Brittany joined Raul at Crimson Lights and they traded apologies and explanations about past disagreements and agreed they couldn't read each other's minds. Brit said that while she enjoyed holding hands with him, she had to wonder if her prior experience with boys, which was more than he had with girls, bothered him. Raul said that he felt all the normal desires when he looked at her, but he didn't think about her past; when he was with her, he was in the "right now." Brittany, charmed by his words, scooted over to kiss him.

Inside the coffee shop, Mac overheard Cody helping Warton set up the perfect breakfast date for Amanda. When she asked Larry if she could talk to him, he worried that maybe there had been more stalking incidents. She told him there had not been and thanked him for finding out that Ralph was in Arizona. She wanted to know about his feelings for her mother, admitting that she'd been so wrapped up in her own fears and memories that it hadn't occurred to her all what her mother had suffered at Ralph's hands. When Larry probed further, Mac admitted that Ralph had a way of making her mother believe him, especially when he was drinking. Larry asked if it bothered Mac that he was interested in Amanda, and Mac said no and smiled at him. A grateful Larry seemed determined to protect both mother and daughter.

At the homeless shelter, after Amanda saw Birdie talking to Ned, she had a flashback of when she arrived at the shelter and Birdie told her about Mac, a teenage runaway. Birdie also remembered Amanda. When Ned explained that Amanda was Mac's mother and left the two of them alone, Birdie reminded Amanda that she had acted skeptical after hearing Mac's story about how she'd been mistreated at home. Before Amanda could answer, Larry came in to invite Amanda to breakfast, saying that after Mac gave him the third degree, she had OK'd Larry spending time with her mother. As Larry and Amanda left, Birdie watched them. A dubious look on her face showed that she had reservations about Amanda.

Olivia showed up at Victoria's office to ask her how Neil was doing. The two of them argued over whether Victoria had done the right thing by telling Neil that Alex blamed him for Malcolm's death. Then Olivia admitted that she'd seen Alex and hoped she'd gotten through to her that, although no one really knew what had happened on Malcolm's last day in Kenya, Alex and Neil were equally responsible for keeping secrets from Malcolm. Victoria and Olivia agreed to be allies in helping Neil and Alex through this vulnerable time and not letting them turn on each other.

Meanwhile, Alex wasn't surprised when Neil showed up at Malcolm's apartment. She said she'd been expecting him as the second part of the one-two punch that started with Olivia's visit. Neil assured her that he hadn't talked to Olivia, but had come to see her on his own to see how she was doing. When Alex blamed him for what happened to Malcolm, Neil countered by saying that Malcolm had reacted to hearing Alex admit her feelings for Neil after she'd lied about that to Malcolm in the past. Alex pointed out that it was Neil who Malcolm went after when he was mad, not her. Neil told her that after hitting him, Malcolm had said, "Why should I take it out on you?" Alex was speechless after Neil went on to say that although Malcolm's anger was aimed at him, his rage and heartbreak were aimed at Alex.

Sharon was happy to see Christine at the ranch. When she went to get them coffee, Cassie asked Christine if she might be able to help Nick and Sharon reconcile. After Cassie left for school, Sharon told Christine everything that had happened between her and Nick since November. She admitted that though she'd been so angry she'd wanted a divorce, Victor had made her see that Nick might be telling the truth about the kiss from Carrie. She then said seeing her husband with Carrie brought up all her painful memories of his infidelity with Grace. Christine commiserated with her on what it was like to see one's husband in the arms of another woman, then told Sharon she was there to see if she could be a bridge between Nick and Sharon, to keep their case from going to trial. Sharon said that she didn't want a divorce, but that the situation between Nick and her had only been made worse by the way Nikki and Victoria kept interfering with them.

After finishing a business meeting, Nick was about to leave Gina's when he saw Nikki. When he asked why she was there, she said she was mostly trying to avoid Victoria and her questions about Victor. She insisted that she didn't want to talk about that and steered the conversation to Nick's situation with Sharon. Nikki assured him that Victor had persuaded Sharon not to proceed with the divorce, so there might be hope for them still. Nick told her that he felt like he'd blown any chance of that, and he kept waiting for someone to serve him with divorce papers. He said no matter what he tried to do, he messed up, and he could feel everything he wanted slipping away. Later, when Christine showed up at his office, he correctly guessed that she was Sharon's counsel. She told him she wasn't there for the reason he might think; she was there to try to stop their separation from becoming a divorce.

In a fit of anger and frustration, Neil let Alex have it with, "Now are you happy you found someone to blame?" and pointed out to her that she should share the guilt for upsetting Malcolm and sending him to his grave. She stood there frozen in fear with tears running from her eyes, not knowing what to say. He turned himself around and apologized, trying to assure her that it had all been a misunderstanding -- that they had done nothing wrong in reality. That was pretty hard to take, though, and she ran his angry words through her mind after he left. . .

At Newman Enterprises, Victor asked Victoria to meet him for a high-level meeting later. The participants included Nicholas and Neil as well. Victor was planning a trip out of town and wanted to make sure that management was ready for his absence. He hinted that he was being cautious about Neil of late and Victoria tried to hide what she really knew about those circumstances. After her father left, Neil arrived with a report on his meeting with Alex. He said that it had gone better than expected.

Raul and Brittany arrived backstage for her final costume fitting for the play. She noticed an envelope and wanted to know if it was a college response -- he had saved it to open while they were together. He opened it and was thrilled to find out that he was accepted!!! They celebrated together then he acted like it was nice to have this option -- he didn't know if he would go or not. She didn't understand that based on his past behavior and they changed the subject to the Prom. Indirectly, he asked her to go with him and she accepted. They embraced in an emotional kiss.

Sean ran into Larry and Amanda at the coffeehouse and was impressed with how Larry had prepared for their breakfast date. Larry pulled out the chair for her, made sure they had napkins, and did his best to impress her. Back at the Chancellor Estate, Jill looked out the window and remembered when she was teaching Larry to dance. Something stirred inside her at the thought, then Sean arrived with compliments about her work with Larry and an invitation to work out for awhile. She told him that she had a board meeting and couldn't. Then he wanted to talk about marriage again. It didn't have to be soon -- just getting the ring back out and onto her finger, setting a date, etc. Her reaction was less than pleasing to him. She wanted to know why he was ruining a good thing! That was enough for him -- he questioned her commitment to the relationship and wondered if he was in it alone.

Nicholas talked to Christine about the situation with his marriage and came away with new hope that Sharon was open to trying to work on it and all he had to do was let her know how he really felt. At the ranch, Diego paid Sharon a visit to check in on her. She thanked him for his support and apologized for coming onto him that night. Finally, at Crimson Lights, a stranger entered the building. She approached the counter and asked where she could find Nicholas Newman. Trevor introduced himself and told her that Nick had a meeting at Newman Enterprises. He asked her if she needed directions, but she didn't. It was Grace Turner back in town once again. . . . .

When Jill told Sean he was acting like a child by pushing marriage, Sean walked out. Katherine came in afterward and suggested that maybe Jill's "boy toy" was getting tired of her. Jill and Katherine's exchange was interrupted by Mac. Jill baited Mac, asking her if it were true that Mac didn't want to be a part of the summer Glo by Jabot campaign. When Mac confirmed this, Jill said perhaps they would get Billy's new girlfriend Danielle to be on the web site instead. Mac said that was fine with her. After Jill left for a board meeting, Mac assured Katherine that she was seeing Billy in a new way.

At Jabot, John joined Ashley in the board room. He asked if he could go with her to the hospital during her radiation treatment, but Ashley said that if he really wanted to do something for her, he would call Traci and tell her everything that was going on. John agreed. After Brad joined them, a strained moment between John and Brad was cut off when they were joined by Jack, Sean, and Jill. Jill was dismayed when Sean brought up ideas for the summer campaign without making her part of his pitch. She was surprised to hear from John that Billy was not enthusiastic about Danielle being part of the campaign, and stunned when Sean suggested they interview Erica instead. The rest of the board members agreed with Sean. When the meeting ended, Jill questioned Sean about his tactics and suggested they meet in her office. Sean declined, saying he had work to do. After he left, Jill gave the others an angry look and left the board room. John followed; while Brad made a business call, Ashley told Jack she'd like to meet Kyle. Jack assured her that he and Phyllis had agreed not to let the custody case interfere with their relationship, and he advised Ashley to focus on her own health rather than worry about him. Later, Brad told Ashley that although he didn't always see eye to eye with her family, he was glad they were supportive of her. Ashley agreed that she was very lucky.

On the Crimson Lights patio, Larry asked Amanda some uncomfortable questions about Ralph. Amanda was evasive, saying that her main concern was Mac. She told him she was angry for what Ralph did to Mac, but felt perhaps she had been a bad mother, as well. Larry commented on the fact that Amanda had kept a picture of Ralph in her wallet. He told her that sometimes women who got involved with guys like Ralph tended to think they were guilty of doing something wrong. He assured her that no matter what Ralph did, she was a good person and had nothing to feel guilty about. Amanda was touched and comforted by his words.

Inside Crimson Lights, Grace eavesdropped as Sharon told Diego that her attorney had gone to see Nick in an effort to be supportive of both of them. She thanked Diego for his support, as well. Diego said that he felt both Nick and Sharon had been good to him and helped him turn his life around. They hugged, then Sharon decided to see Christine and find out what she'd learned from Nick. After Sharon left, Grace approached Diego and pumped him for information about Nick and Sharon, telling him she was an old friend. Diego revealed they'd had problems for about six months but seemed to be on the verge of reconciliation. Grace told him she thought she'd go see Nick and give him her support, suggesting that Diego should just keep doing what he was doing, implying that Diego was giving Sharon more than just "friendly" support. After Grace left, Diego and Trevor made a few comments about her physical appeal.

Christine told Chantal that although she was happy to be home, she was really only there to help Sharon and Nick with their situation. She said she felt that Nick had made progress, but she had to be careful not to reveal too much about his plans to Sharon. Sharon arrived at the office to ask how Chris's talk with Nick had gone. Christine said Nick was glad to hear that Sharon had the incident with Carrie in perspective and had backed off of her original intention to file for divorce. Sharon said their timing had been bad so many times; she believed it might be time for her and Nick to sit down and talk out everything face-to-face.

Nick told Victor that things might be looking up for him and Sharon and he hoped to plan a trip for the two of them. Victor assured him that even though he would be out of town, Nick should not put his plans on hold, because his and Sharon's marriage was more important than anything else. After Victor left, Nick told his assistant Sherry to rebook the trip he and Sharon had intended to make the year before. When Sherry opened the door of Nick's office to leave, Grace was standing there. Although Nick was not exactly delighted to see her, she flounced in, took off her jacket to expose her cleavage, sat on his sofa to give him a good look at her legs, and asked if there was anything she could do to help him during this difficult time with Sharon.

At Walnut Grove, Billy was surprised to hear that Raul hadn't already decided to accept his college offer because he wanted to know what Brittany was going to do. Billy then said that he didn't care where Mac went, as long as it was far away from him. When Raul asked why Billy was so hostile, Billy told him that Mac had accused him of playing mind games with her and stalking her. Raul suggested that the two of them sit down and talk things over, since that didn't sound like Mac. Billy said it didn't matter; in a few months high school would be over and it would be "good-bye, Mackenzie." Mac walked up just in time to overhear his words. After Billy walked off, Raul took Mackenzie backstage and asked her why she'd accused Billy of stalking her. Mac said she was sure someone was spying on her. After Raul left, Mac was startled by a noise, but it was only Amanda coming to see her daughter. They talked a bit about Larry, and Mac told her that she had no issues with Larry, but if she ever did, she would tell her mother, or even tell Larry directly. After Mac left, Amanda tried to find the source of sound she heard. When she opened a door, Ralph turned around to greet her. When Amanda tried to scream and run away, he grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth.