Chapter 25

"Heath! You got everything?"

"Yeah, I think so. You ready, Grommet?"

"Where's Kayla?" Darcy asked. "She promised to be here to say goodbye."

"She got held up at Angelo's," Kyle said, passing by with a bag over his shoulder. "She's on her way now."

"Dad, can we wait? Please?"

"We can wait a few minutes," Heath agreed, "but then we'll have to get moving, Darce. We don't want to be too late arriving in the city." Darcy nodded, darting down the drive to peer down the road.

Brax paused beside Heath, watching her. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah. I am. It'll be tough, but it'll be worth it to have my family together." Darcy squealed suddenly, running down the road, and Heath grinned. "Four months ago, when we stepped out of that court house, did you think we'd be here?"

"What, waiting for you to head off into your happy ever after?"

"All of it. Me and Bianca taking Harley and Darcy, you and Ricky, Casey and that Denny chick…"

"You forgot Phoebe and Kyle."

"Didn't forget them, they annoy me. But Kyle doesn't mope as much as he used to. And Kayla's out working."

"Clearing tables in Angelo's is hardly a career," Brax pointed out.

"Oi, gloom and doom. She wouldn't have coped four months ago. Times I thought those two'd never leave the bunker behind." Brax stared at him and he shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"Nah, nothing. Just didn't realise moving to the city meant turning into a girl."

Heath smacked him and they scuffled for a minute before breaking apart. "Seriously," he insisted. "You'll look after them?"

"Never do anything else, mate."

"I'm serious, Darryl."

"I know you are. So am I. You know I will."

"I know I'm leaving, but I'm not leaving. Anything happens, I'm on the phone."

"I know, Heath. Don't worry. We're not letting you go."

"He told me to go, you know. I'd've stayed."

"Mate, you got kids now. None of us are gonna think any less of you for putting them first. And the city's not that far away."

Darcy and Kayla reached them, talking brightly. Kayla grinned at him. "Heath. Can I have a hug, since you're leaving?"

"Just since I'm leaving, then, Dux." He wrapped an arm around her. "I'm not far away."

"I know. Thank you for helping me, Heath."

Brax shifted. "Mum's coming, Kayla. Casey's out back, I think."

"Thanks." Kayla hugged Darcy tightly, promised to text her that evening, and vanished inside the house.

The desperate need Kayla and Casey had shared to be near each other had peaked straight after the court case – there'd been a couple of weeks where they couldn't spend more than a few hours apart without panicking – and then gradually diminished in the months since. They still saw each other every day, but it was far more casual now.

Casey was inside, showing Denny something in a magazine; he glanced up when Kayla came in, smiling. "Hey, you."

"Hey you. Hi Denny."

"Hey. How was work?"

"Julie the waitress shared her tips with me because she said I was great at clearing tables!" Kayla smiled perkily, and then more honestly when Casey snorted.

"One of these days they're going to figure you out," Denny warned her.

"Julie's heard me talking about Shakespeare with Kyle. She just thinks it's cute I try so hard. Cheryl's here, Casey."

"Ta. D'you want to stay here, Denny?"

"You don't want me to meet her?"

"Not today. Let's not mar Heath's leaving party by giving Mum a chance to get going. I won't be long." He kissed Denny, grinned at Kayla and headed out.

"Is she really that bad?" Denny asked.

"Not to me, I scared her off," Kayla said with a grin. "Are you hungry?"

"No. Are you?"

"Not a bit, but it's eating time." She grabbed an apple from the counter, settling beside Denny to eat it. "How's Casey doing with eating?"

"Ask him yourself."

"I have, he won't tell me. Triggering, or something."

Denny rolled her eyes. "He hasn't had problems in ages."

"Good. You're good for him. Thank you."

Denny smiled again, pleased. It had taken Kayla a while to warm up to her, and Casey had been very clear right from the start. "I can't have anyone in my life right now she isn't all right with," he'd told her apologetically, about six weeks after the court case. "In a little while, when she's settled, it won't matter so much, but for now – I'm sorry. Do you understand?"

Denny did understand, and told him so, and then set out to make friends with Kayla. It wasn't hard. Once she fully understood that she was never going back to her father, she flourished. She displayed a wicked sense of humour, her schoolwork – at least in certain subjects – was coming on in leaps and bounds, and while she would probably never go on an outback hike, she could mostly manage well enough to get around town. Working at Angelo's, even her usual work of clearing tables and helping in the kitchen, had been another huge step forward for her.

Casey came back in, glancing over his shoulder. "Heath's gone, and Mum's coming this way. Do you guys want to head?"

"I want to. Mums are weird." Kayla bounced to her feet. "Come see me later?"

"Yeah, I'll try."

She grinned, waving at Denny as she left through the back.

"Still not over that, huh," Denny murmured.

"Blame her?" Casey asked, glancing outside. Apparently satisfied with whatever he'd seen, he leaned over to kiss her.

Denny grinned, fending him off. "Not how I want to meet your mother, thanks. And no, I don't."

Nate's application for custody had run into problems when Laring's research proved her mother was still alive. He'd tracked her down and brought her to Summer Bay; they'd endured one extremely uncomfortable visit, during which no one had been able to keep Kayla paying attention or talking properly. Afterwards her mother had signed the papers naming Nate as her guardian and promised not to seek Kayla out, though she did promise to answer if Kayla ever came looking for her.

"I tried to take her when I left him," she'd told Nate quietly. "He won custody. I should have fought it – I can do this for her, leave her with you where she's happy."

Kayla had gone silent for two days and clung to whoever was around for another three, and ever since then she was dismissive of anyone being called mum, especially Cheryl. No one was looking for reasons to put them together, though; Cheryl had never mentioned her since their first meeting, months ago now.

Casey broke away from Denny, heading for the kitchen. Kyle came in, raised an eyebrow at Denny and kept going towards the bedrooms; Cheryl was next, and Brax wandered in behind her.

"Who's this?" Cheryl demanded.

"That's Denny," Brax said mildly. "Drink?"

"No thanks," Denny answered automatically.

"He was talking to me," Cheryl told her.

"I'm pretty sure he was talking to both of us." Looking at Brax, since Casey hadn't come back yet, she added, "I'm going to head on. My family are waiting for me; they actually like having me around."

Something suspiciously like stifled laughter came from the direction of the bedrooms; Brax was carefully expressionless. "See you later, then."

Denny smiled prettily at Cheryl, stepped around her, and let herself out. Ricky was lingering in the door of Heath's flat; she grinned at Denny, who returned the grin and wandered away.

Casey was training Denny, no matter what Andy was unsubtly implying about it, when Kyle appeared in the door of the gym. Glancing around, he came across to them, nodding absently at Denny. "Need you for a bit, Casey."

"I'm working…"

"Right now."

Casey studied him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Denny, excuse me?"

"Sure," she agreed quickly. "Let me know if I can help with something."

"Casey's taking his break," Kyle told Andy, gesturing Casey out before he could respond.

"Where are we going?" Casey asked, following him out of the Surf Club.

"Bus stop."

"Why?"

Kyle came up short, stepping around Ricky and hurrying on. Ricky raised an eyebrow at Casey, who shrugged helplessly. "Oi, Kyle!"

"No time, Ricky, come if you're coming!" Kyle had broken into a jog, almost running; Casey shrugged at Ricky again and loped after him. Ricky grimaced but followed them.

There was only one person waiting at the bus stop. A small, hat and headphone wearing figure, shoulders pulled up against the open space around them. Casey halted, staring at her, and then pushed past Kyle to confront her. "Kayla."

"Casey," she replied quietly. "Thanks, Kyle."

"I wasn't going to put up with him if he found out some other way," Kyle told her firmly.

"What's going on?" Casey demanded. "Where are you going?"

"The city."

"The city."

"My counsellor found me a place, a centre, they'll help me get settled and do my exams, find a job. Your brothers didn't know and neither did Leah; only Nate, and I wouldn't let him tell. He wanted to tell you. Kyle just passed by, he didn't know. No one knew."

Casey took a half step forward, halting when she backed away. "You can't...leave."

"I can't stay," she whispered. "Casey, this isn't...Summer Bay, the beach and sky, that's you. You belong here, you fit. It's not me. Skies and seas, I keep looking for the walls. I can't be here anymore."

"The city, there's thousands of people there. You'll suffocate."

"I'm drowning here." He stared at her and she shook her head. "You need the beach and the sky and the sea to be Casey; I need the walls to be Kayla. I don't know where I am without them. I know I'm better, now, but I can't live here. I've known for a while."

"You should have told me."

"Why? You have a life. You have friends and brothers and a place. I'm not dragging you down with me, you're too good for that."

"Kayla..."

"I'll stay if you ask me," she said very deliberately.

Casey turned away, distantly registering Ricky hovering uncertainly beside Kyle. "I don't want you to go," he told the air. She didn't answer, and he turned back to look at her. "You call me," he ordered, aware that his voice was rough and not caring. "All the time, Kayla. You call me all the time, and if anything goes wrong, if you need us, my brothers and me, we're with you. Whatever you need, any time. You got it?"

"I've got it."

"I mean it."

"I've got it," she repeated. Reaching out, she laid a hand against his cheek. Casey covered it with his own, watching her.

"Don't let your brothers make you anyone you don't want to be," she whispered.

"Don't let anyone do anything you don't want," he whispered back.

"Not ever again," she swore. "No one's putting me back in the dark." He nodded and she said again, "I'll stay if you ask me. I'll come back if you call."

"Don't," he told her, letting go of her hand. "Don't give anyone power like that. Not even me."

She shifted slightly, raising her voice to call "Kyle?"

"Yeah?"

"You make sure he calls me if he has to."

"Will do," Kyle agreed, smiling blandly when Casey turned to glare at him. "I'm not holding your hand next time your nightmares come around, Casey."

"Who asked you to?" Casey snapped.

"And tell Phoebe that if she messes up, I'll be there to snag you," Kayla added, and Kyle laughed, ducking his head.

Kayla smiled faintly, shouldering her bag. "Goodbye, Casey."

"Bye," he murmured. Kayla turned away; she made it all of six steps before spinning around, throwing herself at him. Casey caught her easily, burying his face in her neck.

"Bus is coming," Ricky called after a minute. Kayla's grip loosened, and she tilted her head slightly, saying something Casey couldn't hear.

"What?" he murmured.

"Not you," she said, sounding almost fond. "You take care of him," she added, and Casey let her go to discover Ricky at his side.

Ricky nodded quickly. "I will. You take care. You'll be great."

"Please thank your family for me? They've all been so fantastic. I'm sorry I didn't tell them."

"Why didn't you?" she asked curiously.

The bus pulled up and Kayla picked up her bag, smiling faintly. "I'm really bad at goodbyes."

She sat on the far side of the bus, staring resolutely ahead as it pulled away. Casey watched until it turned the corner; then he turned away, scrubbing violently at his face.

Kyle wandered away, staring intently at the nearest tree, and Ricky nudged Casey gently. "You're not alone. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah." He lowered his hands, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I know that."

"Why didn't she tell us she wanted to leave? We would have helped her."

Casey shook his head. "Because we'd have asked her not to go, and she's afraid she isn't strong enough to say no."

"She's leaving the only people she knows to head to the city on her own, I'd say that's pretty strong."

He shook his head again. "She thinks she's running away."

"Casey..."

"It doesn't matter. Come on, need to head back to work." She caught at his hand and he grimaced. "I can't talk about it yet. I need to...it's too big, I need it to settle first. But I promise I will talk to you. I promise, Rick."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Yeah, I figured. Just – let me sort it out."

"You don't have to go to work. Kyle'll cover for you."

"Yeah," Kyle agreed. "You want to go brood at the sea or something for a while?"

Casey half-laughed. "No. Thank you. I want to go and work. I'll call you if I need to get away," he added when Ricky started to protest.

"You better."

Casey started away, hesitated, and looked back. "Don't tell anyone yet? I'll tell 'em tonight."

"Yeah. If that's what you want."

"It's what I want." He paused by Kyle. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Sure."

Casey nodded vaguely to them both, turned away, and headed back towards the gym.

Casey went back to work. He was aware that Ricky had followed him in and was talking quietly to Andy, but he didn't care much. Denny was still hanging around, waiting for him; she followed him into the office, hesitating a hands' breadth from touching him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I am." He was surprised to realise it was true. He was worried about Kayla, but not desperately so, and he didn't feel claustrophobic or unable to eat or anything else. He was just vaguely sad she hadn't said goodbye to anyone.

"What happened?" Denny asked.

Casey shook his head. "Come over tonight? I have to tell my brothers and I'd rather just do it once. It's not bad," he added at her look. "I just need to think about it a bit."

"Sure," she agreed, brushing his hair back from his face. "Want me to leave?"

"I kind of do. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I understand. I'll see you this evening."

"Thanks."

He buried himself in paperwork for the rest of the afternoon, only emerging when it was time to close up. He wandered home, meeting Denny along the way; she didn't ask any questions, just chatted idly about her day.

Between them Ricky and Kyle had kept the others in the living room; Casey sighed, taking off his bag and setting it aside. "Got a minute, guys?"

"This better be important," Phoebe warned him.

"Yeah, it kind of is." He perched on the arm of the chair, taking a breath. "Kayla left today."

"Left," Brax repeated. "For how long?"

"Ever, I think. She's going to the city; her counsellor got her a place in some kind of special centre, they're going to help her get her HSC, train her for a job. She wanted to go."

"Without telling us?" Phoebe protested.

"Yeah. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to leave if she had to say goodbye to us." He looked at Brax. "I promised her, anything she needs, whenever."

"Yeah, obviously, mate. Have you told Heath and Bianca?"

"Haven't told anyone yet, but I will." His phone beeped; he glanced down, grinned, and passed it to Denny.

She tilted the screen, reading out loud, "All checked in, completely exhausted. Eat something. Love you, talk tomorrow."

Casey was watching Brax. "I'm all right," he told him. "I'll miss her, but this is what she wants, so I'm glad. I'm not going to collapse in panic – I think," he added, because it might sneak up on him; just because it hadn't in months didn't mean it wouldn't, Nate and Leah had both made sure to tell him that.

"You really didn't know?" Brax asked.

"She didn't tell anyone. Just Nate; I guess he had to agree or sign papers or whatever. But she wouldn't let him tell us. I still might not know, except I saw her at the bus stop." He met Kyle's eyes briefly, grimacing apologetically.

"As long as she's happy, I guess that's the important thing," Ricky said placidly. "You need anything, Casey?"

"No. Thanks, Rick, I'm good." Denny cleared her throat; Casey glanced at her and then back at Ricky, smiling. "Actually, I think I'm very upset and need to be comforted by my girlfriend. Any chance you can clear Brax out?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage that." She grinned at the look on Brax's face. "Come on. He'll shout if he needs us, or she will. Let's go."

"We're going to go too," Kyle agreed, touching Phoebe's arm.

"Don't come a'knockin' if our door is vibrating," Phoebe said cheerfully, waving to Denny as Kyle pulled her out.

Casey snorted in amusement, turning to Denny and sighing at the look on her face. "I'm all right."

"Yeah," she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and grinning at him. "I think you are."

Casey called Kayla the next morning, listened to her babble about the centre and her room and how nice everyone was, and finally interrupted to ask her if she was happy.

"I'm not unhappy," she said after thinking for a moment. "I think I will be happy. When I'm used to it."

"Good. That's the important thing. Listen, I'm going to tell Heath and Bianca you're in the city. They've got your number, you've got their numbers, and I know Darcy would love to see you."

"Sure," Kayla agreed. "You ok, Casey?"

"I'm ok, Kayla."

They called back and forth over the weeks, talking to each other every few days, keeping each other up to date with their lives. Kayla told Casey about her job training; Casey told Kayla when Brax and Ricky decided to try for a baby. Kayla called Casey in tears after the power went out at the centre, leaving her with no lights, and he stayed on the phone for an hour talking to her. Denny texted Kayla when trouble at the gym sent Casey spiralling into being unable to eat, and she called to shout at him and then stayed on the line until he ate something, grousing all the time. Casey sent Kayla a guitar for her birthday, and she played it down the phone until Brax made him hang up; she went to Darcy's birthday party on their behalf, sending back photos with captions that had them in stitches.

A year to the day since he'd woken up in the bunker, Casey called her and they chatted idly for a while. Brax had organised a barbie, and he and Kyle were arguing over the grill. Ricky was sitting in the hammock, gently stroking her rounded belly and listening as Phoebe and Denny argued over the benefits of natural birth versus epidurals and C Sections.

"You all right?" Kayla asked curiously. "You're very distracted."

"No, fine, sorry. We're having a barbie here."

"Oh?"

"No, we're not having spaghetti sauce on the sausages."

"Spoilsport," Kayla muttered. "So. How are you doing, Case?"

He glanced over as the girls burst into laughter; Kyle's first attempt at a burger was completely black and shrivelled, drooping pathetically when he held it up. He shrugged good naturedly, tossing it aside and starting again, apparently paying close attention as Brax explained again. The sun was warm, the garden was filled with his family, and he felt completely at peace.

"I'm doing good, Kayla. How about you?"

"I'm doing good too."

end