At Towers, Tammy overhears Lizzie poor word choices when describing to Beth how beneficial baby Sarah has been in helping Lizzie get closer to Jonathon. Tammy believes that Lizzie is using the baby to manipulate Jon. When Cassie approaches her, Tammy tells her mother that Lizzie doesn't love the baby the way a mother should. She insinuates that Jon and the baby might be better off with Tammy after all. Cassie leaves Tammy to meet Jon on Main Street to pick out a tree. When Lizzie returns to retrieve her cell phone, Tammy confronts her about what she overheard. Lizzie tells Tammy that, while she said those words, Tammy misunderstood their context. Tammy threatens to tell Jon about it. Jon and Reva arrive back at Towers so that Jon can pick up Lizzie and Reva can talk to the manager about holding a combination christening-baby shower. When Tammy, Jon, and Lizzie are alone together, Tammy makes a few leading remarks about the happy family, but does not reveal what she overheard. She later goes to Cross Creek and watches the young family through the window. They seem happy, she looks distraught.
At Cross Creek, Reva and Josh help Jon put together baby furniture. Josh hands out parenting advice to Jon while Reva plans a guest list for the christening/baby shower. While Jon looks approvingly at the interaction between Josh and Reva, Josh suddenly remembers he was supposed to meet Cassie to pick out a tree. He leaves in a hurry. He ends up at the farmhouse where he finally meets up with Cassie. She is not angry, but asks that he assure her that she is his top priority. When Reva calls him from Towers with a selection of party dates, he tells Reva that since it's her party, he'll leave it up to her to pick a date. When he gets off the phone, Cassie smothers him with kisses. On the other end of the telephone, Reva doesn't look as pleased.
Mel arrives at Gus and Harley's house where Rick is staying. She has asked Rick that they meet there privately. Rick misunderstood the meaning of her call and has lit candles and chilled wine. She throws him completely off when she tells him that she is asking for a divorce. He tries to get her to stay and try to work things out, but she leaves. Almost immediately Beth arrives. She is in need of a safe place to say since she fells Alan is angry with her. Rick says no chance, but he will take her to the mansion and have things out with Alan. When they arrive at the Spaulding mansion, they find Alan comfy with Doris Wolf. After some flirting with one another, Alan and Doris bid one another goodbye and Doris leaves just as Rick does. Alone with Alan, Beth acts jealous but claims she is not. She warns Alan that it is dangerous to swim with a shark such as Doris. Alan says it wouldn't be the first time.
Harley has been trying to get in touch with Gus. She leaves a message on his cell, saying that she feels sorry about the plight of baby Sydney. She doesn't realize that Gus has kidnapped the baby. When she arrives home, she mistakenly thinks the candles and wine were set up by Gus and that's why she hasn't been able to reach him. When he calls her, however, she realizes she was wrong. When she tells him that Frank will be coming over later, Gus tells her that he won't be coming home because he is on assignment.
Harley asks Mallet to help lighten Gus' workload, telling him he worked all night. Mallet tells Harley Gus isn't working - he ran into him on Main Street and that he seemed nervous. Harley thinks Gus' behavior has something to do with Bailey. Mallet tries to reassure Harley that his sealed file is nothing for her to worry about.
Ashlee got a copy of The Law. Dinah doesn't like what she sees.
Gus runs into Alan-Michael and sees him with baby Sydney. Gus makes up a story about where the baby came from, but Alan-Michael doesn't buy it. Gus confesses how he stole the baby from the station. Alan-Michael calls his attorney to help Gus keep Sydney.
Coop gives Ava a birthday present - plane tickets to England. He tells her Oxford offered him the opportunity to get into the writing school. Coop also reminds her today was the day, one year ago, he hired her at CO2. He asks her to move to England with him - that he'll take care of her. She agrees.
A drunken Jeffrey returns to the Beacon. Mel visits him. She tells Jeffrey about being separated from Rick. Jeffrey warns her that he's bad news - she tells him that maybe that's what she wants. Jeffrey talks her out of making a mistake by sleeping with him. She leaves but asks him to meet her at Towers for dinner and a proposal.
Dinah is prowling the halls at the Beacon with a camera man and runs into Gus. Gus promises Dinah to help her with her show next week trying to get Dinah to go away. A nurse comes in to stay with Sydney while Gus runs an errand.
Ava meets with Alan-Michael to get some work done. She breaks it to Alan-Michael that she's moving to England. She promises to help him find her replacement and will train her. Alan-Michael tells a caller to hold off on interviewing for Ava's replacement - that he may not lose her.
Jeffrey goes to CO2 and runs into Coop. Coop shares their plans for England. Jeffrey suddenly turns into the caring "dad", questioning him about where they'll be living. Coop blasts Jeffrey - telling him he made his choice - and all this is none of his business.
Rick meets Mel at Company, telling her he misses his family and he wants to be home with them. That wasn't the purpose of their meeting - she came to tell him about her and Jeffrey. She's going to open a private practice with him. Rick accuses her of sleeping with Jeffrey.
Gus comes home and tells Harley he's done something, but doesn't tell her exactly what - just as the police pound on the door. He asks her to trust him and they sneak out the window.
Inside the Light: And Baby Makes Five
At the Beacon, Harley refuses to take another step as Gus urges her to follow him. She doesn't like running from the cops. In fact, they are the cops, she reminds him. Gus asks if she loves him. He loves her. Sometimes, Harley frowns. Once they enter the room, Lara gestures to Sydney and tells Harley that she has a lovely child. Once the babysitter leaves, Harley deduces that Gus kidnapped a baby. Harley immediately wants to return her. Gus asks Harley to look at her and imagine that she could be theirs.
Slapping him on his arm, Harley stubbornly insists that Sydney must go back. Gus mumbles that it's fine to take her back and just shuffle her into foster care. Harley softens as she curiously stares at wide-eyed Sydney in the car carrier. She's sucking her thumb. No matter how cute she is, Harley reiterates that they are police officers. He could go jail for this. She berates him for all the trouble he's already been in this year. She doesn't wish to raise Zack and Jude alone. Harley decides to call Frank. Maybe he can give Gus ten years in jail instead of twenty if they come clean now. Gus snatches the phone from her. In her loving wife voice, she explains that she knows how much he wants a baby, but not this way. "It's the only way for us," Gus utters. In response, Harley reminds him that they've been working on a baby for a while now. It just takes time. Gus asks Harley to sit down and listen to him.
Gus explains to Harley that he kept digging to learn Blake's secret about him. He discovered that one of his first missions at the bureau compromised the agents. Hotel security knocks. From outside the door, the officer says that he is responding to complaints about a crying baby. Gus and Harley quietly slip out of the hotel. On Main Street, Gus sets the carrier in a chair under a heating lamp. The child continues to cry as Gus promises to feed her. Harley runs up, and decides that, if she is to be a fugitive, she wants to know what happened during his first mission. Gus attempts to explain to Harley that his sperm isn't viable through weird analogies that Harley can't figure out. He describes pioneers who trek to find the best land but fall off a cliff and never make it. "Huh?" Harley says, and Gus tells a different parable about a sale. All the customers waiting outside the doors for the sale rush in, but they get sidetracked and never make it to the sale area. Harley informs him that if a store hosts a huge sale, it will be a storewide sale, not just a sale area. Lastly he tells the tale of a swim team that swims like mad but never makes it to the end of the race. Harley believes he's lost it. In a leading tone, he repeats, "The swimmers never make it to the finish line." Suddenly a knowing sense comes over Harley. She sinks down and rests her arm on the outdoor table. Hesitantly, she asks if he is sure. Gus affirms that he knows this for sure.
It doesn't matter, Harley tells him. She loves him anyway. He's a great father to their kids, and they can always adopt. Gus feels he couldn't love the boys any more than if they were his own. When he saw Harley hold Sydney, he felt it must have been a sign from God. Taking her was not a good choice, Harley tells him. All foster homes are not bad like Gus assumes. They have sworn to uphold the law, not break it. Gus decides that Sydney is material evidence in a case that he must keep from being tainted or lost in the system. Harley giggles at his ability to spin anything. No wonder the kid loves him. He loves the child, too. "And I love you, too, Ma." Harley asserts that she is not the child's mother...but it does kind of seem like fate that they found her. Harley believes the law is not going to let them keep her—unless Gus can find a miracle.
Later, on a TV screen, Dinah Marler introduces herself and her new show. Gus, Harley, and Sydney sit in the background. Her show seeks out real people and real stories of amazement in everyday life. She explains that she was adopted. Ashlee peeks into Company's windows as Dinah describes the unique adoption story she wants to share with them. Inside Company, she sits down at a table to talk to the family in a televised interview.
Outside, plain clothes Frank and three uniformed officers approach Company. Ashlee attempts to prevent them from interrupting the interview in progress. They walk passed her without incident. Once Frank sees Gus and Harley with the baby, he pulls back his team and listens. The Aituros explain how they first discovered Sydney during a drug bust, how she was given to her grandmother who recently passed away, and how they did not want to see Sydney get handed around in the system. They feel as if they can give her a good home. Dinah wonders if the couple is bound by law to give the child to social services as any other person would be. Gently, she asks them if they understand they are breaking the law. Harley replies that sometimes you have to do things for the child's best interest. Dinah concludes that the two of them believe that it is in the child's best interest that she lives with them. Definitely, Harley affirms, pulling Sydney closer. Harley coos with the child as Gus repeats that they just want to be her parents and give her the world.
Dinah wishes them the best. She ends her interview by reminding her viewers that, "As the light shines on Springfield, let us remember that the light is really in all of us." Stricken, Frank stares at the monitor. Once the interview concludes, Frank approaches Harley and Gus. Harley thanks him for not interrupting the broadcast. Frank doesn't want them to thank him just yet. Dinah signals her cameraman to roll film. She asks Frank if he is arresting the couple. Frank asks Dinah to stay out of official police business, but Dinah believes her viewers how a right to know.
Frank insists he's not the bad guy. He hisses at Harley that she knows she can't go around just taking kids regardless of the reason. He swivels to the cameraman and again demands he cut the filming. Dinah protests that Frank thinks justice can prevail if cameras are removed. Frank defends himself and his officers who are sworn to uphold the law. Aside to Harley, he begs her to be rational and use sound judgment. Harley believes that wanting to place the child in a loving environment is sound judgment. Frank warns her that a judge will not back her up. While the camera is still taping, Gus appeals to Frank, wondering if he ever did something spontaneous because he knew it was the right thing to do. Everyone wants to be a hero, Frank says. Unfortunately we can't save everyone. Not even just one little girl, Gus asks.
Back on Main Street Gus zips up Jude's and Zack's coats. They discuss Christmas lists. Zack wants an electric racing bike. No, Gus says, suggesting that he think about something smaller like a BB gun. "I don't want to shoot my eye out!" Zack responds. Gus knows Zack must have been gotten that from his mother. Zack asks Gus if they are going to get the things they want for Christmas. Gus thinks they've been good. In a playful voice, he tells them that they might get a few things early. "Like a kickboxing trainer!" Zack beams. Smaller, Gus insists. An air hockey set, Jude chimes in. Smaller, Gus repeats. He asks them to close their eyes.
When they open them, they exclaim, "Gracie!" (Could be Tracy.) as their mother sets the carrier before them. Harley tells the boys that her real name is Sydney. She'll be staying with them for a while. The boys want to know where her parents are. Harley explains that they are away. In the meantime, they will take care of her. If a judge allows, they may keep her. She tells Jude that would make him a big brother now just like Zack. The boys think it's cool. Gus's phone rings. Frank is on the line. A judge has agreed to give them the baby pending a hearing. Gus asks if he will have to serve jail time. Gus owes him big, Frank responds. He expects his lawn mowed twice a week. Gus is allergic to grass. Frank doesn't care. He adds that a social worker must come to their home for an inspection. Gus welcomes the inspection. Once they arrive home to the half constructed house, he realizes, "We are in deep doo-doo."
The Aituros clear the cutter. Harley complains that they have lawn furniture in their living room. Gus is optimistic. They are in a transitional phase. She thinks they've been in it too long. Gus asks her to see the vision of them moving toward. She hopes the social worker can see it. She's optimistic but wishes her furniture didn't have cup holders. As they sit in the portable stadium seats, Harley asks if they will even have a bathroom sink. It's on backorder, Gus tells her. A knock at the door sends Harley into a panic that the social worker is there. It's Frank and Buzz, hauling in a new sofa. They deduced that the Aituros needed one since they ate on pillows last time they were there. Harley wonders if this is Frank's new couch. It is, and he tells them to not spill grape juice on it. The men go out for more stuff and Marina barrels in with a box full of old attic items to make the house look homier.
Marina skitters over to introduce herself to the baby. As Zack balances a paint bucket on his head, Marina informs Sydney that the men in the family are a little crazy. The Coopers populate the house with more furniture. Gus enters with his brother, Alan-Michael. He and Alex donate a crib from the mansion after seeing them on TV. Harley smiles. The place finally looks like a real home. Rick arrives with a bouquet of flowers. Harley graciously accepts them, thinking they must have cost a fortune. Gus snatches the card and Rick says he hasn't signed it yet. The card is addressed to someone else. Harley accuses Rick of stealing them from a patient. He says he didn't. Gus suspects the person died at the hospital. Rick shrugs. They were just going to throw them out anyway.
Gus and Frank share a moment. For the record, Frank feels Gus's actions were really stupid. He shares a new father memory with Gus and encourages him that he's doing okay with baby Sydney. There's another knock at the door. It's really the social worker this time. Everyone scrambles to act like a normal family. With a tightly pulled bun and a scrutinizing stare, Ms. Stone enters and surveys the home and the occupants. Everyone smiles like pageant contestants but sweat under her appraisal.
Ms. Stone instantly notices that they are still working on the home. She trips over an electric buzz saw. Gus snatches it and waves it at Rick, admonishing him for leaving it out. Ms. Stone recites a litany of precautions they must take to baby proof the home. Rick introduces himself as the family doctor. If there's a mess around there, he ensures that he made it. Stone doesn't laugh. She tersely responds that she knows his wife and his situation. She wants to know if the baby has a room or if Rick is living in it. Suddenly, she touches an open light switch. The power zaps her and then goes out.
As everyone scurries, Harley checks the woman's eyes, asking her if she feels any differently. Stone has no idea what Harley is talking about. Harley announces the woman is okay. Just as things are about to turn for the worst, Frank comes from the back, causing Ms. Stone's evil demeanor to melt. She knows him. They sit on boards together. Suddenly, now that she knows it's Frank's family, everything is okay. Frank flirts a bit, offering to help her find an apartment. In the end, Stone finds that they are not a perfect family but a real family with real love. She will recommend them for guardianship.
At the courthouse, Gus admits that Sydney will give him a chance to prove he can be a good father. Harley says that he's already proven it. Once the hearing is over, The Aituros wait in the hallway for the answer. They discuss the questions asked by the judge. Harley was questioned on marrying three men from the same family and Gus about his drug use. Mel strolls in to announce that they have been awarded guardianship. In the middle of their excitement, she reminds them that adoption is a long process.
Arriving home, they are welcomed by a banner tacked to the fence. The house is filled with family and friends. Dinah is there, but Mallet was not among them. Gus makes a speech, thanking everyone for being there and pitching in. If it's true that it takes a village, Gus believes that Sydney has found the right village.
Once everyone is gone, the boys are asleep on the sofa. Gus stares at Sydney wondering how much Harvard will cost. He thinks that all the children really deserve the best. Harley places her arm around Gus's shoulder. She tells him that all his swimmers that didn't make it to the finish line don't matter. She loves him. He's her hero. They take Sydney to the window to show her the moon and stars. The three of them huddle together, promising Sydney that they will always be there for her.
Lizzie encourages Reva to go out for the evening, leaving them home alone. Lizzie and Jonathan receive an invitation to Cassie and Josh's holiday party. Reva encourages them to go to the party; after all, she plans to go! Reva leaves to attend a cancer-survivor single's mixer. Meanwhile, Lizzie puts on a satin negligee and tries to entice Jonathan. Jonathan is uncomfortable, but Lizzie doesn't let up. Jonathan avoids the situation by leaving to run an errand, kissing Lizzie on the forehead, much to Lizzie's dismay.
Lizzie is paid a visit by Ashlee, who gives her a pep talk. She's Lizzie Spaulding! She needs to go after what she wants. She comes up with a plan to make Jonathan jealous at Josh and Cassie's party.
While Jonathan is out he runs into Tammy. The meeting is awkward with a small talk exchange. As they begin to walk away, Tammy tries to share with Jonathan what she learned about Lizzie's behavior. Jonathan thinks he knows the issue – he's paying too much attention to Sarah, with little attraction to Lizzie. Tammy envisions telling Jonathan to leave Lizzie and be with her – but she keeps her feelings to herself.
At the party Reva meets a man, Cal, who insults her. He gets shot down by a younger woman, and he goes crawling back to Reva. She puts him in his place and decides to leave, only to run into Josh at the elevator. Reva lets Josh know she's coming to their party. She confesses to Josh about the cancer-survivor event she's at – he wishes her well with a kiss on the cheek – as Cassie looks on from afar.
Josh goes home to find a pile of is clothes on the floor. He gets a call and learns Cassie was at Towers and saw his encounter with Reva and cancelled their holiday party. Cassie explains, the clothes are going to the cleaners and she decided she wants the party at their house. She's not afraid of his relationship with Reva.
Reva drinks it up with Cal. She gets up the courage and invites him to Josh and Cassie's party.
Tammy dreams about Jonathan and Lizzie (in the future) in which Lizzie uses Sarah to manipulate Jonathan. She wakes with a start. She discusses the situation with Cassie. Cassie encourages Tammy not come between Jonathan and Tammy.
Jeffrey confronts Olivia telling her how Buzz destroyed his room, threw is possessions into the hallway and told him to leave town. Olivia is thrilled Buzz did that for her. Jeffrey offers to go to San Cristobel to turn himself in to put an end to Olivia's reign of vengeance. Olivia asks Jeffrey when they can leave. They both admit they're bluffing. Olivia won't let it go. Olivia goes to find Buzz to thank him for what he did to Jeffrey.
Ava and Coop discuss their trip to England as Alan-Michael is nearby, listening. Alan-Michael fakes a business call, causing Ava to come to his rescue. Ava solves the problem – to which Alan-Michael tells her he won't be able to get along without her. Coop watches them together and gets an idea – leave for England now. Ava tells him no.
Tammy runs into Ashlee who tells her how Lizzie has everything and she should quit while she's ahead.
Cassie and Reva share an awkward moment when she tries to wish Reva well on her and Cal's first date. Reva gets defensive when Josh checks up on her and she leaves with Cal. Reva thinks that Cal was trying to get her out of an awkward situation with Josh—but Cal says that he was just trying to get her alone. Cal invites Reva inside. Lizzie gets dolled up, excited for her night out, but Jonathan doesn't notice. Later at the holiday party, Lizzie pulls a resistant Jonathan onto the empty "dance floor." Lizzie tries to keep Jonathan from seeing Tammy, who's stumbled in from drinking with Beth of all people. Confronted by Tammy, Lizzie says that Tammy's being selfish by not letting Jonathan move on. Needing some air, Tammy leaves only to find Jonathan doing the same thing. Tammy tells Jonathan to stay with her, as he pleads with Tammy to leave. But she calls his bluff and the two kiss passionately, on their way to making love. Lillian says she's babysitting Sarah, and Alan asks Lillian to bring Sarah over for a little while. Lillian refuses to let Alan rule Sarah's life. Alan tells Beth how hurt he is that Lizzie wants to make sure that there's nothing "Spaulding" about Sarah. Alan tells Beth he's going to forget the rules and do whatever it takes to stop Jonathan from destroying their family.
