Cheatin' Heart
Bo arrives and offers Max the box from Trent, but Max doesn’t want it. Bo wonders if Max is even curious about what’s in the box, but Max could care less. Max rehashes how all Trent did was ruin his life, hurt the people he cares about, and leave the lousy box. He implores Bo to either keep it or throw it away, because he doesn’t want it. Bo didn’t mean to make it tougher than it was and tells Max that he’ll have to be the one to get rid of it. Max thanks him for dropping by. Bo expresses sympathy for the mess he has gone through with Trent and Melanie. He assures Max that he has family who loves him and brings up how Hope would like to have him over for dinner soon. After Bo leaves, Max looks at the box and considers whether or not he should open it.
At the Brady Pub, Stephanie calls Marie and asks if Philip is at Titan.
Maggie’s House
Philip comes over to see Melanie, who thanks him for the chance to work for him and can’t wait to get started tomorrow. Philip informs her that there’s a change of plans and she’s starting today. He hands her a USB stick so she can get detailed accounts of Titan’s holdings and become familiar with them by tomorrow. Stephanie arrives and is incredulous to hear that Philip hired Melanie. “Melanie is Titan’s new administrative assistant in business affairs,” announces Philip. Steph thought Philip was going to hire someone who was qualified. Melanie wonders if she’s going to be quizzed on everything tomorrow and is willing to pull an all-nighter if she has to. Philip and Stephanie leave.
Max comes over to see Melanie, noting how busy she looks. Melanie reveals that she got a job. Max is happy for her and implores her to tell him about it. Melanie confirms that Philip offered her a very prestigious position as an administrative assistant. Max warns her not to cut any corners and fool a guy like Philip. Melanie tells him enough with the lecturing. He insists that he’s just trying to help her and admits that he came to give her something. He pulls out the box that Trent gave him. Melanie appears spooked by the unopened box. She doesn’t want it and wants to forget about everything that happened with Trent. Max apologizes, figuring she would want it. Melanie jokingly suggests that the box will have something inside which he likes, but Max doubts it. He wishes her luck with her new job. She suggests they open the box together, but he’s not ready for that and doubts he will ever be.
Outside, Philip thanks Steph for giving him the info. Steph questions why he hired Melanie, reminding him that he recently turned her down cold. Philip says he had a change of heart and decided to give Melanie a chance. Steph assumes that Melanie got to him. “In a matter of speaking,” conveys Philip, who saw how truly desperate Melanie was. He states how Mel doesn’t have anyone or anything, which puts her in a very vulnerable place. He relays how Melanie called him a cold, insensitive jerk who has no idea what it’s like to live in the real world. Steph disagrees with this, recalling how he was in the Marines and served in the war. Philip believes his life has been a cake walk compared to Melanie’s. He recalls how he had two parents who loved him and who would do anything to protect him, but Melanie was raised by a crazy bastard who abused her and she didn’t even have a mother around. “So this is about feeling sorry for her,” assumes Steph. Philip clarifies that it’s about trying to be a better person and helping Melanie before it’s too late. He predicts that if someone doesn’t step in, Melanie’s going to wreck her life. Steph is impressed and refers to him as a good guy, then kisses him on the cheek.
Safe House
Sami admits to Rafe that she’s glad he’s back. Rafe hopes she behaved herself for Hilda. “I always do, don’t I?” jokes Sami, who asks him what he was up to. Rafe reveals that he went on a fact finding mission and found out some information about E.J. Sami wonders what more he needs to know about E.J. besides the fact that he’s a DiMera. Rafe confirms that he went undercover and observed E.J. from a distance and found out that he would do anything for his kid. Sami rehashes how E.J. pulled all sorts of sketchy things in the courts so he could get a court order which prevented her from taking Johnny out of the DiMera mansion. “Did it ever occur to you that he did it because he was afraid of losing you?” questions Rafe, who suggests that she and E.J. will work things out in the end. Sami denies having feelings for E.J. and deduces that he would never forgive her if he found out she was deceiving him like this. She states that E.J. can never find out about this baby, period.
Rafe questions what happens when the killer is caught and she finally gets to go home. Sami doesn’t want to discuss it now. He sees that she dropped a St. Anne’s medallion and questions how long she’s had it. She claims she’s had it forever, but Rafe is skeptical since he’s never seen her wear it before. “Well, I didn’t realize I had to show you every little thing I brought with me into this shack,” responds an annoyed Sami. Rafe deduces that she didn’t bring it with her and sees the tiny little engraving: “Convent of the Holy Cross.” He realizes that it’s from the church down the road and is angry that she snuck out after he left.
Sami recounts that when she woke up, Hilda was asleep after she took her nighttime medicine. She insists that she just went to the church and was really careful. Rafe chews her out for taking a chance on getting herself killed. He wonders why she needed to go there. “I miss my kids,” she replies, as she expresses how hard it is to be away from her family at Christmas. She shares how she met a nun, but didn’t give the nun her real name. Sami turns on the tears as she tries to convince Rafe to take her back to the church. Rafe thinks it’s a bad idea, then decides that if he doesn’t let her go, she’ll just find a way to get out of there anyway. Sami is overjoyed and hugs him in excitement, thanking him.
