Episode 6670

Extended Summary

VJ wakes up in bed with his one-night stand from Salt. VJ tries to let her down easy but she assures him there’s no need, it was fun. ‘Rebecca’ runs into a bemused Alf on the balcony and calmly introduces herself before setting off. VJ, embarrassed, follows her out. Alf drops by the diner and informs Leah about VJ’s shenanigans. VJ assures Leah it wasn’t anything serious and then he shocks her: VJ has decided to give up on custody of Luc. Leah worries VJ will regret turning his back on Luc. It’s going to hurt Luc when she’s older and realises VJ didn’t fight for her. VJ argues Billie just wanted Luc to have a better life than she ever did, and she will with Ash and Kat. Ash agrees he’s doing the right thing. Leah explodes, thinking Ash has manipulated VJ. She storms to the diner and has it out with Ash. Ash argues VJ just wants to be a teenager again. Alf has to break up the argument. Maz and Alf listen to Leah vent and suggest VJ has been through a lot and has his whole life ahead of him. Maybe she should listen to what VJ wants. Leah finds VJ at Billie’s post and lets him know that she will stand by his decision. Then Leah visits Ash at the apartment. She doesn’t agree with VJ’s decision but she’ll stand by it. She will never forgive Ash for manipulating a teenage boy into giving up his child though. She warns Ash not to get too comfortable because VJ will realise he’s made a mistake one day and maybe the custody arrangements will change. Ash rips into Leah, accusing her of being selfish and not wanting to be alone – Zac’s left and VJ’s getting old enough to leave soon too. Empty nest syndrome. Leah leaves, upset. At home, she watches VJ pack up Luc’s nursery.

Jett and John arrive at the address they have for John’s childhood home. John doesn’t recognise it, but Jett’s keen to get started. The resident, Bede, John and Jett discuss the history of the house and it transpires that Bede’s uncle possibly bought the house from John’s mother. It’s seems a bit of a dead end, but when John says he’s a Palmer, Bede shows John and Jett the gravesite of John’s father. John thinks the date on the inscription is incorrect. It shows the date after John’s birthday, surely he’d remember that. Bede realises John thinks his father died of a heart attack, but Bede’s sure he died in a fire in the shed on the back paddock. John’s shocked. Jett finds a news article that verifies a fire on the property killed John’s father on the date on the grave’s inscription. John’s can’t believe he never knew. There’s also a photo of John with his mother in the article, which rattles John and he heads out for air. It can’t be a coincidence that his father died in a fire and now forty years later John has been going around lighting fires! He questions why his mother never told him the truth about his father’s death and why she never even spoke about his father. Jett thinks maybe she was trying to protect him, but John thinks there’s something amiss. It doesn’t make sense. On their way to the car to leave, John turns back to the paddock and sees himself as a child standing in the paddock. John can’t believe what he’s seeing and joins Jett when he calls him. Then we see Young John, standing in the paddock, holding a lighter. The same one John used in the Bay.