Eddie felt like he'd been walking on cloud nine for the remainder of the day, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He dodged all questions about what the cause of his good mood could possibly be and only shared a smile with Tom as he made a coffee in the staff room come break time. Despite how well their earlier conversation had gone, Eddie still tried to keep his distance from Rachel throughout the day. Part of him was still scared that the morning had been a fluke and she'd soon realise that she made a mistake in agreeing to be with him again. So when they had a meeting that Eddie simply couldn't back out of, he felt nerves right down to the tips of his toes as he made the walk to her office. Only he needn't have worried, and all went swimmingly as the safeguarding meeting went off without a hitch. It was nice to not have to avoid Rachel's eye contact or look directly at the floor to stop himself from reaching over the table and begging for her forgiveness. The meeting had gone so well that Eddie truly didn't think he could be blamed when the other members of staff left Rachel's office and he stayed behind, only to press her against the door when she turned to voice her questions to him.

All words were lost of her lips as she lost herself in the feel of being close to him again, smoothing her hands up and down his arms and pulling him even closer to her when she knew she should really be pulling away. It just felt so good to be back in his arms, to be close to him and feel his smile against her lips. They weren't picking up where they'd left off, had so much still to discuss and talk about for their next steps, but she couldn't deny that little surprises like his lips against hers were a sure way to improve her day. She was just about to make a flirty comment that had been on the top of her tongue about his actions when he pulled away from her dramatically, and had her furrowing her brows in confusion. "What's wrong?" She asked, suddenly alarmed.

Eddie didn't seem to move his eyes up to notice the worry etched on Rachel's face, too focused on her stomach as his hand stopped mid-air. "I felt something." He moved his hand backwards and forwards, not knowing if to try touching her again or what was for the best.

Rachel let out a laugh, taking hold of his hand and covering it with her own on her belly. "You've been through this before Eddie, you should know what that is." She rolled her eyes fondly and looked up at him through her lashes. "It's twins, you're bound to feel one of them move as there's less room for them in there." She looked down at their hands and tried to force herself not to cry, but the tears gathering in her eyes were inevitable as she felt the flutters once more.

Eddie's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, overwhelmed as he never thought feeling the babies move would be something he'd be able to witness anymore. He thought he'd royally screwed his chances, so felt honoured to have felt it. "I love you all. So much." He rubbed her bump slightly and felt the movements once more, his own watery smile matching hers as their eyes met.

"Eddie? I know you mentioned drinks and I'd love to but… will you come to the scan with me?" She didn't know if she was overstepping any boundaries, giving out mixed signals after her earlier comments of not rushing anything. But being with Eddie always felt so easy, and his reaction right now was enough to make her want to catch up on all the time they'd lost in recent weeks.

"Are you sure?" he asked gently, hesitant over jumping in too quickly. But she instantly nodded.

"I've already text Melissa to tell her I don't want her there now. I'm too angry with her still. If you don't want to, that's fine I just-,"

"I'd love to," he interrupted, and loved the smile that spread over her face.

"Here." She took his hand again, pressed it over where she could feel movement. "Can you feel?"

He concentrated. "Barely. It's like… a feather. Lighter than before."

"Whoever's on that side likes to stick their foot right out. It's the only time you can feel them from the outside at the moment."

"Give it a few weeks," he murmured, grinning stupidly as he felt the faint movements under his hand. He glanced up at her, found her watching him with a small smile on her face. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she said quietly. "The appointment's at 4."

"So leave with the final bell?"

She nodded, eyes fixed on him. He quirked an eyebrow at her, which only deepened when he saw her gaze flick down to his lips and then back again. He swallowed the groan that threatened. "You wanted to take this slow," he reminded her roughly.

"You're the one pinning me against my office door."

So he was. He smirked slightly. "Want me to move?"

"Not particularly," she murmured. "I think you'd better though."

"Why's that?"

"Because Davina's just arrived for my next meeting."

Sure enough, now that he was paying attention, he could hear her voice talking to Bridget. He huffed out a laugh and stepped backwards, not missing the amusement dancing in her eyes.

Eddie didn't think his mood could be lifted any further, practically floating as he taught his classes with far more prep than usually. And it wasn't like his year 10's were going to pull him up for the fact that his good mood had made him forget to hand out the new homework he'd threatened them all with only the day before. He breezed from class to class, smiling at even the most miserable of teenagers and saying a cheery good afternoon to Grantley as he made his way out to the playground at the end of the day to make sure all students got off the grounds safety and quickly. He was more interested in the quickly part, wanting nothing more than to whisk Rachel away and forget the past weeks. It would take more than a simple scan appointment to do that, but it was a definitely step in the right direction. The fact that she wanted him there, that she'd asked him to come with her and still wanted him to be a part of such a special time for her meant more than he would ever be able to say. He was waving goodbye to a group of year 8s when he felt a presence beside him, and looked to find Rachel there.

"Eddie?" She didn't wait for him to answer her, continuing with a small smirk playing on her face. "Please stop your manic grin, you're scaring the kids. Grantly thought you were on drugs." She finally laughed out loud, delighting in the look of horror he gave her before realising that she was joking.

He turned to face her, realising that the playground was empty now except for the two of them. There were still staff around, but all students had gone now bar those staying late for clubs. And they would be busy inside, he reasoned as he stepped closer towards her. "What can I say? You make me happy; I love you." He didn't kiss her like he truly wanted to, through fear alone that they were being watched. But he hoped his words were enough, at least until he could get her alone later.

"You're a sap." She rolled her eyes and began to head back inside, knowing that he was following her but stopping just before she pulled the doors open. "I love you too." She added quickly, just because she felt the need to. And she could.

"Ah, Ms Mason. You know the drill, on the bed and top risen up please. Mr Mason, just pull a seat right on over so we can have a good look." Rachel's gaze fell to Eddie's at the name slip, but a simple shake of his head told her that he wasn't going to bother with a correction. That was just another thing that would need to be discussed as a later date, the surname situation.

However seeing as Eddie was here by sheer luck alone, he definitely wasn't looking to get into such a discussion anytime soon. His thoughts were entirely on how easy he planned to make Rachel's life, how he was going to become the most doting and hands on partner she had ever known whilst doing as much as she would let him. It was only when the strong sound of hearts beating filled the room that Eddie's focus switched completely, and he immediately tightened his grip on Rachel's hand as their eyes fixed on the screen.

"Are they okay?"

"Are they healthy?"

The couple both fired off questions at the same time, and then let out similar laughs as the doctor continued to move the wand around Rachel's stomach. "Both babies are perfectly healthy and growing normally. Baby A is just over 10 inches long whilst baby B is a little smaller, but nothing worrying, at around 8.9 inches." The doctor paused for the couple to digest the information, stopping to take photos of the screen to get as clear of shots as he could. "Would you like the know the sex of them both?"

Rachel looked to Eddie immediately, knowing they'd discussed it but not knowing if that conversation still stood as it wasn't something they'd spoken about recently.

Eddie was truly honoured she was even still considering his feelings, and kissed her fingers before shaking his head towards the doctor. "No thank you, we want it as a surprise. It doesn't matter to us as long as they are both healthy." The words were more for Rachel than the doctor, and it was clear they had their desired effect as a single tear slid down her cheek as she listened to Eddie. He leant up and kissed her softly, wiping away the tear with his free hand and whispering a thank you against her lips. He wasn't too sure if it was just for allowing him to be here or for allowing him to be welcomed back into her life, but he wanted her to know just how much he meant it.