Esther died before she could spill the truth about Max to Sam. Later, Bo quickly determined that Esther was part of Sam's quest to get dirt on Asa. Meanwhile, Max and Blair covered their bases by claiming that Esther was the thief who stole Renee's necklace. Ben and Kevin continued to plan a surprise party for Grace's birthday and were forced to think quickly in order to get Grace out of the house. Grace was later surprised when she returned home and found Kevin and her family waiting to celebrate her birthday. Will headed to New York at Asa's bequest and decided to pay a visit to Cristian. Roseanne answered the door instead and was surprised to see Will. Will was forced to admit to Roseanne that Cristian's fears about Jessica's safety had been justified. A dismayed Roseanne told Will that they had to work together in order to keep Cristian and Jessica apart. Meanwhile, Asa arranged to have Cristian's scholarship revoked hoping that he would return to Llanview and break up Jessica and Will.
Today's recap was provided by Marti Dixon
Kevin, Sam, Ben, Nora and Kelly threw a birthday party for Grace, at Sam and Nora's. They gave her some nice gifts, and reminisced about the past. One of the presents was the swing she used to play on, as a child in Nevada. Kevin got her a puppy. Viki came later, and found Ben holding Matthew. She was upset by this, because she had just come from seeing Skye at the Palace Bar. Skye told her that Ben really wanted children of his own. Viki had told her that she was pathetic for still trying to come between them, but it did make her worry. Ben and Viki discussed it, and he convinced her that his life was complete.
Asa sent a letter to Cristian. Then Bo came in to talk about Esther Hoffman's death. Bo planted a seed of doubt in his head about whether or not Esther could have stolen the necklace. Bo also wondered who else had access to it.
Bo then ran into Max and Blair at the Palace, where Skye had just threatened to tell Asa what Esther had told her. Blair was not worried about Asa believing Skye, but Bo told them he didn't think Esther stole the necklace. He warned Max that he better not try to con Aaa. Blair and Max went back to Asa's, where he wanted an explanation of the two of them meeting with Esther when she died.
Dorian invited R.J. for dinner. She wanted to know what he had done with the $500,000 she gave him. He did finally tell her that he had used it to bribe Judge Peterson, who is being investigated by Téa. Dorian hugged R.J., telling him that he is one of the best friends she has ever had. They are both worried that Peterson will name them to get a lighter sentence. R.J. told her that he would take care of it, and Dorian made him promise that no harm would come to the judge.
Will and Roseanne were in New York, trying to plan a way to keep Jessica and Cristian apart. A letter was delivered to Cristian, which Rosey opened. It said that the Art School was revoking Cristian's scholarship. Rosey was worried about how they will make ends meet.
Roseanne accepted Will's offer to pay Cristian's tuition and they promised to keep their arrangement a secret. Cristian returned home and he and Will argued about Jessica. Jessica confessed to Joey and Kelly that she had been tormenting Dorian. Kelly comforted Jessica and assured her that it was her way of dealing with Megan's death. Max told Asa that Sam was attempting to pay off Esther so she would claim that Max was not really Asa's son. A furious Asa ran out to confront Sam, while Max and Blair began to worry that Sam may put two and two together and figure out their secret. Max rushed out after Asa and intercepted him just before he tipped off Sam. An angry Max and Asa declared war on the Rappaports. Meanwhile, Blair was forced to let Skye stick around at the mansion when she suddenly arrived looking for a place to stay. Skye tried to get Blair to reveal who the true Buchanan heir was, but Blair only hinted that it was someone already living in Llanview.
Today's recap was provided by Nancy Fox
Kevin's Bedroom
Kevin and Grace discuss her birthday and the surprise party. They marvel at how "life suddenly became magical" and Grace mentions that it is "scary being this happy." Kevin reminds her that they are "courageous people" as Grace starts to giggle. Kevin finds ("Buster") the puppy under the covers licking Grace's toes. As Grace cuddles with the puppy, she begins to sneeze. Kevin jumps at the chance to "take care" of Grace by going to the diner to get her some soup.
Asa's Mansion
John Sykes and a patrol officer show up to answer Asa's report of an "intruder" in the mansion. Asa is a bit perturbed that Bo didn't come to his aid, but urges Sykes to "shoot first and ask questions later... arrest the damn tramp!" Asa pulls back the covers and exposes Skye (in her nightgown and sleeping mask.) Sykes introduces himself to Skye and tells her he has "seen her around." Asa insists that Skye be arrested on charges of breaking and entering or trespassing ("whatever the hell works for you"), but Skye tells John that Asa "invited" her to stay at the mansion. Asa blurts out, "Not this time... last time I tossed her out..." so when Skye sees Max and Blair enter the room she changes her story and says, "I was invited by them...go ahead and ask them." Asa doesn't buy it because "his son would never let her into this house...he knows how I feel about her... Max, tell me what I want to hear..." Max is silent, but Blair answers for him. "Max didn't invite her, I did...I'm employing her as Starr's new nanny!" Asa doesn't buy this "cock and bull" story either but, after he sends everyone else packing and is alone with Skye, he tells her that he knows the "three of you are in cahoots" but that "it is almost worth it to watch that little demon get the better of you." Besides, "you could come in handy, hating Ben Davidson as much as you do... you can stay until I bring that lousy family down for good. Every last one of them."
Later, Blair urges Skye to "make this look good for Asa's benefit." Blair reminds Skye that she now has a roof over her head and that Max will take care of her credit card bills. But Skye feels she is "holding all the aces" and informs Blair that she has "one more job" for them to do: "You and Max are going to help me destroy Ben Davidson."
Palace Hotel Bar
Renee cuts her finger while slicing lemons as Sam sits at the bar drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. Sam is no help, but never fear because Dr. Ben is near! There's a bonding moment between them as Ben (on his way to his job back at the hospital) convinces Renee to be his "first official" patient since he's "not a bad guy despite what your husband says." Taking orange juice in exchange for the bandaging job, Ben also asks Renee to "deliver a message to your husband"... "If he ever messes with me or my family again, he will deeply regret it." Renee tries to explain: "I really believe, and I know it is no excuse, that Asa's antagonistic behavior is, albeit wrongly, his way of protecting his family." Ben "gets that" because he feels the same way about his family, "But this is why Asa has got to know the games have got to stop, especially trying to play us off against each other." Renee is sympathetic, but not encouraging. "I wish I could control his attacks. I can't. I can't control Asa..."
Kevin comes in for his "meeting" with Grace's brothers and they move to a corner table. Kevin admits he has a "good surprise... it's a great surprise that Grace has turned my life around in such a short time..." They all agree that Grace is starting to "understand herself better, know who she is and feel comfortable with herself." When Sam finally urges Kevin to just "spit it out," Kevin explains that he wants to ask Grace to marry him and is asking for their "blessing." The "Rappa-Davidson" brothers make Kevin sweat: "What if we say ‘no'?... she's pretty independent... she can't cook... she's the competition... can you dance?... check his teeth..." before finally agreeing: "he's not bad... what the hell!" As Kevin raced off to pop the question, Sam and Ben chuckled at the thought of Asa finding out that a "Buchanan" is marrying a "Rappa-Davidson".
Later, teasing us with "Is the real Buchanan heir Ben Davidson or John Sykes?", Sykes comes into the bar and asks Renee for some "really strong coffee" after dealing with her husband: "He tried to con me into arresting an innocent half-naked woman." Feeling brave, he asks Renee: "How is it that a lovely intelligent woman like yourself wound up with a cranky old fossil like Asa?" Renee bristles, "Asa can be a very loving and generous man. He is fiercely loyal about his family and supportive..." They both apologize and Renee adds, "I'm getting kind of used to this."
Bo's Palace Hotel Room
Bo wakes up "in a sweat" after having the flashback/nightmare about shooting Sam on the Palace roof and not being able to shoot Brian at the courthouse. Lindsay is upset that Bo won't tell her what "something big" happened, but Bo advises that if she really wants to "help him" she should just "drop this." Not willing to do that, Lindsay demands to know "what is it that you can tell Nora that you can't share with me?" Bo refuses to explain to Lindsay and instead dresses to "get out of this hotel room...and get some air." Lindsay responds by calling him a "jerk" and shouts after him as he leaves to "stay and work this out."
Later, on the Palace roof, Bo again meets up with Bernie. Bernie wonders if Bo is still bothered by shooting his "rival" and then asks, "You didn't shoot him again did you?" Bo shares some of Bernie's "breakfast peanuts" as he tries to explain his "complicated" situation to Bernie. When Bernie tells Bo that "it makes sense that you didn't want to take the risk of hurting an innocent man," Bo interrupts him and says "I don't think he's exactly innocent...he did steal my wife." Later, Bernie presses Bo further, "Are you worried about losing your job or is it why you hesitated to shoot?" Bo knows why he didn't shoot, but Bernie wants to know "is it that you care about the man who stole your wife or is it that you still care about the wife you lost?" Bo doesn't want to talk about his "ex-wife" but finally admits, "I care about her... we're friends, so what?" Bernie explains, "You have obviously figured out that if you killed the man it would totally destroy her." Bo responds, "I never want that to happen because I think Nora deserves the life that she wants... I want her to be happy." Bernie presses him, "With you?" Bo tells him "that's not possible...we've both moved on... I love Lindsay... but if I talked to her about what you just pulled out of me here she couldn't handle it... she's insecure... everything I tell her, there's nothing that can really reassure her." Bernie offers another of his Shakespeare analogies in trying to get Bo to understand Lindsay: "Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear. Where little fears grow great, great love grows there."
Later, Bo returns to his hotel room to talk to Lindsay but the room is empty. The bed is made and everything (including Lindsay) is gone.
Kevin's Bedroom
Kevin slips a ring box into his pocket before entering the bedroom. When Grace asks about the soup, Kevin has to lie and say that the diner was out. Of course, soup is the last thing on Kevin's mind. He tells Grace, "You're the most perfect woman I've ever seen... there's just one flaw and we can take care of that..." but Grace interrupts him. "I know what you're going to say and it's impossible..." Kevin is dumbfounded until Grace goes on to explain that she can't be allergic to the dog, she's loves the dog because Kevin gave it to her and Kevin has no reason to be jealous of the dog. Kevin laughs and says, "I've got to have your full, undivided attention. I've got to ask you something really big..."
Bo was concerned when he found what appeared to be a ransom note for Lindsay. Bo and John went to the address in the note and were relieved to find Lindsay there with all of Bo's belongings. Bo was pleased to discover that Lindsay had found him a new place to live and the couple happily reunited. Kevin's attempts to propose to Grace were continually thwarted after they were called to the hospital on a big story. Kevin was finally able to pop the question after he and Grace managed to bring another couple together. Skye blackmailed a reluctant Blair to help her destroy Ben and Viki's happiness. Blair turned to Dorian for help with Viki, but Dorian turned her down. A manipulative Skye later apologized to Ben for all the trouble she had caused him, but Ben didn't buy her act. Blair was later forced to assure Skye that she would find some way to destroy Ben and Viki.
