Colonel Mustard

Abby, Stephanie and the brat go through moldy old files. "The hall of records? This is more like the hall of dust," says the brat. Stephanie hopes Max and Mimi are somewhere nearby. An out of town rescue would be soooo inconvenient.

The brat gripes about spending Christmas going through files. She thinks Abby is doing this just to score points with Max.

Abby snorts, "We can split up your share of the files if you want."

The Christmas spirit abounds, "Don't get your thong in a twist, Abby."

Max hammers on the wall. Sweat glistens. He huffs and puffs like a locomotive. More loco than motive. He pounds a little hole in the bricks, but hurts his shoulder in the process. Mimi offers to rub it. Max says he just needs a couple minutes to work it out.

So, Mimi tries to give it a shot. Max tells her she's wasting her time, setting up the tired cliché where the weak little girl will show up the big strong guy. She winds up and takes an overdone girl-swing and, of course, the hammer goes right through the wall.

Lucas insists they can't set Sami up. As Lucas rants, Marlena notices Abe fumbling, bumbling and staggering around. Since this is normal for Abe, she goes back to the conversation.

Lucas forbids. Sami stares.

Will shakes a present under the tree and then answers a knock at the door. It's EJ, who asks if Sami is there. Will isn't too friendly. EJ asks about his emergency surgery. Will stares.

EJ thinks Will looks awfully chipper after an appendectomy. It's hard to believe he actually had the surgery. "So," says Will, "You're calling my mom a liar."

"Or you're a remarkably quick healer."

"See what good genes can do," says Will, "It's great to be young. Merry Christmas." Will slams the door. EJ struggles and tells him to open the door. Will locks it, grabs a first aid kit and performs an emergency fake-appendectomy on himself.

Sami says her mind is made up. She and Lucas leave to argue. Abe holds his head. Oh, the foreboding!

Marlena says when Sami sets her mind to something she goes overboard. Like mother, like daughter. Roman tells her Sami is the one they have to use. No one else can do the job. Marlena says Sami is their daughter and they don't use her for things lately.

Bo works on Marlena. He says EJ gave Sami a job she's not qualified for. EJ has his sights set on her.

John reminds everyone that nobody is going to tell Sami what to do.

Sami tells Lucas she thinks she can do this, "Don't lose faith in us after all this time. Don't lose faith in me."

Stephanie figures Victor could have Max and Mimi stashed anywhere. Chelsea thinks she found something. She shows them one of the documents.

Max thinks Mimi was able to slam through the wall only because he loosened the bricks before she took the swing. There are a few loose bricks here, but not in the wall. Mimi goes back to hammering.

"Not bad for a girl," says Max. They clear the bricks and find a dusty old room. Max brushes away the cobwebs, "Ladies first."

"Age before beauty," says Mimi. It's amazing. We actually get to see this gripping stuff for free. Max crawls in. Then Mimi. He wonders why they would hide a closet behind a wall. Max tries a door on the other side. He finally jars the door open and... SKELETON!!

Mimi lives the Nightmare Before Christmas as Mr. Bones rolls out of the closet and lands on top of her. Mimi screams like... well... like she's just been attacked by a skeleton. Max removes the body. As Max sits Mr. Bones up he notices he's wearing a Confederate uniform, "This guy is history!"

"No kidding," says Mimi.

Max asks, "How do you suppose he got here?"

"Victor is old enough he could have put him here," says Mimi. Max finds a wedding ring and removes it from his finger. We'll probably be seeing that little prop again. Mimi is sad Mr. Bones never got back to his family. Max finds a gun. He thinks he can blast the hatch with it.

The brat thinks Max and Mimi might be on an old farm outside of town. Abby thinks it's perfect. Stephanie is skeptical. Abby senses Max is on this farm somewhere.

"What makes you think that," asks Stephanie, "Is it the funny farm? "

Lucas insists he wouldn't lose faith in Sami, "This isn't about that. This is about EJ. I don't want you around him."

"So it's not about my safety," says Sami, "It's about jealousy." Zing.

Lucas blurts out, "No. It's not about jealousy. It's about protecting my wife."

The earth stops rotating, "Your wife. You called me your wife."

"That's not what I meant. It was an accident," says Lucas.

"A nice one," says Sami, "I liked hearing it. I like hearing you jealous."

"I'm not jealous," says Lucas, "I'm concerned."

"I like that too," says Sami. Lucas worries. Sami could wind up being a hostage.

Will lets EJ in. EJ grabs him. Will wiggles in pain, "Ooowwwww! My stitches."

"Yes," says EJ, "Your stitches. Let's have a look." He yanks up Will's sweater and inspects the bandage.

EJ looks around the apartment as Will taunts him. Finding nothing, EJ storms back into the hallway. "Where are you going," asks Will, "Let's have some tea sometime."

Lucas thinks there is something else going on. Sami says, "It was the look on my mom's face. She said she was proud of me. I want everyone I care about to look at me like that. Especially Will."

Sami's phone rings. Will tells her about EJ being there. Sami vows to help lock EJ up.

"Way to go, Mom," says Will, "you're awesome." Sami tells him to stay inside until they get home. She hangs up and tells Lucas he has to let her do this. He hauls her back in Abe's office. He announces that he's calling the shots. It's his terms or nothing. Group stare.

Stephanie thinks they should call Roman. The brat thinks Abby is doing this for Max. Abby says it's about making sure he is safe, "Are you with me or not."

Max inspects the gun, "There are two bullets in the chamber." Max the doofus whirls, twirls and plays like he's shooting the gun. "Ka-pow! Ka-pow!" Mimi squeals.

Mimi and Buffalo Bill go back in the other room. Max has decided he will use the gun to try to blow the hatch. He tells her she doesn't want to be anywhere near the gun when it fires. It will be really loud and could backfire. She begs him not to shoot it, "Don't do it, Max. Put the gun down and we'll find another way out of here. Please... Please!"

Abe holds his head. Marlena asks, "Abe? Are you OK?" Abe collapses like a living room wall in the path of Shawn's car.

John goes over to him and stoops down, "Are you all right, buddy?" Just peachy, John. Just peachy.

EJ meets Sami at Dune. She says she doesn't appreciate him scaring Will like that. EJ Asks, "If you were so concerned about your son, why did you leave him at home alone?"

Sami says, "Because, I went to see the police."

Roman and Bo stand outside and play spy. Roman talks into his radio, "It's going down according to plan."

The girls are at the farm. Stephanie and the brat tell Abby it's time to go. Abby wants to stay and look for Max. He needs their help. Stephanie says, "We might have done Max more harm than good already."

Max insists they found 'Stonewall' so he could help them get out of here, "Think of him as our skeleton key."

"I don't believe you just said that."

Max says he has plans for them when they get out of there. Mimi asks, "What?"

Max says, "Burying Stonewall, for one thing. Can we leave it at that?"

Max climbs the ladder and takes aim at the hatch, "One... two... three..."

Mimi screams, "MAX!!!"

BOOM!

Max lies on the floor. Mimi runs up and checks him out, "Don't you dare die on me! Wake up or I'll kill you!"

Max looks up at her and grins, "Hello."

"It didn't work did it," says Mimi.

"No."

Mimi is concerned about missing Christmas, "There is nothing like ruining Christmas for everyone is there?"

The girls go through their silly argument again. The brat thinks Mimi and Max will get closer since they are going through a dangerous situation together. Abby tells her to just go home.

EJ thinks there was something Sami wasn't telling him before she left Talladega. He also thinks Will's appendectomy wounds were questionable.

Sami is indignant, "Are you suggesting I would lie about my son?"

"You don't want me to answer that."

Sami starts to storm out. EJ grabs her, and then backs off. He has her sit down. Sami tells him she overheard her dad talking about new evidence in the Eve Michael's case, "They were talking about arresting you."

EJ asks, "Why are you doing this?"

Sami says, "I heard you on the phone in Talladega. I know who you are connected with. Whatever your motive may have been you helped me and said you liked me – my good and bad side. And... And it's Christmas. All family all the time. I have a family who kisses me and then stabs me behind my back. Lucas doesn't trust me with you. The truth is, I hate Christmas. Whatever has happened between us, there is something we can't deny. If Will hadn't needed me to rush off, who knows what might have happened."

The brat says she will go home, but she isn't walking. She thinks Abby is talking herself into something that doesn't exist with a guy that has no heart. Both Chelsea and Stephanie don't want to see Abby get hurt. Max broke both their harts and they don't want to see it happen to her next.

Abby says she will keep looking for Max no matter what. She will drive the brat home and then she and Stephanie will come back and look. "I think I'm going to bow out, too," says Stephanie.

Max and Mimi assess their situation. Max thinks they have to make the best of things and be hopeful, "Try it."

"You first," grumbles Mimi.

Max says, "We're both alive and healthy. I promise we'll get out. Soon. Give it more time."

"In the meantime?"

"It's Christmas right here," says Max, "We have music, food, water, Colonel Mustard."

Mimi conveniently saw a box with Christmas ornaments. She thanks Max for "being there" when she and Shawn split up. She doesn't know what she would have done without him. Max insists she did the same for him after his accident. She reminded him of what he is grateful for.

Lexie gives Abe a pill and chastises him for calling her instead of an ambulance.

Abe says, "I called you because I didn't think I really needed medical attention. I can't hand them a reason to fire me." Marlena suggests a friend who specializes in corneal transplants. Lexie says he could have another transplant.

"Right now," says Abe, "I'm seeing the world through Isaac's eyes. If I reject this transplant..."

"You won't be rejecting Isaac," says Lexie, "The longer you wait... I know you are scared. We'll do this together."

Abe tells Marlena to make the call, "OMG. I can barely see my hand in front of my eyes."

Lexie reassures him, "It'll be OK honey. I won't be your doctor."

EJ asks, "Is it that you want me as much as I want you? Or because it's over with Lucas?"

"I was an idiot to think I could get together with Lucas," says Sami, "If you were ever to give me another chance it would make me happy."

"Your father plans to arrest me," says EJ.

"That means you don't have a chance of being arrested," says Sami, "You can't let that happen. He won't let you leave town. I can help. There is a boathouse outside of town. If we agree to meet at sundown after Christmas..."

Lucas barges in. They argue and Lucas grabs her. EJ breaks it up. Lucas tells Sami they are going home, and hauls her out, "You stay away form her, Brit-boy!"

Sami and Lucas come out of Dune giggling. Roman is proud of her. Sami hopes EJ goes away for a long time.

EJ sits inside and takes a swig from the drink Sami left. Oh, the metaphor!

Abby is peeved Stephanie is bailing on her too, "Fine! I'll drop you both off and go alone. There is no Christmas Eve for me until Max is back."

"And Mimi," says the brat.

"Yeah," says Abby, "And Mimi."

Max and Mimi. Closer... Closer... Mimi gets a cobweb in her face. She has to go wash it off.

Lucas and Sami start to leave. Roman stops her and hugs her. He is proud of her. After they go, Roman tells Bo now they just have to wait and see if EJ calls their bluff. Bo wants the perfect Christmas present – he asks Roman to let him be the one to cuff EJ. Roman says, "You got it."

EJ is on his cell phone. He tells Patrick they will settle up the day after Christmas. He instructs Patrick to make sure Bo is aware he is leaving town with Hope. EJ will take care of everything else, "Everything..." FF.


Previews
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Max says, "I've never met anybody like you." Mimi asks, "Is that a good thing?" Max says, "That's a really good thing." Kiss.

Belle hangs Claire's bulb. Shawn says, "You're right there with the rest of the family, Claire... for all the Days Of Our Lives."

Patch says, "If you could do a really big favor for me and my wife, I'd really appreciate it." Clay is just achin' to help, "Sure. I'd be happy to help. What can I do?" Patch says, "Man, you are the coolest."