Episode 8212

Extended Summary

Felicity arrives at the surf club and sees that the gym is closed. Rose asks her to put up a flyer in Salt containing information on the items found with the baby. Felicity takes more to put up in the bathrooms. Rose asks Alf and Roo about putting them up in the club. Roo shows her the donations for the baby. Rose says they’ll have to be logged before they can be handed over, just in case the mother left something.

At the hospital, Mali brings Tane a drink. Tane tells him that he’s decided to apply for permanent residency. Mali tries to point out that it’s going to take time and will be followed by trying to get approved as a foster carer. He says no-one’s going to bend the rules for Tane. Tane replies that giving up isn’t an option. Roo arrives as Mali leaves. She gives Tane a bag with things for the baby and notices the name Maia.

Theo arrives home to find Justin in a good mood. Justin is pleased about Theo’s interview and gives him a list of questions the radio station have sent for prep. Theo tries to get out of the interview, saying this is different from the print one. Justin says that, until they get Remi back, they need to keep Lyrik out there. Theo texts Valerie asking if they can talk. Meanwhile, Valerie goes round to see Kirby and tells her that Theo has been cut off. Kirby asks why Valerie is telling her. Valerie says she knows Kirby cares about Theo and she does too, so Kirby doesn’t need to talk to anyone.

Roo and Tane continue to watch over Maia. Roo says Maia must be picking up on Tane’s energy but also unsuccessfully tries to get him to go home and rest. Tane says Maia needs a mum or dad that cares about her and can’t understand why anyone would walk away from her. Roo tries to argue that the mother wasn’t coping, pointing out Maia’s been dressed, had things with her and was in good health. Tane insists that if you’re a parent, you find a way and ask for help if you need it.

Valerie arrives home. Theo apologises for bringing her brother into it. Valerie accepts the apology but, sensing there’s more to come, tells him she’s not giving him any more drugs. Theo protests that it’s not the time to go cold turkey. Valerie doesn’t want to stuff things up with Justin and Leah since she’s finally onto a good thing. Theo says in that case, give him the number and he’ll do it himself. Valerie tries to help him prepare for the interview instead, offering to go over the questions with him. Kirby turns up and offers to practice the interview with him but Theo says Valerie’s doing that so she leaves. Theo then screws up the questions list and tells Valerie not to make him beg. Valerie agrees to give him the dealer’s number.

Roo and Tane go over the contents of the bag, picking out the clothes and toys that Maia needs. (Roo keeps a small spherical plastic container with a funnel, saying Tane doesn’t want to know what it is.) Roo asks Tane about the gym and about resting but Tane still doesn’t want to leave Maia. He talks about how whanau means taking in and caring for a child in need. Roo takes the rest of the items away for safekeeping, saying to text her if he needs anything.

At the coffee cart, Justin rings someone about dropping something off before chatting to Mali about the wedding and Remi. Rose tells Mali that the blanket and onesie found with the baby can be bought at several major stores, so Mali observes they have to hope they can track down the toy monkey. Rose says the sergeant’s giving a press conference about their progress, even though there isn’t any, and hopes it will convince the mother to come forward.

Alf and Roo are eating at Salt. Roo talks about how invested Tane is in the baby and says she’s worried about him getting hurt. Felicity overhears the tail end of the conversation and asks why he would be. Alf and Roo explain he was the one that found the baby. Felicity goes to the hospital and hears Tane singing a lullaby to Maia in Māori. He notices her and they smile at each other.

Kirby finds a crowd including Alf, Roo and Mali gathered outside the surf club. They explain to her that the sergeant’s meant to be giving a press conference but is running late. Rose gets off the phone and tells Mali that the sergeant has been held up so she has to take over. Although nervous about saying the wrong thing, she introduces herself to the press, saying they’re looking for information on the three month old baby girl and have given out leaflets with identifying information. She stresses that the mother isn’t in trouble and the baby is safe, so they want to help her.

Felicity compliments Tane on how good he is with Maia, saying she wanted to check on him but can see he’s in his element. She understands it’s important to him for the baby to feel loved. He explains about the lack of emergency foster care and how he’d do it himself but it’s also impossible for him to be approved. He says he’ll look after her for now.

Valerie waits nervously until Theo comes back in, necking a pill. Justin appears and tells Theo that the laptop’s set up for the interview with his headphones and microphone. He says he can’t wait since he needs to make a delivery. Valerie assures him Theo will be all right. Soon after, Justin turns up outside the Lyrik house with Remi’s motorbike strapped to his trailer, to be greeted by Kirby. He says it needed a lot of replacement parts but runs as good as ever.

Felicity tracks down Mali in the surf club garage, saying she just checked on Tane and still cares about him. Mali explains he can’t be a foster carer because he’s not a permanent resident, which Felicity thinks is ridiculous. She goes home and looks up “becoming a foster carer” on her laptop, clicking on one of the page links. She looks nervous.