Two weeks later...
It was 5:30AM on a Tuesday. Rachel had set her alarm for 6AM, due to the fact that she was tired and wasn't going into work today. Usually, she wasn't one for lie-ins, even on the weekends or school holidays. But today there was something about the duvet shielding her from the cold air in the room and watching Eddie's slow and steady breathing as he slept peacefully next to her. It was relaxing.
It was safe to say that the last two weeks at Waterloo Road had been extremely chaotic. January bought with it the tedious two week period of Year 11 and Year 13 mock exams. Rachel had lost count of the students she had, had to take into her office to calm them down when they were having a panic attack or were crying because of the stress and pressure that was being piled on top of them. She'd lost count of the parents she'd had to call to come and pick up their child because they were emotionally and physically exhausted. It had gotten so bad that she, Eddie and Kim had, had to spread the students out between them. Sometimes even then it hadn't been enough.
As a result of the chaos the exams had brought, Eddie and Rachel had both been drowning in marking and paperwork. With how busy and hectic the school days were, sitting down for five minutes to complete some marking or paperwork was a rare luxury. Eddie also had to mark and grade the mock exams of his GCSE and A-level classes. Every night for the last two weeks, they had brought work home with them. They had subconsciously got into a routine of coming home, cooking dinner and then spending the rest of the evening sat at the kitchen table or in the living room doing paperwork before going to bed.
As of yesterday, the mock exams were over. Rachel doubted things would calm down to a massive extent, but the chaos would (hopefully) go back to a more manageable level.
Rachel was now fourteen weeks pregnant. The first nose bleed she'd had two weeks ago hadn't been her last. They were happening every other day, completely out of the blue at any time of the day. Thankfully, they were manageable, as long as she carried tissues around with her at all times or had them nearby.
Her worst symptom at the moment was the hip and pelvic pain, which had started a week ago. It varied from a deep and intense aching, to a sharp stabbing all across her pelvis. Some days it was manageable with paracetamol and a heat pad, other days it was almost debilitating.
It had been at its worst yesterday, starting as a niggling ache throughout the morning before gradually progressing into more intense pain in the afternoon. Sitting down had been a challenge, as was standing up and walking around. Sudden movements made it worse. Trying to concentrate in meetings, running errands and dealing with student behaviour had been nearly impossible.
By the end of the day it was so bad that she had been on the verge of tears and Eddie had, had to pretty much carry her to the car. When they finally arrived at home, she was doubled over in pain. Eddie had managed to lay her down on the sofa without much argument. She had stayed there the entire evening with the electric heat pad practically glued to her.
She wasn't massively concerned about it. The second she'd opened her eyes a few minutes ago, she'd noticed the pain had settled, leaving only an achy feeling. The 'Pregnancy Week by Week' book she'd been reading had said it was normal. She had also been to see her Doctor, who had checked her over the other day and everything seemed fine.
As for Philip, he seemed calmer in himself. Rachel had taken him to the Doctors. She couldn't lie, they hadn't been much help. Of course she understood that because he was under the age of 18, they couldn't offer him anti-depressants, but she had hoped they'd offered something more than a leaflet with a list of helpline numbers on that she could have sourced from the internet. Leaving a 15 year old struggling wasn't acceptable.
Thankfully, shortly after the appointment, Philip had his first session with the school counsellor. Whilst it was only once a week and he'd only had two sessions so far, it seemed to be doing him good. He was chattier and less moody, and he did seem to be spending time with other students at school. His behaviour had improved massively. There had been no reports or complaints about him from any of the staff. Rachel and Eddie were relieved. They both knew he wasn't a bad kid, he was just hurting and that hurt was turning into anger. His emotions needed the chance to be processed and released. The counselling seemed to be doing that for him.
Today was going to be another big day. It was Rachel's first midwife appointment. She was going on her own. Eddie had tried to persuade her to let him accompany her, but she had insisted that she would be fine. She was nervous of course, but she knew she could do this on her own. It wasn't like they were going for an ultrasound (if that were the case she'd have let him accompany her). All the Midwife was going to do was check her over, ask her a few questions and give her some information about pregnancy and childbirth. Someone needed to look after the school in her absence. Out of all the staff at Waterloo Road, Eddie was the most capable and trustworthy.
Since her appointment was in the afternoon, she had agreed with Eddie that she would take the day off work. She couldn't deny it, she was exhausted. She also had a suspicion that the pelvic pain was worsening because of how often she was on her feet and rushing around during the school day. As the mock exams were now over, she felt more at ease about having the day off. It would also give her the chance to catch up on her backlog of paperwork.
The 6AM alarm echoed through the bedroom. Eddie stirred, turning onto his side to face Rachel as she turned it off. It was weird seeing her lying next to him. She was always out of bed before him usually. He took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, dropping a kiss in her hair as she rested her head against his chest.
"Morning" she whispered, sighing contentedly
"Morning" he replied sleepily
"Are you ready for today?" she asked
"Of course" he nodded
"Let's just hope the place is still standing by the time I return tomorrow" she teased, smiling cheekily as she looked up at him
"You're talking like you're leaving Steph or Grantly in charge! It's me, remember? I know what I'm doing!"
Rachel laughed.
"I still wish I was coming with you to this midwife appointment, Rach" he admitted
Rachel sighed, lifting her head up to look at him. They had gone over this time and again recently.
"I know. But you really don't need to. All she's going to do is check me over, ask me a few questions and give me some information" she reasoned
"But don't I need that information too?" he argued
"If there is anything important that you need to know, I will tell you, you know that" she reassured
Eddie nodded reluctantly.
Sensing he still wasn't convinced over the idea, Rachel propped herself up on her elbow, placing a kiss on his cheek. She smiled at him softly as she pulled away, brushing her thumb over his skin.
"You worry too much, stop it" she whispered
"Yes, Miss" Eddie replied, performing a mock salute
Rachel laughed, rolling her eyes playfully as she settled back into his arms.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked
"A little. I still have pain, but it's more of an achy pain. It's not as bad as it was yesterday" she answered
"Make sure you mention it to the midwife" he reminded her
"I will. I don't think it's anything serious, just my muscles and ligaments stretching. That's what the Doctor said it could be. But I will mention it" she promised
"Good" he smiled, kissing her forehead gently
"Be nice to Kim today. The last thing anyone needs is you two at each other's throats" she told him sternly
"I know. I'll be nice, I promise" he nodded
Rachel felt somewhat reassured by that. Maybe a couple of weeks ago she wouldn't have been. But Eddie and Kim were getting along better now. They weren't exactly best friends and things were still rocky between them, but they were being civil. That was enough for now.
"Make sure you do a bit of resting today before your appointment" he added
"I will... in-between the paperwork"
Eddie sighed.
"I told you I'd do that" he grumbled
"And I said no, Eddie. I can do it myself" she huffed
"You should be resting! That's what you're taking the whole day off for!" he argued
"I know, but I am more than capable of doing my paperwork, Eddie. It does involve sitting down and not moving" she pointed out
"It's still work though" he mumbled
"Eddie, I know what I can and can't handle. I can do my paperwork" she told him firmly
"I know. I just..."
"I know, you want to protect me" she finished
He nodded.
She placed a kiss on his lips, smiling softly as she pulled away.
"You can protect me by holding the fort at work" she told him
He chuckled, pulling her closer to him.
"We need to get up" she mumbled
"I do. You can stay in bed and go back to sleep" he reminded her
Normally, she would point out to him that she really wasn't someone who did lie-ins. But today she felt like she could do with an extra couple of hours of sleep.
"Maybe. I need to go to the toilet first"
"No change there" Eddie teased
Rachel rolled her eyes playfully, reluctantly wriggling out of Eddie's embrace and dragging herself out of bed.
When she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Eddie frowned as she started grabbing clothes from her chest of drawers.
"I thought you were coming back to bed?" he questioned
"I am. I'd just feel better about doing it if I put on some different pyjamas" she shrugged, unbuttoning the top she was wearing
Eddie laughed, pulling himself out of bed and over to the ensuite to get ready for the day.
When he came back out five minutes later, teeth brushed and fully dressed, Rachel had changed into her fresh pair of pyjamas and had just started buttoning up her top.
There was something different about Rachel today. Eddie couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she looked and seemed different... in a good way. Her skin was glowing and radiant and she looked as beautiful, but that wasn't new. It was something subtle that he couldn't quite recognise.
He watched her for a few minutes, fiddling with the buttons on her pyjama top. It suddenly came to him why she looked so different. A lump formed in his throat as he looked at the small but incredibly noticeable curvature of her once flat stomach. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before and he was sure Rachel hadn't noticed it either. Her stomach had been changing every week, despite it remaining flat. But now, she'd popped and was finally starting to show. He couldn't help but smile, his heart fluttering in his chest.
Rachel could feel Eddie's gaze burning into her. She frowned as she looked up and saw that he was staring at her lovingly. She didn't know why he was looking at her in such a way, but she couldn't stop herself from blushing.
"What's the matter with you, Lawson?" she asked playfully
He wandered over to her slowly, placing both hands on either side of her stomach gently. Her brow furrowed further unable to stop the nervous laugh from escaping her lips.
"I think there's a baby in there, Rach. You've got a bit of a bump" he whispered, nodding at her stomach
Rachel looked down and suddenly realised what he meant. It hadn't happened overnight, she knew that, but she hadn't noticed it before.
She smiled, placing her hand on top of his.
"I guess there is" she whispered
Eddie crouched down, placing a kiss on her stomach. Her heart skipped a beat as he looked up at her, excitement and love reflected in his gaze.
"You've finally popped" he added, standing up and wrapping his arms around her waist
Rachel giggled, pecking him gently on the lips.
"Maybe the staff will start to believe us now"
Eddie chuckled, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"You're going to be late if you're not careful, Lawson" she warned, brushing a loose bit of thread from his jacket
"One more kiss?" he requested cheekily
Rachel rolled her eyes playfully, pulling him in for a passionate and loving kiss.
"Go and get your breakfast, or you really will be late!" she instructed as she pulled away from him
Eddie smiled.
"I'll see you later, ok?" he said, stealing another kiss before leaving
Rachel couldn't wipe the smile off her lips as she climbed back into bed. Her hand brushed over her stomach, feeling the now noticeable swelling and curvature beneath her fingers. Her heart was threatening to explode with love. This tiny baby, who she hadn't even met yet, had already stolen her heart. It didn't matter how much her hips and pelvis were hurting, or how tired and achy she felt. It was worth every minute knowing that, soon, there would be a baby in her arms.