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2008: October


DavidEvanSmith

980 views

Kendall OR Greenlee...  

51 members have voted

  1. 1. Which Character Do You Prefer?

    • Kendall
      41
    • Greenlee
      10

October 2008

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<<<

Previously on Beyond the Horizon, secrets agendas were in full force, people were forced to make tough choices about who to trust, and a good man lost a tough battle in September...

  • Jenna (Kari Wuhrer) scrambled to convince Lauren Sapphyre (Lynn Herring) to invest in startup company Baldwin Enterprises.
  • Ava (Christina Chambers) and Ford (David Chisum) were arrested for burglary, but stood to be charged with more crimes.
  • Julia (Melissa Archer) treated Rolo (Ignacio Serricchio) for a stabbing, and later was shocked by how grandmother Esther (Kathleen Widdoes) turned up on her doorstep.
  • Henry (Sebastian Roché) wasn’t pleased when he realized Leo (Jeff Branson) had gone against his wishes to drop the search for the evidence in Eleanor’s (Catherine Hickland) possession. Henry kicked Leo out of the penthouse and froze his assets!
  • Tiffany (Ambyr Childers) accused Hattie (Kate Collins) of Rolo’s stabbing when Tiffany found her mother with a bloody kitchen knife. Hattie prepared Tiffany for the possibility that Esther was guilty.
  • Thomas (Bobby Steggert) promised to keep Eddie’s (Jeffrey Carlson) affair with Shawn (Tobias Truvillion) a secret from Jenna, in order to keep his brother’s life and his own work situation copasetic.
  • Trevor Allen (Tuc Watkins) had big plans for transforming Crystal (Kerry Butler) into a star, but also seemed to be eager to bring Ava’s/Aviva’s story to the small screen.
  • Ramon (Kamar de los Reyes) sought out answers from Carina (Natalia Livingston) about the Reynosos’ childhood, hoping to learn about the source of Aviva’s identity crisis.
  • Edina (Ilene Kristen) was sympathetic to a young woman named Dana (Brittany Underwood), who’d been living on the street. Dana was soon after hit by Jenna’s car and snagged a monetary “settlement” from Jenna.
  • Evan (Ian Buchanan) was on hand to revise Terrence’s (Walt Willey) will, as it became harder for Terrence to deny that death was near.
  • Carina admitted to Julia that she was drawn to Lauren Sapphyre.
  • Lauren established a board of directors for Baldwin Enterprises, consisting of herself, Evan, James (Alec Musser), Jenna, and Theodore (John Ingle).
  • Jenna’s surprise run-in with old flame Trevor inspired her to concoct an elaborate scheme to pass off Dana as a daughter Jenna gave up in college. Dana agreed to Jenna’s scam, which included becoming dorm roommate and friend to Rebecca (Lindze Letherman), and letting Thomas be the one to “uncover the truth”.
  • Leo turned to Fiona (Connie Fletcher-Staton) for a place to stay.
  • Rachel (Sherri Saum) found evidence that Dominic (William Shew) and Ford were behind Rod Applewhite’s (Forbes March) shooting, which gave Shawn just the leverage he needed to gain a foothold in the chain of command at VSI.
  • The Baldwins were shocked when Didi Dawson (Kelli Giddish), the final sibling, decides to relocate to New York City. Jenna takes that as a sign to step up her plan to pass Dana off as her daughter.
  • The Applewhites and Christian (David Evan Smith) spent all their time together, while Terrence neared death.
  • Ava swore to Ramon that Aviva was never coming back.
  • After the press party for the “Artemis” fragrance, Carina gave in to her developing feelings for Lauren and they both gave in to passion.
  • Thomas made a connection between Dana and Jenna.
  • Terrence passed away.
>>>

Opening Sequence

<<<

Week 1: Stay and Face It

“Come and sit down,” Julia guided Esther to the couch. James watched in amazement at Julia’s crazy old grandmother. “What is my mother going to be so mad about?” Julia asked. “I just wanted to protect Tiffany, like I wanted to protect your mother! It was that little horny bastard, he broke her heart, and she was so mad...” Esther trailed off, and Julia couldn’t tell if Esther was talking about Tiffany’s broken heart or Hattie’s. Esther continued, “Julia, I wasn’t around you enough to teach you this, but when a man has been cruel to you, you need to do whatever necessary to get past that pain, and just vanquish them from your life.” Esther turned to glare at James, “Have you been good to my granddaughter?!” Esther asked suspiciously, and James became instantly nervous and stuttered back, “Yes, absolutely, very good to her... wouldn’t dream of hurting her or breaking her heart.” James excused himself after Julia said she wanted to be alone with her grandmother. With just the two women there now, Julia had to ask, “Grandmother... tell me what you did.”

“I did it, so deal with it,” Ava told Ramon flippantly. Ramon insists Ava can’t just ‘get rid of’ Aviva. “And what do you know of it?” Aviva challenged him, “You think you know a damn thing about me? What I’m capable of? The very fact I exist means that Aviva wants me around, to take on the things she can’t handle, to fix whatever’s broken, to protect her. It’s really your fault, Ramon... you made this a world Aviva doesn’t want to come back to. So she doesn’t have to. She’s safely tucked away. And I will get out of here to live the life I’ve wanted to live for years now.” Ramon realizes he really doesn’t know how this whole split personality thing works. Ramon backs away to leave, and Ava throws out one more jab, “Tell Rolo he was a great student. She’d grade him an A+ and he can visit her any time for extra credit.” Ava winked at him, and Ramon realizes Rolo did get mixed up with Ava somehow.

“I stabbed him,” Esther said, as if that’s that. “So many men, so many generations of bad choices... Eventually we’ll all find some good men, Julia... don’t you settle or forgive some man who thinks with his nether regions, you wait for the best.” Julia is horrified that Esther stabbed Rolo, but can’t miss the opportunity to ask, “What about my father? He was a good man, he was always good to us.” Julia’s mention of her father garnered a hearty laugh from Esther, “He was a weasel! A two-timing weasel! I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, honey, but he hurt your mother terribly. He cheated on her countless times. You never saw his endless string of floozy secretaries?! He was shameless. Hattie used to complain to me all the time, but finally, I’d just had it. I mean how DARE he! So I gave him a few extra sleeping pills one night. It was better than he deserved because he didn’t even feel that noose around his neck. I knew it was the only way to protect you girls, you were so little... you had to think it was a suicide. But you’re all grown up now, you must understand I had to do what I had to do, to protect my daughter. All my girls...” Hearing the words after all these years, Julia needed a moment to take it all in. Years of suspecting her mother killed her father, only to find out it was her grandmother, emotionally fragile as she may be... Julia pulled it together quickly and decided to deal with the feelings later. “Grandmother, you’re right. We need to protect you. My mother might get very mad over what you’ve done, so let’s hide you,” Julia tried to sound excited, as if they were plotting together, “Let’s readmit you to Shady Glen. I still have power of attorney, we can check you back in, and we’ll never even have to tell my mother that I saw you, we can just say you disappeared, never to be heard from again. When things quiet down, we can get you out, and my mother will have had time to come to terms with what you did.” Esther’s eyes darted back and forth, thinking about Julia’s proposal, then realizes, “But that’s where Hattie would put me! Why would you put me there?!” Julia insists Hattie would never expect Esther to go willingly, it’s the perfect cover. Esther agrees, it’s the smartest plan. Julia’s relieved, and gathers her purse and coat to drive Esther to Shady Glen.

Crystal raced to Rod's side when he called to tell her his father was gone. Rod remained distant. Crystal was trying to sympathize by sharing her own feelings from her father's passing, but Rod didn't feel it was the same. Crystal tried to respect his grief and keep her distance.

Carina awoke the next morning in Lauren’s bed, alone, with a note on the pillow next to her. “I pushed the photo shoot back to 4pm... sleep in!” the note from Lauren read. So Carina did. When Carina made it to work later that day, she found a private moment to tell Lauren how much she enjoyed the previous night. Lauren couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed it as well.

Leo was furious to return to work only to find notes from Shawn Marks about a different direction that Leo should take his pitch when meeting with a prospective client. Leo, still bitter about constantly being undermined and ordered around by his father, and now his underling, Leo decided to forward Shawn’s pitch anonymously... to fledgling Baldwin Enterprises.

Thomas ran to Rebecca with his suspicions about Dana being Jenna’s daughter, and Rebecca thought it sounded too random to be possible. The more Thomas thinks about it, however, the more plausible it seems to him!

Leo comforted Fiona over her loss. Fiona felt guilty that she couldn't bring her mother home, as it was her father's dying request of her. She feels she failed her father. Leo assured her that Terrence didn't seem like a man who measured worth in actions, but rather in emotions.

Thomas told Dana he wanted to help her find her biological family, and Dana was touched. Privately, Rebecca warned Thomas that he could be opening Pandora’s Box and this might create more problems for his family than already exist. Thomas saw this as correcting a mistake from Jenna’s past.

Jenna Baldwin does the unimaginable and steals a prospective client from VSI, while Henry is busy consoling Eleanor over Terrence’s death and Leo is busy consoling Fiona. At VSI, Shawn insisted that if Henry and Leo had listened to his approach, they would have landed the client. Shawn accuses Leo of being out of touch with what clients want. Leo accuses Shawn of sabotaging behind the scenes, and coaching the rival, Jenna, Shawn’s girlfriend.

Dominic tries to take Christian's mind off things, but Christian explodes that he doesn't want to run from this, he has to stay and feel it, face it. Christian kicks Dominic out.

Jenna was growing frustrated and vented to James that Thomas hasn’t picked up on the Cal State/1988 groundwork that she laid. James warned her to play it subtle, or Thomas will think it’s a scam.

When the tech department researches Shawn’s computer, they see that his pitch was emailed through a dummy account to Baldwin Enterprises the day before their meeting with the client. Shawn insists he was framed, but Leo won’t hear of it, and fires Shawn for no longer being trustworthy. Shawn is furious and swears it’s the stupidest move Leo could have made. “If not for my rewriting your middle school-level reports, the board of directors would know just how unqualified you are for your position!” Shawn lashed out. Leo was enraged by Shawn’s statement and had security escort Shawn out of the VSI building. Shawn decides he needs to take action with the information he has on Henry and Leo. Shawn’s put too much time and effort into VSI to lose out now.

Carina heads for Lauren’s office, but hears that Evan Royale is already in with Lauren. Carina doesn’t want to interrupt, but lingers by the door when the conversation she caught intrigued her. Evan had just delivered a blue file folder to Lauren that she didn’t want to see. “It’s not going to change anything, I’m not planning to be any more involved than I have been for all these years. I closed the door on it ages ago,” Lauren insisted. “That door is never quite closed. You don’t need to read it Lauren, just have it. Save it,” Evan encouraged her. Outside the room, Carina wondered what the contents of this file were.

Hattie and Tiffany continue to fret about the missing Esther, when Julia arrives at the apartment, with news about Esther. Hattie braces herself, terrified that she’s done something else. Julia explains how Esther showed up on Julia’s doorstep admitting to stabbing Rolo. Hattie tries to cover and explain, Julia stops her, with news that Esther admitted to something else. “She told me about Dad.” Tiffany leaned in, eyes growing wide, for news about their father. Julia explained, “She told me how Dad cheated on you, for years... and that she slipped him some sleeping pills... and made it look like a suicide hanging. She said she did it for us. That it was the only way to protect us, to make it look like he killed himself.” Julia’s tears spill down her cheeks, and Hattie tries to wipe one away for Julia, despite crying herself. “She’s not well,” Hattie said about Esther, “She just doesn’t know how to stop herself. I thought it was best to have her committed and let you think she’d passed away. I didn’t want you thinking... knowing these things about your grandmother. I wanted you to have the happy memories, the baking and the shopping memories. It wouldn’t have been fair for you to lose those.” Julia and Tiffany’s heads hang low. “But mother,” Julia adds, “All these years, I thought it was you, I thought you did that to Dad. You must have known I thought that, you must have known that’s why I left,” Julia feels guilty for thinking it for so long. Hattie brushes it off, “Come on... every little girl hates their mother at some point or another, sometimes for entirely made up reasons, sometimes... for very real reasons.” Julia sees that her mother’s been as much a victim of Esther as any of them. “I’m sorry,” Julia says, and Hattie embraces her, “Oh that’s alright, honey! That is alright...”

Thomas has Rachel Marks do some research on Jenna’s Cal State history and Rachel digs up that Jenna disappeared for about 8 months during her time enrolled at the university. Rachel speculates that’s just enough time from when Jenna might have started showing during her pregnancy, to giving birth, and arranging the adoption and getting her body back in shape. The news is music to Thomas’s ears, but he needs proof. Thomas decides to get a DNA test run.

Fiona tries to pull Rod and Christian together to plan Terrence's funeral. Christian's touched to be included. Christian and Rod butt heads planning the funeral, but end up compromising on several issues.

Week 2: Grief Sex

Thomas nabs a hair sample from Dana and DNA from Jenna’s toothbrush, and travels to the hospital to get a DNA test run. While visiting Julia at the hospital, James catches Thomas’s request and quickly alerts Jenna to Thomas’s plans.

Ramon visits Rolo’s hospital room and asks him if he knows what’s going on with Aviva. Rolo’s gathered that she’s having a bit of an identity crisis lately. Ramon asks if Rolo slept with her. Rolo admits that he did... but claims he was seduced, it wasn’t planned. Ramon stifles his emotions about his brother sleeping with Aviva and focuses on the question at hand, “Do you think Aviva’s alternate personality might have been who stabbed you?” Rolo doesn’t think so. He didn’t see who it was, they came up from behind, but the hand on his shoulder felt older, a bit more plump than Aviva’s. Ramon is thrown by that description. Julia enters the room, “I might be able to shed some light on this,” she says, reluctantly.

Carina found herself left alone in Lauren’s office and spotted the blue file Lauren and Evan had been talking about. The curiosity ate away at Carina, and she peeked in the file. Lauren returned to the office to find Carina reading the file, and Lauren became furious. “Who’s Linda?” Carina asked, wanting to know more. Lauren hadn’t heard the name out loud in years. “It doesn’t matter who she is because you’re fired. Get out. Leave the building, or I won’t hesitate to call security.” Carina was blown away by the change she saw in Lauren. This Lauren was raw, cold, hard. There was a defensive wall up, that Carina had never seen before. Carina could tell she crossed a line, “Lauren, I’m sorry... I guess I overstepped... but I just thought--” Carina couldn’t finish before Lauren cut her off “I don’t care what you thought, get the hell out.” Carina took her cue and left the room.

Julia explains that Rolo’s cheating broke Tiffany’s heart and Tiffany confided her feelings to Hattie and Esther, and it was Esther who took things too far and made the violent attempt on Rolo. “And it turns out, it’s not her first time... she actually was responsible for my father’s death. She made it look like a suicide.” Ramon wants to know where Julia’s grandmother is now. Julia explains that she had her re-committed to Shady Glen Sanitarium. Julia offers papers to back up the claim and offers to arrange a visit for Ramon if he’d like. Julia doesn’t believe she’s mentally fit to stand a trial, if Ramon or Rolo wanted to pursue one. Ramon doesn’t know what they will want to do about this. Julia excuses herself, but Rolo asks, “Dr. Lawless... how is Tiffany?” Julia’s comforted that Rolo cared to ask, “She’s... having a hard time. It’s a lot for her to process. Maybe you should call her and ask her yourself. Might help her to hear from you.”

Evan Royale was present at Ava’s jail cell when Dr. Lynn West (Minae Noji) came from Shady Glen Sanitarium to evaluate Aviva’s competency to stand trial. From all the conversation and information Dr. West could gather, Aviva wasn’t fit to stand trial, but privately Dr. West told Evan and the D.A. that it’s not uncommon for criminals to fake an illness as extreme as a multiple personality to escape criminal charges. But regardless, Dr. West advises that Aviva be transferred to Shady Glen for two weeks of observation and therapy to make a fairer diagnosis. The lawyers agree. Evan chases Dr. West down the hall to ask the fetching beauty to dinner to discuss Aviva’s case, as well as other, more pleasurable topics, but Dr. West looks him up and down and smirks that Evan thought he even had a shot.

Jenna races to the hospital to try to manipulate the DNA test in her favor, and demands James’s help. James reluctantly asks Julia for her help in gaining access to the test, and Julia refuses, disgusted at the lengths James was going to go to deceive his own family. Jenna wouldn’t be deterred and distracted a nerdy lab technician (is there any other kind?) to gain access to the test. Jenna went to alter the results, but found that she and Dana were a 99% match! Dana must really be Jenna’s daughter! Jenna and James were stunned at the news. Jenna had no idea how to process this life-altering information.

Jenna still couldn’t believe Dana was really her daughter “What are you gonna do?” James asked his big sister. “Nothing,” Jenna says, still in a daze. Jenna realizes it changes nothing about her plan, and actually works out better. Instead of having to lie that Dana is her daughter, she actually is, so she can’t be caught or exposed when it comes to this.

Most of the town turns out for Terrence's funeral. Christian refuses to give a eulogy, encouraging Fiona and Rod to share the eulogy. Rod doesn’t want to speak and so Fiona does. “We were lucky kids, my brother and I... Our father was creative, talented, loving, handsome, funny, brilliant... He was the one I could stay up late with when I was little, and eat ice cream and tell him about the boy I had a crush on at school. He wanted me to wait until I was thirty-five to start dating, because by thirty-five I should know what I want. It might be true because I’m not thirty-five yet, and am still figuring out what I want. But I guess some of us need that time. My father lived a very... complicated life. He wasn’t perfect, I came to realize he didn’t have all the answers. In the last few years I came to know my father as a different man. I think it’s really special, that time that you can get to know your parent when you’re an adult. They’re less concerned with teaching you lessons and it’s when my father started living for himself that I really started learning about life. No matter what mistakes he made, he owned them, he didn’t deny his mistakes. I think if my mother were here, she’d forgive him for the way their marriage ended. But no matter what, my father was fortunate to find love twice in his life. With my mother and with Christian. And I’m grateful that Christian came into my father’s life to make his final year the most fulfilling it could have been. My father just glowed around Christian and loved everything about him, about the life they were able to put together this year. It’s a great comfort to me to know that if my father had to die, he was happy.

Eleanor: I was very close friends with Emma, and Terrence was always just ‘her husband’ to me. When Emma came to me to tell me everything that happened, that she was leaving... she was hurt. But the one thing she kept saying was, ‘I love him so much, dammit!’ She was hurt, but anyone with as much pride and personality as Emma had was going to be hurt. She just needed time. After she left, Terrence came over to my place and offered to take me to brunch. I didn’t know how to feel, but I went. And the thing he said that I remember most from that brunch is, ‘We both lost our best friend this week... so maybe we can try to fill the void until Emma comes home.’ I thought that was really sweet, and it showed me how much he really didn’t mean to hurt her and hoped for some kind of forgiveness. I know that in her heart of hearts, Emma would forgive Terrence. If she hasn’t already.

Aurora: I was stunned when I heard Terrence was gay. I’d auditioned for him before, and always found him so dashing. I would flirt with him shamelessly, and we’d laugh. But he never reciprocated. I guess he likes his men a little younger... But while we never did have our passionate love affair that I’m SURE we would have both enjoyed immensely... he became one of my closest friends and greatest supporters. And no matter how much of a ham I was, he still kept auditioning me for roles in his plays. Bless his heart. I’m going to miss the hell out of that dashing man.

Christian: It was so easy to love Terrence. He had such a passion for everything, this... undeniable zest for life. It wasn’t possible to be around him and not discover some beautiful perspective he had on some subject or another. So many people go through life never admitting who they are or what they want. And I never knew Terrence before he was ‘out,’ but the Terrence I knew was completely comfortable in his skin, just reveling in the life he had. Every single day. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Not a minute goes by that I don’t feel blessed for having gotten the time with him that I did. It should have been longer. I wish it had been longer.

Thomas receives the lab results back and it’s confirmed, his suspicions were right! Rebecca is surprised but worried what Thomas will do now. Thomas thinks he should leave it up to Dana.

The Applewhites host a gathering afterward at the brownstone and everyone shares warm memories of Terrence. Rod becomes upset and takes a bottle of whiskey up to his room. Crystal goes up to Rod's room to try to convince him that everything will be okay. Rod won't hear of it and throws Crystal out. Crystal, upset that Rod is pushing her away, runs out in tears and gets sick outside the brownstone.

Thomas and Rebecca sit with Dana to tell her that Jenna is her mother. Dana cries at the news and then confesses that Jenna roped her into a plan weeks ago and this was what she wanted Thomas to believe. Dana suspected Jenna was her mother when the details Jenna wanted her to feed Thomas actually coincided with what Dana knew of her mother, but Dana hoped a DNA test would disprove Jenna’s claim so that Dana could keep searching and expose Jenna’s lies. Dana claims that she can’t believe she’s been saddled with evil Jenna for a mother, but at least she gets a great new uncle in Thomas! Thomas wants to know what Dana wants to do in regards to Jenna. “I want to confront her! And I want all the Baldwins to know what she’s capable of!”

Rolo calls Tiffany and asks how she’s doing. Tiffany’s surprised Rolo would even bother, Tiffany knows that Julia told him Esther was the one who stabbed him. Rolo thinks he probably deserved worse. Rolo apologizes for not considering Tiffany more before doing the stupid thing he did with Professor Reynoso. Tiffany appreciates his apology. Not knowing how to proceed, Tiffany offers to buy him lunch, “sort of like a ‘Sorry my grandmother stabbed you’ kinda lunch?” Best cafeteria day, Friday, at Hunter is on Tiffany. Rolo laughs. Tiffany’s glad they came to a civil semi-resolution.

Dominic stops in to visit Ford in jail. Dom can’t help but gloat over the fact Ford got busted for burglary after all the things he’s done that he should go up the river for. Ford warns Dominic not to get too cocky. And not to forget Dominic was just as wrapped up in that shooting as he was. “But you pulled the trigger,” Dom reminded him, “I can always be the scared kid who got in over his head and didn’t know the gun was even loaded, but you’ll always be the man that shot Rodney Applewhite.” Dom was glad Ford got nabbed for something, so that Dom doesn’t need to worry about being hassled by him anymore. Ford swears that one day Dominic will have something to lose, something big, and Ford will be the one to make sure he loses it. Dom claims not to be afraid, but Ford lunges at him through the bars, startling him. Ford laughs, as Dominic walks away.

Lauren sits at her desk, looking at her life around her. The desk without picture frames. The wall where art from 7 different countries now hangs. And the door through which Carina just left. Her eyes fix on the blue file folder. She stared at it, and her eyes started to well with tears, but she fought them back. She wouldn’t cry. She’d worked too hard for too many years to make sure she wouldn’t. Her finger traces the edge of the file and her lip trembles. Lauren takes a deep breath and pushes her doubts away, opening the file. She adjusts herself in her seat and starts to read it. Her eyes dry as she starts to absorb the information inside. After she’s done, Lauren grabs the metal trash can next to her desk, drops the file into it, and burns it to ashes.

James visits Julia at the hospital to see how she’s doing. “Not going to help you trick your family, if that’s what you’re here for,” Julia coldly tells him, going over her charts at the nurses station. James tells her it all worked out and Dana is his biological niece anyway. James explains that he’s there to see how Julia is, with finally getting answers about her father’s death. “It’s nothing like I thought,” Julia exhales, “I didn’t even know my grandmother was alive up until a few months ago, but to find out she killed my father, and my mother sent her away and has been just letting me believe all these things about her for all these years, to protect her mother, and protect me and my sister... I mean, my mother is no angel, but I guess I can kind of understand how she can be so screwed up if that’s the woman that raised her. How can I hate her for that?” James takes her in his arms and Julia breaks down in tears, “My father... Oh God... why did it all have to be this way?”

Christian goes up to Rod's room and offers to do shots with Rod. “No tequila?” Christian judges. Rod looks at his bottle again, “Writers drink whiskey. All the great writers drank whiskey,” Rod replied, refilling his glass. Christian doesn't say anything, just waits for Rod to start talking. Rod releases his anger. “I’m still pissed at you,” pointing his finger at Christian, whiskey sloshing around in his glass, “And I’m pissed at my mother... for leaving. She could have stayed and tried to be his friend, or... She doesn't even know that he’s dead, or even that he was sick! It’s not right, after everything they shared, that she wasn’t here for him.” Christian challenges Rod that he's not stating who he's the most angry with -- Terrence.

Lauren’s at her penthouse on Central Park West when there was a knock at the door. Lauren opens it to Carina, but just as soon wants to slam it in her face. Carina forces her way in. “You haven’t returned my calls, your secretary says you’ve been out of the office, but YOU told me the way she phrases that lie to people you don’t want to see,” Carina tells her, intent to prove she knows Lauren well. “Take the hint,” Lauren shuts her down. “No! I don’t know how the hell I got here. I was a complete peon. A nobody. Some orderly changing bedpans at a hospital because it seemed like the easiest place to live my life going unnoticed because it was too embarrassing to be recognized for the worthless, untrained girl who barely snagged her high school diploma. And you looked at me and saw more... potential. I didn’t know what it felt like for someone to believe in me. My sister always just expected me to catch up to her, but it was always carrying that undertone of ‘what’s taking you so long to live up to my standards?’... I just wanted to give you the same kind of support. You plucked me out of obscurity, but yet you have practically exiled yourself to obscurity. How does that make any sense?” Carina implores her. “It’s not for you to understand. I took pity on you,” Lauren’s words cut into Carina, “You chose obscurity. You decided somewhere along the line that your sister was worth more, a better person, smarter, prettier, whatever. You bought into the hype and you hid from every opportunity because you assumed you’d fail. You started to grow frustrated with yourself, restless, and I opened a door for you, only for you to move to the next phase – sabotaging yourself – and blowing your opportunity. Caring about each other is not in the contract, and you have no place in my life.” Carina couldn’t help but notice Lauren said they “care about each other,” and took that as a sign... Carina grabbed Lauren’s face and kissed her passionately. Lauren tried to resist this time, but couldn’t, and their lips battled for control.

Evan arrives with a guard at Ford’s cell, and Ford’s surprised, “to what do I owe this pleasure?” Ford asked. “You’re a lucky man,” Evan informed him, “Leo Von Stadt has dropped the charges. It’s obvious to him that you’re a lowly thug who wouldn’t benefit from jail time... you obviously never did before. But take this as a free pass, Mr. Collins... and make the most of it. If you have any kind of rateable I.Q., you’ll disappear, never to be heard from again.” Evan’s suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears, because Ford insists, “But, I still have just so much to say...”

Shawn called Henry and insisted on a meeting with him at Henry’s penthouse at The Dorilton. Shawn told Henry what a mistake he’s making – because Shawn knows all about VSI’s shady dealings, from armed robbery to the international drug trade! Shawn offers up the details, names, places, prices, that Henry would need to know that Shawn was telling the truth, not bluffing. Henry was curious as to what Shawn wanted. “A seat... on VSI’s Board of Directors, and for Leo to report to me!” Henry turned the tables on Shawn, who found himself sealed up in a secret room behind a wall at Henry’s place!

“Don’t analyze me!” Rod shouts at Christian, refilling his whiskey again, “But yeah, so what if I am mad at him?! He shouldn’t have gotten sick... he damn sure shouldn’t have died! He shouldn’t have even been gay!” Rod gets emotional, sorry for lashing out at his dead father. Rod downs another shot of whiskey, as does Christian, who works a little harder to choke the whiskey down as quickly as Rod can. Rod tells Christian, “I didn't understand at first, how my father could have walked through a fog most of his life and still appeared so happy. So many years, I wanted to grow up to be just like him... It felt like he had lived a lie... but... I know now that it wasn't. I got a new understanding after transferring to Large Bar. I guess I... I realized I’ve been living in a fog of my own.” Rod's gaze lingers on Christian for a few seconds too long, and Christian didn't quite understand what Rod meant. Rod breaks down that he misses his father so much. No matter what, he had the best father anyone could have asked for. Christian comforts him and holds his face, realizing Rod looks so much like his father. Especially his sad eyes. There's a tense, sad moment between them. Tear-stained faces, they're staring into each other's eyes, looking for any last piece of Terrence that he left behind. Rod kisses Christian, surprising him. But it felt so good. For Christian, it almost felt like Terrence.

Christian gave into it, the comfort of the kiss. The kissing turned more passionate, more aggressive. They were soon taking refuge from their overwhelming grief by getting lost in the beginnings of sex. Growing more aggressive still, Rod presses Christian against the wall, biting at his lip while Christian is giving as good as he gets. Rod rips Christian's shirt off, sending buttons flying in all directions. Christian yanks Rod by his hair and bites at his neck. Meanwhile, Crystal has gone to the drug store to buy some Pepto Bismol and a few other necessities. In Rod's room, they're now both in their underwear, and Rod shoves Christian down on the bed. Rod reaches in the nightstand drawer and produces a condom, tearing the wrapper open with his teeth as Christian bites at Rod's chest. Crystal arrives in her own bathroom, drinking the pepto bismol directly from the bottle and looking at herself in the mirror. Christian is kissing/licking down Rod's body as Rod tightly grips the headboard behind his head. At Crystal's, a timer goes off, and she looks at two blue lines on a stick. Looking at herself in the mirror again, she confirms to herself -- "Pregnant."

Week 3: The Morning After the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

The next morning, Crystal stands in her bedroom, in front of a full-length mirror. She doesn’t have a very expressive look on her face. Just pensive. Crystal rolls up the bottom of her shirt to reveal her stomach to the mirror. With one hand holding up the shirt, the other runs across her stomach. Crystal turns to show more of her profile to the mirror. Crystal arches her back and sticks her stomach out as far as she can, simulating as best she can a full term pregnancy. Crystal picks up her cell phone and calls Rod.

At the Applewhite brownstone, Rod is sleeping with an arm around Christian when the cell phone wakes them both up. The loud ringing of the phone is highly disturbing, since both Rod and Christian have killer hangovers. Rod looks at the screen of his phone, and seeing it’s Crystal calling him brings a dose of reality back to Rod the minute he’s been awakened. Rod selects ‘ignore’ for Crystal’s call. Christian immediately remembers and regrets his actions from last night, and gets up to get dressed. Rod asks Christian where he's going, since they need to discuss last night. Christian doesn't see why... denying anything happened last night outside of getting too drunk. It's clear Christian wants to forget the night ever happened. Obviously that’ll be much easier said than done...

Carina woke up to an empty bed, and feared Lauren left again. But Lauren returned with hot coffee. Lauren had been up for a while, watching Carina sleep. She crawls back into bed, under the covers with her and looks at her matter-of-factly. “You scare me,” Lauren confesses. Carina’s shocked. “Carina, you are so much like me. You just have no idea. You’re the girl my parents always wanted me to be. I bet your family had very traditional ideas for you... a good education, a good, strong, handsome husband, just like all the boys Aviva brought around... and maybe you didn’t know what you wanted to do, but you know you didn’t want to be a sequel to Aviva. But where I cut myself off from my family and pursued success, you cut yourself off from your family and just floated along, content to do nothing... be nothing. And you’re proving all of them right about you, when you should be proving to them that you could be so much more than their tired little plans for you. Be more.” Carina knows now that she can. Lauren retracts Carina’s termination.

Eddie sympathizes with Didi’s rough time landing a job in New York, with the economy in a tailspin. Eddie puts a good word in with Eleanor, recommending his sister, and Eleanor agrees to take a chance on Didi. Rod’s been taking time off grieving for Terrence, so her staff has been spread thin between her two establishments. Eddie’s eternally grateful for the help, and Didi is thrilled at the idea of all the fascinating people she will meet waiting tables in New York.

Lauren and Carina are still in bed. Lauren’s stroking Carina’s hair. “I’m Linda,” Lauren admits, answering Carina’s question from weeks ago, “Well... I was. Linda from Bay Ridge Brooklyn, from a big Italian-American family. The biggest cliche you can find in Brooklyn. Mom and Pop argued every day and ate pasta every night. My father was a union worker, and my mother a begrudging, but dutiful housewife. Two sisters and one brother, who went off to serve in Vietnam. He died the year he was deployed. He didn’t even want to go... he didn’t even believe in war, but my parents encouraged him to serve our country honorably. I guess I didn’t want to just follow blindly and have regrets. So as soon as I was old enough, I left my family to get a degree in business... I never looked back. I don’t know if my family is alive or dead, if my little sisters got married, had children. I changed my name at 21, and the business world has only known me as Lauren Sapphyre. The file you read is about a child I had. I gave it my birth name because it was a product of a life I didn’t want. I married a man in my 20s, Andros... for business. He had power and I thought I wanted to acquire that power, but I realized it wasn’t the way. I wanted to leave him, but he was very strong-willed... very European. I became pregnant... against my will. Andros died soon after that... through some business connection, some deal that went bad. I can’t say that I mourned him. But I couldn’t love his child, so I gave it up. Evan was the attorney that brokered the adoption, he had a lot of experience in the field. But whatever life my child had is none of my business, so I don’t want to discuss it again. Can you respect that?” Lauren asked her. Carina could sense this was a deal-breaker, it seemed this affected Lauren more than she was willing to discuss. But Carina was touched that Lauren had shared so much personal information, and agreed to let the subject rest.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Dr. Lynn West asked Ava, who sat across from her at Shady Glen in sweatpants. “Yes, so you can make me all better so I will disappear and Aviva will come back,” Ava mocked her. “Actually right now we’re just trying to determine why you exist,” Dr. West corrects her. Ava looks at her like she’s a moron, “To handle the tough stuff, make the hard choices.” Dr. West asks if the hard choices mean kidnapping an NYPD detective and Aviva’s boyfriend, giving a woman a skull fracture, burglary... “Well... they weren’t such tough decisions,” Ava laughs to herself. Dr. West asks to speak to Aviva. Ava tells her it’s not possible... Aviva’s gone for good.

Fiona returns to her apartment looking exhausted. Leo is glad to see her and asks how the cleanup of the brownstone went after the gathering. “Oh the caterers took care of everything. Earned every penny of their fee,” she said, half-caring, and collapsing on her couch. Leo sits next to her and puts his arm around her to comfort her. She stares straight ahead, “I thought it would be a relief coming here,” Fiona shares, “but it’s not. I’m never going to see my father again. I can never ask his advice, I can’t call him to complain about my boss, I can’t grab a late night bowl of ice cream with him and talk about the everyday contradictions in life. He’s really gone. And that’s it. My father’s dead and I don’t know if I’ll ever see my mother again.” Leo isn’t used to Fiona sharing her feelings with him, “Fiona, I’m here for you... you can complain about your boss to me... we can wake up at 2am for ice cream,” Leo suggests, thinking he’s helping. Fiona laughs, then turns deadly serious, “Don’t. Don’t even try to offer to fill the void my father left because that’s just laughable. Knee-slapping hysterical.” Leo is caught off-guard by Fiona’s hostility, and wonders where it’s coming from. “How am I supposed to turn to you,” Fiona asks seriously, “when I don’t even know who the hell you are.” Leo swears he’s an open book. Fiona challenges him, “Then tell me... how long has VSI been in the drug business?”

Jenna couldn’t reach Shawn for days, and starts to worry, since Shawn usually tells her when he travels for business. Eddie starts to worry too, and shares his concerns with Thomas. Thomas didn’t know of any scheduled trip Shawn was supposed to be taking.

“Lose track of your latest squeeze?” Trevor Allen whispered in Jenna’s ear, stepping around her after she hung up from her latest phone call to Shawn. Jenna seems flustered to see him. “What business is it of yours?” Jenna wondered. “Well I never like to see a beautiful woman without sufficient company,” Trevor winked. Jenna resisted his attempts to flirt with her, “What the hell have you been doing in New York all these weeks anyway?” Trevor smiled at her change of subject, “L.A. has gotten so tiresome. And what’s a talent manager to do when the talent pool goes stagnant? Find a new pool...” Jenna translates that to mean he’s run out of people to squeeze money out of on the west coast, so he hoped to find new, fat wallets in the east. Trevor claims innocence, “There are so many talented people out there in the world, just waiting to have their stories told, their voices heard... if I can make that happen, don’t I deserve a percentage of their realized dreams?” Jenna laughs, “You definitely found the perfect line of work for the textbook opportunist that you are.” Trevor laughs back, “Nice work if you can get it!” Trevor insists Jenna have dinner with him. Jenna says she’s with an amazing man named Shawn Marks now. Trevor reminds her that she seems to have misplaced this Shawn person. Jenna’s sure that he’ll turn up.

Christian is haunted by memories of his night with Rod, while Rod has marks on his body that Christian left behind. Christian decides to leave town and researches a plane ticket. Rod finds Christian's research and confronts Christian about deciding to leave. “Rod, come on, there's nothing left for me here... I look around this room, every room, and... everything reminds me of Terrence, what we had, what we’re never going to have,” Christian admits. Rod thought that being in the place he spent the most time with Terrence would be a comfort to Christian. Rod thinks Christian is running away because of what happened between them the other night. Christian refuses to talk about it. “Well I refuse to ignore it,” Rod shouts, “because I’ve never done anything like that before and now I’m avoiding Crystal's calls, I’m wearing turtlenecks to cover the marks you left on my body... Christian, this happened for a reason. We need to figure out what got us here,” Rod is determined. “WE... don’t need to do anything,” Christian remains firm.

Leo’s shocked at Fiona’s question. She keeps on, “Come on Leo... let’s have it! Was VSI always a front for drug trafficking or is this something the company branched out into later on, after it established itself as one of the fortune 500?” Leo doesn’t know what to say. Fiona just smiles to herself, “You must think I’m just a complete fool. I’ve known for months, Leo! Putting your head together with Dominic Soletti in corners of crowded rooms, right around the time my friend Eddie overdosed. Pretending to ‘meet’ Dominic in front of me? That’s what I was talking about so intensely with your father back at the bachelor auction. I offered my help if some of your company’s illegal drugs could prolong my father’s life. I admit, THAT was naive of me, but I’ve been blinded by grief for months anyway. But hey, your father actually paid for all my father’s hospital bills, drug treatments, pretty much his entire wedding... But I guess he didn’t tell you about any of this? You look a little shocked.” Fiona says, understating things a bit. “Do you want me to leave?” Leo asks her, not sure what else to say. It doesn’t even seem like Fiona wants an explanation, she just seems content to lash out. “I really couldn’t give a damn what you do, Leo, honestly,” Fiona admits, getting up and leaving almost as quickly as she sat down.

James arrives at the hospital with flowers for Julia, but a nurse tells him she took a few personal days off to leave town. James is surprised Julia did so without telling him, and wondered if he did something to upset her.

Dr. West tells Ava that by all accounts, Aviva can’t disappear forever. Ava begs to differ. Dr. West wants to go back to Ava’s earliest memory. Ava refuses. Dr. West insists that alternate personalities exist to help the original personality cope. That’s what Dr. West wants as well. Ava remains quiet. Dr. West tries another angle, “Ava, it must be tiring... frustrating... to exist as the keeper of secrets, the bodyguard. Wouldn’t unburdening yourself free you to live more of the life you want to live for yourself? If Aviva’s really gone?” Ava seems intrigued by the doctor’s theory.

Thomas arranges another family dinner for the Baldwins and Jenna realizes upon arrival at The Redeye, seeing Dana and Rebecca in attendance, that this is Jenna’s opportunity to do the tapdance of her life to get a much bigger chunk of her father’s money. Theodore is surprised that Edina recognizes Dana as a troubled girl from the hospital. Dana explains that she was having a hard time until recently. Theodore wondered what the turnaround was. Thomas interjects that Dana had help. Jenna is blindsided by Thomas’s awareness of Jenna’s “help” for Dana. Jenna fears Thomas knows about her original plan to deceive the family, but Jenna clings to the confidence that Dana really IS her daughter in case Thomas accuses it of being a lie.

Christian makes it as far as the airport, but Rod follows him there. “Okay, so maybe you aren’t willing to stay for me,” Rod says, startling Christian. Christian’s furious Rod won’t leave him alone. Rod is persistent, “You should at least stay for the reading of my father’s will. I’m sure there’s something that he must have wanted you to have, you were everything to him.” Christian agrees to stay for the will reading, “But Rod, my plans haven’t changed... I’m planning to leave directly after.”

Ramon visits Shady Glen Sanitarium, and checks to ensure Esther Wilson is admitted. She is, which is a relief to Ramon because of Rolo’s stabbing. While there, Ramon asks to speak with Dr. West, who is assigned to Aviva’s case. “How is she? Has Aviva... ‘resurfaced’?” Ramon asks, concern heavy in his voice. Dr. West tells him she can’t discuss Aviva’s case with anyone but her family members or her legal team. Ramon tells her that Aviva’s sister doesn’t care about her and her parents are nowhere to be found. He insists he’s the closest thing to family she has. Dr. West says from all indications, he’s also the latest trigger to Aviva’s illness, so he needs to find a different way to deal with his guilt because his presence could be harmful to Aviva’s recovery. Ramon’s upset by this, and it strikes a nerve with him.

At The Redeye, Dana confesses to the Baldwins that Jenna helped her, gave her money, enrolled her at Hunter College, found her housing in the dorms. Theodore’s face lit up at the notion that Jenna actually had a selfless bone in her body. Dana bursts his bubble quickly, explaining there was a price for Jenna’s favors: Dana had to defraud the Baldwins and make believe she was Jenna’s daughter! Theodore couldn’t understand why. Dana continued, “to get her hands deeper into the family vault!” Theodore is disappointed, but not surprised, as he’s not wanted to believe Thomas’s warnings for nearly a year now. Thomas interjects that Jenna’s plan didn’t account for the possibility that it was true. “What?!” Jenna explodes off her seat, gasping and clutching her chest at the “news”, making efforts to embrace Dana. Dana shoves Jenna away. Dana explains that the first red flag was that the details Jenna wanted Dana to feed to Thomas were oddly consistent with what Dana knew of her birth mother. Dana drops her head in shame, “I didn’t want it to be true,” her eyes tearing up, “I didn’t want to think my real birth mother would be so selfish and deceptive. I am SO sorry for the money that she used in this scam and of course I will leave Hunter College and that will be that. Obviously, I didn’t find the mother I was hoping to find.” Looking around the table, Jenna realizes that Dana has completely turned Jenna’s deception to Dana’s own advantage, and turned the entire family against Jenna.

Henry finally visits Shawn after keeping him locked in the secret room for days. “How long do you plan to keep me here?! People are going to wonder what happened to me! What, are you planning to kill me?” Shawn worried. “If I was planning to kill you, you’d be dead,” Henry says candidly. “I’m releasing you,” Henry surprises him, “And I’m agreeing to your terms.” Henry wants to remind Shawn that Henry holds the true power. Henry warns Shawn, “The deeper within the company you choose to go, Mr. Marks, the higher the risk that if VSI were to ever fall, you would fall along with it. Are you certain you want to take that risk?” Shawn is pleased Henry is willing to make the investment in him, and is committed to doing his part to make sure VSI will never fall. “Good...” Henry says, “and don’t ever attempt to blackmail me again, Mr. Marks.”

Ramon visits Carina at her apartment and Carina groans at the sight of him. “Listen, Ramon, I’m really over all this. Aviva obviously needed help, she’s getting it, I can’t help her, so leave me the hell alone!” Ramon refuses to accept that, and lets himself in. “I know you’re a lost cause,” Ramon regrets, “but you do have one bit of information that can still help me... I want to know where your parents are.”

Crystal continues to try to get in touch with Rod, who continues to avoid her. She shares her concerns with Fiona that Rod is self-destructing after his father's death. Fiona tracks down her brother and sees he is in deep turmoil and tries to get him to open up. Rod finally asks Fiona if she ever questioned her sexuality after their dad came out of the closet. Fiona never really did, but wants to know why Rod's asking. Rod admits that something happened -- he and Christian kissed (Rod doesn't reveal that they went a lot further than kissing!) Fiona is shocked!

Week 4: Last Will and Testament

Fiona assumes Christian made a pass at Rod and is furious that their father isn't even cold in the ground before Christian tried to move down the family tree. Rod tells her that's not the way it happened -- Rod kissed Christian. Fiona is shocked all over again! Fiona asked Rod what possessed him! Rod wasn't sure. Rod admits to Fiona that ever since he met Christian, he's been so consumed with everything about him. Fiona thought it was concern for Dad. Rod thought so too... at first. But now... Rod isn't so sure. Fiona wonders if Rod has kissed any other men, and Rod confirms no. Fiona asks about Crystal. Rod hasn't even thought about what it means for them. Rod then admits that he called out Christian's name one night when he was having sex with Crystal! Fiona urges Rod to sort out his feelings quickly before things go any further. Rod doesn't know if it's possible to explore things quickly. Rod knows he doesn't want Christian to leave, and that's all Rod DID want when Terrence was alive. Fiona expresses her support whichever way Rod goes, and hopes that if he needs to sort things out further, he will trust her with it.

Julia sat at her father’s gravesite in Chicago, staring at his headstone. “I didn’t know that you cheated on mom,” Julia told him, “I’m not surprised, I could always tell you were sad. But I didn’t come here to judge you. I’m not sure why I came here... for closure I guess? I never thought I’d get it. No matter what you did, no one has the right to decide who dies before their time. I became a doctor to give everybody every opportunity to live the longest they could... even though you never had that option. And while the person that killed you isn’t in jail... they are locked away, where they can’t hurt anyone anymore, and they don’t have much to their life... they’re sort of locked away in their own head. I don’t think any resolution could have made me happy... but this is one that I can at least live with. And I hope it will let you rest in peace. I miss you, Dad,” Julia cries, placing a kiss with her fingers on her father’s headstone. Julia’s slightly startled by a hand on her shoulder, but comforted to find that it’s James.

Theodore won’t hear of his granddaughter sacrificing her education and offers to pull some strings as faculty to get the “family discount” on tuition. Jenna decides to switch gears and play remorseful. She admits to her wrongdoing, but claims that once she started thinking about her long, lost daughter again, the maternal feelings that she hadn’t felt since her pregnancy started to creep back in. Dana scoffed at Jenna’s claim, demanding to know, if there were all these “maternal feelings” why Jenna even gave her up for adoption, then? Jenna pulled the youth and poverty card, not being able to provide for a child and just wanting to give her a good life. Theodore couldn’t believe Jenna would endure an entire pregnancy and not even tell him so he could help her. Jenna claimed she didn’t want to burden him, he’d just had Thomas, started a brand new family with Edina, and was getting used to having a baby in the house all over again. Jenna wouldn’t have wanted to complicate things at the time, and was ashamed about her situation. Jenna hopes to have a fresh start with Dana and promises Theodore he will not need to be bothered with any of Dana’s financial needs, Jenna will handle everything. “Actually, my dear, I will handle everything,” Theodore corrected her, taking the wind out of Jenna’s sails.

Carina urges Ramon, “You’ve gotta learn to let go, Ramon. This is getting obsessive.” Ramon doesn’t want anything from Carina but phone numbers and addresses. Carina surrenders, “Fine, I can get you in contact with my mother, but I have no idea where my father is.” Ramon accepts that, “It’s a start, thank you,” Ramon says. Carina looks through a small notebook and copies some info down onto a piece of paper, and rips it out for him.

Evan holds the will reading, and Fiona notices things are chilly between Christian and Rod. Fiona privately tells Christian that Rod told her what happened between them after the memorial service. Christian is shocked and denies all, then Fiona reveals that Rod said they kissed (only). Christian is relieved and admits it was a surprise, but obviously something Rod needs to work out himself. Fiona asks Christian to stay, regardless of the will reading, and Christian isn't sure why. Fiona admits it's selfish... Christian knew Terrence in his truest form, and Fiona and Rod aren't ready to let go of that yet. Fiona believes they all need to grieve together, at least for the time being, because they all knew Terrence best. Christian will think about it.

Theodore informs Jenna that she will have her hands full keeping Baldwin Enterprises afloat, so Theodore will oversee Dana’s expenses and tuition. Theodore also wants Jenna to find a new place to live. Jenna is stunned, “You’re kicking me out?! But... I... My new Jacuzzi was just delivered!” Jenna exclaims. Dana can’t help but let out a laugh at the shallowness of Jenna’s priority list. Theodore continues somberly, “Your secret agendas have been in play for far too long and I’ve not been able to admit that the trust between us has been eroded. You have a week to find a new place,” Theodore’s voice cracks, betraying the fact that he’s not happy to make this decision. Jenna is speechless to see her father do what she thought he never would. Thomas is also surprised that this was Theodore’s breaking point. And no one even raised their voice.

Julia and James sit down at a Chicago diner. “How did you even find me?” Julia asked. “Well I know you’ve been struggling with this and I figured the one place you could go to close the book on it would be here. I wasn’t sure if I should have come, I mean, you didn’t even tell me you were leaving NY,” James admitted. “No, I thought I should do this by myself, I mean I’ve lived with this hanging over me all these years with no one to go to about it, so I figured I’d see it through to the end on my own. But... I’m glad you came. I think I’m starting to like not having to handle everything on my own,” Julia smiles, fitting her hand into James’s.

Jenna puts on a brave face as she comes to terms with being kicked out of the Baldwin home. But she can’t even be mad at Thomas. Dana did this. Jenna tracks Dana down at her dormroom. Dana opens the door to Jenna and without a word Jenna steps in and slaps her – HARD – across the face! Dana seems almost satisfied to have inspired such a reaction from her biological mother. Jenna rails at Dana, accusing this of being Dana’s plan all along, throwing herself into Jenna’s life and deliberately dismantling it, all the while playing the poor, abandoned baby card, “but let me tell you something kiddo, anything you can dream up, I’ve already done it, and two times better.” Jenna informs her. Dana goes on the defensive, “You don’t even have any right to be mad at me for this. You started this, you are the one who decided after all these years that acknowledging the daughter you tossed aside was finally going to get you something. And it turned around and bit you on the ass... cost you pretty much everything,” Dana said smugly, as if she’d been waiting to say this to Jenna her whole life. Jenna starts to leave. “Where are you going?” Dana asks, not ready to end the confrontation. Jenna tells her, “I think I’ll invest some of what little money I have left in a family planning center. Maybe help save some other poor soul from their biggest mistake coming back to haunt them in 20 years or so,” Jenna smirks, leaving.

Lauren finds Eleanor late at night at The Redeye, sitting alone at a table, staring at a glass of vodka. “Eleanor?” Lauren approaches her, trying to break her out of her trance, “Trying to move it with your mind?” Eleanor is shaken and smiles to Lauren, “If only I could,” Eleanor gestures at the empty seat across from her, inviting Lauren to join her. Lauren sits. “I came here to have dinner with my friend Terrence Applewhite,” Eleanor told her. Lauren recognizes the name, “Didn’t he recently pass away?” Eleanor confirms that he did, but shared that it was their usual night to have dinner together. “I thought I’d come and see if I could still feel him here with me. I... don’t. You always hear about these people who feel the presence of those that they’ve lost, around them all the time... But I never do. I never felt my father’s presence, my husband... Maybe I just don’t know how to recognize it. Or maybe there really isn’t anything after death. Maybe that’s just... it... Done... Fade to black, curtain call.” Lauren realizes she stumbled upon a heavy night for Eleanor. “Why the drink?” Lauren inquires. Eleanor refocuses her gaze upon the glass in front of her, “I told myself it was for Terrence. I... I’m not supposed to drink. It’s a crutch, I’ve found, since my husband died. I haven’t touched the drink, since they put it here. Just stared at it.” Lauren’s watching her, “Eleanor are you alright?” Eleanor looks back up at Lauren, looking truly perplexed at the question. “I don’t know.” Lauren asks if she should call someone for her, “Henry perhaps?” Eleanor tells her no, “He’s been a crutch too. Which is so unfair to him. He’s such a good man, I mean... I even stabbed the man... and he still wants me around, in his life.” Eleanor realizes her statement surprised Lauren, and explained it was a medication mix-up and the stabbing was brought on by hallucinations. Lauren’s not particularly comforted by the clarification. Lauren tries to get to the heart of the matter, “Eleanor, I don’t know you very well, but... I get the impression that you think too much. And in my experience, those who spend so much time analyzing their situation, finally look up and find they no longer have a situation. You seem stuck. On hold. And no one is going to walk in here and give you a map and tell you what the next step is. You’re standing still, Eleanor, and no drink is going to take you in any direction. I know Henry, somewhat. He’s a shrewd man, clever, a little calculating. But if there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s making a choice. I’m pretty good at that myself. You are a beautiful woman, with decent income, two established businesses, two lovely daughters... you have a lot of things that can bring you joy. But you’re just stuck. Stuck in ‘what was’ with your late husband. And I know it’s easy when a close friend dies, to get drawn back into previous losses, but... in the last year of your life, has fixating on your husband’s death gotten you anywhere? Maybe now’s the time to choose to move forward. Think about it.” Lauren gets up, leaving Eleanor with her glass of vodka. Eleanor stares at it for a few seconds more before moving it away from her.

Shawn leaves a message for Eddie to come over to Shawn’s place to celebrate his promotion. Eddie is thrilled to. But Shawn’s next visitor is Jenna, needing a place to live! Sha

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