#hope manning thornhart

[laboulaie]

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIFSETS (KDP30)

Blair and babies! Here she is with grand-daughter Hope Manning-Thornhart (left) and adopted son Sam Lord (right)

[llantano]

Turning Leaves, 16. Plans and Agendas

The morning sun was breaking up the clouds as it rose and the smell of warm bagels, French toast, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coffee wafted from the kitchen. The house even sounded wonderful as Dorian listened to her girls chatter in the other room.

Starr came into the sitting room, looking for one of Hope's toys, and stopped dead.

"Aunt Dorian! What is all this?"

"Starr, honey, whatever you have planned for today, drop it. I have the most glorious news!"

Starr's eyes widened as she surveyed the room. It was filled with gifts – a bouquet of flowers, a large cluster of helium balloons, what appeared to be a pastry or cake box tied in ribbon with a large bow, and a couple of gift baskets filled with goodies. "Is it someone's birthday that I forgot about?"

"No, Starr!" Dorian grinned, ear to ear. "Shaun is being released from the hospital today. I took the liberty of getting him gifts from each of us. Which would you like to give him? A gift basket? Champagne? Or maybe the cookies?"

Starr smiled back, happy to hear the good news. "Omigod! That's great, Aunt Dorian!" She paused to give Dorian a sideways glance. "… But … do you think you might be overdoing it?"

Dorian hesitated in the middle of fluffing a bow. "Overdoing it? For a man that risked his life to save my girls? How could you think that? As far as I am concerned, nothing could be enough."

Starr consented to that fact, but was still troubled. "Are you sure you're not just worried that Shaun is still mad at you for firing him?"

Dorian frowned. Starr's question warranted a thoughtful response. Her answer was solemn. "Perhaps Shaun still harbors a grudge for that little … incident … but what does it matter? He can harbor whatever ill feelings he likes toward me, but the fact remains that … I owe him so much; and I just want to show him how very glad I am that he's going to be okay."

Starr pondered her aunt's sincerity. "Aunt Dorian, you don't think it's your fault that Shaun got hurt, do you?"

Dorian pooched her lips out as she turned her attention back to making the bow look perfect. "Uhm … you know … I have given a lot of thought to that day – to the decisions I made that led up to that chain of events. I don't deny that I had a part in what happened. But you have to remember that if I hadn't played that role, someone else would have."

"You're right," Starr consented again. "It was inevitable. I just wish no one would have gotten hurt."

Dorian took a deep, cleansing breath; glad Starr was on her side. "But Shaun is better now," she encouraged, " and he's leaving the hospital today, and everything is going to be alright." She smiled. "I think you should give him the cookies. The balloons can be from Hope. I'll give the champagne. Let's see … we could have this one be from Blair and this one…."

Starr cut Dorian off. "You're not going to parade us all to Shaun's door in a herd, are you?"

Dorian blinked. "A parade maybe … not a herd."

"Okay, no. Shaun is just getting out of the hospital, and he needs to be with his own family. You can sign the cards with whoever's names you want, but just let me and mom take the gifts to him okay?"

Dorian was taken aback. "I just want to express my appreciation … my gratitude … my concern for him…."

"That's fine," Starr assured her, "but honestly," she tried to be gentle with her observation of her aunt, "sometimes your concern can be a little … overwhelming."

Dorian pulled her head back and blinked at her grown-up little niece again before gazing around at the gifts she had purchased. "You think this seems overwhelming?"

"Yeah, maybe a little, for someone who just got out of the hospital."

Dorian slumped her shoulders, relenting. "Alright, I'll sign the cards. But when you speak to Shaun, tell him how relieved I am that he's better."

Starr smiled. "Promise." She backed away to go tell her mother their new plans.

"Oh, and Starr?"

Starr froze. She had an urge to hold her breath; unsure of what else Dorian might ask of her.

"Let him know – there's a job waiting for him if he ever wants it."

Starr sighed. She wasn't sure Shaun was ready for a step like that, considering that Dorian had fired him and especially considering what he had last experienced in her house. Still, she couldn't discourage Dorian. "I'll tell him," she promised.

Dorian waited until Starr was gone and turned back to the gifts, still deciding whom each present would be from.

From the kitchen, a strange but not unfamiliar sound wafted toward her. Dorian paused to listen. A pang of sentimentality shot through her as she realized someone was playing piano music - but it sounded so far away … so small.

She continued to sort cards and gifts in thought as she considered how music should fill a room, a house, or a concert hall. The tune she heard now was as distant as the times in her life when music always surrounded her.

The room suddenly burst with noise and activity as Langston and Amelia entered the room, chatting. Amelia carried her laptop, which seemed to be where the music was originating, and David followed, sulking with a newspaper and his coffee still in hand. The man took a seat in a chair while Amelia and Langston sat side-by-side on the couch.

Amelia's voice interrupted her boss's thoughts. "Dorian, you look great. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

David's head jerked up as he shot the women a glance. Dorian did look fabulous – put together, ready for whatever life would throw at her that day. He wondered when it became Amelia's job to say so, and made a mental note to be quicker on the draw next time.

Amelia was wearing a navy suit with light blue pinstripes and Dorian had on a short teal jacket with an ivory shell, and matching teal pants. Her belt was a modest flat gold, but her necklace and earrings shined and sparkled.

Dorian made Amelia look plain and boring. David wondered if that was part of Amelia's game plan. Good cop, bad cop. Boring politician, interesting one? He thought of it in acting terms. Amelia was Dorian's prop. He decided to stop over-analyzing and flipped through the newspaper in his hand, bored.

"Oh, thank you," Dorian chirped to Amelia as she patted her hair.

Dorian appreciated the moment with great intensity. It was one of those rare moments when everything was as it was supposed to be in La Boulaie – it looked, smelled, and sounded like a happy home, with Dorian at the center of the tiny universe like the sun peeking from behind the clouds outside.

She grinned at her daughter, who was distracted with Amelia's laptop, and fished for a greeting or some acknowledgement. "Good morning, Langston."

"Morning!" Langston cheered. "Amelia found this music on MyTunes. It's David Renaldi."

Dorian froze and tilted her head toward the two, her sudden interest in the music itself outweighing the dim suspicion that Amelia and Langston had formed a conspiracy to draw her past out into the present. A vision of another time played in Dorian's mind.

The room fell silent, save for the piano music, as they failed in their attempt to gauge Dorian's reaction.

Langston elaborated. "This song is from a piano compilation. There's also a concerto he played with the Slovakian Symphony Orchestra."

Dorian turned back and made a slow and deliberate effort to work on the gifts. "Hmm," she acknowledged, unable to form a well-thought response.

One end of her mind was attached to the present – to the day greeting her, the work to be completed, and the hope for the future. The other end of her mind was trying to spin her around to the past – to a comfortable room with books and music and love. Her first David had been so exceptional, so talented. It was unexpected to hear him play now, before her friends and family, after all the years and tragedies he – they – had faced, and it caused a momentary gush of memories to swirl before her. She had a bit of trouble finding her footing between the before and after until she sighed and forced herself to the present.

It was becoming more apparent that Amelia was adept at digging up long-past and even forgotten or obscure information by using the Internet.

Amelia looked at her counterpart and considered Dorian's intentional lack of response to the music. Dorian was in a particularly upbeat mood this morning, considering her dark mood just last night. Her lack of either a good or bad response to hearing her ex-lover's music was notable.

David cleared his throat. This time he knew his timing was right. "What's all this stuff, anyway?"

Dorian shot a sideways glance at him. She knew that he wasn't asking the question out of curiosity. "Shaun is being released from the hospital today so I'm sending over a few gifts."

Langston almost laughed. "A few?"

"How'd you get all this delivered so early?" David asked, eyeing the champagne.

"David, I know people. And, Amelia was kind enough to make a couple of stops on her way over this morning, while you were still sleeping."

David did not contain his frown, nor did Amelia hide her proud smirk.

Langston lifted her eyebrows and looked between the three adults as if she were about to break up a playpen brawl over who sat next to whom. Now it was her turn to have good timing. "He was pretty good, huh?"

They all turned to blink at her. Dorian's eyes met her daughters. "What, honey?"

Langston pointed at the computer screen, unsure if she had just committed a faux pas. "David … Reynolds … Renaldi."

Dorian sighed, following Langston's train of thought. "He was a genius." She snapped her fingers. "That reminds me. We should sponsor a concert."

"A concert?" Amelia asked.

Langston grinned. This was not the first time she had heard Dorian drop the thought into conversation. "She wants River to play here in Llanview."

Amelia looked at Dorian while Dorian distracted herself with signing cards and attaching them to gifts. "Your grandson?" She furrowed her brows. There was something odd about referring to a woman like Dorian Cramer Lord as a grandmother.

David eyed Dorian up and down. It was sexy – the way she didn't bat an eyelash. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll come up with a plan."

Amelia's eyes travelled from David to Dorian, considering his words. That seemed to be what it always was – in their relationships, in the campaign, and around Dorian in general. There was always a plan. She pulled out their agenda and offered it to Dorian. "If you'll excuse me, I need to step out and make a few calls."

Dorian nodded, not even looking at the schedule. "I need to make a couple of calls myself."

Amelia stepped out of the room and Langston took her queue, taking a moment to close Amelia's laptop, which silenced the music. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Dorian had already retrieved her address book and was flipping through it. David remained seated.

Dorian dialed and waited. David watched her push her way through several prompts before reaching whoever or whatever she was trying to call. "Yes, hello, this is…. Actually, I prefer to remain anonymous. I just wanted to let our fair police department know that I have close ties to Llanview Hospital and I know for a fact that Stanley Lowell is a close personal friend with the chief of staff there. Considering the … infamous former mayor's involvement in an illegal prescription drug operation, I thought this information might be prudent in inciting an investigation into the practices at the hospital – namely those of the chief of staff. I'm not saying there is any wrong-doing, but I thought this information might be critical." She hung up the phone and looked at David with innocence.

His eyes shined at her. "Needed a back up plan, did you?" he grinned.

She shook her head. "It isn't a back up plan, David. It just occurred to me that he was never investigated. I have the best interests of the hospital at heart."

"Yeah that's why you called the police instead of having the hospital do an internal investigation first," was his sarcastic reply. He stood and took a long drink of his cooling coffee. "You know I haven't said anything because I'm letting Amelia be the husband, but … god, you're hot."

"David…." Dorian muttered disapproval at him and turned her back, but grinned as he left the room. So he did notice. She flipped through her address book and dialed the phone again, following prompts like she had before.

"Uhm, yes, hello. This is Dorian Lord…."

Sam's teacher was on the line.

"Hello, Doctor Lord. They told me you were trying to get ahold of me."

"Yes. A situation has been brought to my attention concerning my nephew, Sam Manning?"

There was a pause, followed by a confused-sounding response. "Yes, I spoke with Sam's mother about that. She insisted that I not discuss it with anyone else."

"Well, it was Sam's mother Blair - my niece - that told me about the situation and I am afraid she did not convey to you the importance of urgency in handling it."

"Listen, Mrs. … Doctor Lord … it is all under control, I assure you. All concerned parties have been made aware of what happened and how we have chosen to handle this going forward. I cannot discuss it with you any more than to assure you that there is not anything further that can be done or anything else to concern yourself over at this time."

"Perhaps I should speak to an administrator instead," Dorian wondered, her tone as much threatening as worried.

There was another pause. "Dorian. May I call you Dorian? Your nephew is a bright, resilient young man and his soft-spoken method of observing the world before responding to it gives him a unique perspective on what happens around him. My suggestion would be that you take a lesson from Sam and set a good example for him. Otherwise your tactics will prove no better than those of a childish bully."

Dorian opened her mouth to answer but heard the buzz of a dial tone. She blinked at her phone, confirming that she had indeed been disconnected, and then growled. "Where does she get off?"

"Uh, what was that?" Starr asked, standing in the doorway with Hope on her hip.

Dorian offered a sweet smile. "Oh, nothing," she shrugged, crossing the room to take Hope in her arms and cuddle her. "…Starr? Do you think I'm a bully?"

Starr almost laughed, considering her answer as she watched Hope grasp Dorian's necklace in her tiny fist. "No, Aunt Dorian. In fact right now you look a little bit more like a push-over." She gave Dorian an encouraging smile as she pried Hope's hands off the necklace and replaced it with a doll, before taking her daughter back into her own arms. "And we have to get going if we're going to stop and visit Shaun, don't we?"

Dorian couldn't help but smile, the last phone call already forgotten. Blair came into the room and saw the pile of gifts for the first time. "God, Dorian, how'm I gonna fit all this in the car?"

Dorian grabbed her agenda. "Starr said you two could handle it on your own."

Blair grabbed a couple of boxes and motioned for Langston to pick up a basket. "Yeah, well, we're recruiting."

"I still don't understand why I shouldn't go," Dorian protested.

"Because, Dorian."

"Because what?"

"Just because."

"Blair!" Dorian stomped her foot.

"Because your intensity level is just a little bit high this morning, okay?" The girls moved to carry gifts out to Blair's vehicle.

Amelia stepped back into the room with a smirk. "And that is exactly as it should be."

Dorian relented, shooting an accusing look at Blair before reviewing her agenda for the day. "What is all this, Amelia, with David's name instead of yours?"

"I have a meeting for a few hours this afternoon."

Dorian paused to blink at her. "A meeting?" She wondered why Amelia was being vague. "Something to do with the campaign?"

Amelia was reluctant to answer, but decided it best to be frank. "I'm meeting with my lawyers. Actually, they are the LGLA's legal counsel but they've…."

Dorian cut her off. "Why do you need lawyers?"

Amelia looked at her would-be mayor and fiancée as if to ask if she was serious or kidding.

Dorian was as serious as a heart attack. "Amelia. Why do you need legal counsel?" She wanted to hear the answer.

Amelia did not know any other way to say it. "The same reason you do, and I hope you've talked to yours."

Dorian's frown was bitter. "What about those 'hot coals' we talked about walking over together?"

"Oh, we're walking over them," Amelia clarified. "But like you said, I'm also going to cover my butt in case I fall."

Dorian was not even sure why the realization that Amelia needed her own lawyers perturbed her so much, but it did. She glanced over the agenda again, distracted, incapable of even reading the words on it.

Amelia could tell Dorian was annoyed and though she couldn't explain why herself, Dorian's predictable reaction had been why she had not mentioned her behind-the-scenes plans before now.

Amelia was right to have legal representation and Dorian knew it. "I'm going to gather my things," she muttered to her campaign manager with an audible sigh as she left the room. She knew Amelia was not as concerned about a prenuptial agreement as she was about supporting and marrying a lesbian mayoral candidate who was not a lesbian.

[ofjuniper]

who: nerissa thornhart ( @nerissathornhart​ ) where: village stables when: early morning

THERE WAS LITTLE else Juniper would rather be than at home, with the primordial hum of the Dark Wood so close by — but the town stables provided comfort enough in its own way. While not exactly a hop and a step from her cottage, she enjoyed the journey, following along the river so early in the morning and listening to the gentle whisper of the water, before ending her walk by the stalls.

Juniper did not visit Tyrien as often as she should have. She could not care for the horse completely, though she had promised another many years past to look after him in their absence. The creature did not appear to hold this against her and always seemed to calm considerably in her presence. The intention today was to take him out for a walk along the fringes of the forest, and had it been any other day, she would have paid the stable hand for his services and taken Tyrien for herself, no words exchanged, no questions asked — but this was not the case today.  Stable hands changed often, whether by schedule or by replacement, but this one, Juniper noted, was not one she’d seen before. She decided she would watch quietly as the young elf, as of yet unaware of her presence, groomed the horse. Juniper kept her distance, and allowed for a brief moment of silence to pass, before finally speaking, her face blank, “I don’t suppose you know what to call him yet.”

[itwasagreatkiss]

I can’t believe it’s almost been five years since these precious cinnamon rolls died...

But I believe they survived and they’re living with Starr in LA...

[sassywritergurl]

OLTL Fantasy Script #7

(Flash back to the police station. Todd has been placed in a cell, not   knowing that Blair is upstairs talking to the Delgados and John. He is crouched in a corner on his bunk, and viewers begin to get a glimpse of why Todd is so smug. Pieces of several different visions in his head begin  to play out onscreen. Memories of Irene Manning in the “Center” hypnotizing him and Victor, combined with flashes of Agent Baker, Tomas, Marty Saybrooke and Patrick Thornhart all dance around in his head without forming a complete picture.)

 (Fade back to John's office. John is suspicious of Tomas, but he doesn't         voice his suspicions in front of the women.)

Blair: (voice broken) “Oh, Téa....(fiddles with her fingers, puts her hand up to                her hand up to her forehead , exasperated)...”I'm so, so sorry...I...I                        just...oh, I don't know what the hell I can say! Todd lied to all of us for                    weeks! He knew he killed Victor the whole time! And oh, Tomas! He held              you captive! Are you ok?”

Tomas: (nonchalantly) ”I'm fine, honey.” (Blair moves to hug him. He hugs her                tightly, as if he'll lose her.)

 Blair: “I'm so furious with that bastard! He made me believe he was supporting              me through a rough period that HE CREATED! Oh, my god! He forced                you to confess to a crime he KNEW he had committed!”

 (Tomas nods in half-hearted agreement, something that both John and Téa notice at once. They exchange curious glances over the couple's shoulders. John secretly nods at Téa, as if to say...”I'm on it”. Téa responds with a nod of her own, and calls for Blair.)

 Téa: “Blair, can I steal you for a minute? I need your help in the restroom. This              baby is as mischievous as Victor, and I' feeling a bit dizzy.”    

 Blair: “Oh, honey. With all of the stress you've been going through, dizziness                  seems like a mild side effect. Come on.”

        (The ladies leave the office, and Tomas tries to lighten the mood.)

 Tomas: “What's she gonna do? Help her powder her nose?” (Chuckles                           nervously).  

 John: (smiles insincerely) “Yeah, I won't even begin to a guess on that!”

(The men share a short laugh). “So, what's your take on Manning's claims?”

 Tomas: “It sounds like typical Manning crap, John. What take should I have on                it?”

John: “Delgado, you seem a bit edgy. What's going on?”

Tomas: “I was held captive by a psycho that wanted to get rid of the                     competition for a woman's heart for weeks. Why wouldn't I be edgy?”

John: “Yeah, you're right. That would make a guy edgy. I need to take your                  statement about your abduction.”

 Tomas: “I'm detecting a tone, McBain. Am I a suspect in some crime?”

  (Flash over to Téa and Blair. Blair is confused when Téa quickly pushes her into the restroom and checks under the stalls.)

 Blair: “Téa, what the hell are you doing? Why are you bending in your                          condition?”

 Téa: “I had to make sure that no one was here.”

 Blair: “Why?”

Téa: “Well if ya'd shut up for a second, I'll explain. Something's going on with     this case, and every bone in my body is telling me that Tomas is deep in   whatever that 'something' is. I'm telling you this, because I want us to get to the bottom of this before you get involved with my brother again. He's hiding something, Blair. He's acting the same way he did when he took my father's car out to pick up Sandra Velasquez in the eleventh grade and forgot to fill up the gas tank to cover his tracks. He let my papi scratch his head for days trying to find out where the leak in the gas tank was coming from.”

Blair: “Well, maybe he's just....”

Téa: “No, no, NO, Blair! Stop doing that. For once, stop searching for an                       excuse Tomas is my brother and I love him very much...but I will not stand           back and support any wrongdoings...especially if it could hurt a good                   friend.”

        (Blair smiles through her tears, and Téa hugs her. She sobs on Téa's                  shoulder. Téa comforts her with words similar to those a mother uses on a          baby.)

 Blair: “How could this be happening again? How could Todd have held on to this   secret for so long and tricked everyone? How could he trick me                   into...into..”

Téa:  “.....loving him again? You have always loved Todd, so it didn't take any                tricks to make that happen, amiga. And I need you to tell you something               else. I don't think Victor's murder is as black-and-white as it once was.”

                       (Blair moves away from Téa, and stares at her in confusion)

 Blair: “Why not?” (She gets a little hopeful). “Has something new come up?”

                      (Téa gives her a half-sad smile.)

 Téa: “No, not new with regards to evidence, but....”

              (She pauses and drifts off in thought, annoying Blair.)

 Blair: “But what, Téa? What the HELL is going on?”

             (Téa shakes her her to snap herself out of her daze.)

 Téa: “Huh?...Oh, right. Blair, every bit of evidence about Victor's murder pointed  in Todd's direction. All of Todd's strange behavior...I mean, strange for   Todd, made it even more plausible that he was the murderer. But...he was making these statements and insinuating that there is more to this case than we know, and he's implying that Tomas is somehow involved.”

 Blair: “Oh, come on, Téa! Todd's lying! He always lies! And he hates Tomas!                  He'll say anything to stick it to your brother and save his own ass!”

 Téa: “Blair, you know that I want Victor's killer brought to justice more than         anything in the world. And more than anything, I had hated pretending to be civil to Todd while sitting on the knowledge that John had a strong case  against Todd for the murder.”

 Blair: “Then what's changed?”

 Téa: “Blair, there's something about the confidence in Todd when he was    making his insinuations. And then he implied that Tomas is involved, and my brother didn't deny it with any real conviction. And he was already acting strange before we got to the precinct to see Todd. Blair, there's something weird going on, and Tomas is involved.”

 Blair: “Téa, what did Tomas actually do to make you so suspicious?”

 Téa: “The first thing that stood out is the very calm way he acted when he  returned, and we were waiting to hear news from John about Todd's arrest. Then, he was hesitant to go to the precinct when John DID call us with the news.”

Blair: “That doesn't mean anything, Téa. Maybe he was tired or....”

Téa: “NO, Blair! You're doing it again! Listen, no one on this earth but the two     of US know the ins and outs of the Manning men, and I'm telling you that this isn't the usual Todd schemes. Neither is there any logical explanation for Tomas' hesitance after all that has happened to him, Blair. He was held captive for weeks, supposedly by Todd for the sake of getting you to  himself, forced to confess..TO YOU..to a murder that TODD committed,and when he gets rescued, he's not jumping out of his seat to watch Todd fry?”

               (Blair is silent).

Téa: “I'm just asking you not to make any decisions until we get to the bottom    of this, amiga. We have to see how this plays out. Will you please do     that? I need the godmother of this baby to be in one sound piece. Its  mother is already a wreck, and its father is not here. PLEASE, Blair. Both  of these men are powerful smooth talkers. I know that they both love you   sincerely, but they both have something brewing in the dark. Let's both operate with all our tools in place for a change. We have to break this  cycle of madness.” (Blair nods in agreement.) “Good, then let's get back before they catch on that something's going on.”

                (They leave to return to the men.)

[llantano]

Turning Leaves, 1. Blood

By Jaemlyn

Whatever Viki was talking about faded into the background of Dorian's mind. She couldn't do anything about it at this point anyway. She had personally prepped the mayor for the debate and was now a mere observer who had the confidence to leave the reputation of the Lowell campaign in the mayor's hands. Although she didn't agree with a lot of his politics, and he certainly had his downfalls; what she did admire in him was his shrewd, go-getter attitude, and his willingness to let her mold and change him for the better. Any man who was so willing to take her advice to heart couldn't be as Neanderthal as his first impression indicated; and each day Mayor Lowell seemed to improve at Dorian's urging. Perhaps it would be an uphill battle to gain that Chief of Staff position again – Mayor Lowell had made it quite clear that he would not endorse her, but she loved that word that had gotten her involved in his campaign in the first place: "governorship."

As Viki spewed statistics about crime rates and endorsed the Llanview police department, Dorian's mind drifted from the mayor to David. He was sitting beside her with his camera crew and she had managed to assure him in the brief moment that the cameras were not filming that she would always love him. It was not a lie, but this latest harebrained project of his was not something she could allow into her personal life. She had bigger fish to fry and better plans to throw her clout behind. Besides, David was too distracted with himself to listen to her advice.

The candidates began to debate about John McBain. Dorian, knowing the conflict Mayor Lowell had with the officer, had tried to correct a bad situation involving the mayor's son, Justin, by asking the mayor to contact John about Cole working undercover. It was unfortunate that the mayor had not been able to contact John before the debate. She found this strange - she had never had any difficulty contacting John McBain for any reason – but it was conceivable that John preferred to avoid taking calls from the mayor.

There was some commotion beside her and Dorian turned in her chair to see what Ford, Markko and David were looking at.

Apparently, there were cops in the room. She looked up to see John McBain himself in the background with his usual unapologetic, unenthusiastic expression. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if perhaps John had come to speak to the mayor regarding the situation with young Justin. She also wondered, for a split second, if John was indeed aware of why the mayor would have tried to contact him, and the lieutenant was there to chat with her about telling the mayor about confidential police work. She knew she could hold her own against John if that were the case.

Her head jerked back to the front as Mayor Lowell offered his rebuttal concerning Powell Lord and blamed John for the serial killer coming to town. Dorian shivered. That serial killer had kidnapped and attempted to kill her niece, Blair. She took a deep breath. Thank God Blair was alright.

Of course, Dorian knew that it was not John, but Todd who had caused Powell Lord to come to Llanview - Todd, who had incited the disgusting situation years ago that inspired Powell to take revenge. Perhaps it was rather brilliant of the mayor to turn the story around make it sound like it was John's fault, but Dorian wished he would have spun it to mention Viki's relation to Powell and implicate her brother instead. Dorian did not agree with the mayor in the least, or his intent to keep Todd's name out of the proverbial mud in hopes of garnering some shred of support from The Sun, but she understood why he was saying these things.

Dorian fidgeted a bit as John crept to the front of the room and stood below Mayor Lowell's lectern. The corner of her lip perked. John had every right to defend himself, but the mayor - she hoped - could use it to his advantage.

As she expected, John interrupted and he and the mayor traded insulting words before John tried to stop the debate. Dorian started to shake her head - she didn't think John had gotten that pathetic….

Dorian blinked and her eyes widened when John suddenly announced that he intended to arrest the mayor. She didn't even have time to question whether her ears deceived her when the crowd behind her erupted into murmurs. Someone just to the back of her laughed, and she jerked her head in that direction. It must have been Natalie.

Confident that this was a vendetta gone too far, or a stunt orchestrated by Viki, Bo, John or any combination of the three, Dorian leapt to her feet and stepped into the thick of things. Without thinking, she pulled the media – David, Markko and Ford included - closer as cameras flashed toward the stage. In the back of her mind, she believed that John must have had a justifiable reason to arrest the mayor; but her own reputation was at stake by association and she had to take a defensive position. It was not only her job to support the mayor - she also had to make herself look innocent in the process.

She voiced her protest to John and turned to try to signal David to stop recording his ridiculous reality show, though she knew it would do no good.

Contrary to her concern, the mayor encouraged the press, trying to divert their attention to John and his apparent wrongdoing. He once again pointed out how John's vendetta was distracting him from fighting the drug problem in Llanview.

Mayor Lowell was wrong. Dorian knew the drugs were a particular concern to John. She had just been discussing that with the mayor and she had a sinking feeling since this didn't add up. She stepped sideways to get a better view of the mayor's face, but could not read guilt on it.

John confirmed her uneasiness when he agreed to discuss the drug problem and directed the room's attention to Officer Fish.

Dorian spun to the officers in the back of the room who were standing next to the loudspeaker, and looked back and forth between them and the mayor before standing in place and finding herself lost in the words that played over the P.A. system.

The mayor's voice that played on the recording was undeniable. He was suspicious that while working undercover, Cole had connected the drug ring in town to him and if so, he wanted someone to kill Cole.

The room spun. Kill him? In the surreal blur, Dorian could see the mayor in handcuffs, Viki's concern, and tons of camera bulbs flashing. She was at first shocked, then sickened, and felt like she turned in slow motion - as if through water - to look at the mayor.

His face revealed the truth.

As soon as her eyes landed on Lowell, Dorian's eyes closed and her heart sank. She had told the mayor about Cole. She was the reason he had put the hit out on Cole. He had lied to her about trying to contact John earlier in the day. And precious Hope and Starr….

Hope and Starr….

She shot a glare of vehement disdain at the mayor and listened in as John explained the situation to Viki and Charlie.

She concealed her panic well as she butted in to inquire about Cole.

John reassured her that Cole was safe, and went on to further implicate the mayor with the numerous drug busts that were being made in connection to him.

The mayor continued to insist on his innocence. Dorian was so shocked as she put it all together that she could barely hear him.

John commanded the other officers to take Mayor Lowell away, but they paused in front of the lieutenant as Dorian stood next to him. The mayor seemed confident that he would be safe in court.

Dorian stepped away in a daze, distancing herself. She would have no other choice but to testify against him. The police led the mayor away as the crowd dispersed in chaos. No one seemed to want to leave, and she was desperate to, though still almost too stunned to move.

In what seemed an instant, the police began to rush out of the room. John touched his hand to her back as he passed by her.

Her thoughts raced in the timeless space. She wondered if she had been recorded, too. She hoped not, but it seemed only logical.

Todd would be on the recording, too. He had been to visit the mayor earlier about keeping Starr and Hope safe. Would he be blamed? No, she had gotten to the mayor first and she knew it. John must have known it too.

She knew Cole was safe, but she hadn't asked about Starr and Hope, and now the police were gone. She looked around, a bit lost, and her eyes met Viki's.

How dare she look so concerned?

Dorian tossed her head back and started to leave. She needed to go home. She needed to make sure Starr and Hope were safe, and perhaps do some damage control. It was possible that Starr was aware that Cole's cover had been blown.

David hustled to get her on camera, ever concerned about his stupid show. She rolled her eyes at him, betrayed, and turned to the media as they questioned her.

She tried to stave off their questions. All she could think about was leaving. She forced herself to not grasp at her collar or necklace - to stay put and stay calm.

This interrogation is over, she told herself as she emphasized the end of their questioning and reminded herself to breathe as she made a deliberate about face and as calm an exit as she could force herself to make.

Her driver was waiting and switched off the car radio as she slid into her seat. "Get me home - now." She grabbed a water bottle and took a drink before she buried her forehead in her palm and propped herself against the car window with her eyes closed. "Please hurry."

She knew the streets well enough that she didn't have to open her eyes until she was home. Police cars with their lights flashing lined the street and drive.

"Oh, dear god." She grasped the door handle and would have left her purse behind if her arm had not been hooked through the handles.

"Doctor Lord!" her driver called when she jumped out of the back seat as he was still rolling to a stop.

She cut through the grass to get to the front door faster, but someone outside grabbed her arm.

"Hold on a minute, ma'am, the police are still securing the area. You can't go in there."

"I live here!" she yelled at him.

He gripped her arm harder. "You can't go in there," he repeated.

"My niece and her baby are in there … my daughter…." She struggled against him and pried his fingers off of her arm before he caught her around the waist with his own arm and pulled her to a squad car.

"Ma'am, we are still securing the scene!" His tone was more forceful now. "Please let the officers inside do their jobs."

She struggled harder. "Let me go! This is my house!"

Another police officer joined them and they pushed her into the back of the car and shut the door.

"Oh, my god, no. You can't do this!"

She tried the door but couldn't find a way out. She leaned to the other door and collapsed in the back seat for just a moment with her head on her arm as she panicked.

The police officer still stood outside. "Let me out!" she screamed, pounding on the window with all her might. "Let me out of here!"

He turned and gazed at her with a look that could have been interpreted as callous.

She gasped for air and almost wept against the window, her face contorted in pain. "Please, please…."

The officer looked down at her from outside and then slipped into the front seat. "Ma'am?"

"No," she gasped to him. "No, you have to let me out of here, please."

"I understand that you're concerned for your family, but we have to keep you safe. Can you cooperate with us on that?"

She put her hand to her chest. Her heart was beating so hard that it hurt. She swallowed. "Where is John McBain?"

"He's inside."

"What about Bo Buchanan? Can I talk to him? I want to talk to Bo, now."

"He's down at the police station booking the mayor right now, but if you'll be patient…."

"Patience is not one of my virtues," she half-gasped and half-snarled. "Listen, you have got to let me out of this car." She tried to be calm and reasonable. "I'm claustrophobic."

His look was skeptical, then compassionate. "You know I've heard that line a thousand times, but … you seem like a nice lady. I'll make you deal. You promise me that you won't go in that house until we give the all clear, and I will let you out of this car and keep you as informed as possible."

She nodded again. Her throat was tight and her chest heaved as she breathed. "I just want to make sure my girls are alright."

He climbed out of the car and opened her door, holding his hand out in chivalrous fashion to help her out of the back seat. She accepted his gesture, and he laced his fingers through hers as he closed the door. His action accomplished two things - calming the civilian and keeping her from running into a potentially dangerous situation.

Dorian took a deep breath of the outside air and steadied herself. She gazed over at the police officer who, other than his hand clenched in hers, seemed much more interested in the movements of his fellow police men and women and his radio than he was in her. The sounds of sirens - ambulance sirens? – drawing near the house were just a small part of the chaos ensuing around her.

She tried to interpret the static, indiscernible voice on the officer's radio. "Was that John? Did he say the area is secure?"

"There are men down in there, Mrs. Lord. It is best you wait."

She didn't bother to correct her title, instead offering. "I'm a doctor…."

As she spoke, a screaming ambulance pulled into the driveway and two EMTs jumped out and were directed into the house. She froze as she watched them.

"Listen." She turned to face the officer, her voice adamant. "You tell John McBain that I'm out here. I want to know if my family is alright. You can at least do that, can't you?"

The officer took a deep breath and sighed as he considered her before turning his head away and speaking into his radio. "Lieutenant?"

"Kinda busy in here - what is it?"

Dorian, her hand still interlaced with the officer's, stepped closer and tilted her head to the side as she listened.

"I have the owner of the house out here. She's pretty upset. 10-25 on the minors?"

There was an arduous pause. "10-23."

The officer looked back at her without an answer, exacerbating her worry. She looked down at her fingers, trying to concentrate on not tensing her hand against his.

She coughed and grasped her purse, twisting around to toss it onto the roof of the squad car and unclasp it with her free hand. She cast a sideways glance at the policeman and continued to cough as she stirred in her purse.

He was relentless.

"Do you happen to have any water?" she wheezed.

He put his free hand on her shoulder and led her around to the back of the car, popping open the trunk. She was careful as she slipped her feet out of her heeled shoes, standing on her toes so he wouldn't notice. When he leaned into the trunk to retrieve a bottle of water, she jerked her hand away from his and ran toward the house.

"Hey!" he called after her, water bottle in hand.

She managed to dodge and slip in between a couple of other policemen on the sidewalk before they realized what was going on, but stopped in her tracks when a stretcher rolled out the front door and toward her.

Her heart leapt into her throat again as the stretcher rolled by her. It was Shaun. They already had him on fluids and were holding a bag valve mask to his face. He had been shot in the chest, was covered in blood, and didn't seem to be breathing. She reeled.

A female officer slipped her arm around Dorian's shoulder as she saw the EMTs hurry to load Shaun into the ambulance and drive away. Dorian tried to edge away from her, but looked around and saw she was surrounded. "I'll go in with you," she heard the female voice say into her ear as she let go of Dorian's shoulder.

The front door stood open as officers exited the scene. She got the distinct feeling that they did not want her to be inside her own house.

John stood just inside the door, and a bruised and bleeding Todd sat on the stairs, looking like hell; but what caught Dorian's eye and held it was the pool of blood on the floor of the foyer. She froze in the doorframe and stared at it.

Is that all Shaun's? she thought to herself, trying to calculate how many pints might be there. She reeled and grasped the doorframe as she looked back and forth between Todd, John, and her house with desperation in her eyes.

John blinked back at her. Todd avoided her gaze.

Her throat was so dry she had trouble speaking. "The girls?" she breathed.

Todd and John exchanged a glance, and neither of them answered.

Dorian rushed across the foyer, turning toward the kitchen to find more blood smeared against the doorframes, floor, and walls. She covered her mouth with her hand and spun toward the living room. More blood.

"Starr!?" she screamed in a wispy, scratchy voice. Her frantic hope was to be answered by the sound of feet running down the stairs or a voice calling back from another room.

John stepped forward as Todd winced. "They're not here, Dorian."

Did he mean they weren't there to start with or they weren't there anymore? "Where are they?" she breathed.

Todd looked up at her. "Some drug thugs broke in here and took them." He shook his head as if he was at a loss for words. "They would have seen Shaun and me dead, and now they have Starr and Hope."

Dorian crept forward and clasped the banister on the staircase with both hands to steady herself. "Oh, oh … my god," she whispered.

John looked at her as if he knew something.

"John?"

He nodded at her. "The mayor."

Her eyes widened as a memory flashed through her mind. "That hateful man that came to the campaign headquarters today…."

"Sergei," John clarified.

Todd looked down at his outstretched palms. "Hateful? Sounds like you had better dealings with him than we did."

Dorian covered her mouth with one hand again and sank to her knees beside the stairs, averting her gaze from the pool of blood next to her. "He said he was a volunteer," she whispered to herself, feeling rather stupid for not questioning the suspicious behavior on the part of the mayor.

Dorian's cell phone rang, startling her as she remembered the purse hooked on her arm. She grabbed at it in a near panic and answered. "Hello? Oh, Langston, thank goodness…."

John watched her as she spoke, and he exchanged an occasional glance with Todd.

"No no no. Honey…." Dorian looked over at Todd and clamored to her feet, heading for the kitchen. She stopped just outside the kitchen doorway, leaning on a counter and burying her face against her free hand, her voice cracking. "Langston, darling, Starr and Hope have been kidnapped."

There was a pause before Langston's voice rose in pitch and she spoke so fast that Dorian struggled to discern her words through the phone. "Kidnapped? What? Who would … why? Where are they? Do the police know? What are we going to do?"

Dorian let a couple of tears stream down her cheeks until she was able to answer. "I um, I don't know just… listen. Do not - I repeat - do not come home right now."

"Dorian? I want to know what's going on. Where should I go?"

"Um, Starr… and little…." She choked again and had to gather herself. "Hope," she continued, "the police are looking for them, okay? Some drug bosses found out that Cole…." She almost dropped the phone, leaning over the counter for support and failing in her attempt to keep herself from breaking down in tears.

"Cole? Cole what?"

Dorian coughed once. "Cole was working undercover for the police as a drug dealer." There was a silence. "They found out and tried to have Cole killed."

"Ohmigod!" Langston cried out. "Is he okay!?"

"Yes, yes, Cole's fine." Dorian waved her hand around in the air. "But when that didn't work, they came after Starr and Hope, and they're gone … and Shaun's been shot…."

The silence filled the phone speakers between them before Langston spoke again. "Dorian?"

"Just don't come home, sweetheart."

"Where should I go?"

"Anywhere … anywhere that you feel safe and comfortable. We'll, uh … we'll stay at The Palace tonight? I'll call you when I leave here, okay, darling?"

"Dorian? … Make it soon? I'm really afraid for Starr and Hope."

Dorian's concerns melted away as Langston's frightened tone of voice reached her ear. "Of course, sweetheart," she comforted. "Soon. I, uh… I need to take care of a few things here. I'll pack an overnight bag for you okay?"

"See you soon."

Dorian regretted to step back into the foyer. Her voice carried her apprehension. "Has anyone called Blair?"

"I tried," Todd answered, frustrated. "Twice so far."

Dorian frowned at the phone in her hand. "I've been trying to get ahold of her for a few days now. I hope she's alright." She looked at John, who shuffled his feet and averted his gaze.

Dorian stepped over the blood on the floor and onto the stairs, looking down at Todd and wondering if the blood on the steps next to him was fresh or leftover. She winced. "I'm just going to grab a few things upstairs."

"Dorian," John called after her.

She paused.

"We've still got pictures to take up there. Try not to move anything around."

She almost fell and nearly fainted as it occurred to her that the kidnappers had gone upstairs as well. Hope. The name rang in her mind and she somehow managed to pull herself up the stairs despite the fact that her feet couldn't feel the floor under them anymore.

She headed straight for the nursery.

"Ohh," she squeaked to herself in the doorway, taking one step inside and dropping to her knees again at the sight of the disheveled room. "Dear God in heaven…." The crib was overturned, Hope's belongings were scattered everywhere, and the most disheartening sight of all - more blood. If it was Shaun's blood downstairs….

She crawled out of the room backwards and fell into a sitting position with her back against the wall in the hallway, sick at her stomach. As a doctor, the sight of blood was something she had grown desensitized to, but this was too much.

Had Hope witnessed that blood being spilled? She must have been so frightened … and to be in the hands and at the mercy of some brutally cruel person…. So much blood….

The possibility that Hope had been hurt was too much for Dorian to bear. Reality faded from around her. Instead of the wall behind her, she felt the warmth of Mel's body. His arms wrapped around her, inviting her to cry in the shelter of his strength. Just as soon as she envisioned him, in a matter of mere moments, he was gone – reality flooding back at the sound of a nearby voice.

"Doctor Lord?" It was the female police officer again. She crouched next to Dorian and put her hand on her shoulder. "Do you need help?"

Dorian's knee-jerk reaction moved her mouth faster than her mind could catch up to control it. "Help?" she blinked at the officer. "No, I don't need help," she growled. "My nieces need help!" She pushed herself to her feet as a couple of officers with a camera and black cases passed by her on their way into Hope's room. "Why aren't you trying to help them?!"

The officer at her side remained steady and calm. "The police are doing everything they can to help your family right now. I promise you that. Now … we let you walk into an active crime scene investigation here. We're trying to work with you. But you need to show us a little bit of cooperation, too, okay?"

A shaken Dorian swallowed and nodded. "Yes, yes of course," she relented, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I lost my temper."

The officer nodded with compassion in her voice. "Can I help you gather some things to take with you until we're done here?"

Dorian tried to rebuild her bravura. "That would be most appreciated," she smiled. Her fake confidence was a miserable failure.

She treated the officer like her own personal assistant as they packed a couple of overnight bags. She was so shaken that she didn't realize she had already packed her toothbrush when she went to search for it again. All she could think about was Starr and Hope, and how, as inadvertent as it may have been, she was at fault in her nieces' kidnapping.

Still, she couldn't admit it. If she could have strangled Mayor Lowell at that very moment, armies couldn't have pried her fingers from his yielding throat. It was such a shame that he was already behind bars, but lucky for him. Better than he deserved. Dorian wasn't one to spit, but she would have been more than satisfied to project her saliva through the bars of his jail cell. He had betrayed her on every possible level. She had fought for him - stood up for him and his son - tried to help him. He had used her, used her to gain information about Cole, and thrown her family to the wolves. Her expectoration was too good for him. He was a dog - no, that was insulting to dogs - and he deserved to have his nose rubbed in every mess he had made in this town, including the horrific scene her home had become.

[llantano]

Accompanies: We Know Better

Turning Leaves

[llantano]

Turning Leaves, 3. Resignation Part Two

By Jaemlyn

As they stepped back out of the small office, the throngs of reporters were not as comforting to her as she would have preferred. Bo led her down an all-too-familiar corridor toward the jail. His silence was intentional. He was trying to make her uncomfortable. If this was her punishment – her only punishment – so be it. She could take it. In fact, she preferred it.

She was steady as a rock when she stepped up to the cold, steel vertical bars between herself and Mayor Lowell.

Bo seemed sincere as he looked Dorian in the eyes. "You okay then?"

Now it was she who was amused. "I can handle this."

Bo stepped away. "I'll let you two kids talk this out then." He nodded to a guard who didn't seem to be going anywhere and patted another, gesturing for them to follow. The bars closed behind them and she was left staring at the man whom just yesterday she had placed all her confidence in. She had given up on her goal to become chief of staff at the hospital to support him. Fat lot of good that did.

Lowell looked back at her with an unreadable expression. "Dorian."

"We need to talk," she frowned with disapproval.

"Listen, I tried to convince those guys not to go after Starr and her baby."

She was disgusted. "Why should I believe that?"

"It was never my intention to drag your family into this."

"Cole is the father of my grand-niece. You put a hit out on him. That was very intentional. Not only did you want Cole dead, but also my beloved nieces could have been killed. I gave you my loyalty, my vote, and put my own reputation on the line for you, and that's how you repaid me."

"Why are you here, Dorian? To give me a guilt trip?"

"Oh, you bet I am." Her smirk was dark. "And to remind you that I'm still your campaign manager. There are a whole lot of media outlets waiting for a statement, considering that you refuse to resign from your position…." She paused as if just realizing and wondered: "…Why haven't you resigned?"

"Innocent until proven guilty."

She smirked again and shook her head with disdain in her voice. "Oh, don't give me that. I have it on good authority that even your own lawyers have advised you to resign, and yet you refuse. You seem to think that clinging to your position will somehow just … make it all go away. Do you honestly think you can win an election from prison?"

"I'm not going to prison, Dorian, and I am going to win the election."

"Oh, uh … I think you are gravely mistaken. I mean … unless…."

He was curious. "What?"

"I suppose it is plausible that you have friends in high places… very high places. I suppose that it is probable that you sincerely believe you are going to win, and I suspect that is because these friends of yours are able to … shall we say … sway the votes in the direction that is most beneficial?"

"Just what are you accusing me of here, Dorian?"

"Hm. Conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, drugs … electoral fraud would be the least of your worries, wouldn't it?"

"What, you plan to go to the media with that? I'll fire you and sue you for defamation."

Her smile was all knowing, as if she held a secret. "No. First of all, you've done a good enough job of slandering yourself. Secondly, when I do speak to the press, it will be to inform them that I have resigned my position as your campaign manager, and not only that, you have resigned your position as mayor."

"I thought we had already established that I was not going to do that."

Dorian ignored his statement as she slid a neat, creased piece of paper from her pocket. "I took the liberty – as the one in charge of your campaign – of drawing up this letter of resignation for you. It is very 'to the point.' In it you absolve your campaign workers of any guilt, stating that they had no knowledge of your criminal involvement. You are very sorry for the pain you caused the families of Cole Thornhart, the Evanses and, of course, your own campaign manager. You also explain that while you did not physically take part in the shootings and injuries that resulted from the attempt on Cole's life and the kidnapping of Starr and Hope Manning, you were indirectly responsible for them. You agree to cooperate with the Llanview Police Department in their investigation. Lastly, you are deeply regretful of the negative effect your behavior has had on your own family, and for their sake, you are withdrawing from the election and resigning from office."

"Are you insane, Dorian?" he spat. "That's not a resignation letter. It's an admission of guilt. I would never sign that, and my lawyers would tell me not to sign it."

"But you are going to sign it," she insisted.

"Or what?"

She smiled for a quiet moment before resting her hands around the metal bars and relaxing on the outside of his cell. "Let's talk about Lee Ramsey."

"What's Lee Ramsey got to do with any of this?"

She couldn't help but chuckle. "How stupid do you think I am, Mayor? … Or should I just call you 'Stan' now?"

"That whole scenario with Lee Ramsey was ages ago."

"You're right," she consented. "But at the same time, it never really ended, did it?"

"What are you talking about?"

She pressed her index finger to her chin as if thinking. "Maybe I should have brought up the name Powell Lord instead? I mean … you know, since he's fresh in our minds. Didn't you just blame John McBain for his rampage right before your arrest? Are you that delusional?"

"I know you don't share my disdain for John McBain, Dorian, but up until now you've been right there with me in the public eye."

"That's neither here nor there," she clarified for the mayor. "You see, the trash who kidnapped my nieces was what helped me put it all together."

"You're going to have to be more specific, Dorian. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, it is a little hard to explain," she gestured with her hands as she spoke. "There's this whole big web of criminals and corruption that are all tied together, but …I'll try to simplify it for you."

He stared at her, unfazed.

She blinked at him as if she owned his soul. "Let's try a different name, shall we? Carlo Hesser. Carlo Hesser was last seen in South America, but before that, his last known residence was in Eastern Europe. If I'm not mistaken, your criminal cohorts more than likely hailed from that area of the world too, didn't they? Which brings us back to Lee Ramsey. It all makes a neat, tidy little circle of connections, and lies, and crimes."

"You can't prove anything. This is all speculation."

"I don't need to prove anything. You see there's a loose thread in this web and you're the fly that's stuck in it, aren't you?" She flashed an almost wicked smirk again as she leaned closer and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "There was always something that struck me as odd about that whole Powell Lord, KID killing spree – about the victims in that case and their connections to Marty Saybrooke."

"Old news, Dorian."

"Not really. I recall this all very clearly because it happened at my house, you remember? … Talia Sahid was wearing a KID ring that had been locked in an evidence room prior to her stabbing. The ring was part of this whole big scheme to frame John McBain for her murder. It was under your instruction that McBain was arrested."

"All the evidence pointed to him."

"Yes," Dorian half-smirked, and half-frowned in gleeful disdain. "You saw to that, didn't you? And poor Talia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Are you saying that I killed Officer Sahid? Because even Bo Buchanan can tell you that I was at the police station when she was murdered."

"Oh, isn't that convenient?" Dorian chided. "What better alibi than, 'I was with the police commissioner at the time of the murder?' Just like you were at a political debate when my nieces were kidnapped, hm? Of course you had no way of knowing that Bo would send Officer Sahid and her partner to find John McBain that night. All you knew was that John McBain lived at my house, and, from what I heard later, you knew about other evidence before the reports were even turned in to Bo so that he could make an arrest. You were the one framing John McBain."

"Like I said, I was at the police station…."

"Save it. You had moles on the police force then just like you did this time. That's how you got your hands on the KID ring that they found on Talia's finger."

"I never saw or touched any ring until I went to your house later that night to make sure the police did their jobs and arrested the man that the evidence pointed to."

Dorian rolled her eyes and growled, "Spare me." She lowered her voice again. "But you messed up that night, didn't you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Poor Talia. Of all the police officers it could have been, why did it have to be Talia? But I bet you've asked yourself that question a thousand times, haven't you? Maybe next time you decide to frame someone for murder, you'll be more specific about who … exactly … the real murderer should and should not kill."

"Dorian, what you are saying is preposterous. That case is long since closed anyway."

"Doesn't matter," she informed him. "In fact it doesn't even matter if I have proof. What does matter … at least it should matter to you … is what Carlo Hesser has to say about it when I tell him the whole sordid story. You think he'll still want you to be mayor? Or perhaps the better question is, do you think he'll still want you to be alive? So I guess you need to decide whether you want to resign and go to prison, or buy your way out of here and end up … well … who knows?"

"Are you threatening my life, Doctor Lord?"

"One good turn deserves another, don't you think?"

"You wouldn't know how to find Carlo Hesser if you tried."

"Oh, I think you grossly underestimate me, Stan. You said it yourself. I'm the queen of Llanview, and I've got connections you can't even pretend to have." She held the pre-written letter toward Lowell again.

He reached for the paper, but hesitated. "You don't understand what you're doing, Dorian. Victoria Lord cannot become the next mayor of Llanview. I know more about keeping this town safe and in check than any layperson could ever understand. There are greater forces at work here."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much," Dorian told him. "Viki won't be running unopposed."

Mayor Lowell took his time as he received the paper from Dorian's hand. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"It's really none of your concern anymore, is it?" she taunted, withdrawing a Lowell campaign ink pen from within her top and handing it to him. "I'd say keep the pen but they don't let you keep sharp objects in here."

He grabbed the pen from her with an impatient frown and signed his name at the bottom of his resignation letter, handing it back to her. "Silence is a virtue."

"Lucky for you I'm a virtuous woman," she smirked as she slid an envelope from her pocket and secured the letter inside it. "Guard!" A police officer stepped forward to let Dorian out. "Have a nice life."

"Watch your back," he answered.

She paused. "Is that a threat?"

"No. Just a word of advice from the former mayor to the future mayor."

She nodded. "We'll see." She paused as she turned to leave, speaking to the guard. "You might want to take that ink pen away from him."

[bleedinglove-blog2]

Cole/Hope's farewell scenes KILLED me 100x more than ever. He has always been the best daddy to Hope and his relationship with her are one of my top favorite relationships on this show so to see him saying goodbye to his own daughter?! It killed me so much it's not even funny. This show could easily break me like this. My god, what have this done to me?!