Kane?”Nervously, Catheryn closed a magazine that she had been futilely trying to read for the past half hour. She reached beside her for her husband’s hand. “Yes?” she said, looking up at the nurse who’d spoken.“Dr. Kratovil would like to see you and your husband now.”Attempting to hide her apprehension, Catheryn rose from her seat and followed the nurse down a long corridor, Kane at her side.Catheryn had arrived at the hematologist’s office earlier that afternoon, minutes before her two-thirty appointment. Kane, who had taken time off from work and arrived shortly after Travis dropped her off, had waited in the reception room while Catheryn underwent a procedure that had turned out to be far more involved than she’d expected. Following a review of her records and a check of the blood smears sent over by Dr. Porter, Dr. Kratovil, a slight woman in her late thirties with hazel eyes and a sympathetic smile, had asked Catheryn to undress and put on a hospital gown. The doctor left the room briefly while Catheryn changed. Upon returning, the doctor examined Catheryn carefully, paying special attention to the bruises on her arms and thighs. Afterward she instructed Catheryn to lie on her side, stating that it was going to be necessary to obtain a bone-marrow aspirate and biopsy from Catheryn’s left hip.Working with her nurse, Dr.
