Thank you for the reviews.

And yes, somehow, we are on the final chapter of this. I think we have been through a lot in this story but that is the reason why it has been a little longer than Follow Your Fire was and You've Got The Love is going to be.

Talking about You've Got The Love, I think I mentioned on Twitter that it was going to be the beginning of July that the first chapter could potentially be published. I am, at the moment, still working towards that but I am also only four chapters into it so I will update you on Twitter to when you will be getting that first chapter.

And this is what I mean by setting up for YGTL. I mean, I did a bit of it in chapter 33 as well...

At Summer's End

"Philip, you really don't have to." Rachel said as she watched him gather up the last of his things.

"She wants another chance. It will be her last." Philip said as he looked up at her.

"I just don't want you getting hurt again."

Rachel could see Philip thinking it over and there was a part of her that wished that she could see the good in her sister's intentions of reaching out to Philip and saying that she wanted another chance. Just Rachel couldn't. Not anymore. Not when she had caused so much pain.

"Well, like my A levels, I'll give her a couple of weeks before I make up my mind. Plus, if I give her the benefit of the doubt, she won't say anything against you. I'll give her a proper chance like she wants me to do. And I know I can run back here when it all goes wrong."

"Most definitely." She said, running a hand down his arm. "Worst comes to the worse. School starts again next week. We can catch up then."

"It will be okay, Auntie Rach. One way or another."

And she was sure that Philip was right but it didn't stop Rachel from feeling sick, the worry causing the physical reaction. Because, if the last year had shown her anything, it was that Rachel didn't know Melissa at all and that there was an ulterior motive to everything that Melissa did. There was a part of Rachel that hoped that the moment Melissa did something wrong, Philip would be back with her and Eddie but she suspected, as she had done, Philip would give her a number of last chances before Melissa finally blew it.

Yet part of her knew that Melissa deserved the chance, even if she didn't. Like she had told both Melissa and Eddie, Melissa had the opportunity to make things up to Philip. Rachel and Melissa could never have that closure with their own mother. And that broke Rachel's heart more on some days than others.

So as much as she didn't want Philip going and getting hurt again, Melissa deserved the chance to make things right.

With that thought, Rachel left Philip to finish up what he thought he should do and she knew that James was going to be waiting in the hallway.

"Let me have a word," James said.

Rachel just shook her head. "I believe him. This is one last chance. James, how many times has she let me down before I realised that you were right? That I would always have her back and Melissa would never have mine. She has let me down for… 30 years and I haven't seen it. Okay maybe more like 25. We will give her from the age of nine until now."

"But she has let him down his whole life. From the moment he was born."

"James, this is the one thing that you can't protect him from."

"Like I've protected him from everything else that has happened in the last year so well." He said, sarcastically.

"Then I will say it like this. Melissa has the chance to make it up to Philip. I don't want to be pessimistic but I do think she will let him down again. But she has the chance. Mum… Mum never can. And one of the last conversations I had with Mum was that I should be more responsible and do more to look after Melissa. Maybe it is more of a 'if she could see me now, what would she think' type thing."

"Yeah, well, if it was any less than she was proud of you, I don't really think that she needs to say anything."

"So I would like for Melissa not to mess it up. For all we know, Melissa could actually be genuine this time."

"Yeah. And I am sure somewhere pigs are flying."

Rachel couldn't stop herself from tutting before she gave James a look, just to tell him not to meddle in this. That they just had to let it happen. Because she was sure that Melissa wouldn't need any help in messing up.

"Can Monday morning never come?" Rachel mumbled, clear that even though they had been awake for a while, she was still waking up.

"I think we are a little young to retire," Eddie said.

"I don't… I don't think I have ever wanted the summer holidays not to end." She rose up onto her elbow to look at him. "What have you done to me, Lawson?"

"Why is it my fault?"

"Like I've just said. I've never wanted the summer holidays not to end and you are the only difference in the… 14 years that I have been teaching."

"So does that make me a good influence or bad?"

Eddie decided, a long time ago, that he loved Rachel's smile, even more so if it was directed at him. And he reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear just so he could see her a little better with his hand landing on her neck.

"Good. I think we can say that you are a good influence on me." Rachel said.

"Even with my laid back attitude?"

"They say opposites attract."

"And I do think you are worrying less."

"Worrying less? I don't think I am worrying less. I just know that there is someone by my side that will help me tackle all these problems."

"Like the start of the school year. Everything is going to be fine, Rach. You'll see."

"I know. I know." She said before she kissed him. "So… five more minutes or… do you want something else before breakfast?"

"What do you have planned, Mason?"

"Are you choosing that option then?"

Eddie could just feel the smile rise on his lips. "Yeah." He said before he lifted himself up slightly to kiss her again.

It was clear to Eddie that Rachel, Jamie and Amelia didn't want the summer to end for the same reason. Because it would mean that in a couple of weeks time, they would be taking the twins to university. He was more than sure that Jamie would be home nearly every weekend (with him only being half an hour away) but Amelia wasn't going to be (with her being nearly four hours away). And it was like that fact was hitting them all at the same time.

It hurt Eddie too. He had just got to know the two wonderful young people that he got to call his and they were about to leave home.

And he knew that they would be back from Christmas and Easter and summer (mainly because he didn't think that they would 'fly from the nest' for long). And he knew that he would be living between when he could see them again, as would Rachel. But he was sure that once the new school year started, there would be enough to distract them between the holidays.

So Eddie did what he thought he was best at and in the last days of the holidays, came up with a plan to distract them all from what was going to happen. For them to spend the time as a family and to create more memories to add to the ones that they had already made.

He surprised Amelia with a pendant necklace (that he was actually keeping for her birthday), just so she looked a little bit more like her mum but also to remind her of a couple of things. The woman in the shop had told him that it had been a good choice because the pendant symbolized togetherness as well as growth, strength and peace. Which is what Eddie had told her when he gave it to her. Because he hoped that she knew that she wasn't alone while he was also hoping that it would remind her of her own inner strength.

He sat Jamie down and handed him his grandfather's watch, taking it off his wrist to do so, in roughly the same way that his mum had handed it over to him just before he had left home. He knew that Jamie knew why it was important to him, with Jamie trying to give it back to him a number of times over the course of the chat but Eddie persisted and told him that he wanted Jamie to have it. It felt like the right moment to pass it on and it only felt right to hand it to Jamie. Not because Jamie was his firstborn son but because Eddie felt like Jamie would understand the importance of it more than Michael ever would. Because him and Jamie had a similar experience growing up fatherless.

As for Rachel, he just knew that he would have to watch her and remind her that he was at her side whenever she looked like she was closing up. Hopefully, with both him and Kim in the school, Rachel would know that she could go to either of them for help.

With the house full of noise, Eddie knew that he had to be loud as he called everyone for dinner. Rachel was the first to join him, with him unable to stop himself from smiling at how simple it seemed that she would give him a peck before telling him that the food smelt amazing and taking her place at the table. Amelia was next, with Michael, who Eddie was sure that he was going to miss the twins just as much as they were. Which was probably why there was a bit of switching around before Jamie joined them, with Michael wanting to sit in between his half-siblings.

And as they were there, at summer's end, as a family, Eddie knew that he could look back, knowing that he had just had the best six weeks of his life. And that things were rather different to a year ago. He just hoped that it was never going to end.