"I haven't told anyone this," Tad said. "I know I can trust you, Brooke."

"With all that's happened with Edmund and Maria?" she asked him. "Are you sure you don't want to rethink that?"

"I don't have to rethink anything. Your heart's in the right place. I know that and you know that. I even think Edmund's starting to figure it out." There was silence for a moment as Tad stood and started to pace the office.

"I know that look, Tad," Brooke said. "The one where something's just ripping your heart out..."

"Bad choice of words," Tad said. Brooke didn't understand him. "I ran into Greenlee on Friday at the Pancake Palace. So I go over to her table, sit down and we start talking. Simple stuff, she was concerned about Jake, but we didn't make much of it at the time." Tad took a deep breath and sat again. "Then when I brought the car down I ran into her again. She was... distraught. This thing with Jake was really bothering her, so I went over to talk to him."

"To Jake."

"Yeah," Tad said. "I told him Greenlee was afraid. The way he was avoiding my questions was making me a little nervous too. I thought that something could really be wrong," he paused. "When I finally got him to tell me, to open up...I wish I hadn't. It would have been better if I'd have never known."

"Never knew what?" Brooke asked, walking around the desk and standing right next to him. "Tad?"

"I lied to our parents. I lied to Greenlee. I just... put on a smile and promised everything would be OK. That it was all under control. When the truth is, his heart can give out on him anytime now. Jake could be dead tomorrow."

"Oh, my God," Brooke said softly.

"Heart problems don't just pop up over night. God only knows how long he's been hiding this."

"Is he getting the help he needs?"

"I don't know. He was supposed to see Hayward, but by the way he was talking, I doubt it."

"You know how Jake feels about David."

"Yeah, the same way most everybody feels about David." Tad paused and looked Brooke directly in the eye. "Tell me honestly, Brooke. If you were in Jake's position, would you trust David?"

Brooke returned Tad's stare. "This isn't about Jake, is it? This is about Dixie."

"David Hayward had no right to do what he did to her," Tad exclaimed. "Just because he graduated from medical school, he thinks that gives him the right to play God. Injecting people with unapproved drugs, experimenting on their lives."

"I'm not backing him in any way, Tad," Brooke said. "But look what he did for us. He saved Laura's life. He helped Dixie..."

"If he hadn't given that... that stuff to Dixie, maybe her car wouldn't have gone off the road. He could be the reason she's gone."

"If he hadn't gotten involved, Dixie might not have lived to see her birthday."

"If he hadn't gotten involved, she might have lived to see her son graduate from high school."

"This is all deja vu to you, isn't it? You saw it happen to Dixie, and now you're watching Jake go through the same thing."

"That's all I'm doing, Brooke. Watching. I swore I wouldn't just let this happen."

"You can't stop it from happening. Nobody has the power to do that."

"I'm hoping that somebody does."

"David Hayward?"

"No. Somebody who can treat him legally. I can't watch him go through what Dixie went through. I just can't do it, Brooke."

"Maybe Jake knows what's best," Brooke said. "He is a doctor after all."

"That's what I keep telling myself. But it doesn't help. I know that there just has to be a way for me to help him."

Brooke took his hand in hers. "You can be there for him. What else can you do?"

Tad shook his head. "I don't know. It's just, there should be something. Because if something does hap... I would feel responsible."

"Why?" Brooke asked. "This isn't your fault. You know that."

"It's just that I keep thinking back... of Dixie and I think that if I had been there more for her, instead of this on again off again..."

"Tad..."

"Maybe I could have prevented it."

"You're talking crazy now. Dixie's death was an accident."

"But this is all shaping up the same way. Starting back with the secrets. Don't you see, Brooke? Jake is going through exactly what she did. He turned me away . He doesn't want my help."

"Jake is afraid. He doesn't want to hurt you anymore. That's why he turned you away."

"I can't stay away from this. I can't keep from making this my concern. Not after I've seen something just like it with Dixie."

"Then don't stay away," Brooke told him. "Jake's looking for help, Tad. If he didn't want any help, he wouldn't have said anything to you."

"Then what do I do?" Tad asked.

"I don't know. You know your brother better than anyone. You know what he needs now, even if you don't realize it."

"He needs support, but he won't let anyone..." Tad paused.

"Jake's not ready to let anyone in. He'll find the right time, just like Dixie did. Trust me."

"I do." Tad leaned his head on her shoulder.

"It'll all turn out OK in the end, Tad," Brooke assured him, soothingly. "It will."