Waterloo Road had been back at school for about a week now.
Despite her anxiety about starting, Olivia had settled in really well and was enjoying it. She'd made quite a few new friends and had adjusted really well to the change.
It was a Friday and Rachel was really excited for the weekend.
She was having a particularly stressful day. Although all of her days had been stressful since the new term had started due to the presence of Max Tyler, the executive head teacher today had been especially bad.
Rachel didn't understand why he had to spend all of his time at Waterloo Road when he had other schools to oversee too. The more time Rachel was spending with the man the more she was starting to dislike him.
As soon as the bell rang on Friday Rachel packed up her things and headed to the car. Rachel had decided to only work on a Friday after the bell went if she really had to. She knew she had a bit of work she would have to do over the weekend but that could wait. Right now she just wanted to collect Daisy from school and get home.
Rachel left her office and went to the car where Olivia was there waiting for her.
"Hiya love, how was your day?" Rachel asked as they got into the car
"It was good thanks, I have quite a bit of homework to get done over the weekend though"
"I've got some work to do too so how about we put a bit of time aside on Sunday and get it done together?"
"That sounds good. Do we have any plans tomorrow?"
"Daisy's been begging me all week to take her swimming so I guess I'll have to do that tomorrow afternoon. Do you fancy coming too?"
"Yeah, can we go to the one with all the good slides?"
"You'll have to tell me which one that is but I'm sure we can"
"Okay"
"You could invite one of your friends to come too if you like"
"Maybe, I'll think about it"
"You've got gymnastics in the morning don't you?"
"Yeah I think it starts at 10"
"Okay"
Olivia had decided to start doing gymnastics again which Rachel was really pleased about. She used to love it but had stopped doing it after her Dad died because she'd lost a lot of confidence.
Rachel hadn't even mentioned her starting again but one of the girls she used to go with was in her tutor group and had persuaded her to start again.
Daisy's primary school wasn't far from Waterloo Road so it didn't take long for them to get there.
"Do you want to wait in the car love?" Rachel asked as it was pouring down with rain
"Yes please if you don't mind"
"Of course not, hopefully they'll be out soon"
"Can I go on your phone while you're gone?"
"What's wrong with yours?"
"It's run out of battery"
"Okay then"
Rachel passed her phone to Olivia and then got out of the car and put her umbrella up before walking to the playground.
Luckily just as she got there Daisy's classroom door opened and her class teacher started letting them out.
Daisy was one of the last to appear at the door. She soon spotted Rachel though and came running straight over.
"Let's get to the car quickly, this weather is miserable isn't it?"
"We had to stay in our classroom at lunchtime because it was raining so much"
Rachel ran back to the car as quickly as she could with Daisy and got her in.
"So how was your day at school?" Rachel asked Daisy once they were in the dry
"Good. Friday is my favourite day because we get to have golden time"
"What did you do in golden time?"
"I did some drawing with Lucy"
"That sounds like fun. Right let's get home and get all cosy inside"
"Can we watch a film?"
"That's a good idea"
Rachel started driving home but then remembered that she'd left her laptop charger at work. She knew she was going to have to go back and get it as she would definitely need it over the weekend.
When they got to a roundabout Rachel went all the way around and started driving back the way they'd just come from.
"Sorry girls, I've left my laptop charger at school so I'm going to have to go back"
Rachel was expecting Olivia to moan about this but she just stayed quiet and didn't say anything.
When Rachel drove into the school car park she was relieved to see that Max's car had gone. He was the last person she wanted to see right now when she was ready for a weekend away from him.
Rachel went up to her office and grabbed her laptop charger quickly before heading down again.
She was surprised when she saw Lexie Edwards, a year 11 pupil waling through the corridor.
"Lexie, what are you still doing here?"
"I stayed behind after class to help Mr Mead clear up from our practical"
"That was very nice of you, haven't you got something you'd rather be doing on a Friday though?"
"Not really. It was a right mess everywhere so I was happy to help"
"Has Mr Mead gone now?"
"Yeah he just left"
"Right, well is your Mum picking you up? It's chucking it down outside"
"No I think she's at work"
"Let me give you a lift then or you're going to get soaked"
"It's okay, you don't have to do that"
"I can't have you catching a cold and having to miss school now can I? Come on, it won't take me long"
"Honestly miss it's fine, I don't live far from here" Lexie said before flouncing off with tears in her eyes
The tears in Lexie's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.
Rachel tried to catch up with the girl but she'd run off. She was starting to get a bit concerned about Lexie.
Lexie seemed to spend as long as possible at school everyday. Rachel had seen her on quite a few occasions at school long before most students arrived and after they'd left.
Rachel decided to bring Lexie up to her office on Monday for a chat to see if she could find out what was wrong.
When Rachel returned to the car Olivia was looking out of the window and in her own little world.
"You were gone ages Rachel" Daisy said
"Sorry love, I got stuck talking to someone. Right we really are going home now"
Rachel tried talking to Olivia on the way home but kept getting one word answers. She'd seemed fine before so Rachel wondered what was wrong.
When they got home the three of them all went upstairs to get changed.
Rachel changed out of her work clothes into something a bit comfier before going to get the girls uniforms to put them in the wash.
She went to get Daisy's first before going over to Olivia's bedroom.
Rachel knocked on the door which was shut.
"Yeah" Olivia called so Rachel opened the door and went in
"I'm going to put some washing on, can I have your school uniform please?"
Olivia gathered all of her uniform up before passing it to Rachel.
"Is everything okay? You've gone a bit quiet"
"Yeah everything's fine"
"Daisy wants to put a film on, are you coming down to join us?"
"I'll just stop up here for a bit"
"Okay, well you know where I am if you want me or if you want to talk about something"
"Yep"
Rachel left her to it and went and put the washing on before going into the lounge with Daisy.
"What film are we watching?" Rachel asked
"Can we watch Annie?" Daisy replied
"I love that film. I think I have the DVD here as it goes"
"It's okay, it's on Netflix"
Daisy put Annie on.
Rachel assumed she meant the original Annie, but she actually wanted to watch the new one which Rachel hadn't even thought about.
"I haven't seen this version of Annie before, I love the original one though"
"The new one is really good"
Rachel decided to get on with some ironing while the film was on.
While it was on she heard Olivia come downstairs into the kitchen, presumably to get a drink or something to eat, but then she just went upstairs again without coming into the lounge.
She wasn't expecting to but Rachel was actually really enjoying the new Annie film.
"Shall we pause this and go and make the pizzas?" Rachel suggested
"Yes I'm getting hungry"
"Okay then, do you want to go and get your sister?"
Daisy went upstairs and Rachel went into the kitchen to start getting everything out.
She's bought the bases this time to make it a bit easier.
Daisy soon came back down to the kitchen but there was no sign of Olivia.
"Where's Liv?"
"She's staying upstairs, she said I can make hers for her"
"I thought Liv was excited to make a pizza, I'll just go and check she definitely doesn't want to. Do you want to wash your hands and put on an apron while I'm gone?"
Rachel went upstairs to try and persuade Olivia to come down. It was her idea to make the pizzas in the first place so Rachel was wondering what she was upset about to make her not want to do it anymore.
When Rachel went into Olivia's bedroom it was obvious she'd been crying from the red rings around her eyes.
Olivia was on her bed so Rachel went and sat down next to her.
"You want to talk to me about what's up?"
"There's nothing, I'm fine"
"You don't have to pretend you're okay, when you're not you know. Are you missing your Mum?"
"No I'm not"
"It's okay if you are"
"I said I'm not" Olivia snapped
"You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to, but you know I'm here if you do want to don't you?"
"Why do you care if I'm upset?" Olivia asked with fresh tears in her eyes
"What are you talking about? Of course I care"
"You're not my Mum so it's not your problem if I'm upset"
"Hey I know I'm not your Mum. But I still care just as much. I hate seeing you upset and I want to be here for you"
"You don't want to look after me and Daisy, you want a baby of your own" Olivia said angrily. She'd allowed herself to trust Rachel and thought she actually intended to look after her and Daisy long term but now she realised this wasn't the case at all
"What makes you think I want to have a baby?"
"You had a text reminding you about your IVF appointment on Monday"
Rachel had completely forgotten about that.
"I'm not going to that appointment. But even if I did want a baby, why does that mean I don't want to look after you and Daisy?"
"You just wouldn't, would you? You'd have a baby so then you'd probably want to send us to live with Grandma and Grandad or put us into care or something" Olivia said sounding really upset
"Hey that's rubbish. Of course I wouldn't. You and Daisy both mean so much to me and I want to be here for you and support you as much as I can"
"But why would you want us if you had a baby of your own?"
"Right, I have no intention of having a baby anymore. I desperately wanted a baby but that was before… well that was before your Mum passed away. Things are different now. I have you two and I promise you you're my main priority now so I don't want a baby anymore" Rachel said truthfully
"Really?"
"Really"
"But even if I were to have a baby, I'd still want you. I promise I want to look after and be there for you"
Rachel pulled Olivia into her chest and let her have a big cry. She was so glad that Olivia had told her what was wrong and hadn't kept it bottled up inside.
After a little while Olivia calmed down.
"I'm sorry for shouting at you" Olivia said
"Hey it's okay, I understand that you were angry. I'm going to cancel the appointment on Monday though, I really don't want a baby anymore"
"You can still have one if you want one. I love babies"
"Trust me love, it's not what I want now"
Olivia was still enjoying her cuddle with Rachel when Daisy appeared in Olivia's bedroom.
"What are you doing Rachel? I thought we were making the pizzas now"
"We are, sorry I'm coming now. Are you coming down too Liv?"
"Yeah I'm coming"
"Why are you crying Liv?"
"I'm not, I'm fine"
"You look like you're crying"
"Olivia was a little bit upset but she's fine now, don't worry" Rachel said stepping in
"Why was she upset?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, come on let's get these pizzas made I'm starving"
They went downstairs and Rachel got the bases out and gave the girls the sauce to put on.
"What toppings do you want?" Rachel asked
"Ham and pineapple please" Olivia said
"I want ham, sweetcorn, chicken and peppers" Daisy said
They had a nice time making their pizzas together. Once they were done Rachel put them into the oven before pouring herself a large glass of wine. She really felt like she needed it after the week that she'd just had.
After eating their pizzas they went into the lounge to relax for the evening.
"Shall we put on a different film seeing as we're half way through this one and Liv wasn't watching it before"
"I want to finish watching Annie though" Daisy said
"It's okay I'm happy to watch it. I really like it"
"If you're sure"
Rachel sat on the sofa in the middle of Daisy and Olivia. They both cuddled into her and Rachel felt so happy sitting there with them. She really felt like she'd grown close to both of them.
After Annie had finished Rachel took Daisy upstairs to bed.
Daisy was definitely getting better with night time.
She was having a lot less nightmares and wetting the bed a lot less. She was even sleeping right through some nights.
"Please can I sleep in your bed tonight Rachel?"
"Not tonight love"
"What if I can't get to sleep?"
"I'm sure you can because you're very tired after a busy week at school. If you can't though come downstairs and tell me"
"Okay" Daisy said before climbing into bed
Rachel tucked her in and sat down next to her.
"Goodnight sweetheart, hope you sleep well" Rachel said before placing a kiss on the top of Daisy's head
"Goodnight Rachel"
Daisy was lying on her side but still had her eyes wide open.
"Close your eyes, you won't be able to get to sleep if your eyes are open will you?"
Daisy did as Rachel said.
Rachel stayed there for a few minutes rubbing Daisy's back. By the time she left Daisy was nearly asleep.
When she went back downstairs Olivia was sat on the sofa on her phone.
"Can we watch some more Grey's Anatomy?" Olivia asked as they'd watched a couple of episodes the night before
"Sounds good to me"
"I might put my pyjamas on first"
"Do you know what I think I might do the same"
Once Rachel and Olivia had changed into their pyjamas they came downstairs and watched Grey's Anatomy.
"Rachel can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can"
"Actually it doesn't matter"
"Go on, what was it you wanted to ask?"
"Well I was just wondering how you were going to have a baby when you know you're not with Eddie anymore"
Rachel thought for a few moments about the best way to explain this to Olivia.
"A couple of months ago I really wanted a baby and when I split up with Eddie I realised it would probably be a long time before I found another man I wanted to have a baby with, if I found one at all that is. And I'm 39 now and the older you get the harder it is to have a baby, so I decided I'd try to have a baby without a man by using a sperm donor"
"So would you of known who the Dad was?"
"I would've known details about him but I wouldn't of met him and he wouldn't have had any involvement in the baby's life"
Rachel and Olivia ended up speaking about it for a little while. Rachel was trying to be as honest and open with Olivia as she could be hoping that it would encourage Olivia to be open with her as well.
"Sorry for asking so many questions"
"I don't mind, you can ask me as many questions as you like"
Olivia really enjoyed her evening with Rachel. She always did love spending time when it was just the two of them.
Olivia went up to bed at about 10.
Rachel decided to go to bed then too as it had been a busy week and she was really tired after it.
The next morning Rachel was woken up at about 7 by Daisy coming into her bed.
"Morning love, how did you sleep?"
"Good, I didn't wake up all night" Daisy said proudly
That was the third night in a row that Daisy hadn't woken up during the night and Rachel was really appreciating the proper sleeps. Of course she didn't mind getting up with Daisy during the night one bit but the lack of sleep had certainly been taking its toll on Rachel.
"I know darling. Let's stay in bed and have a long cuddle shall we, seeing as it's Saturday?"
"Are we still going swimming today?"
"Yes we'll go this afternoon. Liv's going to gymnastics this afternoon so we'll go after lunch"
Rachel stayed in bed for a bit longer with Daisy before the two of them went downstairs so Rachel could get a coffee. Eddie always used to bring her a coffee in bed on a Saturday morning which was something she really missed.
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