The Final Straw- A Reddie Fanfiction

Chapter Four

"Let's go down to Kim's office, ok?" Eddie suggested once her contraction had gone

Rachel shook her head, whimpering in protest. Eddie tilted her chin with his thumb, so that her teary brown eyes were looking into his. She was scared. This wasn't so much about Max anymore. She was scared of giving birth. Eddie knew she had been anxious throughout the whole pregnancy, but she wouldn't talk to him about any of her worries or fears. Not fully anyway.

"It's ok, Rach. I promise" he soothed

She looked at him tearfully.

"I'm scared, Eddie" she whimpered

"I know you are. But I promise you, it's all going to be fine. I'm right here; I'm not going anywhere, ok?"

"It's too early" she whispered, staring down at the floor as her breathing became rapid and shallow again

"Rach, look at me" he instructed

She looked up at him, eyes filled with pain and fear.

"Breathe" he told her, taking deep breaths himself in the hopes that she would copy him

"I c-can't" she wheezed

"You can, come on, match my breathing" he reassured, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he continued to take deep breaths

Rachel whimpered. Her eyes locked with Eddie's as she copied his breathing. Slowly but surely, she felt her heart rate slowing down. Eddie sighed in relief.

"Ok?" He asked, tucking her hair back behind her hair

She nodded.

"Come on, let's go to Kim's office" he decided

Before anyone could move, Eddie saw Max emerge from Rachel's office, strutting down the corridor towards them. Eddie groaned. This was the last thing Rachel needed right now.

"What's going on here?" Max demanded as he approached them

Eddie felt Rachel freeze and tense in his arms. She was trembling against him as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Rachel is in labour, we need to call an Ambulance and get her to hospital" Eddie explained calmly

Max looked at Rachel sceptically.

"Is Rachel incapable of calling an ambulance or driving herself to the hospital?" He questioned

Eddie took a deep breath. Getting angry with Max wouldn't help anything.

"No, of course she isn't. But I need to be with her, Max. She's my fiancée and she's in labour" Eddie argued

"She looks fine to me" Max shrugged

"She is in labour, Max" Kim spoke up

Max sighed.

"If you say so" he mumbled

"We do. Now, if you'll excuse us" Eddie snapped, pulling Rachel gently toward the stairs

"Don't you have lessons to teach this afternoon, Eddie?" Max questioned once Eddie and Rachel were halfway down the staircase

"I'm covering his lessons this afternoon" Kim told him

Max scoffed.

"I'm sure you're a woman of many talents Kim, but last time I checked, you weren't a maths teacher"

Kim glared at him.

"And last time I checked, Max, any other teacher could cover any other teacher's class. I'm no English teacher either, yet you put me in to cover Tom Clarkson's class this morning" she pointed out

She watched triumphantly as Max's eyelid twitched just a little.

"Well, you can't both leave. One of you needs to stay or we will be short staffed" Max responded eventually

It was Eddie's turn to glare at Max. He wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist as she silently battled through a contraction.

"I'm not sending Rachel to the hospital, alone, Max" he said through gritted teeth

"Well, she'll have to stay here then, won't she? It'll give her chance to get all that paperwork done" Max shrugged with a smirk

"You can't make her stay here and do paperwork when she is in labour, Max!" Kim huffed

"I shouldn't have to Kim. It is, after all, her job to do these things" Max shot back

Kim stared at him open mouthed. It was very rare that she thought badly of anyone. But Max Tyler was an entitled, sexist, manipulative and arrogant piece of work! He made her blood boil.

"Kim, its fine. I'll stay" Rachel whispered shakily

"No, no. It's not fine, Rachel! He can't do this, it's illegal! You're having a baby; you need to go to hospital!" Kim argued

"And she's also a Head Teacher, Kim. She has a job to do. Her priorities seem to be elsewhere, however... maybe we need to consult with the Governors and the LEA to reconsider your position at Waterloo Road, Rachel"

If Rachel wasn't currently in excruciating pain, she would have turned to Eddie and Kim and said "I told you so". Max was determined to have her fired, and he would use this, her going into labour at work and needing to go to hospital, against her. Even though she didn't want to, it was probably better for everyone to just stay put until the end of the day and then go to the hospital. Of course there was a chance she would end up giving birth at school, and Max would probably have her fired anyway, but at least Eddie would be able to keep his job.

"You can't have her fired because she's in labour, Max! That's pathetic!" Kim scoffed

"Really? Watch me!" He snarled

"If you fire her, you'll have to fire me too" Kim growled

"Kim, no! Just leave it!" Rachel protested

"And me" Eddie chimed in

"You can't fire all three of us, Max. Can you?" Kim challenged

Max raised an eyebrow.

"I think we have our answer" Kim nodded smugly

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get to Rachel's office so we can call an ambulance and get her to the hospital. Do you have a problem with that?" She added

Max opened his mouth to reply.

"I didn't think so" Kim interrupted, walking down the steps toward Rachel

"Come on, let's get you to your office" she instructed softly