Alexandra: "Yeah. It's good to be home."

Edmund: "Is it?" (He glances around the room) "Home, I mean."

Alexandra: "For now."

 Edmund (walks closer to her): "Listen, I called ahead and had Stella make a fire in the hunting lodge, and she put out a little light supper for you."

Alexandra: "All right. Well, then I'll say good night then."

Tad (rushes into the room): "Edmund?" (He then notices Alex.) "Oh. I'm... I apologize. I... I let myself in the back way. Listen, have you seen either of them?"

Alexandra (confused): "What?"

Edmund (equally confused): "Who?"

Tad: "What do you mean, who? Jake, Gillian. We were hoping they'd be here. I just dropped Dixie off at home. She's trying to deal with Adam Jr. he feels awful about blasting Adam in court, even if his father is a rat bastard and..."

Alexandra: "What are you talking about?"

Edmund: "We just got back from England. What are you talking about?"

Tad: "Oh, my God. You don't know. Oh. Oh, I um...I.. then I -- I'm sorry. Forgive me. The custody hearing was today."

Alexandra: "Did Jake and Gillian get Colby?"

Tad: "No. That's the thing. It's not settled yet. It looked like it was going to go our way, but then all hell broke loose. I wish I could give you the recap. I can't. I got to go find my brother." (He starts to leave.)

Edmund: No, no, no, no. Tell us. Maybe we can help."

Tad: No, really, I got to go find Jake, you know? The damage has been done. 

Alexandra: "If this concerns Gillian, I want to know."

Edmund: "Yeah, come on. Please tell us."

Tad: It's been the worst day of my life. I don't think Jake or Gillian will ever be the same. 

The scene fades out, then returns later. They walk around to the front of the couch, but don't sit down.
Alexandra: "Adam is Colby's father. How is that possible?"

Edmund: "I thought Jake was the sperm donor."

Tad: "No, no, no, no, no. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Adam bought the clinic. He switched his DNA. For Jake's."

Alexandra: "That's why he didn't want Dimitri to use Colby's stem cells... in case someone found out."

Tad: "Probably."

 Alexandra: "Gillian knew all of this?"

Tad: "Get this... Gillian found out about it the night of her automobile accident. She was on her way to tell Jake when it happened."

Edmund: You mean, Adam's secret almost killed her?"

Alexandra: Oh, he's an awful man."

Tad: "You have no idea. The list of casualties goes on and on and on."

Alexandra: "You don't know where they are?"

Tad: "No, I have no idea. And that's what scares me. But then again, you know, I'm still in shock, so..."

Edmund (interrupting): "So am I."

Tad: The worst part is none of us wanted to deceive Jake... not Gillian, not me, and not Dixie. We just wanted to get through the custody hearing. We wanted to get custody of Colby away from Adam and then tell him. And I feel bad because before it all happened, I tried to persuade Jake to drop the suit, to make whatever arrangements with Liza he could to share custody of Colby. But he wouldn't hear of it. Because he didn't know what he had at risk. He didn't know what the stakes were walking into that courtroom because I didn't tell him. So he didn't blow it, Edmund, I did."

Edmund: "Your intentions were good."

Tad: "Yeah, well, we all know how the road to hell is paved, right?"

Alexandra: "No good comes of ever keeping secrets."

Edmund: "Yeah, listen... he got a bum deal. But he knows, or he will know in time, that you and Gillian, you had a rough choice."

Tad: "Why should he have to? Edmund, I let him down. I let him down big time."

Edmund: "Yeah. Okay. But you'll survive because you're brothers."

Tad: "I don't know. You should have seen his face, Edmund. I don't think he's going to forgive me."

Edmund: "Well, then you underestimate him." (He walks past Alex and stands face to face with Tad.) "Listen, Dimitri and I, we went through a lot. And the bond was still there, you know? I mean, it was death that finally, you know..."

Tad: "Yeah, but losing his daughter, I mean, I have no idea how that must feel." (There's a moment of silence.)

Edmund: "I do."

Alexandra (realizing that Edmund's thinking about Maria, she ushers Tad out): "Tad, why don't we go and check with Stella and see whether Gillian left a message with her or your brother or..."

(Edmund walks over and picks up a framed picture of Maria, addressing it.) Edmund: "We know what Jake's feeling, don't we?" (He has a flashback of the time he had to take baby Sam away from his tearful, pleading wife when the baby's birth mother decided she wanted the baby back.) 

The scene fades out, then returns later. Alex walks into the living room, taking her coat off and throwing it onto the sofa. Edmund comes back to the present when he hears her voice, and shuts his eyes to push the painful memory away.)
Alexandra (walking over to him, she notices he's holding the portrait): "Tad's gone home. Thinking about Maria?" (He puts the picture down and turns to her. He doesn't say anything, but instead reaches over and softly brushes a curl off her face.)

The scene fades out, then returns. Edmund is pouring two glasses of brandy.
Edmund: "What was that line you quoted, Alex? 'The past is a foreign country.'"

Alexandra: "Did you go back to an unhappy place?"

Edmund: "Yeah. Maria and I, we had to give up Sam for a while." (He hands her a glass then picks up his.)

Alexandra: "Oh, yeah. His birth mother wanted him back. Dimitri told me that."

Edmund (solemn): "Yeah. Cheers." (He taps his glass against hers.) "I know how Jake feels. He feels like he's falling down a bottomless pit and there's nothing to break the fall." (Alex quietly sips on her drink while he's talking.) "You know, nothing prepares you for having to give up your child. Nothing. I mean, uh, the pain is unimaginable."

Alexandra: "I'm sorry."

Edmund: "You think you're doing the right thing and you think it'll be easy, and it just tears your heart out."

Alexandra: "But for you, you had a happy ending. I mean, Sam's upstairs now. He's warm and safe and loved." (She tries to smile encouragingly.) 

Edmund: "I hope Colby's as lucky." (She nods in agreement.)

The scene fades out, then returns later. Ryan is bringing Gillian home after finding her upset in the park. She rushes into the living room, he following cautiously behind, as the last time he was at Wildwind he was basically thrown out.
Gillian: "Did Jake come home?"

Alexandra (going up to comfort Gillian): "No, darling. We heard what happened. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

Gillian (to Alex): "We were so happy, and now Jake's gone, Colby's gone."

Alexandra (offering her glass of brandy which Gillian takes): "Here, take a sip. Let's go upstairs and we'll run you a bath, okay, and we'll talk." (She ushers Gillian out, saluting Ryan on their way out.) "Hi, Ryan."

Ryan: "Hi." (He and Edmund then exchange glances.)

The scene fades out, then returns later.
Edmund: "Brandy?"

Ryan: "No, thanks. No. Just so you know, Edmund, we bumped into each other in the park. She was really upset, so..." (There's a moment of silence as the two men size one another up.)

Edmund: "Okay. I appreciate you bringing her home."

Ryan: "Well, say good night to her for me." (He turns to leave.)

Edmund (calling after him): "Ryan? You knew, didn't you, about Colby's father? That's why you came to the wedding, and that's why you came here the night before."

Ryan: "I just wanted to stop her from making a mistake, Edmund. Prevent her from going through what she's going through right now. But I guess I didn't do a very good job."

Edmund: "You did what you could."

Ryan: "It wasn't enough. Maybe you could tell me, Edmund. How do you protect somebody that you love? How do you keep them from getting hurt?"

Edmund: "Sometimes you can't."

Ryan: "Well, take care of her for me, all right?"