Monday 20May96
On Monday, Hope and Bo's day [evening] of romance is interrupted by a call from Benny. He tells Hope that he had another Stefano call, and this time he's got an address. Hope is excited, but she made a promise to Bo to forget all about work today. Besides, Hope doesn't have much faith in Benny's tips [she's certain that Bo doesn't, and knows he'd make fun of this investigation. Bo then receives a call and has to leave for a while, giving Hope the chance to look into Benny's information.] Benny tells Hope that this time, she could be on the right track. [She goes to the address Benny gave her, and finds Stefano's shadowman (except she doesn't know who he is). He covers himself well by saying he's expecting his cousin Stefano to visit ("DiMera" never came up on any telephone conversations). Hope apologizes for the intrusion, and kicks herself for believing that she had a big lead on Stefano. The shadowman, however, has decided not to take any chances. He'll take care of Officer Hope Brady permanently.] In the meantime, Marlena stops at the Brady Pub before going back to her penthouse. [She came by to pick up Belle, but she's already asleep (must be that drugged Brady Pub chowder), so Caroline suggests she stay with them for tonight.] There, she tells Alice and Caroline that she is afraid of being alone and vulnerable to Stefano. [However, she has to get on with her life as John has done with Kristen. Kristen encourages John to help pick out baby names. She mentions that it was strange hearing Jack and Jennifer talk about having Abigail and naming her. They seemed so 'connected'. That will change when Jenn and Peter have their own child. John disagrees, saying that a child creates a permanent bond between two people. He reminisces about seeing Belle for the first time after learning that he was her father. Kristen pulls John close and says that with their baby, they'll be a family together forever (and she'll do whatever she has to do to make sure of that.] Marlena has no idea that Stefano is in her apartment at that very minute waiting for her. [When Marlena arrives home, Stefano hides on the balcony. Bo shows up a short time later by request from John to check the place out for security purposes. Marlena humors him, and everything seems fine, so Bo leaves. Marlena does not like being all alone, but is sure that she is safe.] Rachel, also known as the woman in white, tries to convince Peter that it's time for him to come clean with Jennifer, but Peter refuses to confess to anything, and instead takes Jennifer home, where they make love. [He wanted to come clean with her, but she kept saying things that scared him off. Jenn mentions living in the present and forgetting the past, and gushes about her trust in Peter, and how he has to adjust to having his mother in his life again, since when Laura came out of the sanitarium she was a bit overbearing, but now Jenn can't imagine what she would do if anything happened to her. Peter realizes that he can't tell her what he did to Laura, nor can he reveal his dirty dealings with Jude.] Afterwards, Peter fantasizes that he tells Jennifer, and she loves him anyway. [Jack, meanwhile, has certainly not given up on exposing Peter. He's sure that Rachel Blake covered up for him, and he has to find a way to make the truth come out. At least now Peter and Jenn's honeymoon has been delayed, so Jack has time to come up with a plan.]
Tuesday 21May96
On Tuesday, Hope looks into Benny's lead to find out that it was a dead end. With that out of the way, Hope can return to concentrating on home and family. Meanwhile, Stefano is warning all his people to be ready, because tonight is the night that he will be making his move on Marlena. [Hope then has a nightmare about being attacked by Stefano's men, and tackles Bo when he wakes her. Bo wants to know what Hope was dreaming about, which makes her recall the sensation of having something tied around her. Bo's surprise is ruined as he reveals that he wrapped a string around her finger so he could determine her ring size. She is touched, and Bo brings up the subject of their careers as police officers and their earlier argument. He respects her dedication and will trust her judgement, and Hope assures him that she would never put herself in danger on purpose (yeah, right -- she's a danger magnet). Bo wants the situation resolved so it doesn't come up when it's time for him to... well, ask her a very important question that involves her ring size (he doesn't want to ruin the surprise *too* much). Benny is still excited about finding Stefano, despite the fact that Hope believes it was a false lead. He convinces her to stay with him for just a short time, since he tapped into the shadowman's phone. [The man is reluctant to kill a cop, but realizes that if something goes wrong, Stefano will kill *him*. Hope is about to leave Benny's when a call comes in. It's the shadowman making a call to take care of Hope, but suddenly the conversation stops when Stefano walks in. Hope and Benny can't hear anything except a door slam.] Stefano notices the shadowman is nervous and he wants to know why. The shadowman admits that someone has been snooping around. That someone is Hope, but Stefano doesn't know that, and looking the shadowman straight in the eye, Stefano snarls "If there is the slightest hint of trouble, it is to be eliminated immediately, and permanently." Jonah returns to the hospital after being reinstated to med school. He finds all his friends and relatives there for his surprise party. As Lexie looks on filled with pride, Celeste plants seeds of doubt when she asks how in the world Jonah could do this on his own. When Lexie asks what Celeste is getting at, Celeste replies "There is only one person who could be responsible for this." [Stefano. Lexie refuses to believe it. Stefano lurks in the hospital dressed as a surgeon. Celeste has a feeling that he is back in Salem, and finds the discarded surgical garb. Lynn makes a proposition to Lucas and Sami. They have one week to come up with $100,000. She won't wait until July when Lucas can access his trust fund. Lucas comes up with a plan to allow him to get the money now. He just needs his mother to sign a document, and he'll slip it in with some other business papers that she never bothers to read before signing. Kate is constantly interrupted before she can sign them. First from Vivian, who sends Victor a huge bouquet of flowers in the hospital exclaiming her love for him, and how Kate is keeping them apart. Furious, Kate arranges to take Victor home right away. Once there, she is disturbed by a noise. It's Ivan removing furniture from the house. Vivian is not far behind, and responds to Kate's orders to leave by informing her that since the divorce from Victor was never final, half of what belongs to Victor is hers. Since he is now incapacitated, *she* has everything and is in charge. This is *her* house now, and Kate has no relationship to Victor.]
Wednesday 22May96
On Wednesday, Marlena feels good to be in her own home again, especially now that she is no longer forced to watch John and Kristen together. Marlena is feeling so good that she decides to go out for a little while [not like she has to *work* for a living, right?] She doesn't realize that someone is following her. [When she gets the feeling that she's being tracked, she spins around and confronts the person. He's a cop, an old friend of Roman's. John asked him to keep an eye on her. Marlena is not happy and says she'll speak with John about it. Bo stops by to see John at the DiMera house and tells him that Marlena's apartment checked out fine. John is still worried about her, but Kristen tells him that such fussing will only make things worse. After all, she has the best security system money can buy. (Kristen just wants to keep John far away from her.) Privately, Rachel tries to convince Kristen to come clean with John, but she refuses. The subject of marriage comes up between John and Bo. They haven't set a date, but John wants to marry Kristen before the baby is born. Bo hints to John that he may be getting married soon too, and he asks him to be his best man. The two go out to look at engagement rings, telling Kristen that they're picking some things up for the Brady Pub. She knows they're lying and thinks John is planning something with Marlena. Her worst fears are realized when she sees them looking at engagement rings at the mall. Soon, however, Kristen realizes that John has chosen an engagement ring for *her*, not Marlena, who feels out of place and slips away. Stefano, hiding out behind a pair of shades, makes note of the fact that Marlena convinced John to call of the guard.] Hope meets with Benny. She's thinking that his idea to tap into the shadowman's phone line might pay off when the phone rings. It's the shadowman, and he's calling someone about a job. [Stefano enters and grabs the phone. "Who is this?!?" he demands. The guy on the other end babbles something about Stefano (the shadowman was trying to use Stefano's name to find someone to take care of Hope). Stefano is furious and pulls the phone out of the wall and bashes the guy in the face. Hope is frustrated that they lost the connection. Benny is still hopeful that Stefano is involved, but Hope has lost faith in Benny, especially when he starts talking about making contact with Venus again. She goes to Carrie's apartment to pick up some more of her things, and confides to Carrie that she and Bo will be getting married. Carrie is thrilled for her, and gives her all of her old bridal magazines. She couldn't throw them out. She takes out her wedding dress, and when Hope suggests that it's time to put it away, Carrie refuses, saying it's the only real proof she has left of the love she and Austin shared.] Carrie is alone, lost in memories of her wedding that wasn't. She puts on her wedding dress, wondering why she can't let go, and wondering how on earth Austin ever could. While Carrie ponders this, Austin moves down the corridor and sees Carrie in her dress [her door is conveniently ajar]. He is transfixed at the sight of her. Austin is so mesmerized that it appears he may not be over Carrie after all. [After Vivian's announcement that she is in charge of all of Victor's business, Kate calls her lawyer and is dismayed to learn that it is true. Vivian fires Kate from Titan, and orders her out of the house. If she doesn't cooperate, Vivian will take Victor far away and she'll never see him. Kate realizes Vivian has won, for now, but she refuses to give up. She says good-bye to Victor, who is still comatose but in his mind also vows revenge on Vivian. Since the shadowman admitted that someone was snooping around, Stefano decides to move his location. Then Celeste walks in, and Stefano keeps her in line by using Lexie. She agrees to do what he wants, and is to await his orders. The shadowman, learning from Celeste that Stefano doesn't make idle threats, knows that Hope must be removed.]
Thursday 23May96
On Thursday, Carrie is still in her wedding dress, only now she finds herself back in Austin's arms. [Austin saw how upset she was and reached out to comfort her.] Meanwhile, Sami and Lucas are finally convinced that there is no threat of Austin and Carrie getting back together again. Of course they change their minds about that the minute they walk in the door and find the two in a tender embrace. [Carrie wants nothing but to tell Austin how much she regrets not marrying him and wishes she was more forgiving when Sami came back so they'd still be together. Instead she explains that she was talking to Hope about weddings and took out her dress. She shouldn't have put it on, because it brought back a lot of painful memories. Sami plays the guilty party to the hilt, saying it's all her fault for stopping the wedding, and how sorry she is. Of course Carrie doesn't lay the blame on Sami, and Austin is disappointed that Carrie wasn't so upset because she still loved him and wanted to be with him. He takes Sami home and feeds Will, who dribbles formula all over himself. Lucas stays with Carrie, and convinces her not to go to Austin and apologize for not being more understanding. It won't do any good except to upset Sami, and she finally seems to have some stability in her life. Carrie agrees, and Lucas waits while she showers and changes so they can go out together. Lynn calls him and says she wants the money ($100,000) ASAP. Lucas rushes over to Sami, who isn't worried. She knows Lynn is demanding money now because Kate is no longer wealthy. She won't blab to Kate because she can't get anything in return. Sami and Austin head to the Salem Club, as do Lucas and Carrie (surprise, surprise). Carrie says that it's stupid for them to continue to feel uncomfortable around each other, and everyone agrees. Austin goes to get everyone drinks, and runs into an inebriated Lynn at the bar. When he starts lecturing her about drinking, he realizes he isn't one to talk. She informs him that he didn't sleep with Sami because he was drunk. He's confused, and when Sami and Lucas see that he's talking with Lynn and hear what she's telling him, they panic.] Marlena is a bundle of nerves, but she suddenly senses that she is being stalked by Stefano. She is relieved when she spots Caroline behind her, and thinks she's mistook Caroline for her enemy. Unfortunately for Marlena, her first instincts were right. Stefano is out there, and he's laying a trap for her. [Caroline tells Marlena to call John about her fears, but she refuses.] Kate says a painful farewell to Victor as she prepares to battle Vivian for custody of her child. [Kate wants to take Philip with her, but Vivian tells her she now has temporary custody of him.] Vivian is sure that she has the upper hand and that nothing can threaten her position as Victor's wife and as guardian of Titan. But Mickey has been working on a way to help Kate win the case, and he may have found a legal angle that can offer Kate some hope. [He is able to get Vivian to let Kate take Philip by emphasizing that no court would award custody to her once they learned of her schemes to get Victor (namely, allowing Kate to keep Philip if Victor left her). Mickey is sure the inevitable publicity from such a trial would not be good for the business Vivian is now in charge of, and Vivian knows that he's right. She lets Kate have Philip, for now. Victor speaks silently from within his coma, vowing to regain his strength and seek revenge on Vivian for hurting Kate. Marlena runs into Kate in the park, and invites her to her apartment. Stefano has already been there and has bugged it, and was going to wait for Marlena to come home but Celeste talked some sense into him. She is nervous about the risks he is taking for the sake of Marlena, since he is so obsessed about having her. He tells Celeste that he intends to take Belle too, and when he hears Kate leave, he plans to move in on Marlena.]
Friday 24May96
On Friday, Lynn is tired of being quiet and is now prepared to tell Austin all about Sami's sordid scheme. She's decided to start with how Sami drugged Austin to get into his bed. Sami and Lucas realize they will be in big trouble if Lynn talks. They can't let that happen, so they both work desperately to try to find a way to distract Austin before Lynn can spill the beans. [Lucas stands there doing nothing, so Sami takes action. "I can't take it anymore," she cries. Lynn is saying that Austin would have to be drunk to sleep with a tramp like her. Lucas suggests that Lynn doesn't know what she's talking about, and he should take her outside for some fresh air before she says something she'll regret. She agrees, and Lucas emphasizes that if she blabs, she'll have nothing. She won't get any money from them, and Kate no longer has anything to offer her. If she will keep her mouth shut until July when Lucas accesses his trust fund, she'll get a lot of money. Lynn agrees, and returns to explain to Austin that what she *meant* was that him using alcohol as an excuse for sleeping with Sami is a fraud. Austin says that he has taken full responsibility for his actions, and Lynn apologizes.] Across town, Marlena runs into Kate. When she sees how stressed she is, Marlena insists that Kate stay at the penthouse with her. She agrees, thwarting Stefano's plans. In the meantime, Celeste hears about Marlena's new house guest, and she is very pleased about it. She takes great pleasure in telling Stefano that his plan to abduct Marlena has hit a snag. She also reminds Stefano that the woman in white is Rachel Blake [and what she knows can ruin Stefano]. Stefano is well aware of that [actually, he doesn't believe that she *is* Rachel Blake], and knows that he must do something about her. However, Stefano doesn't know who to turn his attention to first: Marlena or Rachel. [Back home, Austin receives a call from Kate. After a chat with Marlena, she realized that she has perhaps been too hard on Sami, and Austin must make his own decision about his life with Sami or Carrie. But he should make it soon, since it isn't fair to keep them wondering. He agrees, and is shocked to see Sami packing her things. She announces that she's moving out, since she knows he'll be happier without her there. When Carrie again puts Lucas off because she's still in love with Austin, he suggests that she find a new apartment. She says she can't afford to, and is thinking about getting a new roommate since Hope moved out. Lucas wants to move in with her, and he promises that they can be just friends for as long as she likes. She agrees. A specialist is flown in from San Francisco to examine Rachel's scars. He believes that he can restore her beauty. John calls Marlena to the house, and over John's protests, she reads to all (Marlena, Peter, Jenn) a letter John wrote to their unborn child. He expresses his joy at learning Kristen was pregnant, and that he'll always love the mother of his child. John thinks of Marlena, but she doesn't know this. After Peter walks the doctor to his car, he is shocked to see Stefano.]