Thank you for the reviews.

So no one has murdered me yet... good... Don't know whether you should trust me or not yet... Who knows what might happen...

Maybe we should just move on to this chapter... Although I don't know whether you will like me more for it or not... And this chapter wasn't originally this long... May have added something last minute... not particularly something that you are going to like...

And Melissa is definitely the nonredeemable biggest bitch in the world... Not that I think you guys will mind that... somewhat...

Chapter Twenty Four
The Earl Kelly Problem

"Tell Tom what you were thinking last week," Eddie said.

It was one of those rare meetings now where it was just the Head, her deputy and the Head of Pastoral Care. Melissa happened to be on a course, giving Rachel a few hours of freedom from her and Adam was planning his next big project, something that he wouldn't tell Rachel about at the moment.

"Maybe we've been asking ourselves the wrong question. What if it wasn't Denzil with the gun? What if Earl had the gun or at least brought it and gave it to his brother or Denzil found it?" She said.

"I wouldn't actually put it passed Earl. His first day… I moaned about it in the staff room and maybe I should have said something to you guys, but I saw Earl with Paul up against the lockers and I intervened. I've been here long enough and for some kids, if you give them what they give you, then they usually back off and I am not one to shy away from confrontation. He had me up against the lockers before I pushed him off. The next thing, we were face to face and he brings up his hand, like a gun, and pretends to shoot me in the head. I gave him a warning and well he never did it again as far as I am aware." Tom explained.

"Do we actually know what Denzil said to the police?" Eddie said.

"Eddie, he confessed to having the gun and I brought him out of the school with it in his hand. They had enough evidence to charge him."

"And you gave the note over to the police."

"We aren't going to know what happened that day unless the person who put that note underneath my door owns up and with Earl still about, that is going to be the last thing that is going to happen."

"So what are we going to do? The only thing that has seemed to calm him down is Maxine but that hasn't done much and it has made her behaviour go downhill." Tom said.

"Keep monitoring. I have never had a student like him." Rachel said. "And I don't want to say it because I have never given up on a student before but I don't think we are going to change him. I don't think he will ever calm down. I think he is too set in his ways and that way is… mayhem."

"So we have to wait for the next thing that he does?"

"I'm afraid so Tom. I… I honestly don't know what to do."

The bell rang and she knew that both of them had lessons to get to. Eddie looked apprehensive to go. They still hadn't had the chance to speak about whatever he wanted to tell her. He was even less so when Adam made his way into her office.

"Adam." She said as Eddie closed the door.

"My next project."

"Right?"

"A takeaway service for the kids so they have a healthy meal for afterschool."

Rachel sighed before telling Adam to carry on.

"What did Adam want this morning?" Eddie asked.

"Whether we could put on a takeaway service. Basically to stop the kids heading to the chippy or burger van once they leave here. It is his project, I'm not allowed to take all the glory when it is a success, and he is even going to donate his time free of charge."

"So you let him do it?"

"I don't think he was going to leave my office unless I said yes."

"Rach, about that think I was going to tell you. I…" Eddie started before he was interrupted.

"Rachel. It's Earl." Davina shouted down the corridor.

They turned to each other before they followed the trainee teacher down the corridor and towards whatever was happening.

Rachel instantly knew that Eddie wouldn't be happy that she was the first one into the Head of Pastoral Care office, but it stopped him from entering, which she was glad about, as she stopped in the doorway.

"Earl, what do you think you are doing?" She asked as calmly as she could.

"They won't listen." He shouted.

Tom was knelt on the floor with his hands behind his head while a very scared Maxine and Steph were hugging each other. She knew that the same thing that was scaring them was scaring her. Earl had a gun and she wondered how the hell he got it passed the metal detectors.

"Maybe… Maybe they would be more inclined to listen if you… if you weren't waving that gun around."

Denzil, she knew, was just a scared child. If he had shot her, it would have been on impulse because he was scared and the adrenaline would have kicked in. The way that Earl turned the gun on her made her think that he would be more calculating. This was a boy who had thought about it, checked out where he should shoot at.

"Do you think? I mean, are you listening to me now? I told you I would be your worst nightmare. Am I now?"

"Yes, you are."

"So why don't you come away from the door? Come into the room and close it."

Rachel did as he said, knowing that she was shutting Eddie out. She hadn't heard his footsteps leave her but she wondered whether he wanted to let her know that he was by her side even though she had, yet again, put herself into a dangerous situation. Even though the police needed to be called.

"I suppose you were use to taking orders once."

"Earl, please," Maxine said. "This is between me and you."

"And all these have included themselves now. I mean him." Earl said as he turned the gun to Tom. "He has wanted to get rid of us since the moment that we started at the school. More so when he found out that we had moved in next door." He turned the gun to Steph. "She has never liked me. Never thought I was good enough for you. I am Max. You know I am Max." He turned the gun back to Rachel. "And she is the worst. She saw me as her next little pet project. The whole family really. She wanted to be the person to straighten out the Kellys. Shame she got a little distracted. Now was it your sister, the old friend or the deputy?"

Rachel knew she had an argument for all three. She hoped that it was a rhetorical question. That he didn't expect an answer. Although she knew that all the time she was there, she would be trying to answer that question.

As he slowly dropped the gun to his side, Rachel felt like there might be a way to talk him around, to make sure that no one got hurt. The last thing she needed was someone getting hurt. She could still talk him down, couldn't she?

As soon as the adrenaline wore off, Rachel could feel the tears coming as Philip hugged her. The relief that nothing bad had happened wash over her and she couldn't help but hold onto her nephew as tightly as she could. She could tell that Eddie was still in control of the situation, giving her the chance to breakdown.

She watched Davina and Chlo hug Tom as he looked over at her. As much as she wanted to know the full story, she knew that she probably wasn't going to get it. Whatever had caused Earl to do what he had done was going to be a mystery to her.

Philip only let her go when Eddie walked over. Because of the contained nature and the fact that it was so close to the end of the school day, the police only stormed in once most people had left. A decision that wasn't taken lightly but one that seemed to reduce the number of lives that could have been lost. Not that anyone's life was lost, thankfully.

"I know what you are going to say," Rachel whispered.

"At this point, I am just glad that you are not hurt."

"I put myself in the firing line again."

"We didn't know what we were walking into."

"How?"

"That is a question for tomorrow. Come on. The police have said that they will get your statement tomorrow. I need to take you home."

"Stay the night Eddie."

"Don't worry, I am not going to leave your side."

Eddie watched Rachel as she stared at one of her bookshelves. She had only blinked a few times and he knew that she was replaying the events over in her mind. She was in shock. He was in shock and probably Philip was as well. He needed to get her in an okay position before Melissa returned home.

"Here." He said as he handed her the mug. "Don't worry, it is decaf."

"Thanks." She said after blinking at him a couple of times.

She took the drink off him and pushed her palms into the warm mug. He would have brought it up but it wasn't really the time or the place. Maybe it was just one of her grounding methods. He sat down next to her on the sofa, keeping a small amount of distance between them.

"How?" She asked.

"I don't think we have worked that one out yet."

"But the measures that we have put in place. I…"

"Rachel. I know. You don't want the school associated with panic and traumatised kids."

"Today could have been worse."

"And thankfully it wasn't. I don't think… I think Ralph was right in the end. This is an isolated incident. And you were right. I don't think Denzil did have that gun the first time around." He paused. "Look, this is all for tomorrow, when the shock has worn off. When Rachel Mason is back in the room properly."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "You're right."

Eddie watched her as she took a mouthful of the coffee and winced at the sweetness of it.

"For the shock." He said.

"I just thought you may have made your coffee and forgot to put the milk in."

"In reality, yes."

"Melissa is going to be home soon."

"And I'll inform her of what has happened. I'll only leave if you want me to."

"I don't want you to leave."

Rachel rested her head on his shoulder as she started to breakdown again. He placed his and then her drink on the coffee table before he wrapped his arms around her and held her. He knew that was all she needed.

Eddie gently closed the door to Rachel's bedroom. She had somehow fallen asleep in his arms and he didn't think that a night on the sofa would help her. He knew that he would be told off in the morning for carrying her up the stairs and getting her into bed, but it wasn't like he hadn't done it before.

He sighed, knowing that the next job on his list would be to deal with Melissa when she finally got back. He looked up the stairs, wondering whether it would look weird if he got Philip to be with him before she arrived home. The last thing he needed now was a repeat of a week ago and it still killed him that he hadn't had the chance to talk to Rachel about it.

The more he played it over in his head, the more he convinced himself it was nothing. It was just Melissa trying to get what she wanted and it didn't work. Not that he thought that pushing your way into someone's house and then trying to kiss them was the great idea to get someone to like you more. That was all it was. Melissa was just making something of nothing.

He, unfortunately, got to the bottom step just as Melissa walked through the door. The way that she was shocked but happy to see him worried him. Did she think that he was there for her? Maybe he should have just stayed with Rachel and worried about this all in the morning.

"I'm here for Rachel." He said.

"Why?"

"Earl had her a gunpoint, along with Tom, Maxine and Steph. I... I couldn't leave her on her own."

"She has Philip."

"And Philip is a 15-year-old boy. Who was terrified that his auntie had been hurt or killed."

It was the shrug that Melissa gave him that angered him the most.

"You really don't care about Rachel, do you?" He said.

"Tell me why I should."

"Because she is your sister."

"Yes. My sister who used to lecture me about this, that and the other before becoming a prostitute. She might have been the whore but I was the one that had to live with the comments afterwards. I got asked how much I charged and was the one that got all the unnecessary attention from all the boys that were old enough to know sex was a thing. She ran away and I... I picked up all the pieces for her. She thinks that she used to clean up her messes but I had to clean up her biggest mess." She laughed. "But she didn't tell you that now did she? Because she never asked. She came back in with the new life and name and job. Calling herself Rachel Mason instead of Amanda Fenshaw. Being a teacher. You think she is so perfect but she is so far from perfect it is unbelievable. And that is why I will always be the better sister. And it is why you should be with me."

"Melissa..."

"Eddie, why do you see it?" She said as she stopped right in front of him. "Rachel thinks that she is all high and mighty and untouchable. She always has and always will. If what you told me is true, not that I believe it, she will get bored with you. If she has told you that she loves you, she doesn't mean it. She only loves herself and her reputation and her career. You must have seen that."

He didn't like the way that her hands had grabbed his shirt. He could feel something like the other week happening and he had to stop it before it just became something else that she could use against him.

"I don't even know why you are here." He said as he took a step back and pulled his shirt from his hands. "I'm going to go and check on Philip because he has had a day of it as well. You might not realise that he is only a kid but I do."

"You don't know how bad I can make it for you."

Eddie stopped, realising that he had heard those words before, coming out of Rachel's mouth after Stuart had said them to her. He turned back towards her.

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"Don't tell her. Because I can make it all backfire. I mean... Would she believe you over me? You know how she is. There only needs to be the seed of doubt. Something like... you forced yourself on me."

"Rachel knows I am not like that."

"Maybe. But I don't think she does know the real you. Don't tell her and I will... maybe tone down my advances."

He huffed before he started going up the stairs again.

"That is only a limited time offer, Eddie. Make your mind up."

Rachel smiled up at Philip as he came up the stairs. She knew that today had affected her nephew as much as it had her, although she was grateful that she had a houseful of people this time around.

"I put him in that room," Philip whispered as he pointed towards one of the spare bedrooms she had. "Close to you. Away from Mum."

"Thanks, Philip. Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'll be fine."

"I would rather you didn't put us through that again."

"I don't try Philip."

"I doubt you do. But worried Eddie is just as bad as manic worried Rachel."

She smiled. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are just doing your job. I think Mum might rant at you in the morning though."

"Looking forward to that." She paused. "Go on, try and get some sleep."

"I do think he might be still awake."

"Thanks, Philip."

She gave his hand a squeeze before she made her way towards the door that Philip pointed to. She knocked gently and was surprised at how quickly Eddie answered it. Like he was waiting for her.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Maybe I've just got used to someone sleeping next to me."

He gave her a smile that meant that he understood. It wasn't long before they were in the spare bed, holding each other close. Rachel placed her head on Eddie's chest and couldn't help but think that his heartbeat was the most amazing sound ever. The heart that was hers.

How did she luck out?

So I'm going to go into hiding until tomorrow... when I post chapter 25 because I know that you will like that one more... In the meantime though, check out IaWW, TIDU, if you are following that story... posted a chapter on there that you will love a lot more than this one...