"It's not the beach, but it's a beach," Casey sighed thinking of the beautiful beach they'd left behind, but he heartened a little when he remembered where Linda had come from. "Still, it's better than anything you've got in England, right?"

"Oh come on, our beaches aren't that bad."

"If you like rocks and arctic waters..." Casey teased. She conceded that one with a smile and waited as he spread a towel on the sand for them to sit on. They settled beside each other, gazing out at the grey water, and Casey wasn't sure what to say so he waited for Linda to go first.

"Never did I imagine I'd be sitting on a beach in Australia about to have this conversation." She didn't sound thrilled at the prospect, though she didn't exactly sound upset either. It was just a fact, one that she knew she had to deal with. Casey turned to look at her, and she looked back at him with that steady conviction he'd always known her to have. He wanted to be here for her, he was glad that she hadn't tried to deal with this on her own. "Though if it did have to happen," she went on, "I'm glad it was you."

"Me too." He wrapped a protective arm around her, wanting to shield her from anything or anyone that threatened to hurt her, but it was hard when he knew he was at the top of that list. He would do everything he could to help her that wouldn't affect his relationship with Heath, but Heath would always come first. She leaned into him and they sat in silence a while longer before Linda finally broached the subject they'd come here to discuss.

"I could've gotten rid of it, I thought about it," she admitted and Casey couldn't blame her, it must've been hard knowing he was on the other side of the world and a virtual stranger no less. He tightened his hold on her and waited for her to continue. "But I couldn't do it, I remembered how important your family was to you, how upset you were when that call about your brother came through, and I knew you deserved your chance to have a say. More than that, I knew you'd want it."

"I do..." he admitted, he'd never known love like he had for Harley, and to have that again would be amazing. But it was that same love that made him uncertain too, because he could do nothing to risk the life he and Heath were trying to build for their son. It all depended on what Linda wanted.

"I feel a 'but' coming."

"It's just that I have Heath and Harley now, I can't do anything to jeopardise that. You and I can never..."

"Of course," she agreed, "that's not what I came here for, you having them only makes this easier." He hadn't expected that. He'd expected her to ask that they raise their baby together. She sat up straight then, shifting so she could look him in the eye. "I never planned for this baby, it doesn't fit into how I want my life to be, not to mention how disappointed my parents would be. I want to finish law school, have a career, and I can't do that as a single mother. But you're different, you've already made it work, having a child I mean. You and Heath are doing a wonderful job with Harley." Her words seemed too good to be true.

"Are you saying you want to give me this baby? Just like that?"

"There's one catch," she admitted, "my parents can't know."

"I won't tell them," Casey agreed readily, growing more excited as each moment passed.

"There's a little more to it than that. At the moment they think I'm travelling, I told them I needed a break from school. You have to understand that we have a certain standing in society and me having an illegitimate child will tarnish that, both for myself and my family. I want to be able to move freely in those circles, no one back home can know. So I need to stay away from there until I've given birth."

"Your family doesn't know you're here?"

"Technically no," she sighed, "it sounds terribly selfish now that I say it out loud." Maybe it was, but all Casey could think was that she was having a baby she didn't want, and she was doing that for him.

"You came from the other side of the world to offer me this, that's the furthest thing from selfish I can think of." She smiled up at him, and he was glad he could make her feel better about her decision.

"And was it worth it? Will you keep it? Will you let me stay with you until it's born?"

"I want to say yes, to all of it, I really do. And I will, but I can't yet, not until I talk to Heath."

"Of course. I know this is a lot to take in Casey, it was a shock for me too."

"No Linda, it's a gift, one I'm so grateful you gave me the chance to have. Heath will be as happy as I am, I know he will, but I can't not ask." She considered him thoughtfully and he saw the last of her doubt slip away.

"I knew I made the right choice, you're going to be a wonderful father for our baby. Thank-you."