Victor's phone rang just as Henderson finished putting out an assortment of pies for dessert. "Like all good things, peace and quiet must come to an end," Victor announced. "I have to take this."

"Of course."

Victor went into the living room. Maggie stood in the doorway between the two rooms, watching him.

"Dr. Kirsch!" Victor smiled. "I'd ask you how your flight was, but I have little patience for small talk at the best of times, and certainly not now, when time is of such importance. Yes, the boy in question is my grandson. His father's staying with him in the hospital. Well, you'd have to ask him that-you know I don't follow these medical conversations very well. Yes, he is expecting you tomorrow morning-can I assume that gives you enough time to review the charts and decipher their meaning? Excellent. I am confident we made the right decision."

Maggie came into the living room as Victor hung up. She silently put her hands on his shoulders and began giving him a massage.

"You always know exactly what I need," Victor said. He reached up to put his hands over Maggie's.

She smiled and kissed the back of his neck. "Is everything all set for Dr. Kirsch's visit in the morning?"

Victor nodded. "Our grandson is in good hands, almost as good as Daniel's would be if not for this pesky rule against treating your own flesh and blood."

"Our," Maggie said. "I don't think I've ever heard you refer to Parker as belonging to both of us before. I like the sound of that."

"I thought you would." Victor sighed. "I know he's really your grandson, but damn it Maggie, I feel like he's mine even though his DNA is stamped with my godson's information instead of my son's." He glanced at a photo of Philip on the mantle.

"You miss Philip, don't you?" Maggie said.

Victor shrugged. "It's quality, not quantity, that counts. Or at least that's what that son of mine likes to say." He sighed. "I know how happy you were to gain a flesh and blood grandson, but between you and me, Maggie, Philip's never really been the same since the day he found out Parker wasn't his. I guess in some ways it's a blessing. It got Chloe's talons out of him, though she immediately went for Daniel, so I'm not sure that was much of an improvement. Anyway, I've always trusted Philip to handle his own affairs and I wouldn't dare change that now. But he is a shell of the man he once was." Victor shook his head. "Not all fathers and sons have the kind of relationship I imagine you're used to. My son and I have always been strained and tense, since the day he decided at the ripe old age of 16 to settle down with Chloe Lane-emphasis on settle."

"Call him," Maggie said, interrupting what she was sure was about to become a lengthy rant.

"Nah. I learned a long time ago not to trade in fantasies of what would be if only the world was perfect. Philip and I are what we are. I'm glad I can do something for Parker-let's focus on that."

Maggie's eyes widened as she took her husband's hand. She saw him glance again at the photo of Philip on the mantle when he thought she wasn't looking.

JJ dropped to his knees, moving his head slightly to try to see if there were any cops hidden in the bushes. He didn't see any.

"I said, start begging." Jeff tilted Paige's head up. "Don't hold back, either. If you want me to let her go, you're gonna have to totally humiliate yourself."

JJ's eyes flashed. "Fine," he said. He looked up at Paige, refusing to make eye contact with Jeff at all. She looked back at him, her eyes wide and afraid, just like they had been in the photos. "Paige, I'm so sorry," JJ said. "I didn't mean for you to get caught in the middle of this. But I swear to you, I will get you out of this. He's not gonna hurt you anymore. That's a promise."

"That's very sweet," Jeff said, "but I didn't tell you to talk to her. You'd better start groveling before I start thinking you're wasting my time."

"Whatever, man. I get that you're pissed at me but Paige is innocent. Let her go." He looked up at Jeff. Jeff had a crazy look in his eyes.

JJ swallowed hard. "Look, man, you can take anything you want from me, but not… please, not her." He glanced at his things strewn by Jeff's feet. "Take it all," he said, allowing Jeff to see the tears in his eyes. "My money, my phone…" He put his hands behind his back. "My freedom too. It's all yours, man. But not her, please not her… let her go, man… let her live… she can get over me being gone forever a lot more easily than I can get over her… so please, I'm begging you, just let her go."

On the other side of the motel, Roman's radio crackled. "Sir, I can't get a clear shot. There's too much brush behind him and with the way the hostages are positioned, I'm afraid if I go for a frontal shot I'm going to hit one of them."

"Right now JJ's keeping Adkins talking." Roman's voice was low. "As long as that's going on, hold your position. We'll wait for him to make his next move before we make ours."

Jeff stroked Paige's hair. He said, "How does it feel, knowing I have her, knowing that I tore her away from you, that I made your world shatter, made your life feel meaningless? Do you feel small yet, Deveraux? Do you feel powerless?"

JJ's lower lip trembled despite his efforts to keep cool. "Come on, man, please. I swear, I'll do anything you say if you'll just let her go."

"Say the words." Jeff's eyes blazed. "Tell me that you're nothing, that you're worthless."

JJ looked at Paige. "Without her, I'm nothing. I couldn't breathe, knowing you had her, knowing what you were doing to her, knowing it could all be over for her cause of me."

"You don't deserve a girl like her, do you?" JJ shook his head and Jeff said, "Say it. You're not good enough for her, you're a cheat and a coward who belongs in prison and has gotten way too many second chances."

JJ bowed his head, allowing shame to bubble up. "She deserves better than me," he said flatly. "I should have gone to jail over all the things I did back when I was on drugs instead of getting the chance to be with someone like her. I'm lucky she was ever in my life, but all I've brought her is pain. I am so sorry, Paige… you would have been better off if you'd never met me."

Jeff's eyes hardened. "And did you have any right to take my job?" JJ said nothing. "Answer me," Jeff said, his eyes blazing. "You stole it from me, didn't you? You had all these second chances but you couldn't leave one thing for me, one thing that I deserved and wanted and needed. Admit it." He tilted Paige's head up. "Admit what you did to me or she dies."

"All right, all right." JJ licked his lips, trying to get moisture back into his mouth. "You're right, man. That job was yours and I took it right out from under you."

"Yeah, you did. You know why you did it? Cause you're a snake, JJ Deveraux, that's why. You pretend to be nice and kind, to be a good guy... but all the time you're plotting to see what you can get, who you can hurt. And you know what snakes do? They lie on their stomachs and they try to slither away, that's what, but eventually they get what's coming to them. So go ahead, Deveraux. Get on your stomach like the snake you are and see what happens to you next."

"Let her go," JJ said, "and I will."

"You're not in a position to bargain." Jeff said, his voice very quiet. "You know the rules. You do what I say or Paige pays the price. So shut your mouth and get on the ground. Now. I want your head pressed against the concrete and your hands behind your back."

JJ looked up at Paige. Her eyes were wide, and he thought she nodded slightly, as if she were telling him to go ahead and do this for her. He swallowed hard before leaning forward and falling limply onto his stomach. He could see nothing but the concrete underneath him as he put his hands behind his back and lay still, trying to figure out what, if anything, he could do now.

Roman picked up his radio. "Advise on viability of taking him out from behind, please."

The radio crackled. "I don't like it. Bullet could go right through him to the kid on the ground."

Roman hit the radio against the palm of his hand. "Damn it!" he said. Turning the radio back on, he said, "You'd better come up with something fast. If he tries to hurt either of those kids, it might be worth the risk to shoot anyway."

"That's right," Jeff said to JJ. "Just like being arrested. You know a lot about that, don't you?" He laughed. Then he put his hand on Paige's shoulder. "Listen," he said in her ear, "he thinks I'm going to let you go and that's going to make you forget what he did to you. That wasn't the plan, ever, and it goes the way I say it goes." He pushed Paige down onto her knees, then kneeled behind her.

Paige looked down at JJ, remembering how she thought he was just jealous when he tried to warn her about Jeff. She blinked back tears.

Jeff kissed the top of Paige's head, tenderly, and said, "Don't feel bad for him, Paige. He hurt you just like he hurt me. He cheated on you and he lied to you and he broke your heart. And now he thinks he's going to come over here playing the hero and get back in your good graces. Show him what you're made of, sweetheart. Show him how ruthless you can be." He hugged Paige against himself, pinning her hands behind her back as he cut the ropes binding her wrists. "We'll tie his hands first," he said, grabbing her right hand and pulling it towards JJ. "That's what'll make him feel the most powerless. Hold his wrists."

"Please don't..." Paige said, pulling away. Jeff glared at her and she said, making her voice as hard as possible, "I don't want to touch him ever again."

"I understand," Jeff said, running his hand through Paige's hair. "But you're not, you know… you're just giving him what's coming to him." He kissed Paige's ear. "Where's that ruthless woman who locked Cole in the closet? Don't make me use my knife on you, sweetheart. Grab his wrists so we can tie him up."

Paige did what she was told. JJ shivered involuntarily as she touched him. Even after all this time, her fingertips felt like nobody else's, and it made him hunger even more for her than he ever had before. A thousand images flashed before him… all the times they'd hugged and kissed and touched each other, the time they'd almost gone too far on the living room couch, the time they cuddled at the lake. Then he heard Jeff telling Paige, "Don't be so gentle, baby. Here." He was back on the concrete now, seeing nothing, still hungering for Paige as Jeff squeezed his wrists til they throbbed and ordered Paige to tie them.

Jeff's temple was in the sniper's crosshairs; he could take him out from the side. But as he was about to pull the trigger, Jeff shifted position, leaning over Paige and JJ so that there was no way the sniper could aim low enough to hit him without risking the lives of the hostages.

"Looks like Paige is completely mine now, doesn't it?" Jeff asked as Paige wrapped rope around JJ's wrists. "I mean, she's making sure you won't be able to ever touch her again, just because I want her to. Are you feeling it yet? Do you know how badly you've lost?" He kissed Paige's ear. "Make the knot now, sweetheart, and pull it as tight as you can."

JJ lifted his head slightly as the rope cut into his wrists. "Paige," he whispered, hoping to catch her attention before Jeff noticed what he was doing. Paige's eyes widened but she pretended not to hear. "Get him to hold the knife on me," JJ said under his breath. "As soon as he does, you run like hell. Don't worry about me." He dropped his head again as Jeff turned towards him.

"He'll need to be gagged," Jeff said casually to Paige. "How about you do it so he can't give you any more lame excuses for why he hurt you?"

"I…" Paige's mouth was dry. "Yeah. Sure." She glanced at JJ, then back at Jeff. "Cut off a piece of his shirt and I'll stuff it in his mouth."

Jeff squeezed the knife handle. "I like how you think but… I don't think so." He pulled her hair, tilting her head up. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know you want me to take this knife away from you so you can escape. Didn't I tell you not to lie to me? Didn't I?" JJ's head jerked up and Jeff said, quietly, "If you want Paige to even have a chance at staying alive, you'd better lie still." JJ's eyes snapped, but he put his head back down.

"Jeff, listen," Paige said, desperate to stop him from hurting her. "I wasn't lying, I swear to you. I mean yeah he said that to me, but why do you think I'd listen to him? Like you said, he's a cheat and a coward. I just - "

Jeff pressed his hand over her mouth. "Enough!" he said. His voice softened suddenly and he began stroking Paige's hair instead of pulling it. "Tell me the truth now, sweetheart, okay? Are you really going to take this loser's side over mine?"

Paige glanced at JJ, swallowing hard. "No," she whispered. "I mean, yeah, I want to go home, but I'm on your side, okay? I...I hate what he did to you, Jeff, what he made you into. That day we met, I knew… I knew the reason I had to break up with him was because I was supposed to meet you. You were everything I wanted. You're smart, you're funny, you have big ambitions… we both know JJ isn't going anywhere in life." Her voice hardened. "But because of him you had to put a knife to my throat and make me hate you."

A shadow crossed Jeff's face. "No. He did it. He made me think he was my friend. I had so many chances to rob him and I didn't, cause I'm loyal, I don't take from my friends. But then he took my job. He stabbed me in the back and I had to make him hurt the only way I knew how. Hate him, Paige, not me."

Paige blinked hard. "Please, Jeff, don't let him twist you out of shape like this anymore. I know who you are, sweet…" She swallowed hard at having to say the word. "Sweetheart. This isn't you…and if you hurt me any more because of him, he wins. He wants you to hate me, so… so be good to me."

"You mean, let you go?" Jeff scowled. "But that's what he wants, isn't it?"

"No. It's what I want. I want to go home, Jeff, so I can forget him and what he did to me. That way, I can be ready to open my heart to you."

"I can't." Jeff said. "Okay, Paige? If I let you go now he suffers less, and you know how much he deserves to suffer. So don't hate me for it...hate him." Paige looked at JJ, trying to control her tears, then stared up at Jeff, her eyes hard. "Damn it," Jeff said, "why are you looking at me like that? Even after everything he's done, you still look at him with love in your eyes, but me… your eyes are hard and cold like when I asked you what to do about Cole." He squeezed the knife handle. "Look at me the way you look at him, damn it."

Paige's heart beat fast, but she said, "I did love you… I could have loved you… and maybe if you let me go, I can still love you. I'll...I'll remember the way you used to be. I'll remember that day in the coffee shop when you gave me your article to read and I helped you edit it. I'll remember how good I thought you were for me, how I couldn't wait to see you again. But only if you let me go. Otherwise I can't forget what you did to me because of JJ. Let me go and it all goes away."

There was a rustle in the bushes as the sniper shifted position. Jeff's eyes widened. He slowly dropped the knife from Paige's throat. "Stupid bitch," he said under his breath. "Don't you know he'll pay for this too?" He shoved her away from him, hard, so she fell onto the concrete near JJ. "Fine," Jeff said, throwing himself on top of JJ, "if that's what you want so bad, go ahead and get out of here."

Paige groaned silently. She started to crawl towards JJ. Jeff pulled JJ up onto his feet before she could get to him. She got up, slowly, and turned to see Jeff had put the knife against JJ's throat. JJ was holding his head as high as Jeff would let him and his jaw was set, but Paige could see the fear underneath his defiance.

Paige stood frozen, looking from Jeff to JJ and back again.

Jeff took a few steps towards Paige. "You'd better go, Paige," he said, his voice eerily quiet. "You'd better run. I'm taking your worthless piece of trash boyfriend in your place like the two of you wanted. Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind."

Paige took one last look at JJ. He nodded slightly and hoped she saw.

"GO!" Jeff shouted. "You wanted this! So why the hell aren't you moving?"

Paige ran. She ducked behind a tree, watching, letting the tears come without knowing exactly why she was crying.

"Some reporter you turned out to be," Jeff said, hugging JJ against himself and dragging him backwards. "First story in, you get yourself in too deep. Told you you had no instincts."

JJ's eyes flashed. "I tracked you down, didn't I? Got the cops on your ass, got Paige free. Guess you aren't as smart as - mmmph."

Jeff pressed his hand over JJ's mouth. "Shut up!" he said, his eyes blazing. "I'm smarter than you and you know it. That's why you had to steal my job. I was smarter, I had better instincts, I could even put a sentence together better than you. That bitch out there with the camera would have seen it eventually, too, if you hadn't got in my way. But it's okay, Deveraux, cause I've got you now and I'm going to get even." He dropped his hand from JJ's mouth. "Which car is yours?"

"That blue one," JJ said flatly. He widened his eyes and said, exaggerating his fear only slightly, "What… what are you gonna do to me?"

Jeff laughed. "You don't wanna know. But you're going to be so broken, so humiliated, you'll be relieved when the end comes. Not that it'll come quickly. It's going to be slow and painful and embarrassing. And then, afterwards, I'll hide you so well it'll take them months to find you, months of your mom and Dr. Dan and Paige wondering where you are and tormenting themselves with the hope that they'll ever see you again while I know that they won't." He pressed the button on JJ's keys to unlock the car. "Enough talking," he said, leaning over to pull the back door open. "Shut up and get in the back seat."

"Like hell I will!" JJ struggled, trying to get out of Jeff's grip, while Jeff tried to push him into the car.

Jeff turned, still holding JJ against his chest, so that he could more easily force him into the car. As he began to push him into the back seat, the sniper finally had Jeff's head in his crosshairs. He began to squeeze his trigger…

…and at the same time, JJ twisted slightly and butted his head as hard as he could against Jeff's chest. Jeff fell backwards; so did the hand holding the knife. JJ ducked, twisting his body to poke Jeff with his elbows. The knife grazed his ear.

JJ heard a shot go off as he began to run. The ropes dug into his wrists as he ducked and twisted, falling to the ground as the bullet hit the roof of the car. Jeff jumped on top of him. He rolled away, kicking at Jeff, while Jeff tried to get him with the knife. He tried to knock the ropes binding him into the knife but missed, and felt the sting as the knife grazed his arm. Groaning, JJ rolled onto his back, but before he could keep going, Jeff climbed on top of him. "Stop moving," he said, holding JJ's shoulders down. "I'll kill you right now, I swear I will."

JJ kicked Jeff as hard as he could, but Jeff didn't let go of him. JJ kicked him again, knocking him off him. Jeff fell backwards, momentarily stunned.

JJ rolled over onto his shoulder and tried to pull himself up, but it hurt too much and was taking too long; he'd never get away in time. He lay back down and tried to slide backwards on his tied hands. If I don't hurry up and get out of these ropes, I'm a dead man, he thought. He rolled over onto his shoulder again, ignoring the pain as he pulled himself to a sitting position, then scooted backwards while struggling to free himself.

JJ pulled against the ropes binding his wrists as he continued to move backwards, hoping Paige hadn't tied them as tightly as Jeff wanted her to. The rope dug into one wrist, so tight it cut off his circulation and made his fingers tingle. JJ winced, then realized that if it was that tight on one side, it had to be very loose on the other side. He wriggled, trying to get his wrist through the looser loop. Jeff lunged at him, but JJ kicked him where it counted, knocking him away. He continued trying to crawl away while struggling to rid himself of the ropes. Come on, he thought, pulling and twisting to try to free his hands.

Jeff got up and ran towards him again. JJ finally slid his wrist through the loop, freeing himself. He punched Jeff as hard as he could. The two boys rolled over and over, fighting, and JJ had to keep ducking the knife while trying to hit Jeff. He deliberately rolled them towards a tree, trying to get Jeff to hit his head and knock himself out. It worked; he pushed Jeff into the tree, stunning him for a few seconds.

JJ jumped up and ran. His entire body ached but he didn't have time to think about it. He ducked behind another tree, leaning against it to give himself some strength while he caught his breath.

Jeff looked around wildly as a bunch of cops closed in on him. "Listen to me! JJ Deveraux isn't what he seems. You think he's a hero, don't you, that he sacrificed his freedom for his girl, that he didn't deserve what I did to him. But it's not true, none of it's true. JJ's behind this whole thing, okay? He wanted Paige to get back together with him even though he cheated on her and broke her heart. So when he saw me talking to her he pulled me into his sick little game, and then he turned on me, just so he could look like a hero to you all. He has you all fooled. He's the one who you should be taking out in handcuffs, not me. He was behind it all, the robberies and the kidnapping and he probably would have killed me if he could."

"Jeff," Roman said, "it's over. You're surrounded by cops and I got a couple snipers on alert who are gonna take you out the second I say the word. If you wanna live, your only chance is stop spouting garbage, drop your weapon and show us your hands right now."

Jeff hesitated, then dropped the knife and put his hands up. As a uniform came up behind him to cuff him, he suddenly lunged and grabbed a gun off one of the cops. "Did you think I was going down that easily?" he demanded. "I'm not going to jail behind what JJ Deveraux did to me. No way, no how!" He shot the gun into the air. "Where are you, Deveraux?" he demanded. "You got away before… think you can beat me now?"

Jeff kept shooting into the air. JJ threw himself back onto the ground as a bullet whizzed past his head.

Jeff turned slowly, pointing the gun in front of him. "Come on, Deveraux," he said. "Don't you know you're just making it worse for yourself? I'm gonna find you, and when I do…" He thrust the gun at a shadow and shot into the air again.

The sniper had him in his sights, but Jeff kept moving. The first shot missed, and the second. Jeff turned again. The sniper squeezed the trigger one more time, and this time the bullet went right to the back of Jeff's head.

The gun fell from Jeff's hand as he fell onto the concrete.

Rafe's radio crackled. "Suspect down. Stand by for instructions."

JJ's head jerked up. Rafe's arm shot out, covering him and pushing him back down. "I'm not letting you up til Roman confirms there's no more bullets flying around."

"Where's Paige?" JJ was near tears. "Is she… he didn't... "

Paige lay still underneath a tree. Hope glanced at the bullet lodged in the tree trunk before putting her hand on Paige's back. "Paige? Are you all right?"

Paige lifted her head slowly. "Is it really over?"

"Almost. We just have to confirm Jeff's state."

"You mean...whether he's really dead?"

Hope nodded.

Rafe turned his head to look at the rest of the parking lot, then turned back to JJ. "You scared the hell out of all of us out there, you know that?"

JJ swallowed hard. "Jeff just cut me a couple times, no big deal."

"Yeah, well, we'll let the EMTs be the judge of that when this is all over." Rafe played with his radio. "Listen, I know Jeff did a lot of gloating out there. Did he say anything to you about what he did to Paige?"

"He'd have been dead a long time ago if he did." JJ's face was grim. "As it is, I got an idea and I'd better be wrong about it cause otherwise I'm gonna have to kill him all over again."

Rafe's radio crackled again. "It's over. Sending EMTs over your way."

JJ suddenly realized his arm was stinging where Jeff had cut him earlier. He touched the cut; it felt sticky, and when he took his hand away, it was covered in blood. He gave Rafe a scared look.

Paige meant to stay put, but she found herself following Hope over to Jeff. She pressed her hands to her mouth as she stared at him. His mouth was open and he was lying in a pool of his own blood, blood that was soaking into the concrete and disappearing forever.

Jeff's eyes were glazed over like Bev's had been. "Paige," he said, gasping for breath. "Promise me… you'll remember… like you said…"

Paige didn't have the heart to say anything but, "I will."

Jeff reached up for her, weakly, then closed his eyes. Paige knelt down by him and felt for his pulse. Nothing. She felt Hope's hand on her shoulder and looked up. "He's dead," she said flatly. "And Bev... oh God, I think she must be dead too by now."

"Where is she, honey?" Hope asked.

"Inside. Cole shot her." Paige blinked hard. "I tried to stop the bleeding but I didn't know what to do for the shock. I'm not a real doctor yet. I couldn't fix it. I'm sorry."

"Ssh." Hope hugged Paige tight. Paige stiffened but didn't pull away. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay."

The EMTs took JJ into the back of the ambulance to take care of the gash in his arm. "Let's get what's left of your shirt off," one of them said, while the other affixed a blood pressure cuff to his good arm.

JJ's shirt was all torn up and there was dried blood on it too. He stared at it as one of the EMTs said, "Heart's racing, BP up a little… take a deep breath for me, son. You're all right now." JJ did and the EMT asked him if he was feeling lightheaded. He shook his head.

Rafe came into the ambulance. He whistled under his breath as he glanced at the remains of JJ's shirt. "He really did a number on you with that knife. You feel up to taking me through what happened?"

"What for? He's dead, and honestly, man, I'm not sorry, not after what he put Paige through. Not to mention what he did to me." JJ winced as he was given a shot to numb his arm. "I guess you were right about me going out there," he said. "It didn't do anyone any good, and I just spent the last hour getting away from the guy. So the last thing I wanna do is relive it now."

Rafe leaned against the ambulance door. "I know I'm asking a lot after what you've just been through. But we gotta have your statement."

"Why?"

"Because," Rafe sighed. "Jeff's dead, and between you and me, there's no other way this could have ended. But we gotta be able to prove it. Otherwise we're guilty of murder. So I gotta ask you to tell me exactly what Jeff did to you."

JJ stared straight ahead. "There's not a whole lot to tell. I did a pretty dumb thing. He wasn't gonna let Paige go. As long as he had his knife on her throat, I'd do anything he wanted to try to keep her alive, and he knew it. He made me watch him kiss her and touch her while he had her tied up so she couldn't stop him." JJ's voice wavered. "I knew she didn't want it but I couldn't do a damn thing about it. If I made one wrong move, it was all over for her. He made me beg and then he made her tie me up and I had to lie there and let him." He blinked back tears.

"What happened next?" Rafe's voice was very gentle.

"Paige, she was.. she was amazing, man. I mean, I couldn't see her, okay, cause he made me keep my head down, but I could hear everything she was saying. I know she had to be scared out of her mind, but you couldn't tell it from her voice. She was calm and she was cool and she said all the right things to get him to let her go."

Rafe nodded and said softly, "And then?"

"He went completely nuts, man. He grabbed me and he said he was gonna take me somewhere and break me all the way down and then…" JJ swallowed hard. "He was gonna kill me."

"I figured as much. He say anything else to you?"

"It was all crazy." JJ squeezed his eyes shut. "All I know is, I wasn't gonna go down without a fight. Now I'm here and he's dead, and I'm not sorry." He glanced at the gauze on his arm. "You need anything else?"

Rafe shook his head. "No. But listen, JJ. What you went through… it can leave scars, and I'm not just talking about on your arm. We already let Marlena know what was going down. How about I page her so that when you're through with these guys - "

"I'm okay," JJ said quickly. "I promise."

"You sure?" Rafe sighed. "Jeff used Paige to get you right where he wanted you and then he tried to kill you, and that's not something you can walk away from unchanged. I've seen people get all messed up in all kinds of ways after something like this, and I don't wanna see that happen to you."

"I'm fine!" JJ winced again as the EMT patted his rib cage, looking for broken bones. "Look, I appreciate it, Rafe, but I don't need to talk to anybody, I swear. I just need to see Paige, okay, and see for myself that she's all right."

"All done," the EMT said. "You were pretty lucky, son. You've got cuts and bruises everywhere but no broken bones. We stitched up your arm, but try to take it easy. Too much movement could split the stitches open."

JJ swallowed hard. "Can I play my guitar?"

"I'd stay away from it for about a week."

JJ's face fell. "Can I go now?" he asked. Rafe nodded.

Nicole called Sally while she was watching the camera man pack up his stuff. "He'd better be all right. I promised I'd keep him safe out here. That's what I get for making promises I can't keep, right? Listen, he's fine, he has to be fine, so let's focus on something else. How about the pressing issue of whether Miles is going to try to make us air the footage we took of JJ's sacrifice? Well, the cops called it a surrender but I like to call things what they are. Oh, here comes Rafe now. I'll have an update for you in a few minutes."

Nicole got off the phone and closed it, slowly, while keeping her eye on Rafe.

"Here's something you can use on the record, per Roman," Rafe said heavily. "We managed to end the hostage situation with only one death: the perpetrator. We'll give you more details at the press conference tomorrow."

Nicole nodded. "Off the record, how's my intern?"

"Lucky he's not dead and pretty shaken up by what went down. Maybe he'll realize now that leaving these kinds of situations to us isn't such a bad idea."

"Give him to me for a few days; I'll make sure he snaps out of that." Nicole smiled slightly.

"I'm sure you will." Rafe smiled too.

Nicole's eyes widened and she couldn't help saying, "I never noticed before how nice your smile is."

"Yeah. Well, now that this is over, maybe you'll see it more often."

Roman called Rafe just then. After he walked off, Nicole slapped her palm against her forehead and said under her breath, "What are you doing, Walker? Haven't you ruined enough friendships already?"

Hope's mouth dropped open as she and Roman entered the room where Paige had been held. She saw the ropes attached to the bed posts, a bloody towel on the floor… and Bev on the bed, not moving. She ran to her.

"Bev?" Hope said. She got no response. She put her fingers on Bev's neck and thought she felt a pulse, but it was so faint she thought she might be imagining things. Bev's skin felt clammy, too, and when Hope put her ear to her chest she heard only shallow breaths.

"We need EMTs right away! Female gunshot victim, barely breathing." Hope said into her radio. She squeezed Bev's hand. "Listen to me, Bev," she said. "Help is on the way. Hang on, honey, just a few more minutes. Please hang on." She thought Bev squeezed her hand back, but it might have been a reflex.

A noise came from the closet, a kind of weird muffled sound followed by a knock on the closet door. Hope said to Roman, "I need to stay with Bev til the emergency workers get here. Unless I miss my guess, that's our other perp making that noise. Could you - "

Roman nodded and went to the closet without another word. He pulled open the door to find Cole on his knees, his hands bound behind him and tape covering his mouth. "Looks like Jeff turned on him." He pulled the tape off Cole's mouth. Cole said, "Bev's shot, man. I was gonna try to get her help but Jeff jumped me. She's gonna be okay now, right? "

"You'd better hope so," Roman told him. "She dies, you're getting charged with murder." He took his handcuffs off his belt. "I'm gonna cut these ropes. Keep your hands where they are."

"Oh come on, man," Cole said. "It wasn't me. It was all Jeff, he kidnapped all of us."

Roman cut the ropes. "You'd better listen good when your rights are read," Roman said as he snapped the handcuffs around Cole's wrists. "You're in a whole lot of trouble. Kidnapping, attempted murder… depending on what Paige tells us, maybe a few other things too. So if I were you, I wouldn't make it worse by spouting off a bunch of lies that are gonna come back to bite you when you get to court. "

Paige stood against a tree, her arms crossed, watching the EMTs load Jeff's body onto a gurney and take it away.

JJ had looked so helpless after she'd done what Jeff said and tied him up...yet he'd looked up at her and told her what to do to get herself free.

Paige shook her head. "His whole focus was on me," she said slowly. "He knew what Jeff could do to him and all he cared about was me. He… he still loves me." A couple tears rolled down her face. Then, suddenly, memories assaulted her… she'd kissed Jeff.. she'd told Jeff that JJ was a bastard and a cheater… she'd promised him to remember his good side as he lay dying…

"I don't deserve it," Paige mumbled. She saw JJ coming towards her and started to walk away.

"Paige!" JJ called.

Paige meant to keep walking, but she found herself turning around. Her lips trembled.

"Thank God you're alive," JJ whispered. "I thought I was gonna lose you."

Paige blinked back tears. Just then, she saw the cops taking Cole out of the motel. She meant to say something to JJ, but nothing came out. Instead, she stood frozen. The world felt like it was spinning out of control under her like it had when Cole shot Bev. She tried to focus on JJ, but she could barely see him. Everything was blurry.

Paige fainted.

"Paige!" JJ shouted. He looked around wildly. "Help her! Someone help!" He ran to Paige and put his ear against her chest. Her heart was racing, but he could hear how strongly it was beating. "Wake up," he said. "Please, Paige, wake up. We've been through too much for me to lose you now..." Someone pulled him off her and held him back from her as the EMTs put her on a stretcher. His arm started throbbing; the anesthesia must have just worn off. JJ rubbed it while he stared at Paige. Her eyes opened and he felt like he was breathing again for the first time.

"What happened?" Paige asked.

"You tell us that," an EMT told her. "One minute you were talking, the next you were on the ground. Do you remember feeling dizzy?"

"I… yeah, kind of. It was probably the alcohol." Paige blinked. "I mean earlier. Jeff made me drink."

JJ's jaw hardened. He barely heard anything as the EMTs began taking Paige to the ambulance. They were still asking her questions as they slid her up into the back and closed the doors.

The EMT who was holding JJ back said, "You're not going to faint on us too, are you, son?"

JJ shook his head. The EMT let him go. He turned and walked away, not knowing where he was going.

"...but I'm going to try to convince Miles not to put it on the air," Nicole said to JJ, a few minutes later. "You're supposed to be reporting the news, not making it, and I want to make sure it stays that way, at least as far as the world can see." JJ said nothing, just stared into space. "And that was a waste of perfectly good breath. You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?"

"Sorry," JJ mumbled. "It's just…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

Nicole followed his gaze and saw he was looking at the ambulance's lights. "You thought the nightmare was over," she said softly. "Listen, JJ, what you saw tonight was only a slice of the craziness Jeff put Paige through, okay? He held her captive in this out-of-the-way place, doing things to her that we don't want to imagine."

"Don't remind me."

"What I'm trying to say is, can you blame her for fainting? She's lucky that's all that happened to her, all things considered." JJ frowned and Nicole said, "I don't mean to be the voice of doom and gloom. That's so not me. I just… don't give up if it doesn't go your way right away, okay? I've ruined more relationships through impatience than I can count. In fact, it's probably a talent of mine. So if you feel in a rush to get her to forgive you for whatever happened before now that you've saved her life, just ask yourself, What would Nicole do? and then do the opposite."

JJ shrugged. "Look, Nicole, I know you're trying to help but I… I feel like I did when I found out where she was… like I just gotta… I gotta go to her, I gotta be with her…" His voice broke and he blinked hard so that he wouldn't cry in front of Nicole.

"Tomorrow," Hope said firmly from behind them. JJ turned towards her. "She needs rest and so do you."

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep til I see her," JJ protested.

Nicole put her hand on JJ's shoulder. "Don't hold it against me, but I agree with Hope. Tonight you'd just be waiting around while Paige gets poked and prodded, and trust me, no woman wants to see a man right after going through that." JJ shrugged. Nicole said to Hope, "Did you get his keys back from Jeff? I'll take him home and worry about getting my car later."

Hope nodded. Nicole said to JJ, "Come on. The faster we get you home, the sooner morning will be here and you can get to the hospital to see Paige." JJ shrugged but he went with her, glancing over his shoulder at the ambulance as it drove away.