(1.05) Public Property

1.05 Public Property by Denise Morgan

Summary: The Hayes brothers are driving into town to meet up with the younger brother's penpal fiancée. As he's driving while being drunk, they have an accident (minor scratches), and get a stern talking to by the doctors for wasting valuable time. When the bus arrives, carrying the woman he's never met but is meant to be marrying, Bruce Hayes gets the shock of his life - the woman's heavily pregnant! She didn't say anything about that in her letters ... and so he refuses to marry her. The woman ends up marrying the older Hayes brother, who's now taken a shine to her, belly and all. Both Gibbo and Chris think Tom works too much and decide to stop off in Broken Hill, claiming there's something up with the plane, when in fact Chris has planned to take Tom for a swim as he needs to learn to relax. In town, there's an annual fundraiser for the RFDS - a "boat" race - followed by a bar brawl. Tom keeps getting badgered about being in the organising committee, and Violet isn't too happy when Chris goes in his stead.