Summary: Patsy and Delia's relationship is tested.
Disclaimer: Call The Midwife belongs to the BBC and others - I am simply borrowing their beautiful characters.
Author's note: Thank you so much for your ongoing support of this story - the feedback is lovely to get and confirms that people are still interested! Big thanks to jlynsca for her editing skills - and for a couple of suggestions too.
Dr. Turner looked questioningly at Shelagh and Timothy when he heard the knock on their front door. From the look on their faces, neither was expecting a visitor. Timothy dutifully got up and went to open the door, returning a few moments later after ushering their guest into the front hall. "Nurse Mount is here."
Shelagh frowned as she put her reading book down. "Did she say what she wanted?" She asked as she made to get up from the sofa.
"She said she needs to speak with dad," Timothy replied.
Shelagh sat back down and looked at her husband. The craggy-faced man looked back in confusion as he stood up, but recognising that it could be a matter of patient care, he made the decision to see the young woman in private. "I'll see her in the study," he advised as he left the living room, greeting the slightly anxious nurse at the front door.
"I'll make some tea," Timothy told him, provoking smiles of gratitude from both his parents. "And there might still be some shortbread in the biscuit tin." He grinned at his parents before heading in the direction of the kitchen.
Guiding Patsy into his smallish study, he waited until she had settled in one of the room's other chairs. "How can I help?" Dr. Turner asked.
"I'm terribly sorry to bother you but I needed some advice," Patsy began, picking nervously at a loose thread on her trousers.
"Well, that sounds serious. What is it?"
Patsy hesitated. It had been a day since her explosive conversation with Dr. Parker and so far she had not been able to come up with any sort of plan on how to deal with her. At the close of clinic today, the doctor had approached Patsy and stated that she wanted their date tomorrow. Running out of options, she felt she had no choice but to approach Dr. Turner and seek his advice.
Patsy had worked a great deal with the dark-haired doctor and knew something of his history with Shelagh. She was certain that he would at least be sensitive to potentially forbidden areas. He'd also helped, as much as he could, with Tony Amos and his sexuality, but trusting him with this issue was a big step. "First of all, I need your assurance that this conversation will be completely confidential."
Dr. Turner winced slightly. "You know the caveats to that nurse Mount. I can't guarantee that."
Patsy nodded. "I understand that if I tell you something criminal or if there is a life in danger then you have an obligation to speak up and report it. So, knowing that I am aware of the caveats, can you assure me of your confidentiality?"
"Within the guidance, yes," the doctor agreed reluctantly.
Patsy looked at her hands. "I need to ask you about a hypothetical situation," she began, trying to put at least a little distance between herself and what she was about to say.
"Go on," Patrick encouraged.
"If one was aware that a doctor had lodged a malicious complaint about a member of staff, what would be the right course of action?"
Dr. Turner raised his eyebrows; he certainly hadn't expected anything like that. "Is this anyone I know?" He asked curiously.
"It's hypothetical," Patsy reminded him firmly.
The family doctor nodded seriously. "Well, if one is certain that the act is malicious, then the doctor should be reported to the Medical Council. And certainly to his employer. The complaint would need to be investigated to ensure that it was without truth and the doctor's actions would need to be investigated as to why he put the complaint in as it would need to be confirmed as vexatious."
"So the original complaint would still stand?" Patsy sighed, sensing one option slipping away from her.
"It would have to be investigated in order to verify that it was vexatious." Dr. Turner replied. "Nurse Mount, has someone made a complaint against you?" He was astonished. Having worked closely with the nurse on numerous occasions, he had found her nothing less than resolutely professional.
"Dr. Turner, I am speaking hypothetically," Patsy reminded him again.
Patrick ignored her comment. "If you need a character witness, I'll gladly support you. I've never seen you display anything less than the highest levels of integrity."
Patsy managed to mask a wince. Much as she was flattered by the sentiment, she felt that she couldn't accept the term when she knew she hid such a potentially damaging secret from her employers. "Thank you, Dr. Turner. That's extremely generous and kind of you to say so, but this has nothing to do with me. I am simply trying to ascertain some information."
"Forgive me. It's just an unusual enquiry," Dr Turner replied.
Patsy sighed as she thought about her options, which were starting to look a lot more limited. "Would a doctor's word always be taken over someone else's?" She asked suddenly.
Dr. Turner ran a hand through his hair. "I'd like to say absolutely not, but I do know that there are still a lot of members of the Council who are somewhat dated in their approach," he replied honestly. "It would be highly dependent on who was investigating." He sighed sadly. "I'm afraid to say that the evidence against a doctor would likely have to be far more substantial then the evidence against the other party."
Patsy was not surprised by his candour. The doctor truly knew the meaning of integrity. "Thank you," she stated simply.
"I wish I could tell you differently," Patrick admitted.
"I'm grateful for your honesty." She looked at her watch. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I've taken up too much of your time as it is. I'll leave you in peace for the evening." Patsy stood up suddenly, taking the doctor by surprise.
"There's no need to rush. Are you sure I've answered all your 'hypothetical' questions?"
"All the ones I feel able to ask." Patsy felt obliged to extend a similar amount of honesty to Dr. Turner.
Patrick nodded understandingly. "Well, you know where I am if you need me," he stated softly, allowing the woman to leave the room first. He walked her to the front door. "Please, nurse Mount." Patsy turned to look at him. "Don't take any rash actions. If you can share a hypothetical course of action, then please talk to me."
Patsy smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you," she replied.
"Patsy?" Shelagh's soft Scottish brogue floated along the hallway.
"Yes, Mrs. Turner?"
"Are you going back to Nonnatus?"
Patsy nodded as she answered, even though the ex-nun wasn't in sight. "Yes, I am."
"Hold on a second. I'll walk back with you. It's almost time for compline."
Patsy waited almost uncomfortably for Mrs Turner who suddenly appeared, threading an arm through a woollen coat.
"Thank you for waiting," Shelagh smiled gratefully.
"Not at all," Patsy returned automatically, her professional façade fully up. She noticed Dr. Turner frown just slightly and realised that he had seen the switch in her demeanour, but there was little she could do about it now. She smiled brightly. "If we get a move on, you might have time for a quick cup of tea, too."
"This is nice," Delia murmured, snuggling into Patsy's arms as the pair lay on her bed.
Patsy gently played with long strands of chocolate hair. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.
Delia nodded, her head rubbing against Patsy's chest as she did. "It's odd but I haven't really thought about it at all today. At first I just got into a rhythm of sorting and re-sorting wads of files. Then I got a bit curious about some of the older cases. There are records dating back to the 1890s." She sounded amazed.
Patsy was intrigued. "What did they document?"
"All the usual stuff. Date and time of birth, who attended. They were very matter of fact how they reported neonatal mortality though. Creepily clinical." Delia sounded troubled.
Patsy frowned. She knew Delia well enough to know when she was upset. "What did you find out?"
"Nothing really. Just the sheer volumes of babies who died, and some of the mothers too. Some of the causes are obvious now. I just got a bit of a reminder on how far medical knowledge has come."
"I wonder how things will be in fifty years time," Patsy mused, still twirling strands of Delia's hair round her fingers.
"Childbirth will probably be a pain-free experience by then," Delia suggested.
"That would be progress," the red-haired nurse agreed with an amused smile.
Delia sighed again before shuffling up to look at Patsy, a mischievous grin on her face. "There is at least a silver lining within all this mess," she continued.
"Oh?"
"Well, with me working here, I get to see a lot more of you." She placed a quick peck on Patsy's lips. "No more 'ships in the night'."
Patsy shifted slightly. "I'm still on call. You won't see me every evening," she warned cautiously.
"True, but instead of waiting for us both to have an evening free together, it's only one of us on a crazy schedule." The Welsh woman's grinned widened. "I've taken a peek at the advanced duty rota again, and from what I can ascertain, you are not on call tomorrow. It might be nice to get away from here for a bit and go into town?" She suggested hopefully.
Patsy blanched. "I can't," she demurred.
"Why not? Got a date with your other secret girlfriend?" Delia's tone was teasing but her face became serious as she saw Patsy's reaction. "What's going on Patsy?"
"I've got a meeting I need to attend," she hedged. The red-haired nurse wouldn't lie to Delia; that would be unthinkable, but she had a feeling that if Dr. Parker even suspected that Delia was aware of the terms of their arrangement, she would renege on any promise she had thus far made. Patsy would not give her an easy opportunity to do that.
"A meeting?" Delia echoed. "What meeting?" She watched a myriad expressions ghost across Patsy's features and she frowned. Something was definitely wrong.
"Dr. Parker wanted a meeting with me," Patsy began but stopped as Delia rolled off the bed and stood up eyes blazing.
"You've got to be joking," the Welsh woman objected, her words coming out in an angry growl.
"I'm sorry Deels, I'd already agreed," Patsy replied, deliberately missing the point.
"Then un-agree," Delia shot back. Her voice shook as she tried to keep the volume down.
"I can't. I need to do this."
"Need to do what? Spend time with the woman who..." Delia pulled herself up sharply, realising she was about to confirm Patsy's suspicions but was taken aback when Patsy didn't immediately leap on the half-admission.
Delia stared at the red-haired woman for a long, long moment, arms folded tightly across her chest. She knew instinctively that Patsy would do nothing to hurt her. She was also no longer naive to Dr. Parker's potential interest in her. There was obviously an underlying intention to this, or there was no way Patsy would have consented to the meeting. But what was it she had agreed to?
"What's going on?" Her voice was more controlled now, but Delia's chest still heaved as she damped down her temper.
Patsy grimaced. She knew Delia would work out that there was an agenda. "It's just a meeting," she began, knowing that the deflection had failed even as she finished the sentence.
"Don't, Patsy. Why are you meeting her?"
"I can't tell you." As the words came out, Patsy realised she had picked the wrong ones.
Delia rolled her eyes and laughed incredulously. "Can't tell me? Is this some sort of childish attempt to get back at me for not telling you what's going on with me?" Delia stopped herself and held out her palms in a conciliatory manner when she saw Patsy pale dramatically. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." She sighed. "I'm sorry," she repeated, feeling her anger dissipate. The Welsh woman turned away from the midwife and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I hate this," she muttered bitterly. "I hate what it's doing to us."
Patsy got up and wrapped her arms round the smaller woman. "I hate this too Deels," she agreed, resting her head onto Delia's shoulder. "This is probably all going to come out wrong and I'll use all the wrong words, but please trust me. I have to meet with her, and I can't tell you why."
Delia scoffed. "It's all about trust again, isn't it?" She placed a hand over Patsy's and squeezed it, but made no effort to turn round.
"Yes," the taller woman agreed. "And I know how I reacted when you told me to trust you, so believe me when I tell you that I know how you feel. There is a reason I can't tell you," she continued, hoping that would be enough.
Delia nodded slowly before letting out a shaky breath. "Patsy, once all this is over and done with, promise me one thing," she requested.
The Titian-haired woman circled round to face her lover. "What?" She asked softly.
Delia paused and then swallowed, trying to control her voice. "Promise me that we will find the time to reconnect. Promise me that we'll go away for a day or two and really talk, and really listen to each other." A solitary tear bubbled over her eye and trickled down her cheek.
Patsy said nothing for a moment; her face an unreadable mask. Suddenly, she released her hold on Delia, the movement making the younger woman jump and frown. Patsy strode to the door, reaching up and grabbing a large reference book from the shelf as she did. She threw the book on the floor and kicked it firmly, wedging it under the door. She winced as she saw some of the pages crumple and tear because of the force she used, but books were replaceable.
She spun round and stalked back to where Delia stood. "I can't wait till this is sorted, Delia. I need to connect with you now." She wrapped her arms round the woman and crushed her lips with her own, kissing hungrily as she walked them both back to Delia's bed.
To be continued...