The show began with Vicki calling her mother, telling her she had found Diego in the hospital. After a brief conversation, Vicki fussed over Diego, telling him how happy she was that she had found him, and how grateful she was that he was alive. Still groggy, he asked her why he was there, as he really couldn't remember. He did, however, tell her he needed to see her father right away. When she asked why, he told her he needed to return something to him. Relieved, Vicki began crying, and confirmed that what he had to return was the $100,000. Diego urged her to try not to be so hard on Victor, because after all, he was only doing what he thought was best for her. She disagreed—she said he did what he thought was best, but at the same time, totally disregarded what she wanted.
They began talking about the mugging, and Diego couldn't remember much about what happened. He told her he was on his way to meet her, and he was carrying the money so they could go together to return it to Victor. Once she realized the muggers got the money, she was somewhat amused, saying Victor was about to learn a very expensive lesson.
Just after Nikki hung up with her daughter, Victor came into the room, asking who was on the phone. She told him not to worry about it; she was more concerned about the fallout between he and Vicki. She told him he needed to accept the fact that Vicki was in love with Diego, and that she wasn't likely to get over her anger with Victor any time soon. He refused to think about accepting Diego, but did say that he was very interested in mending fences with his daughter. Besides, he said to Nikki, Diego is gone for good. Upon hearing that, she hesitated, and was saved from answering as Victoria walked in unexpectedly.
She brazenly said she was glad they were both there, but that she wanted to speak with Victor alone. Nikki agreed to step out of the room, but not before reminding them there was enough turmoil in the family, and warning Vicki not to say things that she didn't mean. Vicki haughtily confronted Victor, telling him he was dead wrong about Diego and he had never left, as Victor thought. Victor asked where he had been all of this time, and Vicki told him he was lying half-dead in a hospital bed, and that she blamed Victor. She also smugly told him the best part: the muggers got away with his money. Before leaving she gave him fair warning—to stay away from Diego and to stay away from her, because she never wanted to see him again. She said goodbye, and asked him to take good care of her mother before stomping away. Victor, obviously shocked beyond belief, was dumbfounded and looked like he wanted to cry.
Meanwhile, down the road, Nick walked into the house and asked Sharon where the children were. While Noah was at a friend's, she said Cassie had just run out, upset, blaming the whole situation on her again. Not surprised, he partially blamed Cassie's adolescence for her moody behavior. That reminded Sharon of an upcoming parent-teacher conference for Cassie, and Nick told her he would like to go along too, hoping the teacher could assist them in helping Cassie through their family issues. Just then, Cassie walked in, attitude in tow. Nick took the opportunity to sit her down and tell her to straighten up her attitude, especially toward Sharon. He lettered and versed to her what a good mother she was, and how she had given up her entire life to be a good parent to her.
After she sulked and left the room, Sharon asked Nick if he meant everything he had said to Cassie. He told her yes, he really thought she was an amazing mother, and the reason he felt Cassie was blaming her was because she was the one there all of the time. After pausing a moment, he said he needed to take his own advice and stop blaming her as well. Sharon took the opportunity to ask him if he was ready to start over and build an even stronger relationship with her. After some tender words and even a passionate kiss, Nick hesitated, and then left. He stood outside the door momentarily, but then still decided to leave.
Over at the Chancellor estate, Larry called Michael Baldwin, deciding to pursue the sexual harassment case. After he hung up the phone, Jill came into the room and was drooling over Larry's muscular form. When he noticed her staring at him, she launched into a speech about how they should be friend, and by the way, weren't they great together? To make up even further, she wrote him out a check from $1000 to help him with his expenses. After he reluctantly accepted it, she started coming on to him, and he stopped her, asking where Esther and Katherine were. Her response—she made sure they were both gone—did nothing but make him angry. He threw the check back telling her to get herself a couple of gigolos, and walked out on her.
He immediately went over to Michael's office to start the process. Sensing a bit of hesitation on his part, Michael asked him if he was certain he wanted to pursue the situation. Larry asked him how much he was likely to get, and when Michael told him, he became very motivated to pursue the case.
Michael Baldwin set up a meeting with John Abbott at Jabot to discuss Larry's sexual harassment case. John was infuriated, because he said he saw the entire incident Larry got fired for, and had Jill not fired him, he certainly would have. Michael told him there were two sides to every story, and shocked John when he told him Larry was asking for a half million dollars. John told Michael the allegations were ridiculous and with that, Michael told him he was simply paying John a courtesy call. He told him he was perfectly free to go straight to the tabloids, and if that happened, the award in court would be much, much higher when they won. He left John open-mouthed,, warning him not to take too long to respond.
Larry went to Gina's and was sulking over a beer at the bar. When Gina approached him asking what was the matter, he told her he was thinking of something he did, something he sort of regretted, but didn't get into details with her. After the people sitting next to him got up, he saw Jill sitting alone at the end of the bar. She approached him and apologized, telling him she just felt awful about her behavior earlier, and then went on to apologize for her overall treatment of him while they were together. He just told her they should have expected a troublesome relationship, being that they were from such different worlds. Obviously feeling a bit guilty, he concluded they were just a bad fit for one another. This relieved Jill a bit, and she asked if they could just let bygones be bygones. Just then, her cell phone rang, and she got involved in a nasty conversation with John. He berated her for the situation with Larry and told her to get over to Jabot immediately to assist him with dealing with the impending sexual harassment lawsuit. Before stomping off, she threw her drink into a very surprised Larry's face.
Dru and Wesley were at Crimson Lights enjoying one another's company, when Ashley rather abruptly approached their table introducing herself to Wesley. He pulled up a chair for her, asking her to join them, which did not bode well with Dru. She immediately begged off, saying they needed to go pick Lily up. Wesley, obviously more interested in what Ashley had to say, told Dru he'd catch up with her later.
After a little bit of small talk, including asking Wesley what he did for a living, Ashley jumped right in with the questions. She was interested in finding out what he knew, if Dru knew her secret, and what she planned to do with the information she knew. Wesley, cool as usual, gave her very vague answers, but did let her know he felt the situation was none of Dru's business. With that, Ashley stormed over to Dru's to see what she actually knew. Through a lot of fast talking and clever double-speak, she got Dru to admit to what she knew.
Olivia stopped by Neil's apartment to see him and was excited to find out he had gotten a job at Newman Enterprises. He also told her about asking Dru and Lily to move in with him, because he felt it was what was best for Lily. Olivia just smirked and asked him if it only had to do with Lily, and he coyly sidestepped the question. He did, however, tell her once Wesley found out, he proposed immediately. The conversation turned to her, and Neil began asking her what was going on with the Brad-Ashley situation. She gave him some vague information, but when he asked her for details point-blank, she wouldn't disclose any to him.
Brad paid Colleen a visit in her dingy juvenile hall room. Defiant as usual, she started going off about Traci being nuts and how she didn't want to go back to New York with her. Brad told her she was being childish, and to stop being so hard on her mother. He also pointed out that she should have forseen that lying was only going to get her into trouble. Colleen said had she told them she wanted to see J.T., they just would have told her no, but did make an effort to understand when Brad pointed out they were only trying to protect her. She told him they never even took the time to get to know J.T., so Brad asked what he was like. She waxed poetic about how he always looked out for her, and in fact, he's the one who convinced her not to run away. She also expressed fear that he was angry with her for the arrest and how she thought he might hate her for it. Feeling very guilty, Brad told her he felt terrible for letting the situation get this far out of hand. He said he had been so caught up in Ashley's cancer that he hadn't been a good father. He teared up, and told her he would never let her down again.
Meanwhile at Crimson Lights, Traci confronted J.T. and wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. She dropped the bomb on him that Colleen had refused to go home with her, and instead chosen to go to juvie. Very surprised, he showed genuine concern for Colleen, which startled Traci. Then she offered him a deal: if he convinced Colleen to go back to New York with Traci, she would have the authorities drop the charges against him. Before leaving, she told him he had 24 hours to "do the right thing." Once Traci got home, she got a surprise visit from Brad. Much to her surprise, he told her he didn't at all agree with the way this was being handled,
J.T. was still in shock when Mackenzie walked in, giving him a hug. After giving her the skinny, she sympathized with him, and still tried to get him to admit that he truly cared for Colleen. Although he still wouldn't admit it, he did say he wanted to go see her. He asked Mackenzie if she still had Billy's old school ID, and asked if he could borrow it. At first she was reluctant, but seeing how much he wanted to see Colleen, she went on and gave it to him. He immediately left, and when he was let into Colleen's room to see her, she ran into his arms.
Olivia asked Wes to come to her office, where she questioned if she was wrong to torture herself over whether to tell Brad the truth about Abby. She said that even if Ashley did say that she and Victor were nothing more than friends, Ashley had hurt Brad by comparing him to Victor. She felt that Ashley and Brad's marriage was a sham. When Wes just stared at her, Olivia admitted that she sounded like she was rationalizing and that she knew she wasn't objective. Wes reminded her that Brad was in love with Ashley, and the secret was Ashley's to tell. He wondered if her desire to tell Brad the truth was about what was right for Brad or was because of the feelings Olivia had for him. Olivia still appeared torn about what to do.
Ashley and Dru continued to fight about Dru's underhanded activities. Ashley told her that Wes hadn't betrayed her, and Dru confessed that Olivia had not told her Ashley's secret; she'd seen the tape on her own, motivated by her concern for her sister's pain. Ashley said this wasn't something Dru was doing for her sister. Instead, Dru just liked nosing into other people's business and being in the spotlight. Dru countered that Ashley had taken that spot from her, getting pregnant by the big man himself. And she would not stand by and watch her sister hurting while Ashley pretended to live happily ever after. Ashley told her that Abby was Brad's daughter in every way that counted. If Dru exposed the truth, she would be hurting Victor, who was happy in his new marriage, as well as Brad and an innocent child. When Dru contended that Victor could do the math and figure out the truth about Abby, Ashley said there was no way Victor could know Abby was his. Furthermore, if Brad learned the truth, he wouldn't rush to Olivia with open arms. He would be furious that Olivia and Dru were making it public. Ashley left after telling Dru that her fight was with her, not a lot of other innocent people who didn't deserve to be hurt. When Wes arrived later, Dru angrily accused him of saying things to Ashley that enabled her to know that Dru knew the secret about Abby.
Ashley went to Olivia's office and told her that they had a problem. Olivia was shocked to find out that Dru knew about Abby's paternity because of watching the tape. Ashley asked Olivia what they were going to do to fix things.
Brad made Traci an offer regarding Colleen. He said that he hadn't been the father that he'd promised to be because of being wrapped up in the family's other problems. If Traci would let Colleen remain in Genoa City, Brad would devote himself one hundred percent to fathering their daughter. He would help get her back on track. Traci reminded him that the family problems (Ashley's health, Jack and Phyllis's situation) were not going away. Although she was moved by his commitment, there was one thing he hadn't considered. J.T. was in Genoa City, and as long as he was, Traci wouldn't leave Colleen there. Brad admitted that, having read Colleen's diary, it was clear the two were not just friends. Colleen was obviously deeply infatuated, but as far as he could determine, J.T. had not taken advantage of that sexually. Traci was determined to see that he didn't have the chance. Brad asked Traci if she thought she had all the answers, because he didn't see how putting Colleen in boarding school was going to help matters. Maybe if they sat Colleen and J.T. down together, it could all be worked out. Traci said that she didn't feel she had all the answers, but she had to follow her instincts, which were telling her to get Colleen as far away from J.T. as possible.
J.T. had gotten into juvenile detention by using Billy's I.D. that Mac loaned him. Colleen was thrilled to see him out of jail. Now more than ever, she was convinced that the two of them should never be apart. J.T. told her that he had never intended for things to turn out the way they had. He thought she should consider returning to New York with her mother. Colleen said that she was not going to boarding school. She wanted to be with him; that was the only important thing to her. When J.T. argued with her, she was sure her mother had threatened him. J.T. said her mother was not the issue. He finally told her that things were over between the two of them.
Brittany wondered why Mac was back in town rather than away at school. Was she considering transferring? Mac said that she liked NorthwEsthern and had only come home to help J.T. with something. Brittany wondered if she'd gotten him out of jail. As far as she was concerned, he could rot there. Mac admitted that she'd loaned him Billy's I.D. so he could talk to Colleen and persuade her to go back to New York with her mother. Brittany was skeptical about whether that was his real motive. She then asked Mac if it was hard to live apart from Billy. Mac said they were managing. Brittany just wasn't sure how it was going to work out for her and Raul to go to school in separate cities.
Larry got off the phone after hearing from Michael that he'd gone to see John Abbott and the prospects were good for a settlement. Katherine came in and showed him the classifieds, where she'd circled some jobs that he might be qualified for. She also told him that she was willing to give him a full-time job on the estate. She could tell something was bothering Larry, and he finally told her everything about the sexual harassment suit. Katherine agreed that it would be a great way to embarrass Jill, as well as an effective way to get her back, as her career was so important to her. But she said she didn't feel like that was what was troubling Larry. Larry said that he didn't feel good about the situation. He'd gone into the relationship with his eyes open. But it hadn't been just about sex. He and Jill had good times together, laughing and telling each other stories. He wished things had ended in a better way, though he knew they had to end, since he and Jill were from two different worlds. Katherine patted him on the shoulder and told him she was sure he'd make the right decision.
John lashed out at Jill for getting the company he'd worked so hard to build into such a mess with her bedroom gymnastics. He told her that Michael knew Larry's case was strong for a settlement, because of course Jabot would want to avoid the public embarrassment if it went to court and became a story for the tabloids. Jill was full of remorse and apologized, but said that they should pay the half a million dollars and put it behind them. John told her no. She needed to go to Larry and talk him out of doing this. Jill had to confess that after things had gotten more cordial between her and Larry, once she got John's call about the lawsuit, she'd thrown her drink in Larry's face at Gina's. John was exasperated with her. Before they could plan what to do next, Larry came in. He told them that he didn't feel good about all of this, and then he spoke directly to Jill. He'd enjoyed the time they spent together and went into it with his eyes open. It wasn't his intention that things turn out as they had. Therefore, he'd decided not to pursue his case against Jabot. After he walked out, John expressed his admiration for Larry's integrity, and Jill agreed that in Larry's case, it was wrong to judge a book by its cover. In spite of having been in prison and living a rough life, Larry was a good person.
Frederick and Anita invited Raul's parents out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. They wondered why in the world they would have done this and found out that they just wanted to clue them in about the kids' living arrangements and be sure they knew that their son wasn't good enough for their daughter. Raul's parents left, outraged, especially after Anita let the cat out of the bag about Raul and Brittany harboring a juvenile runaway.
Despite his tremendous pain in having to do it, J.T. broke up with Colleen once and for all, telling her that he had plans with another girl, was going to a party afterwards, and that they were never any good for each other. Colleen was sure that her mother had something to do with it and didn't believe him at first. He let her have it, though, and left. He went to the coffeehouse to find Brittany nosing into his business. She realized that he was really hurt over the deal and offered a sympathetic ear if he needed one. He left when Raul showed up, acting ungrateful and miserable.
Raul and Brittany speculated about whether or not Frederick would go through with his threat to tell Raul's parents about their apartment. They didn't think that he would, not knowing what was going on across town.
Colleen called up her mother and told her that she was ready for Tracey to take her back to New York.
Olivia lit into Drucilla big time when she caught up with her after finding out about her viewing the tape. They argued and Dru stood her ground, almost making her sister admit that, when Ashley told her husband the truth, there may be room for her -- Olivia -- in his life. . .
Ashley approached the door of her home and stepped inside. She found Brad at his desk, working. She spilled her guts about Victor being the father of Abby and Brad lost it. She insisted that it didn't change anything while all he could say was, "It changes Everything! It Changes Everything!!" Then Ashley awoke from her daydream and entered her home in reality. Brad had flowers all over the room and had arranged for the sitter to take Abby a little longer. He handed her a rose and they sat on the couch. Ashley was truly moved by his gesture and wondered why he had done it. He thanked her for her support when he was having trouble with Colleen and told her how lucky he was to have Abby as his daughter. He also talked of the awesome responsibility raising a child was for him. Tears came to her eyes and she explained that she was just so much in love with him, thus the tears. She melted in his arms without saying a word about the confession she had come home to make. . .
Adela and Vincente Guittierez joined Raul at Diego's bedside. They were upset because they'd just learned about his hospitalization. Raul said that he'd tried to call them the day before, but hadn't been able to reach them. Diego evaded their questions about what had happened and what his muggers had taken from him. Finally he told them that he needed rest. Raul was going to use that opportunity to make his escape, but his parents said they wanted to talk to him. Before any of them could leave the room, Victoria came in. Diego introduced her as his friend, and Adela wondered why she'd been calling Diego. Diego told them that she hadn't known about the mugging incident and was not to be blamed for anything that had happened.
When they were alone, Diego worried about all the time Victoria was spending with him. He wondered if she was not going to work so she could avoid her father. Victoria said she had to reason to hide from Victor. If anything, he should be staying away from her, as he was the one in the wrong. Diego told her that she shouldn't blame her father. He wasn't responsible for the harm done to Diego, and everything he'd done was because he loved Victoria and wanted to protect her. Victoria said she didn't necessarily agree with all that. Her father had tried to run his family the way he ran his business, and that wasn't possible. She was tired of the way he wouldn't take her feelings into consideration. She loved Diego and wanted to be with him. Her father should have respected her feelings rather than trying to exert his will over the two of them.
When the Guittierezes got Raul alone, they questioned him about Brittany, telling him that the Hodges had told them that Raul and Brittany were living together. Raul said that was another thing he'd been trying to call and tell them. They couldn't understand why Raul was with the girl who'd almost killed him. Then they insisted that Raul shouldn't be living with Brittany. Not only was he not upholding the morals they'd instilled in him, but he was sure to be hurt. Brittany was used to having everything money could buy, and she'd tire of the arrangement soon and go home to her parents. Furthermore, apparently Brittany was leading him to break the law, since they'd heard that he was sheltering an underage runaway. Raul told them that he'd helped out a friend by letting her stay there one night. As far as Brittany was concerned, he loved her and she loved him. She would never hurt him, as they were implying. And he believed that his own father would not have been daunted when he was young if someone had tried to keep him and Adela apart. His father said that he and Adela had been compatible, and she was a woman of strength and good moral character. Raul was probably just imagining himself in love with the first girl he'd had sex with. In any case, they explained to Raul that the Hodges intended to talk to Brittany and persuade her to return home.
At the seedy apartment she shared with Raul, Brittany was on the phone with the landlord demanding that he fix the furnace, since it was fifty-five degrees inside their place. She then struggled to wash the dishes without a dishwasher. As she dropped plates on the floor and shattered them, Frederick and Anita arrived. Anita tried to show her how to wash dishes, while Frederick complained about how cold the place was. They told Brittany they understood that she was staying in the apartment as a way to rebel against them and assert her independence, but now it was time for her to come home. When Brittany declared her love for and commitment to Raul, they told her that the Guittierezes were talking to Raul and would no doubt convince him that this arrangement was wrong. Brittany was furious to find out that her parents had been talking to Raul's parents. She said that if Raul did turn away from her, it would be their fault for ruining things. She demanded that her parents leave her alone. After they were gone, Raul came home. Both of them were depressed and defeated by their separate meetings with their parents, until they admitted to each other that no matter how bleak things were, they truly loved each other and wanted to be together. After they made love, Brittany said she wasn't cold anymore and wondered if she'd hurt Raul's back. He grinned and said it was like physical therapy. When Brittany suggested that they were going to be okay, Raul agreed and pulled her to him to hold her close.
Nikki came downstairs, surprised to find that Victor hadn't already left for work. When she asked him to eat breakfast with her, or even have some coffee, Victor morosely turned her down. Nikki knew he was upset by his meeting the night before with Victoria, so she insisted that the two of them talk about it, even though Victor said there was nothing more to be said or done. He told her how cold Victoria's eyes had been and how determined she was to put distance between them. Nikki told him that Victoria loved him. She was just angry about Diego, but in time, she would see that her father had only been trying to protect her because he loved her. Victor wasn't so sure. Nikki put her arms around him and assured him that there was one thing he could be sure of: her love. That would be there always. Later, when Nikki was alone, Victoria came home because her mother had called her. When she surmised that Nikki wanted to talk to her about Victor, Victoria insisted there was nothing more to say. She had no desire to be around her father. Nikki said that there was plenty more to say, and Victoria was going to hear her out.
At the jail, Jack and Phyllis met with John Silva to tell him about Jack's discovery that Diane had been faking her leg injury for months. Although John admitted that it was an interesting development, it wouldn't amount to much in light of all the evidence the police had against Phyllis. When Jack said that it meant that the woman on the videotape at the hardware store could easily have been Diane in disguise, Phyllis suggested that they do computer enhancements of Diane, putting her in a red wig and getting the guy at the hardware store to identify her. John said that could backfire. If the guy didn't agree that Diane could have been the woman he saw, the police evidence against Phyllis would look even stronger. Phyllis, feeling defeated, finally asked John what her sentence would be if she was convicted. John told her probably thirty years. So she asked what her sentence would be if she plea bargained. John said that with good behavior, she could spend as few as three years in jail. Phyllis said that three years was better than thirty. She wanted to go ahead and cop a plea. John told her that she shouldn't give up. She'd been fighting so hard, she needed to be really sure this was what she wanted. He left her and Jack alone to talk. Jack insisted that Phyllis was innocent and a jury would see that. Phyllis said she wasn't willing to spend thirty years away from him. She understood that no matter how many years, however, three or thirty, Jack would be driven to move on with life because of his loneliness. He might even let his love for Kyle lead him into a relationship with Diane. Jack swore that would never happen. Phyllis was the woman he loved, and he couldn't bear to think of a life without her.
