Disclaimer: I own nothing

Author's Note: This is a sequel to Rebecca Clarkson: Year One, but if you haven't read that, all you need to know is that Tom Clarkson has a younger sister who teaches history at Waterloo Road, and is dating Jack Rimmer. This is set in the 2nd series of Waterloo Road

Chapter One

28 year old Rebecca Clarkson stood in front of the mirror in the hallway, applying her rose pink lipstick with one had while holding her mobile phone to her ear with the other hand.

Today was the first day of the new school year at Waterloo Road and would be Becky's second year as a teacher there. She'd gotten dressed in something she knew her boyfried of 11 months would approve of, had curled her hair early that morning, and now applied her lipstick expertly, while she waited for Jack - who also happened to be the headmaster of the school, at 37 years of age - to come downstairs.

" I know, I know," she said into the phone, " but at least we're still having this Indian summer thing. "

On the other end, her brother, Tom, an English teacher there, and was one of her best friends, said, " You should have seen the newspapers. 31 degrees today in Sydney it said. I'll bet Lorna's having the time or her life over there."

Tom lived with his fiance, Izzie, was also a teacher there, and had been one of Becky's best friends for a long time. Izzie had two teenage daughters - Chlo and Mika. Before being with Izzie, Tom had been married to fellow English teacher and another friend from college, Lorna Dickey. Lorna had left the profession at Christmas after leavig Tom, Izzie and Becky notes assuring them that she was happy and they should let her move on.

" I really don't know how she's coping out there with her skin tone," Becky said, shaking her head as she put her lipstick into her handbag and started a hunt for her car keys, " do you really think that's where she's gone? "

" I don't know," Tom said, " but she always did fantasise about going there, and she did mention it in her letter. At any rate, she must have gone somewhere nice or we'd have all heard about it. "

" Yeah, I guess," Becky said, looking up as she saw Jack jogging down the stairs. " And here we are in rainy Rochdale. "

Her eyes were fixed on Jack as he came towards her and he was grinning his most irresistable grin as he came over and kissed her cheek. She grinned and tilted her chin up to allow him better access.

She giggled as he wrapped one arm around her waist and moved to kiss her neck lightly.

" Jack! " she laughed, trying to swat him away, before putting the phone back to her ear, " sorry Tom, I've got to go. See you soon. "

Tom sounded like he was in a good mood and he replied, " Yeah, see you soon. "

" Give me future niece or nephew a kiss from me," Becky ordered good naturedly.

Tom laughed on the other end of the phone, " Becks, it's barely developed yet, she's not even three months gone. "

" I don't care, just give him or her a kiss from Auntie Becky and Uncle Jack," she ordered.

" You've got it," Tom said.

Becky smiled as she ended the phone call, and Jack took the phone from her hand and put it down on the nearby table so her hands were free. He smiled and took hold of both of her hands as he stood facing her,

" Hey, beautiful," he said with a grin. Becky was wearing a smart black skirt with a pale pink sweather, and her favourite coat unbuttoned over the top, combined with a shiny black handbag and smart black heels.

Becky sighed - she and Jack had gotten together within a month of Becky's arrival at Waterloo Road, and had moved in two months after that, making their relationship now 11 months long, and their time of living together, 9 months long.

They were solid and everyone who knew them decided that they made a good match. It was the first time Becky had ever been in love and the first time Jack had had a serious relationship with proper commitment.

" Hey honey," Becky said, looking up at him.

Jack grinned and moved in, quickly capturing her lips with his. She smiled into the kiss and kissed back in the lovely familiar way which she'd learnt drove him as crazy as it did her.

Once they broke apart, Jack grinned.

" Come on then," he said, taking hold of her hand, " we'd better get back to the mad house, hadn't we? "

" If we must," Becky sighed dramatically, though she was smiling broadly and as usual, the smile couldn't be wiped off her face - she was nothing if not optimistic and happy. She used her free hand to throw her handbag over her shoulder and took a step towards the door.

" Are you coming in my car? " Jack asked, " or do you want to take the Merc? "

Becky smiled at him and pouted a little, " Oh please, let's take the Merc, Jack. But ... but I can't find the keys. "

Jack smiled fondly, " I knew you'd want to show it off," he said, shaking his head, before reaching out and digging his hand into the pocket of her tan coloured mac and withdrawing a set of keys, " and it's a good job that I know where the keys are, isn't it? "

Becky smiled gratefully and took the keys from him. She turned back to face him and leaned up to plant a brief kiss on his lips " You're the best, you know that? "

" It's been said," Jack shrugged as they left the house.

Becky's new car was a sign of how head over heels Jack was with his girlfriend. Over the summer holidays, he'd suprised her with a two week holiday to Greece, and when they got back, he suprised her again with a shiny silver car to replace the beaten down old thing she'd been driving in the 10 years since she passed her driving test.

Jack had a car of his own, but Becky had never wanted to get rid of her car and they often took it in turns to drive if they were both going out together.

Becky drove them to work in the new car that she loved, and when she pulled up in the school car park, it was half full of other staff cars, and the first students milling around for the new school year.

Becky got out of the car and as she shut the door, looked across at Jack, " How are you feeling? " she asked, as she rossed her bag over one shoulder.

" A little nervous, I guess. And it doesn't help that I haven't had a secreary to co-ordinate things for me since Estelle left me in the lurch," Jack said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as Becky walked around the side of the car and came to stand beside him, " I mean, this is our new sponsor governor, who also happens to be the new head of the governers. Got to make a good impression. "

" You will do," Becky assured him, " although - "

" I know," Jack said, looking at her - he knew her too well. He repeated what she'd told him on several occasions over the summer, " You don't agree with it. You think he's trying to buy a slice of the school. Handful of kids and half a pound of desks, right? "

Becky shook her head a little, and couldn't help but laugh at the way he could repeat her feelings back to her, " It doesn't matter what I think. Good luck, honey. He's going to love you. "

" How could he not, right? " Jack replied, much more confidently than he really felt.

" That's the spirit," Becky said, winking at him, before turning her back on him and walking towards the school. Jack smiled as he watched her go, and then leant back against the car, waiting for the new sponsor governor.

Once she was inside the school, Becky headed for one of the hallways.

All members of staff had recieved an email saying that Jack would like them to gather in this hallway before the beginning to school to make an introduction to them. Becky walked into the corridor where she found several members of staff gathered around something which had a big white sheet over it.

Becky picked out Izzie and Tom in the crowd and made her way over to them.

" Tommy," she said, creeping up on him and poking him in the back. He jumped, startled and whipped around to look at her. He rolled his eyes when he came face to face with her and she smirked.

" Oh," he said, shaking his head, " morning. "

" Hey," she grinned, " hey Izzie. "

She'd seen both Izzie and Tom and the two girls - Mika, and Chlo, who was dating Becky's god-son, Donte (Becky had gone to school with Donte's late mother.) - plenty of times over the summer, but they hadn't actually met up for four or five days.

As they caught up on what they'd been up to, they waited for whatever was about to happen, and Kim Campbell, art teacher, head of pastoral care, and another friend, joined them, as did deputy head and english teacher, Andrew Treneman.

" Good summer? " Becky asked the pair of them, waiting for one to answer - Kim and Andrew had an undeniable chemistry which was obvious to everyone except the pair of them.

" Yes thank you," Andrew replied, " I spent most of it working in Rwanda with the children there. "

" No need to ask where you've been," Kim said, taking in Becky's tanned face, " Jack whisked you off on holiday then? You look great. "

After ten minutes, all of the school's staff were there, and the catch up was over. Jack strode into the hallway, with a tall dark haired man in a black suit following him.

" Morning all," Jack said, stopping beside the thing with a sheet over it and adressing all of his staff. He looked around and his eyes lingered on Becky for a moment before he continued, " welcome back to Waterloo Road. Now I know that some of you have heard something about the new school. Well, this is the man behind it all - Mr Aspinall. I know that each and everyone one of you is going to do your best to make it work, because what we've got here is the future of some of the poorest kids in Britain. "

Jack pulled off the sheet to reveal a model building inside a glass case on a podium.

The man - Aspinall - looked proud of himself, and Jack continued, " A state of the art academy, with playing fields and windows that can actually shut. And you should see the staffroom - it's like an airport lounge. So let's hear it for our new sponsor governor. "

The staff clapped, some more hesitant than others - Becky, Tom, izzie and Kim were amongst the more hesistant. The thought of someone buying into the school was an uneasy one.

Mr Aspinall stepped forward and said, " I'm a man of precious few words, not being an intellectual like yourselves, but I know how to run a successful business. That's why the Roger Aspinall Academy is going to the top - I'll hire the best staff for the job, give them the best working environment, and get the best results. And I'm sure that none of you want to see out your working days catching rain water in your litter bins. I hope this meets with your approval. Thank you. "

There was another round of applause, and when it was over, Jack nodded at his staff, " Thank you Mr Aspinall," he said, " right then, you lot, it's that time of year again. Let's up and at them. "

The staff started to disperse and Becky walked to the staffroom ahead of Izzie and Tom, who were just behind her.

" I can't believe Jack's buying into this," Tom said, shaking his head just as they entered the staffroom.

" He doesn't have much of a choice, I'm guessing," Izzie shrugged.

" Too right," Becky confirmed, " the LEA have gone above his head on this one - he's just got to make the best of it. "

In the doorway of the staffroom, the three of them stopped by their trays to pull out any letters of papers adressed to them and then rounded the corner into the staffroom.

As Becky looked up from her mail she stopped dead in her tracks and stared - she hadn't expected to see Lorna Dickey - her long time friend and brother's ex-wife who she hadn't heard from in 9 months - in the middle of the room.

" Lorna? " Becky heard an equally shocked Izzie ask from behind her. Tom and Izzie had thought they'd gotten rid of Lorna - since Tom had left Lorna when he realised he was in love with Izzie and gotten together with Izzie, Tom and Izzie had found it much easier without Lorna around.

Lorna grinned at her three friends, " I gather I missed an important meeting. I wasn't copied i on the email. "

" Lorna," Becky said, shaking her head in shock, " Jack never said you were coming back. "

Lorna smiled brightly, " Jack will have only found out for himself this morning - I was hired through the LEA. They said the headmaster was on holiday, which I can tell by one look at your face. You look so well - Jack must be doing wonders for you! "

Izzie stared at Lorna and let out a little gasp, " We thought you'd gone to Australia! "

" You - you've been gone since December," Becky added, tryig to make sense of it.

" Australia? " Lorna laughed, moving over to them, " well I did a bit of travelling, but I wasn't that adventerous. " She looked between Izzie and Tom, " you too look really great too. I know I did the right thing by taking myself away for a while. "

Tom seemed to be taking it the worst and he couldn't even mask his annoyance, " I thought you said you were going to make a new life for yourself? "

" Well, I haven't found that bloody gorgeous new husband yet," Lorna laughed.

" Well, I think you look fabulous," Izzie said, " I'm really glad to see you back, darling. "

Izzie moved in and hugged her friend warmly, and when they'd broken apart Becky hugged her too - though there'd been some unpleasantness between Izzie, Lorna and Tom during the last couple of months before Lorna left, they'd all been friends for ten years and it was hard to forget.

" Don't look so worried, Tom," Lorna told her ex-husbad, shaking her head before she walked away.

The moment Lorna was gone, Tom let out a long sigh, and Izzie shook her head at Tom, " You could have at least hugged her. "

" But this isn't starting up a new life," Tom pointed out, " this is crashing back in on ours. "

" So what, you think she should have given up her job for us as well as everything else? " Izzie quizzed her future husand, " she took some time off part way through the year, had till the end of the school year off and got her job back. It's only like taking maternity leave. "

" But you don't know her like I do," Tom insisted, " she's not happy. This is an act. "

As Izzie shook her head and went over to make a drink, Becky sat down on the sofa next to her brother.

" Well," she said, " welcome back to the madhouse. "

Becky's first lesson that day was a year 11 class, which included Chlo Grainger, Donte Charles and their friends. She'd decided to take it easy on them and handed out excercise books and a specification of what they'd be studying that year, and then set them off to work on a crossword to recap some of the things they'd learnt the previous year.

As she was standing up at the whiteboard, writing up the learning objectives for the second half of the lesson, there was a knock at the door and she turned in time to see Jack entering her classroom, followed by Roger Aspinall.

Becky smiled and Jack walked over to her while Roger followed. Roger looked at this woman in the from of the classroom - she looked young. She couldn't be 30 yet, and she had vivid blue eyes, curly, glossy dark hair and a soft sort of smile.

" Miss Clarkson," Jack said, gesturing at Roger, " I'd like you to meet Mr Aspinall. Mr Aspinall, Rebecca Clarkson, one of our history teachers. "

Roger smiled a sort of arrogant smarmy grin as he shook her head, " Pleased to meet you," he said, " I'm happy to say that school teacher's have certainly gotten much more attractive since my day. "

Becky laughed it off, not really sure what else she could do, and she watched as Roger walked around the classroom.

He briefly looked at what the students were doing, but she could feel him looking at her as she turned back to the whiteboard and finished up what she was doing before he came in. Jack stood in the doorway, watching his girlfriend, though he maintained a professional exterior and anyone wno didn't know them, wouldn't know that they were a couple.

When Roger came back to the front of the room, he nodded at Becky.

" Everything seems to be in order around here, Miss Clarkson," he said, " I hope to see you around, then. "

" Here, mate, she's taken! " shouted out Janeece Bryant - a loud mouthed girl with thick curly hair and lots of confidence - and making many people burst out laughing.

Roger looked embarrassed though he tried not to show it and left the room quite quickly, Jack following him. Becky was also a little embarrassed, though she couldn't deny that it had been funny, and she merely shook her head at Janeece before steering her class back onto course.

At the end of the lesson, she went into the staffroom for break time and was settling into a seat when grumpy, lazy head of English, Grantley Budgen walked in.

He was, as usual, moaning and groaning to himself.

" You'll never guess what card I've been cut now," he said, telling every member of staff he could reach, " turns out that Aspinall used to be a pupil of mine. "

" You're kidding? " Tom asked, raising his eyebrows.

" So he tells me," Grantly grumbled, " I hope you're up for a pint at lunch time, Tom. "

" Definitley," Tom sighed.

Steph Haydock, the flirty middle aged French teacher who was less than incompetant and had had her sights set on Jack until Becky got in there, turned to Lorna, " You've had to sell your place, haven't you? "

Lorna shrugged, " I'm in a B&B at the moment. I don't think I can afford a house, but going back to a flat will be fine so long as it's totally mod-con. "

Steph nodded and Lorna went off to make a drink. Becky looked wistfully over to the kettle and got up and went over to the kitchen area too. Only she and Lorna stood there, and Becky said lightly, feeling that she needed to fix all of their friendships properly,

" Are you coming to sit with us? "

" Not if it makes Tom feel uncomfortable," Lorna replied.

" No, he was just shocked," Becky insisted.

Lorna shook her head, " I don't want what happened between Izzie and Tom and me to have an effect on us, Becks. Let's just be friends - none of it was your fault, and I know you have such a strong loyalty to Tom but ... here I am. It took me a long time to get over what happened, and I was a mess the day I left, and I left you those letters, but I'm here now. "

Becky nodded, trying to understand how Lorna must have felt, though she couldn't quite imagine it. Instead, she said, " Tom and Izzie lived off those letters, you know. Thinking you were alright. I've got to admit, that one letter each was a comfort to us all. "

Lorna smiled a little, " Well, just know that I really am alright. "

Becky wasn't sure if Lorna was telling her the truth but she nodded, " That's good to hear. "

Becky's next two lessons were quite uneventful - the industrial revolution to her year 9 class and the medieval church to her year 7 class, before heading back to the staffroom for lunch. She and Jack spent little time together at school, as Jack was always busy during break and lunch times. As for after school, they usually made their way home together, but Jack sometimes had a bit of work to finish off after school so Becky would stay in her classroom and catch up on some marking.

On her way to the staffroom, Becky rounded and corner and almost walked into a pupil. She stopped just short of him and shook her head as she smiled politely,

" Sorry," she apologised before considering that she'd never seen the boy before.

" No, no, my fault, Miss," the boy said. He was a little taller than her and had dark hair which flopped into his eyes and had a rather plummy accent.

Becky nodded and was about to move on when the boy added, " It's Miss Clarkson, isn't it? Only, I think you're on my timetable - year 12 History? "

Becky smiled, " Really? Well, I'll have your class tomorrow. I look forward to teaching you Mr - "

" Brett Aspinall," the boy replied.

Becky immediately noticed his surname and raised her eyebrows, " Oh," she said, suprised somehow that the smary Roger Aspinall had a family, " You're the son of our new governor, then? "

Brett pulled a face, " I prefer not to think about what my father does, but be my own person. "

Becky couldn't help but smile a little and she nodded, " Fine. Then I'll see you in the classroom. "

She left the boy in the corridor and walked to the staffroom. It felt good to relax after a morning to work and she pulled out a box of pasta she'd brought with her and sat down in some of the most comfy armchairs with Kim and Izzie. Izzie informed her that Tom had gone to the pub.

All Becky wanted to do now was relax, but it looked like Izzie was having a harder time than Becky was.

" Hard day? " Kim asked Izzie, also noticing.

" I'm just looking forward to this evening," Izzie said, " being able to relax. "

Becky felt sorry for her friend and shook her head. Kim asked, " Isn't it going to be a nightmare, having to face Lorna every day? "

" I'm sure she's going to feel the same," izzie said, trying to shrug it off.

" She sure doesn't look like it bothers her much," Kim pointed out, to which Becky nodded, " I know if I had to work with my ex and his new partner ... well ... I couldn't do it. "

Izzie looked at Kim sympathetically, " So your divorce came through, then? "

" Yeah," Kim sighed.

Izzie and Becky exchanged mischevious looks, and Becky started it off with, " So, all ready to play the field again, are you? Say, with Andrew, for instance? "

Becky expected Kim to tell her to be quiet, but instead, Kim blushed and nodded, " We're actually going out for a meal tonight. I thought I'd give him a chance. "

" Told you that you should," Becky smirked.

" Oh be quiet," Kim said, rolling her eyes, " I think Jack Rimmer's smug smirk has rubbed straight off onto you. And as for Andrew, he really winds me up sometimes. He probably going to turn my friends right off - there's a big crowd of us going. "

Izzie chuckled, " Is that wise? Can Andrew handle crowds? "

Having a chat and a gossip with two of her friends made the lunch time go quite quickly, and the last two lessons of the day came around and went equally quickly - Becky was as popular with the pupils as her brother was, and most liked her because she was nice and easy going, and actually cared about her students enough to ask them how they were doing and listen to them.

At the end of the day, she'd dismissed her last class of the day and was all set to go meet Jack by the car when her mobile phone vibrated. Here we go, she thought.

" I've got something to do, half a hour tops, if you don't mind waiting? If not I'll get lift home from someone else xx"

It was from Jack, and it was only to be expected. She smiled and sent a text back.

" Course I don't mind - give me a chance to catch up on a bit of marking. See you soon xx"

She pulled a pile of exercise books towards her and dug around in her pocket for a pen. Once she'd found it she sat down at her desk and reached for the first book to mark, as she felt her phone vibrate again in the pocket of her coat.

She read the last text from him. " Thanks love xx"

She smiled. She was Jack Rimmer's girlfriend - perfect.

Author's Note: Let me know if there was anything you thought about this or would like to see in future chapters.
I'm possibly thinking of having Jack and Becky take in Maxine Barlow instead of Steph Haydock taking her in (thanks to a clever suggestion by Cinderella Ella!) - let me know what you think of this. I think it would be interesting to have Jack ad Becky trying to be "parents" to a teenage girl.