Marlena’s sipping tea, looking introspectively out at Salem when Belle gets home. Marlena says she was waiting for her daughter. Something came up at work, Belle says, and Marlena asks if it had anything to do with Johnny’s case.
Yes, she admits, important evidence just turned up — and if Johnny’s innocent it could lead them to who did shoot him. The last thing she wants is to prosecute Johnny. Marlena just asks how this will go. EJ will go for the jugular, Belle says, but they both want the same outcome. For Johnny to be found not guilty. Hopefully it won’t even go to trial.
Marlena admits it wasn’t just waiting for Belle, she also just couldn’t sleep. Belle knows her mom’s been having trouble sleeping. Yes, she admits, her grief hasn’t gone anywhere, even as everyone else has had to move on. “No,” Belle tells her mom, “you’re not alone.” Belle’s right there with her.
Marlena decides to try getting some rest, but is unsteady when she stands. A panicked Belle asks what’s going on. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Did Ari Just Seal Her Fate?
Ari tries sneaking into the pub, telling Roman when he spots her that she was going upstairs to visit Great Grandma Kate. She’s in bed, Roman says, and Ari tries slipping out. Roman stops her and knows she was there for Doug.
Upstairs, Doug’s counting his money. He doesn’t have enough. What? No, she’s not involved with Doug. There’s nothing going on. Ari rushes out and stops out front, looking thoughtful, then climbs up the window to see Doug. “I had to see you,” she says.
And no, she tells him annoyed, not to hook up after his hot and cold game. She just wants to know what the hell is going on with him. He can’t tell her. But Ari won’t let it go, so he sighs. “OK, I had to meet this guy. This guy I owe money to. A lot of money.”
Doug tells her it’s not safe to be around him, but Ari just shrugs it off, tells him she likes bad boys and kisses him.
Leo Confesses All to Javi
Picking up from yesterday, Gwen’s reading “Matty” the riot act, when he realizes she’s wearing Julie’s necklace. He tries convincing her to give it back and she snaps at him to stop lecturing her after pretending to be her best friend. “I hate you with every fiber of my being,” Gwen tells him and promises to make him very sorry.
Leo tries apologizing and insisting he’s paid for what he did. Gwen’s just amused that Dimitri dumped him. He refuses to divorce her, though, which is fine — she’s got his fortune. Well, he’s got love with Javi, so he doesn’t need money. Javi just watches the whole thing, confused, until Gwen strokes his face, calls him a “poor, poor little baby,” and tells him he doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.
She leaves and Javi demands to know what it’s about. Leo fills him in offscreen, and when we return, Javi’s processing Leo’s cheating ways with Dimitri. “I didn’t think you could be disloyal to a friend,” Javi flatly tells Leo. He doesn’t think he knows Leo as well as he thought.
Leo will never forgive himself for what he did to Gwen. Maybe she’s right that he needs to pay. Maybe it even includes losing Javi. Javi dials back the anger, saying he’s made mistakes, too. “Everyone has regrets, secrets.” He whispers something in Leo’s ear, which gets a shocked, “You did not!” in reply.
Javi reassures Leo that there are some things he’d never change. They get back over to the baby, and Javi admits he can imagine the two of them having a real family someday. Leo’s a natural dad. But Leo doesn’t think he’d be up for it after his horrible parents.
Are Xander and Gwen Getting Back Together?
Xander’s drinking alone at The Bistro, thinking back to the romantic 4th of July he and Sarah spent at the apartment with Victoria. He orders another drink when Gwen walks over and says he should make that two. She takes a seat in front of a stunned Xander.
She heard about Sarah and offers her condolences — which also surprises Xander. She wasn’t their biggest fan, but they’re married and have a daughter. She thought it would stick this time. Gwen sighs and admits their love drover her crazy when they were together. And her own insecurity may have driven him away, and pushed her to go along with Kristen when she kidnapped Sarah.
She never believed she could stand up against his love for Sarah. Xander just listens silently while she talks, wondering what would have happened if she’d just told him the truth. “I don’t suppose… you ever think ‘what if?’” No, he says. Never. Gwen throws back a drink and says it’s constantly on her mind about them.
Xander takes a sip of his drink and notes her new bling around Gwen’s neck. And why not, now that she’s filthy rich? They toast to her pulling one over on Dimitri, and Gwen notes that Xander’s rich enough to buy and sell the town himself. They both agree that it’s so nice to never worry about money again.
Gwen offers to buy another round, then Xander can walk her to her room at the Salem Inn. “The gentleman always buys,” he counters to Gwen’s grin. They stumble into the square, where he tells an apparently hilarious story. They laugh it up, then Gwen tells him he’s the one who got away. She’s a bit tipsy, she admits, and Xander asks if she thinks there’s a chance for them. Gwen stammers a bit, then kisses him.
Bonnie Tells Sarah to Fight Dirty
Sarah’s morosely scrolling through pictures of her and Xander on her phone when Bonnie walks in, left hand bandaged. “Pantyhose should come with a warning label,” she cracks and makes a drink. She notes Sarah looking through her phone and tells her that looking through pics of her and Xander won’t help.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Sarah fills her in on her run-in with Xander and how poorly it went. Time heals all, Bonnie promises, but in the meantime, “good riddance to bad trash.”
Sarah’s surprised Bonnie’s happy to rid of Xander. Bonnie had warmed to him, but that changed after what he did to Philip. Sarah admits she still loves Xander, though she wishes she didn’t. Bonnie tells Sarah about how much she loved her first husband — even having three kids with him — except when he beat her senseless while drunk. But then he’d apologize, and they’d go on like that forever, right up until Mimi killed her father.
Not that she thinks Victoria has violence in her genes, but Sarah doesn’t want to raise her around that. Not for one. Single. Second. Sarah assures Bonnie that their situation is different. Xander would never lay a finger on her or Victoria. No, Bonnie tells her, only on other people. Like her.
They’re both better with Xander gone. Well, they both have to work together for Victoria, Sarah says. But after what just happened, she doesn’t know how things will go. Fight fire with fire, Bonnie says. Xander’s going to fight dirty.
In the Show’s Final Moments
Marlena assures Belle that Sarah checked her out and she’s OK. Alright, Belle says… but maybe her mom can try sleeping on the couch since it’s not her bed. She’ll even sit with her while Marlena falls asleep. “I would like that,“ Marlena smiles.
Sarah asks how to fight dirty, and Bonnie assures her she came to the right place. She offers some ideas like bankrupting Titan, hiring a hooker or pinning Philip’s beating on him. They know he did it. If he’s in jail, her problems vanish. Sarah has no clue how to get him to confess, though.
Javi tells Leo any child would be lucky to have him as a dad. Across the square, Xander pulls back from the kiss, saying he should go. Yup. “To my room,” Gwen says, and pulls him after her. Leo and Javi watch them go, shocked.
