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It was somewhat odd yet comforting to step foot in Rachel's house once more. No amount of steeling himself beforehand could have prepared Eddie for the inevitable. Perhaps dozens of memories crashed over him, and he was sure that although she'd continued to live here the past few months that Rachel had undergone the same flashbacks.

It was getting more and more difficult for him to reign in his feelings. Although she knew that he was very much still in love with her, Eddie wasn't sure how much longer he could hold off before acting on that.

As if sensing the turn his mind had taken, Rachel came through the door once more, gently placing the car seat with Natasha in on the floor. It was gone midnight - yet Eddie wasn't sure if they'd be going to sleep just yet. He felt as though he wanted to bask in her company for that little bit longer.

"How about I get Natasha into her Moses basket? Keep her with us in the living room for now," Rachel whispered, somewhat predictably reading his thoughts, "and then I'll put the kettle on. Cup of tea?"

All Eddie could do was smile, glancing down at his sleeping daughter before looking back up to her, "sounds good to me."

At this point, pretty much anything involving Rachel would.

….

Rachel certainly wasn't oblivious to the slight shift in atmosphere that evening - or more so morning by the time they'd settled with drinks on the sofa. Of course their feelings had been running through like an undercurrent in recent days. Yet for her, something had now changed. It was just whether or not Eddie had felt that too.

"Does Melissa know we're back?" He asked with a slight roll of the eyes, taking a sip from his cup.

"Well, I've sent her a text. Whether or not she's received that I don't know. I actually haven't had a reply from her yet. I mean, we are supposed to be picking Isabelle up tomorrow."

He shook his head, evidently flabbergasted, "she's something else. Who knows what I was thinking."

Rachel's heart accelerated, wondering if Eddie's mind really had taken the same turn as hers.

"You don't just have yourself to blame, Eddie."

He frowned slightly, handing her the opportunity to continue. She took it with both hands, wanting to shoulder some of the guilt for their relationship that could have been, "I pushed you away. I pushed you away when I needed you the most. And that… that night. The night when you went out with Melissa. I actually…" Rachel let out a startled laugh, almost in disbelief of herself and how different things could have turned out, "I actually turned up. I erm… I saw you both, your hand on Mellisas's back. And I knew that I'd missed my chance. So I walked away."

If anything, Eddie looked more frustrated at himself following on from the revelation. She berated herself internally - the last thing he needed was her worsening everything for him.

"I was so stupid. That first night… Melissa. It meant nothing. I know how this sounds but… it was you, Rach. It's always been you."

Their eyes chose that moment to lock, drinks discarded on the coffee table just seconds before long forgotten. There were a fair few cons to this, several potentially bad outcomes. Yet… Rachel couldn't seem to focus on anything other than the tenderness in Eddie's expression. And she wanted this: knew he did too.

One touch to her knee from him was all it took for her resolve to crumble entirely. They both felt it, it was just how they would tend to the matter now.

Rachel angled her body forwards, exuding an affection which caused Eddie's heart beat to raise significantly, his palms to sweat. She was getting closer, and wasn't stopping.

Three months felt like three years as their lips reconnected for the first time. The initial softness which went hand in hand with that took Eddie's mind back to their exchange as Rachel stepped on to the bus. He'd known it at the time - deep down - that that was the last time he'd feel her lips on his. At least until now. Never would he have imagined this as she'd told him that their love wouldn't change anything.

Something in the back of his mind hoped that Natasha was fast asleep as his hands connected with Rachel's hips, dragging her body onto his. She came willingly, naturally moving her hands into his hair. A very familiar position for them to have been in before.

It was she who paused, planting a kiss to his jaw before resting her forehead against his. Eddie knew what she was going to say because it was in her nature.

"Are you sure?" She whispered - the warmth of her breath against his skin and lips brushing his occasionally as she spoke telling Eddie everything he needed to know.

"Absolutely. Are you?"

Rachel just adored him even more for that, wanted to get back to kissing this wonderful man so she could pour all the love she felt into it.

"More than."

That was all the reassurance Eddie needed to continue, taking Rachel by surprise by ducking his head to her neck. She gasped - reminding him that this wasn't a dream, but reality.

….

They'd remained on the sofa entwined for what felt like forever, with Natasha waking up causing them to get dressed - Rachel simply pulling on Eddie's jumper over her underwear for speed.

He couldn't help but admire her before picking Natasha from her moses basket, comforting her cries. As well as the overwhelming thought that he'd have been ten times more nervous handling his daughter before Rachel came back into his life, he couldn't stop the thought of how much he'd missed seeing her in his clothes.

She returned just moments later, breath catching at the sight of Natasha snuggling into Eddie's bare chest. Her smile was instant, all because he was getting more confident with each passing moment. It would have been impossible to stop the swell of pride she felt in her chest.

Rachel didn't think she'd felt as happy as she currently was for a long time.

With just one shared glance, they ventured upstairs to Rachel's room: absently realising that 1:30am was about time they should get some sleep.

Once Natasha had settled again, Eddie placed her in her moses basket and suddenly felt rather unsure of himself. After everything that had just happened he gathered Rachel would want him beside her, but he couldn't make assumptions, couldn't push her when they'd taken the leap again.

Her voice broke his thought processes, a soft whisper yet still full of the lightness he could never hear enough of, "come on, Lawson. This bed is feeling empty without you."

Eddie was more than happy to comply, grinning as he pulled the covers back. Settling in behind Rachel, he couldn't quite resist kissing the curve of her neck: feeling entirely content with having her back in his arms. Things could only get better from here, couldn't they? Because Rachel was by his side and Eddie had spent an awful lot of time thinking that would never be a possibility again.