"Dave, it's good to see you again my friend." Dave shook the hand of a blond man with startling blue eyes hidden behind some glasses. Gemma wondered why Ducky had glasses when vision could be corrected in childhood or as an adult. Most people didn't wear glasses nowadays. "So this must be Miss Gemma."
"Yes, this is, Gemma," Dave said. "She literally washed up on my beach the night of that bad storm about a month ago."
"It's nice to meet you Dr. Mallard. Yes, just as Dave said, I literally washed up on his beach. I had no idea that such a bad storm was going to hit. It wasn't in the weather report that I checked before deciding to rent a speed boat."
"Yes, it was unexpected. The power in my neighborhood went out that night. I believe that a delivery van hit an electric pole. It wasn't fixed until the next day once the storm was over."
"I'm so sorry that happened Dr. Mallard," Gemma said.
"It's not like it hasn't happened a few times before," Ducky shrugged. "Even with as advanced as our society has become things like that still happen. I have several lights that run on batteries and I always make sure to keep fresh batteries in a drawer for such an emergency. I've been thinking about having a generator installed at home."
"You should Ducky and I've told you that before," Dave told his friend. "You know I have several generators installed in my home on Devil's Island."
"It just seems a rather useless expense when it only happens every once in awhile," Ducky explained. "With your home you needed to, as it was built long before electricity was available and though it was your ancestors that had electricity installed it still tends to go out in bad weather. In any case, let's get down to business. Miss Gemma why don't you come into my office and Dave can wait out here if you like."
"That's okay," Gemma said. "I trust Dave completely, even though we've only known each other about a month. He's the one that's paying for it because my insurance won't cover it."
"Yeah, that happens all the time," Ducky sympathized, as he led the way to his office. "Insurance companies don't care if you die, even though they'll lose a customer, because of a disease that's curable, but only with proper treatment, which are of course expensive. It's not like a cold or the flu, as you can get over those on your own so long as you are healthy and have a strong immune system."
"Considering the century in which we live I'm surprised they haven't found a cure for the common cold," Gemma joked.
"That's a good point considering they could cure so many things even back in the 20th-century, where medical technology made tremendous advances nearly every day," Dave said. "We cure so many things now you would think you could cure something as common as a cold."
Ducky gestured to the chairs in front of his desk and once his two guests had sat the doctor sat behind his desk. He started asking Gemma questions about her medical history, but finally he was satisfied.
"I need just to drop of your blood Miss Gemma," Ducky said. "I put the strip with your blood in this machine. It will give us the results within half an hour."
"So that machine will be able to tell whether or not I have cancer," Gemma asked fascinated.
"Oh yes and this is a much newer version then the one they used in the 20th Century. The one in the 20th Century was quite large and took up quite a bit of counter space. It was very advanced for its time. It could give you results two to three hours and identified 13 different cancers."
"This one is a lot smaller," Gemma noted.
"Also faster and identifies most forms of cancer now instead of just a baker's dozen," Ducky said.
"They must be really expensive though," Gemma said.
"I cut him a deal," Dave said. "I own the company that made it. He got it at half price."
"Yes and I'm grateful," Ducky said. Ducky drew a drop of Gemma's blood and put it into the little space that was designed for it. The machine nearly silently hummed.
"Now it should be done within half an hour," Ducky said. "So while we wait why don't you tell me a little about yourself Miss Gemma."
"Just Gemma will do."
"Then you can call me Ducky, just as Dave does," Ducky offered with a smile.
"Alright, Ducky," Gemma said and then gave Ducky a condensed version of her history. She left out of a lot, but they didn't have time to discuss her whole life from childhood to now.
Finally, the machine dinged and Ducky turned towards it to check the results. "Yes, you do indeed have cancer," Ducky announced gravely.
"Is it correctible?" Dave asked trying to keep his tone even.
Ducky studied the results intently.
"I would say she has a 80% chance," Ducky said finally. "You got her here just in time, as another few weeks it probably wouldn't have been. If you had brought her in within a few days after you met her, then I would say the possibility of a complete cure would be at least 95%."
"Still 80% isn't bad is it?" Gemma asked anxiously.
"No it's very good actually," Ducky said. "Your regular doctor must've discovered it soon after you got it within a few weeks, possibly a few months. Still, there is a good chance that we can eradicate it. We'll have to watch you closely for several years to make sure it doesn't come back once it gone, but that's for later."
"Can you get started right away?" Dave asked Ducky hiding his anxiety.
"Of course David," Ducky told him. "The sooner she gets her first treatment the better."
"Can we do that now or do you need me to come back?" Gemma asked.
"We can do that now," Ducky said. "Since Dave told me on the communicator that he had a woman with cancer I knew I'd need several hours. I don't have any appointments until this afternoon.
"Let's get started," Gemma decided.
"Jolly good," Ducky said, as he led the way to a different section of his clinic.
~~~Dave and Gemma~~~
"Your friend is strange," Gemma commented.
"He's not really, once you get to know him," Dave chuckled. "He is simply a brilliant man that is well traveled. He has a ton of rather interesting stories to tell. He might seem a bit odd, but that's simply because he is brilliant. A lot is brilliant people often seem odd to those that are more normal."
"So, has he always been a doctor," Gemma asked.
"As long as I've known him," Dave answered truthfully. "He's always wanted to be. Once you get to know him you'll see that he might seem a little weird, but he's a kind, compassionate man."
"I'll take your word for it," Gemma said.
"What about some lunch?" Dave suggested.
"I guess so," Gemma said checking her watch and was shocked to see it was after 1. "Wow! We spent longer in Ducky's clinic than I thought."
"Which is why I suggested lunch," Dave said, even as his stomach growled. "I know just the place for a nice, long lunch before we head home."
"Sounds good. Talking about food has woken up my appetite," Gemma said.
"That's good, because where I am taking us the portions are large and the food is excellent. You can consider this lunch our first date if you like," Dave said.
"Don't you want to wait until you see if this cancer can be cured? There is a 20% possibility that it can't be, you know," Gemma asked seriously.
"No, I don't want to wait, because I have faith it will be," Dave said. "80% is very good odds no matter what Ducky said and those odds are likely to go up once you have several treatments under your belt and Ducky can track the progress of the cancer cells. The treatments for various forms of cancer that we have today are for more effective than the ones we had back in the 20th Century where it was more chance that you could get rid of cancer permanently, as the odds were often against you."
"Alright then," Gemma said. "Lead the way."
"I'll be happy to," Dave grinned at her adorably causing Gemma to blush.
Gemma briefly wondered how many people saw this boyish side of David Rossi, even as Dave took her hand in his and led her to the limo.
~~~Dave and Gemma~~~
"This is really something, Dave," Gemma said, even as she settled into the limo seat beside him. "I've never been in a limo before."
"Not even with your parents?" Dave asked, as he raised the privacy shield between the front and back seats. Gemma shook her head.
"While my parents are very wealthy they didn't have a limo, which is strange now that I think about it considering their general attitude. I would think that they want people to know that they had money and being driven around in a limo tells even an idiot that they are very wealthy."
"It's also more likely to attract scammers, people who want money for all sorts of causes," Dave said.
"While that's very true they always dressed in the height of fashion, which would tell a lot of people that they had at least some money, though I suppose, it doesn't say that we're filthy, stinking rich and want everyone to know it. Really, it wouldn't take more than a little research to find out who my parents were for anybody clever enough with electronics."
"True that," Dave agreed. "There are plenty of hackers out there that could find a way around your computer security that you're paying for to have on their data, especially if you don't keep that security updated."
"Don't you worry about someone trying to steal your money?" Gemma asked.
"Not really," Dave said. "For one thing, I don't keep all my money in just one or two accounts. I have it spread out at different banking institutions. For another, I have a very good computer expert that works for me. She would tell me if anybody tried to hack into my accounts. She's also in charge of updating the security on them whenever necessary. While I won't say it's impossible for somebody to siphon money out of one of my accounts it would be very, very difficult and likely take considerable time. Long enough that they would be caught before they could get through all the security. Unlike so many people I'm well aware that even the best security can be compromised, which is why I hired Penelope Garcia in the first place."
"Well, you just have all the angles covered don't you?" Gemma asked with an amused quirk of her lips.
"The Rossis have been around a long time and we managed not to lose all our money in some very bad economic times including the stock market crash in the 1930s that led to the great depression, which I hope never happens again, because so many people were out of work and couldn't find a job to support their families. One reason that the Rossis didn't lose all our money was we had a lot of it in foreign markets, which didn't depend on the American stock market."
"If only other people had the business sense of your family maybe there still wouldn't be so much poverty," Gemma mused. "That we still haven't eradicated poverty even in this century is just sad."
"Yes, it is, though it is a lot better than it used to be," Dave said. "So Miss Birdwhistle have you ever heard of necking in the back of a car?"
"Of course I have," Gemma giggled at Dave's rather lascivious expression. "I've never had a chance to try it though. My parents would never have a approved and I would've been punished if caught. I mean dating someone that wasn't in my social circle would've gotten me in a great deal of trouble. It just wasn't worth it. I had to play the good daughter until I was 18 and was able to legally escape."
"Well then," Dave said before he leaned over and kissed her thoroughly causing Gemma to cut herself of. Dave deepened the kiss until he was practically fucking Gemma with his mouth and she could do nothing but return the kiss. By the time the two of them came up for air, both were panting and looked far less put together than they had been. Gemma's face was flushed with heat and her lips looked throughly kissed.
"Well, you certainly know how to get a girl's attention Mr. Rossi," Gemma said finally, as soon as she had caught her breath. Her lips felt bruised from the rather forceful kiss.
"Good," Dave grinned obviously pleased at Gemma's reaction. "There's plenty more where that came from Miss Birdwhistle, just wait and see."
"I can hardly wait," Gemma said sincerely smiling rather goofily.
~~~Dave and Gemma~~~
Gemma contemplated the painting she was working on. It was more than halfway done and was really starting to take shape. She had finished three others and been working on this one for the last week, which was one of her best yet. She had certainly been very inspired lately and she knew exactly why that was. Hers and Dave's relationship was going rather well and while she'd had feelings for David Rossi before they had started officially seeing each other, those feelings had grown a lot over the last few weeks. Gemma looked out over the ocean and contemplated her feelings for Dave.
The ocean looked so peaceful with gentle swells due to the wind that was blowing. This was the way that Gemma liked the ocean best with nice gentle waves that weren't likely to sweep you up and drown you, well, not unless you got caught in the undertow.
She was in love, really deeply, completely in love. Dave had done so much for her out of the goodness of his heart, though that wasn't the only reason she had fallen for him.
Gemma's thoughts turned to her cancer treatment and even though it had only been a few weeks since the treatment had started there was already a difference in her blood samples. Gemma was beginning to hope that the cancer could be completely eradicated. Gemma had accepted that she was dying within weeks of learning of the cancer, but was feeling hope for the first time ever since she had learned of her disease, which was almost painful. She hated to hope just in case it was in vain, but couldn't help herself, as it had surged up within her with no warning when the first test results had come in. She'd had several treatments now and the results were better every time. She was well on her way to being cured.
Gemma turned back to the easel with the painting she was working on and started to mix paint and once she was satisfied that the color was right she started to paint the upper portion of the canvas. A beautiful sunset begin to appear under her brush.
She got so caught up that she didn't realize what time it was until a shadow appeared. Gemma looked up and saw Dave approaching her.
"It's time for dinner, Gemma," Dave told her.
"Is it that late already," Gemma asked checking the watch that Dave had given her recently. The watch was a very nice model and wouldn't stop ticking because sand had gotten into the inner workings like most others would and it was also shatterproof and waterproof. It was a very nice watch and told the weather and even had GPS installed. "Yeah, I guess it is. I guess I got caught up."
"Well, it looks like your painting is coming along," Dave said, as he examined it.
"Yeah, it will be done soon," Gemma said, even as she packed up her paints and the canvas being careful not to touch the fresh paint in the corner.
"So what do you think about having your first showing?" Dave asked causally as the two of them headed back to the house hand in hand.
"I think we should wait until my cancer is completely gone," Gemma answered. "It'll give me time to do more paintings for one thing. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of superstitious that the cancer will come back when we are least expecting it. I'm just afraid of jinxing it."
"Alright then, it shouldn't be more than another few months at most," Dave said in understanding. "You've done plenty of paintings for a showing since we went to your apartment to get all of your work. You're lucky that none of them were stolen you know. It's not like your security was good."
"I couldn't afford a security system. You know I made just enough to keep a roof over my head, food in my belly, buy art supplies and buy very basic insurance," Gemma said.
"You sold your paintings for a lot less then they were worth," Dave said. "Still, I understand that you couldn't command the prices that the better known artists could as you wouldn't have sold anything."
"No, I wouldn't have," Gemma said. "I had to be practical."
"This is why you need exposure. You need a showing where all the elite are invited, the mayor and those interested in art and can afford to pay a lot of money for it," Dave said. "It won't be long, just a few years before you're better-known and can command thousands of dollars per painting."
"That would be a dream come true," Gemma said. "But one thing at a time. Let's just concentrate on me getting rid of this disease that's invaded my body. When and if that's accomplished then we can worry about the rest."
The two of them entered Dave's home and Gemma took her canvas and paints up to her room to store them properly before heading back downstairs to join Dave for dinner.
~~~Dave and Gemma~~~