I Was Here.

Authors Note: hello all. I have plenty of other Call the Midwife fanfictions to be getting on with and I WILL complete them all at some point. But I have been reading a few AU stories where the characters are at university. I wanted to do something similar as I myself am in the middle of my first year of uni and I wanted to share some of my own experiences of what uni is really like.

Alongside my own take of what uni is like, this is also based on Beyoncé's song I Was Here. I saw another fandom video with his song as the background and fell in love with it.

I hope you enjoy…I don't own CTM, the BBC does ect.

Any mistakes are my own (I am getting better at proof reading, honestly I am)

Enjoy!

Patience Mount thanked the bus driver and stepped off the bus. She pulled her rucksack higher on her shoulders and walked towards the traffic lights. Pressing the button, she smiled at a girl next to her, who sort of smiled back. Patsy buried her hands deep into her pockets and kept her head down. It was a few minutes' walk up to the main campus where she would be studying. Perhaps she would be better off getting the uni bus to and from town instead of using the public bus.

Rounding a corner, she gazed up at the glass and metal building that would be her workplace for the next three years. Swallowing hard, she followed the other students up the stairs and into the building.

"Hi there. Welcome to Falmouth University. Are you here for Get Ahead?" the girl in the orange t-shirt asked her. Patsy nodded and looked around the main atrium. It had a glass ceiling, allowing the autumn sunshine to seep in. there was students everywhere. It was so busy. She could feel panic rising up in her chest.

"Can I have your name and what course you're studying please?" the girl asked her, glancing down at a long list of names.

"P-Patience Mount. I'm studying medicine." She replied, her cheeks burned as she spoke. Patsy kept her eyes to the floor.

"Ah, there you are." The girl ticked off her name and handed her a badge with her name on. "If you'd like to follow me, we'll get you your timetable for the next two days. You'll meet some of your lectures and some other students who are on your course. There'll be a tour of the building and the library. You're commuting in aren't you?"

Patsy nodded. Maybe she should have applied to live in halls. But she only lived two bus rides away. She could get to uni in forty minutes or so, she didn't live that far. It just made sense to stay at home with her father and aunt. Patsy was unsure if she would be able to cope on her own for the first time ever. Her mother and sister had passed away within weeks of each other after a car crash. So she was alone. But she preferred it to be that way.

The girl in the orange t-shirt was gesturing for her to follow. Patsy blushed and followed her obediently. She wrapped her arms around chest to try and protect herself from the bustling crowd. Her throat was constricting and it was getting hard to breathe. She walked slowly, trying to calm down. But the panic in her chest overwhelmed her and she stopped abruptly.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, concern showing in her face. Patsy shook her head and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. Ever so gently, the girl ushered her into a quiet corner and pulled the water bottle out of Patsy's bag and held it out to her.

Patsy took it gratefully and drank quickly. The water calmed her slowly. She screwed up her eyes and took a few deep breathes. Her fingers found her elastic band on her wrist and she pinged it. It snapped against her skin, the panic disappeared almost instantly. After a few more deep breathes, she stood up a little straighter.

"Panic attack?" there was genuine concern in her voce. Patsy nodded, wiping her eyes and taking another sip of water. She wasn't used to people showing concern about her disabilities. Her father thought she was making it up. until he saw for himself when she had a panic attack when they were out shopping in Penmere. He had pushed her to go to the doctors. Eventually she had gone, with Aunt Beth by her side. Within a few months of finishing year 13 at her local collage, she was diagnosed with depression and severe anxiety. She had told no one about it. Not even her close friend Martha. She couldn't bear to be treated differently.

So here she was. Starting university in the city she grew up in. Attending a Get Ahead introduction for students with mental and physical disabilities. She didn't want to attend. But her aunt forced her.

You need to make friends Patsy, especially since you aren't staying in halls. You're going to miss out on a lot. You need to make friends, they will get you out, take you on nights out. You can't stay at home when you're not at uni. You need to get out there. Enjoy uni life whilst you can, otherwise you'll regret it.

Patsy really did hate her aunt for always being right.

She felt the girl in the orange t-shirt rub her back gently as she regained her composure. A shiver ran up her spine as she made eye contact with the brunette. No one knew that Patsy was gay, well apart from her aunt. Patsy had some vague hope that she would meet someone at uni. It could happen.

The girl was quite pretty. Patsy looked closer and read her name. Cynthia. That was a pretty name, she thought to herself. But then she shook her head. This Cynthia would probably be in her third or second year. She wouldn't want patsy following her around like a lost puppy.

"Cynthia, are you busy?"

Patsy switched her gaze to a girl rushing up to them, with two girls in tow. Both of them smiled gently at her. Patsy tensed. The blonde looked like she had come straight from the high end of London. She was slightly intimidated by her. But the brunette next to her looked genuine. They made eye contact and shared a brief nervous smile.

"Cynth, can you take Trixie and Delia here to the hall for the presentation? Julie has asked me to run to Nonnatus Court to pick up some students who got lost on their way in." the girl in the orange t-shirt told Patsy's saviour.

Cynthia nodded and smiled at the other two girls. "Of course Cam, you go and I'll look after them." She said and within a second, the other girl was gone. Cynthia then turned to them all. "Well it looks like you are all on the same course. Medicine yes?" she asked Trixie and Delia who nodded. "Excellent, you can all look after each other then. Come on, we'd best get a wiggle on otherwise we're going to be late for the welcome talk."

Patsy followed their guide and fell into step next to the two girls. Nothing was said as they filed into the hallway to collect their timetables, vouchers and information. Then they were ushered into the large hall. Patsy sat down next to Delia. They shared another smile. Patsy felt a little apprehensive about the amount of people in the room, but she held her resolve. Soon the presentation started and Patsy allowed herself to relax for half an hour.

She would have to get used to this many people in one room. She had two or one lectures a day and she had to learn to cope with it all. If she didn't, she would end up dropping out of uni and she wouldn't allow herself to so that.

Perhaps she would make a friend with either Delia or Trixie, or maybe both of them if she was lucky. She didn't want to be the one sat on her own in the comer of the room with no one to talk to, no one to work with. The first few weeks of uni were critical. She needed to get herself into a group of friends as quickly as possible. And that meant taking her meds regularly and doing her coping exercise.

Delia leant close to her. She offered her hand. "I'm Delia Busby." She whispered.

Patsy felt relief flood through her. She took hold of Delia's hand and squeezed it. "Patsy Mount." She whispered back and let her hand drop.

Delia smiled at her and turned back to the vice chancellor sanding at the front of the room. Patsy opened her mouth to say something, but promptly shut it and fiddled with her elastic band.

Shit. You can't be falling in love already can you? The voice inside her head asked.

A/N: well that's the first chapter. Let me know what you think. I wanted to change everyone's personality's slightly just because I can really.

Please review.