His phone in hand, Clay stood at the top of the ramp in the C-17 waiting to disembark. As soon as possible, he walked down and out into the late afternoon sun. Before his feet hit the tarmac, he was tapping Emma's name on his favorites list. He walked in the direction of the building housing Bravo's team room while he waited for the call to connect.

"Clay, babe, are you home?" Emma's voice quavered as she answered.

"We just landed. Still need to put away my gear and debrief." Clay punched his code in the keypad to enter the DEVGRU building and opened the door.

"When do you think you'll be home?"

"Couple hours or so? Depends on debrief." He could read Emma pretty well now, and the tone of her voice set off alarm bells for him. "What happened at the doctor's today?"

"She sent me for a mammogram."

He frowned. This didn't sound good to him. "What did that tell them?"

"I don't know. They send my doctor the results, and I haven't heard from her yet."

"Did they say when you'd hear from her?" Clay turned down a side hallway away from Bravo's team room.

"By the end of today or tomorrow morning." Emma sighed in annoyance down the phone line.

Finding a quiet corner where no one could overhear him, Clay stopped walking and leaned against the wall. "When Doctor Bradley said she wanted you to get a mammogram, did she say she thought it was cancer?"

"No, she said there are a few things it might be, and this would give them a better look at the lump."

"Okay, so let's not get too worried yet." He tried to keep his voice reasonable sounding.

"But, Clay, I was the only young woman having a mammogram. Everyone else was in their forties or older. Young women only get mammograms if something's wrong!" Emma's voice rose as her nervousness became apparent.

"Oh, baby, I'm sure that's not always the case." He did his best to reassure her. "I'm going to try to finish up here as fast as possible, alright? You hang in there, and I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Okay." Her voice wavered, and he worried she was about to cry.

"I love you, Em." He hoped his words were enough until he arrived home to comfort her in person.

"I love you too."

Ending the call, he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed to debrief.

Emma paced the kitchen, waiting for Clay to come home. Head tilted, Cerberus sat in the corner watching her. She stopped at the fridge and opened the door. Examining the contents, she decided nothing inside appealed to her, but maybe Clay would want something for dinner later. As she pushed the door shut, Clay entered the kitchen from the mud room. Their eyes met, and Emma threw herself into his arms.

"Hey, hey." He held her close and rubbed her back. "Has the doctor been in touch?" Emma spoke, but with her face pressed against his chest, he couldn't understand her. "I'm sorry, baby, I have no idea what you said."

She lifted her face to meet his gaze. "No, and at this point I don't think she's going to call until tomorrow."

As Emma repeated her words, Cerberus joined them, pressing against their legs, and trying to nuzzle his head between their bodies. Clay reached down and rubbed the insistent dog's head. "Cerb doesn't like you upset. Neither do I. I know you're worried, but I think we should try to stay calm until we know more."

"You're right. I know, but I—"

The sound of Emma's phone interrupted their discussion, her festive ringtone incongruous with the seriousness of their topic. Her eyes met Clay's again, all her fear present for him to read.

He hugged her gently. "Answer it."

"Maybe it's not the doctor."

"Only one way to find out." He swiped the phone off the counter and passed it to her.

Taking a deep breath, Emma dropped her gaze to the screen. "It's her." She touched the screen and answered the call. "Hello."

"Hi, Emma. Doctor Bradley here."

"Hi, Doctor."

"Do you have a moment to talk?"

"Sure." Emma wondered if anyone ever said they didn't have time to talk when their doctor called about their tests.

"I got the results from your mammogram today. They're inconclusive."

"Inconclusive? What does that mean?" Emma's voice rose an octave as she questioned the doctor.

"The mammogram didn't give us enough information to make a determination about the lump."

"So, what do we do?" Emma gripped Clay's hand.

"I want to schedule you for a biopsy."

"A biopsy?"

"Yes, we'll have you come in to the hospital where we'll give you a mild sedative and numb the side of your breast. Or we can put you under general anesthesia if you prefer. We'll remove the entire lump and send it to the lab for diagnosis."

"When?"

"I want you in here at the beginning of next week. One of my office staff will schedule you and be in touch with the time and what you need to do before you come in." The doctor paused, waiting for Emma to reply, but continued when there was no response. "Are you available on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week?"

Emma shrugged but realized the doctor couldn't see her. "I guess so."

"Good, we should do this as soon we can get you on the schedule."

"Why?" Squeezing her eyes shut briefly, Emma held Clay's hand tighter. "Do you think it's cancer?"

"Emma, I don't know it's cancer, and there are other things it could be, but I find it's always better not to wait, partially to put an end to the uncertainty, but also to start dealing with it if, and I'm still saying if, it's something serious."

"Okay."

"Someone from my office will be in touch soon with your appointment time and pre-procedure info. They can answer any questions, or you can always call me. I'll see you at the hospital next week."

"Next week, right."

"Bye, Emma. Try to stay relaxed, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

Doctor Bradley ended the call, and Emma let her hand holding the phone drop to her side. Clay waited for her to speak, wanting to give her time to digest what the doctor told her. But he was desperate to know what had been said. The little he heard from Emma's side of the conversation worried him, and her tone set off some alarm bells. "Em, what did she say?"

"The mammogram was inconclusive, so she wants me to go in for a biopsy."

"You asked her if she thought it was cancer. Does she?"

"She said there are other things it could be, but we should do the biopsy as soon as we can. Then we know one way or the other." Emma wrapped her arms around him again and tucked her head under his chin. "Clay, I'm scared."

Holding her close, he kissed the top of her head. "I know, baby, I know." So am I, he thought.