"The newlyweds returned to The Gatehouse at Chandler Mansion and found yet another of Adam's little surprises. A candlelight dinner had been set up and was waiting for the couple. After eating, Stuart devilishly glanced towards the bedroom. Oddly, Marian seemed reluctant to share intimacy with her new husband. Marian explained that she was nervous and that she felt "like a teenager." More than that, she hurriedly muttered that she felt "like a virgin." It seemed a strange comment for Marian and she was embarrassed to admit that she was nervous about having sex with Stuart. Stuart, however, saw nothing odd about Marian's feelings. He reminded her that this was their first night as husband and wife---so they were in a way making love for the first time. Stuart scurried off to another room to retrieve a wedding present for Marian. He returned with what Marian called "[two] pots of dirt." Stuart chuckled and explained that the pots contained seeds that would one day grow into huge trees. He likened the seeds to their relationship, saying that they were establishing roots. Marian now felt more at ease and she and her love shared a passionate kiss.
Ryan laid in bed with a case of insomnia. Jake entered the room and asked the patient if everything was okay. Ryan sighed and said that he was feeling better. Of course, better in this case was not a good thing. Ryan knew that it would be only a matter of time before he had to go back to prison. Jack remarked that it wouldn't be any time soon since the blizzard had shut down the entire town. Jake and Ryan briefly discussed the hospital's ability to handle emergencies while operating on emergency power. Jake went back to his rounds. Moments later, Braden walked into the room. Amazingly, the mysterious man had sweet-talked his way into Ryan's room yet again. Braden announced that he had good news for Ryan, news that would show that his luck was changing. Braden fuddled around in his pocket before producing a sheet of paper. Ryan reviewed the paper with a look of astonishment. The paper was actually a printout of the Pine Valley Bulletin's web site. The top headline featured the news that Kit had once before claimed that she'd been raped. Ryan couldn't fathom how Braden was able to get the article into the paper. Braden smiled and simply stated that he had connections. Ryan told Braden that he may have saved his life. The conversation shifted from Ryan's troubles to what Braden was doing in Pine Valley. Braden bragged about his position at Cortlandt Electronics. When asked how long he'd been in town, Braden replied, "since October." Ryan turned the conversation back to his upcoming rape trial. He mentioned that his attorney was trying to get the DNA tests thrown out of court. Ryan nodded approvingly and told Ryan that his attorney seems very capable. Braden again promised to do what he could to get Ryan out of his jam.
Adam tried to convince everyone that getting stuck at the gallery wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. No one was buying it. Tad and Dixie put their heads together and tried to figure out why Adam and Liza were acting so peculiarly. Both agreed that it would be a mistake if Liza accepted Adam's marriage proposal. Their fears were confirmed when Adam and Liza waltzed towards them hand in hand. Neither Tad nor Dixie responded positively when Liza broke the news of their engagement. Adam headed off to rejoin the party while Liza tried to elicit some merriment from the other recently engaged couple. Hayley raced over to Liza's side and asked her what was going on. "Spill!" Hayley chirped giddily. Liza asked Hayley if she knew how to cook. Hayley shrugged and remarked that she was an average cook. Liza smiled and said that she'll be looking forward to the dinners she'll soon be having with her stepdaughter. Hayley actually jumped in the air and shouted happily. Liza cast a cold glance at Tad and Dixie and snapped that she was glad someone was happy for her. Upstairs, Jamie, Tim, and Junior huddled around Tim's laptop computer. Fortunately the storm had not knocked out the phone lines. Edmund approached the four boys and asked them if they could dial up the Internet and check on the weather conditions. When Tim finally connected, he headed for the Pine Valley Bulletin's web site. Instead of finding just the latest weather information, he inadvertently pulled up the article Braden had had placed on the front page. Kit wandered by and voiced her frustration over the headline. The headline featured a picture of Kit and one of Tad and told of the pair's rocky past. Jamie read the headline and asked his mother what "rape" meant. Brooke pulled him aside and said that she'd explain everything later. The boys were sent downstairs while Jack, Edmund, Kit, and Brooke figured out what to do next. Dimitri didn't understand why everyone was so upset. The article was, after all, the truth. The group headed back to the party to confront Tad. Not only did Kit believe that Tad had planted the article in the paper, but she figured that he'd been the one to send Braden to the hunting lodge. Tad denied any ties to Braden or the article. Justifiably, Tad claimed that he did not want his picture splashed all over the tabloids. Again Dimitri chimed in that the story would come out eventually. Meanwhile, Jack placed a call to the Bulletin to ask them not to go to the presses with the story. Even the District Attorney could not halt the newswire. The story had already been sent out across the wires to other media outlets. Jack told his sister that he'd understand if she wanted to drop the charges again Ryan to avoid having her name muddied. Kit wasn't foolish. She knew that things would get rough if Ryan went to trial. Still she was convinced that she was doing the right thing. This, she said, was only the second time in her life that she was telling the truth. The first, of course, being when she insisted that she was Christine Montgomery. Elsewhere in the gallery, Opal tried to talk Adrian into starting a private investigation firm---with Tad. Adrian nixed the idea, saying that he works alone. Adrian became very frigid and walked away. Ruth sauntered over to Opal and told her that she needs to be more patient when dealing with Adrian. Opal had had thirty years to get used to having a son, but Adrian has only know that Opal is his mother for a few weeks. Ruth was confident that Adrian would come around and was even optimistic about Tad and Adrian becoming friends one day. Sven returned to the gallery with the sleigh and agreed to whisk Joe and Ruth to the hospital.
David leaned over to check Erica's condition---it wasn't good. A piece of wire from the fence they'd crashed through had punctured Erica's chest. Not only had the wire punctured one of Erica's lungs, but it had also lodged itself dangerously close to Erica's heart and aorta. If Erica were to move, the wire could tear the aorta---and that would almost certainly be fatal. David moved in for a closer look at Erica's face. As he turned her head towards him, he gasped in horror. "No," he said trembling. The cardiologist placed an urgent call to Pine Valley Hospital. He was patched through to Jake. Despite the men's understandably rocky relationship, they were able to put their differences aside and talk business. David explained that he'd been in a car accident. While he'd received only minor injuries, his passenger was had been "critically injured." Jake was stunned when David revealed that the passenger was Erica. The storm left Jake with both hands tied behind his back. Several ambulances were stuck in the snow and the medical chopper was grounded because of the high winds. David asked Jake to have an operating room waiting for them and to alert Dr. Weiss to be on standby. Jake was somewhat confused because Dr. Weiss was a plastic surgeon. David ordered Jake to follow through with his request. David ended the call and went back to nursing Erica's injuries. He placed several gauge strips over lacerations on Erica's face. Slowly, Erica regained consciousness. She had no idea where she was or what had happened. David calmly explained that he'd smashed into a car that someone had abandoned in the middle of the road. It was not clear if David was telling the truth or if it was a cover to put Erica's mind at ease. Erica put her hand to her face and felt the gauze bandages. David neared the panic level, but did a fine job of holding on to his composure. He said that a few pieces of glass had cut Erica's face, but that the wire in her chest posed a greater risk to her health. "You'll leave me," Erica said softly. David' face turned ghostly white. Before him was a dying woman who believed that he'd simply let her die. David vowed that he would not leave Erica's side. He gave her an injection of a pain killer and Erica drifted back to sleep. David placed another urgent call to the hospital to check on the progress of the ambulance. Jake said that a plow truck was en route to their location followed closely behind by an ambulance. David feared that the ambulance would not arrive in time. Jake ordered David not to let Erica die. It wasn't an order, per se, but rather a strangely worded pep talk. Erica suddenly stirred, her body shifting in the car seat. As feared, the sudden movement caused the wire to tear into Erica's heart. As blood trickled from Erica's chest, David realized that he would have to begin operating on the woman in this, the harshest of environments."
- Soap Central