A Complicated Woman

Shawn and Belle smooch and giggle as they set up the New Year's party at the pub. Shawn tells Belle what he liked most about the Christmas party was when she got in Phillip's face, one of them anyway, and told him where to go. What Belle liked most about the party was when she stood there looking at Hope imagining her drowning in a vat of boiling eggnog.

Shawn is so proud of her. It made him feel so good to see her step up to the plate and give Phillip the bum's rush. His new year's resolution is to trust his beautiful wife completely. They hug as Belle remembers telling Phillip she couldn't bear it if he left. Then we move on to a flashback of the two cavorting behind Shawn's back.

Phillip watches through the window and gets a call from Chloe. She says someone is following her. She thinks it's the cops and she's about to be arrested.

EJ bounces Ali and hauls her around the room. What a recovery! Two days ago the guy couldn't walk. Stefano and Godzilla show up at the door with a pram, which normal people would call a baby carriage. Stefano announces he has come to take his grandson.

Sami runs up and screams at Lucas not to go. She begs. Lucas doesn't have time for it. Sami blubbers, "Give me five minutes to tell you I am sorry and I love you and I need you."

"Didn't you just tell me the same thing in five seconds," asks Lucas.

Chloe begs Phillip for help. He thinks she is overreacting. Phillip brushes her off and says he can recommend a lawyer if she is busted. Again he looks in at the display of affection in the pub.

Shawn wants to start over with a clean slate in '08. Caroline interrupts. She loves the decorations; she also needs Shawn to haul champagne from the walk-in. They leave. Belle repeats, "A new start..."

Phillip takes the opportunity and swoops in like a hungry vulture. Belle wants to know what he is doing there. Phillip says, "I just came by to wish you a happy new year... and to talk about our future."

Stefano introduces Godzilla. Godzilla grunts and stomps on a few things to acknowledge EJ. EJ wants to know why Stefano needs a professional bodyguard. Stefano isn't taking any chances. EJ refuses to let him take Johnny. Stefano follows him inside and makes a grab for the kid, but EJ tells him this is Ali, not Johnny. Godzilla stays outside and crushes things to pass the time.

Stefano says, "You scared me. I thought I was going to have to hurt you. I thought you were going to keep me from my grandson." EJ says Johnny is asleep and he doesn't think it's a good idea for Stefano to take him.

Sami begs. Kate interrupts. Lucas asks for a second. Kate leaves them as Lucas tells Sami his mind is made up. We get more apologies and begging from Sami. The begging turns in to sniveling and the sniveling turns in to groveling. Lucas says it's too late. Sami cries, "Why is it to late?"

Lucas says, "Because I've done something neither one of us can undo... Something I've gotta pay for."

Belle claims she and Phillip don't have a future. Phillip says he will dog her as long as he has to until he gets what he wants. Belle tells him to get out. Phillip refuses, "We both know what happens when I get close." He moves in, "Just like now. I wonder if that speech of yours at the party was meant to impress me or the Bradys."

Stefano and EJ argue about him taking Johnny and also EJ letting Sami go for Lucas. EJ wonders if Stefano takes Johnny if he would then whisk him away somewhere on a plane, "What's your real plan?"

Lucas rants about Sami marrying EJ. Sami goes beyond groveling. Then Lucas beats himself up for letting her marry EJ. He knew if she did that it was over forever. It was his job to protect her and he couldn't do it, "You know about the gun, don't you?"

Sami chokes, "Well... I know it was used... that night... in the shooting. You... didn't... do... it?"

"I lied to you," says Lucas, "I did do it. I shot EJ."

"GASP!"

Stefano wants to know what's happened to EJ. EJ wants him to answer his question about taking Johnny somewhere. Stefano thinks Sami is manipulating EJ. It pains him to see his son acting like a paid babysitter. EJ tells him it's his decision to do that, "If you take him I don't believe you will bring him back. That's not acceptable. Take your pram and leave. There is nothing for you here."

Sami thinks it can't be true that Lucas shot EJ. Lucas apologizes but says he lied and was trying to protect her. He says he snapped and decided he had to do something. He describes getting the gun and then putting away, but in the end he decided it wasn't possible to stop the wedding without violence. So he shot EJ.

Belle doesn't want Shawn finding Phillip there. Phillip persists. He says he knows Belle wants him. Belle says, "I want to be Shawn's wife and I want us to spend all the Days Of Our Lives together." Phillip says he won't leave until Belle admits she made a mistake marrying Shawn. Belle refuses. Phillip takes her hand and holds it up to his heart. Then he puts their hands on her heart, "It's in your heart, not in your head."

"There is nothing in my head," says Belle, "except for the voices." Belle admits she is attracted to him.

Phillip thinks it's more than that. He knows she loves him as much as he loves her, "Belle, it's just us now. You don't have to pretend."

Belle tells him she loves Shawn, "I especially love the way his hands feel when he runs them all over my body. You're not the only man who makes my heart beat fast. Now get out."

Shawn interrupts, "Phillip! What are you doing here?"

Stefano can't believe EJ is showing such disrespect, "It is ill advised." EJ asks if he is threatening as he gets a phone call.

Kate bellows into her phone, "Did you help Sami find us?" She lectures him. EJ tells her this is not a good time. He tells her he's taking care of the twins and hangs up. He turns to Stefano, "You were saying?"

Stefano rants, "I was saying I always counted on you to be a good soldier. When you failed I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But there comes a time when a man must make hard decisions. The time for that is now for you. You will either be a good son or the enemy. There is no in between."

Sami thinks Lucas has started a whole new war with the DiMeras by shooting EJ. Lucas says they won't come after Sami or the kids. He starts to put his arms around her, "I did this because I love you."

Sami stows her sniveling, whining, groveling, snot-snorting personality and pulls out her nasty, vindictive, hateful, snot-snorting personality, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Shawn says Belle doesn't want Phillip. Phillip makes the understatement of the year, "She's a complicated woman."

"She's a cornucopia of complicated women," says Shawn, "You'd better get out before I go over there and start pounding my face against the bar." Phillip leaves.

Belle, feeling that she may be losing her grip as the center of attention, decides this is all her fault.

Phillip stands outside the pub and gets another call from Chloe. She says she's at the police station. Phillip tells her to keep her mouth shut and he will be there.

Stefano thinks EJ is treating him as if he is the enemy. He demands to see Johnny D. EJ wants to know what Stefano will do if he refuses, "Finish your threat. Are you going to do to me what you did to Renée?"

"I'm not telling you," says Stefano, "The Phoenix shall surprise again."

Sami says Lucas can't make it better by putting his arms around her. Kate interrupts, "Lucas, it's time to go. Don't throw things away for a woman who will need another man all the time. Do you know how she found us? EJ helped her. And right now he's back at the apartment taking care of the twins." Sami claims she had no choice but to leave them with EJ.

Phillip arrives at the cop shop. Roman leads him into his office where Chloe is singing like a canary. Phillip reminds her he told her not to talk which, for Chloe, is a near impossibility. Roman introduces inspector Clark from the Austrian consulate. Clark is there to arrest Chloe on behalf of the Viennese police.

Belle whimpers and says she made a really big mistake. She says they can't move on until it's in the open. She opens her copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations to the Mimi Lockhart section and reads, "There is something I need to tell you and should have told you weeks ago."

Stefano sighs and says this is a dark day. He didn't think EJ would turn on him. EJ says in many ways Stefano was a wonderful father. He's not denying him access to Johnny, but he's just being careful. He won't let Stefano see Johnny without him being there. Stefano is sorry they are at an impasse, "This hurts me more than I can say, but I think you know when the chips are down, watch out. I intend to win. You can keep the pram. Consider it a gift."

"I'd rather have a baby carriage," says EJ. He stops Stefano from leaving, "I know the DiMeras have a lot of skeletons in the closet."

"Not as many as those girls over at the Theta house," says Stefano.

"Don't take my son," says EJ, "You understand what I'm saying?"

Sami says she will never understand Lucas shooting EJ. Sirens wail in the background. Kate tells him it's now or never. Sami mocks, "Take the easy way out – that will make your son proud."

Stefano asks, "Now who's making threats? That's number two in as many days."

EJ stands his ground, "Am I clear?"

Stefano explodes, "You are an ingrate! Turncoat! Pram-rejecter! "

"You raised me a DiMera," says EJ, "And as you know, that makes for a very dangerous enemy." Stefano leaves. Godzilla stomps behind him. EJ exhales.

Sami tucks her nasty, vindictive personality away and calls her groveling, whining, sniveling personality back into action. She apologizes for hurting Lucas and gives up and says Kate is right... he should go. Lucas says he loves her and turns to leave. Too late. Roman comes up with his bevy of screws. Kate begs for ten minutes and a running start. Hard-hearted Roman rejects her pleas. He arrests Lucas, "You have a right to remain silent, which would be a miracle..."

Phillip and Chloe are alone in Roman's office. He asks if Chloe is ready to tell him the truth. Finally, Chloe the whiner is back in town. She says men broke into their apartment and they grabbed Brady and tied him up. They left her alone. Brady somehow cut his hand in the struggle and then they took him. She didn't call the cops. She wanted to but they had been fighting and she thought if the cops saw the blood, she would be the suspect.

Phillip is disgusted, "So you were protecting yourself. Nice."

Chloe claims initially she was, but now she is protecting Brady, "I went door-to-door looking for him – Vienna is a small city – and then I got a warning to back off or I would never see him again. I hated not being able to go to the police, but she knew you were the only person who could help me. So my master plan was to come to Salem, and throw myself at you because I'm so desperate to find Brady. That didn't work, so now I'm begging for your help. I would do anything for you."

Phillip scoffs, "What do you have to offer?"

Chloe lowers her head, "Nothing... for you."

The part of Phillip's brain that isn't smeared across the racetrack has a brainstorm, "Maybe there is something you could do..."

Belle stammers and whines, "It was just one time and then it was over. I just thought we could go on with our lives and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah..."

Shawn is as impatient as we are, "Just tell me."

"I cheated on you," cries Belle, "I slept with Phillip." Well, the aforementioned smooching and giggling is pretty much a thing of the past.


Previews
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