Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Ashley

A/N: I know the whole shark attack happened a while ago, but the story photo for this chapter is kind of how I imagine her shark bit being, just so you can kind of get an idea for the scar/healing and whatnot. 

I lay awake after tossing and turning all night. With a groan, I reached out and grabbed my phone off the nightstand to check the time. It was 5 am, and I was wide awake. I didn't sleep very well and kept waking up. Which was disappointing for me, especially since I went to bed late. 

I give up, I thought. I then reached over and grabbed the remote, putting on Adventure Time. I didn't have to be at the zoo until 8:30, so if I stayed up for a bit and then fell back asleep it wouldn't be that big of a deal. 

Except I didn't fall back asleep. I tried just watching the television to put myself to sleep, tried doom-scrolling on Instagram, and nothing. The sun was coming through my windows and the kookaburras started singing. Oh well, I thought, at least I got to relax a bit before going out and doing zoo stuff. And I can sleep in tomorrow with it being Christmas. 

Suddenly, my phone lit up. It was a simple "good morning beautiful" text from Robert. I smiled. That's what I'll do, go hang out with him and his family and get an early start at the zoo, I thought. 

I got up and changed into a khaki shirt and plain blue jeans for the day. As I was changing, I looked down at my slowly healing scar from the shark bite. My leg itself wasn't hurting, and the scar was healed enough at this point that it was no longer scabby, but it was a deep raised, ugly scar. I knew it would take a while, and it may never fully heal and look completely normal. I sighed sadly, if only I had known better to just stay well away from Jackson. This would have never happened. 

I pulled on my jeans and tied my hair back in a ponytail. I decided not to let Robert know that I was going to come over, but I put a sticky note on my door for mum, saying "I went to get an early start with the Irwins. Love you, Ash". 

I carefully shut the back door behind me as I walked into the warm early morning air. It was around 6:30 now, and the sounds of the animals outside were beautiful. I took a deep breath and smiled slightly before heading down the deck stairs and towards Robert's house. 

As I got closer, I could see Robert, Bindi, Chandler, Terri, and Grace sitting around the table, eating breakfast and talking. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

Robert looked at me. "Oh, it's open, Ash," Terri said without turning around to see If it was me at the door or not.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked as I stepped inside the Irwin house.

"You have a certain knock," she said, turning to face me and opening her arms for a hug. I bent down and hugged her.

"Breakfast? There's some still up there," Bindi offered. 

"Yeah, help yourself," Robert said. I nodded and walked towards the kitchen. 

"Don't worry, Bindi is the one who cooked, not Robert," Terri joked.

"Hey! I'm not that bad at cooking!" Robert said, laughing.

"Robert, may I remind you of the pancakes you made during the last croc expedition?" I said, scooping eggs and bacon onto a plate. 

"Or the croc cake you made," Chandler chimed in. 

We were all laughing slightly, and I looked over to see Robert's face turning slightly red. 

"Okay, that's all fair," he said, laughing with us. I sat down at the table in between him and Terri. 

"So, what's the plan for today?" Bindi asked, and we all looked at Terri.