Friday 5th September 2014, 5:15pm

Everyone from the ED had gone to the local pub for a drink after a very long and tiring day at work. For Sam and Tom, the pub held special memories, as it was where they had gotten engaged. However, unlike the many times that they had been there previously, neither were going to be drinking alcohol because they wanted to be in tiptop condition to try for a baby. Sam and Fletch had stayed to collect the drinks for themselves and Tom and Zoe, whilst the others got a tables and they ordered their own drinks.

"Two lemonades please, with ice." Sam ordered.

"And a large G&T and a pint please." Fletch added as he pulled out his wallet and gave Sam a sheepish look. "You two not drinking?" He queried and Sam rolled her eyes as she knew it was bound to raise suspicions. "Got a bun in the oven have we?" He joked.

"No, not yet anyway." Sam admitted coyly as it as only the two of them at the bar, and he was her best friend so she trusted him - well because of that that, and because she really wanted to tell someone about it.

"What? So you're trying?" Fletch asked curiously.

"Not yet, I'm just... I've stopped drinking and I've started to take vitamins but, we're just waiting until I'm ovulating." Sam explained quietly. "But don't tell anyone, we don't want anyone to know yet." Sam stated.

"Nah, I won't. Don't worry." Fletch stated as he handed the barmaid a £20 note. "I'll get these." He said sternly so Sam put her money back in her pocket. "But if you need any help in choosing godparents..." Fletch teased once more before received the change, and then he picked up the tray of four drinks to save Sam carrying it and he went over to the table where thankfully, it would just be the four of them where the ED team had split up into a few other smaller groups.

"Are you two not drinking?" Zoe queried as she took her alcoholic beverage and Fletch sat down next to her whilst Sam sat on the other side of the booth with her husband.

"No." Tom replied simply before he proceeded to change the topic. "Do you want me to invite Max over for you?" He smirked as he nodded over to where Dixie, Jeff, Big Mac, Noel, Louise and Max were relaxing around a pool table. "I mean, I know you two get on quite well."

"I don't know what you're on about." Zoe said innocently before she took a swig of her drink and Sam let out a sigh of relief that she had forgotten about her previous question.

After having only two drinks, Sam and Tom returned home because of Shadow. They had worked out that until she was toilet trained, they were okay to leave Shadow at home, shut in the kitchen where she had puppy training pads down on the floor, a bowl of fresh water, her comfy dog bed and a couple of toys on the laminated floor that was easy to clean. Sam opened the door to find Shadow waiting at the door, wagging her tail as she had heard her owners come in.

"Have you been a good girl?" Sam smiled as she squatted down and stroked her and then glanced around the room. Everything was clean and tidy, except the chew toy that had clearly been played with, that was lying in the middle of the floor, and the puppy training pad that had been laid out had two yellow patches and a small poo on it. Tom grinned as he watched Sam pick the puppy up and she giggled as it tried to lick her face but Sam was squirming as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Right, do you want to take her out for a walk while I put dinner on?" Tom suggested.

"Only if you're going to clean that up." Sam smiled as she glanced down at the used pad on the floor.

"Go on then." Tom huffed sarcastically and Sam smiled before she carried her puppy towards the front door to get her lead. "You do realise that she has four legs right?" Tom remarked.

"See you soon." Sam called as she ignored his comment before she left the apartment. Until the dog was puppy trained, it also slept in the kitchen at night but Sam knew that as soon as the dog could be trusted to last the night without having an accident, that Shadow would be joining her and her husband on the double bed in their room even though she also knew that he would protest at that.

Friday 12th September, 6:30am

It was the day that Sam and Tom had planned to try for a baby however, as Sam awoke because of her alarm, she felt awful. Usually, she would turned the irksome noise off straight away and jump out of bed, but due to her arid throat and aching limbs, she huffed and paused for a few moments before she finally reached across and turned the alarm off.

"Good morning." Tom smiled which Sam couldn't help but mirror, no matter how bad she felt, because he always looked so sexy in the mornings with his hair sticking up in different directions and his eyes still half closed.

"Morn-" Sam stopped as she had a chesty cough before she grabbed the bottle of water from her bedside table and took a large swig of it. But unlike what she had hoped for it to do, it had not relieved her of the annoying tickle in her throat.

"You alright?" Tom asked kindly as he patted her back.

"Yeah. Just needed a drink." Sam replied briefly as she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

"Today's the day." Tom smiled sleepily as he shuffled across the bed, sat behind Sam and wrapped his arms around her abdomen.

"Mm."

"Well don't sound too excited will you?" Tom asked with sarcasm. "You do want this, don't you? I mean, if you don't we can wait. I don't want to rush you into this."

"No no, I do want to it's just, I think I'm coming down with something." Sam admitted. "But I'll be fine, c'mon. We'd better get ready for work."

Through the morning in the ED, it had been pretty chaotic as usual, and Tom kept in giving cheeky grins and winks at Sam across the department, but she just didn't feel up to what they were planning that evening. She had consumed several throat lozenges, but that didn't cure her chesty cough, and they only provided relief for less than half an hour before she had to resume drinking plenty of water to sooth the constant tickle in her throat. And because she kept on drinking loads, she had to go to the toilet more which had raised an eyebrow from Fletch as he had been keeping an eye on her, so Sam decided to put things straight with both men in her life straight away.

"Fletch, can I have a word?" Sam asked as the nurse came out of a curtained cubicle.

"Yeah sure." He followed eagerly as he had suspected something and he couldn't wait to hear the good news. Sam lead him to the empty staff room where she closed the door to prevent gossip from spreading. "What's up?"

"Nothing I just... I know I've been going to the toilet more but you've got it wrong, I'm not pregnant; we haven't even tried ye-" Sam stated before she erupted into a coughing fit and Fletch quickly grabbed her a glass of water. "Thanks." Sam croaked.

"You're losing your voice a bit." Fletch smirked.

"It's not funny!" Sam protested but her voice went squeaky at the end of her statement.

"Okay calm down. We don't want you losing your voice completely, that would be the end of the world." Fletch said sarcastically which resulted in a disapproving look from Sam as she folded her arms across her chest. "But if you're not pregnant, why are you going to the toilet so much?" Fletch asked awkwardly as he wondered if it was her time of month.

"Because I keep on drinking loads for my throat." Sam stated.

"Well it's probably strep throat." Fletch concluded.

"Oi, who's the doct-" Sam was about to retort but she began coughing once more and she turned away as Fletch placed a hand on her back.

"Well seeing as you're the doctor, you should know that you should be resting your voice otherwise it'll aggravate your symptoms, and judging by your stiff movements, I'm guessing you've got achy limbs as well. So why don't you go home?" Fletch suggested.

"Because I'll only lie in bed at home and I'd be climbing the walls with boredom." Sam said quietly.

"Alright, if you're sure. But take it easy." Fletch said kindly before he left the room. Sam soon followed and caught Tom at reception.

"Can I have a quick word?" Sam asked quietly. Tom knew she was ill as she had been coughing a lot, he just assumed it was a minor sore throat.

"Yeah sure." He agreed as he followed her to the staffroom, though he frowned when he heard how hoarse Sam's voice was. He closed the door behind her, and then watched as she twiddled her thumbs.

"I know, that you're going to think that I don't want to have a baby, but I do. I really bloody do. I just... I was wondering if we could-"

"Postpone trying for baby until next month when you'll be fertile again because you're not feeling very well." Tom interrupted and Sam let out a sigh of relief that he understood how she was feeling. "It's okay. And don't look at me with a sad puppy dog face like you're sorry because it's not your fault that you're ill." Tom stated. "Why don't you ask Zoe if you can go home? Then you could go and see how Shadow is and get some rest. " Tom suggested and Sam rolled her eyes as she had just heard the exact same thing from her best friend.

"I'm fine. Honestly, I just need to ge-" Sam began coughing again so Tom gently patted her back until she stopped and then she used the small bottle of hand sanitiser that she had in her pocket.

"I don't mind driving you home." He offered.

"Honest, I just want to get on." Sam stated.

5:30pm

Sam was already changed into her pyjamas and Tom had tucked her in bed with a bowl of steaming chicken soup and Shadow with her to keep her company whilst he tidied up the kitchen. The 12 week old puppy was certainly settling in to her new home as she sat gnawing on a tough chew toy between Sam's feet at the end of the bed.

"Y'know, I could get used to you being quiet." Tom joked as he came into the room - Sam was conserving her voice so he only talked when required, and even then it was only in short sentences. "Nah, I'm just kidding. If you were quiet, I'd never know what I'm getting for dinner." Tom joked once more but he received evils from Sam as she placed her empty bowl on the bedside table that was covered with throat lozenges, tissues, paracetamol and bottles of water. He got changed into a pair of shorts and an old tshirt before he climbed into bed besides Sam and put his arm around her shoulders. "Do you want to watch a movie? Or read a book, watch TV, get some sleep?" Tom listed as he paused to see if she nodded to a suggestion.

"Can we go for a walk by the river with Shadow?" Sam whispered which she preferred to do over talking normally as it didn't cause her any pain.

"We've both just gotten into our pyjamas." Tom stated.

"I know but-"

"But you're not the sort of person who lays in bed all day when they're ill." Tom interrupted and Sam smiled at what he knew about her. "Come on then. Shadow, you wanna go walkies?" Tom asked and immediately the dog jumped up, cocked her head and wagged her tail - she already recognised both the word and the high pitched tone in which Sam or Tom said the word 'walkies' and she correctly associated going out with it too because she was an intelligent breed of dog. "I'll take that as a yes." Tom concluded.

Tom was holding the lead to save Sam from having to endure the puppy tugging her aching arm off, whilst he had his other arm around her waist as they walked along the river by the local park. Tom had made sure that Sam was wrapped up to keep her warm as autumn was well and truly under way and the winds were chilly as they went on their evening walk.

"So... Would you prefer, a baby boy or a baby girl?" Tom asked curiously.

"Boy, there's less hormones when they get older." Sam replied simply yet quietly. "But I wouldn't mind a girl either. What about you?"

"I'd say a girl so that she can be my little princess." Tom stated and Sam smiled to herself. "But I wouldn't mind a boy so that I could raise the next Manchester United Football team." Tom said proudly.

"How many kids do you think we're gonna have?" Sam laughed but she had to stop as she coughed and Tom put his spare hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking.

"It's getting dark, I think we should start to head back." Tom said kindly. "Plus, Shadow's getting tired by the looks of it." He stated and Sam glanced down to see that the puppy was indeed panting with her pink tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"Okay." Sam nodded and they turned around on the dirt path and began to head back to their apartment.

"Come on Shadow." Tom said encouragingly, and the puppy slowly turned around and padded besides her owners rather than pulling ahead like usual.

"So, I know it's a long way off. But have you thought about maternity leave? Because I was looking it up last night, and I want to take my 2 weeks maximum leave, and maybe some holiday off after. But you can take up to 52 weeks leave." Tom asked.

"Aren't we getting a bit ahead of ourselves? I'm not even pregnant yet." Sam stated.

"No but I like to plan ahead." Tom stated.

"You? Plan ahead? Don't make me laugh!" Sam retorted. "No seriously, don't make me laugh or I'll have a coughing fit." Sam remarked and Tom chuckled as he entwined the fingers of his spare hand with Sam's. "I'll work up until my due date." Sam stated after thinking about it. "But I'm not sure about leave after the baby's born. It depends how soft I go." She smiled to herself.

"You're beginning to sound like a man, y'know that?" Tom joked as her strep throat had meant that her voice was hoarse and croaky most of the time and it as in a much lower tone.

"You're lucky I'm not pregnant. Otherwise I'd be crying by now." Sam stated.

"Really? I thought you'd be one of the few women to have a pregnancy and not cry throughout the entire team from conception to birth." Tom stated.

"I could easily do that." Sam argued.

"We'll see." Tom quipped.

10:30pm

"Right, the front door is locked, Shadow has been out for a wee, and she's shut in the kitchen. And you've got paracetamol, water, lucozade, sore throat sweets and your kindle for if you can't sleep." Tom listed as he looked at Sam's bedside table. "Anything else you want before I get into bed?"

"A cuddle?" Sam croaked as she lifted her head from her pillow. Tom smiled before he slid under the duvet and wrapped his arms around Sam.

"At least we haven't got work tomorrow. We can just spend the day inside, or go to the library and research pregnancy and baby things." Tom suggested.

"I'm sorry." Sam mumbled. "I know you're really broody and I'm sorry I postponed trying for a baby just because I've got a stupid sore throat." Sam said sulkily.

"Don't be sorry you soppy cow. You're ill and I completely understand. You keep on coughing just from talking, can you imagine what you'd be like if we made love? I'd rather wait, than know that you weren't enjoying it." Tom stated. "Besides, it's only 4 weeks until we can try properly. It'll just give us more time to prepare." He added. But would their efforts be worth it?

Coming up: Sam and Tom had a romantic night in, but they then receive bad news about their efforts to conceive, lowering both of their spirits.

Thanks for reading, please review :)