"Rachel? When can we go?" Poppy asked, again.

"In a moment! I know you're excited but you need to calm down!"

"Sorry Rachel." At the same moment the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Poppy called.

Poppy ran to the front door from the kitchen and answered the door. "Good morning Poppy, is Rachel there?"

"Mr Lawson? What are you doing here?" Rachel came over to Poppy when she heard the familiar voice. "It's okay, Poppy. Leave this with me. Can you run upstairs to see where Olivia is at? Madi will be waiting for her." Poppy nodded her head and ran upstairs. "Come in, Eddie. Thanks for coming."

"That's okay Rachel. Anything for you." Rachel giggled at his comment as she stepped aside to allow him in. "I really need your support today. Jessica isn't in a good way and I haven't a clue how Poppy's going to react."

"It's alright," Eddie said as he gave Rachel a hug.

"You two are in love!" Olivia joked as she and Poppy giggled down the stairs. Rachel and Eddie moved away from each other as the girls came downstairs. "Good morning to you too Olivia." Eddie said.

"Come on girls. Let's get going," Rachel interrupted.

Poppy was quiet during the car journey. They dropped Olivia off at Madi's before continuing on to the hospital. Poppy didn't like hospitals, they scared her. Chris came to meet them at the hospital entrance before taking Poppy up to see Jessica. Rachel and Eddie stayed in the hospital café to avoid bringing any extra infections on to the ward.

Chris stopped Poppy before she went on to the ward. "Poppy, Jessica is very ill, but you know that, don't you?" Poppy nodded her head. "Jessica needs to hear familiar voices. Did Rachel explain this to you?"

"Yes," Poppy replied. "She said that I should try to have a conversation with her. She was telling me about how I could tell her about Waterloo Road, and my new friends"

"That's a good idea, Poppy. Let's go in now." Chris took Poppy into the room where Jessica was. Poppy stood still against the wall at the side of the room. "Jessica, Poppy has come to see you" Chris said. "She's got lots to tell you!" Poppy started talking about Waterloo Road. She was talking to Chris more than Jessica. Poppy didn't understand what talking to a lifeless person was going to do. She didn't think that Jessica could hear her.

"You're doing really well, Poppy," Chris said smiling. "Will you be alright for a moment while I quickly get a coffee?"

"Umm, yeah. Probably."

"Okay then. Why don't you come over here and sit next to Jessica? She might be able to hear you better." Poppy moved over to the side of the bed. She could see all the tubes that were keeping Jessica alive and wondered what they each did. "I'll be back in a minute." Chris called as he walked out the door. Within moments a nurse walked in and started taking readings from some machines. "You must be Poppy. Chris talks non-stop about you and Sophie," the nurse said. "It must be difficult for you, with Jessica being here." Poppy gave the nurse a weak smile. "You should talk to Jessica, you know. Tell her what you've been up to," the nurse insisted.

"I already have," Poppy replied. "I've got nothing left to say."

"It's difficult, isn't it? Keeping up a one sided conversation." Poppy smiled again. "Take her hand, Poppy. Let her know that you're here." Poppy reached out and gently took hold of Jessica's hand.

"What are all the tubes for?" Poppy asked the nurse.

"They're keeping Jessica alive. This one lets us know how fast her heart is beating," she said pointing to one of the wires. "And this is hooked to a ventilator, which helps her breathe."

"She can't breathe?" Poppy asked alarmed.

"Not very well, her body is working on making itself better, not focusing on anything else."

"Oh. Will she breathe again soon?"

"I don't know Poppy. Hopefully, yes." The nurse moved next to Poppy and put her arm on Poppy's shoulder. "Talk to her, Poppy. She might be able to hear you."

"But I don't know what to say," Poppy protested.

"You'll think of something," the nurse said as she walked out of the room. Poppy was alone with Jessica again.

"Can you hear me Jessica?" Poppy asked although she felt stupid talking like this. "I… I don't really know what to say to you. I've done so much since you've been here," Poppy paused. "I started Waterloo Road last week. Made some new friends, Emily, Denzil and Mollie. Mollie is new like me…" Poppy continued to tell Jessica about Waterloo Road, the things she'd done and was going to do. She didn't notice the time slipping by until Chris came back.

"Things going well?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Sorry I was gone for so long, Poppy. I was coming back, but the nurse said that you were getting on well and I should leave you for a while. I've been catching up with Rachel and Eddie in the café." Poppy and Chris stayed talking for a while about Waterloo Road. Neither of them knew when they'd be able to catch up again with their new, busy lives. "I think it's time to go now, Poppy. You've been here ages and there's only so much tea and coffee Rachel and Eddie can drink! Come on, I'll take you down."

Poppy and Chris walked off the ward together and down to the café. "Ready to go?" Rachel asked. Poppy responded by nodding her head and gave Chris a hug.

"Bye Poppy!" Chris called as Rachel and Eddie took Poppy out of the hospital.

Poppy was quiet on the way home. Her phone bleeped and she saw that she had a message from Mollie:

"Poppy? Are you around this afternoon? I really need to talk to you"

Poppy quickly replied. She really didn't want to talk to anyone, not today. She wanted to be back with Chris, Jessica and Sophie.

"Not today sorry. Been to see Jessica and I can't see anyone at the moment. Is it important?"

Almost immediately Mollie text back.

"No, it's not. Don't worry about it. See you on Monday"

Poppy didn't reply, but she had the feeling that she was being lied to, and something was wrong.