Can we have it both ways?

Can Allie tell everyone but still keep it a secret? Can Nicole scold grown adults while preaching respect? And can Sarah live in the same house with Xander but not fall back in love with him? Let's find out if we can actually have it all in this edition of Two Scoops!

A lot of last week focused around Allie and her baby. We're going to talk about it now, but before we do -- you have to promise not to tell Sami! Got it? Everyone else can know. It can be a secret that's crossed continents. We're cool to go ahead and start thinking about three possible homes for the baby. But, for real, no one tell the grandmother. That would make no sense. Got it? Cool.

I kid a bit, but this secret is quickly becoming the worst kept one in Salem. And for that, I'm throwing more and more support behind Sami being justified in her anger for being kept out of the loop. If anything, I think Lucas or Eric talking to Sami first would help things! Let her get her initial reaction out of the way first, just the way -- ahem -- both of them did and then got a second chance.

And, since DAYS is pushing my hand here, I'm very reluctantly going to have to throw a flag on all things Nicole. (That sound you hear was my Nicole-loving soul whimpering!) I know she loves Eric and is trying to help him because a wayward soul showed up on his stoop. But she's quite possibly the last person who should have any say in what happens with Sami's kids. Guys, this woman stole one of Sami's babies and participated in a fraud scheme to deny her custody of another. In all honestly, the Nicole vs Sami feud has been Nicole actively screwing with Sami's life, and Sami...um...calling Nicole a bitch a lot. Thanks to the awesomeness of Arianne Zucker and Alison Sweeney, it's held up over time. But when I look for the facts of the case, I have a hard time coming up with points against Sami in this particular feud.

Additionally, while I won't ever turn down a scene with Bryan Dattilo playing for comedy, the phone scene with Lucas and Nicole felt super hypocritical. In order to convince Lucas he needed to treat someone like an adult, Nicole stole his phone, hid it in her bra, ripped out the landline, and made him promise her something before she gave him his toy back. Who's treating people like adults now, Nicki? (Gah! This brings me no joy!!)

However, I do find joy in Lindsey Arnold. She's doing a spectacular job as Allie. I didn't realize how much I needed a scene with Will and his grown siblings until I saw Will and Allie. So much of Will's existence has been other people taking care of him. With Allie, he has someone he's responsible for. At least to feed snacks, which we all know is half of all caretaking duties.

The other half may be to raise her baby. Yup, Wilson wants to throw their hat into the ring to adopt baby Horton. Yup, that won't mess up Ari at all. "Hey, you know how you're named after your dead aunt and your other dead sorta aunt? Well, your sister is actually your cousin from another aunt... How much is your copay for therapy?" Lucas was right to express concern about this plan on multiple fronts.

They'll have competition because Xander presented this idea to Sarah. I just shake my head. Thank you, Sarah, for shutting that one down. Good grief.

But perhaps challenging Xander on emotional maturity was young Allie herself. After one chat with Rafe, she decided he should be the one to adopt her baby. While it was a reaction decision completely out of love and a refreshing sense of self-awareness, it's not one that is completely fair to Rafe. I'm glad Eric pointed out that there may be some complications to her plan.

Both Eric and Lucas pointed out the father of the baby has a say. There are too many mentions of the dad to not pay off. What happens if his wishes differ from Allie's? Wait! Maybe there's a job for Sami, after all!

A mother's love knows no limits. And that brings us to Abigail, Chad, Gabi, Gwen, and Jake. I have a theory sure to go wrong. You ready?

Vivian is the one who poisoned Abigail. Why? Glad you asked.

1. Vivian wants her son away from Gabi.

2. She wants her son to have control of the DiMera empire, meaning she'd need to get Chad and Abigail out of the way.

So, she got Rolf to brainwash Stefan to believe he's Jake. She hired Gwen as part of the plot, hence why Gwen is trying really hard to get back with Jake -- she doesn't want to stop that Vivian money train. Poisoning Abigail and framing Gabi gets two major players out of her son's way to the top of DiMera.

Chad's the wild card. There's part of me still not convinced he's not brainwashed. But the other part could see Vivian counting on the fact that Chad wouldn't leave a sick Abigail's side, paving the way for Stefan to assume the throne. All she needs is for Gabi to be locked up and Chad preoccupied with Abigail's mental health. Then, she could order up a dose of the memory-back drug for Jake just in time for him to assume his "rightful" throne.

It would also make her a candidate for a surprise guest for the Elani wedding. She's got to be none too pleased with Lani for so rudely trying to arrest her and then making her leave her dying son on the ground, forcing yet another major item for the to-do list for Viv when she had to find a switcheroo heart for Julie! Ugh, that Lani caused Viv so much work!

The other side of that possible wedding crash is Eli. For his sake, I hope it doesn't happen. I've grown fond of that chap. As I watched Eli this week, I realized that he's next up for the John Black role in three respects. First, I don't know if I've seen a man more devoted to a woman since John and his Doc. Eli loves Lani a whole heck of a bunch. It's very adorable.

Second, he's a pretty excellent law enforcement guy. Remember when John used to be smart like that? Good times. Anyway, watching Eli work Brady and Victor right away for lying was impressive. I didn't like the way Brady and Victor could just summon a detective on his day off and think they could decide how justice is handed out. Eli shut that right down. Good job, detective.

Finally, his friendship with Rafe was reminiscent of John's bromance with a variety of partners -- Abe, Roman, Steve (sans...err...poisoning, okay maybe not so much Steve.) Bottom line is I like the character development Eli had this week. Keep up the good work. Next week, let's work on not giving a key to the apartment to Julie "Queen of No Boundaries" Williams.

Because of Julie's key, Val almost got shot. That's right, my fabulous Val could have been hurt! I will not stand for that because I adore me some Val. Why is she not in Salem permanently? Kayla's overworked at that hospital. Abe needs a better storyline. As mentioned, I'd get my Val back. It's a win for everyone!

LOOSE ENDS Watching Kayla invite Steve to her wedding was cringeworthy, and I mean that as a compliment to Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols. Gah. Even though I adore Justin, it's agonizing to watch Steve and Kayla intentionally fight their feelings to be together. I just want to jump through the screen and tell these two kids to hug it out, already!

Ooof. Writing Lani to be a Kristen apologist in one breath and a Gabi hater in the other is a hard sell. I guarantee if Lani slept with two of Kristen's exes and then accidentally shot Brady, Lani would be begging for the days when Gabi was her problem. Also, attributing Gabi's plea of, "My daughter, my daughter, please don't take me from my daughter" is totally fair! It also absolutely applies to Kristen, and Lani completely ignores that aspect. On the upside, Lani's grand robe collection was on full display this week, so she's got some things going for her!

I guess it's fine for Brady to demand Victor drop the charges against Kristen. However it happens, I need Brady's revenge plot to end, because I can't see one more scene of Brady laying everything at Victor's feet -- especially not seeing Rachel. That was all Brady covering for Kristen's inability to deal. In the end, I feel Eric and Sarah suffered more with Victor's scheme than Kristen did. However, neither of them stabbed Victor. Due to Brady's well, Brady-ness, I found myself rooting for Victor, despite Brady's anger being completely justified.

On the other end of this storyline, I found Xander and Sarah much more real and refreshing. Again, I'm glad the Brady/Sarah revenge scheme is over. I much prefer Xander and Sarah working through their mess together. The tender moment when she thanked him for Mickey's headstone and he offered his gardening skills to help beautify her graveside was powerful. Equally, their screaming match over how much they're both grieving hit home, too. Unlike Brady and Victor, this pair is actually working through the nuances of the betrayal and grief in a much more believable way.

Abigail is still undergoing treatment with good doctors, but not as good as Dr. Laura because it's been more than two weeks, and she's still not cured. Chad claims Abigail doesn't want him with her anymore. Apparently, she wants him to stay with the kids. As a mom, I get that. But something about the way Chad delivered that news -- and the way Jack clearly didn't get that same message from Abigail -- doesn't feel quite right. I'm going to need to hear it from Abigail that she doesn't want him to return to her.

HOTI'm sending a huge congratulations to our Olivia Rose Keegan on her much-deserved Emmy win! I've been an ORK fan since the start. She's got something. It's over the top, yet intriguing -- a perfect soap blend. In fact, Claire's "is she or isn't she" still out for revenge is my favorite storyline on DAYS right now. ORK is playing it so incredibly well. My own opinion on which way I want it to go changes every week!

This week, I landed more on the "I hope she's not out for revenge" side, mainly because of Shawn and Ciara. Just like John, their support of Claire is adorable, and I do not want to see their hearts broken. In Ciara's case, I could make a good argument for Claire being the perfect maid of honor. She's wanted this couple together from the beginning! Sure, it was for self-serving purposes, but she's the original #Cinner.

NOT:I'm sorry, why am I just now finding out about Victor and Ari's weekly tea parties? I'm going to need to see this scene. Right away, if not sooner.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Eli: "Tomorrow is going to be the first of all the best days of our lives." More of Eli's Awesome Tour continues! He worked in the "days of our lives" phrase prior to his wedding vows! Excellent work, my guy!

RANDOM THOUGHTS Jake's backward, over-the-head book toss was way cool.

It seems like Ari had way more damage over Gabi going to jail for a few weeks than she did over Will going to jail for over a year. The patriarchy is real in Salem.

Steve and Kayla have the same anniversary as my sister and brother-in-law. Yes, I did text her right away about this fact.

I know Chad hates Gabi, but it's still a creeper move to sneak into a woman's room while she's sleeping. No, thank you, Chadsworth.

Sure, I'm a Claire fan. But, why couldn't Ciara ask Shawn to stand up for her? "Man of honor" has a nice ring to it!

Is it just a pet name Steve has for Jack, or is Jack's name really "Jackson"?

If Sarah needed a place to live and Lucas was going to be in Salem longer, I let myself get excited at the idea of the two cousins bunking up together. They're both a little "extra" at times, and I think it could actually play for some fun comedy.

Jake gave a qualified answer as to how he didn't technically cheat on Gwen. Those are always reassuring.

Has Ciara kept in contact with Allie? I think they're about the same age (both in soap and SORAS time!)

Oh, man, Thomas waving goodbye to Chad from the doorway was so sweet!

Has Johnny lost that much contact with his twin that he hasn't checked in with Allie in...say...I don't know...20-22 weeks?

I've always kind of liked Claire and Ben in scenes together. I don't want them romantically involved, but I like that they call each other out on things. Apparently, he likes her as much as long-suffering restaurant manager Fran does.

Another hurrah for the music team at DAYS for their Emmy win!

That's it for this week. Tony's busy getting his top hat and tails ready for wedding season. He'll be your "plus one" for next week's shows! Cheers!

Laurisa

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.