Life starts now - A Bondi Rescue story

Picking up the pieces

A/N: A big thank you to the two lovely people who added this story to their favourites. You made my day :)

The social worker who had been assigned to Melanie's case was called Lisa. She went over all the details with her charge, listening patiently while the girl described her living situation.

"My mother is doing very important research. She pays the bills for the house, but she also wants us to be self-sufficient", she explained, absent-mindedly toying with a pen. "And my sisters have been looking after me long enough. They really deserve a break."

Lisa clicked her tongue, thoughtfully folding her hands. "I understand that, Melanie, but abandoning a minor is not to be taken lightly. I am sure that you can take care of yourself just fine, but by law, an adult must have the responsibility for you."

Melanie looked at her imploringly, desperate to make herself understood. "But...I don't want them to get into trouble. I can live on my own, I just need to find a job. Alice and Hailey did that, too, after school because Mum had all these conferences to go to and wanted them to earn some money." Alice had worked in retail and Hailey at the front desk of a local hotel.

Lisa smiled even though it saddened her to see her defending the people that had left her in the lurch. "I see your sisters did a really good job supporting you three", she commented, trying a different approach.

The young girl agreed. "Yeah. And now that I'm old enough, they are allowed to have some fun after I kept them from it for 5 years." Sullenly, she added: "Although they could have told me a bit sooner. I didn't know they wanted to get away from me that badly."

Stifling a sigh, Lisa decided to bring in her superior. Getting up, she said: "I'll be right back, alright? I'll talk to my boss and then we can see about finding a solution that makes all of us happy. How does that sound?"

Managing a small smile, Melanie nodded.

***

After a long discussion, a slew of calls, one of them to her mother, and even a talk with a psychologist, Melanie was deemed fit to live on her own as long as she could support herself financially. Lisa would help her with the job search and be her contact for any problems that might arise.

Her mother, slightly less standoff-ish when confronted with the authority of Child Services and the possibility of a lawsuit, had agreed to provide sufficient funds for her daughter until Melanie had found a job since she obviously couldn't just give up her research.

The only condition was that Melanie would regularly get in touch with Lisa so that Child Services could make sure she was doing okay.

Also, Josie Barnes, the Finnigan's neighbour, had offered to check in on the teen from time to time. "Melanie's such a good girl", she told Lisa over the phone. "She often babysits for us and walks the dog. It's the least we can do. And she can also eat with us if she likes."

Lisa had opted to put her on speaker and Josie repeated her offer. Melanie smiled, even though she knew her neighbour wouldn't be able to see it and thanked her for her kindness.

"Oh, nonsense, dear", Josie waved it off, "you know how much the kids love you. Besides, you're such a good role model for them."

The brunette blushed and humbly tried to deny it, which made the mother of four all the more determined. Eventually, Melanie just gave in and promised to come over sometime during the week for dinner.

***

A couple of weeks later, Melanie was back at the beach. The weather was fantastic, especially for late July, and the swell was perfect for surfing. A few surfers were already out in the water and there were some swimmers as well. The lifeguards' buggy was stationed by the rip that locals all knew as Backpackers'.