Days of our Lives recap for Tuesday, March 18, 2025: Shane hides information from Steve and Marlena

In Washington, DC, Marlena was settling into her hotel room when Steve stopped by to check on her. “I think I’m worried about what we might find out,” Marlena said. Steve said he had been unable to schedule a meeting with Shane, but he knew a couple of people that could get them into the building. “If Shane thinks he can keep John’s whereabouts from me, he’s got another thing coming,” Marlena said.

At the ISA, Shane was talking on the phone to someone about a report he had received. “I’m sorry to say, it’s as grave as we feared,” Shane lamented. Shane said he understood why they should not go public with the news. “But there are folks out there that have a right to know,” Shane said. Marlena walked in with Steve, and Shane abruptly ended his call.

“We want answers, Donovan,” Steve said. “And we’re not leaving until we get them,” Marlena demanded. Shane chastised the duo for having burst into his office. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Shane asked. Frustrated, Marlena demanded to know more details about her husband’s disappearance. Shane assured Marlena that he had already told her everything he knew. Unfazed, Steve demanded to know the nature of John’s mission. Shane reminded Steve that mission details were only provided on a need-to-know basis.

“I honestly wish there was more I could do,” Shane said. “But there is. You can tell us where John was last seen. And we’ll start an investigation of our own,” Steve suggested. “If the ISA will not bring my husband home, then I will do it,” Marlena said firmly. Marlena reminded Shane that John was her world. “Either you can help me, or you can get out of my way. But I will not stop. I will find him,” Marlena said. Marlena asked Shane if he would do the same for his loved ones.

“You know I’ll deny I ever did, but this is much I can share with you. John’s handler lost track of him in Estonia,” Shane said. Marlena thanked Shane. “Nothing else we need to know?” Steve asked. Shane shook his head no, but he glanced at the report on his desk.

In Salem, Theresa paced the town square as she left a voicemail for Shane pleading, with him to call her back about John. “Why does it feel like I’m the last person he wants to deal with?” Theresa muttered as she ended the call. Xander scowled as he approached. “What can I say? You seem to bring that out in all of us,” Xander said. Xander asked Theresa why she was out of prison. Theresa explained that she had been released. Furious, Xander said he could not believe that Theresa had served so little time after having kidnapped his daughter.

“I’m sorry about that, really. It wasn’t right, obviously. But Victoria was gone for what? An hour?” Theresa said. “She could have been gone for all of a commercial break, it's still kidnapping!” Xander countered. Theresa argued that she had paid her debt to society. Xander pushed up close to Theresa and growled, “Well, you haven’t paid your debt to me.” Xander told Theresa that he would never forgive her. When Xander mentioned how Theresa had also attempted to deny him his birthright, Theresa reminded Xander that he had everything, but she had nothing.

“Maybe my sentence should have gotten a few months knocked out of it since technically I only conned you out of half of your birthright,” Theresa said. Theresa asked Xander how it felt to have to share the company with Philip. “It’s none of your concern,” Xander said. Theresa chuckled and noted it was clear that it was a touchy subject for Xander. Xander informed Theresa that his partnership with Philip had been productive and positive.

“And they call me a liar,” Theresa quipped. “I’m being completely honest. Look, I’ll admit that I was none too keen on the prospect of sharing the CEO title at first. Male ego and all that. But, over the past few weeks, Philip has really stepped up to the plate,” Xander said. Xander admitted that Philip had some good ideas. “We sort of complement one another,” Xander said. Taken aback, Theresa admitted she was shocked that Xander was happy that he had lost half his fortune.

“I am, actually, because, as I say, turns out Philip and I are quite compatible. Dare I say we even bring out the best in each other? And because, unlike the letter you tried to pass off, the one Philip found is the real deal,” Xander said. As Xander started to walk away, Theresa shouted out an apology. “I regret, I deeply, deeply regret ever getting mixed up with Konstantin. You did not deserve to get caught in that crossfire. Neither did Maggie,” Theresa said. Xander slowly approached Theresa.

“You and I won’t have a problem, Theresa, so long as you stay away from Maggie and Sarah and Victoria. Understood?” Xander said. “Loud and clear,” Theresa said. After Xander walked off, Theresa called Shane again. Shane ignored the call.

Alex was eating breakfast in Stephanie’s living room when a sleepy-eyed Stephanie exited the bedroom in her robe. “I don’t know how I slept so late,” Stephanie said. “Yesterday was pretty intense,” Alex noted. Stephanie agreed that her worries about Joy’s possible pregnancy had been more stressful than she had realized. “The good news is, it’s over. Joy is not pregnant. And we can move on with our lives,” Alex said. There was a knock at the door. Stephanie was horrified to see a very pregnant Joy in the hallway asking for her “baby daddy.”

Stephanie woke up with a start in her bedroom. “What’s wrong?” Alex asked groggily. Stephanie explained that she had had a nightmare that Joy was pregnant. “It was just a bad dream. It’s okay,” Alex said. Alex reminded Stephanie that Joy had confirmed herself that she was not pregnant. Alex slid his arm around Stephanie. With a sigh, Stephanie admitted that she was relieved that Joy was not pregnant. Alex agreed.

“I just feel, I don’t know, selfish, for thinking about how all of this worked out for me,” Stephanie said. “Why would that be selfish? If that baby happened, it wouldn’t just screw things up between you and me. Steph, Joy didn’t want a baby right now either. My god, especially not with somebody who is committed to somebody else. This was the best outcome,” Alex said. Stephanie nodded yes. Alex added that even if Joy had been pregnant, he would not have let the baby end his relationship with Stephanie.

“I just feel like we’ve gone through so much together, Steph. We survived it all. And we’re stronger for it. Nothing’s going to come between us,” Alex said. Stephanie confessed that she had grown used to everything going wrong and that it felt odd that things had worked out for her this time. Alex said that Marlena had once told him, “Just because a feeling is uncomfortable, doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It’s just unfamiliar.” Alex advised Stephanie to forget everything else and focus on their future together.

After Alex and Stephanie made love, Stephanie curled up next to Alex. She then gasped. “I was supposed to meet my mom for a meeting about the 'How to Save the Hospital' campaign!” Stephanie said. As Stephanie struggled to get out of bed, Alex attempted to pull her back in. “This is your second day at Titan. Do you want to also be later than you already are?” Stephanie said.

“I think I got a little leeway. I was pretty much brought into the inner circle last night,” Alex said. Alex asked Stephanie if she was bothered by the fact that he could not talk about the meeting with her. Stephanie thought about her break-up fight with Philip. “No. I understand. Sometimes when it comes to family business, well, that’s the way it goes. There will have to be secrets between us,” Stephanie said.

In the town square, Theresa was staring at the phone in the cafe when Alex walked by on his way to work. “They released you?” Alex said. Theresa nodded yes. “I’m sure you got a lot of stuff to say to me right now, but I just had a run-in with Xander, and so if this is going to be another pile-on,” Theresa said. Alex shook his head no. “I’ve moved on. I’m happy now with Stephanie,” Alex said. With a smirk, Theresa joked that the Kiriakis boys liked to date within the family.

“I really do hope that things work out for you,” Alex said. “Really?” Theresa asked suspiciously. Alex noted that he knew from firsthand experience that it was easy to make bad choices but learn from them. “So I really do hope that things turn around for you,” Alex said. Theresa thanked Alex. “And I want you to know that I wish you the very best with Stephanie. I hope nothing gets in the way of your happiness,” Theresa said.

At Titan, Joy unpacked her bag at her desk. Joy saw the pregnancy test result in her bag. She pulled it out and looked at the positive result. Philip walked in. Startled, Joy clutched the paper to her chest and made an attempt to hide it. Joy lied and said she had donated blood on the way into work. “I guess that explains your sudden attack of nerves,” Philip said. Joy pointed out that she had delivered breakfast for Philip since he had been at work early.

“You arranged my calendar like four weeks in advance right after your orientation. You got half a dozen virtual meetings on the books with those investors in Singapore, which come on, the time difference. Talk about an impressive start,” Philip said. Philip told Joy that he was glad that she was working at Titan. “I wish I could say the same,” Joy said. Joy immediately apologized, and she said she was thankful for the job.

“Then what’s the problem?” Philip asked. Joy admitted that she was worried that it would be awkward to work with Alex. “The last thing I want to do is cause any trouble for Alex and Stephanie,” Joy said. “Why would you be causing trouble for them?” Philip asked. Joy assured Philip that her romance with Alex was over, but that she was concerned that her presence would be a reminder of that past. “And that it will only get worse with time,” Joy added. Philip noted that things usually got better with time, but Joy pointed out that the issues between Johnny and Chanel had gotten worse.

When Joy talked about her continued role as the town pariah, Philip argued that Johnny had been in the wrong. “He was the one who did Chanel dirty, the same way Alex didn’t do right by you. Listen to me, Joy, no one should be blaming you because two men didn’t know how to act with integrity. You don’t have to take on this burden,” Philip advised. Joy gently touched her belly and said, “If only that were true.” Philip asked Joy what she meant.

“There’s something I haven’t told Alex yet. Something that will change everything,” Joy said. Philip guessed that Joy still had feelings for Alex, but Joy said no. Philip encouraged Joy to clear the air with Alex. “At the very least, you two can get on the same page, and from there, decide how to proceed, with everyone having all the necessary information,” Philip said. Joy nodded in agreement. “Sometimes it’s best when these things are out in the open,” Philip said.

After Philip left, Theresa looked at her pregnancy test result again and patted her belly. “What do you think, kiddo? Can Alex and Stephanie handle the truth?” Joy asked. Joy was on her way out of the office when Alex stopped by to speak to Philip. “I’m glad I ran into you though,” Alex said. Alex apologized for how he had handled Joy’s announcement about the pregnancy. “We didn’t mean to upset you, Joy. We know you’re going through a lot,” Alex said. Joy thanked Alex. As Alex started to leave, Joy stopped him. “There’s something that I need to tell you,” Joy said.

In the pub, Roman called Johnny’s phone and left him a voicemail apologizing for having accidentally helped expose the truth about Johnny’s conception. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t more direct with you. I started to tell you then left you hanging, and that wasn’t fair. But I was just so worried about hurting you. But listen, now that you know, if you need to talk, I am here,” Roman said. Roman told Johnny that he loved him, and that he was proud to be his grandfather.

After Roman ended his call, he walked over to Kayla’s table to help her work on the fundraiser. Roman joked that he was insulted that he had not been asked to take part in the bachelor auction. With a smirk, Kayla said, “I can’t imagine Kate would be very happy with that.” Roman offered to head up one of Kayla’s pending projects, but Kayla insisted that she had everything covered. “I mean, I’m courting the big donors, I filed permits with Mayor Price’s office, and I’m coordinating PR with Stephanie,” Kayla said. Roman reminded Kayla that her day job was demanding, but Kayla insisted that she was fine with all the work.

“Trying to distract yourself from thinking about John, aren’t you?” Roman asked. Kayla nodded yes. “I just pray to God that Shane can tell Steve and Marlena something, anything about what happened to him,” Kayla said. Roman said he was certain that Steve and Marlena would get answers. Worried, Kayla wondered aloud, “What if those answers are not the ones we want?” Kayla confessed that she could not shake the thought that something terrible had happened to John.

“Getting a call like that is my worst nightmare. Picking up the phone and hearing that my husband is not coming home to me or our family?” Kayla pondered. Kayla told Roman that she had fought with Steve the previous summer when Steve had planned to go with Chad to track down Clyde. “[I pleaded with him] to let somebody else be the hero,” Kayla said. “How did that play out for you, sis?” Roman asked. Kayla admitted that Steve had been unable to promise to pass the torch to someone else because playing the hero was in his nature.

“Sooner or later, this life catches up with you. And I just pray to god that it hasn’t caught up with John already,” Kayla said. Kayla asked Roman for advice on how to help Steve transition out of dangerous work like Roman had done. “It just came a time when, you know, I realized that saving the world meant nothing if I couldn’t save my own family,” Roman said. Stephanie walked in, and Kayla jumped up to hug her daughter.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Stephanie asked. “Yeah. We’re just worried about John,” Kayla admitted. Philip walked into the pub, and he stared over at Stephanie. Roman greeted Philip. “Is my mother around?” Philip asked. Roman noted that Kate was in Chicago to visit Cassie. “I’ll tell her you stopped by,” Roman said. Philip asked Stephanie if she could talk in private. Reluctantly, Stephanie agreed and followed Philip out to the square.

Roman and Kayla returned to their fundraising planning, and Roman informed her that Maggie had offered to buy coffee for the hospital staff since it had been cut from the budget. Roman asked Kayla to help him with the coffee order until Kate returned from out of town. “You are trying to distract me, and I do appreciate it,” Kayla said. “I worry about John too. But if I were a betting man, I would wager that Shane came up with something useful,” Roman said. Roman added that Steve and Marlena were a formidable team.

In the square, Stephanie asked Philip what he wanted. “Just to see how things are going with Alex,” Philip said. Stephanie noted that things were really good and that Alex was excited about work at Titan. “And we wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, would we?” Philip asked. Stephanie smirked. Philip argued that he had a duty to the company and he needed to be prepared. “Are you going to tell Alex that I forged Victor’s letter?” Philip asked. “You know I don’t like any of this. But I’m also shrewd enough to know that if the truth were to come out, it would cause a lot of suffering. For everyone,” Stephanie said.

As Xander crossed into the square, he spotted Philip talking to Stephanie on the other side of the potted tree. “So, just to be on the same page, we’re never going to tell Alex about any of this,” Philip said. “It’ll be our little secret,” Stephanie agreed. Xander narrowed his eyes as he listened.

When Steve and Marlena returned to their hotel room in DC, Steve promised to book the flights for Estonia. “That is if we think Shane was telling the truth,” Steve added. “I think that he was,” Marlena said. Marlena added that she believed that Shane had information that he did not want them to know.

In Shane’s office, Shane returned Theresa’s call. He apologized and said he had been distracted. “I’ve just received some rather devastating news,” Shane said.

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