Days of Our Lives Update
Update written by Joseph
Holly finds Mason in the town square and asks if they can talk.
Kelsey wakes up crying while Joy is struggling with the wheelchair and Stephanie hears the crying from the hallway. Stephanie knocks on the door, asking Joy if everything is okay but there’s no response. Joy then gets out of her wheelchair to go check on Kelsey. Stephanie then decides to open the door. Joy sits back in her wheelchair before she sees her and questions what Stephanie is doing there.
At the hospital, Kayla asks Brady how Rachel is doing. Brady says she’s finally sleeping. Kayla encourages that she will start feeling better soon. Brady says he hopes so and mentions that despite all the pain, all she’s been doing is asking for Kristen as she just misses her mom and it’s breaking his heart a little bit. Brady adds that he sure would like to know why Kristen is not responding.
In Paducha, Kentucky, Kristen goes in to Kay’s Diner where the waitress is revealed to be Sophia Choi wearing a wig and using the name Amelia, who is shocked to see Kristen. Sophia tries to say she has to go but Kristen grabs her arm and says she’s coming with her.
Holly tells Mason that Tate told her that they talked after she left the gym yesterday and how Mason said he was too hard on her over the whole Sophia situation, so she was wondering if he actually meant that. Mason confirms that he did and says that he is sorry.
Joy questions why Stephanie is there. Stephanie responds that Alex went down to get her stuff and she heard Kelsey crying, so she thought she might need help. Joy says she doesn’t need any help, especially not from her. Alex comes back with Joy’s things and questions what is going on here.
Kayla informs Brady that she just got off the phone with Steve, who thought that Johnny might know about Kristen’s disappearance since he thought Johnny might be the only one that EJ confides in. Kayla adds that Johnny claims not to know where Kristen is but he does know why she left. Brady says that it was EJ, who was threatening Kristen for some reason. Kayla remarks that the reason is quite disturbing.
Kristen walks Sophia out of the diner while Sophia threatens to scream. Kristen asks if she really wants to draw attention to herself when she worked really hard to make the world believe she was dead. Sophia tells Kristen to keep her voice down. Kristen doubts she wants the cops there since she’s wanted for attempted murder. Sophia asks what about Kristen since she remembers everything she did, so if she talks, it’s all over for her too.
Holly appreciates Mason’s apology and says she’s just glad they could clear the air and move past this. Mason says that before they can really move on, he feels he owes her the whole story about how he got involved with Sophia if she’s up for hearing it. Holly says she is and sits down at his table. Mason explains that he had a good friend named Joaquin and they were in Afghanistan together and when they got back, he had a hard time with PTSD and mental illness which ultimately got the best of him and he committed suicide. Holly tells him that she’s so sorry. Mason talks about how he wished he could’ve done more to help him. Mason says it was too late to help Joaquin but he wanted to help others and volunteered to become a social worker and at the mental health line where he spoke to Sophia. Holly is sure hearing about Sophia’s death brought up a lot of feelings about his friend which he confirms. Mason admits he thought he dealt with those feelings, but clearly he hadn’t. Mason adds that he was talking to Marlena, who helped him understand why he treated Holly the way he did and how it was easier to blame her than accept that he was blaming himself.
Alex calms Kelsey down as Joy comments on how he’s so good with her. Alex asks Stephanie what happened. Stephanie explains that she could hear Kelsey crying from the hallway and thought Joy could be struggling with the wheelchair. Joy accuses Stephanie of just barging in without knocking. Stephanie says that she did knock but there was no answer and guesses she couldn’t hear it because Kelsey’s cries were getting louder, so she opened the door. Joy reminds her that she’s not allowed to be in there. Stephanie states that she was concerned. Joy argues that they haven’t even been there an hour and Stephanie is already violating the terms of their agreement.
Kayla informs Brady that Johnny said EJ told him that Kristen convinced Sophia to kill him. Brady is shocked and asks if Johnny is sure. Kayla says he can’t prove anything but EJ certainly believes it’s true. Brady responds that he thinks it’s true as well.
Kristen asks Sophia what she thinks she remembers. Sophia responds that she remembers Kristen giving her the gun and convincing her to kill Johnny and how Kristen told her to make people think she died by throwing her shoes in the river and gripping the rail tightly. Kristen flashes back to knocking Sophia out that night. Sophia tells Kristen that she doesn’t remember everything as she must have slipped and hit her head but argues that Kristen didn’t do anything to try to save her. Kristen asks what she was supposed to do and says she assumed she could swim. Sophia responds that she can swim fine but she must have hit her head on something and the river swept her away. Kristen claim she’s so sorry that happened to her and tells her how relieved she is right now. Sophia questions her being relieved that she’s alive and says she’s surprised because she figured Kristen’s life would be much easier if she was dead. Sophia admits that when she first saw her here, she thought Kristen was there to make sure she stayed that way, then asks if she is.
Holly tells Mason that he shouldn’t blame himself as she’s sure he did everything he could to help Sophia and she’s sure Sophia was grateful that she had him to talk to. Mason says she doesn’t have to say that as he knows how she felt about her. Holly says she won’t pretend Sophia didn’t try to ruin her life or do everything in her power to break up her and Tate. Holly adds that as desperately as she wanted Sophia to go away and leave them alone, she keeps looking back and can’t help but think she should’ve been more sympathetic. Mason says Sophia definitely downplayed it as she told it like she was the victim and Holly was the aggressor. Holly says that’s how she always made it going back to high school. Holly adds that Sophia used a fake name to make the fake group online which the police ultimately traced back to her. Mason admits he did not know that. Holly isn’t surprised that Sophia didn’t take responsibility. Holly says the sad thing is Sophia listening to what others said about her and said despite everything Sophia did to her, she still thinks back to when they were friends. Holly said they used to love hanging out with each other and she really wishes it didn’t end how it did for her.
Kristen tells Sophia that she has nothing to worry about as she’s not there to harm her which Sophia questions. Kristen says Sophia’s not a threat to her, so she wouldn’t be a threat to her. Kristen admits she was in a very dark place when she asked her to kill Johnny as she was distraught about Rachel, so she was angry and obsessed with revenge against EJ. Sophia agrees that she was pretty scary. Kristen says she scared herself. Sophia asks why she’s here. Kristen says when she found out she was alive, she wanted to see her and tell her that she was sorry because she regrets her actions during that time. Sophia says she’s not the only one and thanks God that Johnny survived. Kristen says thank God that Sophia survived too. Kristen then asks how Sophia got out of the river alive. Sophia calls it a miracle as she came to just floating in the water and her head was killing her, but she somehow got to shore and when her head cleared, she knew she couldn’t go back since she would be arrested. Sophia adds that since they set everything up for her to disappear, she just went along with the plan. Kristen asks how she ended up here. Sophia explains that she just started walking and ended up at a truck shop. Sophia can’t imagine what she looked like stumbling in, covered in mud and soaking wet, so she went to the ladies room to clean up but just passed out on the floor and then a trucker named Marge found her. Sophia says she told her she was getting out of a dangerous situation, so Marge took her to a nurse friend who bandaged up her head wounds and she ended up here, talked her way in to a job, rented a room across the street and said goodbye to her old life. Kristen responds that she did the same thing since EJ figured out she was behind what happened to Johnny and came after her, so she had to disappear and she’s hiding out here just like Sophia. Kristen remarks that it’s not easy being a ghost. Sophia says her life before was never easy, but she never thought she would miss it so much. Sophia admits she misses her parents and her brothers. Kristen says she misses her daughter more than she can say.
Kayla asks what makes Brady believe that Kristen wanted to kill Johnny. Brady says right before she left Salem, she came to him and said she needed to get away from EJ and he could see how scared she was. Brady says he offered to help her but she wouldn’t let him. Kayla comments on the amount of hatred between Kristen and EJ. Kayla brings up that according to Johnny, Kristen blamed EJ for Rachel going to Bayview. Brady says he just never thought she’d take it as far as putting a hit on Johnny. Kayla says it’s no wonder EJ was coming after her if she tried to kill his son. Brady thought he would never say this, but declares he is Team EJ on this one.
Alex stops Joy and argues that Stephanie didn’t do anything wrong. Joy points out that where Stephanie and Kelsey are as the agreement says she can’t come within ten feet of her. Joy argues that’s only because she stopped her from coming closer. Stephanie says she wasn’t trying to test the boundaries and she’s sorry for startling her. Joy argues that it’s not about being startled and accuses Stephanie of thinking she’s not capable of taking care of her own daughter. Stephanie swears she was only trying to help, but now she sees they are fine so she’ll be on her way. Alex thanks her as Stephanie says she’ll talk to him later and exits. Joy apologizes to Alex, saying she didn’t mean to cause a scene. Alex argues that Stephanie was only trying to help. Joy says all she knows is that she turned around to see Stephanie, so she freaked out. Alex argues that Stephanie is his wife and is making a tremendous sacrifice for Joy to move in. Joy remarks that it’s so noble of her. Alex responds that he’s beginning to think this is not going to work.
Holly tells Mason that she feels terrible about some of the things she did and said to Sophia. Mason says it sounds like she had her reasons. Holly still wishes she handled things differently but says it’s too late as Sophia’s gone so there’s nothing she can do about it now. Mason suggests maybe there is.
Kayla knows how upsetting this is for Brady. Brady is glad she told him and says just when he thought he’s seen the worst of Kristen. Brady goes over Kristen being responsible for the death of Haley Chen, kidnapping Kate, and what she did to Chloe, while now she plotted the death of her own nephew which he calls sick. Brady says he’s going to see Rachel and then he has something to take care of as he heads to her room. Stephanie then comes by and tells Kayla that she has a question to ask about Joy.
Joy tells Alex that she didn’t mean to be so harsh with Stephanie, but not being able to walk has made her short tempered. Joy promises to make this work and that she’s grateful for him letting them stay there. Alex questions her attacking Stephanie like that. Joy repeats that she’s not in a great frame of mind. Alex says no one is as it’s a stressful time for all of them. Alex tells Joy that he’s not going to let her go after his wife and they are all on the same team here as they all just want Joy to get better. Joy says she gets it and hates that she upset him like this. Alex wants Joy to understand that Stephanie is not the enemy as she’s a good person with a big heart. Joy admits that she can see why she was worried and that she will apologize next time she sees her. Alex says he appreciates that but this can’t go on. Alex adds that they let her move in so she could be discharged from the hospital and now that they have the time, they are going to find her a suitable place to live so she can move out as soon as possible.
Sophia jokes to Kristen about having such a heartwarming reunion outside of Kay’s Diner. Kristen remarks that there’s a lot of water under the bridge between them. Sophia brings up Kristen finding out that she’s alive and finding her here, so she asks if they are sure no one else from Salem will too. Kristen says it wasn’t easy to find her. Sophia argues it could still happen as someone could wander in and sit at her table, but she can’t go back to her old life because she’d be arrested. Sophia guesses she’d have to tell everyone that Kristen convinced her to kill Johnny. Kristen argues that she wouldn’t dare, while Sophia asks if she thought they were bonding. Sophia argues that Kristen left her for dead and manipulated her in to committing horrible crimes, so she is the reason they are both in this purgatory. Sophia adds that Kristen never gave her the money to start her life over. Kristen says she didn’t know she was alive. Sophia says she does now, so she wants her money, feeling it’s the least she could do. Sophia adds that if not, she’s wondering how much EJ will pay her to tell him that she saw her there. Kristen questions Sophia blackmailing her and warns that it’s a really bad idea.
Holly doesn’t understand how she could make things right with Sophia when it’s way too late. Mason says she could still help others in need as the mental health hotline is always looking for volunteers. Mason says he’s not saying it will fix everything she’s feeling, but it could help. Holly says she doesn’t know anything about counseling people. Mason says they teach you everything you need to know and reveals that he’s one of the group’s trainers if that’s something she’s interested in.
Brady sits at Rachel’s side as she sleeps and says he’s sorry as he knows how much she wants to see her mother, but now that he knows what Kristen has done recently, he doesn’t think having her in their lives is a good idea.
Sophia tells Kristen that she doesn’t see it as blackmail but as an insurance policy to make sure she gets paid what she’s owed. Sophia brings up reading Leo’s article that Kristen just inherited a lot of money from her father. Kristen questions this being how she’s playing it. Sophia points out that Kristen said she wanted to help her. Kristen argues that what she’s threatening is her word against hers. Sophia states that she’s taking her meds and working on her mental health, then asks if Kristen can say the same. Kristen decides a promise is a promise, so she thinks they both should just put their chapter behind them. Kristen tells Sophia that she will get her money. Sophia asks if that was so hard. Kristen says to let her make the arrangements. Sophia points out that cell reception is terrible out there as Kristen pulls out her phone and sees a notification that she has 1 encrypted message.
Joy questions if Alex is kicking her and their daughter out. Alex says he’s pledging to get them a place so she can better and be independent. Joy responds that she wasn’t going to say this, but the reason Stephanie heard Kelsey crying is because she couldn’t get to her quick enough in the wheelchair. Joy cries that it’s killing her to be so helpless and that’s why she lashed out at Stephanie because she was mad at the situation, crying that she can’t even take care of her own daughter. Alex encourages that she doesn’t have to because she will have all the help she needs until she can take care of her on her own. Alex brings up that Stephanie’s parents, Justin and Bonnie, and their friends have all offered to help along with the health aids. Alex then declares that he’s not going to let his marriage suffer any more than it already has because of it. Alex tells Joy that Stephanie won’t be an afterthought in any of this.
Stephanie tells Kayla that Joy attacked her for wanting to help and overreacted as usual. Stephanie then reveals that when she went in, it looked like Joy was sitting back down and she thinks she saw Joy move her leg.
Kristen tells Sophia that she has to go because Rachel is in the hospital. Sophia asks about their deal and says she needs her money. Kristen declares that if Sophia wants her money so bad, then she has to come back to Salem with her right now.
Holly tells Mason that she never thought about being a mental health volunteer and guesses she was too busy with her own issues, but she agrees to think about it. Mason apologizes for keeping her from the hospital and says he hopes Tate’s sister gets well soon. Holly says she appreciates that and thanks him as she walks away.
Joy tells Alex that she’s well aware that Stephanie is a part of this. Alex calls Stephanie the love of his life and a very good person. Alex decides he will give Kelsey a bath and then put her down for a nap. Joy thanks him. Alex responds that once he’s done, they will get online to start looking for a suitable place for Joy on her own, leaving Joy frustrated.
Stephanie tells Kayla that she didn’t confront Joy about what she thinks she saw, but she could tell Joy was sweating bullets. Stephanie asks if it’s possible that Joy is faking her condition. Kayla says based on all the medical indications they had, she really believed it was legit.
Brady gets a notification on his phone that his encrypted message was read.
Sophia tells Kristen that she’s not going anywhere with her and demands her money. Kristen tells her to come with her. Sophia asks how she knows Kristen won’t try to kill her again. Kristen says she doesn’t have time to argue as she has to get to Rachel, so she’s leaving with or without her and storms off. Sophia then removes her work apron and drops it on the trash can outside the diner as she rushes after Kristen.
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