Episode 4543

Australian Air Date: 7th November 2007

Martha is left shaken when she has a late night visitor. Jack returns home and the wedding plans escalate. Dans re-location plans get a rocky reception.

Extended Summary

Jack finally comes home from hospital, but while his physical wounds have started to heal it soon becomes obvious that his emotional state is anything but clear and settled. Since waking up in hospital on Martha’s watch, Jack has found it impossible to shake a feeling that he and Martha should be together. Sam is ecstatic to have Jack home and starts work on the wedding plans with a vengeance. She wants Reverend Hall to marry them and invites him around for lunch. The Minister doesn’t just tick the boxes and sign the papers to set up the ceremony – rather he carefully questions Jack and Sam on their attitude to marriage and their reasons for wanting to enter into it.

Jack becomes uneasy at the self examination this requires and this is made worse when Martha turns up at the door. Jack knows he needs to talk to Martha, but she circumvents his early attempts to do so. Jack finally manages to tell her that the feelings he had for her haven’t gone away since he regained consciousness. Martha doesn’t want to hear that, and the conversation isn’t completed. It’s when Jack wakes in the middle of the night and pays Martha a visit that the issue comes to a head. Martha reminds Jack that she’s with Michael now, and that Jack’s engaged to Sam and then virtually turfs him out. But after he’s gone we see that Jack’s profession of love has had a profound effect on Martha.

Jack has had his gun and gun belt returned from the hospital and Rory has taken them to school. On the way home he meets up with Ryan. Whilst the two boys are playing around the gun goes off as Lewis is walking by on the beach. Lewis takes the boys back to Jack’s house and they both receive a talking to from Jack and Dan.

After Ryan overheard Dan and Leah talking about relocating to America he became very upset and stormed off down the beach. Dan chased after him but he couldn’t change Ryan’s mind. He’s not going! The issue escalates when Dan receives an angry call from Amanda who’s very put out that she hadn’t been told of the proposal. Leah starts to doubt that they’re doing the right thing, but after encountering Ryan alone on the beach, and having a long chat, it becomes obvious to Leah that Ryan is missing his mum and it’s that rather than America that he’s reacting to. Ryan confirms that he wants to go and live with Amanda and has for awhile. Leah and Dan agree that he should do that, and the move to America is back on track.

Rachel and Lewis’ relationship is going well, but they find it difficult to get any privacy at the Holden House now that Jack is home. Lewis and Sam have reconciled their differences, and Sam no longer thinks he’s the hospital serial attacker, but Lewis is keen not to be around her too much until Jack settles back in and life returns to normal. He knows how stressed Sam has been over Jack’s ordeal.