We pick up from yesterday, with Gwen waltzing into the Horton house and showing off Julie’s grandmother’s necklace. Or, as Gwen makes clear, the Von Leuschner necklace. She got Dimitri’s fortune and was on holiday, but she cut it short to surprise Julie with the necklace. “Surprise!”
Chad asks how Gwen got her hands on it, and she lays out the trail of sales that led to her. Gwen then offers sincere condolences to a touched Julie about Doug, but when she’s asked to hand over the necklace, says she’s got no intention of giving it up. It’s hers now. Julie glares at her.
Technically, she brought it home like she told Hope. Julie’s ticked, and she doubts this was a coincidence. Well… Gwen admits she did read something in the Spectator about it being stolen. It might be petty, but the Hortons haven’t exactly been nice to her over the years, so this is fun.
Julie rolls her eyes and cuts to the chase: How much does Gwen want for it? She doesn’t want money. She’s got plenty now. This was just a trip to rub it in to Julie. But she’s also looking to tie up some loose ends in Salem.
Fed up, Chad dismisses her, but before she goes, Gwen awkwardly asks if her dad was in town. She heard about the Abigail imposter. Jack didn’t deserve that. Ah, well, time to go! “It’s been just lovely,” Gwen snarks. Julie stops her to promise that she’ll get her necklace back. One way or another.
Julie calls Hope after Gwen’s gone, who had no idea Julie wasn’t getting the necklace back. She’s just sick about it. Julie fills Chad in and they both vow Gwen won’t get away with this. Chad suggests talking to JJ.
Julie hates how much she hates Gwen “lording over the Horton family.”
Stephanie and Alex Take the Next Step
Stephanie and Alex are canoodling in the park, watching fireworks when he puts on some music and asks her to dance. They then enjoy some champagne and move on to talking about Kate and Steph’s book. She’s still embarrassed about outing herself as the writer.
Alex asks if she’s thought up a pen name yet, but no. She recalls growing up with her grandmother obsessed with romance novels, and how it rubbed off on Uncle Jack, who tried to be a romance novelist. Except Kate put an end to that.
Steph then admits that she put some autobiographical details in her novel. “What details?” Alex asks nervously. She deflects and has him play Never Have I Ever instead. He uses it to tell her he loves her. He’s never felt like this about any woman before. He’s been afraid to say it, but he’s been feeling it.
Touched, she says she loves him, too. They start kissing, and Stephanie wants to get busy in the park. Which turns Alex on even more.
Leo and Javi Take to Fatherhood
Javi’s pacing in the hospital, then jumps on Kayla when she walks by to ask how his partner is. Heat exhaustion, but he’s recovering, she says. They then get on to talking about how the baby’s doing. “Perfect little angel.”
Cut to Leo trying desperately to get the baby to stop crying as Gabi tries offering some advice and Ari wanders out, annoyed. Leo’s worried something’s wrong with him. Gabi tries calming the baby, then Ari. A panicked Leo, though, decides to take Tesoro to the hospital.
Back at the hospital, Kayla gives Javi some coffee, warning him it’ll likely be a long night. Leo brings Tesoro in and Kayla says after checking him out that it’s just an upset stomach. He’s relieved, and Kayla’s a bit dumbfounded to see him so into dad mode.
She’s gonna give him some better formula, then finds out she can’t anymore. Budget cuts, thanks to EJ. Javi’s back again, but he stops and panics when he sees Leo and the baby. They go over what Kayla said and the fellas head out to get the new formula.
Out in the square, the guys reflect on how well this foster parenting thing is going after just one day. They grab some cake and catch up on their respective days. Leo’s digging into Johnny’s arrest and doesn’t think he shot EJ. And he’s going to keep digging. Javi tells him he has a big heart.
“Oh, please!” A disgusted Gwen walks up behind Leo and greets him. “Hello, Matty.”
How Much Danger Is Ari In?
At the station, Rafe gets a call from Sami and confirms he’s been looking after Ari — though she drops one surprise on him. In the newfound quiet, Gabi and Ari both admit to being shocked that not only did Leo take to the baby, he’s actually kind of good at taking care of him. Ari wonders why Tesoro’s mom left, and Gabi recalls being young, scared and pregnant.
Rafe gets home in time to tell Gabi she’s a great mom, then offhandedly mentions Ari not having plans for the 4th of July. No, no plans. No cute boys, Rafe asks? But she says no. Which is when he drops the boom: He hears she’s been spending a lot of time with Doug Williams.
Ari denies it, and Rafe points out that Roman saw them together. Fine, maybe she knows him. Gabi’s a bit taken aback. “He’s a bit older, isn’t he?” And he stole Julie’s necklace! Rafe just advises her to be careful, and Ari says she already knows he’s flaky.
She leaves to find Holly and Tate, angry that she’s being stalked. She’s 18, she can do what she wants and take care of herself. Rafe apologizes and Ari gives an annoyed, “I forgive you” before leaving.
Gabi asks what Rafe was doing at the station, and he tells her it looks like someone turned in the memory card. No one’s watched it yet, but Rafe hopes it proves Johnny’s innocent. Gabi, too. She doesn’t want to testify.
In the Show’s Final Moments
Out by the pub, Ari leaves a message for Holly, while a creepy man stalks behind her. He starts stalking over as she texts, but runs off when Kayla shows up.
Julie apologizes to Chad for obsessing over jewelry, but Chad understands what it means to Julie. He asks if they get the necklace back whether it will soften her anger towards Doug III. “I don’t know. I don’t know!”
Javi dumbfoundedly asks why Gwen called him Matty — that’s his real name, Leo says. He’ll explain later. Gwen throws some shade about him being domesticated, and Leo timidly says he hasn’t heard from her since she told him to screw himself. “The sentiment still stands.”
She didn’t come back for him. Her world doesn’t revolve around him. She’s there to take care of business. That’s when Leo recognizes the necklace and Gwen smugly tells him it’s hers.
