Eddie had expected Rachel to be off sick again. He hadn't received a call from Reception and Bridget hadn't heard anything either. Over the last week, she'd called in sick, but not today. He'd automatically assumed that she was still off and that she'd just forgotten to call in and let Bridget know.

So when she walked into the office at 8:30AM on the dot, he couldn't help but be a little taken aback. Relieved that she was ok, but surprised.

"Morning" she greeted, smiling at him weakly before closing the door

"Morning, Rach... we didn't think you'd be in today" he replied

"I couldn't stay off forever" she shrugged

"I know that, but, if you still don't feel well..."

"No, I'm fine" she interrupted

"Ok..." Eddie replied, unconvinced

Rachel wouldn't deny that she was relieved to see him. The anxiety, which had been pressing heavily on her shoulders for the last week, had lifted somewhat when she'd seen him sat at her desk. Even though they'd split up a long time ago, she felt safe in his presence. As long as she was at work, surrounded by her colleagues, she was safe. The thought of going home now she was here terrified her. But she wasn't going to think about that.

"I'm sorry for leaving you in the lurch. Some Head Teacher I am, hey?" she sighed, placing her bag and folder down on the table

"You didn't, Rach. You can't help being ill"

She nodded quietly, biting her lip to stop the tears that wanted to form in her eyes. She wished she had just been ill. It was better than the truth.

"So, everything is ok with you and the baby?" he checked

"Yes... we're fine"

He didn't miss the hesitation or wobble in her voice. He didn't like the way she was refusing to look at him, her eyes purposefully glued to the folder she was searching through. She'd been in the room for less than five minutes and hadn't talked his ear off in a panic about how much work she had to catch up on. Her energy was off, she was quiet and distant. There was no spring in her step or sparkle in her eyes like there had been when he'd seen her last week. She looked exhausted. Her hair was neat but messier than usual. Her clothes were clean but not ironed. Something wasn't quite right.

"Kim's been worried about you" he told her

"I'll talk to her later" she mumbled

"Ok. Well, I haven't planned to do a staff briefing today, so I can catch you up on everything before I have to go and teach" he explained

"Great, thanks" she replied, running a hand through her hair

He watched as she sighed heavily, rubbing at her chest. It was an action she did when she was anxious or upset.

"Are you ok?" he asked

She wanted to say no. She wanted to run into the safety of his embrace, to tell him how scared and unhappy she was. But he couldn't save her, and she couldn't ask him to. She couldn't bear to tell him about the mess that was her life. It was her fault, she never should have fallen for Adam, she should have seen all the red flags before she married him.

So, she nodded, smiling even though it was painful.

"Just tired"

"Is the baby having parties at night?" he joked in an attempt to try and make her laugh

"Something like that, yeah"

His joke had, had the opposite effect on her. Rather than a smile breaking out on her face, her eyes sparkled with tears, lip trembling dangerously. That's when he knew something was really wrong. Rachel didn't let her guard down very easily, and the fact that she was right now was scaring him. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go again, but he wasn't sure a hug would be a welcome gesture right now.

Still, he stood up, making his way over to her.

"Rach, what's happened?" he asked gently

"It's nothing, I'm fine" she whispered

He hated the way that she tensed and flinched as he placed a hand on her arm. His concern only grew when she glanced at him tearfully.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

She trailed off, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Rach, you can talk to me. I'm here for you, as your friend" he reassured, handing her a tissue

She smiled at him weakly as she wiped her eyes with the tissue.

"It's nothing, really. I'm just tired. We need to get started"

He sighed as she moved to sit at her desk. He wasn't going to push her. If she wanted to tell him what was going on, she would, in her own time. Maybe she was just tired, like she'd said. It just didn't seem like that to Eddie.