However, Nate was the initial suspect due to his "aloof" behaviour and past incidents. Nate later drove Josh out to the bush, intending to hurt him, but when Josh expressed his remorse, Nate let him leave. Realising that Chris would have a difficult road to recovery, Nate was "daunted" about their future and confessed to an unconscious Chris that their relationship was so new "he feels disconnected from his life". Nate's anxiety increased due to Chris's injuries, which made him forgetful and moody. Nate later suffered a panic attack and questioned whether he would be able to care for Chris. This was not helped by Chris's mother, Patricia (Katerina Kotsonis), who questioned Nate's commitment to her son. When Chris collapsed after a seizure, he was kept in the hospital overnight putting his plans with Nate on hold. Nate decided to sneak into the hospital to spend time with him, making Chris realise that their relationship was serious. Nate then declared his love for Chris and Mason said, "Chris has had trouble reading Nate, because he's been so guarded about his past. But now they both seem to be on the same page at last." Early on in their relationship, Chris revealed to Nate that he was considering fathering a child with Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell). Wyatt said that while Nate and Chris would have to discuss the situation eventually, Nate would let Chris deal with it on his own until then. When Lucy returned to Erinsborough, the subject was brought up again and Chris struggled with his decision when Nate told him that he did not want to have children. Believing that his relationship could be jeopardised, Chris initially rejected Lucy's offer, which left Nate feeling guilty. After getting to know Lucy, Nate encouraged Chris to have a baby with her. When Lucy became pregnant, Chris realised that he wanted to be as involved as possible and was prepared to move to New York part-time. This left Nate feeling "sidelined" and "rail-roaded" into moving to a new country. He told Susan that he was unsure what Chris wanted from him and reiterated that he did not want children or to relocate to New York. Chris and Nate decided to end their relationship, and Wyatt commented that it was "a long time coming". In May 2015, the show used Nate and Imogen Willis (Ariel Kaplan) to show the two sides of the bike-versus-car debate that was a "hot topic" in Australia at the time.