4838: Aden and Nicole struggle with their guilt

After Roman nearly catches them in bed together, Aden and Nicole are on edge. Guilt-driven, Aden wants to forget it happened, but flashbacks to their encounter make this difficult. Rachel advises him to stay away from Belle until he’s thinking clearly once more about what he wants. Nicole’s attempt to reconnect with Aden ends in disaster and blames Nicole for coming onto him. Nicole’s low self-esteem takes a further battering when he says their friendship will never be the same and that she should forget about their rendezvous full stop.

Hurt, Nicole retaliates and hassles him about neglecting Belle. Rachel consults Craig the counsellor, who agrees Aden should stay away from Belle – his guilt and confusion will only set her back.

Upon Rachel and Tony’s return from their Airlie Beach honeymoon, Miles invites everyone to a barbeque. Pippa encourages Leah to use the barbeque as an opportunity to talk to Roman about what’s happening with the business but once at the barbeque things are awkward between them. Despite his continuing nightmares and flashbacks to the accident, Roman cracks enough jokes at his own expense to put everyone at ease.

When Roman has a sudden flashback to the accident, and breaks out in a cold sweat, a concerned Leah follows him out. Their brief exchange reveals that they both still have feelings for each other. However, Rachel shares her suspicion with Leah that Roman’s blindness is caused by psychological issues which he is not ready to deal with. Any possibility of a future with Roman is short-lived as Rachel reveals to Leah that she overheard Roman say he wants to remain single.

Belle’s not ready to expose her feelings in a group therapy session, despite the fact that another patient, Zoe tells her own story about throwing her life away and hurting those she loves. Belle reveals to her counsellor Craig that Zoe’s story got under her skin - she can’t cope with losing Aden.

Craig sees this as a breakthrough for Belle and her attitude. Rock star Liam Murphy’s quiet arrival at the clinic is a shock to Belle and a reminder of her once out of control life.