Red Ranger 1

We had the episode with them on the couch at the dinner party over here this week and I really don't know what to make of them.Some people see them as this happy and loving couple who probably will have the 2.4 kids and mortgage one day, I don't, which is fine.I never really bought Leah and Dan as a happy and loving couple but I could see that I was supposed to.And maybe I'm supposed to see Aden and Belle like that, comments like Irene's "Anyone can see you two are crazy about each other" suggest I am.But sometimes they're just weird.Never mind Belle basically saying she's glad Aden didn't go to uni in that scene, before that Aden says something like "You didn't tell me you were having trouble sleeping.Just like you didn't tell me you were going to see Rachel."Now objectively I can see that Aden would want Belle to talk to him if she had a problem. But the way he said it, it almost sounded like he expected her to account for her every move or not do anything without telling him about it first.I've heard it suggested that the writers are only keeping them together because they're popular, not because it's what's best for the characters, and maybe they're right because most of the time it really doesn't strike me as a healthy relationship.

If you find a character annoying and irritating(and I do frequently find Aden annoying and irritating), it's not actually that much of a stretch to find them boring.No matter what the storyline or how well acted it is, if you don't care about the characters involved it's hard to be interested.There were quite a few times last year when I found myself wishing they'd give his screentime to a character I actually enjoyed watching so it's a bit of a relief that they seem to be using him a bit more sparingly this year, rather than allowing him to dominate to the extent that he has done at times.

Well, going by that last episode it definitely looks as though there's a story behind Julie's birth...

That was fun, well written.Liked the banter between the two of them.

I'm not sure if he actually tried to stop the case beforehand but I remember he stood up in court while Dani was being questioned and tried to stop things, when he saw the effect it was having on Kirsty. Then I think he withdrew his statement, which was partly why she was released.

If they were going to make him permanent, I'd rather they hadn't given him a name that's only two or three letters different from one of the X-Men.I'm finding it really distracting...

Maybe it's Julie's mum that's Eileen's sister.That would make Julie and Jason cousins, which wouldn't be too bad.

No, I don't think you're losing the plot, that was great.Really looking forward to what happens next.

Thanks to everyone who's read and commented on this.Like I said at the beginning, it's a bit of a departure from what I've written before and I wasn't sure if it would work so I'm glad people liked it.

Oh...my...god.Belle's problems just get worse and worse, don't they?Really want to know what happens next.

I agree, it will be interesting to see how Aden reacts.People have said that he's matured since the Axel incident but I'm not so sure.When he thought Angelo was responsible for beating up Belle, his first instinct the next time he saw him was to try and attack him, which is understandable up to a point but doesn't really indicate any marked shift in his attitude.I think at the very least he'd have a lot of trouble keeping him temper in check.

Um, i dunno, i neva thought bout it i guess, in their late 20s thanks 4 ur lovely comments!! xx Not that I'm pretending to know your story better than you but if Edward and Elsie were in their teens when they died, shouldn't it be more like 30s? Still enjoying this.

Spoiler re Julie/Jason;

I've actually been wondering if Charlie might end up with Hugo.They've been left in loco parentis of a couple of siblings who appear to be over a decade younger than them and have now hooked up, so they could well end up spending time together and realising there's something there...

Oh, that was great.I so wish I'd got in first...Really funny, loved that ending and I could just picture it.

Ooh, great twist, Aden's only just got used to having Lizzie around and now they have another baby to think about.Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Well, at the risk of sounding pompous, that's kind of one of my increasingly large number of rules:No character assassinations.Just because I don't like someone doesn't mean everyone else suddenly has to hate them.Glad you're still liking it.

Thanks!I don't get that on this thread very often... As for Aden standing by Belle, if, and I'm saying if, his feelings for her changed...well, I'm not really sure what he should do.Acting as though everything's fine and then breaking up with her as soon as she recovers wouldn't really work.The best thing to do would probably be to tell her how he was feeling but offer to be there for her as a friend(which he'd probably want to do).Which, depending on the state she was in at the time, she might not react well to but it's better than trying to force it and there are other people she can rely on, even if she might not realise it straightaway.

Yeah, I normally like Steve but I'm finding it hard to like him and Becky as a couple after what they did to Michelle.Am I remembering it wrongly or did Julie seem to be eyeing up Jason last week?She has been sounding disillusioned with Kirk recently...Might actually work. Nice to see Claire back after Julia Haworth's maternity leave, even if it was only for about half a dozen lines.

Same here, I would imagine if my boyfriend kidnapped me, and the local doctor, and tried to kill his father in the process, I would never go near him again! But I suppose, it must be true love! lol I agree.I've never thought they made a good couple but before that incident I had actually started to accept them, to get used to seeing them together.But that should have pushed them past the point of no return.No matter how much she sympathised with him and understood why he did it, no sane person would ever take back someone who had treated her and other people like that. I think it's because she saw, in the court, that he hadn't been in full state of mind that night, and that's the day that she realised it too; the scene where she was quietly urging him onwards, to tell them all about his father, and he did - but using her as his emotional crutch, that was the turning point past his 'mad episode', I think - because that was the same episode where she told him in the diner that in the courtroom, she had seen "the guy she loves" - ie realising that she still loved him, and - should he return to himself, then he'd still be the same person she loved before - I can't say that no sane person would take back anyone who had treated them like that, because if you look at women who are in abusive relationships, they love their partners so much that the majority of them will ALWAYS defend them saying, "oh, he didn't mean to beat me," or, "oh no, his hand slipped" etc <-- or, men who are being beaten by women. It's not always because there's a fear there, sometimes it's actually just because they love them so much that they can't see PAST the abuse.... So, for Belle, I believe that seeing Aden that night, when he held them hostage, was the first time she knew fear around him, and, realised that there was a whole depth to Aden that she had never known about. But, seeing him in the court, and, watching as he struggled to return to normality - attending his counseling sessions, accepting about Larry, going back to work etc - would have gradually made her realise too that it was just a passing event, because Aden had been at the brink of a nervous breakdown anyway with all the pressure - And, nervous/mental breakdowns aren't things to be taken lightly, but they don't make people monsters either - not permanently anyway! So, for me, I can entirely see why she took him back, and how she still loves him. But I do find it hard that Rachel forgave him - I mean, if it wasn't for Aden, she'd have been married for a couple of months now! So that seems a little unrealistic to me alright Oh boy, I've given so many speeches on this subject, people are probably sick to death of it but here goes.Firstly, the reactions of other people are totally baffling.Rachel didn't just forgive him, she went out of the way to help him, working on the psych report and giving a glowing character reference in court(which somehow went unchallenged despite the fact that(a)a lot of it was rubbish and(b)not only had she never treated him, she's actually been banned from practising as a psychiatrist).I could understand Roman, Nicole and Morag supporting him because they had a relationship with him before, although I'd have expected them to make more of an effort to convince him he'd done wrong or have a few questions along the lines of "What was that all about?"The rest of the Bay, bar Matthew, never said a word to Aden about what he'd done.You'd expect them to be wary and even angry around him.Alf and Irene didn't like him beforehand and you'd expect them to like him even less but they practically welcomed him back with open arms. But this is Aden and Belle's thread so...she took him back way before the trial and way before he made a token visit to Larry and ran out when things got difficult.When she went to see him at the station, that was the last time she reacted negatively about what he'd done.When Angelo came to the Diner to give her an update, she was concerned about the idea of Aden going to prison.Actually I can kind of understand that:They'd been close and, although she might not want to be near him, I can see why she wouldn't want anything to happen to him. But then she went to the clinic.And even though he still didn't see anything wrong with what he'd done, she was firmly on his side, offering to support him as a friend.(Incidentally, there appears to be a cut scene in that episode of Belle visiting Larry, which may explain the about face.)Then, when she realised he'd seen her kissing Angelo, she went running to the clinic to explain and was disappointed he wouldn't see her, even though she'd made it clear they weren't together and so didn't really owe him an explanation. When he came out of the clinic, she was back to taking a shirtless photo of him pretty quickly, when you'd think the way he treated her would have dampened down any "Phwoar!" instincts.Then Aden went back to work at the Diner.Just think about that for a second.Aden was out on bail, accused of a serious crime of which Belle was a victim.If you fast forward a few months, Aden's complaining about Angelo being out on bail for supposedly attacking Belle, even though he left the bar as soon as she walked in.It's normal in those circumstances to be instructed to stay away from anyone involved in the case.Aden was not only allowed to work with Belle, he was left alone with her and used the opportunity to criticise her for giving evidence, which is virtually interfering with a witness.Then he made a play for her in a manner that could be considered intimidating and you'd expect her to be a bit more afraid of him after seeing what he was capable of.When he responded to her rejection by quitting, instead of being relieved she went running after him to the development site(although that may have been more to do with her toxic waste obsession).She asked him to help with her investigation as though she'd forgotten what happened and covered for him when it seemed he'd vandalised Angelo's car. Then during the trial, Belle frankly seemed to be acting in a self-deluded manner.She insisted Aden wouldn't have hurt her which just wasn't true, she said that at the time and he responded by manhandling her away from the door.The prosecutor even reminded her she'd said she was afraid for her safety and she pretended it didn't happen.Then, after it was all over, she told him she "always" knew this was who he really was, apparently forgetting that six months previous she hated him as much as everyone else.The fact that he responded by making a sarcastic comment about her and Angelo is the icing on the cake.Both before and after the trial, he frequently acted aggressively towards her and she just took it. Maybe some women would react like that.But it's not as if it's the first time she saw him behaving in an unattractive manner:They'd been together two months at most, prior to which she'd known him for two years and only ever seen him as a bully.Maybe it's not completely unrealistic but it pretty much puts an end to any perception of Belle as a strong female character.Where Aden's concerned she's practically a doormat.

Same here, I would imagine if my boyfriend kidnapped me, and the local doctor, and tried to kill his father in the process, I would never go near him again! But I suppose, it must be true love! lol I agree.I've never thought they made a good couple but before that incident I had actually started to accept them, to get used to seeing them together.But that should have pushed them past the point of no return.No matter how much she sympathised with him and understood why he did it, no sane person would ever take back someone who had treated her and other people like that.

Anyone have a clue which ep this is? I think you're probably thinking of 4672.

I'm still really upset that .I absolutely love her and there are precious few characters I can say that about.I don't like the way it's happening and I don't like the timing.I can just picture Sorry about the spoilers, I'll try and stop now.

Well, we're still two weeks behind here in the UK and we haven't got that far into the uni story but it does seem to be a massive case of denial.When Belle found out Aden hadn't applied, she told him she didn't want him to suffer because of her but he told her that uni wasn't for him and he'd rather get a job.And I think she just accepted it because it was what she wanted to hear.I think they are a bit dependent on each other and I do wonder if, possibly subconsciously, Aden likes Belle relying on him because it shows he's important to her. (By the way, I've been thinking and when Belle first turned up and she was after Ric, Cassie was giving him a hard time for quitting school and getting a job while Belle was supporting him and telling him to do what was right for him.Factor that into the equation...Actually, as I recall, it was Belle's fault that Drew dropped out of school because she was playing childish pranks on him and messed up his results.And he did have a couple of gos at finding work, which admittedly he then messed up.By the end, I don't think either of them could do right in the other's eyes.Wonder if her and Aden'll end up like that...)

Awww, that was so sweet, Lizzie calling them Mummy and Daddy. Mattie's pregnant?And by who?