Previously…
– When Molly confronted Dr. Longo about her baby and began assaulting him, Claire pulled her away and restrained her. She later called Brent to alert him of his ex-wife’s troubles. 
– Brent found a yellow hair clip at the scene of the last threatening note that Jaq received.
– Samantha feared that the hair clip might belong to Tempest and confided in Diane — who later realized that Jaq was planting the notes to frame Tempest. When Diane confronted Jaq, however, she was shocked when Jaq blackmailed her into silence by playing audio recordings of Diane conspiring to keep Samantha and Tempest apart.

12:00 AM

On the wall above the Information Desk of King’s Bay Memorial Hospital, green digits flip over to signify the start of a fresh hour and a fresh day. The bright digital display stands in contrast to the placid energy in the lobby at present; despite the urgency no doubt fueling many an action on the floors above this one, there is a sleepiness to things down here. 

Clad in light blue scrubs, Claire Fisher finishes consulting with the nurse behind the Info Desk. She is moving back toward the elevator bay when she spots a familiar face stepping out of one of the elevators — a face that, although familiar, gives her immediate pause. 

“Claire. Hi,” Brent Taylor says from several yards away. 

She inhales sharply through her nostrils. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“Questioning a homicide suspect upstairs,” he explains, taking a few tentative steps toward her. His boots make a slight slapping noise against the linoleum floor as he does so. “Overnight shift?”

“What gave me away?” she says, hoping that a little levity will relieve the tension coursing through her body right now. As much as she tells herself that she has put their relationship behind her — that she has made peace with how it ended and moved on with her life — it is still so strange to see him, knowing that she was ready to marry him and now he is simply… another person she knows, and someone around whom she feels this uncomfortable.

“Listen…” He stuffs his cell phone into the pocket of his dark jeans. “I want to thank you for what you did. Helping Molly. And calling me–“

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do. After the way Molly and I hurt you — you don’t owe us anything. But that was really kind of you. So thank you.”

Claire bows her head before asking, “How’s she doing?”

“She’s okay, all things considered,” Brent replies. “I think — well, I hope — this was kind of a wake-up call. She hasn’t really grieved the baby. Maybe neither of us has.”

“Therapy can work wonders. Therapy and time.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

Claire’s iPhone vibrates in her hand, and she instinctively lifts it to check the notification. Seeing that it is just an e-mail about an Amazon order, she begins to lower the phone — but Brent interrupts her.

“What’s that?” he asks, leaning in.

“What do you mean? It’s from Amazon–“

“No, the photo,” he says, straining to get a look at the picture on her lock screen.

12:02 AM

“Crap! It’s midnight already?” Trevor Brooks says before taking another sip of his vodka-soda through the black paper straw.

The high-energy sounds of “Future Starts Now” by Kim Petras fill The Lookout as patrons dance and sip cocktails. The club’s floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the dark bay, with lights from the city glittering over its surface.

“We should probably get going before we turn into pumpkins,” Alex Marshall says. “And we told Te– the sitter–“

“You can say Tempest‘s name in front of us,” Jaq Pearson says from across the high-top table where they are gathered along with Jaq’s girlfriend and roommate. 

Alex looks momentarily cowed.

“It was nice of her to babysit so you guys could have a night out,” Jaq continues. “Samantha and I — we’re rock-solid. I’m not going to burst into flames because you mention Tempest.”

Jaq squeezes Samantha Fisher’s hand, and Samantha does her best to smile and conceal the uneasiness that this conversation has stirred within her, knowing that Tempest could very well be the one who has been leaving the threatening notes for Jaq.

“I’ll go close my tab,” Trevor says as he sets down his empty glass.

“Me, too,” Finn Campbell says.

“I can go with you,” Jaq offers. “We should split yours. You got our drinks.”

“They’re on me,” Finn tells his roommate. “You can order a pizza when we get home. Deal?”

“How about I order it now so it’s there when we get home?” Jaq offers as they pull out their phone.

“Even better,” Finn says with a grin before slipping off with Trevor.

Alex watches as his husband and the other man weave their way through the dancing bodies to the bar.

“It’s nice to have a night out, isn’t it?” Samantha asks, yanking Alex out of his thoughts.

“Oh. Yeah. Totally,” he says, forcing a smile before quickly finishing his drink. “And on a school night, no less.”

“Although pizza sounds pretty good, too,” Jaq says as they use their phone to place the order. They press a few more buttons before looking up. “I just hope that’s the only thing waiting for us when we get back.”

Alex’s expression darkens. “You’re worried there’ll be another note?”

Jaq shrugs. “I hope not. But I’m trying not to let my guard down, either.”

While she nods along, Samantha’s mind races: We all know that Tempest is at Alex and Trevor’s watching Chase right now. So if there’s a note at home… it means Tempest can’t be the one leaving them.

As much as she hates the thought, she improbably finds herself hoping that they just might find one of those notes awaiting them back at the house — because then she will know for sure that her suspicions are wrong and that Tempest is innocent.

—–

Over by the bar, Finn flags down the bartender and asks to close his tab, and Trevor does the same. 

“Are you sure you wanna miss out on pizza?” Finn asks. “You guys could come back with us for a bit.”

“I don’t ever want to miss out on pizza,” Trevor says, “but we told Tempest we’d be home by 12:30. We can’t leave her waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah. Be all responsible.” Finn smirks. “I’m just teasing. But it would be fun if we could all really let loose one night.”

“Letting loose becomes a really foreign concept when you have a toddler.”

“I bet.” Finn accepts his credit card and receipt from the bartender with a grateful nod. As he fills out the tip and signs, he continues, “Is it all worth it?”

Trevor turns toward him. “Is what?”

“All of it. Marriage, the house, the kid. Is that what you always wanted?”

Trevor’s lips part to answer, but he hesitates, and then the bartender delivers his own credit card and receipt, too. He busies himself with filling it out.

“Hey, what should I tip on this?” he asks Finn with a burrowed brow.

Finn leans over, his chest pressing against Trevor’s firm bicep as he does so. 

“Umm…  12 dollars should be about right,” he tells Trevor.

Trevor quickly fills in the tip line and signs the receipt. As he folds it up and puts it inside his wallet, he addresses Finn again:

“I don’t know if I ever knew I wanted it,” he says. “The kid and the house and the marriage and stuff. I didn’t really know that I could want it. You know? Growing up gay — and I guess I’m older than you–“

“Not that much older,” Finn says.

“Older enough that it was different for guys my age. I kept myself in the closet for so long because I was — I don’t know. Afraid? Ashamed? But yeah, deep down, I think I did want it. Maybe I didn’t know it would look exactly like this, but I wanted love and companionship and to feel like I had a family of my own, whatever shape that wound up taking.”

“That’s a good way to put it. I guess that’s what we all want, in a way.”

Trevor leans his hip against the bar. “How about you? Is that what you want?”

Finn swipes the tip of his tongue over his lower lip. “I’m still figuring that out,” he admits. 

From across the bar, Alex watches the two men out of the corner of his eye and wonders what they might be discussing, as Dua Lipa’s “Physical” begins to play over the sound system.

In the hospital lobby, Claire looks at Brent with confusion.

“It’s a photo of Tempest and me,” she says. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing.” He glances again at the portrait on her phone’s lock screen. “I thought — I thought it might be a photo from Travis and Rosie‘s wedding.”

“No, we haven’t gotten the photographer’s photos back yet.”

“Damn. I’ve been hoping they got some nice shots of Caleb and Christian. You know how hard it is to get teenage boys to pose for a decent picture.”

“I remember those days well,” Claire says. “But I’m sure Paula will send out an e-mail blast to half the people in the Pacific Northwest as soon as the official photos are ready.”

Brent chuckles. “I’m sure. Anyway, thanks again for helping Molly. I appreciate it, and I know she does, too.”

“Of course. Take care, Brent.”

“You, too.” He lifts one hand in an awkward wave and then starts toward the exit. Claire continues on her path toward the elevators.

As he walks, all Brent can think about is that photo of Claire and Tempest that she has displayed on her phone — or, more specifically, the yellow clips in Tempest’s hair in that photo. 

“It can’t be a coincidence,” he mutters to himself as he walks out of the hospital and toward his car.

END OF EPISODE 1096

What will Brent do with this newfound information?
Does Jaq have something else planned with the notes?
Should Alex be jealous of Trevor and Finn?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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