I'll keep you safe

Chapter 152

It was 4:30pm. Rachel had just woken up from a nap. If she was honest, she couldn't remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was having her blood pressure checked and taking the iron tablet and paracetamol the Nurse had given her after lunch. She figured she must have conked out after that. She wasn't surprised really, she was exhausted. She had thought that she wouldn't get a chance to have a nap today, with all the noise on the ward. The fatigue had clearly won, and she was grateful.

Her head was still pounding, and the room began to spin a little as she slowly sat up, she was feeling a little queasy again too. It seemed no matter how much she was resting and sleeping, nothing was curing the fatigue she currently felt. She knew she had been in hospital for less than 24 hours, the medicine and fluids would take a bit of time to start doing their job, but she couldn't help but be a little impatient and frustrated by the fact that she wasn't feeling even a little better.

As her head turned to look at the clock, her mood improved slightly. Eddie would be here soon. Her heart fluttered. Even though she was handling being in the hospital better than she'd expected, she couldn't wait for the next few hours. Not having him around felt odd. She was so used to his presence in her life now that being without him just felt wrong. She couldn't lie; she felt a little lost without him. She wanted him to tell her all about his day (it wouldn't take much to make it more interesting than hers!). She wanted to know that everything was ok at the school after the events of yesterday. She did feel a little bit like she was leaving Bolton and Paul in the lurch when they needed her support. But there was nothing she could do about that. She trusted Eddie to handle it of course, but she wished she was there dealing with it herself.

Her phone buzzed on the table beside her, Eddie's name flashing up on the screen. Rachel smiled, opening the message:

"On my way, love. Will be there soon. Love you xx"

Rachel sighed contentedly as she lay back against the pillows. For the next few days, Eddie coming to visit her in the hospital was going to be the highlight of her day.

She was relieved that Eddie was on his way. She was excited to see him, but she also needed someone to help her get to the bathroom down the corridor. She needed the toilet and was sick of having to press the buzzer to ask one of the Nurses for their help. Of course she knew it was part of their job, but it just made her feel like a nuisance.

She also wanted to have a shower and to change into the pyjamas Eddie was bringing with him. She felt gross and knew a shower would make her feel more comfortable. Someone would have to be in the bathroom with her in case anything happened. She'd feel more comfortable if Eddie was in there with her instead of a Nurse. If she didn't feel so dizzy and lightheaded when standing up, and if she wasn't attached to her IV rack, she would be able to walk herself down there. But she couldn't, not yet at least.

...

It was as Eddie was driving to the hospital that he realised he wasn't very good at time management. He had planned to be at the hospital for four o'clock. It was now 4:30pm. Packing a bag for Rachel had been more of a challenge than he'd realised.

After much thought and panicking, he had settled on packing her two sets of pyjamas and a nightie, as well as her slippers, dressing gown, underwear and a towel. He'd also grabbed the book she had been reading from the bedside table. Maybe that would keep her occupied.

By the time he had finished, it was already 4pm. He had dashed out to his car, driving to the supermarket round the corner where he had picked up a few toiletries and noise cancelling ear plugs for Rachel, as well as a sandwich and a drink for his dinner. He didn't know how long he would be allowed to stay for, but he was planning to stay as late as he could.