Previously on Neighbours
- Sonya telling Toadie about the insurance problem.
- Angie arriving in town.
- Terese denying she wrote the secrets letter, so Paul deducing its Brad who did.
- Brad denying to Terese that he was the author.
- Terese admitting to Susan that things are a disaster.
- Lauren commenting to Brad about their timings being wrong.
- Sheila suggesting to Brad that his wife has a serious problem with alcohol.
Number 22
Brad comes home and looks for the evidence that Terese has an alcohol problem but before he can say anything to his wife, she comes downstairs and apologises for how she handled the secret letter problem (she should have asked him first). She also admits to him that she doesn't know what is wrong with her just now; she's not herself and hates how she's constantly suspicious of him all the time. "I'm not sick of you, I'm worried about you, about your state of mind," Brad replies and brings up how she deals with the stress ie. drinking alcohol. "It's not healthy," he points out and she informs him that she poured the wine away (he found her glass in the sink).
BRAD: I don't want to assume, but I'm genuinely asking you, do you think you have a drinking problem?
The Waterhole
Kyle/Amy get a new recruit (Russell) to help with the renovations at #30 after he overheard their conversation about it. Sheila is thrilled that he is getting involved even when he doesn't know Toadie.
Number 22
Terese admits that while she has been drinking more, she doesn't think she has a problem. Brad reminds her what happened at the school concert and about taking wine from the bar. Terese isn't amused at having to justify taking the wine because she's management and warns him she will be having words with Sheila! She also points out that it was her idea to cut back, something an alcoholic wouldn't do but Brad reminds her that she couldn't stick to it!
TERESE: Because I didn't think it was a big deal.
BRAD: Well it is, you're depending too much on alcohol to get through stress.
TERESE: Because I have a demanding job Brad, I'm no worse than anybody else!
Their conversation stops when the kids arrive home after being at the cinema and the parents both decide to turn in for the night.
Hospital
Sonya tries to reassure Toadie about using a wheelchair now he's reached the rehab stage and that she/Nell want him home.
Number 30 (next day)
Sheila arrives with morning tea for the workers and Angie can't resist a dig at Sheila's cooking! She isn't too amused at her perception that Angie is cracking onto Russell but Kyle reassures her nothing is going on.
Number 22
Josh tries to talk to his mum about how things are going with Brad, and after she brings up what he said about the alcohol, Josh suggests that he could be a non-drinker like him.
TERESE: Darling, you have a missing enzyme, I don't, I can tolerate alcohol.
"I don't need a public service announcement," Terese declares after Josh looks up alcoholism online so asks her instead to do the quiz he found and reluctantly she agrees to it.
Meanwhile out in the garden, Imogen gets straight to the point and asks her dad what is going on with them, commenting that he doesn't seem happy lately. Brad goes with the analogy that while she's in a new happy relationship with Daniel, 20 years later... "So encouraging!" Imogen comments, so Brad tries explains that you go through lots of different stages in a relationship but eventually encompasses it by saying "you can't be happy all the time."
IMOGEN: It's just that it's been a really long time, you and mum being unhappy.
Josh appears outside and asks them both to come inside as Terese has something to say.
(Later)
Terese admits to her family that her drinking has become too much of a crutch lately. She apologises to Brad for her behaviour and to the kids for interfering in their love life. "My love life turned out just fine," Imogen reassures her mum with but she thinks they "all deserve better."
Brad talks Terese into going to see Sonya together after she was hesitant about doing so given what's happened to Toadie.
BRAD: We'll get you the help you need.
Number 30
Sheila is somewhat hesitant to leave #30 despite Kyle again reassuring her that there is nothing going on between Angie/Russell. "He needs protecting," Sheila declares but Amy thinks Russell's capable of handling himself.
SHEILA: He doesn't realise that he's a tiny Minot being circled by a massive shark.
KYLE: What's the best way to deal with a shark?
SHEILA: I could punch it between the eyes!
KYLE: Don't go swimming!
"Haven't you got a home to go to?" Angie ask Sheila on walking into the kitchen and Sheila's rebuttal is to have a dig at Angie about the cleanliness of the kitchen, which in turn leads to a comment back about Sheila's new hairstyle!
Amy/Kyle quickly decide to resume working and it's a good thing because the ladies then almost come to blows when Angie goes to make Russell a sandwich. It then dawns on Angie why Sheila is hanging around.
ANGIE: You're worried he might have his eye out for a classier model eh?!
SHEILA: Excuse me!
Thankfully Russell comes looking for his sandwich before the handbags can come out but Angie can't help but get the last dig in by commenting that she "likes a man with a proper appetite!"
Hospital
Despite Sonya's protestations, Toadie decides to begin the rehab before the expert arrives by trying to manoeuvre himself from the bed into the wheelchair. However his plan goes awry as he can't manipulate himself to get into the wheelchair without causing himself more damage by falling on the floor. This time Sonya persuades him to give up and moves the chair away to prevent him re-attempting it.
Number 30
The ladies decide to ignore Russell and start hurling insults at each other before eventually it comes to blows, well Sheila pushing Angie over (after Angie went for Sheila's hair) and she falls to the sofa! "Break it up," Kyle shouts as he comes running into the living room and it gives Angie ammunition to tell Russell what kind of a "classy bird you are!"
(Later)
"I was defending myself against a senile old bully," Angie explains to Sonya but she's quick comment back about Angie "flirting with her new boyfriend." Angie denies doing such a thing until Amy puts her right, so changes it into her just having fun although adding that she wasn't to know it would turn nasty. Sonya wants Angie to apologise but she's having none of that.
Just as Sonya thinks she's going to get some alone time, Brad and Terese arrive.
The Waterhole
Russell arrives at the bar and when Sheila realises he's there, immediately apologises for what happened and as she beings to explain to him why she got defensive, he silences her with a kiss!
RUSSELL: No woman has ever fought for me like that.
SHEILA: Ooh.
RUSSELL: It was damn sexy! You're an incredible woman.
SHEILA: I am?!
(Russell kisses her again)
SHEILA: I am aren't I!
Number 30
"It's gotten out of hand, I rely on it too much especially when I'm stressed. It's nothing I'm proud of," Terese begins with. Sonya asks how many times she's woken up with feelings of remorse (more than once) and how high was her score on the test (fairly high). Terse thinks just a few counselling sessions will do the trick and is shocked when Sonya suggests to her that she should be attending AA meetings.
TERESE: But I'm not an alcoholic.
Sonya replies that she knows that, but explains it's just a label and not everyone who attends AA meetings fits into the typical definition of an alcoholic, rather what they have in common is a problem with alcohol that puts them in a high risk category. "What have you got to lose?" Brad asks, picking up his wife's hand.
SONYA: I know its confronting, I know it is, but you've already been so brave just coming here talking so openly with us now.
Terese agrees to give it a try and returns the secrets letter back to Sonya. "Where did you get this?" an alarmed Sonya asks and she replies Paul. "None of us wrote it and we don't know what to do with it," Brad adds. A shocked Sonya tells them it will be shredded immediately and admits she's puzzled as to why Paul would have it.
Amy, who walked onto the living room while the letter was handed over, is absolutely fuming at hearing how they got the letter.
Hospital
Toadie's day just gets worse when Imogen breaks it to him that they are losing clients because of the accident as they were working on some cases. "People just need reassurance I'm still in the game," he says just as Sonya arrives apologising for interrupting them but Imogen says they'd just finished and departs.
Sonya asks how it's going and Toadie tells her about losing his biggest client and that he doesn't know what they are going to do for money. "We'll figure it out," she reassures him with and to help cheer him up (and to ease his movements into the wheelchair) gives him a pressie she's bought - silk pyjamas. He's not amused she's thinking defeatist in that he will never walk again but she reassures him that isn't the case.
TOADIE: I've lost the use of my legs; I'm losing clients... why is this happening to me? It's not fair!
SONYA: No its not, it's not. It's not fair.
Number 30
Amy is telling Kyle about what her dad did and she's miffed he stole the letter from right under her nose and wonders why he'd do that.
AMY: Sometimes he is so lovely and then he does something like this.
KYLE: Look, I hate to break it to you, but that is signature Paul. Not much point trying to figure that dude out.
Sonya arrives back from the hospital to hear the news that there might need to be some expensive repairs done to the house after Amy/Kyle discovered a leak while they were doing the bathroom renovations. "Can you afford it?" Kyle asks deciding to be blunt with her and she reassures them that they'll work it out.
They head off to tidy up and Angie swaps places with them and declares that the basket of fruit from Paul (and the council) isn't enough; someone should be paying out the bucks. Sonya suggests that sort of talk isn't helping but Angie replies that she needs to find out who is responsible and make them share the load.
ANGIE: Don't get sad, get mad! Somebody has to pay!
Unmissable drama
- Karl dreaming up a new band name (K Squared).
- Sonya thinking chasing Naomi for compensation will just stress Toadie out more.
- Naomi telling Paul that Toadie is suing her.
- Paul commenting that could be the end of her career.
- Toadie explaining a few things to Naomi