At the cottage, Luke offered to help Noah pack. "I didn't ask for your help, I asked for a break," snapped Noah. "A break, Noah, or a break up?" Luke wondered. Noah assured him that he just needed time. "Please let me help you," Luke begged, working the puppy eyes. Noah just wasn't ready to get over dead Col. Homophobe. But he did tell Luke, "I'm still in love with you." At Java, Luke encountered one of Oakdale's other two gay guys, Reg.

Reg questioned Luke about Noah and how Noah having a wife affected things. Luke told Reg that dating other people had never crossed his mind. Hottie Reg made his interest known. (Go for it, Luke!) Back at the cottage, Luke told Noah that Reg asked him out. Noah got prickly, so Luke wanted a clear answer about where they stood. He also wanted Noah to touch him, noting that Noah hadn't since New York. (No, Noah still didn't touch him.) "Am I just some guy or am I it? Am I the love of your life?" asked Luke. "Do you even want me at all?" When was Noah going to fight for him, huh? Noah brought up sticking by him during his paralysis. And, yet, Noah still needed a break. Frustrated Luke stormed out and Noah threw things. Lucinda showed up and comforted Noah, assuring him he was allowed to grieve for his father. She told Noah how terrified Luke had been in New York. Quite possibly the same amount of terrified, Luke sat down with Reg at Java. As the camera panned to Noah's discarded wedding ring on a table, Luke bolted from the coffeehouse.

At Fairwinds, half-naked Paul woke to robe-clad Meg worrying Sofie wouldn't drop the charges. "Nothing matters except us," he told her. At the Lakeview, Sofie told Cole that she'd shaken Paul down for money but he hadn't gone for it, so she'd gone to the police. "You blew the chance of a lifetime!" Cole raged. Moments later, Paul got call from Margo saying he was off the hook. He and Meg were all cutesy as he got dressed, and he pretty much jinxed their future by saying they'd be happy from now on. Sofie was convinced Paul cared about her. She kicked Cole out of her room and hightailed it to Fairwinds. A steely Meg told her she's not welcome there. "This fixation you have on Paul is not healthy," she said. Sofie didn't appreciate Meg's advice. As Meg took woozy Barbara to her suite, Paul ran into Sofie and apologized, again, for everything. Sofie just couldn't keep the hope out of her eyes, though. Later, Meg offered to take a leave of absence from Memorial to care for Babs. Then, to Paul's dismay, she brought up Sofie again. Paul assured her Sofie wanted a brand new start out of town. Too bad Sofie was actually sneaking around Memorial investigating Meg.

Lucinda praised Lily's business acumen, saying, "You are a vibrant, strong woman." Lily admitted it felt good to be focusing on something else. What was Holden focusing on? Kissing Carly! When they pulled out of the liplock, Carly burned her hand on the engine. Holden got some ice from the trunk but it did little to cool their ardor. Lily said she felt good about how she was handling things, and Lucinda noted she wasn't playing games. She was being patient. Mom and daughter traded I Love Yous and then Big Lucy ran into Barbara. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" she asked her, calling her on keeping her cancer a secret and distancing herself from her family. In the car, Carly tried to get Holden to talk about the kiss, but he pulled that whole recalcitrant cowboy act. Things were no better at the farm. Especially since Lily was all "You're back!" and quizzing them about their camp adventure. Back at the Lakeview, Lucinda talked about her own fight with cancer. "Cancer survivors should stick together," Big Lucy said, toasting their sisterhood. Carly flashed back on playing tonsil hockey with Holden. Luckily, the sitter called and gave her an excuse to flee. Once she was gone, Lily kissed Holden, "Welcome home." Guilty Holden said he'd come see her at the house in the morning, but couldn't get Carly out of his head. In Milltown, the feeling was definitely mutual.