Jax's assassination was foiled when Brenda pushed him out of harms way and sustained a flesh wound. V identified Mitch as the one who was behind the hit, but Jax did not want him arrested. Jax carried Brenda home and she poured her heart out about almost losing him. They then kissed passionately and Jax took Brenda to her bedroom. Jax, however, opted out of lovemaking and went home. Mac and Felicia fought with the shooter and he fell to his death. Tess took Felicia hostage and brought her to a hotel. Mac followed Tess and overheard Felicia telling Tess how deep of a bond she and Mac shared. Mac subdued Tess and saved Felicia, who was miffed to learn that he had waited to listen in on her conversation with Tess before rescuing her. Meanwhile, Carly defended Jason against Edward's accusations that Jason had ordered the hit on Jax. In an effort to spite Edward, Carly ordered Benny to commence the strike. Jason yelled at Carly for interfering in his business because the immediacy of the strike made him look guiltier in the eyes of the police. Jason, however, took some relief in the fact that Carly finally understood how ruthless Edward truly was. Alan blasted Emily for defending Jason. Monica yelled at Alan for his treatment of Emily and ordered him to seek professional help for whatever was bothering him. Ned and AJ argued over the best way to deal with Jason and the unions.

Taggert hauled Jason into the police station to question him about the assassination attempt on Jax. Carly called Justus, who clashed with Taggert over his tactics. Their argument then deteriorated into a debate over who was better for Dara. Justus filed a complaint against Taggert for the way he had treated Jason. Taggert had Jason taken to a jail cell and eventually became his cell-mate. Taggert then unsuccessfully tried to trick Jason into bribing him and Jason smiled in triumph when he was released before Taggert. Dara then visited Taggert while he was exercising in his cell and was turned off by his crude flirtations. Dara hinted to Justus that he and Taggert were cut from the same cloth. Meanwhile, acting as Jason's emissary, Carly visited Robin in the hospital and Robin admitted that she was wrong not to tell Jason about Tony before she confronted him. Robin told Carly that she had opted to confront Tony out of fear of what Jason might have done to him. Robin became insulted when Carly told her that Jason did not need her to be his guardian angel. Robin told Carly that she had resolved to let Jason make his own choices as evidenced by her silence about Michael's true paternity. Meanwhile, Bobbie still harbored resentment towards Luke for his refusal to convince Tony to stay away from Lucas. Katherine learned from Nikolas that Helena claimed that Stefan was in love with Laura. Katherine then stunned Luke when she told him that the only woman Stefan ever loved was Laura. Jax negotiated the end of James and Tess by seizing control of Mitch's shipping line. Jax also saw to it that Tess would serve a minimal prison sentence, and arranged plastic surgery and a job on his Alaskan shipping line for James. Felicia did not buy James's claims that he loved her and made it clear that the only "Mac" for her was the real Mac. V, Felicia and Brenda agreed to keep quiet about the whole affair, but Mac was a hard sell until Jax offered to have him reinstated as Police Commissioner. Carly and Bobbie ran into each other and decided to attribute the closeness they had earlier shared to the joy they had felt when Michael had been found. Jason decided to go with Carly to Virgina's house as a way to distance himself from the strike. Mac and Felicia decided to let their public "engagement" stand for now and a suspicious Mac wanted to keep investigating the plot against Jax.

Katherine revealed to Stefan that she had told Luke that Stefan had once loved Laura. Stefan was not pleased, but Katherine made it clear that she wanted Luke to know that Stefan would not harm Lucky or Laura. Stefan then prepared to battle Luke, but could not bring himself to destroy Laura's portrait. Nikolas broke up with Sarah, but was unable to articulate why his feelings for her had changed. After denying Sarah's belief that Robin was the reason why, Nikolas contemplated if Sarah was right. Lucky went with Liz to the police station to see if there were any new developments in her case. Taggert gave Liz and Lucky hope that the police would catch the rapist and Dara later commended him on his sensitivity. The servants at the Quartermaine mansion and the employees at the Port Charles Grill honored the picket lines of the striking dock workers which caused the Quartermaines to fend for themselves in making lunch and coffee. Alan tried to apologize to Emily for his recent behavior towards her, but she still remained confused about his erratic behavior and rebuffed his reconciliation attempt. This caused Alan to blow up at Emily again causing her to fear Alan more. Alan then realized that he had to kick his addiction and sneaked off to a motel in an attempt to go cold turkey.

Lucas prepares to go on a "field trip" to the arcade with Maxie and Georgie and tells Bobbie he is upset by Tony's kidnapping of Michael. Bobbie tries to comfort him and after Lucas leaves she decides she will go see Tony again to get him to give up any rights to Lucas. Luke arrives at the police station as Bobbie does and submits to questioning by Taggert who is still trying to pin the attempted murder of Jax on Jason. Bobbie, in the meantime, visits with Tony. Tony again refuses to give up his rights as a parent and refuses to feel any remorse for the kidnapping. This infuriates Bobbie who tells him how hurt Lucas is by the kidnapping and she tells him she will do all she can to stop him from seeing Lucas.

Jason and Carly arrive in Florida to pack up Virginia's belongings. Carly tells him about her father and tells Jason how bad she feels for the way she always treated Virginia. She says she feels she is responsible for her mother's death. Jason tries to make her feel better and tells her she isn't responsible. They then begin to talk about how they are going to rear Michael. Carly tells Jason she knows Michael will always respect him even fifteen or twenty years from now. Jason tells her she will be a good parent, too. Then they start to bond as they both tell each other how thankful they both are that Carly came to Jason the night she and Tony broke-up.

Jax's parents arrive in Port Charles on a surprise visit and are surprised to find Ashley in Jax' penthouse. Ashley introduces herself, but isn't well received. Jax' mother asks her what she is doing there because she knows she was the one responsible for stranding Jerry earlier. Ashley explains and tells her Jerry just has a flair for the dramatic. There is a knock at the door and it turns out to be Brenda. Jax' parents gush over Brenda which makes Ashley less than pleased so she decides to leave having Jax walk her downstairs. Once they are gone, Jax' parents press Brenda as to the status of her and Jax' relationship. Brenda tells them there isn't anything going on yet, but she isn't giving up. She tells them she would understand if they wanted her to and explains why she and Jax broke-up.

Felicia and Mac go to New Orleans to talk to someone about the hit on Jax. Mac pulls out a ring he had taken from the hit man. It is a ring of fraternity for professional hit men. This will allow he and Felicia to get information. A man approaches their table and starts to hit on Felicia. Mac starts something up with him and as Felicia is starting to think they are going to get in a fight, Mac and the man shake hands apparently already knowing each other. Mac's friend tells them the dead shooter was someone named Bentley. He then refuses to tell them anything else so Felicia starts to "work" him. He doesn't budge so Felicia refuses to go out with him. He tells her that is too bad because he would have told her that Bentley was paid in solid gold bouillon and he leaves. Felicia asks what that means and Mac tells her that the friend knows who set up the hit and now he does also. The only person who pays in gold bouillon is Jerry Jax.

Bobbie continues to talk to Tony. Tony tells her he will be getting out of jail soon because he is an upstanding citizen and he has character witnesses to prove it. Bobbie asks if he means someone like Alan Quartermaine. Tony doesn't answer, but Bobbie tells him that after kidnapping Alan's grandson, Tony is lucky if Alan ever spoke to him again. She goes on to say Alan was completely devastated by the kidnapping and she wonders if he will get over it. Bobbie leaves and Luke walks her out. They wait at the docks for Lucas to return from the arcade and while they are waiting, Bobbie asks him if Lucky is still working for Helena. Luke tells her he will know tomorrow. Bobbie asks him what tomorrow is and Luke tells her it is the day after today. Lucas arrives and Luke leaves. Lucas then begins to talk to Bobbie again about Tony. Lucas tells her he is afraid Tony will want to kidnap him too. Bobbie tells him not to worry because Tony won't want to do that to him. Lucas asks what about if Tony went crazy and Bobbie again tells him not to worry saying Tony is in jail and will be for a long time. Lucas then tells her that he still loves Tony even though Tony did something wrong.

Jax' parents give Brenda the thumbs-up to go after Jax saying they feel the two are meant to be together. Brenda tells them the problem is that Jax doesn't trust her. Jax then walks in and says he has a proposal for them. They start to think Jax is getting ready to ask Brenda to marry him again, but instead, Jax asks them to stay in Port Charles for a while. They agree and leave to get a present they brought for Brenda. Brenda then sits down with Jax and decides her wish she desires to have from him is to sit down with him and explain what happened between them the other night. He agrees and Brenda tells him that he wanted her, but he is just afraid. Jax tells her that he obviously didn't want her because he didn't have her. Brenda doesn't agree and tells him he failed the test she had for him by kissing her and she knows how much he is hurting.

Alan continues to stay in the hotel room trying to withdraw from his addiction. He lays down in the bed only to awaken later by a knock at the door. It is Emily. She says she got there just in time and is there to take care of him. Alan is so thankful, but then Emily empties the contents of a paper bag and it has every imaginable type of drug in it. She tells him she brought them for him. He tells her he is trying to quit, but Emily starts to push them on him, telling him he will feel better if he takes one. Alan succumbs and Emily starts to take a handful of pills. Alan then wakes up and realizes it was all just a dream. He then cries out for help.

Jax tells Brenda again that they are over that he doesn't want to go through any more of her tests. As they are talking, his parents come back in and the present turns out to be a pair of slippers like the pair Brenda gave Jax's father when he was in the hospital. Brenda and Jax's mother then leave the room to make tea. Jax's father then tries to get Jax to see that what Jax and Brenda have is love and Jax needs to accept it. Jax tells his father basically to leave it alone that he doesn't trust Brenda and that is it.

Luke sits by the fountain in the park where Laura was found after the rape. Lucky and Liz walk up as they are trying to retrace her steps on the night of the rape hoping they would uncover a clue as to the attacker's identity. Lucky makes the comment to Luke that there isn't anything left to show what happened to Laura there. Luke asks him if he is still paling around with Helena and tells him that Laura would be concerned over his being friendly to Helena. Lucky starts in on Luke telling him he is through with them both and what he does doesn't really concern Luke or Laura. Luke walks off and Liz attempts to comfort Lucky. She also tells him she would rather wait until after dark to retrace her steps so she might have a better chance at remembering something.

Carly and Jason visit Virginia's grave. Jason leaves Carly alone and Carly apologizes to Virginia for never thanking her for all she did for her. She also tells her she realized she was wrong in thinking that Bobbie loved her more than Virginia did and all along she what she was searching for was right there in front of her. Carly says she is happy finally and has changed by realizing how much Virginia really did love her. Jason comes back and tells Carly they need to leave soon if she still plans on returning to PC tonight. Carly starts to tell him what a good father he is and that she realized what a good mother she had in Virginia. She says she has realized that love makes a family, not a biological connection. Jason asks her if she would like to stay the night in Florida and visit Virginia again tomorrow, but Carly says she is ready to leave.

Jax, Brenda, and Jax' parents gather around together to talk. Remembering she has another present for Brenda, Jax' mother leaves with his father to get it before they all leave for dinner. As they are leaving they tell Jax and Brenda to meet them downstairs. Once alone, Jax again tells Brenda they are through. Brenda just smiles, not believing him, and they leave to go downstairs. Right after they leave, the phone rings and it is Mac who leaves a message for Jax that Mitch had a partner and Jax is still in danger.

Alan sits at the table in his hotel room and drops a glass. As he is picking it up, he cuts his finger. As he puts it in his mouth to stop the bleeding, he stops and then takes the empty pill vial out of the trash can and puts his finger in the vial to get up any powder residue that may be left in the vial from the pills. He then puts his finger in his mouth to get whatever he can from the vial. He then goes over to the phone by the bed and picks up the phone.

Liz and Lucky start to go over the route she took the night of the rape. She tells Lucky she doesn't remember anyone else there that night. She does remember everything seemed so calm. She starts to reveal the details of the attack to Lucky and it finally gets to Lucky. He gets tears in his eyes and holds Liz telling her to stop and not go any farther. Later, Lucky seems curious about the way the attacker grabbed Liz. She says she doesn't remember anything and feels it is her fault. Lucky tells her the attacker would say any excuse to make her believe the attack was her fault, but in reality it wasn't. Liz then finally realizes she wasn't responsible.

Jax, Brenda, and his parents return from dinner. There is a knock at the door and it turns out to be Mac and Felicia. Not wanting to know the details about the attempt on Jax' life, his parents leave, taking Brenda with them. Jax doesn't seem very happy that Mac was still investigating the case and tells them it is over and Mitch was responsible. Mac tells him that Mitch had a partner and it was Jax' brother, Jerry. Jax doesn't believe him, but when Mac reveals everything he knows, Jax realizes Mac is right. He tells Mac and Felicia to keep it under wraps that he will take care of it.

An employee from the hotel arrives at Alan's room and Alan pays him to find someone who can replace his medication. They man agrees making the comments that Alan looks as if he needs to be in the hospital. Later, a guy with a suitcase arrives and tells Alan he can fill his order as long as he can pay for it. This seems to make Alan slightly nervous.

Luke goes to Wyndemere and while in the basement, he uncovers the portrait of Laura. Stefan walks up behind him and makes the comment that the portrait is an incredible likeness of Laura.

Liz asks Lucky where he happened to find her that night and she reveals to him that she realized she wasn't going to die when she saw him that night after the rape. As they are talking Mr.Murty walks up and asks Liz if she will be in school and makes the comment that she has missed a lot of days. Liz tells him she will be that she just caught a flu that she hasn't been able to shake. Lucky then gets curious and asks Mr.Murty is he lives around the park. Liz gets a curious look on her face also when he says that he does and often takes a shortcut through the park to get to where he is going.

Back in PC, Jason and Carly discuss the strike. She apologizes again for calling the strike and Jason tells her that by her speaking for him, she put herself in a dangerous position. Jason also apologizes for yelling at her so strongly. Carly accepts his apology and Jason tells her he will take the monitor watch tonight. Carly is so impressed that as he leaves the room, she smiles thinking about him. Later after Jason is asleep, she slips into his room wearing a piece of black lingerie and slips into bed with him. She then starts to kiss him.

Jax plays pinball and Brenda walks back in with her present from his mother, orchids. Brenda starts in on him again trying to get him to admit he is having fun. Jax tells her he is having more than fun, but it isn't leading anywhere and he wants to be honest with her because the last thing he wants to do is hurt her. Brenda just smiles and Jax leaves to walk her out. Upon his return, he finds his brother Jerry waiting for him.