Episode Theme song: "Bartender" Lana Del Rey

Previously on One Day at a Time
- Nicholas demanded to understand how Jarrod is alive from Melissa
- Kim learned that Madeline was moving in with Robbie at the Calimo mansion with their son, Bobby
- Cory admitted to Penny that he was in love with Robin
- Shane and Natasha learned that the murder charges against him were dropped due to lack of evidence

The Young Mansion; Melissa's Manor

The air in the living room of the Young mansion is thick with tension as Nicholas looks with intent at his mother, and Jarrod, who he believed was dead until a short time ago. Nicholas, after seeing Jarrod, fainted and Melissa, Jarrod, and Andy brought Nicholas back to the mansion, where he woke up and has, now, demanded answers from Jarrod and Melissa about how this is possible. Of course, this all happened right before Andy and Nicholas were going to be married.

"I'm waiting," Nicholas says again to Melissa and Jarrod. "How is this possible? I was told that Jarrod died from HIV years ago; how is it possible that you're alive? And you said you were with my mother for years? Why?"

"I'd like to know that as well," Andy moves up behind Nicholas and crosses his arms over his chest. "And why would you wait for our wedding day to tell Nicholas the truth? Or do I even have to ask that? You wanted to stop us from getting married, didn't you Melissa?"

"Like I said, we can explain everything," Melissa purses her lips together as she stands up and moves to the bar to make herself a drink. "But to answer your question, Andy, yes, I did not want my precious son to marry you; so my timing was critical, and I won't apologize for that."

She turns around and faces Andy. "Do you want a vodka? It's delicious."

"Shut up," Andy rolls his eyes back to her.

"Enough you two!" Nicholas shouts as he stands up and moves towards Jarrod, looking at his former lover in the eyes. "Jarrod, please, I…I need to understand this," he tells him. "Tell me how you could make me think you died? Tell me you could have been lying to me about this for all these years?"

Jarrod nods back to him as he grabs Nicholas' hands. "I'll tell you everything," Jarrod says back to him. "Sit with me, and I'll tell you everything that happened, and then you'll understand, exactly, why I did what I did."

The Tower's; The Penthouse; Cory & Penny's Home

Cory paces back and forth in the living room of the penthouse as his mind races about his recent conversation with Penny, where he admitted to her that he was still in love with Robin, which is why they could only be friends. He knows, however, that recently, he and Penny made love, which is what set all of this into motion. Afterwards, Penny kissed Cory, which Robin saw, and she was not happy with Cory for allowing the kiss to happen. Cory understands why Robin is so upset about seeing the kiss, which is why he hasn't told her that they had sex, but he did tell Penny that they could only be friends. She pressed him as to why, and that is when he admitted that he still cared for Robin.

"This sucks because I knew that, regardless, one of the most special women in my life was going to be hurt," he whispers to himself. "And that happened to be Penny, but I can't deny that Robin has my heart."

He lets out a loud sigh, hating that he has hurt Penny by his admission. "She's already in this position because of me," he continues, thinking that he is to blame for her being blind. Cory has always blamed himself for her current medical condition because Gordy snapped after Cory and Penny grew closer at the farm; that resulted in Gordy kidnapping Penny and holding her hostage at the Calimo cabin. Cory and Robin realized what was unfolding and while saving her, Penny crashed into the ground, hit her head, and was in a coma for months. When she came out of her coma, she was left blind. Cory still believes that he is responsible for that.

"Not only did I cause her blindness, but now I've broken her heart," he continues to beat himself up.

"Cory?" Penny's voice says as she moves back into the living room. "Are you still here?" she asks, knowing that she has to pretend that she still can't see, even though her vision returned weeks earlier.

"Penny, hi, yea, I'm here," Cory turns and looks at her. "Are you feeling any better? I'm…I'm so sorry about earlier."

"It's fine," Penny waves her hand in the air. "You were honest with me, and I need to move on with my life. You want to be with Robin, and I…I won't stop you from doing that."

"You're being incredibly brave about all of this."

"I have no other choice," Penny uneasily chuckles back to him. "But…I have made a decision, and I need you to respect that."

Cory arches his eyebrow back to her. "A decision? What kind of decision?"

"I've decided that I'm going back to my farm," Penny reveals to him as Cory gasps back in surprise. "I'm returning to Holdenville, and I'm leaving as soon as possible."

Robertson Enterprises

Kim steps off the elevators at Robertson Enterprises and quickly rushes towards the CEO office, where she is hoping to find Tyler. She has had a hell of a morning, as she found out, from Madeline, that she is moving into the Calimo mansion with Robbie and Bobby. Kim has been feeling completely flustered since she learned that Madeline returned to town, but also gave birth to Robbie's son while she was away. The fact that Madeline would have been pregnant the night of the snowstorm in which they cars crashed into one another, the night that she miscarried, is jarring to her; in her mind, it doesn't seem fair that she lost her baby, while Madeline's baby boy remained perfectly fine.

"Oh good, you're here," Kim says as she opens the door and moves into the office.

Tyler looks up from his laptop and smiles at the sight of Kim. "I am here, I have a company to run, after all," he chuckles as he stands up and moves closer to her. "I've been thinking about you; how are you holding up?"

"Oh, just peachy," Kim rolls her eyes back to him. "I ran into Madeline earlier and guess what? She's moving into the mansion with Robbie and their son! So, I'm going to be living under the same roof as my ex-husband, his mistress, and their son!"

Tyler shakes his head back to her. "I can't say that I am shocked by that," he admits to her. "Not that it makes it any easier for you, but I thought that Robbie would want to be with his son as often as possible. What…what can I do to help?"

"I don't think there's anything anyone can do," Kim sighs back to him. "This just feels like a nightmare that I'm waiting to wake up from."

Tyler pulls her into a hug and holds her close for a moment. "Whatever you need, Kim, I am here for you, okay? You have me to lean on, don't forget that."

They exit their embrace and Kim kisses him passionately. When their lips part, she looks into his eyes. "Maybe there is something you can do," she purrs to him. "Make me forget, at least for a little while, about all of this….?"

"I'll lock the door," he chuckles to her as he moves to the door, locks it, then rushes back to her, taking his jacket off in the process.

"God I need you," she moans as they continue to undress one another eagerly.

The Calimo Mansion

Madeline moves down the hallway of the Calimo mansion holding a baby monitor in her hand. She can hear, through the speaker, that Bobby is crying, so she is heading to his room to ensure that he is okay. She has been unpacking her belongings in her room, which she hopes is temporary as she would love to be staying in Robbie's room with him. Soon, she tells herself, as this is just the first step in them reuniting.

She opens the door to Bobby's room and moves inside. After closing the door behind herself, she moves up to his crib, where she can see him crying.

"Oh, my boy," she says as she rubs his belly. "What is the matter with you, huh? Do you want a bottle?"

She moves to the fridge that they put into the room and pulls out a small bottle that is filled with milk. She moves back to the crib and tries to put the bottle in his mouth, but Bobby rejects it and continues to cry.

"Not hungry, huh?" Madeline asks him. "What else could be wrong? You were just changed, so I think your diaper is fresh. What's wrong?"

"Oh, I have an idea, let's try your pacifier," Madeline tells him as she finds it next to him and tries to put it in his mouth, but he continues to scream.

Robbie, then, opens the door to the bedroom and moves inside. "He doesn't sound happy," he chuckles as he moves up to the crib.

"I don't know what's wrong," Madeline admits to him. "I've tried giving him a bottle and pacifier and he doesn't want either of them."

Robbie bends down and picks up his son and starts rocking him in his arms, which calms the boy down immediately. "Looks like he just wanted someone to hold him," Robbie looks back at Madeline.

"Oh, right," she gulps back to him. "I…I don't know why I didn't think of that."

"I think I got this under control if you want to go finish unpacking?" Robbie tells her as he continues to bounce softly to keep the baby calm.

"Yea, that sounds good, I'll see you later, okay?" Madeline forces a smile on her face before she leaves the room. In the hallway, she leans up against the door and takes a deep breath. "Of course, he needed to be held. You need to be a mother to him, Madeline! Damnit, you have to be his mother!"

***

Meanwhile in the living room of the mansion, Shane pours himself a vodka soda and takes a sip of it immediately. While he is thrilled that the charges against him have been dropped, he is still having a difficult time thinking that his father, Louie, interrupted his wedding to Natasha and had him arrested for the killing his mother years earlier. Of course, Shane knows that the car accident was just that - an accident, but Louie persists that Shane is guilty of murder.

"Is that a celebratory drink?" Natasha asks Shane as she moves into he living room and sees him about to take a drink.

"I'd have to be celebrating something for that to be the case," he replies to her quickly.

Natasha puts her hand on her hip and looks back at Shane. "I'd say the fact that Simona was able to prove that the accident that killed your mother was an accident and as a result, all the charges against you have been dropped, is reason enough to celebrate, don't you?"

Shane sighs back to her. "It should never have gotten to that point," he admits to her. "Louie never should have come here, and he never should have stopped our wedding, and he definitely, shouldn't have had me arrested!"

"All of that is true," Natasha nods back to him. "But darling, that is behind us now. You're a free man, and Louie, he has nothing else to hurt you with. We can put all of this behind us!"

"I wish it was that easy," Shane looks back at her with intent. "The truth is, I have no idea what Louie is going to do next; you heard him at the police station, he wants me to pay for killing my mother! I…I don't think he's going to stop until he gets his wish."

"There is nothing he can do, Shane," Natasha tries to keep him calm. "He tried having you arrested for a murder that didn't happen. This is over, finally."

"You know what I'm struggling with?" Shane asks Natasha, who shrugs back to him. "That this all happened because of you, Natasha. You, continued, to investigate my past, despite me asking you not too, and now, this happened. My father stopped our wedding, and I was arrested. I owe a big, huge thank you to you for all of this!"

"Shane…I…"

"There's nothing you can say or do," he cuts her off. "My past is back in my life because of you, Natasha. I…I just hope you're happy. I hope you're happy that you finally know the truth and are pleased that my father had me arrested! Because none of this would have happened had you just minded your own God damn business!"

The Young Mansion; Melissa's Manor

"You and I, we were together and very much in love when I got the HIV diagnosis," Jarrod begins to explain what happened to Nicholas as they sit next to one another on the sofa in the living room of the Young mansion. Andy moves behind the sofa, listening carefully so he, too, can understand what has transpired. "You have to remember that this was a time before all of these medical advancements, like prep, and whatnot. At the time, the HIV diagnosis was like a death sentence."

"I knew how happy the two of you were," Melissa chimes into Nicholas as they make eye contact. "That's when I approached Jarrod with an idea."

"An idea? What idea?" Nicholas asks him confusion.

"There is no easy way to say this," Jarrod looks at him with a heavy heart. "But I didn't want you to see me go through the drawn-out process of dying from this ugly disease. So, your mother, she told me to fake my death, and she would let me die peacefully in one of her homes in New York City."

"Jarrod agreed, and I moved him to the upper east side in my penthouse," Melissa explains to them. "For a while, it was pretty grim, there were a lot of dark days, but I hired a medical staff, and with advancements, Jarrod began to get better."

"It was a very long process," Jarrod explains to him. "But, as your mother said, with time and the advancements, I started to get better, and now, I'm undetectable."

"Let me get this straight?" Nicholas asks him in shock. "You faked your death so I wouldn't have to see you die? Only, you lead me to believe that you were dead, anyways? That…that doesn't make any sense, Jarrod! I could have held your hand! I could have supported you!"

"And you did," Jarrod tells him. "Remember, you were there when I flatlined, or made you think I flatlined."

"This is disgusting," Nicholas stands up from the sofa. "You…you played God with my life, with all our lives! I…I don't think I can even stomach the sight of either of you right now!"

"Nicholas, where are you going?" Melissa calls out as Nicholas leaves the living room, with Andy following him.

"I'm getting the hell out of here and away from the two of you," Nicholas spits back to them. "Jarrod, how could you? You….you can stay dead for all I care!"

Nicholas and Andy leave the mansion, slamming the door behind him. Melissa looks at Jarrod, who sighs heavily.

"He will come around," Melissa tells him quickly. "I know he will."

Next on One Day at a Time
- Will Lukas agree to leave town with Clayton?
- Trenyce encounters Chris
- Ethan is upset with Abby