No 24
We pick up where we left off, as Elly pulls away from the kiss with Mark.

ELLY: I can't do this.
MARK: We're both free agents, aren't we?
ELLY: Really, Mark - you're free?! You're only doing this because of Paige, because she hurt you. I want to help you move on, but this is not fair on me.
MARK: Yeah. Okay. I was out of line. The last thing I would want is for you to feel used, or like the rebound girl.
ELLY: Good to know (!)
MARK: No, that came out wrong. That's not what I meant.
ELLY: Look, I just - I think we should call it a night.
MARK: No, hey, hey - Elly - look, why don't we just go out, yeah? We can have a few laughs.
ELLY: Goodnight, Mark.

She leaves, and Mark looks frustrated.

Lassiter's
Terese is in her office, practising for her video link presentation at the London conference, when Paul turns up. He tells her that Terese no longer needs to worry about the presentation, as Leo is on his way to London and will go to the conference in person. Terese objects, saying she should be the one doing this, but Paul says it's too late - Leo is already en route to the airport.

Paul queries why he hasn't seen the video she filmed for the conference yet; unwilling to admit it's still in a bit of a mess, she says she'll show him when she's ready. Paul suggests she send it to Leo ASAP so he can prepare on the flight.

PAUL: And try to calm down, will you?

Terese looks worried.

The Waterhole
Gary is helping Sheila practice her audition speech for Dipi's show; she's chosen Lady Macbeth's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Macbeth.

SHEILA: Come! Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts - unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty!
GARY: 'Unsex me here'! What's she on about?
SHEILA: Well, says there in the notes that she wants the evil spirits to take away her womanhood, so that she can become a seriously cold-blooded killer, to knock off the king, because her husband's a big wuss!
GARY: How's anyone supposed to pick that up?
SHEILA: You're not supposed to pick it up! You're supposed to run my lines!
GARY: Well, it doesn't make any sense! I mean, none of it does. How's this bit here? 'Hie thee hither.'
SHEILA: It means 'come here, quickly'.
GARY: Why didn't she just say that? Seriously, Mum, wouldn't you be better off doing something in English?
SHEILA: It is in English!
GARY: It all sounds like gobbledygook to me!
Sheila gets annoyed with Gary, and storms off, telling him his line-running services are no longer required!

SHEILA: Garius, begone!

Paige comes in, and finds Elly drinking alone at the bar. Elly admits that she and Mark were meant to go for a drink, but he ended up kissing her instead.

PAIGE: Right! And I take it that's not what you wanted?
ELLY: Not when you're still in his head. I want a guy who's there for me, and only me. I just don't think Mark's ever gonna be that person.
PAIGE: Babe, is there anything I can do? I hate the idea of you being hurt again because of me.
ELLY: I just need you to stay out of it, okay? I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone, but after what you did, there's so much fallout. For Steph, Mark, myself - it's a mess.

Elly exits, leaving Paige looking guilty.

No 22
The next morning, Terese whines to Gary about how Paul is promoting Leo like he's a figurehead of Lassiter's, at Terese's expense. Gary plays devil's advocate, saying it might be better to have someone at the conference in person rather than appearing via video link. Paige explains that the video Terese has put together is a little ropy, and that Terese is worried about Leo presenting it.

Paige suggests Terese find a way to make the video better and send it to Leo in time. Gary suggests that Piper could help, but Terese still isn't keen to drag her into it after the stress of the recent court appearance. She decides to hire a production company to polish the video instead.

No 24
Piper tells Mark that she heard him up and about during the night, and asks if he's still got Louise on his mind. Mark avoids the question, and at that moment, Paige turns up; Mark doesn't even acknowledge her, walking past her to go out for a run.

Paige thanks Piper for her testimony at the trial; it can't have been easy, but really helped the case against Louise. Piper says she wanted to do it for Gabe. Paige has a second motive for her visit; she asks Piper if she could help Terese with the video presentation, explaining that Leo has gone to London to present it in person, and that the video isn't very good.

Piper's annoyed that Terese pretended it was all under control, and prepares to rush off to the hotel to help her put things right. Paige remarks upon the state the house is in, assuming Piper's responsible for the mess - but Piper reveals that all the mess is in fact Mark's! Paige looks shocked at the idea of Mark becoming a slob...

The Waterhole
Sheila moans to Shane about Gary's lacklustre line-running skills and his habit of 'bagging the Bard', and Shane offers to run the lines with her instead. Sheila's pleased at this, but when she shows Shane her audition piece, he's surprised - Lady Macbeth doesn't have much humour about her, unlike Loretta Livingston, the part Sheila's auditioning for in Dipi's play.

SHANE: Loretta's tough, but she's got a heart of gold, and she's got some of the funniest lines in the musical.
SHEILA: I can do funny.
SHANE: Yeah, you do have a natural flair for comedy.
SHEILA: Oh! Thank you!
SHANE: Maybe we could choose something a little bit lighter to showcase your comedic talent?
SHEILA: Great thinking, Lord Rebecchi!

Lassiter's
Terese is on the phone to a film production company, asking if they can take on polishing her video - but they can't help in the timeframe. Piper comes in to save the day, and despite Terese's protestations, insists on helping her with the video, despite all she has on her mind. Piper's not impressed with the quality of the video so far, and suggests they film some additional footage...

The Waterhole
Having taken Shane's advice, Sheila is now channelling a fairy from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

SHEILA: I do wander everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere, and I serve the fairy queen...

Gary comes in, amused at this latest turn of events. Sheila explains they've switched to the Shakespearean comedy to showcase her talents with humour - and that Shane is replacing Gary as her line-runner! Gary is hurt at being ditched, and even more so at being told he has no comprehension of the text!

GARY: Cast aside by mine own mother - how could you?!
SHEILA: Oh, stick to the cooking, son - you're never gonna make it as an actor.
Shane offers to step aside as line-runner, but Gary retorts that he knows when he's not wanted. In a bid to smooth things over, Shane offers to teach Gary about iambic pentameter, the line rhythm that Shakespeare used. Gary tries reading the lines again, but soon gives up; Shane suggests he try reading the graphic novel versions instead, as they're designed for 'the more visually-oriented'!

GARY: What?!
SHEILA: Dumbed-down books, love. Comics.
SHANE: Yeah. They're learning tools.
Gary looks even more hurt now.

Lassiter's
Gary moans to Terese about Shane usurping him as Sheila's line-running partner. But Terese is trying to film some new video footage with Piper, and Gary's presence isn't helping - so she asks him to stand by the door and keep an eye out for Paul, so he doesn't catch her in the act of filming the extra footage. Gary grudgingly goes along with it - but soon spies Paul, and tries to warn Terese.

Outside the door, Paul promises Leo over the phone that Terese will send the video presentation to him soon, so he can review it on the plane. Gary signals to Terese, and she and Piper dash into the lift and make their escape from Paul - laughing as they go. The awkwardness of their damaged relationship soon kicks in, though, and they get back to talking about the practicalities of the video.

TERESE: Hey - thank you so much for helping me. I'm really grateful.
PIPER: Well, you were there for me, with Louise's trial. I couldn't have got through that without you.
TERESE: ... What are you doing tonight?
PIPER: Nothing. Why?
TERESE: Do you... do you fancy coming over for dinner?

The Row of Trees
Mark is angry-jogging through the trees, pursued by Paige who is determined to talk to him.

MARK: What do you want?
PAIGE: I'm just wondering how you are!
MARK: I'm fine.
PAIGE: Are you sure? Because I went to your house today, and it was an absolute mess.
MARK: Oh, today, now - I mean, you are *everywhere*, Paige! Look, I'm trying to get you out of my head. I even kissed Elly.
PAIGE: I know that!
MARK: What? How?
PAIGE: She told me at The Waterhole.
MARK: See? This is the problem! I'm trying to move on, but we can't even avoid being in each other's business!
PAIGE: Sorry, what do you want me to do about that?!
MARK: Look - I know I gave you and Jack my blessing. But, Paige, it's really hard, okay? So if you see me coming, just go the other way!

He walks off, leaving Paige looking upset.

No 22
Paige is still looking upset. She dials Lauren's phone number, and walks upstairs to speak to her.

No 28
Elly is looking forlornly at pictures of her and Mark on her phone. One by one, she removes them from the album.

No 24
Mark is looking forlornly at pictures of him and Paige on his phone. One by one, he removes them from the album.

No 22
Paige, Terese, Gary and Piper are watching the newly pimped promo video that Piper has helped Terese put together - they're all agreed that it's a massive improvement on the previous effort.

PAIGE: This is really going to stick it to the Udagawas, that's for sure!

Terese says she's already sent the video to Leo and the conference organisers. Jack comes in, and Paige takes him aside to talk. She tells him that neither Mark, Elly nor Steph are in a good place, and that their being together is creating a ripple effect. Paige whispers that she's been talking to Lauren, who reminded her that she was originally planning on going to Queensland with her and Brad.

JACK: What are you saying?
PAIGE: I'm just - I'm saying that if being together is hurting everyone so much, maybe we should reconsider moving to Queensland?

Jack says it would be a huge move, but that he's in the relationship for the long haul, and he'd love a fresh start with Paige and Gabe.

JACK: But I don't want us to make this decision under pressure. Are *you* sure?
PAIGE: ...

The Waterhole
Sheila and Shane decide to run some more lines during a quiet stretch at the bar. But when Sheila begins rehearsing, she's reverted to Lady Macbeth - and it becomes clear to Shane that she's entirely forgotten that they had talked about doing a comedic piece, and decided to do A Midsummer Night's Dream instead...

No 22
Piper thanks Terese for dinner, and prepares to head home, despite Terese's offer of staying for dessert. Things are a little awkward again.

PIPER: Nah, it's been a big day.
TERESE: It's been a wonderful day. I understand if you need to go.
PIPER: I'm not angry anymore, Mum. So, it's not about that. It's just - I'm not ready to move back home. I need to keep Tyler with me. And the only way I can do that is to live at his house, and lie in his bed, and sit in his chair - and just surround myself with him. You know, I still hope that he'll reply to my letters and return my calls. But until then, I just want to be as close to what's left of him as possible. Cos it's all I have.
TERESE: Well, he is part of you. That's what love's about.
PIPER: Thanks, Mum.

Terese kisses Piper goodnight, and heads upstairs - just as Paige comes in from the kitchen. She looks at a photo of Jack and Gabe on the shelf, and looks around the room sadly.

Harold's Café
Gary is picking up dessert when Shane comes in, and asks for a word. Gary's still a bit cold towards Shane after feeling humiliated earlier, but Shane insists it's important.

SHANE: It's about your mum. She had a bit of a... memory glitch earlier.

He explains how she forgot altogether about the change of speech for the audition piece. Gary says she's probably just tired, but Shane says it's happened before, explaining about the bet he tried to make with Sheila a few days ago, which she also seemed to forget about.

GARY: And you think that she's losing her marbles?
SHANE: I'm worried about her, that's all. Something's not right. I think you should encourage her to get herself checked out.
GARY: Look - I get it. You think you're smarter than me. You've made that clear - it might even be true. But she's my mum.
SHANE: I know that. I'm not trying to interfere.
GARY: Yes, you are. Because you think you know her now - your new best friend and study buddy. But I'm her son. And I'm telling you, she's fine. So why don't you just mind your own business?

Next week on Neighbours
- Gary tells a worried Xanthe that Sheila's memory may be playing up
- Leo's in London, preparing to meet Dakota Davies
- Dakota asks Leo what exactly he wants from her
- Amy tells Paul that he needs to start paying for what he's done