"My momma came home!" Mia announced at breakfast the next morning dancing into the room. Galen scowled darkly annoyed that Kelly could still have such an impact on his daughter. She climbed into her chair happily, sticking her tongue out at Matty who was giggling at her dance.

"Mia, stop that," Galen said crossly as he pushed a bowl of cereal towards her. Liza raised her eyebrows questioningly but said nothing. Mia obeyed and fell to eating her breakfast at a rapid pace. "Slow down, Mia. Where's the fire?" Galen scolded.

"Momma said she would come take me to the zoo!" Mia grinned happily. "She said she didn't mean to go away either. And you know what else, Dad? She said she wanted me to come stay with her! Can I?"

"It's 'may I' and I don't know yet, Mia. I'll have to talk to your mother about that." Galen dropped his fork losing his appetite. Kelly was barely back and already she was upsetting Mia's life. He turned away from Mia so she couldn't see his face and continued, "Besides I don't think she'll be in town very long."

"Uh huh, she said she wasn't leaving again!" Mia sang. Galen rubbed his eyes, hs temper flaring at Kelly. Damn her for getting Mia's hopes up!

"Hey Mia, if you're done can you take Matty into the living room for a while?" Liza asked, helping Matty out of his chair. Mia nodded and scrambled down from her chair. Grabbing at Matty's hand, Mia pulled her young cousin away talking merrily about Kelly as she did so. "Why didn't you tell me Kelly was back?" Liza demanded once the kids were out of earshot.

"And ruin the surprise?" Galen returned. "I didn't know until yesterday. Apparently, she showed up the day Dinah disappeared."

"That's convenient," Liza replied darkly. She had never been a fan of Kelly's. "Why is she here?"

"I have no idea. Getting to know her daughter would be a good reason, but I don't think that's quite it." He stared down at the floor wishing for all the world that he hadn't been so bent on finding Kelly in the first place. "I just hate that she's interrupting Mia's life. She was getting along just fine until Kelly showed up."

"You were too," Liza noted. "I think you need to let Mia get to know her mother, Galen. She needs Kelly."

"And would you let Matty's father back into his life just like that, Liza?" Galen shot back angrily. "No you wouldn't. Look, let's face it, we would both rather our kids' missing parent just stay missing. I can admit it, maybe you should too."

Liza's face paled at his words and she dropped her eyes from his. "Yes, I would rather Matty's father stay as far away from him as possible. Is that what you want me to say?"

"Yes, dammit. It is. If I had the chance, I would make sure Kelly never got to see Mia again. But thanks to John and Barbara, I don't have that option." He paused as Mia's giggles floated back to him. "All I can do is make sure Kelly doesn't screw her up any more than she already has. If I were you, Liza...I would do what ever it takes to keep Matty away from that deadbeat dad of his."

Galen fell silent staring out the kitchen window lost in his own world. He had thought for a moment that Kelly might be sorry she left but after their confrontation on the porch of her parents' home, he knew she wasn't. She had given him some hard truths about the state of their marriage at the time of her departure. He certainly couldn't deny that she was unhappy and he was ignorant to her needs. It had just seemed so surreal at the time that he couldn't wrap his brain around it.

He shook the thoughts loose and turned back to Liza who was off with her own thoughts. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come down so hard. Kelly's just got me rattled, that's all."

"No, I understand," Liza replied softly, keeping her eyes away. "You have to do what's right for Mia just like I have to do what's right for Matty."

"Yes...that's it," Galen sighed. "I have to get to work. What are your plans today?"

"Luke's coming over...we're going to have lunch," she murmured.

He nodded briskly and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "All right, have a good day. And if I start ranting about Kelly again, just tell me to shut up, okay?" Liza nodded, giving him a quick smile. "And tell Luke I said hello." He left the kitchen, pausing in the living room to give Mia a quick hug. There was no way in hell he would let Kelly Stafford hurt his little girl again.

Scene 2:

Stephen answered the door, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Jude raised his eyebrows, surprised at the casual appearance of his business partner. "Dressing down for the meeting with the bank?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

"Shit, is that today?" Stephen muttered, running a hand through his messy hair. "I can't go."

"You have to," Jude countered, frowning. "They're not going to talk to me alone. I'm just PR, man. You're everything else."

"Jude, I can't. Hallie's moving in today and I promised I'd help her move her stuff over."

"Hallie is moving in? My cousin Hallie?" Jude repeated.

"Not so hard to believe is it?" Stephen asked leading him back toward the office. He pulled a couple of files from his briefcase and handed them over to Jude. "Everything you need is in here. Just give them these and bullshit your way through it. Isn't that what PR is anyway?"

"Wait a minute." Jude snatched the files away and slapped them down on the desk. "Back up for a second. Hallie Lennox is moving in here? Are you out of your mind? Hallie dumped you for Luke Conlan and forced you out of Mason Enterprises and now you're letting her move in with you while she gets her divorce? Nevermind, I know you're insane."

"Come on, give her a break, Jude. Hallie's been through a lot. Did you know that Luke Conlan is having an affair?" Stephen asked, raising his brows questioningly.

"Did you know that Hallie is certifiable?"

"And Maura Conlan isn't? Lay off Hallie, Jude." Stephen picked up the files again. "I happen to think this time might be the one time we can make it stick. So, a little less of the 'my cousin is crazy' schtick please? Now, as for this financing company. They want to know we're solvent. That's all. This should be plenty to convince them."

"And we are solvent? Where is this money coming from, Stephen? We've been partners for nearly three months and you haven't told me where you got your backing from."

"A private backer," Stephen replied guarding his secret. The Drop was as close to being a go as it ever had been and he wasn't about to lose the ground he'd gained since May.

"But won't the bank people want to know who that is?" Jude pressed.

Stephen frowned, exhaling sharply. "Yes, dammit. All right, new game plan. I'll see the bankers this afternoon and move Hallie in later. But I'll need you to take over the meeting I had planned for this evening."

"Which is?" Jude prompted.

"You won't like it, man." Stephen smiled grimly at his partner shaking his head. "I set up a time to visit with Maura and Kevin Conlan about moving Connie's to the Drop." Jude's face went blank. A corner of Stephen's mouth twisted upward into a mischievous grin. "Come on. I'm not setting you up on a blind date. Just go and see if they'll consider moving or at the very least investing in a property there. Maybe they'll open Connie's 2 or something."

"You know as well as I do they won't move Connie's. Besides, Maura isn't going to talk to me about it," Jude sighed unhappily. "Why don't you just tell me who this silent backer is and I'll go to the bank."

"No can do. Talk to Kevin then...if you don't get anywhere, I'll work on him some more later." He shoved the files back into his briefcase ending the discussion. "Seriously, Jude. Maura Conlan is likely going to pop up in your life every once in a while. She's a part of this town and part of the circles your family travels in. You may not like it, but you have to learn how to deal with her."

"Like you learned how to deal with Hallie?" Jude shot back. "Fine, I'll go see Maura and you go see the bankers."

"Great...now I just have to tell Hallie I'll be late. Wish me luck," he grinned.

"With her, you need all the luck you can get."

Scene 3:

It was a lie. She stared at Matty's birth certificate. Father's name: Daniel Benton. Hallie had her information right. Joshua Benton was Matty's father not Danny. And had Joshua Benton known, he would have taken her son away without hesitating. Galen was right. She would do whatever it took to protect her son from a man who would do more damage than good.

She shoved the birth certificate back into its hiding place and finished dressing. She wore jeans and a t-shirt but her hair was newly styled and wild around her face giving her an dressy look. She surveyed herself in the mirror briefly before returning to the living room where Luke waited for her.

"Liza, you just take my breath away," Luke murmured giving her the once over. Liza smiled gratefully at the compliment but her heart ached at the thought of losing him. She had fallen for Luke Conlan despite herself and his situation. She had tried not to but she was drawn to Luke almost as he was to her. He made her feel beautiful; something no man had ever done before. She didn't want to give him up, but the thought of losing Matty to Joshua Benton was too much to bear. This was better for everyone involved.

"You're just being nice," Liza returned turning her face away from him.

"No, Liza, I mean it." He moved closer to her, looking at her intently. "I could go on telling you how beautiful you are, but I'd rather show you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She laughed nervously. Luke's fingers traced a line down her throat to her collarbone sending shivers through her. "Stop," she protested in a small voice.

"And if I don't?"

"Luke, come on." She pulled away from him, determined not to let it go any further. She had made up her mind and she planned to stick to it despite her feelings. "We need to talk about this."

"About what? Do we have a problem?" He asked grinning flirtatiously.

"I do. Look, sit down here," she said pulling him towards the sofa. "I just...I've been thinking a lot about us. I think we're moving way too fast, Luke."

Luke frowned momentarily but shook his head as if to dismiss the thought. "Come on, Liza. We've been through this...," he began.

"No, you went through it. I've always had doubts." She took a deep breath and plunged on with her practiced speech. "We barely know each other. There is so much about me that you don't know, Luke." He opened his mouth to say something but she pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing him. "Please? It's not just us in this. I've got a little boy that I have to think about too. What kind of example am I setting by getting involved with a man I barely know? That he barely knows. Admit it, Luke, you've spent no time at all getting to know Matty."

"Where is this coming from, Liza?" Luke burst out angrily. "Last week, all you wanted from me was to divorce Hallie. And now, you want to slow things down? You're confusing the hell out of me!" He snapped.

"I don't want to slow down," she replied, knowing she must sound positively miserable. "I want to end this. Before Matty gets hurt." At least she didn't have to lie about that.

Luke recoiled from her, his face a mix of emotions. "End this? What has gotten into you?" He demanded.

"I just told you!" Liza cried. "I can't just think about myself. If it were just me, I would go for it. But it's not. Matty has been rejected too many times for me to just go with my feelings. I have his to consider, Luke. If you can't respect that, then...then I don't know what to tell you."

"All right wait. Liza, I can get to know your son. I want to. I didn't even know this was an issue for you," he said defending himself.

"No," she said weakly feeling tears spring to her eyes. "You can't get to know him...why are you making this so hard?"

"Why are you doing this?" He asked fiercely lifting her chin, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were wild with confusion and anger. She choked back a sob, praying that the words that came out had nothing to do with Hallie. She was doing this for him and for Matty, she reminded herself.

"I told you," she replied jerking free of his touch. "I need to take care of Matty and make sure he doesn't get hurt." She stood quickly, turning her back to him, not wanting him to see her face. "You'll just hurt him."

"I won't. This isn't about him, is it? Come on Liza. At least be honest with me."

She could hear the anger there and bit back what she really wanted to say about his conniving wife. Turning back to him, she spat out, "All right, yes. It is about you. I don't want to see you anymore. Are you satisfied? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"If it's the truth, yes," he replied getting to his feet.

"It is." He stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head in disbelief and leaving her standing alone in her living room, her son safe for the moment but her heart aching.

Scene 4:

The young woman did not look happy to be in front of Nicolas right that instant and stared arrogantly at him. "Look, I don't know who you are, but my father is very important and he is not going to stand for this!"

"Stand for what, Miss Cravens?" Nicolas returned tapping a cigarette lightly on the table beside him. "Have you been hurt at all? If so, I do apologize. Sometimes Mr. Garcia tends to get a little overwhelmed with his position."

"My father won't let you get away with this..."

"Get away with what? This is just a social visit." He nodded to the sofa on the other side of the room. "Please sit down."

She stared defiantly at him, holding her ground. "I don't think so. I would like to leave."

Nicolas shook his head. "No, I don't think quite yet. Soon though. After we have a talk." He lit his cigarette and took a long drag, blowing the smoke out towards her. "Are you sure you won't sit?"

"Yes. Look, Mister....I don't know what you want but my father...."

"...is very important," Nicky finished for her. "Yes I understand. I'll get right to the point then, Miss Cravens. Tyler Jones is a very good friend of mine." She swallowed hard, blanching at the mention of his name. "I see you remember him. Good."

"Tyler Jones raped me," she said after a moment, entirely without conviction.

"Did he? Well, I don't think he did. But your very important father seems to think so though. Doesn't he? Now, I wonder, did you tell him that? Or perhaps he caught you in the act and you didn't want to disappoint Daddy dearest. Which is it, Melissa?" Nicky leaned forward, narrowing his eyes darkly at the young woman.

"Tyler raped me. I said no, but he kept going," she muttered, her eyes dropping to the ground.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," Nicky returned getting to his feet. He circled the young woman, stopping behind her. He touched her hair lightly smoothing it down in the back. She flinched at his touch but her head jerked up and around to stare at him. "Tyler is a special friend of mine and I cannot have lies told about him."

"I didn't lie!"

"No? But you didn't tell the truth either. Here's your chance," Nicolas whispered in her ear. "Tell me the truth. Get it off your chest."

"It is the truth," the girl whimpered, her chin dropping to her chest again. Nicolas shook his head sadly, moving around her until he was in front of her again. "Look, whatever you want, my father will give it to you."

"Are you serious?" Nicolas laughed. "Melissa that was unworthy of you! I have no intention of hurting you yet. I just want the truth. If you tell me the truth, you can go home. It's as simple as that."

"But my father..."

"May I make a few assumptions, Melissa?" Nicolas asked, lifting her chin. "I believe your father scares you...for what reason, I could only guess. That's why you're sticking to this ridiculous story of rape. You know what else I think? I think he's using you, Melissa. Using you for his own political plans. You're just a pawn to him. What kind of father is that?"

"Shut up..."

"Hit a nerve have I? Come on Melissa. Stand up for yourself. Tell me the truth," Nicolas urged her quietly. "Make it easier on both of us."

Scene 5:

Of all the things Kevin could talk about, as far as Maura was concerned, Gina Corelli was not high on her list of favorite subjects. She hadn't even met the woman yet, but she was definitely tired of hearing about her. She raised her eyebrows at Kevin as he continued on about how Gina Corelli thought that the menu of Connie's was a little outdated.

"Outdated?" Maura repeated coldly. "And exactly how is it outdated? Last I checked, The Fountains served a lot of the same dishes."

"Maura, be reasonable. The Fountains doesn't serve turnip greens on Sundays," Kevin returned nodding at Danny McKeown.

"We wouldn't either if all your old friends didn't insist on it," Maura shot back. "What does Gina know about running a restaurant anyway?"

"She was just giving me ideas."

"I imagine so," Maura replied. "All right, I'm done for now. I'm going to head home for a while and take a nap."

"You can't," Kevin said putting a restraining hand on her arm.

Maura frowned at him. "Why not?"

"We have a meeting this afternoon with Stephen Roth..."

"Dad, we're not moving Connie's! Why are you letting Stephen...or anyone for that matter...put ideas in your head?" Maura complained. "We're doing fine here."

"We can at least listen to him. Now come on, have an open mind, Maura Rose."

Maura scowled pouting at the idea that she wasn't open minded to begin with. "I'll be in my office when he gets here," she muttered, stomping back to the back of the diner. She hadn't been in a good mood lately. After all, she thought, closing the door behind her, what did she have to be happy about? Jude wanted nothing to do with her it seemed even though he was all she thought about some days. She'd seen her daughter for the first time and realized that Tristen was much happier with Katrina and Bruce than she would have been with Maura or Rick. And speaking of Rick, he'd been mysteriously silent and that alone was cause for worry.

She sat at her desk and pulled out the deposit book trying to get her mind off of Rick, Tristen and Jude. No sense worrying about things you had no control of, she heard her mother say in the back of her mind. That's right, focus on the here and now. She began checking the deposits against receipts, losing herself in the financial side of Connie's until a knock at the door interrupted her.

"Come in," she called setting her deposit book aside. Jude stuck his head inside her office, looking uncomfortable and nervous.

"Your dad said I should just come back," he offered stepping into the room. "Stephen had some personal business to take care of...so I'm here for the meeting."

"You are? Oh." Maura tried to hide her surprise, smoothing her expression. "You must be the partner Stephen is always going on about."

"That would be me. I'm sorry, I know this is uncomfortable," he apologized.

"No, it's okay. Come in." She motioned to the sofa. "Sit down...I'm sure Dad will be here in a few minutes." Jude nodded and took the offered seat, stretching his legs out in front of him. Maura watched him as he sifted through his briefcase. She missed him and seeing him now made it that much clearer to her. Stop it, she reminded herself. He doesn't want you, especially after the torture you put him through. Breaking up with him simply to find out if there could be a future with Rick, how could you?

"Something wrong?" He asked. Maura started, realizing she had been staring.

"No! I'm sorry. I was just thinking," she returned feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.

"About?"

"You." The word came out before she could stop it. Jude's face didn't change. She flushed even darker and looked away pooling her courage. There were, after all, still some things to say to him. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something you said to me once."

"Oh?"

"Yes...and maybe this isn't the time or the place," she began. "But there is something I need to ask you." Jude's face remained impassive, but his eyes burned intensely at her. "You said once that you were in love with me. Are you still? In love with me, I mean?"

Scene 6:

"What have you done?" Luke demanded bursting into the near empty house they had shared until the fire at ME. Hallie glanced up from the box she was filling with her books, giving him a critical gaze. She dropped a leather bound copy of Gone With the Wind into the box and sat back on the sofa, smiling pleasantly.

"Whatever are you talking about Luke?" She asked sweetly.

"Don't be coy, Hallie. You did something to make Liza change her mind about us. What did you do?" He demanded.

Hallie's face hardened and her eyes narrowed, giving her the look of a caged animal ready to strike. "I didn't do anything, Luke. Maybe you should be asking yourself what you did. After all, you're the one who broke our deal."

"Me? You were fucking around with Stephen Roth before we got married and I still held up my end!" Luke snapped, his face flushing with anger. "But when I find someone who makes me actually care about my actions, you go all mental and jealous!"

"I am not mental and I am most certainly not jealous!" Hallie jumped to her feet knocking the box of books to the floor. "But I'll tell you what I am, Luke Conlan. I am humiliated. That's right. You and that tramp humiliated me. Carrying on when I was in the hospital...don't deny it, I saw you." She edged around the box to his side of the room, stalking closer to him. "I am humiliated because you didn't have the decency to keep your little...affair quiet. You let anyone and everyone know about it without regards to what it would do to me or my image."

"Your image?" Luke sputtered, taken aback. "I don't give a fuck about your image. I care about Liza Gennaro and what happens to her."

"Really? What's happened that has you so upset then? Wait," she said holding up a hand. "Let me guess. Little Miss Sunshine looked at you wrong? Is that it?"

"Shut up, Hallie," Luke warned.

Hallie let loose with a brittle laugh. "She dumped you! Well, I am impressed! Who knew the little mouse had it in her."

Luke closed his fists, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. "You've done something to her. She wouldn't have done that without being provoked into it," he said quietly.

"Maybe she just woke up and realized what a loser you really are. I know I have. I never should have married such a weak pathetic little man. Stephen was right about you all along." Hallie inched closer to him, her eyes glinting dangerously. "What if I did force your charming girlfriend into dumping you? What would you do about it? The damage is already done isn't it?"

"What did you do?" Luke demanded again.

Hallie smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Here's the beauty of it, Luke. I didn't do a goddamn thing." She folded her hands in front of her angelically. "Liza just realized how sad and trivial your existence actually is. Good for her, I say."

Luke's fists uncurled and a hand flashed out, his fingers digging into Hallie's chin. Her eyes widened momentarily, watering slightly at the sudden shock of his bruising touch.

"I don't believe she would do that. She's not like you, Hallie," he growled. "Liza cares about people; she cares about me. Something made her end it with me. And it wasn't anything I did."

"Are you sure?" Hallie asked through gritted teeth.

"I am positive," Luke replied pulling her closer to him so that their faces were just inches apart. "If you did anything to hurt Liza, so help me God, Hallie..."

Hallie laughed. She jerked free of his hand and threw her head back, letting the sound of her laughter echo and bounce off the ceiling. "You'll what? You'll hurt me? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she hissed. "There is nothing you could do that would hurt me, Luke. Face it, you haven't got the balls to take me on..."

Luke took a step closer to her, forcing Hallie to take a step backwards. Her foot caught the edge of the table sending her sprawling across the floor. A small cry of pain escaped her lips as she went down, her head grazing the coffee table. Luke's white hot anger disappeared at the sight of blood on her cheek and dropped to his knees next to her.

"Hallie! Are you okay?" He asked, lifting her head. Her eyes were closed and her face had gone pale. "Come on Hallie, talk to me." He shook her gently, studying her face for a sign of consciousness. "Come on Hallie, I didn't mean for you to get hurt. If you're faking, knock it off. I'll go and leave you alone...just don't do this."

"Hallie!" Damn. Stephen Roth was here. He leaned back on the heels of his feet waiting for the man to find them. "Hal-" Luke glanced over his shoulder at Stephen who stood motionless in the doorway.

"What have you done to her?" Stephen hissed at him, his face a mask of anger.