Home Sweet Home

[Phoebe]

Title of story: Home Sweet Home

Type of Fic: Long

BTTB Rating: G/T

Main Characters: April, Heath, Darcy and some others

Genre:  Drama and Family, Romance, Friendship

Does it contains spoilers: Nope

Warnings:  No

Story beginning read-proofed?: No

Summary: A terrible accident brought Heath and April together, ever since then they had kept away from from Summer Bay. Now they have to go back.

 

Chapter 1

 

 

The familiar 'Welcome to Summer Bay' sign loomed ahead of them. He pulled over a few metres in front of it and stared at her. She knew he was afraid of judgement, she was afraid of judgement, but they had no choice. They hadn't even thought of coming back in a year, but then she got transferred and then suddenly they were searching for somewhere to live that was familiar for the both of them, and for the young girl in the back.
"Is it possible for you to ask to be transferred somewhere else?" He whispered to her, trying not to wake up the sleeping girl in the back. She stared at the sign in front of her and let out a breath.
"I've tried, they threatened to fire me for being picky. We can do this, it's not a big deal babe." He rolled his eyes at her, he had been like that ever since she told him that they had to move back. The young girl in the back slowly stirred, her eyes opening slowly. "We're here sleepy head," She whispered to her. The girl smiled at them and stretched out her arms and legs. "Drive Heath," She said to him. He sighed and started up the car again. The town looked exactly the same as she remembered, pretty beaches and seemingly perfect people. She couldn't help but notice how his face lit up when they drove past his old house and pulled into the driveway next door.
"Can I go see Uncle Casey?" Darcy asked from the back. "I've missed him." Guilt rippled through April at how sad she sounded, before the accident Darcy got see her Uncles all the time, it was April's fault that she didn't get to see them anymore. April smiled a small smile at her.
"Once we find out whether he still lives there we'll go over there," April said smiling at her. Heath undid his seat belt and turned around to face his daughter with a big grin on his face.
"Lucky for you I already found that out, let's go over now you two." April was surprised at such a change of attitude, just five minutes before he would've rather been anywhere else but Summer Bay, and now he seemed happier than ever. They all got out of the car and walked next door, Heath grabbed April's hand a squeezed it lightly. He knocked loudly three times, April felt her stomach tighten with nerves. The door opened to reveal Dex.
"Dex? You live here now?" April asked. Dex's face went pale and his eyes widened, he kept opening and closing his mouth, like he didn't know what to say. April watched as Heath pushed past Dex.
"Casey, where are ya?" Heath called out. Darcy grabbed April's hand and looked up at her, she was scared. Casey walked out with just a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair wet, he had just gotten out of the shower. "What's Walker doing here?" April cringed at her boyfriend's tone of voice. Heath was jealous of Dex and April had no idea why.
"If you had of kept contact with me Heath you would know that Dex is my boyfriend, he lives here now." Heath took a step back from his brother, but turned to April and smiled.
"Well that makes coming back here a lot easier," Heath said as he walked back to April and Darcy and wrapped a arm around the both of them. Dex and Casey looked at each before looking back at the three of them. April felt a lump beginning to form in the back of her throat, it was ten times worse than she thought it was going be, no one was going to understand.
"You two? Uh, how?" Dex manged to spit out. "I mean April you always said that Heath was a mistake and that there was no way you would go back to him. I thought that would still be in place especially after Bianca and Harley... you know..." Dex let his voice trail off, scared that by finishing the sentence April would break down. Bianca had just dropped Darcy off of at the primary school and was driving to drop off Harley at daycare when a truck came out of nowhere and hit them, Harley died instantly but Bianca was in a coma for weeks before her body completely shut down. Bianca fought until she could fight anymore. April gulped and avoided Dex's gaze.
"There's no easy way to explain it Dex. We were there for each other when it counted the most and then feelings occurred and I don't really care if you don't approve, okay?" Dex put his hands up like he was surrendering and Casey chuckled at him. Darcy took a small step towards Casey, and then she took another before running the rest of the way into his arms. Casey wrapped his arms around her kissed the top of her head.
"She's missed you a lot," Heath said. Casey looked up with anger in his eyes.
"And whose fault is that?"

 

Heath closed Darcy's bedroom door and ran his hands through his hair, Darcy had trouble getting to sleep in new places Heath had to stay with her for an hour before she could sleep. April had tried to stay with her but she just wanted her dad. April smiled at Heath and he didn't even try and smile back, he looked totally defeated. April patted the spot on the couch next to her and Heath sat there. April leaned her head on his shoulder and grabbed one of his hands, he went to pull his hand away but she held on.
"Don't do that Heath," She whispered. He looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, like he didn't know what she meant.
"Don't do what April?" He asked, clearly fed up. She sighed and rolled her eyes. She let go of his hand and got up.
"Forget it, I'm going to bed, try not to wake me," she muttered bitterly. Heath had this horrible attitude about him, it was unbearable at times and since April told him they had to move back he had been an absolute monster. She walked past him and grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap.
"I'm sorry, it's just hard being back here." April let out a breath and snuggled further into his arms, he started playing with her hair. April didn't want to be back either, she felt sick at the thought of seeing Irene again, Bianca was always her favorite and she wouldn't be happy that April was with Heath. To this day April still didn't know how they got together, it started with hugging after Bianca died and then suddenly April couldn't sleep unless she was next to Heath. In the beginning she told herself it was a comfort thing, but then she found herself almost pained to be away from him so she got a job at the local hospital and moved in. There was no 'will you be my girlfriend' moment, it just happened. For a long time April thought Heath was only with her because she was the closest thing he could get to Bianca, but then she asked him about it when she was having one of her insecure moments and he laughed and said her and Bianca couldn't be anymore different even in they tried.
"It's not exactly a piece of cake for me either, do you know how much Irene loved Bianca? A lot, and I know she won't be happy with this, with us, and that will hurt. Dex finding out was hard, Irene is going to be a completely different ball game Heath," she whined. He looked down at her with a smirk on his face, April wanted to wipe it off.
"You just said a completely different ball game, I'm rubbing off on you." He sounded amused. April closed her eyes and leaned her head on his chest in a more comfortable position.
"Well, if you lay down with the dogs you get flees."

 

April straightened out her dress for the one hundredth time since they pulled up in front Irene's house. Heath grabbed her hand and smiled at her sympathetically, April didn't want sympathy she wanted a reason not to do this. Irene had made multiple attempts to make contact with April and April ignored every single one, Irene reminded her too much of Bianca, everything reminded her of Bianca. April took a deep breath and got out of the car, Darcy and Heath soon followed her. April walked hand in hand with Heath to the front door, Heath had hold of Darcy's hand too. April gulped and knocked on the door. April didn't even know if Irene was home, her car was there but that didn't mean anything. The door swung open and a man was standing there.
"Is Irene home?" April asked slowly. The man smiled at her, April thought he was beautiful but Heath was much better looking.
"No sorry, she's at the diner, she walked this morning. You're April right? There's a picture of you on our fridge." He had a strong British accent, April loved it. April chuckled and nodded her head. Heath's grasp on her hand tightened. "I'm Nate, it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry to be so rude but I've got to go, the hospital needs me," he said as he grabbed his tag for the hospital.
"You're a doctor?" She asked. He nodded his head with a smile, "so am I, I got transferred here. I start next week." Heath's grip on her hand tightened even more, making April wince. Nate smiled at her and stepped pass the three of them.
"I'll be seeing a lot more of you then," he said with a smile. He waved at them before getting in his car and driving away. April moved her hand out of Heath's grip and glared at him.
"You are ridiculous, he is a work college Heath," she said angrily as she rubbed the hand he had had hold of. Heath scoffed and rolled his eyes at her.
"I'm ridiculous? You were like a school girl with a crush,"Heath spat out. April closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Heath had nothing to worry about, April was committed to him. April walked back to the car and got in. Heath and Darcy followed her.
"Why do you two always have to fight? It's silly, dad April loves you stop being stupid. Now can we go to the diner, I want a chocolate milkshake," Darcy said. Heath chuckled at her and nodded his head. It wasn't the first time Darcy had interrupted them in the middle of a fight and said something similar to what she just said, April and Heath would be broken up if it wasn't for Darcy.
"Alright Darc, let's go get milkshakes," Heath said starting up the car. April was still peeved, Heath didn't trust her and that wasn't fair because April hadn't done anything to deem her untrustworthy. The drive to the diner was quick, the nerves that April had at the house were returning. They got out of the car. "Darc why don't you go in and order your milkshake from Irene, April and I will be in soon,"Heath said passing her a five dollar note. Darcy ran off and Heath turned to face April. "I'm sorry April, I just don't like the thought of some other guy taking you off me," Heath whispered to her.
"You don't trust me," April muttered. Heath shook his head and grabbed her hand.
"That's not it at all, I don't trust those other guys." April rolled her eyes and leaned forward to connect their lips together.
"You're the only person I want to do that with, okay? Now lets go," April said. She led him into the diner. Heath sat at the table Darcy had picked out. April's hands started to shake as she walked up to the part of the counter Irene was in charge of. Irene's mouth dropped open and April could see her eyes were watering. "Hey Irene," April said meekly. Irene put her hand up to her mouth and April had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing.
"April, I didn't know you were coming back," Irene whispered. April chuckled a little bit. Irene walked out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around her, "I've missed you so much. I thought something had happened to you when you didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls, you sure know how to stress an old women out," Irene said, April could hear the tears in Irene's voice.
"I wasn't in a good place, but I'm better now," April whispered to her. April was better, but she still wasn't okay. She still had nights where she cried herself to sleep, she still had times when she wished Bianca was there to give her advice on what she should do. Those nights and times were rare now, but Heath still struggled. April had caught him holding one of Harley's toys and crying multiple times, and that broke her heart more than anything.
"I'm so glad you're back. Are you with Darcy and Heath, Darc came in and got a milkshake earlier." April gulped, this was the hard part. April closed her eyes and prayed that Irene wouldn't completely hate her for what she was about to say.
"Yes I am. Heath and I are together and have been for a while." April's hands shook as Irene's face changed from happy to confusion. April closed her eyes and prayed some more, she had a feeling she was going to need all the help she could get.
"Oh, well, good for you two I guess. I better get back to work but we'll sort out a night for you three to come around for dinner," Irene said clamping a hand on her shoulder before walking back behind the counter. April nodded her head and walked back to Heath and Darcy.
"How did it go?" Heath asked as April sat down next to him.
"Not as bad as I expected."

 

 

 

A/N: I hope you enjoy this story! I had to have a reason for Dex not to be seen as threat, plus I love Dex/Casey!

[Phoebe]

I'm glad you guys like the first chapter! Thank you for the comments

 

Chapter 2

 

April tied a bow around Darcy's ponytail and wrapped her arms around her, Darcy was starting school at Summer Bay High and April was nervous for her. Darcy buried her head in April's shoulder, Darcy didn't want to go but she knew she had to. April still had a few days until she had to be at the hospital, Heath hadn't even found a job yet. Heath had spent the first days in Summer Bay unpacking boxes and then laying on the couch for the rest of the day. April kissed Darcy on the forehead and handed her her school bag.
"You'll be fine. We'll get pizza for tea to celebrate, I promise," April told her. Darcy grinned and headed towards the door.
"I love you both," Darcy yelled before running out of the house. April rolled up the newspaper that was sitting on the coffee table and hit Heath in the stomach with it. Heath sat up clutching his stomach glaring at her.
"There is no more boxes to unpack, go ask if there is any jobs available at Angelo's, we need the money," April said with her hands on her hips. Heath rolled his eyes and layed back down. It was times like this April wondered how Bianca put up with him for so long. Heath closed his eyes and turned so his back was to April. April sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine Heath, I'll ask for you." She stormed out of the house making sure to slam the door behind her. She knocked loudly on the Braxton's door, Casey answered this time.
"April? What can I do for you?" Casey had a piece of toast in his hand, he dressed ready for work, unlike Heath. April sighed and pushed past him. She sat on the couch and placed her head in her hands. The couch dipped beside her and she felt a hand on her back. "It's my brother isn't it?" April hadn't realised she was crying until she got handed a tissue. She sniffed and nodded her head.
"He just sits on the couch all day, I asked him to come ask if there was a job available at Angelo's and turned away from me. He's been so horrid since I told him we had to come back. What do I do?" Casey cleared his throat and pointed at the front door, April turned and made eye contact with her boyfriend. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his jaw was clenched. Casey got up and walked into the kitchen.
"Why didn't you just tell me? I would've tried to change," Heath yelled. April winced and got up off the couch. She walked past Heath and he grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?" He asked, his voice much quieter.
"I am not doing this here Heath," April whispered. Heath rolled his eyes and started walking back to the house with April's arm still in his grasp. "Let me go Heath," She yelled. He sighed and let go. They walked into their lounge and Heath fell back onto the couch. "That's my problem Heath, it's like you're glued to it," She yelled, throwing her hands around dramatically.
"I don't want to leave the house, she's everywhere in this town April, everywhere," His voice cracked and he started to shake with sobs. April sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. He turned in her arms and started crying into her shoulder.
"You need to see someone Heath, I did and it helped so much," April whispered to him. He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, a runny nose and wet cheeks. He took several deep breaths and shook his head. April had been telling him for months to go and see someone, he needed to talk about his feelings instead of bottling them up like he does.
"I can't April, I just can't," Heath whispered. April sighed and ran her hands through her hair.
"You're going to have to Heath otherwise you're just going to get worse, please trust me on this." Heath sighed and wiped his eyes. April had never seem him so down before, she had no idea that coming back to Summer Bay was taking such a toll on Heath. April knew exactly what he was going through, April found hard to go somewhere without a memory of Bianca coming back. She was hoping that one day Heath's memories of Bianca would be replaced with memories of her, just so Heath stops hurting.
"Fine, I'll go and I'll go ask Casey about a job," Heath said standing up. He turned around to face her just before he walked out of the door, "I love you."

 

"I hate everyone from Mangrove River High," Darcy yelled when she got home that afternoon. Heath put down his phone and raised his eyebrows at her.
"I went to Mangrove River, do you hate me?" Heath asked her. Darcy rolled her eyes and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. "April I think this one is for you, plus I better going, they need me at Angelo's already," Heath said getting up. He pulled April in his arms and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you when I get home, I love you April," Heath said.
"I love you too, now go, I'll take care of little miss." April stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. They had kissed many times but each one manged to knock her off her feet. Heath smiled at her before walking out. April sighed and grabbed a can of coke out of the fridge, Darcy's favorite fizzy drink, as a peace offering. She knocked loudly and waited until Darcy told her to come in. April opened the door and saw Darcy laying on her back on her bed with her phone in her hands. April layed down beside her and passed her the coke, Darcy put it on her beside table and muttered a thanks. "What happened Darcy?" Darcy put her phone down and sighed.
"Some guy in a Mangrove River uniform, they still have a choice as to which uniform they wear, took my pencil case at the start of the day and didn't give it back until the end of the day. I got in trouble at the start of every class," Darcy whined. April knitted her eyebrows together.
"Next time go to a teacher, if they don't do anything about it dad and I will come in and talk to them. It's not on at all." Darcy nodded and sat up, April sat up too. Darcy cracked open the can and took a mouthful. It was disappointing that Darcy's first day didn't go well, April knew herself that it was difficult being the new girl but she had hoped that it would come easy for Darcy. "We're still going for pizza tonight, Uncle Casey doesn't need dad for long tonight." Darcy nodded and rested her head on April's arm.
"Thank you for everything April. Dad wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you, he loved Bianca with his everything and after losing Rocco I didn't think he would cope with losing Harley too but you held him together while trying to patch yourself up. You deserve a medal." April had started to cry, she wiped the tears away and gave Darcy a small smile.
"You guys have held me together as well, trust me." April sniffed. Darcy looked up at her confused.
"You hide it so well, dad thinks you're the strongest person ever. He thinks the world of you, I know he doesn't show it but he does." April wrapped her arms around Darcy and squeezed. Being happy was easy when she was around Darcy and Heath, even if Heath did drive her insane most of the time. Darcy and April were like mother and daughter now and April was so grateful for that. For a while Darcy resented April, she thought April was trying to replace Bianca but she wasn't.
"Caring for you guys takes the pain away. Your dad is going to see someone, do you think you need to as well? You and Bianca were close and Harley was your baby brother, I know you cared for them a lot." Darcy stared at the wall for a while before shaking her head.
"No, I'm okay. I can talk to Uncle Casey now," she said. April understood where she was coming from, sometimes it's best to talk to someone familiar. April nodded her head and stood up.
"Okay Darc, you know you can talk to me as well, right?" Darcy smiled and nodded her head.
"Yeah of course."

 

They all sat around a table at Angelo's, Heath was still in his uniform. Heath reached over and took Darcy's phone off her, Darcy had been texting nonstop since they got to Angelo's and it had clearly annoyed Heath.
"Dad, give it back," Darcy whined. Heath shook his head and put it in his pocket. April wanted to call him a hypocrite but she figured that she should just let him deal with Darcy. Darcy was your typical teenage girl and April could tell Heath was struggling with her.
"No, we're at dinner, you can have it back after we're finished, okay?" Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Heath. April smirked at Heath and got her own phone out and started playing some game that Darcy she suggested she play. She heard Darcy giggle and that's when she knew that it was bothering Heath. Heath sighed and grabbed her phone off her. April pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows at him.
"Heath, I am a grown woman, give me my phone," Heath shook his head and put it in his other pocket. April shook her head at him and held out her hand, "Heath, give back my phone." Heath rolled his eyes and placed her phone back in her hand. "Now give Darcy's back, she might need it for something important." April winked at Darcy and she giggled again.
"You two are ridiculous," Heath grumbled as he gave Darcy her phone back. April grabbed his hand and gave him a huge smile and battered her eyelashes. "Stop it April," Heath said chuckling. Casey walked over with their pizzas and smiled at them all.
"Enjoy, Darcy don't let your dad eat too much, you know he could eat a whole one if you let him," Casey said with a smile. Darcy giggled. Heath hit Casey's arm as he walked past him. April grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite, some sauce landed on her top and she groaned.
"Why does this always happen to me?" April said as she dug through her bag for a tissue, she could Heath and Darcy laughing at her but she didn't care. She finally found a tissue and she started dabbing at the red stain. "At least I'm not wearing white," she muttered.
"I can dress you up but I can't take you out," Heath said amused. April stuck her tongue out at him and Darcy took a photo of the two of them and then showed them. Heath's eyes were crinkled at the end because he was smiling so big and April's tongue was out but you could still tell she was smiling, April loved it.
"It's going straight onto Instagram," Darcy said as she typed on her phone. Heath gave her a strange look.
"Insta what?" Darcy rolled her eyes and April chuckled at him. April knew what Instagram was, Heath was just showing his age.
"Don't you worry old man." April said with a grin. Heath flipped her off and she chuckled. She was really happy, happier than she had been in a while. She had feeling that they were going to do okay, there was no complete disasters yet.
"It's not my fault she's making up words," Heath exclaimed. April shook her head at him and Darcy rolled her eyes at him again. April was very happy with her little family.

[Phoebe]

Thank you everyone! I hope you like this chapter!

 

Chapter 3

 

April fixed up her makeup in the mirror and put her hair up into a high ponytail. She grabbed her lanyard with her name tag attached to it and put it over her head. It was her first day at the hospital in Summer Bay and she was nervous, what if she's not wanted there? What if she screws up? What if she has a patient that's also a friend and she can't handle it? April was good doctor and she knew that, she knew what she was doing but she always doubted herself. April straightened out her dress and sighed. She walked out into the dining room room where Darcy was on her phone while her cereal sat in front of her going soggy.
"Eat up, it'll go soggy and then you won't want to eat it," April told her as she poured herself some juice. Darcy didn't reply, her eyes were glued to her phone. "Darcy answer me," April yelled. Darcy jumped and put her hand on her chest.
"April you scared me," she exclaimed. April shook her head at her and sat down on the other side of the table facing Darcy.
"I should scare you. Who are you texting anyway?" April grabbed Darcy's spoon and scooped up some of her cereal and put it in her mouth. It was gross and soggy, April cringed and chucked it in the bin. "I knew it would go soggy." April put in two pieces of toast.
"It's just this boy, nothing special. Yeah I'm sorry about that," Darcy said as she picked up her phone again. The toast popped and April sat it in front of Darcy who started eating it plain. "Thank you," she said with a mouthful of toast.
"You're going to eat that plain?" Darcy nodded and finished it off. April watched as Darcy put her plate and April's glass in the sink while texting on her phone. April was seriously considering taking her phone off her. "Darc if your dad sees you doing that he will kick your butt," April told her. Heath was in the shower, he had got in after April left it. Heath had started to be really strict on Darcy about her phone, and April was starting to understand why. Darcy just shrugged and put her school bag on her shoulders.
"See ya April, have a good day at work," Darcy called out as left the house. April put her head in her hands and sighed. Thoughts of the hospital ran through her head again, she would have to work with Dex again, she didn't know how she felt about that. Dex and April had been best friends way before they got together but once they broke up they didn't speak. April understood now why Dex and her didn't last, Dex clearly wasn't into her the way she thought he was. Heath walked out in his uniform drying his hair with a towel.
"Darcy gone?" He asked. April nodded her head and stood up from the table. She started looking through her bag to make sure she had everything. She heard Heath sigh and then his arms were around her waist and his chin was on her shoulder. "Stop stressing," He whispered in her ear. April sighed and leaned into him more.
"I can't help it, I can't stuff up today," she whined as she opened up her bag again. Heath reached out and closed it, "Heath just let me do it," she said almost crying. Heath turned her around so she was facing him and wrapped his arms around her again. She started to sob into his shoulder.
"Would checking it make you feel better?" April sniffed and nodded her head. Heath sighed and handed her bag over. April started going through it.
Phone, check.
Purse, check.
pen and paper just incase, check.
Her pager, check.
She wiped her hands over her eyes and scrunched up her nose. She hated that she was like this, she knew that in ten minutes she'll have to go through her bag again, just to reassure herself. She gulped and looked up at Heath.
"Why do you do that to yourself?" He asked with concern. April sighed and sat down at the table again.
"I can't help it Heath," she muttered. April panicked over a lot of little things, she had to leave the house regular when they just moved so she didn't get upset at all the unopened boxes and screwed up pieces of newspaper. Heath always made sure the house was neat and tidy before she got home so she didn't panic. Heath sat beside her and rested his hand on her thigh.
"I know you can't," he whispered. April stood up again and grabbed her bag.
"Take me to work?"



April was greeted by an older woman and Nate, Irene's housemate. April had just put her bag down in the staff room when they approached her. The older woman's name tag read Jane, April made a note to remember that.
"Hello April and welcome to the team, I'm Jane and I'm the head of the doctors and nurses here. This is Nate, he'll be showing you around this week, he'll introduce you to your patients," Jane said. Her voice was kind and soft, she reminded April of her grandma. Nate gave her a big smile.
"Hello Nate, nice to see you again," April said with a smile. She cringed at how formal she sounded, at least Nate would know that she's not interested in anything other than a friendship with him. Nate nodded at her, still smiling. April started to fiddle with her name tag nervously.
"Nice to see you too, now come on, I'll show you around," Nate said with a smile. The hospital was familiar to April, having spent a lot of time there when Dex had his accident and when Bianca and Irene had been in hospital for one reason or another and from her short work experience there. Nate lead her into a room where a young girl was sitting up in bed talking to a boy who looked to be about the same age, the other beds in the room where either empty or those patients had gone out of the room for one reason or another. "Evelyn, this Dr. April Scott. She'll be your doctor from now on." The young girl reached out her hand for April to shake.
"Nice to meet you Dr. Scott," Evelyn said as the two of them shook hands. The young boy stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. Nate tapped her on the arm and gestured to the door. April smiled at the two of them and followed Nate out.
"Evelyn was admitted in here after passing out from extreme dehydration a couple of days ago and her brother has wanted her out of here since the minute she arrived. I don't feel good about these two, it takes a lot for a girl Evelyn's age to pass out like that. Something is up," Nate whispered to her once they were out of the room. April furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, there wasn't much the hospital could do after Evelyn was better.
"Look, I have a young step daughter and my boyfriend and I have to force water down her throat most of the time, it seems to be what younger people do these days. It's dangerous so I'll give her a lecture about drinking water but that's all I can really do Nate," April whispered back. Nate rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I'm thinking that water isn't being given to her, April," Nate whispered harshly. April suddenly got it. He wanted her to call in child protective services on the parents, "Oscar, her brother, is the only person who comes to visit her. Do you get what I'm saying now?" April bit her lip and nodded her head.
"Leave it with me Nate." April muttered. Nate nodded and walked off. April closed her eyes and counted to ten, her first day here and she's already been left with the jobs that nobody else wants to handle. April opened her eyes and walked back into the hospital room. Oscar stood up again.
"When is she going to be able to leave?" He sounded stressed. April gulped and sat on a chair beside Evelyn. The two of them looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"Where are your parents?" April decided that it would be better to just cut to the chase and let the kids know that she's onto them. Evelyn and Oscar shared a look with each other, Oscar looked pale but Evelyn seemed relieved.
"Mum died a long time ago and dad went crazy. He dropped us here a while ago. Would you be able to find him?" Oscar hit his forehead after Evelyn finished explaining. April's heart went out to the two kids, they have nobody.
"I can try but Evelyn you're almost able to go home and you're obviously not doing well without them. Do you have any family members I can contact?" Evelyn's face dropped and Oscar grabbed her hand.
"There's Aunty Hannah but she lives out of the country, you could try and find Uncle Zac, I don't have contact information for him," Oscar muttered quietly. April stood up and smiled at them.
"What's his last name? I'll find him, don't worry," April reassured them. April wanted to help these kids out, she knows what it's like to have no one.



April smiled when Heath's car pulled up beside her, she couldn't wait to be going home. April spotted Darcy in the back on her phone. April opened the car door and got in. She leaned forward and gave Heath a quick kiss.
"Hey you," she said smiling. Heath smiled back at her and started up the car. April turned around in her seat to face Darcy and raised her eyebrows at her, she clearly hadn't taken anything from their conversation earlier on in the day.
"Hey, so how was your first day?" Heath asked, his eyes still focused on the road. April leaned back and closed her eyes. Nate had introduced her to a few more of her patients after her conversation with Evelyn and Oscar. There was an older woman who had got pneumonia, a boy who had been hit on the head with a basketball and had got a concussion, he would be gone tomorrow, and Dex's sister Sasha who had been having breathing problems.
"Stressful, but that's nothing new. Sasha is one of my patients actually," April told him. He furrowed his eyebrows together.
"Oh yeah! Uncle Casey told me she was in hospital, her dad thinks she's allergic to some plant that he just bought and that's what's caused Sasha to have difficulty breathing," Darcy piped up from the back. April made a mental note to look into that tomorrow. She did read that Sasha's breathing had increased a massive amount since she arrived.
"Thanks Darc, the other doctor clearly wasn't listening to Sid because there is no records of an allergy test on the clipboard," April said.
"You doctors are so stubborn sometimes," Heath muttered. April let out a laugh and smiled at him. April was extremely stubborn and Heath loved and hated her for it at the same time.
"And you don't you know it," April said cheekily. Darcy chuckled from the back and April heard the distinct sound of her phone locking, April felt proud of Darcy and herself at that moment.
"But that's why I love you."

[Phoebe]

Thank you everyone! I hope you guys like this chapter, it's a bit different.

Spoiler

Jett is Darcy's age in this fic. I put it in spoilers just incase people didn't want the story to be spoiled

 

Chapter 4

 

Three loud knocks on the door jolted April awake, Heath slowly stirred beside her. She sat up and wiped the sleep out of her eyes and stretched her arms out. The person at the door knocked again and Heath groaned and shoved a pillow over his ears.
"What time is it?" He muttered. April unplugged her phone from her charger, her screen let her know that is was eight in the morning on a Saturday, meaning she had had about seven hours sleep. April took the pillow off Heath's head and showed him her phone, he sat up and pushed the phone out of his face. "Casey never got up this early before I left, it must be Dex's fault." Heath said as he stumbled out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants.
"No Dex is impossible to wake up, that boy loves sleep," April said with a smile. Heath chucks a pillow at her before walking out the door. April sighs and quickly follows him out there wrapping her dressing gown around herself as she walked. The knocker was knocking constantly now and April's head had started to pound. "Heath open it for Christ sake!" April yelled over the knocking. Heath sighed and opened the door only to be pushed out of the way by his mother.
"How come I had to find out my own son was back from Sammy the spitter at the pub? You didn't think to tell your own flesh and blood you were back?" Cheryl spat as her fists hit Heath's chest repeatedly. April could smell the alcohol from where she was standing. Darcy walked out of her room just as Heath grabbed both of Cheryl's wrists. She walked up beside April and grabbed her hand, April looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile. April understood why she was frightened, April was frightened herself.
"Cheryl you're drunk, go home," Heath muttered. Cheryl glared at him before yanking her wrists out of his grasp.
"After everything I've done for you, you're just going to send me home. Have some respect for the woman who brought you into the world," Cheryl yelled. Darcy's hand started to shake in April's. April grabbed Heath's arm and smiled at him, trying to tell him that everything's okay. Cheryl snorted. " Isn't she Blondie's sister? What kind of girl are you? Going after your dead sister's husband? Pathetic," Cheryl slurred. Tears welled up in April's eyes, she was a horrible person. April had never felt so badly of herself until then. Heath narrowed his eyes at his mother.
"That is it, you've got five seconds to get out of my house or I'm calling the cops," Heath said. Cheryl smirked at him and raised her eyebrows. "one, two, three," Heath counted as he herded his mother towards the front door, " four, five," he continued as Cheryl opened the door and walked out. Heath turned to face April, she refused to look him in the eye. "Darcy can you go to your room for a minute. Actually, go to Uncle Casey's and wake him up," Heath told her. Darcy nodded and headed towards the back door so she could avoid Cheryl. Once the back door slammed shut Heath grabbed her hand but April pulled it away.
"She's right, please don't try and deny it," April whispered as she sat down on the couch. She pulled her dressing gown tighter around herself. Her hands shook like crazy and tears rolled down her cheeks slowly. She was kicking herself for letting a drunk women's opinion upset her so much, but she felt pathetic. Pathetic for crying all the time, pathetic for caring what others thought, pathetic for making sure each stack of towels was exactly five towels high, pathetic for being with her dead sister's husband.
"April, if you're pathetic then I'm pathetic too, and I couldn't think of a better person to be pathetic with," Heath said sitting beside her on the couch. He looked down at her with a small smile on his face. He put his finger under her chin and lightly turned her head so she was facing him. He leaned in slowly and connected their lips. April melted into the kiss, not caring that Heath could probably taste the salt from her tears on his lips, not caring that everything isn't perfect, she didn't care about anything during that kiss except for Heath. Heath was her rock and had been for what felt like such a long time.
"I love you so much Heath," she said leaning her forehead against his.
"I love you more."



April and Heath entered Casey, Dex's and Kyle's house hand in hand. Darcy and Dex were sat next to each other on the couch, both of them buried in her phone. Heath sighed and took the phone out of Darcy's hand.
"That's enough Darcy, you're always on that thing and it drives me absolutely mental. I'm taking it off you for the day," Heath said locking it only for it to light up again with a message. Heath furrowed his eyebrows together, "Jett wants to know if you're still up for swimming at the beach today." Darcy jumped up when Heath started typing a reply.
"Dad what are you saying to him?" Darcy whined. Heath smirked at her and continued typing. April smiled at the two of them, they had such a good relationship it was like they were best friends and not father and daughter.
"I'm telling him that you came down with a really bad case of diarrhea and can't be away from the toilet for a long periods of time," Heath said. April looked over his shoulder as he pressed send on a message that said exactly what he just told Darcy.
"You wouldn't!" Darcy yelled. Kyle walked out of his room in just a pair of track pants, he stared at them and then walked into the bathroom.
"I just did!" Heath said as he typed out another message to Jett saying that Darcy was sick but that Heath had taken her phone and wanted her home for the day. Darcy punched his arm as hard as she could before storming out of the house. April rolled her eyes and followed Darcy out of the door to find her sitting on the front steps.
"Your dad sent another message telling Jett that you weren't actually sick, don't worry. Tell me about Jett though, is he the reason you're always on your phone?" Darcy wiped at her eyes and sniffed. She looked up at April and nodded her head.
"Yeah, Jett stopped the boys from taking my pencil case again and we've become really close. I like him a lot," Darcy whispered. Darcy suddenly threw her head into her hands. "He probably saw Cheryl today, oh my god," Darcy said into her hands. April threw her arm around her and sighed.
"The whole neighbourhood most likely either heard or saw Cheryl this morning, but your father is scary so nobody will say anything," April said nudging her. Darcy just groaned and leaned into April more. A small smile stretched across April's face. "You know what Darc, I haven't seen Marilyn and John for a long time, wanna come with me to see them?" Darcy smiled at her and then looked down at what she was wearing, April hadn't even realised she was still wearing pajamas. "Go change first," April said chuckling. Darcy threw her arms around April before running off to change out of her pajamas. April smiled to herself, a bad morning might just turn into a pretty good day.



April said goodbye to John and Marilyn and then started walking back to Casey's place. Heath glared at her when she walked back in.
"Where's Darcy?" He asked. April sat beside Dex and started scrolling through Facebook, liking things she thought she like and commenting on friend's photos of their children. Heath looked at her expectantly, she rolled her eyes and put her phone down.
"John and Marilyn's seeing Jett, let her grow up Heath," April said picking up her phone again. Heath took a deep breath and closed his eyes. April heard Casey mutter an oh no before he walked out of the room. April's heart started to beat faster, Heath scared her when he was angry sometimes. When Heath was angry all of his voice of reason went away, he didn't think straight causing him to say or do things he really shouldn't. Once April stayed in a tent out the back for a week because Heath got jealous of a coworker and accused her of cheating. The couch dipped beside her and she could hear Heath taking deep breaths.
"I thought I made myself perfectly clear, I want her home today," Heath said firmly. April closed her eyes and locked her phone. Heath was going to make a bigger deal out of this then it needed to be. April looked up at him and saw he was giving her the dirtiest look she had ever been given.
"Well I thought she should be out an about today, you still have her phone Heath. It's not a big deal," April said to him quietly. Dex cleared his throat loudly and then left the room. April blushed, Dex didn't need to know the issues her and Heath were having. Heath glared at Dex as he walked out of the front door muttering something about getting coffees.
"I'm her parent and I said she should be home," Heath said. April clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. April had been a parental figure for Darcy for the past year and a bit and he was just going to pass it off as nothing. April wasn't quite ready to be a mother figure when her and Heath first got together but she matured so much just so she could take on the roll, but Heath was acting like April should have no say in what Darcy does or how Darcy was going to be raised.
"And I'm not her parent? Have I not been a mother to her since Bianca passed? Have I not treated her like she was my own daughter since day one? Have I not cared for her like a mother should?" April yelled, letting all of her anger out. "Would Darcy say I'm like a mother to her if you asked? I bet she would," April spat out. Heath flinched at April's tone and words.
"April stop taking this further than they need to be taken, I wasn't saying that at all," Heath replied. April let out a sarcastic chuckle, she had never been so angry at Heath before.
"No Heath, that's exactly what you meant and you know it! I have had a tough morning because of a relative of yours, I'm here sitting in your brother's house having an argument with you because I took your daughter to see a friend. Do you see what's wrong here Heath? Because I sure can," April said harshly. She immediately regretted saying it once she saw Heath's face drop. She didn't mean what she said, she was just hurt and upset.
"I'm sorry April that I'm such a problem for you," Heath spat as he stormed out of the house.

[Phoebe]

Thank you everybody! Your comments mean a lot to me!

 

Chapter 5

 

April walked into the hospital late that night. The hospital was always quiet at this time of night, the really sick patients are sleeping and the other patients are being quiet so they don't disturb the others. She walked up to Nate who was reading over some files and tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and smiled at her.
"Evelyn and Oscar have an uncle named Zac Macguire, I'm just about to go look him up," April told him. A look of realisation spread across his face and his smile grew.
"Don't bother, he's a mate of mine. Go and tell them we've found him," Nate said pointing to Evelyn's hospital room. April checked the time and saw that visiting hours were over hours ago, Oscar was not allowed to be in the hospital.
"Oscar is still here?" April asked. Nate smiled sheepishly and chuckled nervously. April was glad to be at work, she needed to get her fight with Heath off her mind and it was already starting to happen and she had only arrived a few minutes ago. April drove out to the beach after Heath had stormed out and stayed there until she was needed at work. She still had sand all over her feet.
"Well I couldn't exactly send him back out to sleeping on the streets could I?" Nate said. April rolled her eyes and walked into the Evelyn's room. Evelyn was sitting up in bed writing something on a notepad and Oscar was lying back on one of the hospital beds with his eyes closed. April cleared her throat and both of them looked up at her with a smile.
"Good news! We found your uncle, Dr. Cooper is about to get in contact with him and you will be able to go home with him tomorrow, how great is that?" April said clapping her hands together. Evelyn gave her a small smile and nodded, Oscar layed back down and closed his eyes again.
"That's great, thank you so much," Evelyn whispered quietly. Oscar rolled over to face the other wall. April pointed at him and gave Evelyn a funny look. Evelyn's face fell and she sighed loudly. "Oscar doesn't feel comfortable going home with Zac, we didn't have much to do with him growing up, him and dad never got along," Evelyn said quite loudly, a tactic April remembered from her childhood, saying something loudly about your sibling to another person so your sibling could hear what you were saying. Bianca did it to April all the time, it was usually about April's sleep schedule or how much she was studying to Irene. Bianca loved April with everything she had and it taken Bianca's death for April to realise that all of her nagging was because she cared for April, not because she was trying to control her.
"I'm sure you'll be fine with your uncle, anything is better than what you doing before, right?" April asked. Oscar got out of bed and stormed past April. Evelyn smiled at April sadly.
"I'm really sorry about him, we're both really thankful for everything you've done for us. I don't think I could've handled another night sleeping on park benches or some nights up against a wall of some empty building. Oscar saw it as an adventure, he would pretend he was Bear Gyrlls trying to survive on the streets, I was just trying not complain about how hungry I was all the time. Being admitted to hospital was a blessing for me, and that's just sad," Evelyn said sadly. Her last sentence reminded her of Heath, he was an unexpected blessing but a blessing she needed. Her stomach turned, she had possibly ruined the only thing that was keeping her grounded.
"Blessings come in all weird forms. Do you want to know what mine was?" April asked her. Evelyn sat up straighter and nodded her head. April said at the end of the bed, her responsibilities slipping her mind for a moment when they really shouldn't have. "So about two years ago now my older sister Bianca and my nephew Harley were in this horrible accident. Harley being only a few months old died instantly but there was still a little bit of hope for Bianca. When the accident occurred my brother in-law Heath called me in absolute hysterics, if you ever meet Heath you'll know he's not a crier, he asked me to come down and help him out. So I went up every weekend and stayed with him for a few months, but then the doctors told us that Bianca no longer had a chance and keeping her life support on wasn't doing anything to help her condition anymore. So Heath and I walked into her room where it looked like she was just in a peaceful sleep, but we knew she wasn't. We both grabbed the life support plug and we pulled it out together. I stayed with Heath and his daughter with another woman for a while but I thought I should come back here. I got back here and I was a wreck, I realised I couldn't make it through the day without Heath, so I moved back to the city with him. After a few months we eventually became an item I suppose you could say, and to this day he continues to be my blessing," April finished off with a quiet sniff. Evelyn wiped at her eyes and gave April a sad smile.
"That's a beautiful story Dr. Scott, thank you for sharing it with me. It's kind of opened my eyes to the fact that maybe the most unexpected things can end up being what you rely on, like Uncle Zac," Evelyn said quietly. April stood up and smiled at Evelyn.
"I'm glad you learned from it, I should get to my other patients but I'll be sure to see you before you leave tomorrow," April said just before she left the room. She couldn't wait to get home to Heath and fix things with her blessing.



It was early morning when April quietly entered the house again, she had taken a nap a work during her break but she was still struggling to keep her eyes open. Heath was covered in blankets on the couch, peacefully sleeping, it made April question her decision to wake him up but she knew she needed to talk to him and she needed to talk to him soon. April sat on the coffee table just across from Heath's face, she put her hand on his arm and lightly shook him. His eyes opened slowly, it took a minute for him to wake up properly but he gave her a cold stare when he had caught on to what was going on.
"What are you doing?" He asked as coldly as he could with his voice still laced with sleep. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she knew this was going to be a hard conversation but she had hoped that Heath would make this slightly easy on her. April reached out and grabbed his hand from under the blankets, he tensed up but he didn't pull away.
"I owe you a massive apology for so many things Heath. I should never of gone behind your back with Darcy, that's the worse thing I could of done in that situation. I am so sorry for what I said to you, I meant none of it I was just angry and hurt. You are not a problem for me Heath, you're actually the opposite. I feel terrible about everything I did and said today and I just hope that you can find some way to forgive me so we can move past this. I really want to move past this because I love you much more than you can imagine Heath, so much more than you can imagine," April said with a shaky voice. Heath gulped and closed his eyes and squeezed April's hand tighter.
"I've always had this fear that I wasn't good enough for you, that you would wake up one day and realise that you deserve better than some uneducated ex criminal with more issues than he can count and leave. Today when you said I was a problem for you it just reassured me that for once I was right about something. You deserve someone like Dex or that Xavier kid you dated. I don't know if I can stay knowing that you could and should be with someone much better than I am," Heath whispered to her. April didn't want anyone else, yes Heath has his faults but so everybody, so does she.
"Heath can't imagine myself with anybody else other than you, I don't want anybody else other than you. You aren't perfect baby but neither am I, clearly I'm not if I hurt the people I care about the most when I'm angry. Our situation isn't ideal Heath but I wouldn't have it any other way and I know you wouldn't too. Our little family is all I have now and I refuse to let it slip away from me, I refuse to let you slip away from me. I don't know what I would do without you Heath Braxton, I really don't," April said quietly. The sun had started to rise and it was shining through the curtains and onto Heath's face, she could see now that he had started to cry, so had she. Heath looked down at his hands, refusing to make eye contact with her. April took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, "please don't leave me Heath, please don't leave me," she muttered quietly.
"I don't think I could if I wanted to April," Heath finally said. Relief washed over her like a wave, he wasn't going to leave her. April wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder, he held onto her tightly like he didn't want to let her go. She slowly started to calm down and she looked up at him with a big smile, Heath started to wipe her stray tears away. Heath and Darcy were her everything, she needed them more than anything.
"I'm thinking we should all call in sick today, go for a drive somewhere for the day, we haven't taken Darcy camping for a while. Maybe we could invite Jett, that would make Darcy extremely happy," April suggested. Heath's mouth pulled into a straight line, April knew he would give in even if it took a few hours.
"I don't know about inviting Jett April," Heath said seriously. April chuckled quietly and started playing Heath's fingers.
"Jett is a good kid Heath, and we can put him in a different tent than Darcy. We can borrow a tent from Casey or something. It will be fun and you know it," April pleaded. Heath took a deep breath and then sighed while rolling his eyes. April smirked, knowing she had won.
"Alright alright, you've convinced me. We can't borrow one from Casey though, we're pretending I'm sick, remember?" Heath said. April rolled her eyes at him, he was thick sometimes.
"Casey is your brother and he was there at the start of argument today, he knows what's going on, he'll let you off," April said. Heath reached out and grabbed her other hand and started swinging them from left to right.
"You're right, I'll talk to Casey in the morning and you can tackle the Palmers. Deal?" Heath said. April rolled her eyes and nodded her head.
"Yes it's a deal. I'm extremely tired and need sleep so can you head off to bed so I can sort these blankets out?" April asked him. Heath nodded his head and got off the couch. He handed her the blankets and kissed her forehead before walking off to their bedroom. April smiled to herself as she folded the blankets up neatly and putting them back in the cupboard where they belong, she was going to have a great weekend.

[Phoebe]

Thank you everyone for the comments, they make my day!

 

Chapter 6

 

 

April smiled down at Darcy before knocking loudly on John and Marilyn's front door. April watched as Darcy ran her fingers through her hair and straightened out her dress all before the door opened to reveal John in a pair of light blue flannel pajamas. He squinted at them and then gestured for them to come in. Jett was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while watching the TV, April nodded towards him and Darcy went and sat next to him. John led April to the kitchen and put his arms on his hips.
"I'm really sorry to disturb you so early in the morning but Heath and I are taking Darcy on a camping trip and we're aware that Jett and Darcy are good friends so we were wondering if we can take Jett away for a couple of days," April said with a smile. She could hear Darcy laugh loudly at something Jett had said in the lounge room. John sighed and nodded his head at her.
"Why not? You'd be getting him out of my hair for a few days. Do you need another tent for him?" John asked her. April shook her head.
"Heath's borrowing another tent from his brother, but thank you anyway. We should get the kids sorted so we can go," April said walking into the lounge where Darcy and Jett were sitting side by side commenting on what was happening on the TV show Jett had been watching when they arrived earlier, "Jett, would you like to come camping with us?" April asked him. He nodded his head.
"That would be awesome," he answered with excitement in his voice. Darcy smiled at him and clapped her hands. April chuckled at her and shook her head. April had called up the hospital earlier and said that she had come down with one of the bugs that was going around the hospital and that she would need a few days off to get better. Heath had made the call about Darcy, he didn't lie though he told them that they were taking Darcy away because everyone in their household needed to get out of Summer Bay for a while. April grabbed Darcy's hand and pulled her off the couch.
"We'll come by in an hour to pick you up Jett," April said wrapping an arm around Darcy's small shoulders. April waved to John before leaving the house with Darcy trailing behind her. April and Darcy walked through Casey's front door. Casey and Dex were in the kitchen Casey had his arms wrapped around Dex's waist and their backs were to April and Darcy. Darcy gave April a cheeky grin before tip toeing behind them and managing to get her arms around the both of them. Casey let out a little squeal and Dex started laughing at him.
"What a way to be manly Braxton," Dex said laughing. Casey pushed away from Dex with a little frown on his face. Darcy giggled and wrapped her arms around Casey again, he kissed the top of her head. April watched as Dex looked at Casey adoringly, he never looked at her like that. Heath doesn't even look at her with that much love. April was happy for Dex, happy that he figured out who he was and that he found someone who he loved and who loved him.
"You jumped a mile as well Dexter," Casey said reaching out to hit Dex's shoulder. Dex rolled his eyes and turned to get himself a cup of water. April looked around and saw no sign of Heath.
"Where's my boyfriend?" April asked. Casey turned to face her, his arms still around Darcy who giggled when he turned her around too. April was starting to be glad that they were back here, if they weren't Darcy wouldn't be as happy as she was now. April wouldn't of been able to help Evelyn and Oscar find a home, Heath wouldn't of been able to reunite with his brothers, it was a shame Brax was missing.
"Out in the shed stealing my tent," Casey said to her. April nodded her head and walked through the back door and into the backyard. She could Heath moving things around in the shed, there was a lot of swearing and things falling down. April chuckled as she opened up the shed door to see Heath in the middle of it surrounded by various things. He turned around and frowned at April.
"The tent isn't in here I swear. I looked everywhere," Heath whined. April looked around the shed and immediately spotted the tent up on a high shelf right near Heath's head. April smirked and pointed to it. Heath groaned and reached up to grab it. "Of course you find it straight away," Heath complained. April chuckled and shook her head at him. Heath walked out of the shed with the tent in his arms. April followed him, making sure to close the shed door behind her.
"Darcy's really happy Jett is going," April said to him as they walked back into the house. Heath scoffed and carried the tent past Dex, Darcy and Casey and put it down next to the front door.
"I'm not happy he's going," Heath mumbled. April turned around to face Darcy and rolled her eyes. Darcy chuckled and Dex shook his head at April before kissing Casey's forehead and walking off to the bathroom. "We could just go as a family but that's not good enough," Heath said louder.
"You know what else isn't good enough? Not contacting your brother for years," Casey said to him. April looked at Darcy and then pointed to the front door. Darcy nodded and left the house. "You know how much I needed you Heath? Brax got sent to prison, I told you about that but you never replied. I came out, I called to tell you but you let my call go to message bank. I tried to give you support when Bianca and Harley passed but you just ignored me. You ignored my every attempt to talk to you, I was starting to think that something had happened to you," Casey said with anger in his voice. April put her hand on Heath's arm. "And that! You didn't think to tell me about you and April? I wouldn't of judged, I'm not judging now. The worse part about this is that you just waltzed back in and acted like nothing had changed," Casey yelled. Heath took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I don't know how I'm meant to make up for that but I'm sorry. You have to understand that I wasn't okay, and I'm still not 100% okay but I'm getting there. I regret not talking to you Casey, I really do. When Bianca and Harley passed the only person I spoke to was April and the only person April spoke to was me. I think Summer Bay and the people in it just reminded us too much of Bianca and Harley back then. We're back now and we don't plan on leaving ever again," Heath finished. April wished she could turn back time and do things differently, she would've let more people in and she would of made Heath do the same even if it killed him. Back then they had each other and that was it, looking back on it now April sees that it wasn't enough.
"I'm happy you're back Heath, I just wished you had of played things out differently," Casey said sadly. April looked down at her feet, not knowing what else to do. Heath cleared his throat and sniffed.
"I wish I had of played things out differently too Case, we wouldn't be having this conversation if I had of. I hope we can fix this up and then we can go back to how things were before I left," Heath said quietly. Casey nodded his head slowly. April smiled at them, she hoped that her and Irene can have a conversation similar to theirs.

 

 

After April nagged Nate for ten minutes she finally found out where Evelyn and Oscar were going to be living, Leah's house. She left Heath and Darcy to pack their bags and started driving to Leah's house. She pulled into the driveway and sighed to herself, she didn't spend much time in Leah's house none of her ex boyfriends lived their. She got out and knocked on the door. A tall teenage boy that wasn't Oscar answered the door.
"April? What are you doing here?" April's eyes widened as it clicked in her head who it was. It was VJ Patterson, he looked nothing like he did when April left for the last time. April cleared her throat and rocked back and forth on her heels.
"I'm here to see Evelyn and Oscar? Are they here yet?" April asked him. VJ nodded and moved out of the doorway so she could enter. April walked into the slightly familiar house and followed VJ to the lounge room where Oscar and Evelyn were sitting watching TV. Evelyn looked up and smiled at her. "Hey you two! Sorry I couldn't be there this morning, I had to prepare for a last minute camping trip," April said cheerfully. Oscar rolled his eyes and kept his eyes on the TV.
"It's okay, you're here now. Zac and Leah have gone shopping for food for tea, Leah wants to cook this big feast. Oscar is still sulky about being here, it's like he wants to be back on the streets again," Evelyn said. Oscar rolled his eyes and turned to face them.
"It's not that, I would've preferred to go to Hannah's, that's all. Zac doesn't know anything about us and that's not his fault either," Oscar explained. April could see where he was coming from, April had been put in that position many times before herself like when she moved in with Heath, despite dating him once when she was still in high school they didn't know anything about each other. April also knew that things would get better for the two of them, Evelyn seemed to be taking it all in her stride already.
"Soon you'll be comfortable, trust me," April told him. He sighed and nodded his head, he turned his attention back to the TV. Evelyn glared at him and then stood up in front of April, she wrapped her arms around her and squeezed tightly.
"Thank you for helping us out, we really appreciate it," Evelyn said into April's shoulder. April chuckled and patted her back.
"It was my pleasure, now you two call me if you need anything, or even if you just need someone to talk to okay?" April said handing Evelyn her card. Evelyn nodded and put the card in her pocket.
"We will," Evelyn said smiling. A curly haired boy that April didn't really recognise walked in and smiled at them all. He sat down next to Oscar and grabbed the remote changing the channel to a football match that was on. "Matt I was watching that," Evelyn whined. Matt smirked at her and chuckled a little bit.
"You weren't you were talking to her," Matt said gesturing to April. Evelyn rolled her eyes and April swore she saw Evelyn's cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
"My name is April, I was Evelyn's doctor when she was in hospital," April told him. A look of realisation spread over Matt's facial features. He smiled up at her.
"April Scott? My ex girlfriend Sasha and her brother talked about you all the time," Matt said. So Matt was Sasha's ex boyfriend and somehow he lived with Leah? April didn't realise just how much things had changed since she had been gone. When April had left Brax and Ricky were around, now Brax was in prison and Ricky was gone. Dex was straight when she left. Sasha was dating a guy named Spencer. Nothing was the same anymore.

[Phoebe]

Thank you for the comments!

 

Chapter 7

 

 

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with t!"
"Darcy if it's tree again I swear to god."
"Well that's all I can see!"
Heath and Darcy had been bickering the whole car ride, it was only driving April slightly insane. If they weren't arguing about how fast Heath was driving they were arguing about toilet breaks and if they weren't arguing about either of those things they were arguing about the song that was playing. April had had enough.
"If you guys keep going the way you are this camping trip isn't going to end well, so stop it. Jett I'm sorry they're being so ridiculous, hopefully they'll improve," April said looking between the two culprits. Heath rolled his eyes and Darcy crossed her arms over her chest. Jett just chuckled and shook his head.
"It's no different from a holiday with John and Marilyn," Jett said with a smile. April couldn't imagine John and Marilyn arguing, they seem so happy and in love. Darcy giggled in the back and turned to face Jett.
"You should hear dad and April's arguments, April wins usually," Darcy tried to whisper. April chuckled a little bit and she looked over at Heath to see he his mouth was pulled into a straight line and his eyebrows were furrowed. He started driving faster, "dad! Slow down!" Darcy yelled. Heath slowed down and looked at her in the rear view mirror.
"Well stop mouthing off, okay?" Darcy rolled her eyes but nodded her head. April was sick of being in the car with the two of them, it reminded her of the car trip back to Summer Bay. Heath was in a bad mood and Darcy was tired so the two of them clashed, April had a massive headache for most of the trip until Darcy fell asleep. Heath turned down a dirt road and suddenly they were surrounded by cabins, tents and caravans. Heath pulled up beside reception, grabbed his wallet and hopped out of the car. April undid her seat belt and turned around to face the two kids in the back.
"This is going to be a fun few days, okay? Darcy no complaining about mosquito bites, I know they're itchy but there is literally nothing I can do about it. Jett please keep Darcy away from Heath as much as possible, the two of them don't do well without WiFi," April said with a smile. Jett chuckles and nods his head. Darcy frowns and takes a sip out of her water bottle. Darcy looks up at April with a smirk on her face.
"April don't let dad put up the tents by himself, you know it makes him angry. April don't carry on about the bugs, we're in nature, bugs happen. April remember to wear sunscreen, you should know why you're a doctor for god sake. April-" The driver door slammed shut cutting Darcy off mid sentence. Heath started up the engine and drove further down the dirt road. April turned back around in her seat shaking her head at Darcy as she put her seat belt back on. Everything Darcy had said was spot on, April did all those things when they went camping. Heath pulled up in a spot right next to the pool, which could be a blessing and a curse.
"Alright, Darcy and Jett go do whatever so you're not in mine and April's way when we set up," Heath said. Darcy and Jett got out of the car and ran off somewhere, April would be the one to go find them later. Heath and April got out of the car and Heath went to boot to grab the tents out. He takes one of the tents out of the bag and hands April tent pole, April starts to set it up. By the time she's finished with all the tent poles Heath has the base of the tent layed out. April walks over to him with the poles in her hands, she almost hits him with them when she swung around too far. "Be careful, you'll poke someone's eye out, that someone being me," Heath warned. April rolled her eyes and carefully placed the poles down on the ground beside the base of the tent.
"I think I shouldn't be helping, I'm just going to get in your way, I always do," April said as Heath started threading one of the poles through the the bit of material they needed to go through. Heath sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Alright, I'll call you when I've got everything sorted then," Heath muttered. April walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She got on her tippy toes and kissed him.
"I'll see you when you're done, I love you," she said before walking off.

 

"No Darcy you can't go swimming, it eight o'clock at night," Heath said to his daughter who was standing in front of him in her one piece swimming suit with her hands on her hips. April was doing the dishes after dinner when Darcy ran out of their tent dressed for swimming, she even had her goggles in her hands. Heath sighed and looked at April pleadingly. "April go all doctor on her please?" Heath asked. Darcy huffed.
"It's too cold, you'll get pneumonia, now go change," April told her not looking up from the cup she was washing. Darcy stomped back into the tent. Jett walked out of his tent with a pair of board shorts on.
"No Jett," Heath said bitterly. Jett just shrugged and walked back into the tent. April put the last dish on the towel she was using to sit the newly washed dishes on and dried her hands. She walked with the container full of water to a bush nearby and poured the water on to it. She placed the container back on the table and then sat in her chair next to Heath. She reached her hand out towards him and he wrapped her hand up in his. Darcy stomped out of her tent now in her pajamas and sat on her chair across from them. "Darcy I promise we'll go swimming first thing in the morning, it's just too late now," Heath said to her. Darcy nodded her head and leaned back in her chair. Jett walked out in a pair of track pants and a hoodie he sat beside Darcy and smiled at them.
"I understand dad. Could we toast marshmallows? Did you bring marshmallows?" Darcy asked. April raised her eyebrows at her.
"Of course I did, do you know who you're talking to?" April said. Darcy giggled and went over to food container and rummaged around until she found the marshmallows and the special marshmallow toasting sticks that April had bought at the supermarket, April cringed at the thought of eating off something that was found in dirt so they were a lifesaver. Darcy handed a stick and a marshmallow to everyone. April stabbed the marshmallow on the end of the stick and put it into the fire that Heath had started a little while ago. April pulled the marshmallow out of the fire a minute later and ate the perfectly toasted marshmallow. "I love toasted marshmallows more than I love you," April said to Heath with a mouthful of marshmallow.
"You would leave me for a marshmallow?" Heath asked as he pulled his out of the fire, his was way overcooked in April's opinion. April nodded as she grabbed another marshmallow off of Darcy and put on the end of her stick and stuck it in the fire.
"If toasted marshmallows were human, yeah," April said as she watched the marshmallow toast. Darcy and Jett were having their own conversation on the other side of the fire, Jett was showing Darcy something on his phone and Darcy was frowning. Heath grabbed another marshmallow and ate it without toasting it.
"You aren't normal April," he said looking at her with a smile on his face. April chuckled and layed her stick across her lap and leaned back and closed her eyes. The camp grounds were dead silent, the only sound she could hear was Darcy and Jett talking about some teacher that Darcy hated but Jett liked. Heath grabbed her hand again and squeezed it. April was happy to be away from Summer Bay and all the constant reminders, this camp ground was one place that Heath and April both didn't have memories of Bianca at. Summer Bay was full of them, everywhere they went Bianca was there. April was trying not to think about work either, the other doctors would be perfectly fine without her. "You come up with some great ideas did you know that?" Heath whispered to her.
"It's a talent honestly," she whispered back. He chuckled quietly and started playing with April's fingers. "We should of invited Casey and Dex, they would love it," April said quietly. Heath sighed and stopped playing with her fingers.
"Casey wouldn't of been able to without Kyle carrying on, maybe another time though," Heath whispered quietly. Darcy and Jett had quietened down now, April opened her eyes to see the two of them kissing. She looked at Heath who had his eyes closed and breathed a sigh of relief, April closed her eyes and decided to pretend that she hadn't seen a thing.

 

April layed beside Heath later that night not being able to sleep because of the young boys next to them playing loud rap music. She rolled over to face Heath who was out cold, his eyes closed and his mouth open with snores escaping it occasionally. April closed her eyes again and tried to sleep but then the boys cheered loudly and April knew she no chance of sleeping. She opened her eyes again to see Heath stirring. She rolled over on to her back and stared up at the roof of the tent, she could hear Darcy snoring in the other side of the tent, April was glad they owned a two room tent. Heath suddenly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked down at April and smiled when he saw that she was awake.
"Have they been like that for long?" Heath whispered to her. April sighed and nodded her head. Heath stood up and pulled his shirt over his head and unzipped the door to their part of the tent. "Right, I'll be back," He said before stepping out of the tent and zipping the door back up again. She heard the sound of the other zip being undone and done up again. A few minutes later the music stopped and April sighed in relief. The zips sounded again and then Heath was beside her again. "If anyone asks you're a couple of months pregnant okay?" Heath says. April chuckled and rolled over to face him. He had taken his shirt off again and was laying on his back like she had been before he woke up.
"I should be mad that you lied but I'm fair too tired to lecture you," April said resting her head on Heath's chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. April closed her eyes and smiled, her head still hurt from the music but other than that she was fine.
"I had to do what I had to okay?" Heath said in joking tone. April chuckled a little bit and starting tracing patterns on Heath's bare chest with her finger, something she did most nights when she couldn't sleep whether Heath was awake or not. Heath hummed and wrapped an arm around her.
"I'm not complaining, now I'll get sleep," April mumbled already half asleep. Heath chuckled at her and kissed the top of her head. April closed her eyes again and took deep breaths and listened to Heath's breathing get steadier. April fell asleep the happiest she had been in a long time while wrapped in a thin blanket and the love of her life's arms.

[Phoebe]

SHE FINALLY UPDATES ABOUT TEN YEARS LATER!!!! Sorry everyone for the wait! Thank you for the comments

 

Chapter eight!

 

April sighed with relief when Heath pulled into their driveway late Sunday afternoon. Heath rubbed at his eyes and looked over at her with a tired smile on his face. The camping trip had gone reasonably well but it's not easy to sleep when there is a lot of other people around making noise, kids screaming early in the morning and teenagers partying at night. April heard Jett saying goodbye and he muttered a thank you before grabbing his things and running back to his house. The three of them just sat in the car, April didn't know about the other two but she had her eyes closed. Tomorrow it was back to reality, difficult co-workers and patients who all needed her help at the same time but for now she could relax. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, she undid her seat belt and grabbed her suitcase before getting out of the car. The other two got out of the car with their things and followed her into the house. April fell back onto the couch, she could barely keep her eyes open. Heath fell down beside her and she heard Darcy's bedroom door slam shut. April leaned into Heath and closed her eyes.
"I don't know how I'm going to go tomorrow baby," April whispered. Heath wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. Heath made April feel like she was the most important person to ever exist and she loved it. She had never had someone who made her feel so special, Dex tried but it all seemed forced with Heath it seems natural. Sometimes she felt guilty about saying that Heath was better than Dex in the boyfriend department, but she knows that Dex wasn't into it from the beginning, they are both much happier apart.
"You'll be fine, you're like a super doctor or something," Heath said as he nudged her side. April shook her head at him and smiled. She sat up straighter and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed her phone and checked the time, it was 5:30. Her stomach grumbled loudly, Heath even heard it. "Do you want to go get pizza or something?" Heath asked chuckling.
"Yeah I'll walk and get it, I need some fresh air," April said. She grabbed her purse and walked out of the door. The cool sea air hit her as the wind picked up when she walked. The sun had started to set making the sky the sky a pretty yellow-red colour. April hadn't realised how much she needed some alone time until she got some, Darcy wasn't nagging her about tea and Heath wasn't picking fights about silly things like some guy he didn't know saying hello to her. She loved them both so much but she needed her space sometimes. April opened the door to the surf club and smiled, she hadn't been back their since before she left the last time. It looked exactly how she remembered. She walked up the stairs to Angelo's taking the steps two at a time. She walked past tables of people until she go to the bar where she found Casey with his head resting on the table and an empty glass in front of him. Her first instinct was to just get the pizza and leave without even making it known that she was there, but she knew that if the situation was reversed Casey would sit down and talk to her, so that's what she did. "What's got you down Braxton?" She asked as she dragged the stool back from the bar so she could sit down. Casey jumped. He grabbed his glass and went behind the bar and refilled it.
"Dex does not trust me one little bit," Casey slurred as he swallowed a big mouthful of his drink. April knew how Casey felt, Heath seemed to think that she would just leave for work one day and never come back.
"Okay, care to elaborate?" April said. Casey got out another glass and poured a drink before sliding it over to her, "oh, no thanks Case," April said as she awkwardly pushed the glass back towards him. Casey just shrugged and swallowed her drink in two mouthfuls. April furrowed her eyebrows together, she had never seen Casey drink like that before. Casey reached over and grabbed the bottle of whiskey and went to pour himself another drink but April grabbed it and put it out of his reach.
"That isn't fair," Casey said pointing a finger at her. April sighed and pulled out her phone and scrolled until she got to Heath's contact. "W-what are you d-doing?" Casey hiccuped.
"I'm calling Heath, I don't know how to handle you," April said. Casey shook his head and snatched her phone off of her. Casey put the phone in his pocket and glared at her. April sighed in defeat, there was nothing she could do except try and get him to come home which will be harder than it looks.
"You don't need to do that, I'll talk to you, okay?" Casey said leaning closer to April, she could smell the booze on his breath. April just nodded her head and Casey smiled lazily at her. "Dex thinks I want to get with every guy I meet, I mean he's jealous of the damn postman now! You understand right? You love my brother but he seems to think you'll leave him the first chance you get, that's what Dex is like. You've dated Dex, help me out? What do I do?" Casey finished. He was now sitting on the stool next to April facing her, his hands were on his legs and he was leaning towards April with pleading eyes. April couldn't remember Dex getting jealous very much when they were together but she did remember that Dex always felt inferior to other guys because he wasn't muscly or sporty in any way.
"Dex is really insecure sometimes, he needs to be reassured that he's what you want quite often. So I think that's what you need to do, but right now you need to sober up and I need to get dinner," April said. Casey hopped up from the stool and walked out the back, trying not to fall over his own two feet as he went. April placed her head in her hands and sighed. Part of her knew she should of just called Heath and got him to talk Casey out of his funk, Casey is Heath's brother Heath would of known what to do with him. Casey walks out a few minutes later with two pizza boxes in his hands. He reaches into his pocket and chucked his keys at April.
"You'll need to drive, I'm smashed."

 

 

April watched as Casey fumbled to get his key in the lock before stumbling into his house. April sighed and walked back to her own house now that she knew Casey was home safely, she just hoped he didn't say anything stupid to Dex when Dex got home. April opened the door and was immediately pounced on by Heath and Darcy.
"You were gone for so long," Darcy said snatching the pizza box out of her hands. April frowned and snatched the pizza box back off her. Heath wrapped his arms around her and smiled down at her. She walked away from him and placed the box on the table.
"You'll have to come with me to see Casey after tea," April said to Heath, giving him a look that said that he can't ask questions just now. Darcy perked up and jumped up beside April and batted her eyelashes at her.
"Can I come with you?" Darcy asked sweetly. April shook her head and Darcy pouted. "Why not? Is he in some sort of trouble? He's my uncle, I should know what's going on," Darcy complained. April raised her eyebrows at Darcy and handed Heath a slice of pizza before getting her own piece. April took a bite and almost spat it out, it wasn't cooked properly. April grabbed Heath's piece before he took a bite and put the pizza in the oven for the extra time it needed.
"Darcy you're 15, you don't need to know everything, especially adult business. It's about time you learned that kiddo," April said. Darcy looked at Heath to try and get him on her side but he just nodded his head in agreement with April. Darcy glared at the both of them before throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.
"You both suck!" Darcy yelled before storming into her room. April sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Darcy was going through the stage where she thought she needed to know absolutely everything that was going on when she really didn't, April was really struggling with it. Heath huffed and opened the oven door and taking out the pizza that had finished cooking.
"I guess you don't want any pizza then?" Heath called out. Darcy's reply was a loud scream. April shook her head and grabbed the slice of pizza she had taken a bite out of before putting it back in the oven. Heath fell back onto the couch with a piece of pizza in his hand. "She is driving me insane at the moment April," Heath complained. April sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"She's just tired, but we could see if Connie wants to have her this week, she's probably getting sick of us," April suggested. Heath shrugged and took a bite of his pizza.
"She might see that as us kicking her out though and I don't want her to think that, ever," Heath said putting emphasis on the word ever. April knew why Heath wanted Darcy to know that she was welcome, it was because when Heath was growing up he didn't feel welcomed by any of his family members. His mum and dad didn't care about any of the boys, Brax cared for Casey more because he was the youngest and Casey hated him because Heath always took out his anger on him. April had a feeling that Darcy knew she was loved and cared for, how could she not when they care for her so much. Heath hopped up and closed the pizza box lid. "Why do need to go check on Casey anyway?" April sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.
"I found him drunk at Angelo's because him and Dex are fighting, I've never seen him like it before," April told him. Worry washed over Heath features and pulled her up off the couch.
"Sounds like we need to go, now." Heath demanded. Heath held April's hand as they walked next door to the Braxton house. Heath knocked loudly on their door. A very worried looking Dex answered the door, relief flashed in his eyes when he saw April.
"Oh thank god you're here, I think Casey's got alcohol poisoning, he's shaking and cant's stop vomiting even though he's passed out. I know what to do in this situation but I'm so stressed out that I can't think straight," Dex said. A singled rolled down Dex's cheek and April's heart went out to him.  April walked in and saw Casey laying on his back on the lounge room floor with vomit around his mouth. April rolled him onto his side and put him in the Bacchus Maneuver.
"Heath call an ambulance," April yelled. Heath got out his phone and started talking to the operator. April couldn't help but think that it was her fault, April just thought he was extremely drunk so she thought she could leave him alone and he'd be perfectly fine. Casey threw up onto the carpet and Dex sobbed more. April was crying now, she blamed herself. Heath hung up the phone.
“They’ll be here soon, he’s going to be fine Dex,” Heath told him. April really hoped that Heath was right, but April knew the dangers around alcohol poisoning. She really hoped that Casey would pull through this.

[Phoebe]

Thank you everybody for the lovely comments! Thank you for being so understandable about the long wait between chapters! I can't update this weekend because I won't have access to a computer I will try and have one up Monday afternoon

 

Chapter nine

 

April watched as Dex jumped in the ambulance after the paramedics hoisted Casey into it on a stretcher. Heath ran his fingers through his hair and took a shaky breath. He looked at April with tears in his eyes.
"Dex is gone now, you can tell me what chance Casey has got,"  Heath said trying to hold back tears. April grabbed his hand and looked up at him with a sad smile. If she was being honest, she didn't really know what chances Casey had, it all depended on so many different things it was hard to tell from just looking at him. The fact that they had turned him on his side helped his chances majorly.
"It depends on a lot of different things baby, like how much he had to drink, if he mixed his drinks and how long he had been like that before we got there. There's no way of telling until we get to the hospital. We should get Darcy and go straight away, I'll request to to be his doctor," April said to him. Heath wiped his tears away and wrapped his arms around April and sobbed into her shoulder. The only thing she could do at this point in time is to get to the hospital so she could get an update on Casey. "Let's go now," she said. Heath nodded and walked into the house. Heath sat on the couch, April took this to mean that she was to get Darcy and explain everything. April knocked on the door and Darcy muttered a come in. April opened the door to see Darcy in bed on her phone, she had one earphone in her ear and the other dangled in front of her. April took a deep breath and gave Darcy a sad smile, "we need to go to the hospital, it's your Uncle Casey, he's got alcohol poisoning," April told her. Darcy's mouth dropped open as she tugged the other earphone out of her ear.
"You're not being serious are you?" Darcy whispered in disbelief. April grabbed her hand and gave her a sympathetic smile, ignoring her own tears rolling down her cheeks. Darcy yanked her hand away and got out of bed and started rummaging around in her wardrobe for a jacket and  a pair of shoes. "Why are we still here then? Let's go," Darcy yelled as she shrugged her jacket on and shoved her feet into her shoes not bothering to tie up the laces. Darcy stormed passed her, April jogged to catch up with her. Anger flashed in Darcy's eyes when she saw Heath just sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. "Dad, what are you doing? Get up so we can go," she yelled. Heath sighed and got off the couch and brushed passed Darcy on his way to get outside. Darcy went to follow him but April grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
"I know you're upset but your dad doesn't need that, he has feelings to you know he's not some sort of emotionless robot. You should apologise when we get in the car," April said letting go of her arm when she finished. Darcy glared at her for a little while before storming out. April sighed and followed her making sure to close and lock the door behind her. April hopped into the passenger seat of the car and Heath started driving. The car ride was silent, all April could hear was the noise that Darcy's phone made when she typed. Heath pulled into the hospital parking lot, taking advantage of the staff parking and hopped out. Darcy and April followed him into the hospital. April spotted Nate by the nursing station flirting with the one of the new nurses who didn't know any better while the other nurses looked on frowning. April walked up to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the girl. He looked at her with annoyance and went to say something but April cut him off. "Casey Braxton, where is he?" Nate's face softened as he realised what was going on.
"He's in room 204, I've given him some fluids, he's lucky he's only dehydrated. How come there was a large amount of alcohol in his system?" Nate said placing his hands on his hips. April raised her eyebrows at him and took the clipboard that had Casey's name on it out of his hands.
"You're assuming I know. I'm his doctor now okay?" April said. April didn't give him time to answer she ran back to Heath and Darcy who had been watching the two of them anxiously. April smiled at them and they relaxed. She stood in front of them reading over the clipboard before looking up at them again. "He's dehydrated big time, he's lucky that he didn't start having seizures, he's going to be fine," April told him. Heath breathed out a sigh of relief and Darcy cried out in happiness as she wrapped her arms around Heath who ruffled her hair.
"Can we go see him?" Darcy asked. April nodded and led them to room 204 where Casey layed unconscious in a hospital bed with Dex sitting by his side holding his hand. Dex looked up at them when they walked in with bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks. He smiled a small smile at them.
"He's okay," Dex whispered. April took a few steps closer and sat on the edge of Casey's bed. Heath and Darcy appeared beside her, Darcy's mouth was open and tears were in her eyes. April hadn't had to see someone close to her in hospital since Bianca, there was Sasha but they weren't that close anymore Sasha was team Dex all the way when they split up. Seeing Casey laying there reminded her of Bianca, she hoped that it wasn't the same for the other two.  

 

They got home later that night, April felt like a monumental weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that she knew Casey was okay. Nate had set him up for a speedy recovery before April had even got there. Nate was good at what he does and April respected him for that, she hoped that he returned that respect. April could tell that Heath was still threatened by Nate, April didn't know why. Maybe it was because Nate was well educated and Heath is not, that's not completely Heath's fault though, he was never encouraged to keep going with his schooling. It could be because Nate was British but that would be ridiculous. It was most likely because Heath had it in his head that April's perfect guy was very similar to Nate, when her perfect guy was Heath in every way shape and form. She liked the fact that he was rough on the outside but really sweet on the inside. She liked that despite what everyone thought of him he still walked around with his head held high. She liked that he was able to admit he had flaws, people like Nate aren't able to do that. She liked that even after everything he had gone through he still smiles everyday, April doesn't know how he does it. She just wished that he could see himself through her eyes, he'd like himself much better if he could. April turned on the light switch and the lounge room went from dark to light and she could see everything again. Darcy walked straight to her room without saying goodnight, it had been a long night. Heath walked into their room and April followed him. Heath had taken his top off and was getting down to his boxers when April walked in. April grabbed his shirt off the ground and a pair of shorts out of her drawer and walked into the bathroom to get changed. After April had changed she looked at herself in the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was tangled and greasy looking and her skin looked dry and horrible. She sighed at her reflection and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, she was too tired to worry about how she looked at that moment. She walked back into the bedroom, Heath was in bed now, all the lights were off except their bedside lights. She got into the bed beside him and rolled onto her side to face him. He turned to face her as well.
"You were amazing today, I loved seeing you do your thing," he whispered to her. April felt her cheeks warm up, she wasn't use to compliments even though Heath gave her plenty. Something about Heath being proud of her made her heart beat just a little bit faster. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly, he smiled at her and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
"That means a lot to me coming from you Heath," April whispered back. Heath kissed her forehead and she snuggled into him more. April could just hear Darcy's snores coming from her bedroom, April was glad Heath didn't snore like his daughter otherwise she would go crazy. Heath looked down at her with wide eyes and his mouth open slightly. She chuckled at him and grinned. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She said still chuckling. He chuckled a little bit himself before looking at her with a more serious expression on his face.
"I just realised two things," Heath said. April raised her eyebrows at him and he rolled his eyes at her. "One, that you're beautiful even at two in the morning and two, that I never said sorry for being such a douche when we first got here. Back then Summer Bay was like this forbidden place in mind that I had tried to forget because it just bought back these memories that I didn't want to remember but when we got here I realised I needed to allow myself to make new memories with you and not Bianca otherwise this town was always going to be painful for me. Part of me is glad Harley didn't get to see much of Summer Bay, I know that if I had many memories of him here I couldn't cope," Heath said as he wiped away a stray tear that had escaped. April gave him a small smile and laced her fingers with his again.
"You are so much stronger than me. I've been putting off this dinner with Irene at her house because I'm afraid that if I see my room I'll have flashbacks of Bianca walking into my room early in the morning with a mug of coffee because she knew I stayed up stupidly late the night before studying, or I'd remember the times she stormed in there yelling at me about something I did that I shouldn't of, like getting with you the first time. Worst of all I don't want to remember the night you called me and told me that my nephew had died and my sister was in a critical condition, because that happened in my room at Irene's too. I also don't want to see the door to her room and trick myself into thinking that she's still there sleeping and she'll down any minute ready for a new day," April finished. Tears ran down her face, she was glad that she wasn't wearing any makeup. April took another deep breath and looked up at him again. "This is why I want you to see someone Heath. I know you haven't called that therapist I asked you to make an appointment with, I don't know why you're so scared of talking about your feelings," April said quietly. Heath took a shaky breath.
"Talking about my feelings would mean admitting that I have them, and that's against one of the rules in the how to be a boy handbook.April, the only person I want to talk to about these things is you, I don't want to talk to some old guy with glasses and a receding hairline who will tell me things I already know. I want to talk to you because I know you understand everything I'm going through, receding hairline guy has just studied about it, you've lived it with me," Heath said. April couldn't help but feel the exact same way he did.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Glad Casey will be okay

Loved the talk between April and Heath

Update soon please xx