Today’s Young and the Restless recap airs in the USA on Friday, December 29, 2023, and airs one day ahead in Canada. We post our Y&R recaps every weekday!
This episode was originally broadcast on October 13, 2003, and gives some background for current events in the show.
Last Episode
On the last episode of Y&R, Lauren & Michael renewed their vows, Ashley & Tucker remembered their breakup differently, and Heather & Daniel kissed.
The Annual Gala at The Newman Ranch
Nick asks Lauren to tell him how Michael Baldwin was trying to bribe her.
Lauren says she needs to choose her words carefully. She says Michael was trying to make her give some more exposure to Saffer’s products, even though she was in business with Jabot.
Nick wonders why Michael would try to get her to take on a competitor’s line.
Raul walks up and asks Lauren for a dance.
Nick thanks Lauren and tells them to enjoy themselves.
Sharon complains to Leonard about the food that hasn’t arrived at the party yet.
Leonard tells her that the caterer’s van rolled over and it won’t make it.
Nikki looks on as Sharon wonders what she will do to ensure everyone gets fed.
Brad’s House
Brad Carlton brings a food tray into the living room and calls for Ashley. He gets no response and heads upstairs to look for her.
The Newman Ranch
Michael tells Victoria that they should get sloppy drunk.
Victoria laughs.
Michael says there’s a lampshade with his name on it; he can be the life of the party!
Victoria says he’s disappointing her. She asks him if he dances.
Michael says he’s the “golden god” of the dance. They move onto the dance floor.
Gina’s Place
Kevin Fisher pours alcohol over the serving area and the tables.
Locked in the walk-in cooler, Colleen bangs on the door, crying out for someone to help her; she’s cold and begs to be let out.
Kevin calls through the door that he won’t have to listen to her whiny voice anymore… It’s karma!
Colleen’s cell phone rings and Kevin picks it up to see who’s calling. It’s JT. Kevin doesn’t answer and says, “She’s indisposed!” He throws the phone at the wall, breaking it.
Fenmore’s
JT leaves a voicemail on Colleen’s cell, asking her to call him. He wonders where she is and why she isn’t answering.
The Newman Ranch
Bobby tells Brittany that they don’t have to stick around at the party; he met his parents and bid on a few items… He’s good to go!
Brittany says she’s having a good time.
Bobby tells her that she should brush off her “lame” ex-boyfriend. He asks if she wants to leave.
Brittany doesn’t want to leave the party. They go to get a drink.
Lauren tells Raul that she can see through his facade… He’s obviously upset that he’s not with Brittany.
Raul says he thought they were going to dance. They head to the dance floor.
Neil’s House
Neil and Lily sit at the table with dinner in front of them. Neil asks why she’s not eating yet.
Lily says she’s not hungry, but Neil convinces her to have a bite.
Lily says he thought they could talk a little bit more.
Lily says she’s worried that he’ll get angry at her.
Neil promises he won’t get angry. He says that it’s hard to protect her when she’s meeting older men on the Internet.
Lily says she doesn’t need him to protect her.
Neil says he’s her father and he’ll protect her no matter what.
Lily says he can’t do everything.
Neil says he can’t, but he can do more. She’s obviously not getting what she needs at home, or she wouldn’t be searching for it elsewhere. He apologizes if he let her down.
Brad’s House
Brad rushes down the stairs and picks up the phone. He calls Francis and asks him to come and watch Abby.
Fenmore’s
JT flips through the phone book and calls Gina’s. There’s no answer. He figures maybe they got their wires crossed and he was supposed to meet her at the Newman Ranch.
JT grabs the keys and locks up.
Gina’s Place
Colleen bangs on the walk-in fridge’s door. She cries as she leans against the door.
Kevin lights a match in the restaurant’s kitchen, ready to light the place on fire.
Brad’s House
Brad welcomes Francis and thanks her for coming over so quickly. He explains that Abby’s asleep upstairs.
Francis asks how long “Mrs. Carlton” has been missing.
Brad says Ashley has only been missing for ten minutes or so. He explains that he went into the kitchen and when he came out, she was gone and the car was missing too. He figures she might have gone to Gina’s to pick something up. He says he called the restaurant, but nobody’s answering.
Francis urges him to go and closes the door behind him.
The Newman Ranch
Nick tells Victoria it’s good she’s alone. She shouldn’t be holding hands with Michael, who’s “some loser.” He says he knows what their dad and Michael were up to and why Saffer’s sales were so high during the launch. He says Baldwin tried to get Lauren to get more exposure for Saffer during its launch.
Victoria says it’s an odd thing for a lawyer to do, but did Michael actually try to bribe Lauren?
Nick shakes his head. He says Lauren got the feeling that Michael was going to try bribing her, but it hadn’t come to that quite yet.
Victoria tells him there’s nothing to worry about, then.
Michael walks up and hands Victoria a drink. He asks what Nick’s staring at.
Nick says, “I’m on to you, Baldwin.” He walks away.
Michael wishes Victoria would tell Nick to call him something other than “Baldwin.” He says Nick’s creeping him out.
Victoria laughs. She says she’ll try.
Michael says Nick really doesn’t like him dancing with his sister.
Victoria grins and says she doesn’t think he does.
Inside, Bobby walks up to Nikki as she watches the guests. He says, “Nikki Reed” to catch her attention.
Nikki looks around and asks why he’d call her that.
Bobby says that she used to go by that name.
Nikki says she did… Before she was married. She asks if she knows him.
Bobby introduces himself as Bobby Marsino. He says he was a “gofer” at The Bayou (a strip club) when he was a kid. He may have been too young to watch any of the shows there, but he kept an eye on Nikki!
Nikki says it was a long time ago.
Bobby says it may have been a while ago, but she still looks good!
Nikki tells him that he’s inside her home, and if he continues to talk about it, he’ll find himself outside.
Bobby says he won’t make any announcements, but he has to say… She still looks damn hot! He thanks her for having him to the party and walks away.
Brittany tells Raul that he’d better take it easy with the wine.
Raul tells her not to worry about him.
Brittany apologizes for Bobby. She says he doesn’t mean anything to her… She works for him, that’s all. She wishes she had come there with Raul instead.
Raul says he wishes a lot of things, but they aren’t coming true either. He turns away, ignoring her.
Brittany looks sad and walks away.
Sharon calls a caterer and tells them that she has hungry people to feed. She doesn’t care what the cost is; she’ll pay them anything! The caterer tells her they can’t help her on such short notice. Sharon hangs up, angry.
Nikki asks Sharon if she needs some help.
Brad’s Car
Brad’s car phone rings, and he answers via hands-free. It’s JT, asking if Brad’s seen Colleen tonight.
Brad says he thought Colleen was going to the gala with JT tonight.
JT says they were supposed to meet at Fenmore’s, but she never showed up. Is she at home?
Brad says she wasn’t home when he left. He’s says he just left Gina’s, and she wasn’t there either… The restaurant was closed up when he got there. He says he’s dealing with something right now and asks JT to call him when he hears from Colleen.
JT agrees, and they end the call.
Gina’s Place
Kevin drops the lit match on the floor in a puddle of alcohol, and the flames spread, engulfing the kitchen and the walk-in cooler.
The Newman Ranch
JT walks around the party looking for Colleen. He bumps into Raul and asks him if he’s seen Colleen.
Raul shrugs. He thought she was coming to the party with JT.
JT says she was supposed to, but it’s not like her to blow him off like this. He can’t find her anywhere.
Raul says he wishes he could help, but he hasn’t seen her.
JT sees John and Gina. He asks them if they’ve seen Colleen… Did John meet with her at Gina’s?
John asks why in the world he’d meet Colleen at Gina’s Place.
Nikki tells Sharon she looks upset… What’s wrong?
Sharon says the food’s been delayed… Permanently! She needs to find someone who can feed everyone right now.
Diane walks up to Victor and tells him that he’s holding a lovely party.
Victor says Diane should thank his daughter-in-law. She put it on.
Diane says she made a sizeable contribution to the silent auction. She’s enjoying her investment in Jabot, too… It’s like betting on a racehorse that she knows will win.
Victor chuckles and says there’s a sucker born every minute. He’s glad she made the investment; she took him for a ride during the divorce settlement and this will give him the chance to get his money back.
Diane asks how he plans to do that.
Victor says when Jabot goes belly-up, he’ll buy them out for pennies on the dollar, and Diane’s retirement fund will shrink to nothing. He grins and leaves the room.
JT tells John and Gina that Cody from Crimson Lights had told him Colleen was going to meet John at Gina’s.
John says there must be some mistake.
Gina shakes her head. She closed Gina’s Place early.
JT asks if they know where Colleen might be.
John doesn’t know. He says it wasn’t him who called the coffee house and told Cody that.
Gina says she hasn’t seen Colleen either.
JT’s worried. He says Colleen was supposed to meet him at Fenmore’s boutique, but she never showed up. He’s been looking for her ever since!
Gina’s Place
The blaze builds, spilling throughout the kitchen and over the walk-in cooler’s door.
Kevin watches with a gleam in his eye as the flames spread.
Inside the cooler, Colleen begs for someone to help her.
Neil’s House
Lily tells Neil it’s her life and it’s not his fault that he wasn’t there for it.
Neil says he doesn’t see it that way. He missed out on a lot of her life and wishes he could make up for it.
Lily says she’s not a little girl anymore. She’s older now and needs to be trusted to make her own decisions; she’s not stupid!
Neil says nobody thinks Lily’s stupid, but when she goes online and chats with someone who’s ten years older than her, she could have wound up in a dangerous situation.
Lily says she wasn’t in danger and doesn’t need Neil to protect her.
Neil says he does need to protect her. He says Lily is the most precious thing in the universe to him and her mom. He’d lay down his life for her and prays every day that nothing bad ever happens to her. No matter what, he and her mom will always be there to protect her!
The Newman Ranch
Michael asks Victoria if she’d like to go inside and see about the item she bid on.
Victoria says it’s too nice out to go inside. There aren’t too many more nights like this left in the year!
Michael says he’ll go in and check on it and let her know the results.
Victoria thanks him, and he heads inside.
A moment later, Damon walks up to her and says hello.
Victoria tells Damon she’s having a good time enjoying the night sky. She doesn’t want to hear his excuse about why he didn’t accept her invitation. She figures he had plans with someone else.
Damon says she’s wrong. He says Diane didn’t ask him until after they’d spoken, and he’s glad that he has the opportunity to see her. He says he couldn’t walk into her father’s house with her on his arm… It’d be disrespectful.
Victoria says Michael Baldwin isn’t her dad’s favorite person, but he seems to be handling the fact that she’s with him without batting an eye.
Damn says he came to the party because he knew she’d be there looking radiant. In fact, she’s looking so lovely this evening that he feels he’ll “expire” if he can’t kiss her forthwith!
Victoria grins, and they kiss.
Michael runs up and sees them kissing. He walks away, disappointed.
Jill (not Abbott) asks Sharon why there’s no food yet.
Sharon says there was an accident, and it’s not her fault.
Jill tells Sharon that she’s the chairperson… She should handle this! She stomps away, angry.
Nikki walks up to Sharon and asks if the problem is solved yet.
Sharon tells her that she can’t talk about it now. She’s trying to work it out!
Nikki says Sharon needs a life preserver, and she’s the one to help her.
Gina’s Place
Kevin runs around the restaurant, lighting matches and throwing them everywhere he’d doused with alcohol. Fire spreads quickly over the serving station, tables, and the bar.
Kevin throws a few more matches and yells, “You should have never messed with me, Colleen, you little bitch! I don’t get mad; I get even!”
He runs out of the restaurant, laughing.
The Newman Ranch
Nikki calls in a favor from a friend named Francois. She tells him he’s saved the day, and she owes him a trip to Paris to make up for it. She hangs up the phone and tells Sharon that everything is going to be alright… Francois will send over caviar, pate, and hors d’oveurs.
Miguel and Leonard are very happy. They have other things to contribute to the meal as well. They rush off to prepare.
Nikki tells Sharon that she only needs to tend to the guests now. Food has been taken care of!
Sharon asks why Nikki is helping her.
Nikki says she’s not… She’s helping the Arts Council and saving her family from embarrassment. She says seeing Sharon go down in flames is too delicious to resist, but she hopes Sharon learns something from this.
Sharon thanks her.
Victor sees that Nick seems preoccupied. He asks his son what’s on his mind.
Nick says it’s Michael Baldwin.
Victor says he permitted Michael to ask Victoria to go to the gala.
Nick says it’s odd that someone whom Victor hates almost as much as Jack Abbott is allowed to date Victoria.
Victor says Michael isn’t dating Victoria; he’s her escort for the night, and Victor has changed his mind about Michael lately.
Nick says he knows… Michael and Victor seem to be quite the team. He leaves the room.
Lauren walks up to Brittany and says they’ve been avoiding each other all night.
Brittany says there’s a reason for that. She and Raul have barely even split up, but she already saw him and Lauren kissing!
Lauren says Brittany is in love and angry! It wasn’t Lauren who decided to give up a perfectly good job and start taking her clothes off for a living!
Brittany goes to slap her, but Bobby notices the brewing fight and grabs Brittany’s hand, stopping her.
Lauren thanks Bobby and tells Brittany that she’s not her enemy. She leaves Bobby and Brittany on the patio.
Ashley walks into the house in her housecoat, carrying a blanket and cooing at it. People look at her curiously as they pass her.
Sharon supervises the food placement as Jill walks up to her, smiling.
Jill says the food looks great, and everyone’s so hungry it’ll taste twice as good!
Sharon tells Jill that Nikki deserves the credit; she’s the one who made it happen.
JT makes some calls, looking for Colleen. After he’s off the phone, he tells John and Gina he’s called everyone he knows, but nobody has seen her.
Gina gets a call. It’s the fire department calling. The fire chief tells her that her restaurant is on fire, and they’re battling the blaze now. She tells the fireman that she’ll be there as soon as possible. She hangs up and tells John and JT that her restaurant is on fire. They leave the party.
Victor is inside watching the proceedings when he looks down at the floor. Ashley is sitting in the middle of the floor in her housecoat. Victor rushes over to her and asks her what she’s doing there. He helps her to her feet.
Ashley looks at the blanket in her arms and says she needed to see Victor.
Brad rushes into the room and tells Victor to get his hands off his wife.
Ashley tells Brad to “STOP IT!” She says she wanted to show Victor her baby, Robert. She looks at the blanket, saying he’s so perfect and beautiful. (NOTE: Robert Carlton was stillborn and was Ashley and Brad’s son.)
Jack comes over and tells Brad to take Ashley home.
Ashley continues to fawn over her dead baby while Brad escorts her out of the party.
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