The Reunion- A Waterloo Road Fanfiction

Chapter Eleven

Thirty minutes later, Rachel had been taken up to the labour ward and settled into a room. She had been examined by the midwife and, to her frustration, was only five centimetres dilated. It was already 4AM and she was completely and utterly exhausted. It was going to be hours before her little girl arrived. How could she give birth when she was running on empty?

Eddie would be relieved that everything was ok, but he wasn't. Everything was far from ok.

Rachel was hunched over the bed, her fists digging into the mattress. She was trembling from head to foot, head down as she whimpered in pain. Eddie knew she was silently panicking, and he felt so helpless.

"What can I do, Rach?" Eddie asked, hovering next to her

"I don't know" she mumbled

She hissed painfully as another contraction came. Eddie placed a hand on her shoulder gently in an attempt to comfort her. She cried out, squatting as she grabbed the nozzle of the gas and air, inhaling it slowly.

"It's hurting me" she whispered weakly

"I know, Rach, I know. You're doing great" Eddie reassured

Rachel burst into tears. This was all too much. Whilst she was grateful that Eddie was by her side and reassuring her, she wanted Adam. She wanted him to be whispering words of encouragement in her ear. She wanted him to be rubbing her lower back, to hold her hand as she battled through each contraction. She couldn't do this without him. It wasn't fair. The ache in her heart was growing stronger and stronger by the minute, to the point where she didn't know what hurt more, the contractions or the crippling grief.

Eddie crouched down beside her, rubbing a hand over her upper back as her tears dampened the sheets of the mattress. He hated seeing her like this. He knew she was in pain, physically and emotionally. She was overtired too. He felt so helpless, wanting to comfort her but also not wanting to overstep the boundaries.

"Rach, is there anything I can do?" He asked gently

"I want Adam" she blurted aloud

Eddie sighed painfully. Of all the things he could do, bringing Adam back wasn't one of them. He wished he could, if he could swap places with Adam so Rachel could have him by her side, he would do it in an instant. Unfortunately life didn't work like that.

"I can't imagine how hard this is for you, Rach. But you are handling it all so well. You're the strongest person I have ever met. Adam would be so proud of you"

"You think so?"

"I do. You're going to be a fantastic Mum"

"I don't think I can do it, not without him"

"You can, I know you can. You won't be on your own. You've got Kim and Philip, and I'm sure if you asked Steph would be there for you too"

"What about you?" she asked, her voice merely a whisper

"What about me?"

"Will you stay in touch? Can we be friends?"

"If that's what you want, Rach"

She nodded.

"I'll always be here for you, Rach. I promise"

"Thank you"

"What are friends for, eh?"

She smiled weakly.

"Please can you call Kim?" She requested, exhaling shakily

"Of course, do you have her number?" Eddie nodded

"Call her from my phone" Rachel told him

Eddie pulled her phone out of her bag, scrolling through her contacts until he landed on Kim's number. He pressed the call button, hoping that it wouldn't go to voicemail.

"Rachel? Is everything ok?"

"Kim, it's Eddie"

"Eddie? What's going on?"

"Rachel is in labour. Her waters broke about forty five minutes ago"

"Ok, I'm on my way now. Tell her that, will you?"

"Of course"

"Are you on the labour ward?"

"Yes"

"Ok. I'll be there soon"

Eddie ended the call, moving back to be by Rachel's side. She was kneeling in front of the bed, head resting on her arms as she breathed deeply. He gently squeezed her shoulder to get her attention.

"Kim is on her way" he told her

"Thank you" she mumbled

"When she gets here, I'll go down and see how Bolton is, ok?"

Rachel nodded quietly.