Written by: Dallas Walsh

Cole Rockwell's muscular arms cut through the water of the swimming pool in the back yard of the Rockwell mansion. As Cole gets closer to the edge of the pool, he can hear a male's voice on the side of the pool, encouraging him to keep going at his pace. He soon tucks his head closer to his torso and flips around, pushing his legs off the edge of the pool, allowing him to start his last lap.

It's been three days since the shooting and he hasn't been able to forget a single second of the ordeal. The family was at the hospital waiting to find out about his brother, Lex Rockwell's status since they learned his system was full of drugs, which caused him to collapse, when Odette Williams rushed into the waiting room demanding that Mac Rockwell pay for ruining her life. No one, including Cole, knew what Odette was ranting about, but everyone paid attention when she pulled out her gun and fired it twice. The first bullet went astray and hit a chair in the waiting room. The second bullet, however, that's the one that did the damage. Cole still remembers the scene playing out in front of him in slow motion. Standing in front of Mac was his wife, Celeste Rockwell, the woman who Cole had an affair with. Cole knew that the bullet was going to hit her, so he jumped in front of the bullet and took it for Celeste. Thankfully, it was only a flesh wound and Cole didn't suffer any major injuries. Still, the entire situation created chaos. In the aftermath, Odette was arrested and the family got the police involved to determine who was drugging Lex, which is the only way the family could explain that Lex had so much drugs in his system. Not even Lex's husband, Jarek Williams, could explain it the quantity of drugs that Lex had obtained.

Cole reaches the other end of the pool and comes up for some air. He runs his hand through his wet hair, as his trainer, Brock Jennings comes up to him.

"That was great Cole," Brock smiles to him, as Cole pushes himself out of the pool. Cole notices Brock look at his toned body as he grabs a towel. Brock can't help but lick his lips at the sight of Cole. "Another couple sessions like this, and you won't even know that you had been shot."

Cole gets a smirk on his face as he towels off. "Thanks Brock," he replies to him. "I have to admit, I'm starting to feel better than I have in a long time. I got really lucky that Stacey saw you at the hospital and convinced you to help me."

Brock nods back to him, knowing that he went to school with Cole's sister, Stacey Rockwell. He has been in physical therapy for a while, and helping Cole was the least he could do since he and Stacey were always pretty friendly. Plus, the compensation isn't bad, either. Nor is the view, Brock smirks to himself.

"I'm glad I can help," Brock nods back to him. "Stacey was always a good friend of mine."

"Did I hear my name?" Stacey asks as she comes out into the yard from the mansion's French doors. "How was the workout?"

"It was great," Cole tells her. "Brock is really helping me get back into shape after the shooting."

"That's awesome," Stacey smiles back to them. "We were all so worried."

"If we are done for the day, I should get going," Brock tells Cole, hoping that they will have another session too. Brock enjoys the eye candy and helping Cole out, of course. "I have another client I need to get too."

"Yea man," Cole shakes his hand. "We'll be in touch for our next session."

"That sounds great, see you guys later," Brock waves before he heads off.

"So, he really is working out okay?" Stacey asks her brother, hoping that it wasn't a waste of time hiring her high school friend. She and Brock go way back, so it's good to see him around more often, she thinks to herself.

"Yup," Cole replies to her. "It's a shame that Lex is married now. Brock is a great catch."

Stacey giggles. "Yea, I always wondered if Brock would find someone in Kelsey Lake, it's not a huge town, so you know, there's not a huge gay community here."

"Did you just come from the hospital? What is the latest with Lex?" Cole asks her, changing the subject from his trainer.

Stacey sighs as she thinks about her other brother being in the hospital. "Well, he is still stable," she replies to him. "Lydia is in overdrive working with the police trying to find out who was drugging him. She seems to think that there is no other explanation."

Cole shakes his head knowing that the entire family still has their issues with his mother, Lydia Rockwell, for all the heartache she put the family through recently. However, if there's one good thing about her, it is that she is determined. Meaning, she will learn who was drugging Lex if it is the last thing she does. She won't let her son die without finding out who is responsible and making them pay.

"I'm not ready to forgive Mom by any means," Cole says back to her, still thinking of his mother's lies. "But, I am glad that she's looking for Lex."

"Yea, same," Stacey agrees with him. "If anyone can get to the truth, it's Mom."

"Have you heard from Marat?"

Stacey looks back at her brother for a moment as she recalls how her boyfriend, Marat Kafelinkov asked her to go to Russia with him so they could spend some time away from all the drama that was unfolding. At first, she agreed to go, but after Lex ended up in the hospital and Cole was shot, she knew that she couldn't leave her family. So, Marat went back to Russia to deal with his father and the company, and she's still here in the USA.

"We speak, yes," Stacey tells him. "But, with the time change, it can be difficult. But, he's doing well."

"Good," Cole replies to her. "After everything that happened with Houston, I didn't think you'd be so happy again."

Stacey feels her eyes swell with water as she thinks about her fiancé, Houston Blackmore, who died in a car crash. While she hasn't forgotten him, she does love Marat. She pulls Cole into a hug. "Thanks Cole," she whispers into his ear. "I'm glad that there is some happiness in this family right now."

"Me too," he replies to her, thinking about his own situation. After saving Celeste from the bullet, he has realized that he still loves her. The only problem is that he has been sleeping with Vivian Blackmore, something he knows he has to end. And, there is the small fact that Celeste is married to his father, Mac Rockwell. "How about we get some lunch and then head to the hospital to check on Lex?"

"Only if you're paying," she teases him, as they start to walk back to the mansion together.

***

"Are you really going to stand there and tell me that you have uncovered absolutely nothing about my son and who was drugging him?" a flabbergasted Lydia Rockwell asks the officer standing in the waiting room of the hospital, as Mac Rockwell and Kent Blackmore look on. "You realize that my son is in this very hospital fighting for his life because someone was trying to kill him, right?"

"I completely understand Ms. Rockwell," Officer Garrett Owen replies to Lydia. He knows that he, and his entire team, has been working over time trying to figure out was drugging Lex. "We just don't have a lot of information to go off of. The condo in which your son resides, didn't turn up any evidence."

"What do you mean?" Lydia shrieks back to him. "You know the kind of drug that was in his system. How can you not know who would have access to that drug and who wouldn't?"

"Darling, please," Kent comes up behind Lydia and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Detective Owen is trying to do everything he can."

"Well, everything is not enough," Lydia replies to them. "You listen to me, and you listen to me carefully," she points her finger at Owens, which has a huge diamond ring on it. "You will find out who did this to my son, or I will sue the police department!"

"I'm going to head back and see if there's any new evidence that turned up," Garrett tells her. "Please keep me posted on Lexington's condition."

"Unbelievable," Lydia turns and hugs Kent. "That man doesn't seem to care that our son is fighting for his life!"

"I'll make some calls," Mac finally speaks up to them. "I know the chief of police pretty well. I'll see if I can learn anything more. Or, at least, light some fires."

"Thank you Mac," Lydia tells him, as they look at one another. It's clear from the look in Mac's eyes though, that he is still devastated that he isn't Lexington's biological father. Lydia realizes that pain may never go away. "Anything that anyone can do will help."

"Why was Detective Owen's here?" Jarek Williams asks as he comes into the waiting room, holding a coffee, pretending like he wasn't listening to the conversation they just have with the detective. He recalls how he got rid of any of the evidence that was in the condo before the police had a chance to search it. . "Is there something new in the case?"

"Not a damned thing," Lydia replies to her son's husband. "Are you sure there's nothing more you can remember?"

Jarek gulps as he looks at Lydia. Jarek knows that he was the one drugging Lex in hopes of killing his husband so he could get his hands on some of the Rockwell fortune, to help his mother avenge his father's death. Now that Odette has been arrested, however, he doesn't know what to do next. And, he can't believe that Lex hasn't died yet because of the amount of drugs in his system should have killed him by now.

"Not a thing," Jarek lies to her. "I wish I knew how this started, but I honestly don't know. All I remember, is that Lex was saying he was feeling tired the last couple of days before he collapsed. We both just assumed he had a flu bug or something."

"I remember that," Kent nods back to him, recalling how he visited Lex and he said he was ill. "It's just so bizarre."

Before anyone can say anything else, a tall woman with long platinum blonde hair wearing 8 inch red stilettos and a white mini dress walks into the room and puts her hands on her hips. Lydia looks over and gasps in shock at the sight of the woman in the waiting room.

"What the hell?" She says out loud. "Sabine? Is that really you?"

Sabine Andrews smiles back to Lydia. "It's been far too long, sister," she says as she rushes up to Lydia and hugs her.

"I can't believe you're here," Lydia says to her sister as they hug. "Is it Patrick? Is everything okay? Why are you here? It's not like you to just show up, unless something is wrong!"

Sabine looks back at her sister and recalls their sorted history in her head. Only two years apart, Lydia was the elder sister and the sister that seemingly got everything she wanted. Their father's approval, the boy's attention, and shortly after, the money and fame of being married to a Rockwell. Sabine, however, refused to be overlooked. She caught their father in bed with his secretary and used the information to get him to send her to a top notch school, where she learned how to cut the most precious diamonds in the world. So, she too, is in the diamond business. A part of Sabine has always wanted everything that Lydia wanted, even though she would never admit that. Lydia, however, was not happy with Sabine's jealousy streak and the sisters often fought over it.

One of the things that Sabine wanted that Lydia had was a handsome man. Sabine thought Lydia was absolutely crazy for having an affair on Mac; secretly, she always thought he was the best catch a girl could ask for. Of course, as Sabine got older, her looks improved and now, she is a stunning woman. She never got so lucky as to find a long-term steady husband. She's been divorced three times already, and with her no-good, cheating husband, Patrick filing for divorce, number four is in the very near future.

They exit their embrace and Sabine sees Mac, the man who makes her heart still melt. "MacKenzie!" She rushes over and hugs him.

"Sabine, it's been far too long," he says as they exit their embrace. "How are you?"

"Yes, it certainly has been too long," she purses her lips together. "Patrick and I are over," she tells Lydia, not forgetting her sister's question. "And, I couldn't stay away after I heard about Lex and Cole. How are they?"

"Wait," Lydia stops her waving her hand in the air. "Are you really trying to tell me that you came all this way because you cared about our family? That's rich, because you certainly never cared in the past! Not unless there was man involved!"

"Lydia," Mac scolds her, knowing that the sisters have never seen eye to eye before. "Sabine is here because of the family, can't we just leave it at that? Why does everything have to be a fight?"

"Thank you Mac," Sabine tells him, before she glares at Lydia. "I know it's hard to believe, Lydia, but I do care about my family. And, I'm here to prove that to you all. How can I help?"

"I'll see it when I believe," Lydia snaps back to her, not trusting a word that comes out of her sisters mouth. In Lydia's mind, Sabine has always been a user. She comes and goes from people's lives when it suits her. Her saying she's here for the family must mean that something else is going on with her. However, with everything going on with Lexington, she can't worry about Sabine right now. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on my son."

***

Lydia slowly opens the door to Lexington's hospital room and moves inside quickly, stopping to look at her son, who is laying in the bed with tubes running through him. She shakes her head as she recalls how Stacey was also in the hospital following her car accident, also in a coma. She wishes that she understood how and why bad things keeping happening to her children. A part of her thinks that maybe it is because of all the horrible things that she has done to her family; maybe this is her way of getting punished.

She moves closer to the bed and sits next to Lex, grabbing his hand in the process. She kisses his hand before she touches her cheek with it.

"Baby," she says as a tear falls down her cheek. "I know that I've done a lot of things that you didn't agree with," she whispers to him. "But, I did them all because I love my family so very much. I need you, Lex, I need you to wake up so I can make it up to you. So, I can make it up to all of my children. The only way that I will survive is by having my children love and support me again. So, you have to wake up. You have to come back to me. Do you hear me, Lex?"

There's no movement with Lex. Lydia puts her head down and starts to cry a little more when suddenly Lex's heart monitor starts beeping quickly and rapidly. Lydia bolts up, looking at Lex with worry all over her face.

"Lex!?" She yells in a panic. "Lex, what is it? What's wrong? Oh my God..." she rushes to the door and opens it. "I need help in here! Quickly! It's my son! Help me!"

***

Jarek walks through the visiting centre of the local jail until he sees Odette sitting on the other side of the glass wall, waiting for him to sit down and pick up the phone. Jarek sits across from his mother and notices that she looks like she has aged since being arrested; she has large bags under her eyes, her lips are chapped and her hair is a mess.

He finally picks up the phone, still looking at his mother. "Thank you for coming to see me," she says, her voice cracking a little. "I didn't think you'd come."

"You know I'd come eventually," he replies to her. "I had to wait for the right time. Things at the hospital have been rather intense."

"I can only imagine," she says back to him. "I never meant for things to get so out of control."

"I know you didn't," he tells her. "But they are out of control."

"How is Cole? No one will tell me anything? Please, tell me that I didn't kill him."

Jarek shakes his head back to her. "He's fine. He only suffered a flesh wound. But, Mac has told the police that you tried to blackmail him. So, you'll be charged with that too."

"Damn that man," Odette pounds her fist into the table in front of her. "He never knows when to stop, does he?" She can't believe that Mac is going to get away with everything he did to her, and her husband.

"Mom, you shouldn't have tried to blackmail him," he tells her. "You should have let me stick to the plan that we had!"

"And what good is that plan? Has your husband died yet?"

"No!" Jarek tells her a whisper. "And, I don't know if he will. If he doesn't, I don't know what we will do..."

"You'll find another way," she purses her lips together. "Even if I can't enjoy any of the Rockwell money, there's no reason you can't..."

"The police are looking into who could have been drugging Lex," he reveals to her. "They have some big shot detective on the case and everything. I'm scared Mom. I'm scared that they will learn that it was me and I will end up in the cell next to you."

"That won't happen," she shakes her head back to him. "I refuse to allow Mac Rockwell to ruin your life too."

"I don't know what we can do to stop it."

Odette looks up and into Jarek's eyes. "I know exactly what we can do," she whispers back to him as he shrugs his shoulders in confusion. "I'll confess. I'll tell them it was me who was drugging Lex."

"No!" Jarek protests. "You can't do that! You're already facing so many charges..."

"Exactly! I am not getting out of here any time soon. At least this way you can be free, you can enjoy that Rockwell money....this is the only way, Jarek. If they decide to search the house, there's still a stash of those drugs there. It's perfect. It's the only way. Tell me you understand?"

Jarek looks back to his Mom before he puts his head down in shame. "I wish I could," he whispers to her. "But I don't know if I can go through with this. I miss you Mom."

"I miss you too baby," she tells him. "But trust me, this will be good for you. And for me. Don't worry about me. This place ain't so bad. Tell me you won't stop me from doing this! Tell me you won't ruin this! You need to enjoy that money that we deserve! Tell me you'll do this!"

Jarek looks back at her but hangs up the phone, not saying anything. He can see Odette saying some back to her but he can't make it out. Instead, Jarek walks away from his mother, his head and heart more torn than ever before.

***

Cole moves into the cafeteria of the hospital, looking to grab some coffees for the family since he knows that they are all still waiting for some kind of news about Lex. He can only imagine how long they will all be at the hospital today, so the caffeine will be a good fix for all of them while they wait. He just hopes that today is the day that they get good news about his brother.

Before he gets to the counter, however, he spots a familiar face sitting by herself: Celeste Rockwell. He looks at the woman that he took a bullet for and feels his heart skip a beat. He knows that she choose Mac over him, but he can't help but still be in love with her; It's become very clear to him since the shooting. He just wishes that, somehow, they could be together.

"Hey," he says as he comes up to her table, clearly interrupting her train of thought. "How are you?"

Celeste looks up at her former lover and tries to smile back to him. "Cole, I'm fine. I should be asking how you are; after all, you were just shot."

Cole chuckles back to her. "I'm good, I just had another therapy session. Brock is a workhorse."

Celeste eyes him. "Yea, you're looking better. You know, I never thanked you for taking that bullet for me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't jumped in front of the bullet."

"No thanks is required, Celeste," he replies to her. "You know that I would do anything for you."

"Cole..." she begins to protest to him, suspecting what he is about to say back to her. "You can't say stuff like that to me. I'm with your father, remember?"

"How can I forget?" He shrugs his shoulders to her. "You made your choice, and I respect that. I'm just saying..."

"I thought you were dating Vivian Blackmore?" She interrupts him, recalling how she saw the two of them before the shooting looking very cozy. She also knows that she felt odd seeing them together; she still isn't sure why she felt that way, however.

"Dating is a strong word," he corrects her. "And, I've realized that I have to end that. It's not doing me or Vivian any good being together. Not when I still love you."

"Cole," she whispers back to him, not wanting to hear his feelings for her. "Please don't."

"I'm not going to try to pretend that this isn't happening," he tells her. "I respect your decision, but you have the right to know that I am in love with you. The shooting has put this all into perspective for me. I want you more than ever before."

Celeste shakes her head. "I'm going to back to see your father," she stands up from her chair. "And, this has to be last time we talk of this. Okay? Please, Cole, I'm married to Mac."

"Yea, of course," he uneasily nods back to her, wondering if there will be a way that they could be together because, he knows, that's exactly what he wants.

***

"Dr. Chen," Lydia says trying to keep her heart rate down, as the doctor walks into the waiting room, having come from Lex's hospital room. "Please, tell me what happened. I was just talking to Lex and ... God, I don't know what happened."

Mac and Kent come up next to Lydia, as they all wait for the news from the doctor's mouth. "Lex's body went into shock," Dr. Chen reveals to them. "His body is finally reacting to all the drugs in his system."

"Why is this so delayed?" Mac asks the doctor, confused about the time frame of everything that is happening. "He seemed to be fine the last couple of days."

"We've been helping his body flush out the drugs," Dr. Chen explains to them. "But, the fact is, Lex's liver is failing him now. He will require a liver transplant, or he might not make it."

"No!" Lydia cries as she turns and buries her face into Kent's arms. "This can't be happening."

"What are the odds that Lex will get a transplant?" Kent asks the doctor.

"He's on the wait list, but the list is rather long," Dr. Chen explains to him. "We have expressed how urgent this is, however."

"Can a normal person live without their liver?" Mac asks him back, as the doctor nods.

"Yes, of course," Dr. Chen tells him. "We would never take the full liver out, unless the donor is deceased. Normally, we just take a piece of someone's liver and put into Lex's body. The other factor that we have to keep in mind, is that not everyone will be a viable match for Lex."

"What's happening?" Jarek asks as he comes into the waiting room. "What is going on with Lex?"

"Can you fill him in? I want to go make some phone calls," Mac tells Lydia and Kent, who nod back to him. Mac quickly leaves the waiting room, determined to find a match to help Lex before it's too late.

He is about to dial a number when he spots Cole and Celeste walking together towards him. For a moment, Mac is taken back to when he learned the truth about their affair. He can't help but look at the two of them and wonder if there is still something between them; after all, his son did take a bullet for his wife. Why would he do that if he didn't have some kind of lingering feelings for her?

"Cole, I'm glad you're here," Mac tells his son, as they hug, before he grabs Celeste's hand. "You should go see your mother, we just got some upsetting news about Lex. I'll fill Celeste in, but Lydia will need you."

"Will do," Cole tells him, before he looks at Celeste and then walks over to the waiting room where Lydia is.

"What's happened to Lex?" Celeste asks her husband, her face filled with worry.

"I'll fill you in," he whispers back to her. "But first, I want to ask you a question about our project that we've been working on."

"What project?" She asks him confused.

"Us trying to have a baby," Mac replies to her quickly. "Do you still want to have my child? Because, I want to have a family with you. And, with everything going on right now, I think it would be the perfect time to bring some good news in to the family. What do you say? Have a baby with me?"

Celeste gulps and forces a smile on her face as she pulls her husband into a hug. "Of course I still want to have a baby with you," she whispers back to his ear. "Of course, I do."

***

"Well, this is certainly a surprise," Lucinda Rockwell announces to Sabine as she approaches the bar at the country club. Lucinda hadn't seen or heard from Sabine in years; now, the woman is sitting at the bar nursing a brandy. "Sabine Andrews, sister of the wicked witch of Kelsey Lake."

"My goodness," Sabine looks back at her. "I haven't seen you in years, Lucinda. You are looking...old."

Lucinda chuckles back to her. "And, you are looking more plastic than ever. I must admit, you have a good surgeon."

"You want his name? You could do with some work," she quips back to her. "Although, you might be in there for awhile. I see a lot of improvements are needed."

"What are you doing back in town?" Lucinda asks her, as she orders a glass of champagne.

Sabine takes a sip of her brandy before looking back at Lucinda. "I heard about Lexington and Cole," she reveals to her. "I couldn't stay away."

"Ha!" Lucinda is unable to hide her amusement. "This family has been going through crisis for awhile now, you never thought about coming back before? I suspect you're up to something, I just don't know what it is. But, mark my words, I will find out."

"For the love of God," Sabine rolls her eyes. "You sound just like Lydia. You two are more alike than you realize."

"Don't you dare compare me to that she-devil," Lucinda warns her. "After everything that woman has put my son through, I'm surprised Mac still tolerates her."

"She is the mother of his children..."

"I don't care," Lucinda whispers back to her. "Mac might not want revenge on her for everything she has done to this family, but I'm not that forgiving. I will make your sister pay for what she has done. And, if you're not careful, you will be next on my list."

***

"I got here as soon I heard," Lucinda walks into the waiting room, where she sees Lydia, Mac, Celeste, Cole and Stacey all waiting for another update about Lex. "Can we see Lex? How in the world is this happening?"

"I wish I knew," Mac replies to his mother, as he comes up to her and gives her a hug. "We all just need a break from this, though. We don't know how much more we can take from this."

"Where did Kent disappear too?" Lydia asks, realizing that her fiancé is missing from the waiting room and she needs him now more than ever before.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Stacey tells her mother.

"Oh Stacey," Lydia goes up to her daughter and tries to hug her, but. Stacey pushes her mom away. "You won't even hug me?"

"Do you realize that this is partly all your fault? Who knows what would have happened if your secret about Kent being Lex's biological father hadn't come out. That's what started this mess!"

"Yea Mom," Cole agrees with Stacey. "Your lies have really caused a lot of damage. Do you really think we have forgotten?"

Lydia shakes her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that you guys are still holding that against me at a time like this. Your brother could die for crying out loud!"

"And if he does," Lucinda comes up behind Lydia. "You will be to blame. Like everything else that has happened to this family. It's all your fault, Lydia. Don't think that I have forgotten what you've done."

"I can't handle this..." Lydia says pushing her way past Lucinda. She's about to walk out of the waiting room, when Kent reappears. "Oh darling," she stops seeing him. "Where did you disappear too."

Kent looks at her and then the rest of the family. "I just got tested," he reveals to everyone. "And, I'm a match for Lexington. I can donate part of my liver to Lex. I'm going to have the surgery. I'm going to save my son's life."

Mac looks back in utter disgust that Kent is going to be the hero to save Lex's life. He looks at Celeste and grabs her hand. "I don't think I can stomach this," he whispers to her. "Let's get out of here?"

Celeste nods back to him, as Lydia hugs Kent. "Oh darling!" She lets a tear fall down her cheek. "This is the best news I've had all day. But are you sure?"

"I'm positive," he replies to her. "This is the thing that I need to make it up to Lex for all those years of lies. If I can save his life..."

"You're a hero," Lydia tells him as they exit their embrace. "You're my hero."

***

At the Rockwell mansion, Mac pours himself a brandy in the living room as Celeste walks in behind him and throws her purse on the sofa.

"Would you like a drink?" He asks her as he takes a sip of his brandy.

"I'd love one," she replies to him, as he starts to pour her a drink. "I know that you're upset that Kent is the one donating his liver to Lex, but sweetheart, this is a good news story. It could save Lex's life."

"I know," Mac sighs back to her. "But, the truth is, I'm upset that I am not the one donating to Lex. I also got tested," he reveals to her. "And, I wasn't a match. It's just another reminder that I'm not Lex's biological father."

"I get that," she nods back to him before taking a sip of her brandy. "But, we have to think about Lex and what is best for him right now. Without the transplant..."

"I know, I know," Mac replies to her. "Thank you for listening to me and putting this all into perspective. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," she purses her lips together as she moves up to him.

"I almost did," he says back to her, thinking about the shooting. "I don't know what I would have done if Cole hadn't jumped in front of that bullet."

"But he did," she tells him. "We owe him so much."

Mac leans in and kisses his wife passionately. "Let's not talk about my son anymore," he says in between kisses. "Let's go upstairs and work on making that baby."

Celeste looks back at him and nods before he kisses her again. When she closes her eyes, however, the only thing that she can see is Cole standing in front of her, not Mac.

***

After making love to Celeste, Mac rushed back to the hospital so he could be there before the transplant began. He watches as Celeste scurries into the waiting room where the rest of the other Rockwell's are waiting before he turns around and moves in the other opposite direction. Before the surgery happens, Mac knows that he has to do something. Only, it is going to be one of the most difficult things he has ever done before.

He reaches another hospital room door and sighs heavily before running his hand over his face. He peers through the window and sees Kent getting prepared for the surgery. A part of him hates that Kent Blackmore is the one who is going to donate a piece of liver to save Lexington; in Mac's mind it should be him. He knows he got tested and it came back negative, so to save Lexington, he won't prevent Kent from donating.

He slowly opens the door and looks at the two nurses looking after Kent. "Do you mind I have a brief moment with Mr. Blackmore?" Mac asks them. The nurses look at Kent, who nods back to them so they scurry off.

Kent looks up at his rival, with a look of surprise on his face. The last person he expected to come and see him was Mac Rockwell. "This certainly is a surprise, Mac."

"Look, Kent," Mac folds his arms across his chest. "I know we have had our differences over the years."

"That's putting it mildly."

"But," Mac cuts him off. "The fact is, you're going to save Lexington's life by donating a part of your liver to him. And, for that, I will always be grateful."

"There's no guarantee this will work…"

"Just accept by gratitude, will you?" Mac tries to smirk at him. "You don't have to do this, but you are."

"He's my son," Kent continues to stab Mac. "I would do anything for him."

Mac nods, knowing that he tried but he won't continue to stand there and take Kent's abuse. "Good luck," he whispers before he turns and quickly leaves the hospital room.

***

"God, I hope this works," Jarek tells Stacey and Cole, as they sit in the waiting room as Kent gets prepared for surgery. "I've been so worried about losing my husband."

Cole looks over at his brother in law. "We are all hoping for this," he tells him. "You've been so good to Lex through all of this. He's lucky to have you."

"Yea Jarek," Stacey chimes in. "You've been really good for our brother. Thank you for loving him the way you do."

Jarek uneasily gulps back to them, still feeling a little guilty about drugging Lex. His mind is also racing about the prospects of Odette confessing; if his mother takes the rap for this year, he knows that the will be in the clear. But, it also means that she will not be getting out of jail any time soon.

"I hope we hear something soon," he finally tells them. "The waiting is killing me."

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Sabine announces as she comes into the waiting room. "I heard about the surgery. Has the procedure started yet?"

"Not yet," Cole says back to his Aunt. "They are prepping Kent now. By the way, it's really good to have you back, Aunt Sabine. It's been far too long."

Sabine smiles back to her family. "You're the first person to actually welcome me back," she tells them. "I guess I'm not Lydia or Lucinda's favourite person."

"Pay no attention to them," Stacey tells her. "You're family and always will be. You know that we love having you back, especially now. We need all the support we can get."

"I appreciate that," Sabine smile back to them.

Before they can say anything else to her, Lydia walks into the waiting room. "Kent is about to go into surgery," she announces to everyone. "Dr. Chen said that the surgery might take a couple of hours, so we have some time to kill."

"I just hope it works," Sabine replies to her sister, who nods back to her. "We all just want this nightmare to be over."

Suddenly, Detective Owens walks back into the waiting room. "Sorry to interrupt," he says, as Jarek stands up and looks at him with intent. "I have some news for you all."

"What is it?" Jarek asks him. "What did you uncover about my husband being drugged?"

Owens looks back at Jarek. "Interesting that you ask," he says. "Your mother, Odette, she confessed to me that she was the one drugging Lexington."

Mac and Celeste emerge behind Owens as he reveals Odette's confession, returning to the hospital, following their love making session. "I don't believe this," Mac says. "That woman would go so far to get revenge on me that she wanted to drug Lex?"

"I can't believe my mother would do this," Jarek gasps, trying to keep his cover up. Part of him, however, is sad that Odette actually went through with confessing. He had hoped that there would be another way.

"She's been charged with attempted murder," Owens reveals to everyone. "She won't be getting out of jail any time soon."

"That woman is getting exactly what she deserves," Lydia tells everyone. "But that's not going to stop me from giving her a piece of my mind."

"Lydia wait," Jarek calls out to her, but it's too late as Lydia storms out of the waiting room.
As Lydia storms out of the waiting room and into the hallway, she sees Kent being wheeled out in his hospital bed, heading towards the OR. She stops in her tracks as she almost can't believe that her fiancé is going into surgery to save her son's life.

"Kent, darling," she rushes up to him and walks with him as he continues to move towards to the OR. "I can't believe that you're doing this."

"I'll be fine Lydia," he whispers back to her. "I'm doing this to save our son. I'm doing this to save our family."

The rest of the Rockwell's come out and see Kent and Lex go into the surgery room. Lydia puts her hand over her mouth as she gasps for some air. "Dear God, let this work. I can't lose my son and my fiancé."

***

Celeste looks behind her to make sure no part of the family is following her as she moves into he pharmacy that is in main floor of the hospital. She takes a deep breath before moving closer to the counter. She knows what she is about to do is wrong, but she can't help it. She has been feeling more conflicted than ever before; ever since Cole took that bullet for her, she has been thinking about him non-stop, including when she and Mac made love. Now, he wants to continue to try to have a baby, and she knows that she can't do that if she is really this torn inside about everything that is going on with her.

"Can I help you?" the young man behind the counter asks her.

Celeste nods back to him. "I need to get some birth control pills, please," she tells him as she puts her purse on the counter.