Episode 5.10 – A Day Out

"It's today, it's today!" Came the cry from the hall just as James launched himself at Lara and Dean. Dean gasped a little as James landed on his sore ribs. Lara laughed sleepily.

"James sweetie, it's only five o'clock. You don't leave for a little while." She threw the covers off, and walked out into the loungeroom. She flipped on the TV, and made some toast for them. After handing James his breakfast, she left him glued to the TV, and walked back into the bedroom. She stuck her head in to see Mikayla, and she was still fast asleep. Lara smiled at her baby girl, and headed back to bed with Dean.

"We can stay here for at least another hour. You up for that?" Dean rolled over, embracing her.

"I am, as long as James doesn't come back until seven," said Dean, kissing her neck. A thunder of footsteps down the hall was the only warning they got before James bounced on the bed again.

"Is it time yet?" Lara moaned and Dean threw off the covers.

"Guess we're getting up," he said grumpily. Lara crouched down in front of James.

"Can you go and pack your bag, and watch TV for a little while? Dean and I need to get ready, and we don't need wriggling lumps in our way!" She said, tickling him. He squirmed and kissed her on the cheek, leaving the room. She stood up, and wrapped her arms around Dean.

"He's just a little excited. He's never been to the zoo before, and the chance to go with all his little pre-school friends is good. It'll distract him from Michelle." Dean leant down to kiss her, but Mikayla's screams interrupted them. Lara was going to ignore her for a few minutes, but when her incessant crying stopped suddenly, Lara became concerned. She let go of Dean to go and investigate, and found James with his hand wedged through the bars of Mikayla's crib. He had moved her toy closer to her, and she was giggling at him. Lara felt Dean press up against her back, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"They're cute together," said Lara. Dean moved away.

"I'll take Mikayla, you get James ready."


Lachie woke up in the hospital, Kate still with him, head resting on his arm, asleep. He shook her gently.

"Kate, wake up," he said teasingly. She blinked rapidly, trying to regain consciousness. Lachie had been in the hospital for three days now, and Kate had stayed with him almost every night. A nurse came in, carrying a clipboard with discharge papers. Kate smiled at him.

"You're going home today?" She asked, barely containing her excitement. The nurse nodded as Lachie signed the paperwork.

"He's healing better than we expected. As long as you keep an eye on him, and he's confined to desk duties, he should continue to progress well." Kate hugged him tightly.

"Dad dropped my car over last night, I'll take you home," said Kate. Lachie shook his head.

"No, not home. Take me to work. I feel like I've been trapped here for weeks," he said. The nurse helped take the IV out of his arm, and left him to dress. Kate handed him a shirt, and comfortable track pants. He pulled on his sneakers.

"Please, can we go now?" He practically begged. Kate nodded, and they left the hospital, making it to base fifteen minutes later.

"Are you sure you're alright to be here?" She asked. He nodded.

"I couldn't stand being at home at the moment. I really want to be here," he answered as Kate opened the door for him.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Vince as Lachie made his way slowly up the stairs. He was still tender, and walking up the stairs put pressure on the wound.

"They released me today, and I can't cope with sitting at home alone, so I told Kate to bring me here." Dean and Lara arrived soon after them. Lara embraced Lachie carefully.

"Glad you're back," she said, taking her place at her desk. Dean slapped Lachie on the back lightly.

"Good to have you back Lach. Life's quiet when you're not around," Dean sat next to his brother.

"How long are you out of action for?" He asked.

"At least a month. It'll take time to heal well, but I'm already progressing well according to nurses and doctors. I'll be back in the field in no time at all," quipped Lachie, leaning back in his chair.

"That's a good sign then," said Heidi as she climbed to the top of the stairs, Jordan in tow.

"Good to see you back Gallagher," said Jordan, taking a seat. Vince picked up his desk phone as it jangled loudly. Heidi sat next to Lara.

"You look tired. Everything okay?" She asked quietly. Lara nodded.

"Yeah, James was up at five this morning. Pre-school is taking them all out to the zoo for the day, and he was so excited that he had to come wake us up," said Lara, yawning. Heidi laughed.

"Yeah, I can imagine James doing that," said Heidi. She heard a thump, and turned around. Vince had sat down hard, his face deathly white. Kate looked at her father, concerned.

"Dad? Dad, what's going on?" She asked, crossing the room to crouch in front of him.

"We've got an accident that we need to attend," he said softly. Kate looked at him, trying to get him to focus.

"It's not just a normal accident, is it Dad," she stated. He shook his head.

"There's a bus hanging over the edge of a cliff. A bus full of pre-schoolers."


Lara clasped her hand to her mouth.

"No," she whispered.

"They swerved to miss a pedestrian…" Vince's voice trailed off. Dean took charge.

"We need to get out there and help them," he said briskly. He didn't want to think about what might be happening out there, or what sort of mess it was at the scene. Vince had written down the street name, and was clutching the paper in his clenched fist. Dean prised it from his hands, and stuck his head into Cam's office, telling him where they were going. Dean looked around at his team.

"Where's Andy?" He asked. They were already down a team member with Lachie still injured, and they could do with her. Kate shrugged her shoulders.

"I haven't seen her since the helicopter left the rescue site three days ago," she said to Dean apologetically. He gritted his teeth, frustrated.

"Okay. Lachie, I know you're supposed to be restricted to desk duty, but we can get you to work triage out there. You can work in tandem with Kate. Vince, we need you to run interference with the media, and Cam can keep head office in the loop." He waved his hand in the air, and the teams disappeared down the stairs. Vince followed them, and they sped out to the site. When they got there, Dean and Lara climbed out of the patrol, and looked around, confused.

"Where the hell is that bus?" Asked Dean, irritated. Lara cocked her head.

"Shh. Listen," said Lara, putting her finger to her lips. Child-like screaming could be heard from over the edge. The other two patrols pulled up, the team piling out. Dean ran over to the edge, and peered over. The bus had finally tipped down, and one side was smashed in badly.

"Jordan, Heidi, grab the ropes. We've got to get them out. Lachie, Kate, Vince, set up a triage area. Vince, if you've got time, get Cam to contact the pre-school, let them know what happened, and then get us some ambulances, and maybe a few of the child-care workers to come out and help," said Dean, taking a harness and ropes from Heidi. She set up the A-frame, and looped the ropes through carefully through the framework. Jordan nodded to Dean.

"Who's going down?" He asked.

"Um… I think Heidi, Lara and myself. We need you up here to take patients. Heidi will work the harnesses with you. You'll be fine," said Dean, leaning over the edge. He abseiled down the short distance carefully, Lara close behind him. Heidi jumped down shortly afterwards.

"Okay, Heidi, I need numbers, and I need them fast. Lara, help her. I'm going to check out the bus driver, and check the bus for fuel leaks. We might need Jake and Annika out here," said Dean. Heidi and Lara checked the side of the bus, and then Heidi helped Lara climb the side of the bus. She crawled along the side carefully, counting the bodies she could see – twenty-eight of them. She slid off the side as Dean came back.

"The driver's mumbling about some girl that was in front of him. He tried to swerve to miss her, hit her and fish-tailed." Lara looked at him.

"I've done a head-count. There's about twenty-eight kids on this bus, plus three teachers and the bus driver. We need to get in Dean." Heidi grabbed Lara's arm.

"What's going on? You're usually so calm at rescues, just doing what's needed. What's changed?" Asked Heidi, concerned for one of her best friends.

"James is on that bus somewhere," said Lara softly. Heidi's eyes widened, and she jumped into action.

"We need to get in there," she said. Dean pull open the emergency exit, and Lara climbed in carefully. It was a standard Sydney bus, full of three and four year olds, crying in sheer terror and confusion. Lara checked each child as she made her way through the bus carefully, helping out the children who could walk, and sent them up to Lachie and Kate to deal with, Heidi and Dean taking care of them. Lara continued to search the bus for Jamie, hoping he was okay. Dean stuck his head inside the bus.

"Did you find him yet?" He asked. Lara shook her head.

"No. I need a combi-tool down here, and an angle-grinder, a couple of patient shields, cervical collars, and Heidi," said Lara. Dean nodded, and Heidi traded places with him.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Heidi, I need you in here. We've got five oranges, and six reds. I need your help to get them out," said Lara. She felt frantic, not knowing where James was. Heidi crept inside carefully, and lifted up one of the collapsed seats.

"Lara?" She called down the bus. Lara turned around to face Heidi.

"I found James." Lara stepped quickly to where Heidi was, and knelt down.

"Oh Jamie," said Lara. He had a gash on his head, and his eyes were closed. Heidi helped Lara move him carefully out. He stirred a little, and Lara smoothed back his blond hair.

"Mummy?" He asked. Lara laughed.

"No sweetie, it's Lara. I'm going to pass you out to Dean, and then he'll take you to Lachie. Make sure you stay with him, okay?" Jamie nodded, and Lara started to move him out.

"Where's Benji?" He asked sleepily. Lara stopped, and Heidi looked at her.

"Benji?" She asked. Lara nodded, and passed Jamie out to Dean, who gave him a hug. He'd been worried about his boy. Lara turned back to Heidi.

"Benji. His best friend in pre-school. We haven't taken him out, so he's still here." Lara checked the patients. He wasn't in the orange group, the ones they'd already basically treated. Lara looked over the trapped three-year old she had, and her heart sank.

"Heidi, he's here," she said. Heidi stepped over to her. Benjamin Welsh, a small red-headed boy, was trapped, a metal bar piercing just above his heart, another in his leg at the femoral artery. Heidi gasped and Lara nodded her head.

"He's going to be a code blue. He won't make it."


Dean helped to hook James up to the harness, and signalled Jordan to lift him up. Dean grabbed his radio.

"Rescue Portable One to Rescue Portable Six, Lachie, James is coming up now. Can you and Kate look after him please?" Dean said quickly, looking over at the bus. There was a commotion over near Heidi and Lara.

"Rescue Portable Six to Rescue Portable One. Deano, we've got him. We'll keep an eye on him for you. Over." Dean ran over to Lara and Heidi. They were hunched over a small boy, Lara frantically working on the red-headed child. Heidi sat back, watching.

"What's going on?" He asked Heidi quietly.

"His name is Benjamin Welsh, and apparently he's one of Jamie's best friends. He had an impalement injury to his chest and his leg, and the injury to his leg was over his femoral artery. If we moved him, we would have lost him, and I told Lara that. She sort of glazed over, and moved him anyway. He started bleeding out almost instantly, and went into cardiac arrest. Lara's been working on him ever since. He's gone Dean, a code blue for sure. He's not coming back," said Heidi sadly. Lara continued to work on Benji, pumping his chest. Heidi moved away, directing paramedical officers in the movement of the other patients to ambulances. Dean crossed over to Benji, putting two fingers to his wrist. He wasn't breathing and his pulse was non-existent.

"Lara, he's gone. I'm sorry," Dean said softly. Lara looked at him, pain in her eyes. He opened his arms and she fell into them, the tears streaming down her face. He hadn't expected her to be hot so hard by this. She was usually so collected when they lost a patient, preferring to deal with her grief privately. She gathered herself together, wiping her face with the heels of her hands.

"What are we going to tell James?" She asked, her voice catching in her throat. Dean's eyes widened. He was way out of his depth now as a parent, confused and uncertain.

"How do you break the news to a child that has just lost a best friend at such a young age?" He asked back. Lara shook her head.

"I don't know. We might need Michelle in on this one," she said, hiccupping. Heidi returned to them.

"The last of the patients are out," reported Heidi. She directed the last ambulance team to take Benjamin's body away. Lara watched with red puffy eyes as they took the three year old away.

"Um, Dean?" Said Heidi hesitantly. He looked up at her.

"What is it Heidi?" He asked.

"We've had a passer-by report that there's a body lying on the side of the road. Ambulance officers are tied up completely dealing with all our patients, and police are trying to get statements from witnesses. Vince is asking if we'll go and look into it." Dean nodded to her, helping Lara up.

"I'll go. I'll take Kate with me, and leave Lara with you." Heidi nodded, and they made their way up the cliff-face carefully, and headed over to triage. Kate glanced up from the girl's knee she was bandaging up.

"Hey. Lara, James is asking for you. He's with Vince at the moment," said Kate, concentrating on the medical treatment she was administering.

"Kate, Heidi's going to take over your station. I need you with me; there's been a report of a girl lying on the side of the road up a little way. Grab your medi-kit," he instructed. Heidi changed places with Kate, talking soothingly to the girl. As they walked up the road, heavy packs slung over their shoulders, Dean made small talk with Kate.

"So how are you and Lachie going? I don't see you guys around much, even before we went out on the hike. Are you two even still together?" Kate blushed, feeling like she was being interrogated by a concerned brother.

"I'm still with him Dean, don't worry." Dean nodded at her.

"If you hurt him…" He started. Kate stopped, and put her hand on Dean's chest.

"Dean, I'm not going to hurt him. I love him, and he knows that. He loves me too, and I don't ever want to hurt him. I care for him too much to even think about that. Okay?" Dean nodded. Kate taking charge was a whole new side of her that he hadn't seen before, and he was impressed. Eventually, she'd probably be running the station herself. She looked forward, and saw the body lying crumpled on the side of the road, dark hair pooled around the patient's head. Kate squinted.

"Dean, is that… Is that Andy?" She asked. Dean shielded his eyes from the sun, and recognised the dark hair as Andrea Taylor. They both sprinted to her. Dean rolled her over carefully, supporting her neck as Kate pulled out the standard cervical collar. Her nose was clearly broken, and her face bruised and puffy. Dean lifted up her shirt, checking her ribs, and feeling her abdomen for internal bleeding. She had bruising down her front from where the bus must have hit her.

"She must have hit the bus flat on," said Kate, observing her injuries.

"Nothing broken. Just some bruising." Andy's eyes fluttered, and Dean took her hand.

"Andy? Talk to me Andy." She grunted a little, clearing her throat.

"I never saw it coming," she rasped. Kate laughed as an ambulance pulled up, and the paramedics jumped out. They bundled Andy into the back, and Dean motioned for Kate to go with her. After they left, Dean walked back to the team, dragging Kate's pack alongside him. He dumped them in his patrol, and then heard tiny footsteps behind him. James wrapped his arms around Dean, and demanded to be picked up.

"Hey buddy. How you doing?" Dean asked, tickling him. James giggled, and turned to Dean, a serious look on his face.

"Dean, where's Benji?"


Dean sat in the back of patrol, Jamie perched on his leg, and cleared his throat.

"Jamie, Benji's not coming back. He's gone to… he's gone to heaven." Jamie nodded his blond head.

"When will he come back?" Asked Jamie, looking up at Dean. Dean shook his head.

"He's not ever coming back James." He climbed down, and dropped James with Lara. A police officer came up to him.

"Sir, we need statements from all of you about the accident." Dean nodded. It was going to be an even longer afternoon.


Lara and Dean had talked earlier, and they thought it might be good for James to see Michelle for the day, and get her to help him understand the finality behind what had happened to Benjamin. As she pulled up in the drive, Fiona met her outside, concern and worry across her face.

"What's going on?" Asked Lara, taking Mikayla off Fiona.

"Shane had to rush Michelle to the hospital. She spiked a fever, start ranting about something insane. It's not looking good," Fiona said sadly. Lara felt herself go weak at the knees, and she quickly passed Mikky back to Fiona. She stumbled back against the car, and slumped down, her heart racing in her chest. Fiona pulled open the front door of Lara's car and placed Mikayla in her seat, buckling her in. James was asleep on the other side of the car, and Mikayla drifted off quickly. Fiona dropped down in front of Lara.

"Lara, what do I do?" She asked, worried. Lara let her emotions loose, crying harder than she'd ever done before.

"I don't know anymore," she sobbed. Fiona sat next to her, and pulled her into her chest. With her free hand, Fiona sent a quick message to Dean.

Need you at our place. Urgent.


Dean felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and ignored it while he finished his conversation with the police officer. After he'd finished, he headed back to the triage centre where Heidi, Jordan and Lachie were packing up with the help of Vince.

"You guys alright?" Asked Dean. He wanted to know if his team was okay. Heidi nodded.

"I'm okay. Have you heard back from Lara or Kate?" Dean remembered his phone, and pulled it out, scrolling through the messages. He got to Fiona's message, and read it with shaking hands. Then he turned to the rest of the team.

"I've got to head over to Dad's place, something's happened. Heidi, I might need you, are the rest of you right to pack up?" Vince nodded.

"We'll be fine Deano. Make sure you keep us up to date on what's going on, and I'll get onto Kate and find out how Andy is." Dean nodded, and Heidi followed him to the patrol, climbing in.

"What's going on?" She asked as he pulled a U-turn and headed to the Gallagher household.

"I told Lara to take James up to see Michelle, and maybe she could explain about Benji better than Lara and I could. Something's happened though, and I don't know what," said Dean, flooring the accelerator as they surged forward. Heidi hit the sirens, hoping to get them there faster. Ten minutes later, he screeched to a halt outside Shane and Fiona's house. He knew something was up as soon as he realised Lara's car was in the driveway, doors open. Heidi jumped out, slightly quicker than Dean, and ran up the concrete drive. Lara had drifted off into a doze, and Fiona had rested her head back on the car, stroking Lara's blond hair. Heidi saw them, and slowed down, crouching down. Fiona realised she was there.

"Hey Heidi. The front doors unlocked. Do you want to take Mikky inside? Her crib's set up in the study." Heidi nodded, and lifted the sleeping Mikayla out of her car seat, and gently carried her inside, placing her inside the crib. She snuffled a little, but didn't wake. Outside, Dean helped Fiona get Lara up and inside, setting her on the couch. Heidi went into the kitchen and flipped on the kettle, pulling out cups for tea and coffee. Dean went back outside, and returned with James in his arms. He ducked into the spare room, and set him down there. He joined Lara and Fiona in the kitchen.

"What did you say?" Asked Dean, accepting the coffee from Heidi.

"I was filling her in on Michelle. Shane's had to take her to hospital this morning. She spiked a fever last night, and started some delusional rant about something. I honestly have no idea what it was, so Shane went with her. They've admitted her, but it wasn't looking good. She then passed Mikayla back to me, and turned a deathly white. I put Mikayla in the safest place possible, and Lara just cried at me. That's when I messaged you. What happened today? She looked a mess when she pulled up," commented Fiona. She took a sip of the hot drink.

"We had to tend to a bus accident today; James's pre-school were supposed to be going to the zoo today, and they ended up in an accident. They're still trying to determine the cause of the crash. We got most of the kids out, but of the six critical kids, we've lost four. One of them was Lara's patient, and James's best friend Benji." Dean stopped and took a sip of coffee.

"Lara didn't take it too well. She worked on him for almost twenty minutes as he bled out on the rock face. I've never seen her lose it like that before. I mean, Lara's always been the one who I could rely on to help me through a difficult situation like this, and now? Now the roles are reversed," said Heidi, staring at her coffee. Fiona glanced over at Lara, who was curled up on the couch in the fetal position.

"Lara's had to do a lot of growing up this past year. Maybe the pressure's catching up with her."


Lara woke up hours later, head on Dean's lap, the room dark. She felt disoriented and confused, her mouth dry and gritty. Dean felt her shift and his eyes snapped open.

"Hey, you're awake," he said softly, stroking her hair.

"Why are we here? How did I get here?" She asked, confused. Dean looked at her, confused.

"You drove here. You brought James over to see Michelle, and Fiona told you that Michelle wasn't here?" Lara tried to focus on Dean, but her vision was blurred. She knew she had slept for a while, but still felt tired and lethargic, almost to the point of exhaustion.

"Can I have a glass of water?" She asked tiredly. Dean extracted himself from underneath her, and walked to the kitchen, returning with a glass. She'd fallen asleep again, and Dean left her there, reasoning that she must need it. Dean heard a knock at the front door, and opened the door quietly. Jordan was there to pick up Heidi, take her home.

"Hey Dean. Just wanted to get my wife back, maybe have her at home for a little while," joked Jordan.

"I'll just get her; she's upstairs with Fiona and Mikayla. Come in and wait if you like, just be quiet. Lara's asleep on the couch; if she's thirsty, her glass is on the kitchen bench." Dean disappeared up the stairs. Jordan walked around, just as Lara woke up, startled. She got up clumsily, trying to get to her glass of water. Jordan grabbed it off the bench, and ushered her to sit down, passing her the glass. She drank quickly, emptying the glass in seconds. She put it down shakily on the coffee table. Jordan looked at her.

"Are you alright Lara?" He asked. She gone a ghostly white colour, and had clapped her hand to her mouth tightly. Her eyes were glazed over, almost glassy. Dean came down the stairs, Heidi in tow.

"Jordan, your… Lara?" She pushed past Dean, staggering to make it to the bathroom in time. He heard her retching loudly.

"Is she alright?" Asked Heidi, worried.

"I'll keep an eye on her. You guys go, spend some time together. I think we'll be spending tonight here instead. Mikayla's already in bed, and James is fast asleep on the guest bed, so it's pointless to move them. I'll keep you both updated," said Dean, ushering them out of the door. They left quickly, and Dean walked back to the bathroom. Fiona was there, cleaning up Lara. She was crying.

"Come on, I'm taking you to the emergency department," said Dean, concerned. She tried to stand, but her shaking legs wouldn't allow her.

"I can't stand up Dean," Lara said, frightened. She watched as the room spun around her, and her eyes went glassy again. Fiona noticed the change.

"Lara? Lara, speak. Say something," said Fiona, shaking Lara. She slumped to the side. Dean's phone rang in his pocket, and he answered it.

"Who is it?" He asked curtly, dropping down to check Lara's pulse.

"It's Kate. I wanted to update you on Andy, but you sound distracted. What's going on?" She asked.

"Lara's just collapsed." Kate gasped.

"What happened before that? Did she do something? Something happen?"

"Nothing, she just slept for hours, woke up thirsty, got to a point when she was nauseous, and threw up," said Dean. He motioned for Fiona to lie Lara down. Kate had a fair idea of what it was.

"Dean, go out to the patrol now," said Kate, stepping outside Andy's room.

"What? Kate, I don't have time to deal with this," said Dean, frustrated.

"Dean, just do it. Trust me on this," said Kate anxiously. Dean relented, and ran out to the patrol.

"Right, I'm out here Kate. What am I looking for?" He asked.

"Go under the passenger seat. I equipped the patrols with these ages ago, with Dad's permission." Dean pulled out a small case.

"What is it?" He asked.

"A diabetic kit. It's got a blood glucose meter in it. I want you to take it inside, prick Lara's finger, put the blood on the strip and stick it in the meter. I'll be over in five minutes," said Kate, hanging up. Dean grabbed the entire little pack, and ran back inside with it. Fiona was still with Lara.

"She's not moved. She's still breathing," she said, worried. Dean pulled Lara's hand towards him, and pricked her finger, squeezing it to make the blood flow. He dabbed the blood onto the end of the tiny strip, and then shoved it into the machine, and waited. He glanced up at Fiona.

"Can you go out and wait for Kate? She'll be here shortly. I think she knows what's going on," said Dean as a knock sounded on the front door. Fiona left the bathroom, allowing Kate to come inside, and directed her to the bathroom. She stepped around Dean, and sat near Lara's head. She placed two fingers on Lara's wrist, checking her pulse.

"Fast and thready. What's her glucose?" Asked Kate. Dean checked the machine, which was beeping gently in the background.

"1.2mM." Kate stretched over, pulling out the injection kit, putting together the solution. She did it with such precision that Dean was impressed

"How do you even know what you're doing?" Demanded Dean.

"Mum's a borderline diabetic, Sam is a diabetic, and when Lara was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I took a refresher course at the training centre when I was doing training with Andy and Dylan. After that, I equipped each medi-pack and patrol with one of these, and Dad's sending each of you to update your training. Although, he might be doing that sooner rather than later," said Kate, pushing the injection into Lara's thigh. She glanced at her watch, timing the minutes as they passed by, her other hand on Lara's wrist, monitoring her pulse.

"What are you doing?" Asked Dean. He hadn't been around for many hypoglycaemic events, and not really when it happened to Lara. Kate glanced at him, and shrugged.

"I'm waiting. What does it look like I'm doing?" Lara opened her eyes, feeling for all the world like she'd been hit by a truck. Dean and Kate's concerned faces filled her vision.

"What happened?" She asked, trying to sit up. Kate propped her up against the side of the bathtub.

"Lara, when's the last time you went and saw your doctor?" Lara shrugged her shoulders.

"I was supposed to see her…" Lara's voice trailed off as she recounted the months that she'd put it off for. Kate smiled gently.

"Lara, I think that you might be a diabetic again. Either you're pregnant, or you've progressed to Type 2 diabetes. Either way, I think you should head over to the hospital," said Kate, looking up at Dean. He nodded, and helped Lara get to her feet as Fiona knocked on the bathroom door.

"I'll watch the kids tonight for you. Go, get her checked out." Dean and Lara left, and Kate packed up the gear.

"Thanks for coming Kate," said Fiona. Kate shrugged.

"A lot of them weren't around to deal with Lara last year when she was pregnant and diabetic. I just know what I'm doing," answered Kate, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"You heading home now?" Asked Fiona as she showed Kate the door.

"It's a bit far to head home, but Lachie's place is close. I'll go there tonight," she decided as she threw her bag into her car.

"I'll call him, let him know you're coming over." Kate nodded her thanks and backed out of the drive carefully, waving to Fiona. As she drove towards Lachie's, she thought about how she'd lied to Dean. Sam was never a diabetic. He would never have coped with strict dieting, and sticking himself with a needle. And Vanessa wasn't a borderline diabetic either. No, she'd never told anyone on the team, not even her father. She'd only found out after her parents had split up, and Vanessa had sworn she would tell Vince, but Kate knew her parents better. They'd keep things to themselves for cannon fodder when they were fighting, and Kate had never been strong enough to tell her father. No, it was she who was the diabetic.


Lachie waited for Kate to arrive. He already missed her, and she hadn't been away from him that long today. She pulled up out the front of the apartment, and pulled out her key. He'd decided it would be good for her to have a key. He waited for her, stretched out on the couch comfortably. Kate opened the door, and put her keys in the dish on the table near the entrance.

"Hey babe. Fiona rang to say you'd be here. What was going on over at Dad's place?" He asked. He made room for her on the couch.

"Lara collapsed, and I rang Dean to fill him in on Andy when it happened. He was stressed out, and I asked him to tell me what the symptoms were. They fitted her symptoms from when she first became diabetic when she was pregnant. I drove over to help him out, and then he took her to the hospital to get checked out." Lachie nodded as Kate snuggled against him gently.

"So how is Andy?" He asked, stroking her hair.

"Just bruising. They were keeping her in tonight to monitor her, and then tomorrow she'll be released. She's a mess mentally though. She woke up while they were examining her, and then proceeded to cry for an hour and a half over how she doesn't really want to leave Sydney, and something about how she hated her foster family. It was kind of weird. They gave her morphine to ease her pain, and then she fell asleep after that." Lachie kissed her forehead.

"There's a lot going on for Andy at the moment. All we can do is be there for her," he said. He waited for a comment from her, and then realised she'd fallen asleep.


Two days later, Michelle was released from hospital, Shane coming to pick her up. She was nervous about what she was going to do. Shane pulled up, and helped her into the front seat. She was on a new course of antibiotics, and they made her feel weaker than ever.

"Shane, cane we stop by headquarters?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, if you need to. Sure," said Shane, changing lanes. He pulled off the highway into the suburban area, and then pulled up in front of RSO base. He came around and helped Michelle out of the car, and up the stairs.

"I need to see Cam. Alone," she said, and Shane helped her into Cam's office, setting her down in a chair. Dean was already there, Lara still at home getting the kids ready. Lachie and Vince watched through the glass windows, curious. Cam leant forward.

"How can I help you Michelle?" Asked Cam, interested.

"Look, Cam. I know I've been on long service leave and sick leave while I've been in hospital, but I can't do this anymore. I don't know if I'll ever be well enough to return to my job, and I want to be able to spend some time with Jamie before he grows up and leaves me. I want to be able to go outside and have a picnic with my friends, without having to worry about work coming in and crashing my good time. I don't want this sort of life anymore Cam," said Michelle, tears coming to her eyes.

"So what you're saying, is… you want to resign?" Michelle nodded. Cam leant back and pulled out the paperwork. He directed Michelle to sign on several lines, and initial. He checked it over, and nodded.

"That's it. I'll fax the paperwork over to head office, and they'll call you later." Vince exploded into the room.

"Michelle, what did you do?" He asked, nostrils flared, worried that Cam had made her do something stupid.

"I've resigned Vince. I'm not coming back."