Skye tries to help Emily through her grief over Nikolas, but Emily is determined to work and stay busy until she can figure out a way to get Nikolas out of prison. Meanwhile, Luke remains angry with Bobbie's attempt to help him get over Laura. He refuses to stop wallowing until Skye returns and the two begin to discuss Helena. Luke states that Helena is still alive, and Skye demands to know why he thinks so. She calls Emily and Lucky, and they arrive at the boat to hear Luke explain why he thinks Helena is still alive, likely hiding out until she can take full charge of her grandson again.

Liz prods Jason to not give up on Sam, and to try to find a way to make things work with her. Jason takes her advice, and asks Sam to come over to his apartment. While he busies himself making it nice and romantic, Sam is stopped by Bridget, who asks for her help. Later, Jason is stunned when he answers the door and sees Sam standing there with a newborn baby in her arms.

Courtney and Jax come upon a man attacking Diego on the docks, and Courtney hauls off and kicks the man to try to help. The man manages to throw her off of him and run away, but Diego won't tell her why he was being attacked. Courtney grows exasperated with him, and her and Jax leave. Brook, trying to help Diego, follows them secretly and then explains to them that Diego thinks Alcazar is his real father. Jax scoffs at the idea, but Courtney's not so sure it's ridiculous. Courtney decides that if Alcazar is Diego's father, that Diego is better off not knowing and steering clear from him. Brook runs back to Courtney again awhile later, and tells her that Diego has run off to confront Alcazar. Courtney and Brook rush back to the docks in time to stop Diego from asking Alcazar. Courtney demands Diego go home, and he protests but eventually follows her orders. Once he's gone, Courtney warns Alcazar to stay away from Diego, but Alcazar wants to know what it is that Diego is so worked up about.

Carly and Sonny enjoy some close moments in Sonny's penthouse after Carly and the boys spent the night for the holiday. Steven interrupts them, insisting on giving Carly an examination since she checked herself out of the hospital. Sonny is initially amused by Steven, but soon grows threatened when he realizes that Steven is very interested in Carly, and clearly not at all intimidated by Sonny. Steven examines Carly and asks why she's at Sonny's place, so she explains that it's only temporary until she finds a place. Steven is clearly thrilled that she isn't reuniting with her husband, and he tells her to not bother warning him off again, he is interested in her and knows she's also interested in him. Carly is intrigued by Steven, but also not over Sonny. She enjoys Sonny's irritation at the situation, and his attempt to pay off Steven to stay away, but she also enjoys Steven's refusal to allow Sonny to dictate his actions. Later, however, Jordan arrives and Carly overhears Sonny tell her to continue with the divorce proceedings because his marriage cannot be repaired. Carly is hurt, and immediately informs Sonny that she's moving into Steven's building until her house is fixed. Steven chooses that moment to return and pick up the cell phone that he left behind, and Sonny-not believing Carly-tells a stunned Steven that he hears he and his wife are going to live together.

Emily, Skye, and Luke team up to find a way to drag Helena out of hiding and prove that Nikolas didn't murder her. Lucky is hesitant about the plan, and blasts his father for getting Emily's hopes up on a theory that Helena is really alive. Luke suggests that Lucky doesn't want to help Nikolas because it will give him a better shot at Emily. Lucky punches his father, and Liz arrives just in time to break things up. Later, Liz and Lucky show up to offer their full support to the plan. Emily decides to track Connor down in Canada, and use him as a decoy Nikolas to get to Helena.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Courtney hauls off and punches Alcazar in the mouth, getting his blood on her glove. She later asks Diego for a hair strand, and explains that she's going to compare the two samples for matching DNA in order to find out if Alcazar is really Diego's father. Jax accompanies her to the hospital, and while they wait, Brook and Diego sit at Kelly's and discuss the potential outcomes. Alcazar arrives and asks Diego what he's been wanting to talk to him about, but Diego for once takes Brook's advice, and covers, simply apologizing to Lorenzo for assuming he murdered Diego's dad. Alcazar warns him this is their last interaction, and tells Diego to not bother him again. Back at GH, Courtney is dismayed when the test results prove that Alcazar is in fact Diego's father.

Jason fixes up his apartment for a romantic evening with Sam, but he's stunned when she arrives at his door holding a newborn baby. She explains that Bridget can't take care of the infant, and asked Sam to raise her. Jason immediately worries about the logistics of the situation, and warns Sam she could be getting her hopes up to be crushed. Sam admits she'll need to legalize things, but asks if they can just take that night to enjoy the baby and each other. They give the baby a bath and feed her, and then put her to bed and enjoy the time alone together. Jason asks Sam to move back into his apartment, and Sam happily accepts. Before she can begin to plan a happy family, Jason again warns her that the first thing they must do in the morning is make sure Bridget is really willing to give the baby up for adoption.

Sonny refuses to believe Carly's story of finding a new place to live, until Steven walks into the penthouse and backs up her story. Steven tells Sonny that Carly and the boys are going to move in with him, and Carly is stunned as Steven spins a better tale than even she can do. Carly then tells Steven she decided to just move into the building rather than into Steven's own apartment-for the boy's sake-and Sonny is suddenly stunned when the two run off to check out Carly's new digs. They arrive at Steven's building, and he warns Carly that there are no vacancies. Carly tells him to not worry, and she promptly rings his neighbor and asks to sublet her place for awhile. The neighbor invites them in, but turns on them suddenly, assuming Carly is dangerous because of her connection to Sonny. The police are called and Ric arrives, amused by the situation. He decides to help Carly out, and assures the woman that Carly only needs the place to help Ric get control of mob crime in the area. Feeling it's her civic duty, the woman immediately decides to give her place to Carly, and explains she's off to her winter home anyway. Carly's thrilled with the outcome, but later when Sonny arrives with Michael and Morgan, it's clear he doesn't share her sentiment. He sees that Steven is there, and immediately grows irritated. Rather than pointing out the obvious, he explains that the doorman is worthless and the windows are not bulletproof, and he promptly refuses to allow Carly to move herself and their sons in the building.

Carly stops by Sonny's Penthouse to pick up some of her things and Sonny once again informs Carly that she can NOT move into the unsafe apartment building that Carly has picked out. As they argue, Carly is stunned when Sonny informs her that Durant has declared that John is representing Carly in the divorce. Meanwhile, John meets with Jordan at Kelly's and informs Sonny's attorney that John intends to see to it that John's daughter receives a VERY generous settlement from her criminal mastermind husband, since John now knows where all of Sonny's undeclared assets are hidden. After Jordan leaves, John is joined by Steven. Steven is ALSO surprised to learn that John has appointed himself a committee of one to liberate Carly from her mobster husband. Steven tries to talk Durant out of his intention to interfere in his daughter's life, but John refuses to listen to Steven's advice. At the same time, an angry Carly storms out of Sonny's Penthouse, in search of her father. Later, Michael informs Sonny that Michael found the picture of the house Sonny had been looking at, under the Christmas tree, and believes that Sonny is buying the house for Michael for the boy's birthday. Although Sonny insists that Michael is mistaken, Michael persists in his belief. When Jordan arrives, the amused attorney reminds Sonny that the house IS still on the market. Meanwhile, Carly finds John and insists that she does NOT care about Sonny's money. However, before John can walk away, Carly changes her mind and admits that she MIGHT be interested in having her father help her gain a little leverage where Sonny is concerned. Meanwhile, after Sonny convinces Michael that Sonny will NOT be buying a house for Michael's birthday, Sonny is startled when John arrives with a subpoena for Sonny's financial records for the divorce proceedings. Jordan leaps to Sonny's defense, but Sonny is further surprised when Carly arrives and declares that John has Carly's permission to go after Sonny's financial records for the divorce settlement. After John leaves, Carly tells Sonny that, unless Sonny allows Carly to live where Carly wants to live, Carly will get tough with the divorce settlement. Meanwhile, Lorenzo pops in to Carly's apartment and finds Steven working at unpacking. When Lorenzo insists that he had a message from Carly, asking Lorenzo to meet Carly at her apartment, Steven accuses Lorenzo of inventing the invitation in an effort to re-ignite Alcazar's old flame with Carly. As Lorenzo reminds Steven that Carly runs her own life, John arrives and admits that it was John, NOT Carly who invited Lorenzo to stop by. John informs Lorenzo that Alcazar is no more suitable for Carly than Carly's current mobster husband. At the same time, Sonny agrees to go along with Carly's apartment choice if Sonny can bullet-proof the windows and post guards. Carly agrees and convinces Michael to head home with her. In the meantime, after Alcazar leaves Carly's apartment, Steven reminds John that Steven is VERY interested in Carly, but John declares that Steven is no more suitable for Carly than mobsters such as Sonny and Lorenzo. Then John brings up the name of Rachel and gets a worried response from Steven.

When Emily arrives in Canada to search for Connor, she goes to a carpentry shop to ask questions because of Connor's interest in wood-working. Although the owner of the shop brushes Emily off and claims that he works alone, Emily spots Connor's glasses on the bench and Emily becomes convinced that she has found Connor. After Emily leaves, Connor appears in the shop and the shop owner assures Connor that the inquisitive snoop did NOT learn anything. Later, Emily reports her findings to Liz and Lucky. Liz returns to the carpenter shop, posing as a newlywed, looking for a carpenter to help them redecorate an apartment. When Connor enters the room, he immediately recognizes Liz and bolts, but Lucky tackles Connor as Connor comes out the door. Lucky, Liz and Emily explain to Connor that they believe that Helena is alive and want Connor to pose as Nikolas to serve as bait to lure Helena out in the open, so that Nikolas can be cleared and released. Connor refuses and the discouraged trio trudge back to their room. They are surprised to discover Connor waiting for them. Connor announces that he has changed his mind and is now prepared to help them try to prove that Helena is still alive.

As she bonds with Bridget's baby at Jason's Penthouse, Samantha is surprised when Courtney arrives and even more surprised when Courtney declares that Jason called Courtney to help smooth out a possible way for Sam and Jason to adopt Bridget's baby. Jason arrives before any animosity flares up between the two women and explains that he invited Courtney to come give them some pointers on negotiating an adoption for Baby Hope. Sam is happy to learn that Bridget has asked Courtney to help Bridget get the paperwork started so Sam can adopt Hope, but Courtney cautions Jason and Sam to remember that Bridget is a runaway from a foster home, who may NOT truly understand the finality of a decision to give her baby up for adoption. Later, Jason, Sam and Courtney meet with Bridget at Kelly's. Bridget insists that she is positive that giving her baby up for adoption is the only right thing to do. However, when Bridget says a tender farewell to her baby, Courtney again wonders if Bridget really understands what she is doing. After Sam and Jason leave, Courtney again tries to reassure Bridget that Courtney's foundation would be willing to help Bridget get on her feet if the young woman wants to keep her baby. In the meantime, when Sam and Jason return home with Hope, Jason again warns Sam that Bridget could still change her mind, but Sam is too blissful to listen.

Alexis is stunned when she opens her apartment door and discovers Ric and all that is left of his worldly possessions, standing on her doorstep. Ric explains that, since Carly destroyed Ric's apartment with the fire to get rid of the D.A.'s evidence against Sonny, Ric needs a place to stay and Ric decided that the best plan for Ric would be to share an apartment with his wife. When Ric realizes that Alexis is clearly unsettled by Ric's assumption that he will be moving in with his wife, Ric challenges Alexis to make a clear decision. Ric reminds Alexis that, since they HAVE consummated their marriage, they can no longer obtain a quick annulment. However, Alexis argues that living separately COULD be the secret to insuring a happy marriage. As Alexis explains her history of commitment-phobia, Ric kisses Alexis, then agrees to leave. However, before Ric can leave, Alexis orders Ric to come back inside the apartment and the two indulge in a steamy embrace.

Dillon and Georgie tried to steal some moments alone by going to his room at the Haunted Star. They are surprised to see that Luke is in his room. Luke asks them to be quiet so he can hear what is going on his radio device. It turns out that Luke had a listening device inserted into a flower that Skye is wearing in front of her blouse while she talks to Tracy in the casino. Skye tries to find out if Tracy may know where Helena could be hiding. Tracy doesn't tell Skye anything important about Helena. She makes Skye nervous at first when she mentions the flower she is wearing near the opening of her blouse. Skye asks her what is wrong with it. Tracy tells her that every man in town as seen her chest so she doesn't need to hide it with a flower. Tracy leaves the bar and dismisses Skye. Skye tells Luke she is sorry she couldn't get anything out of Tracy. Dillon asks Luke why Skye was talking to Tracy. Luke tells him that Tracy may know where Helena is hiding. Dillon and Georgie have a hard time believing Helena could really be alive since Nikolas threw her off a cliff. Luke explains that anything is possible with Helena. Skye comes into Dillon's room to join them. Luke tells Skye that Tracy doesn't really trust anyone and that they need to find someone who Tracy trusts. Skye and Luke turn around and look at Dillon as the person to help them. Georgie doesn't like the idea of Dillon helping them since Helena is a dangerous person to cross and she is afraid that Dillon will get in trouble and she doesn't want Mac to find out they are sneaking around to see each other. Dillon agrees to help them. Later in the casino Luke and Dillon stage a scene for Tracy's benefit. Luke accuses Dillon of stealing money from him and hiding it in his mattress in his room. Luke makes an act of searching Dillon's pant pockets and finds casino chips inside. Luke fires Dillon on the spot. Skye asks Luke to give Dillon another chance and not to call the cops on him. Luke agrees not to call the cops but makes him move out of his room. Tracy tells Dillon she misses not talking to him and that is why she comes to the casino all the time, hoping to see him more and talk to him. She suggests he move back in with her at the mansion. Dillon tells her he doesn't want to do that but agrees to move back in with her. He gives Luke and the others the thumbs up when he leaves the casino with Tracy. Dillon and Tracy end up at Kelly's having dinner. Dillon hints to Tracy that he heard that Nikolas really isn't in prison but that his look-a-like Connor felt so guilty he agreed to change places with Nikolas and pretend to be him in prison so Emily and Nikolas could be together. He suggests that they will probably show up at the masquerade ball at the new hotel incognito. Dillon leaves Kelly's. He watches from outside while Tracy makes a mysterious phone call to someone. She tells the person on the other line about Nikolas and the masquerade ball. Meanwhile, Luke hears from Lucky. He tells Skye that Connor changed his mind and has agreed to help by pretending to be Nikolas to bring Helena out of hiding. Skye isn't convinced it will work and is suspicious of Connor's motives. Luke tells her that she shouldn't doubt the power of a pretty face. Luke tells Skye he thinks Connor has a thing for Emily. Luke hears from Dillon who tells him that Tracy made a phone call, possibly to Helena and that they will have to watch at the masquerade ball to see if the bait worked.

Jason brings some more baby supplies home. Sam is very nervous about the baby and how close she should be if the baby wakes up and cries. Jason tells her she will know if the baby cries because she will hear her loud and clear. Sam asks Jason if he is alright about the baby living with them. Jason tells her he is fine about the baby but that he is worried that she will get hurt if this adoption thing doesn't work out. The baby cries. Sam gets the baby and tries to feed her. The baby won't take the bottle. Jason takes the baby in his arms and gets her to suck on the bottle. Sam is touched by how good Jason is with the baby and wishes the baby was as comfortable with her as she seems to be with him. Jason assures her that it just takes practice. Later, Sam finds Jason is still around and assumes he went to work. Jason tells her he lives there too. Jason tells her that he wants her and the baby to live with him and have a life together but he is afraid that in the end something will happen to prevent that from happening in a perfect way.

Jax gives Courtney a tour of his new hotel. They discuss the masquerade ball they are having in the new hotel as a way of a grand opening. Jax brings up the topic of Diego's paternity findings. Courtney doesn't know if she can tell Diego the truth, that Alcazar is his real father. Diego runs in and asks Courtney if she got the DNA results yet and if she did he wants to know what they are right now. Courtney lies and tells Diego that the results showed that Alcazar is not his father. Diego tells her that means that Alcazar killed his real father and will have to pay. Courtney asks him not to go after Alcazar or he will get himself killed or someone else he loves killed like his sister. Diego agrees not to do anything to Alcazar and leave him alone. However, Diego tells Brook Lynn differently. He tells her he will make Alcazar pay for what he did. Brook Lynn tells him he doesn't have real proof that Alcazar killed his father. Brook Lynn had a talk with Ned about her relationship with Diego. Ned showed his disapproval over her growing relationship with Diego since he wants to be in the mob like Sonny and Alcazar. Brook Lynn points out to Ned that Lois is seeing Alcazar so she can see Diego. Lois comes in and overhears them talking about Diego. Brook Lynn leaves them alone to talk. Ned tells Lois that their daughter made a valid point about how Lois is seeing Alcazar so she should be able to see Diego if she wants to. He tells Lois that she should really think hard about what kind of example she wants to set for Brook since she is seeing Alcazar. Brook Lynn meets up with Diego. Lois finds Alcazar on the docks. Alcazar talks about their plans for New Year's eve. Lois stops him from continuing and tells him she can't see him anymore and that she has to be a better role model for her daughter. Alcazar asks her if she is going to let her daughter or Ned dictate how she feels and what she does. Lois finds she can't stay away from Alcazar and they kiss. Meanwhile, Maria shows up at the hotel to talk to Courtney. Courtney realizes it is Diego's sister. Maria overhears Courtney and Jax discussing Diego and how she should turn around and tell Diego the truth that Alcazar is his real father so that he doesn't go out and kill Alcazar only to find out he killed his own father. Courtney realizes that could happen and how Diego would be devastated. Maria tells Courtney she can't tell Diego the truth. Maria confesses to Courtney that she is actually Diego's mother and that he would be devastated if he learned the truth about her. She explains to Courtney about her former drug problem and how she was 16 when she got pregnant with Diego. She explains about how Alcazar was set up and shot when they were together and how she hid Diego's identity to protect him. Courtney decides she can't tell Diego the truth right now. She tells Jax about Maria's visit later. Maria goes to see Alcazar. She knocks on his door. No one answers and she realizes the door is unlocked. She goes inside and is surprised to see her wealthy fiancé, Eduardo there waiting for her. He is furious and tells her that he knows about all the lies she told him about her drug problem and how she had a child she didn't tell him about. He calls her a lying whore. Maria slaps him hard across the face. Eduardo tells her she will pay for that. Later, Diego shows up at Alcazar's to kill him. He finds Maria lying on the floor unconscious and assumes Alcazar hurt her. He tells her he will get her help.

Jax hosts a lavish masquerade ball with most of Port Charles' movers and shakers as his guests. He shows off his newly renovated Metro Court Hotel, which stands on the site where the Port Charles Hotel stood before the tragic fire the year before.

Guests are decked out in flashy costumes, including a Barberella outfit worn by Courtney and bottomless pants, donned by none other than Jax himself!

Sonny can't believe his ears. The announcement that Sam and Jason plan to raise Bridget's baby together is shocking news to Sonny. Michael later tricks Carly into leaving the masked ball and returning home to the penthouse to be with him and his father.

Diego is a man on a mission to destroy Lorenzo and sets out to confront him at the ball with a gun. Courtney jumps in and shares some shocking news with them both. At the same time, Emily, Connor, Luke, Skye, Lucky, Liz, Dillon and Georgie hope their plan to unmask Helena at the ball works as planned.