In the morning, when Tara went to have a shower, Ethan changed his sheets. He wanted to tell her he loved her, always had, but he wanted her to say it first. A part of him still didn't believe she was over Christian, even after what she'd given him last night. Tara came out of the bathroom in her towel. When she saw Ethan, she dropped the towel. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back to his room. Their passion resulted in her having to take another shower, but this time he joined her.

That's how his first week off was spent; in bed. He joked about turning her into a nymphomaniac. She just wanted to be near him and connected, because soon she'd have to return to Australia. Tara was already partially packed, with a newspaper clipping of Ethan's performance at the CCCB, sitting on top of her cloths. The last part of the summer she wanted to return home and be with her parents. She again invited Ethan to join her and he agreed for his last week off. He wanted to have a private conversation with her father and this visit would be the perfect opportunity.

On the flight, Tara asked Ethan about 'So You Think You Can Dance Australia'. He explained that the show had a tiered format where the dancers of many styles entered open auditions. If they were allowed to move forward, they were put through additional rounds of auditions to test their ability to do different styles. At the end of the auditions, twenty dancers would begin the main phase. From there they were reduced to ten finalists. The finalists would perform solo, duet and group dance numbers in various styles. First the judges would decide who stayed and then the audience viewing the broadcast would vote.

"What kind of styles?" Tara asked.

"Your solo is which ever style you're best at. Then throughout the competition it could include classical, contemporary, ballroom, hip-hop, street, club, jazz and some musical theatre styles." Ethan first explained and then asked his own question, "why so curious about that show?"

"I heard some of the dancers from Kat's graduating class last year, talking about auditioning for it. You know, those who didn't get a contract with the company."

"That makes sense, since only 18-35 year old dancers can audition. I hear it's hard, but at the same time gives the dancers great exposure and experience with other forms of dance. I'd love to be a choreographer on that show, but dad always put it down."

She rolled her eyes. "Your dad doesn't know everything. Do you know who the judges are?"

"Hmm Carrie Bickmore… no wait she was the host….. Shannon Holtzapffel, Jason Gilkison and Aaron Cash. Rumour has it Paula Abdul will be a guest judge also. The dancers at Sammy's should audition too."

"Like Kayla. She'd have the hip-hop and street styles covered. Christian has been teaching her ballet basics and she's pretty good at contemporary," Tara admitted.

Ethan looked over at her. "Are you going to compete at the end of your third year or take a company contract if it's offered?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Before my back injury, I wouldn't have thought about anything except getting that contract. But so much has changed, ballet isn't everything. I love performing on stage and learning new styles of dance."

"It would give you a lot of experience in a short time and give you great networking opportunities. I think there is a $250 000 cash prize at the end of the show if you win. You'll also be a feature in some dance magazine and have the title of Australia's favourite dancer. Some even get contracts for ad campaigns. Not to mention meeting a big group of new dancers. And the show runs for a few months, instead of years."

"Do you think I should do it?" Tara asked.

"That I can't answer for you, it's your choice. Watch some episodes of it and see. What I can offer, is to choreograph your solos. You'll need a few, because once you're in, if you get the least votes you dance for your life."

"I would love that… you know if I went for it. But I still need to finish third year, " Tara sighed.

He smiled and held her hand, running his thumb in a caressing motion. "Maybe I'll be a choreographer on the show one day."

"They'd love you for sure, but would Increpacion let you go do it?"

"Who knows, we'll see when the time comes."

She eventually fell asleep on his shoulder and didn't wake until ten minutes before landing. Her tummy grumbled and Ethan grinned. Once they landed and had retrieved their luggage, Tara led the way to where she knew her dad was waiting. She dropped her bags and gave her dad a bear hug.

"You remember Ethan, right dad?" Tara asked.

"Mr. Webster," Ethan said shaking the man's hand.

"Ethan, thanks for bringing my girl home."

They loaded the El Camino with their luggage and got in. Tara rode in the middle, firing questions at her dad. He gave them the latest news as best as he could. Her dad had always liked Christian and started asking his daughter about him.

"He always liked coming to the farm, what happened?"

"Dad, I told you and mom, I don't want to talk about it. At least not right now," Tara said with annoyance.

"I'm just sorry he didn't come, he was a great help last year."

"Well this year we have Ethan for a week. Christian isn't coming," she said starting to get angry.

"Yes this year, we have Ethan."

From his tone of voice, Ethan could tell that Christian was his favourite. He'd have his work cut out for him if he wanted Tara's dad to give him a chance. He hoped that by the end of the week, Tara's father would like him. He wasn't a stranger to hard work, just not farm work. He wondered how Tara's dad would like Christian once he found out how he'd broke her heart.

Tara showed him where he'd be staying and left so he could unpack. Her mother came to meet him and then began the tour of their farm. Tara had two horses in tow and offered one to him. This is one thing he could do and mounted his horse easily.

"I'll show you our farm. We grow our own wheat and grain for the sheep and horses."

He saw a change in her, she was much more free at home. Her joy of just being out in the open was contagious. They stopped by a stream, that ran through a tree grove. After tying the horses to a log, they took a break.

"This place is beautiful, I can see why you love coming home."

She smiled, "it's a lot of work too. Some say it's a hard living."

Ethan took her hand in his, "when are you going to tell your parents what happened with Christian? You know you'll have to eventually."

She nodded and sighed. "I just wanted a few days, without having to revisit it all. You can tell them for me, if you want."

"It should come from you," he replied.

"Let's just forget about it for now. Come on, I'll race you back." She untied her horse and got back on. The horse turned and responded to her kick. It's hooves tore chunks of grass.

"That was cheating!" Ethan yelled after her, sending his horse in pursuit of hers.

He eventually caught up to her and they slowed down. They were both laughing as they came back to the horse paddock. He took off his horse's saddle and put a halter on before removing the bridle. Tara did the same and they gave the horses a brush down, then let them go.

"That was awesome, I've missed doing that. You ride well," she complimented him. "And we've missed sheep shearing, so you're off the hook for that."

"How many sheep do you guys have?" Ethan asked, genuinely interested.

"We have two herds. The free range ones are about five hundred. The second herd is around 1000. But if we have four people shearing at once, it's easy to do the whole combined herd in one day. But lately we've been down to just my dad and his friend. Hiring more hands can get expensive."

"So how can I help while here?" Ethan wondered.

Tara smiled, "oh there's lots to do. Fixing fences and clearing branches from the paddocks, are just some of the things that need to be done."

"When do we start?" He wanted to prove both to her and her father, that he could be as useful as Christian.

She laughed, "tomorrow is soon enough. I just got back. I haven't even shown you the joey we adopted."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Sometimes their mothers get killed or they just are abandoned. We take them in, feed and care for them until their old enough to face the world on their own."

"That's incredible."

They went to find her mother, who was bottle feeding the joey. Ethan was awed by the baby kangaroo. Tara and her mother shared a look, they enjoyed seeing how gentle he was with the animal. They left him, to make lunch.

"He's the one who helped you in rehab right?" Tara's mother asked as she sliced veggies.

"Yes, both times. And got me dancing again."

"What? When didn't you want to dance?"

"Mom, I was scared. Being injured…." Tara explained, but she knew that her mother wouldn't understand fully.

Ethan carried the joey in his arms. "Um… do baby kangaroos need to be burped like real babies?"

Tara and her mother laughed. Her mother took the joey from him. "Take a sandwich to your father, when you're done, will you Tara?"

"Sure mom. Where's he working?"

"South pasture, repairing fencing."

They took the four-wheelers out to find him. Once they arrived, Tara gave him what her mother had prepared. Before her father roped them into working the rest of the day on the fence, they left. They didn't return until close to sunset, so Tara could help her mother with dinner.

"Tomorrow the vacation ends. You'll both be helping me get that fence fixed."

"That's what we're here for sir, to give you a hand."

Tara's father grunted and said almost under his breath, "we'll see about that."