By the next afternoon, the test for Dougal had arrived in the post. Ted crept up to their bedroom and gently pushed the door open with a soft creak. Dougal's condition had worsened in the night. Now the poor boy lay topless, tangled in his bedsheets, sneezing every few minutes. Ted stepped into the room, crept over to the side of Dougal's bed, and crouched down to the lad's face.

"Dougal," he whispered, brushing his hair away from his eyes. Dougal's forehead felt a bit hot, Ted noticed. "Dougal, wake up."

Dougal's eyelids opened. Gone were his smiles and gormless grinning. It broke Ted's heart to see him like this. "Dougal, I need to do a test on you."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ted."

"Why not?"

"I'm not very smart," replied Dougal.

Ted suppressed a laugh. "I mean a test to make sure you don't have the virus."

"I don't have the virus, do I, Ted?"

"No, I don't think so. But we need to do a test just to be sure."

Dougal nodded and sat up a bit.

"I'll need to put a light on," Ted told him, and Dougal nodded again. Ted reached over and put the bedside light on. Dougal sneezed again, catching it in the crook of his arm.

"Tip your head back," Ted instructed. "I'm going to rub this on your tonsils. Then I'm going to stick it up your nose. Will you be alright?"

"Sounds like what the boys used to do to me at boarding school," replied Dougal. "Except it wasn't with that, it was with their –,"

"Yes, alright, Dougal," replied Ted.

"I've got an excellent gag reflex now."

"Thank you, Dougal," said Ted, curtly. Dougal opened his mouth and reclined his head. Ted put his hand on the back of Dougal's neck to steady them both. As he inserted the swab, Dougal didn't flinch. Ted held it carefully as he rubbed it on each of Dougal's tonsils and then took the swab out. "Blow your nose, Dougal," Ted said, handing Dougal a tissue. Dougal did as instructed, forcefully blowing out any mucus. Then, Ted inserted the swab up Dougal's nose and twirled it around.

"Ted," Dougal laughed. "It tickles."

"Hold still, you're doing really well," Ted cooed. Eventually, he took the swab out and placed it into the tube, breaking the plastic from the top and tightening the lid. "All done."

"Thanks, Ted. What will you do with that now?" asked Dougal, nodding to the tube.

"I'm going to put it in the post box," said Ted.

"Why would you do that now, Ted? It's all covered in bogies. No one is going to thank you for it."

Ted smiled to himself. "They'll test it for the virus, Dougal."

"Do post boxes do that nowadays?" asked Dougal, as he laid down again. Ted watched him snuggle down, hoping and praying that Dougal's test came back negative. He didn't know what he would do if something was seriously wrong with Dougal.

After a few seconds, it was clear that Dougal had fallen fast asleep. Ted bent his head low and pressed a kiss on Dougal's temple. He just couldn't help himself. "Goodnight, Dougal," Ted whispered against his head. "Love you."

Slowly, he tiptoed towards the bedroom door, making to leave when he heard Dougal stir. "Ted?"

"Yes, Dougal."

"Love you too."