Gloria stops by Michael's apartment to look for an earring for her date at the Colonnade room with John. Kevin is there and asks if she has seen Michael. She tells Kevin that Michael is out on a date. Kevin reveals to her that the woman he always talks about is Lauren.
As Sharon fantasizes that she is a stripper like Brittany, Nick comes home and watches her. When she sees that Nick has been watching her, she gets embarrassed. Nick tells her not to stop. Sharon says they have some place to go, and that patience is a virtue. Finally, Sharon gives in saying that they can be a little late.
Colonnade Room:
Brittany tells J.T. that he better not screw up the plan. J.T. jokes that the worst thing that could possibly happen would be for her parents to find out the truth: that Brittany is marrying their worst nightmare. During dinner, Brittany's parents are very cordial and ask J.T. about his work. He tells them that he is working as a private investigator alongside Paul Williams. Fred mentions that a banking job is in J.T.'s future if he ever wants one. Brittany is disgusted and J.T. and her go on the dance floor. When Brittany mentions that J.T. is dancing like a mummy, he pulls her close to him. Just then, Bobby walks in and sees Brittany and J.T. dancing. He shakes his head at her.
Arthur, Katherine and Esther sit down for a nice dinner. As Arthur goes to the bathroom, Esther wonders if Arthur has spiked her drink. Katherine says they can't jump to conclusions. When Arthur returns, he asks Katherine if she would like to dance. Esther warns Katherine to be careful. Arthur tries to assure Esther that they will be fine. On the dance floor Arthur tells Katherine that he can't wait to marry her. They should just leave for Las Vegas and elope.
Michael mentions to Lauren that everyone he dislikes is there. Just as he is speaking, Gloria walks in with John. Michael can't stop watching them. Paul warns Michael to be nice to Lauren.
Jill thanks Elliot for showing her the inner workings of Chancellor Industries. She comments that now that she knows how perfect Elliot is, she is even more suspicious. He must have something to hide.
Victor and Nikki enter the Colonnade room and Victor says hello to Abby. Abby invites them to sit down and asks if she can ride a horse at Victor's again. Brad feels like he is being put on the spot, but doesn't want to look bad so he says okay. He asks to speak to Nikki alone and goes off on her for not helping him.
Nikki sees Paul and asks him if he has found out any new information about Joshua's brother. Paul says no, but he's still searching.
Jack is irritated that Jill hasn't shown up to the Colonnade room yet. When Diane comes up behind Jack, he is surprised to see her there with Kyle. He invites her to sit down with them and asks if he can take Kyle to a Cubs game with Abby. Diane agrees, but when Ashley comes by, Ashley says that Abby can't make it. She has plans already with Victor.
Damon gets off of Alex and Phyllis makes sure everyone is safe. As she is about to call the police, Daniel tries to stop her. Daniel notices that Alex is gone and Damon goes chasing after him. When they are alone, Daniel tells Phyllis that she can't call the police because he's in a lot of trouble. When Damon returns without Alex, Phyllis has to demand that he let her talk to her son before calling the police.
Esther continues to worry that Arthur is planning to kill Katherine for her money. Kay pooh-poohs the idea as there is no proof. His stepson could be a vengeful nut job for all they know. Esther panics when she finds out Arthur wants to elope with Kay. She eventually asks Arthur about the engagement ring. He confesses that it did belong to his former wife but only gave it to Kay because it was a spontaneous proposal. He will get a new one for her soon.
Bobby spots J.T. and Brittany dancing closely (for her parents' sake) and misinterprets it. He almost spills the engagement news to the Hodgeses, but Britt cuts him off. When he learns that they think J.T. is the groom to be he keeps mum and plays along. Britt explains and he forgives her. Sharon approaches Brittany and asks her about stripping and what it's like.
Jack and Ashley argue over his desire to take Abby to a baseball game the same day as she is supposed to go to Victor's. When Jack nicely asks Vic to change the date he puts it on Abby's shoulders who naturally chooses to go to se her horse. Jack smarts but calmly accepts defeat. He tells Brad about it and the two vow to get their day.
Nikki is smarting from Victor's constant fussing over Abby. Bobby asks her to help him at the club. She'll see if she can get away.
Michael pretends not to know his own mother in front of John Abbott. She thanks him profusely for his cover-up. He tells her the truth will come out and that bomb will destroy her.
Daniel confesses everything to Phyllis. She can't believe he would do all this for that loser Kevin Fisher. She decides she has to go and see how Damon is doing after he almost killed Alex. She figures it awoke the pain from losing his son to a gang member.
Jill apologized to Jack for forgetting about the Harvest Dance. She'd been out of town. When Jack realized that she'd stayed away overnight with Elliott, he warned her that Elliott was definitely trouble. He'd left several companies with his golden parachute, leaving those companies struggling for survival after being mismanaged. Jill seemed reluctant to believe that what Jack was saying was proof of any wrongdoing, but she finally agreed to keep her eyes open where Elliott was concerned.
Nikki tried to have a pleasant breakfast with Victor, but he was still annoyed that she'd left the Harvest Dance the night before. Nikki said she'd had no desire to watch him with his "other" family, and she chastised him for putting Brad in another uncomfortable position. Victor said that Abby had been the one who brought up coming to the ranch. Nikki pointed out that Jack had wanted to take Abby on an outing that day, but Victor couldn't even bend enough to allow that. Victor didn't tell her that it had been his idea to ask Abby to make the choice, saying that Jack had wanted Abby to make the choice. Victor wanted to know what business had taken Nikki away from the party, but she said she was going to use Victor's standard answer: there was no point in discussing it. Victor left in a huff just as Bobby called to thank Nikki for coming to the club and doing a great job the night before. Nikki assured him it was no problem; it was nice to be appreciated somewhere.
Ashley thanked Brad for agreeing to let Abby go to the ranch. She said she only wanted to keep peace in their family, and she appreciated Brad's willingness to help make that happen. Brad let her know that he still wasn't happy about Victor's influence in their lives. Ashley asked Brad if he thought she was still in love with Victor, as Nikki had accused her of being. Brad said Nikki shouldn't have said that, but he did think a part of Ashley would always belong to Victor, even though he knew she also loved him. After all, look at what lengths she'd taken to have Victor's child. And she'd forgiven him everything, even being responsible for little Robert's death. Ashley said she couldn't live a life ruled by hate. She hugged Brad, trying to reassure him that he was the one she loved.
Phyllis told Daniel she still hadn't made up her mind whether to alert the police about Alex's attack on them. But at the moment, she needed to find out what was going on with Damon. Daniel had no idea the problems he was causing Damon. She ordered Daniel not to open the door and said she was notifying security not to let Alex on the property. She then went to see Damon, telling him not to let his feelings about his son's death set him back on the path to revenge. She said that he'd been so rough on Alex because he was protecting someone he cared about. Damon told her that he could never undo what had been done to Elias, but unless she contacted the police, he was afraid she might have to endure the same kind of pain with Daniel.
Paul went to see Lauren for a goodbye talk. He could see at the dance that Lauren had feelings for Michael. Lauren said that it was clear that Paul still had feelings for Christine. Both of them agreed to be careful as they pursued other relationships, and vowed to always stay friends with no hard feelings. But Lauren didn't tell him that something else was bothering her. She'd received a note from Kevin with a poem expressing his deep feelings for her. After Paul left, she called Michael's office and left a message, saying they had to do something about his brother.
Michael was annoyed by Kevin's good mood and his continued attempts to woo Lauren. He told his brother that Lauren wasn't interested in anything beyond friendship. It was time for Kevin to face reality. He didn't correct Kevin's mistaken assumption that Paul had been Lauren's date to the dance. After Kevin left, Phyllis arrived to confront Michael. She confirmed his suspicions that Daniel had set up the incident with Lily to make Kevin look like a hero. Now Alex was posing a significant threat to them. But if she went to the police, Daniel could end up in a juvenile facility, and Kevin could end up back in jail. Michael said Kevin couldn't survive jail. Phyllis suggested they come up with a creative way to deal with Alex without getting the police involved.
Kevin went to see Daniel to tell him that he thought he was making progress with Lauren. Daniel couldn't believe Kevin was still obsessing over her when they had much worse problems. Kevin was appalled to hear about Alex's attack on Daniel and Phyllis. He finally realized the gravity of the situation when Daniel told him that Phyllis was considering going to the police. Kevin could end up back in jail. Kevin began flashing back on being locked in the closet by his stepfather and said he couldn't go back to jail. He'd rather die first. He couldn't believe that Daniel had told Phyllis the truth and put Kevin's fate in her hands.
Michael and Phyllis discuss the plan. Michael wonders if it will work, and Phyllis says that it's better than putting her son and his brother in jail. Michael tells Phyllis that she only has three hours to make the plan work. After that, they know what they have to do. As Phyllis is leaving, she almost runs into Lauren at Michael's door. Lauren shows Michael the poem Kevin has written for her. She thinks Kevin is obsessed with her. Michael confides in Lauren and reveals that their suspicions about Kevin were true. The whole "hero" scene was a set up with Daniel and Kevin involved. Lauren cheers Michael up a little when she tells him about her break up with Paul. As she leaves, they share a special moment together, but before anything happens, she breaks away with a wave and a smile.
Nikki comes downstairs to find Sharon rummaging through her sewing drawers. Sharon pretends that Cassie needed a button. Nikki becomes suspicious when Sharon starts asking her questions about stripping. Nikki realizes that Sharon is feeling restless and tells her that she better think about what it is that she thinks is missing, for her families' sake.
Chris comes back from a business trip and visits with Paul. He tells her about his breakup with Lauren, and says it was a mutual agreement. Chris reveals that things are not going so great with Danny and her either. Danny has been spending a lot of time touring clubs and trying to keep his mind off of Daniel. Chris says in a way she misses him, but feels guilty for not missing him more. Both know what each other means by that statement. Nikki interrupts and asks that she and Paul speak alone. She really needs to know if Paul has found out anything more about Joshua's brother.
Victor laughs at the wish lists that he asked the volunteers at the Rec Center to create. Nick laughs about them too, and Victor says good feelings like this remind him of how much he wants to have a father/son bond again. Nick asks Victor about his mother and wonders what she has been going through. Victor says that he can't get into it, but that he will try to do everything he can to help her.
When Elliot tells Jill that he loves her and showers her with flowers, she's not sure what to do about it. Although Jill thinks she may be falling for Elliot too, she thinks she needs some time to think about it. Elliot wants to push things, saying he might not hang around waiting for her. Jill gets angry that he would say such a thing. Elliot changes his tone and tells her that he will give her time. When she opens her eyes, she will know the Elliot is everything she could possibly dream of.
Phyllis comes home and tells Daniel and Kevin that she and Michael have devised a plan. She demands that Daniel give her Alex's phone number. When she calls Alex, she tells him that he has 30 minutes to get over there.
Neil tried to have a surprise lunch with Dru and Lily, but neither of them was in a particularly festive mood. Lily got so tired of Neil's pretense that nothing was wrong that she finally went to her room. Dru told Neil that she and Lily were both preoccupied by concern for Devon. Neil said that he'd never intended to completely turn his back on Devon; he just wasn't prepared to make the commitment to be his foster father. The police were looking for Devon, and when he returned, they'd find the right group home for him. Dru said that Devon didn't need a group home. He needed the love of a family. Neil blamed Dru for building up Devon's and Lily's hopes. Dru blamed Neil for having some kind of mental block against helping Devon succeed. Dru thought that the fact that they saw things in such totally different ways was a sad commentary on their marriage.
Brittany went to Marilyn's to make sure Bobby wasn't angry about her fake engagement to J.T. Bobby said she could put a stop to all of it by flying with him to Las Vegas to get married. Brittany said she'd been dreaming about her wedding all her life. She wasn't going to a chapel in Las Vegas and being married by an Elvis impersonator. She just needed a little time to work on her parents. Bobby wondered if all this was just a way to postpone the wedding indefinitely, but Brittany denied it. She wanted her father to walk her down the aisle. He wouldn't be able to do that in Vegas. She couldn't understand why Bobby didn't see how important a perfect wedding was to her.
J.T. told Mac the story of his "pretend" engagement to Brittany at the Harvest Dance. Mac kept teasing him about his fiancé'. The two of them agreed to have another date that night, then Mac left to run an errand. After she was gone, Brittany stormed in and vented about Bobby. J.T. was sympathetic to Bobby, saying if he was in Bobby's place, he wouldn't be thrilled with what Brittany was doing either. Brittany was mad when she found out J.T. had told Mac about it, but J.T. didn't think Mac was going to run to Anita and Frederick with the truth. If Brittany was worried about it, he'd tell Mac on their date that she shouldn't blow Brittany's cover story. Brittany said J.T. and Mac couldn't go out on a date; what if someone saw them? J.T. said that he wasn't putting his love life on hold for Brittany. Besides, it could be a simple case of two roommates going out for dinner. Brittany conceded that but didn't seem any too happy that J.T. and Mac were going out.
Nikki couldn't figure out why Paul seemed to be so reluctant to discuss his search for Joshua's brother. If he needed more resources to find him, she would pay. But it was urgent that he be found as soon as possible for her peace of mind. Paul finally admitted that Victor had been to see him and told him that Nikki was willing to wait until she had come to terms with the past before meeting Joshua's brother. Victor was willing to support the search, but he wanted any information kept from Nikki. Paul was inclined to agree with Victor about Nikki's emotional state. Nikki was furious and told him to keep looking. It wasn't Victor's place to make those decisions for her.
Sharon went to the rec center to take Nick to lunch, but Nick was running an errand so she talked to Victor. Victor expressed his pleasure at how Sharon and Nick had put their lives back together and were on solid ground. Sharon said she wished things were going as well for Victor and Nikki. She'd seen Nikki leave the dance and was worried about her mood. After questioning from Victor, she admitted to following Nikki to Marilyn's a few nights before. Victor said that he knew about Nikki's connection to the club and asked what Nikki was doing there. Sharon felt like she'd already ratted Nikki out enough and didn't want to discuss it, but Victor said he had a right to know. Sharon said that Nikki had been on stage, but she wasn't stripping. She was introducing acts and warming up the crowd. Victor was angry, comparing Nikki to a carnival barker.
Nikki went to the club. She was disgruntled about Victor, and Bobby was still annoyed at Brittany. The two of them commiserated over their frustrations, then Bobby told Nikki how grateful he was to her for all she'd done to make Marilyn's a success. He told her that she was a good businesswoman. Nikki was touched, as that kind of praise wasn't something she ever heard from Victor, who regarded her job as more of a hobby. She hugged him and started to leave, then Bobby asked her not to go. She turned around, and the two of them shared an intense look.
When Alex came to the ranch, Phyllis told him that she wanted him to leave her son alone (while Daniel and Kevin looked on). Alex was his usual blustering self, saying there was nothing Phyllis could do to him. Phyllis disagreed. If he continued to threaten her son, she'd go to the police, even if it meant Daniel and Kevin would end up in trouble, too. She had enough information on Alex to lock him away for thirty years, whereas Daniel had no previous record and would probably get off. Furthermore, if Alex wasn't afraid of the police, there was someone even more powerful whose help she could ask for. Victor hated drugs and drug pushers. If Phyllis told him about Alex, then Victor would use so much force against him that Alex would wish he was in jail. Alex finally backed down, saying he might as well leave town. He'd had to lie low anyway since the incident with Lily.
When Alex left after a couple of more rude comments to Daniel and Kevin, both of them thanked Phyllis for what she'd done. She said that Michael had helped her figure out how to approach Alex. Kevin decided he needed to go talk to his brother and said he'd see Daniel later. Phyllis said no; Kevin wasn't to be around Daniel anymore. Kevin said he understood and left. Daniel waited for his mother to lecture him, but Phyllis said there was nothing she could say that he didn't already know. Daniel said that life in boarding school hadn't been that great. He wished he'd grown up with a few rules and with Phyllis. Phyllis hugged him and said she would always protect him. But he needed to stop using bad judgment and causing himself all these problems. Daniel agreed and held her tightly, thanking her again for standing up for him.
