Previously…
– Alex opened up to Jason about his concerns that Trevor could be having an affair with Finn, and Jason did his best to talk his friend down.
– Sonja insisted to Tim that she and TJ cannot stay in the safehouse much longer. He asked her to be patient, hoping that Molly and Brent would soon have concrete evidence to neutralize Loretta.
– Finn expressed frustration to Loretta that Gia was only treating him as a lackey at Objection. Loretta urged her secret conspirator to keep his eye on their ultimate goal.

Alex Marshall‘s thumb flicks the wheel of the lighter, and a small flame leaps out of the device. He brings it to the wick of the candle resting on the dining room table, after a few seconds of careful angling, the wick catches flame. 

He sets the lighter on the small wine cabinet in the corner of the dining room and takes a step back to evaluate the table. He has used the gold-lined dishes and cloth napkins that he and Trevor received as wedding gifts, and a sparkling wine glass and water glass accompany each place setting. A small serving dish, lined with a towel, contains warm pieces of sliced bread, with the rest of dinner ready to come out of the still-warm oven as soon as Trevor returns home. 

Looks good, he thinks to himself, but uneasiness continues to churn in the pit of his stomach. 

He goes back to check on the creamed spinach and pan-seared pork chops in the oven. As he is closing it, he hears the front door of the house opening. Quickly he stands to attention.

“Trev?” he calls out as he moves back to the dining room. 

Trevor Brooks looks through the wood-framed doorway that links the entryway of the bungalow to the dining room.

“Hey,” Trevor says. He wears a pair of olive-colored slacks and a light blue shirt with white stripes, its top two buttons undone and its sleeves rolled up his forearms. Alex can see him eyeing the dining table curiously.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Alex explains. “And Helen and Don really wanted a night with Chase, so I took them up on that. We have the place to ourselves.”

He waits for Trevor to respond, still all too aware of the tension lingering between them since their argument over Trevor agreeing to cover the other half of the rent at his family’s home for Finn.

Alex places his hands on the top of one of the dining chairs and instinctively grips it hard as he speaks: “I owe you an apology. I’m still not thrilled that you told Finn we’d spot him Jaq‘s rent for next month, but I talked to Jason, and he helped me get some perspective on why I blew up the way I did.”

“Okay…” 

“I guess I’m feeling insecure, or nervous.”

“About what?” Trevor says, moving into the dining room.

“Us. We’re in such a domestic routine — you go to work, I write, we take Chase to the park…”

One side of Trevor’s mouth lifts in a grin. “Yeah, we have a little kid.”

“I’m worried you’ve gotten bored with it,” Alex says. “With me. With our life.”

“I’m not bored.”

“Are you sure?” Alex’s fingers tighten over the top of the chair. “Can you be honest with me? Are you attracted to Finn? Are you wanting something with him because you’re bored in our marriage?”

Tim Fisher leans against the metal railing and stares out over downtown King’s Bay. From his perch on a balcony on one of the hospital’s upper floors, he can see the bay itself, as hot evening sun continues to beat down upon the water. A surprisingly warm breeze blows, causing the surface of the bay to ripple with meringue-like peaks. 

“This western wind is something, isn’t it?” a voice asks. Tim turns to see his ex-wife stepping out onto the balcony in her blue scrubs. 

“I can’t believe how warm it is,” Tim agrees. “This summer has been brutal.”

Claire joins him at the railing. “I don’t know if that’s just the weather.”

Tim turns toward her with a curious look.

“I saw you go into Samantha‘s room and then come right out here,” she explains.

“There was a doctor in there with her.”

“Ah. There haven’t been any updates, have there?”

“No.” He runs a hand over his light brown hair. “It feels like this has been going on forever. And I guess it has. It’s months at this point.”

Claire bows her head sympathetically. “I know. You have no idea how often I peek at her chart or catch a doctor coming out of her room and can’t help but ask.”

“She’s my daughter, and all this time is going by that she’s just lying there,” Tim says. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s even her.”

“She’s receiving really good care,” Claire offers, as she places a hand on his shoulder. “And no news is… well, not great news, but it’s better than the alternative. She’s been very stable.”

“But in a coma.”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry, Tim.”

He lets out a small sigh. “Thanks. Between Sam, and TJ–“

“What happened with TJ?” Claire asks with alarm.

“Nothing. He’s fine. I brought my mom over to see him today, and Sonja jumped down my throat about wanting to leave the safehouse. She says it’s driving her nuts and it isn’t good for TJ.”

“I’m sure it’s difficult, but if Loretta knew they were here–“

“I know.” Tim rests his arm on the railing as he faces Claire. “Travis and Rosie have this DNA test coming up, and there’s nothing we can do to help them right now, and — I feel like I’m failing all my kids lately. Spencer is somehow the one with the most stable life. That says a lot.”

“You are not failing your kids,” Claire says.

“I should be able to protect them.”

“You aren’t a magician, Tim. All you can do is support your kids — and that’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re an amazing father.”

“I don’t know about that…”

He drops his head, his eyes focusing on his brown dress shoes. 

“Tim, you are a great father,” she says, as she reaches out her arms and steps closer. She pulls him in for a hug, their bodies pressing together.

A moment passes before Tim pulls back, lifting his head. “Sorry… all of this just hit me…”

“Tim, it’s okay.” Claire raises her face, too — and finds Tim’s mere inches away.

Tim suddenly feels his heart pounding at the closeness, his body and mind remembering sensations between them that he has not known in years.

“Still hard at work?” Finn Campbell asks as he pokes his head into his boss’s office inside the headquarters of Objection Designs. 

Gia Vincent glances up from the large, flatscreen monitor on her desk.

“Not really,” she says, exhaling loudly. “We haven’t gotten the ad proofs back yet, have we?”

Finn shakes his head. “No. We only sent them back with notes about three hours ago…”

“That’s right.” She barely suppresses an eye roll. “If you’re coming in to see if you can go home, go ahead. I’m just… stewing.”

Sensing an opportunity, he steps fully into the office.

“Stewing? Something wrong?” 

“I don’t know.” She gestures at the monitor. “I was reading an article from the King’s Bay Chronicle about that doctor who killed himself.”

Finn’s pulse quickens. “The doctor who delivered Molly‘s baby?”

“Yeah. It sounds like with all this stuff coming out now, the assault charges against Molly might be dropped. And once that happens…”

“She’ll be reinstated,” Finn completes the thought, “and take back her job as Chief Creative Officer.”

Gia grimaces and stares at the computer screen for a long moment. 

“I haven’t even had a chance to make my mark,” she laments. 

“You got the fall/winter line to market, and it did really well.”

“Molly had already set that in motion by the time she was suspended. All I did was not screw it up. The upcoming spring/summer collection is supposed to be all mine.”

Finn does his best not to frown at the statement. It’s not like an entire company of people are busting their asses to execute this, he thinks. But he knows he needs to play his cards correctly here.

“It’s not like it’s guaranteed that she’ll be reinstated,” he says.

“If those charges get dropped, and if all this turns out to be true about that doctor claiming he lied about her baby dying… there’s no way the board won’t put her back in this chair.”

“Unless they have reason not to.”

Gia looks at him — really looks at him — for the first time since he entered the office. “What does that mean?”

“What the board members want is to feel confident that whoever’s steering the ship is going to make them money and keep the company’s image positive. And if they think Molly can’t do that…”

“Finn,” she says with a smirk. “Are you suggesting we launch some kind of campaign to convince the board not to reinstate Molly?”

“I could be. If that’s something that interests you. If the board is forced to think about all the chaos and bad publicity Molly has brought over the years — really think about it — I don’t think they’d be so quick to end her suspension. Maybe they’d even vote to make it permanent.”

She plays with the ends of her luscious blonde hair as she mulls over his words. Finn waits with bated breath for her response; he knows that this is a big swing and that he risks exposing himself by doing it, but he can’t overlook this opportunity. 

“Pull up a seat and tell me more,” Gia says.

Grinning to himself, Finn grabs a tufted midnight blue side chair and brings it over to the desk.

—–

Trevor’s mouth gapes open as he stares back at Alex in confusion.

“Where is this coming from?” he finally manages.

Alex pauses a moment, calibrating his response so as not to seem too aggressive or emotional. “Just some things I’ve noticed. The time you spend with Finn. And now being so quick to cut him a break on rent–“

“He can’t afford to cover the full rent! And we knew this was a risk when we didn’t put Jaq on the lease.”

“I don’t want to fight about the rent,” Alex says. “But you’re getting defensive, which tells me there’s at least a kernel of truth to what I’m saying.”

“Alex…”

“Just answer me. Are you attracted to Finn?”

Trevor swallows the visible lump in his throat. “I guess — in the sense that, like, he’s an attractive guy. I don’t find him repulsive.”

“I mean, neither do I. He’s objectively hot. I just wonder if you’re… having feelings for him.”

“I’m not cheating on you.” 

“That’s not what I said.” Again Alex is careful to keep his tone measured and reasonable. “I’m sorry if any of this has come off as an accusation. I just want to open the lines of communication.”

Nevertheless, Trevor continues to eye him warily.

“I’m serious,” Alex continues. “I’ve lashed out because I’m afraid, and that’s not fair to you. I want us to communicate about this stuff. And it isn’t a crime to find someone else attractive.”

“I mean…” Trevor lifts his right shoulder in a shrug. “I guess I do. Like you said, he’s hot. Do I have feelings for him? Beyond friendship? No.”

“Okay. Thanks. I just needed to hear you say that.”

Trevor rounds the table. “You and Chase are my priority.”

“I really do love our life,” Alex says.

“I do, too.” Trevor leans in and plants a quick kiss on his husband’s lips. Then he places his hands on Alex’s hips. “I’m sorry if I made you doubt that.”

“I’m sorry for freaking out.” 

Alex kisses him back, more passionately, their mouths melting together.

“What’s the deal with dinner?” Trevor asks as he pulls back from the kiss.

“Uh, pork chops in a brown sugar glaze–“

“I mean–” Trevor pecks him on the lips again. “–can it wait a few minutes?”

“I guess so. The oven’s just keeping it warm–“

“Good.” Trevor reaches down and expertly flicks open the button on Alex’s jeans. “Then let it wait.”

His mouth clamps down on Alex’s neck. The sensation sends a shudder of pleasure through Alex.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” Trevor pants between swipes of his tongue against Alex’s neck.

Alex undoes the next button on Trevor’s shirt. “We have the house to ourselves? Why bother with the bedroom?”

“I like the way you think,” Trevor says as they stagger toward the living room together, hands clawing at each other’s clothing.

—–

His heart thudding and his breathing shallow, Tim gazes into Claire’s green eyes. They seem to be reflecting the same sense of connection, of understanding, of longing as he feels in this moment. His mind swirls in dizzying fashion, knowing that it has been years since their lips touched, and yet it would be so easy to feel as if no time has passed at all–

“Mr. Fisher?” a voice asks.

Tim instinctively jumps backward, and Claire does, too. He looks over to see another nurse in blue scrubs sticking her head out the door. 

“The doctor is done examining your daughter,” the youthful nurse, whose ID badge identifies her as being named Kelly, says. 

“Oh. Great. Thank you,” Tim replies, hearing the awkwardness in his voice.

“You, um, you should get in there,” Claire says.

Kelly dips back inside the hospital. Tim’s eyes linger on Claire, but with the spell of a moment ago broken, he has no idea what he would even begin to say — or whether he imagined it at all.

“Yeah, I… yeah.” He feels the sides of his mouth pulling upward into a smile that he is sure looks manic. “Thanks for checking on me.”

“Of course. Any time.” She pushes several strands of her brown hair back behind one ear. “I hope the doctor has good news.”

“Me, too,” he says, and he sticks out a hand, which mercifully finds the door handle without too much difficulty. He pulls it open and feels his head turn back, flashing her that vaguely deranged smile again.

Once he is inside, he hurries past the nurses’ station and down the corridor toward Samantha’s room without pausing.

“Get yourself together,” he mutters under his breath… but he still can’t stop thinking about how intimate that encounter felt, or whether Claire really felt it, too.

END OF EPISODE 1139

Should Tim tell Claire how he’s feeling?
Is this the end of Alex and Trevor’s troubles?
Will Finn and Gia’s efforts be successful?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!

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