Previously…
– Jason struggled with Natalie and Spencer’s sudden marriage and what it might mean for the case over Peter’s custody.
– Samantha met up with Jaq and her friends to hang out, unaware that Diane had engineered the entire thing in hopes of keeping Sam from reuniting with Tempest.
– Diane struggled to keep the secret of her father’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
– While talking with his wife and Natalie, Henry suddenly collapsed.

The club remix of a Katy Perry song pumps through The Lookout, infusing energy and excitement into the dancing patrons. At one edge of the dance floor, nearest to the bar, Samantha Fisher stands with Jaq Pearson. Both young women bob loosely to the music as they chat.

“I’m glad you came out tonight,” Jaq says, raising her voice over the music. “Katie and Mackenzie think you’re cool!”

Samantha blushes, even in the darkness of the club.

“They’re really fun,” she says. “I don’t go out that much. It’s nice to have people to do it with.”

“Yeah, sounds like you and your ex were kind of in your own world.” Jaq laughs. “So, typical lesbians.”

Samantha responds with a giggle. “We sort of were. But I only came out as we were getting together, so I didn’t really have a chance to make friends first.”

“Well,” Jaq says, raising her glass, “here’s to fresh starts.”

“To fresh starts.”

They toast and take sips of their rapidly depleting drinks. Samantha tastes the alcohol less than she did even half-an-hour ago and takes a deep breath; the shapes and colors around her are getting a little hazier and less distinct. She is debating whether one more drink is a good idea when she feels her cell phone vibrating insistently in the pocket of her jeans.

When she realizes that it is a call and not a text, she pulls it out to see who could be calling at this hour. She is surprised to see her Aunt Natalie’s name on the display.

“That’s weird,” she mutters.

“What?” Jaq asks. “Who is it?”

“My aunt. I don’t–” She is about to send the call to voicemail, but something about the strange timing — and the fact that Natalie is calling her at all — makes it impossible for her to do so. “Maybe I should take this.”

“Go ahead.” Jaq nods toward the staircase not far away. “I’ll wait here.”

“Thanks.”

Samantha pushes through the crowd toward the stairs as she answers the phone.

“Aunt Natalie, wait a minute. I’m out–” But she hears the voice coming through the line loud and clear, even over the music.

“What?” Samantha asks, her eyes widening with fear as her breathing becomes shallow. “How?”

When the elevator doors part, Diane Bishop elbows past a man scrolling through his iPhone and rushes off. She hurries toward the waiting area, where she sees her mother sitting in a plastic chair.

“What happened?” Diane asks, her senses on high alert.

“We were at Natalie’s, just talking, and he…” Claudia Bishop inhales heavily and holds in the breath. She shakes her head in disbelief. “He collapsed, all of a sudden.”

The waiting area is quiet, with only two other people sitting across the way, looking through outdated magazines. Diane tries to calm her racing brain enough to hold a conversation.

“Have you talked to the doctors yet?”

Claudia shakes her head.

“We’re still waiting,” Natalie says as she returns from around a corner. “They’re doing tests or something.”

“Dad didn’t say anything?” Diane asks. “He was just… out?”

Claudia nods. “It was very scary.”

Natalie tucks her phone back into her purse.

“I just called Samantha,” she says casually.

“You what?” Diane says. “Why would you do that?”

“Because her grandfather collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital,” Natalie says, as if Diane just asked the stupidest question in the world.

“I think she was meeting up with friends tonight. You didn’t have to worry her — not until there’s actual information.”

“Well, excuse me for caring.” Natalie rolls her eyes. “You know, Samantha is an adult.”

Diane lets out a huff. “That makes someone around here one.” 

“Diane, your sister was only trying to help,” Claudia says as she rises from her chair. “Don’t be so difficult.”

“I’m not being difficult,” Diane says. “It just isn’t her place to put that on Samantha.”

Natalie sighs loudly, exaggerating the sound completely beyond what is necessary.

“Let’s just focus on your father right now,” Claudia says. She knots her fingers together uneasily. Diane finds herself watching the action with great interest; it is so rare that she sees her mother in a less-than-perfectly-composed state.

Claudia glances around. “I just wish these damn doctors would come tell us something. Your father had been looking a bit pale lately, but…”

Diane takes a deep breath. She was thinking of this the entire time that she was driving here, but now that she is standing here, face-to-face with her mother and sister in this unnecessarily bright lighting, the answer is obvious.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she says. “Something you both deserve to know.”

—–

“This is unreal!” Jason Fisher proclaims through a mouthful of pie. He taps his fork on his plate for emphasis.

Alex Marshall, who is sitting across the coffee table from him on the opposite loveseat, finishing chewing before he speaks. “I told you! Salted caramel pie — it’ll change your life.”

“You weren’t exaggerating.” Jason savors the taste of the pie for a moment longer before taking a drink of his decaf coffee. “Thanks for introducing me to this. And for having me over.”

“It’s good to catch up,” Alex says. “Kind of like the old days.”

“Except now we’re in your house and not in mine.”

“And still praying that a kid doesn’t wake up.”

The two men laugh, though each casts a nervous glance over at the baby monitor, as well.

“I have to say, as crazy as Helen can make me sometimes,” Jason tells his friend, “I really appreciate her and Don being so willing to take Sophie for the night. Especially after the past few months.”

“You need a break every now and then,” Alex replies. “And it’s not like things have been super-calm for you.”

Jason shakes his head. “Not even close. How are you feeling about leaving Chase for the first time when you go to L.A.?”

“I don’t think it’s totally hit me yet.”

“Trevor will do totally fine.”

“And Tempest is dying to come over and help him out,” Alex says. “Besides, it’s only for a few days. Maybe it’s good that the prospect of this premiere is distracting me…”

Jason uses his fork to scoop up another bite of the decadent pie but pauses before eating it.

“It’s mostly the prospect of dealing with Liam that has you all twisted up, isn’t it?” he asks.

Alex hesitates before answering. “Yeah. I just feel like… considering how intense our last interactions were, and him having me fired from the movie and everything… he’s looking to stick it to me.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Jason says as he quickly gulps down the pie. “But you’re the one who wrote the novel. You cowrote the screenplay and helped shop it around. It’s not like you’re some nobody showing up there.”

“That’s true. You’re right. I guess it’s the uncertainty more than anything.” Alex eats a forkful of his own slice of pie before changing the subject. “But I’ll survive. I know that much. How are you holding up?”

Jason sets down his plate on the coffee table.

“I don’t even know sometimes,” he admits. “I’m fine, and then I’m not. One minute I hate Natalie, and then I just want the life we had back — even though I know that it was based on complete lies.”

“You still loved her. And she loved you.”

“In her own fucked-up way, maybe. Mostly I miss Peter. I had a son, this little boy I knew so well, whose every move and word and quirk I knew about, and now… I don’t.”

Alex places his own plate down on the table and offers a sympathetic expression.

“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I honestly can’t imagine how much this sucks for you.”

“This whole nightmare of a marriage makes it even worse. Who do they think they’re fooling? It’s batshit.”

“It’s really weird,” Alex agrees. “It didn’t sound like they ever had feelings for one another.”

“Because they didn’t!” Jason exclaims. “They don’t now. It’s crazy. And I’m going to prove it.”

Alex leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What do you mean?”

“In court. I’m going to figure out a way to prove that Natalie and Spencer’s marriage is a sham and that they aren’t fit to raise Peter.”

“Jason…” Alex again pauses, bringing a hand to cover his mouth. “You’re still thinking of taking them to court?”

“Thinking? I’m planning on it.” Jason scans his friend’s face carefully for a few seconds. “Oh, you think I’m being crazy?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I can see it in your eyes.” Jason stands up in annoyance. “I thought I could count on you, Alex. But I guess I was wrong.”

—–

In the hospital’s waiting area, Diane looks gravely at her mother and sister.

“You should sit down,” she tells them.

“Why?” Claudia demands. “What have you done?”

Diane bites the insides of her cheeks. “This isn’t about me. It’s about Dad.”

Claudia’s eyes flash with terror. She glances at Natalie. “What is she talking about?”

“I don’t know,” Natalie says tensely. “Diane, what the hell is going on?”

“He’s sick,” she says, expelling the words along with a heavy sigh. “Very sick.”

“We know that,” Claudia says. “He collapsed!”

“No, it’s more than that. Dad has– he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Stage 4.”

“What? How could he–” Natalie’s own panicked reaction cuts off her speech.

“That doesn’t make any sense at all,” Claudia insists. “When would this even have happened?”

“You said yourself that he’s been looking pale,” Diane says, as she summons every ounce of willpower that she has in order not to snap at her mother. “And he’s obviously lost a lot of weight. I caught him throwing up at Natalie’s wedding.”

“When?” Claudia folds her arms. “He didn’t say anything.”

“Before they walked down the aisle the first time.” Diane can’t resist firing a shady look at her sister. “And he didn’t say anything because he doesn’t want you to know. He doesn’t want any of us to know.”

“Then why would he tell you?” Claudia asks.

“Because I made him! I could tell something more serious was going on. He fought me and fought me, but finally I got him to admit that he’s… Dad is dying.”

“He’s what?”

The voice seizes all of their attention, causing their heads to snap toward the entry to the waiting area. Samantha stands there, with Jaq right behind her. Devastation spreads over her face.

“Grandpa is dying?” she asks, her voice trembling.

—–

Jason hovers over the loveseat. “I really thought I could trust you, Alex.”

“You can trust me.” Alex stands up to look his friend in the eyes. “I just want to make sure you aren’t setting yourself up to get hurt.”

“It’s a little late for that.”

“I know you’ve had a lot thrown at you lately,” Alex says gently.

Jason chews his lower lip for several seconds as he contemplates his next words.

“I’m concerned about Peter,” he finally says. “Being raised in that kind of environment — Natalie’s life is chaos, and Spencer attracts instability everywhere he goes. The two of them together…”

“Are a lot. I know.” Alex nods in agreement. “But they are Peter’s biological parents.”

“And I was his dad until very, very recently. It’s not like he’s just going to forget I existed.”

“He shouldn’t! I’m not saying that. But Jason… I don’t want you to prolong this and make it even more painful for yourself, or for Peter. Or Sophie.”

“Sophie misses her brother.”

“I’m sure she does. But I think about when I was determined to get Billy away from Sarah, or what if Tempest had kept fighting Trevor and me over Chase… I think about how much pain everyone would have gone through…”

“Those situations were completely different than this,” Jason counters. “Peter was taken out of a stable environment and thrust into… whatever the hell is going on in that house. I’m going to find a way to change that.”

Alex gives Jason a long, careful look. The anguish in his eyes is so visible, so raw. He can tell that his friend is operating from a place of pure emotion at the moment and that logic is not going to make much of a different right now.

“Please, just be careful,” Alex says, “and don’t do anything rash. And know that I’m here for you to talk whenever you want. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Alex sits back down on the loveseat, and a moment later, Jason follows suit.

“How about we talk about something else?” Alex suggests.

“Please.” Jason reaches for his fork again. “Have you watched that documentary about the Fyre Festival on Hulu yet? I’m dying to see it.”

Alex grins as he reaches for the remote control. “Now that’s the kind of mess we can spend some time on.”

—–

Claudia immediately rushes toward Samantha.

“Your mother is spouting all kinds of theories,” she says. “We haven’t heard from the doctors yet. All we know is that he fell unconscious.”

Diane frowns at her mother’s dismissal of the news but stops herself from scolding the woman. As much as they do not normally get along, she can only imagine how traumatic it is for Claudia to receive the news of Henry’s diagnosis.

“Your grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year,” Diane says evenly. “He begged me not to tell anyone. I felt like I had to respect his wishes.”

“Maybe he was misdiagnosed,” Claudia says.

Diane folds her arms. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

She, Natalie, and Claudia stand in a tense, silent showdown for a long moment.

“Come on,” Diane tells Samantha and Jaq. “Let’s go talk for a minute.”

She leads them around a corner.

“I can go,” Jaq says. “I just wanted to make sure Sam got here all right.”

“She’s lucky to have support like that,” Diane tells her. She studies her daughter, noting the slightly glassy look in Samantha’s eyes. “Did you have fun? I wish your aunt hadn’t dragged you down here before we even know anything.”

“But you did know something,” Samantha says.

Diane expected her mother and Natalie to hold that against, but not Sam. She feels her muscles clenching anxiously.

“He asked me not to tell anyone,” Diane explains. “It wasn’t my place.”

“I’ll give you some time alone,” Jaq says as she stands awkwardly off to the side.

“Are you okay to get home?” Samantha asks.

Jaq nods. “Yeah. I’ll get an Uber. I hope everything’s okay with your grandpa.”

Samantha manages a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“Thanks for getting her down here safely, Jaq,” Diane adds. “I’ll see you at the station.”

“No problem.” Jaq heads for the elevators, and Diane waits until she disappears into one to speak again.

“It wasn’t my news to tell anyone,” she says. “Not if your grandfather didn’t want people to know.”

“I guess. Yeah.” Samantha’s face twists up with concern. “Maybe there’s still something they could do. It isn’t too late.”

Diane’s head bobs up and down. “Maybe. Come here.”

She opens her arms, and Samantha moves instinctively to lay against her mother’s chest. Diane holds her and feels her own heart breaking for Samantha, having to process all this, and a pang of sadness overtakes her as she thinks about her father, lying in a hospital bed, perhaps never to awaken.

END OF EPISODE 959

Was Diane right to reveal Henry’s secret?
Will Sam and Jaq’s friendship develop into more?
Is Jason wrong to go ahead with a custody suit?
Discuss it all in the comments below!

 

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