(A/N): Hey, so, this is my first Waterloo Road fanfiction, I think. I adore Reddie, and so that is the main pairing of this fic, even if Eddie and Mel are together at the beginning. This is set early series 4, after Eddie gets with Mel but before the proposal and Maxine being shot by Earl and stuff like that. This is dramatically AU in the fact that Rachel has a fifteen year old daughter, so the same age as Philip, and she plays a large part in this, especially in regards to getting Reddie together. Uh, anyway, I hope you like it, and please let me know what you think. I love reviews more than chocolate cake, which is a lot.

Blanket disclaimer for the entire fic: I do not own Waterloo Road or any characters belonging to that, I just play around with them for my own amusement and to portray what should have happened (Reddie forever haha).

HeavenSkye x

What The Heart Wants

Chapter 1

Rachel Mason stood alone in her kitchen stirring her cup of coffee dejectedly, dreading another day of work. Ordinarily, she loved going into work, seeing all the teenagers and their lives, helping to make a difference, but ever since she'd gone back that term, she'd dreaded each day she had to go to the school. If she was being honest with herself, she'd admit that the main reason for her reluctance to head to work was her deputy, Eddie Lawson, and her sister, Melissa Ryan.

"Dreading another day?"

Rachel span round to see her fifteen year old daughter, Alia, stood in the doorway to the kitchen wearing sleep shorts and a vest top, brunette waves messy and hazel eyes still full of sleep. Rachel sighed, feeling her shoulders drop in resignation. "Maybe." Was all Rachel would admit to as Alia stepped further into the kitchen and hoisted herself up on the counter opposite Rachel, bare legs swinging back and forth.

"It'll all work out. Aunt Mel's never stuck with a guy for long." Alia tried in an attempt to be helpful, but Rachel just sighed again, wiping at a stray tear impatiently.

"It's not that, Ali. I just, I wanted…" Rachel trailed off, not sure where she was going with her sentence. Alia, though, seemed to understand what Rachel couldn't put into words.

"You wanted Eddie to prove he meant what he said outside the pub, about you being special to him. You wanted him to prove that your scar truly meant nothing, at least not to him. And yet a week later he was with your sister, not really proving that you were special at all." Alia supplied for her in an even tone, trying not to get angry at the man who had reduced her mum to such a state in her self-confidence. It wouldn't help Rachel if Alia got angry at a man she'd never met, but her mum loved.

"Yeah, I did." Rachel whispered, more to herself than anything. Alia nodded sympathetically.

"Uh huh. Well, one more day and then it's the weekend." Alia told her optimistically. Rachel smiled despite herself at her daughter's attempt to cheer her up.

"Like you know the difference, Ali." Rachel teased before sighing as she picked up her cup. "Look, Ali, I know you don't like it, but can you please think about coming back to school?"

Ali sighed, closing her eyes briefly at the pain the sentence invoked. She'd lived almost solely with her dad until three years ago when he'd died and she'd been sent to live with her mum. Her dad had been in the Army, and so Alia had lived on Army bases all her life, including going to schools on base too. She'd been in school when she'd received the news that her dad had been killed in an ambush when he'd been deployed in Iraq, and she'd ran straight out, refusing to ever go back to school again, stating that if she hadn't had to go to school then her dad might still have been alive. Looking back on it, even Alia couldn't say why she thought missing school would've saved him, but Alia hadn't wanted school after that, and Rachel had been reluctant to force the issue. As far as the officials were concerned, Alia was home-schooled, and Alia did indeed work hard at home, especially at Maths and Music. Alia was also a singer, known as Lia Rose, and had a couple of albums out already, the first album having originally been for a charity to support wounded troops and their families from the army base she'd been staying on at the time. It had soon grown and Lia was well-known to most people, with her songs regularly played on radios and in shops. Alia, however, was quiet and reserved, almost the exact opposite of the role she assumed when she was Lia. Lia wore an electric blue wig that came to her middle back, and had violet contacts, a stark contrast to Alia's brunette waves to her shoulder blades and bright, hazel eyes.

"I already told you; I don't like school." Alia responded tiredly.

"Neither do I right now." Rachel pointed out.

"I told you not to hire Aunt Mel in the first place." Alia retaliated. "Mel never causes anything but trouble."

"Alia that is your aunt you're talking about."

"So? It's true and you know it, Rach." Alia hadn't really seen much of Rachel before her dad had died as Rachel had only been around for the first three or four years before they'd split up, and because her dad had called Rachel by name, whether full or shortened, so did Alia. Rachel didn't really mind, and Alia did on occasion call her mum, though not very often. Rachel was pretty pleased to note that the instances in which Alia actually referred to her as mum were definitely increasing in numbers over the past three years.

Rachel sighed, setting down her now empty cup and running a hand through her hair. "What can I do, Ali? I don't like them together, but I can't split them up either."

"Just wait." Alia shrugged, jumping off the counter. "It'll work out, I know it."

"How can you be so sure?" Rachel asked, wishing desperately for the confidence her daughter had.

"Because I know you, and I know Mel. She'll do something to mess it up, and she doesn't really want Eddie."

"What?"

"She just wants to ruin things for you, Rach. She always has done."

"No, Mel is the new, improved version. She wouldn't do that again."

Alia scoffed in disbelief. "Yeah, right. I'll believe that when I see it." She handed Rachel her handbag and car keys. "Have a good day at school, and I'll make tea tonight. And before you ask, yes, I'll think about coming back to school. I can't avoid it forever, can I?"

Rachel felt her jaw drop in shock. "Are you being serious Ali?"

"Yeah." Alia shrugged. "You need an ally, and I need new reading material. It's a win-win situation." She teased before turning serious. "I'll think about it, but Rach, you just need to get through today, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you tonight, Ali."

…

Arriving at school, Rachel sighed, mentally preparing herself to face the day, particularly as she saw both Melissa's and Eddie's cars already parked up as she'd pulled into the car park. She knew Alia was right about just needing to get through the day, but she was seriously regretting bringing in Melissa at all. Rachel knew she might have been thinking unfairly, but she'd just wanted Eddie to wait for her to get her head sorted out before jumping into a relationship, and yet Alia had summed up what had happened instead, at which Rachel could freely admit that it hurt. The one man who had known about her past and not hated her for it, other than Alia's dad, James, had called her special, and promptly turned around and contradicted himself by getting with her sister less than a week later. Rachel frowned. How did it make her special that he seemed to get over her so very quickly, especially when she'd told him the reason behind her denial of their feelings, or rather, shown him?

Climbing out of the car, Rachel pulled her bag from the passenger seat and checked her phone out of instinct, something she did every morning. She had one text message from Alia.

From: Ali.

Hey, Rach, it'll be okay. You're Rachel Mason. You can get through anything. I believe in you. Homemade pizza for tea? Ali x

Rachel smiled and quickly typed out a reply as she wandered up and into the school.

To: Ali.

Thanks love. Pizza sounds great. Please think about the school thing, okay? Do you have another meeting today? Mum x

Rachel then shoved her phone back into her bag and walked down the corridor towards the stairs that would lead to her office quickly, not interested in walking in on whatever Eddie and Melissa could possibly be doing in the school so early.

"Aunt Rach."

Rachel turned, smiling when she saw her nephew, Philip, running down the corridor to catch up with her. "What's up, Philip?"

"I'm just bored, Rach." Philip admitted. "Mum and Eddie wanted to come in early to set up some scheme or other for the adult learners, so it was either early or walking."

Rachel smirked. "And you chose the lazy route. What a surprise."

"How's Ali? I haven't seen her in ages."

"She's good, Phil. A pain in the arse, but fine." Rachel laughed as she walked up the stairs with Philip.

"Ah that's good. Ali's cool."

"Seriously, Philip, is everything okay?" Rachel asked in concern. It wasn't so much that Philip asking after his cousin was odd, far from it, but Philip didn't usually focus directly on Alia's welfare, mainly just waiting for Rachel to bring Alia up before asking after his cousin.

Philip looked worried before shaking his head. "I, uh, I can't say. Look, just, can you tell Ali something for me?"

"Of course, but Phil, you can just tell her yourself. She doesn't bite."

"I know, just, can you tell her that it's too serious for my liking and that we need to do something?" Philip smiled tightly as he moved further down the corridor, not waiting for a reply from his aunt. "Thanks, Rach."

Rachel frowned after him before walking into her office, greeting her receptionist, Bridget, on her way past. As soon as the door to her office was closed, she pulled out her phone ready to call her daughter. First, she had a look at the message she'd received on her way up.

From: Ali.

Yeah, I have a meeting on some cover art at one. Yes, I'm thinking about school. Pizza it is then. See ya later, Ali x

Ignoring the reply option, Rachel rang Alia's number, waiting four rings before her daughter picked up.

"It's not even half eight yet. Surely they can't have annoyed you so soon."

"Ali, I just spoke with Philip."

"Oh? What about?"

"He said to tell you that something was too serious for his liking and the pair of you had to do something about it. Ali, what did he mean?"

"Crap. Uh, you're sure he said that?"

"Of course I'm sure. What is Philip talking about, Alia?"

"Uh, crap, uh, look, Rach, I can't tell you just yet."

"Funny, it seems neither of you can tell me anything." Rachel retorted, irritated at both her daughter's refusal to tell her anything and the language she was using. She heard Alia sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Look, I'll tell you over the weekend, okay? Both me and Phil will, and we'll all figure it out. Okay? Can you tell Phil that we'll think of something please?"

"You both have phones, and yet I'm turning into a personal message carrier. Why?"

"I'll tell you soon, I promise. Just not right now."

"Alia Rosemary Mason…" Rachel trailed off warningly.

"I know, I know. Just, please, leave it be for today. And don't say anything to Mel or Eddie, please."

"Fine." Rachel agreed reluctantly, against her better judgement, which was to pour out the whole confusing tale to Eddie as soon as she could. "But I want answers later, Alia."

"I know, and you'll get them. I'll call you after my meeting, okay?"

"Alright. Be safe, love."

"Uh huh, you too. No more fires or kids with guns, okay?"

"Okay." Rachel hung up with a sigh, slumping into her office chair and pinching the back of her neck in frustration. She'd thought the day was going to be hard, but after realising that her nephew and daughter were keeping secrets from her, she was now re-evaluating the day as impossible instead. How was she supposed to get through the day now?

TBC?