Episode 4635

Extended Summary

It’s the evening before Ric’s fight and Matilda is airing her concerns. When she was down at the memorial site yesterday, she felt her mother’s presence and, given the way Noel’s behaved towards his own family – using Viv and the baby as bargaining chips – she feels Noel deserves what’s coming to him. Ric broaches the flip side of tomorrow night – how does Mattie feel about Viv and the baby being back in their lives? Matilda says she can’t predict the future, but he is the father of Viv’s baby and she knows that’s never going to change.

Colleen, very genuinely, tells Leah she’s worried about her. She’s putting in so many hours at the Den that Colleen is concerned that she’s running herself into the ground. Leah is philosophical explaining that it’s always difficult to get a new venture up and running – hopefully it won’t take too much longer to get the place established and then, hopefully, she’ll be able to afford to pay for some staff.

Roman disgusted at finding out what Nicole was up to gives her a stern talking to. How could she bet two hundred dollars on getting someone into bed? And innocent young Geoff Campbell of all people! After the joke Geoff played on her tonight – with the nerdy boys from his Church group – Nicole hardly thinks he’s that innocent. Geoff seems perfectly capable of looking after himself. Roman tells her she’s lucky she didn’t win the bet or she’d be on the first bus home. He hardly knows Nicole and quite frankly much of what he’s discovering about her he doesn’t like and finds it hard to believe she’s his own flesh and blood. Sulking at the kitchen table she sends a message to her mother which reads – “I want to come home”. As Nicole tells Aden she’s leaving Summer Bay she receives a reply – “No way. You’ve only got yourself to blame.” What has Nicole done?

Roman, after his show down with Nicole, talks to Leah about parenting. What Leah says awakens Roman to the thought that giving Nicole an ultimatum may not be the answer – what if Nicole decides to take the option of leaving? He did track his daughter down and want to have a relationship with her after all.

Ric receives a phone call the morning of the fight, it’s Viv. He promptly makes his way to her house – he knows she wouldn’t have called him if it wasn’t important. Noel’s been saying to Viv that he’s okay with the baby and that he’s going to support her through the pregnancy and as much as Viv wants to believe him – she can’t. Deep down she thinks Noel’s uttering empty words and it scares her. Noel is so desperate to see the fight go ahead that he’d do and say anything to make it happen. Viv has made the decision to leave him, tonight.

Ric, Alf, and Tony arrive at the fight location. Alf checks with Ric that he really wants to go through with the sting and assures him it’s not too late to turn around and walk away, but Ric’s adamant. Noel asks where Matilda is as Ric tells him she was feeling off colour and stayed home. Noel says it’s a shame because he brought female company for her. Ric’s confused – until he follows Noel’s gaze to where a pale and worried Viv is sitting. Ric’s jolted – clearly her escape plan has gone awry. Ric problems escalate as he receives a phone call from Jack.

There’s been an escape elsewhere and the task force that was going to do the raid have been diverted to hunt for prisoners who are on the run. They are trying to put together a new team comprising of Yabbie Creek officers, but they needs time to do it which means Ric’s going to have to stall the fight. After quite a while stalling Ric has run out of excuses as he stoically heads towards the ring. Tony asks if Alf’s sure about what he has to do – Alf is – he just hopes that they can pull this off, because if they can’t, then Ric’s screwed. Tony says it’ll work, it has to! What plan have they got in mind – and will it succeed?