Previously...
- Diane ran into Ryan, who was still angry that she never told him she was pregnant with his child. 
- Danielle came upon a clearly upset Ryan, who was reeling from his argument with Diane. He opened up to her about the baby Diane lost. 
- Samantha walked in on a conversation between her mother and Sarah, during which Diane revealed that she had miscarried Ryan's baby. 

DIANE BISHOP'S CONDOMINIUM

"You were pregnant with Uncle Ryan's baby?"

Samantha Fisher stands frozen in the living room of her mother's condo. Summer sunlight pours in through the sliding door behind her, backlighting the teenager in a brilliant glow and making it difficult to see her face clearly. But Diane Bishop doesn't have to see Samantha's expression to know that she is shocked and, likely, devastated.

"Yes," Diane says simply. There is no way around this. It is the truth, and Samantha is too smart to fall for some convoluted lie. 

"What happened?" Samantha asks. There it is: that familiar compassion, always so present in the girl; no matter how stunned or angry she might be, she is still concerned about her mother.

Diane's eyes flash for a moment toward Sarah Fisher, who stands to the side, silently observing the scene. She appears almost apologetic, as if to tell Diane, I'd slip out if I could.

"I had a miscarriage," Diane says, refocusing on Samantha. "It was early on. I never really…" Her words trail off into dust. "This was months ago. Everything is fine."

Diane wants to move around the kitchen counter and comfort Samantha somehow--if she even needs comforting. Really, she knows, what she wants to do is bridge the gap between them. Because Samantha has not moved a millimeter from her spot, and the energy she is giving off might as well be a force field intended to repel her mother. "Why didn't you tell me?" Samantha says. Her gaze shifts toward Sarah. "Does everyone else know?" Sarah's response is immediate. "Your mom told me in very strict confidence."

"You were busy with school," Diane says. It sounds like such an excuse, but it is still partly true. What kind of person burdens her teenager with that kind of news? "And if I'm completely honest… I was embarrassed."

Samantha shifts in place but still doesn't move, nor does she react in any discernible way.

"This stupid marriage--it was such a mistake in the first place," Diane continues. Maybe if she keeps talking, she can just will something to change or move or something. "Everything I do lately is a mess. I keep screwing up."

"Yeah," Samantha says. "You do. And that's never going to change." And then she does move--but she heads straight for the front door, and before Diane can even make it out of the kitchen, she is gone and the door is slamming behind her. 

Diane feels a comforting hand on her back. 

"She's just in shock," Sarah says. "She'll come around once it settles in."

"I hope so."

"She will. It isn't like you did something evil. You got yourself into a stupid situation. It's over."

"But she's right," Diane says, unable to pull her eyes away from the closed door. "I'm never going to be anything more than a screw-up--and she deserves far more than that."

"Stop that. Look at me." Sarah takes Diane by the shoulders and turns her around. "You have been a very successful woman. You've raised an incredible daughter. You are the most loyal friend I could ever ask for. You are not a screw-up."

Diane isn't sure how to respond to that, so she simply allows Sarah to pull her into a hug. 

MATT GRAY'S APARTMENT

"Hey," Matt Gray says as he lets Danielle Taylor into the apartment. "I thought you were gonna be running errands all morning." 

"I was," she says, tossing her purse onto the worn brown sofa. 

Matt eyes her suspiciously. "But…"

"But I had kind of a weird run-in." Danielle pushes her blonde hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears. "With Ryan."

She sees Matt's entire body tense, as if ready to spring into protective action. "What happened?" 

"Everything is fine. Promise. I just… it was strange."

Danielle makes her way around to sit on the sofa. Matt remains on his feet, hovering above her, as if he doesn't quite believe that the need for immediate action is off the table.

She spits it out all in one breath: "He got Diane pregnant."

Matt recoils. "Oh. Wow." Then, as the information sinks in, he adds: "Why the hell did he think it was a good idea to tell you that?"

"She miscarried. He didn't find out until afterward. He seems… devastated, honestly."

"Oh." Matt dips his head reverently. 

"Yeah. Anyway, I kind of prodded him because I could tell something was wrong, but that was not what I was expecting." She shakes her head. "And then he told me and I had to listen."

"After what he did to you, you don't have to do a damn thing for Ryan."

"I know," she says, but her tone is thoroughly unconvinced. "I care about him, I do." She catches a glint of curiosity in Matt's eye and cuts it off: "Not that way. But I almost married him. I would be married to him if not for this whole disaster with Diane. I figure I can show him a little compassion in a time of need, you know?"

Matt lets out a loud sigh as he sits on the sofa beside her. "You are a much better person than me."

"No, I'm not. I don't know. He obviously needed someone to talk to. I guess it's a good reminder of what I dodged by not marrying him."

"Yeah." Matt slides closer to her. "Plus you and I never would've gotten to know each other, so…"

"Yeah." She wills her lips into a grin. "Yeah. And that would be a very bad thing."

"Yup." He closes the gap between them by planting a peck on her lips. "If Ryan bothers you, just let me know, okay?"

"I promise I can handle myself," she says, "but thank you. It's good to know I have someone in my corner." 

Instead of responding again, Matt gives her another kiss, one that doesn't end so quickly. Danielle allows herself to melt into it, and before she knows it, they are lying on the sofa, Matt on top of her, and all thoughts of Ryan and Diane are miles and miles away.

There is a long line when Samantha enters the shop, which isn't too surprising, considering the mid-morning hour. She spots her brother behind the counter, switching between writing orders on cups and working the register. He glances up long enough to catch sight of her and offers a quick wave, which Samantha returns. She drops into the line behind ten or so other customers, figuring that she might as well buy something if she's coming in here to monopolize Travis's time.

The shop is brightly lit, in spite of the bright sun outside. The decor somehow manages to be inviting, despite the icy blue, lucite, and steel that dominate the place. A handful of minutes pass before Samantha makes it up to the register.

"Hey, what's up?" Travis says as he hands the last customer's cup to another barista.

Samantha shrugs. "Weird morning. How about you?"

Travis rolls his eyes. "You're telling me. I got into it with Dad this morning."

"About what?"

"Take a guess." He lets that linger for half a second before filling in the answer: "My mom. She keeps trying to call me."

"You haven't talked to her?"

"Not since the day after my birthday. Whatever." He glances at the line behind her, which seems to be regenerating by the second. "What can I get you?"

Samantha glances up at the blue menu board on the wall behind him. "Um, could I have a… peppermint mocha, please? Medium?"

"Gotcha." Travis grabs a cup and scribbles the order on it. "It's on me."

"You don't have to--"

"Sam. I've got it." 

As he punches the order into the register, he asks, "How are you?"

Samantha can feel the impatience of the customers behind her burning into her back. As much as she wants to tell him what happened with her mom this morning, it doesn't feel like the time or place.

"I'm fine," she says. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Duh."

She forces a smile and moves to the end of the counter to wait for her drink, the confusion and anger of what happened this morning still swelling in her chest, threatening to burst forth at any moment.

Riding in the elevator is surreal, but that experience cannot hold a candle to how strange Diane feels when the doors part and she is deposited in the lobby of Vision Publishing. This is a place that she called home for so many years, a place where she so often felt in her element and in control; now it is someone else's. She is a stranger here, and she feels that more and more with every step that she takes toward the reception desk.

She had psyched herself up to see Stacy, the receptionist who had been there for almost as long as Diane, but instead there is a young Chinese woman at the desk, her dark hair pulled back neatly into a tight ponytail and a chartreuse cardigan over her shoulders.

"Welcome to Vision," the woman says. "Can I help you?"

"I'm…" Diane trips over her words. "I'm here to see Tim Fisher."

"One moment. Let me page him for you. Your name?"

Diane looks around the lobby. It looks the same as ever, all dark, corporate woodwork and leather. 

"Diane Bishop," she says.

The woman notifies Tim, and within moments, he is bounding into the lobby.

"Hey," he says. "Thanks, Angela." He leads Diane through the pair of glass doors and onto the main floor, a maze of cubicles and copy equipment that Diane could navigate with her eyes closed.

"So what happened?" he asks as they walk. 

"I'll tell you in a minute."

Diane feels attention turning toward her, people doing double-takes as they spot her, some offering timid half-waves. She returns them as best she can, but she keeps striding alongside Tim, and soon they are safely in his office.

"It must be weird being back here," Tim observes as he closes the door behind him.

"Understatement of the century." Diane's gaze lingers on the closed door for a long moment. She makes herself snap out of it. "Samantha found out."

"About…"

"The baby. Ryan. She overheard Sarah and I talking about it." 

She watches Tim processing that. She can tell that he isn't sure what to make of it.

"I should've just told her when it happened," she says. "I think she feels like I lied, or like… like I did something malicious."

"You didn't."

"I know. But I could tell how it sounded to her--like I never told Ryan about the baby, like I kept the entire pregnancy and miscarriage from her. And after the last few years…"

Tim leans against the edge of the desk. "What are you worried about, exactly?"

It takes Diane several seconds to find the words. "That she's disappointed in me. That she will always be disappointed in me."

"That isn't true."

"You don't know that."

"I know Samantha, and I know you. She's turned out the way that she has because of you. All those years I was gone… you helped mold her into the intelligent, strong young woman she is today. She's like you."

Diane hates being in this position. She doesn't need to have her ego stroked or be coddled. But where her daughter is concerned…

"I just thought you should know," she says. "She'll probably come to you. You haven't let her down the way I have."

"She's a kid. She's shocked. She will get over this," Tim says. "What did she do? What did she say?"

"She just ran out. I can't believe I keep screwing up like this. I should've known Samantha would get hurt eventually."

"You're being really hard on yourself. Samantha will be fine. We'll all be fine."

Diane shakes her head. "You don't know that."

EDGE OF WINTER ARENA

After she gets her peppermint mocha, Samantha wanders through the door that connects Thaw to the ice arena. There is a group of adult skaters on the ice, being led by a coach in a series of footwork movements that are probably supposed to be much more synchronized than they are. Despite the lack of precision, the scene is oddly hypnotic, and Samantha finds herself spacing out as she watches it.

"What are you doing here?" she hears a voice ask from a few feet away.

Samantha turns to find Tempest Banks standing there with a shovel covered in snow and ice. "Hey," Samantha says. "I came to see my brother, but he's busy." Tempest looks through the glass door into Thaw. "Yeah. It's always nuts in there. People and their damn coffee." "Yeah." They share a quiet snicker. Samantha feels like an idiot holding her mocha.

"So what's up?" Tempest asks after a quiet moment.

"What do you mean?"

"You were so far away a minute ago, I probably could've hit you with this shovel and you wouldn't've noticed."

"I hope that wasn't something you actually considered."

"No! Chill out. I'm just saying." Tempest puts the tip of the shovel on the ground and spins it around a few times. "Something's got you messed up, though. Why'd you come to see Travis?"

Samantha sips her mocha as she thinks about how to phrase this. "Something with my mom. Kind of a lie she told…" She can't even bring herself to explain it in full. "Sorry. I know this sounds bratty. I have two parents and a home and all these opportunities, and I should just be grateful for that and--"

"Sam."

"What?"

"Shut up."

Samantha pauses, unsure how to respond to that.

"Just because my mom sucked so bad doesn't mean you're not ever allowed to complain about yours," Tempest says. 

"I just feel bad," Samantha says slowly. "That was… inconsiderate."

"No, it wasn't. Shut it."

Samantha allows that to sink in. "She just keeps doing all this stuff to screw up her life. Like, she's always been a smart lady. But it's like she can't help it. What if I turn out the same way?"

"You? Screw up? You never screw up."

"That isn't true." 

"Listen." Tempest steps right in front of her, making it impossible for Samantha to avoid eye contact without being a total weirdo. "I don't know what your mom did, but you're, like, the smartest person I know. You're not gonna make a bunch of dumb mistakes unless you wanna make dumb mistakes."

"I don't want to."

"Then don't." Tempest takes the mocha and takes a drink from it. "See? Easy."

Normally it would bother Samantha that someone just took her drink without asking, but for some reason, it doesn't at the moment. Maybe because Tempest just managed to make her feel better, without even doing much.

"Maybe," Samantha allows. "Thanks."

Tempest hands the coffee cup back. "I've gotta get back to work. Keep your head together, okay? And maybe give your mom another shot."

"I'll see. Thanks."

"No problem." Tempest picks up the shovel but then lingers for a second. "Don't be such a stranger, okay? I miss seeing you."

Samantha nods. "Yeah. Same."

Tempest takes the shovel and returns to the pile of snow and ice lying by the Zamboni door. Samantha watches her for another few seconds and then exits through the coffee shop, off to face reality, even if she doesn't quite know how she's going to do it. 

END OF EPISODE #712

Will Samantha forgive Diane?
What did you think of Tempest's advice to Samantha?
Will Diane be able to turn her life around?
Talk about all this and more in the Footprints Forum!

Next Episode