6th January 2015
The atmosphere in the square is hauntingly quiet following the previous days events. Sharon is stood at her bedroom window, staring at the square, squeezing on to the curtains with frustration. Her face is full of mixed emotions. Roxy is sat slumped in her kitchen by herself. Her eyes are frozen still, and she is breathing slowly and heavily. Charlie is sat on his living room sofa with his face in his palms. His hands begin to slide down his face and he looks defeated.
At Billy's house, Lola is feeding Lexi. Billy comes in while finishing a phone conversation. He reveals that Ritchie is coming over and that he will call the rest of the family over. The Branning's are in their kitchen and Lauren and Abi are discussing their distress over the previous days events. Lauren talks about how it is Max they need to be looking out for, however Abi claims he's 'done enough'. Max comes down the stairs and overhears Abi's comment. Lauren attempts to talk to him however he is putting on a cold front and when talking about the situation says 'what's done is done'. Max exits the kitchen.
Sharon gets off the phone with Billy and confirms that she'll be over soon. She enters the kitchen where Denny, Ben and Jay are having their breakfast and tells them they need to go to Billy's soon to see Ritchie. Ben is fuming regarding the situation and is desperate to know what is going on. Sharon attempts to calm him down and tells him that she doesn't know whether he has been charged or not, however Ben refuses to calm down and demands to know the truth, storming out the kitchen.
Aleks also gets off the phone with Billy and enters the kitchen where he sees Roxy. He tells her they need to get over to Billy's to see Ritchie to which Roxy remains silent. Aleks asks Roxy if she is okay to which she asks why Phil would do something like that and how nothing makes sense. She begins questioning everything regarding the situation and is clearly in a paranoid state. Aleks comforts her and tells her that everything will be resolved soon, and it must be some sort of mistake. He tells her he'll come over to Billy's with her, however she tells him that he van't, as it's for 'Mitchell's only'.
At Dot's, Charlie is still on the sofa looking stressed. Yvonne comes in and asks if he slept alright. Charlie remains silent, and Yvonne apologizes, saying 'of course you didn't'. Yvonne continues to try to talk to him, however he remains silent. Yvonne is clearly heartbroken by Charlie's mental state, and just asks for him to speak to her. Charlie finally breaks silence, asking Yvonne if Ronnie is okay to which she replies 'Of course she is', and tells Charlie to go and see her later on.
Roxy arrives at Billy's to see Billy, Lola, Sharon, Denny, Ben and Jay around a table with Ritchie. Roxy is clearly looking for answers and immediately begins asking what's happened and questioning the situation, clearly stressed and paranoid. Jay tells Roxy it's not good news, and she begins to crack. She starts trembling and pleading that Phil didn't do it, and Lola tells her to sit down. Roxy slams the table and refuses to sit down until they tell her what's going on. Ritchie reveals that Phil has been charged with the murder of Emma and the attempted murder of Ronnie. Roxy breaks down crying and takes a seat on her chair. She continues to cry and plead that it can't be true, and Phil would never try to kill Ronnie. Ben proceeds to stand up and shouts, pleading it can't be true and that this is breaking their family apart. Billy attempts to takes some control over the family and tells them that it can't be true, and it is a mistake. He tells them to pull themselves together as there is no way Phil can be sent down for something he didn't do. However, Ritchie tells the Mitchells that there is more bad news causing them to panic. She tells them that Phil's fingerprints are all over the car, and that Phil's argument with Ronnie is a good enough reason to charge him. She tells them that it will be harder to rescue Phil this time as he seems so guilty.
Over in the Cafe, Max is sat by himself with nothing to eat or drink. Ian comes over to him and asks him if he wants anything to which Max says no. Ian tells Max that if he needs anything then all he needs to do is ask, and what happened with him and Lucy was in the past. Max bluntly thanks Ian, however Ian carries on, telling Max that there are some people who understand what it is like to deal with loss. Max stands up and slams his hands on the table. He tells Ian "Enough" and that both Lucy and Emma are in the past. He says he doesn't want to mope about it, and storms out the cafe. As Max walks through the square, several people attempt to console Max including Donna, Kat and Stacey who are at the market, Nancy and Tina who are outside the Vic and Les and Pam who are outside the funeral parlor. Feeling wound up and stressed, Max shouts at the square, telling them to stop and leave him alone.
Over at Billy's, Ben continues to plead and demand that Phil didn't do it and something must be wrong. Billy attempts to calm him down, however Ben refuses to relax and tells the family that it was a mistake and something must be wrong. Billy continues to attempt to calm Ben down, however when Ben's attitude gets worse, Billy tells Ben to 'accept reality'. Ben is furious by this comment, and when Billy attempts to justify himself, Ben launches an attack on Billy, attempting to grab him and calling him a 'wimp' however Jay and Lola pull him back. Ben is stunned and asks if his family actually think Phil is guilty. Jay claims that no one is saying anything, however Lola claims that the evidence is there and they all need to open their minds. Roxy remains silent, looking distressed. Sharon stands up and gets prepared to storm out the room. Billy asks where Sharon is going, and she says she is going to 'find answers'.
Meanwhile, at the Cotton's, Nick enters the kitchen while Yvonne is sitting there. Nick attempts to be charming towards Yvonne, however she tells him he should be disgusted in himself. Nick tells Yvonne that the Mitchell's deserve everything that's coming to them, and it was only a matter of time before someone took down Phil Mitchell. Yvonne asks Nick if it struck him that Emma died and Ronnie could have died in the crash, however Nick continues to feel no remorse and says he wishes that Ronnie HAD died in the crash. Yvonne slaps Nick and tells him that because of his actions Charlie is extremely depressed and refusing to see his own wife and son. She tells Nick that he has potentially ruined Charlie and his child, and should be disgusted with himself. Dot enters the kitchen and asks why they were arguing. Nick freezes, however Yvonne steps in and says that they're just stressed because of the events, and she's going to check on Charlie.
Sharon pays Phil a visit in the prison. Phil attempts to hug Sharon however she refuses to hug him back. Phil tells her he doesn't understand, however Sharon responds telling him that she knows he did it. Phil is gobsmacked and tells Sharon she can't honestly think that, however she gets straight to the point and asks Phil why his fingerprints were in the car. Phil freezes and refuses to answer. Sharon begins to raise her voice and tells Phil that he is so disgusting he'd attempt to kill his own family. Phil hits back and tells Sharon that she has known him for years and she can't honestly think he did it. Sharon tells Phil she can't believe it, and doesn't want to, but for some reason she does and it makes sense. Phil grabs Sharon's hand and begs her not to leave, telling her she can't leave him. Sharon tells him that she regrets marrying him as she knows exactly what he is like. She brings up Dennis, and accuses Phil of killing him. She tells Phil he is cold hearted and she regrets ever marrying him, telling him he's ruined her life. Phil, distraught, stands up and tells Sharon that Dennis was different and he didn't do this. Sharon asks why his fingerprints were in the car then, and he tells her it's complicated and he can't tell her as he needs to protect her. Sharon tells him that she never should have forgiven him for Dennis and that he is pure evil. She stands up and tells Phil 'Goodbye' before walking out the prison with tears in her eyes.
Meanwhile, in the Branning household, Carol comes to visit them in order to comfort Max. As Lauren lets Carol in, she asks where Max is and Lauren says he went out and hasn't come back. Carol asks why he went out and expresses her worry over him, and Lauren says she also doesn't know and shares the same concern. Abi comes in by saying that Max has probably gone to find another woman, leaving Lauren and Carol stunned at Abi's lack of respect. Lauren shouts at Abi, pointing out that Emma has just died, and Abi argues back that Max shouldn't have gotten involved with her, just like he shouldn't have gotten involved with half of his women. Carol proceeds to tell Abi off, and tells her she doesn't know what has come over her, and Abi reveals how much she hates her father and the entire family before storming off. Carol insists that she is just upset, however Lauren shows deeper concern for her behavior.
At the hospital, Billy, Lola and Aleks are with Roxy as they are visiting Ronnie. Roxy seems distraught as she watches over Ronnie, and begins to insist it's her fault that Ronnie ended up like this. She starts hyperventilating and recalling what the crash was like and Aleks has to calm her down. Billy asks if they think Phil actually caused the crash, and Aleks tells Billy to look at the facts, saying it seems obvious. Roxy, not wanting to hear this, immediately cries 'No', however Lola jumps to Aleks's defence and recalls how Phil was with her and Lexi. Billy tells Lola to stop, however Lola refuses to and says that while she loves Phil, it's not completely impossible for him to let down the family. Roxy has officially had enough by this point and continues to cry 'No'. Lola tells Roxy that his finger prints didn't come from nowhere and the fight was about something, and Roxy seems unable to take any more. She insists that Phil would never do that to them and emphasizes the state Ronnie is in. She forces Billy, Lola and Aleks to look at Ronnie and ask themselves if Phil would ever actually let Ronnie get in that state, before storming out the hospital.
At the Cotton's, Charlie remains sat in the living room, scared to move. Nick enters the room and asks Charlie what his current behavior is for to which Charlie doesn't respond. Nick takes a seat next to Charlie however Charlie suddenly shouts at Nick, telling him to back off. Nick tells Charlie that he's here for him, and while he doesn't like Ronnie, he doesn't understand why Charlie doesn't want to see him. Charlie tells Nick that it's not Ronnie he doesn't want to see, it's his son. Nick questions why, and Charlie freezes for a minute. Nick continues to talk, and Charlie suddenly tells Nick that he is the reason for not wanting to see his son. He tells Nick that his awful parenting and lack of responsibility has made Charlie scared to become a father. Charlie tells Nick he thinks that he is destined to fail. Nick begins to feel genuine emotion and remorse for what he did, and tells Charlie not to follow his lead. He tells Charlie that now he has a child he should cling on to it, and not let himself fail just because of him. As Charlie cries in Nick's arms, Nick also begins to tear up.
Meanwhile, Roxy goes to see Phil in prison. She demands answers from him, and demands to know what is going on and what his argument was about. Phil tells Roxy it's too complicated for her, and begs her to tell Sharon that he loves her and would never lie to her. Roxy argues with Phil and tells him that the situation has moved on from 'complications' now that he is in prison. She demands to know everything, however Phil shouts in Roxy's face and tells her to back off. Roxy asks Phil if it was him that sabotaged the breaks to which he doesn't respond. Roxy begins to cry and begs Phil to tell her that it wasn't him. Phil swears that it was not him, and Roxy begs to know who it was. Phil tells her it was Nick Cotton, and that he's still alive.
DOOF DOOF
