I finally got the girl.
Disclaimer- I don't own Waterloo Road or any of its characters.
Chapter Two.
Monday 16th December 2011
6 AM was the time for the dreaded alarm, which meant the official start to the week, something we both hated.
I lay there for a few moments, basking in the still of the December mornings peacefulness, cherishing the final few moments of tranquillity before our hectic schedules began.
The cold, ice and snow hadn't helped matters especially first thing in the morning.
Rachel gently rolled over beside me and wrapped her arms around me.
"Morning love, did you sleep well?" She asked her voice and features still thick with sleep.
My Rach was never a morning person, neither was I come to think of it.
"Yeah, not too bad, you grab a shower and I'll make the coffee," I replied, as I gave her a good morning kiss.
Rachel groaned in protest.
"Hate Monday's must kill Monday's." She muttered, annoyed at the thought of having to get up.
"Come on, you love your job." I chuckled, throwing on a pair of boxers.
"Oh I love my job alright it's the early starts I hate." Rach pouted.
"The sooner we get started we'll be there," I told her, heading for the stairs.
20 minutes later, Rachel was showered, dressed and sitting in the kitchen, looking a bit more awake than she had half an hour ago.
"Thanks, love, I take it you showered last night, hence why you're ready and I'm not," Rachel smirked at me.
"Yeah, sorry if I disturbed you last night." I apologized, knowing that she hated being disturbed in her sleep.
"You didn't darling, I just used you as a human hot water bottle." She laughed.
"No change there then," I reply with a playful eye roll.
"It's 8.15, let's go, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get home and I can sleep," Rachel replies, letting out a puff of air.
"Are you alright, love?" I asked as knitted my brow in concern.
It wasn't like my Rachel to complain.
"Yeah, I think I must be coming down with that bug that's going around the school at the moment." She replies, lifting her bag and her laptop off the dining table.
There was a nasty bug making the rounds at Waterloo Road at the minute.
"As long as you are sure, I have a free period first thing so if you need anything just text me." I offer.
"Thanks, honey the way I'm feeling I just might take you up on that." She replies, and for the first time, I noticed how tired she really looked.
I knew better than anyone not to try and persuade Rachel to do anything she didn't want to.
We get into the car and make the quick 10-minute journey to Waterloo Road.
It was nearly the Christmas holidays, so the playground was filled with an air of excitement as the kids chatted excitedly about what they wanted for Christmas and what their plans were.
"Speaking of plans, are we still going to your mum and dads?" Rachel asked as she linked arms with me, pulling me out of my reserve.
"As far as I know, yeah that's still the plan," I reply as I hold the door open for her.
I remember our first Christmas together as a married couple as if it were yesterday.
Flashback.
That December had been the coldest on record since 1986, and man, let me tell you it was bloody cold.
We'd planned Christmas in our own house, but on Christmas Eve while visiting my parents. It became that cold, the car wouldn't start so we ended up staying at my parents over Christmas and it became a tradition.
"We got you guys a little something, I know, I know you said no presents, but I wanted to give this to Rachel." My mum told us, handing Rachel a small box.
My parents adored Rachel, especially my mum. She called her her second daughter.
In the box was my grandmother's bracelet, that meant the world to my mum and to give it to Rachel was really something.
"Oh, Caroline. I can't take this!" Rachel exclaimed softly, knowing how much it meant to her.
"Oh honey, I insist. Anna got her necklace and I want you to have her bracelet." My mum told her, coupling her face in her hands.
"Thank you, Caroline, I'll take great care of it for you," Rachel answered emotionally, touched at the gift.
"I know you will, honey. Now come and help me in the kitchen. You can't come to my home and not pull your weight." My mom told her firmly but yet with a soft smile.
We all erupted into laughter at mums bossiness, we all loved her just the way she was and wouldn't change her for the world.
Rachel had told me later that that was the best Christmas she'd ever had and that she finally felt loved and she belonged somewhere.
End of flashback.
And this year was no different, we have my parents, brother, his wife, kids, sister, husband, kids and us.
In total, we have 14 people every year and Rachel loves every second of it.
We had a deal, we would get each other bits and bobs that we both wanted And then a surprise present.
I'd gotten Rachel her favourite perfume, a new coat, the boots she'd had her eye on, a new bracelet, and clothing vouchers.
Her main present I had to get her surprise present, I'll admit this year I was stumped.
As we made us through the school, Rachel turned her head to the sweet angelic sounds of giggles.
I turned my head to see what had grabbed her attention and my heart fell into my boots.
A parent was dropping off a shy year seven and beside them was a cute little toddler, no older than two and a half.
That was the one thing I couldn't give her, a family.
Rachel had told me that it didn't matter, she loved me just the way I was, and that we would still have a wonderful life together but mattered to me.
We so desperately wanted that, but with us being in our late thirties and my low sperm count, the odds were against us and our chances of conniving were almost zero.
It was something that we didn't like to talk about, but I knew my Rachel and I knew it affected her more than she let on and that killed me inside.
It was just after our first anniversary, I'd begun to notice that Rachel wasn't herself for the last few days.
Flashback.
Rachel had been quieter and more subdued over the last couple of days and when I'd ask if she was alright, sometimes she'd say she was ok, other times she'd bite my head and tearfully told me to leave her alone and run out of the room.
It had been almost a week and I was really starting to get worried, I even rang my mum for advice.
"You need to be patient and most importantly you need to listen. She'll come to you when she's ready and Adam, whatever you do. Don't push her." Mum had advised me.
My parents had been married for 45, so I was going to take her words as gospel.
Rachel had to stay late for an LEA meeting that day, so I decided to make her favourite lasagne, with garlic bread and salad.
Just after 5, I heard her pull up in the driveway.
"Hello, love, I've made your favourite, I know that you had your meeting and the last thing you'd probably want to do is come home and cook," I told her, as she set her bag down and put her coat over the bannister.
The last thing I was expecting was Rachel to burst into tears in the middle of our hallway.
"Hey, hey. Come on its only dinner, what're all the tears about?" I asked gently as I take her in my arms and gently rock her back and forth.
"I'm sorry, I just..i..i don't know what is wrong with me." I felt absolutely helpless as I cradled my sobbing wife in my arms.
"Ok, this is what we are going to do, dinner is in the oven. I'm going to run you a bath and you are going to relax and let me pamper you and we are going to talk. You take all the time you, I've got all the time in the world." I told her, as I set her on the sofa.
Kneeling in front of her, I gently wipe away her tears and push her hair out of her face.
It didn't take me long to run Rach's bath, I came back downstairs and found Rachel exactly where I left her.
I gently took her hand and led her to the bathroom.
"I'll leave you to get undressed," I told her, kissing her forehead.
"No, please stay." She whispered softly.
I sit down on the floor opposite the bath and cross my legs at my ankles as Rachel slips into the bathroom.
"I thought I was pregnant." She whispered, as more tears stream down her cheeks.
I scot closer to the bath and cross my legs, leaned over and wiped her tears away with my thumb.
"Oh, sweetheart." I breathe, leaving a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek.
"I was so sure I was." She tells me softly.
"We can always try," I tell her.
She turns her head to face me.
"Really? I always thought I'd turn out like my parents." Here was my beautiful, courageous wife lying here in front of me exposed, not physically but emotionally.
"You are nothing like them, do you hear me? You aren't them and you never will be." I tell her firmly.
End of flashback.
And that is where we are today, we'd been trying for 15 months and nothing.
A barrage of tests, 3 failed IVF attempts and here are.
I just wish I could give her the one thing she wants most desperately in the world, a family.
A/N Wow, I never thought in a million years that this story would get the response it has! Thank you so much! So, because of you incredible human beings I've decided to make this into a story instead of a one-shot.
A few things you need to know for the story to make sense
This is set in season 6.
Rachel is still headteacher.
Max hasn't appeared yet, but he will!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this and please, review!