Sons and Daughters logo
    Written by: Bevan Lee   Produced by: Posie Jacobs   Directed by: Mark Piper

Susan is sitting at the living room table at Dural, talking on the 'phone. She's saying, "I'm glad she's decided to do it. If the therapist can't help her, no one will." Glen is sitting on the stairs in the hallway at the mansion. He has the public 'phone to his ear and he asks, "So it was Caroline's own idea, was it?" He then adds bitterly, "Still, Wayne must be pleased." Susan retorts, "Only because it might stop her trouble-making. I mean, the latest thing is a mix-up with dockets for gym equipment. She almost had Gordon believing Wayne was trying to rip Charlie off." Glen mutters, "As if Wayne would ever do that..." Susan sighs, "I know you want to think the worst of him, but he's trying with Caroline. All we need to do is give her as much support as we can. She's doing the right thing going back to therapy; let's just try and keep her thinking that way."

Janice is standing behind the reception desk at the gym. Wayne is standing in front of her, snapping, "I do not look like a slob." Janice replies meekly, "I didn't say you did. I just said... that, um... you're looking a bit paunchy." Wayne glares at her and warns, "I won't be here very long. If you've got something to show me, do it soon." Janice smiles, "I'll call you in time for the 'Waist, Hips and Thighs' class." Wayne just retorts, "Not if you want to be on the payroll tomorrow..." At that moment, Glen walks in. Wayne growls at him, "If it isn't Mr. Super Fit. You're late." Glen, however, retorts, "Late is when you arrive after the class should have started. I've got ten minutes." Wayne growls, "You're supposed to be here 15 minutes before the class. That's what you're paid for." Ignoring this, Glen mutters, "I expected to find you beaming. What with Caroline going back to her therapist, there's no way she'll flip out now." Wayne just growls, "I don't want to see her loony. The saner she is, the safer I am." Glen mutters, "Yeah, well, it's not your safety I'm worried about." Wayne demands, "What's that supposed to mean?" Glen tells him, "You may have conned everyone else, Wayne, but you're not fooling me. You're out to make everyone think Caroline's round the twist." Janice calls over from the reception desk, "That's not fair: Wayne's been nothing but considerate to Caroline and all he's got is abuse for his trouble." Glen just mutters at her, "You've seen what he wants you to see." Turning back to Wayne, he goes on, "Susan asked me to keep an eye on Caroline. You try anything, it'll be your head that's spinning." With that, he marches off into the main room.

Susan emerges through the front door of the mansion to find a Caroline standing on the step. She starts to say, "Hi! I was just up in your room--" She breaks off as she notices how shaky Caroline is looking and asks in concern, "What is it?" Caroline, tears beginning to stream down her eyes, sobs, "The therapist... Oh Susan... I can't go back there. I can't. I can't."

A short time later, Susan helps Caroline over to a seat by the wall. As they sit down, she says, "Tell me what happened." Caroline murmurs, "He started talking about my attitude to men... asking me questions... He kept on pushing and pushing... trying to get me to talk about--" Susan asks, "About what?" Caroline replies hesitantly, "What... happened... in prison. Trying to get me to relive it; go through it all again. He said that all my troubles stemmed from that time." She then cries more hysterically, "I wanted to do what he asked; I wanted to talk about it - but I couldn't." Susan soothes, "It's OK. It's OK." Caroline cries, "I'm not going back there, Susan. I'm not. I'm not..."

A while later, Susan is telling Gordon, Charlie and Wayne in the lounge room at Dural, "She obviously finds the whole incident too painful." Wayne has a smirk on his face, which no one else notices... Charlie comments, "The poor darling." Wayne gloats, "I don't like to say 'I told you so'..." Charlie turns to him and snaps, "Don't be so heartless, darling. A little sympathy wouldn't hurt." Wayne just retorts, "I feel sorry for her - but she's out to get me, remember? The woman's crazy." Gordon asks Susan, "There's absolutely no way she'll go back to the therapist?" Susan sighs, "Not at the moment, no." Charlie asks, "How was she when you left her?" Susan replies, "She was beginning to relax. She started talking about Doug Fletcher; that seemed to help." Wayne queries in surprise, "Doug Fletcher?" Susan nods, "I was trying to get her to calm down; make her see that not all men are like the man who attacked her. She just slid into talking about Doug and how good he is... how much she misses him." Charlie points out, "He's been gone for months." Susan shrugs, "She kept on saying that if he was here, how he could help her." She then suggests, "Maybe we could get in touch with him?" Gordon reminds her, "The man's in America. I don't see that there's much he can do." Susan persists, "Perhaps a 'phone call?" Wayne chips in, however, "I think the best thing we can do is keep out of it. I mean, it's a bit much to dump on the poor bloke: 'Hi, Doug. I'm ringing about your friend, Caroline Morrell. Remember her? She's going round the twist. How about giving her a call?' Come on!" Charlie gasps, "We wouldn't do it like that, darling. We'd break it gently." Wayne retorts, "You're still asking the poor guy to get mixed up in a crazy lady's life when he's on the other side of the Pacific." Gordon murmurs, "I tend to agree. Let's see what we can do first. If we really get stuck then we can bring Doug in." Wayne nods, "Dad's right. Let's try and handle it ourselves."

There's an exercise class taking place in the main room at the gym. Glen is standing at the front, leading the exercises, as a group of women - Caroline included - follows his lead. She's going for it full-gusto, apparently letting out all her frustrations as she punches the air energetically.

Wayne emerges from the lounge room at Dural and closes the doors behind him. He then walks over to the 'phone in the hallway and dials a number. When the call is answered, he says, "Hello, mate, it's Wayne Hamilton. Listen, I need a print job done - urgently - and I need a woman who can act and wants to earn some money." He listens and then smiles to himself...

At the gym, Glen tells the women in the class, "One last deep breath: breathing in and up... stretch up and hold it... and out slowly. OK. That's it for another day." The women then head off to the showers, with the exception of Caroline. Glen walks over to her and asks, "That help?" Caroline nods, "A bit." Glen comments, "You were really going for it." Caroline explains, "I kept thinking how furious I was with myself." Glen smiles, "Is that why you were gritting your teeth?! You looked ready to throw something round the room!" Caroline sighs, "I bet I did. I know I'm playing right into Wayne's hands, but..." Glen concludes, "That's how you feel. Fair enough." He then suggests, "Tell you what: why don't you calm down and think about it? We can toss it around over a coffee. We'll work it out together. We'll have you back on that couch in no time." Caroline murmurs, "It is the best thing for me, isn't it?" Glen tells her, "You don't need to ask that. Like most things that are good for us, they can be pretty unpleasant at times - like my aerobics classes!" With that, Caroline heads off to have a shower.

Charlie is standing in the lounge room at Dural with Gordon and Susan. She asks, "Are you sure you don't mind if I bring Isabella tonight?" Gordon assures her, "An invitation to you is an invitation to her." With that, Susan escorts Charlie out to the front door, whispering as she does so, "I'll make sure Wayne and I are out tonight." Charlie insists, "You don't have to do that, darling." Susan, however, replies, "Why not? You're good for Gordon. You cheer him up." Charlie smiles, "Susan Hamilton! You're matchmaking!" Susan shrugs with a smile, "What if I am? He's lonely and he likes you. Why shouldn't you be given the chance to get closer?" Charlie points out dubiously, "Gordon's the type who approaches romance at the speed of a snail! I don't think that sort of thing has even occurred to him!" Susan, however, laughs, "Come on, Charlie, you've been married three times. If you can't get the old snail moving, who can?!" Wayne comes down the stairs, a frown on his face as Charlie declares, "You're right, darling: it's tonight or never!" With that, she heads off. Wayne joins Susan in the hallway and asks suspiciously, "What are you up to?" Susan says conspiratorially, "I don't want your dad knowing, but Charlie's moving in for the kill tonight." Wayne laughs, "I never quite saw dad as number four on the Charlie Bartlett husband parade!" Susan just tells him, "Keep your voice down. We're both going to be out tonight. Alright?!" Wayne sighs, "I've got a business meeting to go to." Susan comments, "You never told me." Wayne explains, "It just came up." Susan asks, "What deal is it?" Wayne, however, tells her, "Oh, nothing to worry about. It's of no interest." At that moment, the 'phone starts ringing. Wayne goes and answers it. He listens and then smiles, "I was hoping it would be you. Everything all organised?... Great. Glad to hear it. Let me know what happens... Bye!" He hangs up. Susan asks, "Still have to go?" Wayne nods at her and then suggests, "Why don't you give Janice a ring? If she's not working she might be able to go somewhere!"

Janice is standing behind the reception desk at the gym. Caroline is sitting on a couch nearby. Janice walks over to her and tells her, "Glen shouldn't be too long now." She then adds, "Keep an eye on the desk for a tick?" Caroline nods, "Sure." Janice walks off. A middle-aged woman is sitting on a seat near Caroline, looking at a magazine. After a few seconds, she sighs out loud, "I don't know... these magazines get sillier by the year." Caroline just murmurs, "Yes, I suppose so." The woman then looks at her and says, "Excuse me, don't I know you?" Caroline replies, "I don't think so." The woman goes on, "I've been trying to place the face ever since I came in. Have you ever lived in Melbourne?" Caroline nods, "Yes, I have." The woman asks, "Wouldn't have been through Doug Fletcher, would it?" Caroline stares at her as the woman continues, "Yes, it was! What a coincidence!" Caroline demands, "What do you mean?" The woman indicates the magazine she's holding and tells her, "I was only just reading about him. You know about the wedding, I suppose?" Caroline gasps, "About what?" The woman tells her, "He just married over there. Let me see - where was it, now?" She then flicks through the magazine until she finds the page she wants and then shows Caroline a headline: 'Australian Businessman Weds in Hollywood Style'." She adds, "I had a bit of a fling with him, actually - then I don't suppose you let your old girlfriends know when you're tying the knot! We're yesterday's news, aren't we?" Looking horrified, Caroline stands up and starts calling for Glen. She heads off into the main room. As soon as she's gone, the woman with the magazine stands up quickly, stuffs the magazine into her bag, places another magazine on the coffee table and walks out. A few seconds later, Caroline and Glen return to the reception area, Caroline saying, "I can't believe he wouldn't let me know. We were so close. He'd never marry without telling me." Glen soothes, "Don't get upset. Just show me the article." Caroline looks round at the empty seat and then says, "Oh. She's gone." She picks up the magazine on top of the coffee table and adds, "It's in here." She starts flicking through and then gasps, "It's not here. She showed it to me and not it's not here." Janice joins them as Caroline cries, "Oh my God... what's happening to me?"

A short time later, Caroline is saying, "No, I know what it is: he almost had me believing I was going mad myself. Oh, he's clever. You've got to give that to him." Janice asks warily, "What are you talking about?" Caroline explains, "Wayne. It's obviously him. It's the only explanation, don't you see?" Glen tells her, "Just take it slowly." Caroline insists, "I didn't imagine that woman." Looking at Janice, she adds, "You saw her as well as I did. She was here and she showed me that magazine." Janice murmurs, "I saw her, yes..." Caroline goes on, "She talked to me as soon as you left. She told me that she knew me through Doug - and then she showed me the article on his wedding in what must have been a dummy magazine." She turns to Glen, going on, "Then I went to get you, and she must have taken the dummy, left this other magazine and then she left. Perfect set-up!" Glen stands there, looking dubious. Caroline gasps, "You don't believe me." Glen tells her, "I can't even see Wayne going that far." Caroline insists, "He'd do anything to convince everybody that I'm going mad - and it's working. You think I made this up." Glen shrugs hesitantly, "I'm not sure..." Janice, however, declares, "I'm sorry, Caroline, but I do. You need help." Caroline snaps at Glen, "Great! That's just great! She's positive, you're not sure, and where does that leave me? Just one step away from the nuthouse. So much for friends." She goes to storm off. Glen says quickly, "Wait. We'll talk." Caroline, however, growls, "What for? So you can pat me on the hand and tell me to stop imagining things? No thanks. I know what's going on, but the fact is that I know that I'm not mad - and quite frankly I don't give a damn what you two think." With that, she storms off.

Wayne walks into the mansion, carefully and quietly. Checking that no one's around, he then pins a piece of paper to the noticeboard outside Fiona's room...

It's nighttime, and there's a knock on the front door at Dural. Susan answers it to find Charlie standing there, all dressed up in a white gown. She's holding Isabella. Susan tells her, "You look fabulous!" Charlie smiles, "I call this my 'high-octane dress': guaranteed to turn over any old motor!" She then asks Susan, "Where are you going?" Susan replies, "The movies - and don't worry: Wayne is out at a business meeting, so the coast is clear. Good luck!" With that, she heads out. Charlie walks into the lounge room, where Gordon is preparing drinks behind the bar. Charlie smiles at him, "Guests of honour have arrived!" She then walks over to the living room table and comments, "How romantic. Candles and flowers on the table." Gordon muses, "Yes. Funny, isn't it? I told Susan there was just you and I and still she went to all that trouble." Looking at Isabella glumly, Charlie murmurs, "We've got our work cut out, darling!" Gordon walks over to her and hands her a drink, remarking as he does so, "That's a nice dress." Charlie smiles, "Thankyou. It's just a little rag I threw on!" Gordon tells her, "It suits you." He adds, "Got something else on afterwards, have you? Going to a party?" Charlie, however, smiles, "No party. I just felt like dressing up." Gordon nods, "Why not?" He then goes on, "By the way: there's an interesting programme on television later about corporate share raiding. Do you mind if we watch it?" Charlie stares at him and then sighs, "No. Course not. Just what I felt like doing..."

Caroline arrives back at the mansion. As she goes to close the front door, her eyes fall upon an envelope addressed to her which is pinned to the noticeboard. She takes it down. As she does so, she spots the note underneath it that Wayne pinned there. She takes it down, reads it and then screws it up. Janice comes in through the front door suddenly and asks, "How you feeling? Better?" Caroline mutters, "Fine." Janice goes on, "If you want to talk anything out later, I'll be in my flat. I don't know if I'll be able to help..." Caroline comments sharply, "So you believe me now, do you?" Janice admits, "No, but I'd like--" Caroline interrupts and snaps, "Why bother, then?" She then announces, "I'm off to the gym to see Glen." Janice tells her, "He won't be at the gym. He was closing-up when I left." Caroline retorts, "He left a note for me, telling me to meet him there. He's working late." Janice comments in surprise, "He didn't say anything to me." Caroline just growls, "I'm sure he doesn't tell you everything." With that, she marches off. Janice calls after her, "He won't be there..."

A short time later, Caroline walks into the deserted reception area at the gym, calling for Glen. There's no answer. She heads up to the main exercise room - where the wheel of one of the exercise bikes is turning, apparently all of its own accord... Caroline calls out warily, "Don't be silly. Are you there?" She doesn't notice Wayne walking up quietly behind here. He puts his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump, and tells her coolly, "There's no one here, Caroline. Just you and me. We're going to sort out everything once and for all..."

Janice and Susan walk downstairs at the mansion, Janice saying, "I'm glad you want to see this one. Paul Newman's such a hunk. He reminds me of Owen, a bit." Susan giggles, "Paul Newman reminds you of Owen?!" Janice nods, "The eyes. I think they've got the same eyes!" At that moment, Glen walks in through the front door. Janice smiles at him, "Hi. Did Caroline catch up with you?" Glen replies, "No. When was she looking for me?" Janice tells him, "About half an hour ago." She adds, "You haven't been at the gym, have you?" Glen replies, "Course not. You knew I was closing up." Janice explains, "That's what I told her, but she said you'd left a note." Glen shrugs, "What note?"

At the gym, Wayne presses his face up close to Caroline's and says nastily, "Let's have a little talk. A walk down Memory Lane..." Caroline cries nervously, "Why are you doing this?" Wayne just retorts, "You made the rules. You threatened my marriage. You can do anything else, but trying to break up Susan and me... that was your big mistake." Caroline cries, "You won't get away with this. You might have convinced other people, but Glen will stick by me. He knows I'm sane." Wayne grabs her suddenly and pushes her up against the wall. She gasps in horror as he whispers, "Are you, though? The things you did to Alison and I... that's not what I'd call sane." Caroline insists, "I'm over all that. Please, Wayne, let go of me. I'll forget everything that happened. We'll start again." Wayne, however, tells her quickly, "I don't want to forget. I want to remember. Remember about jail...?" He starts stroking her face. Caroline begins to whimper as Wayne sighs, "That's not nice. I'm only being friendly..." Caroline cries fearfully, "Don't. Don't touch me - please." Wayne just goes on, "Let's talk about prison... what happened that night..." Caroline sobs, "No..." Stroking his hand against her face again, Wayne taunts, "Did he touch you like this? Mmm? It's all coming back, isn't it, Caroline... There's nothing you can do about it..." Caroline begins to collapse onto the floor, crying weakly, "Please, no..." She ends up sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, tears streaming down her face. Wayne stands there looking pleased with himself. He then walks off.

Charlie and Gordon are sitting at the dinner table at Dural. There's romantic orchestral music on in the background. Charlie comments, "Susan's created such a lovely atmosphere. It seems a shame to waste it on corporate share raiding." Gordon nods, "You're right. It's not on for another hour, so let's forget it about until then, eh?" Charlie nods sadly... Gordon then asks, "How's Isabella going?" Charlie tells him, "Very delicate, poor darling. Mummy's little girl isn't enjoying motherhood!" Gordon smiles, "I hate to think what you're going to be like on the big day. You'll be a mess!" Charlie gasps suddenly, "It'll be wonderful if you could be there with me!" Gordon stares at her and asks in surprise, "What on earth could I do?" Charlie tells him flirtatiously, "I'll need someone to hold my hand!" Gordon just shrugs, "Alright. If it helps." At that moment, Wayne walks in. Gordon comments in surprise, "I thought you were going to be out for a while." Charlie adds with a disappointed tone, "So did I..." Wayne explains, "The meeting didn't take as long as I thought. Didn't seem any point in staying out for out's sake." Gordon tells him,"There's plenty of food in the kitchen. Get a plate and join us." Wayne looks at Charlie and asks, "That alright with you?" Gordon just asks in surprise, "Why would Charlie mind? All the more the merrier."

Caroline is sitting on the floor in the main room at the gym. Her eyes are red and she's staring into space. Glen, Susan and Janice come running in, Glen calling, "Caroline? Caroline!" Susan spots her and cries, "Oh my God." Glen runs over to her and asks urgently, "What is it?" Caroline just murmurs, "Wayne... Wayne..." She then collapses into tears.

A short time later, the front door opens at Dural and Glen and Susan burst in. Susan warns Glen, "Leave it to me, alright?" Glen just snarls, "I'll take him apart." They head into the lounge room where Wayne asks, "What's going on?" Susan challenges, "I thought you had a business meeting to go to." Wayne tells her, "It finished early." Glen demands, "Have you got witnesses you were actually at this meeting?" Wayne retorts, "Of course I have." Glen asks, "How long did it take you to get home from it?" Gordon chips in, "What's going on?" Susan just demands of Wayne, "Did you go to the gym tonight?" Wayne shrugs, "I was there this afternoon." Charlie repeats, "What's going on, darling? We're dying of curiosity." Glen points at Wayne and snaps, "Caroline was terrified almost senseless by him." Wayne starts to say, "Now hang on--" Susan interrupts and tells him, "That's what she says, darling. Is it true?" Wayne snaps, "No, it is not. And I've got proof - not that Wonderboy's going to believe any of it." He flails his hand at Glen. Glen points out, "People can be bribed into saying you were with them." Gordon chips in curtly, "That's enough of that." He then tells Wayne, "Go and call your witness." He adds, "You go with him, Susan. It's your mind that needs putting at rest the most." Susan cries at Wayne, "I believe you. It's just that you should have seen Caroline. She's a mess." Wayne just snaps, "What's new? The lady's crazy; I've said it all along. She'll say anything to get at me." Glen growls, "Or vice versa." Wayne snaps, "You're only believing what you want to believe. I'll get proof. Susan can talk to the people I was with tonight. Then we can all talk about Caroline - because the question's not what we do about me, it's what we have to do about her." With that, he and Susan head out to the hallway. Glen stands in the lounge room and sighs heavily.

It's the next morning and Caroline is sitting in Fiona's room at the mansion, staring at the TV. It isn't switched on, though. There's suddenly a knock on the door. Caroline sits there for several seconds before getting up and answering it. When she eventually does so, she finds two men standing there, both dressed all in white. One of them says, "Caroline Morrell?" Caroline asks nervously, "What do you want?" The man tells her, "We have a doctor's referral to place you under psychiatric care." Caroline asks warily, "What do you mean?" The man replies, "If you come with us, everything will be fine. We're going to take you to hospital, where you'll be examined separately by two independent doctors." Caroline stares at the men and then asks, "Could I see the papers, please?" The first man takes some papers out of his pocket and hands them over. Caroline looks at them. Wayne steps forward into view, suddenly, and tells her gleefully, "Signed by the doctor and countersigned by Gordon Hamilton. Your little stunt at the gym last night proved to everyone you need proper treatment." Caroline stares at him and murmurs, "I saw Glen this morning. He wouldn't let this happen to me." Wayne just gloats, "He doesn't know about it. We decided after he'd left. So, are you going to go along peacefully, or do these gentlemen have to sedate you?" Caroline stares at him again and, after several seconds, nods, "Fine. I'll go off to the hospital and show them I'm sane. I'll prove I am. Then your little scheme will have to come to an end." Wayne snarls, "Do what you like." Caroline assures him curtly, "Don't worry - I'm going to. I'm not going to let you beat me." With that, she steps out into the corridor, adding, "Excuse me - I've got to go and pack some things." The second man in white goes with her. When they've gone, Wayne says to the first man quietly, "It won't be a problem?" The man assures him, "No worries, Mr. Hamilton - there's no way she's going to reach the hospital." Wayne, a gleeful smile on his face, declares, "Excellent..."

 

    Links:  Episode 851    Episode Index    Main Index    Episode 853