"I love you" murmured Patsy, her eyes firmly fixed on here beautiful lover lying on the bed underneath her. Her words could not be more powerful, as often the unspoken feeling had to suffice. Patsy was not known for expressing her sentiment often- which made it all the more lovely for Delia. Their love was not a love of their bodies- as their busy schedule, their place of living and the fact that their love, although not illegal, was still very much shocking to the general public made it almost impossible to spend time alone- yet when they had the opportunity, they used it wisely. Moreover, their love was one of commitment, happiness and spending time together, despite not being allowed- especially not in Nonnatus House! Delia sighed in content at their blissful situation; Nurse Crane had pulled a few strings to allow them to share a room, they had some time alone as the girls were out at a concert (and of course Barbara was off having the first night of her marriage with Tom... The thought of that made Patsy shudder- the horrors of heterosexual sex!) and the nuns were attending a church service at another church and remaining the night there. Just Patsy and Delia remained- and they had precisely another two hours until the girls would arrive home, and now Trixie wouldn't get drunk they knew that they had to be all finished and cleaned up and presentable by then.

Delia began to kiss Patsy passionately, holding on for much longer than she did earlier, their lips meeting properly for what seemed like the first time in decades. Their hair swirled over each others', Patsy's nornally sleek hairstyle let down into soft waves, and Delia's beautiful poker straight hair across the bed. Patsy began to kiss back, but then began to break down into tears.

"What is it Cariad?" asked Delia softly, beginning to stroke her hair and hugged herself around her.

"I told him" sobbed Patsy "I told him about us."

Delia had been expecting something like this for some time, but certainly not tonight. Her lover's feelings were so much under lock and key that she didn't expect Patsy to ever even mention him again. Delia knew just how strong Patsy was, although she still had nightmares of her sister and mother dying. She would cry out in the night asking why her, and why not her sister or her mother to survive. Patsy was so prim and proper during the day, a perfectly efficient nurse, with not a hair out of place, but at night the terrors struck. These stuck with Delia, and most likely the other nurses a the the nurses houses, but unlike them, Delia befriended the beautiful nurse, and eventually became more than just friends with her. Gradually the nightmares stopped, but they still showed their ugly head. But this sort of vulnerability, Delia had only seen once when Patsy had come to her after the stillborn baby.

"Oh cariad," she sighed, knowing that it could only be bad.

"He said that I'm a freak of nature, that he wished I died and my sister survived, and that he hoped that I would get raped into being normal." she continued to sob, her small tears turning into fully blown anguish. "And the worst part is, I still love him despite all he did."

Delia continued to stroke her hair, trying to calm her down and make her feel safe, but nothing worked. "Pats, I'm sure, despite what he said, he still loved you. I'll always love you cariad, and nothing will happen to you, I promise. "

Patsy clung onto Delia, shaking and crying, longing for that care behind her actions and the love in every word. Delia kissed her slowly, promising her with every embrace that she was there, that she would love and that she would care for her, for the rest of her life. After Patsy had fallen asleep, sniffling a little, Delia decided to stay where she was, and remained embraced with her, running her hands through her hair and kissing her head, murmering "Rydw i,n dy garu di" over and over again, before she fully fell asleep, before mumbling "nos da" before falling asleep herself, wrapped around the woman she loved, together at last, and even hurtful words from relatives and friends couldn't drive them apart.