"Doctor and Timothy how lovely to see you." Sister Julienne says when she answers the door leading them to the dining room.

"Is Shelagh here?" Patrick asks sharply.

"No."

"Then I will need any information you have of previous addresses, family member etc. and I need to speak to all the others here to ask if any of them helped her."

"Doctor Turner what is going on?" She asks confused.

"Shelagh has left and we want to know why. She left this note but it doesn't explain why she suddenly went. Please Sister I just want to talk to her if she truly doesn't want to come back then I won't force her to."

"No dad she has to come back." Tim begs.

Kneeling down he takes Tim's hands.

"Timothy I know you have already lost your mum and are scared of losing another but as much as I want her home I will not force her to do anything she doesn't want to do."

Tim nods in understanding and Patrick wipes his tears away.

"Doctor Turner, I have only one previous address for her. The house she grew up in, in Aberdeen. She came straight to London to begin her training, she would have spent some time at the mother house before joining us here. I can phone them and ask if she has made contact with them. I assume you know both her parents have passed away and she has no other family members still alive. I am not sure if she sold the house in Aberdeen so that might be worth checking." Sister Julienne tells him.

"Thank you Sister. After I speak to the Nurses we will check that."

The next few hours he spends talking to the nurses when they return from their visits. None of them have seen or heard from Shelagh since Friday when she dropped some notes off. They all mentioned she seemed nervous and upset but she wouldn't share what was troubling her.

He is finishing his tea in the sitting room with Tim and Sister Evangelina when Sister Monica Joan walks in.

"She knows she cannot give you children and wants to escape the cruel gossip again." Sister Monica Joan tells him when she comes down from her nap.

"What do you mean Sister?" Sister Evangelina asks.

"I saw her in tears in the church last Monday and brought her back home. She said she hadn't had a monthly bleed for 4 months and had been to a specialist, they did some tests and found that she has a very small chance of ever conceiving a child. I asked if she had told you, Doctor but she said she had made a mistake and should never have married you before checking if she could give you everything you wanted. I said she should share this with you but she said it was not necessary and brought me back here. I haven't seen her since then." Sister Monica Joan tells them.

"Thank you for telling me Sister, I need to go now." He picks up the paper Sister Julienne gave him with the addresses on and helps Tim up before heading to his car.

"So she can't have a baby and she has run away because she is scared." Tim says.

"That seems correct. I wish she would have shared this with me. Right Tim, Sister Julienne said she hasn't been to the mother house and the nurses haven't seen her so are you up for a road trip to Aberdeen?" He asks.

Tim smiles and nods.

"Another car chase to find her, will this be a regular thing?" Tim laughs.

"I hope not son my old nerves won't be able to cope." He chuckles.

He quickly drives them home to pick up some essentials then they are off to find her. He hopes she will let him talk to her but he will keep his promise of not forcing her home.

They drive until they reach Gretna Green, having made two stops on the way to stretch their legs and use the toilet. Patrick finds them a B&B for the night as he is too tired to drive anymore and they still have a few hours to go.

"Do you think she will be here and do you think she will come home?" Tim whispers once he is tucked in.

"I don't know son. I hope so. I love her and as much as I would love raising a child from birth with her that comes second to spending my life with her by my side, building a loving home and marriage."

"Did you love mum as much as you love Shelagh?" Tim asks genuinely curious.

"Yes. Your mother was an amazing woman and I loved her with all my heart. I was heartbroken when she got ill and they told us it was incurable but she was strong and realistic. She made me promise that I would give you a good life and that if I fell in love again I would do something about it. Obviously neither of us could have predicted that I would fall for a nun but I imagine she had a good laugh about it."

"Do you ever feel guilty for loving both of them?"

Patrick looks at Tim curled up next to him on the bed. He is fidgeting with the sheets and looking down.

"What do you really want to ask Timothy?" He says reassuringly.

"How can I love mum and Shelagh the same?"

"Because they are both caring, amazing women and they are both your mothers. Love is a beautiful and wonderful thing Tim but it can be painful as well, we just have to learn to embrace everything it gives us even if it hurts."

"I think I understand."

"Good lad. Now we need to go to sleep so we can be ready for whatever tomorrow brings."

They settle down into the one double bed the B&B had left and are soon both asleep. When the sun starts beaming into the room Patrick wakes up, he feels a weight on his chest opening his eyes he chuckles at Tim. He had somehow moved so he was sideways on the bed, his head was on his chest and his feet stretched out onto the bedside table. He strokes his hair and wakes him up slowly before helping him sit up.

"Morning dad."

"Good morning son. Let's get ready then go down for breakfast."

After a delicious cooked breakfast they collect their bag and climb in the car well rested and ready to finish the journey.