By the time Friday night arrives, Cory has had several good days. Cory had spent time helping Rick out at his father's old garage that was sold to Rick before Mr. Dubois died. The night terrors have eased enough that Cory doesn't drink that much and spends time talking to CJ in the evenings using video calls, and there's one night, he gets Tara laughing so hard that she snorts and gets embarrassed. After that, everything rolls smoothly until around three o'clock Saturday morning when a dream enters Cory's mind about the day he found out about CJ.

"Now, that's enough, you dumbass. You will not ever talk to your mom like that again. She's one of the best people I know."

Breathing deeper than before, Cory recognizes her voice, causing his face to shake. Every ounce of rage goes beyond his breaking point. "You ... why the fuck are you here?" he groans, nearly grinding his teeth as he talks.

Sensing things are about to get ugly, Tara goes over and whispers in Mrs. Dubois' ear.

"Go inside, Momma, and calm down. I can handle him. Go, take care of little man. He's looking for you."

Mrs. Dubois nods at her advice. She reluctantly walks away.

"You want a piece of me. Here I am, big boy. Come get me," she provokes him, trying to get him to turn around.

"Go fuck yourself, you bitch," he says, still facing away from her.

"I still have your ring on. You never officially ended it with me. So, my fiancé, wanna finish it? Then let's do this. I'm not some frightened teenage girl anymore. Turn around, you coward. My Cory wouldn't keep his back to me like a little scared bitch."

Out of anger, he twists his body around, getting right up in Tara's face. "You two-faced little slut. How could you write me like that, huh? You wanna tell me that I'm not good enough for you and leave me in a goddamn 'Dear, Cory' letter and then talk to me like this?"

Still calm, wiping the spit from her cheek, Tara maintains her composure, even though she's scared out of her mind.

"I never said you wasn't good enough. I said I wasn't, and we never agreed it was over. I mean it, I still have the ring on, see."

She pulls her hand up, exposing the engagement ring on her finger. Using his speed and strength, Cory clamps her wrist with one hand, forcing the ring off with the other.

"Not anymore. This worthless piece of shit is history."

He chucks the family heirloom and watches as it grows smaller the farther it travels. His action forces Tara's hand in the matter.

"You bastard. I love that ring. I still love you, you big clueless idiot! I was trying to get your temper out of the way so we could talk. Do you hate me that much?"

Without screaming, Cory comes out of the dream and sits up in his bed. The only source of light is the street lamp outside through the window. Depression begins to set in as Cory remembers that day. Unable to go back to sleep, Cory gets up and quietly throws on a pair of blue and white tennis shoes. Then, in a pair of blue and orange And One brand basketball shorts and a black muscle shirt, Cory lifts the window and jogs for nearly twenty minutes. He stops in front of Tara's old house and stares at her bedroom window on the way back.

"Hot damn, everything started falling apart in that bedroom," Cory says between breaths with his hands on his hips, "I wonder if it's still set up the same?"

Taking his time, Cory walks over to the side of the house and climbs up as he did back when he was dating Tara in high school. Peaking through the window, Cory sees that Tara's bedroom is still the same way it was back then. Shocked, Cory sits there with memories flowing through his mind from when he and Tara had sex in that bedroom. The happiness and sadness of those days. One day, in general, replays in Cory's mind.

"Mom, why did Rick do that, knowing he would be caught right there?"

Unsure of what to tell him, she wings it. "Sometimes we do things without caring what happens to us. I hate seeing him go through this too, but I can do nothing about it. I love him like a second son, and it's tearing me apart to see him sitting behind bars."

She closes the door and goes back to her bedroom, fighting the urge to cry. Cory, meanwhile, takes a shower and leaves to head over to Tara's. When he arrives, he sees her looking out the window, keeping an eye out for him.

"Looks like she's waiting on me."

Strolling up to the door, he twists the knob and heads inside to see her in a nightgown.

"Thought we'd try what we did at Lloyd's to get it out of our system," she admits, feeling embarrassed about him seeing her in the silky white gown.

"Oh, wow," is all he can muster, going to her, picking her up, and placing her legs around his waist.

"All this for me. I'm touched," he says, carrying her up the steps to her bedroom and shutting the door with his foot.

She's already yanked his shirt off, feeling his chest and stomach muscles. "I need you," she murmurs in his ear as he slips her out of the gown, exposing her bare skin to his.

"I can't take not being with you," he replies.

Reality brings Cory back to the moment when the upstairs hallway light comes on, and he quickly shimmies down to the ground and jogs home. Unable to fall back to sleep, Cory scrolls through his phone through the free apps and comes across ones for Facebook and MySpace. Without going through the sign-up information, Cory puts his phone on charge and rolls over until he hears his mother moving around.

Within a half-hour, the aroma of bacon, eggs, and pancakes travels back to Cory's nose. The smells bring him from the bedroom and down the hallway. His beard is beginning to become prominent. Cory takes a seat at the table; there's a plate in front of him with steam rising from the bacon and eggs, and he notices the pancakes are smothered with maple syrup and topped with bananas and whipped cream.

"Mom, this looks excellent, thank you!" Cory says right before the oven timer goes off.

"Biscuits are done. I'll get the strawberry preserve to put on them," Lorraine replies with the oven door open and quickly places the biscuits on a plate and then over on the table.

Cory doesn't waste time or anything on the table. The fluffiness of the pancakes mixed with the thickness of the syrup and the taste of the bananas swirls in Cory's mouth with a glass of orange juice creates a sweet-tasting sensation that helps the silent misery fade away.

"Any plans for today?" Lorraine asks.

"I planned to do some tune-up work to my car and wash and wax it. I have plans to meet up with Tara and CJ later."

The tone of his voice sends an alarm to Lorraine. Her training as a police officer triggers something inside her to poke around gently at Cory.

"How did you sleep last night?"

"I was up about half the night. I went for a jog to try to clear my head. I didn't have any nightmares. I did go for a jog, but I tried to sleep again when I returned, but I tossed and turned. Everything is okay today, but I do need some time to myself before I meet up with them later. You understand, right, mom?"

"Yes, I do. I wasn't in the military, but I was a police officer. So the stress runs in parallel, and I will head over to the hospital to do some volunteer work. I'll keep my phone on me in case you need me."

Cory rinses his plate and glass while Lorraine slowly enjoys her breakfast. She was thrilled to cook for someone again, and the look on Cory's face made her day.

It's late morning and nearly early afternoon when Cory collects the items he needs to detail his Celica. The paint shows its age with the faded spots and the roof lightened by the sun beating down on it for years, "Damn, you've really been neglected, old girl. I'm sorry, but I will get you fixed back up to brand new soon. It can be done, and it will be done!" Cory teases, pretending his car can understand what he's saying.

Several hours later, when Cory finishes the second coat of wax on his car and takes off to drive around the area. The way he looks shows how tired he's feeling physically with the dark bags under his eyes and the long look on his face. But, at that moment, the exhaustion fades away with the car stereo cranked up, the windows down, and the sunroof open, and life's issues and unanswered questions vanish.

"WOOHOO!" Cory screams, flying nearly seventy miles per hour on the road out of RiverCreek.

The fun comes to an end when he's seen leaving town. Tara notices his car and calls him to find out what he's doing and where he's going, "Come on, Cory, pick up the phone."

"Hello."

"Hey! I passed you a minute ago. Where are you going? Did you forget about meeting up with us for dinner?" Tara questions with a sharp tone in her voice.

"No. I spent my day cleaning and detailing my car, and I'm taking it for a spin. I'll turn around shortly and meet you at your mom's house," Cory replies cheerfully.

The line goes dead, and Cory drops the phone into the pullout cold holder and turns around at the first spot he finds. Driving back through RiverCreek, Cory makes his way over to Olivia's and parks in the driveway, but no one is there when he arrives, "Yeah, terrific, you call and bitch at me about being out having a little fun, and you're not even here when I arrive."

While he sits and waits with his seat reclined, Cory falls asleep with his sunglasses providing enough shade to make it easy. His nap lasted nearly twenty-five minutes when a garbage truck drives by, and the diesel engine stirred him from his sleep, but Cory manages to fall back to sleep.

Shortly after falling back to sleep, there's a crunch from the gravel as Olivia drives into the driveway and her Buick LeSabre comes to a stop. Tara and CJ pull up behind her, but the brakes squeak don't arouse Cory whatsoever.

It doesn't take Tara, and Olivia, long to discover why Cory hasn't exited his car by the sounds of him snoring. CJ goes to open the car door, but Tara catches him in time since Olivia is carrying in several pizzas and side items, "CJ, baby, would you help Nanna by carrying in the soda pops, please."

"Yes, Nanna!" CJ says and takes the two plastic bags with assorted sodas.

Once they're inside, Tara sucks down a deep breath before she gradually reaches inside of his car and gently pushes her fingertips into his shoulder. Cory quickly sits up where his sunglasses fall off with two clenched fists and rapid, shallow breaths as he looks around to regain his whereabouts. Tara is startled and takes a step back, but when Cory's vision focuses and sees that it's her, he opens the door and leans against the quarter panel.

"Son of a bitch! You scared the living hell out of me!" Cory says, appearing pale and clammy.

"I'm sorry. When I got here, my mom was in her car already and said she had ordered pizzas for everyone from Dino's Pizzeria. So, I followed her there and back. She's inside with CJ. When we pulled up and noticed that you were asleep, I wasn't sure how you'd react, so I had her take him inside. That way, you didn't scare him."

Able to feel the situation is well in hand, Tara places her arms under Cory's to pull him up to look him in the eyes. The bags under his eyes tells Tara that he's had issues sleeping again. She's not willing to push her luck but pulls Cory to her for a hug.

"Come on inside; food is fresh, and I want us to spend time together before we go out to talk by the docks. You know, like we used to do before our lives got complicated."

"Yeah, that sounds good, and pizza sounds amaze-balls right now. I'm sorry if I scared you. I woke up in the middle of the night from the days after Kayla was killed where we had sex every day, and that has been on my mind," Cory explains, which helps Tara ease her worry.

Together they head inside to enjoy nearly every bit of food to the point that Cory overstuffs himself, "Man, I forgot how good Dino's Pizza tastes."

Out of nowhere, CJ lets out a loud belch and covers his mouth, "Excuse me."

"Now that was a good one if I do say so, myself," Cory expresses and forces a belch with his hand covering his mouth, causing CJ to laugh.

Laughter fills the room, and Olivia senses that affection and compassion still exist between Tara and Cory. Their chemistry flows all around them that Olivia can't help but smile, remembering that feeling with her and her late husband. If things work between Tara and Cory, they would be the fourth generation to be together in the house that Olivia inherited from her mother. She never thought she would see that tradition continue after she and Wane moved away from RiverCreek to Little Rock.

As the sun begins to sink from the ruby gradually colored sky, Tara puts a hand on Cory's shoulder. He takes that as the signal to get moving so they can talk.

"Hey, CJ, you need to stay here with Nanna while I go with daddy, and we have a little talk, okay."

"Can Nanna take me to the park to swing?"

"Absolutely! If Nanna feels like taking you down to the park, then you can swing until you can't swing anymore." Cory interjects when he kneels to give his permission to CJ that it's okay.

Olivia extends her hand to take CJ down to the park within walking distance. Tara and Cory wait until they're out of sight before getting into Tara's Kia Sportage and driving down to the old popular area where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers meet. Tara and Cory feel their nerves beginning to bounce on the way there, uncertain of what the other has in mind. When they arrive and see that hardly anyone still hangs out at The Point, they get out and walk down to the edge of the docks.

"It's been a long time since we've been here together," Tara begins when she leans forward against the rail.

"Yes, it has, and those days were good and bad, but this place has a ton of memories," Cory replies, facing the same way as Tara.

The sun appears that it's kissing the water, and the reflection elongates the way it looks. Birds chipper from nearby trees, and in the distance, the roar of vehicles serves as a reminder of how busy the riverfront stays with local businesses a few blocks away. The tension between the two estranged lovers soars as the humidity lowers around them.

"So, how do we handle this?" Tara blurts out, being nervous.

"Tara, I don't know, and it's on my mind along with everything else in my life. I want this to work, and I want us to rebuild this relationship. This time though, I want it to be for the right reasons. We rushed as kids, and look where it got us."

"Will it be easy? Not at all, but might it be worth it? I still believe that it is, and I always will, but it's not because of our son. I see the fun-loving, easy-going, compassionate man that I love when I look at you. Not loved, but love. Your issues aside, I want you in our lives full-time," Tara babbles on to sound convincing.

Suddenly, a loud bang resembles gunfire, and Cory flings himself around the corner to hit the deck. The backfire from an old truck goes off a few more times, and Tara sees Cory on the ground with his hands over his head.

"Cory!" She cries out, "Are you okay? It was simply a truck backfiring."

Tara kneels to help Cory back to his feet, and when he brushes the dust from his shirt, Tara notices blood on his shirt, "Oh my God! Cory, you're bleeding!"

Sore again, Cory eases the shirt up, and Tara sees the damage from the wounds and gasps. Unfortunately, one of the nearly healed places ripped the scar tissue too, where it started bleeding. That's when Cory drops his shirt after seeing the look on Tara's face, and he tries to walk away.

"No, wait!" Tara cries out, running out in front of Cory.

"I'm fine, Tara. No need to worry."

"Damn it. I said stop!" Tara screams, and Cory stops, "Take the shirt off and let me look at that cut, now!"

Feeling defeated, Cory turns around and takes his shirt off. Tara comes within inches of his toned torso and glides her hand over the wounds, including the one that reopened. The sensation of his trauma pulses through her fingertips, and Tara brings her eyes to meet Cory's and tries to kiss him.

"Not right now; I need to go get this stitched up again."

"There's a new Urgent Care facility a few blocks from here. I'll take you there."

They get back into the Sportage, and Tara rushes Cory there, where he's patched up in no time, and they send the bill to the VA since they offer basic medical care to all service veterans.

"Okay, Mr. Dubois, you are good to go. I apologize for any discomfort; we needed to ensure that the wound was properly cleaned before dressing it up. If you have any further discomfort come back in, and we will see what we can do. Other than that, have a wonderful evening," the Nurse Practioniner says and throws away her gloves.

"Thank you, and have a good weekend."

Out in the waiting area, Tara gets to her feet and holds the door open for Cory when he walks for the exit. In the Sportage, Tara doesn't waste time pushing Cory against the side of her car and plants a kiss on him until Cory pulls away.

"Damn, that still feels natural," Cory whispers and feels Tara run her fingers through his hair.

"I'm glad you're okay. Would it be inappropriate to ask about how you got those nasty wounds?"

Instantly, Cory locks up with the images flashing in his mind out of order. To try to drown out the mental and emotional trauma, Cory tightens his fists, slamming them into his temples as the impact from earlier creates a moment where he loses control.

"Cory! Stop! It's okay! I promise you don't have to hurt yourself. I'm sorry, I am so sorry! Come on, let's go back to my mother's to relax."

Unable to collect his composure with the sounds of fighting still blasting in his mind, Cory slides down to the ground and covers his eyes with the palms of his hands, "No, no, no, I can't go back there ever again. What they did to us was unbelievable, and what they did to Sabrina was inhumane. There's blood everywhere and people screaming for mercy and their lives," Cory cries out with tears running below his hands.

"Shhhhh, it's okay, you're not there; you're home, with me and everyone who loves you. Let that place go! It's okay, it'll be okay," Tara says as she takes Cory into her arms, rocking him gently.

It takes a few minutes for Cory to guide himself back to reality with Tara. Once his senses return, Cory eases Tara away to get back on his feet and into the passenger's seat. Worried, Tara pulls her keys from her pocket, then climbs into the driver's seat and returns to her mother's house, where the two of them walk up to the porch swing without being said and wait for Olivia and CJ to return from the park.

Olivia notices that something's off with Tara and Cory from the walkway. The lost look on Cory's face is one she recognizes, and the stare of terror in Tara's says that something happened, "CJ, baby boy, go upstairs and get you a bath, then Nanna will read you a story; for bedtime."

"Yay!" CJ screams and runs inside as his footsteps are heard going from the steps.

"I don't know what happened, but all I need to know is, are you two okay?" Olivia asks.

"We're good, momma; things got a little rough with a backfire from that old junk truck. It startled us, but we're okay, I promise," Tara says and takes Cory's hand.

Olivia heads inside to give them some space while CJ gets a bath. After he's finished, CJ gets tucked into bed in the guest bedroom and quickly falls asleep thanks to his favorite bedtime story. The tension is thick enough to cut a chunk out of the porch, but Tara and Cory gently rock until the sun has retired for the day.