Three hours later...

Eddie wanted to pretend he hadn't just seen what he had seen when Rachel had slid off her hospital gown to get into the shower. He wanted to ignore it, but he couldn't. The images were stuck in his mind.

There were two large bruises on her upper back. He could tell by the way the colours hadn't quite fully come out yet that they were fresh. She had obtained them within the last couple of hours.

As he sat on the bed, waiting for Rachel to come out of the shower, he had been able to do nothing but think about the bruises. It hadn't taken him long to put two and two together. Rachel hadn't wanted to go near Max for a reason. He had done this to her, Eddie knew it. The way she had tensed in his arms earlier when Max had approached them in the corridor made sense now, as did her reluctance to go back into her office. She had been quiet over the last few hours they had been here. Part of it was down to being tired and recovering from the birth, but there was something more to it that Eddie hadn't been able to put his finger on until now. Max had hurt her. It made his blood boil.

He knew she wouldn't admit that he had hurt her, but he was going to ask her about it anyway. He needed to. What had happened between the two of them after he had left to go and teach his class? What had happened in the hour before she had entered his classroom to tell him that she was in pain?

A small whimper coming from the hospital cot next to him pulled him from his thoughts. He watched as his little girl stirred, screwing her face up as she started to wail. Eddie lifted her into his arms, shushing her and rocking her.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. Daddy's here, you're alright" he soothed

The little girl settled instantly. He smiled as she wriggled softly, a tiny hand reaching up to his face. She was absolutely perfect. He was completely in love with her. His heart threatened to explode with love every time he looked at her. She was a mirror image of Rachel. A small tuft of dark brown hair covered her head. Her nose was the same shape as Rachel's, as well as her lips and olive skin. Just like her Mother, she was beautiful.

For a moment, Eddie's anger toward Max melted away as he looked down at his little girl. All he could focus on was her. She filled his heart with happiness.

The bathroom door opened, pulling Eddie back into reality. He watched as Rachel smiled at him weakly, setting her towel down on the chair. She looked so tired. Eddie thought she was going to collapse on the spot. He stood up, helping her into bed. He watched the way she winced as she lay back against the pillows. He needed to talk to her about Max.

"Is she ok?" Rachel asked, nodding to their baby girl

"Yeah, she's fine, darling" Eddie nodded

Rachel nodded quietly.

"Do you know when Kim is coming? She said she would go and pick up my hospital bag"

Eddie looked at the time. He hadn't realised that three hours had passed. Kim had said that she would be at the hospital just after 3:30pm. It was now 6pm and she hadn't turned up yet.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon. She probably just got caught up with something at school" he reassured

Rachel nodded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently

The response he got hadn't been what he was expecting. Rachel burst into tears, her body shaking with sobs.

Eddie put their daughter down in the cot before sitting on the bed beside her. He pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair softly.

Rachel had seen the bruises on her upper back. She hadn't expected them to be as bad as they were. The sight of them had shaken her. She had been adamant that she wasn't badly hurt, but she was. She was in a lot of pain; just lying back on the hospital bed was too much. Max had done this to her.

Rachel had known Max was emotionally and verbally abusive. He was manipulative, arrogant, sexist and spiteful. Today she had learnt he was also physically abusive and violent. If he could do this to her, what else was he capable of? How much worse could it get?

She couldn't keep this from Eddie. She had to tell him what had happened, no matter how much she didn't want to.

Eddie knew the fact that she was crying was a good sign, even if it didn't seem like it. Maybe she would tell him what had happened off her own accord.

"Rach? What's wrong?" he asked her softly

"I-I need to... show you something" she whispered

"Ok" Eddie nodded

He watched as she pulled down the hospital gown. The two large bruises stared back at him. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't.

"Rach, I think I already know, but, who did this to you?" he questioned

Rachel let out a deep, shaky breath.

"Max"

Eddie nodded silently. Somehow, her confirming it only made him angrier. How could Max put his hands on her like that? How could he hurt her like that? It was disgusting.

"What happened?" he asked gently

"I... confronted him about Philip's punishment. The way he deals with the pupils scares me, Eddie; he grabs them and pushes them around like they're a bit of dirt on the bottom of his shoe. Anyway, he got defensive when I told him the way he dealt with the kids was unprofessional. He started calling me unprofessional and was threatening to have me fired. I threatened to report him to the LEA, he thought I was bluffing so I moved toward the phone to pick it up and he... pushed me against the wall"

Eddie closed his eyes as he sighed painfully. He knew he should have stayed with her whilst she talked to him. He never should have left her on her own with him.

"It was my fault, really. I was stupid, thinking I could stand up to him. I pushed him too far" she added, a tear rolling down her cheek

"Rach, this is not your fault. I don't ever want to hear you say that again! What Max did was wrong, he physically assaulted you. There is no excuse for that!" he reasoned

Rachel nodded tearfully.

"You need to report him, Rach" he added

She sighed heavily. She knew he was going to say that. It sounded like the easy option, didn't it? It was a no-brainer.

"Eddie, there's no point. We don't have any evidence to say that it was him! He will deny it until he is blue in the face! Cases like these don't stand up in court!" she huffed

"I don't, care, Rach, he's not getting away with it! Have you seen the bruises on your back? They are bad, Rachel, you know they are. He did that! Someone who does something like that should not be teaching or working in a school, you know that!" he argued

"It's his word against mine" she mumbled

Before Eddie could respond, there was a knock at the door. Rachel and Eddie looked up to see Kim and Philip stood in the doorway, smiling awkwardly at them. Rachel could tell from the look on Kim's face that something had happened. Her heart immediately filled with dread.

"What's going on?" she asked

Kim and Philip stepped into the room, closing the door behind them. The silence was worrying Rachel. Her eyes shifted to Philip, who was looking at everything but her. Rachel's suspicions about something being wrong were only growing.

"Philip, are you ok?"

Philip nodded silently.

"Uhm- Rachel, there's something you and Eddie need to know" Kim announced nervously

Rachel and Eddie stared at her expectantly.

"Max has... been arrested"

Rachel's jaw dropped to the floor. This had to be a joke, right? By the look on Kim's face, she knew that it probably wasn't, but it had to be. Rachel knew for herself that he had a temper and was violent, but she hadn't expected this. What had he done that was so bad for him to be arrested?

Eddie managed to find his voice before she did.

"What for?"

Kim sighed painfully as she glanced at Philip.

"Do you want to tell them?" she asked him

Philip shook his head, his gaze remaining glued to the floor. Kim returned her gaze to Eddie and Rachel, who were watching her nervously. She didn't know how she was going to tell them what Max had done.

"Max has... physically assaulted Philip"

Rachel's gaze moved to Philip, her heart breaking when she saw him begin to tremble.

"Philip? Is this true?" she asked gently

Philip nodded quietly.

"Max wanted me to... spy on you, find out what you did in your personal life and report back to him if you said anything about him or the school. I... refused and he... well he pushed me and I... fell against the cabinet in your office" he explained

Rachel gasped in horror as Philip lifted his shirt to show her the bruise covering his shoulder. Eddie closed his eyes, sighing painfully. How had they let this happen?

"This morning he was threatening me, saying that he would fire you if I didn't do what he asked. He was saying all these vile and cruel things about you, Rach. I just lost it and I answered back. That's why he was making me scrub the steps outside"

Rachel sighed. If she could stand up, she would have jumped out of bed, wrapped her arms around him and never let go. Instead, she reached out for his hand, squeezing it gently. Suddenly it all made sense as to why Philip had been avoiding her. She wished he'd come to her and confided in her, or that she had spotted the signs that something was wrong. She felt honoured that he had wanted to protect her, but guilty that she had let him down.

"When did it happen, Philip?" she asked

"Two months ago" he mumbled

Rachel was immediately concerned. Two months and the bruising was still vibrant and evidently sore. That wasn't right.

"You need to get it seen to" she told him

Philip shook his head.

"I'll be fine" he insisted

"No, Philip. Go now and get it seen to!" she demanded

"I'll take him in a minute" Kim offered

Rachel nodded gratefully.

"So what happens now? The Police can't just take Philip's word for it that Max assaulted him, can they?" Eddie asked

"Well, actually, there's video evidence" Kim announced

Rachel and Eddie frowned at her.

"The CCTV camera in your office, Rachel, it's working. We managed to get the footage of it. And the one from today when he assaulted you too" Kim explained

Rachel felt her breath hitch in her throat. She pushed the memory of Max pushing her out of her mind.

"The Police have the evidence they need to take him to court. They just need you to make a statement, Rachel" Kim added

"I'll go with you to the Police Station when you're ready" Eddie cut in

Rachel smiled at him weakly. The thought of having to relive it all again scared her. But she knew she had to. If it meant Max got what he deserved and couldn't harm anyone else, it would be worth it. If Philip could do it, she could too.

"Everything's going to be fine, Rachel, Max won't be teaching ever again" Kim reassured

Rachel nodded. A weight had been taken off her shoulders knowing that. But that didn't make any of this any easier. They still had to testify in court and make their statements. Hopefully it would all be worth it in the end.

"Is this my little cousin?" Philip asked, looking at the tiny little girl in Rachel's arms

Rachel nodded again, smiling as she lifted the newborn closer so that he and Kim could see.

"She's beautiful, Rach" Kim breathed, peering over Philip's shoulder

"She's perfect" Rachel whispered

"We'll leave you all to get some rest. Come on Philip, I'll take you down to AE to get your shoulder looked at" Kim decided, quickly hugging Rachel and Eddie

"I'll see you later, Rach" Philip said, smiling weakly at her

Rachel grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently.

"We'll talk about this properly tomorrow, Philip, ok?"

He nodded, following Kim out of the room.

Rachel sank back into the pillows, sighing in relief. Eddie placed a soft kiss in her hair, smiling when she hummed contentedly.

"Are you ok?" he asked

"Yeah" she nodded

"He's getting what he deserves, Rach. He can't and won't hurt or bully anyone else ever again. When you come back from maternity leave, Waterloo Road will be yours again"

Rachel smiled at that.

"I love you" he told her

"I love you too" she replied, leaning up to peck him on the lips

As they shared a passionate kiss, the little girl in Rachel's arms let out a loud cry. Rachel and Eddie pulled apart, turning their attention back to her.

"We love you too, darling" Rachel whispered to her, rubbing her daughter's cheek gently

"What are we going to name this little one?" she added, staring at Eddie inquisitively

"I quite like the name Charlotte, you know?" Eddie pondered

Rachel turned back to their daughter, examining her features carefully. Out of all the baby names they had discussed and written down on their list, Charlotte hadn't been one of them. And yet, it seemed to suit her perfectly.

"Charlotte Lawson... I like it" she nodded, beaming at Eddie

"Welcome to the world, Charlotte" Eddie whispered, stroking the little girl's hand with his thumb

The end.

Thank you for reading! Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts! :)