A/N: Sorry I guess this is a bit of a filler too… BUT don't worry because after this the next few chapters are ACTION ACTION ACTION. Also I am four reviews away from 300… that is SO SO crazy, thank you to every single one of you who has reviewed!

Previously:

"A Gallagher Girl?" I whispered. I didn't deserve that title.

"A Gallagher Girl" Liz confirmed with a smile. "And one of the best Gallagher Girl's ever if you show us the real Cammie"

"I'll try" I promised. "I'll try to be a Gallagher Girl"

()()()()

Things were okay with my mom. Sure; they weren't perfect, they weren't even good. They were simply okay. We passed each other in the corridors and said hi, we would spare each other a nod at dinner times, but other than that it was strictly a student and teacher relationship. Sometimes I'd open my mouth to begin a conversation, but think better of it and close my mouth again. Other times my mom would pause slightly when she passed me in the corridor, but then she'd decide to carry on walking. It was awkward. Beyond awkward. But it was bearable.

"I don't think I can bear this anymore" I sighed as Zach sat beside me at the table and his hand found mine.

Zach looked up to my mom who was staring at me. "You'll have to make the first move Cammie, she thinks you hate her, she doesn't want to make things worse"

I gulped down my juice. "Okay, after dinner" I finalised.

"No!" Macey, Liz and Bex all said at exactly the same time, making me jump. I raised my eyebrows.

"I… I heard your mom was busy doing something after dinner, why don't you talk to her now?" Macey asked quickly.

"Or tomorrow" Liz pushed in.

"No, I want to speak to her tonight" I rolled my eyes. "You know she's never busy after dinner, she usually just sits in her office, remember?"

The girls all exchanged looks.

"Zach, can I speak to you for a second?" Bex asked, and without waiting for an answer she dragged him over to the salad bar.

I watched them as they began to have a heated discussion, and finally Zach nodded and they returned to the table. I cleared my throat expectantly.

"Cammie, urm, would you mind helping me with my CoveOps tonight?" Zach asked.

"You've never needed my help before?" I asked in confusion.

"But I'm really confused about counter-surveillance and you're great at it, please?"

"For god sakes guys, all of you were trying to convince me to speak to my mom and now you're trying to prevent it!"

"It's not that" Zach said quickly. "I want you to speak to your mom, but not tonight, she'll be busy and I really need your help with this CoveOps stuff"

"Argh!" I could feel my anger burning in my stomach. I'd really wanted to sort things out with my mom tonight, but I knew I had to help Zach, he'd been amazing these past couple of weeks and I'd do anything to stop him trying to leave. "Fine, I'll help you tonight" I sighed.

()()()()

I could feel a headache coming on. It wasn't uncommon for me now, ever since Catherine had hit me over the head with that damn hammer I was getting nearly constant headaches, and the last thing I wanted to do was help Zach with his CoveOps.

"You ready?" Zach asked, appearing at the door of my room.

I rolled my eyes and gestured to my pyjamas. "Zach, do I look like I'm ready?"

"We can just study in here if you'd like…" Concern filled Zach's face.

"I just want to sleep, sorry Zach, I have a headache" I sat down on my bed and drew the covers up to my chest.

"Okay" Zach sat on the bed beside me and stoked my hair. "Go to sleep then, I'll stay here until you fall asleep"

"I'm not a baby Zach" I said in annoyance. But I lay down anyway, and I had to admit, as Zach's fingers gently stroked my throbbing head I did feel a little better.

()()()()

When I woke up Zach was gone. I could hear the gentle snoring of Macey, Bex and Liz. I groaned and sat up in bed, glancing at my watch, it was one in the morning. My headache had gone and I was wide awake, I wondered if my mom would still be awake. I rubbed my bleary eyes and stood up with a sigh. I tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it, slipping through it. I walked quickly through the corridors until I got to my mom's office. There were still a few lights on in a couple of the classrooms, no doubt they were students studying hard, maybe one of them was Zach.

I raised my hand to knock on the office door, but then I realised the room was in silence. I shook my head. God, was I going mad? It was one in the morning; of course my mom would be asleep. I turned on my heel ready to walk away, but then I heard the whispering.

I pressed my ear against the door and heard the voices.

"He's doing well here" I could hear my mother's voice. "There's no reason to send him back to Blackthorne, he'll be in danger there"

"Agreed" I heard Aunt Abby say. "Zach's been great for Cammie too, if you kick him out there's no doubt that Cammie will follow him"

I could feel my heart thudding against my chest. Every part of my body was telling me to go back to my room and forget I'd heard this, but I couldn't.

"Zach is a danger to Gallagher while he's here, he's endangering the sisterhood. His mother will not hesitate to kill him and anyone in her way, including Cammie, the trustee's are agreed on this" A voice I didn't recognise said.

"Well what about Cammie? If you kick Zach out Cammie will follow and she'll get killed too" Aunt Abby protested.

"That's not our concern" A cold voice said. "If Cammie wants to get herself killed then that's fine. We understand you want to protect Cammie by keeping her here, but right now we have to think of everyone else. While Cammie and Zach are here it's not safe for anyone"

"Leave Cammie out of this" It sounded like my mom was crying. "This meeting is about Zach, not Cammie"

"Now, Cammie is another matter" The cold voice said. "I'm disappointed in you Rachel for not sending Cammie to another school, for not making sure she stayed where she was safest, this has put your job at risk you know"

"It was my fault!"

My mom and Aunt Abby gasped as I pushed my way into the room seething with anger. "It was me that got myself kicked out, nowhere else would take me, it wasn't my mom's fault!"

"Cammie, get to your room, now!" Aunt Abby said sternly.

"No, Cammie, now that you're here you might as well give us your opinion on the matter" An old woman held out her hand towards me. "My name is Karen; I'm the head of the Gallagher Academy Trustee Committee"

I wasn't put off by the fancy title. "Blame this on me, not my mom!" I said.

"Cammie, go back to your room!" My mom said loudly.

"No, Rachel, she can stay, this is about her after all, and she should know what's going on"

My mom shook her head weakly, but then collapsed into a chair.

"Now Cammie, do you agree that our priority as the Trustees of the Gallagher Academy should be to protect as many students as possible?"

"Yes" I agreed. The woman gave me a smug smile. "But I also think that you should be offering this kind of education to people who will need it most. Catherine is after me and Zach after all, and so we're the ones that need to know how to protect ourselves"

The smile fell from the woman's lips. "That's fair enough Ms Morgan, but it seems that you and Zach go out of your way to find trouble. I heard you even wrote to Zach's mother. Totally reckless!"

"Well that's why I should get kicked out and not Zach" I whispered to the floor.

"Well Ms Morgan, that's all very well, but we're under an obligation to give you an education. Zach however… he's a boy, we could easily send him back to Blackthorne"

"Please, just give us one last chance!" I pleaded. "We won't leave the castle or anything; we won't do anything reckless, please!"

"Me and Rachel will keep a close eye on them Karen, please" Abby chipped in.

Karen rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "One. Last. Chance. I mean it Rachel, Abby; if I hear of Cammie and Zach being out of this castle again then we'll have to take further action"

"I promise that won't happen" I sighed with relief.

"Very well, now off to your room, I need to speak to your mom and Abby about something alone" Karen said.

I glanced at my mom who was wiping her eyes. I bend down and hugged her tightly. She tensed up at first, but then I felt her hugging me back.

"Go straight back to your room, I'll see you tomorrow, promise me you won't leave the castle or anything" My mom whispered in my ear. I nodded and whispered back "I promise"

"Oh and Cammie…" her hand gripped mine. "I… I love you"

I smiled sadly. "I love you too" it was only when I said the words I realised how much they were true. This was my mom; I'd never be able to stop loving her.

I left the room and sighed with relief. For once I'd seemed to have said and done the right thing. My mom must have told Macey, Bex and Liz to keep me away from her office; I'd be having serious words with them later.

"Now, onto more serious matters"

I froze as I heard Karen's voice carry through the door. I knew to walk away it was as simple as placing one foot in front of the other. But I couldn't, I just couldn't, I stayed listening.

"There is the matter of Matthew Morgan"

There was a deadly silence in the room.

"What about him?" Aunt Abby asked with a hint of venom in her voice.

"You know Cammie may run away if she hears…"

"Well, she won't hear, because we won't tell her" My mom said instantly.

"But there are plenty of ways for her to find out"

"We only have Catherine's word he's alive, we don't know if she's telling the truth, and she probably isn't, so there's no reason for Cammie to know"

I sunk down onto the floor.

"Rachel you have to face the fact that your husband may be alive, and may be being held by The Circle"

"No!" My mom shouted. "All we have is a letter from Catherine saying they have him, and I won't believe they have him, because that means he'll be being tortured, and that's not something I'm going to think about!"

"Rachel, the letter had a vial of Matthew's blood with it"

"What exactly is your point here?" Aunt Abby asked with a pained voice.

"My point is that Cammie must never find out about this, or she may go looking for him"

"And she won't" My mom whispered. "She'll never find out"

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