"Erica sat at her desk at Enchantment talking on the phone. She was leaving a message for Bianca, who she had missed that morning. She said she knew there was no school today and hoped Bianca was having a fun day. Before she hung up, she told Bianca she wasn't checking up on her. After hanging up, Erica looked at Bianca's picture and sighed, "Where are you?" Just as she was about to make another phone call, Chris Stamp burst into the room and handed her a copy of the Exposer and showed her the headline - "How Erica Kane Mowed Me Down!" Erica threw the Exposer in the trash and exclaimed the story was a lie filled with inaccuracies. The victim claimed Erica had total disregard for her safety and actually called her lawyer first. Erica knew it was a scam. She felt the girl had targeted her in order to get money. Erica swore if the girl sued her, she'd demolish her. When Chris told Erica it all sounded too calculated and rehearsed, she decided to call her in-house detectives to research the girl. Suddenly, she changed her mind and asked Chris if he would do the research - as a personal favor to her. She told him she was concerned for Bianca. She saw the way Bianca responded to the girl at the hospital. Erica felt Bianca was an easy target for a con artist. She was very serious about having Chris do this personal favor for her because somewhere along the line she had learned to trust him. He agreed to find out what he could about Mary Frances. Erica started to tell Chris what she wanted him to do first, but he stopped her. If he was going to do the research for Erica, he was definitely going to do it his way. Chris informed Erica that he now had a different opinion of her than he had when he first met her. He knew that when she cared about someone or something, she didn't hold anything back. He knew she would give anything for her daughter or her company. He was pensive for a moment. Erica asked what was wrong. Chris told her he was wondering what it would feel like if she felt that way for him. Erica was speechless for a moment. Chris then told her to forget it. He said she had a way of getting men to say what they don't mean. Erica wasn't fooled. She knew he meant it. She didn't think he was presumptuous, but he wasn't being fair. He knew lots about her, but she knew nothing about him. Chris said he'd tell her. Erica sat down and said, "Who is Chris Stamp?" Erica invited him to sit down, too. Then she asked him if he had ever been in love. He stated that he had been married too long to his badge to have a real relationship. He had no regrets, though. He could get the bad guys. Just then Erica's phone rang. The call obviously upset Erica and she rushed from the room. Chris started to follow her, when his phone rang. He answered telling someone, "No problem - everything's right on schedule." With that he left behind Erica.
At the Rest Stop, Frankie Stone searched the side of the road on her hands and knees. Looking up, she saw Bianca watching her and swinging her backpack from her hand. As Frankie grabbed for her backpack, Bianca stepped backwards. Bianca was amazed Frankie had no scratches as a result of the accident. She now felt her mother may have been right about Frankie pulling a scam. Frankie wanted an apology, but Bianca said she wasn't there to apologize. She came to see if Frankie was ok. Frankie asked for her backpack, but Bianca still held on to it. Then Bianca stated that she knew Frankie had called Donald Steele and she thought it stunk. Frankie said she called the Exposer. It was freedom of press. She had talked to Donald Steele and he actually cared, which was more than Erica did. Bianca marveled that Frankie had been left for dead, and then twelve hours later she was a cover girl. When Bianca found out that Donald Steele actually called Frankie first, she was surprised. She told Frankie she hoped Donald had paid her well. Frankie stated she had received a grand. Bianca said Donald probably charged the magazine twenty times that. Frankie didn't care. Her real intention was to expose Erica for what she was really like. Bianca warned her she'd find that out after Erica read the article. Frankie felt Erica's real "thing" were the two hunks she had around her - her lawyer and driver. Bianca laughed at that. Frankie warned her to be careful. She might end up not hating her. Bianca responded that she never hated her. Thanking Bianca for her backpack, Frankie walked away. After walking a few feet, she staggered and had to sit down. Bianca went to assist her; concerned that she really had been hurt in the accident. Frankie told her she was just faint from hunger. Hearing that, Bianca lead her away.
Leo approached David at the hospital and told him he needed to speak to him alone. David steered Leo into an empty room. Leo immediately launched into his concerns. He told David he didn't know what was wrong with Laura. He felt it wasn't her heart but something else. He asked David if a person could go crazy after a heart transplant. David wanted to know how Laura was acting. Leo explained that Laura now wanted the big wedding she never had earlier. He felt it was a life or death thing to her. Leo feared it would be too much for her to handle. David looked at Leo and said, "Too much for her - or for you?" David told Leo to let Laura have her wedding. Leo argued that it would be an emotional strain on Laura. David wanted to know what the real problem was. Outside the room, Laura could hear David and Leo. She stood quietly outside the door and listened. David wanted to know what the big deal was to let Laura have her big wedding - or maybe Leo didn't want to be married to Laura any more. Leo argued that he was committed to Laura. He didn't want to change that commitment. He was just afraid something would go wrong. Laura was very emotional, extremely jealous and very irrational about Greenlee and Leo. Leo was adamant there was nothing going on between himself and Greenlee, but what Greenlee would do was out of his control. That's why he didn't want a big wedding. He was having trouble dealing with Laura now when she wasn't acting like herself. Leo told David that Laura had been in to see Jake while [David] was out of town. He couldn't understand why Laura was being so secretive about it. David said her behavior could be normal or due to her medications. He wasn't really sure. Leo asked if things would get better. David told him if the meds were causing the problems, yes, she would get better. If it was the family - but before David could finish, Leo interrupted. If the family were the cause of her problems, Leo would handle it. David wanted to know if Leo would be willing to make Laura happy - even if it killed him. Then David said Leo used to be a happy guy - now he was miserable. It started when he married Laura. Why was he putting himself through this? Leo wanted to set the record straight. First of all, he didn't matter. Laura mattered and she had almost died. She faces heart rejection and had to wary of a virus. David told Leo he was not Laura's nurse. He wasn't responsible to keep her from everything. Leo insisted it was. He assured David he wanted the responsibility and didn't want it taken away. It was the best thing that ever happened to him, even if he wasn't happy. That didn't matter. David noted that Leo was miserable - a mess. It seemed like the old Leo was trying to come through. David wanted to know what would happen when old Leo got tired of the new "Saint Leo." Leo was very upset. He regretted coming to David. He felt he didn't have to prove anything to anyone. He was doing it to make Laura's life better because he wanted to. David suddenly walked over and hugged Leo. A surprised Leo wanted to know why David did that. David didn't know why. He said Leo just surprised him. Leo said David surprised him, too, and not to do it again. David praised Leo for trying to do the right thing, but warned him not to kill himself in the process. He would try t convince Laura not to have a big, splashy wedding at this time. As David told Leo he'd tell Laura as a doctor he didn't think she should have a big ceremony now, Laura lurked outside the door again listening to their conversation. As she entered the room, David got paged. When he was gone, Laura told Leo she had good news. She booked the Valley Inn for their wedding.
At S.O.S. Mateo told Rosa he was sending her to El Paso. Rosa refused to go. She told Mateo he had no trust for her. She denied the marijuana was hers. Mateo told her again she was going to Texas. Just as stubborn, Rosa told Mateo she was not going and angrily walked out. As she went out the door, she brushed past Edmund. He came in and handed Mateo a package he said he found outside the door. Mateo opened the package and found a newspaper article from El Paso. It stated that "tough drug law nabs honor student" and that a search of her locker revealed a small plastic bag of marijuana. Mateo was shocked. He had called for reservations less than an hour before. He realized someone must be watching and listening to him. Edmund told Mateo that was how Proteus worked. When Rosa returned to wrap a present, Mateo and Edmund quit talking about it. Rosa asked Mateo when Chris Stamp was coming in. She told Mateo Chris could convince him she wasn't a pothead. She admired Chris because when she talked to him, he listened. On her way out, she told Mateo one more time that she wasn't going to Texas. Once she was gone, Mateo said, "It's Stamp!" Mateo explained that Chris claimed he was an FBI agent. Mateo also thought it was strange that when his regular bartender left, Chris was there immediately to fill the position. Chris supposedly was using SOS to go after the drug ring. Mateo felt Chris could be part of the drug ring. He couldn't believe he hadn't known this before, but Chris was there when the fire started and also helped with the wiring. He was great with a crowd - great with everyone. Edmund cautioned Mateo to hold on. Mateo didn't listen and decided to find Chris Stamp and get the truth out of him. He was worried about his family. He had opened up to Chris and told him everything about his family. Edmund told Mateo it wasn't Stamp, but someone else. Mateo worried about what to tell Hayley. Edmund to him he'd have to lie. He asked Mateo if he could go along with Proteus. Mateo stated that he couldn't do that. Edmund said if Mateo said no to Proteus, he would kill all of Mateo's family. He wanted Mateo to know what he was up against - what "they" were facing. Mateo protested that he didn't want Edmund involved. Edmund dismissed his protests and said if they were going against Proteus they'd have to be smarter than ever. It would be real dangerous and they would probably die. Nevertheless, they'd have to try.
Erica arrived home and rushed to Bianca's bedroom calling her name. The bathroom door opened and Frankie stepped out wrapped in a towel.
Chris hurriedly searched Ryan's room. Not finding what he was looking for, he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. Just then the door opened and Ryan entered.
Mateo's phone rang. Upon answering, Mateo heard the familiar voice say, "Ready to do business with us now, Mr. Santos?" Mateo replied he was and asked what they wanted him to do."
- Soap Central