Phoebe is shocked when Russell leans in and kisses her…

Phoebe pulls away and Russell starts ranting about how she was coming on to him, and kept saying that Stephen didn’t deserve her and how unhappy she was. She points out that it was him saying those things, and he realises how badly he’s judged the situation and tries to apologise. He says that they should just forget it, and Phoebe looks shocked as he says that Stephen doesn’t need to know about it.

..

At number 24, Lou is looking through the form guide, trying to find the horse that Lauren claimed to be taking to a country meet that weekend. He asks Beth, Cameron and Brad if they can remember the details, but none of them can. Brad is being deliberately evasive, while Cameron says that he lost interest in Lauren when she dumped him. Beth starts questioning Brad, and he changes the subject and suggests that they go for a walk to be alone. Cameron looks upset at the lovey dovey couple as they go, and Lou advises him to just forget about Lauren, as she rarely changes her mind once it’s made up. Lou decides to go down to the stables and see if they know where Lauren’s gone.

At number 32, an exhausted Phil returns from his run and Debbie finds him stumbling around the kitchen and tells him he looks terrible. He insists that he feels wonderful after the run, though Debbie isn’t convinced. She admits that she’s missing Rick, and Phil laughs, reminding her he’s only been gone for 12 hours. He apologises as he sees how upset she is, and she says that she’s worried that the Alessis might move to Sydney and she’ll never see Rick again. Phil tells her that Benito might not even get the job, and even if he does, she and Rick can still write to each other and visit in the holidays. Debbie points out that they don’t want to be penpals, and Phil tries to hug her, though Debbie fails to be impressed as he’s all sweaty.

..

In Sydney, Cathy can’t believe Rick is moping about Debbie when they’re out on the glorious harbour. Rick says that it’s a great city to visit, but he wouldn’t want to live there. They’re joined by Benito, who’s extremely confident about his interview and says that it looks like the Alessis are Sydney-bound.

At the coffee shop, Phoebe arrives and Stephen apologises for jumping to the wrong conclusions about Russell. Phoebe insists that it’s fine, and Stephen says that she’s far too understanding. She says that he was just concerned for her and Hope, and that Russell doesn’t matter.

..

At number 24, a policeman arrives looking for Lauren, explaining that she witnessed an accident in Elliot Park the day before, and they need to take a statement. Cameron says that she’s out of town for a few days. The policeman then asks if Cameron knows where to find Lauren’s boyfriend. Cameron tells him that he was her boyfriend until a few days ago, and the policeman is confused, explaining that the description was of a surfy guy with long, blonde hair. Cameron suddenly realises why he was dumped so suddenly.

Lou arrives at the stables, where he finds Lauren brushing down a horse. He says that, when he couldn’t find out which meet she’d gone to, he came to find out, and Lauren apologises, saying that there was no country meet today. She says that she just needed some time alone, and Lou assumes it’s because of Cameron, so Lauren says that she knew how much Lou liked her being with him, but it’s just too difficult to see him everyday right now. Lou says that it’s understandable, but she can’t run away, and she won’t be able to avoid Cameron forever. Lou takes her home to sort things out.

..

At number 24, Lauren is apologising to Cameron for lying, and he says it’s fine, she just did what she had to do. He then questions her about the accident she witnessed; she wonders how he knows about it, and he explains about the visit from the cop. She says that it was nothing, but Cameron continues to pester her about the other guy who was with her. She tries to act like it was nothing, but Cameron says that he’s starting to see things more clearly now – that day when Brad just happened to be at the beach with her, and her constant disappearing acts to avoid being in the same room as Brad and Beth. He pushes her to find out how far things have gone with Brad, and she blurts out that they had sex.

In Sydney, Rick races into the hotel room to use the phone, while at 32 Ramsay Street, Debbie happily answers. She tries questioning him to find out whether his parents are seriously planning to move there, but he doesn’t give much away. She tells him Ramsay Street is like a graveyard, and she wishes he were there, and is happy when he says that he wishes he was there too.

..

At number 24, Lauren tries to leave the house, but Cameron asks her to stay and talk. He says that, a few weeks ago, she admitted to him that she was interested in someone else. He asks if that was Brad. Lauren asks him not to do this, but he says that he deserves the truth. She gets upset and says that none of it was planned – it just happened. Cameron says that these things don’t just ‘happen’ and he asks how Beth is going to take this. Lauren insists that it’s over with Brad, and begs Cameron not to say anything to Beth.

At the coffee shop, Beth and Phoebe are talking about the mysterious Russell, and Beth suggests checking in his room for a coffin, as he never seems to leave the house in daylight. She then starts asking where he’s from, and whether he has a girlfriend, and Phoebe then admits that he kissed her. Beth is stunned, but agrees that it’s probably for the best that Stephen doesn’t know.

..

At the pub, Lauren arrives and breaks the news to Brad that Cameron knows about them. She tells him about the cop, and how Cameron pestered her until she blurted out the truth. She says that Cameron’s pretty upset, and Brad is convinced that he’s going to tell Beth. He thinks that he should tell her first, but Lauren isn’t so sure, as Cameron might not say anything.

Back in Sydney, Cathy, Benito and Rick sit down for lunch. Not far away, Michael Martin is busy selling knock off watches to passers by, but as he continues his patter, he spots the Alessis and packs up and runs off.

..

At number 24, Beth is doing the ironing when Brad comes in. He checks that she hasn’t seen Cameron, and sits and fiddles with a coat hanger at the table. Beth is confused about how worried he seems, and asks what he has to be guilty about. They’re interrupted by Cameron, who starts ranting about Lauren dumping him and how loyalty means nothing to some people, and it’d serve them right if someone let their secret out of the bag. Beth looks confused as Cameron leaves, and asks Brad what that was all about.

At number 30, Russell meets Phoebe at the door and again apologises. He asks if Stephen wants him out, but Phoebe says that she hasn’t told him, as there’s no point. He swears that nothing like that will ever happen again. Phoebe then apologises if she led him on, but says that she loves Stephen and that will never change. Russell looks upset and walks off.

..

At number 28, Brad answers the door and Cameron walks in, in silence. Brad asks if Cameron’s going to hit him, but Cameron says that he ought to, but he won’t. Brad tries to claim that the thing with Lauren just got out of control, but Cameron reminds him that it’s going to destroy Beth if she finds out. Brad begs Cameron not to say anything, and says that she doesn’t deserve it, but Cameron says that she doesn’t deserve to be with a scumbag like Brad either.

..

After finishing lunch, Benito and Cathy head back to the hotel for a nap, while Rick goes for a walk. As he’s walking along the esplanade, he spots Michael, still selling his watches. Michael is stunned as Rick calls out his name…

Regular Cast Appearing: Phoebe Gottlieb, Beth Brennan, Lou Carpenter, Brad Willis, Cameron Hudson, Stephen Gottlieb, Philip Martin, Debbie Martin, Cathy Alessi, Rick Alessi, Benito Alessi, Lauren Carpenter, Michael Martin

Guest Cast: Stephen Whittaker as Russell Butler, Peter Alchin as Police Constable

Trivia Notes
• Final appearance of Ben Mitchell as Cameron Hudson (in the following episode, Cameron has left a note for Lou explaining that he’s left town to follow up a job offer), though he would later return to the cast in 2008 in the guest role of Matt Freedman
• Troy Beckwith returns to begin a second stint as Michael Martin

Summary by Steve