Previously…
– Tempest accidentally helped Samantha discover the combination to a lock written inside the locket that had belonged to her late grandfather, Henry. Samantha later realized that the same combination was also inside the matching locket Diane had been given by Therese DeLuca’s sister.
– Rosie helped bring down Diego Barrera, her drug-dealing ex whose organization caused the death of Rosie’s father. With Diego dead, Rosie and Travis finally reunited.
– Zane got a new job working at KBAY. Samantha suggested that Tori apply for the receptionist position at Objection and worried that Zane was trying to separate Tori from her family.
Travis Fisher puts his Toyota SUV into park. The vehicle’s engine continues to hum as a Drake song thumps through the speakers.
“Which one is it?” he asks his passenger.
“That one,” Rosie Jimenez says, pointing to a small, green house with white trim. Although some of the paint is cracked and worn, it looks like a charming, cozy home, with a small yard surrounded by a chain-link fence, just like many of the others on this block.
He looks over to the passenger seat and sees the trepidation and anxiety that are practically emanating from Rosie in waves. Reaching out, he takes her hand in his.
“You can do this,” he tells her. “I promise.”
Rosie chews on her lower lip for several seconds. Her gaze remains focused on the house.
“They never even acknowledged my letter,” Rosie says at last. “I wasn’t sure if my mom would, but my brother… I thought someone might text or e-mail me, at least.”
“They might not have known what to say. But maybe seeing you face-to-face will…”
“The last time I came here, my mom couldn’t get rid of me fast enough, Travis. And the way she looked at me…” Rosie winces at the memory. “She’s always going to blame me for my dad’s death.”
“Except Diego is dead, and it’s been proven that the reason your dad was killed was because of Diego, not you.”
“I still agreed to hold all that shit for him. If I’d refused–”
“You can’t change the past.” He squeezes her hand reassuringly. “But the things you’ve done — Rosie, you became a cop, you got Diego off the streets, and you’ve helped countless people in the process. That’s pretty damn amazing.”
He forces her to meet his eyes.
“You’re pretty damn amazing,” he adds.
She shies away. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Well, I would. And I know that, deep down, your mom feels the same way. You’ve put this off long enough. Look at it this way: you have nothing to lose. If she hears you out and is willing to start fresh, you have your mother back in your life.”
“And if not,” she says, looking and sounded pained by the possibility, “I have to accept that I don’t have a mom anymore.”
“I’m crossing my fingers that that’s not how this goes,” Travis says, “but if it does… you haven’t had a relationship with her in years, and you’ve done okay. You’re crazy strong. And regardless, you have me. Always.”
She makes eye contact with him again. “I love you. You know that?”
“I don’t hate being reminded.” He gives her hand another squeeze. “And I love you, too. Now go. I’ll be waiting right here.”
“Sure you don’t want to go up there and talk to her for me?”
“That is so not the Rosie Jimenez I know,” Travis says. He reaches across her body and opens the passenger-side door. “You’ve got this.”
Rosie draws a deep breath.
“You’ve got this,” Travis repeats, and then Rosie exhales loudly, swings her legs outward, and steps out of the SUV.
“I’m right here,” he reminds her, and she gives him one last, grateful look before starting toward the house.
Travis feels his own body tense as he watches her open the gate and approach the house.
As she waits in the short midday line at Thaw Coffee & Tea, Samantha Fisher scans the space behind the café’s bar. She was hoping to say hello to Sabrina Gage, whom she hasn’t seen in some time, but there is no sign that Sabrina is working together. After ordering herself an oat milk latté, Samantha picks up the baby blue cup from the far end of the bar and selects a table toward the front windows to wait.
About five minutes later, she sees Tempest Banks come hurrying in through the door that connects Thaw to the rest of Edge of Winter Arena. She clutches a set of folded papers in her hand. Samantha raises an arm to wave, but Tempest has already spotted her and beelines for the table.
“Thanks for coming all the way out here,” Tempest says as she seats herself across from Sam. “It’s been crazy up in the office. I didn’t think I could get out for long.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you,” Samantha responds. “You really think you figured it out?”
Tempest unfolds the papers she’s been holding and lays them on the shiny white table. Samantha stares down at the computer printouts.
“I talked to the sales rep who sold us the new lockers for the locker rooms last year,” Tempest explains. “He showed me all the major kinds of safes that would have combinations like the one we found.”
As Samantha scans the sheets, she says, “I’ve been wanting to tell you — my mom and I opened up the other locket, the one she got from that woman in Ohio, and it had the exact same combination written inside it.”
“So your grandpa and that lady, they both had a combination to open up some kind of safe or locker or something.”
“But why? Why’d they need that?” Samantha wonders aloud.
“That’s why we’ve gotta figure out what that combination opens. Whatever’s inside it–”
“Wait,” Samantha says, grabbing one of the sheets. “This is it.”
Tempest leans in. “What?”
“This safe.” Sam holds up the paper so that Tempest can see it, too. “I remember now. There’s a miniature version of this exact safe on the bookshelf in my grandpa’s office.”
“His office? I thought he was retired.”
“The office he had at their house in Sun Valley. I was there a few months ago.”
“You sure that’s it?” Tempest asks.
“Positive. Look — it has letters and numbers, just like the message we found in the locket. I really doubt that’s a coincidence.”
Tempest sits back in her chair and says, “So what we’ve gotta do is get our asses to Idaho and find out what’s in that safe.”
—–
Rosie hears the doorbell’s faint chime sound inside the house. She waits for any response at all and rocks her weight from one sneaker-covered-foot to the other and back again; she finds herself pulling the sleeves of her denim jacket down over her hands.
She hears movement from inside and braces. A number of seconds pass, and just as Rosie has convinced herself that whoever is inside looked through the peephole and decided not to open the door, the locks are undone. The door opens, revealing Juanita Jimenez.
“Mama,” Rosie says immediately. “Can we please talk?”
There is a wariness to the way Juanita looks at her that somehow hurts Rosie more than outright disdain might. She hates the idea that she makes her own family feel unsafe.
“Are you okay?” Juanita asks.
“Yes. Mama, I’m fine. I’m… Did you get my letter? And the newspaper articles?”
“I did.” Despite the usual warmth of her rounded face, Juanita’s words are clipped, her energy closed-off. “I’m relieved that you are okay.”
“I am. We’re all safe now. Diego is dead, and the people who worked with him — they’re in prison.”
Rosie notices the way that her mother’s hand remains on the door, as if ready to slam it closed at any instant.
“None of that will bring your father back,” Juanita finally says.
Reflexively, Rosie closes her eyes, as if to fight off the pain and block out this reality — even though she knows it will do no good.
“I know that. Mama, I miss him so much. If I could go back and– and take his place… I would.”
The two women stand there in a silent showdown. As Rosie looks down at her mother, who is so imposing despite her short stature, she can see the anguish in Juanita’s eyes. She knows that Travis is in the car, watching this entire thing play out, and somehow, his presence makes this her feel like even more of a failure.”
“I had to come see you,” Rosie says. “I had to try. All I can tell you is that I’m sorry — and that I love you.”
With that, she turns and starts back down the gravel walkway toward the gate.
—–
The gentle buzz of conversation and the Jonas Brothers song playing over Thaw’s sound system fill the air as Samantha and Tempest process their new discovery.
“I have a feeling my grandma isn’t going to make it easy for me to get to that safe,” Samantha says at last. “You should’ve seen how she freaked out when I asked her about the locket.”
“‘Cuz she probably knows what’s in that safe,” Tempest says.
“I’m having a tough time imagining what could be in there that’s so bad. Even if my grandpa and Therese DeLuca did have an affair–”
“If it’s some nasty-ass pictures of your grandpa getting it on with some lady, I’m gonna be real upset with you.”
Samantha cringes. “I don’t know why there would be pictures of that.”
“And I don’t know why your crazy-ass family is hiding the combination to a safe in some old heart lockets,” Tempest says, “but that’s pretty much what we got here, yeah?”
Between Tempest’s inflection and the absurdity of the situation, Samantha cannot help but let out a little laugh. She is about to respond when she sees a familiar face entering the café.
Zane Tanaka spots the women immediately and approaches their table.
“Samantha. Hey,” he says cheerily. He wears a burgundy, V-neck sweater that shows off his well-defined torso and arms. “Short day at work?”
“Oh. No. I took a long lunch so I could meet Tempest to go over–” She gestures at the papers spread over the table. “–some stuff.”
“Sounds important,” Zane says. “Hi, Tempest.”
Tempest makes no effort to conceal her disdain. Finally she manages to give him a terse, “What’s up?”
“Running some errands before my shift at the station. I’ve gotta work late tonight,” he explains.
Samantha picks up her latté and sips it, using the drink as a focus for her nervous energy. Her recent visit to Tori and Zane’s apartment replays in her mind; the alarm bells about Zane’s controlling nature toward her cousin ring loud and clear.
“It was nice to finally see your apartment the other day,” she says.
Zane cocks an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Oh. I, uh, I stopped by to see Tori and catch up.” She swallows hard, realizing that Tori must not have told Zane about their visit. “I had a job lead for her. That’s all.”
“She didn’t mention anything about a job lead,” Zane says.
“I don’t think she was even interested, to tell you the truth.” She abruptly hops out of her seat. “I should probably get back to the office.”
“Take these with you,” Tempest says as she gathers the papers. “I’ve got them on my computer upstairs.”
Samantha quickly tucks the papers into her purse. She feels Zane’s eyes boring into her.
“Say hi to Tori for me,” she says, uneasiness filling up her chest and stomach. “Tempest, I can’t thank you enough for all your help.”
“Lemme know what you wanna do next,” Tempest tells her as she, too, stands and pushes in her chair.
Samantha hastily nods and grabs her latté cup.
“Good seeing you both,” Zane says, his tone perfectly friendly, even though Samantha senses a more sinister undercurrent to it. She has no idea if she is imagining it or not.
“You, too,” Sam says, and Tempest doesn’t even bother regarding Zane again before she exits the café back to the arena.
As Zane gets into the line at the counter, Samantha exits Thaw, not looking back at him. Only once she is in her car does she let out a sigh of relief; whether or not Zane has any ill intent toward her, something about him makes her incredibly uncomfortable.
—–
Travis sits in the driver’s seat of the SUV, unsure if he should be watching Rosie and her mother or averting his attention. He feels so nervous for the woman he loves as she waits for the door to open and then watches her mother stand there, blocking the doorway and not inviting her inside. When Rosie turns and starts back toward the gate, dejected, Travis cannot help himself. He opens the door and leaps out of the vehicle.
“Rosie,” he calls. “Are you okay?”
She looks up with surprise and then shakes her head. Her dark ponytail wags behind her. “No. I’m not.”
Behind her, Juanita Jimenez remains in the doorway. Travis doesn’t know what overcomes him, but he rushes up to meet Rosie at the gate.
“Mrs. Jimenez,” he says, speaking over the length of the front yard, “my name is Travis. Your daughter is really, really important to me. I’m in love with her, and not just because she’s so beautiful.”
“Travis, what are you doing?” Rosie asks through gritted teeth, though it is not anger coming through, but defeat.
“She put her career on the line to help my grandma,” Travis continues, “and then she put her life on the line to help my family and get Diego Barrera off the streets. She’s brave and relentless and– and she’s committed her life to making the world a better place for other people.”
He watches Juanita carefully, attempting to gauge anything from her stoic expression.
“Let’s go,” Rosie tells Travis as she grabs for his hand.
“Rocio,” her mother says, stopping both Rosie and Travis mid-step. They turn back toward the house.
“I miss you,” Juanita says, finally removing her hand from the door and instead knotting her fingers together. “I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too,” Rosie says, and Travis sees her eyes misting — something he has almost never seen from Rosie before.
“I’m making pasteles,” Juanita adds as she steps out the door. “Would you and Travis like to stay?”
Travis gives Rosie an encouraging look. Her disbelief is evident.
“We’d love that,” Rosie says, and now she is the one squeezing Travis’s hand. They start up the gravel path toward the house and, with any luck, toward a new beginning.
With her latté still in hand, Samantha returns to Winston Tower in downtown King’s Bay. She takes the elevator up to the eighteenth floor, waves to the very pregnant receptionist who will soon be going on maternity leave, and makes her way to her desk. She settles in to check her e-mail and finds two new messages, neither of which is particularly important; instead of responding to them, she reaches for her phone and drafts a text message.
Thanks again for your help, she types to Tempest. Sorry I ran out so fast.
Before she can even set the phone down, she sees the bubbles that indicate Tempest is typing a response. She waits another few seconds before the message comes in:
All good, I didn’t want to be around Zane’s triflin ass anyway!
Samantha smirks, amused as always at Tempest’s ability to be blunt where Sam might feel the need to dance politely around something unpleasant. She sends back the “crying tears of hilarity” emoji and then adds:
I’m going to go see my grandma soon. I need to get into that safe!
Again the bubbles pop up, and soon Tempest’s reply appears:
Has to be some crazy shit in there!
Samantha finds herself nodding as she types another message:
I’m almost scared to find out. But I have to. I can’t thank you enough for helping out.
She finds herself watching the screen and waiting for Tempest’s next text. The bubbles appear, then stop, then reappear. Finally Tempest says:
Anything you need – just ask and you got it – for real
Samantha sets down the phone, feeling a swell of gratitude for Tempest’s support and friendship. She had almost forgotten how much she missed having the force of nature that is Tempest Banks in her life.
—–
Zane swipes his ID badge and waits for the glass door at the front of the KBAY building to swing open. As he steps through it, he sees Jaq Pearson emerging from the elevator bank.
“All done for the day?” he asks as they meet in the center of the building’s lobby.
“Yeah, I worked the early shift today,” Jaq says. “How about you?”
He holds up his coffee. “Just getting in. Who knows what I.T. disasters await me on the late shift?”
“Good luck with that,” Jaq tells him, but there is a wariness in their eyes that catches Zane’s attention.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“What? With me? Yeah.” They shake their head. “Tired, that’s all.”
“At least you get to go home and relax. I’d tell you to say hi to Samantha for me, but I actually just saw her myself.”
“You did? Where at?”
“I stopped in at Thaw on my way here–” He indicates his coffee cup. “–and she was there. I guess she slipped out of work. Whatever they were going over looked important.”
“They?” Jaq asks curiously. “Multiple people, or are you switching Sam’s pronouns all of a sudden?”
Zane laughs. “No. Samantha and Tempest. They were putting their heads together over a bunch of papers and stuff.”
“Oh.” Jaq takes that in for a few quiet moments. “I wonder what that was all about.”
“No idea,” Zane says. “Anyway, I should get to work. Have a good one.”
“You, too.”
He can see Jaq’s concern as they part ways. Zane presses a button to wait for the elevator and grins to himself; if Samantha wants to interfere in his relationship, fine — but two can play that game.
END OF EPISODE 1018
Will Jaq be upset that Samantha was meeting with Tempest?
Will Samantha be able to get into her grandfather’s safe?
Can Rosie repair her relationship with her family now?
Weigh in on all this and more in the comments below!
I was elated with the theme of this episode, which is the fourth generation of Fishers getting more focus. I saw on Twitter, you were writing about them, and it is so cool as someone who read the entire series in two years to now read Travis, Samantha, and Tori in their twenties.
Zane is a piece of work, isn’t he? Of course, he runs and tells Jaq about Samantha and Tempest meeting up. I’m curious as to how he is going to react to Tori if/when she applies for the receptionist position at Objection. If he had it his way, Victoria would be barefoot and pregnant, and he’ll bring home the bacon. I would love it if Samantha confided in Tim or Molly about her suspicions about Zane. Meanwhile, she and Tempest still have chemistry between one another. I like how you addressed Sam missing Tempest’s bluntness and her helping out on this mystery between her grandfather and Therese DeLuca. I’m a little disappointed about Tempest not going to Sun Valley with Samantha. But I get why she must go alone to open the safe.
Travis/Rosie is my new favorite couple in the series. I like Travis supporting her and how she got up the courage to go see her mother and say her peace. It seems Juanita is opening up to her, so there’s that. Are we going to meet Rosie’s brother down the road?
Great Episode!!!
Bre
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Bre! As I said on Twitter, it is so f-ing cool to think back to when I started writing this series in 1997 (!!) and imagine actually getting to write stories for the characters who were being born in those early days. I’m really proud of the way their characters have developed and the stories that can be told with them. And it’s so fun as a soap fan to be living that stuff out in something close to real time!
Zane’s control issues are definitely going to come to a head. He’s way too intense about knowing exactly what she’s up to. And more people are taking note now. I really like the idea of mixing these different groups up, such as with Zane and Jaq working together and sort of cross-pollinating their stories — plus we’ve had Sam and Tori reconnecting. I hope you’ll enjoy the complications in upcoming episodes!
Oh, and don’t count out Tempest making it to Sun Valley just yet. 😉
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying Travis and Rosie. It’s been a treat to give them some downtime as a couple to be together but face some challenges as a united front. And yes, we will definitely meet Sebastian Jimenez down the road! I love having these characters laid in (like with Tempest’s brother Isaac, or Bree’s half-sister Grace), same as I did with Lauren/Trevor or Diane/Natalie previously. It makes things feel a lot more ‘real.’
Thanks again!!
Oh Zane! He is such a snake. Sam isn’t even the one messing with his relationship, Tori is the one who didn’t tell him about the job lead. It’s not Sam’s fault at all. Still I love the soapiness of it all with him messing with the Jaq/Sam relationship and keeping the tempest triangle moving forward
It was sweet of Travis to go to bat for Rosie with her mom. Curious if Jaunita will become a regular fixture on the series? Seems like there might be more some drama to come from Rosie’s interesting family dynamic.
Super curious about what could be in this safe!
Thanks for your comments, Dallas!
Zane’s true colors are definitely showing. I’m not sure that he even knows he’s doing it or knows how to control it. And this sort of behavior is harmless until it’s not, and then it’s terrifying. As I said to Bre above, I really love the idea of cross-pollinating the younger set’s storylines with elements like Sam putting Tori up for the job just as Zane is working with Jaq and planting seeds of doubt in their mind. So messy and soapy.
We’ll be seeing Juanita Jimenez more, but my current vision is for her to be more of a Patrick Brooks than, say, a Helen. That could always change, of course, but we definitely have our fill of sassy older ladies at the moment!
The safe thing is about to blow open. I’m really looking forward to it all playing out!
Really love seeing Travis step up each and every year. He has definitely grown as a character and I think everything he has been through with Elly, and then the paternity switch and then finding his biological mother. I think it has all led to him being able to stand-up and be a levelheaded character for Rosie and even for her mother. It’s not easy for Rosie, and I’m sure it could get more complicated for the family dynamic. But to have Travis there when she needs him shows a lot of growth for both of them in terms of where they are in their relationship. It’s funny that we never really saw the beginning of parents blossoming romance so we didn’t really have anything to compare it to. But I feel that it’s very fitting that Travis has someone like Rosie who is so strong willed in herself to be his other half.
What Zane is doing to spite Sam and Tori’s relationship is very much something a controlling personality would do. He has become so accustomed to Tori being isolated from her family that seeing these roots start to grown once again is alarming to him. So, of course, finding a way to cause drama to the Sam/Jaq romance will definitely put a wedge between Sam and Tori in his mindset. I really hope that Tori is able to get the job at Objection because this is where she needs to be. I have always thought Tori would show us what Molly May have been like when she was younger and climbing that ladder to success. I really hope she can see past what Zane is trying to do to her.
It’s nice to see that Tempest can be emotionally controlled around Sam. I feel like because Tempest is such a strong willed person it’s very hard to show personal growth other than in spurts. Tempest is all about actions, as opposed to words. I like that she was able to help Sam figure out the next step in the puzzle as far as Terese is concerned. I still don’t know if these two are ready to get into each other’s orbits again. I would love to see Tempest get into her own groove and flourish in a new way.
Whereas I feel Travis is a younger Tim, Tori being a younger version of Molly. I see Sam as a younger Jason. She has a strong moral compass but is still learning so much more about herself.
Loved the episode!
Thanks for taking the time to post, as always!
Travis’s growth has been kind of a low-key thing, but between him getting past the Elly relationship and taking on such responsibility in what was his grandfather’s restaurant, he has really evolved into an adult. He very much takes after Tim in that he tries to be the source of strength for the people he loves, sometimes to his own detriment. I didn’t want to depict this as him fixing Rosie’s family situation for her, but he was able to speak about her in a way that she doesn’t really see herself — and that made a difference for both her and her mother. You’re so right that we never got to see Tim and Claire’s romance develop since they were married (and pregnant with him!) when the series began, so there isn’t a reference point the way Tori or Samantha might have. But he’s finding his way as a person, and it can be fun to find stories for characters who are in this happy, more settled phase of a relationship.
Tempest has definitely learned and grown, as well. But you’re right in that she and Sam might not be ready to resume a relationship yet. They actually need this sort of working together and bonding before that could even be a possibility, given how things went the last time. And Sam has something legit with Jaq, too! So this is pretty complicated. The mystery of Henry and Therese gives Sam and Tempest something to work on together without it being about them falling back in love, though. I just love writing for these characters because they’re so clearly their own people.
I’ve ALWAYS thought it was interesting that Tori might be more of a Molly than a Sarah. It sets up so much story for the future! I’d never thought of Sam as a younger counterpart to Jason, but I totally get what you’re saying now.
Thanks again!
I’ll just start with Zane. As much as I despise him, I love that he is turned out to be a wonderful villain on this show. I can give him that much. I love his random appearance and now this interest in toying with Samantha.
Speaking of, I’ve love how Samantha is stepping up to the plate. I remember the shy little teenager she was. Kudos on the transformation of this character. I’m also in love with the fact that she and Tempest have managed to maintain a friendship. Their journey to discovering what was in Bill’s safe is giving me life. SN: I’m still not over Bill’s death! Wonder how this will shake our beloved family. Excited to see this play out.
Loved Travis, Rosie & Juanita scenes in this episodes.
Again another great episode. I’ll have a surprise for you soon my friend. Chat Soon!!!
Thanks for your comments, Rob!
Zane is definitely stepping into a villain role. Nothing he’s done has ever been particularly heroic, but there’s really no defending the way he is trying to control Tori now. It might be able to be explained, but it can’t be excuse.
Samantha is truly one of my favorites. She’s so NOT a traditional soap character, but she feels so deeply and has such a strong moral code… and yet also makes mistakes and feels insecure about herself and her choices. Her and Tempest reconnecting as friends could get complicated, too. They’re such an odd pairing, whether romantically or platonically, but that can be really compelling.
Can’t wait to see what you have in store!!
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