Days of our Lives Recaps: The week of July 18, 2016 on DAYS

Rafe realized how much he loved Hope. Rafe saved Hope's life. Summer pleaded with Theresa not to tell Roman about Clark. Aiden swore to Hope and Shawn that he was innocent. Victor told Brady that he had not kidnapped Tate. Kate said goodbye to Demois and the mansion. Deimos asked Nicole for a second chance.

Andre tells Aiden about the explosion

Monday, July 18, 2016

by Mike

After work, Blanca went to Club TBD for a drink. Assuming that Blanca was really just hoping to run into Rafe, Dario informed her that he hadn't seen his brother recently. Blanca insisted that although she was attracted to Rafe, she didn't expect anything to ever happen with him because he was obviously only interested in Hope. "So, what, you just give up? Where's your fighting spirit?" Dario wondered.

Blanca laughed off the idea, stressing, "I don't fight for a man. That's not who I am." Dario assumed that with the possibility of finding love in Salem off the table, Blanca would soon return to Mexico, but she informed him that she planned to stick around because she liked her job at the hospital and already felt at home in Salem. Dario warned that life in a small town would eventually get boring.

Changing the subject, Blanca wondered why Dario still hated Eduardo, whom everyone else in the Hernandez family had decided to give a second chance. "It's very simple: my father betrayed my family [and] broke my mother's heart, and that, to me, is unforgivable," Dario explained as Adriana entered the club, looking for Rafe. Adriana wanted to know what Dario was talking about, so he claimed that he had been complaining about people who committed the unforgivable offense of failing to tip their bartenders.

Dario seated Adriana and Blanca at a table then went to prepare drinks for them. Meanwhile, Adriana revealed that Blanca's sister had been trying to reach Blanca. Stammering, Blanca claimed that she had missed her sister's calls because she'd had her cell phone turned off while at work earlier. "She told me that, um, there is a man back home in Mexico that has been asking about you -- someone called Guillermo," Adriana continued.

Adriana guessed, based on Blanca's reaction to the name, that she was afraid of the man, but Blanca dismissively clarified that she had simply been taken aback because she hadn't heard Guillermo's name since she had broken up with him "a while ago." Meanwhile, Dario returned with drinks. Adriana excused herself and headed outside with her drink so she could call Rafe. After complaining that Adriana worried about her children too much, Dario went to take care of some new customers. Blanca seized the opportunity to contact someone named Natalia and ensure that the woman knew to feign ignorance if Guillermo asked her for Blanca's whereabouts.

As Blanca ended the call, Dario returned and wondered if everything was okay. Blanca explained that she had simply been enlisting an old friend's help to ensure that an ex-boyfriend wouldn't be able to track her down. Dario thought it sounded like Blanca's ex could be trouble, so he offered to help her, but she assured him that the situation wasn't a big deal.

Adriana soon returned and fretted that Rafe still wasn't answering his cell phone. Dario teasingly guessed that Rafe would be quite pleased when he discovered that Adriana had flooded his voicemail with complaints about being ignored. Adriana protested that she had played things "very cool" in each message she had left for Rafe, but Dario found that hard to believe. Adriana warned Dario to never turn off his cell phone, insisting that having one son who didn't answer her calls was bad enough.

Later, as she was passing through the town square with Blanca, Adriana probed for more information about Guillermo. Blanca said Guillermo was a loser she never should have gotten involved with, and she stressed that he could never know that she was living in Salem. Adriana wanted even more details, but Blanca snapped, "It's none of your business! You're not my mother, so stop acting like you are!"

Adriana and Blanca soon apologized to each other. Adriana explained that she was simply trying to look out for Blanca because she was the one who had summoned Blanca to Salem in the first place. Blanca stressed that she loved Salem and was happy to be there. Pleased to hear that, Adriana hoped that Blanca hadn't given up on catching Rafe's interest yet. "I can tell that you like him. And he could fall hard for you, too, if that woman, Hope, were not in the picture," Adriana grumbled. Adriana confidently assured Blanca that Rafe's infatuation with Hope wouldn't last, adding, "I see no future for Hope and Rafe."

Later, Blanca returned to Club TBD for another drink. As she was chatting with Dario, she wondered if there was a woman in his life. "There's a woman that I wish was in my life, but, uh, like you and Rafe, I'm not sure if that's ever gonna be a possibility," Dario replied. "Well, we are a hell of a pair, aren't we?" Blanca mused, eyeing Dario as she sipped her drink. Meanwhile, in the town square, Adriana left another voicemail message for Rafe.

At the Salem Inn, Andre pounded insistently on the door to Aiden's room, ignoring Aiden's requests to be left alone. When Aiden finally opened the door, Andre stepped into the trashed room and explained, as he looked around, that he had heard Aiden's "disagreement with the room dcor" from his own room down the hall. "Time to cheer up, Aiden. I have some good news about our friend, Rafe Hernandez," Andre added.

Aiden dismissively revealed that he no longer cared about getting his competition out of the way because Hope had caught him in a lie and had washed her hands of him. "Oh, that's a pity," Andre said with a sigh before forging ahead, reporting that Rafe had died earlier. Stunned, Aiden protested that he had never asked Andre to kill Rafe. "Well, what did you want me to do? Did you want me to take him to lunch?" Andre wondered.

Aiden hoped that Andre had covered his tracks so Rafe's death would never be traced back to either of them. "Of course I did. I covered and buried [them]. I'm a DiMera, you know," Andre assured Aiden. Aiden fretted that he was in no shape to deal with the Salem Police Department again, especially after having just lost the love of his life. "Oh, yes, in more ways than one," Andre casually mused.

Aiden nervously wondered what that was supposed to mean. "I'm so sorry for your loss," Andre coolly stressed, explaining that Hope had died trying to save Rafe. Aiden refused to believe that, assuming that Andre was just playing a DiMera mind game with him. Andre didn't particularly care whether Aiden believed him or not, but he promised that his story about Rafe and Hope's deaths -- which he delighted in sharing in great detail -- was true.

Andre optimistically reasoned that Hope's death would make it easier for Aiden to move on with his life, encouragingly adding, "The world is your oyster." Aiden protested that he had never intended for things to end the way they had. Andre conceded that Hope had been collateral damage, but he admitted that he wasn't particularly upset that she had died alongside Rafe. "My father's murder has been avenged," Andre concluded with a sigh of satisfaction.

Furious, Aiden blamed Andre for taking Hope away from him again, but Andre pointed out that if Aiden had stuck to the arrangement he had originally committed to, he would have killed Hope himself months earlier. After again encouraging Aiden to seize the opportunity to move on with his life, Andre started to leave, but Aiden grabbed him, slammed him against a wall, and began punching him. Andre took a couple blows to his face then struck back, seemingly unfazed, and neutralized Aiden with one quick jab to the throat.

As Aiden writhed on the floor, gasping for breath, Andre calmly approached him and pressed a foot against his throat. "I let you have your fun; now it's my turn. Don't you ever forget who you're dealing with!" Andre warned Aiden, who struggled to choke out a threat of death to Andre. "You're most welcome to try," Andre dismissively replied. As he released the pressure on Aiden's throat, Andre added that he had taken measures to ensure that Rafe and Hope's deaths could easily be pinned on Aiden, and he would make that happen if Aiden didn't fall back in line and start showing him the respect he deserved.

After the explosion, Shawn searched frantically for Hope and Rafe but was unable to find them. A member of the bomb squad did manage to uncover the charred remains of Hope's cell phone, though, leading Shawn to assume the worst. When Shawn contacted Roman to provide an update, Roman pointed out that no bodies had been found yet, meaning that there was still a chance that Rafe and Hope had made it out of the house in time.

Later, Roman arrived to help with the search. Shawn feared that even if Hope and Rafe had managed to survive the explosion, they might have sustained serious injuries in the process. While searching the basement, Shawn discovered a chain that had a broken link on one end. Shawn pointed out that the fire couldn't have caused the break, and Roman agreed. "Hope must have freed [Rafe] somehow," Roman guessed. Relieved to have confirmation that Hope and Rafe were likely still alive, Shawn and Roman decided to trust the search-and-rescue team to find them, choosing to instead focus their own efforts on figuring out who had caused the explosion.

Rafe navigated the DiMera tunnels while carrying an unconscious Hope in his arms, eventually finding a cot to place her on. Disturbed to discover that Hope was bleeding from her abdomen, Rafe dampened a cloth with water from a nearby pipe then applied pressure to her wound with another cloth while wetting her forehead. When she regained consciousness, he went to fill a cup with some water, and she noticed that he was limping. Rafe dismissed Hope's concerns about his injury, insisting that he would be fine.

Hope slowly started to recall how she had freed Rafe just before the explosion and had then fled the basement with him via a trapdoor they'd found in the floor. "What would a DiMera property be without a secret underground escape route, right?" Rafe reasoned with a chuckle. Rafe explained that the bomb had gone off as he and Hope had been descending a ladder to the tunnels. Too weak to move, Hope urged Rafe to go get help, and he reluctantly complied. However, he soon returned and reported that the only two exits were blocked -- one with a locked door and the other with debris from the explosion.

Hope soon lost consciousness again, and Rafe was unable to revive her.

Theresa attacks Summer

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

by Spalding

In the Brady Pub, Adriana and Blanca waited for Rafe. Adriana could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with her son. When Adriana wondered aloud if she should talk to the police, Blanca agreed.

In the park, Aiden thought about when Hope had confronted him at the police station and had told him that she would hate him forever. Aiden also thought about when Andre had told him that Rafe and Hope had been killed in a bomb explosion. As Aiden shook his head, Shawn entered the clearing and spotted Aiden. Shawn grabbed Aiden by the shirt collar and demanded to know where to find Hope. Aiden said he did not know where to find Hope because he had been in police custody all day.

Shawn went to Club TBD to talk to Eduardo and Dario, but neither of them had heard from Rafe. Shawn informed them that Rafe and Hope had been in an explosion and were missing. Nodding, Eduardo noted that if there were no bodies at the site, they should look underground beneath the site of the explosion. With dawning horror, Shawn agreed. Shawn explained that the property had been a DiMera safe house, and there were likely tunnels under the house.

In the underground tunnel below the explosion, Rafe encouraged Hope to drink water. Hope fought to remain conscious. Rafe looked at her bleeding abdominal wound. Swallowing his fear, Rafe promised he would help Hope escape and that he would never let anyone hurt her again. Hope called out Rafe's name. Rafe rushed to Hope's side as she mumbled that she was cold. Rafe swore to find a way out of the underground bunker. After confirming that the exits were blocked, Rafe returned to Hope's side and held her hand. Rafe assured Hope that he would not leave her.

"I can't find Rafe," Hope mumbled. Rafe reminded Hope that he was with her. "I have to get to Rafe," Hope said as she fell unconscious. Worried, Rafe begged Hope to stay with him and not die. Rafe kissed Hope's hand.

At Club TBD, Dario told Adriana and Blanca about the explosion. Adriana swooned, and Dario helped her sit down. Fighting tears, Adriana said she hoped Rafe knew that she had been tough on him for his own good. Dario assured Adriana that she would be able to talk to Rafe soon.

In the town square, Shawn met up with Abe to update him on Rafe and Hope's disappearance. Shawn explained Eduardo's theory about the underground tunnels. With a nod, Abe said the theory had merit. Shawn asked Abe about the tunnels, but Abe did not remember much about the tunnels from when Lexie had been trapped in them.

At the Kiriakis condo, Maggie thought about Summer. Victor handed a cup of tea to Maggie and apologized to her for what she was going through. Maggie said she understood that Summer was unstable, but she did not believe Summer could kidnap a child. Victor argued that Theresa needed to accept the blame for her part in the kidnapping as well. When Maggie countered that Theresa had been drugged, Victor reminded Maggie that he had found Theresa asleep on the bench before.

Furious, Maggie yelled, "Theresa is in agony because she has lost her child! I won't hear you attacking her!" Victor refused to believe that Theresa had changed. Maggie screamed, "What is wrong with you, Victor? You are so cruel!" Victor said that when Tate returned home, he would do everything in his power to take Theresa away from Tate. Victor justified his plan by explaining that Tate would eventually run away from his mother anyway.

"When are you going to learn, Victor? You can't play God with people's lives," Maggie said. "When it comes to my family, I can and I will," Victor countered. After Victor left, Julie stopped by to talk. Maggie said she was heartsick that Summer was a suspect in the kidnapping. Julie urged Maggie to remain calm. Maggie blamed herself for Summer's behavior. Maggie also blamed Victor's change of attitude since Deimos had returned to town.

"He's so lacking in compassion. It feels sometimes as if he is reverting to the man he used to be, not the man that I married. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not quite sure how to get my husband back," Maggie cried out. Julie held Maggie's hand and reassured her.

In John's office, Paul assured John that they had a lot of different groups searching and that they would uncover something soon. John instructed Paul to follow up on any outstanding leads. When Belle arrived, John confirmed that none of the calls from Theresa's on-air plea had panned out. With a nod, Belle offered to pick up food for John and Paul, and she left.

Victor arrived, and John updated him with the news that Brady and Theresa were in Vegas, looking for Summer. Victor told John that Maggie was overwhelmed with guilt about Summer. With a nod, John said he hoped that Summer had taken Tate because the outlook was grim if they needed another suspect.

In her Vegas hotel room, Summer packed her suitcase. Summer tucked the remaining money into a manila envelope and shoved it into the bottom of her suitcase. When Summer opened the door to leave, she found Theresa and Brady waiting for her in the hallway. Theresa leaped onto Summer, and Brady pulled the women apart. When Theresa demanded the return of her son, Summer feigned ignorance. Summer said she would never kidnap a child. Summer swore that she'd had nothing to do with the kidnapping.

Suspicious, Brady grabbed Summer's arms and demanded that Summer tell him what she knew about the kidnapping. Summer told Brady and Theresa about the money and the note ordering Summer to kidnap Tate. Theresa demanded to know who had sent the note, but Summer said she did not know. Frustrated, Brady asked for more details. Summer said that even if she knew more, Brady and Theresa would never believe her. Softening, Brady quietly asked Summer to tell him everything she knew. Summer reiterated that she had not taken part in the kidnapping. As Summer reached for her suitcase, Brady knocked the bag away.

"I can't believe I tried to appeal to any shred of humanity that you have because it's obvious that you don't have any to begin with. Have a seat. You are not going anywhere until you start communicating and tell us exactly what we need to know," Brady growled as he shoved Summer onto he bed. Brady asked for the number that had been on the note, but Summer said she had thrown out the note.

Theresa grabbed Summer's purse and rifled through the contents. Theresa and Brady examined Summer's new passport. Brady asked why Summer was going to so much trouble to run away. Summer jumped to her feet and yelled that Brady and Theresa were wasting their time with her. Suspicious, Brady reasoned aloud that he already knew about Clark, so if Summer had been blackmailed, there would have had to be more to the story than the con. Brady demanded to know what Summer was covering up. Theresa asked what other crime Summer had committed.

Backed into a corner, Summer admitted that she had killed Clark. Shocked, Theresa asked Summer if she had murdered Clark. Summer explained what had happened with Clark. Summer said that after the accident, she had covered up Clark's death. With a sigh, Summer explained that she had left town to avoid the blackmailer, but she had told Theresa to look after Tate as a warning. Brady asked again for the blackmailer's number, and he promised to let Summer leave if she complied.

Reluctantly, Summer scrolled through her phone to find the number. Summer handed the phone to Brady, and he called the number. When a person answered the phone, Brady stated that he would pay anything for the return of his son, and he left the number to call back about the ransom. After ending the call, Brady told Summer that she could leave once the blackmailer called back. Summer was upset that Brady had lied to her, but he said he wanted to make sure that Summer had not been involved with the kidnapping.

Brady called John and updated him on the situation. John promised to place a trace on the blackmailer's number. As Belle returned to the office, John explained the situation to Paul, Victor, and Belle. John traced the phone number to a dummy corporation titled Chopin Group.

As Summer sat sullenly on the bed in Vegas, Theresa looked through the suitcase. Theresa found the money. Theresa asked Summer if the money was her share for the kidnapping. Summer said she was running from a murder charge and not involved in the kidnapping. Anxious, Brady called the blackmailer's number again. On the phone, the voice of an operator announced that the phone had been disconnected. With a scream, Theresa jumped on top of Summer and shrieked, "I'm going to kill you!"

Brady pulled Theresa off of Summer. Brady announced that the three of them would return to Salem. Panicked, Summer grabbed a letter opener and held it aggressively toward Brady and Theresa. Brady said he did not want to turn Summer over to the police. Summer turned the blade to her own throat, and she asked Brady if he was lying again. Summer swore again that she had played no part in the kidnapping. Through tears, Summer suggested that Brady question Victor.

"He may hate me, but he hates Theresa even more. And I would bet all this money that he's behind it. Victor is behind all this, and you know what? You should just leave me the hell alone and go after him!" Summer yelled as she pushed the letter opener blade against her neck.

In his office, John looked up the articles of incorporation for the Chopin Group. John showed Victor the names in the articles, and they were all composers. Victor furrowed his brow.

Rafe wrestles with guilt

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

by Mike

While trapped in the DiMera tunnels, a delirious Rafe dreamed that Hope had died as a result of the injuries she had sustained while trying to rescue him. As Rafe held Hope's lifeless body in his arms and wept, Aiden appeared, with a necktie draped over his shoulders, and offered up a round of applause, conceding that Rafe truly was the better man. "You succeeded where I failed. You killed Hope," Aiden added with a laugh.

Rafe lunged forward, grabbed the necktie, and began tightening it around Aiden's throat, but Aiden just laughed, seemingly unfazed. "Oh, poor Detective Hernandez. Haven't you figured it out by now? You just don't have it in you. You can't kill him -- or me," Andre said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"The only person you're capable of killing is the woman you love," Andre continued as Rafe released Aiden. Rafe lashed out at Aiden and Andre, calling them monsters, but they protested that they were simply men who were willing to do whatever they had to do to get what they wanted -- and Hope, unlike Rafe, had actually been just like them, as she had demonstrated when she had killed Stefano in cold blood.

Aiden insisted that Rafe hadn't deserved Hope, and Andre agreed, musing that Hope might still be alive if Rafe had been willing to do anything -- even commit murder -- in order to protect her. Alternatively, Aiden added, Hope might still be alive if Rafe had been willing to let her live happily ever after with him. "Was it worth getting Hope killed to make sure she would never end up in my arms again? Was that your endgame? Well, that sounds pretty damn selfish to me," Aiden observed, prompting Andre to muse that Rafe might indeed be a fellow monster, after all.

As Rafe tearfully apologized to Hope, insisting that he had never meant for things to end the way they had, Eduardo appeared and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, urging him to stay strong. "I always fail the woman that I'm trying to protect," Rafe regretfully admitted. Maintaining that Rafe couldn't allow himself to be mired in pain because it would paralyze him and make him weak, Eduardo reasoned that Rafe needed to instead honor Hope's memory with the one thing that would give him solace -- vengeance. As Eduardo handed Rafe a loaded gun, Aiden told Andre, "Twenty bucks says he doesn't have it in him," and Andre took the bet.

Despite Eduardo's best efforts to talk Rafe into killing Andre and Aiden, Rafe insisted that he couldn't resort to vigilante justice because he, unlike Eduardo, didn't live in a world where that sort of thing was okay. Eduardo argued that everybody lived in that world. "Do you think Hope shot Stefano because she thought he was responsible for Bo's torture? She pulled the trigger to make the bastard pay for a lifetime of crimes that had gone unpunished!" Eduardo continued.

Aiden got nervous when Eduardo pointed out that Rafe had even helped Hope cover up that particular example of vigilante justice. Andre shushed Aiden, eager to see where the conversation was headed. Rafe wondered if Eduardo could honestly say that he didn't wrestle with guilt as a result of the lives he had taken as an assassin. "It's not the same. There's no justice in what I did. I accept that. Your situation is different," Eduardo argued. Rafe disagreed, insisting that if Hope were still alive, she would freely admit that killing Stefano had been a mistake that had haunted her every day. "She wouldn't have wanted that for me," Rafe added.

Eduardo tried to change Rafe's mind, but Rafe lashed out at him, insisting that it was a bit too late for him to start offering fatherly advice. "You were never there for your own family, and then you went off [and] created widows and orphans by killing other men. I'll never follow in your footsteps. I'm gonna do what's right; I'm gonna mourn [Hope's] death, and I'm gonna honor her life," Rafe added. As Aiden gloated that he had won the bet, Andre tiredly complained, "We're right back where we started."

Hope's body soon disappeared, but her ghostly voice filled the room, asking Rafe, "Why didn't you fight harder for me?" Meanwhile, Shawn and Ciara appeared and began lashing out at Rafe. Shawn noted that Rafe had broken the promise he had made to Bo before Bo's death, and Ciara added that Rafe, like many others before him, had let her down. Rafe protested that he had loved Hope more than Shawn and Ciara would ever know. "Your words are cheap," Shawn spat before shoving Rafe against a wall.

As Rafe sank to the floor in despair, Dario appeared and advised Rafe to push the pain aside and move on with his life. "So I'm supposed to just forget about Hope?" Rafe asked incredulously. Dario reasoned that if Rafe didn't, the pain of losing her would eventually destroy him. "Get on with your life," Dario reiterated, prompting Rafe to angrily counter that it was typical of Dario to suggest such a thing.

"That's what you do. When things aren't going well, you just turn your back, right? You go off to Argentina or to L.A. Maybe I should envy you, actually, 'cause if you don't care about anything, then you can't be hurt by it," Rafe mused. Dario protested that Rafe was twisting his words, but Rafe wasn't convinced.

Rafe wondered if Dario had ever truly been in love. When Dario admitted that he hadn't, Rafe snapped, "Then don't tell me to bottle my emotions!" Dario pointed out that Rafe had always been the strong one in the Hernandez family, but Rafe muttered that he didn't want that responsibility anymore. "Then what the hell do you want?" Dario asked.

"I want her to come back to me. I want her to be okay. I want Aiden to have never come back into her life. I want things to be beautiful, and whole, and wonderful again, the way they were supposed to be! Is that so wrong?" Rafe wondered, but when he looked to Dario for an answer, he found that he was alone in the room. Sobbing, Rafe clutched a necklace that had fallen off Hope's neck earlier, recognizing it as the one he had given her when they had first started dating. As Rafe sadly recalled happier times with Hope, Adriana appeared and admitted that she had been wrong to hate Hope, who had obviously been a source of great joy for Rafe.

"I will let you in on a little secret: I was jealous. I had just come back into my family's life, and I wanted to think that you all still needed me. I didn't want to compete with her [for] your attention," Adriana continued. Rafe insisted that Adriana should have given Hope a chance because Hope had been an amazing woman. "And now she's gone," Rafe quietly added, but Adriana protested that he was living in fear, not reality. "Don't believe everything you see," Adriana advised. Gabi appeared and agreed with Adriana, assuring Rafe that Hope's fate was still in his hands.

Gabi urged Rafe to never give up. "And stop listening to those madmen who tell you this is your fault," Adriana added. "We know more about this than you do, Adriana," Andre insisted as he and Aiden reappeared. Adriana complained that Andre and Aiden were messing with Rafe's head, but Aiden protested that he and Andre were actually clearing things up for Rafe. Andre added that he and Aiden knew Rafe better than Rafe's own family members, who only saw Rafe as the man they wanted him to be. "But we know better, don't we? Tell him, Doug," Andre continued as Doug appeared and started lashing out at Rafe.

"You let my princess slip away from her family -- away from me! Hope is gone because you let her go. You held back. You took things too slowly. You allowed Aiden to gain a foothold, and then it all went to hell -- to absolute hell!" Doug tearfully spat. Rafe regretfully conceded that Doug was right. "I should have fought harder; I should have been stronger. Give me the gun!" Rafe commanded Eduardo, who protested that Rafe had previously insisted that the gun wasn't the right way to handle the situation. "I don't care anymore. They need to pay for what they did to Hope. Give. Me. The gun," Rafe repeated.

"So be it. Revenge is sweet," Eduardo agreed as he handed over the weapon. Rafe aimed it at Aiden, who just laughed, certain that Rafe wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Rafe fired three shots at Aiden's chest, eliciting a round of applause from Andre, who asked Rafe how it felt to be a monster. Without responding, Rafe fired a fourth shot at Andre's chest.

As the life drained out of Andre, Doug took the gun from Rafe and told him Hope was waiting for him. "Where?" Rafe skeptically wondered. "I'm here," Hope replied, appearing behind Rafe as the others disappeared from the room. Hope wondered if Rafe loved her, and he confirmed that he did. Satisfied, Hope kissed Rafe then collapsed in his arms.

Rafe awoke with a start and found Hope lying on the cot, right where she was supposed to be. After a moment of hesitation, Rafe checked Hope's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that she was still alive. Hope opened her eyes and muttered a few words to Rafe, who told her he was going to try again to open the locked door that was blocking one of the exits. Hope weakly protested that it was her turn to be the savior. "You're not playing fair," Hope added. Rafe chuckled and assured Hope that she could punish him later.

As Hope lost consciousness again, Rafe busted the lock with a rock, swung the door open, and began yelling for help.

Hope is rushed to the hospital

Thursday, July 21, 2016

by Mike

At the DiMera mansion, Chad heard faint cries for help through the study's hidden entrance to the tunnels. Confused, he opened the door and found Rafe on the other side.

Insisting that there was no time to explain how he had ended up in the tunnels, Rafe led Chad to Hope's location. Chad carried Hope into the study and lowered her onto the couch then rushed off to get her a glass of water. Meanwhile, Jennifer arrived, having let herself in, and wondered what had happened. "You know as much as I do," Chad replied when he returned.

Jennifer contacted Kayla and told her that Hope had been injured. Aiden, who had gone to the hospital for an examination after sustaining injuries during his earlier fight with Andre, overheard Kayla's end of the phone conversation and tried to get her to tell him what had happened to Hope. "Roman told me everything that you did -- all the lies. What happens to Hope is none of your damn business," Kayla spat before walking away.

Marlena convinced John to leave the office for a while and get some fresh air, reasoning that he needed to remember to take care of himself while searching for Tate. As they strolled through the town square together, Marlena kept John distracted with happier topics of conversation, such as their impending wedding. Marlena wanted it to somehow be new and fresh, since she and John had already had more traditional weddings in the past, so John jokingly suggested getting married during a baseball game at Wrigley Field and having their post-ceremony kiss broadcast on the Kiss Cam.

Brady went to the Kiriakis townhouse to confront Victor, who denied involvement in Tate's abduction. Unconvinced, Brady revealed that John had discovered that Victor had recently withdrawn one hundred thousand dollars from a bank in the Cayman Islands. Victor said that money had been for a cruise he had booked for Maggie. "I can't believe you're accusing me of kidnapping that sweet child. Why on earth would I do that?" Victor asked.

"[Because] when you hate, you hate with a vengeance. And you hate Theresa, and you hate Summer, and you had an opportunity to wreck both of their lives, and you took it. Now tell me where my son is!" Brady angrily replied. Victor remained indignant, but Brady pointed out that it wasn't like child abduction was a line Victor was unwilling to cross; in fact, he had once hired someone to abduct Claire so Belle would look like an unfit mother. "That was... Philip wanted to get custody," Victor dismissively explained.

"Will you just admit that you do these things? This is who you are!" Brady snapped. Brady promised forgiveness in exchange for Tate's return, stressing that he understood that Victor just got carried away sometimes, but Victor argued that Brady was the one who needed to be begging for forgiveness, given the despicable accusations he had just hurled at his own grandfather. "I can't listen to you any longer. Stay as long as you like. Tear the place apart. Find evidence. You and I are done," Victor added before exiting the townhouse.

Having overheard the argument from another room, Maggie tried to convince Brady that Victor couldn't possibly have been involved in Tate's abduction. Brady still had doubts, suspecting that Victor's recent loss to Deimos had made him revert to his old ways. Maggie reluctantly allowed for that possibility but also argued that Brady could simply be grasping at straws out of desperation. Maggie also pointed out, regretfully, that Summer wasn't exactly the most reliable source of information. "What if they're both wrong? What if someone else did this?" Maggie suggested. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore," Brady replied.

At the police station, Summer nervously waited for Roman to arrive to take her statement about Tate's abduction. Theresa assured Summer that she had no intention of telling Roman about Clark because that wouldn't help her get Tate back, and getting Tate back was her only concern. Summer stressed that she would never take a child from his mother, given her own experiences. Theresa still wasn't entirely convinced that Summer was innocent, but Roman arrived before they could discuss the matter further.

Summer told Roman about the money she had received from an anonymous source and hesitantly admitted that she had thrown away the note that had accompanied it. When Roman wondered if the sender had been holding something over Summer's head, Theresa remained silent as Summer nervously confirmed that she did have a criminal record. Summer added, however, that she had already told her loved ones about her past, so she hadn't been worried about being exposed.

Roman cut the interview short after receiving a phone call from Rafe. "You just dodged a bullet," Theresa observed after Roman left. Summer thanked Theresa for keeping her secret. As they were leaving the conference room, they ran into Victor, who demanded to know why Summer hadn't been arrested yet. "Because I'm not the one who kidnapped Tate. And you know that all too well, because you're the one who did it!" Summer shouted. Victor denied the accusation then warned Summer, "You'd better return my great-grandson to his parents -- and you'd better do it quickly -- or, trust me, I will make sure that you wish you were never born."

After Victor left, Theresa wondered if Summer still thought he was guilty. "Theresa, that man -- he's lethal. He will do whatever it takes to hurt you and destroy me," Summer replied. Later, Theresa and Summer ran into Brady in the town square, and they exchanged recaps of their respective encounters with Victor. Summer promised to do whatever she could to help Brady and Theresa find Tate, knowing that was the only way to truly prove her innocence. Meanwhile, Victor returned home, and Maggie assured him that she knew he hadn't been responsible for Tate's abduction.

At the hospital, Kayla tracked Rafe and Jennifer down in a break room after Hope's surgery. Aiden eavesdropped from the hallway as Kayla reported, "Hope had a perforated spleen. We removed it, and she's gonna be okay." When Jennifer contacted J.J. to give him the good news, he was in the town square. After ending the call, he ran into Chad, who was with Thomas. When Chad asked about Hope, J.J. repeated the update he had just received then walked away, refusing to talk to Chad about Jennifer's battle for custody of Thomas.

While waiting for Hope to wake up, Rafe went to get his leg wound stitched up. Afterward, he went to see Hope for a few minutes then left so she could get some rest. Meanwhile, Aiden ran into Shawn, who warned, "I'm gonna find [proof] that you're responsible for that explosion, and you're gonna spend the rest of your miserable life in prison." Aiden insisted that he was innocent. Rafe soon arrived and vowed to rip Aiden's head off if Aiden went anywhere near Hope. "And you can tell your buddy Andre that I'm coming for him, too," Rafe added.

Later, Aiden sneaked into Hope's room and tried to convince her that he hadn't been responsible for the explosion. Hope told Aiden to leave Salem and never return, but he insisted that he couldn't do that. "Then trust me, you will regret it," Hope warned.

Steve joins the search for Tate

Friday, July 22, 2016

by Mike

Theresa underwent hypnosis with Marlena, hoping to remember details from the moments leading up to Tate's abduction. Despite managing to recall that she had seen someone advancing toward her and Tate from behind some nearby hedges, Theresa was unable to clearly identify the person's gender or any other physical characteristics.

After the session ended, Marlena assured Theresa that they could try again later that day. Changing the subject, Marlena wondered how Brady was doing. Theresa reported that, like her, he was a wreck. "Try to be gentle with each other," Marlena advised. Theresa fretted that although she loved Brady deeply, she was worried that if they never found Tate, their relationship wouldn't be able to survive the loss.

While passing through the town square, Shawn and Belle discussed Tate's abduction. Knowing exactly what Brady and Theresa were going through, Belle mused that the couple would be lucky if their relationship managed to survive the traumatic experience of having their child abducted, and she resolved to advise them later to be kind to each other during the crisis.

Changing the subject, Belle wondered if Shawn knew when Hope was going to be released from the hospital. Shawn said he didn't, and Andre eavesdropped nearby as Shawn added that Belle didn't need to worry about taking Hope some food later that day because Rafe had everything under control. Andre made his presence known and suggested that he might deliver some flowers to Hope at some point. Shawn warned Andre not to go anywhere near Hope. "Oh, please. Hope Brady has nine lives, unlike your father," Andre dismissively replied. "Or your father," Shawn countered.

As Kate was moving her stuff out of the Kiriakis mansion, Deimos warned that it would be wise for her to stay away from him in the future. Unfazed, Kate reminded Deimos that he no longer had anything to hold over her head. "You try [to] cross me again, Kate, and you'll see what else I can still do [to you]," Deimos replied. Scoffing, Kate observed that Deimos clearly still believed that he was untouchable.

Later, as she was unpacking her things in her new room at the Salem Inn, Kate angrily tossed an empty suitcase across the room. Fighting back tears, Kate contacted Marlena and asked to meet with her. They went to the Brady Pub, where Marlena admitted that she had been somewhat surprised to hear from Kate, since they hadn't talked much since Will's funeral.

"I know. I've been... I've been occupied, you know? Kind of out of my mind. I'll just get right to it: I've done, again, that thing that I always do. What makes me always go to the wrong man, time after time?" Kate wondered. Marlena wanted to know if Kate was asking a friend or a therapist for an answer, explaining that she could offer either sympathy or advice, depending on what Kate was looking for. "Whoever will give me an answer. I'll even pick up the bill," Kate replied. Still unsure, Marlena asked if Kate wanted the cold, hard truth, and Kate confirmed, "I'm a big girl. Let me have it."

"You don't have good relationships because you don't think you deserve them," Marlena explained. Kate couldn't think of a reason for her to have such a mindset, insisting that she had gotten over the shame of her past as a prostitute years earlier and was comfortable with the knowledge that although she had hurt people more than once, she had never done so without a reason.

"Yes, there were reasons...but not the ones you think," Marlena argued, pointing out that Kate had often cited a desire to protect her children yet had a habit of putting herself in situations where they felt the need to turn away from her. Marlena added that Kate also had a habit of choosing men who were likely to hurt her sooner or later, meaning that the relationships were always doomed from the start.

"I like complicated men. They're attractive," Kate explained with a shrug and a sigh. Kate wasn't convinced that her attraction to complicated men meant that she had a deep-seated need to see relationships fail, but Marlena pointed out that Kate's relationships did invariably seem to fail, nevertheless. Realizing that the conversation was making Kate somewhat uncomfortable, Marlena offered to drop the subject, but Kate declined, acknowledging that she had asked for Marlena's take on the matter.

"Okay. You don't seem to like men that are simply complicated; they're simply criminals," Marlena pointed out, unable to make it through the statement without laughing. Kate also laughed but protested, "No, they're powerful." Marlena accepted Kate's preferred description and conceded that power was certainly an attractive quality. "Maybe you think they can protect you, or maybe you think if you take them on, that's a bigger win for you," Marlena suggested.

Kate observed that it seemed like Marlena had thought about the matter almost as much as she had. Marlena admitted that she'd had to because Kate had been Sami's adversary for a while. "So were you," Kate countered, and Marlena conceded that, from time to time, that had indeed been true. Getting the conversation back on track, Marlena stressed that if Kate truly wished to do so, she could break the cycle and stop living the way she had been. "You know, at this stage, I think I would be happy just to make real amends with my children," Kate admitted.

Marlena offered to help Kate work on achieving that goal. "Professionally?" Kate wondered. "If you'd like," Marlena confirmed, but she added that she would also be willing to continue meeting with Kate at the Brady Pub for conversations of a more casual nature, during which Kate could vent and listen to advice then feel free to ignore it. "Isn't that a lot like therapy?" Kate joked. As Marlena chuckled in response, she received an alert on her cell phone, reminding her of an appointment. Marlena apologetically excused herself and urged Kate to call her again soon.

After Marlena left, Andre took a seat at Kate's table and asked, "Why pay her when I can give you better advice for free?" Kate said she didn't want Andre's advice, but he forged ahead, urging her not to change for anyone. "You're perfect the way you are, [and] besides, the world needs the Kates and the Andres," he reasoned. Kate wasn't convinced that she and Andre were particularly alike, but he argued that although she might sometimes enjoy slightly more acceptance than he ever could, simply as a result of not being plagued with the DiMera surname, she still had to put up with more than her fair share of judgment, just as he did.

"I don't give a damn what people think of me," Kate insisted. When she wondered what had prompted Andre's odd mood, he complained with a sigh, "I'm just tired of those little insects that dwell in this town [and] ruin my picnic." Kate joked that there were sprays for that sort of problem, and she told Andre to go away. Undeterred, Andre suggested that, together, he and Kate could teach the people of Salem a lesson they would never forget.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have decided I no longer have any use for vengeance," Kate declared, prompting Andre to skeptically observe that one short session with Marlena had apparently turned Kate into Mother Theresa. "I am so...tired," Kate maintained. Dismissively insisting that Kate would get her second wind eventually, Andre offered to be her ally.

"For a price," Kate guessed. Kate insisted that she was no longer willing to spend money on Andre, especially since she had considerably less of it than she'd had a few days earlier. Andre feigned sadness but didn't seem particularly fazed. "Why are you still here?" Kate wondered. Andre explained that he was seeking a companion as well as a partner in crime.

As Dario was talking to Nicole about redecorating Club TBD, Deimos entered the club and asked to talk to her privately. Nicole agreed to take a walk with Deimos, despite Dario's protests. Nicole and Deimos crossed paths with Chloe and Philip outside the club. "Hazard of a small town: we all run into people we'd rather not," Philip joked as he and Chloe passed through the town square. As if on cue, they spotted Shawn and Belle nearby.

Belle was surprised to learn that Chloe had joined Philip's record label and would be staying in Salem indefinitely. After Philip and Chloe left, Shawn happily informed Belle that he had seen sparks flying between the former couple. "You wanted Philip to leave you alone, and so did I. Now he's got someone to focus his attention on," Shawn added. Belle nodded and forced a smile but remained silent.

Deimos led Nicole to a secluded section of the town square and informed her that Kate was out of his life for good. Deimos asked for a fresh start with Nicole, but she insisted that she could never trust him again. Conceding that he needed to prove himself to Nicole, Deimos vowed to do just that. "Don't break your back making some grand gesture for me," Nicole advised Deimos, warning that it wouldn't change anything, anyway.

Deimos insisted that he cared about Nicole, but she argued that his interest in her had never really been about her; it had always been about her resemblance to Helena. Deimos maintained that somewhere along the way, his interest in Nicole had stopped being about Helena. Nicole still wasn't convinced, but Deimos again promised that he would one day prove to her that he had changed.

Dario arrived as Deimos was leaving. Nicole tried to dodge Dario's questions about the conversation she'd just had with Deimos, insisting that it wasn't worth talking about, especially since she already knew how Dario felt about Deimos. "And I know how you feel about him," Dario countered. Dario wondered why Deimos was still able to get under Nicole's skin, even after everything she had learned about him.

Nicole admitted that even she didn't know the answer to that question. "Whatever it is, you don't look happy," Dario observed. Nicole confirmed that she wasn't. Dario urged Nicole to let him help her forget about Deimos. Nicole started to protest that doing so wouldn't be fair to Dario, but he told her not to refuse his offer before hearing exactly what he had in mind.

At Black Patch Investigations, John, Brady, and Paul continued searching for Tate, while a guard kept watch over Summer in another room. A short time after Steve joined the search, Victor arrived to see if the team had made any progress. Steve started to answer Victor's question openly, but Brady interrupted and gave a very vague response. Victor maintained his innocence and kept his attention focused on Steve, believing that if anyone could get Summer to crack, it would be him. Victor promised to find a way to pay for anything the team might need, including a reward. "It'll have much more of an impact coming from me [than Theresa]," Victor reasoned.

After Victor left, Brady stressed that he didn't want anyone to tell Victor anything about the investigation, since there was still a good chance that he was the guilty party. Steve wasn't convinced, reasoning that Victor and Summer were both a bit too obvious as suspects. "Then there's this Chopin outfit in the middle. Now, I thought they were just a shell corporation to try and lead us down a blind alley, but they're real, so what are they doing in the middle? This isn't a simple abduction," Steve added.

Later, Steve managed to convince a nervous Chopin messenger to get in touch with Brady. As they were waiting for the call, Theresa burst into the office, eager to tell Brady about her earlier recollection. The men shushed Theresa when the phone rang, but it was just a telemarketer. As Brady hurriedly ended the call to keep the line open, Theresa forged ahead, excitedly sharing her news. "That's great, Theresa," Brady distractedly muttered.

"That's it? Come on, Brady. Don't shut me out," Theresa protested. Brady tried to explain that he was waiting for a call. "Yeah, okay, great, but I'm trying --" Theresa started to respond as the phone rang again. The men quickly shushed Theresa again, but she continued, "I'm helping, you know? I mean, do you not get this? I might be able to be of..." The men shushed Theresa once more as Brady answered the call.

"What, does nobody understand? I might be able to I.D. the guy we're trying to catch!" Theresa shouted in frustration, prompting the already nervous Chopin messenger to abruptly end the call. Brady groaned and quickly instructed Paul to try to trace the phone number and call the guy back. "Who?" Theresa wondered, but Brady shushed her as Paul finished the trace and dialed the phone number.

The phone started ringing as Theresa wondered what was going on. "Theresa! God, stop talking!" Brady snapped impatiently. The phone continued ringing, and Brady eventually gave up and ended the call. Theresa was devastated when Paul filled in the blanks for her. Steve pointed out that the Chopin messenger might not have known anything about Tate's disappearance, anyway, but that failed to comfort Theresa, who feared that she had just blown the only chance she and Brady would ever have to find their son. Theresa broke down in Brady's arms as he assured her that it wasn't her fault.

Victor tried to send Deimos away when Deimos showed up at the townhouse, but Deimos barged inside and announced that he wanted to make peace with Victor and wasn't going to give up before accomplishing that goal.