Episode 118

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Episode 118

Scene 1:

"I’m in trouble, Lina," he said simply. "And it’s not just with Nicky. It’s with the police and I’ve made a mess of things."

Taking a moment to let his words sink in, Angelina sat down on the arm of her oversized armchair, folding one leg underneath herself. "What can I do?" she asked quietly. "If anyone knows that you can't run forever, it's me. I've made a new life for myself here. A pretty good one." As if realizing the way that might sound, she winced and looked at her brother. "You know I'll do whatever I can to help you. I just don't know what that is."

"I’m sorry, but do you have a bathroom?" Dinah asked, as if sensing that the siblings needed a moment alone. Tyler waited until Angelina had shown her the bathroom and returned before launching into the story of Melissa Cravens.

"I know," he said, as he finished describing the motorcycle accident. "I could’ve died. I know that. I didn’t really care at the time. But Dinah saved my life. And then she wouldn’t leave me alone so when things got worse, I asked her for help. I couldn’t let them arrest me, Lina. That would drag Nicky into it and you know what he’s like."

She opened her mouth to say something about Nicolas Tejera, but thought better of it. It didn't matter what she thought of him. What mattered now was keeping her little brother safe. And she couldn't do that while he was gallivanting off trying to kill himself.

"Who's to say he's not already in it?" Lina asked. "Is there anything you left behind that could connect you to him?"

Tyler shook his head. "I don’t think so. I went back and grabbed this," he added pulling out the battered family picture and handing it to her. "All the rest of my stuff was left with Mama in Florida. I think he is in Virginia. There was a cop in my apartment when I went to get this and I heard her talking to someone. I would swear it was him. And if he’s there, that means...well someone connected us somehow. I’m not afraid of Nicky but I’d rather not have anything to do with him. And I sure as hell don’t want Dinah involved."

She heard her brother say he wasn't afraid of Nicky, but Angelina wasn't so sure she believed him. If he wasn't afraid, he wouldn't be running. But who was she to say anything? She'd made her fair share of mistakes too.

"So you're here to lay low for a while?" Lina asked. "You know you can stay as long as you need to. Aiding and abetting a fugitive pales in comparison to the rest of my track record," she grinned.

Tyler grinned back at his sister, thankful she hadn’t pressed him too much more. "You should know the rest of it." He took a deep breath, resigning himself to telling her the truth. "You know how Rey disappeared?" Tyler asked watching his sister carefully.

Angelina didn't hide the fact that she didn't like the shift in topic. Narrowing her gaze, she stood up and paced the length of the living room. "Shouldn't your friend be back by now, Tyler?" She arched a brow pointedly, but said nothing more.

"I’m sure she should, but then again, she probably thinks you and I need a moment alone," he replied watching her. "If you don’t want to hear it, I’ll stop now. Just say the word."

"I know what you're going to say, but you're wrong."

"I’m not. Nicky was responsible. Okay," he spread his hands wide across his knees. "Do you remember a guy by the name of Emilio Vega? Yeah you do. He was friends with Nicky when they were kids. Well, Nicky opened that club in Miami and Rafe manages it. I called there once looking for Nicky and Emilio told me things. Things he probably shouldn’t have but he thought it was okay to talk to me. I’m Nicky’s brother after all. You think I would have left school in California and changed my name if I didn’t think what Emilio told me was a lie?"

"We both know what Emilio is like. What motive would he have to tell you the truth about what color the sky is, let alone about Rey?" Angelina shook her head. "Look, I know what Nicky is. I know what he does. But do you honestly think he could kill Rey?"

"Yes," Tyler said hanging onto the one thing he believed about his brother. "And even if he didn’t, he did make him disappear.” Dinah emerged from the bathroom, clearing her throat as she did so. Tyler didn’t break eye contact with Angelina, but said over his shoulder, "Feel any better?"

"Oh yes. Thank you." Dinah smiled gratefully at Angelina.

Lina shook her head at her brother before turning her attention to his friend. "Have you two eaten? Don't take this the wrong way, but you both look a little worse for wear. Feel free to use the shower and if you don't have a change of clothes, I'm sure I could find something for both of you." She cast a sidelong glance at her brother, for a moment remembering days long gone. "After all, you used to let Crista and me dress you up and paint your nails. It'll be just like old times."

"You did that to him? Dinah giggled. Tyler glanced over at her seeing for the first time how exhausted she really was.

"She’ll show you the pictures. Don’t worry. I think we could both use some sleep right now, Lina."

"Okay. Well, you two can duke it out over the upstairs bedroom. The loser can have the couch down here. I'll go get some extra pillows and blankets," she said, leaving the two alone.

Tyler cast a wary glance at the front window. "You take the bedroom," he said. "I’ll stay down here." Dinah frowned and opened her mouth to argue but snapped it closed almost immediately. Instead, she went to the window and drew back the curtain slightly. Tyler tensed, leaping forward to pull her back. "Are you crazy? Do you want them to see you?"

"Who? Who is going to see me? And for that matter, Tyler Jones, who were those men back there? Because they sure weren’t cops." She stalked away from the window, staring at him expectantly.

"Not now, Dinah."

"When then?" She persisted. Neither had time to continue as Angelina reentered the room overloaded with pillows and sheets.

Dropping the things on the couch, Lina looked from Tyler to Dinah and back. "This should do for tonight. But tomorrow morning...you've got a lot of explaining to do...Tyler. Starting with how you expect to clear your name when you're all the way down here in New Orleans. If you want, I've got a friend who might be able to help you out. He's a detective for the N.O.P.D. I know you've been running from the police...but it's worth a thought."

Tyler nodded but didn’t reply. She wouldn’t like what he had to say at any rate. He caught the look Dinah gave him but ignored it. He did have a lot of explaining to do...to both of them.

Scene 2:

Catherine trailed her index finger along the row of books, quickly tripping past the ones she didn't want. She paused and pulled one off the shelf, smiling when she saw Darcy on the other side. "Funny seeing you here!"

"You're awfully chipper today," Darcy remarked dryly.

"Chipper?" Catherine questioned.

"Yeah like a goddamn canary, it's fucking annoying," Darcy spat out at her friend.

"And on your tombstone it will say, Darcy, never eloquent with words, but she could change the tire on a car in less than a minute." Catherine put the book back on the shelf and grabbed a sheer, pink shawl off a shelf and wrapped it around her head. "Is it me?" she asked Darcy as she rounded the corner.

"You look like...a princess...a pretty little princess." Normally that would be a compliment, but from Darcy it was an insult.

"Tsk, so bitter mon amie. Will you be my grand jester? Wow me with your sharp tongue and wit as people bring me monkeys to dance in my court," Catherine asked as she danced around the aisle. Pivoting and kicking up her feet behind her. She rather did resemble something along the lines of a princess, a graceful one lost in her own little world of white horses and princes.

"Are you trippin' on acid or something, Lewis Carroll?" Darcy asked with a roll of her eyes, scanning the books that Catherine had so previously been engrossed.

"I have not yet encountered a giant, opium puffing caterpillar though I would very much like to and I have yet to meet the Jabberwocky, though I would very much like to!"

"Do you have it for my brother?"

Catherine stilled in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have it for my brother?" Darcy demanded.

"Jareth?"

"Who else?"

"You have three brothers!"

"Are you playing dumb?" Darcy asked sharply, not caring for Cat's flippant attitude toward this whole affair.

"You're the one who always claims its not an act," Catherine remarked.

"You're evading."

"I am not! This is about me inviting Jareth to the ball isn't it?"

"Well, I mean why would you invite him?"

"Because he's more fun than any guy my mother would hook me up with," Catherine snapped, stuffing the scarf back on the rack.

"Are you using him then?" she demanded.

"Darcy, you're impossible!" Catherine cried, pressing her hands to her face and pulling her skin back.

Darcy cringed, "didn't your mother ever tell you that you're face could get stuck when you do things like that."

"My mother didn't converse with me until I was thirteen and she's managed to keep it to a minimum since. And for your info, my little cynic, Jareth and I are only going as friends."

"Does he know that?"

"Darcy, yes, what's your damn problem anyway?"

"I just don't want either one of you fucking each other over. Jareth has issues."

"It runs in the family evidently," Catherine remarked, snatching the large box out of Darcy's grasp. "Is this for real?"

"It's for real. Like your crush on my brother."

"I swear to God, Darcy, I don't like your brother!"

"You don't even believe in God."

Catherine shoved the box back into Darcy's hands. "That's it, you're pissing me off, I'm taking your bitch ass home."

"Oh, no don't," Darcy pretended to plead, following Catherine to the front to check out.

"You're being a bigger pain in the ass than usual and I just can't take it anymore. If I want to have so much difficulty with someone, I'll go find my mother," Catherine said, fishing around in her pocket for her money. The total came up to one hundred and fifty dollars, Catherine tossed two hundred dollar bills on the table money on the table and left before the change was given.

"Hello, change, Catherine," Darcy said, taking it from the cashier.

"Huh? Oh yeah, let her keep it," Catherine replied.

"Um, no, shit I will," Darcy said.

"Then you keep it, I don't care," Catherine answered flippantly, tossing her keys for the Lexus to Darcy.

Darcy stuffed the fifty in her pocket, rolling her eyes, "Catherine, you're attitude towards money seriously needs to change."

Catherine chuckled at Darcy's maternal scolding, "it's my parents."

Scene 3:

Maura emerged from the bath feeling refreshed and relaxed for the first time since before the fire at Mason Enterprises. She toweled the excess water out of her wet hair and sank into the armchair in her room, ready to curl up with a book and disappear into someone else's world for a while. No one was around, thankfully, when she returned. No questions and no explanations was exactly what she wanted.

She picked up the phone and dialed the hospital inquiring about Jory's condition. She planned on visiting him tomorrow, but tonight was for her. She turned to the paperback laying on the table, sighing as she tried to remember the last time she had actually picked it up. At least two months, she decided, studying the cover. "Too Wicked to Love" was emblazoned on the cover in metallic blue lettering. The title was actually smaller than the author's name, she noted with amusement. A pair of white shoes in front of a gilded door completed the cover. She turned it over and read the back, murmuring bits of it aloud as if trying to remember exactly what she had been reading.

"Keen witted spinster...aren't they all? Love child? Oh brother..." She dropped the book hastily back to its place on the table. A knock at the door kept her from looking for a replacement book. "Come in," she called hoping it was Luke, who knew better than to ask questions.

"I see you made it back in once piece," Kevin noted poking his head into the room.

"Thanks to quick thinking on your part Dad," she replied dryly with a roll of her eyes. Kevin stepped inside the room, looking around for a moment. Maura couldn't remember the last time he'd been inside her room. Probably not since she was a teenager, she decided. "Couldn't you have found someone else? Anyone else would have been fine."

"I happen to think I made a good choice. He got you home didn't he?" Kevin pointed out, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Dad, you know that I just broke up with Jude. Why would you go to such lengths to get us in the same car together? You could have sent Joanie or one of the other waiters."

"I could have," he conceded. "But I thought you might like to see Jude."

"You were wrong." Kevin raised an eyebrow questioningly but remained silent. Rather than continue a conversation that forced her to think of Jude, Maura switched topics. "He told me something interesting and I think he must have been joking now. He said you were going out on a date."

"It's not a joke. I am going out tonight with a woman I met this afternoon."

Maura looked at her father in surprise. Since Maeve Conlan's death, he had stayed out of the dating scene. Not that he hadn't had offers. Max Jency's cousin, Flora, was always hinting around about getting together with Kevin Conlan. Maura, and, she was certain, her siblings had never entertained the idea of Kevin falling in love with another woman besides Maeve. She felt a moment of jealousy for her own mother at the thought of Kevin with another woman.

"Don't look at me like that, Maura Rose Conlan," Kevin said severely, catching her scowl.

"But Dad...why?" She asked petulantly. "You've never been interested before!"

"I met a woman who made me...think. I've been a terrible role model for you girls," he said suddenly, spreading his hands across his knees. "The boys too. You kids know that I loved your mother more than life. When she left us, Maura, I couldn't think of a reason to stick around. Except for you," he added. Maura nodded, understanding what he meant. They had needed each other after Maura's death, all of them. "I sat back and let you kids do the living and look where you all are now."

"I don't understand...," Maura murmured at that. "What have we got to do with-"

"Look at you. Piper won't speak to me," he began ticking off the Conlan siblings. "Jory's in the hospital...and regardless of what you and the others think, I know about his lifestyle. I'm not happy with it, but he's my son. And I can't even talk to him. I don't even know what to say about Jillie. She's unhappy and there's not a damn thing I can do about that. Your brother hasn't got the sense God gave him," Kevin continued more to himself than Maura. "Marrying Hallie was unexpected to say the least."

"Dad, you can't worry about us all the time," Maura interrupted. "We're not that screwed up."

"Let me finish. Because you're next. I'd never to admit to it of course, but I know your brothers and sisters think you are my favorite. You and I have a good relationship, right?" Maura nodded dumbly. "After your mother died, you and I...we created our own little world, didn't we? But last year, things started changing. You started smiling again. I forgot how much you looked like your mother when you smiled."

He smiled kindly and patted the bed next to him. Maura got up and moved to him, still unsure of where this was all leading. "Dad, I don't know what you're trying to say but I thought you were happy."

"I thought I was. But I'm not and neither are you. I've watched you come to life this last year and I can't help wonder why I'm still bringing everyone around me down."

"You're not-" Kevin squeezed Maura's hand affectionately.

"I'm not finished with my speech, Maura Rose. I met this woman today who made me wake up. Like Jude made you wake up." He gave her a patented fatherly gaze. "It's time for both of us to wake up, Maura. I'm not going to waste this opportunity. And regardless of what happened with Jude, I know he cares about you and I can see that you care for him. Don't miss this chance."

Scene 4:

"You seem happier than a woman about to be divorced should be," Stephen noted dryly as Hallie floated past him into his living room. She flung herself onto his sofa, smiling at him flirtatiously. "What have you been up to and what brings you back here?" He asked warily.

"First of all, I'm here for you of course. I mean haven't we mended all our fences?" Hallie purred. "I think that alone would be enough to make me happy."

"Cut the crap, Hal," Stephen frowned. "Yesterday you were talking about revenge...so what did you do?"

"If you must know, I called my travel agent and had her find the most luxurious hotel she could in the Dominican Republic. And I cleared my calendar for the next two weeks. I think you should do the same." She patted the sofa next to her but Stephen remained where he was framed by the doorway. "Don't you want to celebrate my divorce with me?"

"Are you saying that you're flying to the Dominican Republic for a quickie divorce? And you want me to go with you?" She nodded, twisting a lock of hair around her fingers. "Hallie," he sighed before she cut him off quickly.

"I know what you're going to say, Stephen. Look, Luke wants his divorce and I want to prove to you how much I love you. And the best way I know to do that is to give Luke what he wants and be with you." She stood and walked to him, lifting his hand and entwining her fingers with his. "You and I are so much better together than Luke and I ever were. I know you believe that as much as I do."

God, he wanted to believe her. He'd thought long and hard over the last few hours what he would be getting himself into with Hallie. She brought her own brand of trouble where ever she went. She was unforgiving and overbearing. And worse, he reminded himself, she was conniving and vengeful. How many times had he been on the receiving end of her wrath?

He stared at their hands tangled together. Hallie was all those things, but she was also the only person he had ever felt truly comfortable around. She was also strong and oddly vulnerable at the same time. There was nothing she did that he couldn't forgive and she knew that. Time and again he had told himself she wasn't worth the heartache, but even after three years apart, if he ignored the few nights they had spent together last fall, he still found himself drawn to her.

"Come here Hallie," he said at last leading her back to the sofa. "I want to know what you've done," he added as she settled on the sofa, curling up next to him. "And we're not going anywhere until you tell me."

Hallie's face lost its flirtiness, twisting into a hard look at Stephen that he remembered all too well. "Are you sure you want to know? And think very hard about your answer, Stephen. I'm not about to back down."

"As if I didn't know that? Come on Hallie, you know me better than that. I need to know what you're doing. I'm not going to let us get to the same place we were the last time we split up," Stephen said seriously.

"You're not going to go all chivalrous on me are you?" Hallie asked eyeing him. Stephen threw his head back and laughed. Chivalrous? That was not a word ever used to describe him! "Shut up and listen. This has nothing to do with you, Stephen. This is my fight. I'm going to teach Luke Conlan a lesson he'll never forget."

"Really? And what will you do when you get yourself in over your head? Will you run to me to help you get out of the mess?" He asked lightly.

Hallie's brow creased and her lips pursed in irritation. "Fine, I'll tell you. I have a particularly damaging piece of information about Miss Liza Gennaro. And I told her that if she didn't break it off with Luke, I'd spill." She smiled sweetly at him and pulled away waiting for his reaction.

Typical Hallie. Striking out at the person who had hurt her by hurting someone else. He sighed and touched her cheek gently. "I can't talk you out of hurting this girl, can I?"

"See!" Hallie cried, jerking away from his touch. "You went all chivalrous on me! And no you can't talk me out of it because I've already done it."

Stephen pulled her back towards him, his finger digging into the soft flesh of her shoulders. "I've never been able to talk you out of anything, Hallie." Their eyes met and he held hers feeling the intensity between them sparking. "Just promise me this isn't some last ditch effort to get Luke Conlan back into your life," he warned.

"I just want him to hurt," Hallie whispered. Stephen pulled her closer as she spoke, his eyes staring at the curve of Hallie's mouth as she spoke. "I want him humiliated," she moaned as he leaned forward, his lips crushing against hers silencing any more talk about revenge or Luke Conlan.