"The gates of hell hath opened, the bell tolls for thee"
This is set in season 1, Tess has not long arrived at Drovers Run, her and Claire are still working each other out. Becky is recovering from the abuse she suffered. It starts with the opening scene in Gungellan. Nick & Alex Ryan are at the truck stop getting fuel.
Alex shook his head as he looked across the road, his mind a million miles away from what he was doing, he couldn't take his mind of the latest arrival at Drovers Run, Tess. She was beautiful, okay maybe a little ditzy about life in the bush but he could work with that.
"Watch what you're doing!" Nicks yelling broke into his thoughts as fuel began to spill all over his boots.
"Damn!" Alex cursed as he jumped. Nick went and paid laughing at Alex's misfortune.
Alex cleaned up the spilt fuel and climbed into the ute. As he was waiting for Nick he started to think of Tess again, he smile, the way her eyes lit up. He was distracted again, this time by a rather loud motorcycle pulling in, all black and chrome, the big Harley-Davidson looked menacing, with bulging black saddlebags, a swag balanced somewhat precariously across the top, the bike had smatterings of dust and mud, telling the tale of a journey overland.
The rider had a similar look, wearing faded and torn blue jeans, heavy black boots, a black belt covered in silver studs and a faded & scuffed black jacket. A flame red goatee beard hung half way down his stomach, faded tattoos and huge silver rings dominated his hands. Alex fired up the ute and drove away, not thinking of anything further than Tess, they had to get back to Killarney before Harry started calling them and his usual carry on.
Back at Drovers, Tess stood drinking a cup of tea and thinking about several things, both Ryan brothers for a start. Claire looked up from the table, something had been troubling her all night.
"So who were you talking to last night?" Claire asked.
"When?" Tess replied.
"Last night, you were in Dad's study, I heard you, who were we talking to?"
"Oh, just a friend." Tess said, blushing slightly. Claire opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sounds of a vehicle arriving.
"That'll be Alex & Nick" She said as she grabbed her hat and headed for the door. Tess left her cup on the bench and followed closely. Happy for the distraction. This was to be short lived, moments after walking outside they heard an unfamiliar sound, a low, rumbling sound, similar to thunder.
"What's that?" Nick said
"Dunno" Alex said looking around
Claire looked up at the sky, "Well it sure as hell isn't rain."
They all turned to look up the driveway as the rumbling increased and the lights and high handlebars of a motorcycle appeared on the rise. It was the same bike that Alex and seen in Gungellan. The rider bought the machine to a halt in front of the shed and began to remove his helmet.
"So what do you think he does when he doesn't bust heads?" Alex murmured to Nick.
"Dunno, think we should have AC/DC playing?" Nick responded.
"Well actually mate, I'd prefer Rose Tattoo if you don't mind." The rider interjected, removing his jacket to reveal tanned arms covered in tattoos. Hanging the jacket on the handlebar he looked at them all.
"Hey Tess." He murmured quietly, breaking into a smirk.
"Oh my god!" Tess squealed and ran at him, leaping on the stranger and knocking him to the ground. We wrapped his arms around her and said "damn it's good to see you."
Standing up and brushing the dust off Tess turned, beaming to the group, whom by this time had been joined by Jodie, Meg & Becky, all looking rather perplexed at the stranger.
"Guys, this is Skull. He's an old neighbor of mine."
"Alex"
"Nick" Both of the Ryan brothers stepped forward to shake hands.
""G'day Fellas" Skull responded.
"Claire, I'm Tess's sister" She said stepping forward to shake his hand. As they shook hands Skull removed his dark glasses and looked her straight in the eye.
"G'day Claire, nice part of the world you have here."
"Thanks mate, we do alright" Claire responded, turning to introduce the rest, Jodie and Becky were nervous and unsure, Skull seemed to sense this and was gentle and polite in how he greeted them. Meg was unsure also, but her handshake just as genuine and welcoming.
"Would you like a cup of tea Skull?" Meg offered
"Thanks Meg, that's real kind of you, yeah white and one sugar thanks." He said as he reached into his pocket and extracted a cigarette.
"So Skull, what do you do? Break heads? Collect debts?" Alex asked with his trademark smart arsed snigger.
"No, Skull replied, I am a trained self-defense instructor and qualified psychologist, I specialize in working with victims of abuse, particularly the youth that have very little support." He finished, taking a deep draw on the cigarette, his blue eyes boring into Alex's.
"Oh, hell mate, sorry, didn't mean to offend."
"That's alright, happens all the time."
By this time, Meg had reappeared with a steaming mug of tea. "There you are" she said.
"Thanks Mrs Meg" Skull replied.
"Soooo you help those people that have been abused?" Jodi asked
"As long as they want the help, yes, I don't force anyone to come and see me, or stay, they tell me what they want, when they want and how much they want. I am there to listen and assist them to be able to manage what is going on." Skull replied.
"Wow! So you must've gone to Uni then?"
"Yes, 5 years."
"Anyway, time for us to get to work." Claire said.
"Yeah I won't hold you up." Skull replied.
"Fence isn't going to fix itself." Jodi said and they all wandered off, leaving Tess standing there with Becky hovering in the background.
"I'll be in the kitchen Tess said come in when you're ready." And she hurried away quickly. Skull turned back to the bike to see Becky leaning on it.
"So, you're a counselor?"
"To a degree, yeah."
"Can I, Uh, talk to you?"
"Sure, whenever you are ready, wherever you are comfortable."
"Ta" Becky said as she walked away.