A/N: Hey guys!

I know I said I was only going to upload once a week, and I'm still thinking of that, but I have had a couple of reviews with people asking me not to wait that long between updates. The problem is I have uni work, exams, and other fics that I write, so I really don't know what to do now :/ Updating only once a week is probably the only way I could pretty much guarantee regular updates, but I think we'll just see how it goes for now?

Anyway, I promise things will start to pick up soon! I'm really paranoid that people are going to start losing interest soon if something doesn't happen yet, but because I didn't introduce Lydia at the same time as the other Braxtons came into it, I need to build up her character first :D

Righto, I'm going to shut up now haha Please let me know what you think!

xoloveJBox

Chapter Three

The sun had barely risen when Lydia strode casually across the beach. She felt the sand between her toes, and her board under her arm, and as she looked out over the ocean, she wondered how she'd coped without it since she'd been away. Brax had always joked that her first steps had been onto a surf board, and she didn't doubt it. Lydia was convinced that it was in her blood. The early morning breeze played lightly with her hair, and she drew in a long breath of it. As she made her way towards the water, she made a mental note to look into the nearest beach to her uni, because there was no way she could go another few months without surfing.

The waves were refreshing, and when she emerged again, she wasn't so tired. She maybe could have done with a few more hours sleep to feel right, but if she let herself have it, her internal clock would be even more out of sync, and she definitely didn't want that. She dried herself off, slipping back into her denim shorts and loose, baggy t-shirt, before stuffing her wet towel into her bag and making her way back towards home.

When she got back, Casey and Brax were both grumbling tiredly over their coffees at the table, and Heath was slumped on the couch, yawning.

"Where've you been?" Heath questioned groggily, and for a minute, Lydia simply stared incredulously at him.

"Well," she started, smirking amusedly "My hair is wet, and I have my surf board. Where do you think I've been Heath?"

"Shut up." Heath shot back defensively as his siblings chuckled at him.

"So what's your plan for the day Lyd?" Brax asked casually.

"Well," Lydia started, pulling her towel back out of her bag and rubbing her hair with it "I was thinking I might just hang out at Angelo's for a bit this morning, and go and see people this afternoon. Which reminds me:" she looked to Casey hopefully "Case, will you text Sash and ask her to meet you at Angelo's for me please?"

"Why would Sasha meet me?" he questioned curiously.

"She's not meeting you, she's meeting me, but I don't want her to know that." She smirked mischievously as she hopped up onto the counter.

Casey sighed and rolled his eyes, but he pulled his phone out all the same.

"Lydia Jayne Braxton, I've told you once, I'll tell you again: the counter is not for your rear. Get down." Brax expostulated, and Lydia let out a chuckle.

"I know, but Brax, what would you fill your days with if I didn't give you things to tell me off for?" she challenged cheekily "I mean, I'm just trying to help you out. I don't want you to get lax in my absence."

"Oh trust me, he's not." Casey assured her "He just gets onto us more instead."

"Maybe it's all part of the plan." Lydia shrugged casually. She put the towel over her head to rub her hair a little more, and the next thing she knew, she felt Brax give her a sharp nudge, and she slipped from the counter. Her brothers erupted into laughter, and Lydia pulled the towel off and scowled.

"Was that part of the plan Lyd?" Brax asked smugly as he held out his hand to pull her up again.

"You better watch your back, Braxton, because I'm going to get you for that." She warned teasingly.

"Really?" he laughed in reply "I'd like to see you try."

"You'd better be careful. She learned everything she knows from the top river boys." A familiar voice told him from the doorway, and Lydia didn't even need to turn around to know who was standing there: Ricky Sharp.

Lydia had gotten over being angry at Ricky for what had happened with Adam. She knew that Casey had had a harder time with that, but she knew that she could see what Ricky had done in a light that her brothers couldn't; she was a little sister, just like Ricky. Lydia liked to believe that she had a firm moral stance, she wasn't sure that she'd be able to say no if one of her big brothers asked her to do something that she knew was wrong, not if they desperately needed her to do it.

"I'd heard you were around." Lydia said simply, a ghost of a smile playing onto her face.

"I wish I could say the same about you, but you sprung up on us." Ricky retorted coolly, making Lydia let out a hearty laugh, striding over to wrap her old friend in a hug. Bianca appeared beside her in the breezeway, and Lydia let out a little scream before pulling her into their embrace too.

"It's so good to see you guys!" Lydia exclaimed happily.

"She wasn't this pleased to see us." Casey grumbled playfully, looking around at his brothers.

"That's because you guys woke me up." Lydia shot back at them before turning back to Bianca "I just thought that since you're at work, and April's at the hospital, you might need an extra pair of hands with planning the wedding."

"Absolutely!" Bianca answered "We're going to have a girl's night, ok?" she decided, then pointed a finger warningly at Lydia and Ricky "And no complaining; you both have to come."

Brax let out a chuckle as they two of them groaned simultaneously, and he thought about the fact that for the things that he and his brothers couldn't teach her, about being a girl in general, Ricky had always been the one to take the job-which meant that Lydia mostly shared Ricky's disdain for dainty femininity, and they were both about as much tomboys as anyone could imagine.

"I mean it, I will drag you both kicking and screaming." Bianca stipulated adamantly.

"Are you kidding me?" Heath demanded "The little gnome's only been home for a day and she's already kicking me out?"

"No," Bianca retorted firmly "I'm kicking you out."

"That sounds great, but Brax and I have to go." Lydia announced, slinging her worn denim jacket over her arm and heading towards the door.

"Wait a minute, why do I need to go?" Brax asked, still sat at the table.

"Because, Sasha can't meet me at Angelo's if Angelo's isn't open." she answered knowingly, and Brax rolled his eyes before following her, relenting.

As they drove, Lydia rolled down the window and felt the warm breeze on her face. She looked out across the streets that she'd come to love since they'd moved from Mangrove River, where she'd never really felt like she fit in. But Summer Bay was undoubtedly where she belonged; she's known that for a while, but being back only reiterated the idea.

Soon enough, they were pulling up outside of Angelo's, and when they got inside, Lydia was more than pleased to see that it hadn't changed at all. Working there for Brax in pretty much every second of her free time had been the only reason she'd been able to afford to go to England in the first place, and she couldn't deny that she was fond of the place.

For a little while, she helped Brax set up for the day, but when she heard someone coming up the stairs, Lydia could almost see Sasha's scuffed boots stomping moodily up them, wondering why the hell Casey Braxton wanted to meet her this early in the morning. With a grin on her face, she scurried outside and hid around the corner, peering around just in time to see Sash emerge at the top of the stairs.

"Hi Brax." She greeted as cheerfully as she could, which Lydia knew wasn't very much since Sasha wasn't exactly a morning person. "Have you seen Casey? He told me he needed to see me this morning, and I have no idea why."

Lydia crept back inside and leant casually on the doorframe, crossing one leg across the other and folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to do then." She sighed dramatically, and Sasha's head snapped towards her, confusion etched into her features before they gave way to a wide beam.

When the two of them started to squeal excitedly, Brax had to ask himself how such high pitched noises could be humanly possible without needing medical attention, but it didn't last long.

"What are you doing here?" Sasha exclaimed incredulously "I thought you weren't coming back until a few days before the wedding!"

"Jesus Christ" Lydia replied, feigning indignation "Does no one around here know what a surprise is?!"

"I'm definitely not complaining" Sasha added quickly "It's so good to have you here!"

"Come on," Lydia started, linking her little finger with Sasha's "I'll walk you to school."

When Sasha saw Lydia cast a cautionary glance towards her brother, she knew that her friend wanted to talk, so despite the fact that she no longer wanted to go to school, and they turned towards the door.

"See you in a bit Brax." Lydia called over her shoulder as the two girls disappeared around the corner.

For a few minutes, Lydia told Sasha about England, but she had so much to tell her that there was no way it would all fit into their walk, so it soon dwindled.

"You haven't told them yet, have you?" Sasha asked knowingly. Lydia opened her mouth to answer, albeit not truthfully, but Sasha raised her eyebrows at her, reading Lydia's face, so she already knew the answer.

"I will." Lydia retorted simply, and Sasha rolled her eyes.

"You need to do it soon Lyd." She admonished sternly, stopping them and facing her friend "Look, I talked to my dad about it, and he agrees that it could just be stress, but he said there are a couple of other things it could be to, so you need to get yourself checked out."

"Like what?" Lydia questioned, worry piquing and niggling in her mind.

"I don't know." Sasha sighed "He didn't tell me, which is why you really need to see a doctor because I'm worried about you."

"Alright, alright." Lydia assured her "I'm going to spend some time at home first, relax, and just make sure that it definitely isn't stress, and then I'll go. I promise."

Sasha nodded, and Lydia could tell that her friend was upset, so shot her a smile and hoped it was enough to be reassuring.

"Right," she continued cheerfully "You'd better get going, or you'll be late."

"Yes ma'am." Sasha joked, more at ease now that Lydia had promised "Why don't you come over later? I know April and Dex would love to see you too."

"I'll do you one better," Lydia offered with a forced grin "I'm having a girl's night with Bianca, Ricky and Tamara. You and April should join us."

"That sounds good." Sasha replied, though her smile was more genuine, apparently oblivious to the discomfort the bluntness of her words had caused in her best friend, no matter how well-intended they had been.

"Miss Braxton," Someone called behind them, and they turned to see Bianca standing with her hand on her hip feux-sternly "I do hope you're not corrupting my students by encouraging them to be late."

"Would I do such a thing, Miss Scott?" Lydia called back playfully, and the awkward atmosphere dissipated, so she turned back to Sasha "I'll see you later, ok?"

Sasha nodded again and started to make her way to school, looking back once to wave, and Lydia reciprocated with a smile before heading back towards Angelo's, new thoughts swirling in her mind, and most of them were far from comforting.