No.24 – Dining Table: Maria calmly and honestly tells Shane she & Nick have never had an affair. Shane asks why she is so fond of him then and Maria recalls how she has known Nick as long as Max and how Nick has always been the joker, even repeatedly asking her to marry him at the time as a joke. She never believed he was serious but knew when Max asked her to marry him that he was. Shane remarks that she could have spent her life with either one of them and Maria reminds him that she chose Max. Shane admits she faces the same dilemma again but this angers Maria and she makes it clear she is still married to Max in every sense and that Shane has to accept that Nick has had nothing to do with the reasons for the separation. Shane questions if Nick could contribute to her and Max not reconciling in the future and suggests that maybe Max doesn’t want to move back anyway. Maria admits she has never considered that outcome, always sure Max would return. Shane tells his mother he thinks there are a lot of questions she needs to get answers to, including where Nick fits in, as her actions could change all of their lives.

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No.28 – Kitchen / Lounge: Daphne is preparing to cook dinner when she is shocked to see Des return home with a badly bruised and bloodied nose and blood all over his shirt. She assumes Des has had a car accident but then Des mentions Greg’s name and Daphne assumes Greg has punched him. Daphne becomes protective towards Des, bad mouthing Greg until Des admits he started the fight. Daphne advises that he needs to get his shirt into cold water and they’ll both go to see the doctor to check out what damage he’s done to his nose. Des reluctantly agrees. Daphne asks how Des got hurt if Greg was punched to the floor first and can’t hide her smiles as Des admits Greg tripped him up.

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No.26 – Kitchen: Lucy returns home late and Helen immediately asks where she has been. Lucy reminds her she was playing over at her friend Angela’s house. Helen can see she is upset over something but they are interrupted by Jim who is oblivious to what is going on and cheerfully holds out his arms for a hug. He and Helen are concerned when Lucy tearfully tells him something terrible has just happened. Jim picks her up in his arms to comfort her.

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No.26 – Kitchen: Lucy explains she saw a car hit a dog that was trying to cross the road in Bedford Street and asks Jim to check if the dog is still alive. Jim agrees and calls out to Scott to join him. Helen gives Lucy a comforting hug.

Hospital: Des is playing around with a stethoscope when Dr. Burns returns with x-rays of his nose. She jokes about him walking into a door and Des reluctantly explains he had a fight. Dr. Burns confirms Des has broken his nose but things get worse when the doctor explains she’ll straighten and set the nose there and then to ensure it mends properly. Des questions if the nose will be straight again and Dr. Burns reminds him it is a little too late to be worried about his vanity if he starts fights.

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Bedford Street: Jim pulls the car over and he and Scott get out going over to the dog lying still in the road. Jim realises the dog is still alive and Scott gets a blanket from the car. Jim comforts the animal, realising the dog is a number of years old. After wrapping the blanket over the dog Jim picks it up and carries it to the car.

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No.28 – Lounge: Daphne opens the door to an extremely irate Julie who wants to make it clear to Des that because of his actions Greg has a swollen lip that means he cannot go to work for several days. Des jokes that they are both in the same situation and Julie is shocked when Des turns to face her with a huge sticking plaster over his nose. Daphne explains that the nose is broken and Julie immediately softens towards him. However when Des admits a broken nose was worth punching Greg for, Julie is appalled defending Greg that all he was trying to do was commiserate with Des about the promotion. Des tells her Greg is lying but Julie insists Des is still holding a grudge about Greg being the boss’s son. Des fights back that Julie made it clear where her loyalty lay by comforting Greg after the fight and not him. Julie mentions that Mr. Arnold has yet to find out about the fight and Des remarks he would have thought Greg would have ‘run to daddy’ already. Julie decides she cannot talk any sense to Des and tells him she’ll see him at work before walking out. Des jokes he’ll be in to collect his severance pay and Daphne questions if Des could seriously be sacked over the fight? Des thinks it is possible and admits he wouldn’t miss working there anyway.

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Veterinary Practice: While Scott and Jim wait for news, Scott calls home and after lets his father know Helen is coming over with Lucy. Jim has doubts about Lucy joining them but they are interrupted by vet Mike Lawson. Mike recognises Jim and jokes that he thought Jim vowed never to own a dog again after he had to put the family dog ‘Digby’ down. Jim explains that dog isn’t his and asks what the diagnosis is. Mike explains the dog is concussed and has a broken leg and advises that it might be easier for the old dog to be put down.

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Veterinary Surgery: Lucy desperately pleas with Jim not to allow the dog to be put down and no matter how Jim or Mike Lawson try to reason with her she won’t accept it. Mike explains that no one would want to give such an old dog a new home and Lucy immediately wants to keep the dog. Jim refuses and Lucy blames him for wanting to get rid of the dog, just like he did Digby. She runs from the surgery and Helen follows her. Jim gives in and tells Mike to save the dog but won’t discuss where the dog is going to live until later.

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No.28 – Lounge: Des is recounting how he hit Greg to Shane & Daphne, with the story becoming more embellished. Shane jokes that he never realised Des was so ‘macho’. Des calls it a night and heads to bed. Shane makes a move to go too but Daphne convinces him to stay. Alone, Shane confides in her that he now realises that Nick wasn’t behind his parent’s splitting up but is sure he is after Maria. Daphne comments that she thinks Nick is quite a lonely person and that might be why he needs to be around Maria so much. Shane isn’t convinced and remarks he hopes Maria gives Nick ‘the push’ soon. Daphne asks after Maria and Shane guiltily admits his relationship with his mother is strained as he cannot stop blaming her for the break up. And with Nick around it only makes matters worse. Shane thanks her listening to him and Daphne remarks she will always do so as long as she’s around. Shane questions if she is planning on moving away and Daphne admits she could be. She asks Shane to be honest about how he feels about her and Shane admits he does find her attractive and is tempted to take things further. Shane explains he is worried however that going from friends to lovers is too complicated for him at the moment and after all, he needs friends more at the moment. Daphne isn’t thrilled by his opinion but gives in when he pulls her close for a friendly hug.

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No.26 – Kitchen: Jim, Julie, Helen and Scott are having breakfast and are joined by Lucy who is still very tired after not sleeping much because she has been worried about the dog. Lucy explains she has decided to call the dog Robert and refuses to eat breakfast in honour of Robert not being able to eat either. Jim decides to check on the dog’s health and calls the vet surgery. Scott teases his sister that the dog is a mangy old mutt but Lucy calls Robert a pure bred mongrel. Jim finishes his call to tell everyone the dog will be okay and Lucy asks when the dog can come and live with them. Jim is adamant that they are not getting another dog after all the hurt losing Digby caused them, plus the responsibility of having a pet in a house where everyone is so busy. Jim explains he intends to call Mike Lawson about the dog going to the RSPCA to be re-homed. Angry, Lucy shouts that they’ll kill the dog and storms off into the lounge. Julie decides to follow her sister to calm her down. Helen explains to Jim that some of the problem is that he never explained how much pain Digby was in and Lucy always thought he put Digby down just for digging holes in the garden.

No.26 – Lounge: Julie tries to reason with Lucy that Jim is right to say no to keeping the dog but admits she’d like to keep the dog too. Jim joins them from the kitchen and informs Julie he wants her to take Lucy to the vet’s to collect the dog. Thrilled Lucy hugs her sister.

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No.26 – Lounge: Julie tries to reason with Lucy that Jim is right to say no to keeping the dog but admits she’d like to keep the dog too when Lucy tells her how cute Robert is. Jim joins them from the kitchen and informs Julie he wants her to take Lucy to the vet’s to collect the dog. Thrilled Lucy hugs her sister.

Veterinary Surgery: Mike Lawson advises that he’ll still need to see Robert as the leg continues to heal and goes off to get the animal. When he returns Julie sees a very different dog that the one Lucy has described to her and is reluctant to take Robert home. She refuses to take the dog from Mike asking him to carry the ‘smelly animal’ to the car for her. Mike jokes about her being a real animal lover.

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No.24 – Kitchen: Maria is relieved when Shane seems to have forgiven her and informs her he put the rubbish out for her the previous evening and begins to clear the breakfast dishes. They are both surprised to see Max and even more surprised to see his arm out of the sling. Max mentions he has just come from the doctors after having the cast removed as he didn’t want to appear in court with it. Maria is shocked that Max never told her he had to be in court that day and he apologises. As Shane goes off to get his father’s suit from the wardrobe, Maria offers to speak on Max’s behalf in court but he tells her he has already got someone from work to do so. Shane returns with his father’s suit and asks if he needs any moral support in court. Max tells him he’d rather he didn’t. A rather sombre Max goes to leave and Maria wishes him luck.

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No.26 – Kitchen: Lucy is playing with Robert by the sink as Julie complains that it is unhealthy to have a dog in the kitchen. Jim and Max come into the kitchen and Lucy introduces the dog. Jim explains what has happened and Max remarks he did some work in Bedford Street for Mr. Graham who had a dog just like Robert. Is Lucy about to lose her chance of having a dog?

Regular Cast Credits