The next chapter of Dean’s recovery, which airs next week on Home and Away in the UK, brings back sad memories, while Nikau and Bella embark on new possible careers…
Dean and his girlfriend Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) finally made love for the first time since their reconciliation last week. When Dean asked Logan (Harley Bonner) how long it would take, he theorised that Dean should be fit enough for sex when he can climb a flight of stairs.
Dean’s attempt to climb the Salt stairs failed, but he and Ziggy were able to complete their second objective by using a hospital bed—after all, it had grab grips and they were in the ideal location if something went wrong!
With that out of the way, the question of Dean getting back behind the wheel comes up. They can’t get about easily because they’re at the farmhouse, and Ziggy’s ferrying Dean around is getting increasingly difficult to coordinate with her employment.
Dean says he’ll have to check with the physicians, but Ziggy says he’ll have the perfect opportunity later when they meet Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Logan for dinner at Salt.
Dean’s face immediately sinks, but Ziggy tells him that he will be able to climb the stairs with her help.
After ticking off the stairs, Dean asks Logan about driving, and Logan says there’s no reason he can’t do so right now, and offers to take him for a test drive—but it doesn’t seem to be the response Dean was hoping for.
Dean puts on a brave face when Ziggy assures him that he doesn’t have to drive again if he doesn’t want to.
Logan arrives to the board shop early the next day and hands him the keys to the car—the perfect day for a drive!
Dean knows he can’t get out of it, but he starts to fear as soon as he gets behind the wheel. He starts having flashbacks of his car veering off the road and tumbling down the hill, and Logan tells him that it’s too soon as he becomes increasingly angry.
Back at the farmhouse, Logan tries to calm Dean down, assuring him that it’s natural to be worried after two huge accidents in his life. Dean snarls, “That was the driver in each of them,” and “It destroyed people’s lives both times.”
He gradually calms down and says he’s scared it might happen again with Ziggy or Jai in the car, and he’s not sure he can take the chance.
Logan subsequently tells Ziggy about Dean’s concerns, and Ziggy chooses to take a different approach to the matter.
They take their favourite automobile out for a drive, the one in which they’ve had so many happy memories, and Ziggy reminds him of all the times he used to enjoy driving.
Ziggy advises Dean to start the automobile and think positively, one small step at a time. A smile spreads across Dean’s face as he hears the engine roar—has Dean taken the final step back to independence?
Bella (Courtney Miller) and Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) both realise they’ve lost their purpose in life while on the other side of the water.
Bella’s housemate Mac makes the statement, telling her that she’s been drifting around aimlessly since quitting her photography study and has to focus on anything.
Meanwhile, after witnessing Dean’s successful visit to Salt, John (Shane Withington) puts his foot in it by unwittingly telling Nik that he’ll soon be out of a job at the board shop, something Nik hadn’t considered.
After Mac points out his blunder, John apologises, but still feeling bad the next morning, he offers Nik a solution: why not become a lifeguard?
John is teaching his most recent course that morning, and while he is eager to incorporate as many people as possible, he believes Nik has what it takes.
After hearing that Mac is a staff member on leave, Nik eventually agrees to attend, while Bella comes up with a brilliant solution—she can work for her!
Mac is sceptical whether Bella is up to the job and whether it’s a good idea to hire her roommate, but Bella persuades her to give her a chance.
Bella’s shift is a disaster, with her dropping meals on the floor, taking breaks at her leisure, and delivering a mistaken order to Logan.
Logan has witnessed the ensuing pandemonium, and as Bella questions his claim that he didn’t order a salad, he tells Mac that she needs to pull the plug before she gets herself into too much trouble.
However, Bella loses her bottle when Mac rushes up to inform her that enough is enough… Instead, he tells Bella that she can go home early because she did such a good job!
Logan remains silent, leaving Mac to wonder what she’s gotten herself into!
Meanwhile, Nik, who is taking part in John’s bronze medallion training, isn’t having much luck below. Nik can’t take it all in because of the enormous quantity of theory involved, and he feels inadequate in comparison to the other guests.
After seeing Nik fidgeting after taking a break, John continues to chastise him for his lack of focus.
Nik finally cracks and rushes out, tired of John’s nagging—has he given up already?
