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Continued...

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Scene: The Davison Estate. District.

Diane flips through an old photo album of Steve, her, and the children. She fixates on one picture in particular which she realizes must be from the early nineties. Kimberly and Jason were so young; Diane and Steve seemed so content in their marriage.

"How interesting how things can change so drastically over a short period of time. Hell, even five years ago things seemed so perfect...and now? I don't even know my son anymore; my daughters are at each other's throats, and Steve? Oh, what can I even say about Steve?"

"He always was a damn fool if you ask me!" Helen smirks as she appears behind Diane with a half-empty Martini glass.

"Mother!" Diane jumps at the surprise of her Mother's voice and puts a hand over her chest. "Can you please not sneak up on me like that?"

"Sneak up? I'm just walking around my house. Is that such a crime? Besides, I thought you were listening to some book on tape. I didn't mean to interrupt the conversation you were having with yourself."

"You know Mother, for some people, talking to yourself can be quite therapeutic."

"But if you haven't been drinking prior, some might think you've lost your mind." Helen laughs.

"Oh, well I lost that years ago from all the trauma I endured when you supposedly raised me."

"Oh, that's just wonderful! Always blame the Mother for all your screwed up problems in life. How typical, Diane. Your other sisters seemed to turn out just fine."

"Oh did they?" Diane raises a brow. "Anna just seems so chipper in her marriage, and Alex hates men so much now I don't think she'll ever get remarried."

"And that has anything to do with me? You know Di, you really need to start taking ownership of your problems. Believe it or not, I'm not the root cause for everything that's turned out so awful in your life. You may have had a thing or two to do with that."

Diane lets out a deep sigh and stares back at her Mother, "You're right. Steve leaving me was my own damn fault; I pushed Jason and Kimberly away too, and I lied about Ashley's existence for all those years. I guess the reason I lost my job at Landon Points was also because I was irrational and insecure when it came to Emily's true motives. Jesus, is there anything I missed?"

"Knock it off; no one wants to hear you cry a river. Leave that to Justin Timberbeach." Helen laughs aloud as she takes another sip.

"You mean Justin Timberlake? You're nearly seventy, how do you even know who that is? Did he just put out a CD for the hearing impaired?"

"You know, your mother's pretty hip for her age."

"Hip?" Diane chuckles. "Well, lets just hope you don't break one soon. That is typical for people your age."

"Very funny. So have you spoken to Jason since the little blowout?"

"No, I'm giving him his space. I mean, what else can I do? I feel like I'm just going to continue pushing him away if I do anything else."

"You're probably right," Helen smirks. "And what's Steve's involvement in all of this? I still can't believe you called him."

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? Whether Steve and I are together or not, he still needs to take responsibility as Jason's Father."

"Well Diane," Helen sighs, "Jason is a grown adult now and should be taking care of himself. Perhaps Steve is just letting him do that."

"Excuse me, Mother?" Diane locks eyes with her, "Are you seriously defending Steve's lack of parental guidance?"

"No, not at all. I'm just saying that it's not really your place to say anything at this point. You know what I mean?"

"Not really, Mother. I just hope I knocked some sense into Steve- and that he does something quickly."

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Scene: The Summers Estate. 

Steve Summers pulls off his shades and raises a brow in disbelief when he sees Kimberly patting down some soil in the front of the house. Only mere weeks had gone by since they had started renovations on the house after the devastation that occurred in the quake. Kimberly certainly had seemed less than pleased to join in on the renovation of the home, although perhaps things were changing before Steve's very eyes.

"Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes," Steve startles her from behind.

"You better not take any pictures and sell them to the magazines. My very reputation could be ruined." Kimberly looks back and smiles.

"I don't think you have to worry about your reputation at this point," Steve cracks a smile and walks over towards her.

"Isn't everything looking nice again? The workers have been here from dawn until the sun goes down each day and I've been doing as much as I can- in the yard too, believe it or not."

"Oh, I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes." Steve pauses for a moment before continuing, "oh, I wanted to ask, have you seen your brother around?"

"Jason? No, not really...haven't heard from him in a week or so. I know he's busy with that new teaching position. And God knows he has a lot on his plate right now." Kimberly sighs.

"Yeah, I got a call from your Mother yesterday. She's a bit worried about him." Steve reveals.

"In what way?"

"Says he blew up at her when she tried to visit him. I mean, does that sound like Jason?"

"Not at all," Kimberly replies. "That's definitely out of character for him. You haven't spoken to him at all?"

"No, his cell goes right to voice mail. Is that usually the case?" Steve inquires.

"Not usually. Perhaps you should ask dearest Ashley. She seems to be in everyone's good graces as of late. It wouldn't surprise me if she knew more about what was going on than any of us."

Steve nods and doesn't seem to interject to Kimberly's annoyance. "Well, let me know if you hear anything, okay?"

"Alright, will do Dad."

Steve begins to walk away and then pauses for a moment before entering his car. He looks back at Kimberly and realizes he shouldn't leave without letting her know how proud he is. Steve has known for years how fragile Kimberly truly is and while she may not act like it's a big deal to receive praise, he knew deep within it would mean the world to her.

"Hey Kim, it really means a lot to me that you're taking responsibility and pitching in with the work here. You've really grown into an exceptional woman. I know your Mother is really proud to..."

Kimberly looks back at him and lets everything sink in before returning a simple smile. She couldn't think of any words that could express how happy she was to hear that from her Father, the one man that she had always strived so hard to please.

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