Bo and Gabrielle's Story

Backstory: When Gabrielle got out of prison, she and Al were desperately poor, living in one room, with Al working two jobs because no one would hire his ex-con mother. Asa found them and offered Gabrielle a great deal: if she would marry him and team up with him to take Max down, she would have access to his fortune. Gabrielle, extremely angry with Max for deserting her, gladly accepted his offer. Their plan was for Gabrielle to seduce Max, get their affair on tape, and then fake Asa's death. The affair would be used as evidence that Max killed Asa because he wanted Gabrielle all to himself. The video-taped affair did go according to plan, but Gabrielle fell in love with Max in the process, and she couldn't go through with it. She pretended that Asa planned the whole set-up on his own. She managed to convince Max that she wasn't involved but rather that she had accidentally stumbled across the tape, listened in on his phone calls, and figured out his plan. Gabrielle and Max decided to turn the tables on Asa and kill him for real. However, before they could go through with their plans, Asa actually did die. Max and Gabrielle were prime suspects in Asa's murder. However, they were determined to find the real murderer, and they set off for St. Blaze's island. Bo and Hank went to the island, as well, to find Alex Olanov, whom they suspected of killing Asa. Alex was indeed on the island, and she had found Asa alive -- he had faked his own death and set Max and Gabrielle up for it since he found out that they had planned to kill him for real. Alex blackmailed Asa to marry her, or else she would tell Bo that Asa was really alive. Asa tricked her into marrying Cpt. Jeb Stuart, an old janitor on the island. Bo, Hank, Max, and Gabrielle all walked in on the wedding, discovering that Asa had faked his own death. Asa revealed to Max that not only did Gabrielle know about the plan from the start, but she was part of the plan all along. Max was furious and could not forgive her. Al found out that the only reason his mother married Asa was so that she could hurt his father, and he turned his back on her as well.

In the aftermath of Asa's getting caught for faking his own death, he throws Gabrielle out onto the streets with nothing but the clothes on her back and a few nickels to rub together. Gabrielle went to the Palace for a meal, telling Renee that, as she was still Mrs. Asa Buchanan, she has every right, and the money, to dine there. Renee refuses to serve her, and Asa arrives to announce that their pren-up was worthless and Gabrielle wasn't getting a cent. When Asa threatens to sue Gabrielle for fraud and conspiracy, Bo arrives and tells Asa that all of his assets are frozen. Asa is furious, and leaves to get them "thawed out," but in an effort to rub her face in her defeat, Asa offers to take Gabrielle to the homeless shelter. Bo announces that Gabrielle will be living with him. Everyone at the Palace gives Bo a hard time about letting Gabrielle live with him. They all warn him that he's crazy for even thinking about it, and they swear that he'll live to regret it. Bo brings Gabrielle home to his place, and she is impressed with the decor. He offers her the guest bedroom down the hall from his own. Gabrielle thanks Bo for his invitation and gives him the opportunity to rescind it. She knows that he only asked her in to get back at Asa, and Bo doesn't deny it. Gabrielle begins to leave to go to the shelter, and when Bo doesn't stop her, Gabrielle says that she doesn't really want to go. She asks if he has a friend who could take her in and give her some time to make some money before charging her rent, but Bo refuses to play this game with her -- he wants her to stay, and that's final. Overcome with gratitude, she tries to thank him with a hug, but he stumbles back awkwardly. She swears she will cook and clean for him, but he doesn't want that -- he wants her to find a job. For weeks, Gabrielle tries her hardest to get a job. She tries to get a job at the Palace, but Renee refuses. She tries to get a job with Viki as a secretary, but Viki refuses. She tries to get a job to redesign Crossroads, but Ben refuses. She finds an ad in the paper to partake in a medical study for monetary compensation, so she offers to join that. Troy MacIver wants to test out a truth serum to use on Lindsay Rappaport, but he doesn't tell Gabrielle what she is taking. He puts the serum into a cup of water and asks her to drink it. He then interviews her. While before she had sworn she didn't care about the money, after she takes the serum, she admits that the money is the only reason she's here. She then delves into a long story about what happened with Asa and Max. She's convinced that she must be able to use her body somehow to make money -- somehow that isn't illegal. Troy leaves for the moment, and when he comes back, the effects of the serum have worn off. Gabrielle apologizes for the things she had said, swearing that they weren't true, but Troy knows better. Gabrielle asks when her experiment is going to start, but Troy says it's already over. He gives Gabrielle the money, and she feigns modesty by refusing it at first, but Troy insists, knowing that that's the only reason she came in. She accepts the money and leaves. A terrible accident happens with Al at the quarry -- he and Cristian were fighting over Jen, and Cristian grappled with him right off a cliff. Al is rushed to the hospital and Max and Gabrielle are called in. Al isn't conscious for a while, but when he does come to, he realizes that he cannot feel his legs. He is paralyzed from the waist down. Gabrielle furiously blames Jen and Cristian for this. She is terrified about Al's mounting medical bills. When she comes back home, she apologizes to Bo for taking his sweater. She has been wearing the same clothes for weeks since Asa threw her out, and she was very cold and borrowed his sweater without asking. Bo tells her that, even though he gave her a deadline to find a job, considering what has happened to Al, he's okay with her putting the job hunt on hold. Gabrielle bursts into tears, saying that she has to find a job to pay for the medical bills. Bo tells her that Asa has offered to pay Al's entire bill, but Gabrielle refuses to let that happen. Gabrielle tries to ask Todd for a job, trying to blackmail him with the fact that Todd wanted in on the plan to set up Max for Asa's death if Blair was taken down with him. Blair walks in and says that she knew that Todd planned that, but she's forgiven him anyways. Gabrielle tries to get them to pity her because her own son is hospitalized, but they show no sympathy. They throw her out. Asa arrives to try to reconcile with Bo, but Bo refuses. Gabrielle tries to get a job at the Silver Moon Boutique because she saw an ad, but the store owner tells her that the position has already been filled. Gabrielle insists that she probably has more qualifications than the other employee, but the woman tells her that her business is doing fine; most of the people going to the fund raiser bought their dresses here. Gabrielle tricks her into revealing where the event was taking place. Gabrielle tries to buy a fancy dress with a personal check, but the store doesn't take personal checks, and she won't make an exception. She tells Gabrielle that they're closing, and goes to the back to lock up. Gabrielle hides out in the store until she leaves. When the coast is clear, she undresses and puts on the dress, putting her own clothes back onto the mannequin. When she walks out the front door, she sets off the burglar alarms and races off. At Lindsay's art gallery, Gabrielle tries to meet some wealthy men that she can con into giving her money. She happens across David Vickers and tries to convince him that she owns a design business in Paris that is spreading here to Pennsylvania. She wants to move in on a space for it, but her assets are tied up in Switzerland and she needs the capital to move on it quickly before someone else snatches it up. She asks if David would be interested in sponsoring and she would include him on the profits. He sees through her scam, though. Renee arrives and asks who is conning who because she has a bet with the caterer. Gabrielle and David realize that they were both trying to con one another, and the business deal fails. Gabrielle leaves the party, disappointed in her failure. She goes to the docks, lamenting her current situation and considering throwing herself into the water to end it all. When she hears voices, she hides behind some crates. David Vickers and Todd Manning are meeting, and it's obvious that David is blackmailing Todd with something. David wants a million dollars for his silence, and Todd wants assurance that David will not ask for more money. Todd is merely stalling. Soon the Moroccan police arrive to take David away. David screams at them to arrest Todd instead, because he's the one who told his wife her baby was dead, when he actually just gave it away. Gabrielle hears all of this. Meanwhile, Bo gets a call from Hank that there was a theft at a dress shop. Bo is amused that Hank would expect him to be interested, but Hank insists that he'll want to come down. Bo goes to the Silver Moon Boutique, and Hank gives him a rundown of the theft. He says that a woman came in looking for a job, but she was refused. She then tried to buy a dress with a personal check, but she was refused. The store owner left, and Bo correctly guesses that the shopper had hidden inside. Hank tells him that the shopper changed into the dress and set off the alarm on the way out. Bo asks how Hank knew that she changed into the dress, and Hank says that she left her own clothes behind. Bo looks at the mannequin for the first time, does a double take, and realizes that it's the outfit Gabrielle had been wearing for a month. Hank then shows him the drawing of the thief that the sketch artist drew up based on the store owner's description; the drawing looks exactly like Gabrielle. Bo hates to admit it, but he knows that Gabrielle is the dress thief. On the docks, once Todd and David are gone, Gabrielle whispers to herself that she is lucky for having overheard what Todd had done. She now has something with which to blackmail him. Right as she's about to turn to go home, Bo arrives to arrest her. He takes her to the Silver Moon Boutique, and Gabrielle swears she knows nothing about a stolen dress. The store owner arrives and identifies Gabrielle as the thief, saying she's still wearing the dress she stole. Bo points out the outfit on the mannequin and Gabrielle, feigning shock, swears that she took that outfit to the church earlier that day to give for charity. She then accused the store owner of buying it at the thrift store and trying to sell it as an original. The woman is shocked and wonders if Gabrielle is insane. Gabrielle is hurt that Bo has such a hard time believing her, and he tells her that it's because everything that happened was caught on video tape. They then watch the tape of Gabrielle undressing and putting the dress on herself. Bo wants to keep the tape. Gabrielle finally admits that she stole the dress, and insists that she needed it. She pleads with Bo not to lock her up, and Bo asks the store owner how much the dress was. When she says it's four thousand dollars, Gabrielle offers to work it off, but the woman adamantly refuses. Bo pays for the dress and asks the store owner not to press charges. Gabrielle leaps at Bo with a hug, but quickly backs off and apologizes profusely. She swears she'll never do it again. Soon after, Gabrielle goes to Todd at Rodi's and asks him again for a job. She tells him that she knows what he did with his baby Jack, and she will tell Blair unless he gives her a job. Todd threatens to kill her, but Gabrielle encourages him to do so -- she has nothing left to live for. For the next two weeks, Gabrielle works tirelessly to convince Todd to give her the job. She comes extremely close to telling Blair the truth many times. Gabrielle has even arranged for a copy of a letter, explaining what Todd had done in detail, to be sent to Bo and Blair if Gabrielle should mysteriously disappear. Todd finally gives her the job. At the trial for Asa and Nigel, the judge decides to punish Asa for his fraud and conspiracy with 150 hours of community service. He is to give his time to three of the biggest victims of his crimes -- Renee, Ben, and Bo. He is to serve fifty hours with each of them. Bo walks in on Gabrielle at her new job at The Sun. He is shocked to see her there. He is angry and looking for Todd, who had run a front-page story about Asa buying his way out of his legal situation, and he demands to know what Gabrielle is doing there. She tells him that Todd has just hired her as his fashion editor. Bo refuses to believe that Todd would ever give her a job. He warns her not to get mixed up with Todd, but she swears she's just an employee. She wouldn't work for a rat like Todd Manning if she didn't have to, but she needs to put a dent into Al's medical bills, and no other minimum wage job would do that. Bo suggests that she could move out now and get her own place, but Gabrielle points out that paying a huge rent would disrupt the money she was earning for Al's medical bills. Bo agrees to let her stay a little longer while she gets back on her feet. He doesn't want her to be all alone. The next night, Valentine's Day, is the opening of R.J.'s new club, Capricorn. Gabrielle asks Bo to take her to the party as her date. Gabrielle talks loudly to Max about her new job and the fact that Bo "implored" her not to move out, because he is a kind man. When Max leaves, Bo tells her that he's not happy being used to make Max jealous. Gabrielle doesn't deny this, but insists that she picked the best candidate to do so because Bo is the most sought after bachelor in Llanview. Bo laughs this off because he is single. Gabrielle asks him to tell her about it, but he says they'd be old and gray by the time he finished his tale. When Max finds out that Gabrielle is working for Todd, he is amused because he knows Todd must be suffering with her working for him. Bo overhears Gabrielle threatening Todd that she will drop the bombshell on Blair. He asks her if she's blackmailing Todd, but Gabrielle lies and says that when she said "bombshell," she meant that she had picked out the Valentine's gift that Todd is giving to Blair. Bo clearly doesn't believe her, but Gabrielle excuses herself to call Al. She pulls Max aside after the call and tells him that Jen has abandoned him at a party somewhere. Bo interrupts and, telling her they're playing their song, he asks her to dance. She gladly agrees. While they are dancing, Bo notices that she's upset and he asks her about it. She says that she just realized that her son may never dance again. During a sequence where Blair sings "My Funny Valentine" to Todd, Bo and Gabrielle share another dance, wherein he dips her and she throws her leg up over his shoulder. Bo comes home to find that Gabrielle has set out a lot of food for him, and she hands him whiskey. He asks her if this is a bribe to get him to stop asking about her job with Todd, but she says it is a bribe to convince him that she could have never killed Asa. He believes her, saying that if he didn't believe her, she wouldn't be living there in the first place. Asa arrives, wondering why Bo hasn't kicked her out yet. Bo demands to know what he wants, and Asa tells him that he's there to schedule his community service with him. Bo tells him to call the personnel coordinator, and she will tell him when and where to report, and it won't be to Bo. Asa then asks Bo to tell the coordinator that he put in the hours privately with his son, and no one would be the wiser. Bo refuses. Asa then asks if Gabrielle told Bo that she made all the food. He tells him that he made them himself doing full community service at the Palace that evening. Bo thanks him, and throws him out. He vents to Gabrielle about Asa's nerve, trying to weasel out of his community service. Gabrielle points out that Asa came by to see his son. Bo says he isn't Asa's son anymore. Gabrielle tries to get Bo to understand how difficult it is to be estranged from a child, especially if they are alive but want nothing to do with you. Bo says he can't forgive Asa for all the things he's done. Bo arrives at the Diner for a light lunch, and Gabrielle stealthily walks in after him. She sits down at the table next to him and seems surprised to run into him there, but Bo isn't convinced. He noticed her car at the Police station, and he noticed her following him all the way to the Diner. She admits that she followed him because she wanted a friend, but Bo corrects her by saying they are not friends, they are just temporary roommates. Gabrielle explains that, since she and Bo have dinner together most nights, having conversations with him has made it feel like she did have a friend. Bo is amused, saying he likes eating with someone too, and he asks her to join him. When Bo talks to Cristian for a moment, Gabrielle interrupts to chastise Cristian for not getting over Jen; she still blames him for Al being in a wheelchair. Bo reprimands Gabrielle for interrupting them because he and Cristian were talking about Cristian's future. Bo and Gabrielle sit down at their table, talking about parenting and Gabrielle's job at the Sun. It's obvious that Bo is fishing for information, but Gabrielle doesn't give him any. When Todd and Blair arrive, Blair is nervous that Gabrielle might be telling Bo that Jack was adopted illegally, and she sends Todd to find out what they're talking about. She doesn't like them together, but Todd finds it very interesting. Gabrielle tries to make conversation about sports, but Bo doesn't believe that she's interested. Instead he is watching Todd, and Gabrielle wonders why Todd is more interesting than she is. Gabrielle arrives at the police station to invite Bo to breakfast when she overhears that Lindsay Rappaport has been arrested. Bo is annoyed that Gabrielle has eavesdropped and he sternly tells her that he doesn't want this information leaking out yet. She gives him her word that she won't spread the news. As soon as he is out of earshot, Gabrielle calls Todd to tell him about the "tremendous scoop." A woman named Susan Clipps arrives at Lindsay's jail cell. She does not correct Lindsay when she assumes that the woman is her lawyer. The woman pulls out a recorder and asks Lindsay some questions. It becomes clear to Lindsay that this woman is not her lawyer, and Susan admits to being a reporter from The sun. Lindsay screams at her and throws her out. Upstairs, Susan discusses the incident with Gabrielle, who demands the tape from her, claiming it to be her story for calling it in. The woman leaves and Bo confronts Gabrielle about the tape. He is furious that she broke her word to him, and he expresses how disappointed he is in her, and heads to his office. Gabrielle calls Todd, telling him that she'll bring the tape right over to him. On her way out, however, she sees Bo in his office. She walks in, places the tape on a stack of papers in his hands, and walks out. Gabrielle heads into Todd's office to try and discuss business with him, but he surprises her by making her babysit Jack while he and Blair entertain a social worker at the house. While Gabrielle talks alone with Jack about how when Al was his age, that was the last time anyone every truly loved her, Bo walks in. Gabrielle is embarrassed, thinking he overheard what she said, but he lies and says that he only just walked up. He wants her to sign some leftover paperwork from the stolen dress incident. She is glad that he was the one to bring it, and he insists that it was only because he didn't want to waste any more of the department's time on it. He questions her on "the baby," and they get into another discussion about why Todd gave Gabrielle the job. The conversation soon turns to parenting, but it ends when Todd calls to request Gabrielle bring Jack home. As Bo leaves, he tells Gabrielle she can come by his office for an exclusive with him on Lindsay's sentencing, if she plays by the rules. Asa offers to hold Al and Jen's wedding at his mansion when every other place in town is booked. Max and Gabrielle are fervently against the idea, but Al accepts his offer. Max and Gabrielle discuss the matter off to the side. They agree that they don't want Asa involved, but that they want what's best for Al, and this is what he wants. While they stand closely together and talk, Bo walks by and spies them together. He is on the phone, but he is distracted by what he sees and pays very little attention to his phone call. Later at the police station, Max arrives to invite Bo to the wedding, thinking that Gabrielle would like it if he went. Bo wonders how Max feels about that, but Max insists that he and Gabrielle only share Al. Bo agrees to go to the wedding, and Max says that Gabrielle will be happy to hear it. Gabrielle is at the mansion helping set up for Al's wedding when Bo walks in to confront Asa. He wonders why Asa is doing this for Max and Gabrielle when he hates them, and Gabrielle listens from the door. Bo believes Asa is up to no good, but Asa swears he is doing this for Al's good. Once Asa is gone, Gabrielle tells Bo that she heard what happened, and she thanks him for his concern for her. He insists that he just didn't want anything to ruin Al's day. Gabrielle asks Bo to escort her to the wedding, and he wonders what her motive is -- is she asking as a friend, or to make Max jealous. Gabrielle convinces him that it has nothing to do with Max. Later, when Gabrielle is finishing dressing, she is obviously struggling with her necklace. Max offers to help, but she claims it isn't necessary. She walks off and Bo enters, offering too to help her, and she is more than relieved for the help. Once he finishes putting her necklace on, he tells her he has to go to Los Angeles right away, so he cannot escort her to the wedding. She is disappointed, but understands. When Bo leaves, Asa confronts her about her intentions with his son. She maintains that she has no delusions about Bo, which Asa refuses to believe. While Bo is away in Los Angeles, Gabrielle gets more entangled in Todd's dishonesty. His son Jack is sick with aplastic anemia, and Todd knows that if Blair finds out, she might realize that Jack is really her son. He blackmails Nigel (on whom he has some sort of embarrassing pictures he threatens to publish) to fly with him to retrieve Alex Olanov to donate her bone marrow again. Meanwhile, he asks Gabrielle to distract Blair at the hospital so that she doesn't find out what Jack is sick with. When Todd returns with Alex, he stashes her at Bo and Gabrielle's garret because Bo is out of town. Todd brings the doctor to the garret to test Alex to be a match. Alex does not want to be a donor, but Todd offers to pay her for it. Alex causes a lot of trouble at the hospital, but she eventually donates the marrow. Gabrielle keeps watch over Todd's office while he takes care of Jack at the hospital. Sam Rappaport bursts in, suspicious of Todd and wanting to confront him. With no other recipient of his tirade, he threatens Gabrielle to tell him the truth. Gabrielle swears to not know anything, but the minute Sam leaves, she calls Todd at the hospital and tells him that Sam came by. Sam listens at the door and hears that Todd is at the hospital, so he goes to check it out. A secretary comes in to inform Gabrielle that she saw Sam listening at the door. Gabrielle frantically grabs her things, muttering to herself about how she has to warn Todd. She hurries out the door, not watching where she's going, and literally runs right into Bo. Gabrielle is flustered, saying how she missed Bo while he was away. He wonders what she has to warn Todd about, and she swears again that her relationship with Todd is just business. She tells Bo that she loves her job and she looks forward to it when everything else is falling apart. Bo knows she's talking about the failure of Al and Jen's wedding. He was surprised that Al was faking the paralysis, and he guesses that it was a rough experience for Gabrielle. He expresses his regret that he couldn't be there for her during that time. Touched by his concern, she insists more sincerely how much she missed him. He smiles and admits that he missed her too. There's an awkward moment where neither of them speak, until Bo breaks the tension by reminding her that she had to warn Todd about something. The two of them are leaving when the phone rings. Gabrielle waits behind to answer the phone, and Bo waits for her at the door. Blair wonders where Todd is, because he and Jack were supposed to meet her and Starr in Texas. Gabrielle says she thought Todd was in Texas too, and she has no idea where Todd is. When they hang up, Gabrielle looks anxiously at Bo, who confronts her about her lying to Blair. She must know where Todd is if she was rushing out to warn him about something, and she certainly wasn't running to Texas. Bo asks her to be honest with him, but before she can respond either way, Asa interrupts. Bo demands to know what he's doing there, and Asa said the department said he was here, and he wanted to let Bo know that Gabrielle was sleeping around with men in his house while he was gone. Bo defending Gabrielle, saying she could have over whomever she wanted. Asa warns him not to end up like he did with Lindsay Rappaport; furious that Asa's compared Gabrielle to her, Bo tells him to leave. Once he does, Bo tells Gabrielle he doesn't want another woman to like to him – even one that's just a friend. He knows he's being lied to and he can't let it go on anymore. Gabrielle admits that the man who was in Bo's apartment was there about Todd's son, but she won't elaborate. Bo says if she doesn't tell him the whole truth, she needs to get out of his house and his life. He wants it over one way or the other. She is hurt and says she thought he was her friend, but he insists that they are and that's why he's doing this – because he cares about her. He offers to help her if she needs help, and while she is grateful she cannot be honest. He says goodbye and leaves. Todd calls Gabrielle to the hospital to find Alex before she finds Blair, who has found out about Jack's aplastic anemia. Blair misunderstands and thinks Gabrielle is the new bone marrow donor, and Gabrielle goes along to protect Todd. When Blair leaves, Todd sends Alex to Alaska and Nigel accompanies her to make sure she goes off safely. Gabrielle tells him to never involve her in matters like this again. Bo goes to talk to Viki and finds (unbeknownst to him) Niki. He confides in her about Gabrielle and asks if she knows what she's up to with Todd. Niki insists that any involvement of theirs is mastered by Gabrielle, because Todd would never be involved with her if he didn't have to bed. She throws a string of insults together to describe Gabrielle, and Bo seems moved. He says he was starting to really like her, but he guesses she's still trouble. Bo doesn't know it, but Niki is pretending to be Viki and planning to seduce him in order to dissolve her marriage to Ben. She plants the idea in his head that she and Ben are having troubles in their marriage. Gabrielle is surprised to open the door at the garret to find Alex looking for Bo. Her flight was overbooked and she greedily took a 400-dollar voucher to take a later flight. She takes this as a sign that she was meant to stay in Llanview and find love with Bo. Gabrielle desperately pleads with Alex to go to Alaska like Todd asked and not to try to get involved with Bo. Alex can tell that Gabrielle is interested in him. Bo finds Niki at the Palace. She as just faked a phone call to Ben where she was begging him to not be so angry with her before an abrupt hang-up. Niki describes an intense anger that she sees in Ben that never existed before. She flirts subtly with Bo and thanks him for always being there for her. Asa arrives and demands to know if Bo has thrown Gabrielle out of his apartment yet. Bo defends Gabrielle. Asa tries to tell Bo that Gabrielle is trying to make him think Alex is back in town because he smelled her perfume at Bo's place. Bo suggests that it's more likely that Alex is actually back in town. When he goes home, he is unsurprised to find Alex there, and as Gabrielle points out, he isn't thrilled either. Alex shares with him her brilliant idea to share their lives together, but Bo tells her in no uncertain terms that that will not happen under any circumstances. Bo encourages her to leave Llanview if he is her only reason for staying. She understands and agrees to leave. Once she does, Bo wonders if Gabrielle is going to explain what she was doing here or if she's going to add that to the list of other secrets she's keeping from him. Gabrielle had realized in talking to Alex that what Bo wants in a woman is honesty. While she doesn't put it that way, Gabrielle says that her conversation with Alex made her realize she needs to be honest with Bo, and she determines to tell him the whole truth about Todd. She catches herself once or twice almost lying her way back out and she forces herself to give him the truth that she promised him. She gives him a tearful recount of the events since Asa threw her out. Bo is more disturbed by Todd's actions than hers, but when she asks if she's lost his friendship, he cannot answer and he leaves. The next day, Bo talks goes to talk to Viki again, and finds that Ben has left Niki with a broken vase. Niki implies that Ben smashed it in a fit of anger. She plays up the story to act like he did so because it was a wedding gift to her and Clint. Bo tells Niki about what happened with Gabrielle and Todd, and she is furious, insisting that Bo should get disentangled from Gabrielle as soon as possible, but Bo doesn't want to hear it. Gabrielle is packing up her things when Todd bursts in looking for Blair. Gabrielle hands him her resignation letter and encourages him to tell Blair the truth. She lets it slip that she told Bo the truth about what happened, and Todd is furious that he might be in legal trouble over it and he throws her out. The next day, Gabrielle packs up her things and prepares to leave when Bo walks in. She says she wanted to leave earlier to save him the trouble of throwing her out, as she knows he can't trust her again. She regrets lying to him, and he wonders why she couldn't have confided in him when he gave her so many chances. She admits that he was right about Todd, but she feels worst about being a lousy friend to him. She moves to leave but he steps in her way and they almost collide. She begs him to just let her go. He admits to being angry with her for not learning from her mistake with Asa, and she admits she wasn't strong enough to deal with everything that was going on wit her and she doesn't blame him for being angry at her. She tries to leave, but Niki stops by with muffins she bought at the coffee shop, claiming that she home-baked them for Bo. He thanks her and says that he and Gabrielle will really enjoy them. Annoyed, Niki leaves. Gabrielle is warmed that Bo wants her to stay but she wants to know what he wants. He admits that he wants her to stay, and so she agrees. He is beside himself with smiles when she takes her things back into her room. Niki is so furious that Gabrielle keeps interrupting whenever she tries to get close to Bo. She calls Asa and meets him at the coffee shop. She is frantic that Bo and Gabrielle are getting closer and demands that Asa intervene. Asa doesn't think he needs to until she mentions that Gabrielle was packed up and ready to leave and Bo asked her to stay. Asa is concerned and asks Rae Cummings for help. He tries to bring her by the apartment to have a "family therapy session" with Bo to get him to throw Gabrielle out, but when Bo isn't there, Asa tries to get Rae to tell Gabrielle what a bad influence she is and convince her to leave on her own. Rae is furious that Asa has tries to use her. When Bo returns from a failed attempt to arrest Todd, he is furious that Asa tried to get Gabrielle to move out. He admits that he only asked her to move in with him at the beginning to stick it to Asa, but things have changed now and that's not why she's still living with him now.. Gabrielle is intrigued by his declaration. Bo tells Asa to leave and Gabrielle thanks him for his support. Before they have a moment to talk, Niki calls and says she needs to see Bo alone. Gabrielle returns to the Banner to get her things that she couldn't get when Todd threw her out. Blair storms in and slaps her across the face and lambastes her for her involvement with Todd to keep the truth about her son from her. Gabrielle is crying and terribly sorry for the trouble she caused, but Blair is angry enough to want to press charges against her for blackmail, fraud, and child endangerment. Gabrielle realizes that Blair is going after her instead of Todd because she is either afraid of him or because she still loves him. Niki comes by Bo's and tells him that she needs to go to London to work out some things with Clint about Jessica and Natalie. She asks if Bo will come with her since Ben couldn't go and she doesn't want him to think she's going just to be alone with Clint. Bo reluctantly agrees to go assuming he can get the time off from work. While he makes a call to the department, she has a fantasy about making love to him in London. He comes back out and tells her that he can go as long as nothing important comes up. Just as Niki is hugging him, Gabrielle comes in with her things and she is crying. She is about to tell Bo she needs him, but she apologizes for interrupting. She is willing to wait until another time, but Bo realizes how upset she is and he can't let it go. Gabrielle tells him softly that Blair's going to come after her. While Gabrielle cries by the window. Bo whispers to Niki that he can't leave town when Gabrielle needs him. Niki appears to understand and leaves. She curses her in the hallway, swearing to get rid of her somehow. Alone, Bo encourages Gabrielle to tell him what happened. She tells him how angry Blair is and she plans to take her away from Al the way she feels Gabrielle took her away from jack. Gabrielle is terrified of being sent back to prison, and Bo pulls her into a comforting hug while she cries. Gabrielle comes by Bo's office the next day and asks him if she needs to start packing for Statesville. She misunderstands for a minute and thinks Bo is going to arrest her, but he clarifies that they're not going to bring any charges against her. She is ecstatic and throws her arms around him. He is taken by surprise not only by her hug, but also by his own desire to hold her closer. Niki is spying on them from the door and is furious to see what's happening. Gabrielle is breathless and thanking him for what he's done, but when they go to pull out of their hug, their foreheads come closer and they realize how close they are to kissing. They pull apart quickly, Bo clearing his throat and Gabrielle desperate to press the conversation forward. She asks if she can take him out to lunch to thank him, and he agrees to the date. Gabrielle says she has to leave briefly to make sure Al moved in with Max all right, and then she'll be back for lunch. While she is gone, Asa catches Niki spying on Bo, but she swears she was spying on the two of them together and wonders why he hasn't done anything about it. He wonders why she is suddenly so interested in Bo, and she says it's because Bo is her family and she is concerned. Asa says Bo and Gabrielle are too happy to be in each other's lives, the only way o put an end to it would be to kill her. Niki takes this joke as an actually good idea, and Asa leaves to arrange his own way to get Gabrielle out of Bo's life. Bo walks out and wonders why Niki is there, expecting her to be in London by now. She says she had to cancel the trip because of Ben and she wants to talk to him about it, but he is busy. Niki tries to get him out of lunch with Gabrielle, but Bo is resolute to not break his date. Gabrielle is shocked to find Roxanne at Max's place. At first she thinks it is a maid Mad has hired until Roxy reveals that she and Max are newlyweds. Gabrielle is seriously offended by Roxanne's character and finds it amusing that Max turned her down for such a piece of trash. Harried, she leaves to have lunch with Bo. Meanwhile, Niki scours a closet at the police station for anything that will kill Gabrielle. She considers hitting her with a hammer or blinding her with Windex, but she finally decides on poisoning her with some rat poison. She goes to Bo's office and prepares two cups of coffee. Gabrielle comes in, looking for Bo, and wondering why Niki is hanging around waiting for Bo. Niki says she wants to clear the air with her about their past -- over a cup off coffee. She tries desperately to get Gabrielle to drink the coffee, but Gabrielle is not all that interested in the coffee or the suspicious sudden gesture of peace. Gabrielle is about to humor her and just drink the coffee anyway when Bo comes in. He says coffee sounds like a good idea, and Gabrielle offers him her cup, saying she hasn't touched it. Niki freaks out and shoves Bo into Gabrielle as he is accepted the coffee, spilling it over both of them. She shrieks, pretending it was an awful accident. Bo buys it, but Gabrielle doesn't. Niki leaves, and Gabrielle expresses to Bo her suspicions that she did it on purpose, but Bo won't believe it. Gabrielle leaves to confront Niki on her own. Viki appeared briefly to beg Niki top stop what she's doing, terrified that Gabrielle almost died. Niki refuses to relinquish control, but when Viki is gone, she agrees that she has to get rid of Gabrielle the way Viki would. Gabrielle arrives and accuses Niki of spilling the coffee on purpose and wanting Bo for herself. Trapped, Niki insists that she and Bo are related, so of course she is not after him. They argue briefly and Gabrielle is about to leave when Niki offers her a position at the Banner as the style editor. Gabrielle wonders what the catch is, and while Niki pretends there isn't one, she does mention that Gabrielle would have to move out of Bo's and have nothing to do wit him anymore. Gabrielle is offended and insists that nothing is going on between herself and Bo -- not romantically, anyway. Niki doesn't buy it, and she offers to pay Gabrielle twice what Todd paid her and gives her 24 hours to make up her mind. Gabrielle won't hear any more and leaves, insulted. At home, Gabrielle checks out the current style section in the Banner and realizes how much better it would be under her direction. She wonders why she couldn't bring herself to take the job. Bo comes home and see s that she is upset and wonders what' wrong. She tells him about Niki's offer, and at first he is happy about it -- and then he finds out about Niki's stipulation. He is confused why Viki would try to meddle in his life like this. Gabrielle points out that she probably has a good point because her living with him isn't good for him, but Bo admits to liking living with her. Gabrielle begins to consider taking the job offer, but Bo leaves without a word. Al arrives to talk to his mother about Jen and his father's latest marriage. He asks how things are between her and Bo, and s he is frantically defensive, swearing that she and Bo are not involved. Al doesn't believe her, and she mentions that he isn't the first person today to accuse her of having interest in Bo. She doesn't want to make the same mistakes that she's made in the past with men, and he encourages her to give herself a break. He leaves her thinking about the possibility that she might actually have feelings for the commissioner.