Disclaimer: PLEASE READ THIS FIRST! Okay, so I have had very mixed feelings when I was writing this. I usually write loads of fanfiction but these characters are fictional and therefor not real. These people are real; they have their own lives, own families, and own thoughts. In a way it felt strange to write this fic since it felt as if I was doing something wrong.

The events that are depicted in this story are completely made-up and I don't wish for any of them to happen in real life. These brave men risk their own lives day-in, day-out. I have the greatest respect for the things they do. After finishing this series I felt even more appreciation and respect for all lifeguards, paramedics, police, fire-fighters, nurses…
So, when reading this, take things lightly. I am only using the names of the awesome lifeguards. The rest is completely made-up.
If someone requests me to take this down because it is not right, I will gladly do so. Trust me. I don't wish any harm to befall these guys. At all.
Furthermore, I don't know any of these people personal nor am I affiliated with the showmakers/producers/whatnot…

Also, I have never been in Australia nor am I a native English speaker. At school we were taught British English so forgive me if the Australian slang is way off or resembles too much of the British English.

By the way, I have no clue how the posting of the lifeguards works. I don't know if extra precautions are taken when there are special circumstances like heat waves and stuff. The carrousel is something I came up with because it seemed plausible and because it helped write this story.

Starring in this fic, in alphabetical order:

- Andrew "Reidy" Reid

- Anthony "Harries" Carroll

- Bobby "Yak" Yaldwyn

- Bruce "Hoppo" Hopkins

- Chris "Chappo" Chapman

- Dean "Deano" Gladstone

- Kris "Yatesy" Yates

- Rod "Kerrbox" Kerr

- Ryan "Whippet" Clark

- Tom "Tommy/Egg" Bunting

- Trent "Maxi" Maxwell

- Troy "Gonzo" Quinlan

This is set pretty early on in the series, probably around season 3 or 4.


It was hot. No scratch that, it was sweltering, absolutely boiling and they were all feeling it. Seeking refuge from the scorching sun, thousands of tourists and locals headed down to the beach to douse themselves in the lukewarm ocean water. To get there, they first had to cross a good two kilometres of burning hot sand. There were those who downright sprinted over the sand, making the pain as short as possible. Others decided to put their footwear back on and make sure the sand didn't hit a bare patch of skin. It was just eleven a.m. and the mercury had already risen to thirty-two degrees Celsius.

Before their shift had started at eight a.m., Hoppo had debriefed all of them about what they could expect today. But they all knew of course. Every day 'at the office' was a mixture of swimmers getting caught in the rip –despite danger signs-, youngsters getting scraped up from clambering onto flat rock, the odd dislocation and perhaps another unattended child searching for its family. The only major difference today was that heat stroke could be added to the already long list.

For this occasion, Hoppo had made sure that all fridges and freezers were filled with bottles of water and enough ice to fill a small inflatable swimming pool. Once everyone was reminded once more about the telltale signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, they were sent off to their posts.

To make sure that none of his lifeguards would overexert themselves, Hoppo had introduced a carrousel. This way, everyone could get shelter in the cool tower for at least two hours. It was one of the few things he could offer his team but everyone was grateful for the prospect of being able to cool down in the tower. The North of the beach was still shaded in some places and most people headed there to get away from the onslaught of the sun. Harries and Kerrbox were stationed there when the shift started. Deano and Whippet had first watch in the middle of the beach, between the flags, Reidy and Egg were stationed at the all famous Backpacker's rip in the South and both Hoppo and Yatesy began their watch in the tower.

They were busy all right. Because the beach was getting so crowded and everyone wanted to get a refreshing swim the lifeguards had their hands full with people who were stuck in the rip and way our of their depth. You could hardly call them swimmers because most of them couldn't even swim. It was more like doggy paddling and even then it was painful to watch.

Around noon things were beginning to heat up, literally. Reidy and Egg, who had moved from the South of the beach to the North-area, had to call the police at least twice because of hot-headed aggressors. Harries and Kerrbox were keeping a close eye on suspicious behaviour that could indicate heat stroke. Thus far already two victims had been brought to the tower to cool off. One of them was in such a bad shape, an ambulance had to be called. Hoppo had just saved another tourist out of Backpacker's rip and was about to head back to the blue Rhino when he saw Whippet dash towards the surf. A woman had collapsed.

Yatesy had seen it as well but they were unable to leave their post as more tourists were entering the dangerous current. One of the lifeguards would notify them when they needed assistance, Hoppo thought as he ran back to get the same bloke out of the rip again.

Deano and Whippet had been puffing in the scorching heat. They definitely had the worst post at the moment. Smack in the middle of the beach when the sun was at its highest, they were getting roasted in the black Rhino.

Whippet was grateful he had cut his hair just a few days ago. It definitely helped, if only just a bit. He had long abandoned his jumper and was about to rub some more sunscreen on his arms when Deano suddenly righted in his seat.

"You see that lady over there, mate?" the dark-haired man queried, narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"The blonde chick?" Whippet looked around. There were lots of women at this part of the beach. It was kind of looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Nah, the red-haired one. She doesn't look so swell." His words only just left his lips when the young woman simply collapsed.
"Fuck." Whippet cursed and sped out of the Rhino towards the woman. A crowd was already forming around her. With Deano hot on his heels they reached the woman in mere seconds.

Her face was red and sweat was pouring down her forehead. When Deano checked her vitals, she started to come around.
"Hey sweetheart, let's get you out of the heat, okay?" Whippet smiled at her. The girl's lips trembled as she nodded. Whippet glanced at Deano, gauging whether she could be moved or not.

"Seems the sun has gotten to you. My name's Deano and this is my colleague Whippet. You will feel better when we cool you down a bit. Are you okay to stand up?"

An affirmative nod was given and with the help of the two lifeguards, she was guided to the Rhino. Deano, who was driving, heard Whippet ask the most important questions: the woman's name, age, what she was feeling etc. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and contacted the other lifeguards.

"Black Rhino to Tower, come in?"

A crackle. "This is Tower, go ahead Deano." Harries answered.

"Hey mate, we are coming to the tower with a girl who has become unwell. She's clearly got a heat stroke and passed out." Deano spoke.

"Sure mate, we can see you coming." Harries replied and there was another crackle of static.

The Black Rhino arrived at the tower and Deano got out, frowning when he felt himself stagger a bit. He thought nothing of it as he moved to the back where he helped Whippet getting the girl, Anne, up the stairs.

Going inside the tower was a relief. It definitely felt easier to breathe.

Kerrbox helped Whippet position the girl on the medical cot whilst Deano grabbed some premade ice bags. He placed them on Anne's forehead, armpits and groin.
"Hey Anne, I think it is best to have you checked out at the hospital." He spoke. "Heat exhaustion is no laughing matter and considering you fainted, it would be a good idea to call an ambo."

The tourist from France looked at him. "Am I going to die?" she asked him with a quiver in her voice.

Whippet chuckled softly and rubbed her shoulder. "No, of course not. But they are just safety precautions. If you are going outside in the sun again it could deteriorate your condition."

"Okay. Can someone get my boyfriend? He went swimming and probably doesn't know what happened." She asked and accepted the glass of water Kerrbox gave her. "Just small sips will do. Otherwise you will upset your stomach." The lifeguard warned her.

"We'll head back to the beach and look for him. What's his name and what does he look like?" Whippet asked. Deano moved up the stairs to call an ambo.

Harries was looking through his binoculars, making sure no one was drowning at the Whippet's and Deano's post whilst they were here.
"How's she doing, mate?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the beach.

"Yeah, she is okay now, but we agreed on calling an ambo to have her checked out. Passing out is never a good sign." Deano replied as he dialled the number for an ambo, ignoring the headache that was blooming behind his eyes.

Finding the boyfriend had been rather easy. In fact, when they moved back to their post, a man had ran up to them, asking in broken English if they had seen his girlfriend, Anne. After reassuring she was fine, Whippet directed the man towards the tower.

"I'm surprised there aren't more people getting a heat stroke in this bloody temperature." Whippet sighed, as he looked at all the beachgoers, baking in the sun.

"You have to be downright daft to come here and lay in the sun."

Deano chuckled. "Yeah, reckon!"

His dark brown curls were plastered against his head and he could feel the sweat dripping down his spine.

"Ah man, I forgot me bottle of water back in the tower." Whippet wailed as he looked around in the rhino, hoping he could spot the water bottle. "My mouth's as dry as a dead dingo's donger."

"Better go get it then before you become one yourself, mate." Deano laughed and got out of the Rhino. "I am going to ask those blokes over there to move a bit further up the beach if they want to keep playing with that ball."

"Right on, mate. I'll be right back." Whippet answered and quickly walked back to the tower, the prospects of cool water giving him an extra spring in his step. He arrived when the paramedics were transporting Anne out of the tower on a stretcher.
"Get well soon." Whippet smiled and nodded at the boyfriend when he moved inside.

Both Kerrbox and Harries were back at their posts, answering phone calls and keeping an eye out. Harries was contacting Reidy about a child that seemed to be in trouble when Whippet grabbed a bottle of water and took large gulps. Grabbing a second bottle, he was about to leave when Harries cursed.

"Hey Whip, is Deano still at his post?" he asked. Whippet frowned.
"Yeah, why?"

"There seems to be a bit of a brawl going on. You better hurry back and see what's going on." Harries answered but before he was even done talking, Whippet was already running down the stairs, towards his partner.

A large crowd had already formed and many were yelling. Knowing that trying to move past the wall of people by himself would be futile, Whippet got into the Rhino and moved towards the crowd. The beachgoers immediately stepped back, giving Whippet some space.

There were two blokes cornering Deano. One had Deano's shirt in his fist and had raised his other as a threat. Deano was doing his best to keep calm and talk to the man holding him but Whippet could tell that the man was too hot-headed to be calmed down.

He got out of the Rhino just when the enormous man took a swing at Deano. Not being able to move away, the fist collided with his jaw. Seeing stars, Deano let go of his hold on the man's other arm and grabbed his jaw. Through blurry vision he saw Whippet running towards him, speaking rapidly on the walkie, probably asking for backup.

The bloke who had hit him was undeterred by Whippet's presence and started spouting nonsense about freedom of speech and his right to be on this beach. Whippet, trying his best to calm the man down, hoped that backup would arrive soon. It was the telltale sound of another Rhino that notified him the cavalry had arrived.

Hoppo and Yatesy arrived on scene. The head lifeguard slowly walked towards the aggressor. "Hey mate, I have no clue what happened but how about we all settle down and have a chat?" he spoke. "It's bloody hot outside, causing us all to be a little short-tempered but let's just settle down, yeah?" he gently spoke. His blue eyes pierced into the bloke's, clearly indicating that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

The aggressor looked at his friend, who seemed to have gotten pretty uneasy with so many lifeguards and onlookers. "Let's just go, man. This shit ain't worth it." He stammered. "Look, it was just a stupid argument. Your pal here started bitching about us playing some soccer. We don't want any trouble." Hoppo looked at the aggressor's mate. Clearly one of them had some brain cells. Unfortunately for them, the police was already coming down to the beach. Despite of that, Hoppo had to make sure that the other man let go of Deano. He could see that a bruise was already forming on his lifeguard's jaw. His blood started boiling.

"How about you let Deano go, mate? Have a chat with some cool soda?" Yatesy smiled, stepping in.

The bloke narrowed his eyes but then nodded brusquely. He shoved Deano towards Whippet, who quickly caught his partner and manoeuvred him out of the crowd. Once out there, he spotted a handful of coppers making their way down the beach. Good riddance, he thought bitterly.

"Hey you doing okay, mate?" he asked concerned, still not having let go of Deano's arm.

Deano looked at him with a crooked smile that obviously caused him discomfort. "Yeah, I just got caught off guard." He answered and sat down on the back of the Rhino. His legs were trembling and his jaw was hurting so much he was wondering whether it was broken or not. It definitely felt that way.

"You should get checked out. That looks pretty nasty, mate." Whippet commented, carefully prodding at the swelling jaw.

Deano was about to protest when there was a lot of yelling going on back at the shoreline.
"Seems the police have their hands full." Deano huffed with a raised eyebrow. The crowd broke apart and the two men were being moved off the beach under a thunderous applause and cheering.

Whippet spotted Hoppo and Yatesy moving towards them. The head lifeguard was talking on his walkie, probably informing the tower what had happened. His eyes were set on Deano however.

Hoppo had this way of looking at people. It was almost regal. It clearly indicated that defying him was pretty useless. But those eyes also indicated what the lifeguard was thinking or feeling.

Right now he was downright mad.

"Are you okay, mate?" Yatesy asked, looking at the swollen jaw. "That bloke's got you good!"

"Yeah, I am glad you guys came tho'. I am not sure I would have made it out alive if I were on me own." Deano jibed but the joke fell flat when he saw the thunderous look in Hoppo's eyes.

"Yatesy, Whippet, you guys go back to your posts. I am taking Deano back to the tower to have him checked out." Hoppo spoke, his voice void of any emotion.

"Hop, that's not really necessary, mate. I feel fine!" Deano interjected.

"It was not an option, Dean."

Ouch, when Hoppo called someone by their real name instead of their nickname it usually meant serious business. And Deano being one of the longer serving lifeguards knew that too damned well.

He sighed but got up, patting Whippet's shoulder as he walked past his partner, Hoppo hot on his heels.

It definitely felt good to be out of the heat but Deano would rather be stuck in the blistering weather than having Hoppo stare you down in silence. As Deano held the icepack he could tell that even Kerrbox and Harries felt uneasy. They had seen most of the situation unfold but hadn't been aware that Deano had been injured by one of the beachgoers.

Sitting on one of the swivel chairs, Deano tried to look everywhere but at Hoppo, who was leaning against the desk with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Finally the head lifeguard broke the silence.
"What the hell happened? Why wasn't Whippet with you?"

Deano sighed. "We just came back from the tower after bringing in a girl who had suffered from a heat stroke. Whip had forgotten his water bottle and I told him to go get it. I told him I was going to talk to some blokes who were having a rather violent game of football. They were really close to the other beachgoers and accidents were bound to happen. They were pretty calm when I approached them and seemed like decent blokes. That was until I asked them to move a bit away from the sea because of the risk of hurting other beachgoers. The biggest then began yelling and saying that he had the right to be there and that I was just out to get him. Before I really knew it he had grabbed me and was threatening to kill me if I didn't give it a break."

"And he then punched you out of nowhere?" Hoppo queried, still not relaxing.

Deano nodded, "Well yeah, I guess he felt threatened by Whippet who had just arrived and wanted to show he was being serious."

Hoppo then sighed and rubbed his face.
"Listen, Hop, it wasn't Whip's fault. It could have happened when he was out in the sea as well. This was just a minor mishap."

"Minor? You got hit in the face, Deano. How many lifeguards have been injured by beachgoers?" Hoppo growled.

"It is hardly a bruise. I will be fine, Hop. Really! The ice is definitely helping." Deano reassured him.

"Either way, police expects you to give a statement. You should press charges as well."

Deano nodded. "Will do, Hop."

"Do you want to call it a day and go home?" Hoppo asked. In his mind he was already thinking about whom he could call as a replacement. It was way too crowded and they were already stretched.

"Nah, I will be all right, mate. But thanks for the offer." Deano smiled and got up, placing the soggy ice bag in the sink.

"Hey Hop, Whippet has three people on his board, I think he needs some backup." Kerrbox spoke.

Deano looked at Hoppo. The head lifeguard nodded and Deano ran out of the tower to assist his partner.

They had all hoped that the next day would bring some wind but they had no such luck. It was forecast to be another sweltering hot day. Seemed they had to take the same precautions as before, Deano thought sullenly as he walked towards the tower at 5.50 a.m. He usually had no trouble getting out of bed in the morning but today it had been bloody difficult. His throbbing jaw hadn't helped and neither had the headache that had progressively worsened over the night. He had taken some aspirin, hoping the pain would abate some before the shift started. It had been way too quiet in his house. His missus, Lilli, was off to visit family friends in Cairns and wouldn't be back for another week. He had called her last night to tell her about what had happened. She was quite startled and wanted to come home immediately. He had told her that he was fine and that it wouldn't be fair on her. She had been looking forward to going to Cairns. "Just be careful, okay babe?" she softly spoke, worry tingeing her voice. Deano felt warmth spread through his body. He missed her.
"Will do. Miss you. Love you." He answered. "Miss you too. See you soon!"

When he entered the tower most lifeguards were already there. Chappo had taken up Kerrbox place but as Deano greeted the man and he didn't ask about Deano's bruised jaw, it was clear that the others had already informed him about yesterday's events.

Hoppo and Whippet weren't there yet which wasn't that unusual but Deano was glad he didn't have to face the head-lifeguard just yet. When he had given his statement to the police he had a nagging feeling that this whole situation had been his fault. Usually he was very patient with troublemakers but it seemed that yesterday he had a short temper as well. It definitely hadn't helped the whole situation.

Harries was arguing with Yatesy about who was the best Baywatch-babe. Reidy piped up that the best Baywatch-babe was definitely Hoppo. This elicited a bout of laughter and an empty water bottle aimed at Reidy's head. Deano grinned as he checked the roster to see where Whippet and him were posted. He frowned when he saw that he was scheduled to stay in the tower the entire shift. He groaned in disbelief.

"What's the matter, Deano? You okay?" Egg asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.

Deano smiled although it did hurt a bit. "Yeah, it just seems that Hoppo doesn't want me to be out on the beach today." He sighed and pointed at the schedule.

Egg frowned as well and nearly smacked his nose against the board when Reidy bumped into him, trying to avoid Harries who had rolled up a towel and was whipping it at him.

Yatesy was cheering Reidy on whilst Chappo was recording the whole event on his phone.

When the door of the tower opened, it revealed Hoppo with Whippet behind him. The head-lifeguard looked bemused at the boys fooling around.
"This is the lifeguard's tower, right? For a moment I thought I entered a classroom filled with nippers." He commented as he shrugged his bag off.

Deano saw Hoppo glance in his direction and he already steeled himself for a nice conversation with Hoppo about the roster.

After debriefing everyone, Hoppo moved to the lockers to put his bags away whilst Chappo and Harries moved out to place the flags. Deano followed the head-lifeguard.

"Hey Hop." He greeted. Hoppo didn't look as he opened his locker. "I know what you are going to ask, Deano. The answer is no."

Deano frowned. "Hop, come on. I get that yesterday was a bit of a scare for all of us. But this is overkill. It is going to be another sweltering hot day and the boys can all use some time to cool off. Putting me in the tower the entire day would be unfair to them, don't you think?"

Hoppo didn't answer as he pulled out his sunnies out of his backpack.

"Bruce, come on. I am not some rookie. There is no need to protect me like this." Deano sighed and placed a hand on Hoppo's shoulder. "Please."

Hoppo finally looked at Deano and sighed. "Yeah, you are right. I think I overreacted a bit. I never expected something like this to happen, really."

"It's okay Hop, we were all rattled. But it is going to be fine." Deano smiled reassuringly, clapping Hoppo slightly on the back. He then went to find and inform Whippet that he was going to be stuck with him again.

A small part of him wished he had stayed at home, or had at least agreed with Hoppo and stay in the tower. Over the course of the day he was starting to feel really off. He didn't have much time to think about it however as they were all stretched to the limit and pulling one swimmer out of the rip after the other. The lukewarm water did help a bit to cool them a bit but it never lasted long.

"Deano, you need to help out Harries and Chappo out at Backpacker's a.s.a.p!" Reidy's voice spoke over the walkie-talkie.

Not wasting any time, Deano grabbed his rescue-board, vaguely wondering when it had become so heavy, and ran off towards Backpacker's rip. It was a good fifty metres away and on a regular day he had no trouble doing that bit of a stretch. In fact he really prided himself on his stamina. His body was his temple, after all.

But this was no regular day.

A bus of Asian tourists hadn't seen the danger signs –or had elected to ignore it -and some of them had ventured out too far in the water. It was a bit of a typical thing, really. Harries had a double rescue going on whilst Chappo was already back in the water after bringing a man to shore. Deano joined them in the save. They had to pull out nine tourists in total.

"Thanks mate." Chappo said to Deano out of breath. "We were getting smashed by tourists all of a sudden. We just managed to explain one group about the warning signs when a second bus arrived and they just went in."

"No sweat, mate. Seems Harries is doing a great job explaining." Deano chuckled.

Harries, with a face red of frustration, walked over the Rhino and grabbed the speaker for the megaphone.

"To all swimmers. This water. Very dangerous! Death! No swim!" he shouted in the speaker. "Go swim between flags. Left!"

Both Chappo and Deano pointed to the designated red and yellow flags. The realisation dawned on most tourists as they grabbed their belongings and made their way further down the beach.

"You'd think that at least one of them speaks proper English when they go abroad." Harries muttered as he joined Chappo and Deano. "I wonder whether the Hoff would have such problems."

Chappo rolled his eyes. "I doubt it. You do know that David Hasselhoff isn't a real lifeguard, right Harries?"

Deano gasped: "Chappo, you weren't supposed to tell him!"

Harries faked crying as he wailed: "My whole life has been a lie!"

The situation was interrupted when Deano got another call for help. Seemed that even in the safe spots the tourists managed to screw up. He grabbed his rescue board and ran back to help Whippet.

"He didn't look very well, did he?" Harries commented as they watched Deano run off. Chappo shook his head.
"Better have Whippet keep an eye on him." Harries sighed.

The hours ticked by agonisingly slow. They were getting hammered with all kinds of situations: bad flat rock scrapes, at least a dozen cases of classic heat stroke or heat exhaustion, inexperienced swimmers caught in a rip and as the temperature rose, so did the tempers.

Whippet threw his rescue board in the sand. "This is the third time I had to pull the same bloke out of the water. This whacker should be kicked off the beach." He growled in frustration and took a swig of water. He grimaced as it had become tepid.

Deano didn't answer right away, instead kept looking at the swimmers.
"Hey Deano, did'ya hear me, mate?" Whippet asked.

"What do you want me to do, Whippet? I can't chain them all to the tower, can I?" Deano snapped and got out of the Rhino. He trudged towards the water and admonished a teenager for leaving his wrapper on the ground.

Whippet cringed as he saw the boy close to tears. Harries had been right when he had called him, saying Deano wasn't himself today. The usually amicable man was definitely irritable and even borderline aggressive. If Deano had been a beachgoer, Whippet would have asked him to leave.

When Deano returned, Whippet was about to speak to him when Egg called for backup at the North. A surfer was caught in between the rocks and they needed a strong paddler. Whippet didn't really want to leave Deano the way he was now, but what choice did he have?

He grabbed his board, jumped in the Rhino and drove off.

He felt like complete and utter crap: his heart was pounding against his ribs and every beat sent forth a wave of pain in his head. His jaw had started to ache again as well. He did feel bad for his outburst at Whippet. The younger man didn't deserve that kind of a response. But truth be told, they would never be fully able to make people understand that no they couldn't actually go for a swim outside the flags because it was too dangerous.

Whippet had been gone for quite some time now and Deano hoped that everything was okay. He also hoped the man would be back soon. Not only because he was downright flaked but also because he craved for something to drink. It must be close to 2 a.m. now and soon they would change positions once more. Whippet's and Deano's next spot was at Backpacker's rip. Seeing as how busy Harries and Chappo had been, Deano actually dreaded to head there.

He wiped some sand from his leg. During his latest safe he had somehow scraped his leg. It was just a shallow cut and not really worth looking at but it took his attention away long enough for him to fail to notice that Whippet had returned.

He actually startled when the Rhino suddenly parked next to him. Had he just zoned out?

Whippet looked beat. Seemed the safe hadn't been unscathed. Deano nodded at the bandage around the man's arm.
"Are you okay, mate?" he asked sincerely.

Whippet shrugged as he went to stand next to Deano. "The surfer was in a pretty precarious position. We managed to get him out well enough but he panicked when we didn't take his new board along. He was more shark biscuit than a surfer, if you ask me." Whippet huffed, "Anyways, I tried to paddle away from the rocks but he started flailing so bad I couldn't hold us both and we smashed into the rocks. He damn near drowned me. Of course when he made Reidy go back to look for his board it was already lost at sea. I have never seen Reidy get so mad. It was both hilarious and frightening!"

Deano chuckled and Whippet looked at him. Yeah, that was more like the Deano they all knew and loved.

"Tower to lifeguards." Hoppo's voice spoke over the walkies, "Time to change positions, boys. Deano, Whippet, Harries and Chappo, two of you can come over to grab a quick bite."

"Let's head down to Backpacker's and you then take the Rhino back to the tower." Deano suggested, the tone in his voice clearly indicating that this wasn't a discussing matter.

Whippet sighed deeply but agreed. Hoppo was going to kill him.

Truth be told, Deano wasn't even remotely hungry despite the fact that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. He was pretty nauseous and if things hadn't been so hectic at Backpacker's he would have noticed the signs earlier. They were all too clear, yet he had been too busy to see it.

He barely managed to get a rather large woman back to shore, the muscles in his arms trembling with each stroke. He had been running over the entire length of South Bondi, pulling people out of the water. Whippet had been gone for only ten minutes but Deano was pretty sure he would be back soon.

"Thank you so much! You are a wonderful man! You saved my life!" the woman cried as she pulled Deano in a suffocating hug.
"You're welcome," he answered, his voice muffled. When she finally let go he thought he was going to collapse. "You better go swim in between the flags, the current is too strong here."

The woman patted him on his head like she would a small kid and then walked off. Deano spotted Whippet widely grinning at him. Great, he would be the laughing stock for the next few weeks.

"Mate, she was all over you! I don't think the missus would like that." Whippet laughed as he exited the Rhino. Deano rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Hoppo says it's your turn now." Whippet informed him but Deano never got to go for at that moment five people were being swept away.

Deano felt as if he had done the Iron Man Challenge twice in a row. His arms were sore; he was out of breath and barely managed to withstand the crashing waves. When he finally managed to get the two small children onto his board he was drained. He saw that Whippet had three people clinging onto the rescue board as he paddled back to shore. He went as fast as he could but to him it felt as if he was going at a snail's pace. The kids didn't seem to notice as they were too exited about being rescued. Safely depositing them back ashore, Deano ran back into the water, his knees nearly giving away. He reached Whippet and took one of the parents on his own board. Whippet, being left with the lithe mother and her young son, decided to perform a double rescue as well.

Deano was almost back to shore when he felt his energy drain. In a last ditch effort to get back he rode a wave towards the beach. When he was sure the man was safe enough to stand on a sandbank, only then did he stop paddling. As he watched the father reunite with his family, he was glad that it was over. He saw Whippet looking at him, probably wondering why he didn't come out.

Inhaling deeply and trying to calm his pounding heart, he got up and walked back to shore. When did the beach become so lopsided? It still felt as if he was stuck on waves. The ten-kilo rescue-board suddenly felt like one hundred kilos. He chuckled at his weakness, still treading the water. Whippet was talking to him. He could see his mate's mouth move but he didn't hear anything but the rush of the waves. Or was that the rush of blood in his ears? He didn't get to find out as the world suddenly shrouded in bright white and he knew no more.