Previously…
– A spiteful Tempest revealed to Samantha that she was conceived when Diane tricked an amnesiac Tim into having sex with her. Samantha was appalled and blasted both her girlfriend and her mother.
– Sarah confided in Molly that she’s considering paying Zane the blackmail money to get him to leave Tori alone for good.
– Spencer awoke from his coma — but did not seem to know that Philip was dead.

In the waiting room of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, the group gathered around Claire Fisher thrums with anxiety.

“Based on the doctor’s evaluation, it seems that Spencer thinks it’s late 2015,” she explains. “Right before Thanksgiving.”

“Why then?” Tim Fisher asks. “I could understand him not remembering his fall, or some of the time before, but a good year-and-a-half…”

“Probably because that was a very traumatic time for him,” Samantha Fisher chimes in. “His entire life got turned upside-down when we found out that Philip was the killer.”

Beside her, Sabrina Gage nods in agreement.

Brent Taylor places a reassuring hand on Claire’s back. “The good news is that he’s healthy, right? He’s going to be okay.”

“He isn’t out of the woods yet, by any means,” Claire says, “but the fact that he’s awake and lucid is very promising. It doesn’t look like there’s any serious brain damage. Physically, it’s a different story.”

“Is there damage from the fall?” Tim asks. “I thought they said he had sensation in his legs.”

“He does. But it’s too soon to tell what other effects there might be. He’s been in a coma for weeks and weeks.”

“He’ll probably need a lot of physical therapy,” Sabrina says quietly.

Claire looks to her and nods. “Absolutely.”

“I spent a lot of time in a wheelchair when I came home from that clinic,” Tim says. “But that was years. I hope he has it easier.”

“He will, if we’re on top of things,” Claire says. “Right now, though, what we need to do is catch him up on the world.”

Tim stiffens. “A lot of bad things have happened since the time he remembers. Dad dying… everything with Philip… his relationship with us…”

“Is it safe to dump all of that on him?” Brent asks.

“The doctor says it won’t have an adverse effect,” Claire says. “He isn’t at risk for heart attack or stroke. And the longer we keep things from him, the more upsetting it could be. It’s best if we just rip off the band-aid, so to speak.”

—–

After her talk with Sarah, Diane Bishop leaves the Fisher house and returns to her car. This all still feels like a hideous, fog-infested dream — except it has been going on for long enough that she now knows she will never wake up from it. As she settles in behind the steering wheel, all she wants to do is call Samantha again. But she knows that, given how angry and shell-shocked her daughter is, it will not do any good.

She shoots Tim a text to double-check that Samantha is all right and still with him. Mercifully, he responds almost immediately, giving her at least that much peace of mind.

Tomorrow, she tells herself as she begins the drive home. Tomorrow will be a new day, and we can start working this out.

Feeding herself such platitudes is almost enough to make her retch, but at the moment, she’ll take whatever she can if it calms her somewhat. This is a disaster. She hoped and prayed that Samantha would never, ever find out the truth about how she was conceived or what kind of person her mother was back then. And now it’s all out in the open, and her relationship with her daughter could be ruined for good.

“All because of that idiot Tempest Banks,” she mutters as she makes a left turn. To think that Diane liked her, even wanted things to work out for Samantha and her. If there’s one small bit of satisfaction in this entire mess, it’s that Samantha seems almost as pissed at Tempest as she does at Diane.

But that doesn’t solve anything now. And the prospect of going home to her empty condo and trying to sleep is too bleak to face. She doubts she will be able to turn off her brain at all tonight.

Mind racing, she uses the display mounted on her dashboard to pull up a phone number and place a call. It rings four times and then goes to voicemail.

“It’s me,” Diane says once the recording begins. “I need your help.”

—–

“You’re lying.”

“I’m afraid not,” Tim says, trying to strike the right balance between gentle and firm. “Philip was the Footprint Killer.”

“You’re lying to me.” Spencer’s voice trembles, and his face is ashen. “You have to be.”

Claire stands to Tim’s side and speaks softly. “We aren’t. Philip was very sick.”

Lying in the hospital bed, Spencer shakes his head insistently. “But why would he do that? Why would he kill Bill, of all people?”

“Because your grandfather caught him trying to kill Tori before she woke up,” Tim says. “That’s what we were able to piece together. My father, he was– he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Spencer is silent as he stares straight ahead at the white wall before him. Though his expression is blank, Tim and Claire can see the torrent of emotions raging in his eyes.

“But why?” he asks again, his tone pleading. “He had no reason to kill Jason’s coach, or Ryan…”

“It was all about Molly,” Claire explains. “There’s more to it, obviously, but it was about scaring Molly into turning to him for comfort.”

“So he murdered five people?”

“Things got out of his control,” Tim says. “During the trial, a lot came out — we don’t think he intended to kill Cameron or Roz Brooks.”

“But he did.” Spencer drops his head back onto the pillow with a thumpf. “He killed all those people?”

His mouth held in a tight line, Tim nods. “I am so sorry.”

“Me, too,” Claire says. “I wish we could spare you from having to hear this all over again.”

Spencer looks dazed as he gazes at the ceiling.

“What about Paula?” he finally asks. “How is she? I know you said she only shot him to save Molly–”

“She’s okay,” Tim says. “She is. It was– it’s complicated, but she was sentenced to a year of house arrest.”

Spencer’s head lurches up off the pillow. “What?!”

“She’s doing all right,” Claire says.

“We’re taking care of her,” Tim adds. “Sarah, Matt, and the kids are living there. We got her a treadmill for the den so she can exercise. And people have been making a point of going over to spend time with her and even teach her new things. Don Chase has been giving her painting lessons.”

“I guess that’s good,” Spencer says. He looks at Tim and then Claire, his eyes searching for something more. “I just don’t understand. I can’t…”

Claire carefully places her hand on top of her son’s. He doesn’t pull away.

“It’s a lot to process,” she says. “We felt that you should know so no one had to lie to you.”

“Thanks. For real.”

“This is all going to be okay,” Tim tells him. “We know it might not seem like it, but it will. We promise.”

—–

The lightbulb above Sarah Fisher Gray’s head blinks and flashes, casting the dingy apartment hallway in a depressing, deathly glow. She knocks on the door and waits; within seconds, she hears shuffling sounds from inside the apartment.

When Zane Tanaka opens the apartment door, he stares at her with surprise.

“This will be fast,” Sarah says, not waiting for an invitation as she pushes past him and enters the apartment. She surveys it quickly. A futon rests against one wall, with a coffee table that appears to double as the dining table stationed in front of it. Electronics overwhelm the space. She notes multiple televisions and video game consoles, and what should be the dining nook is instead a makeshift office, with its focal point being a large desk covered with a variety of computer monitors, CPUs, and keyboards.

“How’d you know where I live?” Zane challenges.

“I’m a P.I. Word of advice: if you want to keep working people the way you’ve been working my family and me, stop assuming you’re the only smart person in existence.”

He rolls his eyes.

“Anyway,” Sarah says, digging into her purse, “I came to bring you this.” She removes a folded check and hands it to him.

“What is it?” But as he snatches the piece of paper from her hand, realization dawns upon him. He unfolds the check and takes in the sum.

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah.” She can tell that he is stunned to be holding an actual check made out for $100,000.

“Good. You win, okay? I surrender. Now take the money and stay away from my daughter.”

“You want me to ghost her?”

“I don’t care what you do, as long as you make it as quick and painless as possible.” She moves back toward the door.

“What made you do it?” Zane asks.

Hand on the doorknob, she pauses. “Honestly? I’m tired of living with the stress. It’s time to put the past in the past and move on.” Truthfully, Diane’s visit earlier shook her; the fact that something from so long ago could up-end Diane’s entire relationship with her daughter scared Sarah. The longer Zane leads Tori on, the worse this could be down the road when — not if — Tori discovers that it was all a put-on to manipulate Sarah for money. No. This ends tonight.

“I trust this is the last we’ll be seeing of each other,” she says as she opens the door. “Hope you enjoy your windfall.”

“You bet I will.”

“Maybe put some of it toward a kitchen table.” Without a glance back at him, she steps out into the hallway and closes the door, relieved that this is over. She knows that she can nurse Tori through the brief spell of heartbreak — as she might have to with any guy Tori dated at this age and stage of her life — and then, within a matter of weeks, Zane will be a distant memory, and her daughter will be free to find someone who actually cares about and appreciates her for the woman she is.

—–

“Thanks for being here,” Samantha says to Sabrina as the two women stand in the waiting area.

“Tell Spencer that I’ll come visit once he feels up to it.” Sabrina hoists her purse up onto her shoulder. “And don’t worry yourself sick. I can tell this is eating you up.”

Samantha feels her cheeks flush; she has been distracted ever since they arrived at the hospital. Her concern for her brother is genuine, but half her mind has been trapped back at her mother’s condo, attempting to process the bombshell that Tempest dropped tonight. It has been nice to have the distraction, and it’s a relief that Spencer is making positive progress, but she feels guilty for not being fully focused on his condition right now.

“Thanks,” she says faintly. “I just want Spencer to be okay.”

“He will be. Tell everyone I said goodnight.” Sabrina turns and heads toward the elevator bay.

Samantha takes her seat again. Though she feels overwhelmed by exhaustion, her mind is still racing. She doubts that she would be able to sleep even if she were at home in her own bed. And the thought of being in her bed at her mother’s condo is repulsive at present. She pulls out her phone, which has been buzzing in her pocket all night, and sees exactly what she expected: a slew of missed calls and texts from her mom and Tempest.

She is tucking it away again when she spots something that causes her to do a double-take. At first, she thinks it must be a figment of her imagination. But it’s real. Tempest is actually entering the waiting area.

“Hey,” she says much more timidly than usual. “How’s Spencer?”

Samantha does not move. “He’s awake. He’s okay.”

“Good.” Tempest hovers over her. “Anything else? Do they know if there’s, like, permanent damage?”

“I’m not talking about this with you.”

“I’m worried–”

“You’ve shown that you can’t really be trusted with sensitive information about my family.”

Tempest is momentarily blown back by the force of the statement, and that fills Samantha with a surprising glee.

“I’m sorry. That’s what I came to tell you. It’s so messed-up, what I did.”

“Yeah. It is. Unfortunately, you can’t just take it back by apologizing.” Samantha pushes her glasses up her nose as she attempts to sort out the frantic, clashing emotions inside herself.

“I know. But I am sorry. I get it now.” Tempest shifts her weight from one foot to the other and back again. “I was so mad that I couldn’t think straight.”

“Or at all.”

“I’m, like, mad for you, too. That’s how I felt when I found out. They lied to you your whole life–”

“Do not act like this was altruistic,” Samantha snaps.

“Huh?”

“Like you did me a big favor. You did it to get back at my mom. You did it without thinking how it would affect me besides making me angry at her, because you wanted me to be angry at her.”

“I said I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“That isn’t enough!” Realizing that she has raised her voice, Samantha quickly looks around. Aside from a nearby nurse, who is probably used to emotional outbursts in this area, they are alone.

“Where’s Claire?” Tempest asks.

“She and my dad are in Spencer’s room. He already told her what happened, by the way.” Samantha stands. “You can wait for her here if you want. I’m going down to the cafeteria.”

“Sam. Wait.”

She ignores the call and beelines for the elevators.

—–

“How did it go?” Brent asks Claire when he meets her in the hallway outside Spencer’s room.

“About as well as it could have. I was worried about throwing all of that at him in his condition, but it’s better that we have no secrets.”

“He would’ve found out, anyway.”

She nods. “At least this way, we got to tell him in what I hope was a sensitive way.”

“I’m sure it was.”

Brent wraps his arms around her and pulls her close. She all too happily rests against his chest.

“Thank you for being here,” she says.

“Of course. Any way I can support you, I will.” He strokes her dark brown hair. “And if he doesn’t remember the fall, there isn’t much I can do in an official capacity, is there?”

“I guess not. But if this was more than just a simple fall, I hope he does remember.”

“Me, too,” Brent says. “Because if someone else was responsible for what happened to Spencer, I’m going to make sure that person pays.”

—–

Tim sits in a chair at Spencer’s bedside, both of them focused on the television in the corner of the room.

“Okay, you’re gonna have to explain this election to me some time,” Spencer says as the news broadcast plays on. “How the hell did this happen?”

Tim rocks his head back and forth dolefully. “When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

They watch quietly for several more seconds before Spencer speaks again.

“Where do I live?” he asks. “If Philip is… if he’s gone, do I live in his loft alone?”

“You sold the loft. You’ve been renting a house. A really nice house, from what I’m told.”

“You haven’t seen it?”

Tim hesitates; the fact of Spencer’s estrangement from him and Claire over the last several months weighs heavily upon him, but he isn’t sure that now is the time to tackle it.

“Not yet,” he says quickly. “That’s where you fell. The staircase doesn’t have a railing.”

“Okay. I was trying to figure out where I fell, since you said it was at home.”

“I’ll tell you what. When they let you out of here… how about you come stay with me?”

“Really?”

“You can’t go back to your place alone. Not yet.”

“I couldn’t impose on you like that.” Spencer gestures at the various machines standing guard beside his bed. “It’s going to be a lot of work.”

“We’ll hire live-in help if need be. Insurance will cover some of it, anyway. This way, you won’t be so alone. What do you say?”

Spencer lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. That’ll make a big difference.”

“For all of us,” Tim says, amazed at the optimism he feels tonight after so many weeks of fearing the worst.

—–

As Diane unlocks the door to her condo, her phone roars to life with an incoming call. She checks the screen and hurries to get inside. Before she even has the door closed, she holds up the phone and accepts the FaceTime request.

“Talk about a sight for sore eyes,” she says.

Through the screen, Brian Hamilton smiles at her. “Same goes for you. I saw that I had a voicemail from you and figured one of these calls was in order. What could be so bad that Diane Bishop would admit she needs help?”

“Oh, it’s bad.” She locks the door and sets down her purse and keys. “It’s really bad.”

“Tell me about it.”

She plants herself at the dining table and unwinds the entire story for him: how she tried to help Alex and Trevor adopt Yvette’s baby, how Tempest resented her for it, and how Tempest exposed the truth about how Samantha was conceived.

“Holy crap,” Brian says when she concludes. “That is… not good. Yeah.”

“Decidedly not good. It’s so far from good that good is barely a twinkle in its eye anymore.” She shakes her head, still feeling as lost as she did hours ago. “Brian, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re going to soldier on. That’s all you can do. Samantha needs time to work through this.”

“And to decide that she hates me and never wants to see or speak to me again.”

“This defeatist thing,” he says, moving his hand in a circle as if to indicate the entirety of her being, “is so not you.”

“Because usually, I feel like I have a leg to stand on. This time, though…” She sighs loudly as she searches for words. “Part of me has been waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since Samantha was born. Certainly ever since I won back custody of her.”

“Look at it this way: the truth is out. Now everyone can start to heal.”

“Can we, though? What I did was unforgivable.”

“Says who? Yes, it was an enormous violation–”

She cringes. “I’m aware.”

“–but people do change. They do. You are not the same woman who posed as Tim’s wife to get him to sleep with you.”

“Maybe not, but I also can’t change the past,” Diane counters. “I did something despicable. It’s only because of some very strange circumstances that Tim did anything that resembles forgiving me.”

“But he did.” Brian pauses to consider his next statement carefully. “You have changed. You aren’t that person anymore. And you’ve been a hell of a mother to Sam. When the dust settles and the shock wears off, she’s going to remember that.”

“God, I hope you’re right.” She clicks her long nails against the table. “It’s so good to hear your voice and see your face.”

“You, too. I miss you. I know I always say this, but if you ever feel like giving Los Angeles another run…”

“Nah. King’s Bay is my home, for better or worse. Especially as long as my daughter is here.”

“Just don’t do anything rash,” Brian says. “Because that is the Diane Bishop I know.”

“No crazy plans this time,” she responds. “I’m going to give her some space for now. She’s with Tim and Claire.”

“As long as she’s safe. Though I have to say, this girlfriend of hers sounds like…”

“Like me. It’s no good.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” His image glitches on the screen for a split-second, pixels dragging behind his movement. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep? You must be run-down. In the light of day, this is going to seem manageable. I promise.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“It will be,” Brian says. “But if it isn’t, you have my full permission to fly down to L.A. and enlist me for a long weekend of forgetting all about your troubles.”

“I don’t know if I could forget about them,” Diane says, “but that’s a nice offer. Maybe I’ll take you up on it in happier times.”

“Even better.”

“Thanks.” She feels the faintest hint of a smile creeping over her face, despite the absolute carnage that has been made of her life tonight. “Not just for this talk. For being my friend.”

“Right back at you,” Brian says, returning her smile.

END OF EPISODE 889

Were you happy to see Brian again?
Should Samantha ever forgive Diane?
Will Tim and Claire get a fresh start with Spencer?
Was Sarah right to pay off Zane?
Share your thoughts on the episode below!

 

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