Rachel let Steph's words wash over her when she was finally left alone, slumped against her chair and moulding into the cushions. Don't let him win.. well, she was trying her hardest. She needed to try and be one step ahead of him again. If her only issue now was him going to the press? She needed to get there first. Her career in education had given her some contacts, and with an extra boost of confidence, she picked up the phone.

She made up story after story as she spoke away to local journalists, spouting nonsense about Stuart's bid being rejected. She hoped it was easy enough to believe that he was furious about it, and was planning to sell multiple fake stories about her as his revenge. Her skills of lying clearly had worked in her favour, as most laughed it off and promised to call her first if anything was to come in. She'd handled many incidents involving the press already since working at Waterloo Road, and had always given them enough to print a story but not to ruin the reputation she was building for the school. They still had something to write about, but usually worked with Rachel to put a more positive spin on the situation that could work in both their favours.

She drained her resources and rang as many people as she could, her throat starting to hurt from all the sweet talking she was doing. But she felt lighter, glad that if Stuart did try anything, it wasn't likely to happen without her at least knowing about it first. Still remaining uninterrupted, she decided to make the most of the minutes she had left before she'd be needed again and take some time to act on a thought she'd had since the meeting. She'd made a comment to Eddie about wanting to get away, and what was stopping them? She knew the dates he was going to be with Michael over summer, him and Alison having finally reached the decision to split the holiday equally and have 3 weeks each with their son. That left 3 weeks of time to fill, and Rachel decided to make the most of it. They'd come so far, if anyone had told her that her and Eddie would have ended the academic year a couple, she'd of laughed in their faces. Not because she didn't want it to happen, but because she didn't think Eddie would give her the time of day when he knew of her past. But she'd been more then pleasantly surprised, and now was her turn to surprise him. A week away in a hot country was sure to do that, and she was so focused on scrolling that she didn't notice another presence behind her until she felt Eddie's hands on her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" He asked, voice low and dangerously close to her neck. She could just turn her head, just stretch herself slightly and feel his lips on her exactly what she wanted them. But she'd been caught, and no amount of distractions could stop the questions she was sure Eddie had.

"I didn't hear you come in," she murmured.

"Obviously." He continued to read over her shoulder, his surprise growing. "I was expecting to find you upset. Instead you're planning a holiday?"

Her cheeks heated. "Steph snapped me out of it. And I was just looking."

She felt his eyes on her for far longer than she was comfortable with. "Just looking?" he questioned lowly, and she hated what he could do to her with just his tone of voice. She shrugged, biting her lip as she turned back to her screen. He dropped a kiss onto her neck, studying the page she had up on the screen. "I think it's a great idea."

"You do?"

She sounded so surprised that he couldn't help but smile. "Of course. Somewhere just the two of us- it sounds perfect. The holiday of a lifetime."

"I don't know about that. But there's a few places that have last minute availability."

He reached over, scrolled up to see the filters she'd put in. "I don't think you're thinking big enough..." he said thoughtfully, and adjusted them. Her eyes widened slightly, and he shrugged. "Why not?"

She couldn't think of a single good reason. "The Caribbean?"

"I've never been, have you?"

She shook her head. "I've only been abroad a handful of times, and only ever in Europe."

"Then it can be a first for both of us. This one looks nice."

It did, she admitted, but was more distracted by him. "Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He looked down at her in surprise, a pleased smile spreading across his lips. "I love you too."

She spun the chair around to hug him, pressing her face into his shoulder. He wasn't sure what had brought this on, but he wasn't about to argue. "Are you okay?"

She was silent for a moment, considering. "Not completely. But I will be ."

"Because of you.." she almost added. But she didn't, she kept that to herself to say at a later date. They had the rest of the day to get through, and the inevitable marathon drinking session that was sure to follow when the final bell finally rang for the day. Rachel really just wanted to sneak away with Eddie and hide for the entirety of the summer, process the days events and work out her next steps. If Stuart really has gone, then she was free to finally put her plans for the school into place. She'd face no arguments from Eddie, she was sure of that. And she could finally focus on having the job she'd always dreamed of. If her job really was to be what she'd always wanted, with Eddie by her side, then Rachel was sure that nothing could come in her way again. Stuart had been an obstacle, a huge one. But everything that had happened seemed to be for a reason and as she felt Eddie's arms tighten around her, she knew all the pain was worth it. She wasn't rushing to go through anything similar ever again, anytime soon. But without Stuart and his threats, Rachel would never have had the courage to tell Eddie how she felt or kiss him in the way she had. So in a way, she was grateful for what had happened. Any situation that had given her the one man she'd ever been in love with, was worth the pain and the fears. She was never alone in her fight, he had fought by her side and held her hand no matter what had happened. He'd even promised the leave the school if her past wasn't supported, and she never knew someone could love her so much. Now they had the summer ahead of them, a possible holiday and plenty of time to just focus on their relationship. Plans for the school could wait, because what was really important was keeping hold of the man right in front of her.

After a lot longer than probably necessary, she moved away from Eddie and sent him back to him classroom, saying she really needed to get on and do some actual work before summer was over. He kissed her once more before rushing off in hopes that the day would go quicker, and Rachel watched him go with a grin. She pressed her hands to her lips, still able to feel the traces of him that he'd left there when he'd skipped away, and knew that this was everything she'd wanted as a child. Maybe fairytales didn't exist, maybe happy ever afters were a myth, but this was the closest she was going to get and that was entirely fine with her.