Before anyone knew it, Christmas had arrived. The Heelers spent their holiday together as they always did and the Labradors had theirs. Jean-Luc had explained what had happened to his parents, but they all decided to stay the extra time with Marcel in Gold Coast. However, both Jean-Luc and Bluey remained silent in communicating with each other. Neither realized that deep down, the other regretted that argument, but each still questioned whether or not they should talk out things with the other. They each decided to give the other space and time to think things over between them.

After another week, it was time for Jean-Luc's family to head back to Montréal.

Antoine and Céline were just about done packing up the car. Jean-Luc slacked behind.

"Come on, Jean-Luc," Antoine told him, "We need to get to the airport in time, and it's a near two-hour drive to it." The nearest international airport happened to be in Brisbane, which they'd taken every year.

Céline noticed her son and knew why he wasn't happy going back home. She had seen that look before years ago. "Is it because of Bluey?" she asked.

Jean-Luc stayed quiet for a moment before answering. "I don't know," he said, looking at his mother, "I think so."

"Would you like talk to her before we go?" Céline suggested.

Jean-Luc looked at his phone. "No," he sighed, "She probably still doesn't want to talk to me anyway."

"Are you sure?" Céline asked, "She might."

Jean-Luc just sadly shook his head. He was certain that his friendship might've been over for good.

"All set?" Antoine asked. He had just put the last of his and Céline's luggage into the car. All that was left was to put in Jean-Luc's bags.

"Here, let me help you," Céline said as she helped finish Jean-Luc pack his things. Fortunately, it didn't take long at all.

"Okay," Antoine said as he carried the bags to the car. He placed them in the trunk. "Ready now?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Jean-Luc nodded.

"Good," Antoine said, "Time to go then!"

They all said their good-byes to Marcel and thanked him for their extended stay.

"About your girl, Jean-Luc," Marcel told Jean-Luc, "Give her time. You'll see. If she wants to be friends again, you will be. And who knows after that? If not, then try not to dwell in it. Maybe you two were just not meant to be."

"Thanks, Uncle Marcel," Jean-Luc said, taking in his uncle's advice, "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Good boy, Jean-Luc," Marcel praised, patting him on the shoulder with a small tail wag. He then turned to his sister. "See you all next year?" he asked.

"Of course, Marcel!" Céline promised, "You know we always visit every year."

Marcel smiled. "Take care now!" he said, giving everyone a hug.

After that, they got in the car and drove off as Marcel waved good-bye to them.

The drive to the airport was more depressing for Jean-Luc than previous years. Now, he wasn't so sure if he could handle ever coming back after what happened and knowing Bluey was so close by when they entered Brisbane. His stomach began to grow uneasy from his mood.

At the airport, the Labradors returned their rental car and sent their luggage through to cargo as they checked in with their passports. They waited for their plane to arrive at their terminal. Jean-Luc was still silent.

"Flight 19, headed for Vancouver, British Columbia at Gate 6; now boarding," the announcement called over the intercom.

As everyone lined up to present their boarding passes, Jean-Luc looked outside to the city in the distance. He wanted to cry. He then gave his pass to the attendant and walked into the terminal, giving one last look behind him, to Australia. "Au revoir, Bluey," he quietly said in the saddest tone, and he continued on his way into the plane.

As for Bluey, she was aware that today was Jean-Luc's departure. She was just as depressed as he was, enough for her to want to simply stay in bed.

Bingo was concerned for her older sister. She visited Bluey in her room. "Bluey?" she softly said, slowly opening the door.

"What?" Bluey said sadly. Her voice was all cracked up as she had been crying all morning.

"Are you all right?" Bingo asked concernedly.

"No, not really," Bluey said, sniffliing her nose.

Bingo sat next to her on her bed as Bluey stayed laying down. "Is it because of your argument with Jean-Luc?" she asked.

Bluey nodded.

Bingo tried to think of what to tell her. She wasn't as experienced at giving advice as their mother, but she felt that she at least had to try. For Bluey. "Have you tried talking to him about it yet?" she asked, "It might help."

Bluey shook her head. "I don't think he'd ever want to talk to me," she said, "Not ever again." She curled herself even more.

"But," Bingo said, "What if he did? How will you know for sure?"

"I don't know," Bluey answered. She then picked up her phone and showed it to Bingo. "See? No notifications," she pointed out, "He hasn't even texted me to even say that he's leaving today!"

Bingo took the phone and looked at it. There really were no text notifications.

"He just doesn't care about me anymore!" Bluey cried.

Bingo paused for a moment as she scrolled through Bluey's phone. "Well, I think he still might," she said.

"Yeah, right," Bluey said, "What makes you so sure?"

"Because of the way you two look together," Bingo stated, giving Bluey her phone back to show her of the picture that they had taken together at the park, "See?"

Bluey looked deeply into the photo, trying to calm herself down from crying.

"I don't think he'll simply give up from just one little argument," Bingo continued.

Bluey paused for a brief moment. "You really think so?" she asked.

"I don't know," Bingo said, "But how will you know if you don't find out?"

Bluey thought about it for a while. "Okay, Bingo," she finally caved, "I just wanted to give it some time is all."

"That's still alright, Bluey," Bingo said, "No rush into it. Maybe Jean-Luc just needed some time too."

"Yeah," Bluey agreed, "I guess you're right." She thought about it more.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything, 'kay?" Bingo said, patting Bluey on the shoulder.

"Okay, Bingo," Bluey said.

With that, Bingo left Bluey alone.

Bluey sighed. She looked at the photo on her phone again. She and Jean-Luc looked so happy in it. But it only made her tear up more. She was unsure of what to do. She looked at her phone again, gathering the courage to try and send Jean-Luc a text. But... Nothing. She didn't know what to say. She sighed discouragedly. She just couldn't do it. Not right now.

Bluey tried to think back to Chilli's advice about what she could control and what she couldn't control about the situation. She could control her feelings, but she couldn't control how Jean-Luc felt. She could control when to talk to him again, but she couldn't control on when Jean-Luc can talk to her. And she could control her side of whatever outcome was fated for her, but she couldn't control what happens to Jean-Luc afterwards. With all that, she started to feel a little bit more at ease.

Several weeks have passed. Jean-Luc had been going back to school. And Bluey was still in her summer break, but was about to start school again soon. The two of them still haven't talked yet. But each of them had been looking at their phones daily, debating on whether or not to contact the other. Neither of them had deleted the photo they had taken back on Roma Street.

One morning, Bluey decided to write in her diary.

Hello, Diary.

It's been a while since I last wrote in you. I'm sorry. I'm just still at a tangle in my mind right now is all. I still think of Jean-Luc. And I think I gave some time already; I'm not mad anymore at all. And I want to talk to him again actually. But I'm scared. What if he still doesn't want to? What am I going to do? I keep trying to remember what Mum told me, but it's real hard to do sometimes. Like, how much time is enough? Would this last forever?

Is it bad that I wish he'd make the first move and contact me instead of me talking to him first? Because I wonder if he's waiting for me to do just that. Should I? I'm just scared that he might not want to talk. I don't know. I guess we'll see.

XXXOOO

~ Bluey

Bluey sighed as she ended her entry. She didn't even feel like looking at her old drawing per ritual. It would just upset her further.

Just then, she heard something she hadn't heard in quite a while.

TING-TING!

Her phone had received a notification and it caught Bluey's attention. Could it be? She hesitantly reached for her phone to see who had contacted her.

It was from Jean-Luc!

Jean-Luc: Hi Bluey. If you feel like talking again, can we?

Bluey was surprised. She didn't know how to react. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. She prepped herself and took a deep breath before opening the text to reply back to him.

Bluey: Hi Jean-Luc. Um sure. We can talk.

Jean-Luc: I know it's been a long while.

Jean-Luc: I just needed time to think.

Jean-Luc: And I just wanted to apologize for what I said and did.

Bluey: Apologize?

Jean-Luc: Yeah. I'm sorry.

Jean-Luc: Can you forgive me?

There was a pause before Bluey answered. She needed to think it over for a moment.

Bluey: Sure. I forgive you Jean-Luc.

Jean-Luc: Thanks Bluey.

A brief pause.

Jean-Luc: Are we still friends?

Another moment of silence between them.

Bluey: Yeah.

Bluey: We're still friends.

On both sides, both of them were relieved that they were on each other's good terms again.

Jean-Luc: Do you want to go on FaceTalk?

Bluey: Sure.

Jean-Luc: Okay. Give me a second.

Jean-Luc then opened the FaceTalk app and sent Bluey the invite for a video call. She soon accepted it. They appeared on each other's screens.

"Hey, Jean-Luc," Bluey greeted.

"Hi, Bluey," Jean-Luc greeted back, "How have you been?"

"Um," Bluey stammered. She didn't want to let Jean-Luc know about the emotional roller coaster she's been on the past several weeks. "Things have been... Okay," she said, lying a bit, "How about you?"

Jean-Luc thought as he stammered. "Things have been okay too," he said, lying as well. There was a bit of silence before he spoke again. "Actually, Bluey," he admitted, "I've missed you. A lot."

Bluey was caught off-guard by his words. "You have?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jean-Luc nodded.

"Well," Bluey said, "I've kinda missed you too."

"You have?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Yeah," Bluey answered, "Well, a lot too." She gave an apologetic smile.

Jean-Luc smiled back and wagged his tail, knowing that they've officially mended their friendship.

Bluey wagged her tail as well. She was happy that she and Jean-Luc were friends again.

"I'm glad we're friends again, Bluey," Jean-Luc said.

Bluey giggled. "I am too," she said.

Jean-Luc smiled sweetly. He had missed Bluey's cute giggle so much. It made him regret their argument even more. "I really am sorry, Bluey," he apologized again.

"It's alright, Jean-Luc," Bluey reassured, "I... I guess I overreacted back then."

"I don't blame you," Jean-Luc said, "You really liked that stuff. Even though I didn't." He tried not to remember the taste of the vegemite. "Though, I still wonder how you can like it," he added.

"I don't know," Bluey shrugged, "It's just a food that I grew up with. A lot of us here in Australia have."

Jean-Luc can understand that now. "I guess that's why you feel so strongly about it," he guessed.

"Yeah," Bluey said, "But you don't have to like it if you don't want to. I still like you."

"Thanks, Bluey," Jean-Luc smiled, "I still like you too."

Bluey smiled back from his words.

"Now that we're friends again," Jean-Luc started to ask, "Do you still want to hang out again next time I visit down there?"

"Of course we can, Jean-Luc," Bluey said, "Will you be here in Australia again soon?" She felt like she'd missed out the rest of Jean-Luc's stay last time.

"Well," Jean-Luc thought for a moment, "I don't know. I still have the rest of my school year to finish. And don't you start yours soon?"

"Oh, yeah," Bluey sadly remembered, "I guess I was just hoping to see you again before I started."

"Oh," Jean-Luc said. He was sad that he couldn't make Bluey happy with a visit. If he had it his way, he would definitely visit her in a heartbeat. "But at least we can still see each other at the campgrounds," he told her.

That did make Bluey feel a bit better. "That's true," she said, "Even though it's a far away time."

"Maybe now that we're friends, time will go by faster if we talk to each other everyday," Jean-Luc suggested.

"That might work," Bluey said, happy again.

Both of them wagged their tails from the idea. They were both glad again that they would be able to talk again everyday.

"By the way, what time is it over there, Jean-Luc?" Bluey asked.

Jean-Luc glanced over to see the time. "It's 7:46 in the evening here," he answered.

"Whoa!" Bluey exclaimed. It was her first encounter with experiencing first-hand time zone differences with someone. "It's still morning here," he explained, "Not even lunch time!"

"Wow! We just finished dinner here," Jean-Luc stated.

The whole concept was strange and exciting for Bluey. "Really?" she asked curiously, "Is it dark there yet?"

"A bit," Jean-Luc answered. He faced his phone screen towards the window to show a deep purplish-blue sky outside to Bluey.

"Wow!" Bluey gawked in amazement, "That's so cool!"

"Yeah," Jean-Luc nodded, "We have a 15 hour difference between us."

"That sounds far," Bluey said.

"Yeah, it is," Jean-Luc agreed, "But at least we have our texts and FaceTalk to communicate with each other."

"That's true," Bluey giggled.

The two of them continued talking all the way until it was time for lunch for Bluey.

"Bluey!" Chilli called out from downstairs, "Lunch time!"

"Alright, Mum!" Bluey responded, "Be right down!" She then turned her attention to Jean-Luc. "I have to go now, Jean-Luc," she explained, "It's time for lunch."

"Okay, Bluey," Jean-Luc said, "I need to go to bed anyway. There's school tomorrow. But we can still text and do another FaceTalk when you have mornings."

"That sounds lovely," Bluey smiled, liking that plan, "Okay, Jean-Luc, I'll talk to you later."

"I'll talk to you later too, Bluey," Jean-Luc said with a wave.

Bluey waved back before ending the video call. She hugged her phone before she headed downstairs for lunch. She just couldn't wait to tell everyone the good news about her and Jean-Luc being friends again.

"Mum! Mum!" Bluey shouted excitedly as she ran to the kitchen, "Guess what!"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Chilli asked.

"This morning, after I was writing in my diary, I got a text message," Bluey began.

"Oh, yeah?" Chilli said, "From who?" She had a feeling of who it may be from, but she let Bluey give the answer.

"It was from Jean-Luc!" Bluey exclaimed happily.

"Oh," Chilli said, "I take it that it's good news then?"

"Yeah!" Bluey said, wagging her tail, "We talked about it, and now we're friends again!"

"That's wonderful, honey!" Chilli reacted, happy for her daughter.

"Yeah," Bluey agreed, "We're going to be talking everyday again too. Well, at least every morning because he's 15 hours away."

"That sounds like a good idea," Chilli said, "Now come and eat your lunch."

"Okay, Mum," Bluey said. She sat down at the table and began to eat her sandwich. "By the way, where's Bingo?" she asked.

"Oh, she and Lila went out to the shops just a while ago," Chilli explained, "I guess they're having lunch out there."

"Ah, okay," Bluey said, continuing her sandwich. She must've been too busy with Jean-Luc that she hadn't noticed Bingo had left.

Everyday after that, Bluey and Jean-Luc contacted each other through text messages and FaceTalk. Together, they rebuilt their friendship back to the way it used to be. Now they were closer than ever before the more they chatted, enjoying their time as much as possible each time. Eventually, Bluey started school, so they had to adjust their time on FaceTalk to being just on the weekends. But both of them settled for that and were still happy. As long as they got their time together, that's all that mattered to them.