Episode 7804

Extended Summary

Down on the beach, John finds Nikau putting flags out in a rather frustrated manner and guesses Bella’s taken the New York job. Chloe comes over and John says to say hi to Theo, although he gets a bit flustered when she asks why. Chloe texts Theo asking to meet. Theo texts back that he’s going surfing with Justin and they arrange to meet after. Nikau tells Chloe about the job and Bella wanting him to go with her. Chloe says they’ll talk after she’s had a swim. Back at the Morgan house, Leah tries to talk to Theo about Chloe, then signals Justin to stay behind for a moment. She asks him to find out what’s going on with Theo and Chloe. Justin isn’t keen, thinking they should just let the pair be happy.

At the coffee cart, Marilyn confirms to Leah that Chloe and Theo have been seeing each other. Leah is worried that Chloe might not be in the right headspace for a relationship. Marilyn thinks Chloe likes Theo and wonders if he brought Becky along to a date again. (Leah doesn’t seem to get the reference.) Alf comes along to take Marilyn to the hospital. When they get there, they find Roo still in her pyjamas and still refusing to leave. Martha says she’s tried to tell her. Alf attempts to insist she leave but Roo insists someone needs to be there to advocate for Martha and tells him to stop.

Chloe reminisces about going to New York while backpacking. Nikau says she’s just making him think Bella won’t come back. He says he’s got his career and doesn’t want to leave John straightaway or Tane. Justin and Theo come along. Theo and Chloe kiss, to the bemusement of Nikau who asks if they’re a thing. Theo ditches the surf to go for coffee. At the surf club, Theo reflects on choosing between New York and your dream job. Chloe compares it to him choosing between the garage and going away with her. She gets a text and says she has to bring some paperwork to Tane, agreeing to meet later. Nikau comes in and John says he has a lot of things planned for him: Surf awareness programme, lighthouse ocean swim, surf carnival, water safety week, fundraisers, nippers… Nikau asks if he can get through the first week.

John joins Nikau down on the beach. Nikau apologises for having a go and explains about Bella’s offer to go with her. John guesses he’s thinking about it. Nikau doesn’t want to lose Bella or the job. John says there’s no way to keep everybody happy and to think about what he wants. At the Diner, Leah accosts Justin to quiz him about Theo. Justin admits he saw him with Chloe and mentions them kissing. Leah notes that means it’s public and wants to invite Chloe to dinner and asks her intentions. Justin protests she can’t do that. Theo comes in and Leah suggests inviting Chloe to a family dinner, saying she wants her opinion on a new recipe. Justin privately comments on her lying.

Alf is packing up Roo’s things even though she hasn’t moved. Marilyn suggests giving Alf and Martha space. Martha asks Roo to get her a cup of tea. Roo says the nurses can get it and Alf snipes that they’re not waiters. Marilyn says she’ll get everyone a cup of tea and steers Roo out. Alf is confused as to why Roo has changed from wanting them both to leave hospital. Martha says that was before she herself had to stay in. In the corridor, Marilyn says Alf overreacted but you can see why he’s confused. Roo says they’ve been working for this and aren’t finished yet: Going home without Martha feels wrong.

Nikau continues with his shift on the beach – putting up flags and signs, calling out instructions and going out to help people – and smiles to himself. Not far away, Chloe is bemused about having dinner with the parents already. Theo tells her Leah’s story about wanting to share a new recipe and says Chloe’s smart, talented and hot, and Leah will see how awesome she is. Chloe agrees to come but says she’ll go home and get changed first. She asks how he’d feel about dinner with Nikau and Tane. Theo freezes and she says now he gets it.

Marilyn and Roo return to the room and Marilyn steers Alf away. Martha suggests Roo’s having trouble letting go, recalling how on her first day of kindergarten she had to be prised off her leg. She says she’s never felt closer to her. Roo doesn’t want to finish without her. Martha says it’ll be finished when she’s home and Roo can survive until then. When Alf and Marilyn return, Roo is changed and ready to go. Alf congratulates Martha, while Roo says Marilyn deserves some credit. They leave, with Roo pausing to look back.

At the surf club, John approaches Nikau and says he understands about young love and wanting to travel, tells an anecdote about being away from his girlfriend with the navy, and says he’ll keep Nikau’s position open. When Nikau gets a word in, he says he’s staying: Both he and Bella deserve to pursue their dreams. He’ll tell Bella when she gets back from the city with Emmett. At the Morgan house, Theo is bewildered about how much effort Leah has gone to and asks if she and Justin want him to wear his court suit. Chloe arrives and is similarly overawed, wondering if she should have brought something.

At the Diner, Alf and Marilyn do their best to calm a nervous Roo, who wants to call Martha. Alf says they only left her an hour ago and Marilyn says it’s the wonders of modern medicine. Roo is still worried however, saying it’s not rational but she feels it was a mistake to leave Martha in there. Meanwhile, at the Morgan house, everyone has finished eating and Chloe compliments Leah on the youvetsi. Leah says she likes to commit to making her recipes work and asks Chloe if she does that or just moves on to the next one, wondering if she likes to play around. Justin says there’s nothing wrong with that and Leah says some things break easily…like men. Theo realises this isn’t about the youvetsi. Leah says she wants to know if Chloe’s serious about Theo or not. Theo looks mortified and Chloe looks as though she doesn’t know how to react.