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Episode 122

Scene 1:

New Orleans was an active town, filled with people looking for a party. Dinah sighed unhappily as she watched another crowd of partiers pass below Angelina Tejera's window. Staying inside all day, hidden away wasn't how she had planned her first venture away from home. Of course, helping a fugitive escape the police wasn't on the agenda either.

Tyler...Tomas...whatever he preferred to call himself...stretched out nearby in a staring at the wall. She glanced over wondering if he had ever intended to tell her the truth about himself. Perhaps, she thought, she would never really know the truth, skewed as it was through his eyes. She wasn't exactly mad at him though. Disappointed was more like it. Then again, she reminded himself, it wasn't as if she had really known him to begin with.

Tyler turned his head towards her, giving her a questioning gaze. "You okay?" He asked. Dinah shrugged and turned back to the window. Tyler exhaled getting to his feet. "Come on," he said, holding out his hand.

Dinah stared at his hand, turning over her choices in her head. She could ignore it staying right where she was and try to figure out a way to get home and away from Tyler, who obviously didn't trust her. Or take his hand blindly, hoping that at some point he would be honest with her. Hesitating slightly, her hand crept out and slipped into his. Tyler grinned and pulled her to her feet, squeezing her hand gently.

"Where are we going?" She asked, still uncertain that this was the right choice.

"You look like you could use some air," Tyler replied leading her out into the hallway. He pointed out a chain hanging from the ceiling at the end of the hall. "That should be the attic and I would guess, but I'm not certain, that there is a way up to the roof from there."

"That doesn't sound very safe," Dinah said her forehead creasing with worry. Tyler shrugged and gave her a crooked smile.

"Has anything we've done in the last two months been very safe?"

She couldn't help but smile at him. "All right you win. Show me the way." He grinned again and walked down the hall with her. He pulled the chain, revealing a wooden ladder that did indeed lead up to a musty attic. Tyler went first, testing the ladder, before calling down to Dinah.

"Come on, I see a window that we can climb out of onto the roof." Dinah scrambled up the ladder, taking Tyler's hand again at the top as she pulled herself into the musty room. Not much was there but she did see the window he mentioned.

"How did you know that would actually be there?" She asked as he lifted the sash and helped her out onto the roof into the evening air. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, relishing the fresh air and the sound of the city.

"Nice isn't it?" Tyler asked coming up behind her. She nodded and opened her eyes gazing at the skyline. "All right Dinah, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing...well something obviously," Dinah replied with a shrug. "What should I call you now? Tyler or Tomas?"

"I'd like it very much if you still called me Tyler."

"That answers one question at any rate. Look, I'm so confused, Tyler. I thought I was helping a guy who was falsely accused. And it turns out I'm helping a guy dodge his Mafioso brother. How much of what you've told me is the truth?"

"I haven't lied...well, okay I lied about my name. But the rest of it is basically true," Tyler defended himself.

"So you didn't hurt Missy Cravens?"

"No. I had sex with her if you're wondering. But her dad walked in on us, Dinah. She said what she said and he believed her. But it was consensual. That's not a lie." He folded his arms and walked towards the edge of the building. "All right, no more questions. Here is everything I can tell you. The minute her dad started talking about pressing charges, I split. I went home and got my shit together. I was heading out of town that night I crashed in front of Dr. Gennaro's house."

"Did you crash your bike on purpose?" Dinah interrupted stepping to his side.

"No. It was an accident. But I meant what I said in the hospital. You should have left me there. I've cause you a lot of trouble in the last two months. I'm so grateful to you, but your life is a mess thanks to me."

"My life was a mess before I met you so don't even try to take the blame for that," Dinah cut in bitterly thinking about Noah and Piper. She'd done a pretty good job of screwing her life up without Tyler's help. "And I wanted to help you, so I'm in this as far as I can go."

"I know...I just didn't want to get you hurt," Tyler began. He trailed off and stepped to the edge of the roof looking out over the now quiet street below. "My dad died about two years ago...my mother has never really been the same. I've never wanted anything to do with Nicky as soon as I found out what he did for a living. I was already in college, away from the family, but it wasn't enough. A hacker friend of mine helped me change everything about myself...I even wore colored contacts for a while." He shook his head letting an amused smile twitch at his lips. "Look, I'm not an innocent. I just didn't want to get involved. My sister didn't want to get involved either but she did and it got her into a world of trouble and hurt. Getting hauled into the cops for something I didn't do would have created a bigger mess than I could handle."

"Tyler, I don't want to be harsh, but wasn't running like you did just as bad?" Dinah cut in. She laid a hand on his arm, trying to get his attention. "I'm not criticizing your decisions. I've made a couple of bad ones too. But when your brother gets here, you really need to lay it out for him. And not just for your sake either. I'm just as involved now and my future isn't assured either."

"Dinah, this is the end of the road for you," Tyler said meeting her gaze at last. "When Nicky gets here, I'm calling your parents and letting them know where you are. I won't get you in any deeper, Dinah."


Scene 2:

How could he possibly answer that question? Jude's whole body tensed as Maura waited expectantly for an answer. What did she want him to say? Yes, Maura, even though I've done everything short of marrying the next woman I see, I'm still in love with you...so much that I can't think of anything else. Yeah, right. That is exactly what she wanted to hear. He met Maura's eyes trying to think of something to say. The truth? He was saved from saying anything at all by Kevin's sudden appearance. Maura dropped her gaze from his, flustered by the interruption.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Jude," Kevin apologized entering the room. Jude rose to his feet as Kevin ushered in another woman, dressed simply in slacks and a silk blouse. "Maura, I hope you don't mind, but Gina dropped by and wanted to have dinner. She's just going to sit in while we chat with Jude."

"Actually, I do mind!" Maura snapped, her eyes widening. "This is a business meeting isn't it?"

"Maura," Kevin said sternly. "Gina is my guest. Please don't use that tone of voice."

"Excuse me? This is a business meeting. You can't bring Yoko here in on it, Dad. Jude is here to talk to us about something important and you bring your girlfriend?"

"Hey, Maura," Jude interrupted watching the tension mount between the Conlans. "It's okay. I don't mind if she stays."

"Well, I do!" Maura jumped to her feet, sending her chair crashing backwards. "I don't even know this woman and she doesn't know you! You can't just bring her in here and expect me to welcome her with open arms while I discuss the future of my business!"

"My business," Kevin pointed out. Kevin gave Gina an apologetic look. From where he stood, Jude could see their hands clasped together tightly. Apparently Maura could not, otherwise she would have jumped the desk to break them apart. "Young lady, I do not know what your problem is right now, but show some manners. Your mother and I did not raise you to behave this way."

"Kevin, it's okay, " Gina interrupted. "I can wait at the bar for you." She smiled encouragingly and let go of his hand turning to Jude. "I'm sorry to have barged in on you like this. I know this meeting is important."

"No, Gina stay," Kevin insisted. "Jude, you don't mind do you?"

Jude flashed a quick glance to Maura who stared at him expectantly, her lips parted as if ready to lash out at him if he gave the wrong answer. "Actually, in light of what we'll be discussing, it might be best if it were just the three of us," he answered truthfully.

"Really, Kevin, I don't mind," Gina added. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek but turned to Maura before leaving. "And Maura? I'm sorry to have barged in on your meeting. Your father did ask me to join him and I think maybe you ought to respect his decisions instead of chastising him as you did." She gave Maura a motherly gaze before leaving the office.

The door was barely closed before Maura and Kevin both exploded. "You can't just bring anyone to a business meeting!" Maura stormed.

"I can if it's my business and I want her to be a part of it!" Kevin roared back. Jude had never seen Kevin so animated or Maura so upset. Well, no he had seen her upset like this but never with Kevin. "I can't believe how rude you were to her, Maura. Did it ever occur to you that I might care how you and your brothers and sisters treat Gina? I guess not from the spoiled way you're behaving."

"Why should we care about some woman we don't know? And you don't either! You just met her when? A week ago? Two weeks? No wonder Luke's marriage is falling apart if you're what he has to emulate!"

"Jude, if you don't mind, I'd like a word alone with Maura," Kevin said grimly staring at his daughter.

"Of course..."

"No way. I'm not going to stick around and let you yell at me like I'm twelve again!" Maura snapped, grabbing her purse. "Jude, I'm sorry about the meeting and everything else," she added giving him an mournful gaze. "Go on your date Dad. Enjoy yourself, but don't expect me to welcome some strange woman into the family business just because you say it's okay. Connie's has been my life for ten years and I am not about to let her interfere with it."

Maura pushed past Kevin, leaving Kevin and Jude both staring after her. Uncomfortable was not quite how Jude would have described that scene. More like bizarre, he thought. Very unlike Maura in almost every way he knew. Kevin turned Jude staring at him expectantly.

"What?" Jude asked tensing under Kevin's scrutiny.

"Go after her, Jude. What are you waiting for?"


Scene 3:

Piper had ditched her last appointment to go to Richmond. Of course, she had called in and said she couldn't make it because she was feeling ill. Dr. McCormick would probably see right through her. She waited patiently in the waiting room, examining an odd painting directly across from her. Piper hated going to the psychologist, it was about the worst and most embarrassing thing she could imagine. Not to mention, she could barely afford it though Maura had snuck her some money. Maura wasn't so bad sometimes, not that Piper would ever admit that to her face. Next week though, Piper started her new job at the daycare and she was not going to be borrowing money from anybody. She was going to have her independence! As Piper gave herself this pep talk, her name was called, but she wasn't paying attention.

"Piper?"

"Huh?" Piper asked, wide-eyed, startled at the sight of Tavish McCormick. She was a striking woman, raven haired, and tall. "Oh, yeah, um, sorry," Piper murmured, getting up to follow Dr. McCormick into her office.

Tavish settled in behind her desk, letting Piper choose a chair in the room. She looked down at her notes for their last session, hiding her disappointment that Piper had missed her last appointment. “So, how have you been Piper?” Tavish asked, setting her pen down.

"Oh, fine," Piper automatically said. "I mean, uh, I dunno." Way to go, Pip.

“Indecisive about your week? Why don’t you tell me how you spent it then? I understand you’re starting a new job soon?” Tavish asked trying to lead Piper into a conversation.

"Yeah, working at a day care. I had to go through training this week," she said, fiddling with her earrings nervously. "I've just been helping my friend Jon with his new project...and uh....." What else had she been doing besides trying to avoid Noah and then arguing with him. "I wrote in my journal...once."

"Just once, Piper?" Tavish shook her head, disappointed. "Piper, I really want you to express yourself somehow. I don't think it's healthy for you to keep your thoughts and emotions bottled inside you. Have you spoken to anyone in your family this week?"

"Give it time, I'm not used to expressing my thoughts and emotions and all that, no one's ever wondered or listened before," Piper grumbled, tucking one of her legs beneath her. "Um...Maura loaned me some money earlier this week and I've visited Jory a couple times, as for any other family member, no."

"I don't like your tone, Piper," Tavish told her young patient trying not to sound like a mother. Unfortunately, she realized as Piper gazed at her, that is exactly what she sounded like. Her own daughters would undoubtedly have laughed at how motherly she sounded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off sounding so harsh," she added hastily. "Let's talk about what you did do. How is your brother?"

Great another Maura! "Jory is Jory. The whole family's already made them his bitch by unloading their problems on him, like Jory doesn't have enough to worry about it. I dunno, maybe he likes it more than I think he does. He's improving." Piper tended to speak fast as though she were going to spill her guts, then coldly cut the end of her thoughts into a short, choppy sentence.

"Did you talk to him? Unload your problems?" Tavish asked, writing the words "defensive" and "self-preservation" on her notepad.

"No, he has enough to worry about, and there was practically a line at the door, I wondered if he had put up a sign that said 'free shrink,'" Piper answered matter-of-fact. Absently coiling a blonde curl around her fingers as she reexamined the office she was gradually growing familiar with. There were pictures everywhere. Tavish's kids who Piper knew through school, when she was a freshman she had had quite the crush on Jareth McCormick. Darcy McCormick had intimidated the hell out of Piper as well as most of CG High. Emily and Macy McCormick, the twins...Piper didn't know them like the other two. A picture of Catherine Fairchild, one of the most popular, beautiful, and intelligent girls in high school, with Darcy. Ethan, Tavish's grandson. Piper knew all these people though she didn't really 'know' them.

Tavish laughed at Piper’s offhand comment. If the girl didn’t know it, she had the makings of a comedian. Piper gave her a curious look and she quickly rearranged her expression. “Well, your brother, it seems likes to take on other people’s problems,” she replied. “But enough about that. How have you been? And I mean how have you really been? Don’t tell me about the job you start next week or your friends. Just tell me about you."

Piper stared at Tavish with a look of annoyance. Seeing a therapist in reality was similar to that of the movies. You laid on a leather sofa or sat on a leather seat while the shrink asked you ridiculous questions like how are you, but not just a regular how are you, one of those how are yooooooouuuuuu? So was this when she was supposed to explode with a display of emotional fireworks and then the shrink said, today was an excellent session, Piper, much improvement.

Piper opened her mouth wondering if she could just spew all her self-doubt, self-pity, insecurities, and pain on the floor of the office and leave it there to never be felt from again. Too bad that didn't happen. Third session with Dr. Tavish McCormick and they were probably getting nowhere.
"I've been really...," she began. Inject adjective. "Me." Or not.
Tavish sighed and leaned back in her chair. Piper Conlan was planning on being a difficult patient to say the least. Getting her to talk about anything would be a miracle.


Scene 4:

"I need your help." Darcy pulled the book down to where her dark eyes peeked out from over the top of the cover to eye her brother skeptically. Normally when he asked for help it was on his car, but the desperation in his voice called for a different kind of help. The quick, abruptness of his question deserted him as he eyed Darcy reading. "You read?"

Darcy rolled her eyes and chunked the book across the room into the mess of her room/apartment above the detached garage. She had claimed it after Jareth moved out, but had refused to give it back up when he decided to move back in. "What the hell do you want?" she demanded.

"I need you to help me find a tux."

"For what?" Darcy demanded shrewdly.

"The Mason's ball thingy," he answered.

"Why are you going?"

"No, I just wanted a tux so I could feel like a part of the crowd," Jareth replied in exasperation. "Didn't Catherine tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Darcy asked, growing irritated at how their conversation was dancing around the point.

"I'm going to the Mason's thing with her."

"You, of all people, are going to a ball with someone like Catherine," Darcy remarked coldly.

"Well, damn, I didn't think I was that much of a Neanderthal," Jareth grumbled.

"It's not that, but Catherine does shit like that all the time. She's used to it, I'm just wondering why she would pick someone who's never been to a ball before. She's got pretty, rich boys falling at her feet who know exactly how to act in those settings."

"Are you trying to destroy my ego and I've been to dance-kinda-things before."

"Like what, you never went to any proms."

"I would die before going to a school prom. I went to Octavia Wescott's cotillion a couple years ago. Aren't the Wescott's related to the Fairchilds?"

"Yeah, Westcott is Eleanor's maiden name-"

"So, see I've got fancy ball redemption."

"So why not wear the tux you wore to that one."

"I rented that...that thing was like 800 bucks bought used! I promised myself I wouldn't do that again."

"So why are you?" Darcy demanded, boosting herself from her bed to her full near six feet of height. Tall and leggy just like her mother.

"Well, it's Catherine. It's not just some regular chick."

"You like Catherine?"

"Well, yeah-wait, like that, no," he drawled and Darcy eyed him suspiciously. "Catherine is way out of my league."

Darcy rolled her eyes in disgust, "just because she's a Fairchild. Genevieve was a Fairchild."

"Yeah, that's different though. I don't mean she's way out of my league 'cuz she's rich, that's not it at all-"

"Then, what is it?"

Jareth bristled up at her question, loosing his patience, "what's it matter to you-"

"She's my best friend-"

"Yeah and-"

"And I don't want you fucking with her-"

"Do you mean that in a literal sense?"

"Jesus, Jareth, is your mind always in the gutter?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Coming from you I thought that was literal!"

Darcy threw up her arms in annoyance, "you are so dense sometimes."

Jareth frowned, "okay, what's this argument about again, because I want to know if I am wasting my time and effort."

"It's about you and-" Darcy stopped mid-sentence as Jareth looked at her expectantly. She stammered for a minute, not willing to let him win. "It's about you." She waved her hands trying to stimulate something from her lips and Jareth mimicked.

"You gonna help me find a tux nice enough for this shindig?"

"Why are you asking me for fashion assistance?"

"You're a chick-," he paused. She was also Darcy. Her wardrobe consisted of jeans and white tank tops.

"Ask Catherine, she knows all about that," Darcy said, her fight dying as she turned her back to Jareth.

"I can't ask Catherine. I'll ask Mom, she sometimes can be less of a pain in the ass than you," he said to her back. "You gonna be at the races tomorrow night?"

Back still to Jareth, Darcy shrugged, "I usually am, but I might be doing something else."

"Oh, well that's a nice and vague answer," Jareth retorted in annoyance with his sister. Darcy had a talent for being cryptic in everything she did and said.


Scene 5:

"Hey, you're looking pretty good!" Georgia exclaimed as Jory started across the room with his physical therapist. He grimaced in pain but offered her a sweet smile after the spasm had passed. "Everything okay?"

"Sure," Jory responded reaching his destination of a chair across the room. He sat down heavily, the exertion of getting across the room wearing him out. "Just frustrated."

Georgia pulled a chair closer to him and sat down waving off the therapist. "I can help him back to bed when he's ready," she told him. The PT nodded and disappeared into the hallway. "So...now that he's gone," Georgia continued more seriously. "How are you really?"

"Considering everything? All right, really. I can walk, but it just wears me out, Georgia," he replied leaning back. "And I need a haircut," he added running a hand through his shaggy hair.

"Aw, you look cute with long hair," Georgia teased. She leaned over and smoothed down a stray lock. "How much does it still hurt?" She asked, still smiling.

"It only hurts once in a while...when I try to do too much," Jory replied.

"Don't do too much then." Jory rolled his eyes at her, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. "Seriously, Jory. You've got all the time in the world to get better. You've been through a lot."

"And while I'm here, my family is falling apart," he returned sharply.

Georgia sighed unhappily at the mention of Jory's family. He probably didn't even know the latest about them either. She did, at any rate, having listened to the trials and tribulations of Kevin Conlan as retold by Gina Corelli. She got up from the chair and straightened the flowers in his room, avoiding eye contact. She didn't want to be the one to tell him that he was likely right about them falling apart.

"All right, out with it," Jory demanded as she pushed a pot of half dead mums closer to the window. "You've got something on your mind, so spill it."

"I haven't either," Georgia replied with a shrug. How did he do that, she wondered. "I'm only concerned about you."

"Liar. Come on...what's bugging you?"

"When was the last time one of your sisters or your brother visited you?" She began. Jory shrugged and shifted his eyes to the floor. If that didn't say a million things all at once. "All right, I'll tell you but not because I'm a snitch, or a gossip, or anything like that." She went back to the chair next to Jory and sat down again, wondering where to start. "Okay...let's see. Your brother is getting a divorce, Maura went to New York with some guy and got stranded in Richmond, Piper is seeing a psychologist, Jillie is...Jillie, and your dad is dating my mom."

"Your mom is dating my dad?" Jory echoed. "How did that happen? My dad hasn't dated anyone since my mother in the sixties. Are you sure about that?"

"Positive. My mother gave me all the lurid details," Georgia replied.

"Lurid? It isn't that serious is it?" Jory asked alarmed.

Georgia's brows pulled together in a worried frown. "I don't know, Jory. My mother has decided to move here though and she's seen your dad every night this week. My brother says that your dad calls her first thing in the morning. She's living here now, you know."

"No, I didn't know. When did that happen?"

"The day my mother caught me and Ian in bed," Georgia moaned pitifully. "I haven't heard from him since. See him at work and all, but he avoids talking about anything personal. Like I have the plague or something."

"He is your boss," Jory commented distracted by thoughts of his father dating her mother, no doubt.

"Yeah, I know....you know, our parents dating might not be such a bad thing, Jory. I mean, my mom is nice...mostly. She tends to do well with other people's kids. Now me and Jay...we're like her special pet projects all of a sudden. She's bound and determined to get Jay back together with his ex and she just wants me to find a man who doesn't answer the door naked."

"Naked man, huh?" Jory grinned wickedly. "No wonder your mom wants to stick around. Look, Georgia, I'm sure your mom is nice...but she won't last around my brother and sisters. Jillie alone would do her in."

"You obviously have not met my mother."


Scene 6:

"Get away from her," Stephen hissed launching himself forward at Hallie's prone figure on the floor. Luke leaned back on his heels, rocking slightly, but staying where he was.

"She fell," Luke said shortly. Stephen dropped to his knees next to Hallie, cradling her head. "Don't do that. You don't know how badly she's hurt."

"Get out of here, Conlan, before I make you fall," Stephen warned pulling out his cell phone and dialing 9-1-1. "What's the matter with you?"

"I didn't hurt her, Stephen. She fell," Luke insisted, getting to his feet. "She's not such a saint, you know. Of all people, you should know that..."

"I said get out of here, Conlan," Stephen growled again. He heard a voice on the other end of the phone line and asked for an ambulance, reciting the address quickly before hanging up. "What are you still doing here?"

"I'm staying until I know she's okay."

Stephen looked up at his adversary, annoyed at his stubborn attitude. "Just get the fuck out of here, Luke. You can check on her later. Just get out before I beat the living hell out of you for being here in the first place!"

"She's still my wife..."

"Barely," Stephen spat. "Go." Luke glared at him angrily before turning on his heel. Stephen turned his attention back to Hallie taking in her pale face and the flow of blood that streamed down her face. He wiped at it trying to keep it from flowing into her eyes. "Hey Hallie...what the hell happened to you?" He whispered coarsely trying to hide the anxiety that welled tightly in his chest. "Come on, Hal. If this is some ploy for attention, you've got it," he muttered as the ambulance siren began to wail as it neared the house.

Hallie's eyelids fluttered open, her eyes focusing on Stephen's face. Relief swelled inside him and he sighed heavily. For a moment there, he felt the same fear he had on learning that Hallie was stuck inside ME as it burned.

"Stephen?"

"I'm here...I'm not going anywhere," he murmured drawing her closer. "Are you all right? I've called an ambulance. You've got a tiny little cut on your head." Her hand drifted up to her forehead, but he caught it before it touched. "Now, leave it alone, Hallie. The ambulance is almost here, can you hear it?"

"Stephen...," Hallie struggled to get to a sitting position, but Stephen pushed her back down gently. "Stephen...Luke was here," she managed to say.

"I know. I made him leave. I'm sorry he bothered you, I should have been here," Stephen berated himself.
The EMT's pounded on the door and he called over his shoulder. "In here!"

"Stephen," Hallie began again. "I have to tell you..."

"It can wait, Hal. See? The paramedics are here and they're taking you to the hospital so you can get that cut looked at."

"No...I have to tell you..."

The EMT's lifted her carefully onto the stretcher. One of them turned to Stephen and gave him a quick nod. "She's going to be fine. Helluva gash, but I think some stitches and a night of observation to make sure there's no concussion and she'll be fine."

"Could I ride with her?" Stephen asked, lifting Hallie's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"NO," Hallie protested. "Stephen...I have to tell you something...Luke...he pushed me," she breathed at last falling back with the exhaustion of it. Stephen frowned in confusion. Luke had acted genuinely concerned for her. Could he have been the cause of her fall?

"I'm coming with you," Stephen told her firmly. "Then I'll deal with Luke Conlan. Personally."

 

On the next Episode of Secret Horizons...

"Maura, stop crying and listen to me," he told her softly, lifting her chin and wiping a tear away with his thumb. "You wouldn't listen to me the day I told you that I loved you. That hurt and I'm not sure I'm ready to let you hurt me again. But I'm not worth crying over."

Episode 123