He takes the baby as she delivers the placenta, cleaning the tiny infant on the other side of the room to give her a remote sense of privacy after she had whispered into his ear to dismiss him.
"Patrick, I don't want you to never want to make love to me again. Go take care of our son."
He had chuckled, kissing her temple before climbing off the bed and taking their child from her arms at that, allowing Sister Julienne to complete her job at the foot of the bed. Now cleaned and carefully wrapped in a blanket, his new son slept soundly in his arms, little face scrunching up for a moment before relaxing as Sister Julienne helped Shelagh off the bed and towards the bathroom, his wife giving a hissed wince at moving. Normally, he would have told her off, told her that she should stay in bed and allow herself to be cleaned up like any other mother in Poplar, with a careful sponge bath. He knew better though, knowing that Shelagh would prefer to tidy herself in the bathroom as much as she was able with the help of Sister Julienne.
"Your Mummy is going to stick to anything she sets her mind to, best get used to it little one," he whispered, kissing the crown of his son's head as he rocked him gently, legs aching as he wandered back to sit on the edge of the bed. He could only imagine the agony his wife would still be in for a few days as her body recovered from bringing their child into the world if he was sore from a mere hour of her clinging to him and pushing against him as she laboured, her fingers clenching against his as she struggled.
Sister Julienne came back a moment later to collect the soiled towels and blankets, balling them up in order to take them down to be washed. At his slightly panicked look she chuckled, reaching across the bed to place a hand on his elbow.
"She's just tidying herself and brushing her teeth, she'll be back in a moment. She did beautifully Patrick," she assured him with a smile. He grinned, nodding back at her before glancing down at the baby in his arms.
"I never thought we would have... this," he confessed, motioning to the infant. "It's more that I could have ever dreamed for. Thank you, for the role you played in bringing our son into the world," Patrick said. Sister Julienne blushed slightly, her own eyes watery and red rimmed.
"I couldn't have asked for a better gift than this," she replied, taking her leave from the room. She returned a few moments later with a tired but refreshed looking Shelagh, the younger woman now wrapped in a clean nightdress and with her hair pulled back into a loose plait. Shelagh clambered onto the bed carefully before laying back against the pillows, holding her hands out until Patrick laid the baby in her arms, watching how she gingerly traced a finger over the child's cheeks and lips.
"I'll leave you three to get settled. Enjoy the night to yourselves. I'll call a locum to cover your practice for you tomorrow Doctor Turner," Sister Julienne said, collecting her things before heading for the door.
"Thank you," Patrick and Shelagh called out in unison, their voices soft so as not to startle the baby.
"Sleep well my dears." With that the elder woman disappeared into the hall and down the stairs. Patrick stood, cracking his back as he went to fetch his pyjamas, watching Shelagh out of the corner of his eye as the baby started to stir. She smiled at the child, carefully shifting him to one arm as she struggled to undo the buttons on her nightgown with trembling fingers.
"Is it strange that I have no idea what I'm doing? I've instructed hundreds of mothers on how to breastfeed and yet I can't stop shaking and feeling as if I don't know where to begin," Shelagh confessed, biting her bottom lip softly as she glanced between Patrick and the baby. Her husband chuckled softly, tugging his pyjama trousers on before coming to sit next to her, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"You're going to do phenomenally," he breathed against her ear. "Do you want me to talk you through it?" He knew the question sounded daft, his wife having much more extensive experience with breastfeeding mothers than he did, at least in this capacity, but he understood her hesitancy. She would never admit it, but he could feel the exhaustion rolling off Shelagh in waves, despite her valiant attempt to appear strong despite her lengthy labour and delivery.
"Yes," she answered, gently knocking her head against his. Patrick reached forward, helping to clear the fabric away from Shelagh's breast as she shifted the baby in her arms.
"Bring him up towards your breast," Patrick started, watching his wife comply without hesitation. "Now, you're going to put your thumb and finger around your areola and we're just going to try and entice him to open his mouth with your nipple." When Shelagh didn't move her arms away from her hold on the baby, he reached forward, following his own instructions as he placed a hand on her breast, encouraging their son to open his mouth. Blurry blue eyes blinked up at him for a moment before the baby opened his mouth. "All right, now his lower jaw needs to go on first, then we're just going to press a bit more of your breast into his mouth and – yes, that's it," Patrick encouraged, watching as the baby latched on almost immediately.
"Oh," Shelagh sighed, amazed at the feeling of the baby suckling.
"That's my girl," Patrick whispered, feeling the baby's chest moving against the back of his hand and his wife's heartbeat beneath his palm where his hand rested between them, still cradling her breast. The two sat in silence while their son fed, his eyes falling shut after only twenty minutes. Shelagh chuckled softly at him, nudging Patrick until he lifted the infant away from her and rested him on his shoulder, patting his back until he burped softly. Shelagh had finished closing her nightgown in that time and was curled up on her side as Patrick climbed in next to her, resting the baby between them on the bed.
"I'm so tired but I don't want to take my eyes off him," she breathed, lids dropping shut as she said the words.
"He's still going to be here when you wake up. I promise," Patrick answered, reaching across their son to cup Shelagh's cheek in his hand. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," she replied.