Dru was surprised to discover that Neil had a half-brother named Malcolm. Neil explained that he had distanced himself from his brother, who was a trouble-maker. When Malcolm arrived in Genoa City, he informed Neil that he had reformed his bad-boy ways. Dru befriended Malcolm, which led him to believe that she was attracted to him. Dru was groggy from over-medicating on cold medicine when Malcolm stopped by checked on her for Neil, who was away on a business trip. Dru mistook Malcolm for her husband and made love to him. Initially, Malcolm believed that Dru recognized him. Later, Malcolm told Olivia what happened. When Dru announced to her sister that she was pregnant, Olivia told her that she had slept with Malcolm and that he might be the father of her baby. Dru considered having an abortion, but when her doctor revealed that she wouldn't be able to have another pregnancy, Dru changed her mind. Rather than learn the truth about the baby's paternity, Dru resolved to keep the incident secret from Neil, and assumed that he was the father.

Nina informed Ryan that she was pregnant, which prompted him to marry her. Soon after the wedding, Nina miscarried. Nina worried that Ryan would want to end their marriage, but he made it clear he wanted to continue being her husband.

Brad Carlton sought legal help after Traci refused to let him see his daughter, Colleen. The judge ruled that Brad could have supervised weekly visits with Colleen in New York until after the case was reviewed. While Brad was in New York, Traci phoned him at his hotel. She was angered when Lauren answered the phone. Traci tried to prevent Brad from seeing Colleen, but the judge ordered her to bring the child to Genoa City for bi-monthly visits. After making love to Lauren, Brad suffered a heart incident, which forced him into temporary hospitalization. Worried about Brad's health, Traci risked her marriage to Steve Connelly so that she be with Brad. After Brad recovered, he made it clear to Traci that there was no chance for them to reconcile. Traci accepted the news and returned to her marriage in New York City. Lauren proposed marriage to Brad, but soon realized that he wasn't interested in making a lifetime commitment.

John Abbott was too embarrassed to tell Jill that he was suffering from impotence. Feeling rejected and shut out, Jill started an affair with Jed Sanders, the contractor who was making improvements on their home. To Jill's dismay, Mamie discovered the affair. To protect John, Mamie told him about the affair. Meanwhile, Jed also began seeing Nikki. When Nikki learned of Jill's affair with Jed, she broke off their romance. Soon after, Jed left town. John told Jill that he wanted a divorce and a bitter custody battle over their son Billy ensued. During the custody fight, the judge ruled that Jill could remain in the Abbott house.

Katherine Chancellor's maid Esther fell for a con man named Norman Peterson after she answered his ad in the Chronicle's personals column. After a whirlwind romance, Esther married Norman and he moved into the Chancellor estate. Norman's primary reason for getting involved with Esther was so that he could rob Katherine. While Norman was trying to break into Katherine's safe, he was interrupted by Katherine's husband, Rex. Startled, Norman shot and killed Rex. The police apprehended Norman and arrested him for Rex's murder.