Episode 7341

Extended Summary

John is brought into hospital and Charlie gives Tori the lowdown as Marilyn and Ari also arrive. Marilyn notes she thought John was drunk but Ari says he didn’t see him drink much. Tori asks John how he’s feeling but he only mumbles incoherently. When she asks him to squeeze her hands, he can only do so with his left hand and can’t move his right leg either. Tori says early signs are that he’s had a stroke. Back at the Parata house, Ben is helping Gemma, Tane and Nikau clear up. Gemma worries that John had an allergic reaction to something but Ben reassures her. Nikau doesn’t look too happy.

Tori says she’s sending John for a CT scan. She explains to Marilyn and Ari that the stroke could have been caused by either a burst blood vessel or a clot and they need to find out which. She gets a phone call from Justin, who is with Alf and Mackenzie outside the surf club and has just heard what’s happened. Tori can’t tell him much about John but does say that she left Jasmine looking after Grace. Justin says he’ll go home and relieve her.

In fact, Jasmine has Grace at her place, in the cot in her room. Irene finds her telling her a story and wonders what Grace is doing there. Jasmine says Tori knows and Irene accepts it. However, when Justin tries to call her, she rejects it. At the hospital, Tori finishes a phone call before telling Alf, Marilyn and Ari that the scan showed John had an ischaemic stroke caused by a clot. They need to give him medication to dissolve it. Marilyn gives permission.

Tane announces he’s going out. Gemma gives Ben a dish full of leftovers, saying she knows what it’s like living in a motel. They promise to update each other if they hear anything about John. After Gemma has shown Ben out, Nikau asks what she’s doing with him. Gemma, bewildered, tells him to shut up. At Salt, Tane is waiting by the bar for Mackenzie. She asks if Ari’s called from the hospital and Tane retorts that he’s fed up of every conversation mentioning Ari. He asks her what’s going on between the two of them, and Mackenzie reminds him they’re not talking about Ari.

Tori tells Marilyn, Alf and Ari that John has been given the medication. He also has an irregular heart beat which probably caused the clot. When Tori suggests it could have been caused by stress, Marilyn worries that it’s her fault because of him having to live in the van. Alf and Ari both assure her otherwise. Ari leaves and Marilyn goes to sit with John. At the beach house, Irene goes to answer a knocking on the door. Justin asks if Jasmine’s there. Irene says Jasmine told her Tori let her have Grace and Justin says she was meant to stay at the house. Having listened in, Jasmine appears and says that she took Grace for a walk then brought her there for a bath to settle her. She says she didn’t text Tori because she knew she’d be back late and claims she didn’t hear Justin’s calls because her phone was on silent. Justin tells her to get Grace together and he’ll take her home. Jasmine protests that Grace is asleep and Justin points out that wouldn’t be a problem if she’d been at home. Jasmine goes to get Grace, noting she thought they’d have longer together.

Nikau prepares to go to bed but Gemma insists on talking about what he said before, saying Ben’s just a friend. Nikau says that Mikaere should have been there for the family event, then gets upset as it sinks in that he never will be. Gemma says she’ll have male friends but thanks him for telling her how he felt. Nikau is sorry the party didn’t go as she expected but Gemma thinks it’s the most successful party they ever had as the police didn’t turn up. Back at Salt, Mackenzie admits to Tane that she doesn’t know where she stands with Ari and thinks Tane would know him better. Tane recalls he was still young when he moved to Australia with his brothers and wanted to be just like them, remembering how his first teacher turned white on realising he was another Parata. However, he says Ari’s changed. Ari comes in but walks out on seeing them together. Tane looks satisfied. Mackenzie follows Ari downstairs and Ari tells her she’s being played. When Tane comes down, the two of them argue over Tane talking to Mackenzie, both ignoring her when she protests she’s not property to be fought over. They both storm out.

Gemma puts some music on and dances to it, to Nikau’s embarrassment. Ari and Tane come back arguing before both heading to their rooms. Seeing Gemma looking down, Nikau puts the music back on and they dance together. At the hospital, John responds more coherently but looks confused when Tori asks him if he knows where he is and can still not squeeze her hand firmly, although Marilyn says it’s an improvement. Tori takes Marilyn and Alf out into the corridor and says that the weakness and confusion are worrying and not everyone responds to treatment.

Irene finds Jasmine making a cup of tea and asks why she didn’t let Tori know where Grace was. Jasmine says she’s already explained that. Irene suggests it might be best to keep everyone in the loop but Jasmine says Tori doesn’t have a problem with her. She goes to her room and looks at the photo album for a bit, then gets her laptop and looks up “help for new mums”, finding a forum. Next morning, Mackenzie ambushes Ari on the beach, taking his towel until he apologises. Mackenzie says people normally like you making an effort with their family and Ari can’t dictate who she speaks to. Ari says it’s not about that and insists Tane is just using her.

Marilyn is sitting by John’s bedside. Alf turns up with some coffees but then John’s nose starts bleeding. Alf calls out for help. Meanwhile, Mackenzie arrives at the Parata house to be greeted by Tane emerging from the bathroom clad in a towel. She first asks why he’s left the door wide open while he’s in the shower and then if Ari’s right about Tane using her to get back at him. Tane smiles.