John owns up to Dana on patrol. He admits that he may have encouraged Xander to be a little more persistent in winning her back. It’s had the opposite effect on Dana, who feels she can’t commit to a life with him at this early stage.

Xander confides in Mali – explaining that he just wants to know where he stands with Dana and hopes they can get back together. Mali has sage advice for his mate, suggesting that actions speak louder than words. When Xander puts this into practice though, he tries to kiss her and Dana is offended. She reminds him that she’d asked for space.

Meanwhile, concern for Irene spikes when she doesn’t turn up for work, but when John comes to check on her, she puts on a brave face and insists that she’d merely slept in. When John’s comfort inadvertently upsets Irene, she swiftly kicks him out and runs to the whisky bottle she has been stashing under the sink. Unable to resist any longer, she throws one back, and a second for good measure – Irene’s officially off the wagon.

At the coffee cart, Leah and Marilyn are puzzled by Irene’s odd behaviour. She shrugs it off, but when she publicly interferes with Dana and Xander’s relationship at the Diner, it’s clear that something’s very wrong.

Following her outburst, Xander follows an embarrassed Dana, who finally admits that she doesn’t see a future for them. When Irene apologises to Dana later, she’s upset to hear about her break-up, but when Dana speaks to the positives of eliminating toxic influences from your life, Irene’s moved to pour the whisky straight down the sink.

Elsewhere, Levi wants to build a bridge with Tane, but is struggling to make ground. When he approaches with an olive branch, he’s met with a cool response. He lies to Mac on the phone that they’re getting on like a house on fire, and Mali gently tells Levi he’s trying way too hard.

Regardless, Levi steps things up by trying to join the gym, where he inadvertently brings up Tane’s dead brother. When he apologises later, Tane again rebuffs him, too busy worried about being stood up by Perri. Bolstered by some wise words on setting boundaries from Alf, Tane picks up the phone to confront Perri and insists that they need to talk.