Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) has recently seen both Mia (Anna Samson) and Chloe (Sam Barrett) turn against him after Chloe became entangled in a community kidnapping orchestrated by local thugs Paul (Jack Finsterer) and Leon (Sam Barrett) (Will McNeill). Despite their brief reconciliation, Mia has told Ari that he is still the same shady character he was before.
Ari is optimistic that when Mia arrives at the Parata home, they can talk things out, but his old flame makes it clear that she’s just there to pick up their daughter’s belongings. Ari tries to convince her to stay, but she assures him that kicking him out ten years ago was the best decision she’s ever made.
Later, as he walks down the lane, Ari tries again to reach Chloe, leaving her an emotional voice message. Suddenly, a car comes out of nowhere and slams into him, knocking him out and leaving him dead on the side of the lane.
In a panic, Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) and Bella (Courtney Miller) find Ari unconscious and rush him to the hospital. Tane (Ethan Browne) and Dean (Patrick O’Connor) arrive quickly, and the news is bad: Ari has multiple injuries and has been put in a medically induced coma in order to give him the best chance of recovery.
Christian (Ditch Davey) announces that he has a bleed on his brain after returning from his scans, and he is rushed to surgery. The paratas are then subjected to an agonising wait, which only ends when the surgery is completed. Ari needs time to recover, but will he be the same man when he does?
