Life has become tense at the Abbott mansion, and Noah seemed to be bearing the brunt of the crumbling relationship between his mother and Jack. Sharon was torn about leaving after realizing just how close Noah has become to Jack, as Noah and Jack made plans to venture into the woods to choose and cut their own Christmas tree. Noah also remained guardedly excited about the family trip to France. Jack explained to Sharon that his past mistakes were carried out before he and Sharon married, but Sharon said that she could no longer bear being blindsided, and she feared that she would never again be able to trust Jack.
At the club bar, Jack drowned his sorrows. Phyllis listened as Jack related his fears that Sharon was about to leave him. Phyllis assured Jack that as long as Sharon remained under his roof, there was hope that she and Jack could mend the rift in their marriage. Jack was too consumed with his own problems to realize that Summer was about to celebrate her first birthday. Jack smiled when Phyllis tearfully thanked him for being with her when Summer was born. Phyllis then nervously told Jack that she felt responsible for the letter from John's former prison cellmate coming to light, since Jana had learned about the man who had the letter from Phyllis' conversations with the chaplain. Jack assured Phyllis that she wasn't to blame; however, Phyllis explained that after she realized that both she and John had the same prison chaplain, she began discussing John's last days at the prison, and the chaplain recalled having delivered John's hand-written will. Although Phyllis said she didn't want to know what really happened, Jack's reaction betrayed his assertions that he was in no way involved with John's will.
In the break room at Newman Enterprises, Sharon shared her misgivings about Jack with Brad. Sharon joked that every minute of every day, Jack gets into more and more trouble. Brad voiced concern about Noah, and Sharon confirmed that she had trusted Jack too much when she allowed her son to forge a bond to Jack and insisted that whatever she decides to do, she will take Noah into account. Brad told Sharon that his baby son was improving. Sharon offered congratulations to Brad when he referred to the baby as his son, but Brad explained that the paternity test results weren't in as yet, though he felt a connection to the baby that he couldn't explain. Brad went on to assert that the moment he learns that he is the baby's father, and therefore legal guardian, he would shut Victor out of the baby's life. While Brad mused about his "son," he advised Sharon to do what she feels is best for Noah and for her. Just as Sharon offered Brad a warm hug, Jack walked by. Jack stopped cold in his tracks when he saw his wife is Brad's arms. Jack accused Brad of pawing his wife and reminded him that he used to be adept at handling hedge clippers. Sharon snapped at Jack and defended Brad, leaving Jack speechless. Later, Jack told Sharon that he was not happy to find his wife in Brad's arms. Sharon explained that Jack was out of place to react as he did. Jack remained somewhat stoic when Sharon told him that she wished to cancel their trip to France and that after the holidays, she and Noah would be moving out.
At the prison, Kevin assured Jana that she'd soon be set free; however, Jana's confidence was not at all bolstered when she met her new attorney, a young ingénue fresh out of law school. Jana flew off the handle when her new attorney, who barely new Jana's name, looked briefly over her case file, then left abruptly, halfheartedly promising to meet with her again sometime in the future. Later, Kevin met with Michael and complained about Jana's incompetent public defender. Kevin begged Michael to represent Jana, but Michael refused, believing that the unpredictable Jana could still pose a threat. Michael was pushed to the wall, however, after Kevin threatened to break Jana out of prison, and he backed up his threat by stating that he had already researched the prison grounds and had devised a plan to do so. After Michael discussed Jana and her past problems with his confidant and friend, Phyllis, he had a change of heart. Michael later told Kevin that, although he was reluctant to do so, that he had decided to represent Jana. When Kevin phoned Jana with the news, she was moved to tears. Kevin celebrated the near future, when the two of them would be together.
While Michael and Phyllis enjoyed breakfast at the club, Michael told Phyllis about the letter from John's former prison cellmate. The letter, procured by Jana, picked the scab off the nasty wound inflicted when Gloria learned that John had supposedly left her out of his last will and testament. After Michael's encounter with Kevin, Michael asked Phyllis to share her perceptions of Jana. Phyllis explained that although she was at first wary of Jana, Phyllis explained that Jana's demeanor changed dramatically. After Jana's personality change, Phyllis assured Michael that Jana seemed earnestly remorseful and it seemed that Jana's tumor had indeed been the root of Jana's problems. Later, Phyllis visited Jana at the prison and told her that when Michael had asked about her, Phyllis had explained Jana's situation. However, Phyllis asked Jana point-blank if she were only acting remorseful now in order to carry out other plans later. Jana seemed puzzled and insisted that she would never hurt anyone again. Just to be on the safe side, Phyllis took Jana's hand and offered a thinly veiled threat saying that as much as she knows Jana enjoys being Phyllis' friend, then she'd surely hate being her enemy.
At the ranch, Victor assured J.T. that he was welcome to visit Victoria anytime without a formal invitation. J.T. was more than pleased when Victor shared his sincere hopes that tests results will prove that J.T. is his grandson's father. Victor added that he doesn't trust Brad and never will. Across town, however, Brad stared through the glass windows of the baby nursery and vocally assured Victoria's tiny newborn that he already knew that he is the baby's father. J.T. explained that should Brad prove to be the baby's father he will want to spend as much time as possible with his baby. Victor added that it would be disastrous if indeed Brad is the father. Victor then assured J.T. that Brad would not be a problem. Before J.T. and Victor left for the hospital, Victor phoned Nikki to let her know that the coast was clear for her visit with Victoria. Later at the hospital, Victor learned that the doctor needed to perform tests to determine whether or not the baby may have suffered retinal problems caused by premature birth. When the doctor later returned, Brad had joined Victor and J.T. at the hospital. The doctor carried with her the results of the paternity tests. Victor requested that the doctor announce the results for all to hear. Brad was left stunned, and J.T. looked somewhat surprised and relieved when the doctor congratulated him on the birth of his son.
After learning that J.T. is the father, Brad is crushed. Victor does his best to make it clear that Brad is no longer welcome. J.T. however, informs Brad that he is welcome to visit the baby. Brad calls Sharon to notify her that J.T. is the father. J.T. goes to the hospital and signs his son's birth certificate. Sharon tries to comfort Brad as he grieves over his loss. Colleen finds them and offers her love and support as well. J.T. decides to name the baby Reed after Nikki's maiden name. Nikki reminds Victor that Summer's birthday is coming up. As they are talking, Victor finally reveals that he has called in her entire loan. Nikki is stunned and hurt. David enters and realizes that Victor has told her about the loan. As Victor storms off, Nikki realizes David knew about the loan and kept it from her. Nikki is furious. Once Nikki has calmed down, she and David discuss how to handle the loan being called in. Nikki informs Victor that she is suing him. Amber invites Cane to lunch but when Jill arrives she dismisses her coldly. Amber watches on as Jill and Cane welcome Lily to join them for lunch at the G.C.A.C. In an effort to try to cheer her up, Kay offers Amber a gym membership to help her work out and Amber agrees. Amber finally admits to Kay that she will love Cane until the day she dies. Kay, however, insists that she needs to let him go. Cane, Jill and Lily are discussing the Fresh Face contest. Lily suggests having the shoot in France. Both Cane and Jill are impressed with the idea. Lily gives Colleen the details about her "almost" kiss with Cane and wonders if he is finally over their age difference. Lily and Cane are discussing their mutual attraction, when Cane tells Lily that they need to be friends because he is too old for her. Lily is crushed.
On Summer's birthday, Victor tells Nick, Daniel and Phyllis that J.T. is the baby's father. Everyone is thrilled. Victor informs Nick that he is calling in Nikki's loans. Nicholas is furious at Victor for calling in Nikki's loans amidst everything that is going on. However, Nick is even more stunned to learn that Nikki plans to sue Victor. Nikki is determined to make Victor pay for all the pain he has caused. Nikki explains to David that she is suing Victor for causing the collapse in Clear Springs. Jack, Sharon and Noah join Summer's party. Out of gratitude for bringing Summer into the world one year ago, Phyllis gives Jack a gift. Later, as Jack and Nick discuss business, Phyllis reveals to Sharon that Jack wrote her a letter when he was trapped. Phyllis tries to persuade Sharon not to make any life changing decisions without reading it first. When Michael and Lauren arrive with Fen, Phyllis lets it slip to Michael that Nikki plans to sue Victor. Sharon reads the letter from Jack, but is still unable to forgive him. She asks him to give her time alone in order to work things out. Cane visits J.T. at the hospital and learns that the baby is J.T.'s and he named him Reed. J.T. asks about Lily and Cane explains to him about their argument. J.T. admits to Cane that he is scared to death to be a single father to Reed. Colleen encourages Lily not to give up on Cane just yet. Gloria asks Kevin to help her convince Michael and Lauren that she is falling for Jeff. At the G.C.A.C., Gloria joins Jeff for dinner as Kevin looks on. Kevin pretends to watch them, thus setting their plan in motion. After dinner, Gloria is explaining to Kevin how disgusted she is with Jeff when Michael arrives. She and Kevin put on a good act to convince Michael that Gloria is falling in love. Later, she tells Michael she wants to sue Jack.
Nikki tells Kay that Victor wants to make sure she leaves the marriage with nothing but the clothes on her back. Nikki is disappointed with the way Victor is reacting to their divorcing. She wishes he would be more understanding with everything going on with Victoria. Nikki reveals her plan to sue Victor for secretly drilling at Clear Springs, and tries to convince Kay to join her. Kay says that she will think about it, but she must speak to Victor first.
Kay tells Victor that she isn't happy that Victor is calling in her loan. She says that they have known each other for a long time, so she is going to be frank. She wonders why Victor would want to destroy his own wife. Victor says that when Nikki is his soon to be ex-wife, that Nikki wanted in on the Clear Springs project, and he advised against it. Kay begs him not to make things worse, but Victor is adamant. As Victor escorts Kay to the door, he tells her to tell his soon to be ex-wife that he isn't going to let this go.
Kay returns to Nikki's and tells her that she is interested in going along with Nikki to sue Victor.
Nikki talks to David about Clear Springs. David says that her lawsuit will get her back on track with putting Clear Springs back together. He says that she will be impressed with the figures they are asking for in her lawsuit. Nikki is disappointed that she has to go through these means. She wishes there was a way to reason with Victor, to avoid all this heartbreak. Nikki gets a faraway look at David wonders where she went. Nikki says that she has changed a lot; the old Nikki would never have done something like this. David says that she is going to beat Victor at his own game.
Maggie goes to Victor's to talk to him about Ji Min Kim. Victor allows her in, and talks to her about Ji Min's final night. Victor says that he has nothing to do with the death of that pipsqueak. He says that normally he would throw her out, but asks that she wait while he checks on Victoria. When Victor returns, Maggie says that there is DNA evidence placing Victor at the location of Ji Min's death. She says that there was blood in his gym bag that matched Ji Min's blood. Victor says that he will not say anything more without a lawyer, and tells Maggie to show herself out. When she leaves, Victor takes a drink. "You want to play with Victor Newman?" he asks. "I've got news for you, I'll take all of you on."
As Amber is going through her bag of money, Daniel comes home and catches her by surprise. He waits for her to explain what she's doing with all that money. She tells him that her singing career is getting on track and that she is finally earning money thanks to a new website. When Amber shows him the website, he doesn't think the amount of songs she sold accounts for the amount of money she has in her handbag. Amber shrugs it off as a website issue and tries to change the subject.
Lily is less than thrilled to see Cane at the Athletic Club again. Karen comes by the club and watches Cane sneak out. When Karen asks Lily why Cane left so quickly, Lily says that she doesn't care what Cane does. Karen tells Lily that her and Cane make a cute couple. Lily rolls her eyes.
Neil gives Victor a music box for Victoria that once belonged to Drucilla. Victor tells Neil that Nikki is planning to sue him to get out of paying him the money she owes him.
Neil comes to the Athletic Club and tells Karen that Nikki is planning to sue Victor. On a lighter note, Neil asks Karen if she will spend Christmas with him and the kids. Karen says that Neil has to ask the kids first. When Neil asks Lily and Devon if Karen can spend Christmas with them, they happily agree. Lily says that Karen is beginning to grow on her. Neil happily tells Karen that the kids are happy to have her over for Christmas. He also tells her that Lily's crush on Cane is officially over. He says that Cane ended it; the guy is smarter than he gave him credit for.
Lily goes to the coffeehouse to talk to Devon. When Cane walks by, Devon wonders why Lily doesn't say hi. Lily tells Devon to mind his own business. Cane goes up to Amber and asks her for a coffee. She says that she has a gift for him. Cane apologizes, but says that he cannot accept a gift for her.
When Devon orders a coffee from Amber, she talks to him about his copular implant. She wonders how it works with his MP3 player. Devon explains it and they begin discussing music. Amber tells Devon that maybe they can play music together.
Daniel comes to the coffeehouse and says hi to Amber. Amber tells Daniel that she spoke to Devon and that they may write songs together. Daniel tells Amber that she is transparent.
Kay visits Nikki and David and suggests that they invite Jack to join them in their lawsuit, to help strengthen their case. Both Nikki and David say no, but Kay asks them to consider which is the lesser of two evils -- Jack or Victor. Later, the threesome is having dinner out and an invited Jack soon joins them. Kay informs Jack that Victor has called in Nikki's loans, and Nikki tells how she is suing Victor. She goes into detail about how they have a case, and shows Jack how he is also affected, and asks that he join them in the suit. He listens to their pitch as to why he should join them, but is leery of being outnumbered by the others in decision times. He also knows that he can take on Victor alone, and that they need him, but he doesn't need them. Then David tells him something else to consider -- that if Nikki loses MVP, that Victor is Jack's new partner in Clear Springs. Jack goes home and fills Sharon in on the details, then asks for her opinion. Sharon's advice is to be honest because it always backfires when you deceive people. Later, they all meet again, and while waiting for Jack to arrive, David tells Kay and Nikki about Maggie asking questions that might connect Victor to Ji Min's death. Jack meets up with them again, tells them he's in, and they shake on it.
Paul sees J.T. at the coffee shop, where J.T. tells him that the paternity tests came back and that he is now a father. Paul tells J.T. that he can come back to work if he wants; J.T. says he'll think about it. J.T. tells Paul the baby's name is Reed. As Paul's daughter Heather walks past him without saying a word, Paul, with a sad look on his face, tells J.T. to try to enjoy the time he will have with the child, because it all goes by so fast. They continue to talk about raising children, Paul giving some advice after feeling like he made some mistakes along the parenthood path. He mentions mistakes he made with a daughter, which surprises J.T. to know that Paul had a daughter. J.T. is further surprised to learn that she is Heather Stevens, and that she wants nothing to do with Paul now.
Later, Paul approaches Heather and asks about her holiday plans. When he learns that she won't be going to see her mother, he invites her to join him and Maggie for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but heather declines, and turns away from him, hoping he'll go away. He doesn't, and she sense this, then Paul speaks up, asking if she has ever been alone for Christmas because he has and it's not fun. He tells her a story about a time he had to pretend to be on the outs with his family as part of an undercover operation to help his father. She responds that she has been shut out from her father for more than 25 years, and that she thinks she has beat in that department.
Heather sees Daniel at Crimson Lights and hands him a bill for the damages to her car, which she took to the expensive dealership despite Daniel's request to take it somewhere with more reasonable prices. She also tells him that she has seen his record, and makes a comment "Like mother, like son." He tells her that even though she has a file, she doesn't know anything about him. He informs her that his mother didn't raise him, and his father was busy being a rock star, and he presumed his mother didn't want anything to do with him. He continues that later when he met his mother, he made her life difficult for a while. This is a familiar story to Heather, who is currently going through a similar situation. Daniel walks away, saying he'll mail the check for the car damages. She approaches him, saying and asks how he and his mom reconciled. He answers that he just gave her another chance, and that everyone deserves a second chance. Heather noted how hard he fought for his mom, and he tells her that some people need more chances, but he could imagine his life without his mother in it now. This causes Heather to pause and think about her own situation with her father, Paul.
Nick and Phyllis return from their workout, and after Daniel leaves from his babysitting duties, Phyllis and Nick note how much he has changed for the better since he was fired from Newman Enterprises. They express their wish that the adults who are currently at war with each other could do the same. Later, Sharon arrives and informs Nick and Phyllis that she will be moving into the home that she and Nick once shared, where Nikki now lives, though Nikki doesn't know it yet. She also tells them that Noah doesn't know yet either, and asks that they don't let him know.
Sharon then goes to her old home where Nikki is staying, and tells her that she and Jack will be separating the first of the year, and that she and Noah will be moving out, and wanted to move back to their old home. She further explains that she wasn't trying to throw Nikki out, and when Nikki asks in a tongue-in-cheek way if Sharon thought they would be roommates, Sharon responds "if you're up for it." They make jokes about being "The Odd Couple", and Sharon tells Nikki how good it would be for Noah to have her around. They agree to be roommates.
Later, Nikki comes by while Nick is not home, telling Phyllis that she wanted to finalize plans for the holidays. Phyllis tells of plans at her house for lunch and invites Nikki. Nikki is feeling down about thinking about the kind of Christmas this year will be for her. Phyllis tells her that she and Nick believe in Clear Springs. Nikki apologizes for her part in things getting out of hand before. Phyllis accepts the apology.
Phyllis goes over to Jack's house to see how he was doing, since she learned of his and Sharon's separation, and tries to offer him some hope. Jack is feeling sad about how quiet the house will be once they leave, and how much of a void there will be. She tells him that Sharon is moving in with Nikki and that due to that situation, she could move back with Jack in a short time. Phyllis returns home to find Nick wrapping presents. Feeling the holiday spirit, they initiate some adult fun, when someone knocks on the door. It's Daniel, who after his talk with heather and thinking about his mother, has returned to give his mother a hug.
Victor is at home, recalling the conversation he had with Maggie about finding Ji Min's blood, and therefore his DNA, in Victor's gym bag. Back in reality, Victor calls Michael Baldwin and leaves a message for him to return the call as soon as possible. Later, Neil comes over with the latest insurance information about the accident, which is not satisfactory to Victor. Victor then tells Neil about Maggie's information about finding the Ji Min's DNA. Victor is feeling the pressures of these battles.
Later, Nick comes over to Victor's house to talk about Christmas. Nick talks about how it should be a time of forgiveness, and that he would like the fighting to stop. Victor responds that he would like nothing more, and that he would make the first move toward Nikki, but she'd have to be receptive and he doesn't believe she would be because of her involvement with David. He flashes back to a night when he was standing outside of her door, seeing her and David kissing and feeling dejected by that. When Nick says that Victor's drilling is the reason why Victoria and her baby are fighting for their lives now, Victor becomes upset and with a calm yet stern and upset tone tells Nick to leave.
Neil comes over to Victor's home again later, informs Neil that the parking structure that collapsed was a disaster waiting to happen and that Chancellor Industries knew that and was closing it down as it was collapsing. Neil asks if he wants to go after them. Victor replies he'll go after anyone who opposes him.
As Paul and Maggie enter the restaurant, Maggie sees David and takes a moment to talk to him about Victor and Ji Min. She asks if David recalls seeing Victor at the same time that Ji Min was there. David replies that he doesn't recall. David adds it up that she may be trying to connect Victor to Ji Min's death, but Maggie can't discuss it further now. Paul asks her if she really thinks Victor killed Ji Min. She replies that while she doesn't think he intentionally set out to kill him, that it's possible that Victor, who carried a gym bag and is known for his angry outbursts, may have become angry and hit him. As Paul and Maggie talk about their holiday plans and rule out cooking, Heather shows up, asking if she is still invited to join them. Paul says yes, and she tells him to let her know where and she'll be there.
