A 'You Snooze You Lose' Kind Of Girl

We start out today's thrilling episode in Bo and Hope's living room where Hope has just played the I'll-keep-Ciara-away-from-you card. Bo challenges her threat. Carly rushes in and the smackdown is in full swing, "Why would you do that?"

Hope gives a look. When you are watching this scene, do not look directly in her eyes or you will turn to stone, "Why do you think?"

Maggie putters around her kitchen. Kate arrives saying she is there to see Melanie, "I have to warn her about Vivian. What kind of lowlife garbage would be out to harm her own daughter-in-law? "

Vivian hands Melanie the lethal gift, "Why don't you open it now and get it over with?"

"Get it over with," asks Melanie, "Is it a bad thing?"

Vivian gushes, "Oh, no. It's good. You'll be very pleased!"

Johnny runs into the DiMera mansion rumpus room ahead of Sami. EJ is so happy to see him he sends him off to watch video games. God, these are loving parents.

Sami picks up a brochure and reads. She looks up and questions EJ, "Pirate adventure tours? Who's going with you?"

"It will just be Johnny and me." One of EJ's hobbies is throwing gasoline on a fire.

Anna knocks on Sami's door. No answer, "Good, she's not home." She leaves a note and turns to leave, when...

RAFE!

Rafe goes into hotshot G-man mode and wonders what she is doing there. Anna wonders why he's questioning her, "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm Rafe Hernandez," says Dudley Doright, "Who are you?"

Vivian has Melanie turn around and close her eyes. She caresses her hair and imagines putting the deadly tiara on her head as Carly rushes into the flash-forward. The poison tip starts to take effect. Melanie says she can't breathe as she sinks to the floor. Audience cheering drowns out the rest of the scene.

Sami rants about EJ checking with her before he makes decisions about the kids. EJ says their lives have been hell and he really needs a distraction, not to mention a good pair of earplugs. Johnny is still upstairs during all this and God knows where Allie is because these model parents don't take care of their kids, they just argue about them.

Anna stammers, "You're Rafe Hernandez..."

Elliott Ness gives her the third degree, "Who are you?"

"None of your business." Do I detect a note of sanity on this program?

"I'm gonna make it my business," says J. Edgar Loser, "Why did you leave a note?"

Carly insists Hope isn't being fair. She thinks Hope is punishing Ciara. "Oh, really," spits Hope, "Have you been watching Dr. Phil?"

Of course she has, "Parents split up all the time. Children adjust."

"That's an idiotic cliché," says Hope. "Our little girl has been through hell and I've been protecting her so she doesn't spin out of control like me. That's why I'm taking her and filing for custody." She turns to Bo, "You have exposed our little girl to a murderer in this house. I will not let it go on. I'm putting a stop to it right now."

Kate goes into a tirade, "Vivian has hijacked the wedding and is now a part of our lives and I can't believe that doesn't bother you. She is dangerous." Maggie says she just got a message and says Melanie is at the Kiriakis mansion with Vivian right now. Kate screeches out of there like a top fuel dragster.

Vivian changes her mind and decides to wait and give Melanie the gift later, "We should wait until the wedding." Melanie asks for a clue. OMG. She walked right into that one, didn't she? That's too easy. I just can't... Vivian says, "It's something you'll just die for."

Sami wonders how he can take one kid out of town while the other is missing. EJ defends it but Sami says she still doesn't get it. He vows to find Sydney and suggests, "Maybe we can all go together... as a family. You know... throw the Ejamis a bone..." Sami ignores that as Johnny comes back in. She tells him to have fun with Daddy, turns and leaves.

EJ turns to Johnny, "You and I are going on a little trip — Pirate Island."

Johnny is soooo excited. CENSORED.

Rafe takes Anna inside, "A baby was kidnapped and you show up leaving a note. Why?"

Anna stumbles around for words, "I... uh..."

Bat Masterson moves in for the kill, "Who are you and what do you know?"

Anna asks, "Who are you and what makes it any of your business? Besides, it wasn't my idea."

Bo jumps in with his two cents which, if IQ points were money, would put him in hock, "No matter what you say my concern is Ciara. We need to figure out why she would do something like this. She never would have done something like this before."

"Before what," says Hope, "I do not badmouth Carly to our little girl. I never have, never will. I just tell her I consider, 'low lying scum of the earth whore' a compliment."

"I am just trying to make sense of this," says Bo.

Ciara trundles down the stairs, "Please stop fighting."

Melanie eyes the present and Vivian tells her to be patient, "Really... good things come to those who wait."

Melanie whines, "I'm more of a 'you snooze you lose' kind of girl."

"You must do a lot of snoozing," says Vivian. Kate walks in as Vivian pontificates about making sacrifices for love.

EJ plays airplane with Johnny. He zooms him around the room until Johnny hurls and EJ decides playing with the firetruck would be a lot less messy. Johnny plays with the firetruck, too. "It's going to be good," says EJ, "Just you, me and your sister."

Anna stammers as Wyatt Earp grills. Sami walks in, "Anna, why are you here?"

Melanie wants to know why Vivian is talking about making sacrifices for love. Kate steps in and wants to know too. Vivian bobs and weaves. Melanie feels the love and decides this would be a good time to get outta Dodge. Vivian has her leave the present, though. Kate and Vivian have a staredown.

Hope tells Ciara they weren't arguing, "We were just talking loud." Bo tells Ciara he's disappointed for what she did, but isn't mad at her. Ciara gives Carly the look of death as Bo hugs her. Hope takes her off. Bo grits.

Sami says, "I guess introductions aren't necessary."

"Actually," says Jack Bauer, "they are."

Sami makes the introductions, "Rafe, this is Anna DiMera. Anna, this is Rafe Buttinski Hernandez, my... uh... we were... uh... he's... uh... Rafe."

Anna says, "I didn't fill Rafe in on who I am because he was pushy and obnoxious." Imagine that. Rafe. Obnoxious. She says she's there to offer her good wishes. She also says Roman told her about the kidnapping. Sami begs her to stay. "I can't," says Anna, "I have a kid to go back and take care of. Man, are you ever going to get a huge babysitting bill."

"I'm used to that," says Sami. She insists Anna stay.

Bo has a fit, "How can she do this?" Carly decides to move out but Bo grabs her, "You're not going anywhere. I can't lose you on top of everything else."

Hope and Ciara arrive at the Java Café. Hope gives her the "don't slice other people's clothes" lecture. Justin meets them. He and Hope hug and Justin turns and gives Ciara a wad-o-cash to get rid of her, "Go buy yourself the most caffeine saturated drink you can find." He asks Hope how it went.

Sami asks Rafe what he is doing there. He says he's just there to pack the rest of his things. He leaves. Sami apologizes for the drama. Anna insists she can't stay long and asks about the rest of Sami's brood.

"Will has changed," says Sami, "but Johnny and Allie are doing fine. With Sydney... it's a nightmare."

"I can only imagine," says Anna.

"I don't know what kind of sick maniac would to this," blubbers Sami.

Kate accuses Vivian of using Melanie to get revenge on her. Vivian gets a call and tells Kate to get out as she goes into the next room to talk. Kate walks over and picks up the present, "You will not steal my thunder, Vivian. You will not steal my son." Speaking of stealing, Kate steals the present.

Melanie arrives at Maggie's and finds her making tea, "For someone who never had a mom I have them coming out of my ears right now."

"Well," says Maggie, "At least you have a lot of space between those ears for a lot of moms."

"But you are my favorite," gushes Melanie. Maggie asks if Kate found her and Melanie says yes. "Since I love and trust you the most," says Melanie, "I have something important to ask."

Anna empathizes. Sami says she wants to talk to her about Sydney because Anna and Tony lived in the DiMera mansion when she was a baby. Anna says she didn't get to know her well and besides thought she was Nicole's little girl. That was the magic word. Sami beats up on Nicole and then wonders how much Sydney has changed, "It's been a couple weeks since I saw her. I Hope she's well taken care of." A couple weeks? I would have said a couple years.

"I assure you she is being well taken care of," says Anna.

"How do you know that," asks Sami.

Melanie asks Maggie to be mother of the bride at the wedding. Maggie, of course says she would be honored. They hug each other and when they try to unclench they can't because all the syrup has them stuck together.

Carly comes downstairs and announces she's unpacked. Bo thanks her for staying. Carly says she's decided not to go to Melanie's wedding because it's too risky. Bo says that's a good decision but vows she will share Melanie's life soon, "Even though sharing Melanie's life would be as much fun as sharing a bed of nails with someone." And Carly says she will help him with Ciara. That calls for a big hug.

Hope has filled Justin in on the ripped clothes story. Ciara comes back and Hope decides to go for coffee. Justin teases Ciara about too much whipped cream in her drink and smears some on her nose. Thank you for that tender but totally useless moment.

Hope stands at the counter and thinks, "This is all so wrong."

Anna says she knows Sydney is being treated well because no one could harm such a beautiful little girl. Did you expect anything different? She tells Sami to stay strong and they hug ans Rafe comes out with his boxes. The boxes, like Rafe's brain, are obviously empty. Anna leaves. Outside she hyperventilates.

Inside, Sami hypers without the ventilating. Rafe thinks Anna seemed jumpy, "You two seem tight."

"Tight," says Sami, "Maybe. Tightly wrapped... no. But we both hate Stefano so we have that in common."

Rafe says he's thinking about Sydney. As he leaves he turns, "Each day we get closer to finding her. We're gonna get her back." Outside, he stares and walks off. Inside, Sami just stares.

Melanie is sooooo happy. Maggie is sooooo happy. Suddenly Melanie backs off and says she can't wait until the wedding is over so she can get on with her life.

Vivian walks out with Gus, "Thank God Kate is gone. I've decided to give Melanie her gift on her wedding day." Gus thinks that's a good idea.

Vivian stops dead in her tracks, "Where is the gift? It's gone. It's... Kate!"

Out by the park bench Kate rants about Vivian showering Melanie with gifts. She starts to throw the package away but her curiosity gets the best of her and she begins unwrapping it.

Sami stares at a picture of Sydney, "Anna, I Hope you are right and Sydney is being treated well."

Anna holds Sydney and tells her she looks as sad as Sami looked, "She misses you. Oh, Sydney, I don't know any more if I'm doing the right thing."

EJ contemplates pictures. He starts to make a call but the doorbell interrupts. He answers to find Rafe. "I have a question about your sister-in-law... Anna DiMera," says Buford Pusser.

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