"What are you doing?" Nick asks me, opening the bathroom door. I was slumped against the wall, one hand on the toilet seat, my head tilted to the side.

"Mmm..." I mumble through waves of sleep. "Feel sick."

I'm only partially conscious because I'm slipping back into sleep, but I can sense Nick cleaning my mouth, tying my hair back in a loose bun, flushing the toilet and carrying me back to bed.

8:00am

The sound of the alarm wakes me suddenly and I groan as it goes off. I didn't want to go to work. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep like I used to sleep before I had to lie in the same position all night long.

"Breakfast is served." Nick knocks on the door, placing a tray down on the bed. On it was a stack of pancakes, a plate of toast, a bowl of strawberries, two boiled eggs and a glass of apple juice. I sit up at the sound of his voice and study the tray carefully.

"You must think I'm really greedy." Is all I can mutter.

"I just gave you a selection of things, didn't know what you wanted." He smiles.

"They should clone you." I croak. "Give one to every woman. I feel selfish having you to myself."

"Yeah well sorry but you're stuck with it." Nick says before kissing me. "Ew... Oh yeah, you were sick early this morning."

"Ohh, was I?" I frown, trying to remember. "What time?"

"Four-ish, found you in the bathroom." He informs me. "Cleaned you up, brought you back to bed... Didn't really want to brush your teeth for you though."

"Oh sorry..." I moan, feeling like an invalid. "I probably taste disgusting... Thank you though, you should have a medal."

"Enough with the compliments." He brushes me off. "Eat your breakfast, might take the taste away."

"Ugh... Go to sleep." I wine, as my tummy starts to grumble loudly, followed by sharp kicks from the baby.

"You'll be saying that for the next three years." He pulls a face.

"Uhh..." I groan at the thought.

"Chelle texted you." He changes the subject as I tuck into a pancake. "Your phone is on the coffee table."

"What did it say?" I ask, through a mouth full of food.

"She wants to meet you today." He tells me.

"That sounds ominous." I frown. "Right well I'll go see her during tea break then."

10:33am

"I was summoned." I approach the bar, already tired from carrying this weight around for a few hours. Ella was getting extremely heavy now and it was tiring me out.

"Hi, you ok?" Michelle asks with a concerned expression.

"I'm shattered." I admit. "And I'm queasy and I'm fed up and I'm... Too hot."

"Hmm..." Michelle looks at me sympathetically. "Poor thing."

"You text me." I sigh, aware that I didn't have a long tea break.

"Yes I was thinking." Her eyes twinkle. "Maybe I could throw you a baby shower."

"A baby shower?" I repeat.

"Yeah." She nods, excitedly. "It's like a party to celebrate-"

"Yeah I know what one is Chelle." I virtually snap. "...Sorry. Yeah, that would be lovely."

"Just not today clearly..." She grimaces. "Today isn't a good day."

"I'm ok, I'm just..." I trail off. "Ugh, how did you do it?"

"Well I had to." She shrugs. "Because you get to this point and there's no going back."

"I'm sick. All the time." I whine. "I either crave a food or it makes me want to hurl. I can't walk around without getting out of breath. I can't sleep because she's kicking. I can't sleep because I have to sleep on one side. I can't sleep because I'm lying awake thinking about... Giant baby heads... Coming out... Stretching me..." I pause, pulling a face. "My tummy is too big. My boobs are too big. My feet are too big and they ache all the time. I have stretch marks forming. I have dark circles under my eyes. I sweat like crazy... And I'm just so tired every single second of the day..."

"...Yeah, it's a blast alright." Michelle marvels, sarcastically, slightly taken aback at my sudden outburst.

"The only thing keeping me together is Nick." I sigh. "He's literally my rock. You know this morning? I was practically sleep-walking to the bathroom because I felt sick, then he comes and cleans me up and puts me back to bed... And then, he brings me breakfast in bed when I wake up."

"What a star." Michelle nods, understandingly.

"I tell you what." I point at her. "When this sprog has popped itself out, I'll be thanking him properly... I mean Chelle we can't even have sex! Me; not having sex. This is killing me. I feel so... Old and worn out and ugh..."

I stare at her blank expression, trying to conjure up something that would make me feel better, or even anything at all.

"I'll get back to the mad house." I eventually save her. "They'll be running riot the lot of them."

"Well, good luck." She smiles. "And I'll get back to you on that baby shower idea."

"Yay..." I try to sound as enthusiastic as possible but right now, having a party with a load of people I most likely do not like, was not at the top of my priorities list.

2:48pm

"Kirk can you carry those boxes upstairs?" I indicate to the pile in the corner.

"Well I'm working on this." He continues putting the lingerie on hangers.

"Yeah well I need you to carry these boxes upstairs." I yell, exasperatedly.

"Come here." Aidan lifts one up and carries it up the staircase.

"Oh..." I trail off before raising my voice again. "Well it needs to go in the corner by the Dolman order."

"There's no space." He shouts.

"Well there should be." I place my hands on my hips.

"Come and show me then." He peers over the balcony, dumping the boxes on the floor.

"Aidan." I drone. "I would, but if I try and go up those stairs, I'll be falling asleep before I reach the top."

"Carla why don't you go home?" Johnny places a hand on my shoulder. "We can cope here."

"This is my business." I tell him. "If I take too much leave you'll run this place into the ground."

"Mrs Connor?" Beth yells. "Machine is on the blink again."

"Uhhhh..." I groan, going over to her. "Tell you what, go use Fiz's until she gets back, I'll get it checked out."

"Well I have to move all my stuff." She whines.

"Well move it then." I raise my eyebrows. "Honestly! What are you all gonna do when I'm on maternity leave? I'll be slipping in meetings between feeds."

6:07pm

"I tell you what." I announce as I open the flat, without even checking whether Nick was there. "They're running riot over there. We literally got that order out by the skin of our teeth..."

I trail off when my eyes focus on the dim light of the room. Nick was plating up food on the kitchen surface, the table was laid with the best cutlery and candles were flickering gently in the centre.

"What the..." I mutter, putting my bag down on the sofa.

"Dinner." He answers my question before I can ask it.

"...Are you trying to win some sort of award for best chef today or something?" Is all I can say, my mouth hanging open slightly.

"You think I cooked this?" He laughs, putting the plates down on the table. "No, brought it back from he Bistro."

"Why?" I question, slightly bemused by the scene in front of me.

"Because I wanted to treat my fiancé." He rolls his eyes. "So we're going to eat and laugh and then have a nice night in. But there's one exception... No baby talk."

"Ey?" I frown.

"We're not gonna talk about the baby or the pregnancy or the birth." He tells me before seeing my expression. "I had a little chat with Chelle."

"Ohh." I nod, smiling as he pulls the chair out for me. "So what's brought all this on?"

"I love you." He mutters and I giggle as he sits down at the opposite end of the table.

"So how was work?" I ask, tucking into my cottage pie.

"Busy." He shrugs. "How was work for you?"

"Stressful." I respond and chew my food for a while. "This is a scintillating conversation Nicholas."

"I prefer being quiet." He says. "Enjoying your company."

"You on drugs today?" I raise my eyebrows and he laughs. "Or have you done something bad because you're being nice."

"Aren't I always nice?" He asks.

"Hmm..." I murmur. "Yeah I suppose. Nicest guy I've ever been with."

"Wouldn't hear you say that in two thousand and ten." He scoffs. "Who would have thought ey?"

"I do think that... Often." I grin. "I sometimes think to myself 'wow things must be bad ending up with Nick Tilsley."

"You're full of compliments today." He shakes his head and I flash him a smile before turning back to my food.