At Outskirts, Cassie and Reva argued about Josh's confession to Alan's shooting. Cassie focused on the impact it had on her and her kids, while Reva pointed out that Josh's own kids were affected as well. They tried to figure out how they could get him to recant. Buried feelings surfaced as Cassie said that Reva was trying really hard to hate her. She gave Reva a couple of reasons why she should. Reva told her it was no fun if Cassie said it first.
Cassie said that she could only remember the beginning and the end of the night Alan had been shot, but not the middle. Reva said she would help Cassie remember. She told her sister that they would get everything cleared up so that Josh could be free to be with Cassie.
Reva went to Jeffrey's room and tried to hire him on a retainer of one dollar. She asked him if Cassie would have a better chance getting off than Josh if Cassie confessed to the shooting. Jeffrey would have no part of it. When Reva asked him what she could do, he replied that she should pray that the police found another suspect.
At the Beacon, Olivia was on the phone with Jeffrey, discussing their daughter, Ava. Buzz arrived, and Olivia quickly got off the phone, trying to hide the fact that she had been speaking with Jeffrey. Buzz was onto her and insisted that she stop lying to him. She said she hadn't been lying, only leaving things out. Buzz let her know he felt it was the same thing.
When Olivia asked Buzz if he was bothered by her spending time with Jeffrey, Buzz told her that he was not. He just wanted her to be honest with him. He told her that if she was scared, she should go to him. She said she wasn't scared of anything, but Buzz insisted that she was scared of something.
Later, after Buzz and Marina had had a heart-to-heart about Marina's lack of confidence in her abilities as a cop, Marina left feeling better, and Olivia arrived on the scene. She told Buzz that she had made a mistake by putting Ava before him. Buzz told her that she had gotten it all wrong. He knew the importance of protecting one's children and encouraged her to do so as long as she did not hide things from him. Buzz acknowledged that whatever problems Olivia had with Ava, Ava was still her daughter.
At the police station, Mallet told Marina that the "charming" con artist, Cyrus Foley, was probably long gone from Springfield. Marina was still a bit obsessed with the case and how she had been taken in. Meanwhile, Dinah -- "Di Di" -- had found Cyrus waiting for her in her room. It became apparent that Dinah and Cyrus had once been partners in crime and that Dinah had given testimony that had let her off and had him imprisoned. Cyrus was resentful and looking for revenge.
Cyrus hid in the closet when Vanessa stopped by. While she was there, she revealed that Matt was in Toronto, raising a lot of capital for their project. Dinah begged off dinner with her mother, explaining that she really needed to spend quality time with Mallet that evening. Vanessa understood and left.
Cyrus emerged from the closet and told Dinah that he wasn't a pushover like her mom. He left saying that he would be in touch with her soon. Marina and Mallet were back at the police station, and Mallet told her to get a life and start dating so she wouldn't be obsessed with the likes of Cyrus Foley. He also told her that Beth gave him the "willies."
At the Spaulding mansion, Alan-Michael found Beth in the sitting room with a revolver she had taken from a hiding place in the bookshelf. They discussed how anyone in the family could have had access to it. Beth was angry when Alan-Michael said that even Lizzie could have used it. Just then, Ava entered. Although Alan-Michael had the gun sitting on a blanket in his lap, Ava didn't see it as Beth removed it from sight. Beth wanted to continue her conversation with Alan-Michael without Ava present, but he said it could wait.
Jeffrey let himself in and began telling Ava she should stay away from Alan-Michael. He revealed that Alan-Michael had set Josh up to skip out on his bail. Beth left for Cedars. While she was there, Mallet confronted her and alluded to the fact that the case wasn't over, since the weapon hadn't been found. She also encountered Cassie, who asked her to help Josh in his case. Beth told her that, though she was sorry about Josh, she couldn't help because she was a Spaulding.
After Beth and Jeffrey left, Ava confronted Alan-Michael, stating that what Jeffrey had said was true. She told him that she didn't need Alan-Michael's, Coop's, or Jeffrey's protection. She was there to help Alan-Michael. She kissed him on the forehead and left for the kitchen to get them something to eat. Alan-Michael told her he needed to make a last phone call.
When Ava left, Alan-Michael stood, walked to the door, locked it, and retrieved the revolver from its hiding place. He held it away from his side and stared at it as though he was about to use it.
Jeffrey O'Neill arrived at the farm to have a talk with Cassie. He told her that Josh could be in a great deal of trouble. He told her that she had found a good man, and she really deserved that life. He asked her again about Alan's shooting, and Cassie told Jeffrey that she wished that she could remember what had happened that night. She informed Jeffrey that she would not allow Josh to take the fall for it. She just believed that he was not guilty of it, and she knew that she'd had a gun the night of the shooting because of the videotape that Chief Cooper had shown her. She would not let Josh use a plea bargain to get a lesser sentence for something she was sure he had not done.
Cassie went to see Josh at the police station just after Mel had arrived to discuss a plea bargain for the shooting that Josh insisted had been self-defense. Josh and Mel argued, and the discussion grew heated as Mel told Josh that he would do anything to protect Cassie from any further hurt. Mel became frustrated when Josh said to get the D.A. to offer a plea, and she told him that the D.A. worked for Alan's wife. She asked, "Do you really think this will go well?"
As Josh started to reply, Cassie arrived to see him. The two embraced, and Mel left to see what she could do. Cassie and Josh began to talk, and she told him that she would not let him do it not matter how much he loved her. She loved him too much to see him suffer through all of that.
As Mel left the station, she ran into Rick. They exchanged kind words, and Rick asked her if they could go and talk. Arriving on Main Street for coffee, Rick told Mel that it was time for them to get a divorce. They both apologized and exchanged memories of how they were reminded of the good times that they had shared and the love they had had for each other, just like Cassie and Josh. They both agreed to continue to raise their daughter, and they both apologized for what had gone wrong in their marriage. Rick said that he was a better man because of her. She thanked him, and they embraced.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey O'Neill asked to meet with the D.A., Doris Wolfe, and she agreed. Before leaving the Spaulding mansion, Doris met with Alan-Michael, and the two began to disagree about how to run the mansion as well as the family. Doris met with Jeffrey, and he told her that there was no way she would give in to Josh Lewis. He had confessed to her husband's shooting. Jeffrey reminded her that he could call the driver back from Australia about the death of Tammy Winslow. It could get ugly, and he would see to it.
Doris agreed to offer a plea, and Jeffrey told her that Alan had only married her to protect himself. It would all be revealed at trial. Jeffrey left to go see Josh and tell him the news. Arriving back at the station, Jeffrey told Cassie and Josh that Doris had agreed to two years upstate in a minimum-security prison. Cassie said no way would he take the blame for it. They would go to trial.
At the Spaulding mansion, Doris and Ashlee were planning Ashlee's 18th birthday party. Ashlee's friends were not good enough for Doris, so therefore, Doris would invite some teens from the country club. Ashlee was furious. Lizzie walked in and began to help with the planning of the party, all the while planning the party's demise.
Alan-Michael was at the mansion with Ava when she arrived just as he was claiming to be doing some therapy. He and Ava admitted that they had feelings for each other, and they kissed. They agreed to go to the party for Ashlee as a true couple. Alan-Michael was still leading Ava along that he was truly paralyzed. She continued to fall for him and believe all that he told her.
Ashlee and Moxy seemed to be the only ones on time for Ashlee's 18th birthday party at Company. Outside, she wondered where her guests were. Coop sprinted out the door. He wasn't keen on hanging around for the bash, considering the guest list. Snotty rich girls that Ashlee's mother and Lizzie invited comprised the list.
Ashlee was just happy her mother had at least let her have Company for the location. Coop wished her a happy birthday and hoped she enjoyed all the work Buzz had put into it. Once Coop left, Ashlee confided in Moxy how badly she wanted to be accepted by Lizzie and all her friends.
In Alan's parlor at the Spaulding mansion, Beth felt the Spauldings were all in the clear because of Josh's confession. Alan-Michael wasn't so sure, since someone had hidden the gun in the Spaulding mansion. She made a brazen play for Alan-Michael, inviting him to just "walk" into her room later that night after the party. Though definitely intrigued, he declined. He had other plans.
An unpleased Beth agreed with Alan-Michael that they would keep one another's secrets. Still she wanted to know what was up with him. He had been hitting on her since he had returned to town, but suddenly he was resisting her. She thought it was Ava. He had to be in love with her.
Alan-Michael wouldn't answer and tersely excused Beth. Their secrets had to mean nothing, Beth hissed as she exited. With the door closed, Alan-Michael sprang from the wheelchair and opened the false book with the gun in it.
Lizzie wasn't dressed for the party. She pulled up a chair at Alan's bedside. Resentfully, she talked about how Doris and Ashlee thought they could just make themselves instant Spauldings. She thought he'd be proud of her for making a farce out of Ashlee's birthday. She had never invited any guests. They had to learn, she told Alan, Spauldings did whatever they had to do to protect each other -- whatever they had to do.
Doris, dressed in mink, interrupted Lizzie's time with Alan and instructed her to get ready for the party. Belligerent, Lizzie caused Doris to wonder what had happened to their fence mending. They had gotten along very well in planning the party for Ashlee. Lizzie accused Doris of blackmailing Alan and demanded she get out of their house. Doris asked what she had done wrong to Lizzie.
Lizzie ranted that Doris danced on her dead baby's grave and celebrated while Alan was in a coma. Doris told her to suck it up and move on. Lizzie's mouth dropped at the woman's audacity to tell her to get over her baby's death. Doris rolled her eyes. What was past was past.
Lizzie still argued with Doris. Doris condescendingly told Lizzie that, as the future of the Spaulding family, she often asked herself what Alan would do. Alexandra crossed the threshold with an amused giggle. Yes, she said -- do things Alan's way, and Doris, too, could wind up with a bullet in her.
Beth strolled to Ashlee's party with a gift in hand and literally ran into Rick outside Company. Since his divorce was moving forward, Rick passionately proposed that Beth and he be together. Beth seemed resistant, but Rick seriously wanted the rest of his life to include her. She reminded him that she carried Alan's baby. Rick was ready to help her with that if Alan never recovered.
Beth struggled with her thoughts as Rick happily told her they no longer had to sneak around or lie. They could be together in the open. It was not that easy, Beth told him. Rick sincerely told Beth that Alan had been cruel to her, but he would give her whatever she needed. Thoughtfully, Beth inclined her head and wondered if he really meant that. Of course, Rick assured her as he nodded. Beth latched her arm with his and silently led him away from Company.
Just then, Ashlee reemerged and desperately checked for guests. Back inside, she stared like a puppy in the window, wondering what could be keeping everyone. "Maybe there's a traffic jam or something," she said. Sadly, she blinked and said, "Maybe they hate me..."
Meanwhile, Rick wondered why Beth had taken him back to the hotel room where they had carried on their affair. Beth replied that he was very convincing. Rick nervously paced the room, thinking they were moving kind of fast. Beth ripped his jacket off, saying they had to start somewhere.
When he was still hesitant, she asked him if he really wanted her. He did. If they planned to spend the rest of their lives together, then they could do it. "More than once if we have to -- because we want to," Beth told him. "Rick, you are the man who is going to give me everything I need," Beth said. The two fell into bed together.
Meanwhile Alexandra wondered if it was the night of Doris' daughter's birthday party. Doris said that it was. Alex laughed and asked, "Well, were you invited?" Lizzie laughed at the comment. Doris proclaimed that she was a Spaulding and asked that they treat her with a little respect. "We do," Lizzie nodded and then smirked as she added, "very little."
Lizzie left Alex with Doris for round two and exited the hospital room. Alone, Alexandra advised Doris that Doris didn't want to go head-to-head with her. Doris corrected her again that she was a Spaulding and said that she had gone against Alex before. She had put Alex in prison. Bitterly, Alex retorted that she hadn't forgotten that.
With her evil giggle, Alex recounted Doris' poor life. She had never had much of anything, had worked her way through law school, and intimidated men. However, she had never gotten the respect she had longed for. Uncomfortable, Doris cut the conversation short and said she'd see Alex at the party. Alex sent her regards to Ashlee.
Stunned, Doris wondered if Alex meant she wasn't attending Ashlee's party. Alex had more pressing matters with the Spaulding board and attorneys. While Doris Wolfe huffed and puffed and blew out candles, Alex would be devising a plan to carve her out of the Spaulding family. "Oh, come on," she told a distraught Doris, "you didn't really think I was going to just stand by and let you become Alan's widow?" With a blink and smile, she continued, "Dream on," and turned her back on Doris.
Meanwhile, Alan-Michael returned the false book to the bookshelf. As he walked toward his wheelchair, Ava barreled into the room. She stopped short, discovering him standing. At first Ava was overjoyed to learn that he could walk. Alan-Michael lied that he had just started learning to walk again but had wanted to keep it secret. His legs were nowhere near as strong as they needed to be.
As Alan-Michael blubbered through his explanation, Ava realized that he had lied to her the whole time. She wondered if he had ever been paralyzed or if he had just been pretending so that he could get her in his house. She yelled at him that he had tossed himself off the balcony for her sympathy. Alan-Michael protested, but Ava deemed him a liar and stormed out of the house.
On Main Street, Coop encountered Lizzie and asked her why she wasn't at the party. Immediately, he saw through her façade and pressed her about what she had done to Ashlee. After a short interrogation, Lizzie admitted there was no party. Doris and Ashlee were getting what they deserved for trampling on all the Spaulding misfortune. Coop jerked her around and berated her for causing Ashlee to have a horrible memory of her eighteenth birthday. They argued, and Lizzie didn't care what he thought. She didn't need him or anyone.
Coop asked Lizzie to look around because that was exactly what she had -- no one. More gently, he took her to a bench and told her that he understood all she had lost. Lizzie responded that she had lost her baby, but no one even cared. They wished it were her that was dead. Coop asked her to prove them wrong and be better. He left her alone on the bench to think.
As Coop rushed to Company to see about Ashlee, Ava accosted him. She wanted a sympathetic ear to comfort her about Alan-Michael's lies. Coop only said that he had told her so. Ava was taken aback by his harshness and admitted she should have seen it months earlier.
Ava started to cry, saying that she just wanted to undo what she had done and take everything back. Coop didn't think that she was done with Alan-Michael. Ava proclaimed that she was done, but Coop told her that he had a choice. His choice was to go inside and help someone that he knew really needed him. He wished Ava luck and left her outside.
Inside, Coop pretended that Ashlee's party was over instead of revealing that he knew it had never begun. He sprightly asked her if they could have cake and enjoy a good time together. Ashlee didn't correct him that the party had never happened, and she laughed as they dug into the cake. Later, they spread out on the floor with Moxy, and Ashlee revealed that she had lived in a trailer park. Coop told her there was nothing wrong with that. Ashlee laughed it off, saying that her mother was the one who didn't want anyone to know about it because she was trying to fit into the Spaulding world.
Coop told Ashlee that those people were no better than her. Ashlee said she knew who she was, and she had learned to laugh at herself. She loved herself, but it was her mother who wanted her changed. Coop encouraged her to be herself and love herself and her friends because that was all that mattered. He reminded her that all the Company customers loved her, and she lit up the entire restaurant when she entered.
With hearts in her eyes, Ashlee asked Coop if he wanted another piece of cake. Lizzie happened by the window. Perplexed by the scene of Ashlee and Coop inside, laughing and dancing, she strolled away.
On Main Street, Alex discovered a distraught Ava. She wondered what was wrong as she handed Ava tissues. Hurt, Ava revealed that Alan-Michael had lied to her, and she didn't think she could forgive him. Alex giggled and was not even going ask what he had done wrong.
Alex did know, however, that her nephew was not poison. He was capable of deeply felt love. She had seen it before, and she had a feeling that she was seeing it again. They exchanged looks, and Alex left Ava on the bench to figure it out.
At the hotel, Beth lay with her legs up on the headboard, encouraging Rick's sperm to swim where they were supposed to. Rick reentered the room, and Beth was ready to hit the sheets again. Rick wondered if they should give their little friend a rest, but Beth thought he had rested enough. She threw Rick down on the bed and started kissing him again.
Back at the mansion, Ava dragged herself into the parlor and found Alan-Michael in his wheelchair. She said she should have given him a chance to explain. She asked him for the truth. She wondered if he had been lying to her the whole time. He said he hadn't been. She wanted to know if all the physical therapy had been a lie to keep her from Coop.
Alan-Michael told Ava that he didn't want lies between them. He said the possibility of them getting together was what had made him work harder to walk. He said she had just found out before he had been able to tell her. He pleaded with her to believe that he had been trying to be whole for her, to be the man she deserved. He took her hand and said that if he botched it up, he had no one to blame but himself.
Alexandra and Doris locked horns again at CO2. Alex laughed to think Doris had stood Ashlee up just to follow her around. Doris wanted to know if she'd had her little meeting. Alex cooed that she had, and it had gone very well. Doris would be hearing about it, Alex said. Doris threatened Alex's retreating backside that she'd be sorry she had done it. Without turning around, Alex replied that she didn't think so.
In the hallway outside Alan's parlor, Lizzie strolled by the photo table. She caught a glimpse of a photo of herself with Sarah. She grabbed it and collapsed to the floor, sobbing. Inside the parlor, Ava told Alan-Michael that it had taken a long time for her to believe in him. She wouldn't toss it away. They kissed, and he pulled her into his lap as the passion deepened.
At the hospital, a dutiful Beth went to see Alan. She relayed to him that they belonged together. She vowed that they would be together because she had made sure of it. She knew that he'd understand why she had done what she had that night, and he'd thank her for it. She was putting the family first. That was what Alan always said: family was first.
Beth smiled, asking Alan to rest. When he returned to them, everything would be different and right again. She kissed his cheek and left. Alan's eyes slowly fluttered. With difficulty, it seemed, he finally opened them.
Due to CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA College Basketball "March Madness" tournament, the entire CBS Daytime lineup for the day (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light) was pre-empted.
Regular broadcasting resumed on Monday, March 19.
Due to CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA College Basketball "March Madness" tournament, the entire CBS Daytime lineup for the day (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light) was pre-empted.
Regular broadcasting resumed on Monday, March 19.
