Episode: 10,239
Directed by: Albert Alarr
Tape Date: 1/10/06

At the hospital, everyone rejoices as Claire's vitals are back to normal; Bonnie has possession of the Salem Brain and onto Kate's motives; Alex and Lois chat..while at the Cop Shop Bo is still torn about what to do.

AT THE HOSPITAL...Marlena and Alex return to the hospital to see how Belle and Claire are. He’s concerned after what happened the night before that it might be too soon, but she says she won’t turn her back on her family. He asks if that includes John…who we also see strolling down the halls…with Kate. She softly reassures him that John will always be a part of her life, but he’s (Alex) the man she’ll spend the rest of her life with. The two couples run into each other outside Pediatric ICU and learn that Claire is off life support and there’s no limit to visitors (didn’t seem to be one before anyway, LOL). Marlena and Alex coo about how much she appreciates him coming back to the hospital with her and she’ll make the visit short and take him home for some TLC. Alex offers to wait outside to avoid any more tension and will go sit and wait for her. Kate suggests she’ll go thin out Claire’s visitors and suggests John and Marlena wait outside while she does so. John starts up about the Lois Banks situation while Marlena pours coffee. He says he’s her husband and she tells him, no, he’s not.

John wants to talk with crazy Lois, but Kate tries to talk him out of it. Lois looks at him through the window and yells she knows why he’s there and what he wants. She tells Kate she knew she was a hooker and was a great help to John to make his dividends rise, LOL. John agrees, she’s crazy. She does manage to stir up John by saying Alex is the real danger to Marlena and will do anything to get what he wants. He knows she’ll try to use his distrust of Alex and she says BINGO. Lois has Kate’s number, knowing if Alex is out of the picture, John’s hers. Lois babbles how Marlena loves Alex and Kate loves John…she should have gotten rid of Marlena years ago..then bursts in maniacal laughter. They leave and Lois instantly sobers, telling herself that worked like a charm.

Mimi, Shawn, Belle and Philip watch as a nurse checks Claire over, Bonnie walks in. The nurse turns off the monitor and Bonnie says “Sweet Jesus, after everything this baby has been through, don’t tell me she didn’t make it.” No, just the opposite. Claire doesn’t need it anymore. Bonnie is thrilled, gives a huge gift basket to Philip (which she’s nibbling from or handing out from for most of the show, haha) and tells Shawn how wonderful Zack was a match, which he admits gives him comfort. Bonnie blows it by saying..if it hadn’t, there would have been two dead babies. Cue look from Philip and Belle and Mimi saying “Momma!”. Bonnie tries to cover and passes out the treats from the basket saying they have a lot to celebrate..Claire’s health and Shawn and Mimi’s engagement. The nurse tells them that Claire’s vitals are perfect and when Belle asks if she can hold her, the nurse says as much as she wants. Bonnie gives the nurse a biscotti for that great news (yum). As Belle and Philip tell their beautiful daughter (yes, we get to SEE her today!!) that she’s going to be spoiled rotten after all she’s gone through. Bonnie asks Mimi and Shawn if they have any wedding plans yet..which kind of throws some cold water on Belle’s happiness. Belle says they can’t elope as she knows how much a big wedding means to Mimi. Mimi only cares that they’re married by a priest. John walks in and learns the good news about Claire and tells Shawn how sorry he is about Zack and for Shawn to know that part of him is still with them, in Claire. Zack’s a hero and his parents are too for agreeing to the transplant. Shawn’s thankful his brother was a match as Bonnie and Kate’s expressions say and we know why. Belle asks Marlena if she wants to hold her granddaughter and she gasps and happily accepts (poor Philip hasn’t even held her, LOL). Marlena steps away cooing to Claire as John watches. Belle and John talk quietly about Marlena, then join her as he tells Belle how they rushed her to the hospital when she was a baby and how Marlena didn’t leave her side. Marlena tells them she remembers when that happened, which thrills both of them. John pushes how she’s his wife and calls her doc causing Marlena to bristle and tell him not to do that.

Alex takes the opportunity to visit Lois. He shows the guard standing in front of Lois’s door (which is right off the main hall..isn’t psych ward usually behind locked door as well?) his doctor ID and says Dr. Carver wanted him to do a preliminary interview. No problem, the guard lets him in and says for him to knock when he’s done. Lois fluffs her hair and happy to see him. He asks Lois if she knows how Marlena almost got killed. She tells him she’d do anything for him and he knows it. He asks her what she plans on telling people. She says nothing and asks if he's there for anything else. He tells her he's also there for this and pulls her into his arms and gives her a big kiss.

MEANWHILE…AT THE COP SHOP…
Patrick talks to the rookies, who are anxious to leave and call it case closed now that Billie confessed. A replay of Hope hugging Chelsea and Bo saying she’s his daughter and Hope’s his wife. She needs to know exactly how she’s involved in this! Hope tells him Shawn and Chelsea come before her and Chelsea uses the opportunity and asks to speak with him alone. Bo agrees and Patrick joins Hope. She asks if he’s there to see his girlfriend. He tells her no, he just wanted to tell her how sorry he is and how special Zack was. Later she asks Patrick to be there for Chelsea. The poor girl lost her parents to drunk drivers, now her mother hit and killed her little brother. Thank goodness she still has her father. Patrick comments that she’s holding a lot of anger. She says that’s what’s holding her together. He tells her Shawn and Bo are the focus for her to continue on and to stop dwelling on what happened in the past. She refuses to go forward until the one who’s responsible is punished. She excuses herself and he tells himself he wants the responsible person punished, but knows it wasn’t Billie.

Chelsea balls, continuing to plead with Bo to keep his mouth shut. Bo says no, he’ll get her the best lawyers, etc., but Hope needs to know the truth. Chelsea whines about how they’d go easier on Billie, but Bo knows better. He says if Chelsea had called 911 when she hit Zack it would have been an accident, but now it’s hit and run. Chelsea reminds him how Hope will hate him for signing her temporary license (she burned it, it’s his word against hers, LOL) and she and Billie will hate him also if he turns her in. Bo is torn. He says he’ll hire Mickey and Frankie to represent her, but she scoffs that it’s Hope’s Uncle and his brother. He says being she’d being represented by members of Zack’s family is a strong statement. Bo says he took an oath to uphold the law and vowed to never lie to his wife. These lies are going to stop, right now! Bo says he will fess up for signing her license and letting her use the truck. Chelsea reminds him (and us for the umpteenth time) that he’ll lose his daughter and his wife if he does this.


BACK AT THE HOSPITAL…
Kate takes the opportunity to ask Mimi if she wants to talk wedding plans and Bonnie overhears and anxious to join the conversation as they all slip out the door. Bonnie listens as Kate tells them about how Basic Black will pay for the wedding and honeymoon and do a story on it for their magazine. She shows pictures of gowns for both bride and mother of the bride as Mimi can’t believe her good fortune..but Bonnie knows why Kate is doing it. Kate offers to set up an appointment for Bonnie and Mimi to try on all the gowns and get them fitted. Mimi accepts and while Kate uses the pay phone to do so, Bonnie tries to make Mimi see what’s happening. Mimi is only thrilled about her good luck and reminds Bonnie she’d have to pay for it if Kate didn’t. Wasn’t she the one who told her never to look a gift horse in the mouth? Bonnie’s reply..a gift horse, right, just as long as it’s not a Trojan horse (good come back). Mimi asks what could Kate gain by sending her on a honeymoon around the world (uh, Shawn out of the picture for all that time?). Kate and Bonnie chat alone and Bonnie lets Kate know she’s on to her and why…that Shawn’s the real father to Claire, not Philip. Cue shocked face on Kate…as the previews roll…

Bonnie to Kate: “You want to seal our deal, you’ve got to meet my price.”

Mimi to Belle: “She (Claire) means so much to him (Shawn)…it’s almost like she’s his own daughter.”
Belle: “She is.”

Marlena: “I love him and right now I’m going to go check on him.”
John grabs her arm and says she’s not going anywhere.

Alex to Lois: “By the time Marlena remembers who she is, it will be too late for anyone to save her.”

Linda