Eddie led Rachel into the bathroom, sitting her down on the fold out chair next to the shower. It had taken them ten minutes to reach the bathroom. For someone who wasn't ill, it probably would have taken less than a minute. For Rachel, the short walk currently felt like an endless uphill struggle and had drained the little energy she had.

Whilst she was recuperating, Eddie set her pyjamas, slippers and toiletries out ready. Rachel couldn't help but watch him as he decided where it was best to place her shampoo and shower gel so she could reach them while in the shower without having to crouch down. It was little things like that, that made her fall in love with him that bit more.

"Ok, your pyjamas are just there" he told her, pointing to the railing on the wall which now had her pyjamas draped over them

"And your shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, hair brush, tooth brush and toothpaste are here" he added, pointing to the sink

"Thank you" she replied, smiling at him gratefully

"Can you stay in here with me, please? Just in case?" she requested, slipping off the itchy hospital night gown

Eddie nodded.

He helped her to her feet and got her into the shower. Once she was settled and they'd checked she could reach the shampoo, shower gel and her towel, Eddie sat down in the fold out chair to wait.

Whilst the hospital shower wasn't as good or powerful as the shower at home, Rachel still sighed in relief as the warm water washed over her head. She had been right, this was what she needed. It wouldn't cure her, but it was a start. Hopefully she was in with a chance of getting some more sleep tonight.

Fifteen minutes later, she carefully stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around herself as she brushed her teeth. In a way, she wished she hadn't stayed in there that long. Standing up for that period of time had made her feel dizzy and lightheaded again.

Once she'd finished cleaning her teeth, Eddie stood up, sitting Rachel down in the chair as she dried herself off. He grabbed her pyjamas off the railing, handing them to her. She took them from him gratefully, smiling when she realised he had picked her favourite silk beige ones. He knew her so well.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked

"You" she giggled

Eddie frowned.

"These are my favourite pyjamas" she explained, holding them up

"I didn't actually know that, but I'm glad I picked the right ones. I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to decide which ones to pack!" he chuckled

"You could have just pretended that you knew they were my favourite, just to keep the romance alive" she tutted, rolling her eyes playfully as she slipped the pyjama bottoms on

Eddie laughed, kissing her forehead gently.

"Romantic enough for you?" he smirked, winking at her

Rachel hummed contentedly, kissing him passionately on the lips. After all this time, even when she was ill, he still had the power to make her feel giddy.

"I'll take that as a yes" he mumbled cheekily when they pulled apart

"Just help me put my top on, Lawson" she huffed

Eddie chuckled, pulling the material gently over her head.

Rachel smoothed down the top, running a hand through her damp hair. She sighed in relief. She felt refreshed and revived, ready to handle the rest of her stay in hospital.

"How's that?" he asked, helping her to put her slippers on

"Much better" she nodded, sighing in relief

"Good. We should get you back to bed; I think that's enough excitement for one day"

Rachel giggled, her hands interlocking with his as he got her to her feet. Once she was steady, they made their way back towards her room.

Somehow, the journey back felt longer than the journey there. It only took them just under five minutes this time, but for Rachel it felt like a lifetime. If she didn't feel so dizzy and lightheaded, she would have walked a lot faster. It was frustrating her that she couldn't.

By the time they got back, Rachel wasn't feeling well again. She felt like she'd just run a marathon. She practically collapsed onto the bed, covering herself with the blankets as she leaned back against the pillows. She took deep breaths to try and calm the spinning room. Her head really did feel like it was going to explode from the pain. The queasy feeling had returned, but with more of an intensity. She actually did think she was going to be sick, and that made her heart fill with dread. She had gone almost 24 hours without vomiting.

Eddie sat beside her on the bed, taking her hand into his own. His first instinct was to go and get a Nurse, but he refrained, wanting to give Rachel a few minutes to recuperate. Her skin had turned back to the pale, ashen colour it was yesterday.

"I think you've overdone it, Rach" he sighed, tucking her hair back behind her ear

She nodded tiredly.

"I feel sick... can you get the Nurse, please?" she mumbled, rubbing her forehead

Eddie pressed the button on the remote by the side of her bed, blocking out the images of Rachel lying unconscious on the living room floor from his mind. Now wasn't the time to panic. He needed to stay calm. He would have gone to search for a Nurse himself, but he thought leaving Rachel on her own was a bad idea. So they waited.

Rachel felt guilty as she watched Eddie out of the corner of her eye. He was panicking, worried that what happened yesterday would happen again. She probably had pushed herself too far. Yes, she had needed the shower, but seeing how panicked Eddie was made her heart sink. She reached out for his hand, squeezing it gently to get his attention. He turned to her, smiling weakly.

"I'm ok" she reassured

"You're not" he argued

"I am, I promise" she insisted

When the Nurse finally turned up, the IV tubes were reattached to Rachel's cannula to resume pumping fluids into her bloodstream. She was also given another dose of anti-sickness medication via an injection, as the previous dose she'd had this morning was wearing off, which the Nurse had thought was why she was feeling sick again.

A precautionary sick bowl, two paracetamol's and three glasses of water later, Rachel was feeling ok again. Her energy had been completely drained and her head was still pounding, but the nausea and dizziness had gone. Eddie was relieved. Seeing her like that again had terrified him.

"You were right, I did overdo it" Rachel said with a sigh once the Nurse had left

"At least you're ok now, Rach" he pointed out

Rachel nodded.

"I'm sorry I scared you" she added, rubbing his arm gently

"It's ok" he mumbled

"I promise I'll stay here for the rest of the evening"

"I'll make sure of it" he replied, unable to stop the small smile from spreading across his face

It was at that moment that one of the Nurses came in with a tray of soup and a slice of bread. She placed it on the table before leaving again.

Eddie raised an eyebrow at Rachel.

"Soup again?"

Rachel nodded, pulling a face to say she wasn't overly keen. She wouldn't have minded so much, had the soup not been snot green in colour. It did smell nice though, so that was good.

"I'm on a liquid diet for the next couple of days. The Doctor said solid food would make me sick again" she explained

Eddie nodded.

"So you're on green slop until further notice basically?" he teased

"It's not that bad. The soup I had at lunch was orange coloured" Rachel replied with a laugh, picking up the plastic spoon

"Well, if you're eating, we may as well pretend we're having dinner together" he shrugged, grabbing his sandwich and drink from the bag

"Why didn't you get something from the cafe downstairs?" she asked, looking at his boring sandwich

"This is fine for me" he shrugged

"That's not a substantial meal, Eddie! You need more than that!" she huffed, shaking her head

"Rach, it's fine. I had my main meal at lunch" he told her

She rolled her eyes, unsure whether she believed him or not.

"What's Philip doing for dinner? I do trust him, but I worry he'll blow up the kitchen if he needs to cook anything for himself!"

"I left him some money to get a pizza, don't worry" Eddie reassured

"Is he ok?"

Eddie nodded.

"He's worried about you. He came to the hospital yesterday while you were having your scans and tests done. He knows about the baby, I had to tell him"

"How did he react?" she asked nervously

"He seemed happy about it, excited"

"Well, that's something I guess" she smiled

Eddie chose to refrain from telling her that Philip knew about the miscarriage. He knew Philip wouldn't bring it up in conversation with Rachel at any point, unlike his Mother would if she had been given that information. He also knew that Rachel would be ok with him knowing anyway.

"How were things at school today?" she asked, scooping some more soup onto her spoon

"Yeah, good. Everyone's been asking about you" he nodded

"Only to ask if I've 'thrown in the towel' I'm assuming?" she grumbled

"No, Rach. They all know you're staying. I've told everyone you're unwell and in hospital. I didn't want any rumours flying around as to why I was there as Acting Head Teacher" he explained

Rachel nodded.

Eddie took that opportunity to pull out the huge stack of cards people had left for her. He placed them on the bedside table, a smile growing on his face when she frowned at him.

"What are they?"

"Get well soon cards, from staff and students" he told her

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"They care more than you think they do, Rach" he added

Rachel smiled, her eyes welling up with tears. She had thought that if she left Waterloo Road, no one would miss her. Looking at the huge pile of cards, it was clear to her that she had been wrong. She knew that Eddie hadn't put anyone up to this; they had all done it off their own accord to show their appreciation. She had made the right decision in staying.

Her heart filled with even more gratitude when Eddie pulled out his phone and showed her the photos he'd taken of all the flowers in her office.

"You can open all the cards tomorrow when you need something to do" Eddie suggested

She nodded.

"Did you speak to Bolton and Paul today?" she asked

"I spoke to Bolton; he came by the office and dropped off some flowers and a card for you from him and Candeece. He wanted to know if you were ok"

Rachel smiled. She knew Bolton acted like he was a cold-hearted teenager, but deep down, he did care about others and was quite selfless. She was glad they had made that deal yesterday.

"Did you tell him I was staying?"

Eddie nodded, a smile growing on his face as he remembered Bolton's reaction to the news.

"He was very... enthusiastic about it" he chuckled

Rachel giggled. She could imagine him punching the air when Eddie had told him!

"Hopefully I'll be out of here soon and I'll be able to come to his Boxing Match next week"

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere for the next few days, Rach. You need to rest and build your strength up"

"I know. I just... I know I'm in the right place, but I want to be at home" she sighed

Eddie nodded sympathetically, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"We'll get there, Rach. One step at a time"

She nodded tentatively.

"Come and sit here" she requested, tapping the bed

Eddie stood up, sitting down next to her as she shimmied up the bed so he had room to stretch his legs out. He smiled as she curled into his side, her hand resting on his chest.

Rachel's eyes wandered over to look at the clock. It was nearly 6:30pm. Visiting hours on the ward were 4-8:30pm. Even though it was a couple of hours away, the thought of Eddie leaving her made her heart ache. From the minute he'd arrived, she hadn't realised how much she'd missed him. It was hurting her even more that she wouldn't see him again until tomorrow night.

"What are you worrying about?" he asked, stroking her hair softly

She looked up at him, her heart filling with love as he rubbed her cheek gently with his thumb.

"I just... don't want you to leave tonight" she admitted

Eddie sighed heavily. If he was honest, he knew how she felt. He didn't want to be apart from her either. If he could, he would stay all night till he had to leave for work. But he couldn't.

"I know. I don't want to go either, but it'll be ok, Rach. I'm only a phone call away, yeah?" he reassured

Rachel nodded.

Eddie pressed his lips to the top of her head, feeling her settle back down in his arms.

"You'll be home before you know it, darling" he whispered

"I hope you're right" she mumbled sleepily

"Get some sleep, love. I'll wake you up when I have to leave"

Rachel sighed, resting her head on his chest. She closed her eyes, exhaustion enveloping her.