It's the 4th of July in Oakdale...

Will tries to avoid his wife's questioning eyes. Quickly, he tucks his sweaty hands into his pockets and confesses that he needs to check on his mom. She got some positive readings from the doctor and he's afraid she might be too cocky by going out to Kim's. He's afraid she might overwork herself. Gwen agrees to go with him to check on his mom and the two head to the Hughes house while Iris plays with Hallie.

Nancy can sense the tense air between Kim and Lisa and approaches Lisa, grabbing the peach cobbler from her hands. Nancy suggests Lisa help her with the rest of the food and Lisa obliges. Meanwhile, Susan overhears Bob confronting Kim about the tension between her and Lisa. Susan makes her way inside and learns from Lisa that she's skeptical of Kim's peace offering. Susan stands up for Kim, but Kim comes in and tells her not to bother. Lisa's right to be skeptical.

Carly arrives at the Snyder farm in just enough time to run into Brad and Katie. The women play nice and both comment on how strange it is that Emma's in town for once. Brad worries that something's wrong with one of his cousins and Emma's making frequent trips out of town to see them. Carly assures Brad that if something was wrong, Emma would tell them. Emma approaches and she gushes about how nice it is to see everyone here....and getting along!

Meanwhile, Luke arrives with Jade. Emma puts on a happy smile, but later, she asks Holden why Jade has returned. Holden reveals Jade came back to town to visit with Lily while she sorts some things out. Emma comments how it's not like Jade to just return to town without some ulterior motive. She knows the girl is nothing but trouble and frankly, she confesses, she thought Holden did too.

Luke comes in the kitchen and sees Kevin sitting with Sage as she colors. Jack comes in and addresses both Jade and Luke before heading back outside to help Holden with the steaks. Kevin smiles as he watches Jade give the thumbs up from behind Luke. Luke wonders aloud what brought Kevin to his family gathering. Kevin chuckles and says his family went out of town for the 4th and he requested to stay in Oakdale. Luke thinks it's a bit odd his former friend is sitting in his gramdother's kitchen during a holiday and pulls Jade aside. Jade finally confesses that she invited Kevin because she wanted them to patch things up. She knows Kevin meant alot to Luke at some point and she can't stand to watch their friendship crumble because things didn't work out after Luke confessed his feelings to Kevin. Maybe, she hints, Kevin's feelings have changed. Luke raises his eyebrow.

Noah rounds the corner at Oldtown and comes across Lucinda and Lily Both have returned from their business meeting and are headed to pick up some things on the way to Emma's. Lily stares Noah up and down before finally asking him what Luke ever did to be punished the way he was. Noah promises he never meant to intentionally hurt Luke; his fling with Carrie was just something that happened. Lily calls him out and tells him how cruel it was for him to pretend to be someone he's not. Luke invested his whole heart in Kevin and Kevin turned him down. Luke was vulnerable when Noah came along, and denied his feelings for Noah because of Maddie. Lily points out that all Noah had to do was cut Luke off right then and there. But instead, Noah strung him along and played gay for a few months before he finally got drunk and got sick of playing the game. Lily's disgusted and joins her mother, who walked off minutes earlier. Noah slams a sign and watches as his hand turns bloody. As he walks he sees Carrie speaking with a man. He buries himself behind a flower pot and watches.

Carrie thanks the mystery person for meeting her. Breathlessly, she admits that she would have contacted him sooner, but she got caught up in her own drama. Just then, a dark figure slowly saunters into the light. It's James Stenbeck.

Barbara's delighted when she sees Will and Gwen enter. Gwen finds Margo on the other end of the backyard and asks how Casey is while Will pulls Barbara aside. Panting, he pulls out the note and hands it to her. Barbara's shocked when she reads the note from Stan and tells Will to burn it. She can't believe it. Will asks his mom what he's going to do when his wife finds out that he set up Iris to look like a thief so Gwen would shun her forever. Barbara tells Will that no one has asked about the tapes so far and the investiagtion seems to be over already. Will asks what he's going to do when Stan goes to trial. He'll name Will AND Barbara. Barbara smirks and tells her son not to worry about anything. She urges him to return to his wife and enjoy the barbecue and fireworks. She'll take care of Stan. Will warns her not to do anything drastic and Barbara counters, asking Will if he'd rather lose his wife and daughter to a 6x6 jail cell or if he'd like to be with them for the rest of their lives. Knowing he has no other option, Will halfway nods his head and orders his mom to do whatever's necessary.

Susan turns around upon hearing Kim say how Lisa's right to be skeptical of their newfound truce. Kim reveals that she and Susan have been at odds for years...and there's nothing better she'd like than to rip Susan to pieces. However, she knows that bitterness will only plague her for the rest of her life. She informs Susan that she will never forgive or forget what she and Bob did that one night. That's one night with her husband that she'll never get back. Susan tries to apologize, but Kim cuts her off and tells her to keep it in the past. They've started over. Lisa shakes her head.

Susan emerges from inside the house and finds Michael visiting with Bob by the grill. Michael's excited to see Susan, but remembering Bob's hesitation, plays it down. Susan asks Michael what took him so long and he informs her that his niece stopped by. Lisa brings them all lemonade as Kim calls out the fireworks are about to start.

Paul makes his way through Fairwinds, screaming Rosanna's name. Surely, he thinks aloud, she didn't lie to him. Just then, a maid emerges and tells him that Mrs. Cabot headed out on business a little while ago. Business, he angrily screams. Out the door he goes and rushes to the airport. He almost misses Rosanna's blonde hair wrapped in a colorful scarf. She turns around and warns Paul not to try and persuade her to cancel the trip. She knows Cabot's in danger and she's going to make sure he's alright. Tears stream below her sunglasses as she confesses she can't sleep at night when she doesn't even know if he's safe or not. Paul begs her to drop it, but Rosanna replies by marching down the terminal. He calls out for her, but she's already boarded the plane. Defeated, he heads back out. This all wrong, he says. Over and over, he paces before finally shoving the stewardess aside and boarding the plane. Rosanna flinches when she sees a gasping Paul beside her. If you're going, he pants, then I'm coming with you. Rosanna shyly grins and orders the pilot of her private jet to cancel his call for security. "That'll be two for Canada. I have a guest," she informs him.

Carly can see Jack in pain and giggles that she'd be hurting too if she swallowed a steak whole like he did. Jack replies that he never gets a good home cooked meal anymore, so when he gets the chance to eat real food, he lunges at it. Carly's wounded stare makes Jack retract his words, but he knows he's hurt her feelings. To make up for it, he calls the kids together and grabs Carly by the waist, practically hurrying them outside. Both parents laugh in glee as they watch the kids playing with the fireworks.

Meanwhile, back in Oldtown, Noah watches as Carrie meets with a mystery man. He can't make out the face, but he remembers that voice. James tells Carrie that he thought he could trust her with an important misson, but as the days go by, she disappoints him more and more. Carrie apologizes and trembling, tells James that she was banking that she had more time. James grumbles that he gave her plenty of time. She's failed to fulfill her part of the agreement, so he's failing to meet his part. "No!" Carrie screams. She beats her fists against James's chest, crying for another chance. Finally, he prys her hands away and barks at her that she has one more week to get the information. After that, she can kiss her past and her future goodbye. Noah calls out for James, still not knowing it's him but James races off into the night. Still crying, Carrie runs from Noah. He finally catches up to her and asks what's the matter. Who was that, he wonders. Carrie does nothing but cry and hold tight to Noah as fireworks explode above them.

The gray airy residue from the fireworks falls into the night sky above Luke, Kevin, and Jade as they all watch the fireworks from Emma's porch. Jade agrees to help Sage with a sparkler, leaving Luke and Kevin behind. Kevin holds his hand out, but Luke doesn't see it. Kevin sinks back in his seat. Jade, watching them, falls down and calls for help. As both young men rush to help her, they both bend down and raise their heads at the same time. While Sage runs off with her sparkler and Jade crawls away, Luke and Kevin are still exchanging a longing glance. Kevin lunges forward, entangling his lips with Luke's. As they kiss, Luke pulls away violently and dashes inside. Jade comforts a wounded Kevin as he watches an emotional Luke through the kitchen window.

Meanwhile, Susan and Michael, Kim and Bob, Nancy and Lisa, Barbara, Will and Gwen, and Margo and Tom all look up at the night sky illuminated with colors.

Jack and Carly laugh as Lily comes up behind Holden and surprises him. They watch as Holden and Lily kiss. Jack inches his hand towards Carly's and she eventually clasps her fingers around his hand. They exchange a look as Holden and Lily look on hopefully.

Emma sits and watches the night sky with a distress in her eyes. Brad sits beside her as she forces a smile and pats his hand. Katie loops her arms around Brad and they all three watch the children gallop through the yard playing while fireworks glow in the humid night air above them. Meanwhile, Henry and Vienna pack boxes as the color lights up their bedroom curtains.

Paul watches as Rosanna sleeps and turns to look down at the world from the jet's window. Rosanna stirs in her sleep as Paul sees a tiny flicker of red, white, and blue dancing thousands, perhaps millions, of feet below.