Mia awoke early on Wednesday. She was up earlier than all her other Sisters. Mia was dressed in uniform and stood in the clinical room preparing her bag before she hurried to the chapel. She had put on her prayer veil to prepare for the morning. During Lauds, that morning Mia's mind was elsewhere. She didn't speak with anyone. She cycled quickly to the Turner Residence and took her bag and her present from Angela from her bag.
She knocked on the door to realise that it was slightly ajar but Patrick's car was still in the drive. Mia pushed it open and headed into the lounge to find Patrick hurrying around looking for something.
"Your tie is in the hallway, your coat is in the car and your bag is on the dining room table. I will go wake Timothy and Angela, before I go on my rounds I will see to breakfast so Shelagh may relax!" Mia explained. Patrick nodded and all but ran out the door trying to avoid being late.
Mia wandered upstairs to Timothy's room. She knocked gently on the door before pushing it open to find Timothy topless halfway to getting ready. Mia gasped in shock but made no effort to move.
"I apologise Sister!" Timothy pulled on his shirt hurriedly and began to button it up.
"No I shouldn't have just walked in I will leave you to it!" Mia muttered shutting the door hastily. Mia hurried along the corridor to Shelagh and Patrick's room. She poked her head around the door but didn't see Shelagh in bed. Angela was standing in her crib pointing to the floor.
"Morning sweetie, is everything ok?" Mia asked walking into the room to find Shelagh on the floor unconscious. Mia knelt beside her and leant over to put her fingers on the older woman's neck. Her pulse was steady but Shelagh was very warm. Shelagh groaned as she stirred. She tried to sit up but Mia kept her on the floor.
"Stay on the floor, I think you passed out!" Mia told her. "Timothy!"
Footsteps were heard followed by the shocked voice of Timothy as he saw his mother on the floor.
"Help me get your mum up and settled in bed, then I will perform a few prenatal checks whilst Tim makes you a cup of ginger tea. I will then call the Nonnatus and ask to be taken off today's calls list, I will tell my mum I'm unwell!" Mia concluded. "Now Timothy, let's help your mother sit up, once we have her in an appropriate sitting position I want you to put an arm around her waist and on the count of three lift her up. I will do the same! 3,2,1, lift!"
Once, Mia, had Shelagh settled in bed with a mum of tea she busied herself on the telephone. "Hello Sister Winifred, I need to request a favour will you take me off the roster today, Shelagh is extremely unwell and I don't feel comfortable leaving her on her own for hours!"
"Of course Sister Mia I will tell Sister Julienne I'm sure she will understand, will you will still be accompanying Master Turner for ice cream?" Sister Winifred asked.
"Yes I will apologise to my mum for me, I just hope she forgives me," Mia said.
"Sister Julienne would always forgive you, Sister Evanglalina however..."
Once Mia was sure Shelagh and Angela were both asleep Mia began to make quick work of the chores whilst Timothy finished his schoolwork. She swept and washed the floors before putting away all the dirty dishes. She found a pile of laundry in numerous laundry baskets. She collected the clothes and hand-washed them all before pulling the clothes through the hand clothing dryer and then ironing and pressing them. At around that time Angela woke up crying.
"Come on Angel girl what's the matter?" Mia asked as she wrapped her arms around the small girl.
"Is baby better now?" Angela asked. In the heat of the moment, Mia had forgotten that the entire point of her visiting the Turner Family that morning was that she could return Angela's baby to her as she no longer had "chicken pox". "I'm sorry I forgot I still had your dolly in my bag let me fetch her!"
Mia leapt from the sofa and grabbed the clean doll from her medical bag as well as some clothes Sister Evangelina insisted that Mia take to Angela. As much as Sister Evangelina refused to admit it Sister Evangelina had a soft spot for children especially Angela Turner. As she turned around Mia was nearly knocked off her feet by Timothy who was stood directly behind you.
"Goodness Timothy, aren't you good at giving a girl a heart attack. I've had two in the last few hours!" Mia told the boy with a shy smile. "Help Angela put her shoes on so we can go for ice cream my treat or my mum's should I say- she gave me some money from the peti-cash!"
"Oh I was hoping it would just be us two," Tim replied down heartedly.
"I can't go on outings with men that is against every vow I have taken. It is against every rule my mum has ever set me," Mia protested but softened her tone upon realising that Tim meant nothing by it.
He came form a respectable family so he was hardly going to 'have his way with her' like most other boys there age. Instead Mia grabbed her out coat before trundling upstairs to where Shelagh had ended up assisting Angela to put on her shoes.
"Your mother is supposed to be on bed rest Timothy. Are you that incompetent that you can't assist a toddler to put on her shoes!" Mia asked with a shake of her head and a swift rolling of her eyes. "We will be back in time for you to have dinner. You don't need to cook I've rustled up a casserole; it will need warming up. We can walk so when we return I can then take my bicycle back to Nonnatus!"
"If things were different I would say have her back at a respectable time or Sister Evangelina will have your guts for garters. Alas that is not the case,"Shelagh mused thoughtfully.
"If things were different I would have swept Sister Mia off her feet and I would be courting her!" Timothy told his mum.
Mia didn't speak because she liked the alternate reality that Timothy proposed. But she had made a choice that now she was regretting.