Previously…
– Samantha lingered in a coma with no change in her condition.
– In hopes of getting Jaq out of Samantha’s life, Diane arranged a job for them at KBAY’s sister station in Portland. Finn convinced Jaq to accept the offer.
– Molly and Brent received a note from the late Dr. Longo, who’d arranged for it to be delivered in the event of his death. The note asserted that their baby had been a girl — and had actually survived. Molly was certain that Gabrielle, who had been left outside the police station mere days after her own child’s birth, must be their baby.

“It’s gonna happen soon. I just know it.”

Jaq Pearson sits in a chair pulled right up to the side of Samantha Fisher‘s hospital bed. They clasp one of Samantha’s hands between both of their own, as machines and monitors beep and bleep at a steady, somewhat reassuring tempo in the background. A cable cooking show plays on the TV mounted in the corner of the room at a low, nearly imperceptible volume. 

“I’m sorry I won’t be here to see it,” Jaq continues to their comatose ex, “but I know you’ll be better than ever. You’ll be your usual thoughtful, wise self, full of energy and positivity and–” They pause as a sniffle overtakes them. “I just hope that, one day, you’ll want to talk to me again.”

They let out a heavy sigh.

“But I guess I need to get going,” they say. “I’m supposed to see an apartment in Portland before dinnertime tonight.”

High heels clack against the linoleum floor behind Jaq, and they turn over their shoulder to see Diane Bishop standing there.

“Thanks for letting me see her one last time,” Jaq says.

Diane pulls her full lips into a straight, tight line and nods. 

“Okay, Sam.” Jaq pushes out their chair and stands but does not drop their hold of Samantha’s hand. “I’m gonna say goodbye now.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Diane says curtly. She watches, biting her tongue, as Jaq leans down and plants a kiss on Samantha’s forehead. In the bed, Sam remains motionless.

“I’ll miss you,” Jaq says, giving Samantha’s hand one more squeeze, relishing its familiar softness. “Get better, okay? I love you.”

Slowly, Jaq steps back from the bedside. Diane places a hand on their back to usher them toward the door.

“Thanks again,” Jaq tells her.

“You know,” Diane says, “I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life.”

At the doorway, Jaq stops and turns toward her. “Is that supposed to reassure me somehow?”

“And I had to fight for second chances. Usually I had to create them for myself. So don’t blow this opportunity in Portland. I know it might not seem like it now, but there are plenty of other things out there in the world for you that have nothing to do with Samantha or King’s Bay.”

“I hope so.”

“There are. Don’t make me regret pulling strings on your behalf, okay?”

Jaq considers that for a long moment before answering, “Okay.”

“You’d better get going,” Diane says. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but: good luck, Jaq.”

“Thank you,” Jaq says seriously. “I mean it.”

With that, the younger, dark-haired person steps out of the hospital room. They glance once more back at Samantha in the bed and then head down the corridor. Diane folds her arms as she watches them go, and once they disappear around the corner, she returns to Samantha’s bedside. 

“I hope you’ll be okay with how I handled them,” she says quietly. “I did this for you. And — I really can’t believe I’m saying this — for Tempest.”

“What’s that about my sister?” a voice asks, and Diane spins around to see Dr. Isaac Banks standing there.

—–

Late morning sunlight peeks through the branches and leaves of the trees that line the pathway from the parking lot to the apartment building. Molly Taylor walks briskly and with determination over the walkway, with her ex-husband and his niece a few steps behind her.

“I wonder if we should’ve given them a heads-up,” Brent comments as they walk.

“Brent,” Molly says, swiveling her head but not breaking her stride. “Come on. Aren’t you a cop? You don’t want to give them a chance to… you know.”

“They’re not going to run off with the baby,” Brent says.

Elly Vanderbilt, who is bringing up the rear, adds, “That’s why I’m here. To make it clear this isn’t some random impulse. And if we need to–“

“I don’t want to drag them to court over this,” Brent tells his niece. “I just want answers.”

“And that is why we’re here today instead of waiting weeks or months,” Molly says as they arrive at the front door of the apartment. She wastes not a moment knocking on the door. As Brent and Elly file in behind her, the three of them exchange nervous but hopeful looks.

Seconds later, the door is pulled open, revealing Travis Fisher in a gray t-shirt and black gym shorts on the other side. His face crinkles with confusion as he processes the trio before him.

“Uh, hi,” he says. “What’s up?” Then he zeroes in on Brent. “Is it Rosie? Did something happen?”

“No! No,” Brent says hurriedly. 

“Rosie isn’t here?” Molly asks.

Travis shakes his head. “She’s at work. When I saw Uncle Brent, I thought–“

“I didn’t even know she had a shift this morning,” Brent says. 

“Travis, we do need to talk to you about something serious,” Elly says. 

“Okay…” Again the dark blond man scans all three faces. “You guys are scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Everyone’s okay,” Brent says in a measured tone.

“But this is important,” Molly blurts out. “It’s about Gabrielle.”

—–

With his hands in the pockets of his white doctor’s coat, Isaac takes a step inside Samantha’s room. 

“I, uh, I was telling Samantha how much I’m pulling for her,” Diane responds, “and even her and Tempest.”

“Now that sounds like a twist.” The doctor gives a lopsided grin, accentuating the dimple in his right cheek. “You sure you’re being honest?”

“I’ll lie in a lot of places, but not while my daughter’s lying right there in a coma. You know–” She plants her hands on her hips. “My name is karma, and yes, I’m a bitch.”

Isaac chuckles. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it. Was that Jaq I just saw leaving?”

“That was part of my good karma,” Diane says. “Or… I don’t know. They came to say goodbye. They’re moving to Portland for a job.”

“A job?” He narrows his eyes at her. “A job you got them?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I know you better than you think.” 

Isaac takes a step closer to her. Diane tilts her head to look up at him, annoyed that her first thought is still, after all this time, how attractive he is. Especially at a time like this.

“You do not,” she says. “We barely even know each other.”

“First of all, based on that cruise and the time in the radio station parking garage, I’m calling bullshit on that line,” Isaac replies. “Second, I’ve been right here the past however-many weeks while you’ve been waiting by Sam’s side.”

Their eyes lock, but it is a staredown, each engaging to make a point about how serious they are.

“Mm-hmm.” A throat clears, pulling both their attention toward the door.

“Am I interrupting something?” Claudia Bishop asks as she strolls into the room in a pink-and-black Chanel blazer.

Inside Cassie’s Coffee House, the bright, folksy sounds of Maggie Rogers’s “Light On” play over the sound system.

“Thanks,” Jaq tells the barista as they pick up their coffee. Knowing they have several hours in the car ahead of them, they thought it would be wise to pick up some caffeine before hitting the road for Portland. They take the coffee over to the condiment bar, add a splash of oat milk, and reaffix the beverage’s lid. When they pick it up and turn around, they almost walk smack into Tempest Banks.

“Watch where you’re going,” Tempest says with annoyance.

Jaq bites their tongue and instead exhales heavily. “I’m sorry.”

“Cool.”

“I’m sorry for everything, Tempest,” they say. “Really. What I did to you — it was stupid and awful.”

Tempest cocks her head to one side. “You can keep going.”

“I’m serious. It was a horrible thing to do to someone–“

“I’m a Black woman and you got me arrested. Does your fake-woke ass not get why that’s a problem?”

“I get it. I do.” Jaq brings the coffee closer to their face and inhales, as if it might calm their nerves. “All I can say is that I’m sorry. And always will be.”

“Well… good. Now I’m gonna go–“

“I’m leaving town,” Jaq says.

Tempest stops and examines them critically. “You’re what now?”

“I’m leaving town. Like, right now. I’m moving to Portland for a job. Diane got it for me.”

“Oh. Damn.” Tempest considers that for a moment. “Hate to say it, but that lady’s scoring some points with me lately.”

Jaq frowns, disappointed that this seed of discontent they’d hoped to plant didn’t take.

“Anyway, I need to get going,” they say. “I wish you nothing but the best. You and Samantha.”

Tempest stares back at them, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“And if you two make each other happy, then so be it,” Jaq adds. “I mean it. Be happy together. I’ll be sending good vibes for Sam’s recovery.”

“Uh, thanks,” Tempest manages to say.

“Take care, Tempest.”

Jaq brushes past her and walks toward the exit of the coffee shop. Tempest watches dubiously, as if uncertain that Jaq is seriously about leaving, but finally, they push open the doors and step out into the Northwest sun.

Outside, Jaq’s nerves continue to jangle as they approach the rental car.

“You can do this,” they say to themself as they unlock the vehicle. “You can do this.”

They get into the car, start the engine, and back out of the parking space, hoping that they truly are ready to leave King’s Bay behind.

—–

“This is insane,” Travis says some time later. He sits on the couch inside his and Rosie’s apartment, elbows planted on his knees as he leans forward, listening to the story that Molly has just unfurled for him. She sits on the other end of the couch, turned toward him; Brent is in the upholstered side chair by the window, and Elly has pulled over one of the dining chairs to use as a seat.

“As we’ve learned time and time again, that’s what you get with Loretta Ragan,” Brent says. “Insanity.”

“So she convinced this doctor to deliver your baby and tell you he — or she — was dead,” Travis recounts, “and then had him killed? Why?”

“Because the lawsuit meant it could all come out, maybe,” Molly says.

“She was desperate for me to get Uncle Brent and Aunt Molly to drop the lawsuit against the hospital,” Elly explains.

Travis looks over at his ex-girlfriend. “How did she even get you tied up in this?”

“Because she’s a psycho. That’s a whole different story, but she did everything she could to blackmail me.” Elly tosses her red hair back over her shoulder. “Luckily, I slipped out of that one.”

After staring back at her in disbelief for a few seconds, Travis says, “And the doctor just happened to leave this note to have delivered to you in case he died? Isn’t that kind of convenient?”

“You’d think so,” Brent replies, “but she’d probably been threatening him for a long time.”

“Remember what Loretta did to your dad,” Molly tells Travis. “She kept him away from us for years, just to torture your mom.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Travis’s head drops, dangling forward as he thinks. “It’s all so crazy and far-fetched.”

“That’s why we need to do this DNA test,” Molly says. “If we can confirm that Gabrielle is our child–“

“You don’t know that for sure,” Travis says sharply.

“If we do the DNA test,” Brent interjects in a more even tone, “then we’ll know what our next steps should be.”

“We could do it today,” Molly adds.

Travis gestures vaguely toward the back of the apartment. “Gabrielle’s napping. And Rosie isn’t even here…”

“We could do this the easy way,” Elly says, “or I could go get a court order. I don’t think having you guys officially served is going to make any of this easier.”

She levels a serious stare upon Travis, not breaking eye contact until he finally does.

“It won’t hurt her, right?” he asks. “It’s like a mouth swab or something?”

Brent nods. “That’s all.”

“Okay,” Travis says. “Then I guess there’s no harm.”

“Thank you!” Molly clasps her hands together and lets out a giant sigh of relief. “To think this nightmare might finally be over…”

Travis glances uneasily at the bedroom door, behind which his adopted daughter is sleeping.

—–

Diane gazes at her mother — The woman who raised me, her mind corrects — across the linoleum floor of the hospital room.

“What are you doing here?” Diane asks.

“Taking matters into my own hands,” Claudia says. “Your sister had the decency to bring me out here.”

Diane raises an eyebrow. “We’re calling that decency?”

“Oh, don’t be so nasty. Diane, it’s been weeks, and my granddaughter is in a coma, for God’s sakes–“

“She isn’t your granddaughter,” Diane replies roughly.

Isaac’s head rotates between the two women, as if awaiting some kind of cue.

“This is Dr. Isaac Banks,” Diane says. “He’s been treating Samantha. And he’s Tempest’s brother. Isaac, this is Claudia Bishop, my…”

“Mother.” Claudia sticks out her well manicured hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You, too,” Isaac says as he shakes the older lady’s hand. “I’ll give you two some time alone.”

Before Diane can protest, he has slipped out of the room. Claudia bustles over to Samantha’s bedside.

“She is my granddaughter,” Claudia says as she looks down at the still woman in the bed. “Just like you’re my daughter.”

“You sure haven’t acted like it,” Diane mutters.

“Have you let me?”

“You’ve had my entire life to treat me like a daughter. I just didn’t understand what was going on until I found out about Therese DeLuca.”

Claudia bows her head — though Diane cannot tell whether it is with regret or irritation.

“I made mistakes,” Claudia says at last. “I won’t deny that. But I’m here now. You and Samantha — you are my family. And your father would certainly want me to be here with you.”

Diane takes in a deep breath but does not respond.

“You should allow people to be there for you more often,” Claudia continues. 

“Yeah, because I’ve had such great practice being supported unconditionally,” Diane snipes as she looks down at the floor.

“Don’t be sarcastic. It’s unbecoming.” Claudia smooths the arms of her blazer. “It’s okay to be vulnerable, Diane. To let people be there when you need them. Like that doctor.”

Diane’s head snaps up. “What?”

“I know an intimate moment when I see one,” Claudia says. “That man — he has feelings for you. And I suspect they’re mutual.”

“They are not.”

“I raised you, Diane. I know you. Whether you care to admit it or not.” Claudia turns back and once again takes in the sight of her comatose granddaughter. “Don’t push him away. Don’t waste this opportunity.”

Diane considers grumbling a response under her breath but thinks better of it. But even after she steers the conversation back toward Samantha’s condition and the latest updates from the medical staff, Claudia’s words — and the memory of gazing up at Isaac — linger in her mind.

END OF EPISODE 1135

Will Diane finally allow herself to be with Isaac?
Should Travis have allowed the DNA test on Gabrielle?
Are you sad to see Jaq depart King’s Bay?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!

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