"Cole, please, we have to stop this," Celeste Rockwell tells her step-son as they stand in the nursery her husband, Mac Rockwell, surprised her with as they are expecting their first child together. Only, Celeste knows that Cole Rockwell could also be the father of the baby. She is trying to explain to him that they have to put their affair behind them, before it's too late and the entire family gets hurt. They only solution is for Mac to be the baby's father; she just has to convince Cole of this.

"I don't know how," Cole admits to her, as he looks deep into her eyes. "I can't erase the night from my memory and if you're honest with yourself, neither can you."

Downstairs in the living room, Mac listens to his wife and son talk about their affair over the baby monitor that he bought his wife. He can't believe that she slept with Cole and that his son could be the father of her baby. He finally shuts off the monitor and walks over to the bar and pours himself a stiff drink of scotch, having heard more than enough of the conversation happening upstairs.

After he takes a sip of his drink, he looks up at a picture of him and Celeste on their wedding day. "You've played me for a fool," he whispers as he runs his finger of Celeste's face. "A complete and utter fool."

He takes another drink of the scotch, finishing his drink. "Damn you both straight to hell," he says before he storms out of the living room. He rushes out of the front door and slams it shut behind him.

Upstairs, Celeste finally pulls away from Cole. She runs her hand through her long, blonde hair and sighs heavily. "I told you, we have to pretend that night never happened. No one can ever know about this," she tells him. "But it's too late for that."

"What do you mean? Did you tell Mac?" Cole asks her, confused by what she meant by her comment.

"Of course not!" she turns to face him. "Mac can never know about us! But, Lucinda heard you talking to Stacey the other day, before she woke up, at the hospital. She heard you confess our affair and she paid me a visit."

"My God," Cole sighs heavily. "I'm so sorry. I know my Grandmother can be a handful at times. How did she react?"

"How do you think she reacted? She basically told me that this baby had better be Mac's or else."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Cole asks her.

Celeste shakes her head in frustration. "No! I don't want anyone to talk about this affair again because it never happened, okay? We all have to move on! That's all I want! I want us to move on! Can you please do this for me?"

Cole uneasily nods his head back to her. "I will try my best," he says back to her. "But I agree with you, my Dad can never know about this. It would crush him."

"At least we agree on something," Celeste replies to him.

***

Lydia Rockwell opens the door to Stacey Rockwell's hospital room and quickly moves inside, unable to hide the smile from her face when her daughter looks back at her. Lydia has been longing for this day for so long; the day that Stacey would come out of her coma. They have all been so worried since they heard of the car crash.

"Darling," she says as she sits next to Stacey, who is still in her hospital bed. "You gave us all such a worry."

"Hi Mom," Stacey replies in a hoarse voice back to her. "Sorry I worried you."

"Never mind that," Lydia waves her hand back to her daughter. "The most important thing is that you're back and you're going to be okay. Dr. Chen told us that you will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days as a pre-caution measure but you should make a complete recovery. Isn't that wonderful news?"

Stacey nods back to her. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Just a few weeks, dear," Lydia informs her. "The details are not important right now. There's all the time in the world for you to get caught up on what has happened. Right now, I'm just glad that you're awake."

Before Stacey can say anything else, the door opens to the hospital room and Lucinda emerges. "I hope I'm not interrupting," she announces to Lydia and Stacey.

"Of course not Grandma," Stacey tells her, excited to see Lucinda. "I'm so happy you came."

"Where else would I be?" Lucinda asks her as she comes up behind Lydia. "You're looking just as beautiful as ever."

"Oh please," Stacey tries to laugh but starts to cough a little.

"Easy, easy," Lydia tells her daughter. "I don't want you to get too worked up."

"I have to ask you two something," Stacey admits to them as she looks back at her mother and grandmother.

"Anything, dear," Lucinda tells her. "What do you want to know?"

"Houston Blackmore," Stacey says back to them. "I was with him when the car crashed. Where is he? I need to see him."

Lydia and Lucinda look at one another and gulp. "Please, tell me where he is! You don't understand this right now, but Houston and I…" Stacey says slowly to them. "We are engaged. I can explain all of this later, I just…I need to see him."

Lydia grabs Stacey's hand and squeezes it a little as she fights tears in her eyes. "On darling," Lydia whispers back to her.

"What is it? What's wrong? Where is Houston?" Stacey asks her as her panic grows.

"Sweetheart," Lucinda says sitting on the edge of the bed. "We are so sorry, but Houston, he didn't make it. The impact was too much."

"No," Stacey quickly cuts her off as a tear falls down her cheek. "No! Not Houston! He can't be gone! He can't be! Oh my God!"

Lydia leans down and hugs Stacey. "I'm so sorry baby," she says into Stacey's ear as tears fall down Stacey's cheeks.

***

"I just came from seeing Stacey," Lydia announces to Kent Blackmore as she walks into the penthouse that they share together. "She's awake, thank God. But I had to tell her about Houston."

Kent turns from the bar, where he just poured himself a brandy. He can only imagine how Stacey took the news that her fiancé is dead. He still can't believe that his son is gone; he still feels raw from it.

"How did she take the news?" he asks her, although he can somehow imagine her reaction.

She moves to the bar and pours herself a drink. "Not very well," she replies before she takes a drink of her brandy. "She was devastated. She thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with Houston. To find out he died in that car crash…"

"You don't have to remind me how devastating this is," he reminds her as they lock eyes on one another.

"My God," Lydia whispers as she puts her glass down and pulls him into a hug. "How could I have been so insensitive. I'm so sorry, Kent."

"It's fine," he replies to her as he holds her. "I know that you are trying to be sympathetic to your daughter. It makes sense. You don't have to apologize."

"No, I do," Lydia tells him as they exit their embrace. "You lost your son, you're still grieving as well."

He nods back to her. "This is exactly why I want to tell Mac and Lex the truth sooner rather than later. I need my other son to know that I am here and that I want to be a part of his life. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Of course I can!" Lydia snaps at him. "I just wish that there was a better time for all of this."

"There will never be a good time for something like this," Kent tells her. "We've kept this secret for so many years, it's going to hurt a lot of people regardless of when we decide for it to come out. I'd like to tell Lexington the truth before the wedding."

"What did you just say, Kent?" Lydia asks him, shocked by how quickly he wants the truth to be revealed.

"You heard me Lydia," he replies to her. "Just think about it, before we get married, our son knows that we are his parents. We could all be a family together. He could show up to see his parents marry."

"I suppose that is true," Lydia replies to him as she purses her lips together. "If you insist on doing this before our wedding, I will support you. I just fear the way Lexington will react. He and Mac are so very close. They have no idea what is coming. I'm scared of the fallout."

"I know this," Kent admits to her. "But I want to have that chance to be close to my son. You can understand that?"

Lydia takes a stiff drink of her brandy. "I can," she tells him. "I just need to brace myself for a huge bomb that is about to be dropped. Once we do this, there is no going back."

Kent comes up to her and hugs her. "I appreciate your support on this, Lydia. But after losing Houston, I can't lose Lexington. Not for another day."

***

Jarek Williams looks at his mother, Odette, as they sit across from one another at the country club, as they have met to discuss where things stand on their plan to try to extravagate some of the Rockwell fortune for themselves.

"Has Lex told you anything about when Stacey could be going home? The sooner that happens, the sooner he will be able to tell his family that he is with you," Odette tells her son as she takes a drink of her chardonnay.

Jarek nods back to her. "I know Mom," he begins to reply to her. "But, you have to remember that Stacey is in a coma. There's no telling when she will wake up."

"This is so damn frustrating!" Odette tells him. "We were making such good headway, and now this!"

"It will happen, it just may take a little longer than we expected."

Odette shakes her head in frustration. "I guess I need to step up my plan."

Jarek arches his eyebrow back to her. "What plan are you talking about? What are you working on?"

"It is nothing for you to concern yourself with," Odette tells him, knowing that her son wouldn't approve of her trying to get closer to Mac in hopes of scoring some of his money.

Lex, meanwhile, enters the dining room and looks around. He was hoping to see Jarek because he wanted to tell him the good news about Stacey waking up and going home in a day or two. He soon sees Jarek and Odette sitting at a table together and moves towards them.

"Come on Mom," Jarek says with a grin on his face. "I thought we were in this together. You know and are a part of my plan, I should be a part of yours."

"What plan is that?" Lex asks as he arrives at the table, having overheard part of their conversation.

Odette and Jarek look back at each other and gulp. "You must be Lexington," Odette stands up and extends her hand to Lex's. "I'm Odette Williams, Jarek's mother. I've heard a lot about you."

Lex shakes her hand back. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Williams. I, too, have heard a lot about you. Jarek adores you."

Odette blushes a little. "And, I adore my son," she tells him. She turns to look at Jarek. "You were right, Jarek. He is a very handsome young man."

Lex chuckles a little. "Thank you," he says back to both of the Williams. "I'm glad I found you," he tells Jarek.

"Are you? What's going on?" Jarek asks him back.

"It is Stacey," he reveals as he sits next to his lover. "She's awake, and the doctors say she should be able to go home in a day or two."

"Which means," Odette interrupts. "You can finally tell your family the truth?"

Lex nods back to them. "Exactly," Lex smiles to them. "We can finally be honest about our feelings for each other."

***

Odette sits at the table, still enjoying her glass of wine despite Lex and Jarek leaving the country club. The good news is that Stacey is awake but Odette hopes that she is able to run into Mac again soon, because she wants to continue to try to get close to him in some capacity; her entire plan depends on it. She still wants to have a back up plan in case something else happens between Lex and Jarek.

"Well," she purses her lips together as she sees Mac walk into the dining room and move straight to the bar. "This must be my lucky day."

She grabs her glass of chardonnay and moves up to the bar where Mac is sitting, who has ordered a double scotch. "Rough day?"

Mac doesn't look back at Odette as he is still reeling from overhearing Cole and Celeste admit that they slept together and that Cole could possibly be the father of her baby. He can't believe that his son would betray him like this, not to mention his wife; rough day, doesn't even begin to describe it.

"You nailed it," Mac finally replies to her. "My life doesn't seem so great right now."

Odette purses her lips together before she puts her hand on Mac's shoulder. "If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm a pretty good listener."

"No offence, but I don't even know who you are," Mac snaps to her, as he looks over at her. "I don't think you need to hear about my problems."

Odette shrugs as she tries not to take offence to his tone. "Well, just so you know, the offer stands, if you decide to take me up on it, that's up to you."

Mac takes another swig of his scotch before he nods back to her. "Thank you, Odette. I appreciate that. Right now, I just need to be alone so I can think."

"Find me if you ever change your mind," she continues to purses her lips together back to him.

***

Cole walks into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and moves over to the bar, desperate for a drink. He knows that he has to get Celeste out of his head, but he can't help but think about her all the time.

"How did this happen?" he asks himself as he takes a sip of his brandy. "I'm in love with my father's wife."

Before he can think of anything else, he hears the front door of the mansion open and Lydia calls out. "Is anyone here?"

Cole puts his drink down and leaves the living room, walking into the foyer. "Mother? What is it? Is something wrong?"

Lydia takes a deep breath as she knows that Kent wants to tell Lex and Mac the truth tonight about him being Lex's father. She can't let anyone know this, however.

"No, nothing is wrong," she lies to her son. "I wanted to come here and see if everything is ready for the house for when Stacey comes home."

"Ah, well I think everything is okay," Cole replies to her. "Ingrid has been getting everything ready in her bedroom."

"That's wonderful," Lydia smiles to him, as Celeste emerges at the top of the stairs. Lydia immediately looks up at Mac's wife and then over at her son. "I haven't interrupted anything here, have I?"

"No, of course not," Celeste says back to her, as she puts her hand on her stomach. "Cole was downstairs when you arrived. I'm up here. What could you have possibly have walked in on?"

"You tell me?" Lydia asks her, as she walks up the stairs to face Celeste. "I've always gotten the feeling that something was going on between you and my son! I told you, to stay away from him and you know what would happen if you followed my orders. We had a deal, remember?"

"What are you talking about?" Cole asks her, as he rushes up the stairs after his mother. "What kind of deal did you make with Celeste?"

"I told her that if she stayed away from you, I would allow create her design division at Rockwell Mining."

"You can't be serious right now," Cole yells at his mother. "Why do you feel the need to interfere with my life!"

"This woman is your father's wife!" Lydia says back to him, putting her hand on her hip.

"You don't think I know that?" Cole asks her, shocked by Lydia's interference.

"I can't deal with this!" Celeste says, moving past Lydia and Cole. "I don't want to be around the fighting."

"You're not going anywhere," Lydia reaches out and grabs Celeste's arm. When she grabs her, Celeste loses her footing, causing her to lose her balance. Before Lydia and Cole eyes, Celeste falls down the long staircase!

"Celeste!" Cole yells as he watches her reach the bottom of the staircase. He bolts down the stairs and finds her unconscious. "My God, call 911 Lydia! Now! Celeste, can you hear me? Celeste!"

***

Cole paces outside the waiting room at the hospital, desperate to hear some news about Celeste. He can't believe that she fell down the stairs at the mansion. He just hopes that both Celeste, and the baby, will be okay. They have to be okay, he keeps telling himself.

Dr. Chen soon emerges from Celeste's room. "Doctor, how is she?" Cole asks him, desperate for answers.

"Celeste will be fine," Dr. Chen informs Cole. "However, the baby wasn't so lucky."

Cole feels like he just got punched in the stomach. He can't believe that the baby, possibly his baby, is dead. "I can't believe this," he whispers back to him as he fights tears swelling in his eyes. "How is Celeste?"

"She's still sleeping," Dr. Chen replies to him. "You can go in and break the news to her when she wakes up. Just call me if she needs anything."

"Thank you Doctor," Cole says back to him, as he moves over to the door. He looks at his watch quickly, wondering how long he will have with Celeste before Mac arrives at the hospital, as he called his father on the way over to the hospital.

He opens the door and sees Celeste sleeping in the bed. He shuts the door and moves up to her bedside. "How am I going to tell you this?"

"Tell me what?" Celeste says as her eyes slowly open and she looks over at Cole. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" he asks her as their eyes lock.

"I remember Lydia coming to the mansion, but then everything is a blur."

"The doctor said that might happen," Cole admits to her. "You fell down the stairs."

"What?" she gasps out. "What about my baby? Please tell my baby is okay?"

Cole finally lets a tear fall from his cheek as he grabs her hand. "I'm so sorry Celeste," he whispers back to her.

"No," she covers her mouth as tears start streaming from her cheeks. "Not my baby! Please tell me this isn't happening!"

"I'm sorry," he whispers again as he moves up to hug her.

"Well, isn't this cozy," Mac announces at the doorway of the hospital room. "My wife and son in one another's arms."

"Dad," Cole turns around and looks at Mac. "I'm glad you're here."

"Mac," Celeste whispers. "The baby…it's gone."

"Whose baby?" Mac asks as he comes into the room completely. "That's the question I want an answer too."

"Our baby?" Celeste tells him as she looks at her husband with her damp eyes.

"Stop with the lies!" Mac yells at them, unable to hide his anger anymore. "You two, you're disgusting!"

"Dad, what is wrong with you? Celeste just lost your baby!" Cole says as he stands up and looks at his father, not realizing Mac knows the truth.

"Did she?" Mac asks him back. "I know about the two of you. I know about the affair!"

"Dad, let me explain," Cole moves up to him as Mac punches his son. Cole looks back with a bloody nose at Mac and then over at Celeste.

"Stay away from me!" Mac yells, as Celeste jumps out of the bed, but soon doubles over in pain.

"Celeste," Cole says, rushing over to her, ignoring his bloody nose. "Get back into bed. You're in no condition to be out and about."

"I need you two to stop fighting," Celeste replies as Cole helps her back into bed. "Please, Mac, you have to listen to me."

"Never," Mac yells at her. "You two are disgusting! I don't know that I ever want to see either of you again! And you," he spits at Cole. "You're no longer my son."

***

"You look pale," Kent tells Lydia when she comes into the house and she moves to the bar. "What has happened?"

Lydia doesn't answer until she has swallowed a mouthful of whiskey and she pours herself more. "Celeste Baldwin fell down the stairs at the Rockwell mansion," Lydia reveals to him. "I don't think the baby will survive."

"My God," Kent says as he comes up behind her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm rattled to say the least," she replies to him before she takes another swig of her whiskey. "Listen, Kent, darling, I know you want to tell Mac and Lex the truth before our wedding, but darling, Mac is about to go through the loss of a child right now. I'm not sure if this is the best time to tell him the truth."

Kent shakes his head back to her. "It's not the same as losing an adult child," he reminds her. "Have you forgotten that my Houston is dead?"

"Of course not!" she yells at him. "I am just trying to make sure this family doesn't deal with any more than we already are! Why can't you understand that?"

"And why can't you understand that I don't want to wait any more time to pass before I get my son back? I've already lost one son, I can't lose another!"

"And to hell with everyone else?" Lydia ask him. "God Kent, you can be so selfish sometimes."

"Don't you dare put this on me!" he yells back at her. "Now, I'm leaving and I'm not coming back until I've found Mac and Lexington!"

***

Lex opens the door to Stacey's hospital room and moves inside, as she looks over at her brother, with a smile on her face.

"I was wondering when you'd come and see me," she smiles to him and he gives her a hug. "It's good to see you, Lex."

"You too Stace," he replies to her as they exit their embrace. "How are you feeling?"

"Like ,I'm going stir crazy. I am so ready to get out of this place," she tells him. "But Dr. Chen told me first thing in the morning I get to go home."

"That's great news! So, physically you're fine," he replies to her. "But I know that you were engaged to Houston…"

She bites her lip to try to prevent herself from crying. "It's okay, Stacey," he tells her as he grabs her hand. "You can cry if you want to. You lost someone so near and dear to you."

She shakes her head as tears fall down her cheeks. "I just can't believe I'll never see him again," she admits to her brother. "One minute, we are driving to tell our families that we want to spend the rest of our lives together and now, I'll never see him again. It seems like a cruel twist of fate."

"I couldn't agree more," Lex admits to her. "But you know what? You should remember how happy you two were together. The weeks leading up to the accident, I could tell something was going on with you. You know how?" he asks her as she shrugs her shoulders. "Because, I had never seen you so happy before."

"I was so very happy with him," Stacey admits to him. "I loved him so much."

"Hold on to that," Lex tells her. "That's all we have in life, is love. So when you find it, keep it with you always."

"When did you get so wise?" Stacey asks him as she wipes her eyes dry.

"I've always been this way, you just haven't noticed before," he teases her as she laughs.

"Thanks for being here for me," she pulls him into another hug.

"I'll always be here for you Stace," he whispers into her ear. "Always," he says as they exit their embrace. "Now, I have so much family drama to fill you in on!"

***

Lydia sets her glass down on the bar when she hears a knock on the door of her penthouse. She quickly moves over to the door, hoping that it is Kent and he has come around to thinking that he shouldn't tell Mac and Lex the truth tonight because of Celeste's miscarriage and he just forgot his key.

She opens the door and sees Cole standing there. "My God, Cole," she gasps as he moves into the living room. "What happened to you?"

"Dad found out that I slept with Celeste," he reveals to her as he pours himself a brandy. "He took it out on me with his fist."

"That son of a bitch hit you?" she shrieks, not believing that Mac would hit his own son.

Cole nods back to her as he takes a drink. "And, I knew that something had happened between you and Celeste. My God, how could you sleep with that piece of trash?"

"Forget about that!" Cole yells at her. "She lost the baby, Mom. Celeste had a miscarriage."

"I was worried that," Lydia admits to him. "That was a bad fall and the baby was so tiny."

"You don't care at all, do you?" Cole continues to yell at her. "You practically pushed her down those stairs!"

"I did no such thing!" Lydia is shocked at his accusation.

"That could have been my baby, Mom!" Cole yells before he throws his glass up against the wall. "And you caused it to die! And now, you're dead to me!"

***

"Who the hell could it be now?" Lydia asks herself as she sets her brandy down on the coffee table and moves to the door of the penthouse as the door bell has just rang four times in a row. After her heated discussion with Cole, she was hoping for some peace and quiet. She opens the door and lets out a loud groan. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Lucinda Rockwell asks as she pushes her way past Lydia and moves into the living room of the penthouse. "Celeste lost her baby today. I understand that you are responsible for this."

"She fell down the stairs, Lucinda," Lydia informs her. "That was an accident."

"For some reason, I have hard time believing you that it was an accident. Nothing you do is an accident."

"Oh shut up," Lydia spits at her. "Get out of my house."

"Not until you hear me," Lucinda grabs Lydia's arm. "I've warned you enough times not to hurt my family. And here you are, hurting my family. What do I have to do to get through to you?"

Lydia pulls herself free from Lucinda's grip. "You don't scare me anymore old woman," Lydia grits her teeth. "You have may have thought you could dictate to me while I was married to MacKenzie, but those days are long gone."

"Thank God they are."

"Do me a favor, and get out of my house before I call security and have you thrown out."

"Fine, I'll go," Lucinda tells her as she moves to the door. She turns around to look at Lydia. "But, hear my warning, Lydia. If you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt my family, you will answer to me."

Lydia rolls her eyes as she hears the door close as Lucinda exits. She picks up her brandy and takes a heavy mouthful, suddenly wondering if Kent is making the right decision by revealing the truth about Lex. She can talk the talk with Lucinda, but she also realizes that Lucinda is not a woman to make empty threats.

"God help us all if Kent actually goes through with this," she whispers to herself before she takes another sip of her brandy.

***

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Lex asks Mac as he opens the door to Lydia's office at Rockwell Mining, as he sees his father sitting on the sofa holding a glass of brandy.

"I've had a lousy day," Mac admits to Lex before he takes a drink of his brandy. "And, I thought I'd come here to try to think of a way to get this company back."

"You better not let Lydia catch you in here, you know she'll have you arrested."

"I'm not worried about Lydia," Mac replies to him. "This company is the only bright spot I have in my life right now. I have to figure out a way to get it back."

"How can you say that?" Lex asks him as he moves up to his father. "Stacey is awake; she's going home in the morning. You have me, and Cole…"

"Don't mention Cole's name," Mac replies to him quickly. "He's betrayed me in the worst possible way."

"What happened?" Lex asks him.

Before Mac can reply, Kent opens the door to the office and moves inside. "I'm glad I found you two together," Kent announces to them, closing the door behind him.

Mac stands up and glares at Kent. "What the hell are you doing here Blackmore?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kent replies to him. "This is, after all, Lydia's office."

"I still own 49% of this company," Mac grits his teeth. "Don't you tell me if I should or shouldn't be here."

"I'm not here to fight with you," Kent tells him. "I have something to tell you, both of you."

"Well hurry up then," Lex replies to him. "My father and I were just in the middle of something."

"That's just the thing," Kent says to them, looking at Lex. "Mac's not your father, Lexington. I am."