointments every two weeks... Neal's going to try to come as much as he can' Sara responded

'Of course. How have you been feeling?' asked the doctor

'Not bad. Tired, well, exhausted' Sara admitted reluctantly

'Well, a third pregnancy in your mid-forties with a full-time job and two kids at home...' she responded, letting Sara draw her own conclusions

'It's a fourth pregnancy, actually...' Sara added sheepishly referring to the baby she'd lost during her cancer treatments. Although that seemed like ancient history, Sara never wanted to forget that little baby that might have been.

'You're right, sorry. That momentarily slipped my mind' admitted the doctor

'How's the morning sickness?' she added

'Still every day, pretty well. But I've got it down to an art. It's usually quick and... well not painless exactly, but quick and then I'm usually good for the rest of the day unless someone decides to cook bacon' Sara said

'Ah, yes. Trigger foods. For me it was the smell of coffee. I would gag as soon as I got a whiff. I get it' said the doctor

Sara smiled obligingly.

'Still haven't changed your mind about genetic testing?' she asked kindly

'Nope' Sara responded, resolute

'How about spotting? Any of that?' Dr. Cooper asked

'Not so far' Sara answered

'That's good. Look, in a few weeks it'll be time for the twelve week ultrasound. I'll set it up. Until then, try to get some rest and see if you can reduce your work schedule' added the doctor before standing to leave

'See you in two weeks' said Sara as she followed her out of the office

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In another doctor's office in another part of town, Elizabeth Burke sat in Dr. Samuels' office looking around at the man's many awards and certificates lining the walls as she waited for him and Peter to return. She was incredibly protective of Peter and if it hadn't been totally inappropriate and pathetic, she might have asked to stay and hold her husband's hand during the test. But El knew social (and medical) convention and so she'd politely left the room to let the doctor go about his business.

The door opened and Peter appeared making his way to sit in the chair next to her.

'How was it?' she asked – stupid question

He rolled his eyes. 'I can tell you all about it over dinner but let's not, okay' he responded tongue in cheek

El let out a long sigh. She hated it when Peter made light of such things; he was always downplaying things and that's what had gotten them to this point in the first place.

The door opened again; this time Dr. Samuels appeared, a kind non-committal smile on his face – probably the same one he used whether telling a patient he had stage 4 cancer or that it was a false alarm. Being a doctor meant keeping things on an even keel as much for your patients as for yourself.

Elizabeth sat up straighter, almost jumping out of her chair.

'Well, Peter. Your prostate is definitely enlarged and that is what is causing all those symptoms you've been having. That, along with your high PSA levels, is worthy of further examination. What I'd like to suggest at this point is two things: I want to do what's called a transrectal ultrasound, a procedure in which a probe about the size of a finger is inserted and we can get images – like a sonogram when a woman is pregnant. And I'd like to do a biopsy – that's removing cells so we can have them looked at by a pathologist'

Peter noticed that El sat up even straighter at the word 'biopsy' – everybody knew that word was associated with the word 'cancer'.

Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. 'So, you think Peter has prostate cancer?' she asked

Peter looked over at his wife, slightly annoyed. Being in a doctor's office with El was like being ten years old all over again and sitting next to your mom who did all the talking for you.

Dr. Samuels, smart man that he was, had seen more than his share of worried wives and he turned his attention back to his patient.

'Peter, it is looking more and more suspicious for prostate cancer but we still need to gather a lot more information before we can talk about a diagnosis or treatment options'

Peter nodded stoically. He'd been doing a lot of reading (behind Elizabeth's back) and he knew that a good diagnosis was key to treating this type of cancer successfully. He piped up before El could open her mouth again.

'I understand doctor' he said

'So, we'll schedule the tests, hopefully this week, and we'll be in touch' Dr. Samuels said as he rose, indicating that the appointment was over.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it when she got a glimpse at the look on Peter's face – a look definitely directed at her. She stood up dutifully and followed her husband out of the office.

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'I'm home' Neal called out as he strolled in looking a little too well put together for late afternoon, something that was becoming more and more of an aggravation for Sara. Although she started the day looking her usual spry self and she was still able to wear her signature four inch heels, by the middle of the afternoon, she felt like a wilted flower, sometimes barely having the energy to crawl back home to regenerate.

Neal, on the other hand, always looked the same: his suit still pressed, his hair mostly still in place and his face looking energetic as if he was ready to face a new day. She gave him a long-suffering look as he stepped into the kitchen and it didn't take him long to draw his own conclusions as to her thoughts, based on his wife's unruly appearance.

'Hey! What are you doing? I told you, no work for you when you get home' he said, making his way to where Sara stood, cutting up vegetables

He pulled her over to the couch in the nearby family room and sat her down forcibly, taking a moment to take off his jacket, loosen his tie and sit down next to her. Sara just looked at him, totally mesmerized by his energy and vitality.

'It's not fair!' she muttered

'What? That you're exhausted all the time?' he asked, getting it on the first try

She nodded reluctantly.

'Well, you are doing the most important job of all in this family right now – and you're doing it 24/7' he said as he let his hand linger on her belly and a proud smile appear his face. His job on the 'baby-making' mission was long done and it had been immensely more pleasant than what his wife had to endure for nine months.

Neal always had a way of putting a spin on things – once a conman, always a conman – and she could barely stifle the smile that appeared on her lips.

'You know, the first trimester is always the worse. You'll start to feel better in a couple of weeks' he said, putting his arm around her shoulder. 'But in the meantime, you have to let me pick up the slack around here, okay?'

'Okay' she said

'How did the doctor's appointment go?' he asked looking into her eyes in order to get the real deal. He hated missing the scheduled appointments but he couldn't afford to take the time off every two weeks and they'd agreed that later on, he'd start attending regularly. In exchange, Sara had committed to telling him everything – and he did mean everything – even if at times, he had to pry certain details from her.

'Totally non-descript. Same old stuff' she said with a long sigh 'Oh, but it'll be time for the twelve week ultrasound soon'

'Ooooh' said Neal suddenly excited 'This is where we find out if we're dealing with Claire or Carl'

'You are kidding with those names, right? Anyway, yeah, usually they can tell us if it's a boy or a girl' she said

'Any preferences?' asked Neal as he looked at his wife. They hadn't really discussed it but he'd always had a fondness for little girls and even though he adored his son, he was secretly hoping to round out the family with a little princess he could spoil rotten.

'I'm not going there' she said – she really didn't care although she could guess at what Neal's penchant was

'Well, I hate to break it to you but I've invited Mozzie for dinner. He got us a meeting tonight with that guy he screwed out of that painting so I said I'd go along for moral support'

'You don't think that guy's really dangerous, do you?' she asked with concern

'I doubt it. He just wants his pound of flesh. And by that I mean, his share of the potential profits. Hurting Mozzie isn't going to give him what he needs' explained Neal

'Okay, well just be careful. I don't like you going out and meeting with these thugs' she said, small worry lines forming between her eyes

'All in a day's work, ma'am' he answered with a Southern twang

She pulled at his tie, bringing him closer and placed a small kiss on his lips 'And don't ever call me, ma'am!'

TBC