Episode 7294

Extended Summary

Irene and Dean follow Bella from the Diner. Irene tells her she can’t keep lashing out. Ryder comes past and wonders what’s going on but Dean tells him to keep walking. Bella says she’ll calm down if she gets to see Colby so Dean agrees to take her to the hospital. Irene wryly wishes him luck. On the balcony of Salt, Ziggy reminds Mackenzie she was going on a Smouldr date last week and both of them express surprise about Mackenzie’s returned feelings for Colby. Ziggy checks she isn’t going to tell him. Mackenzie quickly says no, then wonders if she should. Ziggy isn’t sure about her qualifications for giving advice but suggests it’s only because Mackenzie saw him hurt. Mackenzie says she was scared of losing him.

John, Marilyn and Nikau are finishing breakfast while Gemma washes up. Nikau gets up and goes to check his phone and John tells him to take his plate to the sink. Ari arrives and Marilyn offers him breakfast; Gemma gestures at him to say no and he does so. John checks that he still hasn’t been signed off to return to work. The Paratas leave and Marilyn makes it clear that she isn’t happy with John. The Paratas walk through a park area. Nikau isn’t happy about John’s attitude but Gemma thinks he doesn’t help: Without John, they’ll be squashed into Ari’s van or in the car. Ari asks about Nikau’s job at the bait shop and Gemma embarrasses him by gushing about Roo giving him extra shifts and the keys. After Nikau has gone, Gemma tells Ari she’s not sure if she’ll have a job much longer with Leah back.

Back at the Diner, Irene talks to Roo and Ryder about Bella, saying she understands Bella’s worried about Colby but she can’t keep acting like that. Ryder is filled in on Colby being stabbed. Roo notes Bella isn’t going to be pleased about what she has to tell her: She has to repeat Year 11. Gemma comes in and tries to talk to Irene but Irene says it’ll have to be later. Meanwhile, Dean is parking his car nearby. Bella is unhappy that he made her leave the hospital so quickly but Dean says she was just upsetting Colby by claiming everyone was out to get her. Ziggy comes over and Dean tells her Colby will be in hospital another week and not back at work for four to six. Bella storms off and Ziggy tells Dean to let her go. Dean says he doesn’t know how Colby manages her.

John complains to Marilyn about the Paratas emptying the fridge and not paying anything towards groceries. Marilyn says that Gemma offered but she told her no: She thinks there isn’t a limit on charity and also makes it clear the Paratas can stay as long as they need to. At the Diner, Ari is on the phone to his employers suggesting he could come back on light duties but doesn’t get any luck. Roo comes over and tells him Nikau’s doing a good job. Ari suggests he could do odd jobs but it falls rather flat when he admits he doesn’t have a trade. Gemma tells Ari she hasn’t had a chance to talk to Irene yet. Marilyn comes in and greets Irene, unhappy about her spat with John.

John is watching Ryder and Nikau play pool at the surf club, so intently that Ben has to make several attempts to get his attention. Bella joins the boys; Ryder teases her about her outburst and she and Nikau are introduced to each other. Bella joins them in a game but manages to knock a ball off the table. John tells Nikau to get out. Bella protests that it was her and it was an accident but John just tells her to get out as well, and Ryder if he’s with them. When Nikau argues, John says he’s barred indefinitely. The three teens walk through the park; Nikau accuses Ryder of being scared of John but Ryder says he just knows there’s no point arguing with him. Bella suggests they go back to hers.

Dean and Ziggy arrive back at the Diner flat. Ziggy has filled Dean in on what Mackenzie said. Dean isn’t keen to talk about it: He grudgingly acknowledges Colby and Mackenzie were okay together when they weren’t tearing each other apart, but thinks Colby isn’t in the right head space for it. Bella, Ryder and Nikau arrive and Nikau is introduced to Dean, also explaining about being kicked out of the surf club. Bella offers them food and Ziggy convinces Dean to leave them alone, pointing out Ryder won’t let anything happen. Downstairs, Marilyn apologises to Gemma for John’s behaviour; Gemma doesn’t want to cause trouble but Marilyn insists it’s John’s problem. Going into the kitchen, Gemma asks Irene what Leah being back means. Irene says she can’t tell her since it’s up to Leah: All she’ll say is that Gemma’s a good worker and she’ll get shifts as long as there are some.

Outside, Dean tells Ziggy he doesn’t want to go too far from the flat. Nearby, Gemma tells Ari she might be out of a job soon, which he’s unable to reassure her over. After she’s gone, Dean goes over. Ari isn’t interested in talking about anything other than work but Dean tells him about Nikau being in the flat with Ryder and Bella and having a run-in with John. Ari is grateful. Upstairs, Nikau is surprised and not too happy to learn Bella’s brother is a cop. Ryder says he’s the one who helped them with Jade. Bella says her father didn’t like cops but he was wrong about a lot of things. Nikau queries her use of the past tense and Bella says her dad’s missing; when asked, Nikau says his died. Roo arrives and Bella apologises for losing her temper. Roo tells her about needing to repeat Year 11. Bella refuses but Roo says she can’t go into Year 12 and they need a plan in place by tomorrow.

Dean and Ziggy accost Mackenzie outside the surf club. Dean takes the boxes she’s carrying and asks if she’s going to see Colby. Mackenzie says she was going to but Dean and Ziggy tell her that nothing’s changed since last week except Colby getting hurt and it’s not the time to make big decisions. Mackenzie accepts it and invites them for a drink but Dean wants to get back to Bella and hands the boxes to Ziggy. At the Diner flat, Nikau makes fun of Colby’s CD collection and is surprised Bella hasn’t heard of the Ramones. Dean turns the music off and tells Ryder and Nikau to leave, then tells Bella they need to talk.

Ari turns up at the surf club and tells John he wants a word. John makes it clear he isn’t impressed with his family. Ari tells him not to take it out on Gemma and Nikau. John tells him to think of his meal ticket and Ari says John knows nothing about them. After he’s gone, Ben wonders what that was about and John says he’s going to find out. Back at the flat, Dean tells Bella Colby would want her to concentrate on her schoolwork. Bella is unimpressed and says he stopped her having fun. Dean doesn’t like her inviting over someone she barely knows. He says Colby is working double shifts and overtime to pay for her tutors and counselling and she needs to grow up.

In the surf club office, John goes on the laptop and types “Parata” into the search engine. He looks disturbed at what comes up.