Previously…
– Sarah and Landon pursued a lead on Sonja and TJ, which took them to an Urgent Care facility in Idaho. Landon convinced the receptionist to share the footage from an outdoor security camera.
– After Claire announced that she would be moving in with Tim, Samantha and Tempest also decided to move in together.
– Travis pushed past his misgivings and went to Molly and Brent’s house in order to help Gabrielle transition to her new home.

“Daddy!!!”

Gabrielle Taylor sits on the family room floor with a set of dolls before her and a radiant smile upon her face. Travis Fisher stands frozen at the entrance to the room, uncertain how to react. What he wants to do is scoop up the little girl and tell her how much he and Rosie have missed her, but he knows that is not quite his job today.

“This is your cousin, Travis,” Molly Taylor says. “Remember what we talked about? This is your daddy.” Molly points to Brent, who looks as lost as Travis feels.

“It’s confusing for all of us,” Travis says as cheerfully as he can. He lowers himself down to the carpeted floor, its fuzzy bristles tickling his palms as he does so. “What are you playing with?”

“Dolls,” she says, holding up a baby doll wearing a mismatched red baseball cap and frilly dress.

“Can I play with you?”

Gabrielle nods emphatically and thrusts the doll toward him.

“Thank you,” he says, and his heart aches at the cascade of memories of all the evenings like this that he, Rosie, and Gabrielle used to share at home — moments that seemed so normal, so unremarkable, and yet now represent an entire lost life.

“Where’s Mommy?” the toddler asks with a curious tilt of the head.

“I’m right here,” Molly answers, stooping down to join the two of them.

Gabrielle scrunches up her face at her biological mother, then turns back to Travis. “Where’s Mommy?”

Travis takes a breath, hoping to calm his thumping heartrate, and then tells her, “Rosie couldn’t come over today. But she wants to see you soon.” He feels a twinge of guilt at adding this last part, although at its core, it is not a lie — Rosie does want to see Gabrielle, desperately. She just doesn’t know if she can handle it under these conditions, at least not yet.

The little girl stares back at him, concentrating as if she is trying to work out some complex mathematical equation — which, in a way, she is, even if she doesn’t quite realize it yet.

“Why don’t you and Travis play together for a while?” Brent suggests.

“I think that sounds great. Don’t you?” Travis asks Gabrielle. She bobs her head excitedly in response as she picks up another doll.

—–

In the kitchen of Tim Fisher‘s house, Claire Fisher is unpacking some of her favorite mugs, which she has brought over in the course of moving in with her ex-husband. Pleasant summer sunlight pours in through the large window over the kitchen sink and through the sliding glass door that leads out to the backyard. When she hears rapid footsteps approaching, she steps back from the cupboard she has been trying to rearrange.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Tim says as he hurries into the kitchen, iPhone in hand.

“What? What’s going on?” Claire asks with concern.

“That was Sarah,” he explains. “She and Landon went to the Urgent Care where Sonja‘s Social Security Number had been used. Somehow they got security footage of the parking lot and saw Sonja and TJ on the footage.”

Claire gasps. “So they’re in Idaho.”

“Yes. Or they were, if they didn’t get away overnight. And, even better: they were able to make out the license plate number of the car Sonja was driving.”

“Tim…” Claire clasps her hands together. “This is the biggest break we’ve had in a long time.”

“I know.” A look of wonder comes over his face. “I might actually see my son again soon.”

“You will. I know you will.”

He nods, as if attempting to convince himself that this could truly be happening. She moves toward him and takes his hands.

“But why were they at an Urgent Care?” he asks. “I hope TJ is okay.”

“We have to stay positive,” she says. “It could be something easily treatable, like strep throat. He had it before.”

“That’s true. I hate not knowing, and not being able to… do anything. Be there. Be a father.”

“You will be.”

Tim responds with a heavy sigh.

“I missed so much time with Travis and Samantha,” he says, “and I never even knew Spencer until he was an adult. Then I got this chance to do it all right from the beginning, except I never really had the chance, because Sonja hid TJ from me…”

“That’s about Sonja, not you.”

He meets Claire’s eyes. “Thank you for being here for me. Here with me. I know how exhausting it’s been, all the ups and downs with Sonja.”

“It’s what being a partner is all about,” Claire tells him.

“The fact that I even have a child with this woman… it’s so strange to think about. Kind of makes sharing a child with Diane seem pedestrian.”

“Let’s not go crazy here,” Claire says, with a raise of an eyebrow.

“I’m just so grateful to have you by my side,” Tim says. “You make my life better, Claire. I only wish it hadn’t taken us so long to figure things out.”

“Maybe we had to go through everything we did in order to appreciate what we have,” she says. “But we’re going to get it right this time. I know we are.”

Tim leans forward and kisses her on the lips, sending a rush of warmth through her body that makes her feel the same way she did when they met decades ago — but with an added element of appreciation for all they have been through.

—–

The air conditioner purrs steadily in the background, offering relief to the foursome who are engaged in physical activity as they move Samantha Fisher‘s belongings into the apartment.

“Think that’s the last box,” Isaac Banks announces as he places a plastic crate down on the floor beside the dining table.

“Really? There’s nothing left in the car?” Samantha asks in wonder.

“Not from what I could see,” Diane Bishop comments. She lays two of Samantha’s coats, which traveled without being packed up, over the back of the sofa.

Tempest Banks emerges from the bedroom in back and claps her hands together. “That’s it? You’re officially moved in?”

“I’m officially moved in,” Samantha says with a smile as she gazes around the apartment, which is currently cluttered with the boxes and bags containing Samantha’s freshly moved belongings. “Now we just have to get all of this in order.”

“You have plenty of time,” Diane says. “You two can really make this place your own.”

“It was nice of Claire to leave us all the furniture, too,” Samantha says.

“What else was she going to do with it?” Diane asks.

“She could’ve sold it,” Tempest says.

Diane scowls as she studies the living room. “To who? The blind?”

“Diane,” Isaac chides, even as he cracks a grin. She waves him off with a flip of her hand and goes toward her daughter.

“You know, there was a time that the idea of you two moving in together would’ve sent my blood pressure through the roof,” she says, wrapping an arm around Samantha. “But I’m really, truly happy for you now.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“I like this better than us fighting all the time, too,” Tempest says.

“Once you guys get settled, maybe you can have us over for dinner,” Isaac says.

“We’d love that,” Samantha replies. “This really does feel like the start of a new era. After that car accident and my coma, it felt like I might never get back to normal.”

“This is gonna be better than normal,” a beaming Tempest comments.

Diane turns her attention back to the décor for a moment. “And maybe we can start by getting you some less hideous throw pillows as a housewarming present.”

“I think we could accept some throw pillows,” Samantha says. “Now who could use something to eat before we get to unpacking?”

“Cheers to a successful trip,” Alex Marshall says as he hoists his mimosa glass into the air.

Across the table, Jason Fisher lifts his own champagne flute and clinks it against his best friend’s.

“Mostly successful,” he says before taking a drink of the beverage. A few stray bubbles from the prosecco dance around his nose as he does so. The two men are seated at a copper-topped table in the main dining room of Bill’s on the Pier, which has begun to fill up with the weekend brunch crowd. The floor-to-ceiling windows along one wall of the restaurant reveal the tranquil bay outside, sunlight glistening off its peaceful surface.

Alex finishes his sip and places the glass down on the table. “It was successful. You got to see where Sabrina grew up, meet her parents… and they even liked you! One woman who’s irrationally mad at Sabrina for something that wasn’t her fault doesn’t change that.”

“I guess not,” Jason says, sighing before taking another quick swig of his mimosa. “The four of us should get together soon. A double date, if that’s not too retro.”

“Yeah, we should,” Alex says, although a dark cloud seems to settle over him as he speaks.

Jason picks up on it immediately; after so many years of friendship, he recognizes when Alex is putting on a happy face.

“What’d I miss? Did something else happen with Trevor and Finn?”

“No. Trevor and I are good,” Alex says. “We’re working to put it behind us, at any rate. Things happen…”

“They do. But Trevor needs to be taking responsibility for it. Sure, it was only a kiss, but he was kind of tempting fate there, wasn’t he?”

“Definitely. Part of me wishes Finn would move out of the house, too.”

“Maybe he will. He’s still unemployed, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, but he somehow came up with the money to cover the full rent on his own,” Alex says with a shrug. “So he’s staying. I’m trying not to think about it too much.”

“After what he tried to pull off at Objection, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him,” Jason says. “He and that Gia woman were trying to take the company away from Molly for good.”

“I’m starting to see a pattern,” Alex agrees. “Of course, Trevor isn’t entirely innocent — but it seems like once Finn makes up his mind that he wants something, he goes after it, collateral damage be damned.”

“Maybe you’ll get lucky and he’ll have to leave King’s Bay because he can’t find a job.”

“Or maybe he’ll find an amazing job… far, far away from here.”

“You’re nicer than me,” Jason says while reaching for his glass again, and the two men share a laugh.

—–

Soft sunshine filters through the trees that shade Molly and Brent’s backyard. The couple rests in a pair of wooden Adirondack chairs on the deck, gazing out at the lush yard. But the serenity of the setting does little to quell the uneasiness whirling within Molly.

“You know, ‘trusting the process’ is a lot harder than all those podcasts make it sound,” she says, breaking the silence.

“No kidding,” Brent replies. “But if the therapist thinks this will help, it’s worth a shot.”

“Hearing her call Travis and Rosie ‘Daddy and Mommy’ was like a punch in the gut.”

“She’s not just going to forget about them. The idea is to have her associate them with this house, too.”

“I know, I know. So she thinks of this as being her home. But it’s hard for all of us — Travis included. I could see the pain in his face.”

“He’s doing something important for all of us, especially Gabrielle,” Brent says. “But there isn’t a magical overnight fix.”

“I’m aware. It’s been months.”

“And she’s a lot more comfortable than she was at first.”

“Yeah,” Molly says, nevertheless with a strong note of defeat.

Brent rises from his chair. “Should we go check on them? It’s been about half-an-hour.”

“Okay.” Molly feels an itchy restlessness propelling her to move, though she knows that there is no place she could go and no activity in which she could partake that would soothe what is actually bothering her.

Brent leads the way, and they let themselves back into the house, which is notably quieter than either expected. Molly feels a rush of panic flood her system, and she hurries toward the family room.

“Gabrielle?” she calls out nervously.

“Shhhh,” comes the response, and when Molly and then Brent arrive at the family room, they see Travis still seated on the floor, his legs crossed, with a blanket over his lap and Gabrielle sound asleep against him.

“She told it was naptime and laid down,” he whispers. “I don’t want to wake her up.”

“No, let her sleep,” Brent responds in an equally quiet voice.

Molly watches her nephew and daughter resting together, as dueling emotions battle for dominance within her: relief that Gabrielle has found some comfort, and envy that she isn’t the one most able to provide it.

END OF EPISODE 1229

What would be best for Gabrielle and all her parents?
Should Alex act on his concerns about Finn?
Will Tim finally get his son back after all this time?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!

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