"Vanessa and Palmer waited patiently at a table in the bar of The Valley Inn for Donald Steele to arrive. After several minutes, Palmer said that he would call in a few favors and have the police haul Donald downtown for questioning if he didn't show up soon. Just as Palmer's antsiness was growing, Donald strolled into the bar. The writer expressed surprise that Palmer was with Vanessa. Palmer cut short the niceties by asking Donald how much he wanted for the pictures. Before Donald could answer, Palmer also demanded that he be given the negatives. Donald shrugged slightly and said that he did not have the negatives. As they conversed, the bartender turned up the volume on the bar's television. A reported announced that Erica's press conference had been interrupted by a reporter claiming to have pictures of her face prior to her reconstructive surgery. Vanessa flashed a piercing glance at Donald and slammed him for selling the pictures. "You will live to regret this," Palmer growled. "You have just made yourself a very powerful enemy." Vanessa told Palmer that they'd better hurry to the Glamorama to check on Erica.
In honor of Scott's pending trip to the Queen of England's garden party, Marian "cooked" a special English-themed breakfast. She'd actually bought the meal at a local shop, but she did place the food on her own dishes. Scott wandered out of bed and unenthusiastically informed Marian that he'd decided not to go to the party. Marian nearly passed out. She talked up the garden party as a chance of a lifetime for Scott. Scott, however, didn't really seem to think too much of the shindig. As he headed upstairs to take a shower, he said that he wanted to stay in Pine Valley to finish his documentary. Scott left the room and Stuart, who had been listening quietly from behind, accused Marian of wanting to live vicariously through her stepson. Stuart knew that seeing the Queen of England was something that Marian really wanted to do. Marian tried to downplay her own interest, saying that she did not want Scott to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Scott finished his showed and returned to the room to cement in Marian's mind his decision to skip the trip across the pond. Scott announced that he was headed to WRCW to do some editing on his film project. Shortly after Scott left, Becca arrived at the house looking for him. Marian explained that Scott had headed to the television studio and again gave Becca the cold shoulder treatment. When Becca said that she was going to track him down, Marian suddenly warmed up. She told Becca that she'd agreed to film a segment for Scott's documentary---but she said that she was very nervous about going on camera. Perhaps, she suggested, Becca could work with her to make her less nervous. Becca smile and agreed to help. Stuart wanted to stick around and listen to Marian's story, but Marian snapped that Stuart's presence would only make her more nervous. Stuart headed off to finish a painting he was working on for Colby. Becca asked Marian about her broken romance and the questions completely caught Marian unprepared. Marian resorted to creating her story on the fly, flubbing several times on the who's and what's of her tale. It became apparent that Marian wasn't trying to work on her story but rather detain Becca. In the tale, Marian said that she had to pass on a chance to me "the Emperor of Japan and the little Emperor woman" because she was worried that she'd use the wrong utensil and embarrass her then boyfriend. Marian used her story to show Becca that Scott might not want to go to the Queen's party because he was embarrassed by her rural upbringing. Becca was hit hard by the insinuation and tried to laugh it off, but her eyes showed that she was hurting. The time came for Becca to leave and Marian hoped that Becca could somehow influence Scott to go to the party after all. After Becca left, Stuart returned and asked Marian if she was "disappointed in [him] as a husband." He explained that it often seemed as though Marian was interest in all of the things that he could not give her---all the things that Liza had gotten in Adam. Marian wrapped her arms around her husband and began sobbing. She assured him that she was happy with him. In fact, she said that Stuart was by far the best lover that she's ever had. Tears still flowing down her cheeks, Marian asked Stuart to join her in the bedroom so that she could show him just how happy he makes her.
"What was it like to wake up in the morning, look into a mirror, and see a face like this?" Jerry asked coldly. Before Erica could respond, David jumped in front of the reporter and accused him of stealing the pictures from his office. Jerry shook his head innocently and said that he'd "paid good money" for the pictures. Then to the surprise of everyone in attendance, Erica stepped forward to announce that she had something to say. David turned and tried to silence her, but Erica was determined to speak her mind. Erica confirmed that the pictures did correctly catalog her extensive injuries. She said that the injuries to her face helped inspire her to create her new line of cosmetics, a line that "conceals while it heals." A reporter asked Erica if she was currently wearing the makeup. He then followed up by asking Erica which side of her face was injured. "I'm thrilled you had to ask," Erica beamed. The reporter had unwittingly given the new line of cosmetics a stunning testimonial. Janet headed to lock the front door so that no one else could get inside. When she got to the foyer, Palmer and Vanessa were filing in. Janet shook her head and grumbled that she should have known that Vanessa would not be far behind Jerry Reeves. Opal slowly approached. "Well if it isn't Vanessa the Viper," she growled. Palmer pushed past the women and headed to Erica's side. Opal continued her icy stare at Vanessa as she asked Janet for a few moments alone. Vanessa tried to make her way past Opal, but Opal blocked the way. "Not so fast girlie girl," she snapped. Opal referred to Vanessa a middle-aged floozy who was out to get Palmer's money. She said that it might work for the time being, but it would only be a matter of time before a "younger floozy" came along to take her place. Vanessa argued that unlike Opal, she and Palmer had a great deal in common. Not wanting to miss a chance to fire back at Opal, Vanessa mused that Opal's idea of a gourmet meal is "fried grits and moonshine." And as for the comments that Palmer wasn't really interested in her, Vanessa hinted that she and Palmer were not just buddies at least "not after last night." Opal was devastated, but she knew that she could not let Vanessa see her sweat. Vanessa, however, detected jealousy in Opal's posturing and called her on it. She reminded Opal that previously she'd said that she and Palmer both deserved each other. If that was the case, then why was she so worked up now? Back inside, the press conference drew to a close. Palmer blasted David for allowing someone to steal the confidential photos of Erica's injured face. David denied that he'd allowed anyone to have access to the pictures. He looked over the crowd of media persons and saw his mother's face. Opal pulled Palmer aside and blasted him for his "roll in the hay" with Vanessa. She claimed that she did not care what Palmer did with his personal life. She did, however, have concerns about the types of people her son was exposed. She warned Palmer that she did not want Vanessa anywhere near her son. David quietly assured Erica that he would find out who'd stolen the pictures from his office. Amazingly, Erica accused David of somehow being involved. David pleaded his innocence, but Erica wouldn't listen to anything he had to say. The doctor asked Erica to join him for lunch, but Erica declined because she had to go to Wildwind for Dimitri's party. David said that he'd accompany her to the party, but Erica snapped that "that would not be appropriate."
At WRCW, Ryan straggled into Liza's office with his monthly rent check. The bruise on Ryan's face immediately elicited concern from his former boss. Ryan didn't really want to talk about how he's gotten hurt, but Liza was relentless. Ryan also dug himself a deeper hole by asking Liza if she'd mind if he took on a roommate to help cut his monthly expenses. Liza's eyes lit up as she hoped that Ryan and Gillian had gotten back together. Ryan shook his head and said that a reunion was not in the cards. The reason he needed a roommate, he said, was because he was no longer employed at SOS. Liza was surprised because she knew that Ryan, Mateo, and Hayley were all very close. Upon hearing that he and Hayley were still friends, Liza drew some natural conclusions and determined that Ryan's injuries must have been at the hands of Mateo. Ryan nodded his head, but he wouldn't say how or why he'd gotten pummeled. Liza gave him the green light to get a roommate. She mentioned that the woman they'd hired as his replacement didn't work out. She had not signed any new advertisers and had actually lost some of the existing customers. She extended an offer for Ryan to return to his old position. Ryan smiled bashfully and accepted the offer. Ryan headed off to sign some papers to get back on the payroll. While he was gone, Scott arrived and asked Liza if he could use her office to screen some tapes for his documentary while he waited for the editing room to become available. Liza nodded and headed home so that she could be with Colby. Adam had called and informed her that Colby had rolled over on her own for the first time. Not to worry, though, he captured the momentous occasion on tape. Scott sat down and first reviewed the interview he'd had with Brooke. Even though Brooke was the focus of the film footage, she wasn't the one capturing Scott's attention. He hit the pause button when Becca passed before the camera and stared longingly at the image of her face. As he daydreamed, Ryan entered the office and told Scott that Becca was a very pretty girl. Scott, like Liza, wondered how Ryan had gotten his bruises. Since he already knew about "the kiss," Scott asked Ryan frankly if the kiss had anything to do with his injuries. Ryan rolled his eyes and asked if he and his friends had nothing better to do than gossip about other people's lives. Ryan did ease up a bit and confessed that Mateo had punched him. Ryan also told Scott that he was back at WRCW and then asked him if he'd like to be his roommate. Scott liked the idea of moving out especially now that his dad was married. Ryan dashed off to make copies of the keys for Scott. On his way out, he bumped into Becca. They smiled at each other before Ryan continued on his way. Becca blurted out that she was hoping that Scott had done some editing and was disappointed that he was just now reviewing the clips. Scott looked at Becca in confusion and asked her why she was in such a hurry to finish the project.
Vanessa returned to the bar at The Valley Inn and reflected on the time she'd spent with Palmer earlier in the day---and the night before. She drifted back to reality when she heard a television report about the pictures that had surfaced and the allegations that someone had stolen them from David's office. A figure loomed over Vanessa casting a shadow over the table. "It was you mother," David snarled. "You're the one who stole those photos." Vanessa tried to silence her son by asking him to sit down and stop making a scene. David sat down, but he didn't stop lashing out at his mother. Vanessa denied having any involvement. She thought that she'd convinced David. David, however, wasn't taken in so easily. "Do you expect me to believe you're an innocent bystander?" David laughed."
- Soap Central