AN: So Ash and Denny finally met on Home & Away last night. It went pretty much like I imagined it would, they bonded over fixing stuff and Ash was understanding about Casey. The timeline for this story is obviously different to the show, I already have them as friends by this stage. I am however going to steal a few plot points from the show in the next couple of chapters. Ash and Brax road-tripping it to the desert together is just too irresistible. Enjoy!

Ash had never thought he'd be a model employee anywhere. He was the kinda bloke who robbed banks rather than do a full day's work, but maybe the system worked. Maybe his stint in jail had taught him his lesson because lately he found himself staying back to help the boss pack up after closing. Surely that had to earn him some allowances.

"Hey Kyle?"

"Yeah?"

"You reckon I could get a couple of days off?"

"Sure, what for?" Strictly, that wasn't any of Kyle's business but Ash didn't mind telling him.

"To look for Billie. I gave up too easily last time."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. Last I knew she was in Newcastle. I might head up there and see what I can find out." Kyle watched him intently as he spoke, it was one of the things he liked about the bloke. How he was always so present in the moment.

"What's she like?" Kyle asked. Ash hesitated, it'd been so long since he'd seen her. And then there were two Billie's. The crazy, fun-loving girl he'd grown up with, and the one who put up with Dean. He didn't like the second one as much but she was most likely the one he'd find if he went looking. "It's okay," Kyle's voice cut through his thoughts, "you don't have to tell me." Ash pulled himself out of his musings and looked into Kyle's sincere brown eyes.

"Na, it's alright. I was just thinking about how Dean ruined both our lives. One person shouldn't be allowed to do that to a whole family..."

"No, they shouldn't," Kyle agreed. "What will you do if you find them?"

"Get her away from him." Ash couldn't decipher the look that passed over Kyle's face then, but he knew it wasn't good. "What?"

"I..." Kyle shook his head, "no, it's nothing, doesn't matter."

"No, c'mon. Tell me."

Kyle sighed, and fixed him with a steady look.

"Just be careful, okay? Don't forget how you ended up in prison the first time."

"You don't think I should go?"

"It's not that, it's just... Like I said. Be careful yeah?" Ash nodded and got back to wiping the tables. He'd been keen to get up to Newcastle but now he wasn't so sure...

xxx

Denny hadn't been spending quite as much time at Angelo's as she usually would. It was both good and bad. Ash hoped it meant she was healing, but it also meant he didn't see her as much. And in some ways that gave him more cause to worry. He tracked her down at the bait shop. She was still mucking around with the same motor she had been the other day.

"That thing still giving you grief?"

"Yeah," she answered, wiping a greasy hand across her forehead. He couldn't help his grin.

"I just did it again, didn't it?" she sighed.

"Yeah but it's cute, leave it there." She shrugged. "Want me to help you with this?" he asked.

"It's okay, it's work. You don't have to."

"I know, but it might just be something simple." She gave him an unimpressed look.

"I didn't mean it like that," he defended, "I just have a knack with these things sometimes..." That didn't seem to help either. "Look, just give me minute. Can't hurt right?"

"Be my guest," she said, stepping aside obviously because she thought he couldn't do this. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He made a few adjustments, just things he'd learned from tinkering as a kid. Unlike cars, boats weren't his area of expertise. Denny'd learned the same way and for that very reason their educations and experiences were entirely unique. What she found difficult he sometimes found easy and vice versa.

"We're good, right Den?" he said, his eyes still on the motor rather than her face.

"Yeah," she said, "'course we are." He didn't like the overly-enthusiastic way she said it, she was hiding something. He brushed his hair out of his face and made one final tweak to the motor before standing. He looked her in the eye and could see some doubt there.

"I'd never touch a chick, you know that right? I just wanted to scare him..."

"I know," she said, her serious expression melting away and something of the old sparkle he was used to lighting up her eyes. She tossed him a rag to wipe his hands.

"Good. Now try that." She stepped forward and pulled the ripcord, the motor whirred to life.

"Nice work Ashford," she appreciated, "I'll have to get you to teach me that one."

"Sure thing, as soon as I get back."

"You're going somewhere?"

"I'm heading to Newcastle to see what I can find out about Billie."

"You think she's still there?"

"I dunno. Guess I'll find out. Promise you'll stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"Can't make any promises but I'll try." That would have to do. "And Ash?" she added with a grin.

"Yeah?"

"You might wanna use that rag on your cheek too."

xxx

"You call if you need anything," Brax said.

"Will do," Ash replied as he threw his bag into the back of Brax's sick Holden ute he was being given the honour for borrowing. She was a 2010 model but to Ash she was a brand newie. He'd been locked up the year before she was manufactured and he was keen to get her out on the open road for a spin. "Where's Kyle?" Ash had hoped to speak to him again before he left. Brax gave him a wry look. Of course...

"Work," they said in unison.

"You need to talk to him?" Brax asked.

"Na, all good," Ash fibbed, he'd call Kyle from the road. "Well I guess I'll see you in a couple of days..." Hopefully with Billie beside him.

"Good luck with it mate." Ash hopped in the ute and headed off.

Once he was on the road he called Kyle.

"Hey mate. Anyone ever tell ya you work too hard?"

"Someone's gotta. What's up? You on the road?"

"Yep. Listen, will you keep an eye on Denny for me? Just in case she needs anything?"

"You think she will?"

"I hope not. I still don't trust Andy though."

"I think he learned his lesson there. How are you two getting on?"

"We don't really see each other, I think he might be avoiding me."

"Funny that. And yeah, I'll be here if Denny needs me."

"Thanks mate."

"Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Just remember, be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

"And Ash?

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Ash ended the call. He gunned the engine to put the ute through her paces. Now he had Denny sorted he could concentrate on the task ahead.

xxx

Newcastle turned out to be a bust, but not a complete dead end. Billie was gone but he had a lead. Broken Hill of all places. That was a bit more of an effort than a quick trip along the coast though. For now he was back in Summer Bay.

"If this Dean is as bad as you say he is, you need someone to have your back out there," Kyle told him. Ash agreed.

"I'll ask Brax."

"Brax has Ricky, let me do it."

"No," Ash shot back. "Brax can handle himself, we'll be fine."

"I can handle myself too," Kyle pointed out.

"Not like Brax. Besides, I know how he operates."

"This is stupid Ash, I can do this."

"I said no, alright? Brax is the best one for it." Ash was glad when Kyle finally accepted that, even if the bloke didn't look at all happy about it.

AN: Thanks for reading and especially to those who've reviewed :)