Opening her eyes, Rachel woke the following morning, to see Kyle asleep beside her. Her memory was full of thoughts about the wedding and how Kyle was her husband now. Rachel smiled at the sight of Kyle, when he stirred. Rachel assumed he was waking up, but instead Kyle began to mutter, making sounds as if he was afraid of something.
"Kyle?" Rachel said, in an attempt to wake him.
Kyle flinched and repeated, "No…" a few times over.
Rachel was about to try and rouse him, when Kyle bolted upright in bed, with a cry of, "NO!"
Now awake Kyle, sat catching his breath, jumping when Rachel touched his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," Rachel said, "Bad dream?"
His breathing regulating, Kyle rubbed one eye and sighed, "Yeah."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Rachel said, "You were mumbling in your sleep."
"I was?" Kyle said, "What was I saying?"
"You kept repeating the word 'no'," Rachel said.
"Austin," Kyle said.
"He was in your dream?" Rachel said.
Kyle nodded and said, "It was last night all over again, except this time I was alone with him and no one was coming to help me. He was threatening me and then he pulled the trigger. That's when I woke up."
Rachel hugged Kyle sideways on and said, "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," Kyle said.
"It's like you said, Austin can't hurt us anymore," Rachel said.
"That's right," Kyle said, "Not exactly how I wanted to wake up the morning after our wedding."
"Were you hoping for something more like this?" Rachel pulled him into a kiss.
"Much better," Kyle said.
Snuggling into bed together, Rachel said, "I owe you the hugest apology."
"For what?" Kyle said.
"Falling asleep on you last night," Rachel said, "I was horrified when I woke up and realized it was morning."
Caressing her arm with his fingers, Kyle said, "It was a crazy busy day yesterday. Honestly, I was exhausted too. I fell asleep soon after you did."
"Even so, our wedding was incredible," Rachel said.
"Amazing," Kyle said, "The reception was a lot of fun too."
"It was," Rachel said, "To a point."
"We are not going to let that ruin our memories," Kyle said, "Everything turned out okay. It was still the best day of my life."
"Mine too," Rachel said.
"Let's not forget we managed to have a little fun before you fell asleep," Kyle said.
"Yeah, I guess we did," Rachel said.
"You guess?" Kyle said, "Married less than 24 hours and you're already unimpressed with me?"
"Not in the least," Rachel said, "I only meant last night was supposed to be much more and I ruined it."
"You did no such thing," Kyle said, "Plus, as luck would have it, our flight does not leave until later tonight. So, we have an entire day to fill."
"Hawaii," Rachel said, "I can hardly wait."
"It's going to be great," Kyle said.
"For today though, what are we going to do all day?" Rachel said.
"We will have to think of something," Kyle said.
"Have breakfast?" Rachel teased.
"We could do that," Kyle said.
"Make sure we are properly packed for our trip?" Rachel said.
"That too," Kyle said.
"Unless you have a better idea," Rachel said.
"As a matter of fact…" Kyle said, kissing her as he lay her back.
Resting his head in one hand, Fen sat on the patio of Crimson Lights. His phone sat on the table, as he sifted past Summer's phone number multiple times, wanting to contact her, but deciding against it each time.
"You look like I feel," a voice spoke beside him.
"Oh, hey Mariah," Fen said
"You sound like it too," Mariah said, sitting across from him, "So, which of us is going to confess the reason for their misery first."
"Summer and I broke up," Fen said.
"You mean you had a fight," Mariah said, "Go and make it right. Buy her flowers or something."
"It's too late for that," Fen said, "She rejected my proposal."
"Of marriage?" Mariah said, "I didn't realize you two were at that point."
"Apparently neither did Summer," Fen said.
"I can't criticize her, when I did the same thing," Mariah said, "Tessa and I are over."
"You two just go engaged," Fen said.
"Well, that's a thing of the past," Mariah said, displaying her hand to show the engagement ring was no longer on her finger.
Fen nodded. "I guess the news about her and Austin being related was pretty surprising."
"That is not the worst of it," Mariah said, "Tessa is in love with someone else."
"She told you about her feelings for Rachel?" Fen said.
Mariah stared at Fen in disbelief. "Am I the only one who didn't know about this?" she said.
"Tessa, told me how she felt," Fen said, "I knew she wanted to do what she could to break up Kyle and Rachel. I tried to talk her out of it."
"I could have accepted she was in love with someone else, if she had told me about it," Mariah said.
"She knew she couldn't have Rachel, so she kept quiet about it," Fen said, "Maybe she didn't want to be alone, or she didn't want to be the odd one out and she stayed with you."
"Exactly," Mariah said, "I was her stand in. I feel like such a fool."
"Tessa, did this to you," Fen said, "Don't blame yourself. I'm sorry, you're going through this."
"And I am sorry, about you and Snowflake," Mariah said. Fen half laughed, before Mariah continued, "Then again, maybe you should talk to Summer."
"I don't think she wants to see me," Fen said.
"She might," Summer's voice spoke from behind Fen. He turned surprised to see her, his voice momentarily lost he could only mouth her name.
"I am going to leave you two to talk," Mariah said, standing up. She took a few steps away, then turned back around and said, "You two have something special. Something real and that is worth fighting for."
Austin strolled around the cafeteria, carrying a tray he tried to find a spot to sit, far enough away from the other inmates. He was aware of many sets of eyes on him as the others scrutinized their new addition. Finding a suitable area, he was about to settle into his chair when someone yanked it away from behind him. Mild laughter was heard as Austin looked back at his chair and then focused on the person who took it.
"Oh, is this your chair?" the inmate said.
"No, it's fine," Austin said, moving over to sit in an adjacent chair.
The inmate surveyed Austin, before saying, "Look at you." Speaking loudly he announced to the room, "We have a pretty boy here!"
Grunts of discontentment populated the room. Glancing at the offending inmate, Austin said, "If it's all the same to you, I prefer to be alone."
"Oh, he prefers it," the other inmate said, before slamming his fist on the table beside Austin. "You're in here now," he growled, "There is no being alone. We don't like loners, so you would be best to make friends and fast. Make no mistake though, I will not be one of them."
"I'll remember that," Austin said.
"That's right, you will," the inmate said, grabbing Austin's tray of food and sitting across from him.
"That's my lunch," Austin said.
"Now it's mine," the inmate said, "What are you going to do about it? Cry?"
Austin gave a small laugh and said, "You are trying to pick a fight with me over food in a detention center. That's some serious desperation issues."
Amusement was heard from some of the others, before the affronting inmate lunged at Austin, seizing him out of his chair, by grabbing the front of his clothing. "Are you being condescending to me?" the inmate said, "You don't do that. You don't do anything without my permission. You don't talk, you don't sit, eat, you don't breathe, unless I tell you to. You don't insult me, because it would be a shame if I had to mess up that pretty face of yours."
"That's enough," a voice said. Austin saw an older inmate approach and say, "Hands off the boy."
"This doesn't concern you," the inmate said.
"I said, hands off," the older man said, "Or I will take them off for you."
Austin was immediately released by the other inmate. Warning Austin, he said, "I'll be watching you."
Displeasure was on the older man's face, as he said, "Someone is hard of hearing. Leave the boy alone. Are we going to have another discussion?"
"No," the younger inmate said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that," the older inmate said.
"No, Mr. Black, sir," the younger man said.
Strolling around to stand opposite from Austin, Mr. Black, smiled and said, "Well, well. What do we have here?"
Austin looked over, face to face with Simon Black.
Sitting across from Fen, Summer said, "I know you're probably angry with me."
"I'm not angry," Fen said, "I'm disappointed. Also I'm confused."
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to let you down," Summer said, "What can I do to make this better?"
"Explain this to me," Fen said, "I thought you and I were in the same place with our relationship. I love you and I wanted us to be together. We have gotten so close, sharing everything with each other. I am ready to make a more serious commitment to you. I was under the impression that you wanted the same thing."
"When you proposed," Summer started, "It was after the horrible events of the evening. My feelings were all over the place. I've had time to think about this and I have something to say, that I think will make you happy."
"Are you accepting?" Fen said.
"Not exactly," Summer said, "Marriage is huge, I'm not ready to jump into that. I have a compromise. I was thinking you and I can get a place of our own, live together just like we wanted. Down the road we can talk about marriage, but for now just being with you is enough for me."
Fen smiled and said, "That's all I want. I think it's the perfect solution, let's do it."
"I'm so glad you feel that way," Summer said.
"We should start looking really soon," Fen said, "We might have to stay in hotel until we find a place to live. We need to book a flight too."
"What are you talking about?" Summer said.
"Moving to Nashville together," Fen said.
"No, Fen, I was talking about living together here, in Genoa City," Summer said, "Our solution is you staying here, not moving so far away."
"I told you I have things lined up over there," Fen said, "This is our fresh start."
"I'm sure you can find something to work at right here," Summer said, "Maybe you can work in the media business. Devon could give you a job, or maybe you could even work with me at Jabot. I know we can be happy here. This way I don't have to give up my job and be away from my family."
"So, it's okay for me to give up my dreams, but you get to have yours?" Fen said.
"That's not what I meant," Summer said, "We can create our own dreams. Besides, your family is here too."
"Summer, I am moving to Nashville," Fen said, "Whether you come with me or not."
Summer looked at Fen, he could see the answer in her eyes. "You're not, are you?" he sighed.
Tears came to Summer's eyes as she said, "No."
Nodding, Fen said, "Well, that's it then. I guess there's nothing more to say." Standing up , Fen said, "I should be going. I have a lot of plans to finalize."
Jumping out of her chair, Summer said, "Fen wait…" Summer took his hands and said, "I'm going to miss you."
"Same here," Fen said, "It's not like you will never see me again. I will come back here from time to time. If you ever find yourself on a business trip out by Nashville look me up."
Summer smiled through her tears. "I'll do that."
"I'll give you the guided tour," Fen said.
"I love you," Summer said.
"I love you too," Fen said, engaging Summer in a kiss.
Summer merged the kiss into a hug, holding Fen tight. "Don't go," she said.
"I have to," Fen said.
Facing him Summer nodded, wiping away her tears. "Don't forget about me, okay?" she said.
"Summer, how could I?" Fen said, "You're the love of my life."
Fen put on hand on Summer's cheek, leaning in to tenderly kiss the other. Their hands were still linked with each other's as Fen walked away, holding on until the distance separated them. Without looking back, Fen left the coffeehouse. Her heart breaking and knowing she had broken Fen's, Summer collapsed into a chair in sobs.
Simon Black was staring down Austin, who was unsure of what to say. "I would ask you what you are doing here, but I already know," Simon said.
"You don't know anything about me," Austin said.
"I like to keep up to date on current events," Simon said, "The Abbott clan is well known and when you threaten to shoot the baby of that family, on his wedding day no less, it makes the news."
"It would have served him right," Austin said.
"But it would have turned out worse for you," Simon said.
"You sound like my sister," Austin said.
"It wasn't a very smart move," Simon said.
"You're one to talk," Austin said, "I see the news too and you did practically the same thing as me."
"I appreciate that you want to emulate me," Simon said, "However, I realize what I did was not the right approach."
"My approach was fine," Austin said, "Abbott, as usual, got in the way."
"You should think things through instead of trying to punish everyone," Simon said.
"I don't know what makes you think I need your advice," Austin said, "I know what I am doing."
"Boy, I raised you to be smarter than this," Simon said.
Austin half laughed and said, "My mother raised me. She was a much more suitable parent than you."
"I may not have been around much," Simon said, "But I was there, I provided for you and your sister. Didn't you always have food on the table, clothes on your back? You had and education. Do you think your mother could have done all that for you on her own?"
"Don't talk down to me about my mother," Austin said, "She was there for me and Tess. She loved us, is which is more than I can say for you."
"You had better watch your tone when you speak to me," Simon sad, "I will not tolerate any disrespect."
"Are you going to send to my cell?" Austin said.
"Let me make this clear," Simon said, "You don't say a word to any of our fellow men here, about our connection. You don't want to know the consequences if you do. In here, I am not your father."
"So, it's just like always then," Austin said, "Because you never were."
Austin proceeded to move away, until Simon grabbed his arm. "You are going to need a friend around here, so you might want to think twice about walking away from me."
"You know, I normally wouldn't mind closing the place down for a private event," Abby said, standing in Society, "But I don't like losing business over something like this."
"It's the only way to get the truth," Noah said. Looking across at Mariah, he continued, "Are you sure she's coming?"
"I texted her, told her I was willing to talk," Mariah said, "I didn't mention it would not just be me."
Hearing footsteps behind him Noah turned to see Summer, walking in. "I'm glad you could make it," Noah said.
"I am really not up for this," Summer said.
"We are all here to support each other," Noah said.
"This had better be good," Kevin said, walking in.
"We are not even sure if she will show," Abby said, "I guess everyone is here, except her."
"Fen is not here," Kevin said.
"I don't think Fen is coming," Summer said.
"Actually, he's right here," Fen said, walking into the room.
"I thought you were getting ready to leave," Summer said.
"I was, but I want to hear what Tessa has to say for herself," Fen said.
"I'm glad I caught you before you left," Summer said, "I need to say something."
"What's going on here?" Tessa said, standing in the entrance way, "Mariah, you said you were willing to talk."
"We are," Mariah said.
"We?" Tessa said.
"All of us," Noah said, "We want some answers and we want them now."
"So you decided to ambush me," Tessa said, "You could have been honest about the reason you wanted me here."
"Like you were honest with us," Abby accused.
"Let's just start from the beginning," Kevin said.
"I don't know what you mean," Tessa said.
"It means going back to that night," Mariah said, "When Austin says we left him for dead. Which of course is one of his many lies."
"Austin mysteriously disappeared," Noah said, "Obviously he was still alive."
"Austin said he had help to get away from the cabin," Summer said, "Was that you?"
"You need to understand," Tessa said, "I was not in contact with my brother back then."
"Then who helped him?" Fen said.
"I don't know," Tessa said, "I got a call that he was in the hospital, badly injured. I went to be with him to help him recover."
"However, you did not notify the authorities to tell them Austin was alive," Noah said, "So you had to know who we were before we even met you. Then you pretended to be interested in me, in Mariah. Tessa was the nice girl who everyone wanted to be friends with. You even befriended Kyle and Rachel."
"And it always comes back to Rachel, doesn't it Tessa?" Mariah said, "That's really what set this whole thing in motion."
"What are you talking about?" Abby said.
"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Mariah said. Tessa hesitated, so Mariah said, "Tessa is in love with Rachel. So, she conspired with Austin to get Kyle out of the way. Then Austin could have Summer and Tessa could have Rachel."
"That's not true," Tessa said, "I told Austin not to hurt Kyle. After the accident I told him not to do it again!"
"Wait a second," Kevin said, "Are you saying Austin is the one responsible for the accident when Rachel was hurt?"
"He was gloating about it after the fact," Tessa said, "Saying he was going to do it right next time."
"Next time?" Summer said, "He is still plotting against Kyle?"
"I don't know what he's thinking, but he is planning something," Tessa said.
"What about that picture of me and Rachel that showed up at the party?" Fen said, "Who was responsible for that?"
"Austin," Tessa said.
"You thought it would break them up so you could pick up the pieces with Rachel," Fen said, "I suppose he was the one following us in the park too."
"I think so," Tessa said.
"You knew that picture was going to show up?" Kevin said, "You let it happen? That wasn't just Rachel you upset, my daughter was hurt by that too!"
"Here's a question I want to know the answer to," Abby said, "Why did Austin drug me? What purpose did that serve?"
"It wasn't meant for you," Tessa said, "You got the spiked drink by mistake. Austin wanted Summer to get the drug."
"He what?" Fen said, "You mean he was planning to kidnap her?"
"How did he even get near those drinks to put stuff in them?" Noah said.
"You did it, didn't you?" Mariah said, "At the reception you disappeared for awhile."
"Did you try to drug me?" Summer said, "You did this for Austin?"
Tessa was quiet, so Noah prompted her. "Tessa, answer the question," he said.
"Yes, I did it," Tessa said.
"Why you no good…" Summer said, lunging for Tessa, but Fen held her back.
"Austin threatened to hurt the people I love it I didn't do it," Tessa said, "Why are you all interrogating me like I'm a criminal?"
"It seems to me that's what you are," Chance said, emerging from the kitchen area, with Paul in tow.
"What is this?" Tessa said, "Some sting operation to make me confess to things?"
"You made some interesting comments," Paul said, "I'm sure there is more to the story but we can talk about that down at the station."
"Tessa Porter, you are under arrest," Chance said, pulling Tessa's arms behind her back and reading her rights to her.
"I didn't do anything!" Tessa said.
"You are being charged with plotting a kidnapping, causing bodily harm and aiding and abetting a known felon," Paul said, "For starters."
"I told you Austin made me do it!" Tessa cried. Chance led a sobbing Tessa out the door.
"Thank you all for your assistance," Paul said, acknowledging them before he left.
"The story keeps getting worse," Noah said, "I can't believe some of the things we found out today."
"I feel better she is behind bars," Abby said.
"But how long will they stay there?" Kevin said.
"Nice optimistic outlook," Fen said.
"We all heard what Tessa said," Kevin reminded, "Austin is planning something."
"So we all have to watch out backs now?" Abby said.
"Maybe," Kevin said, "When Kyle and Rachel get back from their honeymoon they need to be told all of this and be careful too."
"The best thing we can do is watch out for each other," Noah said, "Agreed?"
"That goes without saying," Fen said.
"What about your move?" Summer said.
"Don't worry about that," Fen said.
"It's what I wanted to talk to you about," Summer said, "My bags are packed."
"Excuse me?" Fen said.
"I decided to go with you to Nashville," Summer said, "Like you said, all that matters is us being together."
"Summer, I want you to unpack your things," Fen said, "You're not moving to Nashville."
"But Fen…" Summer said.
"Because I'm not either," Fen said.
"You made so many plans," Summer said.
"After what happened today, knowing the danger might not be over, I'm not leaving you here," Fen said, "I agree we can get a place of our own and talk about any changes in the future."
"You're staying?" Summer said.
"I can't live without you," Fen said, "I don't know what made me think I could." Summer threw her arms around him, as Fen hugged her back.
"I guess I can assume you will look after my sister," Noah said.
"Absolutely," Fen said.
Gesturing to Mariah, Noah said, "You and me. We've got each other."
"I can't go back to that apartment," Mariah said.
"You can stay with Mom," Noah said, "I think I might spend some time there too."
"She would like that," Mariah said, "So would I."
"Kevin, I know you can take care of yourself," Noah said.
"I will be on top of things," Kevin said, "Taking care of my family as always."
"Abby, what about you?" Noah said.
"Chance will stay with me," Abby said.
"Okay, but until then you come with me and Mariah," Noah said, "Nobody should be alone tonight."
"Why am I suddenly really scared?" Summer said.
"Nobody is going to hurt you or any one of us," Noah said, "Austin may have a plan and he will be smart about it."
"Then we will have to outsmart him," Abby declared.
Mariah reached out to hug Noah, as Fen pulled Summer closer to him.