Medicine
Rachel slowly opened her eyes, awoken by the sound of footsteps around the house. Groaning, she tried to raise her head before lowering it back down again. That had been a mistake. Clutching the thick blanket that covered her, she questioned if she could stand, already forgetting the brief effort she'd made.
"Look who's up."
She could barely make out Eddie. He was surprisingly in good spirits, considering how much she was suffering.
"Meeting…"
He came to sit beside her, barely sitting on the sofa to allow for space. Chortling, he passed her the timely cough medicine, and a cup of herbal tea.
"The meeting went great," he assured her. "The school is still standing, the kids are the same as always, and somehow, I'm still alive."
Eddie knew it had killed her. Spending a day from work was unbearable for Rachel, let alone two weeks. But a virus was a virus, and even she wouldn't let the students be affected by her illness.
He helped prop her up, noticing the way she winced. She took a cautious sip of tea, slowly slurping it down, as if she thought it would taste horrendous. Unoffended, he picked up the medicine bottle again and held it out to her. Her glare went unnoticed. With agonising slowness, she groaned, taking the ready poured spoon- Eddie had been kind enough to unscrew the lid and pour some for her.
Rachel took the two spoonful's, bursting into a coughing fit after she had done so. It felt as if she were being stabbed repeatedly in the chest, her hand pressing on the pain in the hope it would help. Groaning once more, she knew the coughing would cause an inconvenient trip to the toilet. She wondered if Eddie would carry her, already knowing the answer.
He kissed her on the forehead, tucking her tightly in.
"See? Much better." Eddie ignored her continuous glare. "Don't worry about the breakfast club either. It turned out that swapping Janeece with Casey was the best thing to do. I know she means well but Janeece was too much of a bad influence."
Rachel mumbled her acknowledgement, her mind slightly eased. All he had to do now was tell her about the four separate stacks of paperwork that needed doing, whether Candice had a replacement while she recovered from a dental emergency, if Steph had actually done the work she had been assigned to do, and whether several students under her supervision were still completing their homework on time. Eddie didn't answer any of her questions, but did leave her with another kiss on the forehead, a plate of toast, and an 'I love you.' She thought that would do for now.