Episodes 139 – 186
The beginning of the new year found Tim caught up in the mystery of the adoption papers he had found. He attempted to get an explanation out of Paula but she brushed him off. Still, the topic concerned her a great deal — enough for her to suggest to Bill that they finally tell the kids what they had hidden for so long. Bill was staunchly opposed to the idea and tensions escalated between the Fishers over several months.
Over time, Tim confided in both Jason and Molly about the papers. The siblings wondered if one of them had been adopted. After several starts and stops, they convinced Paula to tell the truth. She explained that while she and Bill were engaged, she had had an affair with another man that had resulted in a pregnancy. She and Bill reconciled and gave her son up for adoption before starting their own family.
Tim, Molly, and Jason were stunned by the news, and Bill was angered that Paula had told them. It took months for the Fishers to repair the rift between them, once Bill admitted that he still felt insecure over Paula cheating on him, especially since it had happened during a period in which he had been impotent. Although they worked through their troubles and the kids assured Bill that they still respected him, the topic remained a sore point for Paula and Bill.
Meanwhile, Claire and Tim remained at odds over her attitude towards Ryan. Tim felt that she should be more careful and she resented the implication that she needed protecting. However, she began to have her own doubts about Ryan when she was given reason to believe that he was mixed up in Nick’s illegal dealings. Their renewed friendship began to disintegrate as she grew more suspicious of the Morianis’ activities.
Nick informed Ryan that they were in serious debt because of a business venture gone bad. They paid off what they could but remained in debt, despite numerous warnings. On Valentine’s Day, Nick took Katherine out for a romantic dinner — and outside of the restaurant, a spray of bullets left Katherine in a coma! Nick confided in Ryan that he thought the incident had been a warning to pay up.
The shooting sparked Brent’s interest and he investigated Moriani’s past. When he learned of Nick’s connection to James Robbins, Brent called in Claire to offer any information that she could. The police were ultimately unable to find the proper evidence to connect Nick to the shooting. Katherine lingered in a coma for weeks before finally awakening with Nick by her side. She professed her love for him and he returned the sentiment guiltily.
Claire became determined to prove that the Morianis were carrying on her father’s legacy of illegal doings. During one confrontation with Ryan, the rape came up. Nick overheard and later confronted his son, who insisted that he had not really raped Claire — rather, the attacker had been Ryan’s biological father, Stan Lincoln. Ryan explained that a drunken Stan had raped Claire and Ryan had let her think it was him to keep Stan from getting into any more trouble with the police.
Nick encouraged him to come clean with Claire but Ryan was reluctant to do so. Nick realized that Ryan had maintained contact with Stan over all the years and still felt some sort of obligation to the man despite his poor treatment of Ryan. Stan made a brief reappearance in Ryan’s life but Ryan finally took a stand against Stan’s on-again, off-again attempts at forging a relationship. Stan wondered what had inspired this new aggression but left town again.
Sarah and Brent were working to get their marriage back on track. She was astonished to discover that she was pregnant. The timeframe of the pregnancy meant that Matt had to be the father, and she hid the news while she attempted to figure out a solution. She even briefly considered an abortion. Sarah was hurt when she heard the news of Paula’s other son and learned that her siblings had been told without her present. Finally she broke down and told Paula and Brent that she was expecting.
Molly was suspicious of the fact that it took Sarah so long to announce her pregnancy. Matt was, too, but Sarah lied that the child was not his. She and Brent awaited the birth of the child. In the summer, Sarah gave birth to a daughter. Brent recommitted himself to his new family and realized that he would never be with Molly, despite another stray kiss that they shared. But the tenuous balance that Sarah had established was about to fall apart.
Shortly after the baby’s birth, Matt put together the pieces and confronted Sarah. He demanded to know if he was really the father. He threatened to tell Brent and accused Sarah of using the baby as a last-ditch attempt to keep her husband, because otherwise she knew she would lose him to Molly. The accusation angered Sarah so much that she confessed everything to Brent. When Molly happened to enter the room, Sarah tore into her for harboring feelings for her brother-in-law. Brent was torn between anger and guilt.
When the paternity test showed that Matt was the father, a hurt Brent moved out of his and Sarah’s apartment. Sarah named her daughter Victoria and worked to mend the rift with Matt, hoping that he would want to be a part of his daughter’s life. Matt still had a soft spot for Sarah, despite her lies, and he instantly loved Victoria. The duo slowly renewed their friendship.
Meanwhile, Brent considered divorce. He received support from Molly but both felt partly responsible for everything that had happened. Sarah aimed to get her marriage back on track and was thrilled when Brent agreed to be her date for New Year’s Eve.
The relationship between Lauren and Alex grew. Jason was confused about what was going on in Alex’s head and felt very insecure himself about what had happened between them. Alex attempted to write it off as a one-time thing but had trouble getting close with Lauren. Meanwhile, Jason pressured Courtney to have sex, hoping it would solidify their relationship and quell his insecurities.
Courtney and Jason hit some bumps in the road regarding their physical relationship, but Jason assured her that he would wait until she was ready. She argued with Don and Helen about who would pay for her skating and Jason finally helped her come to a compromise with them so that she would work part-time and continue to train. The young foursome graduated from college and Lauren took an entry-level position at an advertising firm.
Lauren was confused by Alex’s hot-and-cold attitude but remained very attracted to him. Her own insecurities about men and relationships came to the fore and Courtney tried to comfort her. Jason did what he could to discourage her interest in Alex, whose nervousness was becoming clear. He nearly told Lauren about his confusion but pulled back. Jason began to feel more and more pressure in keeping Alex’s secret, particularly since he wasn’t quite sure where Alex stood. Withholding the secret was beginning to have an effect on his relationship with Courtney, too. Court was pleased when Alex agreed to take Lauren to the New Year’s Eve party and hoped that the couple would finally get their act together.
Though finally free from her tour, Danielle no longer seemed certain about her future with Andy. As their wedding quickly approached, her behavior grew more confusing to Andy. On their wedding day, Danielle walked in on Brent and Molly sharing an impulsive kiss. Brent explained his problems with Sarah and wondered if he had married the wrong woman. When it came time for the ceremony, Danielle was nowhere to be found — she’d slipped out of the church!
Andy followed her to her family’s home in San Diego. She told him that her feelings for him were now more along the lines of friendship than love. She made Andy admit that perhaps they had lost sight of their true feelings in their determination to win out over Katherine’s manipulations. Andy was hurt but he returned to King’s Bay. Not long after, Danielle phoned him to say that she was going on tour again and would not be returning to King’s Bay.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Katherine had made a final deal with Roberta Owens to keep Danielle away from Andy for good by offering her this new tour. But Katherine herself was being manipulated. The Morianis remained desperate to pay their debt; the threats were increasing and the interest was rocketing upward. Ryan suggested that Nick marry Katherine and use her money to pay. Nick wrestled with the idea but ultimately decided to propose to Katherine, though he claimed the proposal came out of love first.
The unsuspecting Katherine accepted the proposal. Andy was less than thrilled with the news and once again, the mother-son relationship was jeopardized. They had begun to make inroads but were divided again as Andy tried to convince her to break the engagement. When Brent confided in him that Nick may have been tied to Katherine’s shooting, Andy focused his attention on preventing the wedding from taking place.
He shared his plight with Claire, who was concerned for her friend and intrigued by the possibility of finally obtaining solid evidence against the Morianis. She agreed to assist him in his mission. A visit to the Moriani home led to her overhearing Nick making plans for a meeting on the pier — on New Year’s Eve, the date that he and Katherine had set for their wedding.