Your comments are seriously so kind, and just the thing I needed to get this chapter finished. Please keep them coming!
About a week after her return to Poplar, Shelagh received a telephone call from Doctor Turner, asking her to meet him at the church hall after clinic, before he had to rush out on his rounds. There was something he had to say to her. Acutely aware of Trixie and Jane watching closely at the doorway, she tried desperately to regulate her breathing, turning her back on them to give release to the excited smile that had built up inside her ever since his first word. "Alright, Doctor," she replied, formally, hoping he'd guess she was covering herself against the spies that lurked round every corner of Nonnatus. She put the phone down, wondering what on earth he could want to see her for, and began to polish her glasses on her jacket to give her something to do with her hands, which she was sure were noticeably trembling.
"Well then?" demanded Trixie, making no attempt at all to cover her nosiness. "What are doctor's orders?"
"Leave her alone," came a voice from round the corner, and Jenny appeared, giggling. Shelagh frowned.
"Would I be mistaken in thinking the whole of Nonnatus was listening in on my private conversation?"
"Oh come on," grinned Trixie, wickedly. "We have our reasons. I think Doctor Turner is quite taken with you - he couldn't take his eyes off you yesterday at clinic." If only they knew, thought Shelagh, that she and the doctor had been slowly giving their hearts to each other over months of glances and brushing of hands.
"We're meeting after clinic to discuss an expectant mother whose last baby I delivered with complications," she said, blushing scarlet and frantically praying for to be forgiven for this necessary lie. She couldn't have been more glad when at five o'clock she left for the church hall, and was free for the time being from the nurses with their overactive and unforgiving imaginations. Her mind wandered once more to what Patrick wanted to see her so specifically about. When she reached the hall she suddenly became very aware of how she was walking in her new heeled shoes, and half wished she had put on her comfortable brogues. She felt unsteady enough in Patrick's presence as it was. Doctor Turner waited for her in the kitchen, by the sink where he had first built up the courage to kiss her hand. His heart slammed in his chest, until he saw his Shelagh coyly part the curtain, and he knew exactly what he needed to do, after all, he couldn't be more certain they were ready to give themselves up to the love they shared so deeply. They greeted each other shyly, like youngsters at a dance rather than the worldly-wise adults they were, and when Patrick smiled that gentle, searching smile she had found herself unable to last a day without seeing, Shelagh did not feel unsteady at all. Up until now the moments they had alone together had thrilled and terrified her in equal measure. Today, for some reason, all that fear was gone, and she walked up to him steadily and without a care in the world.
When he handed her a smartly wrapped square box, she was so busy wallowing in the joy of being alone with him that she did not pre-empt what it contained in the slightest. So when she folded out the paper and saw the carefully handwritten words please will you marry my dad? she was so shocked she could only manage to shakily repeat the words aloud, as if hearing them would confirm that it was actually happening. It was not a dream, it was real: Doctor Turner wanted her to be his wife! When she tilted up her face, her heavenly blue eyes so full of disbelief and her lips slightly parted in surprise, Patrick desperately fought the urge to propel her into his arms. Shelagh was so stunned by the proposal, the ultimate declaration of undying love she had spent her life thinking was impossible, that she found herself unable to move. Instead, Patrick slowly opened the case to reveal the most delicate diamond engagement ring, lifted it out, and took the now radiantly beaming Shelagh's petite hand in his. Ever so reverently, he lifted her ring finger and held the ring to it. Shelagh wanted that moment to last forever; she now had more butterflies in her stomach than there were in Timothy's collection, and she couldn't work out if she wanted to laugh, or to cry. Or to kiss him. Patrick's gaze flicked nervously to Shelagh's face as he bent to press his lips to the hand where his ring was now proudly gleaming. Time seemed to stand still for the couple as they gazed into each other's eyes as they had done so many times before - only now there was no uncertainty, no apologies, just pure, unbridled love that no amount of words could express.
After what might have been thirty seconds, or ten minutes, Patrick found his hand moving to tuck a strand of hair behind his fiancée's ear, and his hand stayed there, gently stroking her cheek. Without thinking about it, Shelagh tilted her head against his hand and shut her eyes in contentment, enjoying the contact they had both dreamt about for so long. When she opened them again, Patrick was closer to her than he had ever been, and his expression showed a new level of intensity which sent shivers down her spine and made her knees go weak. Sensing this, Patrick placed his hand firmly in the centre of her back to give her support, making her breathe out in surprise. She had never been held in this way before; the heat of his hand seemed to burn through the fabric of her jacket. She could feel the gentle brush of his breath on her skin; she couldn't remember how to breathe herself. Ever so slowly, Patrick leaned in, and Shelagh's lips parted as the last few inches between their faces began to close...
"Doctor, I wondered if you could - Oh!" came a startled voice from the other side of the serving hatch. The couple only had time to whip their heads around, remaining in their clinch as they clocked Jenny Lee, her face a picture of mortification, gaping at what she had nearly witnessed. Her horror-struck expression gradually turned into delighted laughter as she grinned, "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, but you're needed up at Nonnatus. It's nothing to worry about, but Fred thinks he's done his shoulder in riding that motorcycle." She raised her eyebrows playfully at her friends, and giggling girlishly, gestured to them to follow. Patrick and Shelagh caught each other's gaze and burst out laughing.
"Now it'll be all over Poplar that I've seduced you after just one week of being out of the habit."
"Doctor Turner, I do believe you're blushing."
Patrick took her hand, the moment gone for anything more intimate. "Come on," he teased, "I think it's time to face the music, don't you?"
Please review if you have the time :)