The following week on the UK version of Home and Away, Mackenzie returns to Summer Bay and gets ready to move on from Gabe, while Xander tries to cope with the death of his coworker.
Following the tragic attack on Xander (Luke Van Os) and his coworker Jamie (Hugo Liu), the Delaney siblings will each face their own challenges the following week.
Xander was taken to the hospital with a torn spleen after being ambushed by several criminals who wanted to steal the narcotics from their ambulance, but Jamie tragically passed away there.
After his urgent surgery, Xander experienced post-operative confusion due to a severe anaesthesia reaction. After coming around, he swung wildly at Head of ED Bree (Juliet Godwin), forcing her to sedate him.
Rose (Kirsty Marillier), Xander’s sister, set out to find the criminals while he lay comatose.
Mali (Kyle Shilling), Rose’s boyfriend, did not agree with her coping strategy of spending time seeking evidence rather than by Xander’s bedside.
Mali was constantly criticising Rose, but her perseverance paid off when Elise (Micaela Ellis), a patient, was admitted to the hospital with an overdose of fentanyl, one of the drugs that had been taken from the ambulance.
With the help of Elise’s phone, Rose was able to entice the drug dealer, Brock (Ben Corlett), to meet her where she quickly arrested him.
Rose asked Mali if he would accompany her to the hospital as she was now confident that justice would be served for both Jamie and Xander. Mali had previously accused Rose of simply going after the attackers for her own gain.
Mali disagreed, believing that Rose required some private time with her brother. Mali continued to break up with Rose after explaining to her that their priorities in life are clearly different—family is essential to her, in case you hadn’t figured that out by now.
The next week, Rose returns to the ICU where Bree is prepared to awaken Xander from his sleep in the hopes that the anaesthesia is now gone. Thankfully, Xander is back to usual despite being sleepy.
Bree examines him briefly and finds that Xander is responding well. He is then returned to a ward. However, Xander quickly recalls what Rose had said to him just before he was rushed into surgery. Jamie failed to arrive.
As the truth of the situation dawns on him and he begins to sob, Xander asks Rose to give him some alone time.
Mali’s tension with Rose is all too evident to Xander when he subsequently pays a visit. Once Mali has left, Rose spills all the grisly details, and the two end up in a long and important conversation that serves as a diversion for Xander.
After learning that Mali believed Rose had abandoned her brother, Xander agrees with Rose: by grabbing the chance to pursue the crooks, she did exactly the right thing and shouldn’t feel bad about it.
Bree tells Xander that although he is familiar with the procedure and should stay for a few more days for observation, he is eager to be released.
Rose argues that Mali has no right to criticise her for going after the attackers when they cross paths in the diner because Xander had no problem with it. The two are obviously never going to agree on anything, as evidenced by the fact that a subsequent conversation similarly ended in conflict.
returning to the hospital. Xander instantly realises that Rose is bringing in a bag of food in an effort to divert attention away from the Mali problem.
Xander is now having nightmares about the attack, therefore Jamie quickly comes to mind. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from the ambulance station, he feels unworthy of them in light of Jamie’s passing.
Xander wants Rose to learn the specifics of Jamie’s burial after learning of it, but Rose is reluctant.
Is her brother’s attendance at the burial a smart decision given his mental state and his physical injuries?
Mali (Emily Weir) is shocked when he arrives at the farmhouse in Summer Bay after being asked to take care of it while Mackenzie (Emily Weir) is away to discover that Mac has been back in the bay for two days already.
Mac has chosen to maintain a low profile by parking her car in the back, where no one can see it.
Mac announced to everyone that she was moving in with her mother Tanya in the city after her terminally sick lover Gabe (Akos Armont) decided to depart rather than expose her to the awful truth of his final months of suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Mac quickly tells Mali, though, that she actually went to Brisbane to look for Gabe. She has tried talking to his acquaintances and coworkers without success.
Mac is making an effort to act brave now that she’s back in the bay, but she is dreading having to face everyone and reveal the truth about where Gabe has vanished.
Having made the decision to return to Salt, she is shocked to learn that Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) got married while she was away.
With the news just adding more pain as she prepares for life without Gabe, Mac finds it difficult to express his joy in her success, leaving Flick concerned that something has irked her.
Flick and Tane (Ethan Browne) are concerned about Gabe because Mac is refusing to give any information about him. They also fear that he may have already passed away.
When Mac reads Gabe’s note once again after she gets home, she finally loses it and tears up the note in rage.
Tane was eventually forced to learn the truth, and when he subsequently stopped by to enquire as to what was going on, Mac was quick to kick him out and say she didn’t want his sympathy.
In the end, Mac turns to John (Shane Withington) for help when he shows up on the pretext of giving her club mail after learning about Gabe from Tane.
Mac confides in him about the pain she is feeling as a result of knowing Gabe is suffering and dying somewhere, all alone.
Since Gabe has left, it is likely that he has stopped the chemotherapy, which means the inevitable is becoming closer. Gabe had only started the treatment to extend his time with Mackenzie.
Mac returns to Salt and apologises to Flick after John offers to be her shoulder to cry on before deciding it’s now time to put an end to everything.
Mac calls Gabe and leaves him a voicemail, like she has done several times over the previous three weeks, but this will be the last.
She tells him, “You win.” “I’ll move in with my life as you prefer. I still wish things were different, it still aches… I won’t call you again though. I adore you. Gabe, good bye.
