First of all, I want to apologise; when I said I didn't know how long it would take me for updates, I didn't expect this long. Call it writers block but I've also had family dramas and a massive workload. And I just got out of hospital, not to mention I am currently holidaying on Lord Howe Island.

Thanks to those that have waited patiently for an update and to those that have reviewed. I look forward to hearing from you after this chapter is posted.

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Two Weeks Later...

Life was moving quickly in the Rafters' and their families; Melissa had finally decided to take the plunge and marry Ben, Sammy and Nathan were planning the near future and Julie was growing bigger by the minute.

But for Rachel, her changes were something she most definitely had not seen coming.

With Jake and Grace still recovering, Alex was still under Rachel's care. As she'd expected, Grace had been less than thrilled about the arrangement but confined to a bed in a ward at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, she really didn't have much option than to just move on from it. And to show her disapproval of the matter when she felt like it, which Rachel had discovered was very often. But, having almost lost Jake once because of disagreements between his mother and her, Rachel just tried to keep the peace.

Caring for Alex had its tough sides. Deciding it would be best to stay with him at his family's home, Rachel felt increasingly isolated from the comfort of her own family and friends. And having taken leave, she didn't have the escape to work, which she usually loved.

Rachel had given up a lot for Jake, but she knew it was all worth it. How could it not be?

It was only when Alex had gone to his own work, that Rachel really reflected the changes that had recently occurred in her life. Grasping a coffee mug in the dead silence of the relatively unfamiliar kitchen, Rachel contemplated everything, from A to Z.

Rafter House

Julie was lying back against the cushions of the couch, under strict orders to rest. Dave was on the computer, while Ted was making coffee.

"Here, I'll help you Dad," Julie spoke up, watching as her father began to pick up the coffee mugs. But Dave stepped in before she could even get up.

"Ah, no you won't. I'll help." Dad stood to take one of the cups to Julie, the only one that contained herbal tea. Nathan and Sammy had just returned from work for the day, entering the Rafter's kitchen, with Sammy nearly walking straight bang into Dave with the tea.

"Whoa! Sorry," said Sammy hurriedly while Dave just shook her head.

"How was work?" piped up Julie, showing an interest.

"It was great. I think I can actually see a future with the direction I'm taking," replied Sammy excitedly. Her enthusiasm was contagious, the happy vibe rubbing off onto others.

"That's great darling!" replied Julie, extremely happy for her daughter-in-law.

"Hey, has anyone heard from Rachel?" asked Nathan, trying to think back to when he last saw his sister. They were all so used to seeing her, that when she was away, it was like she had been away forever.

"I haven't," Ted replied with the shake of a head.

"No, me either," said Julie, lowering her head slightly as she thought of her eldest. "Jake and his mother should be getting out soon though I'd think." Nathan shrugged his shoulders, each Rafter pondering their thoughts as to what Rachel could be doing at the time.

Royal North Shore Hospital

A few hours later, after Alex had finished his shift, Rachel took him to see his mother and brother, a promise she had made to him earlier. The trip from Jake's house to the hospital took about ten minutes, in which Alex spoke continually. Rachel could barely get a word in edge space, but if she were to be honest, she didn't really know what to stay. After everything that was happening, Rachel often found herself lost for words, as if she was too caught up in it all to think properly.

Alex walked on ahead to the ward he knew his mum would be in. Visiting her every day, he had worked out his way around pretty well. Jake was in another room to Grace, two doors up on the opposite side to the corridor. Rachel had caught up with Alex by the time they reached Grace's door. But peeking his head in, they discovered Grace was asleep, so decided to stop by and see Jake first. He was awake.

"Hello you two," grinned Jake, showing off his trademark smile as he saw the approaching people. Alex made his was swiftly over to Jake's side, while Rachel faltered slightly. It didn't matter how many times she had been there, or how many times he had told her things would be okay, Rachel still wasn't sure. She had nearly lost Jake, sure. But she couldn't help but think of what would happen when Grace was released. Rachel knew that everything she had done, with looking after Alex mainly, would never be up to Grace's standards. And while she often attempted to push the thoughts back as far as she could in her mind, they spent most of the time creeping up on her, so much so that Rachel rarely tried to ignore them now.

"Hey Rach," Jake called out gently, after Alex had told him just about everything there was to know. Rachel hadn't realised but she'd been looking at the ground, her shoulder gripping tightly to the large hand bag hung over the right shoulder. Looking up, she saw Jake motioning to a spot beside him on the bed. Missing the contact, Rachel smiled and walked around the bottom of the bed and slid gently into a sitting position beside him. Neither said anything, just gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.

"I might just leave you two to it," said Alex, standing up. Rachel sat up straighter and went to speak. "I'm just going to see if Mum's awake," Alex said, sensing that Rachel was going to check where she was going. She was like a little mother hen. Rachel relaxed back as he left.

"So is everything going okay?" asked Jake, causing Rachel to look back at him. She thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah. It's all very different, but it's going well." Jake nodded.

"You shouldn't have to do it much longer; I get out day after tomorrow."

"Really? That's great!" replied Rachel excitedly. "Not because of Alex but because you'll be free!"

"Now that's the Rachel I know," laughed Jake at her enthusiasm.

"And you love me for it." She leant down and gently captured his lips with hers. Drawing back, she continued. "When does your Mum get out?

"Not for at least a few days. She's a slow healer," joked Jake. Rachel smiled as Jake went on. "But that's fine; I'll be okay with Alex."

"No you won't be. Because I'm staying. You'll be fresh out of hospital, and definitely shouldn't be over doing it. I'll just stay for a few days."

"Rach, you really..."

"Don't you want me to stay?" pushed Rachel, toying with him. He smiled and simply kissed her again.

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Okay, so after a really long wait, there's the chapter. And sorry it was so short; just seemed like the place to stop. I'll try and update quicker than I did last time, but I'm not promising anything. As soon as I get back to Perth from Sydney/Lord Howe Island, I'm running to check into a flight to Singapore. So I'm kind of all over the place at the moment.

Please read and review. And as for any mistakes, I wrote this partially whilst in hospital. And I was kind of concussed. So forgive me!