Courtney is pacing at the hospital, Karen and Mary come up - no sign of Neil. Matt wheels up and asks what's going on, he heard the pages for Neil. Joe and Frank return, and Joe decides to call the police. They arrive and Joe and Courtney fill them in and give them a picture. They leave to look. Courtney worries that Neil was snatched, but Matt comes in with the news that someone in the lobby saw him leave alone. The group splits up to search again. Courtney worries that she missed that Neil was upset, Mary and Karen try to comfort her. Courtney is not reassured - she knows something is wrong for Neil to take off. Mary told them about Joe running away and hiding in the basement after breaking a window. Frank searched everywhere for him. Matt and Frank check in, Neil-less. Courtney and Frank talk. Matt and Karen talk about Neil being Frank's son and the truth coming out. Karen opines a lot of people will be hurt when it does.
Rachel told Scott she's good at reading people and thinks there is a reason Scott and Lucy haven't made it to the altar. Scott says it's just been bad luck. Rachel thinks people make their own luck. She wonders why Scott gets uncomfortable when she's around. Scott restates his devotion to Lucy. The conversation went back and forth. I fall asleep. The sound of Rachel leaving wakes me up.
Chris and Julie discuss bribing a juror. Julie thinks they should find one that already is on her side. Then they would be more likely to accept a bribe to vote their conscious anyway. Chris thinks maybe they should see who needs the money most and make an offer. Julie agrees. Chris leaves, and Rachel arrives to speak to Julie in private - she wants to know exactly what Chris and Julie are up to. Julie claims they were talking about getting a different attorney. Rachel asks if that is Julie or Chris' idea. Julie says they agree. Rachel talks down Chris. Julie told her that Chris acts out of love, but Rachel says it gets them in trouble. Rachel makes veiled threats about abandoning Julie if Julie isn't honest. This gets to Julie and she admits the bribery plan. Rachel acts concerned for Julie and leaves to talk to Chris. Outside, Rachel calls Scott and told the bribery plan to him. Scott says he'll take care of Ramsey. He went to the hospital and confronts Chris. They argue and Scott threatens to tell the judge if he sees any evidence of jury tampering.
Later, Scott runs into Rachel at the hospital and told her he talked to Chris. Rachel runs down Chris again, and compliments Scott on his lawyering. Chris returns to Julie and told her Rachel told Scott. Julie is upset that Rachel did, and Chris is not happy that she told Rachel. Julie told him she tells Rachel everything and thought he did too. Not anymore, says Chris. He asks who she trusts more - himself or Rachel. She told him she trusts him more.
Outside, Neil hides behind a tree and flashes back to Karen saying Joe is not his father. Later, he's laying on a park bench, coughing. (Sirens can be heard in the background.) Still later, Joe is outside calling for him and hears the cough. He finds him and told him everything will be alright - his Dad is there. Neil told him, "You're not my Dad."
At the hospital, Kevin arrives to pick up Eve but she says she can't leave because Neil's missing. Kevin asks what happened and she says she's not sure. Neil just left the hospital before his chemo. Eve suggests that Neil has had enough of the chemo but Kevin isn't so sure. He told Eve about his conversation with Neil and he doesn't think it's about his treatment. Scott approaches as does Rachel who told them the jury has dismissed for the night. Eve told Kevin that if he wants to help with the search to go ahead. Scott and Kevin talk about it with Rachel looking on until Eve gets a call that Joe has found Neil.
At the ER, Joe rushes in with Neil. Everyone rushes around to get Neil taken care of. Courtney rushes to and talks to him, telling him she's there. Joe pulls her away so they can work on Neil and he, Karen and Courtney talk about why he left in the first place. Joe says Neil must be hallucinating because he said Joe was not his father. Joe wonders why he'd say something like that? Courtney says she doesn't know and Karen looks sick.
Back on the 6th floor, Eve told Kevin, Scott and Rachel that Neil is stabilized. Kevin says he's going to check on Neil and Rachel says she'll go with him but Kevin asks to talk to Scott about Julie - alone. Rachel says if it's about Julie, she says she's her doctor but Kevin says no, just Scott. They step away to talk and Rachel told Eve that she thinks Kevin is obsessed with Julie's case. Eve told her that that's what she loves about "her" Kevin - his "never say die" attitude. Rachel says that he'll have to give up soon but Eve says it seems as though Rachel is threatened by Kevin. Rachel says that she's wrong and Eve says good - she has no reason to be and exits. Rachel leaves too and Scott and Kevin discuss the possibility of having Julie involuntarily committed if she is acquitted; Scott's against it. They'd need a judge who'd check with Rachel anyway. And - Scott believes Julie innocent. They argue the point but Scott won't change his mind and stomps off leaving an annoyed disgusted Kevin.
At the ER, Courtney is with Neil, talking to him. His fever has started to go down. Joe is on the phone, a nurse hands him Neil's test results and Karen comes in to say Neil can be moved to Peds ICU any time. Courtney objects and says his fever is going down but Joe says that's true but he has pneumonia. Karen explains that it's treatable but that they are concerned that his blood isn't getting the oxygen it needs. Joe and Courtney go to the hall and Joe tries to comfort and reassure her. Karen and the "crew" move Neil to ICU and Joe went with telling Courtney he won't let anything happen to "their" son. Frank approaches Courtney in the hall and she fills him in on Neil's condition. She told him about Neil saying Joe wasn't his father.
Karen, back at the nurses' station, flashes back to scenes of Joe talking about Neil and being Neil's father. Scott disturbs her reverie by saying he can't find out anything about Neil. She says he should be fine. Scott says she seems stressed and she finally told him about Frank being Neil's father after he offers her lawyer/client privilege. She admits she thinks Neil heard her and Frank arguing in the stairwell. She blames herself (of course). Frank, Courtney, Mary and Victor approach, talking. Scott offers his sympathies and told about when Serena was so sick. Karen and Frank exchange looks and maneuver themselves into a position to talk. Karen told Frank that Neil must have heard them. Frank says it's no wonder since she keeps hounding him about it. She says it's time told Joe the truth - right now. Joe says not now - when things calm down. He continues to blame her and gets loud enough to bring Courtney over, who is more than happy to blame Karen for pretty much anything.
Eve is on the phone at the desk while Kevin waits for her. She told him she's going to be there a while so he may as well go home. He told her about Scott and she is also shocked that he has faith in Rachel let alone Julie. Eve suggests that Rachel may be after Scott while Lucy is away. They discuss it a bit and then Kevin agrees her suggestion of going home and sipping a glass of wine till she gets there is a good one. He gets on the elevator - and Rachel joins him.
On the elevator, they bicker about Julie and Rachel's former murderous patient. They trade venomous insults *until* Rachel brought up Felicia's stalking and Kevin's family insanity. Kevin hits the STOP button and tells Rachel she's not leaving until she told him the truth. With her fear of "boxes," Rachel is not holding up well. He told her neither of them is leaving until they settle their differences. He tries to talk to her but she is visibly losing control. He says she has been unprofessional and demands to know why getting Julie released is so important. (Rachel is really freaked - and not by Kevin.) She pushes past him, hits the door open button and runs out of the elevator.
Back at the lobby, Courtney is attacking Karen - and getting loud. Loud enough for Victor, Mary and Scott to hear. Courtney, unaware of her audience, turns on Frank - even louder. Scott went over to try to calm Courtney down and she is furious that HE knows. She told Frank that the last thing she wanted Neil to know right now is that Joe isn't his father. Joe, suddenly there, asks what she just said. He asks if it's true as they all turn to look at him. Courtney says he's not Neil's father as everyone looks on in horror and sympathy.
Kevin told Scott about Rachel's out of control behavior while trapped in the elevator and they ended up at odds over the issue of Dr. Locke. Kevin challenged Scott when he pointed out that Rachel might be mentally unbalanced and dangerous. A shocked Joe assumed that Neil's father must be John Kanelos, but his world came crashing down around him when Courtney admitted that Frank was Neil's father. A horrified Joe refused to hear explanations from either Frank or Courtney and was unable to accept Mary's comfort. Scott convinced a heartsick Karen that she needed to tell Joe that she had known the truth. Later, a devastated Karen admitted to Joe that she had known he was not Neil's father for several weeks.
On the 6th floor of GH, Kevin brought Eve, who has pulled an all-nighter, some coffee and bear claws. They discuss Neil's condition--he's still not getting enough oxygen and is running a high fever. Eve comments that Neil's family has spent the night, and Kevin asks how Joe is doing. Eve says Joe has shut down everything except Neil's health, since finding out the truth about Frank. He's taking the truth really hard, she says in a worried voice.
In Neil's hospital room, Joe is checking Neil's vital signs when Karen comes in with the latest test results, which she says are encouraging. She tries to engage Joe in clinical discussion, but he dismisses her attempts. She tries to tell him why she didn't tell him about Neil sooner, but it is obvious that Joe doesn't want to talk about it now.
At Ferncliff, Scott meets with Julie. He's furious about the jury-tampering fiasco, but Julie is contrite. Scott threatens to call the judge and ask for a mistrial, which alarms Julie.
Julie says she can't go through another trial. They discuss Chris' motives for planning to bribe a juror. Julie tries to convince Scott to stick with her through this.
At the hospital, Rachel confronts Chris about trying to bribe a juror. He points out that it was originally *her* idea. They argue about each other's motives in helping Julie. Rachel is convinced that Scott is Julie best chance at an acquittal. Chris says he thinks Rachel is using Scott for her own gains, not for Julie's good. He also points out that he thinks Rachel has been setting him up (losing his visiting privileges to Ferncliff, etc.) making him look bad in Julie's eyes. Rachel says he is being paranoid. "Or maybe I'm seeing things clearly for the first time," says Chris meaningfully as he leaves Rachel standing there.
In Neil's room, Joe hovers over his "nephew", giving a nurse some directions. He and Karen leave and go into a waiting area nearby. Karen explains finding THE PICTURE she found of Courtney and Frank kissing, and that was the reason she was on the road the night of the snowstorm when Courtney lost her baby. Joe listens, but his anger starts growing the more she talks. Karen tries to tell him she was protecting him, but Joe doesn't buy it. When Karen admits that Neil must have overheard her telling Frank to tell the truth, Joe explodes, "Do you know what you've done to my son?!" Then, immediately realizing what he's said, he told Karen she sure is good at blurting out secrets to everyone but him! Karen keeps apologizing for her actions, but Joe is furious at her for not letting him know so he could plan Neil's treatment accordingly. "If he dies because of this, Karen..." he starts to say, but can't finish. He stalks back to Neil's side.
At the Recovery Room, Scott is talking on the phone with Lucy when Rachel arrives. They begin to talk as Scott explains his misgivings about Julie and the jury tampering scheme. Rachel calms him down a little by putting the blame on Chris, saying that Julie was only going along with the man she loves. Scott expresses some anxiety over Lucy being gone, and the whole trial mess. Rachel offers, "How about a session on the couch?" An embarrassed, but flattered, Scott says, "I don't like therapy." Rachel proposes a game of darts instead to help relax. They banter agreeably back and forth, Scott giving Rachel pointers about how to play darts. She wonders what else he can show her.
At GH, Eve is surprised to see Karen back at work and asks about Neil. Eve says Kevin told her about Neil's real father. Karen proceeds to go on a pity-party, guilt trip, while Eve tries to condone her actions. Karen believes that she and Joe are finished. Eve advises giving Joe time to absorb the truth and gives the example of how she betrayed Kevin by going along with Bordisso, and now they are still together. Karen seems a little more hopeful about the situation.
Kevin shows up at the peds ICU to find Joe checking on Neil again. Joe updates him on Neil's current condition (the antibiotics are working) and comments that all of this could have been avoided. Kevin says Neil just didn't know how to deal with the truth and ran away from it. He then went into psychiatrist mode and asks Joe how *he* is dealing with it. Joe says his main concern right now is getting Neil healthy, but afterward? He has no idea what will happen. Kevin offers his professional opinion about both Neil and Joe's needs. Joe pledges that despite the fact that all the grown-ups around Neil are a "pack of liars", he'll do whatever it takes to protect Neil from being hurt again.
A little while later, Karen observes Joe in Neil's room from the window. She goes in and offers to cover for Joe, which he brusquely refuses. He says they don't need any more of her favors. Just then Neil starts to wake up, a little groggy, asking where he is, what happened. Suddenly he remembers everything, and he gets this terribly hurt look on his face. "You lied to me, both of you," he says, and turns his back toward Joe and Karen, telling them to go away.
At Ferncliff, Julie explains to Chris why she blamed the jury tampering mess on him. He says it's okay, he's always glad to be a scapegoat. Julie is anxious for the trial to be over before Scott and Lucy finalize Christina's adoption. Chris told Julie about Rachel's machinations behind the scenes. Julie defends her, saying if Rachel splits up Lucy and Scott, her chances of getting Christina back will be better. Chris insists that Rachel is dangerous, although he's not sure how or why.
At the bar, Rachel throws an almost bulls-eye and told Scott if he beats that, then Julie's innocent. "Then Julie must be guilty," he says, throwing his dart, which is a dead-on perfect bulls-eye. Rachel is pleased at the surprised look on his face. About then Eve and Kevin come in and notice them. "Looks like Scott won," comments Kevin dryly. With a wry look, Eve says, "I wouldn't be so sure!" They join Rachel and Scott and exchange pleasantries. Kevin apologizes to Rachel for the elevator scene, and Rachel almost laughingly admits to claustrophobia due to being locked up "accidentally" for several hours as a child. Scott is uncharacteristically quiet throughout the scene, and he and Rachel say their good-byes and leave. Kevin gets angry, saying Scott apparently cannot see the truth about Rachel. Eve gets a gleam in her eye and says she has a plan to correct that, and Kevin says, "I'm all ears!" as he leans in close to hear her idea.
Eve and Kevin are outside Rachel's office. Eve's plan (alluded to yesterday) is to search Rachel's office. Kevin wonders how she can be so sure they'll get away with breaking and entering; Eve told him that it's not B&E if she has a key. Evidently, she charmed a janitor into turning over the key. Kevin thinks it would be best if he handled things - unlike Eve, he doesn't risk losing a job if they get caught. But Eve disagrees - she has earned her PI stripes (she refers to the encounter with the dirty cop), and besides, they're a team.
We rejoin them later; they're almost done searching Rachel's office and have found nothing. (Seems to me they'd do better at her apartment, and I'll bet Victor could get them past any locks she has on the door.) Just as they're preparing to leave, the phone rings. The caller is the woman we've heard Rachel talk to before. She leaves a message telling "Livvy" that "you'll always be a part of us" and asks her to call "so we can discuss this." There's a distinct threat in her tone. The woman leaves a phone number (which one would assume Rachel already has, but plot advancement requires it) and hangs up. Eve scribbles down the phone number. Later on, our daring duo slips back into the hall, celebrating their lead, when Courtney finds them. She told Kevin that Neil is having a lot of trouble with the news that Joe isn't his father - will Kevin talk to him? Kevin, of course, agrees, and heads off with Courtney, so as to to join our other storyline.
Eve is on her cell phone, calling the number that was left on Rachel's answering machine. Eve told the woman who answers that she's a friend of Livvy's and is concerned about her - maybe they should talk. The woman doesn't take the bait. She told Eve that, if Livvy is in trouble, she knows who to call - "we take care of our own." Further, Eve should stay out of things that aren't her business. The woman then hangs up. A moment later, Eve's cell phone rings. When she answers, nobody is there. Eve looks concerned.
Karen asks Frank if he's seen Courtney. Frank thinks she's with Neil; Karen thinks that's good, because Neil needs her. Frank corrects her - Neil needs both of his parents, and he's on his way to Neil's room now. Karen stops him, telling him that now is not a good time. Joe and Courtney need time with Neil first. Frank doesn't like this - Neil is HIS son, not Joe's. Karen pulls rank as Neil's doctor and told him not to go in there - Frank needs to give Joe a chance to help Neil to deal with the situation. Joe is with Neil, and told him that he doesn't blame him for being upset. In fact Joe is upset too, because he didn't know he wasn't Neil's father. Courtney comes in and sits next to Neil on the bed. Neil moves away from her. She knows she has lots of things to explain to him. Joe wants Courtney out in the hall, but she has one thing to say first. No matter what else is going on, she wants Neil to understand how much she loves him, and that nothing will ever change that. Neil takes off his oxygen mask, turns to her, and says, "Get away from me." Courtney asks him not be angry. Neil points out that she lied to him. Courtney's rebuttal: at first when she said Joe was Neil's dad, she thought it was true. Neil isn't impressed. Courtney has always told him the importance of honesty, but she's "the biggest liar ever." Neil has a coughing fit, and Joe sends Courtney from the room so he can calm Neil down. Before he goes, he assures Neil that he loves him as much as ever. Neil stops and looks at him for a moment (he seems to want to believe this), but then he turns away from Joe.
Out in the hall, Joe told Courtney that Neil is okay - at least for now. Joe rips into Courtney - how many times can a kid deal with finding out that the man he thought was his father really isn't? He isn't interested in her excuses - he just hopes she'll put Neil's needs ahead of her own. Our next candidate to get verbally smacked around is Frank. Mary is very disappointed in Frank. She has attributed his recent behavior to DL-56, but he slept with his brother's girlfriend ten years ago, long before DL-56 came along. Frank insists that he didn't intend to steal Courtney from Joe - it just happened. Besides, what matters now is that Neil is Frank's son. And he's not going to apologize for it, because he's not sorry that it's true. Mary doesn't think Frank understands what Joe is going through; Frank assures her that he knows EXACTLY what it's like for Joe, because for months now he's had to hang around in the background and watch Joe be a father to Neil. He explains why he couldn't say anything - Neil's illness and devotion to Joe, etc. Mary remarks that at least now she understands why Frank has been so angry with Joe. Frank assures her that he is genuinely sorry for the pain Joe is in, but what matters most is making things right for Neil.
At the nurses' station, Karen told Matt how much she wishes she had taken his advice and been honest with Joe. Matt assures her that she was doing what she thought was right. Joe walks up and asks Karen to get an X-ray on Neil to check the progress of the infection. She asks if Neil is speaking to Joe yet; nope, Neil doesn't even want Joe near him, and doesn't believe that Joe didn't know the truth. Besides, Joe understands how Neil feels - he knows what it's like to have someone close to him lie.
Matt offers Joe his sympathy and any help he can give. Joe makes a sarcastic remark about the speed of the gossip mill. Karen reluctantly admits that Matt didn't just find out about the situation - she told Matt a while ago. Joe blows up, wondering why it is that Karen told everybody she knew - except for Joe - about Neil's paternity. Karen and Matt try to explain that Karen didn't want to hit Joe with the news right on the heels of Courtney losing the baby. It suddenly hits Joe that the baby Courtney lost wasn't his child either - it was Frank's. Karen confirms this - but she didn't know right away. She ran a paternity test later. Karen doesn't know what else she can say; she went to order to X-ray.
Frank is sitting in the waiting area with a faraway look in his eyes - you know, the one that usually precedes a flashback-fest. But instead, Joe breaks Frank's reverie with a question - what did Joe ever do to make Frank hate him so much? Why did he sleep with Courtney, when supposedly he couldn't stand the sight of her. Frank insists that he didn't hate Joe, and what happened with Courtney wasn't planned. Further, he didn't want to lie about Neil - in fact, he wanted to tell Joe as soon as he found out, but Courtney was afraid of the impact on Neil. In fact, Frank was going to spill the story - but then Courtney lost the baby. Joe remarks that Frank let him go through the whole artificial insemination thing, knowing full well that only a Frank/Courtney baby could save Neil. And what if the baby HAD turned out to be Joe's? Frank explains that they switched the sperm samples so that wouldn't happen. Joe reminds Frank that all they accomplished with the secrecy was to cause Neil to find out the truth in the worst possible way. Frank insists that he'll make it up to Neil. Joe doesn't believe it can be done. His exit line - he didn't just lose a son, he lost a brother too.
Now we get a shot of a moist-eyed Joe staring off into space. We find that Joe is in the hospital chapel. Karen joins him with the news that the X-ray indicates that Neil's infection is under control. She assures Joe of how much she loves him. She wanted to protect him from the truth when he was in so much pain. He isn't alone - he still has Karen, if he'll let her help him. Joe is silent until she turns to leave; then he asks, if she loves him so much, why couldn't she be honest? With her help, he could have gotten through anything. Karen really can't explain - she can only assure him that if she could go back and change what she did, she would.
Kevin is in Neil's room. He told Neil that he knows that Joe isn't Neil's father, and he understands that this must be hard to deal with. He suggests that sometimes in such cases it helps to talk to someone who isn't involved in the situation - such as Kevin, for example. But he also understands that maybe Neil isn't ready to talk, and that's okay. He'll drop by later and see if Neil wants to talk. As he is about to leave, Neil asks, "If Joe's not my dad, then who is?"
In the hall outside Neil's room, Kevin explains to Courtney, Joe, and Frank that Neil only knows Joe isn't his father - he doesn't know that Frank is. He suggests that they tell Neil. Courtney falls into the same mistake that got them to this point - yes, let's tell him later when he feels better. Kevin doesn't think Neil can handle any more lies or withholding - he should be told now. Joe and Frank agree, and Frank says he'll tell Neil. Kevin thinks Joe should do it and, big shock, Joe agrees. He starts towards Neil's room, but Frank blocks the way, telling Joe, "No way."
