Tears blurred Rachel's vision as she wondered what she needed to do next. She was stuck inside, the flames feeling closer as the air around her turned hotter. She needed to make sure all the kids were outside, needed to get out and see if Eddie had made it there too. She hoped he'd not been around by the time the canteen had set on fire, couldn't bear to think about what would happen if he'd gotten hurt and it had all been her fault.

With a momentous effort, she pulled herself up and carried on checking classrooms, calling out in case any students were trapped or too scared to get themselves out. She was slowly making her way towards the entrance when she saw a figure under the rubble and quickly moved towards it, her hand covering her mouth. She moved parts of the building off the body, couldn't believe she'd missed such a huge part of the ceiling falling in front of her eyes as she tried to get to the person underneath. Only when she did, she couldn't help the tears that she tried her hardest to will away. She didn't want to cry, really should be happy at the sight of Stuart Hordley unconscious body, but she would never wish this on anyone. Even her worst enemy. She tried to feel for his pulse but couldn't find one, and then began working on the CPR skills she hadn't revisited in what felt like the longest time. She really needed a first aid refresher course, because she wasn't even sure if she was doing it to the right beat. She needed help, professional help from those who knew what they were doing. Deep down, she knew that Stuart was already gone. There was no saving him, he was turning colder with each passing second. But she needed to try, so she pushed herself to her feet and moved towards the doors.

Rachel gasped on the clean air and dropped to her knees as soon as she burst through the main doors, not thinking of the hundreds of students who were watching her as she took in much needed breaths. She'd made it, she was safe and she was outside. The thought of being safe had her mind moving back to Eddie immediately, and she needed to find him. She started to move to her feet again, could feel arms around her trying to stop her from rushing away. She pushed against the body, a paramedic she assumed, and tried to fight her way down to the waiting crowd. "Get off, I'm fine! I need to find…" She was getting frantic, and was sure that the arms around her were getting tighter in their attempt to keep her where she was.

"It's okay, it's okay." The voice soothed, and Rachel was sure she was hearing things. Her mind playing vicious tricks on her as she tried to move again. "Rach, I've got you. You're safe, it's okay." No, that wasn't her mind. That voice was real, she could feel the vibrations against her chest as she finally stopped fighting. She turned her head, found herself face to face with the one man she was worried she'd never see again. It seemed impossible that he was in front of her, seemingly unharmed after the explosion that had shook the school.

"Oh my god Eddie, you're okay."

"I am, are you okay?" He asked, and Rachel was finally able to remember what it was she needed to do. She needed to tell people where Stuart was, needed to make sure they knew to look for him and try to help him.

"I don't know. I don't know Eddie. He's dead. Stuart's dead."

Eddie stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"He's by the canteen." Her fingers were tight around his arms, her voice rising. "I tried to... I think part of the ceiling fell on him. I couldn't get him out."

"Which way's the canteen?"

Rachel jumped, turned around to look at the firefighter stood behind her. She tried to answer, ending up coughing instead and was only just aware of Eddie answering even as he wrapped an arm around her, helped to support her weight as it felt like her body attempted to expel an entire lung. "Registers?" she managed and for a second Eddie looked blank, before realisation flashed across his face, quickly followed by exasperation.

"For God's sake, Rach, concentrate on breathing. Don't you think I might have mentioned if anyone was missing?"

She did as he suggested, stumbling the few steps to lean against a column, throat raw and scratchy. Eddie came with her, hovering with a frown. "Why on earth did you stay inside?"

She had to swallow a few times before she spoke. "I didn't mean to. It was so quick, and then Stuart... how are you okay?"

His tone was light. "I wasn't foolish enough to stay next to gas canisters that were going to explode."

Rachel looked up, met his gaze. She was acutely aware that there were a number of eyes on them, that several hundred teenagers with a penchant for gossip were no doubt taking notes. So instead of wrapping her arms around him as she wanted to do, she shifted her body to hide her hand, and stretched out her fingers to brush against his. Instantly, his wrapped around hers, both captured in the other's gaze.

Rachel's voice was barely more than a whisper. "You're really okay?"

"I promise."

"I thought you were-," she cut herself off, voice catching and his fingers tightened convulsively.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily."

She mulled his words over as she watched the students depart, thinking back to how they were finally getting their chance. It was years later than they'd had liked, but they were clawing back every single second that they'd lost over time.

She was working on autopilot as she reassured parents and hugged students before their families arrived, all were safe and counted for apart from Stuart. She'd heard a body roll out of a stretcher but had purposefully kept her eyes towards the kids, focusing on her conversation with Mika before the two sisters and their partners left to check on Davina. She promised herself that she'd ask about Stuart later, but she couldn't worry about it now. He'd caused this mess, and she was just lucky that nobody else had been hurt too much.

The remaining staff that weren't being checked over at the hospital were heading to the pub, to drown their sorrows and discuss the day over a bottle of wine. Rachel knew she needed to go too, knew she needed to provide support and a shoulder to cry on after a pretty dramatic end to the term. So her and Eddie went back to her office to collect their things, and it was when they were alone that she turned to him. "Do you promise?"

He was blindsided by her question, completely out of the blue as she simply picked up her coat and then turned to ask him. "Promise what?" They weren't even having a conversation, had been quiet on their arrival at the office. Really, Eddie wanted to get their trip to the pub over with so he could get Rachel home. He wanted to hold her in his arms, to check she really was okay.

"That I'm not getting rid of you, not ever." Her voice wobbled, and her eyes filled with tears as she moved closer to him. She took hold of the material of his shirt, bunched it between her fingers just to feel something. The events had left her numb, and she needed him close to her like she needed air to breathe.

He knew she wasn't okay, knew she'd been putting on an act and a brave face in front of the students. He admired her for it, but knew he needed to make it his mission to be the one caring for her. "Jesus Rach, I'm here now. I'm finally here, and I'm not going away again. I promise." He hated how much time they'd lost, how their past actions had left her feeling so low and insecure.

"Good, because I love you."

He smiled, never tiring of hearing those words from her lips. "I love you too." He didn't hesitate to say them back, he never did. They were easier to say than the simple alphabet, like second nature to him as he simply looked into her eyes and knew just how much he meant it.

She shook her head, knowing he wasn't getting it. She wasn't one for grand gestures, but she didn't know how else to say what she wanted to. She'd never been too good with words, but something inside of her had snapped when she faced the real reality to losing him today. "No Eddie, I really, really love you. Like, the forever kind of love. You're it for me, you're all I've ever wanted."

"Rach, slow down. I get it, I really do. I feel the same, I'm in this alright? I'm not letting you go, I'm going to stay right here by your side for as long as you'll have me." It was the closest thing he could let himself say to a proposal, knew in the grand scheme of things that it was far too soon. Even though a proposal was probably 20 years overdue, they were still very much adjusting to being back in each other's lives. They needed this time, to just be together and to catch up on the missed years.

Rachel didn't skip a beat, her heart racing as she finally let herself smile. "Forever."

"What?"

"Stay by my side, forever."

Eddie nodded his agreement, grateful that her mood was improving and he'd successfully managed to make her happy and feel reassured. "It's a deal."

"Pinky swear?"

"Bloody hell, I haven't done one of those for years." He laughed, a full on belly laugh at the last time he'd used a pinky promise as a form of sealing a deal. He was pretty sure it was with Rachel then, back when she was still his Amy and they'd been watching a show. She wanted to make sure he didn't watch an episode without her, and they made sure to bond their words with their way of sealing secrets.

She knew it was idiotic, knew Eddie was probably wanting to laugh at her. But being with him made her feel like a kid again, made her feel that rush of happiness and innocent that she'd lost when she was only 17. "Humour me. And remember, you can't break a pinky swear."

"I loved you when we were kids, I love you now and I'll love you tomorrow. Every day after that too. We're it Rach, this is it for me."

"Me too." Their pinky's met and Rachel couldn't help her giggle, too happy to even care how childish it was. It felt better than a proposal, because they both had such precious memories of this. They'd found their way back to each other, and neither wanted to let that go. Not ever.