Chapter Five
"Doctors King and Turner have agreed to talk through the nuts and bolts of it all-," Trixie interrupted slightly confused,
"Cora's agreed to go?" Tom nodded heartily,
"She's helped us a number of times, and gets on well with the rest of the chaps."
"How long have you been helping Mr Herreward with the men's group?" Cora hummed with a small shrug as she thumbed through documents and paperwork.
"Uh a few weeks, I get on well with the lads and if it means that they respect me as their doctor then all the better." Trixie hummed, wrapping her arms around Cora's shoulders as she sat while Trixie stood behind her.
"Did they not respect you before?" Cora let out a small chuckle,
"I don't think any man could until they've watched me knock back six pints without a face."
Saying goodbye to Jenny was a bitter sweet event, and as glad as she was that Jenny had found her calling, it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye.
"Cynthia is becoming a Nun, can you imagine that?" Cora let out a long sigh glancing over at Trixie,
"I think it's something she's been thinking about for a long time, and you're fighting with your hope against her faith and that's not an equal fight, my love." Trixie huffed, taking a drag of her cigarette,
"You sound just like Patsy."
The mother and baby home was something that Cora hadn't expected, Doctor Turner instructing her to remain there for as long as necessary, arriving as he left. When she did get there, her first thought was of the ghastly smell, after having left her bag and jacket in the Matron's office she rolled up her sleeves setting herself to work.
And thankfully after Patsy arrived it was smooth sailing from there as they cleaned and tidied, doing everything that should have already been done.
"I have to admit you aren't half pleasing to the eyes Doctor." Cora let out a chuckle as she sat flicking through patient files, looking up at Avril with that charming smile.
"Why thank you."
The first birth was easy enough, the second one a little more difficult, and by the third despite the exhaustion was taken all in her stride.
"You ought to get some sleep Cora, you're clearly exhausted." Cora grunted as she collapsed against the sofa,
"I'm fine, I've seen worse." Patsy nodded a look of sympathy in her eyes,
"Nope, get rid of that expression, I don't do it to you, do I?"
Patsy smiled slightly, "Sorry it's a hazard of the job I'm afraid."
"It's fine Trixie's the same, although I don't blame her, it's been almost 17 years and she never stops worrying." Patsy nodded with a small laugh,
"Well I have it on good authority that she has every reason to worry about your recklessness." Cora chuckled, smiling as Patsy draped a blanket over her,
"Yeah well, she's my person isn't she, she'd worry for my life if I got a flat tire." The ginger nodded reaching for the door,
"I know Patsy, about your preferences." Patsy stuttered a response but came up short before Cora interrupted with a chuckle,
"Don't worry your secret's safe with me, I mean I'd be a hypocrite otherwise." Patsy gaped at the doctor,
"Wait you?" Cora nodded her eyes fluttering shut,
"Oh come on Patsy you're giving us queers a bad name, I clocked you the moment you walked in, and you seriously can't think that me and Trixie are just friends and occasional roommates." And with that she fell asleep leaving Patsy stewing in her new revelations.
Cora had only just returned from the mother and baby home when she was dragged by Trxie to watch the performance. That was of course after warning all the new staff that she would be doing regular checks of the home and the conditions of cleanliness and sanitation must be maintained and the health of the mother's and babies paramount. Although with Chummy there she worried less.
"What's this?" Cora smiled at Trixie, glancing at what she had in her hands as she made dinner,
"Well I know that we will both be at Nonnatus for Christmas Day and I felt like we might exchange gifts tonight." Trixie frowned,
"But your gift is still in my room." Cora shrugged,
"I'm not bothered, but I want you to have yours now." When Trixie opened the box she gasped at the sight of a diamond necklace that sat sparkling.
"Oh Cora, this is beautiful." Cora smiled walking over to squat down in front of Trixie,
"Well I realised recently that we've had 17 anniversaries pass us by without acknowledgement, but that ends today." She pulled a blanket off of a pile of presents that Trixie hadn't noticed that were tucked into the corner hidden by the sofa.
She handed her the present marked number one watching as Trixie opened it, still awestruck, "It's a 14 carat gold St. Camillus de Lellis, pendant, she's the Patron or one of the Patron Saint of nurses, and the gold is for our first anniversary."
Trixie's eyes widened tears clouded in her eyes, before Cora handed her another gift,
"And these are garnet earrings for our second..."
It went exactly like that with the,
Pearl Necklace, 3rd Anniversary
Blue Topaz Bracelet, 4th.
Sapphire Ring, 5th.
Amethyst Earrings, 6th.
Black Sapphire Ring, 7th.
Tanzanite bracelet, 8th.
Amethyst Necklace, 9th.
Citrine earrings, 10th.
Mother of Pearl earrings, 11th.
Green Sapphire Ring, 12th.
Morganite necklace, 13th.
Ruby Ring, 14th.
Peridot Bracelet, 15th.
And the Garnet Earrings. 16th.
"Cora that must have cost a fortune." Cora shrugged it off, the price was insignificant, it was the meaning, each stone representing a year of their lives spent together.
"Thank the family wealth that my father is starting to pawn off onto me, but there's one more, and unlike the others it's not just for the occasional outfit, this is something that I hope that you'll wear forever." She shifted into her knee pulling out a ring box from her back pocket,
"Beatrix Franklin, will you-?" Cora couldn't even finish before Trixie flew into her arms kissing her,
"Of course, always yes."
And then it was letting Cynthia go to the mother house, tears were shed, and when the pair were alone Trixie cried into Cora's shoulder, it wasn’t the goodbye that hurt, it was the fact that the Cynthia that was leaving them, was not the same Cythia that would come home.
"She'll be okay Trixie, she's our Cynthia always."