For a long moment, there was only silence as she stared at him with wide eyes. Until she surged forward and kissed him.

The suddenness of it reminded Eddie of that first kiss, downstairs after an awful day. Only this time, he already knew how her body melded against him, and how soft her hair was when he ran his fingers through it. He already knew the feel of her lips against his and yet somehow it never seemed routine.

This kiss was different. It shouldn't have been, but there was something behind it that there hadn't been before and he couldn't stop himself from pulling her as close to him as physically possible, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck, wrapped up completely in each other to the exclusion of all else, even breathing. Rachel was usually carefully reserved in school, afraid of being caught and looking unprofessional. Now, she threw caution to the wind and Eddie was hardly going to complain.

So wound up in each other, neither noticed how much time had passed until oxygen was becoming an issue, and they broke apart solely out of necessity. Even then, neither moved away, remaining pressed together as they tried to catch their breaths, eyes still closed and heads leaning against each other. Eddie stroked his thumb over her cheek, and managed half a grin. "I should make emotional declarations more often."

She smiled at him, opening her eyes to meet his gaze. "I wouldn't mind. You may want to hold off doing it publicly though- things are about to get very messy around me."

He frowned. "Rachel, you know I wouldn't care about that."

"I would," she said firmly. When his expression remained, she caught hold of his hand and interlaced their fingers. "Eddie, if this goes as wrong as it has the potential to, there is going to be a lot of uproar and a lot of change in this school. You need to be here for that, to help the staff and the kids. Something you won't be able to do if you've lost your job because you were associated with me. It's going to be complicated enough with the staff knowing."

"They won't be able to fire me for being involved with you."

"No, they'd find another reason. Or another head, who would find a way to push you out," she pointed out gently, but he still didn't look happy.

"I'm not going to moderate myself because of how other people might take it," he said resolutely. "If it takes me losing my job to stand beside you, so be it."

She sighed. "You're so stubborn."

"Now who does that remind me of?" He grinned, leaning over to kiss her again. It hadn't escaped his notice that she hadn't returned his sentiments verbally, but that was okay. He knew.

Eddie walked away feeling like he was flying, high on the adrenaline and still trying to catch his breath back from their little encounter. He spent the rest of the day in the same, both of them too busy to do much more than share a smile as she walked past his classroom on a mission. He knew they'd have a lot to discuss that even, plans to put in place and scenarios to discuss but for the minute, he was basking in the afterglow. He kept the same mood right until they were sat at the dinner table, food eaten and the serious conversation ready to be had. The next day would possibly be the biggest one of Rachel's career and he wanted to be there for her every step of the way, so wanted to make sure he said this now before it was too late. "If you leave Rach, I'm going too."

Rachel looked at him as if he was reciting a mathematic equation, brows furrowed in utter confusion. She'd expected to get straight down to the next day, to think of what she wanted to say and how she could possibly sway the LEA to her favor and away from Stuart's. Eddie's statement had completely thrown her off course of that though, and she had to remember to pick up her jaw. "Don't be so stupid." She finally replied, dismissing his comment in an attempt to get him to see how utterly ridiculous he was being.

Only Eddie wasn't giving in, he shook his head and took hold of her hand to ensure he had her full attention. "I can't be there without you, not now. Especially if it's not your choice, if you're forced out, how can I carry on like normal after that?"

As much as she appreciated the statement, she still wondered if she was living in a parallel universe where Eddie ever thought that was going to be a thing that happened. "You just have to. For the kids Eddie, and for me."

"What do you mean?"

Rachel took a deep breath, pulling one hand from Eddie's grip and lifting it up to cup his face, stroking his cheek tenderly with his thumb. "It'll all be worth it, if I lose it all but get to keep you. If I've been through all this but you're still there? I'm okay with that." She admitted, her eyes filling with tears at the enormity of what she was admitting. "What I can't have is you leaving with me during some grand romantic gesture, for you to hate me in months or years to come. I can't handle that, I just can't." She didn't know what it was about those 3 words that scared her so much, but they always seemed to be on the tip of her tongue without her being able to actually get them out. She only hoped that Eddie knew how she truly felt about him.

He lifted his own hand to wipe away the tear that had made its way down her face, moving to press his forehead against hers. "I could never hate you sweetheart." This was definitely not the way he imagined this conversation to be going.

"I can't take the chance. I leave if I have to, and you stay. It should have been your job anyway."

"I'm more than glad it wasn't." Finally at that, he smiled and was rewarded with one from her too. He pressed a kiss to her lips and decided to carry on discussing the next day, his plans for the future could be determined when they knew their next steps and what was happening with Stuart once and for all.

But Eddie didn't get the chance to speak to her, not before her first visitor of the day arrived. "Colin. Thank you so much for coming."

"I have to admit, I'm intrigued." The man entered her office, sat on the sofa and accepted the drink she offered him. "This is unusual, Rachel," he said as she sat down as well. "What was so important I meet you immediately?"

"There are two reasons," she admitted. "If I'm honest, the first is simply that I couldn't face a big group. The second is that we've known each other long enough that I'd rather you found this out from me."

He looked concerned. The pair may not have been friends in the classic sense of the word, but he liked the younger woman, admired her spirit and her ability to in changing schools around. "Are you in some sort of trouble?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes," she admitted frankly. "You asked me yesterday about Stuart Hordley's antagonism towards me."

"Tell me you didn't do something foolish."

She smiled bitterly. "Not in the way you're thinking. A few months ago, before the bids had even been accepted, he approached me. He'd found out something about my past, and attempted to blackmail me into getting his bid into the running."

Colin stared at her. "Attempted?"

"I refused," she said, avoiding his gaze. "At which point he threatened one of my students. The combination of his threats… I did as he asked. And then he asked for more."

He groaned, but remained silent as she explained everything that had happened, laying out quite plainly everything she had done, that he had done, the effects it had had. And the current situation, as it was. Colin leant back, digesting everything. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Stuart has made it clear that at this point, he cares more about ruining me than any sort of self-preservation. I can't stop him, but I can get ahead."

He nodded, pressed his lips together. "I'm aware I probably don't want to know this, but it's going to be asked at some point, so it might as well be now. What was it he found out about your past?"

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. There really was no going back now. "My name wasn't always Rachel Mason," she said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I changed it when I was nineteen. Before that… before that, I was Amanda Fenshaw and I… I was a prostitute."