Thank you for the reviews.

Now let's take a small break from the episodes... Mainly because I think we all need this... Okay, maybe not all of it but you will get the gist... And just so we have some sense of time here, this is 6 weeks after the first 3 chapters (because I have only really just worked this out myself)...

Chapter Six
One, Two, Three

Rachel would never admit to Eddie, but she had been waiting for something to go wrong after their little meeting with Stuart a couple of weeks back. She had expected to come in to find him telling the staff all about her or to send in something that would reveal the truth. It didn't help that she had something else on her mind, something that she knew that she had to do something about.

Of course, there was only one person that she could talk about it with and he was currently teaching and had been for the whole morning and had been on playground duty during breaktime. Lunchtime could not come around quick enough for her, although she suspected that something was going to come up so that she didn't have the chance to talk to Eddie.

With no doom, destruction or disaster arriving at her door, the bell rang for lunch and not two minutes later, Eddie walked through her office door, looking extremely worried. She had realised that she had started to pace in front of her desk as she waited for him, probably not helping with how worried he looked.

"I got your text. He has been in contact, hasn't he?"

"No. Don't look so worried."

"Rachel, you texted me saying that you needed to talk to me. Until you tell me, I am going to worry."

"I do think that I might be making a big deal about nothing." She said as she leant against her desk.

"Tell me and I will tell you if it is nothing or calm your fears."

She had tried to think of the best way to tell him but somehow the words never seemed right. She wanted his reaction to be better than when he found out about her past. Not that this thing was on the same level as that.

"Okay. How about I count to three and then you just tell me?"

"Is it that obvious that I am struggling?"

"Yes. Ready? One, two, three."

"I'm pregnant." She said as he said three, not trusting herself to say it after he had said it.

"Okay." He said as he processed what she had just told him. "How long have you know?"

"I did a couple of tests last night. I was paranoid because I am late and all day yesterday I had this horrific headache and I felt sick and really eaten anything in 24 hours." She said, not realising till she had said it how personal part of what she had said was.

"Is it right to assume?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you think I should do?"

He didn't speak for a moment as he brow creased. "That isn't for me to even think about. Rachel, it is your body. But, whatever you decide, I want to support you."

She paused for a few moments. It was a question that she had asked herself last night and, in Eddie presence, she had seemed to be able to answer it.

"I am going to be 38 in just over a months time. Leaving this all too late, aren't I?"

"Science would say so. If it is what you want Rach." Eddie sighed. "I mean it. I will support you."

"Thanks, Eddie."

"And… I know you would never like to reveal Stuart as the father because it would raise too many questions for you."

"What am I meant to say when Steph works it out?"

It didn't take him as long as she thought it would for him to come up with an excuse that she found herself wishing was closer to the truth.

"Say we had one drunken night together. I mean it isn't like it doesn't happen around here. Interstaff relationship are all the range. Then it would help to explain why I knew beforehand and why I am going to be there every step of the way. Rach, remember, you aren't on your own any more. Anything we do now, we do together."

As he brought her into a hug, she wondered what on earth she had done to deserve Eddie Lawson to be in her life.

Rachel was grateful that Eddie knew about her being pregnant. A bad night's sleep with a migraine and morning sickness made work the last thing on her mind and as she felt her stomach settle, she felt like she could finally pick up her phone to call him.

"Hey."

"Morning."

"Don't take this the wrong way. But you sound rough."

"Glad I sound as bad as I feel."

"Miss Mason, you aren't calling in sick are you?"

She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Bearing in mind that you sound like you are in school and I haven't even thought about getting changed, I think I am calling in sick."

"Food poisoning?"

"If that is what you want to go with. I think this migraine isn't helping with the mixture of the morning sickness."

"Sorry, Steph was with me. I had to say something after she heard me say that you were calling in sick. Although it is probably a good enough excuse."

"I think I would prefer the food poisoning."

"Do you want me to come round at lunch? I could nip to the pharmacy and see what you can have."

"Eddie… I will be fine."

"Rach, let me help."

"Okay." She said after a moment.

"Okay. Maybe I will bring you some of your paperwork. For you to do if you feel up to it."

"Thanks, Eddie." She sighed. "I am going to try and get myself off the bathroom floor and back to bed."

"That sounds like a plan. Even though I am sure Steph has informed the staff, I better let Bridget know and announce it properly that you won't be in today."

"I will see you later."

"See ya, Rach."

Rachel sighed again before resting her head gently against the wall. She could feel her eyes wanting to close themselves and she knew that she had to move before she fell asleep sitting next to her toilet. She pushed herself up and managed to make her way back to bed, without her stomach unsettling again. Her bed had never looked more inviting.

Eddie had found her spare key easily enough with the instructions that she had left him and he let himself in. He allowed his eyes to adjust from the brightness outside to the darkness of her house. It was clear that Rachel's migraine was causing her a lot of grief. He slipped off his shoes to reduce the amount of noise that he could make and poked his head around the door of the living room.

She was lying on the sofa, with an arm over her eyes. He couldn't tell whether she was asleep or not but he was certainly trying not to think about how she looking in her pyjamas. The strappy top that she had on was leaving not much to his imagination and he didn't really want to be thinking about her in that way. He was there for her as a friend who knew that she had been through a lot. The last thing he needed to do was to make a move before she was ready.

"Hey." He whispered.

She lifted her arm up a bit and looked at him before replacing it. "Please say that you have something I can take."

"Paracetamol. They said that was all you could have at the moment. But they were saying if it is bad, that you should probably see your GP."

"One step ahead of you there."

"Really?"

"Got an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I have had them this bad before but not for a long time."

"I'll get you a glass of water. Have you had anything to eat?"

"Really don't feel like eating."

"Not even some dry toast? Just for me?"

She removed her arm from her eyes and laid it to rest across her stomach. "Whether I say yes or no, you are going to make me some, aren't you?"

"Something else they said. Just because you don't feel like eating, doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. It probably isn't helping."

"Okay, Lawson. You better make it quick. Lunchtime is only an hour."

He shook his head at her. At least she had her sharp wit and wanted to joke with him. It was something that he had oddly missed that morning. He had managed to cover two of his lessons so that he could tackle some of Rachel's paperwork but, to him, it now seemed to be weird to be in her office without her being there. It was like she was a piece of the furniture now. Waterloo Road just didn't seem right without her.

He smiled to himself as he put two pieces of bread in the toaster and got a glass of water. Somehow they had gone from friends to acting like an old married couple. Not that Eddie minded at all. It just seemed like the natural progression of their relationship after she let him in. He was just glad that she did trust him as much as she did.

Eddie brought the toast and water into the living room before he offered her his hands to sit her up. The small smile that she gave him showed him that she was grateful that he was there, looking after her, as he slowly brought her into a seated position. He handed her the water and paracetamol first before giving her the toast.

"I wondered when you got good at this, but I suppose having Micheal around again probably helps." She said as she ripped the crusts off the toast to get to the softer parts.

"A four-year-old can be a handful when he is ill."

"As much as a 37-year-old?"

"Maybe if she wasn't so stubborn sometimes."

"I prefer strong-minded."

"You haven't seen me ill yet."

"Man flu?"

"Alison would always tell me that I was making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Sounds like most men." She looked up at him. "Shouldn't you get back?"

"I left Tom in charge. Told him that the plan was to be back before the end of lunch but if I wasn't, not to panic. I would be back at some point in the afternoon."

"The staffroom is going to be great tomorrow."

"I know it isn't easy for you, but just let them think what they want to think. We know what is happening between us and what they think shouldn't get in the way of that."

"Do we?"

"Sorry?"

"Do we know what is happening between us?"

His heart seemed to skip a beat. He knew better than to guess what she meant by the words but he couldn't help but try and find some hidden meaning behind them. Did it mean that she felt the same as him? Did it mean that she was falling for him the way that he was falling for her?

"I thought that we were two adults, in a good working relationship and friendship, that were there to support each other."

"With a lie that we had one night together."

"Honestly Rach, let them think what they want to think. By the time Monday morning comes around, they would have forgotten all about it and be on the next bit of gossip."

She gave him a smile. "Thank you, Eddie, for coming round."

"Does that mean that you are feeling better?"

"Much."

"See what a bit of food and good company can do. Do you want me to come round later?"

She thought about it for a moment. "You might have to bring yourself something to eat. I haven't had the chance to do a shop yet."

"I will see you at about five then."

If he was honest, she looked a lot better from when he first sat her up. He put her plate back in the kitchen before he filled up the glass again with water. She had already laid back down by the time he returned and place the glass on her coffee table. If he didn't think that she needed the time off, he would have told her that there was a bag of paperwork in the hall. He left as silently as he entered earlier, taking the spare key with him as he left to return to work, trying to convince himself that what he had just done for Rachel was a perfectly normal thing between two friends.