Ever since learning that Nelle could possibly be alive, Willow hasn't felt quite the same about her life. She had just begun building a relationship with her mother, only for it to crumble once she learned that it was Nina who reported Carly and Drew to the SEC. However, she didn't really think insider trading was that big of a deal, and Nina reporting them wouldn't necessarily have led to Drew getting attacked while in prison, which he and Carly both blamed Nina for. Both of them, as well as Michael, have made it perfectly clear that Nina had no place in any of their lives, saying that Nina burned her final bridge by choosing the daughter who brought nothing but pain and suffering over the daughter who brought love and happiness.
Having just put Wiley and Amelia to bed, Willow sits in the nursery holding a stuffed kangaroo, Mr. Hopsicle. Mr. Hopsicle had been Wiley's favorite toy when he was a baby. At the time, Nelle had supervised visitation with Wiley, however, it wasn't enough for her. She had hidden a tracking device inside Mr. Hopsicle's pouch and, with the help of Julian Jerome, whom she had blackmailed into marrying her, kidnapped Wiley and escaped to the Corinthos cabin, aided by a woman she'd met along the way. However, thanks to a critical error on Nelle's part, the authorities caught up with her. Nelle tried to flee, Carly ran after her, they fought, and Nelle ultimately ended up falling off a cliff, presumably to her death.
After this little adventure, Mr. Hopsicle was almost forgotten, but seeing what should simply be her son's favorite lovey brought back a lot of frightening memories. Especially after hearing the disturbing report on the news earlier in the evening.
*Michael walks into the gatehouse*
Michael: Willow?
Willow: *walks downstairs* Hi.
Michael: Are Wiley and Amelia asleep?
Willow: Yes.
Michael: *notices Willow holding the stuffed kangaroo* What are you doing with Mr. Hopsicle?
Willow: *notices that she's still holding Mr. Hopsicle* Oh, nothing important. I just was playing with Wiley and saw Mr. Hopsicle with all of his stuffed animals, and it reminded me of what happened the night Nelle kidnapped him, and when she fell off the cliff.
Michael: I take it you saw the news earlier?
Willow: About how they've reopened the investigation into that woman who was reported missing near the area where Nelle's body was supposedly recovered?
Michael: Yes. She wasn't reported missing until a few days later, and they never found her body.
Willow: But they did find a body that was wearing the clothes Nelle was wearing that night. And somebody identified the body as Nelle. Did they show a picture?
Michael: Yeah. *pulls out his phone and shows the picture to Willow*
Willow: I can sort of see a resemblance to Nelle, but not enough to where I think she'd be mistaken for her. But if it is indeed the same woman, why would she be wearing Nelle's clothes?
Michael: I don't know. We can try and guess what might have happened all we want to, but for right now we need to focus on protecting Wiley. As much as I don't want to believe it, Nelle most likely is still out there. Knowing her, it's only a matter of time before she makes another attempt to get to Wiley.
Willow: So what you're saying is...
Michael: We need to tell Wiley the truth about Nelle.
Willow: You really think we should do that?
Michael: Yes. And we should do it soon.
Willow: But what exactly are we going to tell him?
Michael: Everything.
Willow: So you want Wiley to know that I'm not his real mother-
Michael: You ARE Wiley's real mother! Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise.
Willow: Nelle will be able to convince Wiley she is his real mother though. I suppose Wiley is old enough to learn about biological versus adoptive parents, and I adopted him because his biological mother isn't able to take care of him, and if he asks we can show him a picture of Nelle.
Michael: No, that's not enough. If Nelle shows up and tries to kidnap him again, Wiley is going to go with her, because he'll be curious to know why she hasn't been able to care for him. We need to tell him the reasons why she can't be his mother, and not hold anything back. We need to tell him that she's a bad person, that she's killed people and she even tried to kill me, she married Shiloh despite knowing everything he did to you and everyone else at Dawn of Day, she's also associated with Ryan Chamberlain, she's already tried to kidnap Wiley before, and she sees him as her property, not as her son.
Willow: Okay, Nelle has done many horrible things, but I don't believe for a minute that's how she feels about Wiley.
Michael: It's true! Nelle doesn't love Wiley and never has! She's used him as a weapon to further manipulate people! That's what she does. She convinced Shiloh to marry her, she blackmailed Julian into marrying her as well, and somehow she was able to get Ryan to stab her in order for her to get out of Pentonville. If it weren't for her marrying Julian, the Floating Rib wouldn't have been bombed, Lulu wouldn't be in a coma, Dev and Dustin would still be alive, my dad wouldn't have gone after Julian, that bridge wouldn't have collapsed, my dad never would've lost his memory and wound up in Nixon Falls, and my parents would still be married!
Willow: Michael, I-
Michael: DON'T YOU GET IT?! Nelle broke up my parents' marriage! That's the reason why she came to Port Charles in the first place, to make my mom's life hell! It's true that Nina finished the job, but Nelle set everything in motion. Her actions continue to have a ripple effect on Port Charles even though it's been over three years since she fell off that cliff!
Willow: Michael, I don't deny that Nelle did any of those horrible things, and that she's good at manipulation, but I refuse to believe that she doesn't love Wiley. Normally I don't think she's capable of feeling any sort of genuine affection, but I think Wiley is the one exception. I don't think she'd purposely do anything to hurt him.
Michael: Maybe not, but she's still a danger to him. If we tell Wiley that she's his mother but don't explain how dangerous she is, he's going to literally walk right into her arms!
Willow: Do you really think we need to tell him everything in such detail? He's a little kid! This isn't something anyone should have to learn about until they're much older!
Michael: Yes, that's ideal, but unfortunately kids often are exposed to stuff that they shouldn't be, often because of their parents' lifestyles. I'm a perfect example of that.
Willow: That's different though. You love and have a good relationship with your parents!
Michael: My mom, yes. My dad not so much, largely thanks to Nelle.
Willow: Nelle didn't sleep with Sonny though. Nina did!
Michael: And yet you seem to want Nina to continue to be in Wiley's life!
Willow: She's my mother!
Michael: SHE'S A DANGER TO MY FAMILY, JUST LIKE NELLE!
Willow: As if your so-called father isn't a danger to your family? He killed your real father! AND YOU FORGAVE HIM FOR IT!
Michael: My "real" father was hardly a part of my life, just like Nelle isn't part of Wiley's. But apparently you want her to be!
Willow: That's a lie!
Michael: IT'S NOT A LIE! You want to sugarcoat everything! That's how you are!
*Wiley comes downstairs*
Wiley: Mommy! Daddy! Why are you yelling?
*Michael and Willow both look at Wiley, then at each other*
Michael (to Willow): Should we tell him?
Willow: *sighs* I'll let you do the talking.
At a clinic in an unknown location, Kiki, unhappily employed as a nurse, is making her rounds giving the patients their medication, when she hears a blood-curdling scream coming from a certain patient's room. As she rushes over to the door, her ID badge unclips from her scrubs and falls to the ground. She opens the door to see Morgan Corinthos sitting in the bed, clutching his wrist, and grimacing in pain.
Kiki: Oh my god, Morgan! Are you okay?
Morgan: Yeah I'm fine.
Kiki: You don't look fine!
Morgan: I just strained my hand a little too hard.
*He lets go of his wrist to reveal a jagged scar from his recent hand transplant*
Kiki: A little too hard?
Morgan: I need to do my physical therapy.
Kiki: Okay, well where's your physical therapist?
Morgan: Seeing his other patients. He's given me exercises to do when he's not here.
*He indicates a stress ball sitting on the nightstand. Kiki picks it up and squeezes it*
Kiki: Morgan, this thing is hard as a rock!
Morgan: It's what he gave me. He said I need it in order to have the best chance of gaining full motion in my fingers. But even if I don't gain full motion, I might still be able to use my hand to do certain things, so he's having me practice the things that they think I'm most likely to use my hand for during my sessions.
Kiki: And what exactly does he think you're likely to use your hand for?
Morgan: What he WANTS me to use my hand for!
Kiki: Such as?
Morgan: Shooting a gun.
Kiki: NO! Morgan!
Morgan: Like I said, it's what he's making me do. My therapy sessions consist entirely of target practice, and if I don't want to do it, he says I can shoot myself in the head!
Kiki: Oh, Morgan!
Morgan: It's not like I WANT to do any of those things! I want to get out of here and be a normal guy.
*He lies down on the bed*
Kiki: Here, take your lithium.
*She hands him a paper cup with a pill in it*
Morgan: No.
Kiki: Come on Morgan, you need to take it!
Morgan: How do I know you haven't switched it out with placebos?
Kiki: Morgan, you can trust me!
Morgan: Can I though? It's what your mom did, in order to keep me away from you.
Kiki: Well, as you just said, my mom was the one who did that. Not me!
Morgan: Also, you left me so you could be with Dillon! I saw the two of you making out, and I knew you were going to break up with me in order to be with him!
Kiki: Yes, I left you for Dillon, and I regretted it after I thought you had been killed! I was devastated! I blamed myself for it, and your mom blamed me for it too. That's why, when I woke up in this clinic and saw you here, lying in a coma, I never left your side. As much as I desperately wanted to get out of here despite them warning me that it wasn't safe, I didn't try to escape, because I was hoping you would eventually wake up, so I could tell you just how sorry I was!
Morgan: Well, you've told me. Many times.
Kiki: Morgan, I am never going to leave you again, I promise! I'm going to get you out of here!
Morgan: Kiki, no.
Kiki: What do mean no?
Morgan: I mean no! Leave me!
Kiki: Morgan!
Morgan: Get out of here!
*Morgan looks away from Kiki to the door; Kiki turns around to see a frightening-looking doctor with a shaved head, goatee, and tattoos down his arm standing in the doorway*
Doctor: You heard him. Get out of here!
Kiki: I can't leave until he takes his lithium!
Doctor: I'll make sure he takes it.
Kiki: But-
Doctor: I'll be in charge of giving him his medication from now on! You're spending too much time with him and neglecting the rest of the patients. Now get out of here!
*Kiki slowly turns to leave, but the doctor continues to stare at her*
Kiki: Can you not stare at me like that? It makes me uncomf-
*She looks closer at the doctor; the expression in his pale blue eyes seems oddly familiar. She remembers her conversation with Nelle a while back*
Kiki (flashback): You claim to be this master manipulator who can get anyone on your side, yet you prey upon the weak and vulnerable. You'd never be able to manipulate someone like Jason Morgan into doing your bidding!
*Nelle looks at Kiki for several seconds and says nothing*
Kiki (flashback): Why are you looking at me like that?
Nelle (flashback): You say I wouldn't be able to manipulate Jason Morgan. You know this how?
*Kiki snaps back to the present, then slowly walks out of the room, the doctor continuing to stare at her until the door closes*
In another area of the clinic, Esme walks out of a different room with a prescription slip in her hand, having just seen the doctor Nelle recommended for her headaches. Looking at the doctor's seemingly-unintelligible scribbles and wondering how in the world any pharmacist would be able to read it, she makes her way down the hallway towards the elevator, and feels her shoe step on something hard. She picks it up and sees that it's an ID badge. She looks at the woman's picture, below it is the name "Lauren Jerome, RN." Esme feels that she's seen both the woman's picture and name before but can't remember where.
*Kiki walks over and sees a young woman holding her ID badge, her long brown hair partially obscuring her face.*
Kiki: Excuse me, that's mine.
*Esme looks up at Kiki; they stare awkwardly at each other for several seconds, then Esme hands Kiki her badge. Kiki takes the badge and walks away, while Esme stands there for a few seconds, confused, then makes her way to the elevator.*
COMING UP: Esme and Leann ask for donations for a seemingly good cause, while Nelle receives ghostly visits from some of Port Charles's not-so-dearly-departed residents.