I'm going to finish the story here as I don't have any more ideas, but if you do have any more ideas, just let me know and I'll be very happy to add them to the story. Ethan is still ill at the end (even though the story was supposed to be all about Cal being ill!), so he could easily suffer for a bit longer if anyone wanted him to. Thank you for all the support with this story. I hope you've enjoyed reading it.

CBloom2, thank you for your review. They really are struggling! Cal probably needed to go to the hospital to get some stronger painkillers, but it really didn't do poor Ethan any good! I'm afraid they're not feeling better in this chapter either, but I'm hoping things will be a bit easier for them by the end.

Tanith Panic, I think even doctors can be drama queens. They do make the worst patients, after all! I don't suppose Ethan really believes he's going to die. He just feels like he might (and possibly kind of wishes he would). Thank you for your review. I hope this chapter isn't too graphic.

westlife4ever80, thank you for your reviews. Ethan is really kind and I can imagine him wanting to look after Cal when he's ill (except when it's a hangover!), but he ended up pushing himself too hard. Luckily, Cal managed to be the protective big brother for once!

ETWentHome, you're right - Cal won't have done his back any good at all with all that exertion. It might be even worse tomorrow! I don't think he regrets going to comfort Ethan though. I think Ethan really needed him too. It's only a couple of plates, but after all that effort, it can feel like the end of the world!

Thank you to Lucy Ruth for the follow.

Cal and Ethan had tried to clean the lasagne up, but they hadn't got very far. Now, Cal was sitting with his back against the wall, groaning, while Ethan lay with his head in Cal's lap, also groaning.

Ethan wiped his sore nose and put his tissue on the growing pile beside him. "Sorry, Cal. I'll throw them away in a minute."

As he'd been saying this for at least half an hour, Cal didn't hold out much hope, but he didn't mind. He stroked Ethan's hair, ignoring the pain that shot through his back.

"We can't stay here forever," said Ethan between coughs.

"I know. We won't," said Cal. He closed his eyes.

When the doorbell rang, Ethan went so far as to lift his head. "I'll get it."

"It probably isn't anything important," said Cal.

Ethan tried to push himself up into a sitting position. He couldn't do it. "No. I'm sure you're right." He lay down again.

There was a long silence and Cal decided their visitor must have gone away. He started playing with Ethan's hair again.

Ethan's head jerked back and forth as he sneezed. "Ow!" He sneezed again. "Cal, you're pulling my hair! Well, you're not really, but it hurts!"

Cal let go of Ethan's hair hurriedly. "Sorry, Nibbles."

"Oh, my nose hurts," groaned Ethan as he reached for another tissue.

"I think you might be nearly as ill as I was," said Cal as he stroked Ethan's shoulder. Then he frowned as a tiny click came to his ears. "Shh, Ethan!"

"Sorry, Cal, " said Ethan, adjusting his tissue and blowing his nose more quietly this time.

"Ethan, stop that!" whispered Cal. He heard another click.

Ethan rolled over slightly, his tissue still clamped to his nose, and glared at Cal. "I can't help it! I have flu, you know! I'm not blowing my nose for the fun of it. Because it's not fun. At all! I feel disgusting and it hurts!"

"Ethan, be quiet!" hissed Cal.

Ethan carried on glaring at him, but his eyes widened with horror as they heard the front door close. "What are we going to do?"

It was a good question. Cal wasn't sure which of them was less-equipped to deal with possibly-armed intruders, though he thought Ethan's nose would put a lot of burglars off.

"Cal? Ethan?" called a voice, and Max and Lofty appeared.

"What the hell are you doing in our flat?" said Cal angrily. "You frightened u… um, I mean you frightened Ethan to death!"

Max looked injured. "You asked Lofty to do the shopping and you wouldn't let us in! So we used Lofty's credit card."

Ethan dabbed his nose. "Thank you for doing the shopping. I appreciate it."

Lofty started to bend down, only to recoil.

"I'm sorry," said Ethan, clearly embarrassed. "I was going to throw them away."

Max's face twisted with disgust. "What is THAT?" he asked, pointing not to Ethan's used tissues but to Ethan's lasagne.

"That's the nicest lasagne anyone's ever made me," said Cal.

"Really?" said Max doubtfully.

"I dropped it," said Ethan with a little quiver in his voice. "We got the stuff for cleaning it up, but we thought we should have a rest before we started."

"We'll clean it up," said Lofty. "You two need to go to bed. Max, can you help me lift Ethan, please? Then we'll come back for Cal."

Ethan looked doubtful. "Aren't we a bit heavy? Cal hurt his back when he carried me to bed and Cal's much taller than me."

"I'm a porter," said Max. "It's my job to carry things."

"And I'm a nurse so it's my job to look after ill people," said Lofty. He knelt beside Ethan. "We'll help you to stand up, Ethan, then we'll give you a princess chair."

"A princess chair?!" Cal started laughing, only to discover that hurt his back too.

Max and Lofty hauled Ethan to his feet.

"Put your arms around us," instructed Max.

Ethan looked worried. "What if I need a tissue?"

"It'll only be a few seconds," said Max.

"But I-" Ethan sneezed loudly, the sound rising to a squeak before ending in a sort of roar. "Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry. I didn't know I was going to do that!" Ethan grabbed a tissue and turned away from Lofty and Max to blow his nose. "I'm sorry. I'm so disgusting. I'm overdue for my medication and I've done far too much today and-" He sneezed a few more times and took another tissue. "I really am so sorry."

"It's okay, Ethan," said Cal, slightly amused to see that Ethan's face was as red as his nose. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're only sneezing. We all do it."

"Not quite like that though!" said Ethan, tears of shame in his eyes.

Lofty knelt beside him and put his hand on Ethan's shoulder. "I've sneezed like that before. In cubicles. In front of Mrs Beauchamp. Don't worry: it happens to everyone."

"And I sneezed once when I was in bed with Zoe," offered Max.

"And I sneezed once in Resus," said Cal, leaving out the part about Robyn wiping his nose.

Ethan seemed to relax a little bit. "I'm glad it's not just me."

"Course it's not," said Cal.

"Okay, Ethan. "This princess chair," said Max, ignoring Cal's smirk. "If you just put one arm around me and keep your other hand for holding your tissues, that should work. You're only a little thing so we shouldn't drop you."

Ethan sat on Max and Lofty's joined hands, holding several tissues over his nose, just in case.

"Okay, Ethan?" said Lofty.

Cal thought the last thing Ethan felt was okay, but Ethan just smiled sweetly and said: "Yes, thank you, Lofty."

Much later, Cal and Ethan were lying in their back eating some tomato soup Lofty had made. They'd bought lots of food, as well as several boxes of tissues and some cough and throat sweets.

The soup was making Ethan's nose run, but it was good to get some warm food inside him. He only wished he could taste it.

As they ate, Max and Lofty talked them through a rota they'd organised with Robyn, ensuring that someone would be there to look after Cal and Ethan almost all the time over the next few days.

"I'm looking forward to Robyn coming tomorrow!" said Cal. "Just imagine. Robyn with her hands all over me; Robyn pressed up against me to keep me upright…"

"No!" said Max. "Don't imagine it. That's my sister, remember, and I happen to be much stronger than you at the moment."

"Oh, right. Yeah," said Cal, and didn't make any more inappropriate comments about Robyn.

"We thought we'd try and get Rita involved too," said Lofty.

Cal was so excited, he sat up in bed, only for his back to remind him that was a very bad idea. Ethan hugged him until he'd stopped whimpering.

"Or we could ask Mrs Beauchamp," suggested Max, a wicked glint in his eye.

"No!" said Ethan, and started coughing in his agitation. "She's too scary!"

Cal put his arm painfully around Ethan. "You're not bringing anyone here who's going to scare my little brother."

Max looked at Lofty and they both laughed. "Like we'd dare ask her anyway!"

"Do you think I'll ever get better?" asked Ethan, as he and Cal lay in Ethan's bed together.

"Of course you will," said Cal. "I know it feels like you're dying, but you'll be fine. Like you said, you overdid it today."

"I thought you were making a fuss about nothing like you usually do," said Ethan. "But I think you were probably being quite brave."

Cal smiled. "Well, what did you expect from the Knight?"

"Don't be so smug," said Ethan. "I feel ill enough already without you adding to it."

Cal lifted his hand carefully and stroked Ethan's arm. "You'll feel much better tomorrow when you're lying in bed all day with Robyn and Rita all over you."

"I heard that!" Max appeared in the doorway with Lofty at his side.

"Not in a rude way!" said Cal quickly. "I just meant nurses are really… motherly."

"I'm not sure Robyn and Rita would like knowing you think of them as mother figures," said Lofty. "Women can be sensitive about potential age references."

Max laughed. "Unlike men. If you tell Lofty he's a mother figure, he won't mind at all, will you, mate?"

"Um… no," said Lofty doubtfully. "Of course not."

"Okay, do you two need anything before we go to bed?" said Max.

Cal smirked. "So, you are going to bed together."

"I'm sleeping on the sofa," said Max.

"You let Lofty have the bed?" said Ethan.

Max looked slightly injured. "Of course I did! That way, the nurse is nearest if you call for help."

Lofty nodded. "It's exactly like being on call, except there's no danger of being shaken awake by Mrs Beauchamp."

Cal and Ethan exchanged glances. That really was a terrifying thought.

Ethan lay on his back and sniffed repeatedly, too tired to move. His arms seemed to weigh twenty stone at least.

"Ethan, stop sniffing," sighed Cal. "It's giving me a headache."

"Me too," admitted Ethan as he groped for a tissue. "Why is this tissue so heavy, Cal? I'm sure it's not supposed to be."

"You're just tired, Ethan."

"And half-dead." After blowing his nose, Ethan let his arm fall back onto the bed with a thump. "Cal, I want to go to sleep."

"Then go to sleep, Nibbles," said Cal. His hand found Ethan's.

"Weird," mumbled Ethan. "But quite nice."

"Yes: that's a very good description of yourself," said Cal.

"Just don't tell me your description of yourself," murmured Ethan. "I really don't think I could cope with hearing how wonderful you are."

Cal laughed. "I'm glad you think I'm wonderful, Nibbles!"

"Stop teasing me, Caleb. I'm not very well."

"I know. But you will get better. I promise." Cal's voice became soft; almost hypnotic. "Now, go to sleep, little Nibbles. Close your eyes and go to sleep. Because if you don't… I'm going to tell you lots of stories about your favourite Knight in Shining Armour!"

Just the thought of it was enough to put Ethan to sleep.