A/N: Thank you for all your lovely comments, they mean so much to me! I'm excited to share these next few chapters with you all!! Hope you enjoy!!
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Two days later...
It was 4:30pm on a Sunday. Eddie and Rachel were laid together on the sofa, a blanket covering the two of them as their second movie of the day played on the TV. Rachel was fast asleep, her head resting contentedly on Eddie's shoulder and her body curled into his side. What was supposed to be a pretty action-packed, had unexpectedly settled down.
They had spent yesterday morning at the Supermarket doing their Christmas food shop, as well as their normal weekly food shop.
Rachel had been overwhelmed by how busy it had been. People were pushing and shoving one another, yelling and arguing over silly little things. It had taken everything in her not to go into 'Head-Teacher Mode' and to organise them all into an orderly queue!
It had taken them an hour and a half to get what they needed, and another half an hour to pay and leave. By the time they got home and had put everything away, Rachel was flustered and annoyed. To cheer her up, Eddie had shoved her favourite tinned chicken soup into the microwave for their lunch.
After that, they had got in the car and drove to the reservoir for a walk around the lake. The fresh air had done them both the world of good.
They had been planning on spending this morning wandering around Manchester Christmas Market, followed by spending the afternoon making a ginger bread house together. Neither of them had been to a Christmas Market before and, as it was their first Christmas together, they'd wanted to do something to get into the festive spirit.
Rachel had also never made a Ginger Bread House before, so Eddie was determined to educate her.
Their plans, however, had been postponed. Rachel had woken up feeling unwell. For once, it wasn't the nausea or dizziness causing her trouble. It just seemed to be general pregnancy fatigue, as well as some aches and pains. It was a relief that the nausea hadn't come back, but also a concern that she was feeling ill in another way now.
Being her stubborn self, Rachel had still wanted to go out. Eddie had said no, insistent that she needed to rest. Her not putting up much of a fight told him just how tired she was and that she needed a day to just relax. So that's what they were doing. They'd both changed into their pyjamas and had settled on the sofa. Even Philip had got into his pyjamas and joined them!
Eddie had made sure Rachel had a hot water bottle, paracetamol and water near her. As he had expected, she had fallen asleep on him fifteen minutes into the first film. He didn't mind of course, he was glad she was resting. He had been planning on making a start on dinner, but Rachel was comfortable and he wasn't about to wake her up and disturb her. She had also mentioned yesterday that she was craving pepperoni pizza. So it would probably be a pizza night for all of them.
He looked down at her as she shifted in his arms. She was still asleep, her breaths slow and steady. One hand was resting on her stomach, the other resting on his chest. She looked so relaxed and peaceful. It made him smile. He really did love her so much.
As he continued to watch her chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, he realised just how different his life was compared to a few months ago. He'd gone from being a single and somewhat miserable man, living alone in a flat, to falling head over heels in love with Rachel and moving in with her. He had a Step-Nephew and was going to be a Father. Did life get any better than that?
He was the happiest man on earth because of Rachel. She had turned his life around in the most magical way. His heart erupted with butterflies whenever he looked at her. She took his breath away every single day. He hadn't believed in true love until he met her. She was the kindest, strongest and most beautiful woman he had ever met. She was his everything. He'd be lost without her.
It was at that moment, with Rachel fast asleep on him, that he realised he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He thought back to how lost he had felt when she was in the hospital last week, and he never wanted to feel like that again. He wanted to grow old with Rachel and be able to love and protect her for as long as he lived.
He wanted her to marry him.
As he watched the film, a plan started to form in his mind as to how he was going to propose. He had a lot to do, but it would be worth it. What better way to end the year than with a proposal?
Rachel stirred as Philip left the room to get something from upstairs. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in her surroundings. Her body was still achy and sore, and she really wanted to go back to sleep. But, as she realised they had moved onto another film, she knew she needed to try and stay awake. She hadn't even intended to fall asleep.
She sat up slowly with a yawn, smiling at Eddie, who was gazing at her.
"Hey, sleepy head" he whispered, tucking her hair back behind her ear
"Hi" she mumbled
"How are you feeling?" he asked
"Tired and achy" she sighed, wincing as she sat up a bit more
Eddie placed a kiss on her forehead as he pulled her into him. She sighed contentedly, her eyelids uncontrollably drifting closed as she settled into him again.
"Don't go back to sleep, love. You won't sleep tonight otherwise" he told her
"I'm so tired" she mumbled
"Why don't I get you a glass of orange juice to wake you up a bit?" he suggested
She nodded.
Eddie pulled himself up from the sofa, frowning as Rachel followed him.
"What are you doing?" he asked
"I need to take my anti-sickness tablet and start cooking dinner" she explained
"Go and sit down. I'll bring you your tablet" he insisted
"What about dinner?" she questioned
"We're ordering pizza" he told her
"I was going to make lasagne tonight"
"You're not well enough to be cooking, darling" he reasoned
"I feel better" she argued
Eddie cupped her cheek with his hand.
"And I'm glad, but you're not over-exerting yourself today. You can make lasagne tomorrow. Right now, you're going to have a little stretch, and then you're going to sit down again and rest, ok? I'll bring the pizza menu in"
"Yes, Mr Lawson" she huffed, rolling her eyes playfully
Eddie smiled, kissing her forehead gently as a thank you for compromising.
He headed into the kitchen, stretching his limbs as he went over to the fridge. He poured the orange juice into a glass and grabbed one of Rachel's anti- sickness tablets, as well as the pizza menu.
Rachel sat up when Eddie came back into the living room. She smiled gratefully as he passed the tablets and orange juice to her.
"Thank you"
"No problem" Eddie smiled
They sat in a comfortable silence as Rachel sipped on her orange juice and swallowed her tablet whilst looking at the pizza menu. It was at that moment that Eddie decided to initiate the beginnings of his plan to propose.
"I'm going to go and get Philip and see if he wants anything" he told her
"Ok" she nodded
Eddie snuck away, climbing the stairs up to Philip's room. He sighed in relief when his door was open. Knocking was only going to make him more nervous.
Philip smiled at him awkwardly.
"Can I have a quick word, mate?" Eddie asked
"Sure" Philip nodded
Eddie closed the door, leaning against it nervously.
"Have I done something?" Philip asked immediately
"No, no, mate. I-uhm- I just need to ... ask your advice and to... run something by you" Eddie explained
Philip couldn't lie, he was a little nervous about Eddie wanting his advice. He wasn't good at giving people advice, especially to an adult. What could Eddie possibly want his opinion on?
"Ok..." he answered hesitantly
"Uhm...well...I," Eddie stuttered
Philip immediately started to panic at Eddie's shifty and jerky behaviour. He was going to deliver bad news. Every single one of his Mum's boyfriends had acted exactly like this before upping and leaving, especially the ones he'd really gotten along with. Eddie was about to tell him he was leaving. He wasn't hurt for himself, he was hurt for Rachel. She loved Eddie so much and he knew how heartbroken she'd be by his actions, especially with a baby on the way. Philip hadn't thought Eddie was the type to do such a thing, but he'd thought that about some of his Mum's boyfriends and they'd all upped and left anyway so what did he know?
If he was leaving, Philip was a little disgusted that he had come to him first rather than speaking to Rachel. It was a cowardly act. He refused to take any part in whatever Eddie had planned.
"Are you leaving?" he blurted
Eddie stared at him, in shock.
"What? Leaving where?"
"Are you leaving Rachel?" Philip questioned rather bluntly
"No! God, no, Philip! I would NEVER do that!" Eddie reassured
Philip sighed in relief. He hated the fact that he jumped to conclusions like this so quickly now. But it was something he couldn't control. All the men in his life that he had ever looked up to had left him. Whilst he truly believed that Eddie was different, there was still a small amount of doubt in his mind.
"So, what's this about then?"
Eddie sat down on the chair next to his desk, wringing his hands together nervously.
"It's the opposite of what you said really, Philip. I-uhm- I want to ask Rachel to marry me"
Eddie watched as the biggest grin formed on Philip's face.
"About time!" the boy exclaimed
Eddie chuckled.
"I just... wanted to run it past you before I... you know, started making plans. I want to know if you're ok with this" he explained
"Of course I am! Eddie, this is great! When are you planning on doing it?"
That was when Eddie found himself spilling all of his ideas onto Philip. The five minute chat Eddie had been planning to have with him, turned into an hour long conversation of careful planning. By the time, Rachel shouted them from downstairs to ask if everything was ok, they had a solid plan for Eddie to put into action.
When Rachel shouted them for a second time, they both headed downstairs.
Rachel frowned at the two of them when they entered the living room. Eddie sat down next to her, squeezing her hand gently. The mischievous glint flickering in his brown iris's only made her more suspicious.
"You look a bit better" Eddie commented, noticing some of the colour had returned to her cheeks and she looked less tired
"What were you doing?" she asked curiously
"Philip wanted some help wrapping a Christmas present" he explained
Rachel looked at Philip, who nodded in agreement.
"And it took you an hour?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow
"I'm a mathematician, Rach. It's all about precision when it comes to wrapping presents!" he shrugged
Rachel giggled. She knew it wasn't the truth and that they were both up to something. But she was happy not knowing what it was. The two of them seemed so happy so it couldn't be anything bad.