All I can say is sorry... *hides face* Thanks to everyone for reviewing and reading! x

Eddie was sat in a house that, oddly, was peaceful. Michael was with his mother, Rachel had yet to come home and he had no marking to do, no paperwork, nothing but to sit and wait for his sauce to finish simmering. He'd put a load of washing on, washed up the dishes left from breakfast, even given the kitchen a quick clean as he tidied up from making the sauce. There really was nothing to do. It was a nice feeling, if a little odd.

Odd enough that he was strangely glad when he heard Rachel arriving home, enjoying the way he knew exactly what she was doing just by listening to her footsteps. First, the clack of her boots as she crossed to hang up her jacket and her bag, followed by the faint zipping sound of those same boots being removed and stowed away. Then fainter footsteps as she put her laptop on the table, before he could hear her coming towards him, pausing for a split second at the living room, presumably to check for his presence.

"You're home late." He loved the way she slid straight into his arms without hesitation, winding herself around him.

"The oddest thing happened. I was doing the interviews-,"

"The healthy living thing?" Eddie checked, and she nodded.

"That's it. Well, there was this one guy who didn't turn up, and his name rang such a bell with me. Turned out he'd been helping Ruby all day, so I went to find him at the end of the day and when I saw him, I realised I went to school with him."

Eddie immediately stiffened. "Did he cause problems?"

"No, nothing like that." She waved him off. "It was just such a surprise to see him."

There was something she wasn't saying, he recognised, watching her carefully even as he kept his tone mild. "Were you close?"

She considered, leaning back against him. "He was a friend. He mostly hung around on the fringes of the group I was a part of, but he never knew anything about my home life. I don't think I was close to anyone at that point."

"So it was a good surprise then?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "It wasn't a bad one at least."

"I'm glad." He pressed a kiss to her hair, rested his chin in her head. "I've got pasta on for dinner."

"Sounds wonderful." She made no effort to move, content where she was for the time being and Eddie couldn't stop the twitch of his lips at her.

"Are you alright?" He frowned when she nodded, but was chewing her lip in a way that told him she wasn't. "Rach?"

"I've never actually told someone before," she said quietly. His brow furrowed.

"You told me?"

"No, you found out," she corrected. "Just like everyone else did. I've confirmed what people already knew, but I've never actually..." she trailed off, waving a hand and looming distinctly uncomfortable.

"Than don't tell him?"

She snorted. "You do remember what school I work in?"

He had to give her that one. "If an entire school can accept your past, then I'm fairly certain this guy from your childhood can."

She shifted to look at him, fingers picked at the hem of her top. "What if he doesn't? What if he's the one says..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it aloud. Eddie frowned- he wasn't sure where this was coming from, and he certainly didn't understand why this guy's opinion mattered to her so much.

"Who cares?" He tucked a lock of her hair back behind her ear. "Rach, what does it matter what he thinks? If he loses out on being your friend because of something so ridiculous, then that's his loss, not yours."

He didn't understand, Rachel thought, but didn't voice that aloud, instead resting her head against him. She would have to tell Adam before Steph got to him, or before anyone else figured out they already knew each other. Even if the very idea made her feel nauseous. But she appreciated his words, the intent behind them, and closed her eyes against him. "I love you."

She felt his lips brush against her hair, and all of a sudden wanted them somewhere else entirely. She wanted to forget, to feel nothing but Eddie and everything that he encompassed. She raised her head, stretched up to press her mouth against his. And then again. And again, and before either of them knew it she was perched on the kitchen side, legs wrapped around Eddie's waist and all thoughts of Adam Fleet were the furthest thing from her mind.

W.R.

A few days later, and Eddie's words weren't helping much as Rachel waited in her office long after school had finished, the car park outside empty apart from her car, and those of a handful of cleaners. It had taken her a little while to decide on a location for this- she needed to keep it professional, for her own sanity, to maintain some distance but at the same time, having other people around would have caused more than a few issues. Adam had been mildly puzzled when she contacted him, asked him to come to the school at the specific time. But he hadn't questioned it, for which Rachel was grateful. It had saved her having to think of a response.

Her door was open, so she heard the sound of someone approaching long before she could see them, and looked up when she heard a faint knock. Adam was smiling at her. "I'm not late, am I?"

"Right on time." Her mouth was dry, heart pounding so loudly she wondered if it was audible as she gestured for him to sit on the sofa, rising from her desk to join him. Adam was looking at her curiously.

"So what's all this about then? Because something tells me it's not work related."

She swallowed hard. "It is, in a roundabout sort of way. You wondered the other day, why I'd changed my name. And before you sign the final paperwork and agree to work here… you need to hear why. And then decide if you still want the job."

Adam was frowning at her, his attention fixed on what she was saying and she wasn't sure if that was helping or hindering her ability to speak. He looked even more intrigued than before, shifting his weight. "Okay. I'm listening."

Rachel took a deep breath.

It was almost an hour later than Eddie was sat outside the familiar school, leant against his car as he waited for the headmistress to make an appearance. He knew what was happening inside, wished he could see and find out if it was going well or badly. But he'd promised not to interfere, so was consigned to sitting here, waiting, just as he'd been for the last half an hour.

His fingers tapped anxiously, gaze flicking between the door and the window of Rachel's office. What could possibly be taking them so long? It seemed like an eternity was passing as he waited, ice settled into the pit of his stomach. There was so much that could go wrong here, so much that could hurt Rachel. And there was nothing anyone could do to protect her from it.

Even as he thought it, he saw movement. Relief punched into him when he saw that Rachel was smiling, head turned as she said something to the man behind her. Adam, Eddie presumed, watching with narrowed eyes as they emerged from the building together, bags in hand, both relaxed and happy and he couldn't have taken it badly, if Rachel had that expression on her face. Assuming she'd gone through with it.

Adam said something, caused Rachel to laugh as she shook her head. And Eddie blinked, and all of a sudden the pair were hugging, just for a second before Rachel pulled away and headed towards her car, calling out a goodbye Eddie could just barely make out as she did so. She lifted her head, spotted him waiting and her smile lit up her face as she veered off into his direction instead.

"What are you doing here?"

He caught her in his arms, brushed the briefest of kisses against the corner of her mouth. "I was worried about you. How did it go?"

"Better than I could have dreamed." She was almost giddy, arms looped around his neck. "He didn't even falter, Eddie. Took a few seconds to process and then just nodded and commented that now he understood the name change."

Eddie managed to smile at her, return the kiss she stretched up to press against his mouth. "I'm happy for you."

"And now I have a new hire," she said cheerfully. She kissed him again, then once more for good measure. "I feel like celebrating. Wine and a Chinese at home?"

"Whatever you want."

She grinned at him, rounded the car and it was only then that he let his expression drop slightly. How was it that this guy who barely knew Rachel had accepted everything so easily? When Eddie had taken a week before he could even face her about it, and over a month before he'd come to terms with it? He plastered on a blank expression as he climbed into the driver's seat, but inside, his stomach was knotted and heavy.

He drifted through the evening, responding in murmurs and hums and Rachel watched him surreptitiously, testing the waters every so often. To her joy, he responded to each one of her touches, still absently trailed his fingers across her shoulder when he walked past her, took the tomatoes from her plate without even thinking about it. All of which confirmed the issue wasn't her, she thought, and continued to watch him.

Eddie was in bed before Rachel, pretending to read a book but in reality, he was brooding, mulling over the past in his mind. With the benefit of hindsight, he could recognise that a lot of his bad reaction to Rachel's past had been due to shock- it had been the last thing in the world he'd expected, after all. And another large part had been anger, over the lies she'd told and the possibilities surrounding Stuart Hordley's involvement that he'd come up. But her actual past, the things she'd done? They'd never spoken about it, not beyond Eddie reassuring her that he didn't care. And that was the truth, her past held no bearing over their present.

But all that time ago, when he'd first held those papers and realised what they were telling him? The honest answer was he didn't know. In a perfect world, he would like to say that part of the whole saga had never been an issue, but the truth was he wasn't sure. Something inside him had been sickened, but whether it was due to the situation or the other elements or who she'd been… he couldn't say either way, and he wasn't likely to figure it out two years after the fact.

It was knowledge that sat uncomfortably in his chest.

Eddie was so distracted by his thoughts, that he didn't even notice Rachel leant against the doorway of the bedroom, studying him. And he paid little attention when she rounded the bed, settled on her knees next to him. But he certainly focused on her when she reached out, plucked the book from his hand and tossed it away.

"You, Eddie Lawson, are the silliest man I've ever met. You know that?"

He settled back, eyes fixed on her. "Probably," he agreed. "But just so we're on the same page, you want to tell me why?"

Her expression softened, her fingers brushing along his jaw. "You think I don't know why you've been in such a funny mood tonight?"

"I haven't-,"

"Eddie." Her voice was flat, and his mouth closed with a snap. Rachel settled over him, leant on one arm as her fingertip traced his face. "I love you," she emphasised. "I am happy that Adam is working with us, because he a fantastically passionate chef who will make a different to the kids. And I am beyond thrilled that's he's taken my past so well, because being judged and decried is not a lot of fun for anyone. But I have never held any ill-will against you for your reaction when you found out."

She really did know him, Eddie thought ruefully. He rolled slightly, so that he could face her and after a moment she settled down next to him, both on their sides, face to face, no hiding. "I was an idiot," he murmured but she shook her head.

"Of course you weren't."

He reached out, trailed his fingers across her cheek. "I reacted badly."

"You weren't the first or the last. Grantley still hasn't gotten over it."

Her joke provoked a twitch of his lips, but nothing more. "Adam seems okay with it," he pointed out softly.

"Last time I checked you weren't Adam." She turned her head, kissed his fingers. "Sweetheart, I know you're feeling bad but trust me when I say your reaction was actually fairly tame. It could have been a lot worse."

He looked sceptical. "How?"

"You could have called me a few choice words, like Melissa did," she remembered. "Could have outed me to other people, or blackmailed me yourself into quitting. Or worse."

Eddie looked horrified. "I'd never do that!"

"I know." She entwined their hands. "That's my point. Darling, you're beating yourself up over something that happened two years ago. Please stop, there's no need."

He sighed. "I just can't help but think that if Adam is able to accept it so quickly, then why couldn't I?"

"It's not the same," she argued. "Adam hasn't seen me in twenty years. You'd been working with me practically every day for months, and there was the added complications of Stuart Hordley and… everything else that happened. It isn't a fair comparison. Eddie, please, stop this. You have nothing to feel bad enough."

But he shook his head. "I remember the look on your face," he whispered, and she faltered, falling silent. "You looked like the floor had fallen away from underneath you when I told you I know. When we argued, afterwards, the things I said… you were heartbroken, however much you tried to hide it. I hurt you, over and over again."

"And you apologised," she reminded him. "And then proceeded to be my biggest support. Eddie…" She cupped his face in her hand, silently begging him to hear what she was saying. "Please let this go. It's over, and you have nothing to feel badly about."

He pulled her towards him, buried his face in her hair while she curled into him, held him tightly. Adam didn't have this, Eddie thought, breathing in deeply. This was theirs.