Above and beyond the call of duty

From heroes to superheroes! Billy and Chelsea sleep together! Seriously...will Stitch's secret ever come out? No more firecrackers, blasting explosions, or dazzling displays! Or are there more to come? To find out, read this week's Two Scoops.

Now that the Fourth of July, with the exploding displays of lights and sound, is behind us, we can resume our normal, humdrum lives. Okay, maybe we can, but Sharon and Nick's own private fireworks lingered as they refused to let the colorful outbursts fizzle out. That is until Mariah arrived to throw a figurative bucket of cold water on their smoldering smoke and passion. Yes, The Young and the Restless celebrated our day of independence with brilliant explosive devices and by honoring the heroes who fought to secure our freedom. It was a grand salute indeed, but now it is time to return to reality and to see what remains once the razzle-dazzle has faded away.

Although Nick and Sharon did not regret their decision to have a non-marriage, Nick had a very different, seductive proposal of his own. But thanks to Ian's advice, Mariah arrived just in the "nick" (get it?) of time to stop their romantic interlude by hinting at her own proposition -- that she move into Sharon's cottage. Of course, Mariah had to make it seem like it was Sharon's idea, so she cried out that her room had been broken into again by someone very sinister. Well, maybe she did not put it just that way, but seriously, that is what happened. After all, we think that Ian is sinister, even if Mariah doesn't.

Since Sharon had just learned of their connection, she wanted to know why Mariah had not turned to Ian, but Mariah had a logical explanation: Ian only cared for her spiritual growth, not her personal safety. I am wondering what Ian's real motive is, though. He does seem to care for the young lady, but there has to be more to this than what meets the eye. Ian never does anything without a reason. Maybe he is still trying to worm his way into the Newmans' lives? Could he still be on his "path" to get revenge on Victor and Nikki?

I do have to give Ian some credit. He came up with a good line: "The only bars in a prison of our own making are the ones we construct in our heads." That is so very true. How did he think of such practical and sensible advice? It's just such a shame that Ian tends to use any good he has for evil. Just think what he could have accomplished if he had turned that negative force into positive energy. He could actually help people, as he always claims to do. Why, the sky would be the limit.

Of course, Mariah and Ian didn't know that Nick had his own agenda for allowing Mariah to move in with Sharon. Nick figured that he could dig up more dirt on his deceased daughter's look-alike if she lived right under his nose, so to speak. Victor and Nick have been plotting against Mariah to get the goods on Ian, and I can understand them wanting to protect their families. But you know this will only backfire once Sharon learns what the two masterminds are up to. Sharon is doing everything she can to give Mariah a chance while Nick and Victor are attempting to chase her out of town for good. This won't go well.

I find it rather strange that while Christine seemed threatened by Nikki and her new connection to Paul through their long-lost son, Victor had no qualms about Paul being Dylan's new daddy. But then again, we are talking about the great and powerful Victor Newman. Man, that Paul is taking everything so well, isn't he? While Nikki worried that she had not given Paul the chance to be a father (a recurring theme on Y&R, no?), to Dylan, Paul calmly voiced that he and Nikki had found their son when they were supposed to. Paul is just being way too mature about this.

Actually, Christine's insecurity is almost painful to watch. She just seems so desperate. At first, her desire for a baby was due to her biological clock ticking, but now she is almost obsessed with having Paul's baby -- fast! -- so that she can hang on to her man. That is sad! Her insecurity will only end up driving Paul away, especially since his mind has been consumed with thoughts of Nikki and their past lives together. And Nikki admitted herself that she can't shut her mind off about Paul and the guilt she felt for "robbing" (as Christine put it) Paul of years with his son.

I absolutely love the shots of Nikki and Paul from the past and the clips complement this storyline perfectly. They were so young then! It's always amazing to see how we have changed throughout the years. However, no matter how old a woman gets, the girl will still remain inside. The girl in Nikki that loved Paul then is beginning to resurface now. Both she and Paul had the same question: What would Nikki have done if she had known then that the baby was Paul's, not Ian's? Her reply, which Victor overheard, was that she never would have let the baby go. Now will we see a chink in Victor's armor?

But no, Victor remained calm and in control after hearing Nikki's declaration but observed later that he and Nikki would never have gotten together if Nikki had kept her baby. There would have been no Nikki and Victor, no Nick, no Victoria...no The Young and the Restless! Could you ever imagine Y&R without Victor Newman and his many marriages to Nikki Reed?! It would have been one boring soap. Sad to say, we can be very thankful that Nikki chose not to keep her child. Her destiny in life was to be with Victor, and we are grateful for that. Nikki made the right decision all those years ago. Y&R fan Lola observes:

On the July 9th episode Nikki said something about thinking about something that happened thirty years ago when she and Paul were teenagers. If it was thirty years ago before Dylan was born, what age does that make Nick who is supposed to be younger than Dylan. Do the writers think we are stupid? Nick has two grown children. We can do the math.

You have a very good point, Lola. Maybe we aren't supposed to look too closely at their ages. Nikki did say that her conversation with Paul was thirty years ago. Dylan has to be over thirty. And going by Noah's age, Nick cannot possibly be in his twenties. I guess we should use our suspension of disbelief over these piddly, little details. Or check Boone's math formulas.

Nikki armed herself with good friend and lawyer, Michael, as she got ready to face off in the lawsuit against Ian and his choice of attorney, David Sherman, a guy that Nikki knew as a child. Good strategy. Nikki was clearly unsettled, and it put her off her game. Nikki just wanted to settle the suit for Ian's "emotional distress," but Ian would have nothing of it. Ian insisted that he had honestly believed that he was Dylan's father because he had not known that Nikki had also had a sexual relationship with Paul. The poor, innocent, misguided victim, Ian.

Ian then noted that Nikki had stripped in front of men for money and had been plagued for years by excessive drinking and drug abuse. Sounding not so much like an innocent victim now, Ian. Michael believed that Ian just wanted to make the lawsuit as public and painful as possible and announced that Dylan would be a witness for Ian. Nikki was so devastated by it all, she looked longingly at the liquor bottles on the stand. I think Victor will stop her though. I am not sure we are ready for Nikki falling off the wagon again, even if Melody Thomas Scott loves to play her as a drunk. Nikki will need to keep a sharp head and a clear mind to battle Ian and his slithering ways.

In the hospital, Sully's "visit" appeared to give Dylan a new purpose in life. It was touching when Dylan remarked that he had felt Paul nearby. After Dylan regretted that he had not listened to Paul, which had resulted in Paul's getting shot, the new father could only point out that they never would have learned that Dylan was his son if it had not happened.

All right, this is getting freaky. Paul is almost godly, and Dylan is too much like his father. They are going to go from being just regular old plain Jane heroes to becoming superheroes. Leaping the tallest buildings in Genoa City. You know, like the one-labeled Jabot in the exterior shots. They could change into their costumes in elevators, maybe even at Jabot, since it has become so popular lately. It's hard to find a phone booth these days.

The more that Dylan and Paul are together, the more alike they seem to be. Even Victor referred to Dylan as being brave. The very word that could also describe Paul. The newly discovered father and son joked about Paul not having to teach Dylan to ride a bike, the facts of life, and to throw a slider. Well, okay, maybe Paul will need to help his son with the last one. And thank goodness, Dylan will not have to buy Paul an ugly tie each year. Actually, they are almost precious together. Dylan wishes to learn more about his dad, and we want to go along on his journey.

Okay, now my patience is starting to get stretched just a tad thin. Stitch has had every chance in the world to tell Victoria the truth about his past and has managed to come up with some lame excuse not to be honest with her. He even went so far as to tell her that there was nothing else in his past for Billy to find. Now we know that's not true. Stitch claimed that he didn't want to risk losing the "incredibly smart, sophisticated, feisty, beautiful woman" that is Victoria, but that's exactly what he will do once she learns the truth. And just what is his truth? We want to know!

Could Stitch have had inappropriate interactions (hey, I am trying to put it delicately) with his sister, Kelly, when they were younger? Why else would Kelly be so traumatized by it? I mean, that would certainly rise to the occasion of being a secret that his first wife would leave him over. And Stitch would want to keep it from the rest of the world because it was so unforgivable. If that's the case, dear Ben is fighting a losing battle because I don't see how Victoria would stay with him anyway. Either the lie or the truth would do him in. At least Kelly would still love him.

So if Billy were patient just a little longer, he might have had Victoria eagerly running back into his arms. But oops...Billy's lips fell onto another woman's lips, and well...you know the rest. After all, it was his birthday. But of course, it all started so innocently with Chelsea giving Billy a massage on his back, which was injured when he tried to stop the buzzing in Connor's room.

Chelsea's response was it was all above and beyond the call of duty. Such a sacrifice! That's what she claimed anyway but somehow I don't think that the mysterious guy wearing a wedding ring on his finger would agree. It's too bad that he didn't have a baby-cam in the living room. Y&R fan Caroline M. states:

"Moot point," however, bad choice for the role of Billy. Either of the two previous actors are a better choice.

Actually if the writers' intent was always to put Billy with Chelsea, then replacing David Tom with Burgess Jenkins seems somewhat unnecessary, since Mr. Tom's Billy had pretty good chemistry with Melissa Claire Egan's Chelsea. Much better than he ever had with Amelia Heinle's Victoria. I am still trying to determine how I feel about Burgess Jenkins as Billy, but honestly, it's just been rather difficult with the switching of actors in such a short time. I am mainly focusing on how true his portrayal has been to the Billy Abbott that returned to Genoa City and found Chloe pregnant with his baby. Even if the actor puts his own spin on Billy, the character still has to be one that the fans can identify with. I guess I am trying to ascertain if Mr. Jenkins has come close in any way to Billy Abbott's essential essence. The jury's still out on this.

Anyway, after Chelsea "fixed" Billy's back through her remarkable lovemaking, Billy exclaimed that it had been a "great" yet impulsive moment. When Chelsea denied that their moment had been unexpected, Billy summed up their relationship, "Fine, it evolved from a kiss to a slap to a kiss to a denial to a roll around under the covers, satisfied?" Yes, that pretty much said it all. Thankfully, Anita arrived, giving Billy a quick escape, so she and Chelsea could dig up more on Stitch's past. After they learned that the "real" Ben Rayburn had died in a car crash after a Chesterfield High School graduation party, Anita begged Chelsea not to tell Billy so that Chelsea could keep him for herself. The lies just keep piling up.

Sure, Billy may be quite the catch, as Anita pointed out, but wouldn't Chelsea want to be honest with Billy as his friend? Unless, of course, she really is pursuing him. Anita is right that Victoria may return to Billy once she learns the truth, and heaven forbid that Anita loses what could be her potential gold mine. Shouldn't she be thinking more as a loving mother who only wants the best for her daughter? But a leopard can never change its spots, right?

Chelsea did listen to her mother, though, even if she couldn't help herself, and decided to toy with Stitch. Immediately after she declared a truce, Chelsea asked if, by chance, Stitch and Kelly were from St. Louis and mentioned Chesterfield High. Ha, it was like watching a cat bat around a mouse. The con is coming out in Chelsea, and she's enjoying the game again. And if the fun results in her getting Billy as the prize, all the better. Although the man with the wedding-ringed hand might just have something to say about that.

Strangely enough, Billy actually was using his best weapon to win back Victoria's heart, whether it was intentional or not, when he joked about sending Reed care packages of candy, whoopee cushions, and firecrackers when Reed was at "sleep-away camp." Victoria was reminded about how much Billy loves both Reed and Johnny and how both kids adore him. That's almost enough to melt a mother's heart, and she was a lot kinder to Billy than she had been. While Stitch was hopeful that Victoria's baby was his, Billy was thrilled that she had gotten her miracle.

And since Chelsea and Billy have fallen into each other's arms, Victoria would eventually have decided that she wanted Billy back. But she overheard Chelsea say that Chelsea and Billy had "slept together." You know, I have to snicker every time I hear that expression. Talk about being delicate -- "sleep together" pretty much means anything but actually sleeping. I mean, we all know what is being referred to, and snoozing certainly does not come to mind. It's just rather funny that this expression is used all the time in a world where foul language is almost the norm these days. Maybe it's just habit. Or maybe it's the last twig of innocence that we can hold on to.

Victoria sure appeared to care too much about Billy's latest tryst, but she later told Stitch that she was mad because Billy was incapable of telling the truth. She even wanted to laser remove the ring tattoo, which would leave a scar n her finger -- to match the scar on her heart. I know, I know...how corny! Victoria's tattoo removal would be just as well, though, since Chelsea decided that her relationship with Billy was more than just sex. Chelsea didn't want to say goodbye, and neither did Billy. Their kiss pretty much said it all. It was pretty sizzling.

In the meantime, Jack served Kelly breakfast in bed to thank her for her help after he went crazy about Summer marrying the criminal, Austin. Jack was so right when he declared, "There's nothing as impassionate, intractable, and righteous as a teenage girl standing by her man." For teenage girls, everything in their lives is surrounded by drama. I swear, their every moment should be accompanied by melodramatic background music as they go through the trials and tribulations of their relationships. The average teenage girl's life is a soap opera!

I just heard a joke from a comedian on Last Comic Standing about how his teenage daughter could yell with the same level of intensity about a man being shot in the head as about how she had just lost her cell phone charger. Funny joke but probably a true story. I have always heard that boys were easier to raise than girls, but since I have two sons, I can't verify the accuracy of that. But from what I have heard from my friends and family, that is the case. No wonder Jack doesn't have a clue. Parents really do need a manual for raising kids, especially once they become teenagers. You always think that it will get easier when they get older, but somehow, it just never does.

Instead of just flat-out telling Jack the truth about her past with Stitch, Kelly just keeps dropping clues to him and to us. She was the good girl with straight A's, who was awarded a scholarship to a boarding school. Or was Kelly sent away to boarding school to get her away from her brother? Kelly admitted that "Ben" was different. It's strange that she would call Stitch "Ben" if that's not his real name. Why not just call him Stitch like everyone else does? I mean, I can see her being the only person in town calling him "Ben" if he actually grew up with that name, since she is his sister. Were there two guys named Ben attending Chesterfield High where one Ben eventually took the other Ben's identity? Stranger things have happened.

While Jack worried over Summer, Austin paid him a visit to tell him that he would have his marriage to Summer annulled if he were to be incarcerated. I wonder how Summer would take that, because from what she claimed to Courtney, she would wait for Austin forever. Ahh...true love! Wow, and to think that just a few weeks ago, Summer didn't even know Austin. Her rush to get married was even faster than Neil's run down the aisle. I will admit that I never even saw her marriage coming. But I guess that was one way for Summer to stand by her man.

Jack really needed to listen to Nick though. Nick was absolutely right when he said that Summer could make her own decisions as an adult and that if Jack tried to force the issue, he would drive her away. Jack can only see that Austin married a young woman with a trust fund in order to stop Summer from testifying against him. And who's to say he's wrong, since Summer admitted to Sharon that Austin had never actually said he loved her. But Jack's call to Christine, the district attorney, to have the marriage overturned was a bit over the top. Summer will resent Jack for a long time if this happens. Why is she different than any other young, adult girl who had to learn from her own mistakes? That's how most of us grow and evolve.

But it was even worse than that -- Jack intended on having Summer arrested for perpetrating a fraud. What? That's outrageous. Summer and Austin decided to have a church wedding, and it almost sounded like Jack was considering having her arrested during the ceremony. So, instead of walking her down the aisle and giving her his support, Jack was going to show his love by handing her a criminal record that would follow her for the rest of her life? That's crazy.

Austin finally did admit that he loved Summer, so how is it a fraud for two people in love to get married? Jack needs to let Summer make her own decisions and to be there for her if and when she falls. That's a parent's unconditional love.

Phyllis's return must be getting close because the talk was constantly about how Jack was Summer's biological father but that Summer still considered Nick her dad. Shoot, Nick was even having dreams that Jack wasn't a match for Summer when she needed a transplant. It was sweet that Sharon thought that Austin and Summer reminded her of when she and Nick refused to let anyone stop them from being together. As Sharon helped Summer get ready for her wedding, she lent Summer a tube of lipstick -- the same shade that had been found on the stairwell the night that Phyllis fell. It only took a year, but hopefully this storyline will get rolling again. I can't wait for Gina Tognoni's arrival!

Neil was pretty flabbergasted when Hilary changed her tune and decided that she wanted a long-term honeymoon beginning immediately. That was after she saw Devon, of course. Could it be that Hilary doesn't trust herself around Devon? Maybe her feelings are stronger for him than what she will even admit. Again, Hilary talked of her feelings of security and love when she was with Neil. That just seems so tame. Where's the wild and crazy passionate kind of love? Apparently not in Hilary's world with Neil.

Hilary feared she would lose her little girl dreams of being the perfect bride married to the perfect man living in the perfect house, big and sunny, with an upstairs, backyard, swing, and a lake. Wow, those are some pretty specific dreams. What she seems to be realizing is that sometimes reality can surpass fantasy. Maybe what she longed for as a little girl is no longer what would make her truly happy now that she is older. It has been said that some people fall in love with love. Hilary appears to have fallen in love with her dreams and ideals.

Lily's only desire was to splash some cold water in Hilary's dreams...by throwing her in the swimming pool at the Athletic Club. Y&R fan Colleen compared Lily to "a 12 year old brat. Not a good role model for her kids." Lily had better be careful because her hatred of Hilary is starting to control her life. Her every move seems to be about Hilary in one way or another. Lily's trip to Paris was to get away from Hilary -- not to be with the man she loves. Sad.

That kind of hatred is hurting Lily more than it is hurting Hilary. She even hoped that Hilary could not swim after she pushed her into the pool. Did Lily really want Hilary to die? Shouldn't that tell her something? Cane has a habit of helping everyone else, and he needs to see that his wife needs help now more than ever.

Needless to say, Neil was pretty upset when he learned what his darling daughter had done to his wife. And it was the twins who told him! Lily should be ashamed of herself. She was acting more childish than her kids. Is this the kind of example that she wants to set for them? She's really okay that they witnessed her bad behavior? Cane should be disturbed with that, also, but his only concern is for his wife. Wake up, Cane, before it's too late.

Devon should find a more constructive way of healing than throwing money off the roof. Of course, it doesn't help that Hilary seems to be everywhere he is. I have to wonder if she is doing that subconsciously. Hilary knows that she shouldn't be around Devon, but she just can't help herself. As long as they continue to be in each other's orbit, the temptation will be there, and Neil just keeps blinding himself to their feelings for each other. I laughed when Neil remarked that Devon would grow to love Hilary one day. That ship has already sailed, my friend.

Other notable (or humorous) items that happened during the week:

I appreciated the humor this week when, after Nikki claimed that she wanted to permanently hold on to Dylan's hand, Dylan noted that he would have trouble driving to work. That was cute.

A twinge-filled Billy offered his own wit when he compared himself to Adonis, Michelangelo's David, and even Arnold and noted that Chelsea was from the Ratched School of Nursing. I love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, so I had to laugh at that. Oh, and the apple adorned with a sparkler was a nice touch to the comedy.

Oh, my gosh...rocky road ice cream and pickled okra! Not even when I was pregnant. Ugh.

That Cane -- telling the twins to dig around into mommy's purse for lemonade money. No, no, no! Purses are private and the one thing we women claim as our own. Don't mess with our most personal possessions!

Avery's recuperation package for Dylan included breakfast that was not hospital food, a playlist of Dylan's favorite songs, and bad cinema with the theme of aliens destroying the world. Let the healing begin!

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