Lydia Rockwell walks through the long corridor of the hospital. The smell is a mix of musk, cleaning products and death, which makes Lydia grateful for the coffee she has in her hand. At least she can keep the cup close to her nose to help her escape the horrible smell. She has never liked hospitals; and this one is no different. Deep down, she fears, that one day, she will be a hospital and unable to leave. It is one of her worst fears as she has always loved her freedom.

She slowly moves up to a door and looks at the sign on the wall that reads, "Mortimer Rockwell". She touches the sign slowly as she thinks back to the man Mortimer used to be; she has so many vivid memories of when she and MacKenzie Rockwell first got together; Mortimer was still in the process of building up Rockwell Mining to the large corporation that it is today. At the time, Mortimer was still in his 40's, and he was living his life to his fullest. His marriage to Lucinda Rockwell was a glimmering example of a solid foundation, and Rockwell Mining was quickly becoming the gold standard in the diamond industry.

Lydia peers inside the small window on the door and sees Mortimer laying in the bed in the hospital room. She feels her eyes swell with water at the sight of him; she knows that, for years, Mortimer was her biggest supporter. During the earlier years of her marriage to Mac, Mortimer was on her side as Lucinda was always against Lydia. This is why they feuded for years; it's only been in the last few years that she and Lucinda have grown closer.

She slowly opens the door and looks at Mortimer. More and more memories of Mortimer come flooding back to her as she looks at the man, who has many tubes running in and out of him. She almost can't believe that the man that gave her so much support is near the end of his life.

"Mrs. Lockhart," a voice calls from behind Lydia, who turns and sees a doctor moving into the room. "I'm Dr. Harmony, Mortimer's primary physician."

"Dr. Harmony, it is a pleasure to meet you," Lydia extends her hand to shake the doctors. "I came as soon as I got your call. He…he doesn't look good."

"I'm afraid he's not," he replies to her. "I suggest you let the rest of the Rockwell's know about Mortimer's condition, before it's too late."

Lydia gulps heavily back to him. "And, uh, how long do you think Mortimer has? How much do we have left with him?"

"I would be surprised if he lasted two more days," Dr. Harmony admits to her. "So, the sooner the family can be here, the better."

"Thanks," Lydia forces a smile on her face. "I'll let them know."

***

Lucinda slowly moves towards the bar in the living room of the Rockwell mansion and pours herself a stiff drink of scotch. Her mind is racing over the fact that she overheard her son, Mac, and his former wife, Lydia, talking about how her fiancé, Dane Ashby, has a long-lost daughter, who happens to be Dyhannah Cooper. The fact of the matter is, she and Dyhannah do not get along with one another. To make matters worse, Dyhannah is now working at Rockwell Mining, which scares her because she doesn't trust the woman at all.

"How am I going to deal with this?" she whispers to herself as she takes a sip of her scotch. "Dane has a daughter, and she is a she-devil. This could end very badly if I don't play my cards right."

"Talking to yourself, mother?" Mac's voice asks as he moves into the living room and hears his mother's whispers.

Lucinda turns and looks back at him quickly. "I suppose I was just thinking out loud."

"You look troubled by something," Mac admits to her. "What is it? You know you can tell me anything, mother."

"I know your secret," Lucinda reveals to him as he looks back at her in concern. "I know that you have uncovered something about Dane's past."

Mac arches his eyebrow back to her. "You know about Dyhannah?"

Lucinda nods back to him. "It was an honest mistake," she tells him. "But I happened to overhear you and Lydia discussing it on Christmas Day."

"I see," Mac nods back to her. "I am sorry that I didn't tell you, it's just, with Nathan taking over as Mortimer's primary care giver, I didn't want to give him any ammunition that he could use against you, against the family."

"I understand," Lucinda admits to him. "I would have had similar concerns."

"So, you're not upset with me?"

"Of course not," Lucinda says back to him. "This does, however, add a complication in all of our lives."

"You can say that again," Mac nervously chuckles back to her. "But it does leave me wondering something."

"And that would be?"

"You know the truth," Mac looks back into his mother's eyes. "What are you going to do with this information?"

"That, my dear son, is a very good question. A very good question, indeed," she says as she purses her lips together, wondering the exact same thing.

***

Kent Blackmore moves into the country club and heads straight towards the bar. He is desperate to have a drink so he can try to piece together his next steps; he is thinking about returning to Blackmore Ltd. on a full-time basis, but if he does this, he knows that his son, Houston Blackmore, will not be pleased that he is returning as CEO. Furthermore, he asked his other son, Lex Rockwell, to return to the company. He has no idea if Lex will leave Rockwell Mining to join him again at Blackmore Ltd, but he hopes he will because he is a huge asset.

After he orders a drink, he turns and sees Dane moving towards the bar. He hasn't seen Dane since the day of Nathan Lockhart and Sabine Andrews blotched wedding, but he is curious as to whether Dane and Lucinda are proceeding with their wedding.

"Dane Ashby, I'll be damned," Kent says as the older man sits next to him. "Please, join me for a drink?"

"Kent Blackmore," Dane chuckles back to him as he sits at the bar. "It's been a hell of a long time!"

"Far too long old boy," Kent replies to him. "How have you been?"

"I suppose I can't complain," Dane tells him before he takes a sip of his scotch.

"Are you and Lucinda still engaged? Planning the wedding?"

"We are engaged," Dane nods back to him. "But the wedding planning has seemingly been put on a temporary break."

"Why is that?" Kent asks him, surprised by his admission.

"Lucinda is worried about how the family is reacting to some changes," Dane admits to him. "You see, by getting engaged to me, she had to divorce Mortimer. Once the divorce was finalized, Nathan took over as the power of attorney over Mortimer's care. Lucinda is trying to trust her son, but she already got notification that there was a change to Mortimer's will."

"Nathan always seems to have an ace up his sleeve," Kent chuckles back to him. "Look, I am a firm believer that everything that is meant to be, will happen. If you believe that you and Lucinda will marry, then it will happen."

"I appreciate that," Dane nods back to him. "As a married man yourself, I will take your word for it."

Kent continues to chuckle to him. "Just remember that even in marriage, there will be bumps."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience!"

"You have no idea," Kent takes another sip of his drink before he looks back at Dane.

***

Mac gets a sly grin on his face as reads an email that has come in from Natasha Calimo, who is in Twin Peaks. He recalls how they recently had a phone discussion where the owner of Roboto, a huge cosmetics company, suggested to him that they collaborate together on an upcoming project. He knows that Rockwell Mining hasn't done many collaborations in the past, so this is most intriguing to him.

"You look like the Cheshire cat with that grin on your face," Dyhannah Cooper announces as she moves into the office and sees Mac behind the desk. "I take it that means that you're having a good morning?"

Mac looks back at his half-sister, wondering how he much he can trust her. In the back of his mind, he can't help but recall how when he asked her to work for Rockwell Mining, Dyhannah shot him down and said she would never want to work for the family. However, when Nathan asked her to work there, she accepted. The fact that Mac, Lydia, and Lucinda still haven't revealed her connection to the family is also on his mind; the last thing he wants is for her to use the information to her advantage.

"I have been working on a new project," he reveals to her. "It is something that could really change the way consumers are able to access us and our products."

Dyhannah arches her eyebrow back to him. "What is this project? It sounds very interesting."

"I don't want to give away too much just yet," Mac replies to her. "But it would involve working with Roboto."

"Roboto?" Dyhannah asks him in surprise. "You mean the cosmetics company that is based out of Twin Peaks? That is exciting, I love a lot of their products."

"The one and only," Mac smiles back to her as Dyhannah wonders what kind of project this is and how she could use it to her advantage.

***

Cole Rockwell moves into the country club as he would like a midday cocktail to him through the day. His mind is still racing over the fact that Madison Stewart has left town; he had hoped that he would be able to convince her that nothing was happening between him and Celeste Baldwin, even though he slept with her in a rage.

He hates that he slept with Celeste, again, because he can only imagine that she believes that this means that they will get back together. The truth is, he doesn't want to get back together with her. After all the hurt and pain that they have been though, he just wants a fresh start.

"The problem is," he whispers to himself before he takes a sip his whiskey sour. "How will I get through to Celeste that we are over? How can I make her understand that we are toxic for each other?"

He finishes his drink and moves to grab his briefcase so he can head back to the office when he turns and freezes as he sees Celeste moving into the country club. Celeste and Cole immediately lock eyes with one another, as she moves a piece of her hair behind her ear.

***

Stacey Rockwell paces back and forth in the living room of the guesthouse that she lives in that is on the Rockwell mansion estate as she recalls how she and Vivian Blackmore had intense words regarding Kent Blackmore. Stacey can't believe that Vivian was taunting her about her relationship with Kent, especially since Kent and Vivian wouldn't have a marriage had Stacey not suggested it when Vivian was in the hospital after her car accident.

"That woman has a lot of nerve," Stacey tells herself as she moves to the bar and pours herself a brandy. She takes a sip of it as she tries to calm her nerves. "I can't believe that she was basically telling me to stay away from Kent! She wouldn't be married to him if it wasn't for me."

She looks over at the door when she hears the doorbell ring. She feels her heart skip a beat hoping that it is not Vivian, here for a second round with her. She slowly moves to the door and breathes a sigh of relief to see Houston Blackmore standing on the other side.

"Houston, thank God it's you," Stacey says to him as he moves into the living room. "I was worried that it was your mother."

"Vivian?" Houston turns and looks at her in surprise. "Why would you be worried that she was coming here?"

Stacey sighs back to him. "I ran into her earlier and she was not very happy that I was involved with Kent," she reveals to him. "That woman is a piece of work! And I know that she is your mother, but ugh!"

"I'm sorry that you had an unpleasant run in," Houston tells her. "This entire situation feels like a complete mess."

"You can say that again," Stacey grits her teeth back to him. "I swear to God, if she hadn't been fresh from recovering from her accident, I would have slapped her across the 9face!"

"Okay, okay," Houston nervously chuckles back to her. "Let's take a deep breath and try to stay calm."

"I'm trying but every day that goes by, I am getting closer to losing my mind," she admits to him as she takes a deep breath. "This mess is driving me to the brink."

***

"You seem quiet today, what's going on in your mind?" Casper Ross asks Lexington Rockwell as they stand in Lex's room of the Rockwell mansion. Casper knows that Lex is normally more talkative, so he is curious to know what is troubling his lover.

Lex sighs back to him as he pulls a button up shirt over his shoulders and starts to do up the buttons. "Kent asked me to go back to work at Blackmore Ltd.," Lex reveals to him.

Casper looks back at him in surprise. "Are you considering it? I thought you were happy at Rockwell Mining?"

"I am happy at Rockwell Mining," Lex nods back to him. "That's why I didn't give Kent an answer yet. I'm…I'm worried about what will happen if I say no."

"Worried? About what?"

Lex has another sigh back to him. "The conflict between the Rockwell's and the Blackmore's is long and on-going. I don't want to set another feud in motion because I turn down Kent."

"Surely he will understand that you're happy and in a good space at Rockwell? How can he hold that against you?"

Lex uneasily chuckles back to him. "I will have to sit you down and explain the dynamics one day," he tells him. "But I am hoping that you're right; I hope that Kent will understand because the last thing I want is to create another war."

***

Lydia slowly steps off the elevator at Rockwell Mining and moves towards the main office. She knows that she must discuss Mortimer's health with Nathan Lockhart because she wants to ensure that he has the time to say goodbye to his father. Not only does Nathan need to know about Mortimer, but the rest of the Rockwell's also need to know.

"I am glad that you're here, Nathan," she says as she opens the door to the office and sees her husband behind the large desk.

"Oh darling, hi," Nathan smiles as he stands up to greet her. "What is so urgent that you need to see me?"

"It's your father," Lydia looks back at him with intent. "Mortimer is not doing well, I'm afraid."

Nathan arches his eyebrow back to her. "What do you mean?"

"I got a call from his doctor earlier," she reveals to him. "I went to the hospital and the doctor is giving him a couple of days to live. You, and the rest of the family, have to go see him before it's too late."

Nathan gulps heavily back to her as he recalls his long and complicated history with Mortimer. "I…I'll make arrangements to go see Mortimer sooner than later."

"Please do," Lydia nods back to him. "When I saw Mortimer, he…he didn't look good, Nathan. You don't have any time to waste."

***

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

"That flight wasn't too bad, all things considering," Sabine Andrews says to her daughter, Quinn Cunningham, and Deacon Cooper as they walk quickly through the airport in Moscow. They all just landed after a very long flight from Kelsey Lake so they can begin their quest to find Marat Kafelinkov and baby Jumper.

"I barely slept a wink," Quinn admits to her mother. "I just keep thinking about Jumper and where he could be with Marat."

"I know you're worried, but we have to try to stay calm," Deacon tells her. "I know it is easier said than done, but we have to be calm so we can action accordingly."

"I know," Quinn replies to him quickly. "I think I just need a good sleep once we get to the hotel and then in the morning, we can work on a plan."

"I think that is the perfect idea," Sabine tells her daughter as she grabs her hand and squeezes it.

***

Stacey is putting some of her children's toys back into the large rubber maid container in the living room of the guest house that she lives in. Her mind is, still, racing over the fact that Vivian had words with her about her relationship with Kent. She knows that Houston has tried to calm her down, but she still feels like she is vibrating. And this all started because she found out that Kent slept with Vivian over the Christmas holiday's; had Kent not slept with his wife, then none of this would have been happening.

"Because Kent slept with Vivian," Stacey whispers to herself. "She thinks that she is the one that he wants to be with. Ugh, that woman has no idea what I gave up for her to be in the position that she is in now."

She finishes putting the toys away and slowly stands up as she thinks about how when Vivian was in the hospital, near death, she suggested to Kent that he remarry her because she knew that Vivian still loved him. If it wasn't for her and her unselfish act, Vivian wouldn't be in the position that she is currently in.

"She has no idea what I did for her and yet, she acts like she is entitled to Kent! I will put an end to this," she whispers to herself. "I just need to figure out what I am going to do."

Before she can think of anything else, she hears her doorbell ring. She looks back at the door. "That better not be Vivian, because so help me God, I won't be responsible for my actions," she mumbles to herself as she moves towards the door. She opens it and gasps to see Kent standing on the other side.

"Kent? What are you doing here?"

Kent moves into the guest house before he looks back at Stacey. "I think it was time we talked; we have to get a few things straight."

***

Houston opens the door to the mansion where his mother and father are living and moves inside quickly. He just came from seeing Stacey and he must admit that he is worried about her; he has never seen her so distraught before, all because of this situation with Vivian and Kent.

He moves into the living room and sees Vivian looking into the flames of the roaring fire in the fireplace. He recalls how Stacey told him that she and Vivian had heated words over Kent, which is part of the reason why Stacey is in such a bad place right now.

"I'm glad you're home," Houston says breaking the silence in room.

Vivian slowly turns and sees her son standing behind her. "Houston, hi," she purses her lips together. "How are you, darling? Can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine," he replies to her. "I just came from seeing Stacey. She's…she's not in a good place right now."

Vivian uneasily chuckles back to him. "I am well aware. Her and I, we had words earlier."

"She told me," Houston nods back to her. "Mom, you have to give her some space. I have never seen Stacey this way before."

"I simply told her that I was Kent's wife now," Vivian waves her hand back to him. "She needs to understand that before someone gets hurt."

"I am scared that Stacey is on the brink of a complete breakdown," Houston reveals to her as Vivian locks eyes with him. "So please, Mom, stay away from her. Stay away from Stacey until she's in a better place mentally; her health might depend on it."

***

"I really appreciate you having a drink with me," Celeste tells Cole as they sit next to one another at the bar in the country club. She looks back at him and hopes that by agreeing to have a drink with her, Cole will tell her that they can have a future together. She wants that more than anything else in the world; she just hopes that this is their time to be together. "We haven't seen one another since…"

"Since the night you and I made love at the mansion," Cole nervously chuckles back to her as he thinks back to that night. "I feel like I should apologize to you for that."

"Apologize? For what? Cole, you were incredible," Celeste replies to him as she caresses his arm. "You have always been a fantastic lover; you know how much I enjoy being with you that way."

Cole gulps back to her before he has a sip of his whiskey sour. "I know you do," he puts his head down. "The truth is, though, Celeste, I haven't changed my mind about the two of us. I still believe that we are over; our ship has sailed."

Celeste feels the blood drain from her face as she feels her eyes swell with water. "You…you think we are over? But we…we made love, Cole?"

"I know and that was my fault," Cole whispers back to her. "I was so…upset with you for making it seem like we were sleeping together, which caused Madison to leave town…"

"So, you had sex with me?"

"I knew it would hurt you," Cole admits to her. "It's not my proudest moment, but I only slept with you to get back at you, Celeste."

Celeste lets a single tear fall down her cheek. "I don't believe this."

"I am sorry," Cole tells her. "But this is exactly why we shouldn't be together; we continue to do the most hurtful things to one another. So please, Celeste, let it sink in, finally, that we are over. We have to move on, we have no other choice."

***

Dane moves into the study at the Rockwell mansion and immediately sees Lucinda sitting on the sofa with a file folder on her lap. He can tell that she is reading a file that pertains to Rockwell Mining; for a moment, he wonders if he should leave her in peace, but he finds himself moving closer to her. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about her, suddenly, decision to not get married right away, which took him by surprise. He can't help but wonder if something else has happened that he doesn't know about.

"I hate to interrupt you, but I couldn't not come in and say hello to my beautiful fiancé," he chuckles to her as he sits next to her. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, just this business proposal between Rockwell Mining and Roboto," she reveals to him. "It seems like Mac is very excited about this upcoming project."

"It is always a good thing to be excited about upcoming projects," Dane tells her. "I know I was excited about the idea of marrying you."

"Dane, you are still excited by that, aren't you?"

Dane shrugs back to her. "You tell me? I thought we had agreed to marry sooner than later and now, I am not sure of the timeframe. What made you change your mind?"

Lucinda gulps back to him. "I don't want to make this a bigger deal than what it actually is," she replies to him. "I just realized that I don't want to rush into anything. Please tell me that you understand that?"

"Why now do you not want to rush into this? I thought we both wanted to get married?"

"I do want to marry you," Lucinda glares back at him. "But the fact is, I just divorced Mortimer and Levi just took over being the power of attorney for him. We already got a notice that Mortimer's will was changed; I must make sure that Levi isn't up to anything. I must do everything I can to keep my family intact, and if that means that you and I will postpone our wedding, then so damn be it!"

***

Lydia slowly opens the door to the bedroom that she shares with Nathan and looks around. She closes the door when she realizes that she is alone. She leans up against the door and takes a deep breath.

"I don't know how long I have," she whispers to herself. "Nathan could be home at any time, so if I am going to do this, I have to do it quickly."

She opens her large Gucci purse and pulls out a small device that fits between her fingers. She looks back at the door before she moves to the edge of the bed. She bends down and places the small device underneath the leg of the bed.

She looks up and gets a wicked grin on her face. "There, now my plan can take full effect."

***

A short time later, Lydia moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and sees Casper Ross pouring himself a glass of white wine. She gets a sly grin on her face as she knows that she asked the private investigator over so they can get a few things straight.

"Casper, thank you for coming," Lydia says as she moves closer to the younger man.

Casper turns as he takes a sip of his white wine. "Your text made it seem important."

"It is," Lydia pours herself a brandy. "You know that I agreed to help you come back to town because Lexington has very strong feelings for you."

"Yes, and I am grateful for that," Casper chuckles back to her. "Lex and I, we are in a very good place now."

"I haven't seen my son this happy in a very long time," Lydia nods back to him. "But that doesn't mean that we are out of the woods, Casper."

"You mean about my investigation to Dane Ashby?" Casper asks her, as Lex freezes outside the living room door. He was about to go in and have an afternoon drink when he heard Lydia and Casper's voices. The fact that Lydia has noted that they aren't out of the woods just yet, lead him to stop and hear what they are talking about.

"That is exactly what I am talking about," Lydia nods back to him. "You still need to ensure you do not tell a single soul that I hired you to look into Dane's past. We have to keep this between us, it is most important."

Lex arches her eyebrow as he listens to the conversation unfold between his lover and his mother. He has no idea why this investigation is so top secret, but he knows that he must uncover what is going on.

"Of course, I understand," Casper nods back to her. "And you don't have to worry; our investigation is still client confidential. I won't say a word to anyone."

"Good, just keep it that way," Lydia grins back to him before she takes another sip of her brandy.

***

Celeste sits alone at the bar in the country club with a vodka martini in front of her. Her eyes are red and slightly swollen as she continues to replay her conversation with Cole over and over again in her mind. She can't believe that Cole used her and slept with her all as a part of some sick version of revenge. Celeste knows that she purposely planted a pair of her underwear in Cole's bedroom to make Madison Stewart think that they were still sleeping together. Of course, her plan worked and Madi ended up leaving town. That's when Cole came to her and they ended up having hot, passionate sex. Celeste can't believe that he did that just to hurt her; at the time, she thought he wanted to reunite, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"How could I have been so stupid?" she asks herself before she takes another sip of her martini. "He says that he used me, but when Cole makes love to me, I can tell that he cares about me. This is such a mess!"

"Celeste?" a voice calls out from behind her. Celeste slowly turns around and sees Houston standing behind her. "Are you okay? You look like a mess."

Celeste uneasily chuckles back to him as she looks at her compact and sees how red her eyes are.
She closes her compact quickly and then takes another sip of her martini. "I suppose I am a mess. My life is a train wreck that everyone sees coming and they can't take their eyes off of."

Houston grabs his friend's hand and squeezes it. "Hey, it can't be that bad. Nothing that is going on can be as bad as you make it seem."

"It's Cole," she whispers back to him.

"Cole? I thought you told me that you two made love again?"

"We did!"

"Then what is the problem?" a confused Houston asks her quickly. He has no idea why Celeste would be so upset if she and Cole are back together.

"He used me," she reveals to him as he gasps in shock. "He only slept with me because I made Madison believe that he and I were having an affair. He told me today that he never intended to get back together with me, Houston. Cole, that son of a bitch, he used me in the worst possible way. And you know what worse? Despite everything, I still love him! What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Houston shakes his head back to her. "You didn't do anything but give into the man you love. What Cole did, it's a lousy thing, Celeste. Now you must decide what you're going to do next; either you're going to forgive him and try to get him back, or you can move on with your life."

***

Mac opens the door to the main office at Rockwell Mining and sees his son's, Cole and Lex, sitting next to one another on the sofa looking over some files together. Mac can't help but get a smile on his face at the sight of his children working together; he has always wanted his children to run the company one day, so seeing them together warms his heart.

"Look at this," he announces to the men, who look over at his father. "My brilliant children working together. Anything exciting in that folder?"

Lex nods back to him. "We are looking over some of the preliminary details that you and Natasha Calimo have come up with on the collaboration between Rockwell Mining and Roboto."

"These are some great ideas, Dad," Cole chimes in next. "The idea of a large pink, rose shaped diamond sounds really cool."

"That's exactly what I thought," Mac replies to his boys. "Apparently Roboto has a long history of using a rose in their brands, so to combine with what we do best, diamonds, seemed fitting."

"Where are we going to get this diamond though, Dad?" Lex asks him. "Pink diamonds are so rare, especially one this size that Roboto wants."

Mac chuckles back to him. "Nathan was going to do some investigating about this," he reveals to him. "Apparently there are some pink diamonds in the northern part of Canada; if we can secure that location, we should be in good shape."

"You and Nathan are actually working together on something?" Cole asks him in surprise. "I guess I am still surprised that you two have buried the hatchet."

"We are trying," Mac chuckles back to him. "By the way, I had expected him to be here this morning. Have you two seen Nathan?"

Cole and Lex look at one another before they look back at Mac. "No, we haven't," Cole tells him. "But I am sure he will be here soon."

***

"You want to talk?" Stacey asks Kent as they continue to face each other in the living room of the guest house that she lives in that is on the ground of the Rockwell mansion. "I don't know what is left to say, Kent."

"I don't know how this got so complicated, but I don't like it, Stacey," Kent reveals to her. "You and I, I thought we were building something together."

"So, did I. But that all changed when you slept with your wife; I can't believe that you made love to Vivian!" she admits to him. "And as a result, she's on a war path telling everyone that you two belong together! Do you have any idea how that made me feel? That woman was in my face telling me to stay away from you! That bitch wouldn't even be married to you had it not been for me."

"I know, I know," Kent tries to calm her down. "I know sleeping with Vivian was a mistake, but if I am honest with you, I was upset because I found out that you had slept with Houston before Sabine and Nathan's wedding. We have both made mistakes here, Stacey."

"So, we are just going back and forth playing the blame game?" Stacey groans back to him. "This entire situation is a mess, Kent, and I really don't know how much more I can take!"

***

Mac sits behind the desk in the main office of Rockwell Mining typing into his laptop. He is composing an email back to Natasha to provide her an update on their collaboration. He can't help but continue to think about how great it was to see Cole and Lexington working together as he knows that they haven't always seen eye to eye.

He looks up when he hears the door to the office open and he sees Dane moving inside. He can tell by the look on his father's face that something isn't right. He stands up and looks at the older man.

"Dane, you don't look so good, is everything okay?" Mac asks him as Dane moves closer to the desk.

"I am fine," Dane waves his hand back to him. "I mean, as well as to be expected."

Mac arches his eyebrow back to him. "Talk to me, what has happened?"

"It is your mother," Dane reveals to him as they lock eyes. "She has, seemingly, changed her mind about getting married right away and I have no idea why."

"She has a lot on her plate right now," Mac tells her. "She is trying to maintain the status quo within the family."

"She said something similar to me," Dane nods back to him. "But I want to marry her, I don't want Nathan's involvement with Mortimer to delay the wedding."

"What is that you want me to do?"

"Talk to Lucinda," Dane locks eyes with Mac. "Tell her to marry me. Tell her to not wait for us to be married? What do you say? Help me be a family with your mother?"

***

Nathan slowly moves closer to the hospital room where Mortimer is laying. He peers through the small window and sees his father laying in the hospital bed. Just looking at Mortimer brings back a lot of memories for Nathan, some good, some bad and some that make him emotional.

He opens the door and freezes when he is face to face with Mortimer. He hasn't seen his father look this weak before. Mortimer is pale, he has dark circles under his eyes, and he has many tubes running in and out of him.

"I remember the day that I left Kelsey Lake," he whispers to his father as he sits next to him. "I was furious with you because you continued to want to groom Mac to take over Rockwell Mining and not me. I always felt like the second fiddle with you," Nathan whispers to him. "And look at us now, I am the one in control of your healthcare. Your life is literally in my hands."

Nathan continues to look at his father. "But don't worry, I am not going to hurt you. You see, I have grown. I have changed. It took me a long time to get over the fact that I thought you favored Mac over me. Because I finally realized that I am all you have; Mac isn't your son. Lucinda has divorced you so she can be with Dane. The last one with you, father, is me. All those years of hating you," he starts to chuckle. "And now I am the one that is here. It seems ironic, don't you?"

Before Nathan can respond, the monitor that Mortimer is hooked up too starts beeping at a rapid pace. Nathan looks at the monitor and then at his father. "Dad? What's wrong? What's happening?"

Suddenly, two nurses and a doctor rush into the room and start working on Mortimer while Nathan slowly moves away from them.

"What's happening? What's happening to my father?" Nathan asks while the doctor continues to order the nurses around. Suddenly, Mortimer flatlines and Nathan feels the blood drain from his face as the doctor starts to pronounce the time of death of the man laying in the bed in front of him.