Stephen packed up the last of his personal items without the slightest bit of regret. He would be back within six months, he thought as the elevator doors slid shut on the executive floor of ME. Hallie would run this company to the ground and then they would beg for Jamie back. And if Jamie came back, undoubtedly he would ask Stephen to come back. Hallie could have the place until then. Secretly, he had found the whole situation at the Board meeting amusing. The Masons were imploding and Gwen's tight reign was losing steam. The best part of all was that he had set the ball in motion and no one seemed to mind. Well, Gwen minded, but her pathetic attempt at getting even with him had backfired miserably.

At the garage, the elevator doors slid open. His BMW was parked along the back row and he trudged toward it, shifting the box to his other arm. He set the box on the hood of his car and dug in his pocket for his keys.

"Stephen...leaving so soon?" He pivoted on his heel, staring into Hallie's amused eyes. "I'm sorry you have to go. It's necessary though. You do understand don't you?"

"Casualty of war," he replied, pulling his keys out at last.

"No hard feelings then?"

"Hallie, what are you doing?" He asked, annoyed at her continued presence near him. "You wanted ME, you have it. I'm sure it's just a bonus that I'm gone as well. You win. There is no need to taunt me."

"I never intended for you to leave ME," Hallie replied with a touch of sincerity. "Regardless of what Gwen thinks, I know you're good at what you do. And just so you know, I didn't originally vote against you. In the secret ballot that is. But then, Jude gave me his proxy and Jamie had such a fit. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I know you wouldn't have if you were given the opportunity."

"No, you're right. But you don't have to explain yourself to me, Hallie. We don't mean anything to each other anymore. Remember?"

"That's not true! You will always mean something to me!"

Stephen chuckled and unlocked his car, pushing his box of belongings into the passenger seat. "You go right on believing that, Hal. Just remember, you made your choice and we have parted ways. Don't try sucking up to me in case your fake marriage to Conlan doesn't work out. And if you ask me, it won't."

"I didn't ask you!" Hallie replied, rolling her eyes contemptuously. "I just wanted you to know I wouldn't have pulled that like Gwen did."

"You know what, Hallie?" Stephen smiled, watching Hallie shift uncomfortably. If he were a betting man, he would venture a wager that she was uncomfortable with the position she was now in where it came to him. She still had feelings for him, anyone with eyes could see that, but she had what she wanted now and Stephen wasn't a part of it. Of course, she had to make sure he wouldn't be a threat to her at a later date either. She was really too easy to read. "You are more like your aunt than you think you are. Give yourself a few years and you'll be identical."


Scene 2:

"So I work hard at keeping Jude out of the CEO office at ME and you decide to pull up stakes because the Board votes to terminate an executive?" Ryan asked, astounded at the sheer stupidity of Jamie Mason. "Why? Who is this guy?"

Jamie raised an eyebrow at Ryan. "It doesn't matter *who* he is. It's the principle of it, Ryan. I cannot allow my mother to run ME, any more than Jude."

"But you're quitting...who runs it now? Your mother right?" Ryan was appalled by Jamie's apathy concerning the situation. Not two weeks ago he was scared to death of losing his position and here he was planning a career move.

"No," Jamie returned, gazing at Ryan with an expression Ryan could only call boredom. "My mother will never run ME as long as Hallie has Jude's proxy. As a matter of fact, I expect Hallie will worm her way into the CEO office now."

"And you don't care?"

"I do care. But I also have my family to think about. My wife and children," he amended at Ryan's shocked expression. "If I stay on at ME, Kerri will win. Because the boys and Lily will be exposed to my dysfunctional family on a daily basis. If I walk away now, I take the high road and admit that my family is messed up. You said yourself a judge would look at Chris' immediate home life before his extended."

Ryan rubbed his face in exasperation. "Your reasoning is crap, Jamie."

"Will you help me or not?"

"I'll help you," Ryan sighed, leaning forward and taking the sheaf of papers Jamie had originally offered him. "What is this?"

"A business perspective." Jamie was about as forthcoming as a witness in a murder trial, Ryan thought flipping to the first page. He scanned it, noting nothing out of the ordinary until his eyes locked onto a word at the bottom of the page.

"This is for St. Joe's!" Ryan exclaimed, jerking his gaze back to Jamie. Jamie grinned and nodded.

"The last thing I did before I came back to Virginia was run a hospital in Florida. I really enjoyed it. St. Joe's needs help right now and I have the resources to help them out."

"This," Ryan frowned, "is a take over. Do they know you're about to submarine them?"

"John Stafford knows I'm interested in taking over," Jamie answered with an easy shrug of the shoulders. "It's a private hospital, so it isn't as if there is a Board of Directors I have to worry about."

"I don't believe you. You don't even care what happens to ME, do you?"

"No, I do," Jamie answered, his eyes becoming guarded. "But right now, there are certain members of my family who need to realize that it isn't as easy as it looks."

"You mean Hallie." Jamie's face gave nothing away. "I still don't understand..."

"Ryan, my family is twisted. My mother is treating her first born son as if he were a beggar and my cousin is ready to hurt us all because someone once told her she wasn't as good as the boys in the family. And then there's my brother," he added with a trace of bitterness. "He's disowning us because of something only one of us had something to do with."

"I don't think that is entirely true..."

Jamie waved off Ryan's interruption. "Look, someone has to make these people wake up and see what they've done. Once I leave and ME falls apart, they'll know how difficult it is keeping ME together, not to mention the family. And on top of all that, the judge who sits in for the hearing with Kerri will look at what I've done as necessary for my sons and daughter." Ah, there it was, Ryan thought, trying to keep the smug look off his face, the selfishness of Jamie Mason, legendary in Conlan's Glen. At least there was a reason for what he was doing, even if it was a dumb ass reason.

"Fine." Ryan stood, putting his coat on. "I hope your little scheme works. I'll file these for you, but then I'm going to dinner and turning off my cell phone. Anymore of your explanations and I think I'll get a headache." He left Jamie to his own devices and showed himself out of the house, pausing in the driveway as another car pulled in next to him. Ellen Mason climbed out of the car, looking stunning. As usual, Ryan thought distracted by her for a moment. He waved a hand in greeting.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Corday," she said, pulling her coat closer to her body to keep out the evening chill. "I guess you're through with my brother for the night?"

"Yes. I was just about to go get something to eat," he replied, taking in the way her cheeks were beginning to turn pink in the cold air. There had to be something in all of this, he though, besides being Jamie's mouthpiece. He smiled at Ellen, eliciting a smile in return. "Would you like to join me if you haven't eaten? I could use the company."

Ellen hesitated, her eyes flickering towards the house. "I haven't eaten." She looked up at Jamie's window thoughtfully. "What the hell? I certainly don't want to go in there and tell him what I am supposed to tell him." She smiled brightly at Ryan. "I think you have yourself a dinner date."


Scene 3:

Piper felt exhilarated and guilty at the same time. Sometimes she would break into a smile at the memory of Noah's warm lips, then the smile would twist into an expression of pain and self-hatred. She was with Chase! Dinah was with Noah! And Piper was not going to be like Dinah! Oh, but she already was!

Piper tied the apron around her small waist, glancing at the schedule for Connie's, and her mouth dropped. Her, Dinah, and Noah were working the  same shift?! Great! How stupid could Maura possibly be? Oh that's right, her life was in turmoil at the moment, blah, blah, blah. Gag me, Piper bitterly thought.

She heard the bell on the front door ring to say 'hey, someone's here.' Piper glanced up, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of Noah. She tried to squelch her smile and look away, but she couldn't. He gave her a secret smile and she returned it before pretending to be occupied with something else.

"Hi," she said gently when he made his way around back. Almost two and Dinah would be here, of course, Dinah was often late.

He glanced up, turning a faint pink at the sight of Piper. Their kiss had been in his mind since it happened. Not even the prospect of failing his biochemistry midterm could erase it. He smiled and started to say hello when Joanie stuck her head into the break room.

"Piper, you've got tables 1 thru 5. Noah...you have 11 thru 15. Maura left early so I'm in charge for the dinner rush. And if Dinah doesn't get here soon, you'll have to split her tables," she said looking at her watch.

"That's not really fair," Noah started to say as Dinah breezed in throwing her bag on the table.

"What's not fair?" She asked, looking at Noah.

"Nothing now," Joanie replied for Noah. "Hurry up so the morning crew can leave."

"What's up with her?" Dinah asked, tying an apron around her waist.

"Nothing," Noah said catching Piper's eye. "You know how Joanie is..."

Piper quickly looked away from Noah, then grabbed her pad and a couple of  menus. She hurried past Dinah, not even bothering to look at her.

"Hey sexy!" someone cried.

Surprised, Piper turned around with a smile to see Jewel, Jonathan, Allison, and Evan who had played Puck in Midsummer's, clustered in a booth.  They were an interesting looking group. Evan had recently dyed his hair blue. Jewel had Princess Leia buns on the side of her head, and Jonathan was wearing a pink shirt that said Foxy Grandma. Pretending to be completely formal, Piper went through the lists of specials.

Jewel giggled, "is that Dinah?" she asked in a low whisper.

"Huh?" Piper asked, glancing over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah."

"You're so much hotter," Jewel said affirmatively. Everyone nodded.

Piper rolled her eyes at them. "C'mon, what do you guys want? I'm in a hurry."

"Well, looks like someone isn't getting a tip," Allison retorted with a smile. "I just want a grilled chicken salad." Piper took it down and got everyone else's. Moving on to the other tables, she quickly forgot about what had been bothering her earlier until  she collided with Noah. Grabbing on to him before he could spill the drinks everywhere, she managed to get out a sorry, before once again moving past him.

"Be careful, you might knock the wind out of me again," he joked as she  rushed past. He caught a look from Dinah and flashed a grin at her. He hoped she hadn't heard that. But then, if she did, she wouldn't know what it meant. He went back to take the Hughes' order. He didn't even have to listen to them anymore, they always ordered the same thing. Scribbling their order down, he hurried back to the bar.

"I see you and Piper are speaking again," Dinah commented, flashing a  hateful glare at her loud friends. "Her theater friends are so weird."

"She's got friends at least," Noah muttered to himself.

Piper usually hated when it was busy at Connie's, but right now the busy atmosphere was a savior. It distracted her from Noah and Dinah. She hated it when they talked, she hated it when they stood next to one another. Things began to slow down eventually, Piper glanced at the watch on the wall. An hour left.

"Study group tonight, you comin?" Jonathan asked as she walked over to their table.

Piper yawned, "I think studying isn't something I'm going to do tonight...besides I did most of my studying yesterday. As soon as my shift is over, I'm going home and straight to bed."

"Ah, Pip, you're no fun," Allison pouted.

"We never get studying done when we have study groups anyway," Piper replied with a grin.
Allison grinned, "that's the whole point."

Jewel leaned in, "that Dinah chick keeps shooting us hateful looks. Think I should say something?"

"No!" Piper interjected. "Besides her face is stuck like that, nothing you can do will change it."

"That was good," Evan said in reference to Piper's witty remark.

Piper smiled, "been hanging out with you people too long."

"You know you love us," Jewel said brightly, draping an arm around Piper and giving her a fierce hug. "Who would you be without us? The new theatre kid. Yep. Everyone would pick on you."

Joanie bustled over to Noah and nudged him. "Go tell Piper to quit socializing," she said.

"You tell her, you're in charge," Noah responded sharply. He thought it was nice seeing Piper with her friends.

"She listens to you," Joanie pointed out with a smile before walking away. Noah rolled his eyes and trudged over to Piper and her table of friends.

"Hey, Piper," he said just as the group caught sight of him and fell into a lulled silence. Piper looked up at him, surprised by his appearance and he suddenly felt his insides tighten at her gaze.



Scene 4:

The first thing Maura did after leaving Jude's was to check the back of her mother's picture. The picture was gone. And why hadn't that surprised her? She knew who had it. The person who had told Jude about Tristen had it and there was only person who could or would have told him. But her sister was nowhere to be found for nearly two days. Somehow, when Maura was at home, Jillie was somewhere else and when Maura wasn't at home, that was when Jillie showed up at the Conlan residence. She couldn't avoid Maura forever though. Especially, when Maura was determined to see her.

She left Connie's at noon, leaving Joanie in charge of the afternoon shift. She'd scheduled Piper for an afternoon shift, just to get her out of the house. Jory would be away at work and Kevin would be at Connie's. Jillie was bound to show up sooner or later. And she would be waiting, she decided, arranging herself in a chair in the living room. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap and her eyes fixed on the door. Jillie, as Maura predicted, showed up just after one.

"Well, if it isn't my dear sweet sister Jillie," Maura said as Jillie passed the living room door on her way to the staircase. "I haven't seen you in days. Come in here and say hello at the very least!"

"Sorry. As appealing as the invitation is, I really don't have time right now, Maura," Jillie called, taking the first few steps at a jog. 

Maura jumped from the chair and followed her, calling after her. "No time? Why is that? Do you have someplace to be?"

"Actually, yes. I happen to have a job," Jillie replied, pausing halfway up the stairs. She didn't add that it was unlikely she'd be going back there for the rest of the day. Or that she spent as little time there as possible these days.

"Is that why you come home in the middle of the day? I thought with jobs you had to be there." She narrowed her eyes at Jillie, watching her. "Unless, of course, you're on your lunch. But I don't think you are."

"As a matter of fact, I am. Is that a problem for you? I could always go grab a bite to eat at Connie's instead," she told her sister, her tone turning facetious.

"The only reason you'd go to the diner is if I wasn't there," Maura pointed out. "I know you're avoiding me and I could care less except that you have something of mine and I want it back."

Jillie looked at Maura for a long moment before laughing. "Really? I thought *you* were the one adept at taking things that belong to other people. Good thing I hadn't grown particularly attached...." she said airily before turning to continue upstairs.

Maura kept close to Jillie, waiting until they were upstairs before replying. "If you're talking about Rick, you can have him. I never wanted him back in the first place."

"Riiight. Keep telling yourself that, Maura."

"Oh God, Jillie," Maura muttered rolling her eyes. "If I had wanted Rick back, I would have taken him back when he begged me to last fall. But I don't. Despite what he says, or anyone for that matter, *he* kissed me. End of story."

"Oh, so you didn't kiss him back? All right. You know what? I don't even care. Rick's a lot of fun, but he wasn't exactly the love of my life."

"He wasn't mine either. But thanks to you, I probably lost a good candidate for that."

"Who? Jude?" Jillie laughed again. "I'm sorry. Not that it's funny or anything, but...no, no, it is pretty funny." She shook her head, stepping into her bedroom. "Maura Fontaine. Or would you insist on being called Maura Mason? Is that the real reason you encouraged Jude to let bygones be bygones?"

"Unlike you," Maura replied, controlling her anger, "I don't look at men that way. Jude was never just a name to me. And I wasn't with him because of who his family was. And if anyone believes that than they don't know me very well." She stood in the doorway of Jillie's room, on edge and ready for a fight. She wanted her picture back. "Give me back my picture, Jillie."

"You don't know me, Maura. And I'm not one of your mindless followers who believes you could walk on water if you only tried. So drop the act." Moving to her closet, she swung open the door and began leafing through the garments that hung there.

"I don't know how you found out, but I know you're the one who told Jude about..." She couldn't say her name to Jillie. That would be too much. "Maybe I don't know you, but it wasn't your place to tell. So give it back."

"No, it wasn't my place," Jillie told her. "It was yours. And you didn't. Think about it, Maura. Jude's going through Hell right now, and all you can focus on is yourself, how *you* empathize with Gwen, how *you* felt when you did what you did. He's just supposed to take a step back and understand?" she scoffed. "For some reason, that guy really liked you. And what did you do to him? The only reason you want him to forgive and forget is because you hope that's what *Tristen* would do if she was in his place. Well, let me tell you, that's wishful thinking. How can you expect a child to understand the reason her mother gives her away?" She shook her head again, disgusted with her sister. "Of course, it doesn't even begin to compare to what you've done to Rick. You stole his child, Maura, and you know it. And pretty soon, Rick will know it too."

"He never wanted Tristen!" Maura exclaimed, defending herself from what she knew was the truth even if Jillie was saying it. "He...he always said he never wanted a family. When I found out I was pregnant, I was going to tell him. But you know what he did? Rick Upton told me he was glad we would never have kids to ruin like his parents ruined him! And then," she paused as the memory of his words hit her again. "He said he never wanted a child no matter who the mother was. What was I supposed to do? He wouldn't have married me and I couldn't have done anything other than what I did."

"People always say that, Maura. You didn't even give him a chance to change his mind. And so what if he *didn't* want a kid? Rick doesn't want one, so you give her away? No, you never had to give her away. That was all you, Maura."

"I never expected you to understand, Jillie. I made my decision when ten years ago. And ten years ago it was the only thing I knew would be the right thing." She brushed away an errant tear, staring at her sister. "She's in a great home and has everything she could ever want. You can't make me regret what I did."

"What happens when what she wants is to know her *real* mother and father?" Jillie asked.

"I don't know," Maura answered truthfully. "I hope she never does."

"And people call me the callous one," Jillie muttered. Turning back to her closet, she shrugged, glancing over her shoulder briefly. "I don't have your damn picture. I learned everything I could possibly want to know from the letter Mom sent you."

Maura's stomach clenched in fear. If Jillie didn't have it, who did? The only person who had been in her room recently was Kevin and.... "Oh God," she moaned, her hand flying to her mouth. Rick. He had it. Did he know? No, he couldn't...unless Jillie told him too. "Have you told Rick too?" She asked, feeling weak.

"I don't have to tell him," Jillie said matter-of-factly. "If nothing else, Rick has brief, shining moments of intelligence. And he's persistent. You're proof of that, are you not? He knows you're hiding something. He's determined to find out what it is. I don't have to do a thing. All I have to do is sit back and watch."

No, he wouldn't find out. Katrina had made sure everyone had thought she was pregnant too. But Jude knew... She could see what she had to do. She would have to tell Rick herself. Before anyone else. She stepped backwards away from Jillie's room towards her own. She could tell him now. It might be too late, but it might help. Help. How could telling him ten years too late help? She slipped inside her own room and lay down on the bed. Everything was a mess. And it was her fault.
 

On the next Episode of Secret Horizons...

Episode 80