3x9 - The Price of Parenthood

August 17, 2010

Someone's watching the Rafter House - and the surprise culprit leads to Dave and Nathan meeting Dave's dad Tom in prison for the first time. There's a strange noise in the night and Dave, feeling protective of his brood, gets up to investigate. It appears his misgivings are justified when he finds the living room doors left open. Exhausted Julie can't remember if she shut the doors and Dave feels uncomfortable about the perceived threat. Julie is also ill at ease - spending all her time with Ruby is leaving her desperate for adult conversation. Realising his daughter's suffering from cabin fever, Ted suggests she do something for herself and Ruby - join a mothers' group. Dave pops round to visit Chel after his run. Wanting to put her affairs in order and lay to rest some demons before the transplant, Chel admits that she's reconsidering meeting Tom in prison. The revelation gives Dave himself pause for thought. Meanwhile, Carbo's stalker Georgia tells Julie that a man was watching their house. In light of Dave's concerns the previous night, Julie decides to play it safe and calls the police. However, with no evidence of a break-in, and no definitive description of the man in question, Julie's left feeling somewhat silly. Georgia refuses to give up and eventually gets a photo of the man in question to the Rafters - and they're shocked to realise none other than Coby Jennings has been scoping their house. Dave's first instinct is to bury his head in the sand but a series of unexpected events conspire to propel Dave, with Nathan as support, to visit his father in prison for the first time. Will facing his father give Dave the answers he's always wanted? And Chel the closure she needs? Meanwhile, Rachel is shocked to find that Jake and Alex's domestic standards in their new bachelor pad are far from ideal, forcing her to make an ultimatum - unless Jake lifts his game, she's not stepping foot in his house