It's been a long, sleepless night, and nerves are on edge as Leah, Sally and Martha face up to the reality that one of their men won't be coming home. "Wishing Jack is alive means someone else will be lost," Martha sobs to Cassie, before being interrupted by the news that the rescue boat is making its way in with the survivors. The two of them rush to join the crowd that's gathered at the jetty, where the tensions high as the boat draws closer and everybody desperately tries to spot their loved ones. Survivor number one is Dan; next its Alf, then Ric and, finally, Brad. But there's no Jack. It takes Martha's utter devastation for Alf to finally reveal that she hasn't, in fact, lost the love of her life. "Oh, Jack wasn't on the boat, love," he says, surprisingly casually. "He got a phone call before we left it was some emergency." An instantly ecstatic Martha doesn't hang around long enough to find out more; she has to find Jack and tell him how she feels. This being Jack and Martha, there is, of course, an explanation destined to cause even more heartache. Jack is in the city at Sam's bedside. She's broken her leg, and Jack was the first person her match-making son Rory wanted to call. And if that weren't enough to drive a wedge between Jack and Martha, then the matter of Sam coming back to the Bay to stay with Jack certainly is. "There's something I need to tell you," a hapless Martha blurts out as she arrives on Jack's doorstep.
Finding her words echoed by Jack, she steps in to see Sam making herself at home on the sofa; worse still, shes left alone with her while Jack pops out to grab them all some lunch (a fun lunch that's likely to be), and it becomes immediately clear that Sams after more than a little rest and recuperation.
So, while Martha gets the brush off "Now Sam's back, I can see things clearly," Jack tells her Sam looks forward to getting cosy with the man himself.
And he doesn't seem to be too averse to the idea, either: "I wanna make it really clear that you're welcome to stay as long as you want forever, actually."
"I do"
While it's all doom and gloom for Martha, Sally is hoping for a rosier future with her other half. But all an emotionally and physically drained Brad really wants to do is sleep; it's too early for talking.
"You were right, anyway. My timing was completely off," he says, before making his getaway.
Is Sally so sure, though? When she eventually gets the chance, she explains to Brad how all the reasons for her turning down his proposal meant nothing when she thought she'd lost him: "I would've given up all those things, just to have you home safe, here with me as long as we both shall live." And with those magic words, she accepts his proposal
Peeping Luc
Meanwhile, Lucas has been acting even more strangely than usual he's been "working on something", he says cryptically, in response to Jack's attempts to make conversation.
His caginess becomes clear when we later see him camped outside Naomi's, watching her every move as she gets ready for bed. Yes, despite his best attempts, it seems that Lucas's obsession has just pushed him over the edge into very dangerous territory.
Tagged in Home And Away