Arriving at the school, it was a hive of activity, despite the summer break. The builders were hard at work repairing all the fire damage. After chatting to the builders briefly, he let himself into a back door of the school and made his way to the headteacher's office, which was currently his, for the time-being anyway. He turned his attention to the surprising amount of post, all of it addressed to Rachel. He sorted all the official mail and set the cards aside, and worked his way through it one by one. Then concerned, unsure how Hordley's revelations about Rachel's past could have been taken, he began opening the cards. It was far from the hate mail he had feared it could be. Each and every card was well wishes, from pupils, parents, even strangers.

Over the following weeks, Rachel caught snippets of updates. She did not always agree with Eddie's plans, but after initially feeling frustrated, she realised that she had to trust him to take the leadership of her school while she could not. And she did trust him. She knew he would make a good job of it, even if some of his decisions were not precisely what she would have done. She was embarrassed by the messages he read out from all the cards. She had always felt her past was a shameful secret to be hidden, lest it destroy her reputation. And now her secret was out, instead of hate, she received an outpouring of support. The sound of his voice gave her some pattern to her days. As she drifted in and out, each kiss on the forehead meant that Eddie was leaving now, and it was the end of another day. The times when she could not hear his voice passed slowly, but the times when she could seemed to race by.

The only thing Rachel could do at the moment was think. She had far too much time to think. She thought about her past, about Eddie, about work, about her staff, about her pupils, about her future. She loved Waterloo Road School with all her heart, but where was she leaving any space for herself? And then there was Eddie, insufferable, challenging, moody Eddie, loving, gentle, inspiring Eddie. He wanted the best for the children, just like she did. Sometimes they disagreed on the best way to achieve that, but if she could win Eddie round, then she knew she was doing the right thing. And on those rare occasions when she could not convince Eddie, then it usually did mean that she was wrong. He was the best deputy head she ever could have wished for, but what was his place in her personal life? Was that last day of term meal meant to be just a meal? Why was he visiting her every day in the hospital? Why did he kiss her forehead each time? Why did she like it so much when he did?