Nikki threatened Grace to stay away from Nick, or she would have Nikki to deal with. Cassie realized that things weren't perfect anymore between Sharon and Nick. Sharon promised Cassie that everything would be fine.
Nikki waited for Nick in his office and wanted to know what sort of problems he and Sharon were having. Nick didn't answer, so Nikki suspected that Grace was the cause of their problems. Nick finally replied that Sharon had brought it all on herself.
Jack urged Diane to reconsider filing the restraining order. Diane refused because she didn't want Phyllis to get anywhere near Kyle.
Phyllis informed Michael that she believed Diane had framed her and had won. Michael reminded Phyllis that she could be her own worst enemy, and he warned her to stay away from Diane. Phyllis stormed out and went to confront Diane.
Ashley wondered why she was pushing Brad away and why she kept bringing up Victor. She hated who she had become because of the cancer.
Wes pressed Dru for details of the situation between Olivia and Brad. Dru said that the official story was that Olivia was offering Brad support, but Dru suspected it was something more.
Brad sought comfort in Olivia, again. Olivia related to the loneliness that Brad was feeling. They kissed passionately.
As Victor and Nikki neared Genoa City via the Newman jet, they recalled what a wonderful honeymoon they'd had, and how at peace they were. Soon afterward, the phone rang with a business matter Victor needed to handle immediately upon arrival. Nikki playfully pouted a little bit and told Victor he was on a much shorter leash "this time" around. They talked about how happy they were to be on their way back to their family, but both mentioned the negative vibes they'd felt with their children before they'd left.
In an effort to reach out to Nick, Sharon decided to prepare a nice dinner for the family. She went to the main house to get something from the kitchen and was surprised to find Diego in the living room. He told her Miguel had let him in and had told him he could wait inside for Victoria. He asked how things were going with her and Nick, and she stressed to him that they were going to get through it because they loved each other. She also told him she was still upset that he wouldn't shoulder the blame for the whole situation, and she wished he would just leave town.
Once they arrived home, Victor jetted off, and Nikki went straight over to Nick and Sharon's. Nikki, bubbling over with excitement, went on and on to Sharon about what a great trip they'd had; Sharon put on a great game face. Nikki noticed the smell of the dinner Sharon has prepared for the family and commented that she hoped Nick appreciated her. Nikki went on to say how bright the Newmans' future was, with Victoria and Diego, and a possible new baby for Sharon and Nick. Sharon finally broke down into tears.
Victoria walked into Nick's office, surprised to find him and Grace involved in a passionate kiss. Appalled and very unpleasantly surprised, Victoria loudly ordered Grace to get out immediately. Grace refused and said she had no plans to leave until Nick told her to. Nick suggested that perhaps Victoria needed to leave; she not only strongly and flatly refused but told him he was about to get a lecture, whether he wanted to or not, because he was obviously not thinking clearly. Grace told Victoria that Nick had called her, not the other way around, and with that, Nick again asked Victoria to leave. She turned to go but not without telling him that he was throwing everything away, and she advised him not to cry to her when he was more miserable than he already was.
Victoria left Newman Enterprises and went back to the ranch, where she was not very happy to find Diego in the living room. He asked again for her forgiveness and gave her a lovely bouquet of flowers, but she was not in the mood to talk. She tried to explain to him that the situation was much more complicated than he was making it out to be -- the entire family was about to be affected by his actions. She told him she couldn't possibly cozy up to him when he had destroyed part of her family. He told her he didn't care what her family felt; he still wanted to be with her. She gave him his flowers back and screamed at him to leave. He stayed outside the door, begging and screaming her name over and over again, as she knelt by the window and cried.
Back in Nick's office, he told Grace the entire story. Afterward, he told her Victoria was right. It had been a mistake to call Grace, he was a mess, and he didn't know what he even wanted. He urged her to leave and intimated that if they were together, it wouldn't mean anything, and she'd only get hurt. Grace turned around and walked out the door but didn't let Nick see the smirk on her face.
Esther walked into the living room, carrying down Mackenzie's luggage and crying. Not seeing the bags, Jill asked what her problem was, and when Esther pointed at the bags, Jill said she understood. Mackenzie walked into the room and asked Jill what mean thing she'd said to Esther to make her cry, and surprisingly, Jill was polite. She told Mackenzie that Esther was taking Mackenzie's impending departure hard, to which Mackenzie replied, "Unlike you." Jill said she had been wrong about Mackenzie and reached out her hand, asking for no hard feelings between them. Jill wished Mackenzie well, encouraged her to enjoy her college experience, and then left.
Katherine walked downstairs, and she and Mackenzie spoke lovingly to one another and said their goodbyes. After Mackenzie left, Jill returned to the room. When Katherine asked Jill why she was back, Jill said she'd thought that perhaps Katherine didn't really want to be alone. Jill reached out and held Katherine's hand for a while before they both got a little uncomfortable. Jill got up to leave but assured Katherine she would be back before long.
At Crimson Lights, Colleen and Caitlin talked about Colleen's progress with J.T. Colleen asked if her john had been asking more questions and implored her friend not to disclose any information to him. She also asked Caitlin to tell her if she happened to see J.T. and to report to her what he was doing. Caitlin agreed but pointed out that if they were as close as Colleen said they were, he would tell her what he was up to. After a bit more good-natured teasing, she told Colleen she was worried that Colleen was expecting too much from J.T.
Up at the counter, J.T. and Cody were talking about partying and college girls. J.T. made it a point to tell Cody about a party that evening and a specific girl he was going to be looking for. Colleen saw J.T. and approached him, and much to her chagrin, he responded by calling her "kid." He told her he'd been busy studying and said it was good to see her, which made her anger fade away.
One of J.T.'s classmates approached and asked to be introduced to Colleen. She asked if Colleen went to GCU, and J.T. jumped in and told her that Colleen "goes to another school." He mentioned that he was going to a party later that evening, and Colleen immediately said she wanted to go and that she promised not to embarrass him. He told her no and to stop pushing. When she got upset, he kissed her on the cheek and told her he would see her later. At that moment, Mackenzie walked in and saw the kiss. After Colleen was out of earshot, she asked J.T. exactly what he was thinking.
Colleen went back to her table and told Caitlin about the party. When she accepted J.T. wouldn't take her, she decided to try to talk him into doing something more interesting -- something with her. She remembered a concert going on that evening and rushed Caitlin out the door to try to get tickets the sold-out show.
Jack was shocked when John Silva told him that the charge against Phyllis had been upgraded to attempted murder. He said a grand jury hearing would allow them to know all the evidence against Phyllis, but the police had to think it was strong to make that charge. When Phyllis entered, John left. She showed Jack that she'd been shopping for Kyle then began to cry when she realized that a restraining order would prevent her from seeing Kyle or giving him his gifts.
Jack had to tell Phyllis there was worse news. When she found out about the new charge, she freaked out again. She said she didn't understand why Jack couldn't see that Diane was framing her then wondered if perhaps Jack also thought she was guilty. She said the entire situation was making her so crazy that sometimes she felt like she had done it. Jack calmed her down and assured her that he didn't think she was guilty.
Diane went to see Detective Webber, demanding more police protection because she didn't think the restraining order would be enough to keep Phyllis away from her and Kyle. He told her about the attempted murder charge and said that, if convicted, Phyllis wouldn't be getting out of jail until Kyle was a grown man. Diane wanted to know how Phyllis could even be out on bail with such a serious charge against her, and the detective told her that might change with a grand jury indictment.
When Ashley tried to apologize to Brad, he said he wished they could just drop the subject of Victor. Ashley insisted that he needed to let her express herself. They were finally communicating, and it would be better if she could say what she had to say. Brad got annoyed every time she mentioned Victor's name, but she finally made him see that she knew that it was Brad, not Victor, who had been there with her in the trenches. She loved him very much and said he was her hero. She told him that he'd been perfect in every way. Brad tried to stop her, because the more she praised him, the more uncomfortable he became, after kissing Olivia and nearly giving in to temptation with her. Ashley kissed him, but they were interrupted by the nanny taking Abby home.
Olivia was watching the tape Ashley had given her for safekeeping. As it got to the part where Ashley was about to reveal Abby's biological father, Wesley arrived. Olivia stopped the tape and let him in. After introducing themselves, they talked about what they had in common -- both of them were doctors, and both cared about Dru. Wes admitted that he wished he were also related to Dru -- by marriage. He then told Olivia that Dru had talked to him about Ashley's illness, Brad's state of mind, and her fear that Olivia was getting too involved in their problems.
Olivia was upset at first, especially when she found out that Dru had told him about the tape Ashley had given her. Finally, he persuaded her to talk to him, saying everything she told him would be in the strictest of confidence. Olivia admitted that she and Brad had grown too close, although they hadn't taken it all the way. However, she was sure Ashley would beat cancer and their marriage would survive, so Dru could stop worrying about her.
When Wes asked about the tape, Olivia told him to leave. He warned her to be careful, and Olivia told him to forget the tape existed. After he left, she finished watching the tape and was horrified to hear Ashley confess that Victor was Abby's biological father. She quickly took the tape out of the machine and wished aloud that she had never watched it.
Sharon called Nick to find out when he was returning home. He told her that he didn't know. She felt like it wouldn't be long before she could no longer avoid his mother's questions. She also worried about how they were handling things with the kids. She asked Nick what he wanted to do about it. Nick told her she'd created the mess, and she could deal with it.
After Nick hung up on Sharon, he glanced up to see Grace standing in the doorway to his office. He admitted that he'd been talking to Sharon. Grace told him Nikki had confronted her at Crimson Lights. Nick said that his mother had already told him, and he'd told her to stay out of it. Grace wondered how Nick could bear up under all the strain. She suggested they get something to eat. Nick asked if they could just go to her hotel room. They left his office.
In bed with Victor, Nikki told him that she was worried about the kids. Not only was Victoria no longer seeing Diego, although Nikki didn't know why, but something seemed to be wrong with Nick and Sharon. She finally said that she knew she needed to let them handle their own storms, and Victor said he hoped they were just things that would blow over. After Nikki fell asleep, Victor called Victoria, but she wasn't in. He then tried to call Nick, but his son had just left with Grace.
Finally, Victor went to see Sharon. Sharon at first tried to pretend everything was okay. Victor stopped questioning her about her and Nick but asked if she knew what had happened between Diego and Victoria. When Sharon evaded his questions, he called her on it, saying she was obviously upset and could share anything with him. He asked if Nick had done something. Sharon assured him that Nick had done nothing. She was the one who'd created a mess, and everyone was suffering because of it. Victor told her that was a start then waited for her to confide the rest of the story.
Sharon spilled her guts with Victor and told him the whole story about Diego and Nick's finding out and how Diego had been falling in love with Victoria. It all made sense to Victor then. He asked her why she would turn to another man, and she shared with him what had happened when Grace Turner had arrived in town and made it look like Nick had asked her to show up. He understood her circumstances and told Sharon that he would let Nick know how he felt when he talked to him.
Nick told Grace that it was over and asked her to go back to New York. She tried to convince him that he was trying to deny that there was more than sex between them, but he had to be realistic and try to work on his marriage and his life in Genoa City. He told her that he shouldn't have called her and that he had nothing to give to her. She asked if he was sure and started to approach him in her low-cut top. He looked her up and down a couple more times then turned and left the room. Tears filled her eyes as she realized that her chance with him might be gone forever.
Diego stopped at the hospital to bid his brother goodbye. He had resigned himself to the fact that he had to leave town because there was nothing that he could do to get Victoria back. Raul wasn't happy about it at all. Raul was doing better and was walking slowly on his own. He would be released from the hospital very soon.
Later, Diego waited to meet his parents at the bar to tell them the news. There, he met up with Larry Warton. Larry tried to understand why he had been fired because of his love life and why he was leaving town. Diego wondered if Larry would try to give him a pep talk and tell him to fight for his love. However, Larry was realistic about it -- he knew that they were from a different place than the women they were seeing and might never speak the same language.
Nikki insisted on getting the story from Victoria about why Grace was in town. Victoria told her mother that Nick had invited Grace to town and was being a hypocrite by being so upset with Sharon when he was spending time with Grace. Victoria didn't want to talk about it anymore -- she was exhausted from staying up all night, thinking about Diego. She didn't understand why it was affecting her so deeply, and she was sure that she could shake it off somehow. Nikki could tell that it was too important to her daughter to dismiss and encouraged her to think it through before it was too late.
Victoria took her mother's advice to heart and tried to catch up with Diego before he left town. She called Raul's hospital room just as he was returning from therapy. He walked to the phone and answered it. She asked where his brother could be. He said that Diego had told him that he was leaving that evening and could already be gone. She hung up the phone, and Nikki sent her packing -- on a mission to find her true love.
Nick arrived home later that day, to Sharon's surprise. Neither of them knew what to say to the other -- this time it was Nick looking guiltier than Sharon was.
When Mary Williams found out that Isabella had reserved Gina's for the christening party, she went through the roof. Isabella and Paul tried to tell her that too many guests were invited and that she was trying to save her mother-in-law work on Ricky's special day. Finally, Mary ran out of Paul's office, fed up. Then, Paul and Isabella discussed the wisdom of inviting Christine to the party -- Paul felt that it was cruel to ask her to attend a party celebrating the birth of a baby conceived while she and Paul were still married. He wanted Isabella to rescind the invitation and told her that he would do it if she would not.
Soon, Isabella was getting defensive and accusing Paul of caring too much about what Christine thought. She went so far as to rub it in his face that Christine and Michael were "thick as thieves" then let him have it with the big news -- that Christine was sleeping with Michael.
Michael talked to Christine about her plans for the client meeting she had planned in Chicago. He wanted to spend some time with her afterwards so that they wouldn't be around for the christening party. She was serious about going to that party. She pointed out that they didn't know very much about Isabella and her background. Calling her bluff about the party would be one way to find some things out about her true colors.
Michael insisted to Christine that she should reconsider going to Ricky's baptism. He also refused to go with her. At first, Christine teased him, saying he'd always been the one who liked to stir things up. Then, she apologized, remembering that he might have been hurt by Isabella's lies about Ricky's paternity. Michael agreed that he'd been furious when Isabella had first told him that he was going to be a father, but he'd gotten used to the idea and had shopped for baby things and dreamed of a child of his own. Christine made comments about how manipulative and untrustworthy Isabella was. She left, saying she had to see someone.
Paul was stunned when Isabella said Christine and Michael had been sleeping together. He asked if she had proof, and she said it was intuition. Paul refused to believe it. Isabella accused him of being obsessed with Christine. A business call interrupted them, and Isabella left his office. On her way out, her cell phone rang. It was Michael asking her to meet him at the park immediately. When he arrived to find her waiting, she lashed out at him, saying that he'd taken a huge risk by calling her. He told her that she was the one taking risks, especially by inviting Christine to the baptism.
Isabella insisted she'd done that to extend an olive branch, and Michael scoffed at her, saying she was talking to him, not that dolt she'd married. Isabella was a little upset to learn that Christine was actually considering attending the ceremony, but then she said they were safe. None of her family was going to be there, so Christine couldn't possibly find out about the past Isabella and Michael shared. Michael assured her that Christine was very suspicious and very smart.
Lynne warned Paul that it might not be a good idea to invite Isabella's father to Ricky's baptism. He didn't know how many years they'd been estranged or why they still were. Paul said he'd talk to him first and make his decision after that. Paul asked Lynne if she knew exactly how serious Christine's involvement with Michael was. Lynne said she didn't know how far it had gone. She urged Paul to stop thinking about Christine and to start focusing on his own life.
Christine walked in, overheard Lynne, and told Lynne and Paul that that was excellent advice. Lynne made a quick exit, and Paul said he knew Christine was there to question him about Isabella's invitation to Ricky's baptism. Christine said she was actually there because she was about to leave town. When he sarcastically asked her if she was going to Hong Kong or Australia, Christine told him it was none of his business.
Paul demanded to know why Christine was there, and she explained that the lease on the apartment she was staying in had run out. She wanted to move back into their condo and asked how he felt about that. Paul told her that he didn't know how he felt about it. He then turned on her, demanding to know the truth about how deeply she was involved with Michael Baldwin.
Sharon made a special dinner for Nick while the kids were away. Nick was suspicious about their absence, and Sharon reminded him that it had been planned for weeks for them to stay with Doris. When she tried to pour them some wine, Nick refused, saying he wanted to keep a clear head. Then the music she put on, a song that had played while they'd danced on the beach, reminded him that he'd been living in a fool's paradise. Sharon turned off the music.
Nick told Sharon he wanted her to find a new riding instructor for Cassie, and he wanted Noah to start riding, too. Sharon said that would be a good confidence builder, although Noah wouldn't need it, since he was a Newman. After dinner, she suggested he relax on the couch while she cleaned up the kitchen, but Nick said he was going to bed, even though it was early. Later, Sharon sat on the sofa bed in their room and ran her hands down his back. Nick made her stop, and she went to their bed and cried while Nick lay awake.
Diego met his parents at Gina's to tell them his plans to leave town. They were upset and tried to persuade him to stay in Genoa City, but he admitted that he was leaving because of a woman, "Victoria." He said it was a complicated situation. He also explained that Raul wasn't happy about his leaving, but had understood that Diego felt he had to go. His father encouraged him to find a good woman and settle down, and his mother felt that he was running away. She cried as they hugged goodbye.
Victoria was looking for Diego. Cody said he'd returned his key to Crimson Lights earlier. He gave Diego's parents' phone number to Victoria. When Victoria spoke to his mother, she learned he'd definitely been planning to leave town, but his mother knew no other details. Victoria left a message for him to call her.
Victoria went to Gina's. Gina told her Diego had been carrying a duffel bag and had talked to Larry Warton at the bar. Victoria approached Larry, who told "Miss Brash and Sassy" that he didn't know what had happened between her and Diego, but Diego was definitely leaving town that night because he felt like it was the only thing he could do for Victoria.
Victor went home and told Nikki that he'd been to see Sharon, and their son and his wife were definitely having problems. Nikki exploded, blaming Grace, and Victor found out that Nick had asked Grace to go to Genoa City. He told Nikki that Grace wasn't the problem; Nick had found out that Sharon had had an affair -- with Diego. Nikki was appalled and wondered how Sharon could do such a thing. Victor told her that Sharon had been vulnerable, and Diego had taken advantage of her. He was just glad that Victoria was no longer involved with him.
Nikki then told Victor that Victoria had very deep feelings for Diego, and with her mother's encouragement, had gone to find him before he could leave town. Victor was furious, although Nikki explained that she hadn't known about Sharon when she'd given their daughter advice. Victor said that it would not happen; Victoria would not catch up with him, and they would not work things out. He stormed out with threats to break Diego.
Diego was futilely trying to hitchhike out of town. Car after car passed him by in the night, but finally one stopped. He threw his duffel bag in the back seat and got in -- and saw Victoria sitting in the driver's seat.
