Chapter 7

Shelagh had just finished being settled into her room when Patrick arrived.

"Ian said he tried to get you a private room but this was the best he could do at the moment." Patrick looked over at the other empty bed in the room. "At least you are in here by yourself at the moment."

In truth Shelagh wouldn't have minded having someone share her room – it might have helped take her mind off the fact that she was essentially bedridden in Scotland for the next two months and she didn't know when she would be seeing her children again and her heart was already aching with missing them.

"While they were admitting you I called Sister Julienne and John Burton". He explained. "John is more than happy to continue as my locum for the next couple of months. I really like him Shelagh, I know he's young but I think he would make the perfect junior partner for the practice."

Shelagh chuckled. "He's 35 Patrick, he's not that young."

"When you are on the wrong side of 50 trust me, 35 is young! Besides you are 35 and I consider you to be very young love." He gently stroked his knuckles across her cheek.

"That's not what you were saying when you called me an elderly prima gravida earlier today." Shelagh said as she closed her eyes and leaned into his caress letting him know he wasn't really in any serious trouble for his medical description of her.

Patrick was happy to see her relaxing into him because he knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to tell her next. He knew she would be concerned about the running of the surgery but her more immediate worry would be the children and while the solution he and Sister Julienne had come up with was not ideal, it was probably the one that would work best and the one his wife would hate.

"Shelagh, I also spoke to Sister Julienne about Timothy and Angela."

"How are they? I am already missing them so much and we only left them this morning."

Patrick listened to her words and his heart sank.

"The children are fine – being spoilt rotten no doubt." He was pleased that his comment drew a small smile. "Shelagh, bringing the children up here is just not practical." He said gently as he grasped her hand and watched the little worry lines appear above her nose. "Timothy has school and you are in hospital, we would be bringing Angela up here to be looked after by strangers. Sister Julienne agrees with me that they would be better staying at Nonnatus, being cared for by people who love them."

"No!" Shelagh felt tears begin to well in her eyes. "No Patrick. Two months without my children? I can't, please don't ask that of me."

Patrick caressed her hand with his thumb. "I know love, I know it's going to be hard but Ian Donald has agreed to teach me how to use the Ultrasound and in exchange I am going to help out in his clinic. I can't look after Angela if I am doing that and we both know we can't pull Timothy out of school for two months. They are both so at home at Nonnatus but I'm sure they will miss us far less if they are surrounded by family than if they are surrounded by strangers."

Shelagh was silent. She knew in her heart what Patrick was saying was true but at the same time her heart was breaking. "Angela's birthday." She whispered. "We will miss Angela's second birthday. What if she forgets me?"

"Oh darling! She won't forget you. You are her mother. Angela adores you and I'm sure she will miss us both but she will have Timothy and you know how much she loves her 'Sis Julie'". He smiled thinking of the adorable way their daughter pronounced the nuns name.

"I suppose I have no choice." Shelagh sighed as tears slipped from her eyes.

Patrick gently wiped the tears from her cheeks and leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I promise when we get home we will throw our daughter the biggest second birthday party Poplar has ever seen."

…..

Over the next two weeks they settled into a routine. Patrick would spend his mornings working at Ian Donald's obstetric clinic. He found himself learning and being challenged by the complicated patient cases he was being exposed to and was loving it. In the afternoons he shadowed Ian Donald and was learning how to use the Ultrasound machine. By the end of the second week Patrick had even performed his first ultrasound which had exhilarated him. At lunch and in the evenings he would spend time with Shelagh, usually sitting and talking together, although he was starting to recognise the fact that every day that passed he was doing more talking and Shelagh was lying there in silence pretending to listen and clutching her bible. He was missing his children and being able to spend quiet time alone with his wife curled up together in their home but that was generally late at night when he was alone in the boarding house.

Shelagh, on the other hand, had nothing to do with her time but miss her children and every day it was becoming harder to be away from them. She worried if they were warm enough at night, she worried that Angela was eating properly and not constantly being fed sugary treats by Sister Monica Joan, she worried that Timothy was struggling with his homework without her there to help him, she worried that she was being forgotten.

Letters were arriving regularly from Timothy and Sister Julienne and she had even had the odd letter from Trixie all assuring her that the children were healthy and happy but she ached to see them and hold them in her arms. She had felt wretched and isolated when she was fighting TB in the sanatorium but this was much, much worse.

At the end of the third week in Scotland Patrick was having dinner with the Donald family and Ian raised his concerns about Shelagh's mental health.

"Every time I see her she seems to be more withdrawn." Ian Donald said.

"I know." Patrick sighed. "I've only seen her like this once before. Before we were married." Patrick explained. "She is pining for the children. She is so close to them and they adore her. Last week when I spoke to Timothy I could hear in his voice how much he was missing her too and at least he understands the situation, poor Angela is probably just wondering why her mother suddenly disappeared."

Alex Donald listened to her husband and his new friend and thought about how she would feel if she had to be separated from her two daughters in a place where she had no friends or family and a husband who clearly adored her but was obviously as much of a workaholic as her own husband was.

"Does she still have to on complete bedrest in the hospital?" Alex asked, interrupting the conversation.

Ian Donald thought for a moment. "I was very happy with her last ultrasound, disappointed I still wasn't able to get a good look at that left arm but the placenta was in a good position and there didn't appear to be any further rupturing. Not happy enough to let her travel home of course but I have allowed her to sit in a chair and use the bathroom."

"Bring the children up here. You can all stay with us." Alex decided. "I'm sure your son must be due for half term Dr Turner and I'm sure between myself, the girls and our housekeeper we can manage to keep Angela entertained." Alex looked thoughtful. "It would be nice to have a wee one around here again." She said wistfully.

Ian Donald looked at his wife. He didn't like to think he had manipulated the situation but he knew his wife well and knew when she heard the situation her big heart would come up with the perfect solution and she hadn't disappointed him.

"As long as someone is with Shelagh at all times and she understands that she is to remain either on the sofa or in bed I think this could work. It would certainly improve her mental health."

"Well it's all settled then." Alex pronounced. "I had better start clearing out the downstairs guest bedroom."