The news of Sister Evangelina's death sent shockwaves through the Nonnatus family. She'd slipped away in her sleep, pain free and peacefully which many found comfort in. In the days following her death Nonnatus was kept afloat by everyone's final memories of Sister Evangelina.
For Trixie, the final time she had seen Sister Evangelina was early in the morning on the day of her death. She'd just got in from a long and tiring birth in which life teetered on the edge. She couldn't face going to bed just yet so, in the absence of alcohol she'd trudged to the kitchen in search of Horlicks. She'd fallen asleep, slumped on the table before she'd even taken the first sip, tiredness consuming her the moment she'd sat down.
"To bed with you gal," a voiced barked from behind her, pulling her out her slumber. "I don't know why you Nurses have to indulge yourself with Horlicks before bed when you're clearly too tired to even lift the kettle."
"It's better than indulging myself with gin," Trixie had muttered under her breath in response, hoping Sister Evangelina hadn't heard her, knowing it would result in another lecture, one she was too tired to face. But instead of the onslaught she expected she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, surprising her somewhat.
"You know your problem? You don't believe in yourself enough. You've gone months without a drink, just because you've had a bad evening it doesn't mean you have to drink yourself to sleep. You're better than that." Trixie had opened her mouth to question how she knew, but stopped herself, everyone knew she was the eyes and ears of Nonnatus. Instead, she grabbed her hand and whispered a quiet thanks, trying to hide the tears that had formed. Sister Evangelina took the handkerchief from her pocket and dapped Trixie's eyes gently.
"Now now, enough of this, you know I don't do tears. To bed with you, you're clearly tired enough." Her tone was firm, but without malice, in a way that only Sister Evangelina could achieve. Trixie simply nodded in response and turned to leave but before she could Sister Evangelina took the hankie she'd just used wipe Trixie's tears and placed it in her hands. "Just in case you need it again." She'd said with a small smile.
When the news of Sister Evangelina's death broke Trixie reached to her pocket and curled her fingers around the handkerchief, thumbing the corners slightly before drying her tears with it, just as Sister Evangelina had done so that morning.
Between Angela reaching her terrible twos, Timothy constantly needing help with his increasingly challenging schoolwork and the surgery being busier than ever, Shelagh hadn't managed to drop by Nonnatus as often as she liked, something she now regretted as she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper conversation with Sister Evangelina. So, for Shelagh, her final memory of Sister Evangelina was a brief one. The last time she'd seen Sister Evangelina had been at the Tuesday clinic, a few days before her death. The clinic was busier than ever, the Nurses and Sisters were completely stretched to their limits and all were feeling the strain of the last few months. Mrs Penny had rung in sick that morning so Shelagh had no other option than to take Angela to clinic with her, hoping she would just sit quietly and play with the other children by the doll's house. But Angela was determined not to be parted from her Mother that morning and cried every time she wasn't by her mother's side, constantly needing the comfort of physical contact. Shelagh had no choice but to work with her Daughter perched on her lap, if only to save the clinic from her incessant crying. The moment she saw Sister Evangelina walk into clinic she took a deep breath, preparing herself to be reprimanded, something which she didn't have the energy for that day.
"You indulge that child too much Mrs Turner," Sister Evangelina started, seeing no need for a customary greeting, she never saw the point in wasting time on pleasantries when there was work to be done. "Put her down so you can do your job efficiently please." Her tone irked Shelagh and rather than letting go of Angela she held her tighter.
"She's perfectly okay as she is Sister, I'll be able to do my job more efficiently if she's quietly sat on my lap and not disgruntling the other mothers by crying constantly." Shelagh retorted through gritted teeth.
Sensing her mother's shift in mood Angela began to stir and removed her head from the crook of her mother's shoulder. On seeing Sister Evangelina she immediately perked up, and her drooping bottom lip was soon replaced by a gummy smile. She jumped off her mother's knee and ran straight to the Sister, who couldn't resist giving her a quick cuddle.
"Now who's indulging her?" Shelagh smirked.
"I'm sure Miss Angela will be perfectly okay helping me today Mrs Turner, now get organized the mother's will be arriving soon." Without another word Sister Evangelina had made away to the weighing station, hand in hand with Angela. Over the course of the day Shelagh kept glancing over to where Angela stood with Sister Evangelina, smiling fondly as she watched the pair interacted. In the days following Sister Evangelina's death Shelagh thought about that day a lot. She regretted that she'd been so short with the Sister, had she known it'd be the last time she'd see her she wouldn't have spoke to her in the way she had, but she couldn't dwell on that as she knew that you can never know when you're seeing someone for the last time. So instead she decided to focus on that day for the joy it held and the knowledge that on that day her daughter had a final precious memory of the Sister that meant so much to her; even if her daughter was too young to remember she would ensure when she grew older she knew of that day and Sister Evangelina's memory would forever be kept alive within the Turner household.
Patrick's final memory had also come from that day. He'd found his wife stood in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea, giving herself five minutes away from the madness of the clinic. It was then he noticed the bags under her eyes on the way in which her shoulders slumped slightly, almost as if she no longer had the energy to keep herself upright. He made a mental note to himself to ask Timothy to babysit one night so he could take Shelagh out and give her a much-needed night off from being a Nurse and Mother and simply allow her to be his wife.
"Penny for them?" the sound Patrick's voice pulled Shelagh out her trance.
"You'd pay twice as much not to hear them," Patrick simply shook his head in response, he'd give every penny he had to hear Shelagh's every thought. He quickly glanced around the small kitchen to ensure no one was about; confirming the coast was clear her pulled Shelagh into his embrace, allowing her to rest her head on his chest knowing she'd find comfort in the steady beating of his heart.
"Tough day?" he asked, placing a kiss in her hair as he did so.
"Angela won't stop crying and I've had Sister Evangelina criticizing my parenting skills yet again," she sighed.
"I'm sure she's not criticizing you dear," Shelagh looked up at Patrick at his words, ready to disagree with him but before she had chance he had caught her lips in a gentle kiss. "You know I'm right,"
"I need to get back to work," she sighed "so do you."
"Shelagh," Patrick called as she began to walk away, she turned to look at him and his eyes conveyed everything he was about to say.
"I know," she whispered back in response and made her way back to her desk, leaving Patrick to watch her retreating form. Unbeknown to the couple Sister Evangelina had been watching their interaction from afar and caught Patrick as he followed his wife back to work.
"You look after her," she told him sternly, "she'll never admit it but she's struggling right now, she needs you. You look after her," she repeated, "you promise me that."
"Sister, on our wedding day I vowed to love and protect her and I have no intention of breaking them vows. I promise you that." Patrick replied.
"Good," was the final word spoken by Sister Evangelina to Patrick that day. When he learnt of Sister Evangelina's death, Patrick thought back to the final promise he made to her, knowing it was more poignant now. And as Shelagh broke down in his arms that evening, finally allowing herself to cry, he held her tightly as if he could hold the broken parts of her together, and prayed to the God he struggled to believe in, that Sister Evangelina could see that he would dedicate every day to fulfilling his final promise to her.