OMG... THE NEWS!

Eddie had many, many plans to hide the yellow-purple decorating his knuckles from his family. He'd hoped they would have healed better, but he was sure it was even more prominent now than it had been in the days after. So he fully intended to keep his hand by his side, wearing a jacket that he could pull far past his wrist and hope that everyone was distracted. What he'd forgotten, however, was that a certain niece of his was at eye-height to his hand, and he'd barely made it through the door before the girl had poked at him and asked, rather loudly, how he'd hurt himself. His hasty 'nothing' wasn't quite quick enough and suddenly he had two parents and two sisters insistently demanding to know what had happened.

Eddie had to fight not to groan aloud.

Two hours later, dinner was finished, his sister and brother-in-law in the kitchen while Scarlett was entertained by her grandfather, and Eddie was stopped as he was clearing the table by Beth. "Your hand has something to do with Amanda, doesn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't pretend!" she hissed. "She's back in your life and all of a sudden you're getting into fights? That isn't a coincidence."

"Don't you dare!" He slammed his hand on the table, and for the first time in their lives, startled her into silence. "You have no idea what you're talking about," he said warningly.

"How can you defend her?" Beth asked incredulously. "After everything she did…"

He scowled. "She didn't do it."

"What?"

"Her sister manipulated the situation. Made me think that Amanda had left without a word, and made Amanda think that I didn't love her and wouldn't have gone with her. Neither of us were ever at fault, she was just as broken-hearted as I was."

Beth was speechless, simply staring at him for a long minute. "You'd have gone with her?"

"That's what you picked up out of that?"

She ignored him. "You would have left us? Your family? To traipse around God-knows-where with her?"

"I loved her," he said quietly.

"You were eighteen!"

"So what?" he snapped. "Is what I feel now not valid because I loved her then? That's ridiculous, Beth."

"You barely knew her!"

But Eddie just laughed humourlessly. "Don't you get it? I knew her better than anyone. She knew me. She was the reason I stayed in sixth form, the reason I applied for university. Hell, she's the reason I became a teacher. My whole life is what it is because of her."

"So you feel indebted to her?"

"Damnit, Beth!" He resisted the urge to throw something, instead took a deep breath. "It wasn't some silly crush. I loved her, as much as Cath loves Matt, as dad loves mum. As much as I love her now."

"What is going on in here?" At the sound of their father's voice, Eddie stiffened. He was stood in the doorway, their mother hovering anxiously behind him. "Why are you shouting at each other?"

Eddie rolled his eyes and shot his sister a look, there would be no going back now. He was a father, for heavens sake. Why was he still embarrassed at getting into an argument with his parents? Although now he realised this was his chance to fight for Rachel liked he always wanted to do, to stand up for her against his family and their backwards ways. He wasn't to hear a bad word said about her, didn't want anyone to rain on his parade when he'd been happier with her in his life than he had for years. "Because Beth still thinks she has a say in who I'm dating."

"You're dating? That's wonderful love!" Eddie's parents nudged each other, obvious delight etched on their faces. And then Eddie noticed the look on his mother's face, and knew exactly what was coming next out of her mouth. "Is it Alison?"

He timed his eye roll with her question, failing to hide the obvious fury in his voice as he answered her. "No mum, it's not Alison."

His mother was about to voice her disappointment when Beth decided to unhelpfully enter the conversation again. "It is another Ex though."

"Beth!" Eddie through his arms up, knowing he wasn't going to be able to say anything on his own terms now thanks to her.

Now, his mother was more than intrigued, knowing Alison was the only significant other that had been in Eddie's life for years. "What does she mean Eddie?"

"I found Amanda again, after all these years."

He was expecting an uproar, and wasn't disappointed as he watched the clouds set across his father's face. "Not that awful council estate girl who left you when you were kids?" Edward demanded, slamming a hand onto the table to emphasise his outrage.

"I was 17 dad, and she didn't leave." He protested, suddenly feeling like a teenager again when his relationship with Amy had been discovered. They'd kept it quiet for so long, sneaking around and loving their own little game before they were discovered by none other than Eddie's sister. It was always going to be Beth that outed them, Eddie had even made a little bet with Amanda about that fact. "Well... she did. But it wasn't her fault." He quickly corrected, knowing his mother was about to protest. She'd picked up the pieces when Amanda had left, had held Eddie whilst he'd cried and told her that he'd never find anybody else.

"Oh Eddie, you can do so much better." Sylvia was also disappointed, remembering the past herself as she shook her head and shared a look with her husband.

Eddie began to stand up at that, turning back to face them as he headed to the door. "She's a headteacher, actually. She's the headteacher at Waterloo Road. She goes by Rachel now too, but I'm not explaining myself to any of you." He shook his head after explaining himself, feeling the need to defend Rachel when she wasn't there to do so. "I loved her then, I love her now. That won't change, not for anyone."

"Eddie, wait-"

He ignored the calls from his parents, thinking to himself that Beth had been extremely quiet since his outburst. Just as he was pulling on his coat, with plans to leave in a huff and slam the door for good measure, he found Katie peering at him from where she rested against the doorframe to the living room. "Not you too?" He questioned his sister, having thought that she would be the only one to remain on his side no matter what.

"You're happy?"

He nodded his answer, a pink blush gracing his cheeks as he looked to the floor to compose himself. "The happiest."

"Then enjoy it Ed, I'd love to meet her... again."

With a kiss of appreciate to his sister's cheek, he did leave the house then, only with a small smile on his face after the realisation that maybe it wasn't his entire family that were off their head bonkers.