Gut Feeling Part 1

Tess saw her from a distance. At first she didn't believe it – her common sense wouldn't let her. But when their eyes met through the crowed at the Gungellan rodeo, she had no choice but to believe it. It was her sister. It was Claire.

Tess' ice-cream fell to the ground as she started to push her way through the crowed, towards her sister. The district's population had doubled due to the rodeo, making it nearly impossible to get anywhere without smashing into someone.

"Claire!" She called frantically as she hurried after her, "Claire!"

Suddenly she felt someone latch onto her arm.

"What's the hurry, Tess?" Nick asked, holding his wife still.

Tess ripped her arm out of Nick's hold and looked around desperately. Claire was gone. She wanted to scream! If Nick hadn't stopped her, maybe she could have caught up to her sister.

"Tess?" Nick could see that his wife was distressed.

She turned to him. It was useless trying to find Claire in the crowed – there were too many people. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Nick pulled his wife to the side, away from the noisy crowed. "What is it?" He asked.

"I ah…" She trailed off realizing how silly she was about to sound.

"What, Tess? What's wrong?"

"I just saw Claire amongst the crowed, Nick."

Nick wrapped his arms around his wife's figure and squeezed her lightly. "I know its hard being here without her… your memories are-"

Tess pulled away, "No, Nick… it wasn't a memory. I saw her here. It was Claire."

He tried to make her see sense, "It can't have been Claire. You know it can't have been her you saw. It was probably just someone who looked like-"

"She had the same hair Nick, the same face and the same eyes!" It was her sister, she just knew it was. "I know it sounds ridiculous and incomprehensible but I'm telling you it was her Nick!"

"Bit early for you two to be having a domestic isn't it?" Alex chimed in as he joined the couple. He could hear Tess shouting frantically from a few meters away.

"Yeah, Listen we might catch you later Alex… I reckon Tess and I should head off"

"But you're gonna miss the bull riding!" Alex whined "I'm gonna take the trophy and the prize money this year, ya know? Don't ya wanna whiteness that?"

"Nah… Tess isn't-"

"I'm fine Nick!" Tess exclaimed before storming off.

Alex watched Tess leave, and then turned to his brother, "What was that all about?"

Nick sighed and said, "Tess reckons she saw Claire in the crowed."

Alex chucked, "She what?"

"Yeah exactly… I dunno maybe it's the heat?"

"Maybe," Alex said shaking his head.

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Tess searched everywhere but she couldn't see Claire anywhere. She must've walked the grounds about five times when Nick caught up with her.

"Tess come on… you can't walk the grounds all day"

"I have to find her, Nick," Tess said firmly. She wasn't going anywhere until she found her sister – or as Nick put it 'someone who looked like her sister.'

"Tess, please," Nick begged. He knew Tess was just setting herself up for a fall. He didn't want this to continue – it would only end up causing her pain.

"If you're not going to help me look then leave me alone, Nick," Tess snapped. She was sick of his disbelief. She had seen her sister and she was going to find her even if she had to do it on her own.

"No. I'll help you look," He took her hand in an effort to make piece and they set off on their mission.

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Nick was growing tired, and he could see that Tess was too.

"Tess why don't we call it a day?" He asked softly. "We've been looking for hours and haven't seen a single sign of Claire."

Tess sighed and turned to him, "Give up, you mean?"

He shook his head. He could see the pain in her face, the desperation in her eyes. She wanted so badly to believe that her sister was alive and well, to believe that she would once again be re-united with Claire McLeod.

"No, not give up," Answered Nick cautious of what he said. "Maybe she's gone Tess… she could be anywhere. There aren't that many people here anymore and-"

"Yeah alright, Nick. I get it. You think I'm wasting my time don't you? You think I imagined the whole thing and that I'm nuts. Well let me tell you something – it was real Nick. I thought I was seeing things too until our eyes met. That's when I knew it was Claire. I felt it in my heart Nick – it was her. She isn't dead"

Nick shook his head again, "Let's just head home, yeah?"