05-15-2017 (Monday) The Amulet

Chad meets with a man, who sells him the amulet; the man says he has never been so glad to get rid of something in his life, as he tells Chad of all the troubles he has had since he’s had the amulet in his possession.  Abigail meets with Dario; they talk on the parch bench.  She apologizes “for always doing this”… calling him, crying, letting him comfort her, sending the wrong signal; he tells her it’s okay.  He says he knows they are just friends, and he’s okay with that.  Just as Chad is sticking the box in his pocket, Hope approaches; she asks him if she can catch a ride home on the DeMira jet.  He gives her a hard time, but gets the jet ready to take her home; he gets a text.  It’s a notification that Abigail has filed for divorce.  He starts packing his bags; he recalls moments from his life with Abigail, especially recent love-making.  Music plays.

Jade continues to fill Tripp in on all the minor little details about Ava and Steve and Kayla, Ava blackmailing Steve into sleeping with her in order to free Kayla, the video, etc., all the while, leading him to believe that it is Kayla he should be angry with – I’m sure, in her own way, she feels that she is helping Steve and Joey, but she may have it out for Kayla too, for tricking her with those fake pills.  Tripp tells Jade he got a good vibe from Kayla; Jade says that’s because she’s so good at fooling everyone.  She says she will be your best friend, and then turn around and slice you up in a heart beat.  Wow.  Tripp gets up and says he is going to confront Kayla; Jade stops him.  

Chloe meets with Dario; he gets her to smile.  He tells her they are two of a kind; they both know what it’s like to be despised by the people around them.  Adrian comes back from her trip; she tells Justin that their boys kept talking about wanting to see them back together.  He swears he hasn’t said anything to them; she says she knows, she asked.  She thanks him for his kindness to her; he tells her he will always care.  He says he may not be happy with her choice, but what is most important to him is that she is happy, and healthy.  She smiles, says she is, and leaves.  Adrian runs into Kayla and Steve in the square; they welcome her home.  She asks about Tripp; Steve says he is warming up to them a bit.  Adrian asks for his phone number; she says she wants to meet this nephew of hers.  She thanks Tripp for meeting with her; she ends up more or less confirming Jade’s story when she talks about their father and the fact that she ended up killing him (in self-defense) and Steve took the blame for it, because that’s the kind of man he is, she says.  Tripp shakes his head, as if he gets it.

Jen asks Abigail how shes’ doing; she says okay, but begins to talk about how upset she is.  She tells her mom she filed for divorce.  As the memories of Chad begin to fade, we see Abigail still sitting on the park bench, now alone; her memories are shown to us – her kissing Chad for the last time and walking out the door.  Back to Chad; he sits, crying on a chair… the amulet is lying, spilled from its box, on the floor beneath him.

05-12-2017 (Friday) The Rescue Foiled

Theo confronts Wyatt again the next time he sees him and Ciara at the Pub; he tells him he can’t let him keep using Ciara and it has to stop.  Ciara overhears, and asks what has to stop; Theo says, her writing his paper… he says it’s cheating and it’s unethical.  She insists the ideas on the paper are all Wyatt’s, saying he just has a hard time expressing them.  Theo says, he should learn; that’s why they are all in school.  She says, she wants to help and Wyatt is going to repay the favor when she is in calculus; Wyatt grabs her and says he’ll repay the favor any time, as he kisses her.  She laughs and Theo gets repulsed.  For some reason, Wyatt goes back to the apartment with Theo; they continue to discuss whether or not Theo is going to blow the whistle about the relationship; Wyatt tells Theo Ciara would only be mad at him, her supposed best friend, for betraying her.  

Ciara is happy to see Wyatt there when she gets home; he says he and Theo were studying.  She asks if he can take a break; he says sure.  They start kissing; Theo comes back in the room and shakes his head in frustration. Sonny talks to his dad, along with Paul; they tell Justin that it is up to them to save Nicole and Holly, and they plan to.  Justin tells them to be careful; he warns them how dangerous Deimos is.  He asks what their plan is after they get Nicole; he worries they could get killed.  He says Deimos is a psychopath.  Justin goes to see Brady; he tells him that the boys are on their way to help Eric rescue Nicole and Holly.  Brady asks him to update his Will; he wants Nicole taken care of.  He also asks him to write up a Living Will (a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order); Justin reminds him that signing one of those doesn’t mean he can give up.  Brady says he is never giving up.

Chloe comes in to see Brady; he wakes up.  She tells him she is sorry, really, really sorry; she says she feels really bad, especially because he’s not feeling well.  She then brings up Holly, and he reminds her that she is Nicole’s daughter… she tells her to appreciate the fact that she has a beautiful little boy and can still have children; he asks her to respect the fact that this is Nicole’s last chance.  She cries and says she knows she drove them to running because of her suit for custody; and she feels so bad about everything, but she doesn’t think Nicole can take care of Holly.  She says she is worried for him too, saying she still cares about him; he takes her hand and says he won’t give up, if she doesn’t.  Later, at the Pub, Chloe says a prayer; she tells God, if he brings Holly and Brady, and Nicole, home safe, she won’t ask for anything else, ever again.

Lani shows back up at work; she says she has to make sure that “snake” gets what’s coming to him.  Eli tells JJ that he is still trying to get something on Deimos; he is at the station pulling files to see what charges he could make stick.  JJ tells him that if he doesn’t get Deimos, he will; he calls Deimos an animal.  A fax comes in; JJ says, “oh my God.”  It’s an arrest warrant for Xander; Eli tells JJ and Lani they are going after Nicole and Xander.  JJ says getting Deimos will be gravy.  Eli calls Gabi to tell her he is leaving town; she gets a little pissy with him when he tells her he isn’t going after Deimos.  Her mind goes back to being locked in the meat locker with Chad.  When JJ leaves the room, Eli tells Lani that she doesn’t look up for the trip; he asks about her withdrawals… she says she’s fine and reminds him that he promised not to tell JJ.  They go to the plane; much to everyone’s surprise, Gabi shows up on the plane, dressed as a stewardess.

Xander gets back up and takes a swing at Eric; Eric catches his arm and hits him again.  Xander comes back at him and they begin to wrestle, with Nicole trying to ‘help’ Eric; one of Xander’s real guards comes in the door and hits Eric on the back of the head, then takes him in a choke hold.  Xander laughs, and asks Eric why he thought he could be a hero; then brings up the fact that he killed Daniel, of course.  Eric calls him a name and Xander punches him square in the face; Eric collapses and Nicole gasps. Eric wakes up on a bed; Nicole is in the room with him.  Eric tells Nicole that Holly is already on the plane; he says they have 24 hours to get back to the plane before it takes off.  She gets upset, even though he is trying to help her, and slaps him across the face.  She tells him he is a murderer and there’s nothing he can say or do to change that; she reminds him that she talked to him before he got behind the wheel that night… she says she called him a cab.  He starts to say he’s sorry, but she stops him; she says she doesn’t want to hear it.  He tells her they have to get back to the plane, but she says she isn’t going to let him be her hero; she says if Daniel had still been alive, Chloe wouldn’t have fought for custody, Brady wouldn’t be hurt – she says everything can be traced back to him and that New Year’s Eve.  She says she will never forgive him, as she starts to cry again.  He tells her it’s okay if she wants to go on hating him forever; he came there to take her and her baby home, and that’s what he intends to do.

05-11-2017 (Thursday) Unexpected Company

Nicole asks Eric what he is doing there; he tells her Brady sent him.  She asks if he is still in the hospital; Eric tells her, he is not doing well.  Nicole says she isn’t leaving without Holly, but she doesn’t know where the nanny took her; Eric finds the nanny, who is frustrated because Holly won’t stop crying.  Speaking Greek, dressed like one of the guards, Eric tells the nanny to take the rest of the day off, and she hands him the baby.  Nicole runs out and takes Holly, thanks Eric and tells him to leave; she says she and Holly will leave on their own.  She doesn’t want to go anywhere with him after what he did to Holly’s father, she says.  Xander comes out and asks why she has the baby again; he says he told the nanny to keep the baby away from her.  Eric, who turned away, is instructed to take the baby back to the nanny; he takes Holly back from Nicole and goes inside.  Eric takes the baby to the plane and tells the pilot he has to go back to get the mother; Xander is insisting that Nicole have a drink with him.  He tells her he’s been thinking about what it might be like to kiss her again; she tells him she is with Brady now, but Xander just scoffs at that saying Brady probably won’t make it and she’ll need someone to take care of her.  She gets him to sit down and starts to massage his shoulders; he seems to fall asleep rather quickly.  She bends down to take the keys from his pocket, but he ‘wakes up’ and stops her; he tries to force himself on her, and Eric bursts in the door.  Eric punches Xander, hard; Xander goes down.

Chad hangs up the phone; Hope sits down by him and asks if the seat is taken.  He says she is out of line for following him; she asks how he knows she’s following him… she says she could be on vacation.  He insists Abby put her up to this; she tells him this trip is a bad idea.  Andre steps up and says he couldn’t agree more; Chad asks him if he isn’t supposed to be in South America “discovering” himself.  Andre says, yes, but he heard he was there, and he couldn’t resist dropping in; he was bored anyway.  He tells him he knows why he is there; Chad mentions “Harold.”  Andre asks if they should discuss this in “mixed company” and Hope says she would love to hear all about it, unless he really is up to something.   Andre tells Hope about the amulet, and about it’s curse and one man who was injured in the process of obtaining it; Andre now turns to Chad and tells him that once he has that amulet in his hands, it will be stolen property, and Hope will have an obligation to arrest him.  He says that’s ridiculous; Andre replies, it would be for the best and asks Hope if she doesn’t agree.  She smiles at Chad.  Chad says she doesn’t have jurisdiction here; she says she does, if he breaks the law.  

Chad sneaks away from the table when a lady provides an opportunity for a diversion; he makes her think that Andre pinched her leg and she hits Andre with her purse.  After the lady leaves, Hope and Andre notice that Chad is gone; they agree to a truce, to help Chad.  They head out to look for him.  Chad meets with a man, who has a broken arm; he tells Chad it was because of the amulet and says he wants nothing more to do with it.  Chad tells him to give it to him but the man says he doesn’t have it with him; he is afraid of it.  Andre and Hope go back to the hotel where they find Chad; he tells them that he has decided they are right and he is no longer trying to acquire the amulet; somewhere, sits a box, with the amulet in it… somebody’s hand touches it.

Claire goes to see her grandpa Victor; she asks him for money.  When he hesitates, she comments that he gives Ciara money all the time and accuses him of favoring Ciara.  He tells her, he gladly gives out pocket change, but a large amount has to be monitored.  He reminds her that Ciara’s money is in a trust, and says he is going to do the same for her; she complains that she needs the money now or her career will be over.  He simply tells her she will be glad it’s there when she is old enough to receive it; she huffs.  He asks her why she is so jealous of Ciara; she denies being jealous and he laughs at her.  He says she is so jealous it is funny; Ciara starts going off about how ‘wonderful’ Ciara is and how much everyone loves her.  Ciara happens to walk in during this conversation; Claire sits down.  Ciara mentions a water filtration system she has learned about, that could help lots of people and make the company money if they market it locally; Victor is impressed.  Claire gets up, frustrated, and leaves, saying, “see what I mean?”  Ciara says she doesn’t understand why Claire would be jealous of her; she says, if anything, she is jealous of Claire.

Claire finds Theo in the square; he tells her he is upset about Wyatt taking money out of Ciara’s purse.  She asks why it matters to him; she says he should be happy for Ciara.  She gets frustrated and admits that she is tired of hearing about Ciara.  She asks him why he cares so much about Ciara; he says he can’t.  She asks him to try and he just backs away, with his hands up, and says he can’t do this right now, and leaves.  Theo sees Ciara and Wyatt at the Pub; he doesn’t look happy that they are together.  Ciara gets a call; Wyatt starts going through Ciara’s purse.  Theo asks him why he is stealing money from Ciara; she returns and says she told him to take that money.  She sends Wyatt on to run his ‘errands.’  Theo tells her giving him money is not okay; she asks him what his problem is, and he says Wyatt is using her.  She says he’s not, and tells him that’s a mean thing to say about her “boyfriend.”  Theo isn’t happy to hear that word; he asks why she didn’t tell him they decided to be exclusive and she says, it just happened.  She says she appreciates him worrying about her, but insists Wyatt likes her; he says he only likes her money.  He makes an off-the-cuff remark about being an ATM for her “boyfriend” and she tells him that was really low and walks out.  Theo recalls his first encounter with Wyatt again, where Wyatt asked him to “coach” him.

05-10-2017 (Wednesday) Deimos to the Rescue?

Deimos calls Xander; he tells him he is having trouble “ditching” Sonny.  Xander tells Deimos he is tired of hearing Nicole talk about Brady and tells Deimos to get there soon.  Xander allows Nicole to shower; when she comes out, in a dress, the cage is gone.  She asks where Holly is and he says the nanny has her; he tells Nicole, later, they can take a walk on the beach.  She asks why he is being so bi-polar; he asks why she is still going at him, then jokes that maybe he’s hoping she’ll fall madly in love with her captor.  She says that is never going to happen; he suggests she find a way to get along with him, at least.  She asks how good he is at poker, and makes him a deal; he says he’ll get the cards.  He loses the game; story of his bloody life, he says.  She says maybe she could talk to Brady and Sonny for him, to fix things; she says she could tell Brady he hates what he did.  Xander tells her he doesn’t have any choice; she says she understands that.  She tells him that Victor put Deimos in charge, and that he was the reason she went on the run with Holly; she tells him about all Deimos did.  Xander gets frustrated and says she is just playing with him; he says there’s no way his family will ever forgive him.

Valerie tells Marlena that she has put Brady on the list for another donor heart, just to be safe.  Sonny and Paul come to see Brady; Marlena tells them that now is not a good time.  She asks Paul if he has heard from John; she says Brady needs his father.  Maggie questions Deimos about his phone call; he tells her he may have to leave town because of it.  He asks her not to tell Victor, because he has so much to worry about with Brady in the hospital; this makes her even more suspicious.  Sonny questions Deimos as well; he says Paul is doing more to rescue to woman he loves than he is.  Maggie tells Sonny that Deimos is going out of town and he finds it interesting that Deimos didn’t mention it when they were talking; Paul goes to check something out.

Valerie meets with Abe; he says he has a surprise for her.  Gabi invites Eli to the Club; he is surprised to see that it is closed.  She says she has a surprise; Valerie and Abe walk in.  He says this isn’t a surprise, it’s a set-up; he is not happy.  Abe encourages them to talk; Valerie says she is willing, if Eli is.  Gabi suggests they talk about anything but his father; Abe agrees, that way they would be spending time together.  Gabi and Abe leave them together to have breakfast; Eli pulls out a chair for his mother.  He tells her he always believed she was the best doctor in the world; he says he still does.  He says he knows that she did the best she could do, and appreciates all the soccer games she came to, but then says he is angry that his father could have been at those games.  She tells him she had to make a decision and did what she thought was best; she asks if what she did is too hard for him to forgive, or if they can work through this.  He says he can’t answer that yet; he needs more time.  He admits, he thought she was pretty much perfect and is just disappointed; she laughs and says, she’s just a mom and thanks him for his honesty.  He leaves.

Sonny and Paul meet at the park; Paul gets a call.  Deimos is on a plane, ready to take off.  Sonny says this is all starting to come together.  They tell Eli that now might be a good time for the FBI to get involved; they tell him, if Deimos gets to Nicole before they do, no one will ever see Nicole or that baby again.  Eli tells them he needs for evidence; they tell him everything they know.  He agrees to try to catch Deimos “in the act of rescuing her, before he gets away with her.”  Gabi asks what Deimos has done now.  Eli tells her, since he is going to be opening an investigation, they have to keep things quiet, even from her.  She says she just wants it known that she can’t wait to see that man behind bars.  Eric’s plane lands in Greece; Nicole decides to try to sweet talk the guard.  She pours him a drink, and opens the door; she drops the glass when she sees Eric standing there

05-09-2017 (Tuesday) The Package

A large man sits at Brady’s Pub; he says his friend took care of the bill earlier.  Joey tells him no one took care of the bill and all of his friends have left; the man refuses to pay the bill.  Joey gets in an argument with the man and he starts to get aggressive; Tripp comes in and helps Joey out, by physically handling the man. Jade tells Kayla that she believes Joey loves her, no matter what she says.  She says she of all people should understand doing something for love.  Kayla tells her what she has is an obsession and tells her to stay away from Joey; Jade says she can’t keep her away, and in the end, Joey is going to choose her.  Kayla tells her goodbye.  

Jade runs into Tripp in the park and tells him that Kayla was just awful to her; she says that she is tired of protecting “them.”  He asks her to tell him what she means; he says his mom was convinced that Kayla has tried to kill her.  He asks if that is what happened; she says yes.  Steve brings Kayla flowers; he tells her about Tripp standing up for Joe tonight.  He says he feels like they have taken a big step forward; he and Tripp, too.  Kayla tells him they might have another problem; she tells him that she is afraid Jade is going to talk.  He says, then they will deal with that together; they hug.

Rafe interviews Snake; he asks where he got the “halo.”  Snake refuses to speak; Raines brings in one of Snakes possible connections, “Fez.”  He says there’s a deal being offered for the first one to speak; Hope brings back dinner to the station.  She tells him she has a flight to catch to Greece; He questions her.  She says it’s Chad; she’s afraid he is going to get himself into big trouble and she plans to stop him before he goes too far.

Lani is throwing up; JJ comes to visit her in her hospital room.  She claims to be doing much better; he tells her he was scared.  He tells her she can’t shut him out like that anymore; she promises to tell him everything from now on.  Later, Commissioner Raines comes to visit.  He tells her that he and Rafe are taking over the investigation; she says she wants to get back on the job as soon as she’s back on her feet.

Abby runs in to Hope in the square, as she is headed to drop Thomas off with her mom overnight; Hope senses that Abby is concerned for Chad’s safety.  Chad is a nervous wreck, especially after his butler tells him that his expected companion on the trip has been injured and nobody else wants to go on this mission; he asks Chad how he is doing.  He laughs when he says Abby left him, again.  Hope starts asking too many questions and Chad asks if Abigail said something to her; she says she is just concerned about him and tells him to call her if he needs her.  She leaves.

Chad makes a phone call.  Abby meets him; Chad tells her he doesn’t appreciate her calling the cops on him.  She asks what he’s talking about; he tells her Hope came to visit.  She denies sending her; she reminds him that they are not together, and he says then she has no right to question his choices.  He tells her he got a package in the mail today; something he had ordered for her, before.  He says he knocked it off the table and it broke into a bunch of pieces; he says, no matter how broken something appears to be, it can be fixed.  She says not everything.  He leaves

05-08-2017 (Monday) Caged

Kate tells Chad that she’s changed her mind; she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to grab the amulet before Deimos does after all.  He teases her about being afraid of the curse; she tells him she just thinks they should at least send someone else to pick it up.  He says the guy will only meet with him; besides, he tells her, he wants to get out of town and get his mind off of things.  He tells her he hates the fact that Abigail has left him again; she tells him it’s all for the best.Dario shows up at the police station; he asks Abby out to dinner, as friends.  Nothing more, nothing less, he says; she asks if they can just meet… he suggests the café in the square.  The phone rings; it’s Chad.  He tells her that he needs to talk to her and asks if he can come down to the station; she is surprised when he brings Thomas in.  

Chad tells Abby that he has to head out of town for business and asks if she wants to keep him while he’s gone; she says yeah, of course.  She is disappointed when he says he can’t tell her where he is going; she figures it has to do with something illegal.  He doesn’t admit or deny it; she tells him to please be careful and takes Thomas to daycare.  After work, she meets with Dario (Thomas in tow) and they discuss how they are each trying to rewrite their lives; she congratulates him on running the business for his father and he encourages her to keep moving forward with her independence.

Maggie confronts Deimos about Nicole…she asks if he has any idea where Xander took Nicole and the baby.  He denies any knowledge, but swears he will never give up looking.  He says he will do everything in his power to make sure Nicole gets the happy ending she desires; Maggie questions what happens if Nicole wants nothing to do with him.  He says his eyes are wide open; she asks what about his heart.

Jennifer tells Eric she is worried about him going to Athens and insists on going with him; he doesn’t want her to.  He tells her he is expendable; she is not.  He tells her she can call for backup, but she has to give him a head start; she agrees.  He takes her hand and says she doesn’t have to worry about him; she asks him to be careful.  He says he will and makes her promise not to tell anyone what he is doing; he tells her they’ll have that “non-working dinner” when he gets back.  She smiles; he kisses her goodbye.  Eric goes to say goodbye to Brady; he is concerned about how Brady looks.  Brady tells him the “fallout from the gunshot is causing trauma” and his body is rejecting Daniel’s heart.  He tells Eric to use all of his money, if he needs to, to make sure Nicole and Holly never have to come back to Salem; he says he will, but adds that he is trying to get Chloe to drop the charges.  He says if she looses Holly again, it will kill Nicole; he tells Eric, “don’t kill her.”

Xander taunts Nicole, who is still in a cage; he laughs about having “another shot” at her.  She throws her cup of water on him and tells him to let her out; surprisingly he agrees to let her out for a while to hold the baby.  She asks him if he has heard anything more about Brady; he says no, and tells her that their bliss made him sick, as he listened outside of their cottage in Canada.  He then brings up Eric and Nicole gets uncomfortable; he wonders what was bothering him at that time, and brings up the night they were trapped in the vents at the television station.  She asks him to change the subject and starts asking questions about how long he plans on keeping them and what he wants with her; he claims its all about revenge (for turning his family against him, which Nicole denies).  He tells her it was his pleasure to destroy her and Brady’s domestic bliss.  She begins to get suspicious when he says his family should be proud of what he’s done; she says Deimos is the only one that would be happy he shot Brady.  She questions how he can afford the villa they are in; Xander claims it’s from off-shore accounts and some wheeling and dealing he has done under aliases.  She asks him what his “end-game” is.  He tells her he has one, but he isn’t going to tell her about it right now.

Chad gets upset when he seems Abigail at a table in the square with Dario; Kate has to pull him back from going over there and encourages him to keep on their way.  As they sit at home, he stews over the fact that Dario was in his son’s presence.  She tells him he has to accept that Abigail can see whomever she wants; he asks her if it’s really over.  Deimos tells Brady (as he sleeps) that he has put the perfect plan together, that not even he can stop; Eric is on a plane to Deimos’ private island.  Nicole is back in the cage; Xander tells her to tell Holly goodnight, as he takes her away again.  Nicole vows to get back to Brady.

05-05-2017 (Friday) Will Brady Survive?

Jade is in the apartment; Ciara says she thought she moved out.  Jade says she’s looking for her curling iron. Claire walks out all dressed up; Ciara tells her she looks nice.  She hopes this is her big break.  Ciara and Wyatt say they need to get going; Claire asks where.  Ciara says she’s introducing Wyatt to her mom and Rafe today; Claire calls that “a big step” says it must be getting serious.  Jade says, “good luck with that dude.”  Ciara asks if she has something to say; Jade says, dating her has it’s challenges.  Theo says he’ll bring her curling iron over when they find it; Jade leaves and Claire tells Ciara she “totally used her curling iron this morning.”  They laugh.  When they are along, Theo tells Wyatt he emailed him a “list” for when he meets the two detectives; he tells him he better not mess this up now.  Wyatt looks a little worried.

Rafe and Hope are at a table, at the Pub, waiting for Ciara and “that guy she’s kind of been seeing.”  Jennifer comes in and asks if she’s interrupting; Hope tells her they are meeting a boy Ciara has been dating; Jennifer tells them they better not play ‘bad cop, good cop.’ Hope suggests ‘bad cop, bad cop.’  They laugh; she tells Jen she will behave.  When Ciara and Wyatt get there, he charms them.  However, Hope tells Rafe, she thinks he seems a little “too rehearsed.”  He agrees to do “a little lightweight search.”  When Wyatt goes to pay the bill, Ciara senses that he mother is holding something back.  Hope questions if he makes her happy; she says yes.  Hope asks her to take it slow; Ciara says of course.  She believes they will be together for a long time and says there’s no rush.

Brady tries to get out of bed; Eric stops him.  He tells his brother Nicole is in danger and asks him, please; Eric says he’ll do it.  He will find Nicole and Holly and bring them home.  He says he will do whatever it takes to get them away from that maniac.  Brady sets up a plane and a pilot; he tells Eric his security team will have his back.  Eric leaves.  Brady recalls moments with Nicole in Canada.  Eric goes and tells Jennifer what he is doing; she warns him that he could get in trouble, if not hurt.  He says he owes it to everyone, reminding her that is Daniel’s baby out there.  She tells him that she is going to help him then; he argues, but she say, Holly is family and she’s in this whether he likes it or not.

Nicole is looking around for a phone, rather than running out of the house.  Xander hollers down the stairs; Nicole opens a door, then, ducks down around the corner in the living room.  Xander comes down and sees the door open; he runs outside screaming at Nicole. She stupidly sits there, trying to get signal on a phone she found, instead of running the other way (which I would have done) and Xander comes back in and finds her, as she’s reaching her arm up into the air.  He tells her that was a really stupid move.  She asks what he’s going to do to her; he says he is going to put her where she belongs.  He puts her in a cage; he says he had it ready because he had a feeling he might need to keep her contained.  Nicole demands her baby; he says she is with the nanny.  He tells her next time she thinks about disobeying him, she needs to remember that he has her baby.  She tells him she is sorry for whatever she’s done to him and begs him to let her and her daughter go; he tells her to think of this as a mini vacation and get some sleep.

Claire comes back upset that the record producer told her she was talented and has promise, but she isn’t ready; Theo tells her that’s not so bad.  He says they have time; she argues that Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande already had careers by now.  He hugs her and says she will get there; it’s just going to take her a little longer.  Jade is standing at the door, posed to knock, when Theo opens it to leave; he tells her she’ll get used to knocking.  She invites herself in and starts talking to Claire, who is so down, she doesn’t care.  Jade brings up the idea of making a sex tape again; she seriously tells Claire she should consider it, if all her other options are gone.  Theo strolls by as Wyatt kisses Ciara on the park bench, after Wyatt asks Ciara if she would like to be exclusive, “boyfriend and girlfriend.”  It’s kind of an awkward kiss; Theo stops and stands behind them for a few seconds, staring.

Rafe gets a call; he asks if this is really necessary, now.  He says he understands, and if it has to happen, he wants to be the one who does it; he tells Hope he has to get going and he’ll call her later.  He doesn’t look happy.  He goes to see Brady and tells him he is there to arrest him for aiding and abetting a known fugitive; he apologizes.  As they talk, Eric becomes upset and starts having a hard time breathing; he passes out.  Valerie tells Eric that she doesn’t know if Brady is going to make it through this.

05-04-2017 (Thursday) Nicole's Attempt to Escape

Steve finds Kayla at the Pub; he brings her a yellow rose.  This makes her think something bad happened; Tripp calls Kayla’s phone.  He asks to meet her, and says he wants to see her, alone.  Steve says his making a connection with her is progress; he tells her to get going.  She says she’ll let him know what she finds out later.  Tripp tells Kayla he wants to know what happened right before his mother died, and asks about the overdose.  She says they told him Ava had severe emotional and mental problems; he says he gets that, but asks why they didn’t tell him about this incident.  She says that they didn’t feel it was fair to lay all of that one him, with all he was already finding out.  After she gives him a few more details, he thanks her and tells her that she has helped him a lot; she goes and tells Steve that she thinks he is realizing that Ava brought this on herself.  Tripp calls someone and tells them that he’s figured it out; it was Kayla, he says, “she’s the killer.”

Eric runs into Chloe in the square; he asks if she has thought about compromising with Nicole and letting her be a part of Holly’s life.  She tells him she has thought about it a lot.  Marlena calls Eric to tell him about Brady being in the hospital; Chloe decides to go to the hospital with Eric.  Paul stands by Brady’s bedside when he wakes up in the hospital; he tells Brady they are doing everything they can to find Nicole and the baby.  Marlena rushes in to Brady’s room; he tells her Xander has Nicole and Holly.  He tries to get up out of bed; Marlena tells him he was shot through the lung and lost a lot of blood.  She says that puts a lot of stress on his heart and he needs to take it easy; he says he loves Nicole and needs her to support that.  Marlena tries to call John, but is told that they don’t know where he is.

Sonny questions Deimos about how Xander found Nicole; he also questions how Deimos could have been mistaken about Xander having drowned.  Deimos says he only said he shot Xander and saw him fall into the river; he assumed he was dead.  He brings up Brady again and asks how far Deimos is willing to go; Deimos simply says he doesn’t have time for his ridiculous accusations because he has a mother and daughter to find.  Deimos leaves.  Paul comes out and talks to Sonny; Sonny tells him he is sure Deimos is part of this.  Victor shows up, asking about his grandson; he goes in to see Brady.  He tells him he will save the lecture for later; he has to figure out how to keep Brady out of jail, he says.  Sonny tells Victor that he doesn’t think it was a coincidence that Deimos found out where Nicole was right before Xander showed up.  After Victor leaves, Paul and Sonny discuss how they are going to find out where Xander took Nicole. 

Brady tells Chloe that he had to help Nicole; he tells her they rented a house in Canada, but then Xander showed up.  Chloe freaks out when she realizes Xander has ‘her’ baby.  Brady worries for Nicole’s safety.  A police officer comes in to get Brady’s statement, and tells him he is facing charges for aiding and abetting Nicole Walker.  Brady tells Eric that he wants him to find Nicole and Holly for him; Eric says he isn’t a detective.  Brady reminds him that he is his brother; he says he needs him to do this.

Xander holds Holly; he tells Nicole, “good morning, beautiful” when she wakes up.  She sits up and tells him to give her the baby.  He says he heard the baby was Chloe’s, but hands Holly over.  Nicole says she was hoping Xander was a nightmare; he says, “surprise.”  He laughs about the rumors of his death and then gives Nicole shit about having Daniels baby, after he died, then screwing it all up by kidnapping the kid.  Then he tells her that Brady may very well be dead by now’ - she starts sobbing.  He tells her to calm down, he is still alive…for now, he says.  She comforts Holly, saying she is here, only she wonders where “here” is.  Xander tells her that they are in Greece; she asks why.  He tells her it’s his home and he is comfortable there.  He reminds her that she made him some promises once, when she was trying to come onto him; he also reminds her that he can manhandle her.  She says he doesn’t have to slap her around; she will behave.  He tells her there are guards and cameras all over the place and shuts the door; she tells Holly, “mamma is going to get us out of here.”  When Xander comes in with supplies, Nicole lays Holly down, as if she is going to change her.  She knocks the diapers off the bed and asks Xander to get them; when he bends down, she grabs a glass lamp and smashes it over his head.  She picks up Holly and runs out the door.

05-03-2017 (Wednesday) Will Lani Recover?

Dario talks with his computer man, who is updating him on the business; he tells them he got into the Chandler Corporation’s firewall.  Dario gives him a green light to go ahead and siphon whatever he can get from them (I’m wondering if this is the Chandler family from All My Children’s history).  Brady’s Pub closes down for a fundraiser for the Horton Center; Jen thanks Roman for letting them use the Pub.  Eric tells Jen they made $8,000 plus another $6,000 in pledges; Roman tells them that the two of them make a great team.  As Eric and Jennifer sit in the square, having lunch and discussing the fundraiser, Victor says something from across the way.  Eric gets up and asks if he has something to say to him and Victor proceeds to blast him about killing Daniel and says the two of them shouldn’t be together; Eric tells him it’s his turn to say his piece.  He tells Victor that Daniel is on his mind every minute of every day; he says he was an incredible person, who was his friend.  He says he suffers from guilt, but he knows that won’t bring Daniel back.  He says Daniel would want him to lead his life, dedicating it to helping others heal and that’s what he is trying to do.  Eric says, he hopes Victor can find peace and turns away, walking back to his table with Jen.  She tells him he agrees with everything he said.

Lani gives in and takes the pills when Snake holds the gun up to her head; JJ bursts in the door and Snake grabs Lani, using her as a shield and puts the tip of the gun up against her.  He tells JJ to put his gun down on the ground, which JJ does; as he starts to force Lani to walk out, she stomps on his foot and then elbows him in the stomach.  He bends over and JJ jumps on him, grabbing him from behind; JJ tells Lani to go get help.  Commissioner Raines and one other officer come in and handcuff Snake.  Lani is taken to the hospital; she starts seizing and groaning.  Marlena meets Roman at the Pub; they are having lunch with Abe and Valerie, but lunch is cut short when Abe gets a text about Lani being at the hospital.  They run out.  The doctors tell them that they aren’t sure Lani is going to make it; they said a lot of the drug got into her system.  JJ sits by Lani’s bedside; she wakes up screaming.

Julie leaves her follow up appointment with Valerie; she is very short with her and cuts Valerie off as she gives instructions.  Gabi overhears from the receptionist desk where she is talking to Marlena; she stops Julie and tells her that she knows she faked her “heart attack” and wanted to give her fair warning.  Julie snarks at her and tells her to stay away from her grandson; Gabi tells her she needs to back off, or she will tell Eli she faked the attack.  Julie turns around.

Marlena tells Roman that she doesn’t think Jennifer is good for Eric either; she brings up the fact that they used to get high together.  Roman defends Jennifer, saying she goes to regular meetings and isn’t using; he asks if she really believes their son deserves a second chance, but Jennifer doesn’t.  She doesn’t answer.  He tells her Jen is one of the few people that can get through to Eric; he adds they like each other, may even be falling in love.  She tells him she doesn’t think it’s that far (obviously, in denial).  Eric and Jennifer makes plans for another date; they hold hands, and smile at each other as they say goodbye.  Roman notices what a good mood Eric is in, when he shows up at the Pub; he asks if he has had a good day.  Eric says yeah; for the first time in a long time, he says, he sees a future.  Marlena runs into Jennifer, walking through the park; she asks to talk to her about her son, and tells her she doesn’t think it’s a good idea for them to get together, although she says he isn’t going to interfere (isn’t this interefering?)  She does thank Jen for the time Eric was lost and Jen brought him back to her; Jennifer says she understands, because she is a mom and walks away.  Marlena gets a call from Paul; Paul tells her Brady has been shot.

Hope and Rafe meet in the square; they have plans for the day.  They are meeting Dario and Gabi for lunch at the Club; during dinner, Dario makes it clear that he is still angry over their father’s arrest.  Hope tries to console him by telling him Rafe’s pain is just as deep; she says it broke his heart to arrest their father, but he was doing his job, and adds, he’s a really good man.  She says he can turn his back on Rafe if he wants to, but she would suggest he give it a second thought.  Then she apologizes for the speech; Gabi steps in and defends Rafe.  She tells Dario she is standing by him.  Dario tells Rafe that he hates what he did, and thinks it was wrong, but concedes that Rafe thought it was right; he agrees to disagree and says they should enjoy this meal.  He commends Hope for her defense of Rafe and asks about her “intentions.”  Gabi agrees they should know if she is going to make an honest man out of her brother; Rafe and Hope look at each other.  She says her intentions are to be happy with him for as long as he’ll have her; Gabi squeals, but Dario doesn’t accept that as an answer.  He orders a shots of tequila and makes a toast to Hope for her declaration, and to “familia.”  Hope chokes on her shot; then Dario offers her the worm.  He says it’s the honor of all new family members, saying they’ve all done it; she takes it, and swallows it, quickly.  They laugh about it; she tells them they will both pay.  

Hope goes to look at a picture on Gabi’s phone, while the two brothers reminisce about old times; Dario recalls that Rafe used to cover for him and never “ratted” him out to  “mom.”  Gabi tells Hope that Dario and Rafe have never actually eaten a worm, themselves; she says they tricked her into eating one.  Gabi apologizes, saying Hope probably has a whole of list of things to hold against her; she tells Hope that Julie will never forgive her for killing Nick.  Hope asks Gabi about the computer guy; Gabi tells her his name is Raditz Myron.  Hope hugs the guys and tells them, next time, she’ll bring the worms and they get to eat them!  She goes and meets with Julie; she asks Julie if she has ever heard of this Myron guy.  She says no, but comments that she isn’t surprised he has a rap sheet, working for “that family.”  Hope reminds her that Rafe is a Hernandez; Julie asks what they are going to do when they find out that Dario is a criminal too.  Hope, hopes that doesn’t happen

05-02-2017 (Tuesday) The Snake and the Halo

Jade asks Tripp why he seems so “dark and brooding”… he says he can’t stop thinking about Steve killing his mom “for someone he loved” and he asks her who he was protecting.  Joey talks to his dad on the park bench; he tells his dad the guilt is getting worse.  He thinks about what he did every day, and he thinks about what its doing to his father… his own son hates him.  Steve says he is willing to take that punishment because it was all his fault for letting Ava back into their lives again; he knew she was out of her mind and he should have taken care of the situation long ago, he says.  Joey should have never met her and her death is on him, he tells his son.  Joey cries, and tells his dad he’ll never forget how he stepped up for him.

Chad summons Kate to his office; he says he just got off the phone with their antiquities dealer.  He says he has a deal that is really going to piss Deimos off; he tells her about the artifact he has located, which they are going to grab it before Deimos does.  Chad says the only drawback is, the artifact “is cursed.”  Kate laughs; Chad tells her it has a very interesting history.  The founders and all holders since have suffered very horrific deaths.  However, they both agree to move forward with the purchase.

Jen meets with Abigail in the square; Abby is dressed and ready for her first day on the job.  She tells her mom she feels really hopeful.  She is headed to take Thomas to the sitter; she tells her mom she will be taking him to Chad’s on her lunch break.  Jen offers to take him for the morning instead so Abby can get to her job early.  Jen sees Steve; she asks how things are going with his new son.  He says not so well.  When she arrives at Chad's, he tells her he doesn’t like Thomas being shuffled back and forth; she tells him to be patient with her daughter.  She explains that Abby just feels she needs to exert her independence now.

Tripp is still pressing Jade for an answer; she says he was protecting his whole family – he questions the ISA orders Steve told him he had to “eliminate Ava.”  Jade says, “well, there’s that too.”  Then she suggests that he just accept “Steve and Kayla’s version of the story,” adding, “the police did.”  He thinks for a second and agrees, maybe he should. Steve tells Jen taking the rap for killing Tripp’s mother has put a kink in the father-son bonding; he is connecting with Kayla and Joe, though, he says.  Tripp comes to the police station and asks for more information about his mother’s murder; Abigail finds the file and copies it for him.  He questions why she was in the hospital and Abby says she actually knows that; she tells him that his mother tried to overdose and was found by her Aunt Kayla.  Kayla took her to the hospital and saved her life; she says Ava accused Kayla of trying to kill her when she woke up.  He says something doesn’t make sense; he takes his copy of the file and leaves; he sees Steve walking through the square and decides to follow him.

Lani asks to speak with Commissioner Raines, after making plans to meet with someone on the phone; JJ comes in and tells her he is concerned about what happened to her.  He thinks her cover has been blown ; he believes Snake has not called her back, and says that proves it.  JJ leaves and the commissioner comes in; she tells him Snake wants to see her again, as soon as possible.  He says she needs backup and suggests JJ, but she insists she doesn’t want JJ knowing anything about this.  The commissioner says he will be her backup then.  JJ tells his sister that he knows Lani is still going to meet with Snake, so he has installed a tracking app on her phone, “so he can make sure she’s safe.”  (I don’t think she is going to be happy about that.)  She meets with Snake; says she is ready to get to work, but first, she wants to know why she can’t remember anything from the last time they met.  He hesitates, but tells her that he slipped her some “halo” and says all the girls are taking it; he says they get a bonus if they get their Johns to take it too.  She presses him a little too hard for information; he tells her she talks to much and then determines that she’s a cop when he finds her wire.  He tells her he wants her to take three this time; she reasons, she will overdose, and he says that’s the plan.  Commission Raines is calling for backup; Snake holds a gun on her.  (Why didn’t the commissioner have backup right there, ready to run in when things went South?)

Abigail brings Thomas’ stuffed bunny to Chad after work (which, I swear, Steve mentioned him having when he was talking to Jennifer).  He asks her if they can talk for a minute; he tells her he loves her with all of his heart, he says he supports her and he will give her space and time, but he is not giving up on her… he says there is only her and will only ever be her.  He tells her he considers her his wife and friend and partner and hopes she will give him the chance to make her happy again some day.

05-01-2017 (Monday) Abducted

Gabi angrily tears up a napkin, while on her date with Eli; he asks if she would like another napkin.  She apologizes and swears to him that she’s okay; she says she just wants to relax and forget about Abby and Chad.  Gabi brings up Eli’s mother; he tells her he is just about as tired of talking about her as she is of talking about Abby and Chad.  Chad sees Eli and Gabi kissing; he approaches their table.  Gabi says they should find someplace else to go, where they can be alone; Eli gets a phone call and excuses himself.  She asks him to please just leave her in peace; he does.  She reflects on a scene of romantic memories of she and Chad, friendly memories of she and Abigail.  Eli returns to the table and she tells him she doesn’t really want to go anywhere; she apologizes.  He tells her, it’s okay, adding that he is a very patient man.  He puts music on his phone and they have an impromptu dance competition right there in the square.

Kate calls Chad and asks him to meet with her at Club TDB, where Abigail and Dario sit talking at the bar.  Dario tells Abby they are having a dance-off there next week; she gives him a hard time for pretending that he didn’t know how to dance weeks ago.  Chad walks in and sees them immediately; he approaches them and within minutes, has Dario in a choke hold.  Abigail tells him to let Dario go; he lets go and leaves the Club.  Kate follows him out; she ends up admitting that she did this on purpose.  She wanted him to see the two of them together, to show him that Abigail has moved on and he should to.

Xander is holding Holly; Brady lays on the floor, bleeding from his stomach.  Xander tells Nicole he and she have some unfinished business.  Nicole pleads with Xander, reminding him that Brady is family; Xander says after the way they treated him, he has no family.  Brady grabs Xander’s leg as he walks by; Xander clocks him in the head with the butt of his pistol.  Deimos is happy when Xander returns, with Holly; Xander tells Deimos he had to shoot Brady.  Deimos thanks him for his service so far and asks him to take Nicole and Holly to his private island in Greece.  He says eventually, he will “track them down” and “rescue” Nicole and Holly.  Deimos seems to think that will win him Nicole’s heart; Xander tells Deimos that from what he saw, Nicole is head over heals in love with Brady. He says she is just confusing gratitude with love.

Sonny and Paul arrive at the apartment and find Brady lying on the floor.  Xander wonders how expendable he is to Deimos; Deimos tells him just to make sure Nicole and Holly are safe and sound when he comes to rescue them.  Brady wakes up in the hospital and tells Sonny and Paul that Xander took Nicole and the baby; Deimos walks in right behind them and ‘hears’ this, acting terribly surprised.  He says he is concerned for Nicole because he still cares about her, and he is responsible for her losing Holly.  He says he wants to make it up to her; he says, now that Xander has complicated things, he is even more determined to rescue Nicole and Holly.  He says Brady has no choice but to trust him.

Personal Soap Update (Brief)

PASSED MY Doctoral Qualifying Exam!  Yay!  Moving on to my final year of research and preparation for my dissertation, which I will have to successfully "defend" at the end of the (school) year, in order to actually receive my doctoral diploma.  I am now in my first research course, which will alternate with my electives.  I'm excited to get into those;-).

Anyway, my daughter has finally, fully moved out of my mother's house; I've spent the last week helping her clean and make repairs that have been needing to be made all along.  She wants to leave the place as beautiful as possible, because she is a much bigger person than my mother - or even, myself.  She has been communiticating with my mother, by text and email, and has said that she will do so "on a business level" from now on.  If she is able to do that, I said, more power to her.  I couldn't; I would tell her to go to hell.

My daughter's new place is beautiful; I just hate that it is so far away (a 40 minute drive for me), but the horses are happy, as are the rest of her babies (cats and dogs), and the kids.  I'm going to give her a few of my willows - they are all grown from one mother willow, given to me by my oldest boy, for Mother's Day, 2001 - I have dozens of them right now.

My mother was going to make a trip up here, to prepare the house for sale; she was set to be here on May 4th, and needless to say, I was dreading it.  She told Kasey last week that she has "cancer" on her bladder, and had to have surgery; they "scraped it off" but had to put a catheder in and then she couldn't travel.  It's been in a week now, and she isn't sure when the doctor will clear her to travel - or if he even will.  My, oh my... isn't Karma a bitch?

~Dennel