At the Glamorama, Opal asked Belinda about Adrian's gift and was surprised to see it was a key, not an engagement ring. Belinda admitted that she was surprised too. Opal told her that she had the key to Adrian's heart; she just had to learn how to use it. Liza sat feeding Colby while Becca raved about how cute the baby was. Dixie walked in and heard Liza say she thanked God every day for her daughter.
Dixie admitted to Opal that she was "in the family way." Opal was delighted, and Belinda congratulated Dixie. However, Liza looked doubtful, and when Dixie asked her about her comment, "if the time is right and the doctors say it's okay," Liza reminded Dixie about her kidney donation and subsequent heart problems. Dixie figured out that Tad had been discussing the "high-risk" pregnancy with Liza. Liza explained that she had caught Tad looking up information on the computer, and he had told her then about the pregnancy and how worried he was about it.
Dixie told Liza she had gotten the go-ahead from Dr. Hayward, as long as she took care of herself and had regular checkups. Opal told them that she thought Tad would eventually change his mind then left for a 3:00 p.m. appointment. In the entrance hall, she met Tad as he was entering. He needed to talk; he wanted to know if he reminded Opal of Ray Gardner. Opal realized the question was about Dixie's pregnancy and Tad's concerns for the future. "Look at your blessings," she told him, encouraging, "Be like Dixie and look at the future, not the past."
Meanwhile, Dixie asked what Liza would do in Dixie's situation. Liza said she understood how Dixie felt, because having a child left a person's heart open and ready to be broken. She handed Colby over to Dixie, saying, "Let her save your daughter's place." In the entrance hall, Opal reminded Tad of his blessings -- the woman he loved, Jamie, Junior, and a baby on the way. He walked into the salon and watched as Dixie held Colby. Dixie spotted him, and they hugged.
As Raquel and Max got things ready for Max's birthday party in the courtyard, Mateo happened along. Max begged Mateo to stay for the party, and Mateo said he would get changed then return. Across the way, Hayley and Ryan spotted Mateo on his way toward the condo, and panic set in. Ryan asked if there was a back exit because he knew that Mateo would go ballistic if he found Ryan and Hayley together. As the birthday party guests arrived, Mateo was about to open the door to his and Hayley's condo when Max interrupted him and begged him to attend the party -- "right now."
Not wanting to disappoint his son, Mateo agreed to stick around for the party. Hayley saw Mateo join the celebration and thought it would buy her and Ryan some time to find a way out of their predicament. Raquel welcomed the guests, and Max proudly showed off his gift from Raquel's parents. Mateo questioned who had sent it, and after sending Max out of earshot, Raquel said it was from her parents. Mateo was amazed, and Raquel said their son had seen a picture of her parents in a box and had asked about them. It had made her gather up the courage to phone them, and she had been calling them every Sunday for several months.
Mateo was stunned by the news and appeared a bit concerned, but he opted to say nothing on the matter. Just then, Max ran up, "Daddy, there's a man in your house!" Raquel, Mateo, and Max burst into the condo. Mateo and Raquel looked stunned, but Max ran up to Ryan, "Ryan! I thought you were a burglar. Can you come to my party?"
Mateo suggested Max get back to the party, and Raquel, seeing a storm was brewing, hustled him outside to cut the cake. "What the hell are you doing here?" Mateo yelled at Hayley. "I came to see you. We need to talk," Hayley replied. "You bring your bodyguard with you?" Mateo asked in disbelief. Ryan protested that he had just dropped by with the keys to SOS for Mateo. "Shut up! Get out!" Mateo told him then angrily turned to Hayley, "This is my home! You had to bring this here?"
Ryan left after Hayley reassured him that she needed to talk to Mateo privately. Mateo slammed the door on Ryan then glared at Hayley. The sound of their arguing could be heard outside in the courtyard. Hayley insisted that she and Ryan had just been talking and that she had been waiting for Mateo. Raquel was concerned because the kids were hearing every word and asked Ryan if they should break it up. "I've been shutting up guys like that my whole life," Ryan told her.
The argument inside continued. "You got no clue, you got no class!" Mateo yelled at Hayley. Max overheard and asked if his daddy was mad at him, then complained that his tummy hurt. Ryan thought up the idea of a magic trick to distract the kids. "Why did I even come back here?" Hayley said. "Maybe to fool around with your boyfriend, rub my face in it, maybe," Mateo sarcastically suggested.
Hayley insisted she had returned to talk to Mateo. When she said she had talked to Trevor, Mateo got on a tirade again. "And the Pork Chop cut Tink a break, because we all know that Tinkerbell can do no wrong!" he said as he strode around the apartment, waving his arms. Then he taunted her more, "Where'd you do it? In the bedroom? The kitchen?" He asked it all with a leering smile. "You've lost your mind," Hayley said unbelievingly. "Did you use protection? No, that's right, you want a baby," he said.
Hayley told him to shut his mouth, but the tirade continued. "Is this what you'd give my son for his birthday? Because he already knows you hate him, and what you did today proves it," Mateo said. Max heard the last words loud and clear, as did Ryan, Raquel, and everyone else at the party outside. Hayley told Mateo that she would never ruin the little boy's day and that Mateo was the one making a scene. He told her that he had learned that fathers lived in daughters as well as sons.
"I want you out of my life. I don't care what you want -- Ryan, A.A. I don't care if you sink or swim; it means nothing to me," Mateo said, adding, "You're not going to get your hands on my club." Hayley was aghast, "Now it's your club?" He told her about his trip to the bank and his unsuccessful try for another loan. He asked her if she or Adam were responsible for his being turned down.
Mateo yelled that he'd rather burn the club to the ground than let Hayley walk through the door again. The party guests still heard the whole argument from outside the condo. Ryan couldn't take any more and went inside to tell Mateo that he could be heard all over the neighborhood and that he was scaring Max and the other kids.
"What's the matter with you? Tormenting your wife and children like this, you're out of control," Ryan told Mateo. Again Mateo told Ryan to get out, but this time Ryan said he was taking Hayley with him. "You might want to take care of your son," Ryan said as they left. Mateo clenched his jaw, took a few breaths, walked outside, and saw Raquel hugging Max. The party was over.
At the Seaview Hospital, where Dimitri had been taken straight from the airport, Edmund anxiously asked to be allowed to accompany the unconscious Dimitri as doctors examined him. His request was denied as the attending physician explained that Edmund would have to wait until Dimitri's condition was stabilized. Brooke, Erica, Gillian, and Jack waited with Edmund. The mystery woman from the airport barreled through the entrance with a worried look on her face. She took in the scene as Brooke tried to comfort Edmund.
Without saying a word, the mystery woman quickly backed through the doors. As Edmund and the others waited for news of Dimitri, they shared their reminiscences. Edmund recalled Dimitri and the experience in the aqueduct. Erica reminded him that he and Dimitri were survivors. A doctor arrived and told them that they thought Dimitri had suffered a stroke, but then another doctor appeared and broke the news to Edmund, "I'm sorry. We were too late. We couldn't save your brother."
Edmund was stunned and demanded to see his brother. When he saw Dimitri's lifeless body, he looked down at Dimitri then bent down to say his last farewells. In tears, he ended by saying, "You were my brother only for a few years. I love you, Dimi." Edmund walked out from saying his goodbyes to Dimitri. "It doesn't seem real," he said sadly.
Edmund asked the doctors what the cause of death was and was told that it probably was a cerebral aneurysm, a swelling and then bursting of a blood vessel in the brain. Edmund wasn't satisfied and wanted to know the exact cause. The doctors didn't plan on doing an autopsy, but Edmund told them that as Dimitri's next of kin, he wanted to have an autopsy.
"I want to know what killed my brother. I demand an autopsy," he told them. Then a voice was heard, "No, I won't allow it!" The woman who had stayed in the background earlier had finally made her presence known.
David arrived at Vanessa's luxurious hotel room. David and Vanessa were planning to meet with Donald Steele, the author to whom Vanessa had given the information about Erica, and pay him in return for the information and photos. There was a knock at the door; it was room service. "I didn't order anything," Vanessa told the waiter, but David said he was the one that had placed the order.
Vanessa didn't understand why David had bothered. She just wanted to get what they needed from that "horrid man" and to have him leave as soon as possible. There was another knock on the door, and it was Donald. David hid in the bathroom as Vanessa opened the door.
Donald made himself at home and even made a pass at Vanessa. In the bathroom, David made faces of disgust. Vanessa fended Donald off and started to make a deal with him, but there was yet another knock at the door. Donald headed to the bathroom to hide, but Vanessa steered him to the closet and closed him in there along with the room service cart. Palmer was there, in an amorous mood, wanting to spend some time with Vanessa before he left on his trip.
Palmer took off his jacket and opened the closet door to hang it up, but fortunately, he was looking toward Vanessa and didn't see Donald in the closet. Vanessa freaked out and practically jumped on Palmer, closing the closet door as she kissed him. She then switched gears and tried to get Palmer to leave. He mentioned that he had checked up on the friend she was supposed to be visiting in Argentina and he'd been dead since 1986. Vanessa was at a loss for words.
Fortunately for Vanessa, the phone rang, and she pretended it was her supposedly dead friend calling her, and she said she was relieved the rumor of his death wasn't true. It was really David calling from the bathroom to help her get rid of Palmer. Palmer finally left, and Vanessa had Donald step out of the closet and give her the documents. He was suspicious when she told him to wait while she went into the bathroom, but he finally agreed.
Vanessa took all the papers in to David, who was wearing surgical gloves as he looked through them. Vanessa told David to give her the money, but he refused. He had something else to give Mr. Steele.
Adam mentioned to Liza that his daughter, Skye, would be heading to Llanview in the near future (Robin Christopher joined One Life To Live in the role of Skye on August 3, 1999). Colby's crying interrupted their conversation, and Liza headed upstairs to take care of her. Adam called the Dillon house to check on Hayley and had to leave a message on the answering machine there. Suddenly, there was pounding at the door. Adam answered it and found Mateo standing there. Mateo was furious because he thought that Adam was behind Mateo getting turned down for a loan.
Mateo accused Adam of messing with his life. Liza returned downstairs in the middle of the conversation and, misunderstanding what Mateo was upset about, defended her husband for interfering in Max's custody case. Adam had just been trying to help them, she explained. That made Mateo even more furious than before, and he blamed Adam for ruining his marriage. Things got even worse when he realized that Hayley had known about it and hadn't told him. He and Hayley were over for good, he declared as he stormed out of Adam's house.
At the hospital, everyone was stunned over Dimitri's death. Edmund demanded an autopsy be performed when a strange woman stepped in and refused to allow it. "Mind your own business," Edmund told her, but she didn't back down. "Just who do you think you are?" he asked. "I'm Alexandra Marick, Dimitri's wife," she announced to the amazement of everyone there.
Erica immediately accused Alex of lying. She couldn't believe the woman had the nerve to claim such a thing. However, when Jack asked her for proof, she was able to show him her passport and her marriage license; she and Dimitri had been married four days earlier. Alex seemed to know a lot about each of them and their families. She knew Bianca was Erica's daughter, and she knew that Edmund's children were Maddie and Sam, even though he tried to trick her by referring to Sam as "Robert."
Alex told the people in the hospital how excited Dimitri had been on the plane to return home, see them all again, and share his good news. He had even shown her the presents he had gotten Maddie and Sam, a china doll and a sailboat. According to the new Mrs. Marick, Dimitri had gotten a terrible headache very suddenly, and all the color had drained out of his face as he had collapsed against her. "Then why didn't you order the plane to land here when you were so close?" Edmund asked, demanding, "Why did you turn the plane around?"
"Dimitri begged me to take him home," Alex explained. She had thought he had known he was dying and had wanted to go home to Budapest. Edmund continued to grill her about why she had thought "home" meant Budapest when she had just said that Dimitri was excited about going "home" to Pine Valley. Alex was offended and tired of his questions; she didn't have to justify herself or her actions to him. Gillian backed Alex up and said that Dimitri had said that he wanted to be buried near his relatives at Vadzel.
The doctors approached and asked again what should be done with the body. Edmund again insisted on an autopsy, but Alex refused. After the doctors saw her marriage certificate, they followed her orders. Alex left the hospital with Dimitri's body and headed to the airport. After they were gone, Erica remained suspicious and wondered aloud to Gillian why Alex was so determined that no autopsy be done and why she was in such a rush to get Dimitri's body out of the country. Erica wondered what Alex was hiding. She hoped that Edmund and Jack, who had left the hospital, could do something to stop Alex before it was too late.
At the airport, Alex was just about to board the plane when Derek Frye arrived with Jack and Edmund and informed her that she was not going anywhere.
"How can you not trust me?" Adam asked in surprise. Liza reminded Adam that he had bribed Judge Charles to side with Mateo in his custody battle. Bribing a bank official was not, in Liza's mind, out of the question. Adam passionately argued that he "absolutely did not" have anything to do with Mateo being turned down for a loan. "Mateo did that all by himself," he muttered.
Adam also disputed Mateo's insinuation that Adam was mostly to blame for the troubles Mateo was having with Hayley. Liza nodded her head slightly and said that Mateo's lies had led to the relationship's downfall. "[Lies] grow and grow," Liza commented. She said that no marriage or relationship could possibly survive if it was built on a foundation of lies. Adam shifted nervously next to Liza.
Adam offered to call Alfred to prove that he'd had nothing to do with the denied loan, but Liza assured her husband that she believed him. Adam reached for a telephone message that Skye had left. The note unimpressively mentioned that Skye would be moving to Llanview. Adam said that he was upset that he didn't have a closer bond to his daughter. The note, he sadly noted, didn't even offer an update on how she was doing.
Adam said that he never wanted to lose touch with Colby. Just for good measure, Adam reminded Liza that allowing Jake to be Colby's father was a testament to Adam's changed lifestyle. Liza giggled to herself and gently tapped Adam's hand. "Jake is Colby's father," she said with a laugh. The doorbell rang, signaling an unexpected visit from, oddly enough, Jake.
Jake had dropped by to tell Adam and Liza that he would be out of town for a several days while he attended a medical conference. Jake said his goodbyes to Colby and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Adam mentioned that he, Liza, and Colby might be going to England for a few days. Jake offered no opposition to the trip, but he did asked Liza to be sure that Colby didn't return with "Austin Powers' teeth." He and Liza chuckled. Adam smiled cluelessly and noted, "I don't know who he is."
Derek's arrival at the airport surprised Alexandra. The detective explained that Edmund had filed an injunction to prevent her from taking Dimitri's body out of the country. Alexandra argued that as Dimitri's wife, she outranked Edmund and planned to return Dimitri to Budapest for "internment." There seemed little hope that legal action would halt her flight to Hungary. Alexandra asked to examine the injunction, but Derek was forced to admit that he didn't actually have the paperwork.
Haughtily, Alexandra grumbled that she would not hang around until the paperwork arrived. "You have no right to do this," Edmund said stepping forward. "I am his wife," Alexandra rebutted through clenched teeth. Edmund ceded that Alexandra was his brother's wife, but he argued that she was not closer to him that Edmund was. "Why does this have to be a contest?" Alexandra asked.
Suddenly, Alexandra was hit by a flashback of the events that had transpired thousands of feet above the ground. "Promise me," Dimitri said to her from a reclined position on the plane's sofa. "I don't want him to see me like this." Then, writhing in pain, Dimitri's body went limp.
Edmund said that he would not argue that Dimitri had loved Alexandra. He said that had he not been wrapped up in himself, he would have realized that Dimitri had not been "dark, private, or morose" any longer. In fact, he noted that in recent weeks, Dimitri had returned to provoking him. "He got a perverse thrill out of that, didn't he?" Alexandra said as she smiled.
Edmund wanted the woman to see why it was so important that Dimitri be at Wildwind. He explained that he'd lost his wife in a plane crash and that her body had never been recovered. Because her body hadn't been located, Edmund said that he felt a sense of emptiness when he visited her empty crypt.
Again, Alexandra's mind flew back into the past. "I can't!" Dimitri had said sternly. "Two years ago, he lost his wife. He can't go through this no matter what the outcome," Dimitri had insisted. The pilot appeared before Alexandra and informed her that her plane had once again received clearance. The woman rose from her seat and headed toward the boarding gate. There, she informed the pilot that she'd had a change of plans; she would not be flying to Budapest, and she wanted Dimitri's coffin removed from the plane.
Vanessa pleaded with David to give Donald his money so that they could get rid of him once and for all. Shaking his head, David said that he'd decided to move forward with another plan. Donald pressed his ear against the closet door and listened carefully to the conversation. Suddenly, David opened the door, and Donald toppled to the ground. Donald smiled timidly before rising to his feet.
When asked how much of the conversation he'd overheard, Donald said that he'd only heard enough to figure out that David, not Palmer, was bankrolling the operation. David nodded his head and said that he had paid for everything -- right down to the hors d'oeuvres. The doctor chattered on about the hors d'oeuvres for several minutes. He wondered aloud if the strychnine he'd added to the pâté had given the appetizers any additional flavor. Donald and Vanessa's eyes bulged simultaneously.
"David!" Vanessa gasped. "That's rat poison. This must be a joke," she said. David shook his head. He asked why the only food item served was also the only food that Vanessa was allergic to. Vanessa placed her hand over her mouth and muffled another gasp. For the first time, Vanessa realized that David was wearing latex gloves, presumably to keep his fingerprints from appearing on any items in the room.
Donald still did not believe that he'd been poisoned, but slowly he began to exhibit symptoms of strychnine poisoning. A tingling sensation hit his extremities, and his breathing became more labored. Vanessa headed to the phone to call the paramedics. David insisted she would never make that call. David noted that Vanessa would have a hard time explaining to the authorities how a dead man had ended up in her room. More importantly, she'd also be forced to explain why a bottle of rat poison was hidden in her room.
Vanessa knew that she'd been foiled. "I can't afford a scandal," Vanessa panicked, fretting, "Palmer is my first billionaire." Vanessa's frantic pleas revealed that she was more interested in her financial security than in Donald's life. The end nearing, Donald babbled on about the first book he'd ever been given. From there, he proceeded to apologize for gambling away his mother's house.
Vanessa begged her son to do something -- anything -- to save Donald's life. David pulled a small vial of clear liquid from his pocket. He announced that the vial contained an antidote to the poison. He next produced a handheld video camera. As film rolled, David told Donald that he would administer the antidote if and only if Donald told the truth about how he'd gotten the pictures of Erica's scarred face.
Vanessa jumped in front of the camera and angrily snarled that "Donald will not talk." Donald shook his head feverishly and insisted that he wanted to tell the truth. "Shut up, Donald! He won't let you die," Vanessa yelled. David asked Vanessa if she was absolutely certain. He reminded her that he'd stepped over her body when she'd collapsed of a heart attack in the parking lot of the Valley Inn.
Brooke paced around the parlor at Wildwind, clutching a white teddy bear. She caught sight of a picture of Dimitri and burst into tears. "My God, Dimitri. I can't believe it's true," she sobbed. She quickly dried her eyes when Erica and Gillian returned to the castle. Erica told Brooke that Jack and Edmund had gone to the airport to attempt to reclaim Dimitri's body.
"She stole the body and is trying to [fly] it out of the country," Erica said. Erica momentarily forgot that Brooke had not been present when Alexandra dropped her bombshell. "She," Erica explained, "is the woman claiming to be his wife." Brooke was stunned and wondered where Alexandra had been when Dimitri had been wheeled off the plane. Gillian broke her silence, tears still streaming down her face. She said that she imagined that Alexandra was too shocked to face Dimitri's family.
"She must be really scared," Gillian said. It was only then that Brooke realized that Dimitri's big surprise had to have been the news of his marriage. Erica disagreed, saying that Dimitri would not keep something like that a secret. Gillian and Brooke were both in agreement that Dimitri's happiness had to have been attributed to the new woman in his life. Erica mumbled that she and Edmund were the "only skeptics" to doubt the validity of Dimitri and Alexandra's marriage.
"This Alex person is not who she's pretending to be," Erica said worriedly. She used Alexandra's refusal to agree to an autopsy as proof that the woman was up to something. "This would not be the first time that Dimitri chose the wrong woman to marry," Erica chirped. Brooke puckered her lips, smiled slightly, and turned away from Erica. Only then did Erica realize that she'd inadvertently left the door open for Brooke to assume that Erica was one of those wrong women she'd mentioned.
"She's a gold-digger -- maybe even a murderer!" Erica added. Brooke accused Erica of being bitter that Dimitri had found happiness. The two women bickered back and forth before Gillian stepped between them and demanded that they stop arguing. Gillian raced out of the house in tears. Brooke stunned Erica by apologizing for the argument. Erica, however, did not return the sentiment.
The previous summer, said Brooke, Dimitri had asked her to be a part of his life. She had turned him down. Brooke remembered that Erica had called her a fool for pushing Dimitri aside -- and she admitted that she had been a fool. Nevertheless, it was possible that Dimitri had moved on and found someone else to make him happy. There was still one point that Brooke and Erica both agreed upon: Dimitri should be laid to rest at Wildwind.
The door opened, and a somber Jack entered the house. Brooke raced into his arms and sobbed. Seconds later, Edmund appeared in the doorway. He turned to look out into the front yard. Erica's mouth gaped as Alexandra appeared by his side. "I can't believe they brought her here," Erica whispered to Brooke.
After introducing Brooke and Alexandra to one another, Jack left the room to make some phone calls, and Edmund went off by himself to have some time alone. Erica took a deep breath and started walking in Alexandra's direction. "Not now," Brooke said softly. Erica froze in place, bowed her head, and walked away. Alexandra looked to Brooke and said simply, "She loved him."
Brooke nodded and said that they all loved Dimitri. Brooke left the room to check on the children. While alone, Alexandra plucked a piece of paper from her purse. She quickly dialed a number and spoke to Dr. Silbert of Seaview Hospital. She said that she had a "big change of plans." She promised to "be in touch" with the doctor.
Alex hung up the phone and headed toward the sofa. She picked up Dimitri's reading glasses and gently caressed them. Brooke suddenly appeared in the doorway and called out to her. "Mrs. Marick," said Brooke, "I think there's something that you would want to see."
"I can't swallow," Donald said, completely panicked, "my tongue is swollen!" Vanessa turned to her son and demanded he stop his sadistic game. "He knows the deal," said David of the dying writer. The deal, of course, was an exchange of information for the proper antidote.
"This is monstrous!" Vanessa shrieked. "I hope he dies more nobly than he lived," David said with a smirk. While Vanessa might not have wanted Donald to talk, the author was all too willing to blab her dirty secrets in order to save his life. So anxious was Donald that he spouted off his confession before David had the video camera rolling.
Once the camera was on and filming, Donald admitted that Vanessa had stolen the pictures of Erica's scarred face from David's office. Donald also stated that he'd sold the pictures to Jerry Reeves, but he swore that he'd had no idea that Jerry would do something sinister with them. His heart poured out on a small videocassette, Donald mistakenly thought his ordeal was over. David pulled a syringe and a vial of liquid from his pocket. He handed them to Vanessa and informed her that she was going to play doctor. It was sort of a "take your mother to work day" kind of concept, David chortled.
Vanessa continued to panic. Unbeknownst to Donald, the woman who was to be his savior had a deep-rooted fear of needles. Following David's instructions, Vanessa inserted the syringe into the vial and extracted some of the antidote. When it was time for her to actually inject Donald, Vanessa's hands trembled more and more. David announced that Donald had less than thirty seconds to live and began a launch-like countdown starting at ten seconds.
Vanessa fumbled the needle, and David's countdown hit zero. "Time's up, Donald. You're a dead man," David cackled. Donald suddenly collapsed on the bed. Vanessa's panic spun into overdrive. She looked at David, her eyes wide, and asked if Donald was really dead. David urged her to check his pulse.
As she did, Donald suddenly jumped up -- he was amazed to be alive. David burst into hysterical laughter and mocked the pair for having believed that he'd poisoned the pâté. Donald was furious with the doctor. "You're gonna pay for this," he said arrogantly. He was quickly knocked down a few pegs when David reminded him of his videotaped confession. Selling stolen goods, he noted, was a crime.
Defeated, Donald turned and raced out of the room. Vanessa made light of the situation, saying that Donald's stay at the mental institution would be "much longer this time." David warned her not to be too smug because she could face jail time as well. Vanessa bowed her head and asked David if he would really send her to jail.
Surprisingly, David admitted that he didn't want to see his mother rot in a jail cell. Instead, he said that he could show the videotape to Palmer any time he wanted to. But he said that he would only do so if Vanessa crossed Erica again.
Her head buried in the sofa, Gillian sobbed as the impact of Dimitri's death continued to set in. Jake returned to the boarding house and asked Gillian if she was okay. He assumed that her saddened state was the result of another run-in with Ryan. Gillian embraced Jake as tears continued to roll down her cheek. "It's not Ryan," she said softly, "it's Dimitri -- he's dead."
The news caught Jake by surprise, and he was unable to say anything to comfort the sobbing princess. Gillian recalled one of her fondest memories of growing up and the role Dimitri had played in it. Shortly after her eighth birthday, Gillian's parents had thrown a formal party. Because of her age, Gillian had been "banished to [her] nursery." Dimitri, in his formal attire, had entered her room and asked her for the first dance.
Gillian sighed slightly and said that Dimitri had made her feel like a princess. "I had a title, but I never felt like a real princess," she sniffled. Realizing it wasn't the best time to tell her, Jake informed Gillian that he would be out of town at a medical seminar and that afterwards he was going to visit his sister Tara and brother Jeff. He offered to cut the trip short, but Gillian told him that he should cherish every moment he could spend with his family. Gillian took a deep breath and headed for the phone. It was time to phone Eugenia and tell her the bad news.
Still shaken from the events that had transpired in her hotel room, Vanessa raced to Palmer's room to give him a goodbye present. Palmer noticed that his friend was upset and asked her to explain what had happened. Vanessa sat down on the couch in Palmer's suite and proceeded to tell him what had happened -- her version. She said that Donald had approached her and that he'd claimed to have additional dirt on Erica. To pay the writer off, Vanessa had said that she'd managed to convince her son to cough up the money to protect Erica.
After the money changed hands, Vanessa said that she'd done something "very unladylike." That, according to her, was threatening to tear off Donald's head and stuff it down his "scrawny neck" if he ever showed his face in Pine Valley again. Palmer was touched by Vanessa's devotion for Erica but mused that he never wanted to get on her bad side. Palmer said that he was having trouble packing his bags for his cruise. Vanessa stepped forward and helped the mogul, saying that women were much better suited for things like packing. In a matter of seconds, Palmer's luggage was ready to go.
Palmer reached out and took hold of Vanessa's hands. He carefully took a tie that he had been holding and tied it around Vanessa's wrists. He smiled devilishly and asked Vanessa if she'd like to join him on the cruise. Vanessa played coy and said that she didn't want Palmer to think that she was materialistic. In the end, though, she smiled broadly and told Palmer that she'd love to spend more time with him.
Brooke escorted Alexandra to the hunting lodge. Once inside, Alexandra showed the first flashes of sorrow. She inhaled the aroma of Dimitri's favorite cigars and smiled fondly at a picture of Dimitri riding his horse, Maximillian. Her voice cracked when she recalled one of her dates with Dimitri. She said that they'd taken a ride on a carousel and later dined on fish and chips.
Seeing Alex's pain, Brooke wondered if she'd done the wrong thing by taking Alex to the lodge. Alexandra shook her head and said that she wanted to be at the lodge because it was the place that Dimitri had felt most at home. Alexandra said that she felt obligated to try to help Edmund deal with his loss, but Brooke said that she didn't think anyone could truly help Edmund handle his grief. The familiarity in Brooke's voice led Alexandra to the conclusion that she and Edmund had once been lovers. Brooke nodded but said that that had been "a whole other lifetime." Maria, she explained, was Edmund's true love.
Alexandra wondered if Edmund would ever understand why she'd ruled against an autopsy. Discovering why Dimitri died, she said, would not lessen the pain. Brooke agreed that that was true, but she said that knowing what had gone wrong was a "trade-off." She looked at Alexandra as she sipped a cup of tea and mentioned that she had to feel "cheated" to have lost her husband so early into their marriage. "You go where life leads you," Alexandra replied meekly.
Brooke's journalist side kicked in, and she fired off a barrage of questions, asking Alex how she and Dimitri had met and how long they'd known one another. Alex laughed slightly and warned Brooke that her romance with Dimitri had hardly been love at first sight. On their first date, Alexandra said that she and Dimitri had gotten into their first fight -- a fight over mutton, of all things. Dimitri wasn't fond of leg of lamb, but the dish was one of Alex's favorites. His opposition to lamb had prompted her to order a double portion and to eat it very, very slowly.
Brooke informed Alex that she was also fond of leg of lamb and asked Alex to give her the name of the restaurant so that she could dine there the next time she was in London. "Simpson's on the Strand," Alex replied with a smile. Brooke laughed slightly and said that she'd just eaten there a few days before while in London. The announcement seemed to trouble Alex.
A knock sounded on the door, and Brooke quickly raced to answer it. A messenger had dropped by with a package for Mrs. Marick. Alex slowly opened the package and found a beautiful wooden music box. She opened the lid and listened to the tune as she read the enclosed card: "Come grow old with me. The best is yet to come."
A lone tear cascaded off of Alex's cheek as she slammed shut the lid of the music box. She told herself that she could not be overcome by her emotions, or she would not be able to do what she had to do. Brooke assumed that Alex was referring to planning the memorial and offered to lend a hand. Alex thanked Brooke for her generosity and then excused herself to answer the phone.
Alex referred to the person on the other end as "Sean" and asked Brooke if she could have some privacy to talk to her friend. Brooke nodded her head and went on her way. Once alone, Alex told Sean that Dimitri had had another attack, one that had been much worse than any he'd had before. "I had to make a life-and-death decision," she said resolutely.
In the Marick family crypt, Edmund recalled some of the many emotions he had shared with his brother -- from the time he'd first informed a bitter Dimitri that they were brothers, to the moment when Dimitri had first accepted him as his brother, to the toast that Dimitri had made to Edmund and Maria on their wedding day. Edmund placed his head on Dimitri's coffin and burst into tears. Jack watched quietly from the entranceway. He thought about leaving Edmund alone to grieve, but he ultimately decided that he should not desert his friend.
Jack shook his head and said that he had no idea how Edmund had managed to stay pieced together. Edmund confessed that it wasn't easy and said that he had to remain composed for his children's sake. "His death was so sudden," Edmund said in disbelief. The abruptness of Dimitri's death made Edmund question Alex's account of how Dimitri had died. The fact that she'd blocked his request for an autopsy didn't make things any clearer. "I'd bet my life that there is more to this story than she is letting on," he said.
Brooke arrived moments later, and she and Edmund embraced. Unexpectedly, Edmund burst into laughter. He asked Brooke if she remembered how he'd convinced Dimitri to shoot him a few New Year's Eves before. Of course the gun had been filled with blanks, but Dimitri hadn't known that. Edmund said that he kept hoping that Dimitri would suddenly pop out of his coffin and announce that his death had just been a joke to even the score.
Brooke told Edmund that she'd taken Alexandra to the hunting lodge. Edmund turned his back and walked slowly away. Something that Brooke had said had made Edmund further suspect Alex's story. Brooke said that Alex had referred to the lodge as the place where Dimitri had felt most at home. Edmund mentioned that Alex had told him a similar story at the airport -- but she'd told him that Dimitri had thought of Vadzel as his home.
Brooke told Edmund that he was making too much of things, but Edmund didn't think so. He said that the discrepancy showed that Alex's story has holes in it. Jack thought it best that they all return to the main house. Brooke concurred, but Edmund said that he wanted some more time alone with his brother. Naturally, Jack and Brooke respected his request. As they left, they closed the door behind them.
Almost immediately, Edmund popped open the hinges that held the casket lid in place. He was surprised to see that the coffin had already been sealed. He stepped outside and plucked a handheld shovel from the ground and returned to the crypt. He used the small spade to pry opened the sealed coffin. Suddenly, Alexandra appeared in the doorway and ordered him to "stop it right there!"
Alone at her uncle's house, Hayley hit the phone lines to find someone to talk to in her time of loneliness and need. She managed to reach Axel, but the aspiring actor was on his way out and unable to talk for very long. Shortly after she got off the phone with Axel, Amanda and Trevor returned home. Fresh from her camp counselor's wedding, Amanda was still wearing a beautiful bridesmaid gown.
The romance of the ceremony had sent Amanda's mind into a tizzy. She sat on the sofa next to Hayley and began asking a barrage of questions about Hayley's marriage to Mateo. "Was [your wedding] the most romantic time ever?" Amanda chattered. Hayley forced a smile and nodded her head. Amanda continued on, saying that when she got married, she and her husband would live happily ever after -- just like the fairytales.
Amanda's next question raised the eyebrows of both her father and Hayley. She asked Hayley to tell everything that Hayley and Mateo had done on their honeymoon so that Hayley could "inspire" Trevor and Janet. At Amanda's tender age, the request was surprising -- but it did not appear that Amanda was talking about the same thing that Hayley and Trevor were thinking about.
Amanda headed upstairs to take off her dress. While she was gone, Trevor asked Hayley for the details of her chat with Mateo. Hayley took a deep breath and stated that it had been a total disaster. She explained that Mateo had accused her and Ryan of having sex in the condo while Max and his pals partied in the courtyard. She also told Trevor about Mateo's plan to buy her out at the club.
Trevor shook his head and claimed that Mateo loved Hayley too much to want her out of his life. Hayley disagreed. She said that Mateo would never have said and done the things he'd done if he truly loved her. "You were the one kissing another guy," Trevor interjected.
Trevor's comment set off Hayley's temper. She flew off the handle, accusing her uncle of not being on her side. Trevor tried to explain that it was difficult for a man to forgive a woman for kissing another man, but everything he said just seemed to make things worse. Hayley stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
Amanda heard the ruckus and raced downstairs to see what was wrong. Trevor said only that Hayley was "going through a tough time right now." He smiled rather meekly and told his daughter that he was confident that Hayley would pull through. Amanda headed to the kitchen and, presumably with some parental assistance, cooked spaghetti for dinner. She was disappointed when Janet called from work and said that she'd be working late and would not be home for dinner.
Amanda continued to grumble that her parents were a bit of a disappointment because they hadn't gone on a honeymoon. Trevor explained that he and Janet loved one another and that they did not need to travel to some exotic locale to show their love for each another. Amanda claimed to understand, but as soon as Trevor left the room, Amanda made a beeline for the telephone. She dialed Tim's number in Paris and frantically asked him for help to her fix Janet and Trevor's relationship.
"I can't let you do this," Alexandra bellowed from the entranceway to the crypt. Edmund was not about to let her get in the way. He yelled that he wanted to see his brother. The coffin had been sealed. Alexandra explained that it had been sealed for the trip back to Hungary. "I need to see him!" Edmund yelled.
Alexandra told Edmund that Dimitri had wanted to spare Edmund from having his last memory of his brother be of Dimitri in a coffin. The statement prompted Edmund to wonder if Dimitri had known that he was ill. After all, it didn't seem like something he would mention in passing that he did not want anyone to see him in the event of his death. "You'd better get your story straight, lady," Edmund snapped. He told her that he'd caught her slip of the tongue when she'd referred to both Vadzel and the hunting lodge as the place where Dimitri felt most at home.
Alex did not address her slip, saying only that "everything happened as [she] said it did." She took a deep breath and prepared to recount Dimitri's final moments. "It was dreadful," she said after noting that Dimitri had not shown any signs of being sick prior to his collapse. She said that Dimitri had not want Edmund to see him after his death because Edmund had already lost Maria. "That was different," Edmund replied.
Alexandra said that Dimitri had wanted Edmund to remember him as "strong and vital." A familiar voice called out to Edmund. Peggy slowly entered the crypt and was overcome by emotion. "How could the Lord take him?" she sobbed. Alex stepped forward and introduced herself as Dimitri's wife.
Peggy quickly looked to Edmund to see if Alexandra was telling the truth. Much to Edmund's chagrin, Peggy sympathized with Alex. She said that it was horrible for her to have become a widow so soon into the marriage. Peggy saw the shovel and scolded Edmund for trying to unseal Dimitri's casket. "My boy is gone," she said softly.
Edmund walked Peggy back to the house, but Alexandra wanted a few minutes alone with Dimitri. "I'm so sorry," she said, "I have to do this. I didn't have any other choice."
Hayley headed for Liza's old loft, which had become home to Ryan -- and soon to Scott as well. Ryan had just gotten out of the shower and answered the door shirtless. They exchanged meager greetings. The uneasiness caused Hayley to wonder if dropping by was such a good idea. Ryan shook his head and welcomed Hayley into his home.
Hayley told Ryan that she'd just gotten into a verbal battle with Trevor. Ryan quietly replied that people always hurt the ones they loved and assured Hayley that Trevor would understand that she was upset. Ryan went to the kitchen and microwaved a package of popcorn. He marveled that he hadn't scorched any of the kernels. Hayley was not quite as impressed, musing that new-fangled microwaves had a popcorn button that made it easy to pop popcorn.
Ryan flipped around the television dial, looking for something to watch. There wasn't much to choose from -- mostly a bunch of cheap B flicks. While Ryan moved up and down the channel spectrum, Hayley fell asleep. Ryan watched her for just a moment before gently blanketing her with a cover. He flipped out the lights, took one last look at his slumbering friend, and headed to bed.
An exuberant David raced up the walkway to Erica's porch and could barely wait for Erica to answer the door before trumpeting his good news. He told Erica that he'd managed to retrieve all of her belongings from Donald Steele and at the same time prove that his mother had stolen her pictures from his office. One of the reasons David was so happy was because it let him of the hook by proving to Erica that he hadn't sold the pictures. "It doesn't matter anymore," Erica said sadly, "nothing matters anymore."
Moving inside the house, David asked Erica what was troubling her. "He's dead. Dimitri's dead," Erica said softly, her voice still showing disbelief. David listened carefully as Erica explained the bizarre circumstances behind her ex-husband's death. "Dimitri loved me more than any man has loved," Erica whispered. Erica blasted Alexandra, saying that she was certain that Alexandra was a "phony." She also doubted that Alex's accent was real.
"[Dimitri] said that no one would ever take my place in his heart," Erica continued. For just a moment, it seemed as though Erica was more upset that Dimitri had gotten married than she was mournful of his death. Erica wondered how she could tell her daughter that the man she had thought of as a father was gone.
David wanted to help Erica relive some of the happier times she and Dimitri had shared. He asked how she and Count Andrassy had met. Erica laughed and said that they'd met under the worst of circumstances: Dimitri had been trying to take control of Enchantment. In a series of flashbacks, Erica recalled her first meeting with Dimitri and how he'd called her "the original ice maiden." Erica burst into tears, prompting David to take her in his arms.
"I think you should leave," Erica said after composing herself. David told Erica that he did not think that she should be alone. "I have my mother," Erica responded. Erica thanked David for getting her things back, but again told him that she wanted to be alone. David reluctantly agreed to leave. Once alone, Erica picked up the phone and called Bianca to tell her the bad news.
Edmund and Peggy walked down to the hunting lodge to give Alexandra some food. When they arrived, Alexandra was nowhere to be found. Peggy found the music box on a table and noted how beautiful it was. Edmund mentioned that it was probably the gift Brooke had told him about. Edmund told Peggy that he doubted Alex's sincerity.
Peggy shook her head and told Edmund that "she loved him" because Peggy had seen the love in Alexandra's eyes. "I'm not convinced she's on the level," Edmund replied. Edmund asked Peggy if she could find her way back to the house by herself. Peggy nodded, and Edmund raced back to the crypt. When he got there and stepped inside, Dimitri's coffin was gone.
