Max hands out bottled water to Salem citizens at the pub and notes how packed the place is. Steve and Kayla soon arrive, where Steph asks about Joe. Kayla assures her that Joe’s fine, and the emergency generator went on at the hospital right away. Steve jokes how Joe’s doing one-armed pushups in his incubator. Steph suggests having a huge party when Joe comes home. Max announces that he’ll need help finding his sister. Kayla is stunned to hear Max has a sister. Steve implores him to start from the beginning.
Max and Stephanie sit down with Steve and Kayla, where Max confesses to breaking into Trent’s hotel room. Kayla quietly chews him out for taking a big risk. Steve and Kayla agree to help Max find his sister, assuring him that he’s family. Kayla wishes he would’ve come to them sooner, expressing how concerned they’ve been about him. Max admits that he hasn’t told Ma everything yet. Kayla encourages him to talk to Caroline. After Max leaves the table, Steph thanks her parents for going easy on Max and refers to Trent as a creep. Steve urges Steph to stay away from Trent, but Steph can’t do that. She displays the number that Max called from Trent’s cell phone. Steve notes that it’s in Europe and proceeds to make a few calls to see if he can get an address to go with it. Kayla wishes Max wouldn’t have waited so long to tell them and hopes that it all works out for him. Max approaches Caroline and needs to tell her something else about his biological father.
E.J. encounters Nicole outside the pub, but she tries to blow him off. He wants to talk about what happened last night. “What’s there to talk about? It was sex. No big deal,” she shrugs. He begs to differ and asks her not to pretend. Their moment is interrupted when Trent arrives. Trent gives an uncomfortable Nicole a kiss on the cheek. He claims that Nicole’s an old friend. E.J. introduces himself and reveals that he’s a lawyer. Trent expresses interest in hiring a new attorney. E.J. hands him a business card and asks what Trent does. Trent reveals that he’s dean of the physics department at Salem U. E.J. questions how Trent and Nicole know each other. Trent claims they go way back and met at a time when he was working on his dissertation for his Ph.D. Nicole agrees to “catch up” with Trent, so E.J. goes inside.
After E.J. heads inside, Trent asks Nicole who he is. Nicole claims he’s her lawyer. Trent suspects something more, noting how they looked as though they were discussing something more intimate. Nicole claims she’s had some legal problems, which are none of his business. “Of course it is, Nikki. Everything you do is my business,” he taunts. Nicole demands to know what he wants. He wants them to reconnect, but it won’t happen as long as she’s involved with another man. He orders her to end her relationship with E.J. immediately.
Back inside, Steve calls someone named Bill and asks him to trace a number. Nearby, Kayla worries about Max getting hurt by pursuing his sister.
Caroline and Max sit down at a table, where Max informs her that his biological father is Trent Robbins, who works at Salem U. as a dean. A stunned Caroline realizes why he looks so familiar, revealing that she and Shawn met him briefly years ago when they adopted Max. He fills her in on finding the photo of the girl and calling a number from Trent’s cell phone. He deduces that if Trent’s the girl’s father, then she’s his half-sister. Caroline encourages him to find his sister, insisting that family’s important. “Ma, you’re my family. I’m so lucky to have you,” he declares as he embraces her.
Steve and E.J. are sitting at a table together, where Steve asks him who the guy with Nicole is. E.J. reveals that his name is Trent Robbins and wonders if Steve knows him. “Not yet,” replies Steve. Back outside, Nicole insists that there’s nothing going on between her and E.J. and doesn’t understand why he’s doing this to her. “Because I can,” responds a smug Trent.
Back inside, Max and Caroline approach Steph and Kayla, where Max reveals that he told his ma the whole story. Caroline thinks Max should find his sister. Steve joins the gang and says he’s waiting for a call back on the number which Max called on Trent’s cell phone. Caroline suggests they ask Trent, noting how he’s outside talking with Nicole. Steve soon gets off the phone and reveals that the number is registered to a woman named Melanie Layton.
“I want you to cut all ties with E.J.,” orders Trent. “No,” refuses Nicole. He warns her to talk to E.J. Otherwise, she won’t like the consequences. She goes back inside and faces E.J., who asks where her friend went. Nicole claims he had to leave. E.J. invites her to sit down and talk about it. She remarks how special last night was and how she doesn’t regret one moment, but it can never happen again. She refers to him as amazing and someone who deserves to be happy, which is why their relationship needs to stay strictly professional.
Abe, Roman, and Bo are at the police station, where Abe states that Paul Hollingsworth’s disappearance is the key to cracking the whole dock war case. Bo believes John is behind it. Roman, however, believes it could just as easily be Philip. Morgan soon arrives. Roman displays the letter which was found in Paul’s suitcase. He hands the letter to Morgan, but says they will need it back since it’s evidence. Philip listens from outside the door as they discuss the possibilities of where Paul went. Roman brings up Chloe’s claim of seeing Paul on the pier the night of the warehouse fire. Morgan insists that Chloe’s lying, and the only reason she said that was because she’s jealous of her relationship with Philip. Bo questions Morgan about her relationship with Philip. Morgan doesn’t believe it has anything to do with the case against Paul. Bo states that they have to explore all possibilities. Philip enters and asks what’s going on and asks Morgan if she’s okay. Morgan claims she’s fine. Philip reveals that Lucas was arrested last night and he’s there to meet with the lawyer. Bo tells him to wait outside, but Philip doesn’t think Morgan should alone. Morgan assures him she’s okay.
