1989

1/24/89

Mindy wants to know when the newlyweds can return to Springfield, but Will hedges. This is their time together, he tells her. Josh soon arrives to warn the couple that Sonni is acting so irrationally, he thinks they’re in danger. Will is convinced when a red rose arrives, signaling him to meet Sonni in the garden at the convent. Sonni receives the same message. Both set off alone, but are followed by Mindy and Josh.

Everybody is intent on keeping Will and Mindy apart, still believing he is a danger to her.

Rick arranges a meeting with James Prescott, the alleged father of Meredith’s baby. But a threat from Meredith stops him short. If he wants to save this marriage, he’ll leave now, she warns. Rick gives in for now - in the future, they may want those medical records - but Meredith realizes she’ll never be rid of this problem.

Harley agrees to go to New York with Phillip, and puts off Alan-Michael by telling him it’s for Christmas shopping. Alan-Michael, however, plans to surprise his beloved in the Big Apple. Phillip is amused by Harley’s enthusiasm in New York. He presents her with a new dress and the two attend a society brunch.

Phillip leaves the party to get air (note: He‘s thinking about Beth.). Harley does great while he’s gone until she upsets a tray of champagne. She finds Phillip, who consoles her (note: By telling her about Beth, and how having money doesn’t mean anything.). Alan-Michael spots them, misreads the clinch and takes off, but Harley chases after him and comes clean. Alan-Michael is touched.

While the Bauers are gathered for the holiday, they receive a surprise guest - Blake’s mother Holly. She wants to see her daughter. No one is sure where she went, but she should be back any minute, Mo assures her. Meanwhile, Blake has sneaked off to New York to find Phillip.

For Phillip, being in New York brings up memories of Beth. Several times he thinks he spots her, but the figure he thought was Beth turns out to be Blake. Together, they vow to return to Springfield and face their pasts.

5/16/89

Blake is angry with Phillip’s decision to bring Alan back into Spaulding. They fight, and Blake runs to the patio, where Roger gives her a shoulder to cry on.

Although Alan tries to retrieve it, his letter to Rick about Phillip ends up in Rick’s pocket as he hurriedly gets his wife into a car. She’s in labor. At the hospital, there are complications - it’s either Meredith’s life or the baby’s. Rick turns to Phillip for help with the decision. After agonizing, Phillip chooses Meredith’s life, then weeps. Nadine sends Harley to the hospital to retrieve the incriminating letter. She does and throws it away, but Rick retrieves it. Rick tells his father that Phillip is the father of the baby, but that he sacrificed it; he can’t hate him.

Blake tells Phillip that his father knows about Meredith’s baby. Alan learns that a waiter delivered the letter to Rick and blames it on Nadine. When Phillip confronts his father, Alan covers with a touching story about how he admired his son’s bravery and he and Phillip embrace. Blake pretends to be happy with this “reunion,” and seeks Roger’s aid. She needs help getting evidence against Alan, she pleads. At the baby’s memorial service, Harley tells Blake about Alan’s letter to Rick and Roger places a candle dangerously close to Alan’s wheelchair basket.

Will’s desperate to get Mindy back and asks Sonni to intervene on his behalf.

7/25/89

While Phillip is in Washington gathering more evidence for Roger, Ross tries to convince Thorpe to come clean. Phillip tells Alan that he had to investigate Roger’s side as a last resort. He allows Alan to console him over the loss of Blake, before “pulling himself together” for his birthday dinner. At the gathering, Roger rushes in and, swearing vengeance on Alan, “shoots” Phillip and A-M. Alan rises from his chair. Phillip explains how and why they’ve come to this moment and a stunned Alan confesses to his crimes - he did it all for his love of Phillip. Phillip doesn’t buy it and Roger announces that he has been in the service of his country for the past fifteen years. Alan is arrested and Roger is booked for his outstanding crimes. Phillip offers to post bail for both of them, but Alan refuses. Roger moves into a boarding house. He’s staying in Springfield because of Blake.

Blake calls Phillip to tell him she’ll be home soon. Phillip tells A-M that he can have his trust fund, but A-M isn’t sure if school’s for him - especially now that he got his loan.

Meredith’s guilt precludes her ability to believe Rick can forgive her. She packs her bags and leaves a letter explaining that Rick deserves better. Rick finds Phillip and delivers a mean punch. Rick tells Phillip he still hates him. “I know, but I still love you and there’s a fine line between the two,” Phillip responds. Later, Phillip learns that Rick knows how to find Meredith.

8/8/89

Lillian and Rick remember Beth.

When Jeffries won’t confess, Rusty trashes Will’s place and pulls a gun. Mindy interrupts and pretends to let Will sell her a cover story; if Rusty blows that cover, Will says, he’ll have him arrested for attempted murder. Later, when Rusty starts his own private investigation firm, he asks for Mindy’s help. Make Will believe there’s a chance, Rusty requests. Mindy wavers, but when it’s time to sign the divorce papers, she suddenly declares she can’t go through with it.

When Alan is sentenced to three to five years, he tells Phillip that Beth is not in her grave and how he knows. Phillip blasts Alan for lying, but starts to wonder. When Phil tells Roger, Thorpe vows that if Beth is alive, he’ll find her.

Rick thinks he’s successfully talked a patient out of having an abortion and is surprised when she’s checked in, ready to go ahead. When Rick stalls the procedure, the girl has a miscarriage, which Bauer learns was drug-induced. Rick senses something isn’t right, but while he’s away, Dana’s friends sign her out. Rick is haunted by the incident.

Roger and Sonni break into Alan’s safe to steal his “proof” about Beth. Meanwhile, when Alan can’t come up with proof for Phillip, he swears that Roger stole it. Just then, Bradley Raines walks in.

Phillip prepares for Blake’s homecoming as Harley is thrilled when a painting arrives to be sold on consignment.

8/22/89

When Blake returns to Springfield, she buys the painting of a couple at Belvedere Castle for Phillip. Knowing Belvedere Castle has a connection to Beth, Roger accuses Alan of planting the painting to stir up memories. Then Roger tells Alan he’s buying WSPR and Spaulding is desperate to stop it. After Roger leaves, someone arrives with a package for prisoner Bradley Raines. Later, Holly tells Blake that Roger is withholding Beth’s coroner’s report and daughter confronts father. Thorpe says he wanted to wait until he learned the truth. Now, he’s reached the conclusion that Beth is really dead, despite the coroner’s report. Blake burns it to protect Phillip.

Will is elated that Mindy isn’t going through with the divorce and plans a celebration date. When she agrees to another date, Rusty suggests the riverbank, where Will freaks out. Rusty’s excited; he thinks Mindy can now get Will to crack, but when they look for him, they learn he’s headed for Haiti. Billy thinks dating Rusty is the best medicine for his daughter.

Everyone is surprised to see Roger with Sonni, especially Phillip and Blake, who walk in on them during an inopportune moment.

At his first board of directors meeting, Phillip - as the new head of Spaulding - announces that he’d like to divest WSPR to Blake, who would like to be partners with her father. Vanessa, doubting Phillip’s ability to handle Spaulding, says she’ll only agree if he offers Ross a job as top exec. Then Blake thinks maybe she, Roger and Holly could own the station. Holly is livid at the very suggestion, and pours the charm onto Ross - would he consider a partnership?

Rick finds out that Dana’s parents aren’t dead, as she told him. Sonni tells him he’s too involved with the case, but Rick can’t let go. Bauer still isn’t talking to Phillip, but it kills him to ignore him. Rick agrees with his father’s advice - he needs a vacation.

9/5/89

Bruce assures Bradley Raines that he and Daniel have everything under control. But when Roger asks Bradley about the painting, Raines gets unsettled and accuses Alan of trying to do more damage to Phillip and Beth. Spaulding is stunned by his implication - Beth is alive. Alan sends for Holly and convinces her that the only way to get Roger away from Blake is to make her useless to him, i.e. sever her relationship with Spaulding via Phillip. Tell Phillip that Beth is alive, Alan insists. Holly delivers the letter, then tells Phillip that Blake knew about the evidence all along. Guilty at wishing it could be true, Phillip hastily proposes elopement to Blake, who happily accepts. Meanwhile, Daniel commissions a blonde girl in a hat to do more paintings and Roger tries to get a handle on where the painting came from. To that end, he slashes the painting and takes it to Harley to be repaired. When Bruce comes in, Harley asks him to fix it and takes his picture. He doesn’t say anything, but before he leaves he surreptitiously steals the camera.

In Haiti, Mindy and Rusty are having bad luck in finding Will when Rusty gets a call that Jeffries has been spotted. He leaves to find him, and a sneaky Will arranges for the bellhop to drug Mindy, then tell an inquiring Rusty that Mindy has returned to Springfield. Jeffries takes Mindy to his room, where he tries his best to convince Mindy that he didn’t murder Rose and not to go through with the divorce. Mindy fights the drugs and musters the resolve to leave, but suddenly she develops a glimmer of trust in her husband and postpones her departure. Rusty begins to worry when he hears that Mindy never showed up at home.

Roger takes Sonni to Blake and Phil’s celebration. Holly stops by to congratulate the couple and realizes she wasn’t invited to the party. Nadine drops the bomb that Ross and Holly bought WSPR and the newlyweds are stunned at the trickery. Then Holly asks her daughter what she’ll do if Phillip ever finds out that Blake knew Beth could be alive. Though Blake has decided not to give Phillip the painting, A-M doesn’t know it and hands the fixed portrait to his brother. Phillip’s mouth hangs open and Blake is horrified.

At the orphanage, Rick sees Dana, who escapes through a door. Rick follows but the door is locked. Rick questions an administrator, who turns out to be Daniel. He acts genuinely puzzled about the locked door. Rick questions Dana’s parents, who reveal that their daughter has not been in contact with them. Sonni is perplexed by Dana as well.

9/19/89

Phillip is taken aback by the painting, but decides that he likes it. The next day, Bruce shows Bradley Raines a new painting and, later, a mysterious woman leaves the painting outside Phillip’s door. When Phillip looks at it - a boy and girl in clown makeup - Phillip is convinced that Beth is the only one who could have duplicated the style of makeup they wore as a disguise in New York. Blake is sure that Alan is the one behind these “tricks,” and confronts her father-in-law. The Spaulding patriarch vehemently and convincingly denies any involvement with the paintings. He leaves Blake very puzzled. Later, Phillip and Rick find an old sketch of Beth’s that matches the new painting.

Will begs Mindy for another chance, but she calmly tells him that she just doesn’t think it will work. As a last-ditch attempt to gain her trust, Will breaks down and “tells” her who kidnapped Marah - it was his mother, he lies. Jeffries is able to convince his wife that his mother was mentally unstable at the time. A sympathetic Mindy consoles her husband. Later, Will convinces his mother to make a sacrifice for her son, just one more time. Rusty is puzzled when Mindy refuses to talk to him. When she finally tells him Will’s story, Rusty freaks out. But Mrs. Jeffries staunchly defends her position. Soon after, Mrs. Ybarra confesses to the kidnapping.

When Rick sees Dana at Company, she tries to avoid him. Nonetheless, he gives her his phone number and urges her to call her parents.

10/3/89

Rusty warns Will that he’s still concerned about Mindy and he won’t stop hounding him until he gets what he’s after. Mindy, however, has done a complete turn-around and now wants to back Will in his own clinic. She asks her father for the money. Billy can’t believe that she’s staying with Will. He’s also concerned. Mindy staunchly defends her husband, but Billy remains firm and delivers an ultimatum - it’s either Will or her family. Mindy makes her choice; she asks Will if she can move in with him. Rusty arrives at the Lewis house just as Mindy and Will begin to make love.

Phillip is convinced that Beth is alive after comparing her old sketches to the current painting of the clowns. Rick learns that Lillian has been getting mysterious hangups on her phone. These events are so distressing to Blake that she loses control of her car and crashes. At the hospital, Blake tries to convince Phillip that Bradley Raines and Alan are scheming together. She’s also giving her mother the cold shoulder. Later, Phillip discovers that the woman who delivered the painting to his office signed her name as B. Raines and an art expert confirms that Phil’s two paintings were done by the same person. Then Phillip looks down from the lighthouse and sees a clown he thinks is Beth and chases after her. Rick follows him to Beth’s grave and they share a close moment. Phillip sees a girl in a straw hat there, but before he can go after her, Blake appears at his side. More convinced than ever that Beth is alive, Phillip puts her picture on the airwaves. Crazed with jealousy, Blake hurls a vase at the television. She determines to find a way to stop Phillip from pursuing Beth.

Meanwhile, Phillip has become so obsessed with Beth being alive that he tries to convince the police to exhume her grave as Rick and Blake tell Lillian Raines about Alan’s role in Beth’s death. Lillian is adamant: She definitely does NOT want the grave exhumed. When Phillip confronts Blake about the evidence that was supposed to have been in Alan’s safe, she denies that she ever saw it. Holly tries to console the overwrought Blake, but seethes when Roger steps in to soothe his daughter as well. Thorpe tells Blake that, in France, he discovered that Bruce Daly (the man who gave Harley the first painting of Phillip at Belvedere Castle) was involved in an art scam of Alan’s. Blake wastes no time sharing this news with Phillip. Spaulding is not swayed; he must continue his search for Beth. Bradley Raines arrives at the Spaulding mansion to see Phillip.

At Company, Rick runs into Dana, who actually approaches him. She confides that she has a very jealous and overprotective boyfriend. He might have given her a pill to induce the miscarriage, Dana suggests to Dr. Bauer. However, she’s taken aback when she learns that Rick lives in the lighthouse and he knows Phillip Spaulding. Later, Dana arrives at a garret apartment. Moments after, Bruce arrives and Dana throws a straw hat at him. Then Miss Jones begins to cry for her lost baby.

10/17/89

Rusty bursts into the house and sees a shirtless Will. He’s utterly repulsed that Melinda Sue could even consider sleeping with this man. Mindy threatens Will: If she discovers he’s lying, she’ll kill him. Later, Will gets a call from a headhunter and prepares for a job interview. While he’s gone, Josh tries to reason with Mindy. Billy just wants to fire her from Lewis Oil. Rick updates Dana and Ed on his gradual reconciliation with Phillip.

Confronted by Phillip, Bradley Raines insists that Beth is dead and denies any involvement with Alan. But later, Phillip receives a modified version of a ransom note: If he wants to see Beth, he should be prepared to pay one million dollars. Phillip tells Alan-Michael he needs to use his trust-fund money for Beth’s ransom.

Dana is at the lighthouse visiting Rick when Bauer gets a call from Phillip: It’s time for the ransom drop and he’s still short of money - can Rick help? Rick heads to Phillip’s and Dana confronts Bruce, demanding that he level with her. Beth is alive, he claims. When Bradley Raines shows up, Bruce tells him the same thing, then knocks him out and drags him out of sight.

Blake questions Phillip about Beth’s painting technique in an effort to prove the paintings aren’t hers. Roger sends Sonni to get information from Bruce. Pretending to be a buyer, Sonni manages to steal a paint brush from the garret. Blake is put off when Sonni suggests that Beth could be alive.

Roger decides to follow Phillip and a worried Sonni has Rusty follow him. Phil and Rick head to the garret, where they exchange the money for the key. Beth is inside, Bruce tells them, then takes off. Meanwhile, Blake has insisted that Sonni take her to Bruce’s. They arrive as Bradley wakes and leaves. Phillip and Rick hear them coming up the stairs as they open the door. They’re shocked by what they see.

When Rick and Phillip realize that the girl in the garret is Dana, not Beth, Phillip decides the whole thing must be a hoax and that Beth is dead. Meanwhile, Bruce calls Alan and tells him he has the money and is leaving it in an airport locker. Roger and Rusty follow Bruce, who will admit nothing. When they return with Wyatt, the locker is empty. Alan denies having the million dollars and warns Phillip that Roger and Blake have proof that Beth is alive. Bradley calls Lillian to tell her he was not part of the Beth scheme. Somewhere, Beth IS alive...

Mindy slips Will a sleeping pill. Before it takes effect, Will tries to mend fences with Billy to no avail. When he returns home, Will catches Mindy on a mysterious phone call and sees an image of Rose.

Phillip names Roger as Spaulding’s new VP.

10/31/89

Rusty gives Mindy a gun, for her own protection, and Will forbids Mindy to see Rusty again. Will hears a message from Rose on the answering machine, but when he tries to play it for his wife, it’s gone. Will accuses Rusty of trying to get to him through Rose; Shayne denies it. Later, Will hears Rose’s voice, but Mindy hears nothing. When Rusty finds Mindy in Rose’s room, he realizes that she is the one behind the tricks on Will and insists on helping.

Roger unveils his new plan for Spaulding - to renovate an abandoned factory across the river and build middle-income housing. Vanessa gives the project to Gary Swanson, a top Spaulding engineer, for his opinion. When Gary reports that the project has real possibilities, it’s clear that he and Blake already know each other from somewhere else. Vanessa calls Alex to fill her in on Spaulding events.

Beth, who is mute, and her companion Neil, approach Springfield. He spots an ad in the paper for an architect for the Spaulding job. After Beth has memory flashes of Bradley Raines, Neil tells Beth that it’s time to “get Spaulding,” as he fights his sexual feeling toward her. Later, she gets upset when she sees a photo of Phillip and Blake in the newspaper and has a flashback of Phillip. Meanwhile, Bradley tells Lillian that he talked to the coroner’s assistant, and that it’s possible that Beth is alive, but Lillian refuses to believe him. Later, Bradley arranges to meet Phillip at the Country Club stables and tells him that the pendant that he has from Beth is fake and that she is still alive.

After reminiscing about their past affair, Blake and Gary agree to work together on the new Spaulding project. Vanessa promises to make sure Gary will head up the new project, if he promises to keep an eye on Roger and Blake.

Rusty agrees to meet Mindy at the Springfield Inn, where she convinces him to use a Rose lookalike to torment Will. Unfortunately, Will has a meeting at the Springfield Inn as well, and spies the Rose double go into Mindy and Rusty’s room. He’s on to their plan.

11/14/89

Blake warns Phillip that she will never forgive him if he listens to Bradley’s ravings about Beth being alive. After the run-in, Gary comforts his ex-lover, telling Blake that Phillip would be a fool to give her up. Later, Phillip promises his wife that he’ll drop the search, but then he tells the police he wants Beth’s body exhumed. They need more evidence, the cops respond.

When Neil approaches their car, Roger and Holly assure him they’re fin and he returns to his trailer, where he finds Beth gone and the photo of Blake and Phillip ripped to shreds. He vows not to let Spaulding steal Beth from him and files a missing-person report on Miss Raines.

Will overhears Mindy talking to Rusty about their plan. She’s becoming increasingly nervous about it and is anxious for it to end. When Mindy tries to slip her husband some pills, he exchanges them with aspirin. Later, Will tells Mindy he wants them to have a getaway weekend.

Beth is drawn to the stables trying to remember Phillip. Bradley enters right behind her. When Beth sees her stepfather, she has a flashback of him hurting her. Though Bradley assures Beth that he won’t harm her, she clocks him over the head with a shovel and runs out. Beth returns to the trailer and tells Neil that she killed a man. Lillian and Phillip witness a nearly dead Bradley being admitted to the hospital. When Phillip’s fingerprints are found on the shovel, he’s accused of attempted murder. Neil overhears this, but lies to Beth that Bradley is dead and that it’s OK, because he killed his whole family. Blake comforts Phillip and they make love. Beth puts a flower on her “grave.”

Phillip turns down Harley’s request for money. Neil shows up at Spaulding looking for a job. He’s vague about his past, but when he finds a flaw in Roger’s project, the execs are impressed. Afterward, Spaulding receives a telegram from Alex: She’s vetoing the project.

When Bradley wakes, he says it was Beth who hurt him, but Phillip (who’s no longer a suspect) refuses to believe it. The next day, he sets up a shrine to Beth and Blake sees it. Gary counsels her to get power of attorney from Phillip. When Blake learns that Alex vetoed Roger’s plans, she and Gary decide to work together to make Spaulding successful.

Neil tells Beth it looks like he’ll get the Spaulding job. Gary discovers he has a quick temper. So does Beth, when Neil blows up over a sketch she draws of Phillip. Phillip is the enemy, Neil insists. Later, Beth finds a news clipping about a family tragedy in a building collapse. Architect Neil Everest was being sought for questioning. She also finds old Spaulding invoices. Later, she hears Neil tell Gary that he supports Phillip. And Neil hears Phil talking about his love for Beth.

Rusty admits to Mindy that he still loves her and they set up a rendezvous at the Springfield Inn. Rusty gets a troubling message from Mindy before he leaves and, at the Inn, instead of finding Rusty, Mindy is confronted by Will, who has a gun. When Rusty searches for Mindy, he finds an empty room with a note: “Game’s Up, Rusty.”

11/28/89
 

Gary tells Neil that he knows about his past - he caused a Spaulding building to collapse. But Neil convinces Gary to give him a second chance. Gary calls an associate of his and tells him he’s worried that Neil is onto their plan. Later, Blake shows up in Gary’s room. They make love. Phillip hires Neil, but Blake fires him for insinuating that something is going on between her and Gary. The next day, Phillip heads for Neil’s trailer to hire him back. Neil accepts the reinstatement and prevents him from seeing Beth. Neil is frustrated that Beth will not make love to him. When Blake shows up to let Neil know who’s boss at Spaulding, she sees Beth outside the trailer. When Mrs. Spaulding realizes that Beth doesn’t remember who she is, she insists that Beth not tell anyone where she is. She wants to help her, Blake lies.

While Rusty frantically searches for Mindy, Will holds her at gunpoint at the Cliffside and forces her to swallow some pills. Sonni and Rusty find a note at the Springfield Inn which leads them to the Cliffside. Josh goes with them. Meanwhile, a crazed Will tries to explain everything to Mindy - it was all for her; she was the only person he ever really loved and trusted. And she betrayed him. Rusty busts in and shoots at Will. Will grabs Mindy and they both fall off the balcony.

Josh manages to grab Mindy as she falls and he and Sonni pull her to safety, but Will plunges to his death. But the pills put Mindy in a coma and the Shaynes and Lewises gather at her side at the hospital. Ed delivers a grim prognosis and Josh leaves for Tulsa to tell Reva. Mrs. Jeffries lingers close to death, and then has an out-of-body experience and recovers it.

Blake tells Roger that Beth is alive, then later overhears Alex supporting Phillip’s search for Beth. Phillip tracks down the coroner and he admits that is wasn’t Beth in her grave. Spaulding gets the confession on tape. Meanwhile, Neil starts to tell Beth about her life in Springfield and that Bradley Raines raped her. They kiss for the first time.

12/12/89

Neil tells Beth about her history with Phillip and offers to let her go, but she stays and they make love. Blake insists to Gary that Neil be fired, but Swanson talks her out of it and encourages her to use her power of attorney to pay off Neil. Gary pays a visit to Neil’s trailer, but sees Beth. Blake cuts a deal with Neil: he will keep Beth away from Phillip if he can build Blakewood Towers. Neil refuses to report to Blake on the project. And Roger is forced to remind his daughter that Alex, not she, is in charge of Spaulding.

At the hospital, Beth overhears Rick and Mindy talking about her. Later, Mindy sees Beth in her hospital room and tells Rick and Phillip, but they chalk it up to her illness. Mindy is released from the hospital and the Bauers throw a party.

Vanessa tells Phillip that Blake arranged for people to turn down Phillip’s request for ransom money. Blake denies covering up the coroner’s fraud and Phillip’s request for exhumation of the body in Beth’s grave is again denied. Phillip freaks out, banishes Blake from his life and gets drunk. That night, both Phillip and Beth dream about her grave. Each visit it separately, but when Beth sees Phillip, she runs before he can see her (Note: Probably because, in his drunken stupor, he was digging up her grave!). Blake and Rick find Phillip at the cemetery alone, and Blake has the police take him away. When an enraged Phillip lunges at her, Blake decides to have her husband committed. Phillip vows revenge. Meanwhile, Neil comforts Beth and she proclaims her love for him. Everest tells her he’s changed his mind about his deal with Blake; Beth should be with the people she loves. Later, Beth arrives on Lillian’s doorstep.

It’s Mo and Ed’s re-marriage day, so Mo refuses to cook. Ed, Rick and Johnny decide to whip up a Bauer Thanksgiving on their own but a nervous Ed forgets to defrost the turkey (Note: Great scene of Rick trying to stick the turkey into the microwave while imitating Julia Childs!). Rick arranges for a caterer.

Beth panics and can’t bring herself to ring her mother’s doorbell. Neil offers consolation and support and the couple decides to rent Reva Bend. Later, Bradley shows up at Lillian’s; he wants to make amends. Lillian is unforgiving. Meanwhile, Beth and Neil share TV dinners for Thanksgiving. Afterward, Beth visits Lillian, but Bradley enters the door. When Bradley tells Lillian Beth was there, she orders him out.

Blake has doubts about committing Phillip, but decides that it’s not safe for him to be out until Beth and Neil leave town. She’ll keep him committed until then. At the hospital, Phillip tells a fellow patient about his love for Beth. As Phillip gazes out of his window, Beth appears.

12/26/89

When Phillip sees Beth outside the hospital window, he makes a run for it, but is stopped short and subdued by attendants. Back in his room, Phillip doesn’t see Beth when she appears at his window. Spaulding calls Rick and asks him for his help in finding Beth. When Beth is discovered on the hospital premises, she’s taken in and diagnosed as having trauma-induced aphasia, which resulted in loss of language. Ethan, a patient, finds her and tries to convince Phillip to go see her. Phillip goes to her room and is stunned to actually see Beth asleep on the bed.

Meanwhile, Neil tells Blake that Beth is missing and a panicky Blake comes up with a plan. For her own protection, she hires Rusty to find Beth. Mindy lays into Dana for impersonating her best friend, Beth. Mindy and Rick demand that Blake let them listen to the coroner’s confession tape she got from Phillip, but all they hear is the coroner denying everything. The part where he finally breaks down and admits that it’s a Jane Doe, not Beth, who is in Beth’s grave, is suspiciously missing from the tape.

Phillip is overwhelmed with happiness upon seeing Beth. He soon realizes, however, that although Beth recognizes him, she doesn’t remember who he is. He also sees that she doesn’t speak. Everything’s going to be fine, Phillip assures her. He’s surprised when Beth shows him a sketch of Neil and indicates that she knows him.

Alex questions Blake on her motives for having Phillip committed, implying that she may have just been after the power of attorney at Spaulding. Blake insists she did it to save her marriage. Afterward, Phillip tells them that he’s feeling much better, but would like to stay as a voluntary patient.

After a mysterious absence, a distraught Dana appears at the hospital, believing she’s responsible for Phillip’s commitment. Rick assures her she’s not and promises to find her job at WSPR. Bruce clears Dana and Alan when he testifies that he acted alone.