The couple Maggie Gillis and Warren Lockridge
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Warren Lockridge was in deep pain and was struggling to recover. Through the clouds, he often saw the smile of Summer Blake, recently murdered. The city bore the signs of their nascent history. From the beach to the Museum, from the Capwell Hotel to the beach bar, Warren felt Summer's presence at his side. The wound was all the more painful since their story had a taste, not of an unfinished business, but of not begun, leaving him with too few memories...

As the only man present in the Villa Lockridge - his father Lionel spending most of his time in explorations at the end of the world - Warren grew up with the female images of his grandmother, "tigress" Minx, and his mother, the sensual Augusta. These two women, perfect mixtures of strength and weakness, conditioned Warren's unconscious : the woman he is looking for must combine these qualities, which he imagines may be the real Lockridge treasure. In Warren's eyes, Summer had these qualities, that inner strength that, on a daily basis, allowed him to overcome his trauma. Awakened to love by Summer, Warren's heart broke... waiting for a new encounter, offered by fate.

Summer's name, alas for the people of the city, was accompanied by other names : Barbara, Veronica, Candy... Four names. Four women. Four victims. Only one murderer : the carnation killer. For several months, a leaden weight covered the city of Santa Barbara. A veil of dark, heavy clouds fogged the whole city. The minds of the investigators also seemed tangled in this mist, unable to find a common thread in their investigation. Suddenly, the name Kelly Capwell could explain everything. A profile of the killer was emerging from the clouds... Peter Flint.

At the heart of the investigation into the carnation killer, Maggie Gillis was preparing to intervene alongside Cruz Castillo. As a young female police officer of the city, Maggie was preparing to live her baptism of fire. Strong woman, it is her who proposed to play the role of lure to stop the killer. A wig on her head, disguised as Kelly Capwell, at the last moment Maggie does not manage to shoot Peter Flint. Physically injured in the arm, she is taken to the hospital. Psychologically wounded in her self-esteem, Maggie realizes that it is difficult for her to shoot a real person, even if during training, she excels at shooting.

A first step : from love to friendship...

Dismissed from the investigation, Maggie Gillis feels guilty and responsible for the continuation of events. This feeling of guilt will never leave her, and will be all the stronger since because of her helplessness, Joe Perkins will lose his life. Deeply destabilized in what can be considered a moment of weakness, she finds an attentive ear in Warren Lockridge. An invisible thread begins to weave between these two souls in pain. Warren confides in Maggie about Summer's death - the meeting with Maggie also allowing him to put a certain distance between him and Elizabeth Peale. Maggie confides in Warren on her failure. Warren is quickly moved and under the spell of this policewoman who displays a certain strength, a real determination, and who suggests weaknesses, most certainly deeper than she lets appear. And certainly that in half light, behind Maggie's silhouette, Warren guesses the shadows of the first women, weak and strong, who marked his life: Minx and Augusta...

Helped by the events, Warren gets closer to the policewoman, but the latter is not yet ready to let him cross the very first barriers she has raised around her life. If she accepts that Warren takes her home, vigilant, Maggie gives him a false address, cutting short any second meeting. But moved by the smile of the lifeguard, by a certain innocence, she ends up telling him in a breath that she would like to see him again in other circumstances.

The first encounters are an alternation of hot and cold that in all innocence, Maggie imposes on Warren. At times, Maggie confides in her emotions and professional failures while maintaining a thick veil of mystery about her private life. Warren, carried by his soul of a lifeguard, guesses between the lines another secret wound, Maggie's guilt in the death of Joe Perkins could not explain everything. He knows that it is little by little that trust is earned. Friendly, he tries by his presence to bring her comfort, hoping to break the wall surrounding the real Maggie. Moved by the man, by the friend, Maggie wavers. She feels it in each of the cells of her body, when Warren looks at her, when their hands touch each other, a turmoil runs through her from top to bottom, reversing all her certainties; a disorder that she had not felt for years. This is why she decides to voluntarily hide from Warren an important part of her private life and removes her wedding ring during their new meetings. And when Warren offers her the front page of his new newspaper to praise her exploits, Maggie understands that she has to be honest with him, with herself and especially with her husband... This ambiguous situation is not her: because above all, it is anchored in her being, Maggie is straight. This game of duping him does not satisfy her; Warren, she and her husband will be hurt.

One evening after failing again in a new mission - keeping Lindsay Smith under surveillance - Maggie makes the decision to break down the barriers and to tell Warren the whole truth. She wants to be honest with him before their feelings get too strong, leading them on a road with no possible return. She invites Warren to her home and, in an unadorned way, but with a certain staging, she confesses the whole truth: she is married... So that he can immerse himself in the reality of his situation, she introduces him to Ben, her husband, a former athlete now disabled for life following an explosion at the Capwell oil rig where he worked. The brief face to face between the two men allows Warren to resign himself and to accept the unacceptable. Honest, Maggie reveals her flaws shamelessly: she did not know how to tell him. Warren understands and reproaches her a little not having told him the truth earlier - it would have prevented his heart from falling in love with her.

A second step : friendship...

Failing to be a lover, Warren focuses for the moment on being a friend. The friend, this omnipresent double, the confidant, the shoulder on which one weeps, the hand which one shakes to regain courage... The friend who can become a lover... Warren understood Maggie's feelings, her commitment as a married woman. He understands and accepts it in part. Maggie, as she will explain later to Cruz, does not want to play both sides and make Ben and Warren suffer. She is fully aware of the turmoil that Warren awakens in her.

A friend's first duty is to rescue and defend. This is what Warren does by using his newspaper to show Ben Gillis' drama in broad daylight. He feels ready to go on a crusade with Maggie, for her, against the Capwells. The story of Ben Gillis makes the front page of The Santa Barbara Sentinel, Warren's newspaper. As a faithful friend, he helps her to find a lawyer and becomes an unfailing support.

Another meeting, where they scored a point in the case against Capwell Enterprises, brings them a little closer. It is in Warren's car that they evoke C.C.'s first compensation proposal. If it is a victory, they know it is not enough. But, while celebrating this first victory, Warren kisses Maggie. Their lips fill a distance maintained for too long. For a brief second, Maggie feels her body burning and, freed from all constraints, she responds to Warren's kiss. A fire of life that runs through her again. The oath made to Ben, her commitment, waver but do not fall, and she rejects Warren with conviction. She rushes out of the car, not to get Warren away from her, but to get away from him. Maggie is especially afraid to give in to her desires. It has been so long since she has had contact with another skin, another body... and Warren could be that man.

A few seconds later, she finds herself leaning against the car, Warren's body so close to her. She can feel his breath against her skin. She can feel his skin touching hers. With passion, Warren kisses her. Maggie's body burns up. She says nothing. She surrenders to Warren's kiss. She lets herself go against his body. While kissing her, Warren can feel the torments that torture Maggie. Strength and weakness... This sense of righteousness that gnaws at her and prevents her from really being herself. Warren knows they love each other. And, when Maggie asks him that to keep her friendship, he must promise not to touch her, not to make her weak, Warren replies that he cannot. He cannot silence his feelings... Friendship will never be enough for him.

A pause : the investigations...

Fortunately for Maggie, her work with Cruz in the police forces allows her to find a certain balance. Above all, it allows her to find a little distance with Warren. Involved in the reopening of the investigation into the murder of Channing Capwell Junior, the surveillance of Kelly and Joe's wedding, the explosion of the tunnel, Maggie is on all fronts. The meetings with Warren are never again made alone, preventing Maggie from thinking about her life. As they conduct in parallel a procedure against Capwell Enterprises, Ben's shadow constantly floats around them. Solicited several times by C.C. Capwell, Maggie must manage at best her lawyer Mason's advice and Warren's support to find the right balance between what will be fair for Ben.

As a respite of calm before the storm, Kelly and Joe's wedding offers them a moment of peace. There, before the party begins, Warren invites Maggie for a dance. A dance to live a moment out of time, far from the police, far from Ben's file, far from the newspaper, far from their feelings. If their hands shake, it is for dancing, just for dancing. If their bodies touch, it is only guided by rhythm. A dance before the storm...

A third step : from friendship to love...

While at the State Street bar they share different concerns, the case against Capwell Enterprises - Warren has doubts about Mason's future loyalty - Warren goes back on their relationship. He cannot stand being just a friend anymore, when he knows she loves him as much as he does. Although he knows he will regret it, he chooses to be honest : he no longer wants friendship. He wants her and he will never stop trying to seduce her. He wants her. He loves her. Exasperated, Maggie gets up and leaves. But Warren does not despair.

It is again at the State Street bar that they meet. Following the investigation into the murder of Channing Junior, Warren began to drink. Even if he is not the murderer, part of him knows he wanted to and could have done it. This new image of him scares him. Then alcohol helps him to confuse the image he has of himself and he drinks more. With his mind fogged by alcohol, Warren cannot talk with Maggie, who came to meet him. To his surprise, she drives him home. What a missed opportunity for Warren who, overwhelmed by alcohol, collapses on the couch. In front of him, Maggie looks at him. She feeds on his presence and entrusts him with the true nature of her feelings. In her heart, there is no doubt, Warren has broken down all the barriers of her heart. Maggie whispers in the ear of a sleepy Warren the depth of her love and the strength of her desire.

A heat wave then strikes the city of Santa Barbara, a heat wave that will exacerbate desires and passions. Warren asks Maggie, who is spending a moment with Ben, to come with him to the beach and to go to swim. Maggie cannot and explains it to Warren and, today again, she insists that they can only be friends, nothing more. Stimulated by the heat, Warren decides to face reality and play his card. Determined, he makes Maggie understand that Ben's place is not with her, his place is in a specialized institute. He reproaches her for using Ben, simply to silence her desire, to be an excuse for her renunciation. Destabilized, Maggie slaps Warren and orders him to leave.

A fourth step : love...

Ready to do anything to free Maggie from the prison in which she locked herself, Warren joins her at night. He forces her door and kisses her with passion. Their lips unite and Maggie abandons herself in Warren's arms. A heat even more violent than that which strikes the city runs through her whole being. Reality catches up with Maggie. Although she has the desire, she cannot give in. A new dispute breaks out, where the truths burst forth : at the end, touched by his words, Maggie throws a vase on Warren. To find some freshness and calm, they go to the beach where Warren offers to swim. As he takes off his shirt, Maggie lets herself soak up by the image, letting her brain lead her to dangerous lands. Maggie dreams that her hands languorously caress his torso. Her erotic dream continues when Warren changes the wheel of their car. There, carried by the heat, pushed or guided by her dreams, Maggie chooses to surrender to her desire. On the beach, they make love. With passion. With tenderness. With a love so long held...

All the barriers have fallen. Maggie no longer has that weakness that kept her from being. Listening to her desire, after having confessed to Ben her love night with Warren, she makes the decision to place him in a specialized institute. She knows her love for Ben is not dead, but she just accepted that it became different. And, when Warren moves in with her, she is deeply touched that Warren does not remove Ben's photo.

A fifth and final step : love... Always love...

Happy together, Warren and Maggie continue their investigation to find witnesses of the explosion of the Capwell oil rig. However, there is a slight doubt in Maggie's mind. At times, Warren finds excuses so that she does not go to see Ben. Laken's visit to her home brings in her face a reality : she is a married woman. And, even if Warren supports her, Maggie doubts. Her doubts become even more acute when Ben has a heart attack. Even if it is explained to her that he would not have survived if he had been in their home, Maggie doubts. Is his heart attack a message following her choice?

Maggie clings to her case against Capwell Enterprises, to this fight that she leads for Ben. It is for Ben's honor that she fights. It is for their love that she chose to go on a crusade against Capwell Enterprises. Did she not refuse money so that Capwell Enterprises would be found guilty for Ben's state? It is for Ben, in the name of their love, past and present, that she fights. Ben is the most important person, the cornerstone of her life. Maggie soaks it up during the investigation into Christie Duvall's rape. During this investigation, while she is in charge of arresting Ted Capwell, she regains all her strength. Warren was her weakness. Ben is her strength.

Strong and straight... She is like this. Without a farewell, without a last word, Maggie chooses to leave Santa Barbara, taking Ben with her to New York. One last step towards her lifelong love, Ben Gillis... One last step towards a new life...

Thus ends a multiple and rich plot offered to Warren and Maggie : numerous with many interactions with all the great storylines of the show (the murder of Channing Junior, the carnation killer, Kelly and Joe's wedding), rich with a real plot of its own, captivating, well written. For a few episodes, Warren and Maggie took the center stage. They could have, following Joe Perkins's death, become a key couple for a few months... Suzanne Marshall's departure shattered Warren's dreams and hopes. The subsequent plots written for Warren will not have the same depth, relegating John Allen Nelson to a supporting role. Yet, he was able to bring a nice and credible evolution to his character, giving him feelings, emotions all but superficial... With these unfinished love stories, he will have paved the way a few years later for the love between B.J. Walker and his other self...

Texte written for this site by Lilian