"Kendall and Ethan are sitting at a table at the Valley Inn, and she still can't believe that he said those three magic words: I love you. Ethan yells it out in proof, but that isn't the problem she is having. There are voices in her head and they are all saying something different: believe him, don't believe him, tell him to run for his life...and she doesn't know what to do. He asks what her body is telling her to do. She gives him a look, and he tells her that they are done with the meal and he has paid the bill - they could go. They quickly grab their things and head out the door.
As they leave, Stuart comes into the dining room and spots Babe. She waves him over and they exchange initial pleasantries. He asks how she and Jamie are doing. She tells him that they are okay, but they could be better. She once again admits to missing her little boy, and asks whether Stuart can convince JR to give her more time. Stuart tells her that he doesn't think he can, but she feels that because JR loves him, he has a chance of using that influence. Stuart clarifies and says that he doesn't know if he wants to help her. Babe tells Stuart that she understands if he wants to side with family, but Stuart immediately corrects her and says that she is still part of his family. Confused, she reminds him that he was supportive of them taking the baby, and even helped Liza take off with Colby. Admitting his part, Stuart says that one of the problems he had with how everything went is that she allowed JR to believe his baby was dead. She tells him that she did what she had to do to protect her son from JR and keep him safe, and Stuart reminds her that in the end, JR still has custody and her mother is in jail. They talk more about all of the decisions that she made in the name of "doing the right thing" - like keeping Miranda, telling JR that it was their baby, and effectively choosing JR over Bianca. Babe says that looking back, she feels like garbage for the things that she did. Stuart tells her that he just wants to make things better, but she feels the only way that can happen is if he could go back to the crash and stop Paul Cramer from switching the babies. Stuart tells her that it started way before that - and it started with her, and her inability to tell the truth.
They revisit the days when Babe first came to town and how she was such a breath of fresh air in the Chandler mansion and the lives housed within. She admits that even back then, she made a lot of mistakes - but that she chose to keep them to herself because she was so afraid of hurting JR. The point, Stuart says, is that JR found anyway. She still tries to defend her actions by saying that JR changed when he found out. It was like the bad part of him found some fertilizer and water, grew up out of the ground and took over. Stuart considers this for a moment and then asks if she ever considered that she was the one holding the watering can. Babe tells him that she isn't solely responsible for what JR became - he was half bad when they met. Stuart tells her that if she had made different choices, she could have helped the good side win. He goes on to tell her that even though she did many wrong things for the right reason, the ends don't justify the means. She says that she did everything she could to save her son - and he interrupts and says that there was one exception: she never opted to tell the truth. As she slowly starts to realize that she needs to accept more responsibility for the way things are, Stuart tells her that he knows she and JR both did wrong. He says he feels sorry for both of them, but he just wants her to understand her part in the whole mess. She thanks Stuart for loving her enough to tell her what she needed to hear, and he rewards her with a surprise. He smuggled out a homemade album filled with pictures of her son. While looking at it, Babe realizes that she needs to do whatever it takes to be a better person - a better mother...one that her little boy deserves.
JR shows up on the PVU campus and finds Jamie in the student lounge typing up an econ paper. Jamie thinks his brother has too much free time on his hands - finding him first at lunch at the Valley Inn, and now school. JR smugly apologizes for ruining their lunch, but Jamie says that aside from her crab cakes getting cold, they had a great time. Knowing that Jamie is unaware of what transpired between he and Babe, JR continues to try to goad Jamie into a fight, but he goes largely ignored. Finally, JR starts to get closer to his point of being there. He shows Jamie an honorary MBA that he received from the dean during a meeting in his office that morning. Jamie asks if that is supposed to mean something to him, and JR tells him that it will - once Tad and/or Brooke realize just how much money they are going to have shell out in order for Jamie to get a college education. Realization slowly dawning, an old familiar flare comes back into Jamie's eye. As JR waits for his brother to physically react, Jamie reconsiders because of what his father said about staying in control and not giving JR any ammunition. Instead, he retells a story of when the brothers were in elementary school, and JR really wanted to be captain of the kickball team. He lost to a classmate named Billy, and later that day Billy fell off the monkey bars and hurt himself. JR said that it was an accident, but Jamie notes that JR would be the only one that knew the truth since he was the only one up there at the same time. The outcome was that JR got the coveted position. Irritated, JR asks what the relevance of bringing up that story. Jamie says that JR can push as hard as he'd like, but he refuses to go down.
JR sticks around, still trying to rile up his brother. He asks why Jamie's bothering to write the econ paper, given that it's months late. Jamie tells him that he has a family to think about. JR tells him that he and Babe alone do not a family make, and that they will not throw his son into his fantasy mix. Just as Jamie tells him that it's not a fantasy, the dean shows up at their table. They both stand up to greet him, and he tells Jamie that by taking an unapproved leave of absence from the university and committing capital crimes, he has gone against the honor code that he signed upon entering the university. Jamie tells the dean that the charges were dropped. Nevertheless, Jamie gave PVU a lot of bad press with his actions, and his kind of behavior would not be tolerated. Therefore, the university officials decided that they would not be readmitting him to classes there - now, or in the future. The dean leaves, and Jamie is left in disbelief. He asks how JR could pay off the school in such a way that his brother is now denied an education. He doesn't believe that simply writing a check would do it, as it would be embarrassing to the school. JR then tells him that he is celebrating the return of his son by underwriting the funding for a new music wing. Taking that into consideration, Jamie feels that JR proved that he and Babe control his life. JR scoffs, but Jamie reminds him that he did just drop a bunch of money to make Jamie switch schools. JR ignores him and simply says that he should dump Babe because it's only going to cause him heartache and pain. Jamie informs his brother that the only thing he will do to Babe is make her his wife, and thanks him for the divorce.
Derek, Ryan, Greenlee and Maria are still trying to figure out if Zach's confession is false or if there is any weight to it. Derek informs Zach that Ryan and Greenlee don't think he is guilty of the poisoning or shooting. Maria interrupts and asks Zach if he told the truth about killing Edmund. Zach remains silent, and Derek further informs him that false confession and obstruction of justice carry hefty penalties of their own. Greenlee tries to reach Zach's emotional side by offering to tell him what they are going through, and reminding him that if he isn't guilty, they are still targets. Maria interjects and reminds the room that Zach doesn't really care about anyone else's pain. Finally speaking up, Zach says that as their one and only suspect, there shouldn't be a problem. Taking in the looks on the faces in the room, he realizes that there is now reasonable doubt. He asks if it's Ryan's brother and then which one - the one that hit Maggie or the one that raped Jackson's sister? Derek notes that Zach knows a lot more about what's going on in Pine Valley than he let on, but the comment is ignored. Zach states that they have his confession and then some: they have his son as an eyewitness. He notes that everyone thinks Ethan is pure, noble and incorruptible - and his word is as good as gold. All things considered, Zach wants to know what other problems Maria has. The question goes unanswered, and Derek reminds Zach that if indeed Braden is guilty of the poisoning and the shooting, he would be cleared. Zach takes his turn in refreshing memories and says that he would still have the murder charge to deal with. Then, he turns to Ryan and asks for information about Braden. Ryan, giving as good as he gets, refuses to say anything. He simply wants to know exactly what Zach did and did not do. Zach feigns sadness and asks Ryan not to shut him out. He says it's their turn to bond - one rapist's brother to another. He admits that while he never went to jail for his brother, he did defend him against all of the accusations - just as Ryan did. Ryan repeats his request for the desired information but Zach just says that they all need him to be guilty. Ryan repeats himself again, and Zach tells them that it's amazing how someone that you loved, who you thought loved you, could cause such an incredible amount of pain in your life. This gets to Maria, who drops her head into her hands. Greenlee is absolutely livid that Zach is giving them a verbal runaround and is refusing to help. Frustration boiling over, they start to leave. Ryan advises Maria to cut Zach loose, as he isn't worth the time, and they storm out. Derek starts to take Zach away again, but Maria asks for more time. She looks at Zach and pleads with him - for what they had in the casita, for what she thought was love - surrender the truth. Zach asks why she wants to go through the pain again, and she says that Edmund deserves that much. Finally giving in, he asks Derek for some privacy and time alone with Maria. Derek agrees, and as he starts to walk out, Zach rips a hidden microphone from under the desk and hands it over.
Zach tells Maria that what they had in the desert - making love every day and showing how much they loved each other - that is the truth. It's not what Maria wants to hear, so Zach asks why she's there. She tells him that it's because her children will never get to see or hear their father again, and she won't be able to kiss the man she loves more than life anymore. Zach tries to remind her that Edmund wasn't a saint by repeating that Edmund could walk. She cuts him off and says that she asked his physical therapist, and that claim was denied. She goes on to tell him that nothing he can say or do now can change that Edmund was an incredible man. She simply asks for the truth: is Zach the reason that her husband is no longer alive? Zach acquiesces and says that he will tell her exactly how Edmund died. He tells her that he went to Wildwind that night to see her, but that he met up with Ethan at the front door. Ethan indicated that he wanted to talk to his father in private, so they went to the tack room. When his back was turned, Ethan hit him over the head with a shovel. When he came to, Ethan was gone and Edmund was there. He goes on to tell her that Edmund told him he was saving Maria, and repeatedly taunted him with that knowledge. Finally, it became too much, and he cracked Edmund over the head with the shovel to get some peace. He punctuates his story by slamming his hand on the table, and says he hit Edmund so hard, he flew out of his chair. Continuing, Zach says that he then decided he needed to cover his tracks, so he tipped the space heater over into the hay. Just then, he felt eyes on him and he turned to see Ethan standing in the doorway. Unsure of how much he heard or saw, Zach says that he thought it best to act as if he was helping. The combination of the gory details and Zach's nonchalance has Maria in tears once again. Once she regains some of her composure, she asks if she had a hand in her husband's death. Did she unwittingly fuel his desire to get rid of Edmund by constantly coming to him and failing to resist his advances? Callously, Zach tells her that they are done and that she should go bury her husband.
A short time later, Kendall and Ethan arrive home and have some small talk before they make love. Afterwards, he quips that when he pulled her from the ocean, he didn't know how great the catch was. She thanks him for giving her back her life, but he insists she had one before. Kendall tells him that it wasn't anything like what she is feeling with him now. Just then, Ryan and Greenlee burst into the room and Ryan goes to yank Ethan from under the covers. Successful, Ryan then asks a very irate Ethan if he really did see Zach kill Edmund, or if it was something he was throwing around because he hates his father. Ethan says that he gave his statement and that Zach is guilty. He wants Ryan and Greenlee out, but Kendall grabs Ryan's jacket and asks why he needed to know again. He looks at her briefly and then wrenches out of her grip and walks out. Greenlee starts to follow but Kendall stops her and demands to know what's really going on. Greenlee fills Kendall in on Jonathan's story that Braden is back in town, and his plans for Ryan. Kendall acknowledges that the prospect of that is terrifying. She turns to Ethan and starts to think aloud about the ramifications, if it is indeed true. Ethan says that Zach freely admitted that he was the one that poisoned Greenlee and shot Ryan. All he knows (and can testify to) is that he saw Zach kill Edmund. Greenlee looks at them in disbelief, and Kendall snaps her out of her trance by telling her that Ethan shouldn't need to repeat himself anymore. Disgusted, she walks out, leaving the couple alone again. Kendall again expresses her fear over the oldest Lavery brother being in town, but Ethan promises to keep her safe. They kiss, and as they break away, Kendall asks if Ethan was lying to her before. Smirking, and believing he knows what she's talking about, he asks if she means when he told her he loved her. She shakes her head, and says that she was referring to what he said about Zach killing Edmund.
Simone shows up at Jonathan's door at the Valley Inn, determined to get more information out of him. She knocks once and waits a minute. When he doesn't answer right away, she thinks he isn't in. Just then, she hears Jonathan in an argument of some kind, followed quickly by a loud crash. She knocks again, more urgently, and Jonathan finally comes to the door. He steps out into the hallway, refusing to let her inside. She asks what is going on, but he tells her that he's alone and he's fine. He tells her to leave him alone and goes back into the room. After knocking again, Jonathan comes back out into the hallway and asks what Simone wants. She tries to pull one over on him and says that she didn't know that Greenlee and Kendall were spying, or that they had spiked the wine. She tells him that since their evening was a total bust, she wants another shot. He looks at her for a moment, and then tries to ferret out her true intentions. He thinks that she is there to find out if he really is responsible for drugging Greenlee. He tells her that the truth serum thing worked and that he told Ryan everything - closely guarded secrets about his whole life. Feeling backed in a corner, Jonathan starts to verbally lash out and demands that she leave, because they are done. He goes back into the room and slams the door. Not about to be tossed aside so carelessly, Simone takes out her mace and barges into the room. Jonathan tells her that she needs to get out, but armed with mace, she isn't afraid of anything. She says that she won't leave until she figures out what is going on. She sees his furtive glances toward the back room, and she asks who he has stashed away. She starts to head back there, but Jonathan leaps over the bed to try to stop her. She aims the mace at him and he stops in his tracks and looks at her fearfully from the bed. She goes into the back room and demands that whoever is back there get on the floor. A few moments pass, and then she reemerges and announces that there was no one to be found in the other room. Seemingly relieved, Jonathan asks her once again to leave. Reluctant, Simone says that she knows there is something he isn't telling her. He starts to get belligerent again, but she makes him back down by re-aiming the mace. He immediately switches to a more childlike tone of voice, and asks why, if he's never done anything to her, she's bothering him. Clearly spooked by the change, she agrees to leave. She says that she will be back - armed and dangerous - because she needs to know if he is the one that hurt her friends.
Ryan shows up at the boathouse and looks around briefly. He calls out Braden's name a few times, and then, under his breath, invites his older sibling to bring it on. A short time later, Greenlee catches up with him, and she tries to hug him. Ryan rejects her embrace and tells her to go away - and stay away.
Babe and Jamie arrive home and he asks her if she is ready for a surprise. She asks if she will like it, but Jamie gives no clues away. He tells her to close her eyes, and when she does, he leads her to the back patio. Once outside, he tells her to open her eyes. She does, and sees an impressive array of flowers and candlelight. Jamie officially welcomes her to their wedding."
- Soap Central
