Dark And Dangerous Places

Rafe is in Sami's apartment on the phone playing G-man. Sami comes out and they talk about the off-camera, out-of-their-hair twins, not to mention Sydney, who is really out-of-their-hair. Apparently Sami has decided to go see Will to warn him to say out-of-her-hair, too. Rafe will stay and relieve Sami of the distasteful and disgusting responsibility of watching the twins. Smoochies and bye-byes.

Sami leaves. Rafe makes another call, "She's gone so... come as soon as you can."

EJ shoos Troy from the dock in a display of machismo we haven't seen since Curly proiked Larry in both eyes and gave him a dutch rub. Arianna tells him she's mad because Troy is a friend of hers. EJ wants to know what's going on. Arianna tells him Troy a supplier for the pub. EJ accuses her of lying.

Vic Cool says he doesn't want to watch Brady screw up his life. Brady thinks Victor is a hypocrite.

Abe is with Rafe. So, the big secret mystery man Rafe called was the Mayor? Hizonner? Even Abe doesn't know why he's there, "But as long as I have the opportunity, how about a campaign donation?" They talk about the kidnapping and the boots. Rafe says he wants Abe's help because he knows so much about Stefano and stiletto leopard-skin boots.

Mystery Woman sets the temperature in the room and gets a step stool. She opens the door, steps up to that treacherous second step and starts to hang a Christmas wreath. We hear sirens in the background.

Victor says he refuses to react, as he reacts to Brady's accusations. He gives Brady his shacking-up-with-a-drug-dealer lecture.

Arianna tells EJ to worry about someone else. EJ says, "I guess I'm just old fashioned, and I don't think you're safe here."

Abe thinks if they prove Stefano is behind the plot to swipe Sydney, EJ might kill him.

"If I don't kill him first," says macho boy.

Mystery Woman stands on the precarious precipice of her step stool and adjusts the wreath. She tips and slips and...

THUD!

Oooo... that looks like a bad one. Issac Newton checks her out, "Exploring the mysteries of gravity is a lot simpler if you just let an apple fall onto your head."

EJ reminds Arianna he saved Rafe's life. Arianna gets sarcastic, "I forgot to send you a thank you note." She says she felt safe when Troy was there, but not with EJ. EJ asks just what Troy sells to the pub. "He's a seafood supplier," says Arianna, "That's why I met him down at the dock. The stuff we get from him is really fresh. Full of mercury, but fresh." EJ chuckles at her harebrained story.

Brady blows his stack, "Arianna isn't your only retailer. You have a great product. Just because you don't handle it with your own hands doesn't mean you're not involved."

Victor is annoyed, "Tell me this isn't your self-righteous way of trying to irk me. And also tell me you're not using again."

Brady yells back, "Dammit, Granddad, tell me you're not selling again."

T-man, Mia and Kinzie are studying in Maggie's kitchen. Kinzie says she is tired of all Mia's doom and gloom. She suggests maybe they should talk poor Will into going caroling with them. Mia snaps, "Do you think a couple of choruses of Jingle Bells will cheer him up?" She storms out of the kitchen and stands out in the freezing cold blaming herself for all the problems in the world.

Sami finds Will outside the pub. He tells her he's decided he can't go to the big dance with Sydney missing. Sami advises him to go.

Rafe says he thinks they're on the right track trying to find Mystery Woman. Abe wants to take it slow, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, you never said if you were going to give me that donation." Rafe still has the feeling they're on the right track. In other words, the purpose of that whole segment was to kill time.

Mia drags her frozen butt back inside. She apologizes for her dark mood. "We're studying Emily Dickenson," says T-man, "Did you expect a lot of laughs?" Kinzie brings up Will, but Mia ignores her and goes back to studying. Kinzie keeps it up and tells her she should let Will know she's serious about their relationship.

Mia gets nasty, "I had a baby that died. You don't have to talk to me about being serious."

T-man figures it might be time for him to start that great right of passage for all males, reading the Guy Manual. He makes a note to start with the chapter on moodiness.

Will and Sami are inside now and Will says he just can't go to the dance. Sami says she hates the fact that he had to grow up quickly, but with the parents he had he was the only adult in the house. Even Sami tells him how childish his parents were. She wants him to be happy and have fun and not think he is betraying Sydney while he does that, "We're gonna find Sydney. When we do, can you watch her awhile for me? "

Gabi comes to Sami's place to see Rafe. He invites her in and says Sami went to see Will and he's babysitting the twins. Gabi thought maybe Arianna was there. She says she doesn't know where she is and she's worried about her.

Back at the dock Arianna says, "You know that old saying we have to stop meeting like this... well we have to stop meeting like this. You spend a lot of time in dark and dangerous places, don't you? I wanted to thank you for going to Cleveland and helping find my daughter."

Victor insists he sold the drug business. Brady lectures, "I'm gonna make you do the right thing. Either tell me whom you sold it to or I'll call the police right now."

Depressed Mia studies alone as Maggie comes back. T-man and Kenzie have told Maggie that Mia is upset so Maggie swoops down like a bird of prey and digs into her life, "Take it one day at a time. It gets better. Tomorrow is a new day. The sun will come out tomorrow. It's always darkest before the dawn. Every cloud has a silver..."

What if I don't want it to get better?"

Gabi is at the Java Café staring at the posters of Sydney. She tells Chad she knows Sydney and they introduce themselves. Gabi says she is thinking of transferring to school in Salem. Chad thinks that would be awesome.

Abe joins Sami and Will at the pub. Will decides he has to take off, "Goodbye Your Honor."

"Stop calling me that," cracks Abe.

"OK, Bozo."

Sami tells Abe she's just trying not to think about the Syd-napping. Abe assures her it's going to be OK. No one knows how the hell he would know that, however.

EJ gets a call. He finds out there is no news on Sydney, so he asks whomever it is to keep calling him anyway. He hangs up and broods.

Sami gets home. Uber-domestic Rafe is reading Goodnight Moon by the fire. He sees Sami come in and announces, "I have a surprise for you."

Sami's mood swings from depressive to manic, "YOU FOUND SYDNEY?"

Sydney sits in her crib by the fire. Mystery Woman lies crushed on the sidewalk. We pan to the thermometer. The temperature plunges. Oh, sorry, that's the DOOL ratings gauge. Actually, the temperature is also falling, however.

Brady starts to make his call to the cops. He tells Victor he doesn't want to do this. Victor says he hasn't thought about the ramifications, especially what would happen to Arianna if things fell apart, "Go ahead. Call. I'll give you 10-1 Arianna doesn't make it to the weekend."

Arianna says she knows what EJ is going through and she shouldn't be playing games with him. EJ accepts her halfhearted apology. Things thaw. EJ tells her every lead he has is a dead end and wonders if Rafe is doing any good. Arianna touches his hand. Brady walks up and soaks it in. So, five seconds ago he was dukeing it out with Victor at the Kiriakis mansion and now he's at the dock. And those stupid physicists keep insisting Star Trek style transporters are a scientific impossibility.

Mia tells Maggie she's just not comfortable being happy. Maggie advises her that she knows Mia thinks moving on is a betrayal to Grace, "I felt like that when I lost my daughter, but then I decided it wasn't fair to her. Would a baby like Grace want you to live your life in sadness? I don't think so. She didn't give up her life. God took her home. She would hate it for you to give up yours." I need a hankie.

Rafe apologizes for making Sami think they might have found Grace. Bipolar Sami apologizes for making him date a crazy woman (No, that is not a Prevuzism). It seems Rafe has put up the Christmas tree, and that's the big surprise. Sami bawls and tells him how much she loves it, "Merry Christmas, Rafe." Hugs. Mood swings.

Mystery Woman lies unconscious as icicles form on Sydney's brow. Forget the fact that she's sitting in front of a roaring fire.

Brady watches as Arianna tells EJ Rafe would not keep information from him. Brady steps up and gets macho. He tells EJ he should talk to Rafe directly. EJ apologizes for intruding and says he enjoyed sparring with Arianna. He leaves.

Arianna scolds Brady, "Please don't do that again."

"You don't know what he's like."

"You don't have to protect me."

Chad suggests Gabi come to the big dance. Mia walks in as they talk about what it's like to transfer to a new school. Chad introduces Gabi and Mia figures her brother is Rafe. Gabi leaves. Chad asks if something is wrong. He also consults the Guy Manual, "She's female. Something is always wrong."

Mia tells him T-man and Kinzie left their study session early because she was a drag, so she came to the Java Café to make him miserable.

Sami says she never pegged Rafe for a family guy as he wraps presents. They express their undying love and move in on each other.

Crystals of oxygen and nitrogen begin to freeze and fall into Sydney's crib as the temperature plummets.

Will is with Maggie. He tells her Sami convinced him he should go to the dance. Maggie thinks that's just hunky dory since she just encouraged Mia to start having fun. He reminds her Mia is alone except for her.

Mia tells Chad what Maggie said. She says moving on feels weird. Chad says he makes himself go through the motions and that makes things better. But he thinks she has more reason to be upset than he does.

Mia whines, "But I'm so tired of feeling sorry for myself. I'd like to move on. Maybe I should start going through the motions, too."

"You used to like to dance," says Chad, "What do you think about going to the dance?"

"I don't know," says Mia, "That's a scary thought."

"Yeah," says Chad, "Those sock-hops are terrifying."

Mia agrees to go. "Great," says Chad, "Then it's a date." Hmmm... I do believe Miss McCormick is now double booked for the big social event, if I remember correctly.

Brady thinks he and Arianna have too much on their plate to argue about EJ. He says he confronted Victor who pretty much admitted he was a drug lord, "He thinks just because he sold the dealership it absolves him."

"At least I don't have to turn him in," says Arianna. Really? Apparently in Salem the statute of limitations is a week.

Brady thinks Arianna may be working for someone a lot more dangerous than Victor. Roman is more dangerous than Victor?

Troy calls EJ who tells him things are going smoothly.

Rafe gives Sami a present, "It's a mother's ring with a birthstone for all your kids. Including Grace." Sami loves it and believes they will all be together on Christmas and everything will be a bed of roses. Tra-la.

Tiny Tim steps in, "God bless us every one."

The smooching gets serious.

So does the falling temperature at Mystery Woman's place.

Brady is upset EJ chased Troy away. Arianna defends him for being there and Brady tells her she can't trust him.

EJ is on the phone, "A woman? Who came up with that? Nicole? I will go talk to her." he hags up.

Gratuitously half-nekkid Rafe sits on the couch. Fully clothed Sami lies under a blanket with her feet down at his end and Rafe massages them. Translation: this scene is for the girls. Across the room, a phone buzzes.

Rafe gets up to answer and goes into the next room. Apparently that was some big important piece of information, so he calls Roman and says the bootprints at the bus station are a match to what Nicole described, "They're checking the surveillance tapes, but if my plan works out we'll have Sydney back in the morning." He goes back in and kneels at the altar of Samantha.

Mystery Woman stirs. She gets up and staggers back inside, then over to ice-baby. Sydney looks up and smiles. Mystery Woman gasps, "OMG!"

Out in the audience, Beatrice Cludmore of Beer Bottle Crossing, Idaho turns to her neighbor, "What the hell was the purpose of that whole Mystery Woman sequence?"

Her neighbor, Fern Snodgrass from Roachtown, Illinois has the answer, "It obviously was a public service announcement about the danger of hanging a Christmas wreath on your door."

"It's a dangerous world we live in," says Beatrice.

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