Rachel woke slowly, stiff from having slept without moving and her face tight from crying, with her arm numb from where she'd fallen asleep still holding Lex. She shifted just enough to see the clock, and bolted upright. "SHIT!"

Lex grumbled as the movement dislodged her, curling up into a ball. "Lex wake up!" Rachel ordered, swinging herself up.

"Too early…" she mumbled, burrowing tighter into the bed.

"Lexi it's eight o'clock! I didn't get around to setting the alarm! Up!"

Lex peeked an eye open to look at the clock, groaning when she saw her mother was right and rolling out of the bed. "Can't we just skip?" she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, peering up at Rachel.

"No. Come on honey, get moving."

She threw open her wardrobe and stood staring for a long moment, unable to engage her brain long enough to figure out the next step. Behind her, Lex let out a laugh.

"Mum, go shower. I'll get you some clothes out."

"I don't have time to shower-"

"Trust me, you don't have a choice." Lex turned her towards the mirror and jokingly patted her arm in comfort. Rachel's eyes widened as she saw what Lex meant and swore under her breath as she dashed to the bathroom.

"Lex, no cleavage!" she called over her shoulder.

"I know!" she pulled out a green blouse that she knew looked great on her mother, alongside a skirt and lay them on the bed, before she rushed to her own room to quickly wriggle into her uniform. She nimbly unplaited her hair, wincing when she saw the state it was in and gave it up as a lost cause, running a brush through it and tying it up as she ran down the stairs. She popped in some toast, poured two glasses of orange juice and twisted her hair into a rope braid, securing it just as the toast popped up.

A few minutes later found her back upstairs, chewing her slice while nudging her way into her mother's room. She didn't miss the way her mum jumped as she entered, automatically bringing her hands up to cover her scar. Lex pointedly ignored her reaction, leaving the toast and juice on the side. "What are you going to do with your hair? You don't have time to dry it."

"I don't have time for anything!"

Lex glanced at the clock. "We're not late yet. Do your makeup and I'll plait your hair."

"I'm a little old to have my hair plaited, sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly. Sit."

Before long, she had her mother's hair in a French plait tied at the nape of her neck and had even managed to persuade her to eat her toast. She ran to brush her teeth and gather up both their bags, finally tracking down her mother's laptop just as the woman rushed down the stairs. They both practically fell into the car and Rachel floored it, driving just a little too fast in an effort to make it to school in time. They pulled up just as the first bell went, Lex grabbing her bag and shooting out of the door.

"Bye mum!" she yelled, dashing towards the school. "Hi Eddie!"

The bewildered man looked in the direction she'd vanished in before glancing back to Rachel, who was balancing her bags while locking the car. "Is everything alright?" he questioned. "I was getting worried when you weren't here."

"Just one of those mornings." Rachel answered distantly, trying to calm the sudden increase in her heartrate as she shot him a furtive glance. "Any disasters I should know about?"

"I… no, I don't believe so. We have the Kelly situation to deal with which could be interesting." Eddie answered, studying her cautiously. Rachel smiled tightly.

"Let's get going then."

Eddie sighed, falling into step beside her. So this was how she was going to play it then.

W.R.

Lex watched and waited hopefully, but within almost no time at all her mother refused to acknowledge that she'd even been upset, and for the next couple of days at school she noticed her avoiding Eddie, to the point that more than once she'd turned on her heel and gone back the other way when she spotted him. Lex tried to talk to her, but it ended up with her mother snapping and Lex retreating to her room for the rest of the evening, so eventually she gave up and simply avoided the subject with her.

At the end of her maths class, however, she deliberately delayed packing up, encouraging her friends to go to break and saying that she'd catch them up. Eddie shot her an enquiring look when he noticed her dawdling behind, but she waited until the final student had filed from the room before speaking. "You've got to fix what happened between you and mum." She said without preamble. He raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"She's not going to do it! And frankly, she's acting kind of childishly." She added thoughtfully, recalling her mother's recent behaviour in refusing to talk to Eddie. "So you're going to have to be the one to apologise."

"Is that what she said? That I need to apologise?"

She shook her head. "She hasn't said anything. But she cried all night." She glared at him, and he winced, sagging against his desk.

"I didn't mean to upset her…"

"Well I know that. But honestly, your timing? Could have been better."

"She told you?"

"Yeah- I kind of made her. She was really upset. Eddie, she thinks you're repulsed by her." She looked at him, biting her lip anxiously and silently begging him to deny it.

"What?" his mouth dropped open as he stared at her. "Of course I'm not!"

"You need to tell her that!"

"I… this really isn't an appropriate conversation to have with you." He managed, turning away from her and beginning to fuss with his desk.

She crossed her arms. "Who else are you going to have it with?" she questioned with no small amount of exasperation. He remained silent and she sighed. "Eddie, please. Please don't let her push you away! I know you love her."

He stiffened.

"And I know she loves you! But she's scared, anyone can see that! Please, please talk to her."

Finally, he sighed. "I will, Lex. I promise."

"When?"

"Lex!" he groaned. "I don't need this from a fifteen-year-old student."

"Look, it's Celly's birthday today so we're all going out tonight straight from school; I won't be back till late." She explained. "Why don't you go see mum then?"

He hesitated.

"Please? Eddie, she's trying to push you away and it's working!" she wrung her hands together as he glanced at her, surprised at her perceptiveness.

"What?"

"Can't you see? She's scared and she thinks you'll hurt her. Please Eddie, please don't give up on her." she was visibly agitated, wringing her hands together. "She's really happy here… she's happy with you. We both are. You make her smile. Won't you just talk to her?"

He sighed heavily, shoulders sagging as he gave in even as his mind whirred over what she'd said. "This really matters to you, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does! She's my mother!" she crossed her arms. "I've… I've never seen her like this before Eddie. I've seen her with guys, I've seen her happy. But she's always been so perfectly put together, in control and confident. Waterloo Road has made her… softer, if you like. But I don't think it's a bad thing. She's happier, here. She's happier with you."

"You can't be sure of that, Lex."

"Yes, I can. She's my mother. And right now, she's hurting. Eddie please."

He sighed, and looked at her for a long moment. "I think I'm more likely to land in more trouble if I ambush her at home."

She smiled widely. "It's not ambushing!" she protested, bouncing to her feet. "But you never get the time during the day. It's... it's taking advantage of a quiet setting with no chance of interruptions."

He sighed yet again, but couldn't deny that it was a better idea than any he'd had. "Okay." He agreed and a bright smile appeared on her face. His agreement seemed to satisfy the girl as she flew forward, hugging him tightly for a split second before grabbing her bag and practically skipping out of the classroom, while he spent the rest of the day changing his mind about whether or not to actually go.

When five thirty ticked around, however, he admitted to himself that he wasn't going to stop thinking about it until he actually did it. At this point on a Friday evening, he was the only one left in school, so he flicked the lights off and headed out the main doors, locking them behind him with a spare set of keys and driving to Rachel's house. Her car was parked outside, which was positive but he still hesitated. He could drive away right now and no one would be any wiser.

Well, Lex would, and he would. With a sigh, he switched off the engine and climbed out, pausing indecisively in front of the door. She really, really wouldn't appreciate him showing up like this, he knew.

They also couldn't carry on not talking, so he quickly rapped on the door before he could lose his nerve.

"Eddie." Rachel looked at him with wide eyes as she pulled the door open wider, surprised to find him standing on her doorstep and wondered frantically if she'd forgotten a meeting. He gave her a sheepish smile.

"Hi. Sorry to intrude."

"I… not at all. Come in." she stepped back, allowing him to pass her. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No ta."

She headed back to kitchen and quickly took a pan of water off of the stove, turning to face him. "What can I do for you?"

Her eyes watched him warily.

"According to Lex, I need to apologise." He gave her a half grin.

"Lex?"

"She's worried about you."

Rachel sighed. "She doesn't need to be. I'm sorry she bothered you."

"Hey, she's no bother. I think it's sweet how she worries. I can't think where she gets it from." He shot her a meaningful look, and was pleased when her lips twitched in amusement. "She does have a point though. I didn't mean to upset you the other night- I'm sorry."

She looked uncomfortable, refusing to meet his eyes. "Forget it."

"No."

She looked at him in surprise.

"I'm not going to forget it, Rach. I'll leave it, if you're not ready, but I'm not going to forget it." He recalled vividly what Lex had said about her pushing him away, could see the stiffness in her shoulders and the way she held herself. He'd already decided- he was going to fight tooth and nail until she let him stay.

"Eddie…"

"Listen to me. Please." He stepped forward, but stopped when she flinched back slightly. "Rachel, I meant what I said. You're special."

"Eddie, you saw-" her voice broke and she stopped, but her fingers rose to brush where her scar lay underneath her blouse.

"I'd already seen it, you daft mare."

"What?" she looked at him with horror filled eyes, mouth falling open and he felt his stomach twist when he saw her reaction, hastening to explain.

"I'd thought you remembered. I was there for a lot of the dressing changes- I've seen it dozens of times right from the beginning." He explained, but she was frozen and staring at him in stunned surprise. "Lex couldn't cope with seeing you in pain so the nurses sent her out of the room and I used to hold your hand in her place. I really thought you knew."

She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I- I don't… the drugs…"

"It's okay." This time, when he stepped forward she didn't pull away. He gently ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to comfort her without overwhelming her. "It's okay. Rachel, it doesn't make any difference. The scar, your past- none of it changes the fact that you're beautiful."

She scoffed, choking back tears and attempting to look away but he raised his hand to swipe cheek clean, preventing her head from turning at the same time. "You are." He insisted. "I know you don't believe me right now, but you are, Rachel. And if you're not ready right now, that's fine. I'll wait. But I'm not going to let you push me away. And you can't carry on avoiding me, it's getting silly."

He tried to lighten his tone and succeeded in making her smile, although it was a small, watery one. Unable to help himself he lifted a hand to brush a lock of hair out of her face, and she flicked her gaze to his.

"I don't know how to do this Eddie." She admitted in a whisper. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You think I do? I'm not exactly the poster boy for relationships."

She shook her head, refusing to smile. "Eddie, I'm damaged. I have no idea how to… I'm a workaholic single mother and a former whore to boot. I'm no good at this."

"Don't call yourself that." He frowned.

"It's the truth."

"Rach, I don't care who's insulting- you or Stuart bloody Hordley. I'm not going to let anyone do it. So stop." He told her firmly and a stunned, disbelieving expression flashed across her face. "You're not damaged, Rachel, far from it. Your past doesn't make a blind bit of difference to me. You know it doesn't."

She bit her lip, looking away as a fresh wave of tears spilled over her cheeks.

"Don't cry." He implored, wiping them away with one hand while the other came to rest on her hip.

She swallowed thickly, shaking her head as she looked at him. "Eddie, I've never… it's never been like this before. Not with anyone. This is… for me, this is…" she couldn't figure out how to explain what a huge step for her this was, how vulnerable this would make her. But he looked down at her with warm eyes and somehow a part of her was willing to take the risk.

"I know." He told her. "That's why if all you can manage right now is being friends, then that's what we'll do. And when you're ready, you can just let me know. No pressure, no demands other than you let me be there for you. Because I have no intention of going anywhere."

She looked at him with astonished eyes, speechless for the longest moment. "You're something else, you know that Eddie Lawson?" she choked out.

"Is that a good thing?"

"You know, no other guy has ever offered to wait for me to be ready."

His thumb traced her cheekbone as he stared down at her. "Then they were idiots."

Her own hands had come up to rest lightly on his chest, her gaze flicking from his down to his mouth and back again. "I'm going to screw up." She warned him quietly.

"Let's be honest- so will I."

"People are going to talk."

"Let them." He shrugged.

"I'll try to run and push you away because I'll get scared. I always do, I know I do. And this… this is really scary."

"I won't let you." He promised. "Not ever."

There were a hundred other reasons why this was a bad idea, but he was so close and she was so tired of being afraid, and then his lips were on hers and every thought flew out of her head as her world centred on the feeling. Her eyes closed automatically, one hand coming around the back of his head to thread through his hair as his mouth moved gently against her own.

They broke away from each other with a gasp, both forgetting to breath for the longest moment as they stared at each other, brown eyes meeting brown eyes. Eddie carefully searched her gaze for any sign that she wasn't okay with this. Instead she smiled and this time she kissed him, pulling him closer to her as she wound her arms around his neck, rising onto her toes as his hands clutched at her, sliding round her waist to press her tighter against him.

He made her breathless, kissing her over and over again until she broke away to gasp for oxygen, heels meeting the floor once again as she leant her forehead against his. Neither moved and neither spoke, both waiting for their breathing to return to normal.

Eddie moved one hand from where it was splayed on her lower back to tuck her hair behind her ear, smiling slightly as his gaze flicked over her face and caused her to blush. "Tell me what you want?" he murmured. Amusement quirked her lips.

"It isn't obvious?"

He shook his head. "I need to hear it. I need to be sure I'm not pushing you too fast."

Her eyes softened, and she pressed another, gentler kiss to the corner of his mouth. "You." She whispered. "I want you. I just can't believe you still want me too."

"Of course I do, silly woman." He kissed her again, both of them smiling into the kiss this time. Lost in each other, neither noticed as the minutes slid by until all of a sudden, Rachel opened her eyes, actually paying some attention to their surroundings and realised they were standing in near darkness.

She laughed, stepping away from him to flick the lights on. He leant back against the centre island, hands resting either side of him and was looking at her with such affection that her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. He tilted his head as she paused, looking at him.

"What?"

She shook her head, hoping to clear it a little. "Nothing. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I came here straight from school."

She glanced at him in surprise. "What were you doing there so late?"

"Deciding whether it would do more harm than good if I came over." He grinned sheepishly as she chuckled, pressing another kiss to his mouth before she turned back to the stove she'd switched off hours before. It was easy enough to add to the curry she'd been planning on cooking so that there was plenty for both of them and with Eddie helping it was quickly finished and they sat, talking quietly as they ate about nothing in particular. As they were clearing up, Eddie suddenly froze.

Rachel looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I just realised- Lex is going to be insufferable when she finds out about this."

"I'm not sure I follow." She admitted, puzzled.

"She's the one who told me to come around tonight." He explained. Realisation flashed across her face.

"Oh, she's going to be unbearable." She agreed.

Somehow, they ended up in front of the TV, neither really watching the programme that was on. Eddie played absently with her hair as she leant against him, fingers entwined with those of his free hand.

A key in the lock had Rachel sitting up straight, frowning when she realised it was much earlier than she'd expected Lex to be home. "Hi love." She called out.

"Hey." She appeared in the doorway, blinking when she saw Eddie on the sofa. "Hi sir."

He lifted a hand in greeting while Rachel scanned her for any sign that she wasn't okay. "You're home early."

Lex shrugged. "The others went to the cinema, so I came home."

"You didn't want to go?"

"The film they wanted to see had an epilepsy warning on it."

Rachel frowned. "So they went without you?"

"No biggie. It's Celly's birthday, I don't mind." She shrugged evasively. "I'm going upstairs, I've got homework."

She'd vanished before Rachel could reply. Eddie looked sympathetic. "The empathy of teenage girls, huh?"

Rachel sighed, allowing him to pull her back against his side. "Sometimes, I wish I could put them all in her shoes for a day to make them understand what she goes through. They'd all be a bit less thoughtless then."

Eddie looked contemplative. "What if we could?"

"Sorry?"

"Put them in her shoes for a day." He shifted around to look at her face on. "How many of our kids don't understand epilepsy, or autism or… Tourette's?"

"We don't have a student with Tourette's…"

"No but that's my point. If we did accept a student with it, the other kids would have no clue how to deal with them. So what if we try to teach them?"

Rachel caught on to what he was saying. "Have Lex and Karla do a speech or something, you mean?" she looked doubtful.

"Possibly. Or maybe there's a charity who could do multiple conditions. I don't know, but I think it would do the kids a lot of good to learn, and not just in school."

"I agree." He looked at her to find her smiling. "You organise it, I'll sign off on it."

He groaned. "Maybe Davina could organise it?" he suggested as she settled back against him.

"Oh no buster- it was your suggestion, you can be in charge of it. Besides, Davina's got enough on her plate this year."

"True."

"Mum, have you seen my maths book?" Lex appeared in the doorway, eyes widening when she saw the pair cuddled together on the sofa. Rachel blushed.

"I… I moved it off of the table earlier." She remembered. "Check the side."

"Thanks."

Lex was grinning incessantly as she backed up, and a minute later they heard her footsteps go back upstairs. "That was a good reaction, right?" Eddie checked uncertainly. She smirked.

"I think so, yes."

Thank you so much for reading! And thank you to those who left the lovely comments! x