Episode 7530

Extended Summary

Mackenzie is brought back to the farm house by Ziggy and Tane, where Ziggy offers a cup of coffee. Mackenzie says she can make her own but Ziggy reminds her she’s supposed to take it easy. Mackenzie goes to lie down instead. Tane notes people cope in different ways but Ziggy worries she’s not coping. At the Diner, Lewis and Jasmine are telling Irene about their plans for a picnic at the lighthouse. Lewis gets an alert on his phone than the autopsy results are in. Jasmine suggests the results might not be conclusive but Lewis insists he knows what happened and Christian was negligent. Jasmine proposes they put their plans on hold while Lewis checks it out.

Tori tells Christian she doesn’t know what the board are going to say and asks about Justin. Christian says he’s fine physically and pointedly notes he and Leah are working through things as a couple. Tori agrees they need to talk later. Lewis arrives, indicating he asked to be kept informed because it was his patient. Tori says the findings won’t be made public until after the family have been told and tells him to go home. Lewis tells her she can’t protect Christian. Christian heads off to the meeting. Outside the Diner, Amber quizzes Willow about wanting a relationship, recalling Willow hotwiring Nugget’s vehicle to go to a party in Reefton Lakes and says she needs to take risks again. Jasmine joins them with the picnic and Amber says they’re discussing Willow’s love life.

Justin is on the phone to Leah as he takes a handful of painkillers. Tori and Christian arrive home and Tori asks Justin how he is. Justin wonders how it went at the hospital. Christian says they accepted he wasn’t to blame for the patient’s death but he’s still under suspension while the incident with Lewis is investigated. Tori reminds him the “incident” was an assault. Justin tries to get the two of them to work through it. At the hospital, Lewis is in Tori’s office. He looks at the coroner’s report on her laptop and finds they ruled Christian was not to blame and no further action should be taken. He slams the laptop shut in anger.

Willow, Jasmine and Amber are having their picnic near the beach. Jasmine admits her relationship with Lewis is complicated but Amber says simple’s overrated. Willow goes to get some beers. Jasmine asks Amber how much she knows about Alex, saying she left Willow heartbroken and Willow can’t be forced to move on. They see Tori and Christian on the pier. Christian is thanking Tori for her support and saying he understands why she had to support Lewis. Tori notes they need to get better at drawing a line under what happens at work. Jasmine approaches and Christian apologises for being dismissive of her when she was being a good friend to Justin and Leah. He tells her about being cleared and Jasmine is pleased for him. After she’s gone, Tori notes Lewis won’t be pleased.

Tane comments that there’s a labouring job in Reefton Lakes but admits it’s the money rather than the work that interests him. Ziggy suggests he get a job doing something he enjoys and notes he’s good with people. She points out he did well at Salt and Ryder could use some help with Mackenzie off. Mackenzie comes through and is dismissive of the idea of Tane working at Salt…and, indeed, of working in general. Meanwhile, Jasmine finds Lewis at Salt. Lewis thinks Christian was crowing. Jasmine points out a patient still died and the coroners have no reason to cover something up. Lewis calls her naive and says the system protects its own. He notes Christian’s still suspended and if the hospital had any sense they’d sack him.

Amber asks Willow about Alex and Willow admits they fell hard for each other. She says Alex wanted her to move up north with her and she said yes, but Alex realised she was only pretending to be okay with it and left without her: They haven’t spoken since. She insists there’s no chance of them getting back together. Later, up in the flat, Amber tells Willow that Alex is still single and cute: She’s looked her up on socials and noticed she’s alone in every photo and has a cat. Willow thinks Alex has moved on. Amber recalls being repeatedly rejected by Dean and points out now they’re shacked up with a kid.

Mackenzie emerges again and Ziggy tells her that Dean rang to check in. Ziggy wonders if she should go and Mackenzie agrees, saying she didn’t have any privacy at the hospital, although she thanks Ziggy for her help. Ziggy says Tane was trying to help with Salt but Mackenzie says she can’t be thinking about his feelings or Ari. She says she made her decision and the surgery hasn’t changed it. Ziggy finds Tane kickboxing in his back garden and tells him Mackenzie doesn’t want him at the house at the moment. Tane accepts it and also confirms he isn’t going to tell Ari. Back at the farm house, Mackenzie opens up her laptop and finds a pregnancy site open. She curls up crying.

Lewis is sat outside the Diner looking at his phone. At the counter, Jasmine asks Irene if she’s naive, explaining what Lewis said earlier. She dismisses it as a rough patch but Irene looks concerned. Jasmine rejoins Lewis and suggests they stay for dinner but Lewis wants to go to Salt because he needs a drink. He has got a message from HR saying that, since the assault happened off-site and outside work hours, Christian is being reinstated. Lewis insists the system is rigged. Later, Irene finds Willow outside the Diner: She says she wanted a break from Amber chewing her ear off. After Irene’s gone, she leaves a message for Alex asking to talk.

At Salt, Christian tells Tori he has to attend an anger management counselling. They again talk about not bringing work problems home and Christian admits counselling won’t hurt. Lewis and Jasmine enter and Jasmine steers them to the balcony. Christian wonders if they should go but Tori says they have to learn to live together. Jasmine tries to keep Lewis’ attention but he’s staring at Christian and says he’s trying to understand what he has to do to make him pay. Jasmine looks worried.