"Matthew Buchanan and Destiny Evans?" The doctor looked directly at them and waited for a response.

"That's us, Doc," Maya lied with a giggle. She latched onto Noah's left arm and leaned against him.

"Just Matt is fine," Noah told him as he held a hand out. The doctor didn't shake it.

"Yes, well, I'll stay with Mr. Buchanan. As you can tell by my name tag, I am Dr. Paul Browning. What can I do for you two? I received a fax yesterday from Dr. Liesel Obrecht in Port Charles that she was referring you to Crichton-Clark."

With a nod, Maya slapped a hand to Noah's chest. "Yeah, that's right. We're looking for a long term care facility for his mama. She's this really neurotic, crazy bitch."

"We don't like to use the 'crazy' around here, Miss Evans." Dr. Browning stared at her from over his clipboard. "Our patients are all ill, be it mental or physical."

"Yeah. Right. Okay. So can we get a tour of the place to see if it's up to snuff? I mean, we only want the best for my future monster-in-law." Maya shook her head and played with her earring. "You don't have to show us where you do that electric therapy stuff, though if you decide to go ahead and do it anyway it'll be totally cool. The bitch needs a good shocking. Doesn't she, Matty?"

Rolling his eyes, Noah sighed. Maya had spent the entire car ride to the clinic coaching him on what to do. She was relieved he had learned to follow her lead: his acting was far less wooden than it had been back in Mexico.

"We don't perform ECT here except as a last resort, Miss Evans." Dr. Browning clicked his pen and made a note on his clipboard. "But very well, I'll give you two a very brief and limited tour of the facility. We need to respect the privacy of our other patients."

"Well, duh. Privacy is why we're here. We don't want everyone to know Matty's mama is coo coo for cocoa - ill, I mean. Mentally ill."

"Yes. Very well then. Follow me."

Dr. Browning made sure to keep Noah and Maya close and point out the security cameras in every hallway. He droned on about medical jargon she didn't understand and poor Noah looked even more lost.

They stopped to talk more about security and Maya kicked Noah's shoe. It was her signal for him to speak up.

"Yes, about security: where are the guards, Dr. Browning? We saw the guy by the entrance, but nobody else. I need to know my mom will be safe here."

Maya never heard what the less-than-good doctor's answer was. She quietly slipped away and inched towards the nearest door with a sliding viewing panel. She opened it and had to bite back a gasp.

"Miss Evans, please," Dr. Browning slid the panel shut again. "Privacy is for everyone here, not just your mother-in-law, should you elect to use our services."

Stepping back, Maya tried to control her thudding heart. "Sorry, Doc. Girls are just curious by nature. I'll be good from now on. I just really wanted to see what the rooms look like."

"Oh? Well, let me show you an empty one. This way." As Dr. Browning motioned for them to follow, Maya tried to send Noah a message with her eyes, but he was just lost.

They walked to another hallway and Dr. Browning pulled off his badge and ran it through a card reader. The door slid open and all three stepped inside.

"How do you close it?" Maya asked, noticing there was no card reader on the inside of the room. Noah still looked confused because they were supposed to be doing a dry run, but after what she saw it was impossible. They had to act then and there.

"It doesn't open or close from the inside. You need an employee badge to open any door on the premises, and it only opens from the outside. A swipe of the badge will also close it."

"Thanks for the info, Doc." Maya snatched the badge from the very shocked doctor, then stepped behind Noah. "Get him."

Without time to think Noah leapt at the doctor and began pummeling him while she stuck her head out the door to look for a security guard.

"Come on!" She waved her hand at Noah and he let the doctor drop to the floor and then darted back into the hallway. She slid the badge through the card reader and the door zipped shut before he could recover.

"Why did you have me attack him? That wasn't the plan, Maya. We were going to do a tour, then get another bug from Kevin. That's what we agreed on last night."

"Thad is here," she explained as she began power walking back to the room she had seen before.

"Who?"

She stopped outside the door and looked at Noah. "Thad Pasado. The guy RJ left you for. The one who leaked the sex tape of himself and your ex and then disappeared."

Noah got angry. "Why would he be here?"

"That's what we're going to find out." Maya turned around and slid the badge. The door opened up and Maya quickly realized it was a mistake.

An obese woman in a white lab coat was pouring over notes when the door opened. She looked up and Maya noticed that there was ketchup smeared all over her face and a pickle was wedged between her third and fourth chins. "Are you here to rescue me?"

"Sorry. Wrong room." Maya slid the card again as the woman started waddling over to her rascal. With a shiver, Maya looked to Noah. "Let's do the next one."

The next attempt was more successful. Thad Pasado was huddled in a corner, wearing a straight jacket but apparently lucid.

"Thad?" Maya knelt down next to him while Noah kept his space. It was understandable. "You are Thad Pasado, right?"

"Maya? Is that really you? And you're with him?" Thad leaned forward as best he could and looked up at Noah, who was decidedly not looking at him. "You guys know, then."

"About Courtney? Yeah." Maya waited for Thad's nod: he didn't disappoint. "What do you know about Courtney?"

"The kid's grandfather hired us both to break them up. She went a little nuts."

That didn't make sense to Maya. "Eric would never do that."

"He means Victor," Noah corrected. He sounded pissed off but still refused to look at Thad.

"Victor Newman? He hired you and Courtney? But Courtney was dead!"

Thad groaned and tried to stand. Maya had to help him up. "It was just cash for me. I was supposed to sleep with RJ, get you guys to break up, and leave. Courtney was the long term plan. There was supposed to be a kid."

Then Noah finally did look at Thad. "Why was she pretending to be Eden? Why did you go along with it? You had a job at Forrester! How did you get in here?"

"Courtney died and your grandfather didn't want to run the risk of my flipping on him. I never left LA. I was snatched by his goons and brought wherever here is. It's been... how long has it been?" Thad was acting panicky and Maya felt bad for him despite the deception.

"You've been gone for two months, Thad. Maybe a little longer. It's September." She brushed his bangs from his forehead. "God, you don't deserve this."

"The hell he doesn't. You risked our entire plan for this asshole?" Noah was justifiably angry, but it was the wrong time. "Maya, we know Victor did it. He probably knows where the real Eden is. Let's get out of here and confront the old bastard."

"WAIT!" Thad cried out as he did his best to walk to Noah. "Eden is here. I know which room because I've seen her when they take me to the infirmary for checkups. And she's not the only one."

"What?" Noah looked at Maya and she shrugged her reply. "Who else is here that I would care about?"

"Your boyfriend's sister. The blonde one."

"Hope?" Maya gasped.

Thad nodded. "Yeah. Her. Brooke had a picture of Hope on her desk at L&M. It's how I recognized her, even if I forgot her name. Please. It's been two months. You have to help me get out of here so you can help the others."

Maya looked to Noah and he sighed before nodding in agreement. As she undid Thad's buckles, Maya kept talking. "What are you doing after we get out?"

"I should still have some money. Victor gave me a large down payment when I first came to LA to cover living expenses. I went the cheapest route possible to save the most money."

"And the sex tape? There's no way in hell RJ would voluntarily do one."

"He never knew about it," Thad admitted. "I didn't know about it until you guys brought it up just now. Victor had our places bugged with cameras and microphones. We knew that."

"We?" Noah turned to Thad as the last buckle came undone.

"Yeah. Me and Courtney. He probably edited together footage of me and RJ. He did have a lot to work with."

"He knew." Noah punched the padded wall and did his best not to scream. "The old bastard knew. He probably helped her plan it. How can someone do that to their own grandson?"

"Now isn't the time," Maya reminded him as she helped Thad out of the jacket. "Noah, we need to focus on Hope and Eden."

"Hope is closer," Thad offered as he threw the jacket to the ground and scratched at his hair. "This is way too long. At least they shaved me."

Thad wasn't wearing a shirt, so Maya made Noah give up his jacket, though it barely fit over his biceps and he couldn't get it to close. She totally got why RJ was led astray.

"Follow me." Thad stuck his head out the door. "No security guards. They're gonna see us on the cameras, though. We've gotta be fast."

Maya closed the door behind them. She and Noah followed the man, who became more and more unsure of where they were going as they wound up and down the corridors.

"This one." He stopped in front of a nondescript door that looked like all the others. "I'm 80% sure this is the right one."

Nervous, Maya stepped up to the card reader and swiped Browning's badge. The door slid open and the room was different from Thad's. The walls weren't padded, instead lined with a series of counters and cabinets, and there was a large hospital bed against the wall. As Thad had promised, Hope was in the room and strapped to the bed.

"Maya? She sounded groggy, then tilted her head. "Noah? What?"

They rushed to her bedside, but Thad stepped just inside the room and watched them.

"We're here to get you out," Maya assured her. "What happened to you?"

"RJ..." she started, and Maya's heart fell a bit when Noah stiffened beside her. Pushing through her disappointment, Maya started undoing the restraints on one of Hope's arms. "No. Not RJ. And Ivy."

It took everything Maya had not to look at Noah. She just focused on leaning across the bed to undo Hope's other arm restraint.

"What about them, Hope? My grandfather didn't have you brought here?" Noah brushed Hope's hair out of her face.

"Who? No. Nicky. He hit me. Ivy was there. She - she had to be the one. Nicky can't. He can't!" Hope made little sense and Maya ripped the IV from her arm after undoing the other arm restraint.

"Get her a bandage for that," Maya ordered Noah as she moved on to Hope's legs.

"You don't..." Hope lazily grabbed for and missed Noah's arm. He didn't move. She sounded terrified. "Nicky isn't RJ. But he is."

"What are you saying?" Noah grabbed Hope's hand. "Who is Nicky and what does he have to do with RJ? Do you mean your Uncle Nick? Because last I knew he hasn't been in LA for years."

Hope shook her head. "No. That's Nick. Nicky is RJ. But he's not. RJ has D... I... I-I-I-I-I... D-I..."

"DID?" This time was Thad. Hope looked to him, quizzical, but slowly nodded and pointed at him. "That. Yes. You are familiar. I've seen you."

The last buckle came undone.

"He's nobody," Noah assured Hope while helping her stand on unsteady feet. She was bleeding from where the IV had been. Maya bit her tongue and started looking for a bandage.

"Let me help you." Thad walked up to Maya and there started going through drawers together. She sat Browning's badge on the counter so as to better her search. Then Thad snatched it. "Thank you."

The man threw Maya into Hope and Noah, all three crashing to the floor. He ran out into the hall and by the time Maya recovered, the door was already closing.

"My Eden awaits," he told them just before the door slid shut.

"NO!" Noah screamed, running to the door and slamming his fists against the metal. It was futile and they all knew it, but he continued at it while Maya helped Hope up. "Dammit! I knew we couldn't trust him."

This couldn't be the end. Maya wouldn't let it be. She had started this thing with Noah because she didn't know what else to do with her life after Bill Spencer had outed her. The modeling and the parties, even Rick, they seemed like a lifetime ago.

Leaning a still drowsy Hope on the counter, Maya touched Noah's shoulder. "We're not done."

He was shaking and sweating. Maya brushed the back of her hand against his cheek.

"We're not done," she repeated. She smiled and he did the same. "Noah, say it."

"We're not done," he said with a nod. "Okay. What do we do?"

Then Hope spoke up. She sounded so tired. Whatever drug they'd used on her was strong. "I have an idea."

It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one they had. The worst part of it was the wait. Even though it was only five minutes, it felt like forever.

When the door slid open and the first guard walked in, Maya smashed the metal bedpan over his head and Noah jumped through the door, tackling the second into the wall. Before the first man could recover, Maya was slamming the bedpan into his head until he stopped moving. She quickly checked his pulse, determined he was okay, and then joined Noah in the hall.

He was trading blows with the guard while Dr. Browning watched, so Maya took Browning out first then helped Noah finish off the guard. They were surprised by how well it worked.

"They were armed," Noah pointed out as they dragged the two men into Hope's room. Maya took the badges of both guards and Noah took their guns. "We might need them."

"We won't," Maya assured him, throwing the bedpan at Browning's head and helping Hope out of the room. She slid one of the badges and the door closed. "Noah, do you even know how to shoot a gun?"

"No..."

"Go put them in the trash can," she ordered. He reluctantly complied.

"He said Eden?" Hope was heavy, so Noah took her from Maya.

Maya looked at Noah and he nodded. "She was a friend of RJ's. Eden was also Noah's ex. She's why we're here."

"I thought... Me?" They started walking and Maya slipped one of the badges into the back pocket of Noah's jeans.

"We didn't know about you until we found Thad," Maya explained. "We couldn't leave without you."

"Thad? He's not Thad," Hope claimed, causing Noah to almost drop her.

"What?" His voice was so tightly controlled that Maya knew he was fighting the urge to scream in Hope's face.

"I've seen him before. The doctors... They don't call him Thad. He's William."

"William? But how?" Noah mused. Maya was nervous because they weren't moving. Then he threw Hope back onto Maya. "Not William. Williams!"

Maya did her best to hold up Hope without falling over. "What are you talking about?"

"God. Now I know why he said 'my Eden' before he left. Everything makes sense now!"

He took off running and Maya had no idea what he was talking about. She did her best to follow, but she was half-dragging Hope.

They caught up with Noah two corridors over, where Thad was holding what Maya assumed to be the real Eden in a choke hold.

"You should've just stayed out of it!" Thad yelled at Noah as he squeezed Eden, whose face was red. "I'm going to take better care of her than you ever could!"

"Ricky, let her go. There's no getting out of this. If you hurt her, I'll kill you. That's a promise."

Maya could tell from the tone in Noah's voice that he was serious. She held Hope and stepped up beside Noah. "Thad, please, we don't have to do this."

Noah protectively held his arm in front of Maya. "His name isn't Thad, Maya. It isn't William, either: Hope heard wrong. His last name is Williams. Ricky Williams, to be specific, and he's insane."

"I told you that Victor hired me, that he gave me money, but that isn't all he did, Noah! He promised me Eden. She's MINE! I earned her, fair and square." The man who used to be Thad nuzzled Eden's cheek as tears ran down her face. "You won't take her from me."

"She doesn't belong to anyone," Noah countered. "I don't know if you know this, but slavery was kinda banned in the US about seventy years ago."

"A hundred and fifty," Maya corrected.

"Whatever!" Noah pointed at Ricky. "Did Victor pay for your surgery? Did he really change Courtney?"

Ricky took a step back, dragging Eden with him. "Of course he did! Look at what he did to us! Why would I lie for him? I did everything he asked and he still had me locked away like I'm some sort of lunatic. I even killed Courtney for him and all I got was thrown into a padded cell."

The adrenaline seemed to leave Noah and his shoulders slumped. "What? No. Courtney died from the fall."

"Your boyfriend was just fine. Why would she succumb to her injuries when he didn't? Your precious Victor had me clean up a loose end. We didn't need to run the risk of her saying something stupid to the police and blowing our cover." Ricky laughed darkly and Maya saw something in Eden's eyes. She'd never met the woman before, but she knew what was coming.

Eden stomped down on Ricky's foot and slammed an elbow into his gut, while Maya dropped Hope and charged at him, knocking him away from Eden. She struggled against Ricky until Noah pulled him off and threw him into a wall. They traded punches until Eden slammed a fire extinguisher into the back of Ricky's head.

"Fuck. You." Her voice was raspy, but she pointed the hose at Ricky's face and doused his unconscious form with white foam.

Leaving Eden and Noah alone, Maya slowly made her way back to where Hope had landed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine." Hope nodded and used the wall to pull herself up. "We need to go."

Maya agreed and looked at Noah and Eden, who were talking animatedly over Ricky's body.

"Who is Courtney?" Eden asked, dropping the fire extinguisher. "Noah, what do I have to do with anything? Your grandfather had me locked up in some cage for months, then had me brought here!"

"I'm so sorry," Noah pleaded. He looked as tortured as he sounded. "This never should've happened."

"Who the hell is Courtney, Noah?" Eden was pissed off.

He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ceiling. "She was my fiancee before she died. Or something. But Victor had her alive and never told me. And she impersonated you. She broke... Never mind that."

Eden cast her eyes away from Noah. "He said something about a boyfriend?"

Noah was still looking at the ceiling and didn't answer her. Maya kept her distance. They needed to leave, but the duo also needed this moment.

"It was RJ, wasn't it?" Eden didn't sound angry, hurt, or anything else Maya could readily recognize. "I haven't seen or heard from anybody since I visited him in LA. I was snatched in an airport in Denver, trying to get to my connecting flight."

"Your family thinks you're dead," Noah told her evasively. "Kevin might... He might know something, but Michael and Lauren and the others are clueless."

"That's not an answer, Noah Newman." Eden pressed a finger to his chest. Maya and Hope just watched and listened. "Were you involved with RJ?"

He chewed on his bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah. For awhile. A few months ago in LA, and a few years before that in Paris."

"Paris? It wasn't-" she started to ask before he cut her off.

"No, Eden. It was after you left to go back to Genoa City. RJ and I got close. We spent nearly a year together. I never cheated on you." He finally looked into her eyes. "I could never cheat on you."

Maya's heart sank into her stomach as Eden reached out to touch his face. He stepped away.

"I'm sorry."

Dropping her hand, Eden faked a smile. "No. It's okay. You still came to save me. If you're happy with RJ, then I'm happy for you."

"But I'm not..." And Noah looked to Maya. Her heart leapt from her stomach to her throat. He walked to her and grabbed her hands. Then he kissed her and she melted into his arms.

"Leave," Hope reminded them. Noah and Maya broke apart and she wiped her lipstick from the edges of his mouth.

"Yeah," Maya nodded. "We are."

Then she cast a glance to Eden, who was not looking at them. And Maya looked to Ricky but he was gone. Only foam remained on the floor where the madman was supposed to be.

"She's right. We need to leave, and now."