David and Amelia finally get on the same page, while Zane makes a shocking return to Summer Bay.

 

Zane’s (Angus McColl) disappearance takes a worrying turn next week, when he’s found injured and scavenging for food.

Zane arrived in Summer Bay after serving ten years for break-and-enter and grievous bodily harm, having formed a close bond with Marilyn (Emily Symons) through the prison pen-pal scheme during the final year of his sentence.

After being paroled, Zane initially returned to live with his mum, but moved away when hostility from locals began affecting her.

With nowhere else to go, he subsequently decided to relocate to Summer Bay and used the return address from Marilyn’s letters for his parole transfer, telling the police that he’d be living with her.

Having been presented with the situation after Zane arrived, Marilyn arranged for him to take up residence in the adjoining caravan park, which shares the same address as Summer Bay House.

Although Marilyn remained firmly in his corner, Zane faced a far less welcoming response from Alf (Ray Meagher) and Leah (Ada Nicodemou). Alf made no secret of his distrust, whilst Leah gave Zane little chance to prove himself during a trial shift at the diner.

Convinced that the resulting tension was damaging Marilyn’s relationships with those closest to her, Zane left a goodbye letter last week, emptied his caravan and disappeared.

Whilst furious at Alf and Leah, Marilyn was also aware that Zane’s disappearance put him in breach of his parole conditions, meaning he could be sent back inside if the police find out.

Marilyn immediately began searching for him, and next week desperately continues her efforts before his absence is exposed at his next parole check-in.

Marilyn refuses to accept that he’s gone for good and searches through more than a year’s worth of letters for any clue to where he might be.

Alf’s less optimistic but still covers for Zane when the police enquire about his whereabouts, claiming that he’s gone fishing.

Marilyn’s search appears to be getting nowhere until Mali (Kyle Shilling) finds Zane rummaging through the bin outside the surf club.

Zane attempts to flee, but the pain from an injured leg prevents him from getting far. He admits that he’s starving and has been sleeping rough near the lighthouse and on the beach, with no money and nowhere else to go.

Mali promises not to involve the police and takes him inside, where John (Shane Withington) tends to the deep cut and warns that it may need stitches.

After Mali persuades Zane to visit Northern Districts Hospital, they run into Levi (Tristan Gorey), who’s trying to have his upcoming hand surgery brought forward.

When Zane refuses to wait for a doctor on duty, Levi offers to stitch the wound himself, only for his damaged hand to let him down.

Zane attempts to leave before another doctor can take over, but runs into Marilyn and Alf as they emerge from the lift.

Marilyn’s horrified to discover how he has been living. Zane explains that he ran because he believed he was ruining her life, but she makes it clear that worrying about him every day would be far worse.

Once Zane’s wound has been stitched, Marilyn takes him back to Summer Bay House and announces that he’ll stay in a spare room whilst his leg heals.

Zane worries that she hasn’t consulted Alf, but when Alf arrives home, he reveals that he has already covered for Zane at the police station by confirming that he remained at his registered address throughout his disappearance.

Having protected Zane from the consequences of breaching his parole, Alf declares that he deserves a fair go.

As Summer Bay House shares the address recorded on his paperwork, he agrees that Zane should remain there.

However, Alf’s apparent support still doesn’t mean that he trusts him.

When an alarmed John questions the arrangement, Alf admits that the jury is still out, but points out that having Zane under his roof allows him to monitor the situation and look out for Marilyn.

Unaware of Alf’s reservations, Zane is more concerned to learn that Marilyn left the diner following her row with Leah. Believing Marilyn was sacked, Zane confronts Leah, who admits that Marilyn quit.

Admitting that she handled his trial badly, Leah joins forces with Zane and persuades Maz to return.

Alongside a sincere apology, Leah also offers Zane a proper job, with Marilyn overseeing his training.

After opting to deal with a sceptical John as his first customer in the diner, Zane later impresses Leah with serving up a flat white at the coffee cart.

Arranging his wages presents another hurdle, however, as he has neither a bank account nor an email address.

Marilyn happily helps him catch up, but Alf later reiterates to Leah that moving Zane into the house has made it much easier to keep a close eye on him. Despite appearances, Zane hasn’t won him over just yet!

---

Elsewhere in Summer Bay, David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) and Amelia (Nicole da Silva) have spent weeks caught in a will-they-won’t-they situation.

Amelia’s feelings developed as she supported David through the trauma of his shooting, arranging counselling and even driving him to an appointment.

David remained oblivious, still grieving for his late wife Christina, although Justin (James Stewart) and Leah spotted the attraction and couldn’t resist interfering—warning Amelia that he might not be ready and ultimately alerting David to her feelings.

When Amelia admitted that she was attracted to him, David’s stunned silence left her feeling rejected. He later explained that he remained in love with Christina and wasn’t ready for another relationship, although he hoped they could still be friends.

His awkward attempts to maintain that friendship only made matters worse. With her original locum stint nearing its end, Amelia decided to leave Summer Bay and told Jo (Maddison Brown) that she was handing in her notice.

Despite Levi’s subsequent injury leaving the hospital needing her for longer, Amelia initially rejected their request to extend her stay and insisted that another locum could replace her.

However, Jo urged her to reconsider, pointing out how much David had changed since meeting her, and Amelia eventually agreed to remain until Levi could return to work.

Next week, David tells Justin that he believes Amelia has already left Summer Bay and admits that he’s disappointed he never got to say goodbye.

Justin reveals that she’s still in town, and David’s delight prompts him to reconsider whether he rejected her too quickly.

Rather than simply telling Amelia how he feels, David organises a barbecue at the Beach House. He orders Jo and Lacey (Sophea Pennington) to attend before awkwardly inviting Amelia to join them.

On her arrival, Amelia soon realises that the gathering has been arranged for her benefit, with only David’s daughters and Justin in attendance.

As David hides behind the barbecue, Justin unsuccessfully encourages him to put down the tongs and talk to her.

Justin eventually invents a reason to leave, with Jo and Lacey later following suit and giving David and Amelia some privacy.

Amelia tires of waiting for David to make his intentions clear and admits that she didn’t accept the invitation for the food.

When she asks whether she’s wasting her time, David assures her that she isn’t—although his nerves remain obvious as he launches into a detailed explanation of how to clean a barbecue.

He admits that he’s been out of the dating game for so long that the last time he asked a woman out, he used a landline, whilst Amelia confesses that she’s equally inexperienced.

Their easy banter finally allows David to admit that he arranged the afternoon because he wanted to spend time with her.

He explains that believing she had left Summer Bay—and realising how happy he was to discover she’d stayed—made him reconsider whether he was ready to move forward.

Amelia has to leave for work, but makes it clear that she wants to see him again, with David confirming that he feels the same.

Is this finally the beginning of a new chapter for the pair?

Home and Away is available to stream from 6am weekdays, with double bill episodes airing from 6pm on 5Star.