It is the next morning, and everyone in the Mallard house is quiet as they prepare for their day. The kids have to go to school. Beth and Drake have to work, and Hayley has to go to the court house and settle the matter of her being alive. The family is still recovering from last night's dinner.

Drake is still reeling from the news of his sister being alive. He's also not sure how to feel about Beth having a date at his funeral. They never did have the conversation about relationships each may have had before he returned. It hurts him to think that Beth had someone else in her life, and in Jake's. At the same time, he can't blame her. He was gone. Beth had every right to see other people. But at his funeral? He and Beth are in their bedroom. Beth has been walking back and forth getting ready, while Drake has been sitting on the bed, watching her.

"Beth, I have to ask you something." Drake finally says. Beth looks over at him as she puts her earrings in. "…. About this date you brought to my funeral."

Beth gives him a look as she puts her hands down. She walks over to the bed and sits next to him. "It wasn't a date. It was another doctor I knew at the hospital that was there for me. And I let him be."

"Did you let him do more than just….. be there for you?" Drake asks as he becomes uneasy.

Beth reaches over and holds his hand in his lap. "You broke off our engagement, so I was on the rebound. We had a thing. It was brief. But I didn't feel anything for him. When you….. died" Beth grimaces as she continues, "I let him be there for me. I was pregnant, and I was alone and I was scared, but after a few weeks I ended things with him. I couldn't let someone else into my life after I've just lost you."

"How'd he take it?" Drake asks, knowing very well that Beth is not an easy woman to get over.

"He left town. He was offered a job at another hospital and he took it."

Drake begins to relax and holds Beth's hand. "So, there was nobody else after that?" Drake asks with hope in his voice.

"No, there wasn't. I focused all of my time on being a mother to our son. And when you came back…. well, that was a no brainer."

Drake and Beth smile at each other and kiss. When Beth pulls away she wastes no time brining up his sister. "So, Hayley being back is pretty incredible."

"It is" Drake agrees with a smile. "It's amazing. And totally unexpected. People don't come back from the dead." Drake laughs nervously; fully aware that his family thought he was dead not too long ago.

"No, they don't. But people that are alive could be presumed dead, especially when there is no reason to believe that they are still alive."

Drake's nervous laughter turns to sadness and shame, knowing very well what he'd put his family through by letting them think he was dead. "I don't deserve to be this happy, especially after what I put this family through."

"Stop it. We have all made our peace with it. Its time you start forgiving yourself." Beth says as she tries to assure her husband. He gives her a slight smile, but he is still unsure about forgiving himself.

/

Gosalyn and Abby are in their bedroom getting ready for their second day of High School. They haven't said a word to each other since leaving the dinner table the previous night. Gosalyn is putting makeup on while Abby is finishing getting dressed.

"How's your head?" Abby asks as she tries to break the silence.

"It still hurts. But I'm not gonna let it stop me from creaming those eggheads from Yolktown" Gosalyn answers, as she refers to the soccer team that they will be going head to head with today after school.

Abby chuckles at the irony of Gosalyn's comment.

"I'm sorry I told everybody about Zach. That was a really crummy thing to do."

"That's okay. But if you tell them what I've really been up to with Zach I'll have to kill ya. I'm sorry too, about telling them about Torrie."

"I just don't want my Dad going down to the school to yell at Torrie or her parents or Coach. He'll still try to protect me any chance he gets."

"Word" Abby takes her turn at the mirror to finish up her makeup.

"What's the story with Zach? Has he said anything to you about Bailar?" Gosalyn asks as she plops down on her bed to put her shoes on.

"No. I think he wanted to but I kept avoiding him yesterday. I'm not ready to hear him give me the 'let's be friends' speech."

"How could you be friends with someone you've had sex with?" Gosalyn asks as she catches herself laughing.

"I'm not sure it's even possible. Let's just hope he forgets all about me and moves on. No use having the awkward conversation neither one of us wants to have."

Cut to the school hallway when Zach catches up to Abby before she has to get ready for the soccer game. "Abby, could I talk to you?"

Abby is caught off guard. She stares at him for a few seconds before she responds. "Ah, sure."

Zach and Abby start to walk slowly through the halls on the way to the girl's locker room. "I tried to get your attention yesterday. I guess you didn't hear me."

"What? Oh, yeah. First day of school, you know. I guess I was distracted." Abby lies.

"Yeah, I guess the first day can be a little crazy."

Abby wants to get right to the chase. She stops walking and positions herself to stand in front of him. "I know what this is about."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I saw you with your ex-girlfriend." Abby responds with a sad tone in her voice. She is not making eye contact with Zach. She hugs her text books a bit tighter as she starts to tense up.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. She and I haven't seen each other all summer. We both did some growing up while we were apart and…. well we want to work on our relationship. See if there is something still there, ya know"

Abby nods as she continues to hug her text books tight.

"It sucks, you know. I really thought I was over her. I thought I could… move on and find someone else. That's why I let things go as far as they did with us."

Abby looks up at Zach. He is a few inches taller than her. She feels like a loser, but she refuses to let him know that. She covers by letting out a slight laugh. "Zach, its just sex. I really wasn't expecting anything to happen between us."

"No?"

"No. So it's okay. Go and be with your girlfriend." Abby tells him as she continues to cover how she really feels. She doesn't necessarily have feelings for him, but he seems to feel something for her. She is flattered by this. But now he won't be able to act on those feelings.

"I know this is so cliché, but I want to be friends with you." Zach says as he looks at Abby with hope in his eyes.

"You want to be my friend. How would that even work?" Abby asks as she loosens the grip that she's had on her books. She was dreading this conversation, especially the part about them being friends. But now she feels slightly offended.

"Well, for starters, when we see each other in the halls we can say hello instead of ducking into a class room." Zach responds as he refers to Abby's behavior from the previous day. This makes Abby smile with embarrassment.

"So whaddya say?" Zach asks.

"Okay. I guess we can give it a shot."

/

At the soccer game, Gosalyn is scoring the last goal of the game as time is about to be called. The whistle blows and everyone on the home team starts cheering. The St Canard Hawks have won the game against the Yolktown Yellowsocks 6 to 4. Drake is among the parents standing and applauding. The Hawks run in a circle with their arms out as they celebrate their win. After the opposing team leaves the field, the Hawks gather together and sit in front of the coach in the middle of the field. Some of the girls are expecting to hear praise and positive comments, but the few girls that were on the team last year know better, and brace themselves for the coach's harsh comments. The parents are still hanging out along the sidelines and are able to hear everything that is going on. Some of the parents were also around last year and already know what to expect from the coach.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for ourselves ladies." Coach begins. "What the heck is going on out there? Torrie, you were all over the place out there. You were not following any of the plays that I called for today. Lisa, you were supposed to be covering number 38, not number 42. Abby, you let number 19 get past you four times. I counted. Gosalyn, you scored 4 of the 6 goals for us today. That doesn't excuse the sloppy passes you made to Jenna. And Jenna, you have got to get in front of the ball." Coach yells as she claps her hand into the other. "How many times do I have to say that? Girls! The sloppy mistakes have got to stop. You are all replaceable. Don't forget that. There are many junior varsity players that would do anything to move up to varsity."

The new parents, including Drake, look on with shock and disbelief. They cannot believe that the coach is treating their kids this way.

"I will see you all on Monday promptly after school. You are dismissed."

The girls stand up and walk over to their parents. Drake meets Gosalyn and Abby halfway, hoping to have his chance to talk to the coach.

"Hi Dad." Gosalyn says as he approaches her.

"Hey Gos, wait right here for me okay?"

Drake approaches the coach. "Excuse me, hi, I'm Drake Mallard."

"Gosalyn's father. What do you want?" Coach asks sounding annoyed.

"I couldn't help but notice the way you talk down to these girls. Is it really necessary? I mean they won the game."

"Yes they did win the game. Did they deserve to win? No, probably not." The coach says coldly as she cuts him off.

"That's a bit harsh."

"The girls made a lot of sloppy mistakes out there. The only reason they won the game is because the other team lost. If they want to continue to win, they need to do better. They need to follow direction and they need to have their heads in the game."

Drake looks at the coach in shock. Gosalyn and Abby look at each other, knowing that this isn't going to end well.

"I appreciate that you want these girls to work hard to win games, but I don't appreciate the way that you talked to my kids just now. Gosalyn and Abby…"

"Abby is not your child." The coach cuts him off again as she collects her things.

"Abby is my responsibility." Drake responds firmly. He is not backing down, especially since he is trying to stick up for his girls.

"In that case, you need to make sure she starts to run an extra hour a week."

"What? These girls already run six days a week." Drake responds as he continues on the defensive.

"Abby is the slowest runner on this team right now. She needs to add another hour in order to keep up with these girls and her opponents, otherwise she is out." The coach adds as she picks up her things and walks away. Abby looks outward with shock in her face. She now knows that she is on the chopping block and she will have to improve her game.

Drake walks over to join Gosalyn and Abby. The three of them walk off the field toward the car. "Is she always like this?"

"She wants us to win games Dad. We just have to put up with it."

"So she yells at you like that at every practice." Drake asks in a high pitched voice as he unlocks the car.

"Yep" Gosalyn says as she hops into the front seat of the car. Abby sits in the back and Drake gets behind the wheel and starts the car.

"Is soccer even fun anymore with that kind of negativity?"

"The games are fun." Gosalyn answers as she watches out the window. Drake is not convinced. He glances up to the rear view mirror and notices Abby pouting. He looks over at Gosalyn, her mood doesn't exactly spell excitement. They just won their first varsity soccer game of the season, yet both girls are miserable.

/

Later that evening, Gosalyn and Skyler arrive at Bree's dance studio. She's called a last minute meeting with the dancers to introduce some new people that will be joining their team. Gosalyn notices that Bailar is one of the new dancers. The dancers are sitting down as Bree arrives.

"Good evening everybody. Thank you so much for being here so promptly. We have a few things to cover." As Bree begins, Gosalyn realizes the relief she started to feel the minute she entered the building. Bree is nothing like her soccer coach. She is more relaxed and easy going. Both dance and soccer require extensive training, practice and focus, but Bree and Coach have different approaches when it comes to preparing the teams.

"We have a few new people joining our team this year, and I hope we can work together to make them feel welcome. I'm going to be pairing some of the new dancers with some of our seasoned dancers so that we can create a balance. We have our first competition coming up in a few weeks, and I will be assigning and choreographing dances to feature your strengths. Skyler, I want you and Bailar to work together, and Gosalyn, I want you to work with Javo."

Gosalyn and Skyler look at each other with sadness as Bree matches up the other dance partners. They've been partners since they started dancing, and now they have to work with other people. They hold hands until Bree tells the dancers to meet with their partners and get to know each other.

Skyler walks over to Bailar and they shake hands. Skyler already knows Bailar from school, but they've never talked or hung out. Gosalyn walks over to Javo, and is taken by surprise. He is nineteen years old and oozes with confidence, and he's not bad to look at either. She starts to feel a little intimidated by his presence. She immediately has to hide that since Bree requests that the couples try a few basic Cha Cha Cha steps before they call it a night. A few minutes into their dancing, Gosalyn starts to tense up, and Javo can feel it. "Hey relax, I don't bite." His comment doesn't assure Gosalyn. She continues to feel uneasy about her new partner. She catches herself staring at him. There is definitely an attraction there, and she is doing her darndest to ignore it. Skyler and Bailar are able to connect instantly and start to add a few steps to their dance exercise. They decide to have fun with it. Gosalyn, on the other hand, is not having fun. "It's going to be a long season" she hears herself say in her head.

/

The next day, Beth gets a visitor. It is Jack, the doctor that she was involved with after Drake broke off their engagement. Beth is surprised to see him, but politely invites him in. It is Saturday, so the girls are out for their run and Drake is at work. Christian and Jake are both taking naps.

At the stationhouse, Drake and Taylor are at their desks going through paperwork. They do not have a case to work on at the moment, so they are going through cold cases of missing persons. Taylor comes across one that she'd like them to work on.

"Here's one from two years ago. A twenty two year old mother disappeared after she left work. That's not that long ago so we should still be able to interview witnesses."

"Okay, sold" Drake agrees as he closes the file that he's been reading. At this time, another officer arrives at the station with sandwiches for everyone. Taylor immediately starts to feel sick when she smells the sandwiches and makes a run for it to the nearest bathroom. Drake watches with worry. He's been working with Taylor for a few months now and has developed a fondness for her. He decides to check on her.

He stands outside of the bathroom and waits for a few minutes before he knocks. "Detective, are you okay?"

Taylor doesn't respond, but a few seconds later she emerges. "Sorry about that, that came out of nowhere."

Drake notices that she looks pale. He knows that she ran in there to throw up. He offers to take her home, but she insists that she is fine.

"Detective, you just spent the last 10 minutes in there hurling, and you didn't even eat lunch yet." Drake tries to get through to his partner, but to no avail.

"I'm fine, really. I just can't stand the smell of onions right now." Taylor argues as she starts to feel sick again at the thought of smelling the onions.

"The smell of onions?"

"I'm pregnant." Taylor blurts out. Drake is in shock. He starts to think about who is in her life right now, since she is not known to talk about her personal life that much.

"That guy you brought to my wedding." Drake figures it out.

"Yes, the guy I brought to your wedding. Can we drop it now please? I don't want the department to know about this yet."

"Sure" Drake agrees as they start to walk back to their desks.

Taylor stops outside of their department as she remembers the scent of onions. The other detectives are still eating their sandwiches. "Maybe some fresh air is in order. Let's go interview some witnesses." Drake nods in agreement. He retrieves the file from her desk and both Detectives walk out.

/

At home, Beth has made a pot of coffee for her and Jack. They sit down in the kitchen and talk. Beth is still not sure what he is doing there, but she's never been known to be rude.

"Are you still on staff at Featherstone Hospital?" Beth asks as she tries to uncover the reason for his visit.

"For now. I'm starting to look at other hospitals, maybe come back to Saint Canard General if they'll have me back."

Beth smiles, although it is a fake smile. She has the life that she's always wanted. She's not exactly thrilled with the prospect of having her ex in her face while she's at work. She keeps her feelings to herself and sips her coffee.

"How's Jake doing?" Jack asks in an attempt to break the silence.

"He's getting so big, and smart. Drake and I are so proud of him." Beth glows with joy as she thinks about her son.

Jack considers his next words before he speaks, because once he says what he wants to say, there is no going back. "Is he mine, Beth?"

Beth is surprised that Jack is asking this question. "No, Jack. I was already pregnant when you and I got involved. You know that."

"Actually, I don't know that. And now I am asking."

"Why are you doing this?" Beth asks him as she gets upset. She stands up and takes a few steps away from the table. She crosses her arms to express how uncomfortable this conversation is making her feel.

"Because I need to. If that boy is mine…"

"He is not yours!" Beth snaps back as she turns around to look at him. Jack is also standing and walks over to be in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. That is not why I came here." Jack says as he takes a calmer approach.

"Then why did you come here?" Beth asks. At this moment, Gosalyn and Abby arrive home, but Beth does not hear them. As Jack moves in and kisses Beth, the girls open the kitchen door and see them kissing. They don't make a sound, they are both stunned, afraid to move or say anything. Gosalyn snaps out of it and quietly pushes Abby away from the kitchen door.