Previously...

Miranda found a picture in David's cabin of a young blonde girl with pigtails nicknamed Babydoll.  David told Brooke that she reminded him of Babydoll, a girl that he met in Big Bear some twenty years earlier.  A fortune teller told Heather that her first born would pay for her sins.  When Heather learned that she was pregnant, she and Brett celebrated.  After leaving James and Leigh for dead at Hotel Terranova, Seth arrived at the Filmmaker Awards and demanded Alex reveal the location of the missing truck.  When she revealed that she didn't know, he took her and Heather hostage, demanding fifty million dollars and a helecopter on the roof of the Los Angeles Theater or he would kill them.  Brett blamed himself for getting Heather involved, prompting him to race to the roof to reason with Walker.  Meanwhile, Jordan attempted to take Seth by surprise, succeeding only in getting shot in the shoulder.  Marilee came up with the money, and just as the helecopter arrived, Seth decided to take Alex and Heather with him.  Brett intervened and rescued them, sending Seth falling from the roof to his death.  Alex told an injured Jordan that she'd decided to marry him after all.  Sierra, tormented by the trouble that followed them, told Miranda that she didn't want to be a Blackthorne.  Kenny arranged for Stormy and Eddie to be released on bail pending charges of gun running.  James was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery with a grim prognosis.  Word spread that Leigh didn't survive.  Heather told Brett that despite his heroics, she dind't think that she could forgive him for his involvement with Walker, but Jordan expressed his gratitude for saving the day.  Kenny told Alex and Renee that they could be looking at prison time for Blackthorne-Reynolds' involvement with Stratotech.  

Episode 74

Season Finale

"One Wonderful Day"

James Blackthorne had seen the white light in the moments after he was shot.  He found that heaven was just like he'd been taught in Sunday school back in Kansas.  There were floating clouds, angels with harps, and a golden archway welcoming him to the afterlife.  They taught him that he would feel peace, and he did.  They taught him that he would be reunited with loved ones past, and he was.  They taught him that he would have to answer for his sins, and he did. They taught him that he could look down on those he left behind and be comforted in the fact that for them too the pain would someday end as it had for him, and yes, he did.  

In the five days since the rooftop calamity at the Filmmaker Awards, Alex and Jordan had not gotten a moments peace.  Reporters had been camped out at the front door of Jordan’s house in Beverly Hills on a twenty-four hour basis.  With every quote or "no comment" they uttered involving Alex’s involvement with the late Congressman and Stratotech, a dozen more questions were asked.  The role that Blackthorne-Reynolds played in the scheme was still under investigation by the government, and it hung over Alex’s head like an unpaid debt.  Renee had already issued her own personal statement to the media saying that she had no knowledge whatsoever in their involvement.  It didn’t bode well for the possibility of corporate fraud charges being brought against Alex.

It was the hottest story of the moment, shadowed only by the public’s disbelief that the former actress was planning a quickie wedding to be held that afternoon on the grounds of Jordan’s estate.  As if the criminal investigation wasn’t enough to hamper any celebratory nuptials, her ex-husband was still laying in the ICU at Cedars-Sinai following the bloodbath that occurred at Hotel Terranova.  Some said she was in denial.  Alex thought of it simply as multi-tasking.

“Those go over there!” she shouted, standing in the foyer of Jordan’s house.  The wedding planner had everything arriving at the same time; marble columns, fountains, linens, flowers and centerpieces.  She supervised the deliveries, stressed over the guest list, and argued when they tried delivering the ice sculptures six hours early; all while communicating with the wedding planner through a two-way radio headset.  

It was eight-thirty in the morning when Jordan came down the stairs to the hustle and bustle of wedding preparations.  Groaning, he tried slipping undetected into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.  While he was thrilled that Alex had agreed to marry him again, he wasn’t so sure that she was thinking with a clear head.  Her first ex-husband, whom she was still quite close to, was in a coma following a life-threatening gunshot.  To her it was just another wedding setback. 

“Don’t you try to sneak past me,” Alex said when she spotted Jordan sidling along the wall.  “I see you, Jordan.  I need you to have some  last minute invitations messengered this morning."

Jordan rolled his eyes and approached her with caution.  “More invitations?” he asked.  His arm was bandaged from the bullet he’d taken the other night, but the pain was at a minimal.  “Alex, are you sure you’re not rushing things a bit?  The wedding is at two o’clock.  How are these people going to clear their schedules in time?  Why can’t we wait and get married next month?”

“I don’t want to wait!” she replied, obviously hurt that he would suggest it.  “I didn’t think you did, either.”

He immediately regretted suggesting it.  “Then why don’t we just go to city hall and get married by a justice of the peace?  It would save a lot of headaches, and plus, with everything going on, are you sure you’re not overexerting yourself?”

“When have I ever done that?” she mused and scanned the length of a clipboard. 

Jordan slipped his hands around her waist and looked into her eyes.  “James is in the hospital, your children are terrified that he won't make it, we just got through burying Leigh yesterday, and may I remind you that you could still be facing prison time for that whole Stratotech business?”

Her reply was simple and efficient.  “James is going to pull through.  I’ll make sure we videotape the ceremony to show him later.  Stormy and Miranda will be fine.  They’re strong.  They take after their mother and father.  And the investigation into Stratotech will be put to rest after the press conference.”

“What press conference?”

“The one I’m giving this morning,” she replied, distracted by a ornate cherub fountain being delivered.  "Get rid of that monstrosity.  I specifically said no peeing fountains."  With a sigh, she turned back to Jordan.  “Didn’t I tell you about the press conference?”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and the butler responded.  To Jordan’s surprise, a procession of reporters and television news stations entered the house and began setting up their equipment in the foyer.   He placed a hand on his forehead and watched his house turn into further chaos.  When Renee and Kenny entered behind a reporter from Image magazine, he knew that the press conference was no joke.

“I hope your bride knows what she’s doing,” Kenny said to him warily.

“You don’t event know what she’s got planned?” Jordan asked, dumbfounded.   "Jesus, you're her lawyer."

“It better be something really good,” Renee said and folded her arms.  “I do not intend to go down with her sinking ship.”

Kenny smiled at Jordan with amusement.  “Oh, and congratulations on the wedding.”

Jordan sighed with exasperation.  Just as he turned to finally retrieve his morning cup of coffee, he heard a voice that resonated in his mind.  Frowning, he whipped around and spotted his son, Benji, weaving his way through the crowd of reporters, wedding planners, and interested parties. 

“Benji?” he exclaimed in surprise.  “What on earth-“

“This place is like a circus,” he said and dropped a suitcase and a duffel bag onto the floor.  “What’s going on?  Are they shooting a movie here or something?”

Jordan ignored his questions.  “What are you doing here?  Why aren’t you at school?”

“Didn’t you get my e-mails?” Benji Rydell asked with disappointment.  He was seventeen years old, a lanky six feet tall, and had green eyes and dark hair that fell lazily over his forehead.  He wore chinos and a navy blazer with the Beau-Soleil crest insignia on the chest placket.  By appearance alone, he was truly his father’s son. 

“No, I didn’t get any e-mails,” Jordan said insistently.   “Are you on a break?”

“I graduated early,” Benji announced.  “Today was the end of the semester so I’m an official high school graduate.  I can say goodbye to boarding school, steel wool uniforms, and Switzerland.”

“Graduated early?  I guess I didn’t realize you were doing that well this year.”  He finally got over his shock and pulled his son into an embrace.  “I wish I would have known you were coming.  Things are a little nuts around here right now.”

Benji looked around and cracked a wiseacre smile.  “I’ll say.  What’s going on?  Does this have anything to do with that stuff that went on at the Filmmaker Awards?  I saw it on E.T. and I couldn’t believe it.  I was freaked out.”

“Come on,” Jordan said and led him toward the kitchen.  “I’ll fill you in on everything.  First I need to get some coffee or I’ll freak out.”

The heart monitor beeped as it was supposed to, air from the oxygen tank made the whooshing noise that it should, and the EKG registered normal brain activity.  But Miranda couldn’t leave her father’s side.  He was stable, yet critical, whatever that meant.  She was convinced that if she left his room the heart monitor would stop beeping, the oxygen tank would turn off, and he would fade away. 

She held his hand tightly as she sat at his bedside.  He hadn’t woken up at all since the shooting.  A trauma-induced coma, as the doctors put it.  The main problem now according to the doctors was the internal bleeding that they’d only managed to stop temporarily, or the infections in his kidneys as a result of the bullet fragments that remained. 

She wore no makeup and her hair fell flat against her face but she didn’t care.  She wasn’t there to accept compliments on her appearance.  David had been there with her most of the time, as had Stormy.  Heather, Brett, Brooke, Ethan, Kenny and Renee had come by every day but there had been no change.

The door opened and Stormy entered, walking up behind his sister and placing a hand gently on her shoulder.  “I’m gonna take off for a while,” he said.  “Mom’s got that press conference this morning before the wedding.  Are you okay?”

She nodded and touched his hand with her fingertips.  “Tell mom I’m sorry but I don’t think I can go today.”

“Miranda-“ Stormy pleaded.  “You can leave for an hour.  I know it’s bad timing for a wedding, but I think mom really needs us there.  This has been really hard on her too.  I don't think she's coping very well."

“I’m sorry, Stormy, but I don’t think that I can go to a wedding and celebrate with mom and Jordan while Daddy is here hanging on for his life.”  She got up and walked to the head of the bed, fluffing the pillow beneath James’s head.   “Besides, I want to be here when he wakes up.  I have to tell him about Leigh.”

Stormy knew how hard she was taking this, and he knew that nobody was as close to their father as she was, so he didn’t argue with her further.  “I’ll be back after the wedding,” he said and left the room. 

Out in the hall, he met up with Eddie who approached quickly.  “How’s your dad?” he asked.

Stormy shrugged.  “The same,” he said and put his hands in the pockets of his trousers.  “Come on, are you ready to go?”

Eddie nodded.  “What do you think your mom’s going to say at this press conference?” he asked.

Stormy shook his head indifferently and led him to the elevator.  “Who knows?  Knowing her she could be planning on reciting a monologue from one of her films.  But whatever she says, I hope to God it gets us off the hook.”

“I do own the Stratotech Corporation,” Alex began as she stood in the foyer of Jordan’s house amidst dozens of camera flashes.  “The rumors you’re hearing are true.”

Startled gasps and hushed whispers fell over the crowd.  Jordan stood in the front row listening intently.  Beside him, Kenny, Renee, Stormy and Eddie watched in anticipation.

“However, I only bought the company because I learned that Congressman Seth Walker was planning on using it to sell arms to Central America,” she went on, speaking clearly into the microphone.  “Being an American-loving citizen, and a supporter of our troops, I couldn’t let a trusted politician get away with this injustice.  I’m a firm believer in gun control, and that was my main motivation in getting involved with this dangerous, dangerous man.”

Renee rolled her eyes in disbelief.  “Supporter of our troops?” she whispered to Kenny.  “Is she kidding?”

“Rather than see these dangerous weapons in the hands of potential adversaries, I asked a favor of my son, Ryan Blackthorne, who hijacked the truck carrying these explosives in hopes that it would delay them reaching their destination so that I could coordinate efforts with the authorities.  In hindsight, I now realize this was a mistake.  No one could have predicted the Congressman’s reaction, and unfortunately, lives were lost, and others were left in jeopardy.”

“So far so good,” Eddie murmured to Stormy.

Alex smiled and winked at Jordan before continuing.  “Fortunately, the selling of arms to Panama was successfully stopped, and Congressman Walker’s reign of terror is now over.  I attribute this mostly to my stepping in and taking control of the situation.  And now, as an apology to the California Land Commission, who were so viciously taken advantage of and lied to by Congressman Walker in his dealings, I am happy to announce that I am donating the land at Costa Mesa to them so that they may continue their practices of animal and natural resource and environmental conservation right here in our beautiful state.”

The crowd clapped with admiration.  Kenny raised an eyebrow and shook his head in astonishment.  He couldn’t believe how well Alex had spun the events to make her look like a champion of the people.  He watched as Alex stepped away from the microphones and put her arm through Jordan’s.  Cameras flashed and several members of the Land Commission shook her hand. 

"Miss Reynolds, I understand Blackthorne-Reynolds was shut down when the investigation into your involvement began," said a reporter from the Times.  "In light of the circumstances involving your ownership of Stratotech, will you be petitioning the SEC for the right to continue operating Blackthorne-Reynolds?"

Alex smiled and placed her hands before her.  "I do not intend to, no," she said.  Her remarks were following by gasps and inquisitive looks from the media.  "I'm sure my partners, James Blackthorne and Renee DeWitt will support me in the decision to let the judgement remain as is, with the proceeds from Blackthorne-Reynolds being divided amongst the three of us.  Blackthorne-Reynolds will remain defunct."  

Renee glared at her from across the room, furious that her partner didn't bother discussing the matter with her.  

Across town at his condo, Brett switched off the television after catching the coverage of the news conference.  He sighed and rose to his feet, believing that Alex should have been the one to go into public relations.  She was very good at making herself look like a hero. 

“I guess it’s over,” Heather said from the kitchen where she made herself a cup of tea.  “For us, anyway.  I keep thinking how torn up Miranda and Stormy are over James.  If he doesn’t pull through I don’t know what will happen.”

“He’ll pull through,” Brett said and sat down at the breakfast bar.  “James Blackthorne can’t die.  Do you know how powerful he is?”

Heather slammed her cup down on the counter in a fit of anger.  “Life isn’t all about power, Brett,” she said with abhorrence.  “I thought after the other night you would have realized that.”

He looked at her apologetically.  “I do realize that,” he said.  “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

"I know exactly what you meant," she said with frustration.

"Look Babe, I know you're still angry about-"

"You bet your ass I'm angry," she shouted.  "You put my life and Alex's life in jeopardy.  Leigh was killed, and James may die because you put your own selfish desires first, as usual."

"That's not fair," Brett insisted.  "James and Alex got involved all on their own.  I had nothing to do with that.  Look, I know that what I did put your and our baby in jeopardy, but I can't be held responsible for everything Seth Walker did.  Heather, I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally.  You have to know that."

She threw her hands up in resignation.  “I’m going to go start getting ready for the wedding,” she said and started to the bedroom in a huff.

“I will too," Brett said and started after her.

"No," she said and paused in the doorway.  "I don't want you to go.  I'm sorry but I just don't think I can be around you right now."

"What are you saying?" Brett asked, his heart racing.

She looked down at the floor and then back up at him.  "I just need need some time," she said.  "Time to think."

With that, she turned and went into the bedroom.  She opened the closet and surveyed her wardrobe.  She rubbed her throat, feeling as though she was coming down with something.  The flu or a cold of some kind.  She’d been achy and swollen for days.  On top of that, she had no appetite whatsoever.  Probably a side affect from the pregnancy, she decided, pulling a black dress from the closet and holding it in front of her.   That or the stress over her marriage.

“Nice work,” Jordan said and approached Alex after the press conference.  He kissed her and shook hands with a few passing reporters. 

She smiled with conceit.  “Some of it was true,” she said with a wink as Kenny approached with Stormy and Renee right behind.

“Offloading that land was a nice touch,” Kenny said with a grin.  “The Land Commission is loving you right now.”

Renee rolled her eyes.  “All right, enough.  Why don’t we just give her the Medal of Freedom while we’re at it?  For God’s sake, the woman made herself sound like Mother Theresa.”  She glared at Alex and stepped toward her.  "How could you do that?  You know how much Blackthorne-Reynolds meant to James and I, and you just announce that it's history before he or I can have a vote in it?"

“What do you think the chances are that they won’t press charges?” Stormy asked.

Alex shrugged indifferently.  “Well, I’m not going to sit around all day worrying about it.  I have a wedding to get ready for.”  She turned to Jordan.  “Darling, I’ll be upstairs getting into my dress.  I’ll see you at two o’clock.”

Everyone watched in disbelief as she marched care-free up the stairs, completely unwilling to accept the possibility that things weren't as neatly resolved as she'd like to think.   When she reached the top landing,  she paused as Benji came out of his bedroom.

“Benji, your father told me you were back,” she said with a smile.  “My God, I can’t believe how grown up you are.  You are so handsome.”  She walked up and gave him a quick squeeze.  “When was the last time you came for a visit, anyway?”

Benji blushed and dug his hands into his pockets.  “A little over two years ago,” he said.  “I was here for Stormy and Heather’s wedding.”

Alex nodded with the recollection.  “That’s right,” she said.  “Well, your sister’s married again.  Only this time you missed the wedding.”

He nodded and pushed his bangs from his eyes.  “Yeah, I heard the guy is a real jerk,” he said.  “He was married to Miranda before, wasn’t he?”

Alex folded her arms.  “He was a jerk, yes, but a lot of us owe him a debt of gratitude,” she said after thinking about the events on the roof of the Los Angeles Theater.  She shuddered to think of what would have happened to her or Heather if Brett and Jordan hadn't intervened.  

“I'm so happy you and my dad are getting married again,” Benji said, his eyes beaming.

She smiled and grew serious for a minute.  “I know you must have a lot of questions about us.  Your father and I, I mean.  Like why we divorced in the first place, and why we’re just now remarrying.  But I want you to know that I love your father very much and I never stopped.  Things just got in the way.  But now I think we have a chance to be really happy.”

“I’m glad,” he said timidly.  “Looks like I came back just in time.”

“You sure did,” she said with a good natured laugh and started toward Jordan’s bedroom.  She paused and turned back, growing serious again.  “One more thing, Benji.  I would never try to take the place of your mother.  Suzanne loved you very much.  I just hope that you and I can be friends.”

The corners of his mouth turned up and he nodded appreciatively.  “I’d like that,” he said.

Alex smiled and continued on her way, realizing that she didn’t have much time to finish getting ready.

Ethan found Brooke at the hospital pacing the waiting room with a steaming cup of coffee.  He approached her and placed a gentle hand on her arm.   “I just went by your hotel room and the nanny said you were here,” he said.  “Has there been any change?”

She shook her head. 

“I saw your things packed up in your suite,” Ethan continued.  “Are you going somewhere?”

She nodded absently.  “I’m moving into a house.  Staying at Hotel Terranova was only a temporary arrangement.  I can’t live there forever.”

Confused, Ethan ran his fingers through his hair.  “Wait a minute.  You’re moving?  I know we’re taking things slow, but I thought we’d eventually move in together.”

“Ethan, I-“

“I know, I know.  You’re not ready now.  I get that.  But this makes it seem like it’ll never happen.  You’re moving into a house and you’re moving on with your life.  Without me.  I don’t get it, Brooke.”

“Do we have to do this now?” she asked and dropped her hands to her sides.  “James is still in a coma.”

“I realize that.  But do I have to remind you what he did to you?  The way he treated you?  Why are you hanging around here like-”

“Forgive me if I’m concerned about the man that I was married to for the better part of two years.  He’s your uncle, for God’s sake.  What would you have us do?  Pretend this isn’t happening?  Turn our backs on him?”

“Of course not,” he replied.  “It just seems that you’re using James as an excuse to avoid me.”

She glared at him in disbelief.  “That’s ridiculous,” she said, even though she knew it was entirely true.  “You’re just-“

“What?” Ethan cut her off.  “What am I doing?”

She looked at him plainly and folded her arms.  “You’re smothering me.”

“I’m smothering you?” he yelled angrily.

“I told you that I needed time!  I told you that I didn’t want to rush, and all you do is badger me about moving in together and spending time together and I just can’t handle it right now.  I’m sorry!  I need room to breathe!”

After waiting for her tantrum to finish, Ethan set his jaw and stalked toward the door.  “You want room to breathe?” he shouted.  “You’ve got it!”

Brooke buried her face in her hands, cringing as the door slammed shut when he left the room.  She shook her head and sat down, jumping with a start when the door opened again.