Twenty minutes later, Eddie pulled into the hospital car park, just outside the entrance of the maternity ward. Without a second thought, he jumped out of the Land Rover and over to the passenger side. He lifted Rachel gently into his arms, placing a reassuring kiss on her forehead as she whimpered painfully. He had contemplated going into the hospital by himself first to get help (and maybe a wheelchair), but he didn't think Rachel would thank him for it. She was frightened and he needed to stay with her.

He lifted her gently into his arms, making his way into the hospital as quickly as he could. He picked up his pace as Rachel cried out in pain.

"I NEED SOME HELP, PLEASE!!!" he shouted desperately

A midwife dashed over to them, grabbing a wheelchair. Eddie smiled at her gratefully, placing Rachel into it.

"She's in labour... I think... and she's bleeding" Eddie explained in a panic

"Ok, it's alright. How many weeks is she?" the midwife asked calmly

"Thirty-seven" Eddie answered

The midwife nodded, offering him a comforting smile.

"You've done the right thing bringing her here. Don't panic. What's your name?"

"Eddie, I'm her fiancé" he explained

"My name is Melanie, I'm a midwife. We'll get this sorted, ok?" she reassured

Eddie nodded.

Melanie crouched down beside Rachel, who was shaking with pain. She placed a hand on her arm gently to get her attention, offering a reassuring smile when she looked up at her.

"What's your name, love?" she asked her

"Rachel"

"Hi, Rachel. My name is Melanie, I'm a midwife and I'll be looking after you, ok?"

Rachel nodded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Are you ok to fill in her details at Reception whilst I get her settled?" Melanie requested, turning to Eddie

Eddie nodded.

"No, please don't leave me!!!" Rachel cried, grabbing Eddie's hand

"Rach, it's ok. I'll be two minutes" he reassured

She shook her head frantically, her grip on his hand tightening as another contraction ripped through her. Eddie sighed, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Alright, Rachel, we'll get you settled first and then I'll take your details, yeah? Eddie doesn't have to leave your side" Melanie suggested

Rachel nodded.

Melanie led them into a large hospital room. After jotting down Rachel's details, she left the room to go and find her maternity notes.

Eddie lifted Rachel onto the bed, helping her to settle back against the pillows. She glanced at him tearfully, her lip trembling. He smiled at her, running his fingers through her hair, his other hand intertwining with hers.

"I'm scared" she whispered

"I know, darling. It's ok" he reassured

She reached out her arms for him, pulling him into a hug. A strangled sob escaped her lips, followed by a groan of pain as another contraction began. Eddie dropped a kiss in her hair, resting his chin on top of her head. He could feel her shaking in his arms, part from pain, part from fear.

Melanie entered the room again, a folder in her hand. She smiled at the couple.

"Alright, Rachel, I've got your notes. When did the pain start?"

Rachel took a deep breath as the pain melted away. She sat up a little, not moving her head from where it was placed on Eddie's chest.

"This morning" she mumbled

"And the bleeding?" Melanie asked

"About an hour ago" Rachel answered

"And has it been heavy or light?"

"Light"

She watched on nervously as Melanie scribbled down some notes onto a piece of paper. Rachel had been in many situations during her lifetime that had caused her to be frightened. She had been trapped in a burning school building, and a caravan that was about to explode. She had been held at gun point by a scared 11 year old. She'd been threatened and beaten during her time as a prostitute, by drunken men who refused to pay or were rough with her. But in this very moment, with her baby's life potentially in danger, she was sure she had never felt more scared.

"Ok. When did you last feel baby move?" Melanie questioned

That was one question in this situation she knew the answer to. And she knew it was a good sign, even if all the other symptoms she was experiencing weren't.

"About five minutes ago. She kicked me"

Melanie scribbled something else down before placing the pen down and closing the folder. She smiled at Rachel reassuringly.

"Ok, Rachel. The fact that you have felt her kick and move recently is a really good sign. Obviously the bleeding is concerning, as well as the pain, but it isn't heavy, which is good. Some women do bleed lightly when they go into labour, and I think that's what's happening here"

Rachel's heart skipped a beat. She'd had her suspicions, but she had hoped she was wrong. It was too early for any of this to be happening.

"I'm going to pop a monitor on your stomach to keep an eye on baby's heartbeat, and then I'll do an internal exam to see if you are in labour, Rachel, ok?" Melanie explained

Rachel nodded, her grip tightening on Eddie's hand.

Once the monitor had been placed on Rachel's stomach, she and Eddie waited with bated breath. The silence was unbearable as they both stared at the screen in front of them, waiting for something, anything to let them know that their baby was ok.

Both of them sighed in relief when the sound of a heartbeat filled the room.

"Baby seems happy, Rachel. She has a strong heartbeat" Melanie announced

Eddie smiled softly at Rachel when she looked at him, squeezing her hand gently. Rachel closed her eyes, letting the sound wash over her. She could listen to it forever.

The peace was interrupted by a contraction. Rachel whimpered painfully, arching her back against the hospital bed as she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming. She had never felt pain like this before, and it was only getting worse.

She sat up in a panic as she felt a gush of liquid staining the mattress beneath her.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked, panicking too

Rachel frantically kicked back the sheet that was covering her bottom half. Her heart flooded with relief when she saw a small puddle of clear liquid beneath her instead of the pool of blood she'd been expecting to see.

"I think my waters have broken" she told Eddie

Melanie took a quick glance at the stain on the mattress, a small smile forming on her lips.

"You are definitely in labour" she confirmed

Eddie sighed in relief, kissing the fingers that had been crushing his a few minutes ago. This was it, the moment they had been waiting for.

"I'm going to examine you now, if that's ok, Rachel?" Melanie requested

Rachel nodded.

Whilst Melanie washed her hands and got everything ready, Rachel shifted on the bed so she was more comfortable. Her grip on Eddie's hand remained tight. He was the only thing currently keeping her grounded.

Their eyes met briefly, Eddie offering her a smile, which she returned.

"Ok, are we ready?" Melanie asked, putting on a pair of gloves

Rachel nodded quietly.

"This might be a little uncomfortable, Rachel. Try and sit still, ok?" Melanie warned

Rachel took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She groaned painfully, burying her head in Eddie's shoulder. She had been warned that the internal exams you had during labour were painful and uncomfortable, but she hadn't really believed it. She did now.

"I'd say you were about three centimetres, Rachel. Things are progressing nicely" Melanie told her, removing her gloves

Rachel wanted to be frustrated that she wasn't further along. But really, she wasn't surprised. The contractions weren't close together. Whilst they were painful and uncomfortable, they weren't intense yet. And besides, this was her first baby. She had been warned that labour with your first baby could be slow. She couldn't deny it, she was exhausted, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that the baby was ok and wasn't in distress.

"So, what happens now?" Rachel asked

"Just rest, try and move around a bit if you can. Gravity does wonders when you're in labour. I'll come back and check on you in an hour, ok?" Melanie explained

Rachel nodded.

"Press the buzzer if you need anything" Melanie added before leaving the room

Once the door had closed, Rachel looked to Eddie. Her rapid heartbeat began to calm when he offered her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand gently. The tense, frosty atmosphere that had been hanging over them the last few days had temporarily eased, a calmness replacing it. They needed to talk, she knew that. But now didn't seem to be the most appropriate time.

She cringed as another contraction ripped through her, burying her head in Eddie's chest as she whimpered. To say she was only three centimetres dilated, the contractions were slowly getting worse. Rachel usually had a high pain tolerance, but she couldn't deny that, right now, she was in pain. She dreaded to think what the pain would be like when she got to ten centimetres.

"Are you ok?" Eddie asked once the pain had disappeared again

Rachel nodded tiredly.

"Do you want to move around a bit? Or are you comfortable where you are?"

"I need to stand up, I'm too uncomfortable" she answered tiredly, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed

With Eddie's help, she got to her feet, shivering as her bare feet made contact with the hospital floor. Eddie wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her, placing a gentle kiss in her hair. She smiled softly as her eyes met with his, her hand coming up to brush his cheek.

"I'm sorry" she whispered

"I've told you, you don't have anything to apologise for, Rach. I just overreacted" he told her

"No, no you didn't. You were right, I shouldn't have gone after Bianca and Gary, I should have waited until the Police arrived and let them deal with it. I was so stupid, Eddie,"

She took a deep breath before continuing.

"When I saw the blood earlier, I was so scared. I thought I'd hurt her and put her danger because of what I did. If she was harmed because of me I wouldn't be able to forgive myself"

"Rach, it's ok, I get it. You just wanted to help Bianca and save her from a dangerous situation. You wouldn't be a teacher if you just decided to leave her behind! You care so much about all the kids and I know you will do anything to help them. It's one of the many reasons why I love you. But you can't be the hero all the time, darling, I know you want to be, but sometimes, for your own sake, you need to step back, accept that you've done what you can and let the right people handle it, yeah?"

Rachel nodded quietly.

"Our baby is fine, you haven't hurt her. She's just decided that she wants to come early, ok? Everything's going to be fine, I promise" he added, placing a hand on her stomach

Rachel couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. What had she ever done to deserve Eddie Lawson? He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, she was sure of it.

Eddie pulled her into a hug as she sobbed, stroking her hair softly.

"Do you still want to be with me? After everything I said earlier?" she asked after a few minutes

Eddie pulled apart from her, cupping her face with his hands.

"Rachel Mason, I will never not want to be with you. I love you. This argument was just a blip, ok? A lack of communication. We're both too stubborn for our own good sometimes. I'm sorry I made you feel that I hated you. Hate is the complete opposite of what I feel for you, Rach. I care about you more than anyone or anything in this world. I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to" he reassured

"I'm sorry I pushed you away instead of talking to you. I just... didn't want to hurt you and I... thought I'd already done that so I just... wanted to run. But I can't lose you, Eddie" she whispered

"You won't lose me, darling. I promise. I understand. We just need to find a way of communicating with each other when things like this happen" he soothed

She nodded, sitting back down on the bed as she took a deep breath. Another contraction was building. She reached for Eddie's hand, squeezing it tightly as she continued to breathe as best as she could.

Eddie sat down beside her, rubbing her lower back in slow but firm motions. He wasn't sure if he was helping, but judging by the fact she hadn't pushed him off or told him to stop; he assumed that it was ok. He hated seeing her pain, and knowing there wasn't anything he could do to help her made it worse.

Rachel sighed as the pain eased off. Her head instinctively move to rest on Eddie's chest. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, allowing her to get closer to him. The sound of his heartbeat pressed against her ear was soothing. His lips placed a soft, gentle kiss in her hair, his thumb rubbing her hip gently.

"I love you" she blurted

Eddie smiled, placing another kiss on her head.

"I love you too"