Episode 6539

Extended Summary

Leah arrives at the school looking for Zac, but finding Olivia and Hunter, learns he’s already left for the day. When she finds him at home, he’s freshly showered, claiming to have hit the gym after work. That evening, a family dinner at Salt to help Olivia and Hunter distress before their exams is feeling convivial with Zac giving Hunter fatherly reassurance before the exams, until he receives a text from Sam and rushes out, abandoning his family in the name of work. Later, Marilyn spies Zac giving Sam a kiss on the cheek good night and can’t help but unload to John about what she saw – is this woman a new teacher or a student’s mother? John winds her up, before quickly shutting her down again – there’s no way Zac would do something like that to Leah. But as Leah and Zac ready for bed, she finds lipstick on his shirt collar in the laundry. A surprised Zac is quick to dismiss it. Leah then tries to get intimate with her husband, but Zac asks for a rain check, too tired after a big day. In the morning, Zac walks Leah to work in an attempt to make up for disappearing last night but at the Diner Marilyn is quick to pounce and pry. For every question of hers, Zac has an answer, leaving Marilyn anxious and protective of Leah, who she aims her next line of questioning at, but Leah too says all is fine. However Marilyn knows what she saw and she can’t be sated – She will get to the bottom of this!

Tori struggles to cope with Nate’s decision to leave Summer Bay due to his feelings for her but Duncan tells her she can’t blame herself just because Nate did the right thing by keeping his feelings a secret. Later, as a contemplative Tori declines a call from Duncan, Marilyn checks in on her, and the pair take a walk to talk it out. Tori admits she chose Duncan because she thought Nate was just a ‘love-rat’ but the fact he still likes her suggests an unexpected level of commitment as Maz tells her to follow her heart. Tori finds Nate having a quiet drink at Salt and reassures him he’s one of the most loyal, caring men she’s met. The Hospital needs him. And she’d miss him too… as a friend. In the morning, Tori apologises to Duncan for being out late but believes she managed to convince Nate to stay when Nate walks into the diner. Duncan gives them privacy, which only allows Nate to tell Tori he’s taking the CareFlight job and leaving the Hospital.

Hunter and Olivia busily study at school, Olivia feels confident but Hunter is still nervous. At Salt, over their family meal, Leah, Zac and Olivia are trying to help Hunter de-stress, reassuring him that end of school exams aren’t the be-all and end-all to life. However, in the morning, Olivia waits for Hunter at school before their English exam, but Hunter has slept in, his phone flat. By the time he wakes and gets to school it’s too late, he’s missed the exam. In his dad’s office, Hunter pleads with his father to make the examiners give him another chance, but it’s no good – he won’t be able to re-sit the exam. His only hope is to ask Olivia to lie to his dad, her principal, that earlier in the morning she walked passed Hunter’s caravan and heard Himr throwing up. Olivia resists, but Hunter’s whole future depends on it.