Episode 7740

Extended Summary

Tane and Nikau search the beach for Chloe without success. Tane wonders if she could be with Bella but Nikau says Bella left early. Tane asks what happened last night and Nikau tells him about Chloe’s freak-out. Tane is frustrated that he wasn’t there, although Nikau doesn’t think it would make a difference. They split up to search. In his caravan, Ryder picks up the compass Alf gave him. He exits the van and finds Alf and Roo there. He says he’s going to Salt and they say they’ll go there for breakfast. They try to talk to him about cooking for himself and going to the communal shower, calling it not ideal. Ryder suggests Alf puts “Hardly ideal” on the sign.

Dean listens from the corridor as Brett tells Karen that she’s missed at the RSL. Karen notes Gazza misses her when she goes for a lunch break, then hastily excuses herself. Dean approaches Brett, wondering what he’s doing. Brett is worried about discussing the big stuff, saying when he proposed to Karen, she took off in his car. He knows about her mental health issues and accepts them. Dean tries to get him to talk to her about something important but he worries she might run away again. At Salt, Alf and Roo are sat at a table but Ryder refuses to talk, saying he has to work. Roo talks to him at the bar, suspecting he’s actually early for his shift. She says Alf has cleared the air with her and Theo but Ryder says Alf won’t listen to him. When Ryder asks if there’s anything else, she orders a cup of tea for Alf and a flat white for herself.

Tane arrives back at the Parata house and calls out for Chloe. He rings Nikau, who is at the Diner: Chloe isn’t there and isn’t working today. They decide to go to the hospital, with Tane leaving a note for Chloe saying to call him. Later, Chloe and Bella arrive and find the note but Chloe thinks he just wants to talk about last night. Bella says Chloe doesn’t have to pretend in front of her. She comments they wouldn’t have considered each other good company when they first met, saying she found Chloe “a lot”. Chloe replies that she thought Bella was a total cow and they note they’ve matured since then.

Tane and Nikau have joined Mia at the hospital but she doesn’t have any details for them. Martinez is doing checks on them to get them clearance but doesn’t have any information either, he was just asked to escort Ari. Nearby, Logan examines Ari who says he was throwing up. Logan talks to Freya to arrange antibiotics and scans. Martinez lets Mia, Tane and Nikau in to see him. At the farm house, Dean gets Karen to come out of her room and tries to get her to talk to Brett, suggesting she tells him about Jai. Brett asks who Jai is and Dean says he’s her grandson. Brett asks what he’s like and Karen says he’s beautiful. Dean sits them both down and tells Karen that Brett wants to spend the rest of his life with her but is scared she’ll take off, and Brett that Karen loves him but is scared she’ll mess it up. He leaves them to it.

Mia is talking to Ari about how she thought something was wrong with him. Nikau notices Logan chatting to Martinez before he comes over and explains that the scans showed something wrong with the appendix so he’s taking him into surgery. Mia and Tane hope this mean they can delay sentencing and have more time with him. Mia goes to call the lawyer. At Salt, Alf tries to get Ryder to talk to them but he says he’s working non-stop. Roo asks for lunch menus. Ryder goes over to Bella and Chloe and wonders if they’re waiting for Nik, saying it looks weird seeing them hanging out on their own. Bella and Chloe joke that that’s silly and immature. Bella gets a call from Nikau about Ari being in hospital. Chloe realises that’s what the missed calls were about.

Mia tries to get Ari to put his surgical hat on for the operation but Nikau waving a camera phone at him as Tane teases him doesn’t encourage him. Logan says the operation should take an hour. Chloe and Bella arrive. Chloe is apologetic but Ari and Mia assure her it’s just appendicitis. Ari is taken away. At the surf club, Roo implores Alf not to give up. Ryder comes down and admits he was waiting for them to leave to take his break. Alf says he understands Ryder’s a man and needs his own space, adding that he nearly lost him and took it out on everyone. He notes he gave Ryder the compass so he wouldn’t lose his way but did himself. Ryder says they both did and accepts Alf’s apology. Alf awkwardly goes to phone Martha and Roo gives Ryder a hug.

Mia gets off the phone and tells Nikau, Tane, Chloe and Bella that the lawyer could delay sentencing for two weeks and have bail reviewed. Logan arrives earlier than expected. Mia asks him for a medical certificate but Tane realises something’s wrong. Logan says it wasn’t appendicitis but pseudomyxima peritonei, a rare form of cancer that starts in the appendix and doesn’t show up on blood tests or ultrasounds. Mia asks what they can do and Logan says it’s already spread throughout the abdomen so there’s little they can do. Chloe rushes off and Bella goes after her. Nikau asks if Ari knows and Logan says he doesn’t. On a nearby road, Bella tries to console Chloe, who says it’s her fault.

Mia, Nikau, Tane and Logan are all with Ari as he wakes up. He says he told them he’d be all right, then clocks their expressions. Logan tells him about the PMP. There’s only one treatment available: A brutal sixteen-hour surgery to remove all the tumours. However, it’s not a cure: He would need it to be done every three months and it may not extend his life. Ari asks if he’d have a year without it. Logan says with the amount of bleeding, things could go wrong very quickly. He leaves them to talk about it.