"Surprise!"

Olivia, scared out of her skin, pulled the vodka glass away from her mouth and spun around to find her friends and family grinning at her (with presents in hand, no less) like they were posing for a picture. But then they saw the glass in her hand, and suddenly, one by one, the smiles faded. The camera panned across all eight shocked and disbelieving faces (Sean, Caitlin, Jude, Tobias, Rose, Bette, AJ, and Annie) like suspects in an old murder-mystery (or March, when Francesca was killed). Jude's worry and embarrassment, Rose's discomfort, Bette's glassy-eyed bewilderment, and AJ's disbelief were the best, but nothing topped Annie's gloating smirk.

Breaking the tension (or perhaps adding to it), Annie slipped into a breathy "For She's A Jolly Good Fellow" that reminded me of Marilyn Monroe singing, "Happy birthday, Mr. President...", but was silenced by Bette before she was able to tear everything down. When everyone began asking at once what was going on, Olivia denied that she was drinking, but they'd already figured it out.

Tobias chimed in that he thought Olivia had stopped drinking, but AJ, forever the defender (but maybe not anymore?), rushed to her side, saying that the whole room was jumping to conclusions. Olivia agreed, then switched the subject, suggesting that everyone play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but with a slightly different voice than normal. 'Okay,' I thought, 'she's drunk.'

As Annie looked on gleefully, AJ asked Olivia to confirm that there was no liquor in the glass. I thought she'd drink it all and say "There isn't now," or "Well, now you'll never know," but instead she launched into what was probably my favorite part of the party.

Her face brightened. "Oh, we're going to play a new game, ar we? What is Olivia drinking? Well, let's see now. It's liquid. It is clear. So is it mineral water...or vodka?"

"This is nothing to joke about, Mom," Caitlin ptched in.

Olivia looked at her solemnly: "It's the only thing I have left, isn't it?" She elected AJ to be the official taster. But before he could, she stopped the game herself by saying, "And lest anyone think that I actually should be holding this for some drunk who's just stepped out for one little minute..." She raised her glass and, with a cold look on her face, spitefully downed the contents.

"Don't you remember how hard it was for all of us when you were drinking?" Sean asked. "I don't have to," Livvy sneered. "I have YOU to remind me." She attempted to assure the crowd that it was just an occasional social cocktail. Yeah, Livvy. Before noon, all by yourself. Bette offered to pour her some tea, but she snidely objected. Tobias, hoping to lighten the mood, piped up that he would like some. Then, I guess in some half-baked attempt to change the subject, he began prattling on about Parliament studying methods to dissolve the monarchy... I don't know where it came from, but it was a much-needed laugh.

While Jude offered comfort to Caitlin, who stared off with tears in her eyes, AJ stopped Olivia at the drink cart. "Surely you weren't having another?" Of course, she was, so he yanked her off into the foyer to jog her memory to the tune of everything that was at stake here. She finally gave in and promised she'd stop..."just not right now."

In the living room, Annie sucked up to Tobias, and Bette, Sean, and Caitlin tried to figure out why this was happening. But the answer was right in the room with them. From the beginning, Amy had been quietly watching from the stairs, and had since slithered down among the group. She had a series of flashbacks regarding Annie and her apparent desperation to see Mrs. Moreau. She began to put two and two together (no dumb jokes, please!), and suddenly it was all clear: Annie!

Annie slinked over to her, and they had an interesting little convo loaded with "Keep-your-mouth-shut" subtext. Amy backed off. (And boy was it fun to see Annie scare the wits out of her!)

Rose brought out the cake, and the "Happy Birthdays that went around were not so festive, to say the least. Annie made several mental sarcastic comments while Olivia segued into a teary, sugary "I love you all" speech. It looked for a minute like seeing everyone here got her thinking that she really could stop drinking again, but the drink cart caught her sight AGAIN. She rushed over to it, whooping that it was high time for a b-day toast, and turned the glass up another time. In the background, Annie couldn't get enough of this.

A little later, AJ decided that the party was over (did it ever really start?). Jude agreed, snatching Annie out with him. Amy went over to Sean to, um...be there for him, but now thoroughly soused Livvy grabbed her arm. They had, she said, "unfinished business." Everyone looked on while Olivia exposed her for a "lying, sneaky little tramp you really are." She managed to bounce off a few other zingers, including "streetwalker," before Sean took Amy away.

AJ tried to stop Livvy when she went for the bottle again, but she threw a screaming fit. Bette entered the fray and grabbed the glass from Livvy's hand, but that's about all she did before the drunk yelled that she knew what Bette was up to (referring to AJ) and that Bette would never take anything from her again. (Did she take something before?) Then, she did something you just don't do: She slapped Bette.

Olivia spat that Bette is not her friend, and she's trying to steal AJ from her. Bette denied it, of course, but Livvy had her pegged. She gave her the 'you-look-me-in-the-eye' treatment and Bette couldn't answer. They had words, and it ended with Bette storming out, their friendship over.

AJ demanded that Olivia stop this immediately. "No one's forcing you to watch," she commented. He took a long, hard look at her. "No. No one is." He turned and left.

Olivia's birthday party was one of my favorite SB memories now. Everything was so well-done. The facial expressions were priceless. The smiles deflating into worry when the guests yelled "Surprise" and Olivia's almost evil glare when she gulped down the vodka, ending the guessing game. If you watched Caitlin during the whole terrible event, from the moment Olivia swigged down the first glass to the moment she left, she seemed to be slowly descending into a nervous breakdown. She didn't take the lead in the situation, but Kam Heskin offered terrific support. Randy Spelling (who has been great lately) was even better than usual, and I was glued to the screen whenever Gordon Thomson spoke. Kathleen Noone was beautiful, especially her 'you'll regret this in the morning' speech. And, as always, Sarah Buxton was deliciously devilish. But, of course, most of the credit goes to Lesley-Anne Down. There's not much that I can say about her performances recently that I haven't already said, except maybe that she's getting better every week. (And she's so funny drunk!)

MOMENT OF THE WEEK HOSTED BY: Duante