(A/N): Sorry about the wait, it's been rather hectic. Still, I appreciate the response to this fic and I have been working on trying to get this finished as well as work on other fics as well and my work. This will only be a short fic, one or two more chapters after this one, which is longer than the first one. I have not finished it yet because my imaginary Rachel and Eddie are being stubborn right now, but I am working on it. A warning that there are heavy topics in this one, though not really more than is in the show in the first place. I just thought I should warn people. Anyway, as always read on, enjoy and let me know what you think.

Trapped Together

Chapter 2

Eddie stared at the woman opposite him intently, for the first time in about a week. Sure, she'd seemed a bit paler, a bit more withdrawn that first day back, all to be expected given the events of the last day of term, but how could so much have changed in a week? For she seemed almost translucent under the fluorescent lighting of the storeroom, dark circles under her eyes she hadn't quite managed to completely mask with her makeup and a dark, defeated look that felt exhausting deep in her hazel eyes. How had he missed all that, missed the way she seemed to be running herself into the ground? And for what? A school that had almost taken her life from her just a few months earlier? He glanced back at the letter she'd tried to keep from him. A small part of him understood why she'd want to keep the paper from him, for she was most likely mortified that so many people had made such personal deductions about her. The words made a lot of sense though, and thinking back, he could see each time he'd unintentionally snapped at her, or been shorter with her than usual, and where the previous year she would have pushed back against him instinctively, locking horns with him without a moment's hesitation, now she flinched or winced, visibly retreating into herself and just letting him snipe at her. Somewhere inside her, she'd probably twisted things around to believe she deserved whatever mood he threw in her direction. And didn't that make him feel about four inches tall, that he was hurting the woman he had feelings for, and she was letting him because she knew she'd hurt him by turning him down.

If the way she'd tried to keep the letter was anything to go by, their staff members had stumbled onto at least a grain of truth where the headmistress was concerned, though there was no way on earth they could possibly know exactly what had gone on between them. They definitely couldn't have any true idea of what had gone on between himself and the headmistress the first day back, but they had seen their interactions ever since, so the staff's deductions weren't too far off. He eyed Rachel again carefully, noting the defeated way she held herself despite her guardedness, the way she seemed almost resigned to whatever he was going to do or say, and he hated it. He wanted his Rachel back, the woman full of such fire and passion, that could kick anyone's butt and fight with the best of them, utterly devoted to her school and her pupils. But she seemed to be gone, just a shell left, and Eddie knew deep down that his attitude hadn't helped any. Even the letter had picked up on that, had pointed out that his little moods were only pushing her further away and shutting him out more and more. How the hell was he meant to fix it, if he even could?

"Rachel." He noticed the way her eyes shot to his face, though not quite his eyes, with the call of her name, surprise visible on her features at the soft tone he'd used, which only served to make him feel worse. What did it say when she was actually surprised to be receiving anything remotely kind or soft from him? "The letter's right; we need to talk." He definitely didn't miss the way her guard instantly went up, her posture somehow defensive despite not having moved.

"About what?" Her tone would have been the epitome of professionalism had it not been for the quaver in her voice, betraying her nervousness. Somehow, it cut through Eddie like a knife as realisation hit. She was scared; more than that, she was terrified. But of what? It couldn't possibly be that she was scared of him, could it? He'd never hurt her, not in a million years. But then, hadn't he been doing exactly that these last two weeks, trying to make her hurt as much as she'd hurt him?

Shame flooded through him again. Rachel didn't trust easily, he knew that, didn't have many friends who knew her, truly knew her that she trusted. Eddie just hoped he hadn't lost that trust with his recent behaviour. "About everything. The blackmail, the fire, the summer, the start of term. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I think it needs to be said put loud. Rachel, you know we can't carry on like we have been doing." She flinched, but her guard was still well and truly in place. Eddie sighed. "Rachel. C'mon."

Rachel sighed, deflating slightly as she gave in. "Where do you want to start?"

"Let's start at the beginning with the blackmail." Eddie figured it would be easier to go in chronological order, plus it might be an easier topic for her than the fire or the first day back at school. "I know my reaction wasn't exactly great when I found out."

Rachel shrugged. "That's okay. I didn't expect you to take it well."

"What did you expect?"

"A lot of yelling, accusations. Calling the LEA or the police on me. Blackmailing me yourself, most likely to either get my job or to sleep with me." Rachel shrugged again. "The possibilities were endless."

Eddie felt his jaw drop against his will as her words washed over him, said in such a bland, matter of fact tone that one would ordinarily use to describe banal things such as the weather or a boring governors' meeting. Definitely not the tone he'd expect from someone admitting to something like that. His instinctive response was to deny everything, to tell her she was talking rubbish, but he'd done too much of that recently, so instead, he paused and let himself think it through. Which was usually Rachel's role, he knew. Back then, they hadn't really known each other, but they had been getting along fairly well, much better than they had before the winter musical and he'd probably go as far as to say they were fast becoming friends. Then, as far as she was concerned, he'd begun acting off with her, only her, and Eddie realised with a sinking heart, not a million miles from how he'd been treating her for the last week or so. Him blurting out that he knew her darkest secret and being disgusted with it had most likely thrown her entire world into a spin, coming up with any and all scenarios based on his newfound knowledge. He couldn't deny that calling the LEA and the police on her had crossed his mind more than once, but something each time had stayed his hand. Looking back, he knew it was the broken way she described her childhood and what had happened to drive her, a child herself at the time, to end up selling herself for money, plus the haunted, terrified look in her eyes every time she looked at him. It had chipped away at him slowly, knowing that his actions and words were causing such an expression, that she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for him to hurt her. But no matter how angry he had been, he never ever would have attempted to blackmail her himself, for any purpose. Not for her job and definitely not to sleep with her. Sure, she was wildly attractive and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't wanted her almost from the moment he laid eyes on her, but he never would have used her past against her to coerce or push her into something like that. Rachel's blasé tone really cut through him to his core, that such motives and heinous actions were nothing to even blink at as far as she was concerned. "Rachel. No, I would never have blackmailed you, for any purpose. I know I yelled and ranted a bit, but I never would have done anything to really hurt you." He swallowed heavily, scooting forward until her feet were almost level with his hips and his were resting against the shelving near her hips. "I hope you know that." His tone was pleading, earnest. He really needed her to know that he'd never force her into anything.

Rachel seemed to pause for a moment before allowing her face to soften ever so slightly as she nodded. "Yes, of course I know that Eddie. But you asked what I expected then." She sighed. "You were so angry, so bitter, and you knew something incredibly private about me I'd kept to myself for twenty years. I didn't know what to think, so I prepared myself for anything that could happen."

"No matter what, I would never." Eddie reiterated strongly, his hand moving of its own volition to rest low on her calf on her leather boot, almost at her ankle. He didn't miss the flinch she tried to hide from him at the action and almost moved his hand away. He would've, if she hadn't relaxed almost immediately and offered him a tiny, shaky smile, silently telling him she didn't mind his action. "I promise."

"I know, Eddie." She repeated patiently, still seeming resigned to everything, as though she was doing it all just for his benefit. "What else did you want to know?"

Eddie bit his lip on a lot of questions he wanted to ask her. Now was not the time, not when she was being so open and forthright with him. He needed to understand events from her side first, before a real questioning session began. He needed to understand. "The fire. What the hell happened, Rachel?"

…

Rachel swallowed heavily at Eddie's question. She hadn't minded telling him what she'd expected from him when he'd found out about her past. She'd not gotten where she was now by ignoring all the worst possible scenarios that could arise from someone finding out about her past, and though deep down she knew Eddie wasn't like that, she'd still thought of all the things he could potentially do, hold over her with the information he carried. But the fire, the fire was something she was fairly certain she hadn't come to terms with herself yet, let alone knew well enough to explain to her deputy she was locked in a storeroom with. She took a deep breath, trying to ease the pounding in her chest and the rising panic as she felt the heat on her back, the feel of debris falling on her, the warmth as she lost consciousness. Waking up to a stark hospital room to be told she'd been in a coma for the best part of a month. "It was my fault Stuart was still in the building."

"How? Rachel, it couldn't possibly be your fault. Hordley was a knob, but he definitely knew to get the hell out of a burning building all by himself."

Rachel shook her head in automatic response, tears pricking at her eyes as she desperately prayed he wouldn't see her any differently, well, any more differently than he already did. "No, Eddie, listen to me. It was my fault. I… we fought, after the assembly, and I… I kneed him and pushed him, hard."

"He laid a hand on you?" She managed a slight twitch of the mouth at how defensive he sounded on her behalf. She'd definitely missed that this past week.

"It doesn't matter."

"It bloody well does!"

"Eddie, stop. I pushed him down the stairs. I didn't mean to, but we were fighting halfway up the main staircase and I… I tried to see if he was alright but he pushed me away, all dazed and confused." Rachel let out a shaky breath. "So, yes, it was my fault he was still in the building."

Eddie huffed, but he didn't seem too angry, or horrified with the knowledge of what she'd done, she was glad to notice. She didn't think she could've taken him reacting badly to her actions that day, no matter how much she'd consistently beat herself up over them ever since they'd happened. "Okay, but I still reckon it weren't your fault. Grown men don't need to attack people in the middle of a school. What happened? You promised me you were doing one more sweep of the school, then meeting me outside. Only you never reappeared."

Rachel nodded slightly. She'd found out from the doctors and the police that most of the school had gone by the time the fire was out and the building had been declared safe enough for the paramedics to enter, the playground completely empty by the time she was stable enough to be bundled into the back of an ambulance. "I tried to help him get out when I found him knocked out in the corridor. I was pulling him down the corridor when part of the ceiling collapsed, knocking me out and pinning me down." She averted her eyes to the floor beside her knees, on the opposite side to Eddie, as the heat from the fire scalded her, the acrid smoke burning her lungs all over again. She coughed to try and clear it, forcing herself to try and stay as calm as possible. The doctor had been right that she hadn't been ready to come back to school yet, not that she'd ever admit that to him. "It took a while to get me out, according to the police."

"The police?"

"Yes, the police. The school did go up in flames under unusual circumstances Eddie." Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes her deputy could be rather naïve. Of course the police would be involved after the events of the day, and not just because of the fire. "Their interview of me was the last thing they needed before they closed the investigation, into the fire and…" she trailed off, not entirely sure how to tell Eddie, or if Eddie even knew. Somehow, it hadn't really made the news and she was only told as a victim herself, the one that had been blackmailed and injured. "Eddie, don't you know?"

"Know what?" Eddie's brow furrowed in her direction, but he was still looking at her, which she'd take as a good thing. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to gather up the strength to tell him, hoping he'd understand when she had told him it was her fault.

"Eddie… Stuart's dead." Tears spilled over her cheeks with the confession, unable to help it as she shifted her legs out from under his hand and curled into a protective ball. "It's my fault he's dead, don't you see?" She managed to tell him before hiding her face in her arms, hiding from both Eddie and the world. According to the doctors, and later the police, if their positions in the school had been reversed, Stuart would have survived and Rachel wouldn't. She'd been touch and go for a little while in the hospital as it was, but if she'd been in Stuart's place in that corridor, she wouldn't have stood a chance. The tears were partly for Stuart, for she hated the idea of anyone dying, let alone being responsible for said death, but also for herself, for a fate that could have befallen her by no more than a few inches.

Rachel jumped in surprise as she felt arms circle gently round her shoulders, glancing up with red rimmed eyes to find Eddie had shifted round the small room to rest beside her against the door, his arms wrapped comfortingly round her and his face the softest she'd seen since she'd first come back and found him sat in her office chair. She buried her face back in her arms as Eddie gathered her to him, making light soothing noises that oddly enough seemed to be working, if only in the sense she didn't feel quite so alone with her knowledge anymore. "Oh Rach, it's alright." More tears spilled from her eyes at the sound of her shortened name from his lips. He couldn't hate her that much if he was using a name only he really used for her. Maybe he didn't hate her as much as she hated herself over it all. "It's alright. Stuart probably had a bunch of injuries and smoke inhalation and stuff before you even got to him."

Rachel shook her head. It was sweet of him to try and make it alright, but the doctors and police had been upfront and frank with her, knowing she'd appreciate that more than tiptoeing round it all. "No, Eddie. I know." She forced herself to look him in the eye, still encased in his arms. "Eddie, they told me. If I was where Stuart was when the ceiling fell down… I wouldn't be here. I would have left this building in a body bag." She took a deep breath. "Stuart lasted two days in hospital. I wouldn't have even had that. So I know it's my fault."

…

Eddie felt terror wash over him at Rachel's tearful words. Without really thinking, he all but dragged her to his lap, wrapping his arms tightly round her and burying his face in her hair. He'd spent so long wondering how he was going to talk to her about them that summer, and there was a high chance she might not have even been there to talk to. He could've lost her. And she had had to live with that knowledge along with Stuart's death, weighing on her every moment of every day. No wonder she looked as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. "Oh, Rach." He held her tightly but not restrictively, so she could move away if she really wanted to. He didn't want to hurt her or scare her. God only knew what was going on in her head. He'd be a mess if he'd had to deal with even half of what the headmistress was currently going through, and Rachel always held things so tightly to her chest, so there was probably a lot more buried inside her. Eddie didn't know how much more he could handle hearing, but he knew he would in an instant if it helped Rachel in any conceivable way. He felt her hands slowly unfurl from her legs to rest very lightly on his chest, her head joining them as he felt the silent sobs wrack her body. He held her firmly, letting her get her emotions out and even letting out a few of his own hidden in her hair. "I'm glad you're here." He murmured close to her ear earnestly. He felt her fingers move slightly on his shirt.

"Are you?"

His heart fairly broke at the sincere question barely given breath by the woman in his arms. "Of course I am. Rachel, I, and a lot of people, are incredibly glad you're still here." He assured her gently, sensing she needed the reassurance, no matter how much it shocked him that she'd need it for just being around. "I am grateful you fell where you did, and that you're here now. Okay? It was not your fault Stuart didn't make it. You tried to help him. Most people wouldn't have even tried to help someone who had so consistently tried to hurt them, tried to ruin their life. You're extraordinary, Rachel."

"Eddie…"

He hushed her protest immediately, knowing she had a very different view of herself than anyone else did. "Ssh, Rachel, it's true, and it's not just me that thinks so. Yes, I organised the assembly your first day back, but I didn't organise the choir or the song. The kids did that off their own backs. That's how highly they think of you. The chant should've been enough to show you that." Eddie fought his own emotions down a little. She was still alive, in his arms. She was alright. "They just let me take credit because they still want to appear cool or whatever, but you should've seen the prep they did. The kids were desperate to get it right for you, to reassure you they all missed you and wanted you there. Hell, I thought I'd have to become a DJ with the number of times one of the kids came up to me and went 'Sir, does Miss Mason actually like this song? Should we change it?' It was like a running poll of your favourite music tastes, even though I hadn't a clue and told them you'd appreciate the sentiment, no matter what they chose."

"Guns 'n' Roses. Cyndi Lauper. The Jam. Taylor Swift."

Eddie allowed himself a smirk at her mumbled answer. "I agree with the first three, but Taylor Swift, really? How old are you again?" His smirk morphed into a laugh as she slapped lightly against his chest. He'd take anything that showed even a hint of the playful fire he knew was still inside her somewhere.

"I'll deny everything if you ever tell anyone about that. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Your secret is safe with me. I don't think I'd get anyone to believe me anyway."

"Good point. Tell anyone you want." He heard the smirk in her voice, glad he'd managed to stop the tears that had prompted him to pull her into his arms in the first place. He blinked as she pulled away slightly, loosening his hold as she tipped her head up to look at him, hazel eyes wide and slightly fearful. "Eddie. The fire… it changed everything. I don't have a summer to tell you about. I… I got out of hospital two days before my first day back. My doctor thinks I shouldn't be here at school until at least November, physically and mentally." Her gaze had slid to his chin with her mumbled confession.

Eddie's eyes widened at her words. She'd defied her doctors just to come back to work, for the kids, for the school, despite what it must be doing to her to be here, the place she'd nearly died in, the place where she'd been so badly injured she'd gotten out of hospital less than two weeks ago. He, like most of the staff, had thought she'd spent a couple weeks at most in the hospital before hiding away somewhere more peaceful to recuperate. He'd tried calling her when the governors had been after her job, but her number kept going to voicemail. Eddie had assumed she just wasn't wanting to deal with anything while she recovered, but obviously, she must've still been in the hospital, unable to deal with school matters. "You must've been bored out of your mind spending nearly eight weeks in a hospital bed. You get antsy when you've more than five minutes without something to do." He tried for a playful tone, though it fell a little flat as he tried not to focus on how bad her injuries must have been to be kept in a hospital bed for so long.

"Four." She corrected softly.

"What?"

"Four weeks." Her gaze was still focused on his chin rather than his eyes as she divulged even more information for him, information Eddie was floundering over. "I only woke up about four weeks after the fire."

"What?" Eddie repeated faintly, lifting her chin with two fingers to get her to look him in the eye, concern and fear shining through his gaze for the woman in his arms. "Rach, what are you saying? Were you…" He swallowed heavily, knowing he needed to ask the question but not sure he wanted to know the answer. "Were you in a coma?" His whole face dropped involuntarily as she nodded slowly, her eyes wide and worried at his reaction. "Oh God, Rachel." His hand slipped from Rachel's chin to trail round to the back of her neck, pulling her back in to him for a hug, needing to convince himself she really was okay. Her hands slipped round to clutch at his back, holding him just as tightly as he was holding her. Eddie buried his face in her sweet smelling hair once more as the full force hit him. He'd been a little irritated, hell, most of the staff had been more than irritated, that their headteacher had swanned off for the entire summer and left them to deal with the rebuild and the governors, when it turned out she'd not even been conscious enough to open her eyes, let alone sort out an entire school. He knew Rachel, and he knew that she would never admit to the staff at large what she'd gone through that summer, instead taking the snipes and barbs as they were thrown her way. It was just who she was. She'd been through so much, and Eddie wanted nothing more than to keep her there, wrapped in his arms and safe from the world for as long as possible. He knew she didn't need his protection, that she'd be the first to roll her eyes at the notion, but he at least wanted to be there to help the next time something crazy happened, like the fire or another kid with a gun. He just wanted to be there, for her, in whatever capacity she wanted from him. "God, even four weeks for you is a miracle. You should've called me, so you weren't on your own."

"I wasn't, on my own. Not all the time anyway." Rachel's face was still buried in his shoulder, his own face still buried in her hair. He could feel her breath through his shirt, a little erratic but strong enough that he could tell she wasn't in tears at least. "My… my little sister came up from London for a little while with my nephew, stayed at my house until a week before the start of term. It's Phil's GCSE year; I wasn't having him miss anything because of me."

"That sounds nice. You and your sister must be close." Eddie commented, trying to keep his tone light in order to not let on just how much personal information she'd shared with him. For the notoriously private Rachel Mason, she'd practically written him a whole book into her personal life in the last few minutes and he wasn't going to spook her.

"Not really." Rachel shrugged lightly. "Melissa, my sister, is the fun, uncomplicated one, never thinks before she does anything. She was on her phone most of the time she spent visiting me, most likely to whoever she's seeing now. Philip filled me in on everything that was happening in his life and watched silly movies with me to keep me company." She took in a deep breath. "I never went back home after I left my previous profession, but I accidentally ran into Mel when Philip was about two. Of course, she recognised me instantly, wouldn't stop pestering me until I told her what had happened when I ran away from home." Eddie felt her shudder in his arms and his stomach sank, somehow knowing it wasn't a kind reaction from her younger sister.

"I'm guessing she didn't take it well."

Rachel let out a watery sounding laugh. "I suppose she did take it well, if you don't include the screaming, shouting, accusations and cutting me out of her life completely."

"What happened?"

"I'd given her my address before she'd demanded the truth from me, but I honestly never expected her to use it. I got home from work one day about four years later to find her on my doorstep in tears with a six year old Phil and a bunch of bags. She told me her husband had left her and she needed me to look after Philip for a little while whilst she sorted herself out and got herself set up for her and her son. A little while turned out to be eighteen months. I've looked after Phil on and off ever since. Poor boy thought it was his turn to look after me this summer."

Eddie inhaled sharply, unable to believe the gall of a woman he'd never met to cut Rachel out of her life completely then dump a six year old boy on her for over a year without so much as a word in between. Her sister did not sound like someone he wanted to meet, not one bit. Her nephew on the other hand, sounded like a sweet kid, protective of his aunt. "How old's your nephew now?"

"Fifteen. A little awkward with people he doesn't know, but overall he's a sweet boy. Mel moves around a lot, so it wouldn't surprise me if I ended up with Phil again for a while soon." She sounded resigned, and Eddie couldn't help but wonder just how she seemed to be able to ride the waves life threw at her. For she had never had an easy time of it and only now was he beginning to see just how much she was constantly juggling behind the scenes. "Eddie, I know where you're going with all of this."

"What do you mean?"

She pulled back, reluctantly scooting herself off his lap. "Eddie, I know this is all leading up to the first day back this term. Why can you not just leave it?"

TBC…