[Recap: While trying to get his wife pregnant, Aidan has come up with a game to spice up their love life. It appears to be harmless enough, so Rosa reluctantly agrees. The games are getting intense, so Aidan confides in Cassie while Rosa continues to spiral as she fails again to become pregnant]
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VICIOUS CYCLE
The car park of the clinic is empty when they pull in, but it's more than empty though: it's deserted, like they're the only two people left on earth. There's a light rain falling and the wind is chill, so they have to make a dash to the entrance. In the empty lobby, Aidan gives Rosa a kiss and they go their separate ways.
He checks in with the nurse at the Andrology department, the single person he's seen, and is directed towards the chairs over by the window. The waiting room is also empty, filled with endless rows of grey plastic chairs, but it's more than that: it's if there has never been anyone here, ever. The profound silence is punctuated by the rattle of raindrops against the window. Gone are the blue skies of summer. Aidan folds himself into a chair and waits for his name to be called, brooding.
"We're ready for you now," a soft female voice calls from behind him.
Aidan springs out of the chair, suddenly nervous. The same nurse is waiting by a door with a clipboard and he forces his feet to propel him towards her. She's smiling and familiar, about the same height as his wife, with dyed blonde hair, styled expensively in a way that frames her pretty face. She's maybe six or seven years older than he is. He notices a wedding ring on the finger clutching the clipboard.
"Good to see you, Aidan," she says.
"Yeah," he replies. "I must get frequent flyer miles by now, hey?"
The nurse smiles brightly at the humour and he feels his mood lift.
She pushes open the door. "Shall we get started? I guess you know the drill."
Aidan follows her through, down a corridor with evenly spaced identical doors on one side. He watches the way her bottom moves in her uniform, the white stockings on her toned legs. He notices her shapely calves and sees that instead of the sensible footwear of a woman who spends her day on her feet, she's wearing viciously high heels.
"I've got you in the VIP suite," she murmurs over her shoulder as they reach the end of the corridor. She opens the door and for a moment they are standing close, face-to-face in the doorway. She looks up at him and smiles again.
"Any problems, just shout."
Aidan nods and closes the door behind him. The room is small, but furnished in warm, earthy colours. There isn't a window, but the light can be dimmed as required. There's a screen on the wall and a collection of videos underneath. On a shelf, he sees a box of tissues and a stack of magazines, but his eye is drawn to the grey vinyl armchair in the middle of the floor. The perk in his mood from the breezy exchange with the attractive nurse dissipates.
Aidan slumps into the chair, imagining her standing outside the door quietly, the hem of her uniform high enough to show off her toned thighs, the way the top button was undone so that he'd been able to glimpse a flash of cleavage. He couldn't place it but there was something so familiar about her, about her body, but she wasn't Rosa. She wasn't the reason he was here.
Aidan unfastens his jeans, building himself up to the task at hand and fishes into his underwear to retrieve his manhood. His hand closes around unyielding steel.
"Shit."
He looks down at the cock cage locked snugly over his member. How could he have forgotten that he was wearing it? Why hadn't Rosa unlocked him before getting out of the car? Why had she locked him in it in the first place? He realised he couldn't remember even being locked up.
In a flurry of movement, Aidan stands and zips his jeans back up, opens the door and strides down the hall to the nurses' station. The pretty nurse looks up from her screen and smiles at him.
"That was quick," she says.
"No. I have a problem. I need to talk to my wife."
The nurse frowns and checks her screen for a moment.
"I'm sorry, you can't. She's already in egg recovery."
"How long before I can talk to her?"
"Probably a couple of hours. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I'll wait."
She cocks her head to one side, and says, "Is it about getting your sample?"
Aidan doesn't answer, just shrugs awkwardly.
"Just to let you know, we need to take the sample now. It needs to be screened and ready for when the eggs are extracted. Is there anything I can do?"
"It's... I... it's complicated."
The nurse stands up and flashes a reassuring smile. "Shall we go back to the room and you can tell me? Whatever it is, it's okay. I've come across a wide range of behaviours."
She raises her coffee mug to her lips and takes a sip, her eyes not leaving his.
