Rachel collapsed into bed, fresh from the bath. She sighed contentedly as she sank into the pillows.

She couldn't lie, she was upset.

Tonight she had found out she had a nephew. Her little sister had a son. That should have been an amazing revelation.

But she had missed the first 15 years of his life. She felt guilty. Especially because of the way Melissa, his own Mum, had let him down. Maybe if she'd been there, things wouldn't be the way they were.

She was struggling to comprehend Melissa's actions as a Mother. No matter which way she looked at it, she couldn't justify her sister's actions.

Who just upped and left their child like that? It made no sense to her whatsoever. This probably wasn't the first time she'd done this to Philip either, which made it even worse.

And to top it off, Melissa was married to two different men and was weeks away from tying the knot with a third. There was no sugar coating it, Melissa had committed bigamy. And she didn't seem the least bit concerned. Philip seemed to be the one feeling everything for both of them. The poor kid constantly looked overwhelmed and ready to collapse from stress. No 15 year old should have to be put through that.

The evening hadn't exactly gone to plan.

Rachel had approached the evening, with a little hope that she and Melissa could get back on track with their relationship and maybe take that step towards being sisters again.

But she'd been wrong.

Once again, Melissa had been spiteful. Not just toward her, but towards Eddie too. The snide comments she'd made kept circling round her brain, playing on a loop.

"You probably got so many STD's you made yourself barren!"

"What is it then, Eddie, hmm? Does the fact that she was a prostitute put you off?"

Was her sister right?

Did Eddie not find her attractive because of her past?

Did he see her as damaged goods after what Stuart had done to her?

Would he be repulsed by the scars on her stomach? She was, so why wouldn't he be?

Were they just friends and nothing more?

Of course, their relationship was in the early stages, but they hadn't even discussed sex yet.

What were they doing?

The comment she'd made about her not being able to conceive had hurt her most. She had just lost a baby. Melissa didn't know that of course, but it was insensitive. It was also making Rachel panic. What if Melissa was right? What if she wouldn't be able to conceive? What if, when the time came where she was pregnant again, and she lost the baby again? What if she just kept having miscarriages? What if she was being punished for the mistakes of her past?

She hated the fact that her little sister had got into her head and was making her worry about all these things. Especially when it wasn't any of her business! But even so, she had to find out where she stood with Eddie. She knew how she felt. But did he feel the same?

As if on cue, Eddie walked into the bedroom.

He watched her for a moment. She was deep in thought, her eyes burning into the ceiling. He wasn't even sure if she'd heard him come in.

Quietly, he went into the en-suite to clean his teeth, coming back out and changing into his pyjamas.

He climbed into bed beside Rachel. She didn't even acknowledge him, her eyes remaining glued to the ceiling.

"You know Rach, if you stare at the ceiling much harder, it might fall on us" Eddie joked

She didn't laugh or share his smile. He could see it in her eyes that she was upset, angry too. And he didn't blame her. But he wanted to make her feel better.

"Rach? Are you ok?" He asked, placing his hand on top of hers gently

She turned to him, eyeing him nervously.

"Do you think I'm damaged goods?" She blurted, her eyes welling up with tears

Eddie stared at her, taken aback by the question.

"What? No! Of course I don't!" he answered

She wasn't convinced.

Eddie inwardly cursed Melissa for planting such a huge seed of doubt in Rachel's mind. He'd fought so hard to get Rachel to drop her guard down, and she'd started to unravel it all in seconds.

"Rachel, look at me" Eddie requested softly

She tore her eyes away from the ceiling, her big, brown eyes staring inquisitively into his own.

He caressed her cheek with his hand, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. Her tense body immediately relaxed at the contact.

"You're beautiful, Rachel. I think you're beautiful! You take my breath away every single day! I love you" he reassured

Rachel shook her head, he was lying to her.

"You're wrong, Eddie. You're just saying it to make me feel better" she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek

Eddie sighed. He hated the fact that she saw herself like this. Unworthy, unattractive and damaged. She was none of those things. And he needed her to know it.

He brushed the tear away from her cheek, tucking her hair back behind her ear.

"No, I'm not sweetheart, I promise! You are perfect in every way. Nothing will change the way I feel about you. You're special, Rach"

"Nothing?" She questioned

Eddie nodded, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Yes, nothing" he confirmed

Rachel sniffled, letting go of his hand. She lifted up her pyjama top.

"Not even these?" She questioned, pointing to the scars either side of her stomach

Eddie shook his head without hesitation. He'd seen those scars before, so many times. It didn't faze him, not in the way Rachel was expecting it to. It didn't change how he felt about her, how much he loved her. He hadn't fallen in love with her body or looks. He'd fallen in love with her soul, her fiery, yet gentle and loving nature, her passion for her job and her girly giggle. Everything else had come afterwards.

He knew where all of her worries were coming from. She had been objectified so much in the past by various men. She expected every man who came into her life to want her for one thing and one thing only. Sex. But Eddie was different. He needed her to know that.

He took her hand into his own again.

"Rachel, I don't care about the scars on your body, ok? They are a part of you! I love every single thing about you, not just your body, that plays the tiniest part in all of this. Rach, I love the bloody bones of you! Nothing, and I mean nothing will change my mind. You're not damaged goods. Not to me. You're just Rachel Mason. And I love you"

Her eyes welled up with tears as she hugged him tightly. Those words meant the world to her.

"And as for sex, Rach, I want to. But I want to do it when YOU are ready, and I don't think you are just yet" he added

She shook her head

"No, I'm not" she admitted

"And that's ok. Rach, I don't care what anyone else says. We are going to take this at our own pace. I don't care if it's a week, or a year from now, however long it takes, I'll wait, ok?" He reassured

She smiled, catching her lips with his

"I'm almost there, if that reassures you" she whispered with a soft giggle

Eddie chuckled, smiling at her lovingly

"I'm yours until you throw me out, Rach. I love you" he said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm

She smiled again

"I love you too"

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house. Rachel groaned. Who was calling at this time?

Whoever they were, they were persistent, continuing to ring the bell and bang on the door. Rachel got up, Eddie following behind her.

"Alright, alright! Keep your hair on!" Rachel grumbled as she walked down the stairs

She approached the door, opening it slowly. Her eyes widened in surprise as her eyes met the gaze of the late night caller.

"Philip? What are you doing here?" She frowned

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I didn't know where else to go" he mumbled

Rachel stood to the side, allowing Philip to come in. He was trembling from head to toe, eyes darting from left to right.

"Go and sit down with Eddie, I'll make us some tea and then we can chat" she instructed gently

Philip nodded, following Eddie into the living room.

Rachel made Philip a well sugared cup of tea before heading back into the living room. He took it from her gratefully, staring at the floor. Eddie excused himself, leaving the two of them to talk.

"What's happened, Philip?" Rachel asked gently

"Mum kicked me out" he replied simply

Rachel stared at him in disbelief

"What?"

"She was angry with me for telling you about the marriages, so she kicked me out" he explained

"Oh, Philip" Rachel sighed

"I've got nowhere to go, Rachel. What am I going to do?"

Philip suddenly found himself crying. He hardly ever cried.

Rachel put a hand on his arm. She was furious with Melissa for doing this to him.

"Hey, listen to me; it's going to be fine. I'm going to call your Mum and we'll sort it out, yeah? Just wait in here and I'll call her" she reassured, stepping out of the living room

She walked into the kitchen, placing her head in her hands.

"Everything ok?" Eddie asked

"No. Melissa's kicked him out" she sighed

"What? Why?" Eddie questioned

"I'm about to find out" she replied, dialling Melissa number on her mobile

She huffed in frustration as it went straight to voicemail. She tried three more times, and nothing. She groaned.

"I can't believe this, Eddie!" She grumbled, slamming the phone down

"I can. It's Melissa we're talking about" Eddie sighed

"What do we do?" She asked

"He'll have to stay with us tonight. We can come up with a plan tomorrow" Eddie shrugged

Rachel nodded

"I'll go and tell him" she decided

A few minutes later, Rachel and Eddie led Philip up to the spare room. Philip went into the bathroom and got changed and cleaned his teeth before returning to the spare room.

"Thanks for letting me stay" he said

Rachel smiled

"Not a problem. You're always welcome here. We're just next door if you need us, ok?"

Philip nodded

"Night- night" Rachel smiled

"Night, Rachel" he replied

Rachel closed the door behind her before heading into her own room. She crawled under the covers beside Eddie, cuddling into him with a yawn. Eddie sighed, draping an arm around her shoulder.

"What an evening, eh?" He chuckled

"Indeed" she nodded, unable to keep her eyes open any longer