Abe and Theo entered the Brady Pub as Rafe was taking tentative steps from a wheelchair to a chair at a nearby table. After Rafe accomplished the task, Theo rushed over to greet him. Abe introduced Jordan to Theo, who explained that he and Abe had gone to the pub to order some hot chocolate before heading to the park for a hiking expedition.
Jordan admitted that she had never tried the pub's hot chocolate, so Theo took her to the bar so that she could order a cup for herself. Meanwhile, Abe took a seat at Rafe's table, and he and Rafe watched as Jordan playfully interacted with Theo. Abe observed that Jordan seemed much less reserved and impersonal than she had when he had met her a few weeks earlier, and Rafe confirmed that she had definitely changed.
Abe was pleased to see that Rafe's rehabilitation process was progressing smoothly, and he promised that Rafe's spot at the Salem Police Department would remain open until Rafe was ready to return to work. When Theo and Jordan returned, Abe and Theo excused themselves so that they could continue their trip to the park.
After Abe and Theo left, Rafe praised Jordan's comfortable interaction with Theo and wondered if she had worked with kids before. Jordan seemed reluctant to answer the question at first, but she eventually confirmed that she had previously worked with teenagers and young kids. Rafe smiled as he listened to Jordan talk about the kids that she had worked with, and when she questioned him about his reaction to her comments, he shrugged and said that he simply enjoyed hearing her talk enthusiastically about a subject.
Later, Rafe and Jordan went to the park. Rafe was surprised that it hadn't started snowing in Salem yet, and he wondered what the weather was like in Birmingham. Jordan claimed that she didn't know because she never talked to any of her friends or family members who still lived in Birmingham. Jordan quickly changed the subject and asked if Gabi had made a decision about the modeling job yet. Rafe happily reported that Gabi had sent him a text message the previous night to inform him that she had decided to stay in Salem.
Jordan invited Rafe to join her on a nearby bench, and when he agreed, she started to wheel him closer to it, but he stopped her. Jordan was skeptical about Rafe's ability to walk from his wheelchair to the bench on his own, since it was a greater distance than he had previously traversed, but he was confident about his ability to do so and even pushed his wheelchair back a few extra feet to show off.
Rafe made it to the bench, but he lost his balance as he tried to lower himself onto it. Jordan caught Rafe, and he laughed as he apologized to her. Rafe started to pull away from Jordan, but he stopped himself and instead kissed her.
In Daniel's apartment, Daniel was preparing for his disciplinary hearing when he noticed a note from Nicole, who wished him luck and asked him to send her a text message after the hearing concluded. A short time later, Daniel received a visit from Maxine, who handed him a large stack of letters of support that she and the other nurses had collected from his colleagues and patients. Daniel was surprised to see that one of the letters was from Jennifer.
At the Horton house, Jennifer was fixing her hair in front of a mirror in the living room when J.J. greeted her and observed that she looked sharp. Jennifer thanked J.J. for the compliment and explained that she was preparing for Daniel's disciplinary hearing, which was being held at the hospital later that day. J.J. wondered if Jennifer was going to be okay, and she assured him that she would be fine.
J.J. wondered if something bad was going to happen to Daniel at the hearing. Jennifer explained that the hearing was essentially just a formality. J.J. admitted that he was having difficulty understanding why anyone would want to punish Daniel for saving Theresa's life. The statement surprised Jennifer, who suspiciously wondered when J.J. had started caring about what happened to Daniel.
"Hey, I don't care what happens to the guy. It just seems like, you know, if they're gonna punish him for something, it should be for hurting you," J.J. smoothly clarified. Jennifer admitted that, while she appreciated J.J.'s concern, the hospital board couldn't exactly order a disciplinary hearing to take Daniel to task for hurting her feelings. Jennifer informed J.J. that she had been asked to write a letter of support for Daniel and that she had agreed to do so. J.J. guessed that it had probably been hard for Jennifer to do that, but she shook her head and summarized that she had simply done what she had needed to do.
Later, Rory and Bev spotted J.J. as he was walking through the Horton Town Square, so he reluctantly stopped to greet them before excusing himself so that he could get to school in time for an early class. Bev stopped J.J. and wondered why he hadn't answered any of her recent text messages. J.J. claimed that his cell phone was old and had really poor battery life, adding that he was going to get a new phone soon. Rory skeptically asked if that was why J.J. also hadn't returned any of Rory's recent phone calls, and J.J. confirmed the suspicion before reiterating that he needed to leave.
Rory wondered which class J.J. was in a rush to attend, and J.J. hesitated for a moment before answering that he was on his way to his history class. "You're playing me. Come on. Hey, you're the guy who said that History is only worth going to if you're totally stoned, so...who wants to get ready for class?" Rory asked as he retrieved a small bag of marijuana from his jacket pocket. J.J. declined the offer, insisting that he needed to get good grades that semester.
Rory teasingly pushed J.J. against a nearby pillar and started to frisk him, jokingly informing Bev that the guy who was standing in front of them was clearly an impostor, since the real J.J. Deveraux would want to get high with them. After feigning amusement, J.J. firmly reiterated that he wasn't interested, prompting Bev and Rory to wonder why J.J. no longer wanted to hang out with them.
Before J.J. could respond, Bev wondered if he was still freaked out about the things that he had recently learned about his father. Rory encouraged J.J. to forget about all of that stuff and have some fun with him and Bev. Bev and Rory assured J.J. that they would go to their favorite secluded spot in the park so that they wouldn't get caught, and Rory promised to get J.J. totally baked so that J.J. would be able to maintain a decent buzz for the entirety of the history class.
"I don't want to get baked. And I don't want to be buzzed during class, okay? I don't want to be a loser. Now, is that clear enough?" J.J. firmly stated. Rory matter-of-factly summarized that he and Bev were J.J.'s only friends, adding that everyone else at school believed that J.J. was some sort of freak who had gotten arrested after throwing a tantrum and breaking all of the windows in the town square. Bev added that she and Rory actually cared about J.J. "But, um, if you're too good to hang out with us now, then...fine. You'll find out how much life sucks when you're all alone, dude," Rory said before he and Bev walked away.
At the hospital, Anne cheerfully greeted Theresa and summarized that it was shaping up to be a truly momentous day. Theresa was confused, so Anne reminded her that Daniel's disciplinary hearing was being held later that day. "And I have got the perfect thing to make it go boom. You want to play?" Anne asked mischievously. Intrigued, Theresa followed Anne into the empty conference room where the hearing was going to be held.
Anne closed the door and produced a document that outlined the details of the statement that she wanted Theresa to make at the hearing. "'Dr. Jonas said he wanted to get high with me,'" Theresa read aloud as she looked at Anne questioningly. Anne explained that she had been inspired to write the statement after consuming some wine the previous night. For dramatic effect, Anne encouraged Theresa to deliver the statement with slumped shoulders, a mascara-tear-stained face, and a cracked voice.
"Don't say you did drugs with him, because Doctor Goody-Good -- he -- he came in here and he got tested the minute he hit the hospital that night, all right? But he did push them on you. You got that? All right. Oh, and he made promises to do drugs with you, like -- I don't know, the next week. Oh, and don't forget to make a really big point about the fact that he was trashing Jennifer, all right? She's boring, total missionary, stiff as a board -- oh, my God. Kick it up a notch -- say that he told you that he needs just a little bit of pharmaceutical before he gets into bed with her. Oh, my God, if that doesn't send this bitch running out of the room, nothing will. Have you ever seen her when she is really embarrassed? She gets, like, a rosacea," Anne said with a laugh.
Theresa pointed out that she couldn't remember what had actually happened on the night of her overdose, but Anne believed that was a good thing, reasoning that the amnesia would prevent the facts from getting in the way of the story that Theresa was going to be fabricating about the events that had taken place that night. Theresa protested that it was obvious that the statement was filled with lies, but Anne countered that Theresa had never had any qualms about lying in the past. Despite Jennifer's claims that she no longer cared about Daniel, Anne was certain that Jennifer would still be devastated when Theresa ruined his career with the false statement about the night of the overdose, and she reminded Theresa that they had been dying to inflict that sort of anguish on Jennifer all along because Jennifer was a "colossal pain in [their] asses."
Later, in the waiting area, Kayla reported that Shane had sent her a text message earlier to let her know that he and Kimberly had arrived safely in Los Angeles, and Theresa revealed that she had received a similar message from Kimberly. Kayla nodded and abruptly excused herself so that she could get to the disciplinary hearing, where she joined Anne, Jennifer, E.J., Daniel, and another board member, Dr. Westbrook.
E.J. admitted that he didn't really understand why the board was wasting its time on a disciplinary hearing. Westbrook agreed that the evidence against Daniel was thin, but he added that a hearing had been requested and that the committee was required to comply with that request. When prompted, Daniel started to read his official statement about the events that had occurred on the night of Theresa's overdose.
Anne interrupted and started to question Daniel's reason for being at Theresa's apartment on the night in question in the first place, but Westbrook silenced her and insisted that no one would be able to ask questions until Daniel's statement had been read in its entirety. Daniel added that he wasn't going to answer any questions of a personal nature, anyway, because those questions weren't relevant to the hearing.
Daniel proceeded to read his statement, enter the letters of support into evidence, and stress that drug tests had confirmed that he had not been under the influence of any drugs on the night in question. When Daniel was finished, E.J. reiterated that he didn't see the point of the hearing. Meanwhile, Anne discreetly sent a text message to Theresa.
As Westbrook started to issue his ruling, someone knocked on the door. Kayla opened the door and greeted Theresa, who announced that she wanted to make a statement about Daniel. "'This has been a bad year for me. I got involved in drugs and did a lot of things that I regret very much. I know Dr. Jonas is here because of what happened on October 25th. I want to say to everyone that I'm very sorry that I was the cause of so much trouble. As far as that night goes, I don't remember anything about it. All I know is, when I woke up, the nurse told me that Dr. Jonas saved my life. I will always be grateful to him,'" Theresa read aloud from a piece of paper.
After Theresa concluded her statement and exited the room, Westbrook once again started to issue his ruling, but Anne interrupted and summarized that they were witnessing an attempt to whitewash what had really happened on the night in question. Anne revealed that she had done some investigating of her own and had learned that some of Theresa's neighbors had heard loud noises emanating from Theresa's apartment on the night in question. Jennifer impatiently pointed out that the neighbors weren't present to give their statements. "Third-party statements are automatically ruled hearsay according to the HR handbook -- which you wrote," Jennifer pointedly added, effectively silencing Anne.
Westbrook ruled that there was no cause for any further actions to be taken against Daniel in regards to the matter at hand. Anne stormed out of the room as soon as the hearing was adjourned. Meanwhile, E.J. congratulated Daniel, who admitted that he was surprised that E.J. had been on his side during the hearing. E.J. said that he would never forget what Daniel had done for Chad, adding that he knew what it was like to be the victim of a witch hunt. "But mainly, it was because that vile woman had no grounds -- none whatsoever," E.J. added before exiting the room.
Kayla and Westbrook also left the room, leaving Daniel alone with Jennifer. Daniel thanked Jennifer for writing a letter of support for him. Jennifer shrugged and said that everything that she had said about Daniel's skill as a doctor had been true. "It's too bad you're such a poor excuse for a human being," Jennifer added before walking away.
In the waiting area, Anne demanded to know what Theresa had been thinking earlier. Anne angrily summarized that the druggie had suddenly grown a conscience and blown the opportunity of a lifetime. "Yeah, well maybe it's about time. Maybe it's time I realized who my real friends are," Theresa stated before walking away. Meanwhile, in the town square, J.J. spotted Kayla and asked about Daniel's hearing. Kayla gave J.J. a quick report before excusing herself.
At the lake, Sami was searching for her missing earring when Nick suddenly emerged from the water and grabbed her arm. Sami screamed in horror and struggled to escape, but Nick dragged her into the water with him and held her down until her lifeless body sank to the bottom of the lake.
Sami gasped as she woke up and realized that she had been having a nightmare. Later, as Sami was exiting the DiMera mansion, E.J. stopped her and admitted that he was surprised to see that she was still in Salem. Sami was confused for a moment, but when E.J. reminded her that she was supposed to be on her way to the museum with the kids, she assured him that she hadn't forgotten, dismissively adding that she knew a shortcut and still had plenty of time to get there.
Sami tried to leave again, but E.J. stopped her and observed that she seemed upset about something, adding that she had also seemed upset and disheveled the previous night. Sami assured E.J. that she wasn't upset, although she pointedly confirmed that she had been upset the previous night, when she had returned home and found the place swarming with police officers. Sami added that she had also been upset to learn that E.J. had gotten into an argument with Eric the previous night, summarizing that it was bad enough that E.J.'s sister Kristen had destroyed Eric's life and that E.J. had helped Kristen keep the whole thing a secret.
Ignoring Sami's attempts at deflection, E.J. wondered why she was keeping something from him. "Because that's what we do, E.J. Face it -- it's our specialty," Sami replied before exiting the mansion.
In Kate's office at Mad World, Kate was talking to her private investigator on the phone. Kate instructed the man to fly to New York and use Nick's identification and receipt to retrieve Nick's personal belongings from a storage facility there. Kate dismissively stated that she didn't care what the investigator did with the items afterward. "Throw them in the Hudson, down the rabbit hole -- whatever. Just let me know when it's done," Kate added before ending the call.
At the park, Theo discovered a diamond earring near the lake. Meanwhile, Abe called out for Theo to return to the hiking trail. After picking up the earring and placing it in his pocket, Theo rushed off to rejoin Abe. Later, Sami arrived at the lake and started to search for the earring, narrowly missing the leather identification badge with Nick's initials on it in the process. Sami eventually gave up and left when she received a text message from someone.
Later, Sami met Kate in a secluded section of Horton Town Square. Kate could tell, based on the dirt on Sami's clothes, that Sami had gone back to the lake earlier that day. Sami confirmed Kate's suspicion and reluctantly explained that she might have lost an earring there the previous night. Sami showed Kate the remaining diamond earring, and Kate quickly appraised its worth at thirty thousand dollars or more -- per earring.
Kate was concerned about Gabi, whom she referred to as the wild-card, and she invited Sami to join her so that they could check on Gabi, but Sami declined because she had to take the kids to the museum. Before leaving, Sami advised Kate to check out the flash drive that Nick had given Kate earlier. Sami was worried that there might be some sort of incriminating information on the flash drive, but Kate dismissively insisted that Sami needed to refrain from making up imaginary problems.
Later, Sami bumped into Theo as she was rushing through the town square. Sami apologized to Theo and excused herself, confirming Abe's suspicion that she was in a hurry. Meanwhile, at the Brady Pub, Kate connected Nick's flash drive to her laptop. An image of Nick's face appeared on the screen, and it morphed into a skull before a series of images of explosions flashed on the screen. As the screen went blank and Kate's laptop apparently crashed, Kate groaned with frustration, and E.J. watched with interest from the bar.
A curious E.J. observed from the bar of the Brady Pub while Kate tried not to curse too loudly after Nick's flash drive crashed her laptop and the words "SYSTEM FAILURE" appeared on the screen. Yanking the drive out of her computer, an irked Kate muttered, "Damn it, Sami, why the hell did I listen to you?" Intrigued, E.J. strolled over and asked Kate if he could help. Closing the computer, Kate casually claimed that she had just gotten some disappointing research about a new campaign.
Kate quickly packed up her things and left. As soon as the door had closed behind her, E.J. made a phone call. "I suspect there's been some sort of disaster over at Mad World. Would you do me a favor and look into it? See if we can take advantage," E.J. instructed. After he hung up, he wondered, "What the hell does that have to do with Samantha?"
Kate went to the park to call Sami. She informed Sami that Nick's flash drive had contained a "killer virus." "If Gabi hadn't killed Nick already, I'd do it myself," Kate grumbled. After they discussed Gabi's state of mind, Kate promised, "I'm going to have a long talk with our pretty friend. She has to understand that what happened with Nick needs to remain a secret."
As Sonny prepared to leave the apartment to interview applicants for two bartending jobs at Club TBD, he said goodbye to Will and Arianna.
Meanwhile, Gabi tossed and turned in the bedroom as she had nightmares about the events of the previous evening. She bolted upright in bed, anxiously murmuring, "I can't. I can't. I just can't do this!"
After Sonny had gone, Will carried Arianna to the refrigerator to begin making some breakfast for Gabi, who Will guessed was just sleeping late. Gabi emerged from the bedroom and immediately got on her tablet, flipping rapidly through news sites. Will noted curiously that he had never known Gabi to be such a "news junkie." Ignoring him, Gabi asked if anyone had called while she had been asleep.
Will said that his grandma had called to check in, and Kate had asked how Gabi was doing. "Actually, I'm wondering about that myself. Everything all right?" Will asked. "No," Gabi admitted. Will worried that Gabi was upset about giving up the modeling job in New York. Gabi clarified that she just hadn't gotten much sleep. Will offered to talk to his mom and grandmother about using Gabi as a model.
Gabi asked if that were why Kate had called, but Will said that Kate had only asked how Gabi and he baby were doing. Will was puzzled when Gabi put on her coat to go see Rafe, since she had told her brother the night before that she wasn't going to New York. "Can you just please drop the whole modeling thing? I'm not going; I just have other things on my mind," Gabi said as she hurried out.
In the park, Rafe managed to walk the few steps from his wheelchair to the bench where Jordan was sitting, but he lost his balance and nearly fell on top of her, landing with their faces mere inches apart. Instead of pulling away, Rafe kissed Jordan -- twice -- and she kissed him back before realizing her mistake and jumping up from the bench. Rafe apologized, but Jordan firmly emphasized that it could never happen again.
Jordan pushed the wheelchair over next to the bench and apologized for not maintaining her professional distance. She added that she should never have taken advantage of a patient's condition. "You did not take advantage of me," Rafe corrected her, noting, "Can I just say that that was, like, the best fifteen seconds that I have had in a hell of a long time?" Jordan asserted that it was common for patients to confuse gratitude with deeper emotions.
Rafe maintained that while he was grateful to Jordan, his feelings toward her had nothing to do with gratitude. Rafe asked what Jordan had meant it when she'd said it could never happen again, "What about when you're not my therapist anymore?" Jordan reminded him that she was still his therapist, but Rafe joked that he could fire her. Placing his hands over hers on the handles of the wheelchair, he pointed out that he would not be in the chair forever.
"And when I'm out of it, I'm going to call you," Rafe promised. Without turning him down outright, Jordan cautioned him against projecting into the future. "I'll take that as a positive maybe," Rafe said, and Jordan smiled in spite of herself. As Rafe took a seat in the wheelchair, he got a call from Gabi, who anxiously said that she needed to talk to him in person right away. Rafe asked her to meet him at Club TBD.
After she hung up, Gabi told herself, "I have to tell Rafe what we did." As she was hurrying out of Horton Square, Gabi nearly ran into E.J. She apologized and asked him where Sami was. E.J. explained that Sami had taken the children on an outing. Gabi stammered that she didn't actually need to talk to Sami because they had talked the day before. As Gabi started to rush off to meet Rafe, E.J. observed that she seemed a little tense. Gabi made an excuse about schoolwork before continuing on her way.
At Club TBD, after Sonny had interviewed some people for the bartending jobs, T suggested that Sonny hire him to fill one of the positions. Sonny agreed to see how things went with T officially working there. "You're not doing this because I'm Will's friend, are you?" T asked. "No, I'm doing it because you're my friend," Sonny assured T, who responded with an enthusiastic hug.
When Gabi showed up a little later, T spotted her sitting alone, fiddling with her cell phone, and remarked to Sonny, "Someone's wound a little tight." Sonny explained that Gabi had just made a difficult decision. T offered to take some checks to vendors for Sonny, but Sonny realized that he had left the checkbook at home.
Kate stopped by the apartment on the pretense of seeing the baby and asking Will how his writing was going. Will admitted that he was supposed to be writing at least thirty minutes a day, but between taking care of Arianna and people stopping by, he hadn't gotten much done. When Kate asked if Gabi were still sleeping, Will replied that Gabi had already left -- and she'd been acting upset.
Kate asked why Gabi had been upset. Will didn't know, but he said that Gabi had snapped at him when he'd offered to talk to Kate about modeling -- and she had been avidly reading the local newspapers online. Sonny called Will just then to ask him to take Sonny's checkbook to the club. Will agreed. "I wish I'd remembered before Gabi got here; I would've had her bring them to me," Sonny said. Will was surprised that Gabi was at the club, but Sonny said that she was meeting Rafe there.
Kate overheard, and as soon as Will got off the phone, she guessed that Gabi was telling Rafe that she wasn't going to New York. Will said that Gabi had already told Rafe that news, but he didn't know why she'd needed to talk to her brother so urgently. Kate offered to deliver the checkbook to Sonny so Will could keep writing. Will happily accepted.
When Rafe and Jordan arrived at Club TBD, Gabi asked if she could speak with Rafe in private, so Jordan left the two of them alone. Rafe could tell that something was really bothering Gabi, so he urged her to tell him what was going on. T delivered Rafe's coffee and asked what Gabi wanted, but she just glared at him, so he returned to the bar.
When Kate arrived with Sonny's checkbook, Jordan spotted her and kept an eye on her. A grateful Sonny asked T to cover for him and then headed out. Before Kate could join Rafe and Gabi, Jordan intervened and informed Kate that Gabi had asked to speak to Rafe alone.
Rafe asked if Gabi had changed her mind about not moving to New York. Gabi assured him that she hadn't. Although Rafe was relieved, Gabi said, "It's something worse -- much worse. It's about Nick."
E.J. stopped by the apartment, using the cover of looking in on baby Arianna. Will informed E.J. that Ari was sleeping but invited E.J. in anyway. E.J. grinned as he peeked into the baby's bassinette. After asking Will about the writing fellowship, E.J. acknowledged that Will clearly had a gift. Will admitted that he hadn't written that much, and he only had a little while to work before Arianna woke up.
E.J. confessed that he had really dropped by to talk to Will about Samantha. "I don't mean to put you on the spot, William, but something is going on with your mother," E.J. asserted. He suspected that she was keeping something from him, and it involved something other than the ordeal with her brother. E.J. added that Sami had seemed tense and distracted the previous night, but she had refused to discuss the reason.
Will filled E.J. in on Gabi's modeling job in New York. Will guessed that his mom had been upset because he and Sonny had talked about moving to New York, as well, and she probably hadn't told E.J. about it because Gabi had decided not to accept the job. "Everything's back to normal," Will said. "Not for your mother," E.J. asserted.
E.J. revealed that he had run into Gabi earlier, and she had also seemed tense. "She woke up that way," Will admitted. E.J. wondered aloud if Sami had said something that had upset Gabi. "You never know with Mom. She does know how to push Gabi's buttons, though," Will replied, chuckling. E.J. left so that Will could get back to his writing. Outside, E.J. muttered, "What are you up to, Samantha?"
At the TV station, Nicole informed Miles that Eric was adamant in his refusal to grant anyone an interview. Miles revealed that the video of Eric having sex with Kristen had gone viral overnight. Miles somewhat gleefully watched the video on his computer and encouraged Nicole to join him, but she refused to turn her eyes toward the screen.
Miles repeated his request for Nicole to cover the story, since she could use her closeness to the priest to get him to open up. Nicole flatly refused. "If you're crazy enough to not want cover a story like this, maybe you just ought to quit," Miles suggested. "Maybe I will. You know what? Forget 'maybe.' I do," Nicole snapped before storming out.
Brady entered Hope's office at the police station, but he started to leave when he saw that Eric was already there. Hope arrived before Brady could make his exit. She broke the bad news to Brady and Eric about the video becoming public; she guessed that someone at the church had recorded it on their cell phone while it had played on the screen. Hope urged both men to contact their friends and family -- and, in Eric's case, the church -- to let them know what was going on.
After Hope had gone again, Eric expressed a desire not to let Kristen destroy his and Brady's relationship. Brady was incredulous that Eric seemed to think, even with the video surfacing on the Internet, that they could go back to the way things had been. Eric reminded Brady that what had happened was Kristen's fault, not theirs. Brady irritably contended that Eric had been "brainwashed" to be optimistic that God would take care of everything.
Eric angrily accused Brady of trivializing Eric's beliefs and making Eric a scapegoat for Brady's pain and humiliation. Brady argued that no matter how pious -- or condescending -- Eric was, he couldn't fix the problem with prayer, because their lives were never going to be the same. Eric understood that Kristen had broken Brady's heart, but Eric had warned Brady about her, as had everyone else, and Brady had refused to listen.
"Are you done?" Brady demanded crossly. Eric asserted that it would never be "done" for him, because being a priest wasn't just his job; it was who he was. Eric continued, "And now when people see that, they will only see filth. Even if they know what happened, they will see filth. Kristen did that to me -- and you could have prevented it." Eric stalked out.
Nicole went to the park and sat down on a bench to think. Her cell phone buzzed in her purse, and she was taken aback to see that she had 87 new messages, so she began to scroll through them. "'Hot priest in action'? Really?" she muttered with disgust. After a moment's contemplation, Nicole played the video of Eric having sex with Kristen. After viewing only a few seconds of it, she closed her eyes, her face betraying her distress.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Nicole looked up and saw Eric, who correctly guessed what she'd just been watching. He sat next to her on the bench and apologized for the things that he'd done and said, adding, "Most of all, I'm sorry that you had to see that." Nicole acknowledged that Eric's suffering because of Kristen had to be unbearable. Eric explained that he was trying to warn people about the video being public. He asked how Nicole had found the video.
Nicole said that her producer had sent the video to her. Eric was incredulous that Nicole was still reporting the story. He accused her of exploiting his pain and Brady's humiliation just to see herself on television. Despite Nicole's protests that Eric was jumping to conclusions, he proclaimed Nicole "disgusting." He continued ranting about what a terrible person she was until she was fed up.
Hurt and angry, Nicole shouted, "You don't know what you're talking about! [...] And, as usual, you're ready to judge, making me out to be some worthless piece of trash because you know I'm an easy target. Well, guess what, Father Bigmouth. I don't answer to you, not anymore!" Eric spat back that Nicole should go spread lies on her TV show and then find a way to live with herself. Hope arrived just then, and Eric left without another word.
Voice breaking, Nicole insisted to Hope that she was fine. Hope informed Nicole that because the video had gone viral overnight, Eric was worried about how his family and the church would deal with that nightmare. Hope implored Nicole, "Please try to go easy on him. This is only going to get worse. He's being attacked from all sides... Kristen violated him, and he's the one being punished."
Later, Nicole returned to the TV station and told Miles that she had reconsidered. "I'm going to cover the Father Eric story," Nicole declared. Miles was thrilled.
Brady arrived at the Kiriakis mansion and flung his jacket onto a chair as he stormed into the living room. After a moment, he looked around to make sure he was alone and then removed the baggie of drugs that he'd swiped from the crack house. When Henderson entered with a delivery for Brady, Brady stuffed the bag into his jeans pocket. Brady was livid when he saw that the envelope contained a DVD.
Henderson was apologetic, but Brady pointed out that Henderson couldn't have known what was in the package. Brady cautioned Henderson that there would probably be a lot more deliveries like that until the next big gossip story broke. Brady asked for some privacy to watch the video, so Henderson scurried off. Brady sat down at the computer and inserted the DVD, but he was surprised when, instead of Kristen and Eric's sex video, it was a recording that Kristen had made for Brady in that very room.
Sitting on the couch, Kristen addressed the camera and professed her love for Brady and her happiness because of him. When Kristen mentioned a trip to Peru, Brady guessed that she had made it before he'd surprised her by booking an extended honeymoon. Kristen continued that she looked forward to bragging that her new husband was the most wonderful man in the world for believing in her when no one else had. Kristen was excited about hurrying home from Lima so the two of them cold start their new lives together.
Looking around to make sure no one else was in the house, Kristen said quietly, "You know, normally I wouldn't do this kind of thing. You know, you send an email or a text [and] you never know if someone's going to intercept it, right? But since I happen to know this is a hand-delivered DVD, well, I think I can tell you what I wish you were doing to me right now..." She got up and moved closer to the camera before continuing, "...and what I know I'm going to do to you the second I get you alone."
Kristen whispered that she wanted Brady as much as she knew he wanted her. "I want you to touch me. I want you to kiss me...anyplace you want," she said as she unbuttoned her blouse, her face and body inches from the camera. Brady began to freak out. With tears in his eyes, he ejected the DVD and hurled it across the room, then slammed the computer shut. Pacing around and shouting in frustration, Brady finally pulled the bag of drugs out of his pocket.
In Horton Square, Eric left a message asking Father Matt to call him and requesting that the bishop contact Eric, as well. A little girl, Dawn Gorman, ran up to greet Eric just then. She asked why he hadn't been in school that morning -- and what had happened to his collar. Eric explained that he was taking a little time off to think about things. Dawn's father showed up and ordered the girl to return to her mother. Dawn obeyed after saying goodbye to Father Eric and asking him not to stay gone too long.
Mr. Gorman grabbed Eric roughly by the arm. "I don't ever, ever want to see you talking to my little girl or anyone in my family again. Clear?" Mr. Gorman growled. Furious, he added that Eric was a disgrace who didn't deserve to be a priest. An apologetic Eric tried to explain, but Gorman ordered him to shut up. Jabbing his finger in Eric's chest and then shoving Eric's shoulders, Gorman snarled, "Why don't you do us all a favor and get the hell out of Salem? 'Cause we don't want your kind here.
Giving Eric another hard shove, Mr. Gorman spat, "You're filth!" Again Eric tried to interrupt, but Gorman cut him off. "I hope there's a special place in hell for your kind. As far as I'm concerned, you can go there right now," Gorman said, pushing Eric violently -- so hard that Eric cracked his head on the bench while going down. As Eric lay there, bleeding and seemingly unconscious, Gorman glanced around to see if anyone had been watching and then hurried away.
In the Horton living room, Kayla admitted to Abigail that she knew that Chad had lied about his tumor and that E.J. had covered it up. Kayla explained that Cameron had consulted with her on the case and that Kayla had been unable to tell Abigail the truth. Kayla defended Cameron, but Abigail countered that Cameron had been wrong because he had not trusted Abigail to choose the right man.
"I hate to say it, but he wasn't wrong. I mean, I was jerking him around and Chad," Abigail said. Kayla said that Abigail had not forced Chad to lie. Abigail countered that Chad was a good man, as evidenced by his selfless actions during the shooting at the club. Confused, Kayla asked Abigail if the shooting was why Abigail had not told Jennifer about Chad's fake brain tumor.
"I don't feel like explaining it to people when it clearly sounds insane. All that matters now is that Chad is gone and it's over," Abigail said. Kayla promised not to tell Jennifer about Chad's tumor. When Kayla asked Abigail if it was truly over with Chad, Abigail said that she was not interested, and had not been even when E.J. had pushed her to reconsider the relationship.
In the pub, a man named Henry informed E.J. that a virus had destroyed Mad World Cosmetics' digital network, including the plans for the spring line. When Henry mentioned that only the work for projects handled by one contractor had been affected, E.J. smiled and guessed that Nick Fallon had been the contractor in question. E.J. noted that the time was right to attempt a takeover of Mad World.
After Henry left, Abe and Theo arrived at the pub. A thrilled Theo ran into E.J.'s arms. E.J. asked Theo to visit more often. As Theo went to get food, Abe asked if E.J. was too busy for visitors since the video with Kristen surfaced. E.J. refused to condemn his sister, noting that the only person that knew what had happened the night that Kristen and Eric had sex was Kristen.
While E.J. and Theo sat at a table by the bar, Abigail arrived, and Abe greeted her at the door. Abe informed Abigail that Cameron had sent his regards via email. As Abigail shifted nervously, Abe told Abigail that no matter what had happened between Abigail and Cameron that Cameron cared about her. Smiling, Abigail commented that she was sure Theo missed Cameron.
Spotting Abigail, Theo yelled hello and ran over to hug her. E.J. joined Theo, Abe, and Abigail by the door. Abigail offered to take Theo sledding sometime, and he excitedly asked Abe for permission. Laughing, Abe agreed and ushered Theo out of the pub. When E.J. asked Abigail about her relationship with Theo, Abigail explained that she had grown close to Theo because she and Chad had spent a lot of time with him. E.J. remarked that Theo had said he missed his uncle.
"I bet he does, and in case you're wondering, I don't," Abigail said. E.J. noted that Chad's actions had been reprehensible and commented that Abigail had made mistakes in her life. Abigail admitted that Chad was not a bad man but not necessarily the right man for her. To prove her point, Abigail argued that E.J. was a good father.
"I know you've made plenty of mistakes in your life. Does that mean you're not a bad man?" Abigail asked. "No, my dear. I most definitely am a bad man," E.J. said as he walked away.
At Club TBD, a protective Jordan asked Kate to give Rafe and Gabi space to talk alone. At a nearby table, Rafe asked Gabi what Nick had done to her. Gabi thought about how she had hit Nick in the head with a rock. Concerned by Gabi's silence, Rafe threatened to kill Nick if he had hurt Gabi. Worried, Kate attempted to get Gabi's attention while standing at the bar. Confused, T asked Kate if she wanted to order something. Kate shooed him away.
Across the bar, Gabi told Rafe that she felt ashamed. Gabi explained that Nick had been the one that had arranged for the modeling contract in New York so that he could reunite with Gabi. As Gabi fumbled for what to say, an alarmed Kate rose to her feet and approached the table. Jordan intervened and stopped Kate.
"You're his therapist, not his bodyguard. Buzz off!" Kate growled. As Kate reached the table, she overheard Gabi tell Rafe that everything had gotten out of hand. Kate sat down at the table and asked what had upset Rafe. Rafe explained that Nick had manipulated Gabi into moving to New York.
"That's not all!" Gabi said. As Gabi started to continue, Kate interrupted to tell Rafe how sorry she was about Nick. Kate explained that she had been in the town square when Gabi had learned what Nick had done. Kate stressed that Nick had left for New York. Upset, Gabi said that she needed to tell Rafe everything. Nervous, Gabi stammered. Kate interrupted again and told Rafe that Nick and Gabi had had sex.
"She did absolutely nothing wrong, and she made it abundantly clear to him that it was over," Kate said while Gabi sat with her mouth gaped open. Rafe said that he wanted to strangle Nick for taking advantage of Gabi when she had been vulnerable. Kate assured Rafe that Nick was gone and that there was no need to let Nick ruin their lives.
Jordan joined the table and asked Rafe if everything was all right. Kate commented that all was well and that she would take care of Gabi. Gabi told Rafe that she loved him. Smiling, Rafe said he loved Gabi, too, then he left with Jordan. With Rafe gone, Kate asked Gabi what she had intended to tell Rafe. Gabi said that she did not feel like she would be able to lie to Rafe about what had happened with Nick.
Kate reminded Gabi that she'd had no problem lying to everyone about the paternity of the baby. Gabi countered that she had hated lying about the baby. Gabi added that this time the lie involved a murder and that was too big an issue to cover up. Sighing, Kate reminded Gabi that Rafe was an officer of the law and that if she told Rafe the truth, Gabi would force Rafe to either turn Gabi in or lie for her to the police. Kate reminded Gabi that she would ruin Kate and Sami's lives, as well, because Gabi would crack under questioning. Gabi asked Kate why she had told Rafe about Gabi and Nick's brief affair.
"I thought it was preferable to telling him that you killed a guy," Kate said. Kate reminded Gabi that if she told the truth, Gabi would lose her daughter. Gabi agreed to keep silent. Kate urged Gabi to call if she needed to talk then Kate left.
A despondent Gabi sat at the bar and put her head in her hands. T delivered a vodka and a hot tea to Gabi, saying that he thought she could use one or the other. When T offered an ear for Gabi to talk to, she cut him off and stressed that she needed to work through her problem on her own.
At the hospital nurses' station, Victor begged Maggie to return home to the Kiriakis mansion. Maggie refused. "You're never sorry for anything, are you?" Maggie asked. Victor admitted he was not sorry for protecting Brady. Maggie argued that Victor had turned a blind eye to everyone else's lives. Victor argued that he was the only one that had known what to do to save Brady from Kristen.
Maggie commented that she was another in a long line of failures and that she had been a fool to believe that Victor had changed for her. When Victor stressed that he was not sorry for what he had done, Maggie countered that she was sorry for what he had done and that she could not return to him.
Nicole talked to her producer, Miles, in his office. Nicole thought about when Eric had apologized to her in the park. Shaking off the thought, Nicole explained to Miles that she needed to talk to someone before she could continue working on the story about Eric.
In the town square, Daniel found an unconscious Eric on the ground. As Eric woke up, he explained to Daniel that a parishioner had been upset with Eric for talking to the parishioner's daughter. Daniel was worried about a concussion and escorted Eric to the hospital. Daniel smuggled Eric into a room at the hospital and treated his head wound. Eric argued that the man that had attacked him had a point.
Eric explained that he had left a message with the bishop, explaining that the video of Kristen and Eric having sex had gone viral. Daniel reminded Eric that Eric was not to blame for what had happened with Kristen in the capital. Daniel urged Eric not to give up his search for the truth. Shaking his head, Eric explained that Kristen was gone. Daniel said he believed there was a way to clear Eric's name without Kristen.
Daniel offered to testify that he had believed that Eric had been drugged from the first time that he had treated Eric after Eric had been sick in the capital. Shaking his head, Eric reminded Daniel that there was no medical evidence to corroborate Daniel's testimony. Daniel offered to investigate Eric's case and refused to give up until he proved Eric's innocence.
"I want to get right with God. I want to get right with my church. I can't help anybody else until I help myself," Eric said. Daniel assured Eric that he would get through this scandal. Eric thanked Daniel and left.
In the Kiriakis living room, Brady held a bag in his hand and contemplated the white substance within it. Brady shoved the drugs back in his pocket as his phone beeped with a news alert. When Brady examined the text, the headline read that the video of Eric with Kristen had gone viral. Upset, Brady pulled the bag of drugs out of his pocket and sat on the couch. Brady pulled a bill out of his wallet, spilled the white powder on the glass coffee table, used a card to line up the powder, and he rolled up the bill and snorted the drugs.
Brady put away all the evidence of his relapse and nervously eyed the front door to the mansion. As Brady finished cleaning, he answered the front door and found Nicole on the front porch. Nicole walked into the living room and explained that she had been hired as a news reporter. Brady guessed that Nicole's first assignment was about the sex tape. Nodding, Nicole explained that she wanted to cover the story so that she could protect the people that she cared about in Salem.
Nicole explained that she wanted to remove the sex from the story and concentrate on the evil that Kristen had committed. Brady supported Nicole's idea. When Brady asked if Eric had been upset by Nicole's story, she joked that Eric's favorite sport was abusing her. After chatting, Nicole noticed a broken DVD on the floor and asked Brady if someone had sent Brady a DVD of the sex video.
Brady admitted that someone had, and he shrugged. Suspicious, Nicole asked Brady why he was acting calmly. Brady avoided the question and said goodbye to Nicole. Confused, Nicole nodded and left. Once alone, Brady pulled the bag of drugs out of his pocket and stared at it. As Brady turned his gaze to the trash can, Victor entered the living room and greeted Brady.
Brady quickly pocketed the bag and asked Victor how he was. Victor explained that he had had a difficult discussion with Maggie. When Brady asked Victor for time off from work, Victor consented. Brady was surprised. Victor noted that he had shown the sex video to protect Brady from Kristen, and he intended continue to support Brady.
"I truly am more grateful to you than you will ever know," Brady said. Victor was pleased to hear Brady's comment and thanked him. Victor informed Brady that Maggie was concerned about Brady's sobriety. Brady assured Victor that he was fine. "I feel very good," Brady said cooly.
Jordan and Rafe returned to the hospital. When Jordan said she would see Rafe the next day, he responded, "I hope so!" As Jordan smiled and walked away, Kayla called out to Rafe. Kayla informed Rafe that she had found a transitional apartment for Rafe to live in after his release from the hospital. Thrilled, Rafe said he was excited to have his life back.
In her apartment, Jordan thought about her kiss with Rafe. "I can't do this," Jordan said. Jordan opened a lockbox and removed a collection of fake driver's licenses with her photo on each. Fighting tears, Jordan sighed.
When Nicole returned to Daniel's apartment, she set up her laptop on the table and reviewed her email. Nicole was frustrated to learn that all the emails were about the sex video. "Sorry, Miles, but I'm doing the story my way," Nicole muttered to the computer. As Nicole worked on her computer, Daniel returned home. Nicole asked Daniel if they could talk about Eric.
At the Brady Pub, Eric talked to Father Matt about the video. Father Matt offered to help Eric with the investigation. Father Matt steadfastly supported Eric and said that Eric would be exonerated. "Do not let Kristen get away with what she has done to you," Father Matt said firmly.
In the town square, E.J. ran into Kate as she walked through the square, arguing on her cell phone. Kate hung up her phone call to talk to E.J. E.J. told Kate that he was sorry to have heard about the computer virus that had attacked Kate's servers at Mad World.
"When you were cursing at your computer you said that you should never have listened to Samantha," E.J. whispered. E.J. asked what Kate had meant. Kate's phone rang, and with a quick glance, she could see Sami's name on the caller ID. Kate ignored the call and walked away from E.J.
In the park, Kate answered a second call from Sami. Kate growled that they needed to hope that if Nick's body washed ashore that his body did not land on the shore next to Sami's earring. Kate ordered Sami to find the earring. In the woods nearby, Abe talked on his phone as Theo stared at Sami's earring that he had found by the river.
E.J. entered the DiMera mansion after impatiently chasing away some reporters who were trying to get a comment from him about the video of Kristen and Eric that had gone viral. E.J. summoned Harold and instructed him to do whatever it took to get rid of the reporters for good.
When E.J. asked about Sami, Harold reported that she had returned from the kids' field trip earlier that day and had left the mansion again almost immediately after dropping off their luggage. E.J. started to scold Harold for neglecting to tell Sami where she could find E.J., but Harold clarified that he had relayed that information to her and that she had chosen to leave without talking to E.J. because she had apparently been in a terrible hurry to take care of some errands.
After Harold left, E.J. muttered that Sami was avoiding him and that he knew exactly why she was doing so. "After everything I've done for you...well, your life may be going down in flames, but you're not taking mine with you," E.J. said to a framed photograph of Kristen before angrily tossing it on the couch.
At the Brady Pub, Eric inadvertently startled Sami, who had been deep in thought about what had happened on the night that Nick had attacked Gabi. Eric assumed that something was wrong with Sami, but she deflected and quickly changed the subject, questioning him about the cut above his right eye. Eric explained what had happened and assured Sami that he was fine, but she was still outraged about the fact that one of his parishioners had actually had the nerve to blame him for what Kristen had done.
Sami hoped that Roman was getting closer to finding Kristen, but Eric informed her that Kristen probably wasn't going to be found without help -- help that Sami's fiancé had refused to offer. Sami defended E.J., insisting that he was just as upset about what had happened to Eric as everyone else was. After asking Sami to challenge E.J. to put his money where his mouth was, Eric quickly retracted the request, reasoning that he didn't want her to get involved. Eric mused that Sami couldn't help the fact that she had fallen in love with a jerk, and he added that the silver lining to Kristen's disappearance was that he would hopefully never have to see Kristen again.
Eric hinted that there might be another way for him to clear his name, but he declined to elaborate because he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. Sami hoped that Eric's plan would work, since she hated the way that everyone had been looking at him lately -- the same way that they had always looked at her. Sami told Eric that she was sorry, adding that she felt like he was paying for her sins. "Well, I've been doing that my whole life," Eric jokingly replied.
Eric assured Sami that God would never punish him for any of the things that she had done, although he added that God would judge him for failing to handle the cards that he had been dealt as well as he should have handled them. Sami assumed that Eric was talking about the fact that he had accused Nicole of drugging and raping him. Eric nodded and reminded Sami that he had never had any evidence to support his accusations. Sami maintained that Nicole's past misdeeds had been more than enough to prove that Nicole was capable of doing what Eric had accused her of doing, but he disagreed.
Sami shrugged and said that she was just happy that Nicole was out of Eric's life for good, prompting him to inform her that Nicole had accepted a job at a television station and was planning to do a story about him. Sami was livid, but Eric assured her that everything was going to be okay. Eric asked Sami to drop the subject, adding that he simply wanted to focus on finding a way to clear his name and get back into the priesthood.
In Daniel's apartment, Nicole tried to contact Brady, but the call went to voicemail. Nicole recorded a message for Brady, wondering why he was suddenly incommunicado when he had seemed really eager to help her with her story about Kristen the previous night. After ending the call, Nicole started to suspect that Brady wasn't handling the situation as well as he had previously claimed.
A short time later, Daniel returned from an all-night shift at the hospital and greeted Nicole, who wondered if they could continue the conversation that they had started the previous night. Daniel nodded and invited Nicole to share her news first, so she explained that she had agreed to do a story about Eric and Kristen for the television station because that was the only way that she would be able to ensure that the story wouldn't be sensationalized. Nicole was surprised to hear that Daniel was supportive of the idea, but he clarified that he had actually been planning to ask her to do something similar because he wanted her to help him clear Eric's name.
"It's one thing to take the negative out of a story, but if you're asking me to -- to sit down and have a face-to-face with Eric and immerse myself in a -- in a chapter of my life that I'm trying to forget, I just -- I just don't know if I could do that," Nicole replied. Nicole wondered why Daniel was seemingly obsessed with clearing Eric's name.
Daniel explained that he hated unanswered questions and also hated seeing people get persecuted for things that they hadn't actually done. Nicole suspected that Daniel was seeing similarities to his own situation in Eric's ordeal, but Daniel claimed that he simply wanted to see Eric get vindicated. Daniel begged Nicole to help him achieve that goal, reasoning that regardless of her own feelings about Eric, it was the right thing to do.
Nicole conceded that Daniel was probably right, but she added that she was already trying to help Eric as much as she possibly could. Daniel gently pointed out that Nicole's chosen method of helping Eric might not be enough to clear Eric's name. Daniel revealed that Eric would be visiting the apartment later, and he asked Nicole to stick around for the meeting, but she grabbed her purse and jacket and quickly stormed off, insisting that Daniel was asking for too much.
When Eric arrived later that day, he revealed that he had decided that he wanted to do whatever it took to clear his name. Daniel theorized that Kristen was the person who had destroyed all of the evidence that his friend Mason had gathered from the Capitol Plaza Hotel a few months earlier. Daniel said that the new information that had recently been revealed about what had happened to Eric at the hotel had allowed Daniel to narrow down the list of possible drugs that Kristen could have used on Eric. Daniel explained that some of those drugs had extremely long half-lives, meaning that traces of the drug could still be in Eric's system.
Daniel wanted to perform a new test on Eric -- one that hadn't been available the previous times that he had tested Eric. Daniel warned that the test would be more extensive and more painful than any of the tests that he had previously performed on Eric. Eric was undeterred, insisting that he could handle the pain. Daniel was confident that the new test would allow him to finally prove that Eric had been poisoned.
In Nicole's office at the television station, Sami insisted that Nicole needed to reconsider her decision to do a story about Eric. Nicole was reluctant to do so, summarizing that she had finally gotten a chance to rebuild her life in a career that she was actually good at, and she wondered how much Sami really wanted her to sacrifice for Eric. "Whatever it takes, Nicole. You only have a life here because of my brother. And Eric is the best person that I know. And you are...a worthless, baby-napping, husband-stealing piece of trash. I mean, I don't care about you or your career, and frankly, no one else does, either," Sami matter-of-factly replied.
Nicole sarcastically stated that Sami's decision to insult and berate Nicole had been the perfect way to get Nicole to agree to help Sami and Eric. Sami admitted that she had been a bit nasty, and she decided to try a different approach, adding that, while it was probably true that someone else would do the story if Nicole chose not to, Nicole could put a positive spin on the story and make Eric look innocent.
Nicole summarized that Sami wanted her to lie to the good people of Salem. Sami dismissively replied that it wasn't like Nicole hadn't lied to the good people of Salem before, and she proceeded to list Nicole's past misdeeds. "You know what? You want to throw sins in my face, you'd better duck. What has it been -- six months now since you shot that poor detective? Seems like you're due -- murder anyone lately?" Nicole countered.
"I don't know, Nicole -- lost any babies lately? You're about due," Sami replied, although she added that she didn't know how Nicole would ever manage to get a guy to get her pregnant again. Nicole warned Sami to shut up, but Sami ignored the warning and said that Eric should have allowed Nicole to leave Salem when Nicole had considered doing so a few months earlier. Sami believed that everyone would be happier if Nicole were half a world away, and Nicole countered that everyone would be happier if Sami were halfway to hell. Nicole added that, while she had originally planned to help Eric, talking to Sami had made her change her mind, and she angrily ordered Sami to get out of her office.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady quickly snorted a line of cocaine in the living room while no one else was around. "What do you know? Fall off the wagon for one day, and the world doesn't end," Brady muttered as he cleaned up the evidence of his drug use. Brady retrieved his cell phone and checked his schedule, happily summarizing that he had nothing to do and nowhere to be that day. Brady noticed that he had missed a call from Nicole, but he dismissively muttered that she was going to have to find someone else to play with that day.
Later, at the Horton Town Square -- which, like Club TBD and the Brady Pub, had been spruced up with Christmas decorations -- Brady ran into E.J., who impatiently wondered if Brady was going to try to attack him again. Brady dismissively stated that E.J. and Kristen weren't worth the effort. Brady admitted that he believed that -- for once -- E.J. had been telling the truth when he had said, during their previous conversation, that Kristen had truly been in love with Brady. Brady insisted that he had gotten over Kristen and that he wouldn't care if she disappeared from the face of the earth for good.
At Club TBD, Jennifer ran into Maggie, who was surprised to see that Jennifer wasn't at the hospital. Jennifer explained that she had decided to work from home that day. Maggie guessed that Jennifer was trying to avoid Daniel, but Jennifer clarified that she was actually trying to avoid Theresa. Right on cue, Theresa arrived and approached Jennifer and Maggie's table.
Theresa explained that Daniel had given her Maggie's contact information and that she had arranged a meeting with Maggie to discuss Narcotics Anonymous sponsorship. Jennifer nodded and asked Maggie to visit her at the Horton house after the meeting with Theresa concluded. Before Jennifer could leave, Theresa admitted that, in the spirit of making amends, she owed Jennifer a huge apology.
"Besides being a sucky employee and a total pain in your ass, I, uh -- I was really upset when you fired me, and -- so I made it look like Daniel and I had something going on when we really didn't. He was just being nice to me, you know? How he is to everyone. He hardly even knew I existed," Theresa explained. Jennifer said that, while she appreciated what Theresa was trying to do, that still didn't explain why Daniel had been in Theresa's apartment on the night of Theresa's overdose.
Theresa apologetically stated that Daniel would have to answer that question, since she still couldn't remember what had happened on the night of the overdose. Theresa added that she was only certain that Daniel had stayed sober and that he had saved her life. Theresa started to say that she would always be grateful for what Daniel had done for her, but she stopped herself when she realized that her words weren't making Jennifer feel any better about the situation. Jennifer confirmed the suspicion and abruptly excused herself.
Theresa sighed and took a seat across from Maggie, who wondered what she had just witnessed. Theresa explained that, while she was sure that she was the last person that Jennifer wanted to see or talk to, she was simply trying to do her best to make amends. Maggie pointed out that Theresa had skipped an important step of the Narcotics Anonymous program -- attending a meeting.
Theresa explained that she had attended meetings in Los Angeles and knew the drill. Theresa admitted that it was hard to attend the meetings alone, and she hoped that Maggie wasn't too busy to take on the responsibility of being Theresa's sponsor so that they could attend the meetings together. Maggie replied that, while she wasn't too busy to assume that role, she believed that doing so would be a bit awkward due to the circumstances with Jennifer and Daniel. Maggie offered Theresa the contact information for two women who would make perfectly capable sponsors for Theresa.
As Theresa tried to accept the dismissal gracefully, Maggie informed her of a nearby meeting that was scheduled to begin a short time later. Theresa started to say that she was still concerned about going to the meetings alone, but Maggie interrupted when she spotted Brady entering the club. Maggie flagged Brady down and introduced him to Theresa. Maggie asked Brady to accompany Theresa to a meeting, but he evasively claimed that he was swamped with work and didn't have time to do so. Maggie wondered if Brady was all right, and he claimed that he was fine and was simply trying to stay busy. After Brady left, Theresa assured Maggie that she would gather up the courage to attend a meeting on her own.
At the Horton house, J.J. received a visit from Will, who was surprised to see that J.J. was spending his free time studying. J.J. conceded that he was lame, and Will quickly agreed, although he added that J.J. did at least have great taste in music. Will handed over a disc of vintage music that J.J. had asked to borrow. After advising J.J. to listen to the guitar solo on one of the tracks, Will jokingly warned that he would kill J.J. if the disc got scratched while it was in J.J.'s possession.
Will also handed over a stack of mail that he had thoughtfully retrieved from the Horton family's mailbox before entering the house. J.J. thanked Will and started to flip through the envelopes, stopping when he noticed one from the courthouse that was addressed to him. "Oh, no. The judge assigned to my case is sick, man. My -- my sentencing just got postponed a few weeks," J.J. informed Will after reading the enclosed document.
Will was sorry to hear that, but he optimistically pointed out that it wouldn't be an issue as long as J.J. was able to stay out of trouble for a few additional weeks. "Yeah, I'm planning on doing [that] forever," J.J. agreed as he silently recalled his desperate attempt to revive Theresa on the night of her overdose. J.J. explained that he was simply tired of having the case hanging over his head and couldn't wait for it to finally be over for good -- for his sake and Jennifer's sake, since she had been really sad lately.
Will reasoned that, while he understood how J.J. felt because he had been forced to watch his own mother suffer recently, it wasn't J.J.'s fault that Daniel had left Jennifer and moved on with Theresa. J.J. countered that it wasn't Daniel's fault, either. "He and my mom were broken up, and that was because of me. And I resented him for trying to take my dad's place. Yeah. I blamed my mom for not loving my dad enough or for [not] missing him enough, when all that I was mad at was myself for not being here," J.J. regretfully summarized.
J.J. added that he was sorry that he had taken his anger out on Daniel and that he wished that he could take back everything that he had done to drive a wedge between Daniel and Jennifer. Will said that, while he could relate to J.J.'s regrets, Jennifer and Daniel were never going to get back together again because of what had happened between Daniel and Theresa -- something that J.J. wasn't the least bit responsible for.
Later, after Will left, Jennifer returned home and learned that J.J.'s sentencing hearing had been postponed. J.J. admitted that he was a bit upset about the latest development, but Jennifer assured him that everything was going to be all right. J.J. observed that it didn't seem like Jennifer truly believed what she was saying, but she clarified that if she was acting odd, it was just because of her earlier encounter with Theresa. After hearing about what had happened at Club TBD, J.J. offered Jennifer a comforting hug and assured her that everything was going to be all right.
When Maggie arrived, Jennifer offered to let her stay at the Horton house instead of the Salem Inn. Jennifer believed that it would be nice for her and Maggie to lean on each other, since they were both going through a rough patch, but Maggie was concerned about how Daniel would feel about the matter, so she wanted some time to think about it before making a decision. Jennifer nodded and admitted that she was surprised that Daniel hadn't offered to let Maggie stay with him. Maggie reluctantly explained that someone was already living with Daniel. Jennifer assumed that Maggie was talking about Theresa, but Maggie clarified that she had been referring to Nicole.
At the Horton Town Square, J.J. ran into Theresa, who asked for directions to the Narcotics Anonymous meeting that Maggie had told her about earlier. After pointing Theresa in the right direction, J.J. started to say something else to Theresa, but she interrupted him. "J.J., you know, we really shouldn't be talking. I just saw your mom at Club TBD, and she would kill me and you if she saw us to -- oh, my God. The night I ODed, I -- you --" Theresa stammered in disbelief.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady inspected his nearly empty bag of cocaine and quickly placed a call to his dealer. Meanwhile, Nicole returned to Daniel's apartment, and when she spotted Eric, she admitted that she was glad that he hadn't left yet. "I wanted to tell you that I will never, ever make the mistake of helping you again," Nicole added.
Sami stormed into the DiMera mansion and took a seat in the empty living room. A short time later, she screamed in horror as someone entered the room. "My God, Samantha, what the hell is wrong with you?" E.J., whom Sami had mistaken for Nick, demanded to know.
When J.J. ran into Theresa in Horton Square, it seemed as if she suddenly recalled that J.J. had been with her night she'd overdosed. J.J. asked if she'd remembered something about that night. The searching look in Theresa's eyes disappeared as she admitted, "Nope, total blank. Those brain cells are gone, baby, gone." Theresa added that she and J.J. shouldn't be seen together. As she headed off, she said, "Look, I was serious, okay? No more you and me, no more lighting up, no more laughter -- no more any of this. Take care."
At the Horton house, Maggie informed Jennifer that Nicole was staying with Daniel. Before Maggie could explain further, Jennifer interrupted to insist that she didn't care -- and before Maggie moved in, Jennifer needed to make something clear about Daniel. Maggie guessed that the subject of Daniel would have to be off-limits. Jennifer assured her that wasn't the case, but she didn't need a daily account of Daniel's life.
As Maggie and Jennifer were embracing, J.J. returned home. Jennifer informed her son that Maggie might move in with them. When Jennifer stepped out of the room to take a phone call, Maggie gently requested that J.J. not badmouth Daniel anymore. J.J. easily promised that he wouldn't -- and he offered to help Maggie if she needed help moving. J.J. hugged Maggie, grabbed the book he'd gone home for, and headed out.
When Jennifer returned, Maggie revealed that J.J. had been very nice about Daniel -- but Maggie stopped before saying anything more about Daniel. After promising that she would think about moving in, Maggie hurried out.
At Daniel's, Nicole warned Eric that she would never make the mistake of helping him again. Eric retorted that he hadn't asked for Nicole's help. Before Eric and Nicole could begin arguing in earnest, Daniel intervened by ordering, "Both of you shut the hell up!" After making sure that Nicole and Eric were listening, Daniel pointed out that they couldn't prove that Kristen had been responsible for what had happened to Eric.
Daniel continued that he was determined to do whatever he could to help his friend, but he needed Nicole's help to reconstruct what had happened leading up to Eric's poisoning. "I'm the one who asked for your help, Nicole, not Eric," Daniel said. He explained that Nicole's position at the television station gave her access to all kinds of data that Daniel couldn't get, plus she had been the one who'd found Eric at the hotel.
Before Nicole and Eric could go at each other again, Daniel cautioned them that evidence was deteriorating as they spoke -- so Eric and Nicole needed to find a way to put their differences aside and get on the same team. Nicole and Eric just sat in stony silence, their backs to each other, so Daniel gave up and left for his office in the hopes that they could work things out.
Eric asked why Nicole was so upset. Nicole irritably explained that one of the reasons she wasn't going to help Eric was that Sami had insulted her and ordered her not to cover the story. Eric contended that Nicole was really upset because he'd blamed her for what had happened to him at the hotel. Nicole reminded Eric after overhearing her conversation with Brady, Eric had taken her feelings for him and twisted them into something ugly.
"You betrayed me in the worst possible way. You destroyed something in me I knew was good!" a hurt Nicole spat. Eric apologized again, acknowledging that it had to make Nicole feel violated. Nicole admitted that Eric's apologies weren't enough because he had thought she was capable of drugging and seducing him and then pretending to care about him. She continued tearfully, "But after you did that to me, I still wanted to help you. But then you started to show me that you never really believed in me, that you never had any real faith, and I thought you did -- and that meant the world to me."
Nicole concluded determinedly, "And now I'm done. I'm gone. And I will never put myself in a position where you or anyone else can hurt me again." Eric understood why Nicole didn't want to help him. He wasn't sure he could accept Daniel's help, either, because he wasn't sure he could trust Daniel's motives. Eric explained to a puzzled Nicole that Daniel was trying to make amends for what had happened with Theresa.
Nicole hotly asserted that Daniel was the definition of a true friend, because he wanted to do the right thing and help Eric -- and it had nothing to do with Theresa Donovan. Eric was skeptical because Daniel had been at Theresa's apartment the night she'd overdosed. Nicole insisted that Daniel had found Theresa and saved her life, blowing his own reputation in the process. When Nicole maintained that she didn't know anything other than that about it, Eric said that he needed more to go on.
Nicole's words stopped Eric before he could make it out the door: "It's called faith, Father. I'm giving you my word. Accept it or don't." Eric acknowledged that he needed to trust both Daniel and Nicole. "I made one of the worst decisions of my life by not trusting you, and I'll never make that mistake again," Eric added. After he agreed to accept Daniel's help, Eric asked if Nicole would reconsider and help him, too.
Nicole agreed to help try to prove Eric's innocence, but she cautioned him that she might have to use some of the video footage when she reported the story. "I'll make sure your side of the story comes out, but I'm also going to tell everyone what an evil bitch Kristen DiMera is, was, and always will be," Nicole vowed. A grateful Eric thanked Nicole, but she maintained that she was only doing it because she wanted to. Eric seemed about to hug her, but she dodged him and said that it was the right thing to do, plus any good journalist would do the same thing.
Theresa stopped by Daniel's office to talk to him about J.J. Although Daniel had initially asked her to leave the door open, he rose to close it so they could talk in private. Theresa explained that she'd just run into J.J. in Horton Square -- and he had been running into her every couple of days. She wondered if he were doing it intentionally because of Jennifer. Theresa added that when she had tried to apologize to Jennifer, all Jennifer had wanted was for Theresa to stay away from J.J. -- and Theresa didn't know what to do.
Daniel promised to make sure that J.J. steered clear of Theresa. Theresa apologized for getting Daniel in trouble. As Daniel was patting Theresa reassuringly on the shoulder, Maggie barged in. Theresa confessed to Maggie that she had missed the meeting earlier, but she was going to meet the woman Maggie had recommended as Theresa's sponsor at another meeting later.
After Theresa left, Maggie started to tell Daniel something, but he asked if it could wait because he had something to do right away. An understanding Maggie just asked Daniel to call her when he had some free time. As soon as she'd gone, Daniel called J.J.
A little later, J.J. met Daniel at the Brady Pub. Daniel demanded to know why J.J. hadn't just kept moving when he'd run into Theresa earlier. J.J. insisted that he hadn't planned to run into her, but he'd thought she might have remembered something about the night she'd ODed. "That ship has sailed," Daniel assured J.J. " I was just thinking after she left -- maybe there's just some way I can make things right," J.J. said.
Daniel instructed J.J. to not worry about fixing things and to lie low until his sentencing was final. Jennifer walked by outside and was stunned when she spotted Daniel and her son talking inside.
Daniel returned to the hospital, and found Maggie near the nurses' station. Maggie informed him that she might be moving in with Jennifer for a while. Daniel wasn't surprised, since he knew Maggie and Jennifer were close -- but he hoped that things would work out between Maggie and Victor.
When J.J. returned home, Jennifer confronted her son: "I saw you talking to Daniel at the pub -- and if I'm not mistaken, that's about the third time I've seen you talking to Daniel, and you promised me that you were going to stay away from him." Jennifer added that J.J. hadn't been angry while he'd been talking to Daniel, almost as if the two of them were friends. She demanded to know what was going on between J.J. and Daniel.
Theresa went back to Daniel's office to ask him something that she said she'd been putting off for a while. "I need to know what happened -- everything -- the night that you saved my life," Theresa said.
Gabi awoke with a start from another nightmare about the night she'd bashed Nick's head in with a rock. When she rolled over to try to go back to sleep, she saw Nick, his head still bleeding from the wound, lying in bed next to her. "You're so beautiful, Gabi. So very beautiful and sweet. Why would you do this to me, when all I did was love you? Let me love you now," Nick said, stroking Gabi's hair. Gabi tried to scream but no sound came out -- and then she bolted awake on the couch.
In a panic, Gabi rushed over to Arianna's bassinette, but it was empty. Gabi started to freak out until she saw the note letting her know that Will had taken the baby to the park. As Gabi tried to get back to studying, she remembered how helpful Nick had been in tutoring her. She reminded herself that Nick had blackmailed her before attempting to rape her. It didn't calm her down, so she sent a text message to Sami that read, "Urgent -- need to see U -- now!"
At the DiMera mansion, Sami let out a terrified scream when she thought she saw Nick in the foyer -- instead, it was E.J. "My God, Samantha! What the hell is wrong with you?" E.J. demanded then added more gently, "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost." Catching her breath, Sami insisted unconvincingly that she was fine. E.J. asked if Sami had talked to her brother again. She responded by testily accusing E.J. of not even trying to look for his sister.
E.J. suggested they avoid discussing the topic altogether. Changing the subject, E.J. asked if Nick Fallon had told Sami about anything he'd done that might benefit them. Sami maintained that she only knew that Nick had moved to New York. "I don't know of his whereabouts, but I do know that yesterday Mr. Fallon had himself a very busy day in Salem," E.J. said, causing Sami to drop -- and break -- the glass she'd been holding.
Sami began to pick up the broken glass. Worried that Sami would cut herself, E.J. stopped her and promised to get the staff to clean it up. E.J. divulged that Nick had given Kate a flash drive containing a virus that had taken down Mad World's computer network -- and deleted their entire spring lineup. Perking up a little, Sami noted, "Bad news for Kate is always good news for us, right?" Sami got Gabi's text message just then, so she made a hasty excuse and hurried out, leaving E.J. a bit baffled.
On the front porch, Sami paused to send a message asking Kate to meet her right away.
As he sat alone in a restaurant, Stefano caught Kate off-guard by calling her from a blocked number. "What do you want, Stefano?" Kate demanded. Stefano informed her since Chad and Kate had always been fond of one another, Chad had wanted Stefano to call her with the news that Chad had made a full recovery -- and that Stefano had changed. Kate didn't buy it.
Kate reminded Stefano that Chad had nearly died because of events that Stefano had put in motion. "Katerina, you have the right to feel any way you want about me. As a matter of fact, I'll give you all the time that you want as soon as I get back to Salem," Stefano said before hanging up.
When E.J. joined Stefano for a meal later, Stefano gave E.J. a small box and explained, "Chad asked that you return that to Abigail." E.J. admitted that he'd been surprised to get Stefano's phone call. E.J. warned his father, "If you're waiting for the ill will to subside before you return, you may have to outlive Methuselah." He admitted that he, too, was still angry with Kristen, but Stefano played dumb when E.J. referenced Kristen drugging Father Eric.
"When she came back, you asked her to reunite the entire family under one roof -- now you have Chad who has run to the hills and Kristen's on the lam," E.J. pointed out. Stefano asked how things were going with E.J. and Samantha. "Horribly," E.J. replied. He explained that Sami didn't believe that he hadn't known anything more than that Kristen had slept with Eric. "If she ever finds out, I'm going to lose everything," E.J. admitted, adding that Sami didn't trust him.
"Be patient, because trust comes in small packages when it comes to women," Stefano pronounced. He pointed out that besides Kristen, he was the only person who knew what Kristen had done, so there was no way Sami would find out that E.J. had known everything. E.J. was worried that even if Sami trusted him enough to allow him back into her bed, she would never commit to marriage. Stefano was confident that Sami would join E.J. in his bed and at the altar -- but E.J. should pray that Sami never found out that he knew what Kristen had done to Sami's brother.
When Gabi met Sami in Horton Square, Gabi began babbling anxiously about Nick. Sami urged Gabi to maintain the appearance that they were having a cheerful, pleasant conversation -- and not to mention Nick's name. When Kate arrived, she accused Gabi of wanting to make a deal with Sami to pin Nick's murder on Kate. With a fake giggle, Sami urged Kate to tone it down and watch her words. Gabi insisted that there was no plot.
Playing along with the faux cheeriness, Kate informed Sami that Gabi had nearly confessed everything to Rafe. Gabi defensively explained that she'd been having terrible nightmares, and she needed to tell her brother. Sami understood that Gabi needed her brother's support, but she warned Gabi that it would put Rafe in the terrible position of having to choose between covering a crime and sending his sister to prison.
Kate pointed out that if Gabi went to prison, Arianna would grow up without her mother -- or her grandmother or great-grandmother. Sami stressed the importance of not allowing Nick to ruin their lives from beyond the grave. Gabi complained anxiously that she couldn't live with the memory of Nick's face as he looked at them before slipping into the water. Sami insisted that they were all having nightmares from the memories, as would anyone with a conscience.
"Well, I slept like a baby last night," Kate said. Just then, the birdwatcher they'd run into in the woods stopped by their table. "Greetings!" the man said loudly, startling the women. Sami and Kate covered and returned the man's greeting with as much friendliness as they could muster, while Gabi looked as if she might throw up. The man sat down uninvited and politely demanded, "Why did you all deceive me when we were down by the river the other night? Did you think I wouldn't find out what you did?"
