Julie is about to celebrate another birthday but a series of setbacks rock her confidence. She then has to decide whether to accept an intriguing offer.

With his business expanding, some new premises and a new employee, Dave hopes are very high.Coby is having trouble adjusting to his new workmate. Ben still hasn\'t invited Emma to stay the night but an unexpected event helps to give him a push. The following morning Ben doesn\'t feel the peace he was hoping for, prompting him to come up with a new idea.

It\'s Valentine\'s Day, and matters of the heart are front and centre. Ben and Emma try to dodge the pressure by doing a shift at the Boat Club. Donna is still carrying a candle for Ted and Julie is unimpressed when Ben encourages Donna to invite Ted to a romantic dinner. It gets off to a rocky start, with Ted turning up at the wrong venue, but Ben rushes to the rescue, and Emma is even more smitten than before, but pressure returns in spades when those \'three little words\' are uttered and someone misses the moment to reciprocate. Meanwhile, Matt decides to play a joke on his flatmates by surprising them both with anonymous Valentine\'s Day cards.

Coby continues to try and to hide his true feelings but it is becoming obvious that he has the hots for Frankie.

Jake finds his world being thrown into a tailspinafter his father Jim returns to his life. He ends up making some poor judgements that threaten both his job and his relationship with Dave. Dave notices how much Julie\'s new boss, Adam, enjoys being in her company. Retta beleives that she could be pregnant but decides not to tell Carbo as she is convinced that he\'s still a child himself and isn\'t ready to be a father.

Dave struggles with his secret fear that his relationship with Jake is permanently damaged and that Julie's relationship with Adam might turn out to be more than just professional. Will Dave be able to rein in his fears before they cause him and his family even more heartache? A love-struck Coby completes a painting for Frankie. At first she's thrilled, until she learns how he really feels. When talking to Sian, Frankie admits the truth about who she is really trying to suppress her feelings for. Who does Frankie fancy, and could it make things even more awkward at work? Meanwhile, Ben's having issues. Carbo and Retta are filled with constant expressions of affection, permanently reminding him of Emma's unreturned 'I love you'. Should Ben return the sentiment even if he isn't a hundred percent clear on his own feelings?

Ben is being driven quietly crazy by the baby-obsessed Carbo and Retta. Feeling edged out of the world they are creating, Emma suggests that the two of them get out of town for a few days, a large step forward in their relationship for Ben. But once you\'ve found escape, the trouble comes returning from it. After being romantically shunned by Frankie, Coby does his best to avoid her at work. However, when the awkwardness becomes too much to bear, Frankie makes a proposal. Meanwhile, Julie begins life as the \'new kid\' at the local newspaper and her new lease on life inspires Dave to move forward with his own business plans, leading to frustrations between the couple. Will venturing into a new future drive a wedge between Dave and Julie?

Julie admits to Donna that she recently had a raunchy dream about Adam, but denies anything is wrong in her marriage. Questioned by Ted, Dave also comes to the same conclusion. But alone that night, Julie and Dave argue yet again, this time about who will baby-sit Ruby, as Julie has a movie premiere with Adam and Dave is taking his employees away to a seminar. When Julie can\'t go to the premiere, Adam drops by later that night and Julie is primed for some easy company after the tension with Dave. They chat for hours, discussing life\'s journeys and confiding a few secrets. Julie maintains it\'s all very innocent. So why does she feel so guilty? Dave too, is up for a big night, drinking until the small hours with his team. And then one brief moment threatens to destroy everything.

Following an awkward moment, Frankie announces she's going to quit but Dave convinces her not to make any rash decisions. With a niggling feeling of guilt, Julie tells Dave about Adam's visit for a late-night drink, stopping short of sharing her growing attraction to her boss. Confiding her crush to Donna, Julie is given further pause for concern when Donna warns her she could be moving into dangerous emotional territory. However, when Julie receives some shocking news from Dave, will she be forgiving, or be driven into the arms of her boss?

Tension remains high in the Rafter house as Julie and Dave struggle to forgive each other. Ted is caught in the middle and is feeling the strain. He's sick of having to hide the real reason behind their squabbles from Ben and implores them to move on before they have to explain everything to their son. But it's clear that letting go could be a long way off for our couple as they accept Ben's invitation to a weekend in the country. Meanwhile, Carbo is also having trouble letting go of something... his beloved Charger. Having deemed it unsuitable for transporting babies. Retta decides they have to sell it. However, Carbo is outraged and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect his other 'baby'.

It finally feels like the right time for Ben to try and move on from Mel and start a new chapter in his life with Emma, starting with the purchase of their country cottage. After he starts to reminisce about Mel, the surprising intensity of his feelings throws him into a tailspin. Julie and Dave examine whether their marriage can survive.

Julie thinks about life's surprises after she receives two big ones. Nathan returns back home unannounced and is taken out by the elated family for a noisy family lunch. Nathan has big news and drops not just one, but two bombshells. Ben knows he's not over Mel and needs time to heal.

Julie tries to find ways to fill the void left by her absent kids, while the calamitous return of Alex sees Jake's life fuller than ever before...

Dave is worried that Matt will become a mainstay at their house, but Julie, attempting to fill the void left by her absent children attempts to convince him that it is a good idea.

With his ongoing tests, Ted isn't sure whether he should reveal his health concerns to his family. After he suffers a mild stroke though he becomes determined to keep the tests to himself.

Julie is in denial that Ted may have dementia and Dave carefully voices his own concerns about Ted's condition, but Julie doesn't want to discuss it.

Jake is still having issues with Alex, who's partying too hard. After visiting his estranged father, cashed up, Alex goes on a bender, forcing Jake and Dave to come to his rescue.

Meanwhile, Carbo too is feeling out of place, being outnumbered by women in the house. Retta conspires with Voula to restore his sense of self, but it typically backfires. And just as order seems to be restored, it looks like a new housemate is destined to shake up the mix.

Julie feels at odds with both Ted and Dave over the severity of Ted's condition and falling back into step is going to be easier said than done.

Meanwhile, despite having rejected Coby's initial interest in her, Frankie is finally letting her guard down, but can she open herself up enough to admit her true feelings for Coby, or are they destined to never quite fall into lock step?

Frankie is caught up in that heady rush a new relationship brings. She seems to be coping pretty well, but can she contain the tsunami that is Coby? Dave is riding a heady rush of his own when Duncan offers the Rafter Electrical team a big contract, but celebratory drinks take a sour turn, and Frankie is forced to rebuff a drunken pass. She assumes it's over and done with. Little does she know, the moment will come back to haunt her.

Dave is determined to take his business to the next level, beginning with his new contract with Duncan, but when Duncan's wandering eye puts him on a collision course with Coby, does Dave have what it takes to stop the impact? Meanwhile, Frankie's not impressed with Coby's seeming lack of maturity, starting with his inability to let go of his rage over Duncan's pass at her. How much more will Frankie be able to put up with?

Given the circumstances with Coby, Dave and Julie try to end their business dealings with Duncan. Unable to avoid Frankie, Coby steps up, taking full responsibility for everything. With everything that's going on, the last thing Jake needs is to run into Sian and her new rich, handsome boyfriend. And if that wasn't enough, Ted is rushed to hospital after taking a confronting turn. As the day from hell ends, Jake arrives home to more bad news: Coby is gone.

Hours have passed since Coby took off and he's not answering his phone. Dave is feeling privately guilty over not having stopped Coby from leaving when he had the chance, so when he learns that a drunken Coby recently accosted Duncan and tried to get him to drop the assault charges, he calls the troops into action, but time is short, as now they aren't the only ones looking for Coby - the police now have a warrant for his arrest.

As Dave and Julie's 30th wedding anniversary approaches, thoughts naturally turn to family and history, but Julie's view of the past is rocked by a surprise admission from Ted. Meanwhile, Julie also assumes their celebration will be a small affair, but little does she realise, Ben and Nathan have returned for the occasion! Coby is finding it hard to adjust to life in Remand, hiding his pain behind a veneer of black humour. Can he rise to Dave's challenge and put the time to good use?