“Thank God you’re awake,” Brant let out a breath of relief squeezing Angela’s hand in his now that his prayers had been answered. He could see how tired she looked as her eyelashes fluttered open and shut again. Her lips parted all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss her telling her that everything would be okay from here on out, but before he could get the opportunity, he heard her let out a small cry.

“Where am I?” she questioned confusion carrying in over her as her dark eyes met Brant’s again.

“You’re in the hospital,” he explained reaching out to touch the side of her face, “but don’t worry you’ll be okay now. We’re going to take good care of you.”

“That’s right. You’re safe now,” Kevin added moving in to the other side of her bed as Angela’s eyes were still fixed on Brant.

“I’m going to take good care of you now that you’re awake. We’re going to go home sweetheart and,” Brant started to explain to her only to feel her pull away from his touch.

“Who are you?” she questioned wearily shuffling to move on the bed away from him.

“What?” Brant replied seeing a flash of horror behind her eyes. She strained to get up on the bed and reached for the sheet that covered her. “Honey it’s me.”

“Who are you and why are you calling me sweetheart?” Angela questioned her fingers curling tightly around the blanket that covered her. A sense of panic carried over her when Brant tried to reach out to her again. She let out a shriek. “Don’t touch me. Stay away!”

“I don’t understand…Angela I…” Brant found himself at a loss seeing the frightened expression on her face, “You’re safe now and I’m here and…”

“No, just stay away from me,” she shouted her voice raising with confusion as Kevin moved forward.

“Angie, it’s okay,” Kevin touched her shoulder gently seemingly snapping her out of the moment she’d been in. Her dark brown eyes filled with horror, then recognition as she leaned into Kevin throwing her arms around him.

“Kevin, thank God you’re here. What’s going on?” she questioned breaking down into tears in his arms. “Why am I here? We were just at home and then I wake up and I’m in this place with some strange man calling me sweetheart and…”

“I’m not some strange man,” Brant tried to argue watching Angela squeezing Kevin tighter than before.

“Please Kevin. Just make him go away. Make him leave us alone so that you can tell me what’s going on. Kevin I’m afraid and…” Angela tipped her head up to see his confused brown eyes. “One minute we were at home having a quiet breakfast with one another and then the next…”

“Angela, look I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but that man over there is Brant,” Kevin tried to explain to her searching her eyes for any kind of response.

“I don’t care who he is. I want him gone. I just want to go back home. You know I don’t like being in hospitals as a patient and…” Angela begged of him squeezing her arms around him even harder than before as she broke into tears, “Kevin I’m scared. I just want to go home.”

“Angela, I…” Kevin found himself at a loss as he looked to Brant not quite knowing what in the world was happening, but whatever it was Kevin had a strong feeling that it couldn’t be good.

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

“So what’s the verdict?” JT arched a curious brow, watching across the table as Evie took the first bite of the piece of pancake that she’d picked up off of the plate with her fork. He’d watched her swirl the small bite around in strawberry syrup before finally pressing it beyond her lips. Her eyes closed instinctively and he could almost hear her sigh of pleasure as she swallowed.

“It’s divine,” she finally mouthed, reopening her dark eyes to find him staring at her with obvious amusement. She tipped her head to the side before glaring out at him, “What?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged his shoulders simply, “I just happen to find it quite entertaining to see you enjoying this as much as you do.”

“I happen to like breakfast especially when I have to wait to get it,” Evie wrinkled her nose at him before dipping her fork back into the stack of pancakes on her plate again, “I thought we would be here sooner then we were when you first suggested it.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that I had to go over to talk about the mishap with my credit card,” JT frowned thinking about the headache that Valerie had caused him when she’d gone on a shopping spree a few weeks back. “I reported it stolen the moment she swiped it from my wallet, but…”

“But obviously they didn’t believe that,” Evie noted thinking about the smugness that Valerie carried around with her where JT was concerned. “I just don’t get how she could just take it from you.”

“I don’t get how she found her way into my apartment, but refused to leave,” JT shrugged his shoulders before leaning back in his seat, “It’s not a problem anymore. I paid it off and cancelled it. She won’t be able to cause any more problems in that respect.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have had to cancel your credit card because of her,” Evie frowned thinking about JT’s uninvited roommate, “I don’t trust or like her JT.”

“That makes two of us,” JT set his fork down before reaching across the table for her hand. He raised it to his lips and offered up a small kiss before meeting her dark eyes again, “but right now I don’t want to think about her. I would much rather focus on the sexy, beautiful woman at my side right now.”

“Hmm, well in that case gush away,” Evie couldn’t help but smile feeling his lips brush against her skin once again. She opened her mouth to say something more when another sound pressed over her.

“Still slumming I see,” Diane sneered down at the both of them, “Though I must admit I’m not really surprised since they say birds of a feather flock together. Or was it something about the trash coming together? I forget.”

“Diane,” JT sat up straighter stiffening as his former lover glared down at the both of them, “what do you want?”

“Most certainly not you,” Diane wrinkled her nose at him before shooting an icy look out at Evie, “although it seems you don’t have to worry about trying to stalk me anymore since you picked yourself up someone young enough not to realize what a pathetic loser you truly are. Trust me sweetheart after the rush of the sex wears off you’ll find that you’ll be the one reaching for the bottle. JT is a killer on hopes and dreams when it comes to your future.”

“Knock it off Diane,” JT warned with a glare seeing something spark behind Diane’s eyes.

“I can handle this JT,” Evie placed her hand over his before glaring up at Diane again, “I thought I made myself clear the last time we saw one another Diane. We had an understanding.”

“Yeah, that I should have pressed assault charges against you,” Diane snarled down at her, “because I’ll have you know the chief of police is friends with my sister--best friends in fact and he would have no trouble throwing your bony little ass in jail.”

“I’m so scared,” Evie rolled her eyes up at Diane, “After all it wasn’t my fault that you wound up tripping like you did and meeting the toilet bowl head first.”

“Listen you little,” Diane took a step towards her ready to say something more when Deidra intervened.

“There you are,” Deidra spoke up in a firm, warning tone, “Diane, our table is ready, so we really should be going.”

“Of course,” Diane cleared her throat pushing her thoughts about Evie aside long enough to stand up straighter. “After all we have more important things to deal with than having to waste our time on JT and his bargain basement girlfriends.”

“That’s enough Diane,” JT finally grew tired of listening to her insults. He stood up and glared at her before taking a step forward, “You tell her you’re sorry.”

“Why would I do that when I’m not,” Diane met his eyes, a new spark of determination on her face, “Besides we both know it’ll only be a matter of time before you toss her like you do all the others. Come to think of it, the only one you can’t seem to let go of is me.”

“I gave up on that one a while ago Diane,” JT snapped back at her, a glare carrying over him, “The moment you and Ben murdered our child because it didn’t fit into your oh so perfect life was the moment you became dead to me.”

“Ben was my child’s father and if it wasn’t for you stressing me out, then we could be happy with our family right now. You’re the reason my baby is gone JT and you can rot in hell for that,” Diane snapped bringing her hand up and slapping the left side of his face.

“I’ve been in hell since the moment you walked back into my life,” JT answered tightly his jaw flexing with anger and the recoil of her slap, “The day you murdered our child was the day I saw you as you truly were. I’ll never forgive you for that Diane.”

“I don’t need your forgiveness or your issues JT,” Diane glanced over at Evie for a moment, “but I’m sure she’ll put up with it until she realizes that this is an all an act. Once she sees just how pathetic you really are when it comes to us, then she’ll leave you too JT. Sooner or later everyone does.”

“Why you…” Evie stood up ready to get her own thoughts out, but JT grabbed her arm refusing to let Diane get the best of her.

“Let her go,” JT sighed taking in a slow, calming breath. “She’s not worth it.”

“I can’t believe she said those things to you. How could she pass judgment against you when she’s as rotten as it gets?” Evie questioned in astonishment, “She’s the reason you were so miserable and…”

“And it was an obsession that almost took me under,” JT explained reaching out to cup Evie’s face in his hands. “I wanted to have everything with her and I thought when she was pregnant I was going to have that, but now I see how wrong that was.”

“What do you mean?” she couldn’t help but ask her dark eyes widening as his fingertips slid into her hair gently.

“I’m not saying I regret the fact that I was going to be a father, but after believing that I was loving her and needing her, I see now how wrong I was. I didn’t know what it was that I wanted until I found you--until you made me see that I wasn’t alive until you were in my life,” he explained leaning down to press his lips against hers in a soft, tender display of what he was trying to convey with his emotions. As they parted he kept his dark eyes upon her before speaking up in a small whisper, “Forget about Diane and what she has to say. None of that is relevant and I’m not about to let it ruin our morning.”

“We can box all of this up and leave if you like,” Evie suggested hating the idea of being around Diane for a second longer.

“Forget about it,” JT shook his head decisively, “We have every bit as much right to be here. I promised you a good breakfast and you’re going to get it.”

“We can take it home,” Evie offered up once again before glaring over in Diane’s direction.

“We could,” JT curled his finger underneath her chin and urged her to meet his eyes again, “but why give her something that she will delight in? I would much rather have her miserable because unlike her I’ve found happiness in my life. She has to pretend to be someone she isn’t with Ben, but it’s not like that for us. What we have is the real deal with no deceptions and no pretending.”

“Right,” Evie replied nervously feeling a pang of guilt in the center of her abdomen. She reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly, “JT, you know I love you, right?”

“Of course I do,” he leaned in to kiss her again, “and I love you as well. It’s the one thing in this world that I’m sure about.”

“I promise no matter what happens in the future with Diane or anyone else that this won’t change. What we feel for one another won’t turn out like everything else has in our lives. We were meant to find one another and I refuse to give up on the idea of us together,” she mouthed tipping up on her toes to kiss him again, “I can’t wait to share the rest of my life with you JT Mahoney.”

“That’s exactly what I needed to hear,” he smiled down at her before pulling her into his arms. He kissed her one more time before nodding towards the table, “Let’s finish breakfast and then we’ll figure out how we can enjoy the rest of our day together. I think we’ve earned that much.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she smiled up at him knowing in her heart that she’d found the most amazing man she’d ever known. She just hoped that everything else in the world didn’t come back to haunt their future once she found the strength to tell him about the past she’d been keeping from him. Glancing over at Diane once again she just prayed that regardless of what the future had in store for her and JT that Diane wouldn’t prove to be more of a problem than she’d anticipated.

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

“Look at them,” Diane huffed from where she was seated at the table with Deidra, “They think they are so much better than the rest of us, but JT is nothing. He’s always been a nothing and no matter what kind of woman he has on his arm, he’ll always be spending his life finding a way to try to replace me. It’s so obvious.”

“Diane, what do you care?” Deidra couldn’t help but ask watching the way that her sister was clearly in the mood to obsess over JT and his date. Deidra looked over to see the girl feeding JT a piece of pancake while JT offered up a laugh and Diane groaned.

“See, look at them! He’s totally bilking it to get me ticked off. He’s under some misguided notion that he’s going to make me jealous by playing around with her, but it’s not going to work. It didn’t work when he started seeing Jade and it certainly isn’t going to work now that he’s with some hoochie that he’s trying to flaunt off in front of me. Oh God, did you just see that? Gag me!”

“Diane,” Deidra waved her hand in front of her sister’s face before frowning, “maybe you should pay a little less attention to them and more to the fact that you’re here with me for breakfast.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Diane groaned inwardly rolling her eyes as JT leaned across the table to kiss Evie, “Okay, it’s official I’m totally going to throw up now.”

“You know Diane,” Deidra couldn’t help but clear her throat before speaking up, “maybe you should let this go. I mean no offense, but I think JT is doing just fine on his own there. You, on the other hand, are starting to worry me. In fact, if I didn’t know better I would almost think that you’re being a tad bit obsessive.”

“Obsessive,” Diane laughed lightly, “Oh please Deidra, I’m not even close to being obsessive. JT Mahoney doesn’t even show up on my radar.”

“If that was the case, then why do you keep looking over at them?” Deidra couldn’t help but question.

“I’m not,” Diane waved her hand around in the air dismissively, “It’s just hard not to pay attention to them when they keep laying it on thick like that.”

“Trust me, they aren’t as bad as you’re making it sound,” Deidra noted reaching for her coffee, “Besides, I didn’t ask you here today so that we could focus on him. I wanted to talk about Andy.”

“What about?” Diane questioned attempting to pay attention to her sister finally. “What’s going on?”

“He came to see me,” Deidra paused, a frown overtaking her features, “and now he’s claiming that getting a divorce is the last thing on his mind. He went on and on about how he would like to see us make things work…”

“Come again?” Diane blinked back at her. “You’re kidding right?”

“I wish I was,” Deidra shook her head and sighed, “I just don’t get it myself, yet there he was trying to get me to agree to not end things.”

“But things have been over for a while already. You split up months ago and,” Diane thought about her sister’s situation and frowned.

“I know, which is why it seems so strange. Andy and I have been strangers since before our wedding clearly,” Deidra shuddered as she thought back to the man she’d married, “and now, well now I wouldn’t even think twice about what we had with one another. Now that I’ve found Dean I wouldn’t dream of looking back.”

“What does Dean think about all of this? Does he know?” Diane questioned curiosity carrying over her.

“Does he know what?” Dean inquired as he walked over to the table to join the two sisters, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” Deidra immediately perked up reaching out to pull him over beside her at the booth they were in. “I was wondering when you would show up.”

“I was running a little behind, but I figured that I could try to rush it a bit,” Dean explained with a smile before turning to look at Diane again, “Hey how’s it going today?”

“It was better before we got here,” Diane groaned glancing over at JT and Evie once again, “I think I’m going to lose my appetite.”

“Diane,” Deidra frowned giving her sister another look.

“I’ll be right back,” Diane announced as Deidra found herself worried about her sister.

“Diane, you’re not going back over there, are you?” Deidra couldn’t help but ask her worries mounting about her sister.

“No of course not. I wouldn’t submit myself to that kind of torture,” Diane scoffed before marching off towards the ladies room, but not without giving JT and Evie another look.

“Okay, what did I miss here?” Dean couldn’t help but ask catching the tension in the air.

“That’s Diane’s ex,” Deidra nodded over towards JT once again, “He’s the one she was with when she and Ben had problems…you know the one that she thought could be her baby’s father.”

“Really?” Dean glanced over at JT briefly, “Well he seems to have moved on from that pretty fast.”

“Too fast for my sister’s liking. Granted she wasn’t really interested in him in the first place--or at least that’s her cover story, but when it comes to JT,” Deidra paused before offering up a long sigh, “I don’t think my sister has her head on straight. He’s trouble and she keeps inviting that back into her life.”

“You think she’s jealous?” Dean arched a curious brow.

“Let’s just say that I’ve seen my sister end up hating herself more often than I can remember after spending a night in his bed. It’s pretty ugly and destructive when she travels down that road, but it wouldn’t be beyond her to do something like that to spite JT’s new companion,” Deidra revealed her thoughts aloud.

“Really?” Dean glanced over at JT once again, “But what about Ben? I thought he and Diane were happy.”

“They are happy, but my sister doesn’t know how to live in happy. She can’t just accept that things are going good. She’s always finding a way to sabotage herself without realizing it,” Deidra shook her head before looking over at JT once again, “and if there was one way to head down that spiral again, it’s with JT Mahoney. He’s the begin all, end all for Diane when it comes to living the life of self destruct mode. He’s poison when it gets down to it and if I know Diane, I have a feeling she’ll wind up doing something she regrets again if she’s not careful.”

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

“It feels so good to be back,” Cary admitted with a bright grin reaching for a towel and drying himself off after he and Michelle finished up with the shower that they’d taken together. He wiped the steam off of the mirror in front of him and took a long look at his appearance, “Of course I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get back into old habits.”

“I thought that’s what we already covered a little while ago,” Michelle noted wrapping the towel around herself tighter before moving in to wrap her arms around his shoulders, “They were very nice old habits if I do say so myself.”

“Of course they were,” he smirked in response bringing her hands up to his lips and kissing them before he focused on his reflection once again, “but I was thinking more so about the fact that in being Andrew Byrne for so long I’ve had to stray away from the things that mattered the most to me. I mean sure being a hot shot plastic surgeon has been fun considering that I never actually believed I would wind up in medical school, but lo and behold Andy had that working for him. I’ve gotten some of the perks that I’d been hoping for, but now I want more. I want what’s rightfully mine.”

“And we’re going to get it for you, aren’t we baby?” she massaged her fingers over his abdomen taking in his smooth skin. “We’re going to take back what should’ve been ours before that witch had to spoil everything.”

“Oh yes,” he nodded proudly, “we will take back everything that Angela owes us, but first, well I have a little warm up for the both of us. Something that wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but it will have it’s perks.”

“Such as?” she arched a curious brow.

“Well at the moment I am married as I said before. Turns out that Andy went and got himself married, which is something I never quite understood considering that the man had a very savory palate of beautiful women waiting to be with him. He opted to tie himself down to this humdrum woman that while she has a certain down home quality to her she never really measured up to the other women in his life or mine. You see by the time I had met him he was already bored with her, having opted to spend time with other women on the side, but still he was holding on. I never quite understood why even though I did the same thing for a while. I mean sure she was alright, but she wasn’t anything like, well you or even Angela,” he shrugged his shoulders simply thinking about Deidra. “She was just there.”

“Oh poor baby,” Michelle massaged his chest again, her gaze fixed on him in the mirror. “You must’ve been so very bored.”

“Beyond belief,” he added with a wrinkle of his nose, “but I knew one day all of the waiting would pay off and now it has. You see I was about to get myself a divorce when I saw that Angela was in town.”

“So you’re saying you don’t have to now that your first wife is around, yes?” Michelle arched a curious brow watching him intently.

“That was the plan, but unfortunately my twerp of a brother botched up my wedding somehow. Turns out that the little loser is married to Angela because he signed some paperwork that he shouldn’t,” Andy frowned thinking about what Kellen had divulged to him.

“You have to be kidding me,” Michelle’s jaw practically dropped, “Are you saying that Kellen and Angie are…”

“Unfortunately, but this could work in my favor considering that I’m ready to take out two birds with one stone. That little brat of a brother was never worth anything until now,” Andy explained with a tiny laugh, “but once I work my way in with my connections at the insurance company, I can profit not only off Angela, but on Kellen as well. It’s a beautiful and poetic ending to two of the people in this world that have annoyed me the most.”

“And then what?” she couldn’t help but ask curiosity brewing over her.

“Well, by the time they all figure out that Kellen and Angie were right that I was in fact me, we’ll be long gone with enough cash to have us set for life,” he explained with a wide grin bringing his hand up through his wet hair. “It’s perfect actually.”

“And what about your other wife?” she questioned giving him a sideways glance. “What are you going to do about her? Get divorced?”

“On the contrary, I’ve had an epiphany recently. I realized that my lying, cheating ways are counterproductive to my growth as an individual and the therapist that I have been seeing has recommended that I find a way to make up for my mistakes,” he explained to here with a sinister expression reaching for a comb and bringing it through his hair, “So naturally the first thing that came to mind was my mending fences with my meek and mild wife.”

“You have to be kidding me,” Michelle frowned over at him releasing him with obvious disapproval. “You’re going to stay married and get back together with her?”

“Only for appearances,” he spun around to face her with another grin as he set the comb down. “Deidra will feel as if she has no choice but to reconcile with me since she is a ‘good girl’ and during that time I’ll be doing the loving husband thing. I’ll treat her like a princess and give her the world until one night she finds herself in yet another bout of depression and realize she can‘t take it anymore.”

“Wait, are you saying she’s a nut job?” she couldn’t help but ask wondering where he was headed with his plans.

“She’s a major manic depressive so naturally one night after a romantic encounter she is bound to blow up at me, take the car and drive it into the ravine. It’s perfect actually and then, well of course I will be mourning the loss of my beautiful wife--the wife that I have come to finally find peace with again. Everyone in this pathetic little town will feel sorry for me and it will pave the way to greater things for us. We can work on Angie then after I have that little cash to work with when Deidra dies.”

“Oh you are brilliant,” Michelle grinned proudly reaching out to snake her arms around his neck again, “I love when you come up with something dark and dastardly.”

“There’s plenty more where this came from,” he pulled her up in against his chest, “Of course for now we’ll have to keep up appearances though. I’ll have to get going back to work and play the concerned and caring doctor while you are going to do a little footwork for me.”

“Such as?” she questioned arching a curious brow.

“We’ll work out the details later,” he promised with a smile leaning in to kiss her heatedly, “but trust me it’s going to be good. Very good.”

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

Chris stood around the hospital wondering how in the hell he was going to get in to see Angela when he had not just Kevin and Brant against him, but Cameron as well. Certainly there had to be another way to get inside and if he could just pinpoint it and put his finger on what was going on, then he was sure he could find a new angle to work his way into the room.

“Someone else has to have some kind of power and authority around here,” Chris mouthed to himself scanning the hallway in the hopes of finding someone who could aid him in his quest to see Angela. He was halfway through his scan of his surroundings when he spotted the police chief in the hallway.

“Bingo,” he grinned widely standing up taller and making his way over to where Dave stood talking with one of the nurses. Sure it might be a long shot, but it was one that Chris was going to try to work with in the hopes of finding himself at Angela’s bedside. Boldly he tapped on Dave’s shoulder and waited for the police chief to respond.

“Yes?” Dave questioned turning around to see Chris standing behind him, “May I help you?”

“Not exactly, but I might be able to help you. You see I may have a tip on one of the cases you may or may not be working on involving Angela Meloni and that accident she was in,” Chris started to explain seeing the frown on Dave’s face.

“Look, I’m sure it’s a good tip, but I’m here on some personal business right now and off duty. However, you can go down to the station and talk to one of the officers as I’m sure they would be more than happy to take your statement,” Dave offered up in a dismissive tone before turning to the nurse again.

“Well, I suppose I could, but why would I want to work with one of the lower men when I have the best man for the job right in front of me,” Chris tried again to get Dave’s attention as he looked over his shoulder and noticed the piece of paper in Dave’s hand had Cori’s name on it. “Oh by the way how is your sister?”

“Excuse me?” Dave spun around to face him again clearly surprised to hear Chris ask, “Which one?”

“Cori,” Chris paused giving him a second glance, “Why do you have more than one?”

“Yeah I do, but given that you only know Cori I think it’s safe to say that you are better off than most,” Dave mouthed under his breath thinking about Jewel and her reputation around town. “Though for what it’s worth she’s improving.”

“Oh that’s wonderful to hear because I was really worried about her when I heard what happened. What Diego did to her was just shameful and my heart went out to her after all he put her through. She’s a really good kid and…” Chris started to ramble on to Dave in an attempt to keep his attention.

“What was your name again?” Dave couldn’t help but ask him.

“Foley. Chris Foley,” Chris held his hand out to Dave, “and I have to say that if you need anything, anything at all I would be only more than happy to help in this situation. In my opinion Diego deserved a lot worse than what he got for how he hurt Cori. Why to lead her on and then treat her like dirt like he did, he’s lucky that she didn’t shoot him somewhere else if you catch my drift…”

“Loud and clear,” Dave frowned in response, “and I’ll pass your words along to her for you.”

“Actually I was hoping that maybe you could pass something else along for me as well like maybe you could help me get in to see my dear friend Angela Meloni. As I said before she was in an accident and I have reason to believe that the same men that hurt her are the ones calling the shots around here making a very risky gamble with her life. I can’t help but worry about her considering that…” Chris started to plead his case to Dave only to find himself interrupted by another sound.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ria questioned bluntly glaring over at Chris. “I thought that security asked you to leave earlier.”

“They might’ve asked, but that doesn’t mean that I have to listen,” Chris argued with her with a huff. “Angel is my friend and I’m not about to let your muscle head boyfriend or her manipulative lover find a way to keep me from her. She needs someone like me right now to help her through what’s happening and…”

“What she needs is her rest. She doesn’t need one more man fighting over her,” Ria rolled her eyes before motioning to Dave, “This man simply won’t get a hint and leave.”

“Is that right?” Dave glanced over at Chris curiously. “Well, we wouldn’t want that now would we?”

“This is a hospital. The last time I checked it was a public place and I don’t see why I have to go when many other people can be here,” Chris huffed in response glaring over at Ria. “Just because Kevin has you wrapped around your pinky finger doesn’t mean that he’s doing what’s right here for anyone. You know as well as I do he’s just trying to selfishly keep Angel to himself so that she’ll take him back again, which of course means that you’re just a temporary replacement for her until that moment strikes. And it will you know. That’s how they work. They just bounce back and forth to one another so many times that it’s pathetic, but if you let me in I can help you keep that from happening…”

“I think that the lady’s heard more than enough,” Dave stood up taller seeing that Chris’s words were upsetting Ria even though she hadn’t said a thing. “How about you just go home for a while and maybe later I can see what I can do to get you in to see your friend?”

“You mean it?” Chris turned to face Dave again, “because you know I could just go in there right now since I have nothing else to be doing.”

“I’m sure I can work something out for you, but not just yet. I need to have a few words with the family first, but I’ll have the hospital call you just as soon as something comes up,” Dave offered patting him on the back before turning Chris towards the elevators. “Now go home and rest up.”

“But shouldn’t I give you my number or something so that you know who to call?” Chris questioned glancing over his shoulder.

“I know you’re name. That’s all I need Mr. Foley. I’ll have my people find you,” Dave promised him gently nudging Chris into the elevators before Ria followed stepping in behind him.

As the elevator doors closed, Ria couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really going to help him get in to see her?”

“No,” Dave answered honestly turning around to face her, “but I figured if I told him I would it would get him out of here and away from bothering you.”

“Thanks I appreciate that,” Ria couldn’t help but smile at Dave’s tactic to get rid of Chris, “Of course as soon as he realizes that you’re bluffing, he’ll be back.”

“It’ll still give you a break,” Dave shrugged his shoulders before watching her closely, “So tell me something, what’s going on with you and Kevin? I’m assuming that this is pretty major stuff, yes?”

“Dave, it’s not worth getting into. Besides how do you know about me and Kevin?” she eyed him curiously seeing something behind his eyes, “Well, other than what Chris just said.”

“This is a small town Ria,” Dave pointed out giving her a small look, “And besides it’s not out of the realm for me to keep tabs on an ex-girlfriend.”

“I thought you and I weren’t ever going to bring that up again,” she lowered her voice to a muted whisper. “I thought you said it was a bad thing for a medical student at the hospital to be involved with the police chief.”

“You’re not a medical student anymore and the last time I checked you were happy with Kevin and I’m a very happily married man,” Dave matched her tone and smiled at her offering up a wink. “I think that gives me plenty of leeway in being a concerned friend.”

“Okay, so you have a point,” she finally decided thinking about their short relationship with one another before she’d gotten involved with the man she’d dumped for Kevin. “Still, it’s just not worth getting into.”

“Because you’re afraid I might get involved or because you’re really sure it’s not worth getting into,” he arched a speculative brow watching her closely.

“Let’s just say I don’t think that Kevin and I are going to have problems. Sure, Angela has been a thorn in my side since day one, but he loves me. I’m sure of it,” Ria added with a less than confident smile.

“You don’t sound so convinced,” Dave noted with a small frown, “I mean he’s treating you right, isn’t he?”

“If you’re asking if he’s better than the last guy the answer is most certainly yes,” Ria added with an air of conviction in her tone. “Remember when we were dating and I told you about that guy that I had a crush on as a child?”

“The one that broke your heart, yet you were still kind of always wishing that you could be together again?” Dave added with a nod, “What about him?”

“That’s Kevin,” she informed him honestly bringing her hand up through her hair, “and while I honestly thought that he and I would never find one another again when he came back to town after Jade died things were like they had never changed for us. Here we were back by one another again and the feelings were stronger than ever. Hell, we’re getting married.”

“Then I would have to say congratulations are in order,” Dave reached out to hug her tightly, “I’m happy for you Ria.”

“And I’m happy for you too. I never did tell you how great it is that I hear you got married and have a daughter,” Ria patted him on the shoulder before stepping back. “I’ve seen Kayla and she’s beautiful.”

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Dave admitted proudly thinking about his little girl and Carly. “I guess you were right when you said that there is a reason to never give up hope for second chances down the line.”

“See, so your listening to me paid off,” Ria punched his arm gently and laughed. “You did get something from our time together.”

“I got a lot more than that,” Dave touched her shoulder gently and smiled, “and listen I know I might not have been the best of boyfriends considering all my issues, but…”

“I wasn’t exactly the best girlfriend either,” Ria cut him off honestly, “but for what it’s worth I’m glad we’re friends.’

“So am I and if you ever need anything--anything at all, then please don’t hesitate to call,” Dave offered up with a small smile realizing it had been too long since he’d talked to Ria.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea considering that you have more than enough on your plate with Cori,” she noted seeing something behind his eyes. “How is she doing by the way?”

“She’s doing better, but she’s still not there yet,” Dave sighed heavily shaking his head, “I just don’t know if she’s going to pull out of this one and I’m worried about her.”

“I can’t say I blame you, but keep the faith. I’m sure that she will improve. She has the best doctors working on her and in time she’ll be able to move beyond all of this. She’s a fighter and I know she’ll be able to rise above the situation,” she offered up hopefully hating to see his life in turmoil.

“I sure hope so,” Dave added thinking about his sister and wondering if she would ever truly be able to move past the latest spell that had driven her to shooting Diego. He had his doubts, but maybe Ria was right. Maybe with a little faith things would improve.

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

“Hey, you’re whole life isn’t screwed up,” Nate frowned getting to his knees and reaching out to push some of Cori’s blonde hair behind her ear. Seeing her brown eyes meet his in a small glance, he reached out to caress her cheek softly with his thumb. “Listen Cori, yeah things aren’t like the Ritz Carlton here, but that doesn’t mean you’re life is over. This is one little speed bump.”

“You call this little?” Cori muttered looking away from Nate hearing him let out a small sigh before reaching forward to press back her blonde hair again and she moved to look into his eyes. Watching him lean back and press back his sandy blonde hair she looked into his green eyes, shrugging her shoulders. “I have no idea what you are still doing here with me.”

“Well, call me crazy, but I kind of like you,” Nate added with a small sigh seeing the way she half laughed before looking away from him. Sitting back on the ground, he rested his hands behind him nodding as he spoke. “Yeah, I know it is crazy, but you’re like a friend of mine and you’re supposed to be there for your friends. No matter how much they hate you at the time.”

“I don’t hate you, I just think you’re a big pain in the ass,” she muttered seeing his eyes widen making him let out a small laugh before nodding slowly. “I don’t know how we can consider each other friends though. We always want to kill each other.”

“Name one time I’ve come in here with the attentions of killing you or causing you any trouble,” Nate insisted seeing her close her eyes and bite down on her bottom lip. Seeing one eyelid open to stare out at him she shrugged her shoulders and let out a long sigh. “Exactly, you can’t think of one. Maybe it’s because I like talking to you, that’s why I could be coming in here with you.”

“I highly doubt it, if that’s the case you have some serious issues because I don’t talk very much,” she pointed out seeing him shrug his shoulders and she let out a small laugh feeling him reach out to squeeze her shoulder softly. “Though, I do know you to have some serious issues already so there goes my first statement.”

“Hey, what can I say? I like a bit of issues in my life every now and then,” Nate cleared his throat uneasily seeing her smile before he shrugged his shoulders and looked down toward the ground. “To be honest with you Cori, the only thing that bothers me in life is the sad stuff. That’s the one thing I could live without.”

“I think that’s how half the human population feels. You love the great moments in your life, but the ones that hurt the most stick out the most,” she pointed out seeing him push back his sandy blonde hair before nodding slowly and wiping at his nose. Seeing his reddened over green eyes she couldn’t help but feel bad for him after what he told her. “We seem like such a screwed up pair here you know.”

“Must be why I want to be your friend. I don’t have many friends and it figures that the people that love you the most die the fastest. It’s almost like you feel like you’re a virus that once someone has it in their system,” Nate took in a long breath itching his chin slowly before shaking his head thinking about all the things that have happened over the last month or so. “They die off.”

“You’re nothing like that,” Cori tried to cheer him up seeing the way that Nate’s green eyes stared into hers. She reached out to squeeze his hand in hers seeing the confusion and pain behind the expression on his face. “You seem like a nice person Nate, you are persistent, but you have to be nice if you keep coming back to check in on me. I mean really Nate, who in their right mind would come in here and continue to try and work with me?”

“Me, honestly I think you are really a good person Cori,” Nate replied letting his fingers slip away from hers as he stood up seeing the way she looked up at him. “If no one else sees through you like I do, I’m willing to take a chance at making a difference. All you really need is a friend.”

“I don’t see that happening,” Cori replied watching the frown that crawled in over the corner of his lips as she shook her head slowly. “I’m not the friend type if you get what I’m saying. I really don’t think I can be made into the friend type.”

“Well, then I guess we need to work on getting you to have a friend relationship,” Nate insisted with a small smile pushing back his hair before shrugging his shoulders. “I’m sure I can get you to start liking me.”

“I highly doubt that considering,” Cori went to say something else before hearing a ringer going off in Nate’s pocket seeing Nate reach for it, his green eyes getting wide once he saw the number. “Who is that, your girlfriend?”

“If it was, would that really piss you off?” Nate questioned with interest glancing over the number seeing Cori’s dark eyes look away from him, her jaw tightening in anger as he ran his fingers in over the talk button letting out a small laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you seem jealous right now Cori. Is that the case, you sure seem like you are jealous to me. Maybe you like me more than I thought.”

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

“So anyways,” Heather went to speak again hearing a noise come from the back of the room as she turned to look back toward the front door to see if she saw anything before shrugging her shoulders. “So anyways, I was thinking about the thing we were working on.”

“Right,” Becca muttered with a small nod seeing the way that Kyle looked around the corner of the hallway to look out at Heather and her and she smiled seeing the way Heather looked back again only for Kyle to hide. “What are you looking at?”

“I don’t know, I feel like someone is behind me,” Heather replied turning to face Becca again before Becca shook her head slowly. She saw Kyle come back down the hallway with some flowers in his hands as he stood behind Heather who was sitting on the couch. Becca gasped as Heather turned to look, but when Kyle saw her move he ducked down to the ground for her to just miss him again. “I swear, I’m getting the weirdest feelings.”

“I know what it’s like,” Becca replied seeing Kyle motion her to stay quiet as he set the flowers down on the table softly before reaching out slowly toward Heather. “So about that…,”

“Holy shi…,” Heather felt something come down in over her shoulders as she jumped out of her seat ready to attack whoever it was behind her until she met the sound of the laugh she knew very well. Moving forward over the couch she brought her hands into Kyle’s chest over and over again lightly letting out a small laugh. “You jerk, I really thought someone was coming to attack me.”

“I’m sorry baby,” Kyle chuckled pressing a small kiss against her lips as he felt her fingers slide in and over his shoulders as he laughed against her skin before pulling back. “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a really good laugh in a while so I figured I would get it out of you.”

“Next time you do that, I swear,” Heather gently hit her palm in over the center of his chest, seeing the way he smiled down at her and she gently squeezed the cotton of his shirt in her palm. “I will punish you so bad that you will never want to do that again.”

“Why wait until the next time?” Kyle bit down on his bottom lip seeing her green eyes widen as he pressed his lips in over hers, gently nipping at her bottom lip. His arm curled tighter around her waist tightly pressing her in against him. “How about you punish me right now?”

“Well as much as I would love to do that right now, I have company,” Heather nodded over toward Becca seeing Kyle frown before laughing and half waving over toward Becca. He stepped away from Heather for a moment before reaching for the flowers on the table holding them out in front of his body for Heather seeing her green eyes light up. “For me?”

“Something beautiful just for you,” Kyle saw her grab the flowers and he moved forward to kiss her only to see her move out of the way and run to the kitchen to put the flowers in water as he let out a small laugh. Turning toward Becca he shrugged his shoulders before slightly laughing. “I guess I’ll kiss her later, so how are you today?”

“I’m alright,” Becca smiled up at Kyle seeing the way he nodded before looking back toward the kitchen hearing Heather messing around with a few things. “That was very sweet of you to get her flowers like that.”

“Yeah, well, I was trying,” Kyle mentioned seeing her smile widely as he looked back toward the kitchen waiting for Heather. Seeing Becca staring up at him awkwardly Kyle let out a nervous laugh looking at his shirt before shrugging his shoulders. “Did I spill something on myself?”

“No, you look great,” Becca answered truthfully seeing him nod slowly as her eyes centered in over the tattoo on Kyle’s wrist. Looking at the half heart design with Heather’s initials on it, she felt a bit jealous seeing the way that Heather came out and Kyle went over to her wrapping his arms around her tightly. “Those flowers do look great.”

“Well, they did come from the greatest man ever,” Heather added seeing Kyle wink down at her before dipping down to press a tender, loving kiss against her lips. Heather pressed her hand in against his rough cheek seeing him smile as she tipped up to give him another small kiss. “I’m lucky to have him.”

“Yes, you are,” Becca agreed folding her legs a different way uncomfortably before looking down toward the ground. Seeing Kyle and Heather take a seat she let out a long breath before leaning back in her seat. “You know, I think I should just give you some time alone. I’ll talk to you again soon Heather, it was nice to have a day out with a friend.”

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Kyle muttered standing up slowly and reaching out to grab a hold of Becca’s hand softly seeing her turn to face him. “I was just playing about the whole punishing thing, you’re Heather’s guest, you don’t have to leave until you want to.”

“Well, I do have some things to do,” Becca explained with a nod before grabbing her purse and headed toward the door. Becca saw the way that Heather frowned and she shrugged her shoulders. “Thank you for a wonderful day.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Heather nodded following her over to the door with Kyle behind them and Heather opened the door for her. “Well, I guess I will see you later, take it easy going home or wherever you are going. Traffic is horrible out.”

“Bye,” Kyle waved seeing her walk away as he shrugged his shoulders and shut the door for Heather seeing the way she looked back at him. Letting out a small laugh he held his hands up in the air and shook his head slowly. “This time, I didn’t force her to leave I swear.”

“I didn’t think you did, but I still owe you for scaring me,” Heather pointed out seeing the way Kyle smiled widely as she pushed him back toward the couch, watching him fall back down against it. Moving in over him she smiled running her fingers in against his neck. “Sarah tried to cause something in public again.”

“You’re kidding,” Kyle frowned seeing the way Heather shook her head before feeling Heather’s fingers tugging at the bottom of his shirt, tugging it up his muscled abdomen and he took in a long breath before rolling his eyes. “Honestly, she is a huge pain in the ass.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Heather muttered seeing the way that Kyle smiled before leaning up to meet her lips in a small kiss as her fingernails gently scratched against his chest. “You’re not the one that’s related to her.”

“Not that I want to mention this, but honey, honestly,” Kyle gently moved her back enough for him to pull off his shirt before pulling her in over his hips once more. “I really think it would be quite disgusting if she was in my family. Somehow, I don’t think incest would be my type of thing.”

“That’s gross Kyle,” Heather gently tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth hearing him let out a small groan as she felt his hands moving up against her thighs under her skirt. Reaching down she teased her fingers in over his belt, pulling it apart slowly seeing the breath get caught in his throat. “I wouldn’t put it past you though.”

“Considering I have no brothers and sisters,” Kyle laughed feeling her pull down the zipper on his pants and he moved forward to kiss her only to feel her pull back to dip her hand inside of his pants. “Obviously that meeting with Sarah didn’t hurt your feelings too bad.”

“Not when I’m here with you,” Heather felt him grab her hand and she pouted seeing the way he smiled before picking her up in his arms tightly. “I see you have other plans than what I really did.”

“I just like the sound of having a bed with us right now,” Kyle smirked moving forward to kiss her again, vowing not to let any other problems interrupt them tonight. “Sarah is never going to get between us again and I’m going to prove that to you for the rest of my life.”

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

“I’m tired of people,” Sarah hit her hand against the steering wheel feeling all the anger in her body building up at the feeling of how Becca and Heather told her off today. “This is ridiculous that new girl needs to mind her own business.”

No one should get in on something that they know nothing about especially if it had something to do with Heather. Heather was a horrible person and anyone who thought different was totally blind and an idiot.

“It figures though, she does something wrong and she’s the one that has everyone backing her up,” Sarah grunted to herself throwing her phone to the seat next to her in the car after playing with her phone for a while. Looking to the house she was parked in front of she finally got the power behind her to go and talk to them. “Maybe someone will be half decent today.”

Getting out of the car, she walked up to the house she knew all to well and that was Diego’s. She saw that his car was in the driveway and she knew that he would at least try and talk to her today. He was one person that would never ever push her away without listening to her clearly.

“Hey,” Sarah muttered seeing Diego appear at his door once she waited for a while after knocking seeing the look that Diego gave her before resting back against the doorway. Seeing his dark eyes narrow in at her she let out a small laugh before shrugging her shoulders. “You know, you sure do look good lately.”

“Don’t kiss my ass,” Diego bluntly blurted out seeing the way her dark eyes widened and he nodded slowly seeing her roll her eyes before folding her arms out in front of her chest. “What do you want Sarah? I don’t have all day.”

“I just wanted to talk to you,” she tried to explain seeing him nod slowly and watch her as she tried to come up with something to say. It was quite obvious to him that she was there for some stupid reason and he didn’t want to take part in any of her evil plans. “I just wanted to see you and talk about us.”

“There is no us, you screwed that up Sarah,” Diego pointed out firmly standing straight and letting out a small hiss seeing her dark eyes staring into his. “I don’t want to play your stupid games Sarah, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“What do you mean by that?” she questioned with a loud growl hearing him let out a small laugh before shrugging his shoulders and moving forward in closer to her. “What if this baby growing inside of me really is yours. What then Diego? You going to puss out?”

“Listen to me now Sarah, if that baby is mine, I will be getting my child,” Diego promised firmly pressing his hands into his pockets and shook his head slowly. “You will have nothing to do with me and my child, that I know for sure.”

“Listen Diego, you need to realize who you are messing with,” Sarah moved forward poking at the center of his chest angrily seeing the way his eyes glared down at her. “You really don’t want to piss me off right now Diego. That’s the last thing you want to do.”

“You know what,” a female voice moved in behind Diego as Sarah saw Diego’s sister move in front of him, pressing her hands into Diego’s chest to push him back into the house. Gabriella saw him resist at first before nodding slowly and walking back into the house to leave the two women alone. “I’m tired of what you are trying to do with my brother. Why don’t you stop being a stupid bitch and leave before I make you leave.”

“I’m not leaving until Diego listens to me,” Sarah pointed out going to move forward only to feel Gabriella push her back making her stumble off the steps before letting out a small laugh. “You really don’t want to get in the way right now little one.”

“Little one? Listen I’m telling you now to leave before you really,” Gabriella went to say something else before seeing Sarah go to hit her and she ducked rolling her eyes when Sarah spilled out on the floor from the fierceness when she went to hit. “Nice job Sarah, now I’m going to go see my brother and you better be gone in two minutes or I’m calling the police.”

“What happened?” Diego questioned standing up from the couch seeing his sister walk into the room after being outside with Sarah for a while and he saw her close and lock the door behind her. “Gabriella, what did you to her?”

“Nothing that you already haven’t said,” she answered and shrugged her shoulders and sitting down on the couch seeing Diego do the same and she shrugged her shoulders not knowing what else to say. “To tell you the truth Diego, I really think you should come up with something to do to get away from Coral Valley. I think you need to come back home with me, take your child from Sarah and get away from her, start over new. I think that’s what could lead you further in your life Diego, you just need to come home and give up the dream you have here.”

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

“Jason, where in the world are you?” Deana blurted out as she kicked open the door after unlocking it. Carrying the groceries in her hands she let out a small groan hearing Jason’s laugh fill her ears. “Jason, I called you a couple of times, I needed your help instead I carried all of these up by myself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry sis,” Jason stood up from the couch after seeing his sister’s brown eyes meet the glance of him and Mindy who were sitting on the couch and Deana glanced into his blue eyes. “We were talking and I must have not heard the phone ringing. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Deana replied seeing Jason take all the groceries in her hands and carry them to the kitchen before walking back into the living room with Deana and Mindy. Glancing at Jason she saw him smile before fixing his baseball hat and nodding over to Mindy. “So.”

“Oh yes, Deana this is Mindy if you remember,” Jason cleared his throat uneasily reaching his hand out to Mindy to help her off the couch slowly before smiling widely. “She wanted to come over and just hang out, I hope you were okay with that.”

“Of course I was,” Deana answered with a small smile extending her hand out to Mindy’s seeing Mindy’s blue eyes staring into hers for a moment before shaking it in return. “So how are you doing Mindy?”

“I’m pretty good,” Mindy saw Jason urge her to sit back down on the couch and she did seeing him move down next to her. She looked up at Deana nodding slowly before looking to Jason again. “I just didn’t want to be home alone and figured we could chat for a while then I will leave you if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is,” Jason blurted out wrapping his arm around her to give Mindy a small squeeze, hearing her let out a small laugh as Deana nodded slowly. “I think she is going to have a fantastic time with us here. We’ve already gotten her to laugh a million times and that was the plan. To get her to laugh.”

“Hey Jason, can you come help me put some of the groceries away a minute?” Deana suggested seeing him nod quickly before motioning Mindy to wait for him and he followed Deana into the kitchen before rubbing his hands together slowly. “Where did you get that black eye Jason?”

“Oh this? I have a matching one on my ribs too,” Jason lifted up his shirt showing the bruises he had on his body as Deana let out a small gasp, meeting his blue eyes in a small glance. “Kyle Houston did it to me.”

“Kyle, my Kyle? Not my Kyle, but Grady’s best friend?” Deana questioned seeing Jason nod slowly before grabbing a few things and putting them in the refrigerator and she reached out to grab Jason’s arm. “Why would he do something like this to you?”

“He has some type of big brother complex with Mindy and thought I was moving in on her,” Jason explained seeing Deana fold her arms out in front of her chest and Jason let out a long laugh. She saw her brother rest his hands against his hips before letting out a long laugh. “What are you look at me like that for?”

“Come on Jason, you can tell that you have it out for Mindy. Anyone with eyes can tell that,” Deana insisted seeing Jason roll his eyes and move to put the rest of the things away in the right spots. “What is she really doing here Jason?”

“She didn’t want to be alone and she asked if she could come over and that’s the honest truth. We were talking about Hunt after Kyle left, she got upset and wanted to come here and I said yes,” Jason explained resting his hands against his hips again before turning his hat around on his head. “If you have a problem with it I will take her home right now. We are just two friends trying make each other feel better by talking. That’s all I’m doing.”

“Fine, you can keep her here, but just realize that this girl is here because she thinks that she is your friend and nothing more,” Deana informed him seeing Jason nod slowly, biting down on his bottom lip as he listened to her carefully. “Just go back to her, I’ll make us some tea and we can try and get to know each other more or something. Just give me some space for a while.”

“Okay,” Jason moved out of the kitchen slowly before walking into the room and seeing Mindy’s blue eyes stare into his as he held his hands up in the air. Sitting down on the couch he heard Mindy let out a small laugh before shrugging his shoulders. “She is just making us some tea and she’ll be back in a minute.”

“That’s awfully nice of her,” Mindy pointed out seeing Jason nod and smile widely before leaning back against the couch. Mindy moved forward pressing a small kiss against his cheek before reaching out for his hand seeing him gulp down deeply. “Thanks again Jason, everything you have done for me has been simply amazing.”

“It’s no problem sweetheart,” Jason smiled squeezing her fingers in his before letting out a small laugh seeing her smile and let out a long breath. “If I was in your position I would want you to do the same for me, so it’s no problem at all.”

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

“Sorry for the delay,” Grady apologized sliding into the booth that Seth and Blake were at waiting for him. “I was stuck in traffic and I couldn’t get here any faster.”

“It’s okay,” Blake smiled over at him, “We were with Kyle earlier and we just got here a few minutes ago anyways.”

“Even so I think it’ll be worth the wait if you have what we’ve been hoping for,” Seth smiled confidently thinking about how long he’d waited for good news in the situation with Valerie. “Tell me you’ve got something good for us.”

“I’ve got something better than good,” Grady answered with a cryptic smile, “Although I do have to ask if you two will actually enjoy being able to go off and get married to one another after all this time. I mean for all you know Seth, Blake might’ve changed her mind.”

“Not a chance,” Blake mouthed excitedly, her blue eyes filled with eagerness. “So tell me Grady, are you the man to make all of that happen for us?”

“Well I worked up some papers and spoke with a friend of mine who is a judge and wouldn’t you know? The wheels of justice are being put into motion as we speak,” Grady informed them with a proud smile, “I’ve done what was necessary to get things going and Valerie should be getting the papers as we speak. Soon you’re going to be a free man Seth. Even if she fights it, which I’m sure she will, you’re going to have a pretty decent case on your hands. No judge is going to keep you married to her considering that the marriage was never real in the first place.”

“Grady, thanks I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this one,” Seth reached out to shake Grady’s hand eagerly. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Oh, but I think I do,” Grady nodded in complete understanding before glancing over at Blake, “It’s no fun when you are stuck with the wrong woman when the right one is right beside you.”

“You aren’t kidding me,” Seth noted with a small smile as his dark eyes cast over in Blake’s direction.

“Still how can we repay you for all of this,” Blake couldn’t help but ask again.

“Just get married and live happily ever after. I’m sure that’s what Jade would want and it’s good enough for me,” Grady mouthed in response hoping that he could help the two young lovers find their way to the happiness that fate had kept from them for so very long. They deserved nothing less than that.

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

Valerie pounded on the door to Michelle’s hotel room ready to blow up at anyone and anything after what she’d been given. She’d been minding her own business when this semi-cute guy had approached her and asked her name. Naturally she’d assumed that he’d wanted a date or an autograph, but instead he’d presented her with something that has ticked her off beyond belief. Pounding on the door again she waited for Michelle to answer and found herself increasingly losing her patience. She went to pound again, but Michelle finally opened and Valerie realized that Michelle was clad only in a bathrobe.

“Gees, can’t you wait a minute,” Michelle scowled watching Valerie push her way into the hotel room. “I was just cleaning up.”

“I don’t give a damn what you were doing. We have a problem here,” Valerie opened up her purse and held the envelope out to Michelle for inspection.

“What’s this?” Michelle questioned eyeing the envelope with tapering interest.

“It’s divorce papers…papers that Seth has had drawn up on me. He’s pushing harder than he was before for the divorce and,” Valerie started to explain only to realize that Michelle wasn’t paying any attention. She watched Michelle walk over to the mini bar in her hotel room and reach for something inside. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course I am,” Michelle mouthed selecting a small bottle from the refrigerator before turning to Valerie, “but I really don’t care.”

“What do you mean you don’t care? We had a deal. You told me that you were going to help me get Seth back and I was going to help you with Kevin. We had a deal and you can’t go back on a deal Michelle,” Valerie hissed at her marching over to snatch the bottle away from Michelle’s hands. “You know that as well as I do.”

“What I know is that you’re wasting your time on someone like Seth. Clearly he’s a moron, so why in the world would you want to waste your time,” Michelle shrugged her shoulders before swiping the bottle back and circling around the bar to pour herself a drink. “Besides, I think you’re going about this the wrong way. Why not go after JT’s brother? You know the one you keep toting around town with you? He’s rich and has purpose.”

“Not really,” Valerie shook her head firmly, “It’s Seth that I want and I won’t accept any substitutes on the matter.”

“Then you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. I think that you should just cut your losses and move on,” Michelle insisted lifting her drink to her lips and taking a slow sip. “You can do a lot better and you’ll see that once you quit fixating on Seth.”

“This coming from the woman who wants to reclaim Kevin Adonis as her own,” Valerie rolled her eyes and huffed, “I’m not buying that you aren’t thinking the same thing about Kevin that I’m thinking about Seth.”

“Honestly Kevin really isn’t worth my time anymore,” Michelle admitted with a small smile, “I mean yeah he’s sexy as hell and great in bed, but I need something more--something that’s a bit more lucrative for my future so to speak.”

“What?” Valerie’s jaw practically dropped, “So are you telling me that you’re looking to get rid of Kevin in order to get something else?”

“Perhaps,” Michelle circled around the bar to walk over to the table area where she still had a few bagels lingering from her earlier romp with Cary.

“Like what?” Valerie chased after her unable to believe what she was hearing. “What could you possibly want more than Kevin?”

“Money,” Michelle spun around to face Valerie, “Power. The kind of life that you could only get when you’re with a man who isn’t afraid to do things--to bend the rules a little bit…”

“I don’t believe this,” Valerie’s jaw practically dropped at what she was hearing. “You’ve been plotting for weeks to get Kevin back and now suddenly he’s not worth it. Something’s not right about this.”

“Believe me it’s the most right thing I’ve done in a long time. I mean Kevin’s done nothing but bring me down. He’s a jerk who doesn’t know how good he has it with someone like me, but I know full well that there are other people out there who would be more than happy to have what he can’t. The same thing works for you and Seth. Hell if you’re looking for someone to slum around with, why not go for JT? I mean he’s cute and related to Cameron so that might be worth something.”

“I want Seth plain and simple. I’m his wife and I’m not about to let him forget that,” Valerie clenched her hands at her sides, “And you’re going to help me whether you want to or not. We made a deal.”

“Yes we did, but I’m afraid that you’re only going to find yourself disappointed,” Michelle shook her head at Valerie, “You should really take a page from my book and find something bigger and better. Trust me when I tell you that you’ll be so much happier that way.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Valerie finally asked searching Michelle’s eyes. “What secret do you have that has you talking like this?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve realized my full potential and I’m not about to settle for anything less when I know full well if I play my cards right I can have the world in my hands,” Michelle divulged with a cryptic smile ready to take her plans to the next level when it came to getting what she wanted out of life. With Cary back she was convinced that the world would be hers at long last!

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

Diane looked at the fruit in front of her contemplating if one deal was better than another on oranges. Normally she wouldn’t even bother with all of the contemplations, but in this particular case she was planning to put together something wonderful and only wanted the best now that she was trying to redeem the rest of her day after having had to stomach watching JT and his girlfriend together. Frowning she vowed to put that thought out of her head and focus on what was going to be the highlight of her perfect night with Ben once she returned home. She reached for one of the bags of oranges ready to select one that seemed to be a step above the rest when she spotted Andy out of the corner of her eye. Frowning, she set the bag down and marched over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder and let out a scowl.

“You have a lot of nerve Andy. I hope you realize that,” Diane snapped at him, her dark eyes glaring up at her brother-in-law. “I mean where the hell do you get off trying to keep Deidra miserable when we both know full well that you don’t have a faithful bone in your body?”

“Well Diane, it’s always nice to see you,” he faked a smile as he spun around to face her, his blue eyes darting into hers. “How are you feeling today? Good I hope.”

“Don’t play dumb,” she waved her finger at him in his face. “I know full well that you’re trying to manipulate my sister for some reason and I’m not about to stand back and allow you to keep doing that to her. She deserves a lot better.”

“This coming from the sister who made her life miserable because she had felt that Deidra had something that she had wanted,” Andy noted with a sly smirk before letting out a small laugh, “Then again maybe that’s why you’re attacking me right now.”

“What?” Diane’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. “Excuse me.”

“Oh come on Diane,” he reached out to touch a loose strand of her hair, “You and I both know full well that you want what you can’t have and the longer I stay married to Deidra, the more you want me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she slapped his hand away from her and scowled once more. “I’ve been there and done that. I’m in no mood to go back.”

“You keep saying that, but it didn’t stop you on the night I married her,” his gaze swept over her in a lecherous fashion, “And it still didn’t stop you from wanting me for years after that.”

“I was young and you took advantage of me,” she sneered up at him, shaking her head in disgust. “You played me against her for your own sadistic purposes and…”

“Nobody forced you into my bed,” he reached for her wrist searching her eyes for a long moment before yanking her in towards him. He leaned in closer to her before offering up an icy smile, “but then again maybe that’s what you’re hoping for Diane. Maybe it’s what you want these days. Someone to force you into submission.”

“Let go of me,” she tried to wrench her wrist away from him only to feel his hold on her intensify.

“You don’t really want that, now do you?” he wiggled his brow at her suggestively before pulling her in closer to him. “Oh sure you might be saying that you hate me and that I repulse you, but the idea of my staying married to Deidra is killing each and every one of your fantasies. Or of course maybe it’s adding fuel to the fire you have about sleeping with a married man.”

That did it. Diane lashed out at him striking him across the face and catching him off guard. He winced backwards, but much to her dismay he hadn’t released her. Instead he tugged her in closer to him, his blue eyes filled with a sudden rage as he pressed her up into the shelf behind her.

“That wasn’t a smart move Diane,” he warned with a sneer, his voice dark and dangerous. He squeezed her wrist in one hand before the other swept up against the side of her face pushing her hair away from her. “I’ll take that as an invitation from you to play rough, which by the way I do enjoy rather much. If you keep making a scene like this with me, then I’ll be sure to give you what you want the way you want it and I don’t plan on taking no for an answer.”

“You’re deranged,” Diane felt him shove her further into the shelf before he pressed his body firmly against hers.

“Not even close to being that sweetheart, but if you keep playing it this way, I’ll show you something that’s far worse than deranged,” he assured her bending down to place a kiss on her forehead before pushing her aside. He dusted off his sleeve before meeting her gaze again and smiling, “As always princess it’s been fun.”

Before Diane could say anything he walked off in the other direction making his way to the checkout counter. She could feel the eyes of the people of the store on her, but she didn’t care. Thinking about the way Andy had just dealt with her had her shivering all over and a newfound panic carried over her. He was nothing like the man that she had fallen for all those years ago and now thinking about the way he’d treated her, she had to wonder why she was even interested in him to begin with.

She was so lost in her thoughts that when her cell phone rang she practically leapt out of her skin. She reached for it in her pocket as she fought to keep her breath even. Lifting the phone to her ear she spoke up in a low, breathless tone.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hey Diane it’s Ben. I’m running a little late, but I should be home in say half an hour,” he explained before pausing after catching something in her tone. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she nodded knowing full well she was far from okay as her wrist still hurt after Andy grabbing her. “I’m just shopping that’s all.”

“For anything good?” he questioned curiously.

“No, I didn’t find anything good here,” she cast a glance over at Andy again before making her way over to the store’s exit and marching out to her car. “I think I’m just going to pick up some drive thru or something on the way home.”

“Are you sure? Because I can do it if you like,” he suggested as Diane got into her car and locked the doors. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” she nodded clenching the steering wheel with her fingers tightly watching as Andy left the grocery store. “On second thought why don’t you just pick up dinner and we’ll meet up at home?”

“Sounds good,” Ben replied with a loving tone, “I promise I won’t be long. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she added hanging up the phone and wondering if Andy was going to be more of a problem than she’d anticipated. Watching him drive his expensive sports car out of the lot she found herself more and more worried about him and about what he could do to her and Deidra now that he was determined to make the both of them miserable all over again.

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

“I swear if she would’ve glared at me one more time,” Evie began as she and JT were back in his car. She balled her fists at her side before letting out a long groan, “What is her problem anyways?”

“Diane’s harmless,” JT decided with a small shrug, “She’s of no relevance to me.”

“I realize that, but she hasn’t gotten it into her head,” she paused before looking up at him from her side of the car. “So what was it?”

“What was what?” JT questioned glancing over at her before pulling onto the main road.

“What was it about her that made you think she was the one?” she probed watching his jaw flex at her line of questioning.

“I already told you that she’s not the one,” he pointed out as he switched lanes on the road. “I was completely wrong about the direction in which I saw that relationship heading.”

“Meaning that you thought you were in love, but she proved otherwise?” she arched a curious brow finding herself wondering more and more about the pull that Diane had on him.

“She never loved me. Deep down I think I knew that and if I really took the time to consider what we had with one another, I would have been smart enough to see that it wasn’t even remotely close to being real. It was just,” he paused an obvious hesitation in his tone.

“Just what?” she questioned in a muted tone almost worried to hear the answer.

“Superficial and we’ll leave it at that,” he explained stiffly before pulling up to a stop light. “Diane doesn’t have the character and substance that you do.”

“In other words she was great in bed, so that’s where the obsession stemmed from,” she huffed folding her arms in front of her chest in a pout.

“Evie, I don’t want to get into this,” he admitted honestly knowing full well that she would only find her way to being upset with him.

“I can take the truth,” she protested before looking over to him again. “So you liked having sex with her. I get it.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” he opened his mouth to say something more before realizing that the light had changed colors. He began to accelerate the car as a silence fell over them. Finally after a few minutes had passed he spoke up again, “Tell me something. Why does everything always come back to sex with you?”

“From what I’ve heard that’s always what things were about for you until you met me,” she mouthed with a tight scowl catching him by surprise with her tone. “Why is that?”

“Um, because I actually care about keeping you around longer than I would anyone else at this point,” he reminded her point blank, “I think you’re special so…”

“So you’d rather keep this platonic then get into the whole dynamics of a physical relationship,” she arched a curious brow before shifting to face him from her seat.

“Correct me I’m wrong, but we’ve been physical with one another more times than you’re obviously remembering,” he pointed out offering up a small glance that caused a flush to rise over her features. A satisfied smirk spread over his features before he focused on the road again, “See, we can have a great deal of good times together without sex. Besides, I figured I would try the whole nice guy route and give you time to find the right moment for us.”

“The right moment,” she repeated closing her eyes and thinking about the things that had been in the back of her mind about where she’d come from over the years, “JT, what if something makes you see that you don’t want there to be a right moment for us? I mean what if your mind is subconsciously telling you that we aren’t meant to connect on that level?”

“Is that what you think I’m saying to you?” he glanced over at her once again, “That I don’t want you?”

“Well, no, but…” she shifted on her chair nervously.

“Evie, since I met you I’ve had more cold showers then I care to admit to,” he shook his head and offered up a small chuckle, “Trust me I fully intend on us reaching that level when we’re both ready.”

“I know,” she fell to silence again. She turned her eyes out on the road and watched as they passed by a few of the familiar spots in Coral Valley.

“The truth is I realize I’ve been superficial with things. It sounds really stupid, but after I thought I was going to be a father something changed,” he admitted honestly before drawing in a breath, “I guess it got me thinking about my life and about the direction it was taking. I really didn’t have any other plans beyond enjoying the moment. I kind of figured that the party life would be one that would embrace me since heaven knows I wasn’t really good at anything else.”

“I highly doubt that,” she rolled her eyes and looked to him. “You’re good at a lot of things.”

“I’m good at spinning a situation around in my favor. I’m not saying that I’m ashamed of that because it kept me alive when my father tossed me out, but overall life really was just a series of wasting time. Days turned into nights and then the cycle repeated itself pretty much all the time. It was a very lackluster life even with all the sensationalism that was thrown into the mix. It wasn’t at all what anyone could truly be happy in. Diane just kind of fit into that lifestyle,” he explained honestly, “I’m not that man I was anymore and I really don’t want to be. Once I thought about how I had no direction I decided maybe it was time to change.”

“For your son or daughter,” she pondered the thought aloud.

“That was the motivation behind it, but then things happened,” he shrugged his shoulders before turning off the main road. “I met you and it kept me far too busy to get into trouble. Besides, I’m having a much better time trying to keep you out of it.”

“I don’t get into trouble,” she protested with a frown.

“Yes, you do, but it keeps me on my toes,” he added with a grin before pulling into a lot across from where they’d been seconds earlier. “Tell me something, have you ever played laser tag before?”

“No,” she shook her head, “I’ve heard about it, but never actually had the time or the money for it.”

“Then you’ll be happy to know that today is your lucky day,” JT explained pulling his keys out of the ignition. “It’ll be an experience you’ll never forget.”

“Every day with you is an experience I’ll never forget,” she replied with a wide grin before leaning in to kiss him.

“Good, then I’ll just have to make sure to keep you on your toes through it all,” he added with another smile before opening up his car door. He walked around to open up hers before offering up his hand. “Think you’re up to the challenge?”

“You’re so on,” she nodded excitedly ready to embrace their new adventure with one another.

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

“That’s my good girl,” he mused with a proud smirk seeing Evie go into the building with JT. As he watched them heading towards the entrance hand in hand, he knew it would only be a matter of time before he was able to get what was rightfully his. Reaching out to the briefcase at his side, his grin expanded.

Running his hand over the briefcase once again, he couldn’t help but wonder how much longer it would take for the world to see what had been happening right under their noses for years. With Evie charming JT, he would have plenty of ammunition for his big reveal before his revenge. That thought in itself had him more than eager to leap forward with his plan. He would have to wait however as he had done for a great deal of time. The moment had to be just right. He had to make sure that everything was in order.

“We’re almost there,” he mouthed to himself knowing only too well that things were about to change in Coral Valley. He would have served up the ultimate shocker and in doing so he could have all he’d been denied--all that was rightfully his. “Very soon they will all see just how far we’re willing to go to make my dreams come true. Nothing can stop me now.”

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

“Kevin, I had the worst dream. I had a dream that something happened to you and we lost our baby,” Angela blurted out after her tears had died down. She pulled away from Kevin just enough to see her swelled abdomen before her. She pressed her hand over her stomach and continued to tell her tear-filled tale, “You were shot and I lost our baby and…”

“It’s okay Angie,” Kevin tried to calm her down while throwing an apologetic look over at Brant. “You need to relax and try to rest. You’ve been in the hospital a couple of days and this isn’t going to help anything. It’s not going to help you or…”

“The baby,” she finished with an understanding nod, “Kevin I know you’re right, but still…”

“Just lay down,” Kevin urged feeling her iron-clad grip on his arm. “You need to calm down because this isn’t helping anything.”

“How can I calm down when I just had the most horrible dream that someone shot you and we lost our daughter,” Angela questioned with a sniffle keeping her hand over her abdomen, “Though I can see that it was just a dream, but still. Kevin it felt so horrible and…”

“Yeah, um about that,” Kevin cleared his throat uneasily not knowing what to do or say as Brant moved forward.

“You were in an accident,” Brant explained reaching out to touch Angela’s arm only to feel her slide onto the opposite end of the bed away from him. Her dark eyes were filled with confusion and it pained him to see her look at him as if he was someone who could hurt her.

“Don’t you touch me. I don’t know who you are and you have no right touching me,” Angela shouted back at him, her arm instinctively reaching out for Kevin, “Kevin, make him stop. I don’t know why he keeps doing that.”

“Because I love you,” Brant pleaded with her seeing nothing but a blank expression on her face, “and you love me too. We’re going to share our lives with one another and have our children together.”

“No,” she shook her head in refusal to hear his words. “Kevin tell him he’s wrong. He doesn’t know me and I certainly don’t know him. I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have our little girl together. This man is lying and…”

“Angela, he’s not lying about…” Kevin tried to reason with her seeing another rush of panic carry over her.

“Yes he is. He’s lying. I don’t even know him Kevin. You have to believe that,” Angela began desperately reaching out to him while struggling to get out of the hospital bed and away from Brant. “I don’t know what Craven is trying to pull this time, but it’s not going to work. He can’t split us up even if he hired this guy to tell you lies. Kevin, I love you and only you. It’s always been you.”

“Angela, you need to calm down and…” he wrestled with her to keep her in bed, but it was no use. She sprang up off of the bed and into his arms before he could explain himself.

“Just make it stop,” she burst into tears, her words carrying over her with heavy emphasis. “Just make him go away before things get worse. If he’s here because of Craven, then that means my father could be next and…”

“Craven didn’t send him,” Kevin answered tightly seeing a stunned and wounded expression on Brant’s face. “Angie, he’s the man that loves you--that cares about you very much…”

“No,” she shook her head firmly, “Kevin you’re the man I love. You’re my fiancé and this man is a liar. I don’t know what he’s done to try to convince you of anything else, but it’s you that I want to share my life with--only you.”

“Angie, I…” Kevin started once again finding himself at a loss.

“We’re going to have our little girl Kevin. Don’t you remember that? You and I just planned the nursery and we’re going to get married. You said we could just run away together and get married, but I was being stubborn about it. I was afraid of what my father would say, but I’m not afraid anymore. I don’t care if he knows that we love each other. We’re going to be a family with one another and our little girl deserves for us to be together. I know I was dragging my feet about it, but now I’m sure. Kevin I want to get married to you. I don’t want to wait. I want us to get out of this hospital and just go away--we can go anywhere as long as they don’t find us…”

“Angie, you need to slow down and…” Kevin stammered feeling the room spinning out of control around him.

“I’m going to get a doctor,” Brant announced clearly upset with this turnabout in Angie’s condition. “Someone needs to see her.”

“No,” Angela glanced over at him throwing out a scornful look at Brant, “You can’t get anyone. I won’t let you tell my father what’s going on. You and Craven won’t keep us from one another. I love Kevin and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him whether you people like it or not.”

“Angela you’re confused and…” Brant began feeling an ache inside of him as she glared at him.

“I’m not confused about anything, but you’re wrong if you think you can keep us apart,” she hissed before turning to Kevin once again, “Kevin you have to get me out of here. We have to run away. Please Kevin I’m so afraid and…”

“I’ll be okay sweetheart. Everything is going to be just fine. You have to trust me,” Kevin touched her cheek gently hoping to keep her from getting too worked up. He searched her dark eyes before offering up a small smile, “You do trust me, don’t you?”

“With everything that I am,” she nodded in confession leaning into his touch and smiling, “Kevin I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Kevin offered up with a small smile hoping to keep her from exploding all over again by using what was necessary to relax. However almost as soon as he’d said it, he felt Angela step up on her toes to kiss him and he’d immediately regretted the words. He placed his hands on her hips to try to gently scoot her back, but the damage was already done as Kevin spotted Ria out of the corner of his eye looking ready to kill the both of them.

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

...to be continued...