The Chase

It's Sarah's first day in the practice and just the thought of it is giving her nightmares. During the morning household scrum she puts on her battle armour to face the big day - hair, make-up, suit - looking every inch the professional. But it's a costume hiding her big secret. Practice Manager Deborah isn't very welcoming and her encounter with Sarah leaves feathers severely ruffled. Sarah's first client of the day is a border collie which needs a mammary strip - a straightforward operation but tricky without an ultrasound. Fiona has the dog prepped, but when Sarah realises that the practice doesn't even have an ultrasound she freaks and walks out, heading back to David and London. Unknown to Sarah, her sly ex appears to be entertaining another woman. Anna is furious and bombards Sarah with some hard home truths and accuses her of constantly running away. Anna drops the shocking bombshell that their mother used to run away and cheated on their father, George. Furious and cornered, Sarah finally makes her big confession, "I'm not a vet any more. I gave it up two and a half years ago. I lost my confidence. I lost a dog... the blood kept on coming." Anna is shocked into silence. At the front desk, Deborah's dealing with the angry collie owner. It's Sarah's old flame, local farmer, Adrian Huby. He's delighted to see her again, but Sarah's intent on getting back to London. On the way home, she's haunted by her memories and decides to face her inner demons. Determined to confront the past head on, she returns to the practice to operate on Adrian's collie. It's touch and go for a while but after a tense two-hour operation, the dog pulls through. Eager to make the practice a success, Sarah sells her car to pay for the ultrasound equipment. She also calls David to tell him it's over once and for all. George and Claudie's return stuns Sarah and Anna. It transpires they've been stuck in Liverpool for two days as George's passport was out of date. George confides to Sarah that he's not ready to leave Oxley. Elsewhere, a feline client forces Rick and Clare to take a step closer. Meanwhile, Tom's secret is spiralling out of control as he struggles to meet Fiona's demands. In her stalker style, Fiona confides she wants Tom to be a proper father to Theo, and that their night of passion wasn't a mistake - she chose him.