Post by STLUEE on Dec 27, 2013 21:15:29 GMT -5
At the Horton house, Abigail entered the living room and presented Jennifer with a belated Christmas gift, explaining that it had arrived late because it had been ordered online. J.J. descended the staircase and eavesdropped from the foyer as Jennifer opened her gift -- a black dress that she declared was beautiful.
Abigail was glad that Jennifer liked the dress, and she pointed out that it had arrived just in time for Jennifer's date with Liam later that night. Abigail had a pair of black heels that she believed would look great with the dress, so she offered to let Jennifer borrow them. Abigail was momentarily concerned about Liam's height, but she decided that, based on what Adrienne had told her about him, he seemed like a great guy who probably wouldn't care if the heels gave Jennifer a height advantage.
Meanwhile, J.J. entered the living room, and Jennifer announced that she had cooked a big breakfast for him as a way of thanking him for helping Maggie move back into the Kiriakis mansion earlier that day. Jennifer regretfully added that Abigail had eaten J.J.'s share of the bacon and that there wasn't time to make another batch because Jennifer was late for work. As Jennifer grabbed her purse and jacket, Abigail suddenly decided that a pair of black boots would look better with Jennifer's new dress than the pair of black heels that Abigail had previously suggested. "Honey, I am your mom, not your Barbie doll," Jennifer teasingly replied.
After Jennifer left, J.J. demanded to know what was wrong with Abigail. Abigail assumed that J.J. was upset about the fact that she had eaten his share of the bacon earlier, but he clarified that he was talking about something that was far more important than bacon. "J.J., I know you. Nothing is more important to you than bacon," Abigail dryly replied.
J.J. started to explain that he was talking about what Abigail had said to Jennifer earlier, but before he could elaborate, Jennifer returned and announced that Maggie had left a tote bag behind. J.J. offered to take the tote bag to Maggie later, and he pointedly mused that it was great that she and Victor had found a way to reconcile with each other instead of simply giving up on their relationship. After agreeing that it was nice that there had been a happy ending to Victor and Maggie's story, Jennifer excused herself and exited the house.
Abigail mocked J.J. for the sappy things that he had just said to Jennifer, but he explained that he had been trying to make a point and undo the damage that Abigail had caused earlier. Abigail was still confused, so J.J. elaborated that she had made it seem like it was okay for Jennifer to go out with "that jerk," Liam. Abigail impatiently advised J.J. to grow up, insisting that he couldn't keep freaking out every time Jennifer went on a date with someone. "I'm not freaking out 'cause Mom has a date. It's because she has a date when she is still in love with Daniel," J.J. clarified.
Shocked, Abigail reminded J.J. that he had spent months doing everything that he could possibly do to ruin Jennifer's relationship with Daniel. "Okay, let me get this straight -- so, when Daniel was showing up with flowers and he was trying to help Mom deal with how screwed up you were, you hated him. But now that he has had a sleazy affair with Theresa Donovan, now he's Mr. Right?" Abigail incredulously summarized. J.J. pointed out that Daniel never would have hooked up with Theresa in the first place if J.J. hadn't interfered with Daniel's relationship with Jennifer, but Abigail asserted that J.J. couldn't blame himself for Daniel's poor choices.
J.J. wondered if he could ask Abigail about something that she probably didn't want to talk about, and she gave him permission to do so. J.J. wondered how Abigail had managed to find the courage to admit that she had lied about sleeping with Austin the previous year. Abigail clarified that she had never really found the courage to do so, adding that she had simply blurted out the truth because she had been unable to watch Jennifer and Jack attack Austin for doing something that she had known that Austin hadn't really done.
Abigail admitted that, while Jennifer and Jack hadn't been thrilled with her actions, they had still loved her in spite of them, and she mused that in a weird way, she had grown closer to them as a result of her actions. J.J. summarized that everything had worked out in the end, but Abigail clarified that, while he was basically correct, she had still hurt some really good people with her lies, and she admitted that she hated the fact that she had waited such a long time to reveal the truth.
Abigail wondered what had motivated J.J. to ask about that particular matter in the first place. Before J.J. could respond, Abigail received a phone call from Theo. After ending the call, Abigail apologetically excused herself so that she could go over to Abe's house to see Theo, who was really upset because she hadn't delivered on her promise to take him sledding. Abigail summarized that Theo apparently didn't understand that they couldn't go sledding until it snowed in Salem.
Abigail said that she wanted to continue her conversation with J.J. later. J.J. nodded and explained that he had simply been looking for confirmation that Jennifer was the forgiving type. J.J. suggested that if Jennifer could forgive him for the things that he had done, there might be a chance that she could also forgive Daniel, but Abigail laughed and insisted that Jennifer would never forgive Daniel.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady contacted his drug dealer and arranged to meet with him later that day. After ending the call, Brady eyed his nearly empty vial of cocaine, but before he could take another hit from it, he heard the front door close. Brady quickly pocketed the vial of cocaine, along with a credit card and a rolled-up dollar bill, and stood to greet Victor and Maggie as they entered the living room.
Maggie observed that it didn't seem like Brady was particularly happy to see her, but he claimed that he was simply surprised that she -- and her luggage -- had returned to the mansion. Victor happily summarized that Maggie's return was the best Christmas gift of all, adding that he and Brady were going to have to be on their best behavior for a while to ensure that her stay would be a permanent one.
Brady claimed that he was very happy for Victor and Maggie and that everyone who knew the couple wanted them to stay together, but he added that Victor didn't deserve Maggie. After protesting that everyone always seemed to take Maggie's side, Victor apologetically excused himself so that he could attend a hospital board meeting. Victor wondered if there was anything that he could pick up for Maggie while he was gone, such as flowers, diamonds, or preferred stocks. Maggie pointedly replied that Victor already knew what she wanted, and he nodded in agreement as he exited the mansion.
Maggie's comment piqued Brady's interest, so she clarified that she had instructed Victor to apologize to Eric and Marlena, the latter of whom had not yet received an apology. Brady pointedly started to say something before changing his mind and acknowledging that it was none of his business. Maggie encouraged Brady to continue, so he innocently mused that moving back into the mansion before Victor's promise had been completely fulfilled might have sent Victor the message that it was okay for him to change his mind about apologizing to Marlena.
Maggie appreciated Brady's concern, but she was certain that Victor would still apologize to Marlena -- not only because Maggie believed that Victor genuinely wanted to do so, but also because he knew that she would leave for good if he broke his promise. Brady nodded and started to excuse himself, claiming that he had a lot of things that he needed to do that day, but Maggie stopped him. Maggie reported that Victor had informed her that Brady had spent the holiday at a beach resort, and she wondered if everything was all right.
Brady claimed that he was fine and that he had simply needed to get away from everyone in Salem for a few days, but Maggie wasn't entirely convinced. Maggie recalled that Victor had mentioned that Brady had been absent from work for the past month, and she pointed out that it wasn't good for addicts to make such drastic changes to their routines while dealing with traumatic events. Maggie added that, while Victor might not be able to see the danger signs, she was a recovering addict and could clearly see them. Brady wondered what Maggie was really trying to say.
Maggie clarified that she wasn't trying to accuse Brady of anything or suggest that he had fallen off the wagon. Maggie recalled that, despite what Victor had said about Brady being absent from work lately, Brady had recently told Theresa that he couldn't take her to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting because he was busy with work. Brady clarified that, while he hadn't been going in to the office lately, he was still the CEO of Titan and had a lot of daily responsibilities that he had to handle.
Maggie nodded and admitted that it would probably be a good idea for her to attend a meeting, considering all of the things that she had gone through recently. Maggie suggested that she and Brady could attend a meeting together. "No!" Brady snapped, but he quickly apologized and admitted that his response had been much louder and much more forceful than he had intended. Brady informed Maggie that he wasn't attending meetings, but he insisted that he was fine and didn't need to do so, especially since Maggie had decided to move back into the mansion.
At the hospital, Theresa rushed into the waiting area and quietly informed Anne that Daniel was approaching. Anne wanted to know what she was supposed to say to Daniel, so Theresa shrugged and advised Anne to improvise. As Theresa dashed off, Daniel -- who was having a phone conversation with a lab technician named Donna about some things that he wanted her to look for when she was analyzing Eric's blood work -- rounded a corner and ended the call after thanking Donna for her help.
Sensing an opening, Anne guessed that Donna was Daniel's latest conquest. Anne wondered if Daniel had any shame at all, and in response, he muttered that he wished that he had a baseball bat. Anne indignantly demanded to know if Daniel was threatening her. "Do you ever get sick and tired of being you? I know I get sick and tired of you being you," Daniel replied, ignoring Anne's question.
Anne feigned amusement and countered that Daniel didn't have any room to judge her, since he had a nasty habit of sleeping with his female coworkers. Anne hoped that Daniel was at least using protection, since she had heard that one of his "skanky romps" had resulted in a daughter that he hadn't even known about until a few years earlier. Anne wondered how many other illegitimate children Daniel had unknowingly spawned over the years.
As Daniel started to warn Anne to back off, Theresa rushed to his defense, insisting that it wasn't fair for Anne to say such horrible things to the man who had saved Theresa's life. Turning away from Daniel to face Theresa, Anne snapped that Theresa had turned out to be a major disappointment. Anne stormed off after giving Theresa a playful wink.
Theresa sighed and said that she couldn't stand hearing Anne berate Daniel, but he insisted that he could handle Anne and that it would probably be best for Theresa to refrain from getting involved in the future. Theresa clarified that she knew that Daniel could handle Anne, adding that she simply felt like Anne's criticisms of him were also indirect criticisms of Theresa, whom Anne had been counting on to lie about him during his disciplinary hearing. Theresa admitted that she was certain that Anne wanted to fire her, but Daniel assured her that Anne had no grounds to do so.
Theresa was relieved to hear that, claiming that she had been really stressed out about the situation lately. Admitting that Daniel was practically her only friend in Salem, Theresa wondered if he had time to listen to her vent about everything for a few minutes. As Daniel started to agree, Victor interrupted and politely asked Theresa to give him some privacy so that he could talk to Daniel for a few minutes before the board meeting started.
After Theresa left, Daniel preemptively warned Victor not to say anything negative about her, but Victor clarified that after the way that Jennifer had treated Daniel, he fully supported Daniel's decision to move on with someone else. Daniel impatiently warned Victor not to say anything negative about Jennifer, either. Victor protested that Daniel needed to lighten up, adding that he simply wanted to thank Daniel for helping him realize that he had needed to swallow his pride and apologize to Maggie.
Meanwhile, in one of the break rooms, Theresa complained to Anne about the fact that Victor had ruined Theresa's attempt to manipulate Daniel. Theresa ranted that Victor had waltzed into the hospital and acted like he owned the place, prompting Anne to reply that he practically did own the place, since he was a multimillionaire who was one of the hospital's major donors. "Hmm. For some reason, my parents never liked him. How do you not like multimillionaires?" Theresa wondered, and Anne shrugged as she replied that some people were simply illogical.
Anne admitted that she often turned on the charm when Victor was nearby, hoping that he might one day decide to toss some cash her way when he finally died. Anne's comment caused Theresa to realize that Daniel was probably in Victor's will. Anne protested that Theresa was supposed to be going after Daniel to make Jennifer angry, not to snag a rich doctor, but Theresa countered that she was very good at multitasking.
Theresa unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt before going to track Daniel down again. When Theresa found Daniel, he apologetically informed her that they would have to continue their conversation some other time, since his shift was ending soon. Spotting Jennifer nearby, Theresa smiled and pointedly assured Daniel that they could get together at any time and place that worked for him.
After Daniel left, Theresa followed Jennifer to one of the break rooms and sweetly stated that she was grateful that Jennifer had allowed her to spend Christmas with the Hortons. "Well, it was Christmas. You're more than welcome. It's once a year. As long as you stay away from my son the other three hundred and sixty-four days," Jennifer replied. Theresa revealed that she knew that Jennifer had seen her talking to Daniel earlier, and she stressed that she and Daniel were just friends. Jennifer insisted that she didn't care one way or the other. "Yeah, right -- it's killing you. And now it's time to add to your pain," Theresa mischievously muttered after Jennifer left.
Elsewhere, Maxine tracked Jordan down in one of the break rooms and delivered a gift to her, explaining that Gabi had dropped it off earlier that day. Maxine recognized the gift box as the kind that a fancy boutique in the town square always used, and she knowingly mused that it was unlikely that Gabi had purchased a gift from that particular store for Jordan.
Maxine impatiently urged Jordan to open the gift, but Jordan insisted that, despite the fact that Rafe was no longer her patient, it was still completely inappropriate for her to accept such an expensive gift from him. "And here I thought you had loosened up a little bit," Maxine dryly muttered. Maxine quickly apologized for once again shooting off her big mouth, but Jordan insisted that she actually appreciated it when people said exactly what they were thinking. Jordan guessed that she probably seemed pretty uptight to Maxine, who was open and easy-going.
Maxine acknowledged that it still wasn't her place to judge Jordan, but Jordan understood that Maxine was simply trying to help. Jordan explained that the situation with Rafe was very complicated, but Maxine mused that in her experience, people usually said that sort of thing when they were scared. Jordan insisted that she wasn't scared of Rafe, but Maxine clarified that Jordan might be scared about the true nature of his feelings for Jordan. Maxine reasoned that Jordan might be worried that Rafe was confusing feelings of gratitude with feelings of a more romantic nature, and she suggested that Jordan might also be confused about her own feelings for Rafe.
Ending on a lighter note, Maxine pointed out that Rafe was seriously good-looking, and Jordan laughed as she agreed with Maxine's statement. Maxine advised Jordan to let Rafe know where things stood between them. As Maxine started to leave, Jordan acknowledged that Maxine did have a big mouth, adding that she was only telling Maxine that because friends could always tell each other the truth.
Rafe greeted Hope and Ciara as they entered his apartment. Hope observed that Rafe, who had opened and closed the apartment door on his own from a standing position, seemed even stronger than he had been when she and Ciara had visited him a few days earlier. Hope handed Rafe a stack of files as she added that she no longer felt guilty about giving him more work to do.
Ciara admired Rafe's Christmas tree and asked about his holiday. Rafe reported that his Christmas had been great because he had gotten to spend some time with Gabi and Arianna. Hope admitted that she was surprised that Jordan hadn't celebrated the holiday with Rafe. Rafe guessed that Jordan was avoiding him, since he hadn't heard from her at all in the past couple of days.
Ciara proudly informed Rafe that the exercises that he had taught her had helped her finally master the art of skating backward. Rafe high-fived Ciara as she added that she was no longer worried about her impending recital. Ciara wondered if Rafe wanted to see the outfit that Hope had helped her pick out for the recital, and when he agreed, Ciara grabbed her backpack and rushed off to the bathroom to change into the outfit.
Hope thanked Rafe, explaining that learning to skate backward had been incredibly important to Ciara and that mastering the technique had made Ciara's Christmas much better than it would have otherwise been. Rafe guessed that it had probably been difficult for Ciara to celebrate Christmas without Bo, and Hope confirmed his suspicion. Hope admitted that, while Ciara seemed okay, she was worried about the possibility that Ciara was simply suppressing her feelings. Hope added that when Ciara caused trouble, she no longer knew whether to hug and kiss Ciara or yell at her, since it simply wasn't fair for Ciara to go such a long time without any contact with Bo.
Rafe understood why Hope was upset, since it also wasn't fair for her to bear the full weight of the parenting responsibilities while Bo was gone. "I'm a cop. And I can look into my soul and know the lengths I would go to bring down DiMera. But I would never do this to her -- not my daughter. No way," Hope admitted with a sigh. Rafe wondered if Hope had said those things to Bo. "No. Nope, nope, nope. And a part of me just does not want to really, um -- not to engage with him right now. He's there, and we're here, and a part of me really doesn't know how I feel about any of it," Hope sadly replied.
Before Hope could say anything else, Ciara reentered the room and modeled her new outfit for Rafe, who observed that the only thing that was missing from the outfit was a gold medal. Ciara doubted that she could win the gold medal, but Rafe pointed out that she had also been convinced a few days earlier that she would never be able to skate backward. Ciara smiled and asked Rafe to attend her recital, and he assured her that he wouldn't dream of missing it.
Someone knocked on the apartment door, and Rafe declined Hope's offer to open the door for him, instead choosing to handle the task himself. When Rafe opened the door, Jordan started to blurt out that they needed to get a few things straight, but she stopped herself when she spotted Hope and Ciara. Hope greeted Jordan before quickly excusing herself so that she could take Ciara to an ice-skating lesson.
After Hope and Ciara left, Rafe joked that it was good to see that Christmas hadn't mellowed Jordan out at all. After apologizing for the interruption, Jordan tried to return Rafe's gift, insisting that it simply wasn't appropriate for her to accept something that had obviously been quite expensive, but he pointed out that she couldn't be certain of that fact until she actually opened the gift.
Jordan suspected that Rafe was simply hoping that she would like the gift enough to forget about the fact that it was inappropriate for her to accept it. Rafe impatiently advised Jordan to "stop talking and open the damn present," so she sighed with exasperation and reluctantly agreed to do so. Jordan tried to act unimpressed as she opened the gift box, but she smiled when she realized what was in the box -- a simple tee shirt that had the word coach printed on it in big, bold letters. Rafe joked that, while he had been forced to take out a loan to pay for the gift, he believed that it had been worth it.
Jordan realized that Rafe had just placed the shirt in the boutique's signature gift box to push her buttons and make her believe that it was a really expensive gift. Rafe admitted that he had never expected that she would refuse to open the gift. Jordan thanked Rafe for the gift and admitted that, while she had wanted to spend Christmas with him, she hadn't wanted to intrude on his time with his family.
Rafe pointed to some mistletoe and admitted that he had been waiting to put it to good use. Jordan was momentarily upset, assuming that Rafe had hung the mistletoe from the ceiling himself, but he clarified that Gabi had handled the task for him. Jordan reminded Rafe that Christmas had ended already, but he assured her that there wasn't an expiration date on the mistletoe tradition, and he leaned in to kiss her.
At the hospital, Hope approached Jennifer and suggested that they could eat lunch together. Jennifer warned that she was cranky and would be terrible company, but Hope was undeterred. Meanwhile, Liam approached and assured Jennifer that they were still going to have dinner together later that night.
At the Horton house, J.J. looked at Jennifer's new dress as he muttered that he needed to make things right between her and Daniel. Meanwhile, someone rang the doorbell, and when J.J. opened the door, he found Theresa standing outside. J.J. demanded to know what Theresa wanted. "Good news, Junior -- I've come to set you free," Theresa replied.
In a secluded section of the park, Brady met with his drug dealer and apologized for his tardiness. After concluding their business, the drug dealer informed Brady that he could offer Brady something that had more of a kick, but Brady declined the offer. The drug dealer walked away, but before Brady could leave, Daniel approached and wondered what he was doing. Brady claimed that he was simply getting some fresh air.
"Fresh air? Yeah? Bull. Don't lie to me -- I just saw you," Daniel knowingly replied.
. . . soap central
Abigail was glad that Jennifer liked the dress, and she pointed out that it had arrived just in time for Jennifer's date with Liam later that night. Abigail had a pair of black heels that she believed would look great with the dress, so she offered to let Jennifer borrow them. Abigail was momentarily concerned about Liam's height, but she decided that, based on what Adrienne had told her about him, he seemed like a great guy who probably wouldn't care if the heels gave Jennifer a height advantage.
Meanwhile, J.J. entered the living room, and Jennifer announced that she had cooked a big breakfast for him as a way of thanking him for helping Maggie move back into the Kiriakis mansion earlier that day. Jennifer regretfully added that Abigail had eaten J.J.'s share of the bacon and that there wasn't time to make another batch because Jennifer was late for work. As Jennifer grabbed her purse and jacket, Abigail suddenly decided that a pair of black boots would look better with Jennifer's new dress than the pair of black heels that Abigail had previously suggested. "Honey, I am your mom, not your Barbie doll," Jennifer teasingly replied.
After Jennifer left, J.J. demanded to know what was wrong with Abigail. Abigail assumed that J.J. was upset about the fact that she had eaten his share of the bacon earlier, but he clarified that he was talking about something that was far more important than bacon. "J.J., I know you. Nothing is more important to you than bacon," Abigail dryly replied.
J.J. started to explain that he was talking about what Abigail had said to Jennifer earlier, but before he could elaborate, Jennifer returned and announced that Maggie had left a tote bag behind. J.J. offered to take the tote bag to Maggie later, and he pointedly mused that it was great that she and Victor had found a way to reconcile with each other instead of simply giving up on their relationship. After agreeing that it was nice that there had been a happy ending to Victor and Maggie's story, Jennifer excused herself and exited the house.
Abigail mocked J.J. for the sappy things that he had just said to Jennifer, but he explained that he had been trying to make a point and undo the damage that Abigail had caused earlier. Abigail was still confused, so J.J. elaborated that she had made it seem like it was okay for Jennifer to go out with "that jerk," Liam. Abigail impatiently advised J.J. to grow up, insisting that he couldn't keep freaking out every time Jennifer went on a date with someone. "I'm not freaking out 'cause Mom has a date. It's because she has a date when she is still in love with Daniel," J.J. clarified.
Shocked, Abigail reminded J.J. that he had spent months doing everything that he could possibly do to ruin Jennifer's relationship with Daniel. "Okay, let me get this straight -- so, when Daniel was showing up with flowers and he was trying to help Mom deal with how screwed up you were, you hated him. But now that he has had a sleazy affair with Theresa Donovan, now he's Mr. Right?" Abigail incredulously summarized. J.J. pointed out that Daniel never would have hooked up with Theresa in the first place if J.J. hadn't interfered with Daniel's relationship with Jennifer, but Abigail asserted that J.J. couldn't blame himself for Daniel's poor choices.
J.J. wondered if he could ask Abigail about something that she probably didn't want to talk about, and she gave him permission to do so. J.J. wondered how Abigail had managed to find the courage to admit that she had lied about sleeping with Austin the previous year. Abigail clarified that she had never really found the courage to do so, adding that she had simply blurted out the truth because she had been unable to watch Jennifer and Jack attack Austin for doing something that she had known that Austin hadn't really done.
Abigail admitted that, while Jennifer and Jack hadn't been thrilled with her actions, they had still loved her in spite of them, and she mused that in a weird way, she had grown closer to them as a result of her actions. J.J. summarized that everything had worked out in the end, but Abigail clarified that, while he was basically correct, she had still hurt some really good people with her lies, and she admitted that she hated the fact that she had waited such a long time to reveal the truth.
Abigail wondered what had motivated J.J. to ask about that particular matter in the first place. Before J.J. could respond, Abigail received a phone call from Theo. After ending the call, Abigail apologetically excused herself so that she could go over to Abe's house to see Theo, who was really upset because she hadn't delivered on her promise to take him sledding. Abigail summarized that Theo apparently didn't understand that they couldn't go sledding until it snowed in Salem.
Abigail said that she wanted to continue her conversation with J.J. later. J.J. nodded and explained that he had simply been looking for confirmation that Jennifer was the forgiving type. J.J. suggested that if Jennifer could forgive him for the things that he had done, there might be a chance that she could also forgive Daniel, but Abigail laughed and insisted that Jennifer would never forgive Daniel.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady contacted his drug dealer and arranged to meet with him later that day. After ending the call, Brady eyed his nearly empty vial of cocaine, but before he could take another hit from it, he heard the front door close. Brady quickly pocketed the vial of cocaine, along with a credit card and a rolled-up dollar bill, and stood to greet Victor and Maggie as they entered the living room.
Maggie observed that it didn't seem like Brady was particularly happy to see her, but he claimed that he was simply surprised that she -- and her luggage -- had returned to the mansion. Victor happily summarized that Maggie's return was the best Christmas gift of all, adding that he and Brady were going to have to be on their best behavior for a while to ensure that her stay would be a permanent one.
Brady claimed that he was very happy for Victor and Maggie and that everyone who knew the couple wanted them to stay together, but he added that Victor didn't deserve Maggie. After protesting that everyone always seemed to take Maggie's side, Victor apologetically excused himself so that he could attend a hospital board meeting. Victor wondered if there was anything that he could pick up for Maggie while he was gone, such as flowers, diamonds, or preferred stocks. Maggie pointedly replied that Victor already knew what she wanted, and he nodded in agreement as he exited the mansion.
Maggie's comment piqued Brady's interest, so she clarified that she had instructed Victor to apologize to Eric and Marlena, the latter of whom had not yet received an apology. Brady pointedly started to say something before changing his mind and acknowledging that it was none of his business. Maggie encouraged Brady to continue, so he innocently mused that moving back into the mansion before Victor's promise had been completely fulfilled might have sent Victor the message that it was okay for him to change his mind about apologizing to Marlena.
Maggie appreciated Brady's concern, but she was certain that Victor would still apologize to Marlena -- not only because Maggie believed that Victor genuinely wanted to do so, but also because he knew that she would leave for good if he broke his promise. Brady nodded and started to excuse himself, claiming that he had a lot of things that he needed to do that day, but Maggie stopped him. Maggie reported that Victor had informed her that Brady had spent the holiday at a beach resort, and she wondered if everything was all right.
Brady claimed that he was fine and that he had simply needed to get away from everyone in Salem for a few days, but Maggie wasn't entirely convinced. Maggie recalled that Victor had mentioned that Brady had been absent from work for the past month, and she pointed out that it wasn't good for addicts to make such drastic changes to their routines while dealing with traumatic events. Maggie added that, while Victor might not be able to see the danger signs, she was a recovering addict and could clearly see them. Brady wondered what Maggie was really trying to say.
Maggie clarified that she wasn't trying to accuse Brady of anything or suggest that he had fallen off the wagon. Maggie recalled that, despite what Victor had said about Brady being absent from work lately, Brady had recently told Theresa that he couldn't take her to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting because he was busy with work. Brady clarified that, while he hadn't been going in to the office lately, he was still the CEO of Titan and had a lot of daily responsibilities that he had to handle.
Maggie nodded and admitted that it would probably be a good idea for her to attend a meeting, considering all of the things that she had gone through recently. Maggie suggested that she and Brady could attend a meeting together. "No!" Brady snapped, but he quickly apologized and admitted that his response had been much louder and much more forceful than he had intended. Brady informed Maggie that he wasn't attending meetings, but he insisted that he was fine and didn't need to do so, especially since Maggie had decided to move back into the mansion.
At the hospital, Theresa rushed into the waiting area and quietly informed Anne that Daniel was approaching. Anne wanted to know what she was supposed to say to Daniel, so Theresa shrugged and advised Anne to improvise. As Theresa dashed off, Daniel -- who was having a phone conversation with a lab technician named Donna about some things that he wanted her to look for when she was analyzing Eric's blood work -- rounded a corner and ended the call after thanking Donna for her help.
Sensing an opening, Anne guessed that Donna was Daniel's latest conquest. Anne wondered if Daniel had any shame at all, and in response, he muttered that he wished that he had a baseball bat. Anne indignantly demanded to know if Daniel was threatening her. "Do you ever get sick and tired of being you? I know I get sick and tired of you being you," Daniel replied, ignoring Anne's question.
Anne feigned amusement and countered that Daniel didn't have any room to judge her, since he had a nasty habit of sleeping with his female coworkers. Anne hoped that Daniel was at least using protection, since she had heard that one of his "skanky romps" had resulted in a daughter that he hadn't even known about until a few years earlier. Anne wondered how many other illegitimate children Daniel had unknowingly spawned over the years.
As Daniel started to warn Anne to back off, Theresa rushed to his defense, insisting that it wasn't fair for Anne to say such horrible things to the man who had saved Theresa's life. Turning away from Daniel to face Theresa, Anne snapped that Theresa had turned out to be a major disappointment. Anne stormed off after giving Theresa a playful wink.
Theresa sighed and said that she couldn't stand hearing Anne berate Daniel, but he insisted that he could handle Anne and that it would probably be best for Theresa to refrain from getting involved in the future. Theresa clarified that she knew that Daniel could handle Anne, adding that she simply felt like Anne's criticisms of him were also indirect criticisms of Theresa, whom Anne had been counting on to lie about him during his disciplinary hearing. Theresa admitted that she was certain that Anne wanted to fire her, but Daniel assured her that Anne had no grounds to do so.
Theresa was relieved to hear that, claiming that she had been really stressed out about the situation lately. Admitting that Daniel was practically her only friend in Salem, Theresa wondered if he had time to listen to her vent about everything for a few minutes. As Daniel started to agree, Victor interrupted and politely asked Theresa to give him some privacy so that he could talk to Daniel for a few minutes before the board meeting started.
After Theresa left, Daniel preemptively warned Victor not to say anything negative about her, but Victor clarified that after the way that Jennifer had treated Daniel, he fully supported Daniel's decision to move on with someone else. Daniel impatiently warned Victor not to say anything negative about Jennifer, either. Victor protested that Daniel needed to lighten up, adding that he simply wanted to thank Daniel for helping him realize that he had needed to swallow his pride and apologize to Maggie.
Meanwhile, in one of the break rooms, Theresa complained to Anne about the fact that Victor had ruined Theresa's attempt to manipulate Daniel. Theresa ranted that Victor had waltzed into the hospital and acted like he owned the place, prompting Anne to reply that he practically did own the place, since he was a multimillionaire who was one of the hospital's major donors. "Hmm. For some reason, my parents never liked him. How do you not like multimillionaires?" Theresa wondered, and Anne shrugged as she replied that some people were simply illogical.
Anne admitted that she often turned on the charm when Victor was nearby, hoping that he might one day decide to toss some cash her way when he finally died. Anne's comment caused Theresa to realize that Daniel was probably in Victor's will. Anne protested that Theresa was supposed to be going after Daniel to make Jennifer angry, not to snag a rich doctor, but Theresa countered that she was very good at multitasking.
Theresa unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt before going to track Daniel down again. When Theresa found Daniel, he apologetically informed her that they would have to continue their conversation some other time, since his shift was ending soon. Spotting Jennifer nearby, Theresa smiled and pointedly assured Daniel that they could get together at any time and place that worked for him.
After Daniel left, Theresa followed Jennifer to one of the break rooms and sweetly stated that she was grateful that Jennifer had allowed her to spend Christmas with the Hortons. "Well, it was Christmas. You're more than welcome. It's once a year. As long as you stay away from my son the other three hundred and sixty-four days," Jennifer replied. Theresa revealed that she knew that Jennifer had seen her talking to Daniel earlier, and she stressed that she and Daniel were just friends. Jennifer insisted that she didn't care one way or the other. "Yeah, right -- it's killing you. And now it's time to add to your pain," Theresa mischievously muttered after Jennifer left.
Elsewhere, Maxine tracked Jordan down in one of the break rooms and delivered a gift to her, explaining that Gabi had dropped it off earlier that day. Maxine recognized the gift box as the kind that a fancy boutique in the town square always used, and she knowingly mused that it was unlikely that Gabi had purchased a gift from that particular store for Jordan.
Maxine impatiently urged Jordan to open the gift, but Jordan insisted that, despite the fact that Rafe was no longer her patient, it was still completely inappropriate for her to accept such an expensive gift from him. "And here I thought you had loosened up a little bit," Maxine dryly muttered. Maxine quickly apologized for once again shooting off her big mouth, but Jordan insisted that she actually appreciated it when people said exactly what they were thinking. Jordan guessed that she probably seemed pretty uptight to Maxine, who was open and easy-going.
Maxine acknowledged that it still wasn't her place to judge Jordan, but Jordan understood that Maxine was simply trying to help. Jordan explained that the situation with Rafe was very complicated, but Maxine mused that in her experience, people usually said that sort of thing when they were scared. Jordan insisted that she wasn't scared of Rafe, but Maxine clarified that Jordan might be scared about the true nature of his feelings for Jordan. Maxine reasoned that Jordan might be worried that Rafe was confusing feelings of gratitude with feelings of a more romantic nature, and she suggested that Jordan might also be confused about her own feelings for Rafe.
Ending on a lighter note, Maxine pointed out that Rafe was seriously good-looking, and Jordan laughed as she agreed with Maxine's statement. Maxine advised Jordan to let Rafe know where things stood between them. As Maxine started to leave, Jordan acknowledged that Maxine did have a big mouth, adding that she was only telling Maxine that because friends could always tell each other the truth.
Rafe greeted Hope and Ciara as they entered his apartment. Hope observed that Rafe, who had opened and closed the apartment door on his own from a standing position, seemed even stronger than he had been when she and Ciara had visited him a few days earlier. Hope handed Rafe a stack of files as she added that she no longer felt guilty about giving him more work to do.
Ciara admired Rafe's Christmas tree and asked about his holiday. Rafe reported that his Christmas had been great because he had gotten to spend some time with Gabi and Arianna. Hope admitted that she was surprised that Jordan hadn't celebrated the holiday with Rafe. Rafe guessed that Jordan was avoiding him, since he hadn't heard from her at all in the past couple of days.
Ciara proudly informed Rafe that the exercises that he had taught her had helped her finally master the art of skating backward. Rafe high-fived Ciara as she added that she was no longer worried about her impending recital. Ciara wondered if Rafe wanted to see the outfit that Hope had helped her pick out for the recital, and when he agreed, Ciara grabbed her backpack and rushed off to the bathroom to change into the outfit.
Hope thanked Rafe, explaining that learning to skate backward had been incredibly important to Ciara and that mastering the technique had made Ciara's Christmas much better than it would have otherwise been. Rafe guessed that it had probably been difficult for Ciara to celebrate Christmas without Bo, and Hope confirmed his suspicion. Hope admitted that, while Ciara seemed okay, she was worried about the possibility that Ciara was simply suppressing her feelings. Hope added that when Ciara caused trouble, she no longer knew whether to hug and kiss Ciara or yell at her, since it simply wasn't fair for Ciara to go such a long time without any contact with Bo.
Rafe understood why Hope was upset, since it also wasn't fair for her to bear the full weight of the parenting responsibilities while Bo was gone. "I'm a cop. And I can look into my soul and know the lengths I would go to bring down DiMera. But I would never do this to her -- not my daughter. No way," Hope admitted with a sigh. Rafe wondered if Hope had said those things to Bo. "No. Nope, nope, nope. And a part of me just does not want to really, um -- not to engage with him right now. He's there, and we're here, and a part of me really doesn't know how I feel about any of it," Hope sadly replied.
Before Hope could say anything else, Ciara reentered the room and modeled her new outfit for Rafe, who observed that the only thing that was missing from the outfit was a gold medal. Ciara doubted that she could win the gold medal, but Rafe pointed out that she had also been convinced a few days earlier that she would never be able to skate backward. Ciara smiled and asked Rafe to attend her recital, and he assured her that he wouldn't dream of missing it.
Someone knocked on the apartment door, and Rafe declined Hope's offer to open the door for him, instead choosing to handle the task himself. When Rafe opened the door, Jordan started to blurt out that they needed to get a few things straight, but she stopped herself when she spotted Hope and Ciara. Hope greeted Jordan before quickly excusing herself so that she could take Ciara to an ice-skating lesson.
After Hope and Ciara left, Rafe joked that it was good to see that Christmas hadn't mellowed Jordan out at all. After apologizing for the interruption, Jordan tried to return Rafe's gift, insisting that it simply wasn't appropriate for her to accept something that had obviously been quite expensive, but he pointed out that she couldn't be certain of that fact until she actually opened the gift.
Jordan suspected that Rafe was simply hoping that she would like the gift enough to forget about the fact that it was inappropriate for her to accept it. Rafe impatiently advised Jordan to "stop talking and open the damn present," so she sighed with exasperation and reluctantly agreed to do so. Jordan tried to act unimpressed as she opened the gift box, but she smiled when she realized what was in the box -- a simple tee shirt that had the word coach printed on it in big, bold letters. Rafe joked that, while he had been forced to take out a loan to pay for the gift, he believed that it had been worth it.
Jordan realized that Rafe had just placed the shirt in the boutique's signature gift box to push her buttons and make her believe that it was a really expensive gift. Rafe admitted that he had never expected that she would refuse to open the gift. Jordan thanked Rafe for the gift and admitted that, while she had wanted to spend Christmas with him, she hadn't wanted to intrude on his time with his family.
Rafe pointed to some mistletoe and admitted that he had been waiting to put it to good use. Jordan was momentarily upset, assuming that Rafe had hung the mistletoe from the ceiling himself, but he clarified that Gabi had handled the task for him. Jordan reminded Rafe that Christmas had ended already, but he assured her that there wasn't an expiration date on the mistletoe tradition, and he leaned in to kiss her.
At the hospital, Hope approached Jennifer and suggested that they could eat lunch together. Jennifer warned that she was cranky and would be terrible company, but Hope was undeterred. Meanwhile, Liam approached and assured Jennifer that they were still going to have dinner together later that night.
At the Horton house, J.J. looked at Jennifer's new dress as he muttered that he needed to make things right between her and Daniel. Meanwhile, someone rang the doorbell, and when J.J. opened the door, he found Theresa standing outside. J.J. demanded to know what Theresa wanted. "Good news, Junior -- I've come to set you free," Theresa replied.
In a secluded section of the park, Brady met with his drug dealer and apologized for his tardiness. After concluding their business, the drug dealer informed Brady that he could offer Brady something that had more of a kick, but Brady declined the offer. The drug dealer walked away, but before Brady could leave, Daniel approached and wondered what he was doing. Brady claimed that he was simply getting some fresh air.
"Fresh air? Yeah? Bull. Don't lie to me -- I just saw you," Daniel knowingly replied.
. . . soap central
