God Gave Me You 20
Clinic was coming to an end and Patrick had been so caught up in his thoughts from the morning and the never-ending stream of patients that he hadn't even noticed Angela had shown up with Nurse Noakes, who had been called in to cover.
"Thank you for coming in Nurse Noakes. I know this was supposed to be your day off."
"It's no trouble, Sister. The babies of Poplar take precedence over schedules. Besides, I had to come and drop off Angela anyway."
The little girl, who had been clinging to Sister Julienne's leg since she arrived caught sight of her father and took off running across the hall.
"Daddy!"
Patrick turned to see his daughter making a beeline towards him as fast as her unsteady little legs could carry her.
"Hello, sweetheart." He chuckled as she barreled into his legs, then lifted her arms waiting for him to pick her up. "I didn't see you come in. Where were you today?"
"Freddie!" She screeched, pointing at Nurse Noakes.
Patrick laughed. "I see. How was your day?"
"Good." She nodded, lips pursed in a distinctly Shelagh way. Patrick marveled at the similarities he could already see between Shelagh and Angela. The eyes were one thing, but the mannerisms and facial expressions were uncanny.
Looking around, he noticed someone very important was missing. Walking over towards Sister Julienne and Nurse Noakes, he asked. "Where is Shelagh? I haven't seen her since-" he paused, wishing to keep their beautiful moment that morning to himself. "I haven't seen her today."
Sister Julienne turned to look at him, smiling at Angela as she played with his tie. "One of her house calls this morning was complaining of Braxton Hicks, but as it turns out she was almost at the second stage of labor! Shelagh has been there all morning, and it must not be progressing as quickly as she had hoped." Turning back to Nurse Noakes, she continued. "If Shelagh isn't back before clinic ends, I'm afraid we will require your services at Nonnatus, Nurse Noakes. We've got quite the full rota this evening, and someone will have to stay behind to look after Angela."
Patrick, who had been distracted by his daughter's babbling, interrupted. "I'll take her, Sister. Timothy will be home soon and I'm sure he'd love nothing more than a visit with this little lady...if for nothing else than to procrastinate from doing his homework." He added with a smile.
Sister Julienne opened her mouth to protest but Patrick cut her off. "Besides, I'm not on call tonight, so it was just going to be Timothy and I staring at each other over takeaway."
Sister Julienne smiled back at him, her posture relaxing as she spoke. "That would be very helpful, thank you Doctor Turner."
Angela, blissfully unaware that the conversation was about her, continued to pick at her fathers tie. Her tiny little fingers doing their best to figure out how to undo the intricate knot.
"What do you think, Angela? Do you want to come home with me and see Timothy while Mummy is working?"
The familiar name caught her attention immediately. Her head shot up, eyes wide with excitement. "Timmy!"
Both Patrick and Sister Julienne couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. "Yes, my sweet, you're going to see Timothy. But first your Daddy and I need to finish cleaning up, so why don't you come and help me with the toy box corner?"
Angela leaned her body and arms out towards Sister Julienne as she reached for her, placing her delicately on the floor and holding her hand. As they began clearing the toys, Patrick made to pack his bag and hang his clinical coat in the kitchen before heading back out to the hall to collect his daughter.
"Ready, Angela?"
"Timmy!"
She sprinted over to Patrick as Sister Julienne helped him to put on her jacket. "Have fun, my sweet." She turned to Patrick. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll make sure Shelagh is aware when she returns."
"No thanks necessary, Sister. Can't think of a better way to spend my evening than with my children." Patrick answered softly, never taking his eyes off Angela who was fussing with the buttons of her coat. "Let's go home, Angela. We'll go see if Tim is ready for dinner."
"Cake!" Angela squealed as Patrick carried her out of the hall.
Sister Julienne watched from the window of the hall as he carried Angela to the car, a permanent smile etched on his face. She'd known Patrick Turner for over a decade and hadn't seen him smile like that for at least half that time. Lately, she mused, that smile never faded. It was a smile similar to the one her face now wore, pleased with how everything seemed to be going, and hopeful that it wouldn't fade in the future.