Home & Away Shipwrecked!

**Shipwrecked!: Chapter 1**

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"This trip is just going to be so cool!" Fourteen-year-old Lucy Alexander said excitedly, playing around with the strap on her rucksack. Emma Alexander, her older sister, rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It's only a one night boat trip," she reminded her sister. "Anyone would think that we were going for a month the way you are carrying on."

"Oh, come on sis." Lucy grinned. "Don't tell me that you are not look forward to it. A whole night away from home without any parents to tell us what to do. It's going to be great fun!"

"I heard that," Susan Alexander called from the kitchen where she was feeding Jordan, Emma's young son. "You just remember what I told you last night."

"Yes, yes," the youngest girl muttered under her breath. "No drinking, no wandering off alone, do what your sister tells you without any arguing…" she broke off as the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Allee and Duncan," Emma said at once. "Let them in, Lucy. I've got to go and say goodbye to my little Jordy."

"Hey Em, hi Lucy," Allee, Emma's best friend, came into the living room, closely followed by a tall, muscular, good-looking boy. Both were dressed casually and carried rucksacks. "You all set?"

"Yeah, I think so," Emma told her. "And Lucy has been ready for about the last week, haven't you, Lucy?"

"I haven't!" Lucy protested. "Just four days." She smiled as her older sister and her friends began to laugh.

"Well then," Duncan said finally. "If you two girls are ready, then we had better make a move. We are supposed to meet the Sutherland girls at the jetty in ten minutes."

"Right then," Emma bent down and gave her two-year-old son a kiss on the forehead. "Bye Jordy. Be good for grandma and mummy will see you tomorrow."

"Behave yourselves!" Susan called after them as they trooped out of the front door, followed by Laddie and Shadow, Emma's two dogs. "And for heavens sake, be careful!"

Susan smiled as she watched her daughters and their friends walk down their garden path. Her family, which also consisted of her older son Benny and his girlfriend Jess, had moved to Summer Bay several months earlier, after the whole family had gone through a very rough patch. Her husband had run off with another woman, Benny had spent a year in prison for assaulting a police officer, Lucy had gone seriously off the rails after falling in with a bad crowd and Emma had been raped, had Jordan and suffered from serious depression. Susan had hoped that a move to Summer Bay would give them all a fresh start and it had, although there had still been problems. 

Jess and Benny had gotten engaged and were talking about having a child of their own, Lucy had made friends with the Sutherland twins and had found herself a boyfriend, Dylan and Emma had finally began to live her life again and put the rape behind her. She was good friends with Allee, a girl of her own age who had moved to Summer Bay just before them and lived with her grandmother, as well as Dani and Leah. She had also begun a serious relationship with Kane Philips, a relationship that had come under strain after Emma and her family discovered what he had done to Dani, when Emma's ex-boyfriend arrived in the Bay and yet again when he and Kirsty had shared a kiss. But despite everything, the two of them had managed to pull through and it was clear to anyone who knew them that they were very much in love. 

*~*~*~*

Dani, Jade and Kirsty Sutherland were already waiting when they arrived, along with Dani's boyfriend Josh, Kirsty's boyfriend Seb and Jade's boyfriend Nick. Josh, Seb and Nick were in the process of taking the luggage on board.

"Hey guys!" Dani greeted as she caught sight of them. "Isn't it just a beautiful day for a boat trip?"

It was indeed a lovely day, Emma thought to herself, and she was glad. She and her friends had been planning this trip for weeks. A simple boat ride to a small island just north of the bay, where they would stay overnight and return the next day. The younger ones, Lucy, Jade, Kirsty, Seb and Nick had had to do a lot of persuading before they were finally allowed to go and now the day had finally come when they would set off. 

"This is going to be so much fun!" Jade said with a smile. "Isn't it, Kirsty?"

"It sure it," the tall, blond-haired girl smiled at her twin sister. "Sun, sea, sand, a boat. And best of all, no parents to tell us what to do."

Dani sighed and shook her head, while Emma smiled. Allee and Duncan came over to join them.

"Complaining about little sisters?" Allee asked. "Mind if I join in?"

"And while we're at it, can I complain about my family?" Duncan grinned and put his arm around Allee's shoulder. "Although I shouldn't complain about dad too much. If he hadn't trusted us with his boat, we would never be going on this trip."

"Good old Alf!" Josh called over as he hoisted Dani's pack on board. "Right guys?"

"Yeah!" Seb, Nick, Lucy, Kirsty and Jade cheered when where they were standing huddled in their little group. "Good old Alf!"

"Have we got everything?" Josh asked after surveying the boat for a moment. "Blankets, fishing rods, enough food to feed an army, plates, cups, matches to light a fire…"

"A hairbrush," Lucy said, causing them all to laugh. "Make-up."

"I don't think there will be many people to see it where we're going," Nick laughed. "Apparently the island is completely deserted. Right, Josh?"

"Right," the tanned, dark-haired boy agreed. "It's about two hours away from the coast and although people used to live on it, it has been deserted for a fair few years now. At least, that's what I've heard."

As they were talking, Emma felt a pair of arms encircle her waist and the gentle caress of warm breath on her neck. 

"Hello darling," someone whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry I'm late. I got a bit held up."

"Kane!" Emma turned round and came face to face with her boyfriend, Kane Philips. "I was wondering where you were." Quickly she reached up and gave him a kiss. 

"Hey Kane," Dani greeted him. She sounded a little uneasy, but was doing her best to be friendly. Josh, who was standing beside her, put a protective arm around her shoulder and glared at Kane. Allee, Duncan, Jade and Nick followed Dani's example and greeted him as nicely as they could. Lucy and Kirsty looked pleased to see him, although Seb didn't. 

Emma was pleased that most of them were being all right; it had been Dani who had persuaded Susan and Benny to allow her to continue seeing Kane after the news of what he had done to her had leaked out and since then Dani had continued to be pleasant and friendly to Kane as long as he was with Emma, although she was always a little uneasy. Kane knew this and made no attempt to overstep the boundaries she offered, doing his best to prove to her and others, such as Shelley, Rhys, Benny and Susan, that he was sorry and that he had changed. Emma and Dani's other friends, such as Allee, Duncan, Jade and Nick, had been wary of him at first, but as long as Dani was willing to give him a chance, they were happy to do the same. Josh didn't like Kane at all, but tolerated him for Dani's sake, and nor did Seb, who was a little jealous of the history Kane and Kirsty shared and the attraction still between them. Kane and Kirsty were still friends, although after their kiss they had both promised Emma and Seb that they would not spend time alone together, in case it happened again. Kirsty was a little jealous watching Kane and Emma together, but she could see that Kane was happy and that was important to her.  

"Well now that everyone is here," Duncan said, smiling round at them all. "Shall we get going? No sense in standing around here all day, is there?"

There were nods and murmurs of agreement and they all began climbing up the ramp, chatting away happily. Emma, Kane and the two dogs were the last up and Josh pulled the ramp up behind them. Then after doing a quick head count and asking them once again if there was anything they had forgotten, he started the boat and they sped off across the clear blue water. The adventure was beginning…


End file.

Home & Away, Romance