Hi everyone. Firstly, can I just say a massive thank you to - Mrs Carmichael, faeftvanity, RachelMasonFan39, Lynny, wrprincess and the guest for your wonderful reviews. Every one of them made me smile, thank you so much for your support. Also thank you to anyone else who is reading this story.

I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far, please let me know what you think of this chapter x

Eddie's thumb hovered over the call button hesitantly. He had been doing this for several moments now. Get a grip. Her sister has died. It irritated Eddie enormously that he couldn't seem to put the severity of this situation above his feelings for Rachel. Even though, deep down, he knew that these events outweighed his own thoughts massively. This had to be done.

….

A sliver of surprise washed over Rachel when she heard her phone ringing. She was clueless as to who would be ringing her at this time. Unbeknown to her, this feeling of shock would seem miniscule compared to the brick wall that was about to collide with her life.

Sure enough, seeing Eddie's name alone forced her lungs to inhale sharply. Despite her previous logics to do the right thing and rid him from her life - she had kept his number. Just in case.

Rachel had been so taken aback by the sight in front of her, she hadn't even thought about answering yet. Of course, she knew that she should pick it up. Something could've happened. It seemed like the only plausible explanation for his call, Rachel couldn't understand why else he would be ringing her.

What though? What had happened?

All of a sudden she began to shake prominently at the thought of hearing his voice. It was now or never. She had to hit that answer button soon; he was bound to give up any second now.

….

On the ninth ring it crossed Eddie's mind that he should hang up. Rachel's probably deleted his contact, she won't know it's him.

How wrong he was.

Just before Eddie was about to rip the phone from his ear and explore his next best options; Rachel's voice engulfed him.

"Hi."

That one word was full of uncertainty and curiosity. That one word fortified Eddie's heartbreak surrounding what he was about to tell her. This was a world away from easy.

….

Rachel had decided to bite the bullet, to answer the phone with a simple 'hi.' As soon as Eddie reciprocated her greeting, Rachel was sure her earlier suspicions were truthful. His tone was bursting with sorrow and concern. From past experience, she knew that he saved that particular resonance for serious situations.

It had surrounded Rachel's ears several times: Stuart Hordley, the fire, the gun incident, the day she rejected him, but most of all, their break up.

His voice held stark parallels to all of these events. This was how she knew her instinct was right. Rachel wasn't sure what, but something was very wrong.

….

It was his move, his turn to speak next. Oh how he wished it wasn't. After all though, Eddie was the one who had called her; it was only right that the next utterances came from his end. Rachel would be anticipating an explanation for his contact.

"Rach…"

….

"Rach."

Despite Rachel's underlying worry, she couldn't help the way this made her heart soar. Eddie had been one of the few people to call her 'Rach.' It was fair to say she had been missing that just as much as him.

Silence broke out between the pair for several seconds, a silence that Rachel imagined would be even more intense face to face. She sensed that Eddie wanted to say something important. Equally though, she guessed that whatever he was going to tell her was difficult to say. Because of this, she allowed the man a few moments to compose himself.

Rachel had a sudden urge to be with him, to encourage him to talk. Swiflty, this was interrupted and replaced with the uncomfortable feeling of a harsh reminder.

That wasn't a possibility.

….

Eddie could faintly hear a sigh escape Rachel's lips.

What was she thinking?

He was grateful for the segment of time she offered to ready himself. Although, this only reinforced how they were meant for eachother: they knew one another inside and out.

He couldn't let those feelings take over the purpose of this conversation.

"I … I'm at the hospital. I need you to come… erm, we can talk about it more when you get here."

Eddie winced at both his uncertainty and vagueness. Deep down though, it was the best way. He couldn't stand the thought of telling Rachel such harrowing news over the phone. No, this had to be done in person.

….

The hospital?

Confusion.

Fear.

Dread.

With that she remembered.

I'm 6 months actually.

The spiteful words of Rachel's sister once again echoed in her mind. They made her realise something though; if Melissa was six months in July, she'd be nine months now. Last week was her due date.

This still didn't help Rachel to understand. It didn't make sense. Why was her presence needed?

Along with her question, an abundance of unwanted thoughts began to swirl around in Rachel's mind. They were only emphasised by her earlier inkling surrounding the matter.

If this was to do with Melissa and the baby, a positive outcome was unlikely. Rachel knew there was no way Eddie would've rang her just to inform her of the birth. She guessed he would've acknowledged how painful it would be for Rachel - to see the love of her life with his child, her sister's child.

Despite all of this, she cared about Eddie deeply; equally as much as all those months ago. For once, her heart won. Her mind was defeated.

She would be there for Eddie, no matter the circumstances. Rachel had to find out what was going on.

….

Precisely half an hour later, Rachel emerged from her car. Almost instantly, a bitter wind hit her: this only dampened both the atmosphere and her mood. Along with the breeze, a surge of nerves crashed down on her. She was anxious for two reasons; anxious to come face to face with Eddie once more, but also anxious about the possibilities.

Her eyes scanned the entrance to the hospital, awaiting the sight of Eddie Lawson. Sure enough, she spotted him straight away: Rachel could recognise his face anywhere.

Noticing him allowed her to observe the heartbroken expression set into his face. It matched perfectly with his earlier tone of voice.

This was bad.

Their eyes locked and his manner lifted accordingly. Hope? Rachel wasn't convinced. She was sure of one thing though: there was no turning back now.

….

Eddie became increasingly aware of Rachel moving towards him. Despite the enormity of the weight hanging over him - Eddie couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and in awe of Rachel's beauty. Nothing had changed in that respect.

He was so wrapped up in his mind that Eddie hadn't registered Rachel was now directly in front of him. Their close proximity brought the reality of the situation home for him.

This wasn't about his feelings, this was about Melissa.

Their greetings bared countless similarities to the beginning of their conversation on the phone. They were short and sweet, it was better that way.

The only difference was the profusion of tension that surrounded them. He gathered straight away that Rachel's suspicions were high. She knew something was up.

The woman averted her gaze the second their initial conversation had passed. This was his cue.

"We should sit down, go somewhere more private."

….

Rachel felt her own expression change the moment Eddie's words sank in.

Sit down? Go somewhere more private? Again, from past experience she knew that these utterances were the foundations for bad news.

Her legs wouldn't seem to work, they had turned to jelly. Eddie seemed to sense this change of strength in Rachel's posture. She watched him hesitate then eventually succumb to the urge to reach out to her. She clung onto his arm as if she would never let go - Eddie's touch was the only thing stopping Rachel from falling apart.

Not knowing was something Rachel had always avoided. She needed to know what had happened here; so she could at least try and cope. Somehow though, she made it to the safety of a chair with Eddie's help, and braced herself for the inevitable.

….

Eddie spent their journey from the car park to the waiting room replaying what he wanted to say in his mind. It didn't matter what angle he looked at it from, this was going to be one of the most difficult things he would ever have to do.

He acknowledged that there had been bad blood between the sisters - ever since Melissa made Eddie choose. Even so, he gathered this would make it worse for Rachel. Knowing her, she would drown in guilt.

Eddie longed to place his hand on her leg, her arm, anything that could remove some of the pain. Instead, he inhaled a gulp of air and attempted to explain the past few hours bit by bit.

….

Rachel felt like she was in a living nightmare. Everything around her just seemed to cave in, all previous thoughts were discarded. She tried to force her ears to focus on what Eddie was saying, but it was useless.

How does this make sense?

All she could hear was ringing, continuous ringing that only escalated with Eddie's last sentence.

"Rach I'm so sorry, Melissa didn't make it."

Didn't make it? How was that possible?

Melissa, her sister, is…

was, she was a fighter.

….

Eddie yearned for Rachel to say something, anything. Her response was unclear. Infact, she was frozen.

Rachel's eyes were fixated solely on the floor. That was when she prized them shut. He guessed she didn't dare to open them for fear of what would happen next.

Only when her eyes unlocked did Eddie see it.

The first tear.

He watched her wipe it away in a fury, she had never been one to express her emotions. Eddie ached to reach out to Rachel and tell her it was okay, that it would get better.

Before he could make his mind up, the image of Phil was made clear in the corner of his eye. Eddie acted on instinct to flash the boy a kind but serious look, which read to wait a minute.

He knew that Phil of all people, would understand his aunt's need for space at a time like this.

As expected, that tear wasn't the only one. A flood of salty drops began to cascade down her cheeks and Eddie was alerted to the full extent of her breakdown.

His earlier yearning arose once more. This time, he settled on an arm draped around her shoulders. His gesture caused the woman to sob extensively, uncontrollably.

Accordingly to this, the presence of Phil was remembered and Eddie soon beckoned for him to come over. For now, Philip would be the one to comfort his aunt. Rachel needed her nephew.

Eddie wasn't sure if Rachel was ready for the warmth and consolation he was willing to give. Time was of the essence.