.2.

It was the end of a very long day as students and a couple of teachers; Sally included, poured out of Summer Bay High, heading for home, the beach, Noah's Bar or the Diner. Sally glanced around, her eyes searching the rowdy crowd of students for any sign of Pippa and Vinnie. She sighed; they were taking an unusual amount of time and were making her run late. She had agreed to meet Natalie at the diner in a half hour and didn't want to make excuses for turning up late. As her eyes wondered the crowd, they passed, did a double-take and landed on the man she had bumped into earlier that day. Was it…Darren Westcott?

She thought he was watching the front doors as students milled out, but couldn't be certain as he was wearing sunglasses; he was totally unaware that this gave Sally the perfect chance to look him over. He was wearing a plaid, unbuttoned shirt, rolled up at the arms, a wifebeater and ratty, old jeans. He was leaning against a wall, totally relaxed but with his arms crossed. As she watched, he ran a hand through his messy, dark hair. For an instant, someone blocked her view of him, she blinked and there he was again. He was lowering his sunglasses and was looking directly at her, or so she thought, with what Sally could see from her distance; a smirk. She blinked, coloured slightly but remained strangely calm, she looked away. She couldn't help but think how handsome he was, but quashed her thoughts as Flynn came to the forefront of her mind. It would be wrong to have thoughts like that. And, she thought, he could hardly be a day over thirty… Now that would definitely be wrong.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Pippa shouted a 'Hey mum!' followed by a 'Hiya Sally' from Vinnie, she was just about to tell him off for not calling her 'Mrs Saunders' as they were still in school, however close they were to the exit when she spotted a boy walking alongside Vinnie. He was the same height as Vinnie; perhaps an inch or two taller, with dark brown hair that glinted in the sunlight and eyes that reminded her of someone. She couldn't think who…

Pippa smiled excitedly, her eyes bright. "Mum, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is my mum-"

"Mrs Saunders to you. You're new," Sally cut in with a small smile; the sun was shining on her glasses so she squinted.

"Mrs? The good ones are always taken." A voice behind her said in a mock-annoyed voice. Something flipped in her stomach. It'd been years since she'd felt something akin to that, she'd almost forgotten. Taking a deep, calming breath she turned on her heel and came face to face- well, neck- with Darren Westcott. Her eyes travelled up. His eyes were bright, a dazzling blue. He looked her over, and a shiver ran through her.

"It was Ethan's first day." He nodded at the boy with a smile. "We just moved here from Brisbane. I liked the job offer, liked the scenery." He looked at Sally with a penetrating gaze that made her heart speed up. His voice, his looks, the way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her; no one had a right to make her feel like this… only Flynn.

"Oh? And where do you work?" she asked smoothly, hoping her voice wouldn't shake.

"Down at the hospital. I'm a-"

"Wow, really!" Pippa exclaimed, not noticing that she had cut in rather rudely. "So did my dad. You know-"

"Pip," Vinnie hissed angrily, noticing the horrified look on Sally's face.

"What?" Pippa asked blankly, ever the slowest to realise the most obvious things.

Sally peered at her watch, not really knowing what to do with herself.

"We've got to go," she said snappishly. "Natalie's waiting." She walked towards the car park briskly.

Pippa sighed. "Oh yeah…Ethan, I'll see you tomorrow. We're going to the diner…I'll show you that sometime…"

"It was nice meeting you Pippa, I'll see you tomorrow," Ethan called, hands in pockets. Pippa beamed, her cheeks tinged a faint pink. Sally was certain that she was the only one who saw Vinnie scowl and mutter under his breath.

Darren said, "I don't know why you can't show us the diner now; we'll follow in my car." His words stopped Sally in her tracks; she'd only taken a few steps. She frowned. She didn't need him following her around, even if he did need someone to show him around. She wasn't the person.

"Just keep up."

-

Sally glanced at herself in the mirror as the others got out of the car.

"Aunt Sal, you coming?" Vinnie asked, wearing a worried frown.

"Yep." She smiled. "Just a minute. You go ahead." He left.

She licked her lips, and wiped her slightly sweaty palms on her skirt. She didn't know why she was feeling so jittery. Really, what had gotten into her? Maybe it was just because of Flynn's anniversary the next day, that must've been it, she thought.

Entering the diner but stopping in the doorway, she found Pippa, Vinnie, Ethan and Darren sitting around a table with Natalie; making introductions. She watched as Darren and Natalie smiled at each other. Something bubbled inside of her. What was wrong with her, she had been acting strangely all day. She brushed off the weird feeling and made her way over to the group as Natalie spotted her and waved her over. Darren pulled up a chair for her beside him, much to Sally's agitation.

"Hey," Natalie greeted cheerfully. Natalie had been one of Cassie's best friends before she left with Ric for England. Sally thought her young friend always put up a front when in anyone else's company, but she knew that she was actually broken inside. She was twenty nine, married and had confessed to Sally that she was tired of her good for nothing, cheating husband; Paul.

"Hey, how are you?" Sally asked concernedly. Her friend had never been the same since she'd married Paul; she had changed for the worse.

"I'm fine, and you Sal?" she asked, her pale eyebrows rose. Sally knew what she meant.

"Great," she said, with a smile, her eyes flickering around the table, stopping for a second at Darren, who was reading the menu.

"Good," she said shortly. There was a silence, apart from the teenagers' chatter, in where they locked gazes; Natalie opened her mouth to say something before closing it after a moment's hesitation.

"What did you want to talk about?" Sally asked, referring to the almost urgent text message Natalie had sent her the night before.

Natalie looked frantic for a second before she covered it up with a light chuckle.

"Can't I meet up with you for tea for no reason at all?"

"Yeah," Sally replied quietly, realising that Natalie had something to say but didn't want to discuss it in public. Natalie turned her attention to Darren just as Leah came out from the kitchen, retrieving her notepad and pen from her apron pocket.

"Hey guys, what will you be having?" she asked with a grin, ruffling Vinnie's hair lightly who scowled and jerked away. Pippa and Ethan laughed.

They ordered their food, brought another table as there wasn't enough space and listened to Darren and Ethan for the rest of the meal. Sally kept shooting worried glances at Natalie, who seemed to be absorbed in Darren and everything he said. She could tell that Natalie was attracted to Darren.

"Summer Bay is a great place," Pippa was saying, waving her arms around animatedly.

"That's only because you haven't been anywhere else," Natalie retorted with a smile.

"I have too; I went with mum to that teacher's conference thingy in Adelaide!"

"When you were six!" Vinnie finished off.

"Anyway Darren, you definitely need someone to show you around," Natalie said with a sly grin.

"Oh? I though Summer Bay was a relatively small town," he stated, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes but, you'll definitely want to see the best spots," Natalie reiterated.

Darren glanced at Sally thoughtfully.

"Maybe Sally can show me around." Sally's head jerked up. "That is, if you're not to busy tomorrow?"

Sally's mouth fell open like a fish, lost for words. Natalie's face fell. She'd obviously been thinking about herself for the job.

"And I'd get to meet your husband."

The words crashed over her like a wave and Sally could feel numbness spread over her. Things seemed to darken, clouds rolled in. Everything was silent for a God-awful moment and all Sally could do was stare at him blankly, the pain evident in her eyes. The awkwardness of the situation seemed to remain for an eternity, before she stood up, her limbs heavy and declared in a voice as steady as she could manage,

"I'm going to the ladies."

As she walked away, slightly unsteady in her heels she heard Pippa mutter,

"My dad died twelve years ago. You won't be meeting him."

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!