"If only this letter opener could talk." Brooke to Erica
""We has a deal," Dixie grumbled wondering why she'd gone through the charade of getting a check-up if Tad had already decided that he was against the idea of having a baby. Tad flapped that he was not the only one who'd gone into the check-up with his mind made up. He noted that Dixie has been "speaking in plural" for weeks. Moreover, she'd told the news of her pregnancy to Becca after they'd both agreed not to tell anyone that she was pregnant. "She was happy for me," Dixie snapped. She reminded Tad that David, one of the top cardiologists in the world, had said that she was fully capable of carrying the baby to term. Still Tad felt that this was a "high risk" pregnancy---and nothing was going to change his mind. Right now, though, Dixie said that she was more concerned with what David had warned her about: stress. Dixie argued that she was "in perfect health." Tad, who had been silenced by Dixie's warning about her stress level, quickly retorted that her definition of perfect health and his definition were two totally different things. "Do you think this is easy for me?" he said defending his stand against continuing the pregnancy. He said that he's dreamed about having a baby with Dixie, but he's also dreamed about losing the woman he loves. "I'm not just fighting for your life," Tad said sternly. "I'm fighting for our life together." Dixie became defensive, blasting Tad because she believed that he'd secretly hoped that David would have bad news. Tad made no attempt to deny the accusation. "I have no intention of dying," Dixie said determinedly. Tad shook his head slightly from side to side. "You act like you have a choice," Tad replied in disbelief. He wanted Dixie to see that tragedy could strike her at any time without any type of advanced warning. Dixie looked down and the floor and sadly noted that Tad had yet to congratulate her on the good news. "I can't," he responded. Dixie turned and raced out of the office. As she flew through the door, she passed by Jake. Jake looked at his older brother and asked him what had happened. "David Hayward strikes again," Tad groaned. "How could he give her the go ahead?" Jake explained that David was fueled by his ego and the belief that he could beat the odds. "Let him risk someone else's life," Tad snapped. There was still another reason for David's interest. Or at least Jake believed that there was another possible reason. He noted that David had buddied up to women in the past when he had his sights set on causing trouble. He'd done it to Gillian and Ryan and to Liza and Adam. "Don't trust him," Jake warned.
At the hunting lodge at Wildwind, Brooke gently placed a bouquet of wildflowers that she'd picked on the coffee table. She wanted to place them in a vase, but first she needed to cut down the stems. She checked the desk for a pair of scissors, but she didn't find any. As she entered the kitchen to continue her search, Erica entered through the front door. She spied the assortment of flowers and flashed a perplexed look across her face. Before waltzing over to the flowers for a closer look, Erica made a slight grunt. She plucked the flowers from the table, looked at them with great disdain, and then tossed them into the garbage can. She then focused her attention on arranging a bouquet of flowers that she'd brought. Soon was unknowingly in the same dilemma as Brooke---without a pair of scissors. She rummaged through the desk drawer unaware that Brooke was approaching from behind with a pair of scissors. Brooke gritted her teeth and handed over the scissors to her sometimes rival. Brooke rescued her flowers from the trashcan and scolded Erica for having tossed them. "From where [did you pick them]?" Erica sassed. "The side of the road?" Brooke stated that she'd picked the flowers from the grounds at Wildwind. Erica shook her head disappointedly and remarked that Brooke should have opted for a bouquet of white roses. They, she said fluffing the bouquet she'd bought, were Dimitri's favorites. "I'm still the authority on Dimitri's likes and dislikes," she smiled proudly. Erica snatched the only vase in the lodge and carefully arranged the roses. Brooke was forced to find an alternate method to display her wildflowers. She foraged back into the kitchen and returned later with an old ceramic pitcher. Considering the rustic style of the lodge and the beauty of the wildflowers, the pitcher was a perfect fit. Of course, Erica didn't think so. Brooke started arranging her bouquet as Erica strolled around the lodge reflecting on all the memories she and Dimitri had created there. Brooke moved her lips flippantly as Erica spoke. Erica cast a look back at Brooke---luckily Brooke had stopped mocking her---and asked if she had any inkling as to why they were throwing a party for Dimitri. Brooke shook her head and said that it must have something to do with Dimitri's trip to Budapest. "Budapest," Erica sighed romantically. She again spoke of all the good times she and Dimitri had had in Hungary. Brooke became rather tired of Erica's tales. She walked over to the desk and picked up a letter opener. "If only this letter opener could talk," Brooke said with a wry smile. "But I guess this wouldn't be the one that you used on Dimitri. No, that one would be locked up in the police station, sealed, and marled Exhibit A." She slowly strolled to the door, stopping once to look back over her shoulder. "Oh, yes, what a magical place." Erica pursed her lips together and nearly threw a fit. After Brooke headed up to the main house, Erica grabbed Brooke's flowers and hurled them out the front door! She nodded approvingly and followed Brooke up the path.
Mateo visited the local bank and met with Alfred Vanderpoole, now a senior vice president thanks to the help of Adam Chandler. Alfred made small talk as Mateo filled out some paperwork for a loan. He announced that he was "buying out" his partner. Alfred nodded his head slightly and looked over Mateo's credit file. He smiled and in passing mentioned that the loan was a sure thing since Mateo had married into the Chandler family. Mateo inked his name on the bottom line and waited for the cash to be handed over. Alfred asked Matt when Hayley would be by to sign her name. Mateo paused for a moment before explaining that Hayley wouldn't be signing because she was the partner that he was trying to buy out. Alfred was a bit stunned, but nevertheless he tried to continue on with the business transaction. He looked at Mateo's credit file, the last two tax returns that he's filed, and the profit sheet from SOS. After reviewing all of the documentation, Alfred sadly informed Mateo that he was not qualified to take out another loan. He'd already had three loans in his name---both he and Raquel's condo and a partial loan on the club. Mateo snarled that he'd never been late on any payment and was furious that he was being declined. What made it even worse is that Alfred had only turned him down after he'd learned that he and Hayley were no longer together. Mateo promised that the club would become more profitable and practically begged Alfred to approve the loan. Alfred refused. Mateo angrily announced that he was going to take all of his money out of the bank and set up an account with a competitor.
Edmund restocked the bar with some of Dimitri's favorite brands. Gillian entered and told Edmund that she was glad that Dimitri was returning home because she was beginning to miss not having her family around. Edmund smiled and told Gillian that she should started coming by more because he'd love to spend more time with her. "I'm glad we're friends again," Gillian beamed. Edmund asked Gillian if she'd managed to sort out the problem that she'd had the other day. Gillian nodded, saying that "some things are better and some things are worse." Edmund chuckled and replied that her reply "was as vague as the last time" he'd spoken to her. Gillian proceeded to tell her cousin all about the trouble's she believed she'd caused for Mateo and Hayley. Edmund looked at her with compassion and assured her that this was not her fault. Edmund also assured her that Mateo and Hayley would work things out. He spoke from experience, briefly telling Gillian that he, Maria, and Dimitri had been in a similar spot. Jack was the first to arrive for the party, followed closely behind by Brooke. Brooke stomped into the parlor and shrieked that she wanted to be slapped if she ever showed compassion to "that woman" again. Everyone looked at her in confusion until Erica breezed into the house with a big smile. The men and Gillian fawned over Erica's recovery. Erica asked Edmund if he had any idea why they were celebrating. She shook his head, but said that he'd find out. He headed to the phone and placed a call to the airport to find out if Dimitri's plane had landed. "What do you mean?" he was heard asking. "What kind of problem?" The room fell quiet. Edmund demanded to be connected directly to the plane. Edmund learned that the plane was being forced to turn back to another airport. The pilot came on the phone, but he offered little in the way of help. Edmund demanded to speak to his brother, but the pilot said that that was not possible. Edmund hung up the phone and announced that he was headed to the airfield. The assembled group of partygoers followed him out the house, passing under a Welcome Home banner that still hung above the front door.
Strolling slowly down the courtyard to the condo she shares with Mateo, Hayley reflected on the sage words of advice given to her by her Uncle Trevor. Trevor had advised her to give Mateo some space to digest what had happened---and then to approach him and ask to talk things out. Before entering the condo, she took a deep breath. Once inside, Hayley found the condo a virtual pigsty. Empty styrofoam fast food containers littered the floor, dirty laundry covered the furniture, and stacks of unopened mail spiraled towards the ceiling. Instinctively, Hayley began tidying up. She heard a noise outside and quickly scampered towards the door. She opened the door with high hopes. Her face fell when she realized that Ryan was on the other side. She invited her friend into the condo so that they could talk. Ryan mistook Hayley's presence as a sign that she and Mateo had patched things up. Hayley shook her head and stated that she and Mateo were still on the outs. When asked why he dropped by, Ryan said that he wanted to return his keys to SOS. Hayley took the keys from her friend and an awkward period of silence ensued. Ryan and Hayley stood silently staring at one another. Finally, Ryan softly said that he should be getting on his way. Hayley stopped him before he could leave. She apologized to Ryan for causing him to lose his job. Ryan shrugged indifferently and muttered that he was back at WRCW. He seemed very unenthusiastic about his new---or old---job. Ryan did, though, smile slightly as he told Hayley that he and Gillian had had a heart-to-heart talk. "Listen," Hayley interjected. "What happened between us..." Ryan put his hands in the air as if to tell Hayley that she didn't have to say another word. "We were totally wrong, I know," Ryan nodded. "I don't think it was totally wrong," Hayley replied quietly. "I won't be ashamed because I'm not." Ryan was surprised by Hayley's remark, but he thanked her nevertheless for noting that the kiss would not ruin their friendship. "You have no idea how much I needed to heart that," he smiled. Both Hayley and Ryan sat down on the sofa and continued reflecting on the kiss. Hayley told Ryan that she'd kissed him because she needed to feel someone's arms around her."
Outside in the courtyard, Raquel arrived toting a big, beautifully wrapped box. Max, dressed up as a cowboy, followed behind with a huge bouquet of about a dozen balloons. Max asked if his mother had gotten the type of birthday cake that he wanted. Raquel smiled and told her son that he would have exactly the kind of cake that he's asked for. Raquel allowed Max to open the big box, which was a gift from her rarely mentioned parents. It was documented that Raquel's parents did not approve of her marriage to Mateo. From that time on, Raquel had said that her relationship with her family was strained. Max was overjoyed by the gift---a remote controlled car. Raquel asked her son not to tell his father where he'd gotten the toy. The reason, she said, was that she wanted to be the one to tell him that her parents wanted to be a part of Max's life. Mateo strolled up the courtyard much to his son's delight. Max turned and ran towards his daddy. The young boy's chirps were heard inside as Hayley and Ryan realized that Mateo was just a few feet away.
At the airport, Edmund paced nervously as he waited for information about his brother. Airports and flying in general had become an uneasy subject for Edmund since the death of his wife, Maria. A man informed Edmund that Dimitri's plane would be landing soon. The sound of sirens permeated the terminal. Erica and Jack exchanged worried glances. A stretcher rolled a lifeless Dimitri into the terminal. Edmund rushed to his brother's side and asked him if he was okay. Dimitri struggled to speak, but Edmund ordered him to be quiet and conserve his strength. "Still telling me what to do?" Dimitri jested weakly. Edmund assured his brother that they'd get him to the hospital soon. "There's no time," Dimitri replied. His eyes fluttered before closing and his arms fell to his side. A new sense of urgency crept over Edmund as he demanded that the paramedics take Dimitri to the hospital. The pandemonium settled down as everyone raced off to the hospital. Unnoticed to anyone, someone else had disembarked from the plane. A woman dressed totally in black---except for a white pearl necklace---walked through the doors. A cold expression formed on her face as she watched Dimitri being pushed towards the ambulance. She slowly removed her sunglasses, but said and did nothing."
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