Most of the staff were in the pub when Eddie and Rachel arrived. Rachel spotted them all, crowded around the bar. She panicked, suddenly moving to go back out of the front door. Eddie however, was stood behind her, preventing her from backing away.

She looked at him painfully.

"Oh, Eddie, I'm not really sure this is a good idea" she sighed

"Look, just put their minds at rest. They've had a tough day" Eddie reasoned

"Me too! That's why I want to go home!" She shot back

Eddie sighed, walking in first and grabbing a retreating Rachel by the hand, pulling her in with him.

Coming to the pub had been a mistake.

Had the majority of the staff not been there waiting for them, it would have been a different story. Rachel had planned to talk to everyone first thing in the morning, with a clear head. But here she was, at the pub, about to face them all. She had just wanted a quiet drink with Eddie.

Tom Clarkson had been shaken by the events of the afternoon. It had brought back some memories from losing Izzy. How many more people were going to get hurt because of this kind of violence?

"I can't believe we've gone from knives to guns. What if Donte had...?" He wondered aloud

Davina rubbed his arm comfortingly. She knew how difficult this was for him.

"I know... At least everyone's ok, and the Police have the gun, so..." Davina reasoned

"And you think there's just one gun? There are loads out there!" Tom argued

"Tom, stop it! You're going to drive yourself mad! Come on, let's get a drink" Davina reassured

Tom nodded, following her over to the bar. A drink was a good idea.

Eddie and Rachel walked over to the bar, joining the rest of the staff who were ordering more drinks. Rachel was growing more anxious by the minute.

"Ah, here she is! Our glorious leader- and her Deputy!" Grantley boomed sarcastically

Steph and Matt shushed him, smiling at Rachel apologetically.

"These drinks are on me" Rachel confirmed, ignoring Grantly's comment

"Oh good! I'll have a double!" Steph said cheekily, loud enough for Rachel to hear

"You know what? You deserve it. You all deserve it. You handled things brilliantly today" Rachel smiled

"Well, I'm glad you think so. We might not be so lucky next time" Tom snapped

Rachel sighed. She was in for a tough time tonight. This was why she'd wanted to go home and wait until the morning when emotions weren't running so high.

Eddie subtly took her hand into his own, reminding her he was with her and that she could do this. She stood up taller.

"Well, Tom, I certainly hope there isn't a 'next time'" she pointed out

Tom scoffed

"I'm sorry, but just 'hoping' isn't really good enough, is it?" Tom questioned

Rachel was taken aback by Tom's tone. Of course she understood this was bringing back traumatic memories for him. He had lost Izzy, his girlfriend, and could have lost Donte today too. But she hadn't expected him to be this angry.

"We've all been talking. We'd like you to put some security measures in place" Tom announced

"Or you could arm us and even up the odds" Grantly chimed in

Steph sniggered

"Seriously, and we don't want to hear about budgets and school image" Tom added

"No, its ok, I agree with you. It's a good idea" Rachel nodded

The staff nodded, confirming this is what they all wanted.

"Right, well, I'll put the wheels in motion in the morning. By the end of the week I'll have something in place" She announced

"Is that a promise?" Steph challenged

"Yes, it is. But the kids are going to have lots of questions. We'll need to give them a lot of reassurance" Rachel nodded confidently

"But that's tomorrow. So, can we have those drinks you promised please?" Eddie teased, causing everyone to laugh

Rachel paid for everyone's drinks and they all went and sat at one of the larger tables. Rachel still hadn't said what she'd come to say.

"So... Not quite the first day back you expected, eh Rach?" Steph said with a little smirk

"No, it wasn't Steph. Far from it, actually"

"So what happens now? What's happened to Denzil?" Jasmine asked

All the staff turned to look at Rachel, their gazes burning into her.

"Well, I was going to save my speech for tomorrow morning, but since you're all here, I may as well say it now" she sighed

She cleared her throat

"Denzil Kelly has been taken into custody. He's been taken to a Young Offenders Institute. As you can probably guess, he'll be there for some time"

"I hope they throw away the key!" Steph mumbled to Grantley, who grunted in agreement

Rachel rolled her eyes

"Well let's hope we get these security measures in place, like you promised" Tom sighed

"We will, Tom. I'll be onto the LEA first thing in the morning. By the end of the week, we'll have something" Rachel reassured again

"But that's not really good enough is it? We need it now!" Steph exclaimed, the whole staff murmuring in agreement

"Steph! These things can't be sorted in a click of your fingers! If it was that easy, all schools would have high level security in place!" Eddie argued, determined to stand up for Rachel, who was already having a tough day

"I guarantee if it was Mr Lawson making the request, she'd have it done in seconds" Grantly whispered to Steph

"Grantly!" Matthew hissed

Rachel heard the spiteful comment, choosing to ignore it. Emotions were running high for everyone and she didn't want to do or say anything she would regret. Of course she wouldn't stand for anyone making comments like that about her relationship with Eddie, but it wasn't the priority right now. She took a deep breath, holding her ground.

"Eddie's right. You have to give me time to sort this, and trust me, I will" she reassured

"We trusted you when you let the Kelly family in this morning, look what happened there!" Grantly spat

Rachel put her head in her hand. She couldn't deal with this right now.

"That's enough, Grantly!" Eddie hissed, placing his hand on Rachel's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

She shrugged him off immediately. She could handle this.

"Look, I know it's been a scary day for everyone. We will get the security measures in place as quick as we can. You all did a great job today under the circumstances, so thank you"

"Better than you did!" Grantly grumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear

"Grantly, if I hear one more word out of you, I swear you'll be sorry!" Eddie snapped angrily, raising his voice

The staff went quiet. Rachel yet again brushed off Grantly's comment. She thought it best to rip off the band aid now and tell them about Marley, Earl and Sam returning to Waterloo Road.

"I should let you all know as well that Marley, Earl and Sambuca Kelly will be back in school tomorrow. And I expect you all to be welcoming" she announced, glaring at Grantly

There was an absolute uproar at that. Rachel immediately wished she hadn't said anything. She should have waited until tomorrow.

As the staff continued to yell at her, shouting out questions and various other things she couldn't really make out, Rachel began to shut down. It suddenly felt like the roof of the pub was caving in around her, the walls either side of her getting closer and closer to her, closing her in, entrapping her. Her vision shifted in and out of focus, the voices in the room becoming muffled. Her heart was thumping in her chest, blood pounding in her ears as the room began to sway from side to side. It felt like she was suffocating, each breath more painful than the previous. Her lungs were on fire, her throat constricting as she fought for every breath she could manage.

Eddie was trying to calm the staff down. This wasn't fair on Rachel; none of this was her fault. She was doing her best in what was an impossible situation.

He glanced at her, noticing how she was stood, frozen, her chest rising up and down rapidly. The colour had drained from her face.

"Rach?" Eddie whispered to her gently, trying to get her attention

She didn't answer him, continuing to stare into space, her breathing only growing more rapid.

"Rachel?" he repeated, a little louder this time, placing a hand on her arm

She jumped, turning to look at him

"Are you ok?" he asked

She looked at him tearfully, her breathing becoming heavier.

"I can't do this" she whispered

Before Eddie could even question her, she was running for the exit.

She crashed through the doors of the pub and out into the cool September evening air. She clung to the wall for balance, taking painful, deep, wheezy breaths. The fresh air filled her lungs and started to calm her racing mind as she fought for every single breath. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole in that moment.

Back inside the pub, the staff were still yelling and talking angrily, targeting their questions at Eddie now. He had to deal with them before he went after Rachel. The way they were treating her wasn't acceptable.

"Oi! That's enough! Let's remember what we stand for at Waterloo Road, giving all kids a chance! We owe that to the other Kelly kids! If you don't like it, hand in your resignation to myself or Rachel!" He yelled

The staff immediately fell silent, talking amongst themselves. Eddie moved toward the exit.

Eddie huffed angrily, following the path Rachel had taken out of the pub.

He pushed the door open carefully, stepping outside into the car park. His eyes fell on Rachel immediately, standing next to the wall of the pub.

She was trembling, staring up at the inky black sky with tears in her eyes. He could tell she was battling through a panic attack from the wheeze in her breath. Her chest was rising and falling at a rapid rate, working hard to calm her down. It broke his heart to see her like this. She didn't deserve it.

He sighed deeply, placing his hand on the small of her back.

"Please, don't Eddie!" she whimpered, flinching away from him

Eddie jumped at the harshness in her voice, instantly removing his hand. He wasn't giving up though.

"What's going on, Rach? Talk to me" he said, his tone soft

Rachel shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Look, come back inside, yeah? We can fix this" Eddie pleaded, noticing how she was shivering without a coat or jacket

"No, Eddie. I'm going home" she shot back

"Alright, let me take you then" he insisted

"No, Eddie. Stay here and have a drink with Tom and the others. Get them another round on me as an apology"

"I'm not leaving you on your own, Rach! Look, if this is about what Grantly said, don't listen to him! He'll be over it tomorrow, they all will!"

Rachel sighed, shaking her head.

"Look, if you won't come back inside, at least let me take you home? We can make our excuses and leave, yeah?" Eddie suggested

She turned to him, looking him dead in the eye

"Eddie, you're not listening to me. I need a little space, please! Just let me go home and I'll see you there in a bit, ok?" she pleaded

Eddie sighed deeply.

"Rachel, please don't shut me out" he begged

Rachel put her hand on his arm, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Oh darling, I'm not, I promise. I just need a chance to gather my thoughts. I have a lot to think about" she said

He nodded reluctantly. He took his phone out of his pocket, calling a taxi for Rachel. He waited with her until it arrived.

Rachel felt guilty. All she wanted was for him to pull her into his embrace, to comfort her and then take her home. But at the same time, she needed a chance to process her thoughts before she could even think about talking to him.

"Text me when you get home, ok? I'll be there soon" he said as the Taxi pulled up in the car park

Rachel nodded, turning away from him to get into the car.

"Rach?" Eddie called after her

"Yes?" she replied, turning back around

"We're ok, aren't we?" he asked nervously

Rachel walked back over to him.

Everything currently felt so uncertain. But Rachel was sure of one thing. She loved Eddie and she wasn't planning on walking away.

She kissed him gently on the lips to give him the answer he needed.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief, watching as she got into the taxi. He waved her off, returning into the pub, hoping that she would be ok.