Episode 158




Brant surveyed the papers he’d had faxed over to Avery’s house while Jade and Avery were gone.  While he hadn’t gotten a lot of information, he’d gotten enough to get a feel for who Cameron Stone was.  Well, he’d always known that Cameron was a sick son of a bitch, but still this was a good start to delve into the man’s psyche.  Hearing the door open, Brant looked up to discover Avery and Jade entering the house.
   
“Oh good, you’re both back,” Brant waved them in eagerly, “I was just about to call you and give you some news here.”
   
“What kind of news,” Avery questioned moving further into the room to see the pages spread out over the coffee table.
   
“I found some information on Cameron,” Brant reached for one page in particular, “Not only was Douglas Mahoney his step-father for a great many years, but it turns out that during the course of the relationship that Douglas had with Cameron’s mother, Cameron was a very unhappy child.”
   
“Really,” Jade swiped the page away from him, ready to get her hands on anything to help her put Cameron in his place.
   
“That’s right,” Brant nodded turning to Avery, “not only did Cameron resent Douglas coming into his life, but it turns out that he also made it a habit to take it out on Kipp.”
   
“Come again,” Avery blinked back at him.
   
“I did some digging and as Jade is seeing right now, my P.I. came into contact with a former nanny of the two boys.  It turns out that more often than not Kipp was being taken to the emergency room for mystery injuries.  At first the doctors suspected foul play from Douglas seeing as most cases of spiral fractions like the one Kipp has in that particular medical report are usually induced by an abusive parent, but when there was further investigation on the topic it ended up that Cameron was the one responsible for the injury.  He’d been in a fit of rage when Kipp had been given an extra special birthday gift.  I called the nanny myself and she went on and on to speak about the rivalry between Cameron and Kipp.  While Kipp appeared to adore and look up to Cameron, Cameron was always finding ways to try to get rid of Kipp as if to find a way to get rid of Douglas.  Of course when it didn’t work, Douglas grew tired of Cameron and insisted that he be sent off to military school.”
   
“Thus adding to the hatred that was already brewing there,” Avery thought aloud.
   
“Exactly,” Brant nodded, “but for some strange reason Cameron didn’t stay there too long.  I tried contacting an administrator, but unfortunately at the time being I came up empty.  However, from what was hinted in a police report that my P.I. Came across, Cameron’s expulsion had something to do with a violent act against another student.”
   
“So he’s been a sadistic creep since the beginning then,” Jade replied with a small frown thinking about what he was saying.
   
“Apparently so,” Brant nodded, “and Cameron had a bad run of luck with the law--that is until his father started bailing him out of things.  Then charges mysteriously began to disappear.  For example, there was one working girl in particular who went through the beginnings of pressing charges against Cameron when he attacked her in a fit of rage, but then out of the blue, she came in saying she was wrong--that she’d lied and that she was sorry,” Brant offered another paper over to Jade, “and you’ll never guess who that woman was…”
   
“Thea Valentine,” Jade read aloud as her frown deepened, “Son of a bitch.  I know her.  She works for Cameron.  She was someone who…”
   
“Who what?” Avery questioned watching the shudder that swept over Jade.
   
“Let’s just say she started a few problems with Grady and I a while back, or rather she tried to,” Jade’s words tightened with emotion.
   
“So let me get this straight.  Cameron roughs her up, makes her miserable and then all of a sudden she’s his right hand man so to speak,” Avery thought it over, “Something about that doesn’t add up.”
   
“Neither did Kipp’s going to work for Cameron after law school,” Brant added with a frown, “but as with Thea, Kipp ignored the repeated abuse during childhood and took a very lucrative position with the company.”
   
“But why would he do that?” Jade shook her head.
   
“To break away from his father,” Avery blurted out, “From what I’ve heard about Douglas, he’s relentless and he’s not exactly in the running for father of the year.”
   
“So Kipp goes to claim his independence by entering the lion’s den.  Only he doesn’t realize that it will come as a cost,” Brant continued to explain.
   
“Meaning that he’s unaware that Cameron is going to use him yet again as a pawn in his game against Douglas,” Jade noted as it started to piece together in her mind, “Only this time Cameron gets another idea and he opts to take Grady down in the process.”
   
“That’s what it’s starting to look like,” Brant added bringing his fingers through his dark hair, “Not only is Cameron walking around with a huge chip on his shoulder towards Douglas, but he’s also hell bent on making you and Grady miserable.”
   
“That’s the part I don’t understand,” Avery couldn’t help but admit, “Why has he suddenly targeted Grady?  I mean he went to Grady to bring a lawsuit against BBK, so why turn on him?”
   
“Because having Grady run the lawsuit wasn’t about the suit in itself.  It was about having you and Grady at odds with one another,” Jade offered up as she skimmed over a few more papers.  Turning her eyes up to Avery, she explained further, “He must’ve done some research on your history with Russ and with Grady.  In having you and Grady at odds with one another, then he knew that Grady would be so obsessed with taking you down that he wouldn’t be around when I needed him.  He must’ve sensed that your feud with Grady would be the key to our relationship falling apart.”
   
“Yes, but how could Cameron know that Russ and I were going to be getting back together when we did,” Avery couldn’t help but ask, “Even Russ and I were unaware of how things would go…”
   
“Yes, but given your history, it was easy to see that you two would fall back into one another’s arms,” Jade informed her point blank while Brant stiffened at the comment, “Love like that doesn’t just fade away overnight.  You and Russ have something that defies all other rules in the natural world.”
   
“Jade’s right,” Brant added finally, “Cameron must’ve learned about your history with Russ somehow.  He had to have found out about the unresolved feelings that were there because let’s face it, this guy isn’t stupid.  He’s covered all his bases, so the fact that he knew things that no one else would’ve known about you and Russ makes sense.  Come to think of it, we still don’t know who is pulling Bruce’s strings…”
   
“You mean you think that Cameron is helping him,” Avery’s eyes widened in horror.
   
“It could be a possibility,” Jade added watching the expression on Avery’s face, “If Cameron put Bruce in a position to keep an eye on you, then Bruce could’ve been reporting to him and…”
   
“And Cameron could be behind Russ dying,” Avery blurted out horrified, “He could be the man who helped take my husband away all because he was trying to hurt Grady…”
   
“Avery, hey,” Brant reached out to touch her shoulder sensing how upset she was getting.
   
“Brant, if Cameron was behind all of this, then I’m going to kill him,” Avery’s voice rose with obvious emotion as she thought back to her one and only encounter alone with Cameron.  Taking a step back, she gasped, “Oh God.  That day in the jail waiting room when he approached me.  There was something wild in his eyes--something that I couldn’t quite place, but if he was trying to get rid of me to hurt Grady, but when it didn’t work, he had someone go after Russ…”
   
“Avery, we can’t prove that, but…” Brant started again.
   
“But nothing,” Avery shook her head at him, “if he’s willing to go as far as we’ve said, then who’s to say that he wasn’t ready to pass the point of no return?  What if he was the one who set that bomb off?”
   
“That would be a pretty big thing to do in order to get at Grady,” Brant argued, “and given that he was there himself at the time…”
   
“But he wasn’t injured,” Jade insisted firmly, “He approached me to harass me shortly before the bomb went off, but after that…well he only resurfaced to rescue Jenna Carpenter.”
   
“Who just so happens to be Doug’s daughter,” Avery gasped in horror, “and if he’s targeting Jenna as means for getting at Doug…I have to call her.  I have to warn her of what she might be up against.”
   
“Avery, we don’t know for sure that he’s…” Brant began reaching out to touch her arm gently, “We can’t just go spouting off things that might not be true just yet.  We need proof--more than just this…”
   
“Brant, Jenna is one of my best friends.  If Cameron has been targeting her family, then she needs to be made aware how dangerous he could be.  I can’t let her go around blindly when the threat is right behind her,” Avery insisted firmly hoping that her friend wouldn’t be the next victim in Cameron’s madness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jenna stepped up to the front door of her apartment with grocery bags in hand.  Shuffling for her keys, she thought about Hart asking her to go on ahead home once he’d been held over with a client.  She’d readily agreed having had a full day already after speaking with Avery about what had been going on with Russ.  It was such a sad thing to see her best friend in pain, but she vowed to find a way to help her friend through such a hard time.
   
“Maybe I should call her and check in on her even if she said it wasn’t necessary,” Jenna thought aloud pushing her way into her apartment while shuffling her bags in her arms.
   
“Need come help with that?” a voice rose from behind her as Jenna spun around nearly dropping her bags in the process.  Looking in front of her, she noticed Cameron standing in her doorway, “Surely you wouldn’t mind an extra pair of arms.”
   
“I’ve got it,” she replied tightly feeling him swipe a couple of the bags from her.
   
“I really don’t mind helping,” he informed her making his way further into her apartment.
   
“You really don’t have to…” she started watching him disappear into her kitchen as an uneasy feeling swept over her.  Frowning she followed him into her kitchen noticing the way he was taking everything in.
   
“This is nice,” Cameron noted with a smile, “very nice actually.  I would’ve expected something altogether different coming from you, but this, well this is very fitting.”
   
“Thank you, but I don’t really think you came over here to talk about my kitchen decorations or my groceries, so what is it you want Cameron?” Jenna frowned back at him setting her own bags down on the counter.  She looked to the kitchen knifes she’d had on the countertop and her body tightened at the way her thoughts were leading.
   
“I just thought I would pay you a visit and see how you were doing considering that we haven’t had much time to catch up with one another after the explosion,” he explained thoughtfully, “I was worried about you considering that…”
   
“That I’m just fine,” Jenna folded her arms in front of her chest, “but something tells me that you were already well aware of that one.  Come to think of it, the last time I saw you, you were trying to upset me by telling me about Hart’s daughter.”
   
“I wasn’t aware that he hadn’t told you the news,” Cameron began apologetically, “If I had been, then I wouldn’t have…”
   
“Yes you would’ve because you get off on that kind of thing,” Jenna sneered at him ready to say something more when her cell phone started to ring.  She thought about finishing her statement, but stopped herself as she reached for her phone.  Answering it swiftly, she tried to keep her voice normal.
   
“Jen, hey it’s Avery.  Where are you?” Avery questioned breathlessly.
   
“I’m home,” Jenna took a step away from Cameron, “Is there something wrong?”
   
“Possibly,” Avery explained with obvious worry in her voice, “I need to talk to you.  Brant and I have been doing some research on Cameron and we’ve noticed a pattern of violence with him that extends to Douglas Mahoney’s children and those around him…”
   
“Is that right,” Jenna glanced back over at Cameron before moving in towards her kitchen knifes, “Well I’d have to say that’s very useful news considering that situation is kind of up close and personal at the moment.”
   
“Up close and personal,” Avery frowned noting the strange tone in her friend’s voice, “Jen, are you trying to tell me something?”
   
“Yes,” Jenna replied cryptically, “That thing you’re working on, it’s rather close right now.  In fact I think I might have left it right here in my kitchen.”
   
“In your kitchen,” Avery repeated with sudden understanding, “Oh my God, he’s there right now, isn’t he?”
   
“That’s a fact,” Jenna answered after a pause.  She glanced over at Cameron before smiling again in the hopes of covering her worries.
   
“Is Hart there,” Avery asked in a panic.
   
“Not yet, but soon,” Jenna explained simply.
   
“Jen, you have to get out of there.  You shouldn’t be around him especially not after the things I’ve read.  He’s a monster and I think that you should…” Avery continued frantically.
   
“I’m working on it and I’m sure I can bring you that right away.  Did you say you wanted me to bring it by your house?” Jenna questioned after a pause.
   
“Just get out of there as soon as possible,” Avery urged her on again as Jenna heard a sound from the front door.  She turned in the direction to find Hart standing there.
   
“Actually I may have to do that later.  Hart is home now,” Jenna explained with a breath of relief.  “Can I call you back?”
   
“Sure, and just be careful,” Avery pleaded with her before Jenna hung up the phone.
   
“Hey hon,” Hart waved at Jenna.  He walked through the apartment catching her expression, “Jen, what is it?”
   
“Hart, we have company,” Jenna stepped aside to show him that Cameron was standing in the kitchen.
   
“Is that right,” Hart frowned up at him, “Well, look what the cat dragged in.  So Cameron, what are you doing here?”
   
“I came over to check on Jenna--to make sure that she’s in good hands,” Cameron explained simply.
   
“She’s in very good hands,” Hart wrapped his arms around her protectively, “So if that’s all you had on your mind…”
   
“Then let me guess.  I should be going, right?” Cameron smiled politely despite the expression on his face.
   
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Hart nodded before scowling back at him, “Let me show you out.”
   
“Jenna, as always it’s been a pleasure,” Cameron offered with a grin, “Please call me sometime and we can catch up with one another.”
   
“Don’t bet on that happening,” Jenna remarked under her breath watching Hart lead Cameron out of the apartment.  When he returned minutes later, he had a puzzled expression on his face.
   
“Um, what was that all about,” Hart asked watching her closely.
   
“I don’t know, but Avery just called and she said that Cameron’s had a long history of targeting Douglas’s children with violence.  I’m not sure exactly what that means, but given that I’m Doug’s daughter…” she began worry evident in her voice.
   
“It’s a good thing that I arrived when I did,” he confessed pulling her into his arms as Jenna wondered just what it was that Cameron was after with her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What went wrong today?” Susan asked herself looking around her room. “I mean why would Ken do that? I was right there, we could have had something.”

She paced back and forth thinking about different things to come up with on why Ken pushed her off so easily like that. She finally came to a stop seeing a picture that rested on top of her dresser. She smiled picking it up running her fingers around the photo of Kyle and Grady from their wedding.

“Forget about Ken.  How about focusing on Cameron’s new project,” she smiled walking over to the bed sitting down. “You were quite the man back then Kyle, I remember how you were. I wonder why your Cameron’s new project.”

She remembered Kyle from when Grady and him used to hang out, but never before had she saw what she was seeing now. That devious laugh of his, it just brought a smile to her face.

“Forget about Cameron, I think I have my new project,” she smiled running her fingers over the frame  She traced the lines of his face thinking about what lay ahead of her.  Perhaps this might prove to be one of the most interesting tasks Cameron had laid out for her thus far.  Surely, she could handle this one and maybe just maybe persuading Kyle Houston to see things her way would be just enough encouragement for her to recover from the disappointing blow Ken had delivered this morning.  Yes, Kyle would be good for her ego and more indeed. 


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So did you two have fun?” questioned Blake as Seth pulled out a chair for her.

“Well,” Kyle started pulling out a chair for Sarah and then taking his seat, “I had fun, until I almost broke my ass.”

“Kyle,” Sarah laughed hitting him in the abdomen.

“What?” Kyle questioned watching her shake her head.

“Yes we had fun,” Sarah smiled as Blake titled her head folding her arm out in front of her.

“What do you mean you almost broke your ass?” wondered Blake watching Kyle about to speak before Sarah talked.

“He thought it would be cool to get me an apple from the top of those huge trees and he ended up getting some…and then falling off,” Sarah reminded him seeing Kyle shake his head.

“No that’s how you saw it,” Kyle pointed out ready to start his story, “I got her the apples and I was on the ladder until it slipped out from under me. I grabbed the branch and I was hanging there.  I asked for help, but she was looking for you two. I ended up breaking the branch and it fell on top of me as I hit the ground.

Seth laughed after taking a sip of his water, “Yeah, you haven’t been apple picking before.”

“Seth, they’re playing our type of music,” Blake jumped up grabbing his hand in hers, “Let’s dance.”

“Okay,” Seth smiled walking her to the dance floor as he started twirling her around.

“You are trying to say that the only reason you fell is because of me aren’t you?” Sarah questioned watching Kyle kind of tilt his head and nod.

“Yeah, I kind of am,” Kyle agreed with her feeling her hit him lightly in the arm, “You are always hitting me.”

“I know,” Sarah smiled watching him shrug.

Sarah’s eyes traveled over seeing Blake and Seth dancing as he dipped her. They both looked so happy as they danced, they really were meant to be together. She looked over at Kyle who was looking up at the ceiling, not knowing what he was doing she waved her hand in front of his face.

“Can I help you?” he questioned watching her nod.

“What were you just doing?” she wondered watching smiled widely.

“Well I was just thanking the gods that I was here with you,” he laughed watching her raise an eyebrow at him.

“No really?” she insisted watching him nod.

“Forty,” he blankly said taking a sip of his water.

“Huh?” she questioned not knowing what he meant.

“There are forty lines on the ceiling,” he shrugged watching her glance over at Blake and Seth again.

“It looks like they are having fun out there,” Sarah stated watching him nod.

“Sure does,” he agreed taking a sip of his water.

“Come on,” she jumped up grabbing onto his arm.

“What?” he wondered as she enthusiastically pulled on his arm.

“Let’s get out there and dance,” she shrugged watching him stand up.

“You have to be kidding me right?” he laughed watching her shake her head almost like a kid would do when they were told something they didn’t like. “Sarah, last time we danced I almost broke both of your feet.”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind,” she insisted as he held his hand out to hers taking her to the dance floor.

“Well, okay,” he shrugged moving slightly unsure at first until he quickly dipped her bringing her back up to him slowly.

“Alright, who are you and what did you do with Kyle?” Sarah questioned watching him smile and twirl her around into his chest.

“Well,” he started twirling her back as they moved slowly. “I figured that one day, I would have to learn how to dance. So, after almost breaking your feet I decided to take dance lessons.”

“Well, I think you had a great teacher,” she stated watching him smile as he dipped her down once more.

“I did it all for a great person,” he winked at her as a smile crossed her face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don walked through the office doors letting it close behind him as Shannon ran into the door.

“Thanks a lot,” she growled watching him shrug.

“You told me to never hold a door open for you again.  Now I am supposed to?  Tell me what you want me to do,” he frowned watching her roll her eyes.

“I want you to shut up, that’s what I want,” she sighed watching him nod.

“Fine I will just as long as it makes you happy, which I‘m starting to think isn‘t ever going to happen anyways,” he shrugged watching her walk to an office.

“Ken’s not here,” Shannon informed Don watching him raise an eyebrow.

“Whose Ken?” he questioned watching her put her hands on her hips, “Whoops I didn’t say anything.”

“Ken’s not here today, but can I help you with anything?” wondered Hart seeing Don walking over to him. “Don, what are you doing here?”

“Why don’t you ask her,” Don pointed out seeing Hart look over his shoulder.

“Shannon…why would I want to talk to Shannon?” Hart questioned with a scowl.

“This is why,” Don stated raising his hand to show Hart the ring one his left hand.

“You have to be kidding me right?” Hart laughed lightly.

“No, it’s no joke and I want to get a divorce from him.  I want to file whatever kind of papers we need to get going to end this like pronto,” Shannon informed with a scowl.

“How the hell did you marry her? Her of all people…” Hart wondered what the hell his friend had gotten into this time.

“I don’t know, but all I know is that we got married and she wants it over.  If we don‘t do it soon, then I‘m sure she‘ll kill me.  That‘s the vibe I‘m getting here,” Don shrugged watching Hart nod. “How about drawing up some annulment papers here?”


“I’d love to help, but I’m not on the clock.  I promised my girlfriend that I would…” Hart began with a frown.

“Don’t make me shoot you Hart.  We need this annulment like pronto.  I don’t want to be married to him another minute,” Shannon squealed in horror, “This is just wrong.”

“Okay, but you’re going to pay me double time for this one,” Hart motioned for them to follow him into his office.  “I can see what I can start working it up, but I can’t handle this all just yet.  It’s going to take a couple of days.”

“A couple of days is much too long,” Shannon frowned back at him, “We need this sooner…”

“I’m doing the best I can here, but this is for Don, not you,” Hart glared up at her before looking to his pal, “How in the world did you wind up caught up in this disaster?”

“It’s not worth getting into,” Don offered quietly before glancing over in Shannon’s general direction once again.  He caught her eyeing him for a moment before her scowl deepened.

“Let’s forget all the small talk and get down to business,” Shannon growled rolling her eyes.
 
Hart turned his head to glare before looking back to his friend, “You didn’t sleep with that yet, did you?” Hart saw the uneasy look on Don’s face as his jaw dropped. “Your kidding right?”

“No,” Don sighed starting to realize that possibly this was going to be harder than he thought.

“I can’t do anything for you then,” Hart informed him shaking his head.  “Given that this marriage was consummated, well that to me sounds like it’s not void and…”

“You can’t be serious,” Shannon gasped watching Hart smile devilishly.

“I am as serious as they come,” Hart assured her watching her stomp off.

“You would be you pompous ass.  I hate you, you son of a bitch,” Shannon shouted from the lobby area before slamming the door behind her.

“You two don’t like each other that much do you?” Don wondered folding his arms out in front of him.

“No not really, is that obvious?” Hart questioned looking at the worried look on Don’s face.

“Really obvious.  Of course this doesn‘t help my situation,” Don confessed with a sigh.

“Yeah well if I were you instead of looking for a divorce lawyer, I’d go straight to head out seeking an exorcist because you’re going to need it with her,” Hart chuckled in response watching Don walk away clearly  not paying attention to what Hart was mumbling as Don left the office walking off in search of Shannon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So what do you say? How about giving this little guy a name?” Diego shrugged with a slight grin.

“I don’t know,” Heather seemed kind of unsure on what to say or what to name him.

“Come on, it can’t be hard that hard right?” he questioned watching her look at the baby blankly.

“How about Charles?” she offered up seeing him nod.

“I think Charles sounds wonderful,” he assured her folding his arms out in front of him. “So tell me, why did you name him Charles?”

“Well, when I was younger I had a friend named Charles…he was really my only friend who liked me for who I was. When he was thirteen he ended up getting hit by a car while playing basketball. He was my one true friend and I guess that’s why I want to name my son after him,” she told him watching the frown spread across his face.

“I’m sorry,” he stated watching her shrug.

“It’s the past, now lets just be happy on what we have now,” she smiled running her fingers along the case that surrounded her baby. “Hey Charles.”

He heard a knock on the door as the nurse appeared, “I have to take him back.”

“Now?  So soon?” wondered Heather watching the nurse nod.

“I will have him come back soon. I promise,” Diego informed her watching her nod not very happy.

“Thanks,” the nurse smiled taking him.

“Do you think he will be okay?” she questioned watching Diego nod positively.

“I think Charles will be great,” he smiled as his cell phone rang. “Hello? I’ll be right there.”

“What’s wrong?” wondered Heather watching him grab his jacket.

“That was my office.  One of my patients need me, so I need to go upstairs for a few minutes,” he stated with a slight frown walking to the door and grabbing the handle.

“You’ll be back soon?” she raised her voice to get his attention seeing him turn around.

“Of course I will,” he assured her seeing what he thought was the first slightest smile since she had been in this place.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jenna knocked on the front door to Avery’s place, wrapping her coat gently around her shoulders as the winds picked up outside.  She looked to the time knowing that she couldn’t stay long, but still she hoped she could get a few words in with her best friend--if for no other reason than to check in and see how she was doing.
   
“Jenna,” Avery spoke her name opening the door with obvious surprise.  “What are you doing here?”
   
“Hart had to go into the office for a few, so I thought I’d check in with you,” Jenna explained entering the house only to discover the clutter that Brant’s research had spun out over the living room, “Well, it looks like you’re all busy tonight.”
   
“Busy doesn’t even cover it,” Jade blurted out looking up from where she’d been seated going over papers.
   
“Hey Jenna, how’s it going?” Brant waved over at her politely.
   
“It’s going okay, but not nearly as productive as it is for all of you,” Jenna noted before looking to Avery, “Is this all for the big case?”
   
“And then some,” Avery nodded before leading Jenna across the room to one pile in particular, “This was what I was telling you about.  I think you should see some of these things about Cameron.”

“I really don’t need them to see what kind of monster he is,” Jenna admitted honestly, “I’m not sure what he was up to this afternoon at my place because Hart didn’t exactly give Cameron time to do much more than annoy me.”
   
“Yes, well the fact that he’s targeting you is reason enough to have me worried,” Avery divulged, “Given his history with Kipp and his grudge against Douglas Mahoney…”
   
“You think I’m next on his hit list, huh?” Jenna noted thinking about her few exchanges with Cameron, “You know at first I thought the same thing, but then I got to pondering the situation tonight.  I think there’s something else he’s trying with me…”
   
“And what might that be?” Jade questioned setting a page aside, “Is he trying to ruin your life like he’s doing with Grady?”
   
“No,” Jenna shook her head, “I think he’s trying to get me to side with him.  Now before you all tell me I’m insane, just hear me out.  He saved my life at the airport, which if he wanted Doug to suffer so to speak, he would’ve let me die.  Given what you’ve said about him, I’m sure that he’d jump at the opportunity to do just that and rub it in if I was out of the picture…”
   
“Unless he wanted something else--something he felt that only you could help him with,” Brant noted catching where she was headed with this.
   
“Exactly,” Jenna nodded in response, “Cameron might have an agenda, but I think he’s hoping that he can gain my trust--that somehow I will get closer to him.  I’m not sure why just yet, but if he knows about my relationship with Doug--or rather lack there of it…”
   
“Then he would want to step in and see to it that you keep thinking the worst about Doug,” Jade added with a snap of her fingers, “because that’s how he works.  He tried to alienate you from those you are close to and then he moves in on you…”
   
“Now that I would believe,” Jenna confessed thinking to how he’d tried to upset her with the news about Hart being Sam’s father.  “Cameron most certainly has an agenda, but maybe I’m playing this all wrong.”
   
“What do you mean,” Avery gave her a sideways glance.
   
“Well perhaps it’s time I let Cameron in a little bit.  Maybe then we’ll get a chance to catch him in the act,” Jenna suggested as an afterthought, “Maybe if he thinks I’m interested in letting him in, he’ll let his guard down.”
   
“Not likely,” Jade frowned, “he’s not the kind of man to just become an open book.  He’s evil and twisted and…”
   
“Ready to take down my father.  It’s no secret that Doug and I don’t get along, so if I play my cards right, maybe just maybe I can find a way to figure out how to work this in all of our favor.  Perhaps it’ll help with Grady’s case.”
   
“That’s a big risk to take Jenna and I’m not so sure that…” Avery started uneasily.
   
“Avery, I’m sure I can do this.  I’m sure that I can get some information on Cameron and then…” Jenna began enthusiastically.
   
“That’s a pretty big risk,” Brant piped in, “Given Cameron’s history, the last place you should be is getting close to him.”
   
“Brant, I want to find out the truth about what happened to Kipp as much as everyone else here does.  Not only is Grady my friend, but Kipp is my brother and if Cameron was the one who hurt him, then I want to bring Cameron down as much as you all do.  That isn’t going to change and furthermore I’m not going to sit back and wait for permission to do this,” Jenna explained in an uproar.
   
“Gee, no wonder you and Avery are best friends,” Brant threw his hands up in the air, “You’re both impossible.”
   
“Yeah well, impossible or not, the fact remains that you’re all going to need my help,” Jenna continued a plan formulating in her mind, “So you have a choice.  You either work with me or I’ll do it on my own.  Either way however I’m going to discover the truth about the secrets Cameron’s hiding.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Shannon wait!” yelled out Don grabbing her by the arm as she swung around not looking very happy.

“What do you want now Don?” she questioned frowning watching him sigh searching for his words to say.

“What if we stayed married?” he wondered with a simple shrug, “I mean how bad could it really be?”

“You have to be kidding me right? Why would I want to be married to you?” she scowled watching him roll his eyes.

“Well, what I always said was when I got married I was going to stay married. Maybe we can make this thing work,” he stated watching her turn around to walk away as he grabbed her pulling her back. “Just hear me out okay?”

“You have two minutes,” she folded her arms out in front of her tilting her head watching him stay silent. “I believe you have about a minute and fifty seconds now.”

“Listen, don’t you want to have someone you could spend the rest of your life with?” he questioned watching her about to say something before he cut her off. “Forget I even asked you that I already know what you are going to say.”

“No you didn’t,” she pointed out watching him nod.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” he started watching her raise her eyebrow. “If you stay married to me, I promise you that I will take care of all the problems you need help with. I will be there at your side when you’re sick taking care of you. I promise everything could be so great if you stay with me. I will make your life the best it could ever possibly be. I would want to see you smile rather than frown. If you frown and it’s just a bad day…I guess if you don’t hit me too hard I will let you hit me with the racket.” he teased watching her laugh a little bit. “You don’t have to decide at this moment, I’m willing to wait. I just want you to put at least a little thought into this before you just send me off. I know you hardly know me, but we can have at least sometime to just get to know each other. That’s all I can possibly say to make you rethink of me, just a little bit.”

“You know what?  You‘re insane.  Everything about this is absolutely insane considering that we don‘t know a damn thing about one another other than we don‘t do alcohol very well,” she started pointing her finger up at him watching him look down in disappointment as if he already knew what she was going to say…it was just something about him that made her have butterflies inside, “but for what it’s worth I’ll think about it.  I mean this wouldn‘t be the stupidest thing I‘ve done in my life.  It ranks pretty damn close, but this, well who knows?  Maybe staying married for a few more hours won‘t kill me.”

“Are you serious?” he questioned looking up as a smile passed over his features.

“Yeah,” she shrugged slightly not really knowing what she was getting herself into.

“Here, lets go back to the hotel room so we can talk,” he stated wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“Now that’s going a little too far, I said I would think about it not jump into the newlywed scene with you,” she raised her eyebrow watching him quickly pull his arm back.

“Sorry,” he apologized watching her smile and shake her head lightly.  “That’s not what I was trying to imply at all and…”

“And if you want to stay married to me for a few more hours, then you’d be smart to keep your mouth shut and let me run the show here.  It’s the only way this will ever work out,” Shannon explained with a grumble all the while wondering if she’d truly lost her mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Diego entered his office after receiving the cryptic message from his secretary.  While he wasn’t quite sure what was going on, he knew that he had to make a few phone calls and see just what this message was all about.  Closing the door behind him, he spun around to face his desk when he noticed a pair of long legs propped up on one of his filing cabinets.
   
“It’s about time you got here,” the voice mused as her long, black stilettos fell to the floor with her movement.  The chair she was seated in spun around to reveal her scantly clad curves.  “Hello Dr. Hernandez, I was hoping that I would catch you here today.”
   
“Ms. Valentine?” he blinked back in confusion watching Thea rise from where she was seated.
   
“You never called so I was starting to worry about you,” she explained, sauntering over to him.  Reaching out to touch the lapel on his jacket gingerly, she smiled up at him, “So have you thought about my proposal?”
   
“You mean the one you offered to help take out Cameron,” he questioned in a neutral tone.
   
“That would be the one,” she nodded her eyes widening with each word she spoke, “because you know he’s up to no good again and I was hoping that perhaps you could save Heather and her son some grief.”
   
“And just what’s in it for you Ms. Valentine?” he questioned with a slight frown, “Given what I know about your relationship with Cameron, I don’t think you’re out to help me at all.”
   
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she smiled at him before moving over to his couch and taking a seat, “because I have the distinct feeling that once you hear me out, you’re going to believe in every word I have to say to you.”
   
“Is that right,” he folded his arms in front of his chest disbelieving her statement.
   
She nodded, “And after that, well I’m sure that you’ll have no problems putting Cameron in his place.  Then, well Heather can be all yours and you can do for her what you weren’t able to do for Maria.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heather sat in her hospital bed thinking about the visit with her son and Diego.  While she had a great many mixed emotions about her family she’d left behind, she thought about what her child meant to her.  She’d always wanted more for her baby and maybe just maybe Diego was right.  Perhaps it was time to let things go--maybe the best thing to do would be put the past behind her.
   
“But can I really do that,” she thought to herself realizing that while Diego had left, she still wanted to see her son.  Granted she didn’t want to move about the hospital given the way she looked, but maybe just maybe in seeing her son again it would put things in perspective.  Braving the fact that someone might be seeing her, she pushed her sheet aside and started to pull herself out of the bed when she heard a noise from over by the door.  Looking up, she felt her breath escape from her throat with a gasp.
   
“Going somewhere,” Cameron questioned boldly stepping into the room.  He eyed her intently, a fire of fury rushing over him with each move he made towards her, “So Heather?  Tell me something.  How long were you planning on keeping me at arm’s length?”
   
“You shouldn’t be here,” Heather insisted with a frown.  “The doctors said…”
   
“To hell with what the doctors said.  The way I see it, it’s time that you and I had a little talk and not even your little boyfriend can keep that from happening,” he declared boldly closing and locking the door behind him with a determined shove.



...to be continued...