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**Sally And Jesse Fanfic**

Guest WYN100

By Guest WYN100
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WYN100

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HI - Thanks SO much again for the nice comments , REALLY appreciate them ! :) Crossing fingers you may still enjoy it... :unsure: ...

**PART 18**

Hayley felt as though her peace of mind was under attack from all directions as she vainly attempted to get off to sleep . First and foremost she was always uneasy when Scott had to stay out through the night on the Blackslund – illogical perhaps, but without either Alf or Kane alongside she considered him to be somehow vulnerable – and – not for the first, or even the tenth time that night – she asked herself WHY hadn’t he PHONED like he’d PROMISED ? She gave another resonant sigh as the long-suffering pillows were again pummelled in a way that would have appalled their proud manufacturer to see his top-of-the-range line come under such assault.

As her head thudded back down on the unfortunate articles, the issue of Jesse was next to pass along her mental conveyor belt of worries. Just who WAS this mysterious Trudi ?? After all his high moral rhetoric with both Leah AND Josie, could he REALLY now be having the nerve to cheat on Sally ? And where or how could she even begin to THINK about breaking it to Sal if she did choose to go down that road ? As another heavy-duty sigh attacked the still air of the bedroom, any hope of sleep sneaking its way in remained stubbornly elusive. And THEN there was Dan Baker ! That whole business about Leah apparently having the perfect kidney match for Amanda, and seeming to drop hints about whether SHE may help him raise the subject with his other half as well !

All far too complicated and a little odd for her liking !

But as she lay, it was as if gradually – but steadily and decisively – a beam of clear light was beginning to illuminate the corners of her overcrowded mind. Jolting upwards yet one more time in bed , her hand flew to her forehead as she mentally reviewed all three problems. OF COURSE ! Now it all seemed so SIMPLE – she knew JUST what she had to do tomorrow ! A hint of a smile threatened to flirt with a face that had become more used to worry lines in recent days. With a final energetic right hook at the luckless pillows, she eased back and the long-delayed sleep began to steal over her…

It wasn't often that Colleen Smart was asked to come up with an award-winning piece of acting, and few would have considered her capable. But now - as if driven on by a situation stressful enough to creak the strongest backbone, she hit the heights. Leaving Kane and Kirsty to press deep into the shadows of the mobile home, she bustled herself outside and into the path of the oncoming duo. She was greeted by Jesse , who little imagined a modern Kate Winslett was heading his way. "Hi Colleen, I was just coming to check everything had been ok here today, I know I've hardly bee...." Cue the dramatic masterclass. Ignoring Jesse, Colleen made straight for Peter, setting up a plaintive wail "OOOH, Detective BAKER - it was AWFUL.... I heard a noise outside the house so i crept down and THERE he was...OHHHH --" Warming to her part by now, she turned up the creative heat a little. " This BRUUUTE of a man - trying to BREAK IN.. so I said to him --- I mean I hope there's NOTHING I wouldn't do for my DEAR friends...anyway, I said to him, I said... 'Can I KINDLY ask what your business is here...? OHHH - then he turned round and you never SAW such an UGLY brute - holding a spanner !" Peter broke in urgently "Are you alright Colleen - did he hurt you ?" She considered fainting dead away at that point , but decided that wouldn't wring the ultimate dramatic maximum from the situation, and instead headed to a crescendo -- "No - because then the OTHER 2 arrived - ANOTHER couple of brutes like you never saw. But I must have put the fear of GAWD into them and they made off THAT way...." She gestured extravagantly to the wooded hill sloping away from the back of the caravan park. "Less than FIVE minutes ago too !.." Just a few yards away in the mobile home Kane and Kirsty held their collective breath, fearing even one minor flutter at this critical point could explode the foundations of the intricate and fragile web of action they'd laid to follow the pursuit of Gus. Kane gave an almost imperceptible nod. He could See the tactic Colleen was looking to employ . Mention of recently-fleeing potential housebreakers was designed to send Peter Baker off in pursuit of them, so offering himself and Kirsty a wafer-thin finger of hope of melting into the night and maintain their fragile hold on freedom. The decisive and potentially vital question for the Phillipses was whether the detective would take the bait............

A cocktail of emotions was coursing through Josie as she powered the car forward through streets populated by little or no traffic at that early hour of the morning. Resentment - at the Summer Bay factor making this jagged, unwelcome return into a life she'd worked hard at re-shaping and making more personally rewarding for herself. Uncertainty - at how much power to shock and exploit her still rested in the hands now so uncompromisingly ordering this return –that email on her work pc had invited little scope for dispute ! And suspicion too - experience had taught her there was often so much more to situations of this kind than met the eye - and she told herself she had to be ready for anything. That advice proved appropriate far quicker than she could have imagined - negotiating a reasonably tight bend on the outskirts of the Bay, the previous hollow silence around her was shattered as a car sped close onwards at quite some speed, its impetus spinning it across the central line before straightening and forcing her back to a very intrusive reality. She slewed her steering wheel to one side to be certain of avoiding contact, and “Get a GRIP on yourself woman†she muttered crossly, annoyed that any one such incident could leave her shaking like dried autumn leaves on the crown of a tree roused to alert by the first building winds of a slow-arriving storm. She continued subjecting herself to a stern pep talk over the following five minutes or so, which indeed seemed to be working --- until… as she straightened onto an elongated stretch of normally fast-flowing two lane freeway she noticed a police diversion sign. Tutting with exasperation she twisted the car back to follow the indicated left turn. Wrinkling her brow to peer along the far more dimly lit minor road she observed with annoyance that the road stopped short at the side of what appeared to be a small field “For goodness sake, if the damn POLICE can’t organize these things properly…†– the strain of a long and demanding day was now beginning to kick in with a vengeance. As she began to ponder how she could either turn round or reverse back up the tight confines of the lane, she noticed with irritation the lights of another car having arrived to block the space behind her. With patience now in rapidly dwindling supply, she threw open her drivers’ door, and craning round into the full glare of the other vehicle’s beams began to snap “Look, can you just…â€

“Hello Josie…fancy meeting you here..†The early morning air already had a distinct enough chill to it, but Josie was immediately hit with an added powerful shiver. That was a voice she knew very well……

“Well from what I can tell Beth, I think she just fainted – pure and simple “ After Matilda’s sudden and dramatic plunge to the floor of the hospital waiting area, Flynn had ordered a swift and intensive range of tests to try and ascertain the cause, but had drawn a blank in terms of anything more definite. Beth, Henry and Kit had waited apprehensively for the verdict – their attention through what had seemed like an eternity being briefly broken at one point by the sound of raised voices in the far adjoining corridor and the sight of hospital security officers arriving to escort Tony Richards away out of sight and presumably off the premises. As Flynn had eventually re-emerged with Matty, spontaneous tears of relief pricked the corners of Beth’s eyes, but while Kit shared her mother’s emotions on that score, she still followed a quick embrace of her younger sister by looking daggers at her behind Beth’s back, and obscured from the view of their habitually prying brother. “I still can’t BELIEVE you gave that much blood !†She underlined in low but very distinct tones to her sister – look what’s ALREADY happened, and I’m sure I’d be right in saying you never told Flynn you may be pregnant ??â€

“Oh scream a bit louder why don’t you ??†hissed back Matty “I think there was someone in SYDNEY that didn’t quite hear you !!†Beth shot a curious glance back over her shoulder at the feuding duo – surely there should be no edge between them after the promising outlook she’d been hearing from Flynn . But she remembered a curious, indefinable friction between the two from earlier ---she WOULD get to the bottom of it, they could take THAT for granted - but now wasn’t the time. Thanking Flynn profusely and telling an insistent Matty it was far too late to go and see Ric , she ushered her children towards the elevator. The moment they reached the car-park their cellphones sprang into life with a torrent of messages left by Robbie who was eager to be updated – but all four departed the hospital that night with a distinct feeling of unfinished business…

Peter Baker paused, shook his head, tramped forward another few paces, then stopped again. He’d followed the path through the woods bordering the back of the caravan park, and had now reached the small and relatively open stretch of grassland that effectively announced the start of the bush. He’d set off with the very best of intentions having heard Colleen's story about the gang seemingly sizing up the Caravan Park house for robbery - –indeed he'd had to go he reflected – what policeman with any kind of instinct for the job could just have dismissed it and remained where they were ? But the doubts had started to creep in. There was no evidence on offer to the naked eye of any kind of flight – footprints, flattened grass or anything of that kind – and right from the start there’d been no hint in the night air of voices, exhortations to hide or anything of that kind. Jesse had promised to let him know if there was anything more to report from the house, but now – with the moon full above his head – severe misgivings were entering his mind by the busload. With his mind beginning to tick busily, he radioed Constable Harper, who he knew was on traffic patrol that night. As the other end crackled into life he began “Baker here--- what ? Oh yes, VERY witty – you can ALWAYS find me 3am stargazing – my little secret’s out. Now look – something a bit weird’s going on I think – now tell me, have you noticed ANYONE or ANYTHING out on the roads at all tonight . Faces you didn’t know and doing the predictable stuff, or maybe ones you DID know just when and where you WOULDN’T expect to see them ? “

Peter knew he was pitching a long shot, but he grew extremely interested and attentive as Harper’s voice flickered its way back to him……………â€Well – now you come to mention it, I’ve had some VERY interesting sights to see tonight, very interesting indeed !â€

BINGO thought Peter, as Colleen’s lawless trio seemed to melt further into the realms of imagination, and he settled crosslegged upon a low-slung tree-stump to hear the constable’s news – which every instinct told him would be of far far greater significance............. ….

WYN100 Member

WYN100

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**PART 19**

The first timid beams of sunlight were playing through the blinds of the hospital room and stroking the head of the bed where Ric was slowly and a little hazily savouring his return to awareness of the world around him. He attempted to probe Sandra Malone for information as she busied herself with the routine tests on his progress.

“So – I had some kind of accident, right… what exactly happened then ?†As displayed the previous evening with Don Fisher, Sandra was firm in not being drawn beyond the basics of a patient’s situation.

“Came off your bike as I understand it. We operated – the good guys came through again – and here you are !â€

Her text-book professional response wasn’t anything like enough to blunt Ric’s growing hunger for knowledge and he pressed on – “ But HOW did it happen ? .. WHO found me ?? and…†With a wry smile playing round her face, Sandra raised her palms in mock surrender, pleading “Enough already !! You need some REST – I’ll be back later !†With a neat spin, she reached the door before he could argue – but Ric then saw her detained in conversation. He strained to hear “I don’t know – he is very tire. Yes I know that, but… oh very well, but only providing you’re not long and don’t tire him out.!â€

“Himâ€, by this stage was in severe danger of pitching head-first out of bed, so far across had he leaned in order to eavesdrop the conversation at the door. But when he hauled himself upright, he couldn’t for a minute have predicted who his eyes alighted upon….

Dan Baker had the surreal feeling of the condemned man erecting his own gallows –or loading the gun for his own firing squad. The plans for the refurbishment of the diner seemed to be taking on the force of a runaway train down the side of a cliff. Leah’s parents were now expected for dinner as early as this evening and in contrast to the adrenaline-fuelled flood of excited chatter emanating from his other half , Dan felt as if his life had been drenched in glue with the colour switch on the remote control jammed to absolute zero.

The imminent gift from Theo had given the always chatty Leah a seemingly inexhaustible supply of conversational stamina “ And you see, my dad says it’ll make me more of a manager - he says we can pitch for a whole new clientele – and he says…,â€

“Doesn’t say MUCH does he !†Dan whispered sarcastically under his breath “Sorry, did you say something ?†said Leah, only briefly pausing from her military-style finding and straightening of table napkins and liberating the kind of cutlery that only gets freed from the kitchen drawer twice a year maximum.

“Um – no …yes…um – I said did you say you wanted me to get mushrooms…?†The churning emotional chaos within Dan didn’t register a flicker with Leah as she replied “Yes – make sure they’re fresh….VJ !!!†– she could well have passed comparison at that moment with a superior sports car brand for speed off the mark as her “Grand Plan†antennae observed her son embarking on highly risky manoeuvres with an open pot of cream. In little more than a Superman-style single bound, she’d reached the other side of the kitchen. The cream was rescued, but for Dan, the feeling of walls closing in dangerously around him was growing decidedly acute.

“I need some…air..†he called hoarsely, and without waiting for an answer – which never came- he dived for the door. The thought of sitting down to eat that night with Theo announcing his plans for world catering domination while Leah and Sarah purred approval was like some kind of grotesque nightmare –while every minute that passed had him dreading the grim phone-call from the bank either demanding repayment or threatening foreclosure on Leah’s share of the diner. As the paralysis of impending horror again began to descend on him his cellphone issued a sudden swift and shrill blast that had him rocking back nervously on his heels. As if in direct defiance of any vain thoughts Dan may have been nursing of the “ it can’t get any worse†variety – the caller ID indicated the second prong of the pincer movement encircling him was reaching ominously closer. It was his “benefactorâ€â€¦â€¦

Scott had endured a torrid night on board the Blackslund – with all but one of the Johnson party still on land engaged in activities about which he could only be deeply suspicious, his nerves had been progressively shredded by the progress of the police boat up and down the water on one side of the boat at roughly 15 minutely intervals.

As Scott sat in the cockpit and longed fervently for the slow torture to be alleviated, oddly enough the intimidating phenomenon seemed to have little disruptive effect on the one remaining member of the group who sat on the front desk, drank huge amounts of black coffee and made tortuously slow progress through a crossword puzzle. And – all the time in Scott’s mind, the bags in the central luggage hold may as well have been ticking like time-bomb detonators, so convinced was he that some kind of fairly major wrongdoing was being choreographed from the centre of his vessel.

As dawn had broken, the inexplicably strange ritual of the water police mercifully seemed to have dissolved into nothing. AND – at almost the identical moment , a Scott considerably weakened by the dual effect of fatigue and apprehension found a very unlikely consolation in the sight of the Johnson group re-assembling at the quayside – significantly WITHOUT the half-dozen or so bags they’d taken ashore with them after disembarking the previous evening. Scott’s thinking was clear and well-defined. Get them back on board and return to Summer Bay as quickly as possible – back to the Palace to give Hayley the huge hug he’d been living off the thought of during the long hours of the night – THEN Turn the whole situation over to the police to see what they made of it, when he personally was well away from any incriminating evidence. Heading back out onto the deck he somehow vaguely felt the first cracks appearing in the foundations of that masterplan as he caught the one man who’d remained on board overnight giving him an elongated and worryingly searching stare – then as the last of the party climbed back on board and he drew in the ramp, , he could almost have heard the resounding crash of the plan’s masonry totally

disintegrating as from the rear he suddenly heard the harsh, loudspeaker-carried order “This is Summer Bay Police Waterborne Division– remain where you are on the boat, we’re coming aboard – do NOT ,repeat NOT DISCARD anything overboard “. Scott placed his head in his hands. Right now the only thing he felt like discarding overboard was himself…

Sally scrambled herself into an upright position in the hospital bed. She’d been hoping that the doctors might today give the go-ahead for her to return home, but what she was now hearing from Jesse had levered a huge and menacing black cloud over the reasonably sunny mood in which she’d begun the day.

“You mean they were IN Colleen’s place while you – AND Peter- were outside ?â€

“Exactly – and after Colleen came up with all that stuff about guys trying to break in, Pete headed off and they apparently made a bolt for it. Colleen was quite pleased with…â€

Sally cut in sharply “Jesse I can’t BELIEVE you don’t see how SERIOUS this is ! The MAIN claim in this whole exam scandal thing is that Kirsty PAID me to up the marks on her coursework to help her pass the HSC, and I don’t know if it’s slipped your mind but they’re BOTH wanted by the police after Kane skipped out on his sentence !â€

He attempted to launch a defence but didn’t get very far “I know ALL that Sal, but…â€

“And now You, Colleen and possibly ME as well are accessories in hiding and harbouring fugitives – great, just great – and me less than 2 days after surgery – well thank you VERY much.†They sat in sullen, resentful silence. Jesse feeling he was being harshly blamed for a situation in many ways beyond his control, Sally feeling as if events were spinning out of hand with every moment that passed.

The atmosphere between the pair was thick enough to cut a slice of until Sally eventually articulated the question that – for different reasons – had been growing in both their minds.

“You see I don’t think there’s any way they’re going to give up this idea of getting me to help in trying to track down Gus – so what I’D like to know is –where the HELL are they NOW ??â€

Peter Baker had allowed himself time for a brief period of sleep and a change of clothes before getting back on the road. He was keen to chase down and tie up some of the fragments of hint, suspicion and hard fact he’d gleaned from his chat with Harper while high up on the bush bordering the caravan park in the early hours of this morning. He was content that he could now dismiss Colleen’s lurid tale of desperadoes armed with spanners attempting a forced entry to the caravan park house, but made a mental note to quiz her further about the reason and motivation for spinning him such a tale. But – he was all but certain a face HAD returned to the Bay that he’d be very interested to speak to, and he was now playing a hunch. He jogged up the stairs at the front of the Sands Resort, headed through the sliding doors, and assuming a perplexed expression said to the friendly-looking girl of around 25 or so on reception “Uh-I’m sorry – oh, it’s stupid really…â€

She smiled in genuine sympathy at his apparent confusion “Can I help you at all Sir ?â€

“Well – um – ah – I’m due to be meeting Miss Josie Russell SOMEWHERE – and – um – if you can believe it I’m not even sure I’m in the right hotel !!â€

Eager to help, she quickly scanned her computer screen and said “Yes Sir – you certainly ARE – and Miss Russell is in Room 227. He flashed a warm smile of thanks to the girl, and within seconds was knocking on that very door.

“Well well Ms Russell, we meet againâ€, feeling a surge of satisfaction at nailing the hunch as Josie pulled the door open, quite possibly expecting to see anyone on earth but him.

It took her considerably longer than it would have normally to recover any kind of poise, but just as she was about to respond defiantly to Peter’s arrival and probing, the bathroom door suddenly swung open – bringing a wry smile of yet further enlightenment to Peter’s lips – “Well now, he observed “Doesn’t this just get more fascinating by the minute…†Two of the newly expanded party of three DIDN’T look like they altogether agreed………………….

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