Episodes 187 – 239
Determined to help Andy stop the wedding, Claire attempted to sneak out of the apartment on New Year’s Eve to eavesdrop on Nick’s meeting. Tim caught her and she explained what was going on. Able to see how much dealing with the past meant to his wife, Tim agreed to help. He and Andy went to the pier and were confused when Nick didn’t show up for the meeting.
Meanwhile, Claire was sent to the Moriani home in case there was a change of plans. She was indeed in for a surprise — Ryan caught her snooping. He had realized what she was up to and told Nick not to attend the meeting. Unfortunately, when he tried to detain Claire in the cellar, he got locked in with her. The tension reached a breaking point and he cracked, finally admitting that Stan had raped Claire. She was horrified to have memories of the incident and realized that Ryan was telling the truth.
Andy left the pier to go stop the wedding. On the way, he crashed his car into that of Maggie Hudson, an architect from Seattle doing business in town. Though they were initially antagonistic, Maggie gave Andy a ride to the Fitch mansion — but he was too late, and Katherine married Nick. Andy was later blown off in another attempt to stop his mother from leaving with Nick. He and Maggie spent the night together talking and both were surprised by how well they connected.
Left alone at the pier, Tim was seen by Nick’s associates, who had not received word that he would not be coming. They mistook Tim for Ryan and roughed him up. The incident lead to Tim being shot and he was left, bleeding, on the pier. The next morning, when Nick released Ryan and Claire from the cellar, Claire was horrified when she was unable to find her husband. The police investigated and reported not long after that although they had not turned up the body, signs pointed to Tim having died on the pier.
The Fishers were devastated by the news of Tim’s death. Claire fell into a downward spiral. Though Ryan wanted to be there for her, she rejected him despite the truth about the rape. Losing her son made Paula think even more about the child she had given up.
Andy blamed himself for leaving Tim alone at the pier. Claire and Brent tried to talk him out of his guilt. Maggie returned to town on business and accompanied Andy and Brent to the Fitch mansion to talk to Katherine about Nick’s possible involvement in her shooting. While they talked, Nick informed Ryan that their debt had finally been paid off — but was horrified to see a car driving away from the house. Moments later, the mansion burst into flames.
Nick realized he could have left Katherine to die and claimed her wealth, but opted to save her instead. Andy, Maggie, and Ryan also escaped the blaze. Brent was trapped underneath a fallen chandelier and had to be hospitalized. When Ryan went to check on him, on orders from Nick, he had a run-in with Claire. He blasted her for trying to pin her anger at her late father on him.
Andy’s further attempts to talk his mother into leaving Nick were met with solid resistance after Nick saved her life. Things changed when Andy overheard Katherine and Nick discussing how she had arranged for Danielle to leave King’s Bay on tour. Andy confronted his mother and, sickened by her, rejected her entirely. He made peace with Danielle when she visited Brent and then left King’s Bay to start a fresh life in Seattle — with the hope of a relationship with Maggie.
Meanwhile, more trouble was on the horizon for Claire. After receiving notice of Tim’s death, Diane Bishop returned to King’s Bay to regain custody of her daughter, Samantha. Claire was horrified when the judge awarded temporary custody to Diane during a preliminary hearing. Diane remained in King’s Bay with Samantha and began an affair with her lawyer, Eric Westin. She also struck up the beginnings of a friendship with Sarah, but was secretive about why she would not be returning to Los Angeles.
Ryan was angered when his biological father, Stan Lincoln, returned to tell him that he had met a woman from King’s Bay and would be settling in town. The woman turned out to be Sally Marshall. Stan soon spotted Claire around town and tried to confront her about Ryan’s confusing attitude. She was horrified and accused Ryan of sending Stan after her, but he denied the charge and she believed him.
Sarah was thrilled that Brent agreed to accompany her to her parents’ party on New Year’s Eve, but at midnight he was unable to kiss her. Sarah reamed him out and then threw a drink in Molly’s face before storming out! Her resentment towards her sister continued to grow and she confided in Matt about how she felt she lived her youth in Molly’s shadow.
Matt’s feelings for Sarah were deepening but he forced himself not to act upon them, knowing how hung up she was on Brent. Meanwhile, Molly and Brent fought their own feelings. Sarah was determined to revive her marriage, though it seemed she was more interested in keeping Brent away from Molly than in actually loving him.
Brent decided to move ahead with the divorce. One night, Molly went to visit him, determined to clear the air between them. But Sarah also showed up, just having received notice of the divorce from her attorney. She tore into Brent and Molly, and tried to force her sister to admit that she was in love with Brent. He ordered her to stop tormenting Molly and took the blame, saying that he was the one with feelings for Molly.
Shortly afterward, Brent was injured in the fire that destroyed the Fitch mansion. Sarah rushed to his side as he lie in a coma. Pushed to the brink by the inevitable end of her marriage, she hired a security guard to keep watch over the room — and keep Molly out. Molly reported this to Jason, who went to talk some sense into Sarah. In the midst of Jason’s attempts to reason with his sister, Brent awoke.
He overheard enough to figure out what Sarah had done. After making it clear that he’d had enough of his wife’s schemes, he shared an awkward but tender reunion with Molly. His sister Danielle visited to take care of him as he took up residence in Andy’s old apartment. At a dinner party thrown by Paula, Sarah spilled to the whole family that Molly had feelings for Brent. Bill and Paula argued over which sister was more in the wrong.
Sarah opened up to Paula about how she felt Molly’s accomplishments weighing down on her, and Paula began to understand the root of Sarah’s growing hatred for her sister. But Matt had had enough of it. He continued to urge Sarah to keep things in perspective, and when he caught wind of what she had done at the hospital, he declared it the final straw.
He had taken a job at The Fisherman’s Pier and received advice from Bill to wait for Sarah to see that she needed him. His feelings for her were still great but he could no longer stand by and watch her self-destruct. Sarah was surprised by how lost she was without Matt to lean upon. In the meantime, she developed a burgeoning friendship with Diane Bishop, and the women were surprised by how much they had in common.
Brent asked Sarah to meet him on the pier and when she arrived, he handed her the divorce papers and asked her to sign. Outraged, she threw them back at him and launched into a tirade about Molly. Then she surprised him with a kiss as she recalled the good times they had shared. Brent agreed that they’d had something special but tried to make her realize it was over. Unfortunately, Matt and Molly picked that moment to show up, and Sarah angrily shoved her sister into the water!
Brent pulled out Molly, while Matt took Sarah away. He confessed how deep his feelings ran and how badly she had hurt him. Sarah began to understand how important Matt was to her and wondered if she could have a future with him, though she was unable to make him any promises. Meanwhile, Brent and Molly finally declared their love and shared a kiss, but later decided they could not be together.
At the New Year’s party, Alex surprised Lauren, Courtney, and especially Jason by kissing Lauren at midnight. Jason demanded a straight response when he finally asked outright if Alex was gay or bisexual, but Alex brushed off the question and assured him that he wanted to be with Lauren. Jason struggled with the knowledge about Alex that only he possessed but remained torn over what to do with it.
In the wake of Tim’s death, Jason grew distant. Eventually Courtney got through to him and they grew closer than ever. Alex and Lauren continued to have fun together, but Alex’s uncertainties remained. He attempted to come clean to Lauren but her insecurities gave him a window of opportunity to escape and, nervously, he let her go on believing that they could have a future.
One night after a double date, Jason and Courtney argued after he suggested that she stop pushing the relationship between their friends but would not explain his reasoning. At the same time, things got hot and heavy between Alex and Lauren, but Alex pulled away and told Lauren that he could not sleep with her. He went to see Jason and broke down, but mistook Jason’s support for mutual attraction and kissed him. Jason cleared things up but was still rattled enough that when Courtney came by looking to make up — saying she was ready to sleep with him — he had to turn her away.
Alex and Lauren’s relationship fell apart. Jason tried to boost Lauren’s spirits without betraying Alex’s confidence, but she continued to doubt herself. After a romantic night out, Jason and Courtney finally made love.
The four were invited to a party being thrown by a mutual friend. At the party, Lauren turned down an overt sexual advance and her confidence was further shattered when the guy mocked her. Jason and Courtney were surprised to see her talking to Alex and then stunned to see the pair kissing. When they headed upstairs, Jason followed, much to Courtney’s annoyance.
He walked into the bedroom and found Lauren alone, crying. She told him that it really was over and he told her that she couldn’t blame herself for Alex being gay. She was shocked and he realized that Alex had not told her the full truth. Alex returned and finally opened up, admitting to both of them that he was gay. When Courtney wanted to know what happened, Lauren suggested that she go and talk to Alex.
Courtney did just that, but she overheard Alex and Jason talking and realized that Jason had known about Alex’s sexuality for some time. She blasted him for letting Lauren get hurt and for allowing her to look like a fool. Their relationship was suddenly very rocky, as were the group’s friendships. Alex could not bring himself to open up to his mother, especially in light of her new relationship with Stan Lincoln.
Christmas saw the Fishers coming together to celebrate. Sarah surprised the rest of the family by showing up with Matt and Victoria and by behaving civilly toward Molly. The family offered up a prayer for all that had happened during the year, especially the loss of Tim. They hoped for new beginnings in the new year.