Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter Four
That evening, Jack took Maxine and Becky out to a Tapas restaurant, as he promised, and the next day, he continued with his plan of spoiling his wife-to-be.
While Maxine went off to Janeece's, Jack and Becky went out for a meal and some drinks in Manchester before checking into a hotel for the night. For that weekend, it seemed that their troubles were over, and they were getting on great.
However, a particularly bad nightmare on Sunday night had Jack waking up on Monday morning in a cold sweat.
Becky sighed as she woke up too and she tried to put her arm around his shoulders and comfort him, but he seemed too haunted - the nightmares just seemed to be getting worse.
He leaned over to the bedside table and popped a handful of pills, causing Becky to roll her eyes - he kept telling her that he could manage without the pills, but clearly, he couldn't.
Throughout that week, Jack's nightmares continued, and Becky tried to coax him into going back to see the therapist.
He was finding it increasingly harder in this particular week to be closer to her intimately because each of his dreams saw her dying like Izzie had and all he wanted to do was hold her, but he couldn't bring himself to be intimate with her.
Becky was struggling to figure out how to help him, and though Jack often held her hand tightly and hugged her and held her close, and kissed her possessively, it seemed to be as close as they were getting - Jack just had an overwhelming urge to protect her.
Becky was struggling too because she didn't have her big brother to confide in, and she felt that Steph was looking at Jack more and more often, which made her feel uneasy.
Becky just felt like recently, she was losing her grip on everything.
From then, the nightmares didn't seem to be getting any better, and by the time it came to Friday and Becky was ready to go off on her course, she felt very guilty.
Jack heaved her case out of the boot of the car for her, as they stood in front of the train station.
" I'll miss you," Jack said, reaching out to her.
She smiled as she moved forwards into his open arms. He closed his arms around her and held her close, before protectively kissing the top of her head.
She felt him sigh heavily and she mumbled, " I don't have to go, you know. "
Jack frowned, keeping his hands on her upper arms as he leaned back from her, " What're you talking about? "
" This course," she said, " if you need me here, I'll stay. "
" Don't be daft," Jack said, shaking his head, " I'm not going to hold you back, love. This is a good opportunity for your career, and I refuse to get in the way of it. Go. "
Becky nodded, " But you ... " secretly, she didn't think he could cope, and she said, " you need someone, Jack. "
" I've got Maxine," Jack pointed out.
Becky sighed, " I know, but ... well ... "
" Shush," Jack said, shaking his head, " I'm far too old to have to have someone look after me - I'm going to be fine. Now go, before I change my mind. "
She smiled a little and looked up at him as he smiled at her too.
" Well, look after yourself," she said, reaching up to lay a hand on the back of his head and pull him down to her. He smiled and took hold of her waist, leaning in and whispering in her ear,
" I love you, and you've got to call me really soon. "
" I promise," she laughed, " every minute. "
" Yeah, you'd better," nodded Jack before leaning in to kiss her.
They shared a long kiss before they broke apart, and Becky smiled, allowing her hand to caress his cheek before she dropped her hand and turned around to look for her bag. She grabbed hold of the handle of it, and with a final kiss for her boyfriend, she left.
When she came back after the weekend, she was thrilled to see him again and as she kissed him at the train station, he seemed distant - almost worried.
For the rest of the week, it was the same.
He was extra attentive - holding her hand and always holding her close, but yet the look on his face was so far off sometimes, and she didn't know what he was thinking, but she knew it was something she wouldn't like.
Still, she didn't speak to Tom, other than when absolutely neccessary, though she still saw the girls and Donte - all of whom assured her that Tom was miserable and she should make up with him.
She still found herself unnerved by Steph's growing jealously and snide comments towards her, but Jack kept telling her to push it out of her mind, everytime she mentioned it, and he insisted that it didn't matter what Steph said.
Becky still felt like she was struggling through everything, although the one change she did make was insisting that Jack go see the counsellor again.
When he refused, she pleased with him - for his sake, for her own, and for Maxine's.
Jack nodded and in the end had agreed to go.
Now, Friday, exactly a week after Becky had gone on her course, she was sitting in the car, outside the therapist's office.
Jack was having a session before school, and Becky had dropped him off, and was here again to pick him up. She saw him emerging from the door, and he came straight over to her and got into the passenger side of the car, as it was Becky's car, and she was at the wheel.
Maxine had chosen to walk to school, as she did most mornings, with Janeece.
" Hey, love," said Jack, leaning over to her and reaching out with one hand.
His hand touched her cheek and he leaned in and kissed her softly.
" You'd better not be planning on swanning off for the weekend, after dragging me to those stupid psycho sessions," he told her in his best warning tone.
She shook her head, well aware of his reluctance, " You need these sessions, Jack. "
He sighed heavily, resting his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes.
" I know you think they're a waste of time," she said, shooting him a glare that cut straight through him, " but ... I know you don't want to hear it, but you haven't been able to touch me properly in weeks - "
" That's not true! " he said, shaking his head.
She sighed, " Jack - "
" I know," he sighed, nodding. He knew as well as she did that he'd had no problem kissing her and hugging her in the last couple of weeks, but he was finding it hard to go any further.
" And," she added, " you don't see what I do - I can see the look in your eyes when you walk past the spot where Izzie was killed, and the look in your eyes when you've spent longer than usual away from me, and I get back and you're so thankful - like you think I'm going to die too, if I'm not around you. And I'm not. "
Jack nodded and then he looked at her, " I'm sorry, Rebecca. "
" You're sorry? " she asked, shaking her head, " what for? "
" How hard all of this is on you," he said, reaching out for her hand.
She nodded, " It's not your fault - you've had it hard. Let's just get going to school, Jack - you've had a hard time and you're taking time to get past that. How about we just go to school, and you can focus on running the place. "
Jack nodded.
Becky smiled, " Good boy," she said, squeezing his hand.
Jack smiled too, " I don't know what I'd do without you," he said.
" You'd be lost," she told him.
As they drove towards the school, Jack said, " I take it you'll be at the football match later? "
Becky grinned, glancing at him, " Like I'd miss out on it - Maxine's chance to shine, after all. "
Jack grinned proudly, " She's great, isn't she? Best one on that team from what Chlo was telling me the other day. "
Becky smiled, " It's going to be great to see Maxine doing something really worthwhile. God, don't you just feel so proud at times like this? "
Jack nodded, " I'm so happy we've got Maxine, you know. I ... I really love being a dad. "
She beamed as they continued to drive towards the school, her cheeks colouring. She thought Jack was absolutely irresistable and he was so cute with Maxine - she often thought that if he was so cute with a teenager, he'd be absolutely even more cuter with a baby.
The thought that Jack loved being a dad made it all even better.
" Do you? " she asked with a mischevious smile.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, " And I was thinking ... maybe after we get married, we could start on ... you know ... hero kids. "
Becky blushed and she looked at him, " Are you trying to make me crash the car? "
She and jack had spoken about children before and decided that they wanted to have children at some point, but wanted to enjoy each other first too, and they'd made a very loose agreement that they'd have children at some point in their future but they'd never really decided when.
" I just thought," Jack shrugged, " well ... you know ... "
Becky turned to look at him as they pulled up and she said, " One step at a time, tiger. I want to be Mrs Rimmer first and foremost. "
Jack nodded " Absolutely," he said.
Their wedding was a little less than three months away, and Becky would be going for a wedding dress tomorrow. They'd booked the venue, the caterer, the band, and written up an inital guest list.
When she originally planned the wedding out in her mind, Izzie was her maid of honour, and maxine, the girls, and her two nieces, bridesmaids.
Now, however, the plan was for Maxine, Mika and Chlo to be bridemaids, along with Becky's two nieces, Katy and Sarah, who lived with their parents in Australia.
Becky just couldn't wait to be married but she wished Izzie and Lorna could be here to see it, and she'd made Kim and Andrew promise that they'd come back from Rwanda for Christmas for the wedding too.
As they got out of the car at school, Jack reached out to her with one hand, without a word.
She smiled and slid her hand into his, their fingers interlocking.
They were heading towards the front of the school when Jack suddenly changed his hand, taking a step towards the field and tugging her in his direction too. She was momentarily confused, until she realised they were heading towards the field, and she looked to see that Tom and the football team were out practising early in the morning.
As the girls were heading back inside, Jack walked over to Tom, and Becky bit her lip anxiously - there was still great tension between he and Jack and Becky wasn't sure that them meeting was a good idea.
" These lot must have been busy," Jack said, nodding towards the girls who'd just gone back inside.
" What? " Tom frowned, not looking too happy.
" Maxine tells me she's done a lot of fundraising for the kit," Jack said.
Tom nodded, looking awkward as he collected cones in, " Yeah, she's done a lot, and Janeece tells me they've washed over a 100 cars. Still," he said, turning to face them, frowning, " they could have spent the time preparing for this afternoon's match, but there's always lunchtime, eh? "
Jack immediately detected the bitterness and he shook his head, " Look, the budget's been a nightmare this year, you know that. And this fundraising must have been good for them all - show a bit of initative. "
Tom shook his head, in almost disgust and said, " Maybe you could flog your bravery award - might get a bit of something for it. "
With that, he walked off, and Jack sighed heavily. Becky was furious at his continued treatment of her boyfriend and she immediately started after her brother.
Jack realised what she was doing, and he caught hold of her around the waist and pulled her back to him,
" It won't do any good," he said, shaking his head.
" What? " demanded Becky, " he needs sorting out - I've got to tell him! "
Jack shook his head, " Just leave it, love. If Tom wants to be bitter and resentful then that's his game - leave him to it, eh? He's got every right to be angry, and there's nothing I can do about it. "
" He's got zero right! " insisted Becky.
Jack sighed and removed his arm from around her waist once he was sure that she wouldn't go charging after Tom again, and he said, " Just leave it, Becky. "
She sighed and Jack started to walk towards the school, so she followed him.
She knew he was under enough pressure from some kind of LEA visitor that he had coming into the school this week.
Once in the building, Jack went on direction, to his office, and Becky went the other direction, to her own office. She tidied her desk, trying to make her mood brighter, depsite the troubles jack was going through, and her fury at her brother for the way he was treating Jack.
She picked out a few folders, neatened them up ad checked the time.
She was due in at a senior management meeting, and she left the office
Just as she walked down the corridor directly outside her office, she saw Steph coming towards. Steph grinned at her like a chesshire cat - she was wearing a rather low cut top, and her smiel was slightly too wide for Becky's liking - she didn't trust the other woman.
" Good morning Rebecca," Steph said.
" Morning Steph," Becky smiled, before continuing to walk down the corridor, and then up the stairs to Jack's office.
Once in Jack's office, she found Jack and Eddie already sitting down around the coffee table. Jack was sitting in an armchair and Eddie on the sofa, and Becky smiled as she entered the room, coming to sit beside Eddie.
The three of them went through some of the school's newest progress results and discussed attendance figures and certain childre to keep an eye on, before Jack stood up.
" Well," he said, checking his watch, " I'd better kick you two out. I've got this advisor coming all day, so I'll be busy. "
" Just who is this advisor? " asked Becky, looking up at him, " you've never actually said who this advisor woman is - what's she actually coming for? "
" She wants to know how we're spending our Exellence in Schools funding money," Jack replied.
" And how are we spending it? " Eddie asked, standing up, as Becky did too.
Jack seemed to dodge the question, as he shook his head, " Listen Eddie, I'd really appreciate it if you could keep an eye on things around the school today while I'm busy, and just leave the money and the advisor to me. It was all sorted out before you got here. "
He gestured towards the office door, and Eddie seemed quite satisfied as he went out of the office and into the outer office, where Brenda the secretary, gave him a file that he'd asked for her earlier.
As Eddie left the office, Becky turned her eyes towards her boyfriend.
She was suspicious of the way he'd brushed Eddie off so easily, and she looked at him suspiciously. Jack looked back at her, and he raised his eyebrows and gave her a look that would have passed as innocent if she hadn't known him so well.
" Well, make sure you impress the advisor," Becky said, as she and Eddie left the office, leaving Jack behind.
She and Eddie started down the corridor, and as they walked down the steps, towards the humanities department, where Becky wanted to be, and the maths department, where Eddie wanted to be.
" Jack's up to something," she said, shaking her head.
" He is? " Eddie asked, looking at her, " how d'you know? "
Becky shrugged a little, " I just know," she said, " he gets this look in his eye - he thinks I don't know. "
As they rounded the corned and went down the second part of the staircase, a woman passed them. She was only a few years older than Becky by the look of it, and from the visitors pas hangig around her neck, they knew she was the advisor.
" Morning," Eddie and Becky chorused.
" Morning," the woman said as she passed them.
Eddie stopped still and watched the woman walk up the steps. He shook his head, " I can see why Jack wants to lock himself away all day," he said, " jammy git. "
Becky rolled her eyes, " Jack's nearly a married man," she said, starting down the flight of stairs, " and put your tounge back in. "
Becky headed off to her first lesson of the day, a lively year ten class, who were all telling her how much they were looking forwards to watching the football match later on.
Becky tried to calm them down, but they eventually got their work done, and when the bell rang she let them go on time and spent a few minutes straightening her tables and tidying the classroom before going to the staffroom.
She went and sat down with Jasmine after making herself a drink.
Jasmine looked worried and Becky felt compelled to look out for the young newly qualified teacher. " Everything alright? " she asked.
Jasmine looked awkward and she sighed, " Not really," she said, " I think I've messed up. "
" Want to talk about it? " Becky offered, sipping at her coffee.
Jasmine pulled a face, " Tom's going to hate me. "
Becky shook her head mildly, " Tom seems to be hating a few people at the moment. You can't possibly be any higher on the list than poor Jack. But indulge me - why would he possibly hate you? "
Jasmine shook her head " Thing is ... I kind of ... well, I lost it. The class were out of control, and they wouldn't listen to me, and I put them all class in detention. The only problem is, half of Tom's football team is in that class. "
" Oh," Becky said, eyes widening a little as she understood, " well ... yeah, he's not going to be too impressed. "
" What am I supposed to do? " Jasmine asked.
Becky sighed, " You're going to have to talk to him and see what he says, you know. Maybe you could come to some kind of agreement - you could always move the detention. "
" He's going to go mad," Jasmine said.
Becky smiled kindly, " He'll get over it. He'll have to. Hang on, a minute - was Maxine in your class? "
Jasmine looked a bit awkward before answered, " Yeah, she was. "
Becky groaned, " Jas, I'm sorry. Jack and I have tried to talk some sense into the girl, but she doesn't always listen. I'll kill her if she was acting up. "
" Well, it was sort of ... all of them," Jasmine admitted, " it wasn't just Maxine. "
Becky shook her head, " I don't know when that girl's going to start listening to us - I always think we've taught her so well, but ... "
" She's just a teenage girl," Jasmine reminded her friend kindly, " she'll grow up. "
Becky nodded, " About the football team though ... I'd talk to Tom. "
Jasmine nodded.
Becky had a free hour next, and after that, she had her year 12 class. It was one of her favourite classes, and she smiled as Donte and Chlo passed her and sat down, and earned herself two bright smiles in return.
She delivered a revision lesson to the class, and once she'd taught the content and had set them off on some independant work, they all started talking. She was always quite lenient when it came to her sixth form classes talking, as long as they got on with their work.
" Did you hear about the football team? " Janeece asked Becky.
Becky looked up from her desk, " I don't know if we need to talk about that, Janeece. "
" But it's so unfair, Miss! " Janeece insisted.
" Yeah, it is though," Chlo nodded.
Maxine looked up at her foster mother and nodded, " How is it fair that we have to miss the football match because Miss Koreshi can't control her class. "
" Maxine," Becky said, shaking her head, " that's not really fair, is it? From what I hear, you lot were giving Miss Koreshi a bit of a hard time. You can't blame her for punishing you all. "
This set off a frantic load of chat from the whole class and Becky sighed, shaking her head. She stood up and walked around to the front of her desk, folding her arms over her chest, " This doesn't seem like much work is going on! "
At that moment, the classroom door opened, and Eddie walked in.
The class all started to settle down on seeing him, and Eddie stopped beside Becky.
" Right," he said looking around the room, " I gather I'm looking at the class Miss Koreshi had this morning? "
Becky nodded.
Eddie put his hands on his hips as he looked around at them all, " So, Miss Koreshi has very kindly agreed to postpone the detention that she gave you for tonight. You'll all be doing this detention tomorrow evening instead. "
There was a burst of excitement from around the classroom and Becky couldn't help smiling too. The team cheered loudly and Becky was quite happy too because she wanted the team to do well, and she was always happy to see the kids doing well.
Eddie couldn't help smiling at the way the kids were so excited, and Becky just shrugged a little.
" Right you lot," she said, clapping her hands together, " really good work today, but I want those work sheets finishing for next lesson. You can pack up your stuff now. "
She smiled as she watched the kids packing up in excitement, and Eddie hung around. He took a step closer to Becky and said, " Got time for a quick word? "
She nodded with her usual bright smile, " Sure. "
When the kids had all gone, Becky glanced at Eddie while wandering around the classroom and rearranging the tables back into their straight lines.
" So you spoke to Jamine, then? " she asked, " how is she? "
Eddie nodded, " She's struggling, because she's newly qualified - I'm sure you remember how it is - but with enough support from the rest of us, I'm sure she'll manage. I spoke to Tom for her and Tom understood. Jasmine just hasn't connected with any of the kids, so to help her mix, she's going to help Tom with the football team, and she's agreed to hold the detention some other time. "
Becky nodded, " She'll be fine once she settles in, I'm sure. I remember my first year in teahcing - I've only worked in one school before here, and it was this really posh all girls school, just outside Manchester. The girls rang rings around me until I figured out how to handle them. "
Eddie inclined his headm " She'll be ok when she settles in. She's going to be ok. "
Becky smiled as she pushed a few of the chairs under a desk. " So," she said, looking up at him, " you wanted to talk about something? "
" It's Jack," said Eddie.
This caused Becky to look up at him, stopping what she was doing. Her smile faded a bit when she saw his serious expression, " Jack? " she repeated.
Eddie nodded, " I just ... I think he's up to something, but I don't think I know him very well. I thought you might have a better idea than me. "
" Up to something? " Becky repeated, " like what? "
Eddie sighed, " It's ... well, you said it yourself, with the advisor woman today - he was very quick to get us to leave the office, and out of her way. And he won't give us any inkling as to how he's spending the budget. Why would he keep us in the dark, if it's all legitimate? "
Becky frowned as she thought about it, " Good question," she said.
" Have you noticed anything ... odd ... about him recently? " asked Eddie.
Becky sighed, running her hand through her hair, " God, now you're asking. He's ... it's all been messed up since Izzie died. But you're right, there's definitley something off about him in the last couple of weeks - particularly this last week. He's so much more stressed out than usual, and he's ... he's so overly protective of me, and he doesn't want to be alone. It's like he's falling apart. I don't ... I don't know how to cope. "
Eddie frowned, " Do you think we need to be keeping a close eye on him? "
Becky shook her head a little, " I live with the man, Eddie. I don't know how much more of a close eye I can really keep on him. "
Eddie took this in and nodded, " But ... about the budget ... not telling us anything ... seeming all secretive. I just wondered if he's told you anything about it. "
" He hasn't told me anything," Becky said, " but there's something going on, I'm sure of it. "
" Right," Eddie said, " then I suppose I'll have to keep an eye on him - try having a word with him. "
When Eddie left the room, Becky threw her bag over her shoulder and locked the classroom. She was planning on heading to the staffroom for lunch, but as she pulled the key out of the classroom door, and turned around, she was faced with her fiance.
" Jack," she smiled, a little suprised, before panic set in, " we didn't have lunch plans that I forgot, did we? "
He smiled softly at her panic and shook his head, reaching out for her hand, " No, love. I just thought it would be nice to ... maybe shut ourselves up in my office, where no-one else can get in the way. I just ... the job's stressing me out so much, and I want my beautiful girlfriend. "
Becky smiled, squeezing his hand then, " C'mon then Romeo," she said, " let's go. "
They started to walk down the corridors, and as they did so, Becky looked up at Jack carefully.
Once they were in the comfort of his office, and she was sitting on his desk, facing him, she asked, " Jack? "
He smiled at the way she said his name, " Yes, love? "
" Is there anything you're ... not telling me? "
For a moment, she thought she'd seen something flash across his face - some kind of panic, like he knew he had something to hide - but it was gone before she had time to decide if she'd really seen it.
" Not ... telling you? " he asked.
She narrowed her eyes, " You know, this Ria Cheetham thing," she said, " I think you're ... well, it just seems like you're hiding something. Eddie noticed it too. It's like you're ... like you've done something you're scared of her finding out about in her inspections. Because, you can tell me ... if you have ... "
Jack smiled softly, " That's sweet, love, but there's nothing going on. "
She raised her eyebrows, as she stuck her fork into her lunbox full of pasta, " Really? "
" Really," he said, " I might not have ... organised the budget exactly as I should have done ... but it's nothing to worry about. "
" Nothing that's going to get you into trouble? " she asked.
" Course not," he replied, while she wasn't looking at him - a fact he was grateful for, since it meant he didn't have to meet her eye.
She nodded and accepted it, " Good. Good. "
Jack shifted forwards in his seat so his leg pressed against hers and he said, " Now, can we please not talk about work? I think I might go crazy. "
" Sure, honey," Becky said, feeling quite guilty about adding to his stress.
She only hoped that Jack would soon be able to move on from the worries he felt about losing Becky the way he watched Izzie die, and that he'd stop being to haunted.
They ate their lunch and spoke for a while, before the bell rang.
" Sorry, honey, I've got to go," sighed Becky, standing up.
Jack wasn't about to let her go without a kiss, and he stood up with her and caught her at the waist as she tried to leave, turning her around and kissing her firmly.
Becky sighed contentedly, her hands falling on his chest as they broke the kiss.
Jack smiled, loving the fact that she didn't want to go. " Baby, you've got a job to do," he told her, brushing some of her hair away from his face with his hand.
" I know," she sighed, before leaving.
Becky had no actual lessons for that afternoon, but the first hour of the afteroon was her preperation time, and she had a lot of work to do in her office, and the second hour was the football match, which would also run into after school.
After registering her form and sending them on their way, she locked up her classroom and started towards the office, which was at the opposite end of the school to her classroom, but still on the ground floor.
Becky passed the main entrance as she made towards her office, and as she did so, she saw an eldery woman coming in through reception.
" Can I help you? " Becky asked the woman, who looked confused, just as Eddie started to walk down the main staircase of the school.
" I'm looking for Mr Rimmer," the woman said firmly, " it's about the raffle. "
" Raffle? What raffle? " Becky asked, as Eddie seemed to also hear this, and stopped ot hear hwat was going on.
" The raffle! " the old woman said, " I was sold tickets, and I've come for the prize draw. "
" I'm afraid there isn't a raffle," Becky said, shaking her head.
" But I was sold tickets! " the woman snapped, " and I want to talk to Mr Rimmer. Who're you? "
Eddie intervened and said calmly, " I'm Eddie Lawson, deputy head, and this is Rebecca Clarkson, head of pastoral care. If there was a raffle, we'd have known about it - I'm afraid - "
" But I bought tickets- are you telling me there's something funny going on around here? "
Becky sighed - it seemed like someone was out to scam the locals for money.
The old woman gave a description of one of the girls who'd been to visit her to sell her the tickets - certainly a Waterloo Road pupil, she was sure.
" It was for the school kit fund, they said," the woman told them, " for the football team. "
When the woman had gone, Becky groaned, " Why can't kids these days just behave themselves? "
" Come on," Eddie said, " let's go see Jack. "
" Isn't he still with Ria Cheetham? " asked Becky, raising her eyebrows.
" He'll have to make an exception for us," replied Eddie, " come on. He'll listen to you. "
" He's going to go mad," Becky said as the pair of them knew they had to solve it and started towards the office, " kids trying to scam residents, and from the football team, no less. I just hope he doesn't go off on one with Tom. "
" With Tom? " Eddie asked.
" Well, you know how things are between them," Becky said, " and frankly I don't know how much more of it I can take. I'm sick of the pair of them arguing. I want ... well, I just want things back to normal. Jack's going to kick off about this though, I know it. "
Once they got to the office, Eddie asked Jack if they could borrow him, and Jack apologised to Ria Cheetham and left her in the office while he came out to them.
In the outer office, Becky calmly explained what the old woman had told them.
" What? " Jack exploded, after taking a moment to think about it.
Becky winced, " I've told you - some of the football team have been out selling raffle tickets for a raffle that we don't have, to pay for the kit. "
Jack shook his head, " Tom flaming Clarkson," he hissed, turning on his heel and heading for the door.
" Jack," Becky sighed, " calm down, will you? "
" No! " he said stubbornly, " this reflects badly on the school - what was he doing letting the kids have free run of their own fundraising. This has got Janeece Bryant written all over it. "
Eddie nodded, " The description of one of the kids did sound a lot like her. "
The pair of them tried to keep us with Jack as he stormed towards Tom's classroom and Becky hoped she'd be able to keep him calm when faced with Tom. All she wanted was her brother back - she was sick of everything.
" Isn't Maxine on the football team? " Eddie asked.
" It wouldn't be Maxine," Jack said firmly.
Eddie pulled a face, " Maybe you should consider that she might - "
" She wouldn't," Jack said quickly, before looking at Becky, " she wouldn't? "
Becky shook her head, " No," she said, " of course not. She ... we've done so well with her, Jack. Look at everything she was until we had her - she's changed. She wouldn't do that to us. "
" No," Jack said, reassured by her, " she wouldn't. "
Becky firmly believed that Maxine wouldn't do anything so stupid, and when they got to Tom's classroom, Jack threw the door open. Eddie followed him in, then Becky.
Tom was standing in an empty classroom, in front of the interactive whiteboard, writing things on it in preperation for a future lesson.
Tom looked around - he caught Jack's furious face, Eddie's face - annoyed, but wary - and Becky standing behind them both slightly - she looked worried and like she didn't want to be here.
He met her eyes and thought he could see some kind of apology there but he couldn't be sure.
" To what do I owe the pleasure? " he asked Jack.
" Your kids have been caught ripping off the locals! " Jack said furiously.
Tom frowned, " What're you on about? "
" The kids have been organising a raffle," Jack spat, " 1st prize, a week in Marbella, all proceeds to the school kit fund! "
" Nothing to do with me," Tom shrugged.
" They're your team," Jack spat.
Tom narrowed his eyes as he took a step closer to Jack, " Could be any one of 500 kids. And need I remind you that your daughter's on the football team too. I take it you're not considering her in this? Just everyone else's kids? "
" The description of one of them sounds a lot like Janeece," Eddie said.
Tom nodded, " There you go. If Janeece is involved ... "
Eddie nodded, turning to Jack and Becky, " I hate to say it but - "
Becky felt her heart sink - how many times was Maxine going to let them down - what would it take for her to be a decent kid? She felt so disappointed,but it was clear that Jack didn't feel disappointment - he felt anger.
" I'm going to flaming murder her," he said, jaw clenched and the muscle in his jaw jumping furiously, " I want both of them in here, now. "
" Before you start stringing up kids," Tom said, pointing a finger at him, " they've got a match tonight. And even if it was them, they've worked hard for this. And the pair of them have gone to pick the kit up, anyway. "
" Tom, I can't have kids conning residents! " Jack said, taking a step closer.
The two men were stood close together, and Becky could sense danger.
" But - " Tom started.
Jack interrupted, taking another step closer to Tom, " They can't do it. And I especially won't condone it when it might be my kid. "
Tom shook his head, glaring at Jack, " You need to back off. "
She could see Jack about to react and she moved forwards. She didn't want him to blow off at Jack - she just wanted them all to be friends again.
Becky moved forwards and she grabbed Jack's arm just as he opened his mouth, but his retort to Tom died on his lips when Becky pulled him back a bit and stood between the two men.
Tom had been just about ready to swing for Jack, but when his sister stood in front of him, with her back to him, facing her fiance - almost like she was trying to protect Tom from Jack - he took a step backwards.
" Stop it," Becky told Jack.
Jack sighed and turned his back on Becky and Tom, running a hand over his face and trying to calm himself down.
" Ok," he said, turning around and looking over Becky's head at Tom, " We'll wait until the match is over. Then we'll see who's behind this. "
With that, he swept from the room, and Eddie followed.
Becky sighed - she hadn't been alone with Tom since they'd fallen out two weeks ago, and she turned around to face him. He looked very much like he wanted to make up, and she realised she missed him too.
" Becky," he started.
Becky shook her head, afraid of getting into another argument with him, " I'd better go after Jack. "
He nodded and watched as she left too.
In the corridor, Becky came across Eddie and Jack arguing - Jack thought he should go and find Maxine the moment she came back to school and confront her - Eddie thought he should cool off and do it after the match, as he'd told Tom that he would.
" Look," Becky said, " I think you'd better go see Ms Cheetham off, hadn't you? "
" Shit," Jack swore, " I forgot about her. "
" I know," Becky said, shaking her head, " go. I'll see you at the match. We'll talk then. "
Jack nodded and soon Becky was on her way back to her office.
She tried to do some of her paperwork in the office, but was far too distracted. The thought that the teenager she'd taken in and tried to care for as if she was her own daughter, could do something like this, shocked her, and she didn't know how to deal with it - was it a reflection on her? Were she and Jack failing in helping Maxine? Had they failed where they thought they were doing so well?
When the bell rang she was glad of the excuse to leave her paperwork behind, although it did mean she had to watch the match.
She'd been so looking forward to watching Maxine play - everyone said she was the best on the team, after all - and she wanted to show her support. Now however, any victory Maxine had on the pitch would be tainted with the fact that Becky knew she was ripping people off. Conning people.
Becky fastened her coat up around her as she watched the teams come onto the pitch - she clapped, smiled and cheered, though when her eyes fell on Maxine, all she felt was curiosity - maybe maxine hadn't done it. Maybe. She sighed, not knowing what to think.
She felt a gentle hand on her waist and she turned around to see Jack. She smiled and in relief to see him after all the stress they were both feeling, forgot about the usual propriety they showed in front of the pupils.
She wrapped her arms around his middle and he smiled and hugged her to him, resting his chin on the top of her head.
" Feeling any calmer? " Becky asked as they broke apart and stood side by side, both facing the pitch. They spoke casually and anyone watching them wouldn't have a clue what they were talking about.
" Not really," he replied, " I just can't believe it. "
" I know," sighed Becky, shaking her head before clapping along with the crowd when the match started.
" What're we going to do? " asked Jack, " about her? " he added, nodding towards Maxine, who was currently charging downfield with the ball.
Becky shivered against the cold air and pulled her coat tighter around herself, " It ... it might not have been her," she said, though she wasn't even convincing herself, " she wouldn't do that to us. We taught her better than that, haven't we? "
" I thought so," Jack sighed, " but you know what she's like. I'm so ... god, I'm so disappointed in her. I could kill her, I really could. How do we make her see this is wrong? How do I be a dad and a headmaster? "
" We can do this," Becky told him, tearing her eyes away from the match to meet his eyes.
They watched the match for a while, and when the first half was almost over, Jack leaned down to kiss the top of her head, before mumbing, " I'm going to fetch my coat. Won't be long. "
" Ok honey," Becky mumbled, not taking her eyes from Maxine.
Becky had been alone for only two minutes, before Eddie was at her side.
" How's Jack? " he asked her,
" Stressed," she replied, " but he'll be ok. He will. "
Eddie nodded and was about to say something else until his eyes drifted away from her and fixed on something behind her. He looked troubled and Becky saw the way he was looking and turned to look at what he was looking at.
She saw a group of people walking across the field, talking loudly and led by the woman from earlier - clearly these were the other people who'd bought tickets and wanted the prize draw.
" I'll go try and stop them," Eddie said, " you can go find Jack and warn him. "
Becky nodded, and as the second half of the football match continued behind her, she left the field, in search of Jack. She hurried to the office, passing through reception as she did so and smiling in Bridget's direction, before walking into Jack's office.
She found him standing in the middle of the office, pulling on his knee length black outdoor coat.
Jack caught a look at the panic on her face, and his face became a picture of concern.
" Becky, what's wrong, love? "
" The um ... the people who bought raffle tickets - they're here. Eddie's trying to talk to them, but I think you're going to be faced with an angry mob," she told him, " I'm sorry. "
" Sorry? " he repeated, shaking his head, " it's hardly your fault. "
" I know but - "
Jack shook his head and sighed. " This is ... God, I'm going to kill those two when I get my hands on them. This is completely not what I needed. Not what the school needed. This is ... ridiculous. "
Becky moved forwards, " We can fix this," she said.
Jack smiled a little, " My eternal optimist. I wish I could be in as good a mood as you, sometimes. "
Becky shook her head, " I ... it'll be ok. "
Jack's smiled faded and he started to think, " Ok," he said, " we'll fix it. I'll talk to them - I'll tell them there's no raffle. "
When Eddie brought the angry mob to the office, they let rip at Jack. Jack was having a hard time calming them down, and it soon became clear that these people weren't going to listen to reason.
Jack groaned and held up a hand, " Look, there will be an investigation, and rest assured that once we get to the bottom of this, you will all get a refund. "
" We don't want a refund, Mr Rimmer, we want our raffle," said the old woman.
" There isn't a raffle! " Jack snapped for what must have been the tenth time.
" Yeah, but we were told there was," the old woman said firmly.
" Yeah," a middle aged man said, " do you want done for fraud? "
Becky watched Jack run his hand through his hair and they all realised they might be in trouble. Jack looked completely desperate, and from the back of the room, Becky watched his desperate expression, wishing there was something she could do.
Jack groaned and she watched him turn his back on them all and scrabble around his desk for something.
He turned back around and held up something with a murderous look on his face, " How does two weeks in the Carribbean grab you? "
As the people in the room excitedly started talking, and Eddie looked in despair, Becky looked up at Jack in shock. As he caught her eye, he mouthed "I'm sorry"
Suddenly, she realised. He'd been planning on booking a two week holiday for their honeymoon - this was their honeymoon. Her heart went out to him and she fell a little bit more in love with him for the fact that he was trying to save the school's reputation.
Thoughts of a perfect honeymoon flew through her mind as she watched Jack draw out a raffle ticket.
Then somehow, it wasn't a ticket belonging to anyone in the room.
Jack shrugged and calmly informed the people there that he would contact everyone who had bought tickets but not come to the school that day, and give the prize to its rightful winner, before the satisfied people left.
Becky realised what he'd done within seconds.
When no-one was looking, he'd thrown in a fake raffle ticket and pulled it out again, to save their honeymoon. God, that man was amazing.
When the people had gone, Jack sighed and sank down into his desk chair, " I'm sorry for gambling with the ... with the tickets like ... it had to be done. "
She nodded, " It's - "
" Hang on," Eddie said loudly, cutting across the pair of them, " what happens when everyone sle who bought tickets finds out that their tickets didn't make the prize draw? Are you going to rig another one? "
He walked out, leaving Jack and Becky behind.
Jack sighed, " All I need - I wish that bloody git would get on my side sometimes, you know. Anyway ... " he allowed a smile to grow across his face and he pulled out the ticket he'd rigged and held it out to her - it was blank on both sides.
" I had to rig it," he said, " couldn't have our honeymoon going to waste. " He reached out and tossed the leaflets for the carribbean aside, " it was meant to be a suprise. "
Becky grinned brightly, " You've ... our honeymoon is in ... " she looked down at one of the leaflets, " Antigua? "
" Luxury hotel, all inclusive. It was meant to be a suprise but I suppose that's kind of being ruined now," he said.
Becky squealed and quickly made her way around the desk. She'd thrown herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck before he knew what was happening.
Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around her middle, thrilled with her enthusiasm.
" You are the best boyfriend ever, you know that? "
" Well you are constantly telling me so," he said, smiling as she nestled against his chest. He smiled and mumbled a "come here."
She lifted her head up and he kissed her lips,
" Can't wait to marry you," he told her.
" Me too," she breathed.
They stayed like that for a short while, before they both realised they needed to go and fix what was happening outside, with the football team.
As they walked towards the changing rooms, they were informed of the victory by Donte, who Jack hollered at to stop running in the corridors, though with a fond smile for his fiance's godson.
Becky's happiness at the team winning was very short lived due to the fact she had to go back and watch as Jack shouted the girls down for what they'd done.
Sometimes she saw the bad points of being involved in senior management - it was moments where she had to be faced with pupils who'd done wrong. Especially when it was her own foster daughter at fault.
Jack stormed into the changing rooms, with a face of thunder and Becky followed.
The moment the team caught sight of Jack's furious face, their cheering stopped.
Becky stood beside Jack and as he took a breath and tried to compose himself, she took the opportunity to glance at Tom. The smile from their glorious victory faded and he was clearly trying to replace his smile was a somber looking expression.
He caught her eye, and for the second time that day, Becky found herself missing her brother.
She really needed him after losing Lorna and Izzie but they were fighting and it wasn't doing either of them any good. They were always so close, always there for each other, and when she caught his eye, they were sharing the same look - as if they were both thinking about how much they wanted to be friends again.
" Where's those two? " Jack asked, sounding completely furious.
His question was answered by Eddie walking into the room with a very guilty looking Maxine and Janeece trailing behind him, heads hung.
Jack glared at the two girls and he took a deep breath as he seemed to be trying to calm himself down. The two girls were looking extremely guilty, and Jack took a step forwards.
He stopped just in front of them, arms folded and expression one of pure anger.
Eddie stood behind the girls, who were now in the middle of the changing room, and Becky stood some way behind Jack, to one side of him, glancing at her foster daughter and feeling nothing but disappointment.
The rest of the team, Eddie, Tom, Jasmine (who helped out with the football team) and Becky waited.
Then Jack exploded.
" Have you two got nothing up top? " Jack exploded, glaring between Maxine and Janeece, " How could you be this stupid? By nicking that money you've binned this school's reputation and made me look like a complete idiot! I'm telling you one thing, this kit is going back, and you two aren't going to see the light of day at break and lunch for a month! "
He broke off from his rant, took a deep breath and started back towards Maxine, " And you! How could you do this to us? Have you learnt nothing? "
" I - " Maxine started helplessly, only for Jack to cut her off.
" Don't," he said sharply, " I'm too angry. "
He took a deep breath and as he looked around, his eye fell on Jasmine, who was wearing the kit. It was the first time Becky had noticed and she looked at Tom, who met her eye. In that instant, she knew exactly what had happened.
" Why're you - ? " Jack started, before shaking his head, turning on his heel and storming out of the changing rooms.
The mood relaxed a little when Eddie followed Jack and the biggest threat had gone, though there was still a big atmosphere between Maxine and Becky.
Maxine met her foster mothers eye, and looked very embarrassed.
Becky sighed and ran her hand through her hair, " I just don't understand why you'd do something this stupid, sweetie. To let down me and Jack, Jasmine and Tom, the rest of the team. "
" I'm sorry! " Maxine said, shaking her head.
Becky sighed, " I'll talk to you later. I ... let's not do it in front of everyone else. "
Maxine nodded, and Becky left the room.
As she got in the corridor, she found Jack leaning back against the wall in the corridor, eyes closed. His eyes flew open when he heard the click-clack of her heels against the floor.
" Becky," he sighed when he saw her.
" You okay? " she asked him, stopping in front of him.
He sighed and was gathering her up in his arms before she knew what was going on. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He took comfort in her presence and he sighed and buried his face in her hair.
" It's ok," Becky mumbled, " been a tough day, but we'll get through it. "
" We will," he mumbled in reply, kissing her cheek softly before burying his face in her hair again.
Becky sighed as she ran her hand up and down his back lightly. After a long few moments, they slowly broke apart and Jack slid his hand into hers, " Let's go home, love. "
They gathered their things and walked out of the school, each trying to think about what they were going to do about Maxine - they'd have to talk to her properly to be sure they could trust her in the future.
As they crossed the car park hand in hand, Becky noticed Steph walking nearby them.
Jack noticed her too and she grinned at him. Becky frowned when she saw the grin Steph gave her boyfriend and she looked up at Jack.
" What's up? " he asked, noting her frown.
" Steph," she replied, looking after the other woman, " I'm sure she's after you. "
Jack shook his head, " Don't worry about her, love. Come on, let's go home. "
Becky nodded and squeezed his hand.
If she'd been paying closer attention, she might have noticed the way he frowned as he thought about Steph, but as it was, she didn't. Instead, she only felt Jack's warm hand with hers, and smiled.