""Here? Now? That's impossible!" Erica replied to Mike's announcement that he and Erica were about to get married. Mike argued that a wedding was not impossible and urged Erica to go with the flow. Erica explained that she couldn't go through with the ceremony because she was still engaged to Jack. On top of that, she added that Bianca hadn't even met Mike yet. Mike picked up the phone and readied to find Bianca's number. Erica ordered him to put down the phone before he could upset Bianca. Mike told Erica that they've loved each other for thirteen years. It seemed more of a reminder than a statement of fact. And as time had passed, Erica had only become more beautiful. Mike's flattery accomplished its goal. Erica agreed to marry Mike, but she asked if she could have a few minutes to freshen up. Erica was gone for more than a few minutes and the chaplain began to worry that Erica wasn't coming back. Mike laughed slightly and informed that as the head of a cosmetic company, Erica is required to take a lot of time! Erica poked her head into the room and blinked her eyes several times. When she entered the room, she was followed by two men---a doctor and an orderly. Erica introduced the doctor as Dr. Silbert, the head of the hospital's psychiatric unit. Erica called Mike "delusional" because he believed that she would marry him in a hospital room while he was wearing a hospital gown. Erica spoke mostly to the doctor and avoided looking at Mike. "He thinks he's a secret agent," Erica said shaking her head condescendingly. Erica apologized to the minister for wasting his time. He nodded understandingly and left the room. Erica returned her attention to the psychiatrist. She urged the doctor to "lock [Mike] up while he's still docile." Mike laughed nervously and asked Erica to quit having fun at his expense. Erica smiled and told Mike that she'd visit him again in a few days---after the medication had set in. Erica left the room with a broad smile on her face. Dr. Silbert's helper, referred to as Brewster, tried to pin Mike to his bed so that he could be restrained. Luckily for Mike, Adrian returned. He flashed the marriage license as proof that Mike and Erica were going to be married. Dr. Silbert informed Mike that the license didn't prove anything. Adrian fished his ID out of his wallet and flashed it to the doctor. He now knew that Erica had pulled one over on him. Brewster and Dr. Silbert left, but not before apologizing for inconveniencing Mike. Adrian couldn't help but laugh at his former partner. Erica had certainly gotten him good. Adrian couldn't help but wonder why Mike would want to marry a woman who tried to have him committed. If Adrian had to ask the question, he'd obviously never fallen for Erica Kane. "I love her, I want her, and dammit I am going to have her!" Mike proclaimed.
Judge Foster asked the bailiff to escort Jamie out of the courtroom. Jamie refused to budge and called out for his mother. Brooke raced to her son's side and embraced him. Tad stumbled into the courtroom and apologized for his son's intrusion. Again the judge ordered that Jamie be removed. "Don't touch him!" Brooke shouted. The jury was escorted out of the room to avoid any "contamination" or other influence. Brooke asked the judge for a few minutes alone with her son so that she could explain some things to him. The judge later granted Trevor's formal request for a ten-minute recess. Jamie again asked the judge not to send his mother to jail. The judge smiled tenderly and assured Jamie that his mother would be home for dinner. "You promise?" Jamie asked. "You have my word on it," came the reply. In a private room, Tad scolded his son for running away from home. Pine Valley, he said, isn't Pigeon Hollow. There are creeps abound who don't hesitate in harming little children. Brooke apologized for putting her son through the agony of her trial. Jamie didn't need an apology; he was glad that his mother killed Jim. Brooke and Tad immediately tried to show their son that killing someone isn't always the right thing to do. "You can't go around killing people," Tad informed the young boy. With every action comes a need for responsibility, Brooke told Jamie. She added that everyone needs to accept the consequences of their actions even if it means... "Going to jail?" Jamie asked, interrupting his mother. Tad again promised Jamie that his mother would not go to jail. Opal entered the room and told Jamie that Petey had been asking about him. She offered to take Jamie to Cortlandt Manor so that he and Petey could go for a dip in the pool or chow down on some ice cream. Brooke thanked Opal for helping her out and she and Jamie headed back to the mansion. In the courtroom, Keith motioned that the judge declared a mistrial. Jamie's outburst, which Keith insisted was a planned spectacle by the defense, had tainted the jury and helped swing their sentiment towards Brooke. Belinda and Trevor insisted that Jamie's appearance was not a legal maneuver. Judge Foster refused to grant Keith's request and ordered the trial to proceed. He did, however, warn both sides that any further "theatrics" would be grounds for a mistrial or contempt charges. Keith announced that his next witness would be treated as a "hostile witness." In short, a hostile witness can be treated a bit differently---more aggressively---than other witness. Usually, there's a lot of "Isn't it true that"s in the questioning. Phoebe was called to the stand and it was apparent from the moment she sat down in the witness stand that she was not going to be very cooperative. Keith asked Phoebe if Brooke and Jim had ever spent the night together. Phoebe explained that she doesn't peep into other people's bedrooms and therefore couldn't answer the question. The next question for Phoebe was whether or not Brooke ever announced that she was in love with Jim. "There's love and then there's love," Phoebe replied. Keith took that reply as a "yes." On cross-examination, Phoebe was able to talk a bit about the way that Jim had been treated as a hero for "rescuing" Brooke, Edmund, and Maddie from Flight 149. Later, of course, it was learned that Jim caused the crash. Phoebe made the mistake of remarking that Brooke loathed Jim after learning that he had been responsible for the crash. Keith picked up on that and on redirect asked Phoebe if Brooke had ever threatened to kill Jim. "Certainly not!" Phoebe squawked. "Now you back off or I'll make you wish that you had." Phoebe shook his cane menacingly in Keith's direction. "Now that was a threat," Phoebe quipped. "But I doubt very highly that anyone would expect me to shoot you!" Her remark caused a loud chuckle amongst the spectators. Keith asked the question again and this time Phoebe tried to dodge the question by claiming that her memory wasn't as good as it used to be. During the conversation, Brooke drifted off yet again. She imagined herself several years down the road. In her dream, she hadn't killed Jim Thomasen. Instead, she'd had him arrested for his involvement in the crash of Flight 149 and Jim served seven years in prison. When Jim got out, he'd managed to sink his claws into Jamie and caused Jamie to turn to drugs and sex. It wasn't outwardly stated, but Jamie had apparently died of a drug overdose or of AIDS. Brooke slowly returned to reality, but when she did she lost control of herself. She rose to her feet and yelled that she had to shoot Jim because it was the only way to stop him. The judge ordered Brooke to quiet herself or face contempt charges. Brooke sat back down in her seat and didn't say another word. On the stand, Phoebe tearfully admitted that Brooke had, in fact, threatened to kill Jim. She made sure to throw in that everyone had at one time or another threatened to take Jim's life. Phoebe looked in her niece's direction an apologized for having to tell the truth. With that, the defense rested its case.
Erica headed straight to Myrtle's to tell Myrtle about Mike's latest scheme. "First he died, then he lied, and then he kidnapped me!" Erica groused. Erica looked at Myrtle and asked if she would marry a man "whose fanny was hanging out" of a hospital gown. Myrtle sassily replied that it depended on the fanny. Erica seemed bowled over by Mike's gall. Myrtle laughed as Erica went on and on with her tirade. It took Myrtle to point out to Erica that she'd supposedly been in love with many men---and that none of those relationships had worked. Men had come and men had gone, but something about Mike was different. Erica still loves him. Erica had to have thought about her feelings for Mike before, but it wasn't until Myrtle made her face her feelings that she finally realized that she did love Mike. "That's it, isn't it?" Erica said explaining the way she's been acting recently. "I still love him."
Dixie stomped towards Adam and warned him that she wanted to kick him in his "prenuptial bliss." Adam had gotten a court order for temporary custody of Adam Jr.. Dixie refused to let her ex-husband take her son away and made several snide remarks about how Adam had never been interested in her---he just wanted an heir. Adam had something to defend his actions---Camille. Adam told Dixie about the "accidents" that had plagued his family as well as the story behind Lottie's grave swap. Dixie replied that anyone who gets near Adam winds up being hurt---sort of like catching a virus. Because of the way that Adam had told Junior about Brooke's trial, Dixie was surprised that Tad wasn't trying to kill him too! Dixie accused Adam of concocting the accidents to help regain custody of Adam Junior, a claim Adam vehemently denied. He asked Dixie why he would put his family at risk all to regain custody of his son. Dixie noted that Adam had been the only one who hadn't been harmed in one of the attacks. Dixie also let it be known that she had hidden her son somewhere that Adam could never find him. She'd even managed to elude the two security agents that Adam had hired to watch the house. The first was easily duped because he napped at the same time every day and the second, one that Dixie wasn't supposed to know about, wasn't able to navigate the rural terrain as well as Junior. Adam pleaded with Dixie to let hum take his son back to Pine Valley for safekeeping. Dixie wondered if it wasn't just as safe in Pigeon Hollow since all of the accidents had happened in Pine Valley. Finally, Dixie agreed to let her son go back to his hometown---but with one condition: Dixie was going to return to town too.
At Holidays, the preparations continued. Marian bumped into Lee and the two exchanged small talk. Stuart arrived a short time later and Marian wanted to introduce "John" (Lee) to Stuart. Marian walked to the door to greet Stuart, but when she turned around, John was nowhere to be found. The man did make an appearance, but he was toting boxes that covered his face. It was a smart way for Lee to avoid being recognized. Stuart really wasn't all that interested in meeting John until he noticed something underneath one of the nearby tables. Stuart held up the item, a shark's tooth, and Marian proudly announced that the tooth must have fallen off of John's necklace. John, she said, was an expert scuba diver. Stuart immediately realized that John could be the same person who'd sabotaged the generator at the cabin. Lee managed to disappear and wasn't seen again until after Stuart left. Lee pressed Marian for details on whether or not Stuart would be attending the re-opening bash. Marian knew that Stuart would be there and surmised that the rest of the Chandler clan would be present as well. Marian headed across the room to make sure that she had reservations for the big party. Once alone, lee spoke eerily to himself. "All your near and dear will be blown to kingdom come," Lee said as if Adam were standing before him, "and you'll be left alone... just like I was.""
- Soap Central