Jody

Surprisingly enough his recent scenes with Geoff didn't annoy me as much as I expected it to. But I am dissappointed about what it meant for his grief storyline. I think this episode would have worked better somewhere down the line rather then now. I don't like the way they seem to have gone from one extreme to the other in no time with him. I had a feeling it would happen this way from the way they were writing his grief but I was hoping I would be wrong. I liked his recent scene with Martha on the farm. I was worried that they'd have that scene and then he would suddenly be better. And I was pleasantly surprised when they showed him taking small steps in atleast making an effort but at the same time not going too far with it just yet. It made those scenes alot better to watch. And I was glad to see him feeling a little better. His playful scenes with Geoff didn't have that same effect. The only thing it had going for it was that there were a few funny lines. It was difficult to buy into Aden feeling the way he was and the things he was saying about his life now that Belle is gone and then suddenly one neath death experience and he is grinning and coming out with joke after joke. I think one playful moment where he smiled and made a joke would have been enough. It would have been good to see him be able to see the humor in something even with all he his going through but still kept it believable. Not to mention it also felt like nothing more then a weak (and obvious) attempt to create some sort of friendship between the two characters because with Belle being gone Aden is going to need more people to interact with.

Chapter 5 Great chapter. This is not something I say often in fic or the show but I really enjoyed Nicole's scenes. With both Roman and Geoff. Both scenes were written extremely well. Chapter 6 Aden and Belle have a really nice friendship in this fic. I like the way she opens up to him about she's feeling. I really hope she takes his advice about David. As for David right now I can't tell whether he's just a lousy boyfriend or if he could be dangerous. I wonder what's wrong with Martha. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

I found that a bit weird as well. Add to that the fact that the Belle spoiler from the last batch of SBJ spoilers turned out to be about that. It was surprising that with all the stuff that happened with Belle in the last few months that they chose a small storyline that lasted all of two episodes to go with. Maybe they will use this as a way to bring in a new character sometime in the future. He could find out about the fact that Kitty lied, come to find her, finds out and then decides to stay in Summer Bay for some reason that will make no sense whatsoever. Sounds like something the writers would do. But to be honest I think they just added that in for the sake of it.

It would be good if this stuff with Aden using alcohol to try and cope with what's going on led to a scene with him visiting Larry at some point.

Good chapter. I liked the talk between Aden and Belle. As well as the scene between Mattie and Lucas. I'm really interested to see what's going to happen with Martha and Nicole now.

While Monday's episode was a hit Friday's was defintely another miss. Aden and Gibsy - With only a few days left, do we really need most of Aden scenes to be about this? Getting Aden involved in this already dreadful storyline is bad enough but to have it happen now when that time could be spent on scenes focusing on the Belle storyline, especially with how little time there is left, makes it even worse. Irene/Leah/Diner scene - What was that? Yeah they were fussing over her but it just didn't feel like anything much. I didn't see any emotion behind it. They may as well been fussing over someone they barely know who's in a bad way or something. Nicole and Belle - The first scene was fine. Infact that's what Nicole's place in this storyline should have been like. Offerring some support and helping out at times because of her connection to Aden. Aden asking her to go check up on Belle from time to time since he had to work. I could buy that. The stuff between Nicole and Belle in the diner was fine. And that's where it should have ended. After that they seemed to fall back into that forced friendship territory again. And it once again just started to feel like one big joke. If I wasn't so frustrated that they were resorting to this again I might have laughed at Belle comment about Nicole being a great friend. Is offerring to fix up someones wedding dress, walking them to a diner and then to the beach all it takes to be seen as a great friend nowadays? They managed to take it to a whole new level of cheesiness with the constant handholding, in those times when it wasn't nessecary, throughout the episode. As for Belle asking Nicole to take care of Aden when she's gone, are we meant to feel confident about Nicole's abilty to do that? She has proved time and time again that that she can barely take care of herself. Even now, it took her all of a few days of knowing Belle's secret before she started "self-destructing". It would have been much more touching, and far more believable, to see Belle ask Irene to do this. As well as seeing Irene's reaction to her words about not having enough time left. A few lines from Belle and that last scene saved this episode for me. Well maybe not saved it but it was enough to make it feel like it wasn't a complete waste of time. That last scene with Aden and Belle was done really well.

Another great chapter. And a really good way to end things. That was lovely. Her explanation of what home is was especially good to read considering what her life with Christine was like. She's certainly come along way from that. Did I happen to mention how much I love these three together? I know I've been repeating myself with that but I can't help it. Their great together. Cute and funny at the same. Naturally I loved this part. That first highlighted part and kinda sad too. And the second one was really sweet. I liked that you kept the scene with Aden short and sweet. It worked better this way. The scene with Nicole and Mel with Aden in one of the previous chapters was a bit too much. Aden really isn't a big part of this storyline so that whole part, while being written well, felt almost out of place. I enjoyed the talk between Kirsty and Melody as well. That was a good scene. This is probably the only thing I found issue with in this chapter. How is Geoff planning on affording rent, contributing when it comes to every day things like groceries and stuff, raising a kid, and supporting Nicole too since she doesn't have a job? Especially with a job that probably doesn't pay much. Wouldn't the better option be to stay with Irene until he can save up a bit. And while Geoff is old enough would Irene really be alright with him moving out? Same with Nicole. Roman asked Miles to take Nicole in for a reason. Would Miles really be okay with Nicole moving out and living with boyfriend? Especially when she has no job, which I'm sure he'd be fine with and rather have her focus on college, and most probably will need her boyfriend who already has alot on his plate to support her. I can't imagine that he wouldn't play his usual "voice of reason" role there. This is minor thing though so it didn't take away much from this chapter. That was a good ending. It had a nice feel to it.

This sounds interesting. Good first chapter. I liked the character descriptions as well. Alf's one made me laugh a little.

That's kinda my point. Before he knew her reasons, he was still going to be marrying someone while being in the dark about what's truly going on with her since Nicole didn't actually plan on telling him the truth but the only thing he did know is that his so called best friend, as they've been trying to say she is, who was also going to be his "bestman" has suddenly decided she's not coming to his wedding and not telling him why. Rather then doing what's best for him, it feels, to me, like Nicole was doing what she did because she believed it was the right thing to do. Or maybe because she thinks she's doing right by Aden by not going. Either way I just don't see how the way she was planning on handling this was in his best interest.

I loved the scene where she told everyone. That scene was done really well. I had to smile when Annie thought she might be pregnant. That girl is just too cute at times. I felt sad for Belle but I liked the different reactions we got from Irene, Annie, and Geoff. Also the part where Belle couldn't go on and Aden had to tell them the rest. I haven't found Lincoln to be a very good actor for long time now but even he managed to impress me as well here. It was a great scene and I was happy with the way it played out. I enjoyed the Aden and Belle scenes alone as well. Especially that small scene with them when they first arrived back. I loved the scene between Belle and Irene at the end and Aden in the background. The only thing that I was a bit dissappointed about is that we didn't get to see Irene tell the others. I haven't commented on last week's episodes but to be honest apart from a couple of great moments I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. I'm still not sure what's Nicole's logic behind deciding not to go to the wedding was. Since it seems like she wasn't actually planning on telling him anyway. If she was doing it because she thought it's what's best for him then I'm not getting it. He was still going to get married and the only difference is his friend who was meant to be his "bestman" has suddenly decided she doesn't want to go to the wedding and doesn't really want to say why. How is that in his best interest? The wedding was really nice. A bit too short but I didn't mind that too much. I would have however liked to have seen Aden saying his vows. Considering the circumstances I think it would have made a great scene. I loved the fact that it was Roman's letter that helped him decide whether he could do this. The letter itself was sweet and the fact that we got it in the form of a voiceover made it even better.

I love Amanda. She was one of my favourite characters on the show. I'm not sure if I could call Holly a great actress but with the character she played I don't think it matterred. She played Amanda the way I'd expect her to be. So it worked anyway. I loved watching scenes with Amanda and Belle together. Before and after they found out that they were mother and daughter. These two had some great moments together. Amanda and Peter are still one of my all time favourite Home and Away couples. They were really good together. The writing for their relationship wasn't too great at times but apart from that I still really enjoyed watching their scenes together. I'm happy with the way things worked out for them. It's not often that couples on this show get a happy ending.

There were some really good moments here. Quite a few quotes coming up. They made me smile here. They have been doing that a lot in this fic. Loved this tiny part. I'm glad that we got some interaction between Geoff and Annie, and the fact that it was a funny and kinda cute scene was a bonus. That's more like it. I even liked that bit with Geoff and Nicole. You were able to show Geoff taking a stand about this and facing up to the reality of how it's going to be from now on while still showing how much he really wants this to work with Nicole as well. And it worked really well. And the next bit of it showed Nicole taking a step in the right direction, even though she was still a bit reluctant (which I'm glad you mentioned rather then having her be perfect with it suddenly which I was kinda afraid would happen after the last few chapters). This part that I quoted here may have been two small scenes but it kinda gives me the feeling that they could actually have a chance of making this situation work, moreso then any of the last few chapters did. I liked this part. As much as I loved Geoff and Mel together on the show and do believe they truly cared about each other when I look back I kinda think this quote in some part applies to Mel's feelings for Geoff as well. Especially during Melody's second run on the show. That's sweet. I'm sure that made Mel happy. Had to mention this one. I could almost imagine Geoff reacting like that to see her. Great chapter. I enjoyed reading this one. For me, it was a big improvement from the last few chapters.

Just a quick question. How much time is meant to have passed between the time they left after wedding and them coming back in this latest episode?

You could well be right but this is the length my stories tend to end up being, I'm not sure I can write any longer. Like I said a slower pace or just slight changes to the scenes (you already had) could have made as much difference. I think it might have worked better to just see some signs of things going in the right direction with these characters and the their relationships with each other rather having it fully happen. Since chapter 16, it felt like you were either glossing over major stuff or kinda resorting to plot devices in an attempt to tie everything up in a neat little bow when it came to the relationships between the characters. I also felt like I had to make too many allowances in order to buy the situations you put them in, in order to achieve where you wanted the Nic/Mel and Geoff/Nic relationships to go. Anyways I just thought I'd try to explain what I meant properly. It doesn't really matter though, just felt a bit dissappointed by that. Once again Annie, Jai, and Mel were great. I'm glad that Annie was in there with her. I had to laugh at the bit where Jai came in. I'm going to miss these three and the way you write them with each other the most when this fic ends. Kirsty and Miles parts were good too.