Gloria found Kevin at Michael's condominium. She revealed to him that she had told John that the wedding accounts had been altered in order to cover for the money that she'd used to bail Tom out of jail. An upset Kevin told Gloria that he could go to jail for what he'd done. Michael walked in, and Gloria explained what she'd done and promised that no one would ever know that Kevin had been involved in her scheme. Michael was impressed that Gloria had told John the truth about the money. Gloria told them that she'd told John that she'd done it because of Tom's repeated threats against the family.
When Kevin asked Gloria if she'd told John everything -- meaning the fact that Gloria and Tom weren't legally divorced -- Gloria said that she hadn't. Michael accused her of lying by omission. Gloria left, saying she wanted to spend time with her wonderful husband.
With Gloria gone, Kevin found Michael deep in thought. Michael told Kevin he was thinking about how Kevin had doctored the books for Gloria. Kevin claimed that it had been a one-time thing and that he wouldn't do it again -- there would be no next time. Michael said that there would be -- that Kevin would always be there to help Gloria out. Michael reminded Kevin that he had come a long way and that it was not the time to give anyone reason to doubt his credibility. When Kevin responded, "You got that right," Michael stared at him, thinking there was more meaning behind his words.
At the Abbott house, John told Ashley how angry he was about what Tom had done to Gloria. When John told Ashley how upset he was that she was still involved with him, Ashley reiterated that she had the situation with Tom under control. When John learned that Tom had given Ashley the flowers, he demanded that they be removed from the house.
When Ashley returned from throwing the flowers out, John expressed his concern that Tom would find out that Ashley was leading him on. Ashley told John that it would only be for a little while longer -- that he would be back in jail soon. John told Ashley he was going to try to get Tom's bail revoked. He told Ashley not to go near Tom. Ashley said she would be happy to avoid him.
Gloria returned home, and John told her he wanted Tom's bail revoked. John said that he would have done it, but only the person who had signed the bail slip could do it. Thinking it was Gloria who had signed the bail slip, he told her to take care of it that day. He kissed Gloria and left.
In a drunken sleeping stupor in Sheila's room at the Motor Arms, Tom talked in his sleep about how the "bitch" Ashley had planted the chemicals on Tom's bike and that she had planned the whole setup with Michael. Tom woke up to find Sheila/Jennifer there. Sheila/Jennifer remarked how bad Tom smelled and that she wanted her privacy. Tom remarked how Sheila/Jennifer wanted to kick him out and said that he wanted respect. He realized that it was the women in his life, and not Michael, who were the thorns in his side.
When Sheila/Jennifer told Tom that he should never have trusted Ashley, Tom implied that he should never have trusted Sheila/Jennifer because of what she'd done with the necklace. Sheila/Jennifer said that Tom would have done the same thing if their roles had been reversed, and she menacingly told Tom to never do anything like that again. When Tom asked if she was threatening him, she said she wasn't and that she was hoping to become "partners in crime" with him again. Tom said he didn't think so, but Sheila/Jennifer said she was his friend. When Tom told her that she had a funny way of showing it, Sheila/Jennifer told Tom to put all his faith in her.
Later, at Sheila's motel room, a frantic Gloria stopped by and told Jennifer/Sheila that she had to go downtown with her to revoke Tom's bail. Jennifer/Sheila told Gloria she wasn't going to do it. She reminded Gloria that Gloria had asked her to post Tom's bail, that she had saved Gloria's life, and that Gloria was out of luck on that one -- Gloria was on her own.
In the Athletic Club dining room, Phyllis saw Brad and joined him. Brad told Phyllis that it wasn't a good idea to have breakfast with him after having Thanksgiving dinner with the Newmans -- the gossip columnists would start talking. Phyllis told Brad that the invitation to the Newmans' had been a gracious move on their part. Phyllis taunted Brad about his relationship with Victoria. Brad asked Phyllis if she noticed how much tension her and Daniel's presence had caused.
Phyllis said she felt horrible for Nick and Sharon spending their first Thanksgiving without Cassie. Brad said he was concerned about Sharon. It seemed to him that Nick was pulling away from her instead of helping her through it. When Phyllis said she thought that Nick was finally starting to deal with things, Brad remarked that he didn't see it. When Brad reminded Phyllis that she had helped work on the Newman website, Phyllis sarcastically thanked him for telling Katherine Chancellor about it, which had caused a major scene.
Jack walked in, causing Brad to leave. When Jack asked Phyllis how her Thanksgiving had been, Phyllis told him about her disaster with the frozen turkey and how Daniel had been thinking of Cassie. She shared that when they'd taken the Newmans a pie, they'd been invited to stay. Jack was startled, and started harassing Phyllis about fixing the "backdoor" in the Newman computer system -- he said that her ability to access their system could have been a major coup for Jabot.
Jack and Phyllis fought about the ongoing war between Jack and Victor. Phyllis told Jack that things were different at Newman -- that Victoria and Nick ran the company, not Victor. Phyllis said that she was tired of all the battling and fighting, and all she wanted was a good life for herself and her son. Phyllis told Jack that she didn't want to lose him over it. Jack felt the same way, and they kissed. When they broke apart from their kiss, Phyllis told Jack she needed to do something and quickly exited.
At Sharon and Nick's, Sharon found Nick, who had decided to work from home that day. When Nick remarked that he was surprised that Sharon was up so early and had not been sleeping well, Sharon told Nick how hard Thanksgiving had been for her -- particularly with Phyllis and Daniel at the dinner. When Nick asked Sharon why she hadn't said anything at the time, she told him that it was because Noah had seemed to want Daniel there. Nick told Sharon that he'd taken comfort in talking with Phyllis and Daniel because he knew that was what Cassie would have wanted.
There was a knock at the door, and Nick opened it and found Daniel. Sharon was obviously uncomfortable as Daniel explained that he had a basketball magazine to give to Noah and that he wanted to thank them for the invitation for Thanksgiving dinner. When Sharon left, Nick called Noah down to get him ready for school and to give him the magazine that Daniel had for him.
Noah reminded Nick that he had basketball practice that night and that Nick had promised to coach the team. When Nick told Noah that he might not be able to make it to all the practices, Daniel volunteered to fill in when Nick was unavailable. Nick asked Noah what he thought of the idea, and Noah thought it was great. Noah left for school, and Nick got the basketball schedule for Daniel. A touched Daniel told Nick how much the opportunity to coach Noah meant to him.
Later, at Nick and Sharon's, Nick was on the phone with his secretary when there was a knock at the door. It was an obviously upset Phyllis, who accused Nick of ratting her out to Jack -- she couldn't believe that Nick would do that to her.
At Newman Enterprises, Sharon showed off one of the new fragrances for Brad, and he asked her if she was excited about the upcoming photo shoot. Brad sensed something was wrong with Sharon and realized that Sharon was upset about Thanksgiving without Cassie. She opened up to Brad about how she'd felt she was further along in the grieving process, yet she hadn't even made if through dinner.
Brad told Sharon that she had handled herself really well under the circumstances. Sharon talked about Daniel being there and how she'd thought she'd had her feelings toward him under control -- that she'd realized that Cassie's death had been an accident. However, seeing Daniel had triggered all kinds of bad memories, and when she'd seen Daniel talking to Noah, she'd felt that it should have been Cassie talking to Noah. Brad said that it had killed him seeing her like that, and when she'd run off, he'd felt like running out after her.
In the gym at the Athletic Club, a smug Tom feigned surprise at running into Ashley, who was working out. Ashley thanked Tom for the flowers and the poem. Tom remarked that he'd had Chinese takeout food for Thanksgiving, but he looked forward to being more of a member of the family soon. Ashley said that people would see him differently when he beat the drug charges. Tom told Ashley that she had an opportunity to show how supportive she was of him -- by taking him as her date to Lauren and Michael's wedding.
When Ashley reminded Tom that he wasn't invited, he told Ashley that she was and that it would mean "so much" to him to be her escort. When Ashley said she would think about it, Tom asked her if she was blowing him off. Ashley again said that she had to think more about it. Tom asked Ashley if she thought he would make a big fuss. He said that he knew he wasn't on good terms with Michael, but he wanted to start mending fences. When Ashley asked Tom if he thought Michael would want him there, Tom thought they should let bygones be bygones and that it would mean much, much more if Ashley were with him at the wedding.
Nick told Phyllis that he hadn't told a soul about the access portal in the website. Phyllis assumed that someone else had to know about it. Nick invited Phyllis to lunch later in the week, and she apologized for accusing him.
Kevin ran into Jack at the Athletic Club, and Jack demanded that Kevin give him the backup CDs as proof that Phyllis had tried to do mischief to the Newman Enterprises website. Kevin lied that he didn't have them, but Jack didn't believe him. Kevin reluctantly gave Jack the backup CDs. Phyllis saw Kevin and Jack talking in the Athletic Club and realized that Kevin was the mole. She couldn't believe that Jack would accuse her of going behind his back when he also had gone behind hers.
Victoria became frustrated when she told Victor that he thought of her and Nick's contributions to the company as equal, when that wasn't the case. Later, Nikki told Victor that she thought Victoria was right; Victor did seem to favor Nick. She thought that Victor was pitting Nick and Victoria against each other but stacking the deck in Nick's favor. Before the "Beauty of Nature" photo shoot, Nick noticed the bond that had formed between Sharon and Brad.
Paul invited Ashley to his place for dinner the next day, and she was excited to finally have a real date with him. They kissed passionately.
Gloria pleaded with "Jennifer"/Sheila to go and revoke Tom's bail. When Tom returned to "Brenda"/Sheila's motel room, she told him that Gloria wanted her to revoke his bail, but she'd refused -- and he owed her. Gloria told John that she couldn't get Tom's bail revoked because she'd asked a friend of Tom's, Jennifer, to sign the bail paperwork, and that same person thought that Tom was innocent. John demanded to know where Jennifer was living, but Gloria pleaded with him not to go see her. At Sheila's motel room, John Abbott pounded on the door, demanding to speak to "Jennifer."
Gloria had to tell Ashley that she couldn't get Tom's bail revoked, and Ashley realized that Jennifer Mitchell was Tom's friend, not Gloria's. She was upset to hear that her father had gone to see Jennifer and said that if anything happened to her father, she was holding Gloria responsible. Ashley got a call from Paul about their date that night, and she agreed to meet him in his office later. Gloria told Ashley that she was glad she was seeing more of Paul, but Ashley was more concerned about when Gloria's lies to John were ever going to end.
As Gloria tried to defend herself, Abby arrived downstairs. Gloria made a contribution to Abby's fundraising effort for school -- the fight against AIDS in Africa. Ashley and Abby then left to go to the Athletic Club, where Abby planned to get more donations, and Gloria assured Ashley that their little problem would be taken care of soon.
At the motel, John asked Sheila, who was disguised as Jennifer Mitchell, to revoke Tom's bail by getting John's money back. When Jennifer refused, saying that she believed that Tom was innocent, John exploded, telling her that Tom was a threat to the entire Abbott family. Tom stepped out of Jennifer's bathroom, goaded by the things John was saying about him. John told Tom to keep away from his family, and the two men nearly came to blows, but Sheila separated them and made John leave.
Tom furiously denied that he would ever hurt Abby, and Sheila told him to give up on his dream of walking off into the sunset with Ashley. Tom said he had no such dream; he wished he'd never gone to Genoa City, and he might as well leave before he ended up in jail. Sheila told him to trust her because she had a plan that would blow him away. Tom said that he wasn't even sure who she was, Jennifer or Brenda. However, he finally agreed to stay and listen to what she had to say.
Victor asked Neil if he thought that Victor favored one of his children over the other. Neil admitted that it was a tight line to walk at Newman because of having to report to both Nick and Victoria. But he understood that Victor wanted them to run the company together, and he said that it could work out. Victor asked Neil to keep an eye on things and report to him if there were problems. Later, Neil walked into Victoria's office and found her in a passionate embrace with Brad, who left to take some photos from the recent shoot to Sharon. Victoria admitted to Neil that it was frustrating to feel like she had to work twice as hard as Nick to get her father's approval. However, she was up for the challenge.
Dru was telling Sharon what a great job she was doing, and Sharon said she owed a lot of it to Brad. She hoped that Victoria wasn't just using him for her own agenda though. When Brad walked in, he and Dru got excited when an opportunity came up for Sharon to go on a promotional tour for the Beauty of Nature line. They asked if she could leave for St. Louis the following day. Later, alone with Dru again, Sharon said that she and Nick had been hoping to get away. She was going home to try to talk him into turning her tour into a working vacation by going with her, even if it meant missing Lauren's wedding.
At the Athletic Club, Phyllis talked to Nikki about a business proposition based on Nikki's long-since abandoned work on the anti-aging cream. Nikki was intrigued by what Phyllis had to say about Jabot taking an approach to the "whole woman," perhaps including spas and clinics. But she quickly called the meeting to an end when she spied Ashley and Abby across the restaurant, talking to Victor, who was beaming at them.
Victor was impressed by Abby's concern for those suffering from AIDS in Africa. Abby read him a beautiful and hopeful poem written by a young child who was living among that continent's devastation from the disease. Victor promised to make a large donation in her name, and he also donated some money to Abby's school.
After Ashley and Abby left, Victor spied Phyllis leaving the restaurant and called her over. He wondered how she could be involved with a man like Jack Abbott again. Phyllis changed the subject to Victor, asking what he planned to do, since he'd handed over Newman to his children. Victor said that Abby had reminded him about all the problems facing the world. He said maybe it was time for him to focus his energy on something else. As Victor left, Phyllis seemed lost in thought.
Nikki went by Newman to check on Victoria, saying that she, too, was frustrated by Victor. Every time she saw him with Abby and Ashley, she saw red. She hoped that Victoria's interest in Abby wasn't just a means to get closer to Brad, though. Victoria denied it, and she said that even though Nikki didn't really approve, she was pursuing her relationship with Brad. Nikki said that Victoria might be seeing less of her around the house. When Victoria asked if Nikki had cabin fever, Nikki said it was something like that. Later, Victoria met up with Brad again. After she kissed him, Brad locked the conference room door, and the two of them began undressing each other.
John went to see Paul, telling him about the near-violent meeting with Tom and how Jennifer had refused to help him put Tom back in jail. He wanted Paul to put a tail on Tom, but he also wanted Paul to give him a gun. Paul was reluctant to do so, but he agreed to give John one of his guns for protection, although he insisted that they transfer ownership of it. John agreed, and Paul gave him a loaded gun. John quickly put the gun out of sight when Ashley entered Paul's office and wondered what the two of them were doing.
Kevin and Michael talked about the wedding. Michael let Kevin know not to worry about Tom; Michael was sure that he would be in jail. They talked about how Tom was a threat, but the necklace had tested clean, so they were assured that at least Tom was not a murderer. Kevin wondered about how Michael was so calm and collected. Michael said he was ready to get married. They talked about the first dance. Michael told Kevin he would teach him how to dance and did so.
Lauren and Scott were out to dinner. They talked about the wedding, and Scott told Lauren that he was looking forward to partying at the wedding. He said that the only thing that was upsetting to him was that Brenda wouldn't be at the wedding. Lauren admitted that she was not upset at all. She told Scott that she felt Brenda was strange. He said she was strange because she'd had to relive horrible things from her past for the book. He assured Lauren that Brenda was harmless.
Scott and Lauren walked in on Michael and Kevin. They all talked about their honeymoon. Michael and Lauren were going to the Caribbean.
Brenda and Tom talked about her plan. Tom doubted Brenda and her intentions as far as the plan went. Brenda told Tom the plan was that they would kidnap Lauren and ransom her for millions of dollars. She then took out a bag full of items for this kidnapping. She asked Tom if he was in. She explained that Tom would kidnap Lauren and take her to a field house outside of town. Then they would wait until Michael got there with the money, and they would get out of the country with fake passports and the like.
Tom doubted Brenda and said he thought it was just another excuse for her to murder someone. Brenda denied it. He then questioned her about Scott and wondered how, if they were so close, she could just walk away from him. Brenda let Tom know that Scott and she were meant to be a part of each other's lives. Brenda then pushed Tom again to know if he was in our out.
John, Ashley, and Paul were all in Paul's office. They talked about Jennifer Mitchell. John told Ashley that he had gone to see Jennifer, and she had not agreed to revoke Tom's bail. Ashley wondered why John was at Paul's office if Jennifer said no. John explained that he was talking to Paul about getting a restraining order. Paul let Ashley know obtaining a restraining order was not going to be easy. Paul told Ashley there was nothing they could do but wait for the trial.
Ashley told John to stay out of the whole fiasco and be careful. John responded that he would stay away from Tom as long as Tom stayed away from him. John left, as Ashley and Paul had a date. Paul ran after John and asked if he was sure about the gun situation. John told Paul he prayed that he didn't have to use it, but he would do anything to protect his family. After John left, Ashley told Paul that she wondered why her dad had to be involved. She also told Paul that something about Jennifer gave her a bad feeling.
John went to the Athletic Club and met Gloria. He told her he'd been unable to convince Jennifer that she should revoke Tom's bail. Gloria just didn't understand why. Gloria then blamed herself. John let her know that everyone would be safe and fine, and Gloria believed him.
Ashley and Paul talked more about Tom. She told Paul that when Tom had invited her to take him to the wedding, she hadn't say no; she had said she would think about it. Paul was disturbed by that and said that it was a mistake for her to do that.
Brad and Victoria woke up in bed together. They discussed how long it had taken them to get to that point in their relationship. Victoria asked Brad if he had any regrets. Brad said no and wondered why he would. She confronted Brad about the situation with her parents and how upset they would be. Victoria agreed with Brad that she was insecure. Brad assured Victoria that it was none of her parents' business, and she should not be stressed out about their relationship. He told her he was ready for their relationship to go public. He asked her to attend Michael and Lauren's wedding with him.
Sharon ran home to tell Nick the good news about the trip. She told him that she would be doing a campaign in St. Louis, based on how well the webcast had done. Nick was very happy for Sharon. Sharon asked Nick if he would go with her to St. Louis. Nick said he couldn't. Sharon asked why and explained that she wanted time alone with him. He told her he wanted to but couldn't. He told her he had a bunch of meetings.
Sharon was visibly upset that Nick wouldn't attempt to change things around so they could go together. She told Nick they needed the time to fix things between them, and it could be one of the last chances to fix things. Nick said that they had things to work out, but it wasn't their last chance. Sharon explained to Nick that there was cause for concern and that there was distance between them.
Devon and Neil returned from a game of basketball. Dru called Neil and asked for some paperwork, and she said that she was thinking about going to St. Louis with Sharon. Neil left to give Dru what she needed. Yolanda walked in and talked about how she had been cleaning. Devon seemed upset. Yolanda asked Devon what the problem was, and Devon responded, "Nothing." Devon was still upset and went to do his homework.
Later, Yolanda knew something was wrong with Devon. He finally told her that he was upset because seeing her hands that were chapped from cleaning reminded him of his grandmother and how she had always been working. Yolanda made Devon a deal that he would go to her and talk about things that were bothering him, and she would do the same. She told Devon that she didn't want anything to get between them. Devon agreed. Yolanda helped Devon with his Algebra homework, and Devon was pleasantly surprised.
Neil got the proper papers to Dru, and they talked about Sharon and the trip. They were both hopeful that Nick would go with Sharon, as they believed she needed him. Dru and Neil also talked about Devon. Dru noticed that Devon had been leaning on Neil, and she was happy that was taking place. Neil and Dru discussed Yolanda's progress and how she was committed to her treatment.
Back at the hotel, as Tom and Brenda were discussing the "plan," Tom got a phone call from Ashley. She informed him that she didn't think it was a good idea that they attend the wedding together. Tom was upset and hung up on her. Brenda was standing there and pressed Tom again about their "plan." He told Brenda he would think about it and tell her in the morning.
Brenda began to seduce Tom. She told Tom that he needed to shave, and that would give her time to get more comfortable. While Tom was in the bathroom, Brenda began to talk to herself about how Tom should have never sold her down the river. Her plan had changed to getting Tom as well as Lauren.
Meanwhile Ashley told Paul that she needed to end it with Tom and that she felt Tom sounded dangerous.
Nikki stopped by Newman and found Victoria daydreaming. She wondered why her daughter seemed to be glowing, but when Brad walked in, she figured out that Victoria and Brad were getting closer. After Brad left, Nikki asked Victoria if they were going to Lauren's wedding together and reminded her that because Brad was Victoria's employee, they should be more discreet. Victoria assured her mother that they wouldn't be making out on the dance floor then told Nikki not to leave mad. Nikki said she wasn't mad and warned Victoria to proceed with caution.
Sharon called Dru and arranged to meet her at the airport, telling her that Nick wasn't going on the trip with her, after all. After Noah left for school, Nick suggested to Sharon that when she got back, they might be able to do something together. Sharon said that would be nice, kissed Nick goodbye, and left to go by the office before she caught her flight.
At the office, Brad asked Sharon if she had been the one who'd called him and hung up the night before. Sharon admitted that she'd just needed to hear his voice, but once he'd answered, she hadn't known what to say. Brad told her that she could always talk to him. He assured her that she would be fine on her promotional trip. He hoped she and Dru could make some time to have fun.
Sharon wondered how Brad and Victoria were getting along and was curious about his somewhat lackluster answer. Brad assured her that things were fine; they were just at the beginning of their relationship. He wondered if that bothered Sharon, and she admitted that she and Victoria weren't close friends, just relatives. However, for Brad's sake, she'd bend over backwards to get along with Victoria, because he deserved to be happy. When Victoria walked in and wished Sharon well on her trip, Sharon left, but she turned around in time to see Victoria and Brad share a passionate kiss.
Nick was looking at a photo of himself with Sharon, Noah, and Cassie when Nikki arrived at his house. Nikki told him that she was working on a new project at Jabot with Phyllis, who she found to be a very bright, creative person. Nick grinned and said he guessed he shouldn't have fired her then. Nikki turned to a more serious topic when she wondered why Nick hadn't considered going with Sharon on her trip. Nick said that Dru was the better person to launch Sharon's publicity tour.
After more questioning from his mother, Nick finally admitted that there was a distance between him and his wife that neither knew how to bridge. When he was with Sharon, he felt guilty. Nikki urged him to talk everything over with Sharon when she returned and get some counseling if they needed it. Nick promised his mother that he would.
As Dru was getting ready for her trip, she noticed that Yolanda and Devon were forming a mother-son bond. Neil pointed out that if Yolanda began acting more like a mother, then he and Dru had done their job, but he understood that it was making Dru feel a little insecure. As Devon got ready for school, Yolanda noticed Dru's beautiful outfit and commented on what an exciting life she led. Neil seemed interested to hear that Yolanda had helped Devon with his math homework and that she'd been a good student in high school. He looked like he was thinking that over as Dru went to say goodbye to Devon.
Michael surprised Lauren with breakfast on their wedding day, but their intimate morning was interrupted by Gloria's arrival. Gloria assured them that the wedding plans were all under control. Lauren said she needed to get ready for her hair appointment, but Michael told her not to go. He'd arranged for her stylist to join them there. As the three of them were talking, the doorbell rang again, and Lauren's mother, Joanna Manning, surprised everyone by her arrival. Lauren hadn't known where to send her mother a wedding invitation, and Gloria was offended when Joanna seemed ready to take over the wedding. Joanna insisted that Michael leave, since he shouldn't be with Lauren before their ceremony.
After Michael left, Scott arrived. Joanna was shocked to see how grown up he was and a little put off when he called her his grandmother. She insisted that he should just call her Joanna. While they were talking, Sheila, pretending to be Brenda, called Scott on his cell phone to find out who was in Michael's apartment. She was startled to hear that Lauren's mother had arrived, because she knew she had to get everyone out of there to carry out her plan for Tom to kidnap Lauren.
Tom was uncertain about Brenda's scheme to kidnap Lauren for ransom. She assured him that she had everything under control. She gave him the chloroform and told him to put his cell phone on vibrate then to wait outside Michael's apartment until he heard from her. She told Tom that they were going to ask for two million dollars. What Tom didn't realize was that Sheila didn't plan on asking for ransom at all. She intended to kill both Lauren and Tom.
Sheila, in her Jennifer disguise, went to the Colonnade Room, where she barely escaped being spotted by Michael, who'd stopped by to make sure the wedding plans were really under control as Gloria had promised. After he left, Sheila snatched up the seating chart. When the man who was handling the preparations found it missing, he called Gloria, who said she'd go there immediately. Not to be outdone by the mother of the groom, Joanna insisted on going with Gloria.
Sheila called Tom, who told her that Gloria and Joanna had just left, and Scott had left earlier. Sheila told him to proceed with the plan. While Lauren was talking on the phone, Tom slipped into the apartment with a key that Sheila had given him. He hid from Lauren and took out the bottle of chloroform and a cloth.
