(A/N): I'm back! With another chapter that's like 11k long. I'm not entirely sure this is the right way to go, but my brain refused to move past it, so here we are. I hope I made it realistic, well as realistic as any of the drama that happens in this fic goes. Let me know what you think, read on and enjoy.
What the Heart Wants
Chapter 35
The hall was bustling, students and teachers milling round to try and get the hall set up for the talent show that had been sprung upon them with hardly any notice. Chris and Eddie were officially heading up the event, with Rachel pitching in to help as much as possible, though she had a whole bunch of paperwork and meetings surrounding the merger and the James girls to contend with that took up most of her time at work. Max, to no one's surprise, somehow had another school to visit whenever talk turned to him helping out with the talent show, and Kim always seemed to be busy with one thing or another. Eddie had asked Steph and Tom to help out, knowing they knew the pressure Rachel was currently under and that they'd both seen the lack of help Max and Kim were being. Both teachers had readily agreed, even if Steph had demanded a good bottle of wine from him jokily in exchange for her help. There was a lot to do, not least of which being finding the acts, decorating the hall, making a banner and producing flyers. Eddie had tasked Donte with the latter, due to his successful attempts with Bolton's underground fight and the summer fete.
Chris had gotten Ruby to help that lesson, as well as Eddie getting Steph and Tom involved, but a surprise, mandatory meeting between Eddie, Rachel and Max had prevented the deputy head from being in the hall with them. Steph and Tom had roped quite a few of the sixth formers to help out during their free period that lesson, plus their own classes they were supposed to be teaching, Steph's year 10s and Tom's year 8s, to get the stage and sets sorted, the auditions being held that lunch time. Each sixth former had a couple of year 10s and a couple of year 8s with them, all the older students being tasked with overseeing the younger pupils in their tasks. Alia was in the hall, paired with Sambuca Kelly, Lauren Andrews, Denzil Kelly and Emily James. She knew Tom had put Emily in her group because she would look out for the twelve year old and Sam would make sure Lauren was nice to the younger girl, as Emily was tentative friends with Denzil. She'd smiled to the two year 10s, who had smiled back somewhat, setting them to painting part of the banner to be placed over the front of the school before directing the two year 8s to follow her further towards the stage to paint a little of the striped sets that would make the event more distinctive than other events before it. She exchanged a smirk with Maxine, who was directing her pair of year 8s, both ex John Fosters pupils, in the same endeavour nearby, Janeece a little further down with her own group.
Everyone got on well with their tasks, despite the undercurrent of uneasiness at having to work together no matter their original school, under the eagle eyes of the sixth formers who would recognise it immediately if they tried to kick off. Alia, Maxine and Janeece met up a little away from their charges, discussing how ridiculous an idea the whole thing was in hushed tones, to not be heard by either the younger pupils or the teachers in the room. All three girls span towards the doors as a heavy, well-built man no one recognised strode in, eyes darting about the hall as though looking for someone, someone he couldn't find if his agitation was anything to go by. Their eyes narrowed at the erratic behaviour, widening when no security followed him in. They needed to act, quickly.
Instinctively, Alia grabbed hold of Denzil and Emily, who dropped their paintbrushes in surprise, pushing them to the back of the hall and catching Sam and Lauren on the way, putting them in charge of the two year 8s, the other sixth formers having the same idea and crowding the younger students further to the back, away from the intruder. Steph, Tom, Ruby and Chris were the other side of the hall, trying to sort out who would be judging the auditions and who would be judging the actual show, though they looked up in surprise as they saw the shepherding the sixth formers were doing. Their eyes followed the gazes of the frightened pupils, halting in bewilderment at the trespasser, three of the sixth formers happening to be between him and the rest of the scared students. Steph was the only one that caught sight of Maxine, Janeece and Alia freezing in place, eyes locked unblinkingly on the man that had entered the room. She made to rush forward, to help in some way, but was held back by Tom, who looked just as terrified as she did. He knew the feeling, wanted to help just as much as Steph did, but rushing in would put the teenagers in more danger than waiting for a more opportune moment would. Getting the younger ones as far away as possible was the best thing the sixth formers could have done, but that didn't explain the paralysis that seemed to have gripped the year 12 and two year 13s. What had those girls seen that had them looking like mannequins instead of people?
Steph bit back a cry of horror and terror as the intruder pulled a gun from his waistband, clearly what the three girls had caught onto. No, not again. It just couldn't be. Hadn't those three dealt with enough guns for one lifetime? What the hell was going on? They had security to stop things like this from happening, for crying out loud! Her main concern though, was the three girls, whose eyes had glazed over and she wasn't sure they were even in the room anymore, something that was reinforced for the blonde woman as they began speaking, Janeece and Alia a little away from Maxine, who had backed up a little, sort of standing in an odd triangle with the unfamiliar man.
"She dumped you," Janeece cried out, arms crossed over her chest, desperation and panic only slightly in the back of her throat. None of them seemed to be in the assembly hall anymore but somewhere else entirely.
"So deal with it," Alia added in much the same tone, similarly defensive. Steph frowned, for it sounded like they were defending Maxine, but she knew that Maxine hadn't been dating recently, and especially not men old enough to be her father. To the confusion of most of the assembled room, the three girls seemed to hear something the rest of them didn't, the two that had spoken glancing at Maxine, who nodded with her head slightly, looking beyond terrified. Janeece and Alia backed slowly away, their eyes never leaving the intruder and Maxine before turning and running only a few steps away in a near straight line, hand in hand and shaking. Steph felt bile rise up in her throat as it dawned on her what she was witnessing. Those girls were reliving the entire encounter with Earl, like a live play they were stuck in, with no option but to relive those awful, terrifying moments. Oh god. She could only hope and pray it didn't end like it had with Earl, or worse, stuck as she was in the background with Tom barely capable of holding her back. She watched in growing horror and terror as Maxine turned to the intruder, her eyes obviously not seeing the man well into his thirties but a boy a little younger than her, someone she thought she'd loved threatening her with a gun.
"What're you doing Earl? Why bring a gun?" Her voice was shaky, as were her limbs, but she managed to stay upright, barely. Steph felt the moment Tom also realised what was happening, his entire form tensing though he was still holding her back. In the back of her mind, she knew that trying to get in the middle of things now wouldn't help, but she wanted to protect those three girls as much as possible instinctively. Glancing round, she could also see the horror dawning on most of the sixth formers' faces, as well as Sambuca's and Denzil's, all of them catching on to what they were witnessing. Maxine paused, waiting for Earl's response as the two other girls paused a few steps away, seemingly waiting for something as well, some kind of signal. "And you need a gun for that?"
Another pause ensued, the entire hall watching with bated breath as Maxine watched the intruder blankly, the girls a few steps away muttering, "come on," under their breaths, though the words were definitely heard due to the otherwise deadly silent room. Maxine's face twitched with anger. "No, you thought you'd found someone else stupid enough to let you get them pregnant." She scoffed, her terrified eyes full of unshed tears. "And what about Jade's baby?"
Steph swallowed down the lump in her throat, wanting nothing more than to go over and snap those girls out of the nightmare they were currently reliving. Even the intruder seemed confused, gun still held tightly in his hand but he was switching his gaze between the three girls as though wondering just how crazy they were, just what kind of madness he'd walked in on. Her hand gripped one of the ones Tom was using to hold her back, holding on for dear life as she prayed the girls would get out of this unscathed. Then she could demand answers, but she needed the teenagers to be alright first.
Maxine stared unseeingly at the man before her, her voice unnervingly calm. "You know what? Listening to you now, I reckon you're even madder than what everyone said you were." She walked a couple of steps round further towards the girls, as though walking round something that only she could see. Steph had a sneaking suspicion it was where her coffee table used to be in their old house. The entire hall jumped as all three girls ducked in unison, Maxine letting out a heart wrenching scream. "Look at yourself! Look at what you're doing! This morning I was so happy, but now… I despise you." Tears were streaming down Maxine's face as she addressed a teenager that wasn't even there. All eyes were locked on the seventeen year old and her distraught words, to the extent they didn't spot Janeece and Alia creeping back up in a peculiar manner, like Maxine was in a separate room to them, until there were only a couple of steps between them and the intruder, Maxine on the other side of the man.
All three girls lunged for the gun at the same time, the man instinctively fighting the teenagers for control of the weapon. In a cruel twist, Steph was convinced, the girls ended up in the exact same positions they had nearly a year earlier, Maxine and Alia locked together down the barrel, their hands frantically scrabbling for the gun with Janeece doing the same at Alia's side.
Bang.
The entire hall screamed, ducking instinctively at the noise they all heard that time, but Steph's eyes were focused on the girls. Surely they couldn't have gotten hurt, again, not those three girls. Her heart dropped out from her chest, shattering on the wooden floor below her as the four in the middle of the room paused, stunned, Janeece pretty much ripping the gun from the intruder's hand whilst Maxine and Alia both stared down at their shirt sleeves in an almost abstract way, the white material once more blooming with bright red blood. Janeece silently handed the gun to Alia, who gripped it with her left hand and swung her arm round as hard as she could, knocking out the man cold with the butt of the weapon and letting it drop onto a nearby chair. All three girls' eyes were still somewhat glazed over, and Steph doubted they'd even really noticed they'd been shot for a second time as Max pushed herself against the nearest flat surface, happening to be the front of the stage, sliding down to rest on the floor. Janeece manipulated Alia to slide down to rest beside Maxine, the unharmed girl seeming to be aware enough of her surroundings to grab hold of a couple of abandoned jumpers instead of looking for tea towels like last time, pressing them to the girls' arms as she yelled their names frantically to keep them focused on her, just like Steph recalled from the previous year.
Steph finally managed to get free of Tom's grip, her heels clattering loudly on the wooden floor as she crossed the room in record time, dropping to her knees beside Janeece and taking Maxine's care off the seventeen year old with a grateful nod. "I'm here sweetheart, I'm here." She knew she was sobbing again, that she'd repeated her words from the previous year as she held the jumper tightly round Maxine's arm. It didn't matter, none of it did apart from the injured girls. "Tom, call for the police and ambulance!"
"On it." Tom had his phone out, dialling the emergency services before she'd finished her sentence. Steph hardly noticed as the doors to the hall burst open and a manic looking Rachel sprinted in with Eddie hot on her heels, Max a few steps behind not looking nearly concerned enough for the events that had transpired in that assembly hall.
All the colour fled Rachel's face as she took in Steph and Janeece knelt over Maxine and Alia, the girls seeming to be somewhere else entirely. No, this couldn't be happening, not again. Moving faster than any of her pupils had ever seen from their headmistress, no mean feat, she traversed the hall and dropped down on Janeece's other side, pressing her hands tightly over the seventeen year old's holding a rapidly dampening school jumper to her daughter's arm, helping to add pressure despite the scream Alia barely managed to mute somewhat between gritted teeth. Rachel's rapidly tear-filled eyes also noted the bullet hole lodged low in the stage and her jaw set, not wanting to let her tears flow in front of the pupils she needed to be strong for. "Didn't mean to." Alia whispered, staring up at Rachel with wide, pain filled eyes. "Don't be mad at me, please."
"Oh love, I'm not mad at you." Her daughter begging her not to be mad at her for getting injured tipped her emotions over the edge. Rachel was aware that she was crying, could feel the hot tears pouring down her face and knew Steph was in a similar state to her without even having to look. "Not even a little bit." She felt Eddie approach, the deputy head kneeling down on Alia's free side and taking the teenager's left hand in his own, wincing at the coolness of the limb. All three girls were clearly in some form of shock. He ignored the tears in his own eyes, realising he needed to keep his own emotions somewhat in check given the tears pouring down Rachel and Steph's faces in full view of the students.
"Just stay with us, yeah?" Eddie glanced at Maxine as Janeece seemed fairly alright sandwiched between Rachel and Steph. "Both of you." He tried for a more lighthearted approach, forcing his tone to lighten. "You know, you didn't need to pull anything nearly so dramatic to get out of school." Both girls seemed to pull themselves from wherever they were in their heads to shoot him an eye roll, but they seemed a little more alert, aware of where they were, at least.
"Who did this?" Max demanded rudely, gesturing to the unconscious intruder on the floor. All eyes turned to him in stunned disbelief that he was concerned over a random man that had shot two pupils rather than the welfare of the aforementioned pupils. The students glared at him from their position crowded against the far wall, the older pupils still shielding the younger ones, regardless of whether they were originally Waterloo Road or John Fosters pupils. School rivalries didn't matter, not in that moment. In that moment, it was a case of protecting everyone possible, no matter who they were or where they'd come from.
"Does it really matter, Max?" Chris asked bitingly, approaching the teachers crowding the hurt teenagers along with Ruby, Tom having come back and quietly informed Rachel and Steph the ambulances were five minutes away, the police ten minutes away, but that security would keep the man contained until the police arrived. Indeed, the security team had entered the room, half of them crowding the intruder and half of them managing to corral the pupils from the far wall a little, though the younger students were still being protectively led by the sixth formers. Aleesha, Danielle and Michaela had taken charge of the younger pupils originally assigned to Alia, Maxine and Janeece. "Get a little perspective on who needs your attention here." He peered over the teachers' heads, craning his neck to try and check on the teenagers, one of whom was in his form and thus made him feel a heightened sense of responsibility. "How bad is it?"
"Seems about the same as last time." Steph managed to choke out round her shuddering sobs. "Where the bloody hell are those paramedics?"
"Last time?" Chris questioned, horror dawning on him as he realised the three girls must have been the ones that had been shot the previous year, their little display earlier a trauma induced recreation of what had happened the first time. Bile rose up in his throat as he wondered just how none of the Waterloo Road teachers had had a breakdown or gone completely insane yet. They all seemed rather contained, even with the clear shock of the morning's events. Ruby was close to collapsing in terror at the scene that had unfolded before them and only knowing he needed to check on the pupils was preventing Chris from joining her in that state. How the two senior teachers and the french teacher were so practical and helpful, despite their obvious distress, was beyond his understanding completely. He was jostled slightly as Chlo, Donte and Bolton rushed over past him, having made sure the rest of the pupils were alright before heading over to see about their friends. Chlo and Donte were instantly comforted by Tom, his arms round the two teenagers as they stood close to Maxine's free side. Bolton fell to his knees between Eddie and Rachel, managing a shaky smile as Alia looked at him, barely registering he was there.
"God, you just had to pull this stunt again, dint you?" Bolton managed shakily as Eddie clapped a free hand to the boy's shoulder, appreciating the sixth former's intent in keeping the injured sixteen year old alert and talking.
"Not, not on purpose." Alia managed a tiny twitch of her lips in an approximation of a smile. "We all know it's just to get the good painkillers." Rachel and Steph let out wet sounding laughs simultaneously, knowing that both teenagers hated how loopy and spaced out those painkillers made them, taking them only when absolutely necessary and protesting even then. They both said they were fully aware of everything they did and said, but had no control over any of it, which freaked them out more than a little bit. They all stayed in position near the stage until the paramedics arrived, ironically enough being the same ones that had arrived less than a year ago at Steph's house, pausing in surprise at seeing the exact same teenagers with nearly the exact same injuries, crowded by an array of teenagers and adults in the school hall.
"Well, if it isn't the fearsome threesome," One of the paramedics joked as the others dislodged those crowding around the injured pupils. Rachel placed a comforting arm round Janeece, holding the girl upright whilst her friends were worked on quickly and efficiently. Well, correction, they were holding each other upright. Rachel fought a sigh as a stray thought crossed her mind, the paramedics cutting away the teenaged girls' shirt sleeves. How many more shirts did she need to buy her child because of things like this? "Yep, almost exactly the same as last time. Very lucky, both of you. You two must have the nine lives of a cat." Maxine and Alia were both bandaged quickly and helped to shakily stand as another paramedic glanced at Steph, Rachel and Janeece sympathetically.
"I assume you two will be travelling along again." They gestured between the two teachers.
Rachel nodded. "Yes, and Janeece can ride with Alia and me." She glanced at Eddie with wide, pleading eyes. Eddie reached out to squeeze her hand, ignoring the blood that stuck their palms together for a moment.
"I've got the school, Rach, you go."
…
Steph and Rachel sat in the hospital children's ward waiting room for the second time in less than a year, the same awful coffee in the vending machine and the same heavy air permeating the atmosphere around them. The three girls had been immediately whisked up to the same ward as last time as soon as Steph and Rachel had signed the necessary paperwork for the two sixth formers to undergo the required surgery. A quick call to Janeece's mum had bought the teenager Rachel as her contact with the police and another two weeks' stay at the headmistress' house. Neither Rachel nor Steph would be surprised if the trio ended up in the same hospital beds as their last trip there either.
Both women were once again covered in their charges' blood, neither paying that fact much attention as they were once again alone in the waiting room. Rachel was torn between staying here, waiting for her daughter, and being at the school to reassure the masses of traumatised children, but she trusted Eddie, and Chris to an extent, to be there for the kids, to reassure them as much as possible and deal with the police. "How the hell did that even happen?" Steph questioned brokenly, gazing down at the murky depths of the questionable coffee. "The school is meant to be safe for those kids." She glanced at Rachel, whose face had contorted a little at the question. What exactly did the other woman know? "What?"
"Max," The headmistress whispered, sounding just as broken as the French teacher, staring down at her own lukewarm beverage.
"What?" Steph repeated incredulously. What on earth could the oh so mighty executive head have to do with anything? For Steph doubted Rachel was referring to the girl currently undergoing surgery, again.
"It was Max." Rachel took a deep breath, trying to swallow the lump in her throat that was accompanying her tears. "Apparently, he thought we were being overly cautious with the security team and the searches, what with nothing like Earl happening at the school itself in over a year. Thought the kids and teachers would be fine dealing with a would-be intruder by themselves." She shuddered, tears still running silently down her face. "He let that man in, told the security he was running a drill for the students, that it had been cleared with me, the governors and the LEA for them not to get involved. They had no reason not to believe him. The gun was meant to have blanks in it, but apparently he must have neglected to tell his friend that."
"You knew?" Steph sounded horrified. Rachel's head whipped round to hers, eyes wide and devastated.
"No, of course not! Max informed us less than five minutes before I entered the room!" Rachel bit her lip as her tears doubled, trying to control her reaction and not give into her instincts to drop the coffee and run to find her daughter. She really hated hospital waiting rooms, or waiting rooms of any kind, for that matter. "As soon as he'd finished telling us his smug little plan in my office, I raced to the hall with Eddie, hearing the gun go off as we reached the bottom of the stairs." Her shoulders shook slightly. "God, why is it always those two?"
Steph placed an arm round Rachel's shoulder, the two women embracing each other tightly as they let out some of the devastation and terror they held over their children being hurt, again, because of mad men and guns.
…
"Family of Maxine Barlow, Janeece Bryant and Alia Mason?"
Both women jumped up together at the doctor's question, nodding their heads despite them being the only ones in the waiting room. They dumped their paper cups into the nearest bin, the liquid masquerading as coffee barely sipped over the time they'd spent waiting. The doctor eyed them sympathetically, taking in their red, puffy, tear-stained faces and bloody clothes. "How are they?" Steph choked out, her hand clutching at Rachel's as they prayed for as little damage as possible.
"The surgeries were successful." The doctor led them through the doors to the ward, heading in the same direction as last time towards the far end of the ward. "Through and through wounds, no arteries or bone hit miraculously. They were lucky."
"So people keep telling us." Steph scoffed bitterly. "If they were so lucky, they wouldn't be here in the first place."
The doctor winced slightly. "I know. There is a slight issue you should both be aware of." He paused halfway down the largely empty ward, turning to face the two women. "The injuries that Miss Barlow and Miss Mason incurred today are incredibly close to similar ones they received about eleven months ago." He offered them a sympathetic smile. "The bullet tore through their arms just below the newly healed area. It… it undid most of the healing that has taken place over the last eleven months."
"What does that mean?" Rachel whispered, increasing her grip on Steph's hand. What did that news mean for their girls?
"I don't know yet; I wish I did." The doctor sighed. "We repaired as much as possible in surgery; I can assure you of that. However, at the very least, it's going to be a longer, tougher recovery than last time. They will need the stitches in for longer, more check-ups, and they will also be required to keep their arms in slings and immobile for at least two months. I'm going to arrange for the stitches to be removed in a month's time and physiotherapy will be scheduled for the new year."
"But they will fully recover?" Steph checked desperately.
"Hopefully, yes. Look, I can't give either of you absolutes here. There's a chance they will always have a bit of weakness in that arm, certain things they won't be able to do, but they should be able to have everyday function in their arms before next summer with a little luck. Which those girls seem to have in spades. Come on, I'll take you to them now." The doctor led them to the end of the ward, where they found the three girls sat up in hospital beds, Maxine between Janeece and Alia. They all appeared much more alert, or at least aware of where they were, all looking over warily as the doctor appeared with Rachel and Steph. Both women immediately smiled for the trio, trying to convey their relief they were all there and with them, pushing the doctor's words to the back of their minds as the doctor left them to talk with a nod to the two women.
Steph sat in the chair between Janeece and Maxine's beds, whilst Rachel took a seat between Maxine and Alia's beds. "How are you feeling?" Rachel asked quietly, reaching out to place a hand on her daughter's leg. She would've taken hold of her hand, but she was sat on the wrong side of the teenager's hospital bed for that.
"Like a bad trip." Maxine shook her head slightly. "And that's not a groggy reaction to the anaesthetic."
"Did we really manage to get ourselves shot again, somehow?" Alia asked tiredly, glancing down at her heavily bandaged arm propped up by the new hospital issued sling.
"What do you girls remember?" Steph's brow creased with worry.
Janeece frowned. "We know what happened today, if that's what you're asking us." She shook her head as though the action would straighten her thoughts out. "It's like seeing the gun triggered some sort of double vision in us. We knew what was really happening like, but…" She shuddered lightly and Steph's hand shot out to cover hers comfortingly.
"We were stuck back there with Earl even though we knew he wasn't really there. Like puppets with no choice but to go through it all again." Maxine divulged quietly, her eyes focusing on her bandage so she didn't have to look at either adult. She'd already discussed it with the other teenagers before the doctor had gone to fetch Steph and Rachel for them. "We probably scared the other guys in the hall shitless more than the idiot with the gun did."
"No, they were all scared, yes, but they were concerned for you three's wellbeing more than anything else." Rachel wasn't sure if it was entirely true, but she wasn't going to let that on to the girls. "So you think seeing the gun triggered the previous event in your minds?"
"Something like that, yeah." Alia's brow furrowed a little. "But not fully. We still knew where we were, were aware of the other students in there and what was going on. I think a part of the fear we had that pushed us into reliving that afternoon with Earl was trying to keep the guy focused on us and not the other scared kids in the room." She glanced at her injured arm again. "We'd rather him hurt us than hurt one of the little ones, like the year 8s. They're just babies really."
"How did he even get in?" Maxine asked. "I thought security was there to stop stuff like this from happening?"
The two women shared a worried glance that didn't go unnoticed by the three teenagers. How were they supposed to explain something they didn't understand fully themselves? Rachel sighed, knowing she'd have to take the lead as she knew more than Steph did. It was going to be a long, difficult conversation.
…
Nearly three hours and three police statements later, Rachel and Steph were bundling the three exhausted girls from the taxi outside Rachel's house, Rachel managing to pay that time as she'd had her purse in her jacket, originally to buy her lunch with that day. Alia and Maxine had cried out at every bump in the road, grateful for every red light the taxi had had to stop at for the respite the pause allowed them. Eddie's car was in the driveway waiting for them along with Rachel's car, as all three of them had journeyed to the school that morning in the latter, so Eddie must've driven the vehicle home at some point. Rachel had been considering getting a new vehicle, having seen a slightly newer model of the TT in a dark blue colour, but both Eddie and Alia liked the silver one more so she'd kept her original car. She could look at getting another one in a year or so anyway.
The front door opened as they herded the girls gently up the front step, Eddie helping them all into the house and to the living room, where all three girls hunched together on one sofa, staring unseeingly into the abyss, much as they'd done the previous year. Eddie sat down on the other sofa, finding both arms full as Rachel and Steph both leant into him instinctively. He held Steph tightly, understanding the woman's need for stability, for comfort after the day's events as he pressed a light kiss to Rachel's forehead, feeling her hands tighten on the arm he held round her. Both women never took their eyes off the teenagers however, who were in generic t-shirts and leggings yet again provided for them by the police in exchange for their school uniforms. "How's the school?" Rachel asked in a near whisper, defeat and exhaustion lacing her tone. Eddie tightened his hold instinctively on his girlfriend.
"Still standing. The kids are understandably shaken up, classes have been cancelled all week, school as a whole cancelled tomorrow. I called Charlotte; she'll be here Wednesday morning and will stay either ten days or for however long we need her for."
"And Max Tyler?" Steph asked woodenly, eyes focused on the stark white bandages once again covering the teens' upper arms. Eddie stiffened, shooting Rachel a questioning look she didn't even notice, as her eyes were on the same sight as Steph's. She must've told her, he realised, figuring that if he was in Rachel's shoes, he would've too.
"Security kicked him out today once the police had been, but he can't be suspended until Rachel talks to the LEA, tells them what happened and gives them a copy of the police report. Part of the reason I cancelled school tomorrow. We can't have him round the kids." Eddie informed the room as a whole, not entirely sure who was coherent enough to hear him. He'd heard from Tom and Chris, and to a lesser extent Ruby, how the girls had been reliving their fight with Earl for the entire room to witness, that being how the gun went off in the hall as they'd been fighting the intruder for the weapon, believing it to be the psychotic teenager. That had seemed to scare the pupils almost as much as the man himself had, with Eddie having to assure many of the students that Alia, Janeece and Maxine would all be fine, that their display was just a reaction to someone having a gun in their proximity. In particular, he'd spent over ten minutes assuring Sam and Denzil that none of what had happened was their fault, that they were in no way to blame for the original actions of their brother. It had been a long day, with every instinct Eddie had screaming at him to go be with Rachel and Alia at the hospital, fighting it to sort the school out, to be who the students needed first.
To his surprise, all three girls turned to him at his words, showing they were paying attention to the adults in the room, eyes clear if tired and pain filled. "We're alright, Eddie, really." Alia assured him softly. "We'll be fine." Rachel and Steph had informed the teenagers of the doctor's prognosis, though they'd already suspected something similar before they'd arrived due to the added pain they felt and the much larger bandages covering their upper arms. They'd stubbornly informed the headteacher and French teacher that they would fight like hell to get their arms as good as humanly possible as soon as they were able to.
"Ali…" Eddie trailed off at the stubborn looks on the teenagers' faces.
"We're in a lot of pain, and we're tired, but we'll talk everything through with Charlotte, we promise." Maxine assured him, well, all of them. The hospital had recommended them talking to someone, a professional, about what they'd been through, but they couldn't force the issue. The girls had refused, but after hearing that the counsellor would be back at the school, a silent exchange between them showed they weren't averse to talking to the woman again. "Charlotte helped last time, so maybe she can again. It can't hurt, right?"
"Right." Steph agreed instantly, anything that meant the girls weren't going to bury what had happened deep down inside them.
"Oh crap, this means we can't play football for a while." Maxine complained, pulling a face the other two joined in with immediately. "Damn it, who's gonna annihilate those tramps at Abbey Park next week?"
"Not us, obviously. You still could though, Jan." Alia glanced at Janeece, who shook her head.
"Nah, it wouldn't be the same without you two." Janeece shrugged. She levered herself up with a lot of effort, helping the other two to stand. "Come on, I hate these clothes. At least we can raid Ali's wardrobe for pyjamas."
…
Once the teenagers had put on vest tops and shorts, Janeece helping them once again with their immobile arms, and the two women had changed from their blood stained clothing into pyjama pants and t-shirts, Rachel's mostly covering her scar with only the very top peeking out from the v shaped neckline, the six in the house settled onto the sofas to watch mind numbing television. Steph sat on one sofa, arms round Maxine and Janeece, the latter of which sat closest to the door, with Eddie sat the closest to the door on the other sofa, his arm round Rachel, who had Alia bundled into her own arms, careful not to touch the girl's injured arm. It was quiet but comfortable, at least until the doorbell rang. The three teenagers flinched automatically, Maxine and Alia wincing at the pain the action caused, no one making a move to address the intrusion into the quiet evening until Eddie pressed a kiss to Rachel's head and stood to answer whoever was at the door. He was gone a few seconds, coming back with Tom, Chlo, Donte and Izzie, Eddie heading up the rear with an apologetic expression.
Chlo and Donte immediately entered the room with their daughter in her car seat, moving over to sit on the floor near the coffee table as Rachel pulled the throw pillows off the sofa she was occupying for the teenaged couple, knowing the floor would hurt after a while to sit on. Steph bunched up with her two girls so Tom had the room to sit on the other side of Janeece, near the door. Eddie sat back in his original position, his arm going back round the headmistress on autopilot. "We thought we'd give you a bit of time to get settled before barging in on you," Tom explained awkwardly. "Plus, we needed to see if the girls were alright." His concerned eyes at Chlo made Rachel and Eddie instantly understand that his sort of stepdaughter needed the reassurance, having spent too long blaming herself last time over her friends being shot and her not being able to help them.
"They'll be fine, Tom, thank you." Rachel offered him a tired smile. "Well, once they stop trying to give us heart attacks anyway."
"Was that really what happened?" Chlo asked quietly, eyes focused on where she was playing with Izzie's toys to entertain her child. "With Earl." She clarified after a beat.
"Pretty much." Maxine admitted eventually. "I think we missed a few bits out, but essentially, that's what happened. It was weird, like we could see what was really happening, but we could see that afternoon with Earl at the same time. It was like trying to figure out which one was real, only they both were."
"It was really freaky." Janeece added. "Like we had double the fear, double the pressure of what would happen if things went wrong."
"Well, at least there's no skipping school and buying alcohol this time." Rachel's smile took any potential sting from her words. "Did the kids get off home alright?" She directed the question at Tom, trying to generate some form of conversation even if all she wanted was to keep her daughter in her arms for as long as possible, see if it kept her safe from the world. It was definitely easier when her daughter was considered home schooled.
Tom shrugged. "Yeah, for the most part. Sam and Denzil looked horrified still, and I reckon Rose'll have a few words to say about it. Funnily enough, it seems to have brought most of the school together. The older students banded together to protect the younger ones, no matter which school they were originally a part of."
"School unity. Now that's a positive way to spin us getting shot." Alia snorted dryly, the other teenagers smirking as well. "Not how I was expecting this term to go."
"I don't think anyone was expecting you three to be staring down a gun again, Ali." Eddie shook his head. "We might have to do some damage control though, as far as Kim's concerned." He shrugged slightly at the teachers' curious looks. "The students found out pretty quick about Max being behind it, no matter how unintentional the consequences, and they seem to be taking it out on Kim for some reason."
Rachel's eyes narrowed as each teenager adopted a slightly guilty, knowing expression, even the ones who had been in hospital all afternoon. They all clearly knew something, something that was potentially behind the student body's mistreatment of a member of staff. "Talk, now." She made her voice stern, though not as much as she otherwise would, knowing Alia at least was still expecting her to be at least a little mad with her over the day's events. "What did you do to Kim?"
"Nothing, Rachel, honest." Maxine held up her good hand in a display of innocence. "We didn't do anything to her. She brought this all on herself."
"Brought what on herself?" Eddie's eyes narrowed to match Rachel's.
"You remember all those detentions we've got a tally going on?" Donte asked, mainly to the deputy head as he'd been in a couple of lunches the week before. If Donte gained too many lunchtime detentions then he couldn't help out at the crèche, something he wanted to avoid where possible. Eddie nodded even as the other teachers stared at the teenaged boy in surprise before glancing round at the other nodding teens. Eddie honestly didn't know that none of the other teachers in the room had found out about the detentions, figuring they'd realise they were missing a few of the top years of the school almost instantly, especially as they were the main troublemakers for the most part. "Well, Sam's winning right now, nearly up to two hundred, which is impressive, but that's beyond the point. The point is, Tyler dragged us all into the hall to implement the stupid uniform stuff, deliberately singling out the Waterloo Road kids that wouldn't automatically bow down to him. A lunchtime detention for each rule we break each day." Donte scoffed. "Pretty sure we'll end up with more detentions than we have lunchtimes at this rate."
"He did it all with Campbell's backing," Janeece informed them quietly. "It was her flyers from last year when she was trying to single me out. Plus she handed out like a bunch of the detentions, mainly to the sixth formers. She made it really obvious she was on his side, and not just cos they're sleeping together."
"Wait, let me get this straight." Rachel sat up, dislodging her daughter slightly as she tried to wrap her head round what Max had been doing right under her nose, singling out her students for the slightest of issues and putting them in near perpetual detention. She ignored the part about Kim and Max sleeping together; students knowing far too much about teachers' love lives was about par for the course at Waterloo Road. "You were all pulled in together to be told off for your uniforms, and have been issued detentions from both Max and Kim near constantly ever since for not complying?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Chlo shrugged. "I'm up to twenty three, but I've not gone to any of them cos Donte and I have Izzie with us every lunch time." Rachel eyed each teenager in the room slowly.
"Thirty five." Donte smirked. "I've gone to a couple, but only cos if I get to forty, I get kicked off being a nursery nurse in the crèche."
"Forty two." Maxine and Janeece shrugged in unison, well, Janeece shrugged whilst Max grimaced from the attempt, clutching at her newly injured arm.
"Sixty seven." Alia laughed lightly at Rachel and Eddie's incredulous looks. "What? Campbell really hates me anyway and Tyler's picked up on it. I got one yesterday for my hair bobble being the wrong colour, plus seven more for other things this morning alone."
"You don't tend to wear your hair up at school in the first place." Rachel pointed out, frowning.
"I know, that's what makes the detentions so ridiculous. I only go to them so Tyler can't say I'm avoiding them and try to call my mum." Alia sighed. "I was going to tell you, but you were a little busy at the time. It's not like it was urgent."
Rachel sighed, realising that her daughter was doing just enough in school time to keep the issue from her attention, probably because she was so caught up in the Lindsay and Emily situation. Come to think of it, she didn't know why the sixteen year old had been looking for her that day she'd found her in the shower, which probably could have been to tell her about Max. Seeing her in that state, Alia wouldn't have added to her worries by telling her about the petty moves of the executive head, considering it a worthy reason of breaking her promise made just before the summer holidays. "You should've done, but I understand why you didn't. Next time, tell me, no matter what else is going on." She glanced at Eddie quizzically. "How do you know about any of this?"
"I was on lunchtime detention rota last week." Eddie shrugged. "There were over thirty kids in that room every day, with at least twenty more supposed to be in there. I got through every game I could think of to keep them occupied. They probably learnt more maths that week than the last however many years they've been in school. It's meant to be Jo this week, but obviously the cooler and detention system will be scrapped the rest of the week."
"And no one thought to inform me of any of this?" Rachel checked.
"You had enough to worry about." Rachel's eyes narrowed at Eddie and Alia's simultaneous reply, especially when everyone else agreed with their assessment. What on earth was she to do with these people, so damn caring about her? She settled for wrapping an arm back round her child and relaxing slightly back into Eddie's side. There weren't many better people she could have in her corner anyway.
…
Tom left an hour later with his two teenagers and their baby, leaving the house with the original six in it. No one felt like a takeaway, or cooking really, so Rachel and Eddie had instead made a large plate of toast, nearly a whole loaf's worth, to be shared between them all as they relaxed again to watch television. Rachel had taken Alia with her and Eddie to the kitchen despite knowing she was overreacting, calmer seeing her daughter sat on the kitchen counter bored than the images running through her brain on repeat. At about half past ten, the girls stated they were going to bed, Steph heading up as well as Maxine wanted her guardian's comforting presence that night and Alia was sharing with Janeece again. Rachel had no doubt that all three teenagers would end up sharing her daughter's bed at some point that night. She settled further into Eddie, feeling his arms wrap round her comfortingly.
"You're in for a long night, you know that right?" She checked. "You could always go to bed if you'd prefer."
Eddie shook his head, pressing a sweet kiss to her cheek. "No, I don't think I'd be able to sleep even if I tried. It's like I'm constantly on edge, waiting to see if she's alright, wanting to be there the moment she needs us."
Rachel smiled wearily. "Welcome to being the parent of a teenager, particularly one who somehow has developed a habit of getting bloody shot." She shifted slightly away, moving to sit up properly. "Come on, let's make up some extremely strong coffee. Steph will probably join us soon enough." Eddie glanced at her questioningly. "Steph won't be able to sleep either, so she'll put Max in with Jan and Ali after a couple of hours and come down here." She sighed deeply. "Sorry, this was not what you signed up for, I know."
"It's fine, Rach, honest." Eddie placed two fingers beneath her chin, tipping her face up to his gently, hating the doubt he could see lingering in the corners of her eyes. Sure, most people didn't get involved with a woman with quite so many secrets and a propensity for putting herself in danger, bringing along a daughter with the same stubborn streaks as part of a package deal, but he had and he didn't see even the slightest reason why it should be even slightly unexpected at this point. "I knew what I was signing myself up for before I kissed you that first time. I love you, Rach. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, could make me walk away from you, or Alia, at this point."
"I'm pretty sure I kissed you first." Rachel murmured, though she was smiling ever so slightly. "I love you too, Eddie."
"Oh really?" Eddie let a lazy smile cover his lips. "Pretty sure I'm going to be the one to kiss you now, though." He dipped his head before she could respond, covering her lips with his and applying a gentle pressure, his hands moving softly, one to rest on her hip and another to cup the side of her neck, whilst hers both moved to rest on his chest, slightly above his heart. They were interrupted by a snort of amusement, pulling apart to find Alia and Janeece in the doorway, Alia snickering and Janeece looking a little disturbed.
"That's so disturbing." Janeece complained lightly. It was one thing to know the head and deputy were in a relationship, but quite another to see them looking as though they were going to make out on the sofa together at any moment.
"You get used to it." Alia rolled her eyes, though she was still laughing. "At least their hands are still in safe places this time." Janeece pulled another face at that unwanted piece of information as both Rachel and Eddie rolled their own eyes at the teenagers.
"Did you need something, girls?" Rachel asked gently.
"No, not really. We just wanted to know if we could come with you guys to school tomorrow." Janeece shrugged. "We really don't want to be left alone here."
"How did you even know we'd be going in?" Eddie asked with a slight frown. Rachel smiled at him, shaking her head. He really underestimated just how much those girls could figure out in a tiny space of time.
"Yes, you can come with us, but we can't all fit in one car so some will be with me, some with Eddie. You can decide who amongst yourselves." Rachel smiled reassuringly at them.
"Thanks mum." Alia turned to Eddie. "Well, the hall will need to be checked out, to see what, if any, damage there is, as well as an emergency meeting with the governors and the LEA, plus the police promised to courier the initial statement to the school by eleven o'clock tomorrow morning. So Rachel needs to be there at least, and you'd most likely go for support. Steph left her car and all her things there yesterday so she needs to go too."
Eddie shook his head, though he was smiling. "You know, I don't know why I even bother questioning you anymore."
"Go, try and get some sleep. You both look knackered. If you need anything, we'll probably be down here or in our room." Rachel bade them both a goodnight as they disappeared back in the direction of the stairs and Alia's room. It was only once she was sure they'd gone that she let out a deep sigh, the smile dropping from her face. "Oh god, why does it always have to be her?" She buried her face in her hands, Eddie immediately reaching out, his hands resting comfortingly on her shoulders. "It's been less than a year and I could've lost her to a bullet, twice. Even once was too many times!" She made sure to keep her voice low, though the despair and terror still seeped through every word, muffled a little by her hands. "That's not even counting her following me in front of a bloody JCB. I cannot bury my daughter, Eddie, I just can't."
"Ssh, come here sweetheart." Eddie bundled her up into his arms, feeling her body shake with the force of her silent sobs as the full weight of the day hit her, that she could have lost her daughter yet again to an idiot with a gun. An idiot that was still unconscious, and Rachel was definitely not up for telling Alia that the police seemed slightly in awe of her for knocking gun wielding idiots out after being shot. Once again, they would call the headmistress with any news, though they were waiting on Max being suspended by the LEA to question him, apparently. She would be calling the cops as soon as she knew the outcome of the meeting either way, though as Max had boasted smugly of his plan to both Rachel and Eddie, in full hearing of Bridget as well, she didn't see how he couldn't be seen as putting their kids in danger.
After quite a few tense minutes, Rachel's sobs had subsided and she shifted in Eddie's arms to offer him a watery, grateful smile, wiping at her eyes to try and dispel a bit of the moisture. "Thank you. What did I do to deserve you?"
"Something terrible in a past life no doubt," Eddie quipped, attempting to inject a little levity into the tense atmosphere that permeated the entire house like a suffocating blanket.
"Must have been awful indeed," Rachel agreed lightly, eyes still watery and puffy from her tears. "Then again, so must you to have ended up stuck with me."
"You say stuck, I say lucky."
"Did you hit your head today and I didn't notice?" Rachel teased, reaching out to place gentle fingers on his head, pretending to feel for an imaginary bump. "Only I'm sure you're being more cheesy than usual."
"I'm wounded, Rachel, really." Eddie mock pouted.
"Oh? Shall I kiss it better then?" She smirked, referencing Steph's tease in the pub the previous week or so earlier.
"I think it could only help." Eddie nodded as Rachel pressed forward, her lips landing on his and her hands pushing through his hair, thankful for not only him being there in the first place, but also providing her with the slight levity she really needed to take her mind off her injured child just a little bit, to stop her driving herself mad with what ifs and worst case scenarios. There was time enough for that tomorrow.
…
Rachel could feel her temper rising as she sat between Eddie and Steph, opposite Max, who was currently trying to spin everything that had happened since the start of term to somehow be Rachel's fault. She knew Nigel didn't believe a word of it, nor did most of the governors. Neither did Jennifer Headley or the other couple of LEA members there, one of which being the one Rachel phoned when she was trying to quit last time her daughter was shot. She winced internally that she even had to specify which time her daughter had been injured in such a way. Max was not taking the accusations or evidence lightly, fighting tooth and nail to somehow come out of all this blameless and leave Rachel with the mess he'd made in the space of about a month. Her fingers twitched where she'd threaded them together on the tabletop, fighting the urge to lunge at the man who had orchestrated the event that led to her child in emergency surgery again, coping with things no one should ever have to. She'd had enough, about to speak up and defend herself, when he dragged Eddie into the equation, claiming she was too busy making eyes at and pining after her deputy to notice what was going on in her own school. Bizarrely, she actually felt grateful he'd clearly never worked out she was in a relationship with her deputy. Then again, he was about to find out.
"Excuse me, Max, but you seem to be a little misinformed." She smiled sweetly at him, allowing the venom to stay restricted to her eyes, the hazel orbs flashing dangerously at the dark haired man. "I've been in a personal, romantic relationship with Eddie Lawson for about ten months now. The governors and LEA are both aware of our relationship and congratulated us over the summer. They know we will work well together, whatever our private lives may be. Plus, don't you think it a little hypocritical, given your relationship with Kim?" She wasn't prepared for Max to pale dramatically at her rebuttal, glancing almost feverishly at Jennifer, whose face had similarly blanched. "You can choose to disagree with how I run my school, Max, that's fine. You can even criticise my love life, I don't care. However, I will not stand idly by whilst you put children in my care in danger, regardless of whatever reasons you may have had."
Nigel stared at Max with grave eyes. "We were here to discuss if there was need for an investigation and a chance for you to explain yourself before said investigation. Not for you to go mudslinging based off what is clearly a personal vendetta. Look at those girls out there." He pointed out of the art classroom windows, where an antsy trio of teenagers stood in vest tops and leggings, two with heavily bandaged arms and all looking a mixture of jumpy and exhausted. They had refused to stay in Rachel's office by themselves, but none of the teachers had wanted them subjected to Max if they could help it, so as a compromise, the teenagers were left in the corridor where they could see but not hear the meeting. "Look at them and tell me that what you think you achieved was worth it."
"They were not supposed to engage with the intruder-" Max began, only to be interrupted.
"'Not supposed to engage'? What the hell did you think a trio of already traumatised kids were going to do, eh?" Eddie growled dangerously, only not jumping out of his seat because Rachel had a tight grip on his arm stopping him. He was more surprised that neither Rachel nor Steph had lunged for the man blaming their children for being injured. He wasn't sure he'd hold them back even if he somehow managed to catch them in time. "Those girls went through hell less than a year ago and were just coming out the other side. Yesterday's events triggered a traumatic response in them, and you're blaming them?!" He shook his head in thinly veiled disgust. "You need to look in a mirror before you go laying blame at anyone else's feet."
Jennifer managed to collect herself, fixing Max with a cool look he automatically winced at. "Max, we will be conducting an investigation, but this is primarily a police matter." She glanced at Rachel, who nodded to the girls through the window to keep them calm and subtly inform them of the LEA outcome of the meeting. "You are suspended, effective immediately, and the result of both our investigation and the police investigation will determine whether or not you'll ever teach again anywhere. You definitely will not be returning to any school under my purview, I promise you that."
…
Rachel had had her doubts at letting her sixteen year old into the assembly hall that day, even if she needed to go in herself to assess any damage and see what could be salvaged. Alia had asked to go in on the journey to school that morning, Rachel eventually giving in despite her reservations. The police had dug out the bullet from the wooden front to the stage, which was a small mercy as far as the headmistress was concerned. Chairs and half decorated items still littered the room, giving off an eerie abandoned feel to the hall.
Rachel stepped into the hall cautiously, holding tight to Alia's good arm just in case the teenager's stress and shock levels were overloaded once more and she ended up passing out on them. Eddie followed behind Alia, in the same mindset as Rachel and bracing himself to catch the sixteen year old again should he need to. Steph stepped in through the other double doors, followed closely by Maxine and Janeece, who had linked arms to enter the room together. None of the girls had ever set foot back in Steph's old house after the Earl incident, so returning to the hall was a first for them.
Alia's eyes surveyed the room, feeling a little faint as the memories of the day before threatened to overtake her, but crucially, she didn't feel as though she was going to faint. She could understand Rachel and Eddie's concern, and she was grateful they cared, but she really didn't think she was going to pass out. Plus, it was something all three of them needed to do. They couldn't exactly avoid the assembly hall for the rest of their school days, could they? She took a shaky step forward, matched by Janeece and Maxine as they instinctively sought each other out, huddling close as they gazed at the room. "Someone cleared the blood up." Alia noted absently, her good hand holding one of Janeece's.
"Probably the cleaners. Or the police." Maxine replied. Her good hand was holding Janeece's other hand. "These props are going to be patchy as hell."
"Folks might not notice if they're painted bright enough and the lights are dimmed." Janeece shrugged. "But honestly, who chose bright lime green as part of the colour scheme?"
"I think it was Ruby." Eddie spoke up, all three teachers gobsmacked at how well the three girls were taking being back in the same room they'd been shot in. "I left the colour schemes to Ruby and Chris, and I don't see Chris picking those colours somehow."
"Typical." Janeece snorted. "God awful woman with a god awful colour scheme sense. What a shock." All three teenagers erupted into tiny giggles. Ruby had made her disdain for the original Waterloo Road students abundantly clear, more than a few pupils going head to head with her over things she'd said or done the last few weeks. It probably didn't help any that she was a staunch supporter of Max Tyler and almost as big a gossip as Steph, though Steph was never malicious or ill-intentioned with her gossiping.
"Girls." Steph's voice was gentle, almost as though she was afraid talking too loudly would break the acceptance the teenagers seemed to have over the day before. "Are you alright? Only you don't seem half as bad as the thought of going back to mine was last time. Crap, I hate that there was even one time, let alone more." She muttered her last sentence, though the slight echo of the room still picked it up.
"Earl was personal." Maxine's eyes welled with pain and loss and a little guilt as she turned to look at the closest thing she had to a mum, still holding tight to Janeece's hand. "He brought that gun with the intention of hurting me, maybe even killing me. He invaded our home to do that Steph, on purpose like. He would've hurt Jan and Ali too in a instant, if it would've got me doing what he wanted. We knew Earl and it was beyond personal."
"This ain't." Janeece added quietly. "We know what happened here, but the reason that guy was here with a weapon had nowt to do with us at all. So it's weird being in here, but there ain't any… added stress other than us getting hurt here. Which, let's face it, we're clumsy enough to do all on our own." The other two nodded their agreement, all six turning in unison as Jennifer, Chris and Liam Evans, the latter being who Rachel had called last time, stepped into the hall, eyeing the teenagers in blatant concern.
Liam stepped forward, his features sympathetic as he addressed Rachel. "The police have taken in Max Tyler for questioning and the security team have been informed he is not to step foot on school property ever again."
"Thank you Liam." Rachel breathed a sigh of relief that at least one of her worries was taken care of for now.
"Am I going to end up with your resignation by the end of the week again?" Liam asked hesitantly. "I don't think the children need to have you up and leave on them. Especially not when they find out their executive headteacher was behind all this."
"Everyone definitely already knows that." Maxine piped up, prompting laughter in her two friends and exasperated eye rolls from Rachel, Steph and Eddie.
"No, I have no plans to resign this time." Rachel felt Eddie's hand on her lower back, silently reassuring her. "I blamed myself last time because Earl was here at my insistence, my hope to help him make something of himself. It was that drive, my push that allowed him here long enough to hurt those girls." Rachel swallowed heavily. "I will regret that decision every day but it was pointed out to me that if I didn't blame those girls for charging at Earl, how could I blame myself for giving the boy a chance to do better with himself?"
Steph turned to fix the headmistress with a firm look. "You better not quit on us." She rolled her eyes at Rachel. "You're a bloody good head, Rachel. Best I've ever had. And I don't know how, but somehow, you make this place work."
"Thanks, Steph." Rachel was surprised, unexpected tears springing to her eyes at the blonde woman's heartfelt words. Whilst circumstances had thrown them together as unexpected friends and sometimes confidantes, she'd never expected such a public display of the French teacher's support for her. She turned back to the two LEA members and her head of extended services, offering them a small yet genuine smile. "I plan on staying here a good bit longer at least. I can't give up on these kids, not now, not ever."
TBC…