Saviour

Chapter 1

It had been a very long day with the delivery of the Carter twins, but Sister Bernadette was feeling quite good about herself and had even gotten to enjoy a couple puffs of Doctor Turner's cigarette, which made her blush a bit at the thought. She cared for him quite deeply, and it was continuously growing. She knew she had a lot of things to think and pray about because between her feelings for Doctor Turner and her vows to God.

Sister Bernadette was completely lost in thought as she was cycling home to Nonnatus House. She was quite tired and had so much on her mind, but she could have cycled there with her eyes closed and her bicycle going backwards. All of a sudden, she feels herself being violently pulled from her bicycle and dragged to the ground. Her mind immediately goes to prayer for God to protect her from whatever negative force has grabbed hold of her and to allow her habit to be a source of protection from a predator. She felt the back of her head slam to the ground and could feel the blood pooling on the cap under her wimple. She felt blow after blow across her face and to her abdomen and ribs. It was all happening so quickly that Sister Bernadette couldn't process what was happening. She felt the wimple and cap being yanked from her head as her hair fell free and filled with the blood from her head lacerations as she saw the cloud of black coming over her eyes. She had fallen unconscious.

"Sister! Sister! Can you hear me? The ambulance is on its way. I'm here! Sister!" She could faintly here what she believed to be Doctor Turner's voice, but couldn't make her body respond. All her mind could say was hold me. Make me safe. I'm scared. But she was unable to make those words come from her mouth. And just like that, she was gone into oblivion again.

"Sister, can you hear me? I'm Doctor Brown. If you can hear me, I need you to squeeze my hand." She could hear the man's voice, but his instructions just seemed fuzzy and she couldn't quite figure out how to connect her thoughts to her hand to make it respond. The only thing that was clear is that she wanted Doctor Turner. She knew his voice and touch would comfort her, but she couldn't figure out how to convey this to anyone. And she was gone again.

The lord's prayer. She could hear it, but who was reciting it? It was so hushed, but distinct. Then she realised that it was not just one person, but more than one. She could hear Sister Julienne, Sister Monica Joan, and she even heard who she was almost certain was Trixie, but there was someone else too. Surely, it couldn't be. It was, it was Doctor Turner. The man of no faith was at her bedside reciting the lord's prayer. It truly was a miracle. She wanted to call him to her to hold her hand or caress her cheek, anything, just to feel him in close proximity would make her feel safe. Please hold me. I'm scared. I need you. She kept willing herself to say it, but nothing was coming out. She was sentenced to this darkness. Then, as if he could hear her thoughts, she heard Doctor Turner's voice, "Don't be scared, we are all here." She could tell he turned to speak in a different direction, "Quick! Fetch the doctor!" and he returned to her to say again, "Don't be scared, we are all here," as he grabbed her hand and began to caress it. This time she didn't succumb to the darkness in a scary way, but as if just falling asleep. It was nearly blissful.

She heard slight mumbles nearby, but nothing that came in clearly. She was straining to hear when she realised she had a bit more control of herself this time. Sister Bernadette was now able to slowly open her eyes. It was bright and nearly blinding at first, but oh so welcomed. She didn't know how long it had been since she had seen anything but darkness and it was truly beautiful. She tried to speak, but her throat felt so dry. "Doctor Turner," she managed to get out in a very airy and raspy voice, "please." It was all she could managed, but someone had heard from the other side of the curtain because Trixie came in straight away. "Shh, sweetie, don't try to talk. Let's get you some water, okay?" She said it in the sweetest, most loving way possible as she handed Sister Bernadette a cup with water. Once she had a few swallows of water, it was much easier to talk. She still whispered though because it hadn't completely removed the pain she felt. "What happened?" she asked.

"Oh sweetie, let me get the doctors in here to check you out now that you're awake, and then we'll all come back and discuss what happened, okay?" Trixie insisted.

"Okay," Sister Bernadette reluctantly agreed.

After a thorough examination by two separate doctors – neither of whom were the one that Sister Bernadette really wanted to see – and only a short waiting period, her bed was surrounded by those she loved the most and they were ready to discuss with her the details of how she went from riding her bicycle home to this hospital bed.

They explained that she had been brutally attacked by a man that had since been apprehended by the police. He had done some serious damage and she was lucky to be alive. She had been unconscious for about five days, and the doctors were really beginning to worry about the depth of the head injury. They explained that she had a broken ankle, a fractured wrist, multiple broken ribs, a bruised lung, and, of course, was covered in large bruises from head to toe.

Sister Bernadette was terrified to ask the question, but she knew it had to be asked, "Did he- "she paused, having difficulty even completing the question, "Did he rape me?" she finally asked.

"No, dear. Thank God," Sister Julienne answered in the kindest way possible. Sister Bernadette let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and a tear of relief rolled down her cheek. While she had been having trouble with her thoughts about Doctor Turner and its effect on her religious life, her vow of chastity was one she would have never voluntarily broken. If she was ever to be touched by a man, she wanted it to be the right way, and with her approval.

Sister Julienne gave her hand a gentle squeeze in support, then said her goodbyes as she and the other nuns were going to make their way back to Nonnatus. Following just behind was Trixie who was due on call first thing in the morning and needed her beauty rest. But off in the corner was Doctor Turner. He hadn't said much about what happened and seemed keep his head down. Before she could say anything to him, the nurse came into her room to administer her dose of morphine for the pain, which she was thankful at this moment. "Give it just a few minutes, and it will kick in. You'll feel much better," the nurse reassured.

Sister Bernadette thanked her as she left and then turned her attention to back to Doctor Turner.

"You don't have to sit so far away. Come sit over here; if you'd like to stay for a little while, I'd love the company," Sister Bernadette said, trying not to give too much away.

He moved closer as she requested and reached for her hand, but before she could even take a moment to marvel at how wonderful it felt - even if it was only meant to be a friendly gesture - to hold his hand, she noticed his terribly bruised knuckled and the scabs that were forming from a very recent injury. "What happened?" She asked him.

She saw him begin to tear up, which certainly caught her off guard, for she had never seen him so vulnerable. "I wanted to kill him. Had it not been for Constable Noaks, I probably would have."

"Kill who? Doctor Turner, what happened?" She was nearly frantic for a straight answer at this point.

"When you left the Carter delivery, I decided to come after you a few minutes later because I wanted to ask you to come have tea with me. I knew it wasn't right, but something told me I needed to ask. Only when I went around the corner, I was too late. I saw him standing over you, beating you and you were unconscious. I thought you were dead," he swallowed, but could not keep the tears at bay with that memory, "I hollered for him to stop and hollered for the police, but he kept kicking and punching you. I ran to him and began hitting him. I hit him until Constable Noaks pulled me off of him. I wanted nothing more to kill him because in that moment in my mind, he had killed the one woman I loved more than life itself." His confession left Sister Bernadette speechless. Not only had this man stepped in the way of a potentially deadly man, but he did it out of pure love. She knew she had strong feelings for him before this, but now she knew that those feelings were love.

"You saved my life," she said, "and you love me."

But before she could hear his reply or she could continue the conversation, she drifted off into a deep, morphine-induced sleep.