Luke was overjoyed when he approached Lucky's hospital room and heard his son's voice. He rushed to kiss Lucky, and Skye happily looked on as Luke and his son bonded. Things quickly soured when Luke began to tell Lucky that he had known Lucky would be able to pull through on his own. Despite Skye's attempts to get him to stop, Luke confessed to a horrified Lucky that he had shut off Lucky's breathing machines, convinced his son would recover on his own.
Lucky was stunned, and Luke decided he had done his part, and it was time to leave and find Helena. Skye begged Luke to not leave his son in such a state, but Luke wouldn't hear it and took off. Lucky cried over the realization that his father had risked killing him to prove his point, and it took Liz and Emily's friendships to get him to see that he needed to move on.
Durant began to cause trouble all around, and his first suggestion was to Lorenzo that Lorenzo would be happy if Carly no longer had her kids around to tie her to Sonny. Lorenzo blew Durant off and took the opportunity to use his contacts to locate Faith's assistant. Later, Durant unleashed on Ric at the hospital and told Ric that Faith was really after him. Alexis refused to buy Durant's story, but he left Ric visibly shaken. Alexis did her best to remind Ric that none of it was his fault, and she begged him to shake off Durant's attempts to rattle him so that he could be strong for her. Ric remained unconvinced but was willing to put it aside for Alexis' sake.
Carly showed up in Louisiana and was devastated to hear of Michael's call to Sonny and then the gunshot. Jason quickly tried to calm her and reminded her that Faith couldn't risk not having the kids as collateral and wouldn't really hurt them. Convinced he was right, Carly worked her magic to get through to a shell-shocked Sonny and pull him back from the edge. She reminded him that she was Michael's mother and that she would feel it if he were gone. She refused to believe that Faith had killed him, and she helped Sonny see that it was likely just a ploy on Faith's part.
Lorenzo called, and Sonny and Jason quickly left to track down Faith's assistant. While Reese and the men left, Carly tried her best to stay strong. Sam told her that Lorenzo's tip was what had led to them finding Faith's assistant, and Carly called Lorenzo back in Port Charles and tearfully thanked him for his help. Meanwhile, Sonny and Jason surrounded Faith's henchman in his room, and Jason began to beat him in order to get him to talk. It took a crazed Sonny holding a loaded gun to the man's chest to get him to finally admit that Faith was at an abandoned church with the children, and Jason, Sonny, and Reese all headed off to find her.
At the church, Faith decided she had waited around long enough and needed to leave before she was caught. Having "dispersed" of Michael earlier and declaring him no longer her problem, she herded Morgan and Kristina into an adjoining room. Sonny and Jason picked that moment to crash into the church, catch Faith, and begin a shootout. Faith and her men shot at Sonny and Jason, while Reese rushed to all the side rooms, looking for the kids.
Sonny managed to hold his own as Jason fought back and killed both of Faith's guards. Faith made one last attempt to escape, but Jason fired his gun at her and sent her to the ground. Wounded, she tried to reach for her own gun, but Sonny stepped on her hand, his own gun aimed at her head, and demanded to know where his children were. Reese rushed in and was able to stop Sonny before he killed Faith, by screaming at him that the children weren't there.
Although Carly tried to put on a strong face for Sonny, Lorenzo saw that she needed a shoulder to lean on.
Jason shot Faith, and she fell unconscious before revealing where she had stashed the children. Aware that they had to get that information out of Faith, Jason worked to make sure she didn't die.
Sonny immediately worried that his kids were dead when he found evidence that led him to believe they'd been buried. Although in Jason's heart he believed the children were alive, he was overwhelmed with doubt when he learned that traces of Michael's blood had been found. At the hospital, Faith's condition deteriorated rapidly.
Steven was given one last chance to make up for what he had done to Rachel in the past, but he couldn't seem to find the words that satisfied her. Meanwhile, Ric reluctantly agreed to let Alexis join him on his trip to Louisiana to find Kristina. He then told Liz the horrible truth that Faith was the person who had pushed her down the stairs when she had been pregnant, which had caused her to miscarry.
Reese learned that two -- not three -- children were traveling alone on a plane set to take off from Louisiana.
Sonny, Carly, Alexis, and Ric headed to the airport, where they were reunited with Kristina and Morgan but not Michael. Back at the hospital, Faith coldly told Lorenzo that she had killed Michael and dumped his body in the swamp.
Rachel enlisted Bridget's help to stage a drama that would get Courtney away from Jax. Rachel then feigned her own emergency so Jax would rush to her rescue. Later, alone with Courtney, Rachel threatened to kill Jax if Courtney didn't do as she instructed.
Alan asked Steven to find out who had killed A.J., and Steven agreed. Considering everything that had transpired, Skye and Justus felt guilty for their part in helping Faith escape from prison and go into hiding. Skye's conscience got the best of her, and she wanted to confess what she had done, but Luke refused to let her do that.
Justus visited Luke at the Haunted Star to discuss why he felt the need to confess to the cops that Justus had helped Faith escape prison with Luke and Skye. Luke said that it was ridiculous for him to confess to something when it wouldn't solve a thing. Sam entered the casino and asked Justus if he knew any other hiding places where Faith could be keeping Michael. Justus didn't know anything else that would help. Skye walked in, overheard them talking, and thought they had told Sam about how they had helped Faith escape.
Luke thought quickly and told Sam that Skye was referring to the fact that they had helped Faith launder money through the casino. Skye realized she had almost revealed too much. Skye still felt guilty about helping Faith escape from prison but was thankful that Morgan and Kristina had been found. Luke told her to stop thinking about confessing, since it wouldn't return Michael to them.
Skye went to the hospital later and told Bobbie that she wanted to speak to Faith and ask her how long she had planned to kidnap the kids. Bobbie tried to comfort her, but Skye shrugged her off and said she was a grown woman who had to face what she had done. She showed up at Ric's office and confessed to helping Faith escape from prison.
Liz informed Alexis that Kristina's tests were fine, and she was free to go home with her soon. Alexis talked to Liz about her previous marriage to Ric and how she had lost a child with Ric when she had been married to him. Liz told Alexis that Faith had pushed her down the stairs and had made her lose her baby. She also said Alexis was very lucky to have Kristina and a baby on the way. Liz confided in Ric later about how angry she was with Faith for what Faith had done to her. Ric saw Alexis and took Kristina a bunch of balloons on a string.
Alexis couldn't stop holding Kristina tightly. Ric reminded her that she could let go of Kristina and relax. Alexis felt very overprotective and told Ric she couldn't let Kristina out of her sight ever again. Alexis felt guilty for being so happy to have Kristina back while Sonny and Carly hadn't gotten Michael back. Ric left them alone for a while, and Emily showed up to see Kristina and Alexis. Emily assumed that all three of the children had been found.
Alexis informed Emily that Michael was still missing and that he might be dead. Emily said she would tell the family the disturbing news. At the Quartermaine estate, Monica returned home after checking on a patient. She told Alan that her patient had just had heart surgery at the age of 42 and that A.J.'s murder should have taught them to not take life for granted and to live it showing their love for one another. Alan told her that A.J. might not have felt love but that he had loved him, and he knew A.J. had known that.
Edward walked Emily into the room, happy she had stopped by to visit. Emily told them that Michael had gotten hold of Faith's cell phone and had called Sonny. Sonny had heard a gunshot after Faith had caught Michael with the phone, and they hadn't found Michael yet. Edward reacted angrily to the news and refused to believe his great-grandson was dead, since they were only guessing what had happened just because they had found a little bit of blood and a muddy shovel with Faith's fingerprints. Alan went after Edward to calm him down, and Emily comforted Monica.
Jason went up on the roof of the hospital to find Reese waiting for the helicopter to arrive at General Hospital with Faith. Reese told him he shouldn't be there and that she was handling Faith. She added that there would be police guards watching her. Jason said he needed a favor from Reese, a few minutes alone with Faith without any guards in the room, so he could talk to her. Reese told him that they needed Faith alive to tell them where Michael was, and Jason replied that he didn't want to kill her. Faith was taken to her room, and Sonny overheard Ric telling the other police guards to not leave Faith alone in her room without protection, since she was a target.
Jason saw Sonny with a gun, standing in the hallway near Faith's room. Jason realized Sonny planned to kill Faith right away. Jason grabbed Sonny and said he couldn't kill Faith, since she was the only one who could tell them where Michael was. Jason said that he was going to go in, talk to Faith, and put pressure on her to talk. Ric saw Sonny nearby and told him to stay away from Faith. Ric said that if Sonny killed Faith, they would have no answers about Michael.
Meanwhile, Carly had Morgan checked out by a doctor. Bobbie told her that Morgan had gotten a clean bill of health by the doctor and could go home. Alcazar showed up at the hospital and saw Carly with Morgan and Bobbie. Carly looked at him expectantly, since she knew he had gone to see Faith at the other hospital. Alcazar didn't want to tell her what Faith had told him, but she insisted he tell her what Faith had said to him. Alcazar told her that Michael was gone.
Carly insisted on knowing exactly what Faith had said. Alcazar replied that Faith had told him that she had shot Michael and dumped him in the swamp. Carly refused to believe it and told him that Faith was lying. Alcazar grabbed her and comforted her as Bobbie held Morgan and kept him from seeing Carly crying. Alcazar told Carly that Faith had had no reason to lie, and he worried that she might have killed Michael. Carly found Sonny and Jason in the hallway and told them what Faith had told Alcazar at the other hospital.
Meanwhile, Reese interrogated Faith about where Michael was. Faith said she refused to be intimidated and refused to talk. Jason walked in. Faith told Reese she would not be scared into talking. Reese told Jason to do what was necessary to get to the truth, and she left the room after pulling out the plug attached to the call button.
Jason approached Faith, and she told him to stay away from her. He grabbed her by the throat and cut off her oxygen tube so she couldn't breathe easily. Faith told him she would tell him the truth. Jason eased off of her. Faith told Jason that she had shot Michael and dumped him in the swamp. Jason was caught off guard by her bluntness and grabbed for her throat again.
Reese entered and pulled Jason off of Faith. Reese told him she had heard the whole thing and that Faith was lying to provoke him. Jason calmed down and left the room. Sam showed up and saw how shaken up Jason was. He told Sam what Faith had told him. Reese walked out and told Jason that it didn't make sense for Faith to have killed Michael, since she needed everyone to be alive, otherwise she knew she would be dead if she didn't have a bargaining chip.
Jason realized Faith hadn't made much sense either. Jason went and talked to Carly and Sonny, while Alcazar listened in. Carly refused to believe Michael could be dead. Carly asked Sonny to return Morgan home to her. He agreed to it.
Alcazar went to see Luke at the casino. He knew that Luke and Skye had helped Faith escape prison. He asked Luke to tell him everything Faith had told him when they had been helping her escape.
Carly and Sonny returned to his mansion with Morgan. She took Morgan upstairs for a bath before bed. Sonny picked up a picture of Michael and played with his remote control car. Carly returned downstairs, and they talked about Michael's favorite toy. Carly left Sonny alone. Sonny took another gun out of a drawer in the study.
Jason and Reese showed up and saw Sonny with his gun. Jason told Sonny to calm down and think rationally. Sonny thought Jason was in denial about Michael. Jason told Sonny that it didn't make sense for Faith to kill Michael. Sonny realized Jason was right.
Sonny called Luke and told him to stop over. He asked Luke to help him with anything Luke might have on Faith, since he had helped her launder money through the casino once. Luke said he didn't know much about the actual transactions but might have records of the money transfers. Luke offered to give Sonny anything he had on her. Sonny said that Jason would stop by the casino later to get the records. Sonny asked Jason to leave the room for a minute.
Jason left the room as Carly arrived downstairs. She asked Jason how Sonny was and what he was doing. Jason acted secretive and said he was busy. Carly told him she knew Luke was there. She asked him what Sonny wanted with Luke.
Carly started to remember that Luke had been connected to Faith with the casino for a while and then she started to guess that Luke might have helped Faith escape prison. Carly wanted to go in and confront Luke for what he had done. Jason stopped her and told her not to blow it by going in and accusing Luke when they needed him to give them information.
Sonny mentioned his friendship with Luke and asked Luke to reveal everything he knew about Faith. Meanwhile, back at General Hospital, Faith slept in her room. Liz stopped into her room and watched her sleep. She looked at Faith's monitors and felt even more resentment toward Faith. Later, Justus showed up at Faith's room and told the police guard that he was Faith's attorney who was there to discuss her case. The cop told him he could only be in there alone with her for a few minutes.
Justus entered the room, and Faith woke up. She saw Justus and told him she didn't think he was there to defend her that time. Justus moved closer to her bed and surprised her when he took the oxygen tubes out of her nose, grabbed a pillow, and started to suffocate her with it. He told her that what she had done was indefensible, and he wanted to know the truth about what she had done to Michael.
Faith pleaded for Justus to let go of her and let her talk. He let her go so she could talk. She told him she had lied about killing Michael and that he was alive.
Courtney embezzled one million dollars from her foundation and gave it to Rachel, emotionally telling Rachel, while they sat in Courtney's apartment bedroom, that her family needed her at that time. Rachel told Courtney, "I am so sorry." Rachel sobbed over deliberately taking a man's life and trying to use Courtney to end the life of a man she had once loved with all her heart. Rachel vowed to not let Courtney go through with the insane plan.
Rachel vowed that she would cut her losses and try to start a new life away from Courtney's and without the million dollars. Courtney was pleased with Rachel's decision and also vowed to let it all go before leaving the apartment. Rachel got some hair from Courtney's brush, a sinister smile on her face. Rachel entered a vacant lab room, syringed some blood out of a corked test tube, took the strands of Courtney's hair out of her pocket, and dripped the blood onto the strands, the smile still on her face.
Rachel buddied up to Steven as he worked on the forensics of A.J.'s murder case. Rachel defended Courtney by telling Steven that Courtney could never do anything so cruel, and Steven agreed with her, just before he stepped away to take a call. Once Steven was away, Rachel put the blood-soaked hair strand in the evidence bag.
Justus played a recording of Faith's emotional confession of not killing Michael, even swearing it on their love, but Mac refused to use it because Justus had needed to smother Faith under a pillow to get her to admit. Once Mac was alone in Faith's hospital room, Faith told Mac that she had killed Michael. Faith called a mystery accomplice from the phone in her room to get her out of Port Charles before the trial, or she would tell the police all about him or her.
In Ric's office, Agent Marshall and Ric questioned Skye about whom her accomplice had been when they had helped Faith escape from prison. She continued to confess that she had acted alone. However, Ric was sure that he knew who Skye's accomplice was. Skye continued to lie for Luke, saying that she had hired an actor to work with her. When she couldn't give Agent Marshall or Ric a name, Ric got ready to take Luke in.
Skye pleaded for Agent Marshall and Ric to leave Luke out of it and told them to either let her go or arrest her. Ric had a better idea, suggesting, "How about a third option?" Agent Marshall gave the third option: if Skye provided the department with information that might lead them to Michael, she would receive a free pass; in other words, no charges would be filed. However, if she couldn't provide the information, Skye and Luke would be charged with aiding and abetting.
Skye rushed to the Haunted Star and asked Luke for records on Faith. Luke already knew that she had confessed and wasn't convinced that he was completely off the hook, even with the pending deal Skye had with the Port Charles Police Department. Skye felt that it would be a great way to exonerate everyone involved. No matter how much they wanted to deny it, it was their fault that Michael was missing. Skye gathered up the papers and was confident that it would help ease her guilty conscience.
"What's a dead son between friends?" Sonny wondered as he concluded that Luke was responsible for Michael's death. Jason calmed Sonny down, telling him that they needed Luke to get the information they needed on Faith. Sonny sent Jason out of his home to get the papers and continued to drink himself into a mess. Carly joined Sonny at his house and heard the pain in his voice as he recalled hearing the gunshot on the line after the last time he had heard Michael's voice. Sonny admitted that he was praying, though Carly couldn't pray because she was mad at God for allowing it to happen.
Sonny took the blame and told Carly that he was praying for God to forgive him. Carly gave Sonny an ultimatum -- he could either retreat into the dark place that he was headed to, or he could fight for Michael. After Carly's departure, agent Marshall joined Sonny, ready to work to find Michael. Sonny asked her why she couldn't just write Michael off as a casualty of a mob war, why she cared so much. Agent Marshall answered that she cared so much because the first child she was supposed to return home hadn't made it back to his parents.
Agent Marshall told Sonny about her first kidnapping case, a case she had been sure she had been on top of. However, the case had ended with a young boy, close to Michael's age, found dead at the hands of a kidnapper she had never suspected. Reese knew she wouldn't let that happen with Michael.
Steven took some evidence to a forensics room, but Alan stopped him in the lobby and concluded that the tests were useless, as they would tell him exactly what he knew -- Courtney was a killer just like her brother, killing A.J. in cold blood. Jax overheard Alan's testimony and couldn't allow Alan to release his frustrations on Courtney or allow anyone to frame Courtney for murder.
Jax rushed to Alexis' for her aid, seeing her in Kristina's room, getting ready to leave. Before she agreed to defend Courtney, she told Jax of the good news that she and Ric were expecting. After small talk, Alexis asked Jax if he believed Courtney had killed A.J.; Jax admitted that if he thought Courtney had, they would be out of the country already. Jax and Courtney entered her apartment, elated to be alone. Courtney hugged Jax, and he assured her that everything was going to work out.
Jason and Sam collected all of the files and placed them onto Jason's desk in his apartment. Sam tried to take the load off of Jason, but he wouldn't let up while Michael was out there somewhere. Sam took Jason something to eat, and he grasped her hand and thanked her. After going over the papers, Jason wondered if there was someone else involved.
Lorenzo shoved a bundle of money into a collection box of the church and lit a candle. He took a seat at the pew and bowed his head in prayer as Carly watched him from the entrance. She walked next to the pew and said, "I didn't expect to see you here." Lorenzo lifted his head and answered, "I could say the same." She took a seat next to him, and he reminisced of Sophia, his love who had thought she could change the world and had seen the best in everyone, who had ended up dying in the crossfire.
Carly assumed that he was making a reference that Michael had suffered the same fate but insisted that Michael was not dead, for she would feel it. She admitted to Lorenzo that she was too busy to pray because she was constantly staying strong for everyone else. Lorenzo was convinced that Carly was ignoring her own pain and insisted that she didn't have to do that around him. Carly attempted to pray but ended up saying an unconvincing prayer.
Lorenzo started to leave Carly with her frustrations, but she grabbed him and asked him to stay. Carly stood in front of the lit candles and dug deep in her soul for prayer, eventually delivering a sincere and emotional prayer for God to give Michael to her. Lorenzo rose from his seat and took Carly in his arms.
