Nancy's party is getting underway. Guest are starting to arrive. Bob and Kim are there. Emily and Susan. Margo, Hal and Barbara. Andy comes in, he's back from Alaska. Penny arrives and Ellen is there, too.
Holden is telling Hal and Margo that James is somewhere on the Valletta. Hal and Margo prepare to go below and search David's quarters. Holden wants to go along and Hal tells him to stay way behind them. When they bust into David's quarters, the only people that they find is David and the mechanic. Little do they know that David is discussing sinking the Valletta with the mechanic. James is no where to be found. David is furious that they would be searching his quarters without a warrant. Hal is wondering out loud, if James called Holden and told him that he would be on the ship, then he must be someplace else, where could it be? David is off to the side and hears Hal. David says "An intelligent policeman, now that's an oxymoron."
Carly is at Jack's front door. She is having a contraction or she thinks that her water is breaking. Jack wants to take her to the hospital and she says that she can't be moved. He gets her to the couch and Ben comes in. Jack tells him that she thinks that her water is breaking. Carly is crying and asking why God is punishing her baby. Ben calls Dr. Samuels and tells her that Carly is in trouble and she says that she will be right there. When she arrives, she examines her and says that she will probably be OK, but she can't move for a few hours and she needs her temperature taken every hour. Jack says that he will take care of her. After Dr. Samuels leaves, Ben tells Jack to go to the party and he will stay there with Carly. Carly says no that she wants Jack to stay with her.
Brad and Camille are waiting on the deck to go inside. Brad is telling her how great she is looking and how brave she is. Lucinda walks up behind them. She asks about Ben. Camille says that he will be along shortly. Lucinda lets the cat out of the bag about Ben quitting the hospital. Camille is floored.
Andy comes up to Emily. He asks her if she has told everyone that she lied about Eddie mugging her in the park or is she still hiding the truth. Andy says that by the look on her face he can tell that she is still hiding the truth. Eddie walks by them and Andy walks away. Susan comes up to Emily and ask her what that was all about. Susan says, "or can I guess?" Emily tells her to bug off. Ellen comes up (she is Emily's grandmother). She, of course, takes Emily side, Susan rolls her eyes and walks away. Ellen tells Emily that next week everyone will be on to someone else to gossip about. Emily gets a gleam in her eye, looks at Eddie and says that Ellen is right.
Nancy thinks that she is going to have dinner with Tom, Adam and Casey. They are almost to the Valletta and Nancy tells Tom that she can't have dinner with them. Tom sends the boys on ahead and tells them to make sure that their table for four is ready. Nancy tells Tom that she is just not up to having dinner. Tom wants to know what the real problem is. She says that she is feeling down because everyone is so busy that they all forgot her birthday. Tom reminds her how much she does for everyone and that this is her night to have dinner with her family. She agrees to go aboard the Valletta.
Jack calls Julia aboard the Valletta and tells her that he was tied up with something and that he is on his way. "Don't let that ship sail without me," he says. Julia wants to know what has kept him. He says he was doing things. Julia asks if he is with Carly.
Margo has taken Eddie to the deck to teach him to dance. Emily is watching with a big smile on her face.
Tom comes in and announces that Nancy is on board, but she is in the ladies room. Nancy comes walking in, everyone comes up to meet her. Sam gets on the phone and tells the captain to set sail. The party is beginning. David walks in and asks where all these people came from. Sam tells him that it is a party for Nancy Hughes and he can't do anything about it. He mutters under his breath, "I hope we have enough lifeboats for everyone."
Down below the mechanic has made his move and the boat is filling up with water.
Jack is talking to Julia on the phone. He tells her that he is on his way. She wants to know if he is with Carly. He hesitates and then says yes. Julia says the boat has sailed, literally and hangs up on him. Carly asks if the Valletta is already gone and Jack says yes. Carly says that she is sorry. Ben decides that it is time that he come clean with Camille about quitting the hospital. He tells Jack that he is going to see her. He calls her house and Sara Ruth tells him that she went to the birthday party for Nancy Hughes. He runs to the docks to try to get a launch. He can't find anyone that will take him to the Valletta, so he decides to wait until it comes back.
On the Valletta, Margo and Eddie are dancing on the deck. Emily is watching and says that a few people inside would be very interested in seeing this. Inside, everyone is singing Happy Birthday to Nancy and she blows out the candles. Andy comes up to take a picture of Nancy and tells her he is making a photo album of this evening. Nancy says, "more pictures?" I have so many already. Then they cut to a montage of clips from past shows.
Emily tells everyone that they all need to follow her to the deck where they can toast Nancy with the champagne. Everyone files out to the deck and sees Margo and Eddie dancing. Margo and Eddie do not see everyone at first. When they look up, Tom is standing by them. Tom asks Margo why she wasn't inside when Nancy blew out her candles. Bob walks up and ask Tom to give the toast. Here is the toast, word for word:
No words that I could ever say could tell you what kind of a grandmother Nancy Hughes is. How she has been a rock for this family for 4 generations.
Bob says - and many more we hope.
How she has seen us through every crisis imaginable. How her common sense and strength have inspired us. Her love has protected and sheltered us. Her wisdom has inspired us to do our best and be our best. From the bottom of our hearts, Gram, you are the best. Happy birthday.
Molly and David are preparing to be married. David tells Molly to get dressed. Molly sees Lucinda and wants to know why she is on the ship. David says that she is there for Nancy's party. She leaves to get dressed.
Lucinda is looking for Brad and asks Julia if she has seen him. A waitress comes up and tells Lucinda that Brad Snider wants to see her in the monitor room. When she gets there, she sees some champagne chilling. Lucinda starts saying that Brad needs to court her in public. Someone comes up and closes the door and locks Lucinda in the monitor room. It is Molly.
Molly walks up to David in her wedding dress. David says that she looks beautiful and he has a treat for her after the ceremony. Molly wants to know what it is. David says it is a surprise. Molly wants to guess---is it a 21 gun salute? Is it releasing big white doves after the ceremony? I know, it is fireworks. David says, "All I can say is this boat is going to light up like a Christmas tree. David walks into the middle of the party and asks for everyone's attention. He tells them that something else had been scheduled this evening and was overlooked by the Anderson's. He and Molly are getting married.
Georgia tells Eddie that she almost told Sam about her being Georgia's mother. Eddie tells Georgia that if you are looking for a reason not to do something, you can always find it. He sees Margo and Tom walk in. He continues, If you are looking for a reason to do something, you can find that, too. Georgia asks is it that easy? Before the night is up Sam will know that I am her kid.
Back at Jack's house, Carly is sleeping. Jack takes a cloth and starts to wipe her forehead. She wakes up and asks where she is. Jack says at his house, does she remember. Where is Ben, she wants to know. Jack tells her that Ben left, but there is nothing to worry about. There is nothing that Ben can do that I can't handle myself. Carly touches his face and tells Jack that he is the only one that she can count on.
Sam and Kirk tell Holden about their plans to sink the Valletta. Holden argues with them that they shouldn't do anything illegal. He tells them to wait until Molly and David come back from their honeymoon. They tell Holden not to worry about anything. They have everything under control.
As Molly and David are exchanging wedding vows, Lucinda is watching from the monitor room. She is fuming and trying to get out the door. Sam unlocks the door and comes in. Lucinda storms out. Sam is huffing and turns off the monitors. Georgia comes in and asks Sam if she has a minute. Sam tells her to come in. Georgia asks Sam if she remembers earlier when Georgia asked her if she liked surprises. Sam gets impatient with her and asks her if someone told her it was time to take a break. Georgia says that she ain't had one all night. Sam yells at her and tells her ain't is not a word. She tells Georgia how she used to be just like her. How she got her act together and became something. Georgia lashes back and says that she never had nobody to help her learn things. Then she says that her mother is on this ship and she is eyeballing her right now. "That's right, Sammy, I am your baby girl."
Hal is calling someone on his cell phone. Just as he hangs up Julia walks up to him and asks if he has found Carly yet. He says no and maybe she went to get something to eat after she missed the Valletta. Julia looks at Hal and says, "Hal..." Hal looks at Julia and says, "Carly is with Jack isn't she?" Julia shakes her head, "yes."
Holden goes down below and the mechanic is coming out of the engine room. Holden wants to know what he is doing down there. The mechanic says it just a routine check up. Holden tells him to open the door. The mechanic starts to run. Holden grabs him and puts him up against the wall. Holden wants to know what he is up to. Then Holden starts to put two and two together. He saw him earlier looking at David Stenbeck. Holden wants to know what he has going on with Stenbeck. Holden starts to search him for the keys. Inside the engine room, sparks are starting to fly. And then.....
A tearful Carly tells Jack he's being too good to her-she doesn't deserve it. Julia tells Hal that she knows Jack is with Carly, but she hung up before he said where they were. Hal tells her he's not sorry. Sam denies being Georgia's mother, telling the teen she didn't have any children. David tells the minister and Molly "I don't" as the champagne glasses and chandeliers start to shake.
In the engine room Cameron tells Holden he can't fix it-the boat is going to sink. As Emily, Lucinda, and the other partygoers look on, David tells Molly the wedding is off because he knows she's been working for Lucinda and that the wedding was a setup. She admits to it but emphasizes that it was in the past. David calls her a piece of trash. Molly tries to convince him to continue with the wedding so that they can leave town.
Holden and Cameron fight when Holden wants him to help get the passengers off the ship. Carly takes a few tentative steps and tells Jack that the baby is going to be okay-and it's because of him. I love you, she tells Jack.
Georgia refuses to believe Sam's denials. Finally Sam admits she's her mother. Molly makes her case to David. Why Lucinda? He wants to know. She was alone and broke when Lucinda hired her, Molly reminds him. She's forgiven him for leaving her to go back to Emily, now it's his turn to forgive her. She kisses him, at which point Lucinda steps in, clapping and congratulating Molly on her "performance." She tells the onlookers that the show is over. Lucinda works over David, telling him that this wedding is really about Holden and that the last time she saw Molly in a wedding dress it was because Molly was getting married to her beloved, Holden. At the bar the champagne glasses fall over.
Kirk arrives in the engine room and is knocked unconscious by Cameron, who then leaves Holden trapped under debris in the rising water. Molly pleads with David not to listen to Lucinda, but it's too late-she'll never forget about Holden, David decides, and leaves. White is just not her color, Lucinda tells Molly. Molly runs out after him, throwing her bouquet at Lucinda's feet. Who ARE these people? Penny wonders.
Brad goes over to talk to Lucinda. They spar briefly before she sends him back to his date Camille. A perched Emily mentions to Barbara about Margo and Eddie. Barbara leaves to comfort Hal. Cut it out, Eddie orders Emily, or he'll make sure that everybody will be talking about her. Kim gives Julia a speaking look when Ms. Lindsey says she doesn't understand "why people have to be so unkind to each other."
Carly tells Jack that she belongs with him. Don't get carried away, he advises her. He wanted to be with her tonight, not Julia, she thinks. Stop it, he tells her. He stayed with her tonight mainly because of the baby. Carly wants to prove to him she's sincere-she's going to call Jessica and have her get a hold of Rosanna and tell her the deal for the trust fund is off.
Georgia fills in Sam on how her grandmother told her that Sam tried but didn't have enough money and had to leave her. Her grandmother lied to her, Sam tells the teen. Barbara is concerned by Hal's imbibing of the champagne. He tells her David is lucky, that Carly is with her old boyfriend Jack. Barbara urges her ex-husband to talk to her-she wants to be a friend to him the way he's been there for her.
Brad and Camille decide the one good thing about the night is that nobody has noticed her appearance-she could've had an arm growing out of her head and nobody would've noticed, Camille remarks. Camille wants to find a way back to shore so she can talk to Ben. Molly runs into them and tells them she can't find David. David arrives in the engine room and sees Kirk and Holden.
Don't call Jessica, Jack orders Carly. He doesn't want her to give up anything for him. They're over. He doesn't love her, he announces. Help free him and Kirk and get the partygoers off the ship, Holden urges David.
Sam tells Georgia that she has to know the truth-Sam gave birth to her in the backseat of her car after deserting her boyfriend Cody Tucker because she wanted something better for herself and didn't want to have to struggle for the first few years of her married life. She left the baby on the grandmother's doorstep and never looked back.
Nikki enters into the anti-Carly conversation and Barbara counsels her to leave it alone. Barbara then goes out onto the deck with Hal. Andy tells his half-sister that Emily is not her friend. Lisa said the same thing, Margo remembers. Emily and Tom are about to go up on deck when a water line to the bar ruptures, getting everyone's attention. A waterlogged Kirk, Holden and David appear shortly thereafter with the captain in tow, who informs them that they have to evacuate. There is an electrical explosion as he finishes his words.
Sam tries to explain how she wondered over the years why she didn't feel any maternal instinct, but Georgia just wants her to leave. She obeys, and after she leaves, Georgia fights for breath.
Chaos reigns as the ship begins to shudder. Hal takes charge of the evacuation effort. Margo stays behind to search the ship for other passengers. A frantic Tom searches for Casey and Adam. Emily finds him and they split up to search the ship. Lucinda finds Kirk and Samantha soon joins them, unaware of the trouble. Kirk stays behind to look for Georgia at Sam's urging. Brad can't find Camille. Hal goes to get Adam and instead rescues a panicked Barbara, who remembers the church fire. As he leads his ex-wife to safety he tells her they'll probably make a movie out of this and the two of them will be its stars-but it's probably been done before.
Emily brings Casey and Adam to the Hugheses on deck. Tom hugs Emily as Eddie watches. Margo, searching for trapped passengers, is struck by debris and falls into the water.
He doesn't want to love her, Carly accuses Jack. He wants to love Julia, because Julia is nice and sweet, and life with her wouldn't be messy. But Julia isn't the answer, and when he figures that out, she'll be there waiting for him.
Kirk runs past a collapsed Georgia on the floor of the office. Molly refuses to leave without David, and Holden carries her off to the lifeboats in her wedding dress. David finds the unconscious Margo and is closely followed by Eddie. David puts Margo in Eddie's care and goes to take care of his boat. An explosion then rocks the engine room. Eddie drops Margo as more debris falls on them.
Brad finds Julia on deck. A falling beam propels them through the railing and into the water.
Hal continues to lead the rescue team from the main dock. Amongst the chaos, Emily stays close to Tom doing her best to "comfort" him while he anxiously awaits news of Margo. Molly, in her wedding dress, wonders through the crowd desperately searching for David among the survivors, refusing to believe he is dead. Lucinda suggests to Molly that would be the best thing that could happen, which prompts Molly to slap her. Molly tells Lucinda that she and David love each other and that he only did what he did because he was hurt by her deception. She informs Lucinda that she and David will be together once she finds him. Lucinda then leaks to Ben that Brad was Camille's escort to Nancy's birthday party. When Camille doesn't show up on the last lifeboat, Ben goes in search of her.
Kirk worries when he overhears that Hal is investigating the accident and knows that a mechanic was on the ship servicing the engine that night. Panicked, he pulls Sam aside to work out a plan to clear themselves. However, Sam is distracted by the thought that Georgia may still be on the boat. When Kirk questions Sam's sudden concern for Georgia, she confesses to him that Georgia is her daughter.
Camille helps an injured Brad to the shore and they find shelter in a small boat house. As she tends to his wounds, she tells him this crisis has made her see how important life is and how badly she's been behaving. Feeling close to Camille, Brad confesses to her that it was his mother who was drunk and accidentally killed his father, not him. He took the blame because he didn't think his mother could survive the ordeal. Camille thinks Brad should tell Jack, but Brad is adamant that Camille tells no one about what happened that night. They get up to leave in search of help. Brad embraces Camille, stroking her hair and confessing he wishes they didn't have to leave because it feels very safe alone with her in the boat house. Camille agrees. Just then, Ben opens the door.
Eddie and an unconscious Margo are trapped below in the sinking Valetta. Frantically, Eddie fights to find a way out as water continues to rise. Holden finds Georgia trapped under rubble in the monitor room and frees her just as one last explosion rips through the ship.
Georgia arrives at the docks limping, Sam tries to mother her, but Georgia tells her to get lost. Tom is distraught when, after seeing the Valetta explode, he is told Margo is still missing. Meanwhile, Eddie drags Margo ashore. Realizing she has probably suffered a severe concussion, he tries to keep her from falling asleep. When Margo insists she needs to rest for just a few minutes, Eddie agrees. As he holds her in his arms, he cannot resist kissing her.
Molly is devastated when she is handed David's coat which was found floating at the site where the Valetta sank. James Stenbeck, who has been listening to news reports, drops his glass of brandy upon hearing that David is missing and feared dead.
Jack brings Carly into her house. Hal is on his doorstep with Barbara by his side. He informs his ex-wife that he's not going to chase after Carly ever again. Ben's arrival breaks up a tender moment between Brad and Camille. Both Tom and Lucinda pester the Coast Guard about their missing loved ones. A helicopter descends, but the Coast Guard can't claim it as theirs. Eddie holds Margo in his arms and the two kiss (twice!). James Stenbeck climbs off the helicopter and demands to know where his son is.
Margo breaks off the kiss, telling Eddie she didn't want it to happen. She refuses to give in to Eddie's pleas to talk about what happened, and runs off. Ben questions Camille's not searching for a way out. Ben tells Brad about Lucinda's concern for him. Holden tells the Coast Guard to arrest James, though the escaped criminal says he's free, and says he has the papers to prove it.
I'm leaving, Jack announces to Carly. Before he can clear the front door, though, Hal and Barbara walk in. John and Lisa arrive at his vacation destination and lock heads when she refuses to sleep in the mildewing adjoining bedroom assigned to her, and he is not willing to switch beds. Holden teases a handcuffed James, but is stopped by Lucinda. His papers are for real, the Coast Guard tells Holden, and they release James. They tell Lucinda about Brad being found and she leaves for the hospital.
Hal doesn't want to hear what Carly has to say, but she tells him anyway about the scare with the baby. His only concern was for the baby, Jack promises Hal-he did what anyone else would have. Jack learns of the Valetta sinking from a departing Barbara, and rushes to the hospital to make sure Julia is okay. Barbara tells Hal to call her if he needs her. At Memorial Tom tells Nancy that he can't find Margo. She tells her grandson that Margo's name is not among the hospital's list of people that they've treated. Margo returns to find that Eddie has built a fire.
Eddie won't accept Margo's "copout," that she probably had a slight concussion when they kissed. She tries to convince him that this happens to cops all the time, that bonds form during a crisis and that he's just misinterpreted his feelings. I am not your son, Eddie denies forcefully. Furthermore, she didn't kiss him as if he were her son. I love you, he declares to her.
James tells Molly not to worry about David, and that once he finds his son, he wants Molly to stay out of David's life. He grabs onto the report of a man who has been found downstream. Lisa tells John she knows she's just a "seat filler" for Barbara. He admits that Barbara was his first choice, but if he'd brought her along, they wouldn't be laughing and having fun like he and Lisa are. They laugh when the lights go out in the substandard room.
Lucinda catches up to Brad. She contends that she was worried about him merely because it would be hard to get someone else to play their charade so well. He shoos her home without him. Jack finds Julia at the hospital, and she holds back when he hugs her. John and Lisa light candles and turn on the battery-powered transistor radio. Inspired by the romantic setting, they kiss.
Julia doesn't want to hear Jack's explanations. She's accepted the fact that Carly will never be out of his life. Ben starts to tell Camille why he didn't go to Nancy's party, but she interrupts-she already knows. He's not finished though--he's also the one who destroyed their church in the aftermath of the hospital hearing.
Margo decides that Eddie has transferred his feelings for Deena to her. When he looks at her, he doesn't see a mother, he sees the woman he loves, he proclaims. But Margo wants to pretend this never happened. Eddie furiously repeats his claims of love, until she finally admits she can't love him. "I can't" is different than "I don't", he notes. Tell him she loves him, Eddie commands.
Barbara finds out from Nancy about John going out of town, and Lisa going with him. Julia asks Jack to tell her why she shouldn't cut him out of her life. Camille blames herself and her cancer for Ben's actions, but won't accept that. It's all him. Everything will be okay now that he's been totally honest with her, he promises.
Hal leaves, but not before spelling out an ultimatum to Carly-if he finds her with Jack one more time, he will consider that to mean that she has made a decision about the two of them.
Lucinda observes a frantic James getting the news that the man who's been recovered isn't David. Tom enters the edge of the clearing where Eddie and Margo are huddled over the campfire, Eddie just having repeated his command that she tell him she love him.
