What Kind Of Bastard...

Sami's rockin' New Year's Eve party continues. Austin and Carrie laugh like they've had a bit too much to drink. They think Sami's starting the New Year off right. "For once," says Carrie.

Sami's happy for both of them. She offers to let Carrie borrow one of her wedding dresses if it ever comes to that. Austin observes Sami has a closet full of wedding dresses and could open a boutique.

Lucas whispers to Eugenia, "Sami's not really happy. She must be up to something."

Carrie says they are not quite ready for a wedding yet.

Pan out from the angel over Claire's crib. Caroline. Alice. Belle and Phillip. Caroline invites Alice to the chapel to pray. Alice decides God can hear her from there. Phillip says toxins are building and he thinks it's a miracle Claire's heart is still beating. Belle is thinking transplant. Phillip thinks she is running out of time.

Marlena begs Lexie to save Alex. She is angry with John and tells him she doesn't believe Alex would hurt her, "He told me the real threat was Dr. Banks." Lois stares.

They rush Zach into the ER. Hope tells Shawn what happened. Flashback to the scene. Hope runs in to be with Zach. Shawn begs her to tell him who did this.

Max finds axle and suspension damage on the truck Chelsea used to mow Zach down. "It's not too expensive," he says.

Bo tells the brat, "You were right to pull over when you did. The truck was unsafe to drive."

"I was trying to be responsible," says the little scumbag, "Thank you for not telling any one."

"No one else was involved," says Bo, "There is no reason to."

The cops snoop around the scene of the accident and vow to figure out who did this.

A nurse tells Lexie she is needed in another room. A child has been hit. She puts a band-aid on Alex' bullet wound and leaves. She goes into another room and discovers Zach. The nurse gives his vitals. Lexie decides he needs a head CT. She vows to save him.

"Lexie, are you saying he could die," cries Hope. Lexie stares.

The cops have made a plaster cast of the tire tread. They go to canvass the neighborhood.

Bo and Max work on the truck. Bo advises Chelsea to keep up with the driving lessons. Max says he could have given her the lessons. Bo says, "She doesn't need to learn to corner at 150mph."

Max smiles, "I'd keep it under 100."

The murderous little glob of snake pus doesn't think this is funny.

Eugenia and Lucas talk about Austin and Carrie. They think Sami is up to something. Eugenia brings up the time Sami popped out of the cake, "I thought they were going to kill me."

Lucas isn't sympathetic, "You're lucky I didn't kill you."

Sami tells Carrie she has learned from her mistakes.

Lucas whispers to Eugenia, "None of this will matter. When Carrie finds out Austin stole her company, any future they have planned will be shut down."

Austin says he has a big day tomorrow. He talks about the takeover and says it's a company in California. Carrie asks, "What's the name of the company? Maybe I know them." Austin stares.

Belle whines, "I can't lose my little girl." Phillip just thinks they should be ready in case they don't' find a donor.

Alice says, "All we can do now is to pray."

Marlena paces. Lois brings tea. Marlena wonders why Alex was upset when he realized Lois was at the penthouse. John butts in, "Alex was worried Lois would expose more about him."

Marlena says, "I don't believe Alex could have done any of those things."

The cop at the scene of the accident stoops down finds another clue – a part of a broken parking light.

Bo tells the brat, "I won't lie to Hope if she asks about this."

Max says, "I'm not gonna tell anyone else about this, but what if Hope finds out after a couple months and asks why you held out on her?"

Bo doesn't want to deal with that, "Don't you have something to do there?"

Bo asks if Chelsea will tell Billie. "I'm not going out of my way to tell anyone," says the creep, "This night has been a big enough bummer as it is... totally not how I thought I'd be ringing in the New Year. I wanted to be out partying."

Max stands up, "The night isn't over yet..."

Everyone frets over Zach. Lexie says it was a good sign he was awake and talking. Shawn wants to know why he isn't talking now.

Suddenly, Hope remembers she still has contact Bo and tell him what happened. She rushes out.

"This is insane," says Shawn, "Why is this happening?"

Zach's blood pressure drops and the machine screams. Lexie says, "Oh no!"

Austin says the company he's taking over is small. He starts to say more but Sami interrupts. She thinks they shouldn't talk about business in front of the competition. Austin wishes Carrie a Happy New Year. Kiss. Sami seethes. She turns and wishes Lucas a happy new year.

Lucas is subdued, "Happy new year to you, Sami."

Eugenia butts in, "Stay out of trouble next year will you, Samster?"

Sami snaps back, "I will if you say out of my life, Eugenia." Feel the love.

Carrie tells Sami, "I hope you have a great year. Thanks for everything."

"Yeah," says Sami, "Well, I love you and I think you should get everything you deserve this year."

The party's over. Everyone leaves. Sami cleans up. She discovers Nicole went through the entire bottle of vodka. She hopes Will had a good time at Arthur's. Sami misses him. Austin misses those times, too. Sami asks, "So you really think things will work out with you and Carrie, huh?"

Austin smiles, "Yeah."

Lucas tells Eugenia she's too tipsy to drive. She staggers into the elevator. Carrie is worried about her but Lucas says, "Don't worry, she has instincts. You know, that wasn't bad for a Sami party."

"Yeah," says Carrie, "I had a great time."

Lucas asks, "It looks like you and Austin will have a future together, huh?"

Carrie beams, "Yes."

Caroline prays for Claire, "Dear God, if there is a family out there who lost a child tonight let them do something life-giving in their loss. May that donor be the one Claire needs. Please watch over that special family and every family in need."

Belle cries, "It's horrible asking God to have someone die so Claire can live."

Alice says, "We're not praying for death. We're praying for a chance for Claire."

John can't believe he has to stand there and listen to Marlena defend Alex.

Marlena asks, "Did you have to shoot him?"

"Yeah," he snarls.

"You shot him in cold blood," cries Marlena.

"He was armed," snorts Tex, "I told him to stop. End of story."

Lois tells Marlena, "You are displaying the same self-destructive behavior you did in the past."

Marlena says, "All I know is Alex has been kind and loving and gentle with me."

John growls, "And he destroyed our marriage. So where in the hell is all this trust coming from?" They argue. John asks, "What turned you against me, if it wasn't Alex?"

"Go figure," says Marlena, "You have such a wonderful personality. You keep telling me Alex is dangerous. He never said that about you. I've never seen him hurt anyone. But you were Stefano's trained killer. You shot Alex and said you wanted him to die."

"Is that what you think of me," he asks, "You really don't know who I am do you?"

"I'm only worried about Alex and Claire right now," says Marlena.

Lois tells Marlena, "If Alex recovers and you welcome him back with open arms, it is only a matter of time before he kills you." Marlena huffs.

The cops have the plastic, paint fragments and a neighbor who saw something. It's only a matter of time until they catch the dastardly culprit.

Max and Chelsea may go party. Bo has to get back to the hospital. He tells them about Claire, "The thought of losing a kid like that..." He pulls out his cell phone to call Hope and finds it is turned off."

"Yeah," says the brat, "I turned it off when I thought you were going to report the accident."

Bo elects not to kill her at the moment. He turns on his phone, "Whoa, I have a bunch of messages. I'll bet something has happened with Claire." He dials, "Hey, Fancy Face, it's me. What happened?"

Hope cries, "You need to get to the trauma center right now. I have to go."

Lexie says, "The CT scan shows bleeding on the brain. Surgery is the only way to relieve the pressure. I need you to sign this consent." Hope signs and cries.

Shawn talks about his family losing JT. He didn't want another little brother after that but Zach got to him. He takes Zach's hand, "When we got you it was like God gave us happiness again. You're the best, buddy. Come on. I can't lose you, Zach. I can't lose you, buddy."

Bo says he has to leave. Max sends his love and prayers to Claire.

Slug slime says, "I know what it feels like to lose a parent, but it must be 10 times worse to lose your child."

Carrie says she and Austin just reconnected. It's too early to know if anything will happen. Lucas says he knows Sami is up to something. Carrie says, "I can't worry about it, Lucas, or it would drive me crazy." That would be a short trip.

Carrie says she won't turn her back on her employees and move to Salem, "Besides, Austin will be coming to California a lot."

Sami and Austin talk about Highstyle. It will be the cornerstone of his company. Sami asks if it will be in the papers tomorrow. Austin says, "Yes it will, and I'm taking both of you to dinner. This wouldn't have happened without Nicole."

"You're right," says Sami, "It's because of Nicole we are destroying this woman's life."

Austin agrees, "You're right. I wish I could have warned her."

Sami flashes back to the website, "It's new year's eve. At least she could celebrate tonight. Then tomorrow... out with the old and in with the new." She blows her party horn.

Lucas can't believe how competitive Austin has gotten. Carrie says that doesn't sound like him, "He's a lot like me."

"Not with Nicole's influence," says Lucas.

"I think it's important to be a little less successful and sleep at night," says Carrie.

"I agree," says Lucas, "Some people just think about the bottom line."

"I think people are more important," says Carrie.

Lucas says, "These days I think Austin would hurt anyone to get ahead."

Sami asks if Austin is having second thoughts. "No," he says, "It's a done deal."

Sami relishes it, "And that CEO will be in for a big shock. She'll probably hate you. Nicole said she wasn't doing a good job. Maybe we're doing her a favor by taking over."

Austin chuckles, "I still don't think she will thank me."

"Look at the bright side," says Sami, "Once the takeover is complete, you and she will never have anything to do with each other again."

Belle doesn’t think there will be a donor. Phillip thinks all they can do is live in the moment. Belle wishes Shawn and Mimi would hurry up and get back, "If anything happens they would hate it if they didn't get to say goodbye."

Marlena won't accept that Alex is a monster. The nurse announces he is out of surgery and is critical. "So he might not make it," asks Marlena.

"They're doing all they can," says the nurse. John squints.

The noose tightens... the cops say someone saw a tow truck from Max Brady's garage tow a vehicle away.

Chelsea feels selfish, "Look at all Belle and Phillip are going through."

Max says she is really lucky she didn't hurt someone else, "You'd better keep you eyes on something besides your cell phone."

Chelsea drops her jaw, "How did you know that?"

"I'm a professional driver," says Max, "We only use our cell phones on the backstretch. How else do you not know what you hit? You weren't looking."

"I just looked down for two seconds," she says, "What can happen in two seconds?"

"A lot."

"OK," says the brat, "I promise I will never talk on my cell pone again when driving."

Bo rushes in and Hope gives him the bad news. Bo is frantic. He wants to know where Mary was all that time. He's dazed, "Hope this never could... Lexie, how bad is it?"

"He's bleeding around his brain," says Lexie, "There may be spinal cord damage."

Bo asks, "You mean he's paralyzed?"

"Let's take it one step at a time," says Lexie.

Bo says, "Can he hear me? Zach? Tiny man? It's Daddy. You're gonna be OK, but open your eyes."

Shawn asks, "What kind of bastard could have done this?"

Bo is shocked, "Are you telling me he didn't stop? Whoever did this to our little boy... we'll find him."

Shawn says, "What kind of person would hit a little kid and just keep driving?"

The machine beeps as Zach's numbers dive. FF.


Previews
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Marlena tells Belle, "I know you are my daughter and I am your mother." Belle smiles, "And you're here now."

Jennifer lectures herself in the mirror, "You were in that shower with him and you wanted him to kiss you." Frankie stands there topless.

Lois tells the unconscious Alex, "First I'll take care of you then I'll get Marleeeeeena."

Hope cries, "We promised we'd see him in the morning." Bo says, "That's a promise you're going to keep."