Next Episode of Neighbours is
Season 40 / Episode 49 and airs on 25 November 2024 12:00
The continuation of the long-running daily drama series—about the lives, loves, and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne.
Arriving first at the cottage where Gem and Georgia are staying, Kate ignores Chris's pleas to wait for Toadie and Kyle and races off to find her estranged friend. Kate bravely breaks through the door, finding Georgia abandoned and unconscious in a gas-filled room. Administering CPR, Kate finally manages to revive Georgia just as Kyle arrives.
Kate resolves to keep her distance from Kyle, but things go awry when Bossy runs away. Seeing Kyle's distress, she offers to help him search, initially pushing aside her feelings to encourage his hopes of reuniting with Georgia. When Bossy is found pining outside Georgia's bedroom, Kyle tells his dog it's time for them both to move on. Hearing this, Kate's hopes rise.
Bailey's still hung up on Gem, and wants to help hunt her down so he can get some answers. He convinces Callum to help him search her room, looking for clues to her whereabouts. They find her diary. Against Callum's advice, Bailey reads it, finding a passage about himself that makes him feel more sympathetic. Despite Callum's warnings not to, Bailey texts Gem.
Georgia's still rattled by the sudden appearance of her car, and when Kyle arrives at the hospital to keep her company, they experience the first thaw in their relationship. However things quickly become awkward when Kate turns up as well. They're interrupted when Gem suddenly runs in, with an injury to her hand that the others quickly suspect is self-inflicted.
Kyle, Georgia and Kate are all feeling weird in light of Kate's declaration that she's in love with Kyle. Kyle has no idea how to process the information, and Georgia feels similarly up in the air about what it means. But after getting closure with Gem, and feeling positive, Georgia decides she's open to whatever happens with Kyle – even the possibility of reconciliation.
Reeling from his talk with Georgia, Kyle confides in Chris, who feels Kyle needs to make a choice. Kyle mopes about the house, and Sheila doesn't see what good feeling sorry for himself will do. Chris persuades Kyle to go on a boys' night with him – no women allowed. After a couple of beers, Kyle begins to relax, although Sheila suggests he is burying his head in the sand.
Suffering from heartbreak over Kyle, Georgia's starting to feel physically ill at work. Karl, who is somewhat preoccupied with the election, encourages her to go home. She says she'll fight through the food poisoning, but he assumes the Kyle situation is getting her down. When she becomes nauseous during work later, she wonders if it's more than that.
Overwhelmed by the discovery that she's pregnant, Georgia is grateful to find an understanding confidante in Susan. She shares her feelings of shock and bewilderment, admitting she never could've imagined she'd find herself in this position, alone and pregnant. She wrestles with the decision to tell Kyle, fearing his reaction to the news.
As Josh's public profile builds, Ruby lands him a major new sponsorship deal. Josh is stoked with the gift they give him – a new car – but Amber begins to suspect fame is going to Josh's head. Her fears are confirmed when Josh skips another training session to attend a glitzy PR bash. Brad is livid when Josh gets home after midnight. Neither Brad nor Amber are able to get through to Josh.
Josh's path towards self-destruction continues, to Brad's increasing concern. Not even Amber can get through to him and it seems his swimming career and his relationship are headed for disaster. Sharing her son's drive and competitiveness, Terese finally understands what is scaring Josh – a fear of failure. Confronted, Josh admits his fears and the increased pressure that has got to him.
Jacob apologises for his impetuous kiss, but Sonya is left awkward and feeling that she should tell Toadie what happened. Jacob begs her not to, but when Callum senses something going on between them, Sonya decides to be upfront. She tells Jacob that they can't spend anymore time together, and goes home to tell Toadie the truth. But an unexpected twist in Jacob's legal case.
After a successful gig the night before, Karl comes into election day with all the momentum – and Paul struggles to hide his growing anxiety. Karl encounters a strong swell of support and it emboldens him to quietly confront Paul during a photo op. He relays Marty's offer and Paul is suddenly gripped by the feeling that everything is falling apart – a feeling that only gets worse.
Terese, still on an adrenaline high after quitting her job at Paul's victory party, shares her news with a pleased Imogen. Back home, however, the reality sinks in over the enormity of Terese's decision. Brad is supportive and even suggests Paul might come back on bended knee begging her to return to work.
It's the day of Josh's Commonwealth Games trials and tension builds as everyone, including a nervous Terese, gathers at the Turner's house to watch it. Not helping Amber's building anxiety over her boyfriend's sporting fate, is Bailey's inability to get the live broadcast feed working. Things get off to a shaky start for Josh when he fails to even qualify for the final of the 50-metre freestyle.
Amber is reeling after discovering Josh will be away at a training camp in Spain. For three months. Worried that it is too long to be apart, she's determined to buy herself a plane ticket. Unable to talk to Josh about the training camp because of the Victory/Australia Day Party and his phone ringing non-stop with people congratulating him and offers of endorsements, Amber decides to go ahead.
In the wake of Kyle and Kate's secret being exposed, Kate is at a loss to understand how the email came to be in Georgia's hands. She admits to Sheila that Kyle and her had been together but denies giving the email to Georgia. Kyle's stunned that Kate wrote the email in the first place and is dubious about her explanation of why he never saw it.
Despite her feelings of humiliation and heartbreak, Georgia makes a conscious decision to get back to work and go on performing. Although she pretends to be supportive, Gem finds her cousin's resilience infuriating. It would be far more satisfying for Gem if Georgia were miserable and needy. Gem finally gets what she wants when Kyle makes an unexpected appearance at Georgia's gig.
As the mayoral campaign continues, Sheila leads a protest against Karl's plan to turn the Community Centre into a childcare facility. Karl tries to assure the protestors that his proposal will only compromise part of the centre, but Sheila is reluctant to trust any politician in the making. Meanwhile, Terese calls a meeting to negotiate with Sheila and the protestors.
Terese fills Karl in on Paul's plan to accept kickbacks when he becomes Mayor and he's appalled. But he's forced to face the reality that Paul stands a good chance at winning the election. In an attempt to win back votes, Karl comes up with a new platform, however he will not announce his plans until the election night… refusing to allow Paul the chance to steal his idea – again!
After running into Kate, Georgia decides to vent when she sees Mason. But she's disappointed not to find a kindred spirit in him. While understanding Georgia's pain and anger, Mason reveals he's moved on. Later when talking to Chris, Georgia thanks him for being a good friend but soon realises he knew all along about Kate and Kyle's night together. Feeling betrayed, Georgia cuts him off.
After being rushed to hospital, Georgia is diagnosed with severe dehydration and is terrified that her actions may have harmed her unborn child. But when Karl does an ultrasound, Georgia's relieved to learn her baby is fine… Meanwhile, a frantic Kyle, desperate for news of what's going on – bursts into the room and realises that Georgia is pregnant with his baby.
Arriving at the camp site, Mason discovers his tent has a huge hole and Imogen reluctantly agrees to let him share with her. Settling down for the night, Josh and Amber have fun until they overhear Mason and Imogen bickering. Mason admits to Imogen he dobbed in Isaac – they argue but there is a flirtatious undercurrent. They converge in the night and are discovered the next morning.
Imogen, Mason and Amber are in a panic as they rush to check that Josh is alive – relieved to see he's conscious, they try and call for help but they can't get reception on their phones. Amber takes control and orders Mason to run back to the campsite to get help. Guilty, thinking this is his fault, Mason takes off and is shocked when he runs into – Mark Brennan – who calls for a chopper.
It's the night before the operation and Terese does her best to keep Josh comfortable, but when he admits it's the fear of losing everything that's keeping him awake, Terese puts her own doubts aside to soothe him. The family are relieved when Dr Crawford reveals the operation should be relatively straightforward. Now confident, guilty Josh apologises to Amber for kicking her out.
After putting his curiosity to rest about Kate and Kyle's relationship and subsequent break-up, Brennan is ready to move on to whatever lies ahead of him. But when he discovers a leak in his radiator, Chris allows him to repair it at the garage and the two are caught out by Danni. Under the pump, Chris quickly enlists Brennan's help in clearing their backlog in exchange for fixing his car.
Kate's bleak mood gets Susan's attention – and her concern results in a blasting from Kate. Chris tries to lend support but Kate's determined to shut herself away from her friends and deal with her issues on her own. But as the day wears on, and Brennan's presence continues to rattle her, Kate's troubles worsen. Finally, in the heat of the moment, she lashes out at school, hurting Bailey.
Mason returns home and the Turners are relieved. But Matt fears that even if the police don't lay charges, Brad will file a lawsuit, so he asks Toadie to represent Mason should anything happen. When Brad finds out that Toadie has agreed, he hits the roof and accuses Toadie of taking sides. The Turners' fears come true when Mason is served papers. He's being sued.
Matt tries to reason with Brad about the lawsuit against Mason, but Brad refuses to listen and heads off to collect his son. Josh is discharged from the hospital by Karl, who tries to warn him not to have unrealistic expectations about his recovery. At home, Josh learns from Imogen that Amber has been nominated for a photographic award by the Erinsborough Council.
Joshua's guilt for leaving Amber's award ceremony spikes when he's confronted by Chris. Covering his jealousy of Amber's newfound success, Joshua pretends to his concerned parents that he only left because his shoulder was hurting. He maintains the ruse when he goes to apologise to Amber, although when he turns down an invitation to her celebration dinner, Amber's upset and confronts him.
It's Valentine's Day and both Kyle and Georgia are feeling glum, given this is the day they were meant to be getting married. Georgia knows she has to tell Kyle about her decision to move home to Birregurra, but given the significance of the day, there's no way she can do it, so she's hoping to avoid Kyle altogether. They run into each other however, and agree to have a meal in order to discuss.
Mason is determined to prove he's not responsible for Josh's accident. Imogen insists he did nothing wrong – she saw the accident with her own eyes – but Mason won't be placated. Mason and Imogen approach Brennan, hoping that his background as a cop, coupled with his abseiling expertise, may be able to help prove Mason's innocence.
Sonya is trying hard to reconnect with her family and lets Callum talk her into approaching Toadie about getting his Learner's Permit. Toadie is very much against the idea – when will they find time to teach him? They both work! Sonya pushes and Toadie finally agrees as long as Sonya is the one to take him out for lessons. But Sonya insists he would be a better teacher.
When Toadie learns that he's missed Nell's first steps because he deliberately ignored Sonya's phone call, he's overwhelmed with guilt. He finally confesses, telling Sonya he didn't answer her call because he was annoyed with her for taking the support group convenor job instead of putting their family first. Sonya is upset. First of all, she hasn't taken the job.
It's Mason's birthday and he couldn't be happier. He's got the girl of his dreams and finally they're able to be open about their relationship. While shocked to discover the new arrangement, the Turners are happy for him. In contrast, things in the Willis household go from bad to worse. Josh is deeply betrayed by his sister, and Brad and Terese are concerned that Imogen went behind their backs.
Despite her concerns about seeing Georgia, Kate shelves her plans for ‘me-time' and agrees to go to Mason's party to support him after his break-up. She's thrown to find Brennan's also been invited, but insists to a match-making Lauren that whatever she and Mark once had is now over. After a run-in with Georgia, her attempt to rekindle their friendship is again rejected.
Karl has organised a charity car boot sale for the hospital. While gathering items to sell, Toadie accidentally takes the earrings Kyle bought for Georgia when they first got together. He's oblivious though and, along with Sheila, has success at the sale. But Karl hits a hurdle when Paul reveals that even though Terese gave permission for the car boot sale to take place at the car park.
After keeping his secret about Hudson from Patricia, Sonya encourages Chris to tell his mum the truth, while also wrestling with her own conflict of interest. Her concern only grows when Patricia doesn't turn up for the next GA meeting as promised. Worried she may be in a vulnerable place, Sonya tries to get in touch with her. But her quest to find Patricia's contact details proves fruitless.
Paul's on an anticipatory high, awaiting Rebecca's arrival… until Karl reveals that their Twin Cities meeting will be with Mary Barnett and the not the higher-ups. Bitterly disappointed, Paul pulls out of the meeting. Meanwhile, Rebecca arrives, taking a pass through Charlie's to visit her old stomping ground. She's a little wistful as she chats with Sheila, avoiding a near miss with Paul.
Rebecca reels from Paul's bombshell and tells him she will never get back with him. Debriefing with Susan, she realises Paul must have planned this for months. Rebecca decides to stay and complete her job like a professional. Paul gives her an access key to his apartment and they have a constructive business meeting where he impresses Rebecca with his skill.
It's Mason's last day in Erinsborough and the Turners are down about him leaving, while Lauren continues to struggle with the fact that it's actually happening. Meanwhile, Amber's spirits sink further when Josh refuses to support her during this difficult time, while Callum manages to buoy Bailey. Seeing his mum's reaction, Mason's feeling guilty about leaving.
Brennan's immediately suspicious when he sees a strange car loitering in the vicinity of the garage. When he tries to approach it, the car takes off – and now Brennan's really worried that Danni's ex, Stephen Montague, might've tracked down where she works. Brennan reports the car to Matt, who checks it out – apparently the vehicle is not registered to Stephen.
Bailey's missing his big brother, and Callum suggests that what he needs is some female distraction. He encourages Bailey to ask Hot Josie out, but Bailey thinks there's no hope – Hot Josie's into Kyle. However, after a study session with Josie, Bailey realises just how much he likes her, and Callum convinces him he's in with a chance.
Kyle rushes Georgia to the hospital where Karl confirms their worst fears – Georgia has miscarried. Georgia's mind is a fog. She doesn't know what to do or where to go. Kyle, determined to be strong, takes control. His strength and compassion are a huge comfort to her. Arriving home however, Georgia is confronted by the sight of baby Nell and painfully reminded of all that she's lost.
Sonya is disappointed when she is blanked by Chris but remains hopeful Patricia will come clean to him about her problems. Toadie remains sceptical. Sonya spots an edgy Patricia hurrying out of the Antique Shop and senses something is wrong. Patricia claims she almost sold some possessions to gamble but stopped herself. Sonya wants her to come to the GA meeting today.
Amber's sick of Joshua's moody behaviour and calls him on it. Joshua, in a better mood now and having success with his recovery, promises to be a better boyfriend. But Amber senses that something's not quite right with him. He's acting weird around his parents, not wanting to celebrate his quick recovery, and his eyes are weird – his pupils tiny.
Lou's first wife and Lauren's mother, Kathy, arrives for a surprise visit to Erinsborough, off the back of Lauren's phone call. There's clearly no love lost between Kathy and Lou, but her focus is Lauren, as she attempts to talk her daughter out of telling Matt and Brad (the father of the child) about the baby lost so long ago. Kathy argues that no good can come of the revelation now.
Lauren's stunned at Kathy's shock news. Kathy attempts to justify her rash, spur of the moment decision but Lauren can't hear it. She feels utterly betrayed. Struggling to process, she pushes her mother away and confides in Matt. Although he's equally stunned, he's sympathetic and supportive. Lauren knows that she must tell Brad the truth, and steels herself to reveal the news.
Terese struggles to come to terms with Brad's news. A confrontation with the Turners doesn't help matters, and Terese and Brad return home broken and in shock. Unable to get her head around the news, Terese leaves Brad on the couch for the night. The next day, Lauren orders her mother out of the house and goes to Brad, unsure what to do next.
After hearing that Kate is unable to have kids, Brennan's convinced he's discovered the reason she's been pushing him away. Worked up, he hastily tracks her down. But Kate's caught completely off-guard, deeply rattled to suddenly be having this conversation. When Brennan pushes, she challenges him to look her in the eye and tell her he'd be happy without kids.
After Rebecca spends the night with Paul, she's worried she's made a mistake. But Paul is so charming she's forced to consider changing her tune. He proposes that she stay – that she leave her job and move to Erinsborough. She's confronted by the offer. She runs into Susan, who realises they've spent the night together and is horrified.
The Turners and Willises are still both struggling with the news of Lauren and Brad's baby, and Kathy's deceit. Terese continues to maintain she doesn't want the kids knowing yet, and Lauren agrees to respect her wishes. But when Terese unexpectedly encounters Kathy at the hotel, she's shaken, and quickly lets Terese know her mother's still around.
Tension is rife in the Willis and Turner households as the Willises struggle to keep Josh focused in the wake of his acceptance that his swimming dream is over. Meanwhile the pressure on Lauren escalates now that the kids know the truth. Lou confronts Kathy for tipping the kids off, questioning her place in the family. When Lauren confesses to the Willises, Terese is furious.
Reeling after her mother's announcement that she wants to buy the house for her, Lauren begins to question Kathy's motivations through the years. Has everything been driven by her guilt over giving Lauren's daughter up for adoption? After rejecting the offer, a supportive Matt stands by his wife. But Lou believes Lauren and Matt should think of their children and the bigger picture.
Rebecca is thrown when Paul surprises her with breakfast and a confession – he knows she told Susan she's only staying in Erinsborough out of guilt. But Paul is sure Rebecca truly loves him, and asks that she give herself time to realise he's right. Rebecca buckles in the face of his passion but when she confronts Susan about breaking her confidence.
Fearing there's an intruder at Number 24, Kate gets the shock of her life when it's Sienna, Brennan's ex-girlfriend, who emerges from the bedroom. Kate immediately assumes that Brennan must've invited Sienna here – and that they're getting back together. She voices her displeasure to Sheila, who calls Kate on her attitude…
Kate's shaken after her brush with Sienna, and barely responds to Paul's invitation to help him redesign Charlie's. Meanwhile Brennan's angry at Sienna, and tries to get a hold of Kate to check she's okay, but she continues to avoid him. Later, Paul again pushes Brennan to leave Erinsborough – all he's ever done is bring Kate unhappiness. Challenged, Brennan backs off.
Kate and Brennan are finally together and couldn't be happier, but Kate is worried about one thing - Paul's reaction. Paul has never liked Brennan and he's not going to be happy about them being back together. Hoping to put Paul in a good mood before breaking the news, Kate invites Paul to dinner, but when Paul inadvertently walks in on Kate and Brennan getting amorous, he is deeply unimpressed.
Lauren is thrown when Matt informs her that if they use police methods to find her lost daughter, Kathy may be prosecuted and go to jail. Lauren is torn: if she looks for her daughter, she will have to reveal Kathy abducted the baby and falsified records; but if she does not use police channels, she may never find her. The news upsets Bailey in particular, who insists there must be other ways.
Lauren reveals to Brad that she will not use the police to find their daughter. Brad is frustrated and in desperation asks Matt to search for her ‘off the books'. Matt is loath to do anything to further compromise his career, but his concern for Lauren leaves him conflicted. When downloading to Lou he realises there may be another way... hire a private investigator.
Worried that his mother's gambling addiction won't get better without his father's support, Chris tries to make his father see reason, but George can only see Patricia's actions as a source of shame. Chris despairs, but when the time comes for Patricia to go to court, George has a change of heart and agrees to help her through. Could this fractured family finally be coming together?
After Joshua learns he needs to repeat Year Eleven, he refuses to return to school unless Terese can talk Susan into letting him go into Year Twelve. But despite Terese's best efforts, Susan remains firm. It seems like Joshua will drop out until Amber gives him a blast of tough love – telling him to go back to his studies or get a job.
Brad gets a quote for a private investigator. It's expensive, but both Brad and Lauren are keen to forge ahead and find their missing daughter. Things aren't so easy when they discuss the issue with Matt and Terese. Having made the suggestion in the first place, Matt is somewhat across the plan, but Terese had no idea at all.
Sick of being financially bled dry by her daughter, Sheila encourages her to stop turning down jobs. When Sonya hears Naomi is an executive assistant, she suggests Naomi apply to work for Toadie. After wrongfully firing Toadie's assistant Talia, Sonya feels finding him another employee is the least she can do. The interview initially goes well, with Naomi and Toadie bonding.
Lauren and Brad are in shock at the news that Bailey may have found their daughter. After a family counsel of war, they decide to fly the girl – Lisa – down to Erinsborough. Lauren's anxiety soon gives way to relief when she meets Lisa, convinced that at last she is reconnecting with the baby who was snatched from her at birth.
Still reeling after Lisa's departure, Brad, Terese, Matt and Lauren debrief. They have all taken something from their brief encounter with Lisa, and agree that she has had a horrible life. Everyone assures Lauren that her real daughter would have been raised with love – Lisa's experience with adoption was very unusual. But all the talk about her lost daughter is too much for Lauren.
It's Kate's birthday, and the day gets off to a great start with Brennan preparing a special breakfast for her where he's planning to propose. However, when a fly lands in Kate's champagne, she tosses the drink out... along with the engagement ring! He then asks her to meet him at the Lassiters Lake bridge later for a special surprise.
Kate Ramsay has been shot. Brennan takes her body and rushes to the car park as the ambulance arrives. Kate wakens and manages to tell Brennan she loves him before passing out. The ambos work on Kate while her friends look on, recalling memories of being with her. Chris arrives at the car park injured after his attack, and tells everyone it was Stephen Montague. Kate dies at the car park.
All Kate's friends and family are struggling to find ways of coping with her shocking loss. Paul gives Matt a piece of his mind about the lack of an arrest, then discovers Terese getting a quote to go ahead with the refurbishment of Charlie's. He orders her to stay out of it – the place stays exactly how it is. She knows how much he is hurting, but secretly orders the refurbishments anyway.
A grieving Paul continues to obstruct the Celebration of Kate. When Susan complains to Karl, he advises her to move the celebration to a venue where Paul has no authority – and she decides it should be held at the school. As the kids organise the event, they realise how weird it's going to be without Kate at school anymore.
Toadie can't help but be impressed by how efficient and industrious Naomi is. She's got the office running like a well oiled machine – and she's brought in a heap of new work. Naomi's thrilled by the praise, and reminds Toadie the Chilean mining client is arriving in town today. Meet and greet drinks is consequently arranged for the next evening.
Brennan's frustration is growing over the pace of Kate's murder investigation. He tries to get information from Matt, but when Paul arrives, they clash. Paul warns Matt not to tell Brennan anything else – he's not a cop and he's not family. Brennan takes out his frustration while visiting Chris in hospital, telling him not to waste his time waiting for Hudson.
Feeling guilty for lying to Sonya about the client meeting, Toadie makes breakfast for his family. Naomi, who is also feeling guilty for encouraging the lie, tries to make it up to the Rebecchis by putting Toadie in touch with a fancy restaurant – urging him to spend quality time with Sonya. Later, Toadie and Naomi meet with Paul to discuss Kate's estate.
Susan and Karl finally manage to encourage Zeke to share whatever it is he's been hiding from them. Instead of being gay, as Karl had thought, Zeke reveals he's engaged to marry Vic, a British woman he met in London. They both caution against a hasty union, which is exactly what Zeke had feared. He reveals marriage is the only way to ensure Zeke gets a visa to permanently stay in London with Vic.
Brennan is determined to use Danni as bait to draw Stephen Montague out of hiding. Danni, however, is scared witless at the prospect. Danni, freaking out at what Brennan wants her to do, goes to Sonya for advice. Sonya tells her that she's not to put herself in danger. Sonya convinces her to go and see Matt, who then confronts Brennan.
Josh worries about Doug, as he seems confused at the yard, leaving everything open when he went for lunch and being confused about where to deliver an order of sand. Josh raises his worries with Brad, but is given short shrift. Later, Doug is rattled when he learns the sand order was delivered to the wrong school, and they have to fix it first thing before anyone notices.
Chris is organising a drink with Will when Georgia catches him. He justifies it by saying Hudson hasn't called him since their fight a week ago and he and Will are just friends. A concerned Georgia rings the prison and learns Hudson has had his phone privileges revoked after getting into a fight.
Georgia works quickly to get Chris to hospital in the wake of his collapse. Will offers reassurance when Karl reveals that Chris has suffered a life-threatening blood clot in his injured leg. Grateful for his care, Chris tries to apologise for standing him up that morning. Will shuts him down. But a moment of chemistry between them tells Chris that Will returns his feelings.
Naomi chooses to spend her evening with Paul, but after she arranges the sale of the painting, she ditches him in favour of a relaxing time with Toadie. However, their fun is cut short when Sonya arrives home, tired and stressed from dealing with Patricia. Nonetheless, Naomi is beginning to form a firm friendship with Toadie and he offers his support after she has a run-in with her mother.
Brennan comes out of the shower to find the door's been busted in – Montague is there with a crowbar. Brennan realises his trap has worked, and quickly devises a plan. He agrees to Montague's order to call Danni, but sneakily sets his phone to record and hides it in his pocket. He's determined to get a confession out of Montague for killing Kate.
Montague remains at large and the Ramsay Street residents are on tenterhooks as the police search continues. Sonya is beside herself as she's unable to locate Callum, unaware that he's in fact, trapped with Montague. Thinking on his feet, Callum manages to convince him to head next door to Number 30, where he's able to stun him and flee.
With Doug having been brought into the hospital, the Willis family rallies around him, deeply concerned about what happened. But contrary to his condition when found by Josh, Doug is now completely on the ball. It seems the stress of the day before caused his lapse in judgement. With everyone ready to accept this explanation, Josh is compelled to speak up, citing a number of recent memory laps.
Brennan is obsessed with finding Kate's killer. He asks Toadie for information on a case he worked on, a client that Brennan had put away, but Toadie can't oblige. Toadie and Sonya realise that Brennan is going through all his old cases, treating each criminal as potential suspects, and their concern for him deepens.
Sonya worries that Callum is still traumatised after Stephen Montague held him hostage. And her concern only deepens when Susan reports that Callum has thrown himself into creating a fantasy computer world. Callum admits that at first he was struggling, and the computer game gave him something else to focus on, but insists he's fine.
An overworked Matt's feeling guilty about neglecting Lauren. So when he hears her much anticipated art class has been cancelled after the model pulled out, he offers to take the day off work to take their place. He quickly discovers that the class is a life drawing class and he'd be modelling in the nude - but is surprised when everyone assumes he's too straight-laced to go through with it.
With the opening of the new Charlie's imminent, Paul still hasn't come up with an appropriate name. Nothing Sheila or Terese can do convinces Paul to agree to a name change. Paul has a mental block and it's linked to Kate's death. When a package arrives addressed to Kate, Paul's reminded that he asked her to think about new names for Charlie's, before her death.
Amber blames Josh for jeopardising her job with photographer, Rick Blaine. Josh argues that deleting the photos of The Waterhole opening night to get even with Rick for humiliating Doug was justified. When Rick's baby model cancels for a shoot, Amber aims to impress, and tees up Nell as a substitute to model a range of baby clothes for a backyard children's designer.
Sonya queries Toadie about Sheila's warning. Is Naomi trying to make a move on him? And did she deliberately sabotage the juice bar to cause friction between them? Toadie vehemently defends Naomi, claiming that Sheila has never forgiven Naomi for having an affair with a married man in the past. Meanwhile Imogen takes it upon herself to track down the cause of the juice bar sabotage.
Sienna arrives at Brennan's house to explain herself. She's here to tell the Police the truth – her alibi was fake, but she's innocent. Her story convinces Mark to accompany her to the Police station. Paul sees she's in town and harasses Matt, who he wants to arrest Sienna. But Matt doesn't have the evidence. Driven by guilt, thinking he goaded Sienna into killing Kate, he sinks into depression.
Amber's not feeling very much in the party mood, given Josh is going through so much with his Pop, Doug. Eager to do something to help him feel better, Lou inspires an idea in Amber after telling her about the memory book Josh made for Doug. At their birthday party she reveals a memory book she made for Josh - chronicling their relationship.
After his shock collapse, Josh is disoriented and his family's confused about the cause. While being checked out in hospital, Doug and Pam stay with Imogen and try to help her enjoy her birthday. Later, Josh is dejected to learn he might be alcohol intolerant. The next day, while the family waits for his test results, Doug and Pam shock them with an announcement.
Terese is pleased to see Brad focusing on yoga and inspired to independently run classes, believing it's his way of coping with his father's diagnosis, unaware there's more at play. When Brad seeks out Lauren, casually bringing up their missing daughter, Lauren offers Brad advice as to how she's coping with her decision not to search for her.
Brennan continues to struggle in the aftermath of Kate's death, but Susan urges him to take his recovery one day at a time, and to do whatever helps in the moment. Sienna continues to try and cheer him up as well as remain supportive, but she crosses the line when she initiates a kiss…
Reeling from his kiss with Sienna, Brennan makes a quick exit from the house, grappling with guilt, his grief over Kate only compounded by this error in judgment. When pressed by Imogen about what she's done to upset Brennan so much, Sienna lashes out and cuts Imogen down. Brennan finally returns home to tell Sienna their kiss was a terrible mistake.
Naomi is looking forward to her date with Charles, believing that he'll bring the signed paperwork. Charles procrastinates, using his lawyer as an excuse. When Sheila realises Charles hit on Georgia that very day, she interrupts their date, confronting Charles. On learning that he still hasn't delivered the paperwork, Sheila begs Naomi to see sense.
Brad continues holding yoga classes independent of the gym, in order to fund the search for his lost daughter. He downplays the success of his new business venture to Imogen in order to keep his search a secret. But a conversation with her makes him question whether keeping his pursuit secret from Terese is a good idea.
Bailey confides in Josh about his looming fight with Jayden, with Josh telling Bailey to use his head, not his fists. While helping Lou shift the ginger beer, Bailey gets the idea of giving some beer to Jayden in an attempt to buy him off. The plan works and Bailey is saved. In fact, Jayden has been so won over, he's invited Bailey over to his house to party.
Sonya takes it upon herself to lift Brennan from his funk. And though it's hard going early on – he still can't bring himself to go through Kate's things – she manages to put a smile on his face for the first time in a while and, with Nell as her accomplice, even prompts him to reveal a little of his grief at the loss of Kate.
Reeling from the discovery of Sienna's threatening letter, Brennan contemplates what to do. Sonya comes round to check on him and although Brennan politely rebuffs her, his attitude and a glimpse of the evidence he has collected against Sienna, sparks her concern. When Sienna arrives back, Brennan lures her into a false sense of security and gives her hope there may be something in the future.
After hitting rock bottom, Brennan's comforted by Sonya, who encourages him to put emotion to one side, and to start thinking like a cop again. Buoyed by her advice, Brennan is now determined to find out once and for all if Sienna is guilty. Sienna, meanwhile, is being questioned by the detectives while Matt's suddenly called away from the station.
Callum and Josie's new romance is interrupted when Callum is called into the Principal's office. But he's surprised to hear his app has been selected as a national finalist in a school design competition. He's encouraged to work on the app at home and he and Josie do just that. But Josie is worried about Bailey – what if he really is drinking?
Terese is furious that Brad has kept the search for his daughter a secret and forces him to tell Lauren about it. Despite calling off the search in the first place, Lauren is actually supportive, eagerly deciding to go to Adelaide with Brad to chase up this lead the P.I. left him with. Matt worries Lauren may not be back in time for the secret vow renewal tomorrow.
In Adelaide, Brad and Lauren are awkward after sharing a kiss the night before. Unable to deal with the situation, a guilt-ridden Lauren decides to return home to her husband and family. But before she leaves, Brad assures Lauren that the kiss meant nothing – it was five minutes of madness, that's all.
When Bailey invites Jayden and his mates over to his house, he pushes aside his stress about his breakup and his cleaning responsibilities to relax and have fun. But when Josie shows up – having been sent by a concerned Callum – things quickly take a turn for the worse. Bailey makes every attempt to talk through his relationship issues with Josie, but is thwarted by Jayden at every turn.
Paul and Brennan join forces to identify new suspects for Kate's killer. Paul thinks anyone associated with the corruption ring Brennan uncovered is a possibility. Brennan agrees, but the details of that internal investigation are contained in top secret files. Despite Paul and Brennan's best efforts, they fail to gain access to the files, which are kept in a secure storage facility.
Callum struggles to get his head around the surprise offer to take a mentorship with a gaming company in Silicon Valley. As much as he dreads his son leaving home, Toadie realises how much he wants to go. With Naomi's encouragement, he presses Sonya to consider the possibility of Callum leaving home.
Lauren returns from her honeymoon, while Brad returns from Adelaide having drawn a blank in the search for their daughter. Brad has some damage control to sort out with Terese, who is still hurt by his betrayal, while Lauren decides she needs to put her family first. But they're both still wracked with guilt over their illicit kiss.
A confident Paige Smith arrives in Erinsborough, looking for her parents, and immediately ruffles feathers. She finds instant rapport with Joshua, but that unsettles Amber. And after a run-in with Terese – who a confused Paige notes has the same surname as Brad – she provides a fake-name. Paige later makes her way to Harold's Store where she's deeply moved to come face to face with Lauren.
Having scored herself a job at Harold's with Lauren, Paige takes the opportunity to do some early detective work into her family, discovering that she has three half siblings. One of those siblings is almost her age, presenting Paige with the disturbing understanding that her parents gave her up, but kept all the children who followed.
Naomi is putting a great effort into looking good at Singles Night. She shows off her dress to Toadie and Sonya and gets advice from them. She turns up late, puts in minimal effort at the night (to Sheila's frustration), then goes home early. She arrives at Toadie's saying a strange man followed her home. Toadie becomes very protective and walks her home, to Naomi's delight.
Kyle and Georgia's cocoon of reunited love is ruptured when Kyle discovers a troubling unpaid invoice at the yard. After he realises Doug was in charge at the time, he checks with Josh, who insists there was no delivery. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Kyle checks the security footage from the garage but instead of finding answers, he uncovers something troubling.
Matt interviews Paul about his connection to Victory Cleary. Matt already knows from police records that Gus Cleary, Victor's brother, was killed in 2004, and that in 2007, Paul came forward and claimed he was responsible, but charges were never laid because Paul wasn't in a fit state of mind at the time. Paul refuses to admit that he was responsible for the death of Gus.
While Paul tries to come to terms with his role in Kate's death, Matt informs Brennan that they finally have a suspect – Victor Cleary. A tip off on Cleary's whereabouts leads Matt to a hut on a local industrial estate. Inside, a wall of surveillance on Paul confirms they're getting closer to finding Kate's killer. It also makes Matt realise the danger Paul's still in.
When a shaken Paul discovers Terese distributing photos of Victor Cleary to the staff and businesses of Lassiters, he insists she leaves the policing to the police. Terese is surprised and a little worried about Paul's hands off attitude. Meanwhile, Brennan too, is very much hands off, to Matt's surprise. Later, Brennan observes Paul leaving flowers at Kate's grave.
Callum's goodbye party kicks off without Josie present, but Sonya convinces her to come – for Callum's sake - even though it's going to be a hard day for both of them. Josie surprises Callum by insisting things have to change - no way will he want to be hamstrung by a girlfriend back home, which is why she's breaking up with him.
Toadie and Sonya are struggling after Callum's departure and Toadie takes refuge at the office. Naomi finds him there and tries to get him to open up. He goes for a walk to calm down and while he's out, Sonya and Nell arrive at the office looking for him. Naomi can tell she's stressed and suggests Sonya go have a massage – she'll look after Nell. Sonya agrees.
Brennan's concerned when he follows Paul and sees him buy a weapon. It's clear he intends to take revenge on Kate's killer, so Brennan tries to reason with him, to no avail. Brennan notifies Matt of Paul's intentions, and the pair set a watch on Paul's penthouse, while seeking a warrant to take the firearm from Paul.
Unable to track Paul down, Matt has requested a phone trace but until it comes through he and Brennan can only hope Paul isn't in danger. Meanwhile, Paul is face to face with Victor - the man who killed Kate. The phone trace eventually comes through and Matt races off to find him, closely followed by Brennan. Paul tries to tempt Victor with money, but he's not interested.
Ben intervenes when Bailey is bullied by Jayden Warley, but rather than being grateful, Bailey is embarrassed a younger newbie student has stepped in to rescue him. However, when Jayden hassles Ben later and a fight breaks out, Bailey is there to return the favour. Libby ‘carpets' the three boys and Bailey explains that Jayden taunted Ben about his dad, who was killed in a riding accident.
Paige witnesses Bailey stealing money from the till, but she doesn't let him know she's seen him. Amber realises they're a hundred dollars short and immediately suspects Paige. Lauren doesn't believe it, but Amber presses the point… Who else, besides herself and Bailey would've had access to the cash register? When Lauren learns that Paige has just splashed out on extra groceries.
After Paige's outburst, Lauren is worried about Amber and Bailey. While Matt thinks Paige is playing games, Lauren asks Amber outright if she feels neglected. She says no but admits Bailey has had some issues and a concerned Lauren makes her reveal Bailey's secret. Lauren and Matt confront Bailey who claims to have only drunk once but they reveal they've searched his room and found a bottle.
After being told he's responsible for Kate's death, Paul slips into depression and Daniel starts to worry. Mindful of how Paul reacted the last time he tried to reach out, Daniel cautiously checks in on him but Paul shuts him down. Meanwhile, Terese has yet to hear back from the Council with approval for extending the trading hours at Lassiters.
Brennan is doing his best to move on, but when he encounters Paul seemingly without a care in the world, he becomes angry and frustrated and desires revenge. He goes to Matt and pressures him to re-open the Gus Cleary case with the aim of convicting Paul of murder. Matt doesn't feel this is possible without any new evidence but Brennan convinces him to question Paul again nonetheless.
Lauren's worried about the way Matt's handling Bailey's drinking problem, especially when she discovers Matt's busying himself at work to avoid having to deal with the issue. Lauren confronts him, saying that the ‘bury your head in the sand' approach is not one that's going to work. Prompted by her rebuke, Matt openly talks to Bailey and Amber about his childhood.
Furious that her parents lied to her, Libby vents to Ben about whether or not they should stay in Erinsborough. Knowing that his mother's enjoyed teaching at the high school, Ben tells her what he thinks she wants to hear, rather than letting her know that he's not enjoying being here. Thinking this means Ben wants to stay, Libby tells her parents she will be remaining in Erinsborough.
Amber and Daniel's feelings for each other intensify, Amber admitting she can truly be herself around Daniel. But when Josh gives her an amazing gift – three photos of their most precious memories together, complete with hand-made photo frames – Amber is overcome with guilt. Though she longs to be with Daniel, she abandons her plans to break up with Josh.
Still feeling guilty over trashing Harold's Store, Paige is further alarmed when her brother, Ethan, turns up for a surprise visit. Charming and easy-going, Ethan is keen to learn more about Paige's new family and is concerned when he realises that things aren't going smoothly for his adopted sister.
Sonya encourages Brennan to host a housewarming party, and he finds himself reluctantly going along with it. Meanwhile Paige is alarmed when Ethan encourages the idea. She's worried about him being seen by Brad, but Ethan assures her he'll stay under the radar, and that looking out for Paige is his first priority. Paige knows that's not the only reason he's keen on sticking around.
Amber's gutted by Paige and Daniel's kiss and tells him how hurt and angry she is. However, he becomes frustrated with her when she refuses to listen when he tells her Paige kissed him, and not the other way around. Meanwhile Paige has decided to help her secret half-brother by blowing Amber and Daniel's secret wide open.
Terese is having a day from hell. She's reeling from the news that Imogen wagged school and has been stripped of her school captaincy as a result – and all due to a friend of Paige's. She also has to juggle her usual Lassiters duties, plus handle Paul's mayoral tasks while he remains deeply depressed. Sheila remarks that Terese has Paul's ear and Terese is surprised to learn just how much.
Toadie and Sonya struggle to spend quality time together when Bailey interrupts the end of their dinner. Feeling guilty, Bailey offers to baby-sit to make it up to them. An excited Toadie plans a day with his wife, only to learn she has to relieve Josie at the Nursery, and the two end up in a fight, witnessed by Georgia and a privately thrilled Naomi. Naomi conveniently runs to Toadie's aid.
Naomi checks in with Toadie after learning Sonya's gone away with Nell for the weekend, and Toadie's glib brave-facing convinces her he's pleased Sonya's gone. While everyone else is reeling at Sonya and Toadie's marital woes, she insinuates herself into Toadie's house by bringing him a wrestling DVD and nachos. Toadie invites her to stay for dinner, and they get along like a house on fire.
Rudely interrupted after kissing Toadie - initially by Sonya calling on his phone - Naomi's further thwarted from unpacking the kiss by the arrival of Sheila, who after finding a receipt for lingerie, barges into Toadie's house. Dragged home under the pretence of an emergency, Sheila confronts Naomi with her suspicions: that Naomi was about to seduce Toadie. But Naomi vehemently denies it.
After learning that Sheila has secretly blamed Naomi for her father's death these past five years, Naomi is devastated. Despite Kyle and Georgia's best attempts to reconcile the two women, the hurt and anger runs too deep on both sides, with Sheila accusing Naomi of being a daddy's girl and Naomi accusing Sheila of always trying to poison her father against her.
Amber and Daniel's love grows by the day, but Amber wrestles with how and when to break up with Joshua. Meanwhile a boy from school, Jayden, has admired the skate stunts Joshua's filmed and put online, and even though Joshua doesn't really like Jayden, he enjoys the adulation. Jayden later shows up seriously injured after trying to copy one of Josh's stunts.
After Josh returns from the police station, Amber makes her escape to Daniel in the dark room. She confesses to him that she hasn't been able to work up the courage to tell Joshua of their affair. When they're nearly caught together by Josh, Daniel urges her to tell him the truth. Later, after Amber confesses to Lauren she no longer loves Josh, Lauren also advises her to come clean.
When Paul discovers he's being investigated by the council after leaving a secure document in the open, he's confused, questioning Terese, who was the only one who knew about the mistake. Immediately realising that it was in fact Karl who blabbed, Terese confronts him. When he offers to withdraw the complaint if she'll give him assurance that Paul is fine.
Following Paul's very public meltdown at the art exhibition, Terese blames Karl for putting pressure on Paul after his complaint to the council. But Karl surprises her when he maintains that the issue of the mayoral position is no longer his focus – he's genuinely worried about Paul's mental health. Meanwhile, Daniel feels overwhelmed when a dishevelled Paul breaks down.
Sonya runs to Brennan, desperate to debrief about slapping Naomi, but is shocked to learn that Naomi is staying at Brennan's house. Thwarted, Sonya heads for home, preparing to tell Toadie about the slap, but Nell has just come down with gastro, putting Sonya's confession on hold. It's only when Sheila confronts Sonya about slapping her daughter that Toadie finds out the truth.
It's Brad's first day teaching at Erinsborough High, and despite putting on a happy face for Terese, he's not looking forward to it. Things get off to a poor start when Paige gives a blunt appraisal of Brad's unlikeliness as a teacher, which agitates Brad into justifying himself. Lauren encourages Brad to make the most of his less-than-ideal situation, so Brad attempts to hit the ground running.
Despite trying to convince herself she can handle it, Lauren begins to struggle in the face of Kathy's early arrival in town. So on Matt's advice, Lauren lays down some strict boundaries, which leaves Kathy feeling hurt and excluded from the family. It's Paige who comforts her with encouraging words, but Paige herself is conflicted, knowing Kathy is the one who gave her up.
Troubled by the hand portrait, Josh avoids going back to school, instead wagging with Imogen. Knowing Amber's been immersing herself in the game Crash Words, he ropes Imogen into teaching him how to play. He eventually invites Amber's friend, Scoop24, and is stunned to discover it's Daniel. Searching out Amber for answers, he walks in on her with Daniel in the dark room - kissing.
Josh is in shock, the image of Amber kissing Daniel burnt into his brain. Feeling hurt and betrayed, he puts himself through a punishing exercise routine, in an attempt to distract himself from his emotional pain. When Amber finally hunts him down, he can barely even look at her, let alone accept her apologies. Sending her away in tears, Josh shuts everyone out.
Kathy sends flowers to a heartbroken Amber, but the gesture makes Lauren twitchy – she feels as though Kathy is trying to buy the kids' love. Kathy assures her she's only being supportive, but Lauren asks her to tone it down. Not wanting to aggravate the delicate situation, Kathy agrees, promising she'll try to respect Lauren's boundaries.
Susan's been emailed an erotic short story, and claims she's only reading it for intellectual purposes. It's getting her pretty hot under the collar, though, and Toadie's also affected after Susan shares the story with him. Toadie picked up on a few landmarks in the story, and wonders whether it could be Erinsborough?
With the affair out in the open, Amber can't reconcile her happiness at being with Daniel with her guilt over hurting Josh. And a run-in with Terese only makes her feel worse. In an attempt to restore her faith in them and bring a smile to her face, Daniel takes her back to their special place, the dark room - only to discover it's been turned into a storage room by Terese.
Paige is eager to get closer to Kathy, to find out more about why she gave her away as a baby and lied about it. She hopes the store she's helping Kathy set up will be the perfect cover story, but Naomi's enthusiasm for her own new job with Kathy gets in the way. Paige tries again to convince Naomi to back off, but in doing so reveals her personal connection to the situation.
After learning that Kathy believes she's found her granddaughter through a P.I., Paige goes into damage control. She tries to talk Kathy out of meeting with this girl, and when that fails, tries to invite herself along to confront her. But Kathy shuts the idea down, and nervously prepares to meet Megan. Paige can't help herself, though, and turns up anyway.
In the wake of Josh's shock decision to quit school, Terese and Brad are determined to talk him out of it. But try as they might, Josh is determined to set his own course. Resorting to desperate measures, Terese calls on Amber to do the right thing and appeal to Josh with a promise to make his life at school easier by staying out of his way.
Karl continues to counsel Paul, but isn't seeing much improvement. When Lucy pays a surprise visit, Karl hopes that seeing his sister will help lift Paul's mood. But Paul doesn't respond. Meanwhile, Lucy is evasive about her reasons for returning from New York, and when Paul publicly harangues her, she bites back – leaving Paul shocked at her outburst.
Paul is still struggling with his grief and guilt. But Doctor Karl refuses to give up and encourages Paul to see the little positives in everyday life. When Paul apologises to Lucy post-argument, he learns that she is going through her own emotional struggles, and he feels compelled to be there for her. It's this kinship that enables Paul to turn a corner, allowing him to realize the true value.
On the phone to Ethan, a disappointed Paige reveals that the notebook she swiped from Kathy doesn't answer any of the crucial questions about her adoption – like, how did Kathy get away with it? Taking his advice, she decides it's time to confront Kathy. In the meantime, Kathy has learned from Terese about some of Paige's dubious behaviour when she first came to town.
With both Toadie and Kathy unconscious and unresponsive in the aftermath of the accident, it's up to Paige to raise help, but only after instinctively saving Kathy's life. Thrown into the controlled chaos of the hospital, Paige comes through relatively unscathed as Toadie and Kathy's loved ones are rallied, not knowing the fate of the victims.
Reeling after her discovery of the two teddy bears, Lauren is at first shocked to discover they're Paige's, then devastated to find she's gone. Desperate, Lauren hunts her down and manages to catch her just as she's about to leave town. The reunion between mother and daughter is heartfelt, tentative, but ultimately a step in the right direction.
In the wake of Paige's revelation, the Willis and Turner families are in turmoil. Lauren accepts Paige unconditionally, and even when the burn book surfaces with all its nasty contents, she focuses on the fact that her own sketching style is so similar to Paige's – she's just relieved to have finally found her daughter. But Brad is a little more reserved in his acceptance.
Flat-chat with best man and brides-mate duties, Chris is taken aback when Lucy suggests that they also baby-sit Nell. But Lucy's enthusiasm is infectious, and the pair end up having a ball playing with Nell and bonding over stories of heartbreak. Singing Chris's praises to Sonya, Lucy presses her for more information about him and his family.
Naomi offers Joshua a day's work, storing homeware deliveries in Kathy's hotel room while she recuperates. Josh, still heartbroken over Amber, admits he's not having much luck on an internet dating site and Naomi tells him to ditch the site and get a dating app on his phone called Ziva. The advice results in both of them checking out each other's profiles and passing personal judgement.
Lauren reaches out to Paige, asking if she'd like to accompany her to the hospital, to see Kathy. Paige is reticent, unsure of the reception she'll get, but when they arrive at the hospital, Kathy greets Paige warmly, welcoming her to the family. Paige is overcome with emotions and rushes from the room.
Georgia is annoyed when Kyle mentions she has a sore throat to Karl. It's nothing; no need to worry. Karl insists on a proper examination… and finds something. He wants to do a biopsy and fear fills Georgia. Now there is definitely need to worry.
Kathy takes Lou to task, letting him know she knows he didn't write The Book of Secrets. Lou confesses he's covering for a friend, and Kathy tells him their family has seen enough lies. Defensive, Lou takes a swipe at her, throwing her own lies back in her face. Lou later doubts his own acrimony, knowing it won't help Lauren rebuild her family.
Josh is at a loose end, and Brad and Terese are getting annoyed at his laissez-faire attitude towards work. He goes to Naomi, looking to reconnect romantically as well as ask for a job, but she rejects him, having just been fired. Feeling down, Josh wallows with the memory book Amber gave him until Paige pays him a visit. She apologises again for not telling him about Daniel and Amber.
Josh is torn whether or not to take the manager's job at Dingoes. He tries to discuss it with his dad, but Brad is unwilling to engage on the matter. Terese's heart goes out to her son – it's a difficult decision, but ultimately it's up to him to make. Imogen, however, thinks Josh needs to put her dad first, and after hearing her reasoning, Josh decides not to take the job.
Nervous about his date with Nate, Chris asks Georgia and Kyle to join them. Seeing how much this means to Chris and privately needing a distraction from the tough choice she has to make about her throat – go with risky therapy or have surgery – Georgia agrees. Chris also invites Brennan who invites Paige. Meanwhile, after a sleepless night, where he ends up spooking Karl, Nate goes on the date.
Chris is bewildered by Nate's escalation to violence. But when he quizzes Nate on his short fuse, Nate shuts down. Susan clocks their tension, and tries to get Nate to open up. He confides in her, revealing he'll be attending a funeral later that day for a co-worker and shows a vulnerable side, leaving Susan feeling for him.
After their first ever physical fight, neither Imogen nor Amber is willing to apologise. Lauren tries to get through to Terese, but Paige finds herself caught in the middle, and the Turner and Willis families seem more at odds than ever. Meanwhile Josh challenges Imogen about her over-the-top response. Unable to admit (especially to herself) that she's jealous of Amber and Daniel's relationship.
Upon learning it's Brad's birthday tomorrow, Paige tells Lauren that she'd love to be able to have some kind of celebration with him, however small… Lauren's hesitant – with the tension that still exists Lauren doesn't want to ruffle any feathers. Paige is clearly disappointed, however, and on seeing how much this means to her, Lauren asks Brad if they could do something small together.
Crossing with Brad the morning after his secret birthday party with Lauren and Paige, Terese's private hurt is only inflamed when she gives him the opportunity to come clean – and he doesn't take it. When she goes to Matt to press him for a result on Paige's charges for trashing Harold's, Terese is surprised as he cautions her to think about withdrawing the complaint and letting this go.
In the wake of Georgia's emergency, the good news is that they've managed to fix the problem with no seeming adverse effects. Although spooked, Georgia and Kyle are just looking forward to putting this behind them. Karl is grateful too, but when he thanks a member of the surgical team he quickly gets a very uneasy feeling that there's more to Georgia's adverse reaction.
Sonya and Toadie's peace is shaken when Toadie is called back into work on urgent business. He has to break the rules of his new working arrangement with Naomi by calling her in to help at night. Sonya tries to be okay with the situation, but can't help struggling to trust the situation. She finds herself constantly checking up on them. When it becomes too much for Toadie, he sends Naomi home.
Paige is on cloud nine – finally feeling like she's connecting with her family members. She channels that happiness into flirting with Brennan during their work-out session, and their chemistry sizzles. She spontaneously proposes a bet in which the loser takes the winner out for dinner, then takes decisive action to make sure she wins. Amused, Brennan agrees to take her for dinner.
After standing Paige up, Brennan tries to avoid spending time alone with her, worried he'll have to explain his feelings. He recruits Nate and Chris to help clean the house for an upcoming inspection and ready the backyard for the oncoming storm. But the real storm is waiting inside. When Paige finally gets Brennan alone, she erupts, accusing him of avoiding her.
Paul's cavalier attitude towards his own life is dampened when he discovers Daniel's been playing hooky from his responsibilities. His mood darkens further when he realises Brennan and Paige are together, and he takes out his annoyance on Daniel. But Daniel refuses to admit any lack of responsibility, so Paul plays dirty, dropping a bombshell in front of Amber.
Unscathed after the car roof ripped off, Amber and Daniel take shelter in the garage. Paul, meanwhile, leaves a message for Daniel – he's turning back for home. But struggling for visibility, he hits something… or someone. He prepares to turn back, but his car is hit hard by a runaway skip. Having seen the accident from the garage, Daniel and Amber hurry out to help.
Susan is relieved when her emergency tracheotomy on Lou works but her joy is tempered by the realisation that he still needs medical aid, but can't get out from under the fallen beam. Luckily, a passing Nate comes to their aid. But while Lou's prognosis is good, Susan's left reeling, in a state of shock. Elsewhere, Kyle is discovered trapped in a damaged portable toilet.
It's the day after the mini-tornado, but the physical destruction isn't all that needs repairing in Ramsay Street. Matt is gutted by Lauren's shock confession of her kiss with Brad. Remorseful Lauren tries desperately to explain, but Matt's black and white assessment of her betrayal leaves Lauren worried about the state of their marriage.
The fall out from the kiss between Brad and Lauren hits the Willis and Turner families in different ways. Matt throws himself into his work, and uses the storm clean-up as an excuse to stay the night at the police station. Lauren offers an olive branch in the shape of food, but Matt is not ready to accept any repentance from Lauren. Lauren fears her marriage might be crumbling around her.
Terese is saddened as she tries to reconcile her husband's unfaithfulness. She cancels a catering contract with Harold's, but later realises her judgement was clouded, and her intention was to hurt Lauren. Paige can't understand where Terese and Lauren's conflict comes from, and Bailey confides in her about Lauren and Brad's kiss.
The impact of Brad and Lauren's kiss in Adelaide continues to ripple as Matt struggles to even be around Lauren. Things are equally tense at the Willises', as Terese's trust radar goes into overdrive – she seems to want to know about Brad's every move. When the two couples bump into one another at Lassiters things get very awkward.
Josh hates Terese's plans to buy the gym and make it part of Lassiters, however, he's not about to tell Terese the truth, for fear of upsetting her. Naomi steps in, and convinces Josh to pitch an alternative to the gym owner, Ricky, and gives him an inspiring pep talk. Ricky admits Terese caught him at a low moment and agrees to reconsider selling if Josh can raise membership substantially.
Paige is devastated after Brennan shouts at her over the dress. She can't wait to take it off and get it out of her sight. Bailey sees she's upset and invites her to come and visit Lou in hospital. Lou gets the truth out of her and he advises her to go at Brennan's pace. He's still grieving, and because she's so close to him she's going to be in the firing line for a while.
Paul, Sonya, Toadie and Daniel work to have Paul reinstated as Mayor, knowing the biggest obstacle is Acting Mayor Sue Parker. While kicking off their campaign with Paul's Rebuilding Erinsborough speech at the nursery, Sonya notices that a box of Erinsborough Hospital fundraising chocolates have been stolen and identifies a lurking youth as Sue Parker's son, Jayden.
As tension between the Turners and Willises continues to simmer, Lauren's not sure what to do about the unanswered maintenance she requested the week before the storm. If Terese had acted sooner, Lou might never have been injured – but how can Lauren confront her when things are so strained? Bailey convinces her to mention it again, but Terese, who has been offloading to Susan.
Brad is ropeable after Terese's outburst at The Waterhole, but if it will help Terese feel more secure, he agrees to stop seeing Lauren for a while – on the condition that Terese apologises to Lauren for what she said. But Terese only half apologises, and when Brad finds out, he feels that his earlier promise to Terese no longer counts, especially when that decision unnecessarily affects Paige.
Imogen is wary of spending the day with Amber and Daniel shopping for gear for Kyle and Georgia's party – even more so when she realises she's been set up on a ‘make friends' date with Daniel. But after some time alone with him, she has fun and her secret feelings grow. She's further encouraged when Daniel quizzes her about her relationship status and she admits that she has a crush on someone.
The news of Amber and Daniel's engagement leaves Imogen confused and she unloads to a sympathetic Naomi. Imogen wants to be happy for her friend, and it must have seemed like she was because Amber somehow roped her into being her bridesmaid, but she wonders how she can support this when she not only thinks they're rushing into it, but secretly loves Daniel.
Sheila finds herself falling for Alan, and admits to Naomi that she has decided to take things to the next level – today. Naomi is torn, but is compelled to tell Sheila that Alan kissed her. Sheila refuses to believe her – Alan is a gentleman, and Naomi shouldn't bother suggesting otherwise.
Hope and spirits are high as the whole of Ramsay Street embarks on Georgia's and Kyle's ‘Great Gatsby' themed hen's and buck's. All of the planning and work seems to pay off as costumes dazzle, and food and drinks flow. Settling in at Georgia's house, the girls give ‘The Wheel of Truth' a spin, while the boys throw themselves into a game of croquet.
When Chris is discovered unconscious and abandoned outside The Waterhole, the community comes together. First to try and save him – and second to root out the person responsible. Chris has been in a coma since the attack and the reason soon becomes clear – he has a serious head injury, and is put in an induced coma, with no clear path to recovery.
As Chris's loved-ones gather at his bedside in an anguished vigil, Josh faces up to his actions. After formally confessing to Matt he was the one who hit Chris, Josh returns home and fills in his stunned family. Regardless of Terese's protests, he insists on accepting full responsibility for Chris's injuries and despite support from Imogen and surprisingly Amber, he's inconsolable.
After being asked by Terese to point the police in Nate's direction, Lauren struggles with her conscience. Confiding in Sonya, she admits that even though she doesn't want to put suspicion on Nate as a possible suspect for punching Chris, she feels she owes it to the Willis family, given the fall-out from the kiss she shared with Brad. Sonya advises Lauren not to confuse the two issues.
Terese and Brad are shocked to find graffiti outside their home, naming Josh a ‘Coward Puncher'. They rush inside to console him but he announces the graffiti is inconsequential - Chris has woken from his coma. Heartened by the startling development, Terese and Brad wonder how it will affect Josh's case with Brad deciding to ask Toadie to reconsider representing Josh.
Eager to make Dakota happy, Paul proudly reveals he's found the perfect spot for her new bar – the old radio station. Before checking it out, Dakota agrees to have breakfast with Paul – where they bump into Daniel. Seeing the affection Paul has for his idealistic/naive nephew, Dakota innocently suggests he should work for her at the bar.
After spending time with Dakota and researching the bank she used to work for, Brennan's cop senses are tingling and he confides in Matt – something's not right about her, but he doesn't have solid proof. Matt thinks if he's worried about it, he should run his concerns past the Federal Police. Brennan isn't sure he's ready to turn this into a full investigation but overcomes his reservations.
As Chris struggles to cope with the effects of his injury, Nate's anger at Joshua grows. But he works to keep it under wraps for his boyfriend's sake, as Chris is finally filled in on how he came to be hurt – shocked to learn Josh attacked him. When Chris demands to see Josh to get answers, Nate seeks advice from Susan. She encourages him to do what's best for Chris.
Nate's inscrutable as he drives Josh to an unknown destination, and Josh becomes concerned when he realises they're not going to the hospital like Nate said. Reaching an isolated area, Nate orders Josh out of the car, quietly furious and determined to punish him for what he did to Chris. But to Nate's surprise, Josh makes no attempt to fight back.
Susan and Karl are getting used to the idea of moving to London, as a photo sent by Billy reminds them it's been twenty years to the day since they moved to Ramsay Street. Considering the anniversary, and contemplating the possibility of saying goodbye to Erinsborough, the Kennedys reminisce with old friends about the good times and the bad times they've shared since they moved here.
Sonya and Sheila panic when they arrive to beautify the bride and discover Georgia hasn't slept in her bed. Georgia is in fact trapped in Frankston with a flat car battery. Back in Erinsborough, Sheila and Sonya ring around trying to find Georgia. When Georgia's parents arrive, they fudge rather than reveal the bride is AWOL. A phone call from Georgia cuts out mid-explanation.
As Matt withdraws further and further, Lauren is growing increasingly frustrated. And when she finds a hotel room card from Lassiters in his jacket pocket, Lauren suspects that Matt has been lying to her about where he was the night before. Lauren confronts Matt and he admits that he was propositioned at the wedding reception.
Joshua, wracked with guilt over what he did to Chris, is still looking for ways to help with his recovery. After dropping off an anonymous care package to the share house, Josh hears how swamped Brennan is at the garage and secretly goes there to help. He plans to donate as much money as possible to Chris's fund; however he's thwarted when he's let go by Dingoes.
Paige is devastated after seeing Brennan kissing Dakota. Confiding in Brad and Lauren, Paige reveals her vulnerability – she must have screwed up somehow, otherwise why would he cheat on her? Surprised that Brennan would do something like this, Brad and Lauren are convinced there's been a misunderstanding, and urge her to speak to him. But Paige is reluctant and worried he'll break up with her.
Paul is furious about Paige's destruction of Dakota's laptop, even as he guiltily reveals his involvement to Daniel, explaining he told Paige about Brennan and Dakota out of jealousy. Meanwhile, Brennan is increasingly frustrated as the undercover work continues to impact his personal life – especially when he discovers Paige and Dakota's clash but Greta urges him not to pull out.
Brennan discovers Dakota won't be at the radio station for the truck delivery, having arranged for Daniel to go in her place. Knowing this will mess with the sting operation, he contacts Greta. He tells Matt that although Greta wants to nail Dakota, intercepting the truck is more important to her. Matt's concerned about Daniel playing the pawn but it's out of Brennan's hands.
Brennan's still on the hunt for Dakota, and reminds Paul that he's obliged to notify the police if he should hear from her. A heartbroken Paul, however, insists that Dakota's long gone. Filled with regret for tossing his wedding ring, a maudlin Paul heads to lake, only to be confronted by Dakota. She's back! Dakota confesses all, and Paul accuses her of playing him for a fool.
Josh reveals his plan to speak to the Erinsborough High students about his king-hit experience and he wants Chris's blessing. Chris eventually gives it and despite reservations from his parents, Josh goes ahead. He reveals to the students the real cost of his mistake and is surprised when Chris appears. Chris does the same – moving the students as he talks about his battles with his brain injury.
Brad's delighted when Terese tells him she's asked Paige to move in, but Terese hadn't anticipated the guilt she would feel given the ulterior motive behind her offer. Her niggling doubts escalate, and after some prompting from Imogen, she comes clean to Brad. His disappointment is clear, but ultimately he understands he has to put his wife's needs first. He and Terese later break the news.
Matt comes home to find out that Lauren has invited Paige to stay and although he agrees with this, it's clear he isn't happy. Paige admits to Imogen and Josh her worries that Matt will want her out of the home and they suggest she bake a cake. This attempt goes disastrously wrong though and Paige wants to move out to avoid further stress.
Feeling optimistic with his progress, Chris decides he's ready to go back to work and after paying a visit on the garage and finding Danni there, checking up on it, he's welcomed back. Despite Brennan and Nate's caution, Chris enthusiastically throws himself into helping out, but after a couple of incidents when both his hand and his memory fail him, he's sent home for the day.
In the wake of his confrontation with Chris, Josh feels sick – literally. And when Imogen walks in on him throwing up in the kitchen sink, she's quickly aware how tenuous his state of mind is. A fact brought home to her starkly as she catches up with him later and he announces he no longer wants them to fight a gaol sentence for him. As far as Josh is concerned, he deserves everything he gets.
When Amber is terrorised by hoons at the car site, she flees home with Daniel for refuge. But wanting to save face for Daniel's sake, she downplays her fear. While Daniel's none the wiser, Matt and Lauren are onto Amber's covering and urge her to move home. After a night with all the creature comforts, Amber is tempted, and breaks the news to Daniel that she wants to move home for good.
Matt eventually admits to reading Lauren's journal and, angry and upset, she considers burning it. The journal is full of raw honesty that could end her marriage – why not destroy something that is only causing pain? Meanwhile, Karl counsels Matt about what he read, suggesting the contents indicate Lauren loves him after all.
Susan is struggling with the emotional weight of counselling Nate. But when she sees how much he's improving, she takes Sonya's advice and investigates a counsellor for herself. Nate comes across the literature, and Susan, unable to admit that it's causing her stress, lies that she's looking at a professional for Nate. Nate doesn't like this idea – it hasn't worked before.
Determined to try and make life easier for Chris, Joshua is going out of his way to respect Chris's wishes and steer clear. Sad at seeing her two friends keeping their distance, Amber tries to broker some goodwill, but Chris is adamant that selfish Joshua is a lost cause. Unbeknownst to Chris, Joshua steps up to try and save Chris's job which is under threat at the garage.
Joshua's attempts to secretly help Chris are derailed when he has an accident whilst lending a hand at the garage. When Brennan rushes him to hospital, Josh asks him to support a skateboarding cover story – he doesn't want anyone to know he's helping Chris. But later, annoyed by Chris and Nate's lack of sympathy for Joshua's injury when they consider it karma for what he did to Chris.
As Daniel begins his career as a bar owner, he is keen to pull Paul on board as his mentor. Impressed with Daniel's fresh ideas and enthusiasm, Paul steps in to advise him. But first day on the job, Daniel is shocked when his ex-girlfriend, Rain, arrives in town. Almost as shocked is Amber, who turns up looking for Daniel's support after her altercation with Paige.
Toadie is on a Halloween snack hunt when he discovers more hate mail - addressed to him but about Sonya. Georgia and Sonya almost catch him but he covers by admitting he was stealing brownies. Brennan and Toadie deciding the strongest lead is the GA angle, approach an old GA Convenor. But he refuses to discuss anything because of GA's anonymity. Toadie is left frustrated.
Toadie's shocked to discover that Brennan has received another anonymous letter regarding Sonya's past. Toadie resolves to call Jade, but unfortunately it's another dead end, when she can't offer any ideas as to who the mystery letter writer could be. Back to square one, and not having any idea who might be responsible, Toadie realises it's time to tell Sonya the truth.
Nate arrives to find Chris having a seizure and deals with the situation admirably. Chris awakes to find Karl and Nate watching over him, and goes to hospital for tests. Chris fears he may have epilepsy, haunted by what happened to Andrew. He's also very disappointed when he has to stay in overnight, effectively ruining the romantic evening he had planned with Nate.
Amber is confused by Rain's behaviour – Daniel's ex-girlfriend seems to be going out of her way to make sure Amber feels included. Feeling uneasy, she asks Daniel if he misses ‘Eden' and Daniel talks warmly about the experience, but ends with a reassurance that he's happy where he is, which doesn't ring true for Amber.
Daniel resolves to talk to Rain to assess her motives in asking them to join her at New Eden. But once Daniel is face to face with her, he is disarmed by her insistence that she only wants Daniel for his skills in setting up a community. He agrees to consider her request. Paul though counsels caution: bringing an ex into things is a sure-fire way to ruin a good relationship.
Josh and the Willis family prepare themselves for the worst as they face his sentencing hearing, unsure what Chris has added to his statement. But Josh is stunned – and relieved – when he discovers that Chris's addendum suggests that Josh doesn't deserve a custodial sentence. When the Judge hands down a community service order, the Willis family are relieved.
Georgia and Kyle discuss what to do re: the letter they received about Sonya and reluctantly decide to tell her about it. When Georgia arrives at Toadie's, she discovers Karl got a letter too. Sonya comes home and Toadie breaks the bad news to her. Georgia then confirms that everyone on Ramsay Street got a letter. Matt's called in and promises to do some off-the-record investigating.
Reeling in the wake of seeing Sheila with his father, Kyle doesn't know how to process the shock. When Sheila arrives home, he shuts down, letting her pass without so much as a vague inquiry. Georgia urges Kyle to confront Sheila and get to the bottom of the family history, but he's reluctant: she'll tell him when she's ready.
Kyle isn't sure how to respond to his father's sudden desire to get to know him, and they share an awkward conversation full of reserve and repressed anger on Kyle's behalf, and awkwardness and guilt on Gary's. Witnessing a tender moment between Kyle and Bossy, Gary is overwhelmed and bails on the meeting, leaving Kyle furious. Going after his father, Kyle is stunned to realise he's crying.
Believing distance is the best thing for her marriage, Terese checks into the hotel. Doug can't fathom why Terese has abandoned her family, and Brad is forced to admit his infidelity. Doug finally understands why Terese has found life difficult with Lauren and Paige living across the road. Doug asks Brad to be honest with himself – does he want to be with Lauren?
The Willis family struggles to cope with Terese's decision to move out of home. Terese is also struggling and is tempted to reconcile with Brad, but Paul reminds her of why she moved out in the first place and advises her to stay true to her purpose. When Susan hears what Paul's been saying, she suspects he may have designs on Terese, but Paul's adamant he's only acting as Terese's friend.
Still reeling from the formal complaint made to the DHS, Sonya quickly realises her history could possibly inflame the situation and in her stressed state of mind, contemplates the possibility of Nell being taken away from her. Toadie tries to reassure her, but Sonya's beyond consoling and eventually works herself into a state where she's tempted to drink alcohol.
Disappointed that Daniel isn't able to give his full commitment to helping out with New Eden, Rain turns her attention to Amber. After venting about how much food is wasted from cafes, Rain challenges Amber to go dumpster diving with her. Bailey scoffs – Princess Amber get her hands dirty? Unlikely! Determined to prove him wrong, Amber agrees to the mission…
Terese is impressed by Brad's efforts to woo her back home, but what is meant to be a romantic picnic by the rotunda soon devolves into them reopening old wounds with Brad reminded of his resentment about being forced into a teaching career. Both are at a loss to know how to move forward; Terese wants Brad to be honest with her, but she is rattled by the revelations of his true feelings.
A weary Terese (having had a couple of glasses of wine the night before) is gutted to learn that Paul's organised a short-notice conference, and she has to work. And then, struggling through the morning, she runs into Ezra, her old flame from Perth, also there for the conference. Flustered Terese is rocked to see him, and embarrasses herself a little.
When Imogen refuses to attend her Year Twelve formal, Doug plans a Willis family formal and invites Terese to join. Worried about Imogen's state of mind, Terese agrees to attend, hoping Brad's issues about Ezra can be put aside for their daughter's sake. And while the night initially goes well, the tension between Brad and Terese finally erupts leaving poor Imogen devastated.
After yet another horrendous argument with Brad the night before, Terese is unsuccessfully trying to distract herself with work, when to her surprise, Ezra turns up. Convincing her they need to do more work on the Erinsborough festival, he proceeds to flatter and charm a flustered Terese. When he invites her to dinner, she's even more flustered, and seeks out Brad to try and work things out.
Brad is distressed to learn from Paul that Ezra accompanied Terese to her room. He finds her alone but assumes the worst, ie, that she slept with Ezra and their marriage is over. After dealing with Ezra, fragile Terese can't reveal the truth (that she had to kick Ezra out). Josh is alarmed to hear his parents may split up for good and urges his dad not to give up on his marriage.
Sonya explains to Toadie that the woman terrorising her is Erin, an old school friend. Without a shred of remorse, Erin admits to everything, including knocking Brennan out, and Toadie calls the police. When Erin alludes to a party Sonya took her to when they were teenagers, Sonya begins to understand Erin's motives. After Erin is arrested, Sonya fills Toadie in on Erin's tragic past.
Lauren's horrified by Amber's decision to join the New Eden commune and decides to rally the local community against it. She attracts plenty of support and it seems Rain's grand plans could well be quashed. Worried by this, Rain suggests to Amber and Daniel that they relocate New Eden to the Mornington Peninsula, and that they go there tonight to feel the vibe of the new site.
After learning that Rain's been manipulating him, Daniel's furious to discover that she's been doing the same with Amber through meditation. Shocked, Amber confronts Rain over this, who claims she was doing them a favour – Amber and Daniel are not meant to be together. She believes that Daniel doesn't really love Amber; he's more in love with the idea of being in love.
When Sheila accuses Gary of hocking Kyle's tools, Gary reveals his innocence by unveiling a set of ‘hot' tools he's bought to replace the ones he lost. Despite accepting that Gary's heart was in the right place, Sheila forces him to return the stolen goods. But when Gary sees Kyle struggling financially from the loss of work no tools has meant, dodgy Gary earns some quick cash on the sly.
Brennan's angry at Sonya for paying Erin's bail, but knows that she's trying to alleviate her deep-seated guilt over abandoning Erin all those years ago. When Erin arrives, she accuses Sonya of trying to buy her off – but Sonya maintains that all she wants to do is help her. Eventually, Erin decides to trust Sonya. Sonya arranges a potential job for her at The Waterhole.
Karl treats Brad for a bruised and battered hand, but when he asks Brad how the injury occurred, Brad's story is far from convincing. Karl thinks nothing more about it until he's informed about the assault on Ezra Hanley. Concerned that the two things may be connected, Karl confronts Brad. Brad admits he lied about how he injured his hand, but swears he had nothing to do with Ezra's attack.
Brad is out on bail. The Willis family unite to support him, but with the added stress of waiting on VCE results, Imogen confides in Joshua that the circumstantial evidence against their dad is strong. There's a real possibility he could go to jail. With this in mind, Joshua confesses to Matt that he attacked Ezra. Matt quickly determines Josh is lying to save Brad.
Naomi is quietly panicking about the carols night. Bailey's ‘elf fight' has caused bad publicity - the main sponsor and band have pulled out. Sheila has an idea how to solve one problem, if Naomi's desperate enough… Karl would love to play the event! He ropes in a reluctant Chris but Georgia refuses, only agreeing to MC.
It's Christmas Day in Ramsay Street, and Paul's eager to show his appreciation to neighbours who have stood by him during his depression over losing Kate. Paul's also got business on his mind, however… Namely, paying off Gary for bashing Ezra Hanley, and ensuring he quickly gets out of town. Unbeknownst to both Paul and Gary, however, Sheila overhears their covert conversation.
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