The Hospital Board Vote Turns Into a Nail-Biter, But Before We Can Learn What Happened, Xander Faces the Music!
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In the DiMera mansion, we pick up from yesterday, with Rachel telling Kristen about seeing Johnny fighting with Uncle EJ, a gun in hand. She insists it was real, and Kristen wants to know why she didn’t say anything months ago. Rachel didn’t want to get Johnny in trouble. Plus, Uncle EJ kidnapped grandma. “He got what he deserved.”
Kristen sighs and says she doesn’t really want Uncle EJ hurt. When pressed, Rachel admits she didn’t see Johnny do the shooting. She got scared and ran upstairs, she went back to sleep and doesn’t remember hearing a gunshot.
If Johnny didn’t do anything bad, Kristen says, they should keep this to themselves. She adds that the secret’s been eating Rachel up for a long time. She told her mommy now, so maybe she’ll feel better. Rachel clutches her stomach and cries that she feels worse, so Kristen pulls her in to hold her.
Kayla Fills Brady In
Brady checks in with Kayla at the hospital, but she doesn’t have good news about John. He’s holding steady, but he’s in very critical condition. He decides to hold off on seeing his dad when Kayla tells him Marlena is still in there, then asks if she’s heard anything about Bo.
Kayla says the infection hasn’t just stopped spreading, it’s starting to resolve. But they have to wait and see if it repairs his organ damage. Brady then moves on to the board meeting. After all that’s happened, neither know if voting for Xander is the right choice anymore.
Just then, Kristen calls Brady saying she’s going to bring Rachel to the hospital to have her checked. The kid’s hugging a pillow, looking terrified on the couch and Kristen tells Brady that she doesn’t think it’s physical… but they’ve got a lot to talk about.
Belle and Jada Plan to Arrest Xander
Jada’s behind her desk, trying to figure out what to text Shawn. She settles on telling him to feel better when Belle knocks on her door to talk about some cases. Jada offers her condolences for John then jumps right to asking if Belle heard from Shawn. No… Belle cautiously tells her. If he called out sick, he must be super sick.
But Jada calls her bluff when she gets up to go check on Shawn at home. Belle stops her, admitting she knows what’s going on. She then fills Jada in on the Versavix saga, giving her just enough for Jada to realize Shawn was at the meth lab fire. Belle reassures Jada Shawn wasn’t hurt, and that out of the way, they get on to work.
Belle wants Jada to “nail the bastard that attacked Philip.” Belles waiting for a warrant to get CCTV footage from the Salem Inn — and she spoke to someone who saw Xander in the square at the time of the attack. She only wants to force that person, though, if the CCTV footage doesn’t come through. Jada needs a motive now, and Belle admits she might… know one. But she’d rather wait for Philip to wake up.
They move on to EJ’s case and Jada admits there’s been no progress besides Ava. And she doesn’t think Ava actually did it. EJ’s shooter could still be in Salem.
EJ and Chad Close Ranks
Out in the square, EJ struggles to rise, his cane out of reach, when Chad sees him and runs over to help. EJ tells him about his near-encounter with Johnny, then hears a gunshot in his head and flinches, saying he deserved it.
Chad offers to talk to Johnny, but EJ insists it’s OK, and he’s got to run off to the hospital board meeting before Xander gets a leg up. Before going, Chad asks if his brother had anything to do with the stolen drug.
He snaps at Chad that he had nothing to do with it, nor did he attack Philip if Chad was about to accuse him of that, too. Now they need to close ranks. The DiMeras are weaker divided, and EJ needs Chad to vote for him for the hospital. They lost Stefano’s company, but they can start a new chapter with the hospital. Chad promises his brother he can count on him.
Xander’s Ready to Fight Dirty
Xander to call Sarah from the pub, warning her that she better answer next time and that she will NOT keep him from Victoria. Next, he calls Melinda about a custody case. She plays to win, even if she has to fight dirty. And he’s all for that.
After, he thinks back to happier times with Victoria, then makes a face, gets up and rushes out of the pub.
Maggie Fills Julie In
Julie drops off EJ and Xander’s proposals to Maggie, annoyed at having to pick between either of them. She notices Victor’s portrait is gone and asks what happened. “Xander happened.” Maggie says it was stolen in a fit of anger, and Julie marvels that the portrait lasted as long as it did, since Konstantin was the one who gave it to her.
Irrational or not, seeing him over the mantle gave Maggie comfort. But Xander’s anger was directed at Victor. Maggie fills Julie in on everything from Philip to Sarah ending the marriage. And if Xander attacked his brother, she doesn’t want him anywhere near her family.
Julie points out that if they vote for Xander and he attacked Philip, that’ll screw the hospital over. And Maggie wonders how they can vote for EJ after all he’s done.
Kayla Has a Plan
They head over to the hospital and Kayla asks if they can go over the proposals on the table. There’s no third option — the hospital’s out of time. But Kayla says she’s tired of Xander and EJ bullying everyone. And she has a plan. Which is when Xander strides up behind her.
He asks if Sarah’s working, but Kayla tells brushes him off. Xander’s incredulous, so Maggie jumps in telling him to stay the hell away from her daughter and granddaughter. “Maggie, I’m very fond of you, but if you think I’m going to let you get away with meddling…”
Maggie, Julie and Kayla all tell him he’ll have to go through them to get to Sarah. Fine, but it’ll be a different tune when he buys the hospital. EJ and Chad walk in then and EJ reminds Xander it’s “If,” not “When.”
When the guys are all gone, Maggie thanks the ladies for having her back. Xander’s been harassing Sarah nonstop. She’s heartbroken, but at least they all know who they’re dealing with now.
Kayla then gets back to the plan, which is having the board vote anonymously, so neither EJ nor Xander will be able to bully anyone into submission. Chad wanders back over with some coffee and updates them on EJ and Xander’s locations. Kayla says it’s time to get the show on the road.
Kristen Tells Brady About Rachel
Kristen and Brady are waiting with Rachel for Sarah at the hospital, when their daughter leaves to get water. Kristen takes the opportunity to tell Brady what Rachel told her about the night EJ was shot. Brady wants to go to the police, but Kristen nixes that.
It’s not just Johnny, Kristen wants to protect Rachel and reminds Brady that CPS is still sniffing around them.
We jump to later, after Sarah’s taken Rachel for some tests. Brady doesn’t think they can ignore this, so maybe he can go to Belle. Kristen hates that idea, and makes him promise to not tell her before he runs off to the board meeting.
In the Show’s Final Moments
Rachel gets back to her hospital room, tests done. Dr. Sarah told her that her stomach hurts when she gets upset, too. She’s feeling much better now. And Sarah gave her a kaleidoscope, since it’s close to her birthday. Though Rachel doesn’t know how she knows. Kristen makes a face and says she must have seen it on her chart.
Belle runs into EJ at the hospital, where he offers his condolences over John. Their fights or not, EJ’s always respected him. He wishes he could be half the father John is. They hug as Brady walks by, having heard EJ’s claims and going off on him for his hypocrisy. As he gets more heated, he threatens EJ to stay away from John’s room until Belle jumps in and tells him off.
Brady calms down a bit, and EJ assures him, he knows this is difficult for their family, then says Sydney and Sami’s plane had problems and was grounded. “I’m well aware,” Brady snaps.
The ladies and Chad get back to the reception area, their votes locked in. The only one missing is Brady. But none of them feel good about either choice. They tell Brady they just need him, then Xander strolls over making a crack about EJ bullying Brady to vote for him.
No need to worry, Kayla tells them the vote is anonymous. She then pulls Brady away with the news that it’s tied. The fate of the hospital is in his hands. Before anything can be decided, though, Jada shows up to arrest Xander in front of a smug EJ. (And Julie!)
