Hi guys! Currently up at Surfer's Paradise, after last weekend's Gold Coast 600 car race. And given I'm on a production break, we kind of decided to stay a few days! Absolutely having a ball...
And I think my partner might be up to something, I'm just not quite sure what. He's been weird all day and disappeared... Damn, a guy thinking big? Scary thought!
Second part of this up now... Remember to read and review, despite the corny, slightly soapy storyline...
Again, Rachel had first confided in Melissa at the discovery she was unexpectedly expecting. Getting over the initial shock at being pregnant, she'd turned to the nurse and her sister-in-law.
And being the calm, level-headed nurse that she was, Melissa was comforting, yet honest.
"Calm down and find out for sure before you start freaking out about something that might not even be happening," Melissa had told Rachel. At first, Rachel had seemed intent on freaking out and barely listening to anything Melissa was saying. And poor Melissa had a hell of a time trying to get any word in between the over-reacting blonde's tirade of words.
"I can't calm down! I'm single, I'm barely talking to the father and I'm still the newbie at work. I've got plans... and none of them involve a baby yet!" Rachel had no idea what she was on about anymore; there were too many thoughts swirling around her head.
"Just focus on one thing at a time. For starters, have you confirmed, you're actually..."
"Pregnant?" Rachel finished for her. "Yes."
"Because those tests aren't always accurate," Melissa added. Rachel nodded.
"Well I did. I went to the doctors yesterday," Rachel replied. "They called me this morning."
"And you, haven't spoken to Jake?" Melissa asked tentatively.
"I've barely seen him. He's barely talking to me," Rachel told her, putting her head down on the outdoor table. The two girls were sitting in the backyard of the Rafter house.
"I haven't known Jake as long as you, but he strikes me as the caring type," Melissa decided. "He'd probably want to know. It might be good for you too."
"No, no, I can't," Rachel put her hands up. "He hasn't wanted anything to do with me in weeks now."
"But that's between you too. This is completely different," Melissa pointed out. Rachel didn't say anything, merely slumping her head back down on the table.
Next Day
Rachel had gone to work, albeit extremely distracted, and attempted to work off all the problems she had. Or at the very least, to forget about them for a period of time.
But it had failed. She was far too distracted to concentrate properly on the campaigns in front of her. She was like a robot, working on autopilot. She barely even registered what she was doing. And it wasn't going unnoticed.
Medusa was the one to pull her up on it. Rachel had been grateful for Medusa's help in the past. And when Medusa told Rachel that the mock up she was getting printed was for the wrong campaign for the second time that day, Rachel called it a day, taking her work home with her.
She'd been home for a few hours, questioned several times by her mother as to why she was home already, and had managed to achieve almost nothing by the time Melissa came over to see her later that afternoon, apparently just finished work judging by the fact she was still in her nurses' uniform.
"I'm not coming to check up on you," Melissa immediately told her sister-in-law when she entered Rachel's bedroom. "I'm just here if you want to talk." Rachel smiled knowingly and nodded.
"I know what I'm going to do," Rachel 'fessed up and told the nurse. Melissa waited for Rachel to continue. "I'm going through with this. It sounds completely crazy and I don't even know what I'm thinking but I'm not giving up this baby. I can't do that again." Melissa smiled and nodded.
"And Jake?"
"I'm going to tell him," Rachel continued. "Whether or not he cares, he has a right to know."
"So I can officially say congratulations now?" asked Mel with a big smile. Rachel laughed before giving her sister-in-law a hug, both of the girls laughing.
Rachel honestly had no idea what she was doing. But she did know that she was going to try, because no matter what the circumstances behind it, this was a good thing. And although scared, Rachel was happy.
/
Telling Jake was one of the hardest things she had done. But the moment she had, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
It took her two days after her congratulatory talk with Mel to work herself up enough to actually tell him. Despite it being a Saturday, Jake was working for the morning with Dave to finish off on a large contract. He'd been standing by the van with Dave, Nathan joining them from next door. As she'd expected, Jake had barely wanted to talk to her.
"Can't this wait? We've got a job on," Jake had said when she asked to talk to him.
"No, it can't," Rachel had said defiantly before she walked off towards the Rafter backyard, giving him little option other than to follow her. Dave and Nathan has watched the pair leave, curious.
His initial reaction had been that of shock, something Rachel wasn't surprised at; she'd had the same reaction herself. He'd questioned her motives for dragging him out here, given they'd barely spoken in weeks. And then she'd confessed, spilling all. Jake had blinked, before sitting, or better said slumping, down onto the outdoor setting they'd been standing next to.
With Jake apparently unable to say anything, Rachel took the liberty of continuing her own words.
"I'm not asking you for anything. I'm not asking you to be involved. But you have a right to know."
"God Rach. When?" Jake wasn't managing to get his words out in full sentences.
"When did I find out?" Rachel clarified. "A few days ago."
"A few days ago? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jake had asked, still shocked.
"Jake, you've barely spoken to me in how long. Besides, I needed time to get my own head around it all," Rachel said honestly. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."
"Oh no Rach," Jake was quick to tell. "I just meant, you should have told me sooner so you didn't have to go through it all alone."
Rachel registered his words, being painfully reminded yet again of the Jake she had fallen in love with.
"Are you… going to, uh…" Jake didn't know where to find the words, leaving Rachel to fill in the gaps.
"Keep it? Yes," Rachel told him plainly. "You know my past. I can't go through that again." Jake nodded.
The pair agreed to talk later that day, when Jake finished work, and see where they were to go from there. Whilst Jake left in a daze, Rachel took a huge sigh of relief at feeling like she didn't have it all bottled up inside.
/
They'd talked, just as they'd both promised each other that day. Jake was adamant that he wasn't going anywhere, a fact that Rachel was secretly extremely thrilled about. As for the discussion of a reconciliation between the pair, neither would commit to anything when their heads were so muddled with their latest news.
And somehow, this little piece of news had made the wedge between the couple appear that much smaller. Whether it was smaller or not was unsure, but the fact that they sent each other goodnight texts later that night, caused both of them to smile.
/
Barely a week later, with Rachel able to concentrate better on her work given she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders, she was at EMB, sitting in her office when Liam had entered. He informed her that the clients were ready and waiting. And then as a sore point, he'd told her to smile, because she was being a sore loser.
It was at that moment that Rachel saw his exact true colours. A slimy little toad that Jake had had picked right from the start. Whether or not it was to do with the fact that she was feeling overly emotional at the present, Rachel had taken it to her boss, Paul Morgan. And he'd given her an option; build a bridge and get over it or walk.
And, half surprising herself, Rachel picked walk. Leaving the building, Rachel couldn't believe how immensely free she almost immediately felt. Whoever knew a work place could be so toxic?
And it's when Rachel went about amending the bridges in the lives of the people that really mattered. And first stop had been Jake. After a word to Alex, Rachel had headed for the footy field Jake was apparently training at. She stood off to the side, watching. Camel spotted her first, before seemingly sending Jake in her direction.
It's when the apologies started flowing. Telling Jake that he had been right all along about her job, that she loved the gift he had given her recently and telling her that she was wrong. And much to Jake's delight, that she didn't want to lose him.
He hadn't been able to help the smile that crossed his face as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. The reconciled couple were completely oblivious to Jake's cheering footy friends behind them, a whole football team relieved that Jake was back with his girl and perhaps able to concentrate a little more on the game from now on.
And we have one final chapter to go... This is not a long fiction; I was planning on making it a story length fiction, but it appeared to just drag on. Then it became a one-shot... Which then felt *way* too long. And then it ended up like this; a three-parter.
Read and review guys! Thanks a heap. xx
