Episode Title: Stepping Up To The Fate
Cast: Alan Fletcher as Karl Kennedy, Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kinski, Ryan Moloney as Jarrod 'Toadfish' Rebecchi, Eliza Taylor-Cotter as Janae Timmins, Carla Bonner as Stephanie Hoyland, Daniel O'Connor as Ned Parker, Natalie Saleeba as Rosetta 'Rosie' Cammeniti, Ben Lawson as Frazer Yeats, Nicky Whelan as Heidi 'Pepper' Steiger
Guest Cast: Benjamin Hart as Adam Rhodes, Fletcher O’Leary as Mickey Gannon, Sarah Oldmeadow as Nurse Marie Chaplin, Anthony Namor as Don O’Brien
Recap
• Frazer offers for Mickey to stay with him & Oliver for a swim while Ned moves back into No.22. Ned promises Mickey they’ll have a special dinner together tonight
• Janae inadvertently lets Mickey know that his mother isn’t coming back when talking to Ned about it
• Frazer listens as his mother explains how she found him looking at his brother lying dead in the swimming pool when he was 3 years old
• Mickey is electrocuted when he tries to get a dead bird out of the No 30 pool. The electric is turned off at the mains but Frazer can see Mickey is unconscious, face down
No 30 - Swimming pool: Mickey is lying unconscious in the pool and Frazer calls out to him. In his head he hears his mothers voice as he recalls how she found his brother Paul dead in their swimming pool. Frazer calls out to Rosie for help, anybody to help.
No 30 - Lounge: Rosie is trying to fix the vacuum cleaner when she hears Pepper out the front of the house calling out to her. Rosie goes to see what Pepper wants, fearing a wedding prank.
No 30 - Swimming pool: Frazer calls out to Mickey but the boy is still unconscious, face down.
No 30 - Driveway: Pepper shows off to Rosie the wedding car she is going to have.
..
No 30 - Swimming pool: Unable to gather any help, Frazer wheels his chair into the pool and feels the water rushing over him. He grabs Mickey as he reaches the surface and grabs the boy trying to stay afloat and get to the shallow end of the pool. Somehow he manages to get them both to the side and he turns Mickey over to start to give him CPR. Rosie arrives with news about Pepper’s surprise but Frazer calls out to her to get an ambulance!
Carpenters Mechanics: Janae is skipping as part of her training but Ned still has doubts she’ll be ready for her boxing match in time. Janae asks after Mickey and Ned explains he’s at No.30. Janae is pleased when Ned also tells her he’s going to let Mickey know he’s his dad that evening but wants advice as to how from her. Janae tells him to just do it and comments that Ned suddenly comes across as grown up. Ned is pleased with this comment and asks her if she wants to join him in picking Mickey up from No.30. Janae agrees and jogs after him & Jake.
Ramsay Street: As Ned & Janae enter the street they see an ambulance and soon realise it is Mickey who has been hurt. Rosie explains how there was an accident in the pool and Frazer got him breathing again. Ned lashes out that they were supposed to be looking after him and Rosie again points out it was an accident. Ned gets into the back of the ambulance wanting to travel with his son.
Scarlet Bar: Steph and Toadie arrive to find builders & decorators still hard at work. Steph fears they will never open in time and starts to doubt she should have gone with her previous idea to be a sports bar. Toadie reassures her all will be fine. They interrupt Adam working and tells Steph he has had no luck in beating her in the bike arcade game. Toadie jokes that the mysterious Thorn will be back one day to beat her and if only he could sell it they’d get ‘bums on seats’. The phrase has Steph thinking she should not only open the bar tonight but announce her candidacy for council election. Adam thinks it is a great idea but Toadie thinks it is the wrong image to promote and wants to re-brand her – he has organised a photo opportunity with the local mothers group. Steph is not happy and looks to support from Adam but Toadie can’t take her seriously. Steph reminds him she’ll play the election her way and Toadie remarks that he finds her fiery nature attractive.
No 30 - Lounge: Frazer sits alone in the room as Pepper & Rosie come back into the house. Pepper questions how he could have got Mickey out of the pool and Rosie puts it down to super human strength in a tragic situation. After Pepper leaves, Rosie asks if she and get Frazer anything but he says he is fine. Rosie remarks she’ll call the hospital to check on Mickey in a while. Frazer fears Mickey won’t make it but Rosie reassures him the boy will be fine. Rosie asks how he managed to get to him but Frazer admits al he could think about was the thought of his mother seeing his brother dead in the pool all those years ago. Frazer fears it is history repeating itself.
Scarlet Bar: Pepper arrives wanting to tell Adam of the horror of finding Mickey drowning. Toadie susses out that she means Mickey and is appalled to learn what has happened. Toadie rushes off to the hospital. Adam offers sweet tea to Pepper to get over the shock but she just wants ‘cuddles’ and remarks that Allan’s suspicions about him being some sort of criminal are clearly wrong for someone so caring. Steph checks they are both coming to the start of the opening and Adam confirms – he wants to be there to see how people react to all his hard work. But when Pepper mentions she is bringing alone Allan to smooth things over with him, Adam suddenly remembers he has an appointment with a physio for a problem in his shoulder. Pepper is not convinced by the claim of a sudden injury but Adam makes an early exit. Pepper wants to know if Steph thinks Adam is an okay kind of guy but Steph throws it back at her asking her what her instincts tell her. Pepper admits Adam is the perfect man but then suddenly he seems to have dark secrets that make her wonder if Allan is right.
Erinsborough Hospital - Emergency room: Ned is anxious as to him it seems the medical staff are taking too long over checking Mickey out. Janae tries to calm him but he only rests when the nurse tells them Mickey needs to be under observation tonight but will be fine. Ned hits out at Kirsten for not leaving a contact number for him to call but Janae makes it clear that no one is to blame for this, least of all Kirsten. Toadie arrives to check on Mickey and learns he’ll be okay. Ned hears Mickey calling out for his mother and rushes into the room. Mickey asks after Kirsten and wants to go home and Ned tells him he’ll be home soon.
..
No 30 - Hallway/lounge: Frazer & Rosie are relieved to hear from Janae that Mickey will be okay as the electrician works away. Rosie calls Frazer her hero but the electrician, who tells them he has fitted a safety switch that was missing, due to the age of the house, interrupts their moment. They thank him and after he leaves Rosie asks Frazer again how he managed to swim. Suddenly Frazer has a flashback and realises he used his legs to push him along the pool. After Rosie leaves the room, Frazer tries to move his foot again and sees some movement in his big toe.
Erinsborough Hospital - Waiting area: Susan & Karl arrive to offer support and see Janae. Janae explains that an electric shock caused the accident and Karl mentions about the house should have a safety switch. Karl makes reference to the fact that really Mickey’s parents should be there but Susan steers the conversation away. Janae asks about their day and they explain how they spent most of it trying to find Tom. Before they leave, Susan tells Janae to call if she or Ned need anything. Ned comes out of Mickey’s room to tell her all Mickey is missing is his mum. Janae hugs him but is appalled to hear Ned thinks if he can’t find Kirsten he should send Mickey to stay with his eldest brother Steve. Ned feels he isn’t capable enough of being a responsible parent to Mickey. Janae tells him he only he will love Mickey as much as he does and it is mistake.
No 30 - Lounge: Rosie finds Frazer in a state of bewilderment and asks if he wants to talk about it. Not willing to share the news that he moved in case of creating a false hope he tells her not yet.
..
Scarlet Bar: It is the reopening night and Steph is panicking that she has made a mistake changing the bar but Toadie assures her all is going well as all around her are enjoying themselves and spending their money. By the bar, Pepper worries if she is wrong about Adam and he did need physio treatment. Rosie tries to tell her either way it isn’t as bad as it seems when Steph & Toadie arrive with snacks for them & Frazer. Rosie hands over the electrician bill to Toadie and he accepts that he has been slack about his duties as a landlord. Pepper raises the mood by raising a toast to Frazer for saving Mickey. Rosie & Frazer excuse themselves to get to the hospital while Pepper has to leave too to meet Adam but vows to be back. Rosie assures Steph the new bar is great but wonders why Steph kept the motorbike arcade game? Steph tells her she wants the mysterious ‘Thorn’ to see the score she has reached!
Adam Rhodes' house: Adam is looking at a picture of a girl when Pepper, knocking on his front door, surprises him. He hides the photo and answers and Pepper sarcastically comments on how quick his physio appointment was. Pepper is upset that for someone who talks about honesty, he lied to her to get out seeing her. Pepper asks why he wants to avoid Allan and realises it is something to do with the police issue. Adam cannot deny it and Pepper storms out believing that her father was right after all.
Erinsborough Hopistal - Emergency room: Mickey is playing on his new game bought by Rosie & Frazer while Ned assures them he thinks of it as just an accident and no one is to blame. The nurse comes in the room and informs them that they all have to leave. Ned & Janae ask to stay until he falls asleep but the nurse is insistent that it is family only. Ned takes a deep breath and turns to Mickey and tells him he is his family. He is his dad. Mickey can’t believe it and Rosie & Frazer are stunned.
Scarlet Bar: As Steph hands out food to her customers, Susan & Karl tell Toadie how amazing the bar looks. Karl mentions what a great job Adam has done and prompted by Toadie adds Steph’s name in his congratulations as she passes by. Susan wants to know what the bar is going to be renamed as and after some egging on to reveal the name, Steph makes her way to the side of the bar and calls everyone’s attention. Steph makes a short speech before revealing the new name of the bar as ‘Charlie’s’ and everyone claps at her idea. Rosie & Frazer return from the hospital and pass on Janae’s apologies for not being there as she has stayed on at the hospital with Ned. Toadie reveals he thinks she & Ned are getting involved and Steph is surprised and thrilled at the news but calls him a gossip. Toadie defends himself as being a new age man and Steph takes the opportunity to get him to hand out food to their customers if that’s the case. As Toadie moves away from the bar he knocks into Frazer’s leg. Toadie apologises and Frazer jokes he didn’t feel anything but it’s clear that Frazer has felt some pain.
..
Erinsborough Hospital - Emergency room: As Janae waits outside Ned confirms to Mickey that he really is his dad. Ned asks how Mickey feels and Mickey questions why he never visited him. Ned explains he never knew until he arrived with his mum in Ramsay Street but had have known he would have done everything to have been part of his life. Janae moves closer to the door to hear Ned ask if Mickey is happy to stay on and live with him and Mickey is just keen to know if he’ll grow up to be as big as Ned. Ned jokes that only if he eats his veggies and Mickey questions if chips are veggies. Janae laughs with a tear in her eye.
Regular Cast Credits
Trivia Notes
• Ned tells Mickey he is his father
• Steph relaunches Scarlet Bar as Charlie’s
Summary by Paul
