JN #18 Prequel 6/3/08 - 10/27/09
JN #18A 10/27 - 12/17/09
JN #18B 12/17/09 - 3/9/10

John & Natalie #18 June 3, 2008 - March 9, 2010: 12 hours on 3 dvds

PREQUEL DVD #18 6/3/08 As Dorian outed Jared as a fraud at the Buchanan Enterprises shareholders' meeting, the auditorium at the Palace erupted into hubbub and chaos. Jared and Natalie sat in silence, looking ill. Dorian explained that Jared was an imposter who came to Llanview with one goal, to infiltrate BE, and he succeeded. As she questioned whether or not the other board members knew, Clint and Bo whispered amongst themselves about Dorian's bombshell, with Bo admitting he had never trusted Jared, though Clint said he'd started to.

Dorian told the assembled guests that even if the BE board did not know about Jared's true identity, they were at least guilty of "gross mismanagement," and as such, the number one question for the shareholders was: "Are my shares safe?" In the audience, Lindsay and Nora were dumbstruck, leading Nora to mutter that Dorian was "pulling all of this out of her…hat."

Natalie rose to defend Jared, calling him a "terrific executive," and Jessica followed suit, saying that Jared was as much a Buchanan as she. Dorian cracked that Jessica should hope not, otherwise "your sister is sleeping with her uncle." Jessica stared at Natalie in shock, begging her to deny it. The press swarmed towards the dazed Natalie with questions, and Jared shooed them away and took her into his arms, helping her back into her seat. "My God, it's true," Jessica realized. Dorian insisted to the crowd that she took no personal pleasure from revealing the secret, and excoriated Natalie for letting an imposter fleece her own family.

Clint and Bo struggled to get Dorian escorted out by security, but Malcolm, Nash's investor, rose, and asked that she stay, insisting that the other shareholders had a right to hear the whole truth. The rest of the crowd agreed.

Inside the auditorium, Clint spoke up, telling the crowd that Dorian was a known liar and nothing was proven. Dorian replied that she could prove her allegations, and produced Pamela Stuart, who walked in and took the podium, sorrowfully explaining her part in the fraud. She apologized to the Buchanans, and said that she was very fond of Jared. Pamela claimed that Asa would be proud of a son like Jared, and said that she'd been close to Jared's mother, Valerie.

When she mentioned Jared's real father, Charlie Banks, Dorian announced to the audience that they might know Charlie Banks as Charlie Balsom. The Buchanans were again shocked, and Jessica demanded Jared speak up and explain himself, but Natalie told him to stay quiet.

Clint and Bo tried to take command of the situation, insisting that they had no knowledge of any fraud and that there would be a full investigation. Clint said that regardless of Jared's paternity he was a good executive, and any wrongdoing had nothing to do with Buchanan Enterprises' corporate bottom line. "Au contraire," Dorian shot back. She explained to the audience that BE's board had to be explicitly made up of only family members, and Jared's presence on the board was a violation of the charter, rendering all contracts or deals entered into during his tenure null and void.

Dorian added that according to the Securities & Exchange Commission, that made BE liable, and that all the deals Clint and Bo had made with their various would-be takeover bidders, like Virgil Webster or Walter Honeycutt, were now void as well. Lindsay asked Dorian if that meant Webster and Honeycutt owned BE. "No," Dorian said, then coldly intoned, "I own BE." As she took Asa's portrait down from behind the dais, Bo countered that the family still owned a large number of shares.

Dorian replied that she had fifty-one percent, having quietly bought the shares up through a dummy corporation. She said she had also made an agreement to acquire Honeycutt and Webster's shares in the event that their deals with Clint were rendered void, and as they were, she now owned theirs too. The shareholders in the audience were outraged and angry, unwilling to listen to Clint and Bo's excuses. Dorian stepped down from the podium and handed Clint a compact disc detailing her takeover. "The king is dead," she told him. "Long live the queen."

As the press and the shareholders filed out, Clint confronted Jared and Natalie, who were sitting alone and miserable in their seats. Jared confessed that everything Dorian and Pamela had said was true, and said he had idolized Asa. He regretted costing the family what he had admired so greatly, the business. Jared said he was very ashamed and very sorry, and that it was all his fault. Trying to keep a modicum of dignity, he rose from his seat and quietly walked out of the room.

Jessica turned on Natalie, furious at the realization that she knew the truth all along. Natalie said she hadn't at first, and then added, in a broken, lost voice, "Don't you understand? I love him." Natalie then ran off after Jared. The forbidden lovers met up at a balcony skylight high above the auditorium and embraced.

Up in the balcony, Jared and Natalie embraced. Natalie assured him that the Buchanans would come to understand and said she'd always be in his corner. They kissed, just in time for Nash to race in and punch Jared out, with Jessica hot on his heels. Nash said he'd always known Jared was a fraud and that he'd lost his vineyard because of Jared.

Unwilling to listen to Jared's apologies, Nash turned his fury on Natalie. Nash raged at her, getting in her face and calling her a "dirty little tramp" who had taken away her sister's home. Jared shoved Nash away from Natalie, and Nash went sprawling against the railing by the skylight, then tripped and fell all the way over, shattering the glass and falling down into the auditorium as Jessica and Natalie screamed.

6/4 Nash threw a punch at Jared. When Jared pushed Nash off of him, Nash stumbled backwards and fell over a balcony. Nash crashed through a plate glass ceiling and landed in a bloody heap on the lower level. Jessica screamed and rushed to her unconscious husband's side. When the paramedics arrived, they found a weak pulse and determined that Nash was breathing. They decided to do a "scoop and run" because time was of the essence.

Jessica and her family arrived at the hospital with Nash, who remained in critical condition. Clint, Natalie, and Sarah filled Viki in on what had happened during and after the shareholders meeting. Viki was stunned when Natalie confessed that she was in love with Jared. Michael stepped out of Nash's room to give Jessica and her family an update about Nash's condition. He had the grim task of telling them that Nash's injuries were too grave for him to survive surgery. He advised everyone to say their goodbyes to Nash. Jessica began sobbing hysterically.

6/5 Natalie cried, too, as she told Jared that Nash was dying. They agreed that they both wanted to see him. As Nat and Jared approached Nash's room, they were stopped by Bo, who thought that Nat should see him alone. She abruptly told him that if she thought that was a good idea she would have done so. Bo stepped aside and let them through. Nat apologized to Nash and told him he had proven her wrong. She promised to always take care of Jess and Bree. Jared indicated that he would spend the rest of his life making it up and that Nash was a "real gentleman," a true compliment by his father's standards. He added that he wished he could have been more like Nash. "Out," Nash murmured.

Jess arrived and glared at Nat and Jared as they emerged from Nash's room. Nat offered to get Bree but her offer was turned down. Clint asked Jared to leave, indicating that the family wanted privacy. Everyone ignored Nat as she explained that she had to take Jared into the room with her to apologize. She reiterated that it had been an accident as an incensed Clint pointed out that their lying had put the entire thing into motion. Nat lit candles in the hospital chapel as she sobbed. Jess sobbed as Nash drew his final breath.

1/8/09 John arrived at the cafe and learned from Roxy that Marty was seen at the Palace and had left with a man on a motorcycle. Roxy had thought it was John who was having such a good time with Marty the night before. He tells her that she was mistaken, that he wasn’t with Marty. John questioned others at the café.

7/27 At the Buchanan Lodge in preparation for wedding festivities, Natalie noticed a picture of Jessica and Nash. Moments later, someone entered the hall and picked up the picture. The Buchanan clan gathered together and Natalie made a toast to her parents and their fiancés (Vicky is marrying Bo, and Clint is marrying Nora!). As Natalie declared that their lives would be filled with light, darkness struck the entire cabin. While Charlie and Jared checked the circuit breaker, everyone else searched for candles.

Jessica entered the hall and felt a presence. She called out, "Who's there?" There was no answer. Jessica was suspicious when she noticed the photo of her and Nash facedown on the table. Outside, Jessica saw a figure and called out to Nash.

7/28 At the Buchanan lodge, Natalie tried to persuade the power company to fix their power outage. According to the power company, no one else on their grid had reported an outage. Frustrated, Natalie abruptly ended the call. Brody walked up moments later to ask where Jessica was?

In the woods, Jessica spotted someone she presumed was Nash. Jessica called out as she tried to follow the man, but he did not respond. Within moments she lost track of the person. When Brody approached, Jessica told him what she had seen. Brody reminded Jessica that Nash was dead. Jessica assured Brody that she was aware of her husband's demise. Brody decided to take a look around the woods to see if he could unravel the mystery. Unfortunately for Brody, he didn't find anything to suggest that Nash, or anyone else, had recently been through the woods. An unknown person stood outside of the lodge, watching as everyone hugged, kissed, and toasted to the happy couples.

7/30 At Llanfair, Bree rolled a ball out through the library door and followed it out to the patio. An unseen man picked it up and also handed her a stuffed animal, an elephant. Showing her mom, she told Jessica that her daddy had given her the toy. Jessica peered out the door warily, but was annoyed and yelled at Bree to tell the truth. Natalie stopped Jessica and agreed to take the little girl to the church with her. She admitted that the toy did not look familiar to her. Jessica placed a phone call to Brody.

Brody arrived to find a frantic Jessica exclaiming that Nash had been there. He was the one who always gave his daughter elephants and Bree had just received another one from him. Brody searched the grounds but came up empty. He figured that perhaps someone had given Bree the toy previously. He felt that Jessica was still upset from the incident at the lodge and had much in her life to cause her to feel stressed. He suggested that she speak to Dr. Levin at St. Ann's. As they spoke, someone was watching from outside. Citing the need to get to the church, Jessica and Brody were poised to leave. Suddenly, Jessica spotted a bouncing ball outside and a glimpse of a stranger.

7/31 At Llanfair, Jessica noticed a figure standing on the lawn and called out, "Please don't go!" Stay and talk to me, Nash! What do you want?" As Jessica begged the image to answer her, Brody emerged and questioned what was going on. When Jessica related that she saw Nash, Brody became concerned. Realizing that Brody didn't see the figure, Jessica became convinced that she was hallucinating.

Brody offered to call Dr. Levin, but Natalie phoned and interrupted the conversation. After hanging up with Natalie, Jessica told Brody that she had to meet her mother and sister at the Buchanan Mansion. After Brody has left the room, Jessica looks out toward the patio and sees a heart drawn on the window pane.

8/3 At the church, Jessica mentioned to Natalie that she planned to light a candle for Nash. Realizing that Natalie was still consumed with guilt, Jessica told Natalie that she didn't blame her for Nash's death. Jessica was adamant that Nash's death was an accident and that no one was responsible.

Meanwhile, someone approached Nash's grave. The unknown person bent down and touched Nash's headstone.The unknown person kneeled at the grave and held a news article that detailed his death at Jared's hands. In anger, the unknown person balled up the news clip.

8/12 At Buchanan Enterprises, someone watched as Jared walked down the corridor and into his office. Inside, Jared found Natalie perched on his desk in a sexy black business suit. Unbuttoning her jacket, Mrs. Banks told her husband that he'd been working late too much, and she'd been compelled to return to work earlier than expected in order to drag him home. "Why wait to go home?" Jared asked, taking Natalie in his arms and kissing her. As the couple began to make love atop Jared's desk, the mysterious stranger outside left a package for "Jared and Natalie Banks" at the receptionist's station.

After making love, Jared and Natalie got dressed and began to clean up. As Natalie prepared to leave, they noticed the package in the hallway. Opening it, they discovered a DVD, and returned to Jared's office to play it on his laptop. The DVD began to display still images of Nash, and the accident at the Buchanan Enterprises shareholders' meeting one year before. Jared and Natalie were horrified as they stared at images of Nash falling, laying on the Palace floor, and dying in his hospital bed.

Jared rushed out of his office to look for the mailroom clerk, only to see the clerk hurrying away. He called security. When the security officer arrived, he told Jared and Natalie that the mail clerk had been gone for hours. Jared protested that whoever had left the package for them had only been there after his secretary had gone for the night. He requested security camera footage of the building, and asked for the package to be examined.

Back in Jared's office, Jared and Natalie wondered who would torment them with the DVD. "I have an idea," Jared said glumly, and reminded Natalie that Jessica had been acting strangely. Natalie insisted that Jess was integrated, and it couldn't be her. Jared agreed that whoever had delivered the package had to also have been the culprit.

8/19 Jared and Natalie showed Clint the DVD they had mysteriously received showing Nash's death. Bursting into the room where Clint, Natalie, and Jared were deep in conversation, David turned his sights on Jared and Natalie. Facing the camera to narrate, full of explanations for his audience, he commenced. "Cousin Natalie, former trailer trash and a pool hall hustler, and now the dainty flower of Buchanan house. Like Natalie, I came to the Buchanan family picnic late," David added.

As Jared pushed David away, calling him a freak, David spoke to his audience again. "Speaking of freaks..." he pointed to Jared. David commented on the man who posed as Natalie's uncle and was someone who could be violent, pushing Natalie's sister's husband to his death. Markko continued to film in his new role and part-time job as cameraman.

Returning to the room, Clint yelled that everyone knew that Nash's death had been an accident. Suddenly, Clint had a thought and wondered out loud if David had been the one to send the DVD with pictures. Natalie found it strange that the pictures had turned up the same day as David. As David began to pursue a new angle, Jared pushed David, and Clint punched David in the face. Landing on the floor, David remembered to turn to the camera. "And that's how we roll. We're the real Buchanans of Llantano County."

Clint advised Jared and Natalie to warn Jessica about the existence of the recently received pictures. Natalie and Jared rushed into Rodi's to see Jessica, but Brody informed them that she had gone to Bree's school. He asked them if they had noticed anything strange at Llanfair. He was of the opinion that Jessica had a stalker, he advised them. Jared and Natalie mentioned there was a picture of someone on the security camera taken at Buchanan Enterprises.

8/20 At Rodi's, Brody told Jared and Natalie that the mystery man from the Buchanan Enterprises surveillance tape looked like Nash. Jared and Natalie helpfully reminded him that the man couldn't be Nash, who was still quite dead. Brody countered that it was someone pretending to be Nash, trying to make them believe they were being haunted by a dead man. He told them that the same man was after Jessica, and had been stalking her for weeks.

As Brody explained Jessica's "Nash sightings," Jared grew alarmed, "I don't want to end up locked in the basement again!" Brody said Jessica wasn't stalking herself, and that he'd found physical evidence to back up her claims. The trio racked their brains to come up with a suspect. Brody suggested Nash's parents, who would have reason to be angry with Jessica, Jared, and Natalie. Natalie didn't believe the Brennans could be so cruel, and said it had to be someone else.

9/8Vicki’s Mayoral Debate. At the Palace Hotel, David tried to capitalize on his friendship with Viki by featuring her in his reality show. Viki wasn't interested in David's proposition especially when he made it clear that he would endorse the winner of the debate, not necessarily Viki.

When Stanley Lowell arrived, Dorian announced that she was confident that he would prevail in the debate. As everyone sat down, Dorian turned to David to confide that she would always love David. David was eager for Dorian to repeat her declaration of love to his camera crew, but Dorian refused to cooperate. Stanley offered Viki a concession if she lost the election; he promised to hire Viki as a secretary. Viki smiled as she informed Stanley that if he lost the election, she would respect the wishes of their constituents by making certain that Stanley stayed out of the political arena.

Mayor Lowell won the coin toss, so he addressed the crowd first. Stanley promised that, after he was re-elected, his first order of business would be to clean up the police department. Stanley intended to start by firing Bo as the police commissioner. David took exception to his father being on the mayor's chopping block. Stanley ignored David to focus his attack on Viki.

Stanley reminded everyone that Viki had suffered from dissociative identity disorder and that her alter personalities had committed a slew of crimes. Dorian added that Viki's brother was also a criminal. Viki focused on the mayor rather than on defending herself. She reminded the crowd that the mayor had hired Lee Ramsey and then he had fired John McBain, a highly decorated police officer.

As if conjured by Viki, John and Fish arrived at the debate. The crowd noticed John's presence immediately. People whispered as they speculated about why John was at the debate. Stanley used the opportunity to go on a tirade about John. John simply smiled at the mayor until Stanley ran out of steam. With a look of pure satisfaction, John announced that the mayor was under arrest.

As the crowd gasped in astonishment, Stanley professed his innocence. Stanley claimed that he was being falsely accused. John turned to Fish to instruct him to play the recording. Moments later, the mayor's voice boomed over the speaker system as he ordered the murder of Cole Thornheart in the event that there was a possibility that Cole could "rat" Stanley out to the police.

Stanley warned John that no one would testify against him. Stanley smugly concluded that Cole was probably "seeing the light" as they spoke. After Stanley was carted away, John called to check on Cole. Cole admitted that he was worried about Starr because he had not been able to reach her. John decided that he would stop by La Boulaie to check on Starr and Hope. After John left, Viki's family gathered around her. They realized that her victory was nearly a fait accompli because of the mayor's arrest. Meanwhile, Dorian did her best to downplay the mayor's latest scandal.

9/17 Jared, Natalie, and Clint, wondering if the unknown stalker was still around, were startled when another package addressed to Jared and Natalie was delivered at Buchanan Enterprises. After company security had perused the package, Jerome the security officer advised them that it was safe to open. It was another DVD, which Natalie promptly placed into the computer. A male, with distorted voice and shadowed face, accused Natalie and Jared of murdering Nash Brennan, and promised to make them pay for it.

Jerome admitted that previous holes in the company's security system had been closed up, but they still were unaware of how the latest package was delivered sight unseen. He promised that surveillance cameras would be checked further. He thought that the stalker was a threat. Natalie felt obligated to see Jessica in person at the hospital to fill her in on the latest goings-on. Jared felt uncomfortable letting her go out alone, but Natalie promised to keep Jared informed on her every move. After Natalie left, Jared went to his office. He closed the door and headed to his desk. Someone jumped him from behind!

9/18 Inside Brody's hospital room, Natalie paid Brody and Jessica a visit. Realizing that her sister was withholding information, Jessica insisted that Natalie explain what was going on. As Natalie began to warn Jessica and Brody about the threatening letter, Jared stumbled into the room, badly beaten. Jared informed them that the stalker had attacked him at Buchanan Enterprises after Natalie had left the office. Jared explained that he hadn't seen the face of his attacker.

Brody wondered who the stalker would target next, and suggested that they turn the matter over to the police. Everyone agreed that Bo and John should be notified. When Jessica worried that the attacker might abduct one of them, Brody and Jared vowed that situation would never occur. Meanwhile, an unknown person observed them through the hospital room window.

9/22 At the hospital, John questioned Brody and Jessica about the stalker. Jessica admitted that she had assumed that someone was out to get revenge for Nash's death. She didn't understand how anyone could blame Jared and Natalie for what had happened to Nash when Jessica no longer believed that they were responsible for the tragedy. Brody admitted that he had suspected Nash's parents of stalking Jessica, but he had cleared them of any wrongdoing.

Jared and Natalie were not happy when Kyle entered Jared's room to examine him. Kyle explained that he was a sub-intern; he wouldn't be a doctor until he had completed medical school, but he was qualified to check Jared's injuries. Jared was eager to leave the hospital, so he agreed to allow Kyle to examine him.

In the hallway, John updated Oliver on Jared's attack. He wanted Oliver to take Jared's clothes in for testing in the hopes of finding a clue to help identify the person who had attacked Jared.

John questioned Jared about the attack. Jared gave a vague description of his assailant. According to Jared, the man had been approximately six feet tall and he had worn some kind of hat. Jared claimed that he hadn't gotten a clear view of the man's face because he'd been surprised by the attack. When John asked Jared to go over the story again, Natalie put her foot down.

Natalie explained that Jared needed to have a CT scan; she insisted that Jared had answered all of John's questions to the best of his ability. The rest of John's questions would have to wait. After John left, Jared observed that John had gotten under Natalie's skin. Natalie admitted that she didn't appreciate John's attitude. Jared defended John, claiming that he'd just been doing his job. Natalie was too rattled by the attack. She didn't know what she would do without Jared.

9/24 Natalie visited the scene of the crime at Buchanan Enterprises and was startled when John appeared at the door. He advised her that his department had collected all of the evidence related to the attack on Jared and apologized for questioning Jared so soon after the attack. He explained that it was important to conduct the interview while things were still fresh in Jared's mind. John revealed that something had been found on the security tapes and he was going to view them.

John placed the DVD on the computer and Natalie gasped as she and John witnessed the attacker jumping Jared from behind. As the men struggled, they were suddenly out of view and then the camera went off. John explained that the camera was in a spot hardly noticeable and that it would have been difficult for someone to have broken it. He figured that the perpetrator had to have known about the camera and that it would have been an inside job. As the attacker had not been seen entering or leaving the building, it would have been someone who had changed clothes after arriving, he summarized.

Natalie was certain that Jared would have recognized his attacker if it had been someone employed at B.E. "You would think," John replied. Going into attack mode, Natalie demanded to know what John was implying. He quickly assured her that he wasn't implying anything and was trying to look at the incident from many angles. He thought it was possible that someone held a grudge against Jared o,r perhaps it was someone from Jared's past, maybe someone he had done time with. Annoyed, Natalie accused John of thinking that Jared was a suspect and advised him that he needed to look for a real one.

While John denied thinking that Jared was a suspect, the expression on his face told otherwise. In the meantime, Jared, newly arrived at B.E., overheard the conversation between his wife and her former boyfriend. "So, you really think I'm stalking Natalie's sister?" he wanted to know.

John agreed that Jared had no motive and was the victim. Walking out, John stopped to ask Jared if he knew how the camera might have been broken. Jared assured him he had no idea. Once John was gone, Natalie worriedly told her husband that John was looking into Jared's background. She also believed that John suspected Jared of being involved in his own attack. An unconcerned Jared reassured his wife that he wasn't worried.

9/25 At Llanfair, Jessica and Natalie cared for their injured loved ones. Fearing that the stalker might attack Jessica or Natalie, Brody and Jared insisted that the girls remain by their sides. When Jessica commented that John would uncover the identity of the stalker, Natalie appeared bothered as she recalled John's interrogation of Jared.

Later, as Natalie and Jessica prepared snacks for the men, Jared questioned Brody about the police investigation. Citing that Brody was a member of the Llanview Police Department, Jared wondered if John had confided any details to Brody about the stalker case. Reminding Jared that he was only a cadet, Brody doubted that John would give him any specifics because he was directly involved in the case. Jared told Brody that he didn't like the fact the John, Natalie's ex, was in charge of the investigation. Brody assured Jared that Bo and John were the best cops to head up the investigation.

Meanwhile, Natalie revealed to Jessica that John suspected that Jared might be the stalker. Natalie pleaded with her sister not to believe John's accusations. Refusing to believe that Jared could be involved, Jessica promised to defend Jared to John. As Jared and Brody discussed John's efforts, Natalie and Jessica returned and asked to be involved in the conversation. When Brody mentioned that it was known around the police station that John McBain always got his man, Natalie and Jessica exchanged terrified glances.

John asked Fish to give him some insight on Jared's attacker. After researching Jared's forensic file, Fish informed John that forensics had been unable to discover any DNA or foreign fibers on Jared's clothing. Relating that the findings were startling, Fish wondered if John considered Jared a suspect. John was adamant that if Jared was involved in a brawl, the attacker should have left fibers on Jared's clothing. Admitting that the forensic report didn't make any sense, John stated,"It's too early for a theory on Banks, or anybody else!"

9/30 From the Buchanan mansion, Clint called John at the police station and asked him for an update on the stalker case. As he examined his file on Jared on his computer, John said he was working on it and hoped to have news soon.

At Llanfair, Jared and Brody were chafing under "house arrest," courtesy of Natalie and Jessica, who refused to let them exert themselves during their recoveries. Jessica stopped Brody at the door as he tried to escape to the gym, and said he wouldn't be going anywhere until his stitches were taken out. In the living room, Natalie told Jared he wasn't going anywhere until she said so. Jared was turned on by her take-charge attitude, and kissed her passionately.

As Natalie and Jessica headed for the kitchen to make breakfast, Jared answered a call on his phone. He spoke in hushed tones, and warned the person on the other end never to call him at home. Brody entered the living room just as Jared finished his call. Jared covered his tracks by claiming that it had been someone from Buchanan Enterprises. Brody was unconvinced. Jessica returned with breakfast on a tray. She teased the men about fortifying themselves in case of another run-in with trouble. Jared played down his assault, and said he'd just been a victim, not a hero like Brody.

In the foyer, Natalie answered the door to find John, who said he had some more questions. Natalie bristled, but John assured her that he wanted to question everyone, not just Jared. Natalie led John into the living room, where John asked the couples to recount the stalking incidents for him from the beginning. Jessica explained what had happened at the lodge the night before Clint and Nora's wedding, and mentioned that she'd had another incident, a false alarm, where she'd found David's producer, Ford, on the patio outside Llanfair.

As Jessica reviewed the chain of events, Jared looked increasingly uncomfortable. John asked about each of the foursome's whereabouts during the incidents. He noted that Jared was with Charlie on both the night before and the morning of the double wedding, calling Jared's father his alibi. Natalie blew up, accusing John of railroading Jared. John said he had no choice but to ask his questions.

As the argument continued, Jared's phone began to vibrate again, unnoticed by the others; he ignored it. Natalie told John that Jared couldn't have been the stalker, and Jessica agreed. John said he only wanted to figure out why Jared was the one who'd been assaulted at Buchanan Enterprises. He thanked the family for their time, and told them to enjoy their breakfast. Irate, Natalie warned him to call the next time he wanted to pay them a visit.

As John left, Brody followed him into the foyer, claiming he wanted to talk about the drug bust. Once they were alone, Brody informed John that Jared had been asking questions about the case, and had just taken a suspicious-sounding call on his phone. John said he couldn't get access to Jared's phone records without a warrant and just cause. Brody said he'd try to get his hands on the phone. "Watch your back," John cautioned.

In the living room, Natalie was still upset about John's focus on Jared. Jared defended the detective, and said John had no choice but to ask the tough questions. As he hugged her, his phone vibrated yet again.

At the police station, David quickly exited, but not before handing the trio "Dorian Lord for mayor" buttons and loudly promising never to use the embarrassing family footage against them. As Clint slammed the office door in David's face, John walked back into the lobby. Having overheard David's comments about embarrassing footage of Clint and Jessica, John asked David about his DVD, and the incident with Jessica and Ford. David said he'd be willing to part with the second disc for a fee, but John grabbed it and told David to get lost. Moaning about John's lack of respect, David left.

At the station, John watched David's DVD, examining the footage of Jessica's run-in with Ford on the patio outside Llanfair. As Ford and his camera dashed through the bushes, John caught sight of someone else standing unnoticed beside the French doors. He zoomed in on the image, revealing a mysterious man lurking on the periphery.

Back at Llanfair, an anxious Jared hurried upstairs and dialed a number. In the living room, Brody was lost in thought as Jessica comforted an agitated Natalie. Jessica reminded Natalie that for Jared to be the stalker, he would have had to be in two places at once.

Just then, the mysterious man from David's DVD appeared on the patio, watching Brody and the girls. He answered his phone; Jared was on the other end. Jared told the man that he couldn't have spoken to him while he was with the others. "I've got them in my sights," the stalker said, gazing at Jessica and Natalie.

10/1 As the presumed stalker, who was lingering outside of the study at Llanfair, focused on Natalie and Jessica, Jared headed off to take a shower. Stealthily, Brody headed for Jared's bedroom and, hearing Jared's running water, he picked up Jared's phone that was laying on the bed. He quickly scanned Jared's latest calls. He found several from an unknown caller, but as the water stopped, he tossed the phone back onto the bed and fled. Entering from the bathroom, Jared curiously picked up his phone and looked around.

Downstairs, the stalker appeared ready to make his move, but Brody returned to the girls in the study. Natalie received a call from John, advising her that he was on his way over. Jared headed into the study and asked his wife if she had been upstairs, since he thought he heard her voice. Natalie assured him that she hadn't been there. John arrived with his enhanced picture of the stalker and passed it around to everyone.

Jessica thought it might have been the person she saw in the yard, but she wasn't sure. John explained that the photo was courtesy of David Vickers and his filming crew. John asked if he would be able to show the photo to Bree and, while Jessica was okay with it, Natalie put up a fuss. After reconsidering, Natalie agreed, thinking that it would get John off of Jared's back.

"Daddy," Bree called out after being shown the photo. She told John that it was the same man who had given her the stuffed elephant. Natalie advised John that he had his stalker and would be able to leave Jared alone. Outside, the stalker kept watch. He advised an unknown party on the phone that he had lost his chance, but would get another one. Natalie grilled Jared about the stalker's photo but Jared insisted that he had no idea of who the man was and said he had never seen the man at Buchanan Enterprises.

Back at the police station, John received information from an FBI friend on the stalker's identity. The man had done prison time in the same place as Jared and at the same time. Brody arrived and told John what he had seen on Jared's phone.

10/2 At Llanfair, Natalie questioned whether Jared was certain that he had never seen the stalker before. Reminding Jared that John was convinced that the culprit had once worked at Buchanan Enterprises, Natalie thought it was surprising that Jared didn't recognize the suspect. A look of suspicion crossed Natalie's face. While Jared continued to deny knowing the stalker, Jessica entered and the couple ended the conversation.

Inside John's office, John informed Brody that Jared and the stalker had served time in prison together. Convinced that Jared knew his attacker, Brody questioned how John intended to proceed with the case. Relating that he hadn't determined if Jared actually knew his attacker, John told Brody that he wanted to include someone else in the investigation.

While Jessica spoke with Natalie and Jared, Brody phoned and asked Jessica to meet him at the police station. Jessica grew nervous when Brody insisted that she not reveal where she was going to Natalie or Jared. After hanging up with Brody, Jessica quickly made up an excuse to leave. Once Jessica had left, a suspicious Natalie informed Jared that Jessica had lied to them. Natalie began to question if John had enlisted Brody's help in searching for the stalker.

Certain that Natalie's was worried about John's suspicion of him, Jared assured Natalie that John couldn't hurt him because he was innocent. As Jared tried to ease Natalie's anxiety, he received a mysterious call. Answering the call, Jared screamed into the phone, "I'll have to call you back!" After lying about the identity of the caller, Jared informed Natalie that he was taking her on a special date, and insisted that she get ready for a night of fun. As Natalie left to prepare for the date, Jared received a text message that read, "I'm on the terrace."

Jessica arrived at the police station and was shocked to learn of Jared's possible connection to the stalker. Jessica couldn't believe that Jared would ever want to cause harm to Natalie and her family. Recalling that Tess was responsible for Jared's stint in prison, Jessica wondered if Jared was actually using Natalie to seek revenge against Jessica. Jessica wondered if Natalie was in danger.

Once Natalie was dressed and ready for their date, she searched downstairs for Jared. As Natalie approached the terrace, a sudden fear struck her. Opening the terrace doors, Natalie discovered Jared kneeling over the bloody, motionless body of the alleged stalker.

10/5 Inside John's office, Brody and John shared their suspicions about Jared with Jessica. John and Brody were convinced that Jared was in cahoots with the stalker. John admitted that he was concerned about Natalie's safety. Jessica argued that Jared would never manipulate Natalie, but Brody believed that Jared's plan was to convince everyone that he was a victim. Jessica became alarmed when John stated that he had no idea of what Jared's next move would be.

When Jessica continued to question Jared's possible motive, John explained that the stalker was a man named Wayne Landers, who was released from Statesville Prison. That release coincided with Jessica's first sighting of Nash. Reminding Brody that Jared was his friend, Jessica wondered if Brody was convinced of Jared's guilt. Admitting that he didn't have all the answers, Brody informed Jessica that Jared had been behaving suspiciously. Terrified for her sister's safety, Jessica rushed off to alert Natalie. Instructing Brody to stick close to Jessica and Natalie, John asked Brody to observe Jared's reaction to the news that Jared and the stalker had been prison mates. Brody rushed off to catch up with Jessica.

On the terrace at Llanfair, a frightened Natalie observed Jared kneeling over the dead body of the stalker. Jared claimed that he had discovered the body moments before Natalie's arrival. Picking up a cement plaster a few feet away from the body, Jared said he believed the plaster was the murder weapon. Natalie shrieked, "Jared, why did you pick that up?" Jared screamed, "I don't know what I was thinking!"

Jared wondered if Natalie thought he was guilty. Admitting that his actions looked suspicious, Natalie related that she believed her husband, but worried that John wouldn't because Jared's fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Natalie attempted to phone the police, but Jared suggested that they come up with an alternate plan. Natalie convinced Jared that their only hope was to contact the police. The thought of John discovering the dead body, sent Jared into a panic, but Natalie advised him that she intended to go over John's head.

As Natalie and Jared waited for Bo to arrive at Llanfair, Jessica and Brody returned home. When Jessica asked for a moment alone with her sister, Natalie made up an excuse to stick by Jared's side. Meanwhile, Jared panicked when Brody headed for the terrace. Jessica and Brody were shocked to discover the stalker's dead body on the terrace. As Natalie and Jared attempted to explain, Bo arrived. Brody slipped away and phoned John.

While Bo questioned Jared, Natalie became enraged when John arrived at Llanfair. John asked Jared if he could identify the murder victim. A stunned Jared claimed that he had never met the individual. Informing everyone that Jared and Wayne Landers had spent time in prison together, John retrieved the stalker's cell phone. John phoned the last number that the stalker had dialed. A look of shock crossed everyone's face as Jared's cell phone rang.

10/6 John asked Oliver to meet him at Llanfair. At Llanfair, John hit the redial button on the dead man's cell phone. To everyone's surprise, Jared's cell phone rang. John and Bo questioned why the stalker had called Jared. Jared assured Natalie that things were not as they appeared. John wanted to rule Jared out as a suspect, but he needed answers. Natalie leapt to Jared's defense, claiming that her husband was not a murderer.

Bo and John asked Jared to walk them through the events of the day. Jared maintained that he'd never had contact with the stalker until he had found the man, dead. John wondered why the stalker had text messaged Jared to meet him on the terrace. Jessica suggested that Jared contact a lawyer, but Natalie refused to consider it. She declared that her husband was innocent.

When Bo and John wondered if they would find Jared's fingerprints on the murder weapon, Jared revealed that they would. According to Jared, he had picked up the murder weapon after he had discovered the body. Natalie confirmed Jared's story. John admitted that things looked bleak for Jared.

As everyone entered the living room, Oliver arrived. John asked Oliver to collect Jared's computer as evidence. Jared strongly objected to the computer being removed; he insisted that there was sensitive business information on the hard drive. Bo didn't think that Clint would have a problem with him searching the computer for possible evidence that might exonerate Jared. John offered a compromise; he suggested that Oliver check the computer on the premises.

Oliver went to work and within a short time found numerous electronic bank receipts that confirmed money transfers from Jared Banks to Wayne Landers, the dead stalker. Jared claimed that he had been set up. John and Bo decided to arrest Jared. Jared begged Natalie to believe him and then warned her to be on guard. Natalie vowed that she would get Jared out of the mess that he was in.

10/7 At the police station, Viki and Charlie watched with concern outside the interview room containing John and Jared. Viki reassured him that Jared would be fine, but Charlie wasn't convinced. He asked Viki if she knew that Jared was completely innocent, and confessed that he wasn't sure. He wondered if Jared had gotten in over his head with something and was being blackmailed.

Inside the interview room, John went through the facts of the case with the exhausted Jared. John asked Jared to give him something, anything to clear his name. Jared insisted that he knew nothing and was completely innocent. He claimed that he hadn't known Wayne Landers in prison, hadn't paid or communicated with him in any way, and was being framed. John was skeptical.

Jared laughed, and said he was beginning to agree with Natalie that John had it in for him. He accused John of still loving Jared's wife and wanting her for himself. John said he'd always care about Natalie, and since Jared was unable to account for the evidence against him, John had begun to worry that she'd married a homicidal scam artist. He said that he wanted to help Jared, and that he knew Jared knew more than he was saying. He asked Jared to level with him, but Jared said that he wanted his lawyer.

John received a call from the crime lab, and told Jared to reconsider his statement. He explained that the lab had found email correspondence between Jared and Landers on Jared's computer, discussing their stalking of Jessica and faking the kidnapping attempt at Buchanan Enterprises. Jared dismissed the emails as forgeries, planted to make him look guilty, and asked why he would do something like that to the people he loved. John wasn't satisfied with Jared's answers.

At Todd's house, Todd found Natalie standing there. Natalie held up the latest edition of the Sun and demanded to know why "Uncle Todd" had smeared Jared in the press. She wanted to hire Téa for Jared's defense, and asked when she'd be back. "If I'm lucky, never," Todd replied coldly. Natalie was stunned that Todd had disposed of Téa only a few days into their latest marriage, and said it was record time for him.

Todd said he was done with Téa, who'd made a fool of him the same way Jared had Natalie. Natalie snapped that her husband was innocent and she was standing by him, despite Todd's slander in the Sun. Todd said the evidence against Jared was damning. Natalie sarcastically asked him if that should be her excuse for abandoning Jared, the way Todd did to Téa.

Todd said that Téa had lied to him. Natalie laughed, reminding Todd that he lied to everyone. She told him that he was in no position to throw stones, and suggested that he let Téa explain her mistakes, the way Starr had let Todd explain his own. She told Todd that she could forgive, and would stand by Jared and hear him out, because he deserved it. Storming out, Natalie told Todd she could give her husband a chance, even if Todd couldn't do the same for his wife.

At the police station, John left the interview room and met with Viki and Charlie. He said Charlie could speak to Jared, but they wouldn't be releasing him. As Charlie entered the interview room, Viki told John that she knew he still cared for Natalie, but promised him that Jared was innocent. John said all he wanted was to find the truth. Just then, Natalie walked into the corridor, glaring at John. Viki told Natalie that John wasn't the enemy. "Neither is Jared," Natalie replied.

Natalie entered the room, and Charlie exited to give the couple some time alone. Natalie embraced Jared and told him she was staying by his side. "Natalie, I've been lying to you," Jared said with a sigh.

10/8 Jared admitted that he had been lying to Natalie but John interrupted them before further discussion. John had more questions for Jared and, reluctantly, Natalie left the room. John showed Jared a list of visitors to Wayne Landers in prison after Jared was released. He wanted to know if Jared recognized any of the names. Smugly, Jared declared that he was not acquainted with anyone on the list.

An attorney, William Sheridan, showed up to take Jared's case. Charlie wanted to discuss what would happen if Jared were found guilty of anything, but the attorney cut the conversation short. As John accused Jared of hiding something, Sheridan entered the room and advised Jared that he was there to represent him. John left them alone and Sheridan demanded that Jared be honest with him. He wanted to know if Jared had murdered Landers.

Jared declared that people would get hurt if they knew the truth, but when Sheridan advised his client that things weren't looking good, Jared began to reconsider. John told Charlie that Jared should cooperate, since he was the only suspect the police were looking at.

Verifying that their conversation was confidential, Jared spoke at great length to his attorney. He confirmed that no one would be able to learn what he said. Jared was taken to a cell, and informed that the police had forty-eight hours to hold him. John thought that Natalie was starting to doubt Jared and, while she denied his accusation verbally, the look on her face said otherwise.

10/13 When John entered Blair’s hospital room, Dorian immediately insisted that John arrest Téa for pushing Blair out the window. John admitted that if Blair couldn't testify about what had happened, there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove that Téa had pushed Blair. Dorian was outraged. She promised that things would be different when she was elected as mayor.

John snickered that he had heard that congratulations were in order for Dorian. Dorian realized that John was referring to her engagement to Amelia. Blair was curious about what John was talking about, but Dorian cut him off before he could explain. Dorian pointedly told John that it wasn't the appropriate time to discuss the issue. John focused his attention on Blair. He told her that he was getting tired of visiting her in the hospital. He promised that he would look into the circumstances of her fall, and he left.

Natalie interrupted one of Marty's therapy sessions. Natalie claimed that she needed to discuss an urgent matter concerning John. Marty apologized to her patient, but made arrangements to accommodate Natalie. Once they were alone, Natalie told Marty about John's investigation into Jared's possible role in the stalker's murder. Natalie insisted that Jared was innocent and that John was unfairly targeting her husband.

Marty understood the difficult position that Natalie was in, but she didn't feel comfortable asking John to drop his investigation against Jared. As Natalie prepared to leave, John walked in. Natalie bristled when she saw him and freely admitted that she had attempted to persuade Marty to intervene on her behalf. Natalie realized it had been a pointless request, since John stubbornly refused to accept when he was wrong.

John explained that he had to follow the evidence. Natalie wondered if that included when the evidence led him down the wrong path. John clarified that if Jared were innocent, then eventually the evidence would prove that. Natalie remained convinced that John was out to railroad Jared.

After Natalie left, John apologized to Marty for putting her in the awkward situation. Marty commented that it had appeared there were strong emotions between John and Natalie. John admitted that he had a history with Natalie, but he insisted that it didn't go beyond that. He locked the office door and joined Marty on the sofa to show her that he was all hers.

10/14 At the police station, Viki, Charlie, and Natalie were happy to learn that Jared had been released from police custody, until they learned that he was still considered a suspect. Jared explained that the police were still looking for evidence to connect him to the stalker's death.

Elijah jumped up, yelling that Téa also had a less than perfect past. Ross stopped the lawyer, advising him that Ross was afraid Téa would change the location of his child again. After indicating that she preferred not to press charges against Ross for the theft of the briefcase, Téa was permitted to take it with her. Oliver was satisfied that there were plenty of other pending charges against Ross and ordered him to be taken to a cell. Ross reminded Elijah to think about getting into Téa's briefcase.

Natalie, Jared, and Charlie returned home. "What's going on here?" Natalie wanted to know as she sees Delphina giving Jessica a reading. As Delphina headed to the door, she leaned over to Jared. "Tell your wife," she whispered. Brody and Jessica thought it was time to check on Bree, and they left Natalie and Jared alone. Brody acknowledged that he didn't believe the psychic, though he joked that "messages are coming."

Natalie reminded her husband that he had admitted previously that he had been lying. She wanted him to finish what he had to say. Jared confessed that he had indeed been lying and that he had known Wayne Landers in prison. "I've been working with him," he added.

10/15 Brody called John and asked that the detective get to Llanfair as soon as he could.

Natalie was stunned to hear Jared admit to lying about his relationship with Wayne Landers. "Were you behind all of this?" she asked her husband. She promised to "have [his] back" as he replied that he didn't want to lose her. She assured him he wouldn't, but she wanted answers. He told her it was complicated but said nothing more as Natalie continued to clobber him with questions.

Jared finally admitted that he had told Landers to beat him up and had given him a security pass to get in and out of Buchanan Enterprises. Natalie asked if he had killed Landers, also. As he remained speechless, Jared received a text message. "Don't talk," it said. As he advised Natalie that it was a wrong number, the phone went off again.

Natalie attempted to grab the phone out of Jared's hand but was unsuccessful. "Buchanan Lodge now," the text read. Jared advised his wife that he had to leave. An insistent Natalie wanted to go with him, but he told her it was dangerous, and she needed to stay home. He promised to explain later.

Marty and John enjoyed a meal at Rodi's, though John was extremely quiet. After Marty did her best to get him to talk, he finally acknowledged that he was preoccupied with work. He admitted that he believed that Jared had been lying since "day one," but played down Marty's praises of his detective skills. He felt that his personal feelings often got in the way.

John felt that a red flag was raised when things were personal, and he insisted that he wasn't always right. Marty noted that John had been right about her and had saved her. John revealed that he suspected someone else was in charge of the situation involving Jared. After receiving a phone call, John disclosed that Brody had summoned him to Llanfair.

Hearing yelling, Brody and Jessica ran downstairs and found Natalie alone. Brody inquired as to whether Natalie thought Jared would know something about the clothes packed away in Jessica's closet. Natalie was sure that Jared was not involved in securing the clothes from St. Ann's and repacking them, as he hardly had any time to do all of that.

John arrived, and Brody revealed the contents of the suitcase to him. "What's going on, Natalie?" John inquired. She began to cry. He wondered where Jared might be, but Natalie retorted that she was not going to fight with John. "I love Jared," Natalie said softly. John asked her to allow him to help Jared and her. Natalie divulged that Jared had confessed.

Letting himself into the Buchanan lodge, Jared turned and looked at someone, startled. "You?" he asked.

10/16 At the Buchanan lodge, Jared raced into the cabin. Jared stared at an unknown person and screamed, "You! It was you that brought me here?” A frantic Jared continued to yell at an unknown person. Jared argued, "I've already confessed everything to Natalie! It's over!"

At Llanfair, Jessica and Brody were shocked when Natalie revealed to John that Jared had admitted working with the dead stalker, Wayne Landers. Showing sympathy toward Natalie, John asked her for the details of Jared's confession. Jessica was horrified to learn that Jared was responsible for the stalking episodes. Brody insisted that there was a third co-conspirator. Defending her husband, Natalie was adamant that Jared was being used as a pawn and that the real killer had threatened Jared in some way.

Upon learning that Jared had disappeared after receiving several text messages, John wondered if Natalie knew of his whereabouts, but she insisted that he hadn't given her any information. John instructed Brody to await further instruction at the police station, and Jessica left to advise Viki and Charlie of the situation.

As John continued to pressure Natalie for information on Jared, Natalie received a phone call from the company that provided security at the Buchanan lodge. The security company informed Natalie that someone had tripped the alarm at the lodge. Upon receiving the news, Natalie reminded John that the stalker had been observed for the first time at the lodge. Adamant that the stalker was at the lodge, Natalie announced that she was headed to the lodge to search for Jared.

Although John tried to stop her, Natalie raced off to locate her husband. Realizing that trouble was brewing, John followed close behind. At the Buchanan lodge, a panicked Natalie rushed into the cabin. Consumed with fear, Natalie lost her balance and fell to the floor. Standing to her feet, Natalie discovered blood on her hands and let out a blood-curdling scream.

10/19 At the police station, Jessica and Brody told Viki and Charlie about Jared's involvement in the stalking of Jessica. Charlie refused to believe that Jared would cause Jessica any harm, but Brody revealed that Jared had confessed to Natalie. Charlie and Viki phoned both Jared and Natalie but were unable to make contact. Viki grew alarmed when Jessica told her about Madame Delphina's prediction that someone else would die.

At the Buchanan Lodge, after hearing Natalie's screams, John rushed into the cabin and discovered Natalie kneeling over a dead body. Gasping, Natalie informed John that Pamela Stewart, Asa's ex-wife, was the victim. As John stepped away to call for help, Natalie stood over Pamela's body and exclaimed, "Jared, where are you?" When John returned, Natalie stated that Jared would never murder anyone. Before John could respond, Clint entered the cabin. Natalie and Jared updated Clint on what had taken place.

In the Llanview Police Station, after receiving a call from John, Brody informed everyone that John and Natalie had discovered Pamela Stewart's dead body at the lodge. A panicked Jessica exclaimed, "Oh, my God, Delphina was right!"

Back at the lodge, Clint reminded John that Pamela had foiled Jared's plan of passing himself off as Asa's son. John stated that Pamela had ties to both Buchanan Enterprises and Jared. Natalie begged John not to condemn Jared without knowing all the facts. Presenting the evidence team with the murder weapon, John told them that Pamela was bludgeoned to death in the same manner that Wayne Landers was murdered, before Jared found him. After Clint, Natalie, and the evidence team left, John noticed a wallet on the couch. It belonged to Jared.

10/20 At the Llanview Police Station, Natalie and Clint waited for word on Jared. Natalie wanted John to search for evidence that Jared had been framed, but John refused to discuss the case with Natalie. John explained that it wouldn't be appropriate for him to update her about the investigation because she was the suspect's wife. Natalie was upset, so Clint guided her away from John, in order to calm her down.

Oliver approached John to volunteer his help. John appreciated Oliver's offer, but he insisted that Oliver had to turn in his gun and badge. John explained that Oliver was on temporary leave because of the lawsuit that Elijah had filed on Ross's behalf. Oliver couldn't believe that an officer who had recently received a medal of commendation would be suspended over a false allegation. Oliver was concerned that an Internal Affairs investigation would delve into his personal life, including his sexuality.

John didn't think that Oliver's personal life would be an issue, but he promised that he had Oliver's back. Later, as Oliver prepared to leave the station, a fellow officer mentioned that the Buenos Dias Café was hosting a charity dinner for the homeless. Oliver decided to head to the diner to volunteer his services.

Viki and Charlie arrived at the police station. Everyone was stunned when John suggested that Jared might have killed Pamela out of revenge. John reminded Natalie and her family that Jared had turned up in Llanview to exact revenge. Natalie insisted that all of that was ancient history; Jared had married Natalie and built a life with her. Natalie wondered what reason Jared would have for destroying all of that. Meanwhile, Charlie argued that Jared had cared about Pamela. John pointed out that it wouldn't have been the first time that Jared had hurt someone that he had claimed to love.

10/22 Natalie arrived and showed Rex the Sun with Jared's photograph prominently displayed on the front cover, along with all of the gory headlines regarding his alleged crimes. She wanted Rex to help find her husband before the police did, since he knew Jared better than the cops. She was afraid of what the cops would do if they found him first, she exclaimed. She mentioned that John was "out for blood" regarding Jared. Rex wondered if she thought that Jared had committed the murders he was accused of.

Momentarily silent, Natalie admitted that she only knew what Jared had told her. She felt that he no longer made sense and he had confessed to working with Wayne Landers. She told Rex all that had happened to date involving the stalker. She was familiar with all that Jared had done in the past, but she also knew what he was capable of not doing, she emphasized. Natalie insisted to her brother that her husband was not a murderer, and he had to have a good reason if he did kill someone. She observed that it was necessary to trust someone if you loved them.

10/26 At Llanfair, Jessica panicked when she answered a mysterious phone call. A voice that sounded very much like Nash stated, "Baby, it's me, Nash! Please help me, I'm so cold Jessica!" Upon hearing Jessica's screams, Viki and Charlie rushed to her aid. Viki and Charlie were both stunned when Jessica claimed that she had received a call from Nash. Charlie tried to learn the identity of the caller, but the caller identification read, "Caller Unknown." Viki immediately contacted John McBain.

When John arrived at Llanfair, he questioned Jessica about the strange call. Although she admitted that there had been some interference in the phone call, Jessica was convinced that the voice on the other end had belonged to Nash. Jessica, Viki, and Charlie were startled when John informed them that he had placed a wire tap on their calls. Relating that their personal calls would remain private, John stated that he wanted to perform a voice analysis of the call. John told the family that he would need a documented sample of Nash's voice in order to complete a voice comparison.

Dvd #18A Jessica presented John with a taped message that Nash had left for her a few days before his death. John accepted the tape from Jessica and placed a call to Fish. When Fish arrived at Llanfair, John gave him a quick update on the mysterious phone call, and asked Fish to perform a voice comparison. Reminding John that he was on administrative leave, Fish questioned why John had sought out his help. John insisted that Fish was the only person he trusted to perform the job.

After Fish explained how to retrieve the test results, John instructed him to leave at once. Before leaving, Fish asked John to do everything within his power to conclude the investigation against Fish. John promised to help his friend. Relating that he missed his job, Fish told John that police work was his life. John replied, "Don't let it be!"

Seconds later, the result of the voice comparison was completed. Observing the computer monitor, Jessica, Viki, and Charlie were stunned when the results concluded that Nash's voice and the voice of the caller were an identical match. Jessica and Viki asked John for an explanation, but he had none.

10/27 Natalie sat in a motel room waiting for Jared to call her. When the phone rang, Natalie jumped. John asks her where she is? She tries to tell him that she is at home, but he knows she isn’t. Natalie refused to tell him. When Rex entered the room, Natalie quickly disconnected the call. Rex was curious who had been on the phone. Natalie explained that John had called, but she had refused to reveal where she was.

Rex wondered if Natalie was prepared to go on the run with Jared once they tracked down her husband? Rex wanted to know what Natalie planned to do if Jared was actually guilty of the murders. Rex pleaded with his sister to reconsider her decision; he urged her to convince Jared to turn himself in. Natalie insisted that it was impossible because John had already made up his mind that Jared was guilty. Natalie didn't care what she had to give up as long as she was with Jared.

John sat in his office, frustrated because Natalie had ended the call. Marty entered moments later. She immediately sensed that John was troubled. John admitted that he was frustrated because he suspected that Natalie had found something; however, she wasn't willing to share the information with him.

John suspected that the people Jared was involved with were dangerous and that the situation was out of Jared's control. Marty understood that John was concerned that Jared's associates might harm Natalie. John confirmed that was worried for Natalie's safety, which was why he was determined to find Jared before Natalie did.

Later, as Natalie lit a match, she had a fantasy of Jared knocking on the motel room door. Jared was thrilled that Natalie had figured out the clue that he had left behind at the lodge. She snapped back to reality when Rex knocked on the door. He had forgotten the key.

John checked to see if his tech people had been able to zero in on Natalie's location.

Natalie returned to the bedroom with a lit match. Natalie realized that the match was a poor substitute for a birthday candle, but she invited Rex to make a wish, anyway. Rex made his wish and then blew out the match. Shortly afterwards, Rex settled on the sofa for the night. In bed, Natalie pulled a picture of Jared out from beneath the pillow and then looked at it.

John was irritated when he was told that Natalie's whereabouts remained a mystery. As John tried to search his mind for clues, he had a fantasy of Natalie perched on the edge of his desk. In the fantasy, Natalie offered to help John find Jared and then handed John a matchbook.

When Marty returned to John's office, she found him lost in his thoughts. John's fantasy evaporated when Marty called out John's name. Marty decided that John needed to focus on his work, so she offered to leave. Shortly after Marty's departure, John received word that Natalie had disabled the GPS device in her cell phone. John suspected that Natalie had intentionally sabotaged the phone.

Before long, John had another fantasy of Natalie. As Natalie flirted with John, she revealed that he had been so focused on Jared's wallet, that he had missed another important clue at the lodge. According to Natalie, the clue might lead John to Jared. Natalie offered to help John by handing him a matchbook. As the fantasy disappeared, so did the matchbook in John's hand.

This episode featured the song, "Come Home," by OneRepublic.

10/28 At the Lakeside Inn, Natalie continued to puzzle over the book of matches found at the Buchanan lodge. Rex returned to their hotel room with bad news: No one on the day shift staff had seen Jared. Natalie couldn't understand how Jared could've gotten the matchbook from the Lakeside if he'd never been to the inn. Despairing, she told Rex she feared she was losing her husband for good. Rex suggested that perhaps Jared really was guilty and they should return to Llanview, but Natalie refused and said she had to find Jared before John did.

Rex told Natalie they had to review their situation; they were breaking the law by interfering in a police investigation, and though John was looking for them, they had no leads on Jared's whereabouts. Just then, a bellhop wandered in with new information. He told the siblings that he'd seen Jared check in, evading the police, and said he'd quickly checked out again, but not before borrowing the bellhop's computer. Natalie asked if they could use it as well.

The bellhop lent Rex his laptop, and Rex scanned the recent browsing history. He found a map of an area in California's Napa Valley, where Nash's original vineyard was located. Natalie and Rex raced off in pursuit, thanking the bellhop for his help.

At Llanfair, John informed Jessica that Rex and Natalie had split town in search of Jared, and he'd lost track of all three. Jessica couldn't fathom how Wayne Landers, Pamela Stuart, and her stalking were all connected, but John knew that the common denominator was either something, or someone. He said it was unlikely that Jared had placed the call as "Nash" while on the run from the law, and asked Jessica if she knew of anyone else who could've been so close to her and Nash as to know the intimate details of their personal life. Jessica couldn't think of anyone.

John got a call back from his colleague, and told Jessica he'd tracked Rex's credit card to a gas station out of town. For her own safety he didn't say where, but told her he was going after Natalie and Rex. John told her to be careful, and reminded her that Nash had not made that phone call.

John arrived at the Lakeside Inn in search of Rex and Natalie, but found only the helpful bellhop. However, he wasn't so helpful a second time. When John showed him pictures of his quarry, the bellhop lied that Natalie and Rex were heading back to Llanview, and said he'd never seen Jared in his life.

Jessica got another phone call from "Nash." As she listened in horror, "Nash" told her he needed her to go to the Napa vineyard, and to tell no one. As Brody prepared to leave Michigan, he grew disoriented and collapsed to the ground, unconscious after Nadine had drugged him. Nadine made a call to a mysterious superior, saying she'd hated to use the "emergency plan" to keep Brody away from Jessica but had no choice. "She's all yours," she told the person on the other end of the line.

11/3 John tried to question the clerk at the motel that Rex and Natalie had tracked Jared to. The clerk claimed that he had told John everything, but John didn't believe him. When the clerk pointed out that John was out of his jurisdiction, John smiled and then called out to someone. Moments later, a local police officer appeared.

John informed the police officer that the clerk had a criminal history that made him a likely suspect in the recent rash of robberies in town. The clerk denied that he had been involved in the crimes, but the police officer and John ignored him. John hoped that a few days in jail would jog the clerk's memory.

A short time later, John checked in with Viki, Charlie, and Clint. John was disappointed when he realized that no one had heard from Natalie. John confessed that he suspected that Natalie was intentionally avoiding him. Charlie insisted that his son was not a killer, so he understood Natalie's reluctance to trust John. John decided to leave, but he asked that they notify him if they heard from Natalie.

Rex and Natalie arrived at the vineyard in Napa Valley. They searched the cottage, but found it empty. However, moments later, they heard a noise. Rex and Natalie ducked out of sight long enough for someone to cross their path. Rex managed to capture the intruder before the person could escape. It was Jessica. Jessica explained that Nash had directed her to the cottage. Natalie poked around while Jessica told them about the events that had led to her arrival in Napa Valley. To Jessica and Rex's surprise, Natalie informed them that the cottage had not been abandoned. Natalie lifted a coffee pot as proof; it was warm.

Rex was frustrated when he realized that Jessica hadn't told anyone about her plans to travel to Napa Valley. Rex pointed out that, for all intents and purposes, no one knew where Natalie and Jessica were. Corrine calls Rex and tells him she is dying and just wants to see him again. Rex told Natalie and Jessica about his aunt’s plight. Natalie urged Rex to honor his aunt's wishes, since Corrine had practically raised Rex. Rex was reluctant to leave Natalie and Jessica alone. Natalie assured Rex that she would contact the police.

Rex continued to stall at the cottage until Natalie called John to arrange for the Napa Valley police to search the vineyard. After Rex left, Natalie revealed that she had merely pretended to place a call to John. Natalie didn't have any intention of involving John or the police while Jared had two murder charges hanging over his head.

In Niles, Michigan, woke up Brody discovered that he had been tied to a chair. When his sister Nadine entered the living room, Brody accused her of drugging his coffee. Brody demanded to be released, but Nadine ignored him. She taped up his mouth and then, with Corrine's help, moved him to the next room. Corrine and Nadine returned to the living room to finalize their plans for Rex. Nadine drugged the coffee, while Corrine settled on the sofa and then proceeded to play the part of a dying cancer-stricken patient. When Rex arrived, Corrine introduced Nadine as a friend who was nursing Corrine through the final stages of her terminal illness.

John met up with Marty in Angel Square. She immediately sensed that John was troubled. John admitted that he was concerned because he hadn't been able to locate Natalie or Rex. John was stunned when Marty announced that she might be able to help him. According to Marty, Rex had called Gigi to let him know that he was headed to Michigan to see his aunt. John found it strange that Brody and Rex had gone to Michigan. He suspected that someone was trying to isolate Jessica and Natalie.

In Napa Valley, Jessica and Natalie sat in the cottage. They were unaware that someone lurked outside, watching them.

11/5 In Michigan, Rex passed out after drinking the tea his aunt had offered him. "The hard part is over," Nadine assured Corrine as they attempted to bind Rex up in rope. As Corrine muttered that she felt bad about lying to her nephew, Nadine reminded her that they had their instructions and they needed to keep Rex away from Natalie. An unconscious Brody, tied to a chair close by, was awakening and beginning to struggle with his own bindings. Just then, the women panicked, when the front doorbell rang. It was John.

Answering the door, Nadine assured John that her brother had returned to Llanview, when the detective asked to see Brody. John was confused, noting that Brody had insisted that he'd be there. John forced his way past Nadine into the house, pretending to realize that Brody was playing a game and tricking John with his whereabouts.

At the vineyard in Napa, Jessica and Natalie began to argue. Jessica didn't think it was right that Rex had left, and she wanted to call John. She felt that she and Natalie were "sitting ducks." Natalie disagreed, still sure that Jared was going to show up. As someone watched them through a window, Jessica gave in. She still planned on calling John, but promised just to ask about Brody; she would not divulge their location.

As John stood talking to Nadine, his phone began to ring. In the other room, Rex's phone also began to ring. John suggested that Nadine answer the phone, since it could be Brody, but she quickly said, "He doesn't have that number," and told John to answer his own. Becoming suspicious, John answered his own call. It was Jessica, who was inquiring about Brody. John advised her that he had no information on Brody but was still actively looking for him. Jessica was evasive when John asked where she was. She hung up abruptly.

Nadine attempted to get rid of John and he dared her to call the cops. As Corrine continued to struggle with an unconscious Rex, Brody was doing his best to get John's attention. Suddenly, he managed to tip his chair over and crash to the floor. Nadine assured John that it was just her huge cat. She denied knowing Corrine when John asked about her, and she had nothing but nasty things to say about Gigi. John handed her his card and advised her to let him know if she heard from Brody.

After he was gone, Nadine went back to help Corrine. She was shocked to find Brody, out of his ropes, with his arms locked around Corrine. Gasping, she turned and dashed for the front door. Pulling it open, she ran into a smiling John. He pushed her back into the house.

Jessica was upset to learn that there was no news about Brody. She started to think about Bree and realized that she not only missed her daughter, but Chloe, too. It was her former baby's first birthday. She began to cry that she was a lousy mother who did horrible things, and had found herself she chasing after Nash's ghost. She called home to speak to Bree and then advised Natalie that she would be returning to Llanview. "Do you really think Jared's a killer?" Natalie asked her, but Jessica did not respond.

Just then Natalie received a text message, " Meet me outside. Don't tell Jessica." She headed outside for some fresh air. A short while later, Jessica clutched her keys and went outside looking for her sister. Suddenly, Jared grabbed her and gestured to her to remain quiet.

11/6 In Napa, Jessica was terrified when she encountered Jared, who pulled her into a shed and gestured for her to keep quiet. When Jessica accused Jared of stalking her, Jared claimed that Wayne Landers had been the culprit. Jessica attempted to escape Jared's grasp, but he pulled her closer and exclaimed, "I can't let you do that!"

Jared begged Jessica to allow him to explain, but Jessica was convinced that Jared had harmed Natalie. Upon learning that both Natalie and Jessica had been lured to Napa, Jared panicked and insisted that he hadn't spoken to Natalie since leaving Llanview. Jared was desperate to locate Natalie. A frightened Jessica attempted to phone the police, but Jared tossed her phone away and screamed, "If the police come anywhere near here, Natalie could die!" Convinced that Jared had plans to kill both her and Natalie, Jessica pushed Jared to the ground, knocking him unconscious. Jessica raced off to find help.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, a drugged Rex began to stir. At that moment, Brody managed to untie himself from the ropes, and grabbed Corrine. A few feet away, Nadine attempted to escape, but John prevented her from doing so. Upon realizing that Corrine and Nadine had drugged Rex and Brody, John demanded to know what the two women were up to.

Both women related that an unknown male had called and instructed them to keep Rex away from Natalie, and Brody separated from Jessica. While Nadine claimed that the man had offered her money, Corrine stated that the caller hadn't offered her money. Instead, the caller had frightened Corrine enough to lure her favorite nephew into a trap. Nadine revealed that half the money had been deposited into her bank account. She was told that the remaining funds would be deposited provided that she kept Brody in Michigan for the entire week.

Brody guessed that the mystery caller was watching Nadine's house, but John was convinced that the unidentified person had an accomplice. Pulling out photos of Jared and Nash, John asked Nadine and Corrine if they had ever seen either of the two men. The women claimed that they hadn't encountered Jared or Nash. Realizing that a connection existed between the sinister plot and someone pretending to be Nash, Brody was anxious to find Jessica. At that moment, Rex regained consciousness and revealed that Jessica and Natalie were in Napa, at Nash's old vineyard.

After retrieving his phone from Nadine, Brody noticed that Jessica had phoned several times but hadn't left a message. Brody grew suspicious when he phoned Jessica and received her voicemail. Brody related that Jessica never turned off her phone because she feared that she might miss an important call concerning Bree. Rex explained how he, Jessica, and Natalie were lured into traveling to Napa.

Rex was stunned to learn that Natalie had never phoned John. Unable to reach either Jessica or Natalie by phone, John announced that he and Brody were traveling to Napa. As Brody exited her home, Nadine apologized for her actions, but a disappointed Brody insisted that he thought things had changed between him and his sister.

Back in Napa, as Jared regained consciousness inside the shed, Jessica tried to start the car, but the engine was dead. Noticing a lit cabin a short distance away, Jessica ran toward the cabin. Jared began to search for Jessica. Hearing Jared's voice, Jessica continued to head for the lit cabin.

Upon entering the cabin, Jessica locked the door and called out for help. As she continued to look around, Jessica noticed someone with blond hair sitting in a chair toward the back of the cabin. Rushing toward the unknown person, Jessica asked, "Nash, baby! Is that you?"

Back in Llanview, Viki walked toward Nash's gravesite and was shocked to discover that someone had dug it up. Nash's grave was empty.

11/9 On a flight to California, John and Brody attempted to develop a list of possible culprits who might have lured Jessica and Natalie to Napa. Brody acknowledged that Nadine was capable of plotting against him, but was surprised that Corrine would lure Rex into a trap. Brody stated that Rex had spoken about his love for Corrine and that the woman had raised Rex. Brody's thoughts regarding Corrine caused John to wonder who could possibly frighten Corrine enough to betray Rex.

John explained that Corrine had raised Rex because she believed Roxy was an unfit mother. Brody wondered why Corrine hadn't taken custody of Natalie, also. Relating that Corrine had believed that Rex was Walter's child, John stated that Corrine had a stake in Rex's well-being. After a brief hesitation, John wondered if Corrine had actually known that Walter wasn't Rex's father.

John told Brody about Natalie and Jessica's birth. John recalled how Walter Balsom had kidnapped Natalie at birth. When Brody questioned what would cause a doctor to commit such a crime, John told Brody that Walter hadn't acted alone, he had the help of a religious cult leader. John received a text message from Oliver. In a sarcastic tone, Brody asked "Don't tell me, he thinks Nash is back from the dead!" A composed John replied, "No but apparently someone else could be!"

In Napa, after escaping from Jared, Jessica sought shelter in a nearby cabin. Inside the cabin, Jessica spotted someone with blond hair sitting in a rocking chair. Calling out to Nash, Jessica raced toward the person in the chair. As she approached, Jessica was horrified to discover a fully clothed skeleton with a long blond wig. A terrified Jessica crawled into a corner of the room and let out a bloodcurdling scream. At that moment, Jared appeared at the door and pleaded with Jessica to let him in. Refusing to allow Jared entry, Jessica yelled at him through the window and accused him of digging up Nash's grave. Pleading his innocence, Jared begged Jessica to open the door.

As Jared observed though the window, Jessica heard a strange noise in a nearby closet. Jared warned Jessica that it might be another trap. Ignoring Jared's pleas, Jessica opened the door. She screamed when an unconscious Natalie fell at her feet. After regaining consciousness, Natalie spotted Jared at the window and raced to let him in the cabin. Insisting that Jared had dug up Nash's grave and accusing him of being a crazed maniac, Jessica begged her sister not to open the door. Pushing Jessica out of the way, Natalie opened the door and rushed into Jared's arms. A cautious Jessica picked up a shovel.

Brody asked John to reveal the name of the cult leader who had convinced Walter Balsom to kidnap Natalie. John told Brody the man was named Mitch Laurence.

Back in Napa, Jared denied killing anyone or being responsible for digging up Nash's grave. Jessica screamed, "If you didn't do it, who did?" A familiar voice announced, "That would be me!" A look of terror crossed the faces of Jessica, Natalie, and Jared as Mitch Laurence stood before them.

11/10 Brody and John were on a flight headed to Napa Valley. John explained that Mitch Laurence was the only link that could tie all of the recent events together. Brody had never heard of Mitch Laurence, so John revealed that Mitch had been a cult leader and a rapist. Brody was stunned to discover that Mitch was also Jessica's biological father. John revealed that Jessica and Natalie were fraternal twins with different fathers. Brody's shock turned to confusion when John added that Mitch had been killed five years earlier.

Rex stared in disbelief at the birth certificate that Corrine handed to him showing that Mitch Lawrence is his father.

At the vineyard in Napa Valley, Jessica stared at Mitch Laurence in horror. Instinctively, Jared used his body in an attempt to shield Natalie from Mitch. Natalie jerked away from Jared and then reached for a weapon. While Mitch rambled on and quoted the B ible, Natalie launched herself at Mitch. Within moments, Mitch overpowered Natalie and then he disarmed her. Once he had gained the upper hand, Mitch used Natalie as a means to control Jessica and Jared.

Jessica demanded to know how Mitch had survived being bludgeoned by her with a lead pipe. Mitch responded, "Funny you should ask. I had come to realize that, well, Llanview was no longer open to my teachings, so I made a few arrangements and let you and the police believe that I had perished." Mitch explained that afterwards, he had "resurrected" himself in more "hospitable surroundings."

Mitch regretted that he had allowed Jessica to believe that she had dishonored her father; however, he had returned, so he hoped that the healing process could begin. Jessica was outraged that Mitch had dug up Nash's body, in order to lure her to Napa Valley. Mitch regretted going to such extremes. He promised to give Nash a proper burial, which was more than he intended to give Jared. Natalie warned Mitch to leave Jared alone. According to Natalie, Jared had nothing to do with what was going on.

Mitch disagreed; he claimed that Jared had been doing exactly as he had been instructed since "day one." Jared appeared uncomfortable as Mitch dared Jared to reveal the truth to Natalie and Jessica. Jared insisted that he had not known that Mitch had been behind everything that had happened. Mitch hinted that Jared had been motivated by a desire to protect Charlie.

11/11 Viki wrapped up a phone call from John, who relayed to her the news of Jessica and Natalie heading for Napa.

John and Brody arrived at Nash's old vineyard in Napa, concerned by the lack of police backup they'd called for. Searching the grounds, they found the barn Jessica and Jared had gone through, and discovered the local police bound and drugged. John concluded that Mitch was responsible. Brody spotted lights shining near the greenhouse, and he and John began to sneak through the darkness.

Inside the greenhouse, Mitch brandished his gun at his prisoners, holding forth with his dark gospel. He called Jared a "pretender" who wanted to take his "wife" and daughter from him, and assured Jessica and Natalie that he had big plans for "my girls." Natalie told Mitch he was delusional and had no followers anymore, but Mitch begged to differ; he explained that his cult had reconstituted itself into a commune on the vineyard grounds, lacking only his loving family. Jared called Mitch insane, and reminded him that neither Natalie nor Jessica wanted anything to do with him. Cocking his gun, Mitch said that would be remedied once Jared was dead.

Natalie leaped in front of Jared, and told Mitch that if he shot her husband, he'd have to shoot her, too. Jared apologized to the sisters for dragging them into his nightmare, and said he'd had no idea Mitch was behind things. Jessica stood in front of him with Natalie, blocking Mitch's aim, and told Jared he wasn't to blame, it was all Mitch. But Mitch disagreed, and suggested that neither Jared nor his father was innocent. "You shut up about my father!" Jared shouted, lunging forward.

Mitch needled Jared, urging him to tell Natalie the whole truth about his deep, dark secret. Natalie told Mitch that no matter what he said, nothing could change how she felt for Jared. Mitch said that Jared was lying to her, lying to keep Charlie out of prison. As John and Brody crept towards the greenhouse entrance, Mitch told Natalie the truth: "Your drunk of a father-in-law is a murderer." Jessica and Natalie didn't want to believe it, but Jared told them it was true.

Jared explained that he'd discovered weeks before that Wayne Landers was the stalker and had wanted to turn him in, but Landers had used the information about Charlie's past against him, blackmailing him to keep silent. Landers had claimed to only be after the Buchanan fortune, so Jared had attempted to protect the family, hoping to handle his old cellmate on his own; he agreed to stage his own assault at Buchanan Enterprises in order to give Landers access to family finances.

He had hoped Landers would go away after being paid off, then found him dead; he'd planned to tell Natalie everything, but then had been called away to the Buchanan lodge. There, he found Pamela Stuart. Jared had initially thought Pamela was behind everything, but Pamela explained that she'd also been called there by an anonymous text message; then, the lights had gone out, and when they turned on again, Pamela was dead, and Jared was knocked out.

Jared realized that Mitch had killed Pamela, then taken him prisoner and dragged him to Napa. "He used you to get to us," Jessica mumbled. Overcome, Jared begged Natalie for forgiveness. "Of course I forgive you," Natalie said, "but not if you die here!"

Jared said she couldn't protect him from Mitch's wrath, and Mitch encouraged Natalie to listen to him. Staring into Jared's eyes, Natalie said she was listening, to his heart, which was full of love, something Mitch would never understand. She hugged Jared, who spotted John through the greenhouse windows, creeping up behind Mitch. John signaled to Jared to maneuver Mitch away from the women.

As Brody crept around the back of the greenhouse and John advanced on the front, Jared began to wind Mitch up, flaunting Natalie's love for him. He taunted Mitch about how much his "girls" hated him, and how they'd turn his followers against him and destroy him. Breaking away from Jessica and Natalie's protective circle, Jared got Mitch to move away from the sisters, and told him he'd never have the family he craved. Mitch lost his temper, lunging at Jared, and John leaped out from behind the door, pointing his gun at Mitch, who promptly grabbed Natalie as a human shield.

Mitch warned John that Natalie was "only" his wife, and therefore dispensable, but John told him he had nowhere to go. Out of options, Mitch relented, releasing Natalie. As Natalie and Jared embraced, John ordered Mitch to back away and put down his weapon. Mitch backed up and knelt down to let go of the gun, but as he did so, John turned to check on Natalie and Jared. With John's back turned, Mitch raised his gun and fired.

11/12 Inside the greenhouse in Napa, John aimed his gun at Mitch and ordered him to put his weapon on the ground. Lowering himself gradually to the floor, Mitch fired the gun instead, shooting Jared in the chest. Brody and John quickly tackled Mitch as Jared slumped to the ground. John handcuffed Mitch to a post and, racing over to Jared, Brody took off his jacket and began to apply pressure to Jared's wound.

Natalie urged her husband to stay with them as they waited for an ambulance and the local police. Jessica offered to return to the area closest to the house to wait for the ambulance, so that she could direct them to the greenhouse. "And I have risen again," shouted Mitch, declaring that he was Natalie's husband. Calling him a monster, Natalie began to have a shouting match with the ranting and raving Mitch. John, having heard enough, walked over to Mitch and knocked him out with one swift punch. "Just don't leave me," Natalie begged Jared.

Charlie and Viki arrived at the vineyard in Napa and found the unconscious policemen. Stooping to the ground, Charlie picked up Jessica's cell phone. They were frantic and didn't know where to turn. As they pondered their next move, Jessica ran towards them and, out of breath, filled them in on the events in the greenhouse. Charlie took off in that direction and Jessica remained to wait for the ambulance.

She advised a clearly disbelieving Viki that Mitch was in the greenhouse and was the person behind all that had happened. She avoided telling her mother the reason behind Mitch's blackmailing of Jared at first, but at Viki's insistence, Jessica admitted that apparently, Charlie was a murderer. While Viki was incredulous, Jessica admitted that Jared thought it was the truth. When the ambulance arrived, Jessica directed the driver to the greenhouse and then she and Viki took off on foot behind it.

Back in the greenhouse, Natalie continued to apply pressure to Jared's wound. He began to mutter her name. Charlie arrived and when Jared saw him, he told his dad, "I did it for you." Charlie was clearly confused as John assured an awakened Mitch that he would love prison. When Viki arrived at the greenhouse, her eyes landed on Mitch.

"Hello Viki, so nice to see you again," Mitch said in his spine-chilling manner. "You belong in hell," Viki responded to him. As Jared was picked up and loaded into the ambulance, Mitch began to wave. "Bye, bye, Jared," he called. Natalie climbed on board the ambulance with Jared, reassuring him that he would recover.

11/13 Inside the greenhouse in Napa, a disgusted John listened to Mitch's ramblings, while awaiting the arrival of the Napa authorities. Quoting Psalm 23, a handcuffed Mitch stated that he was reciting a prayer for the dying. John advised Mitch that he would have more trouble to face if Jared died, but Mitch claimed that he had merely defended himself from a killer. Mitch charged that Jared had held him captive and made Mitch watch as Jared bludgeoned Pamela Stewart to death. Stating that he had tried to save Pamela from Jared, Mitch insisted that Jared was a killer, just like his father. When John questioned what Mitch knew about Charlie's past, Mitch responded with a sly smile.

John informed Mitch that he would be transported to Llanview to face charges involving Pamela's death. Upon learning that John intended to also have past charges against Mitch reinstated, a confident Mitch assured John that he didn't have a case against Mitch. With a devilish smile, Mitch exclaimed, "I'm excited to return to Llanview! There are people there I can't wait to see!"

Meanwhile, in a Napa hospital, Jessica, Viki, Charlie, and Brody rushed into the emergency room and discovered Natalie screaming as she held onto Jared's bloodied body. Before prepping Jared for surgery, the doctors allowed Natalie a moment with him. As Jared struggled to speak, Natalie assured Jared that he would be fine. Jared asked to speak with Charlie.

As Natalie returned to be by Jared's bedside, Jared apologized to Natalie. Jared regretted that he hadn't told Natalie the truth. Holding him close, Natalie stated, "Just promise me that you will tell me everything next time!" Gasping for breath, Jared, murmured, "I don't think there's going to be a next time." Instantly, Jared lost consciousness and his heart began to fail.

As John continued to listen to Mitch's claims that Jared was a murderer, he received a phone call from Michael. Upon learning about the birth of his nephew, John promised to visit his family in Seattle, but insisted that he had a job to complete first. John gave Mitch a hateful look.

Inside the emergency room in the Napa Hospital, Natalie and Charlie panicked when the doctor informed the family that they had discovered that the bullet was lodged in Jared's heart. Jared was dead.

11/16 Inside the greenhouse in Napa, Mitch congratulated John on the new addition to his family. Watching John closely, Mitch exclaimed, "When I'm cleared, I can't wait to be a hands-on father!"

John told Mitch that he would be prosecuted for the murders of Wayne Landers and Pamela Stewart, but Mitch was convinced that John had no evidence to support his claim. John was appalled when Mitch stated that John was responsible for the murders. Mitch stated that had John kept an open mind and remained detached from the case, Jared wouldn't have been shot. Mitch insisted that John had wanted to believe that Jared was the culprit. Mitch said that Natalie would never forgive John for Jared's death, and that John would never forgive himself.

Inside the Napa hospital, Natalie cried as the doctors informed the family that Jared was dead. Clint, Viki, Jessica, and Brody tried to console her, but Natalie continued to scream that it was a mistake. The doctor advised the family to say their goodbyes. Brody placed a call to John.

Upon receiving the news from Brody about Jared's death, John informed Mitch that Mitch was responsible for yet another murder. Mitch was confident that he wouldn't stand trial for any of the murders. Attempting to cause John grief, a handcuffed Mitch stated that John was supposed to stop bad things from happening to good people. John became unnerved when Mitch announced, "You let me kill the man that Natalie loved!"

As Mitch spoke, John continued to fumble with his revolver. Mitch related that John was known to take on the pain of helpless victims and his friends who had been wronged. Mitch stated that John became consumed with guilt when he was unable to help a victim. When Mitch began to rant about John causing Cai tlin's death, John became enraged and pulled his weapon on Mitch. As John placed his gun in Mitch's back, Brody rushed into the greenhouse and screamed, "Don't do it, John! He's not worth it!"

Jessica held Natalie and appeared concerned when she observed Viki rush off.

Back at the greenhouse, Brody convinced John not to shot Mitch. Once John released his grip on Mitch, the rambling conman apologized to Brody for Jared's accident. Mitch insisted that a daughter needed to have a relationship with her father, and asked Brody to allow him some time with Jessica once Mitch's ordeal was over.

At that moment, Charlie entered the greenhouse and yelled, "What about my son?” Charlie grabbed Mitch by the throat and began cho king him. John and Brody tried to stop Charlie, but Charlie was a man on a mission. Viki rushed into the greenhouse and was stunned when she witnessed Charlie's violent state.

Back at the Napa hospital, Natalie entered Jared's room. Stroking Jared's face, Natalie reminisced about that day in Texas when they had proclaimed their love for each other. In tears, Natalie cried, "I never told you, but I made a wish that I would die before you!"

Later, Clint and Jessica comforted Natalie as the nurses wheeled Jared's body away.

11/17 Charlie did his best to try to choke Mitch to death in the Napa greenhouse, but Brody and John finally pulled him away. "You killed my boy," Charlie accused the deranged evangelist. "Would it help if I said I'm sorry?" Mitch replied. Continuing, Mitch noted that everyone was probably surprised at his contrition. He added that Jared had been killed in the "climax of a struggle" and that Jared had threatened him. He accused Charlie of murdering Jared's stepfather and pointed out that children often take after their parents.

Charlie and Mitch began a screaming match, and Charlie threatened to kill Mitch if he ever found him alone. Mitch demanded that Charlie be arrested. "For what?" John asked him. As Viki stood quietly, Mitch turned his attention to her. He asked why she was ignoring him. Sarcastically, she remarked that she had preferred it when Mitch was dead. She told him he was a "sadistic, evil excuse for a human being." Mitch disagreed, complaining that compared to Charlie, he was "righteousness itself."

As he began to rant and rave, Viki walked to him and slapped his face. She advised him to never utter her husband's name again. She returned to Charlie and urged him not to listen to anything that Mitch said. Convinced that Jared's death was his fault, Charlie reminded her that he had indeed killed someone and didn't even remember it. Viki begged him to stop and assured him they would face it together.

The local police department arrived, and an officer advised John that Mitch would remain in Napa, as his crimes were committed there. As John objected, the officer pulled a court order from his pocket. During a montage, Mitch was taken away from the greenhouse. He smirked at John, but barely looked at Charlie and Viki.

11/18 John returned to his apartment in Llanview in the middle of a call to Bo, who was in Seattle. He inquired about Jared's body being taken back to Pennsylvania, and asked about Mitch's case. John wanted to head back to California, but Bo reminded him that the Napa police were handling Mitch . "Let it go," Bo ordered him, and asked his top cop to take the day off.

After hanging up, John got a visitor, Marty, who was ready to offer a shoulder to lean on. John shrugged off her sympathy, and said he had it easy compared to Natalie and Charlie. He told her about his conversation with Mitch in Napa, and how Mitch had suggested that John was responsible for Jared's death; he'd wanted Jared to be guilty, and had pursued that chain of evidence to the end.

Marty disagreed, and said it wasn't his fault; blaming oneself was only a mechanism of grief. Hoping to cheer him up, she showed him a picture Michael and Marcie had sent her of his new nephew, Gabriel. She reminded him that life went on, both the bad and the good. John kissed her, and they began to make love. Afterwards, Marty got dressed as John slept. Leaving a note for him, she kissed his head and exited the apartment.

At Llanfair, Viki, Charlie, Clint, and Natalie returned home from California, grief-stricken and solemn. Viki and Clint told Natalie they'd handle funeral arrangements, but Natalie had a more pressing matter. how she was going to live without Jared. "I don't know how to start the day without him," she sobbed. Viki hugged her daughter, and then Natalie, noticing Charlie's grief, rushed to hug him, too. Clint ushered Natalie upstairs, urging her to get some rest.

Upstairs, Clint got Natalie settled in her bedroom, and gave her a sedative to help her sleep. Natalie noticed Jared's clothes on the dresser, including a blue shirt; picking the shirt up, she grew emotional as she recounted Jared's untidiness around the household. She asked her father if he'd noticed how Jared's shirts always smelled like mint. Jared hadn't liked keeping mints in his pocket, but had done it for Natalie, because she loved the scent. Breaking down in tears, she collapsed in Clint's arms and let him put her to bed, as she still clutched Jared's shirt.

Later, Natalie was roused from sleep by a familiar voice. "Hi, Sparky," Jared said, sitting down beside her, wearing the same shirt Natalie held in her arms. "You won't start a new day without me," he assured her, and promised never to leave her side. Natalie wept as she told him about how she was struggling to remember the last time they'd made love, and so many other memories, so she'd have something to hold onto, but "it's all gone."

"It's not," Jared said, kissing her, and Mr. and Mrs. Banks fell onto the bed, making love. Viki peered into Natalie's room, finding her asleep and alone on her bed. Without a word, she closed the door and went back downstairs.

In the drawing room, Charlie stood alone at the patio door as Viki returned to his side. She pleaded with him to go to bed, but Charlie wanted to wait for Jared's body to be shipped in from Napa. Just then, Clint entered, promising to let them know when the body arrived. Charlie relented and let Viki coax him upstairs.

Bo and Nora arrived outside Llanfair, concerned about facing Clint. They both agreed that it was not the appropriate time to break the news of their forbidden love, and that their official reunion would have to wait until after the family settled down. Summoning their courage, they rang the doorbell, and Clint opened the door.

Viki led Charlie down the upstairs corridor, past Natalie's bedroom, and encouraged him to get some rest. Unbeknownst to them, Natalie's room was empty.

Across town, John awoke from his sleep and found Marty's note, "Glad you're home safe." Hearing a knock at the door, he dressed and opened it to find an ashen Natalie on the other side. She slapped him across the face.

11/19 At John's place, he opened his door to find Natalie standing there. She walked in and slapped him, yelling that her husband was dead because of John. Crying and raging, Natalie reminded him that she had told him that Jared was innocent and that he had been chasing the wrong guy. "You made me doubt my husband," she shouted.

She quickly shot down John's brief apology, wondering if that meant everything was okay. She added that Jared had depended on her and he thought she trusted him. She had let him down because of John. She broke her husband's heart, she concluded, as she walked to John and began to beat on him, hysterically. He pulled her close.

Natalie pulled away, berating John for giving her his usual silent treatment. She wanted to know that there was nothing else he could have done. John conceded that he should have been aware that Mitch was still around. As if he didn't know, Natalie informed John that Jared had been trying to protect his father. She added that there would be no next time for Jared to go to her first before taking action. He died right in front of her, she said before she began to sob once more. John pulled her to him again, stroking her hair and putting his arms around her.

John placed a call to Clint to let him know that Natalie was with him. Heaving a sigh of relief, Clint pleaded, "Don't let her out of your sight." John promised that he would keep an eye on Natalie.

John poured Natalie a drink. She apologized for hitting him and blaming him for Jared's death. She knew that it was herself she had to blame, she continued. She did her best to throw John off of Jared's trail and she should have let him know what was happening when she got to Napa. She was afraid that John was right about Jared being guilty and it clouded her thinking. She was the one who got Jared killed, she concluded.

Sinking to the floor, she began to sob again. John joined her on the floor, trying to comfort her. He insisted that she was not the one to blame. Mitch "played" everyone, he told her. Sitting on the couch sipping her drink, Natalie quietly confessed that she was unable to return home, especially to the bedroom that she had shared with Jared. She felt his presence there, still. John told her that she would be able to stay with him for as long as she needed to. She leaned over and laid her head down in his lap.

11/20 Inside John's apartment, Natalie vowed to return to Napa and cause harm to Mitch Laurence. Insisting that Natalie needed to focus on her family and find a way to say goodbye to Jared, John pleaded with Natalie not to allow Mitch to ruin her life. Rex phoned John to get an update on the situation in Napa. Rex was shocked when John informed him that Jared had been murdered, and that Natalie was in a terrible state.

At Rex's loft, Kim helped Stacy affix padding to Stacy's flat stomach. Kim related that she had stolen the padding from a maternity ward. She was convinced that the enhancement would help trick Rex into believing that Stacy was farther along in her pregnancy. As the ladies finally managed to properly place the padding inside Stacy's clothing, Roxy barged into the loft and demanded to know why Stacy had summoned Roxy.

Back at John's apartment, Natalie thanked John for being a good friend and promised not to travel to Napa to avenge Jared's death. As Natalie discussed making arrangements for Jared, Rex arrived and Natalie cried in her brother's arms. While Rex consoled Natalie, John left the siblings alone.

Rex listened as Natalie detailed the events that had led to Jared's murder. Rex was shocked to learn that Mitch Laurence was alive and had killed Jared. Rex reminded Natalie that Mitch was dead. Relating that Mitch had lured both her and Jessica to Napa, Natalie informed Rex that Mitch was alive and well. A look of horror crossed Roxy's face as she entered the apartment and heard Natalie's announcement.

11/23 Inside John's room at the Angel Square Hotel, Roxy entered the room as Natalie revealed to Rex that Mitch Laurence was alive and had murdered Jared. Upon hearing the news of a Mitch sighting, Roxy fainted. After Roxy regained consciousness, Rex questioned how Mitch could still be alive if Roxy's claims of killing Mitch were true. Natalie demanded to know the secret that Rex and Roxy were withholding regarding Mitch. As a helpless Roxy listened, Rex related that Mitch was his father.

Natalie wondered if Mitch had raped Roxy years earlier, but Roxy wouldn't reveal the details of how Mitch had fathered Rex. Upon learning that Roxy had been aware that Mitch had been alive for months, Natalie blamed Roxy for contributing to Jared's death. Natalie believed that Jared would still be alive if Roxy had been honest with everyone. A tearful Roxy claimed that she had only wanted to protect everyone from the evil Mitch Laurence. Rex said that everyone connected to Mitch would have to pay the price for Roxy's mistakes.

When Rex learned that Mitch was being held in a Napa jail, Rex attempted to phone the facility, but a frantic Roxy stopped him. Roxy panicked when Rex announced that he wanted to meet his father, and begged Natalie to convince Rex that meeting with Mitch was a bad idea. A concerned Natalie agreed that Rex should stay as far away from Mitch as possible, but Rex reminded Natalie of the desire she had to meet her family years before.

Natalie pleaded with Rex not to reveal his identity to Mitch. Warning Rex of Mitch's evil nature, Natalie was certain that Mitch would eventually hurt Rex, Shane, and Rex's unborn child. Insisting that he wanted to speak with Natalie alone, Rex instructed Roxy to leave. In tears, Roxy proclaimed her love for her children and apologized for the pain she had caused. Out in the hall, Roxy fell to the floor and wept uncontrollably.

Back inside the room, Natalie warned, "Once you tell Mitch that you're his son, there's no turning back!" Natalie begged Rex to speak with Jessica before he paid a visit to Mitch. Natalie believed that Jessica could give him insight on the horrors that existed as an offspring of Mitch Laurence.

At Llanfair, Jessica worried about Natalie's state of mind and expressed the guilt she felt over the pain Mitch had caused her family. Brody promised Jessica that they would help Natalie deal with her grief. Brody tried to get Jessica to discuss her feelings, but Jessica shut down and claimed that she didn't want to think about Mitch. Brody related that he was also in pain, but insisted that they would take care of each other.

Inside the Napa jail, Mitch spoke to his unknown visitor. After thanking the visitor for showing up, Mitch stated, "You have your instructions! Carry them out to the letter. My family's future depends on it!" Retrieving a pen and pad, Mitch related that he had one more task to complete. In a letter that he constructed to Jessica, Mitch wrote "You disobeyed the commandment to honor your father, but with my guidance you will learn contrition." After stating that he looked forward to meeting his granddaughter, Mitch signed the letter "Dad." Mitch instructed his follower to mail the letter.

11/25 Brody arrived with a talking turkey toy for Bree. Bree was excited to see Brody and, as the little group hugged, a despondent Natalie looked on jealously. Jessica apologized, but Natalie insisted that she understood. She remembered feeling happy but guilty after Jessica lost Nash. Bree handed Natalie a bunch of flowers in remembrance of Jared's favorites.

As Viki and Natalie reminisced about Jared, Viki suddenly remembered that it was Thanksgiving. When they heard a knock on the door, they were surprised and thrilled to find Moe, Noelle, and the Balsom family, complete with a Thanksgiving dinner. There was another surprise when Dorian, Starr, Cole, and Hope arrived shortly after, then Clint arrived.

As Viki read, families and friends across Llanview and beyond celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Nigel and Renee shared a drink, while in Seattle, Destiny did her best to reunite her own family members. She pulled Greg over to the couch where Shaun and her mother were sitting. Bo and Nora felt bad for their disappointed son. Jessica thanked Clint for being her real dad, and expressed her love for him. Layla, Cristian, Oliver, and Kyle shared the holiday.

12/1 Natalie sat in the church alone, prior to Jared's memorial service. She pleaded with God to bring Jared back to her, the same as he had done with both Cristian and John. She was not happy to see Roxy arrive. Natalie called Roxy a liar and a terrible mother. Roxy insisted that Natalie needed her and she wanted to take care of Natalie. She reminded her daughter of the many times Natalie had taken care of her while growing up. She wanted to return the favor.

Natalie advised her mother that people had gotten hurt because of her when she didn't let people know about Mitch. Roxy insisted that she had pulled the plug on Mitch's equipment and thought he was dead. She vowed to stay by Natalie's side, because she loved both Natalie and Jared.

At the police station, Brody handed John the letter that Jessica had received from Mitch. As John read parts of the letter out loud, Brody promised that he would kill Mitch if the man got anywhere near the family. They were perplexed as to how the letter was sent, since Mitch was to have been prohibited from any kind of contact. They decided they needed to stop him, and John made a call to the Napa police. After a quick discussion on the phone, John admitted that the police had given him the "brush-off." They wondered if Mitch was paying someone off.

Bo found Brody and John in John's office and heard about the letter to Jessica. John made a call to the head of the California Corrections Department and learned that they would look into the incident and stop whatever was going on at the prison. Bo shook his head in amazement, noting that Mitch didn't know when to stop.

Marty gave John the good news about Matthew. As they departed for the church, she said that they couldn't have heard the news on a better day.

As the casket was wheeled in, Natalie placed her hands lovingly on top of it and cried. She hoped it was all a mistake. Family and friends arrived at the church, and they gathered around to comfort her.

The service began and Jessica walked to the front to give the eulogy. Jessica observed that when she had lost her husband, she had lashed out at people in pain and anger. She had particularly lashed out at Jared, she said. Natalie's love for Jared had never wavered and that was something that Jared had been missing throughout his life. She concluded that no one would be able to take away the spirit that both Natalie and Jared had, not even Mitch. She promised Jared that he could rest in peace, because Natalie was in good hands.

During the service, John received a call and left his seat to take it. It appeared that the news was dismal and shocking. John told the unknown party, "I don't care how it happened." John walked towards Bo and whispered into the police commissioner's ear. Bo rose and the men began to walk towards the back of the church. As the service continued, the casket slowly began to open. Natalie began to smile slightly at first, as the rest of the mourners looked on, horrified. The police officers stopped and turned around. Natalie's grin disappeared. The casket popped open and Mitch Laurence emerged!

12/2 As Mitch Laurence rose from the coffin meant for Jared. "Well, don't look so surprised!" he admonished the shocked mourners. "It's not like this is the first time I've come back from the dead!" Bo, Brody, and John rushed to the pulpit to grab Mitch, who began to taunt and mock the assembled Buchanans.

"Where is he?" Natalie howled at Mitch, demanding to know where Jared was. Mitch played dumb, but warned the family not to dress Jared too warmly, as he doubted the late Mr. Banks was going to a better place. Enraged, Charlie lunged at Mitch, only to be pulled off him by Bo and John. Mitch explained that Jared's body was still at the funeral home, but he'd co-opted the coffin for a family reunion. "I don't understand," he cried. "You all seem so offended!"

Through it all, Mitch wriggled in Brody's grasp, taunting Jessica and Natalie, and asked Jessica if she'd gotten his letter. When Mitch called Jessica his daughter, Clint reacted violently, "She's my daughter!"

"Ah, yes, Clint Buchanan, the cuckold," Mitch purred, needling Clint about his "assignation" with Viki all those years before, when they'd conceived Jessica. Viki reminded Mitch that he had raped her, but Mitch merely expressed appreciation to Clint for raising his daughter for him. Disgusted, Clint rushed out to the funeral home, fearing what he would find there. Mitch jeered that Clint should also fear what he might find in his own home. "Right, Nora?"

As Bo and Nora winced at Mitch's implications, a hysterical Natalie stepped forward and asked what Mitch was doing out of jail. Mitch gleefully explained that the Napa police had dropped all charges. "No freakin' way!" Roxy cried as she leaped to her feet. John said that it was true, and he'd just gotten the call. Turning back to Jessica, Mitch had good news: "We won't need letters anymore, kitten. Daddy's home!"

Bo directed Brody and another officer to grab Mitch, who said the Llanview Police Department couldn't hold him. Bo disagreed, and said Mitch was under arrest for the murders of Wayne Landers and Pamela Stuart, though Mitch continued to pin the killings on Jared. As Bo and Brody began to drag Mitch out of the church, Mitch told them to stop so he could say a proper hello to his son, Rex. "He's the son I always wanted," Mitch marveled, staring the horrified young man down. "I'll be in touch." As he was led away, Mitch continued shouting at Rex, "We have much work to do, you and I!"

The congregation struggled to recover from the disruption, while the Buchanans were baffled by Mitch's sudden release from prison. Clint returned, and said he'd found Jared's body waiting at the funeral home, but received no explanations as to how Mitch had managed to get into the coffin. John told Marty he would accompany Bo and Brody to the station with Mitch in custody, and hurried out. Attempting to restore order, the pastor directed the congregation to the cemetery for Jared's burial and Nash's re-internment.

Before Brody could lose his cool with Mitch at the PCPD jail, John arrived. Mitch told the cops again that they'd be unable to hold him, and got in another jab at Bo about Clint, and his inability to see danger lurking so close to home. As Bo and John left the cell block, Mitch reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of Rex.

At the cemetery, the Buchanans, their friends, and their family assembled at a new gravesite for Jared's burial. Viki, Jessica, Clint, Nora, Moe, Noelle, and Roxy each took a turn reading a verse from a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain
When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night

Taking the final verse, Natalie choked out the words through her tears. "Do not stand at my grave and cry," she said softly. "I am not there. I did not die."

As the mourners comforted one another, Viki and Jessica approached Natalie and asked if she was ready to leave. Weeping, Natalie asked for a few more minutes alone with Jared, and the others agreed. As Roxy passed by, Natalie hugged her and thanked her for being there.

Alone with Jared's coffin, Natalie struggled to find her voice. "Some funeral, huh?" she joked. She admitted that the chaos with Mitch was typical for her family, but she knew that Jared had always felt that every family was weird, and he'd always known what to say. Remembering their time together, she told Jared that when he'd gone out of town on business trips, she'd fantasized about being there with him, even if it was somewhere she'd never been.

When it was, she would simply close her eyes and remember the Buchanan ranch in Texas, where they'd fallen in love, and envision them there. Producing a portrait of the ranch, she placed it beside Jared's coffin, and began to sob as she wondered where he was, and if he could hear her. Reclining on the grass, Natalie lay down beside the coffin and closed her eyes. She told Jared that she was going to picture him at the ranch, waiting for her.

Back at the police station, Bo and John headed for Bo's office as Bo wrestled with what to do about Mitch, and how to stop him once and for all. John reminded Bo that two heads were better than one.

12/3 As darkness fell, Viki found Natalie still sitting next to Jared's coffin. Natalie acknowledged that she couldn't walk away by herself and didn't want to be alone. The women reminisced about the previous Christmas and the gifts that Natalie and Jared had exchanged. Natalie had the framed photo of the ranch that she had given Jared, sitting by the gravesite. They laughed about Jared's gift of socks to Natalie and the ring he had eventually given her.

While she knew it was difficult, Viki asked that Natalie try to put Mitch out of her mind. A distraught Natalie didn't think that it was possible, given the evil deeds that Mitch had committed. Not only had he killed Jared but he had physically removed Jared's body from his coffin. She wondered if he had just dumped Jared's body on the floor. Raging, she confessed that she just wanted to strangle Mitch.

Viki knew that everyone wanted to pay Mitch back but she thought that if he knew someone wanted to get even with him, he would take control of their life. She wanted Natalie to move on, despite Mitch. Natalie asked about Charlie, and Viki confided that Charlie needed some extra A.A. meetings, since he was feeling challenged. Natalie thought that something else was wrong. Viki informed her that Charlie had attempted to kill Mitch in Napa and had almost succeeded. He was struggling and felt responsible for Jared's death.

Natalie understood Charlie's reactions and wondered how he would survive. Viki decided that it was time for her to go inside, but Natalie was unable to leave Jared. Viki gently explained that Jared was not there, but was in Natalie's heart, her memories, in Texas, and even in the box with her ring and socks. The women departed the cemetery.

12/7 At Llanview Hospital, Marty stood out in the hall and spoke to John over the phone as they made dinner plans for the night. Later, Marty phoned John and informed him that Nick had been the victim of a hate crime. Marty also asked Nick if there was someone that he wanted her to call.

After locating the offenders, John and Oliver accompanied the men to the Llanview police station for processing. Oliver became enraged when one of the men directed a gay slur at him. Oliver attempted to hit the man, but John prevented his officer from assaulting the cuffed offender. John instructed one of his men to place the loud mouthed criminal in the same cell with Mitch Laurence. Noticing Oliver's emotional state, John assured Oliver that things would get better. Expressing his anger over the actions of prejudiced individuals, Oliver related that he didn't think things would ever change.

12/8 Marty stopped by John's office hoping to share some breakfast, but he was preparing to question Mitch. "Don't leave on my account," Mitch purred to Marty as he arrived before she had a chance to depart. He expressed his feelings that everyone was out to get him. "Even paranoiacs have real enemies," Marty told him. Spitefully, Mitch asked what Marty saw in John. "He didn't even rape you," Mitch pronounced wickedly.

Enraged, John jumped at Mitch and planted him against the wall. Marty implored John to stop, noting that he was reacting exactly as Mitch wanted him to. Mitch expressed his dismay at not having his lawyer available. His previous attorney in Llanview, Evangeline, had been incapacitated due to a hate crime, similar to the one that had just occurred. He shook his head and wondered what was happening to Llanview. Informing Mitch that he was boring her, Marty headed for the door. He made sure to get his last jab in, imploring her to call him if she needed a babysitter for her granddaughter.

Mitch wanted to turn his attention to a discussion of Natalie. John warned Mitch not to mention Natalie's or Marty's names again. They agreed that they had found common ground. Mitch enjoyed punishment and John wanted to oblige him. As he rolled up his sleeves, John advised Mitch, "If the law fails to protect the people I care about, I'll kill you myself." Mitch thought how law-abiding John was supposed to to serve and protect. Mitch noted that people had killed him before, but John retorted that if he did it, he would make it stick.

John promised that he would kill Mitch if he found Mitch within a mile of Natalie, Marty, Hope, or anyone else. Oliver, arriving for work, stood outside the office door and listened to John's threats. Mitch wanted John to know that he still had feelings for Natalie and he had plans for her. He thought that John would especially want to kill Mitch if he could see into Mitch's head and see what Mitch was thinking about Natalie at that moment.

Just then, Oliver knocked on the door and announced that he was reporting for work. He felt that he should observe while John was questioning the prisoner. "Nah, I got this," John replied, sending Oliver back out.

Arriving at Buchanan Enterprises, Natalie looked longingly at Jared's nameplate on his office door. She was stunned to hear a voice emanating from inside, as Kim bragged to someone on the phone about her new position at the corporation. Bursting into the office, Natalie demanded to know what Stacy's "stripper friend" was doing in her husband's office, besides breaking in and touching his things. Kim assured Natalie that Jared had hired her as Clint's assistant, since she was the best candidate. Refusing to buy it, Natalie raised her voice and demanded to know what Kim was really doing there. She picked up the letter opener and stabbed it into the desk for emphasis.

Hearing shouting as Natalie gave Kim hell for touching Jared's possessions, Clint confronted his daughter. Clint confirmed that technically, he had been the one to hire Kim because he had trusted Jared's assessment of Kim. The young woman looked at Natalie triumphantly. The new assistant explained that she had been listening to Jared's phone messages, thinking that she was making things easier for the family. She pointed out the thank you note that she had left for Jared on his desk, though he had obviously not gotten to see it. Natalie made it clear that Kim was not to enter Jared's office again.

Clint asked Kim to pick up a file for him at the Buchanan home. She grinned to herself as she left. Clint thought that it was too early for Natalie to return to work, but she felt that she needed to keep busy until Mitch's trial. Hesitating, Clint informed his daughter that there was a possibility that there would be no trial. He related the information that Bo had provided to him and that the case against Mitch had been compromised by a police error.

Even the deaths in Llanview pointed to Jared, and they just needed to be prepared for the worst, he advised his daughter solemnly. The emptying of the caskets would only be a misdemeanor. Natalie asked her father to leave her alone to clear out Jared's office. Once he was gone, she cleared the desk with a brush of her arm, grabbed some items and tossed them, then she cried.

Breaking the glass on a photo, Natalie sank to the floor and slowly began to clean up her mess. As she began to straighten up the office, Natalie found a Christmas gift from Jared, addressed to Sparky. She opened the letter and heard Jared's voice. He wrote about how they had not had a lavish wedding and it had been especially missed after their parents had married each other. He had planned for them to have a wedding on New Year's Eve with a honeymoon to follow in Oahu.

The present in the attached box was really for him, he concluded. Natalie opened it and found a book, What to Name Your Baby. "Your pick," he had written. A devastated Natalie slowly picked up the items strewn on the floor but suddenly her eyes landed on the letter opener, protruding from the top of the desk. When Clint walked into the office later, looking for Natalie, she was gone. He recalled the letter opener, prominently sticking out of the desk, and noted that was gone, too.

Natalie showed up at John's office, demanding to know if it was true that there would be no trial for Mitch. Mitch acknowledged that they would be free to be together. John promised Natalie that he would take care of things for her, and stepped out into the hallway to call for some help. Natalie, making it known that she had nothing to live for any longer, lifted the letter opener and stabbed Mitch with it.

12/9 At the station, John's office became a crime scene as Natalie stabbed Mitch in the chest with Jared's letter opener. John rushed into action, shutting his door and pulling Natalie away from Mitch, forcing her to drop the letter opener to the ground as Mitch crumpled to the floor. Thinking fast, John asked her where she'd gotten the weapon, and was dismayed to learn that it was Jared's from Buchanan Enterprises, complete with monogrammed initials.

John quickly hid the letter opener as Brody and Jessica entered, shocked by the sight of Mitch on the floor. Taking control of the chaos, John told Brody that Mitch had stabbed himself, unwilling to go back to prison. Natalie stood in the corner, silent, as John and Brody called for the EMTs and John fed Brody his cover story.

Stepping over to the unconscious Mitch, Natalie whispered one word, "Die." Brody was skeptical about John's claims, and suspicious of Natalie's silence. As the EMTs arrived, John asked about Mitch's chances. One EMT told him that the wound had missed any vital organs, and Mitch could get lucky.

Inside the office, John continued to comfort the shell-shocked Natalie, and told her to keep quiet and back him up. Gazing at Natalie as she sat alone outside the crime scene, Brody was ready to ask her some questions, but was thwarted when John asked him to get her some water. After Brody left, John reentered his office and replaced Jared's bloody letter opener with his own, smearing it with Mitch's blood and leaving it on the floor, then tossed the original weapon into his desk drawer.

Brody returned to Natalie's side, ready to question her. Before Natalie could speak, John entered the corridor and handed Brody the bagged letter opener, asking him to take the weapon down to the evidence locker. Sensing he was getting the run-around, Brody told John he wanted to help, but John ignored his pleas and told Brody to file the weapon.

After Brody left, Natalie turned to John and said she hadn't cracked. She asked him why he was helping her, and John reminded her that her life would be over if she confessed to a murder attempt. "It already is," Natalie murmured, but John disagreed. Natalie told him he couldn't risk his career for her, but John urged her to stick to the cover story. He promised it would be okay.

12/14 At the Llanview Police Station, Natalie stood in the room where she had stabbed Mitch, and stared at the puddle of blood that Mitch had left behind. Outside the interview room, Brody asked John to allow him to question Natalie about Mitch's attempted suicide. Stating that Natalie was in no condition to give a statement, John urged Brody to close his file on the incident and to allow the Internal Affairs Division to take over the case. An aggravated Brody agreed to hold off on questioning Natalie.

Upon entering the interview room, John suggested that he and Natalie get their stories straight, but Natalie admitted to stabbing Mitch, and questioned why John was covering for her. John listened as Natalie recounted the events that had led up to her decision to stab Mitch. Natalie told John that she had become enraged when she learned that the charges against Mitch had been dropped. Recalling how she panicked upon realizing that she could never bear Jared's child because of Mitch, Natalie admitted that she had removed the letter opener from Jared's desk and set out to stab Mitch with the weapon. Informing Natalie that she could be charged with premeditated murder, John insisted that she corroborate his claim that Mitch had stabbed himself.

Natalie feared that Mitch might wake up and reveal the truth. John related that no one would ever accept Mitch's word over theirs, but Natalie had her doubts. As John promised to protect Natalie, Viki entered the room and questioned why John felt the need to protect her daughter. John claimed that he wanted to protect Natalie from the reporters who anxiously awaited her statement. Viki declared that the world would be a better place if Mitch was dead, and prayed that his luck would soon run out. Reminding the ladies that he had a meeting with Internal Affairs, John suggested that Viki escort Natalie home.

Later, Brody approached John and announced, "We both know the truth. Natalie stabbed Mitch!"

12/16 John entered Mitch's hospital room, finding him still asleep. After flashing back to the stabbing at the police station and his subsequent cover-up, John pulled out the evidence bag with his letter-opener, and placed it in Mitch's palm, getting Mitch's prints on the blade. His work done, John prepared to leave, but stopped when a familiar voice rang out. "Hello, detective," Mitch murmured. "Here to make sure I get well soon?"

Mitch assured John that God had wanted him to live and carry on his good work. He asked if John had "put Natalie away," but John feigned ignorance. Outraged, Mitch declared that Natalie was the one who'd stabbed him, but John didn't see it that way. "You tried to kill yourself," he said coolly.

Mitch warned John that the evidence wouldn't back the cover-up, but John said he had Mitch's prints, the weapon, and no other witnesses. When Mitch asked John about justice, John said he felt his actions were justice. Mitch swore that Natalie would answer for her crime, but John said it would be Laurence's word against his, "and my word wins."

At Llanfair, Viki found an edgy Natalie. Nervous, Natalie asked if Mitch was awake or had said anything? Viki said Mitch was still unconscious, but unfortunately would live. "Why couldn't he die?" Natalie asked, anguished. Viki sensed there was more to Natalie's anxiety than just Mitch's survival, and asked her what had happened with her and John at the police station?

Frazzled, Natalie seemed ready to tell her mother everything when suddenly, Charlie stumbled in. Surprised to see Viki there and not at the Banner, he attempted to leave, but Natalie beat a hasty retreat instead, anxious to avoid Viki's questions. In the corridor, Natalie called John's voicemail, warning him that Mitch had woken up and was asking what they were going to do.

In the solarium, Viki confronted Charlie with the bottle she'd found, and asked if it belonged to him. Hiding his inebriated state, Charlie suggested the bottle had fallen out of the recycling bin, and promised Viki he hadn't been drinking, just as Jessica reentered the room. As Viki left for the Banner, Jessica turned to Charlie, taken aback by the conversation she'd overheard. She asked Charlie if he was still drinking, but Charlie said the bottle was left over from his "one slip," and thanked Jessica for her discretion. Apprehensive, Jessica left the solarium.

Back at Llanview Hospital, Brody entered Mitch's room, where John continued his vigil. Furious, Mitch ordered Brody to take his statement for the record. He said that John was lying about his suicide attempt, and that he hadn't tried to kill himself. As Natalie burst into the room, Mitch told Brody that John was covering up his own crime: John McBain had stabbed him

Dvd #18B 12/17 As Natalie rushed into Mitch's room at Llanview Hospital, Mitch insisted on giving his statement to Brody. "The person who stabbed me is John McBain," he stated. Natalie refused to leave at John's urging as Mitch continued to talk. Mitch wanted her to stay and be a witness. Mitch hoped that John wasn't carrying a torch for Natalie, since Mitch had his own plans for her.

He continued to taunt John, gushing that he liked Natalie to squeal with delight. Instructing Brody to look into John's eyes, Mitch insisted that if Brody weren't there, John would have killed him. "What are you waiting for? Arrest him," he yelled at Brody. Brody turned to John and asked his boss what he should do.

Mitch began to rant and rave at Brody's action, screaming that Brody and John were planning his assassination. John ordered Brody to write down everything that Mitch said. Natalie stepped up and pleaded with John to let her speak. She couldn't bear to have him ruin his life, and she admitted that she had been the one to stab Mitch. Mitch suggested that both he and John were trying to protect Natalie, since they were both suckers for redheads.

He also suggested that Brody had known the truth all along. He proceeded to describe the letter opener with the initials J.B. that Natalie had used to stab him. He insisted that John had taken a substitute opener and conveyed it to the hospital to get Mitch's prints on it. John had it with him, Mitch asserted. "Go ahead, search him," he ordered Brody, screaming. John proclaimed that Mitch was insane.

Mitch appealed to Brody, pointing out that Brody's friends were putting him in a terrible position. Mitch knew that Brody could sense the truth, and urged him to "save your soul." He wanted Brody to search John. Breaking in, John snickered that no one believed Mitch and nothing could be proven. Mitch believed differently, and was positive that someone would do time and the attempted suicide charge would never stick. He voted for John as the one to be imprisoned. He thought that John should take the blame so that Natalie could go free.

Confronting Mitch, Natalie growled that he knew she had been the one to stab him because he had killed Jared. John was sure that no one would be prosecuted, and pointed out that they had three conflicting stories. Mitch drawled that time was running out and he felt that John should confess so that Natalie would be free. John urged Brody and Natalie to leave Mitch's room with him.

Out in the hallway, he reminded them that the weapon had Mitch's prints and that the man stabbed himself. Brody was concerned that internal affairs would find something suspect once they began their investigation. John assured Brody that he was to report everything that he heard and saw, and assured him that the weapon would be found in its proper place. He wanted Brody to be clean. Natalie was concerned for John. "I hope you know what you're doing," Brody confided to John.

12/22 Rocking' Around the Crisis Train - As Natalie answered the door at Llanfair, she was surprised to see Jared. "Hi Sparky," he said. Moments later, she refocused and saw Rex standing there, offering to spend time with her to comfort her as the holiday approached. Natalie cried as she recalled the same time the year before, when she and Jared were exhausted from caring for Chloe and Bree. She wished she was pregnant so that she could hold onto Jared, she confided to her brother, but there was no way she could be. Rex reminded her of her huge family who loved her.

Natalie urged Rex to return home to spend time with Gigi, but he confessed that Gigi was not there. A worried Natalie asked if Gigi had left him. She felt responsible for consuming Rex's time when he helped her out when Jared was missing. Rex admitted that Gigi's taking off had been his idea and that he had suggested she take a "breather" because of her feelings about Schuyler. "Have you lost your mind?" Natalie asked her brother. She thought that Schuyler was just a crush and urged her brother to rush up to the cabin to see Gigi. Turning, Natalie spotted Jared again and assured her brother that she wanted to be alone with her memories.

Natalie took a pregnancy test as Jared "watched" and asked for the results. He thought it was possible that the test would be positive, thinking that possibly they had "slipped." Natalie looked at the test and sighed. "Nope, we didn't slip." He assured her that she would always have her memories. She envisioned laying in his arms, then jumped up and looked outside. He blew a kiss goodbye to her.

12/28 At the police station, John asked Bo and Nora to close the case on Mitch's suicide attempt. Indicating that the evidence supported his statement, John requested that his superiors put an end to the madness and focus on the pending charges facing Mitch. Before either Bo or Nora could respond, Natalie burst into the room and announced, "John didn't do anything!" When Nora questioned whether Natalie had provided a statement, John reminded Nora that Natalie had experienced a tremendous loss and suggested that they close the case without a statement from her. Relating that the Internal Affairs division wasn't pursuing the case, Nora agreed to close the investigation.

A nervous Natalie questioned whether Mitch would beat the charges and be released. Nora and Bo appeared suspicious when Natalie expressed concern that Mitch might harm John. Realizing that Natalie's behavior was arousing suspicion, John immediately ushered her out of the office. Afterward, Nora asked Bo if he believed John's claim that Mitch had stabbed himself?

Bo admitted that he didn't believe John and wondered if his police lieutenant had done the deed himself. Although skeptical of John's story, both Bo and Nora agreed not to waste department resources smearing a good cop. They decided to focus on charging Mitch for the murders of Wayne Landers and Pamela Stewart.

John and Natalie discussed their dilemma outside of Bo's office. While John tried to convince her that the evidence supported his claim, Natalie feared that the murder weapon might be discovered. John advised her that the case was over, but Natalie mumbled, "It'll never be over as long as that monster is alive!"

As Bo and Nora exited the office and approached John and Natalie, Dorian arrived with invitations to the Mayor's Ball. Bo, Nora, John, and Natalie declined the invitation, but Dorian persisted until they all agreed to attend (Note John & Natalie do not attend).

1/4 At La Boulaie, Dorian examined the front page of the Sun. The article reported Bo's firing, and exposed Bo and Nora's affair. A call from Mitch interrupted Dorian's thoughts . He indicated that he had more work regarding Bo for her to perform. Dorian ordered Mitch to leave her family alone, but a sly Mitch replied, "Not yet, we're not finished with Bo Buchanan!"

Reminding Dorian that she had fired Bo for personal reasons, Mitch was concerned that Bo might reclaim his position as police commissioner. A look of fear crossed Dorian's face when Mitch stated that she would soon receive a package that contained damaging evidence, and instructed her to use it against Bo.

As an infuriated Dorian yelled at Mitch, John appeared in Mitch's hospital room and demanded to know who the prisoner was conversing with over the phone. Retrieving the phone from Mitch, John asked Mitch's co-conspirator to identify herself. Covering her tracks, Dorian identified herself. Relating that Mitch was harassing her, Dorian ordered John to keep Mitch away from her.

John questioned Mitch about being in possession of an untraceable cell phone, but Mitch lied and claimed that he'd found it. When Mitch asked if Natalie would face charges for stabbing him, John informed Mitch that the case was closed. Insisting that no one would ever believe that he had stabbed himself, Mitch was adamant that he would be exonerated of all the charges facing him. Unfazed by Mitch's threats, John advised the prisoner to prepare to be transported back to jail.

Back at the police station, presenting Nora with a copy of the Sun, Jessica and Natalie asked Nora if the accusations in the article were true? Explaining that she didn't want to hurt Clint, Nora admitted that she and Clint had separated and that she had reunited with Bo. Natalie couldn't believe that Nora would leave Clint, but Nora insisted that she couldn't ignore her feelings for Bo.

When Nora excused herself to tend to Mitch's case, Natalie became nervous and questioned if Mitch would be released. Nora informed the sisters that she was closing the case on Mitch's attempted suicide. As Natalie and Jessica worried about Clint's state of mind, the sisters were horrified when they noticed John, Brody, and Oliver entering the station with Mitch.

As Mitch taunted Bo about losing his job, Nora informed Mitch that his stabbing had been ruled an attempted suicide. Everyone listened as Mitch accused John of framing him. Advising Nora not to participate in covering up a crime, Mitch warned Nora that she couldn't endure any more scandal.

As Brody and Oliver attempted to escort Mitch to his cell, Dorian emerged and stated that she had a few things to say. After Brody and Oliver took Mitch to his cell, Dorian advised Bo to resign, but he refused. Bo insisted that Dorian couldn't fire him over a personal matter.

Opening the mysterious envelope, Dorian stated that Bo was guilty of removing evidence and filing false charges. Removing Jared's bloody letter opener that Natalie had used to stab Mitch, Dorian announced, "This is evidence of a cover-up that goes from John McBain all the way up to the top!"

1/5 In Bo's office, Dorian held up the bagged and bloodied letter opener for Bo to see. She stressed that Jared's initials were on it as well as Mitch's blood and John's fingerprints. She refused to divulge where she had gotten the letter opener and accused Bo of covering up an attempted murder. Bo called John to his office and questioned him. John insisted that he had been framed. Jessica, waiting in the outer office with Natalie, whispered that she hoped whoever made the attempt at killing Mitch got away with it.

Dorian left and returned after the forensics report arrived. John's prints were on the bloody letter opener just as she had been told. Bo insisted that he was taking John's word as a decorated detective, over those of a murderer, that Mitch had attempted suicide. He reminded Dorian that Mitch's fingerprints were on the opener already filed in the evidence room. If John had done what Dorian had said, he would have wiped his prints off, Bo pointed out.

Dorian assumed that John hadn't had the time, and she insisted that John always cut corners if he didn't get his way. She was certain that Bo was in on it. She was annoyed that Bo was protecting John and demanded that Bo turn in his badge. John warned her that she was making a mistake.

Brody followed Natalie and Jessica into the office, and Natalie was not to be stopped. She demanded to be heard and insisted that she was the one who had stabbed Mitch and that John was innocent. Bo urged her to be quiet, but Natalie persisted in telling her side of the chain of events. John chimed in that she was covering for him and he ordered Dorian to leave both Natalie and Bo out of it.

Bo reminded Dorian that he ran the department, not her. Dorian assured John that there would be a hearing with internal affairs regarding his involvement in the Mitch stabbing. Having heard enough, Bo dropped his badge on the desk. He refused to allow her to run "roughshod" over everyone when she was out to get Bo in the first place.

Dorian accepted the badge eagerly, wished him luck, and headed for the door. Bo called out to her and handed her the bloodied letter opener that she had left on his desk. Once she was gone, Bo shared his opinion that Dorian had been after him, and she would have kept on trying until she got him. Brody wanted to know why she was after him. John wondered if someone else was behind it.

John assumed that Mitch was behind Dorian's actions and presumed that Mitch had something over her. He and Bo wondered who had obtained the letter opener from where John would have stashed it. They arrived at the conclusion that Mitch had people working for him, and they would need to find out who those people were.

1/7 John was surprised when Natalie stopped by to see him at the Angel Square Hotel. She wanted to apologize for all that had happened since she had stabbed Mitch and John's cover-up had begun. "No worries," he told her nonchalantly. He informed her that his next step was to find out what Mitch was holding over Dorian's head.

Grabbing a file, Natalie proclaimed that she wanted to help, but John wouldn't hear of it. He urged her to go home. She pointed out that all she did was think at home, and he'd seen the havoc she had already wreaked from too much thinking. She declared that she wouldn't mind finishing the job as far as Mitch was concerned, and she would rather be in jail if it meant that Mitch was dead. She was willing to face the consequences. John uttered that he wasn't ready, but they were unable to discuss it further because Marty arrived.

"Am I interrupting something?" Marty wanted to know as an awkwardness descended on the group. Both John and Natalie assured her that she wasn't, and Marty offered to speak with Natalie on a professional level if Natalie would like it. She'd also recommend someone else if Natalie preferred, but she understood what Natalie was going through having survived her own husband's death, Marty told the younger woman.

After Natalie left, Marty advised John that Natalie was unstable and needed help before she turned violent. As John stammered, Marty turned on him and declared that she was afraid he'd go to jail due to his immersion in Mitch's case; she wanted him to stop acting alone with his task. She didn't want to lose him that way and she wondered if he thought she didn't care because she had given him space. John explained that he hadn't wanted to tell Marty about everything because then she'd be an accessory after the fact.

He thought she had just been acting smart. He was merely protecting her. Marty asked him if it was the same as the way he had been protecting Natalie. She blurted out that she knew he was covering for Natalie, and she was aware that Natalie had been the one to stab Mitch. She wanted to help him. John firmly told her that he wasn't about to pull her into the mess.

Natalie headed to Jared's grave and apologized for not getting him justice. She cried that she missed him and that nothing felt right without him. She laid her head on the gravestone as Charlie and Viki watched from a short distance away. Finally, Charlie headed over to Natalie and wrapped his jacket around her. She told him that she couldn't leave Jared even though she knew that Jared probably didn't want them there. He comforted her as she began to sob. Viki stayed behind and looked on sadly.

Marty wanted to know if John thought there was anything wrong about covering up for Natalie and then lying to Marty about it. John knew there were "millions of things wrong," but he felt that the alternatives were worse. Marty asked if there was any way for John to remove himself from his involvement in the case, but he felt the only way to do that would be to resign as a cop. He didn't want to rest until Mitch was dead or in jail. They were forced to stop their discussion when John's phone rang. Someone told him the news of Dorian's announcement as he turned on the television.

Marty was fit to be tied that Lowell was the new commissioner, though John shrugged that Mitch was pulling Dorian's strings. John wasn't able to prove it, but vowed that he would. Marty, upset that her son was almost killed because of Lowell, professed herself to be on a mission. They were surprised when someone knocked on the door and it was Lowell on the other side with two patrolmen. Marty threatened him, and John ordered him to leave. Announcing that he, too, was on a mission, Lowell ordered that John be placed under arrest.

1/11 At Llanfair, as Bo broke the news to Viki and Charlie that John had been arrested, Natalie interrupted and announced that she had something important to discuss with them. At that moment, Clint barged into the room and criticized Dorian for hiring Lowell as police commissioner, but Bo quickly reminded his brother that he had encouraged Dorian to fire Bo.

Interrupting Clint and Bo's bickering, Natalie confessed that she had stabbed Mitch and that John was covering for her. Natalie was adamant that she wanted to protect John by turning herself in to the authorities. Bo pleaded with Natalie to allow Nora to handle the situation. Appalled by his brother's interference, Clint promised to find Natalie an excellent lawyer, but Bo was adamant that Nora had everything under control. Clint balked at his brother's statement.

Upon hearing Natalie's admission of guilt, Charlie excused himself, but Viki quickly followed her husband into the foyer. Enraged that Mitch had nearly caused Natalie to commit murder, Charlie insisted that he needed time alone to process the news. Promising that he wouldn't take a drink, Charlie left the house in a hurry.

As Lowell chastised Nora to do her job, Jessica stepped inside the office. Placing a bloody letter opener on the desk, Jessica announced that she had stabbed Mitch Laurence. Lowell referred to Jessica as a mental patient, but Nora insisted that she couldn't prosecute John if another suspect existed. Seconds later, Marty entered the office and placed another letter opener on Lowell's desk. Marty claimed that she had also stabbed Mitch.

Before Lowell could respond, Cole arrived with yet another letter opener. Cole insisted that he had stabbed Mitch. Once Jessica, Marty, and Cole had left, Nora smiled at Lowell and stated, "You have three people confessing to the crime. How do you want me to proceed?" Nora maintained that until Lowell sorted out the evidence, she couldn't proceed to trial. While Lowell was adamant that he wanted John prosecuted, Nora maintained that Lowell didn't have a case against John.

Outside of Lowell's office, Elijah informed John that Lowell was determined to charge John with the stabbing of Mitch Laurence. A cuffed John spotted Jessica, Marty, and Cole leaving Lowell's office and questioned why they were there. John was amazed when Jessica, Marty, and Cole announced that they had all confessed to stabbing Mitch. Staring at them in disbelief, John remarked, "But you didn't do it!" With a sly smile, Marty replied, "Neither did you!"

Stepping outside his office, Lowell ordered a guard to escort John to the arraignment hearing, but Nora advised Elijah that she had discovered new evidence in the case. Upon hearing Nora's declaration, Elijah urged Lowell to drop the charges against his client. Lowell refused, but Nora warned Lowell that it was in his best interest to end his vendetta against John at once. Reminding Lowell that he was treading on thin ice, Nora insisted that the media might choose to launch an investigation into Lowell's appointment as police commissioner. Lowell cringed when Nora exclaimed, "I think the people you work for would be very disappointed!"

Cornered, Lowell instructed the guard to release John from custody. Lowell agreed to drop the charges but announced that John was fired from the force. An angered Brody threatened to quit, but John urged him to stay. Afterward, Marty expressed her regret over John losing his job, but John replied, "It's not the only important thing in my life! I have a few more tricks up my sleeve!"

Back at Llanfair, Natalie insisted that she couldn't remain silent about her guilt as long as John was in jail. To everyone's surprise, Nora entered the room and announced that John was a free man. Natalie's mood brightened when John emerged and exclaimed, "Nora and Bo pulled a fast one!" With a smirk, Clint remarked, "That's what they do best!” When Natalie questioned why John had covered for her, John replied, "You know why!" Natalie responded by giving John a loving hug.

Later, Viki urged Natalie to lean on her for support. As Jessica joined them, Viki pleaded with her daughters to get over their hatred for Mitch and begged them not to seek revenge. Although she agreed, Natalie insisted that someone had to make Mitch pay.

Outside of Llanfair, Bo and John met up with Brody. John and Bo informed Brody that they wanted Brody's help in taking down Lowell and Mitch. Stating that they needed someone on the inside of the department to help, John and Bo urged Brody to keep his nose clean. Brody agreed to help his friends.

Dorian returned and handed Mitch a thick roll of bills and asked him to leave her home. Accepting the cash, Mitch warned, "If I meet an untimely death at your hand, the Cramer girls will be in danger!" Once Mitch left, Dorian removed the drug from her pocket.

1/14 Suddenly, a gloved hand reached from behind Dorian and covered her mouth.

1/15 Terrified, a bound and gagged Dorian sat inside a closed Rodi's bar. John removed her blindfold and revealed Brody and himself as her captors. Upon realizing that John had abducted her, Dorian ordered him to release her immediately. John agreed to release Dorian once she admitted that Mitch Laurence had blackmailed her into hiring Lowell as the new police commissioner.

Insisting that she hadn't committed any transgressions, Dorian exclaimed, "There's nothing that Mitch could use against me!" With a knowing look, John responded, "Your girls!" Dorian's jaw dropped. Advising Dorian to fire Lowell and to reinstate Bo, John assured her that Mitch would be prosecuted, but Dorian refused to reverse her decision.

John suggested that Dorian step down as mayor and allow Viki to assume her duties. In a fit of rage, Dorian inadvertently admitted that Mitch had threatened her girls. Hoping to appeal to Dorian's sense of decency, Brody related Mitch's attempt to kidnap Stacy and steal her unborn child. After receiving little emotion from her, Brody warned Dorian that Lowell might revert to his old ways and attempt to harm Starr and Hope again.

Although moved by Brody's plea, a frustrated Dorian declared, "Nothing is going to stop Mitch until he's dead. Are you going to kill him, John?" After releasing her, John warned, "Mitch has already committed one murder, are you going to be responsible for the next?"

At the Buenos Dias Café, Viki listened as Charlie confided in Natalie and Jessica that he had started drinking again. While Viki tried to convince Charlie that he hadn't done anything wrong, Natalie was adamant that Mitch had driven Charlie to drink again and had caused her to nearly commit murder. Agreeing with her mother and sister, Jessica announced, "We need to find a way to get rid of him!" As the family discussed Mitch, they were horrified when he entered the café and approached them (have they ever heard of a restraining order?).

After directing several snide comments at Viki and her daughters, Mitch set his sights on a disturbed Charlie. When Mitch began to antagonize him, Charlie responded by attacking Mitch. With a tight grip on Mitch's shirt, Charlie threatened to kill him, but Viki and the girls convinced Charlie to release his hold on Mitch. Afterward, Mitch smiled and exclaimed, "I can't stay dead!"

Natalie and Jessica paid John and Brody a visit at Rodi's. Jessica appeared hopeful when Brody informed her that he believed the argument he and John had presented to Dorian had moved her.

1/18 At the Buchanan mansion, Kim was disappointed to find Jessica and a scowling Natalie on the doorstep. As Clint invited his daughters to join them for dinner, Kim was relieved when she received a call from Stacy. Insisting that her life was falling apart, Stacy begged Kim to help her. Before rushing off to check on Stacy, Kim smiled at Clint and chimed, "Wait up for me!" Natalie and Jessica were appalled by Kim's statement. After the girls told Clint about their run-in with Mitch, Clint stated that he prayed for the opportunity to kill Mitch.

Citing Clint's involvement with Kim, Jessica and Natalie expressed concern for their father. After informing his daughters that Kim had moved into the mansion, Clint assured them that he was aware of Kim's true intentions. Relating that he wanted to enjoy his life, Clint insisted that Kim made him feel happy. Clint refused to remain depressed over his failed marriage to Nora.

1/21 John ran into Natalie sitting outside of Marty's office and gave her a big hug. Natalie admitted that she was upset and angry, and recognized that she had to do something about the way she had been feeling. She realized that she was spending all of her time thinking about Mitch and how much she hated him. She was obsessive and thought she would take Marty up on her offer to talk about it. She didn't have an appointment because she wasn't sure she was ready to talk, Natalie confessed. She asked John why he was there, and he replied that Marty had forgotten her lunch.

Looking down to his hands, Natalie noted that John didn't have a brown paper bag with him. He laughed and suggested that he was taking Marty out to lunch. Natalie had another idea, and she guessed that John was working on a case. He reminded her that he was no longer a cop, but she pointed out that he was "once a cop, always a cop." John agreed that he thought the most about stopping Mitch who still had his private nurse on his payroll. Natalie realized that the real reason for John's visit to the hospital was to try to find information on Mitch's nurse.

She offered to help John sneak around as he played detective and asked him if he thought it was a bad idea for her to speak to Marty. She noted that Marty hadn't been thrilled to see John and Natalie together. John assured her that Marty was fine with it, and Natalie agreed that she and John were good friends.

As Mitch sat at the docks and read his Scriptures out loud, Brody sneaked up on him and grabbed him from behind.

1/22 At Llanfair, when Jessica phoned John and told him that she feared that Brody had gone to the docks to confront Mitch, John promised to handle the situation.

On the docks, an irate Brody attacked Mitch and ordered him to stay away from Jessica and her family. Insisting that Jessica wanted to please him, Mitch stated that Jessica would've showed up at the docks, had Brody not interfered. Hoping to entice Brody to react violently, Mitch exclaimed, "The women are mine for the taking! You can't stop me from taking what I want!" Outraged, Brody picked up a pipe and aimed the weapon at Mitch.

Before Brody could make physical contact, John appeared and instructed him to put the weapon down. While Brody told John about the letter that Mitch had sent Jessica, Mitch encouraged Brody to assault him. Unable to control his hatred for Mitch, Brody attempted to strangle him. At that moment, Lowell and several of his men arrived and demanded to know what was going on?

When Mitch claimed that Brody had tried to kill him, Lowell instructed his officers to arrest Brody. Realizing that he had been set up, Brody announced that he was headed to Llanfair to check on Jessica, but Lowell's men grabbed him. After helping Brody escape, John was placed under arrest.

Back at Llanfair, Nurse Charles appeared and after a brief struggle, Nurse Charles gained the upper hand and plunged the syringe into Jessica's arm. An unconscious Jessica fell to the ground.

1/25 Inside Marty's office, Natalie received counseling from the doctor. When Natalie related how she had blamed John for Jared's death and later fell apart inside John's apartment, Marty stated that it was perfectly natural for Natalie to feel safe around John because of their past relationship. Natalie grew alarmed when Marty suggested that Natalie was using John to compensate for the loss of Jared.

When Marty warned Natalie to stay away from John, Natalie became enraged and lashed out at Marty. Convinced that Marty feared that Natalie was trying to steal John from her, Natalie reminded Marty that Jared had recently died and insisted that she had no interest in John. Marty watched helplessly as Natalie stormed out of her office.

At Llanfair, As Brody attempted to question the drugged officer outside, Viki appeared and questioned what had happened. Brody told Viki that Mitch had lured him away from Llanfair and kidnapped Jessica. Viki suggested that they contact the police, but Brody advised her that Lowell was involved in the kidnapping. After Brody detailed what had taken place, Viki wondered if John had escaped Lowell and his men on the docks. Realizing that John was their only hope, Brody placed a call to John.

Lowell paraded around and the police station with John's cell phone and berated John. Lowell answered John's ringing cell phone. Recognizing Lowell's voice, Brody questioned where Mitch had taken Jessica. Alerting Brody that John was in police custody, Lowell suggested that Brody might locate Jessica at St. Ann's.

Afterward, John had a warning for Lowell. John was certain that Mitch would attempt to kill Lowell and his family, once Mitch had completed his work. Referring to Lowell as a snitch, John stated that Mitch would eliminate Lowell out of fear that Lowell would expose Mitch's crimes. Ignoring John's warning, Lowell instructed his men to place John in leg irons.

Natalie arrived at home and was horrified to learn that Mitch had kidnapped Jessica. When Viki related that John was in police custody, Natalie announced that she had business to attend to at the police station.

Arriving at the station, Brody discovered John shackled to a chair. Lowell approached and ordered Brody to book John. Lowell answered John's phone again, and smiled when he recognized Marty's voice. With an evil laugh, Lowell stated, "You're boyfriend is indisposed!" Meanwhile, unnoticed by Lowell, John gave Brody the phone number of one of John's contacts. Certain that Mitch's letter contained physical evidence, John advised Brody to present the letter to his contact. John believed that his friend might be able to provide clues to Jessica's whereabouts.

Later, Natalie arrived at the police station and attempted to attack Lowell when he made a derogatory comment about Jessica. Before she could assault Lowell, John stopped her. Giving John a loving hug, Natalie whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, I'm going to bust you out of here!" At that moment, Marty entered the room and observed the embrace.

1/27 In the police station cellblock, Natalie arrived at John's cell. John inquired about the search for Jessica, but Natalie had other things in mind, like breaking John out of prison so he could help her stop Mitch and save her sister. John refused to let Natalie do anything crazy, but Natalie said she had it all figured out. Undoing the top buttons on her blouse, she reminded him that the guard on duty had always had a thing for her, and she was going to get his keys and spring John in no time flat.

John pleaded with Natalie not to endanger herself for him, but Natalie reminded him he'd done the same for her after she'd stabbed Mitch. John warned her that even if she did break him out, he refused to run. Natalie told him that she couldn't help Jared or Jessica, but he could do something about Mitch, and she needed to help him.

John asked her to go home. Reaching through the bars, he took her hands and asked if she trusted him; Natalie said she always would. Marty arrived, spotting John and Natalie's intimate moment. As Natalie moved away, Marty asked her about Jessica. Natalie said there was no news, and quickly left.

Turning her attention to John, Marty opted to ignore what she'd walked in on, and focused on the peril to Jessica. She wished John could help, and John said he'd be out soon. Marty assured him that Elijah was a good lawyer and would help him at his arraignment, but John seemed oddly confident that no matter what happened, it was his last day in jail. "Please tell me you're not doing anything reckless," Marty said, noticing the glimmer in his eye, but John merely shrugged.

Natalie rushed back into Llanfair and ran into Brody, and told him he needed to help her break John out of jail. To her shock, Brody said that he and John already had his escape covered. Natalie and Brody rushed down the hall.

Meanwhile, at the secluded Fort Osborn Geological Observatory on Llantano Mountain, Jessica awoke from a drugged stupor to find Mitch looming over her. Jessica asked where she was, and Mitch told her she was finally home.

A drugged Jessica Mitch told Jessica that the bassinet was for Rex and Stacy's baby. Jessica said she was the child's aunt, but Mitch informed her she would have a much larger role in the baby's life than she'd previously intended, "You're going to be his mother."

1/29 Lowell smiled as he watched a guard usher a cuffed John down the hall. As Lowell approached John and joked about his impending doom, a clumsy janitor bumped into Lowell. While Lowell focused his attention on the weird character, John wrestled with his handcuffs. Once everyone had entered the courtroom and the hearing began, the clumsy janitor assaulted the officer that was standing guard outside the courtroom. The clumsy janitor was Brody. After rendering the guard unconscious, Brody stole his revolver.

Back inside the courtroom, citing that Lowell harbored a grudge against John, Elijah asked the judge to drop the charges against John, due to a lack of evidence. Pointing out that Mitch Laurence wasn't present, Elijah insisted that his client had a right to face his accuser. Unmoved by Elijah's plea, the judge denied John bail, and announced that John would be transferred to Statesville Prison to await trial.

As a grin crossed Lowell's face, Brody burst into the courtroom and pointed his gun at Lowell. Blaming Lowell for setting Mitch free, Brody insisted that Lowell was responsible for Jessica's kidnapping. Brody threatened to kill the police commissioner, unless Lowell provided him with Mitch's location. Both John and Marty attempted to reason with him, but Brody refused to listen.

Brody insisted that his life had no meaning without Jessica. When a terrified Lowell maintained that he didn't know where Mitch was hiding, Brody pointed his weapon at Lowell and replied, "Wrong answer!" As Brody fired a shot in Lowell's direction, Lowell quickly took cover behind John. Grabbing his chest, John fell to the floor.

Mitch readied the electric convulsive therapy, while Nurse Charles reminded him that giving it without anesthetic would result in Jessica having memory loss. He stated that he could help Jessica understand her true calling once her memory was erased.

2/1 Inside the courtroom when Brody fired a shot in Lowell's direction, the police commissioner took cover behind John. As John fell to the floor and blood gushed from his chest, Marty tried frantically to revive him. While Lowell and his men grabbed Brody, no one noticed as John opened his eyes and gave a startled Marty a knowing look. Realizing that John and Brody were planning an escape, Marty played along. Paramedics removed John from the courtroom, and Marty followed close behind.

Outside of the courthouse, Marty and two officers watched as the paramedics placed John in the ambulance. As the officers attempted to ride along, John arose and kicked one of the men in the stomach, and Marty assaulted the other. After retrieving a key from one of the unconscious officers, Mary helped John remove the handcuffs.

Moments later, Brody emerged and told John that he had received a call from Jessica, but lost the connection. Marty lashed out at John and Brody for keeping her in the dark, but John was determined to locate Jessica. Relating that Lowell and his officers were corrupt, John convinced the paramedics to leave the scene.

Seconds later, when a car pulled up with an unidentified driver, Brody announced that their ride had arrived. Marty asked to join them, but John insisted that she stay put. As John and Brody stepped inside the vehicle, a disguised Natalie chimed, "Jump in!” A helpless Marty watched as John and Brody fled in the vehicle. At that moment, Lowell approached and asked what had taken place.

At the observatory, Jessica whimpered as Mitch administered the electric shock treatment. Mitch smiled, as Jessica's eyes rolled to the back of her head.

2/2 John was aggravated when Natalie revealed herself as the driver of the getaway car. Brody explained there was no way to prevent her from being involved in their scheme because she was determined to help. John resigned himself and urged her to "quit driving like an old woman and floor it." Brody disclosed that he had received a call from Jessica, but he had no further clue as to her whereabouts. John was worried that he left Marty "holding the bag."

Brody explained that Fish had given him a tracking device with a global positioning system. He had inserted the device into Lowell's phone. If Lowell spoke to Mitch on the phone, they would be able to find Jessica. Suddenly, a police car with its screeching siren began to follow the getaway car. As John shouted out directions to Natalie, he and Brody began to shoot out of the back window.

Natalie seemed to enjoy the reckless ride as she called out, "Eat my dust, bitches!" She gave a loud whoop. John assumed that Mitch and Jessica were close since Mitch was most likely waiting for Stacy's baby to be born. Brody wondered why Jessica was taken, and John pointed out that it had something to do with the baby. Natalie added that Mitch had always been obsessed with Jessica.

Lowell couldn't resist and placed a phone call to Mitch. He advised Mitch that Brody and John had escaped. Mitch was sure that the men would never be able to find him. "Gotcha," Brody announced in the back of the car as he watched the GPS screen.

2/3 Somewhere in the winter night, Natalie, John, and Brody were still speeding down the back roads of Llanview, on the run from the law and on the hunt for Mitch. As the snow began to drift down, Brody cursed at having lost Mitch's GPS signal from his call with Lowell. Using Oliver's borrowed technology, he managed to use his laptop to trace a peripheral "vector" on the signal, and narrowed it down to within five miles of a spot on Llantano Mountain. John suggested they cross-reference the location with details from the forensic report on the letter Mitch sent to Jessica in order to find his location.

As Brody began his research, John worried aloud about Marty, who he'd left at the mercy of Lowell. Natalie suggested he call Marty, but John told her he refused to put her in danger, either, and ordered Natalie to get out at the next gas station. But Natalie refused to be shut out of the hunt; she'd lost Jared to Mitch and wouldn't lose her sister as well. She was going with them to finish Mitch off, once and for all.

John protested, but Natalie told him to shut up and help Brody with his work. Brody said he didn't need the help, but backed down in the face of Natalie's icy glare. "Chicken," John muttered. He reminded Natalie that Viki would be worried about her, but Natalie said guilt wouldn't work and promptly called her mother to inform Viki that they were searching for Jessica and would be okay. After hanging up, Natalie told John he was out of excuses to get rid of her, and they were all stuck with each other.

Brody was still looking over the forensics report, and again noted the trace elements of two obscure types of rock that were found on Mitch's letter; neither rock was from the United States, which suggested that Mitch's location had to be near a place where such unique minerals might be found together in Llanview. John couldn't think of any such place and couldn't find it on their maps, then concluded that the location was unmapped.

Seized by inspiration, he remembered the search for Natalie in 2005, when she'd been abducted by Hayes Barber, and recalled that the search teams had discovered a decommissioned military geological station, the Fort Osborn Geological Observatory. Checking their map, John said he could direct them to Fort Osborn, and told Natalie to make a wild U-turn.

As they continued to race up the mountain roads, John commended Natalie on a good driving job despite the accumulating snow and ice. "It's beautiful," Brody said, watching the snow fall. He mused about how he and Jessica had planned a winter vacation with Bree in the mountains, and how Jessica had been making him a full part of her family. It felt so normal to him, so everyday, and he marveled at how she accepted him as a good person despite his troubled past. "She saved me," Brody murmured, and swore that Mitch would never take Jessica away from him.

Nurse Charles continued to speed down the road in her car, with Stacy, her prisoner, in the passenger's seat. As Stacy attempted to describe where they were driving, Nurse Charles grabbed her and began to wrestle with her for the phone.

As Nurse Charles's car weaved across the treacherous mountain road, Charlie, Dorian, Natalie, John, and Brody noticed the out-of-control vehicle in their paths. Each driver swerved to avoid the other vehicles, but failed as the automobiles collided in a screeching crash. In Charlie's car, the Cramer holiday card fluttered to the ground.

2/4 As three cars headed up Llantano Mountain in less than ideal conditions, the car that Nurse Charles drove swerved onto the other side of the road after she tried to wrest the phone from Stacy. Suddenly, there was a crash.

While Nurse Charles and Stacy were fortunate, the others were not. The nurse advised Stacy that the messenger was waiting for the baby's arrival, as was the mother. "I'm the mother, bitch," Stacy retorted. She called the nurse crazy and she repeated that the baby was a girl, not a boy as the nurse insisted.

Charlie and Dorian were run off the road but neither had disabling injuries. The car that contained Brody, John, and Natalie crashed through the guardrail and down to the bottom of a ravine. The men were okay, but Natalie was unconscious. John tried to waken her and, finally, Natalie opened her eyes. The steering wheel had her pinned down.

John managed to deflate the airbag, but he was unable to get her loose as a heavy piece of metal was still in the way. Natalie urged the men to seek help without her, but John refused to leave her alone. Brody tried John's cell phone, but he was unable to get a signal. As the trio discussed their next move, sparks started to shoot from the car.

Natalie thought she heard a car horn and began to yell. John assured her that no one would hear them. Suddenly Brody's phone began to ring. It was Rex, and the men shouted over the loud static that accompanied the call. They each managed to share some information but not enough for a complete story. Brody learned that Mitch had kidnapped Stacy. Brody decided that he would scale the embankment and head to the main road and finally to the observatory. He took various items to enable him to complete the endeavor, including a gun with extra rounds.

John made his choice to stay with Natalie even though she urged him to go. Brody left, and Natalie called out to John, and referred to him as MacGyver. She wanted to know what his next move was. John smiled. Natalie thought that she smelled gasoline. As the sparks continued to fly, the leaking gasoline was forming a puddle nearby. John continued to try to remove Natalie from the car. Suddenly, the sparks flew higher and wider and drew closer to the gasoline. A fire ignited and the car burst into flames.

2/8 John had managed to pull Natalie from the burning vehicle and relocated her to a safe dwelling on Llantano Mountain. John tried desperately to revive an unconscious Natalie. Once she regained consciousness, Natalie believed that John was her dead husband, Jared. John was shocked when she referred to him as Jared and stated that she loved him.

Fearing that Natalie had suffered a slight head injury, John tried to explain that she was hallucinating, but Natalie insisted that he proclaim his love for her. Staring down at the frightened woman, a conflicted John told Natalie that he loved her. John wrapped a shivering Natalie in a blanket and held her tightly to keep her warm. Afterward, Natalie pleaded, "Jared, kiss me!" John responded by giving Natalie a passionate kiss.

At Llanfair, Marty appeared stunned when Viki announced that Natalie was helping John search for Jessica. Later, Marty received a call from Oliver, who related that John had been in an accident. After hanging up with Oliver, Marty informed everyone that John and Brody had been involved in an accident and were missing. To everyone's surprise, Todd chimed, "Everyone who was in that car is dead!" Clint and Viki stared at each other in disbelief.

2/9 John kissed the unsuspecting Natalie as they lay in the empty dwelling on the mountain. He pulled away abruptly. "I can't," he proclaimed. Natalie, still thinking it was Jared, told him how much she had missed him. John bent and began to kiss her again. Suddenly, he heard a sound. He thought it was a truck but realized he must have been mistaken (it was an avalanche that didn’t affect them).

Natalie advised John that they needed a plan to save Jessica. He comforted her but noted that there was nothing they could do for Jessica. He did his best to keep Natalie awake as she desperately tried to go to sleep. He wanted her to keep talking, and she spoke about the first time they met.

She recalled her meeting with Jared, since she thought it was still Jared with her, as John flashed back to his own first meeting with Natalie and his lesson on shooting pool. She knew he was "bad news," but she fell in love with him then, she recounted. As Natalie continued on about the good times and bad times with Jared, John thought back to all of his own times with her. She noted that her good times were full of special moments. "Mine too," John agreed.

2/11 John continued to do his best to keep Natalie awake in their mountain shelter. He advised her that she probably had a concussion, and he proceeded to test her knowledge on simple questions like her name and their location. Natalie passed his test with flying colors, especially when she knew that she was with John and not Jared. John assured her that they would be found in no time. She was worried that everyone would think they were dead after the explosion and would give up looking for them, but John was convinced that wouldn't be the case. He intended to keep their fire going in the hopes that the smoke would be seen.

Natalie admitted that she had felt strange earlier and thought that she was passed out but not. She kind of felt like she was having a dream and Jared was lying there next to her. John suggested that perhaps she had a fever and was hallucinating. Natalie thought it had been quite real, and she was able to reach out and touch Jared. Suddenly she looked at John. "You," she said. She was mortified that she had said everything to John. She had gone on about the two of them together.

"Tell me what happened," she implored him. John clarified that she thought he was Jared. She thought he should have stopped her. He said he loved her and it was him, she gasped. Then he kissed her. "That was you," she gulped. She was appalled to think that she had kissed John and not Jared.

"You weren't yourself," John tried to reassure her. Natalie insisted that John was himself and therefore should have stopped her. He responded that he had wanted her to make it through the night and didn't know how severely injured she might be. He just wanted to go along with her. Natalie reminded him that she was tough and he smirked that he had heard that.

John told an apologetic Natalie that she didn't need to be sorry. She felt like an idiot, and John assured her it was nothing. She couldn't forget that Jared had kissed her back, but it was John. "Yeah he did. I did," John agreed. Natalie wanted to know why. Under pressure, John admitted that he thought there was still something between them. He knew it wasn't right to kiss her after all she'd been through. "I feel something for you. I always have, maybe I always will," he told her.

2/12 Inside the deserted cabin, John and Natalie continued to discuss their feelings for each other. Acknowledging that she loved Jared, Natalie admitted that her feelings for John had intensified over the past several weeks. John suggested that they dismiss their feelings for each other because they had both moved on with their lives.

Caressing her face, John told Natalie that he would always feel something special for her. Staring intently at one another, they both agreed to forget that the conversation had taken place, and decided that they could never rekindle what they shared in the past. After stating that they wouldn't consider a possible romance, John and Natalie shared a passionate kiss. At that moment, Marty rushed into the cabin.

2/15 Inside the deserted cabin on Llantano Mountain, while Natalie and John shared a spontaneous kiss, Marty barged into the cabin. Horrified by the scene she had witnessed, Marty lashed out at John. Recounting that she had been arrested for helping John escape, Marty related that she had trekked up Llantano Mountain, only to find John and Natalie in an embrace.

While John stood silent, Natalie attempted to explain the situation to Marty. Relating that John hadn't been informed that she would be driving the getaway car, Natalie explained that John saved her from the burning vehicle after the crash. Recalling that her head injury had caused her to believe that John was actually Jared, Natalie admitted that she had kissed John. With a look of disgust, Marty exclaimed, "We all know that something has been going on for quite some time!"

Natalie assured Marty that John had made it perfectly clear that he was involved with Marty. When Natalie attempted to stand, she cried out in pain. Marty examined Natalie's leg and determined that Natalie had suffered a terrible sprain. After relating that her car was parked a mile away, a conflicted Marty helped John remove Natalie from the cabin.

2/17 At Llanview Hospital, John and Marty helped the wounded Natalie hobble towards an exam room. Sensing the tension between the trio, Natalie pleaded with John to leave her alone, but John was determined to make sure she was all right. After they moved Natalie into the exam room and Marty remained in the corridor to call Cole, Kyle examined Natalie's sprained ankle. He asked John about Oliver, and John told him that Oliver was still searching for Stacy on Llantano Mountain. Natalie urged John to check on Marty.

John left Natalie's exam room to look for Marty, but found Mitch being dragged out by two FBI agents. John told the agents to lock Mitch up. Mitch taunted John, and needled him about John's feelings for Natalie, who Mitch still considered his wife. As Marty finished her call to Cole and listened in, Mitch said he'd always be with John.

After Mitch was carted off, Marty made a beeline past John, but John stopped her and asked her to wait. Before they could start talking, Viki and Clint rushed down the corridor, and asked after Natalie. John and Marty led them back into the exam room, and Viki and Clint raced to Natalie's side. As Marty seethed, Kyle reassured them that Natalie would be fine thanks to John's assistance during the storm.

Clint and Viki told Natalie that Mitch was in federal custody, but Jessica had been shot. Natalie assumed that Mitch was the culprit, and was shocked when Viki told her it had been Charlie. Viki said the details didn't matter yet, but insisted Jessica would be fine. Turning to John, she thanked him again for saving Natalie. Disgusted, Marty left the room.

John followed Marty into the corridor and again asked her to wait, but Marty wasn't having it. Pulling away, she told him she was going to check on Jessica.

Inside the exam room, Natalie continued to worry about Jessica. As John reentered, he suggested Viki and Clint go back to the operating ward for news on Jessica, while he stayed with Natalie. Anxious about Marty, Natalie disagreed, but Viki told her that "fugitive" John was not likely to be a priority for the police department with Lowell ousted and no commissioner seated. After Viki and Clint left, Natalie told John he shouldn't be there - he needed to find Marty, and make things right.

John said that he and Marty would work things out, but Natalie feared that Marty would never forgive him for the kiss she'd walked in on. John asked Natalie why she'd lied for him, and Natalie said she'd merely stretched the truth; she had kissed him while hallucinating, but only the first time.

Natalie dismissed their second kiss as a desperate act in desperate times, but John wasn't so sure. "You're right," Natalie admitted. "It could only have been you." But it was only a weak moment, and it didn't matter; she was still in love with Jared, who had her heart, and John had a good thing with Marty if he didn't screw it up. She urged him to go to Marty and save his relationship.

Down in the ER, Kyle returned to Natalie's exam room and sent John packing. In the corridor, John ran into Marty; he asked about Jessica, while she asked after Natalie. John said Natalie would be all right, but Marty questioned whether their relationship was all right. Then, she dismissed her concerns, and said it wasn't the time or the place. Before John could get a word in edgewise, Marty stormed off.

2/18 At the Llanview Police Station, John led Mitch to his maximum-security cell. "Enjoy your new home," John smirked at the prisoner. "I won't be here long," Mitch responded. Mitch was sure that Jessica would pull through, and he denied that he had been trying to rape his daughter. He was merely "trying to keep his covenant alive."

Mitch announced that he wanted both Dorian and Charlie to pay for their misdeed. As he toyed with his Holy Bible, he declared, "What goes around comes around." John had enough of Mitch. "Enjoy your new digs," he scoffed at the inmate.

2/19 At the hospital, John stood outside of Marty's office and placed a call to Bo. John informed Bo of Jessica's successful surgery and Stacy's death. Although pleased to hear about Jessica's recovery, Bo questioned if Stacy's body had been recovered. John related that police divers had made several attempts to locate Stacy's body, but had been unsuccessful. Bo stated that he and Nora had decided to return to Llanview with Shane and Bree once they learned that Mitch was in custody. Updating Bo on Dorian's decision to fire Lowell as police commissioner, John was certain that Dorian would reinstate Bo.

Afterward, John entered Marty's office and received a cold reception from her. Marty showed little reaction when John related that her legal troubles would soon be over because Lowell had been fired and was currently under investigation by the FBI. In no mood to speak with John, Marty stated that she was busy and asked him to leave.

Displaying a look of concern, John apologized for hurting Marty and pleaded with her to give their relationship another chance. Insisting that Natalie needed time to grieve the loss of her husband, John was adamant that he wanted Marty in his life. When Marty appeared to resist his charms, John pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately. Marty gave in and returned the kiss, but suddenly pulled away. Claiming that she had business to attend to, Marty rushed out of the office, but agreed to meet with John later to discuss their relationship.

After leaving Marty's office, John encountered Natalie in the hall. Commenting that she had noticed John leaving Marty's office, Natalie asked if John had cleared things up with Marty. Reminding John of their kiss, Natalie stated that if she were in Marty's shoes, she would want to know what the kiss meant to John. Natalie appeared dismayed when John announced that he wanted to repair his relationship with Marty. In an unconvincing tone, Natalie remarked, "If Marty is the woman that you love and are supposed to be with, I want you to be happy!" Wheeling herself away, Natalie appeared conflicted over her feelings for John.

2/22 At the hospital, John overheard Todd instruct his editor to print a cover story that implied that John had left Marty for Natalie. John warned Todd that he would regret printing the story, but Todd ignored his threat and accused John of planning to seduce Natalie.

When John inquired why Todd was concerned about John's relationship with Natalie, Todd claimed that he was simply looking out for Marty's best interest. John informed Todd that Viki would be furious if Todd printed a damaging article about Natalie in the Sun. After a brief hesitation, Todd agreed not to print the story.

Outside of Jessica's hospital room, Clint, Viki, and Brody told Natalie that Mitch had performed electric shock treatment on Jessica. Natalie was shocked to learn that Jessica had no memories of Natalie, Bree, or Brody. Relating that she was unsure of the lasting effects of Jessica's condition, Marty asked Jessica's family members to be gentle with Jessica.

Meanwhile, inside her hospital room, Jessica panicked when a nurse informed her that the year was 2010.

As Jessica tried to process the fact that she had no knowledge of the previous thirteen years, Viki, Clint, Natalie, Brody, and Marty entered the room. When Natalie referred to Jessica as her twin, a panicked Jessica declared that she didn't have a twin. Informing Viki that the nurse had given her the correct date, Jessica pleaded with her mother to be honest with her. Marty suggested that Viki and Clint speak privately with Jessica. Reminding Viki and Clint that Jessica trusted them, Marty urged them to tell Jessica the truth.

As they sat outside of Jessica's room, Natalie and Brody wondered if Jessica had suffered permanent memory loss. Marty stated that if the police recovered the equipment that Mitch had used to perform Jessica's procedure, it might be possible to determine which brain cells had been effected. Marty encouraged them to remain prayerful. While they discussed Jessica's condition, Nora arrived at the hospital with Bree. When Bree asked to see her mother, Natalie told Nora that there was a problem.

Marty informed Natalie and Brody that Jessica had covered for Bree's sake, but didn't remember her daughter. Brody told Natalie that he couldn't bear to watch Jessica suffer. When Natalie insisted that there wasn't anything they could do about it, Brody declared, "Yes, there is!"

2/25 Viki acknowledged that she couldn't get over Charlie hurting Jessica or that he had tried to kill someone to begin with. Natalie reminded her mother that she, too, had tried to kill Mitch. While Viki understood that the behavior was acceptable because Natalie was full of grief, her daughter had to remind her that Charlie shared that same grief. Viki only knew how worried she had been, and she was thankful that Natalie was okay. Natalie assured her mother that John had gotten her and himself through it all. Viki had no doubt that John would keep Natalie safe.

Natalie revealed that she had even turned John into someone else. She proceeded to explain how she thought that John was Jared. She had kissed him because of that, she told her mom. The first time, she added. After that, she knew it was John when she kissed him again. Viki wanted to know if her daughter was falling for John, but Natalie assured her mother that she and John were just friends. It was just that their past relationship had been so intense, she concluded.

Cristian expressed his concern about Jessica to John, and noted that the Cristian and Jessica used to mean a lot to each other, and he still cared about her. Marty surprised John when she showed up at the club. She told him about Jessica's memory loss, though she noted that Natalie was apparently difficult for anyone to forget. Marty apologized for being distant with John and realized she should have accepted Natalie's explanation about the kiss Marty had found John sharing with Natalie. John confessed that he had let Natalie believe that he was Jared, the first time.

He didn't know why he let it happen but maybe it was because he thought they might die, he acknowledged. He thought that he had gotten caught up in his past with Natalie, but he was certain they didn't have anything going on in the present. Marty asked how far things would have gone if she hadn't walked in on them. John was sure that things would have gone no further, and he advised Marty that he wanted to be with her, not Natalie. He wanted to fight for them to get through this and asked for her forgiveness.

Brody and Natalie headed to Capricorn. Marty, John, and Cristian extended their sympathies for Jessica's plight. Natalie and Marty felt sorry for Brody. John resumed his conversation with Marty, and she agreed that it was time for them to move forward. As he leaned over to kiss her, Natalie looked on unhappily.

3/4 At the hospital, Marty ran into Natalie and suggested that they have a talk. Natalie was reluctant since they had already chatted, but Marty informed her that she knew about the second kiss that Natalie and John had shared because John had told her everything. Marty knew that the second kiss had nothing to do with Jared, and Natalie had known what she was doing. She wanted to know why Natalie had lied about it.

Natalie assured Marty that she hadn't lied; she just hadn't volunteered the information. Marty accused Natalie of hiding it because Natalie and John had a history. She understood why it happened, though, she offered. She knew that Natalie and John had been scared and it just happened. She had thought about it and knew it wouldn't happen again. She and John had talked about it, and he said the kiss didn't mean anything, Marty continued. She wondered if it meant something to Natalie, though, and if Natalie had feelings for John.

Natalie conceded that she and John had spoken to each other also. She knew it had been a mistake. Marty stressed that she just didn't want to see Natalie getting hurt. Marty rose and had to catch herself. She felt dizzy but chalked it up to a missed meal. She went off to get a glass of water. John arrived looking for Marty and was concerned that she had been feeling ill. He knew she had a habit of not eating, though, and he didn't seem too concerned. Natalie asked him if he had told Marty it was a mistake when he kissed Natalie. He admitted that they had spoken about it. It didn't mean it was a mistake about their feelings, he emphasized.

Marty returned with a glass of water. She found some aspirin to take and she was feeling better. Natalie headed to Jessica's room while John asked Marty to have dinner with him. He thought they should work on the two of them. Natalie stood hidden and listened to the couple as they spoke quietly to each other. Marty received a package delivery as she spoke with John. She opened it and peeked into the bag to look at a pregnancy test kit.

3/5 In John's apartment, as John lay alone in bed, he dreamt about making love to Natalie. Marty stood nearby and watched as a sleeping John tossed and turned in bed. With a look of concern, Marty clinched a home pregnancy kit in her hand.

When John awoke, Marty quickly placed the pregnancy test back into a paper bag. Concealing the kit, Marty stated that she noticed that John appeared restless in his sleep and wondered if he had experienced a bad dream. After recalling the kiss he had shared with Natalie in his dream, John denied having a bad dream. In an attempt to change the subject, John asked if Marty was feeling any better.

When John asked if she had taken any medication to ease the symptoms of her bout with the flu, Marty assured him that she was fine and asked him not to worry. Noticing the bag of medication that she had discreetly put away, John reached for the package, but Marty pulled the bag out of his grasp. Making up an excuse, Marty dropped the bag in the trash when John looked away.

As he prepared for work, John suggested that Marty take the day off and rest at his apartment. Marty agreed, and John promised to return that night. A troubled Marty mumbled to herself, "Good, I should be better by then... one way or another!"

Once John left the apartment, Marty retrieved the pregnancy kit out of the trash bin.

At Llanfair, Natalie appeared troubled when she observed an article relating to John in the morning paper.

Back at Llanfair, Viki and Clint escorted Jessica home from the hospital. When Jessica noticed a photo of herself and Bree, Jessica grew discouraged about the years she had missed. However, Jessica was pleasant when Natalie entered the room and welcomed her home. Viki suggested that Jessica rest, but Jessica asked Natalie to help her get adjusted. Once Jessica and Natalie left the room, Clint worried about Jessica being lost in her teenage years, but Viki reminded him that Jessica's earlier years contained many happy memories.

In the library, Jessica asked Natalie questions about Jessica's lost years. Natalie described their family's terrible ordeal with Mitch Laurence and Allison Perkins, but Jessica appeared to have very little interest in the matter. Stating that she didn't remember any facts relating to Mitch or Allison, Jessica sighed, "I'm glad I don't remember Mitch!" Meanwhile, Allison stood on the terrace and observed the two sisters.

Jessica noticed the article about John in the paper and questioned Natalie about their breakup. Admitting that their breakup had been a difficult experience, a sullen Natalie recalled how she later met and fell in love with Jared. Commenting that she had been shocked to learn that Viki was no longer married to their father, Jessica wondered if Viki and Charlie were happy together. Meanwhile, Allison continued to spy on the women.

Flipping through the pages of her high school yearbook, Jessica reminisced about her senior year. Discouraged, Jessica stated that she wished that she could go back in time. Jessica searched frantically for Cristian's photo. Smiling at Cristian's image, Jessica told Natalie that Cristian was teaching a class at Llanview High. Detailing her visit to Cristian's apartment, Jessica admitted that she had flirted shamelessly with him. Natalie assured Jessica that Cristian wouldn't hold it against her, but Jessica was convinced that Layla might have a problem with Jessica's behavior.

Natalie appeared suspicious when Jessica questioned her about Cristian's life, but Viki appeared and interrupted the discussion. Viki suggested that Jessica get settled in, and Jessica agreed. Afterward, Jessica stood in the hall and smiled as she stared at Cristian's picture.

Alone with Viki, Natalie expressed her concern over Jessica's fixation with Cristian. Natalie was relieved that she didn't have to tell Jessica that Natalie had once been married to Cristian. A concerned Viki wondered if Jessica had been troubled by the thought of Mitch and Allison's terrible deeds. When Natalie revealed that Jessica didn't appear bothered by the mention of the two, Viki declared, "I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get easier!" As Viki turned her attention toward the terrace, Allison hid.

The doorbell rang and Natalie excused herself to answer the door. Natalie was stunned when she discovered John at the door. Meanwhile, Viki noticed that the terrace doors were open. As Viki closed the doors, Allison quietly observed.

Back at John's apartment, a troubled Marty held a pregnancy test in her hand. The test displayed a positive result.

3/8 Inside John's apartment, Marty appeared distraught as she stared down at the home pregnancy test that displayed a positive result. Suddenly, Roxy barged into the apartment, and Marty did her best to hide the test. However, Roxy announced that she had noticed the positive pregnancy test result, and remarked, "You've got a bun in the oven!"

Admitting that she was pregnant, Marty told Roxy that John wasn't aware of the news, and asked Roxy to keep her secret. Realizing that Marty intended to keep John in the dark, Roxy questioned if Marty and John were experiencing problems. Marty stated that she and John had never discussed having a child. Roxy asked Marty if she believed that John had unresolved feelings about Natalie.

When John arrived at Llanfair to speak with Jessica, Natalie informed him that Jessica had stepped out, but Natalie invited John inside. John listened intently as Natalie informed him that she had dreamed about him. Natalie was surprised when John related that he had experienced a similar dream about her.

John believed that they shouldn't take their dreams seriously. With a look of uncertainty, Natalie recalled the kisses they had shared and insisted that it had all been a mistake, and they would never allow it to happen again. Natalie told John that she was convinced that something special still existed between them. Admitting that she often thought about escaping into John's arms, Natalie insisted that the timing was off. Natalie stated that she was still grieving the loss of Jared, and she reminded John that he wanted to be with Marty. John agreed that he wanted to continue to pursue his relationship with Marty.

After concurring that they shared unresolved feelings for one another, Natalie asked John if they should avoid each other and ignore their feelings. Maintaining that dreams didn't have any hidden meaning, John stated that he didn't want to go through life avoiding her. They agreed to forget about the dreams and shook hands. After a brief handshake, John and Natalie embraced. Staring into each other's eyes, John and Natalie shared a passionate kiss.

Afterward, Natalie asked John if they had made yet another mistake. To her surprise John remarked that it wasn't a mistake. Stating that he didn't want to complicate her life, John insisted that they needed to figure out what was happening between them. Before leaving, John stated, "We can't keep going around in circles!" A confused Natalie watched as John reluctantly exited the house.

Back at John's apartment, Roxy encouraged Marty to tell John about the baby, but Marty maintained that she didn't want to trap John. Opening the door, Roxy asked Marty if she was considering terminating her pregnancy. Before Marty could respond, Roxy blurted out, "Don't get rid of it without telling John!"

They were both shocked when John appeared and asked the topic of their conversation. Once Roxy bolted out of the apartment, John asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Meanwhile, Natalie was consumed with romantic thoughts about John.

3/9 At Llanfair, Natalie daydreamed about her recent kiss with John as Allison lurked outside and peered through the doors. Bree asked about her mommy, and Natalie assured the girl that Jessica was upstairs resting. Viki suggested that Bree color a picture and asked Natalie where her mind had been? Natalie was evasive.

Roxy left Marty and John to talk as Marty quickly hid the home pregnancy test. In response to John's questions if this was about her not feeling well, Marty stammered and admitted that yes it was.