Thank you for the reviews.

Now I love this chapter... Mentioned it back in Chapter 22 but I loved writing this chapter and I know that you are going to love it as well.

I have put a couple of lines in this chapter about Helen Hopewell that was sort of how one of my really bad teachers left the school. Basically we had this really bad maths teacher that taught us a whole topic wrong and then sent us an email saying how to do it right before giving us questions to do. I don't think anyone did them. One lesson, some of the people in the back of the class filmed one of her lessons and then showed our other teacher (who just happened to be Head of Maths) the video. After that, she had to have another teacher with her in our classes and I don't really think she was put off when she said she wanted to go travelling...

(And little side note: Didn't really get any writing done yesterday... hoping for a better day today)

Chapter Thirty Five
Positive

"Max, could you just lower your voice a little?" Rachel asked as she rubbed a hand over her forehead.

"I'm sorry."

"And could we close the blinds slightly?"

"You are expecting me to work in the dark."

"I just…"

"You just what Rachel?"

She knew that she should have called in sick. The headache had been building and as much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn't. It would have given her the perfect excuse not to face Max and the joint use of her office wasn't great when she was almost certain that she was starting to have a migraine.

"Scrap that. I'll be back in a moment." She said as she stood up a little too quickly.

She ignored the looks from Max and Chris and made her way to the closest staff toilets. She just about made it into the stall before she threw up. She sat there for a few moments as she waited for her stomach to settle and the room to stop spinning.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, she wiped her mouth and pushed herself off the floor. She double-checked her reflection before she made her way back to her office.

Rachel was glad that she could catch Eddie on the way.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Are you on a free now?"

"Yeah."

"Can you go and get some paracetamol and a test? And go and ask Candice nicely for something for me to eat?"

"What?"

"I've just thrown up and I am in the middle of a migraine. I think it might be a sign."

"Shall I go to Candice first?"

"I don't care what order. I just need to get back to my meeting with Max and Chris and pretend that everything is okay."

"Go home if you don't feel well."

"Let's just see how it goes. Might ask Kim if I can use her office to lie down in."

Eddie placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be with you in a moment then."

"Yeah, that is if I am not back in the toilet." She said as he left her.

Rachel sighed. Part of her wished that it was true and that her body was telling her that something very right was happening but she didn't know about the timing of it all. She made her way back to her office and sat back down, with an apology.

"Are you okay? You look rather pale." Chris asked.

"I'm fine. Just…" She said before she moved her coffee cup to the other side of the table. "Think I am coming down with a migraine, so if we can get this over and done with and then I can work on trying to get rid of it."

Max shook his head at her. "Just as long as that is all it is."

Definitely wrong timing. Rachel thought as she failed to concentrate on what Max was saying.

Rachel lifted her head as the door opened and was slightly disappointed to see Kim standing there instead of Eddie. She slowly sat herself up.

"Eddie had to get to his class. Paracetamol and a sandwich." Kim said softly.

"You think I should go home, don't you?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe just see how you go."

Rachel sighed. "Max must be loving this."

"If you get migraines, then you get them. Tom didn't really seem too concerned when I told him you were in my office with one when he was looking for you."

"Yeah… well, Tom knows too much."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He knows… that the last time I felt this bad, I… I was pregnant." She looked up at Kim. "I know. Not great timing halfway through a merger that seems to be failing."

"Have you…"

"Not yet. It's only this morning that I have had the inkling that something isn't right. Or is right. I don't know anymore."

"If it is something that you want, then it has to be right."

"It is." She finally took the sandwich and paracetamol off Kim. "Which is why I am going to force myself to eat a sandwich that I don't want and drink my body weight in water."

"In the meantime, I will make sure that Max doesn't do anything he shouldn't."

"Kim… I know."

There was the way that her face dropped that meant that Kim guessed that she wasn't particularly happy with it.

"I was going to tell you."

"It's fine. I… I will just have the knowledge that he is a hypocrite when he tells me that my relationship with Eddie is unprofessional and I should revaluate it, basically insinuating that I should break up with him because we shouldn't be dating. Or maybe he will stop saying that now."

"How can Max call your relationship with Eddie unprofessional? I mean, there have been a lot of staffroom romances here. I think yours is one of the most professional here."

"Then don't tell Max that I have said anything to you. I really can't do with an argument today."

Kim shook her head. "Don't worry. I won't."

"I am happy for you Kim. Just because I don't like the guy, doesn't mean you have to hate him as well. Just as long as you are happy."

"I am."

Rachel was glad that it was out in the open. She felt bad for Kim, knowing that she knew about their relationship when Kim didn't know that she knew. And it wasn't like Rachel was going to get in the way of her happiness. Especially when she knew what it felt like for someone to get in the way of hers.

"Helen, I will sort it," Eddie said.

"Are you sure? Just Max is in a meeting and Rachel is apparently unavailable. I can talk to Chris…"

"Helen, I said I will sort it."

Eddie shook his head as Helen left him and Tom walked into the staffroom. The audacity of their new youngest recruit. Nothing like Jasmine was and he was surprised that Helen had survived as long as she had done. He couldn't see her still being at Waterloo Road in the near future.

"Are you alright Eddie?" Tom asked.

"Just your rookie."

"Shall I start leaving hints that maybe teaching isn't for her?"

"I would leave hints that maybe Waterloo Road isn't for her. I think she has painted me with the same brush Max has."

"What's happened now?"

"Her class kicked off again, this time a bunch of year sevens. If she can't keep the youngest members of the student body in line then she is never going to gain the respect of the older years."

"How's Rachel?"

"I haven't had the chance to see her yet. Max seems to be pushing all her work my way."

"Kim mentioned she had a migraine."

"Rachel told you about that as well then."

"When you had the false alarm."

Eddie smiled before he reached into his pocket. "I… wanted to take her mind away from everything that was happening here. I just feel like now probably isn't the time to do it. Well, that is if she is pregnant. I think that will definitely take her mind off everything that is happening here."

He pulled the little box out of his pocket and showed it to Tom. The smile that rose on the other man's face put Eddie at ease about his decision.

"I think you should go for it."

"Do you think? Do you think it is a bit too soon for Rachel?"

"Eddie, you've been dating for over a year. I know you had that little break but… you obviously think that she is if you have already brought the ring. Steph has had a bet going for the last year about when I am going to propose to Davina. Take the leap."

"Then why haven't you taken the leap?"

"After my first marriage? I am maybe a little more cautious to jump to marriage. But don't let me put you off."

"I think I will see how things go for the moment." He said as he replaced the ring in his pocket. "I had better go and sort out Helen's problem before I go and see Rachel. See if she has thrown up again and maybe see if I can convince her to go home."

"I don't think you will have much luck with that."

"I will try my luck though. I'll speak to you later Tom."

It was nice to talk to Tom. Someone else that Rachel had let in and knew things that Eddie was certain he was only going to know. It helped with his decision over proposing. He would see how the rest of the day went and then see how Rachel was. It would be in the near future though, but how soon would depend on her.

Philip pushed open the door of the bathroom to see Rachel and Eddie both sitting on opposite sides of the room, both looking a little nervous.

"Why are you hiding in here?" He asked.

"We aren't hiding." Rachel said.

"But you just disappeared from downstairs."

"We are waiting."

"Longest three minutes of my life," Eddie said.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?" Philip said. "Because everyone has been talking about the fact that you haven't been well."

"I might be pregnant. That is what we are waiting for. The test."

"Oh. Okay."

"Philip. Don't start thinking like that." Rachel said as she stood up and walked over to him. "I want you here. I told you that you will only move out when you want to. Plus, I think, if it is positive, me and Eddie could do with the extra pair of hands."

"Plus an extra pair of eyes to make sure she looks after herself will be needed," Eddie added.

Philip felt his lip twitch, something that he had realised happened when they both showed him an unnatural amount of love. Or it was just an unnatural amount because he wasn't used to having two adults around him, constantly checking up on him, making sure that he was okay.

He just felt bad that he had to keep what he was doing for Max a secret from her. Or that he was doing it in the first place. The guilt was eating at him.

"Philip. We mean it. We want you here." Rachel said as she took one of his hands.

"I wouldn't want to miss out on my little cousin now, would I?"

"No. I missed out on your early years. I wouldn't want it for them either."

The alarm bleeped on Rachel's phone and a nervous feeling filled the room. She let go of his hand as Eddie stood up. She picked up the test and took a deep breath before she turned it over. Philip could see the way her face lit up and the laughter that came from both of them. He was even brought into the hug and it broke his heart a little more about what he was doing.

The only people that knew that she was pregnant was Eddie, Philip, Kim and Tom. Kim and Tom only knew because they asked and she hoped that she could trust that they would keep the secret. With it being the last senior management meeting of the term before Christmas, Rachel felt like there wasn't much that could get in her way.

"I've managed to stall the meeting about the merger until Easter. Said that this place needed a lot more work than was previously thought." Max said as Eddie and Chris brought through their drinks.

"Really?" Rachel said before thanking Eddie for her drink.

"You think that Waterloo Road was perfect before this merger?"

"No, but we were working towards a goal that… In all honesty, I don't know what we are all working towards any more. The only thing I know is that we are trying to make this merger work to the best of our ability."

"Exactly. Some of us have become distracted along the way."

Rachel held her tongue, knowing that a snide comment about his relationship with Kim wouldn't help her. She just had to ride the comments out.

"Well, why don't we discuss now how we want to move forward?" Eddie said. "The activities and initiatives that we want to run next term. So that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet after Christmas."

"That's not a bad idea," Kim said before Max said anything.

So Kim was trying to keep the peace between them all. It was actually something that Rachel didn't mind and would be needed a lot more over the term. She obviously had more to think about and she knew that Eddie wouldn't like the stress that Max gave her. If someone was trying to keep the peace, maybe there would finally be peace and harmony between them.

Her eyes flicked over to Eddie and she automatically knew that things were going to be okay from now on. There was absolutely nothing for her to worry about. Or was there?