A/n: A big shoutout to moobag for the review - much appreciated! This one is for you! I've taken a line from the show (one of Steph's) so can't take credit for that one.

Please enjoy.

Regret Shall Break The Soul

Part five.

Fear is temporary. Regret lasts a lifetime, and so, the regret shall be pressed to my lips until I can no longer breathe. For eternity, I shall love you, but never will I have you. I let my head rule my heart, and now I've lost. My soul is broken.

Coffee. That's exactly what he needed. His attention drifted back to their encounter earlier. In all honesty, Eddie hadn't listened much in that meeting, and instead spent the whole hour pondering just exactly what he was doing. He observed, praised, and even obsessed over her a little. Her passion, her commitment, her need to do better. Rachel Mason was one of a kind, and he knew it.

"How are the wedding plans going, Eddie?" Eddie jumped. He'd been in that much of a daze that he hadn't registered anyone else in the staff room. He set his mug down on the counter and scrambled to find the coffee. "Fine, thanks." He muttered. With his back to Steph, he was glad to conceal his look of annoyance. Steph leant against the other counter, eagerly waiting for him to release any information. Cup in hand, she took a swig before continuing, "Aww, lovely. How's Rachel taken it?" Eddie slammed the coffee jar down and spun around. They were head to head.

"What do you mean by that, Steph?" Eddie challenged. The glare he gave her confirmed his anger, and she knew she'd pushed his buttons. Secretly, he always knew he would face confrontation with her over this. Steph had a habit of sticking her nose into business that did not concern her. "Well, you know .." Steph hesitated. Rather than continuing with her annoyance, she grew frustrated with his lack of openness. But then again, why would he tell her?

"No, I don't." Eddie replied bluntly. "Oh, come on, Eddie! We can all see it!" Steph exclaimed. Eddie grabbed his mug and stormed past Steph, almost slamming the door on the way out.

Eddie had spent the last hour marking, and quite frankly, it was becoming a little tedious. He needn't tell Rachel that, of course - Rachel would have scorned him for not spending enough time marking. She would have spieled just how much paperwork she had, and Eddie hated paperwork. It had been nearing the end of lunch, and instead of spending the last few moments with his wife-to-be, he wanted to visit her sister instead. Oh, the irony. Maybe that's why people were talking. On arriving at his destination, he could hear voices filtering from her office. He could have sworn it sounded just like Melissa.

"Rachel is going to look after Phil for us when we go next month!" Eddie was correct; he did, in fact, hear correctly. She almost pounced on him as he step foot into the office. "Hang on a minute, Mel-" but Melissa wouldn't let him get a word in. "Eddie, it's fine! Stop stressing. Now, I'll go let Phil know, and then me and you can look at some flights!" Melissa chirped as she bit down onto her bottom lip, peering at him with delight. Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she dashed out of sight.

"Melissa!" Eddie frustratingly called after her. "It's fine, Eddie. Really, I don't mind. Phil's a good kid. It's not the first time." Eddie shut his eyes and nodded in annoyance. "Rach, I-", he stopped. Clearing his throat, he resumed, "We hadn't even discussed it properly. I wasn't quite anticipating on getting married this quickly." There was a deafening silence. "You did propose." Maybe she shouldn't have said it quite like she did. God, these encounters with both Eddie and Melissa somehow made her feel guilty. Eddie bowed his head and perched himself on her sofa. Rachel found herself walking around to the front of her desk, standing directly in front of him. Weirdly, she felt like she was his psych - it felt a little clinical, but she couldn't risk sitting next to him. That would have felt too close. He entwined his fingers, and continued, "I know, I know, I just-" It was obvious he was struggling. Was he afraid of saying something he shouldn't? Maybe she wasn't the best person to have this conversation with, but she cared for him and he needed to talk. "What?" Her voice was gentle.

"It's quick." His choice of words came across bluntly, but it was necessary. It was moving quickly, and that's all there really was, and that's all she needed to understand. They seemed to have a level of communication that required little words - one mind split into two bodies, possibly? That's why this was complex and challenging. She knew what he meant, but it was playing mind games with her. She was in the middle, whether they all liked it or not.

"Well, it's what you want. Isn't it?" Rachel spoke delicately. They were driving in circles, and it was sending her crazy. Eddie didn't reply, and instead pushed himself back into the comfort of her sofa. She expected some sort of answer, but still, he gave no response. Eddie leant his head to one side, had a few seconds to study her, and gave her a smile. This was antagonising. She found herself getting sucked in for a few seconds before hastily shutting down and snapping out of it.

Quick, change the subject.

"The inspection next month .. have you done any prep for it?" Rachel asked casually as she threw some files in the cabinet. She cast a quick glance in his direction to make sure he was listening. Eddie, quite frankly, had selective hearing. Eddie nodded, and brought his two fingers to tap against his temples, and responded "All up here, Rach". There was an almighty bang as Rachel slammed the cabinet shut. Not only had her heart dropped, but her stress levels were now uncontrollable. She threw her hands down to her sides, and hissed, "Eddie, please tell me you're joking?!"

Now he was in trouble. Oh, he really felt like one of the kids. He squirmed a little - not enough for her to really notice, but enough that he was a just a tad afraid - he hated to feel her wrath. However, he still proceeded with his answer. "Since when have I ever prepped for anything?" It was true, Eddie had never prepped for anything. She often wondered how he'd obtained the qualifications he did, but then again, it was Eddie and he had the ability to do anything. She sighed, and tutted whilst giving him a defeated response, "Oh, Eddie!" If he was honest, he probably would do some prep, the night before, and half hour max. Eddie would do it for her, nobody else, but he would for her. He stood to his feet, and walked on over to her. "Rachel, it will be fine. Calm down." She gave him a defeated stare, so he took hold of her shoulders and gave her a smile. "It'll be alright."

Everything would have been absolutely fine, only if Steph wouldn't have interrupted. "Miss Mason" Steph's voice caused them to sheepishly breakaway, and she scarpered to hide behind her desk. Eddie stood a little awkwardly, cursing Steph for picking her moments. As she cleared her throat, she gave a smirk and asked, "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Oh, this really wasn't what they needed.