12/23/1998



"His new office barely broken in, David had already had more than his fair share of visitors. Gillian was next on the list to drop by unannounced. In a plain, unmarked white envelope, Gillian had placed fifty thousand dollars. She handed the envelope back to the doctor and told him that she did not need the money he'd given her. David seemed surprised by Gillian's actions. While she may not have needed the money to bail Ryan out of jail, that did not change the fact that she had still slept with David. David wondered if he was being given the "royal kiss off." Gillian again repeated her decision that they could never be intimate again. She told David that she would "always think of [him] fondly and hoped that he would someday get over her. Gillian left the office with her head bowed solemnly. David burst into laughter and shook his head. He picked up the telephone and placed a call to an acquaintance. That acquaintance turned out to be Kyle, a lab technician at the hospital. David had concocted a tale about doing scientific research on unborn children. David smiled and told Kyle that he would include his name on his research if he could help him out. David guessed that he might need amniotic fluid samples. Ironically, Kyle was the very technician who handled those samples. Of course, David knew exactly what he was doing and there was no coincidence. Kyle headed to the lab, snatched the most recently drawn amniotic fluid, and gave it to David. Again by plan, the sample belonged to Liza. David waited until Kyle left before thinking of how he would go about the next phase of his plan---getting a DNA sample of Adam so that he could compare Liza's baby's genetic makeup to that of Liza and Adam.

It had been only six hours since Liza began her doctor imposed bed rest and already Liza was restless. She'd had her fill of puzzles and magazines and even a gaggle of videos couldn't hold her interest. Adam smiled and announced that he knew exactly what Liza needed. Liza cringed slightly but allowed Adam to go about his business. Some time later, Adam returned with two plates of food. Liza was amazed. In all the time she spent with Adam, she'd never seen him cook. Adam corrected her: He does not cook. He "creates gastronomical experiences." He softly noted that there were a lot of things about him that Liza did not know. That, he said, was one of the dangers of assuming that they would always be together. Liza thanked Adam for having been there with her during her amnio. Adam smiled and thanked Liza for giving him hope. He asked her not to feel as though she was leading him on or giving him mixed signals. All Adam wanted from Liza was to ability to hope that they might one day get back together. The topic of conversation turned from relationships to poker of all things. Liza and Adam played a "hypothetical" game of poker---and Liza was winning big. She won seventy-million dollars and Adam's private jet. Of course, this was all in fun. Then came the time to make a real bet. If Liza were to win, she wanted everything Adam owned. If Adam won, Liza would agree to give him another chance.

Braden and Dixie skipped out on a sophisticated coffeehouse and ended up at The Pit. There, Dixie found the very person she'd been trying to escape: Tad. Tad and Jake sat across the bar with a pair of unknown women. Dixie sighed upon seeing Tad. Braden suggested that they leave, but Dixie said that she wanted to stay. Tad saw Dixie and began flirting shamelessly with Lenora, the woman sitting next to him. Dixie watched uneasily and told Braden that she might regret her decision to cut Tad loose. She said that Tad was quite a catch and that any woman would give her eye teeth to be with him. Braden casually remarked that Tad wasn't that special and again asked if she wanted to leave. Dixie shook her head and then smiled peculiarly. She asked Braden if he wanted to have a little fun. Braden agreed and the pair were soon laughing it up. Tad noticed the chipperness at the nearby table and drifted off into deep thought. His distance sort of put up a barrier between Tad and his date. The two women headed off to the bar and Jake scolded his brother for being a wet blanket. Dixie scurried up to the bar and sat down next to Tad's date. She asked Lenora if Tad had gotten over his "drinking problem." She went on to say that Tad had had his license revoked as a result of frequent DUI charges. The woman became very unhappy and decided that Tad was no longer the man for her. In stepped Braden to sweep Lenora off her feet. Dixie hurried over to Tad's table and asked him if he'd like to dance. Tad shook his head unenthusiastically and told Dixie that dancing wasn't his cup of tea. Dixie was disappointed and did everything she could to convince Tad to dance with her, but Tad didn't budge. Dixie hit the dance floor and joined in on a linedance. She took every opportunity to look over and Tad and flash her winning smile. Tad watched with a smile on his face, but when the dancing was done the pair failed to connect. Tad was obviously still hurt by the way he'd been shunned by Dixie and Dixie still did not want to tell Tad that she still cared about him.

Janet tucked Amanda into bed and headed back to her bedroom. Amanda reached under her pillow and produced a picture of Harold that she, unbeknownst to anyone else, slept with every night. She drifted off to sleep and began dreaming of Harold. In her dream, Harold was at the front door, scratching frantically. Outside, the stray dog began yipping and yapping. He struggled to free himself from his collar and eventually did so. When he did, he jumped through an open window and raced up the steps. By now, the smoke had flooded the house. The dog entered Amanda's bedroom and licked the young girl's face. Amanda was not happy and ordered the dog to leave her alone. The dog wouldn't leave. He grabbed Amanda's sleeve with his mouth and gently tugged on her arm. Amanda crawled out of bed and asked the dog what he was doing. Then she saw the smoke. She raced out into the hallway and screamed for her parents and brother. It seemed like an eternity before everyone woke up, but one by one the Dillon family popped out of their bedrooms. The Dillons raced down the steps. Before he would leave the house, Tim plucked his mother's angel from the tree as well as a picture of Natalie. They all safely escape the fire and the fire department was at the house within minutes. The blaze was doused and the family was given the green light to return inside. Amanda looked around and saw no sign of the little dog. She began to panic, fearing that something horrible had happened to the dog. Janet and Trevor looked nervously at each other. Amanda raced back into the house determined to find the dog that had saved her life.

Ryan returned to his room at Myrtle's and found an unexpected visitor in his room. Myrtle had let herself into the room and made up the bed with fresh, flannel sheets. Myrtle apologized for the intrusion and assured Ryan that she would not enter their room when they were in it! She handed Ryan a note from Gillian and went on her way. Gillian returned home later and Ryan quizzed her about where she'd been. A bouquet of flowers in her arms, Gillian seemed a bit confused by Ryan's questions. She told him that she'd written him a note to tell him where she was going. Ryan grinned and handed Gillian the note; It had been written in Hungarian. Gillian chuckled and apologized for her mistake. Now came the task of deciding who would sleep where. Ryan offered to sleep in the chair, but Gillian argued that Ryan should have the bed because he was paying for the room. Ryan wanted to unpack his belongings, but Gillian had already taken up all of the drawers. She offered to move her things from at least one of the drawers. The first item she removed was a lacey, white negligee. Ryan's eyes bulged at the thought of his wife wearing the negligee. He didn't have to wonder what she looked like in it because Gillian would soon be wearing it! The pair eventually decided to sleep in bed together. They were convinced that they could fight any urges that might crop up. Gillian washed up and came out of the bedroom wearing the aforementioned negligee. She realized that something a little less revealing might be more appropriate. When she crawled into bed wearing one of Ryan's shirts, Ryan noticed that Gillian smelled of his favorite body lotion. The smell was intoxicating and being next to the woman he loved wasn't making things any easier for Ryan. Ryan was uncomfortable on his side of the bed and asked if they could switch sides. The couple carefully rolled around so that they didn't have to get out of bed. As they did this, their bodies pressed against each other and their lips were but a few inches apart. They continued rolling over, but neither was able to get to sleep. They stared at the ceiling, each with a dazed look of love on their faces."

- Soap Central