The show starts with Deacon in the Forrester living room along with Stephanie, Eric, Rick, and Amber. He picks up the listening device from the floor and asks them what it was. Eric replied that it was Rick's hearing aid. Deacon knows that it is a listening device and he starts tearing through the house trying to find the rest of the system. Jonathan is busy trying to put the tape away when Deacon bursts into the den. Deacon threatens Jonathan and realizes that the Forresters tried to set him up. He tells them that they made a horrible mistake. Stephanie tells Jonathan to give Deacon the tape which he does. They try to plead with Deacon to give them the baby anyway. Eric offers to give him 1 million in cash. They all eye the custody papers, but Deacon gets to them before anyone else. Amber pleads with him to let her keep the baby. He tells her that they could have made a deal, but she ended up siding with the Forresters so there was no longer a deal. He decides that he wants his baby back, but Stephanie tells him that the baby is not there. Deacon leaves and everyone is visibly upset.
C.J. and Sally are at the hospital sitting outside Clarke's room. C.J. is upset and says that he doesn't know what he will do if his father doesn't pull through. Sally tells him that Clarke will be fine. Meanwhile Morgan is in Clarke's room threatening him. He appears to be frightened. She explains to him that he had threatened to tell Taylor, but now it looks as if he won't be saying anything to anyone. Ridge and Taylor are at home discussing Clarke. Taylor said that she was very concerned about Morgan because she was very close to Clarke. Ridge said that he wasn't sure how close they were at this moment. He leaves to go to the hospital. When he arrives at the hospital, he talks with Sally and C.J.. He asks them about the snake. Sally explains that it was a part of their new collection, but that the snake had been safely locked away. She doesn't understand how it could have gotten out. He asks them if they had seen Morgan. They inform him that she was in Clarke's room. When Ridge arrives, Morgan immediately jumps into his arms. He basically asks her if she had anything to do with this, but she makes him believe that she didn't. Clarke is saying to himself that Ridge shouldn't trust Morgan anywhere around Taylor and the kids. He seems to wish that he could tell Ridge, but he is unable to speak.
Rick tried to comfort Amber over what happened with Deacon. Amber cried to Rick that they lost the baby by trying to double-cross Deacon but Rick reassured her that he would do whatever it took to get the baby back. Amber was beside herself at the thought of losing the only person she has left in her life. She reminded Rick how she lost her family, him, her cousin Becky and now Little Eric. Rick apologized for bringing Deacon into their lives but Amber said she knew he was only trying to help. She assured Rick that she did not blame him. After sharing a kiss, Rick held Amber in his arms.
Eric and Stephanie discussed what happened with Deacon and how they hoped they didn't blow it. Eric felt confident that Deacon would come around but Stephanie wasn't so sure. The two lamented over what they could do to rectify the situation.
Over at the Lair, Carmen told her friend that she and Deacon would be leaving town for a tropical island. Her friend was skeptical about how this was possible. After Carmen explained to her that Deacon had come into a lot of money, her friend wasn't sure she wanted to know how. She then encouraged Carmen to really think about whether Deacon was the kind of man she wanted to be on a deserted island with, considering his violent temper and his selfishness. Carmen explained that Deacon could be a warm, caring and loving man and that he didn't mean to be cruel or violent. Besides, after today, Deacon would have no reason to ever be in a bad mood again, explained Carmen. Just then, Deacon came storming into the bar, pushed some guy off of what he considered "his stool" and ordered a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass.
After leaving Amber by the poolside, Rick came in to talk to Stephanie. He continued to blame himself for getting Amber and the baby into this mess and worried about how he was going to get out of it. Stephanie told Rick not to be sorry for loving Amber and the baby so much that he would go to whatever lengths it took to keep them in his life. Rick said that maybe he was just being selfish and at least the baby was safe when he was with the Spectra's. Stephanie again reassured Rick that what he did, he did out of love and because of that, he would triumph in the end. Stephanie told Rick that she wasn't intimidated nor was she going to let a punk like Deacon take away a member of her family. She promised Rick that Little Eric would be back in the Forrester family again.
Eric came out to check on Amber and she told him that she was going to take the baby and run so that Deacon couldn't get near him. Eric told Amber that a life on the run was no life for her or a baby and furthermore, it wasn't safe. He informed her that she and the baby were part of the Forrester family and that they would protect her and Little Eric. Amber told Eric that no matter what happened she would always love Rick for trying so hard to reunite their family.
Back at the Lair, Carmen tried to find out why Deacon was so upset. He informed her that the Forresters tried to trick him and that he would make them pay. Carmen asked if he got the money and Deacon explained that there wasn't going to be any money because they were trying to have his parental rights revoked and send him to jail for selling his child. Deacon told a shocked Carmen that he was going to keep the baby just to show the Forresters who was boss. Just then Stephanie entered the bar and approached Deacon. Carmen attempted to tell Stephanie that Deacon didn't want to talk to her. Deacon angrily shoved Carmen out of the way and told her to get lost. Then he told Stephanie to do the same. Stephanie explained to Deacon that she wasn't there to play games but rather she was there to take care of their unfinished business once and for all.
Sally, C.J., Kimberly, Amber and Little Eric were beside Clarke's hospital bed encouraging him to hang in there and get well soon. They discussed how impossible it seemed for the snake to get out of it's cage and into Clarke's office. Sally continued to blame herself. After Clarke blinked his eyes when asked to do so, it showed that he heard and understood what they were saying. The Spectra's were encouraged. Outside the hospital room, Morgan peered in Clarke's door and when he saw her, he immediately became agitated. The Spectra's noticed Clarke appeared to be getting upset but couldn't figure out why. Just then Morgan came in and pretended to be the caring girlfriend as she told the Spectra's that the doctor insisted they leave to give Clarke a chance to rest. Morgan then asked for a moment alone with Clarke. The look in Clarke's eyes begged not to be left alone with Morgan, but no one caught on, although it was apparent to Sally that Clarke was upset. After they left, Morgan threatened Clarke that if he wanted to leave the hospital alive, he had better not divulge any more of her secrets.
Rick filled Brooke in on how their plan to entrap Deacon fell through and that Rick was still no closer to getting custody. Brooke sympathized but suggested that Rick keep his distance from the volatile Deacon. When Rick told his mother that he believed Stephanie was confronting Deacon at this moment, Brooke told him that Stephanie would only push all of Deacon's buttons and make the situation first. Then she reminded him of Stephanie delicate health situation and how a confrontation with Deacon could cause a relapse.
Over at the Lair, Stephanie tried to appeal to Deacon as a parent but he would hear none of it. He attempted to walk away from Stephanie but she grabbed him. Deacon called her an old bat and warned her never to lay a hand on him again. Stephanie told Deacon that she was not afraid of a bully like him who prided himself on pushing around women. Deacon took off to his upstairs apartment and Stephanie followed saying that she was not leaving until they settled this matter. When Deacon began to get in Stephanie's face and continued his ranting, she asked if he was going to hit someone old enough to be his mother. Deacon said that he wanted to leave his mother out of it. Stephanie saw that she struck a nerve and asked him what his mother would think of his despicable behavior. She then told him that she knew he had done a lot of truly rotten things in his life, but nothing was lower than toying with a baby's life. She then told Deacon that she knew what he needed and it was a long time in coming. Deacon took that to mean that he should be beaten, burned, abused, locked up in a cold dark room and left alone with no one to care. He then told her that he had endured far worse then she could ever dish out and encouraged her to give it her best shot because he could take it. Stephanie whispered that she did not mean it that way and when she saw Deacon breaking down, she went to comfort him. She attempted to take him in his arms, calling him a poor little boy. At first, Deacon tried to shove her away, yelling at her to get off of him. His tough guy act didn't last for long and shortly thereafter, he crumpled into Stephanie's arms crying like a baby.
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Clarke laid in his hospital bed thinking about the snake attack. He realized that Morgan had put the snake in his office and was responsible for his lying there paralyzed. He made a decision to warn Taylor that she was in danger by Morgan. Speaking as well as he could with his paralyzed vocal muscles, Clarke managed to mutter Taylor's name to the nurses who then called her to the hospital. Just then, Morgan entered the room for a "visit" with Clarke. Clarke became terrified that Morgan had overheard him ask for Taylor. His worst fears were realized when Morgan verified she that she could hear that Clarke was busy talking to the nurses. Morgan was cold and calculating and promised Clarke that if he told Taylor that Ridge is the father of Morgan's baby, she would turn off the life support machine. Before Morgan had a chance to shut it off, the nurses ordered her out of the room so they could do some testing on Clarke. After Morgan left, Taylor arrived. Clarke started to speak to Taylor, but she could not comprehend what he was saying because it sounded mumbled, cryptic and incommunicable.
Before Taylor's visit to Clarke, she was in Brooke's office discussing Deacon's refusal to give Eric to Rick. Brooke was convinced that it wasn't a good idea for Stephanie to be at the Lair speaking to Deacon. She was sure that Stephanie would make the situation much worse.
Amber who was with Eric at Sally's worried that Deacon would take Eric away from her. Darla arrived and encouraged Amber. She told Amber she was sure that Eric would never be taken away from her.
Meanwhile, Stephanie did go to the Lair to try to reason with Deacon. She begged him to reconsider and to let Rick have custody of Eric. She put on a very strong front and made it clear to Deacon that she wasn't afraid of him or what he might do. She confronted him about his violence with women and his temper tantrums. Her confrontation ended with his emotionally breaking down for a brief moment and by Stephanie comforting him with an embrace. Stephanie correctly guessed that Deacon had grown up in a home with an abusive father who was abusive to both he and his mother. Stephanie begged Deacon to allow Eric to get away from that type of life by staying with a family that already loves him and would keep him safe. After Stephanie left Deacon's apartment, she became emotionally drained. Suddenly, Deacon, alone his apartment, became very pensive, as if he were considering what Stephanie had just said.
Brooke and Eric were at Forrester Creations going over some of Morgan's designs for their new line. After dismissing the models, Brooke asked Eric what was troubling him. He explained that he was unhappy that Morgan's designs were two weeks late and that she hadn't even bothered to show up for their meeting. Brooke defended Morgan saying that she's being under a lot of stress lately, working a full time demanding job as well as being a single pregnant woman. Eric wasn't in the mood to hear any of Brooke's excuses. He told her that Morgan used to be a carefree, outgoing teenager but now she's become a tense, burdened, unreliable woman. Eric went on to tell Brooke that Stephanie thinks that Morgan is still hung up on Ridge, which Brooke found difficult to believe. Brooke told Eric that regardless of what Stephanie's opinion of Morgan was, she did fabulous work, bordering on genius. Eric reminded Brooke that there is a fine line between genius and madness.
Morgan arrived to her office and made a telephone call to insure that Eric and Brooke received her designs, albeit, late. She then mentioned that she was going to go back to the hospital to see Clarke. Just then, Stephanie arrived and confronted Morgan on what happened to Clarke. Morgan explained to Stephanie that Clarke's predicament was nothing more than an unfortunate accident, but Stephanie wasn't buying it. She told Morgan that she believed that Morgan was responsible for Clarke's condition. The two women exchanged insults while Stephanie reminded Morgan that she would never have Ridge as long as Taylor was still alive. Morgan told Stephanie that she didn't intimidate her and warned her that she had no idea who she was messing with.
As Morgan walked out the door, leaving Stephanie alone in her office, Ridge came in and asked his mother what had transpired. Stephanie explained to Ridge that she believed that Morgan was responsible for Clarke's "accident." Ridge found that difficult to believe, citing that even if Morgan was responsible for letting the snake loose, she surely had no intention of doing anything more than scaring Clarke. Stephanie reminded Ridge that whatever Morgan's intentions, Clarke was in the hospital fighting for his life. Ridge told his mother that he planned to tell Taylor the truth about Morgan's baby that evening. Stephanie said that once Taylor knew the truth, Morgan's happy fantasies would be shattered. Morgan is a dangerous woman, and you must protect Taylor, proclaimed Stephanie.
Over at the hospital, Clarke desperately tried to communicate with Taylor to warn her of the danger she was in. Taylor had a difficult time understanding Clarke but finally was able to figure out that he was trying to tell her something about Morgan and danger. At first, she mistakenly believed that Morgan was the one in danger but then Clarke said "you" to Taylor. Just then the nurse came in and said that Taylor had to leave because Clarke's vitals were not good and that he was getting too worked up by this conversation. After Taylor left, Clarke dreamed of Morgan threatening him and then his snake attack. He woke up and found that Taylor had found a way to sneak back into his room. She continued to press him for what he was trying to tell her and she was able to deduce that Clarke might have been trying to tell her that Morgan was dangerous. Morgan appeared in the door way just in time to hear Taylor ask Clarke if Morgan did this to him. She then asked him why and Clarke replied, "Ridge." Hearing this, Morgan panicked and approached Taylor from behind with her scarf pulled tightly like she planned to strangle her.
