Dallas, Texas

Looking at the clock as he paced around Doctor Hollister's waiting room, the same thing he'd been doing for over an hour now, Cliff glanced at his younger sister as she leafed through one of the many pamphlets on display. Wearing a flowing patterned dress, had he not known that she was expecting he wouldn't have guessed just by looking at her, however, as he'd told her earlier, she couldn't keep her news secret from those closest to her any longer, one hello hug and her condition was obvious.

Looking over as the door opened and Doctor Hollister appeared, without Digger, he had a feeling something was wrong, and when the doctor addressed them, saying, "please, come in, I'd like to speak to all three of you together", he knew his feeling was right.

"Is everything ok doc?" following the doctor into his office, he asked the obvious question.

Closing the door behind them, Doctor Hollister spoke, though he didn't answer his question, "please, sit down".

Meeting Pam and then his daddy's eye, he asked again, "what is it?"

"I'm fine", waving his concern away, his daddy's answer didn't inspire confidence, he rarely thought there was anything wrong with his health.

"Doc?" addressing Doctor Hollister again, he finally managed to get a response that somewhat resembled an explanation.

"Your father is most likely suffering from overwork, resting at home for a while before he goes back out to work is exactly what he needs", sitting down behind his desk, the doctor's words were positive, but his facial expression didn't match that positivity.

"That's good news. I gather that it's not everything though, is it?" meeting Pam's eye, he knew she was thinking the same thing; Digger's health was important and they both cared very much, but the doctor's request to join him in his office had little to do with Digger's health specifically.

"You're right. I wanted to speak to all three of you together because my examination of your father today has brought to my attention something that concerns your whole family", looking and sounding serious as he answered his question, Doctor Hollister paused for a moment between comments, making eye contact with each of them individually before eventually settling his gaze on Digger. "Mr Barnes, did any doctor ever tell you that you had a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis?"

Silent, Cliff looked between his daddy and the doctor, chuckling uneasily when Digger responded with a sentiment that reflected his own thoughts. "Neurofibro… whatever? No, never heard of it".

"Neurofibromatosis", repeating the word, Doctor Hollister still didn't make much sense. Digger was healthy, he drank a bit and overexerted himself sometimes, but he wasn't a sickly man, he'd never been a sickly man.

"Is that what's making him sick?" finding her voice, Pam asked for more clarification than just hearing the name of the disease again.

"No, this is a secondary diagnosis after examining your father thoroughly today. I did a full check-up primarily to rule out a number of major concerns related to the earlier fainting spell, but also because it's been quite some time since I last saw him. Café au lait spots, hearing loss, x-rays and a neurological examination confirmed my suspicion of neurofibromatosis", answering Pam's question, Doctor Hollister's comments fell short of actually explaining what the situation meant for them.

"There's more?" looking between the three men in the room, two she was related to and one she looked to as an authority on the subject, Pam's next question indicated she didn't completely understand what was going on either.

Looking serious, Doctor Hollister answered Pam's question, "yes. Neurofibromatosis is an inherited genetic disease, although you and Cliff may display none of the symptoms and you may live healthy lives, you are both carriers".

Understanding what the doctor was saying, that whatever was wrong with Digger was also wrong with them, Cliff's stomach lurched as Pam sought further answers, answers he knew were sure to upset her. "Ok, but daddy's lived for more than sixty years without it being a problem, and Cliff and I are healthy, so what's the problem?"

Nodding at Pam indicating he'd heard her, Doctor Hollister didn't answer her directly, instead turning to Digger and addressing him with caution, as if he already suspected the answer to his question was not going to be a comfortable one, "Mr Barnes, did you have any other children?"

Hearing the question and knowing the answer, Cliff turned to face his daddy and reading his pained expression, he answered for him, "two others, a boy and a girl, they died at six months and a year and we never found out why".

Looking down at his desk, Doctor Hollister's silence said a lot, as did his words when he looked up again and acknowledged the new information, "I was afraid of that. This disease is passed from parent to child on down through the generations, you were all spared, but others in your family were not so lucky".

Listening silently, mentally going through his family's history from a different perspective, Cliff didn't have much time to process the past before his attention was required back in the present with Doctor Hollister asking, "Mr Barnes, do you have any children?"

"No", answering the question automatically, his thoughts went to a place he never thought they would, he was grateful not to have any children.

Nodding, satisfied with his answer, Doctor Hollister turned his attention to Pam, pausing as his eyes settled on her left hand, apologising that he was unaware of her married name, and then asking her the same question.

"Ewing, Pamela Ewing, and actually, yes, I'm 15 weeks pregnant", answering the question meekly, Pam kept her gaze directly focused on the doctor. It was hard enough for her to say the word Ewing in the presence of their daddy without the added pressure of surprising him with the news of his first grandchild and the difficult circumstances in which they were discussing it.

"You're what?" leaning forward, Digger's reaction was difficult to assess, there was no doubt that he was shocked, but his tone was ambiguous and until he said something more, it was difficult to know whether he was angry or delighted.

Looking over at their daddy, meeting his eye, Pam's voice shook as she said, "that's why I wanted to speak to you daddy, I'm pregnant".

"Oh Pammy", softening his tone and quietening his volume, Digger's sentimental side showed; he didn't like who his daughter had chosen to marry, but that didn't mean he didn't care about her or her now growing family.

Clearing his throat, Doctor Hollister interrupted the tender moment, saying what no one wanted to hear, "this complicates things".

Connecting the dots that he hadn't immediately before when thinking about his own lack of children, Cliff's heart sank as his daddy naively asked, "why?"

"Well, your family history is not good. I would suggest Pamela sees her obstetrician immediately to discuss her health situation, and after the child is born an examination will need to be done to see if they have any detectable tumours", delivering the uncomfortable truth of the situation, Doctor Hollister appeared sympathetic, not that that really helped.

"Tumours…" muttering the word to herself, Pam was understandably pale.

Looking back and forth between his doctor and his daughter, Digger's anger at the unfairness of the situation was apparent as he gruffly asked, "are you suggesting a Barnes child could die in infancy like my other children?"

"To be blunt, yes", sympathetic but serious, Doctor Hollister's confirmation was met with silence as they each individually thought of what Digger's diagnosis of neurofibromatosis meant for them.

To be continued…