Wednesday, March 21, 2018 (S53E125): Off to Hong Kong

Kate tells Chad it’s a risk, letting Abigail go to Hong Kong with Stefan, alone; he says she isn’t going alone… he is going with them.  He looks frantically for a pilot that will take him last minute; Kate heads upstairs, as “Gabby” is packing her bags.  Kate looks at the picture on Andre’s phone; Stefan sees her and asks why she has it.  She tells him the police gave it to her when they were done with it; she is Andre’s widow, after all.  Stefan starts making fun of Andre, reminding her that she once called Andre a “total wack-job” and tells her to stop the grieving widow act.”  She gets angry and slaps him; then tells him she was married to his father, Andre, Chad are like him in that they can be quite ruthless, but they also have something in them that makes them loveable.  She tells Stefan he isn’t even likable; he asks how he can change that.  She says he could admit what he did to Andre; he says he can’t admit to something he didn’t do.  He remembers telling his mom that he paid a couple of guys to kidnap Andre, but they were under strict orders not to kill him; he takes his phone.  He tells Kate when he saw Andre that night, he didn’t say anything to him, “about anything… and that’s the god’s honest truth.”  Kate doesn’t buy it; she says she knows he did it and knows he’s the reason Gabby is behind bars.

Kate hears Vivian say, “get away from me you little tramp.”  She walks out in the hallway and asks, “what in the hell is going on?”  she doesn’t see anything though; “Gabby” gets the wig off in time and Vivian leaves the room.  Kate tells her she is concerned about her going on this trip; “Gabby” says she can handle herself.  Abigail gets a call from Kayla, letting her know her test results were all normal; she finds it odd when Abby says it was just a “routine checkup.”  Kate glances over and sees dark hair sticking out of Abigail’s suitcase; I think she has figured it out!

Sonny sees Chad in the Square; Sonny tells him what he’s doing.  Sonny agrees… he can’t let Abigail go with Stefan, alone.  He says, best-case scenario, he will try to seduce her, but worse, he could kill her.  Chad says that is what he is worried about.  Chad asks if Sonny will be at Gabby’s trial tomorrow; Sonny says yes… he says good, because he won’t be there.  He tells Sonny, “if that son-of-a-bitch lays one hand on her [meaning Abigail], I’ll kill him.”  Chad asks how Ari is; he says she is confused about where her mother is… they are trying to keep it secret as long as they can.  Chad says that’s good; she needs to be protected.  Sonny says he can’t wait to explain divorce to her; Chad understands that to mean, his divorce to Will is over.  Sonny mentions the dating app and shows Chad a picture of the guy he matched with – the guy messages Sonny.

Eli brings Gabby into the interrogation room; he tells her he has a surprise for her, but it has to stay between the two of them.  He unlocks her cuffs; she asks what he’s doing.  He pulls out his laptop and says, there is someone who wants to talk to you; Ariana is on the screen.  Gabby is thrilled to see her and tells her she loves her and then cries after hanging up; she thanks Eli for being so thoughtful.  He puts her cuffs back on and returns her to her cell.Jennifer calls Kayla to see if she can get any information on the results of Abigail’s tests; Eric shows up for their date and they sit down at a table.  Jen tells Eric she knows her daughter, and “something is wrong with her.”  She hopes her “mother’s intuition is wrong this time.”

JJ and Lani come in to share the good news with Jennifer; JJ passed his EMT test.  Jan and Eric are happy for him; they invite them to sit down at the table with them.  Jen starts talking about how grateful she is for her son, and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and “this beautiful product” of their love, who will be her grandchild, and will bring them so much joy and happiness.  Lani blurts out she can’t do this anymore, and wipes her eyes; she apologizes, saying she didn’t mean to just lose it like that.  JJ asks what she meant; she says she doesn’t even know.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018 (S53E124): Delve In

Lucas meets with Will at Doug’s Place; he says he is doing very well.  He tells Will he might be seeing him there more often, because of Chloe; Kate hears him mention Chloe and asks what that’s about.  He tells her they have a date; she’s returning to town tomorrow.  Kate tells him he isn’t keeping the date; he says he is… she says, “to hell you are.”  She calls Chloe toxic; Will says he’s out of there, and calls Lucas “dad” when he tells him “good luck.”  He tells Kate to go easy on him.  Lucas tells his mother there is nothing she can do to stop him; she says, “wanna bet?”  She offers him a job, if he doesn’t go out with Chloe, and he just gets angry and leaves.  Chloe surprises him by showing up in town a day early; she overhears him trying to make reservations and asks who the lucky girl is.  He laughs; she just smiles.  Kate talks to Chad about the background picture on the Andre’s phone; she says, he liked to look at it, to remember what they had together.  Chad says he always thought the marriage was “just for show.”  Kate says it was, in the beginning… then it became more.  She says it surprised, even them, but they really loved each other – and then he betrayed her.

Rafe calls Hope again; she tries to decide whether to answer or not.  Shaun tells her to “at least talk to the guy,” saying he is probably “out of his mind.”  She answers and asks what he wants; he says he wants her to come home.  She says she “needs time.”  She says she isn’t sure they can fix this; he asks her not to say that.  He says it would be nice if she could be there for Gabi’s trial; she says she doesn’t know when she’s coming home and asks him not to call again.  She hangs up before Rafe is done saying, “I love you.”  Shaun points out that, technically, they weren’t even together the night he slept with Sammi; she says, “it was one night!”  She thought Rafe was “perfect.”  He says he can see the love she and Rafe still share; he asks if she is willing to throw everything away over this.  She says she has thought about it, and she wants to file for divorce.

Sonny sees Paul in the Square and starts going off on him about being “half naked with Will the other night.”  He tells him, whatever, it’s fine because “the divorce is final today.”  Will walks up and says, “it is?”  He almost smiles.  Paul and Will sit down to eat together; Will offers to get the bill, then realizes he is “short on cash.”  Paul says that’s okay because he is the one who asked Will out on a date; Will asks if it’s official then.  Paul says, “yeah.”  They say goodnight; Will says he wants to invite him back, but knowing the divorce papers are there just feels weird.  Paul says he understands; Will kisses him and they both smile.Sonny goes to the bar; the bartender offers to buy him a drink.  Sonny puts away his divorce papers; the bartender notices.  He tells Sonny he should “get back out there” as soon as possible.  He tells Sonny about a dating app, Delve, and shows him how to use it.  Sonny gets a match.

Monday, March 19, 2018 (S53E123): The Dart Game

Stefan tells Chad he is going to Hong Kong tonight and he needs Abigail to accompany him; Chad asks if this sudden trip has anything to do with his being questioned about Andre’s murder.  Chad fills Abby in on the phone he found in Stefan’s desk.  Chad guesses he is trying to flee the country, and wants to take his wife with him; he says he has to go, to fix the “bad press” caused by Gabi’s arrest for Andre’s murder.  Chad says he can’t stop him from going, but there’s no way he’s taking Abigail with him... Abby says, “I think we need to give him what he wants.”  She says he has them “backed into a corner” and might fire them both, if she doesn’t go.  Chad gets a call from Lani; “Gabi” goes out to talk to Stefan.  She tells him she would love to go away with him, and just be herself the whole time… but “Dr. Laura” isn’t just going to let this trip happen, she says.  He says he can make it happen and tells her if she wants to go, she should go get packed; he tells her, with him, she can be herself, adding that he knows her better than anyone.  “Abigail” comes in and tells Chad they have to do what Stefan wants; she says he hasn’t done anything to lose the Board’s trust yet, so he just might get away with firing all of them.  Chad asks if she actually wants to go with him; she says, “no, but I have to go.”  She says she might be able to figure out who set Gabi up too; she says, whatever the risk, she needs to make this trip for Gabi, and for their family.  Kate agrees, it might be their best hope.

Marlena comes into Kayla’s office; she apologizes for eavesdropping.  Kayla tells her she is frustrated because there is nothing else she can do to help Steve, thanks to John.  Steve meanders through the Square; he bumps into Kate and she says, “are you blind?!”  He laughs, and says, “not yet, but it looks like I will be soon.”  He tells Kate all about it… she says she’s sorry about that, which surprises him; she says no one deserves that.  She asked what caused it; John steps around the corner, and says, “I did.”  Marlena tries to plead John’s case to Kayla, but Kayla says she is tired of hearing about John’s feelings – he had no clue what effect that poison would have on Steve, and she’s angry because it could have “killed him.”  Steve talks to John and tells him that Bo took his other eye years ago, and he forgave him; no reason he can’t do the same for John.  John tells him what a great guy he is, and how much he appreciates his friendship and forgiveness.  Kayla tells Marlena, however, that she can’t just sit there and watch Steve go blind, and forgive John.  She then apologizes for lashing out at Marlena; nothing to apologize for, Marlena says.  She tells Kayla she knows the love she and Steve have often brings miracles.  John puts on a blindfold, and challenges John to a game of darts; he does pretty well – John does his best to distract him.  He hits two bullseyes.

Brady meets with Eve in the park; he gives her Claire’s photos.  He tells her he still expects to be part of the contest, because the magazine is his baby… he tells her, if she is going to bring this company back, she is “stuck with” him.  She says, if he ever wanted to make her happy, he would give her “this one thing.”  Eve tells Brady, if he truly loved her he would have told her what was going on, instead of just saying wedding vows.  He says he said those vows because he meant them; he says she’s the first woman that gave him a reason to fight, and he isn’t giving up without a fight.  He says she needs him, whether she thinks so or not.  He wants to show this town the woman he knows… smart and savvy; he says he’s not giving up on her.  She almost looks like she wants to cry.  He tells her he hasn’t been playing with her for a long, long time – he says Maggie told him he should fight for what he wants – he says, “I want you and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back.”  Eve tells him she hopes he loves her with all his heart and soul, because his suffering will bring her satisfaction.  He cries, and says he doesn’t want Basic Black, or his grandfather’s approval, or anything but her… “just you” he says.  She tells him just to stop; she says if he really wants to work with her, that’s fine… “but no more begging and pleading” she tells him.  Work and work only; he says okay.  She walks away and he says, “it’s a start.” 

Friday, March 16, 2018 (S53E122): Disappearing Glasses

Maggie tells Brady she is going to a meeting and asks if he wants to come; he tells her he is “good today.”  She says one day at a time; he tells her he is going to keep his wits about him, because he is going to fight for Eve.  Eve comes into Brady’s Pub to buy lunch; Eric apologizes for the other day, and says “no hard feelings.”  Eve tells him it’s okay.  She goes to the apartment and Ciara gives her the pictures Tripp took of her; Eve says to tell Claire she needs to get her headshots turned in soon, because she is running out of time.

Chad gives Lani permission to “tear this room apart” but just as Chad tries to open the door, Stefan throws it open; he asks what they want.  Lani tells him she needs to search his room; he refuses to allow it.  He says is going to get dressed, and then he will talk to them, downstairs.  Jen still tries to call Abigail; she leaves another message.  Kayla says she just doesn’t understand; she came to her for help.  “Gabi” dresses up like Abigail now, and goes to see Kayla; Jen is still there and asks where she has been.  She says she changed her mind because she is afraid of what they might find; Kayla says there’s no reason to think her prior illness is back.  “Abby” says that’s not what she was thinking; in fact, she says, she is healthier and stronger now than ever.  Kayla takes her back for the test; Jen decides to look in Abby’s purse and finds Kayla’s glasses… Kayla wonders why she took them.  When she comes back, Jen asks Abby why she had the glasses, telling her she had to get in her purse for her insurance card.  Abigail says she must have picked them up by mistake.  She asks her mom not to say anything to Chad about her having these tests, at least until they know if it is anything to worry about.  Jen agrees, but looks concerned.

Claire brings her headshots to Brady’s and is disappointed when he says Eve isn’t there; she asks if he can get them to Eve and he is thrilled with the excuse to talk to Eve. Claire thanks him and tells him that Eve stopped by the apartment the other day and told her how happy he makes her; she says she thinks they are perfect together.  He says he will get the pictures to Eve, today.  Eve thinks about the conversations she and Brady had, him telling her he loved her, her saying she loved him too.Stefan tells Lani that “security just turned the phone in yesterday” and says her guys didn’t do their job apparently; she doesn’t buy the story, but says she’ll check it out.  Stefan warns Chad not to push him… he says he knows he has secrets too.  Chad says it seems, Stefan is the only one with secrets in this house; Stefan says he wouldn’t be so sure about that.  When “Gabi” returns, Stefan tells her he needs to go on a business trip and tells her she is going to go with him; Chad doesn’t seem to happy about that.

Thursday, March 15, 2018 (S53E121): Who’s in Front?

“Dr. Laura” tells Stefan that “Gabi” cannot come out right now; she tells Stefan he has made thing even more complicated.  He threatens to call the police; she says that would make things even messier… he says he likes messy.  He talks her into allowing it, by telling her he might be able to calm “Gabi” back down; she tells him to come with her.  “Gabi” comes out, now wearing the wig; she is angry with Stefan, but he tells her the good news is that she didn’t kill Andre – or Nick for that matter.  She says, “whoo-hoo, I’m not a double-murderer.”  She recognizes that she is just a figment of Abigail’s imagination, and asks, in that case, “then who am I?”  She says he doesn’t fee like a coping mechanism; she wants her own life and doesn’t want to go back to Abby’s “attic” so she thanks him and asks if he wants to give her a kiss goodbye.  She says she is on the next plane, train or automobile out of town.  He says, her whole life is here – she corrects him, “the real Gabi’s life is here, and so is Abby’s.”  She says she has nothing here and starts to leave; he grabs her arm and says he can’t let her do that.  He says she cannot make Abigail disappear; she says, she’s never done her any favors.  He says Chad would scour the four corners of the earth to find her; she asks Stefan why he cares if she goes, or stays.  He says did things for her and she can’t leave him here to clean up the mess; Jennifer calls.  He tells her she can’t ignore Jen’s calls or she will come looking for her; he says she needs to keep Abigail’s schedule, or everyone will know.  She listens to Jen’s message about leaving before the test; she says it sounds like Abigail is trying to get rid of her.  Stefan tells her to “stay in front.”

JJ tells Valerie, with all due respect, that his wedding plans to Lani are none of his business, but she says it is; Lani walks in and asks what’s going on.  JJ tells Lani he is trying to figure out why Valerie is pushing so hard for them to put off the wedding.  Abe agrees and asks Valerie, “why is that?”  She says she would just hate to see anything go wrong because they rush in too quickly.  JJ asks, if this isn’t about him, what he is missing.  She tells him that she is thinking about her own guilt, being a young mother, depriving a father of loving and getting to know his child, adding that she wonders how different things would have been if she had the courage to tell to truth.  Lani asks JJ to get her a cup of coffee, and then tells Valerie to “stay the hell out of this.”  Abe apologizes for Valerie; JJ says he understands now.  She just sees Lani as she was, young and alone; he says it only made him realize how lucky he is that he and Lani are in this together.

Eli is on the phone with Marlena; he asks her to tell Ari that Gabi loved the drawing.  He says he hopes she will be freed soon, too.  Julie comes in asking about the evidence that was found against Gabi; he says he is surprised that Julie is even there.  Julie says she is there for him because she can’t imagine how he feels, finding out the woman he loves is guilty, once again; Eli gets pissed and says she didn’t kill Andre.  Julie asks if he can tell her who did, then.  He has no answer.  He tells Julie if she is going to trash Gabi, she can leave; he tells her he loves her, but if she can’t at least show Gabi some kindness, they are done.  She brings up his father, saying he would have loved to have known him, then promises to try to see Gabi as the woman he loves, if he promises to never cut her out of his life.  He says, “deal.”  They hug.  Valerie comes to see him and he tells her that Julie made him think about his father, and growing up without him; he says he isn’t sure that he wants to give his baby up now.

When Chad finds Andre’s phone in Stefan’s desk drawer, he is certain he has evidence against him.  Kate comes in and asks what Chad is doing in there; he says, “putting my brother’s murderer to justice.”  He shows her the phone.  Chad calls Lani; he asks her to meet him at the DeMira offices… he says he has found something that might help the case.  She says she’ll be right there.  He thanks Kate for talking him into calling the authorities; he hopes Gabi will be released, and Abigail will have some peace.  He tells Kate he is terrified that she will get sick again, and he “can’t have that.”  Lani comes and he gives her the phone; he says it might be best not to report anything to Trask until she checks everything out herself.  He mentions the D.A. having drinks with Stefan on New Year’s Eve and says there may be a conflict of interest.  He tells her he could give her permission to search Stefan’s room, because he technically owns the mansion.  She agrees.

Kayla frantically looks for her glasses; Jennifer comes in and asks what she’s looking for.  Kayla mentions tests she is getting ready to run on Abigail, asking if Jen has seen Abby.  Jennifer asks what kind of tests she’s running.  Kayla apologizes, saying she figured Jen was there to get Abigail, and knew about this.   When Kayla gets a call and steps out of the office, Jen looks through Abigail’s file; Kayla is mad when she sees her with Abby’s file in her hands, but remains calm.  She tells Jen it is probably just stress, but she isn’t going to say another word.  She wonders where Abigail went though; Jen is concerned.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 (S53E120): The Confrontation

Andre sits at the desk when Abigail walks into the office; she asks, “aren’t you dead?”  He says, “I am” and asks her to hand him his coffee.  She sees the urn and almost grabs it; he laughs, saying that’s not a thermos.  She sees his cup and hands it to him; he asks about Gabi Hernandez, if she killed him.  She mentions Stefano; he asks if she thinks he is the one who killed him.  She says she doesn’t know.  He asks about the dress she’s wearing and she says she doesn’t remember where she got it; he tells her to ask her old friend, Lulu (a stuffed elephant) because elephants never forget.  She starts to cry and wakes up with a start.  She comes into the living room to find Chad and Stefan fighting; Stefan says Chad is accusing him of killing Andre and planting the evidence on Gabi.  Abigail stops Chad from hitting Stefan; Stefan thanks her.  She tells him not to; she is just protecting her husband from assault charges.  After Stefan leaves his office, Chad begins looking around; he finds a locked drawer “interesting.”   He gets the drawer open and finds Andre’s phone; he says, “I’ve got you now, you son-of-a-bitch.”

Lani brings Gabi back into the interrogation room for questioning again; she says the D.A. thought maybe she would open up to her because they are friends.  Gabi laughs, and says they are not friends… not since Lani slept with her boyfriend.  She asks Lani straight-out if the baby is Eli’s and Lani sticks to her story, saying JJ is the father.  Valerie and Abe go out to eat at Brady’s Pub; he mentions Lani being in the hospital last night.  Valerie asks if Eli knows and Abe wonders why she would ask that; she says it’s just because they work together, and she figured Eli could help watch out for her.  JJ comes in and sits down with them at the table; Valerie asks how Lani is.  He says she is fine now, but says he was really scared thinking of the possibility of a miscarriage; Valerie says she understands.  Eli comes in and finds Gabi talking with Lani; Lani says she is done and he sit down to talk to Gabi.  Gabi says, even though it was hard talking to Lani, she is glad he told her; she says she just wishes JJ knew.  He apologizes and says he has to take her back to her cell now.  Valerie tells JJ that she thinks he and Lani should wait to get married until after the baby comes; he is confused and asks why it seems like she doesn’t want them to marry at all.  Abe looks interested in the answer; she says she only wants what’s best for them – she says the stress of planning a wedding, on top of everything else that’s going on could be hard on the baby.  JJ politely tells Valerie that it is really none of her business; she says he’s wrong, it is her business.

Abigail comes to see Kayla; she tells her she is sorry to hear about Uncle Steve.  She thanks her for the condolence card, saying it has been really rough for her… she says Andre may have been complicated, but he didn’t deserve to die.  Kayla says she hears Gabi is being accused of the murder; Abigail strongly says “we don’t think she did it – she didn’t – she’s being set up.”  Kayla asks if there is another reason she came to visit; Abigail cries a little and says, “Aunt Kayla, I think there’s something wrong with me.”  She says her sleep patterns are completely off, and she’s been really tired, even after sleeping for a long time; she says she has these bad headaches that come and go… and what scares her most is she is “missing time.”  She tells her Chad mentioned a conversation they had the other day and she has no memory of it; Kayla says she’ll do some tests.  She leaves to set them up and Abigail gets a headache; “Dr. Laura” comes out, takes Kayla’s glasses and tells Abby she is the only doctor she needs.  Kayla comes back and is confused when Abigail isn’t waiting there.

Stefan reads the book he bought on disassociative identity disorder; he remembers “Dr. Laura” telling him that she controls the transitions.  Vivian comes in and gives him a hard time about his feelings for Abigail; he tells her he met another alter last night.  Vivian questions him about this alter; he admits he sort of has feelings for her.  Vivian says, “she’s not even real” and Stefan replies, “she is to me.”  Vivian mentions the day she “caught her coming out of the wall” and Stefan asks what she means by that; Vivian tells him there is a secret passage behind the bookshelf.  She tells Stefan not to go in there though, saying, you never know what secrets she has in there.  He goes in anyway, of course; “Dr. Laura” comes in.  He tells her he found her little changing room in the tunnels; he hands the wig to her and tells her to put it on… he says he wants to speak with “Gabi” now.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018 (S53E119): Adrian Returns

Adrian shows up in the Square; Steve teases her, pretending to think she’s Bonnie, then gets up and hugs her.  She says, “this sucks.”  He says his rule is no crying; she asks him to just give her a little more notice in the future.  Kayla asks how Alexander is; she says it’s hard on him losing his mother like that, even more complicated because he and Angelica weren’t speaking.  Kayla suggests they sit down and have desert; she and Justin go to get menus… Adrian says they are leaving them alone, so he can tell her how he is really feeing.  He says he can handle this; she tells him he doesn’t have to be the hero all of the time and he needs to learn to ask for help.  She says being able to help him, helps her; he tells her he will work on it.  He kisses her.  After Steve knocks his fork off the table, Adrian brings up Eve and Brady’s wedding explosion to take the focus off of Steve’s inability to see clearly.  Justin says he thought “Eve and Brady seemed like a couple genuinely in love.”

Eve tells Brady to try to stop her from walking out that door; he grabs her face and kisses her passionately.  She gets angry, telling him he has a lot of nerve; he says, “I love you” and she slaps him.  She tells him never to say that to her again, says he better treat “that little boy” right and not turn him into a nasty Kariakis man, and storms out, throwing her key at him; he calls out after her but she doesn’t come back.  She goes to Brady’s Pub, where Jennifer asks what’s going on.  Eve tells her to leave her alone; Jen says she could do that… or Eve could tell her about it.  She sits down and pours her heart out to Jennifer then asks if she wants to say she deserves it; Jen says no… Brady had no right to play with her heart.  She tells her, for that, she is so sorry; Eve seems touched.  Maggie walks in the room and sees Brady about to take a drink; she asks what he is doing and grabs it from his hand.  He explains to her that he really had fallen in love with Eve; Maggie is stunned, and now feels badly.  Victor tells Brady he is “better off” – Brady says he thinks he would be better off if he never knew his grandfather.  Maggie stops them from fighting and says, if what Brady is saying is true, this is a “good sign.”  She says she hopes “that man is back, to stay.”

Jen asks Eve, “what if Brady was being honest” when he said he loved her and asked her to marry him; she says she doesn’t think there is any hope for her and Brady.  Jen leaves her, telling her to take care; Eve begins to cry and asks for another drink.  Maggie tells Brady, if what he found with Eve was really love, he shouldn’t give up; she says, to “make it happen.”  Jen tells Eric that she feels sorry for Eve because “she is go alone right now.”Claire tells Ciara she is going to have Eric take her headshots in the park; Claire makes fun of her after she leaves, mimicking her by taking a selfie.  Tripp asks what she’s doing; she says she needs a new pic for social media – he offers to take pictures of her.  She poses and smiles.  They end up kissing as they view the pictures together.  Then he awkwardly tells her it’s been a long day and he’s going to bed.

Claire finds Eric; she says she rushed to get there so she hopes she didn’t sweat her face up.  He says she looks fine; “just casual anyway, right?” he asks.  The conversation somehow turns to her blurting out the secret at Hope’s wedding; she asks if he doesn’t think Hope had a right to know.  He says she could have just thought about how and where she did it.  She says she does regret that, but it just happened, and “Grandma Hope” is actually thankful she did it.  She says Ciara actually threatened to ruin her entire life, and if she wants a war, Claire will hit back twice as hard.  When she gets home, Ciara tells Claire that she may not have such a “lock” on the Bella Magazine context after all because she just entered.  Justin tells Steve and Adrian about Gabi trying to dispose of evidence; he says she swears she didn’t kill Andre though.  Steve tells Justin, if he ever needs to talk about this, he’s there for him and it will never go any further.  Steve tells Kayla, after hearing what Gabi is facing, he knows they can get through this together.  They kiss.

Monday, March 12, 2018 (S53E118): Life Adjustments

Kayla and Steve take a walk; he can tell something is on her mind.  She says she spoke to an occupational therapist today… so they can make some “arrangements.”  She is surprised by how amiable Steve is to the idea; he says he has actually been doing some research on his own, about how to make the house safer for him and he has a handyman coming in.  He tells Kayla, if all he loses is his eyesight, he is still a lucky man – because he still has her.  He says they still have plenty of adventure in front of them; she just might have to lead the way this time.  She says she can do that.

John goes to see Will; he says he just wants to make sure that they are “okay.”  Will laughs and says, “you mean after you held me at gunpoint and knocked me out in the mausoleum?”  John says, “yeah, that.”  Will says they are good; not to worry.  Victor shows up at Doug’s again; he tells Maggie he isn’t leaving until she goes with him.  She reminds him that she isn’t coming home until he tells Eve the truth; Victor says, “I already did.”  Brady is stunned by Eve’s declaration; he asks why. she says that  She explains that she got a phone call, while she was upstairs getting ready… from Victor.  He told her that Brady was only marrying her because he asked him to, as a plot to get Basic Black back.

She says the look on Brady’s face tells her it’s true; Paul and Justin say they are going to leave, but Eve tells them not to.  Sonny says this isn’t his business; she says, “actually it is.”  She tells him that Victor promised Brady, if he did this, he could have the position of CEO back.  Brady tells Eve that was true, in the beginning; he says he really did fall in love with her.  Eve questions why he didn’t tell her the truth then, instead of her having to hear it “from that old man.” She pours herself a drink, asking if he wants one; he says no.  She says she knew, right from the start, that he was playing her, but she wanted to believe it was real; he says it is real.  He says, “I love you… please give me a chance to make this right.”  He pleads his case, telling her he thought he could “have it all.”  He wanted to make her a part of this family, bring Basic Black back to Titan and, together, they could bring Victor down.  She calls him “a deceitful piece of garbage.”

Paul goes to see Will and tells him what just went down; he says, “that’s cold” and says he thought Brady was a good buy.  Paul says, “he is” but says Victor is just really good at manipulating people.  The conversation turns to them when Will asks who else was at the ceremony; Paul says things are really through with him and Sonny.  Will moves to sit on the bed next to Paul and kisses him; they start making out, and a knock comes on the door.  It’s Sonny.  Will tells him Maggie took Ariana for the night, but Sonny is pissed anyway; he tells them both they can do what they want, because he and Paul are through.   Will laughs after he leaves, that “that was a buzzkill” and asks Paul if they can do something tomorrow.

Brady and Eve sit down on the couch and talk some more.  She pours another drink; he tells her that he wants to move forward with her, but she says they aren’t moving forward, and he’s not taking her “damn company from” her… in fact, she says, “you’re fired.”  He says it doesn’t have to be this way; she says but it’s the way it is.  She says it breaks her heart that she knows there is a human being inside of him somewhere and questions what happened to him; he says he’s right there.  But she says, as much as she wanted to save him from Victor, she realized she has to save herself from him.  He says he isn’t walking away.  He reminds her of how many times he has been hurt by women, but tells her a leap of faith is worth it; she tells him congratulations for not being the one who was hurt in a relationship and leaves the room.

As Steve and Kayla stroll through the Square, Steve trips and falls over the garbage can; John sees and offers to help, but Kayla tells him to get away.  She tells John this is all his fault; Steve defends John, but John says, “she is right.”  He leaves, and Steve continues to plead with Kayla to forgive John; he says he saved his life.  But she says she is angry because he is such a good and decent man and doesn’t deserve this.  Justin shows up at Doug’s Place and asks Victor how he could tell Eve everything like that; Maggie steps up and says he did it because she asked him to.  He tells them both it broke Brady’s heart.  Eve packs her bags and heads for the door; Brady steps in front of her and says he isn’t letting her leave.

Friday, March 9, 2018 (S53E117): Dr. Laura

Abigail tells Stefan there is no reason to call a doctor, because she is a doctor.  She tells him she is “Dr. Laura.”  Stefan remembers that Abigail’s grandmother was a doctor; he asks if that is who she is supposed to be.  Abby gets offended and says she is not impersonating anyone; technically speaking, she says, “I am another facet of Abigail’s personality.”  She tells him she is the gate-keeper.  She tells him removing “Gabi’s” wig like that was extremely cruel; he apologizes.  “Gabi,” she says, can get a little aggressive when threatened.  “Laura” tells Stefan, she and the others are the people who save Abby’s life.  “An internal defense mechanism used so that Abby can compartmentalize her actions,” because she can’t deal with all of her emotions… he questions if she means the fact that “Gabi” says she killed Andre.  “Laura” says “Gabi” didn’t… Abigail did.

Stefan doesn’t understand; he says Abigail loved Andre and asks why she would kill him.  She avoids answering.  Instead, she talks about how “Gabi” was created; Abigail, she says, has a strong moral compass; she needed someone who doesn’t have as strong a moral compass… that would be Gabi.  She tells Stefan she needs him to stop “pushing Abby’s buttons.”  She accuses him of wanting Abigail, but settling for “Gabi” because he knows that Abby would never have him… he says he sincerely cares about Abigail.  She tells him he will never see “Gabi” again.  She goes back to the living room and says it’s time to let Abigail back out again; Abby looks very confused all of the sudden.  She wonders why she came into that room; Chad gets back.  She hugs him and says she thought he went to the office; he tells her that was hours ago… she says she “must have lost track of time.”

Sonny asks Eve is she is sure about marrying Brady; he reminds her it wasn’t that long ago that Brady was trying to frame her for murder.  She doesn’t believe Brady is trying to frame her though; she says maybe he doesn’t want to end up like Victor, and accuses Sonny of just being jealous of their happiness because he is lonely without Will or Paul.  Brady meets Paul in the square and invites him to come to the wedding; Brady tells him he wasn’t expecting it, but he fell in love; he says “it feels right, it really does.”  He comes back home, with a ring and officially proposes to Eve; he says he brought Paul back with him to be his witness.  When she heads upstairs, he looks at the marriage certificate, and then has a weird look of concern on his face.  Sonny tells Brady that he hopes he is serious about this, because Eve really seems to love him; Brady says, “yeah.”  Eve comes down, dressed in a beautiful white gown; Justin begins with the vows.  Brady repeats his… but Eve surprises him by saying she wouldn’t marry him if he were the last man on earth.

Lani tells Gabi not to throw the coat away; Gabi asks her to just look the other way and let her go.  Lani says she is a cop and can’t do that; Gabi also reminds her that she is the woman who slept with her boyfriend.  Lani takes her in to the station anyway; she tells the D.A. that she doesn’t know how that stuff got in Ari’s backpack.  She says an “anonymous tip” is just a little bit suspicious; the D.A. just smiles.  Justin comes to talk to Gabi; he is going to represent her.  He tells her they revoked her bail, deeming her a flight risk; she has to stay in jail for now.  Eli tells her they will figure this out; he promises.  She hugs him.  He says they have to find out who is impersonating her on that video; that’s the only thing that will blow this case wide open.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018; S53E115: Gabi’s Fear

Gabi goes to pick up Ari from Sonny, but asks him if they can talk first; she says aside from possibly going to prison, she found out some really troubling news.  She tells him everything that Eli just told her.  She says, apparently, Lani walked in to see her hugging JJ (he was dressed for bed) and she couldn’t tell it was completely innocent.  She went to Eli and told him what she thought, and they consoled each other by sleeping together.  Sonny compares her problem with what happened to him and Will; he says he wishes he would have forgiven Will back then.  He regrets not doing so, “and then some.”

Tripp asks Ciara how she is doing; she says she feels bad for hitting Claire yesterday… however, she says she plans to hold on to this grudge forever.  She says, she’s afraid her mom won’t be able to trust anyone ever again.  Eli comes in to see Rafe; he asks if he’s talked to Hope.  Rafe says she can barely look at him, let alone talk to him.  Eli tells Rafe that he told Gabi that he had sex with Lani; Rafe asks if that means it’s over.  Eli says Gabi said she wouldn’t jump to any rash decisions; he tells Rafe he hopes they can work it out because he doesn’t want to lose her.  Sonny asks if the baby is Eli’s; Gabi says, “he says it’s not.”  Sonny says, “thank god” and Gabi says yeah, “because, that would have made everything so much worse.”  She says maybe someday Will, will remember how much he loved Sonny; he says he has pinned a lot of hopes on that someday, but he thinks it’s just too late for them.  Sonny brings Ariana out; she’s thrilled to see her mother.  Gabi says she hopes she doesn’t have to bring her back to stay with Sonny again, although he says he will take her anytime.

Claire comes to see her grandma at the police station; she apologizes for telling everyone about Rafe cheating.  She says she meant to tell her in private, “but everything just got out of control.”  Hope tells her it’s okay; she says she is glad she told her… she needed to know.  She isn’t necessarily happy about the way Claire did it, but says that it “took guts.”  Claire says everyone else thinks she was just being mean.  Tripp and Ciara have a seemingly intimate moment; they admit to each other that they “care about” one another.  Ciara goes to see her mom and is not happy to see Claire there; she can’t believe her mom forgives her… she tells Hope that she thinks she should forgive Rafe.  She knows how much he loves her, and that he regrets having sex with Sammi.  She leaves; Hope picks up the phone and asks, “can we talk?”  Rafe comes in, but it’s not him she wants to talk to; she blows him off.  She tells him she is going to Hong Kong to see Shawn and Belle; she doesn’t know when she’s coming back.

Abby wakes up from another nap; Chad tells her she was tired.  He mentions the dress she was wearing yesterday; the one she got from Gabi-chic.  Abigail has no idea what he is talking about.  Kate talks to Stefan; he recaps the events leading up to Andre’s murder and she questions why.  He says there is a chance she could have been mistaken as Gabi herself; Kate scoffs.  Abigail walks into the room; she asks what’s going on.  Chad says Stefan thinks Kate might have been the one in the video; Abby says, “first Gabi, and now Kate… who’s next?”   Stefan just chuckles and leaves the room.  Chad asks Abigail again about the outfit she was wearing yesterday; she says she doesn’t remember anything about it.  Then she laughs and says of course she does; she’s just surprised he paid attention… most guys don’t.  She hugs him and he leaves the room; she asks herself, “what is going on?”  She tries to remember; they went to the hearing, then to the police station – she tells Chad she wants to go home and take a nap.  But she doesn’t remember doing any of that, or changing into a Gabi-chic outfit… she tells herself to remember, then suddenly gets a headache and becomes one of her alters and goes into the passageway behind the bookshelf.  Stefan gets a text from his mother, saying, “it’s done.”  He’s then is surprised by “Gabi” in his doorway; she asks about him framing someone else to get her off the hook.  He says it’s all been taken care of.  Gabi is confused when she opens Ari’s backpack and finds one of her jackets in it (the one Abigail was wearing in the video).

Thursday, March 8, 2018 (S53E116): The Voicemail

Lani listens to Eli’s voicemail; she says, “oh my god.”  JJ walks in the door and asks, “what is it?”   She tells him it’s just something at work; she goes to talk to Eli.  The D.A. gives Eli a hard time about doing his job; she says they both know who really killed Andre DeMira.  She calls him a “sad boyfriend in denial.”  Eli tells Lani that he will keep lying (about the baby) to protect her and JJ, as long as he needs to; Gabi asks Will if he would mind watching Ariana for a little bit, as she has “something to do.”  He is happy to; he tells her they will find the real killer and it will all be okay.  Will takes Ari into Brady’s Pub, where he sees JJ; JJ tells him that he is going to be a father too.  Gabi calls Chad and asks him to come and help her; when he doesn’t respond, she calls Eli.  He doesn’t respond either.

Stefan tells “Gabi” that everything has been taken care of; Abigail smiles and asks how.  He says they are going to frame Gabi Hernandez; Abby flips out on him, and begins talking with an accent.  She asks how dare he?  She can’t believe he is framing “her.”  He looks at Abigail and tells her “you are not Gabi Hernandez.”   She gets pissed; he tells her there is “another Gabi Hernandez” and tries to convince her she is “an alter.”  He shows her the book he’s been reading; she asks if he thinks she is crazy… he says no.  He thinks she is coping; she is protecting herself from the pain.  He apologizes and says, “you are not a real person – you are just an extension of Abigail.”  She kisses him and asks if Abigail would do that; he says it doesn’t change the facts and tells her he can prove he is telling the truth… he shows her a picture of Gabi, pointing out that she is a Latin woman with dark eyes.  He takes her to a mirror and says, “this woman has light skin, blue eyes and light hair” and says she knows he is telling the truth.  She just gets angrier; he asks for her forgiveness and then rips her wig off.  Abigail starts to cry out, as if in pain.  Stefan says he is going to call a doctor; then suddenly, Abigail gains her composure, puts on a pair of glasses and pulls her hair back.  She says there is no need to call a doctor.

Brady comes in and sees Eve singing Tate to sleep; he looks at her lovingly… she smiles at him.  He tells her he had so much fun last night, and he can’t wait to do it again.   She talks about how innocent children are; how easily they love.  She says she always just wanted to be loved; Brady says, “I love you.”  A little later, she asks him about what he said, saying, when you have a hangover, you can say the darnedest things.  He tells her he meant it; she is stunned, and says she loves him too.  He asks what they are waiting for; he says he wants to get married, today.  She agrees; they kiss.

Victor goes to Doug’s Place and brings Maggie a rose; he tells her he misses her and wants her to come home.  She says she will only do that if he tells Eve the truth; he says he will give her, her company back.  Maggie says he knows her terms; she walks away.  The D.A. sends Lani out to look for Gabi; Lani finds her, trying to throw the jacket and urn lid in a dumpster.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018; S53E114: Lies Upon Lies

Steve is stunned to hear the news that Rafe cheated with Sammi.  Eric and Jennifer try to explain what happened; Kayla asks if anyone has been able to reach Hope.  Jen says she’s been calling and texting; she decides to go try to find her.  She finds her at the police station.  She reminds Hope what a tramp Sammi is, and tries to convince Hope that she should forgive Rafe; Hope says she thinks “it’s over” between her and Rafe.  Rafe shows up at Ciara’s; he says “it didn’t go so well.”  Ciara says her mother has not reached out to her; Rafe is frantic to find her.  Ciara asks if they can talk, saying, “the destructive wench isn’t here.”  Rafe says it isn’t Claire’s fault; Ciara says it is, but she also says it’s her fault to, and she says she’s sorry.  Rafe says it’s no one’s fault but his; she says, Claire would have never found out if she hadn’t been talking to Tripp about it in the first place.  She tells Rafe that she thinks her mom will come to understand in time; Rafe isn’t so sure.

Valerie confronts Lani about keeping the secret from Eli; when she mentions Lani trying to “pass another baby off as his,” Lani says, “you mean, like you did?”  Eli comes in and tells his mom to leave Lani alone; he says he has made his decision to let JJ and Lani raise this child.  However, later, he decides to tell Gabi that he cheated on her with Lani.  Gabi is pissed … “the night” she stayed with JJ to make sure he didn’t kill himself, she says; he says he thought she had left him to go back to JJ.  She can’t believe he thought she would do that to him; he says he felt sick as soon as he learned the truth (when she gave him the gun JJ was going to shoot himself with).  He says he just didn’t want to hurt her; Gabi is even more upset, though, when she realizes the baby might be his.  He says it’s not though; he tells her Lani swore to him that she was already pregnant when they were together.  He swears it will never happen again; Gabi says, she left JJ for sleeping with Lani, and questions why this should be any different.  He tells her she and Ari have been his life for the past six months and he doesn’t know what he would do without her; she says she will consider working things out, but he has to promise “no more lies.”  Hmmmmm.  He says he has told her “everything there is to know.”  After she leaves, he calls and stupidly leaves a message on Lani’s phone, telling her that he told Gabi they had slept together, but he didn’t tell her the baby was his.

As JJ and Lani sit and talk on the bench in the square, she begins having cramps; JJ calls for an ambulance.  Kayla happens by and reassures Lani that everything is going to be okay; she tells her to focus on her breathing.  Eve and Brady have a serious talk; she is concerned about his drinking.  He tells her to let him know if she thinks it is getting out of control; he says he trusts her and will listen to her.  He tells her he accepts her, flaws and all, and that’s what “makes them work.”  She agrees; they toast “to us.”  Eric comes in and sees Brady drinking; he asks him if he wants to go to a meeting – Brady tells him to get lost.  Kayla examines Lani when they get to the hospital; when she comes out, JJ asks how the baby is.  She says they are “fine.”  There is no reason for concern, but she wants to keep her overnight as a precaution.  Lani tells JJ she was really scared; he promises he will always be there for her and their child.

Monday, March 5, 2018; S53E113: The Truth Exposed

Hope isn’t quite sure how to process the news of Rafe’s indiscretion; we don’t see the explosion of emotion we would have expected to see.  Rafe doesn’t have much to say for himself, but he does try to explain that it happened while they were separated those few days.  The look on Hope’s face says it all; she leaves without following through with the public ceremony.  Everyone is stunned.  Rafe goes after Hope, but she doesn’t want to talk to him right now.

Ciara and Claire get in a fight; Ciara tells Claire whatever truce they had is over.  Claire decides to go to South Africa to see Theo, probably out of embarrassment.  Eli talks to Rafe about what happened and why; he reflects on his own situation and considers telling Gabi the truth.  Lani watches the aftermath, still keeping her secret. Julie bad-mouths the entire Hernandez family now, pointing out Rafe’s indiscretion and certain Gabi is guilty of murdering Andre; Doug puts her in her place, lovingly.  Jennifer and Eric get in a fight over his defense of his sister, Sammi… 

Friday, March 2, 2018 (S53E112): The Wedding Day

Gabi helps Rafe straighten his tie; she tells him she is so proud of the man he has become.  He says he has made mistakes; Gabi says, at least he is honest with his mistakes and they don’t hurt other people.  Hope comes in dressed in a smart, white suit; she overhears Rafe thanking Eli for keeping his secret.  Hope asks what secret that is; Rafe hangs his head and says it’s time to come clean.  He tells Hope that he told Eli they already got married; she acts mad at first and then says it doesn’t matter.

Claire catches Ciara and Tripp listening to the recording on her phone; Ciara says she was looking for the song Claire wrote.  Claire gets mad and takes her phone, saying she can hear it when everyone else hears it.  She questions how much they heard; they pretend they didn’t hear “the secret.”  Ciara considers telling Hope, but doesn’t (yet); Claire confronts Ciara and tries to take her phone.  Tripp comes in and tells them to stop fighting; Claire says the wedding should not happen.  She runs out the door, saying she isn’t going to let it happen.  Just as Rafe and Hope are going to announce that they already got married, Claire rushes in and blurts out “Rafe cheated on you.”

Thursday, March 1, 2018 (S53E111): The Would-be-Wedding

Julie practices for the ceremony; she worries that she will let Rafe and Hope down.  Maggie comes by and tells Julie that she isn’t going to come to the wedding; she says she wouldn’t be able to hide her own sadness, and tells Julie her marriage is “on the rocks.”  She tells Julie that it isn’t just that Victor loves his company more than anything, it’s what he will do to hang on to it.  Brady asks Victor what is going on because he can’t find Maggie; Henderson told him she moved out.  Brady asks what unbelievably stupid thing he did to drive Maggie away.  He also tells Victor that Eve walked in on Maggie and him talking earlier; Brady tells his grandfather he managed to cover with Eve, and she now thinks there is something very real between them.  He is starting to feel bad about it; he doesn’t know if he can go through with their plan.  He later has lunch with Eve and tells her that he needs to figure out how to get his grandfather to give up control of the business; he thinks he knows how.

Vivian demands to know what is going on between Stefan and his “brother’s wife.”Chad is stunned when Abigail calls out to him; she is still dressed up like Gabi, but quickly throws the wig off… her hair is a mess, but Chad doesn’t seem to think anything of it.  She claims she just doesn’t want him in the tunnels because they are dangerous, and after just losing Andre, she doesn’t want to chance it.  He hugs her, and then he notices the dress; he asks why she changed her clothes.  She says she just didn’t want to stay in the same clothes from the hearing; he accepts her answer as he looks the dress over.  She says Gabi gave it to her; Chad asks how she is… Abigail says okay.  Chad mentions Stefan and Vivian and Abby’s response surprises Chad; he asks who she is and what she’s done with his wife.  She just laughs and then cringes when he hugs her.  He suggests they go make love; she reminds him that he was going to put Thomas’ train set together today.  He goes to do that, and in a completely different personality, Abigail says, “Gabi, you almost got us in trouble… it’s a good thing I’m here now.”

Eve stops by to see Claire; she tells her they are moving forward with the contest and reminds Claire she still needs to turn in a head-shot.  Claire mentions Rafe and Hope’s wedding; Eve cringes and says its lucky that Rafe isn’t anything like his dad… Claire says she isn’t so sure about that.  She quickly changes the subject by asking Eve about herself; Eve starts talking about her relationship with Rafe’s dad, Eduardo, and compares it to her relationship, now, with Brady.  Claire wishes her the best; Claire mentions Teresa, and Eve says she doesn’t know what to say about her sister.  Kayla decides to take Steve to a specialist in Chicago; Ciara tells Tripp to keep hope that Steve will beat this.  She reminds him of how good Theo is doing, when nobody expected him to make it.  He tells her she’s right; she thanks him for being there for her to confide in about Rafe and Sammi.  Tripp tells her he will be there, representing the Johnson family.  Ciara is struggling with the music she put to her photo montage… she decides to look through Claire’s phone for the song she is writing for the wedding.

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 (S53E110): A New Suspect

Eli remembers his conversation with Gabi; she tells him he has always been there for her, and she knows he always will be.  She thanks him for being so “perfect” and for being “a stand-up guy.”  His mom happens by; he tells her he is just frustrated and angry that the woman he loves in going through hell and there’s not a damn thing he can do to help her.  Gabi goes to pick up Ari from Sonny; he tells her that she has a cold and is finally sleeping, so he thinks they should let her rest.  She agrees to leave her, even though Ari was looking forward to the wedding; she tells Sonny, she can’t believe someone hates her so much they would kill Andre while pretending to be her.  Sonny tells her they will “find the monster” that set her up.

Valerie asks Eli what he is going to do “about this baby situation” and he says “what Lani wants me to do.”  He said the decision was easier when he found out she and JJ were getting married.  She starts to talk about all the times he is going to miss, sitting on the sidelines as a spectator, as his baby grows up without him; Eli says he hasn’t thought about that.JJ shows up for lunch and asks Lani what is wrong; she says she is just worried about being ready for the baby.  JJ surprises Lani by suggesting that they get married today, as they are discussing the things they will need to prepare for the baby’s arrival.

Lani tells JJ she wants to be a bit more practical about the marriage.  She says they need to plan it; he admits he was being impulsive.  He says he can’t wait to be a real family; Lani gets a look of concern on her face, but he doesn’t notice because he is touching and staring at her belly.  Gabi tells Sonny that she believes the DA has a personal vendetta against her; she fears she doesn’t stand a chance.  He asks about Abigail and Gabi says, “I know she’s on my side.”

Kate and Chad try to figure out when “everything started to go South” – Kate says, it all started when Stefan showed up in town.  They wonder if he had anything to do with Andre’s death; Kate says she is concerned about what he is capable of and whom he might hurt next.  Chad vows to stop him before he “gets away with murder.” Stefan recalls his encounter with Abby, as Gabi, the other night; Vivian walks in and finds Abigail dressed up like Gabi.  She asks why she is dressed “like that.”  As this goes on, Stefan reads a book about multiple personality disorder, and how dangerous it can be to confront an alter; Vivian mocks Abigail’s “new look.”  Vivian laughs at her when Abby says she is Gabi Hernandez; Abigail grabs a fireplace poker and tries to hit Vivian with it.  Stefan hears Vivian scream and goes running; he stops Abigail from chasing his mother around the room.  Vivian says they need to call Chad and tell him his wife has “lost her mind.”  He gets Abby to leave the room and he goes with her.  Stefan coddles Abigail, telling her that he knows she’s not Abby; Abigail says, “she better get that through her head.”

Vivian notices the bookshelf open from the wall, revealing the hidden passageway; she goes to investigate; Chad asks her what she thinks she’s doing.  She says she was just curious; he says the house is full of secret passages.  He asks if she’s seen Abigail; she says she thought she did, but it turns out it wasn’t her at all.  Kate sits down on the bench in the square; Gabi sees her.  They each ask how the other is doing; Gabi thanks her for her support at the hearing… Kate says she knows Gabi did not kill Andre.  Chad wonders what Vivian was really doing and begins to enter the passageway; Abigail (still dressed as Gabi) sees him and calls out to him.  He asks her why she is dressed like she is.

Monday, February 26, 2018 (S53E108);: The Getaway

Hope and Rafe make the best of their getaway, but Rafe suspects trouble is near.  He grabs a man sneaking around outside of the cabin; Hope tells him, he is a justice of the peace… he is there to marry them, before their public ceremony tomorrow.  Hope has the whole thing planned, rings and all; she’s certain that Julie won’t get mad about it… she says, “she’ll be thrilled that we did this.”  Rafe agrees to go along with it, and says it’s his favorite wedding ever.  Hope says tomorrow will be all about “stress-free celebration.”  The justice asks if they are ready, and Hope begins by telling Rafe how special he is to her and how much he has done for her; she says she is ready to risk her heart, because she loves, and trusts him.  Rafe suddenly looks somber; he tells Hope he has a confession to make.  Just as think he is going to tell her about his one-night stand with Sammi, he professes his love to her, grabs the pearl lasso and binds them.  They say the standard vows, exchange rings and the justice pronounces them “husband and wife.”  Rafe picks Hope up and twirls her around as they kiss.

Marlena comes over to see Ciara and Ciara tells her about “the secret.”   Marlena tells Ciara to “think long and hard before” she does “something that will hurt their family.”  Claire looks at her phone again, and tells herself there is “still time left” thinking Hope hasn’t married Rafe yet.  Meanwhile, Hope and Rafe begin to celebrate their honeymoon.

Victor is trying to call Maggie, disappointed that she doesn’t answer, when Vivian walks in; he tells her to get out, saying he has no business with her.  She says he could though; she tells him her son might be the key to his future.  She tells him she could make him very happy and stands up, as she unbuttons her fur coat; Victor covers his eyes and screams, as though the sight was painful.  He tells her she is deluded and demented, and says there is no way she could talk him into having anything to do with her.  She bad-mouths Maggie, and he threatens to drag her out “by her hair,” to which she responds that she and her son are going to come after him and his company and they won’t show him any mercy.  She storms out, holding her coat closed.

John comes to visit Steve; Kayla isn’t happy with him.  She tells him, although the poison has left his system, the poison may have permanently harmed Steve’s eye sight.  She goes to get the test results and they confirm her belief; Steve is slowly losing his sight… and remember, he only had one good eye.  John apologizes to Steve again; Steve tells him he understands – he was just doing what he had to do.  Kayla doesn’t understand though; she is pissed and asks John to leave.  She tells Steve that she isn’t sure she can forgive him.  Maggie finds John on the park bench, crying.

Chad comes to Steffan’s room, asking if he’s seen Abigail; he says he hasn’t… but Abby is hiding in the closet.  Chad accuses Steffan of hiding the murder weapon and Steffan makes a big scene, telling Chad to search his room, if he wants to.  He starts tearing his drawers apart; Chad tells him to stop.  He says he knows he is smart enough not to hide it there, so he’ll pass on the offer to look around.  He leaves; next time we see Chad, he is headed to their bedroom, where he finds Abigail asleep on the bed.  She wakes up and says she doesn’t even remember coming up there; he tells her she was tired and must have needed a nap.

Friday, February 23, 2018 (S53E107): Abigail is Her Own Worst Enemy

Abigail, thinking she’s Gabbi, attempts to seduce Steffan so he doesn’t tell anybody it was her on the security footage, entering and leaving Andre’s room.  She baits him, telling him that he will never have Abigail because she hates him, and is devoted to Chad.  She goes on and on, until he tells her to “shut up” and kisses her.  Meanwhile, Gabbi is in the living room, looking for Abigail; Chad tells her he doesn’t know where she went.  Gabbi tells Chad how concerned she is about being blamed for Andre’s death; she wants to go search Steffan’s room, but Chad tells her that’s not a good idea.  He thinks he may have an idea who the woman is, pretending to be Gabbi.  Chad tells Gabbi his theory about a woman (Linda Trask) who was hanging out with Steffon; similar built, same hair color… Gabbi reminds him that she is the D.A.  He says she might be willing to “play dress-up,” if Steffan financed her campaign.  Gabbi says that’s a stretch, even for her.

Instead of telling Eve the truth, Brady tells her he feels bad about what he did to Eric… and Nicole.  He explains that he is the reason Nicole left town; and says he just doesn’t know how to forgive his brother.  Eric talks to his dad at the diner; he tells him that he is sad that Brady hates his guts now because he lied to him about having feelings for Nicole.  After ranting about how horrible he has been, he tells Eve he understands if she never wants to have anything to do with him ever again.  Eve laughs and tells him he isn’t a bad person; she says she is relieved because she thought it was going to be something about her; Brady attempts to look shocked.  Roman begs Eric not to give up on his brother, saying, “one of these days, it will be too late.”

Tripp and Ciara have a conversation, which they believe is in private; Claire is supposedly laying down for a nap.  They talk about Rafe having cheated on her mother, and Ciara reiterates that noone else can know.  They decide to go out for pizza, before she gets back to work on her computer.  Claire comes out of her room and grabs a phone off the side table; she has recorded the entire conversation, and listens to it.  Just as she finishes listening to it again, Claire and Tripp come back; she tells them she was listening to a song she wrote for the wedding.  Ciara says, “let’s hear it.”  Claire refuses to play it, saying, she can hear it at the wedding with everybody else.  Ciara decides to go to her Grandma Julie’s, and Tripp has other things to do; Claire sits down to listen to the tape again.  She is annoyed by some of the conversation, and gets pissed when Ciara insults her; supposedly, she hasn’t gotten to the “secret” yet.  Suddenly, she hears it.

Rafe creates a romantic atmosphere at the cabin, despite the fact that it rained, so Hope’s plans got washed out, for them to sit under the stars, by a fire.  He hangs blue lights all over the place, to resemble the stars, sets up the tent in the living room, and lights a fire in the fireplace.  He hears someone approaching, and grabs his gun out of the backpack.

Thursday, February 22, 2018 (S53E106): Missing Time

Paul recalls stepping into the mausoleum and seeing his father standing over Paul, who is knocked out on the floor; he is stunned when John lifts the gun and points it at him.  Sitting on the park bench, Paul sees his father step through the gateway; John tells him he is sorry for everything he put him through.Chad wakes Abby and asks if she had another nightmare; she says she doesn’t think so.  After he leaves, she says to herself, “I don’t think I had a nightmare.”  Stephan pulls a knob out of his drawer and recalls a conversation between himself and the alter Abby… he realizes she killed Andre.  He remembers her telling him that she is Gabby Hernandez; she insists, in fact… telling him her brother and her boyfriend are cops.  She gets angry when he brings up Abby’s history with mental illness, and when he turns, saying he is going to get Chad, she tells him not to do that.

Scene turns to Brady and Eve, standing before Victor and Maggie; they tell them they have a difference of opinion.  Victor doesn’t approve of them actually ‘dating’ but Maggie says everyone deserves a second chance.  Brady thanks her and says he and Eve are very happy, and he says he finds Eve funny and smart, and beautiful and savy, and says she is wonderful with his son; Eve thanks him.Lucas comes in yelling at his sister, who is in a hospital bed after being shot; he asks her what the hell she thought she was doing.  She says she was trying to help save Steve; he tells her he is angry that she was in on the plot to “neutralize” his son.  She says they didn’t have a choice; they “thought” they knew what John was doing, and he had to stop them from interfering.  Will comes in and says he wasn’t seriously hurt; he says they should all just enjoy “being a family.”  He tells Billie it is nice to meet her; then goes to see Paul.  He apologizes for interrupting Paul and John, but John says he needs to go anyway.  Paul admits they were talking about him; Will asks for details.

Victor and Maggie ask Eve if they can speak to Brady alone; she leaves the room willingly.  Maggie tells Brady he knows what they are doing… he says he knows that he his playing Eve, trying to get Basic Black back.  She tells him, she isn’t her favorite person, but she doesn’t deserve this.  She tells Brady that he should come clean with Eve, which it appears he is going to do.  Then she packs her bags and tells Victor, until he is ready to make some big changes, she can no longer live with him.

Steffan bids Chad good morning and asks about Abigail; Chad tells him his wife is none of his business.  Steffan recalls Abigail kissing him (dressed as Gabbi); he says he wouldn’t be so sure of that.  Abby walks in and asks what is going on; Chad tells her that Steffan thinks he “has a chance with” her… she laughs and tells him he does not, saying she is completely in love with her husband.  Chad leaves; Steffan tells Abigail she can cut the act; she tells Steffan she has no idea what he is talking about.  Just moments later, Abigail gets a headache; when she recovers from it, she has a different look in her eyes… she says it’s time for Gabbi to come out and play, and enters a secret passageway to Steffan’s room.  Chad comes back calling her, but finds the room empty. *We see Abigail change personalities, Maggie leaves Victor… and Paul and Will grow closer.

February 15, 2018 (S53E101): On His Knees

Eli and Gabi go out; Julie brings up the murder charge gleefully, and Eli says he will do everything in his power to prove Gabi is innocent.  Julie tells him that would be a mistake.  She sees the new district attorney, and brings her into the conversation.  She says Gabi Hernandez is going down this time; she says it’s a joke that she got out on a technicality because of a judge’s mistake after just a few months.

Eric tells Jennifer he needs to apologize to her; even though she’s on a date with someone else, he kneels down and tells her that it has always been her – that he hasn’t stopped thinking of her since New Year’s Eve, and he wants to be with her.  She tells him she is on a date and he needs to go home; Eric is disappointed but says okay.  Henry tells her that he thinks he should go; he says she is obviously in love with this man and he is obviously in love with her… she should be with him.  Sitting at the bar, Stefan engages in conversation with the new district attorney; she is a real bitch and has vowed to see Gabi put back in prison – this time for good.  Jennifer goes and finds Eric; they kiss, and she smiles so cute, and giggles.  They kiss again.

Chad and Abigail go out to dinner; Stefan orders a bottle of champagne for them.  They end up not wanting it and deciding to go home.  Abigail can tell something is wrong; Chad tells her that he thinks Stefan killed Andre, and framed Gabi for it.  JJ gets a ring from Doug; it belonged to his grandmother.  Doug says they have to talk first; they have a nice talk, and JJ convinces him that he would want to marry Lani even if she wasn’t having his baby.  Doug gives his blessing.  Lani is astounded when JJ gets down on one knee during their dinner and asks her to marry him.

February 14, 2018 (S53E100): The Joke’s on Eve

Brady calls his grandfather and tells him that he told Eve he wants a real relationship; he says he thinks she bought it too.  Eve walks into the room behind him and hears him say he is close to getting his old job back; she asks how.  He makes up a story, and is interrupted by Tate, who has Valentine’s cards for his dad and his mommy; he asks his dad where his mommy is and they all have a discussion about her being gone.  Eve assures Tate that a mommy always loves her child even if she can’t be with him, and hugs her nephew.  Brady gets a text back from Victor, telling him to “real the bitch in and gut her like a fish.”

Jen and Eric bump into each other in the square; he invites her to the Pub with him, but she says she is meeting “Henry” for dinner tonight.  He tells her to have fun and leaves.  He tells Anna that he really wants to be with Jennifer, and he wishes he knew what happened.  Anna admits that she may have misled Jen to believe that he was still hung up on Nicole; he goes to talk to her.  Jennifer’s date shows up; Julie isn’t very nice to him.  He asks if she would rather have her with Eric; she tells him Eric has given her clear signs that friendship is all he wants from her.  Eric interrupts Jennifer’s desert, telling the date to get his hands off, saying, “that donut’s mine.”

A doctor comes into Steve’s room; he tells them the lab is backed up so they have no answers yet.  He says he hears he has been up and around and orders strict bed rest, threatening to sedate him if he has to.  Claire meets Tripp in the square; he’s waiting to hear news about his dad… she has a plan to make the time pass faster.  They get on her bike (her dad’s bike) and she tells him to get ready for the ride of his life.  Hope has a surprise for Rafe; she tells him she wants to forget the rehearsal dinner and just do it – then gives him a letter, approving his vacation request, and tells him that she wants to go on a camping trip to Smith Island the night before they get married.  He gives her a box with a long pearl necklace in it; he says its an old Mexican custom… a ceremonial lasso to tie them together. 

February 13, 2018 (S53E99): Time Passes

Ciara sees him and Claire hugging as he leaves… she gives Ciara a hard time about it and asks what’s going on.  Claire denies there being anything between her and Tripp and turns the tables of Ciara.  She tells Claire about Steve being in the hospital.  Claire is mad that Ciara won’t tell her the secret, but Ciara assures her it has nothing to do with her.  Claire says she isn’t going to let it go.

Kate gasps when she steps in the door of the mausoleum, and sees her daughter; Kate asks what she is doing there.  She says she is there to support her mother, but is acting suspicious.  Kate finds two bullet casings and wonders where they came from; she goes to make a call.  John goes to the hospital to see Steve; Steve is sleeping.  He says, “I’m so sorry partner,” and pulls out a syringe.  Tripp receives the news about Steve and goes to see him; Tripp walks in and almost sees him trying to inject it, but he hides it; Tripp acts like he didn’t really see anything and they talk… John leaves.  John goes into the crypt later, and Billie (still there) asks him what happened; he tells her Tripp walked in on him and he “had to bail.”  She asks what they are going to do. 

Eli confesses to Rafe about Lani’s baby; Chad posts Gabi’s bail and tells her that he knows she is being framed by Stefan (adding it’s just a gut feeling, but he thinks he is also the one who killed Andre).  They discuss the possibilities.  The more they talk, the more possible it seems to Gabi; she questions Chad’s motives though.  Abby goes to work; Stefan is surprised to see her.  She sees him with a phone that isn’t his and remembers a conversation about Andre’s phone missing from the murder scene.  He claims it was just voice memos of things he needs to do.  They get into a discussion about Gabi; he claims this might reflect badly on the company and Abby defends her.  They argue, but then Stefan calms down and tries to reassure Abigail that they are on the same side; he touches her arm gently.  She tells him not to touch her, adding he is her boss not her confidant, and leaves.  Stefan pulls out the phone again.

February 9, 2018 (Friday; S53E97): Why Suspect Gabi?

Ariana gets out of bed and asks Sonny where her mommy is; Sonny puts her back to bed.  He tells his dad he doesn’t know how he’ll handle it if Gabi is take away from Ari again.  Paul tells the man he was just cutting through to meet someone; the man tells him he can’t let him pass.  Paul wrestles with the guy and gets his gun away from him; the man says he knows Paul won’t shot him and walks away.  Will confronts John and says he isn’t going to let him poison Steve Johnson; he tells him he saw him poison the coffee.  He says he is going to tell Paul; Johns says he can’t let him do that and he pulls out a gun.  Will tells him there is no need for that; Marlena calls John.   He ignores the call and takes Will, gun to his head; Marlena leaves a message about Steve passing out.

Kayla calls for help and starts assessing Steve; as she sits with Marlena, she says two other doctors are in there with him, and it was hard when they asked her to leave.  She says he didn’t just pass out; he stopped breathing.  She says his blood work is all normal and there are no masses on any of the scans; they tell her she can go in to see Steve.  He tells her they are going to get through this, whatever it is.

Chad tells Abigail about the surveillance footage of what looks like Gabi; he also tells her Gabi says it isn’t her.  He mentions the urn being left by Anna, and the part of it in the woman’s hands on the tape.  She says none of it makes any sense; he reminds here about the trouble with Ben and how everyone but her thought he was guilty.  They agree they should fight for Gabi.  Paul tries to call Will and is worried when he gets to answer; John takes Will to the family crypt.  He says, “this is where the dead are put to rest,” and raises the gun.  Will reminds John that he is Marlena’s grandson, but that doesn’t seem to dissuade him.  Paul knocks on the door of the crypt to find Will lying on the ground; John clicks the safety on the gun and from outside the crypt, we hear a shot fire.

February 8, 2018 (Thursday; S53E96): One Secret Out

The minute Claire gets him alone, she asks Tripp what the secret was; when he refuses to tell her, she asks what’s going on between him and Ciara.  She seems jealous, saying they were friends first; Tripp assures her they are still friends.  She tells him about the contest and he says she is a shoe in; she says it might not hurt that her “Pop-pop owns the company.”

JJ asks Abe for his blessing to ask Lani to marry him; Abe is impressed.  Valerie looks worried; she tells JJ marriage is a huge commitment and they should take their time.  Abe thanks Valerie for her concern and gives JJ his blessing, saying, it is important to him that Lani marry the father of her child.  Eli is shocked at what Lani just told him; he is angry in fact.  But he seems to understand when she explains her reasons; he is happy she didn’t wait until their child was an adult to tell him.  She tells Eli that she still thinks it’s best for everyone if JJ thinks he is the father and asks him not to tell anyone.  He sees his mom and Abe in the square; Abe gets a phone call.  Eli tells his mom he doesn’t know what he is going to do about the baby.

Will and Paul spy on John and Marlena at the hospital; Marlena turns to check on Steve and they are stopped by a man, who says he needs to talk to John NOW.  He wants to hire him and says it’s urgent; John goes to talk with him.  The man threatens John when they get alone; tells him to carry out his mission and gives him another vial.  Marlena spots Paul and Will; they say they are there to see a friend who works in administration.  They follow John outside and overhear the threat; Paul goes to follow the man when he leaves… Will stays to watch John.

Kayla gets the results from Steve’s blood tests back; Steve is frustrated when there is nothing conclusive.  When he stands up to leave, he almost passes out.  She wants to admit him to the hospital, but he refuses to let her; he laughs off his body falling apart and hugs her.  John calls Steve and asks him to meet him to talk about a new client; Steve agrees to meet him.  He turns to leave and passes out, falling to the floor.  Paul rounds the corner on the docks and finds a gun in his face; the man says, “I don’t like being followed.”