Thank you for the reviews.

Now here is where maybe big events still happen but they happen in a slightly different way.

Oh... and welcome victim number two... Melissa Ryan. This is the bitchy Melissa story that I have been going on about for the last couple of months... and you are in for one hell of a ride.

Chapter Twelve
Next of Kin

Rachel felt like she had a lot to be grateful for. Eddie had obviously been with her all the time she was unconscious and she was grateful that he was the first face that she was greeted with when she woke up. She'd had a few visitors since then, with Tom being one of the main ones to send Eddie home for a bit. She didn't want Eddie to burn himself out for her sake but having him there was a big help.

The thing she wasn't grateful for was the fact that someone had finally managed to contact her next of kin. It meant, that in one of the rare moments that Eddie wasn't by her side, that she had to deal with her sister.

"So, Eddie?" Melissa said.

"What about him?"

"Rather handsome, isn't he?"

Rachel didn't like where this conversation was going. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Do you know if he is attached?"

She almost said yes. Even if it was a little bit of harmless flirting, Rachel didn't think that she could take it if her sister did start to pursue Eddie. He was hers. Hopefully.

"No, but I do believe that he might like someone."

"Tell me."

"Mel…"

"I mean he is such a great friend to you. Apparently he has been here every single day, save for two. I mean, if he does that for a friend, think what he would do for a girlfriend."

Rachel knew that she should have told her sister then but part of her wondered why Melissa hadn't worked it out.

"Remember what I said."

Rachel couldn't stop herself from smiling as she heard Eddie's voice. It was still a great comfort to her to hear him, even though she knew soon he wouldn't be able to visit her as often as he had done. The new term and school year was due to start soon and as much as she wished that she was joining them all, the doctors and Eddie wouldn't allow her to. Not just yet anyway.

"Rachel!" Micheal shouted as they came into sight.

"Sorry, would have been here sooner but Alison dumped him on my last minute," Eddie said as he took one of the chairs at her bedside.

"You didn't have to come."

"I've been meaning to bring him for a while." He turned to his son. "Now where did you put that card?"

Her smile only grew as they looked through Micheal's bag together to find the rather creased card. Micheal handed it to her and she flated it out and read it before it joined the others that she had gotten over the last couple of weeks. He seemed restless on his father's lap.

"Do you want to join me up here?" She said.

Micheal nodded his head. Eddie didn't look so sure.

"Just be careful Micheal."

Eddie handed him to her and she made sure that he tucked himself in her left side.

"No Melissa?" Eddie asked.

"Not yet. She has gone to mine today to pick up some bits but it sounds like she might move in while she is trying to find a place around here."

"Really?"

"Apparently she wants to look after me. I will believe when I see it."

"I'm sure there is someone in a slightly better position to look after you."

She smiled and wished that he had the chance to look after her. If she hadn't believed that she had his full support after she told him that she was pregnant, she knew that she had it now. He was totally devoted to her and it made her feel slightly guilty that she felt like couldn't move onto the next step with him. There were still so many concerns that she had over their relationship and everything that happened before the fire. It wasn't fair on him that she had gone backwards but she hoped, once she had told him that, he might understand. He did tell her once that he would wait for her. She just wondered whether he knew just how long that might be.

Her mood definitely changed once Melissa finally joined them, although it was lifted slightly at the sight of her nephew.

"Philip."

"Hi, Auntie Rachel."

"Honestly Rachel, your house is amazing," Melissa said as she put the bag of Rachel's things on the end of the bed. "Like there is definitely enough room for all three of us once you are discharged."

Rachel shared a look with Eddie.

"Yeah, but what about Philip? You've been in Leeds. What about all his friends? His education?" Rachel said.

"Relax about that Rachel. He's used to moving about. We will just have to find a school nearby. Even better, what about the school you are at? I am sure you can get him in, being the head and all that."

"I…" She hesitated before she turned to Eddie. "Would there be a place at Waterloo Road for Philip?"

"I can certainly look into it," Eddie said.

She didn't know if that was the answer that she wanted him to give. She loved having her nephew around, having missed most of his childhood, but it just gave her sister more of a reason to stay. She would do anything to give her sister a chance to leave. Then it could be just her and Eddie and she could get back on track and they could get to how they were before the fire and have that date and...

"Who is this little guy?" Melissa said.

Rachel was brought from her thoughts and had forgotten that Micheal was there. He had obviously found some great comfort about being with her.

"Micheal. My son." Eddie said. "Rachel is the reason we spend a little more time together."

"Me and Daddy like Rachel," Micheal said.

"And I like you too." She said as she tickled his ribs slightly.

Rachel had been seeing a lot more of Micheal as well and it was part of what made her so happy about her pregnancy. She wanted that instant bond that Eddie shared with Micheal. She sighed, trying not to allow the heartbreak of the miscarriage wash over her. It had been something that she had thought about a lot and she knew that she only had herself to blame. She shouldn't have tried to save Stuart. There were others that could have done that. She should have got herself out and then dealt with it from there. She would still be looking forward to the rest of her pregnancy and she would be ready to go further with Eddie.

"You didn't tell me he had a kid," Melissa said.

"I didn't realise that I had to tell you." Rachel said.

It wasn't long before Micheal got bored of just sitting there and Philip offered to take him on a walk. Rachel could tell that her nephew was just as uncomfortable about Melissa flirting with Eddie as she was. He had obviously put two and two together and got the right answer.

"Oh, I did do what you said and had a look through your emails. I printed out all the ones that said that they were important. Although I don't think that the first one is relevant any more." Melissa said as she handed them over.

"Ah, Rach," Eddie said, nearly jumping out of the chair. "Before you read through those, there is something that I need to tell you."

"A vote of no confidence?" Rachel said as she turned to him. "There was a vote of no confidence against me. Eddie, you said that my job was waiting for me."

"And it is. I sorted it. It cost me a round of drinks and a bottle of scotch for Grantly. But I sorted it. Your job is waiting for you."

"But it seems like I am going to have Ralph Mellor breathing down my neck."

"And we will sort it, Rachel." He sighed. "The reason I didn't tell you was because you shouldn't be worrying about it. You should be worrying about getting better so we can get you back to where you belong."

She thought it over for a moment. "Only Grantly you had to persuade a little more."

"Tom couldn't be quicker at showing his support and actually, I thought I would have to tell him to shut up at the meeting. Steph even sang your praises easily enough."

"Steph?"

"I think she realised how right I was when I said if it was the other way round, you wouldn't give up on them."

"Thought she would need a little more persuading after…"

"Rach, stop worrying yourself. It's over. It has been dealt with. Your job is safe and I will keep the place going until you are told that you are ready to come back."

"I don't think Rachel has ever done what she is told to do," Melissa said.

Her sister's voice broke the moment for Rachel. She knew that Melissa saw it as a conversation between colleagues, she told her that later, but Rachel knew that it wasn't like that. This was Eddie going above and beyond his role as deputy head. It reminded her again how grateful she was to have him in her life and by her side.

"No sign of infection. Good, I think we're getting there."

Rachel was aware of Eddie's small smile. She had only confessed to him recently that the burn on her chest disgusted her and there was a part of her that wished that he wasn't there. He didn't need to see it. But he had insisted. Maybe just to see whether it was as bad as she said it was or just there to try and support her. The self-doubt was building and she knew it would end up with her doing something stupid.

"So, when can I go back to work?"

"Rachel," Eddie said.

She knew that he meant it as a warning as it wasn't really the question that she should be asking but he also meant it in a way that only he understood. She was never one to sit still for very long and no matter how much her doctor was going to tell her that rest was her best option, it didn't matter to her.

"You have to understand when it comes to these kinds of injuries, time really is the greatest healer."

"Maybe we could come to a compromise," Eddie said. "How long until she could go back part-time or start to ease herself back into the paperwork?"

"Because I know you won't do it." She said, hoping to lighten the mood slightly.

"Mason, I do my paperwork. I may just leave the harder stuff to you."

"Don't I know it."

"At the moment, you're not physically ready to go back to work. Or mentally ready, in my opinion. I get that you are desperate but you can't rush these things. My medical opinion would be for rest and more skin grafts." The doctor said.

Rachel wondered how much resting a person could do. She obviously knew that she wasn't a good patient. She only had one thing on her mind and that was to try and stop all the other thoughts racing around.

"Look, as you are basically back to full strength, we will see about getting you back home. Then maybe as Eddie said, we can start easing yourself back in. Rachel, what you have been through is traumatising. You have to allow time to heal, body and mind."

She didn't have to look at Eddie to know that the look he was giving her was one to just accept what the doctor was saying. Once she was home, they could work out a way, together, to getting her back to normal and therefore back to work. It was just annoying to know that Eddie wouldn't allow her to rush herself. Although, that was probably the support that she needed, even if she wouldn't accept it herself.