Carly was on the phone at the Metro Court complaining about the lack of towels in the spa and threatening to make trouble when Jax stepped in. He told her to calm down and admit that she was upset because it was Michael's birthday. Carly tried to deny it, but eventually she and Jax sat down and talked about Michael, and also Jax's trip to see his mother.
Jax told Carly that Lady Jane was still in denial about Jerry's death, as well as Jax and Carly's divorce. During his visit, Lady Jane had told Jax that Carly was her favorite among Jax's wives and she still had hopes that Carly and Jax would reconcile. When Jax related that to Carly, it brought a smile to her eyes.
Jason visited Sonny at home and begged him to leave the Zaccharas. Sonny was all for it if Jason was willing to give him back the top spot in the organization. When Jason refused and reminded Sonny of why he took over in the first place, Sonny accused Jason of being power hungry. When Jason said it was not true, Sonny picked up a phone and told his men to land their shipment at Pier 17.
Since Pier 17 belonged to Jason, Sonny's action was a slap in the face, and Jason was dumbfounded by Sonny's bold behavior. He wondered aloud how Sonny could do such a thing on Michael's birthday. Then Jason questioned whether or not Sonny even remembered it was Michael's birthday. Sonny responded with a snarl. He told Jason that he thought about Michael every day and that the hurt and guilt he felt would never go away.
Jason backed off. He told Sonny that in remembrance of Michael he would not stop Sonny from using his pier on this one occasion. He warned Sonny that if the Zacchara organization tried to use Jason's shipping lanes again, he would take the same punitive action against Sonny that he would take against any other interloper.
Robin's wedding to Patrick went off without a hitch. Robin was beautiful in a white strapless gown. Robert walked her down the aisle where Patrick waited with Anna, Robin's matron of honor, and Matt, Patrick's best man. In front of friends and family, Robin and Patrick exchanged heartfelt vows that detailed their rocky courtship and their undying love.
At the reception, held in the Metro Court ballroom, the denizens of Port Charles danced and shared well wishes. Robin and Patrick started the dancing. They kissed and spoke of their love for each other. Then Robin danced with Robert, who had a flashback to a memory of Robin as a very young girl. He shared his regret for missing a substantial part of her growing-up years. Robin told him she had everything she ever wanted and she was responsible for her own happiness. She told him she loved him and she thought he was the best dad ever.
Anna danced with Patrick and told him that she would trust him with her daughter. Patrick thanked her for her trust and said that he would never stop loving Robin. Epiphany shared a dance with Edward and a jealous Spinelli looked on helplessly as Matt asked Maxie to dance and she accepted. Matt complimented Maxie on the wedding and they seemed to have a good time dancing together.
Robin took time to tell Mac how much she loved him and he told her that he felt lucky to have been part of her life. Lainie and Kelly rhapsodized about eternal love while Edward encouraged Luke to court Tracy and pretend to mean it.
Both Robert and Anna made speeches and toasts for Robin and Patrick before the bride and groom cut the cake. As Robert watched, he flashed back to the time that he and Anna had told Robin that they were her parents and would love her forever. When Robert turned to Anna and asked if she thought about the time they had admitted being Robin's parents, they were both stunned to learn that they had both been recalling the same moment in time.
When Anna remarked to Robert that she was in awe that a young woman as lovely as Robin had been conceived out of their love for each other, Robert responded that it still ranked as the greatest love of all time. Anna had tears in her eyes as she looked from Robert to her daughter.
Spinelli had a fantasy about a Maxie where they shared a musical dance number together. Maxie shook him out of his reverie to share a real dance, but Spinelli lost his opportunity when the bride and groom said their adieus and left the reception.
Jax went to Sam's apartment to ask her about Jerry. She told him about her undercover work and how Jerry had kidnapped her and shared his plan to kill her, blow up the ship where he was holding her, and fake his own death. Jax wanted to believe that Jerry had survived. Sam said it was highly unlikely, because she and Jason had left Jerry tangled in a fishing net and had barely made it off the ship before it had exploded.
Jax clung to the possibility that Jerry might be alive. He apologized to Sam for Jerry's actions, but Sam said she had chosen to go after Jerry, and her actions might have been responsible for his desperation. She told Jax that Jerry always spoke well of him and she knew that despite all the bad things that Jerry had done, he genuinely loved his brother. Jax took some comfort in that.
Carly went to see Michael and found Sonny at his bedside. Sonny apologized for being there, but Carly told him that Michael would want him there. They talked about a previous birthday when they had all been happy. Carly told Sonny how much Michael loved him and what a terrific father he was. Sonny had tears in his eyes as he thanked her.
Sonny told Carly how sorry he was for what had happened to Michael and how he wished he could change the past. Carly said that sometimes "I'm sorry," is all there is because no matter how hard you try, there are occasions when bad things still happen. Carly told Sonny that she knew that Michael forgave Sonny and would want her to forgive Sonny, too. She said that Michael would also want Sonny to forgive himself. She told Sonny that her gift to Michael was that she forgave Sonny. Sonny was moved by her gesture but told her it would take much longer for him to forgive himself.
Jason rushed over to Sam's apartment after she called him. She told him that FBI Agent Rayner had called trying to get information out of her about Jason and his associates. She told Jason that she was sure that she had evaded the questions successfully. Jason told Sam that Rayner had tried to get him to give up Sonny, but he had refused.
When Jason still did not understand why Sam had called, she told him it was because Agent Rayner had started asking questions about Spinelli and, even though she had dodged them, she was worried that Spinelli was on the FBI's radar. Jason was also concerned by Rayner's inquisitiveness.
Johnny asked Lulu why she was so uncomfortable. When she commented on how much her high heels hurt, he realized they had plans for that night. Lulu asked if he had changed his mind about going out, but Johnny said he wanted to give the most beautiful woman in Port Charles a good time on New Year's Eve. Lulu made sure Johnny realized it was okay with her if he didn't want to take her to a fancy, expensive restaurant. She also wanted to make sure they had a cab. She called the cab company and was immediately placed on hold. Johnny wanted to drive, but Lulu reminded him that they would want to have champagne to celebrate. Johnny was starting to get frustrated with giving Lulu the New Year's celebration he thought she wanted until he asked her to be honest with how she wanted to spend the evening.
Johnny was shocked to discover that Lulu's perfect New Year's Eve was pizza and beer instead of champagne and caviar. Lulu asked if he was disappointed, but Johnny said it was his perfect New Year's celebration, also. They made a promise to each other to never start a new year with regrets. Suddenly, Lulu noticed that it looked like snow outside. She made Johnny get ready and go outside with her. She was determined to sit outside until it started snowing. They didn't have to wait long before they were playing and kissing in the snow.
Nadine walked in and was shocked to discover that Nikolas had cooked dinner for the two of them. Nikolas had figured she wouldn't be up for a big celebration, so he planned a quiet evening at home for them. Nadine was touched by his consideration. Nikolas reminded her that he knew what it was like to be blindsided by grief. He didn't want her to hide her feelings from him. Nadine complimented him on the rack of lamb he made, but had trouble eating it. He told her she could pick it up with her fingers, but she said he would never dare tell his own son he was allowed to do something like that. Nikolas said that Spencer was a Cassadine and was predisposed to being obsessed with etiquette. Nadine laughed and asked where the little boy was. Spencer was at his grandmother's house for the holidays, and Nikolas explained that he worried about how he was raising the boy. Nikolas had gotten his parenting skills from his uncle Stefan, who had been emotionally detached.
Nadine told Nikolas he was doing a wonderful job with Spencer and he had a wonderful heart. Nikolas told Nadine that she reminded him of his mother. They decided to make resolutions for the new year. Nadine resolved to be worthy of Nikolas' trust, eat with her fingers, and not obsess over things she had no control over. Nikolas resolved to obsess a little less, laugh a little more, and accept that the best father Spencer could have was the one who loved him. Nikolas asked Nadine for one extra thing on New Year's Eve - to spend the night with him. Nadine agreed, but wanted to ask an embarrassing question. Nikolas reassured her that Alfred would not be coming in and serving them breakfast in the morning, and Nadine was satisfied with his answer. They made love until midnight, kissed, and wished each other a happy new year.
Spinelli didn't like that Maxie was in an abandoned building by herself. Maxie, however, was more concerned that she had lost her report when the electricity to the hotel had gone out and her computer shut down. Spinelli hooked Maxie's computer up to Jason's car battery and attempted to locate the lost files. He discovered that Maxie had not backed up her files onto the flash drive like he had always reminded her to do. There was only a 65% chance he could retrieve the files from the network and not fry the computer. Maxie was distraught but felt that Spinelli was the only man who could save her. As Spinelli worked (and sneezed), Maxie realized some of the supplies he had brought with him had come from his earthquake kit. She couldn't understand why someone in upstate New York would have an earthquake kit, but Spinelli pointed out that the extra candles and battery-powered torch came in handy.
Maxie was grateful for Spinelli's quirkiness. She told him about finally being able to find her voice by writing an article for the fashion magazine and actually meeting the deadline she had been given. Maxie got excited when the computer beeped, but Spinelli revealed that the article was lost forever. Spinelli was sure Maxie could write another article, and she told him that his faith in her made her want to succeed. Spinelli reminded Maxie that William Shakespeare had written Romeo and Juliet in one day and collapsed in exhaustion when it was complete. He awoke the next morning to discover his dog had eaten the papers. Shakespeare had to dig deeper and re-write the play, which ended up being one of the most brilliant, romantic works of all time. Suddenly, Maxie realized it was almost midnight. They watched the clock as it struck midnight on the bank tower in town. Maxie said she couldn't think of anyone she would rather spend New Year's Eve with.
Jax was shocked to see that Carly climbed 25 flights up stairs to see him and find out what was going on. Carly was annoyed that the backup generators hadn't worked and the Metro Court was the only establishment in town to be affected by the blackout. Jax explained that the other hotels gladly accommodated the Metro Court guests once everyone had to be evacuated. Jax had donated all the extra food to an area homeless shelter, but the only thing left was some champagne and dessert. He had seen the note she had written about the tiramisu being property of the hotel owner and didn't touch it. Suddenly, he realized she had climbed all those stairs for the dessert. They decided to share the dessert and pretend that nothing bad had happened to them during the past year. Jax complimented her on her resilience throughout the year. Carly said it wasn't resilience as much as it was just plain survival. They shared the tiramisu and Jax enjoyed watching Carly eat her cake. Watching her enjoy herself was one of the things he loved the most about her. Carly asked why he didn't have a date that night, and Jax said he couldn't settle for something meaningless after he'd had the best. They decided to toast to the year to come.
Tracy showed up at the Haunted Star and asked why no one else was there for the party. Luke revealed that she was the only person he had invited. Tracy thought he was insane, because New Year's Eve could have netted them a large profit. Luke said he had groveled long enough and Tracy had bent as far as she could. It was time for them to make amends. The Dominican Republic event had proven that Tracy wasn't angry enough to go through with the divorce. Luke reminded Tracy of his love for her, but she was still hung up on Laura. Tracy was concerned that Luke would leave her if Laura came back. Luke said he loved Tracy and wanted to be with her. Tracy decided to leave their fate up to chance. Since Laura's birthday was on December 21 and Tracy's birthday was on April 6, Tracy decided she would go back to Luke if the roulette ball landed on the 6. If it landed on the 21, Luke had to give her a divorce and leave the country. The ball landed on the 6 and Tracy gave in to Luke, kissing him.
Due to the New Year's Eve holiday, today's ABC Daytime lineup featured encore presentations of some recent memorable episodes.
General Hospital featured an episode from Halloween 2007 where Nikolas awoke next to Emily's lifeless body. The episode originally aired October 31, 2007.
There will be no new programming on Thursday, January 1. Regular programming will resume on January 2, and there will be no "lost" episodes as a result of the holiday schedule.
Due to the New Year's holiday, today's episodes of your favorite ABC Daytime soaps -- All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital -- were not shown.
Regular programming will resume on January 2, 2009, and there will be no "lost" episodes as a result of the holiday pre-emption.
On behalf of everyone involved in Soap Central, I'd like to wish you a peaceful and prosperous 2009. Thank you so much for your continued loyalty to the site and we look forward to providing you with even better soap opera coverage in the year ahead.
Maxie walked into Crimson's headquarters and was relieved to find that Spinelli had hooked her computer back up to the company's website. Maxie sat down and was prepared to finish her article, confident that it was better than the first one. Spinelli moved over to his own computer and immediately freaked out. Someone had hacked into his system, despite all the firewalls and worms he had implanted. He assumed it was a cyberspace bully, named the Executioner. Spinelli immediately set about to exact revenge, as Maxie typed the finishing touches on her article. Maxie noticed Spinelli was still sneezing and told him he needed to go home and rest.
Lulu was busy at home trying to get ready for work and trying to get Johnny out the door for his day of interviews. She tried to prepare him for questions the interviewers would ask and ushered him out the door. Lulu was soon walking into Crimson with Kate's coffee. She hardly had time to notice Spinelli was sick before they heard the ring of the elevator. Kate was arriving! They rushed to clean up and hide Spinelli. Despite their efforts, Kate and Jax walked in, grabbed the article from Maxie and told Spinelli goodbye.
Spinelli left Crimson and ran into a geeky-looking girl out on the docks. He offered to help her with her computer problems and introduced himself as Spinelli. She didn't believe him and told him he should be ashamed of himself for claiming to be Spinelli, the jackal of cyberspace. He was honored that she knew who he was and immediately set about fixing her computer. She thanked him, but was gone before Spinelli could finish sneezing. Later, Maxie found the same girl and asked why she was spying on Maxie's friend.
Sam called Jason and told her about finding Agent Rayner's business card from the FBI under her door. She was suspicious and was going to check things out. There was a knock at her door, and before she could get there, Lucky was walking in. He wanted to explain why he had never shown up for New Year's Eve. Liz was having problems with her hot water heater and it would have cost a fortune to have a plumber come out on New Year's Eve. Later, he was called in to work overtime at the police department. Sam insisted she understood, but Lucky was insistent that he didn't want to keep any secrets between the two of them. He immediately realized she was hiding something from him and asked what was going on. Sam didn't want to talk about it. He asked if it was something illegal, but Sam insisted that it wasn't. He left, still frustrated that he couldn't find out what was going on with Sam. Later, Spinelli stopped by and worried Sam when she noticed how upset he was about his computer being hacked.
Meanwhile, Johnny was busy being interviewed-and failing miserably. Everyone seemed to ask if he was related to the mobster family with the same last name as his. No matter what Johnny did, he couldn't get past his last name. Lulu arrived home to get some paperwork and noticed a very frustrated Johnny home from his interviews. She tried to reassure him that he would find a way to get past his family. She was very upset to learn he had injured his hand, but Johnny told her he had only punched a hole in the wall and had not punched the interviewer. She quickly fixed him some antiseptic wash and cleaned his hand. It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door from the Port Charles Police Department. It sounded like Lucky, so Lulu answered the door. Lucky was there with a warrant for Johnny's arrest.
As Jax and Kate discussed Crimson business and what they needed to better the magazine, Sonny walked in. He noticed Kate and Jax playing around and wasn't happy. Sonny asked to speak with Kate privately, but Kate insisted she was busy discussing business with Jax. Sonny told her that Jax was only sleeping with her to get back at Carly, who had told Jax that she was sleeping with Sonny. Kate wasn't impressed and told him to leave.
Sonny arrived home and found Claudia searching for something above the draperies in the living room. He told her he knew what she was doing, but Claudia insisted she was measuring for new drapes. He told her she was a better liar than that. He knew she was looking for cameras. Claudia was immediately freaked out that there might be cameras in the house and insisted that he wouldn't do that. It would be too incriminating. Claudia said she felt like there had been a wall put up in their marriage. Sonny admitted he had been a little hasty and told her the shipment had gone through as planned. Claudia was shocked that Jason wouldn't put up a fuss. Sonny said it had been Michael's birthday. He knew Jason wouldn't want any issues on that day. Claudia apologized and asked if there were anything she could do. Sonny said not to change the drapes. He liked them.
Later, Ric stopped by when Sonny was out. He told Claudia she wouldn't have to put up with the charade marriage to Sonny much longer. Claudia said she had power being married to Sonny, and she wasn't about to give that up. She warned Ric not to trust her father. She knew him well enough to know that he probably had a plan to get rid of Sonny. She wanted in. Ric denied knowing anything, and left. It wasn't long before Sonny walked in again and noticed Claudia searching the mirror. He warned her that he would destroy her if he found out she was lying to him.
Nikolas and Nadine walked in after attempting to ride the horses. One of the horses had thrown a shoe, and Nadine took that as a bad sign. They talked about superstitions, and Nikolas made fun on Nadine just a bit. She was distraught that she couldn't get a phone call back from Mr. Cordet, the representative with information about her patent. Nikolas offered to call his lawyer and get things moving. It wasn't long before Nikolas' lawyer was calling him back. He had discovered that a company called Equinox had the license to Aunt Raylene's patent. It was a major defense company. It was very likely that the patent to the plow part was being used to make weapons.
Soon, Nadine received a phone call from Mr. Cordet. She said she would meet him at the Metro Court, until Nikolas said Mr. Cordet should come to her. Nadine changed her mind and asked Mr. Cordet to come to Wyndemere. Soon, Mr. Cordet arrived and offered a check to Nadine for the patent for the next four years. He was ready to leave until Nadine stopped him and asked what the patent was used for. Mr. Cordet said he wasn't at liberty to say. Nadine tore up the check and said they didn't have a deal. Mr. Cordet said it wasn't that simple.
