Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Billy Mayhew has made an emotional promise to Paul Foreman in Coronation Street.
In Tuesday's (January 9) episode, Paul revealed to Todd that he was moving forward with his plan to end his life due to his MND diagnosis — and would be booking an appointment with Dr Gaddas to see if he could get some morphine.
Paul stunned Todd by asking him for a "helping hand" when the time comes since he likely wouldn't be able to physically enact his end-of-life plan.
"I can't just snuff your life out," Todd insisted.
Paul reminded him: "You're my only chance for escape. Don't make me beg."
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After Todd discouraged him from asking anyone else to directly help end his life, Paul met with Dr Gaddas to move forward with his plan. He faced a setback when Dr Gaddas shot down his request for morphine, instead encouraging him to try something over-the-counter.
Paul shared his frustration with Todd at the pub, where Abi Franklin overheard their discussion and was shocked the doctor wouldn't prescribe something stronger for Paul's pain.
He noticed Abi's compassion, so he invited her over to ask if she'd be willing to get him drugs so he'd have a way to end things the way he wanted.
"Not drugs, I don't do that stuff anymore," Abi told him.
Paul asked for her "contacts", but Abi politely refused to get involved. Abi at least promised she wouldn't tell Paul's friends or family about what he was planning.
However, Abi did arrange a meeting with her dealer for a one-time agreement to score some morphine for Paul. She had no idea Cassie Plummer had followed her to take photos of the drug deal.
Kevin was horrified as Cassie reported back on what she'd seen, before providing him "evidence" with the photos. Meanwhile, Abi secretly dropped by to see Paul again and delivered the drugs.
"I really hope you don't need them for a long time," Abi said.
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Abi faced immediate consequences for her actions, as Kevin threatened to throw her out until Abi was able to explain what she'd done.
Next, Paul told Todd that while he wouldn't "go today", it'd have to be "sooner rather than later" if nobody would physically help him.
"This thing does what it wants, when it wants, and there's nothing I can do to stop it," Paul explained.
He tearfully relayed to Todd: "The jailer is coming down the corridor, mate. I can hear him jangling his keys and one of them's got my name on it, waiting to lock me down."
Billy walked in right in the middle of this fraught moment, and before long, Kevin arrived soon as well to confront Paul.
"You can't be sending Abi out to buy drugs, mate," Kevin insisted.
Billy was horrified at the extent of Paul's plan to end his life, first throwing Todd out for not telling him how far things had gone. Billy then threatened Paul that he'd tell the police to stop him from ending his life.
"A sin of omission is a sin all the same," Billy pointed out. "If I let you do this, I'm complicit."
Paul reminded Billy that he'd been willing to bend the rules of his faith by marrying him in a church — this was just another example of "religion colliding with reality".
The vicar refused to change his mind, demanding that Paul hand over the drugs. His partner admitted he physically couldn't stop Billy but asked him to respect "the last choice" he could make for himself.
"Please, let me go while there's still something left of me," Paul begged.
The vicar broke down, before finally agreeing that he would support Paul's quest to end his life on his own terms.
"If the time comes when you really want to end things, I'll help you," Billy pledged.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Coronation Street has been working on Paul's storyline with support from the MND Association, which focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for people affected by motor neurone disease.
The charity's helpline MND Connect (0808 802 6262) is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and 7pm to 10.30pm. Calls are free.
