�That�s not possible.�

�Why not?�

�That puts it right about the time when I was seeing Danny. I can�t have Danny�s baby. We work together. I just broke up with him. No way.�

�I take it you didn�t use any birth control.�

�Not the first time, no. It was spontaneous.� Diane looked away from the monitor as her mind flashed back to the events of that day: meeting Denby at Citiwide Couriers, his teasing her about La Traviata tickets and how beautiful she was, stepping in so close to her she couldn�t breathe, jerking her around for more information about her old partner, shouting that he loved her from the loading dock. She couldn�t help looking back at him from behind the truck as she stomped away, and she spent the rest of the afternoon pacing like a caged animal around her apartment. Danny picked that evening to show up with a pizza and a pulse.

�I see you were in about two months ago,� Dr. Pachla continued, and Diane turned her head to watch the doctor flipping through the chart. �You came for birth control,� she smiled. �I see Dr. Muzqu�z recommended external methods.�

�Yes. He thought the Pill might exacerbate the condition that Danny shared with me,� Diane looked at the STD chart on the wall, unable to meet the doctor�s eyes.

Dr. Pachla flipped through the chart, then closed it and flipped more slowly through from the front again, scowling.

�What�s wrong?�

�I�m not seeing the diagnosis here. What did he say you had?�

�Genital warts, actually,� Diane�s voice was slightly above a whisper.

Dr. Pachla made some notes on her current page, and her ballpoint pen was making deep impressions on the paper as she hurriedly scribbled.

�Well, some notes didn�t make it into the chart,� Dr. Pachla said. �I�m sorry about that. I�ll have to chat with Dr. Muzqu�z and the filing clerk later.�

�What kind of notes are missing?� Diane asked, fully alert, always a cop.

Dr. Pachla deliberated for a moment, then she decided it would be wiser to be up front with this patient. �I�m not seeing any mention of genital warts here. And I�m not seeing the results of the paternity test that was ordered last week. They should be here by now. I do see a cauterizing procedure, though.�