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    Written by: Don Battye   Executive Producer: Don Battye   Directed by: Russell Webb

Alison laughs at Fiona, "You! In a place like that? Who do you think you're kidding?!" Fiona just murmurs, "I'm glad you find it amusing." Alison tells her, "I find it pathetic! Not the idea of an old people's home; the fact that you're trying to pull pathos on me." Fiona says weakly, "I'm not trying to pull anything on anyone; I just can't think of any other way, it's as simple as that." Alison tells her, "I'm sure if you applied your mind to it you'd come up with something." Fiona shrugs, "I'm sure I would, but I just haven't got enough energy, that's all." Alison looks at her and retorts, "That's your problem. You know, the one thing you had going for you was your courage. If you've lost that, you're not even worth arguing with." With that, she heads out, leaving Fiona sitting there, looking downcast.

Craig and Gordon are eating breakfast in the kitchen at Beryl's as Beryl paces the floor and asks, "How do you think I'd go as a carpenter?" She sits down as Gordon muses, "If you're as good as me, you wouldn't!" Craig asks, "Why don't you do a typing course to start? That could always come in useful." Beryl, however, tells him, "I don't want a boring office job." Gordon points out, "Not all office jobs are boring." Beryl retorts, "I know that, but I want something different." Gordon then says, "I know what you would be good at: kindergarten teaching." Craig adds, "Yeah! You love kids... and they love you. What better qualification could you have?" Beryl, however, retorts, "I have had quite enough looking after children, thankyou!" Gordon suggests, "You could try working in some sort of store. You like people; you get on well with them." Beryl, however, insists, "I want some adventure; something completely different." Craig tells her, "You should take up white-water rafting or become a ski instructor!" Beryl just retorts, "I am being serious." Gordon, looking at her leaflets, muses, "Surely you can't be serious about some of these? Mechanical engineering... bricklaying..." Beryl chuckles, "A lot of women do that sort of work now. I'm not saying it's for me; I just picked up a bunch of things to look at." Gordon remarks, "It's certainly diverse!" He then suggests that it's time he was going. He and Craig stand up and Beryl begins clearing the table. Gordon gives Beryl a kiss, picks up his jacket and says, "Bye." He then looks at Craig and asks, "You coming?" Beryl asks Craig in surprise, "Aren't you going to Tec?" Craig explains, "Free day. I'm going to the airfield with Gordon." Beryl calls after them, "Nobody tells me anything!"

Sometime later, Gordon is sitting behind the desk in the office at Sanders Air Charter, talking on the 'phone, saying, "That's great, Bill. Sounds as though everything's really going well... Just don't spend more than we can afford, eh?!... Fine... Yes, I'm sure he would." He then looks across at Craig and asks, "Feel like thirty seconds with Debbie?" He holds out the 'phone and Craig grabs it. He says eagerly, "Hello?... Hi, how's it going?... Yeah? Sounds great! Missing me, though, aren't you?... Of course!... Oh, it's not too bad. One of the tutors is a bit of a drag... Yeah, I bet you would." His voice then becomes sadder as he goes on, "The nights are worst for me, too... I wish I could afford it - but you'll be back before too long. Don't let those Yanks impress you too much!... Of course I'm jealous!... No, I've got the day off; Gordon asked me to come in here for a while. Listen, I'd better get going... Me too... Yeah, I'll write as soon as I get home. It's good to hear your voice, though... OK... Bye." With that, he hangs up. Gordon asks him, "Worth the trip out?" Craig smiles, "You bet!" Gordon goes on, "You really miss her, don't you?" Craig nods, "Like you wouldn't believe." Gordon, however, retorts, "Oh yes I would. When Beryl was in jail, I felt as though my right arm had been cut off." He then adds, "It's nice to see two young people so committed to each other." Craig, sitting down on the edge of Gordon's desk, sighs, "It's not just that. Debbie means... I don't know... she's more than that. She's a good friend too, you know? It's hard to explain... It's not just that we're in love; she's a sister and she's a cousin and she's basically--" Gordon interrupts and suggests, "Family?" Craig smiles, "I know it sounds crazy, but yeah, in a way. I guess she makes up for not having anyone else around." Gordon remarks, "It must be very lonely for you, sometimes, without a family." Craig nods, "Mainly when Debbie's not around."

Alison is standing with Michael in the hallway at the mansion, saying tersely, "There really isn't time for subtlety, Michael." Michael, however, retorts, "There are ways and 'ways' of telling people they don't have a roof over their heads." Alison mutters, "I didn't realise you were so sensitive." Michael, however, insists, "It's not me I'm worried about - but if you've just told the other tenants the way you've told me, you're going to have a lot of upset people on your hands." Alison listens but then retorts, "I'm not going to have anyone on my hands. I've invested a lot of money in that air-charter service and it's stretched me to the limit. I simply cannot afford to hold onto this place." Michael sighs, "OK, I'll accept you need the money, but surely a little more notice could've been given." Alison, however, retorts, "No, I've got a buyer who wants the place. She's coming over for a second look this morning and I'm not going to put her off. She and her husband want to restore the place and live in it." Michael asks, "Can't you explain to them?" Alison, however, tells him, "I'm not going to say anything that could jeopardise the sale." Michael glares at her and says, "What I'm most concerned about is Fiona. I know you two don't get on, but I would've thought you could show just a bit of compassion." Alison sighs, "She's a lot tougher than you think, and I have known her a lot longer than you." Janice comes downstairs at that moment and chips in, "She may have been tough once, but she's taking the whole thing a lot harder than you realise." Alison mutters, "You'd know, of course." Janice, indicating a tray she's holding, says, "That's why I've made her a lovely breakfast; thought it might cheer her up a bit. Good Lord knows she needs it when she has to face being tossed into the street." Alison just growls, "For heaven's sakes, spare me any more violins." With that, she marches off down the hallway and heads out through the front door. Michael remarks to Janice, "Guilt complex, I think - not that she'd admit it." Janice retorts, "I don't think she feels guilty at all. Poor Fiona's gone down lower than I've ever seen her." Michael suggests, "Why don't we get our heads together with Andy?"

A few minutes later, Janice puts Fiona's tray of breakfast things down in Michael's room. Andy has joined them and Janice says, "Now that we've got our heads together, what do we do?" Michael, sitting down at the table, tells her, "The first thing, I think, is to look at the options we have." Janice asks, "What options do we have? We have to get out - including Fiona." Michael tells her, "For a start, tenants have rights, so we seek legal advice on where Fiona stands. I seem to remember she fought for this place against having it pulled down." Janice nods, "That's right - and then she had to fight again when Alison was going to sell it. That's why I think Fiona's thrown in the towel this time: she just doesn't think she can win a third round." Michael muses, "Right... but it could be to our advantage: the people who supported her before will more than likely weigh in on her side again." Andy - who's getting stuck into Fiona's toast! - suggests, "Hey! We could start a campaign. Get one of the local newspapers involved; even the TV station. It's the sort of stuff those current affair programmes eat up!" Michael smiles at Janice, "And you can't tell me Fiona wouldn't play it to the hilt if she had a TV camera on her." Janice sighs, "The way she is, I don't think she'd have to put on a performance; she'd break anybody's heart." She then stands up to get a piece of paper on which to write ideas down. As she does so, she looks at Andy and then gasps, "Andy! How dare you! Here we are, trying to come up with serious ideas and all you can do is feed your face. That was for Fiona." Andy just shrugs, "It would've been cold by the time she got it." He then tells the others, "We're going about this the wrong way." Janice protests, "It's a good idea." Andy retorts, "I've got a better one - and one that'll work faster, too." Janice asks, "What?" Andy just smiles, "You'll see!"

A short time later, Andy is spraying water on one of the walls in the hallway! He puts down his sprayer quickly as the front door opens and Mrs. Brennan walks in. He looks at her and remarks, "Not looking for a room, I hope." Janice is standing by the front door as Mrs. Brennan replies, "No, no, I'm interested in buying the house." Andy chuckles immediately, "I'm surprised they're still selling the place!" He takes a step forward and Janice dashes in and picks up the sprayer from behind him! Mrs. Brennan says to Andy, "It's been on the market for a while?" Andy nods, "Ages. People have shown interest, but it's all fallen through." Mrs. Brennan asks, "Any particular reason?" Andy replies, "Well it does need a spot of attention." Mrs. Brennan remarks in surprise, "I felt this is a fairly solid old house." Andy tells her, "On the surface, maybe, but you should try living here for a while. I mean, the plumbing's really shot: if you have the water on in one part of the house, you can't get any more than a trickle anywhere else." Mrs. Brennan muses, "I suppose the pipes are hardly likely to be copper..." Andy goes on, "The boiler's always given us trouble. You know it blew-up once?" Mrs. Brennan tells him, "Oh, I'd be prepared to replace that. We intend renovating completely." Andy smiles, "Good!" He then adds, "The damp's going to cost you a fortune, though, isn't it?" Mrs. Brennan looks at him in surprise and says, "The damp? You mean the walls?" Andy tells her, "They tried putting some stuff on it to cover it up; that's why you'll find most of the rooms are freshly painted." Mrs. Brennan comments, "That's an old trick." Andy nods, "You would be surprised what's underneath these walls. The thing that gets the tenants, though, is the story about the ghost. I mean, I don't personally believe in it, but I guess anything's possible - particularly in a place this old." Mrs. Brennan tells him, "I don't believe in ghosts either - but as you say, anything's possible." She then says, "I might have a further think before I make a decision." Andy smiles, "I would too. I'd hate to see anyone buying a pig in a poke." Mrs. Brennan says, "Thankyou for being so helpful." Andy assures her, "My pleasure." With that, Mrs. Brennan heads out. Janice joins Andy and admonishes, "That was an absolutely dreadful thing to do." Andy laughs, "I couldn't agree more." Janice smiles, "I hope it works!"

A police car has pulled up outside Charlie's and Greg is climbing out of the passenger-side door. Alison emerges from the house and asks, "What's going on?" A police officer climbs out and says, "Miss. Carr?" Alison nods, "Yes. What's the problem?" The officer tells her, "A spot of painting." Alison asks in surprise, "What painting?" The officer retorts, "Graffiti. Luckily it was on the walls of an old warehouse in the process of being demolished, so I don't see any cause in taking the matter any further. Mr. Hudson assures me that he's at a responsible age. I just wanted to make sure." Alison sighs, "He is..." The officer looks at Greg and says, "Don't do it again." He then heads back to his car, climbs in and drives off. When he's gone, Alison snaps at Greg, "What on earth did you think you were doing? You're old enough to know better." Greg just shrugs, "Is there an age limit?" Alison retorts, "You know what I mean. I nearly had a heart attack when the police car arrived. What on earth possessed you?" Greg shrugs, "I had a few drinks and I was bored." Alison mutters, "Oh yes, the usual excuse of youth. Why don't you do something useful for a change?" Greg mutters, "Please, not another lecture. Phyllis's quotes could fill an encyclopaedia!" Alison growls, "I'm sorry, but you deserve it." Greg holds out his right hand and asks, "You going to give me a smack?!" Alison looks at him and then sighs, "Oh get out!" She then asks, "What did you write on the stupid wall, anyway?" Greg replies, "'Beam me up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life down here.'" Alison laughs, "Idiot!"

It's evening-time. Craig and Gordon are sitting at the kitchen table at Beryl's as Beryl puts on some rubber gloves. Gordon comments, "We really must get a dishwasher." Beryl muses, "That's something I haven't really thought about." Craig stands up and announces, "I'm off to my room to cram a bit. Thanks for dinner." Gordon says to him, "Thanks for your help today." Craig insists, "It was nothing." With that, he leaves the room. When he's gone, Gordon remarks to Beryl, "He's a very pleasant young man. I tried to get him to talk today, but he clammed-up when I mentioned his family. It seems rather sad that he places so much store in Debbie. There's nothing wrong with the way he feels about her, but I just get the feeling that he hasn't got anybody else." Beryl explains, "His background wasn't all the best; it's a wonder he's come through as well as he has." Gordon nods, "He mentioned that you knew something about it." Beryl tells him, "His mother dumped him early in life; a friend of hers looked after him. I gather she wasn't too bad, but then she died. The woman that took him in turned out to be a real monster, so Craig left; then he found his real mother and she was a disappointment to him. You don't have to know all the details, but she ended up being murdered. It's taken him quite some time to get over it." Gordon asks, "He had no one to turn to but Debbie?" Beryl replies, "Not really. I did my best to help, but I wasn't a substitute for a family. Debbie's the only one that really got through to him." Gordon remarks, "It seems odd that he hasn't made any other friends." Beryl agrees, "Yes, it does. It's not as though he hasn't got a pleasant personality." Gordon, looking suddenly thoughtful, murmurs, "No. Far from it..." Beryl asks, "What are you thinking?" Gordon, however, just tells her, "It's not clear in my mind, yet."

Michael is sitting with Fiona in her room at the mansion. She's showing him a brochure and saying, "This place looks nice - and it seems like everyone has their own garden." Michael points out, "But it's so crammed-up against the others." Fiona just shrugs, "There's nothing wrong with people around you - and it says here that they have a permanent nurse on hand." Michael sighs, "Planning on becoming an invalid, are you?" Fiona replies, "No - but it's most reassuring." Janice comes in from the hallway as Fiona goes on, "There's no sense in denying it: I am just as capable as the next person of getting sick. Remember my appendix?" Janice glances at the brochure and says, "That sort of place isn't for you, Aunt Fiona." Fiona, however, retorts, "I think I'm the best judge of that." Janice looks at Michael and nods towards the hallway. He takes the hint and says quickly to Fiona, "I'll be back in a minute, Fiona; I just remembered something." He stands up and heads out into the hallway. Fiona barely notices. Out in the hallway, Janice demands sharply, "What happened? I thought Andy had talked that woman out of buying." Michael shrugs, "I don't know. I thought the sale was off too; it doesn't seem to have changed Fiona's mind about leaving." Janice growls, "She makes me so mad. Once she's got a bee in her bonnet, there's no stopping her." Alison walks in through the main front door suddenly, and Janice mutters, "Here's trouble." Alison turns to her and snaps, "You bet your life there's trouble." Michael asks, "What's the matter?" Alison rants, "I had just sold this dump of a place and the buyer's gone cold on me. I bet I know who's responsible." She goes to head into Fiona's room. Janice, however, says quickly, "It had nothing to do with Fiona; it was my fault." Alison looks at her and muses, "Oh it was, was it? Yes... I should've known." She then snaps, "You're wasting your time. I'm still selling the place - only this time it'll be by auction." With that, she marches out again. Janice looks at Michael and cries, "That woman is insufferable."

A while later, Greg is sitting in the lounge room at Charlie's as Alison relates, "And Andy told her there was a ghost in the house. The stupid woman bought it." She takes a sip from a glass of scotch as she adds bitterly, "Between Andy, the do-gooder Janice and Michael, the doctor with the smile of an angel, I've got a real battle on my hands. They haven't got a chance of winning, though." Greg points out, "They seem to have you hopping." Alison tells him, "They're annoying me, more than anything - like a bunch of mosquitos." She then comments, "I wonder where Sarah is. I hope Andy hasn't taken her back to the mansion - the less involved she becomes with those people the better." Greg smiles, "They sound interesting!" Alison, however, mutters, "I can think of a better word for them." She then announces, "I have to go out again - try and get this agent off his backside." Greg exclaims, "At night?" Alison just retorts, "He gets his commission."

Fiona has poured out five glasses of champagne. They're all sitting in front of her, on her coffee table. She picks up the first one and, already sounding merry, says out loud, "Right... now... here's to it, old girl. Here's to what? What are we going to toast this time?" She raises her glass and slurs, "I know! Here's to all the boys who bought me a present!" She takes a large sip and then exclaims, "Wow! You're going to need a couple dozen more bottles if you're going to do that." She then stands up and slurs, "I've got a better idea! Here's to my dear old house in Manly, God bless its little heart!" She takes another large gulp before then slurring, "And here's to Bunty and Thel." She bursts out laughing, "You couple of old reprobates, you!" She then goes on, "And here's to Jill. And Terry... and little Fee... and Johnny..." Her face drops suddenly and she then murmurs, "Hold it... things are getting a bit morbid around here." She sits down again. There's suddenly a knock on the door and she calls, "Come on in, it's open!" The door opens and Greg comes in. He says to Fiona hesitantly, "Hi, there. I'm Greg." Fiona smiles, "Hi Greg! Uni student by the look of it. Sorry - no rooms. Well, there are rooms, but they're not to let; well, they are to let, but I can't let them because the house is being sold, so..." Greg tells her, "I'm not looking for a room." Fiona exclaims, "Why not? Everybody's looking for a room! I'm going to be looking for a room... soon!" She bursts out laughing, "That almost rhymes, doesn't it?!" She then stares at him and asks, "Who are you?" Greg explains, "Greg Hudson. I was wondering if my sister was here." Fiona looks at him and asks in surprise, "Did you say 'Hudson'?" Greg nods, "Yeah. Why?" Fiona shrugs drunkenly, "Why indeed? It's a perfectly nice name!" She then asks, "Are you any relation to Pamela Hudson?" Greg stares at her and says, "You know Pamela Hudson?" Fiona replies, "I knew her. I knew her. Are you her son?" Greg nods, "Yeah." Fiona muses, "Ahhh. Well, you're too late, 'cos she's left here. She left and went over to stay with Alison. You know Alison Carr? But she's gone from there, too. Poof! Gone!" Greg stands there, a look of fury on his face.

A short time later, the front door slams at Charlie's and Greg storms in, yelling, "Alison... Alison..." He heads into the lounge room, but it's empty. He then goes to the cabinet by the wall and looks in it. He apparently doesn't find what he wants, though. He starts rifling through the magazines on the coffee table and he fiddles with the TV and video. All-of-a-sudden, an alarm goes off. Greg ignores it, and moves to rifling through the drawers in the drinks cabinet. The alarm on the video keeps going.

Fiona is pouring herself yet another glass of champagne. The door to her room opens suddenly and Janice walks in. She mutters, "What a charming sight." Fiona smiles, "You think so?" Janice sits down and growls, "Aunt Fiona, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself." Fiona just beams, "Yes, I'm ashamed. Thoroughly. I don't think I can finish that bottle!" Janice snaps, "It doesn't matter what your excuse is. There's no reason to behave like this." Fiona, however, slurs, "Who needs an excuse? I didn't need an excuse when I was young and I drank gallons of the stuff!" Janice mutters, "I don't think we need to delve into your past, at the moment." Fiona slurs, "Why not? It's got an awful lot more going for it than my future has!" Janice insists, "There's nothing to say your future isn't going to be good as your past." Fiona retorts drunkenly, "You reckon? What am I going to have, huh?" She slams her hand down on the brochure on the coffee table and goes on, "Not one of those places, that's for sure." Janice comments, "I thought you were keen on the idea this afternoon." Fiona slurs, "Oh yeah! Keen as mustard! But then I realised how much they were going to cost and how much I had to spend, and I could probably afford to buy the loo in the room..." She bursts into a fit of giggles! Janice pleads sadly, "Aunt Fiona, don't do this to yourself." Fiona, however, slurs, "Please, Janice, don't feel sorry for me. It'll only make me cry, and I don't want to cry because that's giving in too much." Tears start to well in her eyes, though, as she goes on, "You know, there's one thing champagne does for me: it makes me feel good even when I'm feeling rotten and, oh boy oh boy, do I feel rotten." She then picks up a glass and holds it out to Janice. Janice, however, points out, "You know what alcohol does to me." Fiona smiles, "Yep! So have a glass!" Janice insists, "I really don't think I should." Fiona just slurs, "That's what's wrong with you, my girl: you think too much. Where's the Reid blood? Surely there has to be some of my blood coursing through your veins?" Janice stares at her and then smiles, "There is. Alright!" She sits down and takes a glass, saying, "Just a small one." Fiona smiles at her, happily. As Janice takes a sip, Fiona beams, "That's my girl!"

The front door opens at Charlie's and Alison heads inside - to find Greg being escorted out of the lounge room by a police officer. She snaps, "What the hell's going on?" The officer tells her, "A neighbour reported an alarm going off. Caught him in the act." Greg sighs, "I've been trying to tell him I live here." Alison clarifies, "Yes, that's right, constable. I'm Alison Carr; I live here too." The officer mutters, "I see." He then snaps at Greg, "You should've turned the alarm off, young fella." Looking at Alison, he adds, "And you should be grateful you've got observant neighbours, madam." With that, he heads off. When he's gone, Alison looks at Greg and asks in surprise, "What happened?" Greg just retorts icily, "Why didn't you tell me my mother was here?" Alison's face drops.

 

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