Hello!

It has been a long time since I wrote any fanfiction, however after re-watching Waterloo Road recently I came up with an idea; and here it is!

This is set a year after Rachel left Waterloo Road with Adam and so it has been 2 years since her and Eddie separated. The next chapter should be up soon as it just needs a little edit.

I hope you enjoy,

Becca x

Returning to Rochdale

1st July 2011

"Rachel, why don't you speak to your sister?" Adam asked.

This was a question Adam had asked Rachel only a handful of times during their relationship. Whenever the topic would come up in conversation, she would become uncomfortable and evasive; normally Adam would take the hint that it was a touchy subject and move on but today he was persistent. It had been an invitation that had prompted todays questioning. Adam had been the first one awake that morning when he had found the invitation waiting with the post. It was addressed to Rachel and himself; it had taken him by surprise as they had only been back in the country for a month. Since Rachel's departure from Waterloo Road a year ago, she and Adam had been travelling around the world; never before had she had so much time out to visit numerous destinations which were worlds away from the halls of Waterloo Road and the streets of Rochdale, in terms of distance and culture.

Some destinations would be a source of education. Rachel was overwhelmed by Rome's vast history; every museum and sight was a lesson to her; she would remind Adam that the best teachers are the ones that never stop learning themselves. Rome had been magnificent, but there was one moment that had stuck in her mind way beyond their departure. On a day when Adam was partaking in some culinary masterclass, Rachel had taken herself off to visit the Trevi fountain. She had been wearing a white floaty dress which was embroidered with small blue flowers and fell just past the knee; she liked the way that it flowed as she walked through the hot streets of Rome. The fountain had been busier than when herself and Adam had visited a few days previously, but as a woman who was well accustomed to loud school corridors full of hundreds of children, she felt at home with the hustle and bustle. She had followed tradition and thrown a coin into the fountain in the hope that she would one day return to Rome, it was immediately after this that she heard a gasp. It was only then that she noticed the scene next to her; a man proposing to his love. There was something about the love in the couple's eyes and the intensity of it and the way that they had kissed and held each other as if they both never wanted to let go, just in case. That moment had evoked such a feeling in Rachel, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to love so fiercely.

Rachel loved Adam; it was just a different type of love. She found his jokes amusing, they had their favourite television programmes, he knew her favourite meals and she knew how he liked his coffee. Even though they had only been married for a year, they quickly became familiar with each other's habits; Rachel didn't know if that was because they knew each other when they were much younger or if familiarity was what she needed at that stage in her life. However, it was never the intense kind of love; the kind that takes over your body and makes your heart yearn and hurt. She missed the way that just a look could make her body feel electric. It was not just a matter of lust; it was that and much more. After the moment by the fountain, she could not help but feel cheated in a way. As she reflected on her marriage; she realised she would never experience that type of love again. However, she managed to convince herself that the love she had for Adam was much safer; when love is so intense it becomes dangerous, the stakes are too high, and the loss hurts too deeply. Adam was secure, he had the tendency to get moody at times, but he was a good man. Adam had many positive qualities; he was just not Eddie.

Rachel and Adam had been in Croatia making plans for potential destinations when Adam received a phone call informing him that his mother was ill. In an instant all of their plans ceased, and they were looking for flights back home. Despite only being gone for a year, the return to Rochdale felt strange for Rachel. From the moment that they stepped off the plane and were welcomed by the dreary Manchester weather she had felt a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Fortunately, Adam's mother was stable when they returned, leaving them to decide to stay in Rochdale for the time being so that Adam could be near to his mother. Their travels being cut short was a blow, but nothing could have shocked Rachel more than returning to their house to find it an absolute tip. Rachel has foolishly entrusted Phillp to look after the house whilst her and Adam were away, and it did not look as though it had been cleaned for a year.

In the month since their return, Phillip had decided to move out and become housemates with Bolton as he could no longer deal with Rachel nagging him about keeping the house tidy. Rachel had started to become agitated, whilst on their travels she could find numerous things to do to occupy herself but being back home without any purpose made her restless. It was on the same morning that the invitation came through the post that Rachel was planning to tell Adam that she was going to return to teaching. When Adam had handed the invitation to Rachel that morning, she had not so much as attempted to hide her annoyance. Adam noticed a brief wave of emotion run over Rachel's face as she skimmed over it. "You know I don't like it when you open my mail" she huffed.

The invitation read:

"To Rachel and Adam,

You are invited to my 2nd Birthday Party on the 10th of October. It will be a day full of fun, laughter, and lots of cake!

Love Charlie x"

"It was addressed to both of us Rachel." Adam paused for a moment as he waited for an apology, but it never came. "Who's Charlie?"

Rachel was barely listening to Adam as her mind started racing; Melissa and the baby were a subject she tried to never think of. If you put something to the back of your mind for long enough, you can allow yourself to become removed from it; that is until something crops up which brings it to the surface again. "Who writes a card from a baby?" she tutted as she swiftly put the invitation into a drawer. She finally looked Adam in the eye who was still waiting for an answer, she explained "Charlie is Melissa's child."

Adam appeared perplexed by this; it was news to him. He enquired "Why have you or Phil never mentioned him?"

"Because Melissa isn't part of mine or Philip's lives anymore; there was no need to tell you" she shrugged off the question as she boiled the kettle.

"But he's your nephew!" Adam knew there was more to this and believed that he deserved some clarity. "Rachel, why don't you speak to your sister?" Adam asked.

Rachel's mind was ticking, she could not go into the Eddie situation with Adam; even after two years it was still too raw. She found it unbearable to recall the day that Melissa had turned up to the school pregnant. At that time, Rachel saw a whole future for her and Eddie; they had been through so much together and it had taken so long for them to finally start a relationship. After all the obstacles that they had faced, it seemed so unfair that within one day, everything changed; it was like a death to her at the time. She had to force herself to put the whole situation in a box and knew that she would have to distance herself from Melissa and Eddie, and sadly Charlie too. She could not tell Adam this, she had never spoken about the situation and feared how she would feel if she did. Instead she told Adam "We're very different people. The way she abandoned Phillip time and time again, I couldn't deal with her selfishness anymore, so I cut the ties".

To Adam, this seemed so out of character for Rachel, she did not just give up on people, this was evident when she was a teacher, and so he could not imagine that she would give up on her family. "It's so not like you Rachel, you see the best in everyone. You always give people a second chance!"

Rachel scoffed "Melissa has long passed her second chance." She knew Adam was not going to give up on this and so decided to change the subject. "Anyway, enough of her. Shouldn't you be busy planning me a surprise for my birthday tomorrow?" she questioned as she made them both a coffee.

This gave Adam a shock as he had been so busy worrying about his mother and going back and forth to the hospital to visit her that he had completely forgotten about Rachel's birthday. "What makes you think I haven't already planned it?" He asked as he glanced at his watch, wondering how much time he had to go shopping before he visited his mother.

She smirked "The way you just checked the time" she smugly remarked as she grabbed her coffee and gave him a quick kiss before heading upstairs to get ready.

Adam waited until he heard her close their bedroom door before opening the drawer that Rachel had stuffed the invitation into; he had an idea.