Max screams TANYA PLEASE! TANYA PLEASE ITS ME!” Tanya starts to shovel dirt on top of him. Max manages a call to the house. Abi answers, and she goes on about how he won’t believe what has happened. She tells him she got him a present. Lauren tells her to tell dad about her ankle. Max loses the signal, and the call drops. Abi thinks he’s hung up. The girls bicker, and Bradley tells them to quiet down.
Sean and Tanya finish covering the hole. Tanya says she can still hear him as Max screams, “Tanya, Please!” Tanya takes a deep breath. Sean tells her they need to get out of there. HE tells her that there is no going back now. It’s done. It’s just him and her now. She is breathing heavy as she walks backward away from the site. Sean puts the shovel in the van. He gets in as does Tanya. She tells him they need to get changed. He informs her he doesn’t have any clothes to change into. She asks him if he’s just going to show up on the square looking like that? He says, yeah. She asks him if he realizes what they’ve only done? He says, “yeah, I do.” Tanya starts to panic. She says she needs to be very, very careful. He tells her that he’ll pull into a garage on the way back, and he’ll wash up. She asks what happens if someone sees them. He tells her he will be careful. He tells Tanya just to relax. She screams, hysterically at Sean that they have to go. She asks him if he understands? They have to go! Sean says, alright.
Max is in the coffin, and the light on his phone goes out. He cries.
Tanya tells Sean to stop. She tells him she will walk the rest of the way. She tells him to clean out the rest of the van and make sure no one sees him. He asks if she is alright? She says, yeah. Sean tells her that Max deserved it after all those things he did to her. Tanya nods. Sean asks when he can see her again. Tanya tells him she doesn’t know. Sean asks about tomorrow? She says no, not for a while. She tells him she needs to get home. The girls will be back soon. She tells him she will talk to him tomorrow. Tanya tells Sean not to call her. She will call him. Tanya goes on to tell him to burn those clothes. Sean calls after her, but she gets out of the van and walks home carrying her bag. She runs up the stairs into the house. She leans against the door and sighs.
Bradley comes round the corner and scares Tanya. She tells him she wasn’t expecting them back so soon. Bradley tells her that there was a little accident. Lauren comes round, and Bradley explains that she has twisted her ankle. Lauren wonders what has happened to her mum’s hair? She asks why Tanya is wearing that tracksuit? Tanya fumbles a bit and explains she spilled something on it. Lauren wonders where her dad is. Tanya explains he’s coming later. Lauren replies, “later?” Tanya says, yes. Let’s get Bradley home as he must be exhausted after looking after you. Lauren wonders where they went? Tanya says out for dinner. Lauren says, but dinner is in there. Tanya explains she’s burnt it. She tells Lauren she will explain later. Bradley heads off, telling them he’ll see them soon. Lauren asks if she and Dad had a row? Tanya deflects and turns her attention to Lauren’s ankle. Lauren pushes her mum and demands to know what happened. Tanya explains it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Lauren continues to push, wondering when her dad is coming home? Tanya says he’s not coming home tonight. Lauren wants to know why not? Tanya explains she will tell them in the morning, but right now, she doesn’t want to discuss it. Abi calls out, and Tanya tells Lauren she doesn’t want her to know. Abi says she fell asleep. She asks where her dad is? Tanya tells Abi he’ll be back later. Abi lays her present on the table for Max.
Stacey comes in and asks Sean what he’s doing? Sean tells her that Gus locked him out. He just came in to get some stuff. Stacey points out that the shirt he’s putting on is Uncle Charlie’s. HE says he knows, but it’s raining outside, and he slipped and tripped over his face. He says he fell right on his face. Stacey wonders what he’s done? She asks if it has something to do with Tanya? Did he do something to Max? Sean tells her nothing. She tells him he’s lying. He says nothing happened. She tells him that she is his sister and he can trust her. Sean says no, no he can’t trust her as she’s not on his side. Stacey tells him, of course, he can trust her! She’s his sister. Sean tells her that he kept her grubby little secret and look where it got them. He says, “right here. If it’s alright with you, I won’t take advice from you. You’re not happy. Take a look at yourself.”
Tanya tucks the girls in and tells them she loves them. She closes the door, and the doorbell rings. She comes downstairs and opens the door. Stacey pushes her way in. Stacey wants to know what she’s doing? She wants to know where Max is? Stacey tells Tanya she knows about her and Sean and what they’ve been up to, as Sean told her. Tanya wonders what he’s said. Stacey fills her in that she knows about their fling. She knows she’s just using Sean to get back at Max. Tanya tells Stacey she knows nothing, and she’s not doing this right now. Stacey tells Tanya, “You don’t know what you’ve done! Sean ain’t like normal people. You can’t just wind him up and expect him not to blow! When he does, it won’t be pretty!”
Stacey begs Tanya to leave Sean alone. Tanya tells Stacey she’s got it all wrong. Stacey tells Tanya she thinks Sean has hurt Max. Tanya tells Stacey she’s got it all wrong because Max is upstairs. Stacey is shocked. Tanya continues saying that Max is upstairs, and he’s not well. Tanya says, “What you don’t believe me? Why don’t you pop upstairs and into bed with him? It will be like old times!” Stacey asks Tanya if she is going to tell him about Sean? Tanya wonders what right has Stacey got coming into her house criticizing her? How dare she come in here and tell her what she can and can’t do? Stacey asks her what she is going to get out of it? Hurt him as much as he hurt her? Tanya tells her she knows nothing of what Max is like, really. She tells Stacey she was just a kid in their affair. Stacey stops her and explains that it might suit Tanya to think that, but she gave as good as she got. Stacey explains that she begged Max to leave Tanya time and again. She tells Tanya if he had, she would have been with him right now. So it might suit Tanya to think it was all Max, but it wasn’t. Tanya wants to know why she is telling her this? Stacey tells her that she doesn’t want Tanya hurting Sean. Tanya tells Stacey that it is all over and to go home and leave her alone. Stacey tells Tanya just to tell Max.
Max is in the coffin, and his battery dies. He cries deeply as he says Tanya’s name.
Tanya looks in on Oscar. She heads to her bedroom. She sits on the bed and signs. She lays down, and the clock reads 11:15.
Sean lays on the couch. Tanya continues to lie on the bed, not sleeping. Sean is awake on the sofa, unable to sleep. Tanya hears a siren in the distance and pants. It’s 2:36 am. She’s coming unglued. She goes downstairs and locks the door. She goes into the kitchen and starts to clean up. She looks at the clock, and it’s 2:40 am. She sees Abi’s gift for Max and throws up. She starts to cry as the clock ticks. She muffles her sobs. She cries hysterically. She looks around and gets the keys and tries to open the door, but she’s locked it. She runs out and into the car. She speeds off, leaving the kids in the house.
Tanya drives back to the site of where they buried Max. She can’t find it. She looks in the woods but nothing. She is panicking. She gets back in the car and drives to another spot. She is still crying as she searches and calls out for Max. She sees the spot. She runs to it and starts to dig at the dirt, crying out for Max.
Sean opens the van and finds Max’s wallet.
Tanya scraps until she gets to the locks. She works to open the box. She sees Max, and he takes a breath. He ‘s gasping and coughing.
Sean drops Max’s wallet down the drain. He keeps a picture of Tanya and the girls.
Tanya says she’s sorry. She pulls Max out of the box. He looks at her and grabs her. He starts to choke her. She kicks at him. She pushes herself away, crying. Max says, “Tan, you left me here to die! Why?” He asks her why she came back. She tells him she’s weak and she can’t even do this properly. She tells him he got his way. He won. He says, “I won?” She tells Max that he pushed her and tricked her and cornered me until I took you back. Until I had to take you back? And for what? For love? You’re not my husband. You’re my enemy. She tells him he’s won. He can take the kids and his life back because she hasn’t got what it takes to fight him. He tells her she tried to kill him. She tells him that she didn’t have the guts to go through with it. He asks why? She tells him the girls and the stupid bag of sweets. He wonders what she would have told the girls? She says that he left and had gone away. He says you think they would have believed it? He says, like you? Like you would have moved on? She cries and tells him to look at her. Look what he’s done to her. She tells him he’s stolen her life and ruined her. She tells Max that she can’t even have any normal feelings. She tells him she can’t even hold her own baby boy as she cries out because every time I do, all I see is you.
Max lays there, hearing what Tanya is saying to him. She tells Max she is sick. She tells him she needs to get better, and she needs to recover, and he won’t let her. She tells him she loved him with all her heart. And now, even now, there is still something there. How disgusting is that to still have feelings like that. She says no, you. Not you, huh. You’re the only person you love. Max Branning, king of the world. She tells him inside he’s just a frightened kid whose dad didn’t love him enough, and it’s all so pathetic. She tells Max she doesn’t care anymore about what happens to her because he’s broken her. She tells him she has nothing left. She just doesn’t care. Max rolls towards her. He grabs at her legs. She asks him what he’s doing? Max says, what if I went? She asks, why would you? He says because I love you. It makes me sick to hear you like this after what I’ve done to you. It makes me sick. He says all I wanted was a fresh start, and I can’t even have that can I? Christmas time, you asked me to do the right thing, and I did. If you meant what you said and you still got feelings. If there is the slightest chance, she would ever want him again? If she could really want him, then they can be together again, he knows. Then maybe they have a chance? They both cry.
Sean is sitting on the sofa starring at the photo of Tanya and the kids. He hears a car pull up. It’s Max’s car. Inside are Tanya and Max. Max looks broken. Tanya tells him he doesn’t have to do this. He tells her he said he would go, and he meant it. She cries but the girls. She sits in the car. Sean walks up as Max goes into the house. He says, “you went back? What were you thinking?” She tells him she did. He says I thought you wanted him dead. She tells Sean, so did I.
Inside, Max cleans himself up. He finds the candies from Abi. The clock is still ticking.
Sean tells Tanya that she said she loved him. They made plans for him and the girls. He begs her not to do this. She said she loved him. Tanya says she doesn’t. He asks Tanay if she would like it if he told the girls what they did? She asks how he would like it if she told Stacey what happened to her dad? We all have choices, Sean. It’s his choice. She walks away from Sean.
Max kisses the girls. He starts to cry at Abi’s bed. He walks out. Tanya is sitting on the stairs, crying. Max comes out with his bags and says, “tell the kids I love them.” She asks if he’s really going to do this? He tells her that when she’s ready and if she wants him to come home, then all she has to do is text her, and he will be home as quick as he can. He tells her to go on as she better get inside. Max cries and whispers I love you. He gets in his car. Bradley comes across and tells his dad that it doesn’t mean anything, but he’ll meet him for that drink. Max tells Bradley, thanks. Bradley tells him to let him know. Bradley asks Max if he’s alright. Max tells him he is. Tanya looks out while holding Oscar. Max gets in his car. As he is driving away, he cries.