Chapter Text
“Wasn’t that the lab you went to, Jamie?” Jenny asked, her voice penetrating the fog he had been lost in and dragging him back to the present. Seeing his blank look, Jenny sighed in exasperation and repeated, “Preservation, UK, the lab that agreed to pay all that money in the lawsuit for mixing up the sperm?”
“Aye, it’s the same one but what’s this about a lawsuit?” Jamie asked bewildered.
“Honestly, Jamie, do ye no read the news or watch tv? I ken ye’ve only been living back in Scotland for a few months but it’s been headline news all over the world for months and months now. A couple was going through IVF and the lab mixed up the husband’s sperm with someone else’s and she got pregnant. Baby must be well over a year now.” Jenny raised a dark brow in inquiry.
“Aye, I think I read something about that awhile ago. I thought they were English though?”
“They are English but the mother is a doctor working locally in Glasgow. The husband left her and returned to England, but she stayed.” Ian clarified.
“He left her to raise the bairn alone?” Jamie was shocked.
“Mmphm.” Answered Ian.
“They sued the clinic as if the bairn was a curse no’ a blessing?” Jamie was amazed and a little heartbroken.
In a perfect world he’d wish for a child of his own and, God willing, maybe he’d have one some day. But knowing what it would take to start a family for himself, were he to find the woman brave enough to take a chance on him and willing to go through medical procedures to become pregnant, he knew he’d have fallen on his knees in gratitude no matter whose biology created the child.
“Weel, in fairness,” Jenny put in, “the ex-husband got the settlement, the ex-wife was named in the suit because they were still married when he filed it against the clinic. Turns out she wanted no part of it, though. The wikileaks emails revealed that she only asked for one thing.” Jenny said recounting the salacious details.
“Aye?” Jamie asked intrigued.
“The name of the biological father.” Jenny said. “The settlement happened months ago but it’s back in the papers because the details were just leaked. The paper claims someone sent them the hacked emails about the terms, though the paper didn’t discover who the biological father was. But the name of the clinic was one I’d heard of before so I thought it had to be the one you used. That’s what reminded me of the story.”
“Ooch, weel neither here nor there, are ye heading back into Glasgow soon?” Ian, Jenny’s husband and Jamie’s CFO asked.
“Aye, we’ve got the conference call with United LQ mid-week and I need to run through the proposals.” Jamie in fact needed to get back soon. He rose to start gathering his belongings and tidy up his room.
While technically he owned Lallybroch, it was Jenny and Ian’s home. Jenny lived here with the children full time, Ian commuted back and forth splitting time between Glasgow and the farm. It worked well for everyone. Jenny tended the sheep and was experimenting with soft cheeses in her limited spare time. With three children, she had plenty of room to spread out, but the office and the laird’s bedroom were Jamie’s private domain. Though he tried his best to clean up after himself and not be a nuisance for them when he was back in the city.
Ian rose, his stiff knee making his limp more pronounced than usual. “I’ll let ye get to it then, wee Jamie’s got a match in Broch Mordha in an hour. But I’ll see ye Tuesday night.” Ian gave Jamie a side hug as he brushed past shouting for Jamie’s namesake to get his gear packed up and “no forgetting the mouthguard this time!”