[mellow instrumentals]
♪♪
Hey, uh, welcome back.
Hi. Daniel.
It's...
it's good to see you.
How's it feel being home?
Good. Really...
-really good. -Good.
You...Tessa, everyone is--
Everybody's amazing. Yeah, thank you.
All right. Well, I won't keep you.
Um, do you wanna possibly join me?
Or you were just being polite
and you would rather...
never speak to me again.
Hey there.
Hey.
Hmm. What's that about?
Mind your own business.
Something to do with Vibrante?
You know, an extra set of eyes can be helpful.
No, not a chance. Go.
Go on. Get out of here.
I don't need any more distractions.
Mm-hmm.
What are you doing?
Be right back.
♪♪
Ha ha.
All right, look, there's like a speed
and sort of an intensity to this
that you're just not getting, so come on.
Way to mansplain a card game.
I'm just saying, you need to bring it, okay?
You gotta, like, up it. Let's go.
[whining] I'm bored.
-You're bored? -Yeah.
All right, uh...
we could play poker.
And bet with what? Napkins and sugar packets?
Yeah, you're kinda right.
All right, um, let's see...
what other entertainment do you like?
Let's, uh, let's keep it clean.
Oh, did I offend the jock?
The squeaky clean boy-next-door?
-Hey, I have game. -Mm-hmm. Sure.
-Ah! -Oh!
And that is how it's done.
-Yes. Psyched you out. -All right.
That was nice. That was nice.
-I kinda went left -No, no, I see it, I see it.
Nice.
Nick.
Uh, hey, uh, this is Sharon.
Sharon, this is my friend.
Marie.
Yeah...
You know who I am.
You know what I did.
Good morning.
-You talking to me? -I'm talking to you.
Why?
Just trying to be nice.
Last time we spoke, you were taunting me
about Matt going missing.
Now you're trying to be nice?
I'm sorry that I wasn't more sensitive
to the, uh, plight of a known criminal.
Oh, okay, there it is. That's you. All right!
Did you have any luck, uh,
tracking down your toxic partner?
No. I have not.
But I will track him down, and when I do,
you and the rest of the people in this town
will realize you underestimated him.
♪♪
Sorry. I-I didn't...
I didn't mean to make this weird.
No. No, no regrets. It's not...not weird.
Why would it be weird?
Uh...
So, how is everything?
It really is good.
Yeah, I've, uh, just been, um,
you know, picking my own schedule and...
my own activities.
I just dropped Aria off at the park for a playdate.
She having a good summer?
Oh, she's having the best summer.
I mostly just fill my days with...
Mom duties and chores,
the occasional down time.
It's a welcome change.
You think you're gonna go back to working for Cassidy First?
Uh, I don't think I'm ready for that...just yet.
I'm supposed to be managing my stress levels.
Doctor's orders.
-[chuckles] -Plus, I have
a lot of family time to make up for.
Have you...spoken to Tessa
lately?
No. No, I have not.
You know, I saw a video of the two of you playing
at your dad's wedding.
You guys were great together.
I'd only seen you guys play in the park a couple of times.
She was a great teacher.
So you haven't spoken at all?
Why do you wanna know?
You know, part of my therapy at the clinic
was understanding that
my actions had consequences.
And...
everyone is entitled to their reactions
to what I did, and I...
I was unavailable to my wife and to my child.
I'm not sure I totally understand.
I guess I'm just trying to say that...
...anything that happened while I was gone...
I don't...
I don't blame anyone for.
So if you miss Tessa
and you miss your friendship...
I would understand.
Sharon is who picked me up at the motel that night.
And then I asked her to drive me to the hospital
so I could see you.
Well, I guess when you, uh, save someone's life,
you should at least be able to brag about it, right?
That isn't Nick.
He was concerned. He cares.
And I'm sure that you were thrilled to take him to see me.
I'm, uh, glad you're doing okay.
I'm glad you're alive and that you're here
and you want to get help just like Nick does.
Truthfully, I haven't been super successful at that.
Kind of been around the block a few times.
I should get a punch card at this place.
Well, you're here. That's what matters.
A few more tours, and I get a coffee maker. Ha.
Or...this could be your last rodeo.
Then we walk out of here with a new lease on life.
Mr. Optimistic, right? Has he always been like that?
Yeah. He's a champion to others.
He just needs to be reminded sometimes to
give that to himself.
Well, he's been really good for me.
He's probably the reason I've stuck around this long.
Is Matt your personal attack dog?
Your ticket to revenge
against those who have wronged you, Phyllis?
You're so paranoid.
Why else would you hang out with the guy?
None of your business.
Um, given what Matt has done to my family,
I think it is my business.
What is this? What are you doing?
What is this fishing expedition?
I don't think you know where he is.
I told you. I don't.
Yeah, but then why are you...
why are you talking to me about it?
You've lost track of Matt, right?
And you think I'm the key to finding him.
I wanna know why you wanna find Matt so badly.
-It doesn't matter. -What's in it for you, Phyllis?
It doesn't matter. No, no, no, no.
Adam, your family doesn't get to decide
who stays and who goes in this town.
Right? Matt is missing.
And I'm going to find him.
Is that all?
[quietly] Maybe I'm in love with him.
What?
Can I make a suggestion, if that's allowed?
-About? -A PR stunt.
What if...
Vibrante starts teasing it now?
-On socials? -Cool graphics.
"Coming in 2027, something new and exciting."
Or "vibrant."
Oh. Clever word play.
So do better. [laughs]
And you can take swipes at Jabot--
"We're coming for you," that sort of thing.
That way the battle's set up when the products come out.
-I like it. -Sometimes I have good ideas.
Can't imagine why you'd want to share them with the competition.
It'll bring attention to Jabot, not just you.
I'm all for reciprocity.
But we'll be teasing that we're gonna beat you,
and then we'll do it.
Not a chance.
I mean, you don't make a dent in Jabot's sales.
Don't worry about that.
I can knock Jabot off its pedestal.
Well, you said yourself
you've been wearing Jabot's foundation for years.
Look at you.
Perfect skin.
-You're stunning. -[phone chimes]
Sorry.
I believe this is yours.
[mischievous music plays]
Oh, did I shock you, Adam?
Ha. No.
Cane and I thought you might have a thing for the guy.
Ooh, you and Cane! My goodness.
You should get a new hobby
and stop speculating on my love life.
Phyllis, I could care less.
Except you did say the insinuations about you two
-weren't true. -No, I said don't make
a big deal out of it. There's a difference.
You two, as a pair...
-I can't see it. -Oh, you can't see it? Really?
So you can't see it, it's not a big deal,
don't fixate on it?
Is that what you're saying? Listen, um,
let me make it clear.
I don't need to have some man by my side
to take your family down.
Ooh!
I did it once. I could do it again.
[softly] Hoo hoo hoo hoo.
That is mine.
I found it when you, uh, left.
Right.
When we were working late.
Yeah, yeah.
We said we weren't gonna do that again.
At the moment...
I can't remember why.
[smooth R&B plays in background]
♪♪
Victoria.
Yeah?
You want a refill?
Uh...please.
B-R-B.
I-I do...miss Tessa and our friendship,
and I hope that's okay to say.
Yeah. Yeah, of course it is.
I mean that.
You know, we became friends when...
I was dealing with...
grieving Heather, and...
she was going through everything
that the two of you were dealing with.
And I just think that it was... a lot,
and maybe things kinda got...
all mixed up together.
Um, but things are different now,
and I respect that, you know.
I'm glad that the two of you are back together and happy.
It did not seem possible for a while.
Yeah, but, you know, it happened.
It's real.
She wanted to give you and your family another chance,
and, as her friend, I support that.
And it worked, you know?
That--that's...
that's great.
You know, I didn't intend...
for it to be that you guys couldn't be friends.
Have you, um...
have you talked about this with Tessa?
Should I?
I mean, that's up to you.
I think she misses you too.
Maybe you should give her a call.
I will leave you two to talk.
I'm sorry. I did not mean to interrupt.
No, no, no, no, it's okay, you know.
Visitors, they, uh, they come first.
Or so I am told.
Addicts, we're, uh... we're big on etiquette.
Thanks. I'll see you later.
Everything all right at home?
Yeah. I just wanted to check on you.
Yeah, just, you know, doing my thing.
Phyllis came by and visited yesterday.
Oh, I heard. Actually, she is the reason why I'm here.
Well, she and...
Matt.
Phyllis is determined to find Matt.
She won't just let him go away.
I tried to convince her to let it go.
I got nowhere with her. I wish she would listen to you.
If she does find Matt, I'm afraid of what could happen.
I'm afraid of how bad things could get.
[beep, click]
Oh, wow, look at you.
Uh...yeah.
I'm really missing the fitness center
at the Genoa City Athletic Club,
so I'm just trying to make do.
Yeah. Well, you're making do.
I gotta--gotta stay strong
for my grand reentrance, right?
And even if everybody in this town hates me,
I can still try and look okay.
You look better than okay.
Thanks.
-Um, I'm all sweaty. -I don't care.
Okay.
Do you feel better?
Yeah.
Did I convince you to stay last night?
After my self-involved cry for help? Yeah.
I mean, if you...if you believe that the infamous Matt Clark
can be redeemed, who am I to argue with you?
I do. I do believe that.
I'm the master of reinvention.
The finish line seems pretty far away.
Nah.
I know how everybody ticks in this town.
I know the lay of the land.
-All right? -Okay.
We're gonna change you.
Do I dare to dream that
I can be accepted and admired
by the people of Genoa City?
Yeah, dare.
We're gonna need a plan. What's the first step?
We're gonna make friends out of your enemies.
[soft music plays]
You know, I could reach out to Tessa,
thank her for everything that she did for me.
I mean, she helped me through one of the lowest points
in my whole life after Heather died.
I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing the two of you
play together again. [laughs]
Well, music really helped me.
Made me feel like a different person.
-Really? -Gave me something to focus on.
Gave me purpose when I didn't have any.
It's funny. You know, tragedy can just make you feel stuck.
Yeah.
Like you can't get out.
I think that ever since Heather died,
I've just been kind of in this holding pattern
and not...really fully ready to move on.
But spending time with Tessa...
Made me realize that...
you know, I was ready to live again.
Maybe I was ready for something different, something new,
something real.
What, to date?
I don't know about that.
Lucy's definitely, you know,
she's really pushing to be in charge of my profiles.
Oh! You should let her. She's got good taste.
[both laugh]
It's more than that, though.
You know, I feel like I'm...
finally ready to put myself out there again,
take some risks.
I'm even working with my dad at The Shadow Room.
Really? I didn't--
I didn't know that.
Wait. Maybe you and Tessa should play a gig there
together sometime.
One step at a time.
All your admirers gone?
NICK: [light laugh]
Yeah. Um...
listen, uh, about Sharon and the overdose...
Oh, it's fine.
It doesn't have to be.
Your family must hate me for what I did to you.
And then the fact that you had to save me, it's just...
Hey, come on. I'm the one with the hero complex, right?
Yeah, but now I'm gonna be the girl
that you had to bring back to life.
The last thing I wanna be is a damsel. That's pathetic.
I had to be resurrected, too.
-Yeah? -Yep.
Phyllis was the one who did it.
Oh! Her.
Yeah, she, uh, she hated me.
Like, um, viscerally hated me.
Whereas Sharon, you know, her words were just kind of...
dripping in pity.
Well, for whatever it's worth,
both of those women divorced me.
Oh, those are the famous ex-wives.
Okay.
They divorce you or you divorce them?
-Or... -Uh...
it's up for debate.
Right. Yeah.
Hey, no one's judging you.
Uh, nice try, yeah. Phyllis was.
Phyllis was absolutely judging me.
How is it possible that you ended up single?
I mean, usually, I'm not.
'Cause of all the game you got?
-Oh, I got game. -Mm-hmm.
That should not surprise you.
Sure. [laughs]
I guess it's not that bad. You know?
To be by yourself.
It's definitely better than being with the wrong person.
Wish I'd learned that sooner.
[door closes]
Another visitor.
This one doesn't look like an ex-wife.
That's actually my brother, and if he's here,
probably means there's trouble.
Just so we're clear, I'm all for proving myself
to the people in this town, but they are not my enemies.
They are people that I have wronged.
Exactly. They're people that you have wronged.
Look at you.
You're an evolved human,
-all right? -Yes, I am.
-Yeah. -I am--I am fully evolved.
But the people in this town,
they don't think that I am evolved.
-Exactly. -Right.
So we need to prove to them,
we need evidence, that I've evolved.
Yeah. Action is necessary.
And you're gonna help me?
Of course I'm gonna help you.
I'm keeping up the pretense that I don't know where you are.
I just ran into Adam, and he believed me.
Wh--why?
Why would you do that? Why would you lie about me?
[lightly edgy music plays]
Oh, shoot. You know what?
I better get going. Sorry.
Uh, listen, I just wanna say, uh,
thank you for everything that you said.
Yeah, you too.
And, uh, I really am happy
for you and Tessa, that everything worked out.
Thank you.
Reach out to her.
I'll think about it.
What do you say? Bring it in?
Sure.
I really hope that you'll be happy.
So don't waste any more time.
Get out there again. Be bold.
You deserve to live your life fully too.
If there's something you want, go for it. Don't wait.
Not to bring this up...
Okay...
Whenever I'm at a crossroads in my life, I...
I try to remember that I get to have a life,
whereas Cassidy didn't.
I know. I always try to honor that.
So do I.
Well, I hope you have a great day.
You too.
I should, uh, probably head out.
Oh. Okay.
Busy day?
Yes. Yeah. Lots of work to do.
Then I'll leave you to it. See you later.
Have a good day, Kyle.
You too, Victoria.
Sorry for the interruption.
It's okay. You're not the first.
I am Marie, queen of the stomach pump.
And I'm happy to be alive, thanks to this guy.
Pleasure.
You're so popular.
Wow. Interesting.
Is that the, uh, woman you saved?
The one that you did drugs with?
Yep. That's why she called herself
queen of the stomach pump.
And now you're friends?
Yeah. We are.
Got a problem with that?
Just...a question.
What's up, man?
How are you? I mean, how's it going?
Just, uh, you know, sticking with the program.
Doing my thing.
Socializing?
I mean, there's not a lot to do here. You talk a lot.
You, uh, go to the gym.
You drink coffee. You do puzzles.
-Lot of reflecting. -Think it's working?
That's probably a stupid question.
I'm just taking it day by day, man.
I'm glad you're here.
You know, I've been wanting to see you, but...
maybe thinking I wasn't ready or you weren't ready.
I wanted to thank you.
For what?
For calling me out, you know, making me talk
and be honest about my drug use. Uh...
keeping an eye on me.
Not sure it made much difference.
Why do you say that?
I'm still pissed at myself
that I let you leave the ranch that day.
Don't do that, all right? That was all me.
No. I thought everything was gonna be fine.
I thought you would go back to rehab
and things would be good.
But Sharon, though, once I told her about you,
that you asked me to look after Christian, she knew...
like things were about to get bad.
I screwed up...again.
Listen to me. My addiction is my responsibility.
All right? I put you and everybody else
in a terrible position.
You feeling sorry for yourself isn't gonna do me any good.
Yeah, but I made you take those drugs on that road in Vegas.
All right, you with all this remorse, it's freaking me out,
so knock it off.
All right, fine.
I'll be a hard ass. Does that work for you?
If it doesn't, then too bad.
Isn't "hard ass" your middle name?
Actually, it's "bad seed," and you know what?
If you keep up this behavior,
I might turn out to be Dad's favorite son.
You ass.
Addict.
Yeah. That's me.
Well, anybody else been here to see you?
Yeah, uh, Mom, Dad, Sharon, Phyllis,
all talking about the same thing, and it's not me.
Matt Clark.
Phyllis' obsession with him has me extremely worried.
You and me both.
Why are you suspicious of me all of a sudden?
No, no, I'm not. I just don't--I--
Explain to me why, please.
Why would you claim to not know where I was?
I can't believe that you're asking me why.
I don't owe Adam any explanation.
And if I just keep everything under wraps,
then we can figure this out.
-Okay. -Yeah.
And also, Adam, he's not trustworthy.
If he knows where you are, he's gonna go to his family,
namely his father.
Right. And we don't want Victor to know where I am.
Exactly. Because he's gonna try to get you,
bring you back to the ranch, so it's safer this way.
-Okay. -Okay.
So then what do we do? What's the first step
on my road to betterment?
Gotta figure out something good, you know?
-Yeah. -Something that doesn't
make people suspicious, like... like we planned it together.
-Okay. -Yeah.
Well, maybe I could save someone else's life
like I did with Nick. It could be your life.
You could be choking in a restaurant,
and I bound in and I put my arms around you
and I save your life.
-Oh. -Yeah.
-That's so lovely. -Thanks.
-We can't do that. -Why not?
'Cause no one's gonna care if I die.
Nobody in town would care.
-That is so sad. -I know.
-It's their loss. -Thank you.
But we can look at it like this
that if we plan that and you came and saved me,
obviously, you know, we colluded together.
Right. Okay, well, then,
maybe it's better if it was someone else.
Yeah.
Someone else.
There's gotta be someone close to the Newmans.
[lightly edgy music plays]
Uh, Phyllis has lost her mind over Matt Clark.
First she was ready to crucify our family
because she thought that we hurt the guy and, um,
dumped his body somewhere.
Did we do that? 'Cause if we did,
I don't have a problem with it.
The guy just disappeared.
Pops has his security team looking for him.
Is he really gone?
I don't know. I mean, the guy has lived under an alias
for years--clearly he knows how to stay under the radar.
Even if he claims to not remember who he was at all.
We're gonna find him, Nick. Don't worry.
Well, we better, Adam, and before Phyllis.
Her being Team Matt-- I don't like it one bit.
Well, um...about that.
I, uh, ran into her earlier.
She has suggested...
that she's fallen in love with the guy.
See, that's the thing. You prove yourself
to someone who is close to the Newmans...
the family that hates you the most...
Right. Problem is I can't get anywhere near the Newmans,
and I'm not sure I ever wanna be close to Victor ever again.
I've seen the man hit a heavy bag. The man can destroy a face.
Nikki or Victoria.
They do seem a little less fraught.
Sure. Maybe like an accident, like a slip and fall situation.
We missed a golden opportunity
when Nikki was temporarily blind.
That's a sentence that you should never say
in front of anyone else ever again out loud.
I'm so upset that the weather is nice.
It would be easier if it was winter
and the roads were icy and snowy.
-Be easier to stage an accident. -The other problem
is that they're never anywhere
where they're not surrounded by security,
especially now that I'm back in town.
-Sharon. -What?
-It's Sharon. -Sharon?
Yeah.
Phyllis, no. Why?
After everything that I've put her through,
you really think that's the way to go?
Yeah. Don't you understand?
If you save Sharon's life,
you'll be proving to everyone
that you aren't a terrible person.
After everything that you did to her...
this is how you're gonna prove yourself.
-Hey, Mom. -Hey, sweetie.
Um...everything okay?
Yeah. Uh...
Just another morning. How was your visit with Nick?
Oh, good.
I met...
another person who's there.
She seems to be Nick's friend.
She?
What'd you think of her?
Oh, she was nice enough.
A little rough around the edges, maybe.
But Nick seems to like her, though.
Does that bother you?
Phyllis told you that, that she's falling in love
-with the guy? -Basically.
Why would she admit that to you knowing how we feel about Matt?
Who knows? But I did get the sense that she meant it.
At least in part.
She never said anything like that to me.
Well, I mean, maybe she's afraid of your reaction, Nick.
I just wish she would steer clear of him.
Doesn't seem like that's gonna happen.
We'll keep an eye on things.
I just--I thought you would wanna know.
Yeah, I...I appreciate it.
Thanks for stepping up, Adam, again.
I have a, uh, lot of years to make up for.
You're doing all right, Adam.
There's not much I can do in here.
But I would just love it if Phyllis would be able
to keep herself out of trouble.
It's Phyllis, so... wishful thinking.
Well, at the very least, we need to protect ourselves.
Okay? We can't let Phyllis' actions ruin things
for everyone else.
Okay, in theory I understand
the upside of Sharon being in danger,
but she can't actually be in real danger.
She can't actually be in trouble.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Of course not. Of course not.
You know, there was a time I would have loved to see her
dangle off the top of Newman Tower,
-but...not anymore. -Really? Sounds like
there's some history between the two of you.
-Yeah, there's a lot of history. -But you're good now?
Yeah.
We are good. I mean, our friendship's new.
All the risk--you would risk that just to help me?
Matt, it's for a good cause.
-Right. -Yeah.
-You sure? -Yeah!
-You think this'll work? -I know it'll work.
See, we're gonna work it out so you step in
before anything gets out of hand.
-Okay. -And you're gonna be the hero.
You're gonna be the white knight.
I...don't wanna judge anyone.
Uh, Mom, it's me. You can talk to me.
She just...didn't seem as
committed to her recovery as Nick is,
or at least as much as I hope he is.
And if he gets really close to her...
It could derail him again.
Mom, you can't protect him.
I mean, Nick has to do the work.
And he knows what he has to do.
Was there anything else on your mind?
Yeah. I...I ran into Daniel at the café.
Oh. How did that go?
It was good. Yeah, we had a great conversation
and I was able to thank him
for being there for Tessa.
And it kind of seems like we're in similar places in our lives.
Yeah? How so?
Ready to start again, you know, pick up the pieces
after suffering through some tragic events.
Well, that sounds really positive for both of you.
Yeah, it was.
I think that I'm ready to do more.
I've been biding my time, but I really wanna get back to
doing great things in Cassie's memory.
Meaning?
Could I come back to work at Cassidy First?
Oh. Uh, you're back.
Did you forget something?
I wanna see you tonight.
Where?
Riverbank Motel.
I'll make the arrangements, text you the room number.
Safer than meeting at the Club.
I agree.
See you later.
You really think this is a good idea...
using the Newmans and Sharon like this?
I know it's a good idea.
After you step in and save the day...
how can the Newmans not see you in a different light?
[dramatic music plays]
Captioned by Los Angeles Distribution and Broadcasting, Inc.
Captioning provided by Bell Dramatic Serial Company,
Sony Pictures Television and CBS, Inc.
Join us again for "The Young and the Restless."