The next day dawned and it brought a sense of calmness for Rachel, who up until this point had been a mess of anger and frustration at the world. As promised the Doctor's set about acquiring the discharge papers and as she had signed the last dotted line and got dressed ready to leave and not return for a long, long time, Eddie walked through the door a cup of steamy coffee in one hand and a bag with a muffin in the other.
"Ready to, then." He asked cheerfully as he took a seat on the bed waiting for her to finished packing, what little of her belongings she had away in an overnight bag.
"Good morning Eddie." Rachel greeted as she finished loading the last few items of clothing into the bag and took hold of the cup in his outstretched hand.
"Morning, so you to bust out of here and have a fun filled day with me." He questioned as he waited for her to leap off the day and into action. True to form she did not disappoint as seconds later, she was up off the bed, grabbing the bag and halfway across the room before he could even think.
"Come on slow poke, I don't have all day you know." She was out of the door before he could process what she said, but her laughter drifted down the corridor and jolted him out of his thought and made him follow her with a goofy smile on his face, for at last Rachel Mason had finally returned and it was about time he got to know her better.
Exiting the hospital, Rachel was greeted with a shinning sun and a cool breeze, not much unlike the one, the day before. Feeling Eddie sidle beside her, she turned and grinned at him before making a clear path towards his car once again leaving a stunned Eddie behind wondering about her sudden burst of excitement had come from. Shrugging after not finding an answer to his question, he followed the same route Rachel had taken and climbed into the car at the same time she did.
"Where to Madam?" He questioned as he turned the key in the ignition.
"Umm...the park."
"To the park is it then." Eddie exclaimed causing Rachel to giggle and him to laugh along with her as he pulled the car out of the hospital car park and onto the main road and to the nearest park he could find not wanting to disappoint her.
Pulling up in the car park, Eddie turned to find that Rachel had fallen asleep, so he decided that a walk around the park could wait. Turning the engine on once again, he manuvered the car back onto the main road and towards her home.
Not half an hour later he pulled up outside her home. Sighing at the sight of her curled up in the chair with her head resting on the window, he found the sight simply adorable, with great care not to wake her and he extracted himself from the car and round to her side. Opening the car door with great care not wanting to wake her, probably from the best sleep she has had in almost a week since the fire.
Unwrapping her seatbelt, Eddie lifted her up into his arms and effortlessly carried her towards the door where he extracted the front door key from her jeans pocket and opened the door, luckily still managing to not drop her.
Placing Rachel down on the sofa he went back out to his car and retrieved her bags and brought them into the house, not noticing that the body on the sofa had moved and was now in the kitchen.
"Hey."
The noise startled him, and caused him to jump about 5 feet into the air at the slight noise from behind him.
"Bloody hell, Rachel you scared the living daylights out of me." Eddie gasped as he faced her holding his chest adding emphasis to what he was saying. Though all he achieved was a woman laughing at his expense, in his mind the sound of her laughter was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.
Still laughing Rachel turned back to the kettle and back to the task of making them a cup of tea. Boiling the kettle once again she tried to find a way to express how grateful she was for the help he had given her in the last 24 hours. Finding no suitable way of expressing what she felt, she did the next best thing and stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, startling both herself and Eddie at the forwardness of her actions. After the initial shock wore off Eddie his arms around her in return and pushed his face into her hair as if smelling her shampoo would make this moment seem more real and memorable as it was the first time since he had worked with her that she had initiated any physical contact between them, as it was always Eddie who made the first move and any time that happened and each time she was as stiff as a board in his arms.
"Sorry... I just... Do you want a cup of tea?" She rambled trying to shake the awkwardness of the situation off, without making it too obvious that she was slightly on the defensive.
Seeing that she had once again erected her wall, Eddie took a step forward and folded her into his arms and rested his head lightly on her shoudler, feeling her go stiff in his arms at the unexpected contact, he pulled her tighter into his arms and whispered in her ear.
"Hey, it's okay, I don't mind really, it was just a bit unexpected, but I really don't mind Rachel." Feeling her relax into his arms finally, allowing herself to be comforted for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Rachel, I really would love a cup of tea." He whispered as an afterthought, seeing that she had lost some of her earlier stiffness and somewhat reverted back to previous playful attitude.
Pulling mugs out of the cupboard she daren't turn around as if afraid that the atmosphere surrounding them would turn to awkward once again. Handing him the finished cup of tea, she headed towards the sofa, not once looking at Eddie.
Noticing that she had once again, frozen up Eddie resided to sitting with her and to wait out any confession that she felt comfortable to pass her lips.
"I don't really know how to say this, but thank you for being there with me yesterday; I don't think I could have dealt with that without you being by my side." Rachel said quietly as she stared into the cup and swirled around the liquid to keep her attention away from the man sat next to her that had a knack for drawing her attention away from more prying matters.
"Rachel you don't have to thank me, I wanted to be there with you, you've supported me in the past and put me back in touch with my sun so I think it's about time I started to show you some support and don't deny that you are fine and you'll work through this on your own, cause I want to be there to help you work through whatever is going through your head." Eddie said back trying to not reach out and once again hold her and shield her away from the cruel and real world.
Tears started to swim in her eyes as Rachel digested just what Eddie was offering her; something that she hadn't had in a very long time and that is a shoulder to cry on and let out any sort of emotion because she is expected to be cool, calm and professional. Keeping a distance was what she did, no workplace relationships and no emotional attachments to the school, then again that was before she joined Waterloo Road and Eddie Lawson came into her life.
"How can you want to be anywhere near me, now that you know about my past as Amanda?" She asked, wanting to know why her and why not someone who didn't have a very questionable past.
"You should know by now that I don't care about that, it's not what makes you who you are. Your past is in the past and right now you're Rachel Mason, Head teacher of Waterloo Road and nothing anyone says can change that." Eddie responded as he made her look at him by using his finger to push her chin up so he could meet her eyes for the first since the unexpected hug in the kitchen.
Tears came willingly as they fell down her cheeks, now knowing that he didn't hate her and that her past had no effect on how he perceived her. Wiping furiously at her cheeks to erase any evidence of the tears that were by now noticeable from over a mile away, Rachel once again went back to her routine of not meeting Eddie's eyes and sitting in silence.
Without hesitation Eddie took her into his arms and let her cry out everything she had been keeping inside her, locked away for no one to see but her.
Silently, not wanting to disturb the air of quiet and contentment that had fallen upon them in the slowly darkening room, Rachel half sat, half laid in Eddie's arms feeling safe for the first time in what felt like forever. Feeling her sigh rather than hearing Eddie tightened his grip on her as she came down from her emotional outburst, listening as her breathing evened out he relaxed further into the sofa back and rested his head atop hers and let his eyes fall shut, taking in the feeling of her in his arms, committing it all to memory as if knowing that this would be the only chance he would get to see the real Rachel Mason with all her defences down, leaving her vulnerable and fragile to those who really knew her, if you were a casual observer all you would see was the woman who had turned a school breeding new inmates for the local prison, into a school that was recognised locally as a safe haven where all needs are catered for.
"Rachel, wakey wakey, come one sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up." Eddie whispered in her ear taking care to keep a steady grip on her, as if expecting her to react badly to them being cuddle together in the middle of the day on her sofa no less, but he needn't have worried as she only smiled softly up at him, chasing any fears away that she would immediately erect her walls.
"Hmm, don't wanna move you're too comfy." She responded and snuggled further into his arms, causing Eddie to laugh at her slightly childish antics.
"No come on, I'm in need of nourishment, I'm a growing boy and I need some food." Eddie whined when she wouldn't move. Stomach growling, as if on cue to punctuate his point, Eddie shifted Rachel out of his arms, shivering at the sudden loss of the warmth that left him at her move, which was not strictly blamed on the weather.
"Alright, alright I wouldn't want you to wither up and die now, would we." She said cheerfully as her small nap had rejuvenated her energy and put her back into her playful temperament.
Standing up and walking towards the kitchen Rachel didn't notice that Eddie hadn't followed her until she had gotten out most of the ingredients and utensils she needed to prepare something that resembled an edible lunch. Not sensing his presence behind, which, had become a sixth sense in the time she had known him, she had been able to tell when he had stepped into a room as the hairs on the back of her neck, stood to attention as she tried desperately to fight back the shudder that always threatened to make its way down her spine each time she saw him or heard him or smelt him. Turning back to head to the living room, Rachel found him sprawled out on her sofa, with his legs dangling off the edge as he seemed far too tall to keep his shins and feet on the soft padding of the sofa.
"Eddie." She said as she saw him eagle spread and comfortable on her sofa which not moments ago he had kicked her off, so she could go slave away in the kitchen to cook him some food, or heaven forbid he may wither up and die.
Looking at her with a cheeky grin on his face Eddie reached out to the coffee table and snagged the remote, switching on the TV, he relax into the sofa and flicked though the channels, paying no mind to Rachel who had watched the scene thinking that it seemed so natural for him to be in her home, on her sofa watching one of the football matches that just happened to be on and her in the kitchen preparing food for them both.
Grabbing the remote out of his hand, Rachel did the opposite of his earlier action and turned the TV off; leaving Eddie reclined on the sofa pouting up at her for taking his new toy off of him.
"Rachel, what did you do that for?" He questioned, not amused she had removed his new source of entertainment away from him.
The look on his face almost tempted her to give the remote back to him, but just as she was about to cave to the puppy dog and pouty face, she caught a slight smirk make his way over his face. Before she had time to react, Eddie had her pinned to the floor, tickling the hell out his sides and laughing at her squealing at him to stop.
"EDDIE." Rachel, screamed as he found her most ticklish stop, just below her belly button, noticing that the more he tickled her the more she tended to squirm underneath him, which in turn, brought a whole wealth full of dirty thoughts and things that he would love to do to her body, to have her squirming underneath him begging and moaning his name.
As his movements, stilled and Rachel regained her breath, she noticed the glazed over look on his face. Watching him as he swam away from her and deeper into his thought process Rachel took the time to admire him.
As a slight flush crept up onto his features, his deep look of concentration took a u-turn in the other direction and came to a halt at desire. Knowing that she would have to get up at some point, although right now her current position was more than comfy, Rachel shifted underneath Eddie once again hoping to break him out of straying thoughts.
Seeing that he wouldn't be coming back to Earth any time soon, Rachel reached out a hand and patted his thigh, feeling the firm to lean twitch under her fingers, responding to her light touch that was all it took for Eddie to return from his mission to Mars and join Rachel back in her living room. Blushing at the still fresh daydream Eddie looked down to find Rachel staring right back at him with a knowing look on her face making him once again blush an even brighter red.
"Sorry." He mumbled as he climbed off her and took a seat on the edge of the sofa as far away as possible from Rachel as he tried to calm down from his reaction to close proximity.
"It's alright; you were away with the fairies." She teased trying to lighten the tension that had taken hold of them.
"Anyway, what do you want to do after lunch?" He questioned unsure if she wanted to spend anymore of her day with him.
"Errmm, I don't know really, you decide." Rachel replied as she made a move to go back into the kitchen to retrieve their lunch of Ham salad sandwiches. Following her with his until she moved out of his field vision, Eddie recalled his trip to another world, although as he once again became enthralled once again he couldn't stop his physical response to the very vivid fantasy he had concocted.
As she walked back into the living room Rachel couldn't help but notice Eddie's stiff posture and the battle that seemed to be taking place in his mind, if his eyes were any indication.
"Here you go, I hope you don't mind Ham salad, I was the only thing I could find that hadn't gone off or out of date. Which means, I now have to go shopping and I really do hate shopping for food, clothes and shoes I can deal with but food, I'd rather go back to high school and repeat that, than go shopping, but unfortunately it must be done?" Rachel said as she winced at the thought of shopping. Having Eddie on her right laughing at her had no effect on her obvious distaste for the simple art of food shopping and not finding it very amusing that he could find something so amusing in something so mundane.
Still laughing Eddie was caught unawares as Rachel pounced on him and returned her own volley of tickles, repaying Eddie for the earlier tickle attack. As they rolled about on the floor neither noticed how close they had become before, lips collided, tongues explored and hands roamed over new and exciting territory. Breaking away breathless, Rachel looked down at Eddie with uncertainty written in her chocolate eyes, knowing that by now she had worked herself up into a right frenzy, Eddie reached up and brought their lips back together, slowly and deliberately to show her that he wasn't going to walk away from her and her scar meant nothing to him, that all he saw it as was a war wound that would heal along with the her as time passed and he wanted to be beside as she did that.