Previously…
– Tim enlisted Sarah’s private investigative skills to help him locate Sonja and the little boy she had with her in Hawaii.
– Tori accepted Zane’s marriage proposal. When she ran into Marcus and Christian and they spotted her ring, she asked them to remain quiet until she could tell her family herself.
– Diane bailed Tempest out of jail and exposed Jaq’s plan to frame Tempest for sending them the threatening letters. 

Cloth napkins in an autumnal plaid, cinched with gold rings, are set one by one atop sparkling white plates. Small pumpkins and gourds line the center of the elongated dining room table in Paula Fisher‘s home.

“There we go,” Paula comments as she takes a step back. 

“It looks wonderful,” Mia Davich Gray says before stepping in to straighten out one of the place settings.

“I can’t thank you and Jake enough for coming over to help out,” Paula says. “There’s always so much to do on the holidays!”

Mia smiles warmly. “Thanks for having us. It’s so nice to spend Thanksgiving at a big family celebration, and–” She pauses and casts a wary glance toward the kitchen. “–it means a lot to have Jake and Matt spending the holidays together again.”

Paula responds with a knowing nod. 

In the kitchen, Matt uses a wrapped dishtowel to slide a casserole dish of sweet potatoes into the oven. As soon as he does, Jake closes the stainless steel door for him.

“Thanks, bro,” Matt says as he sets down the towel. He surveys the in-progress dishes covering the countertop, kitchen table, and stove. “Think we’re in good shape.”

Jake shakes his head and grins. “I don’t know how you keep track of all this stuff. Timing everything out…”

“Kinda have to, in my line of work.” Matt stirs the mashed potatoes resting on the stovetop and then uses the wooden spoon to take a taste of them. He picks up a nearby salt shaker and adds some salt to the pot. “Glad you guys are here, Jake.”

“Me, too.” 

The brothers trade eye contact, and it says — without words — all that they both need to say about their falling-out a few Christmases ago and the subsequent rebuilding of their relationship. Before either can speak again, Jake’s teenage son slides open the glass door that connects the kitchen to the back deck and steps inside, with Matt’s stepson in tow. 

“Too cold for cornhole?” Matt says.

Billy rubs his arms and does an exaggerated shiver. “It’s free-eeeeeezing,” the preteen announces. 

“Yeah, it’s cold as hell,” Marcus says in his deeper voice. 

Jake lifts his heavy eyebrows. “Told you.”

“Whatever, Dad.” Marcus rolls his eyes. “When are we eating?”

“Not until everyone else gets here,” Matt tells his nephew. “Billy, have you seen your mom?”

Billy simply shrugs before running out of the kitchen.

“I think I saw her going into the den before,” Marcus says. “With Tim. Looked kinda serious.”

“I hope everything’s okay,” Matt comments before again checking on the mashed potatoes. 

—–

Down the hall from the kitchen, in Paula’s den, Sarah Fisher Gray sits on the plush sofa with her older brother. Their bodies are turned slightly toward one another as they engage in serious conversation. 

“The big caveat is that this information is several weeks old by now,” Sarah is explaining. “There’s a lag on how fast I get these updates, especially when we won’t know exactly what to target–“

“That sounds promising, though,” Tim says, leaning inward.

“I think so. Or hope so. Tim… about three weeks ago, Sonja boarded a flight out of Kaua’i, connecting through Honolulu, to L.A.”

His eyes grow wide. “So she’s in L.A. Or somewhere nearby.”

“We don’t know that,” Sarah says. “But we can guess that she was hiding out somewhere on Kaua’i until then — maybe she was waiting until she felt the coast was clear — and then flew to the mainland. It doesn’t look like she boarded any other flights, so either she’s in southern California or she left the area in a car.”

“But that’s something,” he says with growing excitement. “And do you know if she had TJ with her?”

Sarah nods slowly, though her lips remain pursed, as if she is hesitant to commit to full confirmation. 

“She was traveling with a child, yeah,” she says. “And the name on the boarding pass was Timothy Joseph Kahele.”

Tim inhales deeply and steadily, a breath that draws in this information and allows it to spread through his bloodstream.

“Timothy Joseph. She named him after me.”

“We’re going to find them,” Sarah says, giving her brother a reassuring pat on the forearm. “I promise.”

“We have to,” Tim says gravely. “That boy — he’s my son. I know he is. And I’m not going to let Sonja keep him from me forever.”

—–

Claire Fisher and Tempest Banks stand at the front door of the charming yellow bungalow. Each of them wears a warm winter coat and holds a pie dish as they listen to the doorbell echo inside the house. Moments later, the front door is pulled open to reveal Alex Marshall in a burgundy quarter-zip sweater.

“Hi!” he exclaims, though there is a barely discernible note of trepidation in his voice and in his facial expression. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Claire says, as she motions for Tempest to go inside first. Tempest does so, and Claire follows right behind her.

“Sorry we’re a little early,” Tempest explains as she hands Alex the pumpkin pie and takes off her black puffer coat. “The bakery had the pies ready, so we didn’t have to wait.”

“Thank you for picking them up,” Alex replies. He sets down the pumpkin pie and takes the pecan from Claire so that she can remove her own coat. Once he places the second pie on the table, he holds out his arm again. “Let me go put your coats in the bedroom.”

“Isaac’s gonna be here in a hot minute,” Tempest says. “Thanks for inviting him.”

“The more, the merrier,” Alex says. “It’ll be great for Chase to spend Thanksgiving with his older sister and brother. Why don’t you guys, uh, go have a seat in the living room, and I’ll put these away, and then–“

“Who’s here?” Trevor Brooks asks as he pops his head out of the kitchen. He, too, reacts with a strange look of surprise when he spots Tempest and Claire.

Tempest screws up her face. “What’s up with you two?”

Alex looks over at his husband, and the two of them shrug in a weird, almost synchronized way.

“Are we too early?” Claire asks. “If we’re interrupting–“

However, before she has a chance to finish the thought, another person emerges from the kitchen. 

“Oh. Hi,” Samantha Fisher says as her gaze lands awkwardly upon Tempest.

—–

The Fishers’ doorbell rings again, signaling the start of what will no doubt be a 20- or 30-minute parade of arrivals. 

“Who is it?” Billy asks as he runs past Marcus through the living room.

“I dunno. You’ve gotta open it first,” Marcus replies.

Billy undoes the lock and pulls open the door, revealing his older sister in a sheepskin coat with faux-fur trim and Zane Tanaka sporting a black leather jacket. 

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Tori exclaims, as she gives her brother and then her cousin a hug.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Marcus says, in typical muted teenage fashion.

“Hey, guys,” Zane says brightly, with a tone not unlike a spokesman in an infomercial. “Happy Thanksgiving.” He shakes both Marcus’s and Billy’s hands.

“Is that Tori I hear?” Sarah says as she comes in through the dining room.

“Hi, Mom,” Tori says, and soon Paula, Mia, Matt, and Jake are all crowding in the living room, as well. Holiday greetings are exchanged all around.

Marcus’s eyes flicker down toward Tori’s left hand. He takes note of the way that she has the trim on her sleeve pulled down just far enough over her hand to conceal what he knows is underneath: the emerald engagement ring that she has not yet revealed to the rest of the family. The cousins share a brief moment of eye contact as Tori realizes what he is thinking.

“While everyone’s in one place, Tori and I have an announcement,” Zane says in that same cheery, sales-like tone. 

The color drains from Tori’s face. “Not now…”

“What is it, dear?” Paula asks.

“Come on,” Zane tells Tori, wrapping his arm around her.

After one more uncertain glance at him, Tori holds up her hand and pulls back the sleeve, exposing the gleaming ring. Time seems to slow down around her. She hears someone gasp but isn’t sure if it is her mother or grandmother. 

“Is that…?” Matt asks, not needing to complete the statement.

Zane nods as a proud smile breaks out over his face. “We’re engaged!”

“Oh, wow,” Jake comments.

“Congratulations,” Mia chimes in.

“Yeah,” Sarah says, having to push the words past a newly formed lump in her throat. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Zane says as he squeezes Tori tighter. “That means a lot.”

—–

“Samantha,” Claire says stiffly as they all stand in the small entry area of Alex and Trevor‘s home. “I didn’t realize you’d be here. Happy Thanksgiving.”

She moves forward to give her former stepdaughter a hug. 

As they embrace, Samantha explains, “I came by to wish Alex and Trevor a happy holiday. They said people wouldn’t be here for another little while…”

“We got here early,” Tempest pipes in.

A heavy tension fills the space as she and her ex lock eyes.

“Why don’t we all go into the kitchen?” Alex suggests in as light a tone as he can manage. “I’m sure Sam and Tempest could use a minute to talk.”

“You don’t have to–” Samantha begins, but it is too late. Claire, Alex, and Trevor quickly shuffle off to the other room, leaving her and Tempest alone. A lengthy beat of silence stretches out between them.

“I didn’t think I’d see you today,” Tempest says awkwardly.

“Yeah. Me, neither.” Samantha glances down at her dark brown leather flats. 

“I was thinking about texting you. I didn’t know–“

“Really? You should have.” It takes another moment for Samantha to raise her eyes. “I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because of what Jaq did. I thought you might blame me–“

“Don’t be stupid. Why would I blame you?”

“I was dating them,” Samantha says. “And I uninvited you to Sun Valley at the last minute, and they were jealous, and– I don’t know. None of this would’ve happened if I had been honest about…”

She trails off.

“Been honest about what?” Tempest prompts.

Samantha opens her mouth to answer, but before she can, she is interrupted by the chime of the doorbell. Both women tense up at the sound. Then Samantha reaches over and pulls open the door, revealing a tall Black man in a brown leather jacket with a cream-colored, cable-knit sweater beneath it. It takes Sam a split-second to recognize who he must be.

“Bro. Hi,” Tempest says, moving toward the door to greet Isaac Banks. He quickly enters the house. “Sam, this is my brother, Isaac. Isaac, this is Samantha.”

Surprise flashes over Isaac’s face, followed quickly by an understanding of what he has walked into. He smiles genially.

“Samantha,” he says, extending his right hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

“You, too,” she says as they shake. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

Having heard the latest arrival, Claire steps out of the kitchen.

“Isaac! Hi,” she says. “Why don’t you come with me? Alex can put your coat away, and we can get you a drink, and…” The slight shift of her eyes indicates her desire to give Samantha and Tempest a moment alone.

He picks up on the hint and scurries toward the kitchen. 

“A drink sounds perfect,” he says before disappearing back into the kitchen with Claire. 

Sam closes the front door. Her body trembles nervously now that she is alone with Tempest again.

“What were you gonna say before?” Tempest asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You were talking about being honest about something. What was it?”

—–

“I have the fucking chills,” Sarah says as she and Matt huddle in the den, where they retreated as soon as they could after Tori and Zane’s announcement. 

“We knew this was coming,” Matt says.

“That doesn’t make it any better.” Sarah lets out a frustrated sigh. “We’ve tried so many things, Matt. And she keeps winding up with him. Did you see that sneer on Zane’s face? Like he was so proud of himself.”

Matt punches one balled fist into the palm of his other hand.

“I don’t know what else to try,” he says. “He’s got some kind of spell over her.”

“Do you remember how she used to be? She was so brash. Honestly, she was kind of a brat! And I’d take that Tori back over this– this meek girl who bows down to whatever Zane thinks is best.” Sarah paces over the red-hued Persian rug. “You know who started this all? That damn Philip Ragan. She was never the same after what he did to her. Between putting her in a coma, and causing her to get behind in school and lose her friends, not to mention blaming herself for what Philip did to my dad–“

“Try and stay calm,” Matt says, but his tone makes it clear that he knows it’s a lost cause.

“This is my calm right now,” Sarah says. “Matt, we have to do something. We can’t let Tori marry that guy.”

“Short of kidnapping her or actually killing Zane, what else can we do?”

“There has to be something.” Sarah grits her teeth and sets her jaw. “As God is my witness, our daughter will never, ever be Mrs. Zane Tanaka.”

—–

In the entry of Alex and Trevor’s bungalow, Samantha freezes, feeling caught. Her stomach feels as if it has twisted into a hundred tight knots.

“Maybe we should talk later. Somewhere else, I mean,” she manages to say. “I just– it’s Thanksgiving, and–“

Tempest reflexively shrugs one shoulder as she puts up her characteristic wall again. “Cool. Whatever.” 

Recognizing that Tempest is shutting down, Sam quickly adds, “It’s not that I don’t want to. I– there’s a lot to talk about, and…” She shakes her head, and her brown hair wags softly from side-to-side. “I feel so bad that this happened to you, Tempest. Between Jaq framing you, and what my mom did–“

“Your mom and I are cool now,” Tempest says.

“Really?”

“Really. I’d still be locked up if not for her.”

“Jaq and I might not have even been together if not for her,” Samantha says. “And then Jaq wouldn’t have felt threatened by you, and they wouldn’t have planted those letters, and… I still can’t believe any of it. I’ve barely even talked to my mom.”

Tempest sighs. “I mean, she did some of her usual crap. But after she bailed me out and told me what Jaq was doing — when she didn’t care if you got mad at her as long as it got me out of jail… that changed things.”

A caustic chuckle escapes Samantha’s throat. “I can’t believe you’re standing up for my mom.”

“Me, neither,” Tempest admits. “But let’s be real: I kinda started this when I told you about– you know. You think I’m proud of what I did? I was hurt and stupid and acted like an asshole, and it cost me you. You think I don’t regret that?”

Samantha doesn’t know how to respond. She has spent so long denying her feelings for Tempest, acting as though she could will them out of existence because she was so angry at Tempest for hurting her family the way that she did, by exposing the truth about Samantha’s conception. And she did truly care about Jaq — but she cannot shake the feeling of guilt that she was never quite as committed to the relationship as she wanted to be or knew she should be.

“I think we both regret a lot,” she finally says, feeling oddly short of breath. “I should go, but — can we talk soon? Alone?”

“We need to.”

“Okay.” Samantha feels herself nodding incessantly. “Happy Thanksgiving, Tempest.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Sam… and don’t be mad at your mom. I mean it.”

After a moment of hesitation, Samantha decides not to respond. She doesn’t know how.

“Enjoy dinner,” she says instead, and she quickly opens the door and exits the house. Even as she hurries through the cold back to her car, grateful for the coat that she never even removed, she feels her heart thudding inside her chest.

END OF EPISODE 1106

What should Samantha do about Diane?
Do Sarah and Matt have any hope of saving Tori?
Will Tim be able to find Sonja and TJ?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!
Happy Thanksgiving!

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