Whilst Rachel was talking to Bolton, Eddie had gone downstairs to photocopy some paperwork. As the paper spat out of the copier, Bridget approached him.

"Sorry Eddie, there's someone in reception wanting to see you"

Eddie frowned, following her

Bridget led him over to Melissa, who was stood awkwardly in the corridor. Eddie groaned.

"She wanted to see Rachel, but she's busy, so she asked to see you instead. She seems pretty keen, she was here yesterday" Bridget explained, eyeing Melissa suspiciously

"Thanks Bridget, I'll take it from here" he nodded

Bridget walked away, leaving Eddie and Melissa alone. He couldn't believe she'd shown up here again.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed

"I just wanted to speak to Rachel" she shrugged

"I told you I'd sort it!" He huffed

"Have you spoken to her then?" She questioned

"No! Rachel has a lot on her plate right now! You're the least of her concerns!" He argued

Melissa rolled her eyes

"So when are you going to speak to her? Eddie I don't have all the time in the world, I'm getting married soon!" She grumbled

"I know! Look, I'll try and speak to her today, but I need you to leave, now"

"Fine. But make sure you talk to her, Eddie. I'm counting on you" she sighed

Eddie pushed her out of the front doors, watching until she drove away.

With the state Rachel was in when he got back from the pub last night, Melissa had completely slipped his mind. He'd planned to bring it up with her another time, when she was feeling better emotionally. He thought about bringing it up tonight whilst they were at the hospital getting her wrist checked. He made a mental note to assess the situation later.

Taking the paperwork from the photocopier, he signed it off before heading up the stairs to Rachel's office.

He passed Bolton on the way in. He had an odd look on his face and he refused to look at Eddie as he walked passed him. Eddie frowned, choosing to ignore it as he walked into the office.

Rachel was sat at her desk, looking perplexed. He put the paperwork down on her desk, noticing how she stared at them blankly.

"All signed and ready to go" he confirmed

"Thank you" she replied simply, deep in thought

"Everything ok?" He asked

Rachel nodded

"Everything alright with Bolton?" He checked

She sighed in frustration, confirming to Eddie that, that was what was bugging her.

"I honestly don't know. He's not his usual self, I know that much. He says he's fine, whether I believe it or not is a different matter"

"It's probably just hormones, Rach. He'll be fine tomorrow" Eddie reassured

Rachel nodded unconvinced

"Rachel said Melissa was here. Did you speak to her?" She asked, changing the subject

Eddie paused

"Eddie, you can tell me if you spoke to her, I won't be angry" she promised

"Actually, I spoke to her at the pub last night, after you left. I was going to tell you, but you were upset and I didn't want to pile on anymore stress" he admitted

"It's ok. I take it she told her version as to why we don't speak anymore?" She questioned

"She didn't actually. I told her I didn't want to know. If anyone's going to tell me what happened, it's going to be you, Rach. I don't want to hear it from anyone else. I know you don't like to talk about your family, so I won't push you" he reassured

Rachel sighed. She was grateful that he was so patient with her. But she owed him an explanation.

"It was a long time ago. Mum had died a few years before. My Dad forced me to get a job so he could put food on the table and buy himself alcohol. That's how I got into prostitution. I had no choice, no one else would hire me, and I'd only just turned 17. I hated every second of it, but I did it because I had to. I didn't want to let my family down, or upset my Dad. Eventually I decided when I was 19 that enough was enough, I couldn't do it anymore. I'd saved up enough money to get myself away from him, so I told my Dad I'd quit. He got angry. He beat me before kicking me out. Melissa was on his side, always had been, she hated me for leaving. Our Dad poisoned her against me. She did nothing when he beat me black and blue before throwing me out"

Eddie sighed painfully. After hearing what Melissa had done, he wasn't so keen on the idea of trying to talk Rachel into making amends with her sister. Melissa didn't deserve it. Why should Rachel have to be the bigger person and put things right, when she hadn't done anything wrong in the first place?

"Rach, I'm sorry" he sighed

"It's ok" she shrugged

"What did she want anyway?" She asked

"She wanted me to try and talk you round to the idea of you coming to her wedding. I said I'd try, but now I know the full context, I don't think it's my place to tell you what you should or shouldn't do" he explained

Rachel sighed

"In this instance, I wish you would. Because I'm conflicted as to what to do for the best" she admitted

Eddie sat in the chair opposite her desk

"Why don't you tell me why you're conflicted, and I'll give you my best suggestion?" He offered

"Ok" she nodded

"Obviously she's my sister. A part of me will always care about her. I'm happy she's marrying someone she loves. But I just don't know if I want to let her back into my life, you know? She could easily hurt me again. But I don't want to turn her away and regret it either. I don't know what to do"

Eddie processed what Rachel had said before coming up with an idea.

"Ok Rach, here's what we'll do. Let's give her a shot. We can invite her and her fiancé for dinner. Nothing extravagant, just a takeaway at home. We can see how it goes. And if you decide you don't want anything to do with her, or if it's too much, then you cut ties with her and don't have to see her again. And if it goes alright, then we can go from there, yeah?"

Rachel nodded

"Melissa gave me her number last night to give to you. You can text her later and we can make arrangements, ok?" He suggested, handing her the post it note Melissa had given him

"Thank you" she smiled, kissing him gently on the lips as she put the post it note into her pocket

She didn't know how, but Eddie always had the ability to make her see sense, to make any situation seem clearer.

The bell rang out for the start of second lesson. Eddie sighed.

"I've got to get to class, I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

Rachel nodded, returning to typing out her email to the LEA.

A/N: Hope you're all enjoying so far! Let me know what you think! :)