LET THE NIGHTMARES BEGIN At the Medical Center, Gabi pumps Elaine for information on Paula and Ricardo. When Elaine expresses gratitude to Ricardo and a new, unswerving belief in his devotion to Paula, Gabi remembers the night she nearly seduced Paula's fiancé. Meanwhile, Ricardo suffers pangs of guilt as he watches Elaine and Gabi talking outside Paula's room. Eddie informs Ricardo that the FBI agents require the official report on Ralph Meyers; Elaine sits with Paula and is alarmed when her daughter's body begins to convulse. When Elaine calls out for help, Casey comes in and assures her that the muscle spasms are to be expected. Later, Paula begins to have disturbing visions and wakes to find Eddie hovering over her. Eddie, wanting to strengthen his position with Paula, informs her that HE killed Ralph, and that Ricardo objected to it. Eddie is gratified when Paula thanks him for saving her life, but is frustrated when Ricardo returns and Paula immediately reaches out for him. Jealously, Eddie listens in as the sweethearts make promises of undying love to each other. Ricardo asks Eddie to get Elaine, and mother and daughter share a happy reunion, until Paula reacts fearfully to the sight of Eddie playing with the handcuffs on his belt. Ricardo explains to all that Paula had been handcuffed by her abductor; Rae orders everyone out of the room. Paula asks Ricardo to stay. Outside, Rae offers to get Elaine literature on victims of violence and how to cope. Paula told Ricardo that she's afraid to go back to sleep because she starts to remember and dream things. Outside Paula's door, a sexually obsessed Eddie recalls the kidnapping and the moment he began to strip a bound Paula and panics to hear that Paula's suppressed memories are starting to surface.
PANDORA'S BOX Recalling Cole's words about her being just a California girl fling, Caitlin makes herself over into a pale copy of her mother. Sitting herself down at the bar at The Deep, Caitlin tries to get comfortable with her new image, while across town in a motel, Cole and Olivia share another rendezvous. Bartender Mark gives Caitlin a crash course in 90s dating/mating signals, and provides interference when Caitlin's smile attracts an unwanted barfly. Later, Olivia wakes to find Cole dressed and ready to leave. Glancing over to the fortune in jewels still on the nightstand, Olivia deduces that the only jewels Cole is interested in are the Deschanel jewels. Cole is startled when Olivia remarks that he is just like his father, Armando Deschanel, Jr. Describing "A.J." as a thief of hearts, Olivia alienates Cole after revealing that she lost her heart to him. At the Java Web, Ben and Meg continue to snuggle for Gregory's benefit. Observing Tim's reaction to the couple, Gregory offers to "get Meg back for you" if Tim will reveal what he knows about Meg and Ben's relationship. Keeping quiet for the moment, Tim confronts Meg again and worries her a moment when he brought up Annie Douglas. Without revealing he's aware that Annie's still alive, Tim makes it clear that Meg's involvement with Ben will have a disastrous outcome. As Meg leaves with Ben, Gregory again works on Tim's fears for Meg by implying that Meg will end up like Ben's late wife, Maria. Maria was killed in a mysterious boating accident where Ben was the only witness. Noting that Meg is a lot like Maria, Gregory advises him to speak with Maria's brother - Det. Ricardo Torres.
When Annie belligerently told Bette that she intends to tell Ben about the missing briefcase with the jewels, Bette blasts her niece for being selfish - too many innocent lives would be destroyed if the mystery of the jewels where to come out. As Annie stalks away, Bette calls Olivia and demands a meeting; they have to tell Elaine EVERYTHING. Olivia makes arrangements to meet Bette at the hotel. Later, Olivia and Cole share a passionate goodbye kiss at the door, promising to meet up later to continue the tryst. Disgusted, Bette bursts into the room and told Olivia that everything is about to hit the fan - and it'll be that much worse once Elaine finds out what they did to her so long ago... especially now that Olivia is sleeping with ELAINE'S SON. Back at The Deep, Caitlin mulls over the lessons Mark has given her and is immediately nervous to note that Cole has just entered the nightclub. Impatient for Ben to return, Annie panics momentarily as she hears the door close but calms down as she hears Ben and Meg's voices on the balcony. Listening to the two, Annie is devastated to hear Ben describe her as "incapable of loving the way we do". Meg notes the similar selfish behavior between Tim and Annie and asks Ben why they attract that type of people. The two share a quiet moment together, and Ben remarks that for the first time, "Maria seems a long time ago..." Both share a premonition that things are about to blow up. The two enter the main room and Meg went to get her things as Annie comes downstairs. Ben inquires after Bette, then asks Annie what she wanted to tell him earlier. Recalling Bette's comment about her "selfishness", Annie decides to keep quiet about the missing jewels. As Meg enters the room, Annie shoots a look of pure hatred at her rival...
BEN, ANNIE AND GREGORY
Tim makes a deal with Gregory to get Ben but protect Meg. Once Gregory agrees, Tim reveals that Annie Douglas is alive and well and hiding out at Ben Evans' home. Gregory orders that Ben be put under video surveillance, but is annoyed that his state-of-the-art surveillance is actually a static video camera without benefit of sound. Watching Ben on the screen, Gregory sees a woman's hand, but not much else. Ordering his man to continue monitoring, Gregory heads over to Ben's home. Ben and Annie discuss Del's business deals with Gregory, but are unable to discover anything that may implicate Gregory. The doorbell rings; Annie hides. Ben opens the door to Gregory, who uses their old friendship as leverage in trying to get information from Ben.
EDDIE, PAULA, RICARDO AND GABI
Eddie bursts into the room just as Paula reveals her suspicions to Ricardo that Ralph Meyers wasn't working alone. Eddie tries to convince Paula that she's safe, given that Ralph always worked alone. Paula explains that for the first part of her abduction, the kidnapper refused to say anything to her OR remove her blindfold. But by the end of her ordeal, Ralph had no problems with her seeing his face or hearing his voice. Ricardo and Eddie reason that perhaps Ralph only revealed his identity after deciding to kill Paula. Eddie breathes easy when Paula reluctantly agrees that maybe Ralph was working alone after all. As a parting shot at Ricardo, Eddie urges Paula to remember the night she was kidnapped. Recalling that Ricardo was late that night, Paula curiously asks where he was; Ricardo guiltily recalls flirting with Gabi. At The Deep, Eddie's intense pride in killing Ralph Meyers unnerves bartender Mark. Later, Ricardo asks Rae if there was medical evidence of Paula having been raped by Ralph.
BETTE, OLIVIA, AND ELAINE [... and Cole and Caitlin]
At The Deep, Caitlin puts on a show with Mark for an uncomfortable Cole. Caitlin pulls Mark into a seductive dance on the floor, but is humiliated to realize that her display was for nothing - Cole walked out. Back at the motel, Olivia tries desperately to stop Bette from revealing to Elaine that the baby she thought had died is actually alive and living in Sunset Beach under the name Cole St. John. Aware that Olivia's affairs are a misguided way to get Gregory's attention, Bette warns Olivia that this affair with Cole may have a more devastating outcome once Elaine finds out. Olivia panics as Bette storms off to find Elaine at the Medical Center. As Caitlin heads for home, she and Cole come face to face on the stairs. Escorting Caitlin outside for some "fresh air", Cole tries to get through to Caitlin about her behavior, but she makes it clear that it's no longer any of his concern. Caitlin went back in to the nightclub, but Cole follows and makes himself comfortable at her table. At the Medical Center, Bette is unable to reveal the truth about Elaine's baby after seeing her old friend so distraught over nearly losing another child. Olivia bursts into the conversation and apologizes profusely, until Bette manages to hint that Elaine is still in the dark. Later, Olivia heads over to The Deep...
THE NIGHT BEFORE...
THE AFTEREFFECTS
Casey visits Paula at the Medical center. Ricardo is relived when Rae reveals no evidence of physical rape during Paula's exam, but begins to worry when Rae reveals that the "rape" that occured was on Paula's mind. Sure enough, as Rae prepares a syringe, Paula flashes back fearfully to Ralph doing the same thing before he knocked her out and begins to hyperventilate. At The Deep, Eddie and Gabi compare notes and discover they share the same desire for getting what they want out of life. Although Ricardo worries about taking Paula back to the site of her kidnapping, Paula insists that she wants to go home to his place. At The Deep, Rae and Casey talk about not losing at love, and then share a slow dance.
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
Caitlin walks out on Cole without seeing that her mother is at the bar. Cole begins to run after her, but Olivia flirtatiously blocks his path. Annoyed, Cole brushes her off, leaving Olivia feeling abandoned. Back at the Richards home, Olivia finds Caitlin sulking. Prying gently, Olivia is taken aback at how much her daughter's pain sounds like her own. Later, Caitlin is sulking again as Tim comes in; the two commiserate again.
GET THE GOODS ON GREGORY
Meanwhile, Gregory is at Ben's home, dropping broad hints about Annie Douglas. Ben evades his questions, and Gregory leaves. Annie went on to rant about nailing Gregory, directing her tirade to the video camera - which is recording her entire tantrum, sans sound. Bette arrives and mistakes Annie's comments as evidence that Annie has told Ben about the missing jewels. Now that the secret is out, Annie begins to fixate on Gregory being the murderer, but Ben warns Annie to concentrate on disproving the evidence against her instead of wasting time on conjecture. Back at his home, Gregory is disgusted to find Olivia in the dark, drinking. Getting a call, Gregory leaves again, on "business to protect the family." Defeated, Olivia whispers to the empty room that "we don't need your protection, we need your love." Gregory smiles in triumph as he sees Annie Douglas in all her glory, captured on tape.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING...
Casey reminds Mark about the barbeque party to celebrate Vanessa's article being published; Mark worries that Tiffany won't come as his date since he blew the secret about her staying at the Richards' home. Although Casey insists that Mark had no choice, he does mention that for the most part, "secrets should be kept", unaware that Rae is listening. Annie storms downstairs clad in a towel and blasts Meg for taking her clothes. Explaining that she intended to pass off Annie's clothes as her own to deflect suspicion, Meg is taken aback when Annie viciously rips into her about "playing house with Ben." Ben jumps in and told Meg that she doesn't need to do his laundry, but Annie takes advantage of the situation and gives Meg specific instructions in handling her delicates. Annie's moment of triumph is ruined when Ben offers to accompany Meg and orders Annie to stay hidden. At Ricardo's place, Paula is determined to go on with her life, but is panicked again to be at the scene of the crime. As Paula regretfully points out that if he hadn't been late that night they would be married, Ricardo again thinks of the evening with Gabi. Meanwhile, Gregory has a job for Eddie. Putting the video on, Gregory announces, "Annie Douglas is alive."
MIXED SIGNALS
As Casey playfully went through even more wedding gifts from her family, Rae's guilt over the lie intensifies. Taking a break from preparing for the barbeque party, Rae and Casey head over to check up on Paula, who's at Ricardo's. As Rae takes Ricardo to one side, Casey encourages Paula to open up. In parallel conversations, Paula and Ricardo reveal that each is trying to stay strong for the other. Rae leaves the number of a therapist with Ricardo, urging him to take advantage of counselling as well. Back at Surf Central, Casey comments that it's difficult sometimes to talk about things that are painful, even to those you care the most about. Rae follows Casey out to the beach, but he insist his words were meant in general, not about himself. Casey pulls back from Rae when she takes his hand. At Ricardo's, Paula tries to maintain control over her emotions, but Ricardo's gift of a necklace with a heart charm brought back memories of Ralph tattooing her. Unaware of her turmoil, Ricardo adjusts the necklace around Paula's neck - and sees the heart tattoo on Paula's breast. Ricardo begins to apologize again, and his guilt intensifies when Paula states that even though she plans to have the tattoo removed, "there will always be a scar". Seeing Ricardo's agitation, Paula asks Ricardo what's wrong as Ricardo again remembers kissing Gabi. Elsewhere, a stranger starts to create a scrapbook on Paula... and later, Paula gets a phone call from her stalker, intensifying her fear that "someone is out there watching me, wanting to get to me..."
ANTSY ANNIE
Taking up Gregory's job offer, Eddie heads over to the Java Web and begins to ask Meg leading questions about Annie. Finding out that Ben is at work, Eddie heads over to Ben's place to grab Annie. Annoyed at having to wear MEG's clothes, Annie begins to go through Ben's hall closet, and finds a wig in a box marked "Maria". Putting the wig on, Annie takes a walk... just as Eddie arrives with lockpick in hand. Breaking into Ben's home, Eddie caresses his handgun with a crazed look on his face. Back at the Java Web,
Meg takes off to do the laundry, just as Ben spots Annie. Yanking her to one side, Ben blasts Annie for putting herself in danger. Gregory comes in, and thinking quickly, Ben pretends to berate "Meg" about the cappucino machine. Taking full advantage of the situation, Annie draws Ben into a passionate kiss, from which Ben pulls back firmly. Carefully manuevering Annie away from Gregory, Ben orders her up to his office and then refuses Gregory's invitation for a cup of coffee. Later at the Richards' home, Gregory hires a new man for an "editorial job" that he needs done...
THE BARBEQUE PARTY
Tiffany sneaks food off the breakfast buffet table and plays at being lady of the manor until Sean arrives and warns her that she can't wander around the Richards' house. Back in the maid's quarters, Tiffany is surprised when Mark comes to visit, inviting her to the barbeque part later that afternoon at Surf Central. When Tiffany playfully shows Mark how to drink coffee like a lady, she accidentally spills hot coffee all over him; Mark howls in pain as he quickly yanks his shirt off. Tiffany grabs the shirt and went off to rinse it out, while Mark misleads Sean into thinking that he and Tiffany just made love. After Mark leaves, Tiffany explains what happened to Sean and insists that she wants to be with Sean, not Mark. Back at Surf Central, Mark and Casey set up the volleyball net on the beach as Meg, Vanessa and Rae try to get the grill going. Vanessa's disappointed when Michael makes excuses about staying, and a disappointed Meg told Mark that Ben can't make it to the party. Meanwhile, thrilled that no one recognizes her, Annie happily plans to disguise herself as Bette the following morning; Ben is exasperated and told Annie to stop being a pain in the neck - and other areas. Eddie comes out onto the street, just in time to see Ben dragging an irate "Meg" across the street...
DAMAGED GOODS
Paula is shaken to get a hang-up phone call and confesses to Ricardo she feels as if she's being watched. Ricardo offers comfort and the two begin to make love, until Ricardo sees the tattoo on Paula. Quickly covering Ralph's mark, Paula cries out that she feels like damaged goods. Calming her down, Ricardo insists that Paula doesn't have to make love to him to prove that she's all right. The two decide to have dinner, and Ricardo leaves to pick up groceries. Alone, Paula jumps at every little noise she hears, and quickly bolts the door. At Elaine's Waffle Shop, Ricardo is surprised to see Gabi with Elaine again. When Elaine "introduces" the two to each other, Ricardo quickly pretends as if it's his first meeting with Gabi.
THE CONNECTION
Ben angrily confronts Annie [disguised as Meg] on the open streets of Sunset Beach as an interested Eddie watches from a distance. Concluding that "only Annie" could cause this much tension between Ben and "Meg", Eddie follows the arguing couple back to Ben's place and positions himself at the balcony doors to watch. With Annie's back to Eddie, Ben rails at her for being a spoiled, self-centered brat. When Ben told Annie to stay put so he can get to Meg's barbeque party, Annie quickly tries to come up with reasons for him to stay. As the two discuss possible motives for Gregory to kill Del, Annie remembers the name of Del's favorite boat: Liberty. Ben promises to research The Liberty on the Internet and leaves a pouting Annie with instructions not to leave the house. Eddie tries to break in, but quickly hides when he hears footsteps. Eddie is confused when the real Meg turns up with clean laundry, but Meg is even more confused to see Annie in her disguise. Correctly deducing that Annie had been running around town disguised as her, Meg blasts Annie, who gives as good as she gets. Eddie watches with glee as Meg yanks off Annie's wig and stalks out, heading to the beach for fresh air. Seeing Meg, Casey offers words of comfort and advice: tell Ben you're "Dorothy" [Ben's cyberlove]. Meg promises to find a way to let Ben know. Annie quickly hides as Eddie comes in with gun drawn and calling her name. As Eddie crows about finding her blood-soaked coat, Annie quickly slips out the balcony doors.
THE BARBEQUE PARTY
The first annual Surf Central Volleyball Tournament is held at the barbeque to celebrate the publication of Vanessa's article. Although Vanessa's hero worship of Michael is flattering, her references to Grand Avenue continue to alienate Michael, who takes off. Meg is pleasantly surprised to see that Ben has managed to make it to the party, and the gang congregates at the beach house. Mark returns with several copies of the "Sentinal", but Vanessa's moment of triumph is ruined when she sees that her article has been pulled. Over at the Richards' home, Gregory's henchman announces that the Sentinal's editor was able to yank the story just in time. At her friends' urging, Vanessa gives a brief verbal run-down of her story... it deals with a real estate corporation that is the front for a deal that would affect everyone at Sunset Beach. Meg notices Ben react to the story content; meanwhile, Gregory is dictating a letter, and begins to read from a folder entitled, "The Liberty Corporation". Later, at the Java Web, Vanessa surfs the Internet for more information on Grand Avenue and discovers an article on gang warfare. Ben and Meg arrive back at his home and are stunned to see Eddie standing with gun drawn...
