Thank you for the reviews.

So this is something. I think I always knew how I wanted this one to go but never how to end it...

Set during 2008 (and series 4).

Day Fourteen
Mistletoe

Rachel keeps finding mistletoe in her office and suspects that it is Eddie, although it is actually a different colleague of theirs.

Word count: 2,098

"Mistletoe?" Eddie said.

Rachel turned to look at him to see that he was pointing up at the mistletoe that was hanging over the threshold to her office. They had just returned from having lunch in the canteen, mainly just to check that Steph had remembered that she was on playground duty for the second half of lunch (which surprisingly she did). But Rachel knew that Eddie had hung back for a moment before they made their way down to the canteen. This was obviously what he had planned.

"So that was what you were doing?" She said as she walked over to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Anything to get a kiss from me." She said before she pecked his lips.

He didn't allow her to get away with it that easily, grabbing her by her waist and pulling her towards him so that he could give her a proper kiss. She happily obliged, even though she knew that anyone could walk into her office at any point. Her hands moved from behind his head to his chest so that she could push herself away from him and towards her desk.

"Do you think I put that there?" He asked as she sat down.

"Eddie, why would someone else randomly put some mistletoe in my office?" She said as she looked up at him.

"I don't know. There is always the chance that someone suspects that we are together and they hope to catch us."

"No one would go to that much effort. If they did, I would wonder why they couldn't put that same level of enthusiasm into teaching."

"My money is on Steph."

"Like I said, If she had enough time to plan to do this, then she has enough time to properly plan her lessons, doesn't she?"

She knew that Eddie was trying his luck again as he leant on her desk to be a little closer to her. She could sense that he was slowly leaning towards her. She obligated again, leaning closer to him so that they could kiss one last time before the bell rang.

"Oh, dear Mr Lawson. Looks like you are going to have to go back to your day job." She mumbled against his lips.

"I mean, you can always say that you need my help with… something and I could get my class covered."

"I could." She said before she leant back. "But I am not going to. Because that would set a very bad example now, wouldn't it?"

She could tell that he was weighing up his options before realising that it wasn't going to work with her. He pushed himself back to stand up and gave her a look to tell her that this wasn't over. She was sure that it wasn't over. It just wasn't over in the way that he thought it was.

"And take that with you. We don't want to give people the wrong idea now do we?" She said.

Eddie rolled his eyes at her before he did as she asked and took the mistletoe with him as he left for his class. She knew that she would have to let him know later that he could not do that again under any circumstance. As a joke or not.

Over the next week or so, Rachel kept finding mistletoe around her office, berating Eddie every single time. The last couple of times, she felt like he might have been telling the truth when he said that it wasn't him. But she couldn't think why anyone else would be putting mistletoe in her office.

It had been over the last couple of days that she would just take it down herself and bin it, without saying anything to Eddie. She knew that he wanted to ask the question but hadn't because he was sick of being accused for doing it. She didn't blame him.

"Is it still happening?" He asked once Tom had left them once the management meeting had ended.

"And because you've said that, I owe you an apology."

"I'm sure you can make it up to me in another way."

"That isn't the point. I should be able to trust you when you said that you didn't do it the first time."

"Just are you going to go into the staffroom and try and accuse one of them?"

"No way. Because the thing is you are probably right. This has probably been Steph."

"You've got to say something."

"And if I do then I am bound to get a comment back along the lines of 'Can't Mr Lawson keep his hands to himself?' or 'Doesn't Mr Lawson do it for you?'"

"Well, we know that one of those questions is a yes and one is a no."

"Yes, you definitely can't keep your hands to yourself."

"I can't help that I always feel like I need to show you the love that I have for you."

Rachel leant over and placed a peck on his lips. It was the most that she allowed herself to do at work at that stage of their relationship. She didn't mind if they took things slow and took their time with it. It was Eddie that wanted to take things at 100 mph. If she allowed it to go that fast, she was sure they would, at the least, be engaged.

She was coming to recognise which of her lipsticks would rub off on him and which ones didn't. The one she had on was obviously one that she hadn't tried before as she wiped her thumb across his lips to wipe it off.

"Maybe you should have left it. Given them something." Eddie said.

"And have them prod more than they already are? We might as well just tell them."

"Really?"

"If you went in there with my lipstick on, yes. If we don't have to, then no." She paused as she put her hand on his arm. "In the new year. I love what we have. I don't want to ruin things by jumping in feet first. You know better than anyone that I find it hard to trust people. I don't ever want to lose that feeling with you."

She felt like she had reassured him more that she wanted their relationship. It was hard when one of them was ready to embrace it with everything that he had and the other wanted it as reserved as she could have it.

"Shall we go and brief them then?" Rachel said.

Eddie gave her a nod and she knew that she definitely had some making up to do at the weekend and she already had a couple of ideas about how she was going to make that happen.

Tom actually dreaded going to the staff room. The fact that Steph was no longer part of the senior management team was a blessing in disguise. And he knew that he had started things off with the bet but Steph had become obsessed with trying to work out if Eddie and Rachel were in a relationship or not. The thing was that they all entertained the thought back in September when Steph first mentioned it. Now, halfway through December, everyone was sick of it. If anything, Tom wanted Rachel and Eddie to confirm or deny it, just so Steph talked about something else.

"Well?" Steph said as he went over to the kitchen area to make himself a coffee.

"Well, what?"

"Is it still there?"

"Of course not. Rachel isn't stupid, Steph. She will work it out in the end."

Tom managed to swallow the groan as Steph shot out of her seat pulling Grantly out of his, so she could hang up another piece of mistletoe that she had (they all thought that she had a tree of it in her garden by the amount that she had). His eyes met Davina's and they shared a look, one that they had shared a lot over the last three and a half months.

It wasn't long after he had sat down and Steph had finished what she wanted to do, that Rachel and Eddie walked into the room and stopped right underneath the mistletoe. Tom willed Steph not to say anything until after Rachel had said all the announcements. But Steph wouldn't be Steph if she did that.

"I would look up if I was you two," Steph said.

Tom was sure that Rachel was already sick of the game that Steph was playing and she was the first to look away from the mistletoe and to Eddie. He felt like Eddie was weighing up his options, something that surprised Tom. He didn't realise that Eddie was a 'wear his heart on his sleeve' type of guy.

There was a moment where Tom was sure that Rachel was just going to move things on when Eddie had finally made up his mind, pressing a kiss to Rachel's cheek. It was a rather sweet gesture in Tom's eyes and that confirmed enough for him. Eddie and Rachel were in a relationship. They just didn't want everyone to know about it.

Which is why he was surprised that Rachel placed her hand either side of Eddie's neck and pulled herself towards him to land a kiss on his lips, with Eddie taking a second to react to what was happening.

Tom looked over at Davina and smiled as she rolled her eyes as some people's (notably, Steph's) reaction seemed a little over the top. Tom was happy for them. How could he not be?

"Well, Mr Lawson, if you are going to do it properly." Rachel said as she pulled back. "And for the rest of you. Yes, me and Eddie are in a relationship. Will that put a stop to all the mistletoe making its way into my office?"

Tom could not wait for his 'told you so' moment later with Steph and he was glad that Matt placed a hand on Steph's arm, to stop whatever was going to come out of her mouth next. He could only imagine what Steph wanted to ask.

It seemed like the announcements were sped through, with Rachel not entertaining Steph when she asked whether there were any questions. With Eddie and Rachel leaving, it was the first chance that Steph had to talk.

"I was only going to ask when it started, for the bet," Steph said.

"She didn't look too happy. I think you pushed it a little too far." Davina said.

"Or Eddie is no good."

"No, I definitely think you pushed it too far," Tom said. "I think you pushed her into doing something that she was going to do eventually, just when she was more comfortable with it. We know Rachel is a private person."

"I think you lot are just worried that you are all going to have to give me an early Christmas present."

Tom was glad to catch Davina's eye and that the bell gave them the perfect time to leave. Part of him felt like he might have to go and apologise to Rachel and Eddie for what just happened.

"I'll go and say something later," Tom said.

"How do you mean?" Davina said.

"I feel responsible for what just happened. I started this last Christmas."

"I do just think that Steph took it way too far."

"Hence why I should say why she went that far. I still don't think she was right. I don't think it has been going on since Easter. I would even say I was wrong with just before the Summer break."

"Well, we should never have placed bets on our bosses' love life anyway."

"This is still all pointing back to me."

"I think Steph asked you whether you would put money on it."

"And I took the bait."

They almost turned into Tom's classroom to finish their conversation but ended up carrying on along the corridor as they noticed that Eddie was comforting Rachel, probably over what just happened. Tom couldn't help but feel guilty and he knew that he had to say something. Because he had started something that had now got out of hand and had the potential to break up the people that they actually wanted to be together.