(A/N): Another chapter! I'm on a roll! I would like to say, though it won't make much sense until you read the chapter, but the Alia and Jack scene, those passages are very real, and it is very easy to get lost in there (I had a job that meant I had to use them every so often) but they are much more secure than I've made out in this story (and the door I described is not how to get to them). No point in completely divulging secrets. In other news, I saw some photos of what my high school looks like now and I'd forgotten just how much like Waterloo Road it was. State schools in Manchester appear to be the same, whether fictional or not haha. Anyway, enough about me getting lost in old jobs and school. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and this fic so far. I make it up as I go along so where it's going is just as much a surprise to me as it is you. Enjoy!

What the Heart Wants

Chapter 14

Three hours later, Rachel sat alone in the kitchen, trying to get some paperwork done. Alia and Jack had stayed with her for about half an hour before they had told her they were going out, that Thursday had been moved up to tonight and they'd be back late but not to worry about them. She sighed slightly, setting down the highlighter she was holding, trying to get through another pointless report. Like she wouldn't worry about her daughter and the boy who was practically like her son doing potentially illegal things to get proof of her sister's bigamy to help out Eddie, a guy she knew they didn't even like. She knew Alia had been warming to him slightly until the events of the previous day, which made what he'd done all the worse, and she felt even worse knowing that her daughter would never tell her of those feelings because she knew that her mother loved him. Rachel never wanted her daughter to feel unable to tell her anything. She thought that they'd got a system of no secrets going, but Alia just kept on surprising her, what with not telling her things of how she was feeling about things (such as school, Eddie, etc) and keeping Philip's secrets too, even if the boy was clearly feeling guilty that she know knew about it as well as the teenagers. And she did know that Eddie was not going to take it well that the kids knew about Melissa's bigamy, or that they'd told her and she hadn't told him, but she couldn't. She didn't want to be made out as the jealous almost ex, but the concerned friend, and she wasn't sure how he'd take it without proof. He did seem very much in love with Melissa. The conversation he'd had with her after the discussion of her abandonment of her own son had been proof enough of that. Rachel sighed again, wishing she had a glass of wine or something stronger, but she'd promised the kids she would be sober enough to pick them up if she needed to. Had she really just been kidding herself all this time about him? Had he ever even liked her like that, or had she imagined it all? She hadn't known how to tell him about her daughter, but she'd expected more of a reaction than she'd got. Her past had gotten weeks and weeks' worth of reaction from him after all, but the fact she has a daughter brought barely an exclamation from him. Had things really changed so much? All she could hope was that he didn't mention what she'd said to anyone that didn't already know. At least then she'd know if she was still right to hold some trust in him. Before she told him anything else.

Rachel rubbed at her scar ever so lightly, so it didn't break the fragile healing taking place. She needed to guard her heart. She just knew Eddie was going to break it even further at some point down the line. He was the only one with the power to.

"Why did we break into a library instead of the council offices?" Jack hissed as they silently made their way down a set of stairs. Both clad head to toe in black, they made barely a sound as they made their way to the basement level of the library.

Alia rolled her eyes. "Because a library is easier to break in to. Plus we're going to use the underground passages to get from here up into the council building. They're never manned, it's just a maze to try and get through. Do you at least remember the plan once we get there?"

"Yes, of course I do." They approached the side door that seemed exactly the same as all the other doors, only with a 'no unauthorised personnel' sign. "Are we still grabbing that other thing whilst we're here?"

"If we can." Alia sighed, her shoulders sagging a little. "I wish we didn't have to do this J."

"I know. I thought we'd given it up a while back too A. But this is for a good cause. We got this." Jack whispered as they descended into the underground passage and began the twisting journey to the other building.

"We definitely shouldn't be so good at this."

"Well we are. Come on, let's do this. What happens if we get caught?" He asked sarcastically, causing them both to smile. They'd never been caught, and they'd done a lot of things, starting when they were on base together and thought it would be funny to try and go to the places they were banned from. The only ones to ever find out were Alia's dad and Sam, and they'd both decided that no amount of yelling would stop the kids so they'd taught them how to do it all properly and safely.

"I'd sell you out for a packet of wine gums."

"Back at you."

They shared a smirk. They'd be in and out before anyone had noticed and then Rachel would have all the proof she could ever need.

The following morning, Rachel once again found herself nursing a cup of coffee, wishing she didn't have to go into school that day. No one in the house had slept for more than a couple of hours, what with the very early morning hour the two teens finally returned home, or the extra couple of hours they'd spent pouring over what they'd found. Somehow, even though Rachel had never asked or even thought of it, Alia and Jack had not only found the proof of Melissa's two marriages and lack of any divorce, they had also found records of Mollie's birth and the divorce proceedings between Rachel's parents. They were scarily efficient when they put their minds to it, and Rachel half-heartedly wondered why she hadn't had them steal the proof Stuart had had the year before. But she did recall the threats he'd made and knew she would never have risked it. Stuart would have had no qualms about hurting her daughter.

Rachel sat at the dining room table; the tabletop covered with different pieces of paperwork. Some half completed, some not even attempted. She was trying anything, everything, to take her mind off that stupid construction bid and Stuart bloody Hordley. Hopefully, now he had the bid and she had the evidence (though she doubted there wasn't copies), she would never have to deal with him personally again. She heard her daughter bouncing down the stairs, no doubt on her way to the kitchen in search of a snack. As she heard her daughter reach the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Alia called out as she hit the landing with socked feet, sliding over the laminate flooring to the door and opening it a little to reveal a tall, dark haired man who quickly tried to hide his smirk with a more neutral expression as he stared at her, clearly not who he was expecting to open the door. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Rachel." The man replied evenly, though Alia could see the hint of uncertainty in his eyes, as though wondering if he had the right house. But then anyone Rachel worked with would have that expression on seeing her instead of her mother. "I know her from the school."

"Oh, okay. Rachel? It's for you." Alia called back to the dining room, not even attempting to open the door any wider in case he took it as invitation to come inside. It was down to Rachel what happened in that respect; it was her guest.

Rachel sighed as she stood, wrapping her dressing gown slightly tighter round her as she made her way up the hall to her daughter's side, pulling the door open a little more to see who was on her doorstep at gone ten at night. She couldn't stifle the gasp, nor the immediate panic that gripped her. "Stuart." He'd got what he wanted. Why was he here, at her house, where her daughter was? Her daughter. She would do anything to protect her and she didn't know just how far Stuart would go in keeping her dancing to his tune.

Stuart watched the panic flicker across Rachel's face with satisfaction, but the change from curious to hatred in the teenager's face really intrigued him. From all accounts, Rachel lived alone, was alone, no family to speak of. Yet at ten at night, a teenager answers the door to Rachel's house in a t-shirt, shorts and socks, with Rachel herself in pyjamas and a dressing gown. So maybe Rachel wasn't as alone as advertised. That certainly would explain her panic to see him now. Glancing behind them to the wall by the stairs he could just about see, he could make out two photos. One was of a clearly much younger Rachel with a dark haired man beside her and a baby between them, both adults smiling tiredly for the camera. The baby was clearly theirs if the sleepless looks were anything to go by. The other photo seemed to be taken a few years after the first, with a Rachel that looked a bit younger than the current version staring at him in shock, with a dark haired girl about nine or ten, clearly a young version of the teenager glaring at him. So if he was guessing right, which he usually did, then the girl was Rachel's daughter. What a delightful twist of events. He felt the corners of his mouth turn up into a smirk even as Rachel's face set further into panic and a little bit of fear.

"What do you want, Stuart?"

Stuart smiled at them both, not bothering to keep up the facade he usually did. "Oh this was just a warning, Amanda. That I know where you live as well as your dirty little secrets. But as it turns out, this is so much better. Just how far would you go to protect your daughter, Rachel? What would you be willing to do?" He knew he'd guessed right as they both flinched in surprise, the child's face finally showing a hint of fear whilst Rachel looked torn between being terrified and murderous. He couldn't tell which one suited her more. "Just something to consider, naturally."

"Get lost Stuart, now. And don't you even think of using my child in any of this." Rachel all but hissed at him, seething. How dare he pull her child into this mess? Was her past not enough for him? Deep down she knew nothing would ever be enough for him but she had to try. She couldn't let him anywhere near Alia. She watched with narrowed eyes as he held his hands up in a mock gesture of surrender, smirk well and truly fixed in place as he strolled casually away from the house, leaving the pair on the doorstep confused and more than a little rattled.

"Rachel?"

Rachel cursed herself as she turned back to her daughter, immediately enveloping the teen in a tight hug, burying her face in Alia's hair as the fourteen year old buried her face in her mother's shoulder. "Ssh love, it's okay, he won't ever be able to hurt you."

"You don't know that."

Rachel only just heard the words and felt her heart clench painfully. "I'll make sure of it love. It's one thing to threaten me and my past. He's not getting anywhere near you."

"You don't have to do this alone you know. I could get the proof from him. I could even get Jack-"

"No! No, Stuart will notice if his things have been tampered with and I will not put you in harm's way. Promise me that you and Jack will not go after whatever proof Stuart has, nor get anyone else to do it for you. Promise me Alia."

"... Fine, I promise. And I promise on Jack's behalf too."

After that day, Rachel had kept an extra close eye on Alia, even sending her to her aunt's at one point, and hadn't missed Stuart's eyes sweeping over the students as he revealed her secret, clearly looking for the teenager. She even had a sneaking suspicion that if he hadn't been caught up in the fire just as much as she had, he would've paid a visit to the fourteen year old home alone. What would have happened, Rachel didn't even want to think about. Still, she knew that it wasn't common knowledge that Stuart had actually died of his injuries in the fire, and his blackmail attempts with him. As far as she knew, only Stuart's business partner, the police, herself and Alia knew about it. It hadn't made the press, and everyone had agreed to keep it quiet. But that was all in the past now, and Stuart couldn't possibly come back to haunt them.

As much as she would have liked to let Alia sleep in today, Rachel knew that they couldn't afford to let on to anyone that anything was different. They'd agreed that Rachel would carry the incriminating folder with her in her bag unless she had meetings with Eddie or Mel, where she would pass it off to Alia, who would then hold onto it unless she had Eddie in her lesson. They'd considered leaving it at home but Jack had pointed out that they didn't know when or where they'd need it, and it was going to be of little use being at home if everything blew up at school or anywhere else.

Just as Rachel was about to call up the stairs, knowing they'd be cutting it fine in still arriving early, Alia appeared in the doorway fully dressed, if looking exhausted and ready to be done with day already. She slung her school bag on the counter and blindly made her way to pour herself a cup of coffee, making it up into a travel mug after taking a glance at the time on the oven clock. She managed to take a look at Rachel, sharing tired looks as they gathered their things together. "I know you've heard this a lot, Rachel, but it'll be fine."

"You need to stop worrying about me so much." Rachel sighed, picking up her car keys and shouldering her bags, one her handbag with the folder, the other a bag of filing. "Me and Eddie are not going to happen."

"How are you so sure?"

"Nothing has changed, not really. Everything that already happened didn't just disappear." Rachel closed her eyes briefly, trying to protect herself from the pain she could feel welling up once again. "He still moved on to Melissa in less than a week. He's even still with her now. I don't know what I'm hoping for anymore. It doesn't seem worth it." She closed the front door and they both made their way to Rachel's car, putting their things into the boot and climbing in, ready to set off for school.

Alia glanced at Rachel's set face on their way to school. As much as she wasn't Eddie's biggest fan at the moment, she didn't like the downtrodden, defeatist Rachel she'd gotten that morning. She was just hoping it was a side effect of the little sleep they'd gotten. At least Jack could have a lie in. She could see Rachel's point of view, certainly. How did you get past someone moving on to your sister less than a week after telling you that you were special to them? Maybe it was a good thing she was an only child, Alia decided as they pulled into the school gates, spotting Eddie's 4x4 waiting for them in its usual spot, the driver leaning against the boot watching the Audi TT as it came closer. "I'll grab the folder for now. It's not me he's going to want to talk to." Alia managed to reach over and squeeze Rachel's hand after she put the handbrake on. "I told you. Whatever you decide is alright with me."

"Come see me at break?"

Alia nodded and they both climbed out of the car, making their way to the boot immediately. Rachel made sure her body covered Alia swapping the folder from her bag to Alia's from Eddie's view. Ignoring as he called to them, they finished getting their things from the boot and closed it, Rachel locking the car before they turned to face the deputy head. Eddie looked as though he'd had about as much sleep as they had, making his way over with an uncertain expression.

"I'm just going to go to the library or something." Alia excused herself from what would inevitably be an uncomfortable or awkward conversation. She'd barely made it three steps away when Eddie's voice stopped her.

"Miss Falan, uh, Alia. Would you watch Michael for me tonight? Just for a few hours." Eddie asked, a sinking feeling in his chest when she turned to him, looking incredulous.

"You wanted me nowhere near him two days ago," She pointed out.

"I know. But I can't leave him with Philip, especially not with Fiona still there." Eddie grimaced at the flinch Fiona's name invoked in the two females. He watched as her incredulous expression faded into a closed off one that he hated almost as much as when it was on Rachel's face.

"Fine. You have from five until nine. That should be long enough." Alia turned and fled without another word. If Rachel didn't know her so well, and Eddie wasn't using his Rachel filter, she would appear to be calm and collected.

"I still need to make it up to her." Eddie sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly. He'd spent most of the night thinking about everything he'd learnt about his boss and the teenager. Motherhood suited Rachel, even if it looked nothing like typical motherhood. Rachel was anything but typical in the first place. And even as they'd told him things, he could sense that there was more he wasn't told, that they were still pushing him away from. He didn't understand it, but just when he thought he was getting close to Rachel, something else would happen and show that he was nowhere near getting to know her. Ordinarily, getting to know someone's child would be a good way of getting to know them. It was kind of working with Melissa anyway. But he had the feeling that should he try and initiate conversation with Alia, she would push him away and clam up instantly, without the slight chink in her armour that he knew Rachel had. "Rachel."

"Eddie."

He didn't like that tone. It sounded small and defeated, utterly done. If only he knew how he could fix it. He mentally shook himself. She wasn't his to fix. No matter what he had wanted at the beginning of the term. "I thought of something, last night. The thing with Stuart. She said she was here for some of it? Why not all of it? You're her only parent."

Rachel sighed, the memory from that morning creeping back up and making her shiver. "Do you remember the break in at my office?"

"Yeah, just vandals."

Rachel shook her head. "It was Stuart. He stole my personnel file. He knew where I lived." The last part was said in barely a whisper. Eddie's heart clenched. He'd been busy with his head up his arse about her past and that creep knew where she lived.

"Don't tell me he came to your house?" He knew he sounded horrified. Just imagining how much more hell Stuart could have wreaked at her home as well as her school was making him nauseous.

Rachel nodded reluctantly. "Ali opened the door. Didn't know who it was and he told her he knew me from school. He figured out she was my daughter; we think from photos we had on the wall. We have different pictures there now. He," she swallowed hard, "he asked me what I'd be willing to do for her safety." She looked up, finally meeting Eddie's eyes for the first time that conversation. "And he knew. He knew I'd have done anything for her safety, including going back to what I did before teaching."

"Oh God." Now Eddie really did feel sick at the thought of Stuart selling Rachel off to people in her attempt to keep a teenager safe from him. She'd do it in a heartbeat, he knew, but the thought of that happening to them whilst he was too busy sulking over her past was getting to him a bit.

"I sent her to her Aunt's house in London, told her to stay there until the last day of term, and she could come back then. She arrived back about the same time as the fire." She took another deep breath. "I saw him, Stuart, when he came into the hall. He was looking for her in our pupils. I feared… I feared that if I didn't know where he was, then he'd go after her."

"Oh Rach." The rapidly filling car park brought them back to reality, and Eddie could practically see the barriers climb back up in Rachel's eyes. "Listen, I get it more now, you keeping it quiet about her. It definitely wouldn't have helped if Stuart had known about her earlier. Look, what I'm trying to say is that I won't be a prat about it. I'll keep it secret for as long as you need. All of it."

He watched as the barriers fell ever so slightly and she nodded gratefully. Together they turned to walk up the front steps together, not seeing the furious eyes watching them like a hawk.

TBC…