Ruth is going up North for a few days; Pat tries to make amends with Helen but Greg has other ideas.

Radio Times: Pat tries to build bridges.

Characters: David, Fallon, Greg, Helen, Pat, Ruth, Tony

• Even though Pat is regretting the rows she had with them, she still can’t help feeling that Greg exploits Helen. Tony thinks she should have minded her own business then and should leave well alone now – Helen is an adult after all. But he realises that Pat won’t rest until she’s spoken to her …
• Greg is still convinced that Helen told Pat more than she’s admitting to. Pat rings and although Helen doesn’t really want to speak to her, Greg’s sarcastic exit prompts her to lift the phone. Helen reluctantly agrees to think about meeting her parents later in the Bull to try putting things right.
• Ruth’s Dad has been dead for nearly a year now, so she is off to spend his anniversary with her Mum. She’ll be back on Thursday in time for Kenton’s Halloween party on Friday, much to David’s relief – he doesn’t fancy going on his own! They decide to go to the Bull for a quiet drink if Jill will baby-sit. They need to talk about the options for Pip’s secondary schooling next year. (Can she really be that old already?!)
• In the Bull, Fallon tells Pat that she and Jazzer are thinking of indulging in some anti-hunt activity tomorrow, and would she pass on the message to Kirsty and Tom. Tony joins David and Ruth, who have just heard to their dismay from George, that he is under pressure to again put the badger business on the next Parish Council agenda. Pat brings the drinks and they talk briefly about Borchester Green School. Helen arrives, and she and Pat go to another table to talk in private – Tony says it’s just a minor disagreement that they need to clear up (!)
• Helen listens grudgingly to Pat’s apologies but she is annoyed to hear that Greg brought John into their argument. She leaves without saying goodbye to her father, who assumes that because Pat is smiling, mother and daughter have made up – it was just a storm in a teacup after all …
• Greg tells Helen on her return home that he has phoned Michelle and told her the girls can’t come after all. Helen can’t believe he didn’t talk to her more about it – now the girls will be spending Christmas with neither of their parents. How can he be happy about that? She certainly didn’t want it to happen this way. But Greg refuses to discuss it further.