Friday, December 30, 2005
Spencer made sure Asa's New Year's Eve party at the lodge would be a complete disaster. Through careful machinations, Spencer pulled some strings (caused some problems) to make sure the following couples carpooled to the lodge. Duke and Kelly drove up together, were stranded and had no cell phone service. Rex and Adriana were stranded and had no cell phone service. Needless to say, there was plenty of sexual tension in that car, despite the fact that they both admitted they had nothing in common. Adriana was a little chilly so the two sort of cuddled to keep warm. Kevin was driving alone (Kelly needed to meet with David for a minute — that was Spencer's ploy) and, too, was stranded. Kevin found a phone booth and while he was placing a call for help a masked Spencer injected him with something that knocked him out immediately. "Sweet dreams, playboy," said Spencer.

Meanwhile, a bewildered Asa was not hodling court at the lodge. No one was there. He started toasting the New Year by himself. Two small drinks later and he passed out in his chair. Spencer arrived just in time to pick up the glass and smirked, "I see you enjoyed my gift."

Antonio brought Jessica home, though Viki was a bit annoyed with her future son-in-law hadn't kept her in the loop. Jessica had a mini-meltdown with Viki, saying she could barely cope with her DID. Viki promised her that she would get well and that she was home and perfectly safe. Jessica went upstairs to rest. Viki started grabbing her head and began an internal dialogue with Niki. Viki tried her best to fight her, but Niki popped out. "Whoa, just in time for New Year's." Much to Niki's delight, Nash arrived and Niki tried to make a deal with him — If he would take her away, she'd promise him Tess. Nash wasn't convinced and left. Jessica came downstairs and knew immediately that mom was really Niki. Niki told her she could get her Nash. Jessica began grabbing her head and — voila — Tess came out. Tess went out to find Nash. Niki got dressed for a party when Nash returned. He learned that Tess had come out and immediately left to find her. Dorian then knocked on the door and told Niki (thinking it was Viki) about her promise to Clint not to bring out Niki. Niki then gave Dorian her blessing to go out with Clint, something that Dorian thought was quite peculiar at best. Dorian left and Niki headed to the Palace bar and began coming on to David. Dorian told Clint all about Viki's blessing to which Clint exclaimed, "That was Niki!" Tess and Nash cried out to each other in the snowy wilderness.

Evangeline met Cristian at Capricorn, where he signed his $27,000 check over to her. He wanted her to consider it as a retainer. He asked Evangeline to make sure Natalie doesn't divorce him. Antonio showed up and asked Evangeline to place a restraining order against Nash. Evangeline couldn't help either Vega brother as she's too busy with the Manning case. Then, bingo, Nash arrived at Capricorn to warn Antonio about something (we're pretty sure it was to give Antonio the head's up about Niki) but Antonio was so rude to him, Nash left. Evangeline returned the check to Cristian. No one in that group was about to have a Happy New Year.

Thursday, December 27, 2005
Natalie noticed John's tense behavior at the police precint. Maybe he does need therapy? "It shouldn't be this way," Natalie said awkwardly. Natalie remembered that John's father had been killed around the holidays and gently touched his shoulder. Naturally at that exact moment Cris was leaving Bo's office and saw that tender exchange. Cris slipped away. Natalie suggested to John that they start over as friends. "I have to totally be on my own," she said. John seemed to understand. "I'm going to do the same, go it alone for a while." John ran into Cris at the pool hall and they began a game, but it turned out to be more of an argument/discussion about Natalie.

Rex admitted to Bo that he was working for Todd, trying to prove he was innocent. Bo gave Rex another gig, to find a baby that had been given up for adoption several years ago. Though Bo wouldn't confirm, Rex knew the baby's mother was Paige and made sure Bo knew that he knew.

Blair begged Bo to make arrangements so that she could spend New Year's Eve with Todd, and reminded Bo that last year at this time all that horrible stuff with Margaret had begun.

Adriana overheard Kelly offer Duke advice about their relationship. Kelly went on and on about how inexperienced Adriana was. When Duke went upstairs, Adriana made sure Kelly knew she had heard everything. "Isn't it enough that you made Blair's life miserable? Do you have to ruin mine too?" she said. Kelly did some dancing around and said she only said those things because "she cares."

In Angel Square, Spencer admitted to Blair that he'd been steering clear of her because he didn't want to hurt her reputation. After all her fiancé was in jail and Spencer was a single eligible man. Blair called him a bastard. "You think you can save my reputation?" she said, insinuating that her reputation was pretty much gone. Blair saved Jack from a conversation with Todd's sleazy reporter/friend Denton. After Blair left the Square, Spencer reappeared making a phone call to a mysterious person.

Antonio paid Nash's medical bills and wanted to get out of there with Jessica before Tess returned. Jessica told Nash that the baby made her feel stronger and that she knew the baby was Antonio's. Nash wasn't convinced and reminded Jessica that if the baby was his (Nash's) he'd be playing a big part in its life. Antonio dragged Jessica away and Nash immediately booked a flight to Llanview.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Paige told Bo that Spencer was the father of the son she had given up for adoption. Bo was surprised to hear about her baby, as he thought they shared everything. Paige admitted she thought about her son every day and began to break down. "This changes everything, doesn't i?" Paige asked. Bo assured her that it didn't and kept her from running away. Bo agreed to help her find her son as well as keep it a secret from Spencer. (Though Bo wasn't really that comfortable keeping that secret as he had been in a similar situation when Nora kept Matthew's paternity a secret.) Bo said it broke his heart that Paige never had the chance to be the really great mom he thought she would be.

Knock, knock — it's Spencer at the door. "I need to speak to you Bo, it's important." Apparently it was about a reporter wanting to interview Spencer about Bo's injuries. Bo got a call from his office and left the room. Spencer and Paige started to get into it. Spencer insisted that Paige tell him "right now" what David claims to have on Spencer. Paige remained mum to which Spencer said, "You still have no idea what you are dealing with." "Neither do you," Paige countered. With the parting words, "Happy Healing, Happy Holiday," Spencer then slithered away.

Natalie paid Cristian a visit and gave him a check, which he promptly gave back and asked her to leave. Natalie told him the money was from the sale of the paintings. “I sold them when I thought you were dead.” Things got very nasty. Cristian asked if she sold the paintings so she could crawl into bed with John McBain. Natalie explained that it had been painful for her to have his paintings around. Cristian apologized for jumping to conclusions. Natalie left. Cristian thought about going after her, but instead went to Angel Square.

Todd dreamt that Margaret visited him in his cell, taunted him and presented him with a creepy doll she called "Todd Jr."

Clint congratulated Kevin on the good news (that Kevin and Kelly can start a family) but jumped on the "We don't trust Spencer Truman" bandwagon. Kelly and Kevin made plans for a romantic, baby making, New Year's.

Evangeline turned down Hugh’s offer for a deal. "If you don't take my offer, Todd Manning will die." John told Hugh to back off or he'd "knock those glasses off." Evangeline told John about the jury selection and reminded John that she is convinced Todd is innocent. The two made some small talk and both gave the other credit for getting Cristian out of jail. Evangeline left and ran into Cristian in Angel Square. Cristian asked Evangeline if she thought Natalie still loved John. Evangeline said yes, but added that she also thought Natalie still loves Cristian. Cristian appreciated her honesty. Cristian returned to his studio and began painting frantically. Natalie showed up at the police station and gave John a fax that had just arrived, the fax which confirmed his psychiatric appointment. John was a little embarrassed. Natalie tried to get him to open up about it, but he was not about to do that. John said he had to do the therapy or he'd lose his badge. Natalie assured him one couldn't fail therapy but encouraged him to use the St. Jude's medal she had given him. "It might come in handy."

Tuesday, December 27, 2005
A badly beaten up Nash woke up in Tess' arms. Tess explained that she pretended to be Jessica to get away. (This recapper observed that flight time between Llanview and Napa Valley is quite short.) Antonio also made it to California in record time and went into Nash's empty cottage. He found the blood on the floor. "Jessica, Jessica," he screamed, "are you here?" Then a stranger showed up and Antonio had to convince him he was a friend. He let Antonio know that they were at the hospital. Now, at the hospital, Tess remained convinced that her baby is Nash's and her's, not Antonio's and Jessica's. Tess admitted that she was okay about being pregnant, but did think her baby would have "one screwed up mother." Nash assured her she'd be a great mother and that they'd get all the parenting books and they'd work it out together. Nash lied to Tess about how he had gotten all beat up and Tess called him on that. She insisted on hearing the truth. Nash admitted he had hurt somebody he shouldn't have. At that moment Antonio walked in. "Get off the bed," he barked. Tess told Antonio to GET OUT. Antonio tried to get Jessica to come out. It worked; Jessica came out and grabbed Antonio. Nash said he was fine until Tess left and Jessica showed up. Antonio told Nash about the upcoming paternity test. Nash thought that was a good idea and wanted to do the test right then and there. Antonio asked Nash what really happened to him and Nash wasn't telling him anything. Antonio wanted to leave with Jessica but she wanted to make sure Nash was okay. "I miss Tess," he said looking pretty miserable in his hospital bed.

Bo was overjoyed to be home and gave Paige a really warm kiss. Matthew and Bo discussed their soon-to-be-built treehouse. Bo assured Matthew that there should never be any secrets between then. At that point the camera flashed to Paige who remembered her prayer for God to take care of THE SON SHE GAVE AWAY. (That was revealed in yesterday's episode.) Paige looked upset and Bo comforted her but she didn't want to talk about what was upsetting her and left supposedly to pick up Bo's prescription at the drug store.

Viki assured Cint that she doesn't think Todd could be a murderer. Clint admitted that he always hated Todd. Clint rehashed the whole Mitch/Natalie/Todd debacle. Viki said that though Clint is a good man, he's also a Buchanan which makes him 10 times as stubborn. The two argued about Jessica and her treatment. Viki thought they should bring out Niki; Clint disagreed vehemently. Dorian walked in on the argument bearing Christmas gifts. Dorian agreed with Clint that bringing out Niki wasn't a good idea. Clint warned Viki that if Niki came out again, she was on her own. Dorian began flirting with Clint, which irked Viki even more.

Jury selection began for Todd's trial. The two attorneys — Hugh and Evangeline — faced off in the courtroom. Spencer showed up to wish Blair and Todd luck and Todd walked in on their hug. "Get away from my wife," he yelled. Hugh revealed that he had been adopted and that he wanted justice for Margaret's dead baby. The jury selection began. Hugh and Evangeline began questioning potential jurors and they had a hard time agreeing on who should stay. Finally they put together a panel which Hugh thought was pro-prosecution. Todd was dragged back to jail. Hugh offered Evangeline a deal, "One last chance to save your client's life." Todd pleads guilty, and gets life in prison with no parole.

David and Dorian bickered in Angel Square. David proclaimed his love for her, but Dorian said she'd stopped loving him the day he walked out on their wedding day. David asked Dorian to forgive him. Dorian stated that she wanted a new beginning, without him. David began talking to "Marble Lady," the statue in the square. Paige arrived and David asked her what was wrong. Paige didn't want to open up and refused to. "It's too awful," she said. "It's not like you made a pact with the devil and give away your first born son," joked David. That was no joke, however. Paige confessed everything to David, that she had found out she was pregnant right when the divorce from Spencer was final. David agreed that Spencer would have been a horrible father, even worse than the one David and Spencer had had. David said this was great news; that they finally have Spencer right where they want him. Paige said she doesn't know who or where her son is and that she'd never use it as leverage against Spencer. Enter Spencer who overheard his name being said. David and Paige covered and David said he wanted to give "this brother thing a try." Paige played along and left. Spencer asked David to spill what they were talking about, but David wouldn't budge and he left. Paige arrived home with Bo's prescription and then began to tell Bo everything. "I need you to help me find my son," she said.