"At The Valley Inn, David stopped by the front desk to check for messages. His back turned to the dining area, he didn't notice Erica sneaking into the hotel. When he turned around, however, he saw Erica smiling at him. "You look delicious," he whispered to the red dress-clad beauty. Without letting Erica get a word in edgewise, David nearly drooled at the thought of Erica accompanying him back to his suite. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Erica explained that she had dropped by the hotel on business---not pleasure. Palmer strolled into the lobby and took up a position at Erica's side. David snidely greeted the aging millionaire as "daddy." He then asked Palmer why Vanessa was not with him. Palmer smiled contentedly and explained that Vanessa was shopping in New York. David's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He could not believe that Palmer was feeding Vanessa's insatiable appetite for parting with large amounts of cash. On cue, Vanessa popped in toting nearly half a dozen bags from expensive boutiques. She beamed from ear to ear as she bid hello to her "three favorite people." David wasn't about to stick around and gab with his mother, so he excused himself to catch up on some reading. Vanessa told Erica and Palmer that she'd rejoin them in a minute; she needed to take her bags back to their room. Palmer shook his head and explained that he was talking business with Erica and that she'd have to manage without him for a little while. Palmer headed off to check on their table. Meanwhile, Vanessa decided to make small talk with Erica. She told Erica that she was sorry that David had apparently been haranguing her. Erica claimed that she'd not been bothered. Vanessa stated that she was relieved because she was sure that David was trying to cash in on Erica's celebrity. Erica laughed bemusedly and chirped that Vanessa, not her son, was the one who tried to leech off of other's status. She also informed Vanessa that Palmer knew all about the tell-all book that she'd been writing. Vanessa was stunned and hurried off before anything more was said. At their table in the dining room, Erica told Palmer that she'd needed his advice to iron out a few final details of a new project at Enchantment. Palmer offered to review the contracts and documentation for Erica. Erica at first seemed pleased, but she stopped mid-sentence. Suddenly she seemed unsure of what she was saying. "I'm not sure I trust your judgment," she said. The reason she offered was Palmer's decision to marry Vanessa. "She doesn't love you," Erica said bluntly. Palmer broke into a giggle and assured Erica that he doesn't love Vanessa either. He mused that it was kinda of a thrill to "be a sugar daddy" at his age. He told Erica that he liked to give Vanessa the finer things in life because it made him feel good. Plus, it wasn't so bad to have an attractive and sophisticated woman on his arm. While he was not worried about Vanessa, Palmer did have a concern: David. Palmer said that he did not approve of the way that David talked to his mother and he was leery of David's attempts to buddy up to Erica. "Better men have tried" to outdo her, said Erica. "And I ate them for breakfast." Erica and Palmer both shared a laugh. Palmer said that he wouldn't mind seeing David move on. He toyed with the idea of using his leverage on the Pine Valley Hospital board to have David transferred---possibly to a foreign country. Erica's heart began to pound in her throat. She knew that she had to do or say something to convince Palmer to put those thoughts on the back burner. She nervously told Palmer not to let David aggravate him. Besides, she hinted that it would look awkward for Palmer---the man who had helped get David back into the hospital---to suddenly want him gone. Pine Valley being the small town that it is, Palmer said that he was sure to bump into David from time to time. Erica swallowed hard as she must have realized that it could be harder than she first thought to hide her secret liaisons with David. She nearly made a fatal blunder when she remarked that Palmer should consider moving out of The Valley Inn so that he and David would not have rooms on the same floor. Palmer asked Erica how she knew that the rooms were on the same floor of the hotel. She shrugged nervously and said that she'd either heard it from Vanessa or that it was just a good guess. After their dinner date, Palmer offered to drive Erica home, but Erica informed him that she'd driven herself. She lingered in the shadows until Palmer headed to his room. She then quickly scurried up the stairs towards David's room.
In his hotel room, David was on the phone with the hospital trying to find out if Colby's stem cells were compatible with Dimitri's. He didn't notice Erica sneaking in at first. Erica later told David that Palmer wanted to run him out of town, joking that she agreed with every filthy thing that Palmer had said about him. The room heated up as David and Erica shared a passionate kiss. David helped Erica removed her dress and the two quickly found their way to David's bed. As things progressed, something unexpected happened: a knock sounded on the door. "David," called the unwelcome visitor. "It's your mother."
"We need to talk," Raquel said intensely. Hayley rolled her eyes and told Raquel to get lost. Hayley started to walk away, but Raquel quickly reached out and latched on to her arm. She asked Hayley for a few minutes of her time. Ryan stepped forward and ordered Raquel to back off, but Raquel wasn't about to retreat. "How do you get good men to turn their lives inside out for you?" Raquel huffed as Ryan once again assumed his bodyguard stance. From another corner of the mall, Mateo suddenly appeared. Raquel explained that it wasn't her choice to confront Hayley. In fact, she really had no choice in the matter. She said that Mateo had threatened to take Max away from her if she didn't set the record straight once and for all. "I won't let my son be raised by a liar," Mateo remarked coldly. The situation felt more like an ambush to Hayley than a confessional. Ryan gently tugged on her arm and said that it was time to go. Mateo told Hayley that he'd called Chandler Mansion and that Liza had told him where to find her. Hayley took a deep breath and realized that she probably wouldn't have any peace until she agreed to hear what Raquel had to say. "Okay, lay it on me," she sighed. Raquel's face tightened up and in one breath she blurted out, "I never slept with Mateo. We never made love. Nothing happened." Raquel awaited a response. Hayley chuckled slightly and said that she didn't believe a word of Raquel's so-called confession. "[Mateo] threatened to take your kid away," she noted. So, of course, it was natural to assume that Raquel would say anything that Mateo wanted her to say. Raquel was outraged that Hayley doubted her. "I will swear to that on the holy Bible and it that's not good enough for you, I'd swear to it on my son's life," Raquel growled. Hayley was silenced and unsure what to do next. The one thing she did know was that Raquel was telling the truth. Ryan was the first to speak up, questioning why Raquel had lied about the affair in the first place. "You and Mateo," Raquel said to Hayley, "crushed every hope I had." Hayley also expressed her outrage that Raquel had concocted the bogus story. Surprisingly, Raquel turned the blame to Hayley. She blasted Hayley for believing the lie. She said that Hayley never would have believed her story is she truly loved and believed in Mateo. In the background, Mateo smiled slightly. Raquel quickly turned around and vented her anger on him as well. She blasted Mateo for thinking that worst about Hayley and Ryan's relationship. Raquel threw her hands in the air and once again questioned how Mateo and Hayley could ever have been together. She stormed away vowing never to show her face in Pine Valley again. Mateo looked to Ryan and asked him to give him and Hayley some privacy. Ryan refused to budge. Hayley demanded that Mateo apologize to both of them for having accused them of sleeping together. Mateo stated that whatever Hayley and Ryan had done was "forgotten." After a few second pause, he added the word "forgiven." This was hardly the apology that Hayley was looking for, but it was a starting point. Again, Mateo asked for Ryan to give him some time alone with Hayley. Hayley nodded her head and Ryan agreed to leave. Ryan reminded Hayley that he was only a phone call away if she needed him. Now alone, Mateo didn't know where to begin. Too much had happened and too much had been said. He asked Hayley if she could "forget the past." Hayley nodded. "Where do we go from here?" Mateo asked.
At Seaview Hospital, Gillian grumbled about the unjust nature of Dimitri's illness. They had just gotten Dimitri back and now faced losing him yet again. "Dimitri reminded me of the rocks at Stonehenge," Gillian commented. "Nothing knocks them down." Edmund claimed to have a theory about his brother. "He's cheated death more times than a cat has lives," Edmund said with a smile. The reason, he continued to jest, was that the devil didn't want to have competition. "Dimitri---King of Darkness," Eugenia> chirped from a few feet away. Edmund and Gillian were concerned that the duchess had made the trek to the hospital. Alexandra, however, said that she was glad to see her. Eugenia groused that she was tired of being thought of as a "Victorian ninny" who had to sit in her room all day. Alexandra brought Eugenia up to date on Dimitri's condition. Gillian and Eugenia became very optimistic about the stem cell therapy. Both were certain that within a few days they'd have back the Dimitri that they knew and loved. Alexandra received a phone call from the lab at Pine Valley Hospital with the results of the DNA analysis: "Colby's" cells were compatible. Dimitri would go into the operating room immediately.
As they waited for news on the surgery, Eugenia asked Edmund how soon Dimitri would be returning to Wildwind. Edmund said that the west wing at Wildwind had been transformed into a virtual hospital---meeting the strictest of guidelines. Edmund became somewhat sadder as he recalled how he could read Maria's eyes the moment she'd return home; he could tell if things went well or if she'd lost a patient. Alexandra appeared some time later and said that the surgery was over and Dimitri was in the recovery room. Alex urged Eugenia and Gillian to go see Dimitri. She told them to tell Dimitri how much they loved him and to say all the things that hadn't gotten a chance to say to him before. Alex forced a smile as the two women hurried down the hall. All the while Edmund observed her mannerisms and facial expressions. "You were telling them to say goodbye," Edmund said solemnly to his sister-in-law. "Was it that obvious?" Alexandra asked. Edmund insisted that Alex not give up hope because Dimitri was still alive. Alex still wondered if she'd done her husband more harm than good by going through with the surgery. "If I lose him, I lose him twice," said Alexandra meaning that if Dimitri died she'd lose her husband and a patient. Gillian and Eugenia returned from the recovery room. Their faces were long and their words were few. Both had been moved to tears by what they saw and Gillian decided that it was best to take her grandmother back to Wildwind. After they left, Edmund ordered Alexandra to get some rest while they waited for Dimitri's condition to change. Edmund, meanwhile, headed to the recovery room to check on his brother. When he returned, Alexandra was fast asleep in one of the chairs. She suddenly jumped and called out in fear. Edmund raced to her side and asked her if she was okay. Alex said that she'd had a terrible nightmare in which she was repeatedly diving into the ocean to save Dimitri---but he always remained just out of reach. As they talked, Dr. Silbert appeared before them. "I came from Mr. Marick's room," he said. "There's been a change.""
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