Carly and Craig begin to make love, but he pulls away, saying that he has always wanted her, but "not this way." Craig continues to try to make sense of what could have happened to Bryant that night.

At the cottage, overcome with feelings of guilt, Billy tells Jennifer that they cannot see each other anymore and that no one should ever know what happened between them. Jennifer then tells Billy to leave and never speak to her again. Later, Lucinda arrives, shocked to see the place torn apart. Looking to make sense of what happened, she questions Jennifer, who admits that she and Bryant argued, but does not go into the details. Jennifer leaves and Lucinda, looking through Bryant's belongings, tries to find a clue as to what could have happened that night. When Sierra arrives, Lucinda, forced to give her the bad news, also informs her that Craig was the last person that Bryant spoke to before the accident. Sierra then leaves to be with Craig and is surprised to find him at the suite with Carly.

Paul thanks Rose for all she did in getting Barbara to comfort Jennifer. She confesses to Paul that she made a deal with Barbara never to see him again if Barbara would vote for Lucinda at the stockholders meeting. Rose feels guilty for going back on her word and admits to Paul that she did what she did so they could be closer, but Paul tells Rose that if it comes down to a choice between her and his mother, he will choose Rose.

James returns to Fairwinds offering incriminating information Barbara requested on Rose. She tells James that after her experience with Jennifer at the hospital, she no longer needs the information. All she wants is to be reunited with her family, for their unconditional love is all that matters to her. James then takes her to Hal's house and she is shocked to see what the world is like without her, finding her family getting along without her, but just fine with Emily. He then takes her home, where she watches as Paul and Rose kiss in the gazebo. James uses this as a perfect opportunity to hand Barbara the evidence on Rose.

Emily questions Hal about his feelings for Barbara. Hal tells Emily how much he appreciates her for helping him get through his problems with his family and Bryant's death. He tells Emily he wants their relationship to move forward faster. She points out to Hal that Barbara took a big step back to her family by going to the hospital to comfort Jennifer about Bryant. She asks Hal if he still loves Barbara and he admits that he does. He tells Emily it is a different kind of love from what he felt before. Emily quickly tells Hal she needs reassurance that he is not going to dump her if Barbara should choose to come back. Hal asks Emily if she is giving him an ultimatum, but she tells him no, it is a choice. She insists that Hal quit avoiding the question and asks him what he would do if Barbara knocked on the door right then. Just then, there is a knock on the door! It's Carly, who tells them Sierra is with Craig. Hal goes to get Parker for her and she and Emily talk. Carly points out that Emily looks very comfortable in Hal's kitchen and she tells Emily that Hal would be a fool to let her go. Emily is surprised and tells Carly it almost sounds like Carly likes her. Carly agrees, telling Emily that she has shown a very different side of herself to Carly in the past few days. They begin to form a friendship. After Carly leaves, Emily again asks Hal about his feelings for her and for Barbara. Hal tells her he is not a halfway kind of guy and that he has been and will be giving 100 percent to his relationship with Emily. He also tells her that if Barbara were to show up, he would tell her she belongs with the children, but he is not part of the package. He assures Emily that Barbara is part of his past and he is through looking backwards. Hal kisses Emily, who decides they should have an argument. She tells him to call her a name, so Hal smiles at her and calls her a "muckraker." Emily playfully slaps him and then tells him the argument is over and now they can have make-up sex. They race upstairs.

Paul kisses Rose and tells her he has no intention of letting her get away. Rose tells Paul he should never have to choose between her and his mother. Paul tells Rose he is the happiest he has been in a long time and he has no intention of ruining it. He insists that he is going to tell Barbara to back off and leave them alone. Rose asks him to wait; maybe Barbara will come around in time. She tells him she believes that Lucinda is about to give her a good job at Worldwide and she is excited because it means she can get a place of her own where they can be alone. They make a date for that night and agree to spend the night together at the Lakeview.

James and Barbara watch Paul kissing Rose as James continues to try to play on Barbara's insecurities about losing her son. He hands her the envelope containing background information on Rose. Barbara tells James she is not a cruel person like he is, but Paul's feelings about Rose are forcing her to do something to keep from losing her son. Barbara walks into the gazebo and interrupts Paul and Rose planning their evening. Rose tries to apologize to Barbara for being so blunt with her the day before, but Barbara sidesteps the issue by telling Rose she didn't remember that Rose had even been there. She tells Rose that she does not have an open invitation to drop by Fairwinds any time she wants to, but Paul insists that she does. Rose agrees with Barbara and says that she will call ahead in the future. She tells Barbara that she is happy for her about going to the hospital to see Jennifer, but Barbara just gives her a sarcastic response. Rose kisses Paul and leaves, telling him she will see him later. After she leaves, Barbara asks Paul if he has another date with Rose and he tells her yes. When Barbara presses him for details, Paul tells her he and Rose and going to start out having drinks at Java Underground and later he will be spending the night with Rose at the Lakeview. Barbara insists that Rose is only using Paul, but then tells Paul she doesn't want to talk about Rose anymore. She tells Paul he should let her know when he is through with Rose so that she can start breathing again. Paul tells Barbara he knows about her deal with Rose and that he won't forgive her if she hurts Rose or if she hurts his chances to love Rose. He points out to Barbara that he is not a child any longer and he can make his own decisions without her interference.

Sierra seeks comfort from Craig after finding out about Bryant's death. She goes to his apartment, expecting to find Craig alone, but sees Carly there. Carly tells Sierra how sorry she is about Bryant's death and starts to leave. Sierra stops her to thank her for helping Craig. She makes the observation that apparently Craig has found someone who understands him. Carly asks Craig to call her and she leaves. Craig apologizes to Sierra for letting Lucinda be the one to tell her about Bryant and then takes her in his arms as they both begin to cry.

Lucinda sits at home alone grieving over Bryant and wondering what went wrong. She also wonders where Craig was when Bryant needed him. She finds out Sierra has gone to the Lakeview to see Craig and decides to go there too. Sierra tells Craig that Lucinda thinks something happened between him and Bryant, which caused Bryant to have an accident. She asks Craig if he has seen Bryant's cottage and describes the wreckage Bryant left there. She asks Craig if Bryant called him and demands to know what Craig knows. Craig admits that he went to see Bryant at the cottage and knew something was bothering Bryant, but Bryant wouldn't talk to him about it. Craig tells Sierra that he really thought things between him and Bryant were getting better and that he doesn't understand what happened either. He tells Sierra about the telephone message Bryant left for him and starts to play it for her. Lucinda knocks on the door and interrupts, trying to find out if Sierra has asked Craig about Bryant. They all listen to Bryant's last message together. At first, Sierra blames Craig for not being there when Bryant called, but she eventually calms down and they talk about their daughter, Lucy. Craig and Sierra agree to tell Lucy about Bryant together. Sierra tells Lucinda that she is wrong about Craig being responsible for Bryant's death and vows that she will not let Lucinda use him as a weapon in her war with Craig. She demands that Lucinda apologize to Craig, but Lucinda tells her she is not the enemy. Sierra is hurt and angry with Lucinda, who asks Sierra to go home with her so they can continue to talk. Sierra refuses and decides to stay with Craig. Lucinda assures Craig that she loved Bryant and Craig tells her he knows and that Bryant loved her too. She asks Craig to take care of her girl and leaves. Sierra asks Craig what they should do next and he suggests that they make a list of things they need to do. Sierra gets upset again as she thinks about trying to call people to tell them Bryant is dead. Later, Sierra tells Craig about all the things she thought she would get to do with Bryant when she got to Oakdale. Craig tries to reassure her and alleviate her feelings of guilt. Sierra decides she wants to go back to the cottage because she feels closer to Bryant there.

When Lucinda gets home, she finds Rose going through the mail. Rose tells her about getting closer to Paul and wonders if she is getting back to normal too soon after Bryant's death. Lucinda tells her it is okay and they begin to talk about Rose's new position at Worldwide. She cautions Rose to be careful of her impulsive nature and warns her that there are people who will try to use Rose to get to her. Rose assures Lucinda that she won't let her down and asks Lucinda what the job is. Lucinda tells Rose she is going to be a vice-president, but she doesn't know just yet what Rose will be the vice-president of. Mitzi comes in and expresses her condolences to Lucinda. After Lucinda leaves, Rose tells Mitzi about her new job at Worldwide and how excited she is. She then tells Mitzi about her plans to see Paul that evening and lets her know that both she and Paul think they are getting really serious about each other. Rose also tells Mitzi that she let Paul know about the deal Barbara tried to make with her. Mitzi cautions Rose to be very careful, telling her she does not want to get between a mother and her son and to be prepared for anything.

Barbara tells Paul she can understand how he might use Rose as a source of amusement, but that having feelings of love for Rose is ridiculous. She asks Paul if he has lost all sense of who he is. Paul tells Barbara he is open to the possibility of loving Rose and it is his decision to make. He also tells Barbara he is tired of having to defend his decision to see Rose and Barbara should keep her opinions to herself. He then demands that Barbara quit trying to keep him from seeing Rose. After he calms down, he tells Barbara he loves her and leaves. Barbara pulls out the envelope James gave her and vows that she will not let Paul make such a mistake and one day he will thank her for it.