Previously...

Miranda confronted Brett about his lies.  Brett vowed to hold on to his marriage and his position in Hollywood, but later slept with his secretary.  Renee prevented Kenny from seeing Sierra at Hotel Terranova.  Heather told Stormy she'd been having blackouts, prompting him, James and Ethan to question Heather further about the night of the murder.  Miranda found dirt on the rim of Heather's nightgown and began putting two and two together. She later raced to the courthouse with Jordan just as Heather began to remember walking through the tunnels to Will's house that night and shooting him with James' gun.  

Episode 51

"The Way We Were"

Alex Reynolds rushed inside the police station in downtown Hollywood, her heels clicking repetitively on the tile floor.  She spotted James, Jordan and Stormy pacing the waiting area and bounded over to them in a huff.

“Miranda called and told me to come down right away,” she said and looked around for her daughter.  “Where is she?”

“She went home to be with Michael,” Stormy replied and ran his hand over his tired face.  “Heather’s in the interrogation room with Brandon and the assistant D.A.”

Alex noted the grief-stricken look on Jordan’s face and her heart sank.  She knew he was going through hell and all she wanted to do was reach out to him.  But knowing how strained their relationship had been, she decided to wait it out. 

“She really killed Will?” she finally asked.  “I can’t believe it.”

“Well I can,” Jordan announced, his hands dug deeply in his pockets.  “After what that man did to her…”

James cut him off and turned to Alex.  “Heather had been having blackouts.  She used the tunnels that night and went into Will’s house.  Apparently she found my gun and shot him.”

Again, Alex’s eyes met with Jordan’s and she fought the urge to go to him and comfort him.  They were separated and had said and done horrible things to each other.  Now none of that seemed to matter.  All she wanted was to take his pain away.

Moments later, Brandon emerged from the back and approached them with some trepidation.

“What did Littleton say?” Jordan asked hurriedly.

Brandon shook his head sorrowfully.  “They’re going to charge her with second degree homicide.”

“They can’t!” Stormy shouted.

“Why second degree?” Jordan asked.  “Thomerson hired a porn director to drug her and film her having sex against her will with two men.  It was justifiable homicide.  Any idiot could see that.”

“Not where the law’s concerned,” Brandon replied.  “She freely admits that she was in no danger when she went to his house.  It was not justifiable homicide.”

“Then it was self defense,” James ordered.

“Heather had the gun.  She didn’t even give him a chance.  She shot him and left the scene.  The only reason they’re not going for first degree murder is because she didn’t have the gun with her when she went to the house.”

“I want to see her,” Jordan said, clenching his fists angrily.  “I want to see my daughter.”

Brandon shook his head again.  “They’re booking her.  You can see her tomorrow.”

Alex felt her eyes sting with tears when she saw the look on Jordan’s face. 

“Look at it this way,” Brandon continued.  “Brooke will be released in a matter of hours.  After the paperwork is processed they’ll…”

“Oh brilliant!” Jordan exclaimed and leveled a look of hated at James.  “His wife gets off but my daughter is locked up like a criminal!

James ignored his remark and looked at Stormy with frustration.  “There’s got to be something we can do.”

Jordan wrung his hands in frustration.  For the past week he'd been fortunate that Heather seemed to have blacked out the shooting.  He thought she would stay in the clear.  But she did remember and now she was in trouble.  After a moment of silence, he looked at them with conviction.  “Maybe there is something we can do,” he said.

Minutes later, they were in Alex’s limo as it drove through rush-hour traffic.  Brandon glared at Jordan, Alex and James with disbelief and shook his head adamantly.

“I can’t in any way condone what you’re suggesting,” he said.   “It’s unethical, unfair, and totally illegal.  I could be disbarred just by being here listening to this conversation.”

“So plug your ears,” Stormy said from his spot beside his mother.  He tapped furiously at a laptop computer while Jordan looked on eagerly.

“Did you find anything on our friend the D.A?” he asked.

Stormy nodded with a smile.  “Littleton’s son applied to Harvard for the spring semester but it looks like he was denied a scholarship.”

“Anything else?” Alex asked while looking over his shoulder.

“They have a realtor looking at properties on the south coast.”

Brandon rubbed his aching head.  “Tapping into personal information is also a felony,” he said, then tried shifting out of his seat.  “We need to stop this car right now so I can get out.  I can’t hear any more of this.”

“Do you think it’s fair that Heather is facing a trial and jail time because she killed the man who practically ruined her life?” James asked irately.  “If she hadn’t done it someone else would have.  Hell, every one of us went to his house that night with the intention of killing him.”

Brandon rolled his eyes.  “But Heather was the one who killed him.  In the United States court system killers have to be punished.  Otherwise people would be going around shooting each other all the time.”

“This isn’t the United States court system, Brandon,” Alex said from behind a pair of large round sunglasses.  “This is Hollywood.  Nobody goes to jail here.”

The limo stopped alongside the curb by a large bank downtown and James threw the door open.  They got out and walked inside, immediately greeted by the bank president who knew three important customers when he saw them.

Meanwhile, Miranda stood in the nursery at the Blackthorne mansion watching Michael sleep peacefully in his crib.  She smiled contently and thought back to how jealous she’d once been of her baby brother.  It seemed like so long ago, and now she couldn’t even remember what had gotten her so bent out of shape.  How could anyone be jealous of an innocent baby?

“I hope you’re getting some ideas,” said a voice from behind.

Miranda turned with a start and scowled when she saw Brett come up behind her.  “Ideas about what?” she asked with disgust.  The sight of her husband made her sick to her stomach.

“About us having a baby of our own,” he said slyly and reached out to her.  “I think you’d be a fantastic mother.”

Quickly, Miranda slapped his hand away and turned around to face him.  “I thought I made it clear that babies are not in our future, Brett,” she said in a rage.  “As a matter of fact, we have no future at all.  After everything you’d done how can you still think that I would want to have a baby with you?”

Determined to change her mind, Brett gave her his trademark bedroom eyes and inched closer to her.  “Babe, I love you.  Is there anything wrong with me wanting to start a family with you?  We’ve been married for two years.  We’re golden.”

She rolled her eyes.  “No, we are so far from golden it’s not even funny.”  She brushed past him and started to the bedroom door when he pulled her back.  “Let go of me!”

“I’m not going to let you give up on us, Miranda!”

“Well you should have thought of that before you bulldozed yourself through this family!” Miranda yelled, trying desperately to keep her voice down so as not to wake the baby.

“Everything I did was for us.  You have to believe that.”

Miranda looked at him with contempt and shook her head.  “I don’t have to believe anything you tell me.  Everything you said is a lie.”

“Babe-“

“I want a divorce, Brett,” she exclaimed.  “As far as I’m concerned our marriage is over.”

With that, she turned and stormed out of the nursery.  Brett stood behind, devastated by the finality of her words.

After dinner with his wife at a high-priced restaurant in Beverly Hills, Ed Littleton stepped outside to hand the valet his ticket while his wife used the ladies room.  The young blonde valet skipped off to retrieve his Chrysler 300 and Ed stood by the curb.  Seconds later, a long black stretch limo pulled up and the driver hopped out to open the back door.

“Did you enjoy your dinner?” Alex asked from inside the car.

Littleton set his jaw and folded his arms.   “Miss Reynolds, if this is another plea for your step-daughter-“ he began.

“No, this is about your family,” Alex cut him off politely.   “Your son who needs money for college, your wife who wants that house in Palos Verdes...”

“How did you know about those things?”

Alex shrugged.  “It’s amazing what you can find on the internet,” she preened.  “I also found out how much an assistant district attorney makes in Los Angeles county.”

Littleton stepped forward to the curb.  “What is this all about?”

“Get in,” Alex said and slid over on the seat.

“Listen, if this is some kind of intimidation tactic, I could have you arrested.”

“Who’s intimidating you?” she asked.  “Just get in.  This will only take a second.”

With a sigh, Littleton climbed into the back seat where Jordan and James were waiting with an open briefcase containing stacks of hundred dollar bills.  He frowned and turned just as the driver shut the door.

“This could buy three houses in Palos Verdes,” Alex said.  “And a pretty decent education for your son.  You can’t tell me that an assistant district attorney can afford any of those things, Ed.”

He looked at them with disbelief.  “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“What do you think?” Jordan asked and brought the briefcase full of money closer to him.  “All you have to do is change my daughter’s charge to self defense and you’ll be more popular with your family than Santa Claus.  Just think of what a wonderful anniversary present for your wife you could buy.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Littleton said in astonishment.  “I could have you thrown in jail for the rest of your lives for this stunt.”

“But you won’t,” James said and picked up one of the bundles of money.  He flipped the bills between his thumb and forefinger and gave Littleton a mischievous grin.

An hour later, Leilani opened the front door of the Blackthorne mansion and stood clear as James led Brooke inside the foyer.  Behind them, Jordan, Alex, Stormy and Heather followed closely.  They were all greeted with exuberance by Miranda and Brett.

“Welcome home,” Brett gushed and gave Brooke a quick squeeze.  His eyes darted past Heather’s and he remained poised.  “You too, Heather.”

“It’s wonderful to be home,” Brooke said, a little more than surprised when Miranda came up and hugged her warmly.

“We’re glad to have you back,” Miranda said, surprising herself by not choking on the words.  But before the moment could linger on for too long, she turned and put her arm around Heather.  “I can’t believe the D.A. dropped the charges.  What happened after I left today?”

Jordan winked and gave Alex and James an appreciative nod of his head.  “He said it was obviously self-defense, so who could argue with him?”

“Heather gets six months of probation because she didn’t come forward sooner, but other than that she’s home free.  We can leave this whole nightmare behind us,” James said and gave Heather a tender smile.

“Well I don’t think she should have even gotten that,” Stormy insisted.  “She blocked the whole thing out.  It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t come forward sooner.”

Heather shook her head as she stood at Miranda’s side.  “No, I’m just thankful that the D.A. reduced the charges.  I think I can handle six months of probation.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you can stay out of trouble for that long,” Brett said with a grin, then quickly recoiled with regret when dagger-like stares came at him from every direction.  It seemed that he couldn’t say or do anything anymore without stepping on someone’s toes.

The tense moment was interrupted when the faint sounds of a restless baby carried from the top landing.  Everyone turned and looked up the stairs where Ethan was holding Michael in his arms, looking down at Brooke with anticipation.

“My sweet baby,” Brooke whispered, covering her mouth and crying happily.  She walked toward the staircase and looked into Ethan’s eyes for a brief second before she took Michael from him and held him gently in her arms.

James came up behind her and smiled happily, placing a hand on her shoulder and watching mother and child reunite tenderly.

Brooke cradled Michael against her bosom, looking at Ethan and then at James with tears in her eyes.  She knew what lied ahead but she didn’t care.  For right now all that mattered was that she was finally free and her baby was home where he belonged.

Later that night, James stepped out of the bathroom in his and Brooke’s bedroom and scouted around for her.  Tying the belt around his robe, he walked to the nursery next door and found her rocking Michael in her arms while sitting in a rocking chair.  Pausing in the doorway, he smiled and stared with admiration.  Even after everything Brooke had been through she was still a hundred percent there for their baby.

After a few minutes, Brooke finally looked up and smiled at James.  “When did you sneak in?” she asked while stroking Michael’s hair.

“Not too long ago.  I was just thinking about what a perfect picture this would be.”  He walked forward and knelt down beside her.  “Everything is just as it should be.”

Brooke kissed him and then continuing rocking Michael in her arms.  “James,” she began thoughtfully.  “How did you really get the D.A. to drop the charges against Heather?  I saw you and Jordan and Alex in a pretty intimate huddle earlier tonight.  What did the three of you do?”

James smiled and stroked his hand along her cheek.  “We did what we had to do,” he said, relieved that it had been so easy to bribe Littleton into dropping the charges.  A few million dollars between the three of them was a small price to pay for Heather’s freedom.  After all, it was partially his fault that Heather got involved with Will in the first place.

Deciding to trust that her husband did the right thing over the mysterious turn of events, Brooke stood up and placed Michael back in his crib.  She turned and put her arms around him warmly.

“I just want things to go back to normal,” she said, staring into his eyes.   “I want us to start that life we wanted so badly.”

“We will,” James assured her, stroking his hand down the back of her head.  “It’s a new year.  I already have everything I could ever want.”

Down the hall, Stormy laid on his bed in a pair of tight pink boxers, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the day’s events.  Strangely enough, he didn’t feel a bit guilty about the way they’d bribed the assistant D.A.  Some might call it a miscarriage of justice, but if Heather had spent one day in jail for killing Thomerson it would have been far worse of a crime.

His thoughts were interrupted when a light knocking at the door caught his attention.  He stood up and opened the door, surprised to see Heather standing in the hallway.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said with a faint smile.

Stormy took her hand and led her into the bedroom.  “Do you want me to tell you a story like I used to when we were first married?” he joked, amazed at how wholesome and refreshed she looked.  It was obvious that the past few weeks had weighed on her severely.

Laughing, Heather sat down in a chair beside the bed and crossed her legs.  She looked at him seriously and felt a tear well up in her eye.   “Shouldn’t I feel something?”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged.  “I killed a man in cold blood.  I don’t even feel that bad about it.  I mean, I realize that it was wrong and I would like to think that if I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have gone to his house that night.  But I just can’t seem to feel anything.”

Stormy sat down on the bed and took her hand in his.  “You will,” he said softly.  “And when you do, I’ll be right here for you to lean on.”

His words were more comfort that she could have hoped for.  Putting her arms around him, she was suddenly taken back to earlier times when they were happy and in love.  So much had happened since then.  But right now she was caught up in the moment and she began to feel that maybe they would find their way back to each other.  Stormy had been so kind and attentive since this whole mess started.  How could she help but fall in love with him all over again?

“Thanks,” she said and ran her hand down his bare back.  “I’ll probably take you up on that."

“What are ex-husband’s for?” Stormy asked with a grin and stood up.  “Now, how about we go down to the kitchen and get some milk and some of Leilani’s banana bread and play some PS3.”

The invitation wasn’t quite was Heather had in mind, but she accepted it happily.  After all, there was plenty of time to work on getting close again.  She put her arm through his and followed him down the stairs to the kitchen.

Across town at Hotel Terranova, Jordan sat at the bar in the lounge, listening to the elegant melody from the piano as he drowned his sorrows in whiskey.   Why he needed to was beyond him.  He’d just performed a miracle in getting Heather off the hook for killing that slime ball Will Thomerson.  He should be on top of the world.  But the state of his relationship with Alex was like a cloud of gloom that hung over his head.  Despite the horrible things she’d done to him, he still loved her and wanted her so badly.  Being separated was harder than he had anticipated.

“Mind if I have a seat?” a voice called from beside him.

When Jordan looked up he was surprised to see Renee DeWitt standing there, a picture of beauty with her curly black hair cascading loosely around her shoulders and a low cut gown that draped beautifully around her figure.

“By all means,” he said and pulled a chair out for her.  “What brings you out tonight?  Couldn’t sleep either?”

Sighing, Renee ordered a martini and folded her hands in front of her.   “This is a big hotel, but even bigger when you’re alone,” she said.  “What’s your excuse?”

Jordan smiled and paid for her drink.  “Just have a lot on my mind,” was his casual response.  He lifted his glass to hers and offered a toast.  “I was sorry to hear about you and Kenny.”

“I’m not,” Renee said and stirred her drink with her skewered olives.  “It’s funny, isn’t it?  You think that when you get to be a certain age that you’ve got everything figured out.  Your career, your marriage, your children.