Beyond the Gates Recap for January 13, 2026: Nicole pulled a Kat and Ashley went a shade of Gray(son)

Here's what went down Tuesday, January 13, 2026 on Beyond the Gates when Chelsea saw her possible genetic mutation as a way to embrace life, Elon had words of wisdom for his favorite son, and Anita nearly caught Dani with her pants down.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Carlton went to Uptown to meet Nicole, who was pleased that she could simply text him for no reason and he'd still show up. Upon learning that Nicole hadn't inherited Anita's BRCA gene mutation, Carlton couldn't understand why she wasn't happier – until she revealed that Dani had been proven to carry it. Nicole understood that her sister was only at a stage of elevated risk but said she would willingly trade places with Dani in a heartbeat. Carlton didn't think Dani would want that.

Nicole began downing Long Island iced teas and soon was slurring that Dani had always been stuck being the hot mess while she had to be “Little Miss Perfect.” When Carlton presumed that Nicole was saying she could handle cancer better than Dani, Nicole fumed that she was just as messed up as everybody else – she just demonstrated better coping mechanisms. Nicole went on that she had, some time ago, labeled herself the family's “fixer”; Carlton replied that he didn't need fixing, he just wanted Nicole to be real with him.

Carlton listened as Nicole admitted she was “terrified times a million,” then reminded the shrink that mind over matter was real when it came to physical health. As an inebriated Nicole became emotional talking about Anita having a particularly violent strain of cancer, Carlton offered to take her home, prompting her to exclaim, “What, you don't like the real me already?”

Once home, Nicole had more to drink and complained to Carlton that she just wanted to experience one night where she didn't have to have all the answers. She took her frustration out on Carlton, accusing him of being sentimental but having no follow-through; she instructed Dr. Fitzgerald to leave. Maybe he could come back once Miss Perfect had “returned to her factory settings.”

Carlton refused to leave Nicole on her own and let her dance they way they had when they'd enjoyed their indoor picnic, but when Nicole began coming on strong with kisses, Carlton slowed her down. “Is this version of me not to your liking?” Nicole spat drunkenly. Carlton gently said that he didn't want to be her escape – he wanted to be part of her real life. Later, Carlton finished making another drink when he saw that Nicole had passed out on the couch. He covered her with a blanket and allowed her to cuddle him.

Anita returned to the Dupree mansion, having completed her first chemotherapy treatment. She didn't want Vernon treating her “like a porcelain doll,” but he insisted on sticking around to see how her body would respond to the drugs. When Anita found it odd that the day had passed without her daughters getting their expected test results, the matriarch deduced that she hadn't seen Vernon make a single call while she was getting chemo and sussed out that he already had answers. Vernon realized he needed to tell Anita that, while Nicole had tested negative for the mutation, Dani hadn't.

Mrs. Dupree bewailed that the last thing Dani needed was her broken genes, and she worried that Dani would start acting out again after seemingly having gotten herself together. When Anita remarked that she had fallen for their own hype about the Dupree bloodline, only to have passed on an intruder to her daughter, Vernon pointed out that cancer touched almost every family; it was the nature of that beast.

Anita bolted up and wanted to see Dani that moment, despite Vernon practically begging her to rest while her body assimilated its first chemo dose. Seeing that Anita wouldn't take no for an answer, Vernon deemed her as stubborn as he was. “More,” she corrected. Vernon saw to it that Titus brought the car around so they could head to Dani's.

Andre held Dani as she expressed that the chips rarely fell in her favor – and there was no guarantee that her kids were going to escape her own fate in having inherited the BRCA mutation. Though Andre's attempt at distraction began as more sexual, he recalled how he had wandered aimlessly for years following the death of his parents, not feeling anywhere was his home. Now, he said, he had a home in Dani, who regretted that she had spent so much time mourning something which had meant nothing. She felt she had a home in Andre as well, and the two decided to head up to their bedroom.

The newlyweds were in the beginning stages of foreplay when their doorbell rang. Andre tumbled down the stairs to find Anita and Vernon in the living room; when Anita made a beeline for her daughter, Andre suggested that Dani may not be completely dressed yet. “I brought that child into the world,” Anita sassed. “You think I haven't seen her naked behind?”

With Anita out of the room, Vernon and Andre talked about the fact she seemed to be handling the chemo all right, with Vernon adding that when Anita was sick, the rest of the family felt like they were as well. Vernon knew that it took a special kind of person to deal with a Dupree – Jacob and Smitty had risen to the challenge, while Ted and Bill had failed spectacularly. The former senator imparted to Vernon the Dupree secret: be a safe space while being appreciative of their requisite strength and bravado. Andre vowed to do so, and Vernon was happy to hear that Andre had put Bill in his place after he'd charged up to see Dani in the bedroom.

Upstairs, Anita apologized to Dani for passing her gene mutation down to her, but Dani shrugged it off as a simple matter of cells and bad luck. After Anita wished she'd known sooner that she was a carrier, Dani reminded her mother that BRCA hadn't been discovered until after she and Nicole were born. Anita hated that she had been responsible for something that could hurt her baby girl; Dani could relate, now herself worrying about Chelsea and Naomi. Anita exhorted Dani to act quickly now that she knew she was at a higher risk for cancer, and Dani promised she would; she just needed a little time to absorb the news. They decided that cancer was no match for “two formidable Dupree women.”

At the police station, Elon noticed that Jacob's mind wasn't on his job. Jacob escaped being scolded by telling his police chief father about Anita's cancer – and that Naomi was more susceptible to it because of BRCA. When Elon wanted to know why Jacob hadn't told him and Darlene about it before, Jacob said Elon had raised him to wait until he had all the facts. Elon allowed that Naomi was family, too, and that she could lean on her in-laws if she wanted. Jacob reinforced that Naomi was wired not to reveal cracks in her armor, therefore Jacob was doing the feeling for the both of them. An understanding Elon cleared Jacob's schedule and instructed his son to “go see your woman.”

Naomi was with Ashley at Garland Memorial, appreciative that Ashley had pulled strings to get her and her sister in for the BRCA screen sooner. When Naomi chuckled that the afraid-of-needles Chelsea had been putty in the hands of comforting lab tech Grayson, and noted that he had a “magic touch,” Ashley countered that she wouldn't know. Naomi felt Ashley might have a different answer once she went on her scheduled date with Grayson.

Madison wanted Chelsea to remember that, while millions tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation, it wasn't a guarantee of cancer. Chelsea told her girlfriend that she had changed since her kidnapping; being spontaneous had always been her superpower, but she had become more guarded after being abducted by Allison. In light of her grandmother's cancer, and her mother now carrying the variant, Chelsea wanted to travel and learn and have Madison at her side for all of it.

Chelsea later joked with Madison, Naomi, and Ashley that Grayson had been very soothing while drawing blood from her – with Madison there, it was the closest thing she'd had to a threesome since she gave those up for true love. Naomi continued to enthuse about Ashley's possibilities with Grayson, but Ashley wondered why her friend was partaking in the hard sell. It was the lawyer's opinion that Ashley was showing signs of getting over Derek; she suggested that Ashley bump up her coffee date with Grayson to a double date with her and Jacob.

Naomi, Madison, and Chelsea watched as Grayson stepped off the elevator, and as Ashley thanked him for being available to draw blood from the Hamilton sisters. Grayson responded that “alleviating tension's kind of my gift” and gave Ashley the okay when she asked to change their plans, assuming that Ashley wanted to help her friends cope with waiting for the BRCA test results. Instead, Ashley invited Grayson along with them.

At Uptown, Naomi winked to Grayson that Ashley was “so very thirsty.” Grayson found Naomi's blatant matchmaking as amusing as Ashley did, then noticed that the bartender had arranged his alcohol bottles by size rather than type. But when Grayson's observation was that Ashley had a sexier shape than the bottles, Ashley laughed that he'd used that line on other women before. Grayson smiled that Ashley was the first one who had ever called him out on it.

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As Jacob and an excited Naomi watched from across the bar to see if Ashley would take to her “new puppy,” Ashley admitted that she did enjoy cleaning and organization. Tensions rose as Grayson asked Ashley if she had ever initiated a first kiss before. Ashley couldn't recall having done so, but she stopped short of a buss with Grayson because she could feel Naomi and Jacob watching them. Instead, Ashley offered to take Grayson to her apartment; after Ashley introduced him to the Hawthornes, and Grayson said he was glad to have met “her people,” Naomi unsubtly said “You're welcome” when Ashley announced that she and Grayson were leaving together.

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

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