Lassiter's Complex
Toadie and Mackenzie are chatting to James outside the hotel. Toadie plays down his powers of persuasion when it comes to Rose taking James back.

JAMES: Right, because you only bonded at yoga (!)
MACKENZIE: Yoga?
JAMES: You and I both know you're better friends than that.
TOADIE: I just don't think it's my position to get involved in any kind of reconciliation.
JAMES: Don't you want to help her out? Or is there something going on here that I'm not aware of?

Mackenzie butts in, insisting Toadie and Rose's relationship is very 'clear and professional'.

MACKENZIE: Nothing was going on between them when she worked at the office.

Toadie gives Mackenzie a look.

JAMES: Oh, she worked for you? There's a little nugget I didn't know!
TOADIE: Rose doesn't work for me anymore.
JAMES: So, that breakfast this morning - what was that, a date?
TOADIE: ...

Harold's Café
Dipi and Shane come in. They've been to a Narcotics Anonymous group together, and Dipi. feels it's giving her a new insight into what he's going through.

SHANE: You know, it means so much having you there with me.

Pierce comes in to give Dipi a maintenance schedule for the complex over the next few weeks. Things are slightly awkward between Pierce and Dipi, and Shane detects this immediately. Once Pierce has gone...

SHANE: It's me, isn't it? Things are weird cos of the fight I started.
DIPI: Shane, no.
SHANE: Nah, you two were such good mates, and I've just gone and stuffed it up.
DIPI: Honestly, you haven't. Things with Pierce are absolutely fine.

No 28
Jane and Karl come in, and Susan remarks on her pleasant surprise to see 'not a shopping bag or box in sight'.

KARL: You know, I have been the butt of this family's jokes for years. But I would venture to say my careful spending has helped us pay down the mortgage and keep us debt-free.
SUSAN: And your point is?
KARL: Maybe a little less ridicule, a little more thank you?
SUSAN: Thank you?! Thank you for what? For filling up the house with stuff you were never going to use?

Karl admits he enjoys a bargain, and Susan says that's terrific but that this time it went too far.

SUSAN: And frankly, Jane, I think part of the problem is that he found a partner in crime to egg him on!
KARL: Well, maybe if you were a little bit more like Jane, it wouldn't be a problem!

Susan shoots him a death-ray glare, and Karl suddenly looks sheepish.

SUSAN: You are on *very* thin ice.

Harold's Café
Toadie and Rose come in, talking about James. Toadie asks Rose what she thinks is really going on with James, as she knows him better than he does.

The Waterhole
James quizzes Mackenzie over how long Toadie and Rose have been dating.

JAMES: He really likes her, doesn't he?
MACKENZIE: You'd have to ask him.
JAMES: Oh, come on. Why else would he give her my financial information?
MACKENZIE: If you do love her, then why did the two of you break up in the first place?

Harold's Café
Rose answers just this question for Toadie.

ROSE: He's impossible. Most nights he wouldn't get home until after ten, and the kids had been asleep for hours - we just never saw him. So I thought that we should move closer to the office. I figured a shorter commute might mean more time for us (...) I asked him to meet me at an open house, and... I had promised myself that if he didn't show up, then... that was it.

The Waterhole
James continues the story to Mackenzie.

JAMES: I got home one night, and her and the kids were gone. She didn't answer her phone, I didn't see 'em for weeks.
MACKENZIE: She didn't give you any warning at all?
JAMES: Looking back, I guess there were signs. I mean, we'd argue all the time. I didn't realise we were at breaking point.

Harold's Café
Rose admits to Toadie that she knows she went about things the wrong way.

TOADIE: To come home and just find your wife and kids gone... I'm just trying to put myself into James's shoes here.
ROSE: Yeah. You'd be devastated.
TOADIE: I can see why he ended up with interim custody.
ROSE: I just made a huge mess of everything.

The Waterhole
James admits he couldn't understand why Rose left, so took it out on her.

JAMES: I didn't realise how much I missed her, until...
MACKENZIE: Until you saw her again.

Harold's Café
Toadie asks Rose...

TOADIE: Do you miss him?
ROSE: I didn't leave James because I hate him. I left because I never saw him. And now I don't see him anyway, so... yes, I do miss him.

Toadie looks a bit miffed.

Lassiter's
Pierce is surprised and suspicious when Hendrix randomly turns up with a coffee for him, thinking Hendrix must want something. Hendrix insists it's out of the goodness of his heart! He asks how Chloe's doing in Adelaide; Pierce says she didn't call last night, but that it's okay, as he knows she needs to spend time with her mum.

HENDRIX: Dad, you're allowed to feel cut up about this. I know I would be if Harlow spent a whole day without calling me.
PIERCE: Well, luckily, we're not lovesick teenagers.

As Hendrix is leaving, Shane turns up to see Pierce. Shane explains he's picked up on some tension between Pierce and Dipi. Pierce looks very worried, until Shane adds...

SHANE: And it's entirely my fault. I just want you two to be friends again.
PIERCE: Ah, look, there's no hard feelings about our run-in, alright? Not on my part.

Shane looks like he doesn't quite believe him, so Pierce goes overboard to prove it.

PIERCE: In fact... how would you feel about having your old job back? I mean, I know things have been tough financially...
SHANE: If you're ready to have me back, I'm ready to be here! And I won't let you down, I promise.

Pierce says they can look at getting Shane back on the roster

SHANE: Beauty! Dipi's gonna be so stoked. I owe ya, mate, big time!

Pierce looks sheepish as Shane leaves.

The Waterhole
Toadie and Mackenzie are exchanging notes following their parallel conversations with Rose and James respectively. Mackenzie thinks James is legit; he wants Rose back because he loves her. Toadie's inclined to think that Rose feels the same way for James; and says that he's trying to be realistic as far as his own budding romance with Rose is concerned.

MACKENZIE: She told me there was something there between you guys.

But at this point, James turns up, interrupting.

JAMES: Listen, what we spoke about earlier... forget it. There's no deals; it's all off the table.
TOADIE: Where does that leave us?
JAMES: Relax, I'm not taking it any further (...) I don't want to hurt Rose, and that's the instructions I've given my divorce lawyer.
MACKENZIE: And she's gonna get a good settlement?
JAMES: Yeah, she'll be looked after. And if I can't be with her... at least she'll be okay.

No 32
Aaron is just finishing up a phone call to Chloe, saying he'll see her when she's back. Afterwards, he tells David that Chloe has no problem with Nicolette continuing to live there, and that she'd work through any issues with Pierce.

DAVID: You don't sound convinced.
AARON: Well, I kind of feel like we're just giving them another issue to deal with.
DAVID: We're not. If Pierce goes off the rails because he can't deal with Nicolette, that's not on us.

Jane turns up. Aaron explains that Nicolette's Not In This Episode™, but Jane's actually come to see them. She says she's keen on arranging a better system for all the supplies she and Karl are hoarding in the Doug Out, and specifically, how their 10 percent of the spoils is calculated! David says they're not interested in most of the stock anyway.

JANE: Why don't we just go out to the Doug Out and have a bit of a look?
DAVID: Karl did a stocktake before - and besides, we've got other things to do, Jane.
JANE: Oh, really? What?

David and Aaron exchange an awkward glance!

JANE: Why don't we just have a look, and then we'll all feel so much better once this is sorted.

David and Aaron relent, and go out into the back yard with Jane. Once they're gone, Karl, who has been hiding in the hallway, pops his head into the living area...

The Waterhole
Toadie and James are tying up some loose ends regarding the formalities of him switching to his new lawyer. Rose comes in, Toadie having asked her to meet them here.

TOADIE: I think that this is an opportunity for you and James to talk, and I don't think that you should pass it up. I've seen irreconcilable differences before, and I'm pretty certain that's not what we're dealing with here (...) I mean, you guys can get a divorce after this, if you really want to. But if that's what's gonna happen, you should make sure that there is nothing left unsaid. And here is your chance.

Toadie leaves James and Rose to chat.

JAMES: Look, I get why you left. I guess, you know, I always thought you'd be around, and I never listened when you told me otherwise.
ROSE: You just weren't ever there for me to talk to you.
JAMES: I couldn't understand why you could never see my point of view, and I never even tried to see yours. Look, I let my ego get the better of me, and for that, I am sorry.
ROSE: I should never have taken the kids the way that I did... I mean, now that I'm away from them, I can see how much that hurts. I'm... I'm so sorry, too. I really have made such a mess of this.
JAMES: No, no. Hey, we both have. Like I said to Jarrod, there's no more game-playing. You'll get the settlement that you deserve.
ROSE: I don't want a settlement.
JAMES: Rose, we don't have to -
ROSE: No, James - I just want my family back.
JAMES: ... Hey, so do I.

Toadie watches from a distance, conflicted.

Lassiter's
Hendrix turns up in the office again, and asks Pierce if he wants to play a round of golf, or a bike ride. Pierce is busy; Hendrix admits he's bored without Harlow around.

HENDRIX: Plus, we both need to stop thinking about the women in our lives.
PIERCE: I told you before, alright? I don't expect Chloe to call me every day.
HENDRIX: So you guys are definitely all good?
PIERCE: Yes.
HENDRIX: There's nothing that you're worried about?
PIERCE: No.

Hendrix isn't convinced, but at that moment Chloe herself walks in, so he heads off for a lone bike ride! She explains she's made a spur-of-the-moment decision to come back, and says they have a lot to talk about. Pierce looks worried.

No 30
Shane's in a great mood since learning about being allowed back to work, and it seems to be rubbing off on Dipi, as they even share a joke and a flirt.

SHANE: Yeah, Pierce is a good bloke; I could've kissed him!
DIPI: ...
SHANE: I mean, I really appreciate him giving me a go.
DIPI: You've been putting the hard yards into your recovery. People can see it.
SHANE: Yeah. It's all starting to pay off, and between us, too - you're putting in the hard yards just as much as I am, babe.
DIPI: I haven't seen you like this in a long time.
SHANE: Like what?
DIPI: Positive. It's really nice.
SHANE (flirtatious): You can... see a lot more of me, if you want to. I'm gonna go to the bedroom.

Dipi smiles and hesitates, before putting down her book and following Shane...

Lassiter's
Chloe and Pierce discuss their counselling session, which they've both been thinking about while she's been away. Chloe's done some of the homework suggested by the counsellor, which involved drawing up columns for the future.

CHLOE: And do you know what was in every single one? My Huntington's. Whether I want it to or not, my health could change so quickly. I just can't think ahead the way you can. I can't make plans about babies, about anything. It's just not that simple for me
PIERCE: Well, maybe if we keep going to counselling, then -
CHLOE: No, I don't think we need to (...) because we know what the issue is now. So we can just work on it ourselves.

Pierce doesn't look convinced.

No 32
Aaron is moaning to David about Jane and her hoarding.

AARON: How are we meant to pick out 10 percent of 14 cartons of long-life milk?

David tells Aaron he's organised a Skype session with Emmett later. In the meantime, Aaron just wants to sit and watch TV, and David comes to join him on the sofa.

We hear a creaking sound, and a little shower of powdered plaster lands on Aaron from above.

AARON: What is that?

We see the worried boys from above as the creaking intensifies - and they both leap away from the sofa, just as the ceiling collapses, raining discounted supermarket goods down on them from the attic above!

No 30
Shane and Dipi emerge from the bedroom in their dressing gowns, both looking a lot more cheerful.

DIPI: We're never getting that smile off your face today, are we?
SHANE: (...) We've still got a long way to go, but... I'm feeling really good about us.
DIPI: ... Yeah. We're definitely heading in the right direction.

There's a knock at the door - it's Hendrix. He's come round to see if Mackenzie is here, as he's still bored, and trying to give Pierce and Chloe some space. Shane explains Mackenzie's at work. Dipi seems surprised that Chloe's back, and Hendrix admits it was out of the blue. Hendrix finally clocks the dressing gowns.

HENDRIX: Anyway, umm... I'll leave you guys to it.

Once he's gone, Shane suggests that Dipi give Pierce a call to see how he's doing. But Dipi says Pierce doesn't need her sticking her nose in, and goes to get a shower before heading to work.

The Waterhole
James goes to wait outside, while Rose rejoins Toadie - it appears her reconciliation with James is a done deal.

ROSE: Will you say goodbye to Mackenzie for me?
TOADIE: Yeah, of course. She's gonna miss you. As will I.
ROSE: Oh, I dunno. I think when the dust settles, you guys will be pretty glad to see the back of me.
TOADIE: Well, you definitely kept things interesting.
ROSE: Well, I lied to get a job that I sucked at - and then I nearly burnt your face off with my beauty therapy treatment. And then I went on two dates with you, only to get back with my husband.
TOADIE: Well, technically they weren't dates, were they?
ROSE (laughing): Sure (...) I don't deserve the kindness that you've shown me.
TOADIE: See, that's where you're wrong. Thank you for your friendship, and your energy.
ROSE: And my criminal activity.
TOADIE: Oh, that, not so much.
ROSE: You're a good catch, Jarrod Rebecchi. I think that some lucky girl is gonna grab hold of you and never let go.
TOADIE: Oh, well, if you bump into her any time soon, just make sure you send her my way, yeah? (...) I hope things work out for you and your family.
ROSE: Thank you. I've got a good feeling. Well, goodbye, Toadie.
TOADIE: Goodbye, Rose.

Toadie looks slightly wistful as Rose leaves.

No 28
Karl and Jane are congratulating themselves over their plan of secretly stashing more discount goods in Aaron and David's attic; lest there was any doubt, we learn that Karl lugged them all up there while Jane was distracting the boys in the back yard. Susan emerges.

SUSAN: What are you two plotting over there?
KARL: Well, I was just... telling Jane how sorry I am that I upset you this morning.
SUSAN: ... Oh. Well, I'm sorry, too, for overreacting.

Karl admits they got carried away with the bargain-hunting, and he understands it must've been frustrating. Susan thanks him.

There is a very loud bang on the door, which Aaron opens before Susan can get to it! David is close behind him.

AARON: Where are they?
SUSAN: Who?
AARON (storming in): You! And you!
DAVID: Who sneaks into someone's house and puts boxes of canned food in their roof?!
AARON: Heavy boxes!
SUSAN: What?!
AARON: Yeah. Our ceiling caved in and nearly killed us!
JANE: Oh, no.
SUSAN: Karl Kennedy!
AARON: Seriously, why wouldn't you just put it in your own roof?!
KARL: Well, our roof's full of useless junk, and yours was free, and you've got a ladder...
SUSAN: Oh, don't you *dare* try and justify what you've done. You said you were gonna donate it all to charity!
KARL: Well, they're taking 10 percent, so technically, that's charity.
SUSAN: That's it, that's it - I am shutting this down now. I will take the stuff to the charity place myself. And I hope you saved a lot of money with this ridiculous obsession. You're gonna need every penny of it to pay for their ceiling!

Karl and Jane look very sheepish.

No 30
Dipi is surprised to come home to see Shane all dressed up - she'd thought they were doing trackies and takeaway tonight. But he has a surprise for her! Her face drops as she walks into the living room. The dining table is set for four - and Pierce and Chloe are already sitting there! Pierce is looking desperately uncomfortable. Dipi plasters on a smile.

DIPI: What's going on?
CHLOE: Well, it was Shane's idea. He called and invited us over, because now I'm back, and everything's been super-awkward, so we should put it in the past! And of course, I jumped at the opportunity to not cook tonight!

Shane says dinner is already underway, and encourages Dipi to sit down next to Pierce.

SHANE: Alright, then. Fasten your seatbelts - let's get this party started, eh?

Dipi and Pierce exchange a nervous glance as Shane disappears back into the kitchen, then smile for Chloe's benefit...

Coming up on Neighbours
- Yashvi says she doesn't know 'how I can ever trust him again'
- Pierce tells Dipi that what happened between them was a mistake; she agrees
- Chloe has to go to work, and tells Pierce and Dipi she'll meet them at the gallery
- At his exhibition, Ned unveils a portrait, whose subject 'is someone very important to him'
- We see Yashvi's face drop in the audience, as does everyone else's
- Dipi tells Pierce that 'it's hard work'; he replies it's meant to be easy with the right person