The Inmate

In the present, as Brooke arrives at work the next day, Marcus gives her forms to get the pressure-relieving mattress for Mr. Carpenter. She thanks him and then rushes off to check on Shane, who has still only asked for Tylenol for the pain. Shane has a shackle around his ankle attached to the end of the bed, which Marcus put on him the night before. Brooke asks Shane about his symptoms; she can see he is in pain by the way he winces during her neurological exam. She offers him something stronger than Tylenol, and he reluctantly agrees to take it. Before Brooke leaves his bedside, Shane begs Brooke to stay away from Tim.

In a flashback, Chelsea doesn’t want to leave Brandon out on the porch. Shane gets a blanket to cover him. Everyone says goodbye to Brandon, and then they retreat into the house. Chelsea wonders aloud if one of the boys could make it to the main road, but Shane says there might be downed power lines and it’s safer to stay in the house until first light.

Chelsea pulls Brooke out onto the back porch and expresses concern that Shane or Tim might be the killer. Brooke suggests it might have been a passing drifter. As Chelsea has a panic attack, Brooke calms her down and takes her back inside. Tim is there alone; Shane went out to try to get a signal on his cell phone. Tim and Brooke go into the kitchen, where he points out that all the knives are missing.

In the present, a month has passed. Tim has become a regular visitor at Brooke and Josh’s, fixing everything that needed it and building a bookshelf with Josh. Margie teases Brooke for having a boyfriend, but Brooke insists that she and Tim are just friends. Josh asks Brooke if Tim is his father and seems disappointed when Brooke tells him no.

One night, Tim arrives and Brooke is startled that he is wearing sandalwood aftershave. She makes him wash it off, reminding him that Shane wore the same aftershave the night he tried to kill her. Tim apologizes—the aftershave was a gift.

After dinner, Josh wants to play catch with Tim, but Brooke insists he do his homework first. Tim backs her up, and she enjoys having a partner when it comes to dealing with Josh. Tim goes into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Brooke teases him, and they kiss. Brooke backs away, but Tim confesses that he’s been in love with her since he was four and has never met another woman who measured up to her. Although Brooke can still hear Shane warning her, she decides to give an intimate relationship a try.

In a flashback, Brooke dismisses Tim’s concerns; she thinks Tim is accusing Shane of being the killer because of jealousy. Brooke asks Tim what he and Shane talked about when they first arrived, and Tim says he told Shane to treat Brooke right. Tim has a baseball bat—the only weapon he could find.

Shane comes back into the house and tells them he couldn’t get a signal. Chelsea suggests they go up and check on Kayla. When they knock, Kayla doesn’t answer. Shane opens the door, and they find Kayla on the bed, stabbed to death.

In the present, Brooke’s patient, Mr. Fanning, has a broken finger. She has it x-rayed and verifies it is a simple fracture. She immobilizes it with tape, the standard treatment. She asks Mr. Fanning how it happened but doesn’t believe his story of shutting his hand in a door. Brooke realizes that someone hurt him on purpose; she hears Mr. Fanning say under his breath, “Goddamn Nelson” (208).

Tim continues to be a regular visitor to Brooke and Josh’s, but he and Brooke hide their romantic relationship from Josh to protect him from a potential future breakup. Tim and Brooke have also exchanged keys for safety reasons.

One Saturday, Tim comes over with supplies to build a birdhouse with Josh. Tim has also brought an old yearbook, thinking it might be fun to show Josh what his mom looked like in high school. Brooke is concerned that Josh might see a picture of Shane, but Tim assures her that the school took out all pictures of Shane. She does find, however, a picture of Marcus Hunt. Tim tells her Marcus is the boy Shane and Brandon beat up and put into the hospital.

In a flashback, Kayla’s death clarifies that the killer is one of the teens. Tim and Shane accuse each other. Shane points out that Tim was alone inside the house when Chelsea and Brooke were out on the back porch, but Tim suggests Shane could have entered the room from a window. Chelsea freaks out and drags Brooke into Shane’s bedroom, insisting they barricade themselves inside. Brooke isn’t completely convinced, but she helps Chelsea stack books up against the door. Shane tries to convince them that they’re all safer if they stay together, but Tim tells Brooke to stay inside the room.

In the present, Brooke confronts Marcus. He tells her that he can do anything he wants to Shane, including putting him in isolation or having him beat up. Brooke is outraged and demands he keep his hands off Shane. Marcus turns on her, threatening to get her fired by telling Dorothy the truth about her connection with Shane. Marcus even confesses that he knows she’s dating Tim because he drove past her house and saw Tim leaving.

Dorothy scolds Brooke when the mattress for Mr. Carpenter arrives, accusing her of being too indulgent with her patients. Brooke counters by threatening to go to the press if Dorothy doesn’t allow Mr. Carpenter to have his mattress. She also demands that Dorothy stock the pharmacy with anesthetic for stitching wounds. Dorothy backs down and agrees.

It is Brooke’s birthday, so she and Tim are going out to dinner. Margie has agreed to stay with Josh. Tim has a gift for Brooke: a snowflake necklace just like the one he gave her when they were 10. Brooke is horrified: Shane choked her with that very necklace. Tim apologizes, claiming he forgot—but Brooke doesn’t believe him since he sat through all her testimony. He claims the necklace seemed like the perfect sentimental gift when he saw it at a flea market. The gift causes Brooke to question Tim’s true intentions, but he apologizes and promises to get her something better.