"At Holidays, Brooke met with Trevor for some final discussion before her preliminary hearing. "I think we can win this," Trevor said enthusiastically. He told Brooke that's stayed up most of the night to look over similar cases. He reminded her that her court date was for a preliminary hearing, not the actual trial itself. In a preliminary hearing, he informed his client, the prosecution tries to show that there is enough evidence to warrant a full-fledged trial by jury. Dimitri rushed the table and asked Trevor why he'd been subpoenaed by the prosecution. Trevor looked over the legal document and determined that it was legitimate. Trevor explained that the prosecution needed to call Dimitri as a witness to lay down the groundwork for their case. They needed Dimitri, the first person on the scene after the shooting, to tell the judge what Brooke had told him. Tad appeared a few seconds later and announced that he'd been served too. Trevor advised the two men to tell the truth when questioned on the stand. By telling their stories, Trevor explained that he could see how the prosecution planned on handling the case against Brooke. Dimitri wondered if Trevor was going to call Edmund to the stand to tell the judge how he'd been kidnapped by Jim. Trevor shook his head and explained that it was not necessary from him to do that at the hearing since the purpose of the hearing wasn't to prove Brooke's innocence. Janet stuck her head in for a second and wished Brooke well at her hearing. She commented that she was sure that Brooke didn't need luck because the truth---and the best defense team around---was on her side. Janet asked Trevor if she could speak to him for a few minutes in private.
At a nearby table, Janet reaffirmed her belief in Trevor's ability to defend Brooke. She told him that she wanted to give him a good luck present. She reached into her purse and pulled out a beat up rectangular object. She explained that the good luck charm was an old pencil and pen box given to her by Natalie. Still inside the box were a couple of chewed up pencils. Janet explained that she nibbled on her pencils when she got nervous. She told a tale about one of her high school debate team's matches. The team was cruising to an easy win and Janet had all of her arguments memorized. The problem to resolve dealt with the supposed energy crisis. Janet was set to argue that the crisis was a diversionary tactic to make the public forget about Watergate. Janet only had to hammer home a few points to cinch her school's win and impress the team captain, who Janet had a crush on. When it came her time to speak, Janet was unable to say anything. The only thing that came out of her mouth was a squeak. Trevor decided that he didn't need that kind of luck, musing that he'd "rather speak than squeak." Janet told him to bite his tongue. Not only did her team win the competition, but she also got a date with the captain.
Back across the room, Tad showed Brooke some pictures of Jamie and Junior. Brooke was relieved that Jamie's arm was feeling a little better. She could not believe how Junior had grown so quickly. Brooke worried that things might not go so well in court and that she'd have to watch her son grow up through pictures. Tad assured his former wife that no jury would convict her of murder. Brooke reminded Tad that they've both had to put twists on the truth because of their work in the media. She wondered what would happen if the prosecution put that kind of twist of her "truth." Janet and Trevor returned to the table. Brooke told Janet that she'd see her later that evening for her bachelorette party. Janet was amazed that Brooke could think about partying. Janet nodded slightly and told Brooke that she might want to wait until after her hearing before she decides on attending her party. At a side table, Dimitri asked Trevor what statements were likely to be used in court. Trevor rattled off a list of several that could be used---everyone's statements at the gallery were on the list. Dimitri took particular interest in knowing that Brooke's videotaped confession had been quashed. The time had come for everyone to file off to the courthouse. Dimitri motioned to Tad and told him that he had a plan---a plan that might require Tad's help!
Erica was surprised to see Jack helping himself to a glass of liquor. Jack explained that he'd been caught off guard by the resurrection of Erica's former beau. Erica offered to help Jack take his belongings up to her second guestroom. Jack's eyes widened. He asked her if she was banning him from her bedroom. Erica smiled and explained that Jack will, in fact, be sleeping with her---but explained that the closets in her bedroom were too full for any of Jack's belongings. Jack told Erica that he'd spoken to Bianca and that the young girl had been asking questions about their wedding date. Erica commented that she didn't want her daughter to get her hopes to high. By that, she meant that she wanted Bianca to focus on her recovery---not a wedding that she hadn't set a date for, picked out a dress for, or even selected rings for. Mike lifted his hand into the air and told Erica that they should opt for simple wedding bans much like the one that she'd slipped onto his finger well over a decade ago. As hard as he was trying to remain cool, that comment nearly pushed Jack over the edge. He forced a smile and asked Erica to start taking some of his things upstairs. Jack explained that he wanted to speak to Mike in private. Erica flat out refused to let the two men alone and the same room. She worried that they'd beat each other to a pulp! Mike assured Erica that they would not break anything. "We'll be the poster boys of civility and decorum," he smiled. Erica reluctantly agreed, but warned that she'd be right upstairs just in case things got out of hands. Once Erica had left the room, Jack got right to the point. He told Mike that he wanted him to pack his bags and hit the road. Mike said that his secret mission prevented him from uprooting. Jack commented that he'd be willing to use his position as district attorney to expedite Mike's secret mission. "If that mission is to get Erica back," Jack snarled. "Forget about it." Mike explained that thinking of Erica during some of his darkest days helped him survive from day to day. Jack agreed that if the thought of a woman could help someone stay alive, Erica was definitely one of those women. Erica returned to the room and found the two men sitting on a sofa and having a drink together.
Hayley couldn't see why Mateo objected to her decision to get another tattoo. "Absolutely not," Mateo yelled in defiance of his wife's decision. He asked her if someone had told her to get a tattoo or if she'd seen someone else with a similar tattoo prior to seeing the model in the magazine. Hayley explained that she'd been thinking about the tattoo for some time. She then clarified that she was no longer thinking about getting a tattoo---she'd decided to go through with it. Hayley started to walk away, but Mateo grabbed her arm and prevented her from leaving. This prompted Ryan to jump to his feet and order Mateo to back off. Mateo turned and angrily told Ryan to mind his own business. Hayley also asked Ryan to keep quiet because their argument did not concern them. Mateo calmed down and apologized for grabbing his wife's arm. He asked if they could speak privately in another room. Once the squabbling couple had left, Gillian leapt to her feet and applauded wildly for Ryan's display of chivalry. She taunted Ryan about the way in which Hayley rejected his gallantry, an obvious sign that she was not interested in him. Ryan snapped that he hadn't been trying to impress Hayley. He stated that Gillian couldn't possibly understand why he'd acted the way he had. Gillian's face became concerned and she asked Ryan to open up to her. She compared bottling up his feeling to a shaken bottle of champagne: it was only a matter of time before his top popped off and he lost half the champagne. It was an interesting analogy and it showed that Gillian really was concerned. Ryan still didn't want to talk about it, but after continued badgering he confessed that his mother had been "roughed up" by his father. That was all that Ryan wanted to say. He rose from the sofa and told Gillian that he had some phone calls to make. Eugenia entered the room just as Ryan was on his way out. She worried that the newlyweds had gotten into another argument. Gillian assured her grandmother that she hadn't been arguing with Ryan. In fact, she added as sort of an afterthought, she'd actually come to the realization that she may have misjudged Ryan. Eugenia could see that Gillian was beginning to come to terms with her feelings for Ryan. Gillian commented that Ryan appears to be a lot different that his tough outer shell. Eugenia agreed and even remarked that Ryan and Gillian are more alike then they realize. "If you stopped protecting yourself," Eugenia lectured. "You'd discover... I'll let you make that discovery for yourself." With a smile, Eugenia left the room.
Upstairs, Hayley warned Mateo that she wasn't going to chastise him for his public outburst. She acknowledged that he's been going through a difficult readjustment since he'd come out of his coma. Hayley warned her husband that she has never accepted ultimatums from anyone and that she was no more likely to bow to his commands than anyone else's. With that, Hayley stormed out of the room.
She returned downstairs where she found Ryan waiting to see if everything was okay. Hayley blasted Ryan for the way he stuck his nose into her personal business and told him that he'd almost made things worse by racing to her rescue. She assured Ryan that Mateo had never yelled at her before. She chalked up his irrational behavior to his accident and near death. "Mateo's a lucky man," Ryan commented. Gillian listened in the foyer with a jealous look on her face.
Back at Linden House, Jack and Erica exchanged passionate kisses on the sofa. Both wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and enjoy each other's company. Jack urged Erica to head upstairs and get things ready for him. Once she was out of site, Jack picked up his cellular phone and placed a call. He told the person on the other end that he wanted background information on a supposed government agent---Mike Roy. Outside in the driveway, Mike was making a call of his own. He left a message for someone saying that he'd "gotten [himself] into trouble" and that he needed this person's help to get out of it.
In the courthouse, Brooke became concerned when Belinda was nowhere to be found. Trevor assured her that that his partner would show up. Tad and Dimitri entered the room midway engaged in an argument over the way that Dimitri sped through a red light. Dimitri, however, insisted that the light was yellow. The two men also wondered why Belinda hadn't shown up yet. Trevor asked to speak to Brooke elsewhere. Dimitri then pulled Tad aside and told him that he'd come up with a way to "get Brooke off today."
Mateo raced out of his bedroom and tracked down Edmund. He told Edmund that another of his visions was coming true and that he feared that Hayley's life was still in danger. Mateo told Edmund that he tried to yell at Hayley to make her back down from getting a tattoo. Edmund knew right away that Matt's tirade didn't go over too well. Mateo suddenly grabbed his head and doubled over in pain. He told Edmund that he was having a vision. He saw Hayley entering Holidays. He could tell from his vision that Hayley was very happy---and very unaware that she was in danger. Edmund asked his brother-in-law if he could tell who or what was causing the danger. "A person," Mateo groaned. "A woman." In his vision, Mateo saw a young woman hovering around the door to the restaurant. The woman, unknown to Mateo, was Camille."
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