The tears finally stopped flowing and Dixie turned her attention to "more important matters," namely her son. Despite Braden's advice to remain in bed, Dixie detached her monitoring devices and labored out of bed. Braden stood helplessly by and tried to verbally coax Dixie back into bed. It did him no good and in the end it didn't help Dixie either. As had happened the last time Dixie got the urge to get out of bed, Dixie collapsed to the ground.

Though he didn't expect to find anyone in his hotel room, Palmer remained surprisingly composed as Opal and Adrian grinned satisfactorily. "Your glory days are over," Opal snapped to her husband, ordering him to come clean about why he'd dashed off to The Big Apple. Palmer pretended to be upset by Opal's insinuation that he might try to lie his way out of things. He somehow managed to wiggle out of giving an answer by professing his need to be reunited with his family. "I was us to reconcile," Palmer said. Opal shifted her weight to one foot and told Palmer that she wanted to believe him. The last time she bought one of Palmer's lies, however, she ended up locked in Palmer's secret room. Adrian looked around and asked Palmer to explain the lack of business equipment in the room. Before he'd left Pine Valley, Palmer claimed to have urgent business to take care of. Palmer quickly said that he didn't conduct business in his hotel room. Adrian countered by saying that Palmer had not reported to any of his offices since he left Cortlandt Manor. Opal asked Palmer if she could speak to Dixie. She hoped that Dixie would be able to clear things up. Palmer told Opal that Dixie was in Paris with Lanie and Opal immediately asked to have Lanie's number so that she could speak to Dixie. Palmer nearly blew his lie by saying that he didn't know Lanie's number, but Opal knew that Palmer carried the number in his little black phone book. Palmer was saved by the bell, so to speak, when Braden called to give him an update on Dixie's deteriorating condition. Palmer had to answer in business jargon to let Braden know that he was not alone in his room. Braden got the hint and quickly gave Palmer a synopsis of what had happened. Palmer asked Braden to consult the professional who had been on the case (David). While Palmer was on the phone, Adrian tapped into his laptop and tried to trace the incoming call. Palmer ended the phone call and asked Opal if they could go somewhere private to discuss their situation. Palmer walked Opal to the door and waited for Adrian to exit his room. Adrian smiled and told Palmer that he'd be waiting for them to return. Palmer did demand that Adrian leave, but Opal hinted that asking Adrian to leave would hint that he was trying to hide something.

At the local mall, Amanda and Janet had just finished some Thanksgiving shopping when they bumped into a little boy wandering around the food court with a hood covering his face. A few steps behind the boy was the child's mother---Raquel. Amanda walked over to the boy and the two immediately hit it off. Unaware of who she was about to chat with, Janet told Raquel that her son was quite adorable. Raquel smiled and said that Max was getting used to his first winter coat. That signaled to Janet that Raquel and her son were not from Pine Valley. Janet offered to give Raquel the names of teachers so that Max could get a top-notch education. Before the two women could exchange names, Trevor showed up and asked Janet why she was talking to Raquel. Raquel asked Trevor to use some discretion around Max because he did not know anything about the annulment proceedings or his father. Trevor nodded and told Raquel that Mateo had decided not to pursue an annulment. Raquel was overjoyed. She thanked Janet for being so nice to her and dashed off chirping that Mateo's decision to remain married to her had changed everything. Trevor shook his head and told Janet that he was going to get the car. Janet and Amanda tried to pick up a few final items on their shopping list, but they were stopped by a mall security guard. The guard scolded Amanda for bringing her dog into the mall. Amanda gave the man a cross look and told him that she did not have a dog---and that she never wanted one. A few yards away, a Cocker spaniel puppy flashed his sad eyes at the young girl.

David suggested that Liza visit the fertility clinic to try to arrange an interview with the clinic owner. Adam returned just in time to voice his objection to David's idea. He called donor swapping something that only happens in the movies. David shook his head and said that he'd learned that many of the swaps are actually deliberate acts. David looked at Adam and asked him how "the woman" would react when she learned that the father of her child was someone other than the person she'd selected. "She won't [find out]!" Adam snapped. He cleared his throat and said that the reason the woman would not find out about the switch was because Liza would never broadcast a piece that might upset someone so deeply. Tad appeared at the table and asked Liza if she needed any help getting rid of the two men. Liza told Tad that she this was her party and she'd decided who she wanted to have lunch with. Braden placed an urgent call to David and asked him to travel to New York to check on Dixie's condition. David told Braden that he was on his way and headed off. Liza then asked Adam to get her a glass of milk, presumably so that she could have a few minutes alone with Tad. When Adam left, Liza blasted Tad for acting like guard dog. If she wanted a guard dog, Liza assured Tad that she'd buy herself one. Liza determined that Tad was grouchy because his relationship with Dixie had come to an end. Tad disagreed, saying that he had moved on with his life and arranged for a date with "Wendy the Weathergirl." Adam returned to the table and asked Tad to leave. Tad refused and Liza left the two men to bicker. Tad demanded to know why Adam was so concerned about another man's child. Adam claimed that he since Stuart was engaged to Marian, he was trying to be nice to the Liza. Tad didn't buy it. In the lobby, Liza bumped into Wendy and told the woman that she might want to reconsider her decision to date Tad. She said that Tad had "a condition," and when Liza whispered the details of the condition to Wendy, Wendy's face crinkled up and she ran away. Liza returned to the table and told Tad that she'd seen Wendy leaving the hotel. Tad was miffed that he'd been stood up, but it didn't really seem to irk him too much. Adam took a call from Barry and learned that the clinic sale was a done deal. Adam returned to the table and asked Liza if she'd like to join him, Stuart, and Marian for Thanksgiving dinner. Tad tried to voice his disapproval of the arrangement, but Liza kicked him in the shin before he could say anything. Liza smiled broadly and accepted Adam's invitation.

In New York, David gave Dixie a quick checkup, but he failed to offer any firm diagnosis. Braden tried to get details from the doctor, but David refused. Braden presented Dixie with a book of poems by Emily Dickinson. She asked him to read a poem, but Braden seemed unable and almost choked up by the much worn copy of poems. Dixie opened the book to a page that had been dog-eared and again asked Braden to read to her. Finally, he agreed. Outside in the hallway, Adrian peered through the glass and knew that he'd discovered Palmer's new dirty little secret.

Hayley asked her husband to tell her about his decision. Mateo went on a lengthy explanation of why he'd made the decision he'd made. He told Hayley that he felt a need to be financially responsible for his child and announced that he'd be begin making child support payments. What Mateo wanted was to have both his son and Hayley in his life. He admitted that it seemed selfish, but Mateo didn't want it any other way. He told Hayley that he hoped she could find it in her heart to accept Max. "Last night I was nothing," Hayley said. She explained that she felt so numb that she didn't feel like a wife, a mother, a daughter, or anything else for that matter. She confessed to having wanted Raquel to simple disappear, but she knew that that would not solve her problem. She also admitted to having thought about taking a drink. She didn't, thanks in part to Mateo. She knew that Mateo had sent Ryan to the beach and thanked him for that. Hayley fought back tears as she told Mateo that she knew if forced to choose, he would choose Max over her. That, she said, is why she loved Mateo so much---because he would always do the right thing. "Max is here to stay," Hayley conceded. The question was, however, could Hayley allow Max to be a part of her life. "I had to make a decision and I did," she concluded. Hayley handed Mateo an elegantly wrapped box and asked him to open it. Mateo opened the box and found two baseball gloves. Both Matt and Hayley began to sob as Hayley told Mateo that he would need new gloves if he was planning to teach Max how to play baseball. The two shared a long hug. Mateo looked into Hayley's eyes and asked her to go with him to meet his son. Hayley was surprised that Matt wanted her to go with him, but she ultimately agreed to his request.

At the Pine Cone motel, Raquel gleefully told Angela that Mateo had called off the annulment. She'd concluded that Mateo's actions meant that he still loved her. Angela warned her cousin not to jump the gun, but Raquel wasn't listening. Mateo arrived a short time later and was greeted at the door by Max. Max wanted to play with "baseball man," but Raquel said that she and the man had to talk privately for a few minutes. Angela took Max to her room so that they could play video games. Raquel thanked Mateo for calling off the annulment. Mateo was quick to explain that his move did not hint of any feelings he might have for her. Mateo opened the motel room door and motioned to Hayley. Hayley entered the room and listened as Mateo told Raquel that he wanted to discuss "sharing" Max. Raquel's face paled and she could barely repeat the word "share." Raquel shook her head back and forth and bolted for the door. Hayley stepped in front of her and asked her where she was going. Raquel told Mateo and Hayley that she was going to get her son. "We're leaving Pine Valley now!" she yelled.

Still at The Valley Inn after Wendy nixed their date, Tad turned to hitting on one of the waitresses. The conversation the pair shared was, at times, quite provocative. Tad mentioned that he was a Virgo, perhaps counting in the waitress being big on astrology. She wasn't into astrology, but mentioned that she did have an interest in birthstones. She lifted a gold chain that hung around her neck and flashed her birthstone to Tad. The woman remarked that the stone brought her good luck. Tad, noticing that the stone nestled well into the waitress' shirt, remarked that it looked like the stone was the lucky one. The waitress informed Tad that his birthstone was a sapphire and told him that she had a small sapphire that she'd be willing to give to him. When asked if he would mind carrying the stone around, Tad replied, "That depends. Will I get lucky?"
In the lobby of The Valley Inn, Jack, Travis, and Kit planned to celebrate Kit's release from the hospital. Until, that is, they saw Tad sitting in the dining area. Both the Montgomery men wanted to leave immediately, but Kit did not want to shy away. In fact, she wanted to go to Tad's table and talk to him. Jack shook his head and asked Travis to take Kit up to her room so that they could order room service. Jack advised Kit not to get too used to hotel living because he'd had already made the decision to go house hunting. Jack had no sooner headed for Tad's table when Kit asked her other brother to distract Jack so that she could have a few minutes alone with Tad. Jack wasted no time in telling Tad that a DNA test had proved that Kit was really his sister. Tad offered Jack his condolences and warned Jack that Kit was "not worth fighting for." He noted that "sometimes after the hugs and kisses [are gone], people are disappointed." What Tad was trying to say in a roundabout way, was that Jack would ultimately disappointed by Kit once the euphoria of Christine's "resurrection" had worn off. Jack countered an accusation that Kit was only out to steal the Montgomery fortune with an announcement that he'd already taken the legal steps to ensure that Christine received all the money she was entitled to---so she wouldn't have to steal anything. Tad insisted on referring to the woman as Kit and every time Jack corrected her by saying, "Christine." Just as Jack was asking Tad about Erica's cryptic remark to "ask Tad" about why Kit was such a bad person, Travis arrived at the table and asked to speak to Jack in private. That allowed Kit to join Tad at the table. She told Tad that they needed to talk about their past. Without ever saying exactly what it was that she'd done to Tad, Kit admitted that what she had done to Tad was the worst con she'd ever pulled off. But telling Jack and Travis, she said, would hurt them more than it hurt her. Tad coldly inferred that Kit was lying about being raped and asked her to admit the truth. Kit didn't back down from her claim that she'd been raped, but she told Tad that she did want the police to end their search for the rapist. Jack and Travis returned to the table and asked what was going on. Jack saw a tear streaming down his sister's cheek and knew that Tad must have said something to upset her. He again asked Tad to tell him what Kit had done to him. "Forget it," Tad said softly. "It's no longer relevant." Tad bowed his head slightly and excused himself from the table.

Braden recited several lines from a rather morose poem and stopped after he noticed that Dixie wasn't smiling. Dixie said that she'd be as good as new if she could get a hug from her son. That, she said, would be better medicine than any of her uncle's hired specialists could prescribe. A smile on his face,David walked into the room and commented that he now knew why he ears had been ringing. Outside, Adrian tried to probe Dixie's attending nurse for details on Dixie's condition. Since he was not a family member, she referred him to the hospital's administration office. Even his government ID didn't sway the nurse. Dixie wanted to know why David, a cardiologist, had been called in to examine her. David did his best to dodge the question, but Dixie threatened to remove him for her case if he didn't give her some answers. David told Dixie about her damaged heart and said that he had hoped to get her condition in check. Seeing that David was trying to help her, Dixie agreed to undergo more tests. She ordered David to give her the results of her tests directly because she knew that her Uncle Palmer would not give her straight answers.

Dimitri, Edmund, Eugenia>, and Gillian gathered in the parlor at Wildwind for their afternoon cocktails. Ryan entered the room with a bag around his shoulder and announced that he was moving out. Gillian ran across the room to her husband and begged him to reconsider. Dimitri reminded Ryan that Gillian would face deportation if he backed out on the arranged marriage. Ryan smirked and told Dimitri that the INS had already granted Gillian her green card. Ryan explained that he had arranged to "crash" at Rudy's until he could find somewhere suitable to stay. Eugenia's mouth gaped at the usage of the word "crash" and told Ryan that her family doesn't "crash." She offered to let Ryan have his own wing at Wildwind, but that wasn't about to change Ryan's mind. Dimitri commented that the situation made no sense. Gillian chimed in with her concurring opinion. Eugenia suddenly blurted out an admonishment to her granddaughter, reminding her that it was her fault that Ryan was leaving her. Gillian gasped in horror when Eugenia revealed that she had had an affair, though Eugenia never mentioned David's name. Gillian tried to minimize the meaning of her affair, saying that her "betrayal was only physical" because her heart always belonged to Ryan. She turned to Edmund and Dimitri for support, but neither one was going to help her. Ryan said goodbye and turned to walk away. "You can't do this!" Gillian exclaimed. "You love me." She warned Ryan that if he walked out the door, their relationship would be "over, finished, kibutzed." Ryan muffled a laugh and told Gillian that their relationship already was "over, finished, kibutzed." Gillian was absolutely floored by her inability to keep Ryan from leaving. She tried to play it cool when Ryan left, but her emotions got the best of her. She ran towards the door screaming for Ryan to return so that she could be the one to walk out on him, but it was mostly for show. Gillian had no desire to walk out on Ryan. She pressed her face against the solid oak front door and sobbed, "Ryan, I love you." On the other side of the door, Ryan found it hard to walk away. But he did.

Opal and Palmer returned to Palmer's hotel room. Palmer touted their argue-free luncheon as a sign that their marriage was back on track. He spoke endlessly about how he and Opal could get back together and the fun things they could do with Petey. Opal asked Palmer to slow down and explained that one quiet meal together did not change the fact that he had locked her up in his secret room. Adrian knocked on the door and, much to Palmer's chagrin, Opal let him inside. Adrian told Opal that he'd just come from the Westside Hospital. Palmer's face froze. Opal worried that something had happened to Adrian, but Adrian quickly explained that Palmer's niece was the one who was in trouble. Opal began to panic and turned to Palmer to ask him if he knew anything about Dixie's condition. If Palmer had not known about Dixie's illness, he surely would have worked himself into a frenzy. Seeing that Palmer was cool as a cucumber, Opal knew that Palmer had known about Dixie's illness all along. Opal decided that she was going to go to the hospital and see Dixie with her own eyes. Palmer chirped that he'd tag along, but Opal asked that she be allowed to go alone. When Palmer argued that he had a right to be with Dixie, Adrian stepped in and ordered Palmer to honor Opal's request to go to the hospital by herself. Palmer was furious with the way Adrian was treating him, but all his sousing and grousing didn't convince Adrian to get out of the way. Palmer blasted the government for still placing a tail on him. Adrian smiled and informed Palmer that he was looking after him on his own time and that the government no longer was following his every move. That, of course, prompted Palmer to wonder why Adrian was so fascinated with his life. Adrian told Palmer that he had been by Opal's side when she'd cried at night about the way Palmer had lied to her. That, he said, gave him every right to keep an eye on Palmer, a man he deemed a "no good slimeball."

Raquel started packing her bags, leaving Mateo and Hayley to wonder why Raquel was acting so peculiarly. Everything became a bit clearer when Raquel explained her thinking. She said that she had come to Pine Valley so that she, Max, and Mateo could be a happy family. She did not want to have to share her son with Mateo. She wanted more and was being asked to accept less. "I promised Max a family---that's a mommy and a daddy," she snapped. Mateo quickly warned Raquel that her fantasy was not about to come true. He made no attempt to hide his love for Hayley and asked Raquel why she repeatedly made him tell her that he no longer loved her. Mateo insisted that he wanted to be a parent to his son. The use of the word "parent" really struck a nerve with Raquel. She lashed out at Mateo for thinking that paying monthly child support and going to a baseball game would make him a parent. Raquel told a harrowing tale of how she had to work several jobs to support Max. Max had landed in the hospital because of a "congenital heart valve problem." Since she had no insurance, no one wanted to take the risk of operating on Max. Max nearly died by the time Raquel found a doctor who was willing to perform the surgery with the promise of being paid back over time. Mateo remembered that his youngest sister, Rosa, had also suffered from a heart valve defect. Raquel made certain that Mateo and Hayley knew that she did not regret anything that she'd done for her son. "He's my son," Raquel shouted several times. Hayley wiped a tear from her eye. She was not going to argue that Raquel had made many sacrifices for her child. That, however, was expected of a parent. "I thank God he's okay," Mateo said softly. Mateo reminded Raquel that he had not abandoned Max---he hadn't even known that he had a son. "I won't let you steal my child," snapped Raquel. Hayley, who had been quiet throughout the conversation, finally spoke up. She applauded the tenacity that allowed Raquel to raise Max by herself. She did not, however, approve of Raquel's mindset that having a child with Mateo somehow meant that Raquel was permitted to play mind games with Mateo. Taking Max away from Mateo, she said, was a form of punishment for the young boy. Raquel shook her head and sighed that things were not supposed to have turned out like this. Hayley rolled her eyes and remarked, "Tell me about it." Max returned to the room and Raquel quickly turned her back so that her son would not see that she'd been crying. Max was overjoyed to see "baseball man" and asked the almost-stranger if he was going to help him find his father.

Opal arrived in Dixie's hospital room and immediately asked Braden to leave the room. Compared to the laid back Braden, Opal was like a tornado spinning wildly about the room. Dixie smiled meekly and asked Opal if she could turn it down a notch. Dixie was surprised that Opal did not know that she was in the hospital. Opal explained that Palmer was up to his old tricks and told Dixie that she needed to call Tad and tell him about her hospitalization. Dixie told Opal that she'd already spoken to Tad. She started to tell Opal about the arrangement she and Tad had made, but Opal chimed in that she already knew all about the agreement. Dixie told Opal that since Tad had not shown up on the rooftop, that was a signal that they were not to talk to each other again. "Tad was most certainly on that rooftop," Opal rebutted. "You were the no-show."

Still grouchy from Adrian's interference in what he deemed personal business, Palmer paced nervously around his hotel room wondering why Opal had not yet called in with a report on Dixie's condition. Palmer mulled over the idea of phoning the police and filing charges against Adrian for "unlawful detainment." Adrian didn't object to Palmer's idea, but warned him that he would tell the authorities that he was only following up on a lead that Palmer had more stolen artwork. Palmer referred to Adrian as an "insidious virus" that had "ensconced" itself on Cortlandt Manor. Adrian retaliated by blasting the way Palmer has been treating Opal. Palmer insisted that he was a joy to be married to because he had given Opal everything that she could ever want. Adrian shook his head in disbelief. Money, he told Palmer, was not the cure all he believed it to be. Adrian explained that Opal wanted "emotional support" and implied that even after many years of marriage Palmer still had no idea what made Opal tick. "She'd give you the shirt off her back," Adrian sighed. Palmer's face scrunched up in horror. Citing Opal's "abominable taste," Palmer said that he would never accept the shirt off his wife's back. Adrian criticized Palmer for his lack of respect for women. Opal is not a woman, according to Palmer. She is a "gun cracking hillbilly." That was about all Adrian could tolerate. Adrian's eyes squinted as he told Palmer that he was "nothing but trash."

Dixie turned her head so that she would not have to look at Opal. She insisted that Opal was lying. "[Tad] was not only there, but he waited all night," Opal explained. Opal looked at Dixie and could sense that Dixie had planned to meet Tad---but that she'd fallen ill before she could make it to the rooftop. Dixie told Opal that she'd spoken to Tad and that he had told her that he hadn't shown up. Why, Dixie wondered, would Tad lie to her about being on top of the Statler Building? Opal shrugged her shoulders slightly and guessed that Tad's ego had gotten in the way. "He thought that you weren't there," Opal said softly. Opal begged Dixie to call Tad and clear things up, but before she could finish convincing Dixie, David entered the room and asked for a few minutes alone with his patient. The results of the latest batch of tests failed to yield good results. David didn't want to appear negative, so he pointed to all of the positive news. He told Dixie that sometimes treatment for her condition takes several months. With weekly checkups and medication, Dixie could be fine. Could be. Dixie picked up on the disclaimer and asked David why he lacked certainty. David didn't want to give Dixie the bad news, but she virtually twisted his arm. David informed Dixie that there was a strong possibility that there could be a recurrence of her ailment. If that happened, there might be no warning signs. Dixie could simply be watching television or shopping at the mall when her heart stopped beating.

Jamie and Junior wondered who would be cooking Thanksgiving dinner since Ruth and Dixie were not around this year. Junior scoffed when Tad announced that he'd be doing the cooking. "Cooking is a woman's job," Junior chirped chauvinistically. Tad warned Junior not let Dixie hear him say that. The boys raced out to the far to fetch the final bags of groceries while Tad struggled to fit "Birdzilla" into the freezer. Tad's cell phone rang and he left the turkey half in-half out of the freezer. On the other end, Opal gleefully exclaimed that she had news about Dixie. Tad rolled his eyes and told his mother that he and Dixie were history. Opal tried to get a word in edgewise, but Tad hung up on her before she could tell him that Dixie had planned on meeting him on the rooftop. Unbeknownst to Tad, Junior and Jamie had been talking about the possibility that they might soon be brothers again. The two boys had picked up on the way Tad and Dixie made "googly eyes" at each other lately. The were still chuckling about their envision Tad-Dixie wedding when Tad caught up with them. The boys were wrestling to see who would get the bottom bunk when they moved back in together. Tad explained to the boys that they each had their own bottom bunk at their separate houses. The boys giggled and told Tad that they knew that he and Dixie were going to get remarried. Tad sat the boys down and told them that he and Dixie were not going to get back together. The dejected boys left the kitchen. Tad sighed and looked out the window.

Opal returned to Dixie's room after David left and asked about the doctor's diagnosis. Dixie forced a smile and told Opal that David had told her that she'd be "just fine." Opal smiled and said that she was happy to know that Dixie would be fine. Opal resumed her matchmaking ways and asked Dixie to call Tad. Dixie shook her head and told Opal that she had never planned on meeting Tad atop the Statler Building. In fact, she had been spending some quality time with Braden when she'd fallen sick. Opal's eyes bulged. "I never thought you were fickle," Opal growled. Dixie shrugged and reminded Opal that she is a single woman with needs. Dixie waved to Braden, who was still standing in the hallway, and asked him to step inside. Once Braden was inside, she managed to get Braden to go along with her lies. "I was just telling Opal that I was with you on the night I was supposed to meet Tad," Dixie said influentially. Braden nodded and backed up her tale. Opal was crushed. Her head bowed, she walked towards the door. "I'm really sorry," Dixie said with a sniffle. Before Opal left, Dixie got her to promise that she would not tell anyone that she'd seen her. Braden waited until after Opal left before asking Dixie why he'd just lied for her. He wondered if Dixie was trying to make Tad jealous. "No," Dixie replied softly. "Just the opposite."

Back at the hotel, Palmer tried to get Adrian to return to Pine Valley so that he could pick up Petey and bring him to New York. Opal nixed the plan and told Palmer that he could forget about any kind of reunion. "The only thing left I have to be thankful for is my kids," Opal said softly. Opal looked towards Adrian and the pair left the room.

Belinda dropped by Cortlandt Manor and was surprised to find no sign of the Cortlandts or Adrian. While the housekeepers searched the house, Belinda had a seat in the parlor. She answered the door when the doorbell rang because no one else was around. She smiled gingerly at a man standing on the Cortlandts' doorstep. The man squinted and asked if Adrian was home. The man turned out to be Adrian's father, Frank Dawson. Belinda informed that man that Adrian was no home, but invited him inside to wait. She looked at the man's face and told him that he looked very familiar. Unaware that Belinda had seen his photograph, the man said that this was his first time in Pine Valley. Belinda suddenly recalled the photo that Adrian had found hidden in one of Opal's self help books. Belinda went on about how highly Opal spoke of Frank, but Frank claimed that he barely remembered Opal. Belinda explained that Opal had told her that he had taken care of her in a time of need. "Is that all?" the man asked. Frank looked down at the floor and said that he was only doing what anyone would have done. Belinda was surprised by the way Frank had reacted. Was there something else that she was supposed to know about? Belinda smiled and said that Opal adores Adrian and has been waiting on him hand and foot for weeks. That seemed to unsettle Frank slightly, but he said nothing. The man decided that it was time for him to go, but Belinda begged him not to go because he might miss Adrian. After telling Belinda that it was nice to have met her, Frank left. Belinda pursed her lips together and told herself that there was definitely more to the story than everyone was saying.

Raquel told Max that his daddy was living in Pine Valley. The little boy's eyes lit up and he asked if it would be long before he could meet him. Raquel smiled and told Max that his father was standing in the same room with him. "Baseball man's my daddy!" Max exclaimed jubilantly. Max looked at Hayley and, understandably, asked why she was there. Matt explained to his son that Hayley was his wife. "How'd you get lost?" Max asked. It was difficult for him to understand why he had never met his father before. When Mateo replied that he wasn't lost, Max wondered if his father hadn't been hiding from him. Mateo apologized for having waited so long to meet his son, but he was soon faced with another difficult question. Max asked Matt if he'd be moving in with him and his mommy. Mateo looked nervously at Raquel as if he was asking what he should say. Mateo said that he lived in his own house with Hayley, but that only led the boy to suggest that he and his mother move in with them. Max didn't understand how a mother and father could not live under the same roof. Hayley reached into a plastic bag and pulled out a baseball mitt. She handed it to Max and told him that it was a gift for him. Raquel nearly blew a fuse. She motioned for Hayley to step into the parking lot. There, Raquel lectured Hayley that she should never give her son presents without first clearing them with her. Hayley laughed slightly and reminded Raquel that Mateo was the boy's father---and that she could give Max a present anytime she wanted to. Hayley went back inside followed closely behind by Raquel. Mateo asked Raquel and Max to join him and Hayley for dinner at Trevor's house. Raquel was unwilling at first, but she agreed to dine with them after Max pleaded with her to say okay to the plan. Mateo and Hayley decided that it was getting late and announced that they were going. Before Mateo left, Max handed him a piece of red paper. The boy asked his father to keep the paper pinned to him at all times. The paper had "Mateo Daddy" written on it and was to prevent Mateo from ever getting lost again.

Today's episode of All My Children was a rebroadcast of the episode that originally aired June 22, 1993. In this episode, Erica and Dimitri were married for the first time. Trevor learned that Laurel was syphoning money away from Natalie's charitable organization. Natalie refused to believe Trevor's allegations, but she later realized that her husband was telling the truth. A furious Natalie and Adam, who had seen his million dollar donation to the charity end up in Laurel's bank account, headed to Erica and Dimitri's wedding to confront attendee Laurel. They never made it to the ceremony because their car went off the road. This resulted in paralysis for Adam and, ultimately, Nat's death.

Due to post-Thanksgiving football coverage, All My Children will not be shown today. Broadcasting will resume on Monday and pick up where Wednesday's show left off.