Episode 6217

Extended Summary

After rejecting Zac’s proposal, Leah walks off to get away and think. VJ is disappointed and Chris is lamenting that he thought he had planned an excellent proposal for Zac. Chris apologises to Zac, saying he’s an idiot. Zac agrees, but he’s an ever bigger idiot for going along with it. Irene catches up with Leah on the pier. Leah admits she should have handled that better, but Irene’s not there to judge. Leah says she doesn’t think she could cope if things didn’t work out with Zac, and considering her track record it’s hard not to be pessimistic. Irene agrees she’s had a rough run but she shares something special with Zac. Leah can’t deal with this now, she just wants to get back for VJ’s race.

Nate & Kat head upstairs to the gym to grab water for the next carnival event, a race on the beach. Nate can’t believe Leah turned down Zac like that, in front of everyone. Kat says she’s sure Leah had her reasons. Yeah, but Nate would never embarrass someone he loved like that. Kat is annoyed, does he believe a woman should agree to a marriage proposal just to avoid embarrassing their boyfriend? Kat heads back downstairs, leaving Nate unsure why Kat’s getting so worked up. Just before the race, Ash & Phoebe make a friendly wager of $50. Jett wins and VJ comes second. Ash wins the bet just as Zac decides to leave the carnival, it all being too much for him.

Nate finds Kat at the beach, she missed the race. He asks why she freaked out when they were talking about the proposal, but Kat is looking at something behind him, in the surf. Nate turns, and they realise someone’s face down in the water. They rush out and Nate brings the woman back on the sand – it’s Billie. Kat rushes off to get help as Nate starts giving her mouth-to-mouth. She wakes, coughing up water, and Nate tells her she’s going to be ok. Back at the surf club, Billie is recovering with Ash by her side. They both thank Kat & Nate for saving her life. Billie is beyond grateful for what Nate did, saying he was amazing. Ash insists that Billie goes to the hospital but she brushes him off, until Nate tells her she should. She agrees, looking admirably at Nate.

As Kat & Nate walk home, Nate brings up their earlier conversation. Kat shares that the cop she was dating in the city that she told him about, well it was more than that – they were engaged. She was pressured by him into accepting the proposal even though she knew it wasn’t right. Nate now understands why she reacted the way she did. She apologises for shutting him out but he points out she likes to run away from things that are hard. Otherwise why would she be considering leaving the Bay? Later, at the diner, Irene thanks them again for what they did for Billie, where would we be without you two? Kat tells Nate she’s decided to stay in the Bay, for now, which makes Nate very happy. Billie then turns up with a thank you gift for Nate of some boxing gloves. Nate insists it’s not necessary but Billie wanted to thank him properly. She then leaves Nate & Kat to their dinner, but Billie can’t help looking back at Nate – it seems Billie has a crush.

Kyle, back from relaying the news to the rest of the Braxton clan about Brax, is alone grieving in his own way. He’s strumming his guitar when Phoebe shows up. Kyle thanks her for her support lately. She asks after Ricky and Kyle tells her Ricky’s gone to stay with Heath & Biana in the city for a while. Phoebe decides to leave Kyle to his playing but Kyle stops her. Losing Brax has given him some perspective, on life, on them. He realises they were so focused on the future in their relationship that they never lived for right now. He still loves Phoebe, and he wants to give them another chance. Phoebe is shocked, silent at first, then rationalises that Kyle is grieving and he’s just looking for something to hold onto. Kyle insists it’s bigger than that. He asks her just to think about it. She agrees.

Zac is letting out his stress in the gym when Alf tries to gauge his mood. Zac admits he never considered Leah would say no. Alf assures him not to let go just yet, he’s sure there’s more to it. As Zac comes down after his work out, Chris goes to apologise again. He asks if he can shout Zac dinner at least, to which Zac agrees. Suddenly VJ rushes in, telling Zac he needs to get home now. Back at home Zac walks in to the living room where Leah is waiting, surrounded by candles. She apologises for what happened earlier, saying she just needed to get her head straight. She says she needs to ask Zac something, then gets down on one knee. “Zac MacGuire, will you marry me?” Yes, of course he says.

Later that night, Phoebe comes upon Ash, relaxing at the beach with beers he bought from the race winnings. He asks why she’s out walking alone at this hour? Phoebe says she’s just thinking, trying to work out why everyone is so keen to settle down so quickly, privately referring to Kyle. Ash says he’s got no idea, he just wants to have fun. Phoebe says that’s all she wants too but Ash thinks their versions of fun are very different! Phoebe cheekily says she’s way more fun than Ash, so he challenges her to prove it. They both go skinny dipping in the water, mucking around and splashing each other. Then Phoebe tells Ash there’s something in the water and he needs to check it out. He does, and whilst he’s under, Phoebe gets out and steals his clothes. Running away she giggles, “this was fun!”. Poor Ash rushes back to the caravan park with nothing to cover him but his hands. He quickly finds a small pink towel on the line and covers himself, just as Phoebe appears in a towel, fresh from the shower block. She can’t help but laugh at her prank, until Ash suggests how would she feel about it? He starts chasing her around trying to get her towel and they fall to the ground, Phoebe on top of Ash. They pause, faces an inch from each other. Quickly they both get up and Ash races back to his van. Phoebe is left feeling awkward and confused – what just happened?