A few hours later, Eddie and Rachel were at the Police Station with the Kelly family. Marley, Earl, Sam and Prince sat opposite the two of them in the small waiting room, whilst Rose Kelly had gone into another room with Denzil for questioning. They'd been in there for two hours now, and there had been no news.

Marley had been deep in thought from the minute they'd all got to the Station. Seeing Denzil, his innocent little brother, holding that gun had devastated him. He was just a kid, an innocent little kid. Marley was plagued by guilt. He hadn't been there for him, too distracted by his new female companion, Felicity Mellor, to notice Denzil had a gun.

There had to be a mistake. Where would Denzil have got a gun? He'd told the Teachers, the Police, anyone who would listen, that someone had made a mistake. Denzil wouldn't sneak a gun into a school. Of course it hadn't made any difference.

It was supposed to be a fresh start coming here, for all of them. He'd promised himself that he would keep his family safe and keep Earl out of trouble. This wouldn't be like all the other times. And yet, here they were, not even 24 hours in, and disaster had struck. It was all his fault.

Earl on the other hand, was feeling no guilt whatsoever. Denzil had been caught with the gun; he was the one in trouble for once, not him. The consequences of his actions didn't register with him at all. They never would. Whilst Marley was beating himself up, and Sam was reading a book to Prince, he smiled at the trouble he'd caused and gotten away with. Maybe it would work out for him in Rochdale after all.

Eddie and Rachel hadn't spoken a word to each other since they were on the playground, just after Denzil's arrest. Neither was angry at the other. Rachel just wanted to get through the rest of the day and Eddie didn't want to upset her anymore than he already had. They would talk about what happened calmly at home, away from the school and the Kelly Family.

Suddenly, little Prince Kelly started to wail loudly. Despite Sam and Marley trying to calm him down and distract him, he didn't stop crying.

"Mama! Mama!" He cried hysterically

"Oi, you little brat! Shut up!" Earl snapped, only making the little toddler cry even more

"Earl! Don't speak to him like that! How many times have I told you?" Marley scolded

Earl rolled his eyes

Prince was now running round the room in circles, not paying attention to where he was going. He tripped on the leg of a chair next to Rachel, falling face first onto the floor. His screams took a new octave.

Out of instinct, Rachel gently picked him up, placing him on her knee.

"It's alright, you're ok" she soothed

Prince continued to wail

"Here you go, Miss" Sam mumbled, handing her a pacifier

Rachel took it gratefully, offering it to Prince. He took it from her immediately, his wailing slowing to a gentle whimper as he sucked on the pacifier. He looked up at her with his big brown eyes. Rachel couldn't help but smile at him, he was very sweet. With her hand, she gently wiped his tears.

"There now, that's better isn't it, hmm?" She whispered softly

Prince smiled at her, the pacifier nearly falling out of his mouth.

"Why don't we find another book to read?" She suggested to him

Prince nodded

She took his little hand into her own, guiding him over to the bookshelf. She picked a picture book off the shelf, before going back to sit down. She lifted Prince back onto her knee again.

As she read to the little boy, she felt him snuggling further and further into her, his eyes drooping. Rachel closed the book, placing it on the table beside her, rocking the toddler in her arms. Sam and Marley stared at her open mouthed. When Prince was having a meltdown, it was almost impossible to calm him down. And their Head Teacher had just done it with ease!

Eddie watched as she rocked the sleeping little boy in her arms, never taking her eyes off him. It made his heart swell with love for her. She was a natural with children, just as she was with teenagers. It warmed him, seeing this side of her. If she ever got the chance to be a Mother to a baby of her own, Eddie knew she would be amazing.

Rachel smiled as Prince slept peacefully in her arms. She was surprised at how natural it felt, looking after a stranger's toddler. The second he'd fallen to the floor, she'd shot up uncontrollably to pick him up. It was a maternal instinct, she realised, one she wasn't sure she had until now.

Looking at the innocent little boy, the stress of the day melted away. She felt a sense of calm wash over her. She hoped one day she'd hold another baby in her arms like this, one that was her own. And maybe Eddie's. Holding the little toddler just confirmed it. She definitely wanted a child of her own. She wanted to be a Mum.

"You're a natural, Miss" Sam breathed

"Yeah, Sam's right. You can have the little git for all I care. Saves me having to throttle him!" Earl grinned

Rachel was disturbed by Earl's harsh words. Sam rolled her eyes. It seemed to Rachel that Earl made threats like this all the time.

Surely they were empty ones?

"Earl!" Marley scolded, looking at Rachel and Eddie apologetically

"Sorry Miss, he doesn't mean it" he added

"Yeah, just having a laugh" Earl nodded, smiling sarcastically

Rachel nodded, smiling weakly

The door of the little waiting room opened, Rose Kelly stepping into the room. Her face was red and puffy, her eyes devoid of emotion.

"Mum? Where's Den? Is he ok?" Marley asked, walking over to her

"They've charged him" she whimpered

Marley wrapped her tightly in his arms, fighting back the tears in his own eyes. Sam stayed where she was on the floor, staring at the carpet. Earl was smirking; Rachel saw it with her own eyes. Something wasn't right with that boy, she could feel it. It only enhanced her suspicions about there being more to the gun story.

"So what happens now?" Eddie asked

"They're taking him to a young offender's institute. That's all I know" she explained

"It'll be ok, Mum. We'll get him out. They can't do this. They've made a mistake" Marley reassured

Rose nodded, unconvinced

"We best be getting home. Thank you for everything. I'm going to enrol the kids somewhere else. We've given you enough trouble" she announced, taking Prince off Rachel gently and passing him to Marley

"No, you don't need to do that" Rachel insisted

"Really?" Rose checked

"Everyone deserves a chance at Waterloo Road, Mrs Kelly. So I expect you all to be at school bright and early in the morning. And we'll help in any way we can with Denzil" Rachel reassured

Rose smiled gratefully

"Thank you so much, I promise there'll be no more trouble"

Rachel nodded, watching them leave the Police Station. Once again, she was unsettled by the satisfied smirk on Earl's face.

Eddie snaked an arm around her waist gently.

"How about that drink? I don't know about you, but I need it" he suggested

Rachel nodded. If she was honest, she just wanted to go home and climb into bed. Her body was aching and her head was pounding. Her wrist was hurting the most though. She'd bashed it earlier on a door whilst trying to track down Denzil. She hadn't felt it at the time, the adrenaline rushing through her veins, combined with the fear had blocked everything else out. But she was feeling it now. It was throbbing and burning.

One drink wouldn't hurt though. She hoped it would calm down her racing mind. She and Eddie also needed to talk about what had happened today. It was probably a good idea to do it over a drink.