Tucker’s In the Right Place At the Right Time — and a Confrontation Ends In Death

Traci enters Alan’s living room with a tray of coffee and calls out for Ashley and Alan as the room is empty. As she looks around, the camera pans to Alan, who is bound and gagged in a closet.

A knock comes at the door and Traci sighs, “Oh, thank God.” She opens it to Tucker and asks, “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

Tucker says he came to see Alan. “What are you doing here? Are you and Ashley staying with him?” He asks about Ashley and Traci says she’s not at liberty to discuss her. Tucker spoke to her earlier and she did not sound OK. He won’t respect her privacy if the fear he heard in her voice was real. Traci relents and lets him in. Tucker asks if Ashley’s with Alan. Traci won’t say. Tucker says he came to find out why Alan acted like he didn’t know him earlier today, and why Ashley sounded terrified on the phone. “Are you absolutely certain Alan can be trusted?”

Elsewhere, Martin drags Ashley’s unconscious body up a hallway.

In Alan’s living room, Traci says she and Ashley trust Alan completely. Tucker thinks she seems rattled and anxious. Traci says she’s trying to be patient with him because she believes his intentions are good, but this is a private family matter. Tucker says if Ashley needs anything he’ll get it. Traci says it’s not his place anymore. They debate whether he followed her to Paris or not. Tucker insists he heard fear in her sister’s voice. Traci insists she’s in good hands. Tucker would like to see that for himself. Traci tells him that Alan has been able to help her retrieve traumatic memories and she just needs a little more time. Tucker questions the timing of Alan popping back into her life when the traumatic events occurred. Does she not see an ulterior motive here? Traci says she called Alan to help. In the end, she’ll be better. Tucker can see that Traci is afraid of whatever she’s not telling him. If everything were above board, she would tell him where Ashley and Alan are. Traci insists it’s just private. McCall can’t understand why Alan would act like he was a complete stranger. It doesn’t fit his playbook. “Whatever he’s setting me up for, why play it this way?” He has a feeling Alan’s work with Ashley isn’t quite what it appears to be. “And I think you do too.”

In the closet, Alan comes to and struggles to sit up.

In the living room, Traci defends Alan’s work with Ashley. She makes excuses for Alan not recognizing him. Tucker posits that maybe he just doesn’t like him. Traci asks if he came to Paris with Audra. Tucker says no, they’ve hit a bit of a snag. He asks if she’ll give him straight answers. Traci wants Ashley to decide what to share and not to share. Tucker says it may not be his business, but it should be. He cares about her. His concern for her is one of the reasons he’s not there with Audra. He keeps coming back to get kicked around by the Abbotts because he cares about Ashley. Traci says it’s the middle of the night and he should go. Tucker decides to stay and wants to look around. Traci asks him to leave.

 

Elsewhere, Martin continues to drag Ashley, who starts coming to.

In the closet, Alan manages to get to his feet and uses his wrists to pull down the gag.

In the living room, Traci indicates that she wants Tucker to exit the open door. Tucker will believe her that Alan is legit, but his mind won’t be put at ease until he sees for himself. He grills her about what she’s doing there so late. He guesses he won’t find Ashley at her apartment. Indicating the coffee cups on the tray Traci was carrying, Tucker says, “Three cups, Traci. Three cups.”

Elsewhere, Ashley flashes to her conversation with Martin on Alan’s sofa before he attacked her. She groans and he tells her to be quiet or it’s going to go bad for her. She screams. In the living room, Traci and Tucker hear the scream and Traci shouts, “Upstairs!”

Upstairs, Martin seethes at Ashley that he is the one who cured her, not Alan. She says he needs help and he rages, “Not another word!” Tucker appears and catches Ashley as he throws her across the room.

Traci gasps as Alan appears shouting, “Martin?!” Martin warns, “Don’t come any closer.” Alan tells him he needs help. Martin says he’s not broken. He’s smarter than him and just as sane. Alan tries to talk him down. Martin says he can’t help him and never could. What he’s always wanted is to be an only child. Martin attacks Alan and they wind up on the terrace where they both go over the balcony. Ashley screams, “Alan!” and she and Traci go running as Tucker looks over the railing before following them.

Downstairs, Traci implores Ashley to stop as she runs out the door.

Soon, Tucker helps Alan back inside and says an ambulance is on the way. Ashley and Traci come in as Alan says an ambulance won’t help Martin now. He notes his brother probably saved his life. “I landed on him.” Ashley is scared and asks what Tucker is doing there. Tucker explains his distrust of Alan after the run-in on the street with his twin brother. He wants an explanation, but Alan wants him to leave. Tucker refuses. Traci urges him to go. Alan asks Tucker to leave Ashley be. She holds her head. Tucker relents. He tells Traci he’ll be in Paris a couple more days if Ashley needs anything… anytime.

Ashley tells Traci and Alan she’s sorry. She can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. Alan reassures her and tells them how Martin knocked him out and tied him up in the closet. He muses about his brother being adept at imitating him. “The idea that he hurt you in my place…” He shakes his head and supposes his twin is at peace now. Traci offers to make phone calls. Alan says it’s just been the two of them for years. There’s a sadness and grief that he’s gone, but he’s relieved he’s at peace. “It’s over now.” Suddenly, Ashley says, “Um… my memories… I’m kind of putting the pieces together. I think I kind of understand what happened.”

 

Ashley recalls that Martin was impersonating Alan, so she trusted him. When they began discussing her fight with Tucker, his tone became darker. Alan asks if she remembers anything he did that night. Ashley only remembers seeing the same rage in his eyes as she did tonight. “He did something to me. I don’t know what it is, what it was, but I do know that’s when I started to confuse Tucker and Martin.” She cries. That’s all she wants to know right now. Traci sobs over how much her sister has suffered. Alan says the alters emerged to protect her from Tucker. Ashley says she was confused, so they were confused. She can see the alters clearly now and describes Ash, Belle, and Ms. Abbott, who wanted to kill Tucker. “If she had had more time she would have done it.”

Tucker lets himself into his hotel suite and pours a drink. He downs it and then pours another one.
At Alan’s place, Ashley can’t believe the lengths her alters would go to in order to protect her. She marvels that Tucker knew when she wasn’t herself and something was off. She worries she’s being insensitive toward Alan, who just lost his brother. Alan says they were just characters in a fantasy. He muses that twins share a brain, but he was always troubled. At one point he became violent and someone he didn’t recognize. He tried to help him, but he didn’t want his help. “The way it ended was inevitable.” Ashley asks, “So what happens now?”

 

Ashley, Traci, and Alan return to Ashley’s apartment. She’s too wound up to sleep. Traci marvels that the police didn’t have a problem with their incredible story. Alan says thanks to Martin’s police record, it wasn’t a stretch. Traci asks how he’s feeling. Alan wishes he’d kept better track of his brother. He hurt Ashley, “And what he did to himself…” Traci asks him to be gentle with himself. Traci asks if Ashley’s ready to go home. Ashley isn’t quite ready for home yet. Alan agrees. He thinks she should continue the work. “The war isn’t over yet.”

In his suite, Tucker can’t sleep. His phone rings and he yells at someone who badgers him. Disconnecting, he shouts in frustration.

At Ashley’s place, Alan tells her he thinks the incident with Martin only unleashed her alters, it didn’t create them. Ashley asks, “You mean they’ve been inside of me?” Traci gawps, “Since when?” Alan thinks it would be from childhood trauma she probably can’t remember, just as she can’t remember the recent trauma. It would have been intense. She’ll have to face that somehow and he suggests she go to a safe, controlled environment for treatment. Ashley refuses, but Alan knows one outside of Paris that specializes in her disorder. He can’t force her, it has to be her decision. Alan promises them they are kind and professional. “I think the sooner the better.” Traci takes a call from Jack, who woke up worried about Ashley. Traci cries, “I wish you were here!”

Jack asks if she and Ashley are OK. Traci says she’s fine, but there are so many things to tell him. Ashley has had a breakthrough and is finding answers. Jack says good… he was ready to climb through the phone. He asks to speak to Ashley, who comes to the phone. He asks how she’s doing. She says she’s sorry for causing problems for him and the family. Jack says all that matters is that she’s safe. Traci laughs to Alan that she’s exhausted and babbling. Alan tells her she’s been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s even been kind to him and he brought this pain into their lives. Traci blames his brother and reminds him that he helped her sister find herself again. Alan says credit goes to her too. Traci reaches out to touch his hand.

 

On the phone, Ashley tells Jack that Alan wants her to go to a facility outside of Paris. She’s not sure she can do it. Jack is sure she’ll make the right decision. She’s strong and brave… and an Abbott. As their dad said, “Abbotts can do anything.” He tells her they’re all there for her. “I love you, Ash.” She says she loves him too and disconnects. Ashley rejoins Alan and Traci and tells him the work has to continue and she’s ready to do it.