Episode 7819

Extended Summary

Nikau rushes down the beach where he leads the lifeguards in launching a dinghy, with him and another man, Mitch, crewing it. John talks to Naomi, the sister of the missing swimmer Goldie, who explains Goldie disappeared beneath a wave. Nikau and Mitch go over the area with Nikau calling out, while Naomi tells John it was her fault since Goldie was worried about the waves. Goldie surfaces long enough to call for help but is under again when the dinghy arrives. Nikau dives in and searches for her.

Leah and Chloe pop to the Morgan house where Leah gets Chloe to wait by the doorway so as not to disturb Justin and Theo. She wonders what happened to the calming beach sounds and Justin says it made him want to surf. Theo goes over to Chloe and they exchange apologies. Chloe mentions Leah helping her with the accounts and Justin jokingly accuses her of muscling in on his mentoring, saying there’s only one person in town to go to for advice. (Irene, says Leah.) Chloe and Leah leave and Justin asks to read the question again. Later, Justin is sat on the sofa making interjections. He goes to make a cup of coffee and is shocked by how little Theo’s done. Thinking Theo’s left things out, he takes the laptop off him, saying he’ll write the basics.

Dean and Mackenzie arrive back at the farm house after meeting the lawyer. Mackenzie tells Ziggy that the lawyer said she could get a fine or prison. Dean says the judge is meant to be reasonable but Mackenzie says there are no guarantees and heads off to Salt. Ziggy is bemused. She follows Mackenzie to Salt where Mackenzie is making a list of suppliers and stockists for whoever takes over: She notes she could have left it to Ryder but he’s off having a life. Ziggy tries to say prison isn’t a done deal but Mackenzie sends her away.

Nikau continues to dive and resurface without result and tells Mitch to keep looking, but then he surfaces with Goldie and calls Nikau back. They get her into the dinghy and head back to shore. She isn’t breathing so Nikau does chest compressions while John bags her. Eventually, she coughs and wakes up. Later, Goldie is being loaded into an ambulance. Naomi thanks Nikau and gives him a hug, also thanking John. John congratulates Nikau on keeping his cool.

At the Parata house, Chloe is starting to grasp what Leah’s taught her. She is pleased that she can help her family now. Back at the Morgan house, Justin finishes typing and hands the laptop back to Theo. Theo isn’t too happy, since Justin’s done all the work. Justin says they discussed the main ideas beforehand and says Theo needs a good grade so he did a bit of typing. Theo reluctantly agrees.

Leah and Chloe have finished working. Chloe offers to cook dinner as a thank you, before agreeing to downgrade to a drink. Theo turns up as Leah leaves and remarks to Chloe he should have asked Leah for help. He explains that he can’t hand in Justin’s work so he’ll have to start from scratch. Leah arrives home where Justin has arranged a takeaway dinner. Justin wonders about getting Chloe to do the garage books before announcing a celebration to them both being good mentors.

Outside the surf club, Ziggy tells Dean he needs to talk to Mackenzie. Dean says her lawyer looked the same as his just before he got two years. Ziggy says he needs to be strong for Mackenzie. They head up to Salt and hear crying from the store room. Dean knocks on the door. Mackenzie says not to come in and he says it’s him before going in. Mackenzie says she suddenly realised the store room is the same size as a cell. Dean hugs her. The three of them head back to the farm house where Mackenzie reflects on the bad decisions she’s made. Dean reminds her prison isn’t certain and says she’ll cope.

John finds Nikau in the surf club office. Nikau says he had loose ends to tie up. John offers to buy him a drink but Nikau says he’s going to call Bella. After he’s gone, John checks the computer and finds the search about flights to New York. Nikau heads home and finds Chloe and Theo. He tells them about the rescue before wondering why Bella isn’t answering and going to have a shower. Theo is struggling with his assignment. Chloe asks if his car’s environmentally friendly. Theo says it isn’t but it does have some fuel efficiency features. Chloe tells him to write about that and he starts typing.

Next morning, John runs into Nikau near the surf club. Nikau is just finishing a call to Bella and John comments on long-distance phone tag. Naomi appears and says Goldie was in hospital overnight but will be out later today. She’s come to pick up the stuff left on the beach and also invites Nikau to lunch. Nikau declines but John accepts for him and they arrange to meet at Salt at midday. Back in the surf club, Nikau protests to John that he has a girlfriend. John doesn’t think it’s a date: He thinks because Naomi was blaming herself yesterday she needs someone to debrief with.

At the farm house, Dean tells Ziggy he’s worried about Mackenzie since she can’t go to prison feeling like that. Mackenzie enters and says she’s done feeling sorry for herself: If it’s her last day of freedom, they should go out and have fun.