DARREN REYNOLDS' APARTMENT

The lock on Darren Reynolds' apartment door clicks open, allowing the stranger to enter quietly. He slowly trudges toward the living room, seeing the feet of someone fast asleep on the couch.

Closer inspection reveals that the feet belong to Darren. But the person the stranger came to visit is nowhere in sight. They glance around cautiously, wondering if Blake Thomas is awake. Perhaps he slept with Darren the previous night and is now awake in the apartment, or maybe he's already left.

The sound of light snoring coming from Darren's bedroom alerts the intruder to someone else's presence. They creep into the bedroom and finally find the person they've been looking for.

Blake lies alone in Darren's bed, sleeping peacefully. He's always beautiful when he sleeps.

"Blake," the stranger whispers. "I've missed you."

He walks toward Blake, unzipping his jacket and producing a bright, red rose with a long stem. He places the rose onto the pillow next to Blake, then kisses him on the forehead.

Blake turns over, not having noticed a single off movement. As he returns to his light snoring, the intruder slips out of the room, back out the door, and locks it as if he'd never been there.



MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Alec Bale feels a cold, harsh wind slapping him across the face as he awakens, not immediately aware of his surroundings. After a few seconds of disorientation he remembers the previous night's events. Being carted off from his family's Thanksgiving dinner to be booked and locked up for violating his restraining order against his ex-wife, Jessica Reyes.

"Shit," Alec grumbles, sitting up on his cot.

He has become far too familiar with the inside of a jail cell for his liking. Almost enough that he's felt the need to resign himself to the eventual jury sentence that will have him in prison forever.

"Alec."

The sudden appearance of Robert Bale shocks Alec even more than the cold. He stands near the cell bars, staring directly at his son. Unnerved, Alec doesn't move from his seat.

"Alec, are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Alec finally says.

"I saw you get...I mean, I heard that you were arrested," Robert says. "I called your mother. She's on her way."

"How'd you find out so soon?"

"A...friend told me," Robert says.

"You have friends?"

"Not that many, no. But I do still have a family."

"You're not my father," Alec snaps. "No man who calls himself my father would ever be able to...do what you did to me."

"I'm sorry," Robert insists.

"A confession?"

"I'm sorry for what you're going through. What you will be going through."

Alec rolls his eyes. "What now?"

"Since you violated your restraining order and have proved a danger to others and possibly yourself, your bail has been revoked," Robert says. "You're going to have to remain in prison until your trial starts."



HANLEY HOME

Vincent Moore paces back and forth in the living room, irritating his sister Akilah as she darts her head to keep up with his rapid movement. Finally, he stops and turns to look at her. "No, that's too direct. We've got to be casual when we bring it up."

"How does one casually ask, 'Hey mom, why the hell did you flip out on an aunt we never knew we had'?" Akilah asks.

"I don't know," Vince says. "How do you casually manage to flirt with Alec every time you run into him?"

"I will kick you in the face."

"Try it."

"What are you two arguing about now?"

Vince and Akilah finally notice their mother standing in the doorway. Leslie Hanley enters the living room, hands on her hips.

"Well?"

"We weren't arguing," Akilah insists.

"Yeah, we were just wondering what's going on between you and Aunt Yolanda."

Akilah narrows her eyes at Vince. "Are you serious?"

"We are not discussing this," Leslie says. "It's not up for discussion."

"You can't just say that," Vince says. "You kept something huge from us, mom. We have an aunt! Who's famous! If I'd known that, I never would have had to move into this dump!"

"This place is hardly a dump," Leslie says.

"We practically live in a halfway house," Vince mutters. "And besides, mansion on the outskirts of Chicago doesn't really compare to the Hollywood hills."

"Do you think we could be on The Hills?" Akilah says, excitedly.

"You will be on nothing," Leslie snaps. "And furthermore, you're quitting that job on The Blackthornes. I won't have you working on that trash."



Michael Hanley stands above Sean Moore's bed, watching as his adoptive brother tosses and turns in bed. He crosses his arms and cautiously makes sure that Sean isn't close to waking up. Luckily for Michael, that brief outburst had been explained away by Sean's fragile mental state.

But Michael knew that sooner or later, Sean's memories were going to come back to him. That's what happened last evening at Thanksgiving dinner, and it meant that Michael was quickly running out of time.

He was going to lose everything.

His marriage. His step children. Not to mention everyone else in his life who would disown him.

No, Michael can not afford for Sean to get his memories back. And while he's briefly entertained the idea of just killing him, now that the allure of torturing his nemesis has worn off, he certainly can't do that with Yolanda back in town.

With everything that bitch knows, she could ruin everything for Michael. Just one more thing for him to take care of. Yolanda. Sean's memories. Denise Price's appearance. Felicia and Robert's discovery of his secret laboratory. Eric's knowledge of what Michael did. The lie Michael told Vince to keep him from finding out the truth about Sean...everything is in danger of crumbling right before Michael's very eyes.

"Michael."

" Riley, there you are," Michael says. "Where have you been?"

Riley Schaefer enters the room, taking a disparaging look at Sean before continuing on. "I got held up last night. I see you've been busy too."

"I have. Sean's memories are coming back. I have no idea how much he remembers at this point, but I convinced the doctor to put him on nearly every drug he had at hand. Where the hell is Victor when you need him?"

"Well, you killed him."

Michael nods. "Yes, that's right."

"Unfortunately, I have some more bad news from you," Riley says. "When I had the tests run at the hospital to determine that Vince isn't Sean's son...I discovered something else that Leslie has been keeping from you."

Michael raises an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"She's pregnant, Michael."

"She's pregnant?!" Michael demands. "How long?"

"I have no idea," Riley says. "I only saw a recent medical record, I didn't get to look any further."

"But why is she keeping that from me?" Michael says.

"Maybe she's keeping it from you because...well, I hate to say this, but..."

"What if history is repeating itself," Michael finishes.

And still...it keeps crumbling.

DARREN REYNOLDS' APARTMENT

Blake opens his eyes slight, reaching up to his face to cover a yawn. As he sits up in bed, he notices the rose lying next to him He smiles and picks it up, taking in its aroma.

"Aww," Blake says softly. "Darren."

As he climbs out of bed, finally feeling happy for the first time he can remember in days, he notices the red light flashing on his cell phone. He picks it up and sees a missed call from an Atlanta number. The Andersons.

Thinking they probably called him to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving, he lets the message play.

As he does, Darren opens the bedroom door and waves at Blake slightly. Blake waves back at him, climbing over to bed give Darren a hug, but stopping short once he hears the full message.

His face falls, prompting Darren's concern.

"What's wrong?"

"The Andersons... Cyrus just said that he doesn't think Tina is up for the funeral today," Blake says. "He said that they're staying in Atlanta indefinitely. They're going to need me to start packing things up for them at home."

"Oh God, I'm sorry Blake," Darren says.

"They're the only family I have," Blake says. "Where am I supposed to go? I can't stay on campus forever."

"You idiot. You can stay here."

Blake frowns. "Would that be awkward?"

"Of course not," Darren says.

"Well, how about only for the holidays? Then I'll find some other place to stay."

Darren extends his hand. "Deal."



MARQUETTE COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're staying in here until your trial starts," Robert says.

"But that's not until after New Year's!" Alec cries.

Robert shakes his head sadly. "You're the one who violated the restraining order, Alec. Even if Jessica dropped the charges, which I'm sure she won't —"

"This is all your fucking fault!"

"My fault?" Robert demands.

He leans into the bars, hissing at Alec below a whisper.

"You are the one that had a gun. After you killed Melissa, how in the hell can you even think about having a goddamn gun?!"

Alec remains silent. "I don't...I don't know."

"Or is that something your quack of a therapist told you? That fucking Aaron Maddock. He has been nothing but trouble to this family, but you won't see that. Felicia won't see that."

Alec leans back against the cell wall. "You might be right. He wouldn't even help me yesterday morning."

"Yesterday morning? Why would you..." Suddenly, Robert feels uneasy in the pit of his stomach. "Alec, how did...how did this revelation you had about me happen?"

"In therapy," Alec says. "It was...shut up. Why am I talking to you? Why are you here? You're a fucking monster, Robert. Get the hell away from me."

"When I try and help you. And finally get you back to the Alec you're supposed to be, maybe you'll start to think differently," Robert says.

"Help me? You don't even have your license anymore. You're a joke. You're less than nothing to me. And I don't want your help," Alec says, fighting through tears. "I just want you dead."



HANLEY HOME

Akilah is still stunned by her mother's words, even after what seems likes ages. Finally, she stares at her mother directly and shouts back, "No. Freaking. Way."

"Akilah, what I said is final," Leslie insists.

"Just try and stop me," Akilah says. "You don't get to lie to us and then expect everyone to fall in line with your stupid demands!"

"Akilah!"

Akilah ignores her mother, storming out of the living room. As she does, she runs into Michael and Riley entering from the foyer. She doesn't even bother to great them as she grunts unintelligibly and runs up the stairs.

"What's wrong with her?" Michael demands.

"Ask the evil dictator here," Vince mutters, following his sister out the living room.

"Leslie?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Michael," Leslie says softly. "I am done thinking about Yolanda. And what she did."

Michael grimaces, approaching his wife to embrace her. "But you forgave me."

Leslie pulls away from him. "That's different. She's my sister, Michael! And she knew what she was doing! She knew! She is and will never be anything more than a bitch, and dead to me."

Michael nods and rubs a hand on her shoulder. "Is there something else bothering you, honey?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Something you want to tell me?" Michael asks.

"No, there's not," Leslie says. "Excuse me."

She strides out the living room, leaving a fuming Michael to be calmed down by Riley.

"Don't worry about it," Riley says. "She's —"

"If that child is Sean's, I'll fucking kill the both of them," Michael snarls.

He sits down on the couch, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

"I can't keep living like this. I'm a wreck. I can't even sleep."

"Because you're doing all of this alone," Riley insists, sitting on the arm of the couch. "You need to be smarter about this. You need an ally, Michael. This has all...it's spiraled out of control."

"What the hell is with all the shouting down here?" Denise Price demands, sashaying into the living room. "Can't I get some beauty sleep around here?"

Michael and Riley exchange glances, both thinking the same thing, but knowing it could be an awful idea.

"Denise," Michael says. "Can I...speak to you in my office?"

"About what?"

"Please, humor me. You'll understand in a few minutes."

"Fine," Denise says, heading toward Michael's study.

Riley grabs Michael's arm. "Are you sure about this?"

"It has to be done," Michael says. "I don't have any other options. Not with Sean remembering things. Not with...not with everything else."

Michael stands and follows Denise into the study, reaching for the doorknob.

"So what is it you have to tell me?" Denise says.

Letting the door close slowly, Michael solemnly stares at Denise, not a single readable expression on his face. "Everything."