Karen and Brett’s newfound friendship brings Dean untold horrors next week on Home and Away in the UK, as news of Ari’s death travels around the bay…
After it was found that Dean’s mother Karen (Georgia Adamson) was avoiding a marriage proposal, Dean (Patrick O’Connor) and Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) spent the past few weeks attempting to play cupid for her.
Dean had been disturbed since learning of his mother’s disappearance, and after days of searching, Karen appeared unexpectedly in Summer Bay to tell him to stop stalking her!
Karen was forced to acknowledge that she was hiding from her year-long lover, Brett Maloney (Aaron Glenane), after he proposed to her after Dean overheard a troubling phone call.
Naturally, given Karen’s haste, we expect Brett to be a nightmare. But nothing could be further from the truth—a he’s a gentleman to the core!
Despite her placing a kiss on a stunned John (Shane Withington) to underscore the fact, Dean swiftly saw through Karen’s pretence that she had moved on when he invited Brett to the bay.
Instead of giving up, Brett calmly stated that he would be waiting for her call after she had calmed down. By this point, it was evident that Karen’s troubles stemmed from her lack of confidence in herself and her belief that she was not good enough for Brett.
Ziggy’s web digging revealed that Brett was a good guy who volunteered as a firefighter and coached kids’ football, and Dean realized Karen was in unfamiliar territory—she’d always gone for losers.
Dean could already tell that Karen had changed since meeting Brett, especially when she returned home with a bag full of fresh goods to prepare a genuine home-cooked meal (the fact that it tasted horrible was beside the point!).
When Dean brought Brett to dinner, things went horribly wrong because Karen kept pushing Brett away, to the point where he appeared to have given up when Karen returned his ring. Karen later revealed that she had made the commitment to never let another man pain her, but Dean told her that she could be happy.
Karen finally welcomed Brett back to the farmhouse to smooth things out, but the two were awkward until Dean brought up a major topic of conversation: Karen had recently met her grandson Jai (River Jarvis) for the first time. Dean stepped aside as the two began to chat.
Dean comes to the house this week to see how Karen and Brett are getting along, but it appears that their reunion has gone a little too smoothly for Dean’s comfort.
After a heavy make-up session with Brett, Dean is shocked to see Karen emerge from Jai’s bedroom, wrapped in nothing but Jai’s duvet.
If having sex in his 7-year-old son’s bed wasn’t enough for Dean, Karen accidentally lets the duvet fall to the floor, giving Dean more than he bargained for.
Dean shudders as a post-coital Brett appears, wrapped in only a towel, and gives him a big hug to thank him for putting him and Karen back together. Dean says he’s going to get his head stuck in the lawnmower, as Brett and Karen return to the bedroom for another round…
Brett and Karen cooked another terrible supper for Dean and Ziggy that night, complete with Karen’s choice of the finest wine, and the couple seemed to be on the mend. But, as Ziggy and Dean grow increasingly irritated by the PDA overabundance, they begin to wonder how long Karen and Brett intend to stay…
The next day, Dean attempts unsuccessfully to bring up the matter, and when Karen and Brett join Dean and Ziggy for lunch at Salt, Karen starts talking about redoing Jai’s room… they could probably use some new bedding as well.
Is it possible that Dean, Ziggy, and Bella will be joined by two more housemates?
Meanwhile, Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich) has finally received some good news after a few anxious weeks.
When he runs into mates Theo (Matt Evans) and Justin (James Stewart) at Salt, he informs them that he has not only accepted granddad Alf’s (Ray Meagher) apology and returned to the house, but he has also graduated from his TAFE course in Hospitality Management!
Despite the fact that Ryder was unable to attend the actual graduation owing to business obligations, Theo insists on photographing Ryder with his degree.
However, the mood is quickly interrupted when Alf calls Ryder to inform him of Ari’s (Rob Kipa-Williams) death.
Ryder is taken aback by the news; he wants to be there for his ex-girlfriend, Ari’s stepdaughter Chloe (Sam Barrett), but he doesn’t think she’d welcome hearing from him after their tumultuous breakup.
Theo persuades Ryder to at least text her, but Ryder says they need to show their support for both Chloe and Nikau by doing something (Kawakawa Fox-Reo). It’s time for them to put on their thinking caps.
Ryder is relieved to learn that Alf has gathered everyone for lunch; the community spirit is strong, and they’ll undoubtedly be able to assist the Paratas. Ryder, on the other hand, is irritated to hear that the gathering is in reality to celebrate his graduation.
When he discovers that Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), a coworker, lost her father when she was young, a distracted Ryder finds a kindred spirit in her.
Ari’s death has brought it all back to Ryder, who lost his own father Evan (Cameron Daddo) less than a year ago, and he wonders Flick if things ever get any easier.
Theo then comes in to tell Ryder that he’s come up with the ideal way for the Paratas to demonstrate their support!
Ari’s death comes as a shock to his ex-girlfriend, Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir). When Dean arrives at the flat to tell Dr Logan (Harley Bonner) about his friend’s murder, Mac, who had overheard their conversation, enters the room in tears.
Logan is perplexed by Mac’s reaction because he is unaware of Mac’s past with Ari, but he and Ziggy give Mac and Dean some room to discuss.
Mac reveals that she had intended to have a proper chat with Ari about what occurred between them someday, but she’ll never get the chance anymore.
Outside, Logan wonders if he’s missing something, and Ziggy fills him in—he knew there had been a previous relationship in which Mac had lost a child, but he didn’t realize it was with Ari.
Mac tries to put up a brave face in front of Logan and avoid talking to him, but when Logan discovers Mac crying in the warehouse at work, she realizes she can’t keep the truth about her feelings hidden from him…
