Rafe comes downstairs to find Gabi starting to panic over getting no response from Ari. She just assumes Ari’s punishing her for embarrassing her, and she tells Rafe about the condoms she gave her daughter. “You what?!” The Hernandez family doesn’t need another unwanted pregnancy.
That’s Leo’s cue to come in with Tesoro — but he’s got to go report for jury duty. And Tesoro is his ticket to get out of it. He takes the infant along to annoy the jury selection folks, which disappoints Rafe, who was looking forward to looking after him. Gabi knows he always wanted kids, but there’s still time.
Besides, Ari adores him. Rafe cautions his sister to ease up on the constant messages to Ari. She’s a teenager, who needs space. Rafe suggests that instead of driving up there and freaking her daughter out, Gabi can just call the hotel and see if she checked in. Gabi does and finds out neither Ari nor Holly checked in.
That’s when the panic really starts to set in, despite Rafe trying to talk her down. If there was an accident, they’d have known already. Rafe promises to put out some feelers, because they haven’t been missing long enough for the police to do anything. He runs out, promising it’ll be OK.
Can Holly and Ari Escape On Their Own?
Holly and Ari, meanwhile, wake up — though both admit to not sleeping — in the storage room they’re trapped in, when they spot a paper bag with water. Ari’s about to drink when Holly rushes over to stop her. “It could be poison!”
Ari points out that they’re hostages. If the guy wanted them dead, he wouldn’t have offered blankets. Holly just wishes she could call grandma Maggie — she could end this all right now. (Yeah, she could!) She isn’t sure their families even know they’re missing.
Ari’s sure her mom is having a total meltdown. If her anxiety is out of control, Uncle Rafe is already searching for them. Or someone found her class ring, Holly suggests. Ari pulls out some food and hands it over, telling Holly again, it’s not poisoned. They need strength in case they have to fight for their lives.
If Doug doesn’t come through, who knows what’ll happen. Ari’s ticked at him, but Holly still tries defending him. He paid them off, there’s no reason for this — though loan sharks aren’t exactly known for being reasonable. Ari’s still annoyed at him, but Holly points out that he seemed to be trying to push them away for their own safety. Yeah, Ari sighs, that tracks. But he still lied to both of them by omission by not mentioning to either that he knows them.
Tate Corners Doug
Tate checks in with Belle at home, surprised to hear jury selection is already beginning. They both think he’s innocent, but she has to prosecute the case. They move on to talking about Sophia about to give birth, but Tate thinks she’s been acting weird. She was OK with him going to the lake, though! Not that that panned out, since Holly’s gone MIA. He’s starting to worry.
Doug calls the Salem Inn and asks for Gwen. She doesn’t answer, so he plans to head over and try to grab the necklace. Before he can leave, Tate knocks on his door, barges in and demands to know where Holly is. He knows Doug was lying.
Tate refuses to leave, so Doug tries hauling him out by force. But then Tate finds an envelope with photos of Holly and Ari and accuses him of stalking the teens. He’s not, but someone else is, Doug relents. They’re in trouble and it’s his fault.
He fills Tate in, who starts spinning his wheels trying to figure out what to do. Doug cautions him not to tell the police or even Rafe, because they’ll probably view him the same way. Tate snaps at him that he should have asked him. He’s been saving up to buy a car. How much does he need?
We don’t hear, but Tate’s horrified by what he’s told. Luckily, he’s still got enough, but he needs to get the cash from the bank. Doug’s overjoyed for the help, but Tate tells him he can thank him by packing his bags, leaving Salem and never going near the girls again. “Done.”
Can Sophia Pull Off Her Fake Adoption?
Amy’s walking through the square when she calls Sophia, who takes a deep breath and answers. Amy asks if she’s OK — she checked on her this morning, but didn’t see her in her room. “Are you home now?” No, Sophia says, she’s in Chicago meeting with a couple who wants her baby. “What?!”
Amy demands to know what she’s talking about. Sophia says her new lawyer found them and it’s happening fast. She didn’t want to waste time talking this over. The baby’s due any day now. Amy’s not having it, but she gets a notification that she needs to report to jury duty. She wants to skip it and head to meet the couple.
Sophia insists she can handle it on her own, but Amy won’t have it. She wants to be there with her. No. “You already ruined one adoption for me,” Sophia snaps. “I won’t let you ruin another.” And she hangs up.
Belle and EJ Spar In the Courtroom
EJ’s at home, going through photos from the shooting, then gets to the gun, hears a gunshot in his mind and jumps. “Why can’t I remember?” he sighs. He then heads over to the court (fancy new set!) and finds Belle already there. They just look at each other as Belle tries ignoring EJ until he tells her he didn’t seduce her. He made love to her.
“Because you wanted me to drop the charges against Johnny,” Belle says. Also, because he wanted her, EJ counters. Belle tells him they need to keep things professional in the courtroom. He knows, he knows. But he wants to talk more later in private. And keep space from each other in public, too, Belle says. For Johnny’s sake. In this courtroom, they’re adversaries. EJ smirks at her.
Who Will Be Chosen for Johnny’s Jury?
Out in the courthouse vestibule, Amy stalks in, yelling at her husband on the phone to find Sophia, while Leo asks her to keep it down for the baby. Amy hangs up and comes over, apologizing, saying she hopes she didn’t wake him. Leo tells her he’s fostering the baby after he was dropped off at the firehouse.
“Poor little guy,” Amy sighs, then starts playing peek-a-boo with her grandson. “He really likes you,” Leo says.
Jury selection begins and everyone heads inside, where EJ and Amy spot each other — much to her dismay. They get into things and Amy flat out tells him she can’t be impartial. EJ is a miserable human being she hates, and his “trigger happy son” ruined everything for his daughter.
Leo’s outside, complaining to himself, when Amy comes out to tell him she was dismissed. She just wanted to say goodbye to the adorable baby.
Inside, Belle laments to EJ that Amy Choi isn’t the only one who can’t be impartial with the DiMeras. EJ, in turn, banters with her, until Leo wanders in with the baby bassinet. He freezes. “Oh no! No, no, no!”
He tells them that Tesoro is his responsibility and he’s needed. Belle points out that he’s got four adults at home capable of helping out. Er… fine. But he’s a journalist, so everything here is fodder for the paper. EJ points out that he can’t write about anything if he’s on the jury, much to Leo’s dismay. Belle and EJ then talk him into being chosen for the jury, much to his horror.
In the end, Belle and EJ are left alone in the courtroom, happy things are going well so far — except this should have never come to trial, EJ says. He’s frustrated that he can’t remember what happened that night. That would fix all of this.
Belle’s surprised he hasn’t made something up, but he knows what it’s like to be wrongfully accused. Belle snarkily knows that he can’t lie, because when the truth comes out, he’ll look bad. But she’s got an idea to unlock his memories.
In the Show’s Final Moments
Gabi calls Ari again and leaves a message, almost out of her mind, when Leo comes in complaining about being chosen for Johnny’ jury. “So what?” She demands. He can’t write about it now! But he’s got an idea left to get out of it.
Rafe gets back with news. Holly’s car is still in Salem with their bags. They never left. Gabi loses it. “Where is my daughter??”
Sophia calls Melinda, panicking about where she is and telling her that her mom called. She’s freaking out. Tate, meanwhile, is rushing through the square when Amy stops him and tells him that Sophia’s in Chicago meeting with a couple. He’s shocked, but he can’t help. He has a friend he needs to help and runs off, much to her fury.
Doug texts his loan shark, telling them to meet in an hour — but if Ari and Holly are hurt, the deal is off. Ari tells Holly they have to find their own way out. They can’t wait for someone to save them.