Thank you for the reviews.

Didn't quite know how I wanted to play this one exactly... but this is how I did. Mainly because it felt fitting that a certain someone should punch Max.


Series 5 Episode 10

Rachel hadn't missed the way that Tom and Steph were whispering to each other. The way that they were made her think that someone was going to tell her something. She would have put her money on Steph but it was actually Tom that seemed to lose whatever they were arguing about.

"Right, I'm off. I've got Josh tomorrow." He paused. "But before I go, Rachel, I don't think you would like us for doing this but… after this term and, especially, today, us old Waterloo Road lot thought you might benefit from seeing a familiar face."

"Tom, what are you on about?"

Tom only smiled at her before he left. Her eyes watched him as he greeted someone at the door before he left. If anything, she couldn't believe her eyes and she was only just aware of Jo asking who he was.

"Eddie." She breathed.

"Rachel." He cleared his throat. "I understand you've had quite a bad term."

"You could say that."

"Philip told me what happened when he got home. Explains his foul mood."

"You noticed that as well."

"Didn't tell me though."

"Why would he though? He knew the choice that we had made."

Eddie nodded at her. "I guess you know nothing about Charlie then."

"No."

"Sorry to interrupt, what is going on?" Chris said.

"Eddie Lawson, Rachel's old deputy." He turned to her before turning back to Chris. "And ex-boyfriend."

"Christopher Mead, Rachel's current deputy."

She didn't know why she was so happy when they shook hands. Maybe it was just the way that Chris had been with her. It had been a weird day and maybe that was why she felt like Chris was being a little more friendly with her.

"Shouldn't you be with Charlie?" She asked.

"Should being the wrong word. In the dog house at the moment. She won't let me see him unless she wants time to herself. Just dumps him on me. I was around there earlier to try and reason with her. That is how I saw Philip."

"Sounds like Melissa."

"I think I would be barred for life if she knew that I was here."

"Eddie…"

"No Rachel. When you came back after the fire, I told this lot to look after you. I thought that might be more apparent after I left. I… I know you let me in more, but I would have thought that at least Kim would have seen that you were sinking." He sighed. "Will you stop being so selfless for a night?"

"I think that is the same as getting her to relax for a night," Chris said.

"The school does have a lot of work to do to make the merger work," Rachel argued.

"Does she switch off?"

Eddie laughed. "Not usually. Most of the time she just needs to get it all out of her system."

Rachel found herself hitting his arm. It was just weird how they seemed to fall back into their natural ways. Like the five months separation meant nothing to them. That they could just pick up where they left off. It made her wonder why he was there and what Tom or Steph had said to get him to come. Part of her knew that this shouldn't happen. That this was going to be a one-night thing because he would have to go back to Charlie and Melissa at some point. That was probably the worst part of it.

Her face dropped as Max entered the pub. It was clear that he had already had a few drinks and she could tell that Eddie had caught on, standing close to her but also behind her, to keep out of the way.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," Max said as he placed a hand on Chris' shoulder. "Thought I'd drop by, share a drink with my colleagues."

"I really think you should go, Max."

If anything, she was more aware of Eddie's presence. She once joked that he was the head of her defence squad. She couldn't have been more right about that. Always ready to defend her.

"When did you start thinking, Christopher? Was it about the time you started going soft on her?"

It was then that Rachel knew what Max was going to say next. She placed her hand on Eddie's arm, telling him to keep his cool.

"You know, I can't see the attraction myself. But then, I never was into used goods."

She could even tell that Chris was angry at the comment. She could only imagine what the look on Eddie's face was. It wasn't so much the comment to her. She had learnt that she couldn't allow the comments to offend her. She just knew what he was going to ask next.

"I mean, out of interest, how much does she charge a member of staff? And who the hell are you? Keeping her bed warm for the night?"

Rachel let go of Eddie's arm and shrugged at him when he turned to her. There was a glint in his eye that she knew she had seen once upon a time, a long time ago. In her office, with Stuart Hordley. It was why it didn't surprise her when he punched Max. In fact, it was a lot more satisfying than she could ever imagine. Although anyone punching Max would have been satisfying. Maybe it was just the memories of Eddie doing it previously that made it so right that he was the one to punch him.

"Why don't you go home, Max?" Rachel said once he had picked himself off the floor. "I think you have embarrassed yourself enough for one day."

It wasn't until Max was gone that Eddie turned back to her with a smile. She was certain that she was smiling the same smile. Both being filled with the same memories. It just reminded her of how much they went through together.

"God, I've missed Waterloo Road." He said. "There is no other school where that would happen."

"I think it has missed you too."

"Mainly just a certain head," Steph said. "Well just imagine if you told him instead of Chris that you were going to resign today. I think Mr Lawson here would have done more than just told little old me."

"You must remember the last time you tried to do that." He said.

"I do. You got on to all the governors with Candice and Bolton told me that he would… only say that the gun wasn't Denzil's if I didn't leave."

"I definitely think I would have got the student body involved this time."

"Really?"

"Good old student protest. Like they did for Jack. I doubt that they would need much persuading and I think I would have just liked to see the look on Max's face."

"Right, I am calling you two a cab," Steph said.

"Steph." Rachel said.

"No, you two obviously have things that you need to talk about and, while the stuck up selfish cow isn't here, you can do it. Isn't it obvious? You two still feel the same way and I don't think I have seen her smile as much this term as she has done since you turned up."

Rachel tried not to smile but she couldn't.

"So I was the cold-hearted cow and Melissa is the stuck up selfish cow?"

"Look we have all agreed that we only put up with her because she was your sister. Now you two, get out of here."

It was the smile that Eddie gave her that made her believe Steph's words even more.

"Shall we then Lawson?"

"Of course Mason. You're the boss."

The only thing she could do was smile again.


Rachel reached into the cupboard and grabbed the bottle of beer before she placed it on the worktop. Eddie laughed and she couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy.

"Well, you left a whole crate of it here and I don't drink it. Almost had a party to get rid of it."

"Mason, you wouldn't have a party."

"No, I wouldn't. Maybe I could have just given it to Philip. He could have given it to you or done what he liked with it."

"Maybe."

"You know where the bottle opener is."

She walked to the fridge to get out the bottle of wine that she had started the night before. Not that she would have usually drunk alcohol on a school night. It was just getting that way with Max.

"Go on then, tell me all about this awful term."

"I actually thought that the merger was a good thing to begin with." She said as she poured her drink. "You know, a good way to just throw myself back into work. A lot of organising and planning and making sure of everything."

"Basically so you didn't have to think about me."

She laughed. "Exactly." She said as she nodded her head towards the door. "There were fights in both the staffroom and the playground. And actual proper fight in the playground. I have never seen so many kids fighting at the same time. Took us a while to get them all to separate."

They settled in the living room, on the sofa, with Rachel one end and Eddie the other. She tucked her feet underneath her and turned towards him. He had his arm laying across the back. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing and it made her smile again.

"Max told me the first day that he didn't think I was up for the job. Then there was the whole girl gang thing. Got so angry with Michaela that I said that I would exclude her if she didn't stop the girl gang thing."

"You must have been angry."

"Then there was everything with Linsday James. Poor girl. Being abused by her father and the only thing that made her snap was the fact that he was going to do the same to her little sister. She killed him. And it annoyed Max that I was the one that she confided in. I apparently pamper the students. Get too involved in their lives."

"I think that is why you are such a good head. I can only guess the Kellys are still doing well."

"Rose is still off the drink and Sam and Denzil are progressing as they should be."

"You got involved in their lives."

"They were my pet project."

"But look how it turned out. I am sure Linsday was pleased to have your support."

"My only problem at the moment is… I don't know whether I have to make things up to Kim or whether it was the other way around. We… haven't been the best of friends."

"I think you will both be fine."

"I know." She sighed. "So Charlie?"

"Do I state the obvious?"

"Sorry?"

"My son and your new nephew."

"And the reason we broke up."

"Reason I am now in the dog house. Melissa didn't like the fact that I was telling him about you. Not that she really has a choice because as soon as Philip heard me, he has been doing the same."

"Really?"

"Why should Charlie miss out on his auntie Rachel? I can't allow that. Not when you are the most remarkable person I know."

"Eddie."

"It is true." He sighed. "He was born 28th October. A little early but he was fine. Melissa did want to call him Quentin."

"Really?"

"Luckily I managed to talk her out of it. Quentin Lawson didn't seem right. And he was always going to be a Lawson."

"I don't know what was going through her head when she thought that was a good name."

"What would you have gone with?"

She sighed, wondering whether the conversation would turn to this. Of course, she had thought about it. Of course, she wanted a child of her own. She was just leaving it too late.

"Tommy, or Isaac. I quite like Oscar as well."

"You know what, I quite like them all as well."

"Eddie."

"No. Rach, let me in again."

"You are going to ask why I couldn't do it. Why we couldn't have worked things out back then."

"Well?"

"How could we Eddie? When Melissa had everything I wanted. You proposed to her and she had your child. I… I wanted that for us."

"Rachel."

"I… just couldn't tell you then. Because I thought we would have longer. Because I never imagined that she would come back pregnant."

"Well maybe if I did what we preach to the kids, she wouldn't have had that chance."

"I wouldn't like to say we were the most careful."

"I didn't want to be careful with you. Rach, we wanted the same thing. I just didn't know whether you were ready for that. It was something I was going to bring up on our… holiday of a lifetime."

"Second time you didn't make it to your holiday."

"Rachel, I have missed you."

"I have missed you too."

She placed down her drink and moved her position, so that the back of her head rested on his shoulder as she stretched out on the sofa. She took the hand of his arm on the back of the sofa, bringing it to rest in her lap. She could only smile as he placed a kiss in her hair. A rather familiar position for them to be in. She knew the conversation that was going to follow and it was one that would be better if Eddie couldn't see her face. Because she knew that he could still read her so well.

"I don't care if I am in the dog house forever. I am willing to make it work if you want it to. We can still have everything that we did want together."

"That's what makes everything complicated. Just think about it, Eddie. Charlie is your son and my nephew. If we married then what would I be to him? Would I be his step-mum or his auntie? I can tell you now that Melissa wouldn't be happy with that at all. Philip eventually told me about what she said when she found him. Something about me messing with his head and turning a lot of people against her. So the last thing she would want me to be is Charlie's step-mum."

"Then let's take Melissa out of the equation."

"We can't. She is his mother." She sighed. "And then if we had a baby of our own. They would be Charlie's half-sibling as well as being his cousin. It would be confusing for both of them and… we know how kids can be. What if they got bullied because of it?"

"Christ, I forgot how much you do worry. Rachel, take everyone else out of the equation. Take me and Melissa and Philip and Charlie. What do you want?"

She looked down at their hands that were joined in her lap. The last few months had been hard. The last few months had been long. And she knew why that was. Because she was trying to forget. Because nothing felt right because he wasn't by her side. She had noted how Kim would always stand to her right, knowing that would be where she would turn to get Eddie's opinion on something.

What do you want?

"Does that matter?"

"Yes, it does. For once, please be selfish."

"I want you. And everything that we could have had."

"So that is where we start. We knew that there was always going to be a possibility that Melissa would have come back when we started our relationship. I am more than happy to pick up where we left off. I… You know I don't love her. You know I am only with Melissa because of Charlie. I'll deal with her. It is my fault all this happened."

"I don't really think you can take all the blame."

"Okay, it was mine and Melissa's fault."

"It was mine too."

"Because you pushed me away because I pushed you too soon? I know you better Rachel. I should have known that it was the reaction you would give. I love you, Rachel, always have done and always will."

She turned to look up at him. "I love you too."

Rachel would never admit to Steph how right she was. They did still feel the same about each other. The months apart hadn't diluted the love that they had for each other and now that they were reunited, Rachel thought that it might even be a little stronger. She knew she wouldn't have the strength to let him go again and it made her wonder why she thought that they couldn't solve it.