Julia is studying for her physicians assistant test and Camille comes in and asks her how things are going. Julia tells her about being tired and not being able to sleep. Camille tells her to go lie down and try to take a nap so she will be fresh for the test. Instead, Julia goes to the doctor's (psychiatrist) office and throws a fit with the receptionist because Dr. Hamilton is not in. She asks the nurse to fill the prescription for her and she says that she did that once already and she can't do it again. Julia is frustrated and starts to barge her way out the door and runs into Molly's limo guy, who turns out to be Dr. Hamilton. When she realizes who he is, she tells him about losing her prescription and all she needs is for him to give her another one. He tells her that he needs to look at her records first. They go into the office and she waits at the door. He tells her to come in, he won't bite. As Dr. Hamilton is looking over her file, she is making all kinds of excuses why she needs the prescription. He tells her that he would like her to schedule a few sessions with him and she says that she will, but not right now because she is so busy. He tells her that he will see that she gets more pills, but he definitely wants to see her. As they are walking out of the office, he gives her the new prescription and tells her to only use them when she needs them. After she is gone, he tells the nurse that when Ms. Lindsey calls for an appointment, to fit her in and he will make time to see her.

Sara Ruth comes into the clinic and says to Camille, "You're here." Camille looks up at her and says that she is here, she is all alone and she doesn't want to hear anything about the fact that she has lost Ben and her chance is over and she will be crying the blues for the rest of her life and turn into a miserable old hag. She tells her mother that she has said it and Sara Ruth doesn't have to. Sara Ruth tells her that she doesn't have to be that way, she just worries about Camille. Camille tells her that she worries too much. Sara Ruth makes a comment about her either working or going to school. Camille pipes up and says, "Baby, while you tryin' to find yo'self, some crazy lap dancer gonna move in on your man." Camille says that if her mother had it her way, she would have her quit school and take up full time trying to get that woman out of Ben's apartment. She says that it is none of her business. Sara Ruth says that she will just stay out of Camille's business and not bother her anymore. Camille says, "Good", and leaves her mother standing alone.

At Ben's apartment, he and Denise are have a big fight. Denise is packing her stuff and she is going to leave. Ben does not want her to go. Denise says that Ben called her a whore and Ben says that he didn't. Ben traps her at the door and tells her that he likes having her there and she is good for him. He says that he needs loosening up and she says that he is too uptight. He tells her that she came into his life at a time when he didn't feel much like laughing. He tells her that he is sorry that he hurt her and she says that he can't make her stay. He says that he knows that, but she should at least stay until she can find somewhere else to go. The door bell rings and Camille is at the door. Ben opens the door and Camille hands him a package and says that she thought that he could use it for the Outreach Program. Ben invites her in. Camille comes in and tells Denise that she heard about a job at the church. Rev. Dansby needs someone to be his assistant. Ben tells her thanks, but they have Denise's job search under control. Camille says that she has to go and Denise says thanks for helping her out, she will try to pay her back sometime. Ben goes out into the hallway with Camille. Camille wants to know if she did something wrong. Ben says that he just can't see Denise working for Rev. Dansby. Ben goes back inside and tells Denise that she can work at the clinic. She says that she will try to work at the clinic but what if they can't get along?

Dr. Bob Hughes tells Holden that the test that they ran on Hope still point to fetal alcohol syndrome. Bob says that he thinks that it could be the gas that James had turned on Lily last year. Holden says that because of something James did, his daughter is going to suffer for the rest of her life. Holden starts to leave and Bob wants to know where he is going. Holden says that he is going to call his mother then go have a talk with James.

James and Lily are arguing because James told Lily that he was going to sell off all of World Wide's stock. As he and Lily are yelling at each other, the vase of flowers setting beside Lucinda's bed goes flying off the table. Lily realizes that Lucinda has pushed them off. She goes to her mother's side and grabs Lucinda's hand. Lily tells James that she is squeezing her hand. She runs to the door and tells the nurse to get the doctor, she thinks her mother is coming out of her coma. While the doctor is examining Lucinda, James is standing at the window, looking at Lucinda and talking to her. Lily is listening. She tells him that she hopes that he means everything that he is saying. He tells her how he much he wants to put his life back together and make a life with Lucinda. The doctor comes out and tells them that her brain wave functions are back to normal. Lily wants to know what they can do to help her and the doctor tells her to just talk to her. Lily starts for the door and looks back at James and asks, "Are you coming?" While they are looking over Lucinda, James realizes that Lily has not eaten and she tells him that she is fine. He tells her that her mother would want her to keep her strength up for her grandchildren. James says that he will go get something for her to eat and before he leaves the room Lily stops him and says, "Thank you." When he walks out into the hallway, Holden comes up and grabs him and says that he wants to talk to him about what he has done to his daughter.

The scene then switches to the real Hope and the nanny is holding her and telling her that her daddy is a lucky man. She is the most beautiful and perfect baby in the whole world.

Chris Hughes is home and everyone is happy to see him. They ask him why he is home, does he not have classes? He tells them that there was a fire because of some faulty wiring and while they are checking the rest of the wiring, the have closed the college down. Kim remembers that she has been using Chris' room for storage and she and Nancy and Bob go upstairs to clean it up. Andy follows them, leaving Molly and Chris alone in the kitchen. Molly makes small talk with Chris, asking him about his college and the differences between high school and college. Chris tells her that there is only one difference between high school and college and that is the women. Molly says something about him being so young and Chris informs her that he is all grown up. She apologizes and says that she didn't mean to insult him. He says that he could never be insulted by someone who looks so fine. Molly looks at him funny and he asks her what is wrong and she says that she didn't expect him to say something like that to her. He says that she should expect it all day long. Chris asks her if she is staying with his parents again. She says that she is there only for a visit, she and Andy. He wants to know when she and Andy became friends. Andy walks in and says that they are more than just friends. Chris gets the hint and says that he is going to go upstairs and see how his parents are doing with his room. When he is gone, Andy says to Molly that he can't believe that his little brother was hitting on his girlfriend. Molly says that they should put up flyers all over town warning all the girls about Chris Hughes. Later, Molly is washing the dishes and Andy walks into the kitchen and tells her that she doesn't have to do that. She says that she wanted to help out. She tells Andy that the last time she was in this kitchen, she was getting her butt kicked out of it. Andy kisses her and she says that she should dry the dishes. He puts his arms around her and says that she can dry and he will watch. While she is drying the dishes, Andy asks her if she thought that Chris' story about the fire sounded fishy? Chris comes in and Andy questions him about his story about the fire at the college. Chris tells him that is what happened and Andy looks at him and says that the story that he gave them is crap. Kim and Bob walk in and want to know what they are talking about. Chris says that Andy was just giving him some advice. Kim asks if it was about girls. Chris looks at Andy and says, "Yeah, girls."

Brad is working out at the gym and Denise walks up to a bike and looks at it. Brad tells her that she better put the seat down or she might hurt herself. She tells him to mind his own business. She starts to adjust the seat and it comes off. Brad comes over to help her and she tells him that she has a personal trainer somewhere but he has disappeared at the moment. Brad fixes the seat for her and Ben comes walking up. Denise see Ben and says, "Here he is." Ben and Brad look at each other. Brad says, "Ben" and Ben says, "Brad." Denise asks them if they know each other. They say they do and Brad walks away. Denise can't believe that there is someone that doesn't like Ben. She thought everyone liked Ben and that Ben liked everyone. He tells her that he doesn't want to talk about it. They start to talk about her workout. Ben is going to help her get in shape for dancing.

Camille tells her mother that she wants her to stop pushing her. She says that she went over to Ben's house and made a fool out of herself. She tells her mother that she is going to make her own decisions from now on. Sara Ruth says that she is sick of Camille saying that she wants to be alone. She tells Camille that she is not going to stand by and watch her lose the best thing that every happened to her. Camille wants to know just when did Ben become the best thing for her. When she was seeing Lou, Ben was dirt and then when she starting seeing Brad, Ben was the best thing for her. She asks her mother if a black doctor looks better than a white construction worker? Camille brings up that her father is white and she tells her mother that not every white man is the same. Sara Ruth loses her cool and yells at Camille. She tells her that she needs to take responsibility for herself. Camille looks at her mother and says that she is declaring her independence from her. Camille and Sara Ruth start to calm down and apologize to each other and make amends. Ben and Denise come walking into the clinic. They tell Camille that Denise is going to be working at the clinic. Denise wonders if Camille will be her boss. Sara Ruth says to Denise that she shouldn't worry who her boss is, she should be thankful that she has a J-O-B. Sara Ruth looks at Camille and says that it is so wonderful that Big Ben Harris has found Denise a job and she struts out. Camille puts out her hand to Denise and welcomes her to the clinic.

Holden has a hold on James and he is yelling at him. Lily comes running over to them and wants to know what is wrong. She tells Holden that her mother is starting to respond and James has helped her, he is on their side. Holden lets go of James and says that he is not on their side. Lily says to Holden that there is something that he is not telling her and she thinks that something is wrong with Hope. Holden tells her there is nothing new. He tells her about the new test pointed to the same diagnoses. She says that can't be true and he says yes is can and looks at James. Lily doesn't understand, she didn't drink one drop of alcohol the whole time she was pregnant. Holden reminds her about the gas that James had released and it had gotten into her system when she was pregnant. Lily goes ballistic and turns to James and says that she is not through with him. Holden and Lily leave to be with Hope. Holden and Lily take Hope to the clinic to see Ben. They want to talk to him about her condition. Lily wants to know if there is anything special that they can do for her. He reassures them that if they do all the things that they had talked about before she should be all right. He tells them to concentrate on the positive things in their life. He gets a page and has to leave. He tells them that he will see them later during his rounds. Later, Lily is reading to Hope and telling her that she will need determination in her life and she can do anything. Ben comes up and says that Dr. Dorado is on the phone and wants to speak to her about Hope. He says that he will watch Hope for her. After Lily leaves, Ben is playing with the baby in her stroller and Denise walks up to him. She tells him that she is ready for her interview and how does she look. Ben tells her she looks fine and he tells her to look at the baby, isn't she cute. Denise says, "Yeah, she's cute." Ben gets a page and has to leave. He asks Denise to watch the baby. She isn't sure if she can and Ben sits her down and says that all she has to do is watch her and Lily will be right back. After Ben leaves, she is looking at the baby and telling the baby that she is lucky because she is in a wealthy family and will never have to worry about anything. The baby starts to cry. Denise tells the baby not to do this to her. She has a flashback. Denise is laying on a bed and holding her stomach and a baby is crying. Denise is yelling, "Take it away, take it away."

Now we are at the Mystery Man's house and the nanny is telling the baby (real Hope) that her daddy has a surprise for them. She says that she saw boxes and luggage packed upstairs and she thinks that they are going to move.

James is at Lucinda's side. He is telling her that he didn't mean to hurt Hope when he gassed Lily. He tells her that he will make sure that she has all the best medical and the best therapists that money can buy. He tells her that he is the one responsible for her accident and he will do anything to get her back. He loves her and he want to make a life with her. As he is talking, Lucinda is starting to grip the blanket on her bed. James bows his head as he is telling her he wants her to come back to him and she starts to open her eyes.

Eddie warns Katie that his new apartment is a true "fixer-upper." Denise recalls a crying baby and writhing in pain on a mattress, asking to have it taken away. John asks Carly to make Parker her top priority. Lucinda comes to and tells James "I'm back." James turns away Lucinda's questions about how she was hurt. Katie is uneasy when she sees the state of Eddie's apartment, and reluctantly agrees to help him clean it up.

John admits to having many regrets--he missed seeing his other children grow up--and wants to impart some life lessons to Carly. Kim leaves a message inviting Georgia to the family dinner for Chris. Lucinda doesn't remember being married to James, but is glad to see Lily. Eddie is nonchalant when Katie spies mice.

After a cryptic phone call from the owner, Eddie is promoted to manager of Club Oasis. Denise plans to audition for him. Brad looks on as Carly listens to John's words of wisdom. Holden taunts James for opposing the medical treatment that saved Lucinda's life. La Walsh has a frightening snatch of memory from her accident.

Eddie is impressed by Denise's performance, but hesitates about having dancers again. Denise hears the crying baby in her head, even as she touts to Ben dancing's ability to block everything else out. Carly admits to still learning about the parenting process. When Lucinda mentions the stables, Lily fills her in on some of the details of her accident, causing her mother to go into a frenzy. To Brad's disbelief, Carly calls home to confirm that Parker is fine.

Bob marvels at the fact that his son is following in his footsteps by studying pre-med. Georgia takes Chris to the club. John's female intern supports the idea of giving sole custody to the father in some cases. Carly worries about Molly's extreme confidence that she'll win her case. Watching Eddie watching her, Georgia allows Chris to kiss her. Lucinda keeps repeating James' name to Lily.

At the Oasis:
Georgia looks up from kissing Chris and notices that Eddie had left. Chris tried to entice her to go back to his car for some "privacy." Georgia, however, remembers that she has an appointment and has to leave. (Unbeknownst to Chris at this time, Georgia's appointment is with his mom, Kim Hughes.) So they both leave. Margo shows up and has a talk with Eddie regarding Katie and Georgia. Eddie insists that Georgia is just his friend, but after talking with Margo wonders if it is much more, Margo suggest that they may be soulmates. Margo leaves and Eddie calls Georgia and asks her to come by the club do they can talk. When she arrives, Eddie begins by asking her about the guy she was kissing earlier. Georgia tells him she doesn't want a lecture and before Eddie could say anything, she gets a phone call from the hospital, while she's on the phone, Chris walked in. Georgia hung up and announced that Lucinda had a stroke. Upset, she began to leave for the hospital and Eddie said he would go with her. Georgia turned him down and stormed out, Chris looked at Eddie and said that he would take care of her.

Later Denise and Camille came in, Denise asked Camille to dance with her on the stage. Camille did and was having a pretty good time until all the men started clapping, Camille got self-conscience and left. Denise followed her out and they left. They seemed to be pretty friendly, maybe they'll even start to like each other, who knows?

At the hospital:
Lucinda told Lily that she wanted to be alone with James. Lily left and Lucinda told James that she knows that he is the one responsible for her accident. James said he was sorry and that he loves her. Lucinda said that she hates him. She gets all upset and has a stroke. James told Lily that it wasn't his fault and Lily said she did not blame him for this.

Hughes House:
Kim is in the kitchen cooking dinner for the family. Bob and Chris come in and Kim announces that she has a young lady coming by for Chris to meet. There is a knock at the door and it's the girl Kim wanted to set Chris up with, Georgia. He flirts with her some more while Kim and Bob aren't around. Later after everyone had gone, Kim receives a phone call wanting Chris. Kim took a message, the caller demanded that Chris come up with the "Big bucks" soon. Kim asked who it was and they hung up.

Friday, February 26, 1999