02/17/1999



""The name's Braden," said Braden through clenched teeth. Kit looked around nervously and asked the stranger if he was a reporter. Braden shook his head and told Kit that he'd dropped by to offer her "the deal of a lifetime." The deal, said Braden, was an offer of serenity---the chance to "ease [her] troubled conscience." Again Kit looked around the room. She had no idea what the man wanted from her. Braden told Kit that he heard about her past ordeals as a con artist. He paid careful attention to drumming home the fact that he knew that Kit had "cried rape" in the past. Kit was stunned that this still unknown man knew the intricacies of her past. The next words out of his mouth caught Kit off guard. He offered to pay off Kit to get her to recant her allegations. Kit flat out refused to be bought off and promptly told Braden to go to hell. Braden hoped that he could tighten the screws and convince Kit that backing off was her best bet. He warned her that if the case when to trial, she'd be torn apart. The media, he grinned evilly, would have a field day reporting the tales of the "woman who cried rape---again!" Kit's eyes squinted together. She looked at Braden and found herself wondering who he was and why he had shown up at the lodge. Braden said only that he was a friend of Ryan and that he was a guest at The Crystal Ball. Kit ordered Braden to leave, threatening to call the police. Braden agreed to leave, but that didn't stop him from asking Kit if she planned on accusing him of rape as well. Surprisingly, Kit didn't slap the man and Braden simply walked away.

"It is not your job to watch over Kit," said Dimitri sternly. Edmund flashed a half-smile and scolded his brother for doing the same thing to him. Dimitri, however, felt that their blood ties required him to look out for Edmund's best interest. "She's falling in love with you," Dimitri said loudly. Edmund nodded and told him that Kit had practically told him that herself. Obviously there was a conflict of interest. Every day that passed with Kit at Wildwind was another day for her feelings for Edmund to grow. Meanwhile, Edmund knew that he was unable to become involved in a relationship with Kit. Kit suddenly burst into the room and told Edmund of her encounter with Braden. Dimitri stood in the background and observed the exchange between Edmund and Kit without saying a word. Kit explained that she feared that the media would descend upon Wildwind if Braden broke the news of her mired past. Claiming that the media presence would not be good for Edmund, Sam, or Maddie, Kit again offered to move out. Edmund stepped towards Kit and told her that he wanted her to stay. Finally, Dimitri broke his silence. "It's her decision," noted Dimitri. Edmund flashed Dimitri a look that was presumably designed to silence him. He smiled warmly at Kit and told her that he wanted her to be his escort to Stuart and Marian's wedding.

And the wedding was fast approaching. Brooke hosted Marian's shower at her house, but the shower itself was never shown on-camera. After the shower, Brooke gushed endlessly about the wonderful gifts that Marian had received. When she looked up, she noticed that the bride-to-be was sobbing buckets. Brooke sat down on the sofa next to Marian and asked her if she'd said something to upset her. Marian shook her head and wiped tears from her eyes. Brooke assumed that Marian was having the usual pre-wedding jitters, but that turned out not to be the case. Marian told Brooke that marrying Stuart was not the problem---it was becoming a wife that had her in a tizzy. Marian feared that she would "tarnish" Stuart's image by signing on to be his mate. The doorbell sounded and Marian scurried upstairs so that no one would see that she'd been crying. Brooke opened the door and found Stuart, a refugee from his own bachelor party, waiting for her words of wisdom. As Brooke escorted Stuart to the sofa, Marian appeared at the top of the steps. She slowly made her way downstairs as Stuart told Brooke that he thought of Marian as a "fragile flower." He worried, however, that he might get "confused" from time to time and "do wacky stuff." Brooke assured Stuart that he would never let Marian down. Marian made her presence known. She was nervous about admitting what she thought her role would be as a wife. She once thought that Donna Reed was the perfect role model, but that was no longer the case. Marian vowed to make Stuart laugh at lest three times and called him "a dream come true."

Trevor proudly told him client that he had a plan that might keep him from going to trial. Jack entered the room and scolded Trevor for getting his client's hopes up. Trevor argued that there was a legal precedent that might help Ryan. The manner in which Jack got Ryan to agree to a DNA test had already been called into question. Trevor asserted that Ryan had been forced to comply without the ability to talk to legal counsel. That, Trevor said, should be enough to get the DNA test tossed out of court. Jack argued that Ryan had been given the opportunity to talk to a lawyer and warned Trevor not to seek the court order. Jack stormed out of the office, but Trevor would be seeing him again. Ryan was pleased by Trevor's legal wrangling and asked if he stood a "snowball's chance" in getting the test results thrown out. Trevor was confident. Even if he failed, there was still another spin. Apparently "very little" DNA evidence had been recovered from Kit's dress. After the initial test, Trevor was gambling that there was no genetic material left to test. Trevor left and Ryan drifted off to sleep, finally having something to look forward to. Outside, Jack pulled Trevor aside and blasted him for trying to get the DNA test discarded. "You came to me as a burned out cop," Jack growled. The District Attorney's calm demeanor had faded away. He was now an angry, borderline violent, man with a definite agenda. "I taught you everything you know," Jack continued. He also reminded Trevor that he'd given him a at job at his law practice. Trevor nodded. He was not about to bow out because of feelings of loyalty. He noted that he'd helped Jack's practice grow---and made Jack a great deal of money. As far as Trevor was concerned, they were even. "Back off!" Jack hollered. Still, Trevor wouldn't budge. Jack warned Trevor that his motion would never be granted. He might have spoken too soon. Trevor had already filed the motion and all indications showed that his motion would be granted. Gillian raced into the hospital and told Trevor that Hayley and Mateo needed his help in finding Max. Jack initially thought that Gillian was trying to create a diversion so that she could slip into Ryan's room. He soon realized that she was telling the truth. Trevor asked Jack to let Gillian see her husband, warning that he'd seek a court order to allow the visits. Gillian was permitted into Ryan's room. Ryan was fast asleep, but Gillian didn't seem to mind. With Ryan asleep, he was unable to boot her out of the room. Gillian stepped out momentarily to get some hot chocolate. As she walked down the corridor, she once again ran into Braden. She asked Braden how he knew Ryan and what he planned to do to help her husband out of his jam. "My duty is to see [that Ryan] is not railroaded."

In the park, Hayley insisted that she'd been keeping a close eye on Max. Raquel showed up moments later and panicked when she learned that her son was missing. She angrily blasted Hayley for not paying closer attention to Max. Mateo and Raquel headed off to see if they could find the boy. Hayley was asked to stay put just in case the boy returned. Janet happened to wander by and immediately reached out to comfort Hayley. Janet did what she could to ease Hayley's fears, but nothing she said really made Hayley feel any better. Hayley sobbed uncontrollably and scolded herself for having turned her back on Max. Raquel returned and asked Hayley what she was doing to have "lost" Max. "We were having fun," Hayley sniffled. "I trusted you," Raquel snarled. "Were you drinking?" Janet stepped in and ordered Raquel to settle down. Raquel was upset about Max's disappearance, but her attitude was, well, bizarre. She headed out again to find Max. When Mateo returned, he asked Janet to take Hayley back to Wildwind. Hayley wanted to stay and help, but Mateo told her that her presence would hamper the search.

Meanwhile, back on the Wildwind grounds, Raquel escorted Max to the hunting lodge. Max hadn't run away after all. There, she told her son that they were playing the biggest game of hide-and-seek ever. The rules of the game were relatively simple. No one-not even Mateo---was to know of the game they were playing. Max smiled and told his mother that he'd keep her secret."

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