Steve and Kayla meet a distressed Steph at the pub and ask her what happened. “It’s Max. He lied to me. He’s gone,” she cries. She whines and moans how stupid she feels and hands the sappy letter to her parents. Kayla reads it aloud, which says that Max had to go find his sister alone. Steph complains how she should be with him and suggests that maybe Max doesn’t trust her anymore. Steve confesses that he told Max not to take Steph with him in his search for his sister. Steph is hurt that her father did this and lays into him. Kayla receives a phone call from Caroline, which indicates that she’s in the dark about Max going off to look for his sister. “I have to tell her,” insists a conflicted Kayla. Steve, however, insists that they need to respect Max’s decision not to tell her.
“How could you do this to me?” demands Steph. Steve claims he was just looking out for her. Steph accuses him of interfering. Kayla defends Steve, but Steph doesn’t want to hear it. She asks what he told Max to make him not take her. Steve says he just let Max know that he didn’t like the idea. Steph says it’s too bad, since she’s going with Max anyway. Kayla admits she’s having a hard time seeing why they shouldn’t support Steph on this. Steve laments not having any practice at letting go of his daughter, rehashing how he wasn’t there for all the special moments while she was growing up. Steph apologizes for being hard on him and professes to love him for caring so much. She shares how she’s learned from her parents how to support the person whom she loves.
Max is traveling on a train through France to search for his sister, Melanie Layton. He opens his sleeper car to the train conductor, who punches his ticket and remarks in French how Marseille is a beautiful city. A stranger nearby spies on Max.
Max gazes out the window on the train as the stranger nearby snaps a photo of him. He soon discovers the man constantly snapping pictures and confronts him. The man introduces himself and claims he’s paparazzi and followed him onto the train, remembering Max as the famous race car driver. Max demands for him to stop taking pictures and warns him to delete the photos he already has. The man runs off.
Max later sits and gazes out a picture of Stephanie. Steph then sends him a text message assuring him that she’s not mad and she loves him. The photographer later makes a call revealing that Max the race car driver is back in France.
Back at the pub, Kayla later tells Steve how proud of him she is for what he did for Steph. She apologizes for making things difficult and taking Steph’s position. Steve assures her that he knows Steph was right. He admits he has a lot of faith in their daughter, but has a hard time letting go. Kayla remarks how wonderful a trip to the south of France sounds. Steve wishes he could’ve gone with Steph. Kayla sighs how letting go is hard, but predicts that the only way their children will build self-confidence is if they go out into the world and make their own way. She believes with Steph it’s more about love and support rather than adventure, since she wants to be wherever Max is. “I can relate, cause wherever you are, that’s where I wanna be,” he says.
At the Brady house, Hope is reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to Ciara when Bo comes downstairs and gives his little girl a hug. Bo admits that he feels like his head weighs about a thousand pounds. Hope knows he has a lot on his mind and asks if she can do anything to help. Bo requests a hot cup of “Joe.” After Hope and Ciara head into the kitchen, Bo listens to the recorder in which Philip threatened Paul. He answers the knock on the door to Abe and Theo. Bo jokes how he was expecting someone a lot prettier. Abe laughs how Lexie got called into work at the last minute. Hope and Ciara emerge from the kitchen, where Hope is excited about Ciara and Theo’s playdate today. Ciara says hi to Theo. “One, two, three, four,” he responds. Hope encourages Theo to come check out some toys.
Alone with Bo, Abe thanks Bo for inviting Theo. Bo gives Hope the credit. Abe asks Bo what’s the word on Victor. Bo reveals that he’s stable. Abe asks about the Hollingsworth case and requests to have another look at the package Paul sent to Morgan. He remarks how strange it is that all Paul left was a stash of cash and a generic letter. He suspects there’s a missing piece to the puzzle. Little does he know that Bo is protecting his little brother. Abe mentions how Paul assured Morgan in his letter that he was leaving her something which would protect her. He feels that something is off, mentioning how he’s been a police officer for over twenty-five years and has learned to trust his gut. “That’s why you’re the Commish,” assures Bo. Abe notes that Bo doesn’t seem to have the same instinct on it. Hope emerges from the kitchen with coffee for Abe and assures him that the kids are playing really well. Bo heads to the hospital to check on Victor.
After Bo leaves, Abe expresses how he feels as though he’s being pulled in all sorts of different directions, admitting that he’s not as objective as he should be and he tends to overreact sometimes. Hope empathizes with Abe and expresses how blessed Theo is to have such extraordinary parents. She assures Abe that she and Bo love them and are a part of their lives. Abe stresses that he and Lexie have to see things the same way if they’re going to be strong for their son. He admits that he and Lexie have been through some rough stretches before, but this is different since it involves Theo. He shares how they’re trying to find a good educational program for Theo. Just then Ciara emerges calling for her mommy. Hope asks what’s wrong. “Theo is mean!” she says.
