John faces his biggest test yet as the surf club fundraiser gets under way, whilst David and Amelia’s attempt to keep their distance becomes increasingly complicated.

John and Mali (Kyle Shilling) began organising a fundraising event for the surf club after a woman nearly drowned during a gap in lifesaver cover earlier this month.

Although Mali managed to rescue her, John blamed himself for what happened and became determined to raise enough money to train more volunteers.

With the finances already stretched, John knows that the success of the fundraiser, and its silent auction, could be the make or break of the club.

As Mali and Lacey (Sophea Pennington) help with the final preparations, it quickly becomes clear that John isn’t coping well with the pressure.

He finds fault with almost every detail and reels off an endless list of jobs that still need to be completed.

John is briefly impressed when Mali and Lacey show him the silent-auction prize board, but his nerves return when Alf (Ray Meagher) arrives back from Merimbula several days earlier than expected.

Alf explains that it wouldn’t look good if the surf club president failed to attend such an important event, before inspecting everything that John and his team have arranged.

John is desperate to know whether Alf approves, but Alf offers little more than an instruction to carry on, leaving John uncertain.

The following day, the area outside the surf club is transformed with tents, banners and stalls as the crowds begin to arrive.

The following day, the area outside the surf club is transformed with tents, banners and stalls as the crowds begin to arrive.

A sleep-deprived John barks instructions at everyone around him, and becomes convinced that Alf has sent members of the committee to spy on him.

His panic then intensifies when Mali asks him to deliver the opening speech and he admits that he hasn’t written one.

Lacey steps in at the last moment and proves a natural as the event’s MC, welcoming the crowd and encouraging everyone to spend generously.

Alf later addresses the crowd and offers John some rare public praise for his efforts in bringing the fundraiser together.

However, John’s success is suddenly threatened when Lacey receives a disastrous phone call from the Coral Sands Jazz Band.

With just an hour to go until their performance, the musicians have been struck down by gastro and are pulling out.

Knowing that the news could push John over the edge, Lacey and Justin (James Stewart) agree to keep the cancellation from him whilst Justin searches for a replacement act.

Meanwhile, Mali finds John hiding in his office, overwhelmed by the pressure.

Although Mali points out that the stalls are packed and the auction has already attracted plenty of bids, John fears they could all be worth little more than a dollar.

It isn’t only the prospect of another accident weighing on him if he doesn’t raise the needed funds, however. John confesses that, in all the years he’s known Alf, Alf has never once believed in him.

Mali reminds John that Alf clearly does now, but that only leaves him more frightened.

After finally earning Alf’s faith, what will happen if he lets him down?

Meanwhile, predictably enough, Justin’s search takes him to Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) and Remi (Adam Rowland), asking them to step in as the event’s musical act.

Eden immediately agrees, but Remi makes an excuse and insists that he can’t perform.

When Eden presses him, Remi admits that he hasn’t played in public since his brain surgery and fears that he may no longer be capable of performing in front of a crowd.

Eden reminds Remi how far he has come since the operation and suggests that getting back on stage could be the final step in his recovery. She agrees to perform alone but asks him to reconsider.

When Eden arrives at the fundraiser, she accidentally reveals the jazz band’s cancellation to John. Justin quickly reassures him that Eden has agreed to take their place, although John remains understandably nervous.

Eden prepares to begin her solo performance, but Remi appears at the last moment with his guitar. As the pair launch into their set, the crowd begin singing and dancing along, seemingly rescuing the event from disaster.

Even then, John can’t relax. He worries that everybody is enjoying the music instead of placing bids, forcing Lacey to assure him that the auction envelopes are filling up.

Once the performance is over, Alf begins announcing the successful bidders.

Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Justin discover that they’ve placed identical bids for the romance package, whilst Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) wins an adventure weekend for himself and three friends.

Attention then turns to the figure that matters most, as Alf receives the final total raised through the silent auction, food stalls and donations.

Has the fundraiser brought in enough money to train more lifesavers—and, after years of being belittled by Alf, has John finally won his approval?

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The event also brings David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) and Amelia (Nicole da Silva) back together after Leah and Justin’s interference created an awkward rift between them.

After realising that Amelia had feelings for David, Leah warned her that he was still grieving Kristina and wasn’t ready for another relationship.

Amelia consequently backed away, leaving David confused, with Justin urging him not to press her for an explanation.

The situation becomes more complicated next week when David tells Jo (Maddison Brown) that he intends to seek clearance from his surgeon to return to work.

Jo believes it’s too soon when he’s only just begun counselling, but David refuses to be swayed.

When David attends the hospital, he takes the opportunity to ask Amelia why she’s suddenly distanced herself from him.

Hiding the real reason, Amelia insists that he hasn’t done anything wrong and claims that their doctor-patient relationship has simply reached its natural conclusion.

Worried that David is rushing his recovery, Jo privately asks Amelia to intervene with his surgeon, but she refuses.

David subsequently receives physical clearance, although he’ll still need psychological approval before he can return to the police station.

Frustrated by Amelia’s apparent lack of concern, Jo complains to Leah, who attempts to find out what’s going on. However, Amelia bluntly tells her to stay out of her business.

Feeling guilty for having started the problem, Leah later apologises and invites Amelia to the fundraiser.

Meanwhile, Justin encourages David to accept Amelia’s decision and move on, before inviting him to the event as well.

Leah and Justin only realise their mistake when they arrive separately at the fundraiser—Leah with Amelia and Justin with David.

Although the pair initially keep their distance, Amelia notices David becoming emotional as he watches Lacey confidently take charge of the crowd.

When he heads down to the beach to compose himself, she follows to check that he’s all right.

He explains that watching Lacey confidently take charge of the crowd reminded him of Kristina, who regularly raised tens of thousands of dollars for whichever hospital she was working at.

Seeing his daughter display the same natural talent has made David realise how closely she’s following in her mum’s footsteps.

Amelia offers her support, giving David another opportunity to question her sudden change in behaviour.

She attributes it to the difficulties of maintaining professional boundaries in a small town, and David asks whether they can at least remain friends.

Amelia agrees, despite secretly wanting more.

Afterwards, Amelia explains to Jo why David struggled at the fundraiser.

When Jo returns home, she finds her dad admiring photographs of Lacey working the crowd, just as Kristina once did.

David admits that the memories are painful but insists that he’s enjoying them, easing Jo’s immediate fears that something is wrong.

However, her concerns return the following morning when David tells Cash that he expects to be back at work soon. When Jo challenges him, he reveals that Amelia knew about his counselling from the beginning and even arranged his first appointment.

Realising that Amelia may be one of the few people capable of influencing her dad, Jo asks her to persuade him to reconsider.

Amelia reluctantly visits David and raises the subject as a concerned friend.

However, David is frustrated by the mixed messages.

Amelia has only just agreed that they can be friends, yet she’s already trying to influence his return to work, and their conversation ends on a frosty note.

Amelia leaves, unaware that Jo has overheard everything from her room. However, David immediately sees through his daughter when she reappears and accuses her of arranging the visit.

Jo admits that he’s right, before confronting him with a far more personal question—is something going on between him and Amelia?

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