Previously…
– King’s Bay held its first Pride parade.
– While riding on Edge of Winter’s Pride float  Tempest was upset to spot Samantha and Jaq together on what appeared to be a date.
– Tori continued to blame her father for the sequence of events that led to the death of her and Zane’s unborn child.

Sarah Fisher Gray sits alone at a table in the quiet hospital cafeteria. The steam from a freshly poured cup of coffee rises up toward her face, and she breathes in its aroma, hoping that it might somehow soothe her tattered nerves.

“Hey,” a voice says softly from behind her, and when she looks, her older brother is standing there in a striped polo shirt.

Sarah stands to give Tim a hug.

“How are you guys holding up?” he asks.

“This is such a mess.” She wipes a hand over her face. “Like, beyond what I could’ve even imagined.”

“It sounds awful. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” She gestures at the table. “Here. Sit. Or do you want a coffee? I’ll get you something.”

“I’m fine.” He moves around the table and takes a seat across from her. “How’s Tori? Any better?”

“They think they’ll be able to clear her for release tomorrow. So that’s really good news.”

“It is. That’s great.” He hesitates briefly. “And how about emotionally?”

“That’s the part that’s really a mess,” Sarah says as she picks up her coffee.

“She’s got to be devastated.”

“She is. Devastated, in shock, pissed. All of it.”

“Is Matt in with her now?”

Sarah shakes her head. “He took Billy to the park. We’re trying to keep things as normal as possible for him. And honestly…”

Tim waits patiently for her to continue.

“I feel like it might be better if he isn’t around Tori much right now,” she says. “She’s blaming him for everything.”

“She’ll get past that.”

“I don’t know about that. I was just trying to talk to her about when I lost a baby, and all she wanted to do was spin it back around to how terrible Matt is.”

“She’s desperate to place blame because it helps make sense of a senseless event,” Tim says. “Like you said, she’s in shock. It didn’t seem like she had totally committed to the idea of being pregnant, let alone being a parent…”

“Not at all. She never totally had that expectant mom thing going on. Deep down, I think she knew she wasn’t ready to be a parent, and she didn’t want to be. But she also couldn’t make peace with the idea of having a child out there and not knowing how she was.”

“That, I can understand.” Tim silently watches a white-coated doctor walk by. “How about you?”

“I’m fine,” Sarah says quickly.

“I knew you’d say that. But it’s a lot for you to process, too. That baby was your grandchild.”

“It’s so weird that you’re a grandpa and I was almost a grandma. Did you ever think we’d be sitting here talking about this?”

“It’s unreal,” he agrees. “What about you and Matt, though? You really didn’t know about him deleting that text?”

“No! Everyone keeps asking me that.”

“Sorry. I’m just wondering… where does this leave the two of you?”

—–

Downtown King’s Bay is alive with the joy and excitement of the town’s first Pride celebration. Beneath the bright sun, foot traffic flows in and out of the local businesses, and people cluster in front of the various food trucks that have been parked along the parade route. On a small patch of grass just off Platz Street, Alex Marshall and Trevor Brooks sit on a bench, eating the grilled cheeses that they just bought; their son is sprawled on the grass, bouncing two Toy Story figurines up and down.

“Do you want another bite?” Alex asks Chase. The toddler looks up at him, crinkles his nose, and shakes his head.

“I don’t think you’re going to sell him on truffle butter,” Trevor says with a laugh.

Alex takes another crunchy bite of his own sandwich, pulling it outward until the string of gooey cheese finally breaks.

“The kid doesn’t know what he’s missing,” he declares as he finishes chewing.

Trevor chuckles and leans against the back of the bench while he chews his own bite of food. He moves his head slowly from right to left, taking in the cheerful scene out on the street.

“This is pretty cool, isn’t it?” he says.

Alex turns toward his husband. “The grilled cheese?”

“Duh. But, like, all of it. Did you ever think you’d be sitting out in public with your husband and your son, with all these people around us celebrating the fact that we get to be a family?”

“I don’t think I ever even dared to dream about that when I was younger,” Alex admits. “I wish I could go back and give the younger version of myself a hug and show him how it would all turn out.”

“Same.” Trevor slides an arm around Alex’s shoulders. “It’s so cool. I kept thinking about how there were probably kids here today with their parents who were going to grow up not feeling like something was wrong with them, or that they’d never be happy or have love in their lives, all because they got to see this today.”

Alex grins. “Hey. I’m supposed to be the writer here. Stop being so articulate.”

“I guess I’m just moved by all of this,” Trevor says as he pulls Alex closer.

“I love you, and I love our little family and the life we’re building,” Alex says.

“Couldn’t have said that any better myself.”

Trevor lets out a contented sigh, and the two men sit there, basking in the sun’s warmth and the simple joy of watching their son play.

—–

“Knock, knock,” Zane Tanaka says as he raps his knuckles softly on the open door.

From her hospital bed, Tori Gray swivels her head to look at him.

“Hey,” she says. The simple syllable somehow manages to convey all the exhaustion and pain that she is feeling.

“Didn’t want to wake you up if you were sleeping,” he says as he enters the room, and now Tori sees his other hand, which is clutching a bright bouquet of pink peonies, purple tulips, and a vibrant yellow flower whose name Tori doesn’t know.

Zane holds out the flowers. “Here. Thought you might like these.”

She pushes a smile across her pale lips. “Thanks. They’re really pretty.”

He comes nearer to the bed and hands her the flowers, which she cradles in one arm.

“How’re you feeling?” he asks.

“Like crap. Tired. Sore.”

“I bet. I hate seeing you like this.” He looks her over for several seconds, seeing how small she looks in the hospital bed. “And I hate feeling like I’m part of the reason you’re here.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but no words come. Instead, she swallows hard.

“I can’t take back any of the stuff I did before,” Zane says. “But if I could… I’d go back and still be at that fair so I could meet you. I’d just give your mom that stupid video and take you on a date and forget about all the other shit.”

Tori stares down at her hands.

“I guess I just want you to know I’m sorry,” he hastens to add, spurred on by her silence. “Everything I did sucked. But the way I felt about you — that was real. And that baby– our baby–”

“Our daughter,” Tori fills in, almost involuntarily. “We were going to have a baby girl.”

“We have one. She just… she isn’t here with us, you know?”

Tori nods weakly, as the heaviness of her emotions once again settles over her.

“You know what I think we should do?” he says.

“What?”

“Let’s name her. Let’s name our baby. She’s a person, and we’re always gonna talk about her, so…”

He trails off, allowing the idea to rest on the tense air in the room. Finally Tori turns toward him again.

“You’re right,” she says. “She deserves to have a name.”

—–

In a parking lot at the end of the parade route, Jason Fisher pops the trunk of his BMW SUV. He stands back as he waits for the door to swing upward.

“Thanks for giving me a hand with this,” he says as he loads a box into the trunk.

“No problem.” Tempest Banks hoists up a plastic tub and slides it into the vehicle. “I’ll help you unload it at the rink on Monday.”

“I’ll get someone to help me. Not a big deal.”

He picks up one of several plastic bags waiting by his feet and loads it into the car.

“You have fun today?” he asks.

“Yeah.” Tempest grabs one of the bags herself. “It was cool to see so many people come out.”

He nods in agreement, then hesitates for a beat. Tempest’s head rotates toward him, a dubious glint in her eye.

“What?” she asks.

“Nothing.” He waits for her to finish loading the bags into the car and then adds, “I figured you saw Samantha with that girl. That’s all.”

Tempest throws a sharp glare his way. “I’m fine.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

The air around them is dense with tension as Jason closes the trunk. It latches gently into place, and he leans against the BMW.

“I know it was probably a little weird for you. That’s all,” he finally says.

“Yeah, well…” She folds her arms across her body and stands against the car, too, staring straight ahead into the center of the parking lot, where others are loading up their cars and leaving the parade, too.

After a lengthy pause, she says, “Can’t do much about it.”

“Maybe not.”

“That’s what messed everything up in the first place — me trying to change stuff I couldn’t change. That, and Diane’s bullshit.”

“You don’t know if it’ll last, or if it’s just some rebound thing,” Jason says. “You don’t have to give up hope.”

“What am I supposed to do? Sit here praying that it doesn’t work out with whoever that girl is?”

“It’s okay to be stung by it. That’s all I’m saying. You don’t have to pretend like everything’s great. You can talk to me, or to Claire, or to Travis.”

“No point complaining, like that’s gonna change anything.” Tempest shakes her head. “I really did think we might get another shot, Sam and me. She basically forgave her damn mom after all that.”

“It sounded like you guys were getting back to a good place.”

“That’s what I thought! I didn’t think she was already, like, with someone else.”

“Like I said, it might not even be serious,” he offers.

Again Tempest’s head snaps in his direction. “They’re lesbians. You know how that goes.”

He lets out a little laugh. “What does that mean?”

“This could’ve been their first date, and they’ll still be moving in by next Wednesday. Whatever.”

“Just let yourself be sad if you need to be,” he says, as he steps away from the car so that he can face. “And if you want or need to talk, come to me. Got it?”

Tempest rolls her eyes, even as a grateful smile hesitantly appears on her face. “Got it.”

—–

This time, Sarah offers no quick response.

“I know Tori is blaming Matt,” Tim says. “But what about you?”

Sarah sets down her coffee cup on the light gray table with emphasis. “I’m furious. Furious that Tori has to deal with this. Furious that our family is in this situation.”

Tim folds his hands and simply waits.

“But I’d also be a hypocrite if I acted like I didn’t understand why Matt did what he did,” she goes on. “Given some of the stuff I’ve done… and if I’d had the chance to delete that text, would I have resisted? I don’t know.”

He nods solemnly. “None of us are perfect.”

“Absolutely not. Me blowing this out of proportion isn’t going to fix things for Tori, or for me. It isn’t going to change what happened. Matt is — he’s my partner, and when I was talking to Tori about losing my own baby, I kept thinking about how I lashed out and blamed Matt because I was hurting. What did that get me? Years of pain, and feeling alone, and winding up married to Graham because I desperately wanted to feel safe and secure. I’m not doing that again.”

Tim reaches across the table and places his hand over his sister’s.

“You’re all going to get through this,” he says. “You’re being the rock that your family needs right now. That’s going to make all the difference.”

She sighs. “It’s tough to imagine how we come out the other side of this. But I know I have to try.”

—–

Tori lies in her hospital bed, staring into the flickering flame of a short, red candle that Zane holds in his hand. He stands beside her bed, and on Tori’s lap is a small gift box that he bought from downstairs.

“Chiyo,” Tori says quietly. “That’s beautiful. I like it.”

“Are you sure?” Zane asks.

She looks up at him and, despite her misty eyes, manages a smile. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad. It was my grandmother’s name, and the meaning… ‘thousand generations,’ or ‘eternal’… it seems right for our little girl.”

“It does.” Tori gazes down into the box, where a copy of her ultrasound and a pink pacifier lie. “It’s so weird to think that this is all she’ll ever be. There was this baby — this person — growing inside me, so close to being born, and then she just… wasn’t.”

“It’s not fair,” Zane says.

“No.” Tori sniffles and then uses the back of her hand to wipe her eyes. “God. This sucks.”

“I know.” He lets out a sigh and rests a hand on her shoulder. As hyper-aware of the touch as she is, Tori doesn’t flinch or pull away.

“When you’re out of here,” he says, “we’ll get some other stuff to put in here and find a nice place to bury it. Someplace we can visit her, you know?”

“I like that idea.” Somberly she places the lid back on the box.

“Guess I should blow this out before someone comes in and yells at us.” Zane pushes a whoosh of air out of his mouth, extinguishing the flame.

“Good call.” Tori rests her hands on top of the box in her lap. “This all seems like some crazy dream. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and life is going to be… normal? I don’t even know what normal is anymore.”

“It’s gonna take time,” he says gently.

“I guess. I don’t even know how I’m going to go back to my grandma’s house and be there with my dad, after what he did.”

Zane’s voice hardens. “Everything would be so different if he hadn’t deleted my text. If you’d gotten to see it.”

“I can’t stop thinking about that.”

“I meant what I said — what I was trying to say to you that night. I was down to tackle this, to try and raise our baby together. The timing was terrible, but that kind of future — isn’t that what we wanted the whole time we were together?”

She hesitates before saying, “It wasn’t up to my dad to decide for me. But it’s not like you had convinced me you’d be some great dad.”

“I know. And I can’t change the past — but I could’ve shown you by being that guy.” He pauses for a moment. “Maybe I still can.”

Her hands continue to clutch the box. “How?”

“You shouldn’t have to go back and live in that house with your dad,” Zane says. “I have an idea.”

—–

“Where’s Sophie?” Jason asks as he approaches Alex on the busy sidewalk outside 322.

“Helen and Don took her to get a corndog,” Alex explains. “Trevor went to go change Chase. I said I’d stay here so you wouldn’t have to go someplace else to find us.”

“Thanks.” Jason winces. “A corndog? How much crap has she eaten today?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t envy you having to deal with her later.”

“Maybe this would be a good night for her to have a sleepover with Grandma Helen and Grandpa Don,” Jason says.

Alex laughs. “Helen won’t even guess that you have an ulterior motive.”

“Not until she’s the one dealing with a sugar-crazed Tasmanian devil.” Jason glances at the food traffic and animated conversations around them. “Did you guys have fun?”

“Totally. This was a really cool thing to experience. To see my community come together like this, and to be with my husband and our son…”

“What about your best friend?!” Jason asks with mock-hurt, as he grasps Alex by either side of his face.

“You’re a close third. Okay, maybe fourth. Have to leave room for Don’s drag alter ego.”

“Donna Chase.”

“I was thinking Dawn Chase,” Alex says. They both laugh, and then Jason lets his hands fall from Alex’s cheeks and pulls him into a hug.

“I’m glad we all got to come together for a day like this,” Jason says as he embraces his old friend. “I love you, buddy.”

“I love you, too,” Alex says, as his own arms encircle Jason.

In the distance, a camera’s shutter clicks as fast as its operator’s finger can press the button, capturing image after image of the two men.

END OF EPISODE 980

Who is snapping photos of Alex and Jason?
Will Tori go along with Zane’s new plan?
What did you think of Sarah and Tim’s talk?
Discuss all this and more in the comments! 

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