Just A Roll In The Hay

Hope and Kayla go through baby things. They reminisce. Hope asks Kayla if she is sure about giving things away. "Yeah," says Kayla, "I think they will look better on Ciara. Maybe even better than they did on Pocket. Just ask Steve." Hope sighs and says Kayla must miss Pocket like crazy. She does, but it was great having Sami's twins with them. Except for the part where EJ the big-bad-wolf showed up huffing and puffing. It seems the quarantine was lifted right when Sami and Lucas showed up to take Johnny and _________.

Hope asks how Sami and Lucas are doing. Kayla thinks they were happy to get Johnny and _________, but it wasn't the happiest homecoming she had ever seen. Hope doesn't get it. She hopes Sami will finally come to her senses. She also hopes she won't marry EJ, "But maybe she will come around. Look what you and Steve have survived, all in the name of love."

"Mainly," says Kayla, "We've survived Steve."

"You know," says Hope, "I think Sami and Lucas have been completely honest with each other."

"What have you been smoking," asks Kayla, "But I guess everything should work out. Lies are what destroy love."

Hope says, "Not always. Sometimes the truth can be just as deadly."

Kayla says, "Come to think of it, dialogue like this can destroy anything."

Phillip shows up at Belle's door. He says he was hoping to take Claire to the library. "Well," says Belle, "Claire is with Mom for a few days. My mom is in deep mourning, she can hardly hold her life together, and Hope said she was borderline homicidal at the pub the other day, so I dumped Claire on her to see if that extra burden can push her over the edge." Phillip asks if Shawn is there. Belle tells him Shawn will be back any minute. Phillip wants to come in and talk. "There is nothing to talk about," says Belle.

"We made love. Everything has changed."

"One thing has changed," says Belle, "I hate myself."

"You shouldn't," says Phillip, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I doubt Hope would agree with you," says Belle.

Ironpants bellows, "Shawn, there are two kinds of cops. With and without glaze. Which style fits you?"

Shawn says he hasn't really thought about it. Ironpants tells him whoever wrote the letter has. The board of trustees wasn't impressed with what Shawn did when he fled the country with Belle and Claire. Bo suggests letting Shawn go before the board and tell his side of the story. "They've already discussed it," says Ironpants, "I'm sorry Shawn, but you won't be part of this year's graduating class."

Conveniently, Ciara has fallen asleep. They've been watching DOOL, but somehow, Hope and Kayla have managed to stay awake. Kayla wonders who Hope was talking about when she said truth can destroy love. Hope tries to deflect the question. Kayla is like an animal after her prey. She presses. Hope is cornered, "It was nothing. I walked in on something at Belle and Shawn's. It was really bad. But it was nothing."

Kayla trembles with anticipation as she digs for more juicy details. Hope, of course, promised Belle she wouldn't say anything, so she can't tell Kayla everything. She leaves out the part about the microdot of lint she saw on the floor while she was in the room, otherwise, she spills the whole pot of beans.

"You haven't told Shawn, have you," says Kayla, "He would be devastated."

"Completely," says Hope. Kayla tells her she is protecting her son. Hope says protecting Shawn means covering for Belle.

"These things have a way of getting out," says Kayla, "Especially if you tell your husband's sister. But you promised you wouldn't tell."

"I promised I wouldn't tell Shawn," says Hope, "You, however, are the first of many, many, many people who are going to hear about it. In fact, do you think we've missed the deadline for the six-o'clock news? "

Kayla reminds Hope that Bo hates secrets. "You're right," says Hope, "I know what I have to do – tell Bo. Right after I call CNN."

"Maybe telling Bo is the worst decision you could make," says Kayla.

Shawn thinks he's finished at the academy before his career even began. Ironpants tells him nothing is set in stone, but his family connections might hurt him more than they can help,

Bo is indignant, "What? The board is worried about charges of nepotism?"

"No," says Ironpants, "The board is worried about what idiots Shawn is related to. Your half-cop half-cowboy routines have brought a lot of heat down on the department., Bo thinks Shawn shouldn't suffer because of his record.

Shawn admits he's made a few mistakes. Ironpants reads off the list of his sins. Shawn rationalizes. "No one can take the law into his own hands," says Ironpants, "Especially a police officer. Of course, in Salem, we encourage our police officers to take the law any way we can get them to. Indications are that Shawn doesn't play by the rules. Shades of his father."

"Neither of us is bright enough to understand the rules," says Bo.

Ironpants says the board can reconsider Shawn's application in January. In the meantime, Shawn has to show he's matured. "Aw, heck," says Shawn, "I didn't want to be a cop anyway."

Bo suggests he fill the time by pinch-hitting at the station doing filing and other disgusting menial tasks. Ironpants thinks that would help. He asks how Shawn got the bruises. "He started it," says Shawn, "I finished it."

"I hope you gave as good as you got," says Ironpants.

"It wasn't as good as what Belle gave him, but I held my own," says Shawn.

Bo and Shawn leave. Outside, Bo calls Abe to get Shawn started on running with his second chance. Shawn stops him. He decides he can't wait until January. Belle is in college and they need money now. Bo offers to help. Shawn can't accept it, "I have to flush my family down the toilet on my own."

Phillip asks what Hope has to do with anything. Belle tells him she was there right after they did the nasty, and figured it out. "What," asks Phillip, "All of a sudden, Hope is clairvoyant?"

"You leave Claire out of this, mister," says Belle. Phillip insists they didn't do anything wrong. "We made love in the bed I share with my fiancé," says Belle.

Phillip cuts to the chase, "Let's do it again."

Are you crazy," screams Belle, "I promised Hope I would never do that again." Phillip brushes her hair and tells her this isn't about Hope. Belle smacks him away and says he's right. It's about Shawn and her commitment to him. She tells him to leave and never come back.

"I'll go," says Phillip, "But first you have to forget about that promise you made to Hope. Look at me Belle, tell me to my face the man you want is Shawn."

Bo tells Shawn he can't be sure Phillip wrote that letter. Shawn insists he did. "You have to start thinking like a cop," says Bo, "Which means first, you gotta start thinking period." Bo advises him to give up this childish battle with Phillip.

"Could you do that," asks Shawn.

"If my future depended on it – Yeah," says Bo. Reality sets in. "OK you're right. I couldn't. But you're smarter than me. That says something. Not much, though, since the knob on this door is smarter than me. Anyway, you gotta learn from my mistakes. You gotta know one more battle with him could cost you the future you want. In other words, when he kills you, you won't have a future."

Kayla and Hope argue about whether or not she should tell Bo. Kayla wonders if Bo would tell Shawn. "Possibly," says Hope.

Kayla thinks Hope should hold off telling Bo for now, "Give Belle a chance to make up for it."

"What if she doesn't want to let him go," asks Hope.

Phillip says, "Go ahead. Say it to my face. Tell me you want Shawn and I'll leave."

Belle looks him straight in the eye, "I WANT SHAWN!" Well, that should do it. Belle walks away.

Phillip follows. He decides Belle wasn't convincing enough because she didn't slam the door in his face. Belle says she couldn't decide which face to slam it into. Since Phillip didn't go, Belle accuses him of lying, "I love Shawn and I have since high school."

"We're not in high school anymore, honey."

"Speak for yourself." Belle warns him Shawn will be back any minute, "If he sees me like this he'll..."

"...Think we made love," says Phillip, "The only thing stopping us is Shawn and that robe. We can take care of one of those things right now." Belle rages as she goes into the next room to get dressed. Of course, she leaves the door half open and Phillip enjoys the view as she rants on. She accuses him of using her grief to get her in bed.

"You were there," says Phillip, "We both know it wasn't just a roll in the hay." Belle nears critical mass. Just as the meltdown is about to happen, Phillip moves in and kisses her. Belle flashes back to the roll in the hay. Resistance is futile.

Hope comes back from tending to Ciara. She rambles on about how fast kids grow up, "I'll bet she's five or six years old by this time next year."

"Yeah," says Kayla, "You trade the binkys and bunnies for the adult stuff, like baby powder, Mazola and whipped cream.

Hope thinks if she keeps this from Shawn and he finds out, he'll never forgive her. "This isn't just about protecting him from heartache," says Kayla, "It's about saving him from himself."

Shawn has to go home and give the bad news to Belle. He hates doing that, and especially right before the holidays. "Oh come on," says Bo, "What are the holidays really about."

"You're right," says Shawn, "Christmas has a deeper meaning. That's when we celebrate the invention of the cash register, isn't it? I'd still like to rip Phillip a new one."

"I hope you're talking about another face,~~" says Bo, "And if you do that, there goes your future as a cop."

"PHILLIP IS TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK INCOMPETENT," says Shawn.

"It's not that simple," says Bo, "If you rip him a new one, he will get Belle's sympathy and all the volunteer work in the world won't get you into the academy. If you think the academy is history for you, you've got no business being a cop."

After several minutes of passion, Belle decides to get indignant. She pushes Phillip away and tells him to leave. He says the only way he will do that is if she admits she loves him. Belle holds up a picture of her, Claire and Shawn, "You want the truth? I can live without you, but I can't live with out this. This frame is a cherished family heirloom."

Kayla and Hope argue. Kayla wonders what Shawn will do to Phillip if he finds out.

Phillip asks if the picture is supposed to make him feel guilty. "That's not possible for someone without a conscience," says Belle, "...or a face ...or a leg."

Phillip says he remembers a photo just like that one, only he was the guy in it, "We were a happy family."

Get over it," says Hard Hearted Hannah, "I have." Phillip asks if she ever thinks of the good times. Belle tells him he just remembers what he wants to. The argument goes into full gear. Phillip tells her he almost didn't leave her. He nearly turned back at the airport. That doesn't impress Belle. She tells him when he had Lucas deliver the divorce papers she never felt more worthless or unwanted in her life.

"I had no idea."

"Because you didn't stick around to ask," she cries. She waited for him to call when he found out about Claire, but he didn't.

"I thought you wanted Shawn."

"Did you ask me," bawls Belle, "My life was in a free fall, and Shawn was there to catch me."

Phillip plays his trump card, "Shawn was with Willow."

"I pushed him into that." AAAAKKKKKK! She trumped his trump card with the old standby... it was HER fault, "He didn't abandon me. You did that."

Phillip caves, "I wish I'd have known. I apologize."

"Forget it," says Belle, "It's over now. Leave. GO!"

"You really don't want me to leave." Haven't we covered this ground before?

"Do you really love me?"

Phillip moves closer, "You know I do."

"Then get the hell out of my life."

Shawn says, "Phillip has done everything he can to make me look like a failure to Belle."

"Has she told you that."

"Of course not," says Shawn, "She knows the score." Phillip 1, Shawn 0.

Bo wants proof Phillip wrote the letter. Shawn doesn't have any. Bo tells him if he hadn't done the things in the letter he'd be in training right now. "Instead of filing and making coffee," says Shawn.

"What," asks Bo, "Are you too good for that?" Shawn says that's not what he meant. Bo encourages him to take advantage of the break Ironpants gave him. Shawn gets it, but he doesn't like seeing Phillip get away with this.

"Fine," says Bo, "But don't go flying off the handle again. You don't want to repeat the same mistakes that got you on the spit list do you? If you grind Phillip's face into the ground and your future falls apart, you have no one to blame but yourself."

Bo knows he used to have a chip on his shoulder the size of Montana. But he's changed, and the chip has shrunk to the size of Massachusetts. He's trying to pass some good sense down to Shawn, but in lieu of having any, Shawn will just have to settle for a little advice. Shawn thanks him and decides it's time to go break the news to Belle.

Phillip says, "Lucky Shawn. He gets the girl." Only the girl is Belle, so maybe he's not so lucky. "But the girl loves another man and that's the truth you don't want to face."

"I love Shawn," says Belle, "And that's the truth you don't want to face."

"I learned a lot being a soldier," says Phillip, "You have to think fast. That's why I came back missing half my body. When I lost my leg, my life didn't flash before my eyes. I only saw you. What I learned was life has a cost. Nothing is free. You take life one day at a time... I learned a lot of other cliché's, too. And I won't spend all the Days Of Our Lives watching you waste your life on Shawn."

Mercifully, the phone rings. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop this garbage. Belle sees it's Hope calling. They have to argue whether or not Belle should answer it. Belle thinks Phillip has to leave.

"She's not clairvoyant," says Phillip, "She won't know I'm here."

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE CLAIRE OUT OF THIS," screams Belle, "Besides, she'll know you're here because she'll hear it in my voice."

"Because you can't hide how you feel about me."

"No," says Belle, "Because I’m so stupid I'll probably tell her. Anyway, It was just sex. I felt sorry for you losing Tyler and I had just lost my father."

"It wasn't mercy sex," says Phillip, "It was love."

"Believe whatever you want," says Belle.

"Easy enough," says Phillip, "When it comes down to Shawn and me, I'm the one you want." The phone stops ringing.

Hope tells Kayla Belle didn't answer. Kayla tries to be upbeat, "Maybe she was in class or in the library or something."

"Or with Phillip," says Hope.

Kayla tells her not to go there, "I think you have to have faith Belle will come to her senses." Now Hope is more discouraged than ever. Kayla says once Shawn becomes a cop he'll have Belle and Claire and they can buy their own house and maybe even have another baby, "There is no way anyone could keep Shawn from becoming a cop."

Bo walks in at this critical juncture, "Somebody did." He tells them about the boards decision. Hope and Kayla stare at each other and cock their heads like the Doublemint Twins.

Bo tells them Shawn will get another chance, but he has to take responsibility for what was in the letter instead of blaming Phillip. Kayla has to leave. This is one of those rare days when she has to go to work, but it's yet another day off for Hope and Bo.

"Our biggest problem here," says Bo, "is that Shawn thinks Phillip is targeting him."

"Our biggest problem," says Hope, "is that Shawn thinks. Or tires to."

"Maybe he is," says Hope, "I have to tell you something, but you have to promise you won't fly off the handle."

"This doesn't sound good," says Bo.

"Oh, it's goooooooooooood," says Hope, "Wait till you hear." She drops the bomb. The handle goes flying.

Phillip. Belle. Sameo. He moves in and helps himself. Shawn comes in, "Hey, Belle..." Staredown of the century.

Bo continues to fly off the handle. Hope tries to calm him down, but the hinges are already off, "Shawn HAS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS!"

"And then what will happen," asks Hope.

Belle tries to make small talk. Phillip says he's out of there. "What's the rush," asks Shawn, "Don't you want to stick around and find out how my meeting went? Don't you want to know about my future? BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ONE! Somebody wrote an anonymous letter saying I don't have what it takes. So why did you do it?"

Phillip says if he would have wanted to ruin Shawn's chances, he would have just written the academy a big fat check. Belle tosses Phillip and holds Shawn back as he leaves. Shawn can see he has to end this thing with Phillip himself.

"STOP IT," screams Belle, "PHILLIP DIDN'T WRITE THAT LETTER. I DID."


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