Eddie pulled up onto Rachel's driveway, parking next to her car. The lights were on in the house, communicating to Eddie that Rachel had made it home safely and hadn't snuck off to bed. She hadn't texted him or been in touch since she'd left in the taxi over an hour ago. He had tried not to panic, thinking she'd probably just forgotten. So, when he saw the house wasn't shrouded in darkness, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Rachel was in the kitchen when she heard the front door open and close. She was attempting to wash the dishes from that morning. It was proving a difficult task because of her wrist, which was pulsing with pain. But she had been determined to occupy her mind.

"Rach?" She heard Eddie shout from the hallway

"In the kitchen!" She called back

She heard his footsteps enter the kitchen, lingering in the doorway. Her heart filled with dread. She knew they needed to talk, she wanted to. But she couldn't bear to look at him. She was so frightened of him being angry with her for what she'd done today. If she saw that look of frustration she'd seen earlier on his face, she wasn't sure if she could take it.

Eddie walked over to join her by the sink. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Rachel barely reacted.

"Hey" he spoke softly

"Hi" she replied

She continued to scrub at the glass in her hand, even though it was causing agonising pain in her wrist. She huffed, growing increasingly more frustrated when the orange juice stain wouldn't come out.

Eddie frowned, looking over her shoulder to see what had her so pre-occupied.

"Go easy on that, Rach! What did that glass ever do to you?" He joked, untangling his arms from around her waist to stand beside her

She momentarily shot him a glare, before continuing to scrub at the glass. She would get that stain out even if it killed her.

He could tell she was in pain by the way her face was screwed up.

"Rachel? Stop" Eddie instructed calmly

She didn't stop though.

"Rachel, please? You're hurting yourself" he begged, watching as she cringed in pain

She ignored him.

He put his hand on her arm gently, trying to take the glass away from her. She shoved him off.

"Rachel, STOP!"

She jumped, the glass shattering in her hand from gripping it so tightly. She cried out as a shard sliced into the palm of her hand, blood immediately flowing everywhere.

Eddie quickly grabbed the kitchen roll off the side, tearing some off. He wrapped it around Rachel's hand carefully, pressing down hard to slow the bleeding.

"Come and sit down" he instructed, taking her through to the living room, guiding her onto the sofa

"Keep your hand on there while I go and get the first aid kit" he added, placing her free hand onto the tissue

Rachel complied, pressing down firmly

Eddie grabbed the first aid box and carried it back into the living room. He sat down beside Rachel, removing the kitchen roll from her hand to get a better look at the wound. It was a fairly deep gash, one Eddie was sure would need stitches, which would mean going back to the hospital again. That was the last thing Rachel needed today.

"It needs stitches, doesn't it?" She asked, almost reading his mind

"Maybe, I'm not sure" he shrugged, attempting to downplay his concern

As usual, it never worked with Rachel.

"Eddie, we're both first aid trained. We both know it needs stitches" she argued

"Let me clean it, and then we'll see, ok?" He suggested with a sigh

"Fine" Rachel huffed, rolling her eyes

Eddie took an antiseptic wipe and a pair of tweezers from the box. Gently, he pulled the tiny bits of glass from her skin with the tweezers. Rachel bit her lip hard, trying her best to sit still and not pull her hand away.

Once the glass was gone, Eddie picked up the antiseptic wipe.

"This is going to sting" he warned

Rachel nodded tentatively, bracing herself.

She hissed in pain as the wipe made contact with the wound. Eddie was gentle, which she was grateful for, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"So, Melissa is your sister?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence

Rachel nodded, her eyes glued to the cut on her hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her. I just...well I never thought I'd see her again" she explained with a heavy sigh

"It wasn't the biggest shock of today, Rach. And you don't have to tell me what happened between you either if you aren't ready" he reassured

Rachel nodded quietly

"And we're done" he announced, throwing the wipe into the bin before placing a small dressing on Rachel's hand

"Does it need stitches?" She asked

"I don't know. It should be ok for now though" he replied with a shrug

Rachel nodded

The silence between them suddenly became unbearable. But neither of them knew what to say.

When Eddie looked at Rachel, he knew she wasn't ok. Not one bit. And he wasn't surprised really. He longed to know what she was thinking and feeling, what thoughts were going through her head. But he was scared to ask.

"Are you alright?" He asked tentatively

That was all it took for Rachel to finally drop her guard down. She burst into tears, sobbing hysterically. Eddie sighed heavily, reaching out for her. She crawled into his arms, resting her head on his chest as she continued to sob.

"It's ok, you're ok" he soothed, holding her tightly

"I'm sorry" she whimpered

Eddie tilted her chin with his hand so she was looking directly into his eyes.

"Rach, listen to me. You have nothing to be sorry for! Do you hear me? Nothing!"

Rachel shook her head frantically

"I screwed everything up" she whispered

"No, no, you didn't! You did nothing wrong, I promise you!" He insisted, wiping the tears from her cheeks

"I shouldn't have come back to work" she blurted

"What do you mean?" Eddie questioned, frowning

She looked at him painfully

"You'd been doing such a fantastic job of running the school, Eddie. Now I've come back and ruined everything" she sighed

Eddie looked at her, taken aback. She couldn't have been more wrong!

"No, Rach, no! You haven't, not at all! What happened today with Denzil wasn't your fault! How were you supposed to know he had a gun? I was just as oblivious as you! We all were! Don't punish yourself for this, please!" He reasoned

Rachel continued to sob. Eddie kissed her hair gently, holding her tighter.

Once she had calmed a little, he pulled apart from her so she was looking him in the eye. He needed to try and get through to her. None of this was her fault.

"Listen to me, Rach. You had a bad day today. We all did. But you know what? You handled it SO bloody well! If I'd have still been Head Teacher, I wouldn't even have known where to start! You immediately took action and got everyone to safety. Rachel, you are the best Head Teacher I've ever known! You are the best thing that's ever happened to Waterloo Road. Don't you ever think otherwise, ok?"

"Are you angry with me? For going after Denzil?" She asked, her lip trembling

"No, Rach, I'm not. I'm sorry I snapped at you afterwards. I was just so petrified I was going to lose you" he reassured

"I was so scared, Eddie. I've never felt so out of my depth in whole life! He had the gun pointed at me the entire time and he was so scared! I just wanted to help him" she cried

"I know, and you did" Eddie reassured, rubbing his hand up and down her arm

"I shouldn't have let them in this morning. I should have waited for the Council" she gushed

"Rachel, stop. This wasn't your fault! You wouldn't have turned them away, it's not who you are. You saw a family who needed a second chance, and you gave it to them. I'm not letting you give up over this, ok?"

Rachel nodded

"I don't know what I'd do without you" she whispered

Eddie smiled, kissing her gently on the lips.

"Tomorrow is a new day, Rach. We'll face it together" Eddie promised

Rachel smiled weakly

"I'm going to bed" she decided

"I'll join you" Eddie said, uncontrollably yawning

They headed upstairs, changing into their pyjamas before collapsing into bed.

Rachel immediately curled into Eddie's side, laying her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat against her ear relaxed her instantly. Eddie draped his arm around her shoulder, playing with the soft, silky fabric of her pyjama top.

He'd wanted to talk to her about his conversation with Melissa, but he thought better of it. It could wait till tomorrow.

"I love you" Rachel said aloud, staring up at him lovingly

Eddie's heart nearly exploded with pure love for her. He kissed her forehead, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"I love you too" he replied

Rachel smiled, settling further into his chest, instantly falling asleep.