Previously
- David and Aaron getting married
- Aaron becoming too reliant on his painkillers
- Paul gifting Aaron & David with a honeymoon
- Cassius taking Xanthe for driving lessons
- Xanthe having a seizure behind the wheel
- Clive telling Xanthe she may never drive again
- Terese and Leo agreeing to date in secret
- Mark telling Elly he's not fulfilled in his career
Harold's Café
Mark and Elly are worried about all the dates Chloe's going on but Chloe's just happy she's having fun and is able to earn more cash for her mum. She leaves to get ready for her next client and Elly says it's nice to see someone upbeat - as opposed to the vibe at home between Susan and Jemima. Another person who's forlorn is Mark when he gazes wistfully at some cops who have just walked in. This gives Elly food for thought.
Terese and Piper are catching up for coffee at another table. Terese asks her daughter how things are with Cassius and Piper says they've found a good groove to settle into. Terese is glad to hear this as something's "cropped up at work" and she'll be working a lot of late nights in the future.
PIPER: That's fine. Mum you've been amazing these past couple of months; you've always been there when I've needed you. But I'm fine and I've got Cass now so you do whatever you need to do.
TERESE: OK but promise me you'll tell me if things get tough again or you need me at home.
PIPER: I promise, but it's about time you start looking after yourself, mum. And if working late makes you happy then go for it. As long as you're not working too hard.
Terese smiles to herself as Piper gets a text message. She finds out Xanthe's had another seizure and rushes out to see her.
Lassiter's Complex
Bea and Cassius lead a pale looking Xanthe to a seat while Piper rushes over to them. Cassius has a silent freak out at the jacket she's wearing - the very one he draped over her when he rescued her from the boat accident. Xanthe's upset because she might not be able to drive again but Piper reassures her they'll spend the afternoon looking into all of her options. Xanthe wants to head to the Retreat first to get some massage oil for her sore arm.
Winery
David and Aaron are spending the last day of their honeymoon having a picnic and soaking up the sun at a vineyard. Aaron's back pain is a thing of the past he's been so relaxed lately. David says he's noticed, especially with how agile Aaron was this morning. Aaron grins and says it's amazing how far they've come as a couple.
AARON: Before us I never really had a sense of direction. I was just going from job to job and idea to idea. And because of you not only do I have that direction but now I have a purpose in life.
DAVID: I don't deserve all the credit.
AARON: Yes you do! It actually blows my mind how you have no idea how incredible you are.
DAVID: Thank you for loving me. And for making me see my value.
They share a kiss and Aaron holds up his wine glass.
AARON: More wine, Doctor David Brennan?
DAVID: Oh why thank you, Mr Aaron Tanaka.
The Retreat
Piper and Cassius sit with Xanthe while Gary checks she's OK. Xanthe says her doctor might need to tweak her meds a bit, but everything was fine until she started thinking about Finn. Piper thinks they should go and chat with Toadie to hear the legal side of things with her driving. Cassius tells them to go ahead without him, as he has to buy some things first. But once they've left and Gary's out of sight, Cassius takes the jacket Piper has left behind and steals away with it.
Number 24
Elly stops by while Chloe's trying to decide on an outfit to wear for her date and asks if she's seen her teardrop earrings anywhere. Chloe admits to wearing them and Elly says she can borrow them as long as she doesn't lose them.
CHLOE: Sweet, I owe you. Hey if you ever want to hire me for a date I'll give you mate's rates.
ELLY: Thanks I think...
Elly then asks if Mark's said anything about a new line of work but Chloe says her brother's been more worried about her side business lately. Elly explains Mark's unhappiness with the garage and Chloe agrees he's missing the force. She thinks Elly should do some research into a job for Mark that will harness his expertise.
ELLY: Yeah like what you're doing with the website.
CHLOE: Precisely! Aww look at us, sharing jewellery and chatting away like besties. I knew you'd succumb to my trademark charm.
ELLY: Oh I don't know about that.
CHLOE: You're such a tease, Ms Conway! Now go sort out your man.
Walking Track
Cassius nervously walks along with a backpack, not realising Bea's headed for him until he literally runs into her and drops his bag. When she goes to do the nice thing and pick it up for him, Cassius yells at her to get away and snatches it from her. Bea's concerned and a little bit uneasy with how weird he's behaving, frowning at him as he runs away.
Garage
Mark's pleased that's Elly's called in to see him until he finds out she's organised PI, John Wong, to come in and chat with him. Elly's full steam ahead with turning Mark into a PI as well and says it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain the qualifications.
MARK: Hang on; back up... why is this happening?
ELLY: Well the other week you said you weren't entirely happy being a mechanic, remember? And Gary said that John's job involves detective type work. Also a lot of ex cops make this their career move and I just want you to be happy.
Mark's clearly not keen but puts on a smile for Elly's benefit and says it's a nice thought. He goes to get cleaned up and Elly smiles to herself, thinking she's done something wonderful for him.
Number 30
Toadie tells Xanthe and Piper that once VicRoads knows about Xanthe's seizures they're going to need a letter from her doctor. She'll have to prove that the medication and the treatment are working before they let her behind the wheel again.
TOADIE: Given that we don't know the frequency of your seizures that could take a while.
XANTHE: They're never going to let me drive again. Bye, freedom! Goodbye, independence. I'm just going to be a big burden to everyone.
PIPER: Hey! Is that what you thought of me when I broke my pelvis, that I was a burden?
XANTHE: No.
PIPER: Exactly, because supporting the people that you love is never a burden.
XANTHE: Well I think a broken pelvis is a little bit different, Piper.
Toadie chimes in that taking the train means more time to study, but Xanthe's not enthused by the idea. He then tries to skedaddle them out the door because he's supposed to meet Sonya and the kids at the park. Piper finally realises her jacket's missing and dithers over where it might be, but Toadie reminds her that "the point we're all missing is that it's not in here" and practically herds them out the door.
Number 28
Elly doesn't get why Bea's not excited about her 'Mark the PI' idea but Bea doesn't think her sister should have pushed him into a meeting he didn't ask for. Elly wonders if she's overstepping again like she did with Bea's dyslexia.
BEA: It's just the way you like to go about things, El. You like to come to the rescue without considering how other people like to handle things.
ELLY: But he was really happy for me to do it.
BEA: Was he? Or was he just doing it because he's into you?
Cassius drops by and Elly leaves him and Bea to chat. Bea's rightfully got her guard up as Cassius apologises for snapping at her earlier, blaming it on rattled nerves after witnessing Xanthe have her seizure. Bea tells him she accepts his apology, which Cassius is grateful for, but once he leaves it's clear she still thinks he's not quite right.
Winery
David and Aaron take a romantic stroll through the vineyards together.
DAVID: It's crazy to think this time last year we weren't able to legally be married.
AARON: I know. Now I can actually say the words, 'I have a husband'. (He yells out loud) I have a husband!
DAVID: Ne'er a truer word spoken.
AARON: It's actually surreal.
DAVID: That's what the last two years have felt like for me. Moving to Erinsborough, meeting you, coming out. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that would all lead to the best day of my life.
Aaron agrees it was a pretty awesome day, even with all the last minute surprises. He wishes he could have danced with David properly. So David puts some music on his phone and they do their wedding dance in the middle of the vineyard.
Terese's Office
Terese walks in with some boutique shopping bags but before she can go through her purchases, Piper and Xanthe barge in asking if she's seen Piper's coat. Xanthe notices the shopping and asks what she bought but Terese says they're just tops for work. She tells Piper she hasn't seen her jacket but reminds her it was too big anyway - she can always buy her a new one. Piper doesn't want a new one, though, because that one was special. The girls decide to head back to the Retreat to look for it. Once Terese is alone she looks through her shopping and pulls out a slinky, red lacy number sure to short circuit Leo's brain. She smirks to herself.
Winery
David and Aaron enjoy one last glass of wine together before they have to head home. Aaron asks what David thinks their new married life is going to look like. David knows he's going to be consumed by work but he promises to always make time for them.
DAVID: What about you?
AARON: Better communication - mainly from me! And not just like within our marriage, with everyone else as well. After what happened with your dad I never want to feel that amount of pressure again, so from me it is all honesty and exceptional communication from here on in.
David's on board with that but wants to know about the fun stuff as well. They bring up planning their dream home, travelling overseas and buying a pet.
Garage
Bea gets to work on a car while Elly asks Mark if she overstepped earlier setting up the meeting with John. Mark admits he only went along with it because Elly was excited about it, but it did result in him finding clarification about what he wants.
MARK: Obviously I'd love to be a cop again, but that can't happen. But I can't be a PI either. At least not a PI like John.
ELLY: Why? Is it not exciting enough?
MARK: It's not worthy enough. And I know that might make me sound snobby but they usually deal with things like insurance scams and suspected affairs and that's just not me. I need to feel like I'm making a difference. Uncovering real crimes and seeing that justice is served.
Elly thinks that's a honourable way to be and she promises not to spring stuff on him in the future - or take Chloe's advice again. Mark thanks Elly for making him think more about his future career options.
The Retreat
Xanthe and Piper look around for the coat before asking Gary if he picked it up, but Gary says he's barely had enough time to scratch his bum let alone move around clothing. They surmise that someone's either nicked it or Cassius picked it up to return to Piper.
Garage/Backpackers
Bea tells Mark she has something he can look into for her - she wants to know more info about Cassius. She believes he's nowhere near as nice as people think he is and has been acting really strange and suspicious.
MARK: Can you give me an example?
BEA: Earlier today he accidentally ran into me and he dropped his stuff. I tried to help him pick it up and he completely flipped out. Look, I know that's not much to go on but Ned is starting to think he's acting strange too.
MARK: Have either of you spoken to Piper?
BEA: Yeah about the file thing but she's bought his excuse.
MARK: File thing?
BEA: Cassius stole Tyler's case file from Toadie's office. Look, don't do this for me, do it for Piper. Something isn't adding up and I'm really worried about her.
MARK: All right, I'll help you look into it.
While they've been talking, Cassius has been busy burning the jacket to a crisp in a bonfire out the front of the Backpackers.
The Penthouse
David and Aaron return to find that everyone has cleared out to give them some space for David's last night at home. David's keen to head to bed and sleep but Aaron says he'll join David soon. Once David's gone, Aaron takes out a packet of painkillers from his suitcase and pops a few pills.
Backpackers
Piper finds Cassius standing near the bonfire and goes over to cuddle with him. She asks if he took her jacket from the Retreat but Cassius lies and says no. Piper's upset about it and explains its importance.
PIPER: You remember that crazy situation I was in where I was trapped on a boat and went overboard?
CASSIUS: Yeah, you ended up in the bush unconscious.
PIPER: Well someone found me and they carried me out and they called an ambulance, but I don't know who it was because they didn't stick around. But when I got to the hospital I was wearing that jacket. I know that it doesn't fit me and it's got mismatched buttons, but I really liked it. It belonged to the person that saved me and it made me feel safe.
CASSIUS: Hey, you don't need a jacket to feel like that. You're safe with me now.
Piper kisses him then turns back to the fire leaving Cassius to stare off into the distance and brood.