Episode Theme song: "Love Looks Better" Alicia Keys

Previously on One Day at a Time
- Robbie was furious to learn that Kim went to Aspen with Greg over Christmas
- Madeline was disheartened to learn that Clayton left town
- Frederick vowed to reveal himself when the time was right
- Leah, Daisy, Meggan and Lukas wondered if they would see Frederick again
- Adam left Robin after learning she had sex with Shane
- Cassie agreed to a paternity test on baby Carter
- Trenyce agreed to tell Chris about her kiss with Andrew after Christmas
- Victoria was relieved when Bryce took a turn for the better on Christmas

Twin Peaks General Hospital

"Your father promised that he wouldn't be too long with Cassie and Carter," Natasha looks over at Jacob as they stand across from one another in the waiting room of the hospital. They are the hospital this afternoon because Cassie has agreed to do a paternity test on baby Carter; soon, they will learn the truth about whether Jacob fathered Carter or if Cassie is lying.

"I didn't think it would take that long," Jacob replies to his mother. "I mean, it's just a swab of his mouth, right?"

"That's right," Natasha nods back to him. "How are you feeling?"

Jacob shrugs back to her. He knows that he has been waiting for this moment since Cassie announced that baby Carter was his son; he knows that he can't trust Cassie but she has been so very sure that he is the father. And, he can't deny that Carter does look a lot like him. He just wants some kind of confirmation that Carter is in fact his son.

"I am looking forward to knowing one way or the other," Jacob admits to her. "I want to know if I truly am a father or not."

"I am praying to God that you're not the father of that monster's child," Natasha grits her teeth together. "For all our sakes, I hope this isn't true."

Twin Peaks General Hospital

Meanwhile, in a small hospital room, Cassie is sitting on a chair with Carter on her lap. She is bouncing the small child on her lap while Shane finishes filling out the paperwork that is in front of him.

"Okay, that's all done," Shane looks over at Cassie and Carter. "This really won't take too long. I'll just grab three swabs from Carter's mouth, and we will compare them to the samples that we got from Jacob."

Cassie looks back at him in surprise. "Three swabs? Why so many?"

"It is common practice," Shane admits to her. "We always take a three just in case one test comes back inconclusive. Or, if there's a positive match, we can run the test again to confirm. It just adds to the reasonability of the tests."

"I see," Cassie nervously tells him. "I was thinking it was just going to be one swab."

Shane arches his eyebrow. "Does it really matter? One or three of ten?"

"Of course, it matters!" Cassie hisses back to him. "My son is getting poked and prodded like an animal undergoing testing. This is brutal."

Shane chuckles back to him. "That might be a tad dramatic, don't you think? These cotton swabs won't hurt Carter at all," Shane says as he goes to the cabinet in the hospital room. "Actually, I am out of the swabs. I'll be right back to grab some, okay?"

"Take your time," Cassie sneers back to him. Once he's out of the room, Cassie turns Carter to face her. "Don't you worry by beautiful baby boy. This will prove to everyone that Jacob is your Daddy and then we can all move on from this, okay?"

***

"How does my husband look?" Victoria eagerly asks Madeline, who just finished looking over some of Bryce's vitals. Victoria is standing in Bryce's hospital room and she is anxious to hear how Bryce is doing. For the weeks leading up to Christmas, Madeline had been telling her that she didn't think that Bryce would survive beyond Christmas, however, he has seemingly taken a turn for the better. Victoria is feeling so relieved that he is doing so much better.

"I still want to run a few more tests but so far, I am very impressed with the progression you are making," Madeline looks at Bryce before she looks back at Victoria. "I don't know what happened to turn around this, but it is nothing short of a miracle."

"Thank you so much doctor," Bryce replies to her. "And please, if there's anything I can do to speed up this recovery, let me know. I will do anything to get out of here."

"Easy there," Madeline chuckles back to him. "You are still recovering from a very traumatic event and I want to run more tests to ensure that there are no other underlying issues."

"But from what you can tell, Bryce is still getting better?" Victoria asks her, trying not to get her hopes up too much.

"Yes," Madeline grins back to her. "Like I said, it feels like a miracle, but Bryce is showing signs of improvements."

"Thank God," Victoria moves up to her husband and hugs him. "All my prayers about you coming back to me are coming true. It is a miracle, it really is a miracle!"

"I'm going to give you two some space," Madeline tells them as she moves to the doorway. "I'll be back later if I get the test results back."

"Thank you so much Madeline," Victoria smiles back to her before she returns her attention to Bryce.

Meanwhile, in the hallway of the hospital, Madeline makes a beeline towards the nurses' station. She wishes that more of her visits with patients were that well received as she knows that when the news isn't great, it is more of a difficult conversation to have.

She suddenly feels her heart move into her throat when she sees Andy and Nicholas waiting for her at the nurses' station. She knows that she asked them to meet her at the hospital.

"Madeline, hey" Andy greets his former sister in law. "How are you? Your message made it seem important that we come see you today."

"It is important," Madeline tells them. "Come to my office quickly, please."

The men look at one another and then follow Madeline into the office. She closes the door behind them before she moves to the desk.

"The reason I asked you to meet me today is this," she says as she picks up an envelope from the desk and passes it to Andy.

"What is this?" Nicholas asks her.

"Open it and read it," Madeline instructs Andy, who does what she says. The two men read the note together.

"Clayton left town?" Andy asks her in surprise. "I…I don't know what to say."

"Neither do," Nicholas admits to them. "I thought he would stay and…I don't know? Make a life for himself here?"

"I have to admit that this is a hard pill to swallow for me," Madeline tells them. "It feels like I just got my brother back and now he's gone again. I … I don't know if I will see or hear from him again."

"I guess he was more upset than we thought after Nicholas and I got back together," Andy sighs back to her. "You have to know Maddie that we never wanted this to happen. We never meant to hurt him."

"I know," Madeline nods back to him. "I just hope he can find peace and then come home. I don't want to know that I have a brother out there that wants nothing to do with me."

"It's not you," Andy moves up to her and hugs her. "Believe me, it's not you."

***

Shane opens the door from the supply room with some cotton swabs in his hand. He starts to move towards the hospital room where Cassie and baby Carter are waiting for him when he sees Adam emerge in the hallway. Shane sighs heavily at the sight of him, knowing that the last time he saw Adam, he revealed to him that he and Robin made love.

"What are you doing here?" Shane asks his rival as he moves up to him.

"I just had a checkup," Adam replies to him quickly. "Not that it's any of your business."

"You're right, sorry I asked," Shane huffs back to him. "If you'll excuse me, I have a patient waiting."

"You have a lot of nerve," Adam shakes his head back to him. "You approach me looking for a reason why I'm at the hospital then say you have a patient? You had a patient waiting when you approached me, Shane."

"The hell is wrong with you, Adam?" Shane asks him quickly. "You can never just have a civil conversation, can you? You always take multiple jabs. God, it's a wonder what Robin ever saw in you."

"Don't you dare mention her name to me," Adam grits his teeth back to the doctor. "You have done more than enough to keep Robin and I apart."

"And guess what?" Shane chuckles back to him. "You know the truth and you're still not with her! It's time to face it, Adam, you and Robin, you were never meant to be together. And the night that I shared with my wife proved that."

"You son of a bitch," Adam glares back to him. "You better back to your appointment before I do something that I will regret."

"That's the best decision you have made in a very long time," Shane replies to him. "See you around, or actually, hopefully not."

Adam feels his blood start to boil as he turns and watches Shane stroll away. He turns back around.

"What the hell am I going to do? What is the best solution to this damn mess that I am in?"

Roboto

Kim slowly opens the door to the main office at Roboto and moves inside with her hands full with her briefcase and a coffee from the Sugarbowl. She quickly sets the coffee down on the desk before she sees Robbie sitting behind the desk, typing into his laptop.

"Oh, good day," she says as she opens her briefcase and pulls her own laptop. "I didn't think anyone would be here."

"We have a million things to do today," Robbie replies to her quickly. "So, I'm glad that you're here today."

"Of course, where else would I be?"

"Oh, I don't know? Aspen with Greg Lawson?"

Kim looks back at him in surprise as she didn't realize that Robbie knew about her trip over Christmas with Greg. "How did you know about Aspen?"

"The pilot gave me the flight plan," Robbie stands up from behind the desk. "It's common practice when the private plane is used."

"I see."

"What the hell were you thinking, Kim? Flying off with Greg of all people at Christmas time?" Robbie asks her in a huff.

"I needed a break," Kim replies to him quickly. "I needed a change of pace, a change of scenery. I've been so consumed with my miscarriage, I really just needed to get away, Robbie. And if you think that I'm going to apologize, you have another thing coming."

"I wasn't asking you to apologize," Robbie defends himself. "I was just trying to understand why you left with Greg."

"I didn't mean for it to happen. I ran into Greg at the Pampa Grill and he said he was going away and asked me to go with him. I went as his friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Okay, I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion, Kim. It's just, you and Greg have a sorted history."

"I'm in no shape to be involved with anyone right, Robbie. Not you and certainly not Greg."

Robbie uneasily nods back to her. "So, where does that leave us, Kim? Where does that leave our marriage?" he asks her as Kim locks eyes with him for a moment.

The Sugarbowl

"I am beyond thrilled for you and Dawn," Trenyce beams as she and Cheresa sit across from one another in the back booth of the coffeehouse while baby BJ is fast asleep in his stroller next to the table. Cheresa just finished telling her biological mother that she and Dawn have agreed to get married. While they haven't ironed out any of the details yet, Cheresa is still pleased to share the good news.

"Thanks," Cheresa picks up her hot chocolate. "Like I told Greg, after this last year that we had, it is nice that Dawn and I have something to look forward too."

"I couldn't agree more," Trenyce nods back to her. "And, if you need any help planning the wedding, I'd love to support you. You have to know that."

"I appreciate that," Cheresa purses her lips together. "But there is another reason why I wanted to see you today, Mom."

Trenyce sighs heavily back to her as she recalls how before Christmas she was able to convince Cheresa not to tell Chris about seeing her and Andrew kiss until after the holidays. She can only imagine that this is what Cheresa wants to talk to her about.

"I think I already know what you're going to say…"

"Chris," Cheresa nods back to her as she looks into her mother's eyes. "Have you told him about you and Andrew kissing? You told me that you would tell him after the holidays, and we are in January now."

"I know, I know," Trenyce hushes her voice down so no one can hear her. "The truth is, I haven't told Chris because…well, I don't want to hurt him. You have to understand that if he knew that Andrew and I kissed, he would be devastated."

"So, you just want to keep lying to him?" Cheresa asks her in surprise. "I don't think that's very cool, Mom. Not at all. I told you, if you don't tell him, I will."

"Please," Trenyce reaches across the table and grabs her daughter's hand. "Please, Cheresa, don't say anything. All we would be doing is causing more pain that what is needed. Andrew and I, we are nothing more than family now. We haven't kissed again and he knows that Chris and I are engaged. Please, tell me that you can let this go? Tell me that you won't say anything to Chris so we don't have to break his heart?"

***

At another table in the middle of the coffeehouse, Lukas and Meggan are sitting across from one another with coffee's in front of them.

"Let me guess, you haven't heard anything from Dad?" Lukas asks his sister before he takes a sip of his coffee. He knows that last fall he, Meggan and Daisy all appeared on TV asking that Frederick come out of hiding since he was revealed to be alive and well and working at Raven's Meadow.

"Not a peep," Meggan sighs back to him before she takes a sip of her coffee. "I don't know, Lukas, it has been months since we went on TV to ask him to come home. I am beginning to think that he doesn't want to come out of hiding, for whatever reason."

"And we have no idea where he could be," Lukas replies to her quickly. "This might be a lost cause."

"No," Leah urgently walks up to the table having heard their conversation when she moved into the coffeehouse. "We can't give up on finding Frederick! He … he might be the only one to prove that I am his daughter or where my child is! I have to find him, even if it's the last thing I do."

Lukas uneasily looks over at Meggan with an annoyed look on his face. "Ironically," he quips. "Meg and I were just talking about trying to move on from this. If our father wanted to be found, he would be. We shouldn't be wasting our time looking for someone who doesn't want to be found."

"I can't accept that," Leah says looks back at him before she turns to Meggan. "I have to find Frederick; he has all the answers that I desperately need."

The Victors Mansion

Frederick stands in one of the tunnels of the Victors mansion at a work bench. On the top of the bench, there is an object that looks like it is pottery. As he continues to work on the object, Frederick whistles a tune to himself.

He stops for a moment and looks at the object that he is creating and gets a grin on his face. "This is going to be amazing," he whispers to himself. "This is going to be just the thing I need to get Felicia back in my life. Once she realizes that we belong together, I will marry her, and we will spend the rest of our lives together."

He looks at the object one more time before he smirks to himself. "And when that happens, that is when I will be able to reveal myself to my family. All the stars need to align before that will happen, but they will, I will make sure that they will."

Twin Peaks General Hospital

"Your father should be back at anytime, telling us that the swabs were taken," Natasha tells Jacob as they continue to stand in the waiting room of the hospital. "And once he tells us, I need you to do something for me."

Jacob arches his eyebrow back to her. "What is it, Mom? What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to spend as much time with Cassie as you can until the test results come back."

Jacob looks at her in surprise. "You want me to spend time with Cassie? But why? You have wanted to me to stay as far away from her as possible?"

"Yes, and I still do," Natasha replies to him. "But, you see, this is Cassie Nova we are talking about. If anyone can alter a paternity test, it is that witch. So, until we get the results back, you need to be by her side. Can you do that?"

Jacob nods back to her. "I can do that if it means that we will learn the truth."

"Perfect," Natasha smiles back to him. "We will beat Cassie at her own game, I know we will," she says as she gets a slight twinkle in her, as Shane opens Carter's mouth in the hospital room and slowly takes the DNA from his mouth.

Next on One Day at a Time
- A furious Paige confronts Abby over Dominick's will change
- Tyler gets some sound advice
- Robin confesses to Shane