Friday, May 12, 2006
Lily was looking through old photos of Luke when Holden sat down to talk to her about how they need to be understanding, even if it takes time to accept that Luke is gay. "I don't need time, I need answers," said the Princess. "I need to understand. Did I do something wrong?" That, of course, is when Luke walked in and pointed out that if she loves him, then she should accept him for who he is. She countered that he himself seemed to have a hard time accepting it, hence his elaborate cover-up attempts. Luke insisted that he was only worried about how she would react, and she's validating those concerns now. Lily swore that she just wants him to be absolutely sure. He rightly noted that they were his age at their first magical meeting at the stables and they were sure then. He finally added that if they don't accept him, he's moving out. "When I told you the truth, I was afraid that you would hate me. But I was wrong. It's not hate I see in your eyes, it's pity. And that is ten times worse," he said before storming out. Holden was left where he started, urging Lily to trust the good, smart son they raised to find his path in life.

Carly stopped by the station to lend moral support to Jack during Mike's arraignment, which he saw as a dubious reason for her showing up at his place of business. After Jack again expressed his apologies to Mike, an underling officer relayed some surprising info: the St. Christopher medal is missing from the evidence room. It was great news for Mike, who was so out of there (but can't leave town). Jack suspected Nick of foul play; Nick didn't do much to make himself look innocent. Carly wanted Jack to focus on the bright side: Mike gets to go home with his new wife. That wasn't much consolation for Jack, who didn't like her implied defense of Nick, and wants Mike to get off free and clear in a court of law. Speaking of, the honeymooners arrived back at the cottage, where Mike happily carried his wife over the threshold. That didn't stop either of them from worrying about Mike's legal future or Nick's possible involvement in the disappearance of the evidence, but they managed to spend some cute moments reenacting all the cliché reception moments (like wedding cake cutting and removal of the garter) for a camera. Meanwhile, Nick ran into Carly at Hal's house. He swore that he's innocent and he wanted to tell Hal before Jack steamrollered him. Carly insisted that Jack would make sure to go about any investigation in a legal and honorable way. Of course, she said nothing about herself — when Nick stepped outside to help Parker with a kite, she went through his pockets and found a St. Christopher medal.

Jennifer visited Meg, who announced that she was moving in with Paul. Perhaps feeling that they were moving too quickly, Jen (who's been married and is now in forever-love again within the same year) angrily pointed out that she has not yet forgiven Meg, which apparently relates directly to Meg's living arrangements, in her mind. Their argument soon turned to Emily's abortion, and Jen's suspicion that Paul is forcing her to have it. "Can you be sure that he didn't pressure her into this?" Jen asked, but Meg insisted that he wouldn't do that. "Oh no, because Paul doesn't influence anybody about anything, ever," said his sarcastic sister, who's seen his Svengali ways. She then warned Meg not to blindly trust Paul, because "he always has an agenda and someone always ends up getting hurt." Meg defended Paul and urged Jennifer to "stop finding new reasons to hate" her brother. Jen claimed to have no hate left in her heart (uh-huh), but wasn't exactly ready to start having Sunday dinners with Paul.

At the hospital, Paul was shocked to learn that spreading his Svengali charm between two women is weakening its effectiveness, because Emily had changed her mind about the abortion. He tried really, really hard to convince her otherwise (basically disagreeing with Jen's belief that she did the right thing by not aborting Johnny and bringing up both prison and her parenting of Daniel), but her mind was made up: she's keeping the baby for herself (to give her "hope") and not to hold on to Paul. In fact, she doesn't want him anywhere near her or the baby again. Susan then arrived, and Paul (clearly frustrated after 20 minutes of seeing his persuasion skills fall apart) put all the responsibility on Susan, who did put in a word for the abortion herself. But Emily was convinced, so her mother eventually promised unconditional support. She even agreed to take care of the grandchild while Em's in the slammer, and keep Paul away from the baby! She started her job as soon as she walked out of the room and ran into Paul, telling him he's out of it. Back at home, Paul swore to Meg that in spite of the fact that a new little Ryan is on the way, he wants to sever all ties with Em, once and for all. But she couldn't have faith in that. "I'm sorry — you've given me no choice," she said, "It's over." Darn that unreliable Svengali charm!

What did Luke's shirt say?
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
The morning after charming Meg into not leaving him, a giddy Paul was still working the Svengali vibe hard, asking her to move into a house with him — apparently he's done with the penthouse. She was still hesitant to jump into cohabitation so quickly, especially with the Emily situation still looming, but she — powerless against the Svengali! — finally said yes. That's when he casually mentioned that he might like to stop by the hospital to "support" Em (and make sure she went through with her procedure), but had to smooth-talk Meg again for permission.

Dusty and Jennifer stopped by the station with Johnny to make sure their tax dollars were at work; that is, that Hal would be sending Emily to jail and throwing away the key soon. Hal noted that there are some complications, namely that the prisoner is pregnant. Dusty instantly called it a conspiracy, and noted that this changes nothing. After Jen left to take Johnny for his checkup, a threatening Dusty sternly warned Hal not to let Paul and Emily get away with their crimes.

Henry has finally remembered that he has a sister, because he and Maddie met at Java so he could complain about his missing suitcase of money. All she could think about was Casey (even fantasizing about him swooping Gwen into a kiss). Henry left and Casey eventually arrived, toolishly teasing Maddie that he had "slept" with Gwen, but soon admitting that he'd just dozed off when Gwen was yapping about how great it is to be married. He even confessed that there was sort of a moment between them when he woke up. "Did you, like, put your hand someplace?" she asked timidly, causing him to cutely reenact his and Gwen's positions and look up at her with puppy dog eyes. Once he gave her a souvenir replica of the Sears Tower thermometer, they were totally fine again. Meanwhile, Gwen left out the "moment" when she arrived home and explained to a guarded Will that the trip was really last-minute and she didn't purposely not tell him. That's okay; Will neglected to mention that he blew off his bio test. Too bad Maddie brought up the shoulder-sleeping moment later, causing him to quietly implode with rage in that way that he does. At Hal's, Casey had an awkward run-in when he stopped by with some CDs for Gwen. Just barely projecting above the loud bird-chirping coming from outside, Gwen reiterated that Barbara's evil and Will is the best thing that's ever happened to her (if not quite the Best Teen Ever anymore). Though Casey looked like he wanted to hang out a bit longer to wax nostalgic about the trip they just returned from a few hours ago, she sent him on his way.

Dr. Schiller had just urged a still refreshingly sane Emily to give some more thought to her decision to abort the baby when Jennifer happened by with Johnny. In a moving heart-to-heart, they discussed their unwanted pregnancies. "Now I cannot imagine my world without Johnny," Jennifer finally admitted, prompting Em to ask her what she should do. Jen wouldn't make her decision for her, but Em thanked her anyway, for her kindness. Paul arrived soon after and unhelpfully shrugged out an offer to get her some "water or something," then added, "I know this isn't easy for you." "But you came here to make sure I went through with it," Emily said evenly, calling it exactly as it is — before telling him she's changed her mind.

Henry dropped by the Lakeview just in time to spy his briefcase full of cash (which Em had kept in the checkroom) — as it was being brought out by the police, as part of the evidence in Emily's case. He headed to the station and tried just telling Hal that his briefcase had gotten mixed up with her things. "Well, I wonder how that happened. Did you get the officer's name? I'll write him up," responded a hilariously condescending Hal, before pulling out the case and opening it up to reveal the cash. He then asked an increasingly jittery Henry once more if he was absolutely sure it belongs to him. "Now that I get a closer look at it, I think this one is much nicer," he stuttered. "Mine wasn't so green on the inside. Much more of a cerulean color; kind of cheerless blue, actually...." Poor Henry — locked in a dungeon, buried in an explosion, conspiring with crazy Emily, and not a penny to show for it!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006
At the station, Jack guided Mike through the booking process (mug shot, fingerprints, etc.) but let him hold on to his wedding ring. They had a heart-to-heart in which Mike confided in Jack about his concern for Katie and Jack admitted that he's hoping he missed something in the investigation. At home, Katie cried in Nick's arms, then told him the cops found the medal with DNA on the skeleton. "That's not possible," he said, before Margo arrived to reassure her crying sister that everything would be okay. Later, she snuggled up with Snickers. At the station, Jack ordered Nick to stay away from the investigation. Oh yeah, that'll work.

Casey and Gwen not only saw a "sick" concert from a skybox, but did some networking with agents and managers who want to book their bands at CRASH. Gwen was bummed that Will hasn't returned her phone messages, but it turned out that Will had left his cell phone at Java (where we also learned that both Will and Gwen take their coffee with cream, no sugar). Maddie happened upon him with news that Gwen and Casey had gone to Chicago. He wondered why his wife didn't tell him; she pointed out that he should check his messages before getting all bent out of shape. Will was doing so when he distractedly mentioned that he blew off his bio final, causing a perturbed Maddie to question him about his commitment to school. Back at the diner, Gwen was itching to get back into Will's lovin' arms. Unfortunately, she and Casey missed the last bus. They called their significant others — Maddie was understanding; Will was surly — and then Gwen regaled Casey about the joys of marriage (spending the rest of your life with your best friend, who becomes your family and other such gushing). He later fell asleep with his head on her shoulder; they had a charged moment when he woke up, then headed to the bus station. In Oakdale, an insecure Maddie asked Will about how Gwen and Casey first hooked up, but he wasn't interested in reminiscing.

A very jealous Meg learned of Emily's pregnancy from Susan, then went straight home and had a tearful temper tantrum, while the newly strong Em told Paul she is terminating her pregnancy and never wants to see him again, despite his guilty offers to stick around and help with her hospital paperwork and whatnot. "Get out. If you think I'm gonna let you use me so you can feel better.... Get out. So you can go around telling everybody that you held my hand and helped me through it? Get out!" she demanded. After he was gone (having stopped briefly to watch her sob through the window), Susan told her daughter she made the right decision, and planned to make the arrangements for the procedure. Em noted that the reason she's having the abortion is because of Paul. Henry then stopped by with flowers and a ginger request for money. Emily, who's suddenly became sanely earnest both regarding herself and everyone in her life, suggested that what he needs is a 12-step program. She ended up confessing that she's pregnant; he held her as she cried. Paul went home to find a livid, weeping Meg, who quickly read him the riot act about Emily and the fact that he immaturely didn't use protection the one time they consummated their marriage. "I don't care what she told you, but there is no way she is getting rid of your child," responded Meg. Paul insisted that it's over and while it's all very sad, the abortion is for the best. He then deftly Paul-Svengali'd his way back into her good graces before another rather explicit sex scene (though how they, um, managed things with a sheet very clearly between them was a little unclear).

Tuesday, May 9, 2006
"Please say something," said a tearful Luke to his silent mother after coming out to his parents. Holden tried to intervene, but Luke assumed that Lily hates him. Holden admitted to his stunned wife that he suspected, but that Jade confused matters. Lily then argued that her son is too young to be sure that he's gay and reminded him of all the girls that are always hanging out with him. "I can't even remember not feeling gay," he insisted, and Holden urged Lily to give Luke the benefit of the doubt. "I'm not angry, I'm so sad for you," said the Princess, who finally blurted that what she was really upset about is that Luke used to tell her everything. Which is awesome, because it's so like Lily to make it all about her. She then turned to her husband, who was supporting Luke. "He's our son. This is who he is, and we need to respect that truth," said Dad-of-the-year Holden. That's when Jade wandered in to "help." She did just that by serving as a new target for Lily's indignant anger. Jade, in turn, blamed Holden for pushing her toward Luke. Holden confessed that he had confided in Jade and that he had encouraged the teens' relationship, then dismissed her on the grounds that it's a family matter now (but gave her some cash for the road). Lily, of course, was still annoyed that neither her son or her husband had thought to run any of this by her. She told Luke that she's not even sure who he is now. "I'm still me, Mom," he responded. "For the first time in my life I don't know how to be your mother," she sobbed, and he walked away broken-hearted.

Mike was still reeling from all the evidence that Jack had piled up against him when Katie rushed in, still wearing her wedding gown, and immediately started poking holes in Jack's case. Mike tried to calm down his bride, who accused Jack of taking his belated revenge regarding Sage's paternity puzzle. Rather than get angry, a sympathetic Jack allowed them time alone in the interrogation/makeout room and they got started on their honeymoon on the spot. Jack was the topic back at the church, where a mopey Nick got into it with a defensive Carly again over whether Jack is taking out his anger at Nick on Mike. Nick vowed not to quit until he cleared his cousin's name. Carly then dropped by the station with coffee and a sandwich for Jack. He thanked her for the snack and for defending him at the church and they had a flirty little moment.

As an amorous Meg waited with a bottle of the Lakeview's best champagne at home, Emily interrupted Paul and Susan's argument at the hospital. Paul, who apparently dashed off to Supercuts in the middle of his scene from yesterday (perhaps thinking a shorter 'do would be more practical for a father?) insisted that they tell Emily the truth. After Susan grudgingly left them alone, Paul broke the news that Em is pregnant. She asked him to leave, assuming that he was lying to her yet again. When he convinced her it was true, she pronounced it a "miracle." He was thinking more on the lines of "mistake," pointing out that neither of them is in a position to raise children right now. In an excellently scripted conversation, a finally clear-headed Emily resisted his Svengali-Paul smooth talk, pointing out that he just wants her to terminate the pregnancy so he never has to think about her or the child again. Paul claimed that he didn't want to tell her what to do, but pointed out that she can't raise a kid from prison, and did mention that his money could help her get off. That led Em to assume he was offering her a deal: a get-out-of-jail card for an abortion. He swore there were no strings attached to his offer. "Everything you do has strings," she noted coolly. "Don't have this baby to get back at me [or] to make yourself happy or to fill some kind of void in your life," he urged. "Babies shouldn't have jobs. They shouldn't be born into this world responsible for making their parents happy," he said (and he would know). She made it clear that she understands him: the baby changes nothing between them ... and proceeded to announce that she has decided on her own (that's the key phrase) to end the pregnancy.

A livid Barbara showed up at the hospital to begin meddling in the life of the newest Ryan, but Susan headed her off at the door. "Frankly, the idea of Paul as a father is just too scary for me to even think about right now," said Em's mom. "This from a woman who raised her children from inside a vodka bottle," snarked Babs, who hung around for some more arguing, which Hal interrupted. Barbara then declared that she will get a court order to terminate the pregnancy (as if!), but was quickly shot down by Hal and Susan. Meanwhile, a neurotic Meg remembered Barbara's ominous words about Emily's obsession with Paul and changed out of her negligee. She arrived just in time to spy Paul comforting Emily — and Susan then gave her the baby news.

A PSA from CBS and GLAAD featuring Martha Byrne (Lily) and Van Hansis (Luke) followed today's show.

Monday, May 8, 2006
Henry had just pronounced Katie and Mike man and wife when Jack placed the groom under arrest. Nick protested that it was a plot to get back at him; Carly defended Jack. As friends and family (and the Hugheses) rallied to Katie's side, her humiliated new husband allowed himself to be taken to the police station and refused a lawyer. There, Jack laid out the evidence: On August 29, 1993, walled-up-skeleton-to-be Mya took a taxi to the Milltown address; the driver, whose fare sheet still exists and who has the most excellent memory of any cab driver eyewitness ever, remembered the woman saying how she would be rich when she got there and that a dark-haired man answered the door. Jack confirmed that Mark's a blonde, so it couldn't have been him, and no one else lived there at the time. Okay, except that Mark didn't show up back in Oakdale until 1995 (at which time the brothers moved into the then-abandoned family home in Milltown), but we'll just go with the idea that he and Mike were living in the house together off-screen in 1993 and then parted, allowing the house to fall into disrepair while falling out of touch for two years. Lah-di-da and whatever. That detail was just the beginning of it: Mike's DNA was found on the St. Christopher medal that the cops found on the corpse. Back at the church, Katie jumped in her car and squealed off to help Mike, despite Carly's attempts to stop her.

At Java, Meg was leaving a loving message for Paul when Barbara arrived and roped her into a hypocritical chat over a cup of coffee. After Babs smarmily apologized and thanked her for revealing the truth about Jen's baby, Meg told her that Barbara wouldn't win points with Paul by ingratiating herself to Meg. Babs finally leaned forward and fabulously declared: "I can be your ally or your enemy. You choose, Meg. But what I will not be is irrelevant." Barbara, it seems, has chosen the lesser of two evils and therefore offered Meg help keeping Emily away from Paul. Meg swore that she'd be watching out for Paul; Barbara didn't seem to reassured. After, Babs ran into Hal and called Meg a "lovely girl.... I mean it. She may not be my first choice, but given the sadly trashy women my two sons seem to choose, I have to work with what I get. Anyway, she's better than Emily Stewart any day, in my book ... I'm sorry that the poor woman is in a pathetic state, but it's true," she noted. "You really can be a human chainsaw," he deadpanned, before telling her to sit down for some news.

Paul and Susan (who obviously didn't read Emily's chart thoroughly enough) reeled at the news that Em is about three weeks pregnant. After first positing that his wife could have slept around (which was quickly nixed by a livid Hal and Susan), Paul allowed himself a first-time father's moment of wonder, but Susan proceeded immediately into a verbal beat-down, demanding that he stay away from her daughter. They argued about who would tell Emily, with Paul insisting that Em is his wife and he's the father of this child, and Susan countering that Em will always be her baby, and that's what parenting is. Which is funnier: Susan talking about being a good mother, or Paul claiming to understand what it means to be a parent? Meanwhile, Emily apologized to Hal and promised to "stand up and take [her] punishment." She also declared that it feels great to finally excise Paul from her life. Later, Emily heard Susan and Paul arguing and came outside to ask them about it.

Holden urged Jade to "decide what you want to do, and go for it," so she planted a kiss on him. Holden was shocked, but instantly pulled away, as Luke burst in, announcing that it's way past time to deal with the problem. Luke was about to confirm for his father exactly why he'll never be with another girl after Jade when Lily interrupted and hilariously kept stopping him from spilling his guts by telling him that girls would soon be falling all over him, while a much more perceptive Holden seemed to know exactly what his son was trying to say. Finally, Luke came out with it: "I'm gay." Meanwhile, a distraught Jade packed up her stuff and whined, "it can't be the end!"

2005 recaps