Previously…
– King’s Bay turned out for the grand opening of Kathleen and Jimmy’s new bar, The Wild Lady.
– Travis was disappointed when Rosie didn’t come to the grand opening but resolved to meet someone new. He started chatting with a young woman and offered to buy her a drink, unaware that she was Jasmine — who goes to high school with his cousins.
– Matt went to visit his nephew, Marcus, and brought a peace offering, but Jake refused to forgive Matt for setting in motion the events that led to the car accident that nearly killed Marcus.
With the sounds of Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” filling The Wild Lady, Travis Fisher turns back from the busy bar.
“Here you go,” he says, handing Jasmine her gin-and-tonic. He holds onto his own beer as they push their way through the crush of customers waiting to order.
“Thanks,” Jasmine tells him. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” They clink glasses, and Travis notices her unmistakably flirty look over the rim of her glass.
He is about to ask her an actual question, now that they have some space to chat, when he hears his name being called over the music:
“Travis! Hi!”
He turns instinctively, despite recognizing the voice at once.
“Hang on,” he tells the girl whom he just met. “That’s, uh, my mom.”
“Your mom’s at a bar?”
“Well, the bar is actually–” He cuts himself off. “Nope, we’ll save that explanation for later. Just let me say hi.”
Claire Fisher, wearing a green-printed wrap dress, approaches with Brent Taylor.
“Hi, honey,” she says as Travis greets her with a hug.
“Hey, Mom.” When Travis pulls back from Claire, he shakes Brent’s hand. “Good to see you. You look like you’re doing a lot better.”
“A lot better,” Brent says, his relief evident.
Claire smiles widely as she rubs Brent’s back. “We’re all very happy that he’s on the mend.”
“Oh, Mom, Brent,” Travis says, rotating slightly to include Jasmine. “This is–”
“Jasmine,” Brent says, in a tone that matches the suddenly stony expression that has overtaken his face.
Confused, Travis swivels his head back and forth between them. “You know each other?”
“What are you doing here?” Brent asks the young woman.
Jasmine recoils. “Excuse me?”
“We haven’t actually met,” Brent tells her. “Brent Taylor. Commander Brent Taylor. Caleb’s father.”
Claire and Travis furrow their brows at one another.
“What does Caleb have to do with this?” Travis asks, noting the way the color has drained from Jasmine’s face.
“A better question might be, why are you in a bar with a high school student?” Brent asks.
—–
At the entrance to the bar, Jason Fisher holds open the saloon door for Sabrina Gage.
“Wow, there really is a mechanical bull!” she says. “You weren’t kidding.”
He narrows his eyes at her. “Do I look like someone who kids about something as serious as a mechanical bull?”
Together they marvel at the space for a moment. Patrons are dancing and talking in the bar’s open main space, which is bordered by a series of pub tables; a handful of booths line one wall.
“You made it!” Tim Fisher exclaims as he walks toward them. He gives Jason a hug and then shakes Sabrina’s hand. “Good to see you, Sabrina.”
“You, too.” She smiles shyly at him. Her raven hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and she has a red bandana knotted around her neck, over her plain white t-shirt.
“Is Mom here?” Jason asks Tim.
Tim looks out at the crowd, then waves his hand. “She’s somewhere chatting with Kathleen. Where are Alex and Trevor?”
“Trevor and Chase both came down with something, so they decided to stay in tonight,” Jason says. “Looks like things are going well here.”
“It’s a hit so far,” Tim says. “Do you guys need drinks?”
“I’ll take care of that.” Jason turns to Sabrina. “What can I get you?”
“Um, white wine? I never know what to order.”
“Are you down to branch out a little?”
She crinkles her nose uncertainly. “No tequila.”
“No tequila. Got it.”
“I’m going to use the ladies’ room. I’ll find you,” Sabrina says. “And then the next round is on me.”
Jason laughs. “Already threatening me with a next round, huh? We’ll find you once we get drinks.”
Sabrina winds her way toward the back of the room, following a sign for the restrooms. Jason and Tim move toward the bar.
“Do you want me to ask, or not?” Tim says.
Jason lifts an eyebrow. “Ask what?”
“About you and Sabrina. You guys seem awfully…”
“…like two people hanging out?” Jason says, smirking back at his brother.
“Sure. We’ll leave it there for now.”
“Good. Now let’s focus on those drinks, shall we?”
“No tequila,” Tim reminds Jason with a laugh as they edge their way toward the bar.
—–
Matt Gray sits in one of the Adirondack chairs on the back deck of the Fisher home. He allows his head to loll back as he stares up at the fading blue of the Northwest sky.
“Careful. It’s hot,” his wife says as she places a freshly popped bowl of popcorn on the small table between them and then lowers herself into the other chair.
“Thanks,” Matt says, though his voice is a bit distant, as it has so often been lately.
Sarah allows the silence to exist between them for several seconds, simply wafting through the air like the scent of the popcorn and the chirping of the birds.
“Jake will come around,” she finally tells him. “Everyone’s got a lot of emotion going on right now. Give it time to settle.”
Matt lets a loud sigh out into the evening air. “I dunno about that.”
“He’s your brother.”
“Not all brothers have the stuff between them that Jake and I do. You should’ve seen how quick he was to throw Nicole in my face.” He reaches for a handful of popcorn. “Can’t even blame him for that.”
“No,” Sarah says sharply. “If he forgave you for that all those years ago, then he forgave you. He doesn’t get to play that card now.”
“You mean you don’t still hold stuff against Molly that happened a long time ago?”
Sarah purses her lips.
“I’m not saying he has to forget about Nicole or what happened between you and her,” she says carefully. “But it’s a low blow to turn to that now.”
Matt chomps on the popcorn and thinks for a lengthy moment.
“He’s not wrong,” he says. “I was selfish. He lost his wife ’cause of it. And he almost lost his son ’cause of me.”
“Marcus is going to be fine.”
Abruptly, Matt stands from the chair. “I know you wanna make me feel better, but it’s not that easy.”
“I don’t want you blaming yourself for this entire mess,” she says. “You made a mistake. But you’re a good father and a good brother.”
“Maybe this is what I deserve,” he says with a shrug. Sarah aches with concern as she watches him open the sliding glass door and disappear inside the house. As much as she wishes that she could snap her fingers and make all this go away, she knows it isn’t possible — but that doesn’t mean she isn’t determined to find a way.
—–
Shock washes over Travis as he regards Jasmine with fresh eyes. Now he can see it: the leopard top and the mini-skirt, the youthful innocence of her face.
“Why are you in a bar?” he asks, snatching the gin-and-tonic from her.
“Hey!” she protests.
“I just met her,” Travis tells his mother and Brent. “Like, at the bar five minutes ago.”
“Jasmine is a friend of Caleb’s,” Brent explains.
“‘Friend’ isn’t exactly accurate.” She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“I’m guessing you used a fake ID to get in here,” Brent says, “so if you’d like me to look into that further–”
“I’ll go.” Jasmine holds up both palms in surrender. “God, are you people related to everyone?” Scowling, she walks off.
“I swear, I had no idea she was underage,” Travis says. “I just met her.”
“That’s the girl who sent Caleb on that, um, errand for her last year,” Brent says.
“When Rosie brought him into the station?” Claire asks. “Wow.”
Travis takes a hearty gulp of the gin-and-tonic. “So much for meeting someone new.”
—–
Elly Vanderbilt stands near the corner of the bar where the mechanical bull is bucking back and forth. Cheers and gasps fly up from the crowd as a 20-something guy hangs on with all his might.
“I always loved these things,” Jimmy Trask says as he sidles up to Elly. “But I’ve gotta say…”
She turns to him with a grin. “Now that you own the bar, all you see is a potential lawsuit?”
“Bingo. Should’ve known you’d see it that way.”
“That’s why you have the insurance you have,” Elly tells her father. “We made sure all that was taken care of.”
“Good.” Jimmy takes a swig from his beer bottle. “Can’t thank you enough for all your help, El. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“You could have,” she says. “Just for a much higher fee.”
He cracks a laugh. “Free drinks on the house whenever you want. How’s that for a trade-off?”
“I’ll take it.”
“You need anything?” he asks, noting the empty glass in her hand.
She shakes her head. “I’m cutting myself off. I have to be in court tomorrow.”
“Smart. You excited to get in there?”
“Not really,” she admits. “Yeah, it’ll be great to be putting my degree to use — but I’m tired of everyone acting like I’m representing a serial killer.”
“Who’s everyone?”
“The Fishers. My Uncle Brent.”
“Let me tell you,” Jimmy says. “Nothing worth doing is ever easy. You believe in your case, right?”
Elly pauses as the man on the bull is flung down to the mats, to much laughter and applause.
“I do,” she says. “I don’t think Spencer and Natalie should have their son taken away from them. And that’s what Jason wants to do.”
“Then you’re fighting for what’s right, and that’s that,” Jimmy replies. “Keep reminding yourself of that, and you’re golden.”
“Thanks.” She sighs loudly, as if it might be possible to push out all of her uncertainty.
—–
Tori Gray places one studded, high-heeled bootie and then the other on the sidewalk as she steps out of the Uber.
“Thanks,” Zane Tanaka — who has been holding the door for her — tells the driver. He closes the door, and the compact sedan pulls away from the curb. The two of them take in the short line waiting out the bar; hanging above is a lit-up sign that proclaims, “The Wild Lady” in a bold, neon red.
“Sure you’re up for this?” Zane asks as he leads Tori toward the end of the line.
“It’s good to be out of the apartment,” she says, more resigned than enthusiastic. “Besides, I promised Travis I’d show up.”
“No one would blame you for wanting to rest up.”
“Yeah… but I have to get back to real life eventually. Besides, I’m not pregnant anymore. Resting isn’t going to change that.”
“You’re still recovering.”
She shrugs one shoulder and assumes a spot in the line. Zane eyes her carefully, not wanting to alienate her with whatever he says next, but luckily, they both spot her cousin coming down the street toward the bar.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” Samantha Fisher says, closing the final yards between her and Tori with a light jog. She immediately pulls her cousin into a tight embrace. “It’s really good to see you up and about again.”
“Thanks,” Tori says.
Samantha looks to Zane, with a bit of lingering animosity in her gaze, but when she opens her mouth, she simply says, “I’m sorry for what both of you are going through. And for your loss.”
“Thanks, Samantha,” he says.
Sam indicates the person beside her, a leather-jacket-clad individual whose dark hair is styled in a short, asymmetrical style.
“This is Jaq,” Sam says before introducing Tori and Zane, as well.
“Nice to meet you,” Jaq tells them, as the four of them shuffle into line.
“I was texting with Travis a little while ago,” Samantha says. “It sounds like everything is going off without a hitch.”
“Good! I can’t tell you how excited I am for a night out,” Tori says.
As they step to the front of the line, Tori pulls her ID from her purse — and is nearly bowled over as a figure comes flying out of the bar.
“Hey, watch out!” Tori snaps. But the young woman in a leopard top and leather skirt blows right past them and storms down the street in a huff.
Jaq watches her go with annoyance. “What was her problem?”
The four are still being carded when a voice calls to them: “You guys!” It is a little reserved, even tentative, but nonetheless reaches out for their attention. They turn to see Rosie Jimenez standing at the edge of the sidewalk, in skinny black jeans and a long, caramel-colored vest.
“You made it,” Samantha says in surprise. “Come here.”
“Travis invited me. I couldn’t miss it,” Rosie tells them as she joins them, her relief at their acceptance evident.
—–
Travis takes his beer and drops down into one of the empty booths. He gazes into the foam on top of the amber liquid as Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Old Town Road” plays through the bar.
Elly approaches the table and folds her arms. “Don’t try and make this place look too fun or anything.”
He winces as he glances up at her. “Sorry. Just taking a breather.”
“What’s up? You were all full of life and ready for a fight a little while ago.”
“I’m not looking to bicker right now,” he says.
“Good. Neither I am.” She slides into the booth beside him, forcing him to scoot down. “So what’s going on?”
“For starters, I just bought a drink for a minor, so that’s cool.” He notes her alarm and adds, “Brent made her leave, so it’s fine.”
“Why were you buying drinks for minors to begin with?”
“She was Caleb’s girlfriend, or — whatever. I mean, that’s not why. I didn’t realize she was so young. I thought I was talking to a cute girl. Turns out I was committing a felony.”
“It’s only a misdeamnor,” Elly offers.
He lifts his eyebrows. “Awesome.”
“That does suck,” she says, “but it doesn’t sound like a reason to ruin your whole night.”
Travis observes the people dancing and drinking, so cheerful and carefree.
“It’s more than that,” he admits. “I really thought Rosie might show tonight. I’ve tried so hard to be there for her and let her know that I want this.”
“That’s on her. Not on you.”
“Doesn’t feel that way.”
“Of course not. And that sucks. It might not feel like it now, but she’s the one missing out.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says as he lifts his beer.
“I’m serious. You’re a catch.”
He throws her a skeptical look over his glass. “I don’t know about that.”
“Really. You are.” She levels a stare upon him and waits for him to meet it. “You’re a great guy, Travis.”
“It’s crazy to hear you say that after all this time.”
“I never thought you were some horrible person,” she says. “Did you screw up? Yes. Was I furious? Definitely. But you were going through a bad patch back then, and I never thought you were some kind of monster.”
“Don’t flatter me too much.”
“I’m being serious. I know you’ve got it bad for Rosie, but it isn’t fair for her to jerk you around for as long as she has.”
“She’s not.”
“She is. I get that she’s had all this complicated stuff with a drug dealer and her family and being a cop and whatever else, but everyone has their issues. They don’t give you an excuse to toy with other people’s emotions.”
He drinks his beer. “I really thought we were going to have something big. And now I’m sitting here like some loser…”
“You are not a loser.”
“The only woman who’s even looked at me was just ordered out by the police.”
“Travis.” She forces eye contact on him. “Don’t do that to yourself.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because.” She curls a fist underneath her chin, and then, before Travis even knows what is happening, she is leaning toward him. He is too surprised even to register what is going on before she is kissing him right on the lips. And, as surprised as he is, the familiarity of kissing her instantly overtakes him, bringing him back to a time that until right now seemed like a lifetime ago.
Both he and Elly are so consumed that they do not notice the bar’s latest arrivals: Travis’s sister and cousin, their dates, and Rosie — who immediately spots Travis and Elly, still kissing.
END OF EPISODE 984
How will Rosie react to what she has seen?
Is Jason harboring feelings for Sabrina?
What will it take to put the Grays back together?
Discuss it all in the comments below!
Elly is as bold as her hair is red! I like her chemistry and pep talk with Travis, but I also REALLY love Rosie/Travis together, and I hope this doesn’t screw things up for them potentially reuniting in the long run. Don’t worry about missing out on Jasmine, Travis. She’s a brat and always seems up to no good!
I liked the scene with Tori/Zane/Samantha/Jaq all meeting up. It’s fun getting these younger characters all in the mix together a bit more.
I hate watching Matt beat himself up, even though he is right, and his actions did sort of lead to this. His heart was in the right place, and nobody could have known how it would all turn out. I LOVE Sarah being so supportive of him. She is a great wife. Matt bringing up Sarah’s feelings toward Molly was a nice little call-out, haha.
Jimmy and Kathleen are great side characters, and I liked his interaction with Elly. She’s so much funnier and more vivacious now than she ever was!
Sabrina remains cute, but she might be a little too “safe” for Jason. She’s a little simple — not in terms of her intelligence — just that he might want someone with a little more spark like Courtney and Natalie had. Then again, we see how well that’s ended up for him in the past, so who knows? Maybe she is what he needs after all?
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Matt! Long time, no talk — it’s great to know you’re still out there. I’m thrilled to hear that you have kept up with FP.
Elly really is bold and brash now. We are finally going to get into WHY she’s more assertive than she was in her original incarnation; it’s been a lot of fun getting to write this new, changed version of her. She was never my favorite character to write, but I’m enjoying her a lot more this go-round. It was too tempting to touch on her history with Travis despite him now being in more of a conventional love story with Rosie, but things between him and Rosie haven’t been stable for a long while, so perhaps Elly isn’t all wrong with her timing.
I really want to get the younger characters all mixed in more. The cousins obviously have their one-on-one dynamics, but their various love interests aren’t too integrated, simply for lack of screen time, but I’d like to do more to make that whole age group a “community” now.
Sarah and Matt have been really interesting to navigate during this story. I never saw this as another means of splitting them up, but it’s obviously been intriguing to divide and challenge them in new ways. Strangely, it’s showing the inherent strength of their marriage after all this time, even if they are seriously struggling right now.
You could be right in terms of Jason/Sabrina, and I mean that with regards to either of your theories. She really could be too simple and sincere for him, given what he’s gone for in the past, but perhaps that’s really what he needs? We are going to get to delve into her history and life more in the near future, which I’m excited about. She’s proven to be a different sort of character to write.
Thanks again!!
I just feel like I need to stand up right now and start clapping. What you’ve done here with Elly/Travis/Rosie is something that hasn’t been truly executed since the early 90s. This isn’t something that felt storyline driven — or even, sweeps week. This felt so authentic that I almost wanted to pull Rosie away from entering that bar because I just felt so bad for her. What Travis and Elly has as teenagers was something we all rooted for through their early years but then they ended that chapter and we opened a new one w/ Rosie and then to come back. Even if this is just a brief bump in the road for Travis and Rosie. It still felt so real and fresh and organic. You e always done really well with building stories to a point that one still gets so much emotion out even if we know it’s coming. Bravo!
Also, Tim and Jason’s interaction over Sabrina was very well placed. You can tell they know each other very well and they play well off the Matt & Jake hostility. While, I’m still on the fence of a Jason/Sabrina romance I do like that they’re so supportive of one another and bring out the best in each other. Jason really needs someone in his corner that is truly in just his corner and Sabrina fits the bill. As for Matt & Jake I can tell you still have a lot of story with them. Bringing up Nicole and the relationship she had with all three; Matt, Jake & Mia was really clever. I think it’s always astounding when you have a character that has never been ‘on-screen’ with such a huge storyline that affects so many people. I think Nicole is still a sore spot for everyone involved and will be a huge catalyst for the brothers. Seeing Sarah in a supporting role is nice as well. She has always been so headstrong and pushy so taking a backseat and being available and open to Matt shows her growth through the years.
I have been reading this entire time and I love the plot points you’re hitting Michael. It’s nice to see how fresh and organic you have kept the interactions between everyone. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Wow, thank you, Michael! I’m so happy to know you’ve been out there still reading, and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.
It’s a thrill to have all the history to pull upon with Travis, Elly, and now Rosie. Travis and Elly weren’t the most exciting pair to write during their first run together — I liked them, but a lot of it was about their family drama and what it meant for them to experience first love in the thick of all that. Them not winding up together felt like the right outcome at the time. I wasn’t ever sure that I would bring Elly back full-time, but something clicked when I thought of making her a more hard-edged attorney (and we will discover more about that soon), and the pull of her history with Travis simply was too interesting to ignore. Of course it has to come up at the worst time for Rosie, so it remains to be seen which way this will go, but I love that people are responding so energetically to this turn of events.
Tim and Jason are always a nice touchstone as a sibling relationship, though the custody battle over Peter is testing them (and will continue to test them) in a way they haven’t been before, except maybe when they took opposing views on Ryan. As for Matt and Jake, that felt like such an untapped aspect of history that I could use to generate new story for Sarah and Matt without giving them another breakup or triangle. You’re so right about Nicole — she was never seen onscreen but has actually driven a lot of story. I’m excited to get to dig into this stuff more. It’s funny what “lost” pieces of history wind up being useful!
Thanks again! Love hearing from you.
Pretty interesting that this episode mostly focused on the younger canvas which makes sense due to the setting they were in.
Poor Matt!!! It seems Sarah is the only one on his side regarding what happened with Tori/Zane/Marcus . Got a feeling that Sarah is going to try to reunite the brothers again like she did all those years ago too.
Jasmine really thought no one was going to recognize her ?!
I figured Travis wasn’t going to be taken by her for long. I’m wondering are we going to see Jasmine again after this incident? In this episode it felt like the old Elly who was a social conscious yet headstrong woman was in scenes with Jimmy and Travis. I’m interested to see where all of this is going forward?
I was glad to “See” Samantha and Tori interact with one another again. I can’t remember the last time they hung out! And it seems Jaq gets along with Tori and Zane which might be an interesting friendship/quartet down the road too.
Tim & Jason teasing one another was cute as he wonders is his brother and Sabrina are seeing one another? I like that they have been on this slow burn for years now yet I hope it will become something more once the trial gets underway or is over.
Great Episode!
Bre
Thanks so much for your post, Bre!
Matt really is out in the cold right now. He has a natural tendency to shut down or put up walls when things get tough, so that’s something with which Sarah might have to contend as she struggles to put her family back together again.
Jasmine is not the smartest. 😉 I guess she figured she could get wasted with her fake ID and wouldn’t run into anyone who knew her. And yes, we will see more of her (with her peers) right after this. Plugging her into the bar opening was a way of seeing her in the interim and also paying off Brent’s feelings toward her, which of course will be relevant as she continues to be entwined with the twins.
In spite of her new brash voice and no-nonsense attitude, the “old Elly” is still in there. When she believes in something, she stands strongly by it.
Samantha is overdue for some scenes with other people! She kind of got a rest after the big Tempest/Diane story, but it’s time she gets more play again. As I said to Matt, I really like the prospect of tying all the younger characters together more as a social group. We will be getting more of that coming up!
Jason and Sabrina have gotten a super-slow burn, in terms of a potential romance, but we appear to be coming to a new chapter now. There’s more of them in the next episode, and Sabrina has a role in the custody hearing, too, so this isn’t just a blip.
Thanks again!!