Episode 4036

Extended Summary

Jack lies on the floor of his bedroom, still out cold, blood trickling from his ear…

Lucas arrives home. He calls out to see if anyone’s around but there’s no answer. Excited, he looks up movie times for his date with Matilda, smiling! Matilda is just as excited and when Beth gets home she starts rabbiting on about Lucas… She mortified when she turns to see Tony there too. When Tony gets home, he’s stunned to find Jack lying on the floor, out cold! He calls for Lucas, who rushes in and they try to rouse Jack with no success…

The drama continues as Jack is rushed into the hospital on the trolley. Flynn and Nurse Julie hasten to his aid. Jack is semi-conscious but confused and not responding to Flynn’s questions. Flynn checks Jack’s ear with an auroscope – but there’s too much blood and mess to see anything. Tony is desperate for some answers, but Flynn wants Jack sent down for a CT scan.

Back from X-ray, Flynn says there’s so much swelling around the ear it’s difficult to assess the damage. Jack is more lucid now, but extremely dizzy and he still doesn’t remember what happened. Jack reveals he can’t hear anything from his injured ear… Flynn checks his ear again, concluding that it’s serious and they need to operate!

Matilda’s staying at Cassie’s and they are getting a late night snack. Cassie explains Ric’s revealed he still had feelings for her despite the break-up. Matilda’s not surprised – she could see that coming… But Cassie says it changes nothing, there’s still no future for them.

Flynn returns from surgery and explains the operation was successful – and they repaired the inner window of Jack’s ear. However, they still won’t know the full extent of the damage until the swelling goes down… Tony and Lucas move to Jack’s bedside. Tony hates seeing his son like this (memories of Kate flooding back) and starts to adjust his pillow to make him more comfortable… As he does this, Jack begins to rouse. He’s groggy and still can’t hear out of one ear. It’s a gut-wrenching moment for Jack as he contemplates his future if the damage is permanent. Meanwhile, Beth’s filled Alf and Martha in on what happened to Jack. As Martha hears the story, she gets a dreadful sinking feeling…

The boys are talking a bit livelier now. Jack and Tony tell Lucas to go, but he doesn’t want to leave Jack. Eventually they persuade him to go on his date and he leaves, all excited. Alf arrives with a (reluctant) Martha in tow. Jack is expecting a bit of lip from Martha about being a clumsy twit for slipping over, but Martha says nothing – she’s feeling terribly guilty throughout…

Matilda is at the Juice Bar, waiting and waiting for Lucas to show. She keeps glancing at her watch, then to the door… After a time, totally crushed, she gives up and leaves…

Tony pulls Jack’s shirt from his bag (the same shirt Martha put the rubber spider on) and when Jack sees it, it triggers a memory – there was a spider on his bed, he got a fright and fell backwards. Martha hangs back a second but she can’t confess. She heads out – keeping the truth to herself. Meanwhile, Lucas rushes in to get ready for his date. He goes to Jack’s bedroom to get his funky shoes. As he’s heading out, he spots something on the floor… It’s the fake spider. He picks it up, bemused. Will the truth about Martha come out?