Patrick was still amazed by his good fortune. For months he had feelings for a woman who wasn't free to return her any herself. Then he discovered as hard as it was to care for her and see her almost daily, it was agony when she was away for months. She may have been out of his sight, but she was always on his mind.

With one telephone call and meeting on the side of a misty road, everything changed. Feelings were spoken, certainties were shared and a start was made. Soon they were planning their small Christmas Eve wedding. All the while they were just getting to know each other for who they were. He was no longer Doctor, but Patrick. Just as she was now Shelagh.

There was a sense of excitement every time he heard her say his name. There was intimacy in the familiarity of using their given names. Still they were planning to be married, but they really didn't know one another very well. They knew who they were when they worked so closely, but not their true selves.

When tragedy struck and their wedding was postponed. Together the sat vigil over his son willing him to live. It was in the added time during Timothy's recovery that their knowledge about each other deepened. Shelagh became more comfortable after she received Sister Julienne's acceptance of their planned union. As she became more comfortable her willingness to express physical affection increased.

Patrick was nervous about taking his virgin bride. She had lived a life of chastity in which any pleasures of the flesh was forbidden . He too had been living a celibate life for longer than he could remember.

It was sad to realize that he didn't remember the last time he had been intimate with his late wife. Prior to her fatal diagnosis, she felt unwell for some time and as a sensitive husband he did not pursue. Once the dreaded diagnosis came everything changed. When you hear cancer you don't ask if you'll recover, but rather how long. Somehow intimacy took a new form when death was looming. Intimacy was in the caring for and providing comfort for your loved one. Some may envision a deathbed coupling, but that was for novels not real life.

So here he was amazingly lucky to soon be marrying his darling Shelagh. He was a man of integrity, so he had no intention of compromising his future bride with more than kisses. Because of her inexperience and his longtime celibacy, every kiss they shared was felt quite intensely by him. Patrick felt his unmistakable desire for her right down to his groin.

How he wished for their wedding day to come, so his dreams of having her in his bed would become real. In the meanwhile, he was forced to endure another cold shower and night alone in his bed. When he woke his dreams had left him sweaty and in the same state as the night before.

Quickly he took another shower. When he went to fetch Timothy out of bed, his son asked, "Dad, why were you in the shower again? I heard you taking one last night when you came back from bringing Shelagh home."

Patrick found an answer and said, "I needed a splash to wake me this morning."

"Why would you want to take a shower so soon after the last one?" Timothy asked.

"Because I prefer to be clean, unlike you who I have to force into the bath."

"I hate baths!"

Patrick laughed and added, "I am sorry that I woke you last night."

"I fell back to sleep. I like to know you're home."

"Soon you will not be left alone," Patrick answered thinking again of Shelagh living with them and all that entailed.

"How many days til the wedding?"

"Six!" Patrick said and thought they can't come soon enough, I am not sure I can endure many more cold showers and nights alone.

This came about from a discussion I was having with my-little-yellowbird regarding my AU story Unexpected. I began thinking that my leading man may need a cold shower. (Spoiler?...I expect not)...Which led me to thinking about a time Patrick probably did as well. I added the conversation with Tim at the end, because I just love him. I was tempted to name this Cold Shower, but I hope I expressed more than that.

Thank you for reading. If you like turnadette, read Unexpected. You will fall in love again.