At the cliff house, Hope arrived to visit a sullen Liam, who was sitting on the couch and holding Steffy's ring. Hope said she should have called, and she wondered if Steffy were really leaving. Liam stated that Steffy was moving to Paris, but he didn't know why. He said that, one minute he was married and about to be a father, "and now it's gone."

Liam tried to figure out why Steffy had left. Hope said Steffy had been eager to get pregnant. He theorized that he'd been afraid of another disappointing pregnancy, and Steffy could have been, too. Liam was confused and in a fog. He said that when Steffy had walked out, she'd convinced herself that she knew what he needed and who'd make him happier. "What do you think, Liam?" Hope asked.

Liam wondered how Steffy could do it. Hope said that part of her had always felt that she could give Liam what Steffy never could. Hope wasn't referring to marriage and a family but to the way she loved him. Hope figured he was still in shock about Steffy's departure, but Hope reminded him that before his marriage, he and Hope had been outside the cliff house, preparing to exchange vows.

Liam flashed back to the moment Hope had spoken of. Hope stated that Steffy had arrived with the baby news, and Liam and Steffy had done what they'd needed to do. "But here we are again, and I can't help but feel that things turned out as they were intended. Our time is now," Hope uttered.

At the loft, Katie banged on the door and refused to go away. When Steffy opened the door, Katie entered, asserting that Steffy didn't really want to leave town. Steffy told Katie that Liam and Hope could never know Steffy couldn't have children. Katie called that unfair, and Steffy added that none of it was fair. Steffy found it unfair that a procedure had made her, a woman in her twenties, barren.

Katie suggested adoption, but Steffy wouldn't hear of it. Empathizing with Steffy, Katie recalled her darker days when she'd also wanted to run away. Steffy said that she wasn't running away; she'd robbed Liam and could never return what she'd taken from him. Steffy sobbed that she could never have Liam's child, but someone else could.

Katie thought Steffy should let Liam decide, but Steffy was sure that Liam would stick by her and pretend to be happy; however, his heart would break every time he saw a father with a stroller. Steffy refused to tie herself to Liam and become an obligation to him. Katie said Liam wouldn't think that. Steffy, however, knew that he'd think it, but he just wouldn't say it.

Steffy felt that she'd never be the same woman she'd been before the accident. She wanted to scream because it seemed as if something had been ripped out of her. She exclaimed that something really had been ripped from her, but she wouldn't take Liam down with her.

Katie figured that Steffy wasn't thinking clearly in her depression, and Steffy needed to call her mother. Steffy didn't want to, and she murmured that it was her punishment. Katie asked Steffy not to blame herself because it had been an accident, and Steffy couldn't change it.

Steffy said that was why she was leaving. She quipped that there was no more white picket fence for her, but Hope could have it. Katie ordered Steffy to stop thinking about Hope. Steffy said Hope was the point, and Steffy was passing off the torch to the woman who'd give Liam what he needed.

Later, Steffy buckled herself into an airplane seat and sobbed as she prepared for takeoff.

At Rick's house, the underwear-clad Caroline swore she hadn't known anything about what Bill had done. She offered to call Bill over there to straighten things out, but Rick said no one was stopping by his house. He wanted to be alone with Maya, and he told Caroline that she had to leave.

"You're kicking me out like this?" Caroline asked, referring to her attire. Handing her a dress, Rick said he didn't want to hurt her. To him, it didn't matter if she hadn't known what Bill had done because she and Rick had been pulling apart for a while, and Caroline knew how he felt about Maya.

Rick stated that Caroline was beautiful and fun, and she'd make someone happy one day. It just wouldn't be him. Caroline asked if that was it, and if Rick was with "her now." Rick said that he was, and Caroline figured life at the office would be awkward. "It'll never last," Caroline bit out and left.

Once alone with Rick, Maya said he'd finally ended it with Caroline, and he'd been nice about it. Rick asked how Bill had been able to blackmail the exonerated Maya. Maya explained that her prison release had stipulated that she wasn't allowed to be near her former lover, Jesse; however, Jesse had shown up at the club the other night, and Bill had gotten Alison to photograph Maya and Jesse.

Maya claimed she'd only spoken to Jesse because he'd deserved to know what had become of their daughter. She said Bill would try to make a scandal of it, and she could be returning to prison. Rick thought Bill and Alison should be the ones going to jail for stalking. Maya doubted that would happen.

Rick hugged Maya. He was proud of her for not being intimidated. Maya asked how they could make Hope for the Future clients proud if Bill's plan worked. Rick thought it could make the customers admire Maya even more. He laughed, saying that they'd sell out of "Free Maya" tee shirts.

The two kissed, and Maya thanked Rick for not being upset with her. Rick claimed to admire her for giving their relationship a chance instead of giving in to Bill's threats. Rick was in awe because she'd stood up to Bill. Maya said she couldn't give up on Rick, no matter the consequences. Rick assured her that they'd deal with Bill together. With a kiss, Rick asked Maya to trust him.