Monday 22July96
On Monday, John is still trying to find out which city Stefano is playing this sick game of his, when Rachel tells John that she believes Marlena is in Paris. [Actually, before Rachel can tell him, Kristen figures out that her mother was snooping around in her room and saw the article on Paris. She rushes to John and announces that she thinks Marlena is in Paris. She just had a dream about it, she says.] Rachel wonders if John is going to make a mad dash to Paris to search for his beloved Marlena on her hunch. [Kristen does everything she can to prevent John from running off. After all, it's only a 'feeling' she had, and maybe it's because she and John had been discussing Paris earlier. John should have his contacts check it out and not waste precious time doing it himself. Rachel knows that Kristen knows that Stefano and Marlena are in Paris, but Kristen threatens her mother to keep silent, or she'll never see her grandchild.] In the meantime, Stefano has promised the captive Marlena that he will set her free if she grants him one wish - a night of love. "So what's it going to be?" taunts Stefano. "Make love to me and be free, or refuse and spend the rest of your days missing your family?" [He weakens her with a photo and recording of Belle. Stefano turns the hourglass over and gives her more time to think about his offer, and emphasizes that it will be Kristen whom Belle thinks of as her mother. Marlena recalls a past discussion with Caroline about sacrificing *anything* for her children, and realizes, as horrific as it is, she must give in to Stefano. John's watch alarm goes off, indicating that Marlena's time is up. He's confident that she will refuse Stefano, and is distraught when her answer to him is Yes.] Back in Salem, Bo is stunned when Jill tells him that her attacker returned and left his keychain behind. Bo calls for a police sketch artist, but Jill disappears before the artist arrives. Later, when Bo meets Franco, he tells him about the attack. [Foolish move. How about checking the keychain for fingerprints, BoBo? Bo produces the keychain, and things look bad for Franco when he can't find his. Hope is certain there is an explanation for it, and can't believe that Franco would attack a woman. She has grown very friendly with him. Later, Franco shows Bo his keychain -- it was in his other pants. Then Bo meets a cop acquaintance who *also* has a keychain like Franco's. Apparently they're giving them away as a promotion. Bo wonders how he'll find the attacker with dozens of keychains around. Of course, Franco could have just replaced the one he lost. He watches Franco and Hope with a careful eye.]
Tuesday 23July96
On Tuesday, John grabs those goggles again, and this time he sees Marlena accept Stefano's proposal of one night of love. John knows Marlena had no choice but to accept [Stefano played on her every weakness], and this makes him even more desperate to find her. Meanwhile, Kristen agonizes over whether or not she should tell John what she remembers of the game [Not. She tries to convince him that Paris just appeared to her in a dream and could mean nothing. Besides, maybe something good will come of this. If Marlena sleeps with Stefano, he'll let her go. John is furious at the thought, and knows that Stefano would never release her.] Just then, John finds one more hint to Marlena's location. [He spots the front page to the travel section of the newspaper. There is a photo of yesterday's Bastille Day celebration in Paris (this is 9 days of our time of course). He remembers the costume Marlena was wearing, and it is similar to those on the pictured partiers.] Now he's worried about whether or not he will get to her in time. Kristen tries to get John to have his contacts check out the situation, but John absolutely insists on going. He says he wouldn't be leaving Kristen if this weren't so important. John rushes to the airport, and Kristen shows up too, saying she's going with him. He won't let her, and she prays that her relationship with John won't be destroyed by what he finds in Paris.] Now that Marlena has said yes, Stefano begins preparing for their night of love. He hopes that Marlena is really ready to give her body and soul to him [not gonna happen. Marlena tells herself that Stefano will only have her body. He sends out his servant to get some things (flowers, etc.), and he is spotted by Vivian and Ivan (who are still seeking Stefano). They lose him. The man assures Stefano that he was not followed back to his hideout. Stefano then begins his night with Marlena. John is on his way, and send thoughts to her to hang on - he's coming. Marlena gets strange feelings, which are noticed by Stefano. When she brushes them off and tells him to "get it over with", she is surprised to hear him say they will continue tomorrow. He wants her to commit herself to their "lovemaking". Like a day will make a difference.] Laura and Jennifer worry when they realize Jack is missing. When Jack finally returns, he admits that he was with another woman. Jennifer turns and walks out the door. Thinking they are alone, Jack and Laura start to talk. Jennifer, however, is still outside and she overhears a conversation between Jack and Laura that could affect them all. [Jack admits to Laura that while Sharon (his date) is nice, and pretty, and intelligent, he still loves Jenn very deeply and can't imagine being with anyone else. He will never love anyone the way he loves her. Laura tells him that he can keep his memories of Jennifer and still open his heart to another. Jack is doubtful. Jenn is stunned, or touched, or confused. With Jenn, it's hard to tell. But it's not like Jack hadn't spelled it out for her a dozen times before.]
Wednesday 24July96
On Wednesday, when the Paris police can't help John, he vows to search every inch of the city himself. [He meets with an old acquaintance, Rene, to look at Stefano's game. He notices something familiar about a piece from the game, but can't put his finger on it. John goes out to search, and runs into Abe. As they are looking around,] John remembers something from his past that might help him find the secret location. Meanwhile, Marlena is dreading her night with Stefano, but she has decided that she will do anything to see her children again. However, Marlena is not so sure of that when Stefano begins his seduction. [Stefano has Marlena "beautified" by famous clothing/makeup artists from Paris. He is overwhelmed by the results. Stefano announces that evening's menu, and Marlena gasps when he says dessert will be fresh strawberries and whipped cream. She recalls sharing it with John (hello, you shared it with Roman first! Stefano of all people should know this.) Marlena interprets it as some sort of sign, even though she believes John is dead. Something is holding her back from Stefano (besides repulsion). He continues to make his advances, however, and kisses her.] In Salem, Hope thinks Franco is the greatest, which is why she is surprised to learn that Bo has run a background check on him. [Bo explains that since Franco is living with his parents and working closely with Hope, he feels justified in checking the guy's past out. Additionally, he hasn't completely cleared himself of being a suspect in the attacks. Bo learns that Kate had the key chains mass produced that afternoon. She gives one to Bo and Hope.] Sami and her new confidant, Mary, bond when Sami tells Mary how she plans to get Austin back by using Will. [She brings him to Titan to visit Austin. Her plan to spend time with him backfires when he asks her if he and Carrie can have some time alone with Will.] Carrie tells Kate that she will not work with Lucas, and that's final. [As annoying as Lucas may be to Carrie with his continuing pursuit of her, I think Carrie has a lot of nerve to give Kate an ultimatum like that.] When Lucas hears about that, he immediately begs his mother to keep Carrie working with him. Kate is torn, not knowing if she should do what is best for the company or for her son. [Lucas already knows what Kate will do, and tells her he shouldn't even have bothered talking to her. Meanwhile, Carrie and Austin plan to pick up a picnic lunch and spend time with Will. So much for "working". It's great when Mom's in charge.]
Thursday 25July96
On Thursday, Bo and Hope are shocked to learn that Franco has a criminal record, but their suspicions are eased when they learn why. [Franco is at the Brady Pub, dishing out soup for the needy. Bo says that either Franco is the nicest guy around, or he's a master of deception. Though he wants to stay and help, Shawn and Caroline insist that they can handle things, and Franco makes plans to go to a movie, but instead he is sneaking around town for some reason (might have missed something -- Pres. Clinton interrupted for a few minutes).] Later, Bo and Hope intend to spend a romantic day together, but those plans are put on hold when they run into Jill [it is Bo who runs into Jill; Hope had gone home to change for dinner. Jill tells Bo she ran into her attacker again, and he was very nice and apologetic. But then things got out of hand again and he hit her when she wouldn't give him what he wanted. Bo calls for a police sketch artist, but when he turns his back, Jill takes off. Bo calls Hope and aborts their dinner plans, instead asking her to meet him at the movie theatre. Franco isn't there, and strangely enough, he was wearing a blue shirt just as Jill described (she says she tore it). Hope still doesn't believe Franco could be guilty.] In the meantime, Abe joins John in Paris. Together they work out their plans to begin the search for Marlena. As Abe is going over their notes, John is suddenly overcome with despair. [They enter a church which feels familiar to John, but they can't find any more clues to lead them to Stefano.] Abe does his best to assure John that while the task ahead of them seems impossible, they will succeed in finding Marlena. Unconvinced, John gives in to his anguish and falls to his knees praying for help. At that moment, Marlena [hears John's prayer and] feels a surge of strength, which enables her to pull away from Stefano's lecherous touch [she is only in her slip at this point, and Stefano was getting *very* friendly]. Stefano is angry and frustrated since they were just about to make love. [Marlena tells him that she thought she could go through with it, but discovered that she could not divorce her body from her heart and soul. Stefano screams at her for throwing away all that he was about to give her, and calls her a bitch for teasing him and letting him think that she was about to make all his fantasies come true. Despite this, he says she *will* willingly come to him someday. In the meantime, he will have to have her any way he can.] As his fury increases, Marlena becomes worried about her safety. [He could kill her, she realizes; or worse. John and Abe leave the church and go to a cafe for something to eat. A waiter overhears them talking about trying to find Stefano. Without naming him, John describes Stefano, and the waiter says he knows of a person who fits the description. Then Stefano gets word that John is in Paris.]
Friday 26July96
On Friday, John and Abe get a clue as to where Marlena is hidden. They hurry on to check it out, and along the way they run into the original odd couple, Vivian and Ivan. [Not quite: a waiter tells John and Abe of a man and woman who have been dining regularly at the cafe. This leads them straight to Vivian and Ivan, and they enter their hotel room in time to hear Vivian speak of Marlena.] Surprised to see John and Abe in Paris, Vivian swears that she hasn't seen Stefano. [She's more concerned about getting to Stefano before John so she can clear her name. When Vivian later runs into Stefano's servant again, she demands that he take her to Stefano. He refuses because he knows Stefano would kill him if he revealed his location, but instead arranges for Vivian to meet Stefano somewhere else. John, meanwhile, has paid off a hotel employee to alert him when Vivian goes somewhere.] Knowing that John has arrived in Paris, Stefano decides to throw an obstacle in his path by sending Kristen a letter [fax] from John inviting her to Paris. [Kristen jumps at the opportunity, despite having cramps earlier. She's not about to miss an opportunity to keep John from finding Marlena. Lexie, who came by to check on her, warns against traveling. Both Rachel and Lexie insist on accompanying Kristen to Paris, and there happens to be a flight leaving in a short while. Marlena gets suspicious that something has happened based on Stefano's actions. She wonders if there is hope of her being found. Vivian is forced to meet Stefano without Ivan.] In Salem, Hope and Bo can't find Franco at the movies, which leads them to believe his alibi is worthless. Then Franco suddenly appears, so the evidence shifts. Even so, Bo and Hope are still suspicious, and they decide to search Franco's room in secret [it's Bo who wants to do this, to find the alleged ripped blue shirt. Hope still can't believe that Franco is involved.] As they head over, Hope wonders if they will find anything that will prove Franco guilty, or could Franco be as innocent as he seems? [While they are searching, Franco unexpectedly returns to his room and Bo hides under the bed. Hope hides in the bathroom, and when Franco discovers her, pretends to have something in her eye, so she ducked into his bathroom to check on it. She 'casually' asks him about his blue shirt, saying she admired it and wanted to get one for Bo. Franco says he gave it to a poor person who needed it more than him. After Franco leaves, Hope berates Bo for thinking so badly of Franco. Bo wonders if he was offbase as well. But a short while later, Franco rummages around in the trash behind the Brady Pub and pulls out his ripped blue shirt, and tosses it into the incinerator.]