Episode 7440

Extended Summary

Ari and Mackenzie are walking on the beach and comment on how things are easier with Tane not around. Despite this, Ari is concerned about him disappearing off to the city so soon after starting his new job but accepts Mackenzie’s suggestion that if he called him Tane’d see it as checking up on him again. They are interrupted by Willow and Ari leaves. Willow asks Mackenzie if she’s heard from Dean today, saying there’s a problem with Amber. At the surf club, John gives Amber a juice on the house but she notes it tastes like grass. She wonders where Francesca has got to. Mackenzie arrives with Willow in tow and starts giving Amber a serve, saying she’s using Jai as a bargaining chip with Dean. Mackenzie shoves her just as Francesca arrives and John steers her out.

In the flat, Dean is researching child custody laws online and doesn’t look too happy with what he reads. He goes to the fridge and notices the photo of Jai stuck on it. Down in the Diner, Ari asks Marilyn if she’s seen Nikau. Marilyn comments on the possibility of Nikau moving to New Zealand. Ari clearly has heard nothing of it but covers, saying it’s not been decided. Marilyn notes she thought she’d put her foot in it for a moment.

Out on the pier, Ari leaves a phone message for Nikau asking why he didn’t tell him about New Zealand. He sees Dean and asks if Nikau’s in the flat. Dean says he took off with Bella earlier. Ari can see that Dean’s down but Dean doesn’t want to talk about it so Ari offers to shout him a beer instead. They head to Salt and are greeted by Mackenzie. Ari says they just wanted a beer but Mackenzie fails to take the hint, telling him one of the staff will get him it on the house. She proudly tells Dean about the serve she gave Amber and asks if he’s got a family solicitor, saying her mother knows a good one. Dean tells her it’s none of her business.

John is being served at the Diner when Amber and Joanne come in. Amber isn’t happy that Joanne went to see Dean and wants to do damage control. Joanne thinks Dean will win her over and Amber points out Dean’s not a teenager anymore. Joanne insists they need to cut Dean out of Jai’s life. John tries to calm things and Francesca heads outside. Soon after, Amber and Francesca are talking on the beach. John watches them from the pier and is joined by Willow. Francesca is calmer now as Amber says she called her because she needed to talk, not because she needed her to fix things. She insists she’s going to sort it out with Dean and sends Francesca to get Jai and take him home. Francesca leaves with a quick barb at John and Willow, with John saying he’s just getting air. Willow asks why Amber lets Francesca push her around but Amber says she owes her.

Back at Salt, Ari tells Mackenzie he hasn’t got Dean to open up and leaves to look for Nikau. Mackenzie apologises to Dean, who is reluctant to get courts involved. He thinks it’d make a bad situation worse but if he doesn’t fight Amber, Karen will never meet Jai. He says he wants to have a relationship with his son and stop him having the sort of upbringing he did. At the Diner, Willow tells Amber that Francesca’s out of control. Amber reminds her what Francesca went through when her brother died and then she hooked up with Dean: It broke Francesca’s heart when Amber told her she was pregnant by him, but she stuck by her when she kept the baby. Willow warns her not to back Dean into a corner.

Amber meets Dean at the surf club. Dean tells her he’s not keen on a legal battle and suggests they both sit down with a solicitor and sort out a proper legal agreement. Amber refuses however and says she’ll see him in court. Later, John runs into Willow and asks how Dean is. He says that even though he’ll tease Dean mercilessly, he’s there if he wants to talk to someone about being a father.

Willow visits Dean at the flat. She is happy that he’s going ahead with the court case, even though Amber’s her friend, saying she calls out her friends when they’re wrong. She gives him the photos she took of Jai’s birthday party. Dean is still down about what’s happening, uncertain if it will work out. At the Parata house, Ari is on the phone to Nikau, slightly annoyed that Nikau got his passport sorted out before talking to him. Mackenzie tells him that she’s spoken to Ziggy who says that Tane is running errands for her.

Next morning, Dean hears a knock on the door. When he opens it, there’s no-one there but an envelope addressed to him is on the doorstep. Inside it is a copy of his criminal record with a post-it note saying “YOU WON’T WIN”. Outside the Diner, Willow and Mackenzie chat about taking coffees up to Dean and the fact he’s stood up to Amber before seeing Dean’s car speed off.

Dean pulls up outside a house in Mangrove River and finds Jai sitting on the doorstep. Jai says he’s waiting for Amber and doesn’t know where Francesca went. Dean tells him to go and get himself something to eat, then leaves a phone message for Amber, demanding to know why Jai was left like that after everything she said about Dean’s upbringing, and also about the envelope. At the Parata house, Mackenzie talks to Ari about Dean taking off. She admits she has no idea where Amber lives and is happy to leave it up to Willow. Ari still hasn’t heard from Tane and admits he has a bad feeling.

Dean is loading up the car with Jai’s things. Jai wonders why and Dean says they’re going away for a drive and that Amber will be okay. He doesn’t know where they’re going but it’s going to be fun. They get in the car and drive off.