2012
Episodes #656-691

Though she was hesitant because of her recent divorce, Molly Taylor took a bold step on New Year’s Eve and decided to assert her feelings for Philip Ragan. She went to his loft and slipped a letter under the door. But then Molly spotted Philip downtown with his new girlfriend, Adrienne. Feeling like a fool, Molly went back to retrieve the envelope--but Philip arrived home early and caught her. He explained that he and Adrienne had had a disagreement and decided to stop seeing each other. In a moment of impulse, Molly kissed him. They slept together for the first time that night and began a tentative relationship. Molly was worried about her sons (and her ex, Brent Taylor) finding out about it, so they decided to take it slow. But Brent eventually learned about the relationship, and he knew he had to move on from his marriage. He leaned on his friendship with Claire Fisher. Brent and Molly’s twins saw their mother and Philip kissing, and she had to explain the new relationship to them. 

That same night, Matt Gray and Danielle Taylor ran into one another at the grocery store. They decided to spend their lonely New Year’s Eves together, and as a result, began spending more time together. Matt continued to have a strong bond with his ex-wife, Sarah, which did not escape the notice of her current husband, Graham Colville. Sarah was pregnant with Graham’s child, and since being rejected by his grown son, Alex Marshall, Graham was more determined than ever to hold onto his new family. Desperate to eliminate Matt from their lives, Graham devised a plan.

Sarah and Danielle contacted Brent, who had the police begin a search. They went down to Pier 22 and spotted Graham on the adjacent pier. Brent had his officers search the building that was about to be demolished, and they found Matt. He was rushed to the hospital. Matt's prognosis was okay, but the police found a needle on the floor of the room and heroin in Matt's system. They wondered if his kidnapping was part of a drug deal gone bad. While recovering, Matt told Sarah about the note, and she swore she didn't write it. She immediately suspected Graham and feared what her husband might be capable of. 

Danielle took Matt back to his place to help with his recovery. The intimacy made it difficult for them to deny their mutual attraction. After Matt accompanied Danielle to her brother’s wedding, they slept together for the first time. Brent questioned Matt about possible drug use, which Matt flatly denied. But they were unable to find the note to prove his story. Sarah and Brent compared notes, and she confessed her suspicion of Graham. Brent warned her not to do anything rash that might set him off.  Graham suggested that Tori should not spend time with Matt if he had a drug problem, which made Matt irate. Sarah struggled not to reveal her suspicions as she and Brent continued investigating. Matt was devastated when he was fired from his job in the Windmills kitchen because of the drug allegations. Sarah spoke to her father and asked him to hire Matt at his own restaurant, which Bill did.

Josh Taylor moved to Los Angeles to begin his new job doing marketing for a movie studio. His fiancée, Lauren Brooks, stayed behind in King's Bay to finish her job at Willis Advertising and plan their wedding. Lauren’s brother, Trevor, returned to King's Bay for the wedding. Lauren and Josh were married in a lovely summer wedding and moved to Los Angeles. 

Natalie Bishop came to Jason Fisher’s Edge of Winter Arena to inquire about figure skating lessons for her daughter, Bree, who had been taking them back home. She wanted the best coach available and demanded that Sandy James evaluate Bree. Jason Fisher said he would try but knew Sandy wouldn't take on a student at a lower level. Sandy suggested that Jason take up coaching again. He had to admit that he missed being on the ice but was unsure. Jason was planning a fundraiser in honor of his late wife, Courtney. Natalie offered to help with the party planning--something she had experience with--in exchange for Jason giving Bree some lessons. In need of help, Jason reluctantly agreed. Natalie quickly proved herself to be a stage mother from hell, and the two clashed, but he was also impressed with her work on the party. 

On the night of Jason’s fundraiser, Claire was finishing her shift as a nurse when she saw Spencer brought into the hospital following a drunk-driving accident in which he had been a passenger. He needed a blood transfusion, and the hospital was running low on his blood type. Claire knew that Tim and Spencer had the same blood type, so she called Tim and asked him to come to the hospital and donate. Philip overheard Claire and Brent talking about the biological tie between Spencer and Tim. Claire begged him not to say anything yet, because she wanted to reveal the news in the right way. Philip reluctantly agreed. Spencer was primed for a full recovery. He insisted on moving back into the fraternity house, despite Philip's resistance. Philip went to see Loretta in prison and demanded answers about the Spencer/Travis switch. She reiterated that she wanted Claire to suffer. Claire tried to tell Tim the truth, but they were interrupted by Travis, and she lost her nerve. 

Elly Vanderbilt asked her biological mother, Danielle, if she could finally meet her biological father. Danielle was hesitant to return to that period of her life but also knew she couldn't deny Elly the opportunity. Jimmy Trask arrived in King's Bay and was exactly the same carefree guy Danielle remembered from two decades before. When Elly met Jimmy, she was nervous, but he quickly charmed her, and they began to develop a relationship.

Diane Bishop struggled to find work in the publishing industry after being let go from Vision Publishing. Her daughter, Samantha, hesitated to accept the admissions granted by two of her top colleges, since she was worried about Diane’s finances. Diane and Samantha’s father, Tim, assured the young woman that they could handle tuition, but Samantha decided to stay near home and attend King's Bay University. Diane was plagued by guilt and a sense of worthlessness. She found reassurance from an unlikely place: Ryan Moriani, the man she had drunkenly married in Las Vegas and could hardly tolerate most of the time.

In light of Diane's exit from Vision, Tim took over handling Alex. He thought they should look at having Alex's debut novel adapted into a film. They began interviewing potential screenwriters. Jason and Molly got the idea to set Alex up with her assistant, Cameron, but Alex was noncommittal. When Trevor Brooks returned to King's Bay the night before Lauren's wedding, he had a chance run-in with Alex. The exes got to talking and drinking. Alex walked Trevor back to his hotel, and one thing led to another. They slept together. The next day, at the wedding, Alex was shocked to see Trevor with a date: his fiancé, Liam Cassel, who'd just flown in from London! Alex was shellshocked. He told Jason about his tryst with Trevor but, when Liam interrupted him and Trevor talking, decided not to tell Liam. 

When Alex arrived for a meeting Tim had set up with a screenwriter from out of town, the writer turned out to be Liam. Alex was reluctant to commit to working with him, even though Liam was the writer he liked most of all the ones they met. Trevor met with Molly about working behind-the-scenes at Objection Designs, now that he was no longer modeling. Molly hired Trevor to consult on Objection's employee lookbooks. Trevor again apologized to Alex, who was working to let go of his anger toward Graham and realized that he could not hold a grudge against Trevor, too. They began to mend fences. Alex finally visited Graham's grave and said goodbye to his father, looking to move forward with his life.

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