Hello,

Finally, here is the third part to poor Rachel's hell of a day. I'm not sure quite how to preface this chapter other than to say that the drama is far from over...

As ever, thank you for reading and for your reviews, I am very intrigued (and a bit scared!) to read what your thoughts are on this chapter. (Yes Gem, I am sending this chapter from the bulletproof bunker!)

Enjoy,

Becca x

One More Bombshell for the Road?

The slam of her office door informed Rachel that Eddie had left the room and she released a shaken breath as her tired eyes finally looked up from her desk. If she had not been so utterly exhausted, she might have cried, however, she simply did not have the energy left in her. Instead, she closed her eyes for a moment and tried to steady her breathing. One hand naturally rested on her stomach as she began to count the seconds of her inhalations; she was four seconds into exhaling her unsteady breath when her mind drifted. After a trying few weeks, that morning had left her with a much-needed sense of clarity; she had known what she wanted. And yet, now all she was left with was questions. Somewhat naively, Rachel had assumed that Adam would be the only one left hurt by her and Eddie. Despite Melissa having hurt her numerous times in the past without a care, Rachel struggled to be able to willingly do the same. The burden of her guilt weighed heavily upon her now, however, it was not only because she had deceived both her husband and sister. As her hand remained rested on her stomach, she silently apologised to her child for the stress that ran through her veins. Once more, her mind returned to counting her breaths as she desperately searched for some much-needed inner peace within the chaos of her day; not for herself, but for her child.

Rachel only managed a couple of minutes of much needed silence before there was a knock on her office door. Assuming that it was Eddie, she snapped. "What now?"

To her surprise, it was Kim who then cautiously entered her office with a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry Kim, I thought…Sorry, it's been a bad day." Rachel clumsily attempted to explain as she tiredly rubbed her forehead; at this point it was becoming an effort to keep her eyes open.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kim gently enquired as she dragged a chair from the corner of the room and placed it on a parallel to Rachel's desk. Kim had been worried about her friend for some time now and had attempted to begin conversations with Rachel on multiple occasions throughout the term, however, Rachel would always find a way of deflecting the topic away from herself.

"I'm just having a few personal issues." Rachel evasively confessed.

"Is it Adam?" Kim asked; she had suspected for a while now that Rachel may be having problems in her marriage by the way her forehead would tense whenever Adam came up in conversation.

"Partly."

"Rachel you know you can tell me anything and it goes no further. You already know all of the crap I've been going through; you've been there for me so much this term." After Kim had told Rachel about Max wanting access to Dexter on her first day back, Rachel had made sure to check in on her regularly and offer her all the support and advice that she could in preparation for her custody battle. "I want you to know that I'm here for you too."

Following the day that she had experienced, Rachel felt utterly overwhelmed and now encouraged by Kim, had a sudden urge to get things off her chest. "Kim, I'm pregnant." It was bizarre to her after keeping it a secret for weeks that she had now revealed her pregnancy news for the third time that day.

Rachel took a breath now, in preparation to confess the rest of the story; however, she was interrupted by Kim's excitable gasp. "Oh my god…Rachel, congratulations!" Kim instinctively stood up and hugged her friend before sensing that she was missing something by the look on Rachel's face. "It is good news, isn't it Rachel?"

"Yes, of course I'm happy about the baby. I mean it was a bit of a shock at first but now I can't wait to be a mother." She smiled as she spoke that last precious word. "It still feels strange to say that."

"So that's why you've been such a moody sod!" Kim joked. "How many weeks are you?"

Rachel gave an apologetic smile. "Yes, sorry about that, I never realised just how trying pregnancy hormones can be. I'm almost fourteen weeks."

"Rachel, I'm so happy for you! So, what's the problem, is Adam having trouble coming to terms with it?"

"No, he's thrilled, it's just…" Rachel hesitated as she did not know where to start with the rest of the details surrounding her pregnancy. Subtly shaking her head, she decided against telling Kim for the moment; today really was not the day for any more revealing conversations. "You know what I'm just being silly, it's these bloody hormones."

"Are you sure there's nothing else Rachel?" Kim persisted; her tone just as gentle now as it had been when she had entered the office.

"No, everything's fine. Thank you, Kim. I think I just need to catch up on some sleep, thank god for the half term eh?"

As a result of his earlier confrontation with Rachel, Eddie had been restless during his afternoon classes; he needed to speak to Rachel once more and reassure her that there was nothing between himself and Melissa. That morning he had been overjoyed as finally it seemed that there was a chance for himself and Rachel to be together; he could not allow Melissa to get in the way of their happiness, not again. Knowing that Rachel would be busy organising the open evening, he just hoped that he would be able to catch her at some point during the event so that he could explain things properly.

Once the parents had started to arrive that evening, the staff began to show them around the school. Rachel was in the middle of giving a couple of parents the guided tour when she reached Eddie's classroom. Immediately, sustaining her upbeat tone became an effort and she found herself avoiding Eddie's gaze which had optimistically attempted to meet hers as soon as she had entered the room. "And here's Maths. I'm sure Mr Lawson will be happy to answer any questions you have."

"Of course." Eddie complied, offering her a cautious smile which she failed to reciprocate, before he then welcomed the parents. Despite being occupied by the numerous sets of parents that evening, Eddie had been trying to find a way to sneak off and find Rachel for a chat, and therefore was relieved to see her. As soon as the parents walked off to look around the room, Rachel began to look at the displays that the pupils had made in order to avoid being awkwardly left standing with Eddie, it was whilst she scanned around the room that a familiar face caught her eye.

"Rachel!" The woman exclaimed and immediately gave her a hug; Eddie's eyes widened at this. "I was hoping to see you, how are you doing?"

Eddie shot the women a noticeably confused look, and so Rachel clarified. "This is Heather, Adam's sister. Her daughter is Alice Benson, Year 8."

"She's doing really well in maths, she's in the top set." Eddie rushed to comment before shaking Heather's hand. "Eddie Lawson, Deputy Head."

"That's good to hear, nice to meet you." She smiled at him before turning back to Rachel. "You're doing a brilliant job with the school Rachel; Alice is really happy here." She lowered her voice a little now. "I was on the phone to Adam before, he told me your good news, congratulations! I've never heard him be so happy."

"Thank you, I've not really announced it yet..." Rachel explained and swiftly glanced towards Eddie who had pretended to not hear Heather's comment and now began to make small talk with another one of the parents.

"Don't worry, I'll say no more. Mum's the word!" She laughed. "Quite literally!"

"Thank you…Alice is in the choir, isn't she?" Rachel quickly changed the subject as she glanced at her watch. "Why don't I take you down to the hall? Their performance should be starting in about twenty minutes."

Rachel's plan had been to slip away before Eddie noticed, she could not deal with another difficult conversation; not when it was nearing the end of the day which meant that she would soon have to go home and tell Adam everything. The prospect of her revelation was not helped by seeing Adam's sister; the pleasantries would certainly not last long once Heather found out the truth. Just as she had shown Heather to the school hall and naively hoped that she may have had a moment to catch her breath, Eddie appeared in the school foyer. "Rachel can I have a word?"

"You can have two." She boldly retorted as she removed her glance from him.

He rolled his eyes; she could be feisty at the best of times, but her hormones only exacerbated this. "Don't be like that Rachel, just come outside with me for a minute so we can talk."

"I'd rather not."

"Fine if you'd rather we had the conversation here." He challenged her.

Knowing that Eddie was not one to give up easily, she reluctantly complied. "You've got two minutes." She informed him and headed outside without once looking towards him.

As soon as the entrance door to the school closed behind them, Eddie wasted no time in getting out what he needed to say as he followed Rachel down the steps. "I need you to know that there is nothing going on between me and Melissa."

"She doesn't know that though, does she? It's no wonder really when you live together, raise a child, sleep together…"

"How many times Rachel, it happens very rarely. I'm not using her or stringing her along or whatever you may think is going on."

This was a conversation that Rachel really did not want to be having now, particularly because they were stood outside of the school, meaning that she had to be mindful of her body language. As she tried to adopt a calm and neutral stance now, she proceeded to ask him the question that had been on her mind since that lunchtime. "Why Melissa? I mean the way you speak about her, it's like you hate her. How can you go from that to...?"

"Sometimes I just feel lonely or I've had a bit too much to drink, and she's just there...and well I guess us men don't always think with our heads, do we?" He uncomfortably explained. "I'm not proud of it Rachel, but Melissa knows the score, trust me."

"Trust you?" She gave a brief sarcastic laugh "That's ironic...This morning you sat there as we discussed a future together and you said nothing. Come to think of it, you've barely said anything about yours and Melissa's life."

"You never ask..."

"I shouldn't have to ask you; you should just be straight with me!"

Eddie scoffed now and shook his head at her.

"What?"

"I just find it ironic Rachel that you're taking the moral high ground about honesty. You're the one who kept quiet about the baby, lied that it couldn't be mine at first and then now you're still lying to your husband...And what was all that about in there with his sister? God, if only she knew!" Eddie pointed out in frustration. However, once he had had his outburst, he knew that it probably was not the best move.

"Well at least you're finally being honest." Rachel remarked as she tried to swallow her emotions and began to walk back to the school. "I think that's two minutes."

"Wait…I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying that we're both in complicated situations." He attempted to recover his previous comment; realising that he was not helping things. "I'm sorry Rachel."

Rachel stopped and turned back around to face him. "Eddie, these past few months have been so difficult and despite what you might think I never wanted to lie to anyone; I just don't know what to do for the best! It really doesn't help when you don't tell me the full story."

"I know, I promise you from now on I will tell you everything." Emotion washed his voice now as he continued. "You don't know how happy I was this morning when you said you wanted to make a go of things. Happier than I've been in a long time, I'd almost forgot what it felt like...that love we have. I can't lose you again; it hurt too much the last time. I love you so much Rachel."

She believed him. It was impossible to not believe his words when he said them with so much heart. As she searched into his eyes, her expression began to soften slightly. "I love you too, but do you honestly think that we can do this?"

"There's only one way of finding out." His eyes pleaded with the indecision on her face.

"If we do this," She spotted the hopeful look that flashed on his face and emphasised. "If …Then we need to be honest with each other from now on, no more lies or missing details." She gave him a serious look now. "I mean it Eddie; I've got a child to think about here."

"You've got my word." He assured her as he dared to smile at her now, he could not help it, things were finally looking up. If they had not been stood outside the school right now, he would have instantly pulled her in closer and joined their lips, but for now a smile would have to do.

Responding to his expression, she gradually conceded to her own smile; which filled Eddie with relief. This was short-lived however, as Rachel then looked over his shoulder, her expression began to drop. "Is that Melissa?" She asked as she spotted her sister walking through the gates, pushing Charlie in his pram. "For god's sake, I don't think I can cope with much more today!"

Eddie huffed stressfully and immediately walked up to Melissa. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the area; I did a bit of shopping after Rachel and I had our coffee and I thought that Charlie and I could come and meet you from work. Didn't you say that the choir was performing?" Melissa asked as they walked towards Rachel. "So, did you manage to have that word Rachel?"

"You could have warned me you were coming." Eddie interrupted.

"Warn you? I thought you'd love a surprise visit from your son." Melissa remarked before purposefully adding. "And from your beautiful fiancée of course."

Instantly, Rachel froze and momentarily forgot to breathe before she finally audibly gasped at Melissa's revelation. Overcome with shock, she did not even attempt to conceal the disbelief on her face. "Fiancée?" Rachel repeated; ensuring that she had heard correctly.

"Yes, we got engaged in the summer. We're supposed to be keeping it a secret until this idiot finally buys me a ring, but I thought he would have told you Rachel!" Melissa smugly enlightened her; delighted by the look of shock on Rachel's face.

Rachel exhaled the breath that she had been holding whilst Melissa had been speaking and now turned her attention to Eddie who looked just as horrified as she did. "No, Eddie didn't think to tell me; it's becoming quite the habit." Her voice cracked slightly as she glared at Eddie, however, she could not quite meet his eye; it was too painful. As a result of the shock, her words were running before her mind had chance to catch up; it was as though she was refusing to let herself fully register the situation. The only certainty was that she needed to get away. "Excuse me, the choir will be starting soon."

Eddie was completely stunned, but instantly got a much-needed rush of adrenaline as Rachel began to storm off. As he hurriedly rummaged into his jacket pocket, he passed his car keys to Melissa. "Take Charlie home."

"But we came to see you…" Melissa began but it was too late, Eddie was already on the heels of Rachel.

Rachel was already seated in the school hall when Eddie caught up to her. There was a good turnout for the choir, which made it difficult for Eddie to wade through the crowd of the students, parents and staff who were starting to take their seats. "Rachel, it's not what you think…" He muttered stressfully once he had managed to get to the front row and sat on the seat beside her.

"Now, where have I heard that before?" She sharply responded; as she spoke, she looked straight ahead to the stage where Matt Wilding was starting to introduce the choir. She refused to look at Eddie, so that he was unable to see the tears which were forming in her eyes; she hated that she could not stop herself from getting emotional when all she felt was rage.

Eddie waited until the choir had begun singing to speak to her once more in a hushed tone. "I know what it sounds like but..."

She cut his sentence short and could not stop herself from turning to him now; demanding his eye contact. "Tell me she's lying."

Eddie did not have to speak to give her an answer, the tension in his face told her everything that she needed to know. He began to consider his words but only a strained noise came out of his mouth before he continued, and yet it was too late for words by that point. "She's not lying exactly..."

It was in that moment that Rachel needed more than anything to stand up and leave. Suddenly, the sound of the choir singing an overdone love song became the most irritating background noise to Eddie's latest bombshell. And yet, she had to stay seated, whilst her stomach churned and she felt as though she had just been winded; like the air had been knocked out of her lungs and the ground had been pulled from underneath her feet. Attempting to regain control over her breathing, she looked away from Eddie and back to the stage; she did not want to look at his face ever again and needed him to be as far away from her as possible.

The heavy and uneven pattern of her breathing worried Eddie; it was unbearable for him to see Rachel so hurt, especially when their public setting made is so that he could not explain further. "It's not...When this is over, we need to talk; you need to let me explain."

This only enraged Rachel further and she managed to painfully add through her laboured breaths. "I don't owe you anything. After this is over, I want you to get your things and get out of my school."