Hart and Dinah prepare to take the paternity testing. Right before the test, Hart was adamant that Dinah answer as to whether he is the father or not. Dinah avoids the question, and says that Cassie just made up the story about her sleeping with Rob. The lab technician takes a blood sample from Hart, and he leaves.

Later, Dinah waves a wad of hundred dollar bills at the lab tech, and proposes the idea that she "fix" the paternity tests to indicate that Hart is the father, and she will pay off all her student loans.

Sean goes to Cassie's house to hide out (this is where Reva sent him, and told him where to find the key) and takes a shower. Cassie comes in after her drinking party with Harley, and gets in the shower with him, thinking that it is Hart!. She is shocked to see Sean in her shower, but calms down when she hears his explanation. They end up sharing some tequila, and Cassie invites him to stay there for the night. Hart calls her from the doctor's office, but Cassie never tells him that Sean is there. She discourages him from coming over, and says that they will spend some time together tomorrow.

Beth encounters Alan, and tells him that she is leaving for a while. He tries to persuade her to stay, and let Lizzie grow up in Springfield. Beth still has a lot of anger towards him for bringing Carl into her life.

Blake and Ben go through this melodramatic act, of him professing his love for her, and she pushing him away, but then pulling him back towards her. She finally says that she wants him, which is what Ben is waiting to her. They end up getting busy on the floor, and Ben holds her afterwards, and tells her that he has to leave. She starts crying, and then Ross comes in the door. It looks like Ben has raped her, because Blake's clothing is torn, and her makeup is streaked with tears. Ross fires a gun at Ben, but misses!!

Blake is actually been shot in the abdomen, and Ross calls 911. She is taken to the hospital, where both Ross and Ben wait to hear about her condition. Holly is also called down to the hospital. Everyone is blaming Ben, as Ross is telling that he raped his wife. Beth comes to the hospital also, and comforts Ben. Ross rushes at Ben, and has to be restrained by the hospital security.

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   TUESDAY      JULY      21ST   

Today's recap was provided by Joyce Rose.

Harley wakes to find Phillip up and dressed. He surprises her with a special breakfast (room service).

Matt tries to get Vanessa interested in him, but she says she's busy. He sees that some of the stuff she's working on is Spaulding company business, and asks her what's up!

Blake's in surgery at Cedar's, after being accidentally shot by Ross. Ross tells Holly he's worried because it's taking a long time. He says that Blake can't die for something that Ben did!

Ben tells Beth he needs to know that Blake's O.K. Hart comes in asking what happened. Holly tells him there was an accident and Blake was shot. He asks who shot her and Ross tells him he did. He tells Hart it was an accident and that he would gladly trade places with Blake, if he could. He tells him he walked in on Ben and Blake and that Blake was crying. He says Ben had raped Blake, and he tried to shoot him, but Blake stepped in front of Ben and got shot instead. Ben insists he didn't rape Blake, but Hart goes after him. Beth steps in and tells Ross that she understands how upset it can be to see the one you love with someone else, but that Ben did not rape Blake. She tells Ross when he walked in on Blake and Ben, that he misunderstood. Ben adds that Blake wanted him too, and it's all Ross' fault, and he'll make him pay for shooting Blake.

Hart then tells Holly that he feels he wasn't there when Blake needed him because he was too wrapped up in his petty problems, but she insists that Blake wouldn't have asked for his help anyway, and it wasn't his fault.

Beth tells Ben she wants him to understand he is partially responsible for what happened to Blake because he could have walked away from her and her life, but chose instead to see her again. He tells Beth that he just wanted one last look at Blake before he left town, and that she would have done the same, had it been Phillip.

Meanwhile, Phillip is trying to get Harley to eat a soft boiled egg (that's all that's on her plate for breakfast)--could it be this is no ordinary egg???? After lots of urging, Harley, cracks the egg open and finds a huge diamond engagement ring!

Vanessa tells Matt she agreed to review some Spaulding cases for Alan because he got tied up, and she's familiar with the cases. Matt says he can't believe she agreed without consulting him first. She tells him she didn't mention the work because of how she knew he would react (exactly like he is reacting), but he insists she agreed to a job without speaking to him first.

Beth tells Ben she has totally accepted Phillip and Harley's engagement, but he hasn't let go of Blake and accepted her life with Ross and their children. Because of this, everyone's life is a mess! He tells her he only went to see Blake because he was leaving town, but she points out that now Blake may die because of it. Ben says he told Blake that he loved her and that she loves him too. Then he says, "well, maybe she'll get better and things will get back to the way they were", but Beth assures him things will never be as they were.

Ross tells Hart he never meant to hurt Blake, and Hart admits that had he been in Ross' shoes he probably would have done the same thing. Rick comes out and tells everyone that even though Blake made it through the surgery o.k., the bullet passed through her spinal cord, and they've called in experts to check her over. Ross asks if she'll be paralyzed, but Rick says they'll have to wait and see. He also tells Ross that he regretfully had to notify the police about the shooting, and they should be at the hospital shortly to question him. Holly turns to Ben and tells him the whole thing is all his fault because of his vendetta against Ross. Hart adds that if anything happens to Blake, he's dead! Holly asks Ross if he can bring charges against Ben for violating his restraining order, but Ross turns around and points a gun right at Ben!

Phillip tells Harley they are now officially engaged. Jenna comes by, and Harley shows her the engagement ring. Jenna congratulates them. Phillip leaves the room, and Jenna informs Harley the ring she's wearing is about a 10 carat white gold diamond ring and is probably worth about 10 million dollars! (an ex-diamond thief would know these things!) A flabbergasted Harley tells Jenna she doesn't think she can wear it! She says it reminds her of how she married Phillip's brother Alan-Michael, thinking that his money would buy her happiness, but it didn't. Now she needs it to be different between her and Phillip. Jenna reminds her she's a very different person from the girl who married Alan-Michael. Harley replies the 10 carat 10 million dollar ring doesn't go with tee shirts either! Jenna suggests that she concentrate instead on the other things (not monetary) that Phillip gives her, like love and respect.

Matt asks Vanessa why she wants to work, and she says she just isn't the type of person who wants to stay at home. Matt asks what she plans on doing with Maureen and she says she'll start a daycare center at Spaulding and take her with her. Matt gets angry, and tells her Spaulding sounds more and more like a full-time job. He then adds that she's in remission, and he's afraid the work will be too much stress for her, but she insists it won't. He admits he just doesn't want to lose her again, but she says he won't, and that she feels fine.

Beth tries to talk Ross into putting the gun down. She reminds him of how guns destroy lives, and how Lizzie picked up a gun and shot someone because it was available. She asks him to put the gun down for Blake's sake, and that of his boys. Hart stands in front of Ben. Ross tells him to move out of the way, but Hart tells him if he's going to shoot anyone, he'll have to shoot him first. He tells Ross that the boys need him, and not to do it. He urges Ross to give him the gun. Ross hands the gun to Hart and leaves. Holly starts to follow him, but Hart asks her to leave him alone for awhile. Instead, Holly goes outside and takes a swig from her little flask! Meanwhile, Ben thanks Hart for defending him, but Hart calls him a pig and tells him that Blake loves Ross, not him, and that he'll tear him apart if Ben actually touched her. Ben tells Hart that none of them truly know Blake at all!

Ross is praying in the chapel and asks God to forgive him for what he's done to Blake, and also that he wanted (and wants!) to kill his brother. He says he's sorry he let hate get in the way of his life with Blake and the boys. He no longer cares what happens to himself, but doesn't want Blake to suffer. Ben walks in and tells him that God may forgive him, but he never will!

Jenna leaves. Harley hugs Phillip and stares in disbelief at her huge engagement ring; what will she do? Will she ask Phillip for something smaller and less flashy, that goes better with denim??? I doubt it!!!!

Vanessa apologizes to Matt and promises that from now on she'll consult him about everything. Maureen starts to cry and she asks Matt to feed her because she has a deadline to meet. Matt goes to get the baby, but on his way out makes a wisecrack about her taking care of business and him taking care of their daughter!

Holly tells Hart everything is all her fault (boy, everyone thinks Blake's screw-ups is their fault!), but Hart tells her it isn't. He asks her if she notified Roger yet. She tells him no, and that she was waiting until they find out more about Blake's condition. Hart says he's concerned that if Roger finds out Ross was the one who shot Blake, he'll go off the deep end!

Beth's mom Lillian asks Beth how she could defend Ben, but Beth insists everyone is wrong about him, and that he definitely did not rape Blake! Lillian replies they'll see when Blake regains consciousness. Beth tells her mother she was going to leave town with Ben for a short vacation, and Lillian is totally amazed, but Beth walks out in a huff.

Frank walks into the chapel and asks Ross what's going on . Ross asks him to arrest Ben on rape charges. Ben tells Frank that he and Blake had actually been seeing each other for several months, and when Ross walked in on them together, he jumped to the wrong conclusion and shot Blake; therefore, he would like Ross arrested and charged with attempted murder!!

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   WEDNESDAY      JULY      22ND   

Today's recap was provided by Vicki Fox

Michelle and Jesse arrive at the art gallery, and are met by Drew and the gallery's owner, Mark. Mark looks at Jesse's work, and flips over it -- he wants to showcase Jesse in a one-man show. Jesse is thrilled, but Michelle is suspicious of Mark's unrestrained enthusiasm. Mark and Jesse go off to an office to discuss details, and Michelle confronts Drew, accusing her of trying to "buy" Jesse by setting up a phony art show. Drew, of course, denies it all. She also tells Michelle that she (Michelle) has no idea how to make Jesse happy. Then Jesse and Mark return. Drew makes a pointed remark about how she hopes that Michelle will let Jesse have his art show, and then Drew and Mark leave the room. Jesse asks Michelle what that remark was all about, and Michelle tells Jesse about her suspicions. At first, Jesse is mad at Michelle, and thinks she doesn't believe in his talent, but then he realizes that it really is kind of strange how Mark really went for his work. Jesse decides that this probably is another Drew scheme, and that he'd better not go along with this. In another room, Drew thanks Mark and tells him how well he did "playing along", and that of course she will pay for the one man show. But Mark tells her to keep her money -- he thinks Jesse's "the real thing", and now Mark really does want to showcase his work!

Josh takes Dolly out to lunch at the diner. She's thrilled to be with Josh out in public. He tells her this is a trial run. They talk about how Dolly is showing signs of gradually growing a conscience, even if she doesn't always use it yet, and Dolly talks about how hard it is to figure out who she really is deep down, since she was always trained to live Reva's life. Just then, Michael rushes into the diner in a panic. He tells Josh about trying to get his research back from Alan, and about Alan's plans to clone Annie. Josh tries to calm him down, but he's too worked up. He shouts, while pointing to Dolly, "We have to stop Alan before he brings another one of these into the world!" This really hurts Dolly. Josh takes Michael outside and tries again to calm Michael down, telling him about how he has an undercover agent at Spaulding who will find out what's going on. But Michael is still upset, and determined to do something to stop Alan, one way or another!

Harley and Phillip are also at the diner. He admires Harley's gigantic engagement ring, and talks about what a powerful symbol of their love it is. Beth then arrives, and orders coffee and sandwiches to take back to the hospital. She tells Phillip and Harley about Blake being shot, but doesn't give any details, other than it was an accident. Phillip rushes off to go to the hospital. Harley gets to work on Beth's order, when Beth makes a comment about Harley's ring. Harley thinks she's being sarcastic, and responds in kind. Then Beth starts warning Harley about what being married to Phillip entails: a corporate wife image with the right clothes, the gory Spaulding family dramas. This just gets on Harley's nerves. Finally Beth says pointedly that she hopes Phillip and Harley will be happy, unlike Blake and Ross. This confuses Harley, until Beth finally spills the details of Blake's shooting. Beth tells Harley, "I don't forgive you for what you did to me, but I have no need for revenge anymore. After all, becoming a Spaulding is its own kind of hell." Then Beth leaves for the hospital with the coffee and sandwiches. Harley goes into the kitchen to chop vegetables, when Dolly walks in. She tells Harley about the cruel thing Michael said about her. Harley comforts her, and tells her that she's very special, one of a kind. This cheers Dolly up. But then Dolly asks what if another clone existed. Harley says, well, then she'd be ordinary, just like the rest of us. Dolly decides she'd rather be special. She goes to a pay phone and calls Alan's office, and tries to set up an appointment to see him.

Meanwhile, back in the diner kitchen, Harley accidentally drops her ring into the garbage disposal, and when she finally retrieves it, it's pretty crumpled up. She shows the ring to Selena, who says it's fixable. Just then, Phillip arrives back from the hospital, where he's learned all the details of Blake's shooting. As he and Harley discuss it, he notices that Harley's not wearing the ring. With Selena's help, Harley fibs and says that she took it to a jeweler to be resized. Phillip, showing the early signs of a "ring" obsession, says that he hopes she gets it back soon, because he never wants to see that thing off her finger, ever, ever.

At the hospital, Blake is out of surgery, but still unconscious. Holly has been constantly by her side. In the chapel, Frank has a very hostile Ross and Ben tell him their versions of what happened. The two versions are very, very different: Ben's version is that Blake realized her true feelings for Ben, they made love, and Ross caught them right after. Ross's version is that he walked in on a scene of turned over chairs, a crying Blake in a ripped shirt, and Ben forcefully holding her -- signs to him that Ben raped Blake. They decide that only Blake can resolve this dispute, and they all head toward her room. Outside her room, Ross and Ben scuffle again when Ben tries to get in to see Blake. Finally, Ross and Frank go in. Ross speaks to Blake, and her eyes begin to flutter open!

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   THURSDAY      JULY      23RD   
 

Josh warns Dolly about the evils of Alan Spaulding, but Dolly pays no attention.

Vicky tells Alan there are gaps in the material she stole from Michael's apartment. Without the growth formula, there will be no cloning Annie Dutton. Vanessa walks in and overhears, but Alan and Vicky deny any discussion of Annie and try to hoodwink Vanessa with talk of agricultural re-engineering.

Blake wakes up in the hospital to Frank's questions and a loss of memory. She cannot feel her legs!

Josh meets with the spy he planted at Spaulding and briefs him on Alan's plan to attempt human cloning.

Dolly uses Reva's name to make an appointment to see Alan. Vanessa and Vicky comment on her "uncanny" resemblance to cousin Reva.

Sean thanks Cassie for hiding him. Cassie's only request is that Sean start wearing a shirt around her! When she gets a call from Hart about Blake's accident, Cassie relates the details to Sean (including the names of the people involved) before heading off to the hospital to wait with Hart.

Holly tells Ben that he is the reason Blake is in the hospital and tries to make him leave; he won't.

Frank asks Lillian to run some tests on Blake to determine whether she was raped.

When Ross tells Ben that Blake's statement to the police is going to send him straight to jail, Ben says, "You know I didn't rape her, Ross. In your soul, you know that, and that's what really scares you."

Dolly tells Alan that the reason she looks so much like Reva is because she is Reva's clone! Alan thinks this is Reva playing a gag.

Josh suggests that his Spaulding spy get close to Vicky in order to infiltrate the clone research.

Beth tricks Lillian into leaving Blake alone (she tells her there's a doctor looking for her). As soon as she's alone, she pulls Ben into Blake's hospital room. Blake wakes up and says to Ben, "I thought you left town."

Holly attacks Beth for protecting a vicious, abusive man like Ben Warren.

When Ross spots Ben in Blake's hospital room, he charges in, saying, "Get the hell away from her."

Blake starts to remember bits of what happened when she was shot...but it is still fuzzy.

Vanessa isn't satisfied with Alan and Vicky's explanation, so she orders a copy of Vicky's resume. She wants to know more about this very determined woman who is working for Alan Spaulding.

Dolly says she has proof that she's a clone -- she stole some of the aging formula from Michael! And when Alan wants to know why Josh would have cloned Reva, Dolly explains how Annie Dutton tried to kill Reva in Florida, leaving Josh to believe his wife was dead. Finally, Alan believes what Dolly is saying.

At show's end: