As everyone's lives begin to change, Lloyd finds himself still at odds with RiverCreek's City Council. His morning consists of meetings where he continues to battle with the people's results but is still getting push back from those in power.

"Hey! The good people voted on this subject. Why, oh why, do we continue to have this debate? Things are moving along, with or without your support. So, get on board with the changes coming to RiverCreek. Tax revenue is pouring in like rain; the schools are getting upgrades and much-needed support for teachers and staff. The Chamber of Commerce has researched what's changed, and city employees have a shot at something better than a three percent increase in wages. Our crime rate hasn't changed, and we're close to closing multiple deals on more companies and industries to set up shop here," Lloyd declares from his seat.

City Council Woman, Felicia Walters, an average height middle-aged with gray hair and wireframe reading glasses, stands to address Lloyd, "Mayor Trippet, our concerns are toward the growing threat of an economic depression getting a grip on the world. We are excited for the future of RiverCreek, but we must prepare for what is potentially coming. How do you propose we keep moving forward?"

With an answer prepared, Lloyd takes his hands from the top of his desk and into his lap, "Council Woman Walters, I am aware of what's happening all around the country. However, to secure the promises I made to this community if needed, I will suspend the gradual transition to the planned flat tax system and fix the bugs as we go along. That's the strongest response my office can implement at the present time. What other concerns do you need me to address?"

"Mayor Trippet, can you say for certain that is the proper strategy to keep everything afloat? Maybe we should place a temporary hold until the economy settles."

The realization that fear still has a grip on members of the City Council, Lloyd sees they're trying to bring his hard work and success to a halt since some of them are afraid of the sudden change.

"Council Lady Walters, with all due respect to you and those still opposed to a bigger and better RiverCreek, all of you are allowing fear of the unknown factors that can't be predicted through analysis or computer simulations. We must place our trust in the people of our community and let them show us that this is the right direction. We work for them, not the other way around. Too many of us have forgotten that we speak for the people, not us doing what we think is best for them from a perspective of our interests and thoughts."

The chatter begins between every member of the Council as Lloyd gulps, wondering what's about to happen. It takes about fifteen minutes for the discussions to come to a decision.

"First thing, thank you, Mayor Trippet, for your dedication and maintaining your campaign promises. Secondly, after debating amongst ourselves, some of us are still unsure about the changes, but you're correct in your final statement. Third, we work for the citizens of our great small suburb, and somewhere along the way, we have overlooked that. Lastly, we will not stand in the way of the modernization of RiverCreek as long as one condition is met if things take a turn for the worse."

Concerned, Lloyd prepares himself for a response he may not enjoy, "What condition do you have in mind, Council Person Conway?"

When Councilman Conway gets to his feet, he runs his hand through his short curly dark brown hair and then adjusts his glasses, "If and only if this goes bad, you resign as Mayor. However, if you believe in this plan to that extent, then you will have our full support."

"I do believe in it that much, so consider this a win for both sides," Lloyd says without hesitation.

Finished with the meeting, Lloyd heads back to his office, where Simon is waiting for him. When the door flings open, and Lloyd throws his suit jacket on the rack, "Son of a bitch!" Lloyd lets out, startling Simon, "I think I painted the biggest fucking target on my back. If this expansion goes wrong, I agreed to quit my job as Mayor."

"Hey baby, it'll be okay because I have all the confidence in the world in your abilities. So, calm down and breathe; we have our wedding coming up. That's why I'm here; my family has everything planned and finalized. So, all we have left to do is wait for our big day. I love you oh so much. Now, let's forget about work and go have lunch."

"I love you too. You have been so good to me; I can't believe how much I've grown and changed since you came into my life," Lloyd says and kisses Simon.

After the kiss ends, they head out to lunch at a local spot, Burger Jamboree, for a light lunch where Lloyd temporarily lets go of the frustrations from work.

The bad day continues as Olivia receives a call from a vendor about a massive recall of organic lettuce and cabbage.

"Hello."

"Uh, hello, this is Kenny Queens of Ridgeway Organic Grocers. Unfortunately, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you that some of our products sent to you may have been exposed to lethal amounts of Listeria. Therefore, crates containing the barcodes 1436745246 and 1865583966 may need to be collected and sent back for credit on your next orders for lettuce and cabbage. Do you have any concerns?"

Olivia puts her fingers against the edge of her forehead before she replies, "The only thing I need is to have you read off the crate number again."

The customer service agent slowly repeats the codes, confirms the information with Olivia, and ends the call.

"Son of a bitch!" She says to herself so no one outside the office hears her.

With the codes written down, Olivia pages the produce manager to pass the codes to check the potentially contaminated items.

In addition, Tara's having a bad day with interviews for her replacement. Most interviewees request higher salaries or time off that isn't allotted for special non-holiday events. Lorraine is also having an off day when she finds a box she meant to donate of her late husband's stuff and finds herself crying when she opens it, and his scent is captured inside.

"Good afternoon, I'm Tara Rose calling for Amber Dunham for an over-the-phone interview," She greets when her call is answered.

"This is she, and like, oh my God, I can't believe you're like totally calling me!" The excited young woman answers, "So, before we begin, do I have every weekend off? I need that because you know that like my homegirls and me need to hit the clubs in St. Paul. Oh, and the pay can't be below starting at like fifty-five Gs a year because I have a good lifestyle I need to maintain before my daddy totally cuts me off, and he said that like if I make that much, he'll match it tax-free and yeah I have such good taste and such."

Blown away at the immediate demands, Tara tightly closes her eyes to maintain her composure, "I will talk to my bosses about that, but this is only a first consultation interview. If I've deemed you a candidate to move forward, they will contact you. So, tell me, Amber, what would make you a strong contender for the job as General Manager for Rocco's?"

The sounds of chewing on gum travel through the phone, and Amber continues to annoy Tara.

"I bring followers that can so totally Insta and Tweet about their meals and whatnot as long as they're free meals. Also, the top shelf wine would be a hot thing I can sling at parties and stuff. I'm a good people person since I'm an influencer with about five hundred followers. So like my face, the main part of your restaurant would be so good for us both."

Tara pulls the phone receiver away from her face to breathe more than ready to hang up.

"Well, okay, that's all I have for you for now. But, as I stated a moment ago, someone will be in touch if we select you as a candidate. So, Miss Dunham, please enjoy the rest of your day," Tara hangs up and slaps her hands over her temples, "Are you fucking kidding me? Where are people losers coming from?"

At the VA, Cory is busy helping Sierra prepare things for surgeries. His day isn't going as bad, but soon he dives back into a familiar world when a car crash sends a homeless veteran into emergency surgery. Unfortunately, the lead surgical technician is busy with another surgery, leaving someone to become a stand-in. When Sierra is paged and Cory tags along, the surgeon on hand looks at them to see who has better experience in emergency surgeries.

"Sierra, who is this?"

"Dr. Sutton, this is Cory Dubois; he's my trainee. He's a former Sergeant, too," Sierra says as the doctor looks at Cory.

"Do you have any experience with surgery? Especially with what they coined 'meatball surgery' to help save someone's life."

Cory steps up and quickly surprises Dr. Sutton and Sierra, "I do. I was stationed at a combat hospital in Iraq and helped out in probably hundreds of surgeries like that. What do you need, sir?"

Impressed, Dr. Sutton finishes washing up and looks at them both, "Cory, I want you to assist me. Sierra, this is an excellent opportunity to learn about emergencies. You'll be my second in there. So, you'll stay with the nurses and assist them. Now, get washed and get in there. I need surgical tool packages two, three, five, and seven. Sierra, get them out and set up, Cory; you'll handle anything I need once the tools are set up."

Nervous, Cory begins to tremble. The one thing he wanted to get away from was the one thing that takes him back to a negative place. He didn't realize that when he spoke up about his experience, he would become the technician to hand the tools to the surgeon and assist in saving another veteran's life. The surgery goes on beyond the normal shift, and Cory stands there trying his best to maintain his composure, but Sierra observes Cory's hands shake a little and puts her hand on his shoulder to help stop. Cory and Sierra walk down to the locker room to change when the surgery is over. Cory doesn't waste time getting into street clothes. With his scrubs in the dirty bin, he rushes out the door to get home, and when he arrives, Cory heads straight inside for the kitchen to get a can of Miller Lite and a seat at the table.

"Rough day, sweetie?" Tara asks.

"Yes. I was thrown into surgery for an emergency case, and my head went back over there at times. Getting out of there couldn't happen fast enough. It's something else to add to the pile because my trainer, Sierra, has put some moves on me, and I swear she'll sleep with any guy and cheat on her boyfriend just to get pregnant," Cory spills without thinking about what he says.

Tara's in shock when she hears what Cory lets out, but when he mentions Sierra, the jealousy burns through Tara's veins, but she does well to hide how she feels.

"Well, your test results should be in sooner or later, and then you can move up or find something else altogether. I'm in favor of resigning and finding even a school nursing job in RiverCreek. Anyway, dinner will be ready in about an hour. I have a meatloaf in the oven, and instead of mashed potatoes, I'm making fried potatoes. I'm going cheap and combining veggies into one pot. I've had a long day with some of the worst people to replace me."

Cory gets to his feet and hugs Tara. The embrace helps to melt away Tara's hindrances, but Cory shuts down in a way that he goes into autopilot. Through dinner, Cory barely acknowledges Tara and CJ. It's not until he's finished washing dishes that CJ comes to him wanting to play until bedtime.

"Daddy, want to play with me? I want to play cars, or maybe we can play video games."

Cory stands there staring out the window over the sink.

"Daddy! Daddy! DADDY!" CJ calls out to break Cory's stare.

"Oh, sorry, yeah, go to your room, and I'll be there in a minute," he says in a catatonic way.

The interaction draws Tara's attention from her chick-flick. Worried, she follows Cory and CJ to the bedroom and hangs out on the twin-size bed. She sits there the entire time Cory and CJ play video games. Of course, CJ gets the upper hand almost every time he has the puck on a classic Playstation 2 game, but while Tara is happy to see CJ happy at winning, she picks up how Cory's eyes have glazed over.

"Oh yeah, baby! I winned against daddy! Oh yeah, it's my night. I did it! Did you see mommy? I winned!" CJ boasts, looking back at Tara.

"Hey yeah, you did, kiddo, congrats on beating daddy. It's time to brush your teeth and wash your face for bed. So, Cory, go ahead, take your medicine and lie down, and I will be there shortly. But, first, I want to make sure the doors are locked, and everything is put away."

"Yeah, okay," Cory replies, getting to his feet, walking to the back bedroom, and nearly slamming the door.

It doesn't take Tara long to check the doors and turn out all the kitchen and living room lights. When she enters the bedroom, Tara sees Cory under the covers with an arm over his eyes. Concerned, she skips putting her hair in a tie and brushes her teeth before she slips into a pair of booty shorts and a tank top to join Cory in bed.

Cory grunts and rolls away from Tara. She scoots behind him with an arm around his waist and one under the pillow, "If you need to talk, you know you can tell me anything. I want you to feel safe with my arms around you, okay. I love you more than anything."

Sniffing, Cory doesn't budge and replies with a simple, "I know, and okay. I love you too, goodnight," Cory says, then reaches to turn off the light.

Not long before midnight, Tara is wakened up to the sounds of Cory groaning, accompanied by tossing and turning. When he nearly hits her, Tara rolls out of bed and tries to wake Cory up, "Core! Cory! Wake up, baby!" She cries out and pinches his big toe to no avail.

Unable to bring Cory out of the night terror, Tara gets her cellphone from the nightstand and calls Lorraine for help.

"Hey, it's late. Is everything alright?" She answers when the phone almost goes to voicemail.

"No. Cory's having a bad night, and I can't wake him up this time. So I squeezed his toe and yelled, but nothing happened. I don't know what to do, Mrs. Dubois."

Thinking in a daze, Lorraine does her best to shake off the haziness, "Okay, put it on speaker and let me call out to him."

Quickly Tara does what she's told and places the phone by Cory's head, "Hey son, it's mom. I need you to calm down and breathe easy. Do Tara and me a favor and relax; you're home. You're not over in the hellhole anymore. Think about CJ and think about dad and how they wouldn't want to see you like this."

Her words begin to sink in, and Cory slows down on tossing in bed; Tara goes to his toe and squeezes it with all her might which does the trick while Lorraine waits for a response.

"Huh? What? Where the hell am I?" Cory stumbles to say while his eyes are out of focus.

Using a soft tone, Lorraine does her best to help Cory focus on his surroundings.

"You're okay, and everything is okay. Sorry to say, you had another flashback dream that Tara couldn't pull you out of it alone. Are you up for telling us about it, or do you want to tell Tara only?"

As the cobwebs clear and the mental fog lifts, Cory's strength returns enough for him to sit up and run his hands through his hair, "Yeah, I can tell Tara about it. Thanks, mom; I'm sorry she had to pull you into my fucked up head."

"First thing first, watch your ever-loving mouth. The second thing is we are here for you because we love you, and the last item that I can think of right now is you need to tell your therapist about tonight or talk about it in your group session. I love you."

"Yes, ma'am, I will do that, I promise. I love you too mom, bye."

The phone beeps and the screen goes dark. Tara takes it away from Cory's body and sets it back on the nightstand, "So, tell me about your dream. Where were you, and what was happenin'?"

Cory opens his eyes and lifts his head, "It wasn't a normal night terror this time. Instead, I was in the midst of a real nightmare for once," there's a break as Cory collects his thoughts and sees the fear in Tara's eyes.

"What happened in this dream?"

There's a drawn-out silence until Cory inhales and exhales.

"So, we're in this weird place, and this storm starts to come in with heavy lightning and rain. We try to find shelter, but the harder we run, the more the storm rains on us. It's pitch black, and the thunder turns to a burst of crazy laughter. The clouds begin to swirl, and you call out it's a tornado, but instead, these clouds begin to form into a body, and my trainer starts to walk toward us, and she grabs my hand, trying to rip me from you. There's a struggle between you and her to get hold of me, and suddenly CJ appears from out of nowhere screaming, 'LET MY DADDY GO YOU BITCH!' and Sierra blows fire at him, but it doesn't end there."

The look of worry on Tara's face and dimness in her eyes tells Cory that this dream seems real in a way, "Jesus! How could it get worse?"

"You look at CJ, and Sierra yanks me away, and she grows in size and swallows me whole in one gulp. I'm now falling into this abyss as Sierra laughs more. When I finally hit bottom and bounce, she walks out of the shadows wearing this skimpy black satin see-through bikini. She approaches with a smile as a bed comes from under me. Her eyes are glowing green, and I can't move after they glow. She gets on the bed and kisses me, and the dark clouds vanish, and you're there with our son watching her kiss me."

"I'd kill that tramp if she ever put a hand on you."

Cory lays his hand over Tara's and continues, "It wasn't her you went after. A gun forms in your hand, and you walk over, shoving Sierra off me, then place the gun between my eyes and pull the goddamn trigger," Cory finishes with tears in his eyes as his body shakes harder.

"No! I won't go after you if she is the one who kisses you first. I love you, and I trust you; it's other bitches that I don't trust. Does this woman make you feel that uncomfortable? If you need me to go to work with you, I will whip this sluts ass and put her in her damn place. No one tries to make my man away."

Cory shrugs his shoulders, "Maybe I'm in my own head," he mentions, looking at the comforter.

Tara takes her arms to wrap them around Cory's head and pulls him into her chest. Cory leans in and eventually wraps his arms around Tara's waist. They sit there in silence, allowing Cory to regain his full composure.

"I'd never cheat or fool around on you. I want you to know that," Cory says as he pulls himself away from Tara.

"That's one thing I would never have to worry about. You have one of the best hearts of anyone I know. I've seen you put others above yourself from the moment we met. I remember how kind and gentle you were with everyone until I got my claws into you and drew out that hardcore side of your personality."

For the first time since waking up, Cory smiles, knowing Tara is trying to rebuild his confidence.

"That means a lot, baby. Anyway, it's well after midnight now, so the bad day has come to an end. Do you want to make the most of it and um, you know," Cory suggests with a wink as Tara giggles in place.

"Oh, baby! You ain't got to ask me twice about doing something naughty. So, start strippin' and lay down while we make this day a lot better than yesterday."

Instantaneously, Cory gets up, gets out of his clothes, and takes his place under the covers. Tara does the same and crawls between the covers as she pulls Cory to her, passionately kissing him until the tension becomes unbearable. They make love for a while until their bodies collapse for the rest of the night until their alarms go off, and they share a shower, preparing to start a brand-new day.