A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Forty Six
Later that afternoon, Julie and Marciano are leaving his attorney's office with Tom. "Are you coming back to Oakdale tonight?"
"Yes, but I have some other things to take care of before I head back." Julie says, as Marciano walks by."
"I will send the final copy to you." Tom says, as Julie nods. He leaves with Julie following behind him. She's almost to her car when she looks up and sees Marciano. She hesitates for a moment and then calls out. "Marciano."
He looks up, surprised to see her walking towards him. "What do you want?"
"I need to ask you something and I want an honest answer."
"What?"
"Why did you ask me to marry you?" She asks, as he looks at her.
"I loved you." He says, stepping towards her.
"Be honest with me, we met a handful of times before Matt died."
"But you were beautiful to me then. You had a glow about you that any man would want in the woman they loved."
"And think about it, was that glow, as you call it, still a part of me when we married?" She asks, as he looks at her.
After a moment he says. "No, no it wasn't. Your eyes were lifeless when we were together. You tried to appear happy, but they were always shadowed and maybe a little hollow. I never thought about it. I wanted you."
"But you didn't have me. I didn't have me because I lost myself when Matt died."
"You didn't lose all of yourself because that light is coming back into your eyes."
"I'm sorry about how this turned out. I should've stopped it."
"We both should've stopped it." He says, looking down.
"You're a good man, Marciano. And some day you'll make someone very happy, but we never would've worked because I never loved you. I was running away from everything that happened."
"I suppose you're right and that's why I fought so hard to hold onto you. I knew you still loved him and I was never able to compete with that."
"You shouldn't have to. And now we both have a chance to find happiness. Go do that, for me." She asks, touching his arm.
He pulls her into a hug while Jacob watches from a few cars down. Julie steps back and Marciano lets her go. Walking over to her car, she gets in and leaves. After she leaves, Jacob gets out of his car and walks up to Marciano. "You couldn't keep your hands off her."
"What are you talking about?" Marciano asks, turning around.
"How long have you been seeing her?"
"Until today, I haven't seen her since before the hearing."
"You expect me to believe that."
"I don't really care if you believe it or not. We met today to sign the papers about the condo. She approached me, but why does that matter to you."
"You've hurt her enough."
"We hurt each other enough. After today, she's yours. But I will warn you, controlling her will only push her away."
"I'm protecting her, not controlling her."
"I doubt she'll see it like that. I held onto her because I knew I would lose her. She wasn't ready when we were together, but after today. I think she's ready to move on and if you want to be the one she moves on with, this, will never work with her."
"He's right." Julie says from behind him.
Both of them turn around. Jacob stares at her. "I forgot to give this to you." She says, holding out her wedding set to Marciano.
"You can keep…."
"No, it belongs to the woman you're going to find in the future." She turns to Jacob, looking at him she turns around and walks back to her car.
"I know that look." Marciano says, as Jacob looks at him. "You're in the dog house now and it's going to take a lot to get out of it." He says, reaching for his car door and opening it. "I suggest you bring something expensive with you." He says, before he gets in and closes the door. Starting the car, he pulls away, leaving Jacob standing there watching him.
When Cassie left the Beacon the next morning, instead of going home, she goes to Cedars. She's walking up to Blake's room as Sam and Jeffrey are leaving. "How are both of you doing?" She asks, giving each of them a hug.
"We're fine." Sam says, stepping back after Cassie releases her.
"That's good to hear, and the baby?"
"He's good too. We just left Dr. Sedgwick's office before we came here."
"So, it's a boy?"
"We don't know officially, but that's how I see him, the baby, as a boy."
"I understand. I did that same thing with Will."
"How are you doing?"
"We're all doing well. The campaign hasn't really hit us yet. I came by to visit with Blake. How is she doing?"
"She's resting. I've started her on physical therapy."
"Physical therapy, she's not, I mean the poison didn't cause any…?"
"No, the therapy is only to help her build back the strength she lost since the coma. Medically, she appears to be recovering quite well from the poison."
"That's good. You both should come out to the farm soon."
"We'll see about that." Jeffrey says, as Sam nods.
"Good." She says, turning for Blake's room as they turn to walk away. Cassie stops after a few steps. Turning around, she calls. "Sam."
Stopping, Sam turns around as Cassie walks back to her. "I just wanted to say thank you for bring Blake back. You brought Richard back and now Blake… I just want you to know that I appreciate it and I think it's absolutely amazing what you've done."
"I didn't really do anything for Blake or Richard. I made sure they were comfortable and took care of them medically, keeping infections at bay and such, but the fact that they came back from a coma wasn't because of something I did. They chose to come back."
"You may not realize what you've done, but thank you anyway." Cassie says, as Sam nods, not quite sure what else to say. "We'll see you both out at the farm soon." She says, glancing at Jeffrey. He nods as Sam gives her a quiet smile before she turns and walks away again. They both turn back around and walk away too.
Sam stops at the nurse's desk to make a few notes in Blake's file before they leave. As they walk up to elevator, Jeffrey takes her hand as he pushes the button for the elevator. A few moments later, the doors open and a couple steps off, nodding to them as they walk past. Jeffrey lets her enter first and then he follows as she presses the button for the ground floor. She moves over to a corner and he stands beside her. As the doors close, he takes her hand again. "I think Cassie only wants you to know how much she appreciates you giving Richard back to her."
"That's the thing, I didn't."
"To her you did, you were taking care of him and you were taking care of Blake and doing a much better job with her than her other doctor. She's grateful that's all."
"I understand that she's grateful, but I didn't do anything different than any other doctor would do. I took care of my patient and even Dr. Jackson thought he was doing that. I had a different approach than he did and it worked, but it wasn't because of something I did. There's no one set thing that works with coma patients."
"I understand that and so does Cassie, but she has to believe in something more powerful than her, and with Richard and Blake that's going to be you." He says, turning to kiss the side of her head.
"So I should get used to it."
"Yes, pretty much." He says, as she looks up. "I happen to think you're special too. So I agree with Cassie."
"You're biased."
"Yes, I am." He says, as the doors open and they walk off, nodding to another couple as they leave the elevator.
When they get to the car, he opens her door and then walks around the car. As he's getting in, she asks. "Are we going to the loft now?"
"Did you want to do something else?"
"No, I was reminding you that you wanted to go by there." She says, as he closes the door and starts the car.
"I hadn't forgotten." He says, backing out of their parking place.
"Are you happy?" Ava asks, turning to William.
"I'm very happy. I'm here with you and our baby. I love Emma and I feel like me again."
"What do you mean, you feel like you again."
He sighs and then looks at her. "When I was prince, I loved helping the people. But I sort of always felt like I was play acting. Richard was the one that was raised to be Prince. I wasn't. Meeting them made me realize that I had more potential than being a simple fisherman, but I didn't feel like I belonged as being Prince. That's why I denied the throne in the first place. And with Camille gone, the threat she posed to all of them went with her. There was no reason for me to continue to be Prince and Will not being the heir only made it easier for me to make that decision."
"So, you're relieved not to be prince anymore." She says, looking at him.
"Yes, I am." He says, leaning in to kiss her as someone knocks downstairs. "Are we expecting anyone?"
"No." Ava says, as he releases her.
"Stay here and I'll go see who it is." He says, reaching for his pants and pulling them on. She lays back as he gets up and leaves the bedroom.
He's walking towards the door when someone knocks again. "They may not be home." Sam says.
"Ava's car was downstairs." Jeffrey says, as the door opens and William's on the other side.
"Jeffrey, Sam, hi." He says, surprised to see them.
"Hi." Sam says, while Jeffrey stares at him. "Can we come in?" She asks.
"Yes, of course." He says, stepping back. They walk in as he closes the door.
"We thought we would come by and see the place." Sam says.
"We haven't got everything put away. I received some personal stuff from the palace yesterday." He says, as he looks around the living room.
"Is Ava…?" Jeffrey says.
He's interrupted by her calling out. "William, who is it?"
"She's upstairs. I'll be right back." He says, turning for the stairs.
"If you're busy…." Sam says, as he looks back.
"No, it's fine. I'll be right back." He says, hurrying upstairs as Sam looks at Jeffrey.
"Get that look off your face before they come back down here." She says, walking over to the couch.
"What look?" He asks, following her and sitting down beside her as she looks at him.
"That look right there that says, you can't believe they're home in the middle of the afternoon, and obviously were not expecting anyone to come until Emma comes home from school."
"Who was it?" Ava asks, laying back down when William walks in.
"It's Sam and your father."
"My Dad and Sam are downstairs!" She says, sitting up.
"Yes, they came by to look at the loft." He says, as she pushes the sheet back and grabs for her clothes.
She stops and looks at him. "I can't go down there."
"What, why?"
"They know what we've been doing."
"I think your dad sort expects this to be a part of our relationship."
"He may expect it but that doesn't mean he's willing to accept it."
"We're a little bit beyond seeking parental approval." William says, picking up his shirt and pulling it on. "We can't keep them waiting. I told them we would be right down."
"Alright, fine." She says, pulling her clothes on quickly. Running her fingers through her hair, she looks at him and asks. "How do I look?"
"Incredibly sexy." He says, walking over to her. He leans in as she puts her hand on his chest to stop him.
"That's how it all started, remember."
"Actually I thought we were celebrating…."
"We need to go, unless you want them to come…."
"Alright." He says, stepping back
She checks the mirror again, making minor adjustments while he watches her. "Okay, let's go." She says, turning to him.
"I don't have that kind of look." He says, settling back into the couch
"Yes you do. She's a grown woman and how many times did we sneak time together when we…."
"I don't…. We're not them and that's my daughter you're talking about."
She leans over to kiss him and whispers. "It's something you are going to have to get used too, my dear husband. You're little girl, isn't a little girl anymore She's about to be a mother…."
'That doesn't mean I have to acknowledge the fact that she's grown up." He says, as she leans in to kiss him. She sets back when they hear them coming down the stairs.
"Dad." Ava says, walking over to them. Jeffrey stands up and they hug. "We weren't expecting you."
"We just left the hospital…." He says.
"Is everything alright?" Ava asks, as she looks at Sam.
"Everything is fine. We had… Sam had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and then we stopped in one of her patients." Jeffrey says, stepping back. Ava hugs Sam before she and William sits down in the chairs beside the couch.
"We were at Dr. Sedgwick's this morning. I had my first ultrasound." Ava says, reaching for William's hand.
"You're first ultrasound. Is everything alright?" Jeffrey asks.
"Its fine, everything is normal. And I got pictures." She says, moving to get up.
"So, were you able to find out what you are having?" Sam asks, as she walks over to her purse.
"Yes." Ava says, walking back over to them. She hands the pictures to Sam first. "Dr. Sedgwick said she could plainly see the sex." She says, sitting back down next to William.
"It's a boy?" Sam says, looking at the pictures. With Jeffrey looking over her shoulder.
"How can you tell?" Jeffrey asks.
"Here, look at this?" Sam says, showing him were to look.
"Oh." He says, looking at the pictures. "So this is my first grandson." He says, looking up.
"Yes." Ava says, reaching for William's hand
"Congratulations." He says, as Sam hands the pictures back to Ava.
"Thank you." She says, taking the photos.
'This place looks completely different." Sam says, after several moments of silence. "I saw the plans before we moved out but it looks different. I thought loosing those windows would make the room feel smaller, but it doesn't."
"That's Emma's room and behind the stairs is room to make another room for when the baby needs its own room. We're setting up the nursery in our bedroom."
"You know I sort of miss this place." Jeffrey says, looking around and then he looks at Sam. "Don't worry, I love our house, but this was…."
"This was you first home in Springfield."
"Well, technically the Beacon was his first home." Ava says.
"This was our first home. You made it a home. Before you came, it was just a place for me to retreat and jam, maybe stay a few days and write." He says, looking at Sam. She leans over and kisses him.
"This will always be our first home." She says, sitting back.
"So, how did your appointment got with Dr. Sedgwick, besides finding out the sex of the baby." She asks, looking at Ava.
"We're both doing well. Are you going to have another sonogram soon?"
"I'm sure we'll have one in another couple months." Sam says, as the door opens and Emma comes in.
"Is it that late?" Ava says, looking at the clock.
"Jeffrey, Sam." Emma comes over, hugging them.
"Hi, baby." Sam says, hugging her.
"How was your day?" Jeffrey asks, after she releases her.
"Good, Will and I are partners in our art project this week."
"What are you making?" Sam asks.
"We're not sure yet? We only got our partners today. We'll start the project next week during art class."
"I thought little boys and girls didn't like each other when they are your age, something about cooties." Jeffrey says.
"Will doesn't have cooties, but don't tell Sammy and Felicia I said that."
"I won't." Jeffrey says, smiling. "I think you should tell your sister and William hello." He says, nodding towards them.
"Oh sorry, hi." Emma says, glancing at Ava and William.
Ava smiles before she asks. "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I mean yes ma'am. Our teacher is teaching us about manners and respect." Emma replies, as Ava gets up.
"She is." Sam says, looking at Emma as Ava leaves the room.
"Yes ma'am, she has project she's going to start next week."
"What's this project about?" William asks.
"We don't know yet, but she said it would be fun and it wouldn't require any homework, which the boys all liked." She says, looking at him.
"Are you ready for Thanksgiving?" Jeffrey asks.
"Yes sir, we have two weeks off and then when we come back we'll start working on our Christmas program. Would you and Sam come see it?" She asks, looking at them.
"We'll definitely come see your program.
"Speaking of the holidays." Jeffrey says, looking at William. "Do you know what your plan are with Ava?"
"We haven't discussed it. We will likely spend some time with Richard and Cassie, probably after we call Olivia."
"Is she talking to her mother?" Jeffrey asks.
"No, she hasn't said a word about her. I'm not even sure if she thinks about it anymore." William says, as Ava walks to the table with Emma a snack.
"Emma, go wash your hands and put your bag away then you can eat your snack." She says, setting Emma's plate down.
"Yes ma'am." She says, getting up. She grabs her book bag and goes to her room before she goes to the bathroom.
Ava walks over to William and sits down beside him again. "What are you guys talking about?" She asks, looking at them. She'd heard Jeffrey's question about her mom and William's reply.
"We were talking about the holidays." William says.
"I was asking William if you had any plans." Jeffrey asks.
"No, we haven't discussed it. But we'll likely go to Richard and Cassie's."
"Richard and Cassie are going to Reva's for the holiday and she said you and William were welcome as well." Sam says, as they all look at her. "We all got together the other day to plan the menu. You can bring whatever you want to bring. Reva won't mind." Sam says, looking at Ava.
"I haven't really thought about what we were going to do about the holidays. But I think we should spend it with the family we have here." She says, as Emma gets up.
"Ava, can I watch TV?" She asks, walking into the living room.
"Put your plate in the kitchen and you can for an hour while I fix us something to eat for supper."
"Speaking of which, we need to go." Jeffrey says, as Sam moves to get up. He helps her up was William and Ava stand.
"It was great to see you." Ava says, reaching to hug Jeffrey.
"Whatever you feel about what William said about your mother, you need to listen to him." Jeffrey says, hugging her.
She doesn't reply as she lets him go and reaches to hug Sam after she releases William. Emma comes out of the kitchen as Sam steps back. "You're leaving." She says, sounding disappointed.
"Yes, we have to go home too." Jeffrey walks over to her. Bending down, he hugs her and then she turns to Sam.
"Good-bye, baby girl. We'll see you again soon." Sam says hugging her.
"Thanks for coming over." William says, as he follows them over to the door. He opens it for them and then shakes Jeffrey's hand before they walk out, closing the door behind them.
Harley leaves the police station shortly before her shift ended. She wants to go by Cedars when she's sure Blake will be alone. Getting into her car, she backs out and leaves the station parking lot. Pulling into the parking lot at Cedars a few moments later, she parks and walks into the hospital. Blake is alone when she walks into the room. With her eyes closed, she appears to be asleep. For a moment, Harley thinks about leaving until Blake says. "I know you're there. So you might as well say something."
"I don't know what to say." Harley says, as Blake opens her eyes and turns her head to look at her.
"You're mad." Blake says, moving up in the bed. Her strength is coming back to her from therapy, but she feels tired as she looks at Harley.
"You had absolutely no right setting up that website and then posting the things you posted Blake. What were you thinking? That stuff was private and no one's business. Some of it was told to you in confidence."
"I told Cassie and I'm telling you. I'm sorry. I never really meant to hurt… no that's not true. I wanted everyone to feel the pain I was feeling. I felt invisible. You were all busy with your lives. Even Cassie was moving on from Richard. You had Gus."
"And you were sleeping with your opponent."
"Jeffrey was fun and he was a good distraction and it made the campaign interesting. He allowed me to channel some of my anger."
"But not enough to keep you from spewing the private and most embarrassing moments in other people's lives."
"Are you going to arrest me Detective Aitoro?" Blake asks, looking at her.
"I can't arrest you. You didn't really do anything illegal, but you could be sued by anyone of the individuals you outed on that website, including the current mayor and your former lover."
"Jeffrey seems to be really happy. And his wife is gorgeous, although it's a little hard to see him that way. I can't quite picture him as a husband and father."
"He's already a daddy. He's Ava's father."
"He's a father now! Who's Ava?"
"She's Jeffrey's daughter with Olivia. Don't you remember any of that, it came out at the time of the mayor's race."
"I thought it was all a dream. He was involved with Olivia."
"Well, it was actually more than involved, he was accused of raping her after he got her drunk at the American embassy in San Cristobel while Olivia was still underage."
"Then why isn't he in jail?"
"The statute of limitations is out. Not that Olivia and Doris both didn't try to put him there. And then proof turned up that proved he wasn't guilty, but not before he was publicly disgraced and the office of the Mayor was taken away from him."
"See, I didn't even know that. All I outed was our affair."
"You didn't know about his history, but some of the history you knew you had no problem telling the whole town about and conveniently you left your own history out of it, save for the affair with Jeffrey."
"Everyone knew my history."
"Until after mayor's race, no one knew it was you running the website. If you felt ignored, why didn't you say something?"
"I seriously wasn't posting things to hurt people. It just struck me how superficial we all were. And I wanted everyone to realize that we all have secrets."
"We all know there's secrets in this town and that no one is totally honest about themselves." Harley says, sitting down beside the hospital bed. For a moment she looks at Blake and then she says. "I'm not sure what makes me angrier, the fact that you were the one running the website or the fact that you hid from it by staying in a coma."
"I was poisoned."
"Something that left you within weeks of the attack, you were just too much a coward to face what you had done." Harley says, as Cassie walks in.
"That's enough Harley." Cassie says, as Harley looks up. "You're attacking her and she's not even been awake for more than a couple days.
"And you want to excuse…."
"Hey." Blake shouts. They turn to look at her. "Before this rolls into an all-out argument, you're both right. I was hiding." She says, looking at Harley. "I didn't want to face the backlash from the site and I didn't want to face life without Ross anymore. I'm not sure now that I can handle him not being there. And I certainly wasn't prepared to face being mayor. I only ran for the office to feel close to Ross. I am just out of coma so it is kinda harsh to come at me right now, but I understand why you did it." Blake says, holding up her hand when Harley opens her. "And Cassie, she's right to be pissed. You should be pissed because I took a rather unfaltering aim at you on that website and you are or were my best friends."
"We're still your best friends." Cassie says, looking at Harley.
"We're friends, but if you do something like that again Blake. I swear I'll poison you myself." Harley says, looking at her.
"I'm through setting up websites to embarrass people." She says, holding up her arms. Both of them look at each other and then walk over to her and hug.
Julie arrives back in Oakdale around six. Stopping at her Mom's, she picks the kids up and then heads home. "You guys start your homework…."
"Mom, its Friday. We don't have homework." Mason says.
"I'm sorry I forgot. Do you guys want pizza?" She asks, knowing they would agree. She really didn't feel like cooking.
"Yes." They all cry.
"Alright, I'll order pizza and then we'll settle in and rent a movie on pay-per view." She says, reaching for the phone. It rings as she reaches for it. "Hello."
"Julie, its Jacob."
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to explain what happened today."
"I think it was fairly obvious what happened."
"I was protecting you. You cut me out and wouldn't talk to me."
"So you follow me to Chicago after I told you that I would explain everything when I got back. I will not be treated like I'm your property. I don't answer to you."
"I didn't mean to make you feel that way. But I think I do deserve some answers. You've ignored me for two days."
"I had some things I needed to work out. I'm not talking about this now. Tonight I'm spending time with my kids." She says. "We'll talk later. Good-bye Jacob." She hangs up and then dials the number for the pizza place. Ordering two pizza's, one for the kids and one for herself. Twenty minutes later, the pizzas arrive. She and the kids settle in for pizza and a movie.
Two hours later, the movie is over and Martin is asleep in her arms. "Alright, off to bed." She says, moving to pick Martin up as Mason and Mj get up. They are all on the way upstairs when someone rings the doorbell. "Go on and I'll see who that is." She says, turning for the door as Mason and Mj, walk upstairs. She walks over to the door as whomever was on the other side of the door, knocks. "I'm coming." She says, shifting Martin to her hip as she unlocks the door. Opening the door, she looks up to see Jacob on the other side.
"Hi." He says, holding a bunch of flowers.
"What are you doing here? I said we would talk later."
"It's later…." He says, as she looks at him as if to say, you knew what I meant. "Please let me in." He says, taking a step closer.
She looks at him for a moment and then steps back. "I've got to put him down." She says, as he walks in, closing the door behind him.
"Do you want some help?" He asks, turning to her.
"No, I got him. I'll be right back." She turns around and walks towards the stairs. For a moment, he watches her before he walks into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he sets back and then looks around. A few minutes later, she comes downstairs. "He's down." She says, coming into the living room.
"That's good." He says, moving to get up.
"Don't." She says, walking over to the chair beside the couch. Sitting down, she tucks her feet under her and crosses her arms as he sits back.
He watches her for a moment, and then says. "You're beautiful." She looks at him but doesn't say anything. "I know you're mad. I'm sorry I followed you to Chicago. But you wouldn't talk to me."
"So you followed me to force me to, to what?" She asks, leaning forward. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"I didn't know what was happening. You hadn't talked to me in two days. And you won't talk to me now."
"I might if you would take a step back and let me breath. There are things going on that I need to figure out on my own."
"What things?"
"I don't know that I want to talk now." She says, getting up. He gets up and reaches to stop her from leaving.
"Let me go, Jacob."
"Would you….? Damn it, I didn't come over here to argue or force you to talk to me. I came to apologize." He says, letting her go. For a moment, he looks at her and then says. "I know I overstepped by following you to Chicago. I don't even know why I did it, except that I couldn't figure out why you wouldn't talk to me, but instead you went running off to talk to your ex…."
"I wasn't running off to talk to him. I had a meeting for work and the papers were ready to be signed for the condo. Yes, it gave me the opportunity to talk to him about some things that have been on my mind about our relationship, but I didn't run to Chicago to talk to him and ignore you. I didn't call or talk to you the past two day because I needed to think and I would've called you when I got back tonight, like I said I would."
"Why are you so upset? You invited me over here the other night. And I thought we were doing okay and then you went to your Mom's and after that, nothing. What happened?" Jacob asks, sitting down.
She stands in front of him for a moment before she sits down again. "Around the time of the hearing for my divorce, a couple of men contacted me. They worked for the agency that took Matt's body after the accident." She pauses for a few seconds. "When the accident happened, we were all devastated. But to make the time more stressful, we didn't have life insurance for Matt. We had no way of paying for his funeral. The week after the accident, two agents from the government, came to us at the hospital and asked me to release Matt's body to them. They would cover the cost of his burial if I would do that. So I agreed. A week later, it was announced that Prince Richard Winslow had been killed a car wreck."
"I don't understand what the death of the former Prince of San Cristobel has to do with Matt's death. Richard wasn't dead. He was a patient at the agency where I worked. I took over for his doctor this summer before my mother became sick and I had to withdraw my residency."
"I know he's alive. I've met him." Julie says, getting up and walking over to the window. "Around the time of my divorce, two agents tracked me down to tell me that Matt's brother wanted to see me."
"Matt's brother, I thought you said he was an only child."
"I thought he was. But he wasn't. He has a twin, and identical twin brother that lives in Springfield." Julie says, turning around.
"Who is it?"
"Richard Winslow, the former Prince of San Cristobel, I was married to royalty and didn't even know it." Julie says with a ruthful laugh.
"Wait, Matt was a prince. Richard is his brother."
"Yes, technically they're both illegitimate children of Prince George and Matt's mother."
"I'm confused. Didn't Matt tell you that he had a twin brother?"
"No, neither one knew about the other. It was the deal Prince George made with their mother. Anyway, after the accident these agents took Matt's body and they paid for his funeral."
"I don't understand why you couldn't tell me about this. I knew about…."
"I'm getting to that. So fast forward five years, and I've left Marciano. I'm living with my mother and two agents appear at her house wanting to talk to me."
"Why would they want to talk to you?"
"To explain that Matt has a brother and that his brother wanted to meet me and the kids."
"Richard wants to meet you and your kids! Are you going to do it?"
"I've already met with him and his wife. We had lunch a few months back. I didn't take the kids with me because I didn't want to confuse them and I'm glad I didn't. When I met with them, they explain why the accident happened and why Matt was killed."
"So what happened?"
"Apparently as they were leaving San Cristobel, the ex-wife to their half-brother William decided that she would go after Cassie. I'm not sure why, but she paid a man to kill Richard to hurt Cassie. That man mistook Matt for him and caused Matt's accident. A week later, Richard had his accident. The agency took Matt to Springfield and switched him for Richard and then sent Richard to your agencies hospital. Where he was taken care of for the last five years, until he woke up last summer?"
"And that's when Richard found out about Matt?"
"Yes, he had no idea that he had a twin brother. His father never told him about anything that happened between their mother and him. I think Richard thought that she had died in childbirth or something."
"I still don't understand why you wouldn't talk to me."
"After I found out that whole story, I told Richard that I didn't want him around me or the kids. And then early last week, I found and invitation to his announcement about the mayor's race in Springfield at my Mom."
"Your mom knows Richard."
"According to her, they met the evening after I met with them for lunch. She said they came looking for me, but couldn't find me. How they found her I don't know? But a few days later, she took a couple boxes of Matt's things and his mother's things to them, without asking me if it was okay. The other day, when I left you here I went to her house, to confront her and to make sure she understood that I didn't want the kids around them. I found out that she's already taken them to meet them."
"How long has it been going on?"
"I'm not sure, but the last couple days I've been trying to figure out a way to keep them from seeing Richard and Cassie again."
"Why don't you want them to see their Uncle and Aunt? They are their last connection to their father."
"They are also the reason their father's dead."
"From what you've told me, everything that happened before Richard's and Matt's accident was caused by someone else. Neither Richard nor Matt could've predicted or stopped those accidents from happening."
"He's still responsible."
"How can you say that? He was a victim, just as Matt was. You're blaming him for something that another person put into play. He didn't even know he had a brother, let alone that his life or his brother's was in danger."
"Lana said the same thing to me." Julie says, sighing as she stands up and walks over to the window.
"So, why are still blaming him?
For a moment she looks at the window before she turns around and looks at him. "I want him to hurt. I want him to wonder for the rest of his life what his brother was like and Cassie as well."
"Do you really think he's going to hurt? He'll regret not knowing him and he'll likely wonder from time to time what he was like. But he's lived his whole life not knowing about this until now."
"And now he knows."
"And it's something that's never really been a part of his life. He knows Matt was his brother. He knows a little bit about his mother, most likely he only knows what was in those boxes and what about your kids? They've met now. Do you really think they're not going to want to see them?"
"That's why I didn't want them to know."
"But they have the right to know. Maybe this is more about your feeling towards Richard."
"My feelings towards Richard, I don't have any feelings towards him, except that I don't want him around."
"But why is that? Maybe because you don't want to be reminded of Matt and losing him. Maybe you don't want to see them happy and healthy and Matt's gone."
"I don't want to see that. I don't get a second chance. I'll never get a second chance and neither will our kids."
"Actually you do get a second chance. It may not be the way you wished for, but it's a second chance." He says, getting up and walking over to her.
He slips his arms around her and she leans back against him. "You're using logic against me."
"I know." He says, lightly kissing the side of her head as she sighs. After a moment he says. "I'm sorry, I followed you."
"I'm sorry I wouldn't talk to you." She says, pulling his arms tighter around her.