In Hope's office at the police station, the urgent prison release notice that Ciara had previously hidden remained undiscovered.

In an alley, someone continued to brutally assault Rafe, using a heavy metal pipe to deliver repeated blows to his back and torso. After Rafe lost consciousness, the attacker picked up the bag of muffins that Rafe had purchased earlier and calmly walked away.

At the hospital, Kayla and Maxine pulled Cameron aside so that they could talk to him about something important. Kayla said that Cameron's fellow doctors were very pleased with the growth that he had demonstrated during the previous year, and Maxine echoed the sentiment on behalf of the nursing staff. Kayla and Maxine assured Cameron that Lexie would have been proud of him.

"Well, all this is leading up to something, as I'm sure you can imagine. And, uh, at our last interdepartmental meeting, we all decided that we want you to be the new resident liaison," Kayla announced, leaving Cameron speechless. Maxine impatiently reminded Cameron that he had to say something, prompting him to stammer out a gracious acceptance of the position.

Maxine received a text message and excused herself, shaking her head and muttering that some patients would never learn. After Maxine left, Cameron thanked Kayla for the unexpected vote of confidence, and he assured her that he would no longer be causing problems for the hospital, since he had recently quit his job at the strip club. "Good...I think. Or maybe not. I mean, my mother will be disappointed," Kayla dryly stated.

Later, at the Horton Town Square, Kayla ran into Abe, who had already heard about Cameron's new position at the hospital. Abe noted that Lexie would have been proud of Cameron. Realizing that the one-year anniversary of Lexie's death was rapidly approaching, Kayla wondered if Abe was all right. Abe reported that he and Theo were okay, but he admitted that he still occasionally had to remind himself that Lexie was really gone.

At the DiMera mansion, Sami demanded to know why Stefano had not instructed Bernardi to destroy the evidence against Will. Stefano wondered if Sami was referring to the same evidence that she had attempted to prevent Stefano from receiving. Sami tried to justify her actions, reminding Stefano that she was a mother who was trying to protect her son. Unmoved, Stefano insisted that Sami should not have interfered in his business.

Sami asserted that Stefano should have destroyed the evidence, but he believed that keeping it had been the right thing to do. Sami pointed out that marrying E.J. would make her a part of the DiMera family, adding that she had been under the impression that family meant everything to Stefano. "It does. But I also know what happens when you marry a man, eh? So I'd be absolutely a fool to destroy anything so valuable," Stefano replied.

Stefano advised Sami to refrain from giving him a reason to use the evidence to hurt her. Recalling their earlier conversation about chess pieces, Stefano removed one of the pieces from the chessboard and placed it in Sami's hand, explaining that it was a representation of her. Stefano exited the room, and Sami opened her hand to reveal a single pawn. Furious, Sami vowed to prove Stefano wrong.

At the Brady Pub, E.J. and Kate continued to discuss the wedding gift that she had given Sami earlier. Kate suspected that Sami would eventually find a good use for the gift. Without a hint of irony, E.J. warned that violence had rarely solved anything. "Really? Did I just hear those words come crawling out of your mouth? A DiMera spewing platitudes against the use of violence? My, my," Kate mused, shaking her head in disbelief.

E.J. speculated that it would take an entire night to properly discuss Kate's history of violent actions, pointedly recalling that she had married Stefano because of some sort of unsavory business that had involved Chloe Lane. Kate said that marrying Stefano had been the only unsavory part of that situation. Unconvinced, E.J. suggested that Kate's divorce had caused her to get depressed, but she assured him that she couldn't possibly care less about Stefano.

E.J. remained skeptical, theorizing that Kate had given Sami the gun because she had been hoping that Sami would use it to shoot Stefano. "Wrong. I gave Sami the gun because she might need it when she finds out that she's no longer considered of use to the family anymore. And then, if she does pull the trigger and a bullet hits Stefano, I guess you would just have to call that karmic justice," Kate matter-of-factly stated.

E.J. wondered if Kate would feel the same way if a bullet hit Allie or one of the other children. "When it comes to her children, I trust Sami -- always," Kate confidently replied. E.J. abruptly excused himself so that he could answer a phone call, and Gabi seized the opportunity to warn Kate that Rafe was on his way to the pub. After giving the news some consideration, Kate decided to leave.

After ending his phone call, E.J. took a moment to officially congratulate Gabi on her pregnancy. E.J. and Gabi shared some small talk, but he soon received another phone call and excused himself. "Is it done? Good," E.J. said to the caller. E.J. ended the call and said farewell to Gabi, casually observing that Rafe, who had promised to get a new FBI jacket for Johnny and deliver it to E.J. at the pub, had apparently been detained.

In the alley, a horrified Kate discovered Rafe's lifeless body. Kate used her cell phone to request an ambulance, informing the operator that the victim of the attack was a police officer. "If anything happens to you, I don't know what I'll do. I don't know what I'll do," Kate quietly stated, tearfully begging Rafe to hang on until the paramedics arrived.

At Common Grounds, J.J. greeted Will and Sonny, who were holding hands at a corner table. Sonny went to get J.J., who was still on London time, a cup of coffee to keep him awake. J.J. and Will followed Sonny to the bar, where J.J. asked if Will and Sonny were an item. Will confirmed J.J.'s suspicion and wondered if that was going to be a problem for J.J.

Confused, J.J. said that he thought it was great that Will and Sonny were together. Will wished that everyone in the Horton family were as cool as J.J. was. J.J. wondered if someone was giving Sonny and Will a hard time about their relationship. Will confirmed J.J.'s suspicion, vaguely stating that a certain cousin was the culprit. J.J. quickly guessed that Nick Fallon was the cousin in question.

"I always thought that guy was a loser. Be glad he's not on your side," J.J. told Will. Abby, who had entered the coffeehouse with J.J. and abruptly excused herself so that she could call Cameron, joined the group and wondered what they were talking about. J.J. vaguely stated that he had simply been catching up with Will and Sonny.

Before Abby could probe for additional information, Hope entered the coffeehouse and greeted the group. After placing an order, Hope took J.J. outside so that they could catch up with each other. Abby, who was staring intently at her phone, walked away from the bar, leaving Will and Sonny alone. Will wondered if Nick had somehow managed to stop Rafe from telling Gabi the truth about her husband.

Doubtful, Sonny happily predicted that Nick's future would soon look quite bleak. A short time later, J.J. and Hope reentered the coffeehouse, and she excused herself so that she could answer a phone call. Sonny wondered how the conversation with Hope had gone, and J.J. laughed as he revealed that she had basically interrogated him, asking about his family, school, and love life.

Sonny found it odd that J.J.'s school year had already ended, but J.J. simply shrugged and claimed that the school years in England always ended earlier than the school years in America did. Meanwhile, Hope ended her phone call and abruptly excused herself, encouraging the group to enjoy the order that she had already paid for. J.J. was exhausted, so he also excused himself, and Abby decided to return home with him.

After Abby and J.J. left, Will wondered if Sonny wanted to get something to eat. "Gabi's working tonight, so I'm thinking we could eat at the pub and watch Rafe bounce Nick's butt on the barroom floor," Will suggested. Sonny eagerly agreed, and he and Will quickly exited the coffeehouse.

At the Horton Town Square, Abby urged J.J. to tell her the real reason that he had gotten kicked out of school. J.J. stuck to his original story, adding that his roommate -- a total jerk who had believed that he was immune to punishment because he was the son of a rich politician -- had been completely comfortable with showing his stash of drugs to everyone who had visited their dorm room.

Abby wasn't convinced, but before she could question J.J. further, she received a phone call from Cameron, who apologetically reported that he was going to have to cancel their date because a critically injured patient had just been admitted to the hospital. After ending the call, Abby informed J.J. that she was going to have plenty of time to get the truth out of him.

Abby assured J.J. that he could trust her, promising that she wouldn't share the real story with Jennifer. "I told you. Trevor was this total dealer, and they kicked me out with him so his rich dad couldn't claim they favored Americans," J.J. insisted. Frustrated, Abby agreed to drop the subject, but she warned that she would eventually expect the whole truth from him.

Ignoring Abby's warning, J.J. peered over her shoulder and observed that someone was checking her out. Abby turned and spotted two guys standing on the opposite side of the town square, drinking cans of beer. J.J. wondered if Abby knew either of the guys. Abby said that she had seen the two guys around town, but didn't know who they were.

Certain that the men would be a bad influence on J.J., Abby advised him to stay away from them. Before J.J. could respond, Abby received a phone call and abruptly excused herself, urging him to go home so that he could get some rest. After Abby left, J.J. nodded at the two guys and started to approach them.

At the hospital, a paramedic informed Kayla that Rafe had suffered a lot of internal damage, adding that he had also stopped breathing for a brief period of time during the ride to the hospital. Kayla thanked the paramedic and rushed into Rafe's examination room to check on him. Meanwhile, Hope arrived at the hospital, regretfully informing Ciara, whom she was talking to on the phone, that Ciara would have to stay at a friend's house that night. After ending the call, Hope spotted Kate, who tearfully reported that Rafe was the person who had been attacked.

In Rafe's room, Kayla and Maxine assessed the damage that had been done to him. Kayla reported that Rafe had a deep concussion, had suffered damage to his skull in three different locations, had bruised and broken ribs, and also had a punctured left lung. Kayla wished that Rafe could wake up and tell the police who had attacked him, but she wasn't very optimistic about his chances of doing so.

At the Brady Pub, Gabi asked if Will and Sonny had seen Rafe recently. Will shook his head and wondered if something was wrong, and Gabi explained that Rafe and Nick were each running late for some reason. A short time later, Nick, who was wearing clothes that looked identical to the items that Rafe's assailant had worn, breathlessly entered the pub, carrying a bag of Gabi's favorite muffins and sweating profusely.

Gabi questioned Nick about his haggard appearance, and he claimed that he had jogged to the pub because he had been running late. Will and Sonny's suspicions were aroused, but they remained silent. Meanwhile, Gabi received a phone call from Hope, who regretfully revealed that Rafe had recently been admitted to the hospital. Gabi, Nick, Will, and Sonny quickly exited the pub.

Back at the hospital, Hope took Kate's statement. A short time later, Kayla emerged from Rafe's room and reported that he had stabilized. Kayla stressed that Rafe was still in critical condition, and she predicted that he would remain that way for a while. Kayla explained that her main concerns were Rafe's internal bleeding and the fluid that had built up on his brain. Kate wanted to see Rafe, but Kayla denied the request.

After Kayla left, Hope tried to escort Kate to a nearby seat, pointing out that there was nothing more that they could do for Rafe. Kate stormed off, insisting that there was something that she could do. Meanwhile, Gabi, Nick, Will, and Sonny arrived at the hospital. Gabi blamed herself for Rafe's attack, reasoning that he wouldn't have been near the alley if she hadn't asked him to purchase a muffin for her.

Will insisted that Gabi was not responsible for the attack, and Nick agreed, theorizing that Rafe had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nick was quick to suggest that a drug addict had probably mugged Rafe. Sonny noted that Rafe, who knew how to defend himself, had obviously been attacked from behind. Gabi wondered who could have done such a terrible thing to Rafe. "Stuff happens," Nick callously stated.

Maxine interrupted and gave Gabi permission to visit Rafe for a few minutes. After Gabi left, Nick abruptly excused himself, vaguely stating that he needed to take care of something. Will and Sonny watched as Nick walked away, their suspicions further aroused. Determining that they needed to have a talk with Nick, Sonny and Will followed him to an empty break room, where they found him working on something on his cell phone.

Will observed that Nick didn't seem to be very upset about what had happened to Rafe. Nick claimed that he was upset, dismissively adding that he was sorry that he wasn't acting like enough of a crybaby to satisfy Will. Will countered that refraining from sending text messages while Gabi was crying her eyes out in another room was the least that Nick could do for her. "You know what? I've absolutely had it with you, Will. Absolutely had it with you and -- and, uh, fancy-pants lover boy here, too," Nick replied, sneering at Sonny with a look of total disgust.

"Okay. All right, let's start the gay-bashing, huh? Go ahead. Let's show everybody who you really are," Will replied. Will observed that when Nick had arrived at the pub earlier that night, his haggard appearance had made it seem like he had recently been in a fight of some sort. Nick claimed that he had been jogging earlier, and he wondered if Will was really trying to suggest that Nick had attacked Rafe.

Sonny pointed out that Rafe had been planning to tell Gabi the truth about Nick, and he mused that it was quite convenient that someone had attacked Rafe before the fateful conversation could occur. Will challenged Nick to account for his whereabouts at the time of the attack, but Nick remained silent. "Okay. I can just go tell Hope right now what I know [and] let the police handle it, unless you want to tell me exactly where you were," Will said.

In the alley, the police surveyed the crime scene. Abe noted that, while all cops had enemies, Rafe's attack could have simply been a random mugging. "Except for the severity of the injuries. I just got off the phone with Kayla. Abe, somebody wanted Rafe dead," Hope confidently stated as she joined Abe. Later, one of the cops showed Hope an FBI jacket that had been found nearby, and she realized that it had been meant for Johnny.

At the DiMera mansion, E.J. greeted Sami, who angrily summarized her earlier conversation with Stefano. E.J. assured Sami that everything was going to be fine, but she wasn't convinced. "Look, things are already fine, are they not? My father has the evidence against William, and it's safely stored away. Nick Fallon is not going to be a problem for very much longer," E.J. promised.

Suspicious, Sami wondered what E.J. had done, but he evasively stated that she needed to trust him. E.J. assured Sami that he was looking out for their best interests, but she insisted that they needed to get out of the DiMera mansion right away. E.J. warned Sami to refrain from making impulsive decisions that could lead Stefano to reconsider his decision to help them.

E.J. believed that it would be best for Sami to apologize to Stefano. Sami scoffed and insisted that she would never be able to choke out a believable apology, but E.J. explained that the point was to simply massage Stefano's ego. Sami vehemently objected to E.J.'s suggestion, but she eventually agreed to take his advice. As if on cue, Stefano reentered the living room.

E.J. discreetly nudged Sami, who stammered out a brief apology for her earlier behavior. Stefano accepted the apology, assuring Sami that he understood why she had resorted to drastic measures, since they each loved their respective families. "Oh, yes. In fact, he loves them to death," Kate snapped as she entered the living room. Harold apologetically explained that he had been unable to stop Kate.

"Are you really that empty? That small? Is your ego so fragile that you had to do something this evil? Did you really have to send one of your thugs to beat up Rafe?" Kate tearfully demanded to know. Sami questioned Kate, who revealed that Rafe had been badly injured. Confused, Sami wondered why Stefano would want to hurt Rafe. "Because he found out we were lovers!" Kate blurted out, stunning Sami -- and apparently Stefano, as well.

At the hospital, Gabi gave Rafe a Saint Christopher medal that he had given to her years earlier. Gabi recalled that Rafe had told her that it would keep her safe, and she hoped that it would do the same for him. The medal slipped out of Rafe's hand as he started to flatline, and Kayla and Cameron rushed into his room. Cameron used a defibrillator on Rafe twice, but the machine had no effect on Rafe's heart.