Episode 6821

Extended Summary

Justin enters the garage and tells Robbo that they’ve gone, noting that he could have stopped Ash being arrested if he’d spoken up but needs to protect his family. Robbo says he doesn’t want to get anyone into trouble. Justin tells him to start thinking about where he’s going to go. Meanwhile, Colby stops the car on the headland and gets a still handcuffed Ash out. He suggests they sit and chat but Ash isn’t keen on the idea. Colby says if Ash keeps going the way he is, then it’ll end in tragedy. He gets Ash to sit down and uncuffs him.

Maggie is staring out the window as Ben says he’ll make her appointment for Tuesday, then remembers she has to have a PET scan first. Maggie seems to tune out what he’s saying as he lists what they have to ask, eventually saying she needs time to process and is going to have a lie down. Meanwhile, Colby tells Ash that he didn’t know Kat but it sounds like the police lost a good officer while Ash lost his family. He says he also knows about the River Boys. Ash says the police should do their job and lock Robbo up and Colby points out that they’re wasting resources cleaning up after him. Ash asks where he found the necklace. Frustrated, Colby says if Ash does anything else he’ll lock him up. Colby drives off. Ash phones Dean and says the police have found something.

Justin is walking near the beach and notices a car with abandoned vehicle stickers on it. He asks Alf how long it’s been there. Alf says a couple of months: He called the council but all they did was put the stickers on it, since it’s not stolen, just abandoned. He offers to call them again but Justin proposes to do it and offer them a pick-up truck. After Alf has gone, Justin uses a piece of metal to trip the car lock and then hotwires it. Meanwhile, Alf arrives at the bait shop and Irene comments on it being closed at lunchtime. Alf says Hunter was meant to open up and apologises to the customers waiting outside. He puts a newspaper down: The front page is a wanted poster of Robbo.

Ben finds Maggie in the bathroom and says he’s booked the scan but she can’t see the haematologist until next week. She admits she couldn’t get any rest. Looking at herself in the mirror, she wonders how she couldn’t notice she had cancer and says she should have eaten healthier and exercised more. Ben says Tori told them it wasn’t down to her and Maggie admits after she heard the word cancer everything was a blur. Ben says they’re in it together. They head into the living area where Ben explains the PET scan is to look for other lymphomas and gives her a printout of information. He says they need to tell the girls, since they know about the tests, but Maggie wants to wait until after the scan. She tells Ben not to push her and leaves.

Justin draws up the Morgans’ drive in the car where Willow meets him with the false plates. Justin starts fitting them and Willow reminds him to remove the stickers too. Justin gets Robbo from the garage, giving him a bag with false IDs, food and money in. Robbo is concerned that Tori isn’t there and worries Justin is going to hand him over to Ash. Justin says he’ll have to trust him: The plan is for Justin to drive into the bush with Robbo in the boot, after which Robbo can drive on and Willow will pick Justin up. Robbo gets in the boot. Willow wonders if they should wait til dark and Justin says they need to do it while Ash is with the police. However, as Justin drives, Ash appears and flags him down. (Robbo can hear from the boot.) Ash explains Colby let him go after a lecture and asks Justin, who claims the car is a customer’s that he’s test driving, to drive him back to the Morgans’ so he can collect his car and meet the River Boys. Justin locks the passenger door, saying he’s not going to help Ash get locked up. He drives off.

Justin brings the car to a stop in the bush and Robbo gets out of the boot. He thanks Justin, who worries what will happen if Ash finds out he helped him. Robbo would like to thank Tori and Justin says he’ll pass it on. Robbo offers his hand; Justin takes it but tells him not to come back. Robbo gets in the car and lowers the sun shield, causing a photo to fall down: It depicts Robbo with a woman, a boy and a girl. Robbo stares at it in shock. Justin comes over, asking what’s taking him so long, and finds him staring at the photo, unresponsive. A bushwalker sees Robbo in the car with Justin trying to rouse him and dials 000, while Justin calls Tori.

Outside the surf club, Ash meets up with Taz and some other River Boys. Taz says he went back to the service station and got the owner to tell him about Robbo being dropped off; Dean has found the old man who gave him a lift. As they’re about to go and join him, Colby pulls up in the police car: He heard about the servo owner being threatened and is going to arrest Ash, warning Taz and the others not to interfere. As he is escorting Ash to the car, a message comes through on the radio saying Robbo has been sighted on the old fire road and giving the car registration. Ash recognises it as the one Justin was driving; he pulls free of Colby, runs to his car and drives off. Taz blocks Colby’s path, stopping him immediately following. Nearby, Willow has overheard; she calls Justin to warn him Ash is on the way.

Justin makes more futile attempts to get a response from Robbo, eventually pulling him out of the car and sitting him down on the ground. He gets into the car and calls Willow, telling her that he needs her to pick up Robbo while he lures Ash away. Ash is driving along the road when Justin passes him going in the other direction. Ash spins round and pursues him.

Maggie re-enters the house and she and Ben exchange apologies but neither have changed their mind. Ben says the girls would want to support her. Maggie doesn’t want them to and also worries about Coco’s mental health. Ben says the news might put things in perspective and they’ve raised two strong capable young women. Maggie eventually agrees but says they’ll do it her way. Out in the bush, Willow is now the one trying to get a response from Robbo, who only moves to shift the photo away from her when she tries to look at it. Willow tries to pull him to his feet.

Colby’s car speeds along the road as he radios for an update. Justin and Ash are also speeding, while the council workmen are checking the gas mains outside the school, with warning signs and workers with hand-held instruction signs. Justin fails to see the works in time, slamming on the brakes, scattering the workers and crashing into the work area, causing the gas to ignite. Ash and Colby get out of their cars; Justin lies unconscious in his, a cut on his head. The flaming gas shoots down the pipe and out of the gas taps in the school science lab, causing an explosion. In one of the school rooms, a hole has opened up in the floor, leading down into a deep pit. Alf lies prone at the bottom, covered in dust.