All Summer Long
Chapter 15: Revelations, Romance & Relationships

Sorry for the delay in updates! I have no excuse, only laziness! Thanks again for all the reviews, I hope you like this chapter too! Xx

Jo found it hard to sleep in her empty tent. For the last few nights she had either been sharing a room with Honey, or a bed with Millie. She had been looking forward to spending the night alone, without Millie, but it was proving to be much more difficult than she could have anticipated. Things may have been forced between her and Millie since the newness of their relationship wore off, but Jo had not expected to feel so alone. Maybe things would be better tomorrow once they had talked things through but Jo was unsure what to say to the younger woman. She had never been in a relationship like this before and she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue with it. She was pretty much certain, however, that it would be a long time before she met another woman like Millie Brown.


Somehow Diane and Callum had made it back to the same tent that night but when she awoke to find that she was still wearing the same clothes as the day before she was pleased to find they hadn't had sex. She knew she needed to cool things off with him and keep her distance so that she could find out how she really felt, about him and about Nikki.


While the rest of the team had been at the campsite, drinking and having a good time, Kerry had been at Dale's bedside. She had left only once to return to the hotel to eat, shower and change. She had held his hand for hours at the time, willing him to wake up with every fibre of her being. Just when things were getting good between them, this had to happen. Kerry wished she hadn't been so up for learning to surf, maybe she could have persuaded Smithy not to go.

"Please wake up." She had whispered over and over, occasionally feeling hot tears slide down her cheeks.

It was dark in the ward when he finally stirred and Kerry, in her sleep deprived state, thought she might have imagined it. Then she heard him groan and she knew she wasn't making it up. She pressed the red button beside Smithy's bed, alerting two nurses who came rushing over.

"He's waking up!" Kerry said, unable to keep the job out of her voice. She knew this didn't mean he was out of the woods, but it was definitely a good sigh.

She was pushed out of the way by the nurses who attended to Smithy, and paced the corridor hoping that she would be given good news when she returned to his bedside.

About half an hour later a nurse came to find Kerry in the corridor, telling her that Smithy was groggy but awake and asking for her. She rushed back onto the ward, almost running passed the other beds to reach him.

"Hey," She smiled, taking his hand again and stroking hair back off his face. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better, but the nurses think I'll be okay," Smithy replied, squeezing her hand lightly. "They tell me you've been here the whole time." His green eyes met her's in a gaze so powerful she couldn't have looked away if she'd wanted to. She simply nodded. "Thank you." She nodded again, feeling tears threatening to overwhelm her again, but these would be tears for a completely different reason.

They sat for a while in silence, holding each other's hands. "I think I'm going to get some sleep now, Kerry." Dale said eventually.

"Okay," She nodded, standing up and pushing her chair away. "I'll see you later."

"Kerry," He called, just before she walked away. "I love you."


Sam awoke and was aware of the fact that she was naked in her sleeping bag. She groggily tried to piece together the events of the night before and took a while before she had a clear picture. The realisation of what had happened; what she had let happen was just hitting her when she heard Phil stir in his sleep beside her. Had she really drunk enough alcohol to agree to have sex with Phil Hunter. She tried to think back to their drinking game. She remembered him being the only one of the group not to have slept with a co-worker. Did that mean last night had been about proving he could? Sam felt her blood run cold at the thought. This was not the kind of morning after she had been expecting.


They left the campsite after breakfast, piling back into the mini-bus. Rather than coffee, some clutched bottles of water and paper bags, hoping they wouldn't be needed. Kayla found herself sitting with a slightly worse for wear Libby rather than Zain.

"Big night last night then?" Kayla asked with a smile. "It makes me almost glad that I can't drink."

"If I never see tequila ever again..." Libby moaned, slipping sunglasses on. "So, did you and Zain have a good, alcohol free night?"

Kayla smiled. "We did. We talked for hours about the baby, and although it's early we've been talking about names and godparents."

"That's great." Libby smiled. "I've been trying to drop some not so subtle hints about the future to Stuart, but I'm not so sure he's picked up on them."

Kayla smiled kindly. "Men, they're like another species."


They arrived back at the hotel and many of the still hung over members of the team went back to their air conditioned rooms.

"Callum and I, whatever we had, it's over." Diane told Nikki as they unpacked their overnight bags. "I just thought you should know."

Nikki wasn't sure how to reply. With Diane seeing Callum, if only sexually, it gave her time to think about her feelings without having the opportunity to act on them. Now, with Diane free and single again, it brought a feeling of fear mixed with excitement.

"Thanks for letting me know." Was all she could bring herself to say in reply.

Diane smiled to herself as she folded up her empty bag, finally she might be able to act on her repressed impulses.


With his fling with Diane over, Callum returned to his room and came face to face with the slip of paper Nate had given him. He thought for a moment before heading out into the lobby to call Jessica.

"Hey Jessica, it's Callum." He paused. "Yeah that's right, we met at the surf shop." They continued to chat for a few minutes before arranging to meet for dinner the next day. Callum was looking forward to it but couldn't shake the guilt he felt at using Jessica to help him get over Diane.


Andrea unpacked her overnight bag and put her toiletries back in the bathroom. She would buy a pregnancy test as soon as she could without getting caught. Things between her and Neil were a little awkward still, but he did seem to have forgiven her for answering his phone. She sighed, taking out her box of pills and putting them in the medicine cabinet. She looked at them for a few moments, thinking that she had always taken precautions against getting pregnant but had never really considered the possibility of having a child.

She was finishing up in the bathroom when she felt a familiar cramping in her stomach and for the first time in her life, she hoped it was her period.


The journey back to the resort had been difficult for both Sam and Phil, neither of them knowing what to say. Phil wanted to reassure Sam that it wasn't just a one night stand for him but he was convinced she wouldn't believe him. No matter what he did it always seemed like it wasn't enough for her but at least Nate had been off the scene for a while. He could do without competition from someone who reminded him so much of a younger version of himself.

"Sam," He began when they piled off the bus and made their way into the main lobby. "Can we get together later?" He asked, then rapidly added. "To talk."

Sam wouldn't meet his eye. "There's nothing to talk about Phil, we were both drunk and we had sex. It was just a onetime thing, it's not going to happen again." Whether she said that to convince Phil or herself, she wasn't sure.


Honey and Dan were drinking at a table in one of the bars, waiting for everyone else to arrive. Kerry had called Honey from the hospital to appraise her of Smithy's condition and she was looking forward to sharing the good news with her friends and colleagues.

"I'm so relieved that Smithy's going to be okay," Honey gushed, unable to wait until the rest of the group arrived.

"Me too." Dan replied, squeezing her hand. "Things wouldn't be the same at the station without him, I really look up to him you know."

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are loved! xx

Honey smiled, placing her other hand on top of Dan's. She didn't quite know how to verbalise it but she was definitely pleased with how their relationship was progressing.