Things had not always gone smoothly in Mateo and Ryan's encounters. Because of this, Mateo was reluctant to let Hayley get involved in Ryan's defense. Rape, Mateo noted, is a very serious charge. Hayley seemed very upset by Matt's unwillingness to believe in Ryan. She told him that Ryan had been there for her in recent weeks after her life had turned upside-down. Mateo reminded Hayley that Ryan had rode into town on a bus and later scammed Gillian into marrying him. Mateo managed to shelve his concern when Hayley assured him that she believed in Ryan.

While Adam might have had a kiss on his itinerary all night, Liza certainly had not anticipated it. "That was a surprise," she gasped. "My move or your reaction to it?" asked Adam. Not surprisingly, the answer was both. Adam moved from Liza's lips to her heart and mind. He asked her if she had come to a decision about their possible future together. "I'll consider it," replied Liza, saying that she liked her position on the fence. Liza rose from the sofa and said that she had to go to a meeting with David. Adam leapt from a seated position and told Liza that she could not go. Liza turned and cast a questioning look in Adam's direction. She asked him if he was trying to tell her what she could and could not do. Adam quickly moved to do damage control. He told his former wife that he didn't want the night end, not that he didn't want her to meet with David. He asked her to accompany him on an impromptu trip to Paris. Liza, however, told him that the City of Lights would have to wait. Soon after Liza left, Adam got a call from a business associate with important news about the fertility clinic.

Raquel stepped aside to pass Trevor so that she could put her bags in her car. Trevor, however, told her that that wouldn't be a good idea. That prompted Raquel to issue Trevor a very stern warning. If he did not move, Raquel announced that she would call the police. Trevor turned slightly and looked out into the parking lot. He surmised that Raquel wouldn't have to do more than a simple "yoo hoo" to get the attention of the men in blue. That was because there were several officers stationed around Raquel's car. Trevor was taking every step to ensure that Raquel did not skip town. He told the young woman that in addition to filing for divorce, he would be seeking an injunction to make sure that Raquel did not leave Pine Valley. If she did, she could---and presumably would---be charged with kidnapping. Raquel growled her disapproval with Trevor's threats. Trevor assured her that he did not like making threats and warned her not to press him into making good on the threats. It was unfair, at least in Raquel's mind, that Mateo could have joint custody of a child that up until recently he didn't know existed. Trevor made it clear that had Raquel not been so hell-bent on telling Mateo about his son, she probably would not be in the situation that she was in. Raquel returned inside and told Angela that she feared that Hayley was trying to steal Max from her. She held up the baseball glove that Hayley had given Max and said that she never could have afforded something so extravagant. Angela shrugged indifferently and remarked that the glove was just a toy---even if it was top of the line. Raquel tried to fend off tears as she explained that children usually love people who give them gifts. "What if I lose my son to [the] other woman?" Raquel sniffled. Max entered the room and asked his mother why she was so sad. Raquel smiled meekly and told Max that she was crying tears of joy because she loved him so much. That appeased Max, but he did not want to go back to bed. Max's sleep had been plagued by nightmares. In his sleep, Max dreamt that Mateo had lost the name tag he'd made for him and gotten lost forever. Raquel took her son in her arms and promised him that he would see his father again.

Alone at a table at The Valley Inn, David skimmed over a copy of an expose that reported on fertility clinic mix-ups. As he vowed to make Adam accountable for what he'd done, Gillian burst into the restaurant and begged David for his help. Gillian gave the doctor a brief synopsis of what had happened to Ryan. David raised his eyebrows and asked how he could possibly help. Gillian had remembered that David had performed a "bipolar operation," which in Gillianese was actually bypass surgery, on the governor. She hoped that David could use his close ties with the government official to save her husband. David first noted that the governor could not do anything because Ryan had not yet been charged with a crime. Then he went on to use his twisted, yet admiringly devious, charm. David bowed his head and told Gillian that he could not help her save the man who was keeping her from him. David claimed to be "heartsick" from being dumped by Gillian and said that it would hurt him too much to help his lover's husband. "I'm so sorry," Gillian said softly. David had succeeded in making Gillian feel like a first class heel. Gillian took David's hand and told him that she understood. Unbeknownst to either of them, Liza had entered the restaurant and was observing them from a few yards away. Liza watched curiously for a time before she decided to move in for a closer look. Gillian didn't hang around long once Liza appeared at the table. Lia sat down across from David and asked him why he'd been holding Ryan Lavery's wife's hands. David cleared his throat and explained that he and Gillian had forged an unusual relationship after he'd helped rescue her from the rubble at Holidays. Liza didn't pursue the line of questioning any further. Instead, she began reading the expose that David had created. Liza admitted that she hoped that their investigation would come up empty. She said that it would be "incredibly cruel to destroy a woman's dreams" by revealing that she had not been impregnated with the donor sperm she'd chosen. Liza was absolutely certain that this could never have happened to her.

Dimitri worried that Jack's relationship to Kit would limit his objectivity. Ryan was unconcerned because, in his words, this was the first time he had "nothing to hide." He disregarded everyone's advice to wait until he had legal counsel before answering Derek's questions. Hayley and Mateo arrived a short time later, but Ryan had already gone into the interrogation room. Derek asked Ryan to sign a waiver that basically explained that he had agreed to answer questions without having an attorney present. Derek set up a videocamera to tape Ryan's statement. Derek asked Ryan if it was true that he had met Kit at The Pit on Halloween. He nodded and began to tell the tale of how he and Kit had met. He said that shortly after he'd straggled into the bar, an unknown woman had offered to buy him a drink.

Meanwhile at Wildwind, Kit was involved in a question and answers session of her own. Edmund again told Kit that he needed to know everything that had happened the night she'd been assaulted. "You'll hate me," she said softly. "It's ugly." Edmund told Kit that he just wanted to know what happened and assured her that he would make Ryan pay if he was the one who had raped her. Kit told Edmund that her life had seemingly screeched to a halt after the judge ruled against her. After Edmund left her alone at The Pit, she said that she had struck up a conversation with a man who was "just as miserable" as she was. A tune came on the jukebox and Kit said that she and the man, who she identified as Ryan, headed to the dance floor.

Ryan encouraged Derek and Jack to ask anyone who had been at the bar on Halloween night about the dance that he and Kit had shared. Ryan didn't spare any details. Jack became extremely uneasy when Ryan told Derek that Kit had had her hands all over him. "Her personal space was zero," said Ryan referring to the way he and Kit had been dancing.
"Before I knew it, we kissed," Kit said. Edmund asked Kit if Ryan had initiated the kiss. Kit took a deep breath and said that she and Ryan had both acted simultaneously.
After the kiss, Ryan recalled that he had informed Kit that they could not go back to his place. In response, Kit told him that she had a "big bed" that would serve them well. Instead of immediately heading off the Kit's place, Ryan said that they had returned to the bar for another drink---and then headed back to the dance floor. Again, Ryan said that their dancing was very sensual and erotic. Suddenly, Kit pulled "a one-eighty" and changed her mind about heading back to the hotel. Ryan said that he had tried to find out why Kit had suddenly done an about-face.

"I pushed him away," said Kit. When she did, Kit said that Ryan "blew up" and told her that she was "just like Gillian----a slut in a tight skirt."
"I got in my car and left," continued Ryan. "End of story." He swore that he had not seen Kit again until earlier that night.

"I was relieved when he left," Kit told Edmund. She went on to say that after Ryan left, she returned to the bar for another drink. After being cut off by the bartender, Kit said that headed outside to wait for a cab. That's when she was assaulted. Kit cringed as she recalled the details of the assault. The attacker pinned her against a wall or a car---Kit could not recall exactly which---before forcing her to the ground. Edmund asked Kit if she saw her attacker's face. Kit shook her head, but said she was certain that it was Ryan. She told Edmund that her attacker wore a werewolf mask, the same mask Ryan had been wearing that night. There was more. She recalled the scent of her attacker's aftershave. Saying that she'd never forget the smell, Kit said that Ryan wore the same aftershave. Edmund wondered why Kit had not taken Ryan back to her room as planned. He was surprised when Kit told him that he was the reason she hadn't gone through with her plan. Edmund had told Kit that he thought she was "better than this," and that stuck with her and made her unable to sleep with a stranger. Kit was surprised when Edmund told her that he was still on her side. "A no is a no," Edmund said emphatically. He then told Kit that he could not blame her for anything---and that she should not blame herself either.

Jack was not about to let Ryan end his story without some cross-examining. Jack reminded Ryan that Gillian had stated that he had bragged about "scoring with some blonde." Ryan said that he had lied to Gillian because he had recently learned that she'd been cheating on him. No one could understand exactly why Ryan would concoct such a lie. Ryan made a huge mistake when he said that he had been mad at Gillian when he devised his lie. Was Ryan also mad when Kit had turned down his advances? Was he mad enough to resort to raping Kit? "I did not rape Kit Fisher!" Ryan exclaimed. That sent Jack through the roof. His face a deep shade of red, the District Attorney pounded his hand on the table and shouted, "Here name is Christine Montgomery!" He shouted the line several times before Trevor entered the room and advised Ryan not to say another word. Derek informed Trevor that Ryan had already signed off on legal representation, but Trevor hinted that the paper wouldn't hold up in court. Ryan told Trevor that he did not need legal advice because he had not done anything wrong. He got out of his chair and headed towards the door. Jack grabbed his arm and told him that he was not going anywhere.

At the health club, Tad emerged victorious in not one---but three games of squash against his brother, Jake. The machismo continued outside the court when Tad bet Jake that he could pick up any woman in the gym. Not knowing that the cards had been stacked against him, Jake agreed to a ten dollar bet against his brother. Tad did not plan on simply making a random pass at an anonymous woman---but Tad's overconfidence would come back to bite him. On the other side of the gym, Wendy the Weathergirl listened to one of her workout partner's gush endlessly about Tad. She begged Wendy to introduce her to Tad. Wendy, however, had no plan of going anywhere near Tad. She leaned over to her friend and related the secret Liza had previously told her. Wendy had no way of knowing that Liza had diagnosed Tad with an icky---and bogus---disease so that Wendy would lose interest in the television star. When the woman learned of Tad's condition, she went from lust to disgust in a matter of a few seconds. By the time Tad strolled over to the two women, neither of them wanted anything to do with him. Jake smiled slightly as he watched Tad get shot down by the two women. Wendy made a cryptic remark that Liza had told her all about Tad. Whatever Liza had made up, Wendy wasn't saying. Tad pursed his lips tightly together and mumbled that he had to "kill a pregnant woman."

The gym wasn't the only place in Pine Valley where a people were working out. Belinda paid what should have been a normal, uneventful visit to Cortlandt Manor. What she got, though, was a rather pleasant surprise. On the floor, Adrian zapped off a few dozen sit-ups. Her eyes wide and her face flushed, Belinda turned her back to Adrian and tried to keep herself composed. After Adrian finished her exercise routine, he and Belinda were able to have a conversation. Belinda asked Adrian if he would be leaving town after the cast was removed from his foot. Adrian had once said that he'd do his best to stay in Pine Valley, but only if Belinda was interested in seeing him. Sure, the pair had been seeing each other, but there had never been any type of commitment between them. Adrian nodded his head slightly and announced that he would probably be moving on. The news obviously disappointed Belinda. But her reaction was nothing close to the stunning reaction Opal exhibited after overhearing Belinda casually tell Adrian that his father had dropped by Cortlandt Manor. Adrian and Belinda both looked curiously at Opal and tried to figure out why she was so troubled by Frank's unannounced visit. After speaking to Frank, Belinda had sensed that there was more to Opal and Frank's relationship than it appeared. Now, however, was certain that there was something that Opal was trying to hide.

Hayley paced nervously around the station even though her Uncle Trevor had arrived in time to help Ryan. Gillian scurried into the police station and asked Hayley if she could speak to her in private. Hayley rolled her eyes and agreed to give the princess a few minutes of her time. Gillian told Hayley that she had devised a plan to rescue Ryan. The plan required a little help from Hayley. Gillian asked Hayley to devise some type of distraction---perhaps a claim that she'd lost her show---to divert the officers' attention. Hayley chuckled slightly and reminded Gillian that policemen carry guns. "So do I," Gillian said sinisterly. She gently lifted her coat and flashed a revolver that had been carefully tucked into her waistband. Hayley's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and her jaw just about hit the floor. The gun turned out to be a toy gun, but even a fake gun could have landed Gillian into a heap of trouble. Hayley naturally refused to be part of a Thelma and Louise form of vigilante justice and ordered Gillian to keep her gun hidden---even if it was fake. Gillian was peeved that there was seemingly nothing she could do to help Ryan out of his jam. She began whining and stomping her feet to protest what she was as a miscarriage of justice.
Inside the interrogation room, Jack realized that there was a simple way to prove whether or not Ryan was being honest. He actually managed a slight laugh as he observed the irony of the situation. A DNA test would prove whether or not the semen found on Kit's dress matched Ryan's genetic makeup. Trevor adamantly refused to let his client be tested. He then went on to tell Jack that unless he was going to arrest Ryan for the crime against Kit, Ryan should be let go. Jack did not admit defeat nor did he give any indication that he would drop his crusade against Ryan. He did, however, say that Ryan was free to go. Ryan found out that Gillian had come to his defense, but any good that that had done Gillian was quickly nullified when she went overboard in her attempt to endear herself to her husband. Gillian told Jack and Derek that, as a child, Ryan had witnessed his father physically assaulting his mother. Her intent was to show that Ryan would never harm a woman because he had seen his mother suffer at the hands of his father. Ryan didn't approve of Gillian blabbing his personal affairs to a group of strangers and blew up at Gillian. His anger was carefully observed and noted by both Trevor and Jack. Trevor warned Ryan that he should keep a low profile for the next few days.

Tad headed to The Valley Inn and read Liza the riot act for spreading rumors about him. Liza took Tad's wrath in stride and told him that she was just paying him back for the way he had treated WRCW's new medical correspondent, Dr. David Hayward. Jake followed Tad to the restaurant and managed to help Tad cool off. Tad stormed off, still very angry, and headed back to the gym. Over dinner, Jake and Liza both agreed that Tad's atypical behavior was brought on by heartache---heartache that had been caused by a failed rooftop rendezvous. Liza was furious with Dixie for having toyed with Tad's emotions. It's like Dixie "walked out on him all over again," said Liza. Liza warned Jake that she would have words with Dixie the next time she saw her. "She's gonna have to answer to me," snapped Liza protectively.

At the hunting lodge, Edmund gently brushed Kit's neck to help calm her. Kit jumped from the sofa and ran across the room. She took a washcloth and began scrubbing her neck. "This is where he touched me," Kit sobbed, referring to the spot on her neck Ryan had touched when he'd tried to help her with her coat. Edmund took the cloth from Kit and said that he would help her. Kit curled up on the sofa and quickly fell asleep. Jack showed up and asked Edmund if Kit had told him anything about the night she was attacked. Edmund nodded, but didn't go into detail. He simple stated that Kit had told him "everything." Outside the lodge, Ryan peered in through the window at a still-sleeping Kit.

Palmer returned to the hospital and tried to get an update on his niece's health. None of the doctors or nurses would tell him anything. Palmer walked into Dixie's room fearing the worst. He asked her why he was unable to get an update on her condition. Dixie explained that she had asked the staff not to tell him anything. Palmer felt that Dixie was still miffed because he had said that he was glad that she and Tad were no longer an item. Dixie again assured her uncle that she and Tad were not going to be getting back together. To lessen his worrying, she also told Palmer that she was going to make a full recovery. Braden observed the exchange and later, after Palmer left, asked Dixie why she refused to tell Palmer the truth about her health. Dixie said that if her health did deteriorate, she wanted to die on her "own terms." Dixie's surprising candor prompted a confession from Braden. He admitted that greed is his single most motivation in life. Dixie took a deep breath and gazed off into the distance. She told Braden that she had lied to Palmer when she said that she and Tad had no chance of getting back together. Well, the odds of them getting back together were up in the air, but Dixie desperately wanted a chance to reunite with the "love of [her] life." Dixie did not want to get back together with Tad because she feared for her health. If she was going to die, Dixie did not want to put Tad through the mourning process. "I can't live without him," Dixie said softly. "But I will die without him if I have to." Dixie went on to say that if David could come up with a miracle cure to save her life, she would "go running back to [Tad]" and "no power on Earth" could stop her.

The thought of exposing Adam's switcheroo at the fertility clinic had David chomping at the bits. He arrived at WRCW nearly an hour early and told Liza that he was going to go to the clinic and do some pre-interview research. Liza paid him little attention because she had her head buried in an accounting ledger. She told the doctor that she would join him at the scheduled start time for the interview. Shortly after David filed out of the office, Ryan appeared in the doorway. He walked up to Liza's desk unnoticed and asked Liza for a few minutes of her time. Liza asked Ryan to return later in the day, but Ryan said that he could not wait. He extended his arm and handed Liza a piece of paper. He told his boss that she had "one less salary" to worry about. Liza looked up and asked Ryan if he was hoping that tendering his resignation would result in a promotion or raise. Ryan shook his head. He had already gotten a raise and was not out for more money. He told Liza that his resignation was an attempt to spare WRCW from the impending bad press. Liza's brow wrinkled as she asked Ryan what he was talking about. Ryan told Liza that Kit had accused him of rape. From the doorway, Tad voiced his disbelief. Tad stepped into the office and asked Liza if he could have a few moments alone Ryan. Liza pouted slightly and whined that this was her office. She moped to doorway and looked back, perhaps hoping that she'd be allowed to listen in on the conversation. Tad frowned slightly and Liza agreed to leave the two men alone. Ryan put his hands up and asked Tad to spare "the riot act." Tad didn't hide the fact that he thought Ryan was a bit sleazy, but he was pretty sure that he was not a rapist. He told Ryan to look him in the eyes and to tell him the truth. A liar, Tad said, can tell when another liar is lying. Ryan vehemently denied raping Kit---or having sex with her, for that matter. Tad believed him. Ryan still did not understand why Tad was asking so many question. As he walked towards the door, Tad told Ryan that he'd "know soon enough." Liza returned to the office and told Ryan that she would not accept his resignation. The reaction came as a surprise to Ryan because he had convinced himself that Liza would dump him to avoid negative press for WRCW. Sitting back at her desk, Liza told Ryan that she believed him when he denied assaulting Kit. She said that while she knew that Ryan was capable of some shady dealings, she doubted that he could ever force himself on a woman. "Thank you," Ryan said softly. What he was left to wonder was why had Kit chosen to implicate him in the assault? Later, Ryan reclined in Liza's chair as he worked on landing some additional advertisers. Wendy walked into the office and smiled meekly in Ryan's direction. Ryan told the weathergirl that he'd been in contact with someone who wanted to sponsor her weather segments. Apparently the advertiser also wanted to discuss other matters with Wendy, so Ryan asked her for home phone number so that he could get in contact with her. Wendy became very nervous and raced out of the room. Ryan knew that the news of Kit's accusation was starting to make the rounds.

From the sidelines, Dimitri watched as Erica finished a photo shoot for Enchantment's spring collection. After the flashbulbs stopped flashing, Dimitri told Erica that he needed her help because he had been having trouble sleeping. Erica's neck snapped back slightly. She wondered if Dimitri was "propositioning" her. Dimitri told Erica that Kit had implicated Ryan as the man who had assaulted her. Erica was concerned, but she didn't know what she could do to help Dimitri. Dimitri told Erica that she and Tad strongly believed that Kit was lying about her attack. He wanted to know why they felt the way they did---if there was something that they knew.

At The Valley Inn, Adam sat alone at a table daydreaming about the kiss he and Liza shared the night before. Marian arrived a short time later and immediately asked Adam why he's asked her to lunch. Marian feared that Adam was going to try to bully her out of her plan to marry Stuart. That would not be the case. Adam grinned and told Marian that he wanted to get to know her better. Marian laughed and told Adam that he'd have to come up with a better lie than that. She and Adam had, after all, lived under the same roof while Adam and Liza were married. Adam turned to sweet talk, telling Marian that her perfume smelled nice. "It's garlic," snapped Marian, adding that it was supposed to keep evil---like Adam---at arm's length. Adam told Marian that he would give her the "wedding of [her] dreams" if she could do him one favor. Marian sighed and waited for the bad news. Adam wanted Liza back in his life and he hoped that Marian could put in a few good words for him. "Liza's gotten into my blood like no other woman," Adam said romantically. "You make her sound like a bacterial infection," Marian groaned. Marian needed to be convinced that Adam was on the up-and-up. Adam touted himself as a changed man, a man who loved Liza with all his heart. Marian backed off from her hardline stance. She told Adam that he and Liza have a lot in common; Both had let down their guard long enough for the other to sneak into their heart. Marian said that she believes that her daughter still loves Adam. While the two dined, Adam got a call on his cell phone. The unidentified caller on the other end was presumably calling on business. Adam nonchalantly told the caller that he (or she) should "know how to handle it." Rejoining the conversation with Marian, the issue of trust still had to be addressed. Marian wanted Adam to promise that he would not try to pull any more "dirty tricks" on Liza. Adam grinned devilishly and told Marian that she had his word on it. That wasn't quite good enough, so Adam said that not only would he love Liza, but her child as well. Adam claimed that he would love the baby like it was his own. That was enough to convince Marian. She put her hand out and she and Adam shook hands to seal their deal.

David arrived at the fertility clinic and ran over some of the questions he'd be asking the nurse during the interview. The questions ranged from the clinic's success rate and a gaggle of questions about the clinic's owner. The nurse squirmed a bit and informed David that Adam was no longer the owner of the clinic. David nodded his head and said that there would still be questions about Adam plus a few questions about the new owner. The nurse stepped away to tend to some business. Meanwhile, David fantasized about how the interview might go. He imagined that he got the nurse to talk about the date Adam purchased the clinic, the day he sold it, and Adam's interest in the sperm storage area. The nurse also mentioned that the sign in logs showed that Adam had spent many a late night aloe in the storage facilitates . Liza put two and two together and realized that Adam might have swapped Jake's sperm for his own. Back in the real world, Liza arrived and prepared for the interview. She sat off-camera as the cameras started rolling.

Jack and Edmund were not surprised when Kit informed them that she was scared to make an official statement. They were somewhat troubled by Kit's insistence that she be allowed to return home without giving a statement. "The only way around a mess is through it," Edmund chirped philosophically. Jack told his little sister that he did not want to see her rapist get away with the crime. Kit reluctantly agreed to give a statement. She, with Jack and Edmund by her side, headed into the interrogation room. Derek led what appeared to be a very impartial questioning session. The actual statement was not shown, but the questioning leading up to Kit's statement were. The detective asked about Kit's "state of mind" the night of the attack and whether or not she'd talked to anyone else at the bar. After the questioning ended, Kit asked if she could stretch her legs before having to sign the official police documents. Jack nodded and offered to go with her. Kit shook her head and said that she wanted some time alone. Kit got a few feet from the interrogation room before bumping into a familiar face: Tad. Tad took her by the arm and told her that they needed to have a few words. Tad escorted Kit outside the police station to a nearby park. There, Tad blasted Kit for having given a statement to the police. Kit said that she hadn't planned on giving the statement and that she'd been forced into giving it. Tad urged Kit not to sign anything, saying that she would save herself a lot of pain that way. Earlier in the station, Kit had said that she feared she would be the one put on trial if her case went to court. Now, she had a new worry. Tad told Kit that if she did not back off and forget about her official statement, he would go to Jack and Derek and tell them all about their rocky past. Kit pleaded with Tad not to tell anyone, but Tad said that he was not about to let Kit "slash and burn [her] way through [another] town." Kit tired to stop Tad from leaving, but it did her no good. Kit sat alone in the park for a few minutes. Something caused her to look up and when she did, she came face to face with the man she'd accused of raping her.

Back at the station, Dimitri escorted Erica into the interrogation room. Jack rolled his eyes and told Erica to go home. Dimitri explained that he had been the one to convince Erica to drop by the station, noting that she had new information on the assault on Kit. Jack and Edmund both refused to let Erica speaking, saying that she could not possibly have any information. "Tad told me," Erica began before being cut off by Jack. The District Attorney noted that the "he said, she said" statement she was about to give was hearsay. In short, her statement could not become part of the record. "What if it comes from me," asked Tad from the doorway. Tad told the group that he wanted to give them the "lowdown on Kit Fisher." And according to Tad, "low doesn't begin to cover it."