The Greatest Sacrifice

[Barbara]

I finally caught up!

#38: How sweet of Tony to welcome Rachel with a romantic dinner! I find it reassuring that Tony is going to go with Rachel. I wouldn’t want her to be there alone in case that awful man comes home early.

#43: Sophia looks terrified of her father. How can a man scare his daughter like that? I guess I can already be glad he hasn’t hurt them like he did to their mother. How could he hurt his wife to the point of her losing the baby? Unless she started losing the baby after he went to work, he should have brought her to the hospital.

#48: It was brave of Rachel to talk to the husband like that. He can deny hurting his wife but surely, people can tell there is something wrong with him by the way he held Rachel and the nurse. I wonder why Rachel is so affected by Lucy’s situation. I can only assume something similar may have happened to her, which would of course explain her protective behaviour.

#52: Maybe Rachel should have acted more calmly but she shouldn’t be embarrassed for standing up for a patient. As the husband is a powerful man, being a superintendent and everything, people won’t want to believe he could do such awful things and even if they do, he has too much power. The only way he would finally get what he deserves would be for his wife to finally tell someone about it. I understand Tony is worried about Rachel and angry with Mr Reynolds but it’s not Jack’s fault. How is he going to be able to stand up against a superintendent? It’s not that easy and Tony should know Jack is on Rachel’s side anyway. I love the light-hearted scene with Martha, Jack and the cake.

#57: What a horrible man! He is only feeling confident when he can hurt or threaten women or speak down to constables. I don’t like the way he is thinking about making sure Rachel kept quiet. I have a feeling Rachel is going to be in danger. I love how Rachel eventually got Tony to calm down and what she said made sense too. If Jack can’t stand up to his superintendent, at least he can tell them what he hears at the police station. I hope Martha and the baby are okay and she'll talk to Rachel really soon.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

[dee83]

update soon its great

[charmed60]

Thank you thank you thank you Carina, Red Ranger and Sabrina; I appreciate every word Barbara - Wow thank you so much for taking the time to review each chapter, that's so kind of you and hugely appreciated! I adore hearing all your thoughts! And Dee thank you also - it's great to get new readers, thank you for time the time to comment

I wanted to put a warning before this chapter because there is some violence and hints of sexual assault so please read with caution

Anyway here it is

Rachel yawned widely, pulling her cardigan tighter in an effort to create warmth whilst she cursed herself for not speaking to somebody about her parking card earlier. At the beginning of her shift she’d attempted to use the staff car park but for an unknown reason it had been rejected and she’d been forced to park half a mile away down a side road a few streets away from the hospital. She would have tried to get it sorted earlier but she was already running late for work that morning; Tony had stayed over the night before and she’d been…distracted. Her cheeks blushed. She couldn’t believe how well things were going between her and Tony, too well almost. It frightened her that maybe something would go wrong soon, nothing ever stayed happy in her life for long.

As she crossed over onto a road that didn’t have streetlights she dug her keys out of her handbag and flicked on the tiny torch Tony had bought her to put on her key ring. She’d laughed when he’d given it to her, amused at his over protectiveness of her doing late shifts at night but she suddenly realised how much it could come in handy. She suddenly became aware of the sound of footsteps behind her and so subtlety looked over her shoulder, trying desperately not to appear paranoid. But despite the shuffles she was sure she’d heard; there was nobody there. She decided to pick up her pace and focus her attention on the path in front of her. She was only a road away, it wouldn’t take too long. She considered taking out her phone and calling Tony just to distract herself but then decided it probably wasn’t the best idea; he’d be able to see straight through her nerves and she didn’t want him thinking she was more neurotic than he probably already thought she was. As she lifted the torch up to the road name in front of her, she tried to remember whether it was this one or the next that she needed to take.

“Doctor Armstrong” a voice smugly sneered, causing Rachel’s heart to plummet to the bottom of her stomach. She knew who that was. She turned swiftly around and shone the torch in his eyes before slowly moving backwards, desperate to reach her car.

“What do you want?” she breathed, finally managing to find her voice.

“You look scared Doctor” he laughed, noticing the way her eyes had widened and she was gradually backing away from him.

“I’m not scared” Rachel bit back; desperate to not let him get the upper hand. “I’ve just had a long shift and want to get home. What do you want?”

“I think we need to have a little talk” he seethed, “your boyfriend paid me a little visit and it seems that you’ve been spreading some gossip about me and my wife.” She watched as his fists clenched and his steps became bigger, closing the gap between them. He reached forward and grabbed her wrist forcefully, despite her struggles to get away and took a handful of her hair, pulling her face towards him.

“And I think you need to be taught a lesson” he spat, laughing cruelly at the way she was wincing under his touch. Using his elbow he pushed her to the ground and placed his arm across her chest as she struggled to get away.

“Please, please don’t do this” Rachel begged; frantically trying to free her arms from underneath his body. But every move she made he seemed to anticipate and as she lifted her knee up in an attempt to kick him off of her he pinned his own onto her thigh causing her to cry out in pain. Before she managed to catch her breath he moved his arm from across her chest and placed his hand tightly over her mouth, muffling her cries. As tears rolled gently down Rachel’s face she looked up at him, desperately hoping that he would see her pain and stop, praying that she could tap into any humanity he had within him. But his soulless eyes bore straight through her and the hope Rachel had been clinging to dissipated quickly. She forced her head to the side and noticed a large piece of rock not far from where her hand was but he yanked her head back again causing a burning pain to tear through her neck.

“You’re not going to talk anymore, do you hear me” he seethed as Rachel heard him fiddling with his belt, the clanging of metal a sound that she never wanted to hear again. Memories came flooding back, the terror gradually building intensely as she used all the strength she had left to fight him off. She shook her head and twisted her body as she tried to unpin herself from his grip but it proved useless as he placed his other knee on her hip bone, stabilising her body so that she couldn’t move at all. The sound of his jeans unzipping began to compete with the sound of her own heart thudding frantically in her ear, each beat feeling like a timer counting down to what she knew was inevitably coming. As her strength began to leave her body and she succumbed to what she knew she couldn’t fight she remembered the rock which was taunting her.

Keeping her eyes focused ahead in an attempt to not alert Reynolds she fumbled her hand gently around the cold, hard floor until she felt the jagged edges pricking the tips of her fingers. As his face got closer to hers and his breath crawled over her cheeks she wrapped her hand around the rock and brought it violently down on the back of his head, striking him repeatedly until she was sure he could no longer hurt her. As his body fell heavily onto hers she screamed out in horror and desperately tried to push him off. Bile forced its way from her stomach into her throat and with one last push she managed to force his lifeless body onto the floor next to her before she crawled frantically towards the kerb and vomited violently into the drain. Pain seared through her body as she retched, forcing tears to fall from the eyelids she’d squeezed shut, terrified of what she’d see if she looked behind.

As she managed to catch her breath, she wiped her mouth shakily with the sleeve of her cardigan and looked tentatively behind her, gasping as she saw the pool of blood which was slowly seeping from the back of Reynolds’ head. Her instincts kicked in automatically as she dragged herself over to him and studied the gaping wound.

Concerned about his blood loss she moved around him, unable to bring herself to reach over him and pulled her mobile from her bag.

“I need an ambulance” she tearily pleaded into the phone; “it’s bad, please be quick.” As the operator asked her to hold Rachel pulled her cardigan off of her shoulders despite the bitter air and pushed it against the wound, desperate to stem the blood. “I’m sorry” she sobbed, “you’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

**************

Martha pulled her knees closer to her chest, an uneasy feat considering the size of her bump was expanding more and more each day. The nagging pain in her stomach had gotten worse overnight and whilst she’d put on a brave smile for Jack when he’d left for work, she regretted it immediately. After she’d started getting hot flushes she decided to call Rachel for advice but had been told she’d left work already so instead she curled up on the sofa and waited for Jack to get home; a cold flannel pressed to her forehead.

“Hey, how was your day” Jack questioned absentmindedly as he threw his bag on the floor and began to unbutton his shirt. “I’m just gonna jump in the shower, it’s been such a long day.” As he headed towards the bathroom he heard Martha sniffling and paused. “Hey babe you okay?” he questioned, moving over and crouching down next to her. Her eyes were sunken and dark circles had formed with her cheeks swollen and pink where she’d been crying. “What’s happened” he almost shouted, alarmed at the state she was in.

“I don’t feel well Jack” Martha almost whispered, wiping away tears. “I’m worried that there’s something wrong with the baby.”

“Well how do you feel?” he questioned as he wiped a stray piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, wincing as he realised how hot her skin was to touch.

“I’ve had this pain for a few days now and the dizzy spell I had last night…it keeps happening”

“Martha why didn’t you say anything” Jack shrieked; “we need to get you checked out at the hospital come on.” His brow furrowed in concern as he helped her sit up and

watched her wince, clutching her side in pain.

“Knock knock” Tony called through the half open door, “sorry guys just wanted to see if Rach was home yet?”

“Dad can you drive us to the hospital” Jack frantically pleaded, “Martha’s not feeling well.”

“Yeah of course” Tony agreed, noticing how much Martha was leaning on his son, her face drained of colour as he helped her stand to her feet. “Come on love, you’ll be okay” he assured her, holding open the door as his concerns about Rachel were pushed to the back of his mind.

Preview:

Martha gets a diagnoses

Rachel struggles to cope

[HighwayUnicorn]

Oh wow ... that must have been so terrifying for Rachel. Her thoguhts were written so amazingly well. The emotions, the fear she was feeling ...

It was an intense scene between the two of them & you could tell how desperate she was to get away from him.

I have no idea why she's apologising to that scumbag though.

Saying that, I suppose she thinks that turning violent (even in self defense cases) makes her just as bad as him.

Poor Martha as well.

Jack was lovely being all protective of her.

I hope she & the baby are okay.

That was a beautifully written chapter as always with perfect characterisation & emotions ... it was just purely fantastic & thank you for the update.

I look forward to more.

Love Carina xxx

[Red Ranger 1]

Wow.That was brilliantly written.I'm glad Rachel managed to fight Reynolds off but hope she doesn't get into trouble for doing that to him.(Can't help wondering if he somehow managed to get her parking permit messed with.)Worried about Martha as well.Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[Barbara]

You described Rachel's feelings and fear so well. I could almost sense them. Thankfully, she could reach that rock and hit him! She is a brave woman and a great doctor. A man just tried to rape her and she is making sure he is going to be alright. I hope she won't get into trouble now. With the way that man has been acting, I have a feeling he might not let her get away with it, if he survives of course!

Oh no! I hope the baby will be okay! I'm glad Martha finally told Jack!

More please.

[charmed60]

Thank you sooooo much Carina, Red Ranger and Barbara I can always rely on you guys!! You're always so kind and encouraging; always makes me smile. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

***WARNING Again - mentions of sexual assault and violence so please read with caution! ***

Rachel looked desperately around her as she ran through the emergency doors, small beads of blood trickling from the long scratch on her cheek that Reynolds had caused. The department was packed with people were pushing past her, causing Rachel to struggle to get to the Resuscitation area.

“Excuse me” Rachel muttered timidly as she pushed open the doors, gagging as she saw the blood splayed across Reynolds body.

“Rachel what’s happened to you” Derek gasped as he saw the blood stains inked across her t-shirt and the bleeding cuts on her face. He looked up from the head wound he was desperately trying to stem before instructing another doctor to take over.

“It’s a blunt force injury, he needs a CT scan immediately; he could, he could have an internal bleed, possibly a cerebral haemorrhage . It was a close impact” she rambled, her voice shaking with the shock and guilt of what had happened.

“You saw what happened?” Derek enquired, throwing his gloves in the bin before trying to inspect the deep cut on her forehead. He looked up suddenly as two paramedics

rushed into the room, breathing a sigh of relief when they saw their patient.

“Yes, I” Rachel’s voice drifted off as she turned her attention back to Reynolds, shivering as she looked at his hands, the fingers that had scrapped skin from her face, the palm that had left her struggling for breath as it pressed down firmly over her mouth.

“She stopped the guy who did this, right place at the right time” one of the paramedics shrugged before trying to lead Rachel away. “Come on Miss Armstrong, that’s enough heroics for tonight.”

“No” Rachel nodded furiously, her eyes on the monitor bleeping frantically in front of her; “his vital signs are fading” she gasped, moving forward as if to help.

“Okay Julie can you take Rachel to a side room, get her a sugary drink. I’m going to get someone to take over here and I’ll be in” Derek instructed, knowing they wouldn’t get anything out of Rachel in the state she was in.

“Come on Rach” Julie smiled kindly, putting her arm around her. “Let’s go and get a drink.”

“He’s in a really bad way” Rachel whispered, biting what was left of her jagged fingernails as she looked over her shoulder still at the damage she’d caused.

“It’s okay, they’ll look after him” Julie promised, “why don’t you take a seat in here and I’ll go and call Tony for you.”

“N, no” Rachel hesitated, crossing her arms in front of her as she slowly eased herself into a chair next to the bed. “I don’t want Tony here, I’m okay, I’ll just get cleaned up.”

“Rachel, you can’t be on your own” Julie reasoned, “he’d want to be here I’m sure. And the police will want to talk to you about what happened.”

“No” Rachel shuddered, “please, don’t I beg you.” She looked desperately up at the nurse, her colleague, her friend praying she wouldn’t call him. She was so embarrassed about what had happened, about what he’d tried to do to her. The thought of having to explain it to Tony made her feel sick.

“Then at least let me call somebody, how about Leah?” Julie offered, crouching down in front of Rachel, placing her hand over her friend’s as she flinched.

Rachel nodded hesitantly, not wanting to bother anybody. But she knew Julie, she knew she wouldn’t relent and she just wanted her out of the room, she wanted to be left alone. She swallowed hard as she bit down on her lip; rocking slightly in her chair, a move she didn’t even realise she was making. Tony would be angry with himself if he knew this had happened, she didn’t know how she was going to hide it from him but she knew she didn’t want him to know. He’d tried so desperately to protect her, to make her feel safe. She didn’t want him feeling like he’d let her down.

“What have I done” she gasped as the reality hit her and she jumped up from the chair, running her hands through her hair. Her breathing became erratic as the panic, the thoughts, the touch, the sounds echoed back at her, intensifying with each breath she took. She ran over to the window and thrust it open, breathing in the cool air deeply. She could hear the sound of the ambulance siren whirring in the distance and the chatter of people below her; wishing desperately that she was in their place. “Why did you get involved you…idiot” Rachel screamed, slamming her fist down on the window sill as she choked back tears, pain throbbing in her hand. “You idiot.”

*********************

“How many weeks pregnant are you Mrs Holden?” the maternity nurse questioned as Martha eased herself onto the bed, clutching her stomach instinctively.

“28 weeks” she breathily replied, wincing in pain. She fanned herself as tiny beads of sweet formed on her forehead. “My baby’s okay isn’t it? I haven’t been feeling well for days, I should have come in but I didn’t want to make a fuss.”

“It’s okay” Jack reassured as he clutched her hand.

“No it’s not Jack, what if there’s something wrong with the baby, it’ll be all my fault. What kind of mother am I?” Martha’s self doubt intensified again as thought back to the baby’s movements the past few days, trying to figure out if they’d been less than usual.

“Why don’t we listen in to the heartbeat?” the nurse offered, squeezing ultrasonic gel on her rounded stomach before pressing a probe onto the right side. A fast paced thudding echoed throughout the room.

“Baby’s fine” the nurse smiled, breathing a sigh of relief along with Jack and Martha. “I’ll need to leave this on for half an hour though, just so we can keep an eye on the patterns of baby’s heartbeat. It means you’ll have to stay on the bed for a little while I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course whatever you need to do, as long as Junior’s okay in there” Martha beamed, pressing her palm against her flushed cheeks.

“Spoken like a true mother” Jack whispered, winking at her.

“I’m sorry, I was just so scared” she cringed, linking her fingers through his.

“We’re in the right place, they’ll look after you both in there. I wish you’d have told me though Martha, you don’t have to do everything on your own.”

“I know, I should have. But with everything happening with you and your Dad and Rach, it just didn’t seem the right time” she explained, hoping she hadn’t upset him.

“You and the baby come first, always” he smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Promise you’ll tell me in future.”

“I promise” she immediately replied, glancing at the monitor which was displaying their baby’s heart rate. “It’s a strong kid we’ve got in there.”

“Of course it is, it’s a Holden” Jack smirked causing Martha to giggle and stroke her bump affectionately.

“Your temperature’s up quite a bit” the nurse interrupted, “so we’re going to give you some paracetamol and we’re going to need to take some blood.”

“Ugh” Martha cringed, her face paling at the thought.

**************

“Rach” Leah shrieked as she rushed into the hospital room, trying not to react when she saw the swollen cuts on her face. “The hospital called, said you’d been trying to break up some random attack and got hurt, are you okay?” She rushed forward and held her friend gently, afraid of hurting her.

“That’s not what happened.” Rachel shook her head furiously and pulled away, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chest. “Why does everyone keep trying to make out that I’m some kind of hero? I’m not.” She paced along the floor before moving over towards the sink and turning on the hot tap. As she moved her fingers towards the scalding hot water Leah grabbed her wrists and pulled them away.

“Rach you’re going to burn yourself” she shrieked, wincing as she watched the steam evaporating from the surface of the sink.

“I just want to wash my hands” she muttered lifelessly. Leah loosened her grip as she saw pain flicker across her friend’s eyes, looking down at her wrists.

“Oh my” Leah gasped, tears pricking as she saw the dark, swollen bruises which were forming on her skin. “Sweetie what happened?” she whispered, anger rising in her chest, “who did this to you?”

“It’s all my fault” Rachel shuddered, her hands shaking as the tension in her body escalated. “I hit him, I hurt him” she blurted out, breathing deeply as she realised the impact of her confession.

Leah froze, feeling goose bumps shiver throughout her whole body. “You were defending an innocent...”

“No I wasn’t Leah you don’t understand. It was Reynolds, Superintendent Reynolds. I hit him because he was…” she paused for a second as the memory forced bile into her throat. “He’s fighting for his life Leah, he could die and it’s all my fault.”

“Because he was what Rachel” Leah sternly questioned, her mind whirring at what she was hearing. “Why did you hit him?”

“He… I couldn’t stop…he was…please” Rachel begged, finally looking her friend in the eye. “Please don’t make me say it.” She bit her lip so hard that a tiny bead of blood trickled down her chin and dropped to the floor.

“You need to Rach, so that things are clear. It’s okay” Leah nudged, afraid of what her friend was going to say. But she knew. Deep down, she knew and it made her heart completely shatter. Leah touched her friend’s shoulder reassuringly and squeezed her eyes tightly in an attempt to force herself not to cry as Rachel winced at her touch.

“He tried…to r, to rape me.” Rachel blinked quickly and took a deep breath as Leah reached forward and wrapped her arms around her. A single tear trickled down Leah’s cheek as she stroked her hair before realising that Rachel was comforting her more than the other way round.

“You are so brave” Leah whispered as Rachel smiled quickly before casting her eyes to the floor. “I’m going to go and speak to the doctors” she added, “let them know what actually happened.”

“Do you have to?” Rachel panicked, terrified at the thought of her colleagues finding out what she’d done, what he’d tried to do to her.

“You know I do” Leah replied, squeezing her friend’s hand. “They’re going to want to do examinations…”she drifted, “they need to understand why you did what you did to him. So promise me you won’t wash your hands while I’m gone okay?”

Tears stung at Leah’s eyes as she watched Rachel nod timidly, her eyes sunken and withdrawn. It broke her heart to see her trying to be so strong when she was so evidently fragile; the bruises and cuts a brutal evidence of the trauma she’d been through. She moved slowly away towards the door before looking back over her shoulder to see Rachel still frozen to the spot. Her heart sunk as she wondered whether her best friend would ever recover.

****************

“What’s taking them so long” Martha sighed in frustration as she banged her fists down on the bed.

“These things take time” Jack reassured her, looking up from his magazine.

“Yeah well it’s alright for you, you haven’t got to sit still on this bed for goodness knows how long” she bit back before yawning widely. “I’m so tired.”

“Then close your eyes and get some sleep” Jack suggested, having learnt to ignore her temper.

“I can’t sleep Jack, not when I’m worried….I just want to know…”

“Sorry for the wait Mrs Holden” a maternity nurse apologised as she entered the room holding her set of notes. “A&E has been really busy and they always take priority. The good news is it’s nothing serious…”

“Oh thank goodness” Martha sighed, feeling the tension lift from her as she protectively put a hand over her bump.

“You’ve got an infection which you’ll need antibiotics for and as baby’s heartbeat is running a little fast we’ll need to keep you in overnight at least, just to keep and eye on

you both and make sure your temperature comes down.”

“That’s fine thank you so much” Martha beamed, taking Jack’s hand.

“I’ll go and let Dad know the good news” he smiled, kissing Martha gently on the lips before stroking her tummy affectionately. “Be good in there bubba.” He shook the hand of the nurse and then opened the door to find his Dad sitting in a chair opposite, a concentrated expression on his face as he held his mobile phone in his hand.

“Martha and the baby are going to be okay” he explained, trying to break his Dad from the engrossed state he was in. Tony lifted his head and smiled.

“Oh sorry mate I didn’t hear you come out, that’s great, want me to take you both home now?”

“Actually Martha’s got to stay in overnight so would you mind dropping me back to just pick some stuff up for her?” Jack queried.

“Yeah sure, you ready to go now?” he stuttered, checking his phone.

“Sure…Dad are you okay?” Jack queried, noticing how flustered Tony was.

“Yeah yeah I’m fine” Tony brushed off, admitting defeat and placing his phone in his back pocket. “I’m just trying to get hold of Rach that’s all; I figured if she wasn’t home earlier she must have got held up here although she usually calls me or at least sends a text to let me know” he rambled, wiping the nervous sweat off of his palms.

“Maybe she just got caught up in emergency, the nurse just said it’s really busy down there. Why don’t you go and see her, I’ll meet you in the car” Jack suggested, holding his hands out for Tony’s keys.

“Yeah that’s not a bad idea, thanks son” he smiled, throwing his keys over before heading downstairs to the emergency department. A nagging feeling was torturing him, a feeling that told him something wasn’t quite right. Rachel usually found a way to let him know if she was going to be home late; she knew how much he worried. He hated being so neurotic but after losing Kate and then Beth he couldn’t help it; his whole life felt like it was spent waiting for the next bad thing to happen, for him to lose yet another person that he loved. The thought startled him as he realised what he’d just admitted to himself. Love. He loved Rachel. A silly smile spread across his face which he quickly wiped away as he realised what an idiot he must look like; grinning like a fool in a hospital corridor. He debated taking the lift before deciding that the stairs would be quicker and as he took two steps at a time the usual worry spread through him. Now that he was in love with her, he had to prepare himself for the pain of losing her. He shook his head and tried to convince himself that things would be different this time; that it couldn’t possibly happen to him three times over. He just had to try and be positive.

******************

Leah took a deep breath in an attempt to compose herself while looking around for the nearest doctor. It shouldn’t be too hard in an emergency department she reasoned but that idea was proving to be a failure. She walked down the corridor, dodging the stretchers which were being charged at record speed past her, patients screaming in pain on them. She shivered, wondering how Rachel worked in a place like this on a daily basis. As she pushed past relatives milling about and scanned the ward wildly for a man – or woman – wearing a stethoscope; her heart sank. She saw Tony making his way through the crowd and as he began to lift his head up she panicked and looked to the side, desperate to hide from him. Julie had explained on the phone that Rachel hadn’t wanted him to know and whilst she didn’t agree with it, she understood.

“Leah” Tony called, causing her to curse under her breath as she forced a smile onto her face and turned around to greet him.

“Tony hi, what are you doing here” she smiled, desperate not to alert suspicion.

“I was just coming to see if Rach is still here, she’s not answering her phone…” he began.

“Wow you came all the way down here for that?” Leah giggled, mentally cursing herself as she realised how over the top she was acting.

“Why are you here, VJ is okay isn’t he?” Tony fretted, his eyebrow dipping in concern which caused a pang of guilt to spread through Leah’s chest.

“Yeah VJ is fine” she smiled sadly. A silence fell upon them both as they studied each other, wondering who was going to speak next.

“That’s good” Tony hesitated, realising she wasn’t going to share the reason she was here. “You haven’t seen Rach at all?” he questioned.

Leah closed her eyes tightly as her mind raced. She didn’t want to upset Rachel but she didn’t want to lie to Tony either. And maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea if he did know, perhaps it was what Rachel needed to get through this horrible ordeal. And he would find out eventually anyway wouldn’t he? She couldn’t keep it from him forever…

“Yeah I have” she sighed, admitting defeat. “That’s actually why I’m here.” She looked up at him and saw the expression of confusion clouding his eyes. “I’m really sorry Tony, she didn’t want you to know but I think that you should; I think deep down she needs you…”

“Woah woah hang on a second” Tony interrupted, his hand hovering in front of her face. “Has something happened to Rachel?” His eyes widened as he searched her face

for a clue, silently begging her to explain everything to him.

“It was Superintendent Reynolds…”

“I knew he’d get to her” Tony screamed in anger, his face burning as his hand which remained before Leah began shaking. “I knew this was going to happen, I should have stopped it. She’s okay isn’t she? He didn’t hurt her?”

“She’s…shaken up” Leah explained, “and…”

“And what Leah” Tony screamed, grabbing her shoulders. His breathing was erratic and she could see the veins in his temples pulsating frantically. It frightened her. She’d never seen him like this before.

“He tried to…” Leah froze as she realised that she couldn’t force herself to say the word. She began to realise how hard it must have been for Rachel and she suddenly felt anger with herself for making her say it.

“To what, tell me please” he shook her, his eyes pricking with tears. His mind was racing with all kind of thoughts of what he’d done to her. He didn’t even know if she was conscious or seriously injured and as well as Rachel his thoughts were consumed by images of what he wanted to do to Reynolds.

“Rape her okay” she screamed back at him, tears gushing down her cheeks. “He tried to rape her.” She began silently sobbing as she watched the colour drain from Tony’s face; his eyes clouding over as she began breathing heavily, his arms dropped to his side. He stepped back as his mouth flung to his mouth, his fingers curling into a fist.

“I’m gonna kill him” he seethed, his whole body shaking as his mind switched from uncontrollable rage to heartbreaking sadness. “I’ve got to find him….”

“No Tony, you don’t understand. She fought him off, she hit him. He’s in a really bad way and she’s blaming herself…”Leah began.

“She hit him? Is he dead?” he breathed, his eyes wild with anger.

“N,no I don’t think so” Leah stuttered, backing away slightly.

“Then it’s not good enough” he screamed, looking around wildly as he ran his fingers through his hair. The rage had reached a point where he didn’t know how to control it anymore and as it escalated even more than he thought possible he could feel the anger turn to tears. He wiped them away furiously, desperate for Leah not to see him cry, desperate not to lose control. “I need to see her, where is she?” he softly begged.

As Leah watched his bottom lip quiver she felt her heart break into two at the love and concern he had for her best friend.

“I’ll take you to her okay?” she smiled sadly, reaching for his hand as he nodded absentmindedly.

Preview:

How will Rachel react when she sees Tony?

[Red Ranger 1]

Wow.I really like the way you wrote Rachel in that chapter, blaming herself and hating what she'd done even though she was only trying to do the right thing.Like the way you involved Leah and the hospital staff.Glad that Martha seems to be okay.Looking forward to more of this.

[HighwayUnicorn]

The emotions in that update were spot on.

Rachel blaming herself & being shaken up. Leah comforting her. Tony being protective & concerned.

It was written beautifully as always. Well done, a perfect portrayal of all characters there.

Amazingly written & fantastic emotions displayed in there too.

Well done & I look forward to more.

Love Carina xxx

[Sabrina]

Wow! Amazing chapters.

- Oh no. Poor Rachel, she must have been terrified. Thankfully she was able to fight Reynolds off. I hope she doesn't get into trouble. I hope Martha and the baby are ok.

- Poor Rachel, she shouldn't blame herself. I'm glad Martha and the baby are ok. I loved how you wrote Rachel and Tony's emotions in that chapter, fantastic writing.

Can't wait for the next chapter.