(A/N): I honestly always intended to update this story (all of them actually) but I guess life got in the way. I am really sorry about all of that and I know it has been years but I fully intend on updating this until I've completed it. Hopefully, you haven't written me off just yet. This is the first of two chapters I'm uploading right now, a two chapter deal as a way to make up and I am writing more as soon as possible. Hopefully I will at some point be able to schedule everything in my life so I can upload very regularly. I still love Waterloo Road and I think the best adult relationship going was/is Reddie. I still don't own it either otherwise things would not have gone the way they did. Anyway, I hope you're still here and I hope you enjoy.
What the Heart Wants
Chapter 10
Michael didn't stir until a couple of minutes before dinnertime, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes, trying to wake up enough to look around him. He looked around, blinking to adjust his eyes to the light as he took in the office and the woman sat on the couch near him, belatedly recalling that she'd given her jackets to him to make a pillow and blanket for him. He hesitantly cleared his throat, jumping a little as the woman immediately set her papers down and turned to face him, a warm smile on her face as she looked at him.
"Hey, Michael, how are you feeling?" She asked gently. Michael nodded.
"Better, I think." He replied slowly. "You work with my daddy?"
She smiled again. "Yes, I work with your daddy, Michael. I'm Rachel."
"Okay, Rachel. Where's my daddy?"
Rachel shrugged a little. "He went to finish some work, and in about two minutes, he's going to get you some food, you know, if you're feeling better."
Michael nodded again, instantly liking the woman sat with him. "I like you." He said, feeling the need to tell her. "I like you much better than daddy's girlfriend."
"What?" Rachel's eyes went wide in shock. She wasn't expecting the conversation between herself and the five year old to take that turn. "Why's that?"
"You're kind. Daddy's girlfriend doesn't want me around."
"What makes you think that, love?" Rachel prodded softly, wary of frightening him. Michael shrugged.
"She pretended to be nice until daddy went to get drinks. Then she told me I would be better off with my mummy all the time, and that when she married him, she'd make sure I couldn't see daddy again." Michael's eyes welled up with tears as Rachel moved over to sit next to him, putting her arm around his shoulders comfortingly. He snuggled into her side, feeling a little better for having said it aloud. He hadn't told anyone what the scary woman had said, not even to his own mum.
"Oh, love, your daddy isn't going anywhere. He loves you too much for that." Rachel assured him as Michael turned his teary eyes on her.
"You promise Rachel?" He asked innocently. Rachel nodded.
"I promise Michael."
Both of them looked up as there was a soft knock on the door and Alia walked in, stopping short when she saw her mother sat on the couch, comforting a small boy. "Uh, should I come back later?" She asked hesitantly. Rachel shook her head.
"No, its fine, Ali. Michael, this is Alia, but you can call her Ali. Ali, this is Michael, Mr Lawson's son." Rachel introduced the pair.
Alia smiled warmly at Michael. "Hi, Michael. Do you like picnics?"
"Yeah, I love picnics; mummy takes me for a treat." Michael told her, at ease with the teenager because Rachel was, taking his cue from her.
"Well then, give me five minutes, and a picnic we shall have." Alia told him with another smile. "What sandwiches and crisps do you like?"
"Uh, I like Chicken sandwiches and Cheese sandwiches and Tuna sandwiches and I like cheese and onion crisps and ready salted crisps, Ali."
"Alrighty then." Alia winked at him and practically flew out of the classroom, leaving Michael and Rachel alone again. Michael looked up at Rachel.
"Rachel?"
"Yes?"
"Ali looks like you."
"Oh, does she?"
"Yeah, she does. Is she your little girl, like I'm daddy's little boy?" Michael asked innocently. Rachel's eyes widened again at the perceptiveness of the child, whilst also wondering how if a four, almost five year old could see the similarities between Rachel and Alia, then why couldn't everyone else?
"Uh, yes, Michael, Alia is my little girl, but no-one here knows that." Except Chlo, Rachel added in her mind.
"Oh, why?"
"We just didn't want everyone to know straight away, love, that's all."
"Oh, okay then Rachel. I like Ali too."
"I'm glad. We like you too, Michael."
…
Alia ran down to the kitchens, only pausing once when she passed the computer room, seeing both Eddie and Melissa in there, seemingly mid-argument. Knowing she wouldn't be able to eavesdrop, she carried on, running into the canteen just as the bell rang for dinner. Spotting Candice, she ran over to the woman.
"Candice, I need your help."
Candice looked at the girl she'd met at break, courtesy of Janeece, Chlo and Maxine. Alia had seemed like a kind, polite girl, who insisted on knowing people's names, even the kitchen staff. "What can I do for you, Alia?"
"Please, call me Ali, and I wanted to know if you had a picnic blanket, please."
Candice frowned, but searched through some supplies until she found a large tartan blanket that could serve as a picnic blanket. "Here," She handed it to Alia, who took it thankfully. "Anything else?"
"Uh, yeah, can I buy two chicken sandwiches, two tuna sandwiches, two egg mayo sandwiches and two cheese sandwiches, along with two bags of ready salted crisps, a bag of cheese and onion crisps, a bag of salt and vinegar crisps, a few apples, two bottles of water and a few cans of coke, please?" Alia asked in a rush, knowing she only had about a minute until the dinnertime rush bustled in.
"Uh, sure, Ali, but what's all this for?" Candice asked, finding a plastic bag to help the teenager carry her order.
"Uh, just a picnic. I agreed to help someone out, and it involved throwing them a picnic to make them feel better." Alia said with a smile, trying to avoid having to say that she was going to go have a picnic in the head's office with the head-teacher and the deputy's son, the former of which just so happened to be her mum.
"Alright." Candice put all the sandwiches and crisps in one bag, putting the fruit and drinks in another before totalling it up on the till. "Are you sure you want all this, Ali? It's almost twenty quid."
Alia just nodded, finding her purse in her school bag and handing over a twenty pound note. "Keep the change, Candice." She said, putting the purse back into her bag and picking up the plastic bags along with the blanket. "I'll bring the blanket back at the end of dinner for you. Thanks for all of this, Candice."
Alia made her way out of the canteen and made her way up the back stairs. It would take a little longer to get to the office, but she would avoid most of the students that way. Practically running down the corridor, she ducked past the classrooms that still had teachers in, not wanting to be caught with awkward questions again. Finally reaching the office, she didn't bother to knock as she opened the door, Bridget having already gone for her dinner, finding Michael sat at the table in the corner colouring intently, whilst Rachel was on the phone.
Realising that they hadn't seen her, Alia silently laid out the blanket, emptying the food in the middle of the blanket and sitting down cross-legged, slinging her bag to the side of the door, shutting the door almost as an afterthought. The sound of the door shutting gained Michael's attention, the little boy grinning widely when he saw Alia and the picnic. Sliding off his chair, he ran to Alia and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you Ali." He whispered, mindful of Rachel on the phone. Alia smiled, hugging him back even if she was surprised at the hug from the boy.
"No problem, Michael." Alia returned as Michael sat down beside Alia and the two children waited for Rachel to finish her phone call.
"Of course." Rachel said, still oblivious to Alia's presence or that both Alia and Michael were sat watching her. "Yes, I understand… Uh huh… Yes… Alright then, I will see you then… Goodbye." Rachel hung up and turned round, only to jump in shock at the pair sat together on the floor, watching her. "Oh god, you two made me jump!"
Alia and Michael burst out laughing, and Rachel joined in, happy to see both children looking so happy, even if Michael wasn't hers. Frowning as she glanced at her watch, she caught Alia's attention as Michael stood up to get his picture that he had been colouring. "Eddie?" She mouthed. Alia frowned a little before pulling out her phone and typing something in. A moment later, Rachel got a text message.
From: Ali
I saw Eddie in the IT room talking to Aunt Mel. It looked like they were arguing. I couldn't stay and listen because I needed to get the picnic stuff for Michael. Ali x
Rachel put her phone down and gave Alia a quick nod as Michael returned to them with his picture. After they'd seen his picture, all three settled down to eat, laughing and telling stories to pass the time as they did, Michael joining in as though he'd known Rachel and Alia all his life. He really liked them, and thought that they were wonderful and kind, especially as Rachel had helped him when he was feeling really ill, and Alia had gone and found him a picnic in the last place Michael had expected one. He didn't know where his daddy was, but at that moment, he wasn't too concerned, because he trusted the two people he was sharing dinner with.
…
Eddie walked briskly down the corridor, silently cursing himself when he realised that half of dinner had already passed, and he hadn't seen Michael yet. He'd meant to go see his son as soon as the dinner bell went, but he'd remembered at the last minute that he had to cancel lunch with Melissa, so he'd wandered to the IT room Mel had been occupying that lesson.
"Hey, sweetheart." Mel said as soon as she saw him, a wide smile on her face as she moved to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll be ready in a minute and then we can go."
"Look, Mel, something's come up."
"What?" Mel looked outraged. "Surely Rachel can deal with it?" She asked incredulously, automatically assuming that it was something to do with work. Eddie shook his head, baffled at how Melissa could heap everything on her sister's head without a second thought.
"No, she can't. I've already left her to deal with it long enough." He said back, trying to bite back the anger he felt welling up, along with the guilt of leaving Rachel to look after his son. "Mel, Rach had to cover my year 11 class whilst I picked Michael up from school, cause he'd thrown up. She's been looking after him ever since."
"Oh, right. So, can't she look after him a little longer whilst we go out for dinner?"
"No, because I want to spend dinner with my son!" Eddie burst out, noticing Alia pause outside the classroom with a frown before rushing off again less than a second later. "Mel, he's my little boy and I have to look after him."
"And what about me? I've already booked the restaurant!"
"Michael comes first, and he always will! Don't you feel the same way about Philip?"
"Uh, yes, of course, but Eddie, Rachel will be fine with him, and I'm sure she'll call you if she needs to." Mel tried sweetly. "You need to relax. Michael will be fine."
Eddie frowned, the assurance from Melissa doing nothing to actually assure him, a stark contrast to Rachel uttering near enough the same phrase to him. "I promised Rach that I'd be back at dinnertime to be with Michael."
"And you promised me you'd come to dinner with me today."
"What is wrong with you?" Eddie burst out again, unable to help himself. "I am going to see my son, and that's final. You need to understand that no matter what happens, my children will always come first!" Shit, Eddie thought, cringing as soon as he's mentioned the word children. He'd only told Rachel about Stephen, missing it out of the story when he'd told Mel about Michael. He didn't know why, but it felt like he was breaking some kind of trust, telling Mel about Stephen, when it hadn't with Rachel. Melissa stared at him in confusion.
"Children? Eddie, you've only got Michael." Mel's expression cleared and she smiled a sickly sweet smile. "Oh, that's so sweet, Eddie."
"Uh, what is?"
"You think of Philip as your own too!" Mel exclaimed, causing Eddie's eyes to widen at the conclusion the blonde woman had reached. How she thought that was beyond Eddie's comprehension. He was fond of the awkward teenager, true, but he hadn't really spent any time with Philip. At the beginning, when what he and Mel had was new, and they were trying to stay out of Rachel's way, Philip would occasionally talk to him, but ever since they'd settled into a steady relationship, Philip had become more and more distant. Eddie had tried asking Mel about it, but Mel had told him that Rachel would figure it all out, as that was where the teenage boy disappeared to so often.
"Uh, Mel, listen." Eddie shook his head as he refocused on the reason he'd come to find his girlfriend in the first place. "I can't go to dinner with you today, Mel. I'm spending it with my son, and I'm making sure he's okay before I decide what to do next today. Michael will always be my top priority."
Eddie hurried his footsteps as he entered the outer office, only to halt in shock as he heard laughter filter through from Rachel's office, two female and a child's that he swore was his son's. He hadn't heard his son laugh like that in a while, and Rachel laugh like that in even longer. He knew Rachel didn't think he'd noticed anything different about her, but ever since that night that he'd tried to make their friendship into something more, he'd seen the forced smiles and her shorter attention span, not to mention how skinny she'd become. Eddie was worried, but felt like it wasn't his place anymore, something which wouldn't have stopped him from saying something the previous school year. He stopped outside Rachel's door, unashamedly listening in to the conversation.
"I'm not lying, Michael, its true!"
Eddie smiled involuntarily at the obvious amusement in Rachel's voice, his smile widening as his son's voice filtered through the door.
"Really? Wow that sounds fun!"
Eddie decided that it was a good time to enter, so he pushed open the door, causing the three occupants of the room to look up, the amusement slowly sliding off their faces as Eddie stared at the third person in the room.
"What're you doing in here?"
…
Alia looked up with Rachel and Michael as the door flew open and Eddie stood in the doorway, feeling the laughter drain from her face as he practically glared at her. She felt Rachel trying to mentally figure a way out of this situation, and Michael trying to slide towards her, a brave act of trying to protect her from his father.
"What're you doing here?" He demanded, and Alia knew it was directed solely at her. She shrugged, placing a warning hand on Michael's shoulder as he made to protest, shaking her head when he gave her a questioning look. He was very sweet for such a small boy, but Alia didn't need him to fall out with his dad for her. She'd lived with worse than simple demands, and it wasn't worth it.
"I was eating lunch." Alia told him calmly, standing up and collecting her bag and blazer, which had come off during the impromptu picnic. She sent Rachel an apologetic look. "I'll come back later for the blanket to give back to Candice." Rachel nodded.
Michael jumped up, hugging Alia's knees tightly. "Why you gotta go, Ali?"
Alia knelt down to Michael's level. "I've just got to, Michael. You'll be okay, I promise. Be a good boy, okay?"
"Okay. Bye Ali." Michael hugged her again, his arms around her neck this time as she hugged him back. Alia stood up reluctantly and made her way out of the office with a glare in Eddie's direction, which the man returned. Usually he wouldn't even consider such a thing, but he didn't know her really, after all she'd only been a student for around a fortnight, and she'd been around his son, whom he was protective of.
Eddie turned to his son, but Michael glared up at him. "You made Ali leave!" He exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at his dad as he moved over to Rachel, sitting on the woman's lap and wrapping his arms around Rachel's waist. Rachel patted his head gently, smoothing his blonde hair away from his face as he looked hopefully up at Rachel. "Rach, will Ali come back?"
"Not right now, love, no." Rachel replied honestly. "She still likes you though."
Eddie cleared his throat. "Sorry, but what's going on Rach?"
"Alia brought us a picnic lunch and stayed to eat with us." Rachel told him shortly, still holding onto her deputy's son as Michael refused to look at Eddie, deducing that Eddie had made Alia leave, even if she hadn't said so. "She brought Michael out of his shell, which I thought was a good thing."
"I'll decide what's right, Rachel. He's my son after all." He shot back, still a little angry from his conversation with Rachel's sister, and a little inclined to dislike anything the entire family said at that moment. Rachel gaped at him as Michael chanced a glance at him. Michael shook his head and moved back to the table in a subdued manner, sitting down and silently going back to his colouring as Rachel also silently cleared up the food wrappers and folded the blanket, placing the latter on the couch for Alia to pick up afterwards. Eddie moved to his son. "Michael, come on, let's go."
"Where?" Michael asked woodenly.
"Uh, to my classroom. You can colour in there, son." Eddie tried, hopefully.
Michael shook his head. "Staying here."
"Michael, come on. Now."
"No. I'll go home with you at home time. I'm staying with Rach now." Michael stated adamantly, to Rachel's amusement and Eddie's chagrin. A glance at the clock told him he had to prepare for his next class, and that he didn't really have time to argue with his four year old.
He sighed. "Fine, but we will be having a talk when we get home, Michael." He turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving Rachel and Michael alone in the office once more. Rachel looked at Michael, who was still glaring at the doorway Eddie had left through.
"Michael, is this because your daddy made Alia leave?" Rachel asked cautiously. Michael turned to look at her, nodding shyly. "Oh, love, that's not what Alia wants. She doesn't want you to fall out with your dad over this. Ali knows far too well that's it's not worth it. He's still your dad at the end of the day, Michael, whether you're angry with him or not. She wants you to not be angry with him, because she knows how precious time is." Rachel sat in the chair beside the little boy. "Michael, do you remember that Ali told you about her dad?" Michael nodded. "That's how Ali knows you shouldn't fall out with your dad over this. She would do anything for just one more hour with her dad."
"Did you love Ali's daddy?" Michael asked after a moment. Rachel nodded.
"Yes, I did. Very much. Things just didn't work out between us. But I would do anything to bring him back for Ali, though I know I can't."
Michael thought again for a moment. "I'll say sorry to daddy when he comes to pick me up."
Rachel ruffled his hair lightly. "That sounds like a good plan, Michael."
TBC…
