Episode 7869

Extended Summary

Ziggy and Dean pull up in the Bay. Dean notes he wishes Amber had given him more notice but Ziggy says Jai would be devastated if Dean didn’t make his footy gala and says she’s okay with coming back early. John passes them kissing and tells them to get a room. Dean tells him to get a life. Back at the Morgan house, Leah finds Justin singing in the kitchen and tries to convince him to make the most of them having the house to themselves. Justin says he can’t skip work with Ziggy away but promises to get away early if they’re quiet.

Irene serves Xander at the Diner and asks what was going on between Rose and Bree. Xander just repeats that it had been a long day. Leah comes in as Xander leaves. Irene feels she’s just been told to mind her own beeswax. Leah suggests it might be strange for Xander and Rose being in town without Jasmine. Meanwhile, Rose and Xander are walking by the road. She complains about him only getting coffee and no pastries. Xander asks if she meant what she said yesterday about not knowing what she’s doing in the Bay. Rose says she did and thinks things have changed now Jasmine isn’t around. Xander says he likes it there but Rose says it’s not the same for her and maybe she needs some distance from Cash. She invites Xander to come for a swim with her but he says he’ll go to the gym instead.

Dean drops Ziggy off at the garage. Justin is surprised to see her there and she explains about the gala. She’s happy to take working on an engine as a substitute for surfing. Later, Justin tells Ziggy that a new customer heard about them from the logo on Lyrik’s van. He shows Ziggy Lyrik’s socials including their support act for the Grassweeds (who Ziggy hasn’t heard of either) and comments on how Theo’s handling everything. Ziggy says she’d better get back to work and looks annoyed as she hears Justin laughing at the posts.

John sees Xander near the surf club and Xander comments about needing to think. John slaps him on the arm and he winces in pain. He says he must have pulled a muscle. When he gets to the flat, he checks if Rose is home, then retrieves an icepack from the fridge and tries to apply it to his tattoo, which is showing signs of infection. Rose comes in, realises it is new and asks him to say again how the place is good for him.

Rose heads down to the Diner to borrow the first aid kit from Irene and Leah, saying Xander burnt himself on cooking fat. Irene tells Leah she’s suspicious but doesn’t feel able to go up and check on the pair. Leah says Irene will know when to step in. Upstairs, Xander directs Rose on the first aid kit’s use. She asks when he had the tattoo done and he says it was a few weeks ago: Cash told him about Jasmine and it was the last straw. He admits he hasn’t seen a doctor since he didn’t want her to know.

John sees Dean with a trophy outside the surf club and he explains Jai’s team won their match at the footy gala. John thinks it’s good to get a prize instead of being told everyone wins something. Dean points out that it’s a Participation Award and says the important thing is Jai’s team had fun. John says they’ll make a role model of him yet.

Ziggy is doing paperwork in the office, then stops and looks through a surf mag, finding a flyer about a competition. Justin comes in and shows her a post praising Theo. Ziggy snaps that she doesn’t want to hear any more about how great Theo’s doing and heads back to work. Justin offers her to leave early but she snappily says she’s fine.

At the surf club, Justin asks Dean what he did to Ziggy, since she’s come back even more stressed. Dean insists it must be something Justin did since she was fine when she left him, trying to get John to back him up. Justin says Ziggy suddenly chewed his head off, and if Leah was in that sort of mood, it’d probably be his fault. Dean admits there might be a reason.

Rose finishes her first aid for Xander and pointedly comments on going to see a doctor. She queries Xander claiming to be happy there, but he says he got the tattoo weeks ago and hasn’t felt like that since. He doesn’t think they should give up on living in Summer Bay, whatever Cash said. He takes the first aid kit back down to Irene and Leah and gives the story that he cut himself on a broken tile. Irene promptly sits him down, saying she knows there’s a problem. Rose comes down and admits she was thinking of leaving. Irene and Leah both insist there’s a place for them there, offering them lunch.

Dean goes to the garage and picks Ziggy up. She is now in a good mood and thanks him for sending her the photos of Jai. Dean tells her what Justin said. Ziggy says it’s nothing to do with coming back early. Dean points out that means there is an it. Ziggy says she’s the issue.

Leah comes home and Justin reads her a text from Theo saying they’ve been booked to do more shows. Leah gives him a hug and says she feels sorry for Xander and Rose being abandoned. She’s thought of all the people who come and go from the Bay and thinks they should invite the band over for dinner and get to know them better.

Down on the beach, Ziggy says she doesn’t mind coming back early but Justin showing her how well Theo’s doing got to her. She insists she loves their life there. Dean says he’s waiting for the “but”. Ziggy reminds him they used to talk about driving up and down the coast going to surf comps and admits she still thinks about that sometimes but knows Dean has too many commitments for them to do it. Dean points out she has a job too. Ziggy says she’s not accusing him of holding her back and is fine with it. As they walk on, Ziggy looks out to sea and Dean looks at her worriedly.