Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving from Soap Opera Digest and Weekly! Check back for your recaps on Monday.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006
At the Snyder farm, Faith, Luke, Jade and Holden came back from a hayride to find Lily waiting with warm beverages. Luke asked Jade if she was okay. She said she couldn't talk about it. Inside, Meg helped Emma with the corn. "Should I set a place for Paul?" Emma asked uneasily. Meg replied that she didn't know what Paul was planning to do because they were fighting over Craig. They still planned to wed, though, she remarked. Lily told the crowd that Lucinda was volunteering at the hospital but would be by later. Luke brought in the Hubbard squash. Meg announced that she wanted to set a date to marry Paul. Emma said she'd look for wedding dresses with her and asked when the big day would be. The following week, Meg replied. Emma was surprised it was so soon. Jade came into the kitchen with Faith and took a piece of pie. Faith asked how she stayed so thin eating pie. Jade said she didn't think about food a lot. Lily overheard and said she wished she could say the same, but Holden loved her regardless. An uncomfortable Jade headed outside and ran into Holden. She said she was uncomfortable lying for him. He stressed that he didn't ask her to. "So should I just tell Lily that her husband is cheating on her?" Jade queried. Holden insisted he wasn't cheating and that he was meeting with a business associate. She asked why he was being so secretive about it then. He said he didn't have to explain himself to her and that she should just leave it alone. He went inside. Lily came onto the porch and asked Jade what was going on with her and Holden. Jade covered. Meg asked Holden if she could get married at his house. He said okay, because the family needed a wedding. Emma said she'd have to start her baking and floral arranging, then said if her baby was happy, she was happy.

While out shopping, Gwen showed Will a stuffed turkey she bought for Johnny. Iris came upon them. Gwen asked her what she was doing. Going to an AA meeting, Iris responded. Iris wished them a Happy Thanksgiving and asked them where they were celebrating. At Barbara's, they revealed. Iris was stunned and asked how she got back in their good graces. An annoyed Gwen said they got closer after Jennifer died. Will ushered Gwen away, then told her to wait in the car while he picked up a copy of Oakdale Confidential for Barbara. Once back in the shopping square, he confronted Iris and told her that her being around was making Gwen uncomfortable so could she leave town? She revealed she was broke and didn't even have money for a cab. He pulled out his wallet and gave her some cash, which he said was a "one time deal." She said she had to stay in Oakdale because the parole board said so. He took off.

Paul brought a floral centerpiece to Barbara's suite. She asked if Meg was joining and he said they were fighting over Craig. "Maybe it's for the best," Barbara suggested. She then revealed that Dusty had taken matters into his own hands where Craig was concerned. "I like the sound of that," Paul smiled. A panicky Emily came by and told Barbara that Dusty had a gun and she couldn't find him. She got a call and left. Outside, Paul found her on the phone and asked who she was talking to. She claimed it was Susan. He gave her some friendly advice, which was to not put herself in the middle of Dusty and Craig. "I would hate to see you get hurt," he explained softly. Paul told Barbara he had to take off, but would be back.

In his car, Dusty spoke to a photo of Jennifer and Johnny, saying that he would protect their son.

Lucy was thrilled to find Craig and implored him to drop the custody suit. "Dusty has a gun," she warned, saying if he didn't drop the suit, Dusty would kill him. Craig shrugged it off, saying Dusty wouldn't be stupid enough to gamble away his rights to Johnny. Lucy insisted Dusty was serious. Craig refused to drop the suit. Dusty called Craig and asked him to meet him at the parking garage of the Lakeview in an hour. Emily met Craig downstairs and reported that yes, she blabbed to Paul and Barbara that Dusty had a gun. Craig told Em he was meeting Dusty in an hour, then whispered his plan in her ear. He told her to break into Dusty's car and get the gun. He gave her a tool to break in. "A parting gift from one of my prison pals," he explained. She took off; Paul followed her. In the garage, a gloved Emily jimmied her way into Dusty's vehicle. She broke into the glove compartment and got a call. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked to Craig, who was calling. Emily switched out the bullets in the gun for blanks and threw the bullets away. Paul retrieved them from the garbage can.

Lucy called Luke to say she wasn't coming to the farm for Thanksgiving and went out to find her. Meg said she wasn't surprised and revealed what had happened at the courthouse the day before.... Luke met a weepy Lucy, who opened up about Dusty and Craig.

Dusty came home and cuddled Johnny. Barbara told him about Emily's visit and asked if he was planning to kill Craig. He was evasive. Will and Gwen came by; Gwen gave Johnny the stuffed turkey, but he was scared of it. She took the baby from Dusty and she and Will went in the other room to watch the parade. Dusty reminded Barbara of his vow to Jennifer, to protect Johnny. Dusty had a nice talk with Gwen and Will about Johnny, saying he was happy they were in his son's life. Dusty hugged Johnny, told him he loved him no matter what, then left to meet Craig.

Emily reported back to a pleased Craig that she did what he asked. Unbeknownst to her, Paul was in the garage, switching the blanks she put in for the original bullets.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Gwen and Will were none too pleased to see Iris on their doorstep. Iris explained that she got an early release from prison. Iris made herself at home, much to her daughter and son-in-law's chagrin. Iris attempted to talk about the death of Gwen's baby, but was ordered to shut up. She sulked that her daughter didn't give her much of a welcome-home reception. Iris claimed that she was no longer drinking, but was apologizing to everyone she'd hurt as part of her 12-step recovery plan. Iris pulled out one of Gwen's baby bibs, but that only stirred up more consternation. Iris said that if she'd met a guy like Will, her life would have been different and expressed how proud she is of Gwen. She was even prouder when Will volunteered that Gwen's a great college student and singer. Once she was alone outside, Iris smirked to herself.

As Simon and Carly were shopping, they spotted a huge display promoting the re-release of Oakdale Confidential. Simon wondered if she'd use the book to punish him and Carly. He sort of playfully suggested they go to Bora Bora for a while, but Carly didn't think the book would be a big problem. She planted a kiss on him and they went off to pick up lingerie. After they left, Mike walked up and stood in front of the window to gawk at the ad. Simon turned back and saw Mike staring at the window display. He noted that it's obvious Mike still cares.... In the meantime, Lucinda looked over Katie's manuscript and praised her riveting epilogue. Lucinda asked if Katie is sure she wants to "go in that direction." Katie stuck by her plan to reveal Oakdale's secrets and name names. She insisted that she wasn't worried about repercussions. As Lucinda was leaving, Henry dropped in. He whipped up some cocktails and attempted a toast to forgiveness. He pointed out that their may be fallout from the book, but Katie wouldn't be swayed.

Simon tried to get Mike to take Katie back, but Mike ordered the Aussie to go to hell. Carly tried to make peace, but Mike asked how she could be with Simon. Meanwhile, Katie admitted to Henry that she wants Mike back. He warned her that the book could ruin her chances. Katie chased down Lucinda to ask for the pages back, but it was too late. Katie begged Lucinda to stop the book, but Lucinda said no-can-do.

Barbara was horrified by Emily's news that Craig's case was dismissed. Though Barbara accused Emily of profiting from the headline-making case's dismissal, Em argued that she's not happy about it either because Montgomery had used her, too. Barbara told Emily to use the paper to turn public opinion against Craig. Em suggested that if Babs really wants to punish Craig, she should marry him again. Barbara left in a huff to take matters into her own hands....

Craig gloated to Meg that "Dusty's witch hunt is over" and Craig's one step closer to getting his son back. He apologized for causing trouble between her and Paul, but Meg retorted that they only have a problem when Craig's around. He made noises about being sympathetic, which Meg didn't buy it. Craig advised Meg to marry Paul.

Lucy freaked when she found Dusty waving a gun around. She asked why he had it, but he advised her not to ask. He criticized her for getting Craig off the hook and told her that she "blew it." Lucy stammered that she'd talk to Craig, but he didn't want to hear it. They were interrupted by a knock at the door. The visitor was a process server, Craig had filed suit for custody of Johnny. Lucy continued to urge Dusty not to do anything shady, but Dusty insisted that he's going to do things his way. After Lucy left to speak to Emily about the gun situation, Barbara visited Dusty with the baby. Dusty asked Barbara to take care of Johnny if anything happens to him. Meanwhile, Emily said she'd help Lucy and pulled out a cell phone. She summoned Craig to the Lakeview — pronto. He left Meg and met with Emily. Dusty took off alone with a determined look on his face.

Monday, November 20, 2006
An excited Gwen thanked Will for making the recording session happen for her. He seemed uncomfortable and said that Adam was the one responsible. She offered to make dinner and asked how his GED went. He said it was fine. Gwen realized something was wrong and pushed him to tell her what it was. He said she's been breathing music 24/7 and while it's great for her, he thought they would have all been in the studio together. "I feel like I'm in the way," he admitted. "I don't see where I fit in." She insisted her dream was theirs to share. She admitted that at first Adam made her feel like her mom did when she was younger, like a "talentless waste of time". She added that nobody ever saw anything good in her until Will came along and that she couldn't do any of this without him. They kissed, then had sex and cuddled. There was a knock at the door. Will called out for his wife, who thought it was Adam. "It's not Adam," he said, then told her to see for herself. She threw a shirt on, came in the room and was dismayed to find her mother, Iris, at the door.

At the Lakeview, Jade thanked Luke for meeting her last minute after Adam blew her off. "What else are single gay cousins good for," he asked. She groused that Adam was so hung up on Gwen's song that he didn't even see her when she stopped by the recording studio. Jade spied the woman (Tea) she saw with Holden at the bar and told Luke she suddenly had a craving for apple pie and wanted to go home. At the house, Holden called Tea and apologized for being late. Lily came in and asked who was on the phone. A man who wants to breed mares, he lied, then said he was off to meet "him". Jade and Luke came home. Before Holden could go, Lily asked him why there was lipstick on his collar. Jade shot him a look. "Lipstick? On my shirt?" Holden said. "How do you know it's lipstick?" She explained it's because she's been wearing it since she was 14. He said it was hers; she said it wasn't her shade. Jade stepped in and announced it was her new lipstick and she got some on the shirt by accident. Lily accepted that and left to do the wash. Jade followed Holden, noting that she just lied for him. "I didn't ask you to lie for me," he responded. She admitted she saw him with Tea; he claimed it was business. Holden asked her to continue to keep it to herself and left. Over pie, Luke asked Jade what was wrong with her.

Paul tried to apologize to Meg with a rose and some smooth talking. "I missed you last night," he said. "Where were you?" She said she was home — at the farm — and couldn't face another argument with him. He suggested they go home and "try and make each other smile". She said she couldn't pretend everything was okay. "We have issues we need to resolve," she explained. They argued over Craig and the custody suit. "I don't want to be that person, the one who does the wrong things for the right reasons," she told him. He apologized. She said he was the problem, not Craig. "Ask his daughter... Ask Rosanna! He put her in a coma," Paul said angrily. Meg suggested that Rosanna was really at the heart of his hatred for Craig, not Johnny. He declared his love for Meg and honestly told her that there was a part of him that would never get over Rosanna but he feels he got a second chance at love with her. Paul explained that wanted to go to the courthouse to see Craig get what was coming to him. He kissed Meg and took off.

On the stand, Lucy backpedaled and said she wasn't convinced that Craig hired Wade Larson to kidnap her. "You're now going back on your sworn statement?" asked the stunned judge. Lucy explained how she was buried alive after the kidnapping and confused and didn't want to press charges at the time because she wanted to put it all behind her. The judge asked why she was bringing the charges now and asked if it had anything to do with the custody suit over Johnny. Dusty coached her from the seats to tell the truth and not be afraid. The judge admonished him. Lucy declined to add anything to her testimony. "Are you recanting your sworn statement?" asked the judge. "Yes," Lucy replied. The trial was dismissed and Lucy got a stern speech from the judge that ended with his suggestion that she work out her papa problems in therapy. The ADA gave her a piece of his mind, too. She and Dusty then argued over what she did. Craig came out into the hallway. "Sweetness, I had no idea how much you loved me until today," he cooed, then pulled Lucy into his arms. She told him not to flatter himself about why she withdrew her accusation. "You make me sick," she spat, then walked away in a huff. Craig left, too, passing a confused Paul on the way. "What the hell happened?" he asked Lucy. Lucy explained that she recanted because she worried that Craig would seek revenge on Dusty if she turned against her father. "You have no idea what you did," Paul warned. Meg left Paul a message on his cell, asking if they could work things out further. She spilled something. Craig entered to help her wipe up the mess. Dusty returned to his room, opened the safe and took out a gun.

Lily met Lisa for a drink at the Lakeview. Lisa went on and on about how happy she was to have Lily back. They discussed the Christmas bazaar and the renovation of the gym. Lisa suggested Lily work out with the great new trainer she hired. "Subtle, Lisa, subtle," Lily sighed. Lisa insisted she didn't mean it like that. Holden entered the bar area, saw his wife and quickly backed out of it. Lisa urged Lily to be patient and asked how things were "in the bedroom department" between Lily and Holden. Lily was mildly horrified. Lisa advised her not to let her weight issues get in the way with Holden. Holden motioned to Tea, who walked through the bar. Lily took a long look at her. Lisa admonished her and reminded her of the great life she had at home. Outside, Holden told Tea they had to go because Lily was inside.

2005 recaps