"Miss Mason?"

Rachel looked up, and managed something that was almost a smile for Candeece Smile, who stood a little way away from her, face set into a frown. Bolton hovered behind her, tense and looking vaguely horrified. It was curious, Rachel thought, but quite frankly she lacked the energy to worry about it further. She'd come to the hospital along with one of the younger pupils, who hadn't been anywhere close to the fire but for whom the smoke had triggered a rather nasty asthma attack. She'd stayed long enough for her parents to arrive, and then taken it upon herself to keep an eye on the other students who were there too. Between them, she, Matt and Steph managed to contact all of the parents, and ensure the kids were somewhat supervised until they'd all arrived. It had taken hours.

But the last of her students had safely been handed over, and her job was officially over. Term was finished, and despite the fact that her summer would not be quite as peaceful as she might have liked, no matter what happened net, she was glad to be saying goodbye to the back of this particular school year.

Still, it wasn't in her to be rude. She managed something like a smile towards the mother and son, and hoped they wouldn't want to chat. "Have the doctors cleared you, Bolton?"

He nodded uneasily, glancing at Candeece, who nudged at him. "Go on."

Rachel looked between them. "Bolton, whatever it is, just spit it out," she said kindly, when he still didn't speak. "I think we're past you tripping over your words with me."

He looked everywhere but at her. "Before the fire…"

He didn't continue.

"Before the fire?" she prompted him, and he scuffed at the floor with his foot.

"Dom had this article," he burst out. "About you."

No. No no no. Rachel fought for air, fought to keep herself steady. "What article?"

"Don't you know, Miss?" He looked at her for the first time, eyes plaintive and he had never been stupid, she thought, swallowing thickly. Candeece was uncharacteristically silent, and Rachel was grateful for that, at least.

"How many of you saw it?"

He shrugged, avoiding her gaze again. "He was showing it around."

"Okay." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. "Bolton, I…" But she trailed off, because what could she say?

"Long time ago, weren't it, Miss?"

Her gaze snapped to his. He shrugged at her, looking awkward but as honest as he ever had and all at once she wanted to cry. Instead, she gave a sharp nod. "Yes." She swallowed again as her voice cracked, willed the burning in her eyes to disappear. "I'm sorry that you had to see that, Bolton."

Another shrug, and he buried his hands in his pockets. "Miss?"

She hummed in question, fighting to keep from embarrassing them both further.

"You are coming back next year, aren't you?" He watched her carefully. "You ain't leaving?"

For all his brashness, he could be wonderfully naïve, Rachel thought, surprised he'd made the leap at all. She pressed her lips together for a moment. "If people know about that article, then I don't think that's up to me anymore," she said carefully. "But I want to be clear on something." She waited for him to look at her again. "It has nothing to do with you kids, and everything to do with me. Do you understand?"

He looked at her for a long moment, before he nodded. "Yeah. I understand."

"Good."

She nodded to Candeece, and turned to walk away. Only to pause when Bolton called out again. "Miss? If no one else sees it… you stay, right?"

"You can't change what's already happened, Bolton."

"Yeah, but… I can talk to Dom." He looked at her intently. "I can stop him from showing it to anyone else."

Despite everything, she smiled at him. "It's a nice thought," she said softly. "But if a few of you saw it, then I guarantee dozens more already know about it. You know how fast gossip travels at Waterloo Road."

"But it shouldn't matter!" Candeece burst out. "You've turned that school around! Our Bolton wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you!"

Rachel's heart ached. "I wish everyone could see it like you do, Candeece."

"Let me try, Miss," Bolton asked. "Just… let me try."

She looked at him. "Okay," she agreed, and didn't for one moment hold out any hope he would be successful. "You can try."

A door banged open further up the corridor, voices spewing out and Rachel stepped backwards, using the distraction to surreptitiously wipe at her face. "I need to go now. Bye Bolton, Candeece."

She didn't think she'd be seeing either of them again.

The air seemed wet as Rachel stepped outside for the first time in hours, that kind of drizzle that seemed to hover rather than fall from the sky. She didn't care. She welcomed it, tipping her face up and relishing in the coolness against her skin, headless of the havoc it would no doubt play with her makeup and hair.

She wished it were hard enough to hide the tears on her cheeks.

Still, it made some of her decisions easy. She wouldn't be returning to Waterloo Road, and she wouldn't stay in Rochdale. Somewhere else, she thought, somewhere close enough that Eddie could have a meaningful relationship with the baby, but far enough that there was no danger of her seeing anyone who might know her.

Now she just had to decide what to do about Eddie himself.

It had been against her better instincts that the two of them had separated to deal with the aftermath of the fire. Rachel remained with the students, giving reassurance and dispensing comforting hugs where necessary, while Eddie dealt with the authorities, answering questions and steadfastly refusing to allow any of the students to be interviewed yet. They were still in shock, he told them, and that was the end of that.

It was not an easy process. And when Rachel left for the hospital, she'd barely managed to let him know that she was leaving amongst the chaos of the other students and the emergency personnel. She knew he'd been here later though, at the hospital. He'd checked in with Tom and Davina, who was in ICU, and thoroughly annoyed a particularly over-zealous reporter. But she hadn't seen him. For all she knew, he had long since left.

She wandered across the front of the hospital, towards railings that were the perfect height for her to lean against. Maybe she could move out to the countryside, to one of the many villages or towns that were scattered across the area. She quite liked the idea of living somewhere quiet, of having a garden for her daughter to play in. They could get a pet- maybe a rabbit, or a cat?

Her reverie was broken by the presence of someone else approaching, footsteps loud in the quiet of the evening. She was almost unsurprised to see Eddie, his hand shoved into his pocket and a pensive look on his face. There were so many things she wanted to say to him. Instead, she offered him a tight smile. "I was wondering if you were still here."

He leant next to her on the railing, but didn't say a word. Rachel pressed her lips together. She didn't need him to speak to know that he was hurting. "Eddie… I know what happened with Stuart."

He jolted. "What? How?"

"The police told me." She kept her voice low, gentle. "You tried to save him. You almost died."

He turned his face away from her, and even the small portion she could still see was cast in shadows. So she stayed quiet, waiting.

"What was the idiot doing there?" he exclaimed eventually, turning back towards her. His face looked drawn, contrasting with the anger in his tone and when Rachel said nothing, he kicked the ground with his toe. "I thought I could save him."

Defeat coloured his tone. It was as if the anger had drained out of him and taken everything else with it, his shoulders slumping as if unable to hold up his weight any longer. Without thinking, Rachel stepped forward, cupped his cheek in her hand. "It was not your fault."

He shook his head. "I couldn't get him out, Rach." He reached for her hand, gripping it in his own. "I tried, I tried to pull him away. But the smoke, and then the ceiling fell…"

"And almost knocked you out," she added gently, touching her fingers to his shoulder where she knew the debris had hit him. The officer she'd spoken to had been only too glad to tell her all the details he could.

Eddie expression twisted. "Never thought I'd be glad to be wearing a suit jacket." Those shoulder pads he so hated might just have saved him from injury. He looked at Rachel properly for the first time. "Why didn't he leave when the bell rang?" he questioned. "Why stay inside?"

She dropped her hands to her side. "Maybe…" she hesitated. "Maybe it was on purpose."

His brow furrowed and when she only bit her lip, his eyes widened in surprise. Rachel shrugged. "He'd lost everything," she said quietly. "His business, his reputation. He had nothing left. Maybe it was too much for him."

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again before he looked away from her. Rachel felt her heart clench. "It wasn't your fault," she repeated. "Purposeful or accidental- it's tragic, but the only person to blame is Stuart is himself. He should never have been in the building in the first place."

Eddie blew out a breath, forceful enough that she could hear it even from where she was standing. Abruptly, Rachel hated Stuart even more. She had disliked him before, for what he'd done to her, for what he'd threatened to do not only to her but to her school, to her students. But now? Now she felt pure, black hatred settle in her stomach. He could have gotten Eddie killed, and for what?

"Come home with me tonight."

The words had slipped out before she'd fully given her permission, and Eddie's head snapped around so fast she could almost hear the crack. He looked at her with lips parted in surprise, his eyes wide and wary and she could only shrug helplessly. "I know you probably just want to go home to your own bed," she said. "I'm not asking you to be talkative or social. I just… stay with me tonight." Her voice cracked, and all at once she found herself enfolded into a tight embrace for the second time that day. She only too gladly returned it. Eddie buried his face in her hair and they clung to each other, headless of the world around them.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Eddie pulled back slightly, never loosening his grip but looking at her, searching her gaze for something. He must have found it, because he nodded, and slid his hand down to wrap warmly around hers. "Let's get out of here."

He'd driven to the hospital, apparently. She found out when he led them to where his car was parked and she couldn't deny the sliver of relief that went through her. She was in no mood to wait around for a taxi. Eddie drove in a silence that should have been uncomfortable, but wasn't, and Rachel found herself resting her head against the seat and allowing herself to drift with the motion of the car.

At least, she thought that was all she was doing. Until Eddie's hand over hers had her gasping and jolting awake, and she realised she'd fallen asleep. He looked at her apologetically. "I was trying not to scare you."

She waved him off with a smile, blinking as she looked around her and when she climbed from the car, her body felt stiff and sore. Eddie himself looked more alert, less morose as she let them both into the house and slipped off her jacket, more on autopilot that with any real thought process. The drive had clearly done him some good, she thought, however short it may have been. She was glad. He was going to have a lot on his shoulders, dealing with the aftermath of her, of the fire and with taking over the headship. The last thing he needed was Stuart Hordley haunting the depths of his mind.

"Rachel?"

She blinked, focused. And realised she'd been standing, staring blankly at nothing just inside the entrance of her hallway.

"Are you okay?"

She looked at him vacantly. "The kids found the article."

She hadn't been intending to tell him. Not yet, anyway. That hadn't been why she'd asked him here, or how she'd wanted to spend the evening. But she found the words leaving her anyway, and watched as Eddie's brow furrowed slightly, before a look of horror spread over his face. "What? How?"

She shrugged. "I don't know how. Bolton… Bolton came to find me at the hospital to tell me."

Eddie's expression darkened. "Bolton spread it around? After everything you've done for him—"

"No, Eddie." She touched his wrist. "He saw it, but he wasn't the instigator. That was Dominic Hammond, apparently."

He floundered. "Rach…" His hands wavered in the air as if he wanted to reach out. But his fingers curled into loose fists and fell back to his side while Rachel wrapped her arms around herself. "We'll fix it," he promised. "We'll talk to the kids who know, maybe we can pass it off as good photoshop…"

"Eddie." She swelled with affection, even as her lips twisted. "It's over."

He shook his head. "I refuse to accept that."

"You can refuse all you want, it doesn't make it less true." She touched her fingers to his jaw. "Come on, I'll put the kettle on."

He followed her to the kitchen. "I don't want tea, Rachel. I want you as head of Waterloo Road."

She sagged against the counter in front of her, her head dipping slightly. "I think that ship has sailed now," she said quietly. "It's no less than I deserve, Eddie."

"What you deserve is to stay as head," he said firmly. "You deserve everyone's respect. And thanks, for everything you've done for that place!"

She looked up for the first time, and he was stunned to see her eyes shining with tears. "What about your respect?" She asked, voice hoarse. "Do I have that?"

His eyes never left hers. "My respect, and so much more. I thought you knew that."

He thought the sheen in her eyes grew wetter. "You're a good man, Eddie." And she attempted something that was close to a smile, her tone deliberately lightening. "It's why you do silly things like running around a burning building."

He let out a huff of laughter, more out of surprise at the abrupt topic change than any actual amusement. She didn't want to talk about this anymore, that was fine. It didn't mean he wouldn't be bringing it up at a later date, however. But Rachel wasn't smiling, her lips pinching into a small frown as she looked down at the mug in her hand.

"Rachel."

"You scared me today." She looked up at him, no mask in place as her grip on the mug tightened. "When you didn't come out of that building, I thought…" She couldn't say the words aloud. It would make them real. She pressed her lips together, shaking her head slightly as she put the mug down harder than intended, the noise echoing in the quiet room. Eddie swallowed thickly.

"I never wanted to scare you."

"I know that." She offered him a watery smile, turned her attention to the tea. Only to be stopped by his hand sliding over hers, drawing her back against him.

"I'm sorry."

His whisper struck something within her. Her hands started to tremble, the warmth of his body an intoxicating comfort, reminding her that he was here, with her, and she leant into it shamelessly. "I was so afraid, Eddie," she admitted. "I had to keep it together for the kids, I was right in the middle of them. But the entire time it felt like I couldn't breathe."

He tightened his grip on her, sliding his arms around her more firmly and she squeezed her eyes closed, tried to calm her racing mind. "Eddie, I…" Fear had her faltering. Once upon a time, she always knew what a man wanted. But with Eddie, it was different. The dinners, the concern over her wellbeing, the evenings spent with each other – with anyone else, she would have said it pointed to one thing and one thing only. But with Eddie, she didn't know. Didn't know whether she was right, or whether he was just being kind to the woman carrying his child. Because that small, niggling doubt in the back of her mind told her that nobody who knew about her past would ever want more with her, despite any and all evidence to the contrary.

"Rach?"

She twisted to look at him, and found him staring back at her. Oddly calm, and yet also looking just disquieted as she felt and in that look it was as if she could read his every emotion, as if they were written across his face. He was as nervous as she was, just as hopeful and suddenly, all of the doubts that had been whispering in the back of her mind were quietened, and there was only Eddie. Eddie, and her, and the baby inside her who chose that moment to remind Rachel that she was there.

How had he hidden this for so long?

She arched up, and kissed him.

It was completely unlike they first time they'd kissed. This was sweet, and slow, and spoke of promises and feelings far deeper than the pure attraction and lust that had coloured the last time they'd done this. Eddie's fingers tightened against her, loosening only when she slowly dropped back, catching her lip between her teeth.

With painstaking tenderness, he reached up to brush her hair back from her face. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that?"

She found herself laughing despite everything, and ducked her head until her forehead was leant against his. Eddie's arm was warm where it rested against her, his eyes closing as they both rested there. A precious moment of peace amongst the chaos of the day.

"Just so we're clear," Eddie said softly. "I want it all with you, Rachel. Not because of the baby or anything else, just because of you."

She opened her eyes, but didn't move away. "Even with my past? With all the talk that's going to take place?"

"Rachel." Exasperation coloured his voice.

"I have to ask."

One finger on her chin lifted her face up so that he could brush his lips across hers. "I told you, I don't care about your past," he murmured. "And I certainly don't care about what other people think or say."

A flood of warmth spread throughout her entire body. In lieu of responding, instead she slid her lips against his in a slow, luxurious kiss that she hoped told him exactly how she felt about his words. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his hands pulled her against him and behind them, the kettle that was just beginning to boil was ignored entirely.