Episode 7069

Extended Summary

Brody pulls up next to Simone in his vehicle. Simone is reluctant to talk but Brody says he misses her and chooses her over Ziggy. Simone sees Justin approaching and says she can’t deal with this now, hurrying away. Brody tells Justin what he said and admits he hasn’t spoken to Ziggy. Justin isn’t happy but accepts it’s Brody’s decision. Down on the beach, Mason is running a class as Raffy runs past pursued by Ryder. Mason joins them and learns about Raffy quitting school. Raffy says she’s going to fail anyway. She walks on; Ryder follows her while Mason goes back to his class.

Marilyn is on the phone to Ryder at the house and tells John that Raffy’s with him but he hasn’t managed to talk her round. Marilyn says they can’t stress Raffy out by arguing with her and John wonders how they’re going to handle it in that case. Marilyn says they need to talk about it calmly. At the Diner, Maggie is telling Ben that Simone’s doing a good job, despite Bella running away. She gets a phone call from Marilyn and leaves as Ziggy turns up. Ben shows Ziggy details of a house but Ziggy think it’s a bit small since it won’t just be the two of them. She quickly assures Ben that she isn’t pregnant, but plans to be in a few years, asking if he prefers Grandpa or Gramps. Alf and Martha sit at the next table and gently tease Ben about it.

Mason and Ryder run into each other at the surf club and Ryder says Raffy wouldn’t listen. John comes down and Ryder admits Raffy took off again, saying he didn’t want to put pressure on her. Mason wishes she’d been allowed to do the trial. Justin also joins them and is filled in as John explains they have an idea. At the Diner, Alf and Martha have a light-hearted argument about her captaining the Blaxland on their next trip out. Ryder comes in and explains about Raffy wanting to leave school, adding that while he might have gone back for her sake, he likes school now and won’t leave either way. He says he tried to help Raffy. Martha tells him to just support her.

Brody arrives at the Morgan house to find Ziggy wrapping up a t-shirt she’s bought as a present for the baby. He makes a few attempts to start a conversation but Ziggy drops a lot of hints about how she gets children now before outright stating that she’d like to have them in the future. At Salt, Justin, Mason, John, Marilyn, Maggie and Raffy are all sat around a table. Raffy thinks she has to accept she’s not the person she used to be. The others point out she’s only two weeks into the new year. Maggie apologises for not noticing she was struggling and offers to get Simone to help her straightaway. The others urge Raffy to give it a try.

Ziggy comments on the fact Brody’s clammed up. Brody confirms he does still want children but they are interrupted by Justin coming home and Brody takes the opportunity to leave. Ziggy explains what they were talking about to Justin, whose discomfort isn’t lessened by Ziggy saying she’ll finish her apprenticeship first. At the Palmer house, John, Marilyn and Raffy are waiting as Maggie arrives with Simone. Simone thinks she knows Raffy from somewhere and is momentarily thrown to learn she is Brody’s sister. John and Marilyn leave them to it. Raffy says she’s different from Bella but Simone still wants to try and help.

John and Marilyn arrive at the Diner and clue Ryder in on what happened with Raffy. They join Alf and Martha and note they’ve heard from Jett. Martha suddenly realises she hasn’t spoken to Roo in weeks and isn’t calmed when Alf reminds her that there’s no reception and Roo has to wait for her turn to use the community satellite phone. At Salt, Justin joins Brody in the store room and says he knows about Ziggy’s plans. Brody says he doesn’t know where it’s come from but Justin replies it’s come from him. Brody says he doesn’t even know what Simone wants. Justin tries to get him to tell Ziggy, saying there’s not going to be an easy time.

Raffy is explaining to Simone how she feels overwhelmed by the assignment. Simone points out it doesn’t have to be in for months, so suggests she breaks it down into sections and sets herself a deadline to do each one. Raffy admits that sounds okay but says she was having trouble thinking of a topic. Maggie suggests she follows her passion, advice that seems to throw Simone although she agrees with it. Back at the Diner, Maggie joins Ben, who tells her about Ziggy’s sudden desire for a baby in the future and asks if she prefers Gran, Grandma or Nana. Martha reappears and frets about not being able to talk to Roo. Alf reiterates that Roo has to wait her turn and will call them.

Mason finishes a phone call with Raffy and tells Justin that Simone seems to have helped her. Brody and Ziggy enter, with Ziggy keen to have a family meal together. Both Brody and Justin try to put her off the idea, then Brody gets a text and leaves her with his brothers. He meets Simone in a car park where she kisses him. Brody admits he hasn’t spoken to Ziggy yet but Simone is happy to give him time if they can be together. Mason and Ziggy banter about picking a topic for Raffy in front of an uncomfortable Justin, while Brody and Simone embrace and disappear into the back of his van.

John and Marilyn note things seem to have ended well. Martha is fidgeting with her phone and Alf tells her to leave it. Once John and Marilyn head home, Martha says she’s going to the toilet but in fact, once out of sight, leaves another phone message asking Roo to call her. Next morning, Justin and Mason are on the beach. Mason has an idea for Raffy’s project: Ecosystem dynamics. He praises Simone, saying they’re lucky she came to town. Justin looks uncomfortable.

Martha bursts in on Alf at the surf club, anxious that she still hasn’t heard from Roo. Alf doesn’t see the problem, saying if anything had happened they would have heard, but Martha continues to insist that their daughter is out there and anything could be happening to her. She rushes out leaving Alf looking worried.