2259: Ste's mum turns up

Ste is horrified by the extent of his lie when he runs into Tom and Steph in the village and they show concern for Leah. Uncomfortable having to field questions about the baby's health, Ste's relieved when he finally manages to edge away, but is dismayed when he sees his mum, Pauline, who has heard all about Leah and is annoyed that Ste did not tell her. Ste is cold towards his mum and refuses to come home with her but he's touched as she informs him she is off booze and begs to see her granddaughter.

Glad his mum has quit the booze and is making an effort to sort out her life, Ste concedes and takes her to the flat. Ste rushes ahead to warn Amy to hide Leah but they both find themselves squirming uncomfortable as they try to explain why Pauline cannot visit Leah in hospital. Unfortunately for them, the electricity goes off and a baby's cry is heard coming from the bedroom when the lights are off…

Max is amused as he opens a package and it is the spangly, garish t-shirt O.B. dutifully and regularly buys on his birthday. Expecting a rendition of Happy Birthday from Steph, Max is dismayed when this is not forthcoming, but accepts that birthday celebrations are not uppermost in Steph's mind.

When Tom is also surprised by this, Max later has to explain why they have to be patient with her as she has other things on her mind. Tom's comments though about Steph now being family set Max off contemplating the direction of his relationship with her. As Tony and Dominic have conveniently given him a present of a free meal at Il Gnosh for his birthday, Max thinks he could kill two birds with one stone…

Dom's both amused and astonished by Tina's pregnancy cravings. When he catches her stuffing herself with food in the kitchen, Tina is embarrassed by her display of gluttony and tries to hide the evidence. Fearing she's repulsive, Tina wonders if she is still attractive anymore to him. Dom scoffs and insists she's lovely and, as a romantic gesture, offers to take her for a picnic later. But when she tries to feed him, Dom seems uncomfortable with the intimacy and backs away in a panic…

Sasha is forced to defend Fletch when Josh and Michaela, curious about Fletch's absence from school, express bemusement at his recent behaviour. When they wonder if he is back on dope, Sasha explains he is taking a day off as he has a sore throat. Though she knows heroin's to blame, she denies this, claiming she hasn't noticed anything unusual. Her mates, especially Josh, have noticed Sasha is a little grumpy and although she hides it well, Sasha knows this is due to her missing Fletch. Sasha's even more dismayed as Leo joins them and rails at her for not informing him that she is top of her class and the school is backing her to take the Oxford entrance exam.

Mortified, Sasha ignores him and walks off but Michaela and Josh rib her mercilessly for hiding the fact that she is a geek. Later, Josh moots the idea of reviving the Baby Diegos after seeing flyers about a battle of the bands next week but the girls think it'll be pointless without Fletch. Can a frustrated Josh persuade them, especially Sasha, that they do not need Fletch?