Thank you for the reviews.

So has everyone put down their pitchforks? Am I out of the danger zone? Or are you all still researching purple hyacinths?

But Still I Find You Next To Me

"Hyacinth." Rachel said once Eddie opened the door and she held up the pot. "Means a deep feeling of sadness and asking for forgiveness. Well, the purple one does anyway."

She could tell that he didn't know how to take the fact that she was finally on his doorstep. It was something that should have happened two weeks ago. Sally was right, the ball was in her court for this and she needed to be the one to apologise.

"I'm sorry Eddie. I should have given you the same level of trust and respect that Jane gave you and asked what went on. But I placed you in the same boat as Melissa and… at the very worst, that was offensive to you. And I think the worst part of it all is that I knew that you were being genuine. Because I heard everything that you said to Jane and." She paused. "She asked me how long I was going to stay angry at you. And I couldn't answer her. Maybe because I had already forgiven you and… It wasn't fair on you.

"One week I am asking you to be my husband and then the next couple of weeks, I am ignoring you because you are the last person that I wanted to let me down and I knew… I should have known that it was just Melissa. I mean, it isn't like she hasn't done it to me before. But I love you Eddie Lawson and… I still want you by my side. I still want you to be my husband. I want to wake up to you every morning and I want your face to be the last I see before I fall asleep. You are my other half. You are the person that knows me best in the world and I don't want to lose you over my pathetic sister."

She didn't know whether he was just thinking over her words or if she had left it too late. He remained silent for longer than she was expecting before he nodded.

"I think you should come in." He said.

Rachel knew that she had hurt him. She could only imagine what he had to say to Michael when he had him the weekend before. It was also the reason she gave to the fact as to why he handed over her tea before he sat down on the sofa, looking forward instead of at her.

"So did she own up?" He asked.

"No. She tried the same tactic that she must have done with Pete. Said that you came onto her. She just stood there and said all this… crap and I knew it was crap. Because the person she was trying to describe as you, I knew wasn't you." She took a sip of her tea. "Philip's left her over it. He is going to live with… I suppose, us now. Although I need to ask him what he meant about Melissa's bigamy problem."

"So Monday morning is going to be awkward?"

"Philip seems to think that she might disappear." She paused. "Eddie… what I did. It was a very me thing to do."

"I know. Sally explained. I think that they were both trying to keep my hopes up. She said that it would always get to a stage where you would want to push away what we had rather than just allow yourself to accept it."

"Been trying not to do it since the fire."

"You just needed a reason to and Melissa gave you one."

"It wasn't fair on you."

He didn't reply to that immediately. He took some time to sip his tea.

"So what do you want to do?" He said as he finally looked at her.

"I meant what I said on your doorstep. Although… if what has happened had changed the way you feel about me."

"I still feel the same way, Rachel." He said, cutting her off. "I just… I didn't like the level of distrust that you placed on me."

"So are we picking up where we left off?"

"If that is what you want."

"Eddie, I know that you said that you would leave everything up to me, but you have a say as well."

He sighed, turning away from her.

"Eddie?"

"I know."

"What's wrong?"

"Just… There are a number of things that I told myself that I couldn't allow to happen. Like reminding you of anything that Danny got you to do or breaking your heart or doing something stupid to be on the wrong side of Jane. But I did. Something stupid happened and I broke your heart."

"I know now that it was all Melissa."

"But for the last two weeks, you thought I had something to do with it as well."

"Eddie?" She paused. "Eddie, what's wrong?"

She wasn't certain that he was going to answer that question. She thought that he was going to tell her that it was nothing but she thought that she was just seeing that he might have had the same weird concerns over their relationship that she had.

"The fire." He said.

"What about it?"

"I… I was waiting for you to remember who caused all that."

"Eddie, what do you mean?" She sighed when he didn't say anything. "So that is what you and Jane are constantly whispering about. Eddie… you did not cause the fire. You do know that the council was going to launch an investigation into them anyway. Danny would have linked it back to us even if you said anything or not. Christ, Eddie, why have you never said anything?"

"Because you were dealing with what Danny had done to you."

"Right pair we are. So you were waiting for me to push you away?"

He nodded before he turned to her. "And then you did. For the worst reasons."

"You've constantly asked me what I wanted you to do to make me feel better. What do you want me to do to make it up to you?"

"You don't have to."

"No, Eddie, I do. Because as much as I thought the worst and I allowed the worst to hurt me, I didn't hurt myself as much as I hurt you."

"Then let's work together as a proper team. We draw a line under this and move on. Just… let's not have anything like this happen again."

"I wouldn't want it to."

Eddie gave her enough room to grab her phone before she settled back in his arms. They had spoken for another hour or so, working out how they could make things work between them and how they were going to settle back into the relationship for most of it to go out of the window as they started making out on the sofa. They hadn't managed to move themselves from the sofa or undressed properly for the first time that they reminded themselves how well they knew each other's bodies. It was quick and was what was needed just to take the edge off them starting to get over what had happened.

Upstairs, in the bedroom, was where they slowed it down and reminded each other why they loved one another. Rachel was sure that there wasn't part of her torso that Eddie hadn't kissed but she had been the same, knowing where he was sensitive to add the sensation of her fingertips and nails. There weren't actually that many times when Rachel had make up sex, whether it was her doing the making up or the man that she was with. She knew that Jane and Sally had done over the years that they had been together. Maybe part of it was why they worked so well together and why they could work through any argument that they'd had.

She placed her free hand on Eddie's forearm as he pulled her closer to him from behind, feeling his breath on the back of her neck before he placed a kiss there, making his way from the back to the side and up to her jaw.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Jane."

"What does it say?"

"You better be with Eddie." She said as she replied to the text with a simple 'Yes I am'.

"She did seem rather upset by it all."

"She cares about you, Eddie. Although I never thought I would be saying that about a guy." She said before she laughed at Jane's reply. "I forgot how she could be."

"What?"

"You better be bashing his brains out."

"Christ."

"I know."

"You're going to reply to it?" He said as she typed something out.

"Unless you want her bashing on your door."

"Our door. I would quite like you to come home."

"We are going to have some questions on Monday."

"Like we didn't have any before. Steph has been on at me constantly for the last two weeks."

"Eddie. I know we both don't want to be reminded that it did happen, but I want to let you know, if it did happen again for whatever stupid reason, I will give you the respect and trust I have in you."

"And I would give you the same the other way around."

Her fingertips brushed the ring that she had given him four weeks beforehand. It was something that she was glad about. In the two weeks that they were apart, he had never taken it off. She wondered whether it would have just raised more questions.

"We are good together, aren't we?" She asked.

"Is this you overthinking again?"

"Maybe."

"It's never going to always be plain sailing. But as long as you always want to make it work, then it will."

"And children?"

"I thought we left that at if it happens, then it happens. Because we didn't want to make an active effort for nothing to happen." He paused. "Unless you are trying to tell me something."

"I don't think I am."

He placed a kiss on her cheek before he settled back down. She traced her fingertips up his arm, working out whether she was trying to tell him something or not.

Honestly, do you know how hard it is to keep these two idiots apart? And the last section wasn't even part of the original plan.