"Um...Dixie? Hey hon. look, I know I sound like a broken record here, but this is all gonna be okay. I promise. Right Erin? Erin!"
"What? Oh...oh yeah Dixie, definitely. You have nothing to worry about." Erin tried to be encouraging, but was too confused to be confident that what Simone was saying was true.
"Holy cow. You guys really weren't lying."
"Well Jen, you know it's kinda frowned upon up here." Simone joked as Jenny came over and gave Dixie a hug.
"How the...This is crazy."
"Believe me I know."
Dixie said with a shy smile, but just received nervous looks from everyone else.
"Okay, what is wrong here? What's with all the whispering and muttering behind my back? I'm dead, I get it. But can someone please tell me why it's the most bizarre thing in the world"
"Um, well..."
"Whoa, no way. Dixie!"
"Will! Oh my God!" Dixie said as she gave her brother a huge hug.
"I can't believe this? What happened to...no, never mind, you look like you don't wanna think about it."
"Very observant. God Will, I missed you so much. You should've seen me after you got killed. I came so close to joining you here back then."
"I know you did. Actually I know everything that happened to you. I've always been looking out for you Dixie. It's my job."
"Well I appreciate it, Will. Very much. You're the best big brother a girl could hope for. Really."
"I'm just so happy. Ma and I, we just missed you so much. And now, now you're back with us again Dixie. We'll take care of you now. You're home."
"No.." Dixie said sadly as she glanced back down on her family and friends in Pine Valley.
"That's my home Will. Right there on Holland Avenue. In that little house with the beat furniture and more junk than a landfill. My home's with Jr and Jamie. They'd be coming over to eat chocolate chip cookies with their little sister, and then all of would be taking her and Little A to the park.
Home for me, well. It's going to the Crystal Ball with Tad and watching fireworks on the Fourth of July together. It's helping out patients at PVH with Joe and it's Christmas Eve singing carols at Wildwind. My kids and my friends, and Tad, they're my home Will. And that's not gonna change no matter how long I'm up here."
"Oh c'mon Dix. You may have family down there, but you still have me and Mom here for you. You know we care about you right?"
"No, you don't get it. I have a daughter down there, and her father doesn't even know she's in the same state as him. My family needs me Will!"
"Are you really sure about that?"
"Sure about what?"
"Your family. Are you sure they're gonna definitely come through for you"?
"What are you getting at?" Dixie said defensively.
"How come they haven't done a thing for you as far as a funeral is concerned?"
"Oh c'mon now Will! It happened three days ago for crying out loud. It hasn't even sunk in for them yet that I'm gone. They're still in shock. Plus there's only the fact there's a cold blooded serial killer on the loose down there who's nowhere to be found."
"Hmm, funny. I don't see that as their top priority here."
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look for yourself."
Will said as he gestured down to the Chandler Mansion.
"Oh J.R." Dixie said sadly as she saw her son sitting in her room with Babe.
"Now how can you tell what's going through his head. You can't even hear what he's saying"
"Okay fine. Come with me"
Will said as he took Dixie by the hand, and before she knew it they were standing in the very spot they just saw from up above.
"Babe, I need you to tell me the truth. What do you know?"
"About what?" Dixie asked curiously.
"About a certain last request."
"Okay, Dixie was right." Babe whispered. "Momma's baby is really Tad's."
"Oh my God."
"Now what J.R. Who's life are you gonna destroy?"
"Babe I..."
"J.R, I'm begging you, If this news gets out to Adam, you're gonna destroy his world, and my momma's. Do you really want to wreck their lives?"
"But what about Tad? You can't make me choose between them! They're both my dads Babe. I can't choose one over the other. How can you even consider it?"
"Look J.R. Look at how happy Adam and Momma are together. Little Charlotte means the world to him and my mom."
"But Tad needs this baby too Babe! It was my mom's dying wish that he know the truth."
"I know that J.R, but Dixie stopped herself from telling Tad for Adam and Momma's sake."
"What the...How dare she! You better get you facts straight Ms Carey. I didn't tell the truth 'cause Tad and I had hope again we would find our baby! Not to protect Adam Chandler of all people, and I certainly wasn't doing this for you and your momma's benefit Babe! I can't believe what I'm hearing! Don't go spewing your lies to my son! You've done enough of that for three lifetimes!" Dixie said angrily.
"You do know she can't hear you right?" Will asked.
"Oh, she doesn't know how lucky she is that I'm stuck here right now."
"C'mon J.R, what Tad doesn't know can't hurt him, but it will hurt your dad and my mom."
"Why I oughta..."
"I...I suppose that you're..."
"What J.R?"
"You're, right."
"Oh no, baby, please. No."
"It's the right choice."
"No it's not! No, J.R please! No!" Dixie begged.
"How can he...No!"
"C'mon Dixie lets go."
"How could he do this?" Dixie whispered. "No, wait. He, he wouldn't do this. No, he'll...he'll tell Tad. I know he will, I know my son. He just wasn't thinking straight. How can he with her standing right there, right! No, he promised me this, Will. Jr. won't disappoint me, I'm sure of it."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm positve. Can we go and look ahead a bit? I wanna prove to you that your nephew is gonna follow through with this."
"Well I...You sure? What am I saying, of course you're sure. Alright, c'mon."
Will then took his sister by the hand, and then Dixie found herself in the boardroom of Chandler Enterprises.
"Gosh, does your family do anything but fight?" Will asked as he saw J.R and Babe exchanging some harsh words.
"J.R, I'm trying to do this as civilly as possible. Now I think it would be best if we had join custody of our son"
"Best for who, exactly? I don't want Madden ever coming near my son."
"Whoa, this coversation sounds strangely familiar"
"Excuse me"
"C'mon now. We've got a sweet ol' country girl, an Adam Chandler, and an annoyingly persistent Martin. See the similarities?"
"Uh, no, don't even go there. Babe Carey has never been just an innocent farm girl, far from it actually. And Josh prefers going by Madden. Has navigating all these otherworldly dimensions messed with your head? Do we need to stop by Oak Haven?"
"Don't go that far!"
"Well then don't go comparing my son to Adam Chandler!" Dixie said angrily.
"Okay, okay. Lets just listen and see if your predictions for Junior come true."
"Babe I...I didn't want to have to do this this way, but you leave me no choice. Now unless you give full custody of Little Adam, I will have no choice but to resort to some other methods."
"J.R you wouldn't."
"I can and will use the very helpful information about your mother's little one nighter with Tad resulting in Charlotte, unless you give me custody of my son."
"No..."
Dixie whispered, sounding as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She just stood there with tears in her eyes, totally stunned. Desperately she looked into J.R's eyes, hoping to see the love and the warmth that was there before, the look she had seen each day with the little boy she had raised.She was hoping to see that flicker of light that was always there when he was happiest. But to her dismay, all she could see were icy blue eyes, full of nothing but coldness and emptiness. And in that moment her greatest fear had just become reality. She'd looked at her son, and saw nobody but Adam staring right back. Her son had become just as ruthless and vindictive, acting the same way Adam had with her way back when. But that image wasn't even what scared her the most, it was the fact there was nothing she could do to change it. She felt powerless, like she'd failed, and just wanted nothing more than to go back wherever she had come from. Then Will, sensing this had been enough, took Dixie's hand and they vanished .
As J.R unpacked his briefcase, he suddenly shuddered, feeling for a split second chilled to the bone, even though it was a heated office. It felt almost like a ghost had just given him the cold shoulder, literally.