Harold's Café
Tim tells Nicolette that not only is Ricardo suing her for the amount she stole, but he's also after the same amount of money for emotional distress. Nicolette believes the claim will be laughed out of court, but Tim says "trusted nurse turned thief" won't go down very well. Nicolette then assumes the fact Ricardo tried to proposition her will work against him, but Tim replies it'll come down to a "he said, she said" scenario, where the "she" stole from a dead man.

NICOLETTE: So I'm in twice as much debt as I thought?
TIM: Well that's before you consider my fees, which are already adding up.
NICOLETTE: I didn't think you were charging me yet since the real work hasn't really started. The same way that a tradie pops in for a measure and a quote.
TIM: (laughing) Yeah, good one... Right, you're serious. No, Ms. Stone, I am not a plumber.

Tim then brings up the pending criminal trial, which he believes will probably end in a non-custodial sentence unless she gets the wrong judge on the wrong day. Desperate, Nicolette says there has to be something else they can do to make it all go away. Tim says there is one trick: blame it all on Audrey and Nic can paint herself as the victim. Nicolette can't do that, however, saying it would be wrong. So Tim advises her to save every penny she's got because it's going to be brutal.

Number 24
Jay and Hendrix are stressing out about losing the house but try play it cool when Kane comes back inside after checking out the pool. Kane tells a despondent-looking Hendrix to keep his chin up, he's sure the old man will buy him a new place. Once Kane leaves, Jay says it won't take long for the guy to figure out this isn't Hendrix's house.

JAY: Hendrix what are you going to do?
HENDRIX: (screaming) I don't know, Jay! And I don't need you to point out how screwed I am, all right?!

He angrily shoves around some chairs, telling Jay he shouldn't have listened to him in the first place about his stupid card counting. Jay looks quite remorseful.

JAY: I'm sorry.
HENDRIX: (anger dissipating) No, I am. This isn't your fault, it's mine. And I have no idea how I'm going to get out of it.

Erinsborough Hospital
Toadie runs into Kyle after visiting Sheila and remarks on how chipper she appears. Kyle says she'll be back home bossing them around in no time. Toadie then has a question for Kyle about what FWB means in the world of Tinder. Kyle explains it's 'friends with benefits', asking when Toadie started using the dating app. Toadie says it's been a few weeks - Mackenzie encouraged him to get back into the dating pool after Audrey. Kyle finds it hard to imagine Toadie on a dating app, but Toad says after all the interest he received on Facebook after changing his relationship status, he thought he'd branch out.

KYLE: How's this going so far?
TOADIE: Yeah, it's a mix between scary and fun... And confusing. What's kittenfishing?
KYLE: That's a new one for me. Mate, are you sure Tinder's right for you? Most people on there are after short-term hookups.
TOADIE: Not all of them.
KYLE: Have you been clear about what you're after exactly in your profile?
TOADIE: Nah, well I want to be open to everything, y'know? But there is this one woman, Mary, and we're getting along really well. Loads in common, good banter; I've asked her out for a coffee this arvo.

Speaking of, Mary sends a text back and tells Toadie she'd love to meet for coffee.

KYLE: She's keen as!
TOADIE: Well, how can you say no to the Toad-meister?
KYLE: Don't ever call yourself that on a date.
TOADIE: I need to go and sort some stuff out at The Foundation so I've got this arvo free.
KYLE: Sweet, good luck.
TOADIE: (grinning) Who needs luck when you're kittenfishing!
KYLE: Yeah, we really need to find out what that means.
TOADIE: (smile fading) Yeah we do.

The Waterhole
Mackenzie finds Jay and asks why he's not hanging out with Hendrix. Jay says Hendrix had other things to do, plus he has a lot of stuff on his mind. Mackenzie reminds Jay he can open up to her about anything, but Jay would rather just take his mind off his problems and do something else. So Mackenzie suggests a game of pool, jokingly hoping he's not a shark at it like he is with cards. Jay says there's no danger of that happening. He then gets confused when Mackenzie asks him a weird question.

MACKENZIE: Would you rather have all your fingers replaced with tongues, or your tongue replaced with a finger? (Off Jay's confusion) What, I thought you wanted to talk about something else?
JAY: (chuckling) You're crazy. Tongue replaced with fingers.
MACKENZIE: Yeah me too. Now you go.
JAY: Okay, would you rather be covered all over in lizard scales, or every time you talk you make accordion noises?
MACKENZIE: Hmm, scales.
JAY: Scales? No way, nup, accordion noises for sure.

They share a smile and Jay looks pleased to be having a nice time with Mackenzie.

Number 28 Backyard
Hendrix is watching a baking show on his phone, berating one of the contestants on their eclairs not rising. Harlow finds him slumped on one of the outdoor chairs and is concerned at how sullen he looks, wondering if the job-hunting business is still getting him down. When he doesn't answer, Harlow says that just because she knows what she wants to do next, doesn't mean she expects him to. She also thinks giving Richie a call would be a good idea to see if there's more labouring going on.

HENDRIX: Harlow just stop, okay? Just stop, please. You don't get it because there was never a labouring job. I lied to you. I was stupid for telling you that I had a job when I didn't. I'm sorry.
HARLOW: I still don't understand.
HENDRIX: I was embarrassed. And then when I said it to you, well you were so happy and proud of me I had to run with it.

The initial shock has worn off a bit and Harlow's rigid posture relaxes.

HARLOW: I suppose I get that. But what about the money? Where did that come from?
HENDRIX: Dad. I was ashamed to tell anyone. But a few weeks ago I reached out to him and he covered for me.
HARLOW: I can't believe he agreed to that, he was so hardline.
HENDRIX: It took a lot of convincing.
HARLOW: You know if you just told me the truth I wouldn't have judged you. So can we just stop lying from now on, please? If you ever find yourself in trouble I want to be the one there. Or at the very least I just want to be by your side.
HENDRIX: Okay.
HARLOW: Must be a relief, right? Getting the truth off your chest.
HENDRIX: (with the weight of a thousand things on his chest) ... Yeah.

Erinsborough Community Centre
Nicolette and Kane are chatting while they sort through clothing donations for The Foundation. Nicolette finds a top she really likes that's in her size and looks surprised when Kane suggests she just take it. Nicolette looks tempted but knows that it would be wrong. Kane does some hand waving and says it's a victimless crime, plus she's already put in so many hours at the charity, she's basically earned the top. Trying to sway her, Kane says if he finds something decent he'll pocket it too, but Nicolette decides to play nice and keep the top in the donation pile.

NICOLETTE: It's a nice change, though. Hanging out with someone who isn't a total goody-two-shoes all the time.
KANE: Don't worry, nobody's ever accused me of being that.

Nicolette gets a phone call from Tim Collins, which she ignores, but Kane sees the name ID and looks curious.

Harold's Café
Toadie is on his coffee date with Mary and they appear to be getting along swimmingly. Mary likes the Cats, 60s music and owns her own little chocolate shop, which Toadie thinks is wonderful. He compliments her on making a small business work and then he assumes she'll have to head back there this afternoon. Mary says she has help, but she's got other plans for later anyway.

MARY: I recently started a new hobby. It's kind of embarrassing.
TOADIE: Please don't stress. You're talking to someone who was once an amateur wrestler.
MARY: (laughing) Okay, it is not as embarrassing as that!
TOADIE: Oh, righto!
MARY: No, I started going to a knitting circle and the next one's this afternoon. Knitting gets a bad rap but it's fun.
TOADIE: I'm sure it is. So you have a crafternoon.
MARY: Very good.
TOADIE: Thank you. My daughter loves them, and she loves chocolate.

He grins at her, loving how well the date is going.

The Waterhole
Mackenzie cheers after getting another shot in and Jay wonders when she got so good. Mac asks if Jay has been letting her win, but Jay says he respects her too much to do that, which Mackenzie looks touched by. Jay goes to get them some drinks before they begin another game, and Mackenzie looks fondly his way, only breaking out of it when Harlow appears for a chat. Mac starts to tell Harlow that she thinks she just had a "moment" with Jay, but can then see that Harlow has more important things on her mind.

MACKENZIE: Is everything okay?
HARLOW: It's Hendrix, he's a real mess over this job situation.
JAY: Hey Harlow, I just got us some drinks. Can I get you one?
HARLOW: No I'm good thank you. Actually, you've been hanging around with Hendrix, do you know what's going on with him?
JAY: (trying not to be alarmed) Why, has he said anything?
HARLOW: Well he's lied about being a tradie.
MACKENZIE: Seriously?
HARLOW: Yeah, and he's resorted to asking his dad for money. I just wish I could do something to help him. He's in a really bad place.

Jay nods along, looking stressed again.

Erinsborough Community Centre
Kane tells Nicolette that he wasn't snooping, but he noticed she got a call from Tim Collins before. He says Tim's a slime ball, so if she's working with him she must be in some kind of trouble. Nic isn't keen to get into it, which is cool with Kane, but he offers to listen and not judge if she needs to talk. Nicolette quickly caves and admits she got into some trouble a couple of years ago, and now it's come back to bite her and cause a huge mess.

KANE: You mean like legal mess? Personal? Financial?
NICOLETTE: All of the above. The money is the most urgent, which is why I didn't take Tim's call because that guy literally charges by the minute.
KANE: I might be able to help.
NICOLETTE: You know a cheap lawyer?
KANE: No, I run blackjack games on the DL. So if you're any good at cards, you might be able to win a bit of cash.
NICOLETTE: I know my way around a deck. With this scenario you're suggesting, you could potentially lose money to me. Why?
KANE: You seem cool, and it sucks you're in trouble. Plus there are always other players who rack up the losses, so.

Nicolette thanks him for being nice and Kane lets her know there's a game on tonight if she's interested. He adds that he'll even spot her the buy in, so Nicolette smiles and says she'll think about it.

Harold's Café
Kyle finds Toadie sitting alone and asks him how the date with Mary went. Toadie says he's not losing his head over it because it was only a first date, but he thinks it went really well. In fact, he just sent her a message listing his top five retro sweets. Toad can't believe Mary has never had a Fizz Wizz, but Kyle can't believe Toadie's already sent her a follow-up message one hour after the date ended. Toadie doesn't understand why that's a bad thing.

KYLE: I'm pretty sure there's rules for this sort of thing. You've got to wait a certain amount of time.
TOADIE: No, no, if you're enjoying the conversation why not continue it? (He gets a text)
KYLE: Is that her?
TOADIE: No that's another match.
KYLE: Not gonna check her out?
TOADIE: No, that'd be pretty disrespectful to Mary.
KYLE: It's normal to chat to a bunch of different people at once now. So has Mary got back to you about the Fizz Wizz?
TOADIE: No, not yet. (Unsure of himself) But she's got something on so she's probably just in the middle of it. I'll um, I'll just shoot her a message saying that she doesn't have to reply straight away.

Kyle leaves Toadie to keep digging his own dating grave and suggests they catch up later for a proper debrief.

Lassiters Complex
Hendrix rounds the corner of the Community Centre and bumps into Chloe. She says she was just about to text him and let him know the house is officially up for rent. Chloe adds that there'll be inspections now so he won't be able to use the pool for much longer. Hendrix keeps it light and says he might have to crash #32 sometimes and use their pool, which Chloe is amenable to. Chloe thanks him for being so chill about everything, she knows it can't be easy. Hendrix spies Kane walk out of the Community Centre and tells Chloe it was no biggie. Once she heads off, Hendrix makes his way over to Kane who wants to know if he has the keys to #24 for him. Hendrix bluffs that it's going to take at least a few days to get everything sorted. Kane sighs and accepts this news for now, but tells Hendrix he's going to host a game there tonight.

HENDRIX: That mightn't be the best...
KANE: I'm not asking for permission. I just need you there to let everyone in. And you can play.
HENDRIX: No way.
KANE: All right then, you serve drinks.
HENDRIX: Sure, yeah, whatever you want.

Kane leaves and Hendrix adds even more stressed vibes to his already stressed out aura.

Number 32
Aaron and David are home when Nicolette gets back from her Foundation shift. Nicolette asks Aaron about Kane, and wonders exactly how bad of a person he is. Aaron replies that Kane was involved in an underground fighting ring for a while, and some of the guys there were involved in something even worse. Nicolette wonders if that means Kane wasn't as bad, but Aaron says the guy got locked up so he's not exactly a saint. David hopes that Kane hasn't been hassling Nicolette at the Community Centre, but Nic says no. She was just curious because they've had some of the same shifts and got chatting. Aaron doubts Kane has turned his life around and advises Nicolette to keep her distance.

Harold's Store
Hendrix yet again brings up Pierce's contact details on his phone but still can't go through with calling him. Jay finds Hendrix, who starts to apologise again for going off at him earlier, but Jay understands he was upset. Jay says Harlow's at the pub if he wants to go over and talk, but Hendrix says he's already lied enough to her for one day.

JAY: Dude she's worried about you.
HENDRIX: I'm worried about me too. Kane says I have to wait on the players at tonight's game.
JAY: So what? You're going to keep doing whatever he wants till he finds out the truth and all hell breaks loose?
HENDRIX: What choice do I have?
JAY: I don't know, man. Maybe it's time to admit that you're in too deep and ask for help.
HENDRIX: You mean the cops? No, no way! I'm already in trouble with them, and if Harlow finds out...
JAY: All right, I'll be there with you. I'll come to tonight's game.
HENDRIX: I can't ask you to do that, man.
JAY: It'll be too suss if two players drop out at the same time.
HENDRIX: True. If Kane finds out we were cheating then I'm a dead man walking. I might be already.

The Waterhole
Kyle asks if Mary got back to Toadie, but Toad believes there's some kind of glitch with Tinder as Mary has disappeared from her matches and now he can't message her. Kyle has to break the news to Toadie that Mary has unmatched herself with him on purpose. Toadie doesn't understand why she'd do that as they got along so well, but Kyle says she might not have been as keen as him.

TOADIE: Nah, she at least would have told me.
KYLE: Mate these days it's just easier for people to disappear, you know? It's more painless. And it's not like you were in a relationship.
TOADIE: Yeah... I mean it'd be nice to know what I did wrong. Was it something that I said or...?
KYLE: She probably wasn't feeling the spark, or maybe it was the follow-up messages? Welcome to the world of online dating my friend.

Toad looks a little overwhelmed.

Number 32
Nicolette poses a question to Chloe, wondering if someone was involved in underground fighting that automatically makes them a bad person. Chloe jokingly says that she gets Nic has a lot of aggression to burn off, but fight club isn't the way to go for a pregnant lady.

NICOLETTE: Ha ha, it's not for me obviously.
CHLOE: Then let me guess, you've heard about Ned's shady past.
NICOLETTE: Wait, Ned from across the road Ned?
CHLOE: Yeah. Isn't that who you're asking about?
NICOLETTE: Actually no, but wait, Ned was involved in illegal fighting?
CHLOE: Oh yeah, it was a whole thing.
NICOLETTE: So then everyone involved isn't some hardened crim because we like Ned, right?
CHLOE: Totally! Neduardo's great. I just wouldn't go making besties with any of the others, they're not all as harmless as Ned.

But Nicolette has already taken this as a sign to throw her hat into the ring for the blackjack game, and she texts Kane exactly that. Aaron and David walk in from the backyard and ask who's up for dinner, but Nic lies and says she's just picked up a shift at Harold's. David jokes that Jane won't be happy about changing the household schedule at the last minute. Nicolette receives a text back from Kane, who sends her the address for the game. She's stunned when it says 24 Ramsay Street. Nicolette looks over to an oblivious Chloe, wondering what the heck is going on.