Episode #31
Several Days After #30

TEASER

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

JASON and COURTNEY sit in an empty pew. Both are dressed up for the occasion.

COURTNEY: I can’t believe we get to see an actual wedding.

JASON: They’ve been married for months, Court … they’re just renewing their vows.

COURTNEY: I know, I know, but we never got to see Sarah and Brent get married the first time. I’m really excited.

JASON: I can tell.

Courtney makes a stupid face at him.

COURTNEY: I can’t wait until I get married.

Jason tries to come up with something to say, but, obviously uncomfortable, is silent.

COURTNEY (CONT’D): It just seems like such a magical thing – when you find the right person, you’re just supposed to know it.

She squeals excitedly.

COURTNEY (CONT’D): A wedding is supposed to be the happiest day of a girl’s life. I’m gonna make sure that mine is.

The sparks between her and Jason are obvious as they stare into each other’s eyes.

PAULA and BILL are standing not far behind them at the back of the church.

BILL: How much longer until we’re set to start, honey?

PAULA: Only half an hour or so. The guests are starting to arrive … I’m worried.

BILL: Sarah left us a message, remember? She said it was business, but she’d be back in time for this. I wouldn’t worry.

PAULA: I hope you’re right, Bill. (beat) I’m worried about Tim and Claire, too. Where are they? Where have they been? Sarah said in her message that she was going to help them out with something, but what?

Bill seems to know the answer, but it is too frightening to say out loud.

PAULA (CONT’D): Oh, no, Bill! You don’t think— You don’t think they could have gone off searching for James and Travis, do you?

Bill doesn’t answer, but the worry is visible in his face.

ACT ONE

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

DIANE and BRIAN sit among a crowd of people in the pews.

DIANE: I don’t see Tim or Claire anywhere? Have you seen them?

BRIAN: Nope, not once.

DIANE: Dammit! I really hope they get back in time for this … I’d hate to have showed up for nothing.

BRIAN: Why are we even here to begin with?

DIANE: I guess the family wanted to repay me for being so kind while Tim was in the hospital and everything.

BRIAN: (sarcastic) Oh, yeah, they really owe you.

DIANE: What’s that supposed to mean?

BRIAN: Let’s see … You pretended to be his wife, tricked him into sleeping with you, are now secretly pregnant with his child, tipped off her father that they reported him to the cops—

DIANE: Okay, I see your point. (beat) But we can’t let them find out that I set up any of that stuff. We have to make it look like I was the victim here, that Tim initiated this thing between him and me, okay?

BRIAN: I got it.

DIANE: It’s the only chance I have of snaring him for myself.

JASON and COURTNEY sit in another section of the church.

COURTNEY: I just hope I find the perfect guy. Some girls wait so long, some girls never find him. I just wanna find him.

JASON (THINKING): Maybe you already have, Court. I just need to know if you think it could be me.

JASON: You will. Don’t worry.

COURTNEY (THINKING): You could be him, Jason. But how can I be sure that you feel the same way about me?

COURTNEY: Of course I will. Have you ever known me to give up on something that important?

JASON: Hardly.

COURTNEY: Which is exactly why I’m determined to catch whoever hired that guy to do this to me.

She gestures towards the CRUTCHES which sit by her side.

JASON: I still can’t believe how quickly you were able to I.D. him from that security video.

COURTNEY: The face just stuck in my mind. Now all I have to do is prove that he’s connected to Shannon somehow.

JASON: I don’t—

COURTNEY: What? You don’t believe Shannon’s capable of something like this?

JASON: I just can’t believe that Shannon, of all people, would hire someone to club you in the knee. It seems so—

COURTNEY: Evil. I know. We’ve been over this, Jay. She had a motive. She had the opportunity. All I need to do now is establish some sort of link between the hitman and her and I’ve got a solid case.

Jason struggles to find the right words.

JASON: I honestly hope you catch whoever is behind this. Until you prove Shannon was involved, though, I’m gonna keep skating with her. It’s not fair – it’s not right – to dump her as a partner based on these accusations.

COURTNEY: Fine. We just need to agree to disagree.

JASON: Agreed.

COURTNEY: Because when I prove she set this up, it won’t matter what anyone thinks. She’ll be finished in this town and out of our lives forever.

Jason gives her an odd look, as if her last statement had a deeper meaning.

EXT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

BRENT, SARAH, TIM, and CLAIRE approach the church in their filthy, worn-out clothing from the jungle adventure. Tim is carrying baby TRAVIS.

SARAH: I still don’t believe any of this.

CLAIRE: (monotone) It’s over. I can’t believe it’s actually over.

TIM: Don’t worry, Claire. It’s done with. You never have to worry about your father hurting you – us – again.

CLAIRE: I know. It’s just that – it was me who ended it. I pushed him in. How could I do something like that?

BRENT: You were trying to save Tim, Claire. There’s no chance any charges could ever be pressed.

CLAIRE: It’s not the charges I’m worried about. It’s the fact that I killed my father.

SARAH: It was self-defense, Claire. You didn’t mean to.

CLAIRE: But I did it, didn’t I? I took somebody else’s life – my father, of all people.

TIM: Look at all the terrible things he did to you, Travis, and I in the past few months. He had to be stopped.

CLAIRE: I know he did. That’s what makes this so hard. I had to do it – the adult, the realist in me knows that. But the little girl inside of me hates what I did; even my last words to him were terrible. I told him I hated him, how I considered him dead – and now he is.

SARAH: Are you sure you want to be here, Claire? You could go home and rest. I’m sure everyone could easily excuse your absence.

CLAIRE: No, no – I wanna be here for you guys. It’s your big day.

TIM: As long as you’re positive, honey—

CLAIRE: Don’t worry. I am. But thanks for worrying about me.

BRENT: So all our clothes are here already, Sarah?

SARAH: Yeah. When I left that message for Mom and Dad, I told them where our stuff for the ceremony was. Mom was supposed to bring it all over to the church. I made sure she’d have stuff here for Tim and Claire, too.

TIM: Good planning, sis.

SARAH: Hey, I wasn’t gonna let my wedding day get messed up on account of a crazy guy with a cage and a big bucket of acid.

CLAIRE: He’s definitely taken care of. Now let’s head on inside. You can’t keep those people waiting.

ACT TWO

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

PAULA and BILL stand at the back of the church.

PAULA: I just hope they all get back safely. Even if we have to postpone the ceremony.

BILL: Don’t think like that, Paula. They’ll all be fine. And we’re gonna have a renewal of Sarah and Brent’s vows today. I’m sure of it.

HELEN and DON, Courtney’s parents, approach them.

DON: Hey, you two! How are you feeling?

BILL: Pretty good … just waiting for the bride and groom to show up.

HELEN: Where are they?

BILL: Sarah left us a message a couple of days ago saying she and Brent had something to take care of for work.

PAULA: She said they’d be back in time, along with Tim and Claire.

DON: Where were Tim and Claire?

PAULA: Nobody knows. They just vanished. We don’t even know if they’re alright, but Sarah’s message was reassuring.

HELEN: That’s really odd.

BILL: We’re just praying that they get back safely.

As if right on cue, BRENT, SARAH, CLAIRE, and TIM (carrying TRAVIS) all burst into the church.

SARAH: And here we are!

They all exchange hugs and greetings.

PAULA: We’ve gotta get you all cleaned up! You’re filthy!

BILL: Where have you been?

TIM: It’s a long story.

Paula and Bill take notice of little Travis.

PAULA: Oh my gosh! You found him!

She and Bill both kiss the baby.

TIM: That’s where we went.

BILL: Did James have him?

BRENT: Yeah, he did.

PAULA: So that’s how you and Sarah got involved, huh?

SARAH: It’s all in a day’s work. Anyway, Mom, where are our clothes? We wanna get ready for this thing.

PAULA: Oh, yeah – everything’s back in the bridal room. Go on and get changed.

Brent and Sarah exit.

TIM: Honey, why don’t you go have a seat? You look awfully tired.

CLAIRE: (dazed) Okay, sure.

TIM: You wanna bring this little guy with you?

CLAIRE: Of course.

Claire takes Travis in her arms and goes off to sit down.

BILL: What’s wrong with Claire, Tim? She seems awfully quiet.

MOLLY and CRAIG stand at the altar, waiting.

CRAIG: Can you believe that in a few weeks, it’ll be us up here, exchanging our vows, joined together forever as man and wife?

MOLLY: It’s amazing.

CRAIG: I can’t wait.

MOLLY: Neither can I.

Molly seems less enthused than she’s trying to sound, but Craig doesn’t seem to notice.

CRAIG: Did you just see Sarah and Brent walk in? Where’d they go?

MOLLY: Probably to get changed. Mom said they had some business to take care of, so they’d get ready for the ceremony here.

CRAIG: Hmm. Does Brent know that his family is here for this?

MOLLY: He knew they were coming. I’ll bring them over to see him once he’s ready.

CRAIG: He should be excited to see them. (beat) Hey, there’s Claire … and she’s got the baby! Why don’t we go see them?

MOLLY: Good idea. (beat) Go on ahead. I’ll be right there.

Craig exits. Molly stands by herself, looking disappointed.

MOLLY (THINKING): Can I really do this? Can I tell Craig that I don’t want to marry him, that I want to marry Brent? How do I say that? How could I do that to Sarah? I’m her maid of honor! And what if I did that and then Brent decided to stay with Sarah anyone? I’d look like an idiot – I’d embarrass the family. But what if I don’t say anything? I could live the rest of my life, knowing that Brent must have some kind of feelings for me, knowing that I’m in love with him, but never able to be with him. (beat) What am I gonna do?

ACT THREE

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

CRAIG sits down next to CLAIRE, who is holding baby TRAVIS.

CRAIG: How are you feeling?

CLAIRE: Not great.

CRAIG: At least you guys got back in time for this thing – and you got the baby back!

CLAIRE: That’s definitely the one bright spot in my life right now.

CRAIG: Does this whole thing with your dad have you down?

CLAIRE: There’s more to it than you could imagine, Craig.

MOLLY approaches them and sits down next to Craig.

CLAIRE (CONT’D): We found my dad in the jungle in this huge compound. We tried to get in to get Travis back, but some of his guards caught us.

MOLLY: He sounds more like some kind of supervillain than your dad.

CLAIRE: Tell me about it. It just turned into this awful, awful nightmare.

CRAIG: So what happened after they caught you?

CLAIRE: They locked us up in the basement, but we almost escaped, so they moved us – into a cage!

MOLLY: (taken by surprise) What?

CLAIRE: A cage hanging over a vat of boiling acid, nonetheless.

CRAIG: That is weird, man.

CLAIRE: I know. But then we managed to call Brent, so he and Sarah came down to get us out of there, and here we are now.

MOLLY: At least you had your happy ending. What happened to your dad? Jail?

CLAIRE: Not quite … he fell into the acid.

CRAIG: Are you serious?

CLAIRE: Yep.

MOLLY: He’s dead?

CLAIRE: That’s what we guessed – Brent has guys down there now trying to find the body, but they haven’t had any luck so far. But he’s definitely presumed dead. There’s no way anyone could’ve survived that.

MOLLY: That’s terrible, Claire. (beat) How are you taking it?

CLAIRE: Not well, considering it’s my own fault that he’s dead.

PAULA and BILL talk to TIM at the back of the church.

PAULA: So she blames herself for James’s death? Poor thing.

TIM: We kept trying to tell her it wasn’t her fault, that it was only self-defense, but she doesn’t care. She’s just walking around in some kind of daze.

BILL: I hope she snaps out of it. It’s a shame any of this had to happen.

TIM: I know; it really sucks. What this means, though, is that we all need to be there for her more than we ever. We need to show her that we’re a united family and that she’s an important part of it all.

DIANE and BRIAN are still sitting in the pew.

DIANE: There he is, Brian, and Claire’s not even with him.

BRIAN: She’s over there, sitting down.

DIANE: Details, details. As long as she’s not by his side, maybe I can sneak in a little bonding time with him.

BRIAN: If you say so …

Diane gets up to go talk. Brian remains sitting.

BRIAN: (sotto voce) Please, please, Diane, don’t do anything stupid. This is your only chance at Tim … don’t screw it up.

In another part of the church, BRENT emerges from the changing room in his tuxedo. He looks around.

Craig and Molly sit with Claire, talking.

CRAIG: Don’t blame yourself for what happened, Claire. He was trying to kill you and Tim!

CLAIRE: I know that, and I understand it. I just can’t get over what happened …

FADE TO:

FLASHBACK

INT: JUNGLE COMPOUND (HIDDEN ROOM) - EARLY MORNING, BEFORE DAWN

CLAIRE and JAMES are arguing. TIM, BRENT, SARAH, ALAN, FOUR OFFICERS, and several GUARDS are in the background.

JAMES: Claire, please – give me another chance! I never meant to hurt you—

CLAIRE: Like Tim said, you should’ve thought before you did any of this. (beat) I hate you!

JAMES: Please, no – you don’t mean that. You love me – you always have.

CLAIRE: I loved the man I thought was my father. Now I see who you really are – and I hate that man!

FADE TO:

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

MOLLY and CRAIG are talking to CLAIRE, who is holding baby TRAVIS.

CLAIRE: I told him such terrible things …

CRAIG: He deserved it!

Molly glances over and sees BRENT, dressed in his tuxedo and looking lost.

MOLLY: I’ve gotta go do something for Brent. I’ll be back.

She gets up.

MOLLY (CONT’D): (to Claire) As for you, try to take your mind off all that. Just sit back and relax.

They hug.

MOLLY (CONT’D): See you later, Claire.

Craig kisses her.

MOLLY (CONT’D): You too, honey.

CRAIG: Okay.

Molly moves away from them, over to Brent.

CLAIRE: Actually, Craig, I’m glad Molly’s gone for a second. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.

CRAIG: What?

CLAIRE: Is there something wrong with Molly? She seems awfully uncomfortable today.

Molly approaches Brent, leading Brent’s father BOB, sister DANIELLE, and brother MAX.

MOLLY: Brent – look who showed up!

BRENT: Dad! Danielle! Max!

They all exchange hugs and greetings.

BRENT (CONT’D): When did you guys get in?

MAX: Just yesterday, actually.

DANIELLE: Where’d you go all of a sudden the other day?

BRENT: Sarah and I had some business to take care of. It’s a long story – you’ll hear it later, I’m sure. (beat) So, you guys have met Molly?

BOB: We have. She helped us get settled in yesterday.

MOLLY: Glad to do it.

DANIELLE: It definitely helped to have her around.

BRENT: I know … she’s great like that.

Brent is obviously caught up in his thoughts as he says this.

BRENT (THINKING): I’ve got to fight this – I can’t let myself fall in love with Molly.

ACT FOUR

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

DIANE walks up to TIM, who is standing with BILL and PAULA.

TIM: Hey, Diane! Mom, Dad, this is Diane Bishop, my boss. Diane, these are Bill and Paula Fisher, my parents.

DIANE: Nice to meet you.

PAULA: The pleasure is ours. Tim and Claire said you were very helpful to them during the time when Tim was in the hospital. We can’t thank you enough for that.

DIANE: I do what I can.

BILL: Anyway, why don’t we leave you two alone to talk? Come on, Paula.

PAULA: Bye!

Bill and Paula exit.

TIM: So what’s up?

DIANE: I don’t know … nothing much. I’m just glad you two are back safely. I see you got the baby back too.

TIM: Thank the Lord for that.

DIANE: So, it must’ve been hell being kept in that jungle, huh?

Tim looks at her oddly.

TIM: How’d you know we were in the jungle?

HELEN walks up to JASON and COURTNEY, who are now standing.

HELEN: We’re sitting up there, guys.

She points to the front of the church.

HELEN (CONT’D): They’re getting ready to start.

COURTNEY: Okay, Mom, we’ll be right there.

Helen exits.

COURTNEY (CONT’D): Jason, is that Brent’s family over there?

She points to BOB, DANIELLE, and JOSH, who are standing with MOLLY and BRENT.

JASON: Yeah – his dad, sister, and brother.

COURTNEY: It’s nice that they came in for this thing.

JASON: Yeah, it is. (beat) You wanna go sit down?

COURTNEY: We probably should.

They head for the front of the church.

Tim and Diane are still talking.

TIM: How’d you know we were in the jungle?

DIANE: Oh – I, uh, talked to Claire already.

TIM: Oh. Did she tell you what happened? All of it?

DIANE: Not everything. Just the basic outline.

TIM: Well, let me tell you, it was some adventure. Not something I’d wanna go through again, but definitely an adventure.

DIANE: Sounds like it. So what happened to James?

TIM: He’s dead. Claire— He fell into the vat of acid that our cage was hanging over.

DIANE: Sucks to be him.

TIM: Yeah, really.

DIANE (THINKING): Maybe I’m making some progress here …

TIM (CONT’D): I just hope Claire accepts what happens. She’s just been completely drained from all of this. The Claire I know – the Claire I love – has this fire about her … I hope she gets it back soon.

DIANE (THINKING): … or maybe not.

DIANE: I’m sure she’ll be okay.

DIANE (THINKING): Until I take you away and ruin her life.

Paula approaches them.

PAULA: Why don’t you go get ready, Tim? We’re gonna get started soon.

TIM: Okay, Mom. Talk to you later, Diane.

DIANE: Okay.

Tim heads off to change. Diane returns to her seat, where Brian is waiting.

BRIAN: How’d it go?

DIANE: (snappy) Fine. Just fine.

BRIAN: I take that to mean, "not too well."

DIANE: It wasn’t bad – he just talked about Claire and how much he loves her … blah, blah, blah.

BRIAN: You’ve just gotta keep it up.

DIANE: No, we’ve gotta keep it up. You’re helping me get him, Brian. And I won’t stop until I do.

In the back of the church, the wedding party is preparing to proceed down the aisle. Brent is waiting with Molly.

MOLLY: Here goes nothing, huh?

BRENT: (uncomfortable) Yep.

There is a moment of silent tension between them.

MOLLY: Look, I just wanna wish you the best of luck … No matter what happens – not that anything would, but you know what I mean – no matter what happens, I hope you’re always happy.

BRENT: Thanks. That means a lot to me.

BILL comes up to the wedding party, which also includes Max, Danielle, Tim and Claire, who have changed into clean clothing, and some of Sarah’s FRIENDS.

BILL: Okay, everyone, ready to go?

BRENT: As ready as we’ll ever be.

The music begins to play as the procession enters the church.

ACT FIVE

INT: CHURCH - MIDDAY

BRENT is standing at the altar near the PRIEST. MOLLY, CLAIRE, and the BRIDAL PARTY are on the other side. Beside the groom are JOSH, the best man, and TIM. The wedding march begins to play and the doors in the back of the church open. Out step SARAH and BILL. He leads her down the aisle as the church full of people looks on.

COURTNEY and JASON are sitting together, next to HELEN and DON.

COURTNEY: This is so exciting.

JASON: I know – I can’t believe that in just a couple of weeks, Molly’s gonna be married too. I’ll be the only one left.

COURTNEY (THINKING): Hopefully it won’t be that way for too long.

PRIEST: Who gives this woman to this man?

BILL: Her mother and I do.

Bill sits down next to PAULA, which looks very emotional already.

Time passes …

PRIEST: Do you, Sarah, take this man, Brent, to be your lawfully-wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, until death do you part?

SARAH: (beaming) I do.

PRIEST: And do you, Brent, take this woman, Sarah, to be your lawfully-wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, until death do you part?

Brent smiles at Sarah, but then looks past her and sees Molly. He bites his lower lip nervously, realizing that his next words could determine his entire future.

END OF EPISODE #31

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