Four hours later...

Eddie finished plating up the small bowl of chicken, peppers and rice for Rachel. He wasn't sure if she was awake or not, as he had left her to sleep. It had been a few hours, so he did feel less guilty about potentially having to wake her up. He just hoped she'd be able to stomach the food he'd cooked for her.

He placed the bowl and a glass of water onto a tray, carrying it carefully into the living room.

As he suspected, Rachel was still asleep. He paused. He could tell how tired she was by the fact that she hadn't even stirred when he'd opened the living room door. Usually, she was a light sleeper. On this occasion, she was flat out. He didn't want to wake her when she looked so relaxed and peaceful. But, he also knew she wouldn't sleep later on tonight if he left her. And even if she just had a little something to eat now, it might help.

He put the tray down on the coffee table before sitting down on the edge of the sofa in front of Rachel. He brushed her cheek gently with his thumb, watching as her eyes fluttered open slowly. He smiled softly at her as she stared at him, her eyes coming in to focus on him.

"Hey" he whispered gently

"Hi" she whispered back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes

"How are you feeling?" he asked

Rachel paused for a moment, internally assessing herself.

"Not great" she mumbled eventually, rubbing her forehead as she pulled herself up into a sitting position

Eddie smiled sympathetically.

"I've made you something to eat. Hopefully it'll settle your stomach" he told her, nodding to the tray on the coffee table

She nodded weakly, unconvinced. Whilst the smell of the food on the coffee table wasn't making her gag, it didn't mean anything. The toast she'd made at lunchtime had, had no initial effect on her, until she'd put it into her mouth and had started to chew. She hoped this time she would be able to keep down whatever Eddie had made for her. She'd like to be able to eat something without being sick for once.

Eddie carefully placed the tray on her lap, leaving the glass of water on the coffee table.

"I've made it as bland as possible" he told her with a hesitant chuckle

"Thank you" she smiled gratefully, picking up her fork

"And there's ginger tea in the cupboard if you feel sick again" he added

"When did you get ginger tea?" she frowned

"I went shopping yesterday when you were... at the Police Station. There's some ginger biscuits too" he explained, hesitant to bring up the events of yesterday again

Rachel nodded. For a moment she had forgotten about her current reality. A student was dead because of her. That would haunt her for the rest of her life, she was sure of it.

"You eat that. I'll go and finish the dishes, and then we'll talk, ok?" Eddie suggested

Rachel paled at the word 'talk'. Talking was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially when she knew exactly what Eddie wanted to talk about. The baby. The fact that she was pregnant. She wanted to do everything but talk about it. She wanted to ignore it completely.

Still, she nodded quietly.

Eddie stood up, heading back into the kitchen. He turned on the tap, collecting up the various pots and pans around the kitchen that needed washing as the sink filled with water and the washing up liquid frothed. He thought it was a good sign that, so far, he hadn't heard any gagging or retching coming from the living room.

As he scrubbed away at the pots in the warm, soapy water, he thought about Rachel's earlier revelation. They were going to have a baby. The thought filled him with joy. He couldn't stop the smile forming on his lips. He really was over the moon!

But, he knew that Rachel wasn't. He knew from the tears that had formed in her eyes. He knew from the way she couldn't bear to look him in the eye, from the way her lip had trembled when he had asked her what was wrong and she'd told him it was 'nothing'. Her reaction had both surprised and confused him. If anything, he'd expected to be the one freaking out, not her.

As far as Eddie knew, Rachel wanted a baby. It was what he wanted too. They had discussed it over and over again. He had seen and delighted in the way Rachel's eyes had lit up at the thought of becoming a Mother. He'd expected her to be overjoyed when she'd finally learned that she was pregnant. And yet, she wasn't.

Of course he knew she was probably frightened. It wasn't the first time she'd been pregnant. Losing Stuart's baby had affected her massively; she was bound to be fearful of the same thing happening again this time around, Eddie was too. But there seemed to be more to it than that. Eddie couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly, but there was something. He knew if he asked, she wouldn't tell him. But they needed to talk about it.

Once the pots had been dried and put away, he headed back into the living room.

Rachel was sat up with her legs crossed, leaning against the arm of the sofa. The bowl of rice had been half-eaten and was now sitting on the coffee table. Eddie chose not to say anything. She'd eaten some of it, more than he'd thought she would, and that was what mattered.

"Alright, love?" he asked softly, sitting down beside her

She nodded, wringing her hands together nervously.

"Thank you for making dinner" she said, breaking the silence

Eddie smiled.

"Was your rice ok?" he asked

"It was. I couldn't eat it all though, I'm sorry" she answered

"Don't apologize, Rach. You ate most of it" he pointed out

She nodded quietly.

"So, can you trust me not to blow up the kitchen now?" he teased, nudging her gently

"I wouldn't go that far" she replied, smiling weakly

Eddie chuckled.

"Do you want anything else?" he added

Rachel shook her head.

Eddie watched Rachel for a moment. It was clear to him that she was drowning in her thoughts. He could hear her thinking. He hated the fact that he couldn't read her, or tell what she was thinking like he usually could. He wanted to help, but he wasn't sure how. All that was clear to him was that she was shutting down emotionally and he needed to try and stop it before it was too late.

He reached out to wrap her hand in his. When she flinched and pulled away, he sighed heavily. As much as he tried not to take it personally, it hurt when she shut him out.

"Tell me what's going through your head, Rach"

"I can't" she whispered, tears glistening in her deep, brown eyes

"Hey, hey. It's ok" he soothed, rubbing her arm comfortingly

Rachel shook her head, pushing his hand off her arm. She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Come on, love, talk to me" Eddie encouraged

Rachel shook her head again, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"What are you worried about?" he questioned gently

"Nothing" she mumbled

"You're worried about something, darling. I can tell" he insisted

"I'm fine" she whispered, a stray tear rolling down her cheek

"You're not, I know you're not" he argued, brushing the tear away with his thumb

"Eddie, please" she snapped, pulling away from him again

"Alright, alright. I'll back off" he sighed

Eddie watched as the colour suddenly drained from her face. He grabbed the bin, passing it to her as she pressed a hand to her mouth. He watched helplessly as she threw up the contents of her stomach into the bin.

"Sorry" she said once she'd finished

"Don't, Rach. It's not your fault" he insisted

"I want to go to bed, I'm tired" she told him

"Ok" he nodded

With Eddie's help, Rachel got slowly to her feet. She stood there for a moment, clinging onto his shirt as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Thankfully, it passed quickly.

"Ok?" he asked

She nodded, letting go of him and heading upstairs. He followed behind her, just in case she had another dizzy spell.

When she went into their bedroom and came back out again with her pyjamas and toothbrush in hand, he was confused. He frowned when she stepped over to the door of the spare room.

"What are you doing?" he questioned

"I'm sleeping in here tonight" she told him simply

Eddie couldn't help but scoff.

"What? Why?"

"Because I want to" she shrugged, refusing to look him in the eye

Eddie sighed. He was beginning to wonder if it was him Rachel had the problem with, not the baby. Of course he wanted to believe he was wrong, but the way she was acting towards him made him question if he was right.

"Rach, have I done something?" he asked

"No" she answered, a little taken aback by his question

"Ok... then why are doing this?" he questioned

She sighed, her eyes staring at the cream carpet under her feet.

"I just... need some space" she told him

"From me?"

"From everything"

Eddie sighed heavily.

"Please, don't shut me out" he begged

"I'm not" she replied

"Fine. I'll say goodnight then" he nodded, kissing her cheek gently

"Goodnight" she replied, pushing on the door handle to the spare room

Eddie was about to head back downstairs, when he changed his mind.

"Rach?"

She looked at him expectantly through the gap in the door.

"I love you" he told her

She smiled weakly.

"I love you too"

The door closed. Eddie let out another deep sigh. He hated the fact that Rachel was pushing him away. He hated the fact that he felt like he was letting her. But he didn't know what else to do. For all he knew, he could wake up in the morning and she would be gone. He didn't think she would actually do that, but if she was pushed far enough, she would.

As hard as it was, he knew he would have to give her what she wanted. To get back on track, he'd have to give her some space.

So, he went back downstairs, grabbing the bin from the living room. He took it into the kitchen, washing it out before letting it soak in disinfectant.

...

Crying.

It was all Rachel could hear. The relentless crying of an infant. It filled her ears, her heart, her soul, consuming and threatening to drown her.

The school corridor was pitch black when she finally opened her eyes. It was so dark; she couldn't see her hand when she put it in front of her face. The lockers of the hall lurked eerily in the shadows. A window was open somewhere, the icy breeze sending a chill down her spine.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she shot down the corridor, blindly following the noise of the crying baby. She was desperate to get to them, to soothe and comfort them. Every instinct within her was screaming at her to get to them. Her life depended on it.

She approached the classroom, her eyes falling on the bassinet, which had been placed in the middle of the room. She sighed in relief. The baby was still crying, the volume growing increasingly louder.

As she pushed on the door handle, she paused. The sound of humming mingled with the crying.

Rachel watched through the glass as Earl appeared from the shadows of the classroom. He was the source of the humming. She pushed on the door handle again as the cries of the baby grew louder. The door was locked. She banged on the glass.

"EARL! OPEN THE DOOR!" she shouted

Earl turned to look at her, an evil, sickening grin forming on his face. When she saw the gun in his hand, her heart started to beat rapidly again. She pounded on the glass, desperately pushing on the door handle again and again as she screamed. It was no use, Earl's arm was raising higher and higher into the air, getting closer to the tiny baby resting in the bassinet.

"EARL! STOP, PLEASE!" she screamed

BANG!

It was too late. The once cream-coloured bassinet was now stained crimson. Silence filled the building, only being broken by Rachel's screams and Earl's evil cackle.

...

The screams coming from the spare room chilled Eddie to the bone. He shot out of bed, dashing into the spare room.

Rachel was sat up in bed. She was trembling violently, a sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Her breathing was wheezy and mingled with sobs. She glanced at Eddie briefly before looking away again. She couldn't stand the look of concern and pity he was giving her.

Eddie carefully sat down beside her, holding his arms out for her. He was surprised when she wrapped him in a tight hug. Surprised and relieved. He had been expecting her to reject him or push him away. He was glad that she hadn't. He pulled her shaking frame into his chest, rubbing her upper back as he shushed her gently and ran his fingers through her silky soft hair.

"It's ok, Rach, you're ok" he soothed

"I couldn't save them" she blurted

"Who, darling?" he asked

"The baby... our baby. Earl shot them and I... couldn't stop it" she explained

Eddie placed a kiss on her temple, hugging her tighter as she sobbed hysterically.

"It was just a dream, Rach. It's alright" he reassured

She nodded, pulling away from him as she wiped her tears. Eddie tilted her chin, smiling at her reassuringly when she looked at him. She offered him a weak smile in response.

"Why don't you come to bed? You don't have to sleep in here on your own" he suggested

Rachel shook her head, causing Eddie to sigh. He'd thought they'd been making some progress

"Come on, love" he pleaded, tucking her hair back behind her ear

"I'm fine here" she mumbled

"You're not" he argued

"Leave me alone, Eddie. I just want some space" she huffed, turning her back to him as she lay down and closed her eyes

Eddie stayed by her side, stroking her hair gently. When she was finally asleep, he reluctantly left her side to go back to their room. He had thought about carrying Rachel back into their room, but he wasn't sure she'd appreciate it. He needed to give her the space she wanted.