John questions Clay, Evangeline's uncle, about the comment he overheard Evangeline make. Clay admits the family always thought Evangeline would end up with a great and powerful man. After seeing Evangeline's awards and commendations, John privately fears that he is holding Evangeline back. Duke tells Adriana he wants to help try to save Buchanan Enterprises from ruin. Todd plants a bug in Renee's phone. Todd later hears Adriana offer to give Duke the last of her inheritance to help rescue Buchanan Enterprises. R.J. makes it clear to Antonio that he knows all the personal details of Antonio and Jessica's lives. Antonio encounters Tess in the park and thinks she's Jessica. Jessica fights to overpower Tess but Tess wins in the end. Tess decides to use Jamie to destroy Antonio and Jessica. Dorian appeals to Viki to help end Duke and Adriana's relationship. Viki supports Duke and Adriana being together and believes Dorian's behavior is based on not being with David. Natalie admits to Michael that she is going to pursue John.
Antonio meets with Evangeline at the diner. Van tells him that things with John went very badly when they traveled home for her great aunt's funeral. They go on to discuss character witnesses for the upcoming custody hearing, as Lindsay eavesdrops on their conversation. Lindsay immediately calls R.J. and leaves a message on his voice mail, informing him that Van and Antonio are talking at the diner. R.J. shows up as Van is walking out, and she warns him not to harass her client. Antonio realizes that Lindsay called R.J., and he gives them a stern warning to quit looking for ways to undermine his chances at winning custody. Carlotta witnesses the heated exchange and calls Evangeline to come back to the diner.
Meanwhile, Van attempts to enjoy breakfast with Nora, who is distressed after a fight with Daniel. The two women share their current romantic woes and try to comfort one another. Daniel shows up with flowers and apologizes to Nora for letting the stress over the Cramer case get to him. Nora remains unimpressed. When she leaves her table, the waiter rushes after her with the flowers. "Ma'am, you forgot these," he says. "Actually, I didn't," she replies.
Tess and Ginger meet in the park, and Tess reminds her new friend that today is the day she is going to use Jamie to get back at Antonio. Ginger is reluctant to participate in any scheme that might be detrimental to a child. She says she still wants to be Tess's friend, but that she can have no part in this. Tess intends to go ahead with her plan and leaves Antonio a message, posing as Jessica and saying that she is ready to pick up Jamie.
Dorian meets with Governor Brooks in order to make David jealous. However, when David shows up, her plan backfires: the Governor sees the sparks flying between David and Dorian and leaves them to their own devices. Dorian lambastes David for intruding, but he gets the upper hand by telling her that Kelly has gone to ask Viki for a job. He tries again to make her see that, one by one, the girls are turning against her. Dorian takes off for "The Banner," where Kelly has indeed asked Viki about job opportunities. Kelly has informed Viki that she resigned from the University as a form of protest over Viki's firing. Viki is touched, but Dorian storms in and accuses Kelly of betrayal. She then tries to make Viki jealous by saying that she is the new woman in Governor Brooks' life, but Viki laughs in her face and tells her to call David. Meanwhile, David sulks to Kelly, telling her that he has no more fight in him, and is simply going to give up where Dorian is concerned.
Natalie is happy to see that John's in a bad mood after his visit home with Evangeline.
As a moody John studies photographs from the Killing Club murders, Marcie stops by to offer her help. She becomes emotional after looking at the pictures and even though John accepts her offer, he's one step ahead of her and has already tried her suggestions. He understands her feelings of guilt but tries to make her understand that it's not her fault. She points out that the killer may be attempting to kill someone with a crossbow next, same as in her book.
Rex is sure that Evangeline has news for him regarding Jen's case so is surprised to find her with Antonio. They ask him to testify in the custody case against R.J. but he's leery about doing that, as R.J. is still his partner. He suggests that if they can get Jen out of trouble, he'll consider helping them in return. John shows up and tells Evangeline he'll never hurt her. He stays to cuddle for awhile.
Tess stops at R.J.'s to get Jamie, dismissing the sitter early so that she can snoop around for dirt on Antonio. Putting the baby to bed, she carelessly tosses papers and files around as her lit cigarette lies perilously close to the edge of the ashtray. When she falls off a chair while trying to reach a box on top of the bookcase, she's knocked unconscious. The cigarette falls on the papers and they begin to burn.
Nora and Matthew arrive home to a jumpy Daniel. Answering the ringing phone, Nora gets a hang-up call. Daniel apologizes for their earlier argument as Nora points out that they are really struggling in their early stage of marriage to get along. She asks him to back off of Jen, pointing out that he needs to trust both her and Bo for their belief in Jen's innocence. Daniel retorts that Nora also trusted Troy but expresses his regret for the comment instantly. He agrees to wait a few days unless there's more evidence. He picks up the phone and makes a call as Nora heads upstairs. He asks the party if he/she had just called and hung up, telling the person to stop. Turning around, he sees Nora, who comes back downstairs upon hearing him on the phone. It's just Riley, he tells her. Matthew gets permission to use Daniel's printer for a school paper and later Nora gives it a once over. She calls Riley and confirms what she believed, that it wasn't him on the phone earlier. Probing further, she learns that Riley only spoke to his dad once while they were away, when he was on the plane.
Jen stops by Riley's place, announcing that she needs to find her MP3 player. He can't understand their breakup as she once again explains that it's because he's under his father's influence and couldn't believe in her.
Natalie is determined to find out what John's true feelings are towards her, as she orders a surprise meal for him at the diner. Running into Michael, he continues to try to order her to leave his brother alone as he's happy with Evangeline. When Marcie arrives, she thinks that Michael and Natalie are dating since they appear up in each other's faces. Michael sets her straight, she tells him how upset she was in John's office and the pair decides to become a team again to aid in the search for the killer. Antonio arrives to wait for Jess. Rex reassures and comforts Jen. They wish they could find the printer that the note was from but figure it's probably trashed.
John returns and finds his surprise dinner from Natalie. He cluelessly eats away as Michael drops by and points out that she has ulterior motives for the dinner. She's in love with him, he tells his brother.
The killer highlights the crossbow passage in the book, pulls out the new crossbow and arrow, points and shoots at a display of pictures. It looks like it might be Michael.
Jessica finds herself in the middle of a fire in R.J.'s apartment without remembering how she got there. Antonio rescues Jessica and Jamie. John wants to clear the air with Natalie, who acts on her impulses. R.J. rejects Evangeline's proposition about Jamie. Kelly is shocked by Kevin's suggestion. Blair worries about Todd.
Nora has reached her breaking point with Daniel's lies. She confronts her husband, demanding that he tell her the truth or else the marriage is over. Daniel accuses her of spying on him, but Nora won't back down. She says she wants the truth behind his mysterious phone calls and long hours in secret "meetings." Daniel covers by saying that the phone calls and meetings have all revolved around Governor Brooks' desire for him to replace Kevin as Lieutenant Governor. Nora reluctantly accepts Daniel's explanation, but informs him that using Riley as an excuse for his lies does not sit well with her.
Meanwhile, Riley interrupts Jen and Rex as they are bonding over a board game. He tells Jen he wants her back, but once again she maintains that she can have nothing to do with someone who thinks she's a murderer. Rex taunts Riley, and Jen demands that Riley get out. She walks across the room and puts her arms around Rex, wounding Riley to the point that he slinks out and heads to Daniel and Nora's residence. There, he exchanges heated words with Daniel, insisting that Jen is responsible for turning his life around. Daniel says he understands, but that they cannot ignore the evidence pointing towards Jen as Cramer's murderer. Nora and Daniel remind Riley that he's not alone and invite him to spend a few days as their house guest. Riley says he will have to think about it and leaves. Nora is impressed with the way Daniel treated his son, and they prepare to go upstairs and make love. However, Daniel remembers at the last minute that he has a "meeting"; he offers to cancel, but Nora says it is okay for him to go now that she knows what the meetings are truly about. Daniel leaves and heads for a hotel, where he meets his lover. He apologizes for not being able to meet closer to their homes, but says that someone might have recognized them.
After Riley leaves, Rex tells Jen that she's the best thing that ever happened to him. She says it's funny that he turned out to be such a good person, and they share a kiss.
R.J. arrives at the hospital, where Jamie is being treated for smoke inhalation. Antonio demands that Jessica tell him how the fire started, but she can remember nothing. When he realizes that Jessica has blacked out again, Antonio tells her that he doesn't think it's a good idea for her to testify at his custody hearing. Jessica apologizes and insists that she would never hurt Jamie intentionally, but Antonio is bothered by her inability to even remember going over to pick up his daughter. He reminds Jessica that it's been three days since they made love, and she is stunned to realize that she remembers nothing from that time period. R.J. refuses to let Antonio kiss Jamie goodbye, and an angry Antonio walks out on Jessica. R.J. thanks Jessica for basically assuring that he will win full custody of Jamie. A tearful Jessica sees Dr. Jamison and stops him in the corridor. She tells him about her latest blackout and makes a desperate plea for him to help her figure out what is wrong with her mind.
John pulls away from Natalie's kiss and tells her that it was a bad idea. She disagrees and tells him she's wanted to kiss him for a long time. He reminds her that he's with Evangeline, but she insists that that doesn't matter and that he'll be thinking about her when he kisses Van. John answers a call from Van, but doesn't tell her where he is. Natalie sees this as further proof that he's not in love with Van, since he can't be honest with her about his whereabouts. John leaves, and Natalie tracks down Michael to deliver a punch to his face. She lambastes him for telling John that she still has feelings for him. Eventually they come to terms and enjoy a good laugh.
Meanwhile, John goes to Evangeline's apartment and finds that she has made a long string of black and white paper links, representing their differences. She tells him that the visit to her family may have brought up all the differences between them, but that those differences are part of the reason she loves John. They talk about these major contrasts, and Van tells John that she doesn't want someone who is like her; she thinks that "opposites attract" really holds true in their case. They make love, and in the aftermath John has a disturbing dream. In the dream he is walking through a dark hallway, while Evangeline keeps calling out, "I need you!" When he finally reaches Van, someone tries to shoot her, but he jumps in and saves her. He says "I love you," but when he looks down at her, Van has turned into Natalie! John wakes from the dream, and Van seems to have heard him say "I love you" from his dream state. She smiles down at her lover.
