The Reunion- A Waterloo Road Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty Three

Seven hours later...

Rachel had been awake for two hours. Her body was aching all over; she had never felt so drained and tired in her life. But it was worth it. She would do it all again if it meant that she got to have her little girl by her side.

With Kim's help, she had managed to have a shower and get changed into the pyjamas she'd packed in her hospital bag. Just the feeling of the warm water rushing over her head had made her feel better and less groggy.

After her shower, she had used warm water and a soft sponge to gently clean Annabelle before putting her in her first nappy and a pastel pink baby grow. Rachel was completely and utterly besotted with her. She was the most gorgeous baby she had ever seen. Every time she looked at her, she fell that bit more in love with her.

She had spent the last half an hour with Annabelle cradled in her arms, suckling contentedly on the bottle of formula Kim had warmed up in the microwave down the corridor. Rachel had originally wanted to breastfeed, and she was still determined to try, but her milk hadn't come in yet and Annabelle was hungry. So for now, they were using the formula. Rachel was grateful that Kim had persuaded her to buy it when they had gone shopping for baby stuff a few months ago, just in case. The midwife had told her that her milk probably wouldn't come in for at least 24 hours. They had tried Annabelle with latching and just suckling on Rachel's nipple, which had been successful, so she was planning to try again tomorrow.

She had also spent the last half an hour trying to persuade Kim to go home. The woman hadn't left her side for the last... god knows how long it had been now. She was exhausted and needed to pick up Dexter before going home to sleep. Kim had been adamant that she wasn't going home, not until Eddie arrived to take over at least.

"Kim, please?" Rachel pleaded for what felt like the hundredth time

"No, Rachel! I'm not going yet! I will wait until Eddie gets here!" Kim argued

"But what about Dexter? You need to go and pick him up! You can't leave him with your Mum just because of me!"

"I called my Mum earlier, she's fine to look after him for the next few days. You need someone to be with you to make sure you're resting!" Kim shrugged

"No, I don't! I'll be fine- we'll be fine! I don't have the energy to even stand up, let alone to do anything else right now" Rachel argued

"That's why you need someone to stay with you! You're recovering from giving birth, you're sore, you're tired and not feeling great. You need to rest!" Kim protested

"There are midwives here to help and Eddie will be here any minute! You don't need to stay! Annabelle and I will be fine on our own for a bit. I'm not going anywhere, I promise" Rachel reassured

Kim sighed.

"You're not going to back down on this, are you?" she huffed

Rachel shook her head.

"Fine. I'll go. But you call me if you need anything or if Eddie doesn't turn up, yeah?"

"I promise, thank you" Rachel nodded

Kim smiled, briefly wrapping her arms around her before stroking Annabelle's head gently.

"See you later, little one" she whispered

Just as Kim was about to leave, the door opened, revealing Eddie. Kim sighed in relief.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" Rachel laughed

Eddie smirked.

"I take it you don't want the food or drink the 'devil' has brought you then, eh?"

"I absolutely do! I'm starving!" she replied with a giggle

Eddie smiled.

"I'll see you in a bit, Rachel" Kim told her

Rachel smiled at her.

"Bye, Kim, thank you"