James returns to Oakdale and lets his presence be known at the grand opening. Barbara realizes that James came to town on her behalf. James and Paul have an altercation, but Rosanna breaks them up. James is glad to see that his son has finally snubbed his enemy Craig and nabbed the lady for himself. Paul retorts that Craig died in a plane crash and James smirks. James also issues his sympathy to Barbara about Hal and Jennifer, but tells her that with Hal out of the way, they can be together now. Barbara slaps James and starts screaming. Kim takes her home while Jack makes arrangements for security to be posted outside Barbara's room. Meanwhile, Carrie makes eye contact with James as he mouths the words "Thank you". Eventually, James leaves, promising to stay in town and comfort his love, Barbara. Stunned and frightened, Oakdale citizens return home with hesitance.

Jade reasons with Holden not to call Lily because she doesn't plan on staying long. Holden asks why Jade returned and Jade clams up, promising to tell them everything in the morning. Meanwhile, Lily walks in on Lucinda spying on Sherry. Sherry thanks the mystery person for meeting her and Lucinda is shocked to see that it's the Vice President of WorldOne. Lucinda storms up to him and demands an explanation. Sherry explains that she and her father have been making preparations now for months to take over Worldwide. Sherry bluffs that Noah's along with the idea, but Noah's sudden arrival turns her lie around. Lucinda fires Sherry and tells her father that her attorneys will be going after him for everything he has. Noah later breaks the news to Luke that it's all over. Meanwhile, a scream goes out inside.

Everyone that's left rushes around Carrie, lying unconcious on the floor. Susan has medical personnel take her downstairs where she plans on examinging her. Carly fears for the lives of Carrie and her unborn baby. Meanwhile, Jack learns from a nurse that things aren't looking good. Jack tries to prep Carly for the worst, but she snaps at him that this is all his fault. If he hadn't given Carrie such a hard time about her past, she never would have had the stress level that she had. Jack finds it ridiculous that Carly's blaming him. As they round the corner, a worried, ranting Carly is taken by surprise when Jack pulls her into a kiss. As Carly stand shocked, Jack replies that it's the only way he knew to calm her dramatic hysterics. He whispers that Carrie's going to be fine as Susan approaches and tells Carly that she's going in to examine Carrie.

Katie, Lyla, and Margo have all returned to Lyla's suite and calmed down after the night's hectic festivities. Lyla and Margo are both stunned James has returned and recall that any time James returns, it's not a good sign of things to come. Katie's still in shock over discovering that Michael is married. She's shocked and hurt that he would keep something like that from her. She also blasts her mother for thinking that Michael is an adulterer. Lyla warns that there's alot about Michael that she doesn't know. Michael is capable of anything. Katie frowns and huffs that Lyla doesn't know him like she does. Margo breaks up the bickering and tells them that she has problems of her own. Casey's getting married to a two-timing slut. Lyla comically guesses "Emily?" to which all three ladies laugh. Margo laughs that if she were to ever discover Emily and Casey were an item, she'd go mentally insane. Back on the subject of James, Lyla promises that James probably had a hand in Oakdale before he ever appeared.

James convinces one of the security guards posted at Barbara's door that he's her nurse. The guard lets him in and James walks up on a sleeping Barbara. Startled from her sleep, Barbara starts to scream, but James clasps her mouth and warns her not to strain her voice. Barbara asks James why he's doing this. She's lost the father of her children, her daughter, and now she's lost any pride she had left thanks to cancer. What else does James want from her? James replies that he simply wants "forever". He leaves and a shaken Barbara seeks refuge in the middle of the night at Kim's.

Back at Dusty's house, he sits Emily down and asks how she's doing now that her ex-lover is back in town. Emily sits doe-eyed in her chair and Dusty chuckles that he wasn't so happy to see his once-supposed-father, either. Dusty guesses that James came back to town for a number of reasons and seeing that Barbara's alright is just at the beginning of the list.

Lily returns home and frantically searches for Holden and the children. Holden tells Lily to calm down. Lily screams that James is back in town and she wants to make sure her children are untainted by the bastard's hands. Holden tells Lily that he has something to tell her, but before he can mutter another word, Lily busts into the girls' room and finds Jade sleeping soundly with Faith. Lily's stunned and wonders why her niece came back to town. Holden promises that he knows nothing, but urges his wife to let her sleep; they'll find out everything tomorrow.

Carly leans against Jack's shoulder in the hospital waiting room, waiting to hear something from Susan. Carly mutters that Jack should be at home with the children, but he retorts that he wants to make sure everything is okay with Carrie and the baby. A somber Susan emerges and informs the two that Carrie has had a miscarriage. Susan prompts Carly to be easy when she goes in to visit. Jack asks what he can do and Susan replies that he can go find the baby's father. Susan hands him a sheet of paper. Written in fine print, the name "Noah Mayer" reads boldly. Jack's in utter disbelief.

Gwen notices Will's distant behavior. She knows how frightened, angry, and confused her husband is. She hates to add to the stress. Finally, she concludes that she can't tell Will that she's been taking Hallie to see Iris for months now. Little does she know that Will's upset about James's return, but he's even more upset that he's been betrayed by his wife. He recalls seeing her with Hallie as she drove into Iris's. He wonders how she could jeopardize everything based on her mother's pleas for yet another chance when he knows that Iris will never change. Meanwhile, Iris again tells Stan that she will never help him in his plan to rob Metro. She cites it as a misdeed against God, which makes Stan laugh. He chuckles that he never saw Iris turning to the Lord. Iris retorts that she has and there's nothing Stan can say to change her mind. Stan smiles as he tells Iris that with the money they steal from Metro, she can do whatever she wants, whatever she wouldn't be able to afford. She can starts a trust fund for Hallie, she can donate it all to God, or she can spend it on shoes and earrings. Iris forces a smirk across her face. She knows how she can put Stan in his place and save her reputation from any futher harm at the same time.

Rosanna checks on Paul and discovers that he has left his room, even though he promised not to go anywhere. She finally tracks him down at the Wagon Wheel thanks to a bellhop. It's there that she walks in on Paul pointing a gun at James.

Jack arrives at Lucinda's and apologizes for coming so late. He heard from Holden that Noah and Luke are staying the night at Lucinda's. She invites him in, reasoning that he wants to speak with Noah about the mole at Worldwide. Jack hesitates before knocking on the door. Noah comes to the door and tells him that he needs to get to Memorial. He opts not to tell Noah she's miscarried in front of Luke. When Noah returns to bed to gather his things, Luke asks to tag along, wanting to be there for his boyfriend as he helps his friend. Not able to hold it in anymore, Noah snaps that it's his responsibility to check on Carrie and the baby. Luke raises up in the bed and asks, "What baby? And why is it your responsibility?" Noah never answers and escapes to Memorial. Luke follows in his car, determined to find out once and for all what's going on. Deep in his mind, he knows. But he chooses to ignore his inner impulses. At the hospital, Carly thanks Noah for coming. A nurse spots Noah and walks over. "Are you the father?" Noah shamefully nods yes as Luke watches him walk away. He angrily wipes tears from his face. Out the door, past Carly's soothing voice, he hurries outside. He can't breathe. His anxiety heightens when he sees Lucinda emerge from the parking lot. He crumbles in his gradnmother's arms, crying tears of anger, shame, disappointment, confusion, heartbreak, and disgust. Now, he knows.

Fade out.