Previously:

Giselle tried to convince Beau and Kerri to bring Remy into the X-Limit project. She wanted to include her family more in the Highwind's operation and thought Remy's interest in extreme sports would be beneficial to the group. Though he was reluctant at first, Beau agreed to give his younger brother a chance.

After the birth of their son, Brody, Tyson asked Martine to move in with him. He said he was ready to commit to her and raise their son together, but Martine was hesitant. She worried that the closer she got to Tyson, the more likely she was to screw things up between them.

Vincent got into a fistfight with Liam over Giselle. Unfortunately for Vincent, he didn't know that the Catholic priest was also a former boxer with a mean right hook.

 

The Highwind

In a conference room at the Highwind, Elena, Remy, Beau, and Kerrigan were assembled, sitting around one end of the long, polished table. Steaming cups of coffee sat before each of them. From their tired faces, Giselle could tell the kids weren't too happy about being called into a meeting so early in the morning. Well, they'd better get used to it...

"Mom, what is this about?" Remy asked. He shielded his eyes from the light as he looked up to Giselle, who stood at the end of the table. "Can't we just get on with it?"

"I'll have none of your complaining. That goes for all of you. You knew we'd be meeting this morning. It's not my fault if you're tired because you didn't plan accordingly."

"It's not our fault we have night lives..." Elena muttered, earning a sharp look from Giselle.

Giselle held her tongue and carried on, "As you know, there's been some discussion of me taking a step back from my responsibilities at the Highwind. I've become so intertwined with this business over the years, sometimes it's hard to remember where I end and it begins," she said. "I don't regret my hard work and my success, but I do regret that it has, at times, taken precedence over other, more important aspects of my life."

Her eyes settled on her sons. Beau sipped his coffee without care. Remy was perilously close to dozing off at the table, his head nearly slipping from the hand that propped it up.

"With that said!" Giselle said loudly, disturbing them both and regaining their focus, "I need to be sure that the Highwind continues its smooth operation in my absence. Not that I'd actually be absent, per se. Less of a presence maybe, but--"

"We'll be fine without you! Don't you worry one bit!" Elena piped up, cutting her off. "Take as much time as you need with this soul-searching of yours. You deserve it!" she finished with an ebullient grin.

"Thank you for that lovely show of support, Elena," Giselle said wryly, "but what I was trying to say is that each of you play an important part in this business. I need you to take your positions seriously and to do what is best for the Highwind at all times. It's no secret that we have had our share of troubles these past few years. Now is the time to turn things around. That's one of the reasons we need to work as equal partners -- as a family."

Elena rolled her eyes, but Giselle was too caught up to notice.

"Beau and Kerrigan, you will retain control of the X-Limit. It's your project, and you have full ownership and responsibility for its success. Please, don't let me down."

"We won't," Kerri said, confident in its prospects.

"Elena, you and I will remain in charge of the Highwind Resort's day-to-day operation, but hopefully with improved cooperation. I won't forget the way you kept things going in my absence. The two of us have never seen eye to eye -- I can scarcely remember an issue we've actually agreed upon -- but you've proven you have the Highwind's best interests at heart. I don't particularly like you, to be quite honest, but having someone who challenges me at every turn is what keeps us from coasting on tradition."

Elena was speechless. A backhanded compliment, but still one of the nicest things Giselle had ever said about her.

"So, you gathered us here to tell us everything is ... the same as it's always been?" Beau questioned, not understanding the point of the meeting.

"Not quite," Giselle said. "There's something else we need to consider. If I'm truly going to be able to stick to my decision to ease up, I need to be sure the Highwind is in capable hands. I need the best team of employees working for me and keeping me informed..."

"But you said nothing was changing!" Elena protested out of turn.

"No, you assumed nothing was changing. There's a difference," Giselle said, casting a steely glare. "With my workload soon to be reduced, and Vincent out of the picture entirely, there's only so much we can handle ourselves. I think it is imperative that we bring some fresh talent to the Highwind -- breathe some life into this place."

"In what capacity?" Beau asked, already skeptical of his mother's plan.

"For starters, I'm thinking we'll hire a PR Manager. The Highwind's reputation could use a little polishing these days, as I'm sure you are all aware. We can't afford any screwups for a while if we are ever going to get things back on track. Secondly, I'd like to hire a dedicated Guest Relations Coordinator. Elena and I have primarily handled that type of thing in the past, but it's definitely a full-time job in itself, as I'm sure Elena can attest."

"Oh, God yes," Elena muttered, recalling the countless nightmares she'd faced with their guests and their complaints in the past. "I'm completely behind you on that decision!"

"Good," Giselle said, clasping her hands together. She glanced over the rest of them, daring any of them to speak. "Does anyone have any questions? Comments to share about my new hires, or anything else we've discussed?"

Nobody spoke. They were all mostly just blown away that Giselle actually seemed to be serious about taking a step back from the Highwind. She'd never trusted anybody but herself to run the resort, and now she wanted to hire new blood? Beau couldn't decide if this was a gift or a curse.

"Then our meeting is adjourned. I've already set the process into motion. I'll be interviewing candidates for the new positions next week."

She smiled sweetly, leaving a stunned audience in her wake.

 

The Guthrie Home

Martine Guthrie was standing at the kitchen sink early that morning, when she was startled by someone entering the room. The bottle of milk she'd warmed for Brody slipped from her hands, as she whipped around in surprise.

"Charlie! You scared me," Martine said, clutching her chest. "Why the hell are you up so early?" she asked, retrieving the bottle from the floor.

"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled, crossing the kitchen to get a cup of the coffee Martine had already brewed for the morning. He watched her replace the cap of the bottle, then check the milk's warmth against her skin.

"Then it seems you and the baby have something in common," she said, crossing into the living room and sitting to feed her son. Charlie followed.

"You look tired," Charlie said, sitting in an armchair nearby.

"When don't I these days?"

"Where's Tyson?"

"Asleep," she said softly. "I gave him the night off.  He's always the one taking care of Brody through the night. He's been perfect. I thought he deserved to sleep in -- for the weekend, at least." Martine closed her eyes and leaned back into the sofa, savoring a moment of relaxation while Brody was content with sipping his bottle. "I'm so tired. I never want to move from this spot. I'm never getting up."

"Then I guess you won't be moving in with Tyson any time soon," Charlie joked, knowing Martine was stressing over coming to a decision about Tyson's offer.

"Very funny," she muttered, rolling her head to one side to glare at him. "I don't see what the big deal is, anyway? What we're doing works just fine for me. Why should I have to uproot my entire life for some man? I've tried it before. It doesn't work, and then what am I left with?"

"Tyson's hardly comparable to my father, if that's what you're implying." Charlie knew Martine's relationship with Vincent wasn't exactly a functional marriage. In fact, it had basically been doomed from the start. "This is an entirely different situation."

"Trust me, I know..."

"But you still have your doubts?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided anything yet," Martine said, suddenly uncomfortable. Brody had given up on finishing his bottle, and she stood to place him in his crib. "I'm afraid to say yes to him, Charlie, but I don't want to say no either," she confessed of her dilemma. "Why am I being so ridiculous about this?"

Charlie couldn't say for sure.  It seemed to him that Martine and Tyson had a perfect thing going.  Maybe that's why she was avoiding change...

"You have everything you want.  You're afraid of fucking it up.  It makes perfect sense that you'd want to hang on to that for as long as you can.  I know the feeling."

"But coming to no decision at all is just as damaging.  I don't want Tyson to think I doubt him, but I don't know..."

"It sounds like you're afraid to put too much trust into anyone at this point.  Maybe you're not ready for another serious relationship yet, and you're using this decision as an excuse to back off," he said so simple in his evaluation that it made Martine want to smack him -- or herself.  She knew that was precisely what she was doing, but she'd never been able to articulate it or recognize that fact for herself.

"Oh my God, you're right," she wailed miserably, burying her face into her hands. "I thought it would be easier to keep things casual between Tyson and me, but it's only making things worse.  I hope he doesn't think I don't care."

"He knows you do -- you're just afraid to show it."

She nodded her agreement.  "What should I do?  What if I move in with him and he sees all these new sides to me?  My most unflattering angles?"

"It's better than being an emotional cripple the rest of your life," Charlie commented with a wry smile.

"Speak for yourself, Chuckles," she huffed. "You know, you haven't exactly been a ray of sunshine yourself these past few months.  I think I have potential to fix my misery, now that we've sorted it through. But you, on the other hand..."

"I don't even know where to begin."

 

The Highwind - X-Limit

After the group pow-wow held that morning, Remy was even more apprehensive about the whole X-Limit endeavor. He hoped he hadn't bitten off more than he could chew, but really, how hard could it be to help come up with some ideas for the place?

At the Bel Ami Club, he was the boss. He was the one in charge. It was more responsibility, but he was his own boss. The only person he had to answer to was himself. He'd worked with Beau before, as partners in developing the club, but somehow this felt different. He wasn't an equal here, and that made him nervous.

Even now, as he walked upstairs to the X-Limit's offices, he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. He supposed he could be considered a project consultant, but he had no idea what that entailed ... or why they'd given him an office? He saw his role in the X-Limit as secondary to his responsibilities at the club, so what did he need an office for?

Remy pushed open the door, entering his new domain while contemplating his role in the business.

"Good morning, Mr. Ormand," a smiling young woman greeted him. She held a folder clutched to her chest and stood just inside the doorway as if she'd been there for hours already, just waiting for him to enter so she could pounce on him.

Remy appraised her cautiously but liked what he was seeing -- straight blonde hair in a casual ponytail, a pink sweater hugging every curve of her torso, athletic-looking legs under a dark skirt -- he tried not to gawk at her. "Who are you?" he asked. Deciding he sounded more rude than intended, he added, "I mean, I'm Remy Ormand. And you are?"

"Krissy Holbrook," she said, giving him an all too professional handshake. "I'm your new secretary. Assistant. Whatever you want to call it." She smiled pleasantly.

"What? I just started this morning. What do I need an assistant for? No offense..."

"Oh," she said, her face falling. "Are you sure? Because I made you this agenda, and there's coffee at your desk, and--"

"Stop, stop," Remy said, chasing after her as she flitted around the room like a bird flapping against a window pane. She tried to show him what she'd already accomplished, but he put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "The first thing you have to learn if you're going to work for me is not to take anything too seriously, including this job. I'm a pretty laid-back kinda guy."

"It's just ... this is my first real job," she confessed. "I'm trying to do everything the right way."

"And you're forgetting this is like my first day here, too. There is no 'right way' to do things. Not yet, anyway. "We'll come up with that part later."

"Then what am I supposed to be doing?"

Remy stroked his chin. "Good question. For now, just chill out for a few minutes, aight?"

"Okay," Krissy mumbled, taken aback. "Beau called a few minutes before you came in. He wants to go over your ideas with you later this week."

Remy sighed and sat at his desk, sliding back in his rolling desk chair to stare out the window.

"You do have some ideas, right?" Krissy pressed, watching him with concern.

"It's my first day! There's still plenty of time to come up with ideas." Catching the look she shot him, he continued, "I've come up with a few things already ... I'm just keeping them to myself for the moment. I've got to work them through in my mind, you know? It's a part of my process," he claimed.

"Sure," she played along, folding her arms across her chest.

"What? You don't believe me?" he said. "You're supposed to be on my side. Look, I've got some people I need to get in touch with. I haven't spoken to them in a while, but I've got some friends on the Winter X circuit. I thought maybe we'd put out some feelers ... gauge their interest in the place ... see if we can get them to stop in..."

"You just made that plan up on the spot, didn't you?" she challenged.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked, his nervous chuckle giving him away.

"No. Actually, I'm fairly impressed. If your connections pull through, who knows? Maybe you'll be better at this job than you think. I'll take down the names of these 'friends' of yours, then you're going to come up with five more good ideas. After that, we can call it a day."

 

The Guthrie Home

In the living room, Martine sat closer to Charlie, holding him while he finally, painfully brought himself to admit what a mess his life had become. "I've been so stupid," he said, burying his head in his hands. "So, so stupid."

"You're not stupid, Charlie," Martine said adamantly. "Nobody ever could have fathomed what happened with Erin. There's no right way to recover from something like that."

"How could I not have seen this?" he said through bitter tears. "And worse yet, I've wasted so much time refusing to believe it. I couldn't let myself believe it, even once it was all laid out in front of me."

"It's not your fault that you didn't want to believe the worst. You love her. It's only right you'd defend her, even to yourself."

"I don't love her," he said darkly, pulling away. "Not the person she's become. Look what she's done to me. Look what she's done to all of us! I can't love her or defend what she's done. Not anymore."

"You can't just turn your feelings on and off."

"I have to," he said. "I have to let go. She took my child from me! Do you know what that's like? I have to recognize that she's not the person I knew."

Martine rubbed his back gently, comforting him through his painful realization.

"I've got to get Summer back, Martine. I don't know how, but I have to find her."

"They'll find her. I'm sure of it. The hardest part is not knowing, but Erin will slip up somewhere. Someone will find her."

"I just feel so helpless. I feel like I should be doing something more than sitting around and waiting for that day to come. I feel like a jackass for sticking up for her. God, you should have seen the way I treated Sonya Cortes when she told me the truth. I was terrible to her, and she was the one who was attacked by Erin!"

"You were in shock. You didn't know any better."

Her words were little comfort to Charlie, who now felt guilty on top of everything else, recalling his behavior that night.

"It's not too late to apologize, you know?" Martine suggested. "Maybe that's the first step. In order to move forward from this..."

Charlie didn't answer but let her advice sink in.

"And what about you? Are you moving forward, too?" he asked when he finally spoke. "With Tyson, I mean?"

"Oh, we're back to this again?" she asked, slapping his arm as she stood up. "Don't turn this around on me. I know you only want me to say yes to him so I'll get out of your house!"

"That's not true. It's been great having you here."

"I think I'm going to give it a shot," Martine decided suddenly, flustered and excited at the same time. "I can't make him any promises, but Ty's worth the risk. I have to see where this could go."

"For what it's worth, I think you're making the right decision," Charlie said. "I hope it works out."

"Me too," she said. "But I'm only leaving on one condition. We've got to do this together, me and you."

"I have to move in with Tyson, too?" Charlie asked, confused.

"No," Martine rolled her eyes. "We've both got to work harder at this. This whole 'being open' thing, moving on from the past, and not being 'emotional cripples,' as you called me earlier. It's not good for either of us."

Charlie smiled to himself and took her hand. "It's a deal."

 

The Bistro

Later, as morning gave way to the afternoon sun, Giselle showed up at the little bistro near Lake Logan, wrapped in a dark coat against the winter chill. "Liam!" she greeted, enthusiastic to see her new friend. He waved in delight. It was the first she'd seen of him since missing his Christmas visit, though they'd talked a few days on the phone catching up and arranging today's lunch date.

"Giselle, how have you been?" he asked, giving her a polite kiss on the cheek.

"Just wonderful," she proclaimed, surprised to find she truly meant it. "Remember that dream I told you about? The one I had on Christmas? Well ... I took your advice."

"But, I didn't give you any advice that day..."

"I suppose it wasn't your advice technically, but it's what the dream-you told me to do," she said, thinking it over. "In my dream, the two of us spoke, and you told me I should balance my life and my priorities. You said I shouldn't focus on any one aspect of my life at the expense of the others. My job over my family, basically."

"Good advice, if I do say so myself!" he chuckled.

"It was," she agreed. "It was just what I needed to hear, even if it was all just a dream. I've devoted my entire adult life to my career, sabotaging my personal relationships with my family, friends, and lovers. I never really understood the give and take, the balance it all takes. It's taken these dark times of recent to allow me to truly appreciate what I have."

"I'm glad you've taken these experiences and used them in a positive way," Liam said, thinking of all Giselle had gone through with the Highwind, Pete Sorenson, and being falsely imprisoned. "It may have been nothing more than a dream to you, but I think it was your overworked subconscious showing you what was important -- what really matters to you in order for you to be happy and fulfilled."

"Mmhmm," Giselle agreed, realizing he was probably right. "Well, no matter what it was, it was the right decision for me. It's time to put myself first. I know that sounds selfish, but I'm talking about my personal life and my family, and how we can put all this stress and this pain behind us."

"And you deserve that, Giselle," he said, taking her hand. "There's far more to life than business and money and control. I think you're about to open yourself to a world you haven't been a part of in quite some time. This could be the start of something great for you. This is only the beginning."

Giselle lifted her eyes to rest on his. "I certainly hope that's true."

Just when she thought she might lose herself in her present company, her gaze drifted past Liam, to someone seated in the corner of the bistro. Her glowing smile faltered...

"Giselle, what is it?" Liam asked, turning to follow her line of sight. The two of them looked to Vincent Guthrie, leering over the top of a newspaper as he watched them, his face twisted dark with jealousy.

"Vincent! What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Giselle raged, ripping the newspaper from his hands. "Are you stalking me now?"

Vincent smirked. "I was simply enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up on current events," he said absently, as if it were only a coincidence that brought him here to observe the two of them on their lunch date.

"Giselle, please. Let's just go," Liam said, placing his hands on her shoulders and steering her away from Vincent's table.

"Why can't you just leave us alone!" Giselle cried out to her husband as Liam led her away. "You're pathetic, Vincent! You're a miserable and pathetic creature!"

But Vincent merely chuckled and sipped at his coffee as Liam escorted Giselle out the door. "You'll be back, Giselle," he said to himself once she was gone. "You should know by now, I'd never let you go."