"Tad, deeply entrenched in getting sauced, tries to get the person knocking on his door to go away. Despite his requests, Maria opens the door a crack and pokes her head in. Trying to alter the tone in his voice to something more friendly, Tad tries to warn her off one more time. It's a no go because she is more interested in what pushed him so close to the edge. Moments later, Maria tries to find some solid ground and she recovers from the news that Dixie is alive and has returned to Pine Valley. He then asks Maria how Dixie could stay away for three years, only to sneak back into their lives as a completely different person. Maria, knowing well the affects of severe trauma (from both a medical perspective and personal experience), reminds him that Dixie wouldn't be the same person after all she had been through. Tad tells Maria that her situation is radically different from Dixie's and Maria retorts that there was so much more to be dealt with this time around - the loss of a child, a new face, a life that moved on without her. She then says that the fact that Dixie came back at all is the real miracle, and that he needs to hang on to that. Tad tells her about some of the ways that he coped (and in the process, letting himself pretend that the past three years hadn't happened) while he was trying to put the pieces together to see if Di was really Dixie. Maria tells him that just because things didn't happen the way he imagined doesn't make her return anything less than miraculous. Tad then tells her Dixie didn't stay away because she had to - it was because she had to figure out if she wanted this life again. He admits that Dixie had every reason to seriously consider her options because the truth is that even though they loved each other with every breath they took, they could never figure out how to stay together through the bad times. He admits that now, with all hope gone, it feels like he's losing his true love all over again.
Tiring of talking about Dixie, Tad finally asks what's going on in Maria's world. Not a big surprise - she came over to talk about Sam. Tad wonders if he will have to go to bat for Maria and try to convince Sam that moving to California would be the best option. Maria surprises him by saying that she came to plead Sam's case - she thinks that him staying in Pine Valley is a better option for now...on a trial basis. She was going to ask Tad to take him in, but now that she knows about Dixie, she doesn't want to bother him. Tad knows that if Sam wants to stay, it would be better if he is allowed to do that instead of worrying that he will find a way to strike out on his own to get back. He then tells her that it's not like he will be taking care of Sam on his own - with his parents, Jamie, and even Brooke, Sam will have plenty of people looking after him. Maria is on board for all of it, especially Brooke - as she is loved and trusted by Sam, and she has been the one constant for him. They agree to review the situation after the summer, and Maria is amazed that it is settled. Tad asks if she will be okay without him around, and while she admits that she won't be, she is putting her children's needs (to be safe, and loved) above what she wants. Her face awash in gratitude, she notes how amazing Tad is. He tells her he has one major flaw on his record, and then promises that he will give Sam everything that he never had the chance to give JR. Shortly thereafter, Tad walks Maria to the door. She reiterates her appreciation, but Tad is happy to do it. He wishes her well, and she bids him goodbye.
Di bangs on the door to David's cabin, stirring him into a frenzy as he opens the door. As she curses his very existence, David realizes that the next phase of his plan has worked. Like a kid in a candy store, David gleefully wants Di to replay every detail but she is disgusted at his response. She is completely horrified at the pain she caused, and the hope she inspired. David wants credit where it is due, and claims all the glory for the master plan. He recounts everything he has done to this point, including the big reveal: planting the compact that Di never touched, knowing that Tad would go for that to find a fingerprint. As David wallows in his success, Di demands to know if he had lost sight of the original plan - to get JR to be nicer so that he would ease up on Babe and give her more visitation with her son. David laughs and replies that he is well aware of the plan, and he still has that in mind as his primary goal. Di can't see how that is possible, considering how upset everyone is at the moment. David tells her that the power that Dixie wielded will heal all wounds. He admits that Dixie wouldn't have acted the way Di has, but that the real point is that they pulled it off. Di is still uncomfortable with her part in the plan, and so David asks for a recommitment. He tells her not to get sucked up into all of the emotions that Dixie's family is spewing out, and reluctantly she agrees to keep up the charade. She is still concerned about pulling everything off - especially since Adam is demanding a DNA test. David tells her to stop worrying because he can handle manipulating those results with ease.
Reggie and Dani get up off the floor of Fusion, and Reggie is far more apologetic for the situation Mimi found them in. He tries to introduce himself and charm Dani's mother all in one fell swoop, but Dani instructs him not to bother trying. She is under the belief that her mother has no say in her life anymore, but Mimi has no problem informing her daughter what the truth really is. Dani explodes, announcing that her mother can't just come in and out of her life as she pleases, expecting Dani to just do as she is told. Mimi tries to apologize for missing out on so much, but Dani isn't willing to hear any of it. Mimi tells her that she wants to try again, to reconnect. Dani's peace offering is a weekend visit sometime in the future, but Mimi reveals that she wants Dani to move back to New York with her - for good. Dani is still amazed that Mimi can show up after a year, demanding things from her daughter. Mimi tells her that she would rather discuss the matter after Reggie leaves, but he takes that moment to interrupt. He tells Mimi that as long as Dani wants him to stay, that's what he plans to do. He then reveals that he saw Dani the night that Mimi dropped her things off at her father's place, and he can clearly recall how hurt she was. Mimi tries to apologize, but Dani is still belligerent, noting that the only thing sorry about her is that she is now pretending to care. They backslide into old habits and trade sharp words, but Mimi cuts it off, saying that she doesn't want to go back to the place where they didn't get along. Dani informs her mother that she trashed their lives when they lived in New York, and that she had traded up to a better life in Pine Valley in the past year - with a great job, Reggie and her father. Mimi takes this hit hard, and, without noticing that the elevator doors had opened, snidely notes that Dani probably has her father wrapped around her finger. All are surprised when Derek himself enters the Fusion offices, wondering about what is going on. Furious, Derek tells his ex-wife that if she has concerns about visitation, she is to discuss it with him as opposed to ambushing their daughter. Dani tells her father that her mother really wants her to move back to New York, and this infuriates him further. They argue about who would be the better parent, and Dani interjects that her relationship with her mother hasn't changed, so there is no reason why she should uproot herself upon command. Her mother then drops the bombshell that she is getting remarried. Because of this, her situation is different - more stable - than a year ago, and she wants Dani to give having a real family a shot. This spurs another fight between the former couple, and Dani gives up. She points out that just as always, their fight was about what they wanted and had very little to do with her, and then she walks out.
Erica and Jack arrive at the official grand re-opening of Zach's casino. Erica thinks their presence is merely a guise for keeping an eye on Kendall, and sending Zach a message that they would be keeping an eye on him.
Ethan comes into the casino with a date on his arm, and is promptly greeted by his father. Together, they notice that a winning streak is shaping up at a nearby table. Zach offers some complimentary gambling chips to his son, but is rejected. Ethan hands a wad of bills to his date and asks her to change them for chips. When she walks off, Ethan tells his father not to expect any gratitude because he backed away from taking over Cambias. Zach notes that it isn't needed because smugness is written all over Ethan's face. With that, Ethan loses interest in small talk and goes to find the blonde that he arrived with.
Alone once again, Zach barely has a moment to breathe in private before Jack approaches him. After some inane banter, they restate that Jack was a major player that helped Ethan shut down the casinos, and Kendall helped Zach reopen them. Jack delivers a warning to Zach: a promise to take all of the casinos and more from him should he hurt Kendall, or anyone else in his family.
At the aforementioned table, Ryan is sitting with a massive pile of chips in front of him. Luck is his lady, and he's betting high to bring loads of money home. Erica and Jack note that Greenlee is nowhere to be seen. Erica greets her old friend, and isn't comforted by the glazed over look in his eyes. He tells her to bet everything on him tonight because he can't lose. Erica tries to be stealthy as she attempts to ascertain whether Ryan is still angry at her for meddling. He's in a fantastic mood and tells her not to worry about it, because he believes that his luck is changing and that he and Greenlee are in the same place emotionally and have a wonderful future waiting for them.
A short time later, Ryan is slightly miffed that the dealer wants to cut him off from playing, as he has already won a ton of money. As Zach approaches the table to try to figure out what the problem is, Ethan tries to simultaneously help out Ryan's cause while sticking it to his father. Ryan notes aloud that he doesn't need Ethan's help, and Zach, without flinching at his son's remarks, tells the dealer to let Ryan continue to play. Ethan continues to try to commiserate with Ryan by noting that they both loved and lost Kendall but survived, but Ryan refuses to align himself with the younger Cambias. He reminds Ethan that Kendall is headed for a brick wall that Ethan himself built, and that is not something he would have ever done. Ethan thinks on this a moment, and then notes that while the incident with his brother was unfortunate, Ryan is indeed the luckier of the two of them - if only because he didn't have to worry about his father swooping in to steal his wife.
As Ethan stands off to the side, observing everything happening on opening night, Erica takes the opportunity to rub Ethan's nose in the fact that Kendall is missing from the crowd. She continues on her warpath by reminding him how much it must hurt that Kendall married his father - especially given that Ethan only has himself to blame. Ethan insists on sharing the credit - as Kendall is the way she is because of the war of emotions she had with her mother for so many years. Erica takes as good as she gives, as Ethan sums up the fight Kendall endured to get into her mother's good graces with a few simple words. Ethan starts to walk away, thinking he ended with the upper hand, but true to form, Erica reduces Ethan's existence to a pathetic ploy to prove something to Daddy and walks away. A few moments later, after regaining his composure, Ethan pulls up a chair and joins Ryan at his table. Ryan thinks that Ethan will ruin his lucky streak and begs him to go to another table. Ethan, disgusted, announces that he is unsure why he tries being friendly to Ryan and then walks away. As he considers that, Ryan slips into a reverie where his father and two brothers all bet with chips that the Lavery (evil) inside Ryan will always win. They torment him, knowing that Ryan will turn out just as badly as the rest of the family and Ryan bets with assurance that he will be able to banish it from his life. Erica's voice brings him out of his reverie, and he realizes that he bet all of his winnings without really seeing what was on the table - and lost. Ethan returns and consoles Ryan on his losses - and then asks him to move so that other people would have a chance to play and not be a loser. This sets Ryan off, and he grabs Ethan by the collar and almost punches him in the face. Zach quickly steps in and sends Ryan home. Erica wants to go after him and help but Jack, citing Ryan's blowup at Ethan as evidence of his unpredictability, strongly urges his bride to stay away from him.
At the fertility clinic, Kendall continues to try to convince Greenlee that stealing sperm is a bad idea. Greenlee doesn't budge an inch, and Simone is there to back her up. Kendall quickly reveals that she thinks Greenlee's plan is to steal a random sperm donation, get pregnant and pass the kid off as Ryan's. Simone takes the liberty of jumping in and clarifying the method to their madness. Shocked, Kendall tries to formulate another lecture, but Greenlee cuts her off. She tells Kendall that a baby is the answer to her problems with Ryan, and she will stop at nothing to get it. As Kendall tries to wrap her brain around the idea that Ryan might have donated sperm at the clinic, Simone confirms her thoughts and informs her that the deposit was made years ago. Greenlee tries to stop Simone from divulging anymore information, but Simone largely ignores her. Instead, she points out to the would be momma that donations in deep freeze only have bar codes, which presents a huge stumbling block in their quest to find Ryan's. Greenlee walks into an adjoining room and finds a hand held device that will scan the bar codes and provide them with the information they need. She puts Simone back to work, and Kendall launches into lecture mode again. She tells Greenlee that not only is a baby not the answer to their problem but also, if she goes through with this, she will end up with a baby but no husband. Greenlee notes that she still blames Kendall for what she now has to do, as it could have been avoided if she had told Greenlee about Ryan's plans sooner. Kendall, unfazed by the latest thing she is now responsible for, tries to make Greenlee realize that a baby will not take care of all of their problems when Ryan doesn't want a kid. Greenlee is offended, thinking that Kendall is implying that her child will somehow be tainted. Kendall clarifies by saying that while she doesn't think the child will be pure evil, she does think it's possible that Ryan could end up more like Patrick than he'd like. Unwilling to entertain any thoughts that do not support her choices, Greenlee demands that Kendall tell her why she is so against Greenlee getting pregnant. Kendall tells her that she knows what it's like when a parent doesn't want a child, and she doesn't think that Greenlee should have a child, knowing that it's a possibility. Kendall is exasperated when she realizes that she isn't making any headway. As Simone heads off into the other room to continue searching for their desired vials, Kendall finally admits that she may have evidence that Ryan had another reason for having his surgery. She hems and haws, and then says that there is a possibility Ryan is cheating on her, and that he had the surgery so that he could continue to do so without the possibility of fathering a child with someone else. Simone overhears this admission, and tears back into the room to take the credit for uncovering this infidelity. Greenlee tells them that there is no possible way Ryan would cheat on her, regardless of what they saw. She tells them that she trusts Ryan not to lie to her, but Kendall reminds her that he already has, and in a profound way that he might not be able to come back from. Greenlee reminds Kendall that she once loved Ryan, and that she never saw anything malicious in him. Kendall, in turn, reminds Greenlee that her stint with Ryan was way before his discovery of his crazy brothers and their experience in the caves. Greenlee questions whether Kendall thinks Ryan is now beyond redemption, but Kendall simply notes that redemption is not a reason to have a baby. Greenlee then pulls out the big guns and compares her situation to Bianca's. She gets Kendall to admit that she was the reason that Bianca decided to carry Miranda to term - to prove that despite parentage, her baby deserved to be loved. Greenlee notes that if redemption was a good enough reason for Bianca, it would be good enough for her. Finally convinced that Greenlee would not change her mind, Kendall helps gather Ryan's donations, and puts them in their portable cooler. Before they can leave and celebrate their success, they hear a door slam in the hall. They rush to turn out the lights, and hide behind the tank in the middle of the room. Out in the hall, a guard finds the keys they used to gain entrance still in the door. Much to their dismay, he yanks the keys out of the door and walks away, locking them inside.
Ryan arrives at the mystery blonde's door, and uses a key to gain entrance. After turning the key in the lock, the door opens and the woman appears from the inside. After looking around outside for a moment, Ryan goes into the apartment.
As Tad stands alone outside his place, he wishes on a star just as Di wishes on the same star while standing outside David's cabin."
- Soap Central