God Gave Me You 14
The next day, Patrick found himself outside of Nonnatus House once again, this time with Timothy by his side. Father and son had spent several hours the night before having the longest and most awkward conversation of their lives. In the end, it was decided that they would meet up with Shelagh as soon as Timothy was out of school, and they would take things slowly to adjust to their new situation.
Shelagh answered the door, a broad smile on her face seeing Timothy for the first time in so long. He'd grown at least 3 inches and was beginning to look more like his father, especially with his hair falling in his face. Must be a Turner gene, Shelagh thought to herself.
Timothy didn't immediately realize who she was, smiling politely at her as she ushered them inside. As soon as she turned, however, she felt a flurry of movement as he enveloped her in a hug. Tears came to her eyes as she met Patrick's gaze and smiled, while simultaneously wrapping her arms around the young boys shoulders.
"Missed you." She whispered, so only Tim could hear her.
"Missed you too." Tim smiled as he let go of her.
"Goodness. You're quite the grown up, now! Let's take a look at you. Obviously your father hasn't stunted your growth by feeding you fish and chips for every meal!" She laughed, holding him at arms length and taking stock of his appearance.
"You're very pretty." Tim blurted out suddenly, his face turning a bright crimson as his father began to chastise him.
Shelagh smiled as her cheeks flushed pink as well. "Thank you, Timothy. It's not everyday I get complimented by such handsome young men." The boy's smile widened again, all embarrassment gone.
Patrick could never list all the reasons he loved her, but if he could, the way she was with Timothy would be at the top of the list. No matter how many times he'd tried, he would never be able to make Tim as happy as Shelagh had at that moment. She turned her attention to him next.
"Hello, Patrick."
"Hello, Shelagh."
They awkwardly stood in the middle of the foyer, unsure of what to do next.
"I hope we haven't interrupted anything..." Patrick started.
"No...not at all. Come on in." Shelagh began to lead them down the hallway to the sitting room as Tim distractedly gazed around the enormous new building.
"Where's...?"
"I'm afraid she's holding Nurse Franklin hostage in the park this afternoon. I wasn't expecting you-"
"I'm sorry, we should have called first..."
"No, no! You are welcome anytime, both of you. I just meant- I would have made sure they were back by now. Trixie tends to get a bit carried away with time when her goddaughter is concerned."
Patrick nodded. "I see. Uh, Timothy? Why don't you go and explore the garden for a bit?"
"If you want to talk without me, just ask. You don't have to distract me anymore, I'm 12 not 9." Tim retorted to his father, feeling as though he'd be able to get away with a bit more cheekiness than usual, in light of the current circumstances.
Shelagh waited until he had left the room before she started laughing. "Well, that'll show you..."
"I've a feeling this is only the beginning...his teen years are right around the corner."
"And here I was worried about the 'terrible twos'." Shelagh smirked
"No...it's the threes that will get you."
"Oh...great." She sighed, chuckling. "That's something to look forward to."
They fell into another awkward silence, both trying to decide how to continue the conversation.
"I told Tim last night." Patrick blurted out.
Her eyes snapped to his, widening in fear. "How...how did it go?"
"Well, it's a conversation I never want to have again...but, I think he's okay. He's hard to read, but I don't think he's upset. Just a bit shocked."
"Well, I wouldn't blame either of you for being so...it's a bit of an adjustment." They moved into the sitting room, heading towards the sofa that was strewn with Angela's toys. "Sorry! Trixie and Angela haven't quite mastered cleaning up after themselves before they leave a room."
She quickly bent to pick up a stray building block before he sat down on it, causing them to stumble together awkwardly, his arm on her waist to steady her and their faces inches apart. She licked her lips unconsciously as she glanced at his, before turning her face up to look at his eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, and he felt his heart pounding as he held her by the waist. They stayed motionless for another moment until they heard hurried footsteps and giggles in the hallway.
Shelagh was the first to break eye contact and took a step back, clearing her throat. Turning to the doorway, they were greeted with the sight of Trixie holding a very dirty Angela.
"Shelagh, I'm sorry! We were playing in the park and- oh, hello Doctor Turner." Trixie froze, giving Shelagh a look as if to make sure she was okay. Shelagh nodded and smiled, almost unnoticed.
"Good afternoon, Nurse Franklin. Did you have a good time at the park?" Patrick asked, staring at his daughter.
Trixie smiled, turning her cheery personality back on full-force. "Oh, yes! Didn't we, munchkin? We played on the swings and fed the ducks and then Angela went on the slide all by herself...but Auntie Trixie didn't notice the pile of dirt at the bottom until it was too late. I'm sorry, Shelagh!"
"It's alright, Trixie. Look who's here, Angela? Doctor Turner came to see you again. What do you say?" Shelagh asked, reaching for her daughter, her dress now filthy with dirt and leaves. Angela smiled at Patrick and waved. " 'Ello." She giggled as he waved back at her.
"Now, why don't we get you cleaned up and then we can all play in the living room? If Sister Evangelina sees you this dirty, she'll have a fit."
Angela giggled as her mother tickled her chin and Patrick couldn't help but laugh along.
"We'll be right back down." Shelagh said as she started back towards their bedroom, leaving Patrick and Trixie staring at one another.
"Well, the wanderer returns..." Trixie said a bit sharply, but the tone was not lost on Patrick.
"Nurse Franklin...I wanted to tell you, I -well, I wanted to thank you, actually."
"Whatever for?"
"For being there for Shelagh and Angela...words can never convey my gratitude to you."
"No thanks are necessary, Doctor. They're my family." Trixie offered him a smile as she made to leave the room.
"Nurse Franklin? Since we're going to be seeing a lot of one another from now on, when we're not on duty, please call me Patrick." Trixie nodded and smiled at him, leaving the room.
"It's good to have you back, Doctor. I'm first on call tonight, so I've got to run."
Patrick sat down on the sofa, looking at the vast collection of his daughter's toys strewn around the floor. Most of them looked to be handmade, probably by the sisters during their crafting time.
"Am I allowed to come back in, yet? The garden is nice, but I'm not all that interested in flowers."
"Yes, Tim. Sorry about that. Shelagh will be back in a moment with Angela. You're sure you're okay with this right now?"
"Yeah, Dad. I mean, it's really strange...but, I'm kind of excited too. Plus, I always wanted a brother or sister."
Patrick looked shocked at the admission. "You never told me that."
Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm telling you now." He sat next to his father on the sofa, unsure of what to do next.
A few moments passed by in silence until they heard the telltale clicking of Shelagh's heels on the floor. Angela was holding onto her mother's hand as they came into the doorway and stopped when she saw someone new in the room.
Shelagh bent down to Angela's level and smiled at Timothy. "Angela, this is Doctor Turner's son, Timothy. He came by to play with you today, too."
Tim was stunned at how much the little girl looked like his dad. Except her eyes, they were Sister Bernadette's eyes. Not realizing that the adults were staring at him, Tim got off the couch and sat on the floor instead.
"Hi Angela. Are these your building blocks?"
The little girl nodded, still leaning onto Shelagh's side.
"Would it be alright if I built something with them? You can help me if you want..."
Angela looked at her mother, then back to Timothy and walked over sitting across from him and helping him to stack the colored blocks.
Patrick looked over to Shelagh and caught her eye, both of them welling up with tears.