Previously…
– Tori told Zane that, even though he returned the blackmail money to Sarah, she doesn’t think she can trust him again and can’t give him a second chance.
– On the night before Natalie and Jason’s wedding, Helen confronted the bride with DNA test results proving that Spencer, not Jason, is Peter’s father. Natalie pleaded with Helen not to ruin lives by revealing the truth, and Helen finally agreed.
– After her meeting with Natalie, Helen was mugged in the parking lot of Windmills. She initially accused Natalie, who insisted there was no way she could have pulled that off, especially on such short notice.
The night passes in blurry waves for Natalie Bishop: fits of tossing and turning, bouts of staring at Jason as he sleeps, hazy stints of semi-consciousness during which her mind wanders to dark, terrible places. She remembers how, the night before her wedding to Conrad, she had trouble sleeping — because she was so excited about what she thought was going to be the rest of her life. On this night, though, she is consumed by visions of how horribly wrong everything could go the following day. Her stomach twists and her chest tightens, imagining what could happen, even as she reminds herself that Helen Chase agreed to keep quiet about Peter’s paternity, and that Spencer Ragan doesn’t remember anything, and that Sonja Kahele doesn’t actually know that it was Natalie who hired her.

Frustrated and tired, she gets out of bed shortly after dawn’s light creeps around the curtains. In the bathroom, she catches sight of herself in the mirror and shudders; thank goodness she has a makeup artist coming later to prepare her for the wedding, because she has dark circles beneath her eyes and weary lines in her skin. Once downstairs, she prepares a cup of hot water with lemon and then sets the coffee to brew.

This is going to be the best day of your life, she tells herself as she sits at the kitchen table.

Soon enough, life fills the house. Her teenage daughter comes downstairs first, with her blonde hair pulled back into a long ponytail.

“Morning,” Bree says brightly. “Are you excited?”

Natalie pushes her lips into a wide smile. “So excited. How’d you sleep?”

“Fine. What time are we leaving for the wedding?”

“The car is coming at 2,” Natalie says, “but they’re coming to do our hair and makeup at 10.”

Bree plucks an apple from the bowl on the counter just as Jason appears in the kitchen, wearing sweatpants and a navy Seahawks t-shirt.

“Happy wedding day,” he says, his happiness so apparent and contagious that Natalie momentarily forgets about her woes.

She gets up to greet him with a kiss. “Happy wedding day.”

Jason pours each of them a cup of coffee, and Natalie puts together a plate of hard-boiled eggs, cut-up fruit, and nuts for them to snack on while they all wake up. When she hears Peter rattling around in his room upstairs, she goes to get him and brings him down to the kitchen.

“There’s my little man,” Jason says. He takes the toddler from her arms, and Peter endures it for a minute before wriggling free and running off to get one of his toys. A moment later, the doorbell rings.

Natalie takes a deep breath. “Here we go.”

When she opens the door, her mother is standing there wearing a grin and a crisp white blouse. She holds a garment bag over her shoulder.

“Good morning, darling,” Claudia Bishop says as she moves inside the house. “Did you have trouble sleeping?”

“What? Why?”

Claudia squints as she scans her daughter’s face. “You look a bit tired, that’s all. Nothing the makeup artist won’t be able to fix… at least I hope.”

Natalie bites her tongue and shows Claudia into the kitchen, where she greets her granddaughter and Jason.

“Coffee?” Jason offers, holding up his own mug.

“That would be lovely. Thank you,” Claudia says. “Cream and sugar, please.”

As Jason prepares the coffee for her, a wild drumroll of footsteps pounds down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Is it time to get our hair done?” Sophie Fisher asks.

“That isn’t for hours,” Bree says. “It was just my grandma.”

Sophie turns and places her hands on her hips as she registers Claudia’s presence. “Oh. Hi.”

“Hello, Sophie,” Claudia says. She accepts the coffee from Jason with a grateful nod. “I’m going to help you all get ready for the wedding.”

“What’s Daddy doing today?” Natalie asks.

“He was still asleep when I left the hotel,” Claudia tells her. “He was very tired when we got in last night.”

“Well, it’s going to be a big day, so it’s good that he rests,” Jason says. “Speaking of, I should get my stuff and get over to Tim’s.”

“Your tux is hanging in the hall closet,” Natalie says as he dips out of the room.

When he reappears, he has the garment bag over his forearm and a small duffel bag in the opposite hand.

“Wish me luck,” he says. He moves over to Sophie and gives her a pat on the head. “Be good for Natalie and Mrs. Bishop, okay? I’ll see you at the wedding.”

Sophie tugs on the duffel bag. “Why can’t I go with you?” 

“Because you’re going to get your hair and makeup done, remember?” Jason says.

“Ugh.” Sophie lets out a huff as her shoulders slump. “Can they do something cool? Like paint my face like the devil?”

Claudia gasps. “Why would you want something like that?”

“I dunno,” Sophie says. “Because it’s fun and would scare people!”

“We’re gonna do regular makeup today,” Jason says. “Tomorrow, you can paint your face however you want.”

Sophie holds her widened hands up to her temples and wriggles them wildly while sticking out her tongue and cackling.

“That’s ghoulish!” Claudia exclaims.

“She isn’t hurting anyone,” Natalie says.

“Just be good,” Jason tells his daughter, “and I’ll see you all at the winery.”

A smattering of goodbyes fills the kitchen, and then Natalie follows Jason out to the foyer.

“You know, the next time I see you, you’re gonna be walking down the aisle in your wedding dress,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.

“I can’t wait,” Natalie responds.

Jason plants a kiss on her lips. Though it is merely a peck, Natalie presses back, attempting to savor it.

“This is going to be a perfect day,” Jason says before turning to open the door.

“I really hope so.” Her touch lingers on his arm. “I hope it’s everything I’ve always dreamed.”

Jason smiles back at her. “I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She lingers at the open door, watching him walk out to his car, and only closes it once he starts his ignition.

You’ve got this, she tells herself mentally as her insides wrench once again, contradicting whatever confidence she is trying to inject into herself. Everything is going to be beautiful — today and forever. 

—–

With her hair still damp from the shower, Helen Chase makes her way down the staircase of the home that she shares with her husband. In the light of the day, with sunshine streaming through the windows, everything in their house looks perfectly normal — so much so that the events of last night seem like a strange dream. But when she recalls the confusion and terror that she felt as the strange man pressed a gun into her back and barked orders at her, the sensations are so vivid that she knows it was all very real.

She finds Don in the kitchen, quietly eating breakfast as he looks over the morning paper.

“I made you some scrambled eggs and toast,” he says cheerily, indicating a plate on the island. “Did you sleep all right?”

“Yes, thank goodness. I must’ve been bone-tired by the time we got home.”

“I don’t blame you. I’m just so glad that you’re okay.”

“Me, too,” Helen says. “That’s what’s important.”

“Are you sure you feel up to going to the wedding?”

Helen busies herself with retrieving her breakfast and a fork as her mind races. She went into her meeting with Natalie last night believing that she finally had her trump card — that Natalie would have no choice but to call off the wedding, that Helen wouldn’t have to watch her beloved daughter’s husband get remarried to that wretched woman. But Natalie managed to convince her, perhaps against Helen’s better judgment, not to expose Peter’s paternity and blow up the wedding.

“We should be there for Sophie,” she says. “Besides, I’m fine. Rattled, but fine.”

She can feel Don eyeing her with great care as she joins him at the table.

“I still can’t believe someone would do that to you,” he says at last. “And with a gun! All for, what, a cell phone and some cash?”

“And my credit cards, I suppose. Thank goodness we were able to cancel everything.”

“Material things can be replaced. What matters is that you’re here and you’re safe.”

“You’re right.” She smiles at him before taking a bite of her eggs. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“Of course.” He pauses and gazes out the bay window into their compact yard. “I’m still trying to get my head around all this. And there’s one thing I don’t get.”

“What’s that?” Helen asks.

“It sounds like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Don says. “But why were you at Windmills in the first place? What even brought you there last night?”

—–

Tori Gray stirs in the stiff pullout bed in her cousin’s living room. She has grown used to sleeping on the thin mattress since she moved into the two-bedroom apartment with Travis and Landon, and even though it can be annoying to be woken up by normal activity due to the lack of privacy that comes with sleeping in a common area, she is still grateful to be out of her family’s home right now. But her head and eyes are both bleary as she comes to and sees the daylight coming in through the cheap plastic blinds.

She sits up in bed and sees Landon Esco shuffling around in the galley kitchen. He freezes and looks at her over the chest-high counter where two chairs stand.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly. “I was trying not to wake you up.”

“It’s okay.” Tori throws off her blanket and swings her legs off the bed. “Are you getting ready to go out and drive?”

“In a bit, yeah. Want a PopTart?”

“Umm… what flavor?”

“Frosted Maple Bacon,” Landon announces proudly as he holds up the box.

Tori winces. “Gross. No, thanks.”

“What?! It’s sweet, it’s savory.”

“It’s disgusting!”

“I seriously question your taste sometimes. But… errr… I think we have another kind.” He reaches into an upper cupboard and produces the box. “Strawberry.”

“Okay, yeah. That I can do.”

She moves to take the silver sleeve from him, but he pulls his arm back.

“I insist,” he says before unwrapping the package and placing the two PopTarts into the four-piece toaster, where his are already cooking.

“Thanks, Landon.” Tori slips around him to get a coffee pod from one of the drawers. She pops it into the Keurig machine.

“So… not to pry,” Landon says, hesitating with words so clearly perched on the edge of his tongue.

“Yes, I met up with Zane last night.”

“Oh. I mean, I remembered you said you were going to, and…”

“It was fine,” she says. “I mean, hard, but I survived.”

“So you stood your ground.”

She nods deliberately. “Yep. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to, but I did it. I told him there’s no way I can give him a second chance.”

“Wow. Tori, thats… wow. That took guts.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“No, it did. It’s–” He is interrupted by a sudden burst from the toaster, as his PopTarts bounce up, finished. He uses the tips of his fingers to move them onto a plate. “You’re sure you don’t want any maple-bacon goodness?” 

“Absolutely not. You knock yourself out.”

“Oh, I’m gonna.” He picks up one of the steaming PopTarts and takes a careful bite. “Mmmm.”

“So gross,” Tori says, grinning.

He finishes chewing enough to speak again. “For real, though. It’s big, what you did. I’m proud of you.”

“Don’t go nuts. I was the one stupid enough to get myself into this mess in the first place.”

“That’s not true. Zane lied to you.”

“And I fell for it!” She goes back to the Keurig and picks up her freshly brewed cup of coffee. “I’m an idiot.”

“Hey,” Landon says, putting down his PopTart so hard that the plate clanks against the counter. “Don’t say that about yourself.”

“Well, it’s true.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “And now I have to go to my uncle’s wedding today, and it’s just like… ugh.” 

“Why ugh?” 

“Because it’s a wedding! Everyone’s going to be all excited about love, and I’m going to be sitting there thinking about how I’m going to wind up being an old maid with a thousand cats.”

“Hey. Cats are cool. We had this cat, Finnegan, when I was growing up, and–” He stops mid-sentence, seeing the look on her face. “And besides, you are not gonna be some old maid. I mean, come on. Look at you. You’re awesome.”

She sighs into her coffee. “I don’t know about that.”

“It’s true,” Landon says. “You know what else? It’s only a matter of time before you look up one day and see someone who makes you forget all about Zane and what a lying liar from Liarville he is.”

“You think?”

He gazes right into her eyes. “Yeah, Tori. Don’t you?”

—–

“It really is a lovely dress,” Claudia comments as she stands back and takes in the white garment hanging on the back of Natalie’s closet door. “The beading is exquisite.”

Natalie, clad in a light blue chenille robe, stops and looks at the dress, as well. She exhales with contentment. “Yeah. It’s perfect.”

Claudia turns to her. “I’m very happy for you, Natalie. Your father and I both are.”

“Thanks, Mom. It’s nice to have you here.”

“You know, there were plenty of times when I wasn’t sure this day would ever come,” Claudia says.

Natalie forces herself to suppress a groan, but she responds, “I’m not exactly a revolting old maid.”

“Of course not. But you’re getting to be a woman of a certain age, and you have a teenager. That isn’t always the easiest sell with men.”

“Jason accepts me the way I am,” Natalie says. “Baggage and all. And he has his own.”

“I know. There was a time when I really did hope Conrad was the right match for you, but in retrospect… the fact that he had one ex-wife and a child and then married you didn’t bode well. You never can hold onto those men — the ones who trade in for a younger, fresher model.”

Natalie bites the insides of her cheeks and goes over to smooth the bodice of the hanging dress.

“And the less said about that Julian, the better,” Claudia goes on.

“I don’t think anything needs to be said about him,” Natalie says. “I’m marrying Jason. It might not have been the most straightforward path, but it got me here.”

“Yes, it did. And I’m thrilled. We all are. He’s a terrific man.”

Natalie clasps her hands together. “He really is.”

“He’s going to give you and the kids a wonderful life,” Claudia says. “He already has. Keep that in mind.”

“You think I’m going to screw this up?” Natalie asks, her patience slipping with every comment her mother tosses her way.

“I didn’t say that. Be conscious of how rare what you’ve found is, that’s all. Make him your priority. Be a good wife.”

“I don’t think Jason has any complaints the way things stand — and that isn’t going to change after the wedding.”

“Then you’ll have nothing to worry about.” Claudia glances at her diamond-encrusted watch. “Now where are those stylists? It’s about time we got this show on the road!”

“Yeah, it is,” Natalie says, as the familiar uneasiness creeps in again. She knows that her mother is just being, well, her mother, but in light of everything in the ether right now, she really does hope that she can get through this day and make Jason her husband without incident.

—–

“You’re a hero for this,” Jason says as he finishes the last of his cream-cheese-covered bagel and leans back into the deep cushions of his brother’s sofa.

“It’s going to be a long day,” Tim Fisher responds from the other arm of the sectional. “We’re going to need our strength.”

“Natalie was putting out, like, light snacks before I left. There’s no way I’d make it through this day on a handful of almonds and some watermelon.”

Tim chuckles. “That’s why you come here. I never miss a chance to pick up bagels.”

“There are bagels?” a voice asks from the hallway that connects the family room to the back of the house. Both men turn to see Spencer Ragan coming toward them, dressed in black gym shorts and an old prep school t-shirt. Jason notices that his gait, while much improved, is still a little unsteady.

“In the kitchen,” Tim tells his son. “Help yourself.”

Spencer ducks into the kitchen, and the brothers refocus on ESPN for a moment.

“I kind of can’t believe it’s my wedding day,” Jason says out of nowhere.

Tim swivels his neck to regard his younger brother. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Definitely. It’s strange, that’s all. I guess I really thought I’d never have another one.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Tim says. “You deserve to be happy.”

Jason lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Natalie makes me happy.”

“I know she does. You aren’t freaked out about… you know, are you?”

“About what?” Spencer asks, his voice sharp with alarm, as he returns with a bagel.

Jason and Tim trade an uncertain look.

“Your Uncle Jason’s first wedding was… difficult,” Tim says.

“Oh god,” Spencer says, his mouth gaping. “Duh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Jason says. “Really. Come. Sit down.” He waves his frozen nephew toward them.

Spencer seats himself beside Tim and begins eating his bagel.

“You aren’t bringing a date, are you?” Jason asks him.

Mid-bite, Spencer glances up. “Me? No.”

Jason crinkles his brow. “Why do you act like that’s a crazy question?”

“Because I’ve basically been cooped up in the house for months,” Spencer answers. “The extent of my social life is seeing cousins I didn’t even know until a few years ago.”

“That’ll change once you go back to work,” Tim says.

Jason grabs his coffee from the table. “And maybe you’ll find someone at the wedding.”

With his bagel halfway between the plate and his mouth, Spencer stops.

“Don’t look so concerned,” Tim says as he lets out a laugh.

“No, it’s nothing,” Spencer says hurriedly before biting into the bagel.

Tim sets down his coffee. “Don’t get shy now. We’re going to get you back out there, kid.”

“I’ll be fine. Really.” Spencer shifts his focus forcefully toward the TV, as a ripple of guilt runs through his body. He never thought that he would have a family as steady, as normal, as this, and he hopes that none of them ever find out that he had a fling with Natalie — otherwise, all of this could be ruined.

—–

Helen gulps at her husband’s question and quickly eats a forkful of eggs in order to conceal her reaction.

“You were at your painting class,” she says as she finishes chewing, “so I thought I would do something nice for myself after I finished my errands. I had a light dinner and a glass of wine at Windmills.”

“That does sound nice,” Don says with a shrug.

“I knew today would be a lot to swallow, so it seemed like a good idea to treat myself beforehand.”

“I can understand that.”

“Like you said, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m just relieved that’s all it turned out to be. And maybe the police will even catch the lunatic who did that to me.”

“I hope so,” Don agrees.

Helen munches quietly on her toast for a moment.

“In the meantime,” she says, “let’s just focus on getting through today. I’m sure it’s going to be a real test of my patience.”

Don sets his fork down on the edge of his plate. “You’re being calmer about it than I thought you’d be. I know you aren’t thrilled about the idea of Jason marrying Natalie.”

She thinks again about last night’s conversation, about how close she came to getting this wedding called off. Technically, she still has the power to do so. But Natalie is right: blowing up the family unit that she and Jason have built will only disrupt lives — Sophie’s, Spencer’s, everyone’s. And it wouldn’t even guarantee that Jason won’t meet someone even more awful, if that’s possible, in the future. At least Natalie had the good sense to admit that she will never be Courtney and never truly be Sophie’s mother.

“There’s nothing left to do but get through this ceremony,” Helen says, as she resolves to stand by the promise she made Natalie. “The only person who can screw this up now is Natalie herself.”

And she just might do it on her own, if her past behavior is any indication, she thinks before taking another bite of her toast.

—–

“I don’t know,” Tori says grumpily. Before Landon can respond, the toaster pops again, launching her two strawberry PopTarts back into the world.

“Here, let me,” Landon tells her, already grabbing a plate for them. He proudly presents it to Tori.

“Oh god,” she says abruptly, turning away.

Landon continues holding the plate by its edge, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” She holds her hand over her mouth for a few more seconds, then breathes in deeply. “They just smelled weird.”

He leans in toward the plate and sniffs deeply. “They smell fine to me. Delicious, even.”

“Yeah. I don’t know. That was weird.”

She reaches out and takes the plate from him. But her stomach still feels choppy, like a boat out on the sea during a storm. She sets the plate on the table and holds onto the back of a chair as she breathes in again, attempting to quell the nausea.

“Did you drink last night?” Landon asks.

“No.” She shakes her head, suddenly overcome by the feeling. “No, I…”

Before she can finish the thought, though, a ring of blackness begins to close in. It starts at the very outside of her vision and quickly spreads inward, turning the room dark, making the world go blank.

She feels herself falling to the ground but cannot call out for help.

END OF EPISODE 930

Will Landon be able to help Tori?
Is Helen going to keep her deal with Natalie?
Can Jason and Natalie live happily ever after?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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