They drove back to Rachel's house in silence. Both were worried about the note from Stuart and had been glad to get out of the Hospital. Rachel desperately wanted to get home so she could change out of the itchy hospital gown and climb into her bed.

Whilst she wouldn't admit it, sitting in the car was incredibly uncomfortable. The roads of Rochdale weren't the smoothest; there were cracks and holes everywhere due to years of neglect. Each bump and uneven surface Eddie drove over sent a jolt of pain through her entire body.

Eddie could tell she was in pain, it made him want to drive faster to get her home, where she would be comfortable. He knew driving fast would only make things worse, so he refrained, remaining cautious and driving slower. The uneven paved roads caused him discomfort when driving, and he wasn't the one suffering from multiple injuries. He couldn't imagine the pain Rachel was feeling.

They both breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into Rachel's drive and the car came to a gentle stop.

Her eyes scanned the front of the house, the memory of dragging herself out of her car the night before replaying in her mind. She closed her eyes, and Stuart was in front of her again. Her eyes shot open again.

"You ready to go in?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence

Rachel nodded

Eddie got out of the car first and walked around to the passenger side to help Rachel. She grimaced as she climbed out awkwardly, clinging onto Eddie tightly for balance.

It took 10 minutes for them to reach the front door. Rachel could barely walk, every step she took was agonising. She was grateful that Eddie had been so patient, taking each agonising step with her, whispering words of gentle encouragement and reassurance, holding her up so she wouldn't fall.

He helped her to lean against the wall whilst he unlocked the door with the key she'd given him. The door opened with ease, so he helped Rachel inside, closing the door behind them.

"Ok, let's get you settled" Eddie decided

Rachel nodded, turning around to put the bolt on the door back into place. She panicked, realising it had been broken. Eddie caught onto what she was looking at.

"I broke it last night. I had to kick the door in to get to you. Sorry Rach" he explained

As frustrating as it was, she didn't blame Eddie. He'd had to do it. It was the least of her problems.

"It's ok" she reassured

"I'll get you a new one and fit it for you" Eddie offered

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him

"Do you know how?"

Eddie smirked at her comment

"Of course I know how, I am a man you know?" He laughed

Rachel rolled her eyes

"A man should know how to tie a tie before learning how to install a lock on a door!" she teased with a small smile, thinking back to the Governor's meeting they'd had a few months ago when Eddie had, had trouble tying his tie and she'd had to help him

"I do know how to tie a tie... now" Eddie replied with a small laugh

Rachel chuckled a little, quickly regretting it as pain shot through her ribs. She winced, letting out a small whimper of pain.

"Are you due some more painkillers?" Eddie asked, looking on at her with concern

Rachel nodded

"Will you help me upstairs?" She asked

"Sure" Eddie nodded

They head over to the staircase. Rachel cried out in pain as she placed her foot on the first step. Eddie held onto her tightly from behind, stopping her from falling.

She took another step, letting out another yelp of pain. Eddie couldn't take it anymore.

"Would it be better if you lay down on the sofa? I don't think you should be climbing stairs at the minute" he suggested

Rachel shook her head, ignoring her body that was quivering in pain. She wanted her bed.

"No, I'm fine" she insisted

Her body however, thought otherwise. As she took another step, she found herself in blinding pain and was unable to stop the blood curdling scream from escaping from her lips. She sat down on the stairs, suddenly feeling dizzy, the pain causing a wave of nausea to wash over her.

Rachel's scream shook Eddie to the core. He couldn't let her go on like this.

"Right, here's what's going to happen, Rach. If you won't lie down on the sofa, let me carry you upstairs. There's no way I'm letting you take another step!"

Rachel gave in with a nod, in too much pain to argue.

Eddie scooped her up into his arms as gently as he could and carried her up the stairs. When they reached the top, he lowered her down carefully.

The bathroom door was wide open. Rachel saw the blood that was smeared across the tiles. Suddenly it felt like she was lying on that floor again, helpless and in pain. Her eyes brimmed with tears. She hadn't quite realised just how much she had been through in the last 24 hours.

Eddie followed her gaze to the blood in the bathroom. He hadn't thought to clean it up. He'd figured Rachel would have been in hospital for at least a few weeks before she came home. He'd planned to sort it all in that time. But Rachel had, had other ideas.

He put an arm around her gently to comfort her.

"Don't worry, I'll clean it. Come on, let's get you into bed" Eddie reassured

Eddie closed the bathroom door and led her away from the bathroom. They headed slowly into Rachel's bedroom. The two of them felt slightly awkward being in there together.

Rachel pulled out a pair of pyjamas from the drawer of her wardrobe, heading into her ensuite.

The itchy hospital night gown slipped off her with ease. Rachel sighed in relief; she hated the feeling of the scratchy material against her skin.

She froze as she caught a glance of herself in the full length mirror next to the bath. Her breath hitched in her throat. Up until this moment, she hadn't been able to bring herself to look in a mirror.

She was covered in bruising from head to toe. Her eye was swollen, along with her lip. The bruising had camouflaged any pink flesh she had. The bruises were everywhere on her body, bleeding into one another, some blue, some purple, but most a horrible black.

The wounds where the Doctors had entered to operate were stitched shut, the skin around it angry and red. There were three, one on her side where her rib cage was, and two on her stomach, just above her hips.

She was a mess. She couldn't bear to look at herself any longer.

She turned away from the mirror, wiping away her tears with her hand before taking her pyjama top into her hands.

She cried out in pain as she tried, and failed, to lift up her arms. Tears of frustration formed in her eyes. Why couldn't she manage such a simple task?!

Eddie heard her cry out. He rushed over to the en-suite door, knocking gently.

"Rach? Are you ok?" He called

Rachel opened the door, sighing in frustration. She was wrapped in a towel, her hospital gown on the floor.

"Can you help me please?" She asked weakly, holding out her pyjamas

Eddie normally would feel uncomfortable, but Rachel needed his help so it didn't faze him.

He took the pyjamas from her. She turned her back to him, dropping the towel. He saw the bruises covering her entire back, you couldn't miss them. He took a deep breath, his anger toward Stuart only growing, as well as his guilt that Rachel was going through this.

He carefully helped Rachel to put on the pyjama top, trying not to cause her anymore pain or injury. He then helped her put on the shorts.

"Thank you" she said once she was dressed

He helped her out of the bathroom and into bed. She winced as she lay down against the pillows.

"I'll get your medication" Eddie decided

He picked up the two bags he'd left on Rachel's dressing table, reading the instructions carefully. The doctor had been kind enough to write down what she needed to take as soon as she got home from the Hospital. He popped the required tablets out of each pack, filling up a glass of water for Rachel in the bathroom. He handed them to her, putting the tablet boxes back into the bag whilst she swallowed them and drank the water.

When she'd finished, she put the glass on the bedside table, leaning back into the pillows again. Fatigue suddenly began to set in.

"I'm going to let you get some rest, ok? Do you need anything?" Eddie asked

"No, thanks Eddie" Rachel replied with a yawn

"Alright, I'll just be downstairs" he told her

Rachel nodded, giving up the fight to stay awake and closing her eyes.

Eddie closed Rachel's bedroom door quietly and tip-toed back down the stairs. While she was sleeping he planned to clean up and make them both something to eat.

He quickly realised however, that Rachel had no food in to make a substantial meal from, or anything strong enough to clean the bathroom and carpet with. He sighed. He'd have to go to the shops.

Eddie grabbed his keys and quietly left the house, locking the door behind him. The thought of leaving Rachel made him feel uneasy, but he had no choice. Hopefully she would stay asleep and not notice that he'd left.

He got into the car and drove to the nearest Supermarket. After taking a good chunk of time to decide what to make for dinner, he decided on chicken soup in a can with some bread for the two of them. He wasn't sure if Rachel would be up to eating much and thought it best to stay on the safe side. And besides, his cooking skills weren't the best!

After grabbing the soup and bread, he picked up the cleaning supplies before paying and leaving.

On the way back, he stopped at the DIY store to pick up a new lock bolt to go on Rachel's front door, as well as some tools for him to install it with. Then he popped into the pharmacy to get some gauze, dressings, bandages, paracetamol and ibuprofen. Rachel would need them.

His phone began to ring as he got in the car. He answered it immediately, hoping it wasn't Rachel wondering where he was.

"Mr Lawson?"

It was DI Wolfe. Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. He'd planned to call him later to update him about what had happened at the hospital. Now he didn't need to.

"Hi DI Wolfe" Eddie replied whilst putting on his seatbelt

"Sorry, I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time. I just wanted to see how things were going" DI Wolfe explained

"No you're fine. Things are... as you'd expect. Rachel discharged herself from Hospital this morning" Eddie sighed

"They let her go?"

"They couldn't really hold her there against her will. I'm taking care of her while she recovers at home. And besides, after what happened just before we left, it was the right decision to get her out of there" Eddie explained

"What do you mean by that?" DI Wolfe questioned

Eddie sighed

"Stuart Hordley sent Rachel a note. He turned up to the ward she was on and got one of the Nurses to give it to her"

Eddie heard DI Wolfe groan in annoyance

"Did you speak to the Nurse in question?" He asked

"Yes, she gave a full description that matched Stuart perfectly" Eddie confirmed

DI Wolfe sighed

"Alright, I guess we'll go and make some enquiries there. Do you have the note still?"

"Yes, it's here in the car with me" Eddie nodded

"We'll need it to use as evidence Mr Lawson, if you could get it to us when you can" DI Wolfe explained

"I'll drop it off now on the way back to Rachel's" Eddie decided

"Thanks Eddie. Listen, before you go... has Rachel spoken to you about what happened?" DI Wolfe questioned

"No, she hasn't. And I don't expect her to. Why?" Eddie answered, frowning

"We will be coming to interview her in the next day or so. We will need a full statement from her regarding the events"

Eddie sighed angrily

"Look, can't you just leave it? She's been through enough! She doesn't need you coming round asking her questions and making her re-live it all again!"

"We can't just leave it Eddie, I'm sorry. I know it's a sensitive subject and it won't be easy to talk about. We will support her as much as we can through this. Rachel is our best chance of getting Stuart Hordley behind bars for what he did" DI Wolfe reasoned

Eddie knew DI Wolfe was right. But the thought of putting Rachel through endless questioning, making her relive the trauma and possibly having to endure another internal and external exam made him feel sick. It was insensitive and cruel.

"I understand. I'll try and talk to her about it before you come" Eddie sighed

"Thank you Mr Lawson"

Eddie put the phone down, driving over to the police station to drop off the note.