After a bad start, Rachel and Eddie somehow managed to put up with each other over the next week and by the time Rachel came into school to find Eddie packing up a pile of tents, they were on fairly good terms. ""Funny, I thought the trip was to Derbyshire, not the DMZ," she grinned, still uncertain about the trip. As the two bickered about whether or not the trip was a good idea, Rachel found herself warming to Eddie. He seemed to want the best for the kids, which was more than she could say for Grantley Budgen.

She'd overheard him telling a disgruntled Eddie that "You can't turn a bad lad into a good one by sticking him in a canoe." She still relished the fear in his eyes when he realised it was her stood behind him to overhear his grumbles and Eddie's eyes were dancing as she raised an eyebrow at him.

As Rachel stood talking to Tom Clarkson, she couldn't ignore Eddie talking to Davina Shackleton. She may have liked Davina but she'd already heard enough rumours about her love life and she didn't approve of Eddie having some kind of unprofessional relationship with her. After all, he was the deputy head. It was inappropriate and it irritated her. For some reason she found herself giggling more at Tom's jokes and not shrugging away the hand he'd put on her arm. Shifting her eyes back to Eddie, she was satisfied to see a disgruntled look on his face as he caught her eye. "Well, I'd better let you lot go," she murmured, stepping away from Tom to speak to the group of teachers as a whole. "Good luck with them." She could feel Eddie's eyes following her as she walked back into school to start the day.

Just hours later, after a nightmare day between trying to talk Brett Aspinall round and look after Sally Dobbs and her brother, she got a call from Eddie to say they were on their way back. Apparently Bolton Smilie had managed to trick Eddie into jumping off a cliff and he was now in a neck brace. Rachel couldn't help but to chuckle when he came off the bus looking so sorry for himself. "What hurts most; your neck or your ego?"

"I've had a bad day."

"Your day's been a piece of cake compared to mine," she told him, only half joking.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah. Come on, we need to talk to a parent, I'll explain on the way," she said as they began to walk side by side, on a mission.

By the time Sally and her mother had been reunited, they were both worn out. "Fancy a brandy?" Rachel asked.

"Miss Mason, I'm shocked. Drinking on school premises?" Eddie smirked.

"Well, I like to keep a bottle handy for days like these. I won't tell if you won't," she winked at him. "I think we can agree that the outing was not a resounding success."

"It was a bloody shambles, you must be over the moon." Eddie muttered, clinking his glass against hers as she came to sit down beside him.

"Course I'm not," she replied, "Yeah, I had doubts about the trip, but I didn't want it to be a failure." Eddie couldn't help but notice how unteacherlike she looked, slumped in her chair with a brandy in hand.

"Yeah right."

"Obviously the sight of you like that is something I wouldn't miss for the world…" she grinned.

"It's hilarious," he deadpanned, "good job it only hurts when I laugh."

Rachel giggled again, "No, I would've loved the kids to come back transformed by the experience. I know that's what you wanted. I think that's the mistake you made today, actually," she explained, using his own words from the previous week, "I think you set your sights way too high. The success rate with kids like Bolton, it's so low."

"I know," he sighed, "I just wanted to kick some arse; get 'em excited."

"Well now you're talking!" Rachel's face lit up. "Never give up. How about you and I put our heads together and we'll see what we can come up with? I promise you, by the end of the school year, their arses will be well and truly kicked." The glee on Rachel's face as she whispered this last sentence managed to raise a smile from her deputy.

"Go on then Rach, we'll see what we can do."

Rachel smiled at him as they both downed their brandy and began to chat about the ways they could get through to Bolton and his cronies. Eddie watched as the usually-frowning Rachel's eyes began to sparkle and her speech became fast with excitement. Suddenly he realised why the LEA liked her so much. She was ten times more enthusiastic than Jack Rimmer, as disloyal as it felt to admit it, and she was funny too. By the time they walked out to get their taxis home, it was dark out and they'd had a glass or two more of the brandy. It was good stuff; he couldn't deny that Rachel Mason had great taste when it came to alcohol.

The rest of the week flew by and by Friday, when they'd organised an archaeological dig, Rachel and Eddie had grown rather fond of each other. Rachel actively found herself scheduling meetings with Eddie just because she enjoyed his company, and for his part, Eddie certainly wasn't complaining. While Rachel still seemed slightly cautious of him and Eddie still found himself irritated by Rachel's cold manner, things were going well. They were in the middle of one of these 'meetings' when Grantley came walking in on one of their frequent squabbles. Eddie had been being as pessimistic and negative as ever about Rachel's enterprise scheme when they were interrupted. "You're not going to believe this," Grantley said, somehow causing a spike of dread to pierce Rachel's heart. "They've found a baby on the bloody dig."

"What do you mean, a baby?" asked Eddie as Rachel turned white.

"A corpse. I've sent them inside, but I think you'd better come and have a look."

"Well of course we'd better," Rachel interrupted, grabbing her coat and launching herself to her feet, Eddie by her side. Grantley lead the way as they began to storm through the school, a force to be reckoned with. The musical rehearsal ground to a halt as they flew past, Rachel fierce, Eddie horrified.

As they arrived at the dig-turned-grave, Rachel felt her blood run cold. "Who would bury a baby on a school field?" she asked, knowing exactly what kind of person would do such a thing.

"You haven't been here long, have you?" Grantly muttered as Rachel clasped a hand to her throat, nausea overcoming her. She had known a girl who did the exact same thing back in her 'pre-teaching days' as she liked to call them. She could have so easily found herself in the same situation; the girl in question had once been her flatmate.

"The police will have to find out who the mother is. It could be one of the girls in this school," she stated as the realisation hit. "Eddie, can I leave you to tell the staff? I'm going to stay and wait for the police." But Eddie merely stared into space, horror written all over his face. "Eddie?"

"Yeah, course," he said, walking away with Grantley and leaving her to stare at the tiny skeleton as tears began to blur her vision. That baby was a person, a person that probably would have one day become a pupil at her school, but just like Sophie's baby it had died for nothing, without even a proper burial. She thought back to that awful night, the night she realised she couldn't do it anymore.

Screams were coming from Sophie's room, but she didn't have a customer in there. She knocked quietly on the door but only got sobs in response. "Soph? I'm coming in." she called to the girl, opening the door cautiously. The sight she was greeted with was one of despair. Sophie lay on her bed, her head in her hands and her legs apart. Her hair was messy and her brow coated with sweat. There were bruises still fading from a bad client she'd had weeks earlier dotted around her body.

"Sophie? How long have you known?" Amanda whispered frantically, as a guttural moan ripped loose of Sophie's lips. "Soph?" Amanda found herself getting more and more terrified.

"I… I've only missed-" suddenly Sophie had to clench her eyes shut again.

"Soph, we have to get you to hospital. Look, I'll go and call an ambulance, it's going to be okay." Amanda consoled her.

"No, you can't! Mandy, you know what Sean will do, you can't call them. For your sake as well as mine," Sophie hissed, gripping her hand tightly. Amanda knew she was right. Sean would beat her until she could barely walk, or worse. He'd done it before, and he wouldn't let the authorities get involved.

"But Soph, the baby…" she tried pleading, but it was no use. The contractions were getting closer and closer together.

"I can feel its head! You… need to have… a look."

Shaking with fear and nausea Amanda bent down to have a look and sure enough she could see the crown of the baby's head. There was blood everywhere. "I think you're meant to push now, but I don't know. Soph, please, I don't know what I'm doing."

Sophie began to push and soon enough the baby was out. Sophie was sobbing now, a guttural, harsh sobbing that came from somewhere deep within her. Amanda picked up the baby. It was cold and still. It wasn't crying. Amanda could hear someone hyperventilating, but it didn't feel like her. The tiny fingernails were blue, the damp baby slick with blood and sweat, its eyelids didn't flutter. Sophie was sitting now she faintly noticed, and she could hear her howling, but Amanda couldn't speak. Then she heard the door swing open and turned to see Sean in the doorway.

"Get out," he told Amanda, his tone cold, but she just stood, still clutching the bloody corpse. "I SAID GET OUT!" he screamed. She laid the baby in Sophie's arms, and numbly crept out, still shaking. Once she got back into her own room, she realised she was still covered in blood and fluid. She curled up and began to sob silently, gasping for breath as she rocked back and forth. She couldn't comprehend it. Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep, her body still shaking, her breaths a little too frequent.

When she woke up, she tiptoed to the shower and scrubbed away all that was left of the encounter under the cascading stream of boiling water. When she went to check on Sophie, the baby was gone. She packed her bags and left within minutes, determined to get out. She'd known for weeks, months even, had planned it, but this was the trigger and she couldn't stay anymore. Weeks later, as she started her new course, she saw a story in the newspaper. They'd found the baby's remains, buried in a shallow grave in someone's garden and they quickly found Sophie too, and Sean. Rachel Mason thought it was as horrific as everyone else. But of course she knew nothing about it.

As she came out of her thoughts, Rachel heard the police cars arriving and went to meet them. It was going to be a nightmare day. As the police and the forensic scientists invaded, Rachel was asked to go and speak to the pupils. Deciding she needed Eddie to support her, she knocked on his classroom door. She found him staring into space. "Eddie?" she whispered timidly, acutely aware of her own red eyes and guilty conscience.

He looked up slowly, his eyes blank until he saw her. "Rach?" he said as his eyes filled with compassion. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She told him, trying to hide the quaver in her voice. "We have to talk to the kids and… I could use the help."

"I'm there if you need me to be," Eddie told her.

"I do."

They walked in a kind of understanding silence to their first classroom-full of students. "There'll almost certainly be a police investigation to find out who the mother is, but I want you all to be quite clear. This is not a witch hunt. If, and I know it's a big if, a girl in this school is the mother of this baby, I want her to know she mustn't be afraid to come forward. Whoever she is, she must be feeling very scared and very alone. I can't emphasize enough: we are here to help, we're not here to accuse or punish. And if any of you have any worries, you can come and see me or Mr Lawson, or Miss Haydock or… any member of staff, for that matter. Okay?" She repeated the speech to each class, Eddie by her side, somehow his presence managing to support her. By the time the bell rang, she was emotionally exhausted.

"Shall we go and check up with the police?" Eddie asked her. Rachel merely nodded and followed him back down to the field. They tried to find out as much as they could from the chief inspector but there wasn't much more they could do. Every time the detectives looked at her, she felt guilt seeping into her bones. She kept seeing Sophie's baby in her mind's eye; its body still in her hands, causing her to shiver involuntarily. The next thing she knew, the DI wanted her to give her lists of prospective mothers.

"I do hope you're not going to stigmatise Waterloo Road," Rachel tried to say, but it was too late. The police would be investigating her pupils. Steph took Detective Mellor away with her and Rachel was left to ponder what she would do if the girl in question was indeed a member of Waterloo Road. She decided that maybe paperwork would take her mind off it but she bumped into Eddie on her way back up and they ended up in conversation.

"I can hardly find my way around the school, and now this," she sighed as they entered her office.

"Rachel? There's a whole load of journalists here," Bridget informed her.

"Oh God," she felt herself close to tears, "Eddie can you deal with the press?"

"Me? But that's your job," Eddie reminded her.

"I know, but I just think in situations like these it's important that they have a woman to talk to and… you know, I'd like to be here for them," Rachel pleaded.

"Yeah, because us men, we're crap at all that sensitive stuff, eh?"

Rachel sighed. "Listen, today of all days, you and I need to work together as a team."

"Yeah, I know," Eddie replied resignedly, "just being an awkward sod."

"I think you've got a heart of gold," she smiled. Eddie turned back and gave her a modest smile before leaving. Once he'd gone, she laid back in her chair and let herself break a little.

By lunch, she'd managed to get through piles of paperwork, her mind numb. She was close to finishing it all when Eddie arrived. "Fancy lunch? I figured you could use a break." She smiled at him gratefully and accepted his offer.

"Can you believe, one of the journalists even asked to photograph the site?" he asked her angrily as they patrolled the corridors. "I could've slapped him."

"Um, can I have a word?" asked a stressed Steph. "I think we might've found our girl."

Rachel felt a sense dread settle itself in the pit of her stomach. "Who?" asked Eddie.

"Rhiannon Sedgewick. She's very troubled."

"Okay, well I'll talk to her," Rachel said

"But, the thing is, when you try and communicate with her she just clams up."

"Well, if there's anything in it, we have to talk to the parents," Eddie asserted.

"You two have enough going on, I'll do it." Steph offered "I'll get their details off Bridget."

As Steph turned to go, Rachel noticed Eddie staring at the ground, his face troubled. "You okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, fine," he said, but she could tell he wasn't.

"Oh Eddie, thank you for dealing with the press."

"It was… no problem," he told her, but his mind was elsewhere. He turned and walked away, leaving her gazing after him.

Once she composed herself, she went back to her office where she found DI Chapman, ready to call the Sedgewicks. They were interrupted by Steph and Maxine. "I think I got the wrong girl," Steph explained.

Rachel put a hand to her head. "Bridget, could you get Mr Lawson up here please?"

When Eddie arrived, he seemed troubled still but as Rachel gave him a hushed explanation of what was going on, he was calm. As Rachel sat to listen to Maxine's account of the incident, he found himself stood a distance away, thoughts swilling with his son, Michael. The story was too hard for him to hear. He left abruptly.

"Hey. What's up?" Rachel said from behind him.

"I just can't cope with this," he admitted.

"Really, why?" she asked, concerned.

"It's nothing really."

"Oi, wait a minute, what?"

"Just reminds me how much I miss my son." Rachel was shocked. She felt terrible for asking him to do so much now.

"Eddie," she tried to say as he walked away.

"I've got a report to write, Rachel." She was left to digest both bombshells alone.

As she paced back and forth, Eddie suddenly came flying back into her office, clutching a sheet of paper. "One of the worst cases of bullying I have ever come across," he announced, stuffing it ino her hand and turning to leave again.

"Can we talk?" she asked him hesitantly.

"I think I might've gone over the top a bit. What if we actually have to cancel the musical?"

"Um, well, if it gets the message through… good?"

"Right, thanks for your support on that, I appreciate it," he told her, attempting to hurry off again..

"Eddie? Um, I didn't know you were a father?" she murmured.

"Well I didn't tell you, how could you know?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, worried she had intruded too far into his personal life.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, closing the door. "Truth is, I'm a father of twins. Only, one died." Rachel found herself feeling suddenly guilty, "cot death."

"Oh, God."

"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: SIDS. What a stupid name," he said as he sat down on the sofa.

"I can't imagine anything more devastating."

"We did everything right. Put them to bed one night, then the next morning…" he paused and Rachel felt an urge to clasp his hand. "Alison couldn't handle it. She blamed herself. She blamed me, and he got herself a new boyfriend."

"That sounds like a way of coping to me," Rachel reassured him, suddenly worried for him, any earlier dislike completely cast off.

"Well, whatever it was, I was barred." Eddie's voice had turned bitter. "Whenever I went round there was a massive row. She said "it's not good for our son". I just wanted to see him." He realised Rachel was looking at him intensely now, her hazel eyes filled with concern and a newfound respect for him. "That's Michael," he told her, pulling out a photo of him holding a baby boy, which Rachel cooed at, "and that was Stephen."

Rachel held the two photos, her expression a mixture of regret and adoration. "And how old is Michael now?"

"Three and a half," Eddie smiled.

"You know Eddie, I might sound like an amateur psychologist, but one thing I do understand is how important it is for a child to feel loved by their parents. You see, I never felt that," Eddie noticed a shadow cross her face, "and, um… still hurts, after all this time." At that moment, a knock on the door drew them out of their thoughts and they stood up quickly, like guilty schoolchildren caught kissing in a cupboard, Rachel handing Eddie the photos back as Steph entered.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we've found out who the dad is. Lewis Seddon." Eddie turned to look at Rachel. "I don't think she wants to tell him, myself. She's terrified of what his reaction will be. I mean, do you think he does need to know?"

"Course he does," Eddie told her angrily, thinking of his own sons.

"Well I don't want to tell him; he's… well, we all know what Seddon's like."

Eddie sighed. "Yeah," Rachel agreed, "it's amazing what we discover about people's capabilities. You volunteering Eddie?" she asked softly.

"Yeah."

By the end of another long day, after Maxine's speech and an argument with Matt over Part Side Story, Rachel went to find Eddie in his classroom. Dropping a sheet of paper onto his desk she murmured, "That's your ex-wife's number."

"I know it."

"One little call won't hurt."

Eddie sighed, "I don't want you interfering in my life, Rachel."

She grimaced, "I've seen so much misery today, and you've got a child."

"Yeah, okay. But there's the added problem of my ex-wife." Eddie argued. "You don't know her."

Rachel decided to try a different tact. "Eddie, d'you fancy a drink?"

He smirked, "Only if it's mind-numbingly alcoholic."

"You're on," she grinned.

The two walked out together again, Eddie even opening the door for her as she passed. By the time they reached the pub, Rachel was really desperate for a drink. "I think it's the bus home for me," she grinned, as she moved onto her second glass of wine. "Although this was essential, I think, after the day we've had today." She turned to him smiling. "It's good to talk, eh?"

"To you, yeah," he murmured, looking at her in a way that she should have told him was unprofessional.

She dropped her gaze modestly. "Not to the ex-wife."

"Ex is the word," he growled. "And, believe me, I'm very happy about that."

"Yeah, but you're not happy without your son, are you? Wouldn't you be much happier if you could see Michael? I think you're letting the pain you feel push people out."

"I've said all I'm gonna say on the subject," Eddie cut in. "The last thing I need right now, Rachel, is for you to point out my faults."

"Go on, just call her. What harm will it do?" she tried.

"Any more of this, we're going to end up falling out," he warned her, finishing his beer. "Night Rachel." She watched him stand up.

"Night night," she murmured, smiling up at him. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he exited the pub. As soon as he was gone, she pulled out the number. "Hi, is that Alison Lawson?"