Dean (Patrick O’Connor) of Home and Away recently discovered that his mother, Karen (Georgia Adamson), hasn’t been up to work in a few days, leading him to believe the worst and conclude that she is once again battling with her mental health.
He walks down to Mangrove River to see whether any of their old friends have seen her, but returns to the Bay empty-handed.
He starts berating himself for not contacting Karen in such a long time. She is completely unaware that Jai (River Jarvis) exists or that he has been recovering from a horrific car accident. Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) tries to reason with him, insisting that there must be a reason.
Dean continues to try to contact Karen, but when he contacts the number, he discovers that it has been disconnected.
He tells Ziggy that it must be serious if she’s going off the radar, as he fears the worst following his tumultuous childhood with mom.
Dean eventually realizes that he needs to tell someone, so he confides in Mackenzie (Emily Weir).
His sister tries to calm him, reminding him that she went away for a while not long ago and worried him, but she returned totally fine.
When Karen herself saunters into the Surf Club, John (Shane Withington) tries to soothe Dean as well, but everyone comes to a halt.
Why is Dean following Karen? Karen isn’t happy with Dean, so why is he following her? Dean tries to persuade her to speak, but she refuses, preferring instead to meet up with ‘Deano.’
Dean is evasive, as if he doesn’t want to talk about Jai or the accident. Karen is suspicious right away, but she gets a phone call and rushes away. Dean approaches silently from behind and listens in.
Dean inquires about Karen’s call after she hangs up. Karen reluctantly acknowledges that she’s on the run…
