Episode 8621

Extended Summary

Mali and Abigail walk up from the beach with Abigail trying to convince Mali to leave the board designs for the rest of the day. Harper hurries past, frantically asking if they’ve seen Tane. She bumps into Cash and asks him the same thing, saying Tane took off with Archie and has been gone all night and she’s threatened to call the police. When Cash arrives back at the station, Tane is there with Archie, desperately asking Constable Gibson what his legal rights are. Cash takes charge of the situation and takes Tane into the back. He chastises Tane for worrying Harper and tells him to wait there while he calls her.

Harper’s search has taken her to the Diner. She quizzes Alf, who thinks it’s all good since Tane will look after Archie. Harper snaps that it isn’t all good that she doesn’t know where her son is, then gets a call from Cash. Nearby, Leah asks Marilyn why Sonny would do this. Marilyn suggests she take it at face value but Leah thinks it’s because of Dana and doesn’t know why she has a problem with her. Marilyn tries to get her to sit down.

Harper is finishing off the phone call with Cash. She runs into Dana and tells her she knows where Archie is and is on her way to the police station. She explains Tane’s there with Archie. Harper is annoyed that Dana cares more about the man who stole her baby than her, while Dana is annoyed that Harper’s giving more consideration to their drug addict mother than Tane. Harper ends up walking away.

Cash admis to Tane that he’s not going to be in any trouble, although he also drums home just how much he’s hurt Harper: Since they’re both Archie’s parents and there’s no formal arrangement in place, he’s done nothing illegal. Harper turns up and Cash warns them not to cause a scene. Harper takes Archie and asks Tane what’s wrong with him before walking out. Cash tells Tane to give her time to cool down then sort it out.

Leah turns up at the Diner flat and knocks on the door without response. She retrieves a spare key from under the mat and opens the door, calling out to Dana and Sonny. She notices Theo’s empty bedroom and goes and sits on the bed, tearful. Dana turns up and is bewildered to find Leah there on her own. Leah explains Theo showed her where they kept the spare key and wonders what issue Dana has with her and Sonny being friends. Dana says she’s just broken into her home and should respect boundaries, telling her to go.

Harper has just put Archie to bed when Tane comes home, asking to talk. Harper says Archie was exhausted and wonders if he slept. Tane insists he slept all night and says he was at Kiri’s. Harper asks why Archie can spend time with his family but not hers. Tane says Kiri doesn’t live in a drug den. Harper says he was being cruel. She goes back into the bedroom and shuts the door.

That evening, Abigail finds Mali working on his design on the Salt balcony. She says he was meant to stop for today. Mali says it’s technically night. Dana turns up, wanting drink and company. Abigail goes to get her a drink. Dana says she had a big fight with her sister and Leah broke into their apartment but Mali isn’t listening. Dana looks at his design, calling it bold chaos. Abigail brings her the drink.

At the Diner, Leah is telling Marilyn that she doesn’t understand Dana’s problem. Marilyn suggests that Dana letting her in is a good sign. Leah calmly says that she let herself in because there was no-one there. Marilyn asks why she went in. Before Leah can answer, Justin arrives. Leah tells him Sonny’s said he’s taking a step back because he’s got a full plate. Justin says his plate’s empty and suggests she doesn’t need Sonny as much as she thinks. Leah tells him about seeing Theo’s empty room.

Tane is continuing to knock on Harper’s door. Cash turns up and Tane says Harper’s ignoring him. Harper emerges to thank Cash for telling her where Archie was. Tane says she knew he was safe. Harper says Tane doesn’t have the right to take off with him while Tane accuses her of bringing drug addicts in. Cash cuts them off, saying they need to co-operate for Archie’s sake. Tane agrees but Harper goes back to her room once Cash is gone.

Abigail comes downstairs to find Mali back working on his designs at the board shop. Abigail says Levi and Mackenzie aren’t home until tomorrow so he could work on it there. Mali jovially says there’s less distraction here so Abigail leaves him to it. Alf has overheard from the office and approaches Mali, wondering about the pressure he puts himself under. Mali says it has to be perfect. Alf calls perfection the enemy of good and warns him that he’ll be locked in if he’s not out in an hour. Meanwhile, Tane is walking around during the night and hears Archie crying. He’s about to go into the bedroom when he hears Harper soothing Archie on the baby monitor, saying she loves him and will never let him go.

Next morning, Tane runs into Cash by the beach. He notes that he got the silent treatment again after Cash left and realises he scared Harper. He repeats Cash’s comment about letting her cool off and then making things right. After he’s gone, Dana goes up to Cash and asks if Tane’s in trouble. Cash says not with the police but with Harper. Dana complains about her wanting to play happy families with a drug addict while sending her baby’s daddy to prison.

At the Diner, Alf chats to Marilyn about his fishing, with Marilyn hoping he threw them back. Leah and Justin turn up to collect supplies for a road trip: They’re going to visit Theo’s grave. Leah says she’ll be a wreck when they get there but it’s overdue. Marilyn goes to get them a coffee while Alf says to call if they need company when they get back.

Mali is at the surf club, looking exhausted. Abigail arrives and asks if he’s got any sleep. Mali says he can’t nail a design and has high standards. Abigail jokes that that’s why he’s dating her. She says that Levi and Mackenzie got back and Levi asked about the design. Mali says he’ll have to say he can’t do it. Abigail thinks it’d be a shame to give up now.

Harper is on the phone asking about solicitors when Dana turns up. She first claims it’s for work, then says she’s seeking legal advice about custody arrangements. Dana says Tane made a mistake but only because Harper was bringing Kerrie into their lives. Harper says she doesn’t want to go through that again. When Dana tries to argue, Harper says it doesn’t concern her.

Tane is putting the sign out near the surf club. Dana appears and says he’s not her favourite person right now and she could be overreacting but she doesn’t want to see Archie lose him, saying Harper’s on the warpath and not listening to her, and Tane might want to talk to her sooner rather than later. Tane heads home and finds Harper looking through a box. She says she’s looking for Archie’s birth certificate and getting a solicitor to put a formalised custody arrangement in place. Tane tries to protest but Harper says she doesn’t want to worry about where her son is again.