A/N:
So I haven't wrote like this in a really long time and I'm out of practise so I hope that it's okay. Thank you to Mrs Carmichael, fayeftvanity, RachelMasonFan39, hannah5240 and LittleH12.

Please enjoy!

The collateral damage of love

One hour. Sixty minutes. Three thousand, six hundred seconds.

That had been precisely how long it had been since her revelation. She hadn't regretted it, not one bit. Her heart however was palpitating, and her mouth felt dry. She grabbed the wheel a little tighter to keep control of the car, forcing her attention on something other than Adam.

Adam.
Her husband.
His kindness, humour and devotion for her.
It just wasn't enough.
She craved for a man that wasn't her husband.

The street looked familiar and within seconds she realised that she was home. Giving herself a minute, she relaxed her body and took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking as she reached to open the door and suddenly she was met with the cold icy air battering against her skin. Weirdly, it was refreshing.

She made her way to the front door and unlocked it slowly before meeting a cold and dark welcoming.

Nobody was home.

Switching the lights, she found a small white piece of paper with her name addressed. On opening, she found a note from Adam.

I've gone away for a few days. I need to clear my head. Adam.

Strangely, there was a sudden emptiness in her heart. She cared for him; she worried for him. She might not have loved him, but he was her friend before anything.

Perching herself onto the sofa, her mind wandered, thinking over five million different things. She was a professional at this.

He helped her get over Eddie .. for a while.
He had shown her how to laugh when life was hard.
He had given her life when she felt life was not worth living.

But that still hadn't been enough, and she blamed herself.

For once, she would be selfish and she would choose her heart over her head.

. . .

It was quiet. His house was empty, a contrast from the life he had been living with Melissa.

He missed her. Not in the conventional 'I can't live without you' sort of miss, but just the company and the many laughs they'd shared. Sometimes for a second, his mind would be lifted from Rachel when they'd been having a joke.

She'd given him his daughter, whom he'd treasured dearly.
She'd secured him the company that he so badly craved for.
She'd made life more bearable when it wasn't the way he wanted to live it.

Unfortunately, she just wasn't enough.

. . .

She grabbed her phone from her handbag and as she did so, she came across her wedding band that she'd slung in there earlier. She admired it for a few moments before deciding to place it in the drawer in the hallway. She didn't want to just throw it away .. Adam deserved better than that.

On remembering to retrieve her phone, she opened her contacts to see his name. She'd never deleted his number, she had in fact just renamed him to a simple full stop. Clicking the call button, she brought the phone to her ear, eagerly awaiting to hear his voice.

A few moments went by and he still hadn't answered. She began to panic. Just as she was about to hang up, a familiar voice answered.

'Rachel?'

'Eddie'

'Are you okay?'

'Adam wasn't home'

'Ah'

'Eddie, can you-'

'Can I come over?'

'Yes'

'Give me twenty minutes'

'Thank you'

That was all she needed to hear. The safety of his voice was enough to calm her spiralling state.

. . .

It had been twenty-two minutes, and he was late. She couldn't be mad, she expected he would run late. It was Eddie Lawson. She expected nothing else. As she was in the moment, she could hear a car pull up outside and it was him.

She hovered by the door, careful not to be too eager. She waited precisely seven seconds after his knock to open the door. There he stood, slumped leaning against the door frame.

'Hey', he said with a small smile.

'Hey', she replied opening the door wide so he could make his way in.

On walking inside, he stopped alongside her and placed a small kiss on her cheek, cautious not cross unknown territory. She closed her eyes at his touch and placed her hand on his arm to reassure him it was okay. She was okay. They were okay.

He followed her lead into the kitchen and sat on the stool. Watching as she reached for two glasses and the bottle of whisky.

'Drink?', she questioned as she poured the glass, anyway.

'How do you feel?', it was his turn to question her. He brought the liquid to his lips as she set it in front of him, feeling the burning sensation hitting his chest.

'I meant what I said', she replied as she mirrored his actions and took a rather big sip out of the glass.

He studied her once again-it had become natural when they were together-and took her in for a few moments. He was savouring her.

'Good. I don't want anyone else, Rach', there was sincerity in his voice, and the atmosphere became intense.

'Eddie, do you, you know, ever think about the baby?'. She couldn't even believe she was asking, but she'd found the strength to ask.

He got up from the stool and walked to her, upon reaching her, he grabbed hold of her shoulders.

'Every day. Don't you think for one second that I don't. I wish you would have let me help you', he muttered the last part. He felt somewhat ashamed and felt responsible for her state.

He placed a kiss to her forehead and felt the warmth run through his body as he pulled her closer. Within seconds, they found themselves wrapped in each other, and her lips on his. Tenderness and passion engulfed them.

They hadn't noticed the figure standing in the doorway, watching in disbelief and sadness.

'Rachel?'.