Rachel had been expecting a few things to happen when she walked into the staffroom with Eddie. The room erupting with applause and cheers wasn't one of them. She couldn't help but smile as everyone walked up to her to welcome her back.

"Ah, our glorious leader returns!" Grantly greeted in his usual droning tone

"Nice to see you too, Grantly" Rachel quipped

"I take it that whatever illness you had isn't contagious?" he questioned

Rachel smirked as she looked at Eddie, who was trying not to laugh. What she had definitely wasn't contagious!

"No, Grantly. You're safe" she nodded

"What a shame, a few months off work would be so nice!" he grumbled sarcastically

Eddie snorted as he walked away.

"Come on, Mr Lawson, you have a job to do" Rachel reminded him

Eddie cleared his throat, turning his attention to the staffroom.

"Right! We've got a few announcements, so if you could all be quiet, thank you!" Eddie called, raising his voice

The room settled, allowing Rachel to step forward to make her speech.

"Uhm- thank you everyone for that lovely welcome. It's good to be back. I just wanted to say thank you all for your hard work this term, you've all been incredible. As you all know, I was going to resign last week, but- uhm- thanks to the governors and Mr Lawson, I have changed my mind. So I'll be here to welcome everyone back after the Christmas Holidays"

Everyone, bar two people, cheered at that. Rachel didn't miss the eye roll from Steph and the snort from Grantly. Steph was another issue she wanted to try and resolve today.

"I also just wanted to wish Rob good luck. I'm sure Bolton is going to be brilliant" she added

Rob smiled weakly.

"How is he feeling?" Eddie asked him

"Yeah, he's good. His nervous wobble is over. He's doing great! Honestly, I would hate to be on the receiving end of his fists! That boy is pumped up something rotten!" Rob replied confidently

Rachel smiled.

"Alright, well, great! I'll leave Eddie to talk about the arrangements for the afternoon. I hope you all have a lovely two weeks off!"

Once Eddie had talked through the arrangements for this afternoon and had, once again, wished Rob good luck, they left.

"I'm so glad she's back!" Jasmine smiled once they'd gone

"Oh, yeah, it's fantastic! Yipee, Miss Mason is back!" Steph grumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes

"Steph! I thought you were done with this... dislike for Rachel?" Matt scolded

"Of course I am, Matt. I just don't see why everyone wants to be jumping for joy that she's back. It's not a big deal, is it?" she huffed

"She's been ill, Steph! And she was going to resign last week!" he reasoned

"Oh, so what? Staff round here are ill all the time and you don't see people rolling out the red carpet when they return!"

Matt scoffed.

"Steph, whatever was wrong was serious! Have you not seen how worried Eddie has been this last week?"

"Oh, please! Eddie follows her around like a lost puppy! Of course he was like that when she wasn't here!"

"No, it wasn't that. He really cares about her! I think they're really serious! It wouldn't surprise me if he proposes soon"

It was Steph's turn to scoff.

"Oh, please, Matt! I've got a travel-size tube of toothpaste that's been going longer than them! it will probably outlive their cringe love life! I'll give it six months max!" she huffed

Matt rolled his eyes, heading over to the kettle to make himself a coffee before he said something he'd regret. He just wished Steph would let go of this bitterness towards Rachel and move on. What had happened to Maxine wasn't her fault. The only person to blame for her death was Earl Kelly.

...

Rachel sank into her chair as Eddie shut the office door. She was relieved the staff briefing had gone so well and that, apart from Steph, no one had badly reacted to the announcement of her returning. She hadn't quite expected the cheers and the applause, but it did mean a lot.

"Well, everyone seems to be happy you're back and that you're staying" Eddie smiled

"Indeed" Rachel nodded simply

Eddie could tell by just looking at her that she was worrying about something. And he knew exactly what, or who, she was worrying about. He hadn't missed the eye roll from Steph either, or how unhappy she was in Rachel's presence. He knew it was making Rachel question whether she had made the right decision to stay.

Eddie was still furious with Steph about the comment she had made last week. It had deeply hurt Rachel, and it had hurt him knowing it had knocked her so much. It made him even angrier that Steph had shown no remorse once the words had left her mouth. He was planning to have a word with her today, when Rachel wasn't around.

"Rach, I know it's hard, but, just ignore Steph" he reasoned

Rachel sighed heavily.

"I can't, Eddie. I wish it was that easy. In her view, what happened to Maxine was my fault. I don't fully believe that as much anymore, thanks to you. But she does. In her view, I'm in the wrong. She hates me and I worry how it will affect us professionally"

"Rach, if anything she is in the wrong! She still hasn't apologised for that comment she made to you last week! She knows this wasn't your fault, but she's refusing to admit it"

Rachel nodded. Up until that moment, the comment Steph had made had slipped her mind. She'd deliberately forgotten about it. Even though she was now more settled with the idea of being pregnant, she did still have doubts about her ability to be a Mother.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Eddie offered

Rachel shook her head.

"No, it's fine"

Eddie sighed. He decided that, if he bumped into Steph today, he would have a word. He wouldn't go against Rachel's wishes and go out of his way to talk to her though.

The bell rang out for the start of the morning lessons. Rachel smiled at Eddie as he leaned over to place a kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you at break, ok?"

"Ok" she nodded

As he was about to head out of the office, there was a knock on the door. The two of them watched as Tom entered, looking nervous. Eddie had a feeling they were about to have their first headache of the day and he wouldn't be teaching his first lesson.

"Hi, Tom" Rachel greeted

"Hi. Sorry, can I have a word? It's about Rose" he requested

Rachel nodded, turning to Eddie.

"You go, I'll sort it" she reassured

Eddie was reluctant. He didn't want her doing too much too soon. But he also wanted to let her get back on her feet, rather than smothering her and taking over. Her words kept playing over and over in his mind: "You have to stop looking and treating me like I'm going to break at any moment". She wasn't wrong, he knew that.

"Eddie, go. I'll be fine. I can deal with this" she promised

"But,"

Before he could say another word, Rachel stood up from her chair, guiding him over to the door and practically pushing him out of it. When he turned around, she smiled at him lovingly, blowing him a kiss before shutting the door. Eddie couldn't help but chuckle at her, shaking his head in disbelief.

Rachel closed the door, smiling to herself. For a moment, she forgot Tom was in the room. She only remembered when she looked up and saw him staring at her, eyebrow raised.

"He's just being a bit... protective" she shrugged

"He told me about you fainting last week. So, I don't really blame him" he replied

Rachel smiled, sitting down at her desk.

"How are you feeling?" he added

"Much better, thank you. Glad to be back at work" she replied

"We're glad to have you back" Tom smiled

"Thank you... have you changed your mind about resigning as Head of Pastoral Care?"

"No, sorry. Eddie filed it through last week. But, if it helps, I do have someone in mind who can take over"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Kim Campbell. She was Head of Pastoral Care here a couple of years ago before she left to go to Rwanda. She's back in England now and is looking for a job. I can give you her phone number if you like?"

"Yes, please. That would be great" she nodded

Tom pulled out his phone, scrolling down the contacts until he found Kim's number. He handed the phone to Rachel, who grabbed a pen and a post it note to scribble down her number.

"Thanks, Tom. I'll give her a call this morning" she told him, handing his phone back

Tom smiled, knowing Kim would be thrilled and surprised to get a call from her old workplace.

"So what did you want to say about Rose?"

"Oh- uhm,"

He sat down in the chair across from her desk, running a hand through his hair. He really didn't want to relay to Rachel what he had seen when he had left for work this morning. But he had to. It was partially his fault after all. The Kelly's were due to move back into the house next door to him in a few days time. This needed sorting and it needed sorting quickly.

"The Kelly's are being evicted" he blurted

Rachel frowned at him.

"What? That can't be right. I just spoke to Rose and she didn't say a word!"

"She doesn't know. They've been staying in temporary accommodation whilst the living room window is fixed. They're supposed to be moving back over the next couple of days. But they were boarding up the house this morning and putting up an eviction notice"

Rachel sighed, placing her head in her hands. This was the last thing Rose and her family needed, especially on the run up to Christmas.

"I'll take her to the Housing Association, but we need to speak to her first" he added

Rachel nodded.

She headed out into the antechamber, asking Bridget to go and fetch Rose from the kitchens. For a moment, she had contemplated whether to fetch Eddie to come and help her. But there was no point. She could deal with this on her own.