Felicia did a job interview. The interviewee did not meet her standards. Cass appeared and told her she couldn't replace Wally. She said she had to.
A determined Dawn sat in court waiting for the thing to begin.
Donna ran into Nicole's salon and insisted on talking to her. She told her That Old Carrot had said that Elizabeth hadn't been blameless. She told her she thought the watch was more than a keepsake and Michael was involved. Nicole got rid of Sophie and Julie Ann. She said she didn't want Elizabeth's death rehashed. Donna asked Nicole why she thought Jason had had the watch. Nicole said Elizabeth had probably bequeathed it to him from kindness. Donna suggested they'd been having an affair.
The judge said she intended to be flexible and ignore precedents in Donna's case. Zack stood up and said Dawn was being discriminated against when the Conservatory offered private tutoring instead of classes. The defence attorney stood up and said the Conservatory had to think of the safety of all of its students and was behaving admirably in its willingness to expose instructors to Dawn. She described AIDS as a highly infectious disease, thereby giving Zack the opportunity to stand up and say it wasn't under classroom conditions and there was no excuse for ignorance. [He seems to hesitate as if he can't remember his lines.] He called Jamie to the stand.
Felicia told Cass she couldn't run Tops without Wally. He advised her not to look for another Wallingford, just another manager. She stomped off. Cass told Mitch he'd come to talk to Felicia about something he would have come to talk to Wally about. Mitch offered his ears. Cass seemed vague.
Jamie testified that he was absolutely sure Dawn could not transmit AIDS to Scott by sitting next to him in court. He said Dawn would be more at risk than the other students in a classroom, since she was likely to contract infectious diseases from them. The defence attorney tried to get Jamie to admit that just because no one had ever documented transmission without the exchange of bodily fluids didn't mean it couldn't have happened. Jamie stuck to his guns. [His voice sounded slightly too pompous, or something. Slightly bad-Shakespearean-king.] He proposed compassion.
Nicole got upset. Donna reminded her of the time they had been playing in Elizabeth's room and Peter had found a box of letters in the closet and mother had been angry. Donna suggested that they had been love letters. Nicole was disgusted. Donna reminded her of other suspicious circumstances. She suggested that Elizabeth had killed herself because Jason was leaving. Nicole told her to go play detective someplace else. Donna took herself off, apologetic but not remorseful.
Jamie repaired to Mary's Place. Ada invited him to come to dinner chez Cory with Sam. Jamie said he didn't know if Lisa would be there.
The Conservatory maintained that it had done the best it could under the circumstances. Scott got contemptuous, that is to say, he leaped up and made an impassioned and, to my mind, incoherent speech.
Cass admitted he had escalating feelings for Nicole. Mitch asked if he could love her. He justified his bluntness by saying Wally would have been. Cass said he was sure it was more than friendship. Mitch advised him to get a move on.
Jamie told Ada all Lisa thought about was her job. He got beeped before Ada could advise him not to be a pig. He passed Donna on his way out. Donna was looking for Mary. Ada told her Mary was in court. Donna decided to wait. Cheryl asked Donna what she wanted to see Mary about. Donna was vague. Cheryl suggested she leave her mother alone.
They ran out of witnesses. Mary asked permission to speak. She stood up and told everyone she wasn't worried having her son so close to Dawn because she was certain that AIDS couldn't be spread by casual contact and they should be a little more humane. Chad leaped up and made a speech. Since he hadn't asked permission the judge told him to sit down. He kept going. She demanded order. Dawn stood up and got permission to speak. She said she had a right to be with the others and it wasn't about feeling sorry for her, people had to make up their minds to do what was right. The judge said she'd rule later.
Nicole snapped at Sophie. Cass returned. Sophie went away. Nicole raved at him about Donna's horrible speculation. Cass comforted her. She relaxed a little. Cass said he wanted to talk to her. He spoke of The Next Step.
Donna said Mary was the only person who could help her. Cheryl was distracted by the return of the gang from court. Dawn thanked Mary for her support. Mary decided to go upstairs and rest. Donna intercepted her and asked for the truth about Elizabeth and Jason.
Interviewing managers got Felicia down. Mitch offered to help. She said she'd decided to do Wally's job herself. Mitch tried to talk her out of it. She wouldn't listen.
Cass meant a Date. They've never had one. Nicole accepted gladly. They stood very close together. He said he'd drive around the block and ring the bell to pick her up. They kissed.
Donna told Mary she suspected Elizabeth and Jason had been having an affair. Mary was evasive. Donna begged for the truth. She asked if Elizabeth had killed herself over Jason. Mary admitted the affair had happened. Donna said it made sense that That Old Carrot had hated Michael because of Jason and Elizabeth. Mary assured her Jason hadn't been responsible for Elizabeth's death and refused to say any more. Donna stared after her.
OK. Elizabeth's affair must have been quite prolonged if her children were young enough to play in her closet at a point when she had a box of letters and then old enough [17] to have twins when she died. She can't have died before a Marley and Victoria were born. Even That Old Carrot would be hard pressed to pass them off as the children of a dead woman. Nicole can't have been 14, though. It's a mess.