Written by: Dallas Walsh

"Thank you for the update," Mac Rockwell says as he sits at his desk in his office at the Rockwell Mining building. In front of him is a brandy and he picks up the glass to have a drink of it, while listening to the contractor on the other end of the phone call. "Look, I don't care what it costs, but I need my house to be back up and running as quickly as possible. I appreciate the extent of the damage, but I will not have my family displaced any longer than necessary. In fact, I want to back home today. Do you think it's possible for us to live in the east wing while you finish construction on the west wing, where majority of the damage is?"

Mac takes another sip of his brandy. "Perfect, I'll let my family know. You have no idea how much I appreciate you working around the clock on this. After everything my family has been through so, I just want to them to feel safe and secure in their home again."

He hangs up the phone and takes the final sip of Brandy as a smile comes across his face. "We can move back home," he says to himself. "I need to get to the hospital to tell the others."

***

Sabine Andrews slowly walks up to Lydia Rockwell's hospital room in her Louie Vuitton pumps. She peers through the window on the door and sees her sister resting in the hospital bed. She takes a deep breath before she puts her hand to the door handle and turns it; she has no idea how Lydia is going to react to her being there, since she did reveal Lydia and Houston Blackmore's affair right before Odette Williams set the bombs off at the gala a few nights earlier, but she has been worried about Lydia and had to see for herself that her sister is doing okay.

Lydia immediately turns her head and groans when she sees her sister coming into her hospital room. "Well, hello to you too," Sabine purses her lips together as she moves inside. "I have been worried about you, Lydia. I'm glad that you're awake."

"You haven't heard the latest, have you?" Lydia looks away from her sister, still reeling from everything that has happened.

"No?"

"I can't feel my legs," Lydia reveals to her. "There's a chance I may never walk again."

"My God," Sabine moves up to her sister. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry to hear that. But you know what, Lydia? You've overcome far worse in your life. I know you will walk again. You're too strong willed to let this get you down."

Lydia uneasily chuckles back to her. "You're my cheerleader now? Why? What the hell has gotten into you? In case you forgotten, you exposed my affair with Houston at the party, in front of everyone."

"I know, and I regret that," Sabine sits next to her sister. "I was drunk and upset that Mac had left me. Not that it is an excuse; I would have left me too had I not said anything about you and Houston being in that cage. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I just don't know how you could have done that to me. Kent and Stacey, they didn't deserve that either. Houston and I, we thought we'd never escape!"

"I'm so sorry," Sabine bites her lower lip. "I let Lucinda get in head."

"That doesn't make it okay," Lydia replies to her quickly. "And, because of you, Kent has left me," she stuns Sabine, recalling how Kent Blackmore ended their relationship because of her affair with his son.

"What? Kent left you?"

"Yes, and it's all your fault! Now, I need my rest, kindly leave me alone!"

"Lydia, please, I'm trying to apologize!"

"Save your breath!" Lydia barks at her. "A simple 'I'm sorry', is not going to cut it anymore, Sabine. Not this time!"

Sabine stands up and looks at her sister and feels her blood boil. Instead of accepting her apology, Lydia is prolonging their feud. She should have known better, Sabine thinks to herself. Lydia will always only be concerned with Lydia, despite everything that happened at the party.

"Well, you take care," Sabine manages to say before she bolts out of the hospital room. As she enters the hallway, Mac is approaching the hospital room with a worried look on his face.

"Sabine? What were you doing in there? You weren't upsetting Lydia, were you?"

"God forbid the Queen is disturbed," Sabine rolls her eyes back to Mac. "She's fine, Mac. Go see her, you know you want too."

Mac turns back to the hospital room and continues to move towards it. He opens the door and sees Lydia wiping her eyes dry. "Hey, what's going on? I just saw Sabine leaving. She didn't upset you, did she?"

"It doesn't matter," Lydia waves her hand in the air. "The fact is, my sister will never change."

"I got a call from my contractor," Mac reveals to her as he comes closer to her. "It seems like they will be able to make the mansion somewhat livable by the end of the day. You can't go back to the penthouse until you're fully recovered."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, there are stairs and it's a tight space, until you're better, you'll likely need a wheelchair to get around. The mansion has an elevator and staff to help you. Secondly, Kent left you, so you have no other choice."

"What are you saying?" Lydia asks him.

"Move back into the mansion?" Mac asks her. "Move in with me and the children."

***

"How could you be so stupid?" Sabine asks Kent as she opens the door to his office at Blackmore Ltd. and moves inside. She walks over to the bar and pours herself a brandy, needing one after her encounter with Lydia.

"Oh sure Sabine, come on in, and sure, by all means, help yourself to a drink," Kent scoffs back to her before she turns to face him, taking a sip of her brandy.

"I just got back from seeing Lydia," Sabine informs him. "And, you know what she told me? That you've left her! How could you leave Lydia at a time like this?"

"She slept with my son! A fact I wouldn't even know that if you hadn't revealed it at the party!"

"Like you've never slept with another woman?" Sabine rolls her eyes back to him. "You realize that Lydia can't walk, right?"

"What?" Kent stands up from his chair. "She didn't tell me that."

"Why would she? You were too busy dumping her!"

"Okay, enough with the sarcasm, Sabine. What the hell do you want?"

"I want you to get over yourself," Sabine tells him. "Unless you forgive Lydia, you and I, we are going to lose everything."

"And by everything you mean, Mac?" Kent chuckles back to her. "Maybe you're better off without him?"

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life without Lydia?" Sabine asks him back. "No, I didn't think so. So, the question becomes, are you going to let the love of your life go without a fight? Or, are you going to help me come up with a way for us to both get what we want?"

***

"Now, promise me that you'll take it easy," Cole opens the door to his Bentley and lets Celeste step out of the vehicle. Once she's outside, she looks at the mansion from the outside and almost can't believe her eyes. The entire west wing is still under a tarp, as the construction crews continue to work on the rebuild, following the destruction of the bombs.

"I'll be fine," she finally replies to him. "Are you sure we can stay here?"

"I'm positive," Cole tells her. "My Dad said the contractors advised that the east wing is fine, and was barely impacted by the explosions. As you can see, the west wing needs some work."

Celeste uneasily nods back to him, wondering about living in a construction zone while pregnant; the last thing she wants to do is inhale too much dust, which might harm herself or the baby. "I'm just worried about the air quality."

"Not to worry," Cole tells her. "They've built a temporary wall in the foyer, so we won't be impacted that much. Hey, don't worry, okay? I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, not ever again."

Celeste smiles back to him and pulls him into a hug, her head spinning about how or when she is going to tell him that she's pregnant. She has to find the right way, but she knows that it won't be easy. "Nothing will ever come between us again, Celeste, I promise you that."

"I hope you're right," she uneasily smiles back to him as they exit their embrace. "Come on, let's go get settled."

***

"I'm glad that Daddy was able to get us back into the mansion so quickly," Stacey Rockwell tells her husband, Marat Kafelinkov, as he sits on the sofa in the living room and she brings up a cup of coffee. "You needed a rest after everything you went through. Did you sleep well?"

Marat looks back at her before he takes a sip of his coffee. If he's honest with himself and her, he knows that the rest that he did have wasn't very peaceful because he hasn't been able to stop thinking about his father, Yuri, dying in the explosion. He still can't believe that his father was killed in the bombing; his heart aches thinking that he will never see his father again. The only silver lining is that he and Stacey are seemingly back on track, which is so grateful for because he couldn't handle losing his wife and father at the same time.

"Not really," he stands up and to pour some Baileys into his coffee. "I ended up leaving the bed around 3:00 am to take a call from Russia."

Stacey stands up and moves up to her husband. "What's happened now?"

"Nothing that I wasn't expecting," he reveals to her as they lock eyes. "News of my father's death has travelled to the board of directors at Kremlin Diamonds. They've appointed me to take over, effective immediately."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Stacey asks him.

"I'll have to go to Moscow," Marat replies to her. "And, I'm not sure how long I will be gone for. At least until the company has settled from the news of my Dad's passing."

"That makes sense. You were being groomed to take over from Yuri, so you should step into the role easily."

"I just have to make sure everyone trusts what I do," Marat tells her. "Look, Stacey, I want you to come with me. If you were serious last night about us being together and putting our marriage back together, you will come to Moscow with me. Be with me while I mourn my father and get the family business stable again."

Stacey uneasily gulps back to him. She knows that she is upset with Lydia and Houston for their affair, but the rest of her life is still in Kelsey Lake. That being said, she thinks that getting away right now would be the best thing for her. It will help her get over what her mother did to her, she can regroup without all the stress that surrounds her.

"I'll come with you," she purses her lips back together. "But, I need a day to say goodbye to my family. My Dad will be upset by our decision."

"I can give you that," Marat smiles back to her as he pulls her into a hug. "I'm just grateful you want us to work."

"Of course I want us to work, I love you Marat."

"I love you too, Stacey."

***

A large black limousine slowly pulls up to the Rockwell mansion and parks out front of the doorway. The driver hops out of the car and rushes around to open the back door. Mac steps out of the car and moves around to the trunk, where he and the driver pull out a wheelchair. Mac unlocks the chair causing it to fully open and then wheels it around to the other door of the limousine, opening it and helps Lydia out of the car and into the wheelchair.

"I detest that I can't even get out of a car by myself," she spits as she gets comfortable in the wheelchair. "I feel so helpless."

"You'll be back to yourself in no time," Mac tries to stay positive with her. "Looks like the west wing is still being worked on."

"I still can't believe that Odette blew up this house. Thank God she's dead so she can't hurt us anymore."

"Come on," Mac starts to push her to the front door. "Let's get you settled."

As he pushes her into the foyer of the mansion, Stacey happens to be walking down the stairs and she pauses when she sees her mother and father together. She didn't even know that Mac had invited Lydia to move back into the mansion, but she realizes that it makes sense because the penthouse would not be wheelchair friendly.

"Oh Stacey, darling," Lydia smiles as she looks up to her daughter. "I'm so glad that you're here."

Stacey finishes walking down the staircase and gives Mac a kiss on the cheek. "Hi Daddy. It looks like the house will be back to normal in no time at all."

"I hope so," Mac nods back to her. "Aren't you going to welcome your mother home? She will be staying with us until she is back on her feet."

"No, I have nothing to say to her," Stacey tells her, while Lydia gasps back to her.

"Stacey! I am your mother!" Lydia shrieks at her. "I know what I did was wrong but…"

"I have to go run some errands before your meeting at Rockwell," Stacey interrupts her while looking at Mac. "But, I'm going to have to talk to you later on Daddy alone. I have some news."

"News?" Mac asks her back. "Is everything okay?"

"You'll find out soon enough, okay?"

***

"Lex, good morning," Cole announces to his brother who is pouring himself a brandy in the living room of the mansion. Cole shutters when he hears some loud banging from the other side of the mansion, which is still being reconstructed. "How did you sleep in amidst all of this work?"

Lex takes a long sip of his brandy before he turns to face his brother. He can't help but recall the previous day at the hospital when he met the stable boy, Toby Sinclair, who encouraged Lex to get back at Cole for having a sexual encounter with Brock Jennings. Lex still can't believe that Brock, who was trying to be his boyfriend, gave his brother a blow job. Lex, of course, knows that Cole's excuse is that he was high on drugs at the time, but Lex doesn't care. He feels like Cole disrespected him in the worse possible way.

"You're not even speaking to me now?" Cole asks him coming up to him and pouring his own glass of brandy. "I guess this calls for a drink."

"What the hell do you want me to say to you, Cole?" Lex barks back at him. "You accepted a fucking blow job from the guy I was dating, who is now dead. You want me to say something like, 'would you like cream in your coffee?' Cause, I don't care what you do anymore."

Cole takes a sip before he looks back at his brother, who he can tell is fuming. He knows why Lex is upset; truth be told, if he was in Lex's shoes, he would be upset too. "I get it, you're pissed off at me," Cole takes another sip of his brandy. "But, after everything that happened, we have to try to move on, don't you think? We almost died because of Odette; this seems so trivial in comparison."

Lex chuckles back to him as he rolls his eyes. "Of course it's trivial, my feelings have always been trivial to you," Lex replies to him. "We got along for what, a couple of months, but let's face it Cole, you and I, we've never gotten along. You accepting a blow job from Brock proves that you have no respect for me."

"Lex, come on. We have to do something to move past this."

"I don't have to do anything," Lex spits at him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the office; Dad has requested a family meeting."

Cole watches his young brother blow past him and out of the living room. Cole shakes his head, wondering how he can make it up to his brother, but the truth is, he thinks that they will have the same relationship again.

***

"Do you have any idea what this meeting is about?" Cole asks Stacey and Lex as they all stand in the office at Rockwell Mining, a short time later in the morning. Mac has requested that all three be in his office for a very important meeting for them, but he did not reveal any details as to the agenda.

"Dad didn't tell you why we are gathered here today? What a surprise," Lex quips back to him, still annoyed with his brother for his sexual indiscretion with Brock. The fact that they also have to work together is another way that Cole is getting to rub his face in it.

"Lex, come on," Stacey chimes in. "Let's try to get along with one another."

Before Lex can reply, Mac opens the door to the office and moves inside. "I'm glad you're all here," Mac says as he walks to his desk. "We need to come together for the sake of the company."

"What's going on, Dad?" Cole asks him, as the three children look at their father.

"Well, for starters, your Mother is back at the mansion. She'll be living with us until she's better," Mac announces to his children.

"That's great news," Lex smiles back to him. "I got the feeling, however, that this was about Rockwell Mining?"

"It is indeed," Mac looks back at his children with intent. "You all know that Rockwell Mining has reobtained the Kelsey Lake min," Mac begins to explain to them as they nod back. "Well, there is a possibility that there are some rare, very exquisite, large diamonds in an under developed area just north of the mine. If we could expand to this northern location and get our hands on these diamonds, we could really set ourselves apart from the rest of the industry."

"Wait," Cole stops his father. "Can we look at a map of the mine for a moment? Where exactly is this location?"

"It's here," Mac tells him as he turns his laptop around and shows him a map of the Kelsey Lake mine. The area in question is highlighted in yellow. "This is the area."

"Isn't that a protected wild life preservative?" Stacey asks her Dad, looking at the map. "I don't think we can excavate the area, even if we wanted too."

"I agree with Stacey Dad," Lex echoes back to him. "Even if we could buy the land, the backlash from the publicity could hurt the company."

"I think there's ways around this," Cole replies to them. "We should at least see if these diamonds exist. Dad is right, these diamonds could be a game changer."

"Cole, do you even know how the media works?" Lex asks him, annoyed with his brother.

"You just want to have the opposite opinion of me Lex, it's so obvious," Cole sneers back to him.

"Oh God," Lex groans back to him. "Not everything is about you, Cole."

"Enough boys," Mac steps into their fight. "We have to agree on this as a company, do you think we can do that?"

"Well Lex," Cole looks over at his brother. "Do you think we can talk about this civilly?"

Lex rolls his eyes. "Why bother? You'll do what you want anyways, you always do Cole," Lex tells him as he storms out of the office.

Mac looks back at Stacey and then over at Cole. "What the hell was that about?" Mac asks Cole.

"Don't worry about it," Cole huffs back to him. "I'm trying to get through to him. It might just take some time."

***

Tanner steps off the elevator at Blackmore Ltd. and quickly moves towards Kent's office. He opens the door and moves inside, closing the door behind him. He had planned on going to drop off some recent photos he completed for Kent to review, but he is grateful that Kent isn't at work just yet, because it will give him time to be alone to collect his thoughts as he hasn't had a moment to breath for a while.

Tanner pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials a number quickly. "Hey, it's me," he says into the phone. "I don't have a lot of time to talk, but everything is going according to plan. Yes, don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing."

***

"You're comfortable in this room?" Mac asks Lydia, who is resting in a large king size bed on the second level of the mansion. Mac looks at his ex-wife and can tell that she hates the fact that she can't walk, but he knows that she will be back on her feet because Lydia will never accept defeat to anything. He was at the office but he raced home to make sure she was adapting to her room. "I can make any changes you need."

Lydia waves her hand in the air. "No, Mac, this is great, thank you for everything you've done for me."

Mac moves up to her and sits on the edge of the bed. "Of course, Lydia," he looks into her eyes. "You know that I would do anything for you."

Lydia smirks back to him. "It's amazing, isn't it, how far we've come? There was a time when we couldn't stand to be in the same room with one another."

"We've always had a temperamental relationship, " Mac smiles back to her. "But, at the end of the day, we always cared for one another. We have three children together, Lydia. Nothing will ever change that."

"I'm glad that you still consider Lex to be your son," she says, knowing that Kent is really Lex's biological father.

"How could I not?" Mac shrugs his shoulders. "I raised him, and he is the most like me out of all of our children."

"That's true," Lydia nods back to him. "How do you think he's doing, I mean really? Losing Brock must not have been easy, especially since it is so soon since Jarek died."

"Honestly, I think he's fine," Mac replies to her. "He and Brock weren't that close; he didn't want anything serious because of Jarek."

"That makes sense," Lydia nods back to him before she yawns a little.

"Okay, that's enough talk, you've had a busy morning," Mac grins back to her. "You get some rest. I'll be back in a little while and we can talk more."

Mac stands up from the bed and moves towards the door. "Mac," Lydia calls out, causing him to turn around and look at her ."Thank you."

"You're welcome. Sleep well."

***

Kent moves into the dining room of the country club and scans the room until he sees his ex-wife, Vivian Blackmore, sitting at a table alone. He moves up to the table and kisses her cheek.

"Well, you're looking better this morning," he says before he sits next to her. "How are you feeling?"

Vivian takes a sip of her coffee before she puts the cup back down on the table. "I'm much better than yesterday,' she replies to him. "And, my leg is already feeling better. I think I just needed a good night's rest."

"I'm very happy to hear that," Kent nods back to her, recalling taking her home from the hospital after her leg was stitched up. "And Ashlee? She's okay?"

Vivian uneasily nods back to him, secretly wishing she had never adopted another child. She had no idea how much work the girl would be; thank goodness she has nannies, she thinks to herself. "She is just fine, growing up so quickly."

"Well, good. I'm glad. It seems like everything is back on track."

Vivian sighs back to him. "I wish that were true," she tells him as he looks back at her as he puts his coffee down. "You and I both know that you are not on the right track with Houston right now. And, it's all Lydia's fault!"

Kent uneasily chuckles back to her. "I'm not sure I will ever be able to forgive Houston or Lydia for what they have done," he admits to her. "It is one thing to have an affair, but to sleep with my own son? Lydia should be ashamed of herself! And Houston, to sleep with my fiancé? Of all the women in the world?"

Vivian reaches over and grabs his hand. "I know it is a tough pill to swallow, darling, but try to think about what they were going through at the time. Lucinda Rockwell had them locked up in a cage like dogs! They never thought they would escape that cage. Lord knows, I'd be tempted to have sex with someone I know I shouldn't if I was in that situation. We are still human beings."

"That doesn't change the hurt or confusion I have inside me," Kent replies to her. "I know you want me to forgive our son, Vivian, I really do. But, this will take time."

"I get that it will take time," Vivian tells him. "But don't you dare give up on Houston, Kent. Not after everything we did to get him back. Do you understand me? Are you hearing me?"

"I hear you," Kent chuckles back to her. "Thank you for caring. Like I said, it will just take some time."

***

Lex slowly moves inside the stables and sees some of the horses that the Rockwell's own before he finishes one of the teas that Tanner has been giving him. He hasn't come down to the stables in a very long time, so he has forgotten how much he likes the animals. Mac, on the other hand, rides the horses on a regular basis as a way to relax. Lex wonders if he should get back into riding as a way to clear his head; he knows that he has a lot to deal with right now, with Brock dying, Lydia's paralysis and his feud with Cole. He tosses his empty tea cup in the trash.

"Fancy seeing you down here," Toby Sinclair comes up to him, holding a broom in his hand as he was sleeping some hay off the walk way. "I introduce myself to you yesterday and today you come down here. Was it my dashing good looks?"

Lex chuckles back to him a little. "You definitely intrigued me," Lex admits to Toby. "And, you are very handsome. But something tells me, you already know that."

Toby licks his lips. "I'm just glad that you've finally noticed me. I've been under your nose all this time."

"I've been thinking a lot about what you told me yesterday," Lex replies to him. "You know, about trying to get back at Cole for his indiscretion with Brock."

"Yea man," Toby nods back to him. "He got blown by your guy, that's messed up."

"It is," Lex nods back to him. "I had some words with Cole this morning actually. He wants to move on from everything that happened."

Toby laughs. "Of course he does," Toby says. "He doesn't want to take any ownership for what happened. He just wants to move on. Typical."

"The thing is," Lex looks into his eyes. "I don't know how I would ever get back at him, even I tried too."

Toby shrugs back to him. "Well, whatever happened to that girl he was smoking up with? The dark haired one?"

Lex looks back at Toby with intent, suddenly wondering the same thing. He knew that Cole was seeing her and then suddenly she wasn't' around anymore, and Cole got sober. "Dixie," Lex nods his head back to him ."You're right, Toby, maybe finding out what happened to Dixie is the key to getting back at Cole. You're brilliant!"

***

Lex opens the door to Mac's office at Rockwell Mining and storms inside, his mind racing about his conversation with Toby. Could this really be the way to get back at Cole? If he finds Dixie, what will she say? What if she doesn't say anything bad about Cole?

"No," Lex pours himself a brandy and quickly takes a sip of it. "When Dixie doesn't say anything that will incriminate Cole, I can move on to another plan. But right now, this is the only thing I have going for me. This could be my way to prove to Mac once and for all that Cole isn't worthy of being here at Rockwell Mining or in the family."

He takes another sip of his drink as he moves to the desk and opens his laptop. "Now, where do I begin to find you Dixie?" he asks himself as he starts typing into the Google search. Before he can even press "search", however, the door to Mac's office opens and Tanner emerges.

"There you are," Tanner flashes his smile over to his lover, coming in with a tea for Lex. "How are you today?"

Lex looks up from his computer and smiles back to Tanner. "Hey you," he stands up and moves up to hug Tanner. "I'm okay. I heard from Brock's parents. They are going to have the funeral in Chicago."

Tanner exits their embrace and looks at him. "Do you want to go? I could ask Kent for some time off."

"No, I don't think so," Lex shakes his head. "We weren't together that long, and …"

"Hey, it's okay to not always be strong, okay?" Tanner pulls him into another hug as Lex starts to cry a little. "You need to let your feelings out. You can't keep everything bottled up."

"You're right," Lex says into his firm chest. "Thank you, Tanner."

"Don't thank me," he looks into Lex's eyes. "That's what you do when you love someone."

"What did you just say?" Lex gasps back to him, surprised by what he just heard Tanner say to him. "You didn't just say that to me."

"I'm sorry," Tanner takes a step back. "I know you're not ready for anything serious, it just came out."

"No, don't apologize, it was nice to hear," Lex looks back at him before he leans in and kisses him. "I'm not there yet, but I feel like I could be with you."

"Good," Tanner kisses him back. "Now, drink your tea. You'll feel better soon. I have to head out for a meeting, but we'll get together soon?"

"I'd like that very much," Lex nods back to him. "Thanks Tanner."

***

"How was your sleep?" Mac asks Lydia as he opens the door to the spare bedroom where she is staying. He looks at her and thinks that she looks more rested than last time he saw her, which is definitely a good thing because she needs all the rest she can get right now.

"It was exactly what I needed," Lydia sits up in the bed. "I'm glad you're back because I need your help with something and we can't wait to action this."

Mac arches his eyebrow as he moves closer to her. "You have my attention, Lydia. What requires our immediately attention?"

"Stacey," she replies to him quickly. "You saw how she greeted me today. She can't even say hello to me right now. I know what I did was wrong, but we have to come together to make her forgive me for having an affair with Houston."

"That won't be easy," he sighs back to her. "She's very upset with both you and Houston. In fact, I think she told Houston that they would never have a future together."

"And that's fine," Lydia tells him. "But the fact of the matter is, I'm her mother. I will always be in her life. And, she has to realize that. Will you help me?"

"Of course," Mac uneasily smiles back to her. "I agree with you that our family should come together right now, just know that it will be difficult with Stacey."

"Well, that is okay with me," Lydia smiles back to him. "You know me, I never back away from a challenge."

***

Lex slowly opens the door to the room where Lydia is resting and moves inside. He sees his mother resting her eyes and wonders if he should leave her alone, but she rolls over and sees him standing there.

"Oh darling," Lydia opens her eyes. "I'm so glad that you're here."

"I can come back if you're resting," he tells her, before he takes a sip of the tea that Tanner has been providing him. "I want you to get well."

"Seeing you, seeing all of my children, that's what's going to make me better. Come sit with me?"

Lex smiles and moves up to her and sits next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm getting better every day," she tells him. "What are you drinking?"

"It's this tea that Tanner got me hooked on," Lex replies to her. "It … I don't know, it calms me down."

"That's good?" Lydia asks him. "Do you feel like you're under stress right now?"

Lex sigh as he thinks about his feud with Cole. "I'm just going through a lot. I'm glad I have something to calm me down."

"I am too," Lydia uneasily nods back to him. "But darling, know that you can talk to me about anything that is going on with you, okay? You're not alone and you never will be."

***

"Come in," Celeste says as she finishes putting on her diamond earrings while looking into the mirror in her and Cole's room, after she heard a knock on her door. She turns around and sees Marat walking into her room. "Marat, I heard about Yuri, I'm so terribly sorry."

"Thank you," Marat whispers back to her as he moves into the bedroom and closes the door behind himself. "Are we alone?"

"We are," Celeste nods back to him.

"I know you were at the hospital after the explosions, is the …"

"Yes," she cuts him off. "The baby is fine. We are both fine."

"Thank God," Marat breathes a sigh of relief. "I was worried that something else awful was going to happen."

"No, you don't have to worry, I'm going to make sure this miracle baby lives," she comes up to him. "Can I do anything to help you with Yuri? You know I'm here for you."

"I have to go to Moscow," he replies to her quickly. "The board of directors at Kremlin Diamonds want me in charge until we figure out what to do with the company."

"I see."

"I'm leaving tomorrow, with Stacey," Marat tells her. "I guess this is goodbye, for now."

"You will be back, won't you?"

"Of course," he grabs her hand and kisses it. "I have to be a part of my child's life. Have you thought about how you will tell Cole?"

"No," Celeste admits to him. "But with you and Stacey leaving, it will make it easier for him to believe the child is his."

Marat nods back to her. "Yes, he will. Just promise me I'll get to be a part of his or hers life."

"Of course," she pulls him into a hug. "I would never keep your child from you. We created this baby, Marat. You and me. We are bonded forever because of that."

Marat smiles at her as they exit their embrace. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, you too. Travel safe."

***

Lex quickly walks into the country club, looking for a stiffer drink than the tea that Tanner brought him. While he appreciated it, and he drank the entire tea, he still wants something more to help him with this edge he is feeling. And, while he has his drink, he would like nothing more than to try to figure out where Dixie Ryan is so he can try to uncover Cole's secrets.

"I'll have a double bourbon," he tells the bartender, as he puts laptop on the bar.

"A double at this hour? Must be having a rough morning."

Lex looks over and immediately recognizes the man sitting next to him as Grant Shaw, the foreman at the Kelsey Lake mine. Lex is surprise to see Grant in Kelsey Lake, as for the last few years he has been offsite and based in New York City.

"Grant Shaw," Lex smiles over to him. "Lex Rockwell; it's been a few years since I've seen you."

"Oh yes, I thought you looked familiar," Grant shakes his hand.

"You have some cuts on your forehead, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Grant waves his hand in the air. "To be honest, I was the party the other night at your family's estate. I was at the mansion when the woman blew it up."

"My God," Lex shakes his head back to him in horror. "I'm so sorry you had to live through that."

"I'm just glad that I am here with you now," he chuckles back to him. "Things could have ended far worse than they did for me."

"Me too," Lex winks back to him. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but usually aren't you based out of New York? Why the visit to Kelsey Lake? There's not a problem with the mine, is there?"

"No, nothing like," Grant takes a sip of his brandy. "This visit was personal."

"Ah," Lex nods back to him. "Well, now you have peaked my curiosity."

"My sister, she's missing," Grant reveals to him. "And, the last place she was seen is here, in Kelsey Lake."

Lex arches his eyebrow. "Interesting, I haven't heard of any missing people reports lately. What is your sister's name?"

"Dixie Ryan," Grant quickly replies to him as the blood drains from Lex's face. "And, I'm not leaving Kelsey Lake until I know what happened to my sister."

***

"Darling, I'm surprised to see you here," Vivian announces to Houston as she moves into the living room of her mansion. She moves over to the bar and pours herself a brandy before looking back at her son. "I would have thought that you'd be trying to make things right between yourself and Stacey or Kent."

"I don't want to dwell on that right now," Houston admits to her as he moves up and over to the bar and pours himself a brandy. "I'd like to try to forget the mess that my life is in right now."

"Oh Houston," Vivian sighs back to him. "After everything we just went through, you and your father must be able to put yourselves back together. We all could have died! Surely that means more than this silly fighting."

"He tried to kill Stacey," Houston replies to her. "If he could at least try to explain himself, I'd listen. But he's so livid with me for sleeping with Lydia. We just end up going around in circles."

"You didn't think that you were ever going to get out of that cage! And Kent, he has his reasons. Were they extreme, yes, of course they were."

Houston sighs back to her as he runs his hands through his hair.

"I need you to do something for me," Vivian tells him as she moves up to him and looks him in the eyes. "You can't give up on your father. He will come around. Houston, do you understand me? You have to make this right. Somehow, someway, you have to do this!"

Houston uneasily nods back to him. "I guess I will try my best."

"Good," Vivian nods back to him. "Life is too short for this internal fighting Houston. Remember that, okay?"

***

"Hello? I'm here, just like you asked me to be," Tanner calls out into the living room of the house. No one is in the room, so he checks his watch and realizes that he is on time for the meeting. Still, no one is around.

"God, what a waste of my time," he whispers to himself before he turns around starts to leave.

"Patience isn't your strong suit I gather?" a voice calls out, causing him to freeze. "Some of us like to make an entrance."

He turns around and sees Odette Williams standing in front of him, in the living room of her home. "You're alive," Tanner gasps back to her.

"Of course I'm alive," she purses her lips together. "You seem surprised."

"I thought Dr. Chen set this meeting up, that's all."

"I did," Dr. Chen emerges from behind Odette.

"Is it safe to be here?" Tanner asks them. "This is your home."

"That has been abandoned since I went to jail," Odette reminds him of her past. "No one will ever think to look here. It's too obvious. Has Lexington been drinking his tea?"

"Yes, he has."

"Good, very good," Odette nods back to him. "Now, for the next phase of our plan."

"What do you want me to do Odette?" Tanner asks her.

"Celeste Baldwin is pregnant," Dr. Chen reveals to him, as Odette smiles over to him. "You need to reveal that news to Cole Rockwell."

"But…" Tanner begins to protest.

"No buts," Odette replies to him. "Cole needs to know the truth. I don't care how you do it ,but you will do this. Remember Jarek, for crying out loud!"

"I'll do it," Tanner replies to her. "As long as you don't get my pay cheque at the end of this."

"Do what I say, when I say it, and everything will come into place," Odette says back to him. "I've come too far to let this plan fall apart now," she says with a wicked laugh.