Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Levi and Mac get a major update on their pregnancy journey, while Mali faces a tough decision to save his business.

Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Levi’s (Tristan Gorey) IVF journey reaches a crucial stage next week, but will they get the news they’re hoping for?

Earlier this year, after visiting Dean (Patrick O’Connor), Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) and their young daughter Izzy in Queensland, Mackenzie was struck by the idea of her and Levi starting a family of her own.

The couple threw themselves into trying for a baby naturally, but after weeks of effort, Mac and Levi were disheartened when a positive result never came.

Keen to understand what was standing in their way, the pair both underwent fertility testing.

The results confirmed there were no underlying medical issues with either of them, which offered some reassurance but also left Mac and Levi questioning why their attempts hadn’t been successful.

Looking for answers, Mac turned to her mother Tanya, only to learn something she hadn’t known before–Tanya had also faced fertility challenges, with Mac herself being conceived through IVF.

The revelation gave Mac a new perspective, realising that history seemed to be repeating itself.

With natural conception proving more difficult than they’d anticipated, the couple accepted that IVF was the logical next step and started the process.

The first weeks weren’t easy. Mac struggled with the side effect of the treatment, but the effort paid off when seven follicles matured, giving them seven chances for eggs.

After the trigger injection, she pushed through several days of cramps, while Levi’s constant fussing quickly wore thin.

Next week, it’s finally time for the egg retrieval. Mac is anxious, but Levi is reassuring, reminding her that the procedure has gone to plan so far.

They receive encouraging news shortly afterwards–seven eggs have been collected.

Although they face a wait to see how many fertilise, both allow themselves to be quietly hopeful… just one mature embryo would be enough!

Later in the week, Mac finally gets the call they’ve been waiting for. But it’s not good news.

None of the embryos have matured, leaving them back at square one.

Mac and Levi are devastated, and as they walk through the front door after returning home, Mac breaks down in Levi’s arms.

Will they have the strength to try again?

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Elsewhere in Summer Bay, Mali (Kyle Shilling) returns to find his business in chaos.

In one of many questionable business decisions of recent times, Mali left the board shop in the hands of new assistant Lacey (Sophea Pennington), as he headed to his hometown of Mantaray Point to help out with sister Lowanna’s childcare.

Mali had not long employed Lacey (Sophea Pennington), which soon came back to bite him when it was revealed that she didn’t even know how to surf.

Lacey initially tried to blag it by having boyfriend Theo (Matt Evans) take the students through the lessons, and when Mali eventually found out he agreed to keep the arrangement.

In the first couple of weeks of Mali’s absence, Lacey quickly realised that the shop was already running at a loss.

Abigail (Hailey Pinto) offered to help oversee things until Mali returned, the pair hoping they could weather the storm.

Several weeks down the line, with the situation having not improved, the pair were faced with a dilemma when Lacey learned that Theo had turned down the chance to return to his job at the garage due to his commitments to the board shop.

Knowing it was what he truly wanted to do, and despite knowing that surfing lessons were the main money-spinner, Lacey urged Abi to let Theo go.

With the main source of income now gone, and scores of customers requiring refunds, Abi is fretting over the business.

Mac urged her to be honest with Mali, but when Abi then took a call from her boyfriend she learned he was already on the way back to the bay.

As Mali returns to the farmhouse next week, he catches up with Mac, Levi and Abby before heading off to unpack.

Mac can see Mali’s in good spirits, but Abby is forced to admit that she hasn’t been able to tell him about the business yet.

The next morning, Mali can see that Abby is holding something back.

Abby admits that she made the decision to let Theo go and stresses that they now need to dive into the board shop books to see where things stand.

Still unaware of the full situation, Mali remains confident that they can work it out.

Heading to the shop, Abi goes through everything in detail—the unsatisfied students, the backlogged board orders, the ongoing stock issues… it’s all been snowballing since Mali went away.

Mali still remains confident that he can work through it all, but Abby isn’t so sure.

How on earth is he going to find the time to shape the backlog of board orders whilst simultaneously teaching the surfing lessons?

Abby tells Mali there’s only one thing he can do—Lacey has to go.

The shop needs an employee who can not only teach surfing but also manage day-to-day responsibilities.

At present, Lacey isn’t meeting those requirements, and Abby insists it’s the only way to get the business back on track.

However, the prospect of sacking his newest staff member doesn’t sit well with Mali.

When Lacey arrives at the board shop, Mali thanks her for looking after things while he was away.

Lacey shrugs it off, still feeling guilty, and insists there’s no need for praise–she’s just glad they can rely on each other.

Mali, however, can’t shake Abby’s suggestion that Lacey should be let go.

Seeing the tension, Lacey turns to Abby, stressing how important the job is to her, unaware that she has just been trying to convince Mali to fire her.

Abby talks again Mali, aware that he hasn’t acted yet, and Mali finds himself stuck, trying to find a way to keep Lacey without compromising the shop.

In the end, he calls Lacey over and lays out a plan—if she can learn to surf so that she can run lessons as well as managing the shop, her position will be secure.

Will Lacey be up for the challenge in order to keep her job, or is Mali making a decision which will put the business in further jeopardy?