Hello! Welcome, yet again, to my new story. This is the backstory of the oneshot I posted yonks ago, called 'Heartbeat'. It is not necessary to read it first, but I'd recomend it. Read and review!

xoxox

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.

-Sigmund Freud

Rachel Rafter stroked the cheek of the tiny infant, residing in the bassinet beside her bed. The little girl blinked innocently up at her mother, the exact shade of blue of the older woman. Rachel couldn't help but sigh, as she gently stroked her daughter's head full of dark brown hair- the exact colour her father's had been.

Little Matilda Grace had no idea of what her mother's life had been like, before she entered the world. She had never met, and never would meet, her father. Rachel knew that her daughter would ask questions, once she was older, and Rachel could only hope that she could have a man that she could call 'Daddy'. Her father was nothing to her mother- she had loved him, and cared for him dearly, but he meant nothing to her, after what he had done.

When Rachel first met Daniel Griggs, she was convinced she was going to get her fairytale ending- he was someone you'd want to tell your mum about, she had giggled, before spilling all the juicy details to her mother. And their relationship had gone smoothly for over a year, without her catching on. Sure, he liked to party, but what man in his early twenties didn't? But the drinking... and the ice. She didn't care; it wasn't like she was involved with it.

But then she was.

And he started to get violent. Bruises covered her arms, which she could hide under a jumper. But one night he pushed it too far. Hiding in fear, Daniel had knocked down the door, and she had turned up on her parents' doorstep, face smeared with blood and tears.

She had tried her hardest to escape, but the little girl growing inside of her made it hard to forget. She hadn't known about the pregnancy at first, and had had the shock of her life when she found out. Locking herself in her bedroom, she cried her eyes out, before running next door to Melissa, the nurse in the family. Calming her down, Melissa had instructed her to buy a pregnancy test, which Rachel had done. Once she finally worked up the courage to take it, she broke down once more when she saw the positive pink plus sign.

She had decided not to tell anyone, until she had to. But her mother had sniffed it out- when no one else was home, she had approached her daughter. The question wasn't even out of her mouth when Rachel fell into her arms, sobbing.

Throughout the pregnancy- which hadn't been an easy one- Rachel had the support of her family. But when Daniel Griggs was found dead from a drug overdose, they were lost. At eight months pregnant, Rachel was attending the funeral of her ex and the father of her daughter.

In her eyes- and the eyes of her family- Matilda Grace was the only good thing that came out of their relationship.

"Come on, darling", Rachel whispered, lifting the infants into her arms. "Let's go say hi to Grandma and Grandpa, sweetheart".

The night of her parents' twenty fifth anniversary was the night life began to change. It was the night she appeared on their doorstep, battered and bruised, looking for someone to hold onto. Nathan and Sammy- her younger brother and sister in law- had moved back home, in an attempt to save themselves some money. The two had married very young, and were broke within the first few months. And, to make their crowded house even more crowded, Rachel's grandfather Ted had moved into Ben's vacant bedroom, after their family had lost his wife.

"Good morning, sweetheart", Julie greeted her daughter with a kiss, brushing her granddaughter's cheek. "How's the little miss this morning?"

"She's good. Sleepy, I think". Rachel plastered a smile on her face, trying to make her mother believe that everything was alright. She had had a fake smile on her face ever since her daughter was born, and she had her parents almost completely fooled. But they knew their daughter, and they didn't know how long it was going to be until she was completely okay.

"Morning, Rach", Dave said cheerfully, stopping to kiss his granddaughter's head. "Remember, Jules, there are the interviews for the new tradies today".

"I know, darling". Julie rolled her eyes. "What are your plans for the day, darling?"

"I thought Mattie and I might meet Libby in town for coffee". Rachel shrugged. "I don't know". Rachel moved her daughter in her arms, placing a kiss to her forehead. "Not sure".

"Hey cutie!" Sammy breezed out of the bathroom, a grin on her face. "Morning, Rach. Hi Dave, hi Julie!"

"Good morning, Sammy", Julie said cheerfully.

Rachel had always had her family to support her, ever since she was a little girl. Hell, her father all but got her first boyfriend arrested on a date (needless to say, Mark Antico was not the one for her). But, there was times when she wished that she had someone else. She wished, with all her heart, that Matilda's father was another man, but she knew that it was impossible.

"We're home!" Rachel called, a genuine smile on her face, as she pushed Matilda's pram through the house. Coffee with her best friend always put her in a good mood- Libby was a person that could brighten someone's day, even when she couldn't brighten her own.

"Hey Rach!"Ben called, his head in the fridge.

"You know, Benny, there's this place called the supermarket, you go there to buy food. Get out and go there".

"Its Mel's turn to go to the shops and she's on late shift!" he complained, taking out a block of cheese and reaching for a knife. "Want a piece?"

"No, I do not want a piece!"

"Hey!" Nathan called, opening the front door. "Why is Ben eating all the cheese? All of my cheese?"

"Well, I didn't volunteer the fridge's services", Rachel told him, lifting Matilda out of the pram, where she was swooped into Ben's arms.

"Your cheese?" Ben accused.

"Want a beer?" Dave called, stepping into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Ben said brightly.

"I was talking to Jake", Dave told his son, opening the fridge and pulling out two bottles of beer.

"Who's Jake?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Ben, you have your own house with your own fridge, feel free to go shopping". Dave looked pointedly at Ben and Ben stuck the block of cheese back into the fridge.

"Who's Jake?" Rachel repeated, as Ben jiggled Matilda. "Ben, don't drop her!"

"I've held babies before!" Ben protested. "And I'm her favourite uncle-"

"She has two of them!" Nathan interrupted.

"I really, really don't see your point".

"Jake is the new tradie", Dave said, his voice breaking through his sons' argument. "And how old are you two?"

"I made a bet with Sammy", Ben told their father, "That Mattie will be able to say my name first".

"Mate, she's a few weeks old!" Nathan protested. "You know, I seriously don't understand why MY WIFE is siding with you when it comes to bets-"

"Hi", an unfamiliar voice said from the doorway.

Rachel spun around, to find herself looking into the chocolate brown eyes of the new tradie.

"I'm Jake", he said cheerfully.

"Ben". Balancing Matilda in one arm, he held out his hand to shake Jake's.

"Nathan". Nathan repeated his brother's actions.

"Hi, I'm Rachel", Rachel introduced, taking her suddenly whimpering daughter. "And this is Matilda".

Jake broke into an even bigger smile. "She's beautiful".

"Yeah, isn't she?" Dave said proudly. "Take a seat, mate".

So he took a seat, reaching out to stroke the little girl's cheek. "How old is she?"

"Eight weeks", Rachel told him. "Matilda Grace, her name is".

His smile was so wide Rachel wondered if it was going to crack open his face. "Grace is my mum's name", he said softly. "So you're living here?"

She nodded. "Her father's not in the picture anymore".

He nodded knowingly.

Dave was bewildered.