Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Alf believes Martha is given up when she begins planning her own funeral, while Mia and Ari are faced with a difficult decision…
Martha Stewart (Belinda Giblin) returned home last week after spending a few weeks in a city hospital, much to the relief of her husband Alf (Ray Meagher) and daughter Roo (Georgie Parker).
It’s been several weeks since Martha was admitted to the hospital following Anne Sherman’s (Megan Smart) chemical attack on Tane Parata (Ethan Browne) at the surf club.
When an organophospate mist flowed through the ventilation system to a charity fundraiser Martha was hosting at Salt, Martha took the brunt of the exposure, resulting in significant kidney damage that necessitated dialysis at a city-based specialist renal facility.
Unfortunately, Martha’s only chance of survival now is a kidney transplant, and she’s been returned to Northern Districts Hospital in Yabbie Creek as she waits for a donor.
She’d only been back for a few days when it became clear that Martha’s condition was rapidly worsening, and this week Roo enlists the help of Logan (Harley Bonner) to inquire about the transplant team’s progress.
The initial news they receive isn’t encouraging—son Martha’s Kieran (Rick Donald) isn’t a match, and they’re still waiting on Roo’s results. Because of his heart, Alf has previously been ruled inappropriate for donation.
Martha tries to touch a hard subject with Alf, feeling that her chances are dwindling and wanting to be practical. She wants to start planning her funeral.
Alf refuses to let Martha give up so easily, but she insists that they need to talk about it. When a priest, Father Neil (Matt Abercromby), arrives to speak with Martha, Alf becomes even more enraged, but he agrees to allow them some privacy.
Unable to sleep that night, Alf sneaks out of the home to go fishing, and Roo quickly follows him down on the pier. While Alf admits to being worried, and Roo admits to being terrified at the prospect of losing her mother again, she stresses that they must support Martha in whatever decisions she makes.
The transplant team informs Roo that she is a match the next day, and their prayers are answered!
Roo is eager to share the good news with her parents, but Martha is unusually reserved. Irene (Lynne McGranger) believes that Martha is simply taking her time to process everything, and Alf is unsure what to think.
Martha subsequently tells Alf that she’s not sure she can take Roo’s kidney because there’s no assurance it’ll work, and even if it does, it could cause her daughter permanent issues.
Whilst Alf doesn’t let on about Martha’s hesitance, he subsequently quizzes Roo about whether she’s thought things through properly and recognises the risks involved. Roo is irritated by Alf’s sudden pessimism and is adamant that the transplant will take place.
However, as part of the process, Roo must see a psychologist the next day to ensure that she is mentally prepared for the procedure.
Roo is caught off guard by Emma’s (Ursula Mills) probing inquiries, as the session brings up memories of Martha’s alleged drowning in 1985 and Roo’s subsequent abandonment of her baby (also called Martha) three years later.
Roo cries up when she walks out of the hospital, realising that her decision isn’t going to be as simple as she thought!
Matthew (James Sweeny) continues to worm his way into the lives of his newfound daughter Chloe (Sam Barrett) in Summer Bay.
Given that Chloe was the consequence of Matthew rapping Mia at a party when she was 16, Chloe’s mother Mia (Anna Samson) has been keen to get Matthew out of their lives, but has been unable to tell Chloe the truth about her father.
Despite Mia’s threats to reveal the truth, barrister Matthew gained the upper hand when he was attacked by Ari last week (Rob Kipa-Williams). After learning about Ari’s criminal history, Matthew threatened Mia that if she didn’t let him see Chloe, he’d charge Ari with assault and re-incarcerate him.
Mia believes they have no choice but to comply with Matthew’s demands, and she finds herself in a difficult situation this week when Chloe says that Matthew will be coming to the Parata house for dinner with them all, whether they like it or not.
Mia should put any issue she has with Matthew to the side and make an attempt to get along with him, Chloe believes.
When Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) and Bella (Courtney Miller) inquire about how Mia and Matthew met, Matthew delivers a speech about how they met at a party and ended up’seeing each other’ for a brief while. As she fiercely refutes Matthew’s version of events, Mia feels sick to her stomach and excuses herself from the table.
Later that evening, Matthew offers to Chloe that she grow her catering business because he was so thrilled with her meals. Matthew has already splashed the cash by paying off Chloe’s debt and kicking ex-boyfriend Ryder (Lukas Radovich) out of the business, and he believes that the next logical step is for Chloe to enrol in business school.
And it just so happens that he knows of a very prestigious one that is only a few streets away from his apartment in the city, and he is willing to pay for it.
Mia and Ari are shocked the next day when Chloe informs them of her plans to move in with “dad,” and it’s just a few hours later that Chloe learns she has been accepted into the business school.
When Mia threatens Matthew one last time to keep out of Chloe’s life, he is unfazed and chooses to call her bluff.
Mia is at a loss for what to do, and despite knowing the risk they’ll be taking, she and Ari realise they only have one option: tell Chloe the truth, and immediately!
