Stefan and Gabi swore they would never forgive each other; Days of our Lives Recap for Wednesday, September 4, 2024

In E.J.'s bedroom, Gabi chastised herself for “getting cold feet.” E.J. settled on the edge of the bed with her and advised her to think it over before she told Stefan about them. E.J. admitted that he’d had his heart broken, also, and he had wanted to do anything to make the pain go away. Before Gabi could make a decision, Stefan entered the room and began to ask E.J. about Gabi’s whereabouts. He stopped the question mid-sentence when he saw E.J. and Gabi together, both partially clothed.

Gabi rose up and began to sputter out an excuse, but Stefan interrupted her. He announced that he knew exactly what had happened. Stefan accused E.J. of using Gabi to get back at him by offering Gabi “a sympathetic ear” and then staging it to look like E.J. and Gabi had slept together. E.J. snidely said that it had been “the other way around,” and Stefan demanded to know what E.J. meant. E.J. tried to brush off the comment, but Stefan didn’t want to hear it.

Stefan pleaded with Gabi to go somewhere else so that they could work things out. Gabi agreed, but before they could leave, Stefan noticed E.J. discreetly pushing some of Gabi’s clothes underneath the bed. Stefan shouted at Gabi to confirm if the items were her clothes, and he angrily shut E.J. down after his brother tried to intervene. Gabi composed herself and admitted that she had slept with E.J.

Stefan paced around the room then looked at E.J. with rage. He strode up to his brother and punched him in the face. An enraged E.J. vowed Stefan would pay and rushed toward his brother, but Gabi got in between them. She stressed that she had been the one that had seduced E.J. as payback for Stefan’s affair with Ava. Stefan was incredulous, and E.J. made a snarky comment in the background. After Stefan lashed out at him again, E.J. left the room to get some ice for his face.

Gabi teared up as Stefan confronted her about the betrayal. He told her that if her goal had been to destroy him and their relationship, then she had “succeeded admirably.” He coldly wondered if she was “happy now.” Stefan shared that he had gone to Gabi’s door the previous night and begged her for another chance. Meanwhile, Gabi had been in E.J.’s bed. He acknowledged that he had made a “drunken mistake,” but he called Gabi’s actions “premeditated” and “calculated.”

Gabi's demeanor cooled again, and she confirmed that her intention had been revenge. Stefan replied that Gabi’s actions could not be “undone.” Growing emotional, Gabi asked if Stefan meant that he was giving up on them. Stefan coldly responded, “That’s exactly what it means.” A shaken Gabi told Stefan that she had been plagued by second thoughts and that she had considered lying to him to spare him pain. But Gabi was glad that "fate" had led Stefan to the bedroom.

Gabi had been reminded that Stefan was an “ass” who hadn’t deserved her mercy or pity. When E.J. reentered the room, Gabi hissed, “And your brother’s better in bed than you are.” Stefan declared that E.J. and Gabi deserved each other, and he angrily pushed past his smirking brother. E.J. tried to comfort Gabi, but she recoiled and commanded that he not touch her. She retreated to the corner of the room and began crying quietly.

Downstairs at the DiMera mansion, “Abigail” called Mark and assured him that everything had been going well. She wanted to talk about the next phase of their plan, but when she turned, she found Stephanie standing in the doorway. “Abigail” hung up and awkwardly introduced herself to Stephanie, who informed “Abigail” that she was Abigail's cousin. Stephanie wondered if she had interrupted an important call, since “Abigail” had mentioned the next steps of a plan to the other caller. “Abigail” claimed that she had been talking with her doctor about a treatment plan, and she was taken aback after Stephanie revealed that “Dr. Johnson” was Stephanie’s mother.

“Abigail” conceded that she was confused trying to keep track of all the connections she had to people in town. She suggested to Stephanie that Kayla and Steve were not the only people that she and Stephanie had in common. At Stephanie’s puzzled response, “Abigail” informed Stephanie that she knew about Stephanie having moved in with Chad and the kids. Stephanie immediately reassured “Abigail” that while she and Chad had tried to make things work, Chad had never gotten over his love for his wife. “Abigail” said that she understood and asked about how Chad was doing.

Stephanie admitted that the situation had been tough on Chad, and she had promised him that she would visit Abigail. She told an intrigued “Abigail” that she had known some of her cousin’s “deepest and darkest secrets.” Stephanie recounted a story about when Stephanie had been a race car driver and had gotten into a crash. Abigail had visited Stephanie in the hospital and had tried to smooth things over between Stephanie and her then-boyfriend Max. Stephanie called Abigail “the best cousin and the best friend” that she’d ever had.

Stephanie told “Abigail” that she still wanted to be Abigail's friend, even if it meant starting their friendship over from scratch. She asked “Abigail” for a hug. “Abigail” accepted the request but wore a guilty expression when Stephanie hugged her. The women promised to have dinner and to get reacquainted with each other. E.J. made an abrupt entrance and equally abrupt departure as he fetched ice for his bloody lip. Stephanie implied that E.J. had probably deserved the punch he had gotten, and she filled "Abigail" in on the time that E.J. had kidnapped Stephanie and kept her in a morgue drawer.

A shocked “Abigail” mused at how she could have ever possibly slept with someone like E.J. Stephanie dismissed the affair as short-lived. “Abigail” received a text from Mark asking her to meet him in the park. "Abigail" made an excuse to leave and said her goodbyes to Stephanie.

At Stephanie’s place, a soaked Steve warned Kayla not to laugh at him. Kayla did not honor the request. She handed Steve a towel as Steve explained that he had experienced a mishap while trying to fix Stephanie’s garbage disposal. Kayla kidded Steve about his overprotectiveness of Stephanie, and Steve admitted that he wanted to hold his family close after witnessing what Jack had gone through with Abigail.

Steve and Kayla sat down for coffee, and Kayla updated Steve on a talk she’d had with Jennifer. Kayla said that Jennifer still felt guilt for not being able to accept the mystery woman as Abigail. Steve raised the possibility that the DNA tests could have been wrong, as similar circumstances had occurred before at the hospital. Kayla stressed that the only people involved in the test had been her and Dr. Greene, whom Kayla trusted completely.

Steve recalled when he had lost his memories of Kayla, and he condemned himself for the way he had treated her at the time. Kayla reminded him that their love had gotten them through the difficult time, and she hoped the same could happen for Abigail.

Later, Stephanie arrived home and joked with Steve and Kayla after she caught them making out. Stephanie updated her parents on her visit with Abigail. However, she was confused after Kayla informed her that she had not spoken with Abigail that day. Stephanie could not understand why Abigail had insisted that she had been talking with Kayla about a “plan.” Steve looked on with suspicion.

In Horton Town Square, Leo worked on a script for Body & Soul. Chad approached the table, and Leo noted that Chad didn’t look happy for someone whose wife had just come back from the dead. Chad only said that things with Abigail were “fine.” After Leo’s sarcastic retort at his non-response, Chad admitted that it had been difficult because Abigail looked different and had no memory. Leo was happy that Abigail didn’t remember some of his past transgressions against her, like having put her on his “revenge list” post-wedding disaster.

Chad acknowledged that he had his own revenge list, which included Clyde and anyone else who had kept Abigail from him. Leo started peppering Chad with questions about where Abigail had ended up, but he backed off and defended that asking questions “came with the territory.” Leo briefly changed the subject to Everett’s memorial, which Leo said he had found out about after visiting Stephanie to talk about a press release. When Chad chided Leo for not running the press release by him, Leo reluctantly admitted that the press release had been for Leo’s new job.

Chad directly asked if Leo planned on leaving the paper. Leo claimed that the opportunity to head-write was a “dream come true” but that it had taken over his life, since he had to write six episodes a week all year, with only one break. He offered to pen the occasional guest column for the paper. Chad sincerely offered Leo the best and said that he had enjoyed working with Leo, “mostly.” Leo grinned at the grudging compliment and gave Chad a heads-up that one of Leo’s upcoming stories for the show might seem “familiar.”

Chad grew annoyed as Leo described the story of a “mystery woman” arriving in town and the uncertainty surrounding her identity. Chad argued that the plot wouldn’t work because a DNA test could settle everything. Leo snarked that in the soap world, “A DNA test is worth about as much as a marriage certificate.” Chad shot back that his life was not a soap opera, and he didn’t want to see it played out on-screen. Leo argued that while he liked drama, he legitimately wanted Abigail and Chad to have their “happy ending.”

Chad was touched by Leo’s words and hoped for happiness for Leo, as well. Leo pronounced that he had sworn off love after Dimitri, and he brought up his interest in Mark. He had been disappointed when he had overheard Mark on the phone with someone he had presumed to be Mark’s girlfriend. Leo called the woman “lucky.”

At the hospital, a repentant Aaron hesitantly approached Mark, who immediately scolded his brother for lying about lacrosse camp. Aaron contested that he had been trying to help Tate, and Aaron himself had gotten a great opportunity in the process. Aaron also agreed with Mark that he needed to make amends to Brady. Mark told his brother to wait for Brady to reach out, as Brady had “more important things on his mind.” Aaron was shocked to learn about Brady having been arrested for the hit-and-run.

When Aaron showed sympathy for Brady, Mark got somewhat indignant and stated that Aaron’s sympathies should go to the victim, his colleague Sarah. Aaron apologized and expressed his belief that the accident had triggered Mark’s feelings about the car accident that had killed their parents. Mark acknowledged that he’d thought a lot about their parents, especially since Aaron was entering his senior year. Aaron thanked Mark for everything his brother had done for both Aaron and Felicity, but he doubted that Mark had gotten into as much trouble when he had been Aaron’s age. Mark hinted that Aaron’s assumption was wrong.

Aaron cajoled Mark to confess to the major mistakes his brother had made, and Aaron jokingly suggested such infractions as jaywalking and forgetting to use a number two pencil for a test. Mark vaguely suggested that he’d made more serious errors, but he would not elaborate any further. Aaron grudgingly dropped the subject and left to schedule a sports physical.

Later, Mark met “Abigail” in the park. She told him about Stephanie’s visit and disclosed that the ruse was becoming harder for her. She bemoaned how sweet Stephanie had been to her. As “Abigail” grew upset, Mark embraced her. When she pulled back, he reminded her that her “real family” was there for her.

“Abigail” fixed Mark’s tie and smiled. “Thanks, bro,” she said. He referred to her as “sis” in return.