It was the end of the school day and Rachel was up in her office waiting for Amy and Poppy to come up.
Amy came in first.
"Hi love" Rachel said looking up from the drawer she was just looking in, it was only then that she noticed Amy looking extremely pale
"Hi"
"Are you feeling okay? You're not looking too well"
"I'm fine" Amy said despite how poorly she was actually feeling, she just didn't want to make a big deal out of it
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah"
They waited another five minutes but Poppy still hadn't come up. Rachel was starting to wonder where she'd got to and she didn't want to be late for picking Lucy up either.
Rachel got her phone out of her bag and was about to ring Poppy when she saw she had a message from her.
"Oh, your sister went home at lunch because she didn't have a lesson last" Rachel said rolling her eyes "I should've checked my phone earlier, anyway come on we'd better get going"
They picked up their stuff and went out to the car.
"Are you all ready to leave once we've been home and got changed?" Rachel asked as they were going to visit one of Rachel's friends tonight however it was a couple of hours drive so she wanted to leave as early as possible
Amy hadn't heard; she was staring out of the window.
"Amy"
"What did you say sorry?"
"I was just asking if you're all ready to go"
"Yeah"
"Are you sure you're okay you're being very quiet"
"I'm just a bit tired"
"Well it has been a long week, maybe try and have a little sleep on the way there"
They soon picked Lucy up from school and then drove home.
As soon as she heard them come in the front door Poppy came down to say hello.
"Hiya"
"Hi Poppy, I thought you said you had a lesson last today"
"I thought I had English, but I got muddled with the weeks"
"Oh that must have been a nice surprise then"
"Yeah it was"
"Right, we'll just get changed and then are you ready to go?"
"Yes"
Amy walked upstairs and sat down on her bed. She'd been feeling poorly all day but she was starting to feel really bad now.
She managed to get changed before going back downstairs where they were waiting as it had taken her quite a while.
Amy really was looking very pale, but Rachel thought it must just because she was feeling tired.
They got in the car and were just driving down the road when Lucy said "Rachel I need a wee"
"Well I'm going to stop at the first service station because I need to get a few bits to take tonight so can you hold on until then?" Rachel asked not really wanting to go back
"Yeah okay"
"Good girl"
It didn't take long until they got to the turning for the service station so Rachel came off the motorway and parked up in the car park.
"Are you all coming in?"
"Is it okay if I stop here Rachel?" Amy said
"Yeah course it is we won't be long, are you coming in Poppy?"
"Yeah I need the loo"
Rachel got out with Poppy and Lucy and the three of them quickly went into the service station.
They went to the toilets first as Rachel could tell that Lucy was quite desperate now.
When Poppy was on the toilet she realised she'd come on her period, she'd completely forgotten she was due on.
She quickly went to the loo before going out to speak to Rachel. She felt a little awkward telling Rachel about it however she didn't really have another choice really as she would need some pads or something.
She was pleased when she saw Lucy hadn't come out yet as she knew it would only lead to her asking loads of questions.
"Rachel"
"Yeah"
"I've erm… come on my period, do you have any pads or anything?" Poppy asked, she was a little embarrassed but it wasn't that bad. Rachel had been the first person Poppy told when she first got her period in year eight as it had happened at school
"Yeah I've got some in here" Rachel said delving through her bag "there you go"
"Thank you"
"I'll buy you some more in a minute as I don't have many more on me"
Poppy saw Lucy coming out so quickly went back into the cubicle.
Once Poppy was sorted they went into M&S so that Rachel could pick up a dessert for tonight. She also got some wine knowing it was likely she'd be having quite a bit with her friend tonight.
"Do you two want to go back to the car? I just need to buy something else and then I'll be out" Rachel said. She didn't want Lucy to see what she was buying only because she knew she'd have loads of questions having got to know the girl quite well over the last few weeks
Poppy took hold of Lucy's hand and walked back to the car with her. When they got there she saw that Amy had her eyes closed.
"Are you okay Amy?"
"Yeah why?"
"You look quite pale"
"I'm fine"
It wasn't long before Rachel was back in the car too so they continued on their car journey.
"How old are Jane's children Rachel?" Poppy asked
"Ben's five and Lauren's two, nearly three though"
"I can't wait to meet them"
They'd been back in the car for about fifteen minutes when Rachel glanced in her mirror and noticed that Amy had drifted off to sleep.
She wondered why Amy was so tired, she'd had quite a busy week but Rachel didn't think that it would have made her this tired.
She slept the whole of the way there and when they did arrive Rachel had to wake her up.
"Are we here?" Amy mumbled
"Yeah you slept just about the whole way"
"Sorry I didn't mean to actually fall asleep"
"It's okay, you must have been tired. Are you feeling more awake now?"
"Yes thank you" Amy said even though she wasn't. She was feeling even worse.
Part of her did want to tell Rachel now but she still didn't because they were about to go into Jane's house.
They got their stuff out of the boot before knocking on the door to Jane's house. Rachel was so excited to see her best friend.
She missed having her live just around the corner, but Rachel didn't blame her for wanting to move back near her family after she had Ben.
The girls were a bit shy around Jane and her husband, Rob, when they first went in, but they were soon dragged away by Ben and Lauren who were very excited about meeting them.
Rachel went upstairs with Jane so that she could put their stuff away.
Obviously a lot had happened with Rachel since they'd last seen each other so they had a lot to talk about.
"I'm going to get Lauren and Jack ready for bed in a minute, then we won't have them running around all over the place" Jane said looking forward to spending the evening with Rachel
"What's Rob doing tonight? Did he decide if he's going out or staying in"
"He's going over to one of his friends', so we can have a nice girly night"
Rachel and Jane went downstairs to see the children who were all in the lounge.
"Right Miss Lauren it's time for your bath" Jane said to her daughter
"Lucy have bath with me?"
"I don't know if Lucy will want to"
"Do you want to Lucy?" Rachel asked
"Yeah, can Ben come in too though?"
"Okay, let's go up then"
Rachel and Jane took the three youngest children upstairs. Jane started running the bath while Rachel went to find Lucy her stuff.
When she got back in the bathroom Lucy, Ben and Lauren were all undressed and stood at the side of the bath waiting to get in.
"Can we get in now?" Lucy asked
"Not yet, it's still a bit hot"
"Have you put lots of bubbles in?"
"Yeah"
After a few more minutes their bath was run so Jane and Rachel helped them all in.
Rachel always loved helping out with Jane's children whenever they were together, but it felt so much nicer having her own to look after at the same time now.
Rachel was sat with Jane watching them play in the bath when Poppy came into the bathroom.
"Rachel Amy's fallen asleep again"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah do you think she's okay"
"I don't know, I'll go and see her" Rachel said "are you okay to keep an eye on Lucy Jane?"
"Yeah of course"
Rachel followed Poppy downstairs into the lounge where she was curled up on the sofa asleep.
Seeing her asleep again made Rachel a bit concerned, so she was sure she must be poorly now.
"Amy" Rachel said gently shaking her, she felt bad waking Amy up but she knew she'd be comfier up in bed
"I'm tired, I want to go to sleep"
"How about we get you up to bed then?"
"Okay"
Amy tried to stand up but she couldn't find the energy to
"Rachel"
"Yes love"
"I don't feel very well"
"I didn't think you could be, how long have you been feeling like this for?"
"Since I woke up this morning, but it's got worse as the days gone on"
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I didn't want to make a fuss"
"Well you should've told me, I could've given you some medicine sooner. Come on let's get you upstairs"
Rachel helped Amy up off the sofa and upstairs. Poppy followed them up.
"Poppy can you go and get some calpol for me please? I packed some in my wash bag"
Poppy went out so Rachel helped Amy to change into her pyjamas as didn't have the energy to do anything herself.
"I really don't feel very well Rachel" Amy said sounding teary
"I know you don't, we'll give you some medicine and hopefully that will kick in soon. How don't you feel very well?"
"I feel all cold and achy"
Poppy gave Rachel the calpol, so Rachel measured it out on the spoon and then gave it to her.
Amy laid down on the bed she was sleeping in tonight but then she couldn't help herself crying.
"Can you just check on Lucy for me please Poppy?"
"Yeah sure"
Rachel then wrapped her arms around Amy and gave her a big cuddle.
"Are you going to try and go back to sleep?" Rachel asked and Amy nodded
"Okay, just shout if you want me"
Amy wrapped the quilt around herself as tight as she could because she felt really cold. She then closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
Rachel felt worried about her because she did seem really poorly.
She stayed with her for a few more minutes before going back to the bathroom where they were still in the bath.
"Are you not ready to get out yet?"
"I've been trying to, but Lucy insisted on waiting for you. I think it's just because they wanted to stay in longer"
"Well I'm here now, so out you jump"
"I don't want to get out first"
"You can all get out together"
Rachel reached behind her and got a towel off the radiator.
"Up you get then Luc"
Lucy reluctantly climbed out of the bath so Rachel wrapped the fluffy towel around her.
"Rachel I need a wee" Lucy told her
"Well go on then"
"No I can't go with everyone in here, Ben will see"
"Well you just had a bath with him, I hardly think it matters" Rachel said laughing
"We're going out now anyway Lucy" Jane said before going out with Ben and Lauren
Lucy went to the toilet before going into the bedroom with Rachel.
Rachel dried her off and got her into a pair of pyjamas before drying her hair off a bit.
"I think Jane's putting Lauren to bed now so do you want to go and say goodnight?"
"Yeah, what time do I have to go to bed tonight?"
"We'll see"
Rachel went into Lauren's nursery with Lucy to say goodnight before going downstairs with Lucy and Ben.
Rob had left to go to his mates house so as soon as Jane came back down they decided to open a bottle of wine.
They started to cook dinner together, Rachel had packed Lucy some food so she had eaten in the car on the way.
Lucy and Ben seemed to be getting on really well, so neither of them were happy when they were told they had to go to bed.
"Lucy go and clean your teeth, I'm just going to check on Amy and then I'll be in"
When Rachel went into the room Amy was sharing with Poppy, she could hear her crying so went over to her.
"Hey I thought you were still sleeping, you should have shouted"
Amy didn't say anything she just continued to cry so Rachel wrapped her arms around her.
Amy cuddled into Rachel's chest but at as soon as she did Rachel felt that she was boiling hot.
"Amy you're burning up, why've you got the quilt on"
"I'm freezing"
"I think you've got a bit of a temperature my love, just let me see if Jane's got a thermometer"
"No please don't leave me Rachel" Amy said clinging onto her
"I promise I won't be long"
Rachel got out and went and asked Jane who said there was one in the kitchen. She quickly went down and got it before going back up and taking Amy's temperature.
She saw it was way too high so knew she really needed to cool her down.
Rachel had her mobile phone in her pocket so took it out and rang NHS direct, as Amy was clearly very ill so she didn't really know what to do.
Whilst on the phone Rachel was trying her hardest to get the quilt off Amy. But every time she did Amy just pulled it back. Rachel noticed that Amy had loads of layers on too.
Lucy had been waiting for Rachel for ages so decided to go and see what she was doing.
"Rachel are you coming to put me to bed yet?"
"Sorry sweetheart I completely forgot I'd left you, I'll come and tuck you in in a minute. I think I'm going to sleep in here with Amy tonight instead"
"What so I don't get to sleep with you now?"
"No Amy's poorly so I want to keep an eye on her, you get to sleep with Poppy though"
Rachel eventually got through to someone. They said it was likely she had the flu, but told her to keep a close eye on Amy's symptoms.
Jane came in to see how Amy was.
Amy was just laid really still because she felt so cold.
"I need to get some of these clothes off her, they said to have her as cool as possible but not to sponge her down with a cold cloth or anything"
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Would you be able to put Lucy to bed for me?"
"Yeah of course"
Lucy said goodnight to Rachel before going to bed with Jane. She wanted Rachel to put her to bed really, but she understood that Amy needed Rachel at the minute.
It took quite a bit of work but Rachel did eventually manage to get Amy in just her top and knickers with a sheet on top.
Rachel laid next to her for a bit and she did drop off to sleep.
Once Amy had gone to sleep Rachel went downstairs where Poppy was sat in the kitchen chatting to Jane while she cooked.
"Sorry I was going to help you"
"Don't worry, how's Amy?"
"Asleep, she's just in a top and pair of knickers so hopefully she'll be a bit cooler"
The risotto was soon cooked so Rachel, Jane and Poppy sat at the table to eat it.
Poppy heard loads of stories from Jane about Rachel which she found really funny.
"I think I'm just going to go up and check on Amy" Rachel said
Rachel went upstairs and was pleased to see that Amy was still asleep.
She was about to go back downstairs when she saw Lucy stood at the corner of the landing crying, so she quickly went over to her.
"Lucy, what's wrong darling?" Rachel asked picking the little girl up
"I woke up and I didn't know where I was"
"We're just at Jane's house remember? Shall we put you back into bed?"
"No I don't want to go back to bed yet"
"Why not?"
"Because I want a cuddle with you"
Rachel wanted Lucy to feel a bit settled before she sent her back to bed so she carried her downstairs into the lounge and sat with her on her lap.
"What you doing out of bed Luc?" Poppy asked
"I wanted a cuddle"
Lucy snuggled into Rachel and ended up falling back to sleep. Rachel couldn't be bothered to get up so just sat with her on her lap for a bit.
When Poppy decided to go up to bed Rachel went up at the same time and put Lucy back into bed.
Rachel sat on the bed with Lucy while Poppy got ready for bed. She then said goodnight before going back down with Jane for a few more hours.
When she went up to bed herself she was glad that Amy was still sleeping although she was still really hot.
Rachel put her pyjamas on and got ready for bed before carefully getting in next to Amy and dropping off to sleep.
It didn't feel like she'd been asleep for long when she woke up to Amy crying.
Rachel flicked the lamp on before turning her attention to Amy who was crying quite a lot.
"You still feeling poorly?"
"I feel terrible" Amy said, she didn't know why she was crying so much but she couldn't seem to help it
"You can have some more medicine now if you want it"
"Yes please"
Rachel had left it on the bedside cabinet so quickly got it to give to her.
"This isn't so good you being poorly is it?"
"I'm really sorry"
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, it's not your fault"
Amy was feeling really rough so the last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed however she was desperate for the loo.
"Rachel I need to go to the toilet"
"Okay go on then"
"I don't want to get out of bed though"
"I'm afraid you haven't got much choice"
Amy sighed before slowly getting out of bed.
When she stood up she felt really dizzy so Rachel had to come around to help her.
She helped her into the bathroom and then waited outside while she went to the loo.
Rachel had been waiting outside for quite a while but Amy still hadn't come back out so she knocked on the door.
"Amy is everything okay in there?"
"No"
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah" Amy said as at the minute she just didn't care, she just wanted to get back to bed
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked going into the bathroom where Amy was sat on the toilet
"I feel like I'm going to pass out"
"Okay let's get you back to bed"
Rachel helped her out and got her back to bed.
By the time they got back Amy's head was spinning and she really felt like she was going to pass out.
"Here have a sip of water" Rachel said passing her a glass of water
Amy took a few sips before passing it back to Rachel.
Now that she was back in bed she was starting to feel a bit better.
Rachel got back into bed next to Amy and after a little while Amy did drop back to sleep.
By the time the morning came Rachel was absolutely shattered after having any sleep. Amy had kept waking up throughout the night.
She was woken up by Lucy coming in.
Rachel went downstairs with Lucy as she didn't want her catching whatever Amy had. Luckily Amy was still asleep.
When they got down there Jane was in the lounge with Ben and Lauren.
"Rachel are we still going to that Christmas market today?"
"I don't know love because Amy's not very well. I think it's probably best if we just get her home"
"You can always stay another night Rach, I'm sure the last thing she feels like doing is going in the car for two hours"
"I don't want her passing anything onto you"
"Well she hasn't been near any of us has she, I honestly don't mind"
"That might be a better idea if that's okay, hopefully she'll feel a bit better tomorrow"
"Yeah that's fine, at least we can have another night together"
They had a quiet morning at home and after lunch Rachel and Jane took the kids to the Christmas market. Amy was fast asleep so Rob stayed at home with her.
As soon as Rob heard them come in the front door he ran down the stairs to see them, as Amy was in a bit of a state upstairs and he didn't really know what to do with her.
"Rach, Amy needs you"
Rachel quickly took her coat off before running up.
Amy was really restless and was thrashing about all over the bed not knowing what to do with herself.
"Please make me better" Amy cried sounding really sorry for herself
"I promise I would if I could" Rachel said going over to her and stroking her hair
"Do you want to have a bath that might make you feel a bit better?" Rachel suggested
"No I don't want to"
"Okay well shall we at least get you changed into some fresh pyjamas"
"I don't have any others with me"
"I bought you some in town, I thought you might want to feel a bit fresher"
Rachel helped Amy to get changed before putting a Christmas film on for her to watch.
Amy seemed really poorly so Rachel thought that she probably did have proper flu. She felt really sorry for the girl.
Poppy and Lucy were getting on really well with Jane's kids so were really glad to be staying another night.
Rachel came downstairs to find them making pizzas for tea.
"Look Rachel I made a smiley face" Lucy said proudly
"That looks lovely"
Rachel, Poppy and Lucy had another nice evening although Rachel did keep having to go up to check on Amy.
In the evening Amy did seem a tiny bit better, Rachel just hoped she wouldn't pass it onto anyone else.