Sorry! I thought i'd uploaded this but apparently just thought about doing it and never did... oops. Thank you for the reviews and for reading, and enjoy! x

The next morning, Rachel felt like the world had begun to turn again. It wasn't perfect, or fixed, not by any means- the fact that she was sat applying concealer would attest to that. She'd become rather good at disguising sleep deprivation over the past couple of years. Still, she was focused on what she was doing and so didn't see Eddie's eyes open behind her, blinking against the morning light and immediately searching her form out when he found her no longer beside him. She was oblivious as he continued to watch her, studying her carefully until she paused in her motions of applying mascara, her neck prickling as she felt his eyes on her. A glance in the mirror had her meeting his gaze, and quirking an eyebrow at him. "That's a little creepy."

"Are you okay?"

She frowned, spinning on the seat to face him. "Eddie, don't treat me like I'm going to shatter. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

He didn't look convinced, still eyeing her cautiously. "No nightmares?"

Her jaw clenched as she turned back to what she'd been doing, deliberately moderating her tone to keep from snapping at him. "I told you they don't happen every night."

Eddie wasn't fooled for a minute. "You can't blame me for asking directly."

Around the brush she was holding, her fingers tensed but she couldn't deny he had a point. Still, he didn't have to point it out, she thought grouchily, jabbing the brush back into its holder and beginning to search for a better sized one. "I suppose not."

She was concentrating on her task, so didn't notice Eddie slip out of bed and come towards her until his hands were on her shoulders, causing her to jump. He looked mildly apologetic, sliding his arms forward to hug her from behind. "I'm worried about you."

He watched as a disgruntled look came over her expression. "How am I supposed to stay irritated at you when you say things like that?" she complained, and he huffed in amusement. She leant back into his embrace, tilting her head against him. "Sorry."

"How about we make a deal?"

Rachel quirked an eyebrow at him. "A deal?"

"You promise to tell me if you have one, and I won't ask every morning."

She sighed. "Eddie…"

"You're not getting out of this, Rachel." He stepped around to look at her properly, drawing her to her feet so they were on the same level. "We're a partnership, remember? Which means no secrets."

Her eyes slid away from him, avoiding his gaze. "I'll tell you if I have one," she promised quietly.

"Thank you." Absently, Eddie wondered if he should feel bad for guilting her, for not letting her deal with this in her own way. But she'd proved that her way wasn't working, he argued with himself, running his hands down her arms as he leant in to brush a kiss over her cheek. He was wanting to help her, he wasn't insisting out of any sort of maliciousness. Despite knowing this, it didn't stop the uncomfortable feeling sat in the depths of his stomach. But then another thought occurred to him. "And you'll wake me up if you have one?"

Rachel frowned. "I'm not waking you up."

"Rachel..."

"There is no point in two of us being sleep deprived," she refused firmly. "I'm not waking you up unnecessarily."

"And what's the alternative? You wandering the house alone in the middle of the night?"

"If necessary!"

"No." He shook his head. "Not acceptable."

"Also not your decision," she reminded him.

"Rachel-,"

"Eddie."

He looked at her in exasperation, but she didn't back down, raising her chin defiantly. He sighed. "A compromise then?"

She eyed him with mild suspicion. "What kind?"

"If it's a really bad one, then you'll wake me. If you need to go and drink a ton of tea to calm down before you can face coming back to bed, you'll wake me up. But if it's not that bad, then you do it your way."

She pressed her lips together, but nodded. "Fine. Now can I finish getting ready?"

He inclined his head, stepping away and leaving her to continue as he headed downstairs for some much needed coffee. It was grey and overcast out, he noted, and he wouldn't be surprised if it rained later. Lovely, he thought as he stowed his laptop into his bag, absently reminding himself that he needed to hand out the marked homework for his year nines today.

A bowl of cereal and a second cup of coffee later, he was more awake but still not entirely enthused at the prospect of having to face the day. Which meant he was only vaguely aware of Rachel's footsteps on the stairs, and certainly not paying attention when she came in, until all of a sudden her lips were against his cheek.

He looked at her in surprise, and she gave him a soft smile, thumb stroking across his jaw. "Thank you for caring."

Oh. Eddie pushed back his chair and snaked his arms around her, eliciting a squeal when he pulled her onto his lap with a grin. Rachel looked exasperated, but he saw her lips twitch as she anchored herself to him with an arm around his neck, gaze softening when he ducked his head to kiss her. "Always," he murmured, nuzzling into her, and felt her grip tighten in response.

W.R.

Unfortunately, solidifying their relationship caused cracks in their morning routine, and the pair ended up having to rush to get ready. Eddie was on a tighter schedule, so was about to walk out the door when Rachel was still applying her lipstick in the hallway mirror and barefoot, suddenly called out. "Eddie Lawson!"

He looked at her enquiringly.

"Why do I have a hickey on my neck?" She hadn't noticed it before, hadn't had a reason to look at her neck in the mirror until she'd leant over and the discolouration had caught her eye in the mirror. She whirled on him, hand on her hip and pinned him with a glare as he looked sheepish.

"I got a little carried away last night?"

"We're not sixteen! I don't have time to hide this!"

"Then don't," he suggested, coming up behind her and resting his hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? Nothing to do with Chris possibly seeing it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said it with a straight face, but she wasn't fooled for a moment. Despite herself, warmth blossomed with her- she might have thought his behaviour towards her deputy was immature, but she couldn't deny the small amount of pleasure and yes, relief that she felt knowing he was jealous over her.

Despite the need for every second he could claw back, Eddie couldn't resist swooping forward to kiss her cheek, letting his lips linger against her skin. "Have a good day."

She smiled, caught hold of his shirt before he could back away and twisted to kiss him properly. "You too." She lightly swiped her thumb over the lipstick stain left behind, too lightly to rub most of it off. There was enough of a stain to be noticeable, the colour different enough to stand out. Let Ronnie and his other colleagues enjoy that, she thought. It served him right for the love bite.

Oblivious, Eddie shouldered his bag, flashed her another smile. "You might want to grab your umbrella," he remembered as he opened the door. "It looks like rain."

Her expression softened. "Thanks."

So in the grand scheme of things, his issue with Chris wasn't that bad, she admitted lightly, reapplying her lipstick.

Her expression remained long after she'd made it to school, slipping into her office just as the bell rang. In retrospect, she shouldn't have been surprised to see Kim sat waiting for her, relief flickering over her expression when Rachel walked in. "Cutting it fine, aren't you?"

"I made it," she defended, dumping her bag down.

"You okay?"

Rachel nodded, coming to sit next to her on the sofa. "Sorry about last night."

"You have nothing to be sorry. Do I?"

She looked at her in confusion, bafflement visible on her face as she wondered why Kim would have anything to apologise for. "Of course not."

"For calling Eddie, Rach," Kim explained patiently, and watched as understanding washed over her expression. Rachel waved a hand in the air, shaking her head.

"No. You did the right thing," she admitted.

Kim blew out a breath. "You two are okay, then?"

"I think so." She leant back, fingers tapping against her leg. "He's not as angry, or as hurt. And I… I should never have lied to him, no matter the reason."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty."

Her lips twisted in amusement, guilt and pain swirling within her at the other woman's words. "Isn't that the truth?"

"Are you okay?"

Rachel shot her a glare. "Don't you start. I get enough of that at home."

"We're allowed to be worried about you!" Kim protested with a laugh, but Rachel just made a face.

"I'm perfectly fine."

Kim didn't look convinced, eyeing her worriedly. "Are you?"

She didn't notice Rachel stiffen, the way her expression tightened at the reminder of how much she'd revealed to the other woman the evening before. A part of her regretted that now, hated that Kim knew so much about her. The other part of her knew she hadn't had much other choice last night- she'd needed someone, and she dreaded to think where she would be with Eddie if Kim hadn't called him. "Everything is fine."

Kim didn't believe her for a second, but nodded, accepting the answer. "Did you see the email I sent you about the new safeguarding policies?"

The frisson of tension within Rachel eased, even as she nodded. This she could do without issue, school and policies and misbehaving teenagers... this was easy.

W.R.

Long after darkness had fallen that evening, Eddie finally pulled up outside the house, silently cursing staff meetings that should have been an email. He could see a glow from the living room windows, the lights that told him somebody else was home and he couldn't deny how nice that was, knowing that the house wasn't going to be empty when he stepped inside.

It was even less empty than he'd thought. As soon as he was through the door, Michael came barrelling out of the kitchen, throwing himself at him before he'd even had time to react. "Hey bud! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sleeping here tonight!"

His brow had furrowed, movement from the kitchen doorway attracting his attention. Rachel shrugged a shoulder. "Alison called. She was looking for you, asked if she could drop him off today instead of tomorrow."

Puzzling, Eddie thought, but shrugged it off. "Did you eat already?"

"We made pizza!" Michael announced proudly, beaming up at Rachel.

"Yours is in the oven."

Eddie smiled. "It smells delicious." And five minutes later he was parked with it on his lap, Michael engrossed in The Lion King and Rachel curled up at the other end of the sofa, smiling along with the jokes. And when the film took a turn, and Michael inevitably got scared, he scrambled up and onto Rachel's lap. Eddie enjoyed the look of surprise on her face, the split second where she froze in surprise before her brain caught up and she wrapped her arms around the small boy, murmuring assurances to him.

By the time Pumba and Timon were talking about grub, Michael was fine again, but remained where he was, snuggled into her shoulder and as Eddie looked at them, the jolt that hit him took his breath away. The woman he was in love with and the little boy who meant so much to him- he wanted this forever.

Rachel caught sight of him staring at them with the oddest expression on his face, and quirked an eyebrow at him, silently questioning what he was thinking. But how could he put it into words? He shook his head at her, so instead she held her hand out to him and he willingly discarded the remainder of his food to go to her, revelling in having the two most important people in his life both in his arms. He pressed a kiss to Rachel's temple, and she leant into him. "I love you." She whispered so as not to disturb Michael.

He held her tighter, his other hand stroking over Michael's hair. "I love you too."