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Rhyleigh xoxox


"Hello?" Bec reached for the phone, since no one else was home. Garry had gone for a run on the beach and the kids were at school, while she filled out more and more of the paperwork Angus insisted on sending.

"Hi Bec!" Charley said cheerfully.

"Charley! How are you! Are you feeling better?" she asked, surprised to hear his voice. It was usually Loren he spoke to- she gave the gang the updates.

"Much better. I still go to bed really early, though. But guess what?" he sounded excited.

"What's going on, Charley?" Bec was immediately suspicious.

"I was at the doctor's about an hour ago, and he gave me the go ahead! I can come back to Solar Blue!"

"Charley, that's awesome!" Bec said excitedly. "When are you coming?"

"Well I'm on the net now- I'm taking the first flight. There's a flight for two o'clock, which means I'll be arriving at Sydney at about five. And then there's one for three- can I take the two o'clock? Then I'll be back for dinner".

"Charley, that's perfect. Just in time I'll get Garry to come and get you, okay?"

"Thanks, Bec. Could you not tell the others? I mean, like Loren and Adam and all them?"

"Oh, sneaky!" she teased gently. "That's great news, Charley, I'm really excited! And you have no idea how happy Loren will be- I promise I won't tell them. Do you want anything special for dinner?"

She could tell Charley was smiling. "what's the plan for tonight?"

"Spaghetti".

"Is Loren cooking it?"

"Cassie and Adam are".

"Oh. I love spaghetti! Yeah! Let's have spaghetti! Thanks Bec. I'll see you later?"

"Bye, mate". She put the house phone down and reached for her mobile, to send Garry a text.

The last kids coming home! Youll be at the airport at 5. B.

Thirty seconds later, Garry came into the office. "Charley's coming back?"

"Got it in one!" Bec said brightly. She hugged him excitedly. "Do you have any idea how glad the other kids are going to be?"

"Loren especially", Garry grinned. Loren had been pining ultimately for Charley.

"My point exactly. Wanna give the kids a lift home? The bell'll go soon".

So in honour of Charley coming back to Solar Blue, Garry and Bec clambered into the big orange and white mini van, to go and collect the other five.


"What are you doing here?" Bridget demanded, sliding open the door. "Is everything okay?"

"What's happened?" Cassie asked, sticking her head in the door, over Bridget's shoulder.

"Are you both okay?" Loren asked, her head under Bridget's arm.

"Does something have to be wrong for us to pick you up?" Garry laughed, as the kids climbed in.

The boys nodded, and Loren recited all the times one or more of the kids had been picked up from school.

"There was that time Guy was arrested, and the time Charley had to go to the doctor's and had to go back to Perth, and the time Cassie stuffed her foot and was on crutches for like, three weeks, and the time we had to go and visit Cassie in the hospital because she fell off a cliff and there was the time..."

"Loren, Loren, Loren!" Bec interrupted. "Honey, we get it. We've only picked you up when there's something wrong. But no, there is no reason. Apart from the fact training will be ending earlier today, due to the fact that Garry has to go into the city".

"Why do you have to go into the city?" Adam wanted to know.

Garry shrugged, in a flat out lie. "Angus said I have to meet him in the city, there's no big deal. I'll be back in time for dinner, make sure there's something good!"

"Do guys only think about food?" Cassie asked in disbelief.

"It's obvious you only have sisters", Bridget teased gently. "I have three brothers and they spend half their lives eating".

"Shut up!" Adam said defensively.

"Nah, it's true, mate", Guy said cheerfully.


"Why's Garry going to the city?" Guy wanted to know, as he dripped on the veranda.

"Guy Spender, are you actually complaining that training ended early?" Bridget laughed.

"Garry has to go and pick someone up, Angus said", Bec said, not letting anything else slip out. "That's all I know".

"I bet it's the big boss man", Loren said confidently.

"Probably", Cassie agreed. "Who's cooking tonight?"

"Adam and you are, Cass", Bec informed them. "Spaghetti. Everything's in the fridge- go and have a shower; you're dripping sand all over the clean kitchen floor".

Bridget and Guy headed up to the bathrooms and the other three went out onto the veranda, waiting for the showers to be free.

"They are so gonna love this". Bec smiled, as she retreated to the office, awaiting the long anticipated arrival of their sixth and final kid. Having Charley back would bring everything back to normal.


"Guys!" Garry called, opening the front door. "Come on, it's your long lost friend time!"

It was Cassie that made the connection, without even seeing their beloved Charley.

"Charley!" she screamed, running towards him and throwing her arms around his neck. Charley responded enthusiastically, lifting her off the ground. He was a lot more lively and cheerful than the sad, sick boy that had left, a little over three months ago.

"Hey Cass!" he laughed.

Adam and Guy were in shock, coming out of the pool room.

"What are you doing here, man?" Adam wanted to know.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Guy demanded.

"Hey stranger!" Bridget laughed, hugging their long lost best friend.

"Bec, where's Loren?" Charley wanted to know, spying the head of the house come out of the office.

"Hello to you too!" Bec laughed. "Yeah, I'm good thanks, Charley, good to see you too! She's out the back; I'll go and get her".

"Okay, thanks!"

"She'll be pretty devastated", Cassie commented, as Bec headed towards the back door. Loren was sprawled on the grass, methodically rubbing the wax up and down on her surfboard.

"Loren?" Bec said softly.

Loren jumped a mile- she was clearly a world away. "What the- oh, it's just you, Bec".

"Sorry, sweetie. Didn't mean to scare you- there's someone you've been missing a lot in the house, waiting for you. He's pretty glad to be back, actually".

"Are you serious?" she asked, putting the wax down.

"Loren, would I joke about something like this?" she laughed.

Loren took off towards the house, screaming. "!"

"Loren!" Charley caught her as she leaped into his arms. Charley spun her around, a smile a kilometre wide on his face. Charley kissed Loren's lips like he'd never let them go, and shy little Loren didn't try to stop him.

"Wooo!" the kids teased.

Garry and Bec were laughing.

"You have no idea how much she's missed you", Bec said, as Charley put his girlfriend down.

"Bec, I found him wandering the airport", Garry said jokingly. "Can we keep him?"

Everyone laughed, as Charley headed into the lounge room to catch up with the others.


"Okay, so tell me", Charley said, once dinner had been served. "What have I missed? How many points are you lot on?"

"They don't know, seeing it'll be halfway pretty soon", Garry said. "Oh, and do you remember Dean Edgely?"

"Garry, I haven't met the pro surfer", Charley said, confused. "It'd be really cool if I had though- what? What did I miss?"

Cassie, Guy, Adam, Bridget and even Loren were giggling. Bec's face had turned bright red and she was staring down at her plateful of spaghetti like it was the most interesting thing she had seen in her entire life.

"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

"He was here for dinner last night", Guy informed him.

Charley choked on a strand of spaghetti. "Excuse me?"

Garry had a smile wider than the Luna Park entrance on his face. "Well", he said, enjoying watching Bec squirm. "It seems our little Becky has a bit of a thing for Edge!"

"Becky?" Charley echoed. "Edge?"

Bec sent death stares down across the table at Garry.

"A teenage romance rekindled after four years". Loren sighed happily. "Four years, Charley! And guess what happened when Bridget answered the door?"

"Ooh, can I tell this part?" Cassie asked eagerly. "It's my favourite".

The death stares swapped from Garry to Cassie, as the girls, Garry, Adam and Guy laughed.

"What happened?" Charley wanted to know. "Man, I'm away for, like, a quarter of the year and everything important happens!"

Bec was scarlet. "Cass, I don't think this is really necessary".

"It is", Garry nodded.

"Bec screamed the bajeebies out of Edge and then slammed the door in his face!" Cassie said gleefully.

"But then she went on a date with him", Garry said. "The boy loves her. And she loves him".

"Okay", Charley said slowly, still trying to process the information. "Hey, do I get to meet him?"

"Are you kidding?" Adam said. "The poor guy's heard nothing but stories about you from Loren".

Loren blushed. "That is soooooo not true!"

"That is soooooooooo true", Guy argued, making Cassie giggle.

"And he and Ashleigh are both coming over for dinner on Saturday night", Bridget said, settling the issue. She was good like that.