I haven't written any non-Blue Heelers fanfiction for almost three years and haven't made any attempts at a Home and Away fic since about 2004. However, this idea just struck me and refused to leave me alone, so I figured I'd have to write it. Any and all feedback is really appreciated, especially given that this isn't the sort of fic I'd normally write.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: "What are you doing back here?"

The warm summer morning was making Tony feel awfully sleepy. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night, not with the eerie sounds of the empty house. He couldn't quite get used to being an empty-nester. After more than twenty years of enjoying the company of his sons and almost-step-daughter, the silence was disconcerting. As he wandered towards the gym, bag pulled over one shoulder; he decided that a nice hot coffee might be in order. In any case, some human interaction would be comforting, even if it was only Colleen.

He slipped into the diner, not stopping to survey the morning crowd. Waiting expectantly at the counter was Leah, whose face seemed to instantly brighten at his presence. She leant forward, not bothering to let him order. "Let me guess," she began with a chuckle, "white with one?"

Tony returned her laugh as he dug through his bag for his new leather wallet – the one Jack had given him for his birthday last month. "However did you guess?" he replied, looking away as Leah headed back to the kitchens. He was so preoccupied with his wallet search that he failed to notice the woman approaching him until it was too late to find a way to duck outside again.

"Tony?"

His head snapped up, his eyes wide with recognition. He knew that voice well. Even after five years, he'd know it anywhere. He almost fell backwards against the counter in shock as he looked the woman over, taking in every aspect of her appearance. She had long, fine dark hair drawn back into a rushed ponytail and a slender frame. The only thing in fact that had changed about her at all was the large bulge at her stomach. Extremely large, in fact. She looked just about ready to pop.

"Jazz…" he breathed, frozen in disbelief at what he was seeing. Almost as though she had realised what it was that distracted him, Jazz quickly raised her large black handbag to her stomach, hugging it to her body. The shock wore off relatively quickly, however, as Tony reached out, combing at a strand of her hair distractedly. It was still as he remembered it – soft and silky to touch. "What are you doing back here? It's been so long…"

She nodded, apparently not willing to answer Tony's question. Much to her delight, Leah returned to interrupt the situation before Tony had another chance to probe into her reappearance.

"Ah, Tony," Leah began, tapping the counter nervously. "Your, ah, coffee…"

He spun back to the counter, feigning a smile as he took the coffee, only to remember that he had never really found his wallet. Jazz leapt forward, quickly retrieving a five dollar note from the pocket of her pale blue maternity blouse. "It's on me," she told him as he offered it to Leah, who took it with raised eyebrows. With this, Jazz turned to head back to a discrete corner of the diner, sitting back in the chair as she winced with discomfort.

Tony watched her go, only to turn back to Leah to stare at her in disbelief. "What's she doing back here?" he demanded, pointing to Jazz with his eyes. "I thought she wasn't going to be coming back after Drew drove her away."

Leah simply shrugged as she placed the money in the till and retrieved Jazz's change. "I don't know, she was waiting here when I opened up this morning. I couldn't very well tell her to go. She hasn't ordered anything though, nothing other than that coffee of yours."

"Does Drew know she's here?" Tony asked, suddenly finding himself worried, more for Jazz's sake than Drew's.

"For her sake, I hope not," Leah replied before disappearing from view. Tony let a heavy sigh escape his lips as he looked back over his shoulder to Jazz. It seemed almost ironic that she'd choose to return just as his life was looking emptier than ever before.

Tiny Laura squirmed in Drew's arms as he desperately tried to keep up with Belle as she argued angrily with someone on the other end of her mobile phone. She was at least a couple of metres ahead of him as they headed towards the diner, wearing a neat black pants suit with her cropped red hair held back with a simple black head band.

It was times like these that Drew wondered how their marriage had survived to that point. It was almost like there were three people in their relationship – Drew, Belle and Belle's boss. She was still working with the local paper and was now a well-recognised and respected photographer. It was her dream job – except for the boss who couldn't take no for an answer. Belle had only been back from maternity leave for all for three weeks and was already running all over the district, trying to be in three places at once.

As soon as she had finished her argument and stuffed the phone back in her pocket, Drew called out to her. "Taylor! Taylor, slow down! I can't keep up and Laura wants her mum!"

Belle stopped instantly at the sound of her old nickname, spinning back to face her husband. She took Laura from Drew's arms, wrapping her spare arm around his neck as she kissed his cheek delicately. "I'm sorry, Drew," she apologised quickly. "It's just…you know what he's like. He wants those photographs from the hotel protest today or he'll have my head on a platter."

"Yeah, I know," Drew replied, cupping Belle's cheek in his hand. "But just remember us little people while you're racing around being the illustrious photographer extraordinaire Belle Taylor-Curtis." He chuckled as he kissed her passionately, only to pause in sudden thought. He pulled away, staring at Belle in disbelief. "I still can't believe Irene gave that development the go-ahead anyway, I mean, I thought she became mayor to stop that kind of stuff."

She chuckled as she continued to walk on towards the diner, this time at a much slower pace that both Drew and Laura were happier with. "Neither can I," she agreed with a sigh. "I guess politics is just like trying to have a career and a family – give and take."

"Yeah," Drew mumbled in an annoyed voice. "You give, he takes."

"Drew!" Belle exclaimed, spinning back to face him with a bright smile on her face. She grabbed his hand, beginning to drag him the last few metres to the diner. "Come on! Let's just eat breakfast so I can get to work and you can drop Laura off at day-care before heading over to the bar."

Drew ushered Belle and Laura inside the diner, quickly casting his gaze around for an empty table. He didn't find one. Instead, he found the one person he had hoped to never see again – his mother. Furthermore, she was sitting with Tony, having what appeared to be a rather stilted conversation with him. It seemed she had seen him at the same time that he saw her, as her weak smile quickly vanished from her face. "Drew."

She rose to her feet as he approached her, allowing him to see her very large baby bump for the first time. He knew from his experience with Belle that Jazz must be somewhere very close to her due date. "What are you doing back here?!" he demanded harshly.

"I left my husband up in Sydney," she explained hurriedly, turning almost pale at the mention of her new partner. She looked for some way of changing the topic and quickly found one in the baby girl in Belle's arms. "That must be my granddaughter," she observed in awe. "Tony told me about her. She's very beautiful."

"I thought we agreed that you'd stay out of my life if I gave you the rest of the inheritance," Drew continued, almost as though Laura had never been mentioned. Behind him, however, Belle's lips began to contort into a smile at the mention of her daughter. "Five years of nothing and then you think you can just run out of another husband and come crawling back to me…"

Jazz began shaking her head desperately, her eyes watering with tears. It was then that Tony – still sitting opposite Jazz – noticed that she hadn't bothered applying any make-up. He'd never seen her without make-up on before, but he had to admit that she still looked just as beautiful. "It's not like that Drew…" she pleaded, but she didn't get a chance to finish.

"I don't want you bringing your toxic influence into Laura's life, got it?" Drew finished, spinning to leave. "Come on, Belle," he mumbled as he went, "I don't really feel like eating, anyway."

Belle hesitated, holding her little girl closer to her chest. She felt sorry for Jazz somehow. She approached the older woman slowly, offering Laura to her gently. "Did you want a hold…" she began, only to be interrupted by Drew calling her name loudly from outside the diner. She apologised hurried as she scampered out after her husband, taking little Laura with her.

Jazz's tears grew larger and more painful as she watched her daughter-in-law leave. She wrapped a protective arm around her own unborn child as she sat down again, flopping forward over the table as she buried her face in her hands.

This was another brilliant disaster.