Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

65.

Life resumed as normal in the morning after.

They didn't speak about it or mention the stupid way things had turned on the day before.

Maybe it was better that way.

Going back to Sendai felt refreshing too.

Yuzuru had to go to another show the next weekend, but since Emma wasn't attending that one, he chose to go with her back home and then travel in the middle of the week once again.

Even if she told him it was stupid and not really justifiable, he didn't really care as long as they could spend some more time together.

It wasn't as if he hadn't traveled longer distances whenever he missed home on random weekends.

Emma, even if she thought everything to be a bit useless, loved the idea too. They were certainly far too attached by the looks of it.

She resumed work as normal, going to the lab almost every single day to resume her in vitro studies.

Her team was very understanding of her random schedules since it was very rare for them to meet.

However, whenever they wanted to discuss something, a meeting would be scheduled.

They were currently doing a project on the genetics of ovarian cancer, a theme that was very close to her heart despite no one knowing.

Not for long though.

The meeting was about halfway through when one of the researchers suggested doing a campaign to get people at risk, free genetic tests. With the lack of current participants in their research, it was really hard to get any study material whatsoever.

The blood marker used to study ovarian cancer wasn't exactly specific, but It was still a good starting point to rule out any possible candidates without an overly expensive genetic test straight away.

Emma couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about the theme. It was still a sensitive topic for her and one that she would rather avoid.

And when it was suggested that all of them should get tested as well, just out of curiosity and prevention, her uneasiness spiked to a whole new level.

She knew well that it wasn't common for ovarian cancer to originate due to genetics, but everyone knew that having cancer in the family made someone more predisposed to developing one as well.

She couldn't say it out loud without raising suspicion and when the project eventually went ahead, it was really hard to avoid getting tested.

All sorts of thoughts ran through her head as she imagined what her life could be if a discovery like that was made but eventually, her rational thought stepped up and she reasoned with herself that there was absolutely no need to be afraid.

The chances were very low after all.

So, like everyone on the team, Emma got tested for the CA125 blood marker, one that is used for both ovarian and breast cancer.

Once again, she didn't mention a single thing to Yuzuru as he was preparing for his press conference and opening his YouTube channel very soon. Even if Emma had promised him to tell him about these things, there was nothing to tell if the results came clean as she expected. Worrying the skater was useless.

Well, until the test results finally came back a few days later.

Emma should have known from the face of the lab tech that something had to be wrong, her expression was too telling.

"Doctor Anderson... we should talk."

"It's high, isn't it?"

She felt the world crumble at her feet, just when everything seemed to be improving for her, when she was finally considering marrying Yuzuru and building a life with him, something had to come and ruin everything once again.

"The good news is that it isn't very high, which means that you probably caught it very early. I do recommend, as you probably know, to get scans and proper examination. This can very well be just a result of another pathology, you shouldn't be scared without knowing for sure."

"I don't need many exams, I know what it is."

"That's highly unlikely."

"My mother died of ovarian cancer. I never got the genetic testing but I have a feeling I won't need it now."

"Oh." 

The tech didn't even bother to hide just how the puzzle pieces seemed to click in her head.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Yeah... we had a debate on who should do it."

Emma could only imagine how the poor techs had been dreading to give her the results and she guessed that the young woman was lured in due to her inexperience. Sure enough, Emma tried to keep her military side out of her medical research, but her military work ideals were always there and everyone knew how she could get when things didn't go her way. It's no wonder that they had to force the poor girl to be the one doing it.

"Don't let them do that again. Hierarchy is only valuable until a certain point. It's important to settle limits to avoid getting stepped on."

"Yes, Doctor, I understand."

Strangely enough, inside of Emma's head wasn't even the concern for her health or the implications that a diagnosis like this could have.

if it wasn't clear enough by now, she wasn't afraid of death, no soldier could be.

The difference between now and when she was on her missions was that having someone to go home to had other implications.

Sure, she didn't have the confirmation that it was cancer, not without running a thorough panel of exams and tests, but she didn't believe in coincidences either.

The one thing that made her concerns spike up was Yuzuru.

Maybe she should have mentioned the tests after all...