Thank you for the reviews.

Back to the dreamworld that Rachel is in at the moment. And I think there is one thing left with Stuart to cover...

Chapter 5

Rachel found herself face to face with Eddie and it didn't take her long to acclimate herself to what had been happening. The sound of the fire alarms did make her want to bolt to the closest exit or to just curl up into a ball and hope that it was going to stop. It was the good thing about being the headteacher because she could plan the fire drills in advance and prepare herself for them. Not that the staff didn't know that they were going to happen in advance. But her reaction to hearing the fire alarms again for the first time made her worry that she might never be able to react rationally towards the sound ever again.

"All clear?" She said, reminding herself that it was what she had said at the time.

"Yeah."

If she was honest, she couldn't remember her thinking behind the last sweep. And because she knew now what was going to happen, she didn't want to say it. She wanted to leave with Eddie and make herself forget that she knew exactly where Stuart could be. Maybe that was where they should go. Not that she knew if she could persuade Eddie to help her save the man that had revealed her biggest secret.

And then that got her thinking.

Because she knew that she was adamant that it wasn't going to work at Waterloo Road anymore. That she couldn't be the head teacher. And she knew that on her laptop, in her office, was the start of a letter that lifted Eddie so high that she was sure that, if she had any allies left in the LEA, they wouldn't refuse her request to make Eddie the new headteacher.

But she knew that she had returned to Waterloo Road.

Not that she could say what had changed between that day and her waking up in hospital.

But if she didn't do that last sweep, would she not change her mind?

Did she actually have to put herself in the same situation, knowing the outcome, to not leave Waterloo Road?

"Okay, I'm going to do one last sweep just in case," Rachel said, accepting her fate.

"I'll come with you."

"No, no, no, no. You go to the assembly point. I'll be right behind you."

"Will you?"

She knew that this was an Eddie that would have known her thoughts. Because, realistically, he wouldn't know if she would be right behind him or not. Either that or she had wanted him to be more concerned about her rather than just accepting what she had said that day.

He wasn't to know how close he would be to losing her. He had no reason to think that she wouldn't be right behind him. He didn't know about Stuart's last taunt and that he had been in the school. He didn't know that Stuart had been injured.

Not that she was going to tell him that.

Because she was sure that he would never understand her reason.

Because she didn't completely understand her reasons either.

"I've been that way," Rachel said as she pointed to the direction that she had just come from. "Maybe if you look round there and I look round where you've just looked, we can be out quicker."

Eddie seemed to accept that and Rachel wished that she could put Stuart out of her thoughts as she did her last sweep. She knew exactly where he was and she found herself desperate to get there to do as she did before. Just… maybe because she was only searching half the school, she would get there sooner. Maybe the same thing wouldn't happen because she would get to him earlier.

She heard Eddie calling after her as she made her way down the smoke-filled corridor. His voice, for some reason, always reached her ears. Maybe it was just because it was a male voice and they always seemed to carry.

But he shouted her name before he cursed.

He might not have known what she was actually doing but she knew that he knew that she was putting herself in danger. And she was sure that he wouldn't see that it was as important as she thought it was.

She ignored him regardless.

Him shouting after her wasn't going to change her mind.

And she knew that he knew how stubborn she was once she set her mind on something.

Maybe that was why it had taken them so long to get to the point that they were heading to. She had been stubborn over her changing relationship with Eddie, not wanting it to be anything more than friends. Workplace relationships never seemed to work out in the way that people hoped and Waterloo Road had already had its fair share of failed relationships for her to add herself and Eddie to the list. Even if, in the end, they ended up there.

Maybe they would have worked if she had let him in when she realised that she did have feelings for him.

Maybe they would have worked out if everything had run smoothly. If she didn't have a secret to reveal. If they had those drinks. If they had the time to be what they wanted to be.

She had never mourned a loss of a relationship like she mourned her relationship with Eddie.

Because she had never experienced a relationship and a love like Eddie's.

And it was cruel that she only had it for a very short amount of time.

Like he had shown her more love in the couple of months that they had been dating than the years that she had spent with other men.

That reason made her want to turn back.

Because if there was a man that she should choose, it should be Eddie.

Instead, she got closer to Stuart, finding him exactly where she knew he would be. And she called him a pain in the arse as she thought she had done that day. It was true. So damn true.

"Rachel! For God's sake!" Eddie said as he joined her in the danger.

She had already picked up Stuart's arms and was starting to drag him when she turned to Eddie. She hoped that she didn't have to ask him but the look on his face let her know that he didn't understand what she was doing.

The smoke had filled her lungs by this point, causing her to cough violently. The heat from the fire was starting to become unbearable and she knew that they had to get out sooner rather than later.

With a huff, Eddie seemed to understand what she wanted from him, moving to Stuart's feet to pick them up. She could feel Eddie wanting to move faster than she was able to. He could see the danger of what they were doing even if she still refused to believe it.

No matter what Stuart had done, he didn't deserve to be burnt to death.

But as they reached the doors and Rachel felt like she could taste the cleaner air, she had a funny feeling that she had done something wrong.

Which was only proven to her as she returned back to the corridor with the stairs that lead up to her office.

"All clear?" She said, allowing the Deja vu to wash over her.

"Yeah."

She found herself looking up at him and it got her thinking about all of the what ifs. She now knew what was going to happen to them. She knew how deeply she fell in love with him, even if it was only a spark at the moment. Her love for him would eventually spread like a fire through her own being. Much like the fire that was currently raging in the canteen, threatening to engulf the school.

And she knew her reasons why she returned to Waterloo Road. She could lie and say that it was something to do with unfinished business. That she had made a promise to the LEA and governors that she was going to turn the school around and she wanted to complete that goal.

She was sure that she couldn't admit it. Even now. Even to the man in front of her that would never know the truth if it didn't happen the way that it happened.

But Rachel returned to Waterloo Road for Eddie. Because she had seen what he had done for her. She had seen the endless emails as he fought her case. She would never know exactly what was said at the meetings that happened in person. She knew the aftermath because it was buried in those emails. But she could tell that Eddie had passionately put down his arguments. And, in the end, he had won.

She saw the emails from the parents. She assumed that Eddie had organised that rebellion as well. Although, when she had spoken to Tom about it, it seemed fitting that the students would help in the protest. After all, they protested against Jack's departure and Tom thought that she was more deserving of a protest than Jack was.

"Okay, I'm going to do one last sweep just in case," Rachel said, knowing that it wouldn't sit right with her if she didn't. Even if she was trying to change the past.

"I'll come with you."

"Why don't I go around where you've just been and you go around where I've just been?" She suggested. "So we can both get out of here sooner."

She had suggested it last time and it did seem to be a good suggestion, with them agreeing to meet where they had just left each other if it was still safe to. But Rachel managed to slow down her movements, not rushing towards the man that might have caused this all to happen.

The report from the fire stated that they believed it started because of a loose connection on a gas canister and a bunch of rubbish that had caught on fire. The kids that were old enough to smoke had all been interviewed and then their stories were backed up by the teachers. Everyone had been in their form groups.

Rachel knew that she didn't recognise it at the time but Stuart had smelt like smoke when they had their confrontation. And it was only then that she was putting the pieces together.

Purposely or accidentally, she was certain that Stuart had caused the fire.

It would make sense. The guy had been a massive pain in her arse. From all the blackmailing to his slimy ways that he thought that he would win her affection after everything that he had done. It made her wonder how much Tess had told him.

When she met up with Eddie again, she didn't know what she was thinking. She didn't know how she was meant to go forward. Stuart was still on her mind but she let Eddie guide her to the closest exit, nowhere near where Stuart was. She knew that she should put him out of her mind. She knew that there was a line in the report that she had skimmed over because she didn't really want to know Stuart's fate.

But maybe this was it.

Maybe this was her subconscious finally catching up to what that line said.

Stuart was dead.

She had attempted to save a dead man.

And not any dead man.

A dead man that had wanted to destroy her life.

Stuart had made his choices.

Even before that day.

He hadn't just used her past against her once. He had used it against her multiple times, bending her to do his will because he knew how much it would scare her if it did all come out.

That was a choice on him.

He could have just blackmailed her to get him back into the running and then allowed his work to speak for itself. It was clear that he didn't believe in his plans. Or that he knew George and the LEA would instantly reject it. Maybe that was it in the end. Maybe Stuart just wanted to get one over the LEA and she had just given him the perfect opportunity to do that.

Stuart might have said that he didn't have a choice but he had more choice than she did. He was the game master. She was just a piece in his game.

Despite it being a warm late May day, it was rather chilly to Rachel as she stepped outside.

She never made it that far.

And it took her a while to realise how close she was to getting out of the fire unharmed.

And as she did the catch-ups and debriefs, as she was told that everyone was now accounted for after an incident with Davina and some students being trapped near the flames, with Davina being the only casualty, all she could think about was Stuart and where he was. Not that she would have the knowledge of where he was if it had all happened this way. But Rachel just couldn't shake it.

It meant that she asked around a little bit, to see if anyone had seen Stuart. The blank expressions confirmed that they didn't understand why she would be so concerned after everything that he'd done.

And when Eddie pulled her to one side, asking what she was on about, she told him about the confrontation before the fire alarm went off.

She hadn't realised how much she had missed what she had with Eddie. Their partnership in the school was something that she hadn't realised was so strong until it was taken away from her. Because Eddie did get annoyed by some of her decisions. She always knew when he thought that she was wrong. And she knew that he loved the moments when he could silently tell her that he told her so. There were never any hard feelings between them. Because the moments when they really worked together, they worked. There was so much understanding between them. And Rachel knew that she would never find that again.

So when she said that she had hoped that someone might have seen him, he knew what she was thinking. She was sure that Eddie would always hate Stuart more than she ever would. Because Rachel knew that she understood men like Stuart more than she understood men like Eddie. But she was sure that the only reason Eddie went off in search of the fire chief to explain that they had someone unaccounted for was because she got so emotional over it. She knew that she would never be able to explain why to him, because she would sound like a madwoman, but she was just glad that he did understand her.

She knew that he was her strength.

She knew that he held her up when she felt like she couldn't.

She had been trying to ignore what wasn't making Waterloo Road work after he left. Max gave a good enough reason but there was something that still wasn't clicking. Something still missing.

And it wouldn't never be found.

Because it was Eddie.

And nothing could replace him.