The nurse removed E.J.'s breathing apparatus at Sami's request as Lexie cried in Stefano's arms and Rafe, Kate, and Will watched from outside the room. Sami whispered, "I'm sorry" to E.J. The nurse left the room as Stefano said goodbye to his son, saying he would be missed more than he ever knew. E.J. started breathing on his own, which startled everyone. Will asked if that meant that E.J. was waking up.

Lexie ordered everyone out of the room, while she examined her brother. Sami replayed the events over in her head from the night she shot E.J. Will asked her if she was okay, and she told him to stop worrying, because everything would be all right. "It didn't quite work out the way you'd hoped, did it, Samantha?" Stefano said. Sami tried to defend herself.

Rafe told Stefano to shut up, reminding him that he had signed off on what Sami did just like everyone else. Stefano said he had been hoping for the best -- he wasn't hoping E.J. would die. "No one was hoping that E.J. was gonna die. The doctors said he didn't have a chance, so Sami just did what she thought was best," Rafe said. Lexie walked out of E.J.'s room and told everyone that while E.J.'s lungs were clear and functioning normally, his prognosis wasn't much better than before.

Stefano wanted to see his son, and Lexie wanted to do another test on E.J. Kate asked Sami to stop by the DiMera mansion to pick up some of the things she had left. Rafe asked to speak to Will alone away from the hospital. Before leaving the room, Lexie told Stefano that "sometimes things don't work out the way we hope." Stefano whispered to E.J., "Never mind what she says. You come back to me."

When Sami and Kate got back to the mansion, Sami wanted to know what Kate wanted. Kate said that she was there so they could talk about Will. Meanwhile, Rafe took Will out to the lake to talk about Will's whereabouts when E.J. had been shot. Kate said she knew Will was aware of what Kate had told Sami about E.J.'s plans to kidnap the kids. Sami assured her that Will had promised not to tell anyone about what Kate had said, but Kate said she wasn't just concerned about that, and Sami knew it.

Kate told Sami that Will needed an alibi for the night of E.J. shooting. Stefano returned home and interrupted Sami and Kate's conversation. He demanded to know what they were talking about. Kate said they were talking about E.J., and Sami asked how E.J. was. "As if you care," he said. Stefano said E.J. was fine. He asked what Sami and Kate were "really talking about." Sami said they were really talking about E.J.

Stefano said he thought they were talking about Will because Stefano had information that the police did not have. Sami demanded to know what he was talking about. Stefano said he was referring to the gun that had been used to shoot E.J. While the shooter must have tossed the gun after the crime, the gun had been locked in the drawer in the living room, Stefano said, and only the people living at the house knew about it.

Stefano unveiled his theory that E.J. had not been shot by one of Victor's people. He said it was "an inside job." No one had been at home at the time but E.J., Stefano said. Since Sami had been with Rafe, the only person left was Will, Stefano added. Sami insisted that Will had not shot E.J. Meanwhile, the nurse checked E.J.'s vitals and then left the room. E.J. whispered Sami's name.

Will told Rafe that he had been at the pub with Johnny, Allie, and Sydney. Rafe said he didn't really believe Will. Rafe asked Will to be straight with him, and Will said he would tell Rafe what he wanted to know. Will repeated his alibi, adding that he had stepped outside for a minute to make a call, but that was it. Rafe still didn't believe him. Will told Rafe that if he really thought Will did it, "Then bring it on. Charge me!"

Maggie told Melanie and Philip that she had changed her mind about attending Isabella's re-internment because she had received a warning the night before about Vivian. Maggie told them about the call she had received from Gus telling her to watch out. Melanie pointed out that everyone needed to "watch out" where Vivian was concerned. Maggie noticed that Vivian had been friendly in recent weeks and had practically begged Maggie to attend. Melanie and Philip told Maggie to stick close to them, and they would protect her. Maggie told Philip and Melanie what a good person Isabella was.

Chloe rubbed her belly, thinking of her last conversation with Vivian, who had suspected that there was something going on with Chloe's sudden friendship with Carly. Daniel walked up on Chloe, which startled her. Chloe was having second thoughts about going to the memorial service for Isabella, because she didn't want to see Vivian.

Daniel said he would go to the memorial alone, and he would have a "chat" with Vivian, telling her to stay away from Chloe and Melanie. Chloe was uneasy about the prospect of Daniel speaking to Vivian about her, so she changed her mind and decided to go with him. Daniel doted on Chloe.

Stephanie ran into Ian outside the Brady Pub, and she stressed out over who had switched Chloe's DNA test results. Meanwhile, Chloe and Daniel went to the Brady Pub, and Daniel was kissing all over her. Stephanie told Ian who they were, and then she realized that Daniel might have switched the results. Stephanie called around and found out that Daniel had special privileges at St. Mary's so he could have accessed the results and changed it.

Victor showed Vivian's email announcing that she had left town to Brady, and Victor said it was "impossible." Victor went upstairs, and Brady followed.

Vivian thought about what a hypocrite Brady was for turning into a "reptile" after discovering what she had done with Isabella's corpse. She was hopeful that Victor would find her. She remembered that there was a remote inside the sarcophagus, so she tuned in to what was going on in her bedroom.

Victor looked all throughout Vivian's bedroom. He opened her closet and noticed that all her clothes were still there, including her luggage. He then looked inside her bedside table and noticed that her jewelry was gone along with her passport. Brady acted surprised and said "That may mean something." Victor noted that Lawrence's ashes were gone too. "There's only one word I can say about this," Victor said. "Hallelujah!"

Victor was beaming when Justin walked in asking what was going on. "Justin, wonderful news! Vivian has left me," Victor said. Victor showed Vivian's "letter" To Justin. "Vivian can be dense as cement when it comes to how other people feel about her. I never thought she'd see the light of day and leave," Victor said. Justin thought that was far-fetched even for Vivian, but he chalked it up to "strange things do happen sometimes."

Victor wondered if it was one of Vivian's schemes to make him miss her. He figured they would find out if she didn't show up for the memorial service, because there was no way Vivian would resist being the center of attention. "Unless she left," Brady said. Vivian said to herself -- and Victor -- "No. My love I'll find a way, I promise."

Victor ordered Justin to prepare the divorce papers just in case, citing desertion. "That way she won't even get the prenup money," Victor laughed. Justin still felt there was something a little too strange about Vivian just disappearing. Brady interjected, "You know. You should look at the bright side on this one. I mean she's gone. He's happy. You should get used to that."

Brady apologized for snapping at Justin. He explained that he wanted to concentrate on his mother's memorial. Victor went into the mausoleum, and Vivian realized he was right near the sarcophagus. Victor delighted at the revelation that Vivian was really gone. When Philip arrived, Victor told him the good news. Victor was so happy he could "dance a gig." Maggie, Melanie, Chloe, and Daniel arrived soon after, and Victor announced his happy news to them. "Vivian has left me. There is a God," he said.

Victor told everyone that Vivian had dumped him by email. Vivian cried out to Victor. Philip hugged Victor, happily. Everyone was happy to hear that Vivian was gone. It was "the best news ever" to Daniel. Vivian called them "all bastards to the core." Maggie asked Victor if he was certain she was gone. He said if Vivian was gone, it was all thanks to Maggie.

Vivian was heartbroken. Victor began the ceremony as they all held hands around the sarcophagus, unbeknownst to everyone but Brady that Vivian was trapped inside. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. You should all be standing over Maggie's helpless screaming body. This is so disgusting!" Vivian said.

Maggie said that Isabella wasn't just beautiful -- "she was an ideal beauty." She said Victor learned more from his daughter than from anyone else about love. Victor said Isabella opened up his heart, and life with her wasn't just wonderful, "it was perfect." He thanked everyone for attending the service. Brady interrupted Victor's toast so he could "come clean" about something. Vivian assumed that Brady was about to confess to trapping Vivian in the sarcophagus.

Instead, Brady told how he had never known his mother growing up, so he learned about her through other people's stories. Brady thanked Vivian for planning the re-internment and said the way in which she'd handled Isabella's memory "was really incredible." He said his only hope was to find a way to pay Vivian back for it. Brady said he felt bad for being so harsh and critical to Vivian while she had been there, because Vivian did a "wonderful and right thing" for Isabella. He proposed a toast to Isabella and "to the woman who made today possible -- Vivian." Vivian screamed, "NO!"

Ian pointed out the flaw in Stephanie's theory -- that if Chloe had cheated on Daniel and gotten pregnant by another guy, Daniel wouldn't change the results so that everyone would think he was the father -- he would tell Chloe to get out of his life. Stephanie surmised that Daniel probably thought it would be better for everyone, because there would have been too much at stake to just leave Chloe, so he'd changed the results, thus saving Melanie's marriage, and Daniel and Chloe's too.

Stephanie told Ian that he didn't need to hack any more computers, and she thanked him for his help. Ian wished her good luck with Nathan. Stephanie said that even though they'd hacked into the computer system, it wasn't like she had changed the results. Adrienne walked up and noticed that Stephanie was afraid of something, and she demanded to know what Stephanie had done.

Stephanie took offense to Adrienne's accusation that she was lying. Adrienne asked what Stephanie had done, and Stephanie said she hadn't done anything. Adrienne called Kayla, because she thought that Stephanie needed Kayla.

At the prison, the warden visited Hope in her cell to say that she had not told Bo about the attack. The warden warned Hope, "Cops don't do real well in prison." The warden urged Hope to tell Bo about the fight, but Hope refused to say anything. "I've caused him enough pain. He needs to live his own life without feeling guilty about me," Hope said.

After the warden left, Tina returned to the cell and suggested that they make the best of their situation. A woman named Hildy stopped by the cell with a book cart and offered Hope something to read. When Hope went to take the book, Hildy grabbed Hope through the bars and put her in a choke hold. Citing the three months that were added to her sentence because of the fight, Tina blamed Hope for delaying Tina's reunion with her kids. Tina punched Hope in the stomach as Hildy held Hope tightly against the bars.

In the Brady Pub, Bo told Carly that Vivian had left town for good. "How can you be sure that that's true?" Carly asked. Bo explained to Carly about the email, but she did not believe Victor's story. Bo noted that Vivian's jewelry and passport, and Lawrence's urn were missing, but Carly pointed out that Vivian was unlikely to pass up the opportunity to hog the spotlight at the memorial she set up. Nodding, Bo said that Vivian had overheard Victor say unkind words about her to Brady.

"Victor doesn't say nice things to Vivian's face. What did she expect him to say behind her back?" Carly asked. Bo agreed but added "You're so used to having Vivian around tormenting you that you don't believe that she's gone for good." "I don't believe she's gone for good. She's up to something," Carly said. Carly said that Victor was naïve to believe that Vivian had left, but she believed Victor was so relieved to be rid of Vivian that he couldn't think straight.

In the mausoleum, Justin, Brady, Victor, and Maggie talked about how odd it was that Vivian had left town before the memorial for Isabella. Victor urged Maggie to join him for a drink in the house, and she reluctantly agreed to join Victor as a friend. Brady opted to stay behind, and once Victor, Maggie, and Justin had left, Brady slipped on the earpiece to talk to Vivian. "Did you hear that? The woman that you wanted to lock inside the sarcophagus was the one woman that didn't want to celebrate your disappearance," Brady noted.

Vivian begged Brady to let her out before she died. Brady corrected Vivian, noting that she would go insane from the toxic fumes before she died. Furious, Vivian commented that she believed Brady would not be able to handle the mental strain of murder. Vivian promised Brady that she would not tell anyone what he had done to her if he let her out of the sarcophagus. Noting Vivian's track record with promises, Brady said he was reluctant to let Vivian loose.

"Don't you see? You're going to have to let me out of here eventually or let me die. Either way the authorities are going to find out, and you'll go to prison for the rest of your life," Vivian said. Vivian urged Brady to take her up on her offer and let her out of the sarcophagus right away, before it was too late. Brady agreed with Vivian's assessment of the situation, and said that he had decided to let Vivian "rot." Vivian swore to give up Victor, but Brady countered that Victor was inside the mansion with Maggie and was already out of the picture. With a smirk, Brady said goodbye and left the mausoleum.

Inside the Kiriakis mansion, Victor toasted to Vivian's departure and asked Justin to file for divorce in the morning. Concerned, Justin advised Victor to wait, since Vivian had disappeared under such strange circumstances. Frustrated, Victor took Maggie by the hand and led her upstairs to show Maggie the evidence of Vivian's departure.

Bo called the Kiriakis mansion, and Brady answered the phone in the living room. Bo told Brady that he was going to investigate Vivian's disappearance because her departure did not "add up." When Brady protested, Bo noted that he wanted to be sure that Vivian was not scheming.

In the pub, Ciara overheard Bo and Hope talking about Vivian. "I don't like her. She's scary," Ciara said. After Bo told Ciara that Vivian was gone, a relieved Ciara gave Carly a drawing she'd made. Ciara hugged Bo, then went back upstairs. Bo thanked Carly for being in Ciara's life until Hope could return home. Bo admitted that he had not heard from Hope, and he explained that he was worried he had not received any news from the prison. As if on cue, the warden from the prison called his cell phone. The warden informed Bo that Hope had been attacked twice. After hanging up the phone, Bo fretted, "She should never have been put in general population. This time she was put in the hospital." Bo swore to help Hope.

Desperate for information in the sarcophagus, Vivian switched channels on her television to the camera in her bedroom. On camera, Victor showed Maggie that Vivian's jewelry and passport were missing. "She did leave her clothes, but she gets a new wardrobe every month anyway," Victor said with a chuckle. When Maggie asked Victor about the reference to her in Vivian's email, Victor said he did not want to talk about Vivian anymore. Feeling awkward, Maggie excused herself from the room, noting that she wanted to check on Brady in the mausoleum. Once Maggie was gone, Victor smiled wide and straightened his tie. "Wipe that smile off your face you old letch," Vivian grumbled as she watched Victor through the closed circuit feed.

Brady returned to the mausoleum, and Vivian watched through the closed circuit feed in the sarcophagus and yammered on about Brady's conscience. Unraveling, Brady yelled at Vivian to "Shut up and let me think!" Maggie opened the door to the mausoleum and asked Brady who he was talking to. Startled, Brady stammered an explanation that he was attempting to say goodbye to his mother. Unnerved, Brady left the mausoleum. Maggie stared at the sarcophagus in the mausoleum, then noticed Vivian's earring on the floor next to it. Maggie remembered seeing the earring on Vivian before. "This is Vivian's," Maggie said quietly.

Vivian changed the channel back to the camera in her bedroom and witnessed Victor ordering Henderson to take all of Vivian's things and donate them to charity. Turning his attention to the wall, Victor walked toward one of the cameras in Vivian's bedroom. Thrilled, Vivian cried out that Victor was going to save her. Victor reached out and straightened the painting of Vivian on the wall, oblivious to the hidden camera in the wall next to it. Grumbling under his breath, Victor noted that he was going to throw out the painting of Vivian and put up a picture of hunting dogs instead. "Victor don't leave me, please," Vivian cried out feebly.

In the living room of the DiMera mansion, Sami defended her son to Stefano, claiming that she "knew" Will had not shot E.J. Stefano challenged Sami to prove how she could be so certain that Will was innocent. "I just am," Sami said firmly. Kate interrupted the argument to note that Will was not capable of shooting anyone. Jumping on Kate's remark, Sami asked Stefano to think about his time with Will and ask himself whether he believed Will was capable of shooting E.J.

"He was willing to give you another chance. He sits here and plays chess with you and talks to you, for God's sake. I have warned him about you. My whole family tells him what you are capable of, and yet he cares about you," Sami said to Stefano. Stefano reluctantly agreed that Will cared about him, but reminded Sami that Will was furious with him when he learned that Stefano had known about E.J.'s involvement in Sydney's kidnapping. "His anger to me was nothing compared to his anger for Elvis. And when someone gets that angry, things happen," Stefano stressed.

Lying in his hospital bed, E.J. struggled to speak Sami's name. Lexie walked in to E.J.'s room to check the monitors when they started beeping, and she noticed E.J. twitching. Lexie rushed to her brother's side and asked if he could hear her voice. When E.J. kept shaking but did not answer, Lexie rushed into the hallway to call Stefano and urge him to get down to the hospital.

Down by the lake, Will challenged Rafe to arrest him for shooting E.J. "You think you can prove it? No one can!" Will yelled. Rafe told Will that even if he was not the shooter, Stefano and other people might believe Will had shot E.J. "Stefano is gonna think what he thinks, and that's it. Stefano, if he feels that you're the one that shot his son, he's not gonna wait for proof," Rafe said. Will thought about his mother's confession to him about the shooting, and he turned away from Rafe.

Rafe told Will that he promised Sami he'd would protect her and her family. "If I did shoot E.J., does that mean you're gonna lie for me?" Will asked. Rafe promised that he would do whatever he needed to do to protect Sami and her family. With a sigh, Rafe noted that he was not a "black is black, and white is white kind of guy anymore." Rafe explained that because he was predictable, E.J. was able to manipulate him and Sami during the kidnapping. "That is not being a good agent. That's just being dumb," Rafe said. "If I'm gonna be good at being part of your family, I have to realize that no two situations are the same," Rafe said.

"I'm gonna protect the people that I love. First, last, and always," Rafe said firmly. "I'm not gonna be that rigid guy anymore," Rafe added. Rafe stressed that anything Will told him would be confidential, but before Will could tell Rafe the truth about the shooting, Rafe received a text message from Sami asking him to meet her at the hospital.

Back at the hospital in E.J.'s room, Lexie informed Stefano, Lexie, and Sami that there was an increase in brain activity. As Stefano wondered aloud whether E.J. was getting better, E.J. began to grunt and shake. Stefano begged E.J. to tell him who had shot him. Noting that E.J.'s brain activity was dropping off again, Lexie asked everyone to leave the room so E.J. could rest.

Out in the hallway, Stefano celebrated the good news about E.J. as Will and Rafe arrived at the hospital. "E.J.'s talking? He's awake?" Rafe asked. Stefano noted that whoever shot E.J. "should be very worried right now." Sami warned Stefano not to threaten her son, and annoyed, Stefano walked away. As Sami took Will down the hallway to talk to him privately, Kate expressed her fear to Rafe about Stefano's conviction that Will was to blame.

When Stefano returned to Kate's side, he asked Rafe about the investigation into E.J.'s shooting. Rafe reminded Stefano that the shooting was not under FBI jurisdiction, and that Stefano needed to talk to the police. "I believe that you are interested in seeing justice done. After all, you live by a very strict code. So you would not bend the rules if you knew who did it, would you?" Stefano asked. "That's hard to say, since I don't know who did it," Rafe said bluntly.

In a private waiting room, Sami asked Will to live with Roman so that he could protect Will from Stefano. "I am scared for you and your brothers and your sister. But I want you to know that I'm not going to let you take the blame for this," Sami said. When Sami offered to confess, Will urged Sami not to say anything, since there was no evidence. "I think we should tell Rafe the truth," Will said. Scared, Sami begged Will not to tell Rafe. "He's changed, mom. When I talked to him earlier, he was really clear that he would stick up for us no matter what," Will said.

"We can't let him do that," Sami said. Sami explained that she felt horrible that Will knew the truth, and she did not want to make Rafe an accomplice to the shooting as well. As Rafe entered the room, Sami fell quiet. Looking guilty, Sami said that she wanted to go home, then headed out the door. Suspicious, Rafe lingered in the room before following Sami and Will down the hallway.

Back at the DiMera mansion, Stefano told Kate that he was fond of Will and that he did not want to believe that Will was the shooter. "Then we'll wait. We should wait until we have more information, till E.J. wakes up," Kate said, and Stefano agreed. When Kate went in to the kitchen, Stefano stared at a photo of E.J. and promised to make the shooter pay.

In his hospital bed, E.J. began to thrash and called out, "Samantha!" Lexie ran to her brother's side and asked, "What about Sami?"

At the Brady Pub, the warden from the prison where Hope was incarcerated met with Bo over coffee. Warden Smith advised Bo that Hope had spent the night in the infirmary, though her injuries had not been serious. The warden was worried because the general prison population had become aware that Hope had been a cop, and Hope had refused additional security.

Bo demanded that Warden Smith put Hope in isolation as soon as she was released from the infirmary, but the warden reminded him that the prison wasn't his jurisdiction. "I don't follow," Bo noted irritably. "You came all the way here to tell me that there's a dangerous situation, and yet you imply that you cannot guarantee my wife's safety." With a somewhat smug smile, Warden Smith assured Bo that she would do everything she could to ensure that Hope was safe. Bo was skeptical.

At the Kiriakis mansion, Victor overheard Brady order the firing of a longtime Titan employee, as well as the man's entire team. After Brady hung up, Victor commended his grandson on taking such decisive action, which Victor declared would shake up the entire division-and which was something Victor would have done.

As Brady left the room, Maggie arrived to see Victor. Maggie showed Victor the expensive earring that she'd found at the mausoleum, and asserted that Vivian would not have left town without such a valuable piece of jewelry. "Vivian finally came to her senses and left," Victor cracked. "I don't care if she left behind the ruby slippers, as long as she's gone!"

Maggie still thought it was strange that Vivian had lost an earring in the mausoleum, but Victor pointed out that Vivian had been spending an inordinate amount of time there. Maggie asked Victor to send the earring to Vivian, and he promised that he would as soon as he knew where Vivian was. Maggie joked about how sorry she was not to get to decorate for Victor and Vivian's first anniversary party. Victor showed Maggie the email that "Vivian" had sent, which explained that she was leaving because she'd finally accepted the sparks she'd seen between Maggie and Victor.

Victor reminded Maggie that she had offered to give him a ride to the airport before he married Vivian, and asked if the offer still stood. Maggie replied, "Maybe I was seeing something in you, a guy who was sick and tired of the way he was living, and he might want to make a big change... I was forced into a big change, but it wasn't any of my doing, so maybe I just wanted to relate to you." Victor asserted that Mickey would not want Maggie to spend the rest of her life alone.

Maggie softly countered that since Mickey was gone, she had to rely on her instincts, and they were telling her to remain friends-and nothing more-with Victor. Victor openly expressed his affection for everything he liked about Maggie. She maintained that while she liked a lot about him, she knew he enjoyed the chase-and as soon as she gave in, he would become bored.

"Friends?" asked Maggie, her hand extended. Victor shook it in reluctant accord, conceding, "Friends." As Maggie left, he added rakishly to himself, "For now." At the door, Maggie tried to convince herself that she'd done the right thing.

Carly arrived at the mausoleum to pay her respects to her dear, departed friend, Isabella. While Carly conveyed her regrets that Vivian had disturbed Isabella's final resting place, Vivian shrieked powerlessly from inside the sarcophagus for Carly's help.

Brady went into Vivian's bedroom and snapped on the closed-circuit monitor into the sarcophagus. Vivian warned him that Carly was in the mausoleum, talking about Vivian to Isabella. Brady flipped over to that channel, and indeed, he heard Carly expressing her doubts that Vivian had really left town in defeat. Vivian taunted, "Interesting, isn't it? The one person who despises me the most may be the person who saves me-especially if she drags your dim-witted Uncle Bo into it." Brady scowled.

When Bo met Carly at the mausoleum, he declared ironically that his sister would have deemed the sarcophagus "a little bit over-the-top." Carly admitted that seeing the sarcophagus had immediately made her suspect that Vivian wasn't really gone, but Bo assured her that she didn't have to worry about Vivian anymore. "How can you say that?" an anxious Carly demanded. "She could be out there right now, waiting to strike, because she has something really, really bad in mind!"

Brady remarked to Vivian about the conversation in the mausoleum, "I don't think it's gonna be too hard to convince them that they have nothing to fear from you." Vivian argued confidently, "[Carly] won't believe I'm gone until she hears it out of my own mouth." As he fiddled with Vivian's phone, Brady calmly asserted that she was constantly underestimating her opponents by assuming none of them had any brains.

In the mausoleum, Carly's cell phone alerted her that she had an email, which she then read aloud to Bo: "Dearest Carly, I may be gone, but I'll never forget what you did to Lawrence. My broken marriage takes priority right now, but I'll heal-and I will be back. Vivian." Bo declared that it meant Carly and Melanie would be fine, because Vivian seemed to be admitting defeat.

"You will not get away with this, Brady Black!" Vivian exclaimed. "Seems I just did," Brady asserted, and shut off the monitor-just as Philip entered Vivian's bedroom. Philip wanted to know whom Brady had just been talking to. Since Brady still had the Bluetooth headset in his ear, he was easily able to convince Philip that he'd been talking to the office. The men admitted that they had both gone to Vivian's room to make sure she was really gone.

After Philip had left, Brady turned the monitor back on to taunt Vivian. He thanked her for telling him about Bo and Carly, so he could send a message to Carly from Vivian's phone-thereby proving that Vivian was alive and well and able to send email. "Face it, Viv, you're toast," Brady declared. Vivian feigned worry that Brady's guilty conscience would drive him back to abusing drugs. Ignoring her, Brady clicked the monitor off. "Sorry, Viv," he muttered to himself. "This is one good deed that's gonna go unpunished."

Bo announced that it was time to leave the creepy mausoleum, and Carly agreed. "I think Isabella would be happy for us, being together," she asserted. Bo concurred that his sister was their guardian angel.

At the DiMera mansion, Stefano instructed a man, "I want the results as soon as possible." The man snapped his briefcase closed, nodded, and left. Kate entered, and wanted to know who had been there. Stefano informed her, "A person who is helping me find out who shot Elvis-so I can deal with this in my own way." Kate demanded to know what Stefano's "hired goon" would do if he confirmed Stefano's suspicions that Will had shot E.J. "Let's hope that's not the case," was all Stefano would say.

Philip left a message asking Kate to meet him, because he needed to talk to her about Vivian. When they met on the pier later, Philip told her that Vivian had left town. Kate's subdued reaction was not at all what Philip had expected, since Vivian and Kate were mortal enemies, and he immediately deduced that "something big" had to be wrong. Kate admitted that the situation with E.J. had her preoccupied, as did Stefano's state of mind about it.

Philip thought he understood, but Kate emphasized that Stefano was completely enraged. Philip demanded to know whether Stefano believed someone in the Kiriakis family was responsible for E.J.'s shooting. Kate lied that she did not know, but she pointed out that she had heard Victor threaten Stefano the night E.J. had been shot. Philip insisted that Victor would not have done something like that without talking to Philip about it first.

Outside the Brady Pub, Will asked Rafe how the twins were doing. Rafe said that Johnny was upset about not being able to see his dad in the hospital. Rafe wondered if Sami should tell the little boy that E.J. was there because he had been shot, not because he was sick. Will remarked, "My mom, she's not big on leveling with people."

Rafe wondered what that meant, but Will snapped at him to stop reading things into everything Will said. Rafe maintained that he only wanted to understand what Will was going through. "I hate it," Will admitted. "I want it over with-all of it." Will believed that E.J. would never go to prison for the kidnapping, and Rafe guessed that the person who had shot E.J. had thought the same thing. Rafe noted, "The problem is, if E.J. does die, whoever did it is going to be locked up for a long time, maybe even worse."

Arianna arrived just then, and interjected, "Whoever shot E.J. is going to have to deal with Stefano. Me? I'd rather go to prison." Rafe somewhat irritably told his sister that he and Will had been having a private conversation. Will used that as an excuse to leave, which only made Rafe more annoyed with Arianna.

The siblings argued about their opposing views on the justice system, and then the subject turned to Rafe's supposed disapproval of Arianna. Arianna argued that E.J. DiMera had shown more faith in her than Rafe ever had, and had even defended her when she'd been arrested for assaulting him. Rafe countered that E.J. had been conning her the same way he'd conned Sami. Arianna maintained that while E.J. was far from perfect, he had never let her down-and she wasn't going to let him down, either.

After Arianna left, Rafe called his assistant, Tiffany, to tell her that he was taking the rest of the week off.

At the hospital, Lexie pleaded with E.J. to wake up and tell her why he'd called out Sami's name. Abe arrived after dropping off Theo at therapy, and asked if there had been any change in E.J.'s condition. Lexie filled him in about E.J. saying Sami's name, and about the increase in E.J.'s brain activity, although she didn't know definitively what either meant. Abe surmised, "Sami's been his focus for months. If he called her name, he knows who he is, and what he wants." Lexie wasn't so sure, and she didn't plan to tell her father about it.

Just then, Stefano arrived and demanded to know what Lexie wasn't telling him. She divulged only that there had been a slight increase in E.J.'s brain activity. Stefano asked to be alone with his son. After Lexie and Abe left, Stefano spoke encouragingly to E.J., but also promised that there would be "hell to pay" for whoever had shot him. He added that he had hired someone to help in the investigation, although he feared that "young William Horton" had been the culprit. "I have actually grown very fond of William, but if I am proven right about him, I will do to him what he did to you," Stefano growled.

The man Stefano had hired earlier inquired at the nurses' station about Stefano's whereabouts. Lexie informed the man that she was Stefano's daughter, just as Stefano emerged from E.J.'s room. As the elder DiMera left with his hired man, Lexie worried aloud to Abe about what the two men could be discussing. Abe assured Lexie that she had done the right thing in keeping the full truth from Stefano, and maintained, "He really shouldn't know that E.J. said Sami's name." Will arrived just then and overheard, but kept quiet.

In private, the man presented Stefano with an envelope, and stated, "I think this is what you're looking for." Stefano's face betrayed nothing as he inspected the envelope's contents.

A fretful Lexie returned to E.J.'s bedside. "I don't know who did this to you, E.J.," she said worriedly. "Part of me doesn't want to know. But our father isn't going to give up until he finds the person who shot you-and when he does, God help whoever it is."

After leaving the hospital, Will walked distractedly along the water. "If E.J. already said Mom's name," he worried to himself, "what else is he gonna say?"

Back at the DiMera mansion, Kate worried about how to stop Stefano. "If he thinks that Will is the one, then I can't reason with him," she told herself. "Katherine, you need to do what you need to do-whatever it takes-because Will is your flesh and blood. No one else matters." She looked around the room as if for inspiration, and her eyes fell on a decanter on the bar. She imagined placing a liquid from an eyedropper into the bottle, but wondered, "Will I really need to do that to the husband I've come to love?"

When Stefano arrived home, holding the envelope, he announced to Kate that he had news about William. "Okay, but before we talk, how about a drink?" Kate offered, and picked up the decanter she'd fantasized about poisoning.

Brady checked in on Vivian in the mausoleum, but Melanie walked in to see if he was okay and asked why she hadn't heard from Brady in a while, and he said it was because he had hooked up with Nicole after he and Arianna had broken up, and he knew that Melanie would have hated that. Brady assured Melanie that his romance with Nicole was over.

Carly walked in and told Brady that she still missed Isabella. Vivian felt ill listening to Brady and Carly go on and on about Isabella, given that Carly had killed Lawrence and Brady had locked Vivian in the sarcophagus. Brady told Carly and Melanie that they were lucky for having each other, and he was glad that they had fought back and hadn't let Vivian win. Carly told Brady and Melanie about the email that Vivian had sent her, not knowing that Brady had sent it to cast off any suspicion about Vivian's disappearance.

Daniel had to go to work, so he would miss the baby shower. Before he left, Chloe vented to him that she'd had to invite Nicole to the shower at the last minute. Chloe was dreading the event, because when Chloe had suggested Nicole be added to the guest list in the first place, Melanie had said that "all the other women would start throwing things at her." Chloe didn't want there to be a scene. Daniel assured her that it wouldn't be that bad.

Nicole interrupted Daniel and Chloe's kissing to announce that she was moving back home, since the DiMeras weren't an immediate threat to her, and the police had cancelled her security detail. Chloe asked if she was going to miss the shower, and Nicole said she would still attend. When Daniel left, Nicole confided to Chloe that she was afraid of what to do since she no longer had the distraction of the DiMeras trying to kill her and had no choice but to face the fact that Brady no longer wanted her.

Chloe felt bad for Nicole, but Nicole told her not to, because Chloe had a great guy and a baby on the way. Chloe lamented over how she had almost lost Daniel by sleeping with someone else. Nicole complained about how guys with morals could break her heart. Chloe warned Nicole to be nice to Melanie and Carly, because Chloe was finally getting along with them. While Chloe was taking a nap, Melanie showed up with a cake for the shower. Melanie asked what Nicole was doing there, and Nicole explained that she had been staying with Chloe and Daniel.

Melanie asked Nicole if she had set her sights on Daniel. Nicole said, "No, Chloe's my best friend." Melanie said that Arianna was Melanie's best friend and was miserable because of Nicole. Nicole said Melanie should tell Arianna that if she had wished anything bad on Nicole, it already happened. Nicole told Melanie to "be grateful for your rich little husband and your doting doctor parents, okay, and leave me alone."

"Chloe, you better find yourself a new best friend, because the one you have now is a bitch," Melanie said to herself after Nicole left. Maggie joined Carly and Melanie at Chloe's apartment for the baby shower.

At the Cheatin' Heart, Nicole got irritated with the store where she'd bought Chloe's baby shower gift, because she'd gotten the date wrong, and the store wouldn't engrave it in time for the shower. Brady walked in, and when Nicole hurried over to his table, he started to leave, but she stopped him. She tried to apologize to him for what she had done, explaining that she had been desperate at the time. She said she wasn't trying to convince him to give her another chance, but she asked if he had ever done anything crazy because he couldn't stand the way something was. "Yeah, as a matter of fact I have," he said.

Brady told Nicole that he had realized that he was no good for Arianna, despite Victor and Nicole's warning to the contrary. Brady said that he and Nicole had a lot of traits in common and deserved each other in a way. Nicole said that she wasn't good enough for him, but she was willing to try, if he gave her a chance. Brady said he didn't think he could trust her and didn't put a lot of weight into her promises. "And if you need proof as to how much I don't want to deal with you, I'm going to leave right now without having a drink," he said and left, leaving Nicole with tears in her eyes.

Arianna visited E.J. at the hospital and massaged his arm while she explained that the police did not have any leads on his shooter. Arianna wasn't surprised that the police had no leads, given how they had handled her case, when it was Hope all along that was the serial mugger. Arianna vowed to an unconscious E.J. that she would find out who had shot him.

Stefano told Kate that he had news about Will. Kate was making Stefano a drink, and he suggested she pour one for herself, because she would need it after hearing what he had to say. Stefano said that he had determined that Will could not have been the shooter. He consumed the drink that Kate had served him. He noticed that Kate wasn't drinking and wondered why. She said she'd never thought that Will was guilty, and she was glad that Stefano agreed with her. Then she drank up.

Stefano wanted to talk about what was going on between him and Kate. He said he wanted to be able to trust her, and she said she wanted the same. He wondered what she would have done if he had told her that he had proof that Will had shot E.J. She said she would have begged him not to hurt Will. And he wondered what she would have done if begging hadn't worked. She said she would have done anything to protect Will. She asked if Stefano expected her to do anything less, and he said, "I suppose not."

Stefano said he'd wondered lately if Kate thought of him as a "ruthless barbarian." Kate said that she married him because she thought of him as a man with great strength and passion. "And because I have evidence that can send you to prison," he said. "That too," Kate said. Stefano said he didn't want to hurt Kate or cause her any kind of pain.

Kate asked Stefano how he'd realized that Will hadn't shot E.J. Stefano said that he had given the drawer that contained the gun used to shoot E.J. to Stefano's "DNA guy" and Will's prints weren't on it. Kate was relieved. Stefano asked if she was going to ask him who'd shot E.J. Stefano said that his and E.J.'s prints were all over the desk, as well as Kate's and Sami's. Kate pointed out that Sami had an alibi, but Stefano said that Rafe would say anything to protect Sami.

Nathan and Stephanie began making out on the couch. Nate teased Stephanie about Ian being around all the time. They continued their makeout session, when there was a knock at the door. She assumed that it was the pizza deliveryman, but it turned out to be her mother, who was holding the pizza Stephanie had ordered. Kayla was shocked to see Nathan standing shirtless in the living room.

Stephanie was happily surprised to see Kayla, and she asked if her mother had traveled to Salem with her brother, Joe. Kayla said that Joe was also in town and that Steve had stayed behind, because he thought it was a "woman thing." Kayla told her about Adrienne's phone call, saying Adrienne had been concerned that Stephanie needed Kayla. Stephanie said that Adrienne was overreacting, because Adrienne wanted to see Kayla and used it as an excuse to convince Kayla to return to Salem. Nathan was paged to the hospital, and after he left, Kayla said, "You may have got him fooled, but not me. What's going on?"

Stephanie wondered why Kayla hadn't called first, because she could have explained that Adrienne was overreacting. Kayla was waiting for Stephanie to calm down so they could talk. Kayla wanted to talk about the guy that Adrienne had seen Stephanie with. Stephanie felt offended that Adrienne had called Kayla just because she'd seen Stephanie talking to an old friend. Kayla said she was in town for more than just Stephanie.

Kayla was there because Hope was in jail and Sami had found out that E.J. had kidnapped Sydney. Kayla said she planned to stay for a while. Stephanie was glad that her mother was there, because she'd missed her. Stephanie offered to have Kayla and Joey stay with her, but Kayla planned to stay with Caroline. Stephanie wanted Kayla to see that she and Nathan were happy. Kayla asked if Stephanie was still worried about Melanie and Nathan. Stephanie said that she wasn't worried about Melanie and Nathan anymore, because Nathan was over Melanie and Melanie was over him. Kayla wasn't buying it.

Daniel treated Ian at the hospital after Ian had an accident on his motorcycle. Ian thought back to when he'd schemed with Stephanie to find out who had changed Chloe's DNA results. At first, Ian told Daniel that he had read about him in the paper, but then he volunteered that he had heard about Daniel from Stephanie. Daniel asked Ian how he knew Stephanie, and Ian said they'd gone to college together, and Stephanie had mentioned Daniel when Ian had asked about her job. Ian said he would always be there for Stephanie no matter who else was in her life.

After Daniel stitched up Ian's arms, he went to the nurse's station to get his prescription pad, leaving his cell phone in the room with Ian. Ian thought about Stephanie's suspicions that Daniel had switched Chloe's test results. Nathan walked into the room as Ian was trying to access Daniel's phone. Nathan was annoyed that Ian was always showing up. Daniel walked in and gave Ian his prescription and realized that he had left his phone in the room. After Nathan left, Ian asked Daniel if Nathan was on Ian's medical case, but Daniel said no. Ian realized that Nathan was just there to "bug" Ian. "Here's a bitter pill: Leave Nathan and his girlfriend alone," Daniel said.

Will went into E.J.'s room and asked if E.J. saying Sami's name meant that he was waking up and, if so, what that would mean for Sami. Will told an unconscious E.J. that he didn't want Sami to pay for protecting her children; he wanted E.J. to pay. Then Will moved closer and told E.J. that it would be best for everyone if E.J. had died.

Arianna arrived at Chloe's shower, and Melanie introduced her to the other women. Melanie tried to start with the games, but Chloe stopped her because Nicole wasn't there yet. Arianna didn't know that Nicole was invited, and Chloe explained that Nicole was her friend. Arianna said she couldn't be in the same room as Nicole. Chloe said she was sorry.

"As a matter of fact, I think you're like the only person who can even stand her," Arianna said to Chloe. "I am?" Chloe said, looking around for support, to no avail, "Oh, I guess I am." Chloe said that Nicole had been going through a rough time and knew that she had made a lot of mistakes, and she asked her guests if they would be nice to Nicole. Everyone looked around at each other.

Nadine started telling Arianna a story about a husband and his wife, who was in labor. "So after about 14 hours of labor, her husband comes to her talking about 'Honey, don't forget to breathe.' Girl, I had to move fast. Her hands was just about around his neck..." Nadine said. Maggie motioned for Nadine to cut off the conversation, so Nadine wrapped it up inconspicuously. "And then the baby was born, and everything was fine," Nadine said. Maggie changed the subject.

Arianna apologized to Chloe for what she had said about Nicole, and she promised to steer clear of Nicole. Chloe said that Nicole knew how much the baby shower meant to Chloe and had promised to be on her best behavior. Chloe thought that Nicole was out getting more soda, but Chloe noticed that she was taking a long time.

Meanwhile, Nicole was getting drunk at the Cheatin' Heart. She decided to call a cab and go to the baby shower. Back at the baby shower, the guests were playing games. Nicole walked in drunk and offended that Melanie had started the party without her. Melanie noticed Nicole's drunken state, and Nicole offended Arianna with a joke about sharing prison experiences as a party game.

Melanie offered to make some coffee for Nicole in the kitchen, but Nicole wasn't interested. Nicole almost insulted Melanie, but Carly walked up behind her and interrupted just in time. "Says the villainess, sleeping with a married man," Nicole told Carly. Carly ushered Nicole to the door. Nicole kept saying rude things, so Chloe stood up and told Nicole to stop.

"What, Chloe? You're one of them now, right? Butter wouldn't melt, soon to be married woman, doting mother," Nicole said. Chloe asked her to leave, and Nicole blurted out, "Okay, we won't talk about what you did to Daniel. We'll just skip right over that one. What he doesn't know won't kill him, right?" Chloe looked horrified. Melanie heard Nicole's comment and asked what she had said.

In the sarcophagus, Vivian vowed to get rid of Melanie and Carly "in the most horrible way possible." "When you get out of here?" Brady asked. "Don't you mean, if you get out of here?" Vivian said that Brady could at least give Vivian privacy, but he said, "No, no privacy for you. Your secrets get people killed, Vivian." Vivian predicted that Brady's secret would do the same, and he would end up in jail for the rest of his life. Brady shared with Vivian that he had gone into a bar but hadn't ordered a drink, so he felt that keeping Vivian locked up was the best therapy he had ever had.

At the hospital, Daniel gave Ian some antibiotics for his injured arm, and cautioned him to stay off the motorcycle until it was completely healed. As Daniel was leaving, Ian reminded him not to forget his cell phone. Ian shook his head after the doctor left, and muttered, "You seem like a good guy. Too bad your girlfriend's having some other dude's baby."

As they entered the Brady Pub together, Stephanie insisted to Kayla that she and Nathan were perfectly happy together. "Ian is a good friend," Stephanie assured her mom. "Aunt Adrienne was wrong. He's a non-issue!" As Stephanie's cell phone rang, Kayla said that she was going to look for Caroline, but she overheard Stephanie answer the phone, "Ian, what is it? This isn't a good time." Ian advised her to make time to hear what he'd found out.

Stephanie then claimed she had to leave, because something had come up at the hospital. She reminded a concerned Kayla, "You can't be mad at me, because you used to leave me for the hospital all the time." Stephanie kissed her mom goodbye and left. Kayla remarked to herself disappointedly, "But when I said I was going to the hospital, I wasn't lying."

When Stephanie met Ian at her apartment, he told her that he'd checked Dr. Jonas' outgoing messages on the day that the paternity results had been switched. "He was all over some birthday surprise for the girlfriend," Ian deduced. "He doesn't have a clue that he's not the father of the baby." Stephanie wasn't so sure. Just as Kayla entered, Ian was asserting to Stephanie, "He may have had a great motive, but he's not the one who switched the test results."

At Chloe's baby shower, Melanie and Carly tried to usher a drunk, combative Nicole out the door. Chloe urged her friend to stop insulting everyone, but Nicole became indignant. Chloe finally said that she wanted Nicole to leave. "All right," Nicole blabbed. "And I won't talk about what you did to Daniel. We'll just pass right over that. What he doesn't know won't kill him."

"What did you just say?" demanded Melanie. Nicole quietly apologized to an utterly thunderstruck Chloe, and then tried to leave, but Melanie refused to let Nicole go until she explained what she meant. As the tension in the room mounted, Maxine made an excuse about checking out the baby's room, and she and the other women all hurried into the nursery. Melanie repeated her demand to Nicole. Carly gently tried to intervene, pointing out that they didn't want to ruin the party.

Nicole insisted that she was just drunk and shooting her mouth off without thinking. Realizing she was getting nowhere with Nicole, Melanie confronted Chloe. Inserting herself between them, Nicole adamantly declared, "I was--and this may come as a surprise to you--a little jealous when I walked into a room full of women in loving, committed relationships. I said whatever came into my head! I was angry with her and how she treated him. She has this dreamy doctor, and she's like, 'Should I marry him? Maybe I won't.' She has a great guy and I have nothing!" Nicole maintained firmly that Melanie should leave Chloe alone and instead focus her anger on Nicole.

After the other women returned, Chloe took a phone call from her mom, who had wanted to attend the shower. While everyone else was distracted, Carly quietly offered some aspirin to Nicole. Nicole was surprised that Carly was being nice. Carly noted that although Nicole had been nasty to everyone, "You also got Chloe out of that hole you dug for her." She then warned a remorseful Nicole to be careful: "I don't know what you know, and I don't want to. But this situation affects a lot of people that I care about."

Melanie wondered privately to Arianna why Carly seemed to be covering for Nicole, as if she knew more than she was letting on. Arianna just thought that Carly was trying to contain the situation.

When Chloe hung up from talking to her mother, Melanie announced that it was time for Chloe to open gifts. First was a present from Maxine and all the nurses on her floor. With a pointed--but lighthearted--glance at Carly, Maxine declared, "Most doctors get on my nerves, and are a pain in the butt. But your Doctor Jonas is truly, truly one of the good guys. You couldn't have picked a better father for your baby." Next, Chloe opened a music box from Maggie, who expressed her wish that the baby would have Chloe's gift for music.

Melanie then announced that it was time for a game. As she handed out pens and notepads, she explained that they were supposed to predict things like the baby's weight, gender, and what time he or she would be born. Melanie reluctantly permitted Nicole to participate in the game. Carly noticed that Nicole suddenly looked miserable, and realized that the shower was probably evoking sad memories of Nicole's miscarriage. Nicole swiped away a tear, and excused herself to wash her face.

As everyone began to clean up, Carly and Chloe privately acknowledged how the shower had likely been "torture" for Nicole. After the women said their goodbyes, hugged Chloe, and wished her well, all the guests filed out but Carly and Melanie. Carly quietly warned Chloe that Nicole was a loose cannon.

As Stefano sat at E.J.'s bedside, he pledged, "I will find out who shot you, Elvis. And if it was Samantha...well, then, she'll be out of our lives--forever." He expressed his relief that Will hadn't done it, and urged his son to fight for the children's sake. Suddenly the monitors began beeping more rapidly.

When Daniel entered then, Stefano asked hopefully if it meant E.J. was awakening. Daniel cautioned Stefano against getting his hopes up too much, but he noted that while the changes in the machines didn't necessarily mean that E.J. was improving, he could also wake up at any time. Daniel declared that he never gave up on his patients, and that included E.J. Stefano sadly stated that he would gladly give his life for his son's.

Right after Melanie and Carly left the shower, Daniel called Chloe to tell her that his shift was over, and he was heading home. Chloe told him to take his time, because she was going to take a nap.

After Chloe hung up, Nicole finally emerged from the guest room. Nicole ruefully acknowledged that Chloe had every reason to be furious. "That's the tricky part about you," Chloe admitted a bit tearfully. "Whenever you screw up, you take it on the chin, so it makes it really hard for me to stay mad at you." After reminding Nicole, "Remember when you did all those things to keep Sydney?" Chloe stated that her own baby meant more to her than anything in the world.

Chloe continued that she had once been able to put up with Nicole's lies and bad behavior, "But today, you left my house, got loaded, and came back here and threatened my baby's security! You felt so sorry for yourself, so, like you said, you shot your mouth off. My baby could have been born with his or her parents already being separated. And you didn't give that a second thought!" While tears ran down both of their faces, Chloe declared that she would miss Nicole and her friendship. A miserable Nicole tried to apologize for slipping up.

Chloe argued that after all the secrets she'd kept for Nicole, Nicole had nearly blurted out to a roomful of people that Chloe had cheated on Daniel. Nicole reluctantly agreed to get out of Chloe's life, but warned her not to trust Carly, either. "Ask Hope how she feels about her," Nicole cautioned. "She's a self-serving, manipulative bitch. And you're like the fly who's asking the spider to please show her the parlor!" Chloe interjected decisively, "Stop it! The truth is Carly Manning is a better friend to me than you ever were."

Through the window at the Brady Pub, Carly spied Daniel and Melanie laughing at the bar together. "They can never find out what I've done," she told herself anxiously.

As Sami walked along the water, remembering how she'd thrown the gun with which she'd shot E.J. into the river, Will's arrival startled her. Will filled his mom in that E.J. had said her name, and although Lexie wasn't sure it had meant anything, Will worried that E.J. might have been trying to tell them who had shot him.

Sami maintained that E.J. couldn't know, because he had been unconscious at the time of the shooting. Will reminded her that she'd stormed through the mansion, screaming E.J.'s name, and they had no idea just what E.J. had heard. Just then, Rafe arrived, and asked what they were discussing. Sami told him about E.J. saying her name, and admitted she was a little freaked out. After taking a quick phone call, Will left.

Rafe wondered if Sami were afraid of what E.J. would say if he woke up, but Sami adamantly insisted that Will had not shot E.J. Rafe asserted that Will was a great kid, but that also meant that Will would do almost anything to protect his brother and sisters--and Rafe could tell that Sami and Will were keeping something from him. "Sami, I am on your side, but if Stefano is going to go after Will, I need to know everything so I can protect him!" Rafe implored, but Sami reiterated that Will had not done anything.

Rafe conceded that if that were true, they had to figure out who else knew where the gun was kept, and had motive. "You know the answer to that," Sami replied. "I did." Rafe reminded her that she had been in bed next to him when E.J. was shot. While Sami was trying to get Rafe to take her seriously, his phone rang, and then he had to leave.

When Will arrived at the DiMera mansion, Kate surprised him with an exuberant embrace. She explained that she was just happy to see him, and declared, "[Stefano is] no longer mad at you; he knows that you didn't do anything." Will was unimpressed, but asked if that meant Stefano knew who had shot E.J. Kate replied that neither Stefano nor the police knew who had done it. Will wanted to know if Kate had told Stefano about the phone call she'd made to Sami the night of the shooting.

Kate assured him that she had not--and would not--but wondered why Will kept asking about that. "If you know something, you have to tell me," she implored. Will insisted that he didn't know anything, but he worried what Stefano would do if he decided that Sami had shot "his precious E.J." Kate tried to shush Will, because she realized that Stefano had arrived. Stefano greeted Will warmly. Will's reply was polite but terse, and he left quickly.

Stefano told Kate about all the activity on E.J.'s monitors, and although Dr. Jonas had said it was probably not significant, it had happened while Stefano had been talking about getting the children back from Sami. Stefano declared, "He knows that Samantha did it. I sense it." Kate pointed out that Sami had an alibi, but Stefano didn't care, although he still didn't understand Sami's motive. Kate asserted, "She doesn't need a motive; she is completely unhinged!" Stefano left to call a neurologist in Switzerland to ask him to consult on E.J.'s case. Grimacing anxiously, Kate muttered to herself, "What have you gotten me into now, Sami?"

Alone on the pier, Sami paced and fretted about what to do. She reasoned that although Rafe loved her and wanted to help her, he would never be able to accept that she'd shot E.J. "I'm going away for a long time. I just have to make sure that Will doesn't take the fall for it," she told herself. "There just isn't another way out: I'm gonna have to tell Rafe the truth."

Kate called Sami to tell her that Stefano had determined that Will had nothing to do with E.J.'s shooting. Before Kate could divulge any more, Stefano entered the parlor, so Kate pretended that Sami was someone else and quickly hung up.

Just then, Rafe returned to the pier. "Guess what--I have great news!" Sami exclaimed breathlessly. A seemingly glum Rafe replied that he could use some good news. "It just means that he--he's safe," Sami stammered through happy tears. "It just means it's going to be okay now. Everything's going to be okay."

Stefano was discouraged after his phone call to the neurologist. "He said I cannot do better than Doctor Jonas. He's an idiot," Stefano grumbled to Kate. Kate reluctantly broached the subject of Sami again. She theorized that Sami had decided to shoot E.J. the moment she'd learned he had kidnapped Sydney. "She is cold, and she is calculating, and she has an innate sense of self-preservation," Kate speculated. "So, she wouldn't strike without an alibi. She hooked up with Rafe--who knows, maybe she even drugged him--and then she returned here to get her revenge. You see, when Sami does something, she doesn't want to pay." Stefano stated evenly, "This time, she will."

Arianna visited E.J., and told him about Nicole's drunken bad behavior at the baby shower. "The whole time she was holding forth, I kept thinking, 'I can't believe you married her,'" Arianna said, adding with a wry chuckle. "I think you showed great restraint not killing her." Taking E.J.'s hand, she massaged his arm, and asked him to squeeze her hand if he could feel it.

The monitors again began to beep rapidly, and E.J.'s thumb moved, slowly but deliberately. An excited Arianna urged him to do it again. "E.J., talk to me, please. Talk to me!" E.J.'s lips parted, and he mumbled, "Samantha." His eyes opened a bit, and looked around blearily. "Where's Samantha?"