Episode # 10238
Tape Date: 1/9/06
Air Date: 1/26/06
Director: Jim Baffico

Summary: The lies in Salem get deeper…as some people want to expose them, yet others want to just bury them deeper. Sami convinces Carrie that she is her friend…Chelsea’s guilt is eating away at her, as is Max’s…Patrick digs deeper into the accident, determined to get to the truth.

At Sami’s Place…Austin is still trying to apologize to Carrie for what happened. She tells him that she has to return to LA and face her former employees. He begs her for forgiveness. She gets angry and goes to leave but he stops her, swearing he would not have gone through with the takeover had he known the truth. Lucas comes in distraught and Sami immediately thinks something has happened to Will. He tells them about Zack’s death and Billie’s confession. He goes on to tell them about how Zack’s liver saved Claire. Austin thinks it must be a mistake…Billie could not be responsible. Sami takes the news hard, having thoughts of Will. (She says if it were him, they could just bury her right next to him, for she would die). Sami goes to call Caroline as Austin and Lucas go across the hall to call Kate to get more details. Austin talks to Kate and tells her to give Billie their love. After he gets off the phone, Lucas takes another swipe at Austin for the way he does business and how he hurt Carrie. He rags him about asking Carrie forgiveness and says she will NEVER forgive him for what he has done. He has ruined her life and it is time to move on. They argue about Austin pursuing her and Sami and Nicole’s involvement. Lucas is sure that they knew the truth about Carrie being the CEO and kept it from Austin, calling them manipulative witches. Lucas says it is over between Austin and Carrie. Austin thinks that maybe Lucas knew the truth as well and kept it from him, as Lucas continues to shift blame toward Sami and Nicole. Lucas tells him to just stay out of Carrie’s life. Austin laughs at Lucas for thinking that he has a chance with her and says he will NOT walk away from Carrie. Austin gets angry and goes to leave as Lucas tells him that Carrie doesn’t want anything else to do with him. Austin just wants to try to explain everything to her and vows to get her back and warns Lucas not to get in his way.

Back at Sami’s, she gets off the phone with her grandmother and says she was so distraught, she couldn’t even talk. Carrie says she was gone so long, she never even met Zack and that the first time she saw Claire, she was already sick. Sami says there is nothing they can do for Bo and Hope, for nothing would make them feel any better. She asks why something bad always has to happen for something good to come of it. She says that Carrie lost a lot today as well and asks if she is really through with Austin. Carrie says she believes that Austin really didn’t know the truth, but she was still disappointed at the way he went about the takeover. She thinks he has become ruthless. Sami points out that she was against the takeover from the beginning and that Austin did try to find out who the CEO was…although didn’t try very hard. Sami says it is her fault…she should have looked at Carrie’s card…then she would have known. But Nicole just kept pushing Austin to move forward. Carrie asks if something was going on between Austin and Nicole and Sami says she hopes not…he deserves better. Sami says that maybe Austin is just different since leaving Salem…as Carrie adds…when he dumped you at the altar? She apologizes for being so blunt and says maybe he is different because of that and the fact that she cheated on him with Mike, maybe he turned bitter. Sami says that sometimes they just have to move forward. Carrie remembers the conversation she overheard between Sami and the bathroom attendant in LA and says that she thinks Sami meant what she said. Carrie thanks her for being a good sister as well as a good friend. Sami says she tries (LOL). Sami admits that when Austin returned she was interested in him but backed off when Carrie entered the picture. She says she thinks she has learned from her mistakes. Carrie thanks her for being honest and says she thinks she can trust her again. Sami promises not to break that trust and they hug.

At Max’s shop…Chelsea comes rushing in upset as Max tells her the guilt is eating at her and she can’t let Billie take the blame. But Chelsea is still trying to justify her actions. She asks what he has told Patrick as he walks in asking why she is there. He says he found something in Max’s records…the call that was made about the accident was made from a cell phone and asks who made the call. They claim they don’t know but Patrick still smells something fishy and is sure that there is something wrong with her story. He thinks that Billie is covering for someone else. Patrick decides to go down to that station and talk to the cops. After he leaves, Chelsea wants to go get something to eat and Max is appalled, saying she just can’t go back to her normal life. He says that Patrick will keep digging and get to the truth and that perhaps he already suspects, but just doesn’t want to believe it. He lectures her for lying and letting Billie take the blame and forcing Bo to lie to Hope. He says she killed Zack and a lot of people are now suffering. He says that even more people will suffer when the truth does come out, including him and Abby for obstructing justice. She says that won’t happen if everyone keeps quiet. He says if she allows this to continue, she is not the girl he thought she was. Later, she is gone and he is on the phone with his manager talking about him getting back into racing. He tells him of the problems with his family and he will think about a return in the spring. After he hangs up, he looks at his poster on the wall and talks about the press he will get…perhaps being indicted as a part of all this. He says that Chelsea MUST tell the truth before more lives get ruined.

At the Police Station…Bo is hugging Billie as Hope walks in asking what the HELL is going on. She thinks he is comforting Bille as Bo tries to tell her that isn’t what is going on. She is furious and rails at Bo for siding with Billie. Bo starts (yet again) to tell the truth, but Billie steps in and covers. Hope gets in her face as Bo has to pull her away. Bo hugs her, saying he understands her anger, but it has to stop. Billie jumps in again and tries to explain it was all an accident. She says she confessed and she is going to jail…out of their lives for good. She tells them that Zack is gone, but they need to be there for their other son, Shawn and for Chelsea. She will need them now more than ever. She says for them to let nothing come between them. Hope, still furious, says she can’t look at Billie anymore and storms off. Bo tells Billie that he can’t continue to lie to Hope. But Billie tells him that if he wants to save his marriage, he has no choice. She tells him that Hope will never forgive him. She says if Chelsea were to go to jail, she would never recover from it and she won’t let that happen to her daughter…this is the only way. Meanwhile, Patrick has arrived and is talking to the two rookie cops for more info. He tells them that there is something not right with Billie’s confession. He learns that they have no other evidence other than the confession and the cops tell him that as far as they are concerned, case closed. Chelsea is now there and is watching from the hallway when Hope runs into her. She sees that Chelsea is upset as they hug and cry, Hope saying how sorry she is for her. Chelsea says she feels terrible about what happened and she shouts she never meant for this to happen, as Hope stares at her (just as Bo walks up and hears/sees this). Billie is crying in her cell, vowing to do everything she can to protect Chelsea. She says if the truth comes out, all of their lives will be destroyed. Hope continues to console Chelsea, saying that this is rough on all of them. Hope says that is why she wanted Chelsea to go to the driving school, so she would never be involved in something like this. She cries she already has. Chelsea cries that she doesn’t want her mother to go to jail and babbles on about her parents dying. Bo is listening to all this and steps in, telling him that he can’t do this anymore…as the previews show…

John (to Marlena): Doc, you don’t…(Marlena): Don’t ever call me DOC…that’s not who I want to be anymore…not ever again…

Chelsea (to Bo): I am going to prison! (Bo): Chelsea, it’s out of my control… (Chelsea): Just let Billie take the blame…it’s not like I asked her to do this…

Hope (to Patrick): Billie deserves to be punished…there’s no moving on until that happens…

Bonnie (to Kate): The only reason you are doing all this for Shawn and Mimi is because you know that Shawn is Claire’s real daddy…

And the credits roll…
Laney