Alice arrives at The Beeches and tells Carol she wants to see Alex instead of Will. She tells Alex it’s a woman’s problem that she doesn’t want to talk to Will about. Alex refuses to treat her saying she’s on Will’s list and she can’t treat her. Alex tells Matt there is no way she is treating Will’s patients whilst he’s busy breaking up The Beeches.
MATT: Maybe I can help?
ALICE: You? Want to kill me off again do you? No thank you very much!
Tom and Alex receive letters to say The Beeches will cease in six weeks. They interrupt a chat between Will and Claire to tell him he’s being unfair by shutting The Beeches so soon. Kate arrives and tells Tom and Alex that no-one is getting stabbed in the back and the quicker this is all over the better it will be for everybody. Tom and Alex walk out.
Will sees Shaun washing graffiti off the pub. Shaun tells Will that Charlie and his friend Rachel Henderson are the guilty party as they were seen. Will confronts Charlie and tells him that Rachel is not good company for him. He tells him he knows he’s not a vandal. Charlie is adamant that Will and the rest of the community are wrong about Rachel, she does bad things sometimes but she is misunderstood. Charlie tells Will he didn’t think he’d be as ignorant as the rest of them. Will later tells Charlie he won’t tell Kate about the trouble he and Rachel caused at the pub, but he has to apologise to Shaun. Charlie says he will.
On their way to school Charlie and Rachel are the subject of taunts when Rachel is called ‘dirty’ and is told to leave and to take her germs with her. The two become involved in a scuffle and Rachel is hit and knocked to the floor as is Charlie. Charlie takes Rachel home so that Will can treat her – he tells Will to be careful, Rachel is HIV positive.
At the hospital Charlie tells Will he started to talk to Rachel because she was new at school, but then he began to stick up for her when other people were being cruel towards her. Charlie tells Will he hasn’t slept with Rachel, they are not even going out. Kate arrives and asks Charlie if he has ever had sex with Rachel. She tells him he has to tell her, he tells her no, he doesn’t. Charlie gets up and leaves. Kate follows after him but Will holds her back.
Claire asks Will if they can talk again. She tells him she feels she can talk to him in a way she can’t with anyone else. She says she can open up to him. Will tells her he wants to help her but is worried that he doesn’t have the expertise to see her through her problems. He eventually decides to help her but tells her they must book in some proper time for a talk.
Kate tells Will she is worried about Charlie. He tells her they have to give Charlie some credit and space or they’ll risk pushing him away. He tells her he is going to try and talk to Charlie. She agrees to let him handle it but tells him to please make sure he is not wrong about Charlie and Rachel.
Will visits Rachel’s Gran. She tells him that her daughter Janey died of Aids and that is how Rachel contracted the virus, through her mother. Will tells Charlie he knows how Rachel contracted the virus and needs to talk to her as the hospital are concerned about her. Charlie tells Will that Rachel has stopped taking her medication. Rachel later collapses in the street and is admitted to hospital with a serious infection. Her Gran goes to visit her in hospital after Will has another chat with her.
Alex tells Matt that she and Tom are setting up on their own. She tells him it won’t affect his training. Carol asks Alex if there’s any room for her as practice manager but Alex says no, it will be a while before she and Tom need one of those. Carol announces that Dr Trent is here to see Will for an interview but is under the impression he has to get the low down from Matt first. Alex is shocked when she realises that Matt has joined forces with Will and Kate. Matt tells her they approached him and that he’s sorry. Alex says he should be.
Tom and Alex visit prospective premises for their surgery. It is next to a chip shop and neither of them are impressed. Alex questions their future in Cardale whilst Tom questions their future as a couple. Alex tells him not to be daft, their future together is the one thing she is certain off. He compares them to Will and Kate commenting on how rock solid they were a few months ago. Alex comments that they are not Will and Kate.
ALEX: I don’t see millionaires queuing up to snog me
TOM: Just a broken down old quack with a child in tow
Alex and Tom become involved in a paternity case involving a couple who have a child with Cerebral Palsy. When Christine becomes pregnant again she tells Alex she wants a termination as she doesn’t think she could cope with another child. On the grounds of what she has been told Alex refers her for a termination. However the case becomes more complexed when Tom tells Alex he performed a vasectomy operation on her husband Gary, a little while ago. When Gary finds out he demands that Tom admits he screwed up his vasectomy, however Tom insists he’ll have to have some tests done first. Christine tells Alex she has to go through with the pregnancy now Gary knows but admits he is not the father. She tells her if he finds out the child is not his everything will be over; their marriage as well as the care and support they give to their son Dean. Alex asks Tom to conceal the test results from Gary so their family will not be broken up. Tom is reluctant at first but tells Gary that the test results were inconclusive, therefore putting himself and Christine in the clear.
Will tells Charlie to give Rachel something to fight for by telling her how he really feels. Charlie goes to see Rachel in hospital and tells her how he feels about her, he says he’s not doing it out of pity but because he means it. She says they could never have a future together as his family would never accept her. But Charlie says she would be welcome as his dad was the one who told him to come and see her.
WILL: Tell her, tell her everything before it’s too late
Charlie goes to The Beeches and tells Will that he told Rachel how he feels about her and that she has now gone back on her treatment. He tells Will that helping Rachel gave him a buzz and for the first time he realised what being a doctor meant. He tells Will he is proud of him and wishes he had of told him that before. Charlie says that he wants to be a doctor. Will says he can’t start him this week but maybe in 10 years.
Matt tells Will he won’t be joining the new practice as he feels bad about Alex. He tells him he is grateful for the enticing offer but it doesn’t feel right. Will understands.
MATT: I just want to practice medicine without any politics, any baggage
Will tells Tom and Alex that he’s sorry for what has happened and says he’s changed his mind – he’s not splitting up The Beeches. Will says if they don’t want to work with him he’ll understand. Tom asks how Kate feels about this. Will tells him that he will make the decision as he is the partner. Tom tells Will he trusts him but he doesn’t trust Kate.
Alex tells Tom he wasn’t exactly subtle about Kate when talking to Will. Tom says if she were cheating on him he would want to know. On their walk they spot Alice coming out of her house with a grubby Max in tow. Alex apologises to Alice for the other morning when she refused to treat her.
Will goes to see Kate at work. As he opens her office door he finds her in a clinch with James. As they break apart Will hits James and knocks him to the floor. Will can only call him a bastard as James smirks in his face. Kate desperately calls ‘Will’ but he walks out, giving her one last look before he goes.
Will returns to The Beeches and finds Claire in his office, waiting to have their talk. She notices his knuckles are cut and helps him to wash them under the tap. She asks if this is about Kate. Will says it’s not a surprise really as he has been acting so miserable and self-obsessed of late. Claire tells him to stop, she won’t let him blame himself. She kisses his hand, then kisses him, she pulls away but they kiss again. They break away, leaving Claire looking incredibly fulfilled and Will totally shocked.