Nick and Noah join Nikki, Victor, and Victoria for breakfast. As they prepare to take Cassie home from the hospital, Noah mentions that Cassie ate his yogurt yesterday. No one believes him. Nick is unable to keep quiet about the move Newman is making to acquire Satine. He believes they are making a foolish mistake, and Victor advises him that they will be using Phyllis against Jack. Lily is concerned when she learns that her parents will be going head to head in business. Dru and Neil exchange banter in their anxious plan to win. Jack, John, and Ashley share breakfast, discussing Jabot's new development of cosmetics. When Phyllis enters with Kyle, the table talk becomes strained. The family abruptly departs to continue their plans, leaving Jack and Phyllis alone. Phyllis is upset that she's being shut out of the Abbott family due to her employment at Newman. Jack comes up with a plan for Phyllis to return to Jabot and run the Internet Department, expanding it to their distributors. Phyllis has doubts because of her loyalty, but Jack suggests Newman wasn't loyal to her. Andy surprises Diane, wanting to take her out for a day of fun. Diane agrees, but when she mentions changing a job interview, Andy doesn't let her. He promises Diane that she won't lose him.

While Cassie was having more tests run, Nick was packing up her things. Jack stopped by the hospital to tell him that he was praying for Cassie and would always be supportive of Nick. Jack was surprised at the amount of bitterness Nick was feeling toward his father, especially when Nick told him that the only time he'd felt he had a father was when Jack was married to Nikki. Jack put his feelings for Victor aside to tell Nick that family was important and in the long run, the only thing a person could depend on. Nick said that might be true of the Abbotts, but not the Newmans. Nick then told him that Sharon had left and had no idea what was going on with their daughter. Furthermore, it was his father's fault she was gone and that she no longer felt she was capable of being a good mother. Jack didn't press for details, simply reminding Nick that Victor cared deeply for Cassie, who could use all the support she could get.

Victor came to the Jabot lab when Ashley summoned him. He told her that she should consider taking time off while she was pregnant. Ashley said maybe he should have thought of that before he bought Satine, forcing Jabot to work harder against the competition. Victor told her that was Victoria's purchase, and Ashley said she was sure Victoria had his support. She only wished he'd bought his daughter a different toy to play with. Victor asked her to remember that their relationship had always been deeper than the competition between their two companies. Ashley finally agreed that their friendship was important to her, too. As the two embraced, Dru walked in and saw them.

After Victor made his exit, Dru and Ashley began to spar. When Ashley said it wasn't her loyalty as an Abbott that was in question, but Dru's ability to keep proprietary information to herself, Dru talked a little about what she'd gone through. She'd worked for Jabot ten years before, and she'd taken what she learned there to Europe with her, where she was on top of the world. She was treated like a rock star. But unlike the Rolling Stones, who could still go rolling along in spite of their gray hair, her career had ended abruptly. The jobs dried up. Her agent dumped her. Ashley sarcastically offered Dru a tissue. Dru said that Jack's offer had given her new life. She had the chance to be a part of something that she didn't take for granted as something she was born into. She wasn't going to blow it. If Ashley wanted to look at a conflict of interest, she should look in the mirror, because there was something wrong with the competition's CEO hanging around the Jabot lab with the lead chemist. After she flounced out, Ashley muttered that trust was something that couldn't be earned with words.

Victor was not happy to see Jack at the hospital and questioned his timing. Jack said that whether or not Victor believed it, he was there because he still remembered how close he and Nick had been as stepfather and stepson. Victor finally relented, sitting down to listen to Jack. Jack said that it was obvious Nick felt his life was falling apart. Though Nick hadn't told him details, Jack had advised him to lean on his family and let them help him through this time. Victor admitted that he wasn't entirely blameless, and he hoped the Newmans could pull together. Jack said that he hoped for Cassie's recovery and Sharon's safe return. Victor said he believed Jack was sincere, then he walked away to go into Cassie's room.

Nick seemed a little less surly with his father after talking to Jack. But he did express his certainty that Victor would never have given him the kind of approval and business freedom that Victor was giving Victoria. Victor denied this, saying that if Nick brought him a proposal the way Victoria had, of course he would consider it. Nick said that Victor's reaction when he bought Crimson Lights was proof that wasn't true. Victor reminded him that Satine was part of Newman; Crimson Lights had been separate and could have distracted Nick from his work at Newman. Nick continued to make snide remarks about Victor's impact on Sharon and their marriage. Victor finally told his son he wished they could get past their bitterness. He told Nick he loved him. Nick said that Jack felt more like a father than Victor, and Victor wondered if Nick was only saying that to hurt him.

Neil and Phyllis were working on the web site when Neil began to speculate aloud about whether it was hard for Phyllis to leave Kyle at home while she worked such long hours. Offended, Phyllis said that she knew how to keep her business and personal lives separate. However, Jack had offered her the same position at Jabot, helping spearhead a massive web campaign for their new cosmetics line for women of color. Although she'd told him no, it had been difficult, since after finally feeling that she was part of the Abbott family, they were now shutting her out. When she told him about the breakfast, Neil gave her a reality check. He said the whole thing had probably been set up by Jack so she'd be primed to hear his job offer from Jabot. Phyllis denied that Jack was the master manipulator Neil was accusing him of being.

When Phyllis went home, she asked Jack how Cassie was doing. Jack only briefly filled her in about the troubles in the Newman family, then he asked if she'd considered his job offer. Phyllis turned her back to him and reminded him that he'd promised not to pressure her. But in fact, she had been thinking of it quite a lot.

When Brad walked into Crimson Lights, a smiling Victoria told Trevor he'd have a chocolate martini to remind Brad of the night they'd run into each other and commiserated over their troubled relationships. Brad said he only wanted coffee to go, and Victoria told Trevor Brad would drink it there, and she would pay for it. The two went to a table and sat down. Victoria wondered if Brad had been left out of the loop regarding Jabot's plans for a new line for women of color. Brad finally told her that he not only knew, but he was heading it. Victoria seemed invigorated by the challenge of going head to head with the man her father had trained so well. The two bantered back and forth about business, then Victoria asked if things were better between him and Ashley. Brad said that not only were they better, they were expecting another child in the fall. Victoria congratulated him. When he asked about the man in her life, Victoria said it hadn't worked out, but she was okay now. Brad cautioned her not to turn down another opportunity for love. Victoria grinned and said he'd like it if she was distracted by a man, but it wasn't going to happen. She was going to use Satine to beat Jabot out of a new cosmetics market.

The Newmans brought Cassie home to stay today. When told that someone should be with her at all times, Nicholas replied that the family would take turns on a schedule around the clock. Victor asked to be included in the schedule. His request was denied by his son, no matter what anyone said.

Once they were settled in at the house, Noah read Cassie a book and decided to get her something in the kitchen. Victor and Nikki had left for the main house, and Nicholas and Victoria went outside the door to talk about things away from the children. Soon, Victor approached and insisted on speaking with his son.

Ashley thought back on her conversation with Dru earlier. It clearly upset her and Brad could tell that when he arrived to take Ashley to the doctor. She told him about Dru's visit, leaving out the part about Dru finding her with Victor, and he offered to have a talk with Dru. She wouldn't hear of that, and asked him to not rock the boat. They took off for the doctor's office separately, as there was a board meeting scheduled later that day and she didn't want them both to be late for it.

Phyllis asked more questions of Jack, trying to see if he had staged the breakfast conversation that led to his offering her a job at Jabot. He insisted that it was just an idea that came to him on the spur of the moment -- not something that he had schemed to do. As time went on, she was more and more convinced that he was lying, and told him that she was the most angry that she had ever been with him at that moment.

Dru found her sister, Olivia, having lunch at the coffeehouse. She told of her new job and how she found Ashley with Victor in the lab. Olivia downplayed it and discouraged Dru from making waves about it. Dru was sure that Ashley had been conspiring with the enemy and didn't like it one bit.

Jill told Billy about meeting her mother. He was amazed at the story and wanted to meet her as well. Kathryn showed up and sparks started to fly as usual. Kay started asking questions that Jill didn't know the answers to, Jill became somewhat defensive. She ended up admitting that Charlotte drank too much while they were together and that was why Jill didn't give her a ride home. Billy tried to calm them down and offered to go to dinner with Jill and Charlotte. He wanted to bring Mackenzie along as well. That was where Jill stopped him dead in his tracks.

When Mac tried to offer support to Raul over his troubled situation with Brittany, Raul took his anger and frustration out on her. He apologized, attributing his mood to the strain of trying to keep up with his studies while worrying about Brittany being alone and possibly pregnant. He'd thought they were on top of the world, going to school, living together, making money. Now he'd realized the two of them should have taken things more slowly, like Mac and Billy. Not just because Brittany wouldn't be pregnant, but because she obviously didn't feel about him the way he felt about her. He would never have left her; he was willing to be there to provide whatever she needed and to face things together. Brit couldn't do the same. Mac disagreed, saying that Brittany really loved him. She believed Brit would be back and the two of them would work things out. Raul left, knowing he had to focus on his school work before he flunked out.

The argument between Jill and Billy over Mac continued to rage while Katherine listened. Billy insisted that it was his life to live, his lessons to learn, not his mother's, and Jill should call him when she decided she could deal with it. When Katherine tried to intercede, Jill told her to stay out of it. The two of them had ganged up on her since she'd arrived--first Kay, about Jill's birth mother, then Billy, about Mac. When Katherine muttered that this was all about Jill's mother, Jill regretted ever sharing information about their meeting with Katherine, who would only use it against Jill. Billy insisted that he wanted to meet his new grandmother, and both Katherine and he wanted Jill to develop a happy relationship with her. But he and Katherine also regarded Mac as family, which Jill couldn't do. Billy stormed out, leaving Jill to remember picking out a name for him with John when he was born, and later, other fights they'd had about Mackenzie. Katherine pointed out that Billy was a young man who was in love and dealing with hormones. Jill couldn't fight that. Furthermore, Jill was making this all about herself. Jill disagreed, saying she was only thinking of Billy, who was missing a magical time in his life by tying himself up with the bland, whiny, clingy Mackenzie.

Mac wondered about the cause of Billy's strange mood when he came home. She could sense something was bothering him. Billy said that when he'd been in Louisiana, it had always felt like part of him was missing because he missed Mac. Now that they were together, he didn't want to be with anyone else. Mac agreed, returning his passionate kiss. Then she pulled away, again questioning the reason for his mood. Billy admitted that he'd had a run-in with his mother about her. He began kissing her again, and finally said, "Marry me!" while Mac gave him a startled look.

Before the Jabot board meeting, Brad quietly confronted Jack about hiring Dru. He wasn't saying it was a bad idea, nor had he been negative about it in front of Ashley. But he resented Jack making a unilateral move when it was Brad who was head of the new division. Jack said if his feelings were hurt, he could bring it up at the next board meeting. Dru arrived and sat down with John, Brad, and Jack to make her presentation, while Lois took notes. Dru presented impressive demographics about the cosmetics market for women of color. But she had an even bigger idea. There was a whole other market they were missing with hair care products. Hair was an important part of a woman's image, even a statement. Jack reminded her that Ashley was working on cosmetics and perfumes, not other beauty products, and John suggested they shelve that discussion for the time being. Brad, however, challenged Drucilla, questioning whether it was even her idea. Perhaps Neil had suggested it as a means of sabotaging them. After all, Dru had already breached Jabot's confidentiality, giving Neil information that enabled Newman to take Satine out from under them. When Dru protested, insisting that Jabot had her complete loyalty, not to mention their history from when she'd worked for them years before, Jack supported her, saying Dru's conversation with Neil had resulted from a breakdown in communications. From here on out, everything would be confidential. That wasn't good enough for Brad. He thought perhaps they should rethink whether or not Dru was an asset. Furious, Dru snapped out a comment about Ashley. When the others waited for her to elaborate, she said it had to be off the record. They asked Lois to leave, then waited for Dru's explanation. She said she wasn't one to gossip, but her concern was Ashley's relationship with Victor Newman.

At the ranch, Victoria wondered if it was a good idea to leave her father and brother alone. She reminded them that the kids were inside, then she went to the main house to talk things over with her mother. Both women agreed that Victor was the wronged party in this situation. Everything was the willful and self-centered Sharon's fault. She was obviously a bad mother, since she hadn't even picked up a phone to check on her children. She had let Victor take full responsibility for the kiss that she'd initiated and Victor had put a stop to, thereby ruining the relationship between father and son. Not only was Nick better off without her, but Nikki went so far as to say she hoped Sharon never came back. Victoria worried because her brother was obviously still in love with Sharon and might never get over her. But he also thought Sharon was what Cassie needed. Nikki conceded that sometimes a mother's voice was all a child wanted. Victoria's biggest concern was that Nick could only push Victor so far; she didn't want to be around when Victor finally lost his temper with his son.

Noah finished feeding Cassie her favorite chocolate ice cream. The he worried that she might be cold, so he tucked the blanket around her. He wished their mother was there with them. Finally he decided to start a fire in the fireplace. He'd seen his father do it and he thought it would help warm Cassie up. He turned on the gas, then went to the kitchen, returning with a box of matches. First he spilled them, then he began picking them up one at a time, fumbling to strike one while the gas continued to hiss into the room.

Outside his house, Nick and his father repeated their same argument. Victor had only been trying to save his son's marriage. Sharon had initiated the kiss. Nick said that his father hadn't fought her off. Everything that was going wrong in his life was his father's fault. Victor had finally had enough. He said Sharon's kiss wasn't a kiss of passion or love. It was a kiss of desperation. It was the same kind of desperation that had led her to be unfaithful with Diego, and had been caused by Nick's rejection of his wife and his own mistakes. If Nick wanted to blame someone, he should look in the mirror. Nick, infuriated by his father's words and tone, took a step toward him, asking how he dared to speak to him that way. At that point, they heard a scream from inside the house.