Hello all - as always, thank you to everyone who is reading this, and a special thanks to MrsCarmichael, RachelMasonFan39, faeftvanity and AnomAnom1 for leaving such lovely reviews - i really appreciate your continued support.

I know i only updated this yesterday, and usually update this story one day and 'Love Changes Everything' the next... but i have been really enjoying writing this story in particular recently, and didn't think you guys would mind :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think of it x

30, 40, 50. Rachel watched as the speed of her car continued to creep up. Usually, she was one to stick to the speed limit - especially on the streets of a town like Rochdale. Today though, her priorities had been flipped on their head, the only thing that mattered to her in that moment was finding Bianka Vale safe and sound. Eddie must have sensed this, since he didn't speak a word; he only occasionally shot glances across at her. Rachel was more than grateful for this, he could have easily overreacted, she acknowledged that she was behaving rather impulsively. Somehow though, that didn't matter in the slightest - Rachel would do absolutely anything to save anyone; nothing would ever change that.

All of a sudden she took a sharp left, almost tipping the car on its side. In the passenger seat, Eddie grasped her logic - she must be onto something.

'Have you seen something?' he asked in urgency, wanting to help in any which way possible.

'Over there,' she pointed briefly, 'that's his van, parked up by Sainsburys.'

Sure enough, a rusty van which could easily be described as a heap of junk was parked directly outside of Rochdale's local Sainsburys. They were sure it was the right one, Eddie caught a glimpse of Bianka's golden hair and a furrowed brow plastered across a male's face, who he presumed was Gary Vale.

'That's them…' he exhaled - half in relief, half in despair. How would Rachel react now?

To his surprise and mere delight, the woman simply pulled her car up about 10 metres away from their target. Seemingly, Rachel didn't want to draw any attention to the vehicle and blow their cover. He was put at ease - at least she was going to play this calmly and safely.

'What do we do now?' he queried after the pair watched Bianka and Gary enter the store. Frankly, he wanted to allow Rachel to take the lead; he knew she always has the students interests at heart, she would know best. He was more than happy to follow her conduct, but the last thing he wanted was for her to put her own life at risk - not when he had only just got the love of his life back. Selfishly yet lovingly, he knew that he couldn't lose her.

'We wait. And when they come back, we follow them. We need to be there when they reach wherever he is taking her, Bianka cannot be alone with him for much longer.'

Eddie felt consolation run through his ears when he heard Rachel speak those plural first persons. 'We wait.' 'We follow them.' 'We need.' At least she was willing to undergo this as a team, at least she was willing to let him help her.

….

Five minutes later and Rachel was already beginning to get agitated. Why had they not emerged from the store yet? What were they doing? It was only a small Sainsburys, not the full sized one; so not one part of her could understand why they were taking this long. Just when nearly every inch of hope had been drained out of her, she saw the girl. Closely followed by her father, too closely followed by her father. It couldn't be explained away as a form of protection, he was quite clearly trapping her and removing her option of running away. She and Eddie needed to stop Gary Vale before he took this any further. Rachel ignited her engine, careful to not let Gary see them - if he did this was over. No pressure, she thought anxiously, whilst she glanced at her deputy for any form of moral support.

….

Up until this point, Rachel had pondered on their final destination. The route had been ordinary - motorways and a couple of towns. Now though, Gary was clearly getting sidetracked… or… they were closing in on the arrival. Sweat emersed her palms and made them slip up and down the steering wheel. So much was relying on their next moves; they couldn't get it wrong. Eddie's sixth sense was unbelievable, it seemed that he could read her mind.

'It's gonna be okay Rach. We've got this.' he spoke reassuringly and placed a hand of comfort on her lower thigh. Eddie received a smile in response, but he knew her too well - she was almost definitely grinning through a whirlwind of negative thoughts, she was an expert at it.

The road continued to narrow, it felt like the world was closing in on them. Rachel decided to slow slightly, if Gary was going to spot them, he would do it now - she guessed that not many people had driven down this road recently; if ever. It felt like a lifetime before they reached an opening. Nausea. It was a caravan park. Michael had been right. Things must have changed since Gary had last taken his kids here, because this certainly wasn't your classic Haven or Butlins. Eddie spotted one lone caravan that had stark similarities to Gary's clapped out van. Was that where he planned to take her?

'Stop here.' Eddie reacted swiftly and placed a hand over the steering wheel. If they drove any further, Gary was bound to discover them, and he didn't even want to ponder on the consequences of that.

After watching father and daughter enter the caravan, both head and deputy knew they had to act. It was just a question of how. They shared a moment to look at one another and recognised that their thoughts were probably identical: they had to approach the mobile home.

'Shall we go and save Bianka then?' Rachel questioned, even though she already knew the answer. Eddie cares for the pupils equally as much as her, nothing would get in his way.

….

Even if Rachel wasn't having second thoughts, Eddie certainly was. They were in the middle of nowhere, anything could happen, and no one would know. He wasn't particularly concerned for his own safety, it was Rachel he was worried about. As they got closer, he realised that the caravan was painstakingly run down, Gary clearly wasn't expecting visitors any time soon. Perhaps he was in for a bit of a shock. Before Eddie could react, let alone speak, Rachel raised a hand and knocked twice on the fragile door. No turning back now.