Garry is sitting eating breakfast. Shirley comes in, tosses his bags out the window. She tells him he better get down there to get it before they confuse it with the bin bags. Garry protest saying he’s got nowhere to live. Shirley tells him she’s got to get this place ready for Dean, and he’s not her problem. He’s confused her with someone who cares she tells him as she pushes him out the door.
Phil comes in to find Christian in a fancy robe. Roxy offers to make Phil a full English breakfast. Phil does not look pleased. Christian introduces himself. Roxy explains she let him crash since Ian’s kicked him out. Phil tells him he can stay for one night only as he doesn’t want Ben hearing or seeing anything. Christian whispers in Roxy’s ear, he better go put some pants on. He stands behind Phil making lude gestures, and Roxy laughs. Phil turns but doesn’t see what he’s done.
Heather is sad because she thinks Garry has left because of her. Shirley is making Heather breakfast. Heather thanks her and tells her she’s her best mate. Shirley smiles and tells her she wants her to move out.
Stacey is showing her mum all the items from the new wholesaler. Mo listens from outside the room. Stacey believes she’s going to make a killing off this lot. Mo offers to help her carry the boxes out. Mo grabs one of the shirts and hides it under the sofa cushion.
Heather doesn’t understand why she needs to move out. She doesn’t want to move back in with her mum. Shirley tells her it’s not forever as Dean isn’t going to want to live with his mum forever. Heather asks why she can’t stay. Shirley explains this is her second chance to be the mum he’s always wanted her to be. He’s going to need her even more now that Kevin is gone. Heather says she feels really selfish now. Shirley tells her she’s gold is what she is. Then pops up and tells Heather it’s time to get packing.
Phil is having a go at Ian about Christian. Ian asks Phil if he’s homophobic. Ian tells him, “you know what they say, don’t you? If you are, it means you’re a little bit Dorothy yourself.” Phil looks at Ian and says, “One day Ian, I’m going to beat you to death, and if you want to make it today, that’s fine with me.” Ian looks back at Jane and says maybe that’s why Phil is so angry because he’s repressed. Phil makes a move to hit him, and Jane steps in. She tells them both to pack it in. Jane tells Phil that Ian kicked Christian out because he didn’t want him there either because he’s scared of him too. Ian protests that he is not. He just didn’t want him bringing strange men back to the house, parading them about in his kitchen. Phil says, exactly. Ian says he doesn’t want them about in front of Peter. Phil agrees he doesn’t want it in front of Ben either as they are at puberty and all confused. Jane tells them both that being gay isn’t contagious! Phil tells them both that Christian is not staying in the Vic. Ian tells Jane that he is not staying at their house, either. Phil says he ain’t their problem.
Tanya runs through all of Oscar’s needs for Clare. Clare tells her that they will be just fine. Tanya tells her she’ll only be a couple of hours. Clare tells her to take her time and don’t rush back. As soon as Tanya is out the door, she puts Oscar in his pram. He starts to cry, and Clare tells him to shut up as she clicks on the telly.
Minty tells Heather that she is not staying with him. Shirley tells him he has two spare rooms, so why not? Shirley wonders how he’s going to win this wedding competition if Heather is not there. Minty says he’s not going to continue with the competition. Shirley wonders if he’s told the magazine that. He tells her not yet, but he will, he didn’t want to get Heather in trouble for impersonating Hazel. Shirley tells him it’s not too late, as Hazel told Garry to make it look like her fault because she didn’t want him to feel like it was his. Heather tells him that Hazel still loves him, and she didn’t feel worthy. Minty is convinced, and Shirley sends him off to find Garry to put the record straight about how Hazel feels about him. Minty has hope that he can win Hazel back. Shirley looks at Heather and says she told her she’d find her a place to stay. Heather says he didn’t agree to let her stay. Shirley tells her to get unpacking as he left her there, and she’s got squatters’ rights. Heather looks very sad as Shirley continues on. Shirley tells her she has to go get Dean. She asks Heather if she’s going to wish her luck. Heather sadly says, “yeah, good luck.”
Phil is discussing with Garry whey he can’t live in the Vic for a few days. Phil says he has one too many schmucks living there right now. Garry asks if he could kip in one of the cars. Phil tells him a better option would be to make up with Minty and move back in because if he’s the reason, Minty hasn’t shown up. Minty comes running in and apologizes to Garry and tells him he realizes he was just trying to protect him and be a good mate. He tells Garry he knows Hazel still loves him, and they need to find her and bring her back home. Phil tells them not until they clear the backlog on the motors. Garry asks Phil where he’s going? Phil tells them he’s leaving them to it as there weren’t three geezers in Brokeback Mountain, was there?
Shirley is asking Peggy to host a do for Dean’s welcome home. Peggy doesn’t think anyone will think it wise to celebrate Dean yet. Peggy offers her some lagers and suggests she celebrate at home in private. Shirley asks Peggy what she did for Phil when he came home from prison. Shirley tells Peggy she just wanted to give her son a second chance as she did for her boys. Peggy has a change of heart and tells her to keep it low key. Shirley thanks her.
Ian takes a call from a potential client for a birthday party that could bring in five grand. Ian tells Jane it’s a councilman he met at that gathering, and he wants to come in and discuss menu options. Jane reminds him he doesn’t have Christian. Ian says it proves he doesn’t need him. He gathers his jacket and prepares to head out to research menu items and ideas. Jane tells Ian he’s not leaving her alone at rush lunchtime with Marie off as well. Ian tells her she can cope. Jane tells him that if he leaves her there, he may never have sex again. He looks at her and says it’s five grand.
Shirley comes out on her way to get Dean. Dean spies her and ducks back into the ally. Shirley heads off, and Dean heads over to her flat with two lagers.
Clare is sitting watching telly and reading a magazine. The phone rings. Clare answers it, and it’s Chelsea. Chelsea goes on about she needs to get there as there is a crisis. The electric is out, and it’s a fuse or something that she told Clare about the other day, but she did nothing about it. Clare asks Chelsea if she’s gone and stuck a dryer in water in an effort to get her in trouble. Chelsea wonders what Clare is doing there, and where is Tanya? Clare tells her that Tanya isn’t her concern, and all she needs to worry about is her.
Mo is convinced that something is wrong with this lot of clothes Stacey is moving. Jean wonders why? Mo says, “because it’s Roger the Dodger Grant, that’s why.” Mo pours some tea on the shirt. Jean wonders what the heck is wrong with Mo. Mo says she wanted to see if the colors would run. Jean tells her they haven’t, and now this is going to stain. Mo goes to fetch matches to see if it’s flammable. Jean tells her to stop it. Stacey has an eye for a bargain, and there is nothing wrong with this! Jean tells her Stacey is happy now, and she’ll have no one bring her down.
Clare is out on the square with Oscar in his pram. Max sees her and wonders who she is with his kid. She explains she’s the assistant manager of Booty. He tells her that Oscar doesn’t need to be out in the weather, and he’ll take him as he has a couple of hours. Clare tells him she doesn’t know who he is and if it is indeed his son. Clare offers to call Tanya to verify, but Max tells her she’ll just get Tanya’s voicemail. Max asks Stacey to vouch for him. Stacey tells Clare it is his kid. Max walks off with Oscar. Clare tells Stacey that he seems nice. Stacey tells her she’s so unemployed for that as Tanya is going to go nuts. Clare looks at her and asks Stacey when she’s ever cared what Tanya thinks.
Shirley comes into the flat and hears the tv. She calls out for Heather, asking if she’s forgotten something. She throws her keys on the table and sees Dean. She’s happy to see him. He says, “oh, you remembered my name. That’s a start.” She wonders where he was as she went to meet him. Dean tells her they kicked him out earlier to mess with his head. He holds the bottle of vodka out and offers her some as he’s already started. She asks if she can get a hug first. He puts the bottle to her chest to keep her at bay. He tells her he’s sorry about the mess as he was looking for a key. He tells she should have a security system as it was easy to break in. She tells him she has nothing to nick. He wonders if it ever gets to her? She asks him what? Dean says, “your thirty years of grafting, and you’ve got nothing to show for it.” She tells him she has him and Carley. He says that it used to be a beer and a bloke, see ya kids. She tells him not anymore. It’s about him and Carly now. She says she’s been saving and working for him, for the both of them and hands him money. She tries to give him a hug, and he again stops her. She tells him she just wanted to hold him. She wants a fresh start for both of them. She tells him that he looks different, older. He tells her he is different now. The buzzer rings, and Dean lets a hooker in. Shirley asks him why he’s brought a tart in. The girl is offended. He tells Shirley they are going to go to the room now as she is what he needs right now. The tart asks for money upfront. Dean tosses some money at Shirley to get lost while he takes care of what he needs. “Fresh start, right?” he says to Shirley. Shirley tosses the money on the table and walks out.
Minty is excited, potentially finding Hazel on a cruise liner. Minty explains all they need are two weeks off and a loan for $2000. Phil tells them he’ll give them 2000 reasons why they are wasting their time. Roxy tells Christian that he’ll have to find somewhere else to stay. Phil isn’t going to have it. She asks him if he can’t go back to Ian’s? Christian says Ian would have to beg him first. Roxy says staying there is like frying pan and fire, and he’s (nodding at Phil) fire. Phil continues to tell Minty and Garry no.
Ian welcomes the councilman into the house. He offers to take his coat and tempts him with the appetizers he’s made. Ian offers tea or wine. The councilman replies he’s driving so he’ll have to pass, but he likes Ian’s attitude. Ian tells him that the party starts as soon as you step foot in his door. The councilman tells him he wishes his boyfriend had that attitude probably as to why he’s my ex! Ian says he’s sorry. The councilman says he’s not, and that is why he’s having this party! He explains that his boyfriend was in the closet another bugbear. So now he can go camp and go loud and proud! He tells Ian that he doesn’t want anything straight at this party, not even the glassware. Ian tells him not a problem. We can do that! The councilman replies, “we?” Ian explains he and his partner Christian, who should be here by now, can do that. He steps aside to call Christian. The council member is intrigued.
Tanya is furious that Max has Oscar. Clare tells her if she’d only told her this wouldn’t have happened. Chelsea says she can’t believe Clare is blaming Tanya for this. Clare says no, she blames herself. Clare continues that Chelsea couldn’t even deal with phoning an electrician without her help. Chelsea fires back that she had clients and angry ones at that. She tells Clare that if she’d dealt with the problem when she told her this wouldn’t have been an issue. Tanya hushes them both and tells them that the problem right now is that she has to go get her son from her ex-husband. Clare insists on going to get Oscar as it was Max who put her in this awkward situation, and he owes her an apology. Clare rounds the corner out of sight of Tanya and has a smug look on her face.
Shirley is in the pub, and Sean walks up behind her, whispering, “when is this party getting started?” Shirley spins around and tells Sean that if she goes near Dean, she’ll kill him. Peggy tells Sean she wants no trouble in her pub. Sean promises he’s just there for a quiet beer. Shirley looks at Peggy with thanks, and Peggy looks back as to say I’ve got your back.
Ian is begging Christian for his help. Christian. Christian tells him he can’t help him as he’s got to spend the rest of the day looking for somewhere to stay. Ian tells him he’s his brother-in-law, and he can stay with them. Christian accepts and makes Ian give him a hug in front of everyone.
Minty and Garry continue to push Phil for the time off and the money. Garry tells him that they have the prize money to count on. They can win this and then find Hazel. Shirley walks up, and they ask where Heather is. She tells them Heather is at Minty’s flat, and she’d do it in a shot if they let her stay there. Garry is confused. Minty tells him that Heather is homeless. They rush off to talk to Heather. Phil chuckles as Shirley calls Heather to tip her off about Garry and Minty and starts to coach her into what to do.
Christian and Ian come in, and Ian introduces Christian as his partner. Edward and Christian chat. Ian touches his backside and says, “oh, there’s me, vibrating.” He answers his phone, and it’s Jane with an emergency. He tells Edward and Christian to carry on, and he’ll be back in a minute. Christian asks him if this can’t wait? Ian asks Edward how the appetizers taste? Edward responds they melt in the mouth. Ian smiles and says, we aim to please. Christian shoots him a look.
Jean is holding the shirt that is shredded and discolored. Jean is beside herself, upset. She is worried about how Stacey will take this. Mo tells Jean they’ll have to tell her. Jean cries they can’t as Stacey’s just got her confidence back. Just then, Stacey walks in. She sees the shirt and is upset that the joke is on her again.
Clare asks Max to please let her take Oscar back now. Max says he’s sorry he shouldn’t have taken advantage of her ignorance. Clare asks if that is how he apologized to Stacey. She apologizes straight away and says, that was mean. Max tells her it was, and it’s none of her business. She tells him that Dot told her about what happened. Clare says even if she’d known she’d still have let him have the baby as it’s always the kids who get hurt when their parent’s divorce. It was an affair, just sex. She tells him she’d be a horrible married person and not faithful. All the better that she’s single, isn’t it? She heads out with a flirty smile at Max.
Dean is walking and chugging a bottle of vodka. He walks by the salon. Chelsea comes running, calling his name declaring he’s out. She asks him when he got released. She asks if he’s not going to speak to her? He tells her she’s gotten all she’ll ever get from him. She says she was just seeing if he was ok. He asks, “You care about me now? Inside gave you a conscious all those sleepless nights?” She tells him she slept just fine. He tells her she better be careful, or he’ll start collecting what he’s owed. She asks him what they did to him inside? He tells her everything. He pulls up his sleeve and shows her his burns from cigarettes. He tells her to keep away from him. He makes sure she understands. She says she is sorry.
Ian is detailing the meeting with Jane and tells her Christian was brilliant. She gets his attention, and he turns to see Christian and Edward. Ian asks if it’s all sorted. Christian says it is. Edward confirms with Christian for dinner tomorrow night at Fargo’s at eight o’clock. Ian calls out that it was nice seeing him again. Ian is going off on Christian about mixing business with pleasure with a date tomorrow night! Christian says it’s not me he wants to date; it’s you, Ian! Jane and Christian snigger as it sets in with Ian what he is going to have to do to earn the business.
Dean sits out in the square, looking at the car lot and drinking. He walks to the Vic, tosses his bottle. He walks in, and it gets quiet. Sean looks at Dean. Peggy hands Dean a lager and welcomes him home. Dean tells Peggy to say it like she means it. Shirley moves him over to a table and says they’ll enjoy a quiet drink then go. Sean makes his way around, and Phil stops him. Phil asks Sean what he’s doing. Sean tells him that he just wants to tell Dean no hard feelings. Phil tells him that Deano’s heard him, so go on. Dean says no, no, it’s ok and gets up to speak. He tells Sean thanks it means a lot and wants to start again. Sean puts his hand out, and Dean pulls him in and bashes his face. Phil grabs Dean and tosses him out and tells him he’s barred. Shirley walks after him and tells Phil to make sure Sean doesn’t follow. Sean says he’s going to kill him but is out of it, and Phil stops him.
Shirley goes after Dean wondering what the hell he’s doing? She wonders where he is going? He tells her he doesn’t know, but he wants to go far away from her. She tells him to come back to the flat, and she’ll fix him up something to eat, whatever he wants. He turns and tells her what he wants? What he wants is never to see her again. Hasn’t she got that? He thought he could come in take the money she told him she’d been saving up and get out without seeing her. But she ruined that like she’s ruined everything in his life. A few hundred quid? What was that supposed to be? Compensation? To make up for the childhood, she gave him? The one she walked out on? The one that got him here to this place? You’re so proud of me? Shirley tells him she is. He tells her that he’s finally learned the lesson she was trying to teach him all his life. Don’t trust anything or anyone because they will leave you and walk out and abandon you. Shirley tells him that she has changed and she can help him. He grabs her by the hair and says, is she proud of him now? Is she? Can she help him? What could she possibly have that he would want? A few hundred quid, what about her earrings, and the few bits back at the flat? Will that help him? He asks her if she’s still proud of him? She says she is. He yanks her by the head and kisses her hard on the cheek. He tells her it’s just a little something to remember him by. Because we don’t do goodbyes, do we? We just walk out and let some poor mug like Kevin to pick up the pieces! Well, too bad he’s not here for you now! I’m proud of you too, mum. .Thanks for making me who I am today!
Dean walks off, and Shirley remains on the ground crying.