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Josh rolled over in bed and could feel an intense headache forming. “Hell…” he swore under his breath as his feet hit the floor. He rubbed his eyes and tried to recall the previous night…a fight with Shayne, drinking and then Cassie was the last memory he had. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and came back with a note from Cassie.

“Reva never came home last night. Left around 7:00, thanks for last night. It’s what I needed – Cassie.”

Josh crumbled the note up and tossed it into the trashcan beside the nightstand. He picked up his cell phone and saw “13 Missed Calls” from an assortment of people: Reva, Billy, Marah…he turned his phone off, tossed it back on the bed, ignored the countless voice mails and headed to the shower, determined to rid himself of this hangover before Reva returned from where ever she had been all night long.

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Marah and Danny appeared from the ICU hallway to see Reva on her cell phone, leaving Josh yet another message. “Hey, any change?”

Marah shook her head, “No. He’s just lying there, so still and almost life…” she stopped herself and composed. “Lillian said that they’re going to do a shift change and that should take them about two hours.”

“Two hours?” Reva gasped. “Well what are we supposed to do just sit here and wait? No, I want to go see Shayne.”

“Reva,” Lillian approached, “this is typical. We do shift changes twice a day and during that time family isn’t allowed in the ICU, I’m sorry.”

“But you’ll be here the entire time, right?” Marah questioned.

“Of course,” she answered. “Listen, Buzz called this morning and he wants to offer you guys a room at the boarding house, free of charge.”

“No,” Reva shook her head. “No I want to be here if anything happens, right here.”

“Mom be reasonable,” Marah spoke. “Company is right across the street if anything happens we’ll be close and we have to keep our strength up for Shayne.”

“She’s right Reva.”

She shook her head, “All right. Danny would you take us back to the house I need to get a few things, some clothes and insurance information?”

Danny shook his head. “And Lillian you have our cell phone numbers right?” Reva gestured amongst her, Marah and Danny. “If anything changes, anything…you’ll call?” She gathered up her coat and purse, “Okay, let’s go…I’ve got to find your father.”

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“How are my favorite girls?” Bill asked as he entered the Bauer kitchen.

“Hey! I’m not a girl,” was the reply Robbie hollered back at him.

“Squirt…” Bill gave him a high five, “I know you’re not a girl, you’re my favorite little man.” Robbie laughed and went back to eating his apples. “Where’s your Mom?”

“His mom is right here,” Michelle came down the stairs with Grace in her arms. “Do you want to go see daddy? Huh?” She handed him the baby and finished packing Robbie’s lunch box. “Sweetheart, Mrs. Thompson is here to pick you up,” she handed him his lunch, kissed his forehead and sent him out the door.

“Bye Bill,” he called from halfway down the sidewalk.

“Can you believe how big he’s getting? Or how big she’s getting? Huh?” Bill questioned.

“They’re growing fast,” Michelle noted. “How are you doing this morning? Holding up okay? I know that today’s your day with Grace but I just figured you wouldn’t be here until later.”

He put Grace in her high chair and gave Michelle a look, “I must be missing something. Why would I give up a day with my daughter?”

“Um…Shayne’s accident. I just figured that you would have wanted to be with your family today, that’s all.”

“What accident?”

“You don’t know about Shayne’s accident? Last night at the Beacon? Bill, how can you not know what is going on? It was in the Mirror this morning. Hope even saw it online in Chicago.”

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about Michelle,” Bill told her.

“You need to go to Cedars, right now,” she told him. “Rick and Mel spent the entire night there working on Shayne. He was attacked at the Beacon, he has severe internal injuries, head trauma and he’s in a coma. Did your father not call you?”

“My phone broke yesterday, I just got a new one.” He grabbed his jacket from one of the empty chairs, “We can reschedule?”

“Of course,” Michelle answered. “Listen if there is anything Reva or Josh…” she paused, “or you need, please call me.”

“I will,” Bill told her and then stopped in before rushing out the door. “Can I do something that I’ve been wanting to do for months?”

“What...” Michelle asked and before Bill could answer, she found herself engaged in a passionate kiss with the father of her daughter!

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Cassie entered the farm much the same way she had left it the night Tammy left for Washington D.C., quite and dark.

She tossed her purse on the table and was about to head up the stairs for a shower and then to bed when the lights suddenly came home.

“Decided to finally come home?”

“Oh my God!” Cassie screamed at the top of her lungs, “Tammy Nicole! What are you doing here?”

“You know I think I’m going to reverse the mother-daughter role here for a minute and ask you the questions? Where have you been all night?”

“None of your business,” Cassie answered. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in D.C.”

“I stopped by the Beacon last night and Emily said that she wasn’t sure where you were so I checked your suite and nope, not there. So I called Towers and then Company and no one had seen you in like hours. Then I decided to just come on back here and wait to see if you eventually showed up.”

“For starters, I don’t know why you’re here or why you’re giving me the third degree, but I don’t appreciate it. Why are you not in school?”

“Because when my plane landed in Indianapolis I decided to check my messages and I had like four from Marina and another five from Lizzie. Shayne had some kind of accident last night at the Beacon. I canceled my flight to Washington and headed back home.” Tammy glared at her, “You should probably check your phone, I’m sure…”

“I turned it off…” Cassie rushed over to her purse.

“Don’t bother,” Tammy shot back. “I don’t know what you were doing last night or with who, but you stink. Take a shower and get dressed, we’ll talk more in the car.”

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Josh wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back into the master suite to find Reva sitting on the bed. “Well, look who decided to finally come home? You enjoy you’re night out?”

Reva sat in silence for a moment, “Did you? Where in the hell have you been Joshua? I tried to call you last night. Billy tried, Marah…”

“Is there a reason you’re checking up on me Reva?” he questioned. “I’m your husband, not your child. I don’t appreciate...”

“What did you just say?” Reva stopped him. “There is a very long list, which is growing at the moment, of things I do not appreciate, Bud. Have you even bothered to notice that I’m still wearing the same damn dress I was wearing at the wedding last night?” she paused. “I’m going to ask you one more time, where were you all night?”

“And I told you that I’m not your child that needs to be checked up on,” Josh replied angrily.

“Don’t…” Reva said softly, almost under her breath as she walked across to the dresser and looked in the mirror at him standing there. “Don’t…do not get some holier than thou attitude with me. And please forgive me if I cannot stomach your self righteous indignation this morning Joshua. I’m a little tired, seeing as I’ve spent the entire God forsaken night at Cedars,” she revealed.

“The hospital what happened? Reva…”

“You tell me Joshua, you tell me where you were when I needed you the most? she paused and raised her voice, “When this family needed you the most Bud!”

“I was having some work issues and decided to go have a beer at Outskirts,” he finally revealed. “I had one to many and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to drive so I got a room at that little run down motel across the street.”

“Finally, an honest answer,” Reva sighed as she began packing an overnight bag. “You know most middle aged men who have a family, a career and responsibilities don’t normally go out and get wasted. I guess I should be grateful you didn’t drive. That’s the silver lining here isn’t it? Tell me, did you at least go alone?”

“So why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you. Why are you here drinking like there is no tomorrow?”

Josh shrugged his shoulders, “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter,” Cassie touched his shoulder. “Come on talk to me, I just opened up to you about Tammy, let me help if I can.”

Josh finished off his fifth glass of bourbon and took Cassie’s hand, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you forget about Tammy leaving for at least awhile and I’ll forget about what is bothering me and we’ll…” he stumbled off his barstool, “we’ll have us some fun.”

“Of course I did and I don’t deserve that,” Josh answered. “Are you going to tell me why you spent the entire night at Cedars? Is it Marah?”

Reva gathered her composure before speaking, “No…Shayne.” She finished dressing and allowed the news to hit him as hard as it had hit her twelve hours earlier. “He was attacked last at the Beacon, in the parking garage. Lucy Spaulding found him.”

“Oh my God…Reva…is he…”

“Alive?” she questioned. “Just barely. Rick and Mel worked until about three this morning to stabilize him. He has internal bleeding, severe trauma to his head. The doctors are worried that his brain is either bleeding or swelling…they don’t know which yet.” she shook her head. “He’s in a coma…” she choked back tears as Josh reached for her. “No! No…no…no! You don’t get to sweep in here after the living hell that I have been through last night and make this all better, you don’t get do that…” she yelled! “Do you know how petrified and frightened I was last night? And the answer is no, you don’t because you didn’t go through what I did. I sat there…” she sobbed, “on that sofa and held Lucy Spaudling in my arms and just kept staring at her, covered in Shayne’s blood. Each time that door swung open I just knew, I knew that Rick was going to come and tell me he was gone…” she relived the night in her mind. “I was all alone…I have never needed you as much as I did in that moment…”

“Why didn’t you call Billy?” Josh questioned.

“I didn’t want Billy! He’s not my husband. He’s not Shayne’s father. I love him like a brother, but I wanted you and you weren’t there. Do not even try to make excuses for that Joshua!”

“I’m not Reva. That is the last thing I am trying to do.”

She wiped her face with the back of her hand and attempted to compose herself. “Danny and Marah are downstairs,” Reva grabbed the bag she had packed through the screaming. “Buzz is letting us have a room at Company and…and…” she repeated.

“What?”

“And I want you to sit here for awhile. I want you to worry about Shayne the way I worried about him last night…alone! You sit here and you think about how scared he must have been when he was attacked and then you think about me sitting there in a cold, empty waiting room all night long with the woman who perhaps saved his life and then you think about your daughter pouring out her heart and soul out over a brother she may never see alive again and then after you do that, after you take yourself to hell and back, then you come to the hospital and see your son. But not a moment before…do you understand me? Because I pray to God that you do…” she told him as she stormed out of the room!

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Next on "The Guiding Light"

- Reva connects with Lillian.

- Gus makes a decision about his future.

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