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Magic Moments
> 2024
> Paul & Terese
Episode 9164
Written
by Jason Herbison, Directed
by Kate Kendall, Produced
by Andrew Thompson
10: 16/12/24, Amazon: 16/12/24
Leo says that, for Krista's sake, he has to go and find Seb... Paul tells Seb that Leo's gone to Winterton to look for him, Seb says that it's too
dangerous... Terese suggests that she and Paul should go and find Leo... Terese assures Paul that everything will be OK...
Paul and Terese are in the car, driving through the mountains on the way to Winterton. Paul is driving and becoming frustrated as Leo isn't answering
any of his calls. Terese suggests that it might just be due to the poor reception out here, and tells a distracted Paul to watch out for potholes in the
road. He still isn't sure how worried they should be for Leo, and Terese tells him to slow down and tries to distract him with a story about Moira at the
retirement home, who was making small talk with Terese in the library, before Terese realised that she was checking to see if there was any alcohol in her
coffee. Paul barely reacts to this, so Terese says that they've done all they can to help Leo at this point. Paul has to brake suddenly when a kangaroo jumps
across the road and into the surrounding bushland but before he can start the car again, Terese says that she needs some fresh air.
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Terese gets out of the car, as does Paul, who apologises if he scared her. She decides that she's going to drive, as he's too distracted - Paul points out
that there are kangaroos everywhere around here, but Terese is already getting into the driver's seat.
As they drive off, Paul becomes frustrated that Terese is going so slowly, but she says that it's a safe speed for a road like this. She smiles as she
remembers when they hired a car on the Gold Coast and drove to Mount Tamborine after their wedding. She says that he also told her that she was driving too
slowly back then, so he took over and went so quickly that they missed their turning. Paul remembers it differently, saying that it was Terese's terrible map
reading that got them lost, and Terese says that she definitely remembers ending up in a roadside cafe, having an argument quite similar to the one they're
having right now. They both smile and Paul thanks her for calming him down.
 ..
As they continue to drive, Paul asks Terese what she was saying earlier about Moira. Terese says that she just enjoys having something to hold over her, but
says that the other residents have been a lot more supportive, thanks to Paul and Toadie. He says that he and Toadie have that in common - they both care
about Terese a great deal. Terese looks uncomfortable at this and quickly changes the subject, saying that they can't be far from Winterton now.
They arrive at the address that John Wong gave to Leo, but there's no sign of him or his car. They both get out of the car, and Paul walks towards the
house, telling Terese to stay by the car.
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As he approaches the door to the building, named Elm Tree Cottage, he looks in the window, then knocks on the door. As he knocks for a second time, he
realises that the door is open and he goes inside, finding what looks like evidence of someone squatting inside. Paul jumps as he hears a noise behind him,
but it's Terese, who says that she couldn't let him go inside on his own. She wonders if Leo found that the house was abandoned and is now on his way home,
but Paul can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. As Terese wanders off outside, Paul looks in another room, getting a fright as a broom falls over
as he opens the door. He then hears Terese shouting his name from outside and goes running.
Paul finds Terese by some barbed wire with a piece of fabric on it, asking him what Leo was wearing when he left earlier. Paul recognises it as being from
Leo's jacket and starts shouting his son's name, before racing off to look for him.
 ..
As Paul wanders around, shouting Leo's name, Terese catches up with him, suggesting that they should go back and call the police. Paul ignores her, calling
out Leo's name again and waiting for a response, looking over a cliff edge, reminded of what happened to David. No reply comes, so he finds a small path down
to the bottom of the ravine, with Terese shouting at him to be careful.
Using the footpath, Terese makes her way down and joins Paul, who is convinced that something has happened to Leo. Terese tries to make him see sense, but
he blurts out that he can't lose another child. Terese then hugs him as he breaks down in tears.
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As they walk back up to the cottage, Paul is wishing that he'd stopped Leo from going. As they manage to get signal on their phones, Paul receives a voicemail
from Leo, telling him that it's a long story but he's on his way home and he didn't manage to find Seb. Paul is overcome with relief, and Terese then starts
receiving messages from him too, realising that they were just delayed due to their remote location. She goes to hug Paul, but he pulls away and says that
they should get going. Terese looks upset as he walks away from her.
Later, in the car, Terese is driving and she looks over at Paul, who is deep in thought. She says that, ever since she lost Josh, she has these moments of
panic that come out of nowhere, for no reason. She tells Paul how she sometimes wakes up in the night, in a sweat, and has to contact Piper and Imogen to make
sure they're OK. She tells him that she does understand how he feels, but they are both quickly distracted as they come across a road closure. Terese gets
out to ask the workmen what's going on, whilst Paul ponders what she just told him. When she returns, she explains that there's been a landslide and they'll
have to stay in Tucker's Ridge overnight. Paul is irritated by the whole thing, but Terese calmly says that she's been told to download an app to keep track
of the progress with the roadworks. Paul then asks her where they're going to stay...
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Paul and Terese walk up to the accommodation they've managed to book for the night, as she tells him that it's looking like the road will reopen at around
9am the next day. She looks around, saying that there are worse places that they could have been stranded, and Paul then turns to her and apologises. He says
that being there in the bush and seeing the cliff edge made him think of David and, even though he wasn't there when it happened, he pictures it in his mind
all the time. Terese says that she's the same with Josh - except that she was there - but they both agree that the pain never goes away. As she finds the
keys hidden in a plant pot, Terese tells him that she often wondered if she would always feel that pain, but then she realised that it's not meant to leave
you, and that loss is just another form of love, so if you never felt loss, you'd never have felt love. And how sad would that be. Paul looks at her, but
Terese quickly reminds him that Leo is safe, and Paul says that he's glad that his son forgave him and is back in his life. He tells Terese that he's
grateful that she forgave him too, and they have another moment, before she says that they should go inside.
As they walk in, they realise that it was intended as a romantic getaway, with hearts and 'Love' signs all over the place and rose petals on the bed. Terese
admits that she didn't read the listing, she just booked it as it was the only place available. They find a hamper of food on the bed, along with a box,
which Terese opens, finding soap and lotion and other things which she and Paul find greatly amusing. Paul offers to sleep on the sofa, as he was the one
who dragged her into this mess with Leo, and she thanks him, but reminds him that it was her idea to travel to Winterton. Paul then has a look around,
picking up a small crystal heart on the table, before looking over awkwardly at Terese.
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Later, Paul and Terese are in their bathrobes, sharing the food they found in the hamper and discussing their Christmas plans. Terese says that she's
going to Jane's place, and Paul tells her that he'll be with Leo, Abi and Krista, but he'll also be catching up with Aaron and Isla, so they realise that
they might see each other on the day. Paul says that he hopes things will be better than last Christmas, saying that he'd believed that things couldn't get
much worse after that, but then David died. He admits that David's death isn't the only thing he wishes he could change. Terese realises that he's talking
about Chelsea, wondering why he never really mentions her, but Paul says that he hasn't forgotten all of the pain she caused. Terese then asks Paul if he
ever really loved Chelsea, and he admits that, after Terese and Toadie got back together, he was just looking for anything that could make him feel better.
They share a long look with each other, before Terese says that it's late and they should both get some sleep. They put up the room divider and bid each
other a good night, both stopping and wondering if they should act on their feelings.
That night, Terese is unable to sleep, so she turns on the light, looking at the 'Love' signs plastered all over the room, then glancing over to where
Paul is sleeping.
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Paul, meanwhile, is outside, wrapped in a blanket, with the crystal heart in his hand. Terese joins him by the fire and he asks her what's happening
between them. She reminds him that they've been in this situation before - they hurt each other, time passes, they miss each other and they mellow. Paul
points out that they never stop loving each other, and Terese agrees that it's always there on some level, even if she doesn't want it to be. Paul then
remembers when they agreed to accept each other for all of their faults and Terese remembers the words 'You're it for me' as Paul says that she had to
convince him back then that they could make a go of it. He wonders if everything that's happened since then has been a test, but she asks him what they
were being tested on - suggesting that it was how much pain they could inflict on each other before the same cycle repeats again. She says that it's too
dysfunctional for them, and for everyone around them, and Paul agrees that it's no way to live. Terese tells him that she's glad that they're talking
about it and, whatever's happening between them, they don't have to act on it. She believes that they can just learn from the past, but Paul thinks that
they can stop themselves from hurting each other again. Terese is lost for words, before she stands up and goes inside, saying that they both need to get
some sleep. Paul watches her go, then looks down at the crystal heart in his hand.
Inside, Terese gets back into bed and turns out the light.
 ..
Later, both Paul and Terese are struggling to sleep, thinking about their earlier conversation.
The next morning, Paul wakes up and the first thing he sees is the crystal heart on the table. He calls out to Terese, but gets no reply.
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Paul heads out, taken aback by the view across the mountains that greets him.
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Paul finds Terese, standing by a pond, and he briefly joins her before she says that they should get going. He stops her and asks if she meant what she said
the previous day about loss, and how it was better to feel the heartache, because otherwise it would mean that you'd never loved at all. He tells her that he
wants to feel that again, and that he believes that Terese does too. She reminds him that they agreed to stop hurting each other, but Paul says that he wants
to hurt. He says that the hurt was only a small part of who they were, but the rest of the time they were amazing. Terese can't believe what she's hearing but
Paul continues, saying that fate keeps throwing them together. He shows her the crystal heart and says that it represents them - they could throw it on the
ground or at each other, and it might chip or crack, but it would never break. Terese grabs it from him and goes to throw it in the water, but she stops and
Paul tells her that she can't throw them away and neither can he. He says that, just as she once had to convince him, now he must do the same, and he tells
her that he wants her to give them another chance. She says no and runs off, but then stops, looking at the heart in her hands, and she runs back and kisses
him. As they kiss, we flashback to the first time they met, as well as some of their other kisses from across the years.
Featured Regular Characters: Paul Robinson, Terese Willis
Guest Cast:
None
Trivia Notes
• This episode has no opening titles;
Stefan Dennis and Rebekah Elmaloglou are credited in the opening scenes of the episode, with no regular cast credits at the end
• Other than a short voiceover from Leo, Paul and Terese are the only characters to appear in this episode
• Past characters David Tanaka, Imogen Willis, Piper Willis and Josh Willis are mentioned
Summary
by Steve
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