River City - 08/12/2009

An excited Scott tells Margaret that he is arranging a mortgage so he can buy a house in Shieldinch for them both. Margaret is hiding something: Scott's dad has left them money but in order for them to receive it they both need to move back to Lewis. Raymond advises Margaret to reveal all, which she does to a raging Scott. After a bit of digging, Scott discovers that the stipulations aren't binding and happily tells Margaret they don't have to return to Lewis. Margaret confides in Gina that she thinks she does want to return to Lewis after all. Later at dinner everything blows up when Margaret is honest with Scott about her intentions to return to Lewis. Scott accuses her of being less of a mother to him than Gina, then Margaret accuses Scott of becoming as controlling as his father had been. Margaret decides to sign half of the money bequeathed in the will over to Scott and then return to Lewis. Scott realises that he loves his mum and that he wants to be with her wherever that may be. He panics when he realises that Margaret has left the flat - and he rushes after her. He finds her at the subway station and they have an emotional embrace. Scott tells his mum he is coming with her - she means more to him than anything else. Margaret says goodbye to Joe before leaving Shieldinch with her son. Jo agrees to babysit Eilidh while Ruth, Eileen and Gina have a girls' night out. Jo starts drinking while her daughter sleeps. When Ewan knocks at the door, wanting to go out, a tipsy Jo agrees. They head out, leaving Eilidh alone in the flat. Ruth returns to the flat with Scott later to discover what Jo has done. When Jo returns with Ewan she is confronted by her furious sister who tells her to get out of the flat. Ruth lets rip at Jo who crumples into a drunken heap on the floor. Despite Scott trying to pour oil on troubled waters, Ruth throws Jo out the next morning. Still unaware of the extremity of her actions, Jo asks Gina to come and stay with her. A very angry Gina refuses. A sympathetic Lydia agrees to let a messed-up Jo stay with her. Nicki is outraged when Deek reveals that he has given her old room to Stella for the foreseeable future. Convinced she is playing Deek, Nicki sets a trap for Stella by overtly leaving bill money in plain sight, thinking Stella won't be able to resist taking it. When the money disappears Nicki accuses Stella of theft only for Deek to explain that he took it to pay the bills. Later, Stella, who had taken the money after all, asks Deek why he lied for her. Deek explains that he wants to help her start afresh. Stella, grateful for his kindness, hands back most of the money and pours the vodka she bought with the rest of it down the sink. Liz makes a few amendments to the script for the Christmas show. However, as she discusses the story with Malcolm it becomes obvious that they have very different ideas about Christmas shows: Malcolm favours a crowd-pleasing panto while Liz is thinking of something grand and more intellectual. After she has finished the final touches, Charlie, who has come round to borrow a book from Malcolm, sneakily reads some of it and relays the horror of what lies within The Christmas Rose to Malcolm, who agrees with Charlie.