Dean decides to let Jai visit him on next week’s episode of Home and Away in the UK, but how will he react when he learns that his father can no longer surf and is back with Ziggy?
It’s been two months since Dean Thompson (Patrick O’Connor) was nearly killed in a horrific automobile accident, and while his family has rallied to support him as he struggles with his rehabilitation, there’s one visitor who hasn’t shown up: his six-year-old son Jai Simmons (River Jarvis).
Dean just found out about Jai last year when he ran into an old Mangrove River buddy, Amber (Maddy Jevic), and Jai has grown to idolize
his father.
Despite Dean and Amber’s best efforts to revive their brief romance by moving in together, Amber soon discovered that Dean was still in love with his ex, Ziggy (Sophie Dillman), and she made the painful choice to quit their relationship and leave Summer Bay.
Jai was perplexed as to why his mother and father couldn’t continue to live together, but Dean has stepped up and been a constant presence in his son’s life. Until the accident, that is.
Despite their phone conversations, Dean has been hesitant to invite Jai to see him throughout his rehabilitation.
Dean speaks with Jai again this week, and he wants to know when he may visit. Dean says he’ll see what he can do in a few weeks, but Ziggy is perplexed as to why he couldn’t come sooner. Given the farmhouse’s distance from the beach, Dean argues that Jai is unlikely to enjoy the fact that he is now living there, but Ziggy points out that they go to the beach every day anyhow, so it shouldn’t matter!
Dean and Ziggy later browse through the remainder of Dean’s possessions that Mackenzie (Emily Weir) has brought over from the apartment. Among them are some of Jai’s drawings, which Ziggy intends to display on the refrigerator. Dean is hesitant once more, and Ziggy decides it’s time to confront him about it—why doesn’t he want Jai to visit? When he doesn’t respond, Ziggy assumes it’s because of her.
Dean ultimately opens up while looking at Jai’s artwork on the kitchen table. Dean is either surfing or playing football in all of the photos. It’s evident that Dean is Jai’s idol, and Dean is concerned that he won’t be able to live up to his son’s expectations when on crutches and hardly able to walk.
Jai loves him because he’s his father, not because he can kick a football around! Ziggy attempts to soothe him.
Dean eventually warms up and calls Amber the next day to organise Jai’s visit, but Ziggy is taken aback when Dean says that Jai will be with them later that day! Despite the fact that she was successful in assuaging Dean’s anxieties, Ziggy is still concerned about Jai’s acceptance of her being in a relationship with his father…
When Jai arrives, it’s evident that Amber hasn’t informed him about Dean’s new living circumstances or his recent romantic events.
When Ziggy returns home with groceries, Jai first refuses to speak to her, and not even his favourite pizza appears to persuade him to change his mind.
Ziggy overhears Dean asking Jai what’s wrong as she gives the two some space, and she’s humiliated when she hears Jai question, “Does she HAVE to be here dad?”
Ziggy had good right to be concerned!
She puts on a brave face as she continues to do her best with Jai, but knowing how he feels about her presence makes it tough.
Dean apologises and explains that Amber hadn’t informed Jai about her, so it’s all new to him, and she intends to disappear for a while to let the two to reconcile.
With only his father and son, Dean tells Jai that he’ll have to get accustomed to Ziggy being around. Jai is uninterested, but Dean tells him that he adores Ziggy, and that he hopes that Jai would fall in love with her as well.
Ziggy tries again with Jai later that evening. She makes a remark about his colouring books and expresses her dissatisfaction with her colouring abilities. Jai responds that she’s just like his father, and Ziggy proposes that Jai might be able to teach them both.
When she offers they play a game later, Jai’s eyes light up—”Do you know how to play Snap?!?”—it appears the ice has finally been broken.
Jai asks Ziggy whether she truly loves his father while Dean hears from the doorway. Ziggy responds that she does, and it appears that this is sufficient for him to warm up to her.
As a result, Ziggy is tasked with assisting Jai in colouring in the water in his book… But only if she stays inside the boundaries!
After Jai has gone to bed, it appears as the world has finally come to a halt. Dean is feeling better than he has in a long time after the amazing evening they’ve shared.
Is he finally on the mend?