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Aaron Maddock climbed out of his car and removed the sunglasses he wearing, while crossing over to the passenger's side where Simon Holden was also exiting the vehicle. Aaron smiled as they approached the building they were hoping to purchase for their private practice. Now that it was finally a new year, both men were ready to go forward with their business plans. First they had to secure a place for them to even have a business.

"This place should do," Simon said. "It's on the edge of Emerald Square."

"We'll see," Aaron said. "I'm glad we started searching early, the rest of the places were godawful."

Aaron unwrapped his scarf as they entered the office building, where the real estate agent they were meeting, Eugenia Owens, was waiting on the stairwell.

"Which of you is Mr. Maddock?" Eugenia asked.

"That'd be me," Aaron said, extending his hand. "This is my partner, Simon Holden."

Eugenia smiled. "I see."

Eugenia shook Aaron's hand, and then Simon's. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, but she quickly returned her attention to the folder she was holding. Simon frowned and reached up to touch his face.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" Simon asked.

"Let me check," Aaron said, turning around to have Simon open his mouth and bare his teeth.

Aaron took Simon's chin and did a quick check, before lowering his hand. "Nope."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eugenia said. "You just looked familiar to me, that's all."

"We're both doctors at Marquette Cove Memorial Hospital," Simon said. "Maybe that's where you've seen us?"

"Oh, so you both work together?" Eugenia asked.

"No, I'm a psychiatrist," Aaron answered. "Simon's a surgeon."

"Oh…well then," Eugenia said. "Let's take a look at the building, shall we?"



Marquette Cove Police Department

Detective Joel Kincaid took a seat at his desk, taking a sip from his freshly brewed cup of coffee. He was thankful to only be doing paperwork, now that things were relatively calm in Marquette Cove. Or at least, as calm as things ever got. He pulled up an Excel page that had been e-mailed to him by the Chief of Police, but paused as he felt an odd sensation in his chest. Joel set down his coffee and took a deep breath.

Joel had no idea why he felt so strange, but he figured he was coming down with the recent flu bug that had been circulating. He turned away from the computer and found himself staring at his brother, Duncan Kincaid.

"Duncan!" Joel cried. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Duncan didn't respond, he merely stood and stared blankly at Joel. Joel angrily reached out and tried touching Duncan, but his hand passed through his brother's body. Duncan quickly vanished from where he'd been standing, prompting Joel to cry out. He was also shocked to find his palm covered in blood. Joel screamed and rose to his feet, knocking over his cup of coffee. As Joel went to clean the mess he'd made, he noticed everyone else in the building staring at him. Feeling embarrassed, he sunk back into his seat. While he cleaned up his spill, Officer Jamie Grady approached Joel's desk with a folder in his hands.

"Did you get a chance to read the chief's e-mail?" Jamie asked, resisting the urge to laugh at his friend's current situation.

"Not yet," Joel muttered.

"Well, looks like you've got a new case," Jamie said, handing Joel the folder. "Kind of gruesome."

Joel snatched the folder away from Jamie and frowned. "I'm sure I've seen worse."



Marquette Cove High School

Alec Bale turned on the work lights as he entered the wings of the Halas Theatre. Farrah Louis kept close behind him, holding his hand as they walked onto the stage.

"Why'd you want a tour anyway?" Alec asked. "You've been in tons of shows here."

"I know," Farrah said. "But I want to know more about theatre if I'm going to be a world-class actress."

"Well then, let's start with the plenum," Alec said, walking across the stage. "It's we keep all the big furniture pieces from —"

"Hey, where's the trap door?" Farrah asked, cutting Alec off.

Alec paused. "Huh?"

"You know, the one we used in Sweeney Todd?"

"It's here on the stage, we used it during rehearsal yesterday when you weren't here," Alec said. "Actually, you did miss a lot…maybe we can go over lines a little later."

"You're kidding, right?" Farrah asked.

"A little bit," Alec said.

Farrah started toward Alec, but as she walked, she suddenly found the trap door. Unfortunately, the trap door was open and Farrah fell through it. Alec cried out as he heard Farrah screaming, not knowing if she would survive the fall.



Emerald Square

Tom King stood outside a bookstore located in Marquette Cove's central shopping area and reached for a paperback book. The book was one of Tom's earlier novels, Revelations. He smiled as he read the cover, which had a blurb from one of the novel's few positive reviews plastered on it.

"If you liked Michael Ross's Footprints, you'll enjoy Revelations," Tom read.

"More like if you liked Footprints, you'll vomit when you try to read it's crappy knock-off."

Tom King spun around to find Michael Thomas staring at him, with an intense glare on his face. Startled, Tom dropped his book and backed away from Thomas.

"What are you doing here?" Tom demanded.

"You've been having so much fun with me in St. Laurent, I figured I'd stop by and see you," Thomas replied.

"No, this can't be happening," Tom insisted. "You're supposed to be in a coma while you're in Marquette Cove! Your soul is in St. Laurent, under my control.'

"Then it looks like you screwed something up," Vincent Moore said, appearing behind Thomas. "Because we're kind of not in St. Laurent right now."

Love is eternal. Life is forever. Yet things shall always remain...guasti cose.

"You didn't have to come with me, mom," Julia Mitchell muttered, stepping off the elevator and onto the hospital's second floor. "I'm perfectly able to walk myself to the doctor's for a check-up."

"You're still a minor, I have to be with you," Anna Mitchell responded. "Besides, you'd probably have a follow-up at Starbucks, or the mall."

Julia grinned. "You know me so well."

Anna looked to her right and noticed Leslie Moore was also at the hospital. She rested her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Go check in, tell Dr. Collins I'll be there in a few minutes."

As Julia wandered off, Anna approached Leslie.

"Hey there, Leslie," Anna said.

Leslie glanced up, just noticing Anna. "Oh, Anna! What are you doing here?"

"Julia's having a check-up," Anna said. "How about you?"

"It's a little embarrassing…I stopped by the see Aaron Maddock," Leslie replied. "I've been having these dreams about Sean, I keep seeing him everywhere I go. I just need someone to talk to."

"Leslie, that's perfectly understandable," Anna replied. "I keep trying to get Joel to go see Aaron myself, with everything going on between him and his brother."

"How's Joel doing?"

"He's fine, I guess," Anna said. "But I think he might have…he might have started drinking again."

"Anna, you're not serious," Leslie said. "Isn't that the entire reason you divorced in the first place?"

"Exactly," Anna replied. "And now that he has a bigger part in his daughter's life, I don't want to go down that road again."

"Well, if he's drinking again then he needs to get help now. Trust me, an addiction's not easy to get over…and to think, I even had to go through it all again when Derek tried to…" Leslie's voice trailed off. "You know what? Never mind. That's the past, and I'm moving on with my life."

"Good for you," Anna said, clutching her purse tightly. "I should go and check on Julia, make sure she's not causing any trouble for Dr. Collins. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Of course," Leslie said, waving Anna off.

Once she was alone, Leslie approached the receptionist's desk and noticed a flier she hadn't seen before. It was an advertisement for Aaron's new family therapy sessions. Leslie picked up the flier and folded it before stuffing it into her purse.

"Maybe I've found the answer after all," Leslie said.



Emerald Heights
Duncan & Kimberly's Apartment

"I don't think this is right," Kimberly Black said, staring at the cake that was currently baking in the oven. Her roommate, Duncan Kincaid, was standing next to her with a frown on his face. They had both attempted to bake a cake for one of their new neighbors, since Kimberly's brother Gregory of all people had suggested they do it as a roommate bonding activity.

"Well, it's probably not supposed to be growing lopsided, you're right," Duncan said. "But it might taste good."

"Would you take a lopsided cake from someone you didn't even know?" Kimberly demanded.

"I doubt I'd take a cake from someone I didn't know, period," Duncan offered.

"Then why did we just bake this damn thing? I could have been watching VH1 or something."

"Yeah, that's productive," Duncan muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," Duncan said. "Well look, we can still watch TV."

"I don't think so, mister," Kimberly said. "You're going to be eating this cake."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Kimberly said. "I didn't break two nails for nothing."

"Fine, but you can eat it with me," Duncan said.

"I can't, I'm watching my weight," Kimberly insisted.

"You look fine to me," Duncan said, wrapping his arms around Kimberly. "Not fat at all."

Kimberly pushed Duncan away from her. "Oh, thanks."

"I'm joking," Duncan said. "You're perfectly fine how you are, Kimberly."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"You're not just saying that?"

"Of course not," Duncan said, giving Kimberly another hug and pulling her into an actual kiss. This time, Kimberly didn't resist him and they continued to kiss as Duncan backed her against the oven. While they kissed, Kimberly suddenly felt as if her skin was burning.

"Ow!" Kimberly cried, pushing Duncan as she jumped away from the oven.

"Oh…sorry about that," Duncan said.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "I'm watching TV."



Office Building

"So as you can see, this probably isn't the best place for you," Eugenia said, finishing her tour of the building. "Maybe there's another place more suitable for you both."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aaron demanded. "I like the place, I think that —"

Aaron stopped talking as Simon took him by the arm and lead him away from Eugenia.

"I know why she doesn't want to us to get the building," Simon said.

"Why?"

"Because she thinks…because she thinks we're gay," Simon whispered.

"I don't think she thinks we're…wait, what? That's ridiculous."

Simon took Aaron's hand and turned back to look at Eugenia, smiling.

"You know, we really love the place," Simon said.

"Well, actually…it's not really on the market," Eugenia insisted. "I'm sure there's some other —"

"This is because we're gay, isn't it?" Aaron demanded.

"Look, I didn't ask for any trouble," Eugenia said.

"Wait, we're not gay, Aaron!" Simon snapped.

"Yes we are," Aaron said, pulling Simon into a hug. "You're my boyfriend, just deal with it!"

Aaron kissed Simon, then turned back to look at Eugenia.

"Shame on you," Aaron said.

After his comment, he turned around and walked out of the building. Simon remained with a shocked look on his face for a few moments, before following Aaron outside. When he caught up to Aaron at his car, Simon hit him in the back of the head.

"What the hell was that?" Simon demanded.

Aaron shrugged. "Me getting a rise of our real estate agent. You need to cut lose sometime, Simon. I'm taking you out, we're gonna get you drunk."

"Look, Aaron…I don't know what —"

"God, is everything about being gay with you?" Aaron demanded. "We're going to strip club. It'll be fun. Get in the car."



Marquette Cove High School

"Farrah!" Alec cried, hurrying down the stairs that led into the theatre's basement.

He knew that the trapdoor led to the scene shop, and Alec hoped that Farrah hadn't seriously injured herself or worse while falling, since he no longer heard her screaming. Once he reached the shop, he turned on the lights and quickly looked around for Farrah. He found her lying motionless on top of a table covered in plastic sheets.

"Farrah, are you okay?" Alec asked.

Farrah didn't respond, and so Alec moved closer to her to check to see if she was breathing.

"Farrah, I need you to answer me," Alec said.

When Farrah still didn't answer, Alec began to panic. She was still breathing, but he had no idea what type of state she was in. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone, just as Farrah's hand reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Just kidding," Farrah said.

Alec angrily yanked his arm away.

"That's not funny, Farrah," Alec snapped.

"I'm sorry," Farrah said, sitting up on the table. "Want me to make it up to you?"

Alec folded his arms and glared at her. "I'm really not in the mood."

"Really?" Farrah said, wrapping her legs around Alec's waist and pulling him closer to her so she could kiss him. "Because I am…and I'm willing to bet you are too."



Emerald Square

"Get away from me!" Tom cried. "I'm the writer! You do what I tell you to do."

"That's what you'd like to believe," Erin Maddock said, appearing behind Tom.

He spun around and found Erin staring at him, with Samantha Clark standing next to her. He reached out and tried to hit Samantha, but his hand passed through her. Tom took a few steps back, walking through Vince and Thomas as if they weren't there as well.

"They can't harm you," Erin replied. "But I can."

Erin grabbed Tom's arm, prompting him to shriek in terror. A few moments later, Erin vanished from Tom's view with the others. Tom took a deep breath and glanced around, noticing a few people watching him. Honestly, it was the most attention he'd ever gotten since he became a writer, so he didn't object too much.

"But what the hell is going on here?" Tom demanded aloud.

"It's your fault."

Tom turned around to find Isoke, the demon he'd summoned to help him in his quest for a novel to go on the New York Times Bestsellers List.

"You're the one who misplaced their souls," Isoke replied. "And now it appears I'll have to clean up your mess."

"Mess?"

"Yes, your mess," Isoke said. "The ones already dead in this world are problematic…they can actually become corporeal as their spirits try to get vengeance. They're all trying to escape the purgatory you asked me to put them in, but the ones who are alive here…their souls are having a much harder time."

"Their souls are supposed to be in St. Laurent," Tom said.

"They are, but they wander here as well," Isoke said. "It's a simple problem to fix…you just need to let me take full control of our plans."

Tom sighed. "I don't know."

"Tom, you know what you have to do," Isoke insisted.

"Fine," Tom said resignedly. "Do whatever you want with them…just make sure I get famous."

"Famous?" Isoke laughed. "Trust me, you'll be much more than that."

executive producer
Ira Madison

next time...
Vince gets lost searching for Thomas.
Joel goes to drastic measures to get answers.
Thomas tries pulling the wool over the captives' eyes.