"Do you want me to come with you?" Cory asks me after just finishing his toast.

"Do you want to come?" I ask him in return.

"That's not fair, answering a question with a question."

"Yes, well life isn't fair. So do you actually want to come or not? If you don't then that's fine. You can be browsing for christening decorations," I tell as I take a bit of my own toast.

"I'll go with you."

"You don't trust me do you?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Can you blame me? Also why can't I just be there to support my girlfriend?" he asks me, now narrowing his own eyes.

"It's only a follow up appointment Cory. It's not like I'm getting life or death test results back. It's just to see if my medication needs adjusting," I try and tell him.

He looks as though he is thinking about what I have said. Erin has no idea what is going on and is trying to punch a tub of yogurt, which I quickly take away from her and start feeding her myself.

"I'll still go, I want to be there," he then tells me just as Erin takes a big mouthful of the yogurt, moving her whole head forward as she does so.

"Did my mum tell you to go?" I ask him, realising what is going on.

Cory nods his head at me, not quite meeting my eyes as he does so.

"Well that makes sense. I know she doesn't trust me," I say to him as I continue to feed Erin.

The next few days are going to be rather busy. Today I have a follow up doctor's appointment to see how I am doing. I don't really know what to expect although I do feel a lot better with myself.

A couple of days later it is results day, something I am not looking forward too. I feel like all my exams were a mess, even the ones before Erin went into hospital weren't that good. I can almost see the life I want drifting further and further away.

The day after a lot of Cory's family are travelling into the city for a christening (luckily they are all staying in hotels). Those who aren't coming up on the Friday are coming on Saturday and then on Sunday is the christening itself. Between now and then though, there is still a lot to be organised, including more decorations because Cory's parents have offered to pay for a venue for the party afterwards. They decided that my house was too small to fit everyone in and was not also fit for the occasion. I don't care as long as they're paying though.

"Are we taking Erin with us?" Cory asks once I have finished feeding Erin her yogurt.

"No, I think she is old enough to stay at home by herself now. Of course we're taking her with us you idiot," I tell him, wondering what is going through his head.

"I didn't know if you wanted to drop her off at Mary-Anne's or something," he tries and saves himself from his stupid comment.

"Nope she is coming with us. Help me get her ready otherwise we are going to be late," I tell him as I lift Erin out of high chair.

Within the next half an hour, all three of us are ready to leave. Erin is strapped into her pushchair, fussing with the sun hat on her head. She keeps taking it off and throwing it on the ground and stupidly we keep putting it back on her. It's almost a relief to reach the doctors so that I can take the hat off of her head without worrying that she is going to get sunburnt.

Even now, in the middle of summer, the doctors waiting room is still full of people spluttering and coughing. It makes it feel like the middle of January still. Other than the fact there are different faces waiting for their turn, the waiting room has remained exactly the same. All the same posters are up and even the chairs haven't been re-organised.

"It is depressing in here," Cory mutter to himself while bouncing Erin on his knee. "All these posters look to be about death and diseases."

"What were you expecting? Fluffy bunny rabbits?" I ask him, wondering how many stupid pills he has taken today.

"You're very sarcastic today," he comments just as Erin tries to pull on my hair.

"It's not my fault that you're acting stupid," I smirk at him, hoping he realises that I am only joking with him.

My appointment time arrives and passes with no inclination that I am going to be called in any time soon. Erin soon becomes restless which leads to her screaming at the top of her lungs until Cory places her on the floor, near some of the old wooden toys that the doctors surgery has.

Both Cory and I end up playing on the floor with her as the time goes on. It doesn't take long before she gets bored there and starts crying again.

"Shall I put her back in her pushchair and walk about outside for a bit? See if that helps her nod off?" Cory asks just at the same time the receptionist calls out my name. "Or do you want us to come in with you?"

I don't really know what to say. Honestly I did want him to come with me but I know that Erin isn't going to stop crying anytime soon.

"Just go outside with her. I'll be fine by myself. Hopefully I won' be too long," I tell him and then give him a kiss on the cheek before I walk into the doctor's room.

As I walk into the room, I realise that it is the same doctor that I had previously which makes me feel a bit better.

"Good morning Kristen. How are you today?" Doctor Mayer asks me as she looks up from he computer.

"I feel okay," I tell her as I take my seat next to her. 

"That's good to hear. What have your moods been like at home and school?" she asks at the same as she jots some notes down.

"I don't think they've been that bad. There has been some difficult time recently though but I've carried on taking my tablets so I would call that progress," I say to her through a small laugh.

"Yes, you've had your exams recently. How did they go?" she asks me, looking interested in what I have to say.

I tell her everything about what happened to Erin and how hard that was at the time. Even retelling the story is a hard thing to do and my voice keeps cracking.

"How do you feel now?" Doctor Mayer then asks when I've finished speaking.

"I feel fine. Maybe even more protective over Erin but I don't feel like I want to hide away or even hide her away. I feel quite the opposite really," I then go on to tell her about the christening.

"From what you're telling me you sound like you are making good progress. I think we can lower your dosage to half a tablet every other day. Maybe in another couple of months, if you're still improving, it could be lowered to half a tablet two or three times a week. I think you are definitely on the right tracks Kristen," she says to me, looking genuinely pleased with a smile on her face.

She scribbles my prescription down before handing it to me. I leave the doom and gloom of the doctors behind me and join Cory and Erin in the beautiful sun. Erin is fast asleep in her pushchair while Cory is sat on a wall looking down at her.

"How did it go?" he asks when he sees me, pulling me closer to him so that I am sat on his lap.

"It went well. They've lowered my dosage so that I only have to take it every other day and I even have it writing in case you or my mother don't believe me," I wave the piece of paper in his face, laughing as I do so.

"That is brilliant news," he says, leaning his head closer so that his lips are practically on mine.

Gently he presses his lips against mine and I return the kiss, feeling shiver run up and down my body even though the sun is boiling hot. We both pull apart when we hear Erin cough in her sleep.

"We better go shopping for more decorations," I say to Cory, jumping off of his lap and then taking control of the pushchair.

**

Over the next couple of days, we are busy organising the last few things for the christening. The days are hectic but they provide a distraction from thinking about results day. Which has now finally arrived.

The beautiful weather that we have been having has disappeared and has been replaced with overcast skies. The temperature is cooler but that is a relief. It makes it more bearable to sleep at night. It doesn't provide me with much hope.

"You'll let me know what you get won't you?" my mum asks me with one foot halfway out of the door.

"Of course I will. Just don't have your hopes set too high," I say back to her and then quickly give her a kiss on her cheek before she hurries off to work.

"I guess we're taking Erin with us?" Cory asks when he hears the sound of my mum's car leaving the driveway.

I nod my head at him as I begin to pack Erin's bag up. I double, triple and quadruple check that I have everything before unpacking it and starting all over again.

"You're nervous aren't you Kris?" Cory takes the bag out of my hands and places it on the kitchen table.

I nearly tell him no but then realise that it is probably not the best idea to lie to him.

"Yes, I guess I am," I honestly tell him.

"Whatever happens, I'm sure everything will be okay.  Even if you have completely failed everything then you can always re-sit the year if you need to. It's not the end of the world," he comforts me by pulling me into a hug and rubbing my back.

From the corner of my eye, I notice Erin holding onto the side of the sofa, trying to pull herself up. She has tried this a few times before and has gotten close but hasn't been able to stand up for more than a few seconds before falling back down again. This time though she manages to pull herself up so that she is standing and grips onto the seats of the sofa. Carefully she manages to take a couple of sideway steps before she falls over again.

"Oh wow, look how clever you are getting," I rush to her side and say to her.

Briefly it looks like tears are going to for in her eyes but they soon pass.

"It seems strange to think that this time last year she was so tiny and could barely move her head. Now look at her, she's nearly walking," Cory says and then kisses the tops of Erin's head which is covered in blonde hair.

"I know," is all I say back as I hug my daughter close to my chest.

Erin squirms around in my arms as she tries to fight and be free so eventually I let her go and she begins crawling around the room.

"Kris, we better get ready if you want to get to the school as it opens. I know that the others are getting there for that time," Cory brings me back to reality and the thought of my exam results fill my head again.

This time Cory repacks Erin's bag while I get her ready to go out. She starts kicking her legs as I sit her down in her pushchair which I take to be a sign that she is excited to go out. It isn't long after that that the three of us making our way towards the school.

By the time we get to the school, it has already been opened twenty minutes and I see my friends waiting outside with their already opened envelopes.

"I thought you said you were going to get here at nine as well?" Laura asks as we approach.

"Are you really criticizing us for being late? At least we have a baby that we can use as an excuse. What's yours?" I ask, smirking at her.

"She has a point," Maddie says while laughing.

""Whatever. Now hurry up and get your results. I want to know what you've got," Laura says to us, almost yelling. "Do you want us to look after her?" she then asks while looking at Erin who is just watching everything that is happening.

I look up at Cory to see what he thinks but he just shrugs his shoulders at me.

"Yeah you can do. Adam, I'm putting you in charge," I say, thinking about how he has the most experience with children, and as much as I love Laura I don't think I would ever ask her to baby sit.

There are a lot of students from the year above who look to be really happy with their results. I manage to overhear a lot of the saying that they have managed to get into the university that they wanted and that just fills my stomach with even more dread.

I fight my way through the crowd to find the table with my envelope on it. I grab it and shove it in my bag before making my way back to Cory who is standing in the doorway, his envelope unopened but still in his hand.

"Do you want to open it now or in front of the others?" he asks me.

"In front of  the others," I tell him, feeling like I am less likely to break down in front of a crowd.

"What did you get?" Laura asks us as we approach and I notice that Adam is holding a tearful Erin in his arms.

"She started crying the moment you left," he explains and passes her back over to me where she soon begins to stop.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her. And as for the results, we are about to open them now," I tell Laura.

I find it difficult to open my envelop with Erin still in my arms but I manage. When I see my results, I don't quite believe what is staring back at me. I actually feel a small smile spread onto my face.

"Are you going to tell us?" Maddie asks.

"Three C's. I'm actually happy with that. I thought it was going to be a lot worse considering what happened during the exams. What about you?" I ask Cory.

"Two B's and a C," he looks pleased with his results as well.

Adam got one B and two C's while Maddie go two A's and a B and Laura got three A's. Everyone seems pleased with what they got.

"Isn't it weird that we only have one more year left?" Adam asks us all as we begin to walk home.

"I never thought of it that way," Maddie says.

"Shit we have to start thinking about what uni's we want to go to and what we actually want to be. I don't think I'm ready for that," Laura says as she rubs one of her temples. "What if we all choose to go to different universities all over the country? I could go to Manchester while Maddie goes to Plymouth and Adam goes to Newcastle and-"

"Let's worry about that when the time comes," I interrupt Laura. "Let's just enjoy right now and forget about all that for another day."