Packed to the Rafters (season 4)

Three months have passed since Melissa's funeral and Ben is still on his road trip around Australia, but is thinking of returning home. He returns with many unexplained secrets (that he briefly mentions in his commentary). Rita arrives at the family house to attend Carbo and Retta’s engagement party, and nerves are at an all time high, and Rita has a secret of her own. Coby confides in Jake that he is struggling with Rachel moving in fulltime, and Ben’s positive façade is questioned when his emotions bubble to the surface.

As Council Clean-Up Days looms Dave gets the clean-out bug, chucking stuff out from the big and small sheds. He's distracted, however, by Nathan's return from the big road trip. Dave soon picks up on an underlying tension between Nathan and Ben, although neither brother is willing to admit to it. Jake and Coby head off for a rugby weekend and Rachel is left to enjoy the house alone. Carbo meanwhile, is playing the supportive son as Rita, still shaken by her marriage breakup, puts Carbo and Retta to work.

Rachel wrestles with the potentially relationship-wrecking pitfalls of getting everything you want, particularly when truth is number one on the wish-list. Guilt-ridden about invading Coby's private garage space, Rachel compounds her sin by inadvertently offering his artwork as part of an advertising campaign. Rachel is also having honesty issues with Jake, who's being vague about his reasons for quitting rugby. Things come to a head at Coby's party, when the police come to take Jake away for questioning. Meanwhile, Carbo and Retta continue to suffer as Rita descends further into loneliness, driving her neighbours mad with dirge-like Greek folk music. A vacancy at the local child care centre sends Ruby's baby-sitters Ben and Ted into a spin, and they become locked in a comic competition to prove their baby-sitting worth.

The aftermath of Jake's ill-fated rugby weekend is fully felt as Julie realises how much perception and misperception can affect the lives of her family and friends. Rachel is determined to support Jake in light of his charges of attempted sexual assault, but won't let her. Rachel's woes are mixed when her boss, Paul Morgan tells her he expects her to deliver a contract signed by Coby as the main artist for their new alcopop campaign. Ted meanwhile reveals to Julie that he's developed a crush on a beautiful Chinese woman, Mai who has been teaching Tai Chi in the park every morning.

Nathan receives some potentially upsetting news – his divorce from Sammy is final. Coby is also grappling with the issue of freedom as the day of his sentencing hearing arrives. Having promised to vouch for Coby in court, Dave is confident that he will get a slap on the wrists and that will be the end of it.

Jake returns to the scene of the alleged attempted rape to confront Jodi. Nathan is having trouble getting attention for his Parts Exchange website, so he enlist Ben's help. But Ben shortly realises that Nathan's business name "Parts Exchange" reads as "Part Sex Change" when run together in a domain name. When Nathan starts to receive dodgy emails and phone calls, he finally realises his mistake and gets angry with Ben for letting him make a fool of himself.

Rachel gets ready to leave for New York. Tom, Dave’s father, announces his parole has come through and he’s looking forward to spending time with the family.

Narrated by: Rachel Rafter

Dave relishes finally having a relationship with his dad, Tom, but Julie is concerned that Tom may not have reformed his crooked ways. Tensions rise next door when Carbo's feelings are hurt at having not been asked to be a part of Nathan's car spares business. Meanwhile, Jake and Coby are surprised by the sudden reappearance of Alex.

Ted's convinced Tom isn't looking for work at all and instead is sneaking off to spend time with an unknown lady friend. A distraught Hamish arrives on Julie's doorstep, snapping under the pressure of his custody battle. Julie finally comes clean to Dave about the extent of her previous friendship with Hamish, to which he can't help but feel a little bit jealous. Meanwhile, Ben continues to take little steps towards rebuilding his life while struggling to cope with his new boss Donna, and finds an unexpected friend in his boss's daughter, Emma.

Out of her comfort zone, Julie attends a burlesque dance class with her new friend Donna. Dave is left feeling jealous and insecure about Julie's relationship with Hamish when he comes across some lingerie that Julie has bought for her performance and she doesn't wear it. Meanwhile, Ted makes it clear to Nathan he doesn't trust Tom at all and is avoiding houseguest Tom at every opportunity.

Grace, Jake and Alex's mother, announces she's engaged. The boys are both happy for her until they discover she never actually legally divorced their father. Grace goes to meet with her ex-husband, but things get complicated. Alex doesn't ever want to see his father, but Jake's curiosity gets the better of him. Bree, Tom's granddaughter, visits him in hospital, but Coby is less than thrilled to see his feisty sister again.

Julie and Donna's new found friendship is tested when Julie discovers that Donna suffers from OCD. Meanwhile, Ben and Emma's friendship grows stronger and Ben also forges a new connection with his grandfather Tom. Jake is determined to help clear the air between Coby and Bree and invites her to dinner at their house. Bree reveals she is homeless and Alex invites her to crash at their place, but he doesn't exactly check with Coby. During a late night encounter, Jake and Bree share some unsettling sexual tension in the kitchen.

Dave leaps at the chance when his successful friend Warney, offers him a shot at the contract for a big office rewiring job. Ben is encouraged by Tom to consider opening up his own bar and Tom offers to help him organise the finances, but Coby immediately becomes suspicious of Tom's motives. Retta begins to feel the pressure of wedding preparations, but things get worse when Carbo brings his livewire cousin Voula, in to help. Meanwhile, Jake tries to hide his attraction to Bree in front of Alex.

Ben opens up to Emma about Melissa's death, which in turn enables him to finally get some closure. Dave approaches Nathan about maybe wanting to re-join the family business. Meanwhile, Bree is forced to let Alex down gently, when his attentions become too much. Alex is embarrassed and denies it, but shares his true feelings with Jake. Jake warns Bree that what happened between them can never happen again.

Ben takes the boys out for a night on the town and everyone is impressed by the nightclub he takes them to. Alarm bells immediately sound for Nathan when Ben reveals that Tom put him in touch with a nightclub owner, who is courting Ben as a potential investor for his next business venture. While Nathan is at the club, he realises how rusty he is when it comes to talking to women, but forces himself to take a chance. Meanwhile, Carbo and Retta try to reassess their sex life and promise each other to always surprise one another.

Tom's disappearance with the insurance money has got everybody up in arms. Meanwhile, Coby secretly blames himself for not being honest with the Rafters about Tom's part in the worksite robberies.

Julie comes into contact with Matt Jennings, a taxi driver, who actually happens to be Tom's other son and Dave's half-brother.

Dave's increasingly demanding new job leaves him exhausted and for the first time, he forgets his anniversary. Julie eventually convinces Dave to take a much-needed break, but he is unaware that Matt has been roped in as a replacement worker. Meanwhile, Nathan heads over to Jake and Coby's place for a drink when Matt and Bree turn up, where Nathan is charmed by his new uncle. Carbo finally tells Ben he's already married, but is unsure on how to break the news to his mother. Ben finally admits to Nathan that he's falling for Emma, but fears it may be too soon for his liking.

Ted is trying to find the new purpose in his life. He decides to do all the things he's always wanted to do, but has never had the time: home-brewing, volunteer work, finding a job — even skydiving. But when Donna declines his request for a job at the Boat Club, Ted is dealt the first of many blows to his confidence. Meanwhile, Ben agrees to go to the movies with Emma, knowing that so long as other friends go with them, there's no pressure of the evening feeling like a date. But when Retta gets food poisoning and can't go, and Carbo refuses to leave his wife's side, it means that for Ben, the pressure is back on: it's now a date. Dave is struggling to take his own leap of faith and accept his brother Matt.

Dave and Julie discover how one inexplicable chain of events can almost end in disaster. Dave is alone with Ruby when he gets a call requiring his presence back on site. With no babysitter, Dave takes Ruby with him and enlists Coby to look after her. For a brief moment Coby takes his eyes off Ruby and she wanders into the building site. Panic sets in when Dave discovers shes locked herself in a room with a dangerous drop. Will they get to her before its too late? Meanwhile, Ben is doing his best to take things slowly with Emma, but Carbo makes his disapproval known after having witnessed Ben and Emma's kiss.^[8]

When Ben and Retta discover Carbo sleepwalking due to wedding stress, they decide he must tell his parents he's already married before he hurts himself. But Carbo receives an unwelcome surprise when Rita and Theo arrive early. Suddenly admitting the truth isn't so easy and Ben is left to prepare a fake bucks party. Will they be able to deceive Rita and Theo, or will the lie unravel? In the midst of all this, Ben finds his affections for Emma growing despite his hesitations. And when they have their first argument, Ben is forced to confront his feelings. But will he finally be able to tell Emma how he really feels about her, or will he continue to sleepwalk through life?^[9]

Ben and Emma are both nervously looking forward to their first date. When Carbo and Retta return from the honeymoon from hell, Ben and Emma head out to a restaurant and enjoy a perfect evening. But the shine of the night fades when Emma sees that Ben is still carrying a photo of Mel in his wallet. Julie ponders the natural cycle of endings and beginnings when she receives a response from the publishing house. Meanwhile, the launch party of Rafter Electrical marks the beginning of a new era in Dave's career. Steve Wilson's arrival sends Matt into a star struck spin, but it's Nathan who gets the biggest surprise with some disturbing news from his ex-boss.

Narrated by: Julie Rafter Notes: Jessica Marais makes a brief return to the series as "Rachel Rafter"