Levi Fowler

When Bree rang around for advice from a heart specialist following Mackenzie’s unexplained collapse, she wasn’t expecting cardiothoracic specialist Levi Fowler to turn up at Northern Districts in person. He quickly realised Mackenzie was suffering from spontaneous carotid artery dissection (SCAD) and operated to repair a torn aorta. He was acquainted with Dana from St Luke’s in the city and aware of her being accused of stealing drugs but assured her he only cared about her being a good nurse. As it transpired, Levi had another connection to the area, being the brother of Summer Bay resident Eden. They hadn’t seen each other since they were teens when their parents split up: Levi had chosen to live with their father, even though he was the one that cheated, and although he was still in contact with their mother, Eden had refused to have anything to do with him.

Although he and Eden met up after Remi saw him at the hospital, his attempts at building bridges fell flat, although he did get to meet her boyfriend Cash for the first time and received a warm welcome from Kirby, also trying to talk Remi into helping him. He tried to talk Mackenzie out of discharging herself and blamed Xander for putting the idea in her head. After failing again to resolve things with Eden, he prepared to return to the city, until Mackenzie collapsed and was rushed back into hospital, with him having to operate on a blood clot. When Remi was brought in after being knocked off his motorbike, Levi overruled Bree and operated on a cardiac tamponade in the ED. Bree and Eden both accused him of making Remi worse and it wasn’t until later that he learned Eden had been kidnapped and nearly killed by the people responsible for Remi’s accident. Cash played peacemaker and they cleared the air. He got further on Bree’s bad side by moving Remi out of intensive care when he regained consciousness, insisting his only problem was pain management.

Despite their issues, Xander asked Levi to be the guest speaker at a fundraiser for research into SCAD and Levi convinced Mackenzie to attend with him. Afterwards, she kissed him. He escorted Mackenzie home when she was discharged where they kissed again but he left after they were interrupted by a disapproving Mali. He visited her again and they nearly slept together but he abruptly left. Levi eventually told her he was married but they slept together anyway at his motel room, although the moment was killed when he got a call from his wife Imogen while they were in bed together. Mackenzie initially refused to continue the affair but he ended up back in Summer Bay when Eden asked him for help with Remi’s pain relief and he and Mackenzie were soon embarking on a full-scale affair.

Levi was pleased when Eden started thawing towards him although Mackenzie had to hide in the bathroom when she turned up at his motel room unannounced. He later told Mackenzie not to text him while he was with Imogen. He planned to spend a weekend with her but was shocked to learn both Mali and Tane knew of the affair, with Mali trying to warn him off. This led to Felicity seeing him at the house and him having to explain it away as a check-up. He was was thrown when Eden came to visit him and Imogen in the city, since he had been using rebuilding his relationship with Eden as an excuse to cover his affair. He managed to convince her to keep quiet, saying he’d needed time on his own to think about him and Imogen starting a family and that Imogen didn’t like him working away. When Mackenzie quizzed him about this, he offered to leave Imogen for her, shocking her and prompting her to end the affair. She told him hearing Eden talk about Imogen had made it real, but was unable to resist summoning him back again. He became concerned though that Eden still wouldn’t forgive their father, feeling one day she’d think the same about him.

Mackenzie convinced him they should go away together although he ended up having to leave her when Eden asked him to examine Remi, who had dropped a weight on himself overdoing physio. He convinced Remi to go to hospital in Reefton Lakes to be examined but had to face questions from Eden, who had phoned Imogen looking for him. He ended up agreeing to spend the night at Eden’s rather than going back to Mackenzie. During his next visit to Summer Bay, he was roped into accompanying Mackenzie to a fundraiser Felicity had organised at Salt for an abandoned baby Tane had found. This resulted in Bree flirting with him, which led to Eden inviting Imogen to Summer Bay. Levi had to put up with having dinner with Eden and Imogen at Salt and avoided being intimate with Imogen when they spent the night together in the motel. He was even more uncomfortable to find Imogen chatting to Mackenzie and abruptly decided they should return to the city, blasting Mackenzie for introducing herself to Imogen. He later turned up to clear the air. Eden again came to him for help when she, Kirby and Theo were arrested after Theo’s girlfriend Valerie left drugs in their van and he bailed them out. However, Eden then saw him kissing Mackenzie and insisted he tell Imogen. Levi agreed after asking her to stop Felicity giving Mackenzie a hard time. He told Imogen about the affair and ended his marriage, moving in with Mackenzie in Summer Bay.

He was unsure about contacting Imogen but Eden told him to stay away and let others look after her. He made an effort to get on with Mali now they were living together. Mackenzie admitted she was unsure about him moving in straightaway but decided she didn’t want him to leave. Their first outing to Salt as a couple led to a cool reception from Felicity. With much of the Bay giving them the cold shoulder, Levi asked Mackenzie if she thought it was worth it but she assured him she didn’t regret anything. He returned to work in the city only to find his affair and split had been made public and were the subject of hospital gossip. Since Imogen also worked there, he decided to resign. Eden dubbed him a coward but he told her he didn’t need her in his life. She concluded that she wouldn’t be angry with him anymore but that they were no longer family.

He made plans to set up a cardiothoracic unit in Northern Districts at Bree’s suggestion and was making his proposal when he joined her in her unsuccessful attempt to save Stevie Marlow. He was given approval for the unit but received bitter texts from Imogen sarcastically congratulating him. He hid them from Mackenzie and called her back saying she needed to move on. Her response was to box up all his things and send them to the farm house, as well as sending Mackenzie her wedding rings. He confronted Eden over giving Imogen his address and learned Mackenzie had found out about the calls, upset she didn’t trust him. There was further tension between them after she saw him chatting with a female patient and was reminded of how they met. Their attempt to get over it was derailed when Allen siblings Nat, Gordie and Campbell invaded the house looking for Mali’s brother Iluka and tied them both up. Levi broke free and attacked Campbell, only to be stabbed in the confusion. He had to talk Mackenzie through giving him improvised treatment before he could be taken to hospital. He could only tell Rose that they were after Iluka and money, and had to be rushed into theatre when he took a turn for the worse with a tear in his stomach. After he recovered consciousness, Mackenzie told Rose everything she knew.

Levi was soon discharged and convinced Mackenzie to forgive Mali. Not long after, Mackenzie went away to see her brother Dean, leaving Levi with Tane and Mali. He tried his best to get to know Tane and felt he’d made progress with Eden when she didn’t object too much to him chasing off a pair of River Boys causing trouble in Salt. However, not long after, he was visited by his dad Jimmy, whose presence enraged Eden enough to punch Levi. The experience left Levi worried that he would never be forgiven. He received a further disappointment when he learned Eden and Cash were engaged and no-one had told him.

Not long after, he was reunited with his other sister Abigail, who insisted Levi and Mackenzie accompany her to Cash and Eden’s engagement party. Eden let them stay for a drink but afterwards he found Abigail had stolen his wallet. He tried to track her down but learned she had left her share house. He was distracted by needing to comfort Eden when Felicity was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm and helped Bree perform the tests that pronounced her brain dead. When he heard the petty cash was stolen from the surf club, he suspected Abigail. He gave the money to John in return for him withdrawing the complaint, then headed to the city to look for her. He initially let her keep using his card but Mackenzie convinced him to block it, prompting Abigail to turn up. He discovered she was on drugs and tried to get her to get help but settled for treating her for an infection and giving her money on condition she stay with their mother. She rang him for help when her dealer tried to force her to sleep with a client to pay off his debts and he and Eden got her out of there, taking her to a motel to go through cold turkey, with Levi stealing drugs from the hospital to treat her. He had to deal with Mackenzie’s ire at him keeping it from her. With Abigail refusing to stay with Eden’s friends, Levi moved her into the farm house without telling Mackenzie. She almost immediately tried to run away and he had to rope Mackenzie in to helping him talk her round.

He confided in Cash about what had happened and talked Abigail into going to the police. He tried to get involved when Alf was brought into hospital with a heart attack but Bree sent him away. Marilyn ended up rushing to get him after Bree walked out and Levi saved Alf but when Bree refused to admit she was wrong, Levi told her he’d report her. This resulted in Bree being suspended and having a go at Levi in Salt, before Levi gave Alf a full account of what had happened. Because of the tribunal, he was unable to take Abigail to her first counselling session so asked Eden to fill in. He was shocked when Bree made a counter-accusation against him of interfering in her case although she quickly withdrew it. Levi filled Eden in on the fact Abigail felt lonely while she was spending all her time with the band. When Eden read Abigail’s journal, it led to Abigail cancelling her counselling session and the counsellor, Tim Russell, suggesting a family therapy session. Abigail praised Levi while accusing Eden of abandoning her, prompting Levi to remind her that Eden had stayed with her while he’d walked out. When he learned Bree was refusing to accept help for mental health issues, he visited her and reminded her she couldn’t deal with them on her own.

After a family meal where Abigail offered an olive branch to Eden, Eden confessed to Levi that she had slept with Tim. Levi invited Tim round and punched him then found he’d dropped Abigail as a client. He worried when Abigail wouldn’t see another counsellor and panicked when she wasn’t in the house first thing only for it to turn out she’d gone into work early. She threatened to leave if he didn’t stop hassling her and he was forced to ask Tim to speak to her. He tried to get Mackenzie to come away with him to celebrate their anniversary but she was busy working. However, when she realised what he was up to, she surprised him in his office for a liaison. They planned to take time off to celebrate further but he was instead called in for a consult when Tane and Harper’s unborn baby was found to have a lung problem. He offered surgery to remove a cyst and told Tane it was his recommendation but admitted to Mackenzie that the surgery was so rare he didn’t know anyone who’d done it. When Harper opted for the surgery, he prepared for the operation.

Harper made him promise to save the baby over her and he was relieved when she came through the surgery. He then helped Dr Liz Shaw stop the contractions when she went into premature labour. He found out about Abigail and Mali’s relationship when he caught them together and told Mali that them being a couple, living together and working together was too much. He thought he’d convinced Mali to break up with her but instead Mali moved out to a caravan. Abigail announced she was moving in with him and Mali convinced Levi to agree on realising she was worried about Nerida Mullins being after her. Levi was angry and worried when both Eden and Abigail were kidnapped but quickly reunited with them. He ended up running Salt while Mackenzie was away and helped deal with the chaos of Xander suddenly leaving. Abigail asked him why he hadn’t divorced Imogen, since they’d been separated a year. He met Roo’s foster daughter Eliza Sherwood and sparked off her interest in surgery. He and Mackenzie tried to spend time alone when she returned only for Eden and Mali to interrupt them.

On hearing his divorce had come through, he convinced Mackenzie they should go to Queensland so he could meet Dean. When they arrived, however, Dean made no attempt to hide the fact he disapproved of him. Dean eventually suggested the four of them get to know each other by going on a road trip; however, after Dean continued to take offence at him, Levi decided they should give up and go home. Mackenzie and Ziggy were promptly kidnapped by two escape convicts, Roscoe Mulhern and Todd Reinhardt. Levi reluctantly went along with Dean stealing a car to chase them and, when they found Todd injured after he backed out of Roscoe’s plan to murder the pair, they manage to get enough information to rescue them from a corn field where they had been tied up. Levi bonded with Dean after taking the blame for stealing the car with the police.

He told Tane what had happened when they returned but Mackenzie asked him not to tell anyone else. He worried something had happened which she hadn’t told him and asked Tane to speak to her but ended up learning she wanted to have a baby. Levi initially put her off but later decided to take a risk and agree. He told Mali and Abigail in order to get the house to themselves. Tane grabbed him for assistance when Harper went into labour in the bush. By the time he got there, it was too late for a caesarean and Levi managed to get them both through a natural delivery, although Harper needed emergency surgery afterwards. He operated on Theo after River Boy leader Gage Reynolds dropped a car on him and had to talk him into doing physio. He gave Leah an update on Theo until he learned she’d been banned from the hospital; when she turned up anyway, he had security escort her out. He attended Cash’s proposal to Eden at Gary’s farm.

He was initially bemused when Mackenzie began booking appointments with a fertility specialist but when she told him she had once had an ectopic pregnancy and lost a fallopian tube he admitted there might be a problem. He bought Abigail a car for her birthday and learned Mackenzie’s test results showed no fertility problems. He was concerned when Mackenzie ordered some fertility kits and insisted they have sex when she was shown to be ovulating. He advertised for a new cardiothoracic nurse, interviewing both Dana and Jo, and giving Jo the job because of her cardiothoracic experience. Eden told him she was inviting Jimmy to the wedding but he felt it was a terrible idea, explaining the wedding wasn’t the right time for Eden to see if she could handle it or not. He spent time with Jimmy when Eden invited him to town.