Part Seven: Dawn

Patrick awoke slowly and tried to figure out what had woken him up from a sound sleep. As a doctor with odd hours, he had learned to fall asleep quickly, but awake easily at the sound of the phone. This time, however, he was sure the phone hadn't rung at all. It was the sound of an infant crying, and it startled him until he remembered Angela- his new daughter. He sat up and saw that Shelagh already had her in her arms as she sat in the chair in the corner of the room.

"Sorry," she whispered. "We didn't mean to wake you." Patrick eyed his wife carefully- her hair had been loosely pulled back and her glasses were slightly caddy-wonkered- as if she had put them on in a hurry. She looked like she hadn't slept at all, and he wondered if she had. "Did you get any sleep?" He whispered.

Shelagh shrugged and said, "Somewhat. It seemed each time I laid down, she started crying again. She slept better when she was in my arms, so we slept in the chair for awhile," she said. "I was about ready to take her downstairs and go get ready for a new day."

Patrick thought of his list- about courting his wife- and realized he had the perfect opportunity in front of him. He grabbed his robe and walked around to the side of the bed and grabbed the moses basket. He placed the moses basket on the bed and taking Angela gently from Shelagh, he tenderly placed her in it. "I'm taking her downstairs with me. I can handle her for a few hours, and let you get some sleep. Don't worry about breakfast, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. What would you like this morning?" Patrick whispered as he watched the now awake baby in the basket.

Shelagh smirked at the thought of Patrick cooking and said, "As long as it's not burnt, I will eat it." Patrick chuckled at the statement, and leaned down to tenderly kiss his wife. "I'll try not to and it'll be ready in about two hours. Timothy should be awake by then as well."

"What if the phone rings?" asked Shelagh, remembering many a Sunday morning when Patrick was called off at the last minute before going to church. "If it does ring, I'll come wake you. I'm going to call a fellow gp this afternoon and ask him to return a favor. He had me cover for him when his wife had their baby for a week unless it was deemed necessary for him to be there. I figure I can ask him to do the same thing for me."

Shelagh smiled at his thoughtfulness, and said "A whole week? Are you sure you can handle not working for that long?" Patrick smirked at her and said, "With this little lady, I am sure my days will be filled. I may go in for prenatal clinic on Tuesday since that is usually one of my busier days. Other than that, I'm sure I'm going to be content being home with this little lady and you."

With that being said, the little lady he had been discussing scrunched her face and let out a wail. Immediately, Shelagh reached out for her. Patrick shooed her hand away and said, "I can take care of her. I do know how to heat a bottle which I'm guessing is what she wants."

Shelagh eyed the clock and nodded, "She ate about 3 hours ago, so yes, I do believe she's hungry again."

Patrick left the room with the baby in the basket and Shelagh dropped down to her knees. In the silence of the room, she lifted up a prayer of thankfulness for the sweet blessing that had been bestowed upon them. She also prayed for the young mother for her to have strength and understanding of the situation. After a quick trip to the loo, she took off her glasses, and sprawled on the bed and fell fast asleep.