Episode 8563

Extended Summary

Leah is still at the Diner when Jo turns up looking for David. Leah says he left about 45 minutes ago. Jo explains they were meant to be meeting up and he texted to say he couldn’t make it. Leah has heard about a doctor being stabbed at the hospital. Jo tells her it was Bree and that she wasn’t there at the time but did work on her. She notes she feels worse now that the adrenaline’s worn off and leaves to look for David. Upstairs, Theo finishes a phone call with Dana and tells Lacey that Bree’s sleeping it off. Leah comes up and asks if they’ve heard. Theo explains Dana has been keeping them updated. Leah asks if they’ve seen David, explaining that Jo was there and is looking for him to debrief.

Justin brings John a beer. David announces it’s time to reveal the cards, placing some cards on the table. John debates for a few moments before betting. Justin decides to fold. It’s then Alf’s turn to decide. He scratches his ear and John calls that a tell, saying he always does that when he’s worried about his hand. At the surf club, Abigail complains to Mali about his book-keeping. Mali wonders about earlier and she brushes it off. Theo and Lacey come in and Mali talks to them about Bree, saying you don’t expect that to happen in hospital. He overhears Abigail cancelling someone and guesses it was the counsellor. She claims she wanted to take advantage of the free house. Mali wonders if it’s about the anniversary, saying he and Levi are proud of her and she should be too.

David again invites John to bet and he chooses to go all in. He reveals his cards: A full house. David reveals he has four of a kind and Alf tops it with a straight flush and collects the chips. Leah turns up and is surprised to see David there, telling him Jo was looking for him. David checks his phone and decides to go, leaving the money for Alf. Justin quietly admits to Leah that John lost $300 to Alf. Alf asks John if he has his bank details.

At the Diner next morning, Leah gives Theo and Lacey a takeaway for Bree. Justin comes in and Theo asks him and Alf why they didn’t invite him to the poker. He insists everyone can play and Leah points out she can’t. Alf suggests Theo give him a couple of hundred so he’ll feel like he was there. Theo and Lacey leave and Leah tries to get Alf to give John the money back but he insists he won it fair and square. John arrives and says he had a great time. He gives them a booklet of 50 unique bonding activities, suggesting the ghost tour or wine tasting, and saying they can discuss it over the bowls game he’s booked for tonight. Alf and Justin look rather shell-shocked.

Jo is giving a statement at the police station and tells David she shouldn’t have left Bree alone. She asks him to stop the recording and notes last time she gave a statement was when her mum died and that was her fault too. David says the two situations are different and gives her a hug. Jo wonders if all witnesses get that treatment. She has nothing to add. David is going to the hospital to get an update and take a statement from Bree. Jo asks to go with him.

Abigail joins Mali on the beach after a lesson and says she’s ready to talk. Mali wonders why the anniversary is a negative thing. Abigail says she doesn’t want to celebrate anything to do with being an addict and the person who hurt Bree could have been her. She says she wants to focus on what she has now.

As David and Jo arrive at the hospital, they encounter Theo and Lacey coming out of a lift, having visited Bree. David asks how she is. There’s a pause, as if everyone’s expecting Lacey to answer, before Theo says she’s doing okay. Lacey tells Jo she’s glad she’s okay just before the door closes on them. David thinks it’s a sign she cares but Jo isn’t as enthusiastic.

Abigail tells Mali she’s going to rebook the counsellor and suggests they make the most of the house to themselves after all. John appears and asks if they ever work before talking about how much he enjoyed the poker night. Leah and Justin approach and John asks if they’ve come up with a short list. Justin says they were thinking the bonding would be a once a month thing, not every day. He and Leah retreat. Mali asks John if he’s okay and John give him the booklet for him and Abigail.

Theo and Lacey arrive back at the flat. Theo asks what’s on her mind. Lacey says it’s scary how easily Bree could have been killed. Theo tries to get her to admit she cares about Jo. Lacey snappily says she cares about whether she’s dead or not before going for a shower. At the police station, David gets Jo to sign her statement. He tries to make a big deal of what Lacey said. Jo says she’s been here before, after they gave him the ring. She insists Lacey hates her and tells him about Lacey hiring a PI and Jo getting the blame for them not taking the job. She says as long as they think differently about their mother’s death, they’ll never move on. After Lacey has gone, David makes a phone call requesting the case file on the MVA that led to the death of Kristina Langham.

Lacey rejoins Theo. Theo apologises for going in too hard but thinks she deserves a good relationship with her family. Lacey says she was momentarily worried about Jo and not to analyse it, and she’s fed up of bumping into them in a small town. She grabs her bag and walks out. Theo follows her down to the beach. Lacey recalls she moved away from her family, and nearly left when David turned up but things were going well between them and she thought she could avoid him. Now Jo’s here and they’ve bought a house. Theo thinks she can keep avoiding them but Lacey thinks the only solution is to leave Summer Bay.