Shannon has been bullied and attacked at school again, and Joey is ready to fight whoever did it. When they get to Tommen, Joey gets out of the car and runs, leaving Aoife to follow behind. She finds him fighting Johnny and makes him stop, telling him he can’t jump to conclusions.

Shannon arrives and Joey and Johnny demand to know who attacked her. The Tommen rugby players say that it was Johnny’s ex, Bella Wilkinson. Joey attacks Bella’s boyfriend, and when Bella puts her hands on Joey, Aoife attacks Bella. As Joey pulls Aoife off Bella, the principal goes to call the police. Joey tells Aoife to leave and go to the hospital so that she has an alibi. He knows he will be arrested and doesn’t want her involved.

Joey goes to jail but doesn’t feel remorseful for what he did. He does feel bad, however, for bringing Aoife. Joey thinks that maybe Aoife and the baby will be safe if he gets sent to prison.

Aoife goes to the hospital under false pretenses and then goes to see Casey after she learns Joey has been arrested.

Joey goes to court and discovers that John Kavanagh, Johnny’s father, is acting as his lawyer pro bono. John wants to use the evidence that Joey has been abused, and the police have failed to help him as part of his defense.

Joey’s case is thrown out of court, and the judge even apologizes to him. John takes Joey back to his house, and he and Edel tell him that they want to foster all the Lynch children, as they have been foster parents before. Joey doesn’t want to be fostered, but he knows it would be best to have his younger siblings in a safe home. John gets a call from the principal of Tommen saying that both Bella and Joey have been expelled. The Kavanaghs try to think of ways to get Joey to graduate next month, but Joey doesn’t care anymore.

Aoife is relieved when Joey finally calls her that night. She asks him to come to her house rather than go see Shane.

On his way to Aoife’s house, Joey runs into Teddy. He asks Joey to talk to Marie about taking him back. Teddy compares Joey to himself, even mentioning how he wasn’t able to leave Marie, just as Joey is unable to leave Aoife.

Aoife starts to panic as Joey takes a long time to get to her house. She texts Shannon, who says she hasn’t seen Joey either.

Joey lets his father’s words sink in and realizes that their family’s life would be better if Teddy had walked away. He wonders if Aoife and the baby’s lives would be better if he left now. He goes to Shane’s house rather than Aoife’s, but Shane is suspicious because he has heard that Joey has been talking to lawyers.

When he returns home, Joey fights with his family, who can see that he is high. Darren compares Joey to their father, and Marie slaps Joey when he begins to tell her all the ways she has failed him. Joey packs his bags. Shannon begs him not to leave, but Joey puts himself first for once as he plans to leave town. Aoife arrives as he is leaving. He tells her he is done dragging her down and gives her a letter he wrote, as she begs Joey to stay.

Aoife knows something has changed with Joey. She believes him this time when he tells her he is leaving.

Joey sits on a bridge and thinks about jumping over before Lizzie appears and tells him not to do it. Lizzie’s sister jumped off the same bridge years earlier, and she tells Joey that he will hurt everyone more by dying than by living. By holding on to him and saying she will fall in with him, she convinces him to get off the bridge’s edge. They watch as a fire truck speeds toward Joey’s side of town.

Aoife reads the letter Joey gave her, telling her about what Teddy said and admitting he is a coward. He also includes a full, signed confession about everything that happened at his home to John, as it will help his custody case. Tony tries to assure Aoife that they will find Joey. They go to the police station, where an officer tells them there has been a fire at Joey’s house.

Joey sees his house on fire, and a neighbor tells him they didn’t see anyone leave. He tries to get into the house but sees his mother’s badly burned body being carried out on a stretcher. Shortly after, they find his father’s body, and the firefighters try to assure Joey that there is no one else inside. He doesn’t believe them until he sees Johnny, who assures Joey that all the Lynch children are with his parents and are safe. He assures Joey that this is not his fault, but his father’s.

Aoife meets Casey at Joey’s house and tells her that all the Lynch children are safe. Tony tells Aoife that she can’t see Joey that night because she needs to start putting the baby first.

Joey knows his father purposely killed Marie and himself. The Kavanaghs and Darren try to figure out what to do with Joey; the former want to call Aoife, but Darren wants him to go to rehab. As he signs the papers to get himself into rehab, Joey asks Darren to keep Aoife safe from him.

Four days later, Aoife feels sick that Darren is keeping her from seeing Joey. She is shocked when Edel comes to her home with Sean, and she feels relief at seeing one of the Lynch children. Edel says the other children are doing well, but Joey hasn’t spoken a word, eaten, or slept since the night of the fire. Edel wants to take Aoife to Joey, who is at her home, regardless of what Darren says.

Darren scolds Edel for bringing Aoife, but the Lynch children’s grandmother is there and wants Aoife to see Joey, so she overrules Darren. Joey slowly comes back to himself when he sees Aoife, but he is still filled with guilt about the fire. When she is done with Joey, Aoife gives Edel the letter she believes was supposed to be his suicide note, which reveals just how much he trusted the Lynch children with the Kavanaghs.

Aoife doesn’t leave Joey’s side except to shower until Marie and Teddy’s funeral. After the funeral, Joey plans to go to rehab, financed by the Kavanaghs. Joey didn’t want Aoife to come to the funeral, but she knows she needs to be there for him.

Joey tells her not to wait for him while he is away, and even as he leaves, he tries to convince Aoife that he is no good for her, but she won’t give him up. Aoife doesn’t want him to leave, but she knows it will be the best thing for Joey.

Joey doesn’t want to go through the therapy required as a part of rehab. He only wants to detox himself from his addictions.

Aoife texts Joey while he’s in rehab, even though he doesn’t have his phone. She tells him about how people are making fun of her for her pregnancy, how she misses him, and how she sees Shannon, who seems happy.

Joey feels nothing as therapists try to reassure him that he has a future and the fire wasn’t his fault. He still compares himself to his father.

Aoife can’t focus on studying for her exams. She thinks about how Joey promised to come back for her and the baby three weeks earlier. Kevin helps her cram by reminding her that she can’t go back to school with a baby if she fails.

A therapist finally starts to break through to Joey, who admits that he wants to be a better person. He asks the doctor if he can call Aoife, but he is denied.

The students at BCS finish their final exams, and Aoife’s friends try to assure her that Joey will be out of rehab soon.

Joey continues to hate his time in rehab. He doesn’t trust the doctors enough to talk about his life.

Aoife thinks she sees Joey everywhere she goes, and she makes a scrapbook of their relationship. She feels like she is talking to Joey when she talks to her baby, and she feels it move inside her.

Joey tells his therapist, Dr. B, about the first time he remembers his father holding him, and the first time he had sex. They discuss his complicated relationship with intimacy, and how he did not give consent the first time he had sex.

Aoife starts to make plans for her baby’s delivery with her midwife and doctor. She knows Joey will be home for the delivery.

Joey tries to bargain with his doctor to call Aoife, but she refuses. Even so, he keeps opening up to her. The doctor tells him that Darren wants to visit him, but he refuses, though he says he will do anything for a call with Aoife.

Aoife’s boss tries to get her to start her parental leave early, but she plans on working for another six weeks. Paul comes into her pub and makes fun of her size, but to Aoife’s surprise, he wants to apologize for telling the whole class she was pregnant and how he treated her when they were dating. To make up for it, Paul says he reported Shane to the police.

Dr. B allows Joey to have a phone call with Aoife if he agrees to meet with Darren. Darren and the doctor talk about the possibility of extending Joey’s stay, and he gets angry. Joey has three weeks left and refuses to stay a day longer. He wants to be there for Aoife’s delivery. After Darren leaves, Dr. B says she is proud of Joey because he did not act on his impulse to fight Darren.

Aoife finally receives a call from Joey, and she is proud of him for being 62 days sober. Joey apologizes for everything, but Aoife reassures him that she still loves him unconditionally. Aoife tells him everything that has happened in Ballylaggin, including the fact that Shane is in prison, and Joey feels relieved. He tells her about the talk of keeping him in rehab longer, and the fact that he can’t sign himself out, but he promises he will be home for the baby’s delivery.

Joey calls Edel, who is excited to hear from him and tells him that all his siblings are doing well. She tells him that he will live with them when he gets out, but Joey tells her about how Darren and Dr. B discussed him staying longer. Edel trusts Joey’s judgment and agrees to help him get his next of kin changed to Aoife on his paperwork.

The Kavanaghs come to visit Joey and argue with Darren and Dr. B about how long Joey has to stay in rehab. Darren reveals that he sees Joey and Aoife as another version of their parents and that he and Marie tried to get Aoife to terminate her pregnancy. Joey tells Darren that if he keeps meddling, Joey won’t want him to be part of his life anymore.

The brothers fight about how Darren left the family when Joey was only 12, and Dr. B is proud of the fact that Joey is finally speaking about his feelings. John wants Joey to consider going to Tommen, and Darren is convinced this could be a good idea and give Joey purpose. After the meeting, the Kavanaghs ask Joey again to consider going to Tommen.

Joey and Aoife talk on the phone again, and though he tells her that he isn’t going to Tommen, Aoife knows he should finish his education. Aoife tells him that she failed her exams, and her mother wants her to go back to school next year. Aoife doesn’t want to do it, but Joey argues that he will take care of the baby while she goes back to school.