Meanwhile, Bea and Elly are strolling through the Lassiters Complex with Aster as Bea reminds her sister that they will need to head home soon to meet Karl
and Susan. They are interrupted as Elly receives a phone call; she rushes off to take it, leaving Bea to tend to Aster. As Bea starts talking to the baby
Levi walks by and jokes that the first sign of madness is talking to yourself, but Bea quickly corrects him by stating that she was talking to her niece.
Feeling annoyed at Levi's attempts at humour at such a fraught time, Bea informs him that Elly is moving to Europe today and she will not be seeing her or
Aster for a while. Realising that this is not a time for jokes Levi quickly changes his approach, sombrely wishing Bea good luck for the day before walking
off. Bea looks sad as he leaves.
Over at no. 30, Dipi is in the lounge busily preparing for Mackenzie's homecoming with welcome home banners and presents, following her post-operative stay
in hospital. Shane brings Mackenzie in and informs her that she will have 'full dibs' on the couch, whilst Dipi tells her to eat all the chocolates that
Toadie brought before he gets home. Feeling touched and grateful for the welcoming gestures, Mackenzie happily tells Shane and Dipi that they are amazing
and have been with her every step of the way. An equally touched Dipi tells Mackenzie that they love her.
..
With her departure imminent, Elly heads over to no. 24 to return Chloe's copy of 'Space Jam', but Chloe insists that she keep it to remember her by.
Although Chloe tries to hide her worries Elly can sense that something is wrong and asks her if everything is okay, indicating that she will not be leaving
for Switzerland without knowing the full story. Chloe reluctantly reveals that she is pregnant and is concerned that Pierce will be disappointed if she
doesn't go through with it. This concerns Elly and she tells Chloe that she needs to concentrate on her own feelings without worrying about upsetting Pierce.
She asks Chloe what her initial thoughts are, but Chloe admits that the choice is too loaded to make a quick decision. Elly admits that she had a difficult
time when she was pregnant with Aster but would go through it again in a heartbeat, realising that upon seeing her daughter for the first time all the bad
things in the past simply fell away. This doesn't reassure Chloe, who admits that the bad stuff will never go away and there is too much to consider, this
being doubly difficult without her friend being nearby. Elly assures Chloe that they will always be there for each other despite the distance, and they laugh
before becoming emotional, as Elly suggests that Chloe consider making her decisions based on hope rather than fear.
In a break from their travels, Karl and Susan have arrived home at no. 28 to say their goodbyes to Elly, warmly greeting her, Bea and Shaun as they arrive.
As Bea and Karl head to the kitchen to make pizza for lunch and Shaun goes off to tend to Aster, Susan takes the opportunity to talk to Elly about her new
life in Switzerland. Elly notices that things seem to be back on track between Susan and Karl and Susan admits that they have managed to talk for the first
time in a while, although this was interrupted by Elly's news. Feeling slightly saddened by her niece's departure, Susan mentions how quickly everything is
happening and worries that history may be repeating itself, concerned that Elly is once again attempting to fix her problems by escaping the situation.
Although Elly admits that she was running away from her problems last time, she contends that this situation is different as she is running towards a new
life with Shaun and Aster. She asks Susan if she can simply be happy for her and although Susan is pleased with Elly for finding a firm footing with Shaun,
she argues that this doesn't stop her from worrying. Elly assures Susan that she, Shaun and Aster are going to be a family and will start a whole new life
together, certain that this will make her happy and fulfilled. She and Susan hold hands and smile at this.
..
Back at no. 30, Dipi and Shane are fussing over Mackenzie, who is relaxing on the couch but nursing some soreness after her surgery. Feeling like she needs
to build up some stamina before starting back at school, Mackenzie tells Dipi that she is keen to stay in the lounge for a while. She confesses that in the
lead-up to the operation she didn't really know how she was going to feel afterwards as there was so much build-up, but with the operation out of the way and
being back home with her family, Mackenzie admits that she now feels free, as if this is the first day of the rest of her life.
Lunch is being concluded at no. 28 as Elly taps on her glass and announces that she has some things she wants to say. She starts off by telling Karl and
Susan that they are the best parents she has ever had, having taught her so much about life, family and unconditional love, whilst feeling honoured that
she can pass on their teachings to a future generation. Touched by the sentiment, Susan becomes tearful as Karl agrees that they love her also, confessing
that it has been wonderful to watch her grow into such an incredible and resilient person. Susan and Karl both agree that they will miss Elly and Aster
terribly, with Susan saddened by the thought of not seeing Aster's baby socks in the wash. Despite the thoughts of departure Elly reminds her family that
they can always visit her in Switzerland, but Bea is feeling uncomfortable with the emotion of the day and excuses herself, deciding to head into the garden.
..
Elly quickly follows her outside and, seeing Bea looking tearful, assures her sister that it is okay to be upset. Although Bea tries to deny this is the
case, Elly can see that this is a difficult situation and reminds her sister that, despite them only becoming closer recently, she will never want to let
her go now they are in each other's lives.
As Mackenzie continues to rest on the couch at no. 30, Dipi whispers to Shane that she is looking tired, but Shane suggests that she will tell them when
she needs a nap. As they continue to concern themselves with Mackenzie's wellbeing Toadie arrives, but he doesn't have time to chat as he receives a phone
call from Sky to discuss her formal wedding ceremony to Lana. He heads out into the garden to take the call just as there is a knock at the door; it's
Richie, arriving with a big bunch of flowers and handing Shane an envelope he found sticking out of the letterbox. He goes inside to present the flowers
to an excited Mackenzie, who is happy to see her boyfriend for the first time since her operation. Just as Richie gets himself comfortable on the couch,
Shane asks him to help move some drinks from the fridge to the garage. Mackenzie objects to this and Shane grudgingly agrees to do the work on his own,
heading out into the garden and handing Dipi the envelope as he goes. The envelope is quickly opened by Dipi, to reveal a note from Ned with a 50 dollar
bill repaying part of the loan she gave him. Dipi looks curious as she reads the note: 'I'll get the rest to you soon'.
..
With Elly preparing to leave, a tearful Bea is having a last cuddle with Aster at no. 28 as Shaun and Elly pack up her things in preparation for
heading to the airport. It's confirmed that Karl and Susan will drive them to the airport and therefore they can resume their holiday from there. There
is a surprise as Bea announces that she will not be coming to the airport to see them off, confirming that she has already said her goodbyes to Karl and
Susan and has a gig at the Waterhole later that she needs to prepare for. There are further tears as Bea admits that she cannot say goodbye to her in
front of a load of strangers and would rather do it in close surroundings. They share an emotional hug as Bea tells Shaun to look after Elly and Aster,
before informing her niece that she is not to grow up too fast without her. The Kennedys, Elly and Shaun leave the house as Bea continues to cry.
Karl finishes loading the car and calls Elly and Shaun to join him and Susan. Before heading to the car Elly takes one last photo of Ramsay Street for
posterity. She has a final look around the street before she gets into the car with Shaun, with Bea watching sadly from the doorstep as they drive away.
..
..
At no. 30, Toadie and Shane head back into the house from the garden and join Dipi in the kitchen. Having ended his phone call, Toadie explains that Sky
was finalising her wedding guest list and was double-checking if he could attend, but he had to explain that due to work commitments he couldn't make it.
Conversation moves on to the envelope Dipi received from Ned with money in it; Dipi wonders if Shane applied pressure to Ned, but Shane jokily tells her
that a man shouldn't need pressuring to keep up with his commitments. Dipi doesn't seem certain about this and heads outside, as Mackenzie and Richie
continue to spend time together in the lounge. Feeling happy that her boyfriend is with her, Mackenzie admits that the volume of flowers he purchased
was excessive but appreciated the sentiment, joking that a lot of men would have run a mile. Richie assures Mackenzie that she doesn't need to thank him
as she knows how he feels about her, admitting that he just wants her to be happy. As they continue to chat a worried Shane comes in and suggests that
Richie should head home to allow Mackenzie to rest. Surprisingly Mackenzie agrees to this and, feeling tired, decides to head to her room to get some sleep.
Richie follows her but is stopped by Shane, who gravely asks him if he can have a word before he goes.
Meanwhile at Harold's, a pensive looking Chloe is sitting alone at a table whilst making side glances at a pregnant woman nearby. As they share a moment of
connection the pregnant lady spills her drink, allowing them to share a laugh. Chloe quickly becomes serious again as she makes a phone call to her doctors,
revealing that she needs to ask Dr Martin a couple of questions.
..
After the tumultuous nature of her sister's departure, an emotionally exhausted Bea walks around an empty no. 28 before leaving for her gig.
Back at no. 30, Shane and Richie are having a heated discussion as Dipi returns from the garden, wondering what is going on. To avoid further confrontation
Richie takes the opportunity to depart no. 30, leaving Dipi perplexed as to what they were talking about so animatedly. She realises that Shane was giving
Richie some hard words about Mackenzie's welfare, but Shane defends his actions by reminding Dipi that Mackenzie is relying on Richie's support and that he
needs to put her first. Dipi reminds Shane that this kind of behaviour is not dissimilar to that which affected Ned and Yashvi's relationship, suggesting
that Shane stop trying to micromanage other people's relationships. She becomes worried about Shane's wellbeing and tells him that he is not sleeping enough
and is becoming tense all the time, indicating that he may need to try and relax a bit more. Although Shane agrees that he has been overthinking things and
will apologise to Richie the next time he sees him, his expression tells a different story as he continues looking vexed about something.
..
Having arrived at the Waterhole for her gig, Bea doesn't look particularly happy as Levi approaches, quickly brushing him off when he offers to hang out
with her. She tells him that she needs to set up for her gig and indicates that she doesn't want to talk about Elly's departure from earlier in the day.
Levi persists and jokes that if she joins him for a drink afterwards, he will try not to arrest her, but Bea is still uninterested and tells Levi that
she's not in the mood.
At no. 24, Chloe is talking to Pierce; she mentions her chat with Elly earlier, before she departed with Shaun and Aster, indicating that it made her realise
that there are a couple of things she needs to run past him regarding her pregnancy. She starts by telling Pierce that she thinks she will be a good mother,
particularly with him by her side, feeling that it could be an amazing experience. Despite this happy thought she warns Pierce that there is still the risk
that the baby could inherit Huntington's from her. She goes on to explain that she called her specialist earlier and they told her that there is a test they
can do in ten weeks to see if there are any signs that the baby could have the condition. Chloe suggests that they should wait for ten weeks, perform the
test and see what the outcome is before talking about next steps, feeling that this is the best approach in the circumstances. She is full of concern once
again about the thought of the baby having the disease, but Pierce assures her that he understands and will happily go along with her plan. They both smile
in mutual agreement.
..
Over at Lassiters, Bea is continuing to set up for her gig outside the Waterhole whilst Levi sits in a chair near to her. She is interrupted by a rather
inebriated man by the name of Tucker Brunnings, who starts heckling her about her relationship with Finn. He slyly offers to buy her a beer so that he can
hear more about whether the story in the book is true or not, however Bea is not interested and politely asks Tucker to leave her alone. Tucker continues to
pester Bea, forcing her to threaten him with calling security if he doesn't stop harassing her. This doesn't work as Tucker continues to heckle her, telling
Bea that it is no surprise Finn decided to push her down the mineshaft and that maybe he needs to kiss her sister first for her to loosen up. Enraged by this
last comment, Bea loses her temper and punches Tucker square in the jaw. He quickly retreats to avoid any further punishment, stumbling away from Bea as he
nurses his wounds. Levi, quickly leaving his chair, looks astonished at Bea's actions as he wonders what to do next.
Featured Regular Characters: Elly Conway, Bea Nilsson, Susan Kennedy, Karl Kennedy, Chloe Brennan, Pierce Greyson, Levi Canning, Mackenzie Hargreaves, Toadie Rebecchi, Shane Rebecchi,
Dipi Rebecchi
Guest Cast: Brad Moller as Shaun Watkins,
Lachie Millar as Richie Amblin, James Bolton
as Tucker Brunnings,
Isla Goulas as Aster Conway
Trivia Notes
• Final appearance of Elly Conway as a regular character
though she would return for guest stints in 2022 and 2023
• Past characters Sky Mangel and Finn Kelly are mentioned
Summary
by Michael
..
