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For all of the trouble that the students of Waterloo Road put their teachers through, all of them were good kids at heart, Rachel thought as she watched three sixth formers descend on a sniffling year seven in the playground, one quickly doing her hair for her while another seemed to be gesturing wildly while saying something. She smiled, somewhat glad she didn't have to make the trek out into the cold as she had been about to, and thrilled that the year divides weren't quite so prominent this year.

Nothing like a common enemy to unite the year groups.

She did wish that the common enemy wasn't an entire group of new students and teachers, but she'd take her wins where she could right now.

She was being a little dramatic, she acknowledged. It wasn't quite as bad as it had been at the start of term- the younger students especially were beginning to forge new friendships, and there was a distinct lack of outright fighting now. Behind her, her mobile began to ring on her desk and she answered it without looking, still distracted by the thoughts of her students. "Hello?"

"Rach…"

She felt her stomach drop, a shock running right through her to the tips of her fingers. She tried to talk, had to swallow thickly before trying again. "Melissa?"

"Please… don't hang up." Her sister's voice was raspy, laboured and weak and Rachel felt concern flicker through her even as she lowered herself into her chair. "I know you're angry with me. You have… every right to be. But please, Rach… I'm scared."

She sat up straighter, her concern growing to outright panic. "Melissa? What's wrong? Where are you?"

"A and E. A side room, in majors."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know." It came out in a hitching sob, immediately followed by a gasping breath. "Rach, I can't breathe!"

There was never another choice in her mind. "I'm coming."

The only time she'd been to the adult side of the emergency department here, she'd been unconscious after the fire. She'd never even made it out of resus- they'd transferred her straight to the more specialised hospital in Manchester, and it was there she formed her first memories beyond a ceiling falling on her, weeks later.

She was a little more familiar with the waiting room and paediatric side, having accompanied students there on a couple of occasions since she'd joined Waterloo Road. So it was easy enough for her to find her way onto the unit, slipping through the main doors behind a harried looked porter and turning left instead of right for the first time, following the signs to majors.

There was a sign for a nurses' station pointing down the corridor, and she followed it for lack of any other option. But the room she passed all had windows, most of which had open blinds and it was pure luck that halfway down, she spotted her sister in one of them. Melissa didn't stir as she slipped in, her eyes closed while an oxygen mask covered her face. Beside her, a monitor beeped softly, and Rachel had spent enough time in hospital two summers ago to know that the numbers it showed were less than ideal.

"Mel?" She touched her hand softly, but there was no response and not for the first time in the past half an hour, Rachel felt a pang of fear lance through her. "I'll be right back," she whispered, squeezing her hand gently before going to find a nurse.

There was a uniformed woman sat at the desk who looked up as Rachel approached, enquiring after someone who could tell her what was wrong with her sister.

"I'll go and find her nurse for you."

It was an agonising few minutes as people rushed by, a few pausing to enquire if she needed help but otherwise going about their days, while down the corridor her little sister wasn't breathing properly. Finally, the woman from before approached with another in a blue tunic, who gave her a kind smile. "You're Melissa's sister?"

"Yes. What's wrong with her?" It was blunt, she knew, but she was too tense for anything else. The nurse didn't seem to mind, gesturing to a nearby door.

"Shall we go somewhere private?"

Rachel followed her into the small room, hovering until the nurse gestured to one of the armchairs, taking one herself. "I'll send one of our doctors' round to talk to you, but for now I'll give you a brief update. How much do you know already?"

"Only that she was having trouble breathing."

She nodded. "That's right- she presented with acute breathing difficulties about an hour and a half ago. The oxygen saturations in her blood were lower than we'd like, so she's got a mask on to help with that. Her heart rate is also a bit higher than normal, so we're keeping an eye on it but it's not entirely unexpected if she's having problems breathing. Does she suffer from asthma, or any other chronic conditions?"

"No, nothing." she shook her head.

"Any history in the family?"

"Not that I know of."

"Has she been ill recently? Coughs or colds? Feeling tired?"

Rachel frowned. "Shouldn't Mel have told you all this?"

The nurse grimaced for a second- a glance at her badge told Rachel her name was Sandra. "She wasn't really in a condition to give us a detailed history."

Her stomach flipped again. "I haven't had much contact with her recently. But her son goes to my school, if she'd been seriously ill I think he would have reached out."

The conversation continued in that vein, with the woman asking questions and Rachel answering the best she could, all the while just wanting to get back to her sister. Finally, they were finished and they stood, Sandra promising to send a doctor in as soon as one was available, and just then a thought occurred to Rachel.

"Did the baby come in with her?"

She had to ask, just in case, regardless of her own mixed feelings on the matter. But with a sinking sensation, she noticed the nurse looking nonplussed. "Baby?"

"Melissa's baby?"

"She has a baby?"

Where on earth would Melissa have left a newborn baby while she came to hospital? Rachel felt her stomach knot, anxiety spiking through her even as she nodded. "A little girl, she's only a few weeks old."

Now, she thought the nurse looked pale, a more than a little concerned. "Melissa has given birth in the past few weeks?"

"Yes- shouldn't you know this? Isn't it in her notes or something?"

"We don't have automatic access to her medical notes, we only know what we're told," Sandra explained. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go an inform the doctor." She made to leave, then wheeled around with another worried look. "Is the baby's whereabouts a concern?"

Crap. "No," Rachel lied. "I just wanted to check she wasn't around here somewhere."

Sandra gave a nod and was out the door, leaving Rachel to make her way back to Melissa's room, internally panicking. She didn't think that Melissa was sick enough to have accidentally left the baby at home, but didn't put it past her to have left her somewhere unsuitable if she'd been in a rush. Of course, the one person who might have known was Phillip, but she was hardly about to panic a sixteen-year-old boy until she knew more to tell him.

She didn't even know where they were living at the moment.

But there was one person she knew who did, despite the inappropriateness of calling him. But she didn't have a choice, and with an apologetic glance towards her sister she pulled out her phone.

"Hello sweetheart. What's wrong?"

Eddie's voice was instantly concerned as it filtered down the line. "I'm fine," she assured him hastily, glancing at the clock and realising it was about fourth period. "Are you busy right now?"

"I'm sat in my classroom marking books, so depends on your definition. Why?"

She bit her lip. "Because I need a really, really big favour."

"Anything."

"You might regret saying that. I'm at the hospital, with Melissa." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "I know it's awkward and I have no right to ask you, but I don't have anyone else."

"Ask me what?"

His tone was wary, and she couldn't help but grimace. "No one here knew about the baby," she explained softly. "Mel's really sick, Eddie, and I'm just slightly concerned…"

"I'll go and check the house."

How did he do that? she wondered. Two steps ahead before she'd even finished her sentence, not even questioning her request despite everything that had happened. Warmth spread through her chest, some of the anxiousness abating ever so slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I don't mind, not for you," he assured her, then hesitated for a long moment. "Is… is your sister okay?"

She felt another surge of emotion at the question. She swallowed thickly, looked back towards the sleeping blonde. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I haven't called Phil yet, I don't want to worry him."

"He's a strong lad, he'll understand. I'll call you when I know something."

"Thank you. Eddie?" she called, before he could hang up.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

There was silence for a moment. Just as she began to worry, his voice came through, soft and full of emotion. "I love you too."

W.R.

The things he got himself into, Eddie thought as he walked across to Melissa's house. He'd sworn nothing in the world could bring him back into contact with the blonde or the baby he'd thought was his- one phone call from Rachel, and here he was.

He rang the doorbell, casting a look around. He'd only been here twice before- once to drop Melissa off after a scan, when he'd found out her car was in the garage and she was planning on taking a bus, and then to pick her up when she'd been in labour, and unable to drive herself.

When no one had answered after a second ring, he headed to the gate that lead to the back, peering in the windows but seeing nobody. Melissa had mentioned hiding a key back here once- baby brain had her doing all sorts of odd stuff, and she'd been worried she'd lock herself out. He found it easily and let himself in. "Hello? Anyone here?"

He listened, but the house was oddly silent. He glanced in each of the downstairs rooms, unsurprised to find them all a bit of a mess, but empty. Upstairs was the same- the nursery was half finished, the cot still in pieces against the wall, a pile of unfolded clothes sat on top of the dresser. Phil's room was just as messy, as was Melissa's but to his relief, the bassinet by her bed was empty as well.

He left the house as quickly as he could, not missing the pram, which he knew was also her carry-seat, that was sat by the front door as he withdrew his phone and dialled Rachel.

"Eddie?"

"Hi. Good news is the baby isn't in the house," he told her. "Bad news is her pram and seat are, so I've no idea where Melissa left her."

"Oh God…"

"I'm going to check with the neighbours. Melissa can't have taken her far if she were carrying her."

Rachel swallowed thickly. "Thank you, Eddie."

He murmured an acknowledgement, quickly hanging up and she looked back towards Melissa with a sigh, reaching out to take her hand in hers. "Why is it always you?"

Behind her, the door opened and she looked around in surprise, finding a machine being wheeled in by a cheerful redhead. "I'm here to do an ECG on Melissa."

She nodded her agreement, rising to step out of the way as the woman went to her sister's beside. "Melissa? Melissa, can you hear me? I need to do another test on you, is that okay honey?"

To Rachel's relief, Melissa stirred, eyes opening. But she instantly stiffened, flinching away from the stranger and bringing a hand up as if to take the mask off of her face. Rachel darted forward, caught her arm. "You need the mask, Mel. Leave it where it is."

The blonde groped for her hand, relief flooding her eyes as she caught sight of her. Rachel saw her mouth move, but the quiet words were muffled behind the mask and she merely squeezed her hand. "Just stay still. Everything's okay."

She really hoped she wasn't lying.

Back on Melissa's street, the first two houses Eddie had knocked at were empty- it was the middle of the day, after all and he didn't even bother with the ones without cars parked outside. The third had an elderly couple, who hadn't seen Melissa in a few days and the fifth had a harried looking mother, who told him that she already had enough coping with her own three, why on earth would she agree to look after another?

He was close to giving up, when on his seventh house a middle-aged woman answered, looking at him curiously. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you," he apologised hastily. "This is going to sound a bit odd, but I've been asked to pick up my partner's niece, only her mother neglected to tell me who exactly she left with. I don't suppose that-?"

"Melissa's little girl?" the woman interrupted, looking relieved. "Yes, she's here."

"She is?"

The woman stepped back, gesturing for him to enter. "I didn't realise you were coming to pick her up, but I'm glad. It's a bit odd, after all."

He glanced at her. "Odd?"

"Melissa left her with my daughter," she explained. "She's only fourteen, she's never even held a baby before. I had to come home on my lunchbreak after she called me because she didn't know how to make up a bottle. They're just through here."

Privately, Eddie wondered why her daughter wasn't at school, but under the circumstances decided it was better to keep his mouth shut.

"I'm not very happy about it," she continued. "Admittedly, Sarah should have told her no, but she's a teenage girl and Melissa offered to pay her. Of course she was going to agree. Where is Melissa anyway?"

For a moment, Eddie couldn't answer. They'd entered the living room, where a teenager was awkwardly sat with the baby on her lap, dangling a toy in front of her. "She's… uh, she's in hospital."

"Hospital?"

"She's ill. Hence the last-minute arrangements," he explained.

"Is she okay?"

Not from what Rachel had said, he thought grimly, but gave her a neutral expression. "Her sister's with her," he said evasively. "Did Mel bring anything else over?"

"Just the baby and her bag." The bag she was already packing up. She paused, looked at him. "Do you know how to look after a baby?"

He bit his tongue to keep from asking what she was going to do if he said no. "I'm a father," he replied instead, plucking the baby from the girl's arms with practiced ease and taking the bag. "Thanks."

"What about my money?"

"Sarah!"

Eddie pinned her with a look. "I don't know anything about that," he said, a touch coolly. "You'll have to take it up with Melissa."

He was quickly ushered out the door, and soon found himself stood on the street, a newborn in his arms and absolutely no idea what to next.