No. 26
Helen tells Hannah that it's time for bed, and Hannah heads off to her room. Helen then tells Jim that she's been talking to Doug and there are still units for sale in that retirement village he's building. Jim comments that if that's the way she wants to go, she'd better get in quick before the best ones are sold - or she can come with him to the new house; she's very welcome. With that, he says he'd better go and tidy the garage, as there might not be time in the morning and he wants the make the best possible impression.

No. 24/No. 26
Cameron answers the 'phone. Helen comes on and tells him that a Mrs. Dwyer will be inspecting the house at 10:00 in the morning; Jim says she's very keen. Cameron grins that he'll nip it in the bud - he's been giving this operation a lot of thought; when he's finished, Jim won't have a buyer left standing!

No. 28
Doug, Pam and Gaby finish dinner. Gaby sighs at her father that her granddad's a nice old man; he's over 70, for heaven sakes; she just doesn't get it. Doug just retorts that neither of them has got a clue. Gaby admits:

GABY: Actually, dad, I saw him a couple of years ago in Tokyo.
DOUG (astonished): What?
GABY: I've been writing to granddad for the past three or four years and he's been writing back. I mean, why not give him a chance?
DOUG (darkly): Keep out of things you don't understand, Gaby.

Brad arrives home and asks if everything's cool. Pam tells him that his father's not entirely happy that Granddad Willis is coming to stay for a while - but he's agreed to go along with the idea. Brad points out that Bert is over 70 - he mightn't have much longer. Doug snaps:

DOUG: That man has no commitment to anything. He's selfish, stubborn and doesn't give a damn.
GABY: What do you mean 'no commitment to anything'?
DOUG: I mean commitment... stability... seeing things through. He started out in the building trade, but that wasn't good enough for him; not enough power - so he shot through to the Merchant Navy, where he could give orders all day. He reckons if you've got a problem, you don't work at it, you trade it in.

With that, he storms off.

No. 32
Julie opens the front door to Pam and thanks her for coming over. Pam asks her how she is and Julie replies that she's feeling much better: she decided to stop taking her medication. The two of them sit down in the lounge room and Julie goes on that she's been reading up on her condition and she can't understand how it got so bad so quickly. Pam comments that illnesses don't always behave according to the textbooks! Julie continues that it says in the textbooks that her basic problem is stress - but everything's been fine lately; even Michael's changed completely - so why didn't this happen last year when they had all those money problems and Michael was being a complete monster?; the stress then was *incredible*. Pam looks as though she doesn't know what to say.

No. 28
The next morning, Cameron walks into No. 28 and tells Brad that he's got a bit of an operation under way and he needs a hand. Pam reminds him that Grandpa Willis is coming to stay. Cameron tells Brad that they're tight on time, and the two of them head out. Doug emerges from the bedroom area and says he'll be heading off. Gaby stops him and apologises for getting stuck into him last night. Pam tells her husband that he can afford to go in late this morning. Gaby adds:

GABY: Just be here when granddad arrives. It'll get things off to a good start.

Doug, however, replies coolly:

DOUG: He's *your* guest. I'll be polite; that's all I can do.

With that, he heads off to work, leaving Pam and Gaby looking worried.

No. 26
In the kitchen, Julie is asking Helen how alcohol can suddenly affect her when it never has before. Helen suggests it could be a medical imbalance - a particular medication that doesn't go well with alcohol. Julie exclaims that she wasn't *on* any medication before; how can she change almost overnight? Jim joins them and says Mrs. Dwyer should be there shortly. Helen assures him that she won't leave his precious kitchen in a mess!

Ramsay Street
Cameron is lying back on his motorbike, with loud music playing from a stereo. Brad is with him and as they spot a middle- aged woman approaching, Cameron turns on the bike engine, causing it to roar loudly! He and Brad then approach the woman and start introducing themselves 'playfully'. The woman immediately goes and climbs into a taxi parked outside No. 28 out of which a man has just climbed!

No. 28
The man in the taxi was Bert Willis. As he heads into No. 28, Gaby beams that he's her favourite granddad! Bert muses that he can't say he thinks much of the street - there were louts hanging around like on the docks in Marseille. At that moment, Cameron and Brad come in and Bert muses:

BERT: *This* pair of ne- er do wells, in fact!

Cameron shakes his hand and explains that they were doing someone a favour! Brad introduces himself and says they met before but he was very little. Bert tells Cameron that her mother sends her love. Gaby asks how Fay *is* and Bert replies that she's in Paris, spending Cameron's inheritance! He then asks where young Doug is. Pam tells him that he's at work - he's got a big job on. Bert muses:

BERT: Avoiding me, is he?

There's an awkward silence.

No. 26
Jim opens the front door to a young man - just as the noise of a trumpet starts emanating from nearby! Helen tells Jim and the man that Cameron's just taken it up again. Jim asks Helen to close any open windows. The man, however, says quickly that the place isn't really what he wanted, and he walks out!

No. 24
Cameron is playing the trumpet when Lou comes in and snaps at him to put a sock in it. Cameron welcomes him home and then resumes his trumpet playing!

Coffee Shop
Brad finds Doug in the Coffee Shop and tells him that Bert is looking forward to seeing him. He sits down, but Doug says he doesn't think so. Brad says he doesn't know happened in the past, but that was then; this is now - can't Doug at least make the effort?

No. 32
Hannah is at No. 32, and Julie is hugging her tightly. Hannah asks what's going to happen to their family; are they all going to be living back together again? Julie assures her that she and Philip love her very much and they're going to work this out. Hannah asks:

HANNAH: Can I still live with you even if *daddy* doesn't?

Julie's face drops. She then tells Hannah quickly that this is a *happy* family. She suggests they get some ice- cream sundaes, and the two of them head through to the kitchen. Hannah remarks that the house is really tidy. Julie smiles that Debbie and Michael have been helping a lot and doing all the cooking, so it's been ages since *she's* done anything. She suggests they start with some ice- cream dishes, and she reaches into the cupboard to get some out. As she does so, she finds a small packet of pills in them and she remarks in surprise that they look a lot like Granny Helen's. Hannah asks:

HANNAH: What are they doing in *our* cupboard?
JULIE (shrugs): No idea.

Ramsay Street
A man is standing outside No. 26, writing in a notebook. Cameron walks over to him and asks him if he's looking at buying the house. The man nods that that's right. Cameron goes on that his uncle's a builder - so if the man decides to buy, he can probably give him a great deal on repairs. Across the street, Gaby is standing half- naked, watching! Jim approaches Cameron and the man as Cameron starts talking about the roof. Jim asks him tersely what he's going on about. Cameron says quickly that he was just explaining that his Uncle Doug's a builder and can do special deals in certain circumstances. Jim growls at him that he's not going to get away with this. The man - Mr. Cross - climbs in his car. Cameron goes to walk off - but Jim puts his hand on his shoulder and stops him. A grin crosses Gaby's face!

No. 26
Jim walks into No. 26 looking angry. Helen asks what the matter is. Jim replies:

JIM: I can't believe what just happened out there. I caught Cameron and Gaby red- handed, trying to scare Mr. Cross away to stop him buying the house.
HELEN ('innocently'): Oh, surely there must be some mistake?
JIM: There is no mistake, Helen. Gaby was dressed like... well, I won't say. And Cameron was trying to feed him some cock- and- bull story about the house being structurally unsound.
HELEN (hiding a grin): Oh that's awful!

Jim walks off. At that moment, Julie comes into the house with Hannah, telling her to go and see her granddad. She then takes Helen aside, shows her the pills and asks her if they're the same ones *she* takes. Helen looks at them and nods that they are. Julie muses that maybe she was right about that chemical imbalance... She then asks Helen if she can borrow her copy of Stephen and Phoebe's wedding video - there's something she wants to look at...

In the kitchen, Hannah asks Jim why he wants to sell the house; doesn't he want to live near them anymore? Jim tells her that of course he does - but it's too big for him and Helen now. Hannah points out that the neighbours don't want him to leave - or why would Cameron and Gaby be playing tricks on him? Jim remarks that he's still trying to figure that one out. Hannah pleads:

HANNAH: Please, granddad. Mummy's still sick. We need to be a family.

Jim gives her a tight hug.

No. 28
Bert is telling the Pam and Brad tales about his life at sea. Gaby joins them, having changed into more- decent clothes. At that moment, the front door opens and Doug comes in, hesitantly. Bert says:

BERT: Hello, son.

Pam suggests that maybe they should all leave him and Doug to catch up. Doug, however, says he thinks they should stay; they should know what's going on here. He pauses before going on coldly:

DOUG: You should know that this man abandoned his family; dumped his wife for another woman; wrecked my mother's life. And he's still here, living it up, while she's in her grave.

No. 26
Jim comes in and Helen tells him awkwardly that she wanted to talk to him - she has a confession to make, about Cameron. She goes on that she's afraid she hasn't been absolutely truthful: she *asked* Cameron to do what he did. She adds that she still feels she had good reason: it's not a good time to be selling, and the neighbours want him to stay. Jim says:

JIM: I've been doing some thinking. Hannah suggested that I'm lucky to have people who are prepared to put themselves out for me - in strange ways, evidently - but I have to agree she's right.
HELEN: And what's the upshot of all this thinking?
JIM: Well, the upshot is I've taken the house off the market.

Hannah and Helen both hug him in delight.

No. 28
Bert is sitting stony- faced as Doug concludes:

DOUG: So that's how it happened: mum died of a broken heart. I'm not saying what he did brought on the final stroke, but it didn't help. Since then, I just don't want to know this man, that's all.

Bert retorts that Doug could at least listen to *his* side of it. Doug says he *knows* Bert's side of it. Bert insists that he doesn't. Doug mutters:

DOUG: So tell me.
BERT: Yes, your mother was a wonderful woman, but we fell out of love long before we finally broke up. These things do happen.
DOUG (coldly): It doesn't excuse what you did.
BERT: I know that. I wanted to leave a lot earlier, but I stayed for you kids. But living in that house with your mum... going away to sea and her resenting me going... It got worse and worse.
DOUG: So you bailed out completely? Very convenient.
BERT: It was best for all concerned - and I still loved you kids. Leaving you wasn't easy. In those days, children stayed with the mother; that's how it was.
DOUG: I'm sure the *other woman* helped a lot.
BERT: Are you telling me you've never had feelings for anyone but Pam?

Doug hesitates before responding:

DOUG: I never abandoned my kids. It's a bit late now to be sorry. You'd better get this into your head, dad: I'm not interested in excuses. It's too late.

He walks off.

No. 24
Lou is sitting at the table, doing paperwork. Cameron asks him if his business trip didn't go very well, but Lou replies that of course it did. He then asks Cameron how he got into a barney with Jim. Cameron explains that Helen is convinced that Jim doesn't really want to move, so she asked him to help; what could he do? Lou comments:

LOU: Damsel in distress, eh? They all twist us round their little fingers, don't they...

No. 32
Julie is watching the video of Stephen and Phoebe's wedding. She spots Michael on it, lacing her drink. She rewinds and watches it again - then she freezes it and stares at the screen in disbelief.

Ramsay Street
Cameron is working on his bike when Lou emerges from No. 24 and says he's going to head off to the car yard. They suddenly spot Jim emerging from No. 26 with Helen and Hannah. Cameron turns away, looking embarrassed. Across the street, Helen tells Jim to talk to Cameron and put him out of his misery. Jim, however, says he'll talk to him in a minute or two; let him suffer just a little bit longer!

Pam and Gaby are working in the front garden of No. 28 and Gaby asks her mother if Jim's coming over, as she's *so embarrassed*! Pam assures her that he's just standing there. She then sighs heavily and asks what they're doing to do about Bert and Doug. Gaby tells her that Doug is going to drop into the Waterhole on his way back from work; Brad said he'd try and have a chat with him then. Pam muses that it'll take more than a pep talk from Brad to sort *this* one out.

Outside No. 24, Cameron finishes tinkering with his bike and comments to Lou that that should do it. He starts the bike's engine and revs it loudly - just as a girl on a horse - the girl Brad met at the beach a few days earlier - starts riding up the street. The horse starts rearing and Lou quickly tells Cameron to shut the bike off. It's too late, though: the horse has become uncontrollable and it knocks down the mailbox outside No. 32 and almost careers into Helen. Lou quickly runs over and calms the horse down. Jim joins them and asks the girl angrily:

JIM: What the hell do you think you're doing, riding a horse in a suburban street?

Lou, however, smiles at him:

LOU: She's come to see *me*! Everybody - this is Lauren: my very own daughter!