‘What’s the treatment for—what was it—cystinosis?’
‘Yes, cystinosis. Jamie gets regular dialysis to remove all the poisons and waste that kidneys do in healthy people. Long term?’ Jodi stared at Carl, drilling him with her dark eyes. ‘We wait for a kidney to become available.’
‘That’s all we can do,’ Mitch added, to forestall the questions that smart brain opposite him was coming up with. Give Carl time and he’d know all there was to know about Jamie’s condition and the odds on a kidney becoming available. He’d research everything and learn that the head of the department he was filming in had to be the most likely donor. Then try keeping the guy and his cameras away. ‘Impossible situation,’ he muttered.
‘I can see that it is.’ Carl looked pensive, craftily hiding the questions that had to be popping up.
‘So you can see why I’m not interested in you filming Jamie. This is too traumatic for him as it is.’
‘What’s this?’ Jodi reared up. ‘What are you talking about? Filming?’
Carl spoke quickly. ‘Wait. Don’t jump to conclusions. Mitch knows I’m looking for one case coming from his department that I can follow through on. You know, the patient moving from the emergency department to a ward and then the treatment they receive, whether it’s surgery or cardiac intervention. Whatever.’
‘And you think Jamie is the perfect choice?’ Jodi whispered.
‘Truthfully? Yes, I do. It is a great human-interest story. But…’ he held his hand up as Jodi’s mouth opened ‘…I have a daughter about Jamie’s age and I doubt I’d want me poking a camera in her face to make a documentary. So, good television or not, I’m not going to ask you to allow my crews near your son. Unless you change your mind, of course.’ He turned to Mitch.
‘Not likely.’
‘It could help with making people aware of donating their organs,’ Jodi commented thoughtfully, chewing at her fingernail and watching Carl with a more cautious gaze now.
Shocked, Mitch could only stare at her.
‘Exactly.’ Carl studied her back, trying to fathom where she was going with this.
Jodi looked too damned thoughtful. ‘A lot of people indicate they want to be a donor, go to the trouble of registering the fact on their motor-vehicle licence, only to have family members refuse to follow their loved one’s wishes.’
Carl sat on the end of Jamie’s bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping boy. ‘Not many people realise that small children are the recipients of a lot of these organs. I believe if we can show that then the donor numbers will rise significantly.’
Forget this guy going to do his research. He’d already done it. ‘Leave it, Carl. Jodi has a lot to deal with already, without having cameras in her face.’
‘To a certain extent I agree. But I’ll leave it with you.’ Carl nodded at the box Mitch had forgotten was in his hands. ‘That pizza’s getting cold.’
What he hadn’t forgotten was the result of the blood-group test he’d had done that afternoon on the spur of the moment. Just in case he did decide to look more seriously at donating a kidney. It would be silly to put himself through making that decision only to find his blood group was no use to Jamie.
The result had told him he was Type O. Perfectly compatible with Jamie’s Type A.
But it was too soon to tell Jodi. No point in getting her hopes up until he knew for sure what he would do.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JODI COULD FEEL Mitch beside her, fuming at his brother as the whole transplant team crowded around Jamie’s bed, talking and reading notes. Overkill, surely? She’d have been happy to talk to Carleen Murphy. Or Max. Just not the whole bang lot of them. Even Lucas had turned up. They had Jamie’s interests at heart but didn’t they understand how terrifying this was for the little guy?
And while Mitch was fuming, Jamie was fretting. The corner of his blankie was stuffed in his mouth, slobber soaking the thick fabric. Tears streaked his pale cheeks. The shock of his admittance and then being put on dialysis had taken its toll on her boy. Leaning closer, she ran her hand over his head, and gave him a wink. ‘Hey, Jamie, love, Mummy’s here.’
‘Want to go home,’ he hiccupped, his eyes wide as he tried to beguile her into taking him out of there, away to where it was quiet and nice, not noisy and scary, not hurting.
‘Not yet, sweetheart. These people are going to make you better.’
When the bewilderment filtered into his eyes she felt bad. Lying to her son had become a habit. Even Jamie understood that these people might not make him better. No other doctor had fixed him. When kids were seriously ill they seemed to mature so much in some aspects of their lives. There was no fooling Jamie that his body was improving.
But she could do something for him. Straightening her spine, she took her despair out on those who might understand it. ‘If you’re all going to hang around discussing Jamie’s problems then you can at least sit down. You’re huge from his perspective. Intimidating and scary,’ she snapped.
‘There aren’t enough chairs to go round,’ someone, she didn’t know who, muttered.
He could go. She didn’t need anyone on the team who couldn’t see this from Jamie’s point of view. ‘Find some or leave.’
One of Max’s eyebrows rose disconcertingly but there was a hint of approval in his gaze before he turned to a hovering nurse and flashed his charming smile. ‘Find some more chairs, please, Charmaine.’
The nurse smiled ever so sweetly before dashing off to do Max’s biding.
Ignoring the byplay, Jodi sighed. Was she overreacting? Damn right she was. This was her baby. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Mitch had been fuming quietly from the moment Max had walked in and said something to him. What, she didn’t have a clue. When would these two get over their differences and act like family? They didn’t have anyone else. Surely they needed each other?
Her eyes returned to Jamie. He was their family too, damn it. Mitch’s son. Max’s nephew. Family. Like it or not. ‘Max…’ She curled her forefinger to beckon him close. Thankfully he joined her and Mitch, otherwise she didn’t know what she’d have done. Probably shouted at them, turning the ward into a zoo.
Keeping her voice low, she said, ‘This is not an ideal situation for you both, but I don’t care. This is about Jamie and not whatever you two have going on.’ She stabbed the air between them and growled, ‘Bury it while we make Jamie better. Nothing else matters at all.’ Her finger hit Mitch’s chest. ‘Your son.’ Then Max’s arm. ‘Your nephew.’
Sinking back into her chair, she returned her focus to Jamie, feeling uncomfortable. Had that been wise? Had she gone too far? Probably. But she was allowed to. She was a mother.
*
Mitch studied Max, trying to really see him, to see past all their angst. This was the man Mitch always wanted to outdo, and yet now he was about to rely on him for the biggest dilemma of his life. Jodi was right. He knew that. But there was too much history betwee
n him and his brother just to bury it in an instant. He’d spent his life being told that if he wanted to get ahead he had to do better than Max. And because the relatives that had adopted him were dirt poor he’d felt justified in proving to them they were right to believe in him and that he didn’t need the wealth Max had lucked into.
What if Max had been fed the same line of rubbish about him? It was something to consider. But not now. Today was about Jamie, not them. If he couldn’t at least talk to Max for the duration of Jamie’s treatment then he had to leave now, head to Sydney on the next flight and never look back.
Sucking in his gut, he met Max’s eyes and stuck out his hand. ‘Let’s put aside everything other than Jamie for as long as this takes. I want to be able to talk to you or your team at any time about anything and know I’m not having to worry about other issues.’
Max stood ramrod straight, his mouth tight as he stared back. The silence was laden with all the arguments and rivalry of their past. All the current angst and dislike. Then he shoved his hand into Mitch’s and they shook. ‘Fair enough.’
Mitch felt his twin’s warmth through their grasp, and was staggered at the sense of need that assailed him. When had he last touched Max? What would it be like to be able to walk up to him and ask how his day was going? To pick up a phone and suggest a drink at the pub?
Then the surrounding silence trickled into his brain and he looked around to find everyone watching him and Max. Max must’ve noticed at the same moment because he tugged his hand free and stepped back. But that severe look Max reserved entirely for him had lightened a little.
Ignoring everyone, Max dropped his gaze to Jamie and his countenance softened further. His chin moved down and up in agreement. ‘I still can’t get my head around the fact I’m an uncle.’ Turning a gaze filled with something like need to Mitch, he added, ‘Ask me anything you want. I’ll always tell you exactly what’s going on and where we are at.’