Hi everyone, thank you for the reviews.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, there are only two left now including this one, just to let you guys know x
As Rachel drove home from work, she found herself becoming increasingly worried about her mother's willingness to go to the police. She just had a gut feeling that Susan was going to back out, and with experience, Rachel's gut feelings were usually spot on. But as she pulled on to her driveway, she thought of Eddie, and his reassuring words from that morning. Yes, her gut feeling tended to be accurate, yet his opinions even more so. Even if this evening didn't go completely to plan, Rachel realised that she now had Eddie by her side every step of the way. And for now, she seemed to glean enough comfort from that to emerge from her car and approach the front door.
Walking through to the hallway, Rachel's anxiousness was only heightened upon seeing Susan pace up and down in the kitchen and hearing Eddie's voice seeking to calm her.
Once she reached the kitchen, Rachel managed to capture the end of Eddie's current sentence.
"... once you reveal everything to the police Susan, Graeme isn't going to hurt you. Or any of us. You've got to trust Rachel and I on this one."
Rachel leant against the door frame, planning to give her agreement, "he's right mum."
Both Susan and Eddie's heads turned to the source of the voice, and Rachel became witness to the true extent of her mother's panic. Longing to assist Eddie with diffusing the situation, Rachel made her way towards the breakfast bar where Eddie sat, and perched on a seat next to him.
"I get how nerve wracking this must be for you. God knows, I'm worried too, after everything he's said."
Her voice hitched slightly when pondering Graeme's exact words, and Eddie sensed this, bringing his hand to rest on her knee comfortingly. Rachel turned to smile at him briefly before readjusting her attention upon Susan, hoping that her words had provoked some sort of positive reaction.
"This really is the only option isn't it?" Susan glanced up at her daughter and Eddie, eyes full of uncertainty and worry.
"I think so mum. I just… I can't see another way which will be... beneficial to us all."
The elder woman nodded, still very much unsure of herself but accepting the voice in her head which was telling her that Rachel and Eddie were in fact, correct.
"Right," Susan stated shakily, affirming her prior nod, "and Rachel, you're coming with me?" she waited for an answer before continuing, "and everything's going to be alright, isn't it?"
Now Rachel stood to maneuver herself round to where Susan stood. Upon reaching her, Rachel placed a hand on each of her mother's shoulders.
"Yes, it is. So you go and put your shoes and coat on, and I'll be right behind you."
A final nod was given by Susan before she turned with a brief smile.
Hearing the kitchen door lock into place, Rachel span round and walked slowly back on herself towards Eddie.
"I think you need to listen to yourself too," he began upon seeing an anxious expression similar to that of Susan's, "it is going to be alright Rach."
She nodded, allowing Eddie's arms to envelope her slightly.
"Think I'm better off listening to you at this point. You normally make the most sense."
Eddie chuckled slightly, hoping to alleviate the tense atmosphere to some extent. And he gathered that it worked, from the way Rachel attempted a crooked smile. It was brief but very much genuine, and Eddie felt glad upon thinking that he was an influence on that.
"Come on then," Rachel announced, wrapping an arm around Eddie's so that they were linking arms, "I'd better go and get this over with."
….
"Hi," Susan said warily upon reaching the front desk of Rochdale police station. Just before she began to speak once more, she felt the comforting hand of Rachel resting on her back. The gesture alleviated any thoughts that Susan was currently having about backing out. She wasn't alone here, and had to remember that, "I'm Susan Fenshaw, a few weeks ago, I reported an assault… and well, at the time, I didn't reveal the perpetrator. I just… now, I think I'm ready to talk to someone about it."
"Thank you for coming in Mrs Fenshaw, if you could just take a seat over there, and I'll get one of our officers to take you to an interview room."
Susan smiled her thanks before she was led gently over to a seating area by Rachel. Once sat down, Rachel was glad that after only a few moments, an officer emerged from a nearby room. She worried that if it had been left any longer, her mother would have followed through on her undoubtable contemplations and ran straight out of the door.
"Mrs Fenshaw, Miss Mason, if you'd like to follow me."
As the two family members stood, Rachel decided to take hold of her mother's hand. All along, Rachel had put across the message that she would be there for Susan throughout this process, and she intended to follow through with that promise now.
Upon entering an interview room, Rachel was glad to see that the officer who had originally dealt with the assault was sat at the table. The young woman had been marvellous previously, so Rachel hoped that Susan would take some comfort from her presence.
After adjusting the recorder and stating their names, time and date, the male officer began to speak.
"So, my understanding is that you are willing to tell us who carried out the assault on you, on the 2nd of November."
Suddenly more unsure of herself than ever before, Susan glanced across at Rachel, who gave her a firm but encouraging nod. It was all the reassurance she needed to continue.
"It was my husband. Graeme Fenshaw."
….
After their revelation to the police, Susan and Rachel had been reassured by both officers that they had enough evidence to arrest Graeme. It seemed that although the threats were their word against his, when they were couple with everything else, it proved enough to almost ensure that Graeme would be sent down. They had also mentioned their finding of unknown fingerprints on a belt used to hit Susan, and hoped that upon bringing Graeme in, those would be matched to his own.
Back at Rachel's house which had been built up into a home for them all in recent weeks, the adults including Philip were enjoying an Indian takeaway. Something which was well needed after recent events. As Rachel placed her plate down on a nearby cabinet, and leant against Eddie, she was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of the home telephone.
Sighing slightly upon standing, Rachel made a move for the phone, and put it against her ear to answer.
"Hello."
"Hi there, is that Susan Fenshaw speaking?"
Rachel instantly recognised the voice to be that of the female police officer from that evening. She hoped with all her heart that it was good news.
"No, it's Rachel Mason, but she's here with me now. I'll just grab her for you."
Passing the phone over to Susan, Rachel momentarily took a seat next to her mother, hoping to catch glimpses of the conversation.
"Hi, Susan Fenshaw speaking."
"Hi there Mrs Fenshaw, it's PC Roberts speaking. I just wanted to inform you that we managed to locate Graeme, and arrest him."
"Oh right… erm," Susan succumbed to a slight smile and Rachel couldn't help but feel a swell of happiness upon hearing the officer's words, "thank you for letting us know."
"We are still waiting for the DNA results from the fingerprints to come through, and we will inform you of that as soon as possible, along with any further developments."
"Okay, thanks again."
With goodbyes spoken, Susan turned to the eyes of Rachel, Philip and Eddie. All three seemed to radiate with relief once they became witness to Susan's true expressions.
"They've arrested him, and they're awaiting DNA results," Susan managed to put her words across through the abundance of emotions which seemed to cascade over her. And as Rachel, Philip and Eddie came over to her with open arms, she found herself pondering on just how much her life had changed in recent weeks. Susan had never been privy to such substantial support, and it was something which warmed her heart massively.
"Thank you… all of you. For this support."
….
Deciding that an early night was well and truly on the cards, Rachel and Eddie ascended the stairs to join Isabelle, who was currently sleeping in her moses basket in the spare bedroom.
"What did I say?" Eddie said with a smile as they reached the top of the stairs, "told you everything would work out just fine."
"Hmm and I did say i should listen to you more often," Rachel responded as she found herself returning Eddie's somewhat infectious grin.
As Rachel's gaze left him for a split second, Eddie found himself completely understanding her current expression. She wasn't concerned or worried by anything, but something seemed to be playing on her mind.
"What're you thinking?" he queried lightly.
Once more aligning their eyes, Rachel allowed the curiousness to etch into her features, "do you think Philip and my mum are up to something?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well… I don't know really. It just feels like they're perhaps… planning something."
Eddie looked thoughtful for a moment, "now you mention it, I suppose they have been slightly secretive."
Rachel shrugged, turning towards the bedroom door slightly, "I guess we will soon find out what's going on, if anything is."
Eddie hummed his agreement before following Rachel through the door. As the pair got settled into bed, they gleaned some joy from the fact that they were wrapped in one another's warmth and embrace for the third night in a row. Drifting off to sleep, Rachel and Eddie were left unawares to Philip and Susan's plans, who were currently booking a restaurant for the couple the following evening. Time was the only thing which would tell.