Just as the Morgans were beginning to move on from the trauma of the past months, they’re brought back down to earth with a bump by the arrival of Mason’s ashes. But could an emotional day have a silver lining for Justin and Leah?
Two months have passed since Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger) was shot dead in the siege at Northern Districts Hospital, which was one of many tragic events to befall the Morgan family in only a matter of months.
Tori (Penny McNamee) had only recently been released from hospital, after spending six weeks in a coma immediately after giving birth, and had to come to terms with the fact she’d missed the first six weeks of baby Grace’s life.
Amongst all this, Justin’s (James Stewart) girlfriend Leah (Ada Nicodemou) had disapeared without a trace, leaving Justin frantic with worry.
So when Sgt McCarthy arrived at the Morgan house in the midst of all this to inform them that their brother Mason had been killed, Justin and Tori were devastated.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Tori then learnt a few days later that Grace’s father, Robbo (Jake Ryan), had also died following a horror car crash.
With the other Morgan siblings Brody and Raffy now living in Victoria, it was decided that Mason’s funeral would take place halfway between there and Summer Bay.
Justin and Tori, along with Alex (Zoe Ventoura), Willow (Sarah Roberts), John (Shane Withington) and Marilyn (Emily Symons) attended the ceremony off-screen.
In the months since, Leah has finally returned home following her kidnap ordeal, but has struggled in her attempts to resume a normal life. Still unable to have any sort of physical contact with his girlfriend, Justin has tried to support her as best he can.
Trying to dissuade her from doing too much at the diner, in the worry that she was taking things too fast, Leah unfortunately began to find Justin’s concern overbearing. She eventually snapped and accused him of being just like her kidnapper Douglas. Thankfully the couple got back on track after sitting down to talk things through.
As things begin to look up, Leah and Justin head out to the diner whilst Tori remains at home with Grace. When Jasmine calls in to see her, Tori is sat in silence staring at a box on the coffee table. Mason’s ashes have just been delivered.
Justin and Leah rush home and the family are taken right back into their despair. Tori explains they were just starting to move on and able to smile again, whilst Justin can’t come to terms with the fact that his brother’s whole life has been reduced to a box of dust.