Fitting in for Tess was never going to be easy. Ben thinks she took his job, PJ just sees her as a replacement for Maggie and coming so soon after her death he can't deal with this. Jo sees Tess as a threat, the two women in the station plainly do not get on. Jack is her only ally, going out of his way to be her friend.
Towards the end of season 7 Jack is shot by some drug dealers. Following this, he and Tess became closer. The season 7 finale sees Tess give Jack a pair of boots, just before he's wheeled into theatre to have the bullet that is lodged near his spine removed. At the start of season 8 we learn that Tess sat with Jack until he awoke after the operation. However, she returned a thank you gift from him as she was uncomfortable with their growing intimacy and Jack's presumption that they have a 'bond'. In Episode 303, Chop Chop, Jack and Tess share their first kiss, however a few minutes later Tess agrees that although it was a 'nice moment' it won't be happening again. Tess tries to keep her distance, but after a hostage situation for Jack, Episode 311 The Manly Art, her resolve crumbles and she and Jack sleep together. In the next episode, Before the Fall, Jack becomes emotionally involved in a drug case. He is convinced that Brad Eckhardt is dealing Ecstacy to the kids of Mt Thomas High, when one dies, he follows some leads and comes face to face with Eckhardt. A scuffle breaks out and Eckhardt falls over the edge of a deep drop, he's hanging on with Jack looking down. Jack's judgement severly clouded and completely convinced Eckhardt is dealing he lets him fall to his death. Jack is arrested and sent to jail. Tess is distraught at his departure. She attempts to send
During season 8 Tess fosters schoolgirl Hayley Fulton, but finds that playing Mum is much harder than she imagined. In the first 2 episodes of season 9 (Breaking Point Parts 1 & 2), Hayley's mother is released from prison and Hayley has to return to live with her.
There obviously is light at the end of the tunnel though, as the arrival of the new cop Jonesy seems to have created a new spark in Tess. Wary of being hurt yet again, Tess doesn't show her feelings. Will Jonesy stick around long enough for Tess to open up to him?
From her budding relationship with Evan and her fostering of Hayley we've learnt a little about Tess' family background. In Hayley's first episode Small Potatoes Tess tell Hayley she has one younger sister, however in her next appearance Tess tells Hayley's mum she has three younger brothers. During the episode 'A Hard Call', we learn that Tess parent's divorced when she was 3, she hasn't seen her father since and that whilst she knows where her mother lives they seldom speak. At the end of season 8 and the beginning of season 9 we learn that Tess's mother was an alcoholic and her father a junkie.
In the episode Salvation Tom marries Grace Curtis in a beautiful yet simple ceremony. Grace's son Daniel puts on a recording of "Amazing Grace", we hear Tess quietly sing a few words to herself before telling Jonesy that she loves the song. Jonesy tells Tess to sing and he gathers everyones attention and leaves Tess with no choice. She breaks into a stunning rendition of 'Amazing Grace.' Tess catches the bouquet at the end of the episode and the scan of assembled guests for the final scene shows Tess with a dreamy smile on her face and Jonesy grinning from ear to ear.
In the final ep of season 9, Tess and Jonsey share a kiss in the locker room, and Tess takes 3 days holiday in Fiji. She returns home married, but to who?