Tim and Diana had a plan to go on vacation. Together, alone. Diana had saved up money for it; and Tim had graduation money.

They decided on going to a cabin in New Hampshire, where they could do some hiking.

Diana wasn't sure Tim's family was going to go along with his idea of vacationing with Diana alone, moving into an apartment with her, and getting a job rather than going to Port Charles University right away.

Tim tried to get her to relax. "They call PCU a glorified high school, anyway," Tim said. "I already told them I'd rather get out into the real world and work for a while. Then I can afford to go to GHS on my own. I've known of people who did it. I don't even know what I want to do that involves a college degree, so starting at GHS is a waste of time anyway."

Diana had heard these arguments and believed them, but didn't have confidence that Danny and Kathleen would, even if Tim knew them better and did. For one thing, it was only Danny who called PCU "GHS" and no matter what he called it, he had graduated from it himself. And so had Kathleen.

"Even if they don't like it, Di," Tim said. "They'll eventually work with me on this."

"OK," Diana said. "Let's see how they go for the vacation."

Branwyn and Kara sat, nervously, in the waiting area of the hospital.

"I've never had this type of exam before," Branwyn said.

"Duh," said Kara. "Me, neither."

"Does it hurt?" Branwyn considered. "It must not be that bad."

"How do you know?"

"I would have heard my sisters complaining about it."

"Yeah. All those older sisters you have."

Branwyn smiled and patted Kara on the back. "You're going to be that for Alannah, Ruth, Maeve and Irene," she said. These were Kara's younger sisters.

Dr. Sarah Webber did the exams. She was young and kind and kept asking them if they had questions.

She talked to them a lot about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases and then complimented them on coming in for their exams first. That was the mature thing to do.

Branwyn felt like she was in the middle of a public service announcement.

"I'm just here to support my cousin," she said. "I have so many older sisters, I know I'm going to have to do this anyway. But right now, I plan on staying nice and virginal."

"OK," Sarah said. "That's a good decision too, if it's right for you. But if you change your mind, you'll be doing it on a basis of knowledge."

"Right," Branwyn said. "Thank you."

"It wasn't bad," Branwyn said. "A little pinch here and there."

Kara smiled gratefully. Branwyn wasn't the type who would exaggerate how awful it was in order to show off and scare her friend. There were many other girls who were like that.

Kara found she didn't mind the exam that much. It was nothing compared to the brain surgery she'd had earlier in the year.

"Are you looking for birth control?" Dr. Webber asked her.

"Yes," Kara said. "I'm not sure what is best to do."

Dr. Webber explained the various methods. She asked some pretty personal questions, which Kara couldn't answer.

"I'm not exactly sure how this goes down," Kara said. "I figure once it starts, it won't stop, but I don't know when it starts."

Dr. Webber recommended birth control pills. "Better sooner rather than later," she said. "They take a month to work. Then there is the disease angle."

"That may not be much of an issue," Kara said. "I think we're both total beginners."

"How do you feel about it?" Branwyn asked Kara, when they were outside again.

"I'm not sure," Kara said. "It's one thing to think about it and even to come for this exam, but another to start taking these pills. What if I don't end up even needing them?"

"Surely you will, eventually," Branwyn said.

Kara sighed. "Maybe I'll wait until I get to the dorm. I hate the part where I'd have to hide them from Mom."

"When you get to the dorm, you at least won't have that problem," Branwyn said. "But then you still aren't going to be telling your parents."

"Yeah, and you know, I wonder, some people, they could tell their parents," Kara said.

"If I told mine, they'd lock me up," Branwyn said.

"Mine would be all disappointed and try to convince me not to and Mom might start blaming Peter and his family, and she's been thinking so well of them," Kara said.

"It was simpler when people just waited until they got married," Branwyn said.

"Hey, if you were to be able to get married to Jeremy, would that be – would you do it?"

"Well, if we were married, I would do it."

"No, no, I mean, would you get married?"

"I never even thought about it," Branwyn said. "I don't think I could handle that."

"But if you had to wait until you got married to have sex with him, would you rather marry him now or have to wait for years?"

"I think I could put off the wedding for a while," Branwyn said. "The years go by."

Kara shook her head and smiled at her cousin. "They take quite a long time to go by," she said.

"Well, my parents managed it and they didn't die," Branwyn said.

"How long did they know each other before they got married?"

"Um, they met in college. They got married when they graduated. OK, I see what you're getting at. Maybe it is not practical in our time. Yet there is no guide about when, otherwise."

"It's when you're in love."

"But anybody can say that," Branwyn argued. "Actions speak louder than words. If a guy will marry you, that's doing something. Though when my mom got married, she could be pretty sure it would last. Nowadays you don't even have that. I think that's why my brothers and sisters stay single so long. Only the eldest is married. They must be afraid they'll end up divorced and we've been trained to think that's awful and that Mom and Dad would be disappointed."

"Melinda's divorced."

"Exactly. And it freaks everyone else out. They're afraid it will happen to them, too."

"Maybe you don't want to think about this," Kara said. "But do you think your unmarried brothers and sisters get involved in sex?"

"I don't know," Branwyn said, surprisingly unfazed. "They don't do it in an obvious way or say anything about it. From where I stand, it is possible that they don't. There's Clay. Clay and Taryn. But it was Taryn that ran her mouth about it."

"He's closest to you in age and you happened to know the girl," Kara said.

"Right, so the rest could be doing it and I just wouldn't know," Branwyn said.

"Would you feel comfortable talking to one of them about it? Just asking them?"

"Probably. Definitely with the sisters. Totally with Colleen."

"You mean ask her about her, not just as a counselor for you."

"Yeah. Colleen can handle this kind of stuff. Maybe we can go talk to her about it."

"I'd like that," Kara said. She almost felt relieved. There was someone older than they in whom they could confide.

Another day, Oksana had her first internal exam.

"Could you be pregnant?" Sarah asked that usual question.

"Oh, no," Oksana said. "Too old."

"If you're still getting your period, you're not too old."

"But someone my age – I never heard of them being pregnant."

"I have," Sarah said. "They think they are too old and then – oops. You have to be on the other side of menopause to be sure."

"Oh," Oksana said. "Maybe I need to be more careful, but I just think of it as not going to be. My youngest is almost eighteen already."

"I've seen mothers give birth the same week as their daughters," Sarah said. "Let's do a pregnancy test, just to be sure."

Oksana flinched a little for the exam.

"I never bother with this," Oksana said. "My daughter-in-law talk me into it. She is a nurse. She was in horror I didn't do it."

"You've been lucky," Sarah said. "You're healthy. But if a pap test ends up saving your life from here on out, you can congratulate yourself for listening to your daughter-in-law."

"I will remember that," Oksana said.

The next day, Sarah had another patient to contend with; Allison Hancock.

"Can you take this one for me, Chandra?" Sarah asked this of Chandra Singh, the gynecologist she was working under. "It's just someone I know of. Too awkward."

"This is a small town," Chandra said. "It happens. Sure."

"Thanks. You don't know what a relief that is. This is my boyfriend's ex-wife."

"Totally understand," Chandra said.

Sarah looked at the list. "I'll take Emily Quartermaine instead, for you," Sarah said.

"Nah," Chandra said. "I would like to do her case, too, because it has sensitive elements, and I think she needs to see the same doctor she did before."

"Know what I like about this area of medicine?" Sarah said. "Here we treat the patients more as people and less as numbers."

"We are women," Chandra said, and she and Sarah laughed.

When Emily came in, Chandra did her exam and asked her how she was doing.

"Very well," Emily said. "The anti-depressants and the counselor have done a lot for me."

"That's good," Chandra said, carrying on the exam. "How is it with your boyfriend."

Emily appreciated Chandra's euphemistic way of asking. Emily had the problem of a tilted uterus causing painful sex.

"It's going all right," Emily said. "I've done all the exercises every day. Between that and taking it into account, it's been pretty nice. Not much pain. Just avoiding the ways that cause pain."

"You both feeling pretty satisfied?"

"Yes, I think so," Emily said. "I think about getting the surgery sometimes, but I'm not sure. It seems like a lot to do for this problem."

This was a laparoscopic surgery to shorten the round ligaments that hold the uterus in place, strengthening them to suspend it in a more normal position.

"It is minimally invasive, remember," Chandra said. "I don't think it would be too much to do for improving the quality of life. Some surgeries we wouldn't do unless they are a matter of life or death, but this I don't think would be considered trivial for you." Chandra didn't want to argue to Emily that she get the surgery done, but she did want to get across to Emily that it wasn't trivial of her to get it. It was surprising how people felt about themselves, as if some things were just too much trouble for the rest of the world to do to improve their lives. Even this daughter of two doctors.

"Everything's been going OK," Emily said.

"Have you followed up with Dr. Whitman?"

"Yes, real quick appointments to keep my meds going."

"Why don't you go ahead and have him do a full consult with you now," Chandra said, helpfully. "You can remember to do it by attaching it to your annual GYN exam. He may not have said to do it, but I'll refer you."

"OK," Emily said. "That sounds like a good idea."