Dr. Jessup, an eminent surgeon at Rosehill Hospital, suspects Liane was trying to buck the system by operating on Meg without authorization and wants to see her punished for it. He urges Dr. Marriott to have the surgical board thoroughly investigate Liane....

When Tom learns that Dr. Marriott took away Liane's surgical duties because she performed surgery without permission, Tom accuses him of using her as a scapegoat and looking for an excuse to oust her from the hospital staff. Dr. Marriott assures Tom that Liane's career isn't over -- she'll have a chance to clear herself. But what if Meg hits Liane with a personal malpractice suit?

Carrie, who's working as a nurse at Rosehill Hospital, urges a very despondent Meg not to give up hope. Meg snaps that she was "butchered" by Liane and will never walk again! All she's living for now is to ruin Liane's life!

Bitterness flashing in her eyes, Meg declares that Liane has destroyed her life. Sheepishly, Liane says she's sorry, very sorry. "All you can do is say you're sorry? I want you to suffer!" Meg shouts. "I'll have you fired and make sure you never walk into an operating room again and cripple someone else!" Liane runs out of the room, nearly in tears.

After insisting that Steve has mistaken her interest and concern for love, Van suggests he find a girl his own age. "What you think you feel for me isn't reciprocated in any way," she says emphatically. Steve maintains that he loves Van: "You're the most important person in my life and I'm not ashamed of the love I feel for you. I know you're afraid to admit it, but you have feelings for me, too..." Van shouts that he's wrong and must stop carrying on like this. "Please pack up and leave!" she demands. Steve promises he won't let his feelings for Van come into the open if she'll let him stay. "Please let me prove that I can handle this. Don't push me away. Trust me," he pleads. Van agrees to let him stay only until he gets another place. She adds that moving out would be the best thing for Steve.



The day Elliot and Betsy's divorce hearing is scheduled, he makes a last-ditch attempt to patch things up. "You need me," Elliot points out. When Betsy refuses his help, he utters ominously, "Then you leave me no choice..."

...As the judge is about to grant Betsy her freedom, Elliot bursts into the courtroom and announces he wants to see Betsy -- alone. Outside the courtroom, Elliot reiterates: "I love you, Betsy. I want to take care of you and the baby. I'll love the baby, I promise. Please give me a chance. Please say you'll come back to me..." Betsy retorts that she doesn't love Elliot and would rather manage on her own. When the hearing resumes, she's granted her divorce decree.

Although Ray would like Arlene to bear him a child, she tells him she'd rather spend her time doing volunteer work at a teenage clinic and postpone having a baby. "I love you and I don't think we should wait any longer," Ray persists. "I'd like to have a son, an heir...."

Hal Carson, the detective who helped Arlene and Ray in Des Moines many months ago, calls her from a phone booth in Rosehill. Arlene, elated to hear from Hal after all this time, invites him over for dinner. Jealous of Hal's attraction to Arlene, Ray is distressed to learn that the detective has been assigned to a police case in New York City, which isn't far from Rosehill. Ray's especially disconcerted to hear that Hal doesn't have a special woman in his life at the moment...

When Liane sobs that her medical career is over, Tom reassures her she's a competent surgeon and she'll come through the impending hearing with flying colors. "I believe in you 'cause I love you very much," he adds. "I'm going to marry you as soon as your residency is finished." Tom tenderly holds Liane in his arms and they make love.

The next morning, Tom assures Liane that he loves her far too much to let anybody, including Meg, hurt Liane or her career. He urges a depressed, worried Liane to go into the upcoming hearing with a positive attitude and stress that she saved Meg's life.

Later that morning, Dr. Marriott drops by Liane's apartment and lets her know Dr. Tucker, her former nemesis, has signed a deposition in her behalf. Still, Liane is scared to death about what Meg could do to her....

More determined than ever to ruin Liane's future as a surgeon, Meg asks Bruce to help her file suit ("the biggest malpractice suit in medical history") against Liane and Rosehill Hospital. Bruce reminds Meg that she may not have sufficient grounds to sue Liane, for she operated under very unusual circumstances. After calling him too "sweet" and "genuine" to handle a case like this, Meg sends Bruce out of her hospital room. He lacks the "killer instinct" Meg's looking for....

Blaming himself totally for causing Meg's fall, Tom tells her that he never meant to hurt her, either emotionally or physically. Meg replies that she'd like to put the whole incident behind them -- however, she cannot forgive Liane for "butchering" her. After pointing out that Meg's test results indicate there isn't any physiological reason for her paralysis, Tom suggests she start therapy sessions with Dr. Clark, a psychiatrist. Infuriated, Meg accuses Tom of trying to get Liane off the hook by convincing her (Meg) that her paralysis is all in her mind! "Liane bungled the surgery and I'll make sure she pays for it!" Meg screams.

Ben wants to get to the bottom of how Meg's accident really happened and prods her to tell him the truth. "I want to help you, Mother," he says. Meg insists that Tom isn't to blame, she tripped and fell because she was upset. "If you really want to help me, you can find me an aggressive lawyer who knows how to fight to win," Meg suggests.

Betsy is heartsick when she glances down at the morning newspaper and reads that Elliot has been elected to the D.A.'s office!

Feeling she's a burden to her family, Betsy announces she's going to England so she can have her child in peace. She needs to make a fresh start and doesn't want Elliot coming around once the baby's born. When Tom mentions Ben, Betsy says he's forgotten about her... Can Tom stop Betsy from leaving?

Steve, concerned about Betsy, takes it upon himself to let Ben know that she's hurting and needs a man to care for her. Ben admits that even though he and Betsy have been at each other's throats lately, he loves her so much that it hurts. He wants more than anything for her to trust him again....

Although Van's aware it's killing Ben that Betsy's carrying Elliot's child, Van urges Ben to forgive Betsy for becoming pregnant and accept the child as his own after they're married. Van pleads with Ben to swallow his pride and convince Betsy not to run away to England: "Go to her before it's too late..."

Mia, tired of Ben using her as a sexual substitute for Betsy, presses him to make up his mind: Who does he want -- Mia or Betsy? Later Mia regrets pushing Ben to make a decision and apologizes. "Can you ever forgive me?" she meekly asks. He accepts her apology and they discuss Betsy. Hoping to plant doubt in Ben's mind, Mia implies that perhaps Betsy wasn't raped by Elliot -- maybe they fell into each other's arms and she willingly allowed him to make love to her. If Betsy's baby really was conceived by rape, Mia contends, she would have gone through with the abortion. Ben now wonders what the truth is...



Because Ray loves children and desperately wants a son, Arlene plans on becoming pregnant and surprising her husband when it happens....

As Tony's begging Bambi to reset their wedding date, Kim bursts into the living room with news that an agency out west may have located Tran! Bambi wants Kim to have happiness, but if Tran is found, he will need Tony to be his father... Where will that leave Bambi?

Point blank, Meg accuses Tom of planning her accident so he could throw her over for Liane. "I can't walk, I can't dance, I can't make love... you're free of me now. If the board doesn't demolish your darling Liane, I will!" she threatens.

At Liane's hearing, Dr. Marriott testifies that Meg would have survived if Liane had waited for another doctor to operate. Tom testifies that he urged Liane to operate and considers her a qualified surgeon. When it's Liane's turn to defend herself, she announces that she won't apologize for her actions. If she had it to do over again, she'd do the same thing -- she obeyed the oath she took as a doctor to save her patient's life. "You don't have to fire me because I quit!" Liane shouts, then runs out of the board room.



The next day, Dr. Marriott informs Tom that Liane has been cleared of the charges against her....

Wesley tells Mia that Princeton University dropped him because his grades weren't high enough. When he starts berating himself for being a disappointment to his parents, Mia reminds Wesley that he's a bright, wonderful person and he'll do well at another school. Later that day, Wes asks Dr. Marriott for a hospital job that will leave him time to attend evening classes at Rosehill University. Dr. Marriott replies that there aren't any openings, but he'll keep Wes in mind.

Meg launches into a tirade when she finds out that the board exonerated Liane, certain all the doctors are covering for her. "I know who is really behind this whitewash -- Dr. Marriott," Meg tells Sarah and Prof. McCauley. "He's head over heals in love with her..."