Thank you for the reviews.

Now, I am sure that the title of this chapter is basically the tagline to the show as a whole. Because when does anything go right at Waterloo Road?


Why Can't Anything Go Right?

"Ah, just the person I am looking for," Brett said.

James had already assumed that Brett wasn't talking to him, making his excuses rather quickly and leaving Amelia with Brett.

"Am I?" Amelia said, thinking that might be the only way for her to reply to that.

"Of course, I wouldn't want your brain dead brother now."

"Jamie isn't brain dead. He just seemed to take a dislike to you and you haven't been able to shake it just yet."

Brett rolled his eyes. "Whatever. He doesn't do French and you do and you are quite good. Haydock has asked me to make a welcoming committee for Monsieur Legard. Plus I know I don't have to smarten you up."

"And you wonder why he calls you a posh prick."

"Are you going to help or what?"

Amelia scoffed. "Okay, I'll help."

"Great," Brett said, giving her a smile. "I think Haydock has some things she wants us to wear if you swing by her classroom."

"As long as it is not a beret or some onions."

"I don't quite think she has gone for those French stereotypes."

Amelia knew that she kinda had to leave it at that and her best bet would be to go to the French classroom, where Haydock didn't seem too surprised to see her (but then again, if Haydock was the best French teacher that Waterloo Road could hire, it was no wonder that no one could really speak a word of French properly).

Amelia put the sash that Haydock gave her on and sat on one of the desks before she asked Haydock whether she was going to inform their teachers about what they were doing. The question seemed to make everyone groan and it seemed like Haydock originally assumed that if they weren't in lessons that they would be helping her, meaning that she did then have to ask everyone whose class they were meant to be in and send off the email to the relevant teachers.

With Haydock getting some confirmation that this Monsieur Legard was close, she led them out to the front of the school where she attempted to organise them. When she left them to it because she had forgotten something in her classroom, all the students reorganised themselves with Danielle saying that Amelia should make sure they look alright.

"Why me?" Amelia asked.

"Aren't you the arty one?" Danielle said.

Amelia felt like she couldn't really argue with that and part of her enjoyed making Brett move around a bit before she put him in spot, with Amelia only getting to her place moments before Haydock joined them again and Monsieur Legard's car came down the driveway.

Amelia was glad that she wasn't sent to get her mum and the little introduction that Haydock gave felt rather cringy to Amelia. And from the moment her mum joined them, she felt like her mum was glad that she was there, with her mum rolling her eyes many times at Haydock's behaviour.

If anything, Amelia had already expected the worse to happen. Although she was ready to be surprised. As was her mum (probably).


As much as Rachel wanted to just go home and forget about everything that had happened that day, she found herself in the pub with Eddie as they knew that it would be the one place that they could rely on Steph to be. Sure enough, the French teacher was there, rather drunk already, and seemed thrilled when they told her about Claude giving them the money. Just her and Eddie had a discussion about Steph in her role and Rachel was sure that she wasn't going to be happy about it.

"Yeah, well done." Rachel said as they sat down at a table with their drinks. "I can't say I approve of your methods of persuasion."

"Every financial director has their own little ways, Rachel," Steph said.

Rachel knew that if Steph knew what she had done in her late teens, Steph would be calling her a hypocrite. Although Rachel felt like her reasons why she sold herself for money was for a very different to why Steph sexually harassed Claude.

It made her glance across at Eddie, knowing that he would know what she was thinking about and would, hopefully, give her a look of encouragement that she was doing the right thing. Of course, she knew that she was doing the right thing, It was just things like this that made the job hard (in her opinion).

"I'm still for the chop, aren't I?" Steph said before she descended into an explanation of her actions, one that Rachel didn't really care for and one that shouldn't have ended the way it did. "Oh, get over yourself, so I flashed a bit of thigh. So what? Don't tell me you've never done it? I mean you must have had the twins young. Used your womanly wiles to get their father in bed. Or was it an ex? Because there is no Mr Mason or anything like that. Do the twins even know their father?"

That was a step too far for Rachel and she could sense that Eddie was prepared to say something but, without James being on side, she didn't think that it was fair to give the secret over to the staff room gossip.

"Steph, I know who their father is if that is what you are insinuating, and I have told them all I can about them. And yes. I was young. I was 19 when I fell pregnant with them and 20 when they were born. And I hope that." Rachel paused. "They weren't a mistake. They know that. Because I don't quite think that I would be where I am now without them. And if and when we bump into their father, I hope that he can look at two brilliant adults and he can instantly be proud of them.

"That, once he has got over the shock, he will see that he has a son who is awfully protective of me and his sister but is one of the kindest and most considerate boys I know and once James has let him in, then he is an extremely loyal person. And that he has a daughter, who is just a wonder in herself without adding her art skills. That she has definitely picked up some of my worst habits as she always puts everyone first. And unlike her brother, she will probably welcome him with open arms and immediately bond with him.

"The main thing is, Steph, that they will all be adults and they can make up their minds as to whether they want to be in each other's lives or not. And I wouldn't blame their father for not wanting to be in their lives. He has missed the last 17 and a half years. But the circumstances of how I met their father is between me, him and the twins."

Rachel knew that the twins had inherited some of her bad habits/attributes. She knew that James sometimes took things a little too far and she felt like she had just done that with Steph as she slid off. Rachel couldn't stop herself from sighing.

"Rach," Eddie said.

"I know. I took it too far."

"I am sure you could have taken that further."

She looked at him. "And it wouldn't be fair when James hasn't accepted you. If both of them had accepted you as their dad then, yes, I would have allowed you to say something. But telling the staff room gossip that you are the twins' dad is going to cause more trouble than it is worth. Just think of the grilling we would get."

"But now what happens when they do find out?"

"Then we will explain that it wasn't the right time if she brings it up."

"I forgot that you were only 19 that night." He said before he took a mouthful of his drink.

"I have always looked a little older than I am. I think it… might have been why… I was offered the job at 17."

"That is like Amelia doing it now."

Rachel thought about his statement for a moment and realised a sickening thought. "It would be Amelia doing it now."

"Christ."

"It must have actually been around this time 20 years ago." She let out a short laugh. "Didn't realise how old I had got."

"To me, you still look the same as you did that night."

Rachel could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and it made her suddenly aware of how publicly they were having their conversation. Mainly because she could feel herself wanting to move closer to Eddie, wanting to kiss him like she had done many times before, sometimes for the wrong reasons. With that, she practically downed her glass of wine before she turned to Eddie.

"I think we need to go." She said.

She found that Eddie would very rarely argue with her or she wouldn't have to ask him twice when she would say something like that, with him finishing his pint before he stood up. Maybe he just understood when she was ready to go.


Eddie didn't really understand what him and Rachel had to talk about as she asked him to come over to hers when they left the pub, but he was sure that it had something to do with Steph's words. Eddie felt like Steph had taken it too far when she said about flashing a bit of thigh but he felt like it was totally unacceptable for Steph to try and drag the twins and himself into trying to show that her and Rachel were the same.

If anything, Eddie had a fuzzy memory of Rachel wearing a strappy top and short skirt the night that they met. Probably not the clothes that should have been worn on a mid-February night. After all, he had been wearing jeans with a t-shirt underneath his long-sleeved shirt.

But Eddie knew that it wasn't what she was wearing that night as to why they fell into bed together. It was the weird connection that they had and that led to a night that neither of them forgot. Although, Eddie didn't really think that Rachel could forget about that night, even if she wanted to, with the twins.

He was a little apprehensive of walking into Rachel's after knowing how well his last conversation with Jamie. He didn't blame Jamie at all for being that protective over Rachel and Amelia. It was clear that they were a tight-knit family and he was trying to push his way into that, even if Rachel and Amelia were willingly letting him in.

So it was probably best that Amelia and Jamie were together when they walked through the front door and stopped at the living room.

"So did you get your money?" Jamie asked.

"Sort of." Rachel said.

"I think he did just give us the money so that we didn't send Steph back to France," Eddie said.

"Oh, God. What did she do?" Amelia asked.

Eddie could sense Rachel's hesitation and he knew that what Steph had said had made her overthink everything again. Meaning that he knew that she wasn't going to tell them what had happened and why she was going to be in a weird mood. Meaning that he had the choice whether to tell them now, Amelia later or to stay quiet.

"I believe the way she worded it was that she flashed a bit of thigh. Monsieur Legard worded it as sexual harassment." Eddie said.

"What?" Jamie shouted.

Rachel turned to look up at him and Eddie knew that he had picked the wrong decision in Rachel's eyes but he had to continue with it.

"And then Steph decided to say, to your mum, 'Don't tell me you've never done it?' and then questioned her about me."

The sigh that Rachel gave allowed him to know that she had given up trying to say nothing. "I just think that woman has a sixth sense or something."

Jamie sat up properly. "Are you okay? What the hell did she say?"

"I'm fine." Rachel said.

"Steph said about her having you two young and she then told Steph what she had been telling us," Eddie said before he turned to Rachel. "Although you are right. They are two brilliant young adults and even if Jamie might not like me saying this, I am proud of them."

Eddie knew that Rachel would end up smiling and he could see that Amelia was smiling. But it was Jamie's reaction that he was watching out of the corner of his eye, mainly just to see whether what he had said the other week he had meant. Jamie was trying hard to hide his smile but there was a hint of a smile which made Eddie think that either Jamie didn't mean about him fucking up or that he was slowly being let in by him. Maybe he did just have to play the long game.

"There is some dinner in the oven. Although I don't know whether there is enough for both of you." Amelia said.

"I'm sure we can sort something out." Rachel said.

There was just a subtle way in how Rachel tapped his arm and nodded towards the kitchen. He left it a few moments before he followed her and there was something that seemed so natural about it. Maybe it was something that would happen more often. Maybe by the end of the school year. With just three months to go, Eddie was sure that he could get some progress in that time. And maybe, by the start of the next school year, maybe there would be some real progress. Maybe they would be a family.