The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the kids were smiling, and Rachel was suspicious. The teens were a little too happy, whispered conversations quickly breaking apart when they saw a teacher approaching. She watched one such group from afar, wondering how concerned she should be. And promptly decided to worry about it later on, when she knew if there was something to worry about.

"Miss Mason? Mr Lawson called, he's going to be late."

She turned to face Bridget, frowning. "Did he say why?"

"No. Just said he'd be in before breaktime, and he'd only need his form group covering."

Unwittingly, Rachel's mind flicked back to the previous evening, to Eddie's determination as he plotted against Hordley. What was he up to? She offered Bridget a tight smile. "I'll take care of it. Thank you."

Her first instinct was to find Davina, and ask her to cover Eddie's registration time. But then she paused. She wasn't doing anything in particular for the next half an hour…

"Morning everybody!" Rachel smiled she swept into the classroom, pretending not to notice as several students scrambled off of their desks and into seats, while others hastily stuffed away their phones.

"Are you doing registration, Miss? Where's Mr Lawson?"

"Yes I am, and he isn't here right now," she said smoothly. "No objections, I hope?"

A chorus of assurances rose, and she hid her laugh. She always forgot how much she missed interactions with the students when she wasn't telling them off. "Let's get to it, then." She leant on the edge of the desk, balanced the register on her arm. "Daneel Adams?"

W.R.

With Eddie's form group off to their first lesson, it was back to business as usual for Rachel. At least it was until her email notification went off, and her brow furrowed as she read the single line from Stuart Hordley.

I don't take kindly to threats!

She stared at the screen, mystified. She wasn't foolish enough to think this didn't have something to do with Eddie's mysterious disappearing act, but what in the world had he done to provoke this particular reaction?

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for an answer. He bounded into her office at the start of second period, grinning broadly at her and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What did you do? Stuart's hopping mad, he's already emailed me."

"Really? Let's have a look."

Obligingly, she pulled it up for him. "I can't believe you went there. And skipped school to it!"

"It was only registration- I don't have a class until third period."

"Not the point."

He straightened upright. "It's your turn now," he said. "You still up for it?"

She set her jaw, and gave him a sharp nod, already reaching for her phone. Eddie was too jittery to stay still, pacing her office and tapping his fingers while she spoke, first to the receptionist and then to Hordley him, shooting Eddie a quelling look when he dared to make a noise. But then it was over, and she was hanging up the phone and he practically beamed at her. "I'm so proud of you!"

She shook her head in amusement, her lips twisting. "He's coming after school. I didn't want him around the kids."

"I'll be here," he promised. Without thinking, he rounded her desk and pressed a swift kiss to her cheek. "It's going to be fine, Rachel. You'll see."

He strode out of her office, already imagining the look that was going to be on Hordley's face later that day, and so didn't see the way her expression had become one of sheer, unadulterated surprise.

Rachel half expected not to see Eddie for the rest of the day, assuming he would be busy. But to her surprise, he popped up at lunchtime and ushered her down to the canteen, all the while excitedly telling her about the breakthrough his lessons for life class had had that morning and paying absolutely no attention to the way she spluttered as she was tugged down the corridor. He didn't leave her alone for the entire lunch hour, pulling in a group of year eights to chat to once they'd finished eating. It was only when the bell rang that she grabbed his arm, and narrowed her eyes at him.

"What was all that about?"

"Well, you would have stayed in your office and stewed otherwise."

Her lips parted in surprise, even as he tossed her a grin and set off for his next class, leaving her stood where she was.

In the end, however, her confrontation with Hordley was no worse than she'd been building up in her head. It helped that Eddie had followed the man through the school, and was listening from outside her office, waiting for the perfect moment. It was nice not to be alone. She confronted him with the blackmail, goading him into admitting it and couldn't deny the relief the curled in her chest when he did so easily. The recording would be enough to ensure they were now on even keel, and judging by the look on his face, Hordley knew it. The look only grew sharper when Eddie made his entrance, and she'd spent a lifetime reading people. She wasn't surprised when Hordley lashed out, his words scathing and cruel (and they hit their mark, left her squirming and red-faced, but they didn't slice quite as deeply as perhaps they once would have). She was surprised, however, when Eddie's expression darkened, and he shot her a look she couldn't quite decipher before he'd turned, and punched Hordley right in the face.

That was one way to deal with him, she supposed, even as she shot to her feet.

And then it seemed almost anti-climactic. Hordley left, with mutters and dark glances and Eddie had merely shrugged when she'd turned her astonished gaze onto him. They'd waited, watching from the window until the contractor appeared, climbing into his car and wheel spinning as he sped out of the school grounds.

Rachel bit her lip, watching the car until it was out of sight. "You think that's the last we've seen of him?"

"I hope so."

Eddie's breath caught in his throat when Rachel reached for his hand, raising it up so that she could examine his knuckles. "Good punch."

He grinned, wiggled his fingers. "Not my first."

She smiled, just as he'd intended, but it was smaller and less sincere than he would have liked. Before he could question her, ask her why, she swallowed thickly. "Eddie… thank you."

He didn't need to ask for what.

"You don't have to thank me, Rach."

"Yes, I do." Her lips twisted bitterly. "No one has ever…" She hesitated, and then shook her head, dropping his hand from where she'd been holding it and stepping backwards. "Just thank you."

It was a crime, he thought, how badly the world and the people in it had treated her. He'd seen her face when Hordley had spouted off. She wouldn't have said a word in her own defence, wouldn't have even considered it. Had simply accepted the acerbic words as if they were true, as if Hordley was any better than her and had the right to judge. And he himself had added to that, he realised guiltily, with his own reaction to her past, and then subsequently to the pregnancy.

"Eddie?"

He'd been silent for too long, staring at her and now she looked worried, her lips turning down in that expression that was rapidly becoming all too familiar to him. He shook his head as if to clear it and made a concerted effort to lighten his expression. "We should celebrate."

"It might be a little too early for that," she pointed out, only for him to wave a hand.

"A little optimism, please?"

She looked at him with something that was a cross between exasperation and amusement. "I'm tired, Eddie," she admitted. "I don't want to go out anywhere."

"Then… will you let me cook you dinner?"

She stared at him, not sure what she was more surprised at. "You cook?"

"Of course." He shrugged. "Have to feed myself, don't I? And Michael, sometimes."

She should say no. She should refuse to let him play this part, refuse to let him do whatever it was he was doing. Cooking her dinner, taking her out, making sure she wasn't alone at lunchtime? It all veered far too close to a label that didn't suit them, was starting to blur lines and it was only going to make things more complicated in the future, make everything harder.

But she was already carrying his baby. How much blurrier could the lines become? And if she were honest, she liked having someone to talk to, liked the idea that she wasn't leaving to go to an empty house.

"Okay."

He grinned. He'd seen her hesitation, understood it. And was thrilled that he didn't have to persuade her otherwise. "If you don't mind me taking over your kitchen, I can cook at yours," he offered. "You can put your fluffy socks and your comfies on while you wait."

She snorted, thinking there was absolutely no chance he was seeing her in her comfies anytime soon. Though she would appreciate getting out of this blouse… "You're on," she agreed.

It felt like almost no time at all before she was at home, Eddie's new car parked across her driveway and the man himself rattling around her kitchen, having firmly installed her at the counter with a drink and instructions not to move while he proceeded to examine the contents of her fridge, insulting it as he went as if he did it every day.

"What in the world is pak choi?" he questioned over his shoulder, impressively mangling the pronunciation. Rachel's mouth twitched.

"It's a vegetable."

"Are you sure?"

She swallowed her laugh. "It's a Chinese vegetable," she explained. "I put it in stir fries."

He cast her a doubtful look, but went back to rifling through the fridge. "How do you feel about pasta?"

"You're the one cooking, I've no room to make demands."

"Pasta it is then."

She sipped at her lemonade and looked at him consideringly from her seat at the centre island. He hadn't missed a beat so far, acting as if this were all perfectly normal, that they did this all the time. It was unnerving. Her teeth worried her lip as she considered- on one hand, why ruin it? On the other, it wasn't as if she could actually relax.

By the time she'd decided, Eddie had various ingredients piled high, a saucepan heating on the hob and had begun to chop up several cloves of garlic. Rachel took a deep breath. "Eddie? What are you doing?"

"Cooking pasta?" He shot her an amused look. "Where do you keep your wooden spoons?"

"Drawer by your knees," she answered automatically. "That's not what I meant. I mean… why are you here?"

He paused, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Is it so hard to believe that I like spending time with you?"

She stayed silent. He wouldn't like her instinctive answer of 'yes, of course it is' so instead she ducked her head, concentrated on swirling her drink around in the glass. To her surprise, however, a hand suddenly landed on hers.

Eddie's gaze was soft as she looked up, his hand warm and comforting. "Rachel, I like spending time with you," he said quietly. "I like being more than Miss Mason and Mr Lawson. And I know you don't believe me, I can see it in your face."

"Eddie…"

"It's okay." He smiled warmly at her. "It just means I get to convince you."

Gods, she wanted to believe him when he looked at her like that. "My past—"

"Is in the past," he interrupted. "This is the present. And the future, I suppose." He nodded towards her stomach, grinning, and now she couldn't help but smile back.

"You really are pleased about the baby?"

"Yes," he emphasised. "I'm terrified," he added, grimacing slightly. "What happened to Stephen… I don't know if I would survive that again. But the idea of having another child, of having a baby?" He gave her a slow, brilliant smile. "That is so exciting, Rachel."

His happiness was infectious, and she felt her own excitement swirl within her. Until a thought occurred to her, and she jumped out of her seat. "Wait here."

Eddie heard her footsteps dash down the hall, and had mere seconds to let confusion wash over him before he heard her coming back, a shy smile aimed at him as she held out her hand. "Here."

Oh. The grainy black and white picture was painfully familiar and completely unknown all at the same time, even as his eyes searched out the shape within. A head, a body, legs. Actual proof of the tiny little human that was growing inside Rachel, and when he looked up to meet her gaze his eyes were shining. "Look at her…"

Her smile grew even wider. "It might be a him."

He shook his head. "No, a little girl. Who looks just like you."

She laughed softly, hand absently moving to her cover where the baby rested inside her. "Eddie, I know this wasn't exactly planned, or what either of us initially wanted. But…"

"You're happy." A statement, not a question. Rachel nodded anyway.

"I'm happy."

"So am I."

They smiled at each other, and absently, Rachel noted that she had done so more tonight that she thought she had in weeks. "I have another scan later this week," she blurted out. "The anatomy scan. All my timings are a bit out because… well, you know. Do you want to come?"

A smile began to spread across his face. "Really?"

"If you want to."

He beamed at her. "Of course I do. I'd love to."

Maybe, just maybe, Rachel thought, they'd actually manage to do this.

W.R.

Almost without meaning to, Rachel and Eddie found that they had fallen into a rhythm. Each morning saw both of them in the office, taking it in turns to make the tea as they chatted. Eddie especially found himself arriving earlier than usual, eager to ensure he actually got to finish his drink before the bell rang. Paperwork became a joint effort, sometimes undertaken in Eddie's classroom, sometimes at Rachel's conference table but always with jokes and quips flying between them. Meanwhile, more than one evening found them ensconced side by side in a restaurant or a pub or sometimes on a sofa, talking quietly as they built their friendship. Various staff members had started to shoot them knowing looks, especially each time they would gravitate towards each other in the pub.

Rachel and Eddie just ignored them.

The one thing they never spoke about, however, was firm plans for the future. Jokes flew about football clubs and university plans, but never did they discuss the practicalities of actually raising a child together. Nor had Rachel told anyone but her own bosses about the pregnancy, and even that was only because she was required to. It hadn't escaped her notice, however, that her stomach was now noticeably curved and in the right outfit, what was happening in her body would have been obvious. Thankfully, however, she had always been prone to wearing jackets and the warmer weather meant that no one blinked an eye when she introduced looser, floaty blouses into her outfits.

It was one of those blouses that she was wearing as she walked into the hospital alongside Eddie, who in the previous twenty minutes since picking her up had fluctuated wildly between smiling widely and practically bouncing in excitement, and silently tapping his fingers against his thigh with a dark look on his face.

Rachel wound her way up to the floor they needed with only a glance at the signs, having been here before. She was more interested in looking at the man beside her, who right now looked so tense she could actually see his jaw clenching. "Are you alright?"

He nodded.

"Eddie." Her voice was gentle, but firm and he sighed.

"I'm excited about this baby, Rachel."

"But?"

He came to a halt, drew to the side of the corridor. It was emptier up here, the corridor led to a dead end and so their only company was a nervous looking teenager who was pacing the floor close to the lifts, out of hearing distance. "I'm terrified as well," Eddie admitted, and her gaze softened. She'd thought this might be an issue.

"That it will be a boy?"

He winced. "That sounds awful."

"Of course it doesn't." She caught his hand in hers, held it tightly. "Eddie, you lost a son. It's only natural that you'd be anxious to have another. To have another baby at all."

"I haven't told Alison or Michael yet," he confessed. "Michael's so young, I don't think he'd understand, not really. And Alison…"

"You'll tell them when you're ready." She squeezed his fingers. "Eddie, I do realise this has all been rather fast. It's hardly surprising that you're still processing."

"Aren't you?"

She smiled wryly. "I have less to process."

A wave of emotions rolled across his face, before finally, he settled on a smile that almost didn't look forced. "Aren't you supposed to be the worrier here?"

She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. It figured he would refuse to be serious, to let her in. "Come on," she said instead, unwilling to enter into an argument now. "Let's not be late."