Episode 424

Extended Summary

The class reassemble at the school, with everyone back in uniform and Don back in his normal clothes. Don notices Emma and Viv are missing and asks Steven, who says he hasn’t seen them. Don decides to start without them. The two hoons have driven Emma and Viv to the edge of town, where they’re drinking beer while Viv eats some chips. Viv seems bored. One of the hoons suggests going to the headland but Emma wants to do something different and asks them to take her for a drive. The hoons seem very eager to go somewhere out of the way.

Don is on the phone to Bobby, asking her to keep an eye out for Emma and Viv, when Adam comes in and starts fixing some cabinets behind him. Don is annoyed and tells Adam he should wait until the office is empty. Adam snaps that he’s got other jobs to do and, following a further exchange of harsh words, says he’s had enough and storms out. He heads to the Diner where he tells Carly he walked out of work because he hates his job and he knows she doesn’t care. As she gets him a coffee, Carly gives a long speech about how she does care but their relationship needs to be different if it’s going to work. She turns round to find Adam gone and Bobby asking who she’s talking to.

At the caravan park house, Ailsa is making a snack for Sally, who is glad she’s around because Pippa makes her get her own milk and biscuits. There’s a knock at the door and Ailsa goes to answer it while Sally goes upstairs to check on Duncan. It’s a young man called Rory who hugs Ailsa and calls her Mrs. Fletcher, saying she doesn’t look like her photo. Ailsa puts him straight, saying Pippa’s away and Tom’s in hospital. Rory explains his father was in Vietnam with Tom. Sally comes downstairs with Duncan, who Rory seems taken with, asking for a hold. At the school, Don finds Adam’s mop and bucket abandoned and asks Steven if he’s seen him. He also asks about Viv and Emma and Steven admits they got into a car with two guys. He says he’s sure they’ll be all right but doesn’t seen too certain.

The two hoons have taken Emma and Viv into the woods. One of them pins Emma against a tree and makes it clear he wants something to happen with her. Emma pushes him away but he grabs her and starts treating her roughly. Emma pulls away and runs off but the hoons grab Viv, saying it’s Emma’s choice if she doesn’t want to join in the “fun”. Emma reaches the road and runs into Steven, telling him what’s going on. Steven goes to help Viv while Emma goes to get help. Steven finds the hoons holding Viv on the ground and tells them to leave her alone. They square up to him. Emma flags down Alf’s car and tells him what’s going on. Steven fights the hoons, knocking them both down repeatedly until they run off. Alf and Emma arrive; Alf wants to call the police but Viv says nothing happened and Steven saved her. Alf explains to Emma about Steven’s karate. He offers Viv a lift but she insists she’s all right and says she and Steven will walk. Emma apologises, saying she went to get help. Alf is on his way to collect Ailsa so he and Emma leave, with Steven and Viv making their own way.

Rory is looking after Duncan with Sally and tells her his sister Rachel has a baby girl. He says he grew up in the bush but wants to travel and hadn’t seen the coast before today. Ailsa watches them with a small amount of concern; Rory seems childlike but harmless. Alf and Emma arrive and Alf tells Ailsa what happened while Emma runs upstairs, feeling sick. Ailsa introduces Rory to Alf and tells Sally to take him to meet Lance and Martin. Alf rings the police. Emma comes back downstairs while he’s on the phone and Ailsa comforts her. Alf tells her that Tim Darley needs her to make a statement but Emma doesn’t want to, even when Alf says the police can’t act unless someone makes a complaint. Ailsa tells Alf to go and check on Duncan. Emma talks to Ailsa about what happened and says it reminded her of her stepfather; she didn’t mean to leave Viv but she panicked.

Steven takes Viv home and calls out for Don but he’s out. Viv is glad since she was worried about getting a lecture, although she acknowledges she probably deserves one. She wonders why Emma left her when she’s supposed to be her friend. Steven says she went to get help but also concedes he felt the same way when he found out about Dodge before remembering Viv doesn’t like him talking about it. Viv thanks him for what he did and asks for a hug. Later, when Don is home, Steven tells him what happened. Viv comes in, having changed back into her usual clothes, and tells Don that she knows what she did was stupid but he has to let her learn for her mistakes and she doesn’t need a lecture. Don says he thought his lecture at school would have been enough to convince her she can’t live her own life by following Emma. Viv concedes the point and goes to show Steven out.

Sally takes Rory to the Diner to introduce him to Carly since Lance was out. He explains he’s Rory Heywood, son of Tom’s old lance corporal Charlie “Chicki” Heywood, but Carly has never heard of either of them. They also introduce him to Bobby. At the surf club, Matt is leading the club team and tells Adam to get changed, since they need to train for the first heat. Adam says they don’t need him so Matt tells the team to leave him alone to his self-pity.

Back at the house, Rory is telling Carly and Sally a story about Tom and his father going to pick up girls in Saigon before Carly points out that Sally is listening and he hastily cuts it short. Steven arrives home and is introduced to Rory. He tells him Tom could be out of commission for a while and Rory says he met Tom once but he was too young to remember it. He admits he has no money or car and nowhere to stay so Sally suggests he stay with them and Carly agrees. When Rory is out of earshot, Steven expresses concern but Sally and Carly trust him.

Next morning, Emma approaches Viv, who is back in uniform, at school and tries to apologise for leaving her but Viv is still angry. Steven steps in and says he’d probably have panicked too but Viv isn’t convinced and brushes aside Emma’s apologies, walking off. Emma thanks Steven for sticking up for her but he doesn’t seem interested in talking either and also walks off.

Ailsa goes back to the caravan park to pick up her bag and finds Pippa arriving back with Christopher. She says Tom’s expected to make a full recovery and be home in 4-6 weeks. They hear someone inside and find Rory eating an apple. He hugs Pippa and gives her the same greeting he gave Ailsa. Pippa hasn’t heard of him or his father. Rory asks why people call her Pippa, since he always thought it was short for Philippa and her name’s Pauline. Pippa says it IS short for Philippa, and her name isn’t Pauline. Rory checks that she’s married to Thomas Henry Fletcher of the 21st Artillery and Pippa says it’s Thomas Edward Fletcher and he was in the infantry. An embarrassed Rory realises he’s in the wrong house.