As always, I want to say a massive thank you to everybody for the positive feedback this fic has recieved :) Ye're all beauts! I won't ramble on like I normally do, will just say once again, if anybody has any suggestions/requests for specific events/moments they would to see happening in this fic, feel free to let me know :)

Here's chhapter 10, hope ye enjoy (it's a bit fluffy :P)xx

April 13th 2008

The screeching sound of my alarm pierced the air, waking me with a start. I smacked the snooze button aggressively, turning my body so that I could bury my face in my pillow. I felt truly awful. My throat was sore, I had a wheeze in my chest and my entire body felt weak. After what felt like only twenty seconds, the five minute snooze was up and the alarm went off again. I turned the alarm off, feeling a cough tickling my lungs. I was a little afraid of letting the cough out because I could tell it was going to hurt when I did. I sat up in the bed, drawing my knees towards my body as I felt an uncomfortable rush to my head. My hands slid up from the bed to cradle my stomach protectively.

As I expected the space in the bed beside me was empty. I knew Sian would have gotten up to go for her run earlier and I could hear the shower running from the bathroom. I felt dizzy and could feel that I was drenched in a cold sweat. I reached to the bedside locker and grabbed the glass of water Sian had left there when we went to bed the night before. I gulped down some water in the hope of holding off the cough a little longer. I couldn't breathe through my nose so nearly choked on the water.

I quickly placed the glass back down as a coughing fit ripped through my lungs. I lay back down panting once it had subsided. I knew there was no way I'd be able to go into work today.

Sian came back into the room wearing her work clothes with a towel still wrapped around her damp hair. "Soph, are you not up yet? You're going to be late for work babe" she said as she made her way over to my full-length mirror.

"I'm sick" I answered, my voice coming out as a barely audible, hoarse, squeak. At this moment I was struck by another coughing fit, as if to reinforce my case.

"Aww, babe" she said, letting the towel drop from her head as she turned from the mirror and made her way back to me. She knelt down on the bed beside me and gently laid her hand across my forehead. I automatically leaned into the comforting touch. "You're burning up Soph" she mumbled as she slid her hand down to my cheek.

I turned away from her quickly to release another cough, feeling it tear at my lungs as it escaped me. I turned back to her panting wheezily when I was done. "I'm freezing" I wheezed, my voice still barely audible.

Both of her hands cradled my face as she gazed down at me. "Maybe I should take you to the doctor babe" she murmured, feeling my forehead again.

"No… it's just the flu…. I'll be better by tomorrow" I argued, my hoarse voice sounding pathetic. "But…Can you pass me my phone?" I asked, gesturing towards the bedside locker behind her before sneezing into my hands.

"What for?" she asked as she handed me the phone.

"I need to call work…tell Jeremy I can't make it in" I answered, sneezing again.

"Sophie maybe you should let me do that, I can barely hear you and I'm sitting beside you so I doubt they'll be able to hear you down the phone" Sian said, taking the phone out of my hands again. I didn't protest at all, my body was far too weak to argue with her. "What's his number?" she asked, switching her position on the bed so that she was now sitting with her back against the headboard and one arm was draped carefully around me. I guessed she had scrolled through the J's in my phone contacts and couldn't find him.

"Have him saved under 'Angry Prick'" I answered, eliciting a giggle from Sian.

"Soph! You can't call him that" she said, but I could still hear the giggle in her voice. She scrolled through my contacts again, pressing the dial button once she found him.

I lay on the bed, wheezing as I listened to the phone conversation. "Hello….is this Jeremy?... yes, hello my name is Sian….I'm just calling to let you know that Sophie is sick and she won't be able to make it in today…..from the sounds of it a chest infection and the flu…no she isn't….yes I'm sure…how rude! I'm her girlfriend actually and I'm taking her to the doctor once this call is finished….thank you….bye" Sian finished the conversation, angrily slamming the phone down on the mattress.

"What did he say to you?" I asked hoarsely, cuddling into her side. She didn't answer and pulled her own phone from her pocket. After a few seconds she lifted her phone to her ear, evidently making another phone call, "Babe?" I questioned hoarsely.

"Hi Susan" she said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Ya, it's Sian. I'm just calling to let you know that there's a bit of an emergency at home and I'm going to be a bit late for work today. Ya, it'll be about ten, if that's okay? ….Okay, thanks a million….ya…see you in a bit" Sian finished the call and replaced the phone in her pocket.

"What are you doing?... and what did Jeremy say to you?" I asked. I was starting to feel tired and it was becoming a struggle to keep my eyes open.

"I'm taking a few hours off work to bring you to the doctors. I can see why you call him 'Angry Prick' now. He was just plain rude, swearing for no reason, accusing you of skiving and getting 'some random slapper' to call in and do your dirty work for you" Sian answered, her hand finding its way to my forehead again.

"He said what?" I squeaked hoarsely, pulling myself into a sitting position, "I'll kill him!"

"No. You won't Soph" she said sternly, pushing me back down onto the bed. "You're going to lie there until I get back. I'm going to get you a cup of tea and some clothes to change into so I can take you down to the doctor"

"I don't need to go to the doctor" I protested, unfortunately another fit of coughing hit just as I finished the sentence. I was coughing so hard I was afraid I might throw up.

"Yes, you do Soph" she whispered gently, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead before getting up from the bed.

She left the room, returning a few minutes later with a mug of tea in her hands. "Here babe, sit up and drink some of this" she ushered, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. I laboriously pulled myself into a sitting position and took the cup from her. I took a sip and sighed in relief. Sian always made my tea perfectly and I was never more grateful for that than I was now. She got up from the bed, leaving me to enjoy the small comfort of the tea while she searched through my wardrobe for something for me to wear to the doctor. I had made my way through half of the tea by the time she returned with a pair of grey, Canterbury joggers, a black fitted t-shirt and my green Abercrombie hoody and some underwear.

"I made an appointment for you with Dr. Carter" she said as she handed me the clothes.

"In Weatherfield?" I asked confused. I was getting more and more tired of how squeaky and hoarse my voice sounded.

"Well ya, if I tried to get an appointment in town we'd be waiting til next and I assumed Dr. Carter would know you considering you grew up round the corner from his medical centre" Sian explained as she helped me out of the bed.

She led me down the hall for a quick shower before helping me to get dressed. Then we left the apartment and got into my car so she could drive me to Weatherfield.

I felt very proud watching Sian drive. When I met her she didn't know how but she had asked me to teach her. I spent a few weekends driving with her and she was getting really good at it. She had her provisional licence so as long as I was with her in the car, we were fine.

We arrived at the medical centre five minutes early for the 9am appointment. We didn't have to wait long as there weren't any other patients in the waiting room yet. Sian had guessed right about it being a chest infection. We left the surgery at quarter past nine with a suggestion that I rest and drink plenty of fluids and with a prescription for some antibiotics. Sian stopped in a little chemist on the way back to the flat to pick up the antibiotics. She brought me back to the flat and set me up on the couch with blankets, pillows, water and put some cartoons on the tv. I was a bit sceptical at this but she insisted it would make me feel better to watch something that I didn't need to think about. She made sure I took the antibiotics before she left for work, promising she would come back to check on me during her lunch hour. I slipped into a dreamless sleep on the couch no more than ten minutes after she left.

"Soph….Sophie" I heard a voice calling me gently from somewhere to my left. Opening my eyes, I found Sian crouched down in front of me, holding a tray in front of her. "Hey there sleepy" she said gently. I still felt groggy and my throat and ribs ached from all the coughing.

"Hi" I croaked, sitting up slightly "What time is it?" I asked noticing that the light coming through the window seemed quite a lot duller than when I'd last been awake. My breathing was still a bit laboured.

"It's nearly six in the evening" she told me, placing the tray she was carrying carefully on my lap.

"Six?" I squeaked, wondering how I could possibly have slept for so long.

"Ya, I came back at lunch but you were completely out of it. I just about managed to get you to take your antibiotic before you passed out again" she informed me, placing a small kiss to my forehead and stroking my hair gently. "Here, I made you some chicken noodle soup and I brought you your medicine and some juice" she added, gesturing towards the tray on my lap.

"Thanks" I whispered feebly, I still felt just as awful as I had done that morning. She had made the soup from a packet but added chunks of chicken and potato to it. Normally I wouldn't touch packet soup with a ten foot pole but I was exceptionally grateful for this. It tasted quite good with the extras Sian had added and it was making me feel better as its warmth spread through me. Once I'd finished, Sian handed me the pill I had to take and the glass of juice before taking the tray back to the kitchen.

I was already lying back down under my duvet by the time she returned from the kitchen. "Are you still feeling sleepy Soph?" she asked, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss the top of my head.

I nodded in response, sneezing almost immediately afterwards.

"Do you want to go to bed?" she asked, walking around the couched and kneeling down in front of me. I was already on my way back to sleep as she placed another kiss on my forehead, stroking my hair again. "Come on, I'll get you to bed and you'll feel better in the morning" she said, slowly pulling back the duvet.

She helped me up from the couch and grabbed my pillows before leading me down the hall to my bedroom. Once we reached the bedroom, she gently lowered me onto the bed, arranging the pillows just the way she knew I liked them. She kissed my forehead again before disappearing back into the sitting room to retrieve the duvet, which she brought into the bedroom and wrapped it snugly around me. She sat on the bed beside me with her back leaning against the headboard, stroking my hair and whispering words of comfort to me until I drifted off into another dreamless sleep.

Well there ye have it! Hope ye enjoyed and as always, all feedback will be greatly appreciated ;) xx