"You just kissed me," Blake says, still slightly disoriented. He feels as if he's pinned underneath a boulder, everything about his body is uncomfortable. The last thing Blake remembers is getting into an argument with Jack Atlas and sailing through a set of glass doors. Now, he's sitting in a hospital bed just seconds after kissing his roommate and best friend.

Who, last time Blake check, is straight.

"Um...I don't know what just happened," Vince says quickly. He jumps to his feet. "I'm not..."

"I know!" Blake exclaims.

"You called me Darren. I think you were just confused."

"Except you...kissed me again."

"I don't know," Vince snaps. "Let's just not talk about it! Because it's weird, and you're alive and you survived a blood transfusion and we're all just really happy that you're awake!"

"You can say that again."

Vince turns around to find Darren standing in the doorway. His face falls immediately. Vince nervously turns back toward Blake and then bolts for the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Darren asks.

"Hospitals are really overwhelming?" Blake offers.


WAITING AREA

Melissa laughs. "Oh please. Are you really that dense?"

"Well, I don't know." Felicia shrugs. "I couldn't tell my husband had been cheating on me for years."

"Years?"

"Robert told me about you coming on to him back when you and your cousin were staying at home," Felicia replies. "I welcomed you into my home and you went after my husband!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Melissa demands. "You just don't want to admit that your sister was really responsible for my miscarriage and let the belligerent drunk take the blame. Once again, you've got blinders on when it comes to your family."

"You can say that again," Robert chimes in, narrowing his eyes at Michael Hanley. Michael ignores Robert and wraps his arm around Felicia's shoulders to comfort her.

"You could ask her yourself, but she seems to be hiding," Melissa continues. "I couldn't get in to see her for the life of me. Maybe Michael tipped her off."

"Tipped her off?" Michael asks, scoffing. "The last thing on my mind are the trials and tribulations of Robert Bale's many women. And at any rate, I had no idea about Valerie's lies. Though it's not all together surprising in the least."

"Maybe she just really doesn't want a visit from you?" Felicia suggests.


MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

"I get a phone call!" Alec cries.

"Quit your moaning," Officer Johnson snaps. "You're Big Mama's problem now."

Officer Johnson locks the cell and walks away. Confused by his last words, Alec slinks to the cot in the corner of the cell. Before he has a chance to settle in, he hears loud footsteps approaching the cell.

Alec glances up and notices a large woman's silhouette looming over his cell. As she comes into view, he gets the full experience. She is a hardened-looking woman with her hair tied back in a bun. Her body bulges out from her tight, form-fitting clothing and her feet are squeezed into a pair of black, brandless shoes.

"Big Mama?" Alec asks aloud.

She leans in toward the cell. "I hear you ain't been so nice to your wife..."

Alec is unable to speak. He clutches the bed frame and wishes he were anywhere else but here.

"...why don't you go ahead and tell Big Mama all about it."

Michael shakes his head. "I'm not all that eager to foist a rabid dog upon my sister. However, if you really want to see Valerie, then ask her lawyer to help you. He's standing right next to you."

Melissa turns to Robert. "So the guard was right? You're representing Valerie?"

"On her appeal, yes," Robert says, nodding.

Melissa hits her husband in the arm. "Are you kidding me? Why in the world are you helping that woman? She should be locked away for the rest of her miserable —"

"That's quite enough," Michael snaps.

"Stop defending her. She doesn't deserve it," Felicia says softly. "Robert, let's get our son out of prison."

Felicia walks toward the elevator. Melissa sighs and heads back toward Jessica's room. "I'll wait here, Robert."

Before Robert can join Felicia at the elevator, Michael grabs his arm. "You know, I'm very interested in why you've chosen to represent my sister in court."

"Really? Because I'm just as curious about what the hell you did to Sean Moore in your basement." Robert pulls his arm back and walks away.


DR. AARON LI'S OFFICE

That, and a seat on the hospital board.

For the years that Aaron has been on at the hospital, he has yet to receive a board position. He joined after Simon took the last seat on the board and when Simon left abruptly, he passed off his board seat to Dr. Li. Now, Aaron has to angle to get a board seat and a new office to boot.

"It's all within my grasp," Aaron says. "Now I just have to suck up to Cyrus' wrinkly ass until I can..."

"Excuse me? Who are you?"

Aaron turns around to find a slender Asian woman staring at him from the hallway. She wears a fur coat and several pieces of jewelry that are just a individually expensive. Aaron doesn't respond immediately, causing the woman to repeat her question. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my husband's office?"

"Husband's office?" Aaron asks.

"Yes," the woman responds. "I'm Rebecca. Rebecca Li."

"I wasn't aware that Dr. Li was married."

"Yes, well, we were estranged. Briefly," Rebecca answers. "What are you doing in here? Stealing his personal items?"

"No," Aaron says. "I was merely..."

"I don't really care," Rebecca quickly interrupts. "Get out."

Aaron is speechless.

"Well?" Rebecca taps her foot on the floor. "Are you hard of hearing or just stupid?"


BLAKE THOMAS' ROOM

"Felling good," Blake answers. "Feeling not dead. So that's always good."

Darren smiles. "Great. I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

Before Darren can speak, the door opens. Jack appears in the doorway, tenuously gripping the door. Darren is unable to hide the anger in his face, but Blake's is the exact opposite.

"I hear you saved my life," Blake says. "Thanks."

"He's the one who put you in here," Darren interjects.

"Look, I don't want to cause any trouble," Jack insists.

"Yeah, I think you've caused more than your share."

Jack rolls his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure Blake was okay. And don't worry about anything else, Darren. I'll be moved out of the penthouse by the end of the week."

"Good."

"Thank you again, Jack," Blake repeats. Jack nods and slowly exits the room, closing the door once more. "Was all of that necessary?"

"He's the reason you needed a blood transfusion in the first place!" Darren cries.

"It's our own fault," Blake replies. "Besides...I just want to...forget about all of this."

"Me too," Darren replies. "And also..." Darren leans in to kiss Blake, but he pulls away from him.

"Look...I know all of this Jack stuff is confusing, but you've said it yourself, you broke up with me because you wanted to be with him," Blake says. "And so...you made your choice, Darren. I'm sorry."

"Oh."

Darren and Blake sit in awkward silence. Blake closes his eyes, almost wishing he were still unconscious.


WAITING AREA

"Vince, what's going on?" Julia asks.

Vince responds by pulling Julia toward him and kissing her. She remains stiff and unmoved for the first few seconds until she finally sinks into the kiss. Vince pulls back and stares directly into her eyes.

"What was that?"

"I like you," Vince says. "I have for a while. And I just figured I should finally do something about it."

Julia smiles. "Oh. Well, um..."

"So do you want to go out with me?" Vince asks.

"On a date?"

"Yes, on a date. And don't tell me you don't date black guys, because we all remember Morris..."

Vince grins widely, but Julia pauses and has a sudden flash of the last time she saw Morris.

Julia screams uncontrollably when she sees that the floor is covered in blood, and only a few feet away from her lies Morris' body. There is a large gash on his neck. Blood still drips from it.

Julia tries to turn and leave the room, but someone grabs her from behind and covers her mouth. She notices from their skin that whoever is holding her is black. An older man.

She struggles to get away, but the man pushes her further into the boiler room until she stumbles before a sink and mirror. She can now clearly see who is holding her — she recognizes him in the mirror.

"Hello Julia," Quentin Blood says softly, whispering in her ear. "I'm sorry about your ex-boyfriend, but I'm going to need you to stop screaming. We have quite a bit to talk about."

"I'm sorry, Vince," Julia says quickly. "But I can't."


MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

"Oh my God!" Felicia cries. "What happened to you?"

"Vince's fist," Alec says quickly, only part of it being a lie. True, Vince did punch him in the fact at the hospital, but quite a few of these bruises were the result of his recent conversation with Big Mama.

"He's such a heathen," Robert mutters. "We're here to get you out."

Alec frowns. "But didn't you hear?"

"We heard Jessica call out Jack as the liar he is," Robert answers. "I warned Darren about him. No one ever wants to listen to me."

"That's enough, Robert," Felicia says. "Let's just get Alec home and clean up these bruises. We'll probably have to take you back to the hospital."

Officer Johnson unlocks Alec's cell. Felicia hurries inside and hugs him tightly. Robert thanks Officer Johnson and joins Felicia inside the cell.

"Let's get out of here, buddy," Robert says.

The last word, "buddy" echoes in Alec's head like a siren. He pushes Felicia away from him and moves toward the bars in his cell. He grips them intensely.

"Alec, is something wrong?" Robert asks. He approaches his son and tries to touch his arm, but Alec quickly spins around and punches Robert in the face.

Without taking the time to catch his breath, Alec pounces on Robert and continues to punch him, drawing blood instantly.

"Alec, stop it!" Felicia cries. "You're going to kill your father!"