6 Weeks Later

The beach was a buzz with people from the community and surrounding areas as they chatted amongst friends and made some new ones. The sun shun brighter than any other day and the soothing sound of the ocean waves lapping against the beach amplified the serene setting that was Summer Bay. It was the day of the charity marathon for Diabetes Australia and runners were busy limbering up and hydrating themselves with water.

Nicole, Annie, Romeo and Xavier were handing out watter bottles and runners numbers. Ruby had gladly volunteered to help Rachel and Dr. Madden educate the many kids who were there about diabetes and how people with the illness cope day to day. She even sat down with some of the kids and showed them how she checked her blood sugars and how she injected herself. When she was finished,she decided to fo help out her friends with some of their duties.

Standing up, she picked up her walking cane and made her over to the registration tent and smiled at Nicole and Annie who were sat behind the table helping runners fill in their forms.

"Hey, guys. Need any help?", Ruby asked them as she picked up a bottle of water.

"Actually we're just about finished, we've just got a couple more forms to get back before the marathon starts", Nicole said with a tone that would suggest that she couldn't wait to finish handing out forms in the scorching heat.

Ruby laughed at her but was stopped from replying when was nearly knocked over by a body crashing into her, but arms wrapped around her haulting her fall

"HEY, what the hell...." before Ruby could finish blasting the stranger for nearly leaving her flat out on her back she was taken in by the beautiful green eyes staring back at her as she lay in his arms. His spikey brown hair and sparkling smile making her melt.

"I am so sorry", he told her as he straightened her up and picked up her caine. "I was in a hurry, I wasn't minding where I was going".

"Oh, it's fine, I shouldn't be blocking the way", Ruby said with a goofy looking grin on her face that suggest she was already crushing on the young man in front of her. "I'm Ruby".

"Dylan", he replied holding out a hand for her to shake. Gripping her hand gently he smiled at her.

Ruby looked him up and down and noticed the sports gear he was wearing, as well as his fit physic. He was obviously the sporty type. He was tall, and although he was around Ruby's age, there was something more manly about him compared to other boys Ruby knew or had dated.

"Let me guess, runner?", Ruby said in a playful manner.

He laughed looking himself up and down realising how obvious it was. Then he looked at Ruby.

"Let me guess, diabetic?" he said as if he knew her.

Ruby looked at him confused as to how he would know that just by looking at her.

"How did you...", she trailed off as he began to laugh at her.

"Your diabetic ID bracelet kind of gave it away", he said pointing at her wrist.

Ruby looked down and let out a small laugh at her own stupidity and felt herself blush as he stood there smiling at her reaction. Just then they were interrupted by Charlie who jogged up to the tent they were standing at. Dressed in her usual running gear she smiled at her daughter as she greeted her.

"Rubes", she said as she stopped beside her. "How'd the demonstrations go?", she asked placing a hand on Ruby's back.

"Yeah good. Some of the kids were freaked out by the whole needles bit but they seemed okay after I showed them how they worked", Ruby said giving her mother a brief run through of how it went. "Oh, this is Dylan. He's one of the runners in the marathon", she said introducing her mother to the young man standing in front of them. "Dylan this is my mum", she said, waiting to see how he would react when he noticed how young Charlie looked.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you", he said putting out his hand for Charlie to shake.

Noticing Dylan's well mannered gesture, Charlie shook his hand and smiled at him.

"Yeah, you too" Charlie said, then she looked back at her daughter and noticed a glow about her she hadn't seen in a while.

"Well, I've got to go warm up before the race. It was really nice talking to you Ruby. Maybe we can meet up after the marathon and grab a juice or something?", he asked hopeful of a positive reply.

"Sure", Ruby said without hesitation and her smile got bigger when she noticed how happy he was with her answer.

With that she wished him luck and he jogged off in the direction of the starting positions. Charlie looked at her daughter and laughed a little at the obvious grin on Ruby's face. Clearly a crush was already in full bloom. As if sensing her mother's amusement at the recent interaction, Ruby snapped out of her trance like state and focused her attention on Charlie.

"So you all set for you run?", she asked her as they both began to slowly stroll towards the rest of the runners.

"As ready as I can be", Charlie said as she placed an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"Hey, if you want to jump out at any stage I can fake a good hypo for you so you can bow out with a good reason", Ruby said with a cheeky sly grin on her face.

"I don't think that's necessary Rubes", Charlie replied with a laugh.

Just as they were getting close to the gathering crowds they were stopped by a voice from behind.

"Ruby Buckton?", the voice asked.

Turning around both Buckton women were shocked to find the widowed wife of Grant Bledcoe standing behind them. Charlie looked at the women, a conflicted feeling of sympathy and disgust washing over her. Ruby just stood there shocked. Stepping in front of Ruby and gripping her hand, Charlie took a firm stance and prepared for a stand off.

"What do you want?", Charlie said trying to keep her temper under control.

Tracy took a step back when she saw the defensive manner in which Charlie was taking in the current situation.

"Look, I'm not here to cause trouble. But I need to talk to you, Legally I have to", Tracy stated, trying to grab their attention.

When Charlie heard the word legally, it clicked that this was not about revenge for what happened with Grant and the murder. Looking back at Ruby, she saw the curiosity in her eyes and as much as she didn't want to, she alson found herself wondering what was going on. Turning her attention back to Tracy, she gave in and decided to allow her to talk.

"Okay, say what you have to say and be done with it", Charlie told her as she folded her arms across her chest.

Tracy nodded at Charlie and proceed to explain why she was in Summer Bay.

"A couple of months after...you know...our lawyer came to me for the reading of the will. Grant was a diabetic and he had a huge life assurance policy that his parents helped him set up when he was 21 that if anything happened his family or whatever, would be looked the payout had strings attached. Because diabetes is genetic, there was a big chance that if he had kids, that they could develope the condition. That's where you come in Ruby. The policy stated that if Grant died, the money would go to the child with the condition to finance their health care. That's why I'm here, to give you this", she finally finished.

Reaching into her bag, Tracy pulled out an envelope and handed it to Ruby. Taking the envelope from the older woman, Ruby opened it up and pulled the cheque out of it. When she read the figure in front of her, her jaw dropped to the floor.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars...are you serious?" Ruby asked with a very serious look on her face.

"It's the law, I don't have a say in it. Look, I'll be on the juice bar during the marathon if you want to talk more", Tracy said to both women with a sense of dread at the thought.

Both Buckton women watched her walk towards the surf club, still unable to talk after the shock they had just received and then Ruby broke the silence.

"I don't want his money! I don't want anything to do with him", Ruby stated shoving the cheque back in the envelope and beginning to make her way towards the surf club.

"What, Ruby where are you going?", Charlie asked as she grabbed a hold of her daughters arm to stop her from walking off.

"I'm going to talk to Tracy and give her back the cheque. I'll be waiting for you at the finish line", Ruby replied.

Before Charlie could answer and anouncement was sent through the speakers requesting all rnners to make their way to the starting line. Knowing that her daughter would go talk to Tracy regardless of Charlie's concerns, she simply let out a sigh of discontent.

"Rubes, be careful. I'll see you at the finish", she said planting a kiss on Ruby's forehead before running off.

Watching Charlie run towards the starting line, Ruby felt proud of her mother for taking part in such an event and it made her so happy to how she was supporting the cause. With one last glance she turned back around and made her way towards the surf club to talk to Tracy, or worse case scenario, case a scene.