2004
Episodes #310 - 353

As 2004 began, Ryan Moriani was unsure about his place in the Fisher family. Despite Paula's efforts to include him in holiday festivities, Ryan felt torn between his status as a Moriani and his newfound family. Claire Fisher continued to have reservations about their relationship, and Ryan finally understood her hesitance when he observed her at Tim's grave, mourning for her late husband.

Little did either of them know that someone else was watching them from the shadows--and that someone was Stan Lincoln! Stan had returned to town and was determined to have his revenge on Claire. She was startled to find that one of her dresses had been stolen from her closet, shredded to pieces, and left on the Fishers' front porch.

Intending to flee from King's Bay, Stan first went to the Moriani home, where he hoped to have a final meeting with his son. Ryan was not there, but Nick was -- and in the midst of a crisis. Stan overheard Nick discussing something shocking over the phone, but before he could get away, Nick spotted him. After making a phone call, Nick was confident that Stan would be taken care of.

Several days later, Ryan received a call from the police, informing him that he needed to identify a body. He was stunned to find that the body belonged to Stan. In the wake of his biological father's death, Ryan was conflicted over his sense of loss and his relief at having Stan gone. He pushed away both Claire and Paula, who made efforts to reach out to him. But at Stan's burial, Claire, Paula, and Bill joined Ryan at the gravesite, and their support helped him feel more like a member of the Fisher clan.

Meanwhile, Diane Bishop was once again up to no good. She convinced Brian Hamilton to assist her in a scheme to expose Molly and Brent's secret relationship. They snapped photos of the couple sharing a romantic "private Christmas" and e-mailed the photos to Sarah, who went ballistic. Sarah rushed to confront her sister, who didn't deny the truth. In her rush, though, Sarah caused a car accident -- and she was horrified to see that it was Matt's truck she had hit!

Matt suffered a punctured lung in the accident, but the doctors assured him that he would recover well. The near-tragedy drew Sarah and Matt closer together, but when Sarah mentioned that she had considered calling Matt's brother to tell him about Matt's condition, Matt insisted that she forget that idea. Diane used the revelation of Molly and Brent's relationship to wedge her way back into Sarah's life, and the two women gradually renewed their friendship.

Now that the Fishers knew about her and Brent, and having seen all the madness it had caused, Molly was unsure if she could continue to be with Brent. He was determined to be with her, after all the obstacles they had overcome, but he had something else to worry about: his younger brother, Josh, who abruptly quit his job with their father's newspaper in San Diego and moved to King's Bay. Josh moved in with a hard-partying friend from college, Scotty Young, and found a job at Willis Advertising.

Josh found himself working alongside Lauren Brooks at Willis, as they helped to launch the advertising campaign for Camille Lemieux's new company, Objection Designs. Lauren's brother, Trevor, also found work as a model for Objection. Camille planned to debut the line with a gala fashion show. Molly feared that her design work would not be good enough, and her obnoxious coworker, Julian St. John, fed those insecurities.

As for Lauren, she found success not only professionally, but also in her personal life. She accompanied Jason to Whistler, British Columbia, when he traveled there to audition with a potential skating partner. Though the audition went well, Jason and Lauren found themselves lost in the wilderness--and then their car broke down. They found their way to a shady motel, but Lauren twisted her ankle along the way. Despite the less-than-glamorous surroundings, the young couple made love for the first time that night.

Lauren's brother found himself drawn to Alex Marshall, who was still dating Dylan Carrington. Alex and Trevor forged a friendship as Trevor helped Alex finish work on his novel, but they both noticed a spark of something more intense. Alex's relationship with Dylan deteriorated as Dylan grew jealous of the time Alex spent writing. When Alex decided not to accompany Dylan and Courtney to Atlanta, where they competed at the National Championships, Dylan spitefully had a fling with an old friend, Leo Randstrom, though he kept it a secret.

King's Bay turned out for the Objection fashion show. Determined to win Molly for good, Brent made a public declaration of their love. Molly was touched and realized that she belonged with him. The reunion set off Sarah, who was in attendance with Matt. She impulsively proposed to him that they elope, but his reaction was the opposite of what she'd hoped. Matt was furious that she would pull the same stunt she'd pulled with Brent and was concerned that he was merely a rebound for Sarah. At the end of the night, Sarah showed up at Diane's, in tears over her broken relationship.

While Lauren settled into a comfortable, happy relationship with Jason, she found herself clashing with Josh at work. Josh seemed to enjoy pushing her buttons and even tried flirting, but Lauren was quick to let him know that she had a boyfriend. Josh recovered by asking out Courtney, whom he'd met at the fashion show and encountered again at 322. The two began dating, though Josh continued to work Lauren's nerves by bringing up the fact that Jason had jumped from dating one best friend to the other.

Alex left, and Trevor realized what had happened: Dylan lied that Alex had cheated on him--and that Alex had also talked about wanting to use Trevor for sex and nothing more. Trevor, crushed, had gotten drunk and not resisted Dylan's sexual advances. Realizing his mistake, Trevor kicked Dylan out and attempted to talk to Alex, who wanted no part of him. Lauren noticed their interaction and wondered if something deeper than friendship was going on, but Jason remained tight-lipped.

On Diane's advice, Sarah planned to prove herself to Matt by granting Molly and Brent her blessing to be together. She called the family together and did just that. However, while Matt was proud of her for taking such an important step, he didn't feel comfortable renewing their relationship. Sarah hoped to help him move forward with his own life the same way he had inspired her, so she contacted his brother, Jake.

Jake arrived in King's Bay with Mia Davich, friend of the late Nicole Gray. Matt was shocked to find his brother waiting for him at Sarah's apartment, but the reunion quickly turned into an argument. Matt stormed out, but not before blaming Sarah for dredging up such painful memories. He went to work, where waitress Jennie Burkle noticed his downtrodden mood. He told her about the situation over drinks, but he drank so much that Jennie had to give him a ride home. Once there, Matt's emotional state plummetted. Jennie, having long harbored a crush on him, stepped in to comfort him. When they woke up together in the morning, Matt realized what a mistake he had made, but it was clear that Jennie was smitten.

Jason's new skating partner, Kelsey Barker, moved to town and found a job at Objection Designs' new boutique. She and Jason worked on their senior pairs test, but the test turned out to be a disaster. Jason made a crucial mistake, causing him to fail the test, even though Kelsey passed. Courtney learned of Dylan's mistreatment of Alex and decided to use him long enough to pass her own test--and then leave him partner-less for the coming season. Meanwhile, Kelsey began dating Brian Hamilton, which provoked plenty of annoyance on Diane's part.

Meanwhile, Molly was given new reason to worry about Brent. After some mysterious phone calls, he booked a sudden trip to Vermont. When Molly learned that he would be visiting someplace called Heritage Clinic, she questioned him, but he assured her it was nothing to worry about. Unconvinced, Molly tailed Brent to Vermont, intending to learn more about the "Dr. Domingo" and "Tom Clayton" in Brent's notes. She paid a visit to the clinic, where she received a cold reception. She was about to leave when Brent arrived with a pair of federal agents.

When the Esposito family requested that Nick oversee a job for them in King's Bay, he refused. Soon afterward, Katherine received a visit from the police, who informed her that Esposito had confessed to burning down the Fitch mansion because of Nick's debt. Katherine realized that Nick could very well have been the cause of her shooting, too. She confronted her husband but rebuffed his efforts to explain himself. She informed him that she would not divorce him ... but made it clear that she held the power in their marriage now.

Meanwhile, Molly had some joyous news to share with Brent: she was pregnant! Brent was elated and proposed marriage. Molly accepted, and the two announced their plans to the Fishers. They made plans to celebrate with a special New Year's Eve engagement party.

< Back to Episodes

Continue on to 2005 >