In Cole’s hotel suite, Cole and Victoria cuddled in bed after having sex. She asked if it was possible that their lovemaking was better then than it had been when they'd been younger. “You are as beautiful and perfect now as you were then. Even more,” he cooed. Victoria acknowledged that they were different people than they’d been back then, but they still had a connection, and it felt comfortable and exciting.
Cole figured that he and Victoria had finally gotten their timing right and learned from their mistakes. She mused that everything felt right, and he asked if she had any regrets. She confirmed that she had none, and he remarked that it boded well for their future. Victoria opted to just enjoy the moment and not worry about the future. Cole contemplated resigning from Oxford and staying in Genoa City for good.
In the Athletic Club dining room, Kyle and Claire were surprised to find out that they both preferred hot sauce over ketchup on their French fries. She commented that the day had been full of surprises. “Some more pleasant than others,” he replied. Claire suggested that they focus on the good ones, and Kyle resolved to not think about his parents crashing their lunch or his blowup with his mom. Claire referred to the fries with extra hot sauce, adding that it didn’t get better than that.
Claire grinned when she spotted Cole and Victoria descending the stairs, hand in hand. Claire watched them embrace in the foyer, and Kyle guessed it wasn’t something that happened every day. Victoria informed Cole that Claire had seen them. “So much for keeping this secret,” Victoria muttered. Cole seemed taken aback, and Victoria stressed that she’d meant what she’d said about having no regrets. Cole said he felt the same way.
Victoria and Cole crossed the room, and Claire invited them to join her and Kyle. Victoria asked if the two had been there long, and Claire replied that they’d just ordered fries after getting a late start. Cole inquired whether they’d been out having fun, and Kyle and Claire exchanged a knowing glance. Kyle stammered that they’d just been hanging out, and Claire rambled nervously about seeing her parents show up there after seemingly spending time in her dad’s room. To cover the awkwardness, Claire offered Cole and Victoria some fries.
Kyle recalled that Cole had suggested they grab a beer sometime. Cole apologized for not following up, explaining that he’d been in Europe. Claire chirped that they’d finally gotten around to it that night, and the foursome raised their glasses. The group made small talk with cute stories about Harrison, and Victoria praised Kyle for working out a new custody agreement with Summer. Cole inquired whether Kyle and Claire had been having a celebratory dinner, but Clare denied it. Kyle looked fondly at Claire and stated that they were just two friends having fries.
Claire inquired about Cole’s trip to England. He mentioned that he’d packed most of his things to ship back to the States, but he still had some things left after he’d handed in his resignation. Claire excitedly realized that he was moving to Genoa City permanently. Kyle imagined Cole would miss England, and Claire enthused that it looked beautiful on television and in movies. Cole suggested they take a family trip when he went back, and Victoria and Claire squealed in delight.
Kyle recommended visiting a palace that had been the birthplace of Winston Churchill, noting that it seemed right up Claire’s alley, based on the house-hunting they’d done together. Claire invited Kyle to join them as a tour guide, and he readily accepted. Kyle excused himself to go home before Harrison went to sleep. He thanked Claire for turning what could have been a terrible day into something magical.
After Kyle left, Cole and Victoria stared knowingly at Claire. Claire reiterated that it had only been dinner, and she told her parents not to jump to any conclusions. Victoria innocently asked what assumption they could possibly make when Claire had just invited a guy to Europe, and it had taken him two seconds to say yes. Claire argued that she and Kyle were friends.
Claire turned the topic to thinking she’d seen her parents holding hands when they’d walked over. Cole confirmed that her eyes were working fine, and Claire asked if they were a couple. Victoria hesitated to put a label on things, but she conceded that they were enjoying being together. Cole added that they’d see where things went from there. Claire beamed as Cole put his arm around Victoria.
At the Abbott mansion, Kyle poured a drink. He smiled as he flashed back to kissing Claire in the park.
Heather returned home and asked Daniel how things had been going. He reported that Lucy’s tracking app showed the teen was in her room, and he wanted to believe she hadn’t been stupid enough to sneak out and leave her phone behind. They swapped stories about how their job leads had gone nowhere. Daniel contemplated where all the jobs were that supposedly needed to be filled. Heather groaned that they weren’t in Genoa City, and she proposed that they expand their horizons. Daniel shared that he’d been thinking about her suggestion that they leave town, and he’d decided it would be a huge mistake.
Daniel recounted that after he and Lucy had run into Sharon, he’d suggested it would be a good time to take a trip to Portugal, and Lucy had threatened to run away if they made her go. Heather argued that they didn’t have to move to Portugal to get out of Genoa City. Daniel expected Lucy to have an issue with it, and he objected to sending the message that it was okay to run away from their problems. Lucy overheard and asked what her parents were talking about.
Heather explained that they’d been brainstorming solutions to their numerous problems, and one might be a change of scenery. Lucy surmised that Heather wanted them to leave town because she was ashamed of Lucy and wanted to get Lucy as far away from Sharon and Faith as possible. Heather clarified that she wanted to protect Lucy from Sharon, not the other way around. Heather continued that she and Daniel didn’t have many job opportunities there, and they needed to make a living. Lucy groused that she was sick of moving, and she’d been going from place to place her entire life because of her parents.
Heather recognized that there were a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether to move, and she promised they wouldn’t do anything rash. Lucy remained convinced that it was about her and that they just wanted to punish her more by dragging her out of town. Lucy stormed off, and Heather testily asked if it would have killed Daniel to back her up. Daniel countered that hadn’t done so because he agreed with Lucy.
Heather lectured that Daniel couldn’t let his feelings about what Lucy was going through cloud his judgment, since they were the teen’s parents. Daniel sensed that Heather might be the one whose thinking was impaired, and he argued that just because they were Lucy’s parents didn’t mean they were right. Heather contended that she was being practical, since their savings would run out soon, and she wasn’t about to dip into Lucy’s college fund. Daniel protested that it was too soon to bail, since they hadn’t been out of work that long, and he had family there.
Heather questioned how having Phyllis or Summer nearby had helped Lucy. Daniel protested that uprooting the teen again would only make her feel more isolated, and he maintained that it wasn’t right to teach Lucy to try to run from their problems. Heather demanded to know where that conviction had been when he’d run away from his by leaving her and Lucy. Daniel was appalled that Heather was throwing that in his face, and he barked that at least he knew where their daughter had gotten it from. Daniel walked out, over Heather’s objections.
Heather called out for Lucy, who begrudgingly appeared. Heather swore she wanted to talk and not fight, and she thought it would be helpful if they started pulling together and stopped fighting one another. Heather sympathized that Lucy was hurting, and she also knew the girl wasn’t sharing how much she was hurting, even though there had been a time she would have. Heather declared that no one on earth loved Lucy more, yet she felt like she was outside looking in, when all she wanted to do was find a way to help.
Lucy insisted that moving wouldn’t make things better, and Heather asked what would. Lucy suggested giving her space to breathe and believing her when she said she knew she’d messed up and that she wanted to make things right. Heather worried that Lucy’s idea of making things right could end up making things worse. “So could yours,” Lucy softly replied, and they hugged.
Nick met with Mariah and Faith at the jazz club to check in one last time before they called it a night. Neither Mariah nor Faith had seen Sharon, but they’d both exchanged text messages with their mom. Nick mentioned that he’d tried calling Sharon, but she hadn’t answered her phone. Faith reasoned that no one really answered calls anymore.
Mariah relayed that the receptionist at work had taken a message from Sharon’s doctor’s office about a missed appointment. Mariah hadn’t considered it a big deal, but she wondered if she shouldn’t have blown it off. Faith thought Nick and Mariah were overreacting. Mariah recognized that she might be making a big deal out of nothing, but she worried that Nick might be right about Sharon not getting better. Nick thought it was time they stepped in.
Faith hesitated to do anything behind her mom’s back. Nick explained that it was about getting Sharon the help she needed until they figured out why she was acting the way she was. Mariah pointed out that Sharon hadn’t been turning to them for help, but Faith complained that they were making a bigger deal out of it than it was. Nick asserted that the missed appointment combined with Sharon’s atypical behavior was too much to ignore. Mariah agreed that an outside party needed to be looking in to make sure everything was happening the way Sharon had said. Nick offered to take the blame if Sharon got upset, but he preferred that over doing nothing and risking making the situation worse.
Nick recalled that Faith hadn’t been old enough to understand the situation when Sharon had first been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but it had been frightening—especially for Sharon. Nick knew how bad things could get if they didn’t keep a close eye on Sharon. He thought they should ask Sharon to explain in detail what was going on with her. Mariah compared it to an intervention, and Nick proposed that they schedule a family session with Sharon’s doctor to figure out if Sharon was hiding things intentionally or not.
Faith defended that her mom wouldn’t hide anything, since Sharon knew they wanted to help her. Nick countered that Sharon might not be thinking clearly if she was suffering from a chemical imbalance. Nick lamented that Sharon was suffering, and it had taken prodding to get her to admit that she’d been having visions of Cassie and nightmares of Cameron.
At the cottage, Sharon struggled to control her nervous energy. “Cameron” encouraged her to take deep breaths and questioned how she would accomplish anything in her frenetic state. Sharon spat that he’d made her that way by putting sick ideas in her head, like how Daniel should have died in the accident instead of Cassie. Cameron imagined how different Sharon’s life would be if Cassie were still alive. Sharon contended that it was pointless and painful to think about because they couldn’t change the past, and dwelling on it made her feel worse. Cameron proclaimed that the time for dwelling and dreaming was done, and Sharon had to act.
Cameron noted that Sharon had been hanging on by a thread. He cited the concern in her kids’ eyes when she had outbursts, and he was sure she didn’t want to go on that way, spending every waking moment trying to hide her pain from the people she loved. Sharon asked what he’d meant when he’d said it was time to act. He replied that the answer was inside of her, and he was simply a manifestation of her inner world that could give a voice to the things she was afraid to say out loud. Sharon swore that she would never go that far or entertain such an idea. Cameron taunted that she was already entertaining it, but Sharon refused to do it.
“Enough!” Sharon yelled, and she accused Cameron of putting evil ideas in her head when they wouldn’t get Cassie back or help reunite Sharon with Nick. Cameron recognized that it couldn’t happen with Cassie, but Sharon and Nick had always found their way back to one another. Sharon protested that Cameron’s plan was too extreme, but he quipped that it sometimes took an earthquake to shake things up. Cameron argued that she needed to do it to get back to being a good mom and running the company she’d named after her daughter. He predicted that it would ease her heartache a bit and allow her to finally find some peace.
Cameron claimed that he knew what Sharon was going through, since it felt like no one was on her side. Sharon retorted that he just wanted her to think that so she wouldn’t trust anyone but him. He clucked that everyone was judging her for the way she was acting toward Lucy instead of focusing on what Lucy had done, and people wanted Sharon to stop talking about Cassie because it made them uncomfortable. Sharon wished she could hear Cassie’s voice instead of his.
Cameron insisted that his was the voice Sharon needed to hear because he was the only person who could help her get back on track. Sharon refused to listen to him anymore and headed to the door to leave, but she found Cameron waiting for her in the doorway. “You can run forever, but you’re not going to get rid of me,” he warned, adding that there would be no turning back once she figured out why he was there. Sharon left.
Nick, Mariah, and Faith arrived at the cottage and found it empty. Faith observed the mess left in the room and noted it hadn’t looked like that earlier. Nick tried to call Sharon, but it went directly to voicemail. He left a message, claiming he needed to talk to her about Faith. Faith wondered what was happening to her mom and who could help Sharon if they couldn’t.
Nick encouraged Faith to sit that one out if it was too much, but Faith pledged to do what she could to help Sharon get better. Nick recognized that Faith had counted on Sharon more than anyone. Faith sobbed that she couldn’t handle anything being wrong with her mom. Mariah promised they were doing it to get Sharon back to her old self again. Nick hoped Sharon listened to them, and he and Faith embraced.
Sharon arrived at Crimson Lights, where Esther asked how she was doing. Sharon responded that she’d be fine once she had a cup of coffee. Noting Sharon’s frazzled demeanor, Esther suggested a new decaffeinated herbal tea. Sharon snapped that she’d asked for coffee, and she testily questioned whether Esther told customers what she thought they should have instead getting them what they wanted. Cameron coached Sharon to dial it back a notch, or she’d never pull it off.
Sharon quickly apologized and chalked it up to having a rough day, adding that she’d take Esther’s tea recommendation. Sharon headed to the patio, and Cameron advised her to fly under the radar. Sharon hissed that what he was suggesting was repulsive. He reiterated that it wasn’t his idea—it was all hers.
Cameron told Sharon that her idea wouldn’t be as hard to pull off as she thought. Sharon said she wasn’t listening, but Cameron swore she had it in her, or he wouldn’t be there. He was certain that she’d feel better and even relieved once she’d done it. She bellowed to go away and leave her alone, startling Esther, who’d approached to drop off the tea.
Sharon swore she hadn’t meant to sound rude, but she just needed some quiet time to work out a few personal things. Esther set down the tea and agreed to leave her alone. After Esther turned away, Sharon checked her phone and saw the missed call from Nick. She ignored his message.
Daniel entered the coffeehouse and ordered an ice water from Esther. “Don’t blow this, Sharon,” Cameron cautioned, adding that everything was riding on how she handled the situation. Nick called the coffeehouse and asked Esther if she’d seen or spoken to Sharon. Esther shared that Sharon was there but that she seemed to be shaky and agitated. Nick requested that Esther keep Sharon there, and he’d be right over.
Cameron instructed Sharon to be careful dealing with Daniel because she might never get another chance if she scared him off. Sharon approached Daniel, who cautiously greeted her. She invited him to join her on the patio for a moment, but he doubted it was a good idea. Sharon sweetly claimed that she just wanted to clear up a few things.
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