Page 15 of A Found Family at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘It wasn’t a problem.’ Isla smiled at the woman, who’d said her name was Roseanne. The truth was, the questionnaire had been the easy bit; giving her medical history had been a breeze compared to the counselling session she’d just undertaken. The only difficult part of the health assessment had been knowing how to answer the question about the medical history of her family. The information her parents had been given when they’d chosen a sperm donor had been sparse, and all the donor had been required to do was to declare that he didn’t have any known genetic conditions. Changing clinics to the one Aidan and Jase has signed up with had meant beginning the process again, andthe stakes seemed much higher this time around. All of which meant Isla was terrified of saying or doing something that might derail their plans, and it was making her feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

‘It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing for Aidan and Jase. Being an anonymous donor probably wouldn’t have been an option for you through this clinic, and I was wondering if that was part of the motivation for choosing to donate to friends?’ Roseanne had an intense way of looking at her when she asked a question, and Isla found herself blinking even more than usual as a result. God knows if she’d read something into that, but Isla couldn’t seem to help herself. The more she tried not to blink, the faster her eyelids flickered.

‘No, they didn’t even tell me at the first clinic that the gaps in my medical history might be a barrier.’ It had been a shock to discover, in her first call with the new clinic, that potential donors usually needed to be able to provide a full medical history of their family, in order to be able to donate eggs. But the rules could be applied more flexibly with a known donor, because Jase and Aidan would be aware of any risks arising from not having a full family history and could factor that into their decision. All Isla needed to do was to pass the health screening that would come after the counselling. ‘Like I said earlier, I’ve been thinking about donating for a long time, because of my dad. But when I discovered that Aidan and Jase needed a donor, I couldn’t think of anyone better.’

‘And how do your family feel about it?’ Roseanne had the intense look back on her face again, and Isla’s eyelids were flickering so much she was sure she must be creating a breeze.

‘My grandparents are very supportive, but I haven’t had the chance to speak to my mother and sister about it yet. They live in America.’

‘Hmmm.’ Without even speaking, Roseanne had managed to convey that she didn’t believe a word Isla had just said, and the excuse had sounded every bit as lame as it was. ‘Well that’s something I’d very much recommend you do before we proceed to the next step.’

‘Okay, I was planning to do it this week anyway.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie, but even thinking about breaking the news during her weekly FaceTime call with her mum and sister made her feel a little bit sick.

‘That’s very good.’ Roseanne nodded. ‘And I expect Jase and Aidan might have told you that my colleague, Tim, has recommended the three of you have a joint counselling session to talk about boundaries and expectations. With known donors or surrogates, this is not just useful, it’s essential.’

‘Yes, Aidan told me about that and it sounds like a great idea.’

‘Excellent, in that case, I think I can go ahead and recommend that you start the screening process while we complete the remainder of the counselling sessions, as I haven’t heard anything that would suggest we need to put things on hold.’

‘Really?’ Isla was going to have to change her name to Blinky McBlink-Face at this rate.

‘Absolutely.’ Roseanne finally lost the intense look she’d been wearing and gave Isla a warm smile, which matched the tone of her voice. ‘But I really do recommend you have that conversation with your mum and sister as soon as possible.’

‘Oh I will, I promise.’ Isla fought the urge to cross her fingers over one another. She had to do this, and making a promise meant she couldn’t back out. From the moment she’d decided to become an egg donor, she’d had a really strong sense that her father would have been proud of her. But she was every bit as certain he’d have wanted her to tell her mother first, and one thing she never wanted to do was let her father down.

Aidan took a deep breath as he watched Lucas Newman, one of the trauma surgeons, marching off down the corridor.

‘God I hate that man.’ He hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but Isla looked up from the computer.

‘We all do and not just because of what he did to Esther and Danni.’ She wrinkled her nose and Aidan couldn’t help smiling. Isla hadn’t even been working at the hospital when Lucas had become the number-one nemesis of the A&E team, but it was another indicator of just how tightly knit they were. Esther’s former fiancé had tried to come between her and her best friend, by relentlessly pursuing Danni and attempting to convince her that their tricky childhoods meant they were soulmates. Aidan had a difficult time growing up too, but that didn’t make the idea of tripping off into the sunset with Lucas any more appealing than it had been for Danni in the end. Aidan would rather wax his undercarriage with duct tape than spend a single second in Lucas’s company outside of work and he was certain Danni felt the same.

‘Well I dislike him even more now, because he’s saying the patient in cubicle three doesn’t need surgery and we can stitch him up ourselves.’ Aidan shuddered. ‘I hate the injuries where you can see the tendons almost as much as I hate Lucas Newman.’

‘Do you ever wonder if you’re in the wrong job?’ Isla laughed.

‘Listen, I can handle fingers hanging by a thread, and head injuries where I could put my finger inside the patient’s skull and have a feel around if I wanted to. But there’s just something about the tendons in the arm and watching them move when they aren’t covered by the skin.’ Aidan shuddered again. ‘Frenchwindows need to be banned, given the amount of patients I’ve had who’ve tried to walk straight through one.’

‘If you can’t get them banned, people could hire out their kids to put sticky finger marks on the glass. No one would ever mistake it for an open door then.’

‘Now there’s an idea. Would it be a dealbreaker if you knew Jase and I were going to do that with our child, to try and make a bit of pocket money?’ Aidan was rarely serious, and he definitely wasn’t on this occasion, but he’d spent a lot of time worrying lately about what might be a dealbreaker for Isla.

‘No. But if you don’t make me that cup of tea you promised me before our shift is over, we could be looking at a dealbreaker then.’

‘If I throw in one of Gwen’s brownies, could I persuade you to do the stitching up in cubicle three?’

‘I thought they’d all sold out this morning; I went to get one on my first break, as soon as I heard she had them, but she said they were gone by ten.’

‘I saw the potential of an early investment and bought four of them.’ Aidan shrugged. ‘One of them could have your name on it if you save me from having to look at those flexor tendons, and I might even be persuaded to bring you in a packet of Crunch Creams tomorrow.’

‘Even though you know that Crunch Creams are the love of my life, we can forget the biscuits. But if you’re willing to do two brownies, we’ve got a deal. I’m going to see my grandparents after work, and Nan is always raving about Gwen’s baking.’

‘You drive a hard bargain Miss Marlowe, but we’ve got a deal. Given the gift you’re giving me and Jase, I could hardly say no, even if you’d wanted all four.’ Aidan dropped a kiss on the top of her head. ‘And when we go to our counselling appointment, we can tell Tim we’re already skilled at negotiating an agreement between us.’

‘Do you think we should save one of the brownies for him, in case he needs bribing?’

‘As soon as he meets you, he’s going to see how amazing you are. It’ll be obvious you’re doing this for all the right reasons, which is why I love you enough to have given you 50 per cent of my brownies.’ Aidan grinned. ‘Even if you weren’t stitching up the arm of the guy in cubicle three.’

‘Why do I get the feeling I’m the one who’s been stitched up?’ Isla laughed as she looked up at him, and that same feeling he’d had when he was with his in-laws washed over him. It was the sensation of knowing he was loved and accepted for who he was. Aidan couldn’t allow himself to think about how much it hurt to have never had that from his own family. The prospect of facing up to that reality was even less appealing than an exposed flexor tendon, and every bit as painful.

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