>> Esther: There you go.
>> Woman: Thank you.
>> Esther: Welcome.
Oh, welcome.
Oh, and congratulations to the new co-CEO of Jabot.
>> Diane: You heard about that?
>> Esther: Yeah, a little birdie may have told me.
You wear it well.
>> Diane: Oh, well, thank you very much.
>> Esther: So what can I get you?
I can put some sprinkles on top, and I can probably find a candle
around here somewhere.
>> Diane: Oh, no, no.
There's no time for celebrating.
Now is when the challenge begins, proving to everybody
that I deserve the promotion.
I'm just gearing up for a late night at the office.
>> Esther: Well, you do it with the loveliest of smiles.
>> Diane: Well, thank you.
Working late is easier when you're doing it
with the people you love.
>> Esther: You're so right.
You do what you love with the people you love,
then the people love what you make.
And it's just one big, giant love circle.
[ both laugh ] Oh, Nikki. Hi.
>> Nikki: Good to see you, Esther. Diane.
>> Esther: Nikki, I-- I'll be right with you.
Okay, I have some cookies coming out of the oven,
so I'm just going to make a little box for you.
>> Diane: It's really not necessary.
>> Esther: Humor me, please.
>> Diane: Okay.
>> Esther: I'll be right back.
>> Diane: All right.
Nikki.
How are you?
>> Nikki: You know exactly how I am, Diane,
so there is no need for you to pretend that Jack
didn't tell you everything.
And no, I don't think I will let you test my tea
to see if it's spiked.
You may know the truth, but it's still none of your business.
[ Diane gasps ]
♪♪♪
>> Nate: So, you think we have potential?
>> Audra: And I'm rarely wrong about that, at least.
[ knocking on door ]
>> Nate: Aren't you going to get that?
Who knows, it could be opportunity.
>> Audra: There's opportunity right in front of me.
[ knocking on door ] [ sighs ] Don't move.
We're not finished.
>> Tucker: Oh. Hey, Nate.
>> Jack: Oh, good, you're home.
I have something I wanted to run by you.
>> Ashley: Can you shoot me an email?
I'm in a real time crunch.
>> Jack: You off somewhere?
>> Ashley: Yep, I'm going to Paris to get some answers.
[ sighs ]
>> Ashley: I'm taking the jet to Paris. I assume that's
not going to be a problem.
>> Jack: No, not at all.
It's yours whenever you need it.
Do I get to ask any questions about this trip of yours?
>> Ashley: I don't have a lot of time, as I said,
and I'm gonna go no matter what.
>> Jack: Does this have anything to do with Tucker
and the honeymoon that fell off the rails?
>> Ashley: Please don't play games with me.
I don't have the time or the inclination to that.
>> Jack: I'm hoping maybe I'll get a different answer
to the question, Ash.
This has gone on too long.
Months.
This has been part of every day of your life since you came
back from Europe, and now you're going back to Paris?
Why are you putting yourself through this?
Why are you lowering yourself to even dignify
his insinuations?
You want answers?
I'll give you an answer.
Tucker is a menace.
He is a liar.
>> Ashley: What if I'm a liar?
>> Jack: You're not.
We both know that.
>> Ashley: Do we? Do I?
>> Jack: Wait, so this is all about finding out if Tucker
is telling the truth?
>> Ashley: No, no, this is about proving that I am
telling the truth, and it's going to be so clear-cut
that he can't deny it anymore.
>> Jack: You are giving this man too much power in your life.
>> Ashley: I'm taking my power back.
>> Jack: Try some other way to do it. Last time we spoke, you
said you were gonna purge him from your mind.
>> Ashley: And I wasn't successful, I'm sorry.
>> Jack: This is part of his pursuit of you, his game.
This is just another tack.
Another effort to engage you to keep him in the forefront
of your mind, and for some reason,
you can't resist him.
Ash, it's a weakness.
It is-- it is dangerous.
>> Ashley: Don't call me weak.
I am not weak.
>> Jack: I did not say you were weak.
>> Ashley: I'm being proactive, Jack, this isn't weakness.
>> Jack: I know what I see.
If you didn't still care about him, if he still
didn't mean something to you, you wouldn't give a rat's ass
what his twisted version of the story is.
>> Ashley: Or maybe this is exactly what I need
to get him out of my system once and for all.
And isn't-- isn't that what you want from me?
So, this is what I need.
And I also need to be able to count on you,
but I clearly am asking for too much.
>> Tucker: I hope I'm not interrupting anything important.
>> Audra: That, like many other things in my life,
is none of your business.
What do you want, Tucker?
>> Tucker: A little privacy, perhaps?
What do you say, Nate?
Just 10 minutes.
Five. Five minutes.
>> Audra: You're insufferable.
>> Tucker: I know.
>> Audra: Five minutes.
Meet up later for a drink?
>> Nate: Yeah. I'd like that.
>> Audra: Yeah, I'll-- I'll text you as soon as I'm done.
I won't be long.
And what we talked about...
>> Nate: Yes.
>> Audra: We'll pick up right when we left off.
>> Nate: I'll see you soon.
>> Audra: Okay.
What?
>> Tucker: I know what I just walked in on here.
I know that look in your eye.
>> Audra: You love it.
>> Tucker: I do.
You're up to something. What?
>> Diane: Nikki, I'm not sure what you think Jack told me,
and I'm not going to check your tea, don't be silly.
>> Nikki: Then, why did you follow me out here uninvited?
>> Diane: Well, I'm simply wondering what gives you
the impression that Jack told me anything.
>> Nikki: Oh, come now, Diane.
For somebody who has built their entire life on deceit,
you're a terrible liar.
>> Diane: Well, then let me say with complete honesty that
Jack cares about you very much.
>> Nikki: I know, and I care about him.
That's why I warned him over and over about--
>> Diane: And Jack did tell me that you went through a terrible
ordeal, which forced you to revisit places that you
had fought so hard to escape.
>> Nikki: That's your way of saying what you're
not saying.
Yes, I have been through a terrible ordeal,
and my sobriety was compromised.
>> Diane: Sounds difficult.
>> Nikki: You know, the last time I saw you
before you left Genoa City all those years ago,
remember that night by the river you pretended to die?
>> Diane: You weren't so innocent yourself
that night either, Nikki.
You hit me in the head with a rock hard enough
to think you'd killed me.
>> Nikki: Well, look at us now.
You're not dead and I'm not drunk.
Although, I'm sure when you saw me just now
you wondered, "Is she tipsy?
Is she sloshed?" >> Diane: Nikki,
I give you my word.
>> Nikki: Oh, thank you.
Now, we both know what that's worth.
>> Diane: All right, Jack also told me
that he is helping you through this rough time.
>> Nikki: And you're okay with that?
Him being there for me, of all people?
>> Diane: Well, you and I aren't friends, that's true,
but Jack is always there for his friends. I'm fine.
I love that about him.
>> Nikki: He's a good man.
>> Diane: Yes, he is.
And when you love someone like Jack, you take
the good with the past.
>> Nikki: Hm.
Even though that means his ex-wife and good friend.
Well, thank you for your sacrifice, Diane.
I'm grateful to have Jack by my side.
>> Esther: Everything okay, ladies?
>> Diane: We're fine, Esther.
Thank you.
>> Esther: Okay.
>> Diane: Things don't need to be
contentious between us, Nikki.
I know the last thing you wanted was me back in town
and back in Jack's life.
>> Nikki: Phyllis is the one who took things too far,
but you're not wrong.
>> Diane: Yeah, but since then, we've managed to set aside
our differences, find a way to peacefully coexist
in the same zip code.
>> Nikki: Hm.
What's your point, Diane?
>> Diane: My point is that if you're struggling
with your sobriety again, I'm sorry.
I mean that.
I can't imagine how painful it is.
And if you need someone in your corner,
there's no one better than Jack.
He's generous, he's-- he's understanding,
he's non-judgmental, and he's had his own battles
with addiction.
So, it makes perfect sense that he's there for you.
In fact, no one knows you better.
Except Victor, of course.
>> Nikki: That's true.
>> Diane: Yeah, and given their history, I can't imagine
Jack's involvement in your life would go over very well.
>> Nikki: I was waiting for the real you to show up.
You're planning on holding that over my head, aren't you?
>> Jack: Ash, you are an intelligent, successful woman
capable of making brilliant decisions.
>> Ashley: Usually?
You better shut your mouth if you care about
our relationship at all.
>> Jack: Can I just ask what your plans are
once you land?
>> Ashley: I'm going to go back to the café where we had
the argument.
And I'm sure I'm going to find some eyewitnesses there.
There has to be a waiter, if things are as I recall,
who remembers the very loud, abusive, ugly American
who was berating his new wife.
>> Jack: "If things are as you recall?" This is what
I worry about, he has mourned your self-confidence,
your certainty.
>> Ashley: Just a figure of speech, it was just--
Not if. When.
When facts are confirmed.
Don't worry about me.
This is what I need to do to eradicate him
from my life, okay?
I just need to prove once-- >> Jack: To prove to who?
To yourself? To Tucker?
Do you really wonder which of you is telling the truth?
That's, I think, what I really need to know here.
This is about your belief in your recollections.
>> Ashley: I promise I'm not going to disappear in Paris.
>> Jack: Ash-- >> Ashley: I'm not.
I'm not going to forget about you
or my family or Jabot.
I just want to go there and get the information I need.
And then I'm going to be back.
And I'm going to be stronger than ever. Love you.
>> Jack: Could we just-- >> Ashley: I gotta go.
>> Traci: Was that Ashley I just heard?
>> Jack: Yeah, she just left for Paris.
>> Traci: That was quick.
>> Jack: Wait, are you saying you knew about her plans
for this wild goose chase?
[ clears throat ]
>> Nate: Victoria. >> Victoria: Hello, Nate.
How are you?
>> Nate: I'm good, thanks.
I've been, um, thinking about your mother.
>> Victoria: Well, that makes two of us.
>> Nate: How is she?
>> Victoria: She's very brave.
Very much aware that she's under the microscope with everyone
watching her every move.
>> Nate: That's not a comfortable feeling.
Can be pretty hard to deal with, even
in the best of circumstances.
>> Victoria: It's a difficult cycle, drinking.
The guilt and the shame and the urge to try
to drown those feelings.
Sometimes, I don't know how to be there for her,
and yet make sure that she's not feeling too pressured.
>> Nate: I can't speak to Nikki's sense of pressure,
but I do know you have a lot of kindness in your heart.
And insight.
I'm sure you're reaching out to her as best as you can.
>> Victoria: I hope so.
>> Nate: Your family's going through a lot lately.
And I meant what I said earlier.
If you ever want to talk or have any questions,
whatever, whenever, I'm here.
>> Victoria: Thank you, Nate.
>> Tucker: I'm done with Ashley.
>> Audra: Right, of course.
>> Tucker: No, I mean it.
>> Audra: Yeah, and I'm sure you meant it
the six other times.
You've sworn the same thing.
>> Tucker: No, it's different this time.
>> Audra: You know, I've heard an addict's promises.
"This is the last time, I swear."
But the urge never goes away.
>> Tucker: I'm done.
She's never going to change.
And I am done.
Jabot, the Abbotts, Ashley, all of it.
Glissade, that's...
where I want to put all my energy, so--
And you.
>> Audra: That was oh, so convincing.
>> Tucker: I mean it, Audra.
If you don't want to work with me, that's fine.
I can handle Glissade all on my own.
I don't want to lose you.
Um...
you-- We get each other, right?
You know what makes me tick.
And I know what sets you on fire.
This. This is it.
For me.
Us.
It's all there.
And it's ours for the taking.
>> Audra: It's too late.
>> Tucker: For us?
No, no, no, no.
We're just getting started.
I'm just warming up.
Audra, I know what I want.
And I want to be with you.
>> Audra: How flattering.
And when I-- What I want isn't an issue.
>> Tucker: I think we want the same thing.
We belong together.
It's always been there, hasn't it?
I know maybe you don't want to admit it, but...
I think maybe you want the same thing.
You want to be with me too.
In your dreams.
[ Tucker chuckles ] >> Tucker: And my dreams...
are for us.
And-- and you got dreams, I know you do,
and I want to help you...
make them come true.
Don't pull back now.
All you have to do is say yes.
>> Audra: That's all it takes.
>> Tucker: Say yes, Audra.
>> Nate: How is, uh, everything else
in your life going?
Everyone's well?
>> Victoria: If you're asking without asking about Claire--
>> Nate: If I'm not intruding.
>> Victoria: No, not at all.
I appreciate it, I mean, I don't think
it's common knowledge yet.
And it means a lot to me that people care
about how she's doing.
You know, she spent a lifetime without that, 'til now.
>> Nate: Whatever you'd like to tell me about her,
I'd love to hear.
>> Victoria: Every day, for-- for her and for all of us,
there are just constantly new discoveries.
>> Nate: Good and bad, I imagine.
And it takes some time for her to find her way.
>> Victoria: And she will.
>> Nate: With you looking out for her?
I have no doubt.
>> Victoria: Listen, I want to thank you for what you did
the other day. It was nice to be able to talk to you
about her. It reminded me to just keep things
in perspective.
You have a way of seeing into the heart of the matter.
You could always remind me of where my focus ought to be.
>> Nate: Happy to try whenever you need it.
>> Victoria: Well, I might just take you up on that.
>> Nate: I hope you do.
>> Cole: Hey!
I'm sorry if I'm early.
>> Victoria: Uh, no, not at all.
Cole Howard, this is Nate Hastings.
>> Cole: I've heard a lot about you, Nate.
>> Nate: I was about to say the same thing. [ laughs ]
>> Diane: Nikki, I have no agenda, hidden or otherwise.
Well, actually, I do.
>> Nikki: There's a shocker.
>> Diane: No, I hope your recovery is everything
that you need it to be, so that you come out of this
healthier and happier, after such a horrible experience.
>> Nikki: Thank you.
That's kind of you to say.
>> Diane: And I want you to know that I won't betray your trust,
or Jack's.
I hope you're not upset that he confided in me.
But you see, Jack and I are equal partners
in all things.
Marriage, family, work.
So, it's only natural that he would want me
to be there for him.
>> Nikki: I don't understand.
Partners at work?
>> Diane: Oh, yes.
The press release will be out soon.
Jack named me co-CEO of Jabot.
Isn't that fantastic?
>> Nikki: Very impressive, Diane.
Some might even say you didn't waste any time.
[ Diane laughs ] >> Traci: Ashley just told me
that she and Tucker have argued again.
>> Jack: About his gaslighting her, yeah,
it makes my blood boil.
>> Traci: Okay, Jack, I think there might just be some level
of confusion for her about his version of events.
She just needs some clarity.
>> Jack: Damn it.
This is exactly what I am worried about.
For what it's worth, she told me something completely different.
She is absolutely certain that her recollection
is correct. She lied to my face.
>> Traci: Well, maybe this is the reaction she's trying
to avoid. Maybe she told you what she thought you needed
to hear so that you would ease up on her.
>> Jack: I'm trying to protect her, Traci.
>> Traci: She can protect herself.
>> Jack: It's not just Tucker I'm trying to protect her from.
>> Traci: Who else, then?
>> Jack: Herself. I don't want her any more upset
than she already is.
>> Traci: Ashley doesn't need us second-guessing her like this.
There was some heated moment and they can't agree on it.
What she's doing, going out and finding
third-party information, I think that's a really
rational decision, and we should be supporting her on this.
>> Jack: She is obsessing.
She is spinning this one moment for months.
It has taken over her life.
The blow-up in Paris.
Tucker denying it.
You clearly don't see it.
Ashley doesn't either.
This is exactly what Tucker wants.
He has created this confusion to keep his hooks in her.
>> Traci: I just-- I don't know.
>> Jack: What if this is a mistake?
What if she's about to walk into some kind of a trap?
She doesn't trust me.
I can't do anything.
She does trust you.
Please don't let her do anything that she will regret.
>> Nate: I should head out
and let you get to it.
Nice meeting you, Cole.
>> Cole: Same.
>> Victoria: Thanks again, Nate.
>> Nate: Anytime.
>> Cole: So, how long did you two date?
>> Victoria: Is that a lucky guess?
Or writer's intuition?
>> Cole: Your face.
The way you smiled at him, and the way you smiled
at each other, looks like there's a history there.
>> Victoria: There is.
It was a lovely time.
>> Cole: And then?
>> Victoria: Things went bad between Nate and my father.
>> Cole: Yeah, well, once you get on the wrong side
of Victor, it's hard to come back.
>> Victoria: Yeah, well, Nate's a good man, though.
He's one of the best.
>> Cole: But your dad probably has a long list of guys
he'd like to keep away from you, right?
>> Victoria: Well, it's more complicated than my father
being himself, but the outcome was the same.
Anyway, enough about the past.
Tell me about Claire.
How was your visit with her?
>> Cole: You know what?
I'm glad you ask.
I've got some good news.
>> Diane: Honestly, I was very surprised when Jack
didn't choose Kyle to be co-CEO.
I know how it looks.
>> Nikki: I'm sure you do.
Jack just chose you instead of Kyle,
even though Kyle has been with the company for years
and years, and knows it inside out.
>> Diane: Yes, nothing would have made me happier
than seeing father and son running the company
side by side.
I never imagined this.
>> Nikki: Certainly not.
I can just see you manipulating Jack into thinking
it was all his idea.
"Oh, Jack, do you mean it?
This is so unexpected.
Just knowing that you believe in me
is the greatest gift of all."
>> Diane: You know, I just finished wishing you well,
and you couldn't wait to insult me. Is this--
is this really how you want things to be, Nikki?
>> Nikki: You're right.
I shouldn't have said it.
>> Diane: Well, don't worry about it. I have to brace myself
for the inevitable backlash.
But thanks to Jack, none of that matters, he couldn't be
more supportive of me.
Or of you.
So, let's just keep that common ground, shall we?
>> Nikki: I wish you well in your new endeavor.
Excuse me.
>> Audra: I'm not the one you want.
Not right now and not like this.
You let Ashley back in and she broke your heart.
And, you know, I've said some things that get too close
to the bone, so you're probably feeling a little raw.
>> Tucker: If you're trying to talk me into--
>> Audra: Yeah, you're looking for a win
and I'm the fastest way there.
But I am not about to be a woman someone settles for.
>> Tucker: That's not what this is.
That's not what you are to me.
Lately, I've been asking myself...
"What's good in my life right now?
And what's always been good?" And the answer is you.
Whenever I know I'm gonna see you,
I get a spring in my step.
And a little smile on my face.
And every time you walk into the room,
my heart races a little bit.
I think I've taken that for granted.
I don't want to anymore.
>> Audra: You know, what you need
and want...
you won't find it in me.
I'm sorry, Tucker.
>> Tucker: No, I can't accept your apology.
>> Audra: I need to look out for myself now.
Without your special brand of assistance.
It's time for you to go now.
[ door clicks closed ]
>> Audra: I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.
>> Nate: You kept things short and sweet with McCall.
>> Audra: Yeah, sometimes it's better that way.
He adores the sound of his own voice and gets swept up
in his fantasies and-- Ugh.
>> Nate: He's a dreamer.
>> Audra: He's a big talker.
>> Nate: You seem like the only person he depends on.
That can be a burden and a compliment.
Not an easy thing to walk away from.
>> Audra: Well, sometimes it is.
>> Nate: Is this a pattern with you and former partners?
You call it quits, but they can't stay away?
>> Audra: Why do you ask?
Are you interested in a partnership?
>> Nate: Are you offering?
We didn't, uh, finish our conversation.
>> Audra: I have a proposition.
Leave Chancellor-Winters.
>> Nate: [ scoffs ] Give me one good reason.
>> Audra: Glissade.
Join me there.
Once I take control of it, of course.
>> Nate: She's a dreamer.
>> Audra: Go big or go home.
>> Nate: The way I hear it, Tucker's replaced
Glissade's board with a-- with a bunch of lapdogs
that'll tell him what he wants to hear.
In return, he gets their loyalty and their consent to run
the company however he sees fit, and you think you can
undermine that from the outside.
>> Audra: Oh, my God, Nate.
You beautiful genius.
You are absolutely right.
I will never be able to pull this off from the outside.
What I need is a page from your playbook.
[ door bangs ] >> Diane: Whoa,
are we in crisis mode already on my first day?
>> Jack: It's not about business.
>> Diane: What's wrong?
>> Jack: I just stopped by the house, saw Ashley
leaving for Paris.
She wants to question the waitstaff at the café.
>> Diane: About the scene with Tucker?
>> Jack: She wants to confirm the facts as they happen,
and going to great lengths to do it.
>> Diane: That's probably not a bad idea.
When it comes to dealing with Tucker versus the truth,
it's best to have hard proof.
>> Jack: I don't like it.
He's pulling her strings.
She's letting it happen.
He scares the hell out of her, and then has the gall
to make her question her own perception.
I mean, he's controlling her.
She's letting it happen.
>> Diane: Jack, are you more upset about what's
in her head or in her heart?
>> Jack: Both.
For months, she has been dredging up this fight
that clearly traumatized her one way or the other.
I know she has real questions about her perception,
but he's taking advantage of that. Why can't she see
he's manipulating her?
She's a brilliant woman.
Why can't she stop herself?
>> Tucker: I'm done.
Goodbye, Ashley.
You go to hell!
>> Ashley: Okay.
You loved me.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
>> Tucker: What am I doing now?
>> Ashley: You're just throwing around that word
like it means nothing.
You just use it as a way to control me.
>> Tucker: No, no, no, no.
You have proven ad infinitum that you are a force
unto yourself, Ashley.
Lacking nothing, needing no one, certainly not me,
who would have done anything for you.
Now, all I ever wanted in return--
>> Ashley: What?
What did you want from me?
>> Tucker: I wanted love, respect, I mostly
wanted commitment.
To be a partner with you in all things, in all ways.
But those are things you just can't give anybody, at least not
anybody that doesn't share your DNA, apparently.
I mean, the very idea of commitment sends you scurrying
in the opposite direction.
And the second there weren't 20 Abbotts
and an army of lawyers between us, well,
you just ran home.
Yeah, I'm sad, too.
But it's game over for me.
I'm moving on, so should you.
And you should give up this-- this obsession
about what happened in Paris.
>> Ashley: Oh, okay, so not only am I delusional,
but now I'm obsessing.
>> Tucker: You are obsessing, yes, yes.
>> Ashley: Right.
>> Tucker: About a moment that is now unrecognizable to me.
You know what you ought to do?
You ought to hop on that fancy jet of yours across the pond,
go to the bistro, talk to the waitstaff,
ask them what happened that afternoon.
Say, "Do you happen to remember a man in this restaurant
going absolutely berserk, and-- and smashing wine glasses,
and throwing furniture?" I think you'd be surprised
what they'd tell you.
>> Victoria: So, how was Claire when you visited her?
What did she say?
>> Cole: She seemed happier.
You know, just much better spirits than she was last time.
>> Victoria: That's good.
Did she tell you that my mother was able to visit her recently?
>> Cole: Yeah, yeah, and that's got to be a good
thing for Claire and for Nikki.
>> Victoria: Yeah.
She said that she was allowed to walk around
the hospital grounds, you know, I mean,
with an escort, of course.
>> Cole: Yeah, all the way through pediatrics, and she
lit up like a Christmas tree when she's telling me
all about it.
You know, it was just-- it was just wonderful
to see her smile like that.
You know, but at the same time, it does break my heart a little.
>> Victoria: Yeah, I understand.
Seeing all of those sweet children
with sicknesses and illnesses.
Their parents were right there, right by her side.
>> Cole: I'm just worried.
I'm worried it will remind her of the childhood
she didn't have.
You know, on the other hand, maybe it could help heal her.
>> Victoria: Yeah, I mean, it could. This could be part
of her healing so that she can go on to live a normal,
happy, healthy life.
[ sighs ] God, I hope so.
So, did you have a chance to talk to her care team?
>> Cole: Yes, yes, Dr. Henberg.
Now-- now, she couldn't give me details, of course, but she
definitely sounded hopeful.
She said that others on her team have noted
that Claire is more engaged in her private
and group sessions.
She's awake more, she's having conversations.
It's baby steps, I know, I know, but it was so, so great to hear.
>> Victoria: Baby steps.
We were not there for her.
But that's okay, we're gonna be there from now on.
I'm-- I'm so proud of her.
>> Cole: Yeah. She's trying.
She's getting stronger.
She's-- she's on the road to good things, Vic.
And you know that you and I will be there to catch her
if she ever falls again.
>> Victoria: Oh, I know that.
We will be.
[ knocking on door ] >> Audra: Nikki, I just
got back the numbers from the Asian market, and--
Uh, Nikki, are you okay?
>> Nikki: I'm fine.
Uh, I'm just distracted, there's so much to do.
>> Audra: Well, I'm happy to take whatever I can
off your plate.
>> Nikki: What makes you think I can't handle
what's on my plate?
>> Audra: Oh, no, you're right, I should know better.
I'll leave you to it.
>> Nikki: Well, no need to scurry off.
>> Audra: Whatever you prefer.
>> Nikki: Please stop humoring me.
I'm not going to break.
>> Audra: Of course not.
>> Nikki: Oh, God, you're doing it again. I wish to hell
I had never admitted to you that I had a problem.
[ Nikki sighs ] >> Diane: As someone
who loves you madly and respects you deeply,
it is my duty to sometimes play devil's advocate.
>> Jack: Oh, good, maybe I'll enjoy proving you wrong.
>> Diane: All right.
Maybe you need to look at this from a different perspective.
Yes, Ashley got close to being pulled into Tucker's thrall,
but then she pulled herself out.
She deserves some credit for that.
>> Jack: But is she out?
I'm not convinced.
>> Diane: I am. She's just gathering the facts so she can
shove them down his throat, which is what he deserves.
>> Jack: I wish my sister could see you defending her.
>> Diane: Yeah, well, let's not ruin her image of me.
>> Jack: I think what I'm most worried about
is what this is going to do to Ashley's psyche.
She has been reliving this same moment
over and over again.
What's going to happen when she gets answers?
More important, what's going to happen
when the answer is not what she wants to hear?
>> Diane: This is her battle.
It's the way she's choosing to fight it.
>> Jack: I don't like it.
>> Diane: And in the final showdown between Ashley
and Tucker, my money's on your sister.
>> Ashley: Are you here to talk me out of going to Paris, Traci?
>> Traci: No, I'm not.
After all this time, I know what fights I can win
and when to just get out of your way.
>> Ashley: Well, then why are you here?
>> Traci: Because I love you.
And so does Jack.
>> Ashley: I know.
>> Traci: Well, then you also know
we would never let you do something like this alone.
So, every step of the way, whatever you need, here I am.
[ Traci sighs ]
>> Announcer: Next week on The Young and the Restless...
>> Nikki: My whole life is spiraling out of control,
and it's my fault.
>> Jack: We will fix this.
As a matter of fact, I have an idea.
>> Summer: Something's lifted for me. I feel lighter.
>> Chance: Cheers to that.
[ Summer chuckles ] >> Nate: You didn't quit,
did you?
Nikki fired you.
>> Victor: My security team called me last night
and told me that there was a huge fire at the institution
where Jordan is incarcerated.
>> Victoria: Meaning that Jordan could be dead or she could
be out there again, ready to do God knows what.
Captioned by Los Angeles Distribution and Broadcasting, Inc.
Captioning provided by Bell Dramatic Serial Company,
Sony Pictures Television and CBS, Inc.
Join us again for "The Young and the Restless."