Love Worth Fighting For, Part 2

(Jake is lying in bed the next morning, replaying in his head the kiss with Julia from the night before. He looks at a photo of Vicky sitting on the nightstand.)

Jake: (to himself) I promise I will never betray you ever again. What I did last night was wrong. You are the only one I ever want to kiss. (he gets out of bed and heads for the shower)

(At the cottage in Bay City, Vicky is lying in the bed she had once shared with Jake. She remembers what she had witnessed the night before, and angrily gets out of bed and grabs her robe. As she is putting it on, she heads downstairs and finds Donna on the phone.)

Donna: Thanks so much Jamie. I will call as soon as the boys arrive. (she hangs up the phone and sees Vicky standing by the sofa) Good morning, darling. (Donna walks over and hugs Vicky) I still can’t believe this is happening.

Vicky: You didn’t tell Jamie that I was here, right?

Donna: You asked me not to. I still don’t understand why you don’t want anyone to know you are here. Especially Jake. Darling, he -

Vicky: I don’t want to talk about Jake.

Donna: Victoria, please, tell me what is going on? Why don’t you want me to call Jake?

Vicky: I just want to see the boys. I want to see my kids.

Donna: (hugging Vicky again) I know. I’m sorry.

Vicky: No, I’m sorry. I just feel so unsettled right now. Once Steven and Kirkland are home, I’ll be fine.

Donna: But Jake -

Vicky: Mother, please.

Donna: Okay, okay. But can we please call Marley? I think she should know.

Vicky: Yes, call Marley. But no one else.


(Back in Oakdale, Jake is in his office drinking a cup of coffee and reading the morning edition of The City Times. Telephone rings. Jake picks up)

Jake: McKinnon. (pause) Sure, you want to meet in an hour? (pause) Al’s Diner? Great. See you then. (hangs up phone, as Lucinda comes in)

Lucinda: So how was dinner?

Jake: Excuse me?

Lucinda: You know, the big festive dinner that Julia cooked up last night.

Jake: How did you know about that?

Lucinda: My friend, I know everything that goes on in this little town.

Jake: Dinner was fine.

Lucinda: It was just with the wrong woman, eh?

Jake: Do we have to talk about Vicky again?

Lucinda: I just think you need to let your feelings be known.

Jake: I thought that I have. I loved Vicky, I will always love Vicky. What more do I need to say?

Lucinda: And what about Julia? I think she likes you, you know.

Jake: Julia isn’t an issue.

Lucinda: So you don’t have feelings for her.

Jake: Why am I talking about this with you? This is none of your business.

Lucinda: I just don’t want to see the woman get her heart broken. You know, especially after with what happened between the poor girl and David Stenbeck.

Jake: Since when have you cared about Julia’s heart getting broken?

Lucinda: I don’t.

Jake: Listen to me. There is nothing between me and Julia. I can guarantee you if Vicky walked through that door right this second we would pick up right where we left off. Vicky was the only woman for me and she always will be.

(When Jake looks up from his desk, Julia has appeared in the doorway of his office.)

Julia: Hi, I hope I’m not interrupting.

Lucinda: Of course not. I’ll leave you two alone. (She leaves)

Julia: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stop by unexpectedly.

Jake: No, I’m glad you did. There are some things we need to talk about.


(Back in Bay City, Marley arrives at the cottage.)

Marley: Donna, I got here as fast as I could. What is this news about Victoria?

Donna: Marley, you should probably sit down for this.

Marley: No, what is it? (she pauses) Did they find her body? (Donna is silent) Tell me!

Donna: Actually, darling, she is upstairs taking a shower.

Marley: What? How can this be? How did this happen?

Donna: She showed up here last night.

Marley: Donna, where has she been for the last six months?

Donna: Honestly, I don’t know. She refuses to talk about it. I am very worried about her. Every time I mention Jake, she wants to change the subject.

Marley: What about the twins? Are they with her?

Donna: No, she’s alone. I’ve been too afraid to ask about them. I think your sister has been through a lot. We have to do everything we can to support her right now.

Marley: I think we need to call Jake right now. He needs to know.

(Vicky comes downstairs)

Vicky: No! Why can’t anyone listen to me? I don’t want to see Jake ever again! (Vicky starts to cry. Marley and Donna run to her side and walk her over to the sofa.)

Donna: Victoria, we won’t call Jake. We just want to help you.

(Vicky continues to cry, as Marley and Donna look at each other)


(At Jake’s office, Julia sits down in the chair in front of Jake’s desk.)

Julia: If this is about last night, I owe you a big apology.

Jake: No, I think I owe you one. If I have been leading you on in any way, that was never my intention.

Julia: You haven’t. I just had this crazy idea that I could be the one to take your mind off Vicky.

Jake: I don’t think anyone can ever do that. I think about that woman every second of the day.

Julia: The love you have for her is so amazing.

Jake: Last night, when we kissed -

Julia: Jake, you don’t have to explain anything to me.

Jake: No, I want to. You just caught me at a really vulnerable moment. Its been six months since Vicky - (he pauses) I guess I have been feeling pretty lonely.

Julia: Of course you have. You went from having a wife and two kids to living the life of a single man. It can’t be easy.

Jake: Its not. I just want to thank you for being so understanding.

Julia: You’re welcome. (stands up) I have to get going. Good-bye, Jake.

Jake: Bye. (Julia exits)


(Later that night, at the cottage, Donna and Vicky are sitting at the dining room table drinking tea.)

Vicky: The boys and Marley should be on their way here from the airport. I can’t wait to see them again and just give them the biggest hugs.

Donna: I’m sure Jake would like to give you a big hug too.

Vicky: Mother -

Donna: No, Victoria. I want you to talk to me. What has brought on all of this anger toward Jake? Do you blame him for what happened to you?

Vicky: I told you I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t even want to hear his name.

Donna: Tell me, Victoria. Right now. The boys are going to ask about him, you know that as well as I do.

Vicky: (getting upset) Fine! You want to know? I’ll tell you. I went to Oakdale. Before I came to Bay City. I went there to see my husband, you know the man who is supposed to love me more than life.

Donna: You saw Jake? What happened?

Vicky: What happened is that I went to the house - the house where we were going to raise our children. I went and I saw him having a romantic dinner with another woman.

Donna: Darling, that could have been a friend. Jake loves you.

Vicky: Well apparently he loves someone new because the way they were kissing, I would say they are a little more than just friends. (Vicky gets up from the table and walks over to the window by the front door, her eyes filling with tears.)

Donna: Victoria, I am telling you - you’re the one Jake loves. I just saw him a couple of weeks ago and he was still so torn up about losing you. You and the twins. He blames himself for the accident.

Vicky: I might as well have just died. I can’t believe he could just move on with someone new. He gave up on me. After everything I went through to get back to him and the boys -

Donna: Let me call him.

Vicky: Absolutely not.

Donna: I won’t tell him you’re here. I just want you to know for your own peace of mind that Jake is not seeing anyone. You are his whole world, Victoria.

Vicky: You really think he’s going to tell you that he has a new girlfriend? I’ve only been gone six months and you think he’ll tell you this?

Donna: Yes, I do. Because there is nothing to tell.

(Marley, Steven and Kirkland arrive at the cottage before Vicky can answer Donna)

Vicky: Steven! Kirk!

(The boys are shocked to see their mother.)

Steven: Mom. We thought - dad said, Jake told us you were -

Vicky: Honey, its really me.

Kirk: Mommy, where were you? We thought you died. Jake said you were in heaven with Bridget and Grandpa Michael.

Vicky: I had a little accident, but I am okay now. (She reaches out for the boys and the three embrace in a long hug, as Vicky begins to cry) I missed you guys so much. You’ll never know how much.

Steven: We missed you too, mom.

Kirk: Does this mean we can live here again? With you and Jake?

Steven: Yeah, mom. Where’s Jake?