The moment the Paramedics arrived, everything started to happen relatively quickly. Eddie was pushed out of the way as Lauren and Martin (the Paramedics) kneeled down beside Rachel to assess her. They asked him the occasional questions, such as how far along Rachel was in her pregnancy and how long she had been feeling like this for. He answered them confidently, wanting to help in any way he could.

They were whispering things to one another that he couldn't quite make out. Even if he had heard, he probably wouldn't have understood what they meant. Medical terms were a foreign language to Eddie.

Even so, he felt like he was on the outside looking in. He was being ignored, and they were ignoring Rachel, who was sobbing quietly on the floor, an occasional whimper escaping from her lips as they checked her over. He desperately wanted to kneel down next to her and comfort her, but he wasn't allowed anywhere near her until they'd done their checks. He wouldn't have minded keeping his distance if she wasn't so frightened.

Their silence worried him too. He wanted to scream at them, to demand they tell him what was going on. But he knew that wouldn't help. Rachel needed to be in a calm environment, him kicking off wouldn't provide that.

He forced himself not to break down as an oxygen mask was placed gently over Rachel's face. He pushed away the memories of the last time she had ended up in an Ambulance with him by her side. He remembered the day Stuart attacked her like it had happened yesterday. He remembered the blood and cries of pain. It haunted him, and he knew it haunted Rachel too. But he couldn't think about that now. Rachel needed him.

Once Rachel had been lifted onto a stretcher, she was carried outside towards the Ambulance. Eddie followed, climbing into the back of the Ambulance as Lauren settled Rachel on the gurney. He watched as she was attached to some monitors, flinching every time they beeped or made a noise.

Rachel opened her eyes, looking around the Ambulance. Her heart started to beat rapidly again as she took in her surroundings. She sighed in relief when she saw Eddie sat opposite her. She was so scared, but seeing him there made her feel less alone. She knew she was safe if he was around.

Eddie smiled weakly as she reached out her hand for him. He took it, squeezing it gently as the Ambulance started to move. They were going to sort this. Everything was going to be ok.

...

Two hours later...

The hospital was the last place Eddie wanted to be. He knew Rachel felt the same. There were too many memories here that they wanted to forget.

They'd been here for two hours. Two agonisingly long hours. Eddie was sure they would be here for the foreseeable. Judging by the concern of the Paramedics when they had arrived, Eddie knew he had been right. Rachel wasn't well and she needed all the care she could get.

Perhaps the two hours wouldn't have dragged by so slowly if he hadn't been separated from Rachel. Perhaps if they weren't on opposite sides of the hospital, the waiting wouldn't be so bad.

The Ambulance journey had felt ridiculously long. Longer than it actually was. The minute they had arrived in the hospital, everything started to move quickly again. Before he knew it, Rachel was being wheeled away, leaving him to talk to one of the Doctors that would be in charge of Rachel's care. Once their conversation had finished, he was instructed to sit and wait. That's what he'd done for the last two hours. He'd sat and waited, he'd gotten himself a coffee, and he'd observed others in the waiting room. He'd waited and worried.

His concern for Rachel was continuing to grow. Just when he thought he couldn't be any more concerned or worried his anxiety over the situation shot up that bit more.

He knew morning sickness was common in early pregnancy, he knew it was normal. But to suffer from it as much as Rachel was, wasn't normal. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. He just wanted her and the baby to be ok. He wanted Rachel to be back to her normal self, enjoying the pregnancy she had waited so long for.

He was so worried. His heart had practically leapt out of his chest when he'd found her unconscious on the living room floor.

Was it his fault? Had he let her do too much today? She had been running around like a headless chicken all day, he would admit that. He didn't think he would have been able to stop her, but he should have tried harder.

Was the stress with Bolton and Paul more than she could handle?

Why hadn't he just dealt with it rather than her?

Why hadn't he forced her to stay at home?

Why hadn't he tried to negotiate with the GP receptionist to try and get her an earlier appointment?

Why, why, why, why?

What if, after all this, she did lose the baby? What if these were the symptoms leading up to a miscarriage? What if, because Rachel hadn't been able to eat or drink properly, the baby wasn't getting the things it needed to grow and develop properly? He didn't think Rachel could survive another miscarriage. He couldn't watch her go through another either, especially when it was his baby this time.

"Eddie?"

It was Philip. Eddie sighed in relief at the sight of him. He had forgotten he'd called him an hour ago to explain what had happened. He'd forgotten Philip had said he would get the bus and would be there as soon as he could. In all the chaos, he had forgotten about Philip.

"Hi, mate" he replied

Philip sat down next to him, not knowing what to say. He never knew what to say in situations like this. But he wanted to be there for his Auntie. He was so worried about her. He knew she hadn't been well, he knew Eddie and Rachel had been keeping things from him. But the fact that she was now in hospital made him worry even more.

"How's Rachel?" he asked, breaking the silence

"I don't know yet. I think she's having scans and tests done. The Doctor hasn't come out to speak to me" Eddie explained

Philip nodded.

"Is she still planning on resigning?" he enquired

"No, she's staying. Bolton persuaded her to stay"

Philip sighed in relief. He might be biased, but Waterloo Road was nothing without Rachel. She was a great Head Teacher. The best he'd had at any school.

"So... what happened?" he asked hesitantly

Eddie sighed. He was going to have to tell Philip about the baby sooner or later. This whole situation was to do with the little life growing inside Rachel. If he didn't find out from him or Rachel, he'd find out accidentally from one of the Doctors or Nurses.

"Well, uhm,"

He paused. Rachel should be by his side doing this with him. They hadn't planned how they were going to tell Philip, but Eddie had always imagined them telling him together. He'd never thought he'd have to tell him on his own whilst Rachel was in hospital. Suddenly, he couldn't find the words to form a sentence.

"I don't... actually know how to tell you" he sighed

Philip's mind instantly jumped to the worst case scenario. He had heard Rachel vomiting so many times over the last two weeks, and now she was in hospital. He couldn't help but panic.

"Is it bad? Is Rachel sick?" Philip questioned

"No, no, it's not bad, mate. She's not ill like that" Eddie reassured

Philip frowned.

"Then why is she in hospital?"

Eddie took that as his conversation starter.

"Rachel is pregnant" he blurted

Philip stared at Eddie, processing his words carefully.

Pregnant.

Rachel was pregnant.

His concern suddenly turned into relief. It all made sense now. The nausea, the secrecy. Rachel was pregnant. He was going to have a little cousin!

Relief turned to dread when he suddenly remembered why they were in hospital. They were here because of Rachel, because she wasn't well. Was something wrong with the baby? Was something wrong with Rachel?

"So... what- what's going on?"

"Well, she wasn't feeling well at the end of the school day today. She'd been feeling off all day, but it was just getting worse. We went home so she could go and get changed. I'd managed to book a Doctor's appointment for this evening, since she's been feeling ill like this for the last week or two and was getting worse. She was struggling to keep water down today. I went to get her some clothes from upstairs as she could hardly walk. She collapsed in the living room"

Philip let out a heavy and painful sigh. He didn't know what to say.

"She woke up after a couple of minutes, just after I called the Ambulance, but she was vomiting. They've brought her into hospital just to check her over and do some tests" Eddie continued

"Will she be ok?"

"I think so. The Doctors will sort her out" Eddie nodded

"What about the baby?"

"They will be ok too, hopefully"

Philip nodded.

"I-uhm- I know it's not any of my business, but, what's been going on between you two?" he asked

Eddie frowned at him.

"I'm not stupid, Eddie. I know you two have been having problems. Is it to do with the baby?"

"Partly" Eddie mumbled

"Does Rachel not want the baby?"

"No, it's not that" Eddie answered

"You don't want the baby?"

"No, it's not that either... it's... well, you weren't around when it happened, but, Rachel was... attacked and... raped in July"

Philip nodded. He had been there when the phone call had come through from the Nurse on Melissa's house phone. He didn't know the ins and outs at the time, he had only found out Rachel had been raped from his Mum, when she had blurted out a vile comment to her a couple of months ago, which had caused the fight between the two sister's and had been the start of him moving in with Rachel and Eddie permanently. Again, he still didn't know the full story of what had happened, but he knew enough. Or he thought so anyway.

Eddie took a deep breath before telling him the rest of the story. He told him how Stuart had showed up to Rachel's house, six weeks after he had attacked her. He told him how he had punched her in the stomach over and over again, and how Stuart could have done a lot worse had he and Steph not got there in time. He told him how Stuart's actions had led to Rachel losing the baby she hadn't known about.

Philip listened intently. He didn't need Eddie to tell him the miscarriage had affected his Auntie. It was obvious. Even if she hadn't necessarily wanted the baby, losing a baby was traumatic. He suddenly realised his Auntie was a lot stronger than he had thought. He wouldn't have been able to cope with half of the things she had been through. No one would.

He understood, he understood more than Eddie realised. If he was in Rachel's shoes, he would be scared too.

"We're working through it" Eddie told him

Philip nodded; he knew there was more to it than that too. But it was enough for now. He understood and that was all that mattered.

"Mr Lawson?"

Eddie's head shot up at the sound of the Doctor's voice. He held his breath as the woman smiled at him reassuringly. He didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or a bad sign.

"Is Rachel ok?" he asked immediately

The Doctor nodded.

"She's sleeping. She has a mild concussion and the cut on her forehead needed stitches. We've done some blood tests; Rachel's iron levels are low, which is quite common in early pregnancy. The main issue is that she is severely dehydrated, which I think is one of the reasons she fainted"

"She hasn't been able to keep food or water down" Eddie told her

"We are giving her fluids to rehydrate her, as well as anti-sickness medication and iron supplements. Once everything starts to work, she will start feeling better. We're going to keep her in for the next few days to monitor her"

Eddie sighed painfully. He knew Rachel would be panicking about having to stay in hospital, if she'd even been told. She hated hospitals, and he really didn't blame her.

"What about the baby? Are they ok?"

"The baby is fine, we'll be monitoring both of them while they're here" the Doctor confirmed

Eddie sighed in relief.

"So this is just morning sickness? It's nothing more serious?" he checked

"I suspect Rachel is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. All of her symptoms are pointing to that. It is what we are treating her for" the Doctor explained

Eddie frowned. In his mind, she was talking in a different language.

"It's a form of severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. When it comes to pregnancy, every woman and every pregnancy is different. Some women aren't affected by nausea at all, and then other women are and find it debilitating. We can treat it with medication. Rachel is going to be fine" the Doctor reassured

Eddie nodded.

"Can I see her?" he requested

"Of course" she nodded

"I'll head home, give you two some space" Philip decided

"You can come, mate" Eddie reassured

"No, really, it's fine. I've got homework to do" he insisted

"Alright, well, get a taxi home" Eddie told him, handing him a ten pound note

Philip nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, I'll see you later"

Eddie watched him leave the hospital before following the Doctor down the corridor.