Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
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‘No, don’t, please,’ Ian said imploringly and, standing, went to her. ‘Don’t shut yourself away any longer. We need to talk about what’s happened and discuss what we’re going to do in the future.’
‘I’m not trying for a baby again if that’s what you mean,’ Emma said sharply, tears springing to her eyes. ‘You said lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but it did for us. And this time it was worse than the last.’ Her face crumpled and she dissolved into tears.
Ian put his arm around her and held her as she wept. ‘I would never put you through that again,’ he said gently, stroking her hair. ‘Never. It’s too much. I’m hurting too. I love you. But before we give up completely on our dream of starting a family, there’s something I want to talk to you about.’
‘What?’ she asked, looking at him through her tears.
Ian took a tissue from the box and gently wiped her eyes. ‘I wouldn’t want us to try again for a child unless we could be certain it wouldn’t happen a third time.’
‘But we can’t be certain!’ Emma cried. ‘That’s the problem. We don’t know until it’s too late. Anne told us we shouldn’t try again because the same thing was likely to happen.’
‘I know, but please hear what I have to say. I’ve been doing some research on the Internet.’
‘Go on then, tell me.’
‘You remember when we were told about how David would be, after the scan?’
‘Yes, vividly,’ she said. ‘It was awful and I was hysterical.’
‘I know. You kept saying over and over again that there must be something wrong with you. I reassured you there wasn’t.’
‘I remember. Are you saying now you’ve found out there is something wrong with me after all, so it’s my fault?’
‘No, listen, please. It’s not your fault any more than it is mine. But supposing there was something in our genes that’s causing the problem? Lots of conditions can be passed down through genes without anyone knowing, and then it suddenly appears.’
‘But what happened to us has never happened in my family before,’ Emma said.
‘Neither in mine, but supposing there is something a long way back we don’t know about?’
‘Like what?’ Emma asked. ‘You’re scaring me.’
‘I don’t mean to scare you, love. But if we could find a reason for what’s happening then it would reassure us, and there might be a chance it could be corrected. Medical scientists are doing wonderful things, manipulating DNA so babies can be born healthy, without inherited conditions.’
‘It was more than a condition,’ Emma said, grimacing. ‘But how could we find out?’