As JAMES starts to light his cigar with the matches inside which HOLDEN has written HELP (with an arrow pointing down), he stops. He sees a smoke alarm and realizes he can't smoke and tosses the matches back on the tray. Then he gets a phone call telling him that his shipment is ready. His plan is right on schedule. "It won't be long until Samantha and I are off into the darkness." James is reading Lucinda's article in her paper about James and his accomplice, David Allen. He says that after David's spirit is broken by the good citizens of Oakdale, he will have only James to turn to. The night of Sam and Kirk's renewal of vows, he will flood the room with gas that will make everybody unconscious for about 30 minutes and he will whisk Samantha off. Holden says he can't do that because Lily will be there and she is pregnant.
After hitting ANDY over the head, MATT deletes the file on the computer and takes photos, negatives and computer disk. Upstairs in the station, he runs into NIKKI and tells her he is there to see her. She tells him about her dad and Carly.
At the Mona Lisa, having called JACK to tell him that CARLY is there with HAL, BEN takes the phone over to Carly to let him talk to her, but at that moment Carly tells Hal that she will marry him and of course, Jack hears this. He is obviously very dejected. Hal slips the ring on her finger. She tells him he saved her by trusting her, having faith in her, giving her a chance and loving her. She suggests they go someplace where they can be alone. Hal grabs the second bottle of champagne Lisa was bringing to their table and follows Carly out. They go to Lisa's place. As things get all heated up, he says he doesn't want it to be like this--at somebody else's place. He wants it to be right; he wants to wait until their wedding night, partly to set an example for Nikki. He leaves to get out of temptation's way. She gets very upset after he leaves, hits the button on the answering machine and listens to Jack's message, then grabs her coat and runs out the door.
KIM and BOB come in to the Mona Lisa and they tell Lisa that they almost had Molly. Kim tells Bob that she feels like Molly is going through something similar to what she herself went through long ago. She says she has a feeling Molly will go to Smithfield and Bob says he will go with her.
Matt returns to the cellar and says it has been busy upstairs and picks up the tray. James tells him there are more important things for him to be doing than bussing tables but Matt says that if he doesn't do his job well, he will get fired and then James won't have a place to stay.
CAMILLE comes in a little late to meet Ben for dinner. He tells her about Jack/Carly/Hal. He tells her he doesn't want to waste any more time and that he loves her. Matt lights the candle on their table with "the matches," then leaves the matchbook on their table. Camille picks them up and says that when her father first told her mother that he loved her, Sara Ruth picked up the matchbook that was on the table so that she would have something to remember the moment by.
Hal goes back to the station and tells Nikki that Carly accepted his proposal. She says if Carly moves in, she will move out. Hal asks her to give it a chance before she decides to move out. She takes him down to the photography room but says she can't find the negatives or the picture, then they find an unconscious Andy. They realize that all traces of the photo are gone.
As Jack is thinking about Carly, in she walks. She tells him that they should give each other another chance--just move on and pretend that their argument about marriage never happened. He says, "Then you said Yes to Hal." He blasts her and she says she meant every word she told him in the cabin and in his hospital room. She says, "You still care?" "Not any more." He says she was hell-bent on having someone walking her down the aisle and he is going to find out why. Then the fool who does it will find out one second after Jack does. Carly goes out into the hallway and puts her engagement ring back on.
JAMES is on the phone talking about the shipment that was promised today. HOLDEN whispers to MATT about James' plan to gas the crowd at Kirk and Sam's celebration. Matt says it probably won't affect them for very long but Holden says the chemicals would probably affect his unborn baby. He tells Matt that he will be just as guilty as James unless he helps Holden stop him. Holden tells him to make an anonymous phone call to the police and tell them where James and Holden are and then get out of town. James comes back in and says he wants to know every word Holden said or Matt will know the consequences. Matt says that Holden was whining about his discomfort. Later James is bragging about the meal he is having but decides to go dine in the adjoining room. Holden tries again to tell Matt what he should do but Matt leaves.
A clean-shaven JACK is thinking about Carly when LILY comes in. He tells her that he knows Stenbeck better than anyone else because of his undercover work and he feels he could help if someone would just tell him what is going on. Lily fills him in about everything that has happened. She tells him that David offered to help bring James down. Jack suggests that they use David to get what they want. He says James has gone out of his way to keep David's hands clean. He tells her to go and make David an offer and, if he bites, bring it back to Jack and he will make a plan. She calls David and asks to see him this afternoon.
CARLY asks LISA (at Fashions) if she is going to be out of the apartment for a few hours this afternoon. She is planning to ask Hal to lunch. They talk about Jack and Lisa tells Carly she can always give back Hal's ring. Carly says it would never work between her and Jack. Lisa insists that Carly is mad for him. She pushes her to tell Jack the truth. She says Hal ought to know that the man who loves Carly so much is just using him. Carly opens a calendar and shows Lisa the next time she is going to ovulate and she wants to get in some practice before that time. "There's no way Hal is going to resist me today with what I have planned." Lisa tells her she, Hal and Jack will all be miserable and how will that affect the baby. BARBARA walks in on the tirade and hears about the engagement. She says, "Why do you want to marry Hal?" Carly says they make each other happy. Barbara says it is her duty to open his eyes. "You will never become my children's stepmother." Lisa tells Barbara that Hal is an adult and can make his own decisions. JOHN comes in and asks Barbara to have lunch and she tells him she needs to go to the station and talk to Hal about the engagement. John tells her if she feels that strongly about it, go ahead and they can have lunch another time. Lisa and John talk; he says that Barbara has to work things out on her own.
HAL asks MARGO if they checked the prints in the darkroom and she says there were about 50 sets. He tells her about the proposal and acceptance. She congratulates him and says she means it. (But when they embrace, her face doesn't show approval.) DAVID is brought in as a suspect in the darkroom incident. The police want to know if someone can give him an alibi for last night. They are going to check the prints found against his. He tells them if they bring him in again without just cause they will be facing harassment charges. Barbara arrives at the station and tells Margo that Carly is playing him for a fool. She tells him he can't marry Carly. He tells her this is a situation that doesn't totally revolve around her. He says he is entitled to a little happiness. Carly comes in and hears the big argument between Hal and the two women. She is delighted to hear his defense of her. She kisses him and asks him if he likes lobster. Then he makes the big announcement to everyone in the station.
EMILY comes in to the Mona Lisa looking for Lisa but finds KIRK drinking beer at the bar. He asks her why all the gals fall for James. Emily guesses that Sam has dumped him and tells him Sam is leaving him for James. "When James wants something, he doesn't take no for an answer." He denies it. She tells him how she made the mistake of helping James in the past. Kirk tells her about Sam's atomizer and that he knows James stole it from her somehow. That makes her think that David stole it and filled it with chloroform for James' escape. Kirk says he will prove to her that Sam won't go with James. He dictates a note to the bartender--MY DARLING SAMANTHA, THE TIME HAS COME. IT'S BEEN TOO LONG. I NEED TO SEE YOU NOW. MEET ME AT FOXWOOD LODGE IN ONE HOUR AND DON'T WEAR YOUR WEDDING RING. MY LOVE ALWAYS, JAMES. David comes in to meet Lily and sees Emily. He again tells her he was not involved with James in any way but she won't listen. When Lily comes in, Matt stops her and says, "I need to talk to you about your husband."
Jack dreams about Carly telling him, "It is you I love and want to be with." Carly is thinking the same thing as she prepares for her lunch with Hal. When he arrives, he sees a candlelit table with flowers and soft music and a low- cut neckline on Carly.
For nearly a year, Jeannae has been supplying ATWT Online with her wonderfully detailed and accurate
daily recaps. I am sad to say that today will be her final recap as she will be unable to continue to supply
then. On behalf of everyone at Soap Opera Central and the users of the Soap Central site, I would like to
thank Jeannae for all that she's done. For this period of time, she's shared a portion of her time with all of us
and for that I will always be thankful.
Thank you, Jeannae
Dan Kroll
Soap Opera Central Administrator
LUCINDA and SAM come into JACK's room because he has told them he has a plan. He says they need to smoke Stenbeck out using David's help. Lucinda says David is in on the whole thing about James. Sam thinks David tipped James off about the alley meeting with her. She thinks James would come out of hiding for her. Jack says it is too dangerous and that David is all they've got. Lucinda--"Absolutely not!" Lucinda says David is a very convincing liar because he has no conscience. He tells them Lily is meeting with David now.
MATT tells LILY he needs to talk to her about her husband (while picturing Holden in the basement) but then he hesitates. He says, "I know how worrying this must be for you but I'm sure he's all right." She wants to know who he is and how he knows about her. He tells her that Lisa has told him about the situation. He goes to wait on tables and LISA comes up to Lily and asks her how she is. Lily tells her about the nice young waiter who was supportive to her since he learned from Lisa about her troubles. When Lily walks away, Lisa wonders when she might have talked to Matt about Lily and Holden. EMILY comes in and asks Lisa for a job at the Argus but Lisa says her paper doesn't print sensational stories. Emily shows her the front page of today's paper and makes suggestions for improvements. Lisa says it might work but "you are involved with David Allen" whereupon Emily tells her that they have broken up because he lied to her too many times. She convinces Lisa to let her work for the paper on a trial basis. Lisa says, "I'm going to be watching you like a hawk."
CARLY tells HAL they have the place (Lisa's penthouse) all to themselves until late tonight. She says she has lobster tails in the kitchen and caviar and champagne now. But she suggests that they forget about lunch for now and go straight to "dessert." She wants him to show her how much he loves her. They head for the bedroom when the phone rings. Carly answers it and hands the phone to Hal--"It's the moron from the commissioner's office." While Hal is talking on the phone, she thinks about Jack telling her he no longer cares for her and then Lisa talking to her about Jack and Hal. After he gets off the phone, Hal says maybe it's just as well the phone interrupted them. She gets huffy and says, "Why won't you make love to me?" and he wants to know what's the matter. She tells him she was upset about Barbara telling her that she isn't good enough for him--and everybody else thinks the same. She says she just wanted him to love her. He says they will have lots of sex starting on their honeymoon. She suggests they get married tonight. They could fly to Las Vegas and then go on a honeymoon. He says he can't just pick up and take off because of the major manhunt. She says they could find a Justice of the Peace and get married in Oakdale tonight and honeymoon at the Lakeview. He wants them to have a real wedding. She wants them to set a date right now. After looking at her calendar, she says -- March 5.
Lily meets DAVID at the Mona Lisa. She asks him if he wants to prove that they were all wrong about his assisting his father to escape. She wants him to come with her and talk to Jack. He would rather bring down James in his own way and his own time but he agrees to talk to Jack.
MARGO is looking at the lump on ANDY'S head and he tells her what happened in the darkroom last night. Margo asks how the culprit would have known about the photo. Andy looks at NIKKI and asks her if she told Matt about it. She says, "Yes, but the whole police station knows about it and it was probably a cop." She says Matt was there last night but he came by to see her, then she stomps out. Andy tells Margo that Matt is feeding her a line and she is buying it. Margo says she will put him in a lineup and see if the other two guards can identify him. She thinks Andy is jealous of Matt. She tries to talk to Andy about his social life and about Nikki. He keeps saying Nikki is just a kid. Then he picks up a picture of Matt and talks about his "gut feeling." He says something tells him that this is the guy who can lead them to Stenbeck.
Matt sneaks an extra plate of food (on a tray) to Holden who tells him that Stenbeck will get caught and Matt will go down with him. Later when he goes back to get the plate, Holden urges him to help him get out but Matt insists that he can't help him. Still later James comes in and spots the tray Matt forgot to pick up and, with his gun out, says, "What's that???"
CAMILLE and BEN are at the hospital and he asks her if she will have dinner with him tonight at the Mona Lisa. When he tries to call for a reservation, she pulls out the matchbook because it has the phone number on it. As she walks away, she drops the matches and Ben picks them up and puts them in his pocket. He goes to check on Jack. When he pulls the stethoscope out of his pocket, the matches fall out on the floor. Lily and David come in Jack's room and find Lucinda and Sam there. David says, "Lucinda, I hear you need my help." Jack tells David that he thinks James wants to keep David in line so he has no one to turn to but him. "He cares about you big time." Jack tells David his plan and David thinks it will work. Lily sees the matchbook on the floor and picks it up. David says, "This is going to cost you, Lucinda."
BOB and KIM find MOLLY outside of Abigail's school. They tell her what has happened to Holden. They tell her about the new evidence and try to convince her to return to Oakdale and take a blood test so she can to clear Holden's name. Abigail's mother arrives and tells Molly that she has decided that when Abigail turns 18, she will tell her about her birth mother. An ecstatic Molly realizes she needs to set everything straight in her life so that when that time comes she will be worthy of her daughter's love.
JACK, LILY and SAM are trying to convince DAVID to help them catch Stenbeck. LUCINDA continues to fight the plan, badmouthing David. David says he will do it for $500,000. Lily agrees and asks is that all. David tells her no. He wants Lucinda to give Emily the same amount of money. Lucinda refuses. Lily finally convinces David to do the right thing and help her rescue Holden. Jack unveils his plan. The City Times will leak a story that David has dropped out of sight. They will then make contact with Stenbeck to inform him that Lily has kidnapped David. When David leaves to set the plan in motion, Lucinda informs him that she intends to shadow his every move until Holden is safely back with Lily.
ANDY comes to see LISA at the Mona Lisa. He wants to know more about Matt. He shares his suspicions with her. When MATT walks up, he and Andy have a brief confrontation which Lisa quickly breaks up. As Andy leaves, Lisa assures him she will keep an eye on Matt.
KIRK tests SAM by sending her a fake note from James asking her to meet him at Foxwood Lodge. When Sam calls Margo to tell her that James has made contact with her, Kirk confronts Sam about all of her lies. Sam comes clean to Kirk about everything that's happened, but realizes that Kirk does not trust her so she calls off the wedding.
JAMES orders MATT to go to the Falcon Club to check up on Kirk and Samantha's plans to renew their vows. While at the club, Matt witnesses the row between the two and reports back to James that the ceremony is off. James realizes he must come up with another plan to kidnap Sam.
As SAM leaves the Falcon Club, JAMES grabs her from behind.
CARLY approaches LISA about having the wedding at the Mona Lisa. Lisa tries again to convince Carly she's making a mistake, but finally gives in and agrees to let Carly use the Mona Lisa for the reception.
JACK, DAVID, LUCINDA and LILY have gathered at Lily's house to set up the sting on Stenbeck. KIRK arrives frantic that he can't find Samantha. Jack thinks Stenbeck may have kidnapped her as well.
The Police Department throws HAL a surprise Bachelor Party. TOM arrives to tell his wife that he has made plans to take her and the boys to the Caribbean and they are leaving tomorrow. Margo tells him there is no way she can go now and they should go without her. JOHN shows up to talk to MARGO and is surprised to see BARBARA has stopped by too. CARLY also arrives. She asks Barbara if the children can be in the wedding, but Barbara tells her it's not enough notice and they already have something to do. She begins to read Carly the riot act when John steps in and pulls her to the side. He asks her why she can't be happy that Hal has found someone. Barbara tells him Carly is wrong for Hal. John tells Barbara she obviously doesn't want Hal to find anybody. Carly asks NIKKI if she will be her maid of honor. Nikki tries to make up several excuses, but finally tells Carly she just doesn't want to. Nikki overhears ANDY asking Margo about the background search on Matt. She is upset that Andy still thinks Matt has something to do with Stenbeck.
JAMES takes SAMANTHA into the office at the Falcon Club. When he lets her go, she kisses him passionately. Realizing that she may be able to help Holden, she plays James. She tells him she wants him, but she has been afraid because she's made a nice life for herself. However, she agrees to go away with him. He takes her back to the basement hideaway. HOLDEN is surprised to see Samantha so chummy with James. When James leaves to run some errands, Samantha tells Holden what she's doing. She then calls Lucinda on her cell phone to tell her what has transpired and that Holden is okay. Suddenly, James returns and catches Sam betraying him. He orders Matt to tie her up and he grabs the phone. Lucinda warns him, "If anything happens to Samantha or Holden, your son, David, is dead.
