Thank you for the reviews :)

As I'm continuing to write the chapters I've already planned, I'm realising that a lot of them are turning out longer than expected... so this is probably going to be more like thirty chapters rather than twenty five (as I'd first mentioned).

Hope you all enjoy this one x

Chapter 12: My Remedy

Whilst holding Rachel's hand, her lying unconscious, an oxygen mask and tubes all part of her appearance, Eddie didn't think he could ever bring himself to let go.

Not when memories of the previous day were continuously circulating in his mind: rubble scattered across Rachel's torso, the concern etched within the firefighter's expression as they emerged from the building. All of those musings, inching Eddie away from any semblance of hope whatsoever.

And yet, the woman he loved was here now - stable by all accounts - so the only method Eddie had grasped of convincing himself that Rachel had every fighting chance, was to feel the softness of her skin, the warmth of it seeping through his own. Senses encouraging memories Eddie yearned to experience again, couldn't live without.

His mind rolled over to the scheduled governor's meeting the upcoming Monday, one which, along with Rachel had been a pivotal part of Eddie's focus in recent hours. Too soon after the fire, was what he concluded. And horrifyingly, there seemed to only be one reason for that concern. Eddie would be fighting for Rachel's job, fighting for everything she had worked for. There was absolutely no getting past that, he realised.

Unfamiliar footsteps from behind Eddie caused him to freeze, mind retreating from the foundations of his action plan. They weren't the nurses, he gathered, and with Rachel the only occupant of the room, who could…

"You're… Eddie Lawson. Am I right?"

He recognised that voice, didn't he? Turning yet keeping a light hold of Rachel's hand, Eddie clicked someone who, weirdly, was the last person he'd expected to see. Melissa.

Eddie suddenly felt sheepish, thoughts of Rachel's uncertainty about her sister flooding his mind. Can we trust her? Was all he could hear. Rachel's words, yet he found himself asking the same question. He didn't know, could they?

"Erm yeah… that's me."

Eddie felt somewhat queasy at the look upon Melissa's face, her eyes alight, smile blinding - how could she look such a way when her sister was lying unconscious in a hospital bed?

"God, you look terrible."

"Didn't get much sleep."

There was a glint in her eye, one that Eddie wasn't about to entertain, "she's lucky to have someone like you, by her side."

He chose not to respond, instead reverting his attention towards Rachel, returning to clasp her hand fully now, interlinking their fingers.

Eddie didn't miss the way Melissa rounded the bed, placing herself on the opposite side; eyes travelling up her elder sister's frame before landing on their hands. Eddie didn't much care, he hoped she got the gist.

It was then as his mind raced, that a thought occurred to Eddie. The likelihood of Melissa being Rachel's next of kin was slim, having not spoken within fifteen years. Information hadn't yet been released to the press, he knew. So… how had she known of her sister's presence in this ward, of her injuries?

Eddie frayed from raising his eyes to question it, speaking in a low tone, "how did you…"

"It was rather easy for me with working for Stuart, I heard of his injuries and well… here I am."

His stomach dropped, suddenly remembering the man who had lay adjacent to Rachel, evidently lifeless.

"And, Stuart?"

"He's stable, I would imagine."

I would imagine. Like you haven't been to see him.

"What are you doing here Melissa?"

There was obviously a reason, Eddie decided. And the optimistic part of him longed to believe that she was purely here to visit her sister, show her support. Yet, that didn't seem like Melissa's style. Not from what he knew.

"Rachel's my sister," she folded her arms, expression baffled. Eddie conceded that Melissa had a point, that was if she was sincere. Which again, he doubted, "don't I have a right to see her?"

"Would Rachel want you here?"

"We can't exactly ask her, can we?" Melissa deadpanned, and Eddie just knew his features had contorted to disgust, ice flooding through his veins. How could she be so crass in a situation such as this one?

"Lighten up, Eddie," she gathered his facial expression, "she's going to be fine, isn't she?"

"That's not exactly the point," there was a pause as they both remained silent, Eddie's mind coming to some sort of rationality. He couldn't be at loggerheads with Melissa, not when Rachel was his first priority, "look, you do have a right to be here. Just…"

"Just what," she laughed a little, "I worked for Stuart Hordley?"

Eddie would have thought that obvious, "well, yeah."

It was then that Melissa sat down, and suddenly Eddie knew exactly what she was going to say as her brow furrowed, arms resting on the bed.

"About that… I kind of knew."

"Knew what?" Eddie spat, registering Melissa looked marginally guilty, and questioning if his mind had made the right conclusion.

"I should have told you. I should have told the both of you. But Stuart he… he has something against me. He was blackmailing me and I… I had to keep quiet. There was no other way."

Beads of sweat formed on Eddie's forehead, stomach churning uncomfortably as Hordley's capabilities came into play once more.

"He blackmailed you?"

Melissa raised her eyebrows, "just like he did Rachel. Said he would go to the police with… what he knows about me if… if I told you or Rachel what he was planning."

Disgust flooded through him, disbelief clouding Eddie's vision as his brain put the pieces of the puzzle together for him. Though, what had Melissa done? What did Stuart have against her?

"And what was he blackmailing you with?"

That was when Melissa got uncomfortable, crossing a leg over as she glanced down at Rachel, before once more daring her eyes to meet Eddie's.

Her tone was hushed this time, far lower, "I'm… I'm a bigamist. Married to two men."

Almost subconsciously he stood, for the first time allowing Rachel's fingers to slip away from his own. His heart was beating a thousand miles an hour, mind racing at Melissa's wrongdoings. And yet, all he could possibly think of was...

"You knew about the fire?"

Melissa's face said it all, a far cry from her joyous demeanour of earlier as the remorse appeared to set in.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. But I'm here to make it up to Rachel."

Eddie scoffed as he began to stroll backwards, feeling somewhat suffocated by Melissa's presence, "make it up to Rachel? Maybe you should have thought about that before you acted so selfishly! You chose, what? Getting out of six months in prison at worst, couple of weeks of community service at best, over potentially… people's lives? Over your sister's life," Eddie took a moment to pause, pointing in the direction of Rachel as a way of punctuating his next word, "this. Is partly your fault. You could have put a stop to this. And don't you forget it."

Eddie's fury was on the verge of over spilling, he knew. He could practically feel his blood boiling at the part of Melissa's partial involvement in Stuart's sickening acts. Shoving his hands in his pockets to conceal the way he was shaking, Eddie turned on his heel; praying to anyone who would listen that Melissa would be long gone upon his return.

….

Monday's meeting was when Eddie found himself discovering an anguish entirely matched to that which seemed to arise in Melissa's presence. It was safe to say she hadn't shown her face after her little confession on Saturday. So much for making it up to Rachel.

Eddie blinked as his mind began to drift off, refocusing his vision on Ralph Mellor - a man who seemed to intensify his fury with each word. This was someone who, clearly, was clueless when it came to the amazing impact Rachel had on the pupils of Waterloo Road. Eddie swallowed his disgust, aware that he would do anything in his power to drastically change that fallacious point of view.

He made a point of leaning forwards in his chair, of not quashing the no doubt repulsed expression on his face.

"Let me start by addressing this vote of no confidence. Have any of you… stopped, to take a look at the impact Rachel Mason has had on this school? On the pupils within it?"

He paused, allowing his gaze to sweep over every one of the governors.

"Academically, it has improved. Behaviourally, even more so. The teachers, are more enthusiastic, more willing to inspire. The students, are handing out respect, left right and center. If Waterloo Road works, it's because of Rachel Mason. No one else. Take Bolton Smillie, year eleven student. Before Rachel's arrival, school was the last thing on his mind. He didn't go a single day without skipping a lesson.

He would have been lucky to pass one GCSE. I remember one of the initial conversations Rachel had with him. Amongst other things, she said, you can do anything you want to. And she guaranteed it, Rachel explained that… if he gave her, the rest of this year, then he'd be on his way."

Eddie sat up straighter, feeling satisfied when seeing that everyone present, bar Ralph, was listening intently, nodding along.

"And do you know what? Bolton is on his way. He'll be able to continue his studies in September, to be part of Waterloo Road sixth form. Rachel turned that boy around, and that's only one story. Now, don't you deny other students the chance to be influenced by such an inspirational headteacher. I've worked with a number of heads, and Rachel's the best by a country mile. So, just think about that before you follow through with your vote of no confidence."

Now even Ralph Mellor seemed significantly unnerved, Eddie pondered as he relaxed back in his chair. It was about time that man heard a few home truths, and maybe he could be the one to break through to him.

….

It was much much later that evening where Eddie sat with a glass of whiskey, allowing his mind to skip into overdrive.

Having endured the governors' nonsense of a spiel, sat by Rachel's bedside, praying for a breakthrough, a flicker of movement, a spoken whisper; Eddie was left questioning if he had done enough.

He hadn't planned to place the drink down any time soon, and only did so upon hearing his door bell sound, brow automatically furrowing as a wave of curiosity hit him.

Shoving down the urge to simply bury himself away until the time came to visit Rachel once more, Eddie rose, confusion increasing tenfold whilst spitting Candice Smillie on his doorstep.

His mouth gaped open an inch as the woman began to speak, simultaneously handing him a piece of paper.

"Hi Mr Lawson, I know it's late and that. But I kind of… contacted Bridget, got her to give me your address off the system. She wasn't going to until well… the thing is, our Bolton got the kids to do a petition. Didn't take much persuading like, none at all really," she nodded towards the list, now encased in Eddie's fingertips, "majority of them signed it, wanting Miss Mason to stay. We heard about the vote of no confidence, no one wants her to go."

The contrast between Eddie's mindset then, and that of five minutes prior was irrevocable. He couldn't have held back the huff of a laugh if he'd wanted to, whilst his eyes felt they may burst with tears of joy. These students held a loyalty and respect to Rachel like no other. This particular gesture was bound to emphasise everything Eddie had relayed that morning.

Rachel Mason is Waterloo Road, just like Waterloo Road is Rachel Mason.

"I'm lost for words," Eddie spoke with truth, half concentrating on ridding himself of the significant lump in his throat, "he's a good lad Candice. Bolton."

She leant on the doorframe, "with thanks to Miss Mason."

Then Eddie couldn't hold them back, couldn't put a stop to the salty residue in his eyes as it flooded his cheeks - no doubt a heavy mixture of exhaustion, the pure love he held for Rachel, and just the general effect of being dragged through the emotional wringer.

A hand on his arm from Candice both took him by surprise and brought him back to the present, "how is she? Rachel."

Once more that sizable lump emerged, and Eddie again swallowed with a gulp; also appreciating Candice's genuine care, "let's just say doing a lot better than Friday night. Still got a long way to go I think. What with the skin grafts and…" he trailed off, dragging a hand across his eyes with efforts of scraping the tears away.

Candice meanwhile, tilted her head, nodding as she acknowledged Eddie's words, "she's a fighter."

Eddie couldn't bring himself to do much more than mutter an agreement, voice feeling trapped by the emotion that had overwhelmed him; all the while knowing that fighter was one of many adjectives he'd use to describe Rachel. His Rachel.

"Thanks, for this," Eddie somehow managed to seep out, "I'm sure along with the piece I said today… this will show the governors that they're making a mistake."

Watching Candice walk away having exchanged a goodbye, Eddie dragged his eyes downwards - embellished with possibly a hundred odd signatures, this was the phenomenon to help Eddie feel as though things were tilting in the right direction for the first time since the fire.