Thank you for the comments, keep them coming :)

Now, I'm hoping the title of this chapter dedicated to Eddie's comment will make you all chuckle x

Chapter 4: Knob The Builder

Eddie found himself cursing Brett Aspinall's cocky attitude and his ways of impressing Mika as he watched Stuart skulk out of Rachel's office. If he hadn't have been talking to them, then he would've been there alongside Rachel whilst Hordley was - inevitably - mouthing off. Because he wouldn't be pleased that Brett and Mika's stand against climate change was having an impact on his building work.

And then only one comment sprang to mind, aside from whacking the bloke one, as he spotted Rachel with her head in her hands.

"What did knob the builder want?" he gestured backwards as he shut the door.

There Eddie was again, putting a smile on her face when Rachel didn't think anyone could. It was only small but she knew that to Eddie, it was noticeable. Knob the builder was certainly one way she would describe Stuart Hordley, that and a whole lot more.

"Eddie," she found herself huffing out a laugh, standing to round the desk and leaning against it.

Eddie himself was glad, more than anything, that he could still make her laugh even when Stuart was obviously bringing her a great deal of distress. Though still, he would much rather give Hordley what for in the process.

"Just the truth," he shrugged, pausing for a moment as he watched Rachel agree in the form of an eyebrow raise, "something to do with our favourite duo, Mika and Brett and their little eco warrior crew?"

Rachel nodded slowly, feeling herself still taking in everything Stuart had been saying to her. With the bar for his anger having been set high, she didn't think he'd be able to top it. Yet his frustration mere minutes ago had certainly thrown that theory out of the window.

"Did you have much luck talking to them?"

"None," he had to admit, "Brett's set on showing off to Mika Grainger, meanwhile she's so passionate about it… I don't think we are going to have much luck."

Rachel could already feel a migraine coming on as she massaged two fingers into her temple, hoping she could stave it off, but equally knowing that wasn't possible as long as two of her students were up a tree and Stuart Hordley on her case.

"We'd better get down there Eddie," Rachel saw no other option as she pushed herself off of the desk, striding towards the door, "it's no exaggeration when I say that Stuart's hopping mad."

Eddie took a stab at showing his support by placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder as she passed, squeezing it lightly. He noted the way her body jarred slightly, apparently not anticipating the contact, before the tension leaked out of her body and she smiled at him - grateful in every sense.

Aside from what the events of that day could hold, Eddie just knew, as they walked side by side out of the school, that he wouldn't be able to hold back his feelings for Rachel much longer.

….

As lunchtime seemed to roll into the afternoon, Rachel was well aware that it would be only a matter of time before Stuart showed his face. What with Mika still point blank refusing to come down. The only positive was that Brett had come to his senses following on from the mention of exclusion. Still, there remained one student's future for Stuart to damage. One call to the police and Mika would, inevitably, have a criminal record.

Even Eddie was starting to feel the panic rising within him when Tom had absolutely no luck. If Mika wasn't going to listen to her step father, a man she looked up to considerably, then who on earth would she listen to?

It seemed that his main concern was Stuart, and how riled up he was going to be when he arrived to be met with the sight of Mika and her crew still up the tree. At the forefront of his worries, was Rachel. There was a certain concept swimming around in Eddie's mind that he would have preferred to ignore, but couldn't seem to. Nothing bothered him more than not particularly knowing the lengths that Hordley would go to, because the bloke was still very much holding Rachel's past against her. In Eddie's mind, that was the last thing that was going to get out - if he could help it.

One nudge of the arm from Rachel and Eddie soon noticed Stuart striding in through the gates, with a clear bee in his bonnet.

"I thought you said this would be sorted," he raised his voice as he approached them, ignoring Eddie's presence and going straight to Rachel, getting uncomfortably close to her for Eddie's liking. Especially when he watched her flinch as Stuart raised a hand.

"Just calm down Hordley," Eddie spoke in a slightly lower tone as he came between them, not wanting Rachel in any line of danger whatsoever.

"Calm down?" he questioned with a scoff as he turned to Eddie, "oh it's you. The lap dog. Though, I didn't think you'd still be around, what with the little article I gave you yesterday."

"I'm not going anywhere. You are. I want you off the premises."

It was the slight glance shared with Eddie that made Rachel's nerves simmer down a little. How could they not with the way he had just said he wasn't going anywhere? It only made Rachel's trust in her deputy grow.

"No can do. At least, not until my men can get on with this project. You have no idea do you," he scowled as he refocused on Rachel, "the money I'm going to lose out on here. I have a right to get the police involved."

"No you don't," Rachel purposefully lowered her tone, helped by her reluctantly taking a step closer, "Mika is our pupil, so we will deal with her, not the police, and certainly not you."

"If your pupil and her little cronies aren't down here within the hour, the police will be here instead of me. Or would you rather I reveal a little something about you? It's your choice, Rachel."

"I reinstated your bid, got you the contract Stuart."

"Well now I'm asking you to get this mess under control, before I climb up there myself."

"Climb up there yourself?" Eddie found himself scoffing, "what and ruin your suit?"

"Oh I'm a man of many suits Eddie."

There was a pause as Stuart's mouth formed into a smirk, looking between both Eddie and Rachel as he appeared to be weighing up his options, "but I don't think I came here to chat about suits. If you don't get them down now, Rachel, then I'll be throwing your nasty little pandora's box wide open."

….

Rachel took comfort from knowing that by now, Eddie knew that she tended to make herself a hot drink when needing to calm down. She realised more and more as the day passed, that it was certainly one of those occasions. From Stuart threatening to expose her past to Tom falling with the ladder - Rachel just had to hope it wouldn't get any worse.

Eddie was content with being able to decipher a small smile from Rachel as he entered her office, two steaming mugs of coffee in hand. Although it was expectantly a massive sigh of relief to have Mika and her eco warriors back on the ground, and the training centre build up and running, Eddie was all too aware that Rachel would be completely and utterly shaken up from the events of the day. Specifically with how close Stuart got to blurting out everything he knew of her past. Eddie himself too felt shaken up, yet that seemed to be as a result of the fury he continued to feel towards Hordley more than anything else.

He didn't particularly know why his earlier thought about his feelings towards Rachel came to mind, but it did and Eddie wasn't too eager at the prospect of arguing with himself for much longer. Maybe it was the time to bite the bullet, he knew that neither of them would be opposed to a relaxing evening with a drink after the day they'd had.

"Why don't I… take you out tonight? Stuart free this time."

Eddie had said the words before he could take them back, and couldn't yet tell whether his unnatural confidence would pay off or not. He longed for the former.

Rachel herself was using the cup as a prop to hide the extensive grin that was willing to break out across her lips. She took to biting her bottom one slightly as she raised her eyes to Eddie, realising that she probably hadn't seen him look this nervous before. She was certainly more than willing to spend her evening with a man that, dare she say it, Rachel thought she could be falling in love with. It was just whether or not she was willing to jump straight into a relationship. But there was no harm going for a meal, was there?

"On a school night Mr Lawson?"

Rachel could practically envisage the tension ease out of Eddie as he smiled lopsidedly when he realised her comment for what it was - an acceptance of his offer.

"Well. It's been a tough day all round… thought you might fancy something to eat, a drink maybe."

Eddie was glad that Rachel only took a couple of seconds to reply that time, as opposed to slightly longer just moments ago. He didn't think his mind could survive any more of her teasing, "I'd like that Eddie. Thank you."

"Great. Well I'll pick you up about seven, let you get your things together."

"Sounds good to me."

Rachel only allowed the full extent of her happiness to show once Eddie had said his goodbyes for now. She wouldn't be lying at all if she said that she couldn't stop grinning. And that was all because of Eddie Lawson.