Sally Fletcher Tribute
1989
In the aftermath of Carly's alcohol addiction Sally played 'cold turkey' and inadvertently let slip to Celia that Carly had an addiction. She was upset to hear Tom and Pippa consider selling the Caravan Park and was very pleased when they changed their minds.
She was heartbroken when Neville and Floss left without saying a word but cheered up when Tom caught up with them and they managed a tearful goodbye.
She spent a tearful day crying in Lance's caravan when he went missing whilst out on a boat with Marilyn. When he returned she was so relieved she sang a full chorus of his song to him and told him how much she'd missed him.
She took an instant dislike to the new foster child Brian 'Dodge' Forbes and he didn't make things any easier by teasing her and calling her 'squirt' all the time. She put pepper in his sandwich in order to get revenge but he gave it to Lance instead.
When Tom and Alf were missing for several days in a storm Sally was really upset and started talking to Milco again. She was relieved when Tom turned up safe and well but continued to talk to Milco.
She blamed Roo for frank and bobby splitting up and Frank leaving town and screamed at Roo about it. When confronted by Tom and Pippa she blamed Milco for making her do it. Dodge continued to pick on her and told her that Milco was now his friend and that he hated Sally. Sally angrily screamed at him that it wasn't true and when Dodge ashed her why, she burst into tears and admitted that Milco wasn't real.
Dodge continued to torment her and when she fell in the water he left her scared for a while before finally rescuing her and coming across as a hero. Pippa asked Sally to give him a chance and she reluctantly agreed. He recruited har and his classmates to do gardening work for him in Morag's garden but she was horrified when she realised he was getting more than twice as much as her for doing nothing. Sally led her friends out on strike and Tom forced Dodge to renegotiate the rates.
Still hating Dodge Sally attempted to run away but when Ailsa bought her back she announced she wanted a new home. She packed her bags and told The Fletchers that she didn't want to live in the same family as Dodge. Tom called a family meeting to discuss what to do whilst outside Sally talked to Viv Newton who convinced her to give Dodge a chance. Tom and Pippa were delighted and asked if she would like to become their daughter for real. They organised the paperwork so she could become Sally Fletcher officially.
With the threat of being kicked out hanging over his head Dodge began being nicer to Sally and she was involved in organising the surprise party he planned for Tom and Pippa's anniversary. Soon after the truth came out about Dodge being bad and he was taken away by the police, Sally helped Pippa burn his things and they painted her room to get rid of the burning smell.
They had a dinner to celebrate Sally's upcoming adoption but it was gatecrashed by the arrival of Sally's uncle, Ross Keating. Ross wanted custody of Sally and tried to convince The Fletchers that Sally would be better off with him and his wife Louise. Sally spent a day at Ross and Louise's farmhouse and was won over by the millions of toys and the pony, agreeing to stay overnight. Tom and Pippa where gutted when, the next day, on returning to The Fletchers she began demanding the sort of things Ross and Louise had for her. She accused Tom and Pippa of not loving her like Louise did when they refused to buy her a horse. After Tom and Pippa failed to back down Sally announced she wanted to live with Ross and Louise but when the time came to say goodbye she couldn't go through with it and broke down hugging Pippa. Ross threatened to see them in court but Louise who had been voicing doubts about raising Sally to Pippa, spoke up and told him that this was the end of it. The Keatings were never seen in Summer Bay again.
Sally had nightmares about seeing a strange creature and when Marilyn confessed to nightmares about the same thing the town became convinced there was a "bunyip" on the loose but it turned out to be a prank played by Lance and Martin.
Sally was in danger when Bobby's mentally disturbed boyfriend believed voices were telling him to kill Sally. He was more obsessed though with getting revenge on Morag for having his father sent down (he killed himself in prison) and when he was spotted by Sally going into Morag's house and found to be holding her hostage, he fled town.
The Fletcher family unit was threatened when Tom suffered a stroke and went away to the city to recover. In his absence a young guy called Rory turned up and charmed Pippa, Sally and the rest into letting him stay. Sally in particular was devastated when it was revealed that he had died, having been eaten by a shark. Sally didn't remain down for long though as Tom returned to the family fold.
