Once Rachel had signed the discharge papers and made an appointment for a follow up ultrasound to check for any signs of infection, she left the hospital with Eddie by her side. She knew the coming weeks wouldn't be easy. She had just endured yet another massive emotional and physical trauma that would set her back in her recovery. But, somehow, with Eddie by her side, she felt she could handle it.

To Eddie's surprise, Rachel took his hand into her own as they walked down the corridor. Her smile was infectious, and it had Eddie smiling too. And blushing, embarrassingly.

They made it to Eddie's car, both sitting down either side of each other in the Land Rover.

"Home?" Eddie suggested

"Yes please" Rachel nodded

Eddie started the car, Rachel staring absentmindedly out of the window as they drove out of the hospital car park.

"When do you want to implement our... living arrangements?" She asked as they drove along

"Whenever you want, Rach. Why don't we talk about it tomorrow when you've had some rest?" Eddie shrugged

"I was wondering if we could start now." She questioned hopefully

"Well, I'll have to pack my stuff up into boxes. So maybe the weekend we could," he rambled

Rachel giggled. Eddie didn't understand what she was saying.

"What's so funny?" Eddie frowned

"Eddie, I'm asking you to stay over tonight. If you want to, obviously" she explained

Eddie sighed at himself; of course that's what she'd meant!

"Oh! Yes of course, if that's what you want?"

Rachel nodded

"Alright, I'll have to stop at my flat to pick up some things. We can go now" he added

They drove on, heading in the direction of Eddie's flat. He was happy Rachel had asked him to stay tonight, he hadn't been sure if she would want him to just yet. Neither of them was expecting anything to happen, they just wanted to be with each other. And besides, Rachel wasn't physically or emotionally ready for that.

Just because the doctors had managed to stabilise Rachel, it didn't mean much. She was still in pain, even though she hid it well. And she was still bleeding, the Nurse had warned her that she probably would bleed and be in pain for the next few days. Eddie was a respectful gentleman. They would take this at her pace.

They pulled into the car park of the block of flats. Rachel decided to wait in the car whilst Eddie went in and grabbed what he needed for the next few days. His work clothes, some jeans, t shirts and his toothbrush and toothpaste. He knew Rachel wouldn't be going back to work just yet, but knew she would insist on him going in tomorrow.

He threw his stuff into a bag and headed back out to the car where Rachel was waiting.

"Is that all you're bringing?" She asked as he placed his bag on the back seat

"For now. I'm a simple man, Miss Mason" he smirked with a shrug

Rachel giggled as they drove away

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into Rachel's drive. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.

They got out of the car, the gravel crunching under their feet.

As she was about to close the car door, her eyes fell on the blood stain she'd been sat on from earlier. She sighed, instantly feeling guilty for damaging Eddie's car.

Eddie followed her gaze

"I'm sorry Eddie, I'll pay for the damage" she said, her voice wobbling a little

"Rachel, don't apologise, it's not your fault! I have stuff to clean it with, it's fine. You're ok and that's all that matters" he reassured

Rachel nodded quietly

"Come on, let's go inside" Eddie decided

Rachel handed him her key and followed him to the front door. She breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the hallway.

"Go and sit down and I'll make us both a drink and something to eat" Eddie said, placing his bag down on the floor

Rachel shook her head

"I'm going to have a bath and get changed" she announced

Eddie nodded. He could tell she was in pain. She was massaging her stomach with her hand, swaying uncomfortably on her feet. He knew a bath would help.

"Alright, well I'll make us something to eat then" he decided

"Good luck finding anything!" She said with a small laugh, climbing the stairs slowly

Eddie smiled, heading into the kitchen. He quickly realised she had been right. There was no food in the cupboard or fridge, apart from a bottle of wine and milk. He decided he would do a food shop after school tomorrow. Tonight, it would have to be a takeaway.

Instead of cooking dinner, he pulled out the carpet cleaner he'd bought six weeks ago from the cupboard.

He scrubbed the blood stain off the sofa until it was no longer visible. The last thing he wanted was Rachel coming downstairs after a relaxing bath to see blood on the sofa. She wouldn't relax if it was there, and he couldn't blame her.

Meanwhile, Rachel was upstairs in the ensuite, waiting for the bath to fill up. She wouldn't admit it, but she was in a huge amount of pain and discomfort, more than she'd expected. There was a dull, sharp ache in her abdomen, radiating round to her back. It was intense, nothing she had ever felt before. If anything, she just wanted to sink into Eddie's arms and never leave his embrace. But she knew a bath would help to relieve her physical pain.

As she took the hospital night gown off, she couldn't help but look at her stomach in the mirror. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed it before, but she was seeing it now. There was a small curve in her stomach where the tiny, barely six week old baby had been. It was only noticeable if you knew where to look. Rachel's eyes were drawn to it. Somehow, she could feel the emptiness in her womb, there was a hollow feeling there that made her feel uncomfortable. She could feel the absence of the tiny little thing that had been growing inside her.

The gravity of the situation suddenly hit as she continued to stare.

How had she not known?

What would she have done if she had?

Even though she knew she wouldn't have gone through with the pregnancy, her heart was aching.

What if this had been her only chance to have a baby?

What if she wanted to try again in the future, with a baby she'd planned and longed to have, and this happened again?

And what if she hadn't miscarried and had gone through with the pregnancy? Would the baby grow up to be like its father? No, she would have done everything possible to stop that from happening. But she couldn't help but wonder.

As she sunk into the bath, the warm water rushing over her, taking the edge off the pain, she began to cry again. She wasn't sure if it was from the pain, from what she had just seen in the mirror, or because of the events of the last few hours. It didn't matter, what she was feeling was pain, emotional and physical. And she didn't fight it; she let it wash over her, crying until she had no tears left. She hadn't been expecting the miscarriage to affect her this much. She hadn't even known she was pregnant, and even if she had, the baby's father was her rapist. Regardless of whether she knew or not, surely she should have felt relieved, not sad? There were so many complicated emotions tied into this, it formed a huge knot in her heart that she couldn't unravel.

After twenty minutes, the water was going cold and she was shivering. She wiped away her tears, climbing out of the bath, wrapping a towel around herself.

She walked into the bedroom, grabbing a fresh pair of pyjamas out of her chest of drawers, placing them on carefully and wrapping her dressing gown around herself.

As she was about to head downstairs, she remembered the clothes she had worn to the hospital that were lying in a heap on her bed. They would need washing.

She picked them up, sighing in frustration when the jeans slipped out of her hands. She knelt down to pick them up. Her eyes fell on the large blood stain that had sunk into them. Suddenly, she was sobbing all over again, the pain in her abdomen and lower back returning with a vengeance. She whimpered, desperately trying to pull herself together. Eddie couldn't see her like this, crying over the loss of a baby that belonged to her rapist. It made no sense.

She longed for Eddie to wrap her in his arms and never let go, to tell her everything was going to be alright. After all this time, he was finally hers, but she couldn't let him see her like this.

So she stayed, sat on the floor for a few moments, trying to gather her thoughts.