Thank you for the reviews.
So, making our way back to the episodes, and we are on S03E17. Set two weeks after the last chapter.
And, by the end, I think we will all be Eddie.
A Little Snag
If Eddie wasn't being a huge support, Rachel was sure that she would have cared more about how he was constantly picking her up to take her to work and dropping her home again. It was Mika who gave her the perfect excuse, saying that they were car-sharing, hoping that no one was going to look up to see that they didn't really live close enough for the car-sharing to impact on the environment.
It was one of the rare occasions when she had driven herself in that she realised that maybe everything wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. She hadn't seen Danny since the whole Martin situation and she wanted to keep it that way. Plus there was the fact that Eddie had spent every day of the last two weeks either leaving something on her desk or just did something that would always make her smile. It made her excited to come in every morning and she almost had to stop herself from running up the stairs, even more so when she hadn't seen him since he dropped her off the night before.
There was a part of her that was disappointed when Eddie wasn't waiting for her in her office but the smile returned as she noticed the envelope on her desk with her name on it, scribbled in his handwriting.
She placed her bags down and started up her laptop before she picked it up. She knew that he had been working on something, catching him multiple times over the last week with him quickly hiding whatever he was doing from her. This was obviously that.
Rachel was about to sit down and open his latest gift when the phone rang. She placed down the envelope and picked up the phone, at first, she was concerned when it was the builders, who told her that two of her students had ran out in front of two JCBs. There were only people that she could think was stupid enough to do that and Rachel wished that she could have just rolled her eyes at it and told them that they would sort it when she was reminded that she shouldn't be taking it so lightly.
"You are bloody lucky Danny isn't here this morning. He wouldn't stand for this."
"I will send a member of staff down. See if we can sort it."
"Then a heads up. Danny will be here at lunchtime. I don't think you would want him to get involved because I know how he would sort this."
So do I. Rachel thought. Brett would instantly be knocked out and Mika would be glad not to be objectified.
"We will sort it." She said before she put down the phone.
A heavy sigh left her lips as Eddie walked into her office. She wished that she could give him the same smile that graced her lips earlier but she knew that it hadn't completely gone. If this had all been a couple of weeks back, she would be panicking like mad. Now, with Eddie standing there, she knew that they could solve this.
"Your two favourite students are causing trouble again." She said.
"Which two?"
"Two students that are stupid enough to run in front of two JCBs. I'll give you one guess."
"Mika and Brett."
"Danny isn't there but he will be at lunchtime. I suppose that is our deadline."
"I'm on it. I'll see what Tom's timetable is as well. See if he can help out."
She picked up the envelope before he left. "Eddie… thank you. I obviously haven't had the chance to read it yet but… thank you anyway."
"It's no problem."
"And I do get the picture now."
He did surprise her slightly by walking over to her and kissing her, although it wasn't unknown for him to do that sort of thing during the school day. It was something that she secretly loved. Because he was more than happy to be openly affectionate to her when it was normal for her to be the affectionate one.
"Well, I am going to make sure that you do. Because I love you, Rachel Mason."
It was another thing about their relationship. Most of the time, she would have told him the same back, like she had done with past boyfriends. But there was, every so often, a time when he would tell her that he loved her and she didn't feel the need to say it back to him.
She stood up as she grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving. She knew he was going to ask the reason why before she dragged her thumb across his lips, wiping her lipstick off.
"I'll have to remember that this one rubs off on you. Wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious."
He only smiled at her before placing another kiss on her cheek before he set off on his task and she contemplated which task she should start off with.
If there was always one thing she could rely upon, it was that with Waterloo Road, things got a lot worse before they got better. It was the reason why she was currently standing where the builders were meant to be digging, looking up a tree, trying to get Mika to come down. Everyone else had bailed except for her. Once she was down, she would gladly give the eco-warriors, who Mika had contacted, to Danny. She just had to protect her students the best she could and she knew that she couldn't do that with him towering over her, telling her how to do her job.
"I want them down now, or I am calling the police," Danny said.
"You wouldn't."
"Do you want to try me?" He pulled on her arm to turn her towards him. "You know what happened the last time you did that."
She did remember. She almost swiped her thumb over the scar on his cheek to remind him that she equally had enough fight in her as well. It wasn't like he was going to slap her about in front of a crowd. Instead, she pulled her arm from his grip.
"This is my school, Danny." She hissed.
"Then do your damn job."
If it wasn't for Eddie and Tom storming over to them, she would have had more of a battle of words with him but she couldn't risk the fact that Eddie was going to try and knock Danny out at some point for her.
"Mr Sutton, I think you need to calm down." She said louder than their previous conversation.
Rachel didn't really know what she was going to say to Mika but it was either her words or the fact that she had witnessed the war of words between her and Danny, Rachel was just glad when Mika made her way down. It was one less headache and she wished that this just happened hours earlier. She knew what was going to happen and turned into Danny's path, pushing him back slightly. Her eyes flicked to Eddie to let him know that it was okay. This was something that she had to do. She had to finally have the guts to stand up to him, and in front of an audience felt the best way to do that.
"She needs to be punished," Danny shouted at her.
"And she is my pupil and I will deal with her the way that I see fit."
"What? With temporary exclusion? I know how schools work. A slap on the wrists compared to the damage she has done to this project."
"And if you know how schools work, then you know I can't allow you to get anywhere near her."
He took a step closer to her.
"Don't be brave Mandy." He whispered. "It doesn't suit you."
"That is where you are wrong. Because I am no longer Mandy or Amanda. I am Rachel and I am not going to play your little game again." She whispered back.
He started laughing and tried to sidestep her. She moved back into his path and found the strength to push him back. She tried to tell herself that it was the right thing to do but she knew that she didn't completely believe the words that she had just said and maybe he would kick-off, even with an audience, if she didn't do something soon.
"Mr Sutton, I no longer want you on the premise. Mr Lawson, Mr Clarkson, will you make sure he leaves please?" She paused for a moment. "And don't worry, I'll be on the phone to Stuart. I no longer want you to project manage this site. And if you are found on the premises, I won't hesitate to call the police." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Because I can only assume that you never lost that part of your business by the white powder on your fingers. From what I gather, that is quite the heafy sentence."
She didn't like his smile or the way that she didn't think that he was going to leave. He was obviously just weighing up his options before he huffed and then turned on his heel and left. She nodded at Eddie when he glanced over at her. She wanted to make sure that he was gone.
Eddie was unsure about what he was going to say as he waited for Rachel to finish up with Mika. Like Brett and their demands, his letter to her was superfluous. The events of the day had shown that, even though she was scared of Danny, she could stand up to him. But he suspected that because there were more than just the three of them, it was the reason that Danny wasn't as crude as he usually was.
He gave Mika a smile, hoping that, for the moment at least, she was going to calm down her ecowarrior campaign. Rachel was right. It was good that she did have a set of values. He just hoped that Mika would use a different way to get what she wanted.
He pushed himself out of the chair and made his way into Rachel's office. He could already tell that the day's events had drained her, so much that he thought about asking her around to his for dinner. They could have a glass of wine and talk through it over something that he had made for them.
She held up the envelope. "Still haven't found the time to read it."
"What it says isn't important now. What is important is that I am so proud of you for standing up to him."
"I don't think I would have had the same strength if there wasn't you, Tom, Mika, four eco-warriors and 20 odd builders. He was right. I do remember the last time I tried to stand up to him and I remember what he did. Terrified… that he was going to… slap me about like he did back then."
He wanted to ask the question but he didn't want to know the answer. She had started to tell him about all the little marks over her body and he didn't know how to react half the time. Anger towards Danny or admiration for her and the fight that she'd had.
"You know the scar on his left cheek?" She said, pausing long enough for him to nod. "I did that. We had keys to our rooms because if you weren't working, you didn't really want to be disturbed. He… was already in my room and pushed me up against a wall and I fought back. Just tried to get him to stop and the key slipped between my index and middle finger and… I just swiped against his cheek. Got him to stop. Temporarily."
Eddie let that hang in the air for a moment, not really wanting to find out what Danny did next.
"I know it isn't going to bring you a load of comfort, but he did go without too much fuss."
"I think you know what I am going to say."
"That this is far from over?" He sighed. "I know but I am going to be with you every step of the way. I am going to try and keep you safe."
It was the smile and the slow nod that made him think that she was believing his words more. It was a start but he knew that they both had to start somewhere. She obviously wasn't used to this level of support from anyone other than Jane and Sally, which was understandable, and he knew that he would never 'fix' her but he hoped that she would know that he was always going to be there for her, through the good and the bad.
"I think we should go out at the weekend." She said. "My treat."
"I'm sorry. Your treat?"
"Yes, Mr Lawson. Can't I buy you dinner?"
"In theory, yes."
"In theory?"
"But in reality, I am far too much of a gentleman to let that happen."
She shook her head at him as she stood up to gather her things together. "I don't know what it is about you, Lawson."
"What do you mean Mason?"
She waited until she had got her bags together and her coat over her arm before she stood in front of him, flashing him the same dazzling smile that he loved.
"Just… where have you been all my life?"
"Don't you believe in fate?"
"Don't tell me you do?"
"Of course I do. Because us meeting, as we have done, was a complete coincidence."
"I don't think that you thought that for the first couple of weeks."
"No. But it was like that night Sally found you. Everything was leading up to this moment."
"You, Eddie Lawson, are a soppy sod."
"A soppy sod who is completely and utterly in love with you."
"I know." She paused. "And I am completely and utterly in love with you too."
He nodded towards the door and he knew that she had got the message and that it was enough sappiness for one day. Although she did surprise him by grabbing his hand as they started to make their way down the stairs. If anything it felt entirely appropriate. Because there were times when she made him feel like a teenager and holding her hand, in the playground, was something he found himself wanting to do more.