Episode 8620

Extended Summary

John and Dana are walking in silence through a park area. They run into Sonny, who says he and Dana were supposed to be having dinner at Salt. Dana had forgotten all about it. John leaves them alone to talk. Dana can only manage to tell Sonny that it’s about Harper. Sonny leads her away. Meanwhile, Harper is leaving an irate message for Tane, saying he can’t just take her son and not let her know where they are. She insists he come home.

Marilyn greets Leah and Justin at the Diner, noting it’s good to see a married couple looking so loving after Cash and Eden’s tiff earlier. Justin mentions Leah recording her victim impact statement. Marilyn says Alf said she was getting on with Lacey. Leah says she’s had a lot of support which prompts her to decide to invite Sonny over for dinner to thank him. Justin suggests it’s late notice and he might have plans with Dana but backs off when Leah says she’ll invite her too.

Upstairs, Sonny manages to coax out of Dana that Harper is convinced their mum is clean. Sonny asks if it’s possible she is, given that it’s been a long time and Harper would know what to look for. Dana says even if she is, that doesn’t make her a good person and have a right to come back into their lives, and she thought she was free of her. Sonny gets the text from Leah with the dinner invite and replies that they’re busy.

Alf and John run into each other near the surf club. John is heading up for dinner at Salt but suggests Alf join him and they discuss his council business, making it a work lunch that they can claim back from the surf club. Alf is reluctant. Harper appears and asks if they’ve seen Tane. John wonders if she’s okay after fighting with Dana. Harper says Tane’s taken off with Archie and she doesn’t know where they are. Alf thinks she doesn’t need to worry because he’s a great dad. Harper says to let her know if they see him.

Next morning, Abigail finds a surfing class standing around looking a bit lost while Mali is drawing nearby. He says he’s got a few minutes before the class and had to get an idea down. Abigail realises he’s still working on Mackenzie’s board, having been working on it half the night. He refuses to show her what he’s done and goes to take charge of the class.

Leah greets Alf at the Diner and Alf comments to Justin that it’s good to see her with a smile on her face. He heads out after collecting his order and Sonny and Dana come in. While Dana gets a table, Leah queries Sonny turning down a home-cooked meal. Sonny just says there’s a lot on at the moment. Justin heads off for a surf, with Sonny saying he might see him when he goes for a swim. He heads back to Dana. Leah looks a bit tense.

Harper is staring at the note. She gets a text from her mum hoping she got home okay. John turns up and wonders if there’s any news. Harper tells him about the fight over her mum and how Tane mentioned custody. She shows him the note. John thinks Tane will bring Archie back when he calms down. Harper snaps that he never should have taken him in the first place. John thinks they can talk it over.

Dana tells Sonny that Harper keeps ringing her but she can’t bring herself to answer or even listen to her messages. She says she’s just going to go upstairs and relax. As they’re leaving, Leah stops them and wonders if they’re free for dinner tonight. Dana says they’ll just have a quiet night in and she’s not in the mood for socialising.

Dana goes upstairs and collapses onto the couch, looking at the missed calls from Harper on the phone. There’s a knock at the door and Leah comes in at Dana’s invitation. She says that she’s been spending a lot of time with Sonny lately and hopes that’s okay with Dana. Dana says she’s fine with it. Leah says to let her know if she changes her mind about dinner and leaves. Dana looks bemused for a moment before collapsing onto the sofa again.

Justin and Sonny meet up near the surf club. Sonny asks if Leah was upset at him not turning up. Justin says Leah just likes having Sonny around and it was nice to have her undivided attention. Sonny tells him about the second invite. Justin says she just wanted to thank him. Sonny goes back to the flat where Dana tells him about Leah’s visit and how she treated her like an insecure girlfriend who didn’t like them spending time together. Sonny is apologetic and says he’ll sort it.

John meets up with Dana near the surf club and asks her if she’s spoken to Harper today. Dana says she’s been avoiding it. John tells her about Tane disappearing with Archie and how worried she is. Inside, Abigail suggests to Mali that they have a picnic on the beach but Mali wants to work on the board design. He says he has to sum up everything about Mack in one board. Abigail says he’s done it before. She asks to see his design and thinks it’s a bird. She asks Alf’s opinion and he suggests it’s a dolphin or a wombat. Mali says it’s an abstract design meant to make people feel and instead people just feel confused. Abigail suggests he put it away and come back later. Mali relaxs slightly and agrees to the picnic.

At the Diner, Justin comments that Leah seems to be happy to be back at work and Marilyn agrees. After Justin’s gone, Sonny turns up and asks to have a word with Leah. He says he needs to take a step back, since Dana has to be his priority and he’s also made a commitment to Remi, advising her to lean on Justin instead. Leah accepts it but Marilyn looks worried. Later, Leah is staring at her phone when Marilyn approaches her. Leah says she feels like she’s lost a friend.

Dana turns up at the Parata house as Harper is about to leave. She thinks Harper’s going to look for Tane and Archie but Harper says she’s going to the police station. Dana tries to convince her otherwise, saying she hasn’t been able to talk to Harper lately. Harper indicates for her to go and Dana says Tane’s on a suspended sentence, asking if she really wants Archie to have a dad in prison. A short time later, Harper leaves a message for Tane saying that unless Archie’s back in her arms by the end of the day she’ll call the police and they both know what that means.