May The Future Not Suck As Much As The Present

Phillip meets Daniel at the hospital, "I just got here from the airport."

"So," says Daniel, "you're back in town."

"How long did it take you to figure that out," asks Phillip. He says he can't believe what has happened with Hope, "None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for that medication." He gets a call and goes off to take it as Justin comes up to Daniel.

Phillip answers the phone. Chloe tells him she has to talk to him, "I have news... about the baby."

Stephanie meets Adrienne at the pub and says she can't believe all the stuff about Hope. "No one can," says Adrienne, "Especially the viewers."

Stephanie says, "I dropped by to tell you I'm going to get over myself." Audience cheering drowns out a bit of the dialogue, then Stephanie says, "So Nathan kept a picture of Melanie... so what?"

"RIGHT," says Adrienne, "Now we're talking!"

"Yes," says Stephanie, "I'm the one Nathan loves."

The aforementioned Nathan is in Maggie's kitchen with Maggie. Maggie gets an emergency call, "You have to excuse me. Chez Rouge opens in two hours and the meat delivery hasn't come yet."

"That's great," says Nathan, "I won't have so many botulism cases to treat tonight." Maggie leaves as Melanie comes in. she and Nathan have a staredown.

EJ brings Sydney into the rumpus room, sits and tells her he will spend the rest of his life making things up to her.

Meanwhile, Sami and Rafe huff and munch around on each other.

Phillip says this isn't a good time. He tells Chloe he's at the hospital to talk to Justin, who is there with Daniel. Phillip asks if everything is OK and Chloe asks to meet at the pier. Phillip agrees. He hangs up. Daniel asks if the call was bad news. "I hope not," says Phillip.

Nicole shows up at Chloe's place. She says she needs a friend and Chloe is the only one she has left.

Adrienne suggests, "Let's have some wine."

"That's my favorite thing," says Stephanie, "I love to whine."

"Wine," says Adrienne, "I said wine, not whine."

"In that case," says Stephanie, "I have to go." She leaves.

Nathan tells Melanie he didn't sleep a lot the night before because he was worried about Hope, "She and my mom were like sisters. I wonder what's going to happen to her now."

Sami catches her breath and asks why Rafe did that. Rafe says it was a mistake. He tells her she should go, but strategically stands in the doorway. Sami agrees and starts out. Rafe grabs her as she goes and revs up round two. Sami pants, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Sami moves in a does a little "nothing" herself.

Nicole begs Chloe to stay but Chloe says she has to go to the hairdresser. "Are your split ends more important than my life," asks Nicole, "I've lost Brady. This time for good. You didn't even know I had him, did you? I did, for a few hours and I blew it sky high. I've hit rock bottom." Chloe is soooo sorry. She suggests meeting somewhere later. Nicole says she will take care of her life like she always does, alone. She leaves to start her little pity party.

Chloe does what Chloe does best. She whines, "Nniiccooooollleeee..."

Locker Room Lunk and Locker room Lolita continue their antics. Huffing... puffing... Rafe gets to the point, "I want you..." Then he stops, apologizes and walks away, "You are engaged to EJ."

Sami blurts out, "If you love me, stop me from marrying EJ."

"Stop you from marrying your true love," he asks, "That's what it is isn't it?" Sami wonders how he found out about the engagement. Rafe is more interested in why she said yes.

"You don't deserve any answers," whines Sami.

"When you're right you're right," says Rafe, "So, are you going to tell him what just happened?" Sami gives him a rare moment of silence. "I didn't think so," growls Rafe.

Sami asks, "Did EJ tell you about the engagement?"

"Ask him."

"I will," snorts Sami. She huffs out.

Melanie tells Nathan she's really sorry. They hug as Stephanie comes up, looks inside and soaks in the tender scene.

Phillip tells Daniel he's doing fine and leaves.

Justin joins Daniel. Daniel asks how Victor is reacting to the news about Hope. Justin says he's assessing things. Daniel asks how Justin is doing. He says he spoke to Hope, "There are really no words... but, by God, I'll find them and bore the whole town with them." Daniel tells him he's back with Chloe.

Maggie walks in and wonders if she's interrupting things. Nathan tells her she's not. Maggie talks about hope's predicament. She tells them no one was permanently injured, but Hope will have to make restitution. Melanie tells Nathan to take care of himself and leaves. Alone with Nathan, the town busybody swings into action, "What's gong on between you and Melanie?"

"Not as much as I'd like," says Nathan.

Chloe meets Phillip at the dock. He assures her Daniel didn't know he was talking to her earlier. Chloe tells him the paternity test will take a few days. He reassures her, "And don't forget, if the baby is mine, I'll set you up."

"I think I've already been set up," says Chloe, "Either way this goes it could blow up in our faces. Even if it's Daniel's baby I could lose him."

Stephanie joins Adrienne at the pub. Adrienne thinks Stephanie looks a little shook up, "What happened."

"I saw Nathan in Maggie's kitchen with his arms around Melanie."

Adrienne thinks there may have been a perfectly good reason for him to be there. Stephanie freaks and says she is certain Phillip has blown it with Melanie and she's running to Nathan. She asks about Phillip meeting Adrienne at Daniel's apartment. Adrienne goes over the whole thing again. Stephanie continues to worry, "Phillip is as cool as they come until he does something awful, then he blows a gasket or loses some other body part. If Melanie's marriage falls apart, I am going to lose Nathan for sure." If his level of commitment is that low, why do I get the feeling they wouldn't be together for all the Days Of Their Lives anyway?

Maggie lectures when Nathan when he tells her Melanie is just a friend. Nathan admits Melanie will always be special, but reminds her he's with Stephanie and insists he loves her. Maggie says she can see that, "Besides, I'd hate to have to beat the tar out of both you and Melanie." The viewers would like to see it though. We'd settle for any action on this show.

EJ continues to babble at Sydney. Sami comes in, "We need to talk."

"Can't you see I'm busy," asks Sydney.

Meanwhile, back at the Cheatin' Heart, Rafe hits the bartender up for a cold beer, "Keep 'em coming."

Nicole walks up behind him, "You too? Buy a girl a drink?"

Chloe says she thinks her string of bad luck hasn't ended. She tells Phillip about bumping into Daniel and Melanie at the hospital during the night of a thousand coincidences. She tells him what happened there and Phillip asks for the name of the hospital so he can make sure no one ever sees Chloe's records again. They hug.

Stephanie walks up, "What do we have here?"

"Apparently," says Phillip, "We have someone butting in to something that's none of her business."

Maggie and Nathan come into the pub. Maybe Maggie came to borrow a freezer full of meat. Caroline greets them... well, she greets Nathan. Maggie tries to be cordial, "I heard what happened to Hope." Neither Maggie nor Caroline can believe it. Maggie offers to help, but Caroline says she can't do anything and walks out.

Nathan asks what that was all about. Maggie tells him about her and Victor becoming friends, "Caroline thinks she was intruding."

"Didn't Victor just get married," asks Nathan, "Maybe I'm not the only one who has some explaining to do."

Daniel thanks Melanie for taking the time to come and see him. He tells her Carly is having a tough time. Melanie assures him they all have each other's back, "It's a miracle we're all together."

"I wish that miracle would have come a different way," says Daniel.

"You can't change the past," says Melanie, "unless you're a DOOL writer."

"But you can learn form the past," says Daniel, "And I've learned it's not a good idea for two people to stay together when one has been unfaithful."

Phillip and Chloe stammer. Stephanie thinks they both seem stressed. They brush her off and Chloe leaves.

Stephanie asks about Melanie. She says she thinks it's strange to find Phillip with Chloe. Phillip says the meeting doesn't mean anything and takes off. Stephanie drones, "Phillip and Chloe... you have a secret you're not telling me, so now it's up to me to find out what it is."

Nicole asks, "Aren’t you afraid I'll slip you a Mickey?"

"You mean a Mickey Finn," asks Rafe.

"No," says Nicole, "In Salem we call it a Mickey Horton. He was such a bad attorney using him in court could be lethal." She suggests drinking together. Rafe agrees. He turns to the bartender, "Give the lady whatever she wants."

"I'll have a Brady Black," says Nicole.

Sami says EJ lied to her, "You told Rafe we were getting married!" EJ insists he only told Stefano. Sami wonders if Stefano blabbed. EJ tries to calm her down, "We're getting married. People will find out. What difference does it make?"

Justin stands in the woods and has a flashback to telling Hope he thought she was sending him signals that she wanted to spend more time with him. Adrienne finds him and says she has been looking for him. He says he doesn't know what will happen to Hope. Adrienne is sorry for the way this is affecting Justin.

Melanie finds Chloe at the pub. She apologizes for scaring her like she did at the apartment. She asks to sit with her and says she talked to Daniel, "He's worried about Carly. He thinks Hope's friends will blame her for what Hope did."

"I don't think it's that simple," says Chloe, "because if it were really simple I'd be able to understand it." Melanie tells her about the going to the consult with Daniel. Chloe says she isn't interested in the details. Melanie says they saw Carly at the consult and tells her about the mix-up. Chloe says the whole thing is private and they shouldn't talk about it. She leaves.

Melanie talks to herself, "You'd better start telling people you're pregnant or they'll just think you're a bitch."

Stephanie meets Daniel and tells him the press is interested in the miracle he performed during his consult at St. Mary's. She says the insurance provider needs to know about Chloe's claim and why she was at the hospital that night. Daniel says, "Chloe gave me a present – a watch – and left it in the desk here." He leaves.

Stephanie ponders, "One watch... two different places. Somebody's lying."

Justin says it's too soon for him to talk about any of this, "Especially with you." Adrienne says she just wanted to make sure he was OK." She leaves.

Melanie comes back to Maggie's looking for Phillip. She finds him and they have a giggle and twirl fest.

Nathan and Maggie are at the hospital. Maggie sees Daniel coming and asks if he knows where Stephanie is. Daniel says she was just talking to him. Chloe joins the happy clan. Maggie decides to leave a message for her. Nathan and Maggie leave. Chloe asks if Daniel wants to go home with her. Daniel thinks that sounds great. He wants to start telling people about her pregnancy, too. Chloe says she wants to wait until her parents call for her birthday tomorrow. They smooch and leave.

Sneaky Stephanie knocks on the door to Daniel and Chloe's apartment. She remembers talking to Adrienne, finds the spare key on the top of the door jamb, right under the flashing neon sign that says, "SPARE KEY...SPARE KEY..." and goes in, "I need to find something that will tell me what Phillip and Chloe were whispering about."

Back at the Cheatin' Heart, Nicole suggests they should toast the future. Rafe raises his glass, "May the future not suck as much as the present."

Sami says she just needed time to get used to the idea of being EJ's fiancée. "Making it public is making it real," says EJ.

"Rafe deserved to hear it from me," says Sami.

EJ says when he proposed he knew she still had feelings for Rafe, gut thinks they should have trust, "I'm not a patient man, but I think the odds are in our favor. It's up to you, though. Are we off, or are we on."

"We're on," she squeaks.

Nathan putters. He remembers being with Melanie earlier as he consoled her about Hope. Maggie finds him. Nathan is distracted and tells her he says he left a message for Stephanie. "You're not worried about her," asks Maggie.

"No."

Maggie says, "Something is upsetting you."

"No," insists Nathan, "That's not it at all." He leaves.

Phillip and Melanie finish the gigglefest. Things get serious.

Adrienne is back at the pub. Caroline asks Adrienne if someone will join her. Adrienne says she's just there for an early dinner and asks about Bo. Adrienne also says Stephanie is upset. She says she doesn't know if her problems with Nathan are real or not, " I'm a little worried about her." It's nothing a metric ton of Prozac can't handle.

Stephanie snoops around Chloe and Daniel's apartment. She tries to break into Chloe's computer, "Dang! What would her password be.... slut... whore... cheater..." Stephanie's her phone rings. She answers, "Grandma, what do you want?"

Caroline asks where she is and how she is doing, "Or should I call Nathan and ask?" Stephanie hears Daniel and Chloe outside.

Daniel smooches with Chloe. She asks if he's hungry. "Insatiable," says Daniel.

Back inside, we pan to the door, then back to worried Stephanie.

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