Previously…
– An earthquake hit King’s Bay. Right afterward, Rosie went into labor at Molly’s house.
– Lucy was trapped beneath debris in the parking garage, and Landon was unable to free her.
– Jason arrived home after the earthquake to check on Sophie and Sabrina. When he noticed that the gas was on, he tried to turn it off — and was caught in a flash fire.

Jason Fisher lies on the kitchen floor, his ears ringing and his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He looks down at his hands. What he notices first is the shaking. A moment later, he notices the pain.

He winces as he tries to flex his fingers. His palms and fingers are red and raw, the skin burning with a deep, vicious heat. He reaches instinctively toward his neck and immediately pulls his hand away. That hurts, too. Even worse.

He looks back at the stove. That great flash of fire is gone, but the stove’s burner is still lit, a small blue flame flickering around it. Smoke hangs in the air. Something near the counter is smoldering.

Jason stares, dazed, even as he struggles to his feet. He takes a cautious step toward the stove, wondering if he should still try to turn off that burner. But then the smell of gas reaches him again. No.

He backs away. He has to get out.

“Sophie?” he shouts. His voice is barely audible. He looks toward the stairs. “Sabrina?”

He hesitates. For one horrible second, he considers going upstairs, just to be sure. Then the pain pulses in his hands again. No… if they’re not here…

He turns toward the front entryway but stumbles forward, catching himself against the wall. His legs feel unsteady beneath him. He reaches the door and fumbles for a moment before he is able to pull it open with his searing hands. The cold air that hits his face is a relief, but the pain persists.

Jason stands there for a moment, staring blankly at the street, where neighbors are gathering and emergency vehicles have begun to arrive. Then, forcing his legs to carry him, he moves away from the house as quickly as he can, doing everything in his power to ignore the burning on his hands and neck.

—–

Samantha Fisher‘s hands are tight on the steering wheel as she navigates through the damaged streets of King’s Bay. Tempest Banks sits beside her, staring out the window at the destruction around them. Neither woman says much. But when Samantha’s phone rings, its shrill alert blasting through the Bluetooth-enabled speaker system all around them, they both jump in their seats.

“Jeez,” Samantha mutters as she takes in the name on the center display and then answers. “Mom?”

Diane Bishop‘s voice sounds through the car. “Samantha. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I– yeah. Are you? Where are you?”

“At home. Are you driving?”

Samantha casts a sideways look at Tempest, who merely shrugs.

“Yeah. I’m taking Tempest to the hospital.”

“What? What happened?”

“I was inside Cassie’s when the earthquake hit,” Tempest chimes in. “Part of the building collapsed. I’m fine, I think–“

“It collapsed?” Diane echoes.

“There’s a lot of damage all over town,” Samantha says.

“I’ll meet you at the hospital,” Diane declares, and Samantha can practically hear the motion in her mother’s voice.

“You don’t have to do that,” she responds.

“I know.” There is something about Diane’s tone that stops Samantha from protesting further. “I want to see with my own two eyes that you’re okay.”

“I swear, Mom, I’m fine.”

“And I’ll believe it when I see it. You, too, Tempest.” There is a muffled noise and then a beep as Diane hangs up.

Samantha continues driving in stunned silence.

“She sounded worried,” Tempest notes. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

With a small laugh, Samantha says, “I think she’d be okay with you noticing it. This time.”

As they continue the drive, the roads are strangely quiet in some places and chaotic in others. People walk along the sidewalks carrying bags, blankets, whatever they managed to grab. A few buildings have been cordoned off. Emergency vehicles move slowly through the streets, sirens echoing between the buildings.

“What even happens now?” Tempest asks as she takes in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Samantha draws in a deep breath. “I have no idea.”

Down by the waterfront, Travis Fisher stands on Pier 22, just outside the entrance of Bill’s on the Pier. He has his phone pressed to his ear as he gazes out at the lightly rippling water. It looks so serene, as if it has no idea what just happened on the land.

“Come on, Rosie,” he says before pulling the phone away and looking at the screen. No answer.

He tries again. This time, the call goes straight to voicemail.

Travis lowers the phone to his waist, frustrated.

“Where are you?” he says aloud.

Matt Gray emerges from the restaurant, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. Bill’s on the Pier has suffered some cosmetic damage, but the building is still standing. Inside, the staff has begun assessing the mess left behind by the earthquake.

“You still can’t get her?”

Travis shakes his head.

“I can’t even tell if calls are actually going through,” he says.

“They’re working a little. I managed to get Sarah.”

“Are she and my grandma okay?”

Matt nods. “Why don’t you go?”

Travis looks at him. “What?”

“Go find your wife. I can tell you’re terrified.”

“I don’t even know where she is,” Travis says, his hand clutching the phone tightly.

“Then start with the house.” Matt puts a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Your wife is pregnant, Travis. She needs you.”

Travis looks down at the phone again. “Yeah.”

“And drive carefully, okay?”

“I will.” He turns toward the parking lot further up the pier. “You sure?”

“We can take care of things here.” Matt looks out to the road at the end of the pier. A fire truck zips by, its lights and sirens blaring. “Remember: carefully.”

Despite everything, Travis manages a faint smile. “Got it.”

He starts jogging toward the parking lot, then breaks out into a sprint.

—–

At the Taylor home, Rosie Jimenez lies on the floor, breathing through another contraction. Several towels are spread beneath her body, and although she feels unbelievably exposed, she can only give her self-consciousness a fleeting thought amidst the sensations overtaking her body.

Molly Taylor sits beside her, holding her hand.

“That’s it,” Molly says softly. “Just breathe.”

Rosie squeezes her eyes shut. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Yes, you can.”

Molly looks toward the television. The screen is frozen on the same image it displayed when the earthquake hit, the picture never having returned — the old cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory.

“Look at that,” Molly says. “Just keep looking at that.”

Rosie opens her eyes and stares at the screen.

“Focus on it.”

Another contraction begins.

Rosie’s fingers tighten around Molly’s hand. “Oh, God.”

“I know.”

Molly keeps her voice calm, even though her own face betrays the fear she’s trying desperately to hide.

“You’re doing great.”

Rosie nods, breathing even harder. Somewhere outside, a siren wails in the distance. Neither woman looks toward the window.

They have more important things to worry about.

—–

“Please! Just get me out of here!”

Landon Esco can still hear Lucy Champlain‘s voice echoing in his mind as he emerges from the garage, stumbling into the street. He turns back toward the apartment building, looking over his shoulder.

“I’m trying,” he whispers. He knows he had to leave her. He knows there was nothing else he could do. But he still feels like he abandoned her.

Landon runs into the street.

“Help!” he screams. “Somebody help me!”

A few people nearby turn toward him.

“My roommate is trapped!” Landon shouts. “She’s trapped in there!”

Two men and a woman hurry toward him.

“What happened?” one of the men asks.

“We were in the parking garage when the earthquake happened. Something, like, collapsed from the ceiling. She’s pinned under the– under a pile of stuff. I tried to move it–“

“Can we get to her?”

“Yeah. I just can’t do it alone.” Landon points into the building and the gated garage. “Please. Just help me get her out.”

The three civilians follow him back toward the building.

Landon glances up at the structure, which appears from the outside to be no worse for the wear, other than some items that have fallen from residents’ balconies.

“Please,” he whispers again.

This time, he isn’t sure whether he’s talking to the people following him or to God.

“Please let us get her out before anything else happens.”

—–

Sophie Fisher hurries out of the neighbor’s house, looking toward her own home. When Mrs. Hanley said that she saw Jason’s car in front of the house, Sophie was sure that she must be mistaken, but it’s true — it really is her dad’s car. He must have come home after the earthquake happened.

Then she sees him.

“Dad?” she cries out.

Jason is stumbling away from the house, one hand pressed against his neck. His clothes are singed, and he looks dazed.

Sophie runs toward him.

Jason turns at the sound of her voice. “Sophie?”

“Are you okay?”

“I– I don’t know.” He looks down at his hands.

Sophie grabs his arm, then immediately lets go when he winces. “What happened?”

“Gas,” Jason says, struggling to catch his breath. “There was gas in the house. I went to turn it off, and…” He trails off, overwhelmed by whatever occurred and by the pain that his burns must be causing him.

Sophie looks toward their home and sees that smoke is still drifting from the doorway. “Oh my god.”

She looks back to the street and sees an ambulance parked several houses down. Its lights dance against the blue summer sky. Sophie starts waving frantically.

“Over here! My dad needs help!”

Jason sways on his feet. Sophie catches him and balances his body against hers.

“Dad, sit down.”

“No. I’m okay.”

“You’re burned.”

“I know. Where’s Sabrina? I don’t think she was in the house.”

“I don’t know,” Sophie admits. “Her car isn’t here. I was in the backyard when it happened — then Mrs. Hanley said to come over.”

“But you’re okay?”

“Yeah. And you’re not. I’m going to get help.”

She eases him down onto the curb and then leaves him, breaking into a run toward the ambulance. Something about all of it — the way she can’t quite remember the earthquake itself, the fact that she doesn’t know where Sabrina is — has her almost as rattled as the scene all around.

She runs faster as she tries to drown out the thoughts.

“Please! My dad needs help!” she calls.

The emergency room waiting area is packed. Samantha sits beside Tempest, watching nurses hurry through the crowded room. People are everywhere — some injured, some frightened, some simply looking for information about loved ones.

Diane enters from a corner of the floor and immediately spots them. “Samantha!”

Samantha stands.

“Mom.”

Diane pulls her daughter into a tight hug. “Let me look at you.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll decide that.” Diane steps back and looks Samantha over from head to toe.

“See?”

“I’m still deciding.”

Tempest smiles faintly. Diane turns toward her. “And you?”

“I’m okay. A little sore.”

“You’re getting checked out. That isn’t a question, by the way.”

“I am. I promise.”

Diane nods approvingly, then drops into the empty chair beside them. “I had to take the damn stairs. Apparently one of the elevators got stuck.”

She pulls out her phone.

“There’s damage everywhere. I’m getting bits and pieces from KBAY,” she tells them. “They just revised the magnitude.”

Samantha looks at her. “To what?”

“Seven-point-one.”

Tempest’s eyes widen. “That’s big. Shit.”

Diane looks around the crowded waiting room, then refocuses on her daughter and soon-to-be daughter-in-law. “Cassie’s was hit pretty badly, too?”

Samantha nods. “Part of the building collapsed.”

Diane sighs. “Well, I’m shocked it survived as long as it did.”

Samantha gives her a look.

Diane shrugs. “Have you ever heard some of those people caterwauling at Open Mic Night? The memory of Danielle alone…”

“Mom,” Samantha scolds, but Tempest laughs despite herself.

A commotion near the elevator bay draws their attention. They watch, passively at first, as Isaac Banks emerges, still in his blue scrubs. Sienna Ridley and little Noelle are right by his side. The three of them are huddled together, exhausted and shaken. Noelle clings tightly to Isaac as Sienna keeps one arm around both of them.

Diane’s smile disappears. She stares.

Samantha notices. “Mom?”

Diane doesn’t answer. Her eyes remain fixed on Isaac, Sienna, and Noelle, waiting for them to notice her.

END OF EPISODE 1313

How will things go between Diane, Isaac, and Sienna?
Will Landon and the others be able to help Lucy?
Is Travis and Rosie’s child going to be born safely?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!