Saturday 30th November 2013, 8:45am

"Ah, good morning." Elliot smiled as Jac and Jonny entered the consultants' office slightly late after they had had their flu jabs which they were entitled to because of their hospital based jobs. They had changed into their scrubs on Darwin before they had gone down to Keller to get the jab done just before their shifts started.

"Morning." Jonny replied whilst Jac went and sat at her desk. Given that she had been up for around an hour at midnight because of heartburn the previous night and the fact that she was 31 weeks pregnant, she was rather tired. "How's your arm?" Jonny asked as Jac removed her NHS hoodie.

"Fine." Jac sighed as she also removed the small circular plaster from her left arm and placed it in the bin under her desk.

"Aren't you having the jab Elliot?" Jonny asked curiously.

"I will do, I just haven't scheduled an appointment yet." Elliot replied. "Now, Jac I haven't scheduled you for theatre until after lunch today because I've got a pulmonary endarterectomy and I'll be in there."

"Fine by me; I need to catch up on a tonne of paperwork." Jac admitted as she took out a stack of files from her top desk draw. "I also need a hazelnut latte so go and find Saucer for me." Jac ordered the father of her children.

"Never mind about Zosia, I need a coffee so I'll go." Jonny smirked as he took his wallet out of his back pocket and left the office.

"I thought maybe we could have lunch together in the peace garden." Jonny smiled as he entered Jac's office where she had been working away all morning, with two brown paper bags containing food from the café downstairs.

"Um, no thanks. I'm not really hungry and I've got a headache coming on." Jac replied quietly without taking her eyes off of the patient's file in front of her.

"You think the jab might be making you feel a wee bit unwell?" Jonny asked.

"It's possible." Jac sighed.

"I'll be right back." Jonny said before he briefly disappeared and then returned with a bottle of water and a small paper pot containing two white tablets. "Take some paracetamol before it gets any worse." He ordered gently as he placed them in front of her.

"Thank you Dr Maconie." Jac said sarcastically as she opened the bottle of water before she swallowed the two tablets. "Doesn't your arm hurt?" She asked.

"Ah, so your arm hurts as well as your head." Jonny concluded. "But no, I'm feeling fine." He added.

"Lucky you." Jac sighed.

"Come on, you don't have to eat if you don't want to but you should at least take a break and get some fresh air." Jonny said with a smiled as he held his spare hand out to help her up.

"I'm fine here." Jac stated as she put her pen down and then leant back in her chair and so Jonny went and sat down on the sofa in her office.

"Alright… Do you want a shoulder massage?" Jonny offered and in return, Jac raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at him. "Never mind." He concluded.

1pm

"Right, theatre is just being prepped for your first op." Elliot informed the red head as he entered the office but he noticed she looked a bit clammy. "Are you alright?"

"Um… Not really." She replied reluctantly. "I've got achy muscles and my first op is a mitral valve replacement." She stated and of course Elliot understood what the problem was. It was a procedure which required delicate tools and movements, and with her whole body feeling stiff and overworked she didn't feel that she could operate safely.

"Would you like me to take over your theatre list for the rest of today?" He asked.

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Elliot replied reassuringly. "Are you sure you mean achy muscles? You're not in the early stages of labour are you? It's just you look a bit stressed."

"Elliot, if I thought I was in labour I'd be down on maternity by now and demand every test under the sun to be run on me." Jac protested.

"Okay. Well I'd better go and get ready for theatre then." Elliot stated. "And I want you and Jonny to go home early – it's a Saturday and you shouldn't even be on shift really, it's only because of potential staff shortages that you're both in and we can manage."

"Are you sure?"

"Jac, as much as you'll hate to hear this, we can cope without your expertise for a day or two." Elliot chuckled.

"There you go." Jonny said as he handed Jac a bowl of steaming chicken soup as she sat on the sofa under a blanket where she also had a warm compress on her left arm because the site of the injection had become sorer.

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to run you a bath after this?" Jonny offered as he also sat down with his evening meal.

"No thanks. I might just go to bed early once I've had this." She replied and the fact that it wasn't even 6pm yet worried him. He had heard about several people having a bad reaction to the winter flu jab and he feared she was one of them. He on the other hand felt fine after having his jab. He just hoped she would have a nice long sleep and then feel better in the morning.

9pm

After he had locked the penthouse up and turned the lights out, Jonny went into his bedroom where he found Jac lying in bed fast asleep. She had been out for several hours so he hoped she was just a bit achy from the immunisation and that when she woke, she would feel far better. He gently got into bed, faced her and placed both of his hands on her bump. The fact that his daughters were mere centimetres away from his skin made him smile and he just couldn't wait until they arrived. He slowly slipped his hands underneath Jac's shirt so that he could feel her stretched and taunted skin and he rested his hands there as he slipped into a deep sleep.

Sunday 1st December 2013, 1am

After tossing and turning in her sleep, Jac opened her eyes and had to sit up before she coughed and coughed to clear her throat. She flicked the bedside lamp on, pulled the duvet off of her and took a few deep breaths as she felt far too hot for her liking. She sat on the edge of the bed with a frown until she heard movement besides her.

"Jac? What's wrong?" Jonny asked as he quickly sat up. "Is it the babies?"

"No." Jac replied simply before she erupted into a coughing fit and Jonny shuffled forwards and placed his hand on her back. "It's too hot." She complained.

"You've got a fever." Jonny stated after he had placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Is this the first time you've had the flu jab?" Jonny asked as he went into the ensuite to get some paracetamol from the bathroom cabinet.

"No, I've had it every year for the last decade." Jac replied.

"This is probably just incredibly bad timing with an uncommon type of flu then." Jonny stated. "If this was a cold you wouldn't have the fever." He added as he popped two pills into her clammy hand and she swallowed the tablets with a swig of water from the glass on her bedside table. "Have you got a sore throat too?" He added and she gave a small nod.

"And the chills." She added as she rubbed the sides of her arms – she had gone from feeling scorching hot to shivering within seconds.

"Alright, the best thing to do is keep you off of work next week and make sure you get plenty of rest." Jonny stated and he watched as she slowly stood up and went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her without saying anything more. How was he supposed to look after a woman with the flu who was just weeks away from giving birth to twins?