Today's show opens at Rodi's with Bo and Nora having dinner, or should I say Nora having dinner and Bo trying to get it. He's busy making a zillion calls trying to set up emergency plans for the inclement weather they are having. Nora, after being ignored for a while, finally gets up in frustration and pours the bones (from the riblets she'd been eating) onto the table in full view of all. Bo immediately gives her full his attention. Nora accuses Bo of ignoring her on purpose by keeping himself busy with city emergency planning work that belongs in the mayor's office. He in turn accuses her of "sleeping with the enemy" by working for R.J. In the middle of all this, Bo's detective, Nick, interrupts that he has important news for Bo. Nora tries to leave on this cue, but, Bo pleads with her to stay, he'll only be a minute. She agrees. Nick tells Bo that they have a new lead in Toronto, Canada and he needs his permission to get the evidence they need to prove that R.J. is the "music man". After he leaves, Bo explains to Nora that the only reason they are fighting is because of R.J. and this will soon be resolved if what Nick tells him is true. Nora disagrees that R.J. is the cause of their blues and she finally leaves to go home.
Meanwhile, at the Farmhouse in Ohio, Cassie sneaks around the house following Stonecliff. She notices that she opens a door (usually locked) and goes up the stairs to where some music is playing and then comes back down and locks the door again. She is sure that Stonecliff is hiding something in there and she updates Mel, leaving too quickly to notice where Stonecliff hides the key. Mel tells Cassie that Dorian is out like a light and they can go see what they can find out further. As soon as they leave the room, Dorian, who was pretending the whole time, gets up and does some hunting of her own. In the living room, Ms. Stonecliff prepares some snacks for them and offers to take some to Dorian in case she wakes and is hungry. Mel antagonizes her as usual to try to break her down so they can get to the bottom of things and Cassie quickly calms her down before she gets too upset. Stonecliff then leaves the room to get some cake for Cassie and Cassie tries to call home, but the phone's dead, so she uses her cell phone.
While this is going on, Andrew, who's also at Rodi's, receives a call from Cassie, who gives him a brief update and asks that he informs everyone else that they are at the Farmhouse and are still trying to make it back to Llanview. The cell phone unfortunately cuts off because of low batteries just before Kevin comes into Rodi's with Joey, so Andrew updates him about Cassie. Kevin asks Joey if he has any idea where Kelly might be and he sarcastically tells him she'll be on Ian's boat. Kevin tries to leave alone to update Kelly, but Joey insisted on tagging along.
In the meantime on Ian's boat, Kelly and Ian talk about their relationship. Ian wants to make love to Kelly bad, but Kelly is hesitant and gives the excuse about coming from a family of crazy people and she might also turn out to be crazy one day. Blair is already on the verge of being crazy with the way she behaves and reacts to issues. Besides that, she's also worried about Cassie, Dorian and Mel who are in Ohio with Ms. Stonecliff and they haven't heard from them. Ian tries to make Kelly understand that he cares about her and will never hurt her. He then gives a box containing a ring that used to belong to his mother that her mother had given her on her 16th birthday. He goes further to tell her that he hopes to move the ring to her left third finger in the future. Kelly is speechless, but then recovers and tells Ian her worries about Blair, who has her eyes set on Ian and will do anything to make that liaison come true. Ian confidently tells Kelly that he has no interest in Blair and he'll never do anything to hurt her. As they embrace, Kevin and Joey burst in.
Kevin tells Kelly of the news from Ohio, also telling her that he does not think things are o.k. there. As they are about to leave, Joey asks if Kelly would like a ride home and that starts an argument between himself and Ian. Joey berates him on wanting Kelly and Blair at the same time. Kelly jumps in and asks Kevin and Joey to leave. They leave. Kelly then turns to Ian and tells him that she is now more worried than ever about Cassie, Dorian and Mel.
Meanwhile back at the Farmhouse, Dorian searches Stonecliff's room for the key. Not finding it, she leaves the room and as she stands in front of the door leading to the secret part of the house, thinking, she remembers a game she and her sisters used to play as children - hiding things - and remembers the buff area on the table. She opens it and gets the key. She opens the door and wanders through the different areas in the secret part of the house and encounters something and freezes. Stay tuned for more.
Viki's office at the Banner
Viki holds a meeting with the stranded staff members of the Banner and gives them assignments covering the big snowstorm. Kevin asks to cover the effects of the storm on the Ohio Valley in order to keep tabs on Cassie. When Viki asks how Cassie's doing, Kevin bitterly relays Andrew's message that Cassie is at the Cramer homestead and feeling shaky. Kevin is angry at how Andrew used Cassie's phone message to needle him, but Viki tells Kevin that maybe Andrew is trying to tell him something. Kevin lashes out at Viki saying that she has always been on Andrew's side. At that moment, Todd walks in commenting on the "happy family" conversation. Todd and Kevin trade their usual insults and Kevin storms out. Todd asks Viki what she and Kevin were talking about when they said that Dorian was ripping the family apart. When Viki refuses to answer, Todd leaves to find out for himself. Kevin returns to give Viki a weather update and the two resume their previous conversation. Viki says that maybe Kevin should be prepared to deal with the fact that he may have more invested in his relationship with Cassie than Cassie does, and when all this Cramer garbage finally breaks loose, his relationship with Cassie may not survive. Kevin takes a really cheap shot at his mother and says that even though Viki has multiple personality disorder, he doesn't, so the past doesn't always determine the future and people can escape the "curse of their parents". Later he apologizes (Editor's note: Too little, too late if you ask me. It was a really cheap shot.) But Viki sticks to her words of caution and Kevin slams his head back into the sand.
Dorian's house:
Ian and Kelly arrive safely, brimming over with love and good feeling despite Kelly's preoccupation with Dorian. Ian states again that despite all the obstacles, he intends to one day make her his wife. Kelly says that she will give Ian's offer all the attention it deserves when the whole family secret is out and this trouble is behind them. Blair walks in, overhears Kelly's last remark and accuses her of not caring at all about Dorian or her problems. Ian tells Blair that she is blowing things out of proportion and Blair does a 180 degree turn and apologizes to Kelly for Ian's benefit. After Ian leaves, Blair corners Kelly about the ring Ian gave her. Kelly lays out the facts for Blair: Ian knows all about her and Blair is no longer a threat, so get over it. Blair calls Kelly the big B-word (rhymes with witch) and blames Kelly for Brendan's death and Todd's getting custody of Starr. Kelly tells Blair that the only person responsible for Blair's life is Blair. Kelly tells Blair that she had better get some help and when Blair tries to hit Kelly, Kelly threatens Blair by saying that maybe she will go to Todd and tell him to keep Starr as far from Blair as possible. At that point the maybe's are irrelevant because Todd is standing at the door and has heard everything and he wants some answers to his questions Where's Dorian? Why are she and Cassie in Ohio during the blizzard of the century? Kelly coyly dodges his questions and goes upstairs while making sure Blair gets the point that she won't be pushed around. In the meantime, Blair momentarily acts like a sane woman and begs Todd not to hold all of this business with Dorian against her. Todd is obviously moved by Blair's plea and takes off into the snowy night
The Cramer Family Home, Canton, Ohio
Mel continues to berate Miss Stonecliff and she blames Dorian for all the Cramer family's troubles. She says that Dorian was trouble from infancy always "fussing and squalling" and claims that "she had no right to take up that kind of space." She goes on to say that Sonya was a genius and the girls stood in the way of her creativity. Miss Stonecliff tells Mel that she can wait until the roads are clear and he leaves. Mel vows that his isn't going anywhere until he gets to the truth. Meanwhile, Dorian is on the third floor in Miss Stonecliff's old room and sees something so terrifying that she scrambles to escape. Unfortunately, the door sticks and Dorian is momentarily trapped with "it." After finally getting out of the room and running downstairs she bumps into Miss Stone cliff, who is unaware that Dorian has already been in there. Miss Stonecliff once again tells Dorian to stop prying or she'll be sorry. Back in the living room Cassie is terrified for Dorian and desperately wants to get her out of there. Mel says that they have to stay there and get to the bottom of things. Dorian goes outside to visit her parents graves and she collapses grave side as the weight of all she has discovered begins to wear at her. When she comes to, Dorian sees a shadow in the upstairs window of the house and starts screaming. Mel comes out to the gravesite and tries to get Dorian's attention, but she seems to have slipped so far into shock that she is unable to acknowledge his presence.
Rodi's- Max and Blair
Max is alone at Rodi's when Blair arrives. She tells him about the run-in she had with Kelly. Her cousin has a ring from Ian. Blair got ugly with Kelly and Todd showed up and heard that Kelly did not think she was fit to be Starr's parent. Kelly said Blair was more demented than all their mothers put together. Max replies that Kelly is just manipulating her. Blair worries that it is true and that all the Cramer women, even Starr, are doomed to be lunatics. Max assures her that she is different. More focused and with a purpose He asks what she has been doing this year. Learning to walk and talk, Blair replies. Max says he was talking about how she pursued her goal to get Ian. Blair feels that her cat fights with Kelly and Todd getting wind of Dorian's condition will end up hurting her. She will lose everything if she tries to get revenge on Todd. Max accuses her of wimping out. Blair says she is the one with everything to lose.
Max promises that he can make their newest plan risk free and that he will put himself in front of this scheme. He needs a cause right now. Blair will hang in a little longer. After all what are friends for.
Later, they stand at the door of Rodi's and watch the snow fall. Max tells her about snowy nights and how excited the twins would get waiting for the morning so they could play outside. One time, he told them no two snowflakes were alike. Next day, they caught snowflakes and examined each one. Blair says that those are precious memories even though they hurt, he will always have them. He doesn't want to go home. Neither does Blair, but she is worried how Dorian is faring in Canton. Blair doesn't finish the sentence but she says that she wishes...(she could give him back the twins). He replies that she cannot give him what he wants. Frankie and Leslie believed him when he told them snowflakes were different, but does anyone know? Blair gives him a peck on the cheek and says she will call him tomorrow.
Canton, Ohio-Cassie, Mel, Dorian and Miss Stonecliff
No one knows where Dorian is. Cassie accuses Miss Stonecliff of having done something to her mother. She tells Cassie she should be asking what Mel and she, herself, did to Dorian to make her run away.
Meanwhile, Dorian is collapsed in the snow over the graves of her parents when Mel finds her. She tells Mel she saw someone watching her in a window on the third floor and she heard this person call her name. They both look up, but there is no one visible. He urges her to get in out of the cold. Through the thin curtains, unseen to Mel and Dorian, a figure moves in and out of view in the window.
Back at the Farm House, Dorian asks Miss Stonecliff who the person is on the third floor and the old woman denies anyone is there. Dorian feels that her Mom and Dad are not in their graves. Stonecliff reminds her that Dorian was there when the caskets were lowered into the ground. Dorian tells her that someone was staring at her and calling her name. Stonecliff replies that it is no wonder she is cracking up. It was terrible when her parents died. Dorian was torn to pieces with grief and guilt. Now she is grown up and Cassie and Mel are trying to put her through it all over again. It is cruel to open old wounds and let them get infected. She scolds Cassie and Mel and tells them they should be ashamed of themselves. Mel is livid. He asks the mean old woman how she sleeps at night. Dorian's wound is getting worse all these years because of all the lies Stonecliff has told.
He takes Dorian upstairs and she confesses she does not know what is a dream and what is real. The house is powerless (because of the storm) and so is she. She remembers she would sit on the window seat and watch the dawn. She wishes it was morning and she could do that now. She does not want to dream. Mel tells her to dream of him and he kisses her. He swears he loves her and that is what is real. He will be back later, but for now she can light a candle rather than curse the darkness. Cassie meets him in the hallway and he tells her that Dorian is doubting herself due to the Nanny from hell. He asks Cassie to distract the old lady while he picks the lock to the third floor. Cassie worries aloud that her mother will go mad. Mel assures her that he will not let her mother go over the edge.
Cassie goes downstairs to the parlor and makes small talk about the weather. She pretends to be sorry for accusing Miss Stonecliff of driving her mother away. The old lady's ears perk up. She hears the noises Mel is making picking the lock. Cassie attributes it to the storm. Miss Stonecliff says she has lived ther all her life and the noise is not from the storm. She wants to know if Mel went to sleep. Cassie says that Mel was just as tired as her mother was. Besides, there is no noise anymore.
Dorian sits up and also hears a noise. She wonders what is happening to her.
Mel has the door unlocked when he turns around and see Miss Stonecliff. She wants to know what he thinks he is doing. Cassie says that Mel doesn't mean any harm. The old woman calls her "miss Butter won't melt in your mouth". She let them stay because of the storm and out of the kindness in her heart. Cassie tries to reason with her. Doesn't she want to know what Dorian saw. Stonecliff said there is nothing to see. They have a lot of gall invading her privacy. They ask her to let them see the rooms. She replies they are private rooms where she lived for years, full of memories and feelings and if she lets them paw around, what will she have left. They should respect her privacy. Mel concedes that she has won this battle, but warns her that if she ever suggests to Dorian again that she is bad or guilty, she will have him to answer to.
Dorian is sitting up in bed when Mel comes in. She informs him she heard a metronome. Mel is certain the noise was just a branch. Dorian replies that branches do not keep perfect time. Dorian wonders if she is losing her mind, but Mel says they will figure it out together. She fears if he goes up there he will leave her and she will lose him forever. Mel vows that nothing will push her out of his life. Dorian says that it is against he rules and Miss Stonecliff will punish him. Mel reminds her that the house is hers. She replies that the house is Stonecliff's, all hers. Mel knows that he should not have let her go back to this evil house in Canton.
Mel tells Cassie that Miss Stonecliff is dangerous and that Dorian has been right to be scared all these years.
Meanwhile, in her room, Dorian hears music playing above.
Penthouse- Todd, Téa and Starr
Téa is in the living room, dressed in a short red robe when Todd comes home. He asks why she is still up. She asks why he is just coming home. He tells her he went to see Blair. Now she can answer his question. Téa explains that Starr is running a fever. She suspects an ear infection. She gave her medication and she is sleeping. Todd over-reacts and storms up the steps to check on his daughter. When he comes back down he admits he should have trusted Téa. Starr is alright. All that is on the TV is news of the Blizzard. Téa takes the remote and turns it off while Todd explains that he learned very little from his visit with Blair. He had heard some wacko story about Dorian, but when he got to Dorian's all he heard was a squabble between Kelly and Blair. Now he wants the remote. Téa says he does not need to watch TV. He needs to relax. His shoulders are tied up in knots. He is tense. Todd replies that tense is good. It gets things done. He still wants the remote. News is his business. Téa asks for a few moments to work on his neck and his back and it will be all better.
Todd tells her to cut it out. He is not in need of a massage. Téa asks if he hates being touched. He replies that she should leave it alone. She seriously wonders if he does not miss physical intimacy. He tells her that questions like that are not in their agreement. She calls him on avoidance. As she massages him, she tells him there is nothing shameful in needing to be touched. Everyone needs it. He is human. What is this "you" stuff, Todd replies annoyed at her assumption. Ok, Téa reasons, "I miss human contact, gentleness and urgency". He warns her not to go there. He says she should go to bed. Téa says that he does not have to hide his feelings from her. Obviously, he must have had sex with Blair because they conceived a child together. Todd does not appreciate the Sex ED. lesson. Téa can't believe that his need for physical intimacy died when he divorced Blair. Furthermore, she caught him looking at her and she liked it when he did that. She tells him she wants him to want her and she thinks he needs it too.
Todd says he doesn't do feelings. That aspect of their marriage was covered in the contract. Téa reminds him the contract does not forbid it. Todd replies that they have a business arrangement, not funny business. Well, then maybe he should consider it an investment. The point from the beginning was to hold off Blair. A real connection would make them a more effective team. Todd puts the TV back on and changes the subject to the weather.
Téa says it is sad that news is his life. Todd replies it is only sad to her and to quit the come on. She does not know what she is asking for. Téa comments that his scare tactics won't work because she knows more than he thinks she does. Todd tells her she does not know a damn thing. She takes the sash off her red robe, saying that beneath that snarl she knows he is very gentle and would never hurt her. She lets the robe drop. Todd refuses to let his eyes wander to her naked body. He glares at her face and firmly says that he knows himself better and he does not trust himself. "If you are telling me you are not afraid of me, then you are stupid because I am afraid of me." Threats cannot dissuade Téa. She begs Todd to look at her. He does not have to be afraid of her feelings or her. "Alright, do you want to know what I do with my feeling!", he shouts. "I hurt people". He throws the robe at her, then opens the door and tells her to get out right now. Téa walks into the hallway, clutching her robe to her bosom and sobbing hard, her hand cupped around her mouth, the material of the robe clenched between the fingers of her fist. Todd goes back and gets a coat and a pair of shoes and throws them hard at her. He slams the door and walks back in the living room, his nostrils slightly flared, but his eyes are not so much angry as they are confused.
Later on, Todd goes to Starr's room and speaks to the sleeping child. He tells her he saw her mommy today and he thinks he scared her. He also scared her stepmother. He admits he is a scary guy, but "I don't scare you. I hope I don't because I love you so much. I promise I will never scare you".
Nora was sleeping on the couch waiting for Bo to come home. She had gone shopping and made sandwiches. Bo was shocked she went shopping. She told him how afraid she was.
Todd threw his food into the fireplace. Téa went to Andrew's. Andrew was worried that Todd hurt her. Téa collapsed in his arms.
Dorian saw a reflection of an old woman in the window. She told Mel she wanted to leave before it was to late. Mel told her they would leave as soon as the roads were open. Dorian was relieved. Mel went to make Dorian some hot chocolate. Mrs. Stonecliff came in. Dorian told her about the reflection and said that maybe she saw it because she was losing her mind. Mrs. Stonecliff told her it was her guilt and started screaming at her for trying to destroy everything. Mel came in and yelled at Mrs. Stonecliff to get the hell away from Dorian.
Nora and Bo were both upset about their scene at Rodi's. Bo compared their marriage to a marathon and they were like a runner with a leg cramp. Nora felt it was because they were both control freaks. She was worried about what was going to happen next if neither could admit to being wrong.
Andrew wanted to know why he shouldn't go and kill Todd. Téa told Andrew it was her fault. She had provoked him by being provocative. She told Andrew she had come to him because she needed to see a friendly face. Andrew told her his feelings were more then friendly.
Judith came down to see what was going on. Todd told her he was just reading. She asked where Mrs. Manning had gone but he wouldn't tell her.
Andrew told Téa she could stay as long as she wanted. He sent her up to take a hot shower and to get out of her wet clothes while he made her something hot to drink.
Bo told Nora maybe they were both right. Nora got mad because Bo was taking the conversation about their marriage so lightly. She was afraid their marriage was falling apart and she was losing the best friend she ever had.
R.J. got a call from Charbonneau while he was at dinner with Jacara, Hank, and Carlotta. R.J. pretended it was his liquor distributor. Charbonneau wanted to leave town because Bo was getting to close and he wanted money from R.J. to help him get away. R.J. told him he would catch the next train. Hank had been listening suspiciously and wanted to know what R.J. was up to.
Mel told Mrs. Stonecliff to stop bullying Dorian. Mrs. Stonecliff told Mel it was a dark day when he had crossed paths with their family. She left. Mel promised Dorian they would leave in the morning if he had to clear the roads himself. Mrs. Stonecliff had dropped her hanky on the way out and Dorian picked it up and put it in her pocket. They went to bed. As soon as Mel was asleep, Dorian snuck out and went to the locked door. The key wasn't there. Dorian went to Mrs. Stonecliff's room and snuck it out of her robe pocket.
R.J. and Jacara decided to leave right after dinner so they could make it back before they were snowed in. Hank asked R.J. again what was going on, but R.J. would only tell him he wanted to back because he didn't want to run out of liquor if people were going to be snowed in. Hank was still suspicious.
Bo tried to reassure Nora and told her to stop trying to make everything her fault. He told her even if they weren't married they would still be on opposite sides of the whole R.J. and kidnapping thing. They just shouldn't let it come between them, unless of course, Nora was using it as an excuse to get out of their marriage.
Téa came down from the shower and Andrew gave her her drink. They talked about how Todd is so shut off from emotion.
Judith came down the stairs for a thermometer because Starr had a high fever. Todd dashed upstairs.
Nora told Bo she didn't want out, she just wanted to stop fighting. He agreed, but said she couldn't expect him not to state his opinion on what she tells him. He told her he was sick of fighting too.
Mrs. Stonecliff woke up while Dorian was in her room. Dorian told her she was looking for that sedative because she was having trouble sleeping. Dorian got the sedative and left and went to unlock the door to the third floor.
Téa told Andrew how she needed him and not in a spiritual way. She told him not to hold anything back from her. Andrew told her he couldn't understand how Todd couldn't want her. Andrew told her he wanted her.
Todd took Starr to the hospital.
Dorian went up a spiral staircase and entered the room at the top. An old woman was sitting in there. Dorian called out,"momma"?
Andrew, Téa and Todd
Téa apologizes for coming to see Andrew and talking to him about her marriage, she knows that's not what he wanted to hear. He assures her that he's glad she came, Todd's not good enough for you, he says. Téa offers to go to Rachel's, but Andrew ask her to stay, "please stay for what's left of the night".
Todd calls Rachel from a pay phone at the hospital, he asks if Téa is there. Todd, sounding very sad and worried for him, asks Rachel to please tell Téa if she sees her that Todd is at the hospital with Starr, who has a fever. Todd hangs up, then slams the phone a few times in frustration before leaving.
Andrew insists that Téa can't go back into the storm, both the one outside and the one she left at the penthouse, Téa needs some sleep. Téa must have mis-read him, she says, she didn't think sleep was what Andrew had in mind. Andrew does want her, and it's taking all his self-control to resist. Andrew offers her the spare bedroom, but she'd rather sleep on the couch by the fire. Téa asks him to stay with her until she falls asleep and he agrees. He sits on the couch with Téa. Putting a pillow under her head, she stretches out on the couch with her head in his lap. Andrew strokes her hair. "You deserve a man who loves you with his heart, his body and his soul", Andrew tells her. "I want you", he continues, but only if you run to me and are not just running away from Todd, but Téa is already fast asleep. Andrew tries to get up, but Téa grasps his hand while she is still asleep, keeping him there.
Later, Andrew brings Téa's boots and coat downstairs and lays them by the fire. Tßa is sleeping peacefully. The doorbell rings, but when Andrew opens the door there's no one there. He looks around, but still no one. Suddenly, Todd bursts through the door, grabs Andrew by the shirt. (They did this really well, everything's quiet until Todd suddenly appears and the music gets loud. Made me jump, twice:-) "Where's my wife, preacher man?", Todd demands. In the other room, a startled Téa, hearing Todd's voice, sits up and looks over the back of the couch toward the closed door, listening.
Andrew quietly reminds Todd that River is sleeping upstairs and says it's not his job to keep track of Todd's wife, "although I'd probably know where my wife was in a storm like this. "That's easy, she'd be with Kevin Buchanan", Todd replies. Todd asks Andrew if he sees Téa to tell her that he'll be at the hospital with Starr. Téa, listening from the other room, starts to rise and almost goes after him, but doesn't. Andrew tries to find out what's wrong with Starr, but Todd won't answer and walks out. Téa grabs for her coat and boots.
Sitting on the stairs, pulling on her boots, Téa berates herself for not being there when Starr needed her. What if the aplastic anemia has returned, she worries. Andrew offers to drive her, but Téa refuses, she doesn't want Todd seeing her together with Andrew. Little does she know, it's too late. As Téa walks out the door and heads into the snow, Todd appears from his hiding place and follows her.
Kevin, Viki and Clint
Kevin is in Viki's office, trying to reach Cassie again, but is unsuccessful. Viki comes in and wonders if he's trying on the office for size. Kevin apologizes, he'll ask next time before he uses it. Things seem very strained between mother and son. Viki asks if they can please stop this, she is sorry about the argument they had earlier, they both said things that were hurtful and unwise. Kevin feels that maybe they finally cut through the pretense and said what they really feel. Viki's not going to be happy about what he's going to tell her now, either, he's going to Canton to help Cassie. He's right, Viki is not happy at all, she thinks the idea is insane. Kevin doesn't care what his mom thinks, he's going.
Kevin loves Cassie and is afraid something bad may happen to her, he starts to explain. Their argument is temporarily interrupted by Clint's arrival, but not for long. Clint asks if driving to Canton in the middle of a blizzard isn't a little bit drastic. Kevin explains that they are there with Miss Stonecliff and there have been two unexplained deaths there in the past. Mel is there to protect Cassie, Viki tells him, but Kevin isn't convinced. Kevin feels Viki is against it because of his relationship with Cassie, that she doesn't feel that Cassie is as committed as Kevin is. Viki reminds him that whenever Dorian is involved, there is the potential for serious trouble. All the more reason I should go, Kevin replies. Viki forbids him to go, saying that as an employee he has to stay there and do his job. Kevin then appeals to Clint, if it were Viki in trouble, wouldn't he go? Clint finally allows Kevin the time off to go, infuriating Viki.
"How dare you send him off into a storm like that", Viki yells at Clint. Clint reminds her that he's a grownup and has the right to make his own decisions, as well as suffer the consequences. Clint feels that what Viki is most upset about is Kevin getting involved in Cramer family problems. What upsets her the most is that Clint completely ignores her concerns. It's the Buchanan macho attitude that he taught Kevin that is responsible for his behavior, Viki accuses. "If anything happens to my son, and I mean anything, I will never forgive you", Viki tells him.
Blair, Kelly, and Kevin
At Dorian's house, Kelly is playing around with the thermostat, trying to get it to work because there's no heat. Blair comes down the stairs and she and Kelly start sniping at each other again. Blair warns Kelly that if she ever accuses her of being an unfit mother again, especially in front of Todd, that she will kill her.
Kelly tries yet again to make peace with Blair. She can't change the past, she would give anything if she could do that, but in order for things to get better between them, Blair is going to have to give it a rest. "Not on your life", is Blair's reply. Blair's now upset with Kelly for giving Todd ammunition by saying she's an unfit mother and giving him the clue that something's wrong with Dorian. Kelly denies it, she had no way of knowing that Todd was standing behind the door, listening to their conversation. If Todd uses it against me, I will never forgive you, Blair swears. "Well what is new?", Kelly asks, Blair doesn't forgive her now. With everything going on with Dorian, Kelly feels that this is the time she and Blair should pull together. Blair thinks that Kelly of all people should understand how it feels to be so close to the edge, worrying about going insane because of what happened to her mother. So how can Kelly keep calling her unfit and unstable, doesn't she know how that feels. Blair storms up the stairs, leaving Kelly alone in the foyer.
Blair comes back downstairs and Kelly agrees that she has no right to throw around word like "insane" lightly. Kelly understands what it's like to grow up worrying if sometime the same thing that happened to your mother will happen to you. So, I will not give Todd anymore ammunition against you, not that I did it on purpose this time, Kelly promises, but Blair is going to have to stop the name calling. That's going to be difficult because most of the time Kelly deserves it, Blair claims. Kelly doesn't know why she bothers even trying with Blair. The doorbell rings, it's Kevin. He's come to get the address of the farmhouse out in Canton. Blair writes it down and gives it to him. Kevin leaves. Blair decides that she's going to Canton, too.
Blair gets out her coat and prepares to go to Canton. Kelly decides that she's going too, despite Blair's objections. The phone rings just then, it's a nurse, Barbara Graham(played by Sonia Satra) calling from the hospital to tell Blair that Starr has been admitted with a fever. Blair tells her she'll be right there. Blair rushes out the door.
Dorian, Sonya, Cassie, Mel and Miss Stonecliff
"Momma?", Dorian asks again. She thinks that she knows the madness that Addie and Melinda suffer from, where ghosts from the past seem real. Dorian is convinced that she is losing her mind. "Stop this noise at once, you know what happens when you make noise", the woman says to her. Go away, she orders, but then puts her hand on Dorian's shoulder and Dorian sinks to her knees. "Oh my God, you're real", Dorian says, looking up at Sonya.
Dorian finally accepts that it really is Sonya. She gets to her feet and hands Sonya back the glove, which she snatches from Dorian's hand and quickly puts on. Dorian remembers her mother always wore gloves to protect her hands. Dorian asks why Miss Stonecliff told everyone that she was dead, why she locked Sonya away up there. Sonya complains about all the noise Dorian's making and says that Miss Stonecliff wasn't keeping her prisoner, she was protecting her, looking after her. She's safe there with her music, where no one makes noise to send her teacher away.
Downstairs, Cassie is trying unsuccessfully to get any station at all on a small radio. She slams it down in disgust and turns around, only to be frightened half to death because Miss Stonecliff is standing right behind her. Cassie tells Miss Stonecliff they plan to take Dorian home in the morning, which makes her very happy. She agrees with Cassie that Dorian never should have come there in the first place. "If your mother doesn't leave soon, I'm afraid she'll pay a dreadful price", Miss Stonecliff warns Cassie and leaves the room.
Back upstairs, Sonya explains again that Miss Stonecliff keeps her safe, keeps the noise away. The noise drives away my teacher and without it, there's no music, Sonya rants. You've brought noise back into this house, she accuses, all you do is bring pain and suffering. "Get out, I don't want you", she yells. You never wanted any of us, Dorian yells back. "How could you hate your own children?".
Meanwhile, back downstairs, Cassie is sitting in front of the fire. She nearly jumps out of her skin when Mel touches her on the shoulder. Relax, it's a friend he says. He asks Cassie where Dorian is, he woke up and she was gone. Cassie doesn't know, she thought Dorian was with Mel upstairs, sleeping. Mel and Cassie search the whole house, but are unable to find Dorian, the only place they haven't looked is the locked rooms on the third floor. Miss Stonecliff insists that Dorian couldn't be up there, there's only one key and she's had it in her possession the whole time. After Mel and Cassie go outside to look for Dorian, Miss Stonecliff reaches into her pocket to get the key, only to find that it is missing.
Sonya tells Dorian that she hated her own daughters because they stole so much from her. Addie was the first, Sonya had to give up playing concerts because it wasn't proper for a pregnant woman to be seen on the stage. And a mother, no matter how young, can no longer be considered a "wunderkind". Addie ruined her career and with her "fat little fingers", she could never play the piano, she had no talent at all. And Dorian came next, they looked so much alike, but Sonya feels that Dorian stole her beauty. We were children, we had needs, children deserve some attention, Dorian defends herself. Oh, Melinda got attention all right, Sonya says, she took all the attention, she stole Sonya's talent. She *inherited* it from you, Dorian tries to reason with her, but Sonya won't listen. He husband fell in love with her because of her music and her children made noise and drove her teacher away, she couldn't play anymore. "So that's why you turned us against each other? You made Addie hurt me, you tried to make me hurt Melinda, so you'd have an excuse to send us away and be rid of us?" I had no choice, Sonya insists, their father worked so hard and when he came home he wanted her and her music, not fighting and screaming, but she couldn't play anymore. "Where is poppa?", Dorian asks.
You didn't die in a plane crash, in fact, there was no crash, so what happened to poppa, Dorian asks. Too much noise, Sonya complains, crying and pounding on the piano keys. Dorian promises the noise will go away if she will just answer this one question. Sonya gets up and clutches her hands around a bust on the piano. "What happened to Louis was your fault, Dorian. It was all your fault!"
What do you mean it's my fault, Dorian begs her for an answer. There's something buried in her mind, but she can't remember what it is, but it makes her fell so guilty she could explode and she's sure Sonya can tell her. Dorian has a flashback of gloved hands lifting this same bust high into the air. Something horrible happened in this house, Dorian says, that's why Miss Stonecliff has kept you here all this time, she's protecting you. "And I will go on protecting her, all my life, with my life", Miss Stonecliff says, entering the room and holding up a fireplace poker threateningly.
