Page 26 of A Found Family at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘Of course you haven’t upset me. I’m just turning into a miserable old sod before my time.’

‘Not that much before your time!’ Amy grinned again, and for the first time that shift, Aidan laughed. Isla was currently elsewhere in the hospital, having some tests, and he’d offered to go with her when she got the results. She’d seemed much calmer since that first night, and she’d even tried to make him promise that he wouldn’t put off trying for a baby if she wasn’t able to donate her eggs. In the end he’d agreed, without actually saying the words ‘I promise’, because he still wasn’t sure it was something he’d be able to do.

The phone call with Ellen had gone as well as it possibly could. She was bubbly and upbeat, but even more importantly she was an experienced surrogate, with a track record of following through on the promises she’d made to the intended parents. Jase had been bouncing around with excitement at the end of the call, and a date had already been made for them to meet Ellen in person. It suddenly felt like a train that was hurtling down the tracks, and Aidan had a feeling he’d be powerless to stop it, even if he wanted to. But the fear that had crept in about his ability to bond with their child, seemed to be getting more powerful. Isla was such a sweet girl, who’d been devoted to her father and had a close and loving bond with her whole family, so the baby having half of her genes had to give it a good chance of being loving and loveable as a result. But without Isla’s influence, there’d be nothing to counter whatever it was in Aidan that made him so unlovable to his own father. Deep down, he knew it was an irrational fear, and that genetics didn’t determine family relationships, but since the trip to Ireland, he couldn’t shake it, and no amount of telling himself he was beingridiculous made any difference. The worst part of all of it, was that Jase had no idea how he felt.

‘I read your latest post on your journey to parenthood page.’ Amy was smiling again, and he managed to nod. He’d only put it up there because Jase had asked him why he’d stopped updating the page, and he’d had some messages from followers asking what was going on. It would have been the perfect opportunity to admit to Jase that he was having doubts, but he hadn’t been able to do it.

‘Me too.’ Gwen had suddenly appeared from behind the counter in the shop. ‘It must be so exciting now you’ve been matched with a surrogate. I told Amy before, that if I was a few decades younger, I’d seriously think about doing it. But these days it’s strictly a one-way street down there.’

‘I think mine must be a dead end with a big road-closed sign.’ Amy pulled a face. ‘Because every man I meet seems to turn around and go in the opposite direction.’

‘Maybe you just need to give the entrance a bit more kerb appeal, if you know what I mean.’ Gwen and Amy both started laughing, and Aidan couldn’t help joining in.

‘What are you suggesting? A couple of hanging baskets, and a welcome sign?’ Amy raised her eyebrows as she looked at Gwen, and Aidan shook his head.

‘I can’t take the mental images; you two have got to stop!’

‘It’s just nice to see you smile.’ Amy gave him a gentle nudge, just as a group of people came into the shop. One of whom was Isla.

‘Everything okay?’ He mouthed the words, but before she could even respond, there was a loud crash as the woman to the right of her, went down, taking a shelf filled with magazines with her. The woman’s body was jerking violently, and it was immediately obvious she was having a seizure.

‘It’s okay, we’re going to look after you.’ Isla had already moved to crouch beside her, checking the woman’s airway, as Gwen ushered the other customers out of the shop. The woman’s limbs were still jerking, her eyes had rolled back and for a moment Aidan didn’t recognise who she was, but Isla did.

‘It’s Sarah Vardy.’ Isla loosened the silky neck scarf that was looped tightly around Sarah’s neck. ‘Do you know if she’s epileptic?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Aidan looked around for something to put under Sarah’s head as her body continued to jerk. ‘Is there anything we can use as a pillow, Gwen?’

‘Take this.’ She took a fleece off the row of hooks behind the counter and passed it to him to place under Sarah’s head. Once she’d stopped convulsing, they could move her into the recovery position, but for now all they could do was try and stop her from hurting herself during the seizure.

‘I’ll go back to A&E to let them know we’re bringing her in.’ Amy rushed out of the shop and Aidan checked his watch, silently praying that the seizure would be over quickly. The longer it lasted, the more serious the cause and aftereffects were likely to be.

‘She’s breathing okay.’ Aidan pressed the back of his palm against Sarah’s forehead. ‘And it doesn’t feel as though she’s got a temperature. We just need to ride this out before we can move her. I’m going to try and time how long the seizure lasts.’ As far as he could recall, she didn’t have any ongoing medical issues, apart from the health anxiety over having cancer that seemed to rule her life, but having a seizure like this, out of nowhere, needed to be investigated.

By the time the seizure finally ended, almost four minutes after it had started, Amy was back at the hospital shop, with a wheelchair. Aidan and Isla had moved Sarah into the recovery position as soon as the jerking in her limbs had stopped, andshe had regained consciousness. As far as Aidan could tell, she seemed okay, apart from some confusion.

‘Do you remember what happened, Sarah?’ He took her hand, as she stared at him for a moment, and then she blinked.

‘I just went in to get aTake a Break, and the next minute I was on the floor.’ The magazine Sarah had been reaching for had ended up underneath her, like most of the others on the shelf that had come down with her.

‘Did you hurt yourself when you fell?’ Isla’s voice was gentle and reassuring.

‘I banged my elbow, and my head feels like I’ve been drinking.’ Sarah attempted to get up, but Aidan kept hold of her hand.

‘We’ll help you up into the wheelchair, and take you to get checked over, so we can find out what’s caused this. Is it the first time you’ve had a seizure, Sarah?’ Even as she nodded in response to Aidan’s question, he could see in her eyes that she was hiding something. A seizure like this could have a number of causes, some far more serious than others. For someone like Sarah, it seemed unusual that her mind wasn’t immediately going there, which made Aidan suspect she already had some idea what was behind it. She looked different too, like she’d started making an effort with her appearance again. Something she’d evidently stopped doing after her mother’s death.

‘Let’s get you moved then, and I’ll treat you to the magazine, so you don’t get yourself into any more trouble.’ Aidan smiled, and a single tear slid out of Sarah’s eye, into her hair, as she clutched his hand. Whatever the reason behind the seizure, Sarah had clearly decided to keep it to herself for the moment, and all he could do for now was to be there to hold her hand, until she was ready to talk.

‘Are you sure you want to hang around?’ Aidan had asked Isla the question at least three times before she’d finally managed to persuade him that she had nowhere to rush off to. She’d been off work because of her further tests, but when Sarah had collapsed, she’d accompanied her and Aidan back to A&E. It was an even busier than usual shift, and a big, county-wide inter-school football tournament, in Port Tremellien, had resulted in a steady stream of patients needing stitches and X-rays. Aidan had people asking for his help every five minutes, but it was obvious he’d been struggling with the idea of leaving Sarah on her own while she waited to be sent for a scan.

‘I don’t think this is the first seizure she’s had.’ Aidan had lowered his voice to a whisper when they were outside Sarah’s cubicle. ‘There’s a chance this could be something serious, but she’s not reacting the way she normally does and it’s worrying me, but we’re short-staffed as it is, and I can’t just sit with her.’

‘I can.’ Isla’s response had been resolute, but Aidan had still shaken his head.

‘You’ve got enough on your plate, and the last thing you need is to have to hang around here when you’re not at work.’

‘I’m fine.’ She’d widened her eyes, to try and convince him that she meant it. ‘All I can do now is wait for my results, and if I’m sitting at home that time isn’t going to pass any more quickly. Anyway, I want to be here when Danni comes and tells us about the scan. It’s no problem for me to sit with Sarah until then. I think half the reason her health anxiety is so bad, is because she’s got no one in her life she can talk to about what’s worrying her. I’m really grateful I’ve been able to tell you about everything, especially after the latest with Mum. But I think I’dhave gone mad if I hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about what’s going on in my head.’

For a moment Aidan had looked as if he was going to say something, but then he’d just given her a hug. Lexi had called the morning after Isla had broken down in front of Reuben and had told her that their mother had deep vein thrombosis as a result of the break to her ankle. Thankfully, it had been spotted by one of the nurses before it caused any complications, and was being treated with blood thinners, but it was another thing to worry about and it also meant flying was off the cards for Clare for the foreseeable future. There was even less chance of Isla telling Lexi or her mother that she was going through tests for leukaemia now. It would kill Clare not to be able to get on a plane to come straight over. Having Aidan, Jase and Reuben to confide in was enough, until she knew more. She was still carrying the guilt of burdening them with the worry about how it might affect their attempts to have a baby, but any time she even tried to mention that, Aidan told her not to be ridiculous and that none of that mattered as long as she was okay.

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