[tense music]
You are so close-minded, man.
You can't see the truth when it's right in front of you.
Oh, the truth, huh, the truth?
You want to hear the truth?
- Yeah. - I'll tell you the truth.
The truth is, is that no one is gonna
tell me in my own house that thick crust is the best pizza.
Oh, please, it has cheese.
It has sauce.
So does a casserole!
Fine. You know what?
Since I'm very hungry, I will--
You ordered me thick-crust pizza.
You love me.
Yeah, I did, and I do.
And honestly, I am just glad that you are up and about
and back where you belong.
And I'm telling you, this place was
way too quiet after you left.
Yeah, well, what about Ari?
Well, Ari, she's--
she's here for the summer--
in theory, anyway.
I mean, the only proof that I have of it
is an empty refrigerator and a full dryer.
[coughs]
Hey, are you OK?
Honestly, inhaling gas is no joke.
Yes, honestly, it's nothing a 24-hour nap couldn't fix.
Don't you downplay this.
Don't, OK, because you saved Johnny's life.
And he is like a son to me.
I'll never forget it.
We got lucky with the neighbor.
Sometimes I think about what might have happened
if he hadn't smelled the gas,
if Trey had been in there.
He wasn't.
He wasn't in there, OK?
You did good, primo.
I just did my job.
I just hope my captain thinks the same.
[dramatic music]
[siren wailing]
♪ ♪
It wasn't some back-alley experiment.
It was cutting-edge science.
And there were contingencies in place.
You gave your sister her life back.
I mean, it's literally phenomenal.
It was my father's wish.
And that meant proceeding with extreme caution.
You can understand that, can't you,
why I couldn't tell you?
Of course, it had to be top secret,
I mean, the FDA regulations alone.
I just--
I can't help but wonder what it was like
for you, having to, you know,
go through this all by yourself.
♪ ♪
It was worth it in the end.
♪ ♪
So...[sighs]
What happens now that the world knows
about EJ DiMera's life-restoring drug?
How do you proceed from here?
♪ ♪
Carefully, very carefully.
♪ ♪
I really wish that nurse would have let us wake her.
Yeah, me too.
But you know what?
Just seeing our sister breathing again
after we thought we lost her all those years ago--
Yeah, it's unbelievable.
But we both know that the DiMeras
have played chess with death in the past.
But to bring Lexie back after all those years,
after how she died...
[sighs]
If death isn't permanent, then what does that say about life?
Mm, or grief or moving on.
Yeah, well, Father always
played God over and over again.
And it should have ended with him a long time ago.
Or maybe not.
♪ ♪
Well, what's so important you couldn't tell me in a text, eh?
I'll give you precisely zero guesses.
[chuckles]
Does your lunch ever actually involve any lunch?
Well, I save my appetite for you, love.
Oh.
[both moan]
♪ ♪
[soft orchestration]
announcer: Like sands through the hourglass,
so are the "Days of Our Lives."
♪ ♪
Mm, what about my appetite?
Insatiable, despite my best efforts.
But if you want something sent up, I mean--
[laughs]
Oh, my, can you imagine that call?
Hello, room service, I'd like champagne,
a cheese board,
and Xander Kiriakis naked on my bed.
Well, that can be arranged if you just let me--
Oh, will you just shut up and service me already?
[moans]
I just--
I should have known better than to run into a code 1
gas emergency without my gear.
I thought Trey was in there, and I panicked.
But then when you panic in an emergency, people die.
I messed up.
You saved Johnny's life.
You stopped an explosion that could have
taken down an entire building.
Hell, you're a damn hero.
- No, I'm not. - Yeah.
- No. - You are.
I took a stupid chance, and I got lucky.
You know, rules are rules.
And you have to follow them.
The captain is right to suspend me without pay.
I mean, I wouldn't mind the suspension or even
cleaning the fire engines for weeks
if it didn't mean getting my first write-up.
I mean, my record is spotless.
Yeah, well, hopefully it won't come to that.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
Maybe--maybe you can put in a good word for me?
[chuckles]
Of course I can.
I just don't know how much good
a reference from a guy in the bureau
is gonna do someone with the same last name.
Yeah. Yeah, I was just kidding.
Oh, that's good.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
[chuckles]
But I do know someone who could help,
someone who has a lot of influence,
connections in high places,
and whose son didn't die a horrible death
because of you.
♪ ♪
The way I see it, there are two choices:
abandon the project entirely
or move it forward through the proper channels.
I imagine you'll be choosing the latter, right,
because you have other--
what do you call them, patients, test subjects on ice?
There are more possible opportunities ahead, no doubt.
And I won't apologize for the shortcuts I took.
In my mind, the value of doing things expeditiously
trumps the importance of doing it by the book.
Well, the humanitarian prospects cannot be disputed.
But...
I really hope this doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
♪ ♪
I know this is personal for you.
It is.
My brother is already on parole.
Mark's work has been strictly limited to animal testing,
mostly on rats.
He has not broken any laws.
And though we may have pushed the boundaries
of some outdated regulations,
there's been no criminal conduct,
since you can't break laws that don't exist.
- [scoffs] - There's no need to worry.
[sighs]
Cat, you do trust me, don't you?
♪ ♪
I do, yeah, actually.
Don't make me regret it.
♪ ♪
You actually have proof of what EJ's doing?
No, I'm not saying that.
It's just that the idea that someone that you thought
you lost forever could just come back,
I mean, that's pretty powerful.
Yeah, I see. I see.
So you were hoping that you would bring Abigail back.
Obviously, I'd do anything to get Abby back.
EJ said it wasn't possible.
Hmm, did he say why?
Apparently, the process has to be
initiated shortly after death.
You know, Father had Lexie preserved cryogenically
until the technology and the drugs existed
to cure her and bring her back.
But, you know, it doesn't really offer hope to everyone.
♪ ♪
Understood.
♪ ♪
I'm sorry to hear that about Abigail.
But I also was tempted to play God in the past.
But I have learned that it was a huge mistake,
unlike EJ,
who is just arrogant
and thinks he's untouchable and--ignorant and--
ugh.
Yeah, maybe it's because he's cheated death
just as much as Father did.
Perhaps, perhaps, yes.
But he's not only mortal.
He's highly fallible, and he's cruel.
Yeah.
♪ ♪
You can't imagine what it does to you
when you see that your child was traumatized
so much that she was driven to pick up a gun.
I know.
Poor kid.
Rachel shot EJ because of what he did to my mother.
And Rachel, she missed her grandma.
And she knew--she knew that it was EJ
who made my mother disappear.
♪ ♪
So EJ followed in Father's blueprint of playing God.
[sighs]
And he didn't even realize
the kind of pain he was putting on people, on everyone.
And so it has to stop.
It has to stop.
It has to stop right now.
What do you mean?
Stopped how?
♪ ♪
Forget it.
No, there is no way that I am asking EJ DiMera
to speak to my boss on my behalf.
I want nothing to do with that.
All right, all right, that's fine.
I mean, you know how I feel about EJ.
All I'm saying is that you saved
his son's life, for God's sake.
He owes you.
Well, then he can send me a fruit basket,
because I am never
going to ask that bastard for a damn thing.
- OK. - OK?
And if the captain comes down on me, I don't know,
maybe it's a sign that I need to head back to Texas.
What?
You're talking about leaving again?
I love Salem, and I love being here with you and Gabi.
But yeah, it has crossed my mind a couple of times.
Hmm.
Suddenly it feels like we're not talking
about work problems anymore.
[dramatic music]
Actually, I should get going.
So thank you so much for the pizza, primo.
You are welcome.
And you better hurry up.
Don't want to miss your ETA.
OK.
Hero.
I wouldn't dare cause you regret.
[sighs] But what I do regret is...
Losing the memory of our time together in Italy
in the hospital.
And I want to do something about that.
♪ ♪
I don't know if there's anything you can do.
I could schedule a session with Marlena.
In fact, I already have.
She's hypnotized me once before,
when I was trying to remember who shot me.
And I really do think she could help me now.
I'm just--
I'm just tired of the missing pieces.
I want to know what really happened,
why you and I connected.
Was it coincidence or orchestrated by someone?
Was it simply fate?
[sighs]
Well, you will let me know what comes up, I guess.
I promise you, I will.
♪ ♪
And if that is everything,
I'll probably take a lunch break.
♪ ♪
I will see you later.
♪ ♪
Hmm, I don't know how I would stop EJ.
I mean, it is above my pay grade.
I didn't realize you thought anything
was above your pay grade.
[chuckles]
Huh, you know...
would I cry if EJ vanished
off the face of the Earth tomorrow?
Hmm.
Definitely not.
And unlike EJ, I am not interested
in doling out justice, in deciding
who deserves to live or die.
Well, I'm glad to hear that.
Mm.
Yeah, I would never ever...
[sighs]
Want to go back to prison again,
you know, and be separated from Rachel.
♪ ♪
It almost destroyed her.
But what really, really scares me, Chad, is...
what the future holds for our family,
for our children if EJ continues to play king.
Yeah, well, if not EJ, then who?
Oh, come on, anyone would be better than him.
So you, right?
One queen to rule us all?
You are sounding like Peter.
- Ooh. - Yeah.
And you know what happened to him, don't you?
Mm, mm.
So be careful, Chad, hmm?
Around you, sis?
Always.
All right, I got to run. I got to get to a meeting.
OK.
- See you later. - Well, I'll see you soon.
- Yeah. - OK.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
[chuckles]
[sighs]
[clears throat]
That was quick.
But satisfying.
[clears throat]
You disagree?
Don't know.
I just was hoping for an encore.
Well, there will be one.
But first, I do have to get back to the office.
Really?
Aren't you the boss?
Can't you just come and go as you please?
I wish.
But no, apparently, there's just endless things
to be done that only I can do, so--
[chuckles] I see.
I'm just a chore to be ticked off your list of to-do things,
then, am I?
Chore?
No, I thoroughly enjoy our time together, Gwen.
But we said this was just gonna be fun, right?
No strings, that was our agreement.
♪ ♪
Well, what if I don't like our agreement anymore?
What if I want a new one?
♪ ♪
You seemed to like our arrangement
just fine the other day, up until right now, actually.
Hmm, that's funny, because you and I haven't even
exchanged two words to each other since EJ
made me move out of the house.
But I suppose that does make your booty call lunchtime
very convenient, doesn't it, to not have to schlep
all the way to that dreary mansion.
Well, it was always worth the trip.
In fact, I was kind of getting used to that place.
Plus, pissing off EJ was such a huge bonus.
Oh, I see.
So you just liked to use me to torment the enemy, hmm?
I was your in.
Now I'm not.
So the bloom is off the rose?
[dramatic music]
Gwen...
if you're looking for tenderness, feelings,
I can't give you that.
I was very clear from the start, wasn't I?
♪ ♪
Because you're still in love with Sarah.
♪ ♪
My God, your silence just speaks volumes.
♪ ♪
Look, I think I'm gonna have a quick shower
before I go back to work.
Mm.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
God.
Coast is clear.
[sighs]
I told EJ I was taking lunch, so we don't have a lot of time.
But... - OK.
Things have gotten infinitely more complicated
since yesterday.
Oh, really?
More so than Lexie coming back from the dead?
Let's put a pin in that.
But we have problems, Rafe, major problems.
Such as?
To start with, Leo Stark asked if I am ISA.
He what?
I know.
OK, it's because of Dimitri.
I hadn't even met the guy, so I had no idea
he'd be able to clock me as ISA.
But I run into him and Leo at the hospital
right before he skipped town.
And apparently, he recognized my voice from years ago.
Your voi--oh, my God.
OK, so your cover is blown.
Well, here's the thing.
I don't think so.
I'm pretty sure I was able to convince Leo
that Dimitri was wrong.
Yeah, well, with all due respect,
I know Leo better than you do.
And once he gets an idea in that slippery little brain
of his, he doesn't let it go.
♪ ♪
So what do we do?
♪ ♪
And how is Lexie?
She was sleeping when I dropped by earlier.
But so far, so good.
Good, that's good,
because we need to run this story.
- Leo-- - I know. I know.
She's family. It's personal.
But this is the biggest story since Free Britney.
And with a DiMera on the masthead,
it'll look worse than clueless if we're not on it.
I agree.
Yeah, we got to run the story.
But we are gonna respect Lexie's privacy, OK?
We're not gonna sensationalize what happened.
Got it?
So "Lexie Carver: Undead and Loving It"
is not the headline you had in mind?
No, not quite.
OK, fine,
we'll go with your sensitive, boring headline.
Thank you.
Look, I understand how hard my sister's return to life
must be for you.
Thank you, Chadwick.
This was supposed to be my Pulitzer-winning moment,
an EJ takedown.
Instead, it's the medical breakthrough of the century,
if not the millennium, and I didn't even
get to break the story.
No.
You know, I almost ran into your newly resurrected sister.
I was this close right before she made her grand entrance.
What? Where did you almost see her?
Down in the tunnels.
Cat and I heard these random footsteps.
Hold on, Cat was down there with you?
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
[sighs] Come on, Gwen.
Why ruin our lovely agreement
by, I don't know, trying to turn it
into something it isn't?
Well, I don't think I would ruin it if I added value to it.
What kind of value?
♪ ♪
Oh, I don't know.
You're gonna just have to find out next time, aren't you?
[phone beeps]
♪ ♪
And that's work.
I have a meeting.
Talk soon?
Yeah, sure.
♪ ♪
OK, well, from what I have seen,
the ISA covered your tracks very well.
Yeah, right, they did.
So if Leo starts nosing around,
he's not gonna find anything.
Which will hopefully convince him
that you were telling the truth,
and he will move on, right?
Yeah, OK, so what's the next problem?
[tense music]
EJ--EJ just told me that he is
going to start digging into our time at the hospital in Italy.
What?
Why?
He wants to better understand our connection from that time.
He's booked an appointment with Marlena.
Oh, damn it.
OK, all right, we need to stop this and fast.
I am a hell of a lot more worried about EJ than I am Leo.
♪ ♪
Leo, why was Cat in the tunnels?
I'm not sure.
She was only in there for, like, a second.
OK, but why? What was she doing down there?
[gasps] Oh, my God, it's true.
You are ISA. [gasps]
[chuckles nervously]
Wait, wait, you think that I am in the ISA?
Come on.
I mean, I wish my life was that interesting.
[light music]
She was getting wine, that's all.
♪ ♪
If that's all, then why did you
lie for her at the hospital?
Why didn't she tell EJ what she was doing, hmm?
What's the big deal with grabbing wine?
Well, no, see, she was covering for me
because I begged her not to rat me out
that I was the one down in the tunnels.
And she didn't.
And then I saw EJ really laying into her,
so I thought I would just fess up.
Well, I'm sure Cat appreciated that.
Oh, it was nothing. EJ hates me anyway.
Listen, I'm gonna grab some dessert to go.
Thank you for lunch, Chadwick.
Mm.
Let's hope Roman's rodent control
takes care of that little tunnel rat.
He's a good guy, OK?
He's just persistent.
Mm, yes, persistent in trying
to destroy my life,
like certain other people in this town.
I didn't expect you so soon.
Well, I was in the neighborhood.
Hmm, how convenient for me
since we have to have a private discussion...
urgently.
[tense music]
How can we stop EJ from working with Marlena?
All right, what's his plan, hypnosis?
Yeah, but how is that even gonna work?
I mean, most of his time in the hospital in Italy,
he was unconscious, healing from third-degree burns.
Yeah, well, you never know what the mind can retain.
Trust me.
And if Marlena doesn't want to work with him,
he is gonna find someone who will.
I am telling you, EJ is way more relentless
and ten times as dangerous as Leo.
[tense music]
I can handle EJ.
You can handle him?
You can't handle--what if he finds out that you are ISA
or that you have been lying to him and playing him?
I don't even want to think about what he would do, OK?
♪ ♪
Oh, Cat, you know, we embedded you
way too deep in his organization.
No, no, this isn't good.
I mean, if he finds out,
we could lose an incredible agent.
And it's gonna put your life at risk,
your family's lives at risk.
No, you know what?
No, there's--I don't even think there's anything
for him to find.
There's nothing for him to find.
And we have more urgent problems right now.
What is more urgent than not putting your life at risk?
The lives of people like Lexie Carver
and whatever AJ's plans are for this life-restoring drug.
OK, OK, fine, did he give any hints?
♪ ♪
He said he felt like he had two options,
either completely abandon the project or make it legit,
take it through official channels.
Right, how convenient of him
to leave out the third option,
which is the untraceable and unregulated black market.
Yeah, I've heard the chatter on the dark web.
They know that the drug exists.
And it's not impossible that there will be bidding wars.
Of course, you're absolutely right.
We need to stop him.
We need to stop him and fast
before this gets out of our control.
[knock at door]
♪ ♪
Do you mind if I sit for a minute?
No.
[light music]
Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something
that happened yesterday.
[sighs] If this is about Lexie, I--
It's not.
♪ ♪
It's about you and Cat.
[dramatic music]
- Hi. - Hey.
Home alone? I thought I heard voices.
Yeah, I was on the phone.
What can I do for you, Leo?
Well, the pub special today was Javi's favorite, so--
I thought you two spoke about making a clean break.
Well, we did.
I just thought that I would make a kind gesture.
Right, yeah.
Well, you missed him. He's out.
Oh, out where?
Went to pick up his boyfriend at the airport.
♪ ♪
Oh.
Oh, OK.
Well, then I should go.
I hope he enjoys his favorite meal
with his boyfriend when he gets home.
Excuse me. - Yeah.
Oh, Leo.
Yeah?
Look, for what it's worth,
I'm sorry it worked out this way.
Thank you.
Me too.
I'll see you around, Leo.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
That was close.
♪ ♪
So why exactly are you so desperate
to get me all alone in your hotel room?
We need to talk.
And I don't want anyone lurking in the corridor
of the DiMera mansion to overhear.
Hmm, that's too bad.
I thought you wanted me here for something rather different.
♪ ♪
You can't mean you. [chuckles]
Oh, Xander, no wonder you came so fast.
I've been getting that critique a lot today.
Come again?
That can be arranged, if that's what you want.
What are you talking about?
Come on, Kristen, I've seen that look in your eye
more than once, the way you check me out.
Oh, you mean this look?
[scoffs, chuckles]
Because that is me resigning myself
to the tedium of a giant ego.
Fine, well, if you're not finally giving in
to your burning desire for me, the storm I stir in your blood,
what do you want from me?
♪ ♪
We need to talk. [chuckles]
I mean, really, you can't figure this out?
To talk about our alliance against EJ.
Come on.
Are you ready to step up your game, huh?
♪ ♪
[soft music]
Oh, why so glum?
I don't want to talk about it.
♪ ♪
Is it about Javi?
That's part of it.
It's also about the EJ exposé.
Things not going according to plan?
[sighs] It's dead in the water, it seems.
♪ ♪
Well, that's too bad.
[sighs]
You know, I have been bingeing on room service.
I thought I'd go out for a walk and have some caffeine,
if you'd like to join me.
♪ ♪
Yeah, what the hell?
It beats brooding alone.
♪ ♪
Well, here's to shared misery, then.
♪ ♪
[light music]
What are you talking about, me and Cat?
At the will reading, I heard you two discussing
dinner plans, dessert, a next time.
♪ ♪
My employee and I were making polite conversation.
Come on, EJ.
You have been circling her ever since you bid on her
at that bachelorette auction.
Hmm, which, as I recall, I won.
Now, what I don't recall is our romantic skydiving date.
Now, why is that?
Oh, that's right, because I stepped aside,
and she went with you.
That's not the point I'm trying to make.
And I left the two of you well alone
until one of you completely bailed.
Now, which one of you did that?
Oh, that's right. Once again, that was you.
I did not bail.
I had to go take care of my children.
Oh, spare me the custody battle saga.
All that really matters is that she's off-limits to you.
Does that mean she's off-limits to everyone else?
No, that's not what I'm saying.
Oh, so just me.
- Yeah, just you, EJ. - Huh.
You are the last person that she needs, OK?
I'm gonna tell you once--
stay the hell away from her.
Well, that is going to be rather impossible
since I'm her employer.
Not to mention, I'm not the one who's legally required
to keep my distance from her.
So that won't work either.
♪ ♪
Take care, little brother.
Hmm.
♪ ♪
So Leo did not follow me here?
No, no, he was just dropping something off for Javi.
OK, well, I should probably go
before somebody else comes knocking on your door.
Yeah, and I should get back to work,
see if I can get ahold of Kristen and...
find out if she knows how to summon Rolf.
Yeah.
Hey, Cat, listen to me.
[tense music]
No more close calls, OK?
And watch your back.
Yeah, always.
♪ ♪
[line rings]
Come on, Kristen, pick up.
[phone ringing]
You gonna get that?
I'll call them back.
Are you gonna answer my question?
I'm no fan of EJ, so what'd you have in mind?
Well, I'd hoped at first we might
capitalize on whatever it was that he was
so desperate to keep secret.
But that turned out to be Lexie.
And while her resurrection may be ethically murky,
I doubt it's illegal.
So on to plan B.
I'm listening.
Mm, well, the only way to punish EJ
for everything he's done to the people we care about
is to eliminate him completely.
As in...
Wipe him off the face of the Earth.
Come on, Kristen, you've tried to take out EJ
in the past, and it blows up in your face.
True, but what I want now
is for you to kill him.
♪ ♪