Author's Note: Happy reading! x

Chapter One - Teddy's Birth

Neither one of them had moved from their intimate position. Ever since Sister Julienne had left after giving the newborn a warm sponge bath and ensuring that the placenta was intact the enraptured parents had been sat together, Shelagh's back pressed against Patrick's chest as she was sat between his legs and he was leaning against the headboard of their bed. The birth of their son had been long and tiring but Shelagh had soldiered on, breathing and whimpering her way through each contraction until her little boy - the baby she had prayed for for so many years - had released his first feeble wail.

When she and her husband had been alone after Sister Julienne had left she had insisted that they named their son Edward - Teddy for short - after Patrick's father. She had remembered the times that her husband had told her about his father - about what he was like and about how strong their bond had been when he had been a child - and she had thought that since Patrick had agreed to the two of them choosing Angela for their daughter's name in honour of her previous vocation, that it would be nice to name their son after his father. Besides, Edward suited the settled newborn very well indeed.

Shelagh caressed Edward's smooth cheek with a simple stroke of her index finger a short time later, sighing as she allowed Patrick's chest to take her weight and his shoulder to cradle her head. The tears of happiness and relief that she had been crying after her son had been eased into her arms were now drying on her cheeks and lower eyelashes and there was a permanent smile on her lips as she held her baby close to her chest. He wasn't even an hour old and yet she was already besotted with him.

He was everything she had hoped for and so much more.

It was the feeling of her husband tucking her sweat-soaked hair back beneath her ear that drew her out of her thoughts, a surge of warmth coursing through her when she felt Patrick's lips against the patch of skin that the action revealed to him. 'I couldn't be prouder of you.' His lips grazed her ear while he whispered into it and traced her sides with his hands through her nightgown, her piercing blue eyes sparkling when she turned her head in his direction and caught his gaze. 'My brave girl.'

She allowed him to capture her lower lip in a soft and warm kiss, his thumb and index finger taking hold of her chin as their lips caressed with ease. Patrick feathered a kiss against her forehead after bringing their kiss to an end, smiling as it was still rather sweaty. He had known that she would sail through the birth - she was a trained midwife after all; she knew what was happening to her body which helped a little, he supposed - but nothing could have prepared him for the intense surge of pride that had coursed through his veins when he had watched her push their son into the world.

He had helped with so many births and had felt pride in the new mother afterwards but this was different. He had just helped his wife find the strength and motivation to deliver their son and he knew in his heart that he couldn't be prouder of her if he tried. She was so brave and so amazing.

The sound of Edward's whimpers brought him back to the present, a smile spreading across his features as he glanced down at his son and watched as he attempted to latch onto his mother through her nightgown. 'Patience, my dearest one, patience…' Shelagh soothed as she brought Edward away from her chest for a moment, gentle shushes escaping her as she pulled the sleeve of her nightgown down her arm to reveal a breast. It was just seconds later when she had managed to help her son latch onto her and he was suckling, her eyes filled with nothing but love for him as she leaned back against her husband. 'When he's finished with his feed would it be alright if you help me to change into a clean nightgown?' She asked her husband. 'I'm not feeling very comfortable in this.'

'Of course, my love.' He kissed her cheek.

'Thank you, dearest.' She hummed sleepily when he wrapped his arms around her waist. 'I still feel as though I'm dreaming.' She admitted while cradling the back of Edward's head in her hand. 'There have been so many nights when I've dreamt about this exact moment and then woken up disappointed. I feel as though I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning and all of this will have been another dream.'

'None of this has been a dream, darling.' Patrick told her after dropping a kiss to her warm shoulder. 'You'll realise that for yourself when this little one is screaming for another feed in a few hours.' The two of them laughed at that before Patrick traced the outline of Edward's face with his finger and heard the faint coo that he released against his mother's breast, Shelagh revelling in the sound.

She was unable to stop herself from lowering her head and leaving several little kisses on Edward's hairline and forehead as he nursed, tears burning in the back of her eyes once again when she drew back and gazed down at him. She watched as his deep blue eyes fluttered open and his gaze locked with hers, her love for him deepening when she offered him her little finger and he took it instantly. 'He's just so perfect.' She breathed. 'I hope that Angela is going to understand why you and I have to spend so much time with Teddy. It would break my heart if she thought that we had forgotten her.'

'We had a talk with her just a few days ago, darling, remember?' Patrick nuzzled her neck.

She sighed in response. 'Yes, but she's four years old, Patrick. I doubt she really understood half of what you and I were saying to her; she was much too interested in playing with her doll house. Perhaps we could have another talk with her when Granny Parker brings she and Tim back in the morning. She might understand a little more now that Teddy's actually here.' Her eyes fell closed on instinct when she felt her husband leave a trail of tender kisses along the slope of her slender neck.

'Alright.' He nodded.

She turned her head in his direction again once he had removed his lips from her neck, the two of them sharing a smile when he leaned his forehead against hers. 'I love you.' She told him softly.

'I love you too.' He replied while grazing the tip of her nose with his. 'You're so beautiful.'

'Only you would say that when I look like this.' She giggled. 'But thank you.'

'You could wear rags and I would still think you were the most beautiful woman on earth.' He sighed.

'Such a flatterer.' She smirked before pecking at his lips.

It was a short time later when she realised that Teddy's suckling was a lot less frequent, a wave of unconditional love for him hitting her when she glanced down at him and saw that he had fallen asleep at her breast. 'It would seem as though I'm not the only one who's worn out after today's events.' She laughed, keeping her voice soft so not to disturb her son from his slumber. 'Sweet dreams, my beautiful boy.' She lowered her head to kiss him on the forehead before bringing him away from her breast, a snuffle escaping him as she drew his blanket further around his frame.

'Let me take him, love.' Patrick said from where he was sat behind her. 'I can get him changed into some pyjamas and put him to bed. Then we can set about getting you changed and settled too.' Shelagh nodded in response before she shifted forward on the bed to give her husband room to move and get up, Patrick accepting their newborn from her before he drew him close and gazed down at him with love and pride shining in his eyes. 'He's so perfect, Shelagh. You did so well.'

She smiled and blushed at the praise that she received from him before she leaned back against the headboard and watched as he walked over to the set of drawers on the other side of the room, her lips curling up into a smile when he approached the bed again with Teddy cradled in one arm and a pair of pyjamas and a cloth in his free hand.

It took him mere minutes to get their son ready for bed, Teddy letting out a little whimper as Patrick brought him into the cradle of his arms again. 'Let's say goodnight to Mummy.' Patrick whispered before he carried his son over to Shelagh, his wife giving Teddy a delicate kiss on the tip of his button nose before allowing Patrick to put him into his basket.

'One down; one to go.' Her husband chuckled as he walked over to her wardrobe to search for a nightgown for her, Shelagh giggling in response as she clasped her hands and rested them in her lap. She rolled her eyes at him in a loving fashion when he reached for her bri-nylon nightgown straight away, the two of them sharing a tender smile as he walked back over to the bed.

'How did I know you would choose that one?' She teased.

'Telepathy?' He smirked with a quirk of his brow.

Within moments Patrick had aided her in changing out of her sweat-soaked nightgown and into the fresh one, his hand seeking out her cheek before he kissed her lips after helping her to slip beneath the covers of their bed. 'Could you bring Teddy's basket a little closer?' She asked him as he sat on the edge of the bed. 'Just so I don't have to keep getting in and out of bed when he wakes in the night?'

Her husband nodded before standing and walking over to their son's basket, Shelagh watching him as she hoped with all her might that Teddy wouldn't stir. Thankfully, he didn't and once the Moses basket was pressed against her side of the bed she reached in to stroke the infant's hair. 'Goodnight, darling.' She whispered before turning to face her husband when she felt the quilt shift and the mattress dip beneath her as Patrick climbed into bed. She turned the lamp that sat atop her nightstand off before laying down beside her husband, a contented sigh leaving her lips when Patrick drew her close to him.

'Close your eyes, Shelagh.' He kissed the top of her head as she pressed her face into his throat, using the tips of his fingers to comb out the tangles in her hair as the honey-blonde strands hung down her back. 'Get some sleep.' He could feel her eyelashes and breath beating against his skin as she nodded her reply, his hold around her tightening as he rested his chin on her crown and sighed in satisfaction.

He still couldn't find the words to explain how proud he was of her; he doubted he ever would.

There was one thing that he knew for certain though...

He was never going to stop trying to find them.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading and please review to let me know what you thought! x