One hour later...
As the bell rang out for lunch, Rachel sighed in relief. It was officially the end of term! Well, almost anyway. Lessons were over for the day, meaning that everyone could relax and look forward to watching Bolton in the Boxing Match. It was going to be a great afternoon, watching and cheering Bolton on with Eddie next to her, as well as all the students and staff. It was a great way to end the term.
Rachel hadn't seen much of Bolton's boxing skills, but from what she had seen and heard, he was good. And after seeing him earlier, looking incredibly calm, she had more faith in him than ever that he could and would win.
She was looking forward to having the next two weeks to be with Eddie almost 24/7. They hadn't made any plans, but she was, for once, ok with that. In all honesty, all she wanted to do was have lazy days watching the TV, eating chocolate and playing games. This was going to be the first Christmas she'd had in the last twenty years that she wouldn't be spending alone. It felt odd, knowing that things were going to be so different this year, but she was so happy at the same time. Not only did she have her Nephew, she also had the man she was head over heels in love with, and a baby growing inside her. She had everything she'd ever wanted.
Rachel still had mixed emotions about the first scan, which was taking place after the Boxing Match. If she was honest, she had tried to put it out of her mind this morning, and she had succeeded, until just now when the bell had rang. It was a reminder that the appointment was now only a few hours away. She wanted to be excited, she really did. For a lot of Mother's and Father's, the first scan was an incredibly exciting and magical experience. But with everything that had happened over the last two weeks with the nausea and the weight loss, she couldn't help but be worried and didn't want to get her hopes up. She was nine weeks pregnant, it was still early and she had lost a baby before, and there was a chance it could happen again this time, even if the circumstances were different. It didn't matter how many times the Doctor had reassured her that the baby was fine before she was discharged from the hospital, it wouldn't sink in until she saw it for herself.
As she stood up to get her water off the table, her mind wandered to the Kelly's. Tom and Rose had returned from the Housing Association about half an hour ago, having had no luck. Rachel had given them the details of the emergency accommodations she'd found, which they were keeping in mind. Tom was adamant he was going to find something by the end of the day. The two of them had left, off to try and come up with a solution. Rachel could only keep her fingers crossed and hope for the best.
"Rachel, can I have a word please?"
She smiled when she saw Jasmine stood apprehensively in the doorway.
"Of course. Come and have a seat" Rachel nodded
Jasmine complied, sitting in the chair opposite her.
"It's about Denzil Kelly" she explained
Rachel nodded, urging her to continue.
"I assessed him earlier for his English and Maths. He didn't do too badly, but I think he is dyslexic. He already struggles to read and write, but there's more to it than that"
She handed Rachel the worksheets Denzil had completed. Rachel flicked through them, looking at the messy writing and bad spelling. He had done ok, as Jasmine had pointed out. But it was clear that he did need some support.
"I think we should assess him after the break to see if he has dyslexia" Rachel agreed, handing the papers back to Jasmine
"I can arrange learning support for him in the meantime" Jasmine offered
"Yeah, ok. Talk to Rose and Denzil afterwards too" Rachel nodded
Jasmine nodded, skipping out of the office. Rachel smiled, admiring her enthusiasm. Denzil was in safe hands. It was clear that, after being moved around so much, no teacher had ever really taken the time or had the chance to notice Denzil needed learning support. That was going to change now.
As she switched on her computer and scrolled down the document she had been filling in, she started to feel queasy. She sighed, looking at the time. The anti-sickness tablet she'd had this morning would wearing off now.
She pulled her handbag onto her lap, rifling through the contents. Her tablets were nowhere to be seen. She frowned, her eyes scanning her desk, wondering if she'd taken them out to remind herself to take one. But they weren't there.
She searched through her bag again to ensure she hadn't missed them. They definitely weren't in there.
Her mind wandered back to this morning, retracing her steps. She'd just been about to put them in her bag when something had distracted her. She couldn't remember exactly what, but she knew she had sorted out whatever it was and had subsequently left the tablets on the kitchen table.
What an idiot.
She groaned, placing her head in her hands as she contemplated what to do. It was 12:45pm. They had to leave in twenty minutes to make the forty minute drive to the venue where the Boxing Match was being held. If she had her car, she would quickly go and get them and come back, but she couldn't. She had driven in with Eddie.
Even if they left at 1pm and made a stop on the way, the drive home would take fifteen minutes, and it was in the opposite direction of where they needed to go. They would be late to the match, and she refused to let that happen. She needed a back-up plan, and she needed to come up with one fast.
...
Eddie strolled along the corridor, bag in his hand and a subtle smile on his face. It was finally the end of term. All they had to do was sit back and watch the Boxing Match this afternoon, and then they were officially off for two weeks. He couldn't wait.
He was looking forward to being with Rachel for the rest of the afternoon. Celebrating Bolton's win would be a nice way to end the term, followed by their first scan. They were going to have lunch together in her office, and then head off to the match with everyone else. He had just been down to the canteen and grabbed two chicken mayo sandwiches, two bottles of water and a bottle of orange juice for Rachel, as it was currently her favourite. Eddie was counting it as a pregnancy craving, but Rachel was adamant that it was everything but.
As he walked along, he spotted Steph locking the door to her classroom. He had been hoping to get a chance to speak to her today. He wanted her to apologise to Rachel for what she had said and how she had made her feel. He wanted the tension between them to stop. Now was his chance.
"Steph!" he called
Steph rolled her eyes when she saw him coming. There were two people at Waterloo Road that she wanted to avoid like the plague. Eddie was one of them. Rachel was the other.
Still, she plastered on a fake smile. There was only thirty minutes until the end of the day, and then she wouldn't have to see him or Rachel for two weeks. What a relief.
"Yes, Mr Lawson?" she answered when he approached her
"Have you locked your classroom door?" he asked
"No, I was in the middle of doing so when you interrupted" she huffed
"Good, because I want a word and I think it'll be better to have it behind closed doors" he told her
Steph sighed angrily, swinging the classroom door open.
Once the door had been shut, she turned to him, noticing he was glaring at her.
"What's this about?" she asked
"Rachel doesn't know we're having this conversation, so before you think she put me up to this, she hasn't"
Steph frowned.
"Have you apologised to Rachel for the comment you made last week?" he asked
Steph scoffed.
"No, of course I haven't! If you haven't noticed, she hasn't been here!" she pointed out
"She's here today" Eddie argued
Steph rolled her eyes.
"I haven't had time" she shrugged
"Well, make time now! You need to take accountability and apologise! What you said last week was, quite frankly, disgusting. You really hurt Rachel" Eddie ranted
"Why? It's not like she's going to be a Mum any time soon, is she?"
As soon as the words left her lips, Eddie's expression changed and he fell silent. She immediately became suspicious.
"Is she?" Steph prompted
"No" Eddie shot back defensively
He was lying. She knew by the way his cheeks had turned a slight tinge of pink, how he couldn't quite look her in the eye. She could tell by his silence.
"She's pregnant, isn't she?"
"No!" Eddie repeated
"You're a terrible liar, Lawson" Steph shot back
"She's not,"
Steph put a hand up to silence him.
"Is that why she's been ill? It's no good lying to me, Eddie. You may as well tell me"
Eddie sighed, he'd really put his foot in it. Rachel had been right; he should have just left it alone. There was no way he could get himself out of this one.
"Eddie?" Steph prompted
Eddie finally met her gaze.
"Fine. Yes, she's pregnant"
It was a kick in the teeth for Steph. A knife to the heart. A slap in the face. It wasn't fair. Anger stirred within her, along with pain and grief. She had lost Maxine because Rachel had let Earl Kelly into Waterloo Road. And yet, she still somehow was on her way to getting her happy ending, leaving Steph in a dark hole of despair.
"Of course, after everything, she's the one who gets to be happy" she mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief
Eddie sighed.
"Steph, what happened to Maxine was not Rachel's fault" he reasoned
Steph rolled her eyes. She'd lost count of the times she'd heard that now. It didn't matter. In Steph's view, it would always be Rachel's fault.
"Whatever, Eddie. I won't be apologizing for what I said, I meant it. The poor kid won't stand a chance. Especially with her"
She stormed out, leaving Eddie to place his head in his hands as he let out a groan. Rachel was going to kill him.