Elly reluctantly headed back to the house, she really didn't want to leave Chloe but she knew that Chloe needed space to thing about everything.
"You've been ages, is everything ok?" Mark asked as soon as Elly walked through the door.
"Yeah she's fine, just needed a little bit of space. Come here you" Elly replied giving Mark a warm embrace.
Even though she had known for a while now that Mark could potentially have the gene, the fact that he now knew as well had really hit her hard. She loved this man and the thought that his life might be cut short worried her, a lot.
"I can't lose you" Elly whispered to Mark.
"Hey we need to think positively, I might not even have it. I'll get tested and then we can go from there" Mark replied kissing Elly sweetly on the cheek.
"Yeah we go from there".
"How long have you known about Chloe?" Aaron asked.
"A couple of weeks, it wasn't my place to tell either of you. I'm really sorry but I needed to keep her trust. I did my best to try and persuade her to tell you but it had to be the right time for her".
"We understand" David replied.
"Yeah you were being a good friend to Chloe, god knows she needed one. So thank you" Aaron added.
"It was my pleasure".
"Do you know when she's coming back?" Mark asked.
"She said she wouldn't be much longer. A word of advice try not to over face her with Sorry's or too much fussing. I only think that will make things worse" Elly explained.
"Yeah she's probably heard enough of that from her docs" Aaron replied.
"I'll make us all a cuppa" Elly said as she headed to the kitchen.
While Elly had a moment to herself in the kitchen she couldn't help but think about the kiss the two of them shared last night, it had been all she had been able to think about. Which was wrong as the man she loved had just been told he could have an incurable illness but instead of worrying about him she was worried about her friendship with Chloe and how the kiss might have affected it.
"Chloe you're back... we've been worried" Mark said as Chloe walked through the door with one of her usual big smiles on her face.
"I'm here, never fear" Chloe replied in a happy manner.
"Are you ok?" Aaron asked. Completely forgetting that they were to try and treat her as normal as possible.
Mark couldn't help but roll his eyes at Aaron, he never had been one to listen to instructions or advice very well.
"I'm fine, I've kind of come to terms with the news. I just hate the fact that the two of you might have it" Chloe replied thinking of others instead of herself.
"Whether we have it or not you need to understand that none of this is your fault and we don't blame you in any way, not at all" Mark explained.
"Thanks. I just hope that neither of you have it, that way... selfishly I only need to worry about myself. As per usual... hey?" Chloe replied having a little giggle to herself.
"Don't be like that Clo, don't make this into a joke" Aaron said with a sad expression on his face.
"Its just how I deal with things" Chloe replied.
Mark couldn't wait any longer to give his little sister a big hug, he loved her more than anything on this planet and the thought that her life was going to end potentially before his, broke him inside.
