Previously…
– While bringing Molly some proofs from the office, Trevor found his pregnant boss passed out on the floor of her home.
– After Molly was rushed to the hospital, the doctor informed her family that she has a condition called pre-eclampsia.
– Caleb allowed everyone to believe that it was Molly’s argument with Claire that caused her to collapse — hiding that he’d fought with his mother after Claire left.

“Mol?”

The voice comes to Molly Taylor slowly, as if rising out of the sea. At first it is distant and murky, an unformed swirl of noisy sound. But as it struggles through the surface, it takes shape, finally forcing her into alertness with its increasingly familiar form.

“Mol? Can you hear me?”

Her eyelids flutter open. Molly waits for the blurry colors, much like the voice, to take shape, and when they do, she finds her ex-husband standing over her. Immediately she knows that she is in a bed.

“Brent,” she says weakly.

He smiles back at her. “There you are. You’re okay.”

“I am?” A brief inspection of the space around her — white walls, a door with a narrow window in it, a TV hung in the corner — reveals it to be a hospital room. With that realization comes a sharp spike of panic. Her hand goes instinctively to her stomach.

“And so is the baby,” Brent says, understanding her fear. “You fainted. That’s all.”

She squeezes her eyes, as if blotting out the reality around her might help the memories come back into view. 

“When?” she asks.

“Last night. It’s the morning. You slept through the night. The doctor says that’s a good sign.”

She rolls her head from one side to the other, continuing to survey the scene. There is no one else in the room, just Brent’s blazer hung over a chair against the wall.

“But what’s wrong? Why did I faint?”

“Because you’re pregnant and under a lot of stress,” he says softly. “The doctor says it’s pre-eclampsia. Your blood pressure–”

“–is high. I suppose that’s no surprise.”

“No. But it’s manageable with medication. And rest.” He looks down at her, his deep concern apparent. “I should tell a nurse that you’re awake.”

Molly forces her head, still heavy with sleep, to nod. “Okay. Thank you.”

Brent takes her hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

She can see the emotion brimming in his eyes and his quivering lip.

“I’m okay,” she assures him.

“Thank god,” he says as he gives her hand a comforting squeeze.

—–

Claire Fisher undoes the deadbolt on her front door and then turns the knob. As she pulls open the door, she finds Sarah Fisher Gray standing in the hallway of the apartment building. Sarah’s blonde hair, worn wavy, sits just at her shoulders, and she is dressed in a simple black, v-neck t-shirt with jeans.

“I was surprised that you texted this morning,” Claire says as she lets Sarah into the apartment. “I swear, I was thinking of texting you, too.”

“About the same thing, I’m guessing,” Sarah says as she sets her purse on the end table.

Claire’s eyebrow lifts with a mixture of alarm and confusion. “Brent and Molly? Why?”

“You really haven’t heard, then.”

“Heard what?” Claire asks, her heart rate quickening.

Sarah pauses and then gestures toward the couch. “Why don’t we sit?”

She moves around the end of the couch and takes a seat. However, Claire lingers by the door.

“What’s going on?” she asks her former sister-in-law. “I went to see Molly last night–”

“I know. Claire, Molly collapsed last night. She’s in the hospital.”

“What?! How is she? How’s–”

“The baby is fine. So is Molly. It sounds like it’s pre-eclampsia.”

Claire lets out a long, heavy breath. “Okay. That’s treatable. Or at least something her doctors can keep under control.”

“Yeah. The thing is…” Sarah hesitates, mulling her words. “The thing is… Trevor is the one who found her and called 911. And he says that he saw you leaving the house right before he went inside and found Molly on the floor.”

A lengthy, uncomfortable moment of silence passes as Claire brings a hand to her mouth. 

“Molly was fine when I left,” she says at last.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Things got a little heated, but not crazy or– certainly not violent.” Claire shakes her head as she replays the encounter in her mind, unable to believe that the saga continued taking twists and turns in her absence. “Trevor thinks I did something to Molly?”

“He doesn’t think that.”

“What about Molly?”

“Molly was still sleeping when I left last night,” Sarah says. “But Brent is… He knows, I’ll say that much. And he isn’t thrilled.”

“This is crazy!” Claire insists. “I didn’t knock Molly out, or– if she has pre-eclampsia, of course a stressful situation might make things worse, but–”

“You don’t have to convince me, Claire. I’m not accusing you of anything.”

“Thank you. I promise that when I left, Molly seemed okay. I wouldn’t have left a pregnant woman in that state. I’m a nurse!”

“I know. Like I said, I believe you,” Sarah replies. “But that’s why I wanted to give you a heads-up — it might not be so easy to convince Brent and Molly that this wasn’t your fault.”

—–

“At least she and the baby are okay,” Trevor Brooks says as he sets down his iPhone on the kitchen table in the bungalow that he shares with his husband and their son.

“It was nice of Brent to text you and let you know she’s awake,” Alex Marshall responds from across the table. “I could tell how worried you were all night.”

“Hope I didn’t keep you up.”

“No, but I noticed you tossing and turning.”

“It was scary. Finding Molly like that…” Trevor shudders. “Definitely wasn’t what I expected.”

“She’s lucky you were there.”

“I guess so.” Trevor reaches for his half-full coffee cup. “I still can’t believe Claire would leave her like that.”

Alex sips his own coffee thoughtfully.

“We don’t know that she did,” he offers. “For one, that doesn’t sound like Claire. Second, it’s totally possible that Molly passed out after Claire left.”

“I know. And I hope that’s how it went.”

“Again, what’s important is that Molly and the baby are fine,” Alex says. “You got them the care they needed in time.”

Trevor nods as he takes a drink of the coffee. “She’s going to need to take it easy with work until she has the baby.”

“And she’s lucky she has the support system to help her do that.”

Alex stands and goes to the counter, where he picks up the coffee pot. “More?”

“Sure,” Trevor says, sliding the cup toward Alex. “Thanks.”

As he fills his husband’s cup, Alex says, “You know, speaking of taking it easy…”

“Are you about to scold me for drinking so much coffee?”

“No,” Alex answers with a laugh. “But I do have an idea.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.” Alex adds a splash of coffee to his own cup and returns the pot to its burner. “How would you feel about a romantic weekend away? I’m turning in the draft of my new novel to Vision today, and I’ve felt like I’ve been buried under it for months. It’d be nice to get away and have some time alone — just the two of us.”

Trevor’s mouth curls up in a grin, though he stops to ask, “What about Chase?”

“I’m pretty sure we can find someone to watch him. Do you mean to tell me your dad wouldn’t jump at the chance?”

“He totally would,” Trevor says. “I do worry that a toddler might be a little much for him for an entire weekend…”

“Your dad works out more than I do. I’m sure he can handle it. And if not, you know Helen and Don would love to watch him.”

“Are you actually considering leaving our son with Helen for an entire weekend?”

“She takes care of Sophie all the time!” Alex says. “I mean, yeah, Chase might come home with a few choice turns of phrase, but…” He trails off and attempts to read Trevor’s expression. “Do you really not feel comfortable leaving him?”

“No, I do.” Trevor beams. “And I think the time away could be really good for us. It sounds great.”

“Good.” Alex positions himself behind Trevor’s chair and wraps his arms around his husband’s shoulders, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. “And I agree… it will be really good for us.” 

His lips trail from Trevor’s cheek up to his ear. Alex’s teeth nibble faintly on the lobe and around the cartilage, sending a jolt through Trevor’s body.

“You are definitely gonna make me late for work if you keep that up,” Trevor says, his voice growing huskier.

Alex snickers and then intensifies his efforts. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Trevor lets out a moan as Alex’s hand drifts toward toward his chest.

“Not a bad thing at all,” Trevor says with a smirk.

—–

Normally, Christian Taylor comes down the stairs in his mother’s house quietly, seeing no need to make a ruckus that will echo through the house; this morning, however, his steps rumble wildly as he makes his descent.

“Mom’s awake!” he announces as he hurries into the kitchen. “Dad just texted.”

His twin brother, who is at the counter pouring a bowl of cereal, looks back over his shoulder. “Awesome.”

“Awesome? You could at least sound excited.”

Caleb turns around and rolls his eyes. “What am I supposed to do, bust out in a dance?”

“That would be a start,” Christian says, trying to lighten the suddenly tense mood. “I’m only saying, it’s our mom and our little brother or sister. This could’ve been really serious… or worse.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m relieved,” Caleb says as he grabs his bowl and brings it over to the opposite counter. He opens the fridge and grabs a carton of almond milk. “I thought you were pissed at Mom and Dad about this whole thing, anyway.”

“I was.” Christian shrugs and drags the toe of his black sock across the grains of the wooden flooring. “I mean, it was a shock, and it’s weird to think about your parents–” He winces at the very thought. “Plus I like Claire a lot. It sucks that she was collateral damage in this mess.”

Caleb pours almond milk into his cereal. “You know, you’re not really sounding like you are on their side.” 

“It’s not about sides. They’re our parents. They’re giving us another sibling. They screwed up, and it sucks, but they can’t jump in a time machine and change any of it.”

“They could also not act like hypocrites if they tried.”

“I don’t think ragging on them is going to do any good,” Christian presses. “We definitely don’t need to be piling on to Mom’s stress. Can you at least help with that?”

Caleb puts away the almond milk and slams the fridge. “Fine. Okay?”

“What is with you?” Christian asks.

“Nothing. I just wanna eat in peace. Are you done?”

Caleb stares down his brother with annoyance for a long moment. 

“Sure,” he says with annoyance before exiting the kitchen.

Claire hears the all-too-familiar hubbub of the hospital the moment the elevator doors part. She hitches her purse up on her shoulder and steps out of the elevator, headed directly for the nurses’ station — but she is surprised to see Brent standing there, typing something on his phone. After a moment’s hesitation, she approaches him.

“Brent,” she says, trying to strike the right balance between contrite and firm. “Hi.”

He looks up with surprise. Claire waits, watching as he regards her with a simmering anger.

“I heard about Molly,” she says. “I wanted to talk to both of you.”

“It’s not the time, Claire. I think you’ve already caused enough stress.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to know that I didn’t mean to harm Molly or the baby — and I definitely didn’t leave her lying on the floor or in trouble.”

“Claire–”

“When I left the house, Molly was fine,” she says. “Upset, I’m sure, because we had words. But–”

“Her pregnancy is already high-risk because of her age,” Brent interrupts. “What part of going over there to yell at her seemed like a good idea?”

“I didn’t go over to yell at her.”

“It doesn’t sound like you showed up with cake and flowers.”

It stings Claire to see him be so hostile toward her; for so long, he was a safe haven for her, a port in the many storms that they weathered during their time together. And now all they have is… this.

“I had some things I needed to get off my chest,” Claire says, glancing around to be sure that none of her coworkers are witnessing the intense conversation. “Or am I not entitled to that?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Molly and I have known each other for longer than you and I have. We used to be pretty close. There’s a part of this that’s as much about her and me as it is about you and me.” 

Brent draws a deep breath and wipes his hand over his weary eyes. “I get that. Really. And I feel like complete crap for the way I handled things and the fact that I hurt you. You know that I loved you–”

He catches himself, but the words are already out. Hearing it in past tense like that feels like a knife through Claire’s stomach.

“You know what I mean,” he hastily adds.

“I’m afraid I don’t know much these days,” Claire replies. “What I do know is that I never would have left Molly there if I’d had any idea she was in distress — and it hurts a lot that you think that I would.” 

“I didn’t say that.”

“You kind of did. Why don’t you ask Molly? Unless she’s turned into a different person in the past 24 hours, I’m pretty sure she’ll tell you the exact same version of events that I did. Or is she claiming that I was there when she collapsed?” 

She recognizes the shift in Brent, the way he gets when he realizes that he has gotten too heated or gone too far. His shoulders drop, and his upper lip twitches in a way that she knows so well that it makes her heart hurt.

“I haven’t talked about it with her yet,” he says. “She just woke up, and I didn’t want to put any more stress on her.”

“See what she says. And give her my best. Really. All I wanted was to have my side of this acknowledged, Brent. I never wished anything bad for either of you or for that baby.”

She turns and strides back toward the elevators. Brent bows his head and again rubs his eyes, overwhelmed by how complicated and ugly this entire situation has become.

—–

After a nurse checks her vital and draws a blood sample, Molly lies back in the hospital bed to await the doctor. She picks up her cell phone from the side table and, without thinking, opens the e-mail app. The messages stretch out in front of her eyes, one by one, a column of business to which she needs to attend. Even though she knows that she is going to need to take a step back from her work for the duration of the pregnancy, it is difficult for her to conceive of doing so; almost every aspect of Objection’s operations, at least on the macro level, and many on the micro level, go through her.

She uses her thumb to scroll through the e-mails and see one from Human Resources. It immediately catches her attention, and she opens the message. As she reads it, her already-down mood plummets even further.

She drops the phone into her lap and watches it sink down into the white bedsheet. She stares at the news program on the TV for several seconds, lost in thought.

Finally she picks up the phone again and scrolls through her contacts until she finds the right number. She places the call and lifts the phone to her face.

“Hey,” she says into the phone. “I have something I’d love to run by you.”

END OF EPISODE 1025

What did Molly see and who did she call?
Was Brent wrong in the way he handled Claire?
Will Alex and Trevor have the getaway they need?
Talk about it all in the comments section below!

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