Thank you for the reviews.

I haven't done secret Santa in years. But I definitely remembered that it usually had to be done twice in my friendship group because no one kept it a secret.

And there is a little hark back to previous chapters...

Set during 2007 and series 3.

Day Ten
Secret Santa

Rachel understands that Secret Santa is a good idea but hates doing it. Eddie doesn't mind, especially as he has Rachel as the one he needs to buy a gift for and he already has the perfect gift in mind.

Word count: 1,807

"And if there isn't anything else." Rachel said as she finished up the staff briefing.

"There is," Steph said. "Just we are pulling names out for Secret Santa at lunchtime. Everyone needs to be here."

Rachel may have been a different school, but that didn't mean that things ever changed. Most of the schools that she had worked at did Secret Santa at Christmas and every year, she hated the idea more. More so because she hadn't been at Waterloo Road for long. So she had no idea what to get whoever she was going to get.

"Thanks, Steph." Rachel said. "Have a good week."

Eddie fell in step next to her and she knew that he probably was the best person to get her grievances about Secret Santa out with. Maybe he would understand and agree with her.

"Did you know about the Secret Santa?" She asked.

"No. It is my first Christmas here as well."

"Yeah, but you have been here since September."

"Do you not like Secret Santa?"

"Do you like it?"

Eddie shrugged. "I don't mind it."

"I have enough trouble thinking about what I am going to get Melissa and Philip without adding someone I barely know into the mix."

"So you don't like it."

"I just hate coming up with something."

"Then go for some generic. A nice mug or something like that. A bottle of cheap booze if you get Steph."

"I think a little more thought should go into it than that."

"Like you said, you haven't been here long. You can spend next year thinking up what to get people as you get to know them a bit better."

"I thought you only gave me six months."

"Maybe… now that I've got to know you, maybe you'll last a little longer."

"Meaning you only wanted me to last six months in hope that you could then take the job."

"Nothing like that."

"Really?"

"Well, you have a school to run, Miss Mason. I've got double year 12s." Eddie said as they stopped outside of his classroom.

"Yeah… don't envy you there. I definitely don't miss being in the classroom. Especially this time of year."

"I've given into my year sevens and dug out my Christmas worksheets. Obviously still using maths."

"Naturally. I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Mr Lawson."

Rachel left him to his class, wondering whether Eddie was right with his comment about getting a generic present and whether she could start to look some up.

Eddie did understand where Rachel was coming from when she said that she disliked Secret Santa but he could not be more thrilled when he reached into the bowl and picked out the name. Although he felt like Rachel should be slightly happier that she had to pick first, with her being the headteacher. Meaning, as the deputy, Eddie had the second choice. After them, it was a free for all but they had to check that they didn't have their own name before it went onto the next person.

In fact, Eddie was rather happy with who he got and turned the paper away and put it in his pocket as Rachel tried to look over his shoulder, giving her a look to tell her that the whole part of it was that it was meant to be a secret.

"Oh come on." She whispered.

"It's meant to be a secret."

"You can see who I've got."

"That isn't the point of it."

"Oh come on."

Steph did a quick reminder that they were to spend a tenner and that the present needed to be brought in on the last day of term with the piece of paper they pulled out on the present.

Eddie knew that Rachel was going to follow him out and he knew that she was going to try and get him to say who he had. He wasn't going to say who he had. No matter how much she asked him.

"Come on, Eddie," Rachel asked.

"No."

"Why not? You haven't got me, have you?"

"I'm not telling you."

"I've got Steph."

"You obviously don't understand the secret part."

"Come on. I bet Steph and Matt will tell each other who they got. People don't keep this a secret. They only keep it a secret from who they are buying for."

"I'm not telling you."

"Oh come on Eddie. Please. We might be able to come up with some ideas together."

"Rachel, asking me in a number of different ways isn't going to make me tell you. Plus I already told you what to do with Steph. Just keep it simple."

Eddie was quite glad that Rachel huffed and carried on passing his classroom, heading to her office. He sighed as he walked into his classroom, getting the bit of paper out of his pocket before he sat down, looking at the name written there. It wasn't long before the smile rose on his face as he realised what he could get them.

It was absolutely perfect. Like it was fate that he had chosen that bit of paper.

He read Rachel's name one last time before he placed the bit of paper into his wallet so he didn't lose it. All he needed to do was go out and buy it.

"Shall we start with the bosses first?" Steph said, handing out the two gifts to both Rachel and Eddie.

Rachel was still apprehensive about the whole thing. She had taken Eddie's advice in the end and got Steph a bottle of alcohol. So to feel how light her present was, she had no clue what it could be or who had given it to her.

"Ladies first," Eddie said.

She noticed the smile on Eddie's face and she knew that she had been right. He wouldn't tell her who he had because he had her. It was pretty much confirmed when she opened up the present to find out that it was a Christmas jumper. A rather plain Christmas jumper but she knew that he knew that she would want to be subtle about it.

She almost turned to him to thank him when she realised that might not be the thing to do. Instead, she watched as he opened his, feeling grateful when he showed her the mug with a naff Maths joke on it that he had been gifted first. Mainly so that they could laugh together over it.

It was clear that before they had even finished, the people that were going off into their own little groups. When she was sure that everyone was distracted enough, she found herself turning to look up at Eddie.

"Thank you." She said.

"What for?"

"I know this is you. Mainly because you are obsessed with a Christmas jumper."

"Well, now you officially own three."

"Officially and forever borrowing your sister's."

"I told you, Alice is fine with it."

They stayed in the staffroom for a bit before someone mentioned the pub, where they all were going to descend on it en masse. Rachel held Eddie back, telling Tom (because he was the most sensible out of them) to start a tab that she would pay off once they got there. She could tell that Eddie was confused by her action but he followed her to her office, where she revealed that she had got him a present.

Eddie told her to give him a minute before he ran out of her office before quickly returning with a present in his hand.

"I know," Eddie said. "But I had already got you this before we did the Secret Santa. You know, as a little something between friends."

Rachel couldn't help but think that it was rather sweet that he had remembered what she had said and the reason why she had got him something. They swapped gifts, with Eddie telling her to go first again. She opened it up to see what he had got her, which happened to be a mug with 'This is my drink' on the front. She didn't know whether it was the naffness of the mug or the memory that it brought up as the reason why she laughed.

"Like it?" He asked.

"Well, I know what I am going to be thinking about when I see it."

"I felt like I could explain the jumper better than that."

"Go on." Rachel said, nodding towards the present in his hand.

She hadn't felt the excitement of someone else opening a gift for a long time and she loved watching his face light up as he saw what she got her.

"Head baker." He said as he turned the apron towards her.

"There is more." She said.

"More?" He said as he looked closer. "Three official gingerbread tester aprons as well."

"You mentioned three helpers."

"I did."

"Just for you all to wear when you make your gingerbread house this year."

Eddie was beaming when he looked up at her again. "Thank you. They are wonderful. I can't wait to see what the girls think of them."

Rachel knew that she had the urge to go up and kiss him on the cheek but she didn't do it, mainly because she didn't know whether they were at that stage yet. Instead, they stood there, smiling widely at each other before she realised the tab that she could imagine was building.

"I think we better get to the pub before they drink it dry with my money." She said.

"They are now going to try and get away with that every time now."

"No, they won't. Because if they try it, they will find out that it might be deducted from their pay packet and reimbursed back to me that way."

"Are you tight with money then?"

"No, I just know how not to be taken on a ride." She picked up her things and walked over to him. "Shall we make a move then Mr Lawson?"

"Of course, Miss Mason."

Rachel didn't want to say it but she was fairly certain that this had been the best Christmas that she had ever had, although she knew that could be ruined by her sister. But she knew who she had to thank for that and it was the brilliant man that she called her deputy. If anything, she knew that she would spend the whole of the Christmas holidays waiting for them to be over. Because she wanted to be at work, with Eddie. She just couldn't wait to explore how their relationship was going to play out.