God Gave Me You 15
"Nonnatus House. Midwife speaking."
"Shelagh? Is that you?"
She smiled into the receiver. "Last time I checked, Doctor Turner. What can I do for you?"
She could hear him chuckle over the line, eliciting a proud grin from herself. "Timothy and I were wondering if you and Angela were free on Saturday. A walk in the park, then lunch perhaps?"
"Saturday would be lovely." She smiled at the phone, as she looked in the logbook. "Um, I've got house calls in the morning, but I should be back by noon."
"Wonderful. We'll, uh, we'll see you Saturday then."
"Indeed. Goodbye, Doctor Turner."
"Bye Shelagh..."
Hanging up the phone, she let out a sigh. It had been a few weeks since Angela had met Patrick and Timothy, and the Turner men were both completely smitten with her.
An hour later, Shelagh sat on a bench in the empty park watching her daughter race around as fast as her little legs would carry her.
"Angela! Be careful, please. I don't want you to-" she paused her speech as she watched her daughter (as if in slow motion) pitch forward onto the pavement, scraping her hands and knee in the process. "-fall."
She quickly rushed to her toddler, trying to stem her tears by waving off her injuries. Once she took a good look, however, she could see she was going to need some first aid.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing the park is close to Doctor Turner's surgery. How about we go and see if he can make us feel better?"
Angela nodded, her tears continuing to fall as she whined on Shelagh's shoulder. Walking inside, the waiting room was busy, and Shelagh immediately regretted coming to bother him. It was a simple scrape that she could deal with herself, but a part of her wanted to see him, wanted his help.
"Name, please?" The receptionist asked, a bit curtly, as Angela's cries continued.
"Angela?! What's happened?" Patrick stood in the doorway to his office, about to call in his next patient when he noticed them.
Before Shelagh could react, Patrick was in front of her, reaching for Angela. Holding her arms out to him, she placed her palms up indicating her scratches.
"Young madam had a bit of an incident at the park." Shelagh explained, stroking her-their-daughter's hair from her face as she whimpered in Patrick's arms.
"Well, you've come to the right place. Let's see if we can't get you all patched up again. Come on, sweetheart."
Shelagh, who had begun to feel a bit awkward with the other patients staring at them, felt herself soften at his words. She smiled as he began to walk back towards his office, pausing and turning towards her when he realized she wasn't following him. He nodded his head towards his office and she quickly stride forward.
"I'll just be a few minutes, Nurse Collins." He told the receptionist as he placed his hand on Shelagh's back and ushered her through the doorway. Once inside, he placed Angela on the exam table and reached for her hands to take a better look.
"Just a graze, nothing to worry about." He poked Angela on the nose before moving towards his supply cabinet to procure the items he would need as Shelagh stroked Angela's hair.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Patrick. I could have dealt with this myself, but-". She wanted to say that she wanted him to know, to be a comfort to Angela, but she couldn't. They were still so undefined. "But we were just across the street, and Angela was so upset..." she continued in an almost manic rush to explain herself.
"Shelagh, you're never a bother. Don't feel as though you have to apologize." He softened his voice. "She's my child, and I want to help. I want to be there for anything either of you need. Alright?"
Shelagh nodded as he began tending to Angela, making a myriad of funny faces and sounds to keep her occupied as he cleaned the wounds and bandaged her up.
"There now! Good as new. All better?"
Angela nodded at him, still smiling and giggling from his attempt at making farm animal sounds.
"Alright, Angel. Let's go home and get some lunch, hmm? Thank you, Patrick."
"No thanks are necessary, Shelagh." Patrick responded, reaching out to stroke the little girl's cheek. "See you soon, Angela."
"Say bye-bye to Daddy, Angela." Shelagh said as she picked up her daughter, not immediately realizing what she'd called him. The adults froze, staring at one another. Shelagh was flushed with uncertainty while Patrick had tears welling up in his eyes. Angela, on the other hand, was none the wiser at the enormity of the moment.
"Bye bye, Daddy." Angela waved to Patrick as Shelagh made to leave the office. She stopped at the doorway, smiling shyly at Patrick as she opened the door.
"Bye sweetheart." Patrick smiled at the two of them. "I'll see you later."