Sonny & Carly #19  December 31, 2002 - February 25, 2003

At the penthouse, Ric tells Sonny a legal strategy to help both Brenda and Jason. When he suggests that Brenda could use the battered wife syndrome as a defense he could get her off and not involve Jason at all since it would concern her relationship to Alcazar not Jason. Sonny cuts him off and tells him that Jason and Brenda will both be found not guilty together. Ric accepts Sonny's final say on the matter. Sonny heads out to go see Jason across the hall before the arraignment hearing. He sees Brenda and Jax get off the elevator holding hands. He informs them that it isn't a good idea that they be seen in public holding hands. Brenda tells Sonny that she came back to change her clothes and head over to the courthouse with Jason so they could look like a real married couple. Jax leaves. Sonny waits until Jax leaves and goes into Jason's place to talk to Brenda. He explains why it is important that she be seen with Jason only and that she can't come across as a adulterous wife to the public or it could hurt her in court. Brenda wonders where Jason is since he was suppose to meet her at the apartment. Jason arrives home and talks to Sonny about what happened with A.J. He tells Sonny that he was watching A.J. at the Q mansion and was waiting to see if Ida would show up but then he saw Courtney show up trying to stop A.J. from testifying against him to protect him and how he had to step in to protect her from A.J. Sonny tells Jason that he wants Courtney to stay out of harms way and that he doesn't want her even remotely involved in what he does for a living.

At the arraignment, Brenda pleads not guilty in court and Jason is about to plead the same way when his lawyer buts in and says that his client doesn't need to plead anything and that Jason would like to confer with the D.A. and plead to a lesser charge. Jason looks at him in disbelief and tells the judge he wants to fire his attorney and plead not guilty. The judge tells him that he needs counsel to represent him. The attorney defending Jason tells the judge that there is no evidence linking Jason to the crime and that it all points to Brenda only and that it is in his client's best interest to plead to a lesser charge. Jason looks to Sonny for help. Sonny asks Ric if he can represent Jason. Ric agrees to step in as his attorney after promising Sonny that he will allow Jason to plead "not guilty." Ric stands up and introduces himself to the judge and asks if he could represent Jason. Jason looks at Sonny who wearily nods his head yes to Jason. Jason accepts Ric as his attorney. Ric announces that Jason is pleading not guilty to the charge. The judge sets a trial date and recesses. Jason questions Sonny about what he really knows about Ric, his new lawyer now. Jason tells him that there is something about Ric he doesn't like or trust. Sonny tells him that they don't have to like or trust him totally right now but they need to allow him to help them if he can and worryabout the rest later. Ric shows up then at the penthouse. Sonny tells him that now that he is acting as Jason's lawyer now, he can interview the witness, Ida Warren. He presents Ric with a briefcase and tells him that it contains $2 million and that he is to give it to Ida with his best wishes for her future and get her to change her testimony and tell the police that she didn't actually see Brenda on the balcony with Alcazar that night. Ric has no problem paying her off for him. Later, Ric reports to Sonny from Ida's hideout. He tells him that it appears as if Ida hung herself or someone got to her first.

Courtney accidentally lets slip to AJ that Jason and Sonny already know that he bribed Ida Warren to lie about Brenda and Jason. A.J. plays coy and asks her how she knows that and guesses it was what Jason told her. Carly overhears the conversation and gets worried. A.J. tells her that she has been brainwashed by Sonny just like Carly and Brenda are. A.J. leaves. Carly tells her that she just blew it. Carly informs her that by telling A.J. that Jason and Sonny know about the pay off, A.J. has the upperhand against them again. Courtney feels stupid about it and Carly tells her not to make the same mistake she has made in the past like giving vital information to A.J. to get back at him when he upsets her. She advises Courtney to tell Jason right away what she told A.J. She tells her Jason may be upset but would rather hear from her first. She tells her that there may be time for Jason and Sonny to get to Ida first before A.J. if they know right now.

Brenda has a nightmare that Alcazar has her tied up and is going to inject her with a lethal drug so they can be together forever. Brenda wakes up screaming at the top of her lungs. Sonny comes rushing in to see if she is o.k. She tells him it was just a nightmare and feels embarrassed that she screamed so loudly. Sonny tells her that he is right there if she needs him. She is touched by his concern. Brenda and Sonny share a fraught moment when he comforts her after she has a nightmare. Sonny explains he is going to South America to look for clues in Alcazar's murder.

Jax tells her that Alexis that she needs to keep Brenda's defense away from Jason's case and prove Jason killed Ida on his own. Carly overhears them talk and doesn't like it when she overhears Alexis reassure Jax that she has this covered concerning Sonny and Jason. Carly confronts Alexis with a warning not to frame Jason. Alexis and Carly argue and Carly slaps Alexis in her anger. Carly tells Courtney she is afraid they could lose both Sonny and Jason, thanks to Brenda. Relating Katherine's tale to Courtney, Carly tells her sister-in-law why she's so determined to prevent a tragic piece of history from repeating itself. Standing in the old speakeasy, Carly describes for Courtney how Katherine's sad story seems to mirror their own lives with Sonny and Jason. Carly senses sadness in the old place, Courtney sees the possibilities. Faith shows up later tells Carly that she is Katherine's granddaughter. She tries to spook Carly with stories of the place being haunted but Carly isn't buying. As Carly makes plans for her new club in the Old Speakeasy, Ric meets with Carly and begs her to help him get in touch with Sonny. Carly refuses to contact her husband, saying only that he is engaged in important business. Ric uses urgency that Jason's life is at stake. Ric then suggests that maybe Carly could make some of Sonny's decisions for him regarding Jason's trial. He wants Jason to testify on his own behalf which Jason has refused to do. Carly arrives at the Penthouse and tries to persuade Jason to let Ric put Jason on the stand and coach Jason in the right way to answer the questions, but Jason refuses. Ric soon arrives and Jason warns Ric to never again use Carly to get to Jason, then Jason leaves. After Jason leaves, Carly mentions that Brenda went to the hospital to be hypnotized and Ric rushes off. Carly is surprised when A.J. arrives at Jason's Penthouse to see Jason. A.J. informs Carly that he has a deal to offer Jason. A.J. tells Carly that A.J. is willing to help Jason clear himself of the legal charges pending against him in exchange for Jason leaving Courtney alone. Carly tells A.J. that she would be crazy to make a deal with him concerning helping Jason. She denies that Courtney and Jason are having an affair and tells him he is paranoid. A.J. vows to her that he will win in the end and Jason will go to prison.

Sonny arrives in South America and finds the hotel that Alcazar took Brenda to stay in on vacation while he conducted business. According to a woman who served them there as a hostess tells Sonny about how Alcazar treated Brenda like a queen but never let her see his business associates and conducted business when she was out shopping. The woman allows Sonny to look around the hotel suite. Sonny finds a secret safe behind a picture frame. He gets in the safe by using Alcazar's birthday as a code which works. Sonny digs out a bunch of passports and files to look at. Before he can really look at them, the prison warden and his guards show up to accuse Sonny of trespassing and to threaten to shoot him or put him in one of their jail cells. Sonny remains calm and informs the warden about how his associate Jason and his wife Carly were detained by him and put in a jail cell and promises to mention the warden's inhospitable and corrupt behavior to two of his business associates in South America. The warden believes Sonny's subtle threats and instantly has a change of heart toward him and agrees to bring him files of prisoners that were in his prison right before Alcazar's murder that had been released at that time. He brings him the files later. Sonny finds a picture of Jax stuck behind a framed picture of Brenda with Alcazar. He realizes that Brenda was thinking of Jax while she was with Alcazar. The warden gives him the files. One of the prisoners was released a week or so before Alcazar's murder. He tells Sonny that there is no picture in his file to help him identify the man. After the warden leaves, the hostess hands Sonny a picture she stole from the file to give to Sonny. Sonny realizes the prisoner is none other than Ric Lansing, Jason's lawyer. Sonny starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The housekeeper confides to Sonny that she and Ric were once lovers. Ric was wealthy, charming, and he worked for Alcazar. One day, Alcazar ordered Ric arrested and, when she secretly visited Ric in prison, Ric was consumed with his desire to pay Alcazar back for all that Ric had lost. Then, just as suddenly, Alcazar ordered Ric released. The housekeeper confides to Sonny that she believed that Ric killed Alcazar when she heard about Alcazar's death.

When Brenda and Jax get off the elevator, Carly questions them about how the hypnosis went. Brenda tells her that she remembered seeing a dark haired man in an overcoat near the hallway outside Alcazar's room. Brenda gets another memory flash after she tells Carly and then can't believe she forgot to tell Cameron and Alexis that she remembers the man had a shoulder holster on him which means he was carrying a gun. Carly warns Jax about Brenda going to prison and that she doesn't care what he does as long as he takes Brenda away from Port Charles after the trial is over after he makes some comment about their being no coincidence that Sonny is living on one side of the hall and he has Brenda living across the hall from him.

As Ric torches his incriminating overcoat in the Speakeasy's furnace, Carly surprises him in the act. When Carly demands to know what Ric is doing, Ric covers by telling Carly that he was just trying to determine if the old furnace was still in working condition. Then Ric begs Carly to tell him whether or not Sonny has jumped bail and left the country. But Carly refuses to tell Ric anything about Sonny's business. When Leticia and Michael pay a surprise visit to Carly, Ric hears Michael innocently ask Carly when Sonny will be coming home. Ric admonishes Carly for letting Michael know Sonny was out of town when that kind of action could get Sonny's bail revoked, Ric suddenly gets a call from Sonny, demanding that they meet at the Elm Street Pier in three hours. When Carly asks Ric about his call, Ric covers by claiming that it was a paralegal Ric hired to research precedents for him.

Scott arrives at Sonny's Penthouse and demands to see Sonny. Carly insists that Sonny is working at his office, but Scott tells Carly that he has already hecked there and Scott warns Carly that if Sonny is out of town, Sonny has jumped bail and is a fugitive. Scott is listening to Carly deny that her husband would have jumped bail and left the country. As Scott and Carly spar, they are surprised when Faith Roscoe suddenly arrives for a visit. Scott and Carly both try to figure out what Faith is doing at Sonny's Penthouse. When Scott leaves, Faith reports to Carly that, when Faith went past Kelly's, she heard noises in the basement like running water or maybe restless spirits. Faith reminds Carly that Faith's family once owned the building and tells Carly a story about a book Faith read about new owners who disturbed spirits and unleashed a curse. Just then, Carly gets a call about flooding in Kelly's basement. Faith observes that, since Sonny has invested a lot of money in the new club, Faith hopes it will be nothing serious then she leaves.

Back in town, Sonny meets Ric on the Elm Street Pier and Sonny immediately asks Ric why Ric kept his connection to Alcazar a secret and whether or not Ric killed Alcazar! Sonny accuses Ric of being the one who killed Alcazar. Ric admits that he followed Alcazar to Port Charles and wanted Alcazar dead, but the closest Ric got to Alcazar was seeing Alcazar fall from the balcony. Ric warns Sonny that if Sonny demands that Ric tell all he knows to the police, it will prove to be even more disastrous for Brenda and Jason. Brenda tells Jax and Jason that her mystery man could have been Ric! Jax angrily gets ready to hunt Ric down, but Jason urges Ric to wait until they have proof before making any kind of move. But Jax refuses to listen to Jason and leaves anyway. Afterward, Jason warns Brenda: "You need to stop that idiot before he gets you put in prison!'

Ric reports to Sonny that Ric saw Alcazar fall and went into the hotel to search Alcazar's room to remove any documents that might tie Ric to Alcazar, and Ric saw a panic-stricken Brenda running through the corridor from Alcazar's suite. Sonny accuses Ric of being the one who killed Alcazar, paid Ida and then killed Ida to prevent her from changing her story. Ric warns Sonny that if the police find out about Ric's presence at the hotel that night, it will ultimately work against Brenda and Jason. Ric warns Sonny that if Sonny goes to the Police with the information that Ric was at the Hotel, the only thing Ric could testify to would be that after Alcazar fell from the balcony, Ric saw Jason lead a panic-stricken Brenda out of the Hotel and Ric's testimony could convict both Jason and Brenda, since it would confirm Baldwin's theory that Jason was in the building and helped Brenda murder Alcazar and leave the scene of the crime. Sonny warns Ric not to testify against Brenda or Jason if he wants to remain breathing! Ric agrees, but only if Sonny reciprocates. Sonny agrees that he will not go to the police with his supposition, but orders Ric to cut off all ties to Sonny's family especially Carly!

Ric arrives at the Speakeasy to find the place flooded. Carly arrives soon afterward and informs Ric that she believes Faith Roscoe was behind the 'accident' to the plumbing. As Carly begins to tell Ric about her plans for getting even with Faith, Ric regretfully informs Carly that Sonny believes that Ric murdered Alcazar and has ordered Ric to stay away from Sonny's family. When Carly asks Ric if he did kill Alcazar, Ric admits that he planned to kill Alcazar but never got the chance. As Carly asks Ric why it was so important for Ric to try to get close to Sonny that Ric stayed in town even after Alcazar's death, Jax suddenly arrives, brandishing a gun! Jax demands that Ric go to see District Attorney Baldwin with Jax and Ric reluctantly leaves with Jax, while Carly follows them. Sonny arrives at Jason's penthouse. Brenda, Jason and Sonny compare notes about Brenda's recollections about Ric and what Sonny learned from talking to Ric and Sonny convinces Brenda to call Jax off before Jax gets the police involved. But Carly suddenly arrives with the news that Jax just took Ric at gunpoint to see Scott Baldwin.

Jax arrives at the Court House with Ric and demands that Scott arrest Ric for Alcazar's murder. When Scott hesitates, Jax begins to announce Ric's involvement to the press. With cameras clicking, Jax charges Scott with framing Brenda to get Jason and Sonny to take the rap for Alcazar's murder, while, all the time, Ric was the real culprit. Mac and Taggert showed up at Jax's press conference and heard Jax's theory about Ric killing Alcazar. They and Scott took Ric to police headquarters to interrogate him. Brenda found Jax and explained that it would hurt her case to admit seeing Ric in the hallway the night of the murder. She asked Jax to trust her judgment and go along with what Sonny and Jason want her to do. At police headquarters, Sonny showed up to see Ric, but Scott would not let him. Finally, Scott got Ric alone in the interrogation room and tried to coerce Ric into being a witness for the prosecution. Ric said that he saw nothing that night, infuriating Scott. Scott decided to hold him overnight to try and change his mind.

The next morning, an angry Jax arrives at Jason's Penthouse, looking for Brenda. When Jason says he has no idea where Brenda would be, Jax informs Carly and Jason that Brenda is missing. When Jax suspects that since Sonny is also missing that he has run off with Brenda to protect her. Carly insists that her marriage to Sonny is sound and Sonny would never do something like that. While Carly, Jax and Jason look for Sonny, Sonny is at the PCPD and asks Alexis to take Jason's case since Jason's attorney has turned out to have connections to Alcazar. Sonny steps in and commends Ric for refusing to cooperate with Scott and Ric asks Sonny how much it will take to get Sonny to trust him. Sonny tells Ric that he is beginning to feel impressed by Ric. After Sonny leaves, Scott reminds Alexis that it was Alcazar bringing Brenda back to Port Charles that set the wheels in motion which resulted in the death of Alexis' sister. When Sonny returns to the Penthouse and everyone realizes that Brenda is not with Sonny, Jax becomes even more concerned for Brenda, but Sonny accuses Jax of being such a loose cannon that Brenda split to protect herself. Scott and Taggert are surprised when Coleman shows up at PCPD and claims that Coleman saw Ric in the alley when Alcazar fell. Taggert protests that Scott's latest witness has a history of questionable involvements, including blackmailing Courtney Matthews, but Scott insists that Coleman is a good citizen and orders Taggert to take Coleman's statement and release Ric. When Ric is released, he informs Coleman that Ric knows that Coleman was not in the alley and asks what Coleman has to gain by clearing Ric. But Coleman tells Ric not to worry about it, and saunters off.

Carly arrives at Jason's Penthouse and demands he wear something that makes him look like an ordinary fellow instead of Sonny's hired killer. When Carly insists that Brenda split because Brenda does not care that Jason will end up taking the rap alone, Jason surprises Carly by informing her that Jason believes that Brenda does care. This is a cute scene as she begs him to change into the new shirt he bought. He is in a hurry and doesn't see the need. She stresses that the blue will bring out his eyes and soften his appearence as he doesn't want to look like the cold, ruthless killer that Scott will try to protray him as.

At the Court House, Alexis tries to tell the court that she gave Brenda and Jason the wrong information about the trial's starting time, but Scott insists that Brenda and Jason have fled the jurisdiction. Jason suddenly appears, but has no answer when the Judge demands to know where Mr. Morgan's wife is. The judge is not pleased with the hold up. Jason tells him he doesn't know where his wife is. Scott calls for a warrant to be issued for the arrest of Brenda Barrett. Scott tells the judge that it isn't the first time the defendant has fled the country. Meanwhile, Nikolas and Gia are on the docks. Nikolas tells Gia it looks like a body floating in the water and dives in to rescue the person. Nikolas and Gia drag Brenda's unconscious body onto the docks. Nik calls 911 and explains that the victim isn't breathing after Gia tries to administer CPR. Taggert shows up at the courthouse to announce that Brenda's been found nearly dead from being in the water and has been rushed to GH. Alexis asks the judge to call a recess and discontinue the trial until the condition of her client has been established. The judge decides to call a recess for now but wants the trial to resume at the earliest possible date.

Courtney tells Sonny that she overheard Coleman talking to A.J. and thinks Coleman was the one who brought in Ida after paying her to use as a witness to set up Jason and Brenda. Sonny thanks her for the information and tells her to stay out of it from now and he'll handle it from here. At GH, Sonny watched from outside the treatment room as Brenda gives Jax something. The cops make Jax leave so her husband, Jason, can enter. Sonny asks Jax what Brenda gave him just then and what he is up to. Jax tells him she only gave him her ring. Sonny doesn't believe him and follows him. Jason gets in to see Brenda alone. He asks her what she gave Jax just now and that it was brave of her to dive in the water and look for something inside Alcazar's sunk yacht. Brenda tells him she gave Jax a key to a safe-deposit boxthat Alcazar had. She tells him that she needed to get the key and that Jax needs to get the contents of the box before the police ceize it. Jax gets to the safety-deposit box and takes out a videotape that says "The Murder" printed across it just as Sonny shows up and asks him to hand it over to him. Sonny chastised Jax for not hiding the tape before the police showed up.

Alexis gives her opening statement as the trial resumes. A.J. is the first witness that Scott calls. Scott asks A.J. about the night of the murder when he saw Jason driving the limo with Alcazar inside it. Alexis cross-examines him and gets him to admit that Jason is his brother and that he has had a grudge against him and his testimony is biased against Jason. A.J. continues to swear that he saw Jason driving Alcazar's limo. Sonny approaches Coleman and tells him that he knows he has been working for A.J. and is probably involved with the death of Ida Warren. He tells Coleman that if Brenda and Jason get convicted he will see to him getting what is coming to him and gives him an idle threat to his life. Coleman is shaken by Sonny's threats. Sonny sees Courtney heading to the courtroom and asks her why she came back. Courtney tells him that since Carly couldn't come back because Michael didn't feel well she thought she should come and support him and make up for not being a sister to him before. Sonny appreciates it and allows her to come inside with him to sit when he realizes she is as stubborn as he is. Skye is called to the stand. She testifies to seeing Brenda try to stab Alcazar in his room that night. Alexis cross-examines her and brings up being a recovering alcoholic like A.J. and what it means. It is obvious that Skye is drunk and Alexis gets her to admit her hatred of Brenda and admit she didn't actually see Brenda throw Alcazar off the balcony and that she was drunk that night and had sex with Alcazar as well and could have had a blackout in his bed. She brings up a motive for Skye to have killed Alcazar that night. Skye admits she had a motive to kill Alcazar and gets hysterical and heads over to the T.V. monitor and starts calling Brenda a whore and that she hopes she rots in prison which she deserves for stealing her husband from her. A.J. has to pry her away from the T.V. and Jax talks to Skye through the t.v. and tells her to stop blaming Brenda for the murder since she is innocent. A.J. takes her away and sits her down with the others.

Taggert shows up with the videotape and Scott announces it as new evidence. Alexis objects to it since she had no knowledge that this new evidence existed and that she should have been privy to its contents beforehand. Scott argues that Brenda was the one who provided the tape herself and so it wasn't new evidence at all. The judge asks Brenda how the tape was found and if she provided that information to the police. She tells him that she had a key to a safety-deposit box belonging to Alcazar that she found in his yacht and that she gave it to Jax to go to the bank and the police confiscated it. Jax admits to this happening when the judge asks him. The judge overrules Alexis' objection and allows the video to be shown to the jurors. The video shows Brenda in a hotel room with Alcazar. She tells him that she wants to go back to Port Charles and see Jax and Sonny from afar and say goodbye to them and that she doesn't want to actually talk to them but see them so she can say goodbye. Alcazar refuses to let her go back to Port Charles and confronts her about having pictures of them behind a picture of them together and asks her if she had her pills today. Brenda tells him she hasn't and he tries to stop her from taking the picture of Jax. Brenda takes the letter opener and tries to stab Alcazar with it and he grabs her by the wrist to stop her. The jurors see it and it looks bad for Brenda. Scott argues that Brenda was desperate enough to get to that tape by diving into the icy cold water to retrieve before the police found it and showed it to the court since it shows that it wasn't the first time she tried to kill Alcazar. Jason shakes his head and rests his hands on his face in defeat. Alexis continues to object to the tape being shown to the jurors. Sonny tells Courtney that it is all over now. Brenda and Jax react with disappointment.

Scott claims that losing the closed circuit TV feed is contempt of court, while Alexis argues that it is merely equipment failure. Alexis pleads for a continuance and moves for a mistrial, but the Judge refuses to listen to Alexis. Sonny assures Courtney that, while the tape is a set-back, Sonny wilL be able to handle it. The Judge declares a recess while they deal with the camera. Courtney asks Sonny why he is letting AJ and Skye go. But Sonny assures his sister that he is taking care of it. Later that day, Jason tells Sonny and Carly that he and Brenda are going to run off to Lisbon. Carly pushes Sonny to say goodbye to Brenda. He meets her at the airport, out on the tarmac in a fog filled scene ala Casablanca. Alexis arrives at the penthouse and tells Carly that she can't continue to represent Brenda as she has to go out of town as her daughter needs surgery. Carly is very understanding until she figures out that the surgery is elective and that Alexis could choose to wait till after the tiral. Sonny walks in and is upset that Alexis has dropped out of the trial at the last moment.

Sonny tells Courtney that she doesn't need to be there during the trial. Courtney insists on staying and sitting with him to show her support. Carly knows it's really about seeing Jason but doesn't say anything. Dara Jensen surprises Sonny when she agrees to defend Brenda and Jason since Alexis bailed out on them. She is no longer in the D.A.'s office and tells Sonny that she is surprised that she is agreeing to defend Jason but that she feels he is innocent and that Brenda is going to be harder to defend with the evidence Scott has against her. The trial resumes. Scott introduces new evidence against Jason that Dara just barely heard about and didn't have time to review it in court. The judge allows Scott to enter it into evidence. It is a hair follicle belonging to Jason that was found on the balcony of Alcazar's room. Dara objects to the evidence since it could have been planted but then asks Jason why he didn't tell her he was on the balcony. Jason tells her that he went and checked out Alcazar's room a few days before his murder but he couldn't admit to that in his testimony for obvious reasons as Sonny explains to Courtney and Carly. Ric got a surprise of his own when he came out of the shower and saw writing on his mirror in red lipstick that said "They are innocent, and I can prove it."

Ric goes to the courthouse and tells Sonny what he saw on his mirror. Sonny doesn't trust Ric's account and either does Carly. Ric gets a call on his cell phone and he goes out and answers it. It is a mysterious woman who asks him to meet her on the docks and that it concerns Alcazar's murder. Dara calls Taggert to the stand to question him about whether Scott presented all his evidence to the defense before the trial or if he omitted anything important from them. Taggert tells her his job is to gather evidence not prepare it for trial. Scott objects and tells the judge it isn't his fault that the defendants have another new attorney who isn't prepared for trial and that she has no right to pit the jurors against him in court. The judge agrees with Scott. Brenda gets out of her seat and approaches the bench. The judge asks Dara to keep her client in line or he will hold her in contempt of court. The bailiffs try to push Brenda away from the bench and back to her seat. Brenda asks the judge to allow her to take the stand and testify. Jason isn't to happy about her decision. Dara asks her to explain what happened that night. Brenda explains about the knife incident and that she had no intention of killing Alcazar but to just scare him. She tells them that Jason was outside the room and stopped her from going back into the room to confront Alcazar again. Scott cross-examines her and rips her testimony apart effectively. He tells her she couldn't have known where Jason was before he was in the hallway with her and could have killed Alcazar before he stopped her. Brenda tells him he couldn't have had time to kill Alcazar since she just ran out of his room and no one was there. Scott talks over her and tries to get her to admit that Jason killed Alcazar and she is helping him cover it up.

Scott accuses Brenda of covering for a cold-blooded killer for hire, Courtney suddenly passes out and creates a stir inthe Court Room. As Sonny gets Courtney out of the Court Room, he insists that she go home but she refuses! Scott tells Brenda that he believes that Brenda confronted Alcazar and Alcazar attacked Brenda and threatened Jax. Brenda suddenly admits that she did want to kill Alcazar! As Scott indulges in a self-satisfied grin, Jason quietly begs Dara to get Brenda off the stand. When Dara gets her chance to cross-examine Brenda, Dara only asks Brenda if she killed Alcazar and Brenda denies it. Dara asks if Alcazar was alive when Brenda left the room. When Brenda says yes, Dara announces that her Defense rests. As Scott sums up, he supposes that Alcazar suspected that one day Brenda would try to kill him and that was why Alcazar kept the tape of Brenda attacking him with scissors and marked it 'Murder!' When Dara sums up, Dara claims that Scott's only motive in the trial has been convicting Jason and all of Scott's case is based on circumstantial evidence.

After the Jury leaves, Dara apologizes to Brenda for leaving her on the stand, but Dara admits that it was a tactic Dara just wanted the Jury to see Scott badgering Brenda. Jason assures Brenda that she did fine on the stand. When Sonny, Carly and Courtney leave the Court Room, Brenda urges Jason to go spend a few minutes with Courtney. Scott catches Sonny in the hall and gloats that the jury is about to convict Sonny's No. 1 Stooge and Sonny is going to be next! Sonny returns to the Court Room and assures Brenda that everything will be OK. Carly spots Sonny and Brenda together and walks away.

Felicia finds Sonny with Brenda and tells the mob boss that she is positive that A.J. and Coleman paid Ida for false testimony. Sonny tells Felicia that if she can prove it, they would be able to get a mistrial. Felicia hurries off to see what she can do. Dara informs Brenda, Carly and Sonny that the verdict is in. When the Jury returns with the verdict, they pronounce Brenda and Jason guilty. Everyone else in the courtroom are shocked by the jury's quick verdict but A.J. and Scott look pleased! While the courtroom reacts to the stunning news that Jason and Brenda have been found guilty of murdering Luis Alcazar, Sonny warns Courtney to hold it together. A.J. congratulates Scott on the District Attorney's brilliant Court Room strategy and Scott smugly declares that he believes that life is grand. As Jason and Brenda are remanded to custody, Dara announces that she will begin an appeal immediately. Scott spots Sonny in the hall, and gloats about his legal triumph. Then Scott warns Sonny that Sonny will eventually slip up and Scott will nail Sonny as well. A.J. manages to remind Jason that Jason is merely going to jail to finally pay for his crimes, then Taggert leads Jason and Brenda away.

Ric receives a call from a woman who asks him to meet her on the docks and informs him that she knows that Brenda and Jason are innocent. When Ric asks if the caller killed Alcazar, she hangs up. Much later, when Ric meets his mysterious caller on the docks, the caller wears a dark coat with a hood and stays in the shadows. When Ric asks why the mystery woman is talking to him, the woman admits that she has found she needs to speak to someone about this then she announces that she knows that Brenda and Jason are innocent because she is the killer! Ric's hooded mystery woman announces that she is the one who killed Alcazar. She hands Ric a bag. Then the mystery woman admits that, on the night of Alcazar's murder, she struggled with Alcazar and the arms dealer's blood got on her coat. She declares that this evidence should clear Jason and Brenda. When Ric protests that that is not enough because the D.A. will argue about that the chain of evidence is tainted, the mystery woman runs away.

When Sonny, Carly and Courtney arrive at the Port Charles Police Department, Scott continues to gloat about his court victory. Mac allows Sonny, Carly and Courtney to visit Brenda and Jason. When Sonny goes in to see Brenda, Carly insists that Courtney be the first to visit Jason. When Courtney sees Jason, he tells her that she should not be there. But Courtney refuses to leave. Sonny assures Brenda that he will continue working to get her out of this. When Sonny gets a chance to speak to Jason, Sonny apologizes to Jason for making so many wrong decisions and for letting Alcazar get the upper hand. Jason asks Sonny to take Carly home before Carly concocts a plot to break Jason out of jail. Ric finds Dara and informs the defense attorney that he just met with the real killer, who wants to exonerate Jason and Brenda. When Ric produces the evidence that the mystery woman gave him, Dara warns that Scott will claim there is no chain of evidence to tie this particular evidence to Alcazar's murder. Dara suggests that the evidence might be good enough to demand a new trial for Jason and Brenda. Ric offers the opinion that he doubts Scott would risk a second trial, which the District Attorney might lose. Dara leaves to file a motion and orders Ric and Felicia to head to the PCPD to try to convince Scott that the new evidence does exonerate Jason and Brenda. When Ric arrives at the PCPD later and announces that he has new evidence, Scott at first refuses to listen to Ric.

When Taggert shows an interest in the new evidence, Scott quickly changes his mind. Sonny spots Ric going into Scott's office and declares to Carly that if Sonny discovers that Ric is working with Scott and against Sonny, Ric will be a dead man! In the meantime, Ric informs Scott of his meeting with the real killer. Scott refuses to believe Ric until Ric's mystery woman places a personal call to Scott and confirms what she told Ric. Then the mystery woman informs Scott that there was another stab wound in Alcazar's stomach information that the police never released to the public!

In a fit of anger and frustration, Sonny smashed up the penthouse until Carly was able to calm and comfort him. Sonny made arrangements for his men to intercept Brenda and Jason's prison transport van. Rick arrived at the penthouse but could not convince Sonny and Carly that the "new evidence" he spoke of was real. Felicia and Rick told a disgruntled Scott about the new evidence and presented the blood-stained cloth. Tensions rose between Scott and Taggert as Taggert called the judge to present the developments and sent the cloth to the lab to be tested. Ric reports to Sonny that he has heard nothing more from his mystery woman. Sonny is angry when he learns that Courtney risked her freedom in order to force a confession from A.J. at gunpoint. But Courtney explains that she believes that A.J. only hired Ida to lie about what she saw because A.J. was angry that Courtney was ending their marriage.

The Judge sentences Brenda and Jason to 22 years. However, Ric explains to Courtney that a sentence has to be passed before the Judge can vacate the Judgment. When Alexis presents her 440 Motion, Scott objects that it is an attempt by the Corinthos crowd to derail the court with suspiciously trumped up 'new evidence'. But the Judge announces that the court is not easily derailed, then the Judge declares a recess while he considers the new evidence. During the recess, Carly takes time to remind Alexis that Carly still believes that Alexis is a hypocrite. At the same time, Sonny lets Ric know that Sonny is suspicious about the way the evidence to clear Brenda and Jason just 'happened' to fall into Ric's lap just when Ric was bending over backwards to make an impression on Sonny. Ric dryly replies that he no longer gives a damn what Sonny thinks! Jax warns Sonny that Jax plans to work through the legal system to get Brenda released and that Sonny should leave Brenda out of any spectacular escape plans Sonny has hatched. When the Judge returns, he announces that the new evidence would have changed the outcome of the original trial and vacates the Judgment against Jason and Brenda. The Judge then orders that the prisoners be released. Later, Carly finds Ric and thanks Ric for helping Jason. When Sonny finds Carly and Carly confesses that she was just thanking Ric, Sonny announces that he remains suspicious of Ric's motives. Scott orders Taggert to find the real killer, because the Judge's decision makes the entire police department look bad.

Carly takes Sonny down to the basement of Kelly's to show him her plans to move ahead with renovating it into her new club. Ric shows up and tells her that he is just dropping off the plans he made up so she wouldn't have to start over completely with another lawyer. Sonny asks to speak to Ric alone. Sonny surprises Ric by thanking him for everything he has done to help get Jason and Brenda set free but questions why he did it and what was in it for him. Ric tells him that he hated Alcazar but didn't kill him and that he didn't think innocent people should pay for his murder. He tells Sonny how he became associated with Alcazar. Jason had shown up and told Ric to send him a bill for his services but refuses to thank him for his help. Sonny tells Ric he can act as Carly's lawyer for her new club but he doesn't want him being his lawyer. Courtney shows up to see Sonny. She tries to explain why she pulled a gun on A.J. to help Jason and Brenda. Sonny tells her to stay out of his business but Courtney asks him to stop ordering her around and he agrees to ask her from now on to protect her and she accepts. Carly is happy with the news that Ric can be her lawyer again and they share an intimate moment in her new club. A mystery person walks down the stairs into the club and opens up with machine gun fire at Sonny and Carly. Sonny throws himself on top of Carly to protect her from the spray of bullets.

Ric, hearing the shots, had hurried out of Kelly's and caught the shooter. He held him until Sonny could get there. Sonny asked him why he was shooting blanks at him while he was having an intimate conversation with his wife. The shooter claimed that he didn't mean to kill anyone but didn't reveal who hired him. Sonny and Carly lie to the patrons at Kelly's and tell them that it was just kids playing with fireworks in the alleyway. They accept that story and are treated to free pie. Courtney and Liz went along with it. Sonny surprised both Ric and Carly by letting the man go without turning him into the police. Sonny asks Ric to follow the man and see who he reports to. Mac shows up later to investigate what happened. Sonny and Carly stick to the same story about fireworks in the alley and how they have already had damage done to the club from vandals anyway. Mac lets it go but warns Sonny about not allowing this thing to escalate and have some innocent person get caught in the crossfire. Sonny tells him that everything is fine and nothing happened. Sonny visited Ned at Faith's apartment and told him in no uncertain terms that Ned would pay for any attempt to go after Sonny. He told Ned that by sending the sniper Ned had blown his one advantage that Sonny didn't see him coming. Ned reminded Sonny that the Quartermaines were powerful too, but Sonny told Ned that the Quartermaines had no power in his world of violence. Faith stood in the next room listening to their interaction. After Sonny left, Ned blasted Faith for going behind his back again. He threatened to walk out on their partnership, but Faith convinced him that this was exactly the reaction she had hoped for, that Sonny had retaliated with words, not weapons, which proved he wouldn't act until absolutely forced to. She pointed out with all the recent media scrunity towards Sonny's activies that he couldn't afford to retaliate and this was the best possible time to go after him.

Back at the penthouse, Courtney came to see Carly and talk about how the shooting had scared her. Sonny arrived. Rick knocked at the door. Courtney and Carly went to look at interiors for the new club so Sonny and Rick could talk. Sonny asked Rick to look into someplace far away where he could set Courtney up in a safe place so she could go to college. Later when Carly returned, Sonny told her his plans for Courtney and Carly reminded him that Courtney makes her own choices. Carly told Sonny that he could not plan Courtney's life for her. She said that no woman should let a man make her plans for her. Sonny teased Carly that he should cancel their surprise trip then. He told her that he was taking her to a cabin in the woods for a few days of rest and relaxation after all that had happened. Sonny calls Ric and asks him to come to the Penthouse, they have some business to discuss. Sonny and Carly begin to pack for a winter vacation at a cabin upstate. They playfully bicker about the choice of wardrobe they both are bringing. They start to get close when Ric arrives. Sonny apologizes to Carly, but he has to talk to Ric. He asked Rick to start making some arrangements to send Courtney off to college. Sonny told Rick that he would ask Jason to do it, but that he was not back from the Dominican yet. Sonny and Carly left Rick in the penthouse as they headed for the cabin.

Jason arrives at the Penthouse looking for Sonny. Ric comes out and informs Jason that Carly and Sonny had left. Jason demands to know what Ric is doing there. Ric happily informs Jason that he's there because Sonny asked him to be. He informs him that he's there making arrangments for Courtney going to college. Jason obviously wasn't aware of any of this and Ric just tells him that he's sure that Jason knew all this already, being that he's Sonny's best friend and all. (he's loving rubbing this in his face, since he knows their little secret)Jason, confused, leaves and heads back to the loft. Jason told Courtney about Sonny's plans for her. Courtney was furious and felt that her brother was trying to run her life again. Jason convinced her that they had to tell Sonny about their relationship as soon as possible and that they had to go to the cabin that night.

At the cabin, Carly told Sonny that the time was right for her to conceive and that they should have a baby even though they live a dangerous life. Sonny informs Carly that he would never allow Jason to pursue a relationship with his sister. Carly then tells Sonny that since "all systems are a go" she wants to finally have his child. After Carly gets soot from the fireplace all over her, she enjoys a bath with Sonny's help. She teases him what would people think if they knew her dangerous powerful husband just washed her hair. Then they make love. A great music montage scene. Later, Sonny gives Carly a diamond necklace. As Jason and Courtney drive through the storm to inform Sonny about their relationship, the storm gets worse. Jason suddenly skids on ice and the car careens off the road. They are stuck in the snow and Jason is badly injured. When Jason coughs, he realizes that there is blood on his hand.

Ric confides to Liz that Sonny wants to send Courtney away to school and Liz observes that Courtney landing on the first flight out of town to Switzerland would probably be the best thing that ever happened to Jason. Ric suggests that maybe the reason Courtney and Jason have been keeping their relationship a secret is because Sonny and Courtney know that Sonny would be unhappy if he learned about his hit-man's affair with his sister. Ric and Liz are suddenly interrupted when Mac and his police officers burst in and immediately discover the planted drugs. Mac informs Liz that she can go but he detains Ric for more questions. Ric slips Sonny's cell phone number to Liz and asks her to alert Sonny. Liz calls Sonny and informs him that there is trouble. He tells Carly that they need to return to Port Charles. When Sonny and Carly arrive at the Speakeasy, Sonny asks Ric if Ric called Jason to handle the problem first, since Jason might be back from the Dominican Republic by now. When Ric admits that he knew that Jason was back but didn't call Jason because Ric figured Sonny would want to handle it himself, Sonny blasts Ric for breaking in on Sonny's quiet time with his wife. As Sonny angrily criticizes Ric's choices, a bristling Elizabeth angrily defends Ric to Sonny and lets slip that Jason left town again this time with Courtney. And, Liz adds it looked to her like Jason and Courtney were eloping!

The next morning, Sonny is angry when he hasn't heard from Jason already. Carly tries to make excuses for why Jason hasn't called him but he doesn't buy it. He accuses Carly of knowing about Jason and Courtney's relationship all this time and keeping another secret from him and of them going around behind his back. Carly blasts Sonny for accusing her of lying to him when she tried to tell him but he told her it was just her imagination and how she was just doing as he asked when she kept her mouth shut and didn't say more. Ric shows up at Sonny's request. He tells him that he hasn't found out where Jason and Courtney went but admits he does know where Courtney and Jason met secretly and gives him the address. Sonny takes off. Carly defends Jason and tells Ric that this all Liz's fault for being a spiteful ex-girlfriend who can't handle the fact that she blew things with Jason herself. Carly tells him that Jason would never betray Sonny. Sonny goes to the secret appointment and finds a picture of Jason and Courtney that looks quite intimate as well as a sexy negligee in one of her dresser drawers.

Jason passes out and a desperate Courtney tries to wake him up and also beeps the car horn to get attention from other drivers. Jason is rushed to GH. where it is determined by Tony, Monica, and Alan that Jason needs emergency surgery. Courtney tries to go in and be with Jason but the doctors tell her she needs to get medical attention herself. Sonny orders one of his men, Max to go and look for Courtney and Jason. Carly tries to reach Sonny and get him to look at things from Courtney's point of view and that she isn't going to just give up Jason for him because he asks her to and he will only risk alienating her again like he did when she was with A.J. Sonny refuses to see Courtney being with Jason as a good idea and insists that with Jason comes danger and he doesn't want his sister involved with him because of it. Max comes back to tell Sonny and Carly that Courtney and Jason were in a car accident and Jason isn't doing too good but Courtney came out of it o.k. They head to the hospital. The doctors make them wait outside the O.R. and inform them he is going into emergency surgery and can't talk. Tony tells them that he is keeping Courtney overnight for observation and later tells them that Jason came out of surgery fine and is in recovery right now. Sonny asks to speak to Jason and goes to see him but not before Brenda shows up and tells them she got a call from the hospital telling her about his surgery. Sonny asks her why the would call her. Brenda tells them she is technically still married to Jason and that things happened in the Dominican Republic that stopped them from getting their marriage annulled. Sonny goes to see Jason. Carly accuses her of staying married to Jason to get closer to Sonny. Brenda denies that is true and that she is amazed by the amount of insecurity Carly still harbors about her marriage to Sonny.

Carly goes to see Courtney in her hospital room. Courtney tells her that they were driving up to see her and Sonny at their cabin to tell them about their relationship when Jason swerved to avoid hitting a deer and they crashed the car. Carly tells her it won't be as easy to tell Sonny as she thinks. Carly told her that Sonny had not taken the news of her relationship with Jason very well. A defiant Courtney told Carly that Sonny couldn't pick whom she goes with. Carly agreed but reminded Courtney that he was only trying to protect her. Sonny sits by Jason's hospital bed while he regains consciousness. Jason calls out Courtney's name. Sonny tells him she is doing fine. Jason tells him about his relationship with Courtney, not aware that Sonny already knows the truth. Sonny tells him he understands that he is concerned for Courtney but that as far as him being with Courtney in a relationship, it has to end now. Jason looks at him sadly. Sonny told Jason that for Courtney's sake as well as Jason's he must stop their relationship. He pointed out to Jason that Courtney was still young and innocent despite all she had been through, and that she couldn't possibly comprehend Jason's full role in the organization. He told Jason that Courtney couldn't possibly love him if she knew all about his life. Sonny also described to Jason the horror of Lily's death and living with the guilt. He told Jason that not only did he not want to see Courtney in danger, but he also wouldn't want to see Jason go through what he had. Jason told Sonny that he loved Courtney enough to let her make her own decisions, but Sonny wouldn't back off from convincing Jason that ending it was the right thing to do.

Brenda ran into Carly at the hospital, who told her to hurry up and sign the annulment papers and get out of Jason's life. Brenda then went to see Courtney. She told her she was glad she was okay. Courtney asked if Brenda minded her and Jason being together, and Brenda laughed it off. Elizabeth went to the hospital to try and see Jason, but Carly stopped her and berated her for telling Sonny about Jason and Courtney. Rick was nearby and interrupted their arguing, telling Carly to back off that Elizabeth was not to blame for Sonny's reactions. Carly told Rick that she, Sonny, and Jason were a family and Elizabeth had torn that apart. She told Rick he wouldn't understand, and Rick said sarcastically that no, he wouldn't and walked off. Tears in his eyes, Jason told Courtney that they couldn't be together anymore. She demanded that he not give in to Sonny's orders, but Jason insisted that Sonny was correct, that it was in her best interest and told her goodbye.

At the penthouse, Carly demanded that Sonny retract his order for Jason to leave Courtney. Frustrated, she told Sonny he was wrecking Jason's life and stormed out. Courtney was rushing to check herself out of the hospital when Carly appeared there. Carly again tried to convince Courtney that Sonny was only doing what he thought was right, trying to protect her, but Courtney was furious and asked Carly to stop trying to talk her out of being with Jason. She explained that they loved each other and deserved to be together. Unable to argue with that, Carly told Courtney she should fight for Jason with everything she has. Courtney packed up and went to the penthouse to confront Sonny. She hollered at him for ordering Jason to break up with her, but Sonny told her that Jason made his own choices based on what was right, not what he told him to do. He told Courtney that if she loved Jason, she would let him go. Courtney blew up and accused Sonny of being selfish and controlling, acting only in his best interest. Although she insisted that she was not as young and innocent as he believed and that she had always taken care of herself, Sonny would not be swayed. Jason went to the loft to pack up his things. When he returned home, he could hear Courtney yelling at Sonny in the penthouse. He listened for a moment, then shook his head and took off on his motorcycle. Ric went to Sonny's penthouse and tried to say that Courtney and Jason would one day forgive him. Angered, Sonny told Rick he was a suck-up and to stop trying to get closer to Sonny that he was hired help to Sonny not a friend.

As Carly and Michael leave the Penthouse to go skating, Jason arrives and announces to Sonny that Jason is ready to get back to work. Sonny informs Jason about the fake shooting at the Speakeasy that was a warning from Faith and orders Jason to give Faith a warning that Sonny will retaliate if there are any more incidents like that. Courtney is surprised when Sonny stops by and announces to Courtney that he wants her to be happy and that he wants to give her a new life. Courtney snaps back that Courtney is not going to forget the man she loves in six months or a year just by moving somewhere else. Courtney demands to know if Sonny believes that no one else can love forever except Sonny. Sonny angrily warns Courtney that getting involved with Jason will ruin her life. But Courtney orders her brother to get out and stay out of her life!

Ric meets Carly at the Speakeasy. When Ric asks about Sonny's concerns for Jason, Carly orders Ric to keep his nose out of Sonny's personal business. Ric asks Carly why it is that Sonny believes that some people in his life, like Courtney, need to be protected, while others like Carly are expected to just tough it out. Carly admits that if Sonny had his way, Carly and Michael would be locked away on a desert island somewhere and boasts that Carly just wore Sonny down. Carly expresses her hope that Jason will one day find happiness. Later, Ric leaves the Speakeasy to talk to Sonny about colleges for Courtney. After Ric leaves, Jax drops by the Speakeasy and informs Carly that he plans to marry Brenda on Valentine's Day and strongly suggests that Carly find a way to keep Sonny occupied so that Sonny does not crash their wedding. At the same time, Brenda stops by Jason's Penthouse to invite Jason to the wedding. Not finding Jason at home, Brenda knocks on Sonny's door. Just as Sonny opens the door for Brenda, Ric comes up in the elevator, spots Brenda going inside Sonny's Penthouse, and leaves. Once inside Sonny's Penthouse, Brenda informs the Mob Boss that she is marrying Jax at the Port Charles Hotel on Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, Ric returns to the Speakeasy and, after Jax leaves, Ric 'lets slip' to Carly the news that Ric didn't get a chance to meet with Sonny because Sonny was occupied with Brenda when Ric stopped by the Penthouse.

Faith meets with Jason and dismisses her bodyguard while she speaks to Sonny's enforcer. Jason warns Faith that there will be no more trouble at Carly's Club or any other place in Sonny's territory. Jason warns Faith that one more show of disrespect and Sonny willstrike back with full force. But Faith retorts that full force is the way that Faith likes it. Jason warns Faith that if she does not back off, she will pay the price! Faith asks Jason if he would actually kill her. Jason suddenly grabs Faith and coldly states that he has nothing to lose, then turns her loose.

Sonny and Carly have a fight on the docks about hs insistence that Jason stay away from Courntney. Brenda watches as Carly tells Sonny off and storms off. Brenda comes down the stairs and asks if they fight like that all the time. She wants to know if he is happy because she is and it is because of him. She finally understands why he left her and what he must have gone through afterwards. "Thank you" she says and "goodbye". They kiss deeply as a stunned Carly just returning looks on in horror. Carly has left by this time, Sonny tells Brenda he wants his life with Carly, and he wants the best for Brenda even if it is a life with Jax. Sonny says he wanted to see if he could kiss her and still love Carly (guess the kiss on the island wasn't enough to figure that one out). Carly arrives at her club, sobbing.

Carly's club opening. Carly is upset and tells Courtney what she saw. Carly runs off in the middle of her opening. Jason and Sonny are both concerned when they realize she has disappeared. Sonny told Jason that something must be wrong for Carly to run off like she did. While they tried to figure out where she went, Courtney blasted Sonny for kissing Brenda and tells him that Carly saw them. Jason ordered the club closed and kicked everyone out and asked Courtney to leave so he could speak to Sonny alone. Very powerful scenes as Jason demands answers from Sonny. Sonny admitted to kissing Brenda, Jason criticized him for hurting Carly after Jason had reassured her over the years as to how much Sonny loved her. Sonny tells him that Carly misunderstood what she saw. Jason isn't buying it knowing Sonny's past feelings for Brenda. He tells Sonny that he gave over Carly and Michael (at one time Jason's family) to Sonny's care as he trusted him to care for them and not hurt them. Sonny insisted that he did love Carly, that he and Brenda were saying goodbye. Sonny left to find her while Jason remained at the club for her return. Checking back at the penthouse he ran into Brenda, who was waiting for Jason. They shared their misfortunes that had occurred since their kiss. Sonny empathized but explained that Carly was everything to him, and that he had to go find her and let her know. Carly stops in at Jake's for a drink. Faith's employee drugged her drink. As the drug took effect he attempted to leave with her but Rick showed up and made him leave. He took Carly to a hotel. He assures her he has called Jason to come get her. She passes out on the bed. Rick stroked her face and neck tenderly as she lay there completely unaware.

Sonny held a broken bottle against Ned's neck and demanded to know where Carly was. He backed off when Faith pulled a gun on him, but not before telling them he would kill them both if they had anything to do with Carly's disappearance. After Sonny left, Faith told Ned that she had ordered her employee to drug and rape Carly but Rick and interfered. Ned was furious and told her that move was suicidal. Carly was astonished to wake up in beside Rick in bed. She asked Rick what happened, and he said that she had thrown herself at him and he couldn't resist her advances. Enraged, Carly told Rick he took advantage of her and threatened that Sonny would kill him when he found out. Rick tried to coerce Carly into not telling Sonny, but Carly vowed to do just that. She dressed and went to the waterfront, where she phoned Jason to come meet her. Back at the penthouse, Jason was with Sonny when he got the call. On Sonny's demands, Jason told Sonny where Carly was so he could meet her himself. When he arrived, he told Carly that he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her, not Brenda. Carly yelled at Sonny not to lie to her, that she had seen him and Brenda with her own eyes and knew he still cared for her. Sonny pleads with Carly to believe that Carly is the only woman Sonny wants. Carly eventually accepts Sonny's version of events and they head back to the Penthouse together and hit the sheets. After Sonny goes to sleep, Carly flashes back to waking up with Ric in a motel room. When Sonny wakes up, the mob boss declares that he wants to take Carly down to the Speakeasy and enjoy Carly's fantastic new club. When Sonny and Carly arrive at The Speakeasy, Carly notices that Liz and Ric are already there. Carly tries to keep Sonny and Ric apart, but Ric comes over and apologizes to Carly, explaining that he left the Club earlier last night because he had a little project of his own to work on. Carly tells Ric not to worry about it! When Sonny leaves to take a phone call, Ric observes that Sonny and Carly have apparently made up and Carly informs Ric that Carly plans to stay mum about their little tryst at the Motel. Carly also warns Ric that if Sonny ever found out that Ric and Carly spent the night together, Sonny would kill Ric. After Carly leaves, Ric promises: "No complications from my end, at all!"

Jax has a run-in with Sonny on the docks. Sonny calls him a loser for humiliating Brenda at the altar after already tossing his wife aside for her. Jax blames Sonny for his failure to marry Brenda and accuses him of kissing Brenda to keep some hold on her. Jax threatens to take him down. Sonny tells him to try it and see what happens. Carly is uneasy around Ric while they are working at the club. Sonny shows up. Carly is happy to see him. Ric tries to get a job with him again as his attorney. Sonny doesn't like Ric's pushiness and tells him that he isn't interested in hiring him as his lawyer and that he works for Carly. After Sonny leaves, Ric suggests to Carly that she somehow persuade Sonny to accept his offer to work for him or maybe he will have to tell him about their night together. Carly tells him that if Sonny finds out about their night together, Ric will be a dead man and won't be able to run from him. Later, Sonny comes by the club again while Ric isn't there. Carly tells Sonny that he should give Ric a chance and hire him as his lawyer since Rick has done good things for them.

Sonny asks Carly why she is trying so hard to convince to hire Rick as his new attorney. Carly explains that Ric has been good to her as a friend and has helped her with her new club so much that she thinks he would be good for Sonny. Sonny asks her where Ric is so he can talk to him alone. Carly thinks Sonny is seriously going to consider hiring Ric as his lawyer. However, when Rick comes out to see Sonny, Sonny asks him what he has on his wife to get her to try so hard to persuade him to hire him. Rick tells him that he has nothing on her and that maybe Carly just wants what is best for him for an attorney. Sonny tells him he has no interest in hiring him as his attorney and that he doesn't care if Carly wants to do business with him as long as it is separate from his organization. While Ric and Carly discuss business, Sonny orders one of his men to do a more thorough and complete background check on Rick and explains why he is allowing Carly to do business with him. Meanwhile, Carly asks Ric to admit he is really blackmailing her into getting a door into Sonny's business. Ric denies he is blackmailing her and that keeping their secret is beneficial to both of them. Carly advises him to leave it alone and not try to push it with Sonny and that if Sonny finds out about their night together, Ric will be a dead man. Ric tells her to just keep things quiet and just not over-dramatize things which is how she got into this little mess with him to begin with. Later, Carly almost tells Sonny the truth about that night she spent with Ric that she doesn't really remember much of. Sonny's cell-phone interrupts them.

Courtney finishes her shift at Kelly's. As she is zipping her coat up outside of Kelly's, two thugs kidnap her and send her to a cabin in the woods and blindfold and tie her up. Jason gets a call notifying him that they have his "girlfriend". Later, he gets a call from Coleman, who uses a device to disguise his voice to tell him where Courtney is. Jason finds her at the cabin and unties her. He gives her is coat to warm up with and goes to search the area around the cabin. He comes back to inform her that the tracks lead away from the cabin toward the highway and that his tires were slashed and they can't get out of the woods right now. Jason and Courtney realize they have been set up to look like they planned this rendevousto be together. Sonny is also notified by Coleman, in a disguised voice that they are at a cabin together. It turns out Faith Roscoe was behind the whole set up.

Carly urged Sonny not to go after Jason and Courtney at the cabin, but Sonny was determined. Carly argued that perhaps it was not planned but a trap, making Sonny only more determined to go there. Carly insisted on going with him, but he would not allow it. At the cabin, Courtney asked Jason if he really had loved her. At first Jason resisted, but eventually he could not hide how he felt. Worn down, Jason admitted that he loved her and that being apart was killing him. They shared a tender kiss just as Sonny and his guards burst through the door. Sonny ordered the guards to go outside and check the grounds. Jason told him that Courtney had been kidnapped and that he received a mystery call telling him her whereabouts. Sonny yelled at Courtney, telling her that this was exactly why he wanted her away from Jason. He demanded to know why Courtney had not told him about Faith's threats. Jason came to her defense and reminded Sonny that Faith had created the situation, not Courtney. Sonny told Jason that he was going to get his sister killed. Jason took Courtney home to the apartment. She told him how much it meant to her for him to defend her to Sonny. Jason told her he needed something from her in return. Faith appeared at the Cellar. Carly told her to leave, but Faith lingered, taunting Carly about the growing rift between Jason and Sonny. Carly told Faith she knew she had arranged the whole scene. They exchanged insults until Carly lost patience and punched Faith. Zander and Gia walked in, and Zander pulled Carly away from Faith. After Faith left, Carly warned Zander that he would not survive if he helped Faith and Ned go after Sonny. Carly left, and Gia begged Zander not to get involved in a mob war. Zander insisted that he just worked for Ned and did not know his plans for Sonny.

At the Speakeasy, Sonny quizzes Carly about her altercation with Faith and then confides that Sonny believes that it was Faith who was responsible for Courtney's kidnapping. When Carly urges Sonny to leave Jason and Courtney alone to determine their own destinies, Sonny again voices his concerns for Courtney's safety. When Jason arrives at the Speakeasy, Carly quickly perceives that Jason has had some kind of argument with Courtney and Carly announces that she plans to visit Courtney to make sure Courtney is okay. After Carly leaves, Jason reports to Sonny that Jason encouraged Courtney to go away to college and forget about Jason and that Jason believes that Courtney finally understands that Jason will not be coming back to her. However, when Carly arrives at Courtney's apartment, Carly tells Courtney that Carly believes that Courtney should hang on to her love for Jason. Sonny confides to Jason that Sonny is convinced that Faith was behind Courtney's kidnapping and that Faith definitely does plan to use Courtney to get to Sonny. Jason angrily points out that he did tell Courtney to leave town and really can not guarantee what action Courtney will eventually decide to take. Sonny and Jason are interrupted when Ric arrives to announce that Scott arrested Alexis for Alcazar's murder. Sonny tells Ric that he appreciates the update, then orders Ric to leave. After Ric leaves, Jason wonders why Ric keeps taking Sonny's guff. But Sonny replies: "I have something he wants and, when I know what it is, I'll know how to proceed!" Sonny observes that Ric is a good lawyer almost as good as Alexis! Sonny tells Jason that he does not blame Alexis for whacking Alcazar. Carly rushes to Sonny with the news that Alexis has been arrested for Alcazar's murder! But Carly is surprised when Sonny reminds Carly that Alexis is a mother and now, the little girl that Sonny once believed was his daughter, is in the hospital with a mother who is on the way to prison!