Rachel walked up the stairs to her office, hoping that Eddie had chosen to give her some space and not follow her. She didn't want to talk to him, not right now. They had a big day ahead of them, with the Governors coming in, and it being her last day. She had a lot to do before the day was out. He was wasting his time if he was going to try and talk her out of resigning.

She paused as she reached the top of the stairs, noticing Janeece sat on the windowsill opposite Steph's classroom, looking out over the playground. Rachel hadn't seen Janeece since they had been together at the Police Station last week. If she was honest, she wanted to turn around and walk away. How could Janeece forgive her for what she'd done?

"Hi, Miss" Janeece mumbled, smiling weakly

Rachel smiled.

"Hi, Janeece. What are you doing here so early?" she replied, leaning her back against the windowsill

"I was looking for Miss Haydock. She said she'd be in today" she explained

Rachel looked at her watch, noting it was only 7:30AM. Steph wouldn't be in for at least another fifteen minutes, if she was coming in at all. It wasn't like Steph to be punctual.

"Anything I can help with?" Rachel offered

Janeece shook her head.

"No, it's ok. I just wanted to talk to her"

Rachel nodded silently. She sensed that whatever it was, was a private matter and chose not to question Janeece further.

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"I-uhm- I just wanted to say thank you... for taking my Mum's place and sitting in that room with me at the Police Station while I was asked all those questions"

Rachel smiled softly.

"It was no problem. You needed someone to support you. I was happy to do that"

"How are you doing?" she added

Janeece's eyes filled up with tears as she made eye contact with her Head Teacher.

"I miss her" she whispered

"Of course you do. Maxine was your best friend" Rachel nodded sympathetically, rubbing Janeece's arm gently

"Are you still having your sessions with Charlotte?" she added

"Yes, Miss. It's our last one today. She's been really helpful" Janeece nodded

"Good, I'm glad. My door is always open if you want to talk about anything, Janeece. We're all here to support you, ok?"

"Thanks, Miss" Janeece replied, smiling weakly

Rachel smiled back, subtly gripping the windowsill as a wave of dizziness hit her. She closed her eyes in an attempt to get the world to stop spinning, taking a deep breath.

"Are you ok, Miss? You've gone really pale" Janeece questioned, pulling Rachel from her thoughts

"I'm fine" she reassured

The clicking of heels echoed down the corridor. Rachel opened her eyes, her gaze falling on Steph. Her heart suddenly started to pound against her chest, a lump forming in her throat as Steph shot her a cold glare. She wanted to run.

When Steph saw Janeece, her glare softened, being replaced by a smile. Janeece looked between the two of them, sensing the tension lingering in the air.

"Looks like I'm not the only early bird!" Steph said chirpily, refusing to look at or acknowledge Rachel

"I'll leave you two to talk. I'll see you later, Janeece, ok?" Rachel decided

"Thanks, Miss" Janeece smiled

Rachel turned away towards her office. She didn't miss the eye roll Steph gave her just before she turned her back.

When she arrived in her office, Eddie was already in there. He was sat on the sofa, looking through some paperwork. Rachel walked straight past him, storming over to sit at her desk. She didn't want to talk to him.

"Everything ok?" he asked, breaking the silence

"Fine" she mumbled, switching on the computer

Eddie sighed.

"Come here for a minute" he requested, tapping the seat next to him on the sofa

"I've got too much to do, Eddie" she huffed

"The work can wait. Come and sit here" he repeated, a little more firmly

"No!" she snapped

"Rach, now!" he demanded

Rachel groaned, standing up. She walked over to the sofa, slamming herself down next to him as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

"Happy?" she spat, glaring at him

"Rach, will you please just talk to me? We can fix this!" he pleaded

"No, we can't! I don't want to. I'm leaving Waterloo Road and you can't change my mind" she told him plainly, refusing to look him in the eye

"But why? You keep telling me you're leaving, but you won't tell me why!"

"Why does it matter?" she challenged

"Because it makes no sense, Rach! You've done nothing wrong!" he argued

"Yes, I have, Eddie! A student is dead!"

"And, once again, it was not your fault! You didn't pull the trigger on the gun that ended Maxine's life!"

"No, I didn't. But I let Earl Kelly into this school. I let him get away with his violent behaviour. I refused to chuck him out because I was adamant that I could turn his behaviour around because I was stubborn and determined to prove everyone wrong! And look what happened! I don't deserve to be a Head Teacher, Eddie. Not after this"

"There's more to it than that, Rach. Try being honest with me for once!"

Rachel glared at him.

"You want me to be honest?"

"Yes, I do!"

Rachel sighed. He wasn't going to stop until she told him the truth. She hated that he knew her so well.

"Ok, fine. You want the truth, Eddie? I'm tired. I know that goes with the job, but I mean it. I am really tired. I'm tired of worrying and going over every decision and wondering if I've got it right. I'm tired, Eddie. I can't do it anymore"

And there it was, the truth. Finally. Eddie knew it was the truth from the way Rachel's eyes were glittering with tears, from the way her voice had cracked with emotion when she'd said she was tired. He sighed, taking her hand into his own. To his relief, she didn't pull away.

"Rach, you are a fantastic Head Teacher, the best I've ever worked with. You've completely turned this place around! You've made a huge impact on the kids and the staff, this place would be a mess if you hadn't come in, and it'll be a mess if you go!"

Rachel shook her head, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. Eddie cupped her cheek with his hand, turning her head to look at him. The pain and defeat he saw reflected in her eyes was enough to break his heart.

"Rach, listen to me. What happened with Earl and Maxine was not your fault. We both made the decision to try and turn his behaviour around and to give him a chance. We took the risk. You saw a kid who everyone else thought was a delinquent, and you offered him a clean slate and gave him a chance. It was his choice to take that gun and kill Maxine, not yours. You can't save everyone, Rach. You're not to blame for this. Earl is"

"You can't change my mind, Eddie. I'm sorry. All I can see is my mistake in keeping Earl here when everyone warned me about his behaviour and I saw it for myself. I just... don't trust my own judgment anymore. I don't. That's why I've got to go"

She stood up, wiping her eyes as she headed back over to her desk. Eddie ran a hand through his hair, desperately trying to think of something to say that would change her mind. Nothing came to him. She was set on this. It was what she wanted, and it seemed there was no changing her mind.

A knock on the door made both of them jump. Eddie turned to see Charlotte stood in the doorway. He smiled at her politely.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, looking back and forth between Rachel and Eddie

"No, you're fine" Eddie reassured

Rachel stood up, offering Charlotte a warm smile as she walked over to her. Eddie had told Rachel a lot about Charlotte over the evenings of the last week. He seemed to be impressed with the work that she'd done. From what she knew, Rachel was too. She seemed to have done a great job with the kids and Rachel wanted to thank her.

"We haven't met. Rachel Mason, Head Teacher" she introduced, offering her hand for the other woman to shake

Charlotte smiled, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you. Eddie's told me a lot about you"

"Likewise. Thank you for the fantastic job you've done with all of our pupils. I'm sorry we're only meeting on your last day. We will be telling the LEA about the great work you've done whilst you've been here"

"It's been a pleasure" Charlotte nodded

Rachel glanced at the clock, noticing it was 8AM.

"We should get to the staffroom for the briefing" she announced

Charlotte nodded.

"I'll see you both in there" she replied, walking out of the office

Rachel grabbed her clipboard off her desk. She looked at the piece of paper attached to it, reminding herself of the announcements she needed to make to the staff. There were only a few, and they weren't that important. She wasn't going to announce that she was leaving until she had spoken to the Governors.

Eddie peered over her shoulder at the notes on the clipboard. He knew she always wrote down what she needed to say to the staff before she briefed them. She was organised like that. To his surprise, she'd left off what he considered to be the most important thing to tell the staff.

"Well, I don't see any big announcement about you leaving written down on there. Does this mean you're having a change of heart?" he asked, a little too hopefully

Rachel sighed as she turned to him.

"No, it's due process, Eddie. I'll talk with the staff when I've spoken to the Governors" she told him

"What if they say no?" he challenged

"Well, I'll convince them otherwise" she shrugged

Eddie watched as the colour drained from her face again. Her hand reached out for the office door, grabbing onto it tightly for balance as she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. He moved next to her, tentatively placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently

She nodded, the nausea subsiding.

"Come on, we need to go" she added, walking out of the office

The buzzing chatter in the staffroom stopped the second Rachel and Eddie entered. Rachel suddenly became nervous as everyone turned to look at her. Even having Eddie stood beside her wasn't a comfort today. She'd been away for a week and now felt out of step with everyone and everything. It felt wrong that she was suddenly leading the staff briefing, when Eddie had been doing it for the last week.

"Good morning, everyone... uhm- just couple of notices this morning..."

Silence.

"Firstly, today is Charlotte's last day"

"Whoopy-doo!" Grantly mumbled sarcastically

Rachel cleared her throat, choosing to ignore him as she looked at Charlotte.

"I'd like to say thanks from all of us for the work you've done with the kids. We've really noticed a turnaround"

Charlotte smiled gratefully.

"It's not all my doing. They're a strong unit. You don't always find that in schools"

Rachel smiled.

"And secondly, I have called a Governors meeting, because I want to put on record all of your achievements in... well, you know, bringing the school back together. So, well done everyone"

"We don't need a meeting, just give us a bonus!" Grantly joked, causing everyone to laugh

"I hope you're not taking any credit for bringing the school back together, Rachel. Considering you've been hiding away for the last week whilst Eddie and everyone else has been slaving away trying to clear up your mess" Steph snapped

"Steph, that's enough!" Matt scolded

Rachel took a deep breath as Eddie placed a hand on her arm, not to stop her from lashing out, but to let her know he was there. Rachel had been expecting the cold shoulder from Steph, as well as a snarky comment or two. She just hadn't expected there to be a confrontation this early in the morning, and in front of the staff.

"No, Matt, it's ok" she reassured

Her gaze turned to Steph.

"No, Steph, I won't be taking any credit. You've all done a fantastic job here in my absence. The Governors will be made aware of all the hard work you've put in"

"And that's it, is it? Maxine's death is just swept under the carpet by you telling the Governors how hard we've worked? You think that makes up for everything?" Steph challenged

"No, Steph," Rachel started

Steph scoffed, glaring at Rachel.

"God help any children you and Eddie have in future, Rachel. They won't stand a chance with a Mother like you"

The comment was like a slap in the face. It caught Rachel off guard. Maybe it hurt more because she felt it was the truth. She didn't even try and stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, or to swallow the lump in her throat. She did, however, refrain from resting her hand on her stomach. Everyone finding out she was pregnant was the last thing she needed today.

Steph showed no remorse, even when Matt and Eddie told her she'd taken it too far. She couldn't have cared less.

The voices in the staffroom began to swell in Rachel's ears, turning into one big ball of noise. Her heart was racing, her breathing rapid and wheezy. The nausea bubbled and churned in her stomach as her head began to spin. The walls were moving, closing in on her. It was a mistake coming back to Waterloo Road. She couldn't do this.

She could hear Eddie saying her name. He was trying to get her attention, but his voice was muffled, like she was drowning underwater, and he was on the surface. She couldn't reach him.

When he turned her around to face him, she pushed him away running out of the staff room towards her office.