- Marina Thurlow’s car broke down; Ryan Bauer was her savior, they began to grow closer.
- Because she kept Lucy Hahn’s whereabouts secret, Emmet Thurlow grew angry with Iris Galloway.
- Penelope Wilkinson argued with Jeremy Joplin about her future and Grady Wilkinson.
- Someone left blood red roses at the hospital for Daphne Wilkinson...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina Thurlow’s Home
Marina Thurlow laughed at the top of her lungs as she lay in bed with Ryan Bauer. They had been in each other’s orbit for the last three days and she couldn’t deny how he made her feel when they were close. She shook her hair and pulled the baby blue sheets closer to her clothed body when Ryan mentioned the wine she spilt on Natalie Marlowe a couple years ago.
“She had it coming,” Marina defended; she scrunched the sheets and leaned against the headboard of her bed. For the last two hours they laid in the slept-in bed, fully clothed. It was something that neither of them had experienced with one another before, simple conversation, “Natalie had been constantly flirting with you.”
His face grew red. “I never knew, I promise.”
The dark haired woman scoffed; she got onto her knees and pushed her chest out, “Oh, Ryan," She purred, trying to imitate Natalie, "I seem to have locked myself out of your apartment. I’m soaking wet, could I come in?” Marina mocked, she collapsed onto the man and began to chuckle at her attempt at humor.
“Okay... I don’t exactly know if she said those words,” Ryan kissed Marina’s cheek, “but that also seems like some variation of ‘The Girl Next Door’ so I think you’re making that part up. Besides she was the one who was able to help me get a job. Even if it was with Ian.”
Marina cringed. “She did that on purpose.”
“Even still.” Ryan defended.
She turned away from him, the very mention of Ian Kiefer caused Marina’s body to tense up and she all but felt a little dizzy. So she rolled off of Ryan and turned away, trying to focus on something else in her room. It was a past relationship she would rather just forget.
Ryan turned onto his side and guided Marina’s attention back to his own. “I was wrong to let Natalie do the things she did to you, Marina.” He brushed her hair out of her face. “I’ve forgiven you for everything that happened with Ian. Will you forgive me for everything with Natalie?”
“Of course,” Marina nodded her head, “let’s just forget all of that happened?”
“We can do that.” He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Marina closed her eyes and couldn’t help but smile as their lips met. They had been through so much and there had been so many people in-between them that she almost forgot how it felt to kiss Ryan without worrying about hurting another man’s feelings.
“Do you have work today?”
Marina looked at Ryan. “Not today, why?”
“I just want to enjoy my time with you,” Ryan spoke, he pulled her into his grasp, “I don’t always get to spend much time with the marvelous Marina Thurlow. She’s always somewhere else with something on her mind. Chasing some story that is going to be her biggest break -- to tell the truth, I would like this time around to focus a little more on us.”
“This time around?”
“Yes Marina,” Ryan chuckled; he brushed her hair out of her face, “I want the two of us to get back together and I know this is the perfect time. I finally have my life together, I’m working consistently now and you don’t have that pesky Kiefer guy confusing your pretty little mind.”
“I thought we were over the Ian topic?” She asked.
He shook his head. “You’re right. We are over the Ian topic. I came back to Stone Creek so that I could prove to you that I finally had my act together-”
“I’m proud of you.” She admitted.
Marina looked away from him with a chuckle. “But this doesn’t mean we can go exactly to where we were before Ian Kiefer came into the picture... Ryan I don’t want our relationship to get physical yet -- how embarrassing is that to say? I don’t mean that it’s not good...” Marina bit her lip, “Sex with you was really good.”
He smirked.
“But this time we need to work on the things that didn’t work in the first place.” Marina locked hands with Ryan and kissed them. “We need to work on us. You’re a different person than when you left Stone Creek, I found that out on a couple of occasions.”
“Don’t say you don’t like it.”
Marina locked eyes with him. “I do like it.”
[.....]
Scene Two:
549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope’s Home
With the house always empty, Penelope Wilkinson had more time to do the things that she wanted to do and after already making breakfast, lounging around the television watching re-runs of ‘Jerry Springer’ she now found herself watching the bushes in the backyard grow. Which in itself was such a task given that the backyard spanned a great distance. There were plenty of bushes to watch and she would turn to a new direction when she got bored with the current. Of course, this was only fun because she had also spent the majority of the morning tipping a bottle of vodka into her orange juice.
She sighed.
It became clear to Penelope that the day wasn’t going to be a great one. But she knew this -- from experience -- that when you had become so eager in anticipation for a day to come, everything after that just seemed so... boring. The days following up to her visiting Grady had come so fast. It did help that her granddaughter was kidnapped -- that helped her days go by fast as well. Penelope was so grateful to have Greta back home. It eased some of the tension built within her. Not like the vodka eased the tension, but it helped.
Penelope gulped down more of the devil’s juice and decided that she had enough of watching the bushes. There would be other days to do this and the Autumn’s sun was starting to irritate her. So she walked back into the kitchen and went to the fridge; grabbed the bottle of vodka and wandered over to the couch. There was nothing on television, she already knew this. But she needed a change of scenery because all she could think of was her fight with Jeremy over her needing to move on. She knew his intentions now. He wasn’t trying to make her feel awful about moving on but he was frankly just trying to get her to do it. Now Penelope felt bad for yelling at him.
No matter how Jeremy approached her, he always only wanted to help.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Wilkinson,” Penelope looked towards the door to her hospital room and noticed the doctor standing there. She smiled weakly, “as you know we are under staffed -- the flu epidemic hit us hard this year -- your doctor asked me to check you over.”
Penelope nodded her head, it was the most she could do after giving birth to her second child. It was late winter and the remains of the winter storm had breezed into her room through a draft. Penelope pulled the blankets closer to her body as she tried to sit-up.
The doctor stepped closer, “No need to get up, it’s best if you just lay down and get some rest.” It was nice of him to be concerned for her but there were far more important things at hand. Penelope eye’d him as he checked her charts and ran a few tests. “It seems that you’re as healthy as can be.”
“What about Isabelle?” She asked.
He looked up. “Excuse me?”
“My baby girl,” Penelope weakly responded, she looked around the room, “I heard the nurses talking about taking her to run some tests. Nobody asked me what I wanted to name her... which means they were worried about something else-”
“I assure you, you’re fine.”
“But what about my baby girl?” Penelope asked again, this time with urgency.
He lowered her head. “It seems that the epidemic that has plagued the town has also affected... Isabelle.” This information wouldn’t be enough for Penelope, she lifted her body up and tossed the blankets off. “Ma’am, please! You need your rest-”
“I don’t give a damn what I need!” She shouted.
“For your daughter, I think you should.”
Penelope stopped struggling with him. Her whole body seemed to stiffen at the mention of Isabelle and slowly she got back into bed. The pain settling back in as the adrenaline started to leave her body. She looked at him with watery eyes. “You need to do something, anything.”
“I will.” He replied, he helped pull the blankets over her body and grasped her hand. “If you will let me then I will go check on your... I’ll check on Isabelle right now. But please promise me that you will get some rest? When she pulls through this fever she is going to need you strong and healthy.”
Stubbornly, Penelope agreed. “Doctor?”
“Yes?” He replied, turning back to her.
“I didn’t catch your name.” She said, earnestly.
He smiled and pointed to his badge. “I’m doctor Jeremy Joplin.”
The doorbell wrung, snapping her out of her thoughts. Mustering up the strength to answer it. Penelope waddled towards the door in a drunken haze and was relieved to see her grandson on the other end, “Thank god it’s you!” She slurred, her words rushing out. “I thought it was someone else... wait a minute, why are you here?”
“My dad sent me here.” Bentley informed her, he slid past his grandmother and eye’d the bottle in her hands. “So I see we’ve been very productive in our day.” He observed.
Penelope rolled her eyes. “Join me, will you?”
[.....]
Scene Three:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Police Station; Gideon Wilkinson’s Office
Greta Wilkinson paced around the room, quickly stealing glances at her parents as they sat in front of a television screen and forwarding through the surveillance tapes of the hospital. They had been there all morning and her father mentioned a couple times how disoriented the tapes were. She never pestered to sit with them, her mind was still racing from the previous couple of days.
She rested her attention on the hustle and bustle of the Police Station just outside her father’s office and how through the view of his office window she could see everything going on. No wonder her father and Miles Fowler had liked it so much. Being at the Police Station. No matter who she was focusing on -- each officer -- seemed to be doing something productive, something for the greater good. Greta felt a little more confident that they would find Rodney Burnett and put him away for what he did to her.
“He killed Emily,” her mother spoke from a distance. Greta shuddered at the thought of her closest friend’s death and how much pain it caused. She couldn’t get Emily’s last words out of her head, the ones she uttered to Greta’s brother, Bentley. How could anyone do this to them? A tear streamed down Greta’s eye.
The next voice belonged to Greta’s father, “Honey, we don’t know that for sure. We need to focus on what is before us and if those flowers were indeed from Rodney. This could be the break we were looking for.” He felt confident and Greta could tell from his voice.
Greta stepped over to them. “Would he be that stupid to get caught on a tape?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Gideon replied, “but he let you go after holding you hostage.”
She felt her heart jump into her throat at her father’s mention. Instead of looking at the screen, Greta pulled away from the conversation and looked out the window again.
“This is it!” Gideon shouted; she hurried back to the conversation and peered over her father’s shoulder. Although she didn’t want to bother with watching the tapes. It was this moment she had been waiting for. The moment that she got to see his face once again.
Chills ran down her spine.
The nurse’s station was empty all except for nurse Angie and a man with his back towards the camera. He held the vase of blood red roses in his hand and handed them over to her. They seemed to hold a simple conversation and a hint of a smile appeared on her face.
“It’s only his back,” Greta muttered.
“Be patient.” Gideon urged.
She looked over at her father for a long second before her attention fell back on the screen. The man turned around and the camera caught his face. Greta looked confused. “That’s not Rodney Burnett...”
“Sweet jesus,” Gideon breathed, his attention never left the screen, “Get Miles on the phone now.”
“Dad-”
“Now!” He roared.
This caused Greta to jump a little, she moved away from them and dialed her fiance’s number. She could hear her mother talking to her father about the man on the tapes but her attention was waiting for Miles to pick up the phone. Whatever had spooked her father in that man’s face must’ve been important.
[.....]
Scene Four:
1509 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Briggs Home]
Clifton, Cassie & Lucian’s Home
Climbing down the stairs with her son Lucian in her arms, Cassie Lakhani can’t help but curse under her breath. It was supposed to be Clifton’s turn to wake up with their son today. After having developed the schedule of who fed Lucian every other morning, she had thought that he had at least heard his cries as he moved around downstairs. Although the home was huge sound seemed to echo through many of it’s rooms.
“Clifton!” she called, finally reaching the bottom step. There was no answer from either way so she strategically chose to enter the kitchen from the hallway and first tend to Lucian’s hunger. She would have to deal with Clifton later -- or if she found him in the kitchen, at the same time.
Cassie placed the bottle on the counter and with her right hand opened the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk. For being someone who was once so afraid of having a child, Cassie had managed the task -- with her son in her arms -- with ease. Her mind still lost in the clouds of her thoughts, she poured the milk into the bottle, capped the milk, then put it away.
“I have no idea where your father is.” Cassie said, looking at her son Lucian. She handed him his bottle, in which he took eagerly, and then she looked around the kitchen. It was then that she noticed the coffee machine still hadn’t been used. Cassie tilted her head in curiosity, “Clifton?” she called.
But there was still no response.
Nor did she have the time to see where he ran off to without doing his morning routine. Cassie needed to get her day started and she needed to see her brother as soon as possible. She kissed Lucian on the head and wandered into the hallway again and headed towards the red brick stairs that led to her bedroom. There was no time to waste, Cassie would have to drop Lucian off with Caitlyn for his safety. She didn’t want to have another run-in with her father, not like the last time. He was beginning to give her the chills.
At the stairs Cassie froze in place, “Did you hear that?” She asked her son, who just looked at her with what looked like a shrug. “Hey, Clifton... are you home?”
Making a detour she headed towards the living room instead. There was definitely a noise coming from the front of the house, which had to mean that Clifton was home after all. Her anger was starting to boil up inside of her now. Her plans would definitely have to wait.
“Clifton, we need to talk abou-” Cassie gasped, she shielded her son’s eyes as they came upon the motionless body of Clifton Briggs. She had no idea if he was dead but she needed to get her son out of the room as fast as possible so she turned around and came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun.
“Cassie,” A voice spoke from beyond the gun.
Her face turned red with denial, “Callum... No.”
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Five:
1525 Mauve Ln., Stone Creek. [Willow Glen Manor]
Emmet & Iris’ Home
Ever since Emmet Thurlow found himself home alone earlier in the morning the mood had definitely changed from stiff to breezy. He had even pounced down the stairs -- through the hallway -- and into the kitchen in a robe. When he first decided to move back to his hometown of Stone Creek with his fiance he never pictured their daily lives to involve such tension -- or that neither of them would be sleeping in the same room.
But now everything had changed. Once they came back from Germany neither could muster the courage to talk to the other. Mostly Emmet was scared that the perfect marriage he had envisioned for the two of them would be shattered if their issues were brought to light.
So instead they avoided one another, which was easy for Emmet as he had his job to fall back on. “You shouldn’t be eating all that butter,” a voice spoke from behind him, he turned around to find Iris Galloway in the doorway behind him, “You know dairy products hurt your stomach.”
He smirked, slightly. Then he turned back to his breakfast, “What are you doing back so early Iris, I thought you were going out?”
“I’m moving out.” She corrected.
Emmet looked up, he tried to process the words in his head. Then he turned back to her, Iris had already found herself a seat at the island in the kitchen. “What do you mean that you’re moving out? Did you find another job? I wasn’t aware that you were planning on anything so suddenly.”
There was fear in his voice. Trying to compose himself he watched as she seemed to search for the right words to continue the conversation. “Iris, things between us... they’re-”
“You don’t have to explain yourself Emmet,” She replied painfully, “I know that I screwed up everything between the two of us by not telling you about Lucy being in town. Then I did it again by not telling you her plans with Frank -- although to be fair I had no idea she was kidnapping him! But still... We can’t stay in the same house.”
“Why not?” Emmet frowned.
Iris looked up at him, confused. “Emmet, have you heard the way you spoke to me during the trip to Germany? Everything you said to me leading up to finding Frank Nelson was distasteful -- albeit I deserved a lot of it -- but it should have been from a stranger, not someone who claimed they were in love with me. I just figured me moving out now would be better for the both of us to move on. I don’t think you love me in the way that you did before. At least... not anymore.”
He couldn’t deny the way he had treated her, Emmet knew it was wrong and many people had warned him to not dig into her so harshly. But he was angry with Iris at the time for how bad she helped make the situation. He sighed, “The way I treated you was wrong.”
“Let’s not get into it.” Iris stood from her seat.
“Where would you go?” He asked.
She shrugged. “Back home with my folks?”
“But you hate your parents,” He reminded her, he looked at her quizzically and full of remorse. “There’s no way that I can let you go and be miserable with your parents just because of some decisions that you made. Iris, stay in Stone Creek and stay with me until you can get another job-”
“Emmet-”
“No.” Emmet plead. “Don’t leave just yet Iris, promise you won’t.”
[.....]
Scene Six:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Police Station; Chief Wilkinson’s Office
Greta Wilkinson stepped back into her father’s office and shook her head. “Miles called back but he said that he couldn’t get a hold of Cassie. Daddy, I don’t really understand what she has to do with Rodney Burnett, but Miles expressed that he is worried about her.”
“Alright,” Gideon shook his head, there was a panic in his eyes that worried Greta to the core, “Listen darling, I need you to go to the hospital and stay by Miles’ side. I’ll have officer Pierce tag along with you and stand guard just to be safe. I don’t want either of you to leave her sight, you hear me?”
She shook her head in agreement, gathering her things from the nearest chair. “But what are you going to do daddy? I still have no clue why you wanted me to call Miles. That man who brought the flowers for mom, who is he and does he have a connection to Rodney?”
Daphne Wilkinson perked up at the question, she too wanted to know.
“I just need you to stay with Miles at the hospital, the two of you will be safe there.” Gideon turned his attention to Daphne and took her hands in his. “Which means I am going to get you an armed guard and the two of you are going back to the house. I already had Bentley join my mother there.”
“I don’t like this at all, Gideon.”
Greta cleared her throat, “I agree with mom.”
“If my hunch is right,” Gideon licked his lips in worry, “then the man on that screen has already made contact with Cassie Lakhani. I have to make sure that she is alright, do you understand that? It’s imperative that you both stick to this plan and keep in contact with each other. I’ll call the both of you when I have more information.”
Daphne nodded her head and hugged her husband. “Okay, okay... I’ll be at home if either of you need me. Just call my cellphone.”
“Who was the guy on the tapes?” Greta demanded.
“Callum Lakhani,” Gideon answered, both women looked at him in confusion, “He’s Cassie’s twin brother. That’s the man who shot the two of them at the New Years Eve Ball. I don’t know what his connection is to Rodney but I think we’re all about to find out. I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him darling-”
Greta shook her head, she brushed her dark hair back. “I chose not to see Callum face-to-face after you revealed him as the shooter... I told Cassie not to get involved with him... I warned her that he could be dangerous!”
“Well lets just pray that she’s alright.” Gideon pulled his daughter into a hug and kissed her forehead. Each family member had a job to do and after the briefing, and saying their goodbyes, all three headed out of the office and on separate routes.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Thurlow Lumber Mill Building; James Thurlow’s Office
James Thurlow looked across the table at the man before him. “Now that we have most of the paperwork filed away, I want to welcome you to the team,” he delivered a handshake to Reichen Calbourne. He was most proud of his latest accomplishment. Getting another body in the Financial Department of the company would assure James that no future problems, like what happened during Frank’s kidnapping, would happen again. “If you would like to meet with Frank Nelson this week I can arrange that.”
“I would like to meet with Mr. Nelson, but first I have a question for you James.” Reichen spoke, he left James intrigued at the statement. “No disrespect because I am honored that you considered -- and hired me -- for this position but I have to ask, why?”
The older man leaned back in his chair and found amusement in Reichen’s humbleness. “I need a man that knows what he is doing.”
Reichen shook his head. “But why me? There are countless other men and women who would die for this chance to work for Thurlow Enterprises. You could have had anybody in the field -- some more qualified than myself, from what I understand.”
James eye’d the man sitting across from him. It was true that if he had sought out every qualified person for the Financial Position it would have taken James weeks to get through every possible candidate. He even knew that Reichen wouldn’t be amongst the top twenty most qualified resumes, “Because, Reichen, I know how much you want to get back into the business.”
“I know about your past and I also know that even though you struggled with drug and alcohol abuse that you were one of the most sought after men in Cuttlebone City.” James leaned forward and smirked. “I think every man needs a second chance and I believe this is yours. I’m one to root for the under dog.”
“So you think I might fail?” Reichen asked, he gulped.
His new boss shook his head. “No, not at all... Reichen, I chose you because I know you would fight tooth and nail to succeed and quite frankly, that’s what I need in my company right now. Those other people would simply be complacent with working here.”
“Then I thank you for taking a chance.”
“I can have a meeting set up between Frank Nelson and yourself for later this week,” James looked down at his desk and sifted through some files. Once he found the necessary page he lifted it up and read it to himself. He then looked back at Reichen. “How does Wednesday at 8 o’clock in the morning sound?”
Reichen nodded, “That sounds perfect.”
“Then it’s settled. Again, welcome to the team.”
[.....]
Scene Eight:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina Thurlow’s Home
“Are you still working for Patrick Sutton?” Marina asked Ryan, her words trailed off as her hands caressed the man’s trimmed chest. She had wanted to ask him that question ever since they started talking about her job but kept putting it off until later down-the-line. Now she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.
Ryan looked down at her. “I am. Why?”
She hesitated to go on with the explanation, but found the courage to do so. “Well I mean, he’s not exactly the most trustworthy guy in Stone Creek. Even against my better judgement I don’t think that I could ever work for that man Ryan. He’s done a lot to my family in the past-”
“Which is the past.” Ryan defended. “Is there anything that he’s done currently to you?”
Marina crawled up onto her knees. “He convinced Caitlyn that Abigail Jenkins was her daughter, Danielle, which you have to admit is pretty sleazy on his part.”
“That was nearly two years ago.” Ryan guided her back down closer to him; she leaned her head against his chest and placed her hands on his torso. “You can’t hold that against him, especially since it was Damien Crenshaw who kept that lie going. Besides, I asked you if Patrick had done anything to you recently -- not Caitlyn.”
She frowned. “That’s still devious.”
“Says the girl who aired out Caitlyn’s dirty laundry -- and her own ex. boyfriend’s, might I add -- just to get a story,” Ryan replied. Marina looked up at him aghast that he would bring up her past. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. All I am saying is that we all have things that we’ve done that we’re not proud of. Nobody is perfect.”
“I get what you’re saying.” Marina had to admit; silently she wondered if Ryan was right about Patrick not being an entirely horrible person. But she also knew some of his backstory and the things that happened between him and her aunt Shannon.
Ryan kissed Marina’s forehead. “Besides, it pays the bills.”
Finally it had seemed that Ryan was becoming a grown-up and Marina couldn’t have been more thrilled. She brushed her leg across his legs and thought about how much it turned her on. How finally she didn’t have to worry so much about their future being completely on her. In that moment she wanted to jump on him and have sex.
But this was their first intimate time together since Ian had left and she didn’t want to ruin it with sex and she knew they would have plenty of time for that. So instead she just lay there, her head on his chest and his heart creating the perfect background noise.
“Do you want breakfast?” He asked.
Marina nodded her head. “I’m starving.”
“Alright then, once we get out of this bed we should go get breakfast.” The sentence came faster than she had wanted it to. Because despite the fact that she was entirely too hungry, all Marina wanted to do was stay in bed with Ryan all day and not worry about a thing. So she lingered there, and by the way that Ryan didn’t protest, she figured he had the same mindset as well.
She smiled, warmly.
[.....]
Scene Nine:
549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope’s Home
“Are you sure it’s supposed to look like that?” Bentley questioned; both he and his grandmother looked into the pot of chicken soup, each with their own expression on their face. There were many things that his grandmother was great at. Penelope Wilkinson could keep her own in a drinking race with sailors, stand-up for anything she believed in against even her most determined rivals, and she raised three successful children -- but cooking while she was drunk... “Should I order pizza?”
Penelope looked at Bentley with a wry expression on her face. “Young man, that is extremely rude of you -- maybe we should get a pineapple pizza.” She chuckled, taking another sip of the wine she found in the cabinet. She turned to him and smiled. “I’m sorry about all the things that have happened-”
“Don’t.” Bentley said, he looked at his grandmother pleadingly. It was the most he could say without falling apart over what had happened to Emily. They sat in silence before he continued. “I just... it’s hard, but I’m making due. I’m making due and I would really not like to talk about it.”
“That’s understandable.” Penelope replied. “So let’s talk about something else. The other day when I was visiting you I noticed that you were drawing again. It’s nice Benny -- I think it’s nice -- your grandfather... he liked to paint when he had free time. Which was hardly ever after he became the Chief of Police.”
Bentley smirked. “Really? I didn’t know this.”
He watched as his grandmother glowed in a distant memory, after his grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's it was like he became a forbidden word that nobody was allowed to speak. Wether it was for his own benefit or for theirs, Bentley didn’t know.
“Yeah,” Penelope lowered her voice, “There’s a lot of things that you kids haven’t learned about your grandfather. Did you know that when you were a baby he would sing this lullaby to you... your parents -- don’t tell them I told you this, they would kill me -- they had such a hard time getting you to sleep... so they would drive here and your grandfather would sing you to sleep.”
“How did the lullaby go?” Bentley asked.
She smiled, “A little like this..” Penelope began to hum, she smiled when Bentley hummed along. He was somehow familiar with the tune. “You remember that?”
“Somehow... I do.” He chuckled.
The sound of the doorbell broke their conversation. “I’ll go get that.” Penelope announced, she turned back to the stove. “Bentley, go ahead and order us a pineapple pizza, I’m already older than the dinosaurs I shouldn’t be worrying about my weight at this point. I should be worried about fossilizing.”
Penelope turned the corner and entered the living room, clean from her conversation about Grady. She was now aware of how she would keep the man that she married in her life. There was no way to get him back, no way to go to see him and ask him to rid himself of his sickness. But she could tell her grandchildren -- and great grandchildren about him. About the man who loved her.
She opened the door, “Cassie? What are you doing here?” Penelope asked, her face dropped when she saw the tears streaming down her face; she clutched Lucian close and behind her stood her brother Callum, a gun wielded in his hands. Penelope gulped in fear. Finally sobering up.
[.....]
Scene Ten:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Miles Fowler’s Hospital Room
“Hey, honey,” Greta Wilkinson spoke in a low whisper in case her fiance was finally able to fall asleep, she leaned into the room and found him wide-awake and glued to the television. So she turned back to her companion and motioned for her to join them in the room. Greta walked over to Miles’ bed, “My father insisted that we have Officer Pierce guard your room while we are both here.”
“You can call me Sasha,” the officer said in a tone that insisted it wasn’t the first time she had to inform Greta of this. She smirked briefly and returned to being the flower on the wall.
Greta turned from Sasha and back to Miles. “He wanted Sasha to stay close to us until they figured out what was going on at Clifton Briggs’ home... You still haven’t heard from Cassie, have you?”
“I keep getting her voicemail.” Miles replied.
He sat up in his bed and winced in pain, and Greta tended to his side. She helped him sit-up straight and fluffed his pillow for him, then she sat on the edge of his bed and patted his chest. “I think you need to take it easy for now on, I told you that you needed your rest -- your doctor instructed you to get some rest. I wish you would listen to someone.”
“I’ll listen to you,” He smirked, “I think while I was walking around the other day I just strained myself. But I’m fine now Greta, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m just glad to have you back and away from that man -- if I ever see him again-”
“Let’s not get into that.” Greta hushed him.
Miles lowered his head, then he looked up and caught her eye. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She replied, being held captive by Rodney Burnett caused Greta to see life in a new light and she wasn’t going to waste a moment with Miles, anymore. From here on out she would put everything on the line for her relationship. She ran a hand through his hair and smiled.
“Sasha,” Miles began, he turned to the redheaded woman, “would you leave us alone for a moment?” Greta tilted her head and wondered what her fiance had on his mind. “I would really like to talk to my fiance alone, I know you’d understand.”
She shook her head and reminded the two of them that she would be outside if they needed her. Once Sasha had left the room, Miles held Greta’s hand. “We need to talk about our future... We’ve talked about moving in together and then we did it, then we struggled on the topic of having children -- and then my promotion to detective at the station... But now I think we need to talk about getting married.”
“What are you saying?”
“Will you marry me?” He asked.
Greta chuckled. “I already agreed to this answer, Miles, I have no idea why you would bring it up again. Of course I will marry you! That shouldn’t be something you’d have to ask me again. I know I’ve been wishy-washy in the past but this time is different. One day I will be married to you and I’ll share your last name.”
“Lets make that day... now.” His voice broke.
Greta looked at him stunned, unsure of what to say. Of course she wanted to marry Miles Fowler, that was all she could think about when Rodney held her hostage. But she didn’t think he would ask for her to marry him now... without her family present... and at a hospital. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t wait any longer, Greta. We keep telling each other we will get married soon and then something happens! I spent months in a coma and you were held hostage by a lunatic for heavens sake!” He chuckled. “I don’t want us to have this long engagement of mishaps.”
“So you think if we get married then nothing bad will ever happen again?” She asked, curious of his answer.
Miles chuckled. “If only it was that easy. But no, I don’t think bad things will stop happening to us. At least, though, if we are married then when the bad things happen we will have each other and no regrets... I understand you want your family around, I sort of figured that would be your argument.”
“I’m not arguing to anything quite yet.”
He reached for her other hand and held them both together. “One day we will have a marvelous wedding -- one that you dreamed of as a little girl. But right now, let me have your hand in marriage. Legally be my wife.”
“Okay.” She beamed through tear stained eyes. “I... Oh Miles, of course I will do it. If anything taught me to count my blessings it was being in the basement held against my will.” Greta embraced her fiance, then excused herself to go call a priest. Once she was outside his hospital room and passed Sasha’s range of vision, Greta leaned against a wall and started to cry.
Greta was finally getting the chance to marry Miles, but without her family and friends, she was terrified that it might create bad luck and that was the last thing she wanted.
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
1509 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Briggs Home]
Clifton, Cassie & Lucian’s Home
Chief Gideon Wilkinson drew his gun upon noticing that the Briggs’ front door was left unlocked and open. He cautiously entered the hallway and noticed his reflection in a huge body mirror that hung on an opposite wall and for the first time he noticed the fear in his face. He just hoped that what he found inside the house wasn’t grim. Gideon heard a noise coming from the living room and held his gun close.
Upon entering it, however, he relaxed and safely put his gun away once he found Clifton Briggs shuffling on the floor in the living room. “Are you alright, Clifton?” Gideon asked, coming to his rescue. He helped the other man onto the couch and looked him over for any wounds. There were none, other than a bruise on Clifton’s temple -- possibly from a surprise attack.
“Is anyone else in the house?” Gideon asked.
But Clifton just looked up at Gideon in a daze. Whatever was running through the man’s mind wasn’t much and if he knew who attacked him or if they were still in the house, Gideon knew that Clifton wouldn’t be able to help him. So instead he called an ambulance and instructed Clifton to stay on the couch while he checked the remainder of the house.
Knowing that Rodney was on the loose, Gideon didn’t put anything past him. The attack on Clifton should have ended in his death -- if Gideon knew a thing or two about Rodney, it was that he hardly ever left a victim alive. Which meant that Clifton had to be attacked by someone else.
Gideon turned into the kitchen and found nothing of interest in the room. The only other person who would have attacked Clifton seemed to be Callum Lakhani. Rodney had no reason to disturb Clifton or Cassie, they weren’t around when he terrorized the Wilkinson’s the first time. How Rodney and Callum were connected still made no sense, so Gideon tried to keep his mind open and his eyes alert for any clues.
“Chief Wilkinson!” A voice shouted from the front of the house, he stopped in his tracks until he heard his named called once again. He doubled back down the hallway and into the living room where he found a more cohesive Clifton sitting up and alert. “Wh-Where is Lucian... have you found my son yet?”
There had been no sign of either Lucian or Cassie in the house, “We need to get you to the hospital... I already called an ambulance Clifton. I think we should just wait here until it comes. I promise, we will make sure that Cassie and Lucian are alright.”
“He... god damn it!” Clifton’s face grew red. “God damn it! That asshole snuck up on me... I came down to get a b-bottle for Lucian. He was crying and it was my turn... my son, I don’t know if he heard Lucian crying.” He tried to lift himself off the couch but fell back onto it. “I think Lucian is still in his crib... go check, please?”
“Do you know who attacked you?” Gideon asked, kneeling beside Clifton.
The man shook his head, he turned away from Clifton and lowered his head. “No... I didn’t see his face. But he was in control of the situation... I don’t know h-how he got in. But he did...” Clifton huffed, his breath short and scarce. “I... I think it was Callum... I think it was Cassie’s brother.”
Gideon was afraid that it might have been him, he patted Clifton’s back. The answers they were both looking for didn’t seem like they would come from the Briggs home. He only hoped that Cassie and Lucian were safe. Wherever they were.
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope’s Home
The car ride to her home was nerve-racking for Daphne. It was a drive that she made many times before but because of the news she received at the police station and the vagueness of her husband’s plan, by the time Daphne and her armed guard parked his police car near the curb she was anxious to just get inside and see her family. The sight of the falcon grey home relaxed her, Daphne stepped out of the car and with the officer at her side she walked up to the driveway.
“You can proceed inside, ma’am,” the officer started, he began to head towards the back of the house, “I’ve been instructed to check the grounds for anything suspicious.”
Daphne frowned. “Do you think you’ll find anything?”
He shook his head. “Most of the time the suspect in question has already fled town. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about once I secure the outside of your home. After I do that then I’ll be right outside in my car if you need anything....” Daphne nodded her head. “If you do call 911 from your home phone, I’ll get the call and be right in at a moments notice, how does that sound?”
“That sounds comforting.” Daphne replied, she watched him head towards the back and for a moment thought of inviting him inside... but knew it wouldn’t matter since her son and mother-in-law would be in there already. Surely they would know if someone invaded the house.
She peered at the house from the driveway and smiled. Once she turned back to check on the officer he was already gone and making his rounds. So to keep herself from being exposed on the front lawn, Daphne headed inside her home and was ready to greet her family with the news she had.
“Don’t move a muscle.” A voice instructed after Daphne closed the door behind herself. She froze in place, in fear she had dropped her purse but clutched onto her house keys -- tight in a fist. It happened so fast that Daphne wasn’t even able to clearly back track when anyone had the time to step behind her with a gun.
Slowly the voice led her into the living room where three familiar faces sat; Cassie Lakhani was the closest to her, on the edge of the couch she sat gagged with tears in her eyes and her son Lucian -- somehow asleep -- in her arms, next to her was her mother-in-law, Penelope Wilkinson who -- while being gagged as well -- looked Daphne dead in the eyes. When she was able to tear her eyes away from Penelope, Daphne’s lip trembled at the sight of her son Bentley, he seemed to have taken a slight beating and his hands were tied by rope and a gag around his mouth.
“Wh-what,” Daphne mumbled, her voice recovering from the fear, “is going on here... Please don’t hurt anyone... I beg you...”
The tears didn’t have time to hit the floor when bravely, Daphne remember that the officer was in the backyard and close enough to hear her shout. She spun around without warning and scraped her keys against the man’s cheek. The gun fell from his hand, in which he used his hand to hold his now bleeding cheek.
Daphne made a dash for the kitchen, eager to get the help her family desperately needed. Checking to see if the man was behind her she didn’t have time to brace herself when she ran smack into someone else and tumbled to the floor. “Officer! I need help!” She shrieked; Daphne looked up and shook her head.
Standing there in front of her was the man she hoped to never see again in her life. “Oh my gosh,” Daphne gasped, crawling backwards and finally getting to her feet. Rodney Burnett smirked when she turned to run in the opposite direction, only to bump into the man from earlier.
Now she could put a face to his voice. “Callum?”
“Son.” Rodney beamed.
Daphne looked between both men and cried in terror. There was no way that sweet Cassie Lakhani was related to the man that ruined her life or the man who shot Miles Fowler at the New Years Eve ball. Daphne fainted when her mind tried to make sense of the entire situation.
[.....]
[.....]
Scene Thirteen:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Jeremy Joplin’s Office
In his office, Jeremy Joplin looked up from the monthly allowances for the hospital and noticed that his phone had a couple missed messages. It wasn’t a new issues since Jeremy was usually busy at this time of the day anyhow doing a lot of paperwork. He would turn his phone to silent and leave his pager on -- in case of emergencies. He shuffled through the missed calls until he found himself stalled by one; Penelope Wilkinson, she had called early in the morning.
Jeremy placed his phone back on his desk and looked around the office. Then he looked back at the phone. The last conversation they had was before he drove her home they day he accompanied her to see her husband, Grady at the institution. Penelope had yelled at him for being insensitive -- which he could see why she would have thought that. But it wasn’t his intention.
The air in the hospital was as stale today as the fresh air was after the argument he had with Penelope. All Jeremy could recall was waiting in his car for hours until the woman was ready to leave and then sitting through a silent car ride home. Was Jeremy in the wrong? In some points, he knew he was. Jeremy was wise enough to know that he shouldn’t have agreed to accompany Penelope to see her current husband. But she was also wrong to invite him and that was the point he had wanted to make.
Their argument seemed so unworthy of him ignoring replying to her voicemail, but instead he looked away from the phone and returned to his paperwork. There would be other days for him to call her, for them to meet up and talk about what went down between them. Jeremy just didn’t have the time to argue with her in the near future as he had barely enough time to focus on his workload.
He flipped to the next page of a packet and covered his phone in the process.
[.....]
Scene Fourteen:
549 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Wilkinson Cottage]
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope’s Home
“She really did a number on you,” Rodney Burnett squealed as his son, Callum Lakhani, sat across from him on a stool in the living room. He tended to his wounded cheek with a wet rag and angrily stole glances at his father and then at Daphne Wilkinson.
She made it her purpose to stare at the floor. Daphne’s mouth appeared gagged just like the other’s in the room, her arms tied with rope and rested on her knees as she sat between her mother-in-law and her youngest child, Bentley. Tears streamed down her cheeks and puddled into her lap.
Rodney Burnett walked over to her -- with the gun, he lifted her head. “Please tell me why you didn’t look so happy to see me, darling,” She tried to hide her head, but Rodney pushed the gun in her way, stopping the action, “I’m going to take the gag off your mouth, Daphne, so please don’t scream.”
When Rodney leaned closer, eliminating as much space between the two, he pointed the gun at Bentley’s head, he felt the boy move defensively. “Don’t make me shoot Gideon’s spawn, alright?” The man breathed, he untied the gag and moved back. A wicked smile on his face. “Now lets play some games, you’d like that? Wouldn’t we? Like a family night, one that you’ve owed me for a very long time.”
“We’re not family.” Daphne spit.
“You helped me kill two police officers,” Rodney informed Daphne, “We pretty much are.”
She withdrew from his sight. “I’ve never killed anybody... Rodney, you have me mistaken for someone else. Just, untie everyone else and let them go... You don’t want them, you don’t want Cassie or Penelope or...” Daphne began to cry as Rodney raised the gun once again.
He shook his head in disagreement. “Nobody is going anywhere. Besides, the games have just started, oh and don’t count on your little police officer friend to call for reinforcements... we sort of had an encounter in the backyard, let’s just say he’s out of commission.”
“Rodney...”
“Like I said, Daphne,” He licked his lips, pleased with himself, “You helped me kill two police officers. Do you remember Mike? Your pathetic husband hired him to protect you from me the first time and we all know how that ended up... why would he send another police officer to his grave? Let me tell you, it’s that husband of yours that deserves my next bullet.”
Daphne turned to Callum. “Callum, please talk some sense into him.”
Rodney cackled at her feeble attempts. “Please, my son won’t listen to anybody but me! Daphne, just face it!” He pointed the gun into her face. “There’s nothing you can do anymore. Once I’ve said my peace I am leaving here, with my son,” he pointed the gun at her chest, “with your heart,”
Then Rodney turned to his daughter and caught her eye, Cassie began to tremble and held Lucian tighter to her body, “And my grandson.” He snickered. Lucian woke up from his slumber and began to faintly cry.
Cassie’s shouts were muffled. She tried to turn away from her father but because her legs were tied together she had limited room to move. She shifted uncomfortably and was able to peer at her brother -- who was still tending to his wound, oblivious to the entire conversation.
“Now,” Rodney pointed the gun around the room. “Who is first?”
[.....]
Scene Fifteen:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Miles Fowler’s Hospital Room
Greta Wilkinson looked into her future husband’s eyes. She saw nothing but comfort in his deep baby blue eyes and didn’t want to look away. Which was good because if she were to have looked at the priest or Sasha Pierce, Greta was sure she would have fumbled over her words. She had listened to Miles promise nothing but to protect Greta from that day forward, he promised that he would love her, take care of her and stand by her while reaching her dreams.
The words that emptied themselves out of Miles’ mouth and filled her heart only added to the comfort of the dim hospital room and the candles that glossed her vision. She watched ash Miles slipped her engagement ring onto her right ring finger and looked back up at her. She gulped.
“Greta,” the priest called, she snapped out of her thoughts and nervously looked at the older man in his black collared shirt. “Greta, it’s your turn to repeat after me...” He waited for her to acknowledge him and then he continued, “I take you, Miles Fowler...”
She grasped Miles’ hands and trembled the words back to him, “I take you, Miles Fowler...”
“To be my friend, my lover and my husband. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness...” The priest continued.
Even with the constant beeping of the heart monitor in Miles’ room, everything fell silent as Greta continued to repeat the words the priest had spoke, “... and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow...”
“... In times of failure and in times of triumph...”
The room grew darker as Greta only focused in on her future husband’s face and tears began to stream down her face. She had wanted a moment like this to happen for so long that now that it was here she wanted to enjoy it as it began to zoom past her. She was perplexed with so many overwhelming emotions. “.... I promise to cherish you and to respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you...”
“... From this day forward for as long as we both shall live...”
“... From this day forward for as long as we both shall live.” Greta echoed, her voice shaky as she slipped the ring onto Miles’ finger and struggled to look down at it briefly. She looked back up at her husband and waited for the priest to finish the ceremony. Miles’ lips closed the space between the two of them, and Greta did the same. They kissed with Sasha clapping in the background.
Sasha approached the two of them and congratulated each with a hug, the door to the room swung open and everyone turned around to see Gideon Wilkinson in the doorway. “Oh my gosh, daddy!” Greta screamed, she rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What happened? Is Cassie alright?”
“What’s a priest doing in here?” Gideon asked, he locked eyes with Miles Fowler.
The man pressed his lips together. “We got married.” Greta announced from Gideon’s side. She walked back over to Miles and took her hands in his. “I hope you understand that I couldn’t wait this time... I had to do it,” She stole a glance at Miles, “We had to do it.”
“I hope you’re not mad, sir,” Miles spoke up.
Gideon shook his head. “I’m not... I’m just surprised. I didn’t find Cassie but I found Clifton and he’s fine now. There’s just so many things going on at one time. Did I just miss the ceremony, honey?” He turned to Greta who nodded. “I would have liked if you called me, I would have been here... I would have picked up your mother and we would have come.”
“Daddy,” Greta said, she took his head. “Right now you need to focus on everyone else. Miles and I are fine and I didn’t want to disturb you. But we felt that the timing was right for us to get married... we agreed to have a huge wedding later, for everyone else.”
His cellphone rang before he could respond and he was relieved to see that it was his wife calling. “Let me take your mother’s call and then we will discuss where we go from here, alright?” The married couple nodded their heads as Gideon greeted Sasha and then left the room.
“Daphne, how are you?” Gideon asked, he walked down the hallway.
“This isn’t Daphne,” A deep voice sneered; Gideon stopped in his tracks and his heart sank, “But if you’d like to see your wife one last time I’d hope you follow my next instructions very carefully, Gideon...”
Gideon turned back to his son-in-law’s hospital room and thought twice before re-entering the room. He couldn’t break-up their happiness just yet so instead he continued down the hall and continued his conversation with Rodney Burnett.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
+Word starts to spread about the hostage situation at the Wilkinson home.
+Helen Schmidt makes a move that could cost her the house in her divorce.
+While Aidan Jurado gets to know another side of Taylor Kern.
+A showdown raises the stakes and someone is shot in the mix...
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