Chad was assaulting Marah in the Towers garage, but Olivia interrupted, saved Marah, and chased away the bad guy. She hit him with her purse then threatened to call the police. The guy found out that Marah was only 17 and left. Olivia offered to take Marah home, but Marah was afraid. Olivia said that Marah could go home with her. She shrugged off the meeting and took Marah to the boardinghouse.

Josh and Matt were meeting with the congresswoman at Towers and didn't really know why Olivia was not there. The congresswoman entered, and they tried to talk a bit about the project, but the congresswoman wanted to wait for Olivia. The congresswoman got angry after awhile and told them that if Olivia were really part of the situation, she would be there. She got up and left. Matt was angry and insisted that they call her. They called Olivia, and Josh was disturbed when she told him that she couldn't talk and hung up.

Matt walked in, and Carmen inquired about Vanessa. He talked to her a bit then moved on to Josh's table for a meeting. They were meeting with Congresswoman Stone. Josh said that the meeting would make or break Lewis Construction. Matt wondered where Olivia was, and Josh assured him that she would be there.

Edmund walked in and talked to Carmen about all that had gone on in their lives since they'd last spoken. Edmund asked Carmen about the money that she was holding for him. Carmen asked him to dance. After the dance, Edmund wanted to talk about his money. She told him that he would get it in good time. He wanted it immediately.

Matt walked up and told Carmen that she'd left her wrap in Vanessa's room at the hospital. She told him that she would get it on her next visit to see Vanessa. Edmund wanted to know Carmen's connection with Matt. She told him that Pilar had gone out with his stepson and left it at that. Edmund told her that he was working at Spaulding and that they could benefit each other in many ways in the future.

Lillian and Susan were chatting. They were both happy that Beth and Jim were getting married. The new couple entered and showed Lillian and Susan the ring. Jim took Lillian aside and asked her for her blessing. She agreed, and they all got together to talk.

Susan noticed that Jim wasn't wearing his watch that her grandfather had given to him. He didn't want to talk about it, and he and Beth danced. He finally admitted to Beth that he'd sold the watch in order to buy her a ring. She felt bad that he had sold something that was so dear to him. He told her that he wanted her to have the ring and that he didn't want to discuss it any longer. They danced some more.

At the boardinghouse, Olivia tended to Marah's wounds and asked her what had happened. Marah told her about Jesse and Drew and how she'd felt bad and had left. That was when she'd run into Chad. She hadn't understood why the guy had been so angry at her. Olivia assured her that she had done nothing wrong, and the guy was the bad guy. Marah said she had gone with Chad because she'd been lonely -- everyone had someone new in his or her life, and she had no one.

Marah got up, to leave and Olivia stopped her. Marah couldn't understand why because she didn't even like Olivia. Marah thought that Olivia was only helping her to get in good with Josh, but Olivia assured her that wasn't the case. They talked about how she and Josh were only friends and that she worked with him. Marah didn't understand why she and Josh had been together on Christmas Day, and he hadn't been with her mom.

Olivia tried to comfort Marah about her parents. She said that they were trying to work things out. She told her that she was hurting herself acting out like she was. Olivia admitted that she had also been scared when that guy had been attacking Marah, and Marah thanked Olivia for helping her.

Josh knocked at the door, and Marah was upset. She didn't want her parents to know what had happened. Olivia let her hide, and she answered the door. She went outside to talk to Josh, who asked her where she had been. Olivia told her that she'd had something unexpected happen, and Josh pushed to know what. He wanted to know why she would not let him in, but she refused to talk.

Josh accused Olivia of letting them down and told her how the congresswoman had walked out on him. He told her that he had gone to bat for her with Billy and Matt, and he wanted to know what was going on with her. Olivia apologized to Josh and told him to go home. He gave her a guilt trip and left Olivia upset. She returned to her room, and Marah said that she'd heard some of the fight and that she was sorry. Olivia told her that the only thing that was important was that Marah was okay.

At Spaulding, Beth told Edmund that he would be an asset to Spaulding if he would just follow the rules. Edmund asked her if she had never broken the rules, and before she could answer, Jim walked in. Edmund left them alone, and Jim presented Beth with a ring and asked her all over to marry him. Beth was very emotional. She accepted his ring and told him how much she loved him. They left for Towers.

Harley and Phillip were eating and talking about Zack. His pager went off, and instead of answering it, he handed it to a waitress and told her to get rid of it. Harley loved the attention, and Phillip didn't want to waste any time with his family. Rick and Abby walked in, and Harley told them about the new Phillip. Abby sat down with Harley, and Rick and Phillip went to the bar to get some drinks.

Rick noticed that something was wrong with Phillip and asked him to talk to him. Phillip revealed that his life was a lot less than perfect. They headed outside to talk a little while Abby and Harley stayed inside and talked about their lives.

Abby was impressed with Harley and how she was in control of her own life. She was a little upset about Rick and her. She felt a little overwhelmed with all the choices she had to make while she'd had no choices when she lived in Goshen. Harley told her that she could do whatever she wanted. Abby said she had lost all desire to have children, and before, that had been a big part of her life.

Harley told Abby that kids were hard work and that she needed to think about what she wanted and discuss it with Rick. Abby didn't know how to tell Rick because he wanted a baby as soon as possible. Harley said that Abby needed to learn to communicate with her husband again. Harley told Abby that honesty in a marriage was the most important thing.

Phillip told Rick about the plane crash and what had happened with him and Beth. Rick told him that he understood with what they had been going through at the time. Phillip told him that the video camera could have caught it all on tape, but it had never been recovered from the crash scene.

Phillip told Rick that he loved Harley very much and that he wanted to tell her. He felt guilty and thought that Harley didn't deserve to be in the dark. Rick told him not to say anything to Harley. She might not understand, but he did. He said that the situation had been dire, and he knew what they had to have been going through.

There was party at Millennium. Drew hired a magician, and everyone in town went to the festivities to ring in 2000 there. The usual things happened at the party, but some strange things also occurred. The magician, who was truly magical, enabled some of the guest to live their fantasies in their mind, if only for a few minutes.

Josh was surprised to see Reva. Reva greeted Cassie and noticed that Richard was not with her. She assumed that Richard was trying to break things off with Cassie, and that was why he hadn't attended the party. Josh was sitting with Matt and Bill. He ran into Reva again.

Josh and Reva were a little standoffish at first until Artee, the magician/emcee called on them for a little magic. He got the two up in front of the room and gave them both a piece of string and made them hold hands. When they parted, the string was one long piece instead of the two short ones they'd had earlier. That prompted a little conversation between the two, and they shared the rest of the evening, talking.

Carmen and Danny sat at a table. Danny looked very sad. Carmen suggested that he had been upset since he'd met Michelle, but he didn't want to hear about it. Artee zapped himself off the stage and onto Carmen's lap. He handed her a piece of paper. She drifted off into her fantasy.

Carmen dreamed that Danny walked in, still a big part of the family business, and announced that his wife was pregnant. Theresa entered big and fat and announced to Carmen that they would name the baby after her. Then Michelle entered, as Carmen's maid, and all of them treated her very badly. Vanessa and Matt entered, apparently good friends to Carmen, and chatted about how much they had in common -- they'd both shot Ben, and they'd gotten Michelle to pay for it. The laughed, and Carmen awakened from the reverie.

Danny told his mom that he would stay until midnight then he was leaving to try to get in to see Michelle. Carmen, of course, didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do.

Danny also had a fantasy. His was of meeting Michelle for the first time and falling in love with her instantly. He shunned his mother and was enticed by the purity of the life Michelle had led. He asked her if she believed in love at first sight, and he told her that he hadn't until he'd met her.

Artie was all eyes when Cassie walked through the room. She sat down with Harley and Phillip and began to talk. She told Harley that she missed Richard but that he had to work that evening. Cassie was trying to ignore the conjurer until he walked up and handed her a scarf. She pulled on it and pulled on it, getting many, many other scarves.

By the end of the scarves, Cassie was lost in her own fantasy. She was being carried over the threshold by Richard, her husband, who wanted to immediately take her to their bedroom. Cassie wanted that, also, but told him that would have to wait until her sister left. Reva and Josh entered and were introduced to Richard, who neither of them had ever met before. Reva and Cassie were on good terms, and her life was a fairytale.

Phillip and Harley sat with Beth, Jim, and Cassie. Artee stopped by and asked for Harley's resolutions, to which she replied, "If my life is a dream, may I never wake up." Harley had a fantasy of being a super woman. She got home from work, a hero; had the magic touch with her baby, making him happy with just a touch; and her dutiful husband was sitting at home, working on his new novel. He had already had 14 best-sellers, all about Harley.

In Harley's fantasy, Beth and Jim entered dressed like nerds, and Beth begged Harley for advice on how she'd gotten so wonderful. They were hungry, and Harley went into the kitchen and, in five minutes, had a super gourmet meal ready for them. Phillip had written a love song for Harley, and she was the perfect everything. She woke up and asked Phillip if they could have a weekend place to go to get away. He told her she could have anything she wanted. They kissed.

Artee counted down from ten, and the 20th century was over. Everyone celebrated. Harley and Phillip kissed. Carmen gave Danny a hug. Rick and Abby kissed. And Richard showed up to surprise Cassie. He told her that he would never leave her alone to face their first New Year's Eve together. He kissed Cassie on the cheek.

After the party wound down, Drew and Jesse were hugging. He told her that it had been a great party. Buzz and Selena were alone in the ballroom area. He helped her up and asked her for a dance. They danced. Buzz told her that it was going to be their year, and he kissed her. Drew thanked Artee and asked him for his bill. He handed her an envelope and left. She looked at the bill, and it was only a note that read, "May all your dreams come true."

Guiding Light was preempted so CBS News could provide coverage of the millennium celebrations around the world.