Previously…
– Jason became angry with Alex after Alex suggested that pursuing custody of Peter might not be the best idea.
– Matt and Sarah brought Tori to meet with an adoption agency, but she remained unsure about placing her unborn child for adoption.
– A run-in with her old frenemy, Fee C., only made Tori feel worse about her pregnancy.

Spencer Ragan’s dress shoes click against the wooden floors as he rounds the corner and pushes through a pair of glass doors to arrive in the lobby of Vision Publishing. He spots the woman whom he must grudgingly call his wife standing there, clutching a set of papers in one hand and holding onto their son with the other. Spencer gives the receptionist a cursory wave as he beelines for Natalie; there is something wild about her posture and her energy, and her eyes flare even more as soon as she sees him.

“Hey, Peter,” he says, instinctively focusing on the toddler. He still feels awkward regarding the little boy as his son, but it is becoming a little more natural with each day that passes — and, right now, engaging with him seems much less stressful than facing whatever has Natalie this fired-up.

“I brought a truck,” Peter tells him. He holds up the toy in his left hand as proof.

“Are you having fun with your truck?” Spencer asks.

“The truck is fine,” Natalie snaps.

Finally Spencer looks at her. “What are you doing here?”

“This.” She slaps the papers against his chest, causing him to flinch.

He brightens. “Did you decide to divorce me?”

“Unfortunately, no. Look at this. Can you believe it?”

Spencer snatches the papers from her and quickly glances at them. It takes him only a moment to absorb what this document is. Now it is Spencer’s turn to widen his eyes.

“What in the hell?” he mutters in disbelief.

—–

Rays of merciful winter sunshine stream in through the open curtains of Paula Fisher’s dining room, offering a much-needed break from the recent deluge of gray consuming King’s Bay and the rest of the Pacific Northwest.

“It isn’t like I expect anything better from her,” Tori Gray is saying as she taps her spoon against the edge of her bowl, “but it still sucked.”

“That horrid Fee C. isn’t fit to kiss the ground you walk on!” Helen Chase exclaims. She is seated beside Tori at the dining room table, with Paula and Sophie stationed across from them.

“Isn’t that the girl you got in the chili fight with?” Sophie asks.

“Yeah, and she’s still a huge…” Tori pauses, leaving the statement to hang.

“Witch,” Sophie says with a devilish grin.

“That’s an excellent word for it,” Helen agrees.

“Why don’t you finish your chili?” Paula suggests to Sophie, who has been bouncing up and down in her chair. “Your Grandma Helen was nice enough to make it for our little girls’ day in.”

“I thought the white bean would be a better choice than my famous five-alarm chili,” Helen explains to no one in particular, “especially considering how Victoria might feel.”

Tori sets down her spoon and sighs. “I feel bloated and stupid.”

“I was never much a fan of being pregnant,” Paula says. “I know some women can really enjoy it, but I was too uncomfortable.”

“Sometimes I wish I’d gotten to experience it more than once,” Helen says. “But my Courtney was so special. I suppose I was only meant to give birth once.”

“What are you gonna name the baby?” Sophie asks.

The two grandmothers lock eyes, silently communicating about how to handle this awkward moment. Before either can dive in, however, Tori speaks for herself.

“I don’t know if I am gonna name it,” she tells her younger cousin.  “That would be… I guess that’s up to the adoptive parents.”

“But who are they?” Sophie presses.

Paula gently touches a hand to Sophie’s shoulder. “That hasn’t been figured out yet. And we might not know. It all depends.”

Tori glumly looks down into what remains of her bowl of chili.

“What you’re doing is very brave,” Helen says. “Remember that. If you aren’t ready for parenthood, helping another couple start a family is very selfless.”

“Thanks,” Tori says with an attempt at a smile.

“Besides, there’s no sense rushing into a lifestyle you aren’t ready for,” Helen continues. “Just look at your cousin — trapped by that pernicious Natalie–”

“Helen,” Paula says sharply, indicating Sophie. “Not now.”

“What’s pernicious?” Sophie asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” Paula says, and she is grateful to hear the front door opening so that they can move off this subject.

“Sarah, is that you?” Paula calls out.

“Just me,” Matt Gray says. Seconds later, he appears in the living room, holding his tan Carhartt jacket in one hand.

“We’re having a girls’ day!” Sophie announces, louder than is necessary.

“Forgot about that,” Matt says. “I’ll make myself invisible, don’t worry.”

“Oh, stop that,” Helen says. “Would you care for any of my famous white bean chili?”

Matt stops at the edge of the dining room. “I’m good, but thanks. I’m gonna take a shower and then take care of a few things before I go back to the restaurant. Have fun.”

The women all say goodbye to Matt before he disappears back into the living room and up the stairs.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” Helen says as she lifts another spoonful of chili from her own bowl.

Jason Fisher sits behind his desk in the second floor office of Edge of Winter Arena. With his elbows planted on the desktop and his fingertips on his temples, he tries his hardest to read over the contract in front of him, but his mind keeps straying to other, more urgent matters. He is about to give up for good when he hears a knock on the open door.

“I hadn’t seen you today, so I brought this up for you,” Sabrina Gage says from the doorway. She holds one of the ice-blue to-go cups from Thaw Coffee & Tea. “Your usual.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Jason stands and gratefully accepts the coffee. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Sabrina shrugs and smooths out the apron that she wears as part of her uniform at the café.

“It wasn’t any trouble,” she says. “But I don’t want to interrupt if you’re busy.”

“No. Please.” He shakes his head. “I actually can’t focus on anything.”

“Why not? What’s wrong?”

He hesitates and takes a sip of the hot coffee. “I did something. Something big. And I’m not sure how it’s going to play out.”

—–

“Peter’s coloring in my office with the door closed,” Tim Fisher says as he enters the conference room. “He should be good for a little while.”

“Thanks,” Natalie tells him. She hovers over the end of the long, cherry-colored conference table. The offending legal document sits before her.

Tim closes the door so that he, Natalie, and Spencer can speak in private.

“You have to talk to Jason,” Spencer says to his father. “You can convince him that this is crazy.”

Tim exhales loudly. “I don’t know if I can. I’m not exactly his favorite these days.”

“He’s suing us for full custody of Peter,” Natalie says. “That’s insane. Someone has to get through to him.”

“I’ll see what I can do, obviously,” Tim replies. “But he isn’t exactly listening to reason these days. After what you guys did to him–”

“I didn’t do anything!” Spencer interrupts.

“I didn’t get myself pregnant,” Natalie snaps at him.

“No, you just tried to kill me after I figured out I’d gotten you pregnant.”

“I did not. And if you want to talk about crimes–”

“Hey,” Spencer warns her.

“Right now, you’re both making an excellent case in Jason’s favor,” Tim says with exasperation. “Tell me again why you’re even married in the first place.”

Spencer and Natalie trade a look that, though antagonistic at first, becomes quickly conspiratorial.

“For our son,” Natalie says.

“Right,” Spencer says. “We decided this would be the best situation for Peter. And it’s been good so far.”

“He’s happy and he’s safe,” Natalie adds. “Jason would have a hell of a time proving otherwise.”

Tim stares at them as he taps his fingers on the table. The sound echoes through the large, empty room.

“I’m no lawyer,” he says, “but neither of you has a spotless past. Natalie, you misled Jason — and everyone else — for a long time–”

“I never did anything that endangered Peter–”

Tim holds up a hand to silence her. “And Spencer, being connected to Philip and Loretta alone could be a problem.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” Spencer asks.

“I’m not on anyone’s side but my grandson’s,” Tim says. “I hate what my brother is going through, but I don’t want either of you to lose your son, either — especially not after how much time I lost with all my kids.” He looks meaningfully at Spencer, still unable to comprehend how he knows so little of his own son’s first two decades of life.

“That’s why I’m not letting him do this,” Spencer says. “I don’t care what it takes or what I have to do: there’s no way Jason is taking Peter away from me now.”

—–

When Tori goes into the kitchen to refill her glass of water, she finds Matt in there as well.

“How’s the girls’ lunch going?” he asks as he closes the refrigerator door.

“Fine,” Tori says. She places her iPhone down on the counter and begins using the water dispenser on the front of the fridge to fill her glass; its steady hissing sound fills the otherwise quiet kitchen for a moment.

“And you’re doing okay?” Matt asks, with more than a hint of caution in his voice.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She sighs as the glass finishes filling and then turns back toward her father. “I’m just… whatever.”

Matt sets down the Tupperware of leftovers that he is about to eat from and looks his daughter firmly in the eyes.

“I know this isn’t fun,” he begins, but he stops when he notices her turning a strange, ashen color.

He moves toward her. “What’s wrong?”

Tori’s hands go to her stomach. “Maybe chili wasn’t a good idea.”

“Are you okay?”

Instead of responding, she clamps her mouth shut and hurries out of the room.

“I’m right here if you need something!” he calls after her. He hears Paula, Helen, and Sophie cry out as Tori no doubt rushes through the dining room on her way to the restroom to throw up. Matt’s heart breaks at seeing his daughter so unhappy and sick. Unsure what else he can do, he picks up her water glass and is about to bring it to her when he hears her phone vibrate on the counter. He glances and stops in his tracks.

On the screen is a text message notification from Zane.

Although his instincts tell him to leave it alone, there is another force within him that is urging him to do the exact opposite.

He sets down the water and studies the phone, unable to make a decision.

—–

“Full custody. Wow,” Sabrina says slowly. She now sits across the desk from Jason, having pulled up one of the side chairs to listen to his story.

“I know it’s a big move. A bold move,” he replies. “But I’ve been talking to my lawyer, and… Peter is my son. He’s been my son for two years.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone before your lawyer filed the suit?”

“No. I just thought, what’s the point? People would try to talk me out of it.”

Sabrina nods back to him.

Jason narrows his eyes at her. “You think it’s crazy.”

“What?”

“You aren’t saying anything,” Jason says.

“I’m just… I’m thinking.” She sees his skepticism and hurries to add, “It is a big move, Jason.”

“I’m aware of that. It’s also a big move to find out in the middle of your wedding that your son isn’t actually your son, but–” His words run over one another like cars in a pile-up, and he stops in frustration. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I know no one is going to understand my side of this. But that little boy is my son, and–”

“I understand,” Sabrina says, with a gentle firmness that catches Jason off-guard.

“You do?”

“Yeah. I have no idea what it must be like to care about a child that much, from the second he’s born, and then have him ripped away. But our lives are short. Mine was almost a lot shorter than it is now, and I think all the time… why waste any of the time we actually have not doing what we really want to do?”

He looks across the desk at her with both wonder and gratitude.

“I know I might not be living the most exciting life, or be the richest person or anything,” she continues, “but I’m making my way on my own, and I’m taking classes to work on my photography, and I get to go home every night and curl up with a book or Netflix and just enjoy things. All in a town that I really, really like. Do you know how many days I spent in Iowa — before and after my coma — just not feeling like I belonged there?”

“You really don’t feel like you belong there?” he asks quietly.

“Not even a little bit. I mean, yeah, I get homesick for certain things, and I miss my parents, but being someplace so conservative, in a town you were never supposed to want to leave… it never felt right for me.”

She stops as her gaze drops awkwardly to the floor, as Jason has noticed it often does.

“Anyway, this isn’t about me. My point is that we don’t have time to waste, and if you feel in your heart that Peter belongs with you, then I can’t fault you for acting on that,” Sabrina says. “Especially not in a safe, legal way. It’s not like you’re endangering him by asking the court to decide.”

“Exactly. Meanwhile, you’ve got Spencer kidnapping him from my mom’s house — I know he did — and…” This time, he trails off in order to gather himself. He reaches again for the coffee cup.

“You’re a great dad, Jason,” she says. “I’ve seen it with Sophie and with Peter — and even with Bree. After what Natalie did, I don’t blame you for worrying about him being with her. And Spencer… I like him, but he’s never acted at all like he wanted to be tied down by a child.”

“Exactly,” Jason says, with renewed enthusiasm. “I’m not doing this to be spiteful. I’m doing it because it’s right. And I have to remind myself of that, even if other people don’t have my back.”

“I do,” Sabrina tells him, as she offers a kind smile. “You have my support.”

—–

“Don’t do anything rash,” Tim tells his son.

The fire in Spencer’s expression, however, suggests that that’s exactly what he has in mind.

“He’s trying to take my son away from me,” Spencer says. “A son I only just found out I had.”

Tim is unable to resist one little dig, as he glances at Natalie. “If only there were some way that all of this could’ve been avoided.”

She folds her arms in annoyance. “There’s no point sitting around talking about what would happen if we could change the past. Because believe me — if there were a way, I’d have done it by now.”

Spencer glowers at her. “I have a couple of things I’d go back and redo, too.”

“Neither of you is making a great case at the moment,” Tim interjects.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Spencer says, “Will you just talk to him? Get him to stop this?”

“Please, Tim,” Natalie adds. “This is your grandson. You’d really let Jason take him away from all of us forever?”

Tim cannot exactly imagine that happening — his own brother cutting him out of his grandson’s life completely — but he also never saw this civil war coming, and now, here it is. There is no telling what might happen if everyone continues to go to extremes.

“I’ll talk to him,” Tim says.

Natalie exhales with relief. “Thank you. You can get him to drop this whole thing.”

“I can’t guarantee that,” he answers. “But I’m going to do everything I can to hold this family together — and neither of you had better do anything to screw that up any more than it already is.”

—–

Matt cannot believe what he is doing.

He casts his eyes nervously toward the dining room as he picks up the phone and swipes on the screen to open it.

Instead of opening, however, it prompts him to enter a passcode.

He stares at the four empty bubbles for a few seconds, his hands trembling. He is not the kind of person who does something like go through his daughter’s phone, but…

Only one sequence of numbers pops into his head. It has been Tori’s bank PIN since he took her to open her first checking account, and he knows that it was the code on the first cell phone she was allowed to have, years ago. He wonders…

With shaky fingers, he punches in the code — and the phone unlocks. Still listening for sounds that anyone is coming, he quickly navigates to her text messages.

Let’s talk before you sign those papers. We can do this, Tori. We can be together and raise our baby together. Our baby. Think about that. I love you.

Matt fumes as he reads it twice. He glances upward and sees that the prior text is from Tori to Zane, about her encounter with Fee at the movies.

He draws in a deep breath — and then selects Zane’s text and deletes it.

“I had to,” he says to himself as he locks the phone again and puts it back on the counter. “I had to.”

END OF EPISODE 963

Did you ever expect Matt to do something like that?
Is Jason going too far by filing this custody suit?
Who should finally have custody of Peter?
Discuss all of this and more in the comments below!

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