Beyond the Gates Recap, September 26, 2025: Peaches got cream and Mona got tea

Here's what went down Friday, September 26, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Leslie went Dear Abby on Eva, Marcel couldn't retire from FAFO, and Derek, Ashley, and Andre got back on the marry-go-round.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Nicole breezed into Uptown, remarking that she was “the first one here” and regaling a constrained Vanessa with the news that Dani had married Andre. Vanessa finally spoke up that she wasn't okay and asked her best friend if she'd seen coverage about the previous evening's car accident. Nicole had only skimmed it – but she rushed over to hug Vanessa when she found out the fatality had been Doug.

Vanessa explained how Doug had been struggling with gambling; Nicole admitted that she and Doug had discussed his addiction, but doctor-patient confidentiality prevented her from elaborating further. Vanessa was relieved that Doug had sought out help but sobbed that she hadn't known about his dependency until he'd been in too deep; he had needed her to pay his gambling debts. Plus, Vanessa told Nicole, Doug had started drinking. Nicole realized that Vanessa had been shouldering these troubles by herself and wished her friend had opened up to her.

Nicole listened as Vanessa described how Doug had been improving – they'd even talked about taking a second honeymoon. Yet, the last time Vanessa had seen Doug, they had argued about him playing in a high-stakes poker game. Nicole didn't want Vanessa blaming herself, emphasizing that Doug's addictions were not Vanessa's fault. Vanessa hadn't yet been able to bring herself to tell twins Donnell and Deanna that their father had died; she had asked that Doug's name not be given to the press for that reason.

Vanessa informed Nicole that Donnell had finished his study term in France, and that he was in town at Banneker University for the new semester. Nicole offered to drive the distraught Vanessa to the institution so she could break the news to Donnell; she just needed to run home quickly first and told Vanessa to sit tight.

As Joey read about Doug's death in The Washington Sleuth, Marcel arrived, mockingly offering Joey a shoulder to cry on, since he had lost his best customer. Joey didn't think Marcel should be nearby so soon after Doug's “accident,” but Marcel sassed that “Romeo” would need to steer clear of “the grieving widow” as well. Marcel also surprised Joey by revealing that he had put his retirement in motion – he was heading for the Caribbean.

Joey begged to differ, growling that he needed Marcel “local.” Marcel wondered if that meant Joey had another job for him; Joey merely wanted the detective on standby should he be needed. After Marcel sniped that their business was concluded because he had deposited Joey's money, Joey criticized the optics of Marcel splitting town right after Doug's death. “Vanessa is completely in the dark and she'd better stay that way,” Joey warned after Marcel implied that Mrs. McBride put out a hit on Mr. McBride.

Leslie sipped tea in Eva's hotel suite, perusing one of her romantic fantasy novels. Eva didn't want to be late for work, prompting Leslie to ask how it had been being in her father's employ. The young Ms. Thomas relayed that it had been an uphill battle, between Kat sabotaging her and badmouthing her to her former co-workers – but things were finally going smoothly. Leslie crowed that Eva had gotten her persistence from her and announced that she was moving because her landlord had sold her apartment.

It bothered Eva that Leslie hadn't been given notice, but Leslie was ready to change things up and suggested bunking in Eva's room. Eva protested that Ted was paying for it; Leslie implied she would rent the room instead and didn't think Eva should be so financially dependent on her father. Eva was confused because Leslie had always railed about how much Ted owed them – plus, it was because of Leslie kicking Eva out that Eva had been living in a hotel to begin with. Leslie wanted to make that up to her daughter – she'd just bought Eva her own place. Rather, Leslie had bought her apartment building and was giving Eva her former unit to do with whatever she wanted.

Eva was touched by the gift and suggested that Leslie buy an adjoining apartment in the building so they could be neighbors. Leslie opted to live in the hotel so she could take advantage of housekeeping and the restaurant downstairs – but Eva figured out that Leslie simply wanted to be near Ted and implored her mother to give up on the idea that she and Ted would ever reunite. She didn't want Leslie heartbroken yet again.

Leslie considered the probability that her constantly letting Eva down had led to Eva not being willing to let herself be happy – after all, Eva was sitting around waiting for Tomás to realize he was with the wrong sister. Eva reminded Leslie that she had been the one to say Kat could have him; Leslie admitted she'd changed her mind and encouraged Eva to go for it. “He can't be happy with Miss Thing!” Leslie insisted. When Leslie heard that Eva and Tomás had indeed caught feelings for each other and were able to talk for hours, she attributed that to Eva's intelligence and people sense.

Eva explained that Tomás had genuinely thought Kat cared about him, but it was becoming clear that she didn't. Leslie wanted Eva to show the junior lawyer that she was the better option, and she bet that chemistry was on Eva's side. Eva came back to realizing that she would be late for the clinic; Leslie decided to stay behind in Eva's room because it was practically hers anyway, and she was to meet someone there.

Leslie invited her surrogate mother, Peaches, into “her” suite, detailing how she was only staying there until her new home was ready. After Leslie thanked Peaches for making everything possible by way of alerting her to the inheritance from Barbara, Peaches said it brought her peace to know that Leslie and Eva were being cared for.

Letting Peaches know that she had talked to her attorneys about Peaches' “situation,” Leslie handed Peaches a substantial check and exhorted her to use the funds toward her medical expenses, plus the hiring of home health aides. Peaches sat in disbelief as Leslie went on that she wanted the ill woman to rest – at the apartment where Eva would be staying. Peaches was so grateful that Leslie commented, “I hate that I taught you not to expect anything from me.” Leslie felt she was different and expressed shame over the way she had treated the woman who had brought her up – a woman who had taken in another woman's child. Peaches smiled that Leslie had been hard-headed; Leslie was determined to finally do right by her.

Derek worked out his upper body at Ashley's apartment, ushering the arriving Jacob in. Jacob skipped Derek's small talk and wanted to know if Shanice, as Derek's physical therapist, was aware that Derek was starting to regain feeling in his legs. Derek played off his acknowledgement but nodded when Jacob put it together that Shanice was keeping his secret as well.

Jacob was surprised that Derek wasn't exercising his legs; Derek stated that he left that for PT. Besides, it wasn't like he could really move his lower limbs – he'd just begun experiencing the odd sensation here and there. Derek wanted to wait to tell Ashley and envisioned standing up at their wedding to surprise her, but Jacob wasn't willing to keep Derek's secret for months.

Derek maintained that he didn't want to get Ashley's hopes up, since the slight twinges might be all he ever felt, while Jacob countered that Derek was depriving Ashley of that very hope. Jacob impressed upon Derek that life partners went through every up and down together and that Ashley had a right to the truth. Derek became agitated and didn't think his friend should have a problem supporting his personal decisions, but Jacob didn't want to hide things from Naomi. Derek said that all Jacob had to do when the truth came out was to tell Naomi that it hadn't been his secret to share.

“You damn sure are not going to take that away from me!” Derek yelled after saying that the ability to make choices was all he had left. Jacob saw Derek's anger and surmised that he might be testing Ashley to make sure she'd stick around. Derek fumbled before telling Jacob that Ashley had promised to stay whether Derek could walk or not, but Jacob was sure Derek's thought was that Ashley felt sorry for him. Derek denied the claim; Jacob advised Derek not to go into his marriage harboring so huge a secret. Derek swore he would tell Ashley the truth – if and when he made enough progress to merit doing so.

Shanice was surprised to see Ashley at the hospital; she assumed that her underling would still be helping Derek settle in. Ashley reported that getting Derek moved into the apartment had gone easier than expected, so they had decided that Derek could get along on his own for the day, even if Derek wasn't showing much in the way of improvement. Shanice saccharinely credited Ashley with Derek's lifted spirits but was more genuine in letting Ashley know she was cool with Derek marrying her. Ashley began to fret about Derek's lack of progress, so Shanice told her not to give in to fear. “You have every reason to believe Derek's situation will improve,” the nurse supervisor said knowingly, looking away.

Later, Ashley got myriad texts from Derek, one mentioning that Jacob had brought him burritos which Shanice didn't want him eating. Shanice snarked that Derek shouldn't be keeping secrets; Ashley concluded that her fiancé actually liked Shanice being strict with him. Just as Ashley was ready to take her break and meet Jan, Shanice noticed Ashley's engagement ring and was awed by it.

At Orphey Gene's, Mona and Jan discussed Leslie's multimillion dollar windfall. Jan joked that they should have stayed friends with her and predicted that Leslie would be throwing “a housewarming party for the ages.” Mona spoke of Leslie's plans to tear down the mansion she'd bought and replace it with a new structure – but revealed that Bill had been hired to stop her. Jan couldn't believe Leslie was so hellbent on being a part of Fairmont Crest, where no one wanted her.

Changing the subject, Jan told Mona that Derek had been discharged from the hospital and was now living with Ashley...to whom he was engaged. Mona was thrilled; Jan conceded that she'd finally learned to keep her mouth shut regarding her daughter's relationships. When Mona heard that Ashley's change of mind had come on the heels of Derek's accident, she wondered if Ashley's motivation had been sympathy. Jan assured Mona that Ashley and Derek were more in love than ever.

Just as Mona was sharing the gossip that Dani and Andre had eloped, Ashley walked into the diner and heard. Mona caught sight of Ashley's ring, and Ashley revealed that she and Derek hadn't set a wedding date yet because they didn't want to rush things. A call on Jan's phone interrupted, and Jan had to tell her friend and daughter Vanessa's news that Doug was dead.

Jan rushed to Vanessa at Uptown, having retrieved the wallet that Vanessa had forgotten at her home. Vanessa quietly reclaimed the wedding ring contained in it and put it back on her finger as she talked about how everything in the house reminded her of Doug. As Jan offered to help Vanessa in any way she could, Joey arrived and said Vanessa had sounded shaky on the phone. Vanessa introduced Joey as her business partner, but Jan seemed to pick up on different vibes than that.

After Jan left to handle some issues for Vanessa, Joey offered to drive Vanessa to Donnell's campus. Vanessa appreciated the gesture but said that Nicole had beaten him to it. As the realtor hugged the casino owner, Nicole returned to Uptown and witnessed their embrace.

Ashley went back to the hospital and gave the bad news of Doug's demise to Shanice, who recognized that the heart surgeon had been erratic before quitting his post – but Shanice couldn't understand what had made Doug drive drunk. Andre arrived and sensed he was interrupting; Ashley would only say that she and Shanice had lost a colleague. The photographer still wanted to talk to Ashley privately; she said that she already knew he and Dani were married.

Andre tried to make clear that there was more to the story than him and Dani getting closer – but then he spied Ashley's engagement ring. “This is the way it was supposed to turn out all along,” Ashley stiffly told Andre, adding that she should have accepted Derek's ring the first time it was offered to her. Andre was of a different thought: he had only married Dani because they'd been drunk. “You did it for the plot?” Ashley smirked. “Lame.” Andre said his legal union didn't denote any deep commitment to Dani, and therefore Ashley didn't need to be looking for signs that she was doing the right thing.

Ashley wouldn't equate her upcoming nuptials to Andre's recent ones, reasoning that his had been impulsive while she had put a lot of thought into her engagement. Andre retorted that things hadn't worked out with Derek before; Ashley blamed that on cold feet and crushes on “world-travelling players with cameras.” She called Andre as reckless as Dani and suggested the two were perfect for each other before excusing herself to go back to work.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.