Days of Our Lives Update
Update written by Joseph
Jack returns home to find Gwen working on her laptop. Jack calls out to Gwen which startles her and she quickly shuts her laptop. Gwen thought Jack was spending Thanksgiving with Chad and the kids in New York. Jack responds that he did as Jennifer’s brother Mike and Nancy had them all over for dinner. Jack reveals that Mike and Nancy are now seeing each other. Gwen asks if that’s a good thing. Jack calls Mike a good guy and a step above Clyde Weston for Nancy. Gwen is glad Jack got to be with family today as she’s sure the holidays are especially painful. Jack responds that’s why he came back to work. Gwen asks if he’s checking up on her at the Spectator. Jack points out that Gwen was working away when he came in and asks if it’s a big story. Gwen responds that it could be. Jack comments that Gwen slammed the laptop shut as soon as she saw him, almost as if she didn’t want him to see what she was working on.
Xander asks if Sarah is joking but Sarah responds that it’s a serious question as she asks if he kidnapped Bonnie and Susan.
Tony calls EJ and leaves a message for him to call him back as he’s worried about him and doesn’t want him to do anything reckless. Tony then hears the door and hangs up but Chad arrives and says he’s sorry to disappoint. Tony responds that he was just hoping he was EJ as he is worried about him.
EJ finishes drinking at the cliff and gets up to walk away when he hears a noise. EJ calls out for his mother as he looks in the direction of the sound but Ava emerges, who says it’s not his mother. EJ argues that she’s dead but Ava tells him to guess again.
Gwen tells Jack that the article is about Paulina Price. Jack argues that every newspaper in the country is covering that story. Jack points out that Gwen is right here in Salem and could scoop every other paper. Gwen points out that she’s not a seasoned reporter. Jack asks if she’s afraid she isn’t up to the task and if that’s why she wouldn’t let him see her draft. Gwen says no but then says yes, noting that there is something more to it. Jack questions what she isn’t telling him. Gwen responds that Chad doesn’t want her writing about Paulina and Chanel. Jack argues that Chad has no business telling her what to write about and declares that he will take care of this right now. Gwen stops him and informs him that there is more as she reveals that she told Chad that she would do what he wants.
Tony asks why Chad dropped by as he thought he was spending the holiday in New York. Chad responds that he was and the kids are still there as Jennifer promised to take them for more holiday fun. Tony questions Chad not joining them. Chad admits he wanted to come check on EJ after he heard what happened to Susan.
Xander questions Sarah thinking he kidnapped two women. Sarah brings up what Xander told her after he quit his job, about how his boss asked him to do something illegal but he wouldn’t tell her what and was very vague. Sarah says she knows Xander is holding back something big. Sarah brings up the look on his face when she was watching the news report. Xander responds that he was just shocked because he knows Susan and Bonnie. Sarah asks what his boss asked him to do. Xander claims that the company was going to bring in a new drug and claim that it wasn’t addictive when that’s a lie and he didn’t want to be part of something like that. Sarah says he didn’t tell her that. Sarah argues that the company needs to be stopped. Xander says he knew she’d say that which is why he didn’t want to tell her. Xander warns that she doesn’t know who his boss is and what she does to people that cross her. Sarah questions how Xander knows. Xander says from her talking. Sarah remarks that it doesn’t sound like an executive of a drug company, it sounds like Ava Vitali.
EJ questions if Ava is really here or if he’s drunk. Ava says she’s there and asks if he thought he could get rid of her that easily. EJ brings up how her car went off the cliff, exploded, and the fireman told him that no one could have made it out alive. Ava guesses that means she’s dead then and says it’s not that bad. Ava says maybe EJ would like to join her as she then pulls a gun on him.
Jack can’t believe that Chad would ask Gwen to bury a story this big and that Gwen would agree to do it. Gwen explains that her main source was her dodgy ex-former lawyer, Sloan Peterson, who said that she had all the dirt on Chanel’s arrest and promised an exclusive. Gwen adds that Sloan sent her everything that she sent to the district attorney, but Chad warned that if she didn’t fact check every word then the Spectator could be open to a libel suit and be put out of business. Jack questions Gwen deciding not to print it. Gwen responds that she’s still in the process of getting it vetted because she doesn’t want to cost the Spectator the exclusive story of the year but she doesn’t want to put her name on something that could be a lie, so she asks Jack what to do.
Alex and Stephanie continue kissing at their candle lit dinner in the Kiriakis Mansion. Alex suggests they move to a bed as they continue kissing until Maggie walks in. Maggie apologizes as she didn’t know they were in there. Stephanie gets up and hugs her, wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. Alex comments that they were just having a little Thanksgiving dinner. Stephanie explains to Maggie that her parents are in Seattle with Tripp, so Alex invited her over to share leftovers. Maggie comments that Tripp must be having a miserable holiday after what happened to Ava. Stephanie says that’s why Steve and Kayla stayed out there. Maggie adds that it must be so hard trying to be a good son to a mother like Ava. Stephanie still can’t believe what she did. Maggie says poor Susan Banks as she was so innocent and shouldn’t have died how she did. Stephanie can’t help but wonder if it was all a terrible accident or if Ava drove off the cliff on purpose.
EJ questinos what Ava thinks she’s doing. Ava calls it fairly obvious but for all he knows, she’s not really there. Ava mentions hearing him call for his mom and asks if he’s feeling guilty. EJ asks if she’s saying she’s his conscience. Ava responds that he is the reason this happened since he could’ve just given her the money and taken his mother home, but he had to prove he was smarter and better than her so he took the only son she had left and kidnapped him, but that didn’t work out how he planned because her son is alive and well while EJ’s mother is down there. EJ asks how he knows that for sure. EJ reminds Ava that he doesn’t have a conscience, so Ava is here in the flesh and made it out of the crash alive, so perhaps Susan did too.
Chad asks Tony how EJ is doing and admits it’s a stupid question as he’s sure EJ is devastated. Tony explains that EJ blames himself for Susan’s death and now feels he has to suffer because of it. Chad brings up that EJ did prove Ava’s marriage to Jake was a fraud and forced her out of town, but he can’t imagine he expected Ava to retaliate like that. Tony then informs Chad that he’s afraid that’s not all EJ did.
Xander questions Sarah thinking that he would work for Ava. Sarah points out that he was so desperate to make money and get them out of here, so things started to add up which Xander questions. Sarah brings up Bonnie saying the guy who grabbed her was wearing a blue suit with major muscles. Xander argues that could be a lot of people. Sarah adds that Maggie said she got a text from Bonnie’s phone that she was going to visit Mimi and questions if a lot of people know Bonnie’s life so well that they could mention her daughter by name. Sarah asks if others would know how to keep two women locked up in the Kiriakis shed where Xander used to work. Sarah doesn’t want to believe he did this even though a lot of the pieces fit. Sarah tells Xander that if he had something to do with this, he has to tell her now.
Chad questions EJ kidnapping Tripp. Tony clarifies that he didn’t do it personally and didn’t intend to harm him, but he wanted to trade him for Susan. Chad guesses EJ figured he could save himself $30 million. Tony says that was only part of the reason and he did it primarily for leverage to keep Susan alive. Chad guesses he could see that. Tony says he told Chad because he trusts him, but he’s troubled since Chad works for Tripp’s sister Stephanie and considers her a friend. Tony asks Chad to tell him that he won’t tell Stephanie that EJ had anything to do with Tripp’s kidnapping.
Stephanie tells Maggie that their families have been through an ordeal but thank God that Tripp and Bonnie are going to be okay. Maggie says Bonnie will be eventually which Stephanie questions. Alex reminds her that Bonnie wasn’t in great shape. Maggie states that it’s hard to recover from being afraid for your life. Alex insists that she will recover once they catch the clown who did this to her. Maggie has a reaction to that so Alex asks if she knows something about the guy. Maggie informs them that she just left Sarah, who has a theory about what happened and it sounded far fetched to her. Stephanie asks her to tell them what she said. Maggie tells them that they have to keep it to themselves which Alex says they will do. Maggie then reveals that Sarah is afraid that the man in the clown mask might have been Xander.
Jack appreciates that Gwen wants to make the most ethically sound decision. Gwen says they know she doesn’t have a reputation for telling the truth, so if any reporter is going to be accused of slander, it’s her. Jack encourages her to continue being careful what she writes. Gwen credits Jack for teaching her and backing her up. Jack argues that the public has a right to know what’s going on in Paulina’s life. Gwen questions ignoring what Chad wants. Jack calls Chad a good guy but points out that he’s working for Paulina’s PR team and may have been doing her bidding when he asked her to bury the story. Gwen says she just doesn’t want to hurt or upset Chad any more than she has. Jack talks about journalists fighting PR firms and declares that Gwen is going to have to make a judgment call. Jack appreciates the hard work she’s been putting in and how determined she is to be a good reporter which surprises Gwen. Jack says it makes him feel better about not hiring Xander.
Sarah asks Xander to say something. Xander says he feels so hurt because he went out and got what he thought was a good job to pay off their debts and move them in to a real home. Xander talks about how much it meant to him that Sarah believed in him but now it sounds like she thinks he did something that led to two women getting killed. Sarah complains that she didn’t want to say it but felt that she had to. Sarah brings up Victor never hearing the company that Xander worked for and says there shouldn’t be a problem looking it up. Xander asks if his word is not good enough then. Sarah asks what’s wrong with looking it up. Xander tells her to go ahead then. Sarah then opens up her laptop.
Ava assures EJ that Susan is definitely dead. EJ questions her being honest. Ava says she made sure of it by yanking the steering wheel to drive them off the cliff, assuring that she deliberately did that to get even with EJ. EJ can’t believe he actually believed that she just ran off the road. Ava argues that they know $30 million dollars didn’t mean anything to him, so she wanted to cause him the maximum amount of pain and suffering. Ava declares that she realized that she could do that with one hard turn to the right. Ava tells EJ that he can search all he wants through the wreckage, but he will never find Susan. EJ questions how Ava is alive. Ava reveals that she jumped out of the car but Susan was definitely inside when it blew up. Ava declares to EJ that his mom is dead and now it’s his turn.
Gwen questions Jack being glad that he didn’t hire Xander for the job and asks what that means. Jack explains that Xander asked him for a job at the Spectator right after he offered Gwen the job while Gwen was in the hospital. Jack adds that he knew how Gwen still felt about Xander, so he didn’t think it was a good idea for them to be working together and he turned him down. Jack says that now Gwen seems to be thriving at the Spectator, so he sees it was a good idea and it’s also a good idea for Gwen and Xander to keep a great distance from each other. Gwen then reveals they actually haven’t been doing that…
Sarah looks up Rednax Pharmaceuticals and finds the company’s website, which shocks Xander.
Chad questions Tony thinking he would rat out his own brother. Tony doesn’t think it’s far-fetched after what happened to Abigail. Chad reminds him that EJ saved his life when Clyde tried to kill him and points out that EJ just lost his mother, so he’s not going to pile on. Tony thanks Chad. Tony states that he’s worried about EJ since he’s been gone for hours and God only knows where he’s ended up…
Ava tells EJ not to worry as she’s about to put him out of his misery. EJ then grabs her and they struggle over the gun.
Jack questions if Gwen and Xander have been seeing each other. Gwen clarifies it’s nothing like that but they’ve been bumping in to each other every now and then. Gwen admits it was awkward at first, but now she’s just glad that she thinks they can be friends. Jack questions if she’s being straight with him. Gwen says she just saw him the other day and they told each other about their new jobs like friends. Gwen is just glad that Xander doesn’t hate her anymore. Jack questions if she’s sure that’s all it is, because he remembers how in love with Xander that Gwen was, and now he’s married to Sarah. Jack doesn’t want to see Gwen hurt anymore. Gwen appreciates that but says this has all just forced her to take a hard look at the reality of her life which is that Xander doesn’t love her, he loves Sarah, and he’s very happy with their life together, so she’s happy for him because he’s her friend now and she wants what’s best for him.
Sarah doesn’t know what to say after finding the website and says she should’ve known that Xander wouldn’t make up some complicated lie about where he was working. Sarah can’t believe she accused him of kidnapping Bonnie and Susan, asking what is wrong with her. Xander tells her she’s perfect. Sarah complains that he swore he would never go back to his old life and she didn’t believe him. Sarah apologizes and points out that there’s even a posting for his job. Xander remarks that they wasted no time putting it up. Sarah guesses they realized what a loss he was. Sarah mentions talking about this with Maggie and now she has to call her to tell her what a huge mistake she made. Sarah asks if he can ever forgive her.
Chad decides he and Tony should go find EJ and asks where to start. Tony then gets a call from Rafe. Tony tells him that he and Chad were just going out to find him. Rafe reveals he knows, so Tony says they’ll be right there. Tony hangs up and informs Chad that EJ is drowning his sorrows at the crash site, so they rush out of the mansion together.
EJ lays unconscious at the cliff.
Jack is glad that Gwen and Xander have gotten to a good place. Gwen guesses he didn’t see that coming. Jack says he’s proud of her. Gwen didn’t think she’d ever hear those words from him again. Jack tells her that she’s earned it. Jack asks to see what she’s got from Sloan to see what they can come up with her story. Gwen questions doing that now and points out that it’s still Thanksgiving. Jack thinks it would feel good to advise a daughter of his again. Jack tells Gwen to call him “dad” again. Jack decides he will go unpack and then they can get to work. Gwen asks how she can ever repay him. Jack jokes that she can make him a turkey sandwich as he goes to unpack his bags.
Alex questions Maggie about Sarah thinking that Xander kidnapped Susan and Bonnie. Maggie assures that he has to keep this quiet because she doesn’t know what Victor would do if he found out. Alex says so much for Xander turning over a new leaf. Stephanie points out that Sarah doesn’t have a lot to go on, so she could be overreacting which Maggie agrees with. Alex states that Xander would have to be out of his mind to kidnap Justin’s wife when he is apart of the family. Maggie acknowledges that Xander was desperate for money, but he has to know how Sarah would feel if he committed a crime to get it. Stephanie knows Sarah would be done with him and it seems that Xander really does love her. Maggie insists that’s why Xander wouldn’t jeopardize what they have after everything they have been through with Kristen and Gwen.
Xander doesn’t blame Sarah for being suspicious given the life he’s led. Sarah says that was years ago and she should’ve known he wouldn’t do something like that. Sarah adds that she made him feel terrible and doesn’t know what to say. Xander suggests they forget about it and have leftovers. Sarah says she has so much to be thankful for as they hug.
Chad and Tony find EJ at the cliff. Chad checks on EJ and wakes him up. Tony finds the flask on the ground. Chad and Tony help EJ up. EJ complains of a headache and tells them that Ava was there. Tony calls that not possible. EJ says she had a gun and they fought over it until he fell and he thought she was going to kill him. Chad questions if he’s sure he really saw Ava. EJ insists that she was there and pointed a gun at him. Tony questions what stopped Ava from killing him then. Chad wants to get EJ to the hospital but he refuses. Tony points out that EJ fell and hit his head while Chad adds that his wound will need stitches. EJ argues that they need to find Ava.
Maggie reminds Alex and Stephanie to be quiet about what Sarah said to her which they agree to do. Maggie decides she will go check on Victor and says goodnight to them as she exits. Alex asks Stephanie what they were talking about before Maggie showed up. Stephanie thinks maybe it’s a good thing that Maggie showed up when she did. Alex questions what the problem is. Stephanie thinks they should take things one step at a time. Alex admits he hates doing that. Stephanie tells him that they’ll just look forward to their next date. Alex agrees and offers to walk her out which she accepts.
Sarah goes through the leftovers that Maggie brought including a bottle of wine. Xander steps out to go get some ice while Sarah searches the room for a corkscrew. Sarah then sits down and opens her laptop back up to the Rednax website. Sarah questions how she could think Xander would make up an entire company and says thank God he was so understanding.
Xander calls Gwen, who questions him calling her on Thanksgiving. Xander tells Gwen that she won’t believe what just happened. Xander informs her that Sarah accused him of being behind the kidnapping and figured out everything while he tried to deny it. Gwen asks if he’s in trouble now. Xander says no because Sarah decided to look for a website for Rednax. Gwen guesses she found one. Xander asks how she knew that. Gwen reveals that she built the site and put it online. Gwen admits she’d never done one before so it’s a bit simple but she thought it would work. Xander is shocked and declares that Gwen saved his life and he doesn’t know how to thank her. Gwen responds that there’s no need to thank as her as that’s just what friends are for.
EJ questions Chad and Tony not believing him that Ava was there. Tony points out that Ava hates EJ and he passed out on the ground, so he questions why she didn’t finish him off. EJ admits he can’t answer that. Chad and Tony then walk EJ away, leaving behind a bullet on the ground.
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