Chapter 12:
The cold air hit Delia's lungs and drew a cough from them, momentarily plunging her back into the memories of the previous night. The long walk from the London had taken a toll on her body as well as her mind, each step causing her to ache. Stumbling slightly, Delia caught her balance on the edge of the shed, behind which Patsy was still hidden from sight. The rattle of the shaky structure pulled Patsy from her thoughts as she gasped at the fright and wiped stray tears from her eyes. Straightening her uniform and hair she walked from behind the shed to be faced with a pale faced Delia.
"Deels! What on earth are you doing?" Patsy chastised. Running forward she caught the wilting Welshwoman under the arms, keeping her propped upright.
"I saw you from the window upstairs. You looked upset. I wanted to come help you." Delia's sentences were leaving her in short gasps, the walk downstairs draining her more than she had realised.
"I was just coming to see you. I needed to just compose myself that is all," Patsy explained, "you are able to stay here."
Delia twisted in her grasp. "What?!"
"Yes Delia, you heard me right. You, Miss Delia Busby, are now a resident of Nonnatus House." Patsy could not suppress her grin as Delia's face lit up and she was sure she had never felt happier.
The happiness was short lived as Delia's weight pressed down on Patsy's frame just a fraction more than it had been already, wrenching the redhead back into reality. In a quick movement she bent slightly at the knees, hooked an arm underneath Delia's legs to mirror the one already at her shoulders and stood up straight. Patsy giggled at the look of surprise on her partners face at the sudden shift in position.
"Well that was unexpected," Delia said in awe at her girlfriend's strength. Reaching up, she brushed a red lock of hair from Patsy's face, "but not unwelcome, I fear I would have been on the floor by now had you not done that."
Patsy revelled in the feeling of Delia in her arms, and her heart fluttered as her Welsh love snuggled in against her body in a desperate attempt at gathering heat. Taking slow steps, ensuring her footing was correct, Patsy made her way back into the house. The handle to the back door proved difficult with Delia in her arms, but with a bit of shuffling, she managed to swing it open.
Stepping inside into the relative warmth of the kitchen Patsy felt Delia relax in her arms. In a moment of bravery, Patsy leant down and placed a small kiss to her lover's forehead. A small purr of contentment left Delia's lips as she nuzzled Patsy's neck before returning her head to the pillow of Patsy's breasts.
Chuckling softly, Patsy shifted Delia in her arms, the weight of the slight woman easy for her to bare. The soft breaths from the woman in her arms became deeper as Delia drifted off to sleep, more comfortable than she had been in a long time.
Making her way to the foot of the staircase Patsy marvelled at the events of the past twenty-four hours. Delia remembered her. Delia was not leaving her. Delia was living with her. Most astounding of all, people knew about her love for Delia, and they were accepting of it. Patsy did not know where all her luck had come from.
Upon reaching the door to the room where Delia had rested that morning, Patsy began to nudge the door open, but thought better of it and instead made her way along the corridor to the room she shared with Trixie. Entering the room, Patsy reluctantly lay Delia down on her own bed, instantly missing the warmth the sleeping figure had provided.
Walking over to the dresser, Patsy removed the pins from her hair, unclasped the belt from around her middle and kicked off her shoes. Turning back to her bed, she met a pair of blue eyes and smiled.
"I thought you were sleeping."
"Well I was, but there was a sudden, rather unpleasant, change in temperature," Delia pouted.
"That just will not do, now will it?" Patsy teased rhetorically.
Patsy slipped in beneath the covers behind Delia, taking care not to disturb them too much so as to preserve the building warmth. Immediately Delia shimmied backwards until her body lay flush with Patsy's. Patsy brushed Delia's hair back from her neck and placed soft kisses at her hairline, causing the Welshwoman to shiver contentedly.
"I love you Delia."
"I love you too Patsy."
Shuffling round onto her back, Patsy pulled Delia round so as to have her head resting on her chest. She leant up and pressed a soft kiss to Patsy's lips before resuming her position, listening to the slow, steady beat of Patsy's heart. Patsy's breathing slowed, and Delia's matched as she fell into a dreamless, wonderful sleep.
Patsy awoke to the soft whispering of Trixie and Barbara playing cards on Trixie's bed. Momentary panic overtook her, until she remembered that they were aware of her relationship with Delia, therefore the current position the couple were in would not appear strange to them.
"Evening ladies," Patsy whispered, alerting them to her wakening. Shimmying herself up the bed slowly, so as not to disturb the still sleeping Delia, Patsy received warm smiles from her friends in response.
"Sister Julienne told us of Delia's new living arrangements. Oh, Patsy, I am so happy for you both," Trixie gushed. Barbara nodded enthusiastically in agreement beside her.
"Thank you. Thank you both. I cannot explain how much your acceptance means to me. I have waited so long for this. After the accident I thought it would never happen." Patsy's eyes began to fill with tears.
"Oh sweetie," Trixie said, "no acceptance is required, Babs and I love you, and we love Delia, we can see she makes you so happy."
The tears flowed thick and fast from Patsy's eyes now, her mouth moved wordlessly as she tried to keep her chest from heaving so as not to disturb Delia. Stroking the Welshwoman's hair, Patsy watched a concerned look fleet between Trixie and Barbara. Trixie stood and made her way over to Patsy, leaning down to the redhead she gave her a long hug and placed a kiss in her hair.
"We are here for you."
"Yes, we most certainly are," Barbara bounded up from the bed, and in her hurry to show support did not realise her leg had fallen asleep during the prolonged card game, so instead of gracefully walking around the bed to the opposite side from where Trixie stood, she instead put the weight through her left foot and collapsed forward on top of the sleeping Delia.
"Oh…my…I'm…I'm so sorry!" Barbara babbled, attempting to stand up as Delia awoke with a start beneath her to find Barbara's weight pressing down on her midriff.
Trixie was doubled over laughing and Patsy tried to supress her giggles, instead attempting to show concern for both Delia and Barbara. This did not last long as she spotted the confused look on Delia's sleepy face, and the embarrassed blush that had hastily spread across Barbara's face. Patsy exploded with laughter, sitting up, pushing Delia off of her, clutching her stomach. The tears flowing from her eyes were for an entirely different reason this time around.
Barbara regained her footing and apologised, sheepishly, once again to Delia. Delia stood and hugged her tight, insisting there was nothing to apologise for, instead asking to be dealt in to the next round of cards being played.
Delia's ability to fit in to any environment and situation she found herself in did not surprise Patsy, in fact it made her extremely proud of her Welsh beauty. Looking over at the game beginning again, Patsy was happier than she had ever been before. Her little family was bonding in front of her, and she could not wait to spend her life with them all.