Recap
Callum asking Sophie if he wants to help him teach Rockey some stuff the next day.
The Kennedys threaten the hospital board with adverse publicity over the surrogacy protest unless they back down.
Susan telling Karl that publicly exposing the hospital board is the best chance they have of changing their minds.
Toadie telling the Kennedys that the hospital board has backed down - but only if Susan hands over the photos of the surrogacy protest.
Karl admitting they've handed over the photos to Paul.
Susan begs Paul not to publish the story.
Erinsborough Hospital
Libby is being prepared for egg extraction, whilst Karl and Susan watch through the window, debating how to tell Libby. Susan tells Karl to go in - but she needs a bit of time to go and do something. When Karl leaves, Susan calls Paul once more, begging him not to publish.
Charlie's
At the bar, Paul is on the phone to the printer, sending off the article and photos. As Susan is leaving a message, Paul hits 'send' on his mail. After putting the phone down to the printer, Paul picks up Susan's voicemail. He ignores her plea, picks up his laptop and goes.
Harold's Store
Toadie comes in with Rockey, and sees Callum and Sophie sitting at a table together. He comments to Lou and Harry that when he was Cal's age, he wouldn't have been seen dead with a girl. At the table, Soph and Callum are playing computer games, and Sophie asks Cal if he wants to freak the adults out - which he does. She leans over and puts her arm around him.
SOPHIE: How do they look?
CALLUM: Weird. Worried and...weird.
SOPHIE: Then they've suffered enough. I'm gonna check out the cakes.
The guy do indeed wonder what's going on. Harry eyes Callum suspiciously, and Callum puts his glasses on and focuses on his game.
Mickey and Steve come in for some milkshakes, and Steve sits Mickey at a table to talk to him. He had a call from Ned and Kirsten who want Mickey to go and live with them now that Kirsten's better. She's going to speak at a medical conference in New York and want Mickey with them, and then to live with them in Perth. Mickey seems okay about it, as long as he can take Jake, but doesn't want Steve to tell Lou, not just yet.
Erinsborough Hospital
Libby is in a hospital bed with Dan and Karl at her side. Susan comes in and asks Veronica to leave them just for a moment. Susan tells Lib she couldn't get Paul to change his mind, and the story will be published tomorrow. Dan and Libby decide to go ahead anyway, even if the whole thing does get stopped tomorrow. Susan decides to give it one more shot with Paul.
Number 22
Paul answers the door to Susan telling her she has perfect timing - he's just boiled the kettle. She asks him again to call the printers and stop the story, reiterating that Libby can only have the IVF because they promised to hand the photos over.
PAUL: The hospital's blackmailing you? You're family needs its own news channel!
SUSAN: Paul! I'm asking you to show some compassion.
PAUL: That's good. That is VERY good. Changing your tack and working on the emotional angle. See? You have become a good journalist.
Paul points out that when it suited Susan she demanded that he run the article, and now it doesn't suit she wants something else. He calls her on her hypocrisy. Upset, Susan walks out silently, passing Elle at the door.
Elle realises something's going on and passes on a tea - she has something to do at the office...
Harold's Store
Callum is telling Mickey to bring back tons of wrestling merchandise from New York. Lou overhears, and Mickey has to break the news to him about moving to Perth. Toadie also overhears and suggests that Cal, Mickey and Soph take Rockey out to play with the ball. Toad asks Lou if he's okay, and says he's fine - after all, everyone ups and leaves.
Dec comes in with India in her pram. Half dead, he orders a double espresso and sits down with Ringo who asks where Didge is...apparently she's having Bridget Time. Ringo asks his mate if he wants to go for a kick of the footie, but with India he can't. The waitress brings his coffee over and he downs it in one go.
Erinsborough News
Paul comes in to find that Elle has pulled the surrogacy front page story, choosing instead to go with "Gran's Best Friend', the dog that saved his elderly owner from a housefire. As the editor Elle has changed the story, but Paul determines that as her employer he can demand she change it back.
Elle points out that this hurts the Kennedys. She hates that her dad always runs stories to his advantage.
ELLE: You always get some perverse pleasure with interfering with other people's lives. Including mine.
Paul demands he has his front page as clearly Elle has no idea what sells a paper. And as her dad has no respect for her as the editor, she quits.
Harold's Store
Elle sits in the kitchen, sulking and thinking. Lou comes in and asks her to take some food out to a customer, promising her that Paul's not around. Elle agrees, and finds that the chips are for her dad after all - he threatened Lou with violence if he didn't help out.
Paul tells his daughter that he's thought about what she said, and he agrees that maybe he does have some bizarre compulsion to interfere in people's lives. But he doesn't want to interfere in hers. He bought her the paper so they had something together, something in common, and he wants to be a part of her life really badly. Elle's concerned it will always be like this - him interfering then talking his way out of it; Paul promises it won't.
Number 30
Sophie, Mickey and Callum sit on the sofa, chatting. Steve tells Toadie he doesn't think the move has hit Mickey, yet.
Soph tells the boys that people get mugged in New York, but Steve comments that Mickey will probably be safe with Ned and Kirsten. Cal is still trying to get Mickey to bring him back some wrestling gear, when Mickey tells him that after New York he'll be going straight to Perth. Forever.
Callum hadn't realised this, and says it doesn't matter - Sophie's his friend now anyway. He leaves the house with Soph in tow. Mickey is upset, he doesn't want Cal to hate him.
Charlie's
The Kennedys are sitting at a table, frustrated with the situation. Paul and Elle come in to the bar, and Paul still doesn't believe that Elle will actually go through with her threat to quit. At the table Dan and Libby want to confront Paul, but Susan tells them not to give him the satisfaction.
Back at the bar Elle reminds her father that one day he will need help and he won't have friends around to do that. Paul retorts that he has her, so it doesn't matter - plus, he really doesn't want to be here with the Kennedys. But...too late. Dan has approached him.
DAN: Your big story will be next week's fish and chip wrapping. But we still won't have a baby. That's great work, Paul.
Paul stands at the bar, caught between the angry Kennedys and an angry Elle, not sure where to look. So he leaves.
Number 26
Ringo has brought round a footie computer game to play with Dec seeing as he can't play outside whilst he's looking after Indy.
DECLAN: India's sleeping.
RINGO: Is that a problem?
DECLAN: Well, no, not if we keep the volume down so we can hear if she's crying.
RINGO: Yeah. Or we could just crank up the baby monitor.
DECLAN: Nice!
They sit with the console but as soon as they start to play, India starts screaming. Declan has to go attend to his little girl, leaving Ringo alone. Cut to later where Ringo is watching TV and Declan has come back. India's not asleep, but Declan was asleep for an hour on the nursery floor! Ringo suddenly realises that he was supposed to meet Donna ten minutes ago and flees the house, whilst a tired Declan sighs as India screams again.
Harold's Store
Harry and Callum are helping Lou clean up the store. Callum says he's done something really stupid. Mickey's one of his best mates, but he went off at him anyway.
HARRY: He'll get over it.
CALLUM: Man, you wouldn't know. You don't have any friends. I've gotta work out a way to get him to stay.
Lou tells Cal there's nothing they can do, but Callum's not so sure...
Ramsay Street
Susan is retrieving her paper, and opens it hurriedly. She sees the dog story on the front page, and hunts through the paper to see where the surrogacy one has been hidden; it's nowhere to be seen. She smiles in relief and, looking up, sees Paul getting into his car.
She nods at him in appreciation and he nods back. Oh, the UST! Get a room already!
Mickey wanders down the street and for one moment I think he might be hit by Paul's car coming down the driveway, but...no. He asks Harry and Sophie where Callum is, and they whistle towards number 30. Cal comes out in wrestling gear with some rules: if Mickey wins, he gets to go to New York; if Callum wins, Mickey has to stay here.
Mickey throws another Mickey hissy fit - does Callum really think that he *wants* to leave? - and runs home.
Number 26
Inside, Mickey tells his mate that no-one asked him if he wanted to go, the adults just decided. He does miss his mum and dad, though, and he gets to take Jake with him. They agree to be internet buddies and start fake wrestling each other which is quite cute.
Erinsborough Hospital
Veronica is treating Libby with Dan at her side, as Susan and Karl arrive. Veronica tells them there is one egg which looks good, and Libby thanks her mum for whatever she said to Paul to convince him about the story. Karl thinks it was probably Dan who made it happen.
Veronica says she'll harvest the egg before putting everything together for a test tube sizzle! They all go in for a family hug.
Charlie's
Elle is looking at the front page of the paper when Paul walks in. He asks when he can expect her back in the office, so she reminds him that she has quit. And she's thought about what she really wants, and that includes working for someone else. Paul begs her - she can have total control! He'll stay out of it! But no, Elle doesn't want that to happen. She has an interview with the West Waratah Star, and she doesn't want special treatment from her dad. She promises he won't lose her.
Paul looks gutted.
