At the hospital, Sam read the headline in that morning's newspaper: "Jerome Ric-Rolled: How a Framed Man Got His Revenge." Patrick walked by, and Sam wondered if he had time to talk about their kiss at the Christmas party. He sat down next to her, and she asked him if the kiss had meant anything to him. Patrick told her that he thought there was something between them that he wanted to explore. Sam agreed, but she admitted that she was scared to lose him as a friend.
Patrick continued that, while he understood there was a chance that his friendship with Sam could get "messed up," there was also a chance that things could "get better." The two shared a kiss. Patrick proposed that they take things slowly, starting that night. He invited her to the New Year's party at the Metro Court that night. Right after she happily accepted, Patrick's beeper went off. He told her that he would pick her up at 9:00 and ran off to attend to his patient.
Elizabeth walked into her house and was surprised to see Jake with his jacket on. He informed her that he was moving out because he had imposed on her for long enough. She wondered if he was leaving to avoid seeing her with Ric. She maintained that she cared about Jake, and that the only thing she regretted about their relationship was the timing.
Jake told Elizabeth that he could have a family out there, and if he did, "the commitment still applies." She accepted his reasoning and wondered if he wanted to say goodbye to Cameron and Aiden. He asked her to say goodbye for him. He needed to figure out his future. She hoped for the best for him, and he left.
Jordan wondered why Julian was in her room. "I've come to settle the score," he replied darkly. Jordan reminded him of all the things she had done for the Jeromes, but Julian blamed her for losing the leverage he'd had over Sonny. He got close enough that she was able to knee him in the stomach, and she got her gun out while he was doubled over. She tried to shoot, but the gun seemed to be empty. Julian reached into his pocket and held out the bullets from her gun.
Jordan speculated that the person who'd told Julian where she was was the same person who had given Julian the "kill order." Julian maintained that Faison was "no longer in the picture," and he insisted that he only worked for himself. He continued that he'd accepted the hard decisions he had to make in his work. He let her know that "no one is coming to save you." Jordan blurted out that he couldn't kill her because she was under the protection of Duke.
Julian accused Jordan of lying, but she wondered if he wanted to risk starting an all-out mob war. She dared him to shoot her, but he finally pulled his gun away. He told her that, had their "old boss" been there to kill Jordan, he would have shot her halfway through her speech. He promised to be seeing her around and left the room. Jordan slammed the door shut and locked it.
Maxie excitedly arrived at her apartment, calling out for Nathan. She searched the entire apartment and was confused as to why he wasn't there. Maxie called Lulu, who was at lunch with Dante and Luke's impostor. Lulu excused herself from the table at the Metro Court to take the call. Maxie wondered where Nathan was and disclosed to Lulu that Maxie had made it back from Portland. "Uh-oh. You might want to sit down for this," Lulu warned.
A few minutes later, Lulu excused herself from lunch and left the Metro Court. Shortly after, she arrived at Maxie's apartment. Maxie moaned that she was supposed to spend New Year's Eve with Nathan so that they could show that 2015 would be "our year." Lulu wondered how Maxie had even gotten home. Maxie explained that Frisco, the new head of the WSB, had detoured a plane carrying WSB agents to a private airstrip in Portland to pick her up.
At Spinelli's, Nathan couldn't believe that Maxie had arrived home. Spinelli offered to let Nathan stay the night, telling him that "any friend of Georgie's mother's is a friend of mine." Spinelli regretted the circumstances but thought it was nice to meet Nathan. He wondered how Nathan had gotten to Portland through the fog. Nathan explained that a "rich friend" of Madeline's had let him use her jet to land in a private airstrip in Portland. Spinelli sadly informed Nathan that he and Maxie had been "two planes passing in the night" and explained the situation.
Nathan called Maxie, who couldn't believe he'd flown across the country for her. Nathan told her that he would return because the plane he'd taken was still in Portland. He continued that they'd been through too much to give up, so he would see her at midnight.
Maxie was showing Lulu some potential dress choices for the night when her phone rang. On the other end of the line, Nathan informed Maxie that his plane had taken off twenty minutes before without him on it, but it was going to turn around for him. He promised to be back in Port Charles no later than 9:00. She promised to meet him at the airport.
Maxie continued to show Lulu dresses, but Lulu said that Nathan didn't care what Maxie was wearing, as long as the two were together. Lulu promised that Nathan seemed to be in it "for the long haul." However, the two women agreed on a dress for Maxie to wear.
Spinelli thought it was impressive that Nathan had gotten the plane to turn around. Nathan related that he'd told himself that he'd never go to Madeline for help, but "it's Maxie." Spinelli remembered when he'd been completely in love with Maxie, so he understood Nathan's feelings. Nathan commented that he'd been through every step of the "custody nightmare" with Maxie, but he'd never even met Georgie. "Would you like to?" Spinelli asked.
A few minutes later, Nathan and Spinelli played with Georgie, and Nathan marveled at how much Georgie looked like Maxie. Spinelli remarked on how good Nathan was with Georgie. Nathan revealed that he couldn't wait to have kids of his own one day. Changing the subject, Nathan thanked Spinelli for giving him a ride to the airstrip, and he hoped he wasn't keeping Spinelli from Ellie. Spinelli answered that he and Ellie would be together "long before midnight," just like Nathan and Maxie would.
Maxie modeled her dress for Lulu, who wanted to hear all about Maxie's time in Portland. Maxie gushed about all the things she'd done with her "genius" daughter during "the best week of my life." Maxie was happy that Nathan would get a chance to meet Georgie while in Portland.
Maxie arrived at the airport at 9:00 in her dress. She looked all around for Nathan. Not seeing him, she called Spinelli and made sure that he'd seen Nathan get on the plane. Spinelli disclosed that Nathan should have landed half an hour before. "Where are you, Nathan?" Maxie wondered.
Anna stepped out of the elevator at the Metro Court and asked Dante if he'd heard from Jordan. She expressed her worry about Jordan and maintained that the best way to protect her was to have her work for Duke.
Luke's impostor went over to talk with Duke. He mentioned to Duke how they'd both had their "faces and freedoms stolen by Faison." Duke joked about starting a support group. Changing the subject, the impostor told Duke that he'd made the right choice by stepping in for Sonny. Just then, Anna walked over, and the impostor left.
Anna wondered why Duke and Shawn hadn't contacted the police when they'd found out where Ric had been hidden. "No time," Duke replied. He told her that things didn't have to be Duke against Anna. He reminded her that they'd found their way back to each other before. He accused her of latching on to his transgressions to forget her own regarding Faison.
Just then, Lucy walked up to Duke and insisted that she needed him. Duke told her that he and Anna were in the middle of something, but Anna stated that they were finished and that her lunch date had arrived. Duke glared at Agent Sloan, who was just stepping out of the elevator.
Anna walked away, and Lucy and Duke sat down at his table. She explained to him that Scott had asked her to spend New Year's Eve with him, but she didn't want Bobbie's "sloppy seconds." Duke wondered if her pride was worth giving up Scott for. Lucy only wanted to spend New Year's Eve in her pajamas with wine and chocolate. Duke invited Lucy to spend the night with him. Lucy thought it would be better for Scott to see "a handsome man on my arm." "That's the spirit!" Duke exclaimed.
Luke's impostor made small talk with Dante about Duke taking over Sonny's territory. The impostor took out his phone, explaining it away as a "work thing." Dante related that he didn't know Luke had found a job. The impostor implored Dante not to tell Lulu until it was "the real deal," but he lied that he and Tracy were starting a business together. He related how Michael banning Tracy from ELQ had broken her, but Dante assured the impostor that Michael would soon see that Luke "wasn't that guy" who had tried to steal ELQ.
Agent Sloan informed Anna that his investigation of Anna was suddenly on hold under the new head of the WSB. Sloan was under investigation for conflict of interest with Frisco pulling the strings. He insisted that he had nothing to hide, but Anna did, and he would make sure that she paid for her crimes. "Knock yourself out," she dared him.
Just then, Anna's phone rang. Sloan promised that Anna would be hearing from him, and he left. Anna answered the phone to Jordan. "We have a problem," Jordan told her.
A short while later, Anna and Dante were in Jordan's room, and Jordan had explained to them what had happened with Julian. "You win, I'll stay undercover," she told Anna. Anna promised to have Jordan's back every step of the way. She added that Jordan would have to convince Duke that Jordan wanted to join forces.
Julian arrived at the Metro Court and went straight up to Luke's impostor. "Is it done?" the impostor wondered. "No. There's a complication," Julian admitted.
At the Metro Court, Jake again asked Carly for a job, admitting that the whole shoveling snow thing had gotten old really fast. Upon hearing how he'd been earning money, an upset Carly said, "You could have frozen to death!" Jake admitted that he'd moved out of Elizabeth's place because it was hard competing with someone who'd returned from the dead. Jake added that he'd moved out because he'd been getting too comfortable with Elizabeth and the kids, and he didn't even know if he had a family of his own out there. He thought Elizabeth deserved a chance at happiness with Ric. That, of course, pushed Carly's buttons and sent her off on an anti-Ric tirade, after which she hired Jake to bartend.
Ric and Elizabeth ran into Julian. While Julian tried to explain that he'd been coerced into doing what he'd done, Ric wasn't feeling particularly forgiving, basically calling Julian a bad mobster. Not "bad" as in "wicked", but rather "bad" as in "lame." "You shouldn't even be in the game," Ric told Julian, "because you're weak and you're sloppy. You keep me from the people that I love for six months, you frame me for a murder that I didn't commit and then you have the audacity to stand there and insist that it wasn't your fault!"
As Ric insisted he had no intention of seeking revenge on someone who was clearly self-destructing, Julian's night got even worse when Alexis arrived on Ned's arm. The two men butted heads as Alexis urged them to not "act like kindergartners." Olivia threw herself into the budding melee and dragged Julian off for a drink so they could complain about their would-be significant others being together. Ned surprised Alexis by getting them a room at the hotel, which caused Olivia to roll her eyes before reluctantly hitting the dance floor with Julian.
Things got a tad awkward when Jake wound up serving Champagne to Patrick and Sam, who instantly tensed at the approach of the man she believed had held her hostage. When Sam questioned his new job, Jake quipped, "I'm going to miss the excitement of holding women hostage at gunpoint, but what can I say? I needed the dental." His stab at humor went over like a lead balloon. Sam warned that once the ball dropped, she'd go back to trying to prove Jake was a bad guy.
Sparks flew, as always, between Anna and Duke, even though he wound up spending the evening with Lucy, while Anna's date was Sloane. Sloane insisted he had a date for the evening, but the woman he'd met earlier that day at the gym, Ivy, showed up on Nikolas' arm. It turned out they'd met in the lobby and, during the elevator ride up to the Metro Court, formed a "connection." Jordan told Shawn about the little lie she'd told to prevent Julian from killing her. Reluctantly, Shawn agreed to make her fib a truth by convincing Duke to allow her into the Corinthos organization. Duke, however, said he would have to test Jordan's loyalty with an assignment before she could join them.
For Maxie and Nathan, there was good news -- he caught a plane -- and bad -- his flight was diverted to Beechers Corners. "Apparently, the universe doesn't want us to spend New Year's Eve together," Nathan said with a sigh. As if to prove it, a miscommunication sent Maxie to Beechers Corners as Nathan headed for their apartment where an all dolled-up Lulu and Dante were chowing down on the ribs Maxie had ordered for her guy. Worse, Maxie parked in a loading zone, and as a result, her car was towed. Dante and Lulu wound up skipping out on the Metro Court party in favor of celebrating privately at home. With only two minutes to spare, Maxie and Nathan would up in the same place at the same time.
In the final moment of 2014, Carly made a special toast. "As we say goodbye to 2014, my wish is that we all learn from our mistakes," she said, "and that we all find something good and precious to hold on to as we move forward. That we mend what was broken, that we heal what was hurt, and we honor those we lost by living life to the fullest. So whatever 2014 has meant to you, I hope there's a better year to come for all of us."
And with that, many Port Charles pairings exchanged a New Year's kiss. Of course, there were the folks you'd expect -- Sam and Patrick, Shawn and Jordan, and Ric and Liz. And then there were the unexpected busses. What started as a playful peck for Duke and Lucy turned into something a bit more than either expected, while Sloane and Anna, too, went for a smooch. Seeing Ned and Alexis nuzzling led Olivia to share a kiss with Julian, but only after declaring, "This never happened!" And seeing Jake with the most hangdog expression ever, Carly declared, "Come here, you!" before pulling him into a pretty steamy liplock.
But it was, of course, Nathan and Maxie who finally were able to be together. "I cannot think of a better way to start 2015," he declared as, at long last, they fell into one another's arms.
Due to the New Year's holiday, General Hospital did not air. This was a planned pre-emption, and there will be no "lost" episodes as a result.
Regular programming resumed on Friday, January 2, 2015, and picked up where the Tuesday, December 30, 2014, episode concluded.
Due to the New Year's holiday, General Hospital did not air. This was a planned pre-emption, and there will be no "lost" episodes as a result.
Regular programming resumed on Friday, January 2, 2015, and picked up where the Tuesday, December 30, 2014, episode concluded.
At Metro Court, the revelers counted down to the arrival of the New Year. At the stroke of midnight, as balloons and confetti fell from above, couples shared in a celebratory kiss.
As she glanced to her left and saw Alexis and Ned kissing, Olivia turned to Julian and remarked, "This never happened." Julian agreed, adding, "Never." The two then locked lips. When their lips parted, Olivia scowled and announce that the kiss never should have happened. Ned saw the two kissing and walked over to ask Olivia if he could speak to her privately. Ned demanded to know why Olivia had been kissing "scum" like Julian. Somewhat defeated, Olivia replied that the person she wanted to be kissing at midnight was kissing someone else. Alexis, meanwhile, called Julian "childish" for trying to make her jealous by kissing Olivia.
Later, Alexis and Ned tried to figure out why Olivia would kiss Julian. As a look of disbelief crossed her face, Alexis explained that she had thought Olivia hated Julian. Ned explained that he and Olivia seemed to have always been in different places at different times. When he'd wanted a relationship, Olivia hadn't. When Olivia had wanted a relationship, he'd had had no interest. Ned admitted that he didn't want Julian anywhere near Olivia.
Duke gave Lucy a peck on the cheek as she removed a piece of confetti from her champagne flute. Their eyes locked, and Duke leaned forward to give Lucy a more suitable kiss. Later, Duke told Lucy that he hoped they could see more of each other in 2015.
Anna kissed Agent Sloane at the stroke of midnight, but she pushed him away when the kiss became more passionate than she'd envisioned. "What on earth are you doing?" she gasped. Sloane responded that he had kept Anna from "looking like a fool." As Anna continued to protest the liplock, Sloane explained that he would not let the smooch distract him from making sure that Anna faced justice for what she'd done to Faison. Before walking away, Sloane thanked Anna for the kiss.
Anna raced over to Olivia to ask her what room Agent Sloane was staying in at the hotel. Olivia was reluctant to divulge the information, but Anna assured her that it was official police business. Olivia then replied, "203." After Anna raced off, Olivia thought to herself and muttered that Sloane might be staying in room 302.
Jake watched as kisses were exchanged. When Carly noticed that he looked particularly gloomy over Elizabeth and Ric kissing, she darted toward him. "Come here, you," she growled and planted a kiss on him. Carly apologized for her assertiveness, but Jake didn't seem too upset. He praised the kiss as "stellar."
Ric, meanwhile, asked Elizabeth to join him in his hotel room. Elizabeth seemed hesitant, but she eventually agreed. Carly stormed over and expressed her outrage that Elizabeth would consider spending time with Ric. She warned Elizabeth that Ric might lock her up in a panic room and steal her kids, a reference to something Ric had done to Carly in 2003. Ric fired back that he'd heard Michael no longer claimed Carly as his mother.
Over at the bar, Carly filled Jake in on some of her past dealings with Ric. She then turned to explaining the relationship she'd had with Jason. Jason, she said, was "the opposite of a player." She added that it was love at first sight when she'd met Jason -- only she hadn't known it at the time. "I sabotaged it," Carly admitted softly, but she took comfort in knowing that she and Jason had gone on to become best friends. Carly later gave Jake a room key and told him to start fresh in the New Year. "Don't let Sam or Elizabeth get to you," she said encouragingly.
Sam and Patrick kissed before Sam suggested that they take the advice of their fortune cookie and try something new. "Spend the night with me," she purred. Patrick tried to temper his readiness by asking Sam if she was sure she was ready for such a big step. Sam noted that their sleeping together -- or not sleeping together -- wasn't going to get Jason back. She also sheepishly admitted that she'd had a sex dream about Patrick when they'd shared a bed in Amsterdam. Regrettably, Sam said that the dream had ended too soon for her liking.
Molly was babysitting Danny at Sam's place, but Emma was off at a sleepover meaning that Patrick's place was a child-free zone. They prepared to head back to Patrick's place, but as the valet drove the car around, both Sam and Patrick's phones began to ring. Emma wanted to leave her sleepover, and Molly was having trouble getting Danny to stop crying. Sam and Patrick agreed to take a raincheck on their night together.
Elizabeth and Ric stumbled into Ric's hotel room and eventually fell into bed together. As they lay under the covers in each other's arms, a knock sounded on the door. Anna Devane ordered that they open the door. Ric put on a robe and opened the door. Anna was stunned to see Ric and asked what he was doing in the room. Ric explained that the room was his, and when Anna's gaze went past Ric and into the room, she saw Elizabeth. She waved awkward to Elizabeth before apologizing for the intrusion. Anna then whispered to Ric that she was glad his life was getting back to normal.
Anna went on to another room and eventually was able to track down Agent Sloane. Anna tried to explain her actions to Sloane, saying that in a moment of desperation she'd done what she'd thought needed to be done to stop Faison. "Once I broke the law," Anna explained, "he dropped his obsession with me." Sloane understood Anna's motivation but said that he wasn't backing down. He then accused Anna of picking a fight with him because she was mad that Duke had been kissing another woman. Anna blasted Sloane, telling him to go to hell, then stormed out of the room.
Elsewhere in the hotel, Olivia went back to a hotel room with Julian, only they weren't planning anything intimate. Instead, they sat together on the bed and played a game of gin rummy. Julian lost every game then suggested that they find something else to do. Olivia declined and extended her arm to shake Julian's hand. "What's one more kiss?" Julian asked. He leaned in to kiss Olivia, and she responded by kissing him back.
Back on the second floor, Ric returned to bed. Elizabeth helped put on Ric's watch, and Ric recalled that it reminded him of how she'd put a ring on his finger. "You should [remember]," Elizabeth said as she grinned, "we did it twice." Ric laughed, feigning that remark hurt him. He then looked longingly at Elizabeth and remarked that the "third time's the charm."
In their apartment, Nathan and Maxie greeted the New Year with a kiss. "Forget blue moons or solar eclipses," Nathan said excitedly, "2015 is one thing only -- it's the year of us." Maxie called Nathan "kind and trusting," all the things that she felt she was not. Maxie told Nathan that she was pretty sure that she did not deserve him. Nathan strongly disagreed and told Maxie that she couldn't be more wrong.
Later, after eating, Nathan and Maxie sat awkwardly as they tried to figure out their next move. Maxie questioned why they were being so awkward about it. "Because it's a big deal," Nathan replied. Nathan led Maxie to the bedroom, where the room was illuminated by candles and lined wall-to-wall by flowers. Maxie was silent, and Nathan worried that perhaps he'd gone a little overboard with trying to set the mood. Maxie mused that there was no such thing as going overboard in her world.
After the two made love, Nathan asked Maxie if it had been worth the wait. "Oh, hell yes!" she declared emphatically. The two shared another kiss and agreed that 2015 would be a magical year for them.
