Recap
- Rachel questioning Angus about how their relationship will work and him silencing her with a kiss.
- Kirsten watching on as Janae and Darren kiss.
- Janae telling Ned she kissed someone else.
The Parkers'
Janae's trying to explain herself to Ned but he doesn't look impressed, especially when he hears it was Darren she kissed. Kirsten makes her excuses about Mickey and leaves. Janae tries to tell Ned it was just a stupid mistake but he's not having any of it and walks off leaving his distressed girlfriend.
Outside Grease Monkeys
Rachel's taken some time out from the frantic rescue party to call Angus. He asks if she's all right.
RACHEL: Yes. No. Not really.
He says he was really worried about her and she tries to invite herself round but he doesn't think it's a good idea - they still have to be careful, even though he's not her teacher anymore. Despite what he said before, he's not sure he can let it happen again. Rachel asks if she's being dumped over the phone, and Angus kindly responds by hanging up. He looks half frustrated, half relieved, she looks devastated.
The Parkers'
Janae's still trying to explain that the kiss was meaningless, but if so, Ned asks, why didn't she tell him before. She blames the disaster and Kirsten's "sort of" blackmail. He thinks she was just trying to get back at him after what happened in Oakey, but she says it wasn't like that. And Darren didn't come on to her - he loves Libby. In which case, Ned masterminds, why did he kiss her?
Steve enters at this lovely, awkward moment. He asks if Kirsten's still there, but Ned says she's taken Mickey out for dinner - something Steve points out she'd need her bag (which is still there) for. He offers to drop it off for her at Charlie's and Ned says he'll tag along. As he goes into the kitchen, Steve suggests to Janae that she comes to but she says she'll give it a miss. Once they've left, she begins to cry.
Erinsborough Hospital
A bed-bound Elle asks Paul what the time is. When she hears it's eleven thirty, she tells Paul and Rebecca they should go because they've been there all day. Paul wants to stay, but Rebecca backs Elle up - she can't go to sleep with him hovering over her. After a bit more encouragement and telling her just to ring if she needs anything, Paul agrees to leave.
Outside the room, Riley's waiting. He asks after her and Rebecca says she's fine, but a bit drowsy. Paul offers him a lift home, but he says his mum's coming to pick him up. Once they've gone, he stares wistfully through the window at her and resumes his seat.
The Kinski-Kennedys
Karl, Susan, Zeke and Rachel are setting up for dinner, without Libby and Ben who are eating dinner with Darren at Charlie's. Zeke's surprised that Libby's been discharged, but Karl says it's typical of her. Susan doesn't care what Libby does, she's so happy to have her back.
SUSAN: Honestly, when Dan walked out of that building with Libby in his arms, I don't think I've ever been so relieved.
Zeke looks put out, clearly still feeling less valued than Libby by Mr and Mrs K. He attends to his phone which is making noises and Rachel asks to be excused as well for hers.
KARL: Hang on, hang on. No, I won't excuse you. You don't just stop a family conversation to send and receive texts. I'm going to confiscate those damn phones.
Susan tries to placate him, but he's in full flow now, reminding her that the whole dance party was organised by mobile phone. Susan tells them they have five minutes to do they're texting and let's them go. Karl apologises to Susan, who understands him being angry at them for lying, but right now they have so much else to deal with. She thinks they should organise some kind of trauma counselling for them and Karl agrees to get onto it in the morning. He says he's struggling too. He will talk to her, but he's not sure what he wants to talk about yet.
Charlie's
Darren and Libby have both been doing some thinking about his job in Shepparton, and Darren says he can commute there - it will be hard, but it's worth it. Libby thinks that's ironic; she realised she was only asking him to commute because she wanted him to suffer, but she doesn't want to be bitter anymore and is thinking about giving Shepparton another go. Darren tells her if she does decide for it, he'll give her a trouble-free, brand new future. She just wants what they have - them together with Ben. He says he knows they can make it work.
Steve tells Ned this sort of thing is exactly what made him worried about buying a house with Janae. Ned sees red when he sees Darren, but Steve tells him to take it easy and he has to put on an almost friendly front as Libby greets them and asks after the family, whilst he looks daggers at Darren. They return the handbag to Kirsten and Mickey and Ben go off to play together. Ned sits down with Kirsten to discuss matters. She denies blackmailing Janae, as such - she might have assumed, but Kirsten didn't ask her for anything. Ned commends her subtelty. She apologises not for telling him straight away, saying she thought Janae would come clean. Ned doesn't know who to trust least.
Number 30
Ringo is on his bed listening to the news, which is reporting Jessica's death. He can't take hearing it anymore and turns it off, at which point Frazer enters with a tray of food. He asks how Ringo's feeling and he replies that he's stiff and sore, but otherwise all right. Frazer agrees it would be a good idea to get an early night and leaves him in the company of his food, which looks delicious. He looks as if he's not going to eat it, but then sighs and has a spring roll.
Outside Number 30
Rosie and Frazer are on the front wall drinking coffee as Ringo wishes them good morning. They're out there to talk because they thought he was still asleep, but he thought the same of them. Rosie offers some breakfast which he says he'll have when he's back from his run. He knows it doesn't look good to run on an empty stomach, considering his history, but he just feels like it - he'll eat a lot when he's back. Frazer admits he worries, but Rosie assures him it's all good. However, it would help to talk things through.
RINGO: Jessica was sixteen. She died. How can you talk that through?
Rosie looks awkward and Frazer says it's unfair, but it's important they find a way to deal with it. Ringo reassures them he is and he's alive and he'll be back soon. Frazer and Rosie still look a little anxious as he jogs off.
The Other Side of the Road
Cor, Ramsay Street's busy of a morning. Kirsten and Mickey are setting off in the car. She checks with Ned and Janae that they have everything Mickey needs for school and drives off, with a last smug smile at Janae. Once they're gone, Janae tells Ned she missed him in bed last night (quite a public issue to discuss on the pavement when you live in Ramsay Street, but whatever). He agrees to talk about it and puts his arm around her, just as Darren's van arrives to cause a sticky situation (obviously Darren is in the van, it's not driving itself, although that would indeed be a sticky situation). Ned goes inside and leaves Janae to and Darren to avoid each other's eyes.
The Kinski-Kennedys
Zeke chucks his cutlery in the sink and attempts to make an exit as Susan asks where he's going. Karl says Suse just wants to make sure he's all right, to which he snidely responds that at least someone does before leaving as Darren comes in. He's looking for Libby so is sent out the back where she's putting out washing. Susan asks Libby what was wrong with Zeke. Rachel thinks he's punishing himself because he thinks the dance party disaster's his fault. Susan says the only thing he did wrong was to lie to them - although that shows he's changed, he used to find it impossible to lie. Rachel doesn't think it's surprising, they've had so much to deal with. He may have seemed like he was coping but he wasn't and he needed something, someone to make him feel good about himself. Susan senses there's something wrong with Rachel but she dismisses this, telling her to just give Zeke some space. She leaves and Karl tells Susan there's more to it than that. He explains that he instinctively protected Libby over him in the warehouse and now Zeke thinks that flesh and blood matters most to him.
KARL: I didn't consciously make a distinction. But if I didn't, then why do I feel so guilty?
Warehouse
Ringo's crouching by the three crosses on the floor for the people who died, one of whom is Jessica. He's trying to fight back tears and Zeke appears behind him who is doing the same, but perhaps less successfully. He sits beside him, and Ringo pats him on the back.
The Parkers'
The Ned/Janae discussions still haven't moved on much from earlier and they are still working out how to get past this. Ned can't because seeing Darren is like having his nose rubbed in it.
JANAE: Well, now you know how I feel.
Nice one, Janae. She compares the situation to having to see Kirsten preying on him every day. Ned thinks that's rubbish, but Janae shouts at him to open his eyes - Kirsten kissed him. She might have been wrong, but they're both hurting and she feels like a stranger in her own home. Maybe if she'd had some support she wouldn't have kissed him at all. She thinks there's no point in throwing around the blame because the kiss meant nothing and he means everything in the world to her.
The Kinski-Kennedys
Karl and Susan are happy in a cautious sort of way that Darren and Libby have decided to get back together. Susan tells Darren and Lib they're very happy for them, but their reaction is a little less enthusiastic when Libby announces they're moving back to Shepparton. As soon as possible. Ben bounds out of his room, wanting to go to the park to play with Darren, so they leave with Libby.
Meanwhile, Rachel has received a very emphatic text: "'NO!! STAY HOME. 'ANGUS" Not sure what the apostrophes are for. Maybe as an English teacher he feels the need to place his words in speech marks, even when communicating through modern technology? The ominous music and Rachel's disgruntled face inform us this is bad news, correct punctuation or not.
The Parkers'
Ned and Janae are sitting at the table in silence when Mickey arrives with a boogie-board type thing that Kirsten's bought him for Queensland. Both mother and son are shocked when Ned announces Mickey's not going to Queensland, because they're going camping as they'd planned. Mickey's not pleased and storms out. Janae and Kirsten aren't impressed either and Steve tries to act the mediator but Ned storms out to the faraway hiding place of the garage.
Erinsborough Hospital
Riley's visiting a feeble-looking Elle. He takes a seat on her bed and Elle looks at him lovingly.
ELLE: You held me in your arms.
RILEY: You had a collapsed lung, I could hardly slap you away.
ELLE: Earlier, before the roof collapsed.
Riley looks a bit embarrassed. Elle turns to the local newspaper and comments that it should have been their front cover - you can't get closer to the story. Brad Jordan arrives, very unsympathetic and wondering why they couldn't leave the dance party story alone. He halts their excuses and then reveals a softer side, producing some flowers from behind his back for Elle. She asks after Taylah, who is apparently sad and sorry, but still alive - like them. However, unlike them, she hasn't been sacked yet. He gives them 48 hours to change his mind about firing them and leaves just as Rebecca and Paul arrive. Elle quickly detaches her arm from around Riley's back and they both look sheepish when Paul makes a comment about their boss being nice.
The Garage
Darren walks in and tells Ned that he has every right to be angry, but asks if Ned plans to tell Libby about the kiss. Ned thinks Libby deserves to know, but Darren's clearly not of the same opinion. He loves Libby and he almost lost her yesterday; he couldn't face that again over something as meaningless as the Janae incident. Ned informs Darren that he won't tell Libby straight out, but if questioned, he won't lie.
Angus's Flat
Angus opens the door to Rachel and tries rapidly to close it again, but she wants to say her piece.
RACHEL: My whole world has fallen apart. All I have is you. [Crying] Please, please, don't turn me away.
This man really has no will power and immediately kisses her. We're reminded that Neighbours is a family show when the door is kicked shut as the action kicks off.
The Parkers'
Ned has had an epiphany: he's an idiot. Ah, wait, he's only referring to the fact he's been horrible to Mickey. Oh well, one step at a time, eh, Neddy? Anyway, Ned's decided Mickey can go to Queensland and is hoping for Mickey's forgiveness. Janae continues to fold the washing and wishes him good luck in less than enthusiastic tones. Ned tells her he wants to try and work out where they're at and where they're going, which Janae thinks would be nice. They tell each other that they love them before Janae sends Ned off to talk to Mickey. He comes out with a note for Janae, telling her he's run away because he hates Ned. Eek.