Prompt 43: "Walk out that door and we're through"

Summary: Set during the same Season 3 AU as Prompt 11 ("I missed something, didn't I?"), it's seven months later! Also, if you haven't read that one, this one stands on its own, but they're cuter as a pair.

A/N: Okay, we're in the home stretch of prompts and I hope I can work with them! I'm going to be honest, the reason most of these were left was because they really stumped me, but I hope I can do them justice and keep them realistically Turnadette. :) Thank you so much for still reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

As December of 1959 came around, Shelagh found herself firmly wishing she had never been a midwife. Experience had taught her that every expectant woman suffered from nerves before giving birth and that she shouldn't overthink her worries. Unfortunately, experience had also taught her about preeclampsia, and forceps, and hemorrhaging, and transverse pregnancies, and stillborn babies, and torn perineums, and so help her God, if Patrick tried to look at her ankles one more time while she was napping…

"Shelagh, darling, I'm home." Patrick's cheery voice rang out as he shook the snow from his coat.

Any other day, Shelagh would have been thrilled to see her husband, but today had been particularly trying between Timothy incessant excitement about their first Christmas as a family (she'd finally sent him over for biscuits with Jack) and her bloody Braxton Hicks contractions, and honestly, the last thing she needed or wanted was for Patrick to slip back into Doctor Mode when he saw she was stressed.

"In the sitting room, dear." she called out with all the energy she could muster behind her fake smile. He heard right through it.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, eyes brimming with concern as he sat beside her. "You look tired."

"You look tired." Shelagh fought not to roll her eyes. Of course she looked tired. He would look tired too if he was carrying around a watermelon while his uterus tried to kill him.

"I'm fine. Baby's just being a bit more active today than usual." she replied as calmly as she could. Despite her exhaustion, her hand instinctively went to caress her stomach as she spoke about the baby and she felt some of her irritation lift as her fingers were met with a series of kicks. Patrick smiled and placed his hand next to hers.

"Are you bothering your mother?" he asked softly with a grin. "I know you must be getting impatient, but we're going to meet you soon, little one." Another series of flutters accompanied his statement and they laughed. "He agrees with me."

"She," Shelagh emphasized, "and I hope she's not too eager. There's still so much to do." she sighed.

"Shelagh, everything is in hand. Even Sister Evangelina said you were the most prepared mother she'd ever seen." he tried to reassure.

"That's not saying very much considering some of our patients, Patrick, and you know it." she sassed. "Besides, I - ooh!" Shelagh's hands flew to her back as every muscle in her abdomen seized. She fought through the pain and counted the seconds. Maybe it wasn't Braxton Hicks?

"How long have you been having pains?" Patrick asked, horrified.

"It's just Braxton Hicks. I'm fine." she promised, though she was no longer as confident. That last one had hurt far more than the others and lasted longer than she would've liked for anything other than the onset of labor.

"Shelagh, you're a midwife-" he started, but she turned to him, eyes blazing.

"So I should know what I'm talking about, Doctor Turner." she snapped. Any offense he might have taken was erased by the growing fear in her eyes. Stubborn Scot he thought to himself.

"Stay here, I'm calling Nonnatus." he instructed. He leapt from the couch before she could stop him.

"Patrick, don't you dare touch that phone! I will not have you bothering them for nothing!" she propelled herself off the couch as she shouted and gasped as she felt her waters go. Patrick looked somewhat smugly from the puddle on their rug to her face.

"Not exactly nothing." he observed as he dialed the familiar number.

"Nonnatus House, midwife speaking." Trixie's perky voice floated over the phone.

"Nurse Franklin, it's Doctor Turner." he heard Trixie hold her breath on the other end of the line and he knew she was hoping he was going to say exactly what he was about to say. "Shelagh's in labor."

"We'll be there in two ticks, Doctor!" she exclaimed hurriedly before hanging up. It was only then that he realized she'd said we not I, but that was an issue for later. For now, Shelagh needed him and in spite of his momentary smugness, he could feel his own nervousness settling in fast. By the time he was off the phone, Shelagh was standing bent over the couch, one hand on the furniture, one hand on her back and breathing heavily.

"Darling, we have to get you upstairs, they're on their way." he spoke softly and tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Do you think you can move?" She nodded slowly and stood up. He went to support her, but she waved him away. "Shelagh, please, just let me help you."

"I can walk, Patrick. I'm not helpless." she argued as she shuffled her way to the stairs. He wanted to scream. He knew she was pushing him away because she was scared, but he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"I know that, sweetheart." he sighed. "But accepting help doesn't mean you're helpless."

"Patrick, please." she begged. "You're a father today, not a doctor. You can't be with me, please don't make this harder than it is." Her hands clenched his arm as another contraction set in and his heart broke. Sometimes, he wished he didn't know her as well as he did. She wanted him with her. She'd said as much so many times over the course of the last seven months. Now, though, reality had set in and she couldn't bear the idea of having him near her only to have him ripped away once the midwife arrived.

"Shelagh-"

"Midwives calling!" the call ran out from the door he'd forgotten to lock and anything he might've said got pushed aside, as Shelagh had predicted, by the arrival of Sister Julienne, Sister Evangelina, and Trixie. He might've known they'd all find a way to be there.

"Hello, sweetie, let's get you upstairs." Trixie embraced Shelagh and helped her up the stairs with no fighting, much to Patrick's despair and relief.

"Evening, Doctor Turner." Sister Julienne greeted excitedly.

"Evening, Sisters." he managed mostly without panic in his voice. "Her waters went just before I called, contractions are speeding up more than I think she'd like to admit."

"That's all well and good, Doctor," Sister Evangelina replied, "we'll take it from here."

"Sisters!" he called out, stopping them on the stairs even though he knew what the outcome would be. "Shelagh would never ask for herself, but she's mentioned so many times that she'd like me in the room and-"

"Absolutely not." Sister Evangelina cut him off. "You know the rules as well as she does. No men in the delivery room - even if her husband is a doctor. I think you've taken more than enough liberties as far as Shelagh is concerned." Patrick unwillingly flushed at the implication. They'd never done anything wrong, but he couldn't deny the twinge of discomfort knowing Shelagh's former Sisters were there to deliver the direct result of Shelagh breaking her vow of chastity.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Turner." Sister Julienne apologized sincerely. "But I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside."

Patrick nodded sadly, but followed them up the stairs. He could at least be just outside the room if she needed him.

Trixie had Shelagh settled in bed by the time Sister Evangelina and Sister Julienne came into the room and Shelagh was moving along quickly.

"There are three of you." Shelagh observed as her last contraction ebbed. "I didn't mean to cause such a fuss."

"It's no fuss at all, my dear." Sister Julienne assured. "It's been a slow night and the three of us wouldn't be anywhere else right now."

"Not for a moment." Sister Evangelina concurred, her eyes watering a bit.

"Patrick?" Shelagh asked softly.

"He's waiting just outside the door, Shelagh." Sister Julienne explained as she donned her gloves. Her heart sank a bit as she saw the hope dim in Shelagh's eyes, knowing the young woman wouldn't press the matter any further. "Though from the looks of it, it seems he won't be waiting long."

"She's at seven centimeters." Trixie chimed in with a smile. "Baby certainly wants to meet you!"

Shelagh was going to ask to just see Patrick for a moment, but her worst contraction yet set in and she cried out as Sister Julienne quickly took her hand.

"That's it, my dear. You're doing so well. Breathe through it."

"It hurts." Shelagh cried through clenched muscles.

"It'll all be done and dusted soon, young mother." Sister Evangelina encouraged as she kneeled next to Trixie at the foot of the bed. "I know it hurts, but just think of how soon you'll be holding your baby."

Shelagh nodded with new determination and the women smiled. She could do this.

Several hours and countless screams later, Patrick was at his wit's end. From what he could hear from the Sisters and Trixie, Shelagh's progress had slowed considerably for some reason and I he wasn't sure how much longer he could bear hearing her scream like that. He'd slammed his fist against the door at one point, at which Sister Evangelina had come out and told him to go downstairs if he couldn't keep it together. He was not about to go downstairs. What if she needed him? What if something went wrong? He wasn't about to let them call another doctor, not when he was willing to do anything for her.

Another contraction hit and her quieter groan shook him more than her screams. She was getting tired. He could hear the muffled sounds of the midwives trying to spur new energy into her, but it was clear she was fading. The contraction subsided and he could hear her crying. God, this was awful, how did he do this when Marianne was in labor? Another couple of minutes passed and the next contraction must've been the worst one yet because she screamed out,

"PATRICK!"

He was through the door and at her side before anyone could stop him.

"I'm so sorry, Shelagh, I'm right here." he promised, taking her hand in his left and smoothing the hair back from her face with his right.

"Doctor Turner, what did I say?" Sister Evangelina barked. "You don't belong in here yet."

"I'm not leaving her unless she tells me to, she needs me." he challenged.

Trixie and Sister Julienne, who had opted to stay out of the cross fires, turned their gazes to Shelagh's face and were thrilled to see a glimmer of a grin on her lips.

"Patrick, walk out that door and we're through." she panted, smiling for the first time in hours. Patrick beamed and helped her sit up a bit so she could lean against him. He turned to Sister Evangelina.

"Mother has spoken." he shrugged. He saw the moment she decided Shelagh was more important than her desire to knock him about the head.

"If you must be here, make yourself useful." she grumbled, returning to Trixie's side.

"Shelagh, we're finally at 10, you can start pushing!" Trixie announced happily. The entire room breathed a sigh of relief and Shelagh shut her eyes to gather her strength. She now had her husband on one side and her mother on the other, and soon she would hold her child in her arms. She could do this.

On the next contraction, she bore down and felt her body split in two as their child's head made its way into the world.

"Head is born, love." Patrick whispered excitedly into her ear. "You're almost there."

"You'll know when you're ready, Shelagh, just breathe." Sister Julienne counseled from her other side. She waited for the start of the next contraction and, with energy she didn't know she had, pushed her child fully into the room.

The sound of her newborn crying was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

"You have a girl, Shelagh." Trixie cried. "A beautiful little girl. You did it!"

Sister Evangelina and Trixie helped each other cut the cord and bundle the newest Turner through their tears. Patrick and Shelagh held their arms out and Trixie put their daughter safely into their embrace.

"She's here, Patrick." Shelagh cried happily. "She's really here."

"And she's incredible, my love." he didn't bother to hide how much he was crying. "I'm so very proud of you." He turned to the highly emotional midwives who were as much a part of his wife's family as he was. "Thank you. For everything."

Sister Evangelina didn't even chide him.

He belonged to Shelagh at this moment as much as she belonged to him a year ago. There would be no more jabs at the doctor and his wife. Sister Bernadette was exactly where God intended her to be.

43 down, 7 to go! Hope you enjoy!