Home Matters

Overview

Rachel's dream of moving in with Jake is thrown into jeopardy by the unexpected return of Alex. Rachel's forced to deal with the fallout when Alex reacts badly to the many changes that have taken place in the Barton household in his absence. Feeling increasingly on the outer, Alex's issues erupt at drinks at the Rafter house, leaving Grace and Jake humiliated and the Rafters reeling. Jake is too angry with Alex to repair the situation and it's left to Rachel to restore peace. She discovers the truth about Alex's misery, and the realisation of how much he needs his older brother forces her to reassess her own house-hunting plans. But exactly how far is Rachel willing to go for the sake of Barton family unity? Meanwhile Nathan has been roped into helping Chel with her tax. Although her records are in a complete mess, they do have a good time, and in a discussion about attitudes to life he admits that he doesn't like himself very much and blames himself for the break up with Sammy. Chel's take on life gives him food for thought, and Nathan makes a surprising life-changing decision. But his grand intentions are quashed when Julie and Dave fail to share his enthusiasm. Meanwhile Melissa and Ben are trying to find ways of making the Karandonis house more like home, and decide to replace one of Carbo's ornaments with something more to their own taste. Carbo, fresh off the back of a disastrous encounter with a woman he assumed was his internet romance, reacts badly to having his home messed with. And things go from bad to worse when he finally meets his real internet lover, only to discover that his misadventure could potentially lead to time in jail...