Friday, May 18, 2007
Phyllis tried to catch fireflies during the day, because apparently those that Noah caught for Nick had died. Relieved, she managed to collect a jar full of them. Daniel said that Nick had turned out to become a really great step dad. Lauren and Michael came by to see how Phyllis, Daniel and Summer were doing. Lauren was amused to see Daniel changing diapers. Lauren and Michael agreed to be Summer's legal guardians and invited Phyllis to live with them. Phyllis was touched but graciously declined. "I would rather be here. All of Nick's things are here," she said, flashing back to a moment of them making love. "Why did this happen to us," Phyllis asked Lauren and Michael.

Sharon and Noah remembered Nick. "The last time I played this game with dad, I beat him. I should have let him win," whispered Noah. Noah surmised that as they hadn't found his dad's body, he could still be alive. Noah heard his father's voice in his head. Sharon flashed back to when Nick proposed to her and married her. Noah saw that his mother was upset and gave her a big hug.

Nick's grief-stricken parents got ready for the service. Jill and Kay told Nikki they'd made a donation to Cassie's Challenge. Jill gave Victor a hug. "I don't know how I'm going to bury my son," he said. "You are going to cherish the good times and the bad times," she said lovingly. Nikki commented that her last conversation with Nicholas had been an argument and she told Kay that she'd never be able to forget that last interaction. Nikki remembered all the special moments she had had with Nicholas. Nikki began to cry and said she couldn't go to the church. "I can't do it," she wept. Victoria struggled over what to say about her brother at the service. Brad helped her by asking some questions. "I trusted him," Victoria said as she flashed back to special memories. Colleen came by with some flowers and offered her condolences.

The memorial service began. Victoria spoke movingly about her brother and friend. She remembered an e-mail he had sent her on her birthday where he listed all these pranks he had pulled on her through the years, including reading her diary. Little Noah spoke. "Everyone said I have the coolest dad," he said. Their favorite game was horse. Victor took the podium and spoke to Noah, "My boy, you had a great dad and I will protect you." Victor touched the photo of Nicholas and tears flowed down his face. Nikki stayed at the ranch with Kay and they both read from The Bible together and looked at photo albums.

Victor and Nikki hosted a reception at the ranch. Nikki was devastated. "How do I move on" she asked her husband. "I don't know," he responded. Noah and Sharon went to the stable and he let the fireflies out. Phyllis, who appeared very alone at the reception, talked to baby Summer. "Daddy is with us. I feel it. We're going to have a good life, just you and me," she said.

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Phyllis used humor to hide that she was falling apart as fast as her life was. There was some talk of her upcoming trial and then she whined about having to go to the ranch to plan Nick's funeral. "I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my last hours than with Victoria and Nikki," she deadpanned. When Katherine called Michael about a pressing business matter, Phyllis told him to go ahead and meet with her. He met her at the GCAC, where he was shocked to hear Jack had confessed his Jabot machination and was selling the company back to her. "Why bail him out after he deceived you?" he asked, and she bragged about getting the company for a the steal. She also explained she was buying it from Ji Min, so "should Jack's duplicity ever surface, I will simply be perceived as the injured party." Then she admitted she was doing it to protect her friend John's legacy. Michael begrudgingly agreed to write up the paperwork, but later, he explained his catch-22 to Lauren. "If I tell Victor, I would be violating attorney/client privilege. But if I don't tell Victor and the sale goes through, Jack could slip out of the trap Victor has been setting for months." He was worried about how Victor would react.

Victoria was at home with Brad, who couldn't say anything right. After she got support from JT over the phone, Brad begged her to let him support her and when she got a business call, he saw his chance. He offered to handle a contract crisis at Newman and sent her to her parents. Once at the office, he told an assistant, "For the time being, I want all of Nick and Victoria's work to come through me." Then he went to JT's place asked him "nicely" to stay away from Victoria. JT insisted she needed "all the help she could get," so Brad got rid of the nice part.

Victoria and Phyllis met up with Nikki to discuss the service. The Newman ladies made Phyllis so uncomfortable she never even put her purse down. They didn't let her make any decisions, even when they asked for suggestions. Her ideas were spirited, like Nick, but Nikki "didn't see the humor" in them and Victoria said they weren't "appropriate." As Phyllis told Lauren before sending her home, they were "outspoken and territorial." Once alone, Phyllis lost it. She looked at her cowboy wedding photo and cried to Nick, "You're supposed to keep me sane around all these freaks." Then she pulled herself together for him and told him about the uptight service his family was planning and how everyone would be crying for him. "If you were there, you would tell 'em to lighten up. And if they didn't lighten up, you'd make a joke and everybody would fall apart." Katherine interrupted the monologue with a casserole and a baby gift. Phyllis tried to find the bright side, but Katherine told her she had a right to mourn. Phyllis admitted she was numb and in denial. That's when she realized Noah's fireflies had died and panicked about letting Noah down.

Neil found Victor hiding from all the planning and drama by working on a bookshelf. After they waxed poetic about their sons and about losing loved ones, Victor heard about what Brad had done at Newman. He accused Brad of trying to take Nick's place. "From now on, you will do exactly as Neil Winters tells you to do. He's going to run Newman Enterprises, along with my daughter."

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Nick's suspected death was front page news, but there was still no body. At the tack house, Michael was up before Phyllis and let in Lauren and Fen. When Summer cried, Phyllis asked Nick to get the baby, but then reality came crashing down on her. After she pulled it together, she discussed her case with Michael. "Everything is different now. My daughter has one parent," she said, begging him to keep her out of jail. Michael set up a meeting with the DA, but the phone call left him tense. He excused himself to prepare and then Lauren tried to keep Phyllis positive. Focused on getting her affairs in order in case she went to jail, Phyllis asked Lauren if she and Michael would raise Summer. "Nikki and Victor, they're going to fight you all the way, but I'm going to make sure that the papers preclude them from fighting," she insisted. Then she gave into the tears again and wished she were the one who died. "Nick is a much better person than I am," she insisted.

While Brad searched for his wife, JT was serving her coffee. Victoria had had a rough night on his couch and wasn't ready to face "the real world." JT told her she could stay as long as she liked, but she gathered her things. Before she left, JT told her that Brad "doesn't have to be" her hubby and she agreed she couldn't depend on him. She felt alone without Nick, but JT insisted she could always depend on him. Later, Brad showed up and found JT looking quite ripped in a towel. Victoria, at least, was clothed! JT excused himself and Victoria begrudgingly agreed to go with Brad. He took her to the GCAC bar, where she got the very attention she'd wanted to avoid. "Whatever you need right now, I'll understand," Brad offered, and JT walked in as if he were the answer to that. He joined Paul and talked smack about Brad, but Paul warned, "'It's not over till it's over. And their marriage is pretty much in the present, whether you like it or not."

At the coffee shop, even Kevin and Gloria discussed Nick's crash, but most of their talk was about her scheme to use hunky Evan to make William jealous. The champagne, caviar and flirting at the GCAC seemed to do the trick. When William had a moment with her, he asked if she were avoiding him and she "admitted" she was embarrassed about her dream that they married. He invited her out, but she feigned plans with Evan. "Why don't you join us?" she offered, but he made it clear he wanted her to himself. After she posed with Evan for a final stab and paid for their pricey breakfast, she took her partner in crime to meet Kevin and discuss next moves. Too bad Evan freaked when he learned he was helping her con the DA. "When you're involved with a man like that, you get lulled into a false sense of security and before long; you're doing 5 to 15 in a secure location of his choosing," he explained and took off. Kevin teased his mom about Evan's quick getaway, but she was intent on landing William with or without Evan's help. Evan, meanwhile, was drinking at the GCAC with plans to get out of town, but then he ran into Paul, who told him the DA's "millions have millions." After some bickering and backpedaling, he was back in business with Gloria, who offered him a "finder's fee" if she landed William.

Paul returned from his trip "overseas" with a list of Jana's "relatives, friends, enemies." Kevin was thrilled, but Paul cautioned him to be patient. Their session was interrupted by Maggie, who gave Paul good-natured grief for not keeping in touch. Then she told Kevin that she'd done her own research and created a timeline of Jana's life. After the brainstorming session, Maggie got a chance to give Paul more trouble. "What you don't seem to grasp is that I was working the whole time," he smiled, adding that she hadn't called him either. Their flirtation was interrupted by William's arrival, but William went straight to the patio for his meeting with Michael. After much back and forth, Michael returned to Phyllis and told her, "I advised him to wait six months. Even a year. Then, in the interest of justice and out of the limelight, he dismiss." Unfortunately, William called right then and said, "I'm convening the grand jury." Michael promised Phyllis he'd make him regret his decision.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Newman crash was the talk of the town, so the press was on everyone's backs, leaving the grieving Newman/Abbott clan feeling harassed. At the Abbott manse, Jack cooed over Sharon, relieved that she was alive, and promised to be a better husband. When Ben came in, he wanted to spin her return as a miracle, but with Nick still MIA, Jack wouldn't let him. Thankfully, before Phyllis could tell Noah he'd lost both his parents, Victor called about Sharon. Phyllis was relieved but still crushed over her hubby, so Michael distracted Noah until Daniel showed up and took his stepbrother out to catch fireflies. When Sharon called Phyllis, they were supportive of each other, and when she and Jack arrived to pick Noah up, both women tried to act normal. Before they left, Daniel told Sharon he'd be there for Noah. After Lily arrived, Phyllis called the main house to check in. With Victor at the crash site, Nikki had found support in Katherine. She told Phyllis to come by and said, "If this is my one chance to pray for a miracle, I'm using it." Phyllis gave an amen on the miracle, but stayed at the tack house. A wrecked Nikki then sent Katherine and David away, but not until Katherine made sure her sober friend wasn't thinking of falling off the wagon.

Phyllis sent Daniel and Lily home, where the emotional couple was caught between their love for each other and his porno lies, while Michael insisted on staying at the tack house. He made up the couch for Phyllis, who was too upset to sleep in her marriage bed, and tucked her in. With him by her side, she unloaded and worried over her husband's final moments.

Brad tried to console his wife, but Victoria wasn't interested, so instead he offered to make calls for her. She acquiesced, but desperate to stay involved, she refused to rest. Then she excused herself to take a drive, telling him, "Go home Brad! I want to be alone." Instead, she ended up at JT's, where she traded her car keys for a stiff drink.

Once back the Abbott manse, Sharon decided honesty was the best policy with Noah. Jack suggested she wait till morning, but she was afraid he'd find out on his own. Needless to say, Noah did not take the news well. He asked a string of questions and then proclaimed it was his fault. "I was so mad with you marrying Jack and dad marrying Phyllis that I wished for something to happen that would just stop it all!" he cried. When Jack insisted it was an accident, Noah countered by listing his family's string of losses. "Who's my family now?" he asked, so Sharon reminded him of all the people he had left. When mother and son went upstairs, Katherine stopped by. Jack begged her to save Sharon and Noah any more scandal by buying back Jabot. She made him an offer that was a fifth of Jabot's value, but he took it. Brad showed up shortly after she left, claiming he wanted to check on Noah. "Don't worry, Brad, I'm taking good care of them," Jack promised with a more than a bit of an edge.

Victor went back to the office and called Nikki to tell her, "No signs of a survivor." When she hung up, David was knocking on her front door. She dissolved into tears, so David held her. Victor, meanwhile, sat alone and cried over his son.

Monday, May 14, 2007
News of the Newman jet crash spread quickly as Nikki and Victor struggled to keep it together. They demanded more information about the crash and whether Nick and Sharon were on board when it went down, but were stuck waiting out the info. Brad left in shock when he heard and found some privacy to cry alone. After Esther interrupted Jack and Katherine with news of the crash, they called Victor. Then Jack too needed time alone. He had to go over his statement with campaign manager Ben, but then he poured himself a drink. It wasn't until he watched the news that the tears and the anger came.

A blissfully unaware Phyllis left a voicemail message for Nick and was on mommy cloud nine because Summer said "Dada" into the phone. When Victor called to drop the news, she decided not to take his call, so Brad called Michael and passed the buck. Michael went straight to Phyllis, who was still floating, and gave her the news directly. She dissolved into sobs, which upset Summer. "I'm gonna die," she cried, but Michael rocked the baby, cooing to both mother and daughter, "Sweetie, look, you'll be okay because Mommy — Mommy needs to take care of the little baby, doesn't she?" Phyllis took Summer in her arms, but was inconsolable. She worried about Noah, who'd lost both his parents. "Summer said 'Dada' today. She said 'Dada.' Where is the poetic justice in this?" she groaned and then listened to Nick's message, hoping he'd at least gotten the one from her and Summer. He hadn't. Right after she pulled herself together, Noah showed up. He was all chatty, so she waited him out. Then, she asked him to give Summer a big kiss and he bonded with his sister while Phyllis tried to figure out what to tell him.

The bombshell found JT was comforting Victoria as she came to terms with her miscarriage and the family drama that surrounded it. "Your mother's supposed to be your built-in ally. Isn't that in the job description? Not in my case. No, if my mom wants something...there's no one I can trust," she bemoaned, but then realized her brother was the exception. "Nicholas will be my new role model." Then, with her phone off, JT got the call from Brad. He denied knowing where Victoria was, so he was left with the responsibility of telling her about her brother. Then he drove her to the ranch where she cried in her parents' arms. Brad arrived shortly after her...and was followed by Sharon! She was taken aback by the overwhelming greetings and then confused when her chatter left everyone crying. When she heard the news, she thought of Noah, then Jack and then left, but she didn't make it far. She gave into the tears on the other side of the door. When she found Jack, he was passed out. She woke him up and assuming she was another ghost, he threw his glass at her. She made him accept that it was her. He collapsed in her arms, crying his apologies. "I'm not worthy of you," he concluded, but she said he was.

When Brad and Victoria were alone, she told him, "It's going to take some time for me to figure out how to deal with how much you love Sharon. I don't blame you. I don't. I mean, nobody can really help who they fall in love with." She explained he was "transformed" when Sharon arrived alive and was visibly, "holding [himself] back from running to her." He insisted he'd chosen Victoria and that her "perspective is off," but she was confident he still loved Sharon more.

Finally alone again, Nikki turned on Victor. "Your project killed him. If you hadn't funded Clear Springs, he wouldn't have been on that plane. He would be alive," she said, setting Victor off. When she stormed out, he ranted, "I don't give a damn how you feel! How dare you imply this?!"

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