10-17-2017 (Tuesday) Pulling the Strings

Sammi isn’t surprised to see Lucas, but he is surprised to see her; he tells her he knows she isn’t real, and she grabs the bottle out of his hand to show him how real she is.  He tries to grab it back and she steps on his hand; she asks what happened to him and his sobriety.  He says the woman he loved decided to go back to her [] ex husband and dumped him; he says the universe slapped a ‘kick me’ sign on his back.  When she tells him that John and Paul were there trying to dig up their son, Lucas says he will kill them; Sammi says she will help.  She remembers identifying her son’s body in the morgue; she tells Lucas they should have been better for him.  Lucas tells her he knew they loved him, and he loved them, despite themselves.  She agrees, saying he needed more time; she strokes his hair and tells Will they are there for him and will keep him safe… she kisses his forehead.  They both sit on the ground by Will’s graveside now, crying; Lucas says he wants it to be true, but it’s just not possible.  He says he misses him more every day; Sammi sobs, “me too.”  They agree that Will needs to be protected; they are sure he is dead and don’t want to dig him up.  They talk about his flaws and how much he loved them.  Sammi tells Lucas they need to talk about his drinking, but that conversation quickly turns to her joining him in finishing the bottle.  Apparently, she did it so that he couldn’t finish it; he tells her he can get more.

Victor tells “Adrian” that everybody is going to know something is really, really wrong, if he dumps the woman he loves and gets with her, a woman he despises, and hurts Justin in the process.  She tells him he better make sure they don’t.  Justin and Maggie come in; “Adrian” has called them to a family dinner.    “Adrian” says it is going to be memorable; she winks at Victor.  They pour drinks and “Adrian” tells everyone that Victor has an announcement; he gulps and says he just as well say it… he tells them that he and Adrian have fallen in love.  They gasp; Justin says this must just be a cruel joke.  “Adrian” says it’s no joke; she says they’ve been fighting it for years, but it was “bigger than both of [them].”  Maggie tells Justin that she thinks Victor has had a small stroke; Justin says he thinks Adrian has had a delayed reaction to the chemo.  “Adrian” says she just realized life is short and she wants to marry the man of her dreams before she gets another day older.  Maggie says she’s out of there; Justin follows.   Victor questions what “Adrian” means when she says Maggie is going to get what is coming to her; he asks what Maggie ever did to her.  She says it doesn’t matter, reminding him of the only two options he has.

Sonny takes out Will’s picture and holds it, asking, “could you really be alive?”  Paul walks in to see and hear this.  He sits down next to Sonny; Paul tells Sonny he has to tell him something.  Sonny gets angry to think Paul would attempt to dig up Will’s body; Paul asks Sonny to tell him one day went by without him thinking of Will instead of him.  Sonny snaps back, he can’t think of him 24/7 right now, having just found out that his dead husband might really be alive; Paul apologizes and says he knows Sonny loved Will.  Sonny says he is tired and asks if they can just go to bed; Paul says the bed isn’t big enough for the three of them, and tells Sonny to call him in the morning.  He leaves.

Nicole knocks on Eric’s door; he is elated to see her.  He says he was worried; she should have been there hours ago.  She apologizes; he hugs her and asks where Holly is.  Nicole says she let her spend the night again at Chloe’s; he carries on about how it will be hard for Chloe to come see her there.  She tells him Holly isn’t moving there; he sees she is having second thoughts, but hopes it is the farmhouse – he says he always thought she was more of a city girl.  She tells him to stop; she says it wasn’t any of those things… she says she can’t be with him.  She remembers Brady ordering her to “break Eric’s heart” and tells him that last night was a big mistake; she says she was vulnerable and he took advantage of that.  He yells, “that’s not true.”  He says he tried to leave and she came after him; she says she got caught up in the moment and she didn’t mean for it to happen.  He says he didn’t either; he grabs her face and reminds her they made love last night and this morning.  Nicole says it wasn’t love; it was just sex.  Eric knows she is lying and asks her why; he knows Brady made her do it somehow, but she denies it.  She says she knows what she needs and it isn’t him; she says she doesn’t need anybody; Eric kisses her.  She pushes him away and tells him it is over and he just as to accept it; she runs out the door, crying.

10-16-2017 (Monday) One Shot, Two Shots, Three Shots... Four

Brady tells Nicole to answer her phone; he dares her to pick it up and tell Eric that she isn’t coming back… or he will call the police, he tells her.  She answers and tells Eric that she just has a slight complication and will be home soon, adding, “I love you.”  Brady says she used to use that same tone one him; she says telling Eric she loves him isn’t an act.  She says she just wants to tell him in person; he applauds the idea, saying that’s so much better to break his heart face to face.  She asks Brady if he would really tear Holly’s life apart like that, calling her an innocent bystander in all this; he says she has destroyed his life, so he is more than happy to destroy hers.  She asks how he could do that to Holly, saying that’s what Deimos did; Brady acknowledges Deimos was a monster and says, “maybe you bring out the monster in men.”  She cries, saying the biggest lie was telling herself he was a man of compassion; she tells him he is more a monster than any man she’s ever known.  She sobs, “Damn you Brady” as she walks out the door.  Brady picks up a picture of her, kisses it and then stomps on it.

John and Paul meet at the graveyard; Sammi’s voice beams, “don’t you dare.”  John turns to see Will’s mother standing there, asking what he and his son think they are doing.  They try to explain their reasons for attempting to dig up Will’s grave on their own; John suggests she just call and give her permission for the body to be exhumed, insisting that everybody has to know.  She says okay; they have convinced her… she picks up the phone.  She calls Rafe to “report a grave robbery.”

Hope tells Rafe that she reinstated JJ already; he implies that people may think she is playing favorites because he’s her cousin.  She asks what he would have done and he says he would have made sure everyone knew he was serious by making an example of JJ, sticking to the suspension, etc.  But, he tells her, “you are the commissioner.”  She says they are short-handed and she didn’t know what else to do, so she is standing by her decision.  She thanks him for his input and says she always wants him to be honest with her, especially when he disagrees; they kiss.  She tells him she needs to talk to him about his new partner too; he says he thought he would just fly solo for a while.  She says, actually, she has the perfect guy in mind; she mentions Eli Grant and Rafe says, “no way.”  He tells her he already made it clear that he wouldn’t partner up with Eli.  Rafe receives Sammi’s call; he goes to the graveyard and asks her to just let Paul and John go.  She makes a scene but then agrees; he hugs her and says it’s nice to see she hasn’t changed.

Eli and Gabi are having dinner together; he gets a phone call.  When he gets back, he finds her gone.  Chloe tells Eli that she paid the bill and left; Gabi goes to the police station to talk to Hope.  She suggests that Hope hire Eli to replace her; Hope says she already thought about it…Eli follows Gabi to the station.  Rafe comes back and sees everyone there; he thinks Hope already hired him and starts to get angry.  Hope says no one has been hired yet; Gabi tells Rafe he needs to come talk to her right now.  She talks him into accepting Eli as his partner; he comes out and tells Eli, only since two people he loves and respects tell him he is the right man for the job, he will accept him, but says he’s gone if he pulls another stunt like he did with his sister and Raines.  Eli nods.Lucas walks in to see Brady downing another shot of brandy; he says, “well, look at you” and asks if he could get one of those.  Brady glares at him, then pours him a glass.  Lucas asks what happened, and guesses “Nicole again.”  Brady chuckles; Lucas assumes it has to do with Eric, which Brady confirms.  Brady says, not only was he right about them, but, he “won.”  He says he cut their little happily ever after right down.

Lucas asks Brady if he would hire him; he says he’ll give him some insider information on his mother, calling her the “Countess Dubb.”  He says he can’t make that call until Victor puts him back in charge, apologizing, and saying he feels bad about it.  They share another shot or two, and Brady says he will tell Sonny he stopped by; Lucas gets the hint and asks if he can take a bottle with him.  Brady says sure, and Lucas (already drunk) tells Brady he is a great guy and says they should hang out sometime, then stumbles out the door.  He finds Sammi at the graveyard; he says, “first Will came back to give me grief, and now you’re here to give me hell.”

10-13-2017 (Friday) I Dare You

Nicole comes down from packing her bags and tells Brady that she still loves him, just only as a friend… she hardly is able to spit the word out and Brady cuts her off.  He tells her he is NOT her friend; he calls her a slut of an ex-girlfriend and says he wants nothing more to do with her.  He tells her to go, but says it won’t be without consequences; she says no one should live a lie, which he scoffs at.  He tells her to know if she “acts on those feelings [her] ass is going to prison, for murder.”  So he is telling her to go, but says she cannot go be with Eric or he will turn her in; Nicole can’t believe he would threaten to turn her in to the police if she gets with Eric.  She tells him the amulet alone doesn’t prove that she Killed Deimos; Brady says, “no, but your confession does.”   He pulls out a recording he just made of her confessing as they talked.  He tells her he wants to go break up with Eric, to tell him whatever they had is dead and gone, and then to leave town so he never has to see her face again.  She asks, “who are you?”  He replies, “I’m exactly who you turned me into” adding names of other “sluts” that have promised to love him and then broken his heart.  Her phone rings; Brady dares her to answer it.

Hope admits that her first 48 hours have been rough; she tells Lani that she talked to Shane and they are going to help find out if there is any truth to Clyde’s story.  Lani asks Hope if she could say something on JJ’s behalf; Marlena goes to see Eric; she tells him that she has some news about Will.  She tells him, he might be alive; Eric isn’t sure what to say.  Marlena says it would be so wonderful for Sonny to have a second chance with his first love; Eric notes, “so then Paul’s heart can be broken.”  Marlena acknowledges that neither she nor John would want that for Paul, but she asks, if there is a chance that Will is alive, how can she not want that?  She tells him the search is on for Rolf, and he tells her to keep him posted.  JJ goes to see his sister; he teases her about getting married after they all left the chapel, for which she apologizes.  She asks what he knows about Ben’s assertion that Will is alive; he tells her that he has been taken off the case.  He goes back to the station, where he finds Lani talking to Hope.  He excuses the interruption and tells Hope she was right to suspend him, he has learned his lesson and he will never do anything like that again.  He tells Lani to let him know when she’s finished; Hope tells him to stop before he gets out the door.

John meets with Paul and tells him that there might be something to the claim that Will might still be alive; Paul says Sonny wants this to be true, so badly.  He says, they all do.  He questions why they can’t get permission from Will’s mom; John says Sammi is a “loose cannon” – Paul says they will just have to exhume the body themselves, like they did with Steffano.  He begs his father to do this for him; he says it’s better that way… at least they aren’t strangers.  They all deserve to know the truth, he says; he suggests they don’t tell anyone until it’s all over with.  John asks when he wants to do this; Paul says, “tonight.”

10-12-2017 (Thursday) Nicole Tells The Truth

Nicole walks in the house, on the phone with Eric, talking about not being able to wait to be with him, not wanting to hurt Brady, but it having to be done.  Eric is obviously irritated when she walks in the room, but kisses her firmly and welcomes her home; she says she is going to check on Holly before they “catch up.”  Brady tells her Holly is sleeping like an angel; they “can catch up now.”  She admits that she was with Eric; she says she went there to convince him to come back… Brady asks what she did to convince him.  She turns away from him; he tells her to turn around.  She admits that she “slept with him.”  (Of course, now this wasn’t to convince him to come back.)  He asks how long it took for her to hit the sack with Eric; she looks guilty as hell.  He asks if she expects him to forgive her now; if they are going to try to work it out, and she just looks away; he says, “you’ve got to be kidding me.”  She tells him she wants to be with Eric, saying, sheepishly, “I love him.”   – though admitting she still hated him when he came after her on Brady’s behalf.  Brady points out that there is a “thin line between love and hate.”  She says she didn’t want to hurt him, calling him her “best friend” and she starts to cry how grateful she will always be for everything he’s done; he shakes his head, and says, “like covering up the fact that you killed Deimos.”  He tells her get out of his sight; she goes to pack her bags and get Holly ready to go.

Kate comes to talk with Roman about what she learned from Clyde; she says Steffano’s old cohort in crime, Dr. Rolf, told Clyde that Will is still alive.  Rolf claims he revived Will, no details given; Clyde swears that’s all Rolf told him and he seemed to really believe him.  After all, why would he make it up?  But then they wonder why Rolf would do that; Marlena says maybe he was still following orders from Steffano.  Roman says Steffano may have ordered Rolf to revive Will and then kept it a secret to torment Marlena.  Kate points out that he brought John back from the dead; why couldn’t he have done the same with Will?  Marlena wonders if her grandson really could be alive.

A hand-painted sign that says, “Club Chloe” hangs over the Doug’s Place plaque on the door of the Club; Julie asks Chloe what she thinks she’s doing… she says, “making an executive decision.”  Julie says she can’t just make a change like that; Chloe reminds her that she didn’t run the former name by her before putting a sign up.  Julie says she made it clear at the auction that they would name the Club after Doug’s old nightclub; Chloe says she never told her that.  They fight over who should have consulted who; Julie tries to make Chloe feel bad by talking Doug up and telling her she can “be the one to break the news to him.” 

“Adrian” takes Victor out to lunch and tells him that she heard him on the phone, admitting to plotting his brother’s murder.  She recites word-for-word part of the conversation; he says that was the day he told her to leave the room.  Victor tells her Xander didn’t kill Deimos though; she asks then, “who did?”  She reminds him he could go to prison for plotting the murder, no matter who killed him.  He asks “Adrian” what has gotten into her; she apologizes and says she would never say anything to anyone – she says he just has to divorce Maggie and marry her.  She smiles; he cringes.

10-11-2017 (Wednesday)The Plan is In Motion

Roman asks Marlena if there is a way they can check out Ben’s story; she tells him Kate is meeting with Clyde right now.  He says Clyde is dangerous, and tried to kill Kate more than once; Marlena insists it was Kate’s decision.  Clyde is as crude as Kate remembers him to be, asking if this is a conjugal visit… Kate tells Clyde about the wedding and Ben’s interruption.  He chuckles; says he has his old man’s knack for shaking things up.  She questions Clyde about Ben’s belief that Will is still alive, and why he would tell Ben that.  She begs him to tell her what he knows.

Brady pleads his case with Victor, claiming Sonny needs to deal with his personal life right now; Victor says Sonny isn’t the only one with personal issues to deal with.  He notes that Nicole didn’t come home last night.  Brady denies anything being wrong, saying Nicole just went to see her brother last night.  Nicole wakes up in Eric’s arms; she says it was the most wonderful night of her life.  She dreads having to go talk to Brady today; Eric says he will understand if she tells him this can’t happen again.  He says he doesn’t want to ever let go; she says, “then, don’t.”  She struggles with what she is going to say to Brady; she says she owes him the truth, but she isn’t sure how to tell him that Eric is the man she loves.  Brady says Nicole would never betray him; Victor says Nicole Walker will always be Nicole Walker.  “Until she is Nicole Black,” Brady says.  Victor says he just doesn’t want to see him get hurt again. 

Nicole decides that she has to go talk to Brady today; then gets carried away talking to Eric about moving there with him, thinking of all the animals they could get living in the country; Eric says he never saw her as a country girl.  She says she is sure this is what she wants; “us, forever,” she says… Eric kisses her.  Brady drinks his coffee and stares at the decanter; he finally gives in and pours himself a drink

Adrian prays for someone to come to her rescue in prison; she sees who she thinks is Marlena and hugs her, saying, “I’m so glad you’re here.”  Then she notices the uniform and asks if “that bitch Hattie” did to Marlena what Bonnie did her; Hattie says, “I’m that bitch Hattie.”  Adrian realizes it was no coincidence that she and Marlena were replaced at the same time; Hattie puts all the blame on Angelica.  Adrian asks why Angelica would do this; Hattie tells her it was because she wanted to be with Justin… until she dropped dead.

Bonnie tries to decide how to tell Victor that she overheard him on the phone, plotting to kill his brother; she discusses her plan with Sheila.  She suggests Sheila tell him; Sheila refuses of course, then demands her money, threatening to teach her real blackmail.  Bonnie drops it; Sheila goes upstairs.  Bonnie walks in on Brady drinking and questions if he isn’t “on the wagon.”  

10-10-2017 (Tuesday) The Big Lie

Chad and Abigail giggle as they wrestle out from under the sheets; they say tthey have to go to sleep sometime.  They discuss their wedding not going as planned, feel sorry for Sonny and paul and Chad slides back under the covers… Abigail giggles again.  Sonny asks Kate for help, meeting with Clyde to find out what he knows about Will.  They go downstairs to find Sonny there; he came to ask Kate if she would talk to Clyde Weston to dind out why he told Ben that he is still alive. She refuses and then leaves to find Lucas when Sonny tells her that he was devastated by the news. .  Lucas, leans on Will's grave and says he won’t let anyone dig him up; Will ‘appears’ and tells him, at the rate he is going he will end up in his own grave.

Kate finds Lucas at the graveyard talking to Will;  Will encouraged him to take the help his family is offering and poured out his bottle of whiskey… but when Lucas picks it up to prove to her that Will was there, his bottle is still half full.  Sonny chats with Chad and Gabi; he feels awful, he says, for canceling the wedding… but, he says, if Will is alive, the marriage wouldn’t even be valid.  Chloe finds Paul at the Club, looking for something to do; she tells him she is sorry about his wedding and asks if he thinks there is any truth to what Ben said about Will; Paul says he is certain Ben is wrong.  Lucas wonders if Will’s spirit was really coming to him; this surprises Kate, as she says he never believed in that kind of stuff; Lucas pours out the bottle and lays his head in Kate’s lap.

Brady stares at the decanter again; Eric apologizes to Nicole for kissing her.  She tells him she has wanted it for a long time and can’t fight it anymore; they continue kissing, very passionately. She pulls away, says she should love Brady, asks herself what she’s doing, then turns back to Eric and says she wants him; she tells him she is in love with him… she has mistaken Brady’s kindness and her gratitude for love.  She and Eric make love.  They  ask where they go from here; Brady tells Victor that he should have trusted her, but fears now he may have lost her.  Chloe brings Holly home and is surprised to hear that Nicole hasn’t come home.  Brady can tell she knows where Nicole went; Nicole suddenly remembers that she left Holly with Chloe and checks her phone; he has called and texted.  She says she has to call him back; Eric asks what she is going to tell him.  She fabricates a lie about her brother, saying she had to drive to Chicago; she tells him she will tell him everything in the morning, then she hangs up the phone and cries about how terrible she feels.  Eric tells her he isn’t sorry she is there with him.

Kate tells Sonny and Paul where she finds Lucas and says, for his sake, as well as theirs, she will meet with Clyde.  She will let them know what she finds out.  Chloe gets uncomfortable when Brady tells her Nicole is in Chicago with her brother  Brandon; she makes up an excuse to leave.  Nicole says she hates lying to Brady, but she face him, saying being in Eric’s arms tonight feels so right.  She says they’ll worry about everything else in the morning and they start to make love again.

10-09-2017 (Monday) The Forbidden Kiss

At the Pub (after closing) Steve turns on music and asks Kayla to dance; Theo and Claire come home to hear Tripp singing along to a song.  He asks how the wedding was; Claire answers, “typical” adding that it was stopped by a crazy mass murderer.  As the song ends, Kayla pulls away and sits down; Steve asks why… she says she’s thinking about seeing Joey tomorrow and whether or not they should mention the trouble at the wedding.  They decide they are not going to hide anything, vowing to be open and honest with him; Kayla says she wishes that Steve would also be open and honest with her, about Tripp.  She asks what she means; she says he just doesn’t talk about him anymore.  He says he doesn’t want to hurt her; she says he should have been at the wedding, and questions whether Steve asked Tripp not to come.  He admits that he did, saying Tripp understood.  She  says it was unfair of him to assume she doesn’t want his son around.  He says she is right and he’s is sorry for second-guessing her; she tells him she is willing to get to know Tripp.  They kiss, saying they are luck6y to have each other.  Claire explains the relationships, and circumstances, that led to Ben bursting into the church.   Tripp tells Theo that he is honestly happy for he and Claire, insisting they are just friends.  He says he is going to leave them alone, and go get a beer.  Theo and Claire say that was nice of him to give them some alone time. They begin to kiss and head to the bedroom.

Hope tries to get Ben to tell her why he thinks Will is still alive; she shows him pictures of his father.  She asks if he was the one who told him Will was alive; Ben says, “its’s starting to come back to me, but…” he stops, shakes his head.  Hope asks him to remember what it was, exactly, that his father told him about Will..  Hope tells Ben that they took Will’s body and bured him in the cemetery; Ben thinks back; he remembers his dad coming to visit him.  He said he was going to get him out to reunite him with his “son.”  He tells Hope; she reminds Ben that Thomas is Chad DeMira’s son, not his, and he yells at her, saying he has enough misery in his life.  She says she is just trying to make the connection to Will.  He says his father told him he did not kill Will; Ben recalls strangling Will, but his father insists he didn’t.  He says “things aren’t always the way they look.”  The visit is over; Clyde tells his son he’ll explain everything the next time he comes back; he tells Hope that’s all he remembers, saying he didn’t hear from his father after that.  Sonny and Paul come into the station, and she tells them what he admitted.  They wonder why he singled Will out.  Paul and Sonny say they might know someone who can get Ben to talk.  

Victor tells Brady and Sonny that he is not going to get involved in their argument and tells them to work it out; they continue to argue.  Sonny brings up Brady kidnapping Holly with Nicole; comparing it to his time in jail, unjustly, and being absolved.  Nicole tells Eric that she knows he is running away from his feelings; he admits she is the reason he left.  She looks at him lovingly as he tells her he loves her and has never stopped.  Brady realizes, after Sonny leaves, that Nicole should have been home hours ago; she tells Eric, that when she left him, she made a mistake, choosing money over love.  She asks if she is the reason he stayed away so long; she steps even closer to him.  Brady considers going to the farmhouse to talk to Eric.

Eric apologizes to Nicole.  Eric tells Nicole that he couldn’t fire her like Brady asked; she tells him the Center needs him.  He says he can’t go back; he says he can;’t even stand to see her with Brady so he doesn’t want to be in Salem.  She steps closer to him, and says he could ignore her; he ste;ps closer and says he could never do that.  She asks him not to make this about her and Brady and yhe turns away; she asks what he is going to do with the rest of his life, saying everything about this is “wrong.”  He says he loves her so much, he can’t allow himself to be near her; Brady tells Victor he is sure that Nicole will be home anytime.  She and Brady review their past; , their first breakup, his becoming a priest… he says it isn’;t fair to her orBrady to hav him around.  She asks, what if she do9esn[t want him to go.  He tells her she should leave before he does something he regrets; she asks, “like what?” (practically begging him to kiss her)… he does.

10-06-2017 (Friday) Pouring Rain

Chad and Abigail celebrate the completion of their wedding vows, while Sonny and Paul wonder if they will ever finish theirs.  Sonny and Paul talk to Marlena, after Lucas refuses to give permission to exhume Will’s body; they ask if she will talk to Ben and try to find out why he would be saying that Will is alive.  Paul says he understands that Sonny needs to know… Sonny struggles with the thought that he abandoned Will and that Will died thinking he stopped loving him.  Marlena assures Sonny that Will knew he loved him and thought they would get past that.  Ben is brought into the police station and gleefully remarks, “look, the gang’s all here.”  He is taken into the interrogation room; Marlena agrees to talk to him.  Ben claims he was trying to do Sonny a favor by letting him know that the love of his life was alive; he says he risked everything so that everyone who cared about Will would know the truth.  He starts to (almost) cry, asking what he gets in return, being chained to the table like a monster.  He says, “to hell with all of them.”  Paul says he hopes he can help Sonny get over losing Will all over again when he knows for sure that Ben is lying; John asks if he has thought about what he might do if Ben is telling the truth.  Paul says there is no way it is true, adding that he isn’t going to let Ben Weston destroy what he and Sonny have together.  Marlena seems to soften Ben up a bit; she says she would like some answers from him.

Brady pours himself a glass of brandy; Victor tells him he hates to see him lose his sobriety over the likes of Nicole Walker.  Chloe tells Nicole that Eric left because he cares about both her and Brady; Eric asked Chloe not to tell but she tells Nicole she can’t keep secrets from her anymore.  Nicole tells Chloe about the letter Eric left her, and she says it ‘mostly’ seems true; she says Eric is one of the most unselfish people she ever knew.  She tells Nicole, outright, that Eric left because he is still in love with her and didn’t want to cause problems for her and Brady.  She also tells Nicole that Brady knows everything.  Victor gloats about Eric being gone; Brady pours himself another glass… he says he is glad he “won” - he just doesn’t like the way it happened.  Chloe tells Nicole that Brady had told Eric to fire her, but Eric couldn’t bear to see Nicole lose a job she loved; Nicole realizes he left the job he loved instead.  Nicole asks Chloe if she would mind watching Holly for a little while; Chloe asks her what she is going to do, but Nicole won’t tell her.  She says she will call when she is through.  Marlena asks Ben if he saw Will alive after he strangled him; Ben says no.  He says someone told him, swearing it was a real person (not a voice in his head); she questions if it was a visitor.  Ben looks at her, almost shocked, but then shakes his head.

Gabi and Eli literally bump into each other in the park; she helps him up and they kiss, sweetly.  Rafe isn’t happy when he comes upon them kissing.   He tells Gabby that he thinks Eli is taking advantage of her and he’s still mad that he took the chance of shooting Raines so close to her.  He tells Gabi that Chad and Abigail went through with their wedding; she is a little taken back, but says she is fine with it.  She tells Rafe that she has had a long day, and would like some “alone time,” asking him to go first so she can say goodbye to Eli.  She apologizes for Rafe; Eli says it’s fine because he would do the same for his sister.  He asks her if she is really okay about Chad and Abigail; she hesitates to answer.  He apologizes if he “overstepped” his bounds when he kissed her; she says he did not, saying she has no regrets about the kiss, but isn’t sure what will happen next.  He says he understands and offers to take her home. (motel/farmhouse).

Rafe goes into the station to see everyone waiting around the interrogation room; he tells her that Eli Grant is going to be his new partner.  Marlena comes out and says he told her enough that she thinks she can put the pieces of this puzzle together, with their help.  Abigail and Chad prepare to spend their second-first night as husband and wife together; they make love and talk about being together forever.  Hope shows Ben a picture of his father and asks if he is the person who came to visit him at Bayview.  Victor watches and Sonny and Brady have a screaming match about who should be in charge of Titan; Sonny asks for Victor to back him uip, but Victor just sits there.  Nicole shows up at Eric’s motel door, soaking wet from the rain.  (It wasn’t raining in Salem when she left Holly with Chloe.)  Strange.

10-05-017 (Thursday) Doug's Place?

Lucas goes to the former Club TBD, with another bottle in hand; Chloe comes and is surprised to see a new sign on the building saying “Doug’s Place.”  Lucas asks where everyone is; he says it’s a “lame reception.”  Chloe tells him the reception was cancelled, and that there was no wedding… he looks confused.  She says she doesn’t known all the details; Lucas gets up saying he is going to get some real answers for once.

Brady is upset because the people that Sonny fired don’t want to come back, even with an offer of double their prior salary; he says he’s tired of trying to clean up Sonny’s mess.  He tells Nicole he feels really bad about doubting her and says he should have know there would never be anything between Eric and she.  Brady goes to get a cup of coffer;  Nicole thinks she sees Eric across te square, but it’s not him.

Eli talks to Gabi in the park; she says it took everything she had to stay strong for her daughter.  She asks Eli why in the world Ben would say that Will was still alive; Eli asks if there was any chance that it might be true.  She says there is no way; she’s the one that found him… he was dead, and she tried to save him by performing CPR.  She says she wishes what Ben is saying was true, but she knows Will is gone and is never coming back.

10-04-2017 (Wednesday) Short and Sweet

Valerie questions Abe about how he made the choice for Commissioner; he says more than Hope’s ability, it was that Rafe has a father in prison and brother on the run who might be headed there.  Ben tells JJ to go ahead and pull the trigger.  Hope tells JJ to holster his weapon and sends him out of the room; she says they will talk later.

Lani and JJ go to the park to talk; Lani tells him she doesn’t think Hope will be too hard on him.  When they return, Hope, as the newly appointed Commissioner, asks JJ for his badge and service weapon; she instructs him to stay away from Ben Weston and dismisses him… suspended without pay until further notice.  Lani follows JJ out of this station; Hope tells Rafe not to regret not getting “this job.”

Paul suggests that Sonny ask to have Paul’s grave exhumed, just to know for sure.; Sonny isn’t sure how he feels about that. Chad and Abby go ahead with their ceremony, with Paul and Sonny’s blessing.

10-03-2017 (Tuesday) All Eyes On Me

Abby and Chad talk about what a nightmare it all became; she is worried about Sonny.  She says she knows Ben is a psychopath, but wonders if what he said is true… and if so, how it could be.  Ben tells Sonny he was touched by his speech; Sonny tells him he thinks this is all just a sick game.  Ben says if he walks away, he will never know for sure.  He says he will give him what he wants, as soon as Sonny gives Ben what he wants.  Kate tells Hope she has a call into the prison where Ben’s father is serving his sentence; someone pushes her from behind.  She screams.  It’s Andre; she yells at him to never do that again.  He tells her he wants to comfort her; he says he knows this is hard for her… and with Lucas being angry with her, he feels bad.  She believes he is sincere, thanks him for everything and hugs him.  Sonny questions, if he knew Will was alive, why he didn’t bring it up at trial; he says there was a reason for that.  Chad tells Abigail it was actually pretty cool watching her take Ben down; she says he doesn’t control her any more.  Chad says that is obvious.  He tells her he is proud of her.

John asks Marlena if she is okay; she says she is fine at first, but he says he knows she isn’t and she starts to cry, admitting he is right.  Hope says they aren’t sending Ben back to Bayview until they know for sure he will be secure; Hope wonders why Ben didn’t just run when he escaped Bayview, why his focus seems to be on Sonny instead of Abigail, and what it all means.  Marlena tells John that she is thinking that strange things do happen, and part of her has to wonder if it might be true that Will is alive.  Paul tries to convince Sonny that Ben is just playing games with him; he says Will is as dead today as he was two years ago.  Marlena tells John she found herself thinking about Will all day before the wedding began; she’s wondering if that was some kind of intuition.  Chad and Abigail wonder what else they should do now; she calls JJ to ask how it’s going… he says Ben is sticking to his story but has nothing to back it up.  He tells her to try not to let it ruin her day; she says nothing can ruin this day, and laughs, says she loves him and hangs up.  Paul asks Sonny not to let Ben spew any more crap at him; Sonny agrees, it’s a waste of time.  Paul tells Sonny not to let him steal their happiness; he says he wants to get married, today, now… they leave.  JJ comes back in the room, grabs Ben by the hair and asks about Page and Serena; he says, “did you kill them, or are they alive too?”

Abe calls Rafe and Hope and says he has to see them immediately; with all that’s going on, he says, he needs a Commissioner in charge and he has made his decision.  He tells Hope he has chosen her for the position; Hope receives a call that Clyde Weston is still behind bars where he is supposed to be.  Rafe congratulates Hope on her new title, Commissioner Brady – he asks if he should call her boss, laughs, and kisses her.  JJ tries to get Ben to talk, but Ben is just taunting him… JJ pulls out his gun, and Ben presses his head up against the barrel.

10-02-2017 (Monday) Interrupted Vows

Sonny and Paul repeat their vows at the beginning of this episode; and then it turns to Abigail, when Chad doesn’t feel he can follow Sonny’s beautiful speech.  Abby begins... she says life is surprising, discusses how she used to try to plan everything; she says she’s learned nothing can be planned, saying she doesn’t even know what is going to happen in the next ten seconds.  That’s when the doors burst open; it’s Ben!  Abby drops her boquet and appears to suddenly be alone in the chapel, except for Ben… she starts rambling, how could this be?  Everyone looks around; Abby wonders if she is losing her mind… picks up her bouquet.  She tells Ben this is her wedding day, her second chance with Chad and she isn’t going to fall apart this time… she tells him, “this time, I win,” adding that he has no more power over her.

JJ and Rafe put Ben in handcuffs; Hope tells him he is going down to the station instead of back to the institution.  Ben tells Sonny he has something he needs to tell him; he says Will is alive.  Sonny questions why he would say that; he says he will tell him – but only him.  Sonny refuses to be alone with him and tells them to get him out of there.  The bride and grooms decide that they would like to get the ceremony going again; Ben screams on his way out that he isn’t lying about Will.  Sonny appears to be in shock.  With Ben gone now, Abby resumes her vows; she mentions her first meeting with Chad… Sonny reflects back on his first meeting with Will.  She mentions their first kiss; Sonny again recalls his first kiss with Will, their first intimate encounter, and more.  She mentions Thomas being born; Sonny recalls holding Arianna for the first time.  He also remembers telling Will he loved him for the first time; Sonny begins to cry… he runs out, saying, “I’m sorry Paul; I can’t do this.”  He says he has to find out why Ben said Will is alive; he says he has to know for sure.  He apologizes to Paul again, and leaves the church; Paul follows.

Justin offers to continue the ceremony for Abby and Chad; the guests begin to wonder if anything more is going to happen.  Maggie tells “Adrian” she should be with her son at the station; Justin comes in and announces that Sonny and Paul have left and aren't going through with the wedding.  Chad and Abigail decide that they should wait too; they tell the guests the wedding has been postponed.  As they sit in the empty church, Chad and Abby laugh about how much longer they will have to wait to actually finish a ceremony.  

09-29-2017 (Friday) An Uninvited Wedding Guest

Chad and Sonny are confused by the texts they receive; Paul looks concerned and Abigail seems frightened.  The text is just a notice that, for some reason, the priest just cancelled on them; Sonny looks at “Adrian” and says they do have someone that can marry them, “you.”  Bonnie looks shocked, pointing at herself.  Sonny reminds her she became an “officiate” online, when she did that Valentine’s Day story; she says oh yeah, but still says she can’t…she just can’t do it, she tells them, saying, “it would be a big mistake.”  Justin comes in and reminds them that he is also ordained.  Gabi tells Arianna she will be the most beautiful flower girl; she remembers telling Chad that she knows he has always been in love with Abigail.  Eli approaches and says, “hi.”  He asks her if she is ready to go to the church.  They head out, leaving a rose on the ground by the bench.  A man, who’s face is still not shown, walks by and picks up the rose.People begin entering the church; Marlena and John sign the guest book… he tells them that Sonny said not to worry about anything because he and Chad will work it out.  Many guests are already in the pews; they sit down next to Nicole.  Brady says he is going to check on the ‘father’ to make sure everythinng’s alright.  Kate looks around the church, hoping to see Lucas; she fears he is drunk somewhere and not even aware of what day it is.  Andre tells her he is sorry Lucas fell off the wagon.  Brady comes back in and asks Victor if he has seen Father Louie anywhere; Victor says maybe he misplaced his bible.  Julie shows Doug the Club she and Chloe bought; she tells him it is his.  He asks for the first dance, and sings, “I Love You Truly” to her.  She kisses him.

Gabi walks along, behind Arianna, as Arianna tosses rose pedals on the floor down the isle.  Sonny enters first, escorted by Justin; “Adrian” squeezes into a pew next to Victor.  Paul comes in next, escorted by John, then Chad with Kate and Andre; they hug him and sit down.  Abigail is ready to make her entrance; JJ and Jennifer walk behind her.  Jen kisses them both and JJ shakes Chad’s hand, giving his sister a wink.  They all turn to face Justin, Father Louie’s replacement… he begins by explaining the Father’s absence, and admits that some of them there have had their differences, but says he knows they can leave all feelings of ill will outside the church.  He asks if anyone has any reason these two couples can’t be joined together, and the doors swing open; everyone turns to see Doug and Julie walk in.  They apologize, noting trouble with the caterers; Justin moves on.

Brady is asked to say a few words on behalf of Sonny and Paul; he speaks of love and how you should do anything and everything you can to be with the one you love.  Andre is asked to speak for Abigail and Chad; he talks about how they have made his heart “not quite so dark’ and says the story of Chad and Abigail will be one of beauty, poignancy, truth, and passion that is timeless.  John and Marlena, and Doug and Julie, look at each other and nod. He then wishes all of them, including Paul and Sonny, happiness.  Maggie gets up to speak; she talks about tomorrows not being a guarantee and taking hold of the ‘moment’ – she encourages them all to take one day at a time, each and every moment as an opportunity to love each other better, making second chances count.  All of the couples in the room look at each other and smile; Gabi and Eli, last.  The two couples each take two candles, light one larger candle and blow the two out… a symbol of two becoming one, I suppose.

Sonny and Paul say their vows; Paul eloquently says that he knew what he wanted to do when he was four years old, but it was only after meeting Sonny that he knew who he wanted to be.  Sonny tells Paul that he never thought he would love again, and he helped him find his way back from a broken heart.  Chad jokes that he can’t follow that up; Abigail offers to go first.  Just as she says how crazy life is, annd how unpredictable, the chapel doors burst open… the undisclosed ‘patient’ (now all dressed in black) walks in and everyone gasps.

09-28-2017 (Thursday) The Excitement Begins

Andre tells Chad he looks great dressed in his tuxedo.  Andre gives Chad a gift… his favorite pocket watch; he says he’ll be happy to know that when he looks at it, he will remember their time together – days past, and those ahead of them.  Chad hugs Andre.  Kate comes home and tells Chad that she truly wishes the best for them, even though Abby has never been her choice for him.  Abigail comes home to find a delivery… it’s from Chad, with a sweet note.  JJ tells Abigail she looks beautiful, but asks why she is so nervous; she says she is worried that something might go wrong.  He tells her she gets that from their father; it’s in their genes.  He tells her to grab her bouquet and dance down that isle; she laughs and says, “nothing but positivity.”  Jennifer comes in to help her finish getting dressed; she gives her the veil she wore when she married her dad; Abigail looks stunning.  (I’m finally getting used to this Abigail.)  Andre and Kate discuss their marriage and agree to new terms to make it work for the remainder of the time they have to pull it off in order to convince the board it’s real.

Victor apologizes to Sonny for letting him sit in jail the way he did; he promises never to to anything to hurt him again.  Sonny says he knows that; he goes to get dressed.   Justin says he is glad that all that stuff with Deimos is over; Victor says he isn’t so sure about that.  Justin questions this statement; he tells Justin that he ordered the hit on Deimos.  Justin says he isn’t surprised.  He asks who else knows… Sonny Paul Brady, he replies.  Justin says he gets it and their next priority is damage control; Victor says this will stay just between them.  Just then “Adrian” walks in, all dressed up, in a cleavage revealing white dress, asking, “what is just between us?”  He says it is a family matter; she asks if she isn’t part of the family; Victor mutters, and she says it’s okay, she gets it.  Justin and Victor both comment on how her dress is inappropriate for a wedding guest and she agrees to go change when Justin says he’ll take her out in that dress another night.  Justin says she hasn’t quite been herself lately; Victor agrees and tells him she threw herself at him the other night.  Justin asks for details; Victor tells him about her shoving her melons in his face, claiming she was “all over” him and Justin laughs.  Victor says maybe he just isn’t used to her “being nice.”

Paul and John have lunch with Marlena; she tells them both that she knows Will would want Sonny to be happy again.  He tells them, he is having some trouble writing his vows, and they offer to help; John recalls their first wedding and Marlena recites her vows to him.  John says you can’t top “Doc” but then recalls his words to her, after discussing all they have come through; “my love for you has never changed, so I know it never will.”  Paul is amazed that they remember their vows after all these years; he says he is batting zero right now.  John assures him it will all work out; Marlena tells him, that is the beginning of his vows… he realizes it is and runs off to find some paper.  Marlena says young love is marvelous; John says, “so is not so young love” and tells her she is even more beautiful to him now than she ever was and thanks her for sticking by him through everything.  Paul comes back later with a page full of writing; he says once he started, he couldn’t stop.

The doctor brings ‘the patient,’ who is unknown to us as of yet, back into the room; he says he seems even more agitated than usual. They talk about all the confusion with the wrong patients being admitted last week, and some keys being lost; they say there is no telling where those keys ended up.  The undisclosed patient sticks the keys in his pocket; he seems to be wearing scrubs (I’m guessing this is Deimos).  The nurse sits down to give him an injection, telling the orderly he will be ready for “dream land in no time” but as soon as the orderly walks out the door the anonymous patient grabs a tray off the bedside table and smacks her across the head with it.  She falls to the floor, and he sits up, releasing himself from the restraints.  When the orderly comes in and finds the nurse on the floor, the patient steps up behind him and puts a knife in the back of his shoulder, then walks out the door; we still don’t see this patient’s face.  Chad and Sonny get a text at the same time, Paul gets a text and Abigail gets a text; Abigail says, “oh my god.”

09-27-2017 (Wednesday) The Party's Over

Brady pours himself a drink at the Pub; Paul comes in and says he thought he quit.  Brady assures him it’s nothing, and gets a glass of water.  The Pub is closed temporarily for Paul’s bachelor party.  Lani comes out looking gorgeous in a dress; JJ suggests they blow off both parties and go out together.  Lani says they can get together afterward; Theo walks Claire to the door and says he will see her later.  He goes on to Chad’s; Andre has a game of poker planned for everybody at Chad’s party.  At the Pub, a male stripper shows up; it ends up being someone Paul knows, named Gil.  Sonny shows up and hears Paul telling this man that he is truly happy; Gil wishes them well and says he has to get to another gig.  Sonny says he had enough of Andre’s posh party.

At Abby’s party, everyone writes down a hint from a relationship that they have learned and she reads them; they break open a bottle of champagne.  Hope asks Kayla how she is doing with Joey in jail; she says she wakes up every morning, thinking he’s there and then realizes he’s not… it’s hard, she says.  Hope offers her comfort.  She questions if she ever feels resentment toward Steve, about Tripp; Kayla says not all the time.  Claire tells Kayla she is going to visit Joey soon; Kayla says he would love that.  That cut the cake; Hope tells Kayla she is there, if she needs her.  Steve tells Rafe they visited Joey in prison; he seems to have found some peace of mind.  Hope tells him they did what they thought was right.  Steve says he’s okay with it, but it seems to be hard on Kayla; Rafe says everyone works through things on their own time.  JJ has a semi-serious talk with Chad; he says he is just looking out for his sister.

The same stripper, Gil, shows up at Abby’s party; they stop him after just taking his shirt off and pay him for his time.  He says he is “striking out everywhere tonight.”  Lani comes by the Pub; she tells them about the stripper… JJ tells her he was one of Paul’s ex-s.  Theo tells Claire they all left Andre’s to go to the Pub; he asks if she knows why people have these separate parties.  She says it’s just tradition; Andre speaks to his father’s portrait.  He tells him he will always “look out for him..”  Sonny invites Paul to stay the night, but Paul says he doesn’t want to jinx anything.

A nurse walks into a hospital room (we are not shown where); she speaks to a patient we cannot see.  She says she is glad to see he/she is eating better and leaves the room; we see the patient clutch a set of keys in his (or her) fist, their arms are strapped to the bed.

09-26-2017 (Tuesday) Inside Information

Hope and Rafe discuss whether or not they will actually both be okay with whatever decision Abe makes.  Eli is surprised to see Sheila; she says it’s been a long time…. Apparently they knew each other “back in the day.”  Chad n Abby stroll by; Sheila tells Eli they should talk sometime and leaves.  Chad vows to find Dario and get him to sign that paper.  He promises her it will be okay; he won’t give up.  He says they should go talk to Rafe first.  Abby fears that she will be getting arrested tomorrow, instead of getting married.  Gabi shows up; Abby tells them the wedding may be postponed.  After they explain why, Gabi says she may know how to reach Dario; she calls the last number he called her from and let’s Abigail talk to him.  He tells her, for her, he will do anything; he arranges with Gabi, somehow, to get the papers to him to sign.  Abby hugs Gabi and thanks her; she tells Chad it looks like they can get married tomorrow after all.  Gabi half-smiles when Eli looks at her.

Eric sets himself up in his new room; he finds one of Nicole’s pictures still laying on the floor.  Marlena knocks on the door; she says Jennifer told her he left and she was pretty sure where he’d be.  She asks why he didn’t tell her he was leaving; he says he didn’t want her to talk him out of it.  She asks if it had to do with Nicole; he says it doesn’t matter because she and Brady deserve to be happy.  He says he doesn’t want Nicole to ever know he is in love with her; Maggie wishes there could be a different solution, and hopes he comes back home one day   She cries as she hugs him goodbye.  Nicole finds Brady at the Pub; she shows him Eric’s letter.  Brady questions why he would leave town; Nicole says she doesn’t understand.  When she leaves, he calls Eric; he asks why he didn’t just do what he asked.  Eric says he did… he made it so that he and Nicole wouldn’t be seeing each other anymore.  Brady says he didn’t want him to leave all the people he loves; Eric says, “except Nicole.”  Nicole comes back in for the letter; she says, there might be some instructions about the Center in it.  She asks who he was talking to; he told her he was trying to convince Eric to come back to town.

Victor tells Xander he better not tell anyone about their plan to kill Deimos; “Adrian” smiles, saying that’s exactly the information she needs… Maggie walks into the room and asks what that was about.  “Adrian” claims it was just about a news story.  Maggie questions Victor about Adrian’s actions; he tells Maggie he isn’t the least bit interested in Adrian’s melons, or buns…they both discuss how much she’s changed.  Maggie says it’s probably just because she’s been through so much this past year.

09-25-2017 (Monday) Regrets, Revenge and Rewards

Sonny tells Paul it’s just not comfortable for him to talk about Will; Paul wonders why – he says they should be able to talk about anything.  Sonny asks the first question on the questionnaire, joking about habits that annoy them about each other; Paul says gets annoyed when Sonny tries to change the subject to avoid a topic.  He says he knows Sonny is keeping something from him; Sonny says he just doesn’t want to hurt him, and he might be about to do just that.  He tells Paul Lucas accused him of forgetting about Will; he says that’s not true, because he thinks about him all the time.  Paul says he understands that; Sonny tells him about his dream.  Paul tells him he is very secure in his love for him, and he isn’t threatened, even knowing how much he loved Will.  Sonny appreciates that he knows that, but he wonders if Will knew… Paul assures him, he did.  Sonny says he feels so bad about the problems they had and admits that he never wanted their life to be over.  He wonders if he hadn’t ran away, if things would be different; Paul asks if he wishes they were different… he asks Sonny if he wishes they were different; he says, “I do.”  He tells him, he feels like he is betraying Will; Paul asks if he wants to go through with this wedding… Sonny touches his face.  He says he wants to marry him more than anything in the world, but Paul wonders if Sonny can ever love him as much as he loved Will.  Sonny tells Paul Will wasn’t his first love… it was him; he says a part of him will always love Will, but he wants to spend the rest of his life with Paul.  Paul is brought to tears; they kiss passionately.

Chad asks what happened; Abby says Justin is coming over to explain.  Justin shuffles through papers on his desk, he tells “Adrian” he has to take care of this TODAY.  She vocally reminds herself, “so that our niece, Abigail, can marry Chad DeMira.”  He says, “yes” and says he’s got to go; she awkwardly steps out of his way; he then asks Sheila if she would pick up his suit from the cleaners, handing him a ticket on his way out the door. She turns to confront Bonnie, who defends the fact that she had to make her the maid, telling her, “if the chauffer had quit, I would have made you the chauffer.”  Sheila tells her not to forget who has the “upper hand” here.  When he arrives at the mannsion, he tells Chad annd Abigail that they "got a picky judge"; he is investigating this as a case of immigration fraud… not only can’t they get married tomorrow, Abby might be going to jail.  Justin says she needs to sign a statement saying her marriage had nothing to do with Dario’s immigration status; Abby isn’t sure she can sign it, because that’s not true.  Justin tells her she will be in more trouble if she doesn’t.  Chad convinces her to.  Justin calls later to say the judge still won’t sign the papers until he gets a signed statement from Dario; and nobody knows where Dario is.

Abe shows up to meet with Hope; he says she’s happy to hear he is interested in the Commissioner’s job.  Rafe walks in the door, just as Abe tells her Rafe also called expressing interest; he says it is between the two of them.  He says he would like the two of them to talk this through and make a decision amongst themselves, because he doesn’t want to promote one over the over and cause any problems.  They agree to talk; they said they should have talked to each other first, and not listened to JJ and Lani.  They both admit that they want the job, but that it doesn’t mean more to them than their feelings for each other; they agree that they will always be “equals” no matter what.  Hope says they just have this problem with being a little argumentative with each other; Rafe says they always work it out, but Hope seems to fear maybe this time they won’t.  Rafe suggests they both turn down the job; Hope says “no” they shouldn’t.  She tells him they can survive anything, regardless of their work relationship.

Eli meets his mother for lunch in the Square; she can’t understand why they fired him for saving someone’s life.  He says he broke the rules; she asks if he is going to stay in town… he says his options are the Salem PD or Mall Cop.  She tells him she has a little pull with the Mayor; he laughs.  Abe happens by and sits down with them; Abe says he just may have a detective in need of a new partner.  Rafe and Hope tell Eli they are fine with whatever decision he makes; they both have their “hat in the ring.”

Sheila questions why “Adrian” is trying to get Victor to like her when “the lawyer” is already totally into who he thinks she is; Bonnie says Maggie stole her husband and she wants revenge on her.  “Adrian” comes into the livingroom in a skimpy silk robe and short nightie; she’s holding two bowls in front of her exposed cleavage and asks if he would like to taste her melons.  He just glares at her; she sits down.  He gets a phone call from Xander… he tells her this is a private call and she leaves the room.  Sheila runs into Eli Grant in the Square; apparently they knew each other in the past.  “Adrian” picks up the phone and overhears Xander and Victor’s conversation; she smiles.

09-22-2017 (Friday) Goodbye Again?

Eric calls Julie; he thanks her for understanding.  He reflects back on his conversation with Brady, promising to never come between Nicole and him.  Brady gets up to find Nicole on the couch, setting up meetings with potential donors; he realizes she really loves that job.  She can’t find her briefcase; he apologizes again for being so jealous and says he knows nothing is going on between Eric and her.  She kisses him goodbye.  She is surprised when she gets to the Center and finds Jason sitting at Eric’s desk; he tells her Eric quit this morning.  He gives her a note from Eric.  He talks about his guilt over Daniel, and how much her forgiveness changed things for him; he says their friendship means the world to him, and thanks her for freeing him.  He tells her she has his “admiration and respect” and wishes her the best in life.

Jen and Abby go over details for the wedding; Abby objects when her mom says she is throwing her a bachelorette party.  Jennifer takes Abigail shopping for her wedding dress; she tells her, she doesn’t care how many times she does it, it will always make her cry.  They talk about how wonderful it will be, walking down the isle with two other people who love each other ass much as they do; Sonny wakes up, to see Will in his bed.  He smiles and tells him he is happy he’s back; he tells him he loves him so much.  Will asks why he is marrying “him” tomorrow; Sonny turns over to see Paul on the other side of him.  Paul asks, if he loves him so much, why he is thinking about Will.  Sonny actually wakes up, and Paul asks what he was dreaming about; he says he seemed agitated.   He says he was dreaming about Lucas; he tells Paul, he said a lot of things that made sense when he was yelling at him (even though he was drunk).  Paul says it made him realize that they still have a lot of unresolved issues about Will they need to discuss.  Sonny kisses him and says they can talk about it after they get some coffee.  They find Brady downstairs; Brady tells Paul he is taking him out for a bachelor party… Sonny asks what about him.  Brady says a “joint bachelor party doesn’t make sense” but Sonny protests quickly, that he and Will had a joint bachelor party.  He looks at Paul, with a slightly guilty face; Paul doesn’t seem bothered.  He tells Sonny it’s okay if he talks about Will; they agree to have separate parties, Sonny saying, he and Sonny will probably do something “low key.”

Paul asks Brady if he talked to his brother about Nicole; Brady tells him they were not having an affair, if that’s what he is asking about.  Eric tries to explain to Jennifer that he just feels like it’s time for him to move on; she says it sounds more like he is running away from something.  Paul leaves and Sonny tells Brady they need to talk about the future of Titan; Brady says they can talk about that when he gets back from his honeymoon.  He thinks it might be in Titan’s best interest to leave things the way they are; Sonny gets upset.  He tells Brady, his filling in for him was only to be temporary; Brady says things are running smoothly now and they shouldn’t disrupt it.  They bring up each other’s personal problems; Sonny says he earned the CEO position and isn’t going to hand it over to Brady without a fight.  He leaves the room.

Chad tries to figure out his wedding vows; Andre says it should be a “no brainer by now” and suggests he just speak from his heart.  He says there is something important they need to discuss now; Andre tells him he is taking him out on his last night of freedom.  Chad agrees, so long as there are no strippers; Abigail accepts her mother’s plan as well, but they argue over what the activities will be.  Eric approaches Jennifer and Abby at their table in the Square; he asks if he can talk to Jennifer.  Andre and Chad agree that they want to work on their ‘brother’ relationship; Abigail walks in to see them hugging.

Eric tells Jennifer he isn’t running from anything, but he is a different person now, much thanks to her… he says he knows he can do some real good now, anywhere he goes.  He thanks her for not giving up on him, and for pushing him; she tells him there is no thanks needed and says she will miss him a lot.  Holding hands, he says he will miss her more, especially the donuts she brings him; she says she’ll send him some by mail if he sends her his address.  They hug as she says “I guess this is goodbye then” and he says, “for now” and kisses her on the forehead.  Nicole tells Jason Eric’s letter doesn’t make sense to her; she says she needs to talk to him before it’s too late.  She runs into Jennifer in the Square; Jen tells her he has already left town.  Eric walks into an empty room, carrying a duffle bag in one hand and a small box in the other; he drops the box and pictures of Nicole fall out.  He picks them up and looks around the room, seemingly heartbroken.

Justin calls back and tells Abigail there is a problem; she tells Chad they might not be getting married tomorrow after all.  Paul gets a call from his mother; she is in the hospital and can’t come to the wedding.  She tells him not to postpone it for her; he and Sonny sit down to fill out their paperwork at the chapel.  Paul asks Sonny, “first, why don’t you want to talk about Will?” 

09-21-2017 (Thursday) A New Partnership

Abby gets a call from Justin; her annulment papers are ready to sign.  She tells Chad that she wants to wait to make love; he asks why, mentioning that they have the house to themselves right now.  She say she would like to be husband and wife again before they have sex again; then it hits her, it wasn’t that long ago, he was in that bed with Gabi.  He assures her she is the only woman he loves and that he has always loved her; they start kissing on the couch and he tells her that just makes it harder to wait.  Justin comes in to bring her the papers; he says in no time at all, it will be like the marriage never happened.  They ask about he and Adrian; he says things are better than ever.  They talk about how suddenly it happened; he admits that he feels bad for Lucas.Gabi cleans out the rest of Dario’s stuff from Club TBD; he explains that he got fired for firing his gun with a civilian nearby.  She feels bad that he lost his job because of her; he tries to convince her that he lost his job because of his decision.  She suggests he go to work for the PCPD; Eli reminds her that her brother is not one of his biggest fans.  She asks if he came to say goodbye; he tells her he doesn’t want to leave town, he just doesn’t know what to do.  He tells her he will still be there at the wedding with her; she talks about how hard it’s going to be watching Chad pledge the rest of his life to Abigail, although they are all friends.  He says, if it gets uncomfortable for her, they can just leave; she thanks him for being so understanding.

Brady is surprised when Chloe tells him that she went in with Julie as a partner.  She asks where Nicole is; he says at the Center, and assures her he is sure everything will work out just fine.  Chloe comes in to talk to Eric and lets him know that she accidentally let it slip that he had feelings for Nicole; when Nicole comes home early, Brady assumes Eric fired her.  She asks why he would think that; he says he knows that the Center is having money trouble.  She acknowledges that, but says she doesn’t think he’ll let her go; she says she may tell him she is going to quit again though.  He asks why; she recalls her close encounter with Eric after touching his hand… she changes the subject by saying he told her to come home and enjoy her family, and he seems to be the only family there.  They go make love.  Later, Nicole sneaks out to call Abe; she thanks him for their talk earlier and tells him that she thinks everything is going to be okay.  He asks if she is going to quit her job; she says no, she believes she can handle it.  She tells him it means the world to her to have him back in her life again; Brady walks in the room, obviously wondering who she is talking to.  She tells him it was Abe, but says they were talking about the city possibly helping out the Horton Center so she wouldn’t have to quit; he calls Eric the second she leaves the room and asks why he didn’t fire her today.  Eric says they got interrupted; Brady tells him he better take care of it tomorrow.

Hope and Rafe have both been told they are being considered for the position of Commissioner; they each tell each other that they think they should be the one chosen.  Lani talks to Hope; she asks why she wouldn’t want to accept the position if it were offered to her.  She mentions being convicted for killing Steffano; Lani reminds her she was cleared of that.  JJ talks to Rafe, while they work out at the gym; he encourages him by saying he would be great at the job.  .JJ says he and Hope need to talk; Rafe says he is just going to tell Abe he isn’t interested and clear the way for Hope.  Lani tells Rafe that she thinks he would make a great Commissioner, even though she admits that she was rooting for Hope; she tells him that Hope thinks it should be him, so he should go for it.  JJ finds Hope in the park and tells her that Rafe doesn’t want the job; he wants her to have it.  She looks surprised; JJ encourages her to go for it.  They both make a call to Abe; Rafe reaches him and Hope leaves a message.

09-20-2017 (Wednesday) The Intervention

Lucas wakes up in the hospital, strapped to a bed; he wonders where he is and starts screaming for help.  Kayla comes in and tries to calm in down… Kate, Jennifer and Maggie all come in; Kate tells Lucas if she and Jennifer hadn’t found him, he would be dead right now.  He is angry; he knows this is an intervention… he says he isn’t going along with it.  He accuses them all of trying to get rid of him so he won’t embarrass them anymore; Maggie tells him they aren’t that selfish.  She says they care about him and don’t want him to die; he asks Maggie why she let Adrian move in with them.  She says she didn’t have a choice.  He yells at his mother for firing him; he says he is “a big fat nothing now.”  Kate tries to explain that she did it for his own good.  He tells them all he doesn’t want any of them there right now, and demands that they get him out of these restraints; they are all crying.  Lucas demands that they release him; he says they don’t have a legal right to keep him there.  They agree, still trying to talk him into going to rehab.  He refuses; he gets dressed and says he wants to sign his release papers so he can go.  Kayla says she won’t authorize that; he says she doesn’t have to and walks out of the room.

Abby and Chad go the chapel again, and fill out a form for the priest; it asks if either of them have had a child out of wedlock.  Chad says he has to answer yes; Abby acknowledges that “Grace” was difficult for him… he says not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about her.  Abby tells him to note that next to his answer.  When they get back home, there are gifts on the table; Abby asks Chad if he wants to open them.  He kisses her and says she is the only present he needs.Chloe has decided to buy Club TBD; she is disappointed when Julie tells her that she is going to outbid her, and suggests she find something more realistic.  Chloe tells her she doesn’t appreciate the condescending attitude; Julie explains why she wants to buy the Club, as a surprise for Doug.  Julie asks Chloe if she will back off; Chloe says, “not on your life.”

The auction begins; Myron comes in and tells the ladies that he is also bidding on the Club… he says he invested in some stock options, which have exploded.  Chloe tells Julie now that neither of them are going to win.  The bidding begins; Julie and Chloe begin outbidding each other, then another man bids, then Myron raises his bid to $400,000.00.  Suddenly, Chloe and Julie both raise their paddles and bid $500,000.00 together; Myron tells them that’s more than he’s will to spend “to get a few chicks” and leaves.  Julie and Chloe get the Club; they realize now they have to figure out how to work together.

Brady is upset; Victor asks why.  Brady says he talked to Chloe and she let it slip that Eric still has feelings for Nicole, so now he has confirmation; Victor says he had a right to know.  Brady is angry because he was accused of being jealous for no reason; Victor asks how he can be sure that Nicole returns those feelings.  Brady says he isn’t sure; Victor tells Brady he should quit “handle Nicole over to his brother on a silver platter.”  Victor leaves the room; Brady pours himself a glass of brandy.  He drinks it.  At the Center, Eric and Nicole have a slightly intimate moment when he touches her arm and appears to want to kiss her; Nicole tells him she is going to take care of something and leaves the room.

Nicole calls ‘Brandon’ and tells him that she could use a friend to talk to, adding that Holly would love to meet her uncle; Abe tells her that he overheard her trying to call Brandon and asks if he could offer an ear.  Nicole is hesitant to talk to Abe, but agrees when he says if she has a problem, he would like to help; she confesses that she thinks she has feelings for Eric.  She tells Abe, after Eric got done talking to this young boy who had hit somebody with a car while driving drunk, she was so moved, she reached out and touched his hand; she says it triggered something and made her realize she still has feelings for him.  She tells Abe she doesn’t know what to do now, because she had been denying any feelings for Eric to Brady for so long; she adds that she doesn’t want to lose what she has with Brady.

Eric comes into the Center and tells Eric he wants to talk to him; he makes him admit that he has feelings for Nicole, then gets angry when he does.  Eric promises Brady that he has never done anything about it; he says Nicole doesn’t know how he feels.  He says he wants the two of them to be happy; he swears he would never come between them.  Brady tells him to prove it then; he tells Eric to fire Nicole.  Eric argues that Nicole is doing a lot of good there, and it makes her happy; Brady says he doesn’t care, telling Eric again, “fire her.”  Abe tells Nicole that she needs to think about what she really wants; he asks her to consider if her love for Brady is more gratitude than anything, saying she needs to be true to herself and acknowledge her feelings.  She tells him she has to get back to the Center; she hugs him and says thank you.

09-19-2017 (Tuesday) Back to Work

Nicole comes back to the Center; Eric welcomes her back and gives her back her nameplate for her desk.  She tells Eric they make quite a team, then texts Brady, telling him he is “the best.”  He says to himself, “lucky me” and he looks at the decanter; Nicole puts up her family pictures and says she has never been so happy.  They talk about having another fundraiser for an Adult Literacy Program; Eric brings up the issue of their last fundraiser possibly overshadowing everything…adding that the real killer is still out there somewhere.  Nicole chokes on a drink of water.  Eric asks if she’s okay; she says just hearing Deimos’ name makes her nervous.

Brady pours himself a glass of water; Chloe comes in and thinks he is drinking liquor, saying, “so it is true… you are drinking again.”  She apologizes when he shows her it’s just water.  Chloe asks where Nicole is; Brady tells her about her returning to work at the Center.  She says she will stop by there to say hi, but then admits she had an ulterior motive for stopping by.  She tells him she wants to buy Club TBD, and asks him if he would help her by giving her a loan.  He says yes, without hesitation, telling her he has faith in her and it would be silly not to invest.  She hugs him and tells him thank you.  He jokingly asks what else ex-husbands are good for.  She asks if he is okay with Nicole working at the Center; he says the three of them talked things out and it’s all good.  Chloe seems relieved and says she is glad Eric was able to be honest with him about his feelings for Nicole; Brady asks her to clarify what she means.  He tries to play it cool while she is there, but as soon as she leaves, he says, “son of a bitch!”  He walks back over to the decanter.

Eric gets a visitor at the Center; it is the young man that Eric helped get through the trauma after he hit someone driving drunk.  He tells Nicole he owes his life to this man.  Eric tells him that he also gave him the encouragement to go one helping other people; the young man shakes his hand and says he is glad for that.  He says he is looking for a job now; Nicole hands him a card and says they offer help with job placement.  The man (Jason) hugs Eric and says goodbye.  Nicole tells Eric Jason is right; he is an amazing man.  She touches his hand.

Lani tells Rafe that her dad just got to the Pub; he says, “let’s see if this works.”  Abe tells Roman it wasn’t easy pretending that he was the bad guy; Roman tells him sometimes you have to do something for the greater good.  Abe tells him that’s what he wanted to talk to him about; he tells Roman he wants him to come out of retirement and take back his old job.  Hope and Rafe agree, they need someone back in charge who they can trust; JJ and Lani question Rafe and Hope about whether or not they have set a date.  JJ asks what’s taking so long; Rafe tells him to ask Hope.  Hope tells them they are happy the way things are, and just don’t feel the need to run down the isle.  Roman turns Abe down; he says he is done with that life and just wants to run the Pub, keeping his parents dream alive.  Roman suggests Abe resign as Mayor and fill the position himself; Abe asks for other suggestions.  JJ takes a call; there’s a mugging at the docks.  He and Lani go to check it out; Hope asks Rafe, “why did you do that?”  He says he didn’t know what else to say; she says he should have said he is happy right now just being engaged… unless that’s not true.  Lani and JJ sit down on the park bench; Lani tells him he is so great at talking to people and getting them to open up.  He says he’s glad they got a good description of the mugger, and talks about how nice it is to help people; Lani realizes he really loves his job.  He says he feels like he is finally doing what he was meant to do; they kiss.

Julie and Doug have breakfast in the Square; she tells him that the government is auctioning off Club TBD.  She suggests maybe they buy it; Doug says he did have fun when they ran their club before, Doug’s Place.  They reminisce about the fun they used to have there, singing and dancing with friends; she says they could always buy another place.  He tells her that time has come and gone.  Julie tells Doug that she has an errand to run; he asks what she’s up to.  She tells him he will find out soon, kisses him and leaves.  Doug goes to see Hope at the station; he tells her that he thinks her mother is up to something.  Chloe and Julie both show up at Club TBD, awaiting the auction.

09-18-2017 (Monday) Wake Up!

Chad and Sonny talk about second chances; Sonny starts regretting his actions before Will died.  He says he shouldn’t have left; Will died thinking he didn’t love him.  He tells Chad about the last letter Will sent to him; he has it memorized.  He says he just came home one day too late; Chad says Sonny has to forgive himself, adding that Will would want him to fall in love again and be happy.  Sonny jokes about outshining Chad in his Tux; Chad says everyone is going to be staring at Abby.  Sonny says he’s probably right; they hug.  Paul asks JJ about Sonny and Will… if they were happy; JJ says they were.  It just worked, he said; “true love” Paul says, “for both of them?”  JJ says yes, but reminds Paul that Sonny really does love him now and they have the rest of their lives to spend together.  Paul forces a smile.  JJ says he understands that everybody loved Will; JJ acknowledges he probably doesn’t want it shoved in his face though.  He tells JJ about the thinks Lucas said about Will; JJ tells Paul that nothing that happened was because of him.  He reminds him that Ben terrorized everyone; he murdered Will.  He says Paul has nothing to feel guilty for; he tells him he’s the best thing that ever happened to Sonny, adding that they both deserve to be happy.

Gabi and Abigail talk in the Square; Abigail tells her about Lucas showing up.  Gabi apologizes; she says she suggested he go talk to Sonny.  Abby looks a little angry.  She says she did mention that they were working on the wedding and apologizes again.  Abby tells her it’s fine, and then asks if she is going to be present for the wedding.  She says she’ll understand if she doesn’t want to; Gabi says seeing them all happy matters more than what she’s feeling, so of course she will be there.  They both tell each other they love each other; Gabi tells her Eli is going to come with her.  Abby is happy to hear that.  They hug.

Lucas sees Will; he tries to explain why he is drinking, so he doesn’t have to remember all the pain of losing him, and because Adrian left him and he sees no future.  Will tells his father he has to deal with her leaving; he brings up Sonny abandoning Will.  Will tells Lucas, he doesn’t blame Sonny; he’s going on with his life, and he says Lucas should too.  Will tells his father that maybe he is supposed to be with someone else; he suggests his mom, Sammi.  Lucas says he and his mother were a disaster together; he says Will was all that connected them.  Will argues otherwise; Lucas says they did have a lot of fun together.  Lucas calls himself a beligerant drunk with no job, saying he is no good for anybody; Will tells him to go ahead then and fall down into that bottle and die.  A great way to honor his memory, Will says; Lucas shakes his head.  He tells Will he can’t take this away from him (holding up his flask); it’s all he has left, he says.  Will opens his arms and tells him to hold on to him.  Lucas tells Will he isn’t real and he can’t help him; Will says he needs to go then, since he isn’t helping.  Lucas goes to hug him goodbye, telling him he loves him, and runs into a pew, knocking himself unconscious.

Abigail goes to see her mother; Kate is already there talking to her.  Kate tells Jennifer that Lucas is drinking again; Jen says she knows.  She reminds Kate that when it comes to addiction, it isn’t one thing that throws you over the edge; it’s everything.  Kate tells Jen he doesn’t want to talk to her now; even if he did, she says, she doesn’t know where to find him.  Abigail says she knows where to find him; Jennifer and Kate find Lucas on the floor in the chapel and run to him, screaming for him to wake up. 

09-15-2017 (Friday) Godforsaken Love

Chad n Abby talk; they agree to “do it, this time, forever.”  He laughs about her being the one to broker a cease fire between Kate and Andre, bringing peace to the DeMiras.  Sonny and Paul see Gabi and tell her about the decision to merge their wedding with Chad and Abigail’s; she isn’t sure how she feels about that.  She says, regardless, Arianna will be there; she’ll be thrilled to be their flower girl, she says.

Lucas comes over to his mom’s; he heads straight to the decanter.  Just one little drink, to take the edge off, he tells himself.  Kate clears her throat; he turns around.  He says he is there to sign the papers, so they can get on with this; she tells him she doesn’t need his signature anymore, because she is firing him.  She asks how Will would feel to see him drinking like this; he’s gets very angry, telling her that is off limits.  He says any one with a conscience would know speaking of someone’s dead son in any way other than a loving and respectful manner is off limits; he thanks her sarcastically and says now he really does need a drink.

"Adrian" jumps up and asks him not to be angry, admitting that she tricked the guard to get in there.  She says she really wanted that scoop, but says Hattie isn’t being very cooperative.  She starts to leave.  Hattie stops “Adrian” and Justin from leaving by telling them she will give Adrian that scoop after all.  She’ll tell her /them the name of the person she was working with.  She names Angelika; Justin is stunned.  He asks why; she tells him she was always jealous that he chose Adrian over her all those years ago.  “Adrian” acts surprised; then she tells Justin she needs to speak to Hattie woman to woman, claiming she needs closure and she’s not going to get it with Angelika.  He agrees to leave them alone and Bonnie runs to hug Hattie; she tells her she’s the best.  She says she knows, then says she needs a favor from “Adrian.”  “Adrian” comes out and tells Lucas that she wants him to represent Hattie after all, calling her a lost soul.  She runs into Kate in the Square, who tells her she has become callous and mean-spirited; she says she isn’t the woman who became her friend.  “Adrian” tells Kate she is the cruel one after Kate tells her she fired Lucas today; Kate says, if anything happens to Lucas, she’ll blame her.

John and Marlena meet for lunch; he asks her how Eric is.  She also says she thinks she knows who Hattie’s partner was; Adrian, she says.  John doesn’t understand; she tells him about her talk w Eric and “Adrian” being in Hattie’s room that night.  They both wonder why Adrian would work with Hattie; I guess Marlena hasn’t totally figured it out yet.  “Adrian” walks into Kelly’s and tries to immediately walk back out, when she sees John and Marlena; Marlena sees her and calls her back.  She invites her to sit down with them and says she wants to know a little about Hattie Adams; “Adrian” says she can tell them quite a bit now.

As Gabi walks through the Square, showing Arianna how to throw the flower pedals up into the air, Justin appears; he has a bottle (in a brown paper bag) in his hands.  Arianna runs over and hugs him; Gabi can tell immediately that he has been drinking.  She calls Ari away and tells Lucas he can’t see her when he’s drinking like this.  He denies being drunk, saying, “I’m okay.”  Gabi says, “no you’re not.”  She tells him to go home and rest; he yells at her saying she can’t tell him what to do.  Arianna gets upset with her mom for saying she can’t see her grandpa right now; Eli happens upon them and offers to buy Arianna ice cream.  He offers to go to the double-wedding with Gabi, if she decides to go; she says she might take him up on that offer.

Chad and Abigail, Sonny and Paul are all at the chapel, imagining their wedding.  Lucas comes in, even more drunk than in the Square, and starts yelling and getting ugly with Sonny over being able to see Adrianna.  Sonny says he won’t see her until he is sober again; Lucas reminds him that she is Will’s daughter, not his, and says he makes him sick.  Paul stands up for Sonny and Justin tells him to shut up, accusing him of being the man who destroyed his son’s marriage.  He starts screaming at all of them, telling them fifty-percent of all marriages end in divorce, which pretty much guarantees that one of these two marriages are going to crash and burn.  They all look at each other; Chad tells Abigail, Lucas doesn’t know what he’s saying.  They take his keys and the bottle; Abby says she is going to call her mom.  Lucas says he is going to stay there to pray; he pulls his flask out of his back pocket and toasts “to godforsaken love.”

09-14-2017 (Thursday) Together Again

Theo and Claire continue kissing; he stops and asks her what she thinks about being his girlfriend.  She, smiling, says, “yes, yes… I want that too.”  She tries to kiss him again and he pulls back, asking, “what about Tripp?”  She admits that she never really wanted to date Tripp; she lied, when she said that, and when she said she was okay just being his friend.  She asks if that’s a deal breaker; he says no, reminding her that trust is a big deal to him, but… he says having his back when his dad was in trouble makes up for it.  He says he lied too when he said he wanted to just be her friend.  He says they still have a big problem; Tripp.  He doesn’t want to live with someone who wants to date his girlfriend.  She then admits that Tripp was just trying to help her out, explaining that by his showing an interest, Theo got jealous enough to admit his feelings.  He realizes she’s right; she asks if he still wants her back… he says, of course he does.  They kiss passionately.

Adrian (in jail) gets a visit from Sheila; Adrian asks if she delivered the card to Justin.  Sheila says, “not exactly.”  She tells her about her deal with Bonnie, now living in the Kariakis mansion; Adrian is devastated to hear that “she” and Justin are back together, thinking of how heart broken Lucas must be.  Sheila tells her not to fret; Lockhardt only has a couple of years left on her sentence.  Adrian cries, “years?”  Sheila tells her she’ll let her know if anything changes and stars to leave; Adrian tries to stop her and gets herself sent back to solitary.

Marlena comes to see Eric; he asks her what his favorite childhood snack was, to make sure it’s really her.  Chocolate covered peanut butter cups, she says; he hugs her.  They go to his office to talk; he tells her about his encounter with Hattie at the Salem Inn.  She is surprised when he tells her that Adrian was there.  She asks if he asked why they were together; counseling sessions, they said.  Marlena says that was obviously bogus, and had to be a cover up for something.  He says it seemed like more of a celebration to him.  She tells him Hattie fell apart when she confessed, but she didn’t say anything about hanging out with Adrian.  She then turns the conversation to him; he assures her everything is fine.  She brings up his history with Nicole; he avoids talking about it and hugs her goodbye.

Bonnie cleans up her mess, while she listens to the rest of the news story; she shoves the broken pieces of the figurine in her purse.  She decides she has to go see Hattie before she gives her up; Brady and Nicole show up to ask her to join them for dinner.  She says she can’t and starts to run out the door; Nicole asks where the fire is.  She says she just has to take care of something; Brady says dinner maybe another time.  She starts to leave again; Nicole stops her, asking about her and Justin – and her and Lucas – Adrian stutters.  Nicole asks her if she is okay; she says she’s fine, better than ever, in fact.  She explains that she loved Lucas, but knowing Justin was carrying a torch for her, made her look into her own heart; she goes on to talk about Justin being her first love, and how you never lose that feeling for your first love, which seems to make Nicole and Brady a little uncomfortable.  Nicole mentions Holly and “Adrian” forgets momentarily who she is; then makes small talk with the baby and says she has to go, and leaves.

They talk about what she said about first loves, both denying that it means anything; she asks if he is certain he’s okay with her going back to work at the Center.  He says he is and this gives him the chance to prove it.  She tries to call; Eric isn’t answering.  Brady insists she go down there and tell him in person; when she leaves, his smile disappears.  The relationship between Nicole and Eric is obviously still bothering him; he glances over at the decanter.  Before he can pick up the bottle, Marlena walks in; he asks her what his favorite candy was growing up.  She laughs and says he sounds just like Eric, answering, “red jelly beans.”  She is there to talk to Adrian, actually.  He says she had an errand to run or something, having bolted out of there; Marlena asks if Adrian seems “odd” to him.  He says, yeah, in fact; he says she hasn’t seemed or acted like herself since she’s been there.  Marlena nods her head, and smiles; I believe she has figured it out.

Justin comes in to the station to see Hattie; she tells him she has to tell him something before it’s too late.  He wants him to be her lawyer though, in exchange for the information.  He doesn’t agree to represent her, but agrees to talk to her.  She says she is willing to give up the person she was working with; she says they are just as guilty.  Just as she is about to tell him, “Adrian” walks in the door; she asks to speak to Justin.  He tells her he is just “hearing her out.”  She says she doesn’t want him to get involved with a client that’s bad news; he says that isn’t her decision, and then he asks why she’s there.  She claims she wanted to “get the scoop for the Intrud…um, Spectator.”  Justin gets a phone call; she tells the guard she is his “associate” and goes in to talk to Hattie.  She does her best to convince Hattie not to give her up; Justin walks in on them holding hands, “Adrian” begging Hattie not to “rat” her out.  He asks what’s going on.