Firstly, sorry it's taken so long to get this next update up, I hit writer's block and then work got really crazy and I've not had a minute to myself until now. It's back on track though and this is a lovely long chapter for you all. Secondly, thanks to all those who have continued to read this story despite the delay in the updates, your feedback means so much!
WHEN I FALL AT YOUR FEET
CHAPTER 14 – A DILEMMA AND A SOLUTION
Rachel left the house at 8.00, alone for the third day that week. Eddie was accompanying Steph and a group of students on an educational trip to Toulouse in France. It was another two days to go before he would get back ans she was missing him like crazy even though he'd been phoning a couple of times a day, usually when he was trying to avoid Steph! Pulling into her usual parking bay, Rachel got out the car, collected her bag and laptop from the back seat, took a deep breath and made her way to her office, ready to face another day. She was secretly hoping for a quiet day, she had a mountain of paperwork to finish before the end of term.
Eddie, meanwhile, was just ushering the last of the kids on to the coach for that day's excursion to a local vineyard, usually ten 17-year-olds and wine didn't mix well, especially when those kids were Waterloo Road pupils so he was not looking forward to the day ahead and Steph's constant flirting with their driver, Jean-Marc, wasn't helping. He was really missing Rachel too, since getting together over a year ago, they'd never spent more than one night apart and it was killing him.
Back in Rochdale, Bridget, Rachel's secretary, came into the office in a bit of a fluster.
"Bridget, is everything ok?" Rachel asked.
"I'm not sure Rachel, there's an Allison Lawson on the phone looking for Eddie, she says it's an emergency!" She answered.
"Eddie's away on the France trip but I'll speak to her, just put her through"
"Thanks Rachel, I'll just be a sec" Bridget left the office, closing the door behind her.
When the phone rang in her office, Rachel took a deep breath and picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Rachel Mason speaking"
"Oh! I was looking for Eddie Lawson" came the response.
Knowing very well who she was speaking to and the contempt the caller had shown towards her over the past year, Rachel continued.
"I'm sorry, he's on a school trip in France until Friday, can I help?"
"Damn it! Shit! What the hell am I going to do?" Allison replied, her voice breaking.
Realising the woman on the other end of the phone was clearly upset and hearing the anxiety in her voice, Rachel softened.
"Allison, look, I know you're not my number one fan but if whatever it is that's bothering you as you swearing down the phone at me, it must be serious, so just tell me what it is and I can help"
"I'm sorry Rachel, my head's all over the place. I really needed Eddie to collect Michael from the child minder this afternoon and keep him overnight. My father has had a suspected heart attack and my Mum is going to pieces. I need to get to London as soon as possible, I'm an only child, you see, so there's no one else and I can't cope with Dad ill, Mum in a state and Michael running round my feet. I just don't know what to do. Normally the child minder would just keep him over night, she's good like that, but she's going on holiday tonight so she can't and I don't know what to do" Allison babbled nervously.
"Ok Allison, calm down and take a breath, you're no use to anyone in that state. Now listen, here's what we'll do. You give me the name, number & address of the child minder and what time Michael's to be collected and I'll go and get him. I know you're not happy about me spending time with him but you don't really have a choice. He knows me and we'll be fine, I'll keep him overnight, it's really no problem. You call the child minder so she knows to expect me, I wouldn't expect her to hand him over to a complete stranger and I'll call Eddie. Phone me back once it's all sorted then just focus on your Dad and, for God's sake Allison, drive safely!".
"I don't know, Michael's never spend the night away from either me or Eddie..." Allison was hesitant.
"Don't worry, Michael and I get on fine and I've plenty of experience with kids" she laughed.
"Any way, I'm sure Eddie will cut the trip short and if he's not there when Michael goes to sleep, he definitely will be when he wakes up"
"Ok, I guess I don't have a choice. Thanks Rachel!"
After getting the details of the child minder and swapping mobile numbers with Allison, the two women hung up. Rachel phoned through to Bridget and asked her to cancel her afternoon meeting and advised her that she'd be leaving early, she had a quick word with Tom Clarkson then made a coffee and sat back down to call Eddie, he answered almost immediately.
"This is a nice surprise, you bored doing paperwork already?" he teased.
"Hi Eddie, no not bored, I've just had a call from Allison" she explained.
"Is Michael ok? What's wrong?"
"Don't worry, darling, Michael's fine. Allison's father has had a heart attack and her mum's not coping well so she's needed in London. She was calling to ask you to collect Michael from the child minder"
"Oh what a shame. There's no way I can collect him though, even if I leave now by the time I get a flight, it'll be too late"
"Don't worry, I've got it in hand, I'm going to collect him and take him back to ours tonight, we'll be fine but I do think you should come back as soon as you can, he's not used to being without you or Allison"
"Of course, I'll get right on it. What about Steph? She can't handle this lot on her own, they'll run riot!"
"That's sorted too, Tom's going to fly out this afternoon for the rest of the trip, she'll only have to cope for a few hours and I'm sure they'll be fine, just make sure you put the fear of God into them before you leave!"
"Oh, I'll do better than that! I'll put the fear of Rachel Mason into them!" That'll surely do the trick! Any way, I'd better go and get organised, I'll call you once I know what's happening"
"Ok, speak soon"
"Ok and Rach? Thanks for sorting everything out! I love you!"
"It's no problem, my love, it's my pleasure and I love you too! Bye!"
Eddie called back about an hour later, he'd managed to book a flight from Toulouse to Manchester later that evening, he'd get home about eleven. Allison called to say she'd explained everything to Sandra, the child minder and that she was expecting Rachel at two o'clock.
After arranging cover for Tom & Eddie and finishing up one or two urgent pieces of paperwork, Rachel packer her things back into her car and drove back to the house she shared with Eddie to swap her Audi for Eddie's Volvo which had the child seat fitted. She then made the ten minute journey to the child minder's house to collect Michael. She parked at the gate, walked up the path and rang the doorbell. A grey-haired woman in her 60s answered the door after a minute or two.
"Hello, can I help you?" She asked
"Sandra, I presume? Rachel Mason. I've come to collect Michael Lawson" Rachel explained as she extended her arm and shook the older lady's hand.
"Oh, of course, Allison said to expect you, come on in, Michaels in the playroom with Isaac, another wee one I mind, he's a bit older than our Michael though, he's just turned six"
Rachel followed Sandra through the house, smiling at the obvious affection she had for the boys. Entering the playroom, she caught sight of Michael sitting on a rug playing with some toy cars with an older boy whom she assumed was Isaac, the boys looked up as the two women entered the room. Not until that moment had Rachel thought that Michael bore such a striking resemblance to Eddie, but when she saw those beautiful brown eyes smiling up at her, she couldn't believe that she'd never seen it before.
"Rachel!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around her knees in a hug that nearly sent Rachel hurtling into the toy chest behind her, though Allison wasn't keen on Rachel spending time with the child, they had met on a few occasions and had always gotten on fine. Rachel adored the little boy.
"Woah! Easy tiger! She laughed, ruffling his hair. "You ready to go?" Michael just nodded. Sandra, meanwhile, had collected his things and handed his Bob the Builder backpack to Rachel once she'd finished zipping up Michael's coat.
Once Rachel had Michael strapped into the booster seat and they were on their way, she asked him about his day and found out that Sandra had taken him to the park earlier before they picked Isaac up from school.
"Are we going to my house?" the little boy asked.
"No Michael, we're going to mine & Daddy's house, Mummy had to go on a very important trip!"
"Oh ok" he replied then continued singing a song about raindrops that Sandra had taught him earlier.
Rachel pulled into the driveway and collected Michael and his things from the back seat, she opened the door and set down the backpack at the foot of the stairs as Michael ran, first to the living room, then to the kitchen before reappearing at her feet as she took her jacket off. He looked confused and asked in a shaky voice:
"Rachel, where's Daddy?" His bottom lip started to quiver.
Rachel dropped to her knees and stroked the little boy's cheek.
"Daddy is on his way back to see you, sweetheart, but he was very far away. He'll be here when you wake up the morning though, I promise. I know you miss Mummy & Daddy very much but you can talk to Mummy on the telephone later and see Daddy in the morning, ok?"
"OK" Michael answered in a small voice that tugged on Rachel's heart strings.
"Now, how about we get some juice and biscuits and have some fun?!"
Excited at the prospect, Michael vigorously nodded yes and pulled Rachel to the kitchen. She fixed them both a drink and planned their afternoon. Rachel, being as she was, had prepared for having Michael, she'd borrowed some paper and paints from Kim Campbell before leaving the school earlier so they had painted some pictures, Michael had wanted to draw a picture of his family and had asked Rachel to help, they'd drawn Michael in the middle, flanked on either side by Allison and Eddie. Rachel had to choke back tears when he'd insisted they put her in the picture too, though she was sure Allison wouldn't be as thrilled when she saw it! Michael helped Rachel bake some cookies for him to surprise Eddie with the following day.
Later, after they'd had some dinner and Michael had spoken to his Mum on the phone, Michael played with a toy robot that Eddie had bought for his room whilst Rachel replied to a few e-mails that had arrived that afternoon. Rachel had bathed Michael and gotten him ready for bed. Snuggled under the rocket print duvet, Rachel read him a story and he fell asleep. Rachel turned on the night light and tiptoed down the stairs. Not wanting the sound of the TV to wake him, Rachel made herself a cup of tea and settled down to read a book. She was enjoying the peace and quiet and was really getting into the story when Michael appeared at the door about an hour later.
"Rachel, I can't sleep" he said sleepily rubbing his eyes
"But you were sleeping already, angel, what's wrong?"
"I want my Daddy" he cried.
"Oh, don't cry Michael, Daddy will be here when you wake up in the morning, come one, let's go upstairs, I'll lay with you until you go to sleep"
"Ok Rachel" he replied, leader her by the hand back to his room.
A number of hours later, a taxi drew up outside the house, Eddie got out and paid the driver. He quietly unlocked the door, stepped inside, leaving his shoes at the door, after all, it was 1.30 in the morning and he didn't want to wake Michael or Rachel. Dropping his bag at the foot of the stairs, he tiptoed through to the kitchen to get himself a drink but was surprised when he glanced into the sitting room to find the light on. It was unusual for Rachel to have gone to bed leaving it on, she was usually so regimented about switching everything off at night but he figured that she'd been expecting him hours ago and had left it on for him coming in. She had a thing that she didn't like him coming home to a cold or dark house so if she wasn't going to be there, she always made sure the timers were set on the heating and the light switches. He leaned into the room and switched it off, then continued into the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it thirstily, flights always made him feel dehydrated. After draining the glass, Eddie rinsed in and set it to dry on the sideboard. Heading upstairs, Eddie's first stop was the bathroom where he washed his face and cleaned his teeth, he didn't want to disturb Rachel by using the ensuite. His next stop was Michael's room, he slowly opened the door, giving his eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkened room. He looked over at the little single bed and his heart melted. Michael was sprawled out and was out for the count, snoring gently, next to him, laying on her side on the edge of the bed, was a sleeping Rachel. She had one arm bent up, supporting her head and the other protectively splayed across Michael's stomach. She was still dressed in her work clothes, minus the jacket which he'd noticed slung across the banister earlier, her shirt had ridden up just a fraction exposing the smallest glimpse of her midriff, she looked so relaxed and vulnerable.
He didn't want to startle her and so dropped to his knees beside the bed. With his left hand, he gently brushed the hair that had fallen over her face and his right hand with straight to the sliver of exposed skin along her waistband. Though asleep, Rachel instinctively moved at his touch and moved her hand from Michael's stomach to cover Eddie's. Leaning close to her ear, Eddie stroked her face and whispered
"Hey, Rach?" Rachel stirred, her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Eddie.
"Hey beautiful" he said again as Rachel tightened her grip on his hand and turned on to her back, taking care not to disturb Michael.
"Eddie, Hi! What time is it?" She said, pulling her self to a sitting position.
"Around 2am, the flight was delayed, I've only just got in" he explained whilst standing up, still holding her hand, he helped her to her feet and pulled her into his arms, Rachel slid her arms around his waist and they stood there completely still for a few minutes.
"God, I've missed you!" she whispered in his ear.
"And me, you. C'mon, let's go to bed" he said, pulling her towards the door
"Just a sec" she replied, turning back to the bed, she pulled the duvet up over Michael's sleeping form, pushed his blond curls off his face and kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well angel" she whispered.
Eddie was already in bed by the time Rachel had brushed her teeth, taken off her make-up and changed. Rachel pulled back the duvet and slid into bed beside him. Before she knew it, Eddie had propped himself up on one elbow and leaned in to kiss her, tenderly at first then becoming more passionate. Rachel willing responded, only pulling away when the need for air became too great. Eddie didn't move, pressing his forehead to hers, he looked her straight in the eyes as she toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Wow! What was that for?" she grinned
"To say thank you for today" he pecked her lips
"To say thank you for dealing with Allison" he kissed her again
"To say thank you for being so amazing with Michael" another kiss
"To say thank you for being you" another peck
"and because I love you with all of my heart" unsurprisingly he caught her lips in another, this time, longer kiss.
"I didn't do anything that anyone else wouldn't have done, Eddie" she responded
"Yes, you did. Not everyone would be so nice and helpful towards the woman who has spent the best part of a year putting them down and making them feel bad about themselves. Not everyone would be so calm and collected about the whole situation and not everyone could be so fantastic with my boy!"
"He's your son, Eddie, you love him so I love him"
"I know Rach, but what you did today was beyond the call of duty"
"That's just it though, today didn't feel like a duty, it was a pleasure, he's a great kid and I enjoyed spending some time alone with him"
"I love you, Rach" Eddie, said turning on to his back
"And I love you too" She responded, snuggling up to him, she put her head on his chest, wrapped an arm around his stomach and hooked her leg over his. Their breathing deepened and their relaxed muscles became heavier as they gave in to sleep.
The following morning, Rachel awoke to the sound of Michael's giggles, she looked at the clock on the bedside table, it ready 6.30am. Stretching her arms above her head, Rachel figured she could have another half hour before she had to get up but her plan was soon scuppered, as just then, Michael came into the room, clambered on to the bed and flung his arms around her neck.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" he singsonged
"Go away, you little monster, I'm too comfy!" She joked
Rachel still had her eyes closed and didn't notice his face fall.
"Rachel, you have to wake up, we made you breakfast!"
At this, Rachel opened her eyes just in time to see Eddie appear at the door laden down with a tray, some flowers and a newspaper.
"Oh, Michael, this is wonderful!" she enthused, pulling the little boy into a hug, from which he soon wriggles free.
"We've got eggs and toast and cereal and juice and coffee and flowers and a paper!" he grinned.
"Thank you Michael, it's just want I needed!" she praised.
"And thank you too, Eddie, this is lovely"
"Hope you don't mind, I know it's earlier than you would normally get up but I, I mean we, wanted to do something nice for you to thank you for yesterday!2
"You don't need to thank me Eddie, but I certainly don't mind being woken this way, you should do it more often" She said with a wink.
Rachel ate her breakfast, with some help from Eddie and flicked through the paper as Michael played on the rug next to the bed with some toy cars. She and Eddie were chatting, Eddie told her that Allison had called already to say that her Dad was going to be ok but could Michael stay with them until Sunday, he said he'd said yes and hoped it was ok with her.
"Of course it's ok Eddie, we'll have fun! But first I have to get ready for work" she groaned.
"I suppose we'd better, need to set a good example" he nodded towards Michael
"Oh no Eddie, you take the day off, spend some time with Michael, his child minder is on holiday and I've arranged cover for your classes any way"
"Why don't you stay home with us?" he smirked
"I'd love nothing more but I've a tonne of stuff to get through before the half term break next week, I don't want to have to work over the holidays"
"OK, but I'm coming in tomorrow and Friday. Michael can go into the creche and I'll help you with the paperwork because you are most definitely not working over the break, I have something planned for the birthday girl"
"What is it Eddie?" she asked
"Only time will tell Miss Mason, have patience" he teased before adding "and get out of bed you lazy sod, you're going to be late!!" he picked up the tray and walked towards the door. Rachel looked at the clock again, 7.30.
"Oh hell!" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed and running to have a shower.