It's been a long time but I've been ridiculously busy. I just haven't had time to put the detail in, so here's another one. I hope you like it.

Please let me know if it's worth continuing. Thank you all x

Rachel and Eddie's relationship was slowly getting back on track. At least, by that, she counted it as him being able to look at her and speak to her through more than one syllable. She was standing by the front doors when he climbed out of his car. It embarrassed her somewhat that she did anything to catch an undisturbed glimpse of him whenever she could. Every time she was with him recently, she wasn't able to meet his eye. He was speaking to Paul, flicking through a book of his. She leant forward a little to try and watch them more closely. Paul left and Eddie stopped at the bottom of the front steps. He turned round, checking his watch.

"Alright, you lot," he called, "Five minutes to registration. Get a move on."

She smiled at a student as they went past before her attention went back to Eddie. She moved to meet him but he spun around, walking straight past her. Stopping short, Rachel was unsure what to do for a moment before sullenly returning to her office.

The first thing she did was get herself a cup of coffee, knowing she needed it. She hadn't been getting much sleep recently. It wasn't until she was stirring in her sugar that the door to the anti-chamber door opened and Eddie strode in. She was a little disappointed, thinking it was Bridget. God knows she needed a good chat with someone.

"Have you told anybody I'm leaving?" he questioned.

He was about a metre away from her. Noticing, she was annoyed that he had been trying to keep his distance.

"No, not yet. I was going to put it in the final newsletter to parents." She smiled up at him but he remained serious. Her smile dropped. Entering her office, she was trying to plan a way to convince him to stay. "I'm trying to write out the new deputy head job spec. It's given me a chance to really think about the role." She sat herself at the round table, reaching for her draft. "I want to expand the senior management next year."

He nodded his head thoughtfully, his hands sinking slowly into his pockets.

"So, they're not parachuting anyone in then?" he asked quietly.

She knew he was finding it difficult to adjust to his decision. He had been wavering carefully between resigning and admitting he wanted to stay.

"No, no. Just a straightforward replacement. With the new staff restructuring next year, and in some ways you going now, makes it a relatively easy transition."

Smiling up at him, she was waiting for some kind of reaction. He only stared at her blankly. While she reached for her coffee and he thought she wasn't looking, he rolled his eyes.

"Well, fingers crossed we'll get a good field of candidates," she mused cheerfully.

She smiled sweetly at him as she sipped her coffee. She tried not to wince at the bitterness of it. Maybe she should have added more sugar.

"Any internal candidates you think?" Eddie was looking around the office, taking interest in the decoration of the walls.

"No." She put her coffee down. Thinking about what to say, her eyes narrowed as her gaze ran across the ceiling. "I want new blood, fresh ideas."

The phone started to ring, interrupting the slow conversation. She got up to answer it.

"Someone with real enthusiasm and passion," she continued.

He huffed lightly as she passed him.

"Hello?" She held the phone to her ear.

She could hear the receptionist explaining that there was a problem with the new build work. Eddie spoke over her, confusing the two conversations.

"Tom Clarkson's done a good job with pastoral…"

She held up her hand and his voice faltered as she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Okay, erm, we'll send someone down in a minute." She put the phone back down, sighing heavily. "Oh, great." She turned back to Eddie. "Looks like we've run into our first little snag with the building work. Apparently we have a little protest on our hands."

He rolled his eyes again, a very common gesture from him over the past week.

"Sounds like one for you, Eddie," she prompted.

He blinked in surprise. "Just for a change," he muttered darkly.

"We need to nip this in the bud," cried Eddie.

Mika and Brett had decided to start a protest against Hordley's new building, something to do with saving the trees. They hadn't moved from the spot where digging was meant to commence and the builders were unable to continue.

She headed for her desk, standing in front of her leather chair.

"No, no, no, no," she frowned, "I need to. Aren't you supposed to be teaching? Me and Tom can deal with this."

Rachel expected him to be annoyed and he didn't disappoint.

"No, I'm not teaching at the moment," he insisted, his brow furrowing.

Tom looked between the two, evidently trying to figure why Eddie wasn't being involved. Rachel leant over the desk.

"You're meant to be finding yourself another job," she told him, "Not worrying about this place."

He bit his lip hard as he considered her reasoning.

"Right." He went to leave but changed his mind halfway, pointing wildly at the phone. "But I bet you in five minutes, Hordley will be on that phone wondering why his one hundred and twenty quid workers are sitting round on their backsides drinking tea and playing rummy!"

He glared angrily at the both of them before slamming the door shut behind him. Rachel felt her mouth twitch as she tried to stop herself from laughing, smirking down at the desk. Tom turned back round with a frown.

"Eddie's leaving?" he asked.

"Yeah, he, erm, resigned last week."

Tom carried on glancing around the room, confused. Knowing they didn't have much time, she needed to get Mika and Brett back into the classroom and on track.

"Right, well, I think we should let them stew for a bit before we speak to them. With a bit of luck, they might get bored and call it a day." She chuckled nervously. "Oh, and we also need to make sure that no more kids get involved and then it's over to you, Tom."

He finally managed to pay attention to what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know," she shrugged, "with your good parenting skills, you should be able to talk Mika around. Get things back to normal."

He nodded, although he still didn't seem to be paying attention properly. Rachel wondered what the matter was. This was no time to ponder on private matters.

"Right, yeah," he nodded.

She sat back in her chair as he disappeared from her office.

Rachel had been called by Tom and Jasmine when a large group of students had rushed to go see the protest. They had been trying to get in through the gates covering the new building site. That was exactly what she didn't want.

"Inside now," Tom yelled.

"Come on, kids," she added.

They all collectively groaned as the three teachers stopped between the gate opening so nobody could see or get past.

"The playing fields are out of bounds," she informed them, holding her arms out, "Nobody is allowed beyond this point."

The students looked between each other, daring one to defy the headmistress.

"Is that because of the tree protest, miss?" Janeece inquired.

Rachel paused for a moment, surprised Janeece had asked so politely. She had been incredibly quiet since the incident with Bingham.

"No," answered Tom, "Because we don't want you endangering yourselves."

"Or do you just not want us to hear what they've got to say?" tested Chlo, glaring at Tom.

All the other students chorused their 'yeah'. Rachel frowned, knowing that whatever personal problems Tom and Chlo had needed to be kept away from easily influenced students.

"We've got nothing against free speech, Chlo," she responded, "That's why you've got the school council."

"And I don't know about you but I'm getting a little bit sick of Mika's free speech right now," Tom snapped.

Rachel's eyes widened as she considered the two, smiling slightly. Teenagers were always testing. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she and Tom simultaneously peered over at the small protest.

"Why don't we just drag them in kicking and screaming?" he sighed.

"Oh, Tom, you've got a lot to learn about teenage girls if you think laying down the law is going to make them do what you want them to do. Never worked with me and it won't work with Mika."

She turned back to the students, almost forgetting they were gathered around.

"Come on, kids," she ordered, "Go back inside. That is enough."

They started to trundle away, muttering between themselves.

"Come on." She clapped her hands to rid of any students that lingered in hope of joining the protest. "Move on."

Once they had gone, Tom followed her back into the school. Rachel finally realised the predicament she was in. Eddie was right. Stuart would be phoning shortly to demand why his builders were wasting his money just because she couldn't reign in two of her students. They had been stood by the window for ten minutes, hoping they would eventually come back inside. She didn't have the patience to wait for them anymore.

"Getting them in was the easy part," noted Tom, "But how are we going to stop the protest?"

"I'm not," she glowered, "You are. Your powers of persuasion coupled with the threat of forty-five days exclusion should bring them to their senses."

Tom didn't seem to understand why she was being so harsh.

"What happened to not laying down the law?" He blinked rapidly.

Rachel didn't need to explain herself. She didn't want to see Stuart again and there had to be no excuse for him visiting her. Mika and Brett had to come back in. Also, they were technically truant and the protest was creating a great distraction throughout other students.

"Tom, my role as head and your role as a dad upholds a part. Mika and Brett are disrupting the whole school and they're pulling other kids into it."

The larger the protest got, the more trouble she would be in. He seemed to agree with her to some degree, nodding furiously.

"I'll deal with it," he affirmed, moving past her.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Tom." He turned around. "I want those builders digging holes in the next twenty minutes."

Tom carried on down the corridor, nodding slightly as he went. She had other things to worry about but the possible consequences of the protest was starting to trouble her.

Her plan to exclude Eddie from all decisions was going well thus far but she knew she had to rub it in a little more. There had still been no mention from him that he might stay, despite her best efforts. He was currently teaching a year ten class who had the exact person she was looking for. Rachel had waited for Paul to be in his class, making a show of how she had made the decision on her own with no input from her deputy.

Halting at the door, she watched as he animatedly spoke to the students, wandering between the tables. She entered the class as he was talking to Bolton.

"…Equals ten percent. Late night was it, Bolton?"

"No, sir," he muttered.

Rachel had to admit that he did look tired, although it was probably due to him staying up late. Eddie had noticed her, stepping over to find out why she was there.

"I've just come to have that little chat with Paul," she explained in a whisper.

He was evidently disconcerted at not being consulted on the matter. Glancing quickly over at Paul, his voice rose slightly in agitation.

"I thought we were leaving that till the head of department meeting?"

"It's an executive decision so hm…"

She wasn't going to explain herself any further and she could see the irritation building in him. Seeing her smile caused him to humph self-righteously.

"Huh." He turned around with a sigh. "Paul, can we have a word, please, mate?"

The whole class 'oohed' as he looked around the class in confusion. He obviously thought he was in trouble.

"Calm down, everyone," snapped Eddie.

Rachel turned to leave the classroom as Paul weaved through the tables. She didn't ask Eddie to join her. She knew he would anyway. He patted Paul on the back as he walked past.

"Nothing to worry about, mate," he assured him. He then turned back to the rest of the class. "VAT on forty-three quid. No calculators. I'll be back in a minute… Bolton!"

Sitting on the ledge outside, she leant against the window. Paul sat opposite her, weary of what she might say.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your lesson," she apologised.

Paul shrugged. "It doesn't matter, miss. It means I get to skive work."

Grinning, she decided to keep it short now Eddie had joined them.

"So, what would you say to re-joining the main school curriculum?"

"What?" cried Paul, "Back in normal class?"

Eddie closed the classroom door. Ignoring his presence, she pressed on.

"Well, you know, based on the strong progress you've made this term, we think you're ready."

He looked quickly between her and Eddie in amazement. Eddie nodded confidently, trying to edge his way into the conversation.

"So I get to sit my GCSEs?" Paul asked.

"GCSEs and everything that comes with them," he answered.

Paul started to nod, laughing quietly. "Yeah."

She laughed slightly too. "Okay then, you can return to your lesson now."

Eddie went to follow but Rachel called him back. She wanted to twist the knife just one more time. He was suddenly more serious now it was only the two of them.

"You have done a really good job with that class. Look, I know it's a lot to ask but, erm…" He smiled encouragingly at her. It did encourage her somewhat. It was the first time he had done so in a week. "When the new deputy head arrives, would you talk them through what you've done here? You know, your scheme of work, your lesson plans…" He avoided her eye, his smile dropping. "That sort of thing. It's just that I hate to see your hard work go to waste."

Or he could just stay. It would have been her preferred option.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered.

"Great," she beamed.

He went back into his classroom as Tom rushed down the corridor. Bolton must have been asleep again.

"Wake up, Bolton!" was heard from Eddie as he stormed back through the door.

Jumping slightly, she glared through the window at him. He ignored her, scribbling on the whiteboard.

"They won't come," explained Tom when he was close, "I don't know what they're playing at."

She threw her hands up in the air, sighing in irritation. This was the last thing she needed. She had honestly believed that Mika would have listened to Tom and be back in lessons soon after. That plan had failed. Rachel rushed down the corridor, thinking furiously about how to get them back into school.

Eventually her only idea was to use the school council. You could have all the freedom of speech you wanted there and usually something was done and arranged by the teachers during that time. But after talking to Mika and Brett, it was obvious that it was too below them. Tom returned again, informing her that there were now men at the protest, a group that Mika had met online.

She closed the cooler door behind her, positively fuming at the news there were strangers on site. Steph and Tom were waiting for her outside, waiting for her to tell them what to do.

"Now, that's it!" she cried, "I'm calling the police."

Steph glanced down nervously, folding her arms.

"That's what this Leon character wants," Tom argued, "Publicity. His face in the newspaper. I-it's nothing. It's just him and his two mates."

She couldn't allow even that. The matter needed to be resolved and she was anxious of the amount of time it had taken just to convince them to come back in.

"Tom, they're on school premises. The police will shift them in minutes."

"Yeah, well, they won't," he remarked, "They've put up a barbed wire barricade and they're going to climb the tree."

She turned to Steph in surprise, who returned the gesture. This had gone too far already. Her head turned from side to side in disbelief. Tom tried to ease her worries.

"Look, erm, I- I'm pretty sure that Brett wants to give it up. If we let him work on Mika then they'll move on."

She hoped he was right because she was slowly getting exasperated with the two of them.

"Then I'll give it to the end of lunchtime," she told him.

Tom nodded in response, hurrying back down the corridor to tell Mika the news. Steph and Rachel exchanged another weary glance before they went back into the cooler. She closed the door behind her, taking note of the school council. Danielle and Aleesha were there, having being made the spokespeople for the protestors. Sitting at the head of the table, she pulled the list of concerns towards her. Steph sat to her right, leaning slightly across to look for herself.

"So, is this everything?" questioned Rachel.

"Yeah," nodded Danielle.

She started to read off the list, annoyed at her time being wasted.

"Light bulbs, paper cups for the coolers, energy efficient heating, uniform… Uniforms?"

Her voice rose in annoyance, her head flicking up to stare accusingly at Danielle and Aleesha.

"We want ethically made uniforms," explained Aleesha.

They had to be kidding. How could she take all of these concerns seriously? As much as she appreciated they had a set of values, they couldn't expect to live in a completely green world. She was still staring at them in astonishment, mouth wide open. Daniella must have realised that the headmistress wasn't buying into their idea, scrambling to explain herself.

"Mika says that the kids that make our uniforms in third world sweatshops don't get to go to school…"

"Is this a wind up?" interrupted Steph.

Rachel was glad for once that Steph was on her side. Clearly she could be serious when she needed to be. The two girls were looking between them, unsure of why they were in the wrong. Daniella shook her head slowly.

"So this is a Fairtrade, eco protest?" Rachel laughed in frustration, still staring at them.

Steph dropped her head in her hands. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Brett enter. Rachel wondered if that meant they had taken her option, deciding to use the council instead.

"Ah, Mr Aspinall," she remarked, "Down from the trees, I see."

"Yes, miss." He paused for a second. "Temporarily. I'm afraid that list of demands is now superfluous."

He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket, shuffling nervously towards her. He handed her the list, recoiling his hand as she snatched it from him. As Rachel read further and further down the list, she couldn't help but frown in disapproval. This was getting way out of hand.

Tom was called back up and Rachel left the council once again to get advice from fellow teachers. Rachel held the paper up, hoping Steph had something wise to say that could magically solve everything.

"Well, it's your call," Steph answered slowly.

Tom was seen turning round the corner, rushing towards them.

"And it's a lot of money," noted Rachel.

She brushed her fringe aside to look back down at the list. The original demands had been bad enough without adding to it. Brett was right. It was superfluous. He must have realised how much trouble he was in, running back to the tree before she could say anything to him.

"How much is the delay costing?" Steph asked.

Sighing, Rachel didn't even want to think about how angry Stuart would be. "I don't know but it's probably more than this." Tom stopped beside her so she handed him the list to read. She was surprised he hadn't been able to talk sense into them. "A conservation garden, the cheeky devils…"

He read the whole list, his breathy short and heavy.

"Now we've got those eco-warriors winding them up," sniffed Steph. She was silent for a moment, studying Rachel curiously. "Look, you know when you were a kid and you started to go out on dates, the only thing the boys were interested in was getting to fourth base as quickly as possible, yeah?"

Rachel didn't particularly want to have that conversation but she guessed Steph had a point to it.

"I hate to see where this is leading but yeah?"

Steph was glad that she hadn't been reprimanded for once, sliding a little closer.

"So to give them something to remember the night by and to keep them interested, you let them get to first base."

Rachel glanced up at the ceiling when she realised what Steph was hinting at, thinking carefully about it.

"Okay," she mused, "So hopefully they forget about fourth."

"Exactly," grinned Steph, pleased with herself. "Give them a bit of top. Get to keep your knickers on."

Rachel was still thinking about it, guessing it was their best bet so far.

"Or so I'm told," Steph added quickly.

Rachel didn't care what she did with other men, she wasn't one to judge. Instead she glanced at Tom, smiling widely.

"Shall we give it a go?"

She was suddenly more confident now they had another plan. Tom seemed confused by the exchange, shrugging as he struggled to understand what they had said. His eyes widened as he followed Steph into the cooler, muttering something about women. Rachel was about to follow them when Eddie stormed down the corridor.

"I need a word," he called.

Steph turned round but Rachel knew she couldn't stay. Eddie looked furious.

"Two minutes, yeah?"

Closing the door quickly, she cut them off before they could respond. Not only were two members of staff there, the student council were also in that room. None of them needed to hear Eddie in a strop.

"What's going on?" he demanded, glancing at the cooler door. "I'm still the deputy. I've got a contract. You're handing out all my responsibilities."

So her plan to exclude him had been working. He was obviously furious that he wasn't helping anymore.

"When you signed that piece of paper, you wash your hands of this place," she replied calmly, "I have to think about the future."

"Steph Haydock?!" he shouted, growing angrier by the second.

"Steph has worked here for fifteen years," she argued, "Her loyalty isn't in question."

She knew that would upset him and it seemed she was right. He stepped back, grunting loudly in displeasure as he realised how much she was trying to keep him from being involved. Eddie tried to say something but changed his mind, his jaw jutting as it often did when he was mad. Without another word, he strode back down the corridor, slamming the nearest door behind him. She stared at the door, slightly worried at how livid she had made him.

Rachel had decided to give the conservation garden a chance, as long as Mika and Brett agreed to come down. Tom was yet to discuss it with them. Glad they had come to some final decision, she headed back to her office. She stopped short when she saw Eddie sitting in the anti-chamber. Bridget was not there, she might have been on a break. Either way, Rachel wished she was back.

He glanced up for a moment, his gaze darkening before he went back to flicking through paperwork. No matter how angry he was, she realised he was still there in his free period to work with her. Slightly smug, Rachel started to sort through some of her own neglected paperwork. They didn't say anything and Rachel wasn't about to force conversation between them.

She was flicking through folders in her filing cabinet when she heard the sound of shattering glass and a scream. Panicking, she glanced at Eddie, both still at the sudden commotion. Then they heard another glass being shattered and they both reacted immediately, running to the door. He let her through first.

"What do you think it was?" she asked, panicking.

"I don't know. It was probably a window."

They ran past Grantly's room to find him staring out of a broken glass pane.

"This is absolutely ludicrous," he cried, noticing them at the door, "Those imbeciles threw a brick through my window, and not to mention ruining my non-contact time. They got Stephanie as well."

Now it had definitely gone too far. Two members of staff could have been seriously hurt. Turning to Eddie, she instructed him to find Tom. Grantly hadn't finished with his dramatics yet.

"I hope you're planning to…"

"Yes, Grantly!" she cried, "I'll be calling the police. Just go and find Steph, please, and make sure she is okay."

He left, muttering to himself. Tom appeared a couple of minutes later with Eddie in tow. She had been watching the protestors through the classroom window, seeing if they had moved since throwing bricks. They'd stayed up in the tree. Turning from the sight, she knew something had to be done.

"Someone could have been killed," she told him.

"Eh, c-come on," frowned Tom, although he looked incredibly nervous, "I-it's just a couple of panes of glass. Nobody got hurt."

"It's got a little bit too far now, Tom."

Tom couldn't accept that Mika had done it. It wasn't like her to take a violent approach to anything, even Rachel knew that.

"Look, it's just a few militant nutters," he exclaimed, "It's not our Mika."

She couldn't have cared less who did it or whose idea it was. The safety of her staff and pupils were at risk. It had gone further than it needed to be.

"Well, it's time to let them know. They either come down now or I'm excluding them."

Tom knew it was his last chance, leaving to go reason with them. One glance from Eddie and she knew he was going too. They nodded slightly at each other before he followed Tom outside.

Sitting down in her office, she was glad for a moment of peace before her office phone starting to ring. Groaning, she picked it up.

"What's this I've heard about my building being put on hold?"

Stuart's voice was the last thing she needed to hear, even while it seemed inevitable that he would phone her.

"Er, Stuart," she frowned, "this has got absolutely nothing to do with Waterloo Road."

"I take it you've called the police."

"Well, no, not yet but I'm about to. So far we've been able to contain it ourselves."

"I've lost five grand before a hole's even been dug."

"Well, I'm afraid any compensation claims need to go to the LEA." There was nothing but silence from the other end of the phone. Rachel suddenly realised why, hoping to have something against him. "What? You don't want them prying into your affairs?"

"Just get it sorted, alright?"

It was the angriest she had heard him but before she could speak, the line disconnected. Glad he had kept it brief, she started to dial emergency services.

"Yes, police, please. Hello, I would like to report an incident of vandalism and trespass…"

The phone rang again five minutes later. Eddie's voice rang through, evidently alarmed at something that had happened. All she registered was: "up tree", "ladder", "Tom", "fell", "called ambulance".

That was all she needed to hear before she had sped down to the protest. She couldn't believe how fast it had escalated. The last thing she had wanted was for the police and the ambulance to be at Waterloo Road. Her mind was racing as she thought about Tom and the potential damage that may have happened to him. Even as he had hurt himself, Eddie wasn't beside himself with worry so it can't have been that bad. It was partly her fault for pressuring Tom to sort Mika out, as well as not sorting it out herself.

She emerged outside as the ambulance and police car turned into the gates. Eddie was crouching next to Tom, who happened to be conscious.

"Is he okay?" she shouted. When there wasn't an answer after a second, her voice rose higher. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," snapped Eddie, keeping his eye on Tom. "I called the ambulance but I think he's alright."

"I'm fine," muttered Tom.

He was blinking heavily in the sunlight. Rachel sighed in relief, knowing it was still better to be safe than sorry. At least Mika had finally come down from the tree, crying loudly and bending over Tom.

"I'm really sorry," she sobbed.

Rachel knew that Mika needed to leave and calm down. She was fretting too much; it wasn't something for her to see. Davina seemed to have good timing, appearing to see what the commotion was about.

"Davina," she called, "Do you mind?"

She gestured towards Mika. Nodding, Davina pulled her away lightly, taking her back into the school. Rachel could still feel her heart beating fast at the thought of Tom being seriously hurt. He glanced up at her, still lying on the floor.

"I'm fine," he repeated.

Before she could reply, the paramedics ushered her and Eddie away so they could check Tom. There was nothing wrong. They still treated him for shock, ordering him to sit in the back of the ambulance with a blanket. Rachel paced slightly, her fingers wringing together. She was still incredibly anxious about the day's events. Eddie noticed, stepping closer to her.

"He's okay, Rachel." He reached across, his fingers grazing her arm. "Nothing bad happened to him."

"Someone could have been seriously hurt," she fretted, "Tom, the kids, the staff. Today could have been a disaster. It was a disaster."

Eddie glanced over at Tom. "But he's fine. Rachel, look at him. Everyone is fine and they came down. Now, that's all that matters."

She met his strong gaze, gaining comfort from his mere presence. Rachel never understood how he did that. Breathing in, she closed her eyes and nodded, going over to Tom. He seemed fine. He had been offered a cup of coffee, sipping it as she joined him. At the same time, Davina tried to bring Mika round to see him.

"Davina, not now, please," she muttered.

Davina nodded, leading the crying girl away again. Not having noticed their presence, Tom pulled the blanket tighter around him. Rachel bent down to speak to him.

"I would have preferred a negotiated settlement," she joked, "But I suppose a swan dive from a twenty foot tree is enough to get them down."

She rubbed his back, giggling to herself. He managed a smile, sipping his coffee again, thoughtfully.

"I'll remember that next time, shall I?"

Once Mika had been allowed to see Tom, Rachel asked Brett to join her in her office. Hearing the door click shut, she spun around to face him, her anger catching up with her.

"What is it with you, Brett?" she demanded, "You're an extremely clever young man."

He sighed heavily in response. "Here we go. Forget about what's going on in the world and come straighten your exams."

That wasn't what she had wanted to hear, grinding her teeth as she started towards her desk. She was more offended by Brett than she was with Mika.

"Come on," she exhaled, "You're a dabbler, a dilettante." She sat elegantly in her chair. "This is all some intellectual test for you."

"Look, you can question my commitment all you like…"

"For God's sake," she yelled, "You climbed up a tree and you wouldn't come down." She shook her head, furious, leaning across her desk. "You know what? I'd have more respect for you if you actually cared about what you fight for. You know, with Mika at least she's got passion, she's got substance but you…"

She couldn't even finish her sentence, extremely disappointed in him. There were no words for that. He seemed to realise, gulping visibly and his eyes shining.

"I'm guessing Mr Clarkson's injuries put pay to the conservation garden," he muttered.

She frowned up at him, her voice low and steady. "Why? I gave you my word. Some of us have got principles, Brett."

He stared at the carpet, ashamed of himself. Rachel had said all she needed to say.

"You can go."

Eddie entered minutes later, informing her about Tom and his state. He hadn't been harmed, that was all that mattered. Eddie dropped into a chair at the round table, having nothing more to say. Rachel knew she needed him to stay and the sooner she convinced him, the better. She got out the whiskey bottle. They were going to need it. He was staring out the window when she turned round, listening to the sounds of the students as they left for the day. It was extremely obvious how much he would miss being there.

"You know it's going to be hard to leave this place behind," she said.

He didn't reply, his eyes swivelling to meet hers but he was still silent. She smirked, placing a glass in front of him.

"I've got a list of deputy head vacancies," she continued, "Couple of head teacher jobs." She poured him a drink, a double. "Give you a good reference." He had moved his gaze to the floor but she still tried to smile at him. Sitting opposite, she poured herself a drink. "There are some good schools out there."

"Not many as challenging as Waterloo Road," he stated.

He raised his eyebrows, meeting her curious gaze. He raised his glass before downing half of it. Not once did she stop looking at him.

"Seconds thoughts?" she challenged.

"I'm not stupid, Rachel. All day you've been showing me what you think I'd miss about this place."

She couldn't help but smile, glancing down at her whisky.

"You're winding me up," he complained.

"So stay."

She had said it quieter than intended but he still heard, his glass stopping halfway to his mouth. Putting it down, he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Okay."

Rachel felt her heart almost skip a beat, biting her lip to stop him from seeing how excited she was.

"But Hordley has to go."

She felt her smile drop.

"It's the only way we can work together, Rachel," he reasoned. When he saw her shake her head in denial, he pressed on. "You've got to call his bluff."

"It's not a bluff," she argued, her head still shaking.

Her head rested on her hand, trying to appear nonchalant but he could see straight past her.

"I was going to deal with this myself." He reached into his top pocket in his blazer, pulling out a small piece of paper. "But…"

She was handed the paper, realising it was a cheque. It was the sum of money that Hordley had promised to Steph, cashing in at two thousand pounds. She looked up at him in resignation. Eddie just wasn't going to let it go.

"We've got to stop him," he insisted.

Rachel wanted him to stay. She wanted him to stay more than anything, but that meant she had to choose between him and Stuart. Usually, personally, it would have been obvious who was more important to her but Stuart still had the upper hand. She couldn't get rid of him.

"I'll call," she nodded. She'd just tell him she had. "I'll call the council. I'll tell them everything."

He grinned at her, a gesture she hadn't seen in a while. She'd do anything for him to forgive her, apart from calling the LEA. Eddie raised his glass to her, downing the remnants of the alcohol. She followed suite, hoping he wouldn't suddenly notice that she was lying to him. Reaching for the bottle of whisky, she knew she was going to need more.

After another drink, Eddie stood suddenly. She hoped he was going but he turned towards her desk.

"Shall we do it now then?"

"Now?" she cried, surprised he was staying.

She had thought he would leave it to her. Rachel realised how much he didn't trust her anymore, something she guessed she deserved.

"I was going to do it later," she excused, "Maybe tomorrow morning."

"Why can't you do it now?" he frowned, edging towards the phone, "It will be much easier. Then it will be over and done with."

He passed her the number for the LEA offices. Knowing she had no other choice, she licked her lips nervously, almost scrunching the paper in her hands. She didn't want to phone them. He watched her expectantly as she sunk slowly into her chair, her hands starting to tremble. Eddie sat opposite on top of the cupboard, arms crossed. Rachel could feel his gaze tearing into her and she thought for a moment that she might faint. This wasn't how she had planned it. Her hands moved back and forth across the desk, unable to touch the phone.

"Do it quickly then it's over," he urged.

He nodded in encouragement but it didn't make her feel any better. She started to call the number. She was halfway through when she realised what she was doing, pressing the cancel button. Rachel couldn't bring herself to do it.

Eddie saw her hesitation. "I'll do it."

He moved to stand up but she felt herself panicking.

"No!" she shouted. Taking a deep breath, she met his eye. "I can do it."

He sat back down, throwing his hands in the air as he huffed. Patience was not one of his virtues. Pulling the paper towards her, she stared at the numbers for a moment, thinking fast about what to do. Eventually she started to type out a number that she knew very well. Glancing at him, she wanted him to see her pressing the buttons. He smiled genuinely at her and she smiled back, upset he had forced her into that situation. She pressed the phone to her hear, listening to it ring. The line connected almost straight away.

"Yes, hi, it's Rachel Mason."

A man's voice answered. "Hi, can I take your order?"

"That's right. Waterloo Road. Can I speak to the director of finance, please?"

She watched Eddie to see how he was taking it. He didn't seem to think anything was amiss, staring expectantly at her.

"Do you want to place an order?" the man repeated.

"Can I leave a message? I need to discuss the Hordley contract." She paused for effect. "Well, as soon as possible. I've got some disturbing information about Stuart Hordley's bid."

The man had had enough of her.

"I think you've got the wrong number, love," he told her.

The line disconnected and she knew she had to end the conversation. Smiling up at Eddie, she hoped he hadn't noticed. He hadn't.

"Okay, well, if you can call me in the morning. Thank you. Bye."

She dropped the phone quickly, her hand sinking back to her lap. Sighing heavily, Rachel looked everywhere but at Eddie. It was hard to lie to his face.

"The director of finance is calling me in the morning and I am top priority."

She still didn't look at him. He jumped up, suddenly back to the Eddie she knew so well.

"I am so proud of you, Rachel!" he cried, excited. "Ugh, I wish I can see his face when you tell him."

She couldn't bear to see him so happy when she had deceived him. He didn't deserve that, but she also didn't deserve to be forced into revealing her past. Eddie noticed her staring at him sadly. As soon as he saw her, she avoided her eyes, staring down at the desk. He mistook it over worry for Stuart.

"Hey, come on," he assured her, "Anything he throws at us, we'll handle it together. Okay?"

He sounded so comforting that she managed to smile at him, wondering how she was going to cover up her latest lie.

"Yeah."

6th April 2008

Dear Eddie,

Am I wrong to believe that everything is finally starting to get back on track? With you and me, at least. Our friendship, which I thought had been completely ruined, seemed to have almost shifted to how it used to be. We're not as close but there was a slight tenderness to you today that I haven't seen in over a week. Are you finally starting to forgive me? I think you have. Why else would you have stayed?

I'd been trying so hard over the past week to slowly exclude you from executive decisions but it hadn't mattered until today. It's been pretty boring this week until Brett and Mika decided to climb a tree. That's when you really started to notice. And it worked, didn't it? To some degree. You ended up staying but at a terrible cost for me. You had insisted all week that people should be told. The real reason I didn't was because I was holding out hope that you'd stay so there was no reason to worry anyone. Also, I didn't want to consider the possibility that you really would be leaving. Would you have kept in contact with me? I don't know. Before all of the trouble, I might have reasoned that we could have remained friends if you left, maybe inquiring occasionally into your wellbeing. If you'd left during this week, I'm sure we would never have spoken again unless in a professional capacity. That hurt. It hurt a lot.

You see, I've been thinking a lot about you this week, more than usual. Would you think about me when you left? Would you care anymore? I wasn't really sure about the answer. I guess you don't have much reason to think about me now. I'd be only a faint memory to you once you'd moved on. After all, we've only worked together for a few months. But I'd miss you terribly, Eddie. I missed you before you'd even left and I thought of you every second that you weren't there, scared I'd blink and you'd be gone. To make it worse, it would only have been my fault in the end. I was the reason you were leaving. Nothing seemed worse to me.

I tried to halve your responsibilities between Tom and Steph today. I'm not really sure how that went. Tom seems to be having a family crisis, which I'm hoping has been sorted after today, and continually seemed confused. Steph was different to how I'd expected. She was a lot more serious and did everything I asked her to. The only problem is, she was only able to give me one piece of advice today. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I needed her to have more initiative. I know it's there. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure that I'm being entirely fair. Whoever that new deputy may have been, I wouldn't have given them a chance. If it wasn't you then I didn't want to know. All of my expectations measure up to you. So unless my deputy was Eddie Lawson, I wouldn't want another.

It sounds rather silly. There are plenty of deputy's throughout the country and you'd think there must be someone better, but to me there isn't. I couldn't imagine coming in on the morning and not seeing you walk through my door, or hear your voice, or even see those eyes again. I bet you wouldn't even care about me if you'd gone. You'd probably have a great time away from my nagging and deceit. I wish I could change your perception of me, to do it all over again. But there's no point dwelling on something I cannot change.

Today was rather challenging; I would have benefited from having your help. I really missed you offering your opinions and advice. Would the situation have been different if it had been you and me? I'm not sure. Mika and Brett were pretty adamant to stay out there and… Anyway, no. Let's not get into this because I was extremely angry with them today, particularly Brett.

In all honesty, I don't know where to go with this. All I can feel right now is relief. The reason I've been so tired is because I've been sitting up all night worrying about how to make you stay. It occurred to me what it might have been like if I could have been the reason you stayed. I know I wasn't and would never be, but what a thought! I know I'm only meant to be here for six months but I'm really considering staying. It's the first time in a long time that I've felt truly happy somewhere, even with the ever looming threat of Hordley. Would you want me to stay? Probably not.

But I still feel as if you care to some extent. You noticed me panicking when Tom fell from the tree, probably hard to miss. I really appreciate your comfort, although I couldn't help noticing your fingers running along my arm, even for a brief second. It drove me to distraction. Thank you. I know you don't particularly like me at the moment, yet you still tried to help me. So thanks.

What's really been bothering me is what happened after the school day. I managed to convince you to stay. At least, I believe I had. For all I know you've been sitting at home contemplating your decision and came to that conclusion all on your own. You've obviously thought of the terms in which you'd stay. It was strange for you to be so uncharacteristically quiet. When it came to it, I was actually incredibly nervous to ask you to stay. It probably wasn't my place and I'm not sure I was the right person to convince you. So when you said yes, I nearly forgot to breathe. I've been worrying incessantly about what I was going to do but it turned out that all I had to do was ask. And then the moment was ruined.

"Hordley has to go."
Oh, Eddie, haven't you got it yet? He can't go. No matter how much I want him to. It's not as if you've haven't seen all the evidence he has against me. Am I really naïve enough to believe he doesn't have space copies? A man like him… It just isn't possible. How can you be so believing that people would be that good? Hordley isn't going to give in, not now. Thankfully, I haven't seen him since I turned down his offer of dinner but I know he won't leave me alone. It occurred to me that he might not ever leave me alone. He can afford to. I can't understand how you can't see that. You say it's the only way we can work together but that's simply not true. And now, even if you don't know it, we are still working together, despite Hordley still lingering nearby.

Your hatred for him goes beyond me and that blinds you. You think the simple conclusion would be to call his bluff, to show how terrible he really is. But have you thought about what would happen after? Have you thought what would happen to me? I could not carry on working at Waterloo Road. I'm not even sure I would be allowed. Did that cross your mind? Your ideal of us working together could ultimately lead us to doing the exact opposite. And I can't do that. I can't do that because I can't reveal my past, I can't let that affect Waterloo Road as a whole, I can't leave a place where I'm finally happy, and I can't leave you. I can't.

Sometimes I think you can see right through me, that you understand me that much. Other times I feel like you don't understand me at all. My distress was evident. I don't know how plainer I could have made my feelings. I just wanted you to leave and not resort to lying any more than necessary. But I ended up having to lie to you and that killed me. It made me the exact person you believed me to be. That wasn't what I wanted.

If you ever find out that I lied to you, God help me. I don't want you to be any more disappointed than you already are. You were so excited when you had thought I had phoned the LEA, proud almost, if I may say so. It wasn't really the LEA office, Eddie. It was nothing like that. I panicked and called my local Chinese take-away instead. They must have thought I was crazy. Whenever I looked at you, your eyes glistened and you were back to the old Eddie, my Eddie. Before you were angry with me. I couldn't even look at you. You thought it was because I was uncomfortable with phoning the office but I was really upset at having to lie to you, at being pushed into a situation where I had to. That was one of the last things I wanted to do. You were suddenly my friend again. I was so relieved to have you back that I almost forgot about everything else. I managed to glance up at you and you were so happy. Your smile was exquisite. Then I was reminded of why I had made you happy and I couldn't stand thinking that I had made you so happy when I had deceived you. You don't deserve that. You deserve much more.

And then you said something that nearly ended me. "We'll handle it together." You said it so sincerely, so warm, so caring. I didn't even know what to say. Does that mean you'll stick with me? Does that mean we can be friends again? That you've forgiven me for my past? I really do hope so.

Yours,

Rachel xxx