Friday, December 29, 2006
GL was pre-empted today.

Thursday, December 28, 2006
Cassie and Josh returned to Springfield from their ski vacation. They had to cut their trip short to meet with the Lewis family lawyer to learn if Sheila was after Billy's money. To Josh's dismay, when Cassie left to meet Tammy, Reva met him at the airport and insisted on joining the meeting. They took the lawyer to Cross Creek, where they told him they were divorced. "Again?" he wondered. Reva and Josh recalled the night of their first real kiss. Josh and Reva were disturbed to learn that Sheila had seen documents that would leave Billy's estate to his children...unless he got married. Josh and Reva went to confront Sheila, and when Reva found the woman going through Billy's wallet, Reva put her in a choke hold (What cancer?). Meanwhile, Cassie and Tammy met for their traditional post-Christmas movie, but Tammy explained that she only had time for coffee because Jonathan called. Cassie was appalled to learn that Tammy spent her Christmas alone in a bar, but Tammy wanted her mom to be happy that Jonathon planned to leave Lizzie. Cassie was concerned that things might not turn out the way Tammy wanted them to. Tammy waited for Jonathan's arrival in a negligee and with chocolate sauce and whipped cream on stand-by.

Coop surprised Ava with coffee, but she insisted that if Coop really wanted to give her something, it should be the time and space she asked him for. At work, Ava evaded Alan-Michael's questions about her relationship with Coop and then visited Jeffrey at the hospital. Ava thanked Jeffrey for her Christmas gift and asked him not to cut her out of his life. Olivia arrived and, once Ava was gone, blasted Jeffrey for refusing to stay away from Ava. Meanwhile, Buzz urged Coop to let Ava make her own decisions. "They want to own their mistakes," he explained of the mother/daughter pair of Ava and Olivia. Coop went to see Alan-Michael and announced he wouldn't let Spaulding beat him. "I didn't know it was a competition," smarmed Alan-Michael. "Good to know." Ava found the plane tickets to England waiting for her in an envelope when she returned home.

Jonathan kicked Lizzie out so that he could spend alone time with Sarah...and meet with Tammy. Worried about losing him to Tammy, Lizzie asked Beth (by way of an elaborate gasoline metaphor) to help her seduce Jonathan. Lizzie surprised Jonathan with plans to honeymoon at the Spaulding island house. Jonathan left a message for Tammy canceling their rendezvous so he could leave town with his wife. At the island, Lizzie tried to get Jonathan to bed her. "You're avoiding it like it's the worst thing in the world," she pleaded. "I'm ready. I need you." Unfortunately for Lizzie, Tammy crashed their honeymoon. She and Jonathan began to make love (about two feet from the back door of the vacation home) and Lizzie, of course, witnessed everything.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Alan-Michael was concerned that Ava was offended by his job offer — an offer she never got. She regarded Coop suspiciously and wrote out a postcard. Cut to Ava walking along a decorated Main Street and flashing back to decorating a scrawny Christmas tree with her mother, who told her, "family is everything." Cut to Ava peeking in a window at Harley and her kids baking cookies. Rick came outside, and Ava told him she bailed on the the England trip. Rick told her everything starts and ends with family. Cut to Ava back on Main Street, fondling Xmas decorations and seeing a vision of her mother as Coop fretted over his "Dear Coop" postcard back at the completely deserted airport.

On Christmas morning, Ava spied on the Coopers again, but hid when Buzz and Olivia came outside. She watched as he fumbled and bumbled and asked Olivia to marry him and she accepted. Cut to Outskirts, where Ava was attempting to drown her sorrows when some guy started hitting on her. She recapped her family sob story, but even that wasn't enough to scare him away. She saw his wedding ring and rejected his attempt to "play" with her life. Looking her over, he slurred, "It's not really your life I wanted to play with," and grabbed her arm. Jeffrey rescued her and escorted her into the alley, where he said the entire Cooper clan is searching for her. He considered giving her his gift, but balked when Coop appeared in the alley. She apologized then shooed Jeffrey away with a "Merry Christmas." Coop demanded answers. Back inside Outskirts the lecher called Ava "trash" and a "slut," so Jeffrey attacked him.

Back at her room, Ava and Coop sparred over the England trip and she blasted him for keeping the contract offer from her. Coop said he did it to protect their relationship from Alan-Michael's obvious ploy, and if she gives him a chance she won't regret it. "I just really love you," he said and ran off to exchange their tickets. Then Frank summoned her to the emergency room, where Jeffrey was in bad shape. When she arrived Jeffrey woke up and threw her out of his room. Frank revealed he found a gift on Jeffrey with her name on it. Then the Outskirts lecher wheeled by, boasting of the beat-down he and his buds laid on Jeffrey, and Ava was horrified that he was injured protecting her.

Cut to Main Street, where Ava flashed back to childhood without a dad before unwrapping the gift: earrings made with her birthstone, turquoise. When she returned home Coop berated her for disappearing again. After she explained about Jeffrey he felt bad and admitted he told Jeffrey not to give her the present, because he thought he was "making the right call for you." She flipped and called for a break. Suddenly, Olivia knocked on the door, with news that she and Buzz are engaged, and she wants a family based on love and trust. Ava agreed to give it a shot. Coop asked Ava to start over — she asked for time apart.

Cut to Ava knocking on Alan-Michael's door. He ushered out a bubbly blonde and told Ava the details of the job. He admitted she isn't qualified for the job and he's only offering it to her to get her into bed, but she appreciated his honesty and accepted. "Thanks for believing in me," she said. Meanwhile, Marina, Buzz and Frank helped Coop drown his sorrows in beer at CO2. Ava returned to her room, put on Jeffrey's earrings and mooned about her complicated life.

Happy Holidays!
Our offices were closed on Monday and Tuesday for the holiday.

2005 recaps