±«Óãtv

When Becca arrives back at the Slater house, she heads into the lounge to find a grief-stricken family. The visiting police officers have told Jean that a body matching Stacey’s description has been fished out of the river. With Jean feeling unable to wait for dental recognition tests, Max suggests that they go and identify the body themselves. When they finally pluck up the courage to do so, Jean gives in at the last hurdle and cannot enter the room. Max and Jack go in on her behalf and come back to announce to the fearful family that it is not Stacey’s body lying on the table. Max and Jean are more desperate than ever to find Stacey.

The Beale family wake up to a chirpy Jane, who is suggesting silly baby names, and a grumpy Peter, who finds their present situation disgusting. Jane’s jolly demeanour soon falls, though, when Ian and Lucy return from the abortion clinic and tell the expectant stepmother that Lucy is having a miscarriage. Selflessly, Jane sweeps the girl into her arms and nurses her stepdaughter until the bleeding has subsided. Only then does Jane begin to mourn the loss of the child. Telling Lucy that she must move on and look to her future, Jane finds it difficult to practice that which she has preached. Lucy, on the other hand, soon pushes her feelings of guilt to the back of her mind and enjoys asking a relieved Peter about the gossip from school.

Keeping his eye on Carol, Billy Mitchell offers Billie Jackson some work for the day on the fruit and veg stall. Apathetic at first, Billie’s enthusiasm mounts, after a rousing spiel from Whitney, and things are looking up for the young lad. Once Ian sees Billie standing on the stall though, he swoops in and boots Billie out leaving Billy to apologise sheepishly to a furious Carol. Unhappy at being fired from a second job, Billie is comforted by his old gang, Kylie, Connor and Mitch, who take him over to the Vic for some drinks.

Phil goes to meet with Richie, the Mitchell family lawyer, who informs him that because Mark Fowler is named as the father on Louise’s birth certificate, it could take a lengthy and expensive trial to bring her home. Peggy has some better news, though, when social services call to say that they will inspect the suitability of the family because Louise has been singing their praises and saying that she would very much like to go and live with them.

Peggy, seeing Billie’s young gang in the Vic, is anxious for the youths to leave and asks Phil to make sure there is no trouble brewing when the social worker arrives. Phil asks the youngsters to leave and all seems well. Outside, however, the gang are unhappy about being thrown out of the pub and their thoughts turn to vengeance.

When a sullen Jack goes to the Vic to drown his sorrows, he is served by a flirtatious Chelsea who is eager to cheer him up. With a few words of warning from Charlie, Chelsea changes her tack, from sultry to sympathetic, and soon finds herself in Jack’s flat rearranging her blouse after a quick fumble before her evening shift.

Unable to resist the temptress Becca, Max is suspicious when she rushes away from their post coital love-nest shortly after receiving a phone call. Could it be from Stacey? Deciding to follow Becca at a safe distance, he eventually sees her knock at the door of an apparently derelict flat. The door opens to reveal his missing daughter-in-law Stacey.