Patrick was sat alone in the sitting room in the early hours of the morning during the cold winter of 1962 as he held an untouched glass of whisky in his hand, the lamp shining next to him on the table as the only sound that could be heard was the agonisingly slow ticking of the wall clock. And Shelagh's cries. For the past couple of hours, Shelagh had been in slow labour with their baby and her cries and screams of agony only grew louder and seemed to intensify. Her waters had broken at around midnight that evening and she had woken him after waking to a soaking wet nightgown, Patrick immediately telephoning Nonnatus and asking for Sister Julienne. Now, he was sat alone with his thoughts and it wasn't doing him any good. What if she haemorrhages? He asked himself. What if something goes wrong with the baby? The soft clearing of a throat snapped him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the present, Patrick standing when his eyes fell upon Sister Julienne. 'Doctor, we have an update on Shelagh,' Sister Julienne said gently.

'How is she?' He asked as he made his way over to her. 'Is she okay? And the baby? Please tell me they're both alright, Sister,' Her face indicated that there was a problem.

'Nurse Franklin and I both had a feel of Shelagh's stomach and it seems that the baby's laying sideways instead of head down. The heart rate is slow too, but we need a second opinion,' He nodded slowly as his heart thumped faster inside his chest. 'Shelagh wants you with her and I think your presence will help. She's becoming too worn out to push,' He offered the Sister a smile of gratitude before she allowed him past and he made his way up to his bedroom where he could hear Nurse Franklin speaking softly to his wife. As soon as the door was open Shelagh turned her head to face him as she was limp against the pillows, and her eyes filled with tears as Sister Julienne closed the door behind her.

'Patrick,' She whimpered when he took her hand and kissed the back of it as he sat next to her. 'Something's wrong, I know it is. Please, tell me what's going on,' He sighed.

'From what Sister Julienne has told me, it sounds as though Baby is laying sideways on, darling. I'm going to have a gentle feel of your tummy to find out what's happening,' He kissed her forehead slowly as she nodded and stroked her thumb across his knuckles, her body trembling as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. Nurse Franklin stepped back from the bed as Patrick moved around to the other side and carefully lifted Shelagh's nightgown to rest above the swell of her belly. He then carefully pressed his hands to her stomach to feel the position of their baby. 'It's definitely laying sideways, my love,' He admitted. 'Could you pass me my stethoscope, Nurse Franklin?' Trixie nodded with a kind smile before going into his doctor's bag and retrieving the instrument. 'You're doing so well my darling,' He praised his wife when another contraction coursed through her body and she closed her eyes as she breathed deeply. He then pressed the stethoscope carefully to her belly and listened carefully before pulling away. 'We need to get this baby out as soon as possible,' He said gently to the Nurses as he took Shelagh's hand and caressed slow circles into the back of her palm with his thumb, the fear showing on her face.

'What is it?' She asked tearfully when he stroked her cheek and her hand went to her stomach. 'Patrick, what's wrong?'

'Baby's heartbeat isn't as stable as I'd like it to be,' He informed her as gently as possible as he tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. 'It's dropped down to 80 beats per minute and we need to get him or her out as swiftly as we can, alright sweetheart? For both yours and our baby's safety,' She nodded as a single tear trickled down her cheek, Sister Julienne rubbing Trixie's shoulder as the young Nurse trembled. 'Now, I'm going to try and turn Baby around and see if I can't get the head to become engaged. If I can't then we're going to have to telephone an ambulance,' He then kissed his wife's sweaty brow carefully before placing his hands back on her stomach as he kept her gaze. 'Now, just try and take some deep breaths for me when these contractions come. Don't push, but pant if you feel the need to. I know it's uncomfortable for you, but the sooner we turn the baby, the sooner you'll be able to hold it, my darling,' A small smile appeared upon Shelagh's lips, and Sister Julienne moved to take hold of her hand. Patrick then set about moving his baby to a better position within Shelagh's womb, a smile upon his face a few minutes later when he could feel the head within the pelvis. 'Baby's head's now engaged,' He reassured his wife and the nurses in the room, the three of them sighing in relief. 'But we still need to act quickly and get this baby out. I need you to push now for me, Shelagh. Don't wait for contractions, I just need strong pushes,' She nodded as she sat up against the headboard and held tightly to Sister Julienne's hand as she pushed strongly and groaned in pain. 'Good girl, keep that going for me,' He smiled as he kept an eye on her progress. 'Head's coming, now pant,' She panted continuously as Sister Julienne stroked her hair slowly and held her hand comfortingly. 'Head's born, Shelagh!' He praised her as he caressed her lower leg carefully and she gave a gentle giggle of relief. 'Now, I just need one final big push,' He told her, looking deeply into her eyes before she nodded and braced herself. She cried out as she pushed once more, and Patrick caught his baby when it had finally been delivered. 'Well done, my darling,' He chuckled as he cut the cord carefully and passed the baby to Nurse Franklin as it cried relentlessly. 'A little girl, Shelagh,' She finally let herself fall limp at her husband's words, her head falling back against the pillows as she smiled.

'Is she alright?' She asked breathlessly when Patrick came to sit at her side once again, Sister Julienne waiting for the placenta to follow. 'Will she need to go into hospital?' He shushed her soothingly as he drew the back of his fingers down her blushed cheek and kissed the side of her head lingeringly, a loving smile upon her lips.

'I think she's going to be fine, but I'll give her a check over in a moment,' He reassured her. 'But first...' He stood from the bed and made his way over to Trixie who had just swathed their daughter in a soft towel. He accepted her into his arms and looked over at his wife who pushed herself into a sitting position against the pillows. 'I think that someone wants to meet their Mummy,' His little girl cried softly as she flailed her small hands in his arms and he carried her over to Shelagh, shushing her gently as he slowly lowered her down into her arms. 'There we are,' He smiled. Shelagh gave a tearful giggle as she moved the towel away from her daughter's face, kissing her tiny forehead as she sniffed softly.

'Hello, darling,' She whispered as she drew her knuckle down her little girl's cheek and rocked her slowly. 'I'm your Mummy,' The tears were beginning to dry upon her cheeks as she cradled the newborn who's sharp cries of protest were now turning into soft whimpers and hiccups. 'Shhh,' Patrick smiled lovingly down at his wife from where he was standing next to the bed, and he stroked her light brown hair in pride as she couldn't draw her eyes away from her daughter who was now holding onto her little finger.


A short time later, when the sun was slowly beginning to rise, Patrick was holding Shelagh tightly in his arms as he was sat next to her beneath the covers and her head was back against his shoulder once the nurses had left. They had been sat in a comfortable silence for a considerable amount of time after he had checked Rosalie's respiratory system and given her the all clear, Shelagh dressing her in Angela's old nightgown before she had given her her first feed. Now, Rosalie was content to lay in her mother's arms whilst she looked up at her parents in curiosity. 'She's so tiny and yet so perfect,' Patrick said quietly, breaking the silence as Rosalie's tiny fist was wrapped partway around Patrick's index finger. 'It makes me remember Angela when she was this age,' Shelagh sighed softly as she turned her face into his neck and nuzzled her nose against his warm skin. 'I love you,' He whispered into her hair before placing a kiss upon the crown of her head and revelling in the beautiful smile she sent up at him.

'I love you too,' She giggled. They were just about to allow their lips meet in a light kiss when there was a knock on the door. 'Angela,' They laughed in unison when he pulled back a little, pecking her cheek before he got off of the bed and crossed the bedroom to the door. He opened the door slowly to reveal his four year old daughter looking up at him whilst she held her rabbit teddy by the ear, a gorgeous smile upon her lips as her eyes were still cloudy from sleep.

'Good morning, my Princess,' He chuckled as he swept her into his arms and placed her upon his hip as she giggled. 'Mummy and I have a very special surprise to show you,' Her eyes lit up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her temple before carrying her over to the bed. 'If you're very quiet, then Mummy will show you what she's holding in that blanket,' He smiled as he sat down on the bed with her and held her in his lap. Slowly, Shelagh moved back the blanket from Rosalie's face and allowed Angela to look at her, a soft gasp coming from their daughter as she gazed at her little sister for the very first time.

'Mummy's baby?' She asked as she looked up at Shelagh with a beaming smile upon her face, her mother reaching out to stroke her hair lovingly.

'Yes my lovely, Mummy's baby,' Shelagh giggled when Patrick allowed Angela to move in between the two of them, settling her against his chest. 'But you're still going to be my baby too, I promise you that,' Angela seemed happy with the idea and snuggled close to her mother, laying her head upon her arm. 'Would you like to hold your sister?' She asked quietly when she met her daughter's gaze. 'I'm sure Daddy wouldn't mind,' Angela looked up at her father with pleading eyes, sparkling brightly.

'Oh alright,' He chuckled as he cupped her small cheek in the palm of his hand. 'But only if you're very, very careful with her. She's a lot smaller than you, and you need to be gentle,' Shelagh then placed a tiny kiss upon Rosalie's button nose before carefully placing her into Angela's small arms which were supported by Patrick's. 'You're going to be such a brilliant big sister, you know that?' He hummed into her soft blonde hair as she had her gaze locked with Rosalie's. Angela giggled softly when Rosalie gave a yawn, her small body shaking with the intensity of it before she cuddled against her sister's chest.

'She loves you already, my darling,' Shelagh giggled as she stroked her fingertips through Angela's hair. 'Just like Mummy and Daddy do,' Patrick took his wife's hand in his free one and kissed the back of it slowly, his gaze fixed with hers as she smiled lovingly at him.

'Thank you,' He mouthed to her when he settled back against the headboard. The three of them continued to cuddle together for the rest of the morning since Timothy had slept over at Collins' house the previous evening. It was one of the best mornings they had ever had.


A/N: Should I make this a multi-chapter story or leave it as a one-shot? Please Review if you can! Much appreciated! x~x~x~x