Twenty minutes later...
Eddie pulled into the driveway of their home. He looked over to Rachel, who had fallen asleep, her head resting comfortably against the window. He smiled, she looked so peaceful. He didn't want to wake her up, but he found himself brushing his fingers across her cheek lightly. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open slowly, taking in her surroundings.
"We're home, love" Eddie whispered gently
She yawned, getting out of the car. Eddie followed her.
They stepped into the hallway of their home, both taking their shoes and coats off. Rachel paused, hissing in pain as another contraction began. She leaned her back against the wall, closing her eyes as she breathed deeply. Eddie rubbed her arm with his hand, brushing her hair away from her face.
"You're doing great" he reassured
She nodded tiredly, resting her head on his chest. Eddie wrapped his arms around her, guiding her into the living room. He sat her gently down on the sofa. The soft smile she gave him warmed his heart.
"Can I get you anything?" He offered
She shook her head, rubbing her aching back, her face scrunching up in discomfort.
"What about a hot water bottle?" He suggested
She nodded.
Eddie stood up, going into the kitchen and making up a hot water bottle for Rachel. Once it was ready, he carried it back into the living room. Rachel took it from him gratefully. She placed it onto her lower back, sighing in relief as it calmed the dull, niggling ache instantly.
Eddie sat down next to her on the sofa, pulling her into his arms. She shuffled, nestling her head against his shoulder. Eddie placed his hand on her stomach, smiling as he felt their little one kick against his hand.
"Is she ok in there?" He asked, rubbing his hand up and down Rachel's stomach
"I think so" Rachel sighed, placing her hand on top of Eddie's
"Not long now, Rach" he smiled
Rachel hummed contentedly, smiling too. He was right. Soon they'd be a family of three, meeting their baby girl for the first time.
"How long do you think? Before she arrives" she wondered aloud, staring at Eddie inquisitively
"I think... no later than midnight. 11pm at the latest"
Rachel scoffed, looking at the clock, it was only 4pm!
"That feels like ages away!" She exclaimed
"Well, hopefully I'll be wrong and she'll arrive quicker" he shrugged
"We need something to do to pass the time. I can't sit here all evening" she huffed
"We could watch TV?" Eddie suggested
"That's my definition of boring" Rachel sighed
"What were you thinking, then?" He asked
Rachel thought for a moment.
"We could put the tree up and decorate it?" She suggested
Eddie laughed, thinking she was joking. His smile dropped when she looked at him. She wasn't joking.
"Rach! You're in labour, you can't decorate a Christmas tree!" He scoffed
"Yes, I can! We can. What else are we going to do?"
"Sit and- you know... relax?" Eddie pointed out
Rachel shook her head
"I need something to do, Eddie! We were going to put up the tree anyway. I'm not in that much pain, and it'll give us something to do other than waiting for every contraction to come and go!" She reasoned
"I know you're not in a great deal of pain, Rach, but that isn't the point! You're in labour, you're having a baby, you need to rest and take it easy!" He argued
"I can take it easy and decorate a Christmas tree at the same time! Besides, you're not supposed to lie down for long periods of time during labour, moving around will get her out quicker"
Eddie sighed. She was being perfectly serious. He wasn't going to win this argument with her. He understood where she was coming from. Rachel wasn't the type to be able to just sit and relax, not for long periods of time anyway. And the more she moved around, the more gravity would do its job and progress things. He knew that. But the thought of her doing anything too strenuous made him nervous. They had to compromise somewhere, even if it meant they did decorate the tree.
"Alright, we can put up and decorate the tree. But, you are going to sit there and let me do it, ok? You can tell me where to put things and how to put them together, but you are not doing any of it yourself, ok?"
"Yes, Mr Lawson" she giggled, rolling her eyes playfully
He smiled, kissing her gently on the lips as a thank you for compromising.
"I'll go and get the tree and decorations from the garage" he decided
"Wait!" Rachel cried, inhaling sharply as another contraction began to build
Eddie crouched down beside her, rubbing her lower back with his hand. He did feel a little useless, knowing she was in pain and that there wasn't really anything he could do to help. But he was helping, or Rachel thought so anyway, just by being by her side.
Once the pain melted away, she smiled at Eddie, cupping his cheek with her hand. She could feel him stressing.
"I'm ok" she reassured
Eddie nodded
"Are you sure you want to decorate the tree?" He checked
"Yes" Rachel answered simply
"Alright then, I'll go and get everything ready" he decided, pulling himself to his feet
Ten minutes later, the Christmas tree, lights, baubles and all the other decorations had been brought into the living room. Rachel started going through the boxes, putting things she wanted to go up on display in one pile, and things she didn't in another.
Most of the things in the boxes were from the last two Christmases Eddie and Rachel had, had together. Before that, Rachel hadn't really celebrated Christmas. From the age of 19, she had spent every Christmas alone. And the Christmases before that hadn't been happy or filled with good times. Of course that had all changed when she met Eddie, who loved Christmas almost as much as he loved her. He had shown her what it meant to celebrate Christmas, he'd taught her to fall in love with the season. And she'd fallen in love with the time of year, just as she'd fallen for him. The last two Christmases had been the best she'd ever had. And now with their little girl on the way, it was going to be even more magical and exciting. This year would be their first Christmas as a family of three. So many happy memories were going to be made that they would cherish for the rest of their lives.
Rachel pulled a photo frame out of the box. She smiled when she saw the photo inside. It was one of her and Eddie from their first Christmas together as a couple. They were on the ice rink in Rochdale, a date activity Eddie had organised for the two of them.
"Look at this!" Rachel giggled, showing Eddie the picture
Eddie chuckled, the memory of that weekend returning to him. It had ended in tears, but it was one of many memories that Rachel and Eddie now laughed at.
"That date ended in complete disaster, didn't it?" He laughed
"No one told you to fall over on the ice and cut my leg open in the process!" Rachel teased
"How many times have I told you, I'm sorry about that?" He smiled
"The eight centimetre long scar on my leg didn't hear you!" She giggled
"I'm honestly surprised you didn't finish with me after that!"
"Like I would ever let you go, Lawson" she smirked, standing up to kiss him gently on the cheek
He smiled, gazing at her lovingly. She blushed.
"Are we going to put this tree up or what? I'm not really sure we have all night!" She giggled, playing with the collar of his shirt
"I'll put the tree up, Rach. You need to sit there and relax, no heavy lifting for you" Eddie said firmly, sitting her down
"I know, I know" she sighed, relaxing back into the cushions
Twenty minutes later, Eddie had assembled the Christmas tree and straightened out its branches. Rachel was sat on the sofa, untangling the lights and sorting the baubles.
"Alright, what do you think?" Eddie asked her, looking at the tree
Rachel smiled
"It's a bit bare, don't you think?" She teased
Eddie smirked
"Hand me the lights, please" he requested
She obliged, handing the long string of lights to him.
As he started to wrap the lights around the tree carefully, Rachel hissed painfully. Eddie watched as she shifted forwards, a hand resting on her stomach as she breathed deeply. Before he could even approach her, the pain had gone again.
"Are you ok?" He checked, looking at her nervously
She nodded, sinking back into the sofa. She sighed. She wasn't even that far along in labour and she was already tired.
"You can have a nap, you know?" Eddie told her, seeing her yawn out of the corner of his eye
She shook her head
"You need help decorating the tree"
Eddie smiled
"You mean, you need to keep an eye on me to make sure I put the lights and baubles in the right place on the tree?" He corrected her
She giggled
"Rach, I'm a mathematician, I know about symmetry! I can decorate a Christmas Tree!" He huffed playfully
Rachel rolled her eyes
"I'm just very particular" she shrugged
"You're telling me!" He chuckled
"Am I doing this properly?" He asked, continuing to wrap the lights around the tree
Rachel examined the tree carefully. He was doing a good job. Better than she usually did, but she wasn't about to tell Eddie that.
"It looks good" she nodded
Eddie sighed dramatically in relief, causing Rachel to giggle.
Once the lights had been wrapped around the entire tree, Eddie started on the baubles. Rachel was itching to help, he could tell from the way she was fidgeting. If he didn't let her contribute, she'd take over completely, and he wanted her to rest.
"You can pass me the baubles if you want, Rach?"
She sat up immediately, grabbing the two boxes. Eddie smiled at her eagerness to help him out.
One by one, she passed him a different coloured bauble. Eddie put them carefully onto the branches of the tree. As he placed the most recent one strategically, he looked over to Rachel, who was rubbing her eyes.
"Everything ok?" He asked, moving to kneel in front of her
She nodded
"Just tired" she sighed, smiling weakly
"Go to sleep for a bit, Rach, I can finish the tree" he insisted, rubbing his hands up and down her arms gently
She shook her head.
"I want to do it together" she told him
He knew she meant that. It was why she'd set aside the weekend for them to do it. So they could both do it together.
"Then we can finish it together later, once you've had a bit of sleep" Eddie compromised
"Ok" she agreed tiredly
"Do you want to go up to bed for a bit? You'll be more comfortable" he suggested
She nodded
Eddie pulled her gently to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. He then guided her out of the living room and into the hallway.
As they approached the stairs, Rachel stopped, grabbing onto the railing of the bottom step with one hand, the other holding the bottom of her stomach. She cringed, groaning in pain as another contraction stabbed at her stomach and back. Eddie held onto her, massaging the knots out of her lower back with the palm of his hand as she swayed gently on her feet.
The contraction eventually melted away again, giving Rachel the chance to catch her breath. Even though the contractions were still coming and going every 20 minutes, they were getting more intense each time. Things were definitely happening. Or she hoped so anyway.
She stood up properly, smiling softly at Eddie before slowly making her way upstairs. Eddie followed behind her.
When they got into their bedroom, Rachel grabbed a fresh nightgown from the chest of drawers. She sat down on the bed, changing into it before slipping under the covers and relaxing into the pillows.
Eddie sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She cuddled into him, resting her head on his chest. She sighed contentedly. Her other hand rested on her stomach. She closed her eyes, giving into her body, which was pleading for sleep.