Shelagh gazed at the baby in her arms as she walked through the door to the office at the adoption agency. Patrick followed her through the doorway and they both sat down across from Mrs. Litchcroft, the adoption agency worker. Timothy was already seated in the office with a plate of biscuits and cup of tea on the part of the desk nearest to him. He stared at her and the baby in her arms as she sat in the seat next to him.
"Do we get to take her home right now?" Timothy blurted out.
"Well this is a speedy settlement so there is some paperwork we need to finish up here and then you will all be able to go home, including your new sister." Mrs. Litchcroft responded to Timothy sweetly.
"But we don't have anything yet. We don't have a cot or baby clothes or diapers and all the shops will be closed by now. How can we take her home?" Timothy exclaimed, standing in a rush of excitement and worry.
"Tim calm down." Patrick responded quickly.
"Timothy dear we will get it all settled, don't you worry. I'm sure Nonnatus House has things we can borrow for tonight and your father can pick up any other necessities tomorrow. Now sit back down so you can hold your sister." Shelagh calmed Timothy and then handed him the baby once he had sat down. Patrick smiled at how well his wife had handled Tim's outburst and how she already knew how to answer his questions when similar questions had been floating around his own head.
Mrs. Litchcroft grabbed a folder from the cabinet behind her desk and then took out several pages. She grabbed a fountain pen from her desk drawer and smiled warmly at the couple across from her. "Dr. and Mrs. Turner we have a few things for you both to sign and date to make things official." She said before she handed over the pen to Dr. Turner and slid the first page forward. After some back and forth of papers the woman gathered everything and put all the papers back in the file folder that Patrick noticed had their last name across the top. "That is the end of our paperwork. Remember you will still have to register her birth at the town hall and list yourselves as her parents. That is also when you will need to have a name ready. Do any of you have any more questions for me?" Mrs. Litchcroft asked, focusing her attention on Timothy due to his previous inquisitiveness.
"No, I think we are all just excited to get home. Thank you." Patrick replied.
Shelagh took the baby from Tim and they all left the office. While walking towards the exit she suggested phoning Nonnatus House to ask for some of the things they would need for the night since they would need to pick the things up on their way home. Patrick went out to bring the car to the front of the building while she made the call. After a few minutes the whole family was sitting in the green MG and heading towards Nonnatus House.
"So we need to pick a name?" Timothy asked from the back seat.
"Yes we do need to figure out a name and we don't have as long as others typically do to pick one." Patrick responded with a grin, looking at his son in the rear view mirror. He remembered back to when Marianne was pregnant and the months it took them to agree on his name, he hoped it would be easier this time.
"Do you have any suggestions Timothy?" Shelagh asked, looking down at the baby in her arms.
"I just want it to be something easy to say and not something that others will pick on her for. I will think of some suggestions tonight." Timothy replied.
"Should we try to stick with a T name to go with yours?" Patrick suggested.
"Not necessarily..." Shelagh replied quickly.
Patrick chuckled as they stopped in front of Nonnatus House. They all got out and stood together as they rang the doorbell. Sister Julienne answered with the largest grin any of them had ever seen on her face. She hugged Shelagh and took the baby into her arms then ushered them in and led them to a small mountain of baby things from their supply. Shelagh pointed out what would be needed for the night and soon the boys had a pile they carried out to the car. After retrieving her daughter from Sister Julienne's arms she followed them out and they headed home.
Patrick opened the front door of the flat for Shelagh and the baby then returned to help Timothy get all the required items from the car. He then left to grab fish and chips for them all since they had missed tea time. After their overwhelming and exciting day and their quick dinner they all decided to go upstairs to bed early. Patrick grabbed some things from the baby pile in the sitting room to take upstairs with them. Timothy was sent to bed and promised to read only one chapter of the book he was reading before turning his light out. Patrick and Shelagh changed into their pajamas then they stood over their new daughter, Shelagh was changing her into a new diaper and night dress while Patrick watched. Once changed the baby was placed in the borrowed Moses basket which sat next to Shelagh's side of the bed. Shelagh sat on the edge of the bed looking at the little miracle in front of her while Patrick crawled under the covers on his side of the bed, all the while watching his wife.
"She is a perfect little angel, isn't she?" Patrick asked softly as he reached out to rub Shelagh's back with one hand.
"Oh yes she is." She agreed quickly, she paused for a while before continuing "I would like for some of her name to be in honor of Sister Julienne. I know it is not typical but she has been the closest thing to a mother I have had. I am okay if you have a family name you would like to use as well." She said all this while still staring at the sleeping infant.
"I think that is a wonderful idea. I do not have any family names I want to pass on, let's think of something new and special just for her." He replied.
"Julienne for a middle name then, hopefully that won't be too confusing." Shelagh replied, finally turning towards him, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"Well we can get some sleep now and think of a first name in the morning, I'm sure Timothy would love to have some input." Patrick smiled. They both turned out their bedside lamps and then settled into bed. Shelagh lay on her side facing the baby so Patrick settled in behind her and rested an arm across her body, holding her close. He chuckled that even in sleep she wanted to be as attuned to their new addition as possible. He kissed her cheek softly before closing his eyes for the night.
Shelagh got up in the night the few times the baby cried. She tried not to wake Patrick knowing he might be called out at any time and also silently enjoyed the alone time with the new baby. She thought of names she had heard over the years, of patients and babies and friends and family, all of which she dismissed. She used pet names, mostly angel and darling, when she talked to the baby during their quiet time together in the night.
Even though it was a Sunday morning the Turners all woke very early. Shelagh was already downstairs sorting through the things from Nonnatus House and making a list of what else was needed when Timothy came downstairs. The baby was asleep in the Moses basket on the coffee table and Timothy went to sit on the settee and watch her.
"Can you keep watch over this little angel while I start breakfast?" Shelagh asked him. He nodded his response.
The smell of food soon brought Patrick downstairs too. He ruffled Tim's hair, pecked a kiss to the baby's cheek, then went into the kitchen to hug Shelagh from behind and kiss her on the cheek as well.
"What about Elizabeth?" Patrick whispered in her ear.
"I don't want to name her for the Queen and even if that isn't what you had in mind it will be what everyone else will think." Shelagh replied.
"You two can't discuss names without me." Timothy called from the other room.
"Take the tea into the table, I will bring in breakfast in a moment." Shelagh said before kissing him on the cheek.
Timothy got up and grabbed the notebook Shelagh had made the shopping list on and flipped to the next page to write down names as they talked. He then sat down at his place at the table. "What about Laura?" Timothy asked after they all sat down.
"I knew a Laura once that I wasn't very fond of so I would prefer something different." Patrick replied, trying not to show that he was actually very fond of Laura in school but didn't want to be reminded of her every time he said his daughter's name.
"What about Ruth or Ester?" Shelagh asked.
"Is she 90 already?" Timothy shot back quickly with a mouth full of food.
"That is enough cheek from you Tim and swallow before you talk. What about something more Scottish?" Patick interjected quickly, trying to stop Tim from adding any more harsh comments.
"I don't think most Scottish names would fit Timothy's requirement of easy to say or spell. I can't tell you how many times people have spelled my name incorrectly." Shelagh replied with an eye towards Timothy to see if he would add another cheeky comment.
"Well how about we add a baby name book to the shopping list for today and we can peruse that tonight. That way this little angel won't stay nameless for long." Patrick said, trying to come up with a better solution than just shooting down names they were each coming up with.
"Dad, that's it!" Timothy yelled as he stood up from the table and walked over to his baby sister still asleep in the Moses basket on the coffee table.
"I'm glad you like my plan, now go get dressed and we can head to the store." Patrick replied.
"No, not about the name book. Both of you keep calling her angel so why don't we call her Angela. That way you can still call her angel as a nickname." Timothy smiled with pride at his name suggestion.
"That is a wonderful name." Shelagh responded while a beaming smile spread across her face. Patrick nodded his agreement with a matching smile. Shelagh joined Timothy in the sitting room and picked Angela up. She placed the baby in his arms and softly said "Timothy, meet your little sister, Angela Julienne Turner."
Timothy beamed down at the sleeping baby in his arms and laughed when she yawned with all her might. "I think she likes it." He replied with a smile reminiscent of his father's.
