Thank you for the reviews.

*Sigh of relief* I think this is the last thing that I have been keeping close to my chest...

And this is set a week after the last chapter.

In Other News

It was the little things that Rachel noticed after Eddie's little comment of 'Unless you are trying to tell me something' that made her wonder whether she might be pregnant.

There was the fact that she was feeling nauseous and she had these weird little headaches that would only go if she drank enough water. Although the one she had that day was being rather stubborn. She was feeling more tired as well, even though she was sure that she was getting the same hours of sleep. Although, she might have been on catch up as she didn't sleep very well in the two weeks that she was away from Eddie.

She looked out of the window, over the car park, as she tried to work out how she felt about it.

She knew how she felt when she found out about her first pregnancy. The fact that she did throw up immediately after seeing the positive result was probably how she felt about it. The problem was the fact that there was only one person that could have been the father to the baby and it was a rather weird train of thought that she had when she decided to keep the baby. Ultimately, she knew that she should have gotten an abortion. It was going to end that way if Danny had realised that baby was his or not.

But it was that weird train of thought that Rachel felt herself going back down, even though she knew that she wanted Eddie's baby. Maybe because it was because she was older or maybe she thought that she might not have the opportunity again.

She knew she needed to get her head around the idea before she said anything to Eddie.

The best part of getting back together with Eddie was that they had literally picked up where they left off. The Melissa headache was solved by Melissa telling Max that she wouldn't be returning, which meant that they didn't have to awkwardly glare at her. It also helped out Philip, who seemed a lot calmer than he had done since he had been moved to Waterloo Road by his mother, unexpectedly.

It was one of those occasions, when Rachel loved the fact that Eddie was so affectionate, that he walked into her office, to her being the only occupant, straight over to her to place a kiss on her lips, leaning over the desk to do so.

"What have I done to deserve that?" She asked.

"Do I need a reason to kiss my fiancée?"

"I suppose not but you seem… overly happy."

"Wouldn't you be?" He paused. "Or did I just get an email to confirm that we are getting married on 1st May at four o'clock in the afternoon?"

"Now that is a reason to be happy."

"So we can still come into work, if that is what you want."

"We can see what is happening closer to the day."

"Like you could leave this place alone for the day."

"You know me too well Lawson."

"Of course I do Mason."

"Eddie." She said before she stopped to work out how she was going to word it. "What… What if… I think I might be pregnant."

She was glad that he didn't say anything straight away. He seemed to be going over the same thought process that she had gone over earlier. Probably with the current problems at school, it probably wasn't the right time for her to think about taking time off. But if she was pregnant, then, as she had sort of worked out earlier, she wouldn't be thinking about having any time off until the new school year. Enough time to sort everything out with Max and Ralph.

"Christ." He said.

"I haven't done a test yet."

"But you guess that something is up."

"The headaches. I have been feeling rather nauseous. Not actually been sick at the moment. Could have been yesterday lunchtime." She paused. "Max brought… something in the office and honestly, I thought I was going to throw up at the smell of it. Anything he does just irritates me, but that isn't anything new. I just feel like I have a shorter fuse."

Eddie smiled at her and she knew what the next words would be, that was if Max hadn't walked into the office, interrupting them. An interruption that annoyed both of them.

"Rachel, we have a meeting with the governors later. I need to see what you plan to say about the agenda."

"Why?" She said a little too sharply.

"So that we are on the same page." He turned to Eddie. "Your presence won't be needed."

That annoyed Rachel more. Her assumption was that the Head and Deputy were required to be at the governors' meetings. Not the Head and Executive Head. Or, probably in Max's head, the Executive Head and Head.

Eddie, trying to stare Max down, wasn't helping, other than putting a smile on her face. Even more so when he leant forward to give her another kiss.

"I'll see you at home then. I'll… nip to the shops on the way home. Get you the thing that you want."

"Thank you, Eddie."

He left without another word and she was left with Max. Meaning a fun-packed afternoon for her. Not.

The tiredness, nausea and headache felt worse by the time she got home and the smells of what Eddie was cooking wasn't helping either. The nausea seemed to be worse in the evenings and she knew that, if she was pregnant, then she would have to make some changes. Not that she wanted to miss out on Eddie's wonderful cooking. She took a couple of deep breaths before she took off her shoes and placed her bags next to Eddie's at the bottom of the stairs.

She walked into the kitchen and stopped herself from gagging at the smell. The more she thought about it, the more she knew that she was. That didn't stop her from staring at the box on the side.

"We need to find out either way," Eddie said after he turned to the box before turning back to what he was doing.

"I know. Just… What if this isn't the greatest timing?"

"End of October, beginning of November is what I estimate. Not that… I know your cycles."

She gave a short laugh. "Nor do I really at the moment. The… fire kinda put me… out of sync."

"Obviously not completely."

"How long until that is ready?" She said as she walked over and grabbed the box.

"About 15 minutes. Why?"

"This should only take three. Why don't I go and do it and then, if you want, you can join me for the three minute wait."

"Eager to find out?"

"Well, if it isn't this, then something else is wrong with me."

"You go. I'll be with you in a bit."

She gave him a smile before she headed upstairs.

"Do you like wearing my clothes?" Eddie asked as he walked into the bathroom.

At that, Rachel dropped the collar of his jumper from her nose and shook down the sleeves so that her hands were covered.

"I was cold and it was there."

"I don't mind. I think you have done it so much now that… I kinda like seeing my clothes on you."

She laughed. "I think it is more of a sign that I am extremely comfortable with you. I did it with a few of Mark's clothes and got to the stage where I would have started to with Ollie." She paused. "And I really like your smell. I need to find what aftershave you use because you can never run out of it."

He walked over to her and slid down the wall to sit next to her. He held out his hand for her to take, which she did, settling them on his knee.

"Don't want to ask, but how did the meeting go?"

She groaned. "Other than wanting it to be over as soon as I walked into the room. I just wish this headache would go."

"Is it really hurting you that much?"

"Might have to try and go to the doctors. The constant nausea is getting me. I don't think that is helping the headache. But I don't feel like eating."

"Maybe. I can always come with you."

She nodded. "Do you want to know the worst part of the meeting?"

"Probably not but you are going to tell me."

"Max. Taking all the bloody credit. The Kellys? Apparently, Max has turned them all around and Rose is better off because of Max. I mean, it was obviously Earl that was the reason that they kept being moved around. Probably Rose had a part to play in that as well. But I was the one to give her that job in the canteen. Although, I wasn't about to tell them that I had argued with her for half an hour about how I knew what it was like to be an alcoholic. I turned her around because I showed her that, if you want to, you can better yourself."

"I'll agree with that."

"And then Ralph had to go and praise him for bringing back Kim. Tom was doing fine in Pastoral Care."

"Although, you have to admit that he is a better Head of English than Grantly was."

"That is not the point, Eddie. It is still my school. I sat there, in that meeting, and." She sighed. "I didn't feel like the headteacher. I felt like I was there, meant to be taking notes or something. I wonder… this is bigger than Ralph not trusting my decisions. I think they are trying to push me out of the school."

She could tell that Eddie was trying to come up with an argument that would control her overthinking but the timer went off on her phone and he turned to her.

"Is that it?" He said.

"Yeah."

"How do you want to do this?"

She looked at their hands, still intertwined. There was only one answer to that question.

"Together."

He smiled at her before he stood up and pulled her up. They only let go of their hands when they reached the sink and Eddie hugged her from behind. He placed a kiss on her cheek as she picked the test up.

"Ready?" She said.

"As I'll ever be."

She took a deep breath before she flipped it over for them to see the result. She could already sense Eddie's excitement and it helped hers.

"Pregnant." She breathed.

"Oh, God."

"I know."

"Right."

Rachel started laughing as she tilted her head back to rest her forehead on his chin. Things might not have been perfect for them overall but that moment, everything felt right and the anxiety she felt earlier about the pregnancy was gone. She knew Eddie would be there for her. Like he always was.

"I'm pregnant." Rachel said as they laid in bed.

Eddie laughed. Her head was resting on his shoulder as her left hand rested on her stomach while her right hand was in Eddie's, outstretched on the pillow.

"Has it hit you again?"

"Yeah."

"I guess Jane and Sally will be the first to know."

"Of course. But not just yet. Let's get to the first scan before we start telling anyone."

"Scared?"

She looked up at him. "May have looked up a few things. Miscarriage is higher in older women."

"Then we will take it week by week."

"Why are you so level-headed?"

"One of us has to be."

"I'll also keep a track of when I feel most sick. It feels like it is the evenings. But now as I know that is… what is happening, I can adapt."

"So you'll be trying to have bigger meals in the morning."

"Probably. Means I am going to miss out on your excellent cooking."

"I can't wait for the weird cravings."

"No wonder I have been craving pineapple all day."

"Pineapple?"

"If it is fruit that I am craving at the moment, I don't mind stocking up on that." She paused for a moment before she let go of his hand and sat up. "This is the part I am going to hate." She said as she pulled back the covers and ran for the bathroom.

She was certain that Eddie wasn't far behind her as she managed to get to the toilet in time. He arrived, with a glass of water, as she felt like she could sit back. She smiled at him as she leant back on the tiles. She took a sip of the water as he sat down on the edge of the bath.

"You don't have to stay up." She said.

He shook his head. "I am with you every step of the way. Even if that means staying up all night because you are being sick. I mean… a man definitely came up with the term morning sickness."

Rachel laughed. "Yeah. I would agree with that."

"It is cold in here. Let me get something for you to wear." Eddie said, as he walked over to her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled as he left, so glad that she came to her senses before she found out that she was pregnant. Because she would need Eddie's unwavering support. Mainly just to get her to a stage where she knew that the pregnancy was safe.