Rachel Mason taking a week off work was unheard of. But it had happened. And whilst Eddie was glad she was back in school, he wished she'd stayed off for longer. Because she looked worse than she had done the last time he saw her, which was just over a week ago.

She felt terrible too, but she wasn't about to tell Eddie that. She was tired, her whole body ached. She had a temperature, but she was freezing at the same time. Her throat was swollen and sore. Her ears felt like they were on fire, as did her nose. And her chest was so tight, and she had such a bad cough, it was painful to breathe or do pretty much anything. She'd never felt so physically weak or drained in her life. But she was fed up of being at home, staring at the same four walls all day. She'd had a week off, which was more than enough. It was time to go back to work.

As she walked into the office, she smiled at Eddie weakly. She was deathly pale, her eyes foggy with exhaustion. Her nose was red and there was a small, but highly noticeable wheeze in her breath.

Eddie would never say it to her, but she looked terrible. There was no energy or spring in her step like usual. She hadn't walked into her office the way she usually did, ready and raring to go. She approached her desk slowly, sniffling and coughing a little. This wasn't like her at all.

"When you said you were ill, I thought you meant a cold, Rach, not the plague!" Eddie joked

Rachel rolled her eyes

"Nice to see you too" she mumbled, her voice hoarse

"Are you sure you should be back at work?" He questioned with genuine concern

"I had a week off, I'm not contagious anymore, if that's what you're worried about" she replied, sitting down at her desk

"No, that's not what I mean. I know you're not contagious, it's just... well... you don't look well at all. In fact, you look and sound worse than you did last week!" He sighed

"I'm fine, Eddie" she reassured

"If you say so" he huffed

"Shall we catch up forth lesson? I have a free lesson then" he suggested

"Ok" Rachel agreed

Eddie nodded, leaving the office. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

...

It was now the afternoon. Rachel was desperately fighting to stay awake, even though her body was begging for rest. Maybe she had come back to work too early.

She was attempting to catch up on, and reply to emails. There were so many to get through, but Rachel just couldn't focus. The screen was giving her a headache, and, no matter how hard she tried to focus, the words on the screen were all blurring into one giant clump.

She really did feel ill. It had become progressively worse over the last few hours. Her head was pounding, the room was spinning, her ears and all of her joints were aching.

According to the thermometer she'd put into her bag that morning, her temperature had been climbing all day. This morning, it had been 36.8. Now, it 37.9. She wasn't surprised, her skin felt like it was on fire, but she'd been shivering for most of the day.

If she was honest, all she wanted to do was go home and collapse into bed, the opposite of what she'd wanted this morning. She'd felt bad in the week that she'd been off, but not like this. She felt like she was getting worse, rather than better. She'd thought maybe coming back to work would make her feel better, but she'd been wrong.

Being ill was something she absolutely hated. Rachel Mason rarely got sick. And when she did get sick, it was bad. It was so rare, that she couldn't actually remember the last time she'd been ill, because it was so long ago.

Eddie knocked on the door. She looked up, smiling weakly as she wiped her nose with a tissue.

If he was honest, she looked worse than she had done this morning, if that was even possible.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me, or are you going to come in and sit down?" she questioned

Eddie stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. He sat down in the chair on the other side of Rachel's desk, examining her carefully. She was white as a sheet, and a light sheen of sweat covered her forehead. He could feel the heat radiating off of her from where he was sat.

Even though she seemed to be boiling, her teeth were chattering a little and her body was shivering as she looked at her computer. The wheeze in her breathing seemed to be more distinct too. This wasn't right, she wasn't well at all.

"Are you ok, Rach?" he asked, watching as she put a hand to her head

Rachel rolled her eyes

"Fine" she mumbled

The noises coming from Rachel's chest as she coughed made Eddie cringe. It was a dry, hacking kind of cough. It sounded painful. He'd never heard anything like it.

"That cough sounds nasty" he commented as she rubbed a hand on her chest

She nodded, wincing in pain

"Have you been to the Doctors?" he asked

"No, I don't need to. It's just a cold" she huffed with a croaky voice

Eddie didn't believe her. He could tell from the way she sighed heavily, how she continued to massage her chest and grimace in pain as she wheezed.

He got up, pouring her a glass of water. When he passed it to her, she took it from him gratefully, sipping it quietly.

"I can tell you're sicker than you're letting on, Rach" he argued, sitting back down

She sighed, standing up slowly and heading over to the cabinet in the far corner. She wanted to change the subject.

"I need you to sign these. I need to get them back to the LEA by the end of the week" she explained, handing him a small stack of papers

Eddie nodded, flipping through them.

He turned his attention back to her, noticing she seemed a little dazed. His concern for her was growing by the second.

"Rach, no offence, but you look like death warmed up! It's scaring me a little. Please sit down" he instructed

She nodded lightly, taking a step forwards.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She groaned, resting a hand on her head. The carpet suddenly felt like it had been ripped from under her, and she was falling forwards, unable to stop herself.

Eddie shot up just in time, catching her in his arms. He sank down to the floor with her in his arms, laying her in his lap so she was comfortable. She looked at him, eyes foggy with exhaustion and illness. She coughed, groaning in pain. Eddie sighed, placing a hand on her head. As he suspected, she was burning up.

"You've got a fever, Rach. This is more than just a case of the sniffles. You're not well" he insisted

She whimpered tiredly, closing her eyes for just a few moments.

Eddie sighed, lifting her into his arms and placing her gently onto the sofa. She looked at him painfully, begging him for help. He brushed the hair back from her face carefully, offering her a reassuring smile.

"I'm going to get the school Nurse to have a look at you, ok? I'll be two minutes" he explained

She nodded