Wayne is coming downstairs at Dural with Irene, and he asks her if she's sure it's not serious. Irene replies that she didn't say that. She goes on that they can be thankful it wasn't another heart attack, but any turn as bad as that is obviously stress-induced and shouldn't be treated lightly. Wayne asks, "But he will be alright?" Irene replies, "As long as he gets plenty of rest and nobody goes upsetting him." Wayne thanks her for coming out and she goes. Wayne closes the door behind her and heads into the lounge room, where Mary is sitting looking at a book. She asks what Irene said, and Wayne tells her that she said Gordon needs peace and quiet for a while. Mary asks how he'll get that with James around. Wayne replies that, hopefully, James will ease up once he knows what the situation is. Mary muses, "Part of it's my fault. It must be a worry for them, having to put up with me. Maybe I could help out; get a job and bring in a bit of money?" Wayne, though, tells her that there's no need to do that - and as it is, she already does the housekeeping. Mary murmurs, "I just don't want to be any trouble." Wayne smiles and assures her, "You're no trouble. Do you know how much I'd miss you if you weren't here?" Mary, looking surprised, asks, "Would you?" Wayne smiles, "You better believe it."

Caroline and Samantha are clearing their dinner things away at the Morrell town house. Caroline looks at the plates and comments that the flowers in the pattern are starting to wilt. Samantha suggests that she could get a different pattern if she gets new ones. Caroline, looking surprised, asks her if she doesn't like flowers. Samantha just retorts pointedly, "They seem to be everywhere you look, lately..." There's suddenly a knock at the front door, and Caroline goes to answer it. James is standing there, and he introduces himself. Caroline invites him in and comments that she heard about him buying Roger Carlyle's shares. James explains that he thought he should introduce himself; meet the other Directors. Caroline muses that he certainly moves fast: the new owner of Woombai... part-owner of the company... all in one hit. James smiles, "Don't let it worry you. I'm sure we're going to be friends." Caroline just muses, "Hmm..." Samantha joins them and Caroline introduces her. Samantha offers James a drink, but he declines, explaining that he's on his way into town. He then turns back to Caroline and suggests that they should have a meeting. He offers, "What about lunch tomorrow?" Caroline, though, tells him that Wayne's the one he should be talking to. James smiles, "Yeah, well, I'd rather do business with you." Caroline looks at him wryly and tells him, "Thankyou, but I'm afraid..." James tells her, "You're disappointing me." Caroline retorts, "I'm sure you'll survive."

Mary opens the front door at Dural to find Alison standing there. She steps inside and asks if Wayne is around. Mary nods that he is. Alison then comments that Mary looks a bit down. Mary explains that Gordon has had a bit of a turn. Alison asks if it's serious. Mary tells her that she thinks he just needs to rest a bit. Alison suggests to her that perhaps she should consider moving out for a while; the less people to upset him, the better. Mary, though, explains that she suggested that but they reckoned she should stay - and even if she did leave, she doesn't know where she'd go. Alison smiles, "You could come and stay with Charlie and me!" Mary mutters that she'd feel awkward. Alison, though, retorts that that's nonsense: she's a nice girl who's been through a hard time and they'd love to help if they can. Mary asks if she can think about it. Wayne suddenly emerges from the study and asks Alison tersely, "What do you want?" Alison replies that it's business. Mary heads off upstairs. Wayne asks Alison what she wants to talk about. Alison replies, "James's share purchase: I've discovered he hasn't actually bought them yet. I want to find a way for us to stall him. I thought it might be in both our interests if you and I joined forces." Wayne mutters, "No chance." Alison asks, "You think you can fight him alone?" Wayne, though, smiles, "Who says I'm fighting him?" Alison warns him, "You know he's going to keep right on until he's in control, if you let him." Wayne, though, retorts, "You vote with us, he'll never be in control. You only want to stall him so you can buy the shares, and that's not in my interests." Alison asks, "You don't think you're better with the devil you know?" Wayne laughs that she has to be joking. Alison warns him that he obviously hasn't thought of the alternatives. Wayne, though, retorts that he's thought all he needs to. Alison mutters, "Alright - but I'll get those shares somehow. Maybe you should have been a bit more co-operative." With that, she heads out.

Samantha is wiping-up in the kitchen at the Morrell town house, commenting to her mother as she does so that James seems like a nice guy. Caroline muses that he certainly has a rough charm about him. Samantha asks her why she doesn't go out to lunch with him, then. Caroline retorts that it's because she's learnt from experience that it's no good mixing business with pleasure. Samantha tells her pointedly not to judge everybody by Roger Carlyle. Looking surprised, Caroline comments, "You've certainly changed your tune. Only this morning, you were warning me about getting involved with anyone." Samantha, though, explains, "That was just Chris. He's a bit serious about you and I don't think he should be encouraged." Caroline asks tersely, "Whatever gave you the idea I was encouraging him?" Samantha shrugs, "I don't know. It just seemed that way." Caroline assures her that Chris just needed a shoulder to cry on and that's as far as it went - and as far as it will go. Samantha smiles, "Good. I can stop worrying..."

It's late at night when James arrives back at Dural. Mary is sitting in the lounge room, in her nightclothes, watching television. James staggers into the room and slurs, "Well, well, well, looks who's here, all alone, waiting up for me to come home." Mary stands up, looking worried, and says she's feeling a bit sleepy. She goes to leave the room, but James blocks her way, slurring, "You don't want to go and leave me. Us night-owls have to look after each other." Mary tells him that there's some coffee on the stove. James, though, says, "It wasn't coffee I was thinking about. How about a little kiss...?" He suddenly lunges towards her, but she runs back onto the couch, and James almost falls on to the floor. He manages to stay standing, though, and slurs, "That's not very nice." Mary cries, "Please, just leave me alone." James slurs, "You think I'm not worth it, don't you?" Mary cries, "I just want to go to bed." James smiles and slurs, "You won me!" Mary, though, retorts, "By myself." James goes on, "You think I'm some hick from the sticks, don't you, without a cent to his name. Well you take a deco at this..." With that, he takes out a case containing some opals and shows them to Mary, commenting, "They're beautiful, aren't they?" He takes out one particular opal and slurs, "See this little stone here? It's worth a fortune. It's yours, darling. This will show you how much I like you. All you have to do is be nice; now that's not hard, is it?" Mary tries to get away from him, but he's leaning right over her and she cries, "No... please, no..."

A few moments later, James has his arms around Mary, slurring that it's worth lots of money. Mary cries, "Leave me alone." Wayne suddenly walks in and says calmly, "Good to see the movie holding everyone's interest." Mary immediately moves away from where James is trying to grab her and runs over to Wayne. He asks her if she's alright. Mary replies, "He's drunk. He was trying to--" James interrupts and slurs, "I wasn't trying to do anything." Wayne tells him, "You were making enough noise. I don't suppose you know, but Gordon's ill. He needs all the rest he can get." James puts his case of opals away and slurs, "I'm going to bed." With that, he staggers off upstairs. Wayne and Mary go and sit down and Mary murmurs that James kept trying to touch her; he said she could have that opal... Wayne says gently that he knows. He adds that she should try and keep out of James's way in future. Mary tells him that Alison said she could stay with her and Charlie; maybe she should? Wayne replies that it would be a good idea for her to get away from Dural for a while, but she shouldn't go to Alison - it would be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Mary asks, "Where else is there?" Wayne assures her, "We'll think of something."

The next morning, Caroline opens the front door at the Morrell town house to find Chris standing on the step. She invites him in and he tells her that he knows it's a funny time to call, but he wanted to wait until Samantha was at work; there's something he's got to talk to her about. Caroline says, "I think I know what it is - and I'm glad: it gives me a chance to clear the air." She then goes on, "Samantha seems to think that you, um, are interested in being more than just... well, friends. Is that the way you feel?" Chris murmurs, "I thought you might have guessed." Caroline sighs, "Chris, I have to be honest with you. I've had a lot of problems recently - emotionally - and I'm cooling things down a bit, if you know what I mean." Chris, though, says, "Don't you see? The problem is the sort of people you've been involved with. What you need is a stable relationship with someone who can really care for you." Caroline retorts, "No, Chris. You're too young; it won't work. I know, believe me - it's happened before. I like you as a friend and I'll be happy to see you again, but that's all. I'm sorry."

Mary is standing with Alison and Charlie in Charlie's lounge room. Alison is saying, "I don't think it's a good idea staying with Fiona at all." Mary asks her why she's so upset about it. Alison retorts, "It's a boarding house. You don't know what sort of people are coming and going. I think it's a much better idea if you stay here." Mary murmurs, "Thanks, but Wayne's already arranged everything. He doesn't want me staying anywhere near James." Alison asks what he's got to do with it, and Mary explains reluctantly, "James tried to... kiss me and things last night. Said I could have one of his opals if I... you know..." Charlie sympathises, "Oh, that awful man..." Alison, though, demands, "What opals?" Mary indicates the size with her fingers and adds, "He had a box full." Alison, suddenly looking very intrigued, muses, "Really...?" She then tells Mary that if she changes her mind about Fiona's, there's always a room at Charlie's . Mary goes. Alison stands there, staring into space, and Charlie asks her what's going on inside her mind. Alison smiles, "I think I've found a way to stop James buying those shares..."

A few minutes later, Charlie is saying to Alison, "I'm not quite sure I follow." Alison explains, "The opals, Charlie. Last night, James was very tight-lipped about how he intends to pay for the shares. It's quite obvious he's got an opal mine which is doing a lot better than anyone thought." She goes on, "We know that he hasn't actually paid for the shares yet, and from what Mary says, he carries the stones around with him. All we have to do is make them disappear for a few days so he misses the payment deadline. There would be nothing to stop us from buying the shares instead." Charlie gasps, "You're going to steal them?" Alison, though, assures her, "Of course not. We'll just... hide them for a few days." Charlie retorts, "We will do nothing of the kind. Whatever you call it, it's still stealing. If I were you, I'd forget the whole idea." Alison, though, snaps, "Charlie, I need to make a new life for myself. I need those shares to give me financial independence. Look, if I arrange for the opportunity to arise, will you give me the money to buy them?" Charlie retorts that she doesn't want anything to do with it. Alison pleads, "Please, Charlie..." Charlie looks at her sadly but gives in, sighing, "I think you're being very silly..." Alison smiles, "Thanks!"

Mary and Wayne are heading downstairs at Dural. Mary is carrying a box of her belongings, which she puts down in the hallway with some suitcases. Wayne is standing there, and he tells her not to let him forget to pick up those reports. Mary asks, "What reports?" and he replies, "The ones I'm taking up to Woombai after I've dropped you at Fiona's." He then heads outside with one of Mary's cases just as James comes downstairs. He asks Mary if he can talk to her, but she retorts bluntly that she's busy packing. James asks, "You're not leaving, are you, because of what happened last night?" Mary, ignoring him, stands up and goes to head into the lounge room, saying she's got to get her reading books. James, though, grabs her and says, "I don't exactly know what happened last night - but if I upset you, I'm sorry." Alison suddenly appears in the open front doorway and asks James if he could spare a moment. Mary says she's got to get her books, and she heads off into the lounge room. James follows her, pleading, "You don't have to leave." With the hallway suddenly empty, Alison heads inside and walks over to where James's leather jacket is hanging on the bannister. She checks through the pockets but finds nothing. She then checks through his briefcase, which he's put down on the floor. She finds a small box inside, which rattles when she shakes it. At that moment, though, Wayne then comes back in and she quickly puts the box back into the briefcase. Wayne asks her if she found James, and she replies that he's talking to Mary. Wayne mutters that he'd better behave himself. He then picks up another of Mary's boxes and heads back outside. Alison looks down at James's briefcase.

In the lounge room, James is telling Mary that he's not really like that. Mary mutters that he doesn't know why he drinks, then. James then goes on, "There's something else. Did I show you something last night? A little box, with stones in it." Mary nods, "Yes." James asks, "You tell anyone?" Mary retorts, "Why should I?" James smiles, "Good girl. Keep it to yourself, will you?"

Out in the hallway, Alison has the opal case open in her hand. As she hears James's voice approaching from the lounge room, she quickly snaps the case shut again and then hides it in one of the boxes containing Mary's belongings. James and Mary rejoin her and she tells James that she's still waiting. James, though, tells her that if she wants to talk to him, she'll have to come back later; he has to go and see his solicitor and arrange payment for the shares. Mary picks up the final box containing her belongings - and the opals - and hands it to Wayne, who takes it out to the car. Mary and James follow him out, leaving Alison standing in the hallway, looking annoyed.

At the Morrell town house, Caroline is telling Chris to look at it from her point of view: after Roger, she doesn't trust her own judgement - and even if she thought there could be something, she wouldn't let it happen. Chris suggests, "Surely you know your own feelings? Either you're attracted to someone or you're not." Caroline murmurs, "Yes - and I'm sorry, Chris, but I'm not." Chris snaps, "Why act like you care for me if you don't?" Caroline sighs, "Of course I care for you - but that's not loving. And anyway, even if there could be something more, what do you think Samantha would have to say about it?" Chris pleads, "Please, Caroline, you can't throw a chance like this away just because you're worried what Samantha might think." Caroline, though, points out, "She's my daughter - and she's your friend." Chris, however, retorts, "If she's selfish enough to stop us from being happy, she's not worth worrying about."

Alison is back at Charlie's, telling Charlie, "Another couple of seconds; that's all I needed and I'd've had them in my hand." Charlie tells her that she should have gone straight to Fiona's and got them back. Alison, though, asks how she could do that without telling Mary the whole story. Charlie points out that Mary will find them as soon as she unpacks, and James will realise they're missing soon enough; if he finds out Mary's got them, he'll think she stole them. Alison asks what she can do about it. Charlie retorts that there's only one thing she can do: see Mary and tell her. Alison murmurs, "I can't." Charlie, though, snaps, "You have to. For once, you'll have to put someone else's welfare before your own. Come on, I'll drive you."

Samantha is sitting in Fiona's flat at the boarding house as Wayne brings in Mary's final suitcase. Fiona then asks him if he can give Samantha a lift. Wayne asks Samantha if she's not working today. Samantha explains that she thinks she's caught the same bug her mum had; she feels like she's going to fall over in a minute. Mary tells Wayne to take care of himself at Woombai and not to let James give him too hard a time. Wayne smiles that he won't. He then turns to Fiona and says, "Take care of this girl of ours, won't you? She's come to mean a lot to us Hamiltons." Fiona smiles that of course she will. She then turns to Samantha and tells her to go straight home and go to bed and fill herself full of vitamin C! Samantha and Wayne head out. Fiona picks up one of Mary's cases and suggests they get it into her room and then they can have a nice cup of coffee. She adds that, later on, they might be able to do some reading. Mary smiles, "Thanks!"

A short time later, outside, Wayne climbs into his car. Samantha - in the passenger seat - remarks that Mary seems nice. Wayne nods that she is. Samantha adds that he seems quite fond of her, too. Wayne smiles, "I like her." Samantha asks, "Is that all...?"

Inside, in Fiona's flat, Mary emerges from her room, carrying the case of opals, and says to Fiona, "I found these in my things." Fiona opens the case and gasps, "Hey! They're opals." Mary explains, "They're the ones James showed me last night. I don't know how they got there." Fiona comments that she'd say James would be wondering where they are, and she suggests that Mary 'phone him straight away. There's suddenly a knock on the door, which Fiona goes to answer as she asks Mary if she thinks James will still be at Gordon's. Mary, though, says she doesn't think so; he was on his way out when she left. Fiona opens the door - to find James standing there. He barges in and snaps, "Where is she?" Fiona tells him, "If you mean Mary..." He looks at Mary, storms over to her, grabs the case of opals from her hand and growls, "Give me those, you little thief." Mary cries, "I didn't take them." Fiona snaps at him, "Now just one moment. She found those in with her books. She was going to call you right away." James, though, tuts, "Huh. As if I'd believe you." Turning to Mary, he adds, "You're the only person that even knew these existed. Sure as hell explains why you were in such a hurry to get out of the house." Mary cries, "It's not true - I don't know how they got there." James snarls, "I've got a good mind to tell the Hamiltons what a little crook you really are. Talk about a rat deserting a sinking ship: you saw they were all washed up and couldn't wait to get out of the house. That's OK - that's up to you - but taking my stones? That was a big mistake. You'll be sorry for it." With that, he storms off again.

Outside, James climbs into his car, puts on his seatbelt and starts the engine. He pulls away. A few seconds later, Charlie pulls up in her car. Alison is sitting in the passenger seat, and she curses, "Damn, it's too late." Charlie tells her that she must still go in and see Mary; she must be totally confused. Alison mutters, "That won't change anything; she'll just hate me." Charlie points out curtly, "She'll hate you a lot more if she finds out the truth from someone else." Alison stares at her as she realises what she's implying, and says, "You wouldn't...?" Charlie sighs, "I should, but I won't. But it's bound to come out sooner or later. Goodness knows what James said to the poor girl. The whole thing's your fault and you owe Mary an explanation." Alison sighs heavily.

Chris is sitting on the couch with Caroline at the Morrell town house. Caroline is saying to him, "This whole argument's a waste of time. I don't know why you're still here." Chris suggests, "Because neither of us really wants me to go." Caroline tells him that they'll only end up hurting each other. Chris, though, replies, "The only way we'll hurt each other is by ignoring our feelings. Now, I know that you are as attracted to me as I am to you..." He suddenly leans in to kiss her. Caroline quickly stops him and murmurs, "Chris, don't..." Chris asks her gently what she's frightened of. Caroline, though, assures him, "I'm not frightened; you're not listening to me." Chris leans in further and this time Caroline submits, and they start kissing passionately. After a few seconds, she pulls away and says, "We shouldn't be doing this; we really shouldn't..." They resume their kissing, though, oblivious to Samantha's sudden appearance in the doorway...

Alison is standing in Fiona's flat at the boarding house, telling Fiona and Mary that she needs to talk to Mary alone for a few minutes. Fiona mutters, "Really? Wouldn't have anything to do with opals, would it?" Alison looks down, guiltily, and Fiona muses, "Yes, I thought either you or Wayne would have to be responsible." Looking at Mary, Alison insists, "Look, I didn't mean to get you into trouble. I didn't have any time. I had to hide them somewhere, then you took the box--" Mary interrupts and asks, "You were trying to steal them?" Alison, though, retorts, "No, I was trying to keep them away from James for a few days so he wouldn't buy the shares. I am sorry; I'd never have done it if I thought you were going to be involved." Mary glares at her and then snaps, "Go away. I don't want to see you anymore." Alison looks at Fiona, but Fiona tells her, "I don't think there's anything more to say. You'd better leave." Looking back at Mary, guiltily, Alison murmurs, "Yes, well, if there's anything you ever need..." Mary stares at her and then runs off. Alison storms off out of the flat. Charlie is waiting in the corridor and she asks what's happened. Alison snaps, "Nothing much. She doesn't want to see me again, that's all." Charlie tells her to give the girl a few days. Alison, though, retorts, "No, she means it, Charlie. I've lost her." Charlie points out, "Well, you've only got yourself to blame." Alison growls, "I know that." Charlie, looking annoyed, retorts, "Don't snap at me." Alison, though, says angrily, "I know it's my fault; you don't have to tell me. If I thought there was anyone I could rely for a bit of sympathy, it was you. I've lost everything; what am I going to do?" Charlie tells her, "Don't look to me for advice; I gave you some earlier and you wouldn't listen." With that, she goes to walk off. Alison pleads, "No, please, wait, Charlie." Charlie, though, turns back to her and retorts, "I'm sick of being used and yelled at. Find your own way home." With that, she walks off, leaving Alison standing there, looking shocked.