2013
Episodes #692-721

Claire Fisher was worried now that her half-brother, Philip Ragan, also knew the long-held secret that the boy she raised, Travis, had been switched as an infant with Spencer Ragan. In the wake of Spencer's car accident, Philip pressed him to move out of the fraternity house, an environment that he was convinced was feeding into Spencer's worst impulses. When Claire found out that Philip had gone to the King's Bay University campus to talk to Spencer, she panicked and followed him there, fearing he was about to tell Spencer the truth about his parentage. But a fire broke out in the fraternity house, and Claire became trapped. Spencer hesitated over whether to help her, and Philip shouted that he had to -- because Claire was his biological mother. A shocked Spencer helped Claire.

Travis's girlfriend, Elly Vanderbilt, told him about her hopes of studying abroad during their senior year. She also tried to support Travis through his family turmoil and encouraged him to invite Claire to his 21st birthday party. Meanwhile, Spencer was confronted by bookies to whom he owed money, and when he couldn't produce it, they savagely beat him. Spencer called Philip for help, and Philip asked Claire to come tend to Spencer's injuries so they could avoid involving the authorities. Claire felt she had no choice but to help her son, but in the process, she missed Travis's party, which deepened the rift between them. The next day, Elly -- in a rush to make a flight to go visit her parents -- asked Travis to mail her study-abroad application. He said he would but, still reeling from Claire's seeming rejection, he threw the application in the trash instead.

Philip told Spencer that he would pay off his gambling debt, but in return, Spencer would have to move in with him and work as his assistant to work off the debt. But during a photo shoot for Objection, Spencer spent more time flirting with a model than helping Philip, leading to a blow-up between the two. Spencer quit the job, leaving Philip at the end of his rope. Spencer asked Tim if he could work at Vision Publishing again, and Tim agreed. Philip was grateful simply for Spencer to have some structure and responsibility.

As fall semester wore on, Elly began to think it was strange that she hadn't heard back about her study-abroad application even though other students had. Samantha, who was working in the Student Affairs office, offered to use the university's computer system to check the status of Elly's application, but a nervous Travis urged her not to do that. Samantha eventually checked anyway and saw that the university had never received Elly's application. 

Diane asked her good friend, Sarah, for advice. Sarah asked Ryan, who was well versed in organized crime, for his opinion. Though Diane and Ryan were none too pleased to have to interact, Ryan said he was sure that it was drug-related and advised Diane to quit. She did so but asked Jimmy and Keith to sign a document clearing her of any financial liability related to the store, since her name was on the bank deposits. They refused. Later, though, Keith privately offered her to cut her in on the deal. Diane realized that he was hiding a side business from Jimmy. She told Ryan that she had declined Keith's offer but, in private, took a call from Keith confirming that they had made some sort of secret deal. 

Claire's foster daughter, Tempest, continued to have a relationship with Annie, the hockey player she had met through her job at the ice arena. Claire hoped that if it was romantic, Tempest would feel comfortable enough to confide in her. Meanwhile, Tempest offered Samantha emotional support after Samantha learned of Diane's secret pregnancy and miscarriage. 

Alex Marshall was determined not to be hung up on his ex, Trevor Brooks, who was now engaged to Liam Cassel. Things were more complicated, though, because Liam was the screenwriter hired to help Alex adapt his novel into a film. Alex accepted Molly's offer to set him up with her assistant, Cameron Kelley. They began dating, which Alex and Liam finished their screenplay, and Liam -- unaware that Trevor and Alex had slept together only months before -- pressured Alex into attending his and Trevor's wedding. 

Sarah began seeing a therapist to cope with her ongoing guilt over Graham's death, and the therapist got her to admit that she still had feelings for Matt. When Danielle asked Matt to spend the holidays in California with her family, he declined, saying he wanted to spend them with his daughter. Danielle was understanding but was still upset by the lack of forward movement in their relationship.

Natalie Bishop was furious when her daughter's coach, Jason Fisher, sent Bree to the Regionals competition with another coach instead of traveling himself, which caused a nervous Bree to flop in the competition. Jason admitted that he'd make an error in judgment and promised not to let it happen again. He confided in his nephew, Travis, that the real reason he sat out the competition was because he hadn't attended one since he had skated with his late wife, Courtney, and the idea made him uneasy.  

Paula Fisher was upset when Spencer declined invitations to join the Fishers for Christmas. Happily, at the Fishers' Christmas celebration, Philip proposed to Molly, who said yes. Meanwhile, Sarah and Matt wound up locked in the attic together; the moment turned intimate, but just before they kissed, they were rescued. Claire came by to drop off a present for Paula and Bill, but when she looked through the window and saw the family celebrating, she fell out-of-place and simply left the present on the doorstep. She retreated to 322 Bar & Grill, where she met someone else spending Christmas alone: Jimmy.

Catch up on 2014 in the Archives >