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Chapter 16: Together? Always

The sensation that Rachel woke up to brought her an indescribable amount of joy. Her head was cushioned against Eddie's shoulder and her leg was resting over his body securely. It wasn't a far cry from the position in which they had fallen asleep in the previous evening. Eddie's hand relaxed her even more as it ran up and down her back, and indicated to Rachel that he was now awake too. For the past ten minutes or so, Rachel had listened contently to the somewhat relaxing sound of his snores. He had been too content to wake, and quite frankly, Rachel was more than willing to stay wrapped up in the comfort of his embrace for the foreseeable future.

He planted a kiss atop of her head, and Rachel couldn't resist locking eyes with him for any longer. The pair shifted their positions, so that they were facing towards each other with heads on the pillows, bodies still firmly interlocked.

"Good morning," Rachel spoke, mirroring the grin which now covered Eddie's lips.

He leant forwards, emanating a soft kiss on her lips before pulling away just a fraction.

"Well that has to be the best good morning I've had."

Eddie chuckled at Rachel's response, tightening his grip on her slightly.

They simply basked in a comfortable silence for a few moments. Getting lost in one another's eyes seemed to be their new favourite form of communication. Eddie noticed as something in Rachel's expression differed. He could always sense when she had become lost in thought.

Eddie brushed his fingers across her cheekbone, alerting her to the reality, "Rachel?"

"Mmhm," she mumbled, still somewhat sleepily.

"Something's on your mind."

Rachel couldn't help but repeat her earlier smile, still overwhelmed with how brilliantly Eddie could second guess her every emotion.

"It's nothing too strenuous, don't worry."

With the look Rachel offered him, Eddie could tell that her response was genuine. He wasn't going to push her to explain, but from the way her lips were now parted slightly, Eddie gathered that opening up would just come relatively naturally.

"I was just thinking about how different things were for you and I this time last week. It kind of… just makes it feel all the more special to be here now with you."

Eddie smiled, scooping Rachel up into his arms properly now so that her head was resting against his chest.

"I'm a fool… we should have been at this point well before now."

Rachel pulled away slightly upon noting the brief sadness etched within Eddie's tone. This hadn't been her intention, to make him feel anymore guilty than he was evidently already feeling.

"Eddie… I don't want you blaming yourself for the past few months… and everything that happened. I was an idiot for pushing you away that first day."

A look flashed across Eddie's features which signalled to Rachel that he felt reassured by her words. Still though, she wanted to continue, to reaffirm everything previously discussed.

"Let's just try to focus on the future, and the here and now. We will deal with any obstacles as they come."

"Together?"

As Eddie questioned this, Rachel realised that it was her offering him all the support he deserved. She was glad of this, they were a team, a partnership. They had to lean on one another.

"Always."

Eddie seemed more than satisfied with this, and they shared a glittering beam before he leant forwards to capture Rachel's lips with his own. She found herself squealing with delight as Eddie altered their movements so that he was hovering above her. Their mouths connected once more, and Rachel anticipated all of the feelings that had now become so familiar when in close quarters with Eddie.

….

It was shortly after 11 before Rachel and Eddie had emerged from the hotel, with plans of sharing a late breakfast back at her house. They had texted Philip earlier to let him know they would be back around 11:30, after the boy had communicated with them that he had returned from Bolton's.

They were greeted with the smell of various foods as they entered Rachel's door, sharing equally curious glances.

"Philip?" Rachel called out as Eddie hovered closely behind her.

The boy in question appeared from the kitchen door, and Rachel and Eddie couldn't help but beam considering the sight they were met with. He had one of Rachel's aprons on, which made an amusing picture when worn by Philip. He looked slightly wary as his aunt and Eddie's gazes ran over his appearance, and then it dawned on him.

"Oh this?" he gestured towards the accessory, "couldn't find anything else, didn't fancy getting these clothes filthy."

Rachel and Eddie exchanged a brief smile now, beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Are you alright?" Rachel questioned lightly as she took a step closer to Philip, "did you have a nice night at Bolton's?"

"Yeah… yeah it was good," he paused for a moment before gesturing between the two adults rather awkwardly, "did you two… have a good night away?"

Eddie nodded and smiled, now taking a step forwards so that he was next to Rachel, "yeah we did thanks Phil."

Rachel glanced at Eddie briefly, before returning her attentions to Philip, "yes, it was lovely."

The boy nodded as a brief silence passed, "are you cooking something?" Rachel asked.

He turned a very slight shade of pink now, gesturing his left arm back towards the kitchen, "yeah. Well erm… I just wanted to thank you guys. For everything. And you Rach, for letting me stay here and stuff."

The two adults locked eyes again, genuinely in awe at how thoughtful Philip's actions were. Philip turned back towards the kitchen now, signalling for them to follow.

"It's just some bacon… sausages… beans and toast."

Philip had three plates laid out on the table, and the food looked and smelled delicious.

"Oh Philip, thank you," Rachel said, placing a hand on her nephew's shoulder.

Eddie too portrayed his thanks, before following Philip and Rachel's lead to sit down at the table.

"This looks very nice," Eddie commented, receiving a smile from the boy.

"Hmm," Rachel nodded in agreement, "you'll be giving Eddie a run for his money," she laughed.

Eddie's mouth gaped open as all three occupants of the table began to chuckle. Philip turned his attention to the food, taking a bite out of his toast. Eddie meanwhile, nudged Rachel's leg with his own as they shared a look. It brought all the memories back from the previous evening and that morning. Both adults had to mentally shake themselves to pull back their thoughts and focus on the variety of breakfast items in front of them.

The trio exchanged light conversation whilst they ate, discussing anything and everything. Rachel was glad that her thoughts from yesterday had been emphasised. Philip was definitely a lot more happy within himself, overall he just seemed far more carefree. Which was why his next declaration came as a slight shock for Rachel and Eddie.

"Mum text me…" the boy waited as he saw concern spread across their faces. Rachel and Eddie shared a cautious glance, evidently wondering where this was going, "... last night."

For Rachel, the strange thing was that Philip didn't seem shaken up by it at all. This was certainly a contrasting action to that of Wednesday's last week. What changed this time? She hadn't realised that she was yet to speak, until she heard Eddie's voice. Rachel guessed that, as usual, he had predicted her thoughts and feelings towards this and wanted to put his foot forwards to support her.

"Saying what?"

Philip ran a hand through his hair as he considered if he had done the right thing by telling them. As predicted, Eddie had anticipated exactly how Rachel would be feeling, so discreetly placed a comforting hand on her knee. He just wanted to remind her that he was here no matter what happened. And just like what was said earlier, they would tackle everything together; always. Eddie was certainly glad that he had made this gesture, when he felt Rachel's hand spreading across the back of his own.

"It just said… miss you Phil."

Rachel felt bile rising in her throat. Surely Melissa's return was imminent. And what would that mean for her and Eddie?

Somehow, she found the courage to speak, glancing up from the edge of the table to face her nephew, "and did you reply?"

"No… I don't want any contact with her Rach. She made me feel… unwanted… and unloved. I can't forgive that."

Eddie turned over his hand now, so that his and Rachel's fingers could be interlinked. He hoped that she could glean some form of alleviation from that.

Rachel nodded, accepting Philip's response, and understanding his emotions entirely, "and are you okay Philip? Really?"

Philip nodded, "yeh… I'm fine, honestly. I've realised I just need to ignore her texts and calls. She's not worth it, Rach, not anymore."

Rachel seemed to shoulder this too. She was glad that Philip seemed sincerely unbothered by this, but was wary as to how long that would last.

Philip grabbed his last slice of toast, the only remaining food on his plate now and stood, "anyway, I'm off upstairs now. Got a bit of work to do."

Rachel and Eddie nodded, and with that he was gone.

"Rach?" Eddie questioned, lightly hooking a finger under her chin so that she would face him, "are you alright?"

"It's just strange… to see Philip so unaffected by it. I mean, taking into consideration his reaction from the other day. Do you think he's really okay?"

Eddie sighed, once more pondering over how angry he was with Melissa in his head. Rachel certainly didn't need this on top of everything else, and he was fairly certain that Mel was using her texts and calls to Philip as ammunition to hurt her sister.

"Yes I do, because I think he knows that you and I are here to give him support. Maybe he's not quite as jolly as he's letting on, but he is well aware that we are both here no matter what."

Rachel nodded, thankful that Eddie could see the logical side of a situation once more. Yet something else was playing on her mind. As Eddie had voiced earlier in the week, it was unlikely that Melissa had gotten together with somebody else so soon. So surely, that meant she was wanting to get to Rachel and Eddie. Perhaps to gain some sort of revenge? Rachel suddenly felt like she was suffocating. She only found some comfort as she felt Eddie leaning closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and beneath her legs. She initially wondered what he was doing, but soon realised that he was shifting her onto his lap, hoping to bring her every ounce of comfort and reassurance possible. She willingly leant into Eddie, resting her head against his chest as he tightened his grip on her, whispering utterances of support into her hair.

Even as his hand ran up and down her back, Rachel found her mind drifting back towards Melissa, and trepidation setting in once more. What Rachel and Eddie had was so special, and they were both aware that it was a love like no other. Nothing could compare to it. Rachel couldn't bear the thought of them being torn apart if Melissa was to return.

"What if she comes back Eddie?"

"Then we will tackle it together. Remember? Always, that's what we said."

Rachel nodded profusely, feeling her control come back as she found herself putting her entire trust in Eddie's words.

"I can't lose you Eddie. Not now," she commented, bringing an arm up to wrap it around his neck.

"You aren't going to Rachel. Not ever. I don't intend on letting you go."