Lost in the game

Marlena seemed to lose all her senses as she got lost in Kristen's games, but John doesn't think Kristen's that serious. That's so typically John. Plus, oh baby, baby! Will and Gabi dealt with their little miracle sent from above. It was a short week, but we've still got Two Scoops to dish out in this week's column.

The post-Thanksgiving Scoops is one of my favorite columns of the year. It's the only one people will surely read in its entirety due to turkey-induced comas and exhaustion from shopping all weekend. I kid, I kid. But it was a fun little three-day week in Salem to cover. Wait! Did I say fun? Some of it was, but other parts made me see red. Let's discuss!

GABI, WILL, and COMPANY I'll be completely honest. I was dreading this storyline, but I knew it was coming as soon as Will and Gabi hit the sheets. I thought that I would be grumbly and annoyed. I thought that I would hate every second of it. And I thought I'd really want to claw my eyes out. I was a little wrong. Well, so far at least.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not overly thrilled at the idea of Gabi being pregnant, but I'm surprised that I was actually interested in this storyline. For starters, I enjoyed the bond of friendship between Gabi and Will more than I ever have before. Neither of them shifted the blame to the other, despite being scared as hell. They were genuinely worried for the other's well-being. And they both owned up to the responsibility and ultimately realized they both made a poor choice in not using protection.

I'm also impressed by the level of maturity both Will and Gabi are showing. They're terrified and confused, but looked at all the angles. Gabi even knew no good would come from accepting Will's well-meant, but poorly-thought-out proposal. Instead, they used their pasts, present, and plans for the future to make a hard choice that's best for them. And whereas they examined the ramifications of their pregnancy and possible abortion, the writers are doing a good job of reminding us that they're still young adults.

Case in point, Gabi and Will had to piece together the money for an abortion. That was a realistic touch. Of course I'm not happy that Will went to Sonny for money without explaining to him why he needed it. Money and new relationships are a bad combo. That's a very, very bad combo, actually. But I'm also being a bit selfish. Truth be told, I was a little bummed Will didn't go to E.J. for the money. I miss Chandler and James scenes, but I digress.

Then again, one would think Will and/or Gabi might have some money saved up. He made bank when he worked for E.J. and I'm sure has some Horton trusts tucked away somewhere. And Gabi is the hardest-working woman in Salem. Then again, college is expensive. Anyway...

I'm a little torn about Gabi and Will's decision not to include Nick and Sonny at this point. On one hand, it's ultimately Gabi and Will's decision to make. They need to do what's best for them. I get that, but part of me also thinks they need to tell the people they're in a committed relationship with. Not that Nick and Sonny should have a final say in what happens, but a little "by the way, Gabi's knocked up" would be appreciated I'm sure.

However, I will be royally miffed if Nick and Sonny use the pregnancy as a reason to break up with Gabi and Will, or if they act victimized. Neither Nick and Gabi nor Will and Sonny were together when the baby was conceived. No one was betrayed in that regard, nor do I remember Nick or Sonny giving or requesting notarized lists from Gabi and Will detailing their past relations. So, aside from not telling their lovers what's going on, I don't think Nick or Sonny have too much room to feel "betrayed." Hurt? Sure. Concerned? Of course. But betrayed? Nope. Not so much.

RAFE, SAMI, and NICK There was a flittering moment in which Rafe suggested that he would be disrespecting Gabi by flipping out on her over Nick, and he was being patronizing. Oh, oh, oh. If only he would have remembered that as time went on, I would have been so proud of him.

Instead, Rafe Rafed his way through the majority of learning Gabi was pregnant, got tough with Nick, and, well, generally acted like a goober. I admire that he loves his sister so much; I actually think their sibling relationship is the best thing the Hernandi have going for them, but Rafe needs to stay strong, silent, and supportive as Gabi goes through the motions. Sure, he's upset, but he needs to holster his self-righteous finger and judgmental streak. It's not about him. It's about Gabi right now.

As for acting like goobers, neither Sami nor Nick is getting off scot-free either. First off, Sami had absolutely no right in telling Rafe about Gabi and Nick's relationship, or her pregnancy. Gabi is a young adult, but focus should be paid to the "adult" part. Sure, Gabs makes huge mistakes and has more emotional issues than you can shake an hourglass at, but at the end of the day, it should have been Gabi's choice when to reveal the news. Sami probably thought she was helping, but she should have made more attempts to talk to Gabi first, or perhaps offered to go with her to tell Rafe. Hmm, that would have been a good idea, huh, Sams?

I've liked that Sami continued to care for Gabi despite her breakup with Rafe, but now Sami did her wrong. Gabi just found out she was pregnant. I repeat, "Just." Had Gabi been trying to hide it for nine months, then Sami would have been semi-justified, but Gabi barely had time to digest the boatload of life-changing news that she was delivered. I'd be pissed if I were Gabi. Well, I'm pissed, and I'm not Gabi. And even pissier that I'm siding with Gabi! Thanks, Sami.

Next up, Nick. I'm not happy with him, either. His attitude started to rub me the wrong way early in the week when Gabi said something about Will and Sonny, and he replied, "Who cares about those guys?" Um, Gabi cares. They're her friends. They were trying to help her. One would think Nick would be grateful she has friends that care, but he's getting this annoying attitude that he should be the only one caring for Gabi.

I'm not convinced that Nick is ready for a relationship right now. He's overly possessive and is coming off as the creepy older guy hanging around college kids. Well, at the very least I hope his arms are pumped up from his jailhouse workouts so when he's dangling Gabi from a balcony, he doesn't drop her. Wait! On second though...just kidding.

MARLENA, JOHN, KRISTEN, and COMPANY Yep. Kristen's definitely playing Marlena. It's rather delicious. Their hatred of each other brings out the best -- and by best, I mean "worst" -- in each other. It's catty and divalicious. More, please!

As for John, he's being a bit nave about things. Not seeing Kristen as a serious threat is a bad move. Sure, John's a big boy, but there's only a certain amount of slack he can cut Kristen before he ends up slashing his own throat. At this point, John is setting himself up for a full decapitation. Then again, I don't mind. This storyline is giving Eileen, Dee, and Drake so much to play with!

Of course, I think Kristen is playing Brady, too. This I don't mind either. Brady is at his best when he's on the defensive. And I'm enjoying the banter-filled chemistry between Eric and Eileen. I repeat, "More, please!"

LOOSE ENDS Slow claps for Lucas! I'm glad he approached Sonny and they apologized to each other. And his scene with Will was just all shades of warm and fuzzy. More so, it's good that Lucas is coming to terms with his issues. Maybe he's seeing Dr. Patel! After all, paying someone seems to be the only way Lucas will get close to a lady these days. I meant a lady shrink, of course...to talk to.

Eric tried to help Nicole see the error of her ways. While doing so, he shared his journey to priesthood. It was interesting, and I'm glad it was explained, but I'm willing to bet fifty communion wafers he's not still a priest a year from now.

Of course, while Eric urged Nicole to reach out to Jennifer and Dr. Dan, Hope warned Eric to stay away from Nicole. Good advice, Hope, but methinks that's not going to happen. At all.

I loved seeing Abe and Hope hang out with Theo and Ciara. I'm also glad his struggle to cope with being a grieving single father hasn't been completely forgotten. Oh, and the icing on the cake was a little Abe and Kayla bonding time. I like their budding whatever-it-is they have going for them. It needs more airtime. Just saying.

Woot! Kayla told Hope and company that Caroline and Bo might be returning soon due to a new treatment Caroline can have in Salem. That would be better news if I didn't know Bo is going to be "in the other room" for the unseen future. Boo!

Finally, Hope, Jennifer, Kayla, Adrienne (yay, Adrienne!), and Billie got together for a book club meeting. I don't know about any of you, but this meeting was a little less eventful then all the others we've seen. Wait a second! We've never seen them at a book club before. Yet despite the randomness, I enjoyed these four, whoops, five, getting together. I always love me some Hope/Jennifer bonding time. I'll never complain about Kayla and Adrienne getting more screen time (hint, hint, dear, writers). And Billie, well, at least she popped up somewhere she was actually invited to. There's that.

HOT: In the midst of her mini meltdown and confession that she deleted Kristen's message (which wasn't cool, Mar Mar), Doc delivered a heartfelt speech that I thoroughly thought hit the mark of where she's coming from. I called it the "I'm Human Speech." She addressed her anger, fears, and frustrations over Kristen's return as well as her relationship with John. Sometimes Doc is a little stuffy -- perhaps clinical is a better word -- but that simple speech made Marlena more relatable. So, thumbs up for humanizing Mar Mar (and thumbs up to Dee's great performance)! I dug it.

NOT: I'm giving Rafe a free pass out of Not Ville. I didn't expect him to react well to Gabi's pregnancy, but Sami and Nick disappointed me. I'll save you a repeat of ranting, but for the reasons addressed in the "RAFE, SAMI, and NICK" section, Sami and Nick are officially not on my good side. Thanks for the fodder, jerks.

LINE OF THE WEEK:br> Marlena (to Kristen): "Don't try to play innocent. You can't pull it off."

RANDOM THOUGHTS: This falls under "Laughs" rather than "Complaints," but did Brady really need to be shirtless to have his head injury checked out?

Will's class was canceled -- score! I used to love when that happened.

Loved, loved, loved the vintage Nicole modeling flashbacks!

I wonder which Brady sibling used to live in Gabi's room?

If Gabi was worried about people finding out about her and Nick, why does she have a picture of them together by her beside?

I'm not sure if Sami's hair was messy chic or just messy eek. Discuss!

I want Lucas' wallet! He didn't have anything but twenties in there. I'm jealous.

Okay, the book club was random, and if DAYS can play that card, then I want to see Roman, Lucas, Brady, Chad, and Rafe having a single guys' night out! Then again, I'm sure the only two to go home alone would be Roman and Lucas. They just can't win.

THE SCOOP THAT NEVER WAS...: Friday's classic episode was a complete blast! I mean, wow! What a fun trip down memory lane. To celebrate, I took to my blog to Scoop the episode, retro style. Check it out by clicking here!

R.I.P. LARRY HAGMAN: I'd like to send my condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Larry Hagman, who died last Friday. I was and am a Dallas fan through-and-through. Who didn't love to hate the original soap bad boy, J.R. Ewing!? More so, I simply loved Larry Hagman. He was kind and generous to his fans and had a sense of humor bigger than J.R.'s ego. He was a legend -- an icon, in fact. He will be truly missed by millions, including me.

PARTING THOUGHTS: So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of November 26! We have one more week of Sweeps to go before all the holiday festivities begin, and by that I mean the countdown to this year's Golden Donut and Alex North Memorial Awards! Laurisa and I will be blogging and tweeting until the awards are revealed at the end of December so make sure you're following us on Twitter (@LaurisaDays and @ Tony_S_DAYS). With that, Laurisa will be back next week to Scoop the end of Sweeps, and "That's a fact!"

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.