Rusty Kelpie

* Adult
* Kid

Rusty Kelpie is a tertiary character in the fanmade spinoff series, ***And Bluey!***. He is the father of Scout, the step-father of Kiwi, the widower of Haris, and the husband of Jack.

## **Appearance**

Rusty has a reddish-orange coat with a yellow snout, as well as paws, ears, and eyebrows. He has a yellow diamond on his chest.

## **Personality**

Rusty is still the same boyish, playful guy as he always was. After graduating high school, he enlisted into the army and got to do a lot of traveling and lived in many different places. He has an appreciation for other cultures and loves to learn more about them, always buying some sort of souvenir from every place he visited.

Rusty is quick to anger and has quite the temper. However, he realizes that most things can't be solved through screaming matches, so instead opts to workout in order to calm down.

## **Backstory**

#### 2034

Much to the surprise of absolutely no one, Rusty joined the army right out of high school and was gone from Brisbane for nearly 15 years. He spent a lot of time living in other countries, exploring and experiencing new cultures and educating himself during his off times. While stationed in Crete, Greece, Rusty met Haris, a sweet, gentle, alopekis who he bonded with after spraining his ankle and getting a concussion. Haris was a traveling nurse, fresh out of college and looking to travel while doing what she loved: helping people. Ultimately, it was her snarky, yet sweet, personality that drew him to her and the two hit it off.

#### 2039

From there, Rusty and Haris were practically inseparable, spending whatever free time they had together exploring wherever it was they were stationed. After 4 years of dating, Rusty proposed while they were stationed in Alaska, marrying a year later back in Australia. At that point, it had been 5 years since he’d last been home and didn’t realize how much he missed his friends and family. Haris promises they’ll visit Brisbane again for their next vacation.

#### 2044

Another 5 years rushes by and the couple is closer than ever, especially when Haris gleefully breaks the news that she’s pregnant. Overjoyed, the expecting parents begin to prepare for the baby’s arrival, on top of their already busy lives. Their son, Scout, is born a few months later and the couple takes leave for a few weeks to care for their new baby. As expected, these 12 weeks blur by and towards the end of it, Haris is beginning to see that traveling with a newborn is probably not going to be the easiest thing in the world. With that, she and Rusty mutually decide that she’ll still stay with Rusty, wherever he's stationed, but decides to put her nursing career on hold and is honorably discharged.

The months fly by and guilt is beginning to weigh heavier and heavier on Rusty. He'd just been assigned to a private mission for 6 months. He's excited, sure, but wants *so badly* to be with his wife and newborn son. Haris reassures Rusty that what he's doing is totally okay and even encourages him; she'll be there when he comes home. Rusty finally agrees and says goodbye to his family early the next morning, having no clue what he'll return to.

6 months later, Rusty joyfully comes home, proud and honestly a bit upset that Scout has now learned to walk and "talk" (read: babble). He wishes he was there for those huge moments, but tries not to dwell on it. What really upsets him, however, is the way Haris is acting. There's something *off* about her...was she limping? Rusty goes to hug her but she yelps in pain. Okay, this was serious. Rusty demands to know what's going on and why Haris is acting so strange, but she avoids his question, instead rushing out the door.

Haris returns home that night, well after Scout had been tucked in. Rusty hears the door open and meets her in the kitchen, again asking what's wrong, a bit harsher than he'd intended. Haris is already on-edge and snaps back, and they have a pretty rough argument. Everything comes spilling out at once; the past 6 months had been a living hell for Haris. From having to care for Scout on her own and dealing with constant, terrible pain in her joints, she hasn't had time to process anything. Rusty suddenly puts two and two together, asking if that's why she was in so much pain when he went to hug her. Haris confirms this with a nod, but tells him that there's more to it than that: Haris was just diagnosed with bone cancer and given a year to live.

Rusty is in complete denial, saying that there must be a way they can cure her. Haris decides to undergo chemotherapy, but even that isn't guaranteed to work. Rusty then grows uncomfortably silent- he's *furious*, not at Haris, but at himself. All at once, everything comes crashing down; he could've chosen to be a more involved father. He *could've* chosen to be a more supportive husband. He *could've* paid attention to the signs more. But he *didn't*, and now, his wife and son were suffering because of *him*. Rusty decides to go for a jog, not wishing to escalate their fight anymore. He comes home an hour later, only to find Haris curled up with their son in their bed. Rusty wordlessly joins them, wrapping himself around them protectively.

Rusty decides to use his unpaid leave, giving him 26 weeks to spend with Haris. He brings her to chemo appointments, watches Scout, and does a majority of the house chores. Unfortunately, Haris' condition greatly worsens after she falls, breaking her hip. She's now bedbound, the cancer having spread to other parts of her body. Doctors say she doesn't have much longer and tell Rusty to prepare himself. He brings Scout to see his mum everyday, which gets harder and harder as he watches Haris grow weaker. Rusty feels sick to his stomach; although he's constantly reassured that there's nothing more he can do, Rusty still feels like he could be doing more.

#### 2048

He'll never forget the day for as long as he lives. Haris died on a Sunday in the early morning as the sun was just starting to rise. Rusty held her as she passed, having to be held back by doctors so they could attempt to revive her. He was, and still totally isn't, 100% okay after her death; there will always be that empty piece of him, even after he reunites with Jack, whom he's genuinely happy and in love with.

After Haris' ashes are scattered in the ocean near her hometown, Rusty decides to permanently leave the army in order to spend all the time he can with Scout, the only piece of Haris that he still has. The father and son move back to Brisbane, where they stay with Rusty's parents, Ruby and Tracker, and even reunite with some of Rusty's best friends. It takes a long time for Rusty to feel okay enough to start socializing on his off-days, but Mackenzie and Jack turn out to be just what he needed to start his long healing process. Even better, Scout is able to play with Boots, Mackenzie's daughter, and Rusty starts visiting the Border-Heeler home a lot more often.

#### 2054

Over the past 6 years, Rusty has saved up enough money from working odd jobs and was able to move out of his parents' house and into something decent for him and the now-8-year-old Scout. Sometime along the way, his love of cricket was reignited and he becomes a coach.