Disclaimer: Well, I should warn you that, if you think I own these characters, some little men, in little white coats are going to drag you off for a holiday.
A/N: Ok, so guys, no-one's come up with the significance of Claire's new name (which is Natalie Durham), so I may have to name the next new character myself. What I mean by the significance is . . . well, its kinda a quirky idea I had. And Claire'll explain it in a couple of chapters anyway.
Sarita: Well, while you're looking forward to figuring it all out, I'm having fun trying to work out what it's all going to be!
Meggie-moo-has-fun: thanks for the info on Alex's middle name... thinking about incorperating it into the fic somehow. Unfortunately neither Alex nor Tess appear in this chap, but they are going to have a HUGE shock when they see her.
genevra: Ok, so David lives at Kilarny. He is Sandra and Harry's son. Becky came back to look after Charlotte after some stuff happened in her life... haven't quite worked out what yet, but keep reading, it'll appear at some stage in the future. Tess and Nick- the look that passed between them confused Bom, and thus should have confused you. However, to let you in on a spoiler, they haven't been able to have any children.
CSIcrazy: It's alright that you're slow. Genevra, i think it was, worked out who Natalie was in the first little snippet. However, no-one has still managed to work out the significance of Natalie Durham, so I can't tell you how her new name came about.
A short while later, Dave came whistling into the yard. He walked towards the house, carrying his bag of tricks. He knew that Bom had been left alone today, and he figured that he'd keep her company before he got to work. He saw a strange 4WD with interstate plates on it and quickened his pace. He ran up the back stairs and started into the house, keeping an eye out for anything that was out of place. As he made his way past the kitchen he remember the day he had found Kate scared and ready to attack him with her wheel brace. He began to remember how he had comforted her and pushed the thought from his mind. He could reminisce about the day he fell for his third wife later.
He paused for a moment, and followed the sound of voices to the study. He poked his head in and saw Charlotte and a short, brown haired girl sitting at the desk, drawing. There was something in the smile of the younger girl that he couldn't quite figure out. It seemed familiar somehow. He guessed the younger girl to be a year or so younger than Charlotte. There was a woman, with long brown hair looking out the window. There was something familiar in her stance that he couldn't work out either. He cleared his throat, and two pairs of eyes greeted him.
"Uncle Dave!" Lottie threw herself at the older man. She never got tired of seeing her 'uncle'. He picked her up, and hugged her close. She hugged him around the throat as he positioned her on his hip.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" he asked, grinning what can only be described as a Dave grin.
"This is Michelle. She's five and a half..."
"I'm almost six!" Michelle commented indignantly.
"Of course you are sweetheart." The strange woman by the window commented for the first time. She turned around, and Dave withheld a gasp. No wonder he thought he recognised this woman! Natalie saw the recognition pass across his face and shook her head firmly at him. She walked over and shook the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you Dave, I'm Natalie. I didn't know Tess had a brother."
Dave wasn't quite sure what Claire was playing at, but it wouldn't hurt him to play along for a little while. "I'm not her brother." He was about to continue when Lottie had to throw in her two cents worth.
"He's our vet. He used to date Aunty Tess, but she says that he was too silly for her, so she married Uncle Nick instead." Natalie saw the brief look of pain pass over Dave's face. "But then he married Kate, one of our station hands, last year." Dave pinched her, indicating that she had said enough.
Natalie didn't know what to say next. She really needed to get Michelle and Charlotte to go and do something before her cover was blown. Just as she was formulating a plan, Dave spoke again. "You haven't mentioned how you know our Tess."
'Ah, a question I can deal with.' Natalie was used to difficult questions, but this one was easy enough to explain away without really lying. "We go way back." She was about to continue when she felt a small hand pulling at the leg of her jeans. She looked down and smiled at her younger daughter.
"Mummy, I'm hungry." There it was, one of the small parts of Michelle's father that had sustained her over the long years since she had been forced to leave, not knowing she was pregnant with another child.
Dave saw that this was the perfect opportunity to get some time alone with Claire. "Lottie, why don't you go and show Michelle your pony while Natalie and I make some sandwiches?" He paused, knowing what would be going on in the small girl's mind. "And we'll come and watch both of you riding after we've eaten, okay?"
Both girls smiled widely, and eagerly left the study, Michelle lagging behind slightly.
Once the two were out of sight, Dave turned to Natalie and acknowledged her properly. "What happened?" He asked roughly, still shocked. "I didn't make it to your funeral, but everyone else in the area did."
Claire sighed. "It's complex." She paused, unsure how to approach the subject. "It's also rather long."
"It has been close to seven years." Dave's eye's widened- a thought had just occurred to him. He did some quick calculations and it all added up. "Michelle's Alex's daughter, isn't she?" He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier.
Claire didn't know what to say. She had hoped that someone would be able to help her with her explanation. She didn't trust her voice, so she just nodded.
"I knew I had seen that grin somewhere before." He turned, and beckoned her to follow him to the kitchen. "Do you want to tell me now, or do you want to tell us all together?"
Claire wasn't used to this side of Dave. If it had something to do with his third wife, she couldn't wait to meet her. Although the happy-go-lucky, joking Dave was a breath of fresh air most of the time, it was nice to know that he had an insightful side too.
"I haven't really thought past turning up." She sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot today.
"Does Michelle eat Vegemite?" Dave recoiled as Claire hit him.
"Of course she does! What do you take me for?" She looked confused as he shot her a look. "What?"
"Have you seen the way that she dresses?"
Claire thought back to her earlier revelation. "Ok, point taken." She thought for a moment, and then began to grin. "God, it's going to be like having Tess arrive all over again."
Dave just grinned and returned to making the Vegemite sandwiches.
A/N: There was something...... Oh, right. Ok, so I've figured out what the ending is going to be.... haven't written it, that tends to be the death of my FFs. Also, I've written as far as Tess coming back to the house, so the next chapter's well underway.
A/N 2: If anyone can come up with a better idea for the title of this chap, I'll be ETERNALLY greatful!