Episode 3: Principles

Colin storms out onto the quiet, but breezy lakeside patio outside the hotel ballroom where his brother's engagement party will soon begin. Enraged by his father's comments inside, Colin goes out to cool off. His thoughts go back to high school.

A teenaged Colin and Hailey stand on the same patio, deeply troubled looks on both their faces as they stand apart from each other, Colin leaning against the same railing he is in the present. Hailey turns her back to him and begins to walk back inside, head in hands. Colin turns and stops her, offering an apology. Hailey shakes her head, a look of disappointment on her face, stinging Colin like acid.

"It's not enough, Colin. I don't care what your mother had to do with any of this, it's what you did...and I'll never forgive you for it."

Colin hangs his head, as Hailey hands him back a ring, she steps away from him, back inside the ballroom. Colin goes to stop her but stops himself, turning back towards the railing. He hears a voice call his name.

Turning around, Colin rolls his eyes at the realization it's his his father, Jackson.

"Colin?," Jackson calls out again, Colin hesitating to respond.

    *    *    *
Arriving in the lobby of the hotel, Eva Williams and her eldest son Trey Vitali arrive. Eva is dressed in a beautiful red evening gown, while Trey is wearing black slacks, and a blazer with a tie and dress shirt. They arrive arm in arm, laughing. Just ahead of them stand the Carters, also just having arrived at the hotel. Eva throws her arms open in delight upon seeing Hailey.

"Oh my God! Come her and give your Auntie Eva a hug, baby!," Eva squeals with delight, as she pulls Hailey in for a hug.

Anna turns around and gives Eva a warm smile before Eva steps over to hug her sister. "Congratulations, Anna!," Eva says while beaming ear to ear with excitement, "How has everything gone so far?"

"Well, fine so far, but dinner hasn't started yet," Lucas tells Anna, "We just got here a second ago ourselves."

"Yeah, they just renovated, so even I have no idea where anything is and I used to work here while I was in school," Trey chimes in, impressed with the changes they'd made.

"Well, the Davises can wait for us, as far as I'm concerned," Lucas decides.

Anna rolls her eyes at Lucas, and quickly changes the topic before he gets riled up again, asking Eva: "Where's Nathan, anyway?"

Eva's face changes, losing a bit of its enthusiasm as she tells her sister, "Oh he'll...he'll be around later, he got caught up with something at work so I just...let him go ahead."

Anna nods, understanding but having questions run through her mind. Ones she keeps in her head for the moment so as not to bring down the spirit of the evening. Instead, she takes her sister's hand and motions everyone to head for the ballroom, "...wherever that is."

    *    *    *


Colin returns to facing out over the lake, disinterested in speaking to his father. Jackson insists on talking to him though, and begins anyway.

"I would've thought this would appeal to you!" Jackson says, a look of mock surprise on his face, "I mean it's not like you two haven't fought over your toys before."

Colin turns around in anger, pointing his finger in Jackson's face threateningly, "You have absolutely no right to speak about any woman that way, and especially Hailey, you understand?"

Jackson laughs in his son's face, "Or what?"

Jackson turns the other way and takes in the indian summer air. Hands in the pockets of his suit pants, he carries a relaxed demeanour, almost out of spite for his hot-headed son. He asks of Colin, "Do you really think I don't know the real reason why you came back?"

Colin looks puzzled by his Jackson's assertion, retorting, "The real reason is the reason I gave you before. Mom wants me back in town for my last year, and the University's Environmental Protection Group reached out to me to help them out."

Jackson scoffs at this, losing his cool as he speaks, "You and that damned environmentalist crap again. Do you understand where the money that paid for your education came from? That put a roof over your head for the first eighteen years of your ungrateful little life came from? Do you?"

"Oh I'm well aware, Jackson," Colin responds coldly, "And that's what makes it even better, knowing I'm putting that money to a worthwhile use."

Jackson's demeanour is increasingly threatening, approaching Colin with eyes filled with fire, but trying to keep a cool exterior. He gets in close to Colin, telling him, "See, that's where you're wrong, because not a penny of my money will be going to you if you're going to use it to destroy everything this family's worked for for generations. I'll see to that."

Colin smiles cooly. Unphased by his father's threats, he answers, "That's fine with me, I can pay my own way."

Jackson steps back slightly, but continues on, "And as for Hailey, I know you're really back for her, to claim what's 'rightfully yours'."

Colin's face cringes at his father's cynical words. Jackson continues, "Oh, you can dress it up any way you like, make it as egalitarian-sounding as your sensitive pseudo-intellectual head wants you to, but you can't fight nature, and your nature wants to sling her over your shoulder like a caveman and drag her back to your cave, because that's how a man's wired--

"No that's how you're wired!," Colin erupts in a rage, shaking at his father's words, "I want Hailey to be happy, even if it's with my idiot brother."

Colin recoils from his outburst, returning to a cooler place, though still filled with rage inside. He continues, "Now I know that's not how you operated, but some of us aren't hard-wired to 'win the girl' like she's some sort of trophy that a man wins in a football tournament."

Jackson shakes his head, "I should've never let you take those gender issues courses in first year. You're starting to sounds like Gloria Steinem--

"You know I'll take that as a compliment, Jackson," Colin cuts his father off, starting to walk away from him, "because God forbid someone treats the woman like a person with free will and a functioning brain in all this."

"Colin!," Jackson shouts out to him before Colin re-enters the ballroom, "Think about my offer, yeah?"

Colin stops before the door, and chokes out, "Go to Hell," before carrying on, back inside.

As he re-enters the ballroom, Colin is stunned upon seeing Hailey entering the ballroom from the hotel lobby. Wearing a beautiful gown, she beams as she enters the room, with her family trailing behind. The room filled with guests becomes loud with applause as she approaches her fiancee and kisses him full on the lips to continued applause and moments of good-natured catcalls. Hailey turns to face Colin after breaking from Brad's embrace. Her demeanour immediately changes from joy and confidence to one of shock and unsureness. Her mouth agape at the sight of Colin, whom she hasn't seen in years.

Episode 2: Warm Welcome

It's early evening in Two Harbors, and in a modest house in the north end of the city, reside the Carters. Inside the Carter house this evening, the family's youngest, Hailey, is preparing for one of the biggest nights of her life. Hailey stands in her bedroom, before an old floor mirror passed down from her grandmother Frances, with Stephanie beside her, changing for her engagement party to Bradley Davis. She stands in a floor length gown, tailored perfectly to her body. A gift from her husband, she had been to the tailor's early that morning to have everything just so for tonight.

Hailey glows as she stands in the mirror, turning and posing over and over. Stephanie excitedly walks over to the stairs up to Hailey's attic bedroom and calls for their mother, Anna. Anna runs up the stairs and is dazzled by what she sees. Anna shakes her head, telling Hailey, "Your father is going to fall over dead when he sees you like this, I tell ya!"

Hailey and Stephanie laugh, with Hailey still posing in the mirror. Hailey chimes in: "Well he better stay alive until the wedding, I have to have someone walk me down the aisle."

"And we sure as hell don't want Jackson Davis to be the one doing that!" Stephanie quips, elicitly a shudder from Anna and Hailey.

From downstairs comes the sound of a slamming door. The women perk up, and Anna quickly heads for the stairs, deciding that she should hold him off for a minute. Stephanie shoos Anna from the stairs, and insists that she do so, noting "Hailey still has to finish putting on her makeup, and I've never been the girly girl of the family, so you have to play judgmental mom."

Anna concedes, and Steph runs down to greet her father.

Anna stands beside Hailey, looking into the mirror with her. She smiles widely. "You know, I can't even believe you're getting married, never mind how grown up you look."

Hailey beams with confidence, and goes to put on her lipstick. As she does, she tells her mother "You know, it's really funny...you never know how life's going to go."

"How so?"

"Well, I mean, you and dad weren't at all excited that I was marrying Brad when I told you, right?"

"Right."

"You know, 'I'm too young for him', 'why don't you wait a few years?' and all that?" Hailey continues, "And yet here you two are, you're acting so....happy for me. It's really amazing."

"Honey, we are happy for you," Anna tells Hailey, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You're our little girl, and we want you to be happy above all else, no matter who you're marrying."

Anna turns Hailey around and mother and daughter share a hug. Pulling away, Anna smiles, finishing, "And I know how clichéd that sounds, but you know what they say about clichés."

Hailey laughs, fanning herself as she tears up a bit, "Oh great, now I have to fix my makeup."

Anna rolls her eyes, asking "If you're this bad now, how are you gonna be at the wedding, honey?"

"God knows," Hailey says, grabbing a tissue from the box on her dresser, "I think I'll need a Hollywood crew or something to touch me up every five minutes."

Both mother and daughter turn as they hear footsteps up the stairs and the chatter of Steph and Lucas.

Anna walks over to her husband, "Honey, look at our beautiful daughter."

Hailey turns gracefully around in a full circle before posing, facing her father. Lucas' smile grows quickly as he looks at a daughter he's forever seen as a young girl, now transformed into a vivacious young woman.

    *    *    *

"Well this is exactly the kind of warm, spirited welcome I've come to expect from the Davis family", Colin exclaims, making a pointed jab at his family, currently stood before him in the doorway for the Davis home, mouths agape at his surprise arrival.

"Well, what did you expect?" Jenn chimes in, "A marching band and a parade?"

"'Nice to see you' would suffice," Colin shoots back, stepping into the doorway despite the less-than-warm greeting.

Marian steps forward at this moment to give her son a warm hug. This rare show of affection causes her other children to tighten up slightly in surprise. She steps back from hugging Colin, and holds him at arm's length, looking him up and down with a big smile. She kisses his cheek and tells him softly, "I really missed you, dear."

"Not as much as I missed you," Colin replies, "And all of you, really!"

This outburst of emotion is immediately greeted with eye rolls and incredulous looks from his brothers and sister, who've turned and begun to make their way toward the living room. Jenn is particularly revolted, telling Colin, "Oh come on, Colin. The last time we saw you, you had embarrassed us all with that newspaper article you wrote, and then left for Seattle and we didn't hear a word from you for two years."

"Well, that's partly why I came back," Colin says, becoming suddenly rather earnest in tone, "I didn't like how I left things with any of you, and I think I owe it to you, in particular, Brad, since it's gonna be your big day soon, that I...you know...set things right, and congratulate my older brother, here."

This sets Brad a bit at ease, the initial tension between him and Colin upon Colin's entry subsiding noticeably at this moment. He reaches out his arm and wraps it around his younger brother, pulling him in with a couple manly slaps on the arm so as not to seem "weird". Colin doesn't expect this and is taken aback slightly, but at this point, the whole situation's so awkward that's basically par for the course.

Robbie pipes up, "So how long are you back for then?"

Colin smiles wryly, and says simply, "Until I'm done."

Jenn pulls Marian aside in this moment and asks her if she'd invited him to come back for the wedding. Marian admits that she had, but she also offered to cover their younger brother Jordan's ticket home as well, but that Jordan "had a very important exam come up and couldn't get out of town."

Jenn scrunches her nose at this, "Mother, it's too late in the month for exams, even for the summer semester, he'd have finished his exams in the first half of the month, no?"

"I don't know, it's been years since I've been in school, and we had summer vacation, so I can't judge."

"I never said anything about judging, but I sure as hell don't believe him."

Marian rolls her eyes, dismissing Jenn with a quick "pish posh", before turning back to Colin.

"Colin, darling, I'm so glad you're coming. I'm going to get in the car, and everyone, I expect to see you in the car in a moment, yes?" Marian announces to the group as she grabs her clutch and steps out the door, closing it behind her.

Jenn rolls her eyes in exasperation, throwing her hands up as she walks towards the door as well. She gestures at her remaining family, telling them, "You see? This is what the next six months are gonna be, right? I'll save the real estate section of the paper tomorrow."

Robbie attempts to follow, but Jenn slams the door behind her, narrowly missing hitting Robbie in the face and hands. Robbie jumps back slightly, then opens the door and walks out himself, smiling awkwardly back at Brad and Colin.

Leaving them alone, Brad grabs a small bag off the counter, while Colin rummages through one of his bags, pulling out a small gift bag. Brad and Colin both turn around at the same time, and stop facing each other.They laugh a little upon seeing their respective gift bags. Colin wonders why Brad has a gift bag at his own party. Brad tells him he has a big surprise for Hailey at the party.

Colin smiles at the mention of this gesture, telling Brad "You know, she's lucky to have you, yeah?"

"I'm sure you mean that," Brad retorts with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"No, seriously, I do," Colin says, putting his hand on Brad's shoulder, "I know you really love her, man, and I know you'll treat her well."

Brad gives Colin a faint smile. He thanks him for supporting him, telling Colin "I know it's gotta be hard for you, but I'm really glad you're back for this, means a lot, man."

They lean in for a quick hug, before setting out for the hotel ballroom.

    *    *    *

"Well, when are you gonna be there, Gina?" Hailey says in a disappointed voice into her cell phone.

Stephanie and Anna are listening in, but pretending not to. Hailey looks behind her as her sister and mother look away, pretending to finish primping to get ready for the party.

"11? Wow...that's really late....yeah no that's fine, I just want my best friend there for my engagement party, of course!" Hailey tells Gina, to the delight of her mother and sister, who flash wide smiles at each other before hiding their feelings from a suspicious Hailey.

"Yeah I'll see you then," Hailey says into the phone before hanging up, and tells her family the news, to their feigned surprise. Stephanie reassures Hailey that she'll have everyone else around her to help her celebrate. Hailey smiles, but remembers that Colin won't be there, and nor will their eldest sister, Kayla. Steph gives her sister a quick hug, and tells her, "You're probably better off not thinking about Colin right now anyway."

Hailey nods somewhat woefully, knowing her sister's probably right, though she'd rather not believe it. "I know you miss him, Hailey," Steph continues, "But it isn't like he was there for you after he left or anything. Look who was!"

"Brad", Hailey finishes, sighing heavily, "I know, I know. I just....we spent a lot of time together the two of us, and --"

"And you still love him, somewhere in there", Steph cuts in, motioning to Hailey's heart and head.

"Pretty much"

"Hailey, just enjoy what you have now. Brad, as much as I can't believe it, really stepped up this year," Steph tells Hailey, almost disbelieving her own words, "Hold onto that. Okay?"

Hailey smiles slightly, hugging Steph again, treasuring the sage advice.

"Now, I'm gonna finish getting ready, and we'll meet you out at the car, okay?" Steph tells her sister, before heading upstairs, calling up to her mother to hurry.

Hailey stays downstairs, thinking over what her sister's just told her, recalling for the first time in awhile her love for Colin. As she looks into the mirror to adjust her hair, she looks behind her, and sees Colin walk into the room. He smiles and holds his arms out, announcing to her, "I came back for you, Hailey."

After a moment of shock and disbelief, Hailey spins around fast to find no one's in the room at all. Hailey looks around the room, not sure if she was hoping to be seeing things or not. Finally realizing she'd been wrong about Colin being in the room, she breathes deeply and coaches herself back to reality, reminding herself that she's engaged to the man who she loves that also loves her back, and that it'll all be okay.

This seems to set her at ease for the moment, as her family returns to the living room, ready to leave. Taking one last look in the mirror, Hailey smiles and follows her family out the door to the party.

    *    *    *


Jackson Davis storms out of the dining hall where his son Bradley's engagement party will very shortly begin, cell phone in his ear. Jackson demands to the voice on the other end of the line that he'll be unreachable tonight. After a slight pause, Jackson breathes deeply and replies, "Gina, you know exactly why I won't be reachable tonight, because I'll be at the engagement party."

A moment later, "Yes, you know, that thing you're going to be at after you finish the filing, though I'm sure between your long-winded phone conversations to your girlfriends and your endless nail filing, none of that will get done until next week, but I digress. Don't let anyone call me, got it?"

Jackson gestures as if he's magically bestowing reason upon Gina through the phone, "GREAT! See you later, Gina!", and hangs up.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jackson turns to head back into the dining hall when Marian enters the lobby and calls out to him. Jackson turns back around and smiles, "Sweetheart!"

They give each other polite hugs and kisses, devoid of intimacy, before Jackson raises his head to see Colin enter the room. Jackson takes in the sight of his long-estranged son in before greeting him, "Junior."

Colin nods, replying quickly, "Jackson."

Marian ushers the rest of the family into the dining hall to see what the hotel had done to set up for the party, leaving father and son virtually alone in the lobby. They stand apart, with a wall of tension between them one could almost see with the naked eye.

"So," Jackson begins, "I see you decided to take me up on my offer then."

"Don't even think that for a second," Colin stops him, stepping closer to him with intensity in his eyes, "I'm not here to do any of your dirty work, I'm here for me, and no one else, got it?"

Colin ends the standoff with his father after staring him down for a moment, heading into the dining room. Jackson stays behind, with a smirk emerging on his face.

Episode 1: Time to Change

The blue sky of Two Harbors, Minnesota is marred only by the shadow of an incoming Boeing plane, slowly descending to the tarmac. As the plane lands, Colin Davis lets out a heavy sigh as he re-enters his hometown.

"Welcome home, Colin," he mutters under his breath as he sets down his empty glass, not long ago filled with organic beer.

He winces slightly to himself as the plane taxis toward the gate, knowing what's to come when he steps off.

    *    *    *

Marian Davis gracefully sashays down the grand staircase to the foyer of her expansive home, putting her sparkling earrings on as she does so. She looks toward the living room, checking to see if anyone's there, and if her eldest son, Bradley, is ready for his big night: The night of his grand engagement party.

Marian spots Brad standing in the living room, fixing his tie in the mirror. Marian looks on, a wide smile forming across her face as she watches her son. She saunters into the living room, still beaming. Brad spots her in the mirror and turns around, smiling widely.

"Well, have you ever seen anyone this handsome?", he asks, arms outstretched and posing.

Marian laughs in response, choking out, "Your father, maybe."

"Hey, now!", Brad protests, "You could shatter my ego talking like that."

Marian fixes Brad's tie and looks deeply into his eyes, relaxing from her usual stiff outward appearance, saying earnestly, "You look amazing, and Hailey will be so proud to call you her husband."

She fixes Brad's collar and tightens back upturns away, heading towards the foyer, where she calls the maid over, asking her to let her other children, Jenn and Robbie, know that the car will be ready in a few minutes, and to hurry for the party.

    *    *    *

Upstairs, Robbie Davis sits at his computer desk, curtains drawn and lights dimmed. His suit for the engagement party lies on his impeccibly-made bed, untouched, and still zipped up in its bag. He sits, engrossed in what's on his computer screen. So much so that he misses the sound of someone knocking on his door, then entering his room. It's his twin sister, Jennifer.

She startles him when she speaks. "Hey," she calls out, "you planning on, you know, getting dressed tonight?"

Robbie takes a second to snap back to reality, but still would clearly rather be doing his work. "Oh, I, yeah...just a sec. I've still got some more stuff to finish from work today," he blusters.

Jennifer, or Jenn as only Robbie can call her, rolls her eyes. She walks over to Robbie's desk and closes off the monitor. Robbie immediately protests.

Jenn interjects immediately, "And if I hadn't done that, I'dve come home, and got back up again tomorrow morning and you'd still be staring at that monitor."

Robbie gets up from his chair and fumbles with the garment bag. Jenn sits down on his bed and looks at Robbie with concern. "You know, I know this is probably the last thing you want to be doing tonight," Jenn voices, "It's not exactly high on my own list, but, he wants to marry the girl."

Robbie pulls the suit from the bag, removing the suit jacket as slowly as humanly possible, as though delaying this process will slow down the progress of the evening. He looks up at Jenn and asks, "What about Colin, though?"

"Well, they're not together now, are they?"

"Well, no."

"And Colin isn't even in town anymore, so it's really kind of moot."

Robbie takes the pants off the hanger and motions Jenn to face away while he changes. Jenn clicks in to what Robbie's asking and obliges.

Robbie responds, "What if he does come back?"

"We'd know by now, surely." Jenn insists.

"I just don't think this is going to lead to anything but disaster, Jenn. I think if Brad's not careful, he could tear the whole family apart."

Jenn ponders his words for a moment, then turns back around with a start, "I don't think you have to worry about that," she offers.

"I do though."

"Well don't. It's not your battle to fight."

Jenn turns back around and heads for the door. The maid knocks at this moment, and instructs Robbie to hurry. Jenn follows the maid out. Robbie flops down on the bed, shaking his head.

    *    *    *

Colin sits in the cab, driving into the city on his way from the airport. His home, Two Harbors, looks much the same as when he left two years ago for university. Same buildings, same houses, same hubris. A couple people attempting to start up new businesses in spaces that had laid empty for years after the economic crisis hit, nearly wiping the auto industry out, including his family's business, Atlantic Motor Co.

What hadn't been killed by the recession had already been killed by the big box stores. Colin saw his father's investment in the collection of big box chain stores on the outskirts of town as being a ruse to maintain and stimulate the "culture of the car". He never approved and has never set foot in any of the stores in question. Even looking at them now makes him wince as he drives by them.

As they approach the Atlantic HQ, Colin asks the cab to drive slowly as they pass. Colin studies the compound closely. He quietly lets out, "I'm baaaaaack!" to which the cabbie overhears and immediately asks, "sorry, what was that?"

"Oh...nothing, just thinking out loud."

Colin asks to head on again, and they drive off.

    *    *    *

Jennifer descends the grand staircase to the foyer of the Davis house, impeccably dressed in a somewhat-business-ready red blouse and grey skirt, sitting below the knees, red pumps to match. Her hair done up in a bun, she looks older than her 28 years. Simply by way of her attire, she often gives the impression of being in her late 30s. Tonight she makes little effort to soften her looks, and as she enters the living room, Marian's face is one of slight disappointment at her choice of attire.

Jenn spots Marian's expression immediately, and calls her on it, asking "What wrong with it, Mother? I can tell you don't like it."

Marian, realizing her expression isn't as subtle as she'd like to believe, fakes a smile and approaches Jenn, responding, "No, Jennifer! It's not that. You look lovely. I just...you're going to a party, not a board meeting, darling."

Jenn sighs heavily and unpins the bun hastily, letting her hair flop down messily onto her shoulders. Exasperated, she chokes out, "There. Satisfied?"

Marian rolls her eyes and walks over to her bag, pulling out a brush. She hastily brushes through Jenn's hair while Jenn, resisting reverting to a 12 year old, stands quietly and still, allowing her mother to dote on her.

"There", Marian smiles as she finishes working on Jenn's hair, "Beautiful, you're ready to bring some handsome man to his knees."

"You've lost your mind, Mother."

"You have too if you think dressing for the office is going to get you a date!"

Marian's words sting a bit to Jenn, who fights her urge to tell her mother to back off with every fibre of her being. Instead, she turns, smiles, thanks her mother for her help, and heads directly for the caraffe of bourbon in the corner of the room.

Marian, a bit concerned about time, asks if anyone had seen Robbie anywhere. Jenn tells her that Robbie's upstairs getting ready, noting, "he should be ready by now, though."

Brad also notices that his father isn't home yet. "He'll meet us at the hall", Marian tells him. Brad seems relieved. Marian lights up as Robbie finally descends, dressed in his suit. She notes that almost the whole family's together, and looking great, "all that's missing is Jordan, and Colin."

The siblings all unwittingly flinch at the mention of their brother, Colin. Robbie pipes up immediately, "He isn't going to be there tonight, is he?"

"No, no, honey," Marian assures him, "though I'd love if he were."

The room goes strangely quiet for a moment. The siblings stare awkwardly at each other, unsure what to say to break the tension in the room.

    *    *    *

Outside the house stands Colin, getting out of the cab after paying him. His bags are removed from the trunk, and he thanks the driver for taking him here. He looks out at the imposing estate and sighs heavily. "Well, here goes nothing," he voices aloud, stepping towards the door, luggage in hand(s).

    *    *    *

Marian and her grown children wait awkwardly in the living room before Jenn finally pipes up and suggests everyone head to the car for the party. Brad immediately agrees, pulling himself off the sofa and making a beeline for the foyer. Marian gets up slowly, throwing her hands in the air, and telling everyone, "I'm sorry I even brought your brother up. I just figured it'd be nice if he were here with us for --

"Not tonight, mother," Jenn cuts her off, "It's Brad's night, okay? Let's get ready."

Marian wordlessly nods, admitting defeat. She joins Jenn and heads to the foyer. Brad tries to lighten the mood by reminding everyone: "It's my engagement, and drinks are on her," pointing at Marian.

Marian rolls her eyes and laughs, turning to confirm with the maid that the car's ready for them. Brad then swings open the door, only to find someone on the other side of the door.

The person turns around, turning out to be Colin, with a big smile on his face. "Surprise!" He shouts to his stunned and largely unimpressed family.





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A Disclaimer Before We Begin

Just for clarity's sake, the actors listed beside each character are not in any way actually involved in this project. It is a purely text-based serialized drama written by myself, A. Washington-Beeby.

The actors listed in the character bios are strictly there for the purpose of providing a visual for readers to go by during the series. These actors can change over time, just as on daytime dramas, and any changes will be reflected on the character bio sheets, which will be expanded and divided up into individual pages over time.

Just thought I'd clear that up! Now, on with the story!

INTRODUCING THE FAMILIES (Part 4): The Lewises and others (to be continually updated)

Final installment in our character intro entries. This will be updated from time to time (as will the others) as we introduce more characters into the show. Here is the final installment.

GINA PAXTON

Linsey Godfrey

Gina is Hailey Carter's best friend, and secretary to Jackson Davis. An oblivious, spoiled daddy's girl, Gina is very self-absorbed and lives a hedonistic life. Her secretarial work is mediocre at best, mostly because she feels like she'll find something else if this doesn't work out (or her parents will supplement her lifestyle).

Gina is a bombshell blonde, and takes great care with her appearance. She's very popular with guys, but is never attached to one guy at a time.

DR. MICHAEL LEWIS

Matt Dallas

Michael begins work at the hospital as a physio doctor. Coming to town off the back the death of his father, Patrick from a heart attack, Michael stays with longtime family friends, The Davises, while he settles in the city.

Michael's sadness has led him to leave his home in upstate New York and head for the small city of Two Harbors. Part of him sought out this part of the country in hopes that he'd run into his younger brother, who left the family home years ago and has not communicated with the rest of the family since.

SIMONE LEIGH

Emme Rylan

Simone is a very shy, guarded young woman. She arrives in town as a candidate for a position at Atlantic in their in-house marketing and advertising department, and is a bit of a workaholic, barely having a personal life of her own.

Making friends doesn't come easily to Simone, and she avoids interaction with many in the community, though she does begin to connect with Stephanie Carter, who tries repeatedly to set Simone up on dates, hoping she can meet new people and break out of her shell.

CONALL MacLAREN

Roscoe Born

The often-vicious Principal of Two Harbours Central High School, Conall involves himself heavily in the school and community, but isn't always putting the needs of the children first.

A widower, Conall has devoted the last ten years to his career, working his way up to principal of the high school, while setting his sights on head of the board of education, and a possible political career. He's not willing to let anything stop him from having the life he dreamed of as a young boy in Scotland. Even if it means ruining some other lives in the process.

PAUL MAITLAND

Gina's date to Hailey and Brad's engagement party. Works at Atlantic in the advertising department. Familiar with the Davis family, as an old schoolmate of Brad's years ago.
















NEXT UP: Episode 1 is FINALLY HERE!

INTRODUCING THE FAMILIES (Part 3): The Williams & The Vitalis

Now back to our program. I had to take some time here since there's some extensive backstory with the Vitali/Williams family. Only one more to go before we actually get to story, so let's get movin'!

NATHAN WILLIAMS

Darnell Williams

Nathan acts as the auto plant liaison between corporate headquarters and the factory floor. He has a close friendship with Lucas, and has been for many years.

Nathan is remarried after losing his wife many years ago. Marrying Eva Carey (Anna Carter's adopted sister) meant the rather challenging prospect of bringing together two families.

Nathan craves routine and normalcy in his life, and is a devoted father to his own son, Allen, to Eva's three children with Jason Vitali, and to his young son with Eva, Anthony.

EVA WILLIAMS

Renee Jones

Eva Williams is a paparazzo-turned-investigative-reporter-turned-schoolteacher (got it?) with a great sense of adventure. Her greatest struggle to balance motherhood with her ambitious nature. Having divorced Jason Vitali, Eva left her career as a TV journalist in Chicago to return to her hometown of Two Harbors, where she met, and eventually married Nathan Williams.

Eva's transition to high school teacher is a tough fit, but she's up to the challenge, even with drama unfolding in her new career.

Her close relationship with her eldest son, Trey, whom she gave birth to as a teenager, is a close, confidant kind of relationship, and she often relies on him more than on Nathan.

JASON VITALI

Robert Kelker-Kelly

Jason is an aging party boy with a lot of resentment and dangerous past. Married to Eva for many years, their marriage ended extremely badly and has left Jason with very little except a bad reputation and a big child support bill.

Jason's drug and alcohol intake are the root of a lot of his troubles, and he currently resides in Chicago, getting by driving taxi and being involved in shady activities the rest of the time.

He is uninvolved in his children's lives, though he hopes to eventually find a way back into Eva's life, for better or for worse.

TREY VITALI

Nathan Owens

Trey is Eva's first-born son, and often times closest friend. He is not in contact with his father, Jason.

Trey has recently begun as a full-time surgeon at the hospital, and is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best in state. His newfound income means Trey can now move out of the family home. This isn't going over so well with his mother.

Trey's become fast friends with Dr. Stephanie Carter, but is there more in the air?

NINA VITALI

Jasika Nicole

 Nina is a local university student, studying environmental law, she is heavily involved in conservation, as well as the university's Environmental Protection Group.

She is an ex-girlfriend of Colin Davis, and still maintains a friendship with him, though he lives far from home. Their breakup was acrimonious, but Nina refused to be bitter, and still holds a great respect for him.

Nina is a busy woman, like her mother. She rarely is home, but tries to be with her family as much as possible. She attempts to be there especially for her younger sister, Maya, who she sees as struggling with her education and self-confidence.

MAYA VITALI

Kyla Pratt

Maya, Eva and Jason's youngest daughter, is an emotional young woman. In high school, with wildly fluctuating grades, Maya's attention span goes no farther than the end of her own nose. Every crisis is a life-ending one, and she concerns herself more with boys, friends, and clothes than with her schooling.

Hoping to help steer her the right way, Maya's older sister Nina attempts to guide her and be there for her as a confidant. Sometimes it's a successful move, other times not.

Maya's relationship with her mother is as good as can be expected, what with Eva teaching at her high school, but her relationship with stepfather Nathan is a bit more strained at times.

ANTHONY WILLIAMS

Terrell Ransom Jr.

Eva and Nathan's youngest son, only 8 years old. A smart young kid, he's an energetic and sweet kid, though a bit of a handful for his already-overworked mother and father.

INTRODUCING THE FAMILIES (Part 2): The Davises

Now it's time to take a quick look over the Davis family. A complex mess of a family, their control over the Atlantic Motor Co. is absolute and they, by extension, are involved in every aspect of life in Two Harbors in one way or another. Meet the Davis family.

JACKSON DAVIS

Peter Bergman

A respected leader in the business community, Jackson has a stranglehold over his family, with loyal wife Marian by his side.

Jackson is chair of Atlantic Motor Co., and has placed many of his children in commanding roles in the business, hoping to groom them to take over the company later in life, but particularly his eldest son, Bradley.

MARIAN DAVIS

Tonja Walker

Marian is the always impeccably-dressed wife of Jackson. Marian heads up numerous charities around Two Harbors and running a small art gallery as well. Marian's a bit reserved and comes off cool to those outside her inner circle, but is always the image of charm when needed.

 

 

BRADLEY DAVIS

Trevor Donovan

Brad Davis is being groomed by his father, Jackson, to take the reins as CEO of Atlantic. But there's one little problem, Bradley, town party boy and playboy, isn't all that keen to take the reins.

Brad, deeply in love with his fiancee, Hailey Carter, is at odds with his family over the union, which they disapprove of.

JENNIFER DAVIS

Twins with Robert (Robbie), Jennifer is the most business-oriented member of the family, involved in heading up European operations for Atlantic, Jennifer is a go-getter and is gunning for the top spot in the company, but knows it's uphill battle since Jackson has his heart set on Brad taking the reins.

Jenn is emotionally reserved, like many of her siblings, but has the added bonus of having an acid tongue to die for, as well as an incredibly perceptive mind. She uses this to her advantage to get what she wants.

ROBERT DAVIS

PJ Brennan

The much more emotionally-available twin, Robbie is much more socially awkward than his brash and quippy sister, though much kinder than his twin. Equally stoic as Jenn, Robbie is focused on making his way up in his family's company, though Jackson sees him as mealy-mouthed and unfit for the job at hand, preferring Robbie's older brother Brad.

Robbie is in charge of Marketing for Atlantic, and excels in his work. However, his personal life is another matter. Never having been on many dates, his success with women is minimal at best. He socializes more out of necessity than desire.

COLIN DAVIS (JACKSON DAVIS IV)

Zack Conroy

Colin, neé JJ, is the black sheep of his family. Living in California for university, and involved in many environmental protection groups in college, Colin is a major thorn in Jackson's side. He is quick-tempered and passionate, things that bewilder his siblings.

His close relationship with Marian is also a mystery to his siblings and to his father. Even while living away, Colin and Marian talk on the phone weekly. The family dismisses this as understandable thanks to Colin being the only family member living outside their home.

Colin has a competitive streak in him with his eldest brother. But is it just a professional competition, or something deeper?

JORDAN DAVIS

Dylan Patton

Jordan, youngest son, is always seeking the attention of his parents. Even away at boarding school, Jordan's attempts to be noticed by his parents doesn't go unnoticed. Unfortunately, his bad behaviour is what gets the attention from his parents. Will it jeopardize Jordan's academics in the long run?

INTODUCING THE FAMILIES (PART 1): The Carters

Just so we keep everything in tact, I'll be introducing everyone piece by piece. Tonight, we'll begin with the Carter family. Blue collar factory worker family headed by Lucas Carter, factory worker at Jackson Davis' Atlantic Motor Corp. I use actual actors as sort of an avatar for the characters, just to give everyone a visual of what I was going for

Meet the Carter family right now!

LUCAS CARTER

Robert Newman

A simple, blue-collar guy, Lucas has worked at the Atlantic Motor Corp.'s central factory in Two Harbors, MN for the past 30 years. A guy who just wants to provide his family with the best life he knows how. His girls are his life, and he wants to protect them from harm, even if it costs them their happiness.

He resents the presence of the rich Davis family in his life. Working as the president of the local auto worker's union, Lucas has spent his life dealing with the Davises, and in particular Jackson Davis, CEO of Atlantic, and their relationship is far from friendly. This goes back even farther for Lucas, as the two knew each other in high school, when Lucas dated Jackson's now-wife, Marian.

Lucas is a man who's fought hard to get ahead to make a life for his family, and maybe a little bit to keep up with Jackson, his adversary.

ANNA CARTER-CAREY

Bobbie Eakes

Part-time waitress at local diner, Anna's main priority is her family. She's a very traditional sort of woman, and has resisted the thought of pursuing her own dreams all her life.

Anna's impulsive tendencies have remained buried for a long time, but come out when her children or husband (or marriage) are threatened, leading her to act out in surprisingly brash ways, despite her demure, conservative nature.

Anna is extremely loyal to her family, sometimes to her own personal detriment. She longs for a better lifestyle, but is too proud to ask for help, and too concerned for her husband's confidence to risk going to school and pursuing her own goals at the risk of alienating her husband. She resists the feelings of resentment in her, but isn't prepared to fight for what she wants for herself.

Anna has never got on well with Marian Jackson, and with good reason. Her husband used to be in a relationship with Marian in high school and into college. Anna blames Marian and Lucas' breakup for Lucas never completing college. Marian is one of the only people she knows that can truly raise her ire.

KAYLA CARTER

(uncast)

Though off-canvas, the Carters' eldest daughter still in her parents' and siblings' hearts and minds at all times. Kayla has moved from Two Harbors to New York to attend college and hasn't returned since, due to disputes with Anna. Kayla finds Anna too invasive in her life and feels her mother puts pressure on her to be someone she isn't.

Kayla is a liberated sort, and a thorn in the side of her parents.

STEPHANIE CARTER

Jacqueline MacInnes Wood

Stephanie is an extremely thoughtful, intelligent young woman. Very unlike her mother (probably on purpose), Stephanie is very clear-headed and rarely acts without thinking things through. On track to finish med school, she will soon become a doctor and is intent on working as a surgeon at Lakeview Memorial Hospital in Two Harbors.

Stephanie thinks highly of her family, and is proud of her blue-collar roots. Unlike her sister Hailey, Stephanie wants for a simple life, and is in no hurry to find a man. Her mother insists she'll end up an old maid, but Stephanie knows love will come in time and doesn't let her mother's well-meaning nagging get to her.

Stephanie often acts as a sounding board for her younger, less-secure sister, Hailey. Stephanie relishes the opportunity to advise Hailey, and the two sisters are close. This bothers Anna somewhat, but she resists the urge to interfere, as Stephanie provides at least something of a window into Hailey's state of mind, which Anna doesn't want closed off to her.

HAILEY CARTER

Brittany Underwood

Hailey is much more traditional than her older sisters. Concerned with her looks and boys all through high school, she was a handful for Lucas and Anna. The baby of the family, and "mama's little miracle", Hailey was born prematurely and barely survived her first month. Anna spoilt Hailey rotten, which drove her older sister Kayla nuts. She and Hailey rarely speak and are civil even more rarely.

Steph, though critical of Hailey's vapid nature, understands her sister better than most anyone else. She often acts as liaison between Anna and Hailey, and hopes to guide Hailey to a more well-rounded place in her life.

Hailey doesn't share her mother's impulsiveness, but Hailey does have a strong desire to move up in the world and away from her blue-collar life. She believes she's found that life with her fiancé Brad Davis, whom her family disapproves of. Drawn to his traditional good looks, money, and status, he's actually her second choice in a mater after his younger brother Colin Davis. However, her relationship with Colin soured in high school and they barely speak. Still, he lingers on Hailey's mind when she's with Brad, and their similarities act as reminders to Hailey of Colin. This makes Hailey feel incredibly guilty, and causes her to overlook some of Brad's less favourable qualities.

Despite her family's protests (especially after witnessing some of Brad's less charming moments), Hailey insists on continuing with her wedding plans. But will her feelings for Colin eventually take over and ruin her life with Brad?