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At the hospital, Marlena looks at a photo of John on her office desk. She flashes back to when she came back from the dead and reunited with him on the pier when he thought he was still Roman. She wonders where he is and what she’ll tell the children.
Marlena Breaks the News to Brady
Brady stops by Marlena’s office after dropping Rachel off at therapy. He needs advice about his situation with Ava. He quickly sees Marlena is troubled, and she says she has bad news. She tells Brady that his dad is missing. She says she just spoke to Shane, who was trying to set up a phone call between them. However, John’s handler can’t locate John. She says Shane is trying to track John down, but they don’t know if John is alive or…
Brady embraces Marlena. She is sorry to worry him, but he’s grateful they have each other. Brady asks how they find him. Marlena only knows the ISA is retracing his steps and has their best agents on it. Brady asks if Paul knows. She says he doesn’t, and she also has to tell Belle. Brady offers to talk to Paul if she speaks with Belle. She thanks Brady, and he says they need to stay positive that they’ll find Dad. He has to pick Rachel up from therapy and head out, and they exchange “I love you’s” and another hug.
Stephanie Confides in Kayla
At the hospital, Kayla tells Stephanie she’s having problems with the flash drive she gave her. She immediately sees that Stephanie is distracted and asks what is going on. Stephanie confides in her mom that Joy may be pregnant. Stephanie doesn’t know for sure, but she overheard Sarah on the phone ordering a pregnancy test for Joy. Kayla notes Sarah is usually more careful than that, and Stephanie explains it’s not as if Sarah was yelling into the phone. Stephanie is shocked because the baby must be Alex’s. She and Alex thought they had put any drama with Joy behind them, but now it’s back.
Kayla reminds her that they don’t know if Joy is pregnant. Stephanie asks if her mom can check the lab, but then knows she can’t. She doesn’t know what to say to Alex. Kayla feels she shouldn’t say anything. Kayla reminds her they don’t know if there is a baby, and this isn’t her news to share. Kayla also points out that the hospital could be liable for HIPAA violations if she tells Alex, so she needs to keep this to herself. Stephanie realizes her mother is right, and she’d never jeopardize the hospital. She wasn’t thinking about Joy, she was only thinking about Alex. Kayla understands this is a difficult situation for her. Kayla also says there is a possibility Joy will tell Alex, and she won’t have to keep this from him.
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Kristen Confronts Ava and Belle
Ava meets with Belle at the Brady Pub. Belle wants to help Ava prepare her statement about her kidnapping as she plans to prosecute EJ, Kristen, and Rachel Blake to the fullest extent of the law. Ava wishes she could help Belle put EJ and Kristen behind bars, but she can’t. Ava isn’t pressing charges, which confuses Belle. Ava explains it is because of Brady. Belle doesn’t understand. Ava explains that Kristen convinced Brady that if all this comes to light, then little Rachel’s involvement will come out. Belle insists she has no intention of prosecuting a child, but Ava explains that CPS opened a case against Kristen and Brady after she ran away. If there is another incident, they could take Rachel from them.
Belle understands that CPS complicates things. Still, Belle is morally obligated to prosecute this case, and perhaps CPS’ intervention is warranted. Maybe they should take Rachel away from Kristen and give her to Brady. Ava fears it could backfire, and Brady could lose his child. Belle says that without Ava’s help, her entire case falls apart, and three criminals go free. Ava knows, which makes her sick, but Brady shouldn’t suffer for their crimes. Ava swears that if she ever sees Kristen again, she will tear her limb from limb.
Kristen appears out of nowhere and says, “Here’s your chance.” Kristen assumes Ava talked to Brady and is glad that she understands the gravity of the situation. Kristen says she is protecting her daughter from some people’s selfish interests, glaring at Belle. Belle tells Kristen there are people out there who care about justice. Kristen asks if she doesn’t have some paperwork to file regarding releasing her mother immediately, given that her case has fallen apart. Kristen doesn’t want her mother to spend another night in jail. Belle says the courts are closed, so she must wait for the morning. Belle leaves, and Ava gets up. Kristen asks if she has something to say to her? Ava doesn’t, and up and slaps her across the face.
John’s Other Children Learn the News
Later, Belle goes to the hospital to see her mom after getting a message from her. Marlena asks her to sit and says she has news about her dad.
Brady returns to the mansion and calls Paul to give him the news about their dad. Kristen then walks in with ice on her face, and says she ran into Ava and thanks him for getting Ava to back down. Brady asks what happened to her? Kristen explains Ava assaulted her, and she’s lucky she’s not pressing charges. Kristen walks off, and Brady calls Ava to check in. Brady says he just spoke to Kristen and doesn’t know how to thank her, and he’s really sorry about this. Ava says she’s sorry too and hangs up on him.
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Alex and Joy Get New Jobs
In Horton Square, Philip is shocked she wants a job at Titan, given how things ended with him and Chloe. Joy isn’t asking him on a date but for a job. He asks if she has corporate experience. She has done temp work and is a quick learner. He needs to run this by Xander and suggests they talk about it more next week, but Joy was hoping he could speak with Xander today. She says she needs a job, and time is of the essence. Joy explains that her paychecks from Body and Soul have just run out, and she’s not moving with the show to LA. She mentions that her life is currently a mess, and her mom says she has a talent for finding drama. Philip laughs because his mom says the same about him. Philip says he’ll check with Xander but doubts he’ll have a problem with her working at the company, so, “Welcome to Titan.”
At the Kiriakis mansion, Xander is shocked when Alex asks to return to work at Titan. Alex understands if it makes Xander uncomfortable given he was once CEO. Xander blames Theresa and Konstantin for making him believe he was Victor’s son, not Alex, and that there is no bad blood between them. Xander says if he wants to rejoin the family business, Titan will be the better for it. Alex just hopes Philip feels the same way. They were both interested in Stephanie, after all. Xander says Philip has a surprising ability to bury the hatchet where the company is concerned, and they are actually getting along. He says he’ll talk to Philip about bringing him on board. Alex doesn’t want to ruin things if he and Philip are getting along. Xander is sure it will work out, and they have big plans for Titan, and another Kiriakis could be of use.
Later, Philip arrives and tells Xander that Joy asked him for a job. Xander says to feel free to hire her, so Philip texts her the good news. Xander tells Philip that Alex wants to come back to Titan, which Philip isn’t keen about. Xander argues that they could use another Kiriakis onboard as they wage war against DiMera. He hopes Philip can put his issues with Alex over Stephanie aside. Philip says his issues aren’t with Alex and Stephanie, it’s with Alex and Joy and he feels Joy isn’t happy that she and Alex split up. Xander says Joy can quit, but Alex is a Kiriakis and former CEO and could help them take on DiMera. Philip admits they need Alex.
In Salem Place, Joy gets Philip’s text. She then runs into Alex. He says he’s glad they had that talk earlier, and he likes her and doesn’t want weirdness between them. Joy doesn’t either, which is why there is something he should know. She says first, she’s staying in Salem, so they’ll be running into each other a lot. He asks what the second thing is? Joy fumbles and chickens out, saying she’s staying in town because she got a job at Titan. Alex reveals he just spoke to Xander about returning to Titan. Alex then gets the text from Xander that he’s been hired. Alex says it looks like they’ll be working together again. Joy calls it crazy.
Stephanie appears and asks, “What’s crazy?” Alex reveals he took her advice, and Xander hired him back at Titan. However, the crazy part is that Joy is also going to be working at Titan.
On the next Days of Our Lives, Jada tries to jog Rafe’s memory, and EJ confides in Rita.
