Author's Note: Chapter two is here! Aimee and I hope that you all enjoy! :-) x
The tears that were brimming in her eyes blurred her vision when she was sat on the settee in the sitting room a few days later with her hand pressed against her stinging cheek, her breathing ragged while she fought against the urge to let her tears fall and looked over at Graham who was standing in the window with his back to her. She could tell that he had hurt his hand when he had slapped her because he was holding it and cursing under his breath as he looked out of the window. He had never hit her so hard.
She was unsure of what she had done to deserve it; she didn't think she had been disrespectful or had snapped at him when he had asked her why she had decided to start working, but…but maybe she had without realising it? Perhaps, because she hadn't had much sleep the night before due to Isla having a number of nightmares, she had been sharp with him when she had replied. 'G…Graham?' She managed to find her voice at last as she removed her hand from her reddening cheek before hearing him groan.
'What?' He spat.
She swallowed the tears that had gotten caught in her throat whilst her hands wrung together in her lap. 'When…when I said that one of us has to go to work, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful. I know that you can't work; I know you have a bad shoulder which stops you from being able to go and work down at the docks and I would never speak ill of you because of that. All I meant was that – in order for us to be able to have three meals a day and to keep a roof over our heads – one of us needs to go to work.'
'I know what you meant.' He rolled his eyes before turning in place to look at her. 'What angered me was the tone you used. I didn't deserve to have you speak to me like that, Shelagh, you were out of line.'
Shelagh lowered her gaze to her wringing hands for a moment when she felt a stab of shame.
'If I was sharp with you, then I apologise.' She said. 'It wasn't intentional; I'm just exhausted because Isla kept having nightmares last night.' When she lifted her gaze to her husband again she rose from the settee before beginning to walk over to him. 'I know that I can't use being worn out as an excuse for being sharp with you though, and I…I'm sorry.' She explained when she came to stand in front of him.
Graham looked at her in silence for a few minutes before bringing a hand up to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear, a deep sigh escaping him as she grimaced when he stroked her red cheek with the back of his hand. 'I know you are.' He soothed before taking her waist in his hands through the blue fabric of her uniform and pulling her close, Shelagh blinking back tears as she cuddled up to him.
'You still love me, don't you?' She asked while burying her head beneath his chin.
He pressed his lips to the top of her head before caressing her waist. 'Of course, I do.'
'I never want to lose you.' She told him while she nuzzled her cheek against the fabric of his shirt.
She heard him sigh in response before she tilted her head back against his chest and looked up into his eyes. 'You're not going to lose me.' He reassured her before tracing the sharp line of her jaw with his fingertips. 'I would never leave you and Isla and force the two of you to fend for yourselves, my angel.'
'I love you.' She whispered as she ran the palm of her hand across his chest.
'And I love you.' He pecked her lips. 'So much.'
The two of them shared a smile before he lowered his head to kiss her once more and ran both of his hands down the outsides of her arms through her maroon cardigan. 'Now, I'm going to go upstairs and take a bath. I'll see you when you get home from work, okay?' He said, Shelagh nodding in response.
Once he had pressed his lips to her brow and walked past her to exit the sitting room, Shelagh listened to the sound of him ascending the stairs and only when she heard the bathroom door open and close did she turn back to the settee and sigh: 'You can come out now, sweetheart.' She watched as Isla came crawling out from behind the settee with her stuffed cat in one hand, her heart breaking as the fright that she was feeling was evident in her eyes. 'Come here.' She crouched down, opening her arms to her.
Isla hurried over to her then before all but slinging her arms around her neck and clinging on to her, Shelagh releasing a tearful sigh as she ran a hand over her hair and gave her shoulder a kiss through the fabric of her dress. After a few seconds, Isla drew back from her shoulder before resting her hand on her cheek. 'Are you okay, Mummy?' She asked her while she gazed into her eyes, emotion in her voice.
'Don't you worry about me, sweet pea, I'll be fine.' Shelagh told her as she forced a smile. 'Now, we should get going if we're going to get you to nursery and me to Nonnatus House on time, hadn't we?'
Isla's face fell a little.
'I don't want to go.' She admitted. 'I want to stay with you.'
'I want to stay with you too, Isla,' Shelagh replied, 'but I need to go to work so that we can eat and so that you can have new clothes and new dolls and toys. Besides, you're going to have so much fun there. You're going to make new friends and you're going to learn new things and – if you're a big girl – we can go to the sweet shop when I come to pick you up.' Her heart soared at the smile that Isla gave her.
She placed her hands on her daughter's waist when she laced her arms around her neck again, her eyes falling closed when Isla pressed her lips to her forehead. 'I'm going to make a picture for you.' Isla said after she had drawn back from her skin and their eyes met again. 'A picture of us playing at the park.'
'That sounds like a smashing idea.' Shelagh stroked her cheek. 'I can't wait to see it.'
The two of them nuzzled the tips of their noses against the other's then – something they had done to show affection to each other ever since Isla had been a baby – before Shelagh returned to her normal height and took her daughter's hand in her own. 'Let's go and find your coat and your shoes so we can get going, my love, shall we?' She raised her brow at Isla before her beautiful little girl nodded softly.
Once they had left the sitting room and stepped into the hall, Isla found her coat and shoes and pulled them on with assistance from her Mummy before the two of them took one another's hand again and left their little flat so that they could both make the short five-minute walk to the nursery together.
It was later that morning when Shelagh pulled out and lowered herself down onto one of the chairs in the kitchen of the community centre after making herself a cup of tea at clinic, a sigh escaping her as she looked down into the golden liquid in the teacup and thought back to the fit that Isla had thrown when she had made to leave after taking her to nursery. She had been expecting her to beg her not to leave and to have a little moment, but she hadn't expected her to throw herself onto the floor and sob.
Isla's teacher had allowed her to have a few minutes alone with her before she left for Nonnatus and when she had been sat rocking back and forth with her in her arms in the snack room, she had almost cried herself. Ever since the night Isla was born – almost four years ago – the two of them had never been apart from one another. Wherever Shelagh had gone, Isla had gone with her, and now all of that was coming to an end and it didn't surprise her in the least that her little girl wanted to go with her.
Isla had still been tearful and reluctant to let go of her when she had told her that she had needed to get going so that she wasn't late for work, but when she had taken her hands and unwound her arms from around her middle before kissing the backs of her palms and telling her that she would be coming back, her little girl had walked over to the book corner before picking a storybook and sitting down with it.
She had allowed a couple of her own tears to fall once she had exited the nursery and begun to walk to the community centre, but had been sure to wipe them off of her cheeks before she had walked inside to help set up the cubicles for clinic. Now, however, as she sat with her tea on her break, the tears were in her eyes once again and she was finding it difficult to fight against the urge to just let them escape.
'Do you mind if I join you, or would you rather be alone?' The gentle sound of Patrick's voice brought her out of her thoughts after a few minutes, a gasp escaping her lungs before she looked up from her tea and turned her head in his direction before offering him a smile. 'I don't mind leaving if you want- '
'No,' She cut him off with a shake of her head, 'it would be nice to have someone to talk to.'
Patrick ventured further into the room before pulling out the chair next to her at the table and sitting down, a crease forming between his brows when she gazed back down into her tea for a moment and he was able to tell that there was something bothering her. 'Nurse,' He kept his voice quiet, 'is something the matter?' He frowned when she brought her gaze back to his and he saw the tears shining in her eyes.
'I dropped Isla off for her first day at nursery earlier on and,' She sighed gently, 'it didn't go too well.'
He nodded. 'The first day is always the hardest.'
'We've never been apart from each other before.' She told him. 'Even before we left Aberdeen and came here, wherever I went she came with me and I never left her with anyone. I remember how Mum and Dad used to ask me if I wanted them to babysit her so that I could go out with friends on occasion, but I never agreed.' A little smile formed on her lips. 'I've always hated the thought of being without her.'
When her eyes started to burn with tears she lowered her gaze to her lap, but looked into his eyes again when he rested his hand on her arm through the sleeve of her cardigan. The two of them looked into each other's eyes for several long seconds before Patrick removed his hand from her arm and cleared his throat. 'I'm sorry,' She whispered before she took a long sip of her cooled tea, 'I'm just being stupid.'
'No,' He shook his head, 'you're being a mother.'
She looked at him over the rim of her teacup.
'You're worried about your daughter because you aren't with her; there's nothing wrong in it.' He said.
She offered him a small smile before setting down her teacup once again. 'Thank you.' She replied.
'Doctor,' Their time alone was brought to an end when Trixie appeared at the hatch, 'I was hoping you might be able to come and take a quick look at Mrs. Elliott? She appears to be in quite a bit of pain.'
'Of course, Nurse Franklin.' Patrick nodded. 'I'll be with you in a moment.'
The fair-haired nurse then turned on her heel to return to her patient while Patrick placed his hand on Shelagh's arm again and smiled. 'Are you feeling a bit better now?' He inquired as he raised his brow.
'Yes, I am.' She reassured him. 'Thank you for cheering me up.'
'You're welcome.' He replied while rising from his chair. 'If you need anything, just come and find me.'
She nodded before picking up her teacup. 'I will.'
He looked at her for a moment longer before turning to walk out of the kitchen again, Shelagh sighing as she leaned back in her chair and took another sip of her tea.
'So that's how a woman is supposed to be treated by a man.' She realised. 'With gentleness.'
'Mummy! Mummy!' A smile broke out on Shelagh's face when Isla got up from the table that she was sitting at with another little girl and ran over to her with a piece of paper in her hand that afternoon, the two of them sharing a tender embrace when she got down to her level and looped her arms around her waist. 'I missed you.' She heard Isla sigh against her neck as her arms were around her shoulders.
'I missed you too, my wee angel.' She replied before turning her head to press her lips to her forehead.
When their embrace broke she brought her hands to rest on Isla's waist and smiled while she looked into her eyes. 'Did you have fun today?' She raised her brow at her, Isla nodding with a gorgeous smile.
'Yep!' She giggled. 'I was a bit sad when you left, but then Barbara came and sat with me!'
Shelagh gathered that the little girl Isla had been sat with a few minutes earlier was Barbara.
'Then,' Isla continued, 'Mrs. Peters let us go outside and then when we came back inside we had snack time, then me and Barbara played house and then we had sleep-time and then I made this picture for you!' She leaned against her mother then, allowing her to lace an arm around her before she turned the piece of paper around and showed her the picture that she had drawn. 'It's us playing on the swings!'
Shelagh felt her heart swell with love for her beautiful little girl as she took in the sight of the drawing that she had made just for her. 'That is the best drawing I have ever seen!' She gave her waist a stroke through the fabric of her dress. 'We're going to have to look for a frame for it when we get home and hang it on the wall, aren't we?' She nudged Isla's nose with her own when their gazes met once again.
'Can we go home now, Mummy, can we go home now?' Isla asked, hope in her eyes.
Shelagh couldn't help but giggle. 'Yes, sweet pea.'
She rose from her crouched position before smiling as Mrs Peters, Isla's teacher, came walking over to them with Isla's coat and satchel. 'You weren't going to go home without these, were you, misses?' Mrs Peters smirked, Isla laughing as she held her Mummy's hand and her eyes sparkled as she gazed at her. 'She's been a perfect angel since you left.' The fair-haired women said to Shelagh before letting her take Isla's things from her. 'She's a credit to you and your husband.' Shelagh beamed down at her little girl.
That was one thing she couldn't argue with.
'Thank you.' She nodded when she looked at Mrs Peters again.
'Mrs Peters, William knocked my cup over!' The sound of a little boy calling from the other side of the room prompted the teacher to look over in his direction before she turned back to Shelagh and Isla with a giggle.
'Well, I had better go and see to James.' She admitted. 'I'll see you in the morning, Isla.'
Shelagh and Isla then watched Mrs Peters walk in the direction of the two young boys before Isla lifted her gaze back to her mother's. 'Can we go to the sweet shop now, Mummy? You said that we could.'
'I did, didn't I?' Shelagh smiled while leading her out of the nursery by the hand.
Once she had closed the door behind her she crouched down to help Isla into her coat before bringing her into another cuddle once she had buttoned up the front of it. 'I love you so much, sweet pea, and I'm so proud of you for being such a big girl whilst Mummy was working today.' She stroked her hair.
'I love you too, Mummy.' Isla reassured her before kissing her on the cheek and pulling back from her.
The two of them shared one more smile before Shelagh stood up again and took her daughter's hand in her own. 'Right, you,' She squeezed her hand, 'let's get you to the sweet shop so that you can get some sweeties to have after your dinner.' Isla whined at that before pouting when she glanced up at her again.
'Can I have one before dinner?' She pleaded. 'Just a little one?'
'Well that all depends.' Shelagh smirked. 'Are you going to let Mummy have one?'
Isla nodded.
'Then yes.' Shelagh giggled. 'You can have a sweet before your dinner.'
The happiness that she saw on Isla's face warmed her heart and she was certain that she felt her heart swell with the love that she possessed for her while the two of them began to walk down the street.
Shelagh released a deep sigh when she was laying in the darkness of her bedroom that evening with her husband snoring into her neck and his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, her hand resting next to her head on her pillow while she just stared at the wall opposite their bed – unable to drift off. She and Graham had made love earlier that night and even though he had been respectful – it hadn't been as romantic as it had been years earlier. There had been no rose petals on the bed and no candles.
If she was honest, she hadn't felt up to being intimate with him that evening, but when he had taken her hand after kissing her on the settee for a while and had led her up the stairs she had just gone with it. After their lovemaking he had taken her in his arms and kissed the back of her head before saying goodnight to her and falling asleep. 'So much for romance.' She had thought as he had started snoring. It was as though being intimate with her meant nothing to him anymore and knowing that hurt her.
Perhaps he had just gotten bored of her. It had been ten years after all.
With a sigh, she buried her nose into her pillow and closed her eyes, but before she had the chance to settle down her eyes opened again. She was certain that she didn't own a perfume that smelled like that. Thousands of negative thoughts and images began to race through her mind as the scent lingered, but after a few moments she scolded herself. 'Don't be so ridiculous! He may not be the best at controlling his temper, but he would never bring another woman into your bed! You're just being paranoid…'
After repeating the same thing over and over in her head for a few minutes she allowed her eyes to fall closed again, covering Graham's hand with her own on her stomach before stroking her thumb back and forth over the gold band on his ring finger. No, even though he could be violent and even though the insults that he growled at her now and again could hurt, he would never go behind her back; he would never be stupid enough to bring another woman into their bed and make love to her, would he?
She wanted – with all her heart - to believe that he wouldn't and that she was just being stupid...
But the perfume that was caught in the fibres of her pillow was screaming otherwise.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed chapter two! I apologise for the abrupt ending, but I just couldn't think of how else to end this chapter and I wanted to get it up sooner rather than later! I hope that you will all leave Aimee and I a review to let us know what you thought of this chapter and that you will also come back to read chapter three! See you all next time :-) x