"Footprints"
Episode #395

Previously ...
- During their business trip to Seattle, Lauren and Josh shared some memorable tourist experiences.
- Molly went into labor during Sarah's wedding and was taken to the hospital, where she gave birth to twin boys.
- After the wedding, Claire went home with Ryan. Although she was tense at first, she softened, and they slept together for the first time since Tim's return.
- Nick tried to kick Katherine out of the house, but she threatened to turn him in to the police if he didn't do as she said. After his misdeeds were exposed, Nick went to jail.

JASON FISHER & ALEX MARSHALL'S APARTMENT

Jason Fisher cuts into the warm poppyseed bagel, slicing it in half as accurately as he can. He pops it into the toaster and hops up to sit on the kitchen counter.

"It was so crazy," he tells his roommate, who is busy spreading cream cheese on his own freshly toasted bagel. "Like, everything that could've gone wrong did."

"At least it made for a memorable wedding day," Alex Marshall says. "They got a great story out of it."

"Maybe you can use it in your writing."

"I'm not sure anyone would believe it!" Alex takes a bite out of his bagel. "These are so good! You should stop and get fresh bagels every morning."

Jason shakes his head with mock disapproval. "Dr. Atkins is rolling in his grave right about now."

Alex responds by taking another chomp out of the bagel.

There is a loud knock at the front door. The young men call out, in near-unison, "Come in!" Moments later, Lauren and Trevor Brooks make their way into the kitchen. While Trevor takes a seat at the table with Alex, Lauren gives Jason a kiss on the cheek and cozies up next to him.

"You made it back in one piece!" Jason says, intent upon his girlfriend. "You missed one hell of a wedding, too."

"Sounds like it," Lauren says as she peruses the bagel selection.

"How was your trip?" Alex asks her. He turns just in time to see Trevor stealing a bite of his bagel.

"It was good."

"That's it? 'Good'?" Trevor interjects. "I know how you get with all that tourist-y stuff."

Lauren raises one shoulder in a half-shrug, suddenly very focused on her selection of a bagel.

BRENT & MOLLY TAYLOR'S APARTMENT

Josh Taylor bounds up the stairs and knocks on the apartment door. He feels as though he has been rushing since the very moment that he heard Molly gave birth: rushing to wrap up the business trip; rushing to get home from Seattle; rushing to get over here and see his new nephews.

His brother opens the door. He looks and sounds exhausted as he says, "Hey, Josh."

"Hey, bro. You look like hell."

"Sleep is kind of a commodity around here lately," Brent says, managing a little laugh despite the overall droopiness of his demeanor. He lets Josh into the apartment.

Molly sits on the sofa with one baby in her arms, looking as tired as Brent. "How was your trip?" she asks him.

"It was good," Josh says. "I have plenty to fill you in on about the meetings. How was, uh, giving birth?"

"Not nearly as much fun as you might expect, surprisingly. Are you ready to meet your nephews?"

"Yeah! Let me see these little monkeys." Seeing Molly's expression, he hastens to add, "Kidding! Kidding, I swear."

She motions for him to sit down beside her, so he does. She holds up the baby in her arms.

"Josh, this is Christian. Christian, meet your Uncle Josh."

Josh plays with the infant's tiny fingers. "Tell me you didn't name the other one Dior."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you're all, like, Fashion Lady. I was ready to put down money on Dolce and Gabbana."

Brent snorts back a laugh as Molly shoots him a look. He lifts the other baby from the bassinet.

"And this is Caleb," Brent says, carrying the child carefully over to Josh. "Caleb, this is your Uncle Josh."

"I'm relieved," Josh says after a moment of studying the babies.

Molly furrows her brow. "Why?"

"I was worried they were gonna be ugly and I'd have to lie and say they were cute."

"They are cute!" Molly says.

"I know, I know. Hence the relief." Josh looks at Christian and then Caleb. "Now c'mon, guys. You've got a little growing up to do before we can do really fun stuff, like shave your mom's eyebrows while she's sleeping."

Molly gasps, and Brent says, "I think you're gonna give her a heart attack." Josh just shrugs.

The electronic chirping of a cell phone interrupts them. Brent retrieves his phone from his pocket and answers. "This is Brent Taylor." He listens closely for a moment, and then, in disbelief, asks, "Who? How did we overlook that?" Some more listening. "It's not my favorite option, but if it will put a close to this thing, then I guess we have to."

As Brent wraps up the call, Josh leans over to Molly. "Don't worry, they are cute."

Brent hangs up, and the others return their attention to him.

"There's been another break in the drug ring case," he tells them. "They got Nick Moriani to explain how he had access to Objection's operating procedures."

Molly scoots forward on the sofa. "How?"

"Julian St. John. There's a warrant out for his arrest."

As Molly and Josh both digest the shocking news, Brent adds, "But Nick bargained hard before he said anything."

"What did he want?" Molly asks. "They're not dropping the charges, right?"

"No, no. There are way too many of those as it is." Brent slips the phone back into his pocket. "But Nick is now out on bail."

MORIANI HOME

Katherine Moriani folds her hands in her lap while the coffee is poured. When the job is done, she says, "Thank you, Lola," and the maid leaves the living room.

The red-haired woman sits across the coffee table from her attorney, a man in his early 40s with a deep tan and striking blond hair. Katherine soaks in his appearance: in his charcoal-gray suit, Mr. Kieta looks every bit the confident lawyer that Katherine wants.

"I'd like this to be as quick as possible," she tells him. "The more you can do to expedite the process, the better. I don't wish to be tied to that man any longer than absolutely necessary."

"I'll do everything in my power," the lawyer says, the last syllables melting together as a cocky smile overtakes his face. "I assure you that you have a very strong case."

"I would hope so!" She takes a sip of her coffee and then, as Mr. Kieta follows suit, she adds, "I never thought I would be getting a divorce. The fact that I even contacted you is an indication of how awful things have become."

"I understand, Mrs. Moriani."

"I just want to be sure that Nick receives nothing--not a single dime. He has done nothing but make a fool of me."

"I'll do my best. I can't imagine a judge ruling that your husband deserves anything after the things that he's put you through. But I should advise you: next time, be sure that you insist upon a prenuptial agreement."

Katherine hesitates. "It seems so tacky."

"Not in this day and age. It's practical. As soon as you have that engagement ring on your finger, be sure to holler, 'I want a prenup!' If he resists, you shouldn't be marrying him anyway."

"It doesn't matter, anyway," she says, shaking her head. "There won't be a next time. I have learned my lesson about marriage."

"Don't be so pessimistic," the attorney says. "Before you know it, this divorce will be final, Nick Moriani will be out of your life, and you'll have plenty of good years to look forward to."

The sounds of activity in the foyer grab both of their attention. Katherine rises and calls out, "Lola, would you see what is going on?"

The voice that responds, however, is not Lola--but is even more familiar: "There won't be any need for that."

Seconds later, Nick strolls into the living room, hands in the pockets of the suit he wore on the day he was arrested.

"What are you doing here?" Katherine demands.

"It seems the police needed some additional information," Nick says. "Information that only I could provide." He approaches Mr. Kieta and extends a hand. "Nick Moriani."

The attorney shakes hands with him. "I'm your wife's attorney--"

Nick's eyes snap to Katherine. "Attorney?"

"Divorce attorney," she clarifies.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," Nick says, hands back in his pockets. "I am, however, a bit saddened."

She holds up her chin. "You had me shot, burned down my house, stole all my money, kidnapped a man, and were the head of a narcotics operation! What do you expect?"

"Oh, not sad for myself. I knew this had to be coming." Nick paces a few steps over the hardwood floor that lies outside the living room. "Sad for you, I meant."

"I'll be lucky the day that I'm no longer bound to you," she snaps.

"I hope that victory will keep you warm at night--because you'll also be homeless."

"What?"

Nick eyes her for a long moment, reveling in the delivery. "In case you'd forgotten, this house is in my name. And, seeing as how our marriage is all but over, I'd really prefer not to have this tension around me all the time. I want you out by the morning."

"You can't do that!" Katherine shouts, as Nick walks away.

He pauses at the foot of the stairs. "Actually, I can. The house is in my name. You have nothing to hold over me now. Better get packing."

He disappears up the stairs. Katherine's fiery gaze follows him, but it does her no good. Finally she turns to the attorney, who, for the first time, appears less than confident in his ability to help her out.

"He can't do this to me!" she insists.

Mr. Kieta gulps down some more coffee before answering. "If what he says is true, then he can," he responds hesitantly.

Katherine's fists ball up. "I won't let him get away with this. Let him have this minor victory. It will be nothing in comparison to the hell I'm going to put him through."

RYAN MORIANI'S LOFT

As warm as the covers are around Claire Fisher's body, her latest glance at the alarm clock tells her that it is time to get out of bed. Her efforts to disentangle her limbs from Ryan Moriani's, however, are met with a groan of resistance.

"Come on, no work today," he argues before she can even say anything.

"But I've got an even more binding engagement," Claire says. "I promised Travis that we'd go get him new shoes for basketball before his first practice tonight."

"Damn, I can't beat that."

Claire sits up and pulls her hair out of her face. She reaches to the nightstand for a rubber band and secures the hair into a ponytail. "Crap, I need to run back to the hotel before I pick him up." She speeds up her movements as she springs out of bed.

"Doesn't this seem a little stupid to you?" Ryan asks from the bed as she gathers her clothing from around the room.

"Doesn't what seem a little stupid?"

"All this running around. Paying for a hotel room even though you're here every night anyway."

She slips into her sweater. "I don't really have much choice, do I?"

"You might," he says, propping up an arm behind his head.

"Care to enlighten me, then?"

"Move in with me."

Now she pauses, stopping in her tracks on her way to retrieve her purse from the chair.

"It would make sense," he continues, "and it would make life a lot easier, no?"

"I don't know." She resumes moving. "I mean, that's really generous of you ..."

"And completely not self-serving," he cracks through a laugh. "But seriously, Claire."

"That would make things so much more complicated, wouldn't it? It would confuse the kids, and Tim--"

"How long can this go on, then? You living here isn't going to confuse Travis and Samantha any more than their father coming back from the dead, I'm willing to bet. And as for Tim--" He sees that she is ready to protest and hurries to continue. "Tim knows where you stand. All that's left is to make it official."

Suddenly Claire speeds up her activity, gathering her things in record time. Ryan sits up.

"Maybe it's time to start thinking about it," he says.

Claire doesn't respond as she finishes getting dressed. Ryan takes the hint and lies back down; he knows that he cannot push her to do something that she isn't ready to do.

That is why it surprises him when she says, out of nowhere, "Maybe Tim and I need to sit down and talk about it. About a divorce."

Hearing the word come out of Claire's mouth stuns Ryan. He says nothing, instead choosing to watch in silence as she rounds up the last few items from around the room.

JASON FISHER & ALEX MARSHALL'S APARTMENT

Lauren pulls a sesame seed bagel from the bag. "It was fine. The meetings weren't exactly the most exciting thing ever, but they went well. And I got to see the Space Needle again, and this little tea shop that our parents used to take us to--"

"That place is so weird!" Trevor cuts in. "It's like something out of Alice in Wonderland."

"That's what Josh said," Lauren says--and then, before the comment has time to sink in, she continues, "What's going on with the book, Alex? I read a pretty positive review of it in this little arts newspaper in Seattle."

Alex sighs. "I'm gonna have to look that one up. I came across a horrible review the other day."

Lauren looks up from cutting her bagel. "What'd it say?"

"I'm pretty sure that the phrases 'self-indulgent' and 'melodramatic' made multiple appearances," Alex says.

"You can't win 'em all," Jason offers.

"I know. And I don't expect to. Still not the most fun thing to see, though."

Trevor snags another bite of Alex's bagel, and Alex points to the counter. "We did get a whole bag of 'em. You could maybe splurge and have your own."

"I shouldn't even be eating this," Trevor says. "My sister tells me that Objection is launching a store in Seattle, which means I'm going to be needed for photo shoots and all that stuff, so ..."

"You can afford a bagel or two," Lauren jabs. She puts her own in the toaster. "What do you do now, Alex? Start cranking out another one?"

"I have a book signing in Portland coming up, actually, which should be fun. The one I did here was more fun than I expected."

Jason slides his arms around Lauren. "Let's hope you have more fun to report about than Ms. Brooks here," he says.

Lauren averts her eyes as she waits for the conversation to shift topics once again.

END OF EPISODE #395

Why does Lauren feel so funny talking about her trip?
Will Claire go ahead with the divorce so she can be with Ryan?
Is it now war between Nick and Katherine?
Visit the Footprints Forum to talk about this episode!

Next Episode