Days of our Lives Recaps: The week of January 13, 2014 on DAYS

After Dr. Chyka left Eric and Nicole to die, Eric told Nicole that he loved her. Sonny asked Will to marry him. Lucas smoothed things over with Jordan about Sheryl. Julie was hot to find out what had happened to Nick. Jennifer warned Abigail to stay clear of E.J., but Abigail and E.J. could not fight their feelings for each other.

Monday, January 13, 2014

by Mike

At the Horton house, J.J. received a visit from Rory, who announced that he had been doing some thinking. J.J. jokingly warned Rory to stop doing that because it could lead to injuries. Rory laughed and elaborated that, while he knew that he was generally not as smart as J.J. was, he had still managed to do something that J.J. had not yet been able to do -- figure out a way for J.J. to get rid of Theresa.

Rory suggested that J.J. needed to tell Daniel everything, but J.J. insisted that there were many reasons why that would be a really bad idea. "Okay, no, no, no -- see, you're smart, but he's way smarter. I mean, he's a doctor, dude! Look, he might be able to figure a way out -- like, bust Theresa or something, you know?" Rory reasoned.

J.J. considered Rory's idea for a moment and admitted that it had merit, since Daniel had proven that he could occasionally be sneaky -- in a good way, of course -- when he had fooled everyone with a bogus story about what had happened on the night of Theresa's overdose in order to protect J.J. Rory pointed out that J.J. could also be quite sneaky at times, and he reasoned that two sneaky dudes were better than one.

Rory was confident about his "primo" plan, but J.J. feared that Daniel might get really upset when he realized how long J.J. had been keeping quiet about Theresa's blackmail scheme. Rory reasoned that Daniel would be even more upset if J.J. got caught and sent back to jail for doing something risky for Theresa.

In Nicole's office at the television station, Nicole insisted that Brady was beating a dead horse with his observations about her feelings for Eric, but Brady was confident that her proverbial horse was still alive and kicking. As Nicole started to argue with Brady, Marlena entered the office and wondered if everything was all right. Nicole vaguely explained that she and Brady were simply having a little disagreement, but Marlena skeptically observed that it had sounded like a big disagreement to her. Meanwhile, Brady pointedly glanced at his watch, announced that he had a meeting that he needed to attend, and left before either woman could stop him.

Nicole tried to explain that Brady was going through a lot and simply needed some space, but Marlena revealed that she was actually more interested in talking about how Nicole's interview with Eric had gone. Nicole vaguely stated that the interview had gone well, but Marlena wasn't convinced. Marlena's skepticism caused Nicole to get slightly defensive, so Marlena stressed that she wasn't judging the situation, adding that she was on Nicole's side if Nicole was on Eric's side. Meanwhile, Maggie knocked on and promptly opened Nicole's office door, interrupting Marlena and Nicole's conversation.

Clearly annoyed, Marlena turned to face Maggie as Nicole awkwardly wondered how things were going in Maggie's world. Maggie admitted that things weren't going very well, and she proceeded to stress that it hadn't been easy for Victor to apologize to Marlena and that he had meant every word of his apology. "I'm sure he did. And if you choose to forgive what he did to Eric and to Brady, that's your choice. But it's not mine," Marlena replied, and she stormed out of the office after adding that Nicole was always welcome to call her.

Maggie sarcastically summarized that her conversation with Marlena had gone well. Nicole shrugged and helpfully pointed out that it wasn't always possible to fix everything right away. Maggie agreed and added that, while certain things could never be fixed, it was still necessary to make an honest effort to fix them, which was why she had decided to visit Nicole in the first place -- to discuss how they could help Brady.

Maggie wanted to get Brady into a short-term rehabilitation program, but he had declined the offer, so she was hoping that Nicole would be able to convince him to change his mind. Nicole thought that the idea was crazy, but Maggie reasoned that it was worth a try. Maggie stressed that she was worried about Brady because she had been sponsoring people for a very long time and could spot when trouble was on the horizon. Maggie begged Nicole to at least try to talk to Brady about entering a rehabilitation program, and Nicole hesitantly agreed to do so.

Maggie expressed her gratitude and excitedly concocted a quick scheme to meet with Brady later that day in a public place where Nicole could run into them in a supposedly coincidental manner. After stressing that she wouldn't be able to promise anything, Nicole pointedly stated that she had a lot of work that she needed to finish. Maggie took the hint and excused herself, assuring Nicole that she understood that Brady was equally important to both of them. Maggie hoped that Brady was in the process of attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at that moment and would be more receptive to the idea of entering a rehabilitation program afterward.

At the hospital, Anne greeted Theresa, who had been silently imagining herself in a scenario where she tried to seduce Daniel and he rejected her advances, literally tossing her aside when she broke into his apartment while he was sleeping, climbed on top of him, and started to undress herself. "I'm gonna have to subtle it up," Theresa decided, but her vague statement only confused Anne. Theresa clarified that she was going to have to try a different, more romantic approach with Daniel, who was never going to hook up with her if she kept throwing herself at him.

Theresa realized that it would probably be best for her to continue to encourage the mistaken belief that she was a changed woman, reasoning that once she convinced Daniel to see her in a new light, she could move on to portraying herself as a lost little girl who was simply looking for someone to help her find her way. "To his bedroom," Anne knowingly concluded. Theresa grinned and decided that she could -- and would -- do exactly that.

Theresa went to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting that was being held at the hospital -- one that Brady had also decided to attend. Brady wasn't pleased to see Theresa at the meeting, and he was even less pleased to see that the only vacant chair in the room was the chair that was right next to hers. Theresa tried to engage in a round of small talk with Brady, but when she innocently mentioned Daniel's name, Brady pointedly confirmed that Daniel and Jennifer were friends of his.

"Hey, you know what I heard? I heard we're, like, distant relatives or something -- like, um, eighteenth cousins, forty-two times removed. That's kind of cool, huh?" Theresa said in an awkward attempt to change the subject, but Brady impatiently clarified that he had recently learned that he had no biological ties to the Brady family. Theresa shrugged and helpfully assured Brady that he was kind of lucky, since it sometimes -- actually, always -- "sucked" to be a Brady.

"You selfish little bitch. I'm gonna tell you something, so shut up and listen for a second. The Bradys -- they are nothing but good, all right? Remind me again -- who was it? Who was it, when your life was going to hell -- who took you in? Who gave you a second chance? Who gave you a safe place to go to, huh? And how -- what did you do? You acted like a spoiled brat who didn't even bother to say thank you," Brady irritably summarized. Theresa protested that Brady didn't even know her, and he countered that she didn't know him, either. "Actually, I do -- you're the drug addict who helped ruin my cousin Eric's life, so bite me," Theresa replied.

Theresa broke the subsequent silence when she impatiently wondered when the meeting was going to start. Brady decided that he didn't want to stick around to find out the answer to that question, so he abruptly stormed out of the room. Theresa quickly followed suit, muttering that there was no one in attendance who would care if she stayed for the meeting anyway.

Elsewhere, in Daniel's office, Chyka introduced himself as Dr. Duvall, the cardiologist from New York who had arranged to meet with Daniel the following day. Chyka claimed that he had arrived in Salem a day early and had been hoping to chat with Daniel right away, although he was quick to acknowledge that it was obvious that Daniel was already in the middle of something with Father Eric.

Confused, Eric wondered if he had met Dr. Duvall before, and Chyka clarified that he had simply recognized Eric's face from all of the media attention that Eric had been receiving lately. Eric nodded and abruptly excused himself, and as Daniel showed Eric out of the office, Chyka eyed Daniel's computer. When Daniel returned, he quickly folded and pocketed the list of names that his friend had emailed him earlier.

Meanwhile, after apologizing for inadvertently offending Eric earlier, Chyka tried to start a conversation with Daniel about Eric's fascinating case, but Daniel interrupted and guessed that the doctor hadn't traveled all the way to Salem just to talk about Eric. Chyka nodded and started to concoct an excuse for the meeting.

Meanwhile, Daniel received a phone call from J.J., who somewhat nervously revealed that he needed to talk to Daniel right away. After agreeing to meet J.J. in the park a short time later, Daniel ended the call and apologetically announced that he and Dr. Duvall were going to have to continue their meeting the following day, as they had originally planned. Daniel escorted Chyka out of the office and locked the door behind them.

A short time later, after parting ways with Daniel, Chyka circled back around to Daniel's office and deftly picked the lock on the door. After connecting a USB device to Daniel's computer, Chyka walked over to a nearby filing cabinet, quickly located Eric's medical records, and tucked the entire file in a briefcase. After leaving the office, Chyka broke into Daniel's apartment and locked the door behind him, taking the time to also slide the security chain in place.

At the park, J.J. explained that he needed to reveal something to Daniel right away, before he freaked out and lost the nerve to do so. After stressing that he was very grateful for everything that Daniel had done to protect him after Theresa's overdose, J.J. added that something had happened that he should have told Daniel about sooner. J.J. quickly clarified that he wasn't using or dealing drugs, and he pointed out that he had been making a real effort to be honest about things lately.

Daniel nodded and urged J.J. to get to the point. "All right, the reason why this is so hard is because I'm kind of in some trouble, and it could end up being trouble for you, too," J.J. admitted. Daniel assured J.J. that they would find a way to get through whatever it was that J.J. was worried about. "Yeah. Yeah, probably. Okay, um, here goes -- I know I promised that I wasn't gonna get in trouble again, okay? But I'm kind of stuck, you know, so maybe you could give me some, like, advice on --" J.J. started to say, his voice trailing off when he glanced over Daniel's shoulder and noticed that Theresa was lurking behind some nearby trees.

Daniel followed J.J.'s gaze, assuming that J.J. might have recognized someone -- a drug dealer, perhaps -- but Theresa was already hidden from sight. Daniel urged J.J. to focus and finish making his confession, so J.J. admitted that he had tried to ruin Jennifer's date with Liam because he knew that she never would have been available to go on a date with Liam if J.J. hadn't interfered with her relationship with Daniel. J.J. sadly guessed that Daniel probably hated him for what he had done to break up Daniel and Jennifer, but Daniel acknowledged that J.J. wasn't solely responsible for what had happened.

"It was that bitch, Theresa!" J.J. angrily agreed, but Daniel clarified that everyone had made mistakes and that it would be best for J.J. to simply accept that, while Daniel still loved Jennifer, they were never going to get back together. J.J. tried to protest, but Daniel insisted that J.J. needed to focus on his impending court date and continue to keep everything that had happened on the night of Theresa's overdose a secret.

J.J. reluctantly agreed, and after stressing that he was really proud of the way that J.J. had turned his life around, Daniel excused himself so that he could get back to the hospital. Theresa, who had remained close enough to eavesdrop, revealed herself after Daniel left. "You bastard. I used to think you were pretty bright, but obviously, you're dumb as a post," Theresa angrily stated as she glared at J.J.

J.J. assured Theresa that he hadn't said anything incriminating to Daniel. "You're damn lucky you didn't. If you screw things up for me in any way, I won't just wreck your sorry little life -- I'll bring down your new buddy Daniel right along with you. You'll go to prison, and his doctoring days will come to a screeching halt. Game over, life over -- you follow?" Theresa asked J.J., who quietly confirmed that he understood.

Marlena tracked Eric down at the Brady Pub after making several attempts to contact him. Eric apologized for his silence, explaining that he had simply needed some time to think, and he invited Marlena to join him at his table. Marlena asked about Eric's earlier interview with Nicole, and he offered her the same vague response that Nicole had offered her earlier. Marlena commented on the coincidence and explained that Nicole had acted weird and nervous during their earlier conversation. Marlena guessed that she and Eric both knew exactly why Nicole had behaved that way, but he insisted that Nicole wasn't acting weird because she had feelings for him.

"Eric, I've known Nicole for a long time. She can be -- well, let's just say that she can be...emotionally unpredictable -- or, to be blunt, where men are concerned, she can be twisted. She is a narcissist, Eric, in the extreme. She suffers from what is known as major attachment dysfunction -- in other words, she got frozen in childhood, so if she's talking about feelings she has for you, they're immature; they're unsophisticated. She doesn't have a --" Marlena tried to explain, but Eric eventually stopped her. "That's enough. Nicole wasn't acting nervous because of her feelings for me -- it was because of my feelings for her," Eric clarified. Marlena started to offer Eric some advice, but she stopped herself when she suddenly got the suspicion that Nicole had acted uncomfortable earlier because Nicole knew how he felt about her.

At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady eyed the living room bar for a moment before ascending the staircase to his bedroom. Later, Maggie returned home and suspiciously eyed the level of Brady's preferred decanter of alcohol. Maggie shrugged and conceded that it didn't seem like there was any alcohol missing from the decanter. Meanwhile, in Brady's bedroom, Brady grabbed a nearly empty whiskey bottle and poured some of its remaining contents into a glass. "To dreams...and the fools who dream them," Brady said with a sigh before downing the entire glass of whiskey.

At the DiMera mansion, Abigail chastised herself for being foolish enough to listen to E.J. in the first place. "God, I am such an idiot! I do this all the time -- every single time. I -- this is awful. Oh, my God. This is so terrible. What have I done? What have I done? This is -- I can't even --" Abigail continued, ignoring E.J.'s attempts to calm her down.

Abigail and E.J. suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and when they turned around, they were shocked to find Sami standing in the living room doorway. Abigail immediately started to apologize to Sami, but E.J. interrupted and reasoned that it would probably be best for Abigail to let him explain the situation to Sami, since he was the person who was responsible for what had happened. Sami stared at E.J. expectantly and waited for him to continue. Abigail nervously tried to excuse herself, but Sami closed the living room doors and insisted that no one was leaving the mansion until she received some answers.

E.J. nodded and proceeded to tell Sami that he had helped Chad fake a brain tumor so that Chad could remove Cameron from the competition for Abigail's affections. Abigail remained nervous and uncomfortable during E.J.'s story, but she eventually managed to reveal that she had ultimately slept with Chad. "But it was my own fault; I was stupid, and I did it all just because I couldn't resist," Abigail added, no longer necessarily referring to her actions with Chad.

Sami summarized that Abigail hadn't done anything wrong and that the DiMera men had manipulated Abigail -- something that the DiMeras had a habit of doing to people. Abigail uncomfortably tried to excuse herself again, but Sami insisted that she wanted Abigail to stay so that they could have a private conversation about what had happened -- one that E.J. wasn't invited to participate in. E.J. and Abigail each tried to object, but Sami was adamant, reasoning that it was the least that she could do for Abigail, who meant the world to Will and Sonny and had done a lot to help Gabi with Arianna.

Abigail reluctantly took a seat next to Sami on the couch, and E.J. left the room just as reluctantly, closing the door behind him. Sami reiterated that Abigail hadn't done anything wrong, and she helpfully pointed out that she was still standing, even after doing things and having things done to her that were ten times worse than what Abigail was going through. Sami felt the need to add some context to E.J.'s actions, so she explained that he was devoted to his family -- and, more specifically, to the idea of family. Sami summarized that E.J. would rather die than refuse to help one of his family members, which was why he had been unable to refuse Chad's request for help.

Sami guessed that Chad had genuine feelings for Abigail, who confirmed that Sami's suspicion seemed accurate. Sami explained that the DiMeras were infamous for their willingness to do whatever it took to get what they wanted, and she reasoned that Abigail had never stood a chance against the DiMera brothers. "I know what I'm talking about. E.J. and I -- we're complicated, you know? And believe me, he's gonna get an earful about this from me, but at the end of the day, I love him, and I know he loves me, even if he drives me nuts sometimes," Sami added as Abigail remained silent.

In the foyer, E.J. tried to eavesdrop, but he was unable to hear Sami and Abigail's conversation through the closed living room doors. Meanwhile, in the living room, Sami started to say that she and E.J. had promised each other that there would be no more secrets or lies between them when they had decided to give their relationship a real try, but she stopped herself when she realized that she was inadvertently making the situation about herself instead of Abigail. Sami apologized and got the conversation back on track, summarizing that Abigail couldn't let what Chad had done to her -- or what she chose to do with any other man -- define her.

After Abigail confirmed that she understood what Sami was saying, Sami smiled and acknowledged that Abigail had probably heard enough from her for one day. In the foyer, E.J. quickly moved away from the closed doors and retrieved his cell phone from his pocket when he heard Sami and Abigail approaching. As E.J. tried to act casual, Sami exited the living room with Abigail and assured her that things were going to get better. Sami hugged Abigail as she added that, while she was certain that Abigail would always have Jennifer's support to rely on, Abigail could also always feel free to call Sami if she ever needed anything.

After Abigail left, E.J. started to say something to Sami about what he had done for Chad, but she interrupted and summarized that he had done something typical -- and even ingenious -- for Chad. E.J. maintained that he had done what had needed to be done, and Sami knowingly guessed that it wasn't the first time that he had done something like that. Confused, E.J. asked Sami to elaborate.

"Look, I would love to talk about what happened with Chad, but I have to ask you about that doctor first. Is it the same one that Kristen contacted to get the drug that she used on my brother?" Sami wondered, referring to the doctor who had falsified Chad's medical records for E.J. Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Abigail sighed and wondered what she was going to do next.

At the hospital, Daniel entered his office and took a seat at his desk, where he quickly realized that something was amiss. Meanwhile, in Daniel's apartment, Nicole emerged from the shower, wrapped only in a towel, and gasped when she entered the living room and saw Chyka sitting at Daniel's table, doing something to Daniel's laptop.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

by Spalding

In the town square, Julie asked Abigail about Nick. Abigail said that Nick had sent her a text message but that Nick had not called her. When Abigail noted that Nick might have dropped off the radar in order to distance himself from Salem, Julie questioned why Nick would want to distance himself from his family. Abigail offered to text Nick and ask him to call Julie. Thrilled, Julie thanked Abigail for helping to ease her mind. Julie threatened to call Nick every day until he returned one of her calls.

Adrienne stopped by the Horton house to give Jennifer a bag of guitar picks for J.J. When Jennifer thanked Adrienne in a distracted tone, Adrienne asked her what was wrong. Jennifer responded that she was worried about Abigail and her involvement with the DiMeras. Adrienne apologized for not mentioning it sooner, but she had seen Abigail talking with E.J. on multiple occasions.

When Jennifer asked for details, Adrienne noted that she had witnessed Abigail and E.J. talking intently over a book at the club. As Jennifer nodded, Abigail arrived home and asked what Jennifer and Adrienne were talking about. Nervous, Adrienne excused herself and left.

When Abigail noticed the sour look on Jennifer's face, she asked what was wrong. Jennifer demanded to know what was going on between Abigail and E.J. Abigail explained that she had given Jack's angel wing to Chad and that E.J. had returned the wing to her on Chad's behalf. When Abigail mentioned that E.J. had talked about Jack, Jennifer smirked. Abigail protested that E.J. had been nice to her, but Jennifer argued that E.J. was selfish.

When Abigail wondered aloud what E.J. could want from her, Jennifer responded that E.J. was working to reunite Abigail with Chad. A phone call from the hospital interrupted the conversation. After Jennifer hung up, she asked Abigail to promise to stay away from E.J. Abigail said nothing.

Kate visited Gabi at her apartment. When Gabi informed Kate that she had made a batch of churros as a thank you to E.J. for talking to Abigail, Kate sighed. Kate asked what had happened with Abigail. Gabi explained that Abigail had appeared to believe E.J.'s explanation.

With a small smile, Gabi expressed how pleased she was to have E.J. in their corner, and she added that E.J. made her feel like everything would be okay. While Gabi put another batch of churros in the oven, Kate fiddled with Nick's phone. Kate told Gabi that the Hortons were pestering Nick but that she had the situation under control.

In the DiMera living room, Sami asked E.J. if the doctor he had used to falsify Chad's medical condition was the same one that had created the concoction Kristen had used on Eric. A defensive E.J. swore that he'd had no involvement with Kristen's plans. Concerned, Sami asked E.J. if he knew of any doctors that the DiMera family would use to create a rape drug. E.J. firmly said that he was no longer associated with the criminal aspects of the DiMera empire.

When Sami yelled that E.J.'s distance had not stopped him from helping Chad fake a medical condition, E.J. quietly growled that he had heard enough from Sami. "I'm sick and tired of saving you from yourself, Samantha. This is the thanks I get for it?" E.J. said. Confused, Sami asked how talking to Abigail had helped E.J. protect Sami.

"First, let me ask you this. When you were in Chicago, did you happen to murder anybody?" E.J. asked. Stunned, Sami stammered, "Just when I convince myself that you sacrificed because you love me, you remind me of how much I owe you. For the record, it is Stefano's fault what happened to Bernardi."

"Do you see the irony here, Samantha? Your family was so concerned about you marrying into this evil DiMera clan and yet, compared to you, for the last six months, I look like Gandhi," E.J. countered. When Sami noted that she did not see what was noble about E.J. talking to Abigail, E.J. explained what had happened with the text message that "Nick" had sent to Abigail. E.J. added that Abigail had been so concerned by Gabi's reaction that Abigail had attempted to talk to Hope.

A wild-eyed Sami asked what had happened. E.J. said that he had handled the situation. After E.J. explained all that had transpired with Gabi while Sami was in Chicago, Sami asked if the brain tumor story had been true. E.J. informed Sami that he had helped Chad and that Abigail had told Jennifer about E.J.'s involvement in faking the tumor. Sami thanked E.J. for intervening and handling Abigail.

When Sami asked if E.J. was tired of her, E.J. leaped to his feet and noted that he could never grow tired of Sami. E.J. said that he loved Sami and that there would always be trouble in their lives if they stayed together. When Sami's face fell, E.J. swore that he would not leave her.

"You need to understand that I have needs and wants of my own," E.J. said. Sami nodded. E.J. added, "I spend all my time cleaning up these messes of your own making, and it means I have to put aside things that are really important to me." As Sami nodded, E.J. said that he could not continue to put his life on hold. E.J. walked out of the living room, and an overwhelmed Sami sniffled back tears.

In the Brady Pub, when Marlena asked Eric if Nicole knew about his feelings, Eric said no. Marlena asked Eric who he had talked to about Nicole. Eric answered that he had spoken to Father Matt. Worried, Marlena suggested that Eric's conversation with Father Matt could ruin his chances at reinstatement as a priest in the church.

Eric stressed that his conversation with Father Matt was private and that he had not acted on his feelings for Nicole. When Marlena continued to express her concerns, Eric shook his head and remarked that he should have refrained from talking to Marlena. Marlena argued that it was her job to protect Eric. Eric countered that Marlena's efforts to protect Brady had backfired on him.

Marlena apologized to Eric and noted that her involvement in the Brady situation was why she wanted to help Eric. With a sad smile, Eric told Marlena that there was nothing she could do to help. Eric stressed that there was nothing between him and Nicole because she was involved with another man. Eric asked Marlena not to mention Nicole again.

When Roman arrived at the pub, he informed Eric that he had been forced to remove all his officers from the search for Kristen. Eric nodded and said that he understood. Eric informed Roman and Marlena that Daniel had been able to prove that Eric had been drugged. When Roman asked about the evidence, Eric explained that Daniel was compiling medical evidence in secret so that Stefano would not get wind of Daniel's progress.

Eric explained that the drugs were rare and that Daniel was checking out all the doctors that had access to the drugs used on Eric. Eric promised to update Roman when he had more information. After Eric left, Roman asked how Marlena was feeling. Marlena shared her worry that Eric would never be able to forgive her. Roman worried aloud that he had let Eric down by not capturing Kristen. When Marlena confided that Eric was questioning his love for her, Roman assured Marlena that Eric loved her.

As Kate walked through the town square, Julie called out to her. Julie asked Kate if she knew what was going on with Nick. Playing dumb, Kate asked Julie why Kate would know how to find Nick. Julie explained that Nick had told her that Kate was paying Nick to work on projects. When Julie asked Kate if she was the reason Nick had left town, Kate thought about when she, Sami, and Gabi had thrown Nick into the river. Kate told Julie she did not know why Nick had left.

"Any connection I had with Nick is dead in the water," Kate said. When Julie asked why Kate no longer worked with Nick, Kate responded that she thought Nick was bad news. Concerned, Julie accused Kate of blackmailing Nick and forcing him to work for Kate. As Adrienne walked by, she overheard the conversation and asked Julie why she would accuse Kate of blackmail. Julie argued that she was worried about Nick.

Kate said that she understood Julie's concern and that Kate believed Nick was fine. After Julie walked away, Adrienne asked Kate why Julie had questioned Kate about Nick. With narrowed eyes, Kate warned Adrienne that her conversation with Julie was not Adrienne's business and that she could take care of herself.

Daniel returned to his office to examine his files on Eric, and he was shocked to find that all the files on his computer had been deleted.

In Daniel's apartment, Dr. Chyka was deleting the files on Daniel's home computer when a surprised Nicole entered the living room in a towel. When Nicole demanded to know who Dr. Chyka was and why he was in Daniel's apartment, Dr. Chyka introduced himself as Dr. Duvall, a consulting cardiologist. Nicole informed Dr. Chyka that Daniel was at the hospital. Lying through his teeth, Dr. Chyka said that Daniel had given Duvall his home keys so that "Dr. Duvall" could retrieve files from Daniel's home computer.

When Dr. Chyka said that Daniel was on his way, Nicole disagreed and noted that Daniel had told her that he would be working late at the hospital. Suspicious, Nicole picked up the phone to call Daniel. Dr. Chyka ordered her to stop. Panicked, Nicole demanded to know what was happening. When Dr. Chyka stuck to his story, Nicole grabbed the phone and started to call Daniel.

Dr. Chyka reached for the phone and struggled with Nicole. As Nicole's towel dropped to the floor, she broke free from Dr. Chyka's grasp and ran for the door. Nicole struggled to unlock the front door. Before Nicole could open the door and escape, Dr. Chyka grabbed a needle and bounded across the floor toward her. Dr. Chyka grabbed Nicole in a chokehold and dragged her away from the door.

As Nicole struggled, Dr. Chyka injected Nicole with the contents of the syringe, and she fell to the couch, unconscious. As Dr. Chyka started to drag Nicole into the other room, Eric knocked on the apartment door.

At the nurses' station Anne yelled at Ted the IT guy, who was working on her computer. Daniel interrupted to beg Ted to help him salvage the files on his computer. When Ted said yes, an annoyed Anne stopped them from walking away. Anne growled that she could not work until her computer was fixed, and she ordered Daniel to let Ted finish working on her computer. When Daniel started to talk, Anne interrupted and noted that Daniel could access all his official hospital test results from her computer once it was working.

Anne accused Daniel of seeking assistance in recovering personal files. Ted informed Anne that he would call technical support for her and that he would check on Daniel's computer while they waited for an answer. After Ted and Daniel walked away, Anne marched after them and slipped on the floor and fell. Two nurses who witnessed the fall laughed. Furious, Anne got up off the floor and stomped over to the nurses' station.

"All right now, you both saw what just happened. Daniel pushed me," Anne said. "You mean he pushed your buttons, and then you tripped over your own two feet," one of the nurses responded. Anne then marched over to a woman named Joelle and asked to talk to her in private. Anne told Joelle that Daniel had shoved her to the ground and ordered Joelle to be her witness. When Joelle looked around nervously, Anne reminded Joelle that Anne had the power to grant Joelle a bonus in her paycheck.

In Daniel's office, Ted thanked Daniel for rescuing him from Anne. Ted groaned and announced that the virus on Daniel's computer was aggressive and that he might not be able to salvage the information on Daniel's hard drive. Nodding, Daniel opened his file drawers and realized that his file on Eric was missing. Worried, Daniel called the DNA lab to order duplicate reports.

When Ted wondered aloud what had happened, Daniel noted that a doctor had visited him earlier. The lab informed Daniel that Eric's test results had been deleted from their computers. Daniel asked Ted not to tell anyone. When Ted asked about whether the material was backed up, Daniel remembered that he had all the information on his home computer, and he rushed out the door.

Daniel stopped by the nurses' station on his way out of the hospital, and Anne confronted him with a security guard and Joelle. Anne informed Daniel that she was filing a claim against Daniel for shoving her to the ground. Confused, Daniel said he needed to deal with an emergency. As Daniel started to leave, Anne stepped in front of him and ordered him to fill out a response to her claim.

Jennifer walked up to the nurses' station and turned to Joelle. Jennifer noted that she had overheard the conversation between Anne and Joelle down the hallway. Nervous, Joelle apologized to Anne then walked away. With the witness gone, the security guard returned to his desk. Daniel quietly thanked Jennifer, and then he left. Jennifer warned Anne to give up her revenge schemes. Noting that Jennifer repeatedly helped Daniel, Anne called her pathetic.

Gabi surprised E.J. at the DiMera mansion with a basket of churros as a thank you. When Gabi noted that she wished Rafe could see the kind side of E.J., E.J. asked her not to talk to Rafe. Gabi agreed. E.J.'s phone rang, and he looked at the phone and saw that the caller was Abigail. Concerned, E.J. took the churros, thanked Gabi, and wished her a good day. After E.J. closed the front door, he answered the phone.

"E.J., my mom, she knows about us," Abigail said. Furious, E.J. asked what had happened. Abigail explained that Jennifer did not know about the cabin but that she was suspicious of Abigail's interactions with E.J. Fighting his anger, E.J. told Abigail they should not talk on the phone anymore. Annoyed by E.J.'s tone, Abigail curtly responded that she had only called to warn E.J. E.J. attempted to clarify what he meant, but Abigail hung up on him.

At Daniel's apartment, Eric knocked on the door and asked Daniel to let him in. Inside the apartment, Dr. Chyka feverishly worked to delete the files from Daniel's computer. Eric realized that the door was open and walked inside. When Eric saw a naked Nicole wrapped in a blanket and unconscious on the couch, he rushed to her side. Dr. Chyka appeared from behind the front door and knocked Eric unconscious by hitting him on the head. Standing over them, Dr. Chyka said, "And now I have to get rid of you."

At the bench in the park, Sami met with Kate. Kate asked whether E.J. had updated Sami on the Abigail situation. As Sami nodded, Kate informed her that Julie was still pushing for contact from Nick. When Kate asked if E.J. should intervene with Julie, Sami shook her head and suggested that she and Kate handle Julie without E.J.'s assistance.

When Daniel arrived home, Nicole and Eric were no longer there. Daniel rushed to his laptop and searched for the files. In a storage room, an unconscious Eric and Nicole were tied to a pole, sitting back to back. Dr. Chyka pulled two syringes out of his medical bag across the room. Eric stirred awake.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

by ChickenGrrl

At Sonny and Will's apartment, Sonny had arranged fresh flowers in a vase, and there were candles ready to be lit. He put a bottle of champagne on ice and got some glasses ready. He talked on the phone with Gabi and thanked her for taking Arianna out for the afternoon.

When Will arrived at Club TBD, T informed him that Sonny had gone out for a few minutes but would be right back. Lucas arrived with Allie, who ran to her brother to give him a big hug. She repeated the enthusiastic greeting when Rafe showed up.

T got a text message from Sonny that everything was ready, so he informed Will that Sonny needed him for something important at home. Will grabbed his coat, said goodbye, and left.

Jordan tried to talk to Sheryl when the two ran into one another in Horton Square, but Sheryl wasn't exactly receptive. Jordan insisted, "I am not trying to put you or your qualifications for that job down." Sheryl retorted, "But you still think the only reason Kate Roberts would give me a shot is because she's after you."

Jordan asserted that she knew Kate a lot better than Sheryl did, but Sheryl countered that Kate had done nothing but praise Jordan's skills as a physical therapist. "Kate Roberts had no idea I was coming to Salem to interview with her son," Sheryl said. Jordan tried to contradict Sheryl, but Sheryl wouldn't hear it. Fed up, Sheryl left.

In the park outside Horton Square, Kate informed Sami that Nick's cell service was about to be shut off. When Sami grabbed the phone and began composing a text message, Kate was worried that Sami had no idea how to sound like Nick, so Sami handed over the phone. Kate immediately deleted Sami's message and rewrote it. After Kate finished sending the message to Hope, Sami suggested that Kate send a message to all of Nick's contacts, saying that he was going to be working in Europe and out of touch.

Kate did as Sami had suggested, then discovered a text message from Julie. "She hates texting; she wants him to call," Kate paraphrased. As she composed a reply, she joked that Julie had made so many typos that it was obvious she had "fat-finger syndrome." Suddenly Kate cursed and announced that the phone was dead. After blaming Kate for everything, Sami asked if they could suspend the discussion of Nick during Arianna's christening. Kate gave Sami a high-five to show her agreement. The two women left in separate directions.

In Horton Square, Jordan confronted Kate about Sheryl, but Kate played dumb. "Are you really that desperate to try and hold on to a man who ended things with you?" an incredulous Jordan demanded. She wondered what Kate was trying to prove in finding someone to hire who had known Jordan in Birmingham. Claiming that Lucas had recruited Sheryl, Kate said she didn't understand why Jordan was so paranoid -- unless Jordan was hiding something. "But seriously, even if you are, I am so not interested," Kate declared.

Lucas, Rafe, and Allie were sitting together in Club TBD when Sheryl arrived. Rafe was surprised to learn that Sheryl and Jordan knew each other. When Sami showed up, she was a little taken aback to find her daughter with Rafe and Lucas -- and Sheryl, whom Lucas quickly introduced to Sami as a new employee. Though the moment was very awkward, Sheryl deemed it "really cool" that Sami and both of her exes were all so close. "That's Salem, where we all find a way to get along," Sami said.

Sami asked T why Will and Sonny weren't there. T tried to explain that Sonny and Will had plans, but he only managed to confuse Sami. She announced that she and Allie were going to the apartment to look for the guys. A panicked T stammered, "No, no, no, no. Can you not do that? Um, see, this is, it's kind of special, and it's kind of a secret -- and I don't want to screw it up." That seemed to be enough to satisfy Sami.

After Sheryl and Lucas had gone, Rafe got a text message from Jordan, asking where he was. He replied that he was at the club, and she should join him. A few minutes later, Jordan walked in. Rafe revealed that he had met Jordan's old friend, Sheryl Connors. He asked why Jordan hadn't told him that her friend was in town.

Lucas and Sheryl ran into Kate in Horton Square. While Lucas stepped away to take a phone call, Kate confessed that Jordan was under the impression that Kate had manufactured the job for Sheryl. Sheryl admitted that Jordan had told her the same thing. "I care about Jordan, and she's an old friend, but she can be paranoid," Sheryl said. Kate referenced how Sheryl and Jordan had both once lived in Birmingham and how Jordan had previously lived in Atlanta.

"Atlanta? No, she didn't live there," Sheryl said, but before she could divulge where Jordan had lived before Birmingham, Lucas returned. Undaunted, Kate asked Sheryl where Jordan had lived previously.

When Will arrived home, he spotted the candles, flowers, and champagne. He asked Sonny what was going on, since T had told him that it was urgent that he get home right away. "It is. It's urgent for us to be alone and to have no interruptions," Sonny said. Will took that as his cue to begin passionately kissing Sonny, but Sonny pulled away. "I sort of planned this all out," Sonny explained. He said that the champagne was there because he was hoping they would have something to celebrate.

Grabbing the champagne bottle, Will guessed that Sonny wanted to have a private, early celebration of Arianna's christening. Sonny snatched the bottle back and returned it to the ice bucket. "I wanted to talk about all this before, like about how you're a wonderful father and how much you love Arianna," Sonny began. "Before what?" Will asked. "Before popping the question," Sonny replied. "What question?" Will asked, confused.

Sonny got down on one knee and asked, "Will Horton, will you marry me?" He pulled a ring box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a gold wedding band. A dumbfounded Will just stared.

At the hospital, Jennifer confronted Anne, who accused her rival of still being in love with Daniel even though he had humiliated Jennifer. "If you hate Daniel so much, he must be doing something right," Jennifer pronounced. Anne stomped off.

Theresa went to the Brady Pub to visit with her grandmother. Although thrilled to see Theresa, Caroline expressed her wish that her granddaughter would try to remain close with the rest of the family, as well, or at least make some friends in Salem. Theresa revealed that she was interested in a man, although she hadn't been able to make him interested in her and she didn't know why.

Caroline declared that Theresa had both beauty and smarts, but she urged her granddaughter to focus on the smarts because the brain could always improve. "That's why, even with Alzheimer's, I do crossword puzzles, memory games -- you know, hoping," Caroline said. Theresa sincerely thanked Caroline for the advice.

As Theresa was headed out, Anne arrived and launched into a rant about Daniel. Anne described how Daniel had "stolen" the IT guy from her, and how she had slipped and fallen, so she had tried to get an intern to claim that Daniel had pushed her -- but Jennifer had interfered. Anne didn't understand why anyone would defend or want to be with a "sneaky, sleazy, unreliable dirtbag" like Daniel -- although she knew that it would drive Jennifer insane when Theresa finally managed to get him into bed.

Theresa confessed that she hadn't really made any progress with Daniel. "I don't get it... He already had you one night, so why wouldn't he want you again?" Anne asked. Theresa explained that nothing had happened between her and Daniel the night of her overdose. Anne was flabbergasted, since Daniel had never denied that he and Theresa had slept together. Theresa said that Daniel had only done it to protect someone, although she refused to divulge whom. To Theresa's relief, Anne had to leave before she could grill Theresa any further.

Theresa muttered to herself, "She cannot find out that Daniel is protecting J.J. That woman is way too sketchy. Oh, for the love of... Why didn't I think of that before? That is too easy!" Theresa fantasized about going to Daniel's apartment and hysterically asking him what had happened the night she'd overdosed -- and Daniel kissing her to calm her down. Theresa told herself, "That could work. Of course, it's a long shot. Daniel would have to stop kicking me out every time he saw me." Theresa thanked Caroline again for the advice then sauntered out.

At Daniel's apartment, Daniel pounded on his computer keys but determined that all the files on the laptop had been erased, just like his office computer.

Ted, the hospital IT guy, was working on Daniel's computer and talking on speakerphone with Dr. Jonas when Jennifer arrived outside Daniel's office door. She overheard Daniel telling Ted that his home computer had also been destroyed. Ted advised that he could help Daniel remotely if he could get a flash drive delivered to Daniel. Daniel ordered Ted to call a messenger service.

Jennifer entered the office, explained that she'd overheard, and offered to deliver the flash drive to Daniel. Ted handed the drive to Jennifer, who hurried out while Ted continued working.

Daniel was on the phone with Ted again when Jennifer arrived with the flash drive. She quickly explained how she had ended up with it. A grateful Daniel inserted the flash drive into his computer and instructed Ted to call as soon as the connection showed on the other end. After Daniel hung up, he thanked Jennifer for delivering the drive -- and for standing up for him with Anne. Jennifer explained that she'd gotten involved because Anne's main goal in life seemed to be hurting Daniel and Jennifer.

When Jennifer observed how distracted Daniel was, she asked if everything were all right. "I don't know," he admitted. A few minutes later, Jennifer called the hospital then informed Daniel, "I just checked. The real Doctor Duvall did not come in a day early. Daniel, does this have anything to do with Eric?" Daniel said that he couldn't discuss it with Jennifer -- and it was difficult for him to have her there. Jennifer admitted that she'd inferred from what Eric had told her that there was more to the story than she knew. She begged Daniel to tell her everything.

"I'm sorry," was all Daniel would say. Frustrated, Jennifer grabbed her coat and opened the door -- and found Theresa on the doorstep.

In the storage room where Eric and Nicole were unconscious and bound together with rope around a pillar, Eric groggily opened his eyes and saw Dr. Chyka standing nearby with his back to them. Eric whispered to Nicole, but she was out cold. Spotting his phone on the floor a few feet away, Eric tried to stretch out his leg to retrieve the phone with his foot, but Chyka turned around and caught him. "You're that doctor from Daniel's office," Eric said when he recognized Chyka.

"Too bad for you both that you remember," Chyka replied. As he searched his bag, he became frustrated when he discovered that he was missing a drug he needed. Eric began to shout for help, so Chyka clubbed him with a flashlight. When Chyka left the room, Eric tried unsuccessfully to wake Nicole, then yelled again for help. Outside, Chyka turned on a huge exhaust fan to drown out the noise of Eric's shouting.

Chyka went to his hotel room and searched through his things. "That woman, that priest -- they're in the way. All I wanted to do was destroy the trail back to me," he fumed. He found a vial in a box in his armoire that he determined would "do it right" after giving Nicole a dose and Eric a double dose.

At last, Nicole stirred awake. She started to freak out when she discovered that she and Eric were tied together, but Eric tried to soothe her. He quietly told her what he knew about what had happened. Eric vowed not to let anything happen to Nicole. He asked what had happened before he'd shown up at Daniel's. Nicole explained that she had gone home to shower after spilling coffee on herself, and when she'd gotten out, the man had been there. Before she'd been able to call Daniel to confirm that the man was supposed to be there, the man had injected her with something.

When Eric learned that the man had said his name was Duvall, he informed Nicole that the man had also been at Daniel's office. Eric continued that "Duvall" had recognized Eric but had explained it away. When Eric had awakened, "Duvall" had been rifling through files and syringes. Nicole guessed that the man had realized that Daniel was close to a breakthrough. "Oh, Eric, do you think he's the one Kristen hired to drug you?" Nicole asked. "Yes, I do. He's probably trying just to cover up his tracks," Eric concurred. Nicole fretted about what the man might do to them.

While Nicole and Eric were trying to free themselves from the ropes, Nicole wondered where the man had taken them and if it were outside of Salem. Eric spied a clipboard on the back of the door with a list of phone numbers, including an emergency contact for Lou Henry. Nicole recognized the name as that of the building supervisor and realized that they were in the basement of Daniel's apartment building.

Chyka returned as Nicole and Eric were shouting for help. "No one can hear you over that fan. No one may ever hear you again," Chyka declared. Nicole demanded to know if Chyka were the one who had helped Kristen and why he'd destroyed Daniel's files. Ignoring her, Chyka muttered, "I didn't use enough last time." Eric realized that Chyka had been the one who'd helped Kristen. As Chyka prepared a couple of syringes, he declared, "You won't remember me; you won't remember being here. In all likelihood, you won't remember each other."

Eric protested that the drugs had ruined his life -- and he would not let Chyka hurt Nicole. "Forgive me, Father, but we're going to take care of your friend first," Chyka said as he carried the first syringe toward Nicole. A terrified Nicole whimpered and struggled to back away while Chyka held the syringe in her face.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

by Mike

In Will and Sonny's apartment, Sonny waited expectantly for an answer to his marriage proposal, but Will remained silent, staring at Sonny and the ring in disbelief. Sonny smiled nervously and impatiently urged Will to say something. "Wow," Will replied.

"Will, come on -- you can't be all that surprised. All right, we might have thought that this wasn't gonna happen, but the Supreme Court made the ruling. We can get married right here in Salem, all right? This has been a dream that I've had my entire life, and I want to marry the man that I love. And I met you, we've been together, and I just thought this was the next step. So in case that 'wow' was a 'wow,' I am going to ask you again -- Will Horton, will you marry me?" Sonny, who was still kneeling in front of Will, repeated. Sonny's smile faded when Will shook his head and somewhat apologetically uttered a simple "no" in response to the proposal.

Taken aback, Sonny rose to his feet and admitted that he had not expected the response that he had received. Will quickly clarified that he hadn't meant to say no, but Sonny countered that Will obviously hadn't meant to say yes, either. Will elaborated that he had initially planned on saying yes, but had changed his mind after hearing that marriage was something that Sonny had always dreamed about but had never been able to have before. Sonny nodded and reminded Will that all of that had changed six months earlier, when the Supreme Court had made its historic ruling.

"I'm -- I'm not talking about that; I'm not talking about our right to marry. I'm talking about how you've clearly been dreaming about this for a long time -- long before you met me. I want to make sure that when we get married, it's not just because we can," Will explained. Sonny set aside the ring box as he stressed that he wanted to marry Will because he loved Will. "And I love you. And having you propose like that, down on one knee, I just -- my heart was gonna explode. But...I don't want us to get caught up in the moment. And my life --" Will started to explain, but Sonny interrupted to stress that it was their life.

Amending his statement to include Sonny, Will continued that their life was a bit of a mess at the moment because of the situation with Nick. Sonny interrupted and assured Will that he had already thought about that, reasoning that he and Will were simply going to have to live with the knowledge of what had happened to Nick for the rest of their lives, since it was something that was never going to go away.

Realizing that Sonny was right, Will sighed and changed the subject, wondering how Arianna and Gabi fit into the equation. "Arianna is part of you, and I cannot imagine my life without Ari. And Gabi is part of the deal as long as she wants to be, okay? But say we do wait, and we keep putting it off. We may end up waiting forever. Is that what you want?" Sonny asked. Will grasped Sonny's hand as he replied that, while he understood that waiting to get married could be risky because things could change at any time, he truly believed that making the decision to wait would ultimately make their relationship stronger. Sonny smiled and agreed to trust Will's instincts.

Will stressed that he didn't want anything to ever jeopardize his relationship with Sonny, whom he loved more than Sonny would ever know. Will lovingly stroked Sonny's cheek as Sonny returned the sentiments. "But you have to understand that my mom and dad have been married...and married, and married, and married, and they will probably get married again -- not to each other, thank God -- but I want that family tradition to end with them. I'm only gonna get married once. Just once -- to you. And then our dreams will come true," Will assured Sonny, who agreed and passionately kissed him.

Later, while Will and Sonny were lying in bed together after making love, Sonny grinned and breathlessly admitted that he was awfully happy, despite the fact that he had just had his marriage proposal turned down. Will stated that he was also quite happy, and Sonny conceded that he probably should have spent more time thinking about the marriage proposal before springing it on Will. "The way you proposed -- you know, getting down on one knee with commitment -- I just -- I mean -- wow. Well, that's what I said, right?" Will asked.

Sonny nodded and teasingly reenacted Will's dumbfounded response to Sonny's proposal and subsequent request for Will to say something, and he and Will laughed about the lasting memory that they had just created. "I love you. You know, at the time, when I was trying to figure out who I was and everything felt so wrong, I never imagined I would meet someone who made everything seem...perfect," Will sincerely stated as he gazed at Sonny, who passionately kissed him as they started to make love again.

At Club TBD, Jordan claimed that she hadn't mentioned Sheryl's arrival in Salem to Rafe earlier because she had just found out about it herself. Rafe mused that Sheryl seemed nice and that she and Lucas had seemed pretty comfortable together earlier. Rafe wondered if Sheryl was going to be working for Lucas, and when Jordan confirmed that Sheryl was apparently planning to do just that, Rafe observed that it seemed like Jordan wasn't very happy about that development.

Jordan diplomatically replied that she hoped that Sheryl landed the job at Mad World if that was what Sheryl wanted. Rafe guessed that Sheryl did want the job, since she had traveled all the way from Birmingham to interview for the position. Rafe wondered if it would be accurate to say that Jordan and Sheryl were friends, and Jordan vaguely replied that she and Sheryl were no longer as close as they had once been.

Rafe optimistically suggested that Jordan and Sheryl might be able to repair their friendship if Sheryl relocated to Salem. Rafe joked that he could also grill Sheryl for information about Jordan, but Jordan somewhat impatiently stressed that Sheryl didn't know anything that Rafe didn't already know about Jordan. Rafe wasn't convinced, reasoning that women always told other women things that they would never tell men, but Jordan insisted that she wasn't like that.

Jordan abruptly excused herself, giving Rafe a quick kiss when he protested that they wouldn't be able to end the night with one if she didn't accompany him back to his apartment. Satisfied, Rafe wondered if something was bothering Jordan. Jordan insisted that she was fine and exited the club, but Rafe seemed skeptical.

At the Horton Town Square, Sheryl started to reveal where Jordan had lived before moving to Birmingham, but she quickly changed her mind and decided that it would probably be best for Kate and Lucas to talk to Jordan about the matter instead. Kate innocently conceded that Jordan's previous whereabouts were none of her business, and Lucas played along, agreeing that he also had no reason to delve into Jordan's background.

Changing the subject, Kate wondered if Sheryl had any questions about the position at Mad World, and Sheryl replied that she only wanted to know if she was being hired because she was the best candidate for the job or because she had once been friends with Jordan. Kate reiterated what she had told Jordan earlier -- that Mad World was a multinational company with employees worldwide and that she didn't know who all of those employees were, nor who their friends were.

Sheryl apologized, admitting that she shouldn't have given any credence to Jordan's suspicions. Sheryl hoped that her inquiry wouldn't ruin her chance to work for Kate, who clarified that Sheryl would actually be working for Lucas and that it would be up to him to decide if Sheryl was the right person for the job. Lucas remained silent as Sheryl nodded and smiled nervously.

Kate excused herself so that Sheryl and Lucas could talk privately. Sheryl apologized again for her inquiry and hoped that she hadn't inadvertently offended Kate. Dismissing Sheryl's concerns, Kate sweetly stated that it would take much more than that to offend her and that she didn't think that Sheryl was the person who was really to blame for the question anyway. Kate's assurances failed to comfort Sheryl, who waited until Kate was gone before asking Lucas if it would be best to go ahead and purchase a seat on the next flight back to Birmingham.

Lucas insisted that he wasn't going to Sheryl -- the most impressive graphics designer he had seen in a number of years -- go just because of a minor mix-up. Sheryl smiled and wondered if that meant that she had landed the job, and Lucas laughed as he confirmed her suspicion. Lucas said farewell to Sheryl after assuring her that the human resources department would help her locate an apartment the following day.

At Club TBD, Kate greeted Rafe, who asked her about Sheryl. Kate laughed as she guessed that Jordan had accused her of having sinister ulterior motives for hiring Sheryl. Rafe scoffed and assured Kate that Jordan hadn't mentioned anything like that to him, but he was quick to ask if Jordan's suspicions were true. Kate innocently summarized that she had hired a fantastic graphics designer because that person had been looking to relocate and Kate had been eager to hire her before any other company could do so. Kate casually mused that it did seem like things were tense between Sheryl and Jordan for some reason, and she claimed that, while she didn't know or care about the details, she hoped that Sheryl and Jordan would be able to settle their differences eventually, since they were bound to run into each other occasionally in a town like Salem.

Jordan approached Lucas in the town square and said that Rafe had told her that Lucas was a good, honest guy, adding that Rafe's word was good enough for her. Lucas nodded and wondered what he could do for Jordan, who replied that she wanted to know exactly why Sheryl was in Salem. Lucas informed Jordan that Sheryl had mentioned Jordan's concerns about Sheryl's job offer earlier, and he wondered why Jordan was suspicious about the matter. Jordan explained that Kate had never really been subtle about her attempts to dig up information on Jordan.

When Lucas asked if Jordan had anything to hide, she insisted that there was nothing in her past that was worth knowing. Lucas nodded and proceeded to cover for Kate, assuring Jordan that a headhunter had contacted Sheryl and that Sheryl was going to be hired because she was the most qualified person for the job. Lucas stressed that Kate had known nothing about Sheryl until they had met each other during his initial interview with Sheryl. Lucas observed that Sheryl seemed like a really nice person, and when Jordan agreed, he wondered why Jordan was upset about the fact that Sheryl was planning to move to Salem.

Avoiding the question, Jordan abruptly excused herself after thanking Lucas for taking the time to talk to her. After Jordan left, Kate approached Lucas and wondered if he had decided to hire Sheryl. Lucas somewhat irritably replied that he had decided that he still hated lying for Kate. Lucas was confident that Kate's secret would eventually be revealed, since secrets always surfaced eventually, but Kate wasn't worried. "And if Jordan's secret is as big and as bad as I think it is, no one's ever going to care about our little secret," Kate added.

Elsewhere, as Jordan was strolling through the town square, she received a phone call from Rafe, who asked her about Kate's earlier comments. Jordan admitted that, while she had initially been suspicious of Kate's motives because Sheryl's arrival had seemed too strange to be coincidental, she had been assured that Kate had not had anything to do with Sheryl getting a job offer at Mad World. Rafe was pleased to learn that Jordan was going to have an old friend in Salem, but it was clear that she didn't share his enthusiasm. Unaware of Jordan's concerns, Rafe changed the subject and invited her to accompany him to Arianna's christening, and she happily accepted the invitation.

In Daniel's apartment, Theresa smiled as she greeted Jennifer, who turned to Daniel for an explanation. Daniel remained silent, so Jennifer abruptly exited the apartment, ignoring Theresa's cheerful attempt to engage in a round of small talk with her. As Theresa entered the apartment and closed the door behind her, Daniel impatiently reminded her that he had previously asked her to refrain from showing up at his apartment unannounced. Daniel asked Theresa to leave, but she insisted that she needed to talk to him about what had happened on the night of her overdose.

Daniel advised Theresa to stop worrying about what had happened on the night in question. Theresa clarified that she wasn't worried, adding that she was simply trying to make amends as one of the steps in her recovery process and couldn't really think of a way to do that without knowing the whole story about her overdose. Daniel informed Theresa that he was in the middle of dealing with an important matter, so she helpfully suggested that they could have dinner together later that night so that they could continue their conversation. Daniel agreed, stressing that he didn't want Theresa to talk to anyone else about the night of her overdose before they had a chance to discuss the matter privately.

After Theresa left, Daniel contacted Ted, who apologetically informed him that it wasn't going to be possible to recover the files that had been lost when Daniel's work and home computers had been compromised. Daniel angrily slammed his hands against his desk as he ended the phone call. When Daniel tried to contact Nicole a short time later to give her the bad news, he was surprised to discover that her cell phone was in the apartment. Daniel went to the television station to look for Nicole, but when Miles revealed that she wasn't there, Daniel started to get worried.

Elsewhere, in the basement of the apartment complex, Eric freed himself from his bindings just in time to stop Chyka from injecting Nicole with another dose of drugs. The syringe shattered when Eric knocked it out of Chyka's hand, and after tying Eric's wrists to the steel pole again, Chyka inspected the damage and vowed to punish Eric for breaking the syringe and spilling its contents on the floor.

Chyka sighed as he eyed the remaining vial of the drug that he had concocted, muttering that it wouldn't be enough to erase Nicole and Eric's memories. As Chyka nervously paced the floor, assuring himself that there was always another solution to every problem and that he simply had to figure out what it was, Nicole eyed Eric's nearby cell phone. Nicole warned Chyka that she and Eric knew that they were in the basement of Daniel's apartment. Nicole confidently added that Daniel had already figured out that she and Eric had been kidnapped and that it was only a matter of time before Daniel located them.

Following Nicole's lead, Eric encouraged Chyka to flee Salem while there was still time to do so. Chyka grew increasingly nervous as he listened to Nicole and Eric's warnings, eventually ordering them to shut up as he grabbed his belongings and rushed out of the room. After praising Nicole's quick thinking and convincing performance, Eric stretched his legs in a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to reach his cell phone.

Eric was unable to free himself from his bindings a second time because Chyka had taken the time to make them tighter than they had previously been, but Nicole believed that she might still be able to wriggle her way out of her bindings. Nicole and Eric's hands touched as she struggled to free herself, and he assured her that they were going to find a way out of their predicament. Nicole hoped that Eric was right, but she admitted that she had never been as optimistic as he always was. Nicole thanked Eric for saving her from being given a chemical lobotomy, but he dismissed her gratitude, insisting that she was only in danger because she had agreed to help him.

Nicole insisted that Eric couldn't blame himself for what had happened to them, but he remained convinced that allowing her to put herself in danger in order to help him had been an unforgivable offense. "Eric Brady, there's no way you could have kept me from helping you, even if you tried. I'm serious. Even when my life was nothing but a deep black hole, and, um, when everyone in this town wished I [would walk] off a cliff, you -- you reached out. You believed in me. You supported me. And helping you was just my way of saying, 'Back at ya, Padre.' So if that means going toe-to-toe with Kristen and her slimy doctor friend, bring it on. If it means being tied up in this dirty, smelly basement, then fine -- I'm in," Nicole bravely replied.

Eric gushed that Nicole was a wonderful woman, but he admitted that he was afraid that they might not make it out of their predicament alive. Nicole wasn't willing to give up yet, so she urged Eric to resume his attempts to help her free herself from her bindings. As Eric and Nicole struggled to free themselves, their faces inches apart from each other, Eric's cell phone started ringing, interrupting the close moment. Nicole could see that Daniel's name and phone number were displayed on Eric's cell phone, and when Daniel soon made a second attempt to contact Eric, she and Eric guessed that Daniel was starting to suspect that something was wrong. As Nicole and Eric started to get their hopes up, Chyka returned and announced that it was time to deal with them for good.

Outside the Horton house, J.J. sighed as he muttered that he still didn't know how he was going to stop Theresa from blackmailing him into doing her bidding. Meanwhile, inside the house, Abigail was in the living room, getting ready for work. Abigail picked up a stack of documents that was laying on the coffee table and uncovered the book of paintings that she had purchased after learning about the history of the angel wing that Jack had given her years earlier.

Abigail sighed as she recalled sleeping with E.J. -- the same person who had recently predicted that Jack would have been very proud of her -- and she shamefully muttered that the whole situation was a mess. Abigail tossed the stack of documents back on the coffee table and started to tie her shoes, breaking one of the shoelaces in the process. Frustrated, Abigail yanked the shoes off of her feet, threw them across the room, and angrily shoved away all of the items that were laying on the coffee table. J.J. entered the house in time to witness Abigail's outburst, and he wondered if she wanted to tell him what was going on.

Abigail started to collect the scattered objects as she brushed off her tantrum as the sort of thing that happened when she managed to break a shoelace while running late for work, but J.J. wasn't convinced. J.J. encouraged Abigail to confide in him, stating that he could tell that something was bothering her because she had been acting strangely since her return from Smith Island. Abigail tried to deny the accusation, but J.J. warned that he was going to figure out what was going on with her one way or another, and he urged her to go ahead and reveal the truth to save both of them some trouble.

J.J. wondered if Abigail was upset about Cameron -- whom she had received a text message from on New Year's Eve -- or a certain guy whose surname was DiMera. Abigail defensively wondered what had made J.J. ask the latter question, and he replied that he was aware that Chad had really hurt her. Abigail assured J.J. that her outburst hadn't been about Chad, and J.J. once again urged her to tell him what it had been about.

"J.J., J.J., nothing is going on, okay? What's going on is my annoying little brother keeps psychoanalyzing me when he doesn't have a clue, okay?" Abigail snapped as she grabbed her shoes and stormed off. "All right, well, I'm just trying to help. If you want to pretend everything's fine and cool, then whatever -- figure it out your own damn self!" J.J. loudly replied so that Abigail could hear his response as she ascended the staircase to her bedroom.

Jennifer entered the house in time to hear J.J.'s comment, and she wondered what was going on with Abigail. J.J. shrugged and guessed that Abigail was simply in one of her moods. Jennifer urged J.J. to be patient with his sister, assuming that Abigail's behavior could probably be blamed on the fact that Chad had broken her heart. J.J. wasn't entirely convinced, but he changed the subject and asked if something was wrong with Jennifer.

Jennifer claimed that she was fine, but she quickly amended her statement and admitted that she had just had an infuriating encounter with Theresa. Jennifer didn't want to talk about the matter, so she changed the subject and announced that Justin had sent her a text message earlier to inform her that the judge would be setting the date for J.J.'s sentencing hearing the following morning. Jennifer optimistically assured J.J. that the whole mess surrounding his legal problems would soon be over, and he forced a smile as he agreed with her.

At the hospital, Theresa ran into Jennifer and seized the opportunity to once again stress that, despite the impression that Jennifer might have gotten from their earlier encounter at Daniel's apartment, Daniel was just Theresa's friend. Theresa casually added that she and Daniel were going to have dinner together later that night, but she assured Jennifer that it would be a completely innocent event. Jennifer forced a smile and suggested that Nicole might be able to join Theresa and Daniel for their dinner date. Confused, Theresa wondered who Nicole was, prompting Jennifer to observe that Theresa and Daniel apparently weren't very good friends, since Theresa didn't even know about his roommate.

Later, in Jennifer's office, Jennifer told Abigail about her earlier confrontation with E.J. at the DiMera mansion. Jennifer observed that it seemed like the news hadn't really surprised Abigail, who claimed that she had just assumed that Jennifer would eventually confront E.J. because Jennifer had clearly been upset after learning about what he had done. Jennifer complained that E.J. hadn't even seemed remorseful about his actions, adding that it had seemed like he had only been worried about making sure that Sami would never learn the truth.

Jennifer vowed to tell Sami everything, but Abigail blurted out that Jennifer couldn't do that because Sami already knew the truth. Jennifer was confused, so Abigail admitted that she had also visited E.J. at the DiMera mansion earlier. After answering Jennifer's questions about Sami's reaction to E.J.'s confession, Abigail asked Jennifer to drop the subject. Meanwhile, Abigail received a text message from E.J., who wanted her to meet him somewhere -- ostensibly so that they could discuss Chad. Abigail abruptly excused herself, and Jennifer hugged her and stressed that it would be best for her to stay far away from the DiMeras.

Back at the Horton house, J.J. remained convinced that Abigail was hiding something. J.J. spotted a document that Abigail had missed when she had picked up everything else that she had scattered across the room during her earlier outburst, and as he grabbed it, he received a phone call from Theresa, who demanded to see him right away. When J.J. arrived at Theresa's apartment, she demanded to know who Nicole was.

Friday, January 17, 2014

by ChickenGrrl

As Abigail strolled through Horton Square, she contemplated taking the ferry out to Smith Island. While Abigail was rereading a text message from E.J., telling her that he needed to see her about Chad, someone secretly watched her from behind a plant.

E.J. was in the living room of the DiMera mansion, looking at a picture of himself with Sami and the children, when Abigail called him. She agreed to meet him as long as it wasn't in a public place. When Abigail suggested Smith Island, E.J. started to protest, but she hung up without listening. "Damn it! I have to find some way to keep that girl under control," E.J. spluttered.

Abigail smiled smugly when she got a text message from E.J., agreeing to meet her on the island. When she headed in the direction of the ferry, the person who'd been spying on her followed. Meanwhile, E.J. called and ordered his boat.

When Abigail arrived at the Horton cabin, E.J. was already inside. Abigail accused E.J. of using Chad's name as a means to get her alone, but E.J. maintained that he'd only done it in case someone read their text messages. E.J. acknowledged that Abigail had to have been upset when he'd asked her not to call him. Abigail snapped, "I'm supposed to be happy that I'm covering up an affair with E.J. DiMera?"

E.J. corrected Abigail that they were not having an affair -- but he cared about her and he felt responsible for what had happened. Abigail pointed out that regardless, they couldn't pretend that it hadn't happened. "Right. Which is why, after some consideration, I've decided to take you up on your offer. Abigail, I think you should move back to Europe," E.J. said. He promised to make sure that Abigail was very comfortable.

Abigail was incredulous that E.J. would try to bribe her. "How 'bout you quit your job, hmm? You leave your family?" she suggested bitterly. Meanwhile, Abigail's spy had followed her to the cabin and peered in through the window. When Abigail noted that E.J. couldn't even look at her, he maintained that the feelings he got from looking at her were what had gotten them into that situation. Abigail accused him of turning on the charm to get what he wanted.

"All of this happened because of what I know about Nick. First, you slept with me to keep me from talking to Hope, and now -- now you're offering me free airfare," Abigail spat. E.J. was adamant that what had happened had not been to keep her from talking. "What happened is we had sex, and forgive me if I think that that was a major calculation on your part. The Horton cabin isn't exactly a high and windy hill," Abigail said.

Abigail reminded E.J. that he was engaged to a beautiful, successful woman. "And I'm...I'm me," she added softly. E.J. tried to assure her that she was also a beautiful woman with her whole life ahead of her, but Abigail wouldn't hear it. Abigail said that she might have believed that what had happened was chemistry, but then E.J. had sent Gabi to make sure Abigail had believed his story. E.J. growled that he had not done that.

"Now I give you my word on that, and my word is my bond, young lady -- and you'd do well to believe that, not for my sake but for yours," E.J. firmly cautioned Abigail, looming over her, his eyes locked on hers. Abigail moved away, expressing skepticism that he had actually found her irresistible. She declared that none of it made any sense, then corrected herself: "It does make sense. This is all my fault." E.J. asserted, "What happened between the two of us just happened. We lost control; that's it. Far, far more people have done far, far worse."

Abigail contended that she was a terrible person -- because, in spite of everything, she still wanted E.J. She continued that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. "I can feel you touch me; I can smell your skin," Abigail said. She held E.J.'s gaze for a long moment before she moved away, proclaiming herself an idiot. E.J. assured her that she was only human, but what she was feeling was nothing more than an infatuation.

"No, it's not. E.J., I slept with you -- twice. And, God help me, I would do it again," Abigail declared, kissing E.J. As E.J. responded enthusiastically, the mysterious figure outside began taking pictures of the twosome through the window.

In his room at the Kiriakis mansion, Brady took a big drink from a flask, stuck it in the pocket of his jacket, and popped a breath mint. Maggie cornered Brady when he headed downstairs and firmly reminded him that they had set aside the time to talk. She expressed her concern that Brady wasn't talking about things, but he assured her that he had talked at a meeting earlier.

Maggie was worried that if Brady didn't talk about what Kristen had done to him and to Eric, eventually it would boil over. Brady irritably contended that talking about it would not make him forgive and forget. Maggie suggested that if Brady could verbalize his feelings, perhaps he could make peace with Eric. "What if I don't want to make peace with Eric? Maybe my life would've been a hell of a lot better if that pious jerk hadn't come back to town," Brady snarled.

Maggie was a little taken aback that Brady seemed to be blaming Eric. Brady insisted that wasn't the case -- but he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Maggie wanted to discuss the possibility of Brady going back to rehab, but he refused. "I'm out!" Brady shouted on his way out the door, over Maggie's protests that he was letting Kristen win.

At Theresa's apartment, Theresa ordered J.J. to tell her who Nicole was and why she was staying at Daniel's. Although J.J. pointed out that it was really none of Theresa's business, he suggested that she call Eric, whom Nicole had worked for. Theresa demanded to know if Daniel was "doing" Nicole. Chuckling at Theresa's desperation, J.J. insisted that he didn't know.

Theresa tried to convince herself that she would have heard about it at the hospital if Daniel and Nicole were having sex. Amused, J.J. said that he hoped Theresa would try something with Nicole because it would be like "Bambi vs. Godzilla." J.J. gave Theresa the short version of Nicole's crimes against Jennifer, but all Theresa heard was that Daniel and Nicole had once dated.

J.J. said that despite Nicole's dubious history, Daniel dating her would still be preferable to dating Theresa. "She's crazy, but you're a monster," J.J. affirmed. Theresa hotly reminded him that his sentencing was fast approaching -- and he didn't want to get on her bad side. She ordered J.J. to find out more about Daniel and Nicole.

As Brady sat on a bench outside Horton Square, he poured a substantial dose of booze into his coffee cup then put the flask back in his pocket. When Theresa walked by, Brady snidely asked if she were on her way to another meeting. Painting on an enthusiastic smile, Theresa maintained that she really enjoyed meetings. Brady pronounced her a phony and accused her of setting her sights on Daniel just to get back at Jennifer for firing her.

Brady began, "The phony part is this road to redemption that you're on. I mean, come on. You're about as committed to change as --" Theresa interjected, "As you are?" She deduced that Brady was drinking because he was over-enunciating everything. Brady ordered Theresa to keep her observations to herself, but she took that as proof that she'd been right. "Go to hell," he growled as he stormed off.

Maggie was at the Horton house, retrieving a casserole dish, when J.J. returned home. She confided that she was frustrated, and cooking calmed her. Maggie sensed that something was troubling J.J. and asked what it was. J.J. admitted that he couldn't stop thinking about how he'd hurt his mom and ruined her relationship with Daniel -- and J.J. never wanted to do that again. "J.J., has something happened?" Maggie asked.

J.J. admitted that he was worried his bad karma would bite him and he would do something stupid. "I can't do anything right," he complained. Maggie urged J.J. to ease up on himself. "I've found that if I clear my head and I keep my heart open, the answers to the problems usually present themselves. I think the same will be true for you," Maggie told J.J. encouragingly.

After Maggie had gone, J.J. muttered to himself, "I love you, Aunt Maggie, but you live in a dream world. Nothing is going to present itself." He found the check made out to Salem Office and Supply, along with the accompanying paperwork, which Abigail had forgotten earlier after she'd shoved her work off the coffee table in frustration. As J.J. study the check, he mused, "Maybe, if I'm super-careful, it could work."

On the phone at the Brady Pub, Julie told Marie that she hadn't heard from Nick in weeks. Julie continued that she'd received a strange text message from him and then his phone had been turned off. Urging Marie not to worry, Julie promised to get to the bottom of it.

Will and Sonny were in bed at their apartment when Julie called, looking for Gabi. Relaying the information from Sonny, Will informed Julie that Gabi was at the club. After Will hung up, he revealed that Gabi had asked Abigail to be Arianna's godmother -- and he and Gabi would like for Sonny to be the godfather. A touched Sonny was almost speechless for a moment.

Will reminded Sonny, "You brought her into this world. You're the first person she saw. You made her breathe." "When she started to cry, that was the most beautiful noise that I had ever heard. And then when I saw you in her face, that was amazing. I would love nothing more than to be Ari's godfather," Sonny enthused. He reminded Will that he still had the ring in case Will changed his mind about the proposal.

Will maintained that he wanted to get rid of all of his baggage before he married Sonny because he wanted to be the perfect husband and partner for Sonny. "You kinda already are," Sonny said, but he promised that he could wait a little while as long as they were together.

When Gabi announced that she was about to head home from Club TBD, T cautioned her that he didn't think what Sonny had planned for Will would be finished. "Wait -- you know something, don't you?" Gabi asked. While T was grinning impishly but not revealing anything, Julie arrived to speak to Gabi about Nick. After a moment, Julie observed that Gabi seemed tense.

Gabi admitted that things hadn't ended well with Nick. Julie complained that Nick's phone was dead and no one had heard a word from him. "Abigail has," Gabi blurted. She explained that Abigail had told her that Nick had sounded great and was doing fine. Julie observed that Gabi seemed very nervous when talking about Nick, but Gabi insisted that it had just been difficult to say goodbye to him. "So you think it's best that he's gone?" Julie concluded. Gabi insisted that she hadn't meant that.

Gabi claimed that she had to get the baby back to Will. Julie made Gabi promise that if she heard from Nick, she would have Nick get in touch with his family, who was very worried about him. After an apology if she'd upset Gabi, Julie headed out first. T returned and asked Gabi, "Was that about Nick? Did she say he's coming back to Salem?" Gabi said that Nick wasn't returning, then hurried out before T could ask any more questions.

Will and Sonny had gotten dressed and were in the living room a little later, discussing how Sonny's parents couldn't be at the christening because they were in Australia. Gabi arrived and apologized for interrupting Will and Sonny's alone time. She confessed that Julie had just tracked her down to grill her about Nick. "I know that when she can't find him, she's gonna come right back to me," Gabi fretted, pointing out that Nick's whole family would be at the christening.

Sonny encouraged Gabi to think of Nick's family as Will's family and to remember that they loved Gabi and were not out to get her. "He's right, Gabi. What happened to Nick was awful, but it was his fault, not yours. Tomorrow is all about Arianna, nothing else. Just keep telling yourself that," Will urged Gabi. Gabi acknowledged that she had to stay focused on Arianna. Sonny thanked Gabi for letting him be Arianna's godfather. "Abigail and I are two very lucky people," Sonny declared. As she embraced Sonny warmly, Gabi countered that Arianna was the lucky one.

In the basement of Daniel's apartment building, Dr. Chyka warned Eric and Nicole, "I'm very sorry about this, but the time has come for you to say goodbye to each other -- forever." Eric urged Chyka not to damn his immortal soul by killing Nicole and Eric. Chyka said that he did not share Eric's religious beliefs, plus he knew that he had to get rid of his captives or they would never stop pursuing him. Nicole pointed out that she couldn't tell anyone who Chyka was because she didn't know his name.

Eric implied that if Chyka gave them the proof that he'd been working for Kristen, they wouldn't go after him, but Chyka didn't buy it. Eric and Nicole tried to persuade Chyka that Daniel would be able to trace the drugs he used back to him. Chyka wasn't worried -- but if Daniel did track him down, Chyka would simply make sure Daniel met the same fate as Nicole and Eric.

While Chyka prepared syringes, Eric and Nicole tried to bargain with him, but he tuned them out. Nicole reasoned that she knew from having been married to a DiMera that they didn't like their associates to get caught, so Chyka could simply disappear. Chyka pointed out that she should also know what DiMeras did to associates who botched jobs. Chyka acknowledged that he shouldn't drug or poison his prisoners, and instead he should leave minimal evidence linking him to their demises.

Chyka donned rubber gloves and began wiping down the surfaces in the room that he'd touched, including Nicole's bare shoulder. Panicked, she pointed out that he would never be able to get rid of all of his DNA. Agreeing that Nicole had made a good point, Chyka stopped what he'd been doing, gathered Eric's cell phone and other belongings, which had been scattered on the floor, and shoved them into his bag.

Chyka went over to a pipe on the wall and released a lever. As the pipe began to hiss, Chyka explained that it was an old gas line that had once led to the furnace -- and he'd just opened it. "Hopefully, you'll die of asphyxiation before the explosion, but at least I can be sure that all of the evidence, all my DNA, will be blown sky-high," Chyka said. A terrified Nicole started to whimper, while Eric pointed out that there were other people in the building, but Chyka didn't care.

When Chyka opened the door to leave, Eric and Nicole shouted for help, to no avail. Chyka closed and locked the door, wiped off the handles, and left. "We're going to die, aren't we?" Nicole cried.

Although Nicole and Eric struggled to free themselves, Nicole began to get hysterical. Speaking quietly in an attempt to soothe her, Eric urged her to focus on getting out of the ropes. "How can you be so calm? Aren't you afraid to die?" Nicole asked, sobbing. Eric said that he had faith that death wasn't the end. Nicole tearfully admitted that she envied Eric's faith, but she didn't share it. Eric softly admitted that had never stopped caring about Nicole.

"If it comes to that, there's something I want you to know, something that I need you to know. I just can't leave this world without you knowing it," Eric confessed. He told Nicole that she had meant the world to him since the moment they'd met. Nicole started to protest, but Eric insisted that she let him finish.

"I want you to know that, despite my vocation, despite my commitment to God, I have feelings for you -- feelings that are stronger and deeper than friendship." Eric added that if it were all about to end, he had to be honest with her, with himself, and with God. "I love you," Eric whispered. As Nicole began to weep, Eric leaned around the pillar and kissed her on the forehead.