VJ Patterson
Vincent Alexandros Patterson Jr. (2001–2017; 2018)
Carlo Teodorowych & Jack Monger; Max Theoharis & Marcus Spinetti; Jack Riddle, Harry & James Roberts; Nicholas & Cameron Stevens; Cooper Scott; Felix Dean (2007-2014); Matt Little (2014-2018)
Episodes: 3190–5905; 6059–6784; 6818
Parents: Vinnie (deceased) & Leah Patterson
Step Parents: Dan Baker (former, deceased); Zac MacGuire (former); Justin Morgan
Step Siblings: Ryan Baker (former); Ava Gilbert
Marital Status: Billie Ashford (2017, non-legal ceremony, deceased)
Poor VJ Patterson didn’t have the best start in life as his father Vinnie was arrested just moments after he was born. His mother Leah began raising him alone, with help from his father’s ex-cellmate Jesse McGregor. It was Jesse who acted as a father figure to young VJ when, at six months old, it was discovered he had a problem with his hearing and needed a cochlear implant operation, to repair it. On his first birthday VJ was watching a video of his father dressed as a clown when Leah received a call to say that Vinnie had died in prison on the day he was due for a home visit.
With his mother Leah acting as a surrogate mother for Sally Fletcher and Flynn Saunders and moving on and later splitting with Jesse, VJ spent an awful lot of time with grandmother Stella in The City or Colleen at The Caravan Park. He seemingly slept through a siege in his house when his mother and The Bay residents were held hostage by crazed Sarah Lewis and gained a new father figure when his mother got together with Dan Baker.
On his second birthday VJ was delighted to receive a surprise visit from a a giant, friendly bear. A letter left by ‘the bear’ revealed that it was in fact his father Vinnie, not dead but in witness protection who had come to say goodbye. With his mother Leah choosing not to follow Vinnie into witness Protection she began to forge a new life with Dan. VJ soon gained a step brother in the run up to Leah and Dan’s wedding, when Dan’s troublesome son Ryan arrived. Things were thrown into further disarray when Ryan’s equally troublesome mother, Amanda arrived on the scene but neither of them succeeded in preventing the wedding and VJ getting a new Dad.
Leah’s new relationship was not without problems though when step-father Dan got into debt through gambling and VJ’s life was threatened. Leah and Dan split up and Dan began drinking, even going so far as to be drunk in charge of VJ. A curious VJ drank the remnents of alcohol while in Dan’s house with Dan asleep and promptly collapsed. He was rushed to hospital but survived and although initially furious, his Mum eventually forgave step-dad Dan and they became a family once more.
With Dan back at The Patterson House and Ryan and VJ’s cousin Drew living at the house full time, VJ got his first experience of a proper family. He and Ryan regulary played with Drew and he established a close bond with Dan. His Uncle Alex returned to the bay and spent a lot of time minding VJ but when VJ found a lot of tablets in his backpack and nearly took them, he was only just stopped in time. Unknown to VJ they were illegal drugs and Alex was sent away in disgrace.
He was upset when Ryan chose to go back and live with his Mum in the city following Dan’s job offer in America but it was nothing compared to how upset he was hen he found out Dan had died in an abseiling accident. Ryan and Amanda returned for the funeral and VJ and Ryan shard a touching moment in bed with Leah where she told them they were still a family.
In the aftermath of Dan’s death, VJ hung around a lot with Miles. His mother though wasn’t keen on VJ spending so much time with Miles and stopped him from seeing him. VJ ran away from her while in the Den but turned up safe and well at Miles house. Leah allowed him to see Miles again but after Miles forged a relationship with Kirsty she changed her mind. VJ rebelled and began giving his mother a lot of grief.
At the nippers he misbehaved so badly that she took him home and later when Colleen was minding him he ran away and got trapped in a storm drain. Jai rescued him but Annie was trapped trying to help him and VJ was made to feel very guilty. He had a heart to heart with Leah and confided that he missed Dan. She agreed to let him spend time with Miles again and they started going on regular fishing trips.
He caught Bridget snooping in this mother’s things but bought her lie about wanting to organise a surprise for Leah. He did let Rachel in on the secret though after she asked him if Leah had mentioned anything.
He was kidnapped by Brian Lawler in an attempt to get hold of Leah’s money. He almost escaped twice, the first time on his own and the second time when his mum arrived to rescue him but Brian managed to keep hold of him both times. He was finally rescued after a police chase and reunited with his mother.
When he heard that Leah was dating again he began playing up for Leah, causing her to stop dating George. Meanwhile he complained that he had nobody to practice soccer with until Roman offered to help. He was devastated to learn that Leah and Roman were dating because Roman was his friend but he came round after Roman was injured in an accident.
Whilst spending time with Miles he discovered a severed hand in the sand and was traumatised. He recovered after a chat with Roman.**He was less enamoured with Gardy, who scared him with a story about playing football with severed heads. He seemed to get on well with Robert Robertson, who fed him a story about being given an alliterative name because he wanted to be a superhero.
VJ began acting in a moody manner and didn’t seem to have any friends to hang out with. He threw a water bomb at a car containing Miles and Ruby when they stopped for him at a zebra crossing and although he escaped Miles realised he was responsible when he recognised his bag at the Diner. Leah gave him a serve but didn’t notice bruises on his leg. Having also disabled the parental guidance on the computers at the Diner, allowing customers to access adult sites, VJ admitted he was being bullied by older boys. When Miles was attacked after sticking up for him, Romeo persuaded him to stand up to his tormentors and VJ revealed his bully, Riley, was responsible. However, Miles’ attempt to handle the situation led to him being charged with assault. VJ was ignored by the other boys at school, so much that Leah considered moving him. After a newspaper article portrayed Miles as the villain of the piece, VJ angrily confronted Riley and threw his bag into the sea. He then overheard Riley’s dad shouting at him for getting his mobile phone wet and told Miles, Leah and Alf, which led to the charges being dropped.
VJ was slightly bemused when he listened in on Charlie discussing her and Angelo’s relationship with Leah and was initially unhappy to hear that Leah was dating Elijah, aware that her relationships tended to end in misery, but Elijah’s stories of school humiliation soon won him round, as did a game of football. He was shocked when he overheard Leah and Elijah discussing Vinnie’s relatively recent death, angry to know that Leah had kept the fact he was alive from him. He asked to speak to Elijah, who told him how Vinnie had spoken of him often before he died, helping him understand the situation. He spent days repeatedly watching the video Vinnie had made for him before going to prison and when Elijah suggested taking him and Leah to Vinnie’s grave VJ readily agreed. The road trip caused the three of them to bond and gave VJ a sense of closure.
VJ was pleased when Elijah offered to take his class spelunking but the trip was a disaster as the caves were declared unsafe because of the rain and then their bus was stolen. The class took refuge in a barn, unaware there was a gas leak inside, and had all passed out before Miles found them and got them into fresh air. Afterwards, Leah and Elijah decided to cheer him up by holding an “I Almost Died But I Didn’t” party. VJ was unfazed by the news that Leah and Elijah were getting married and seemed to cope with Lijuan and Song’s visit equally well, even if he did end up having to wear earplugs to cope with their snoring.
VJ seemed to grow more accepting of Elijah, especially when he gave a talk about his work as a missionary at the school as Elijah’s parent, and even asked Elijah if he could call him Dad. When Leah ended the relationship, however, VJ was supportive of her and worried when she collapsed at the Diner but continued to correspond with Elijah, using Miles as a go-between. He realised Leah had found out when he discovered the letters were in a different order to how he’d left them and gave her permission to read them. She decided that she and VJ should fly out to see Elijah and VJ excitedly started reading up on where they were going. Before leaving, he briefly met Lily Smith and they seemed quite taken with each other. VJ returned having had a good time on the trip, but when Leah revealed she and Elijah weren’t getting back together he told her he already knew and accused her of treating him like a baby. Spending time with Lily perked him up however.
He was annoyed when Leah started spending time with Robertson, since he was still unhappy about the break-up with Elijah, and when Leah halted his repeated phone calls to Africa. He decided to run off to Africa to see Elijah and, after booking the tickets with Leah’s credit card, went off with Lily for company. They were picked up while hitch-hiking but got nervous when the driver wanted to take them to his house and hid in a nearby garage, where they were found by Robertson and Graves. He admitted to Leah that he’d thought if he ran away to Africa she’d have to talk to Elijah. He and Lily later shared a dance at John and Gina’s wedding reception.
VJ found it easier to accept Robertson’s role in arresting Alf than most of Summer Bay, acknowledging he’d just been doing his job, and revealed he’d been part of a Christian chat group on Facebook since their visit to Africa. He took advice from Dexter on how to deal with high school bullies and managed to outrun Jase McKenzie (although Dexter copped a beating instead). He was soon settled in at school and on all the sports teams. When Will took Lily on the run with him, she phoned VJ and he passed the information on to Robertson, but it was too late since they’d already moved on. Lily readily forgave him after Will was caught and gave him a kiss as she said goodbye. He was intrigued by the River Boys and joined them for a surf but was knocked off his board and nearly drowned, having to be rescued by Heath. After remembering what happened, he cleared the River Boys of wrong doing and was pleased when Brax gave him a full size board. Brax encouraged him to go surfing and he enjoyed the experience despite cutting his arm, being disappointed when Brax told him to listen to Leah when she expressed her disapproval.
VJ was pleased when Elijah returned to town but less pleased when he learned he had a new family. Leah insisted Elijah explain things to him and they managed to clear the air. After a chat from Miles, he got on well with Elijah’s stepson Thabo, playing football with him. He learned Thabo was ill when Elijah objected to the exercise, and told Leah he wanted to be friends with him. He visited him in hospital when he fell ill from his heart condition and went to his funeral after he died following surgery. He insisted on visiting Elijah in hospital when he was beaten up and wanted to help out at the homeless shelter in his absence, saying Elijah would help other people in those circumstances when Colleen worried it was too dangerous. He took part in the surf carnival, enjoying himself despite finishing well behind the winner. When Leah began hanging out with Miles, he quickly became suspicious over their claims to be looking for whales and spiders. Hewalked in on Miles and Leah kissing in the Diner kitchen and told them he already knew and was all right with it. He later left Ruby and Casey alone to talk after Ruby said she wouldn’t give him any more lifts to school otherwise.
He was somewhat bemused when Miles tried to tell him about the facts of life and took delight in dropping him in it with Leah. He continued to admire the River Boys’ lifestyle, despite Miles’ attempts to talk him out of it, and was not helped by Casey’s surly attitude towards doing the right thing. He was concerned when Leah became pregnant, recalling how she and Dan had split up when they had a miscarriage. When the town was hit by a storm, Ruby took him to the evacuation centre at the school but he ran off to look for Leah. Elijah found him on the beach and took him to Leah at the Diner.
When Lily returned to town, VJ went to call on her but Gypsy made her tidy her room instead. He and a friend, Ed, later checked out the empty school, which had been damaged during the storm, but when they threw a rock through a window they heard a cry from inside. VJ went to check on it and found an injured Felix Bezmel. He took him home to try and patch him up in secret but they were caught by Miles. He was present at the demonstration against the school closure.
He was at the house when Leah miscarried and called Elijah when he couldn’t get hold of Miles. He then met with Lily and they compared their fears about Leah and Miles splitting up and Gypsy dumping Lily to go off with Mark. He played a game of cricket with Leah, Miles and Lily but then heard Leah telling Miles she blamed him for persuading her to go ahead with the pregnancy. He told Miles he was sick of the fighting and Miles promised things would change but VJ promptly walked in on them arguing about a bookcase so Miles moved out. VJ was upset Leah wouldn’t let them spend time together and ended up running away to his grandparents in Melbourne to prove a point. He was uncomfortable when Leah lied to Miles about being back and told him the truth when they ran into each other in the Diner. Shortly after, he was there to say goodbye to Miles when he left town.
Leah took an overprotective attitude to VJ after Charlie’s death, to the point he helped Alf hand out flyers as an excuse to get away from her. VJ began taking an interest in Brax and asked Jayden Post, one of the older Summer Bay students, about joining the River Boys. Jayden pretended he could join if he vandalised a police car and stole Brax’s surfboard, which left him in trouble with the police and being suspended from school. Brax agreed to look out for him and helped him do up a motorbike to take his mind off things. After the two of them and Leah had spent the day together, he asked Brax if he would ever love anyone again. He was furious when Brax responded by saying they couldn’t work on the bike anymore, having realised Leah had feelings for him, but Brax later changed his mind.
When Ruby was arrested for drug possession, VJ told Brax what was going on. He later went by the house to work on the bike with Brax, only to see Casey kissing their teacher Henri Brown. He told Brax and later talked about it with Casey, who asked him to stay quiet. However, Gina saw them talking and VJ admitted the truth to her. He was bullied by Jett James, who stole his school uniform and punched him when he confronted him about it and then, after he told Gina, forced him to pretend they were friends and give him his lunch and free food at the Diner. He skipped school to work on the bike with Brax and talked to him about the bullying. He tried to commiserate with Jett over his mother’s death but Jett lost his temper when he caught VJ talking to some other boys about it and punched him.
VJ slowly began to become friends with Jett when Gina paired them up on a science project and encouraged him in his search for Richard Bozic, the father he’d never met, talking about never knowing his own father. This resulted in Jett taking VJ’s phone to ring all the Bozics in the area, until VJ grabbed the list and refused to return it until Jett handed the phone over. When Liam and Romeo both came to stay with VJ and his mother, VJ sided with Romeo after Liam began a relationship with Indi, Romeo’s estranged wife. He eventually forgave him after hearing Liam give Jett a talk about needing to make things up to people, confessing to breaking a vase when Liam offered to take the blame.
John began training both Jett and VJ for the surf carnival. When Jett mocked VJ for coming last the previous year, despite repeatedly losing to VJ in practice, VJ was on the verge of quitting until Romeo gave him a speech about not letting others tell you what you can do. When he told him about how the children of separated parents found it easier to get away with things, Jett led VJ into stealing some fireworks planned for the surf carnival and letting them off. They were caught by John and Gina and Leah punished VJ by making him clean the Diner and the wharf, although she eventually let him participate in the carnival and he won his race. When Leah started dating Jamie Sharpe, VJ initially enjoyed the perks, with Jamie taking him for a ride on his jet ski and buying him video games. However, Leah then started keeping him off school, saying she needed his help at the Diner, and got upset when she found him talking with Jamie. When he heard that Jamie wouldn’t leave Leah alone, he told Jamie that Leah didn’t want to see him, prompting Jamie to grab hold of him and call him a liar, at which point Leah and Liam stepped in. Leah promptly took VJ and fled town, not even letting him say goodbye to anyone.
He returned to town with Leah several months later and quickly renewed his friendship with Jett, who told him he had a girlfriend now and got him to help wind up John, who had been exaggerating a back injury, by telling him how well Harvey had been running the surf club in his absence. VJ was shocked to learn the girlfriend in question was Nina Bailey, who he had been on bad terms with since primary school. Jett suggested he secretly liked her but the truth was more prosaic: He had always believed Nina had stolen one of his Pokemon cards, even though she denied it. VJ explained to Jett that he lost the card and Nina claimed it was hers when it was found, with VJ getting a detention for arguing, after which he turned the school against Nina by labelling her a thief. He told Jett to choose between them and he chose Nina.
When Pippa Saunders, who Leah had carried as a surrogate, was revealed to have a genetic condition, mitochondrial disease, Leah had VJ tested but didn’t tell him why. Jett told him he’d overheard Sally and Roo talking about him, which resulted in them becoming friends again. Wondering what was going on, VJ and Jett checked Pippa’s file and found out about her condition. They went to her to offer their support only to find out that she hadn’t been told. They made up for it by offering to look after her at school.
When one of Jett’s games went missing, VJ convinced him Nina was responsible. Jett eventually solved the argument by not only finding out John had sold the game behind his back, but that VJ had used the card he had accused Nina of stealing as a bookmark and forgotten about it. VJ and Nina finally made their peace but Nina had a harder time forgiving Jett for accusing her. He and Jett looked after Pippa to hide the fact the town were throwing her and Sally a farewell party.
Kept in the dark about why the MacGuires were hiding at the house, VJ innocently told Murray Granger that Zac lived with them. He was horrified when Leah got a job at the school and warned her to watch out for the Mangrove River kids but came round somewhat after she talked Matt’s father into making him come back to school and walked her home.
When Irene went away, Jett and VJ began planning to throw a party in the beach house, despite Chris, Spencer and Sasha still being in residence, and arranged to have supplies for the Diner redirected there. The party went well until Irene arrived home in the middle of it and they were both left with a mountain of chores to do as punishment. When Jett found a necklace buried in a box at the caravan park, with a note saying it had been bought with stolen money, he and VJ went looking for the owner and found out it belonged to Marilyn. When Jett used the information to try and get Marilyn to do their chores, Leah punished them by volunteering them for the Year 7 buddy system she’d set up.
He was invited along to John and Marilyn’s abortive elopement to keep Jett company, then learned of Leah’s romance with Zac when Matt showed a video of the two of them kissing to the school. He was angry at being kept in the dark and when school bully Tyson Lee wound him up about it he punched him and got suspended. Jett suggested he was better off playing Leah and Zac against each other than causing trouble but he failed to turn up to John and Marilyn’s wedding. He continued to get hassled when he returned to school and Tyson tipped his food on the floor at the Diner. Sasha and Matt offered to make up his eye to look like Tyson had punched him but Leah and Zac walked in on them. Tyson pretended that VJ had pushed him into a locker and he found himself interrogated by Sophie and Leah, until Zac uncovered the truth. However, he was upset Leah didn’t take his word for it, although he eventually forgave her and Zac. VJ was then kidnapped by Tyson and his friends and left tied up in the bush. He got free but fell down an embankment and when Nate and Brax found him Nate also fell; he was impaled on a branch and VJ, who had suffered a minor head injury, ended up having to help Brax carry him to safety.
VJ had a hard time getting over the incident and told Zac he was having nightmares and felt guilty about Nate. When Zac suggested they go away for a boys’ trip with Alf, Spencer and Matt, he readily agreed. He revealed he had had a tattoo done and asked Zac to keep it quiet but Leah was furious when she found out. VJ wanted to drop out of school but Leah refused to discuss it and Zac was reluctant to go against her. Zac suggested he go to TAFE instead but VJ wasn’t keen on the idea. He played up in Zac’s class, resulting in Leah grounding him, but sneaked out to a party at the beach house. Leah and Zac brought him home and Zac took him to the gym, saying he could confide in him but the final say was Leah’s. He continued to clash with Leah, staying out late. Matt didn’t help matters with a speech about how grown-up VJ was and VJ pointed out Matt couldn’t find direction in his own life. He and Leah eventually agreed that VJ would do his best for the rest of the year and make a decision afterwards. When his report came, he and Leah were surprised at how well he had done. He and Matt made plans to turn the spare room into a games room but Leah moved Nate in instead. When Matt was offered a chance to perform with Phoebe in the city, VJ encouraged him to go for it. He let slip to Sasha what was going on and was left indulging in pizza and video games with Zac while most of the town went to the city to watch.
VJ then had to cope with the news that the bus carrying them had crashed and Leah was unaccounted for. When she was found, she had a bleed on her brain and VJ was angry that Nate spoke to Zac before him. He refused to obey Zac’s instructions, instead going for a joyride with Jett in one of the surf club buggies, and as a result missed seeing Leah before she was transferred to the city. Zac took him there to see her. On their return, they were informed that an attempt to take her off the ventilator had failed and she would never wake up. VJ wanted to go to the city with or without Zac but Irene and Roo worked out a roster for him to stay in the Bay and make regular commutes.
He debated about going back to school, then lost his temper when Sasha wanted to put a photo of Leah up in the Diner, feeling it felt like a memorial, and punched Matt when he suggested they go back to school together. After a chat with Jett, he apologised to Matt, agreed to the photo being put up and decided to go back to school. When Zac missed dinner with him because he was busy helping Hannah, VJ felt that he couldn’t rely on him. He spent the night at the Palmers’ before heading to the bus stop and going to Leah’s hospital in the city. Zac eventually brought him home but he had a hard time adjusting, snapping at Marilyn, refusing to let Matt have Sasha over as per Leah’s wishes and eventually breaking down in tears at the gym. When he got into a row with Jett, John and Zac started giving them boxing lessons. They wanted to have a proper bout but the grown-ups refused. They continued to put them through training with the promise of a bout eventually but the boys realised they were stalling and confronted them about it. John and Zac agreed to let them fight but Zac changed his mind on realising Leah wouldn’t have approved. Storming off in anger, VJ found Oscar offering to let Spencer hit him and punched him. Zac suspended him as a result.
Nate told VJ to stop blaming other people so he decided to go and stay with his gran during his suspension so he could see Leah. When he returned, he told Zac that Stella was willing to let him stay with her full time. Zac agreed but then Leah woke up and VJ told Zac to forget about it. He was among the students who went on the Anzac Day trip to the war memorial in Canberra and helped look after Alf when he fell ill. He told Zac he was glad he had sticked around, which resulted in Leah finding out about their plans and trying to throw Zac out. VJ stopped him and told Leah it was his idea, at which point Leah slapped him. She apologised the next morning, then revealed she was having an MRI. It eventually became clear she had an aneurysm but despite VJ’s pleas she refused to have surgery. He was concerned when she returned to work and apparently forgot an argument she had had with Zac.
He overheard her yelling at Matt at work and took her home, agreeing to keep it from Zac. However, when Leah lost it during a careers talk and shouted at Maddy, Matt convinced VJ they needed to talk to Zac. He helped look for Leah when she got lost in the bush and spent a night at her bedside in hospital. She agreed to the surgery but told him that she had given Zac instructions to turn off her life support if she ended up brain dead. VJ was distressed but accepted it when her surgeon, Sean Gleeson, said it was normal. When Leah ended up on life support, VJ began to regret convincing her to have the surgery but she soon recovered. Zac then asked VJ for permission to marry Leah and VJ readily agreed but Leah turned down the proposal. However, VJ convinced her that all that mattered was she loved Zac and brought Zac back to the house so Leah could propose to him. He said goodbye to Jett at his farewell party at the Diner.
VJ gained more surrogate siblings when Oscar and Evelyn moved in with them, leaving him briefly sharing a room with Matt and Oscar, but soon after the house was burned down and the family relocated to the caravan park house. With the family hard up, VJ applied for Jett’s old job at the juice bar. When he found out Zac was considering taking out a loan, he advised him not to keep secrets from Leah. He chased an intruder from the house who had injured Josh and lost him but managed to grab his bag. VJ was suspicious when Zac’s previously unknown son Hunter arrived on the scene, rightly suspecting Hunter had been responsible for the break-in, and got into a fight with him at the surf club during which he pushed him over a table. He tried to apologise but Hunter rejected the olive branch, and VJ was disappointed when Zac missed his basketball trial because he was too busy with his new family. Hunter claimed to want to spend time with Zac and VJ and joined them for basketball practise but deliberately caused VJ to sprain his wrist when Zac wasn’t looking. VJ snapped at Hunter during a family meal to get to know him. They got into a fight at school when VJ suspected Hunter had sabotaged Leah’s brakes and were both sent home. VJ did however manage to keep Leah and Zac together when they nearly split up over the tension.
He was the first person that Matt confided in about his feelings for Maddy. When he learned Zac had moved out, he accused Leah of expecting things to go wrong so much that she made them go wrong. He was delighted when they reunited. He bought Maddy a scratch card for her 18th birthday and tried unsuccessfully to stop her party getting out of control. He saw Tank sneaking out of Evie’s room and, when he caught her playing innocent with Leah, told Leah what he’d seen. He was mistrustful of Hunter when he moved in despite Alf encouraging him to forgive him. He ran into a blonde girl on the beach who turned out to be former resident Olivia Fraser Richards. She asked him to show her around town and convinced him to steal some bikes with her. Although she disappeared in the aftermath, she turned up at the house, flirting with him heavily, and convinced him to take Leah’s car for a spin. However, it was damaged after they’d parked it and they were caught by Alf, with VJ having to help at the caravan park to make up for it.
He went to meet Olivia but she invited Hunter to join them and then excluded him from the conversation. When Olivia learned he had complained about it to Hunter, she freaked out at him, denying flirting with him. She continued to give him the brush off si he told her he just wanted to be friends. He raised the alarm when he saw Hunter being kidnapped. When Hunter told him Olivia had scars on her leg, he tried to talk to her about it then told Zac. When Jett returned with his new girlfriend Skye, VJ told him about the incident and encouraged him to go to John for help. He continued to spend time with Hunter and Olivia but began to feel like a third wheel, although he did chide Hunter for trying to get Olivia to wear short skirts that would have shown off her scars, and accidentally upset Irene by moving a blanket she was keeping hidden, a memento of the child she’d had taken from her. Like the rest of the household, he worried about Oscar when he was missing during a storm. He gave Leah away at the wedding and introduced Chris’ fireworks display at the reception.
He learned Hunter was responsible for the fire when he confessed during Billie’s trial and was furious at the betrayal. He continued to be angry with him after the rest of the town had forgiven him, despite Olivia pleading his case. When they had basketball training together, VJ repeatedly went in hard on Hunter, earning himself a lecture from Coach Mackinnon. He then ended up in a fight with Hunter when Phoebe took her class down to the beach, but Phoebe suggested it was because deep down they were still friends and VJ had no objection when Leah invited Hunter to move home. Then Zac was charged with Charlotte’s murder and VJ and Hunter unsuccessfully tried to hide the fact the toilet block had been graffitied from Leah. Leah encouraged him to spend time with his friends and he convinced Skye to sneak into a uni party with him. There, he managed to get drunk and ended up throwing up in the bushes, being looked after by Billie. He took Olivia and Skye to a beach party but, despite him having luck chatting up the girls, Skye dragged him away when it turned out it was being run by Lindsay Ford, who was trying to come between Olivia and Hunter. He managed to annoy Zac on his release from jail, after he had been suspected of murdering Charlotte, by questioning him about prison but made up for it by getting him out of the house to help set up the breast cancer fundraiser for Hannah.
Skye asked him to teach her to surf but, having developed a crush on Billie, he spent most of the lesson giving her attention. When he learned that Billie thought he was interested in Skye, he got Skye to pretend to be his girlfriend to make Billie jealous, suggesting it would help get Oscar interested in her as well. When their initial efforts failed to get a reaction, he kissed her, leaving her upset. Billie told him she wasn’t interested and he apologised to Skye, admitting he hadn’t kissed many girls before. He then took Hunter away on a surfing trip. Despite her rejection, he and Billie continued to spend time together and he apologised to her for the way everyone blamed her for the fire, but she admonished him when he punched Tank on finding him talking to Skye. When he saw the pair kissing, he told Evelyn.
He claimed he was going to invite someone to the fundraiser and invited Billie over, but lost his temper when Leah started bossing him about and embarrassing him in front of her, prompting Billie to walk out. He then decided to give the fundraiser a miss and go to the movies with Hunter and Olivia instead, meaning he avoided the explosion that killed Oscar and Hannah. He went to the farmhouse with some food from Leah where he and Billie reminisced about Oscar and ending up sleeping together. VJ was left on cloud nine and struggled to hide it while everyone was grieving, suggesting Ash check on Billie. Despite Billie telling him not to expect anything, he tried to kiss her at the wake but she ran away. He visited her at home afterwards to apologise and, after confiding in Hunter, invited her down the beach, where they kissed again, establishing them as a couple. When Leah saw them kissing, he told her they’d slept together and refused to break up with her. He was pleased when a meal with Billie and his family went well, but when he told Billie he loved her she ran off. He learned she was pregnant when Ash grabbed him and had a go at him about it but, after a chat with Zac, insisted on standing by her. The couple were grilled as to their plans by Leah, who invited Billie to move in but soon withdrew the offer, saying it was too soon.
He and Billie tried to spend time with Olivia and Hunter but Olivia went out of her way to make Billie uncomfortable, causing her to leave upset. VJ ordered Olivia to apologise and refused to let Billie break up with him. He congratulated Hunter on getting community service. Zac tried to get him to knuckle down with his school work, but when Ash gave him a lecture about supporting Billie and the baby he instead asked John for more shifts. He was angry when Zac kicked Billie out of the house, wanting him to concentrate on an essay, so went to see Billie and studied for the essay round hers. He let slip that he loved her again, but after thinking about it she told him she was falling in love with him too. He was worried when he got a bad mark on his essay but ignored Leah and Zac’s attempt at a lecture to support Billie after she had a miscarriage scare. When they again tried to get him to study instead of support Billie the next morning, he announced he was moving out and going to live with Billie.
VJ soon won Phoebe over with his cooking skills but was hurt when Billie tricked him into meeting with Leah and walked out. He invited Hunter and Olivia round and Hunter convinced him to invite Jordan Walsh as well. However, Jordan invited a lot of other people and turned it into a party, which VJ let get out of control instead of shutting it down. Phoebe and Billie kicked him out and he agreed to move back in with Leah if Billie could come too, only for Billie to admit she didn’t want to live with him. When Alf told him he needed to make choices, he decided to quit school and get an apprenticeship. Leah was willing to go along with it but Billie broke up with him. After taking advice from Zac, he offered Billie a compromise: He would stay at school but they would move into a caravan together.
VJ attended a fundraising sleepover at the school where he counselled Hunter about taking his anger over Charlotte’s death out on everyone. He had to miss out on joining Leah, Billie and Evelyn on the trip Duncan was organising because of exams only for their plane to crash. VJ had to be restrained by Zac from going out searching on his own and, when Billie was found, he supported her when she had an ultrasound to check the baby was all right. He and Billie disagreed about finding out the sex of the baby but she eventually agreed they should next time. Leah told them to keep it secret from her but VJ let slip that it was a girl. Living in the caravan began to be fraught so Leah suggested they move back into the house. After Billie mistakenly threw out his homework and he spent ages putting a cot together only to find it didn’t fit through the door, VJ agreed. However, while moving, he was confused to see Billie burning a baby blanket that Irene had given her, which Irene had made for her insane son Mick.
He supported Olivia when she was given a hard time at school because of Tabitha’s cyberbullying and worked with Billie to help Leah and Zac realise they both wanted Zac to move back in. He also advised Hunter to make his first date with Olivia special when they got back together. In the middle of studying, he had to work a long shift at the juice bar to cover for John and ended up falling asleep on the sofa. He became frustrated at Billie spending all their money and distracting him while he studied but was distraught when she was run over not long after and rushed to hospital to make up with her. Afterwards, he announced he was quitting school. By the time Billie returned home, he and Leah had done up their room for the baby.
He correctly guessed that his family were arranging a surprise 18th birthday party for him and sneaked out early to buy an engagement ring. In the process, he missed his traditional birthday breakfast with Leah and when he realised he bought her flowers to apologise. After a meal at Salt with his friends and family, he took Billie back to the house and proposed to her. He was hurt when she turned him down and decided to move back out to the caravan but Billie told him to ask again and accepted, before asking him not to tell anyone. However, a few days later he announced it in the Diner. Then he found a scrap of a note Billie had written weeks earlier saying she was leaving him and confronted her about it. However, when she threatened to leave he ended up agreeing to get married as soon as possible. He averted disaster when he realised the brakes on Billie’s car had been cut just before they were about to drive it and tried to advise Hunter when he messed up his first exam. He smoothed things over between Hunter and Olivia by buying Olivia flowers and a voucher for French lessons on Hunter’s behalf but worried that Hunter was focusing too much on Olivia rather than his own studies.
He was disappointed when Billie didn’t want groomsmen or bridesmaids. John told him to argue about everything but doing so resulted in Billie nearly calling off the wedding until he agreed to her ideas. Ash, together with Matt and Mason, insisted on throwing VJ a bucks party, where he got drunk and clambered on top of a surf club vehicle, then fell off. He woke up to find himself in hospital with both his arms in plaster. He tried to work out a way the wedding could still work and was horrified when Ash told him Billie had called off the wedding, only to learn that it was a joke and his arms were fine. At the wedding, he and Billie both gave sincere vows but then Billie ran away before privately telling him the baby wasn’t his. VJ made no mention of this when calling off the wedding then went back to the house to confront Billie, who told him she was raped just before they got together. VJ decided to go away with Leah and Zac for a while and not say anything until he got back, telling Billie that he still loved her but wasn’t sure where to go.
On his return, he told Billie he’d marry her after the baby was born and pretend to be the father and insisted to a skeptical Ash that he’d stand by her, keeping the truth from Leah and the rest of the family. He and Billie discussed baby names and, hurt that Ash still didn’t trust him, he decided they should elope and get married straight away. However, on their way to the registry office Billie started having stomach pains and worried that she was in labour. He took her to hospital where it turned out she just had sciatica but the experience caused them to realise they shouldn’t get married without Leah. He tried to put an end to Ash’s questioning when he took it upon himself to try and find out who the rapist was. When Billie reacted badly to the news Mick was being released from a psychiatric institute, VJ discovered he had been in town nine months previous and asked Billie if Mick was the father; Billie initially denied it but later admitted it was true. VJ wasn’t happy about being lied to again, especially when he found out Phoebe knew before him. Billie admitted the rest of the truth: That she had altered hospital computer records so no-one would notice her pregnancy dates were wrong and made Nate keep quiet when he found out. However, she then went into labour and VJ put his feelings aside to drive her to hospital, only for their car to break down. Threatened by a bush fire, VJ carried Billie to safety and was at her side at the hospital as she gave birth to a daughter, who they named Lucinda Leah Patterson, Luc for short.
VJ was still prepared to act as Luc’s father, but when they saw how excited Leah was and also saw Irene with Luc, he and Billie realised they had to tell the truth. However, when he returned to the hospital he found Luc gone: Mick had kidnapped her which resulted in the truth about her paternity being revealed. She was soon recovered and VJ and Billie settled down into parenthood, with VJ going back to school to get qualifications. Billie suggested a baby blessing ceremony with Leah and Ash as guide parents to get everyone together; VJ wasn’t keen but Leah agreed. However, at the ceremony, Billie collapsed and was found to have advanced cancer to the point that she would be dead within days at most. VJ insisted on marrying her straightaway. After a service in the hospital chapel, he took her and Luc to the beach at her request, where she died in his arms. Ash blamed VJ for taking her out of hospital and punched him but VJ threw himself into looking after Luc, promising her they’d have a great life.
He began carrying out Billie’s wishes, planning to have her cremated and her ashes scattered on the beach, and managed to get Ash onside. Then he overheard Alf telling Leah that John had started the bushfire, smoke inhalation from which had hastened Billie’s death, and told Ash. He gave a short speech at her funeral and scattered the ashes alongside Ash. He was convinced to let Leah look after Luc when he returned to school and considered quitting his job because of John. He struggled with looking after Luc, stressed out by her persistent crying and lost his temper with her, but relaxed slightly when Irene looked after her. When he heard John was planning to leave Marilyn and the town in the face of people’s hostility, VJ went to see him and told him he forgave him, since he knew from his friendship with Jett that John was a good person. He joined Matt’s hastily arranged bucks party.
He agreed to let Irene have Luc for the night and was left feeling even more inadequate when she said she’d been no trouble. He tried to keep her away but lost his temper with Luc and shook her cot. He considered letting Irene have Luc one night a week until he learned she wanted Luc to live with her full-time and angrily rejected the idea. When Luc kept crying while he was trying to do an assignment, he threw a mug against the wall in anger and Leah told him they needed to take Irene up on her offer. He then learned that Ash was threatening to go for custody and opposed him. He was also thrown by the discovery that Zac had cheated on Leah and tried to throw him out of the house.
When he saw Leah upset and Zac joking with John, he ended up punching him. This prompted Ash to challenge him for custody of Luc, after which VJ took Luc back from Irene. He learned that not only had he never been registered as the father but Billie hadn’t signed the marriage license, meaning they weren’t legally married. He blamed John and refused to be a character witness at his trial. After a talking to from Hunter, he went to the court and told them John was a good man who didn’t deserve to go to jail, although John ended up being found guilty anyway. He then talked Marilyn into visiting John in prison. After a mediation session, in which VJ was forced to admit to shaking Luc’s cot and Ash brought up him hitting Zac, Ash was awarded temporary custody despite VJ being recognised as Luc’s father on the grounds he had been living with Billie when she was born. He begged Ash to let him have another week with her.
Hunter invited him to join a birthday lunch for Olivia’s 18th; although he snapped at Irene in private, he stayed civil in front of Olivia. Afterwards, he went to Salt with Hunter and Olivia. After handing Luc over to Ash and learning he was having trouble settling her, he gave him one of old Billie’s necklaces that he’d found helped. Hunter and Olivia took him out for a pizza to cheer him up but he ended up getting drunk, trying to kiss Olivia and getting into a fight with Hunter. He felt bad when Zac was hospitalised and not long after Hunter confided in him that Zac might not be his father. VJ suggested he do a DNA test in secret. The test came back negative and contributed to Zac leaving town not longer after, with VJ saying an awkward farewell.
Although he had initially been devastated at losing Luc, VJ admitted on seeing her with Ash and Kat that he didn’t hate it. Olivia encouraged him to pack up Billie’s things but he realised he wasn’t ready. He was uncomfortable around Luc when Leah looked after her and wondered if he should let Ash and Kat have her. He offered to help John organise a fundraiser for the hospital burns unit anonymously. VJ began to like having his life back and told Ash and Kat to stop referring to him as Luc’s father. He was reunited with Jett when he came for a visit and admitted to him and Ash that he wasn’t sure if he wanted Luc back. He went out drinking with Jett and ended up having a one night stand with Rebecca Brown, one of Olivia’s classmates. He tried to sneak her out of the house the next morning but was caught by Alf. He told Leah and Ash he wasn’t going to go for custody and packed up Billie and Luc’s things to give to Ash.
Olivia dragged him and Hunter out into the bush and tried to get them to shout out their feelings but neither was interested and VJ ended up having to call Leah for help when Hunter blew out a car tyre letting off steam his own way. Despite this, VJ skipped school to give Hunter a surfing lesson when he found him depressed about the lack of contact from Zac. He ignored phone calls from Leah and it wasn’t until Alf tracked him down that he learned Luc was in hospital having emergency surgery. When it turned out that Luc had been born with a bowel defect that left her in continual pain, he felt guilty at having given up on her. With Mick after access, VJ wanted to go for custody after all but Leah and Ash talked him out of it and he supported Ash’s wish to adopt Luc.
He supported Hunter when it came out that he had robbed the Diner two years earlier and helped him smooth things over with both Olivia and his grandmother Peggy. He ran into Coco Astoni at the Diner and was convinced that she was Raffy’s French tutor. Thinking she was at uni, he kept quiet about the fact he was still at school. He took her to Salt but Leah turned up and revealed Coco was only sixteen. Although he was nice about it, VJ decided not to keep seeing her. However, he did his best to befriend her, bringing pizza to her house. He took off his shirt when it got stained just as Ben came home, resulting in Ben literally throwing him out of the house. He accepted Ben’s second apology but was puzzled when Coco accused him of dating her sister Ziggy after he hung out with her, Hunter and Olivia.
He offered Coco a surfing lesson and, after initially embarrassing her by commenting on her swimmers, assured her she looked fine. He and Hunter took Raffy and Coco out for lunch and they tipped him off to the fact that Jennifer Dutton, who had been flirting with him, was a bully. He was concerned when he heard Coco throwing up but she insisted it was just food poisoning and then convinced VJ to help Jennifer out with her homework. He was bemused when Coco asked for Jennifer to join them in a surfing lesson and refused to let Coco go in the water when she fainted. He convinced Raffy to stay in Year 11 and visited Coco in hospital after she fainted again, telling her he’d rather spend time with her than Jennifer.
He was puzzled when, after studying with Coco, Leah told him that her parents thought they were sleeping together. He later advised Coco on using Marilyn’s old pepperpot trick to get her family to talk. VJ went to get some study notes from Hunter only for Olivia to rope the two of them, Coco and Raffy into cutting material for her dressmaking. VJ was aware Coco had a crush on him and tried being distant with her but Olivia told him he had to tell her straight so he told her he only saw her as a friend, unaware she had bulimia. He helped catch Ryder Jackson after he was caught robbing the surf club.
He was horrified to learn Mick was trying to get parole and, when it was granted, worked with Ash to take out an AVO keeping him away from Luc and let Ash adopt him. As exams began, he received the news that Mick was in town. When Mick disappeared with Luc after Irene fell ill, VJ tracked them down to the beach house and convinced Mick to hand her over. He was horrified to get a call mentioning that Mick had had a DNA test done to prove he was Luc’s father and Mick insisted he was going for custody. VJ accepted Ash’s desire to take Luc abroad to keep her away from Mick. As his schooling drew to an end, he was at a loss as to what he wanted to do and admitted the only thing that interested him was Luc.
Although he wanted to spend time with Luc before she left, Leah convinced him to go out with Hunter to celebrate the end of school, where he bought a bracelet from a pawn shop. However, when Ash discovered Kat was pregnant with his child, he felt he couldn’t leave so VJ offered to take Luc to Cyprus instead. He managed to convince Leah and Ash it was the best thing and shared a farewell meal with Leah, Irene, Alf, Roo, Hunter, Olivia and Ryder, where Hunter and Olivia engraved his bracelet with the co-ordinates of Summer Bay and Leah gave him Vinnie’s wedding ring.
With Mick trying to take out an injunction to keep Luc in the country, Alf arranged to have her and VJ smuggled out of the bay by seaplane in order to catch an earlier flight from the city—thereby leaving Australia before the injuction came into force. As Irene kept Mick distracted, VJ said his farewells to Alf, Leah and Ash on the wharf.
He later sent a video message to help with Hunter’s proposal to Olivia.