The Bush™
We hear Finn screaming, and all the women, as Bea approaches the edge of the cliff. As Susan, Xanthe and Elly join her, we hear a thud - and realise that Finn has fallen straight off the rock-face.

SUSAN: Can you see? Is he moving?

But at the bottom of the ravine, Finn is looking very still indeed...

No 26
Amy brings Gary a lemonade in the garden, and asks how his job hunt is going. Terribly, he admits - he hasn't had a single call-back yet. Sheila appears.

SHEILA: Calm your farm, Gary! You've only been looking for less than a week!

But Gary has bills to pay, and really wants to pull his weight, as well as paying Amy back for her loan. Plus, he adds, her role at Robinson Heights is finishing now the project is done, so she won't have as much money coming in either.

AMY: I've got the yard.
GARY: You know, sometimes I think your father's right - I really don't deserve you.
AMY: Don't even joke. Well, at least once Robinson Heights is done, he won't be able to interfere in our lives anymore.

Sheila suddenly wonders where Xanthe has got to. Gary admits he hasn't seen her all day...

The Bush™
That's because she's still staring over the ravine at Finn's lifeless body, with Susan, Elly and Bea.

BEA: He's dead, isn't he?
SUSAN: No, no, no - we don't know that!
BEA: Xanthe, we need to get down there - you know first aid.

But Xanthe replies very coldly indeed...

XANTHE: No - no, it's too steep.
BEA: We've got to find a way around it!
XANTHE: I'm not going, okay? I'm not risking my life for him.
SUSAN: Well, we've got to do something - we've got to do it quickly!
ELLY: Enough guys, stop! Xanthe's right - it's too dangerous (...) We should go to the car and we should drive until we get reception, and then we should call for help.
BEA: No! Somebody needs to stay with him! Nobody deserves to be left alone like that.
XANTHE: If anyone deserves it, it's him.
ELLY: Bea, we need to stick together.
SUSAN: Yes, I agree with Elly. We can't help Finn now, but we can go and find someone who can.

They back away from the cliff, as we cut to Finn close up and unconscious.

Lassiter's
Pierce turns up at the office for some flirtation with Chloe. We learn they've been to the Melbourne Cup together - and now Pierce wants to go one better, and take Chloe to dinner. At Lanzini's. (Yes, you heard correctly!) Chloe's reaction, however, is hardly befitting of one who has just been invited to Lanzini's...

CHLOE: You didn't schedule me for tonight.
PIERCE: Surely we don't have to bother with formalities anymore?
CHLOE: It was part of our agreement.
PIERCE: It was a rhetorical question.
CHLOE: Alright. But how about we see a movie instead?

Umm, Chloe - it's LANZINI'S!

PIERCE: It won't give us a chance to talk.
CHLOE: What more could we have to talk about? You must be sick of me yammering on all the time!
PIERCE: Not for a moment. Dinner will be fine.

Quite right, Pierce - don't let that sought-after reservation go to waste.

Terese comes in for a meeting with Pierce - they are planning to talk strategy regarding ousting Paul. Chloe listens in; Terese thinks their offer is good, but is concerned it's not enough.

TERESE: We need to start thinking like Paul if we want him to even consider giving up Lassiter's.

Pierce tells Terese he's learned something from his contacts that they can use to his advantage. Terese is all ears, and so is Chloe...

The Bush™
Elly, Xanthe, Susan and Bea are trekking through the trees. A helicopter whirrs overhead, which Xanthe declares 'must be for Finn' - which seems odd, as nobody has apparently reported him injured yet. Elly tells them they have to keep moving.

Harold's Café
Amy and Leo are chatting at a table, while Shane and Dipi hang out by the coffee machine, gossiping about them.

SHANE: Tell you what, babe - I wouldn't want to be a Robinson kid for quids right now!
DIPI: Yeah, I know, right? I can see now why Gary and Amy are perfect for each other, though.
SHANE: Mm. What about Terese and Leo?
DIPI: Oh, well, I wish them all the best too. Can't be easy trying to build a relationship with Paul Robinson looming over you.
SHANE: No.

Dipi brings Amy and Leo their coffees. Amy gets an update from Leo on how things are at the backpackers' - he says it's okay, although he's not as busy as he was at the hotel. At least Paul is now keeping his distance now. Amy moans about Gary's unemployment, and specifically, Paul getting him fired.

AMY: It's so unfair - and hypocritical. How many times has he done dodgy stuff for his family?
LEO: Yes, but remember what we agreed on. We're not gonna let Dad get a rise out of us.

Amy agrees, adding that she has no regrets about being with Gary. At this point, Paul turns up, to talk to Amy about 'official Robinson Heights business'. He has something she'll be excited to hear, but can't spill the details until tomorrow once he has finalised them. Amy grudgingly agrees to meet him tomorrow morning at The Waterhole.

The Bush™
The gang have made it back to where Susan's car and the Fitzgerald Motors van are parked. Xanthe is fiddling with the car radio, while Elly is using her mobile.

SUSAN (to Elly): What are you waiting for? You've got reception - call triple zero!
ELLY: ... What if we drove off? We just leave him.
SUSAN: What?! No! Elly, no! I couldn't live with myself if we did that! I don't think you could, either.
ELLY: ...
SUSAN: Please, Elly - just - just make the call! Whatever happens from here, we'll deal with it.

But before Elly can obey, Xanthe gets a signal on the car radio, and a news report can be heard.

RADIO: An unidentified man in his thirties has been discovered (...) by rangers at the bottom of a cliff in the National Park, sustaining heavy injuries. Rescue workers have airlifted him to Erinsborough Hospital, where doctors have described his condition as critical.
SUSAN: He's alive.
BEA: Do we still need to call the police?
XANTHE: Yeah, no. There's no need to now. I mean, they've already found him.
SUSAN: Yeah, but they still need to know how he got there in the first place!

Elly says she'll drive the van back while the others take the car, and they can all go to the hospital together.

ELLY: We're not making any decisions until we see what state Finn's in.

They all get in the vehicles, and prepare to drive off.

Erinsborough Hospital
Elly, Susan, Xanthe and Bea arrive at the hospital; Elly tells the others to wait in the car, while she goes in to check on Finn's condition.

SUSAN: We shouldn't even be here. We should be at the police station, telling them what happened.
BEA: Yeah, I agree.
ELLY: But we can make that decision later. We have time. Let's just find out more information first.
XANTHE (coldly): I agree with Elly.

Susan reluctantly agrees, and Elly goes into the hospital - where who should be treating Finn, but Karl! Thought he was still on holiday? No, siree - he got a call as he landed at the airport telling him Finn had been brought in, so happily he's on hand to deliver all necessary medical exposition!

Finn is being wheeled into ICU as Elly arrives, and Karl is surprised to see her, wondering what she's doing here - she weakly claims she was looking for David, and feigns ignorance of Finn's fall.

ELLY: What happened to Finn?
KARL: He was found unconscious at the bottom of a cliff, near his ex-wife's cabin.
ELLY: I didn't think he was there anymore!
KARL: Apparently, he was. I've spoken to the police; they've searched the scene. It seems he just lost his footing and fell.
ELLY: So the police think it was an accident?
KARL: According to them, it's a very treacherous path.
ELLY: Right...
KARL: He's got internal bleeding and a head injury. And they also said maybe the scar tissue from his aneurism was dislodged in the fall.
ELLY: Do you think he'll make it?
KARL: Oh, it's very hard to know. The surgery went well, but we need to wait for the swelling to go down. We'll know more tomorrow morning. Are you alright?
ELLY: Yeah. Yeah. I'm - it's a lot to take in.
KARL: Of course it is, yeah. Goodness knows how Susan and Bea are going to take this! Are they at home?
ELLY: Umm... yeah.

Karl offers to go with Elly to see them, and she panics, knowing they're outside in the car. So she puts him off, telling him to stay here and 'do what he needs to do'. Karl acquiesces, and follows Finn into ICU. We see Finn unconscious and hooked up to breathing apparatus. A worried Elly leaves.

Outside in the car, Elly is reporting back to the others.

BEA: They think he fell accidentally?
ELLY: And it doesn't look like Finn's waking up any time soon to tell anyone otherwise.
XANTHE: So, are you saying that we might not need to do anything?
ELLY: Maybe not.
SUSAN: No! No, we have to go to the police!
ELLY: They will never believe our story.
SUSAN: Why not?!
ELLY: Cos of everything that's unfolded. It looks like we planned it.
SUSAN: But if we tell them how dangerous the situation was -
ELLY: Yeah, but they'll wonder why we didn't call them earlier! Especially when we suspected that Bea was with him. Each one of us has a reason to harm Finn. So no matter what we say, we're accountable. Let's just go home. Karl already thinks you and Bea are at home anyway.
SUSAN: You lied?
ELLY: No. He assumed, and I went with it.

Elly turns to Xanthe.

ELLY: Are you gonna be okay? I know that your dad and Sheila are there, but this might be hard.
XANTHE (coldly): I'm going to be fine.
ELLY: Alright. Let's get out of here, before Karl or anyone else sees us.

Susan nods, looking like she's still in shock. Bea remains silent in the back.

No 26
Gary, Sheila and Amy are relieved when Xanthe finally turns up. Xanthe goes along with their assumption that she's been in the library all day. Gary says they'd have appreciated a call from her to say she was going to be so late, as they were all worried.

XANTHE: Sorry... Has something happened?
GARY: The police called. They've found Finn.

Xanthe does a fake gasp.

XANTHE: They caught him?
GARY: There's more to it. You should take a seat, sweetheart.

Xanthe sits down, doing a good impression of someone entirely in the dark about Finn's accident.

No 28
Susan's hands are wobbling as she pours the tea - she's clearly very shaken, and Karl takes over. Seeing how upset she is, Karl hugs her. Bea is sitting on the sofa, very quietly.

No 26
Xanthe is studying, and still appears to be quite unmoved by the situation. Sheila takes her hand, but Xanthe offers only a perfunctory smile before continuing to work.

No 28
Mark turns up, and hugs Elly, asking if everyone's okay. Elly confirms they are - but Bea and Susan look anything but.

Erinsborough Hospital
The next day, Susan and Elly are at the hospital, looking through a window into Finn's room, where he is still unconscious and hooked up to a ventilator. Susan pulls Elly away, saying Karl will update them when he can. For some reason, Bea, Xanthe, Sheila and Gary are now all sitting in the waiting area (aren't they supposed to hate this guy?)

Karl comes out to brief everyone, entirely against medical protocol since none of them are relatives.

KARL: Finn's in a coma. His EEG shows minimal brain activity.
SUSAN: What does that mean?
KARL: Well, he's not braindead, but he's unlikely to regain consciousness soon.
ELLY: But he might?
KARL: Well, it's impossible to say. It could be hours; it could be months.
XANTHE (coldly): It could be never?
GARY: I can't believe it's ended like this. Half the country's looking for the bloke, and he's brought down by some freak accident.
SHEILA: Yeah - if it *was* an accident. I mean, the police aren't sure of anything yet, are they?

Mark, who has been talking to a police extra in the background, butts in to exposit.

MARK: No, but they have caught a break. Apparently, there was a camera set up to monitor wildlife near where Finn was found. They're checking the footage now.
GARY: Yeah, so what do they think they'll find?
MARK: Maybe what happened to Finn before he fell.

The women all look shifty.

The Waterhole
Chloe is filling Leo and Terese in on the Finn situation, having heard it from Mark.

CHLOE: Elly and Bea are pretty shaken up, but Xanthe's dealing surprisingly well.

Pierce comes in, and Chloe immediately finds an excuse to leave. Leo goes too, leaving Pierce to talk to Terese. They glance over to where Amy and Paul are sitting, and Pierce murmurs something about keeping your enemies close.

At the other table, Paul is telling Amy about his new housing development, Robinson Pines (yawn), which will follow in the successful footsteps of Robinson Heights. It's a no-brainer, says Paul, given that the first development was on schedule and that all properties were sold - and he wants Amy to manage the new development too, as she did an outstanding job on the last one.

Amy won't be browbeaten into an immediate decision - she says she needs to look over the paperwork. Meanwhile, Pierce and Terese are plotting.

TERESE: Have you organised that meeting?
PIERCE: I'm on my way to meet them for a coffee.
TERESE: Good.

Amy is looking at the paperwork - she would get an extra year's contract, salary increase and commissions. Paul says there is another reason he wants her on board.

PAUL: I recently came across some plans that belonged to your grandfather, my dad. They're for a development that he did in the eighties - and I'd kind of really like to incorporate some of his ideas into this project.
AMY: ...
PAUL: I think he'd be very proud of me for doing this.
AMY: ...
PAUL: And having you involved would mean the world to me - and him.
AMY: ... I need to think about it.
PAUL: Think all you want. Just don't take too long, okay?

Erinsborough Greenway (or, The Botanical Gardens™)
Bea is crying on a bench, when Ned turns up.

NED: I heard about Finn.
BEA: I don't want to talk.

So Ned just sits with her instead, and puts his arm around her. Bea puts her head on his shoulder.

The Waterhole
Leo, Terese and Amy are discussing Paul's job offer to Amy. Terese and Leo seem to have assumed that Amy turned him down, but she admits she's thinking about the offer. Leo reminds her that Paul is just using this as a way of keeping her in his pocket so he can mess with her relationship with Gary. Amy is aware that this is a danger, but points out that it's too good a job to pass up automatically.

Gary and Xanthe come in. Xanthe nonchalantly drifts to the bar to order food, while Gary joins the others. He explains about Finn's coma and that he might never wake up. Leo's fresh out of sympathy.

GARY: It feels kind of wrong, though, doesn't it? I mean, it's like he's escaped proper justice.
AMY: I dunno. A serious injury like that - it's sort of justice.

Gary asks how Amy's coffee with Paul went. She says it was fine and that they discussed work things, but neglects to tell Gary about the new job offer. Xanthe comes over with the food, so she and Gary leave. Afterwards, Leo chastises Amy for not telling Gary about the job.

LEO: Amy, you're playing with fire (...) By not telling Gary, you're letting Dad get in between you guys already.

Paul's Penthouse
Amy turns up to see Paul. She wants to accept the job, but on her own terms. This means that she won't be working long hours just so Paul can keep her away from Gary. She also wants an exit clause with no constraints, so that she can leave at any time. To her surprise, Paul agrees to all this, and says he'll get a new contract drawn up which she can amend in any way she likes.

AMY: I'm gonna get my own lawyers to look over it.

(So, Toadie, then.) But Paul is unfazed by this additional level of scrutiny.

AMY: What am I missing here? What's your angle?
PAUL: No angle. Amy, even though I passionately hope that you will come to your senses about Gary Canning, I was never gonna use your hours to keep you two apart.
AMY: Really?
PAUL: Yeah, really. I'm just glad that you are choosing to live up to your potential by pursuing a career in which you will thrive.
AMY: Thanks...

But Amy still looks suspicious. And judging by Paul's enigmatic smile, she's probably right to be...

No 28
Susan is leaning on the kitchen counter, still looking traumatised. Elly comes in, asking if Susan has seen Bea. Susan says she's gone out for a walk.

ELLY: What if she's gone to the police? What if she's told them everything?
SUSAN: Maybe the police already know. We could've been caught on that wildlife camera.
ELLY: I know, that's what I'm worried about.

Bea comes in, followed by Ned, but goes straight to her room. Ned says he found her crying and walked her home. Elly is keen to know if Bea said anything to him. He confirms not, but says he figured it has to do with Finn. Susan thanks him for taking care of her, and Ned leaves.

SUSAN: Okay, we need to find out what's on that footage.

Elly nods in agreement.

Lassiter's
Chloe enters reception but, seeing Pierce, walks quickly in the opposite direction. Pierce notices her, however, and comes over to invite her for brunch. Chloe starts to make excuses, but Terese then turns up and intervenes.

TERESE: Pierce - listen. I don't want Amy being collateral damage from this deal. We need to move fast, before she signs anything.
PIERCE: I'm ready whenever you are. All the pieces are in place to make Paul a deal he can't possibly refuse.

Ramsay Street
Elly has convened Bea, Xanthe and Susan in the middle of Ramsay Street. She has heard from Mark that the footage from the wildlife camera only shows Finn on his own in the bush - which means none of them have been caught on it.

ELLY: So now it's up to us what we decide to do.
BEA: We should confess! It's better than waiting for Finn to wake up and tell the truth.

Susan is nodding in agreement.

ELLY: Yeah, but if we tell our side of the story, who knows what will happen next? Do you want to be treated like a criminal when Finn might not even wake up?
BEA: So, when you told us we need to make a decision, what you meant is, you've already decided.
ELLY: No-one knows we were at the cabin. So as long as Finn stays unconscious, no-one needs to know.
SUSAN: No, Elly -
ELLY: No, the police think this whole thing was an accident. Finn can't hurt us anymore. So I think that we simply make peace with what's happened.
XANTHE (coldly): You know what? I'm fine with that. I'm in the middle of my VCE exams right now - I don't need to be thinking about this.
ELLY: I think we can all say that about Finn at some point, right?
SUSAN: I don't think any of us should suffer because of what happened.
ELLY: So we stick together. We can protect each other and we'll never, ever tell anyone - not Mark, not Gary - not Karl - about what happened on the cliff. If we stick together, we will be okay. We can forget yesterday ever happened.

Susan sounds to be querying this assertion as the camera pans up and away from Ramsay Street...

Coming up on Neighbours
- Alice tells Hugo he'll be with Mummy again soon
- Alice says she's heard codeine can be very, very addictive...
- ... so naturally it's the ingredient of choice for something she's cooking up in the kitchen!
- Gary says Finn can't die like this as it's just too easy; we see a tearful Bea and unconscious Finn
- Elly reminds her three co- conspirators that they are all in this together