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Audra comes down the steps of Nate’s penthouse and gives him a peck on the cheek. She can’t believe she slept so long; all these late mornings will throw her internal clock out of whack. Nate plans to make the most of her free time and suggests she savor the downtime before heading back to work. She says she’s enjoyed their leisure time and even dinner with his family. When there is a knock at the door, she hopes it isn’t family breakfast. It’s Amy. Audra tells her how much she got out of her holiday with Nate, and he tells Amy that’s a big deal coming for her. Amy advises Audra to enjoy every moment of them.

After Audra exits, Nate announces that he has news about Damien. The PI tracked him down to L.A. He’s been moving around a lot, quitting a long string of jobs. This is no surprise to Amy, who says her son has so much untapped potential. Nate tells her that he will be on the first flight out when they get confirmation of where he is. He urges her to keep hope alive. As she hugs and thanks him, he admits this is becoming important to him too.

At the Newman ranch, Nikki helps Claire put the finishing touches on her outfit and notices something is wrong. Claire admits she didn’t sleep well. She’s nervous because she’s afraid she will let her down. Nikki reminds her that she was the best assistant she ever had. Her granddaughter still worries that her brain might stop working and she won’t be good at her job. She’s spent months talking mostly to a seven-year-old. Nikki says it’s only natural to feel anxious when you start something new. She’s feeling anxious herself. Hearing that makes Claire feel a little better. She’s eager to prove that she can do this. “I have no doubt that you are going to shine,” says Nikki.

Nikki takes Claire into the Chancellor office. Esther is there to greet them with flowers and explains that the blooms are for Claire. She reads the card. They’re from Kyle. Once Esther returns to her post, Nikki asks her assistant what’s wrong. Taking off her coat, Claire admits she’s still thrown by the warning Victor gave her. They discuss how he used Kyle at Glissade. The two of them rehash the details and Nikki urges her to follow her heart about this if it concerns her. She offers to run interference with Victor if she needs her to. Claire thanks her for that. She’s spent a lot of her life suppressing her feelings for someone else’s and isn’t sure she could go back to that. Her grandmother advises her to start living as she sees fit.

Sally and Billy are having breakfast at Society. He’s surprised that Phyllis hasn’t gotten back to him about his proposal to take down Victor. Sally knows she’s been his cheerleader lately, but she worries about this project of his. He thinks her “ra-ra” could use some work and assures her that he has a plan, “And he just walked through the door.” Sally turns to see Jack.

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Sally politely exits as Jack joins his brother. Billy assumes his brother doesn’t want him back at Jabot. Jack says he can find him a place but his brother doesn’t want to be where he’s not really wanted. He declares that he’s working on something bigger and better. He’s going to take Victor’s devious plan and turn it against him. To do that, he’ll need Jack’s help. He wants to cripple Chancellor and buy it up. Billy still has friends on the inside of the company who can help, all he needs is some funding. His brother isn’t keen to go up against Nikki and punish her for the sins of her husband. Billy reminds him of how Victor manipulated Jill and Kyle. This is a win-win. Jack says he won’t get involved in this. This only confirms for Billy that he doesn’t trust him. Jack warns he’s losing his patience with Billy’s accusations that he doesn’t love and trust him; he’s always been there for him. But he refuses to enable him when he is being self-destructive. Billy accuses him of only seeing his shortcomings and none of his talents. “I’m done,” he declares. There is no coming back. The brothers bicker about how they spin their issues and Billy gets more sarcastic. He says he’s fully accepted that he’s on his own now. It’s exciting not to care about what anyone thinks. When Jack asks if he’s disowning him and no longer wants to be part of the family, Billy confirms it. Once Jack leaves, Billy sits at the bar and sends Sally a text, asking to meet.

Sally meets up with Audra at Crimson Lights. They talk about their late nights and Sally is impressed that her friend even manages to crack a joke about Glissade. Audra is surprised to hear that Sally sent Billy off to help Phyllis last night. Sally makes it clear that he made his way back to her door by the end of the night. When Audra fills her in about her night with Nate’s family, she admits she cried, which makes no sense to her. The Spectra wonders if the tears were a calculated manipulation on her part. Audra admits the tears were real and no one was more surprised by that than she was, not that this means she’s going to start weeping at sappy movies. Audra admits that Nate’s caring is scaring her. Sally wonders what’s happened to the “invincible Audra Charles” and teases her about falling in love. Audra dismisses this. Sally shows her friend the text from Billy asking her to play hooky and is surprised when Audra urges her to go for it. Sally calls Billy to agree.

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At the Abbott manse, Kyle runs into his mother in the dining room. After some chit-chat about Harrison and his elf costume, he asks her about her latest attempt to subvert him. Earlier, he went to Jabot and discovered that she hasn’t moved out of his office. Diane insists she’s been trying to and has asked the maintenance department to prepare her new office. She’s confused because she thought they were in a good place. Fidgeting, Kyle explains that he had a conversation with his father about whether or not she could be trusted. Diane wonders why that’s even a topic of conversation. Kyle mostly believes that she meant well and they have reconciled, however, she spent a lot of time trying to convince them all that she cared more about power than the family. Is it a surprise that he would be suspicious when he found she hadn’t moved out of her office? Diane is upset that Kyle feels this way and feels awful that he’s been hurt by the ruse. Kyle feels it was all too real and raw to be totally fake. Diane takes this to mean that he still thinks she’s the terrible person she pretended to be.

Diane doesn’t know how Kyle can be backing away from their reconciliation. He doesn’t know what to think right now and is trying to be honest rather than letting the hidden resentment build. They have made progress and that means a lot to him. It’s opened his eyes to things he hadn’t seen about himself. Kyle says there is one last obstacle he needs to get past and he’s not sure how she can help him do that. On his way out, Kyle tells his mother he thought it was best for him to be candid. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and exits.

Jack arrives moments later and Diane fills him in about her latest conversation with their son. Shaking his head, Jack worries that someone has changed Kyle’s mind. He tells Diane not to worry and promises they will be okay. “I know I still have to prove myself to Kyle, but do I also have to prove myself to you?” she asks. Jack knows where her heart is and she doesn’t have to prove herself to him. She loves him for believing in her but is still upset by their son’s doubts. Jack says Kyle will get over it but she should never forget she has his support and love. That’s exactly what Diane needed to hear. They kiss.

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Kyle stops by the Chancellor office to check on Claire and ask how her day is going. She thanks him for the flowers and he tells her how proud he is of her; he’s sure she will kill it there. Her first day calls for a celebration, so Kyle suggests dinner. They kiss.

Next on The Young and the Restless: Jack and Traci recall memories of Christmas’ past.