Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

The Young and the Restless’ Nikki may not like what’s in store, but the holidays are sure to be especially happy for her portrayer, the legendary Melody Thomas Scott. She’s hit the storyline jackpot!

With Claire’s crazy Aunt Jordan still on the loose and finding new and inventive ways to drive Nikki to drink, the veteran actress is seated right where she belongs — front and center. And sure, we’ve had quibbles with the plotline that found Eve Howard’s never-before-mentioned sister waiting eons to exact her revenge on the Newmans. But the end — Nikki under fire — certainly justifies the means.

What’s more, the best is yet to come, for both the fan favorite and her fans. “Nobody crosses Nikki Newman,” Scott recently reminded TVInsider, adding that she “looks forward to teaching Claire that lesson sooner rather than later!”

The unfolding drama holds in store greater thrills than just smackdowns and comeuppances, though. While Nikki is hell-bent on making Claire pay for what she’s done, daughter Victoria will have a very different take on the troubled young woman. Victoria can well imagine how warped Claire’s mind became after years and years of being programmed by Aunt Jordan to hate the Newmans. So we are all set for a major clash as Victoria’s compassion for her daughter puts her at odds with her mother.

Meanwhile, who knows what kind of trouble Nikki will get into as she struggles to climb back on the wagon! In the past, alcoholism is made her vulnerable to even the likes of skeezeball Deacon Sharpe!

As you ponder the possibilities, peruse the below photo gallery that tells Nikki’s traumatic life story.