EJ later informs Sami that he had an exam this morning which unusually enough was requested by the police. He reveals how the police are able to take a high resolution digital image of the actual bullet inside his back. Sami believes that the bullet didn’t come from Lucas’s gun. EJ hypothetically suggests it did and proposes to offer Sami a deal which will guarantee Lucas protection. EJ demurs how all he needs is her and demands that she live there exclusively and sleep in his bed as his wife. In return, he’ll agree not to press charges against Lucas and ensures that his father won’t retaliate. She attempts to slap him, but he catches her arm before she can strike. EJ puts his hands on both sides of her head and insists that all she has to do is honor the commitment she made to him if she wants Lucas free and her family safe. “I don’t care what you think is meant to be, EJ. I am never sleeping with you, ever again,” she seethes. EJ claims it’s not such an unusual request, since husbands do make love to their wives. “Is that what you called it when you raped me?” she rehashes. EJ points out the differences in this situation, which include the fact that she’s now his wife and now she has all these feelings for him. Sami proceeds to walk out the door and refuses to let him hurt her again. “This ends right now,” she declares.
The tension is thick at the Brady Pub as Hope enters and sees Belle, who displays some baby clothes she picked out for the twins. Belle invites Hope to join her and mentions how Sami said the twins aren’t sleeping through the night. Hope theorizes that children can sense tension at any age. Belle assumes she’s talking about Claire and insists that she and Shawn are very good with Claire and tell her everyday how much Mommy and Daddy love her. “And which Daddy might that be? Would that be Philip or my son?” questions Hope. A defensive Belle claims that Claire knows that Shawn’s her father and there’s nothing going on between her and Philip. Hope is dubious and wonders why she was meeting with Phil before the reunion. Belle lies how they discussed Claire at the hotel, but Hope doesn’t believe it. Belle professes to love Shawn with all of her heart. “Were you talking about Claire when you were upstairs having sex?” retorts Hope. “I’ve really tried to be respectful of you,” drawls Belle, who accuses her of not being respectful, since Hope turned around and told the entire town about her and Philip. She reminds Hope of the difficult spots she and Bo have had and tells Hope to stop judging her. Hope clarifies that it’s all about trust and reminds Belle of the number of chances she’s given her. “What you have given me are tests, and you’re going to make sure I fail with flying colors aren’t you?” assumes Belle. “Trust is earned, and you threw it away in one afternoon,” counters Hope. Belle then brings up Patrick Lockhart, reminding Hope that nobody’s perfect. Hope begins to give a speech about watching Belle grow up, but Belle cuts her off and tells her if she doesn’t like the fact that she’s married to Shawn, then it’s her problem.
Philip is doing business as usual at Titan when he receives an unwelcome visit from Shawn, who threatens to tell all to his dad about Phil planting the gun behind the pub. Philip claims that all he and Belle were trying to do was give him a career boost. Shawn accuses him of obstructing justice and withholding evidence and making his shady deal so he could get close to Belle. “There’s plenty of other ways I could get close to Belle if I wanted to,” claims Philip. Shawn makes a crack about Philip seducing her. Philip insists nothing happened in the hotel room and surmises that Shawn wants to punish Belle. Philip warns him that if he tells Bo what really happened, then she’ll be charged as an accessory to a crime. Shawn intends to leave her out of it. Philip insists there’s no way Bo will ever believe that he even tried to help Shawn. Bo then arrives and wonders what’s going on. Shawn reveals that the gun he found behind the pub was a set-up and Phil hid the gun the whole time. A smug Philip denies Shawn’s accusations. Bo asks Shawn why Phil would go through the trouble, then suspects it has something to do with Belle.
Bo and Shawn later arrive outside the pub as Bo assures Shawn that he did the right thing by telling the truth. Bo promises to keep Belle out of it. He goes inside and interrupts a tense moment between Hope and Belle. Belle leaves to check on Claire as Hope tells Bo she was questioning Belle about the meeting she had with Philip before the reunion. Bo is about to spill the set-up details to Hope but is stopped by Shawn. Hope greets her son before leaving the two men to talk. Shawn urges his dad not to tell Hope how Philip planted the gun. Belle emerges carrying Claire, who is ready to go see Santa. She hesitates when she spots Bo and Shawn across the room. “What’s the matter Belle? You look a little nervous,” notes a not so warm and fuzzy Hope. Belle refuses to start anything in front of Claire, noting how it’s Christmas.
Shawn implores Bo to keep mum to Hope, predicting that she’ll be more upset. Besides, he doesn’t want anyone fighting at Christmas. Bo doesn’t promise to keep quiet, but promises there won’t be any arguments in front of Claire. Bo greets Claire before he agrees to see them all at “Mrs. H’s” for Christmas. After Bo and Hope walk out. he reveals the gun set-up orchestrated by Philip and Belle. Bo and Hope both have a pretty good idea what Philip wanted in return.
