At the hospital, Lexie tells Theo that Chelsea won’t be at his therapy session since she has the morning off. Theo resists coming with his mom, but gets scared when John rudely approaches Lexie demanding to know what the hell’s going on around there. Lexie tells him to watch his language. John apologizes, then informs Lexie that Marlena has disappeared. Lexie tries to assure an irate John that they’ll find her. “Have you forgotten there’s a psychopath on the loose that’s after her?” he asks. Lexie urges him to keep his voice down, while John urges her to find the missing patient.
After Lexie takes Theo to his appointment, she assures John that she called security and a search for Marlena is underway. John finds it unbelievable that Marlena just walked out without being seen by anybody. He blames Lexie and her “ill trained staff” for Marlena's disappearance. Lexie understands that he’s upset, but refuses to take any more verbal abuse. “Well, excuse my social skills, but I’m concerned,” mocks John, who fears that Stefano’s after Marlena.
John later suspects that Stefano could’ve made his move already, since Marlena is still MIA and isn't answering her phone. Lexie suggests maybe she got bored and went for a walk and will come back. John intends to find her himself.
Marlena enters her office and says hello to Cynthia the receptionist, who wonders what she’s doing there after hearing about her attack. Marlena claims she’s fine and is ready to get some work done. Cynthia encourages Marlena to go home and get some rest, but Marlena says she can’t. Marlena flashes back to being attacked, then clarifies that she can’t go home because there’s no need and would rather be there working. Cynthia tells Marlena about her new patient named Dora, who was a walk-in and broke down in tears. Marlena suddenly feels woozy.
Marlena later encounters a distraught Dora (played by Eve Plumb), who cries how scared she is. She despairs how everything’s going wrong, including her marriage, job, and kids, complaining how her husband barely pays attention to her. She refers to her boss as horrible and someone who can’t be pleased no matter how hard she tries. Marlena asks about her children. Dora reveals that they’re teenagers who talk back and show no respect at all. “I’m scared I’m gonna end up alone, and sometimes I feel so bad that I almost feel paralyzed,” she desponds. Marlena advises her to take charge of her life and take responsibility, warning her that she’ll be paralyzed if she doesn’t stop living in fear.
Marlena encourages Dora to change things if she doesn’t like what’s going on. Their session is interrupted when John barges in and demands to know what she’s doing. He chews her out for not being in bed and refuses to go anywhere until she gets back to her room. Dora leaves and thanks Marlena for her help. Marlena scolds him for barging in. Cynthia offers to call security, but Marlena says she can handle John. They sound like an old married couple as John lays into her for disappearing from her room. She argues that she felt fine and was tired of lying around. John reminds her how dangerous Stefano is. Marlena affirms that she can’t live her life in fear, because Stefano will win. John vows to make sure Stefano never gets near her if she comes home with him. Marlena claims she can take care of herself and doesn’t need him to take care of her. “In fact I’m not even sure that I need you in my life,” she admits.
John asks Marlena why she’s acting like this. Marlena rehashes how she almost died and exclaims how he has no idea how frightened she was. She asserts that she wants to live in her future rather than focusing on the past. John refers to her as selfish and expresses how he finally realized how important she was to him. “Are you saying that you love me?” assumes Marlena. John says no and becomes emotional as he expresses how he remembers everything about Marlena since she found him again, including how she taught him about tenderness and love. “And I remember exactly how it felt when we made love at the plane crash site,” he adds. Marlena is teary-eyed as John continues to insist that she’s not alone. Marlena cries and hugs him, then kisses him tenderly.
At the DiMera mansion, E.J. is on the phone discussing the upcoming custody battle between Lucas and Sami. He hears drama queen Anna calling for Tony’s help and asks her what’s going on. Tony reveals that he and Anna are moving in. Anna explains that she tried to tell Tony this was a mistake, reminding the men that Stefano disinherited both of them. Tony refers to John a con artist who calls all the shots. “And with him running things, how do you expect any of us, including your son, to ever become respected citizens of this community?” questions Tony. E.J. reiterates that they were cut out of the will, and John was next in line to inherit everything. Tony declares that it’s time to reclaim what’s theirs. E.J. agrees that John’s done nothing but make a mess of things, but reminds Tony how he mentioned that he would take care of the matter. Tony suggests standing up and taking what’s rightfully theirs. Anna implores them to drop it, warning them that John Black is not one to be underestimated.
Anna follows Tony into the living room and insists that he has no business taking on John, claiming he’s practically a mobster like Stefano. Tony refuses to back down. Anna pleads with him to take their things and go back to their own home. Tony remains adamant in his intentions to restore the DiMera name to it’s former glory even if it kills him. Anna admits that she doesn’t like the situation one bit and walks off. E.J. urges Tony to trust him, insisting that he’s been making major inroads with John. Tony implores him not to lose perspective of what their intention is. “Tony, you’re forgetting about one rather large impediment: Father,” E.J. reminds him. Tony believes that Stefano won’t be a problem, but E.J. is dubious and suspects that Stefano is laying low and biding his time. They hear the doorbell ring and Anna signs for a delivery, which indicates it’s from DiMera Shipping and Receiving. E.J. wads the note up.
