EPISODE: 10,478
Directed by: Herb Stein
Tape Date: December 4, 2006

Max and Mimi are interrupted; Bonnie evicts Chelsea and Billie; Beverly tells Shawn and Belle she’s got a court order for Claire; Roman tries to help Marlena cope with John’s medical situation. (KUDOS to Martha Madison (Belle) on her performance tomorrow. You could feel her pain in her performance)

THE GARAGE
Things get hot and heavy for Max and Mimi at the garage. He suggests they pause and relocate to a better, more appropriate location…suggesting Mimi’s place. She retorts the garage floor is better than Bonnie’s. She asks about his place, which he refers to as his “crib”, which she questions him about as to how clean it is..pizza boxes around, when he did change sheets last, etc. (is he still living over the Deveraux garage?) They go back into the garage office and she says this place has meaning to them as it’s where they got to know each other and he sweeps the desk contents onto the floor while she peels off her sweater. Just as they get hot and heavy, of course Abby walks in. Max questions why she’s there as he gave her the day off, but she had some things to take care of she says and suggests they put a tie on the door or something next time to avoid embarrassment on both sides. After Mimi’s dressed and walking out, Max tries to talk with Abby as she puts things back on her desk. She tells him to drop it and go find a room with Mimi, she has work to do. Max won’t give up, asking why she’s upset. She finally tells him how she’s saved the business while he and Mimi went to Georgia and froze her butt off on Christmas Eve to rescue them, but hasn’t even gotten a thank you. He can’t believe he didn’t even say it and she confirms it, asking why she should stay in this low rent job? He tells her he’s sorry and won’t take her for granted again, they’re a team. She asks where her Christmas bonus is boss….and he goes over to the file cabinet and pulls out a wrapped package (yeah, right..like she wouldn’t have seen it in there). Abby smiles. She opens it to find it’s a book with Shakespeare’s sonnets which she’s read and loves. He tells her there’s a card in it too and she reads to Abby, friend, confidante and closest thing to a little sister he’s got. She points out she’s a woman, not a little sister and tosses the book back at him and storms out.

THE CHAPEL
In the hospital chapel, Shawn explains to Belle about the mysterious guy taking pictures of Claire with Mimi at the garage and worries the woman from CPS might be a concern. Shawn suspects Grandpa Victor is behind this. Belle takes Claire from Shawn and hugs her tight. Shawn tries to convince them both that they are Claire’s biological parents and Victor can’t take her away from them, but Belle knows Victor only cares about what Victor wants. She suggests Shawn ask Bo being he’s Victor’s son, to talk to him. He agrees. They go to talk with Bo and open the door to find the CPS woman and an officer there, saying she’s there to take Claire. Shawn slams the door in her face as he and Belle panic.

BRADY PUB
Bonnie is sipping a Bloody Mary at the pub when Billie joins her, per Bonnie’s request. Bonnie explains about Connor’s return to Salem and when Billie asks how she can help, Bonnie asks if she and Chelsea would move out. Billie seems shocked at the suggestion. We learn she’s been faithfully paying rent to Bonnie and Bonnie refers to her as the dream tenant, saying she wants her and Chelsea back in a couple of weeks after Connor’s gone. She suggests Billie and Chelsea move in with Kate or get their own room at the Salem Inn. Billie (who hasn’t worked in how long?) says she can’t do either. Billie mentions moving into Patrick’s room. Bonnie breaks down and Billie caves, saying they’ll figure something out. Bonnie offers to help her pack and Billie says she can handle it and leaves. Bonnie pulls out her celery, stops the fake crying and smiles.

BACK AT SALEM U HOSPITAL….Steve tells Kayla (standing outside John’s windowed room) about John’s condition and how he’s suppose to be unresponsive, but questions John’s response when he was near him again. She thinks it could be as simple as he’s John’s friend. She wants to stop and light a candle for John in the chapel before they go home and he agrees.

Steve and Kayla walk up to find Beverly (the CPS worker) and Officer Santos pounding on the door of the chapel. Once they’re found out what’s going on and Steve examines the court order, he asks for 10 minutes alone with Belle and Shawn as Kayla explains how scared they must be. Beverly grants them five minutes. Shawn lets them in and Steve tells them Victor’s filing for full custody. Kayla tries to comfort Belle.

ELSEWHERE IN THE HOSPITAL, JOHN sits up and calls out to Marlena, crying he needs her. She had dozed off and wakes up to see he’s still in a coma and hugs him, assuring him she’s right there. Roman calls out “Doc” and she cries in his arms, telling him about her dream. Good old softy Roman reminds her of the doctor’s prognosis about John’s brain damage, but Marlena insists John’s heart and her prayers don’t measure into that prognosis and refuses to believe that. He tries to get her to go home and get some rest, but she insists he concentrate on putting the man who did this behind bars for the rest of his miserable life. She can tell by his reaction and he vocalizes that EJ Wells got away. (hmmm…Salem PD is thinning down with one almost blind, one fired, one busy with his new wife and baby and the other lurks in cars and hospitals…can’t imagine how THAT happened, LOL) We return to Roman promising to find EJ when Dr. Tucker joins them, saying the second tests aren’t encouraging. EEG is the same and GSC is 3.7 and no response to stimuli. She mentions his reaction to Steve, but Dr. Tucker says that’s not possible. He apologizes and Marlena says they don’t need his sympathy, they need his help and returns to John’s side. Dr. Tucker suggests a specialist in St. Louis to Roman before walking away. Marlena takes John’s hand and assures him she’s not giving up. Roman interrupts again (oh, shut up Roman!) telling her essentially to get a grip. She refuses to put John in a nursing home where they don’t know the man he is and Roman finally realizes just being her friend is what she needs. He convinces her she needs her rest to stay strong and sharp and reluctantly she agrees, hugging John goodbye.

BACK IN THE CHAPEL, Kayla tells Belle and Shawn they’ll get a good attorney (uh oh..only Mickey’s left in Salem) and Shawn wisely asks Steve to give him and Belle time to get away. Steve asks, then what? Shawn says he and Belle will drive away. Kayla and Steve admit that running away was what they did while younger and it doesn’t work, plus it’ll give more ammunition to Victor for custody. They have family and friends who love them and recommend they stay there. Beverly pounds on the door again.

BACK AT THE PUB, Mimi is beckoned by Bonnie next and is told it’s about her brother Connor. Mimi asks what he’s done now, saying she knows he’s had problems and been in boot camp for juvenile delinquents. Bonnie calls it a camp for troubled teens, LOL. Bonnie says she sent Connor $$ for a bus ticket home, but he didn’t show (doesn’t Bonnie even visit Alice’s Bar any more and where’s Max the dog?) Mimi says Connor takes after her and took off with the $$. Bonnie asks Mimi for ideas and Mimi only wishes her family wasn’t such high maintenance. Bonnie fears Connor was mugged in Arizona, but gets a call from the police that he’s been arrested. Mimi rolls her eyes.

Billie mozies up to the bar and tells Caroline about her situation, asking if she has any room upstairs. Caroline says no, but Bo’s room is empty with him staying with Hope and the baby. She suggests Billie ask Bo if she and Chelsea can use it. Billie doesn’t think sharing a room with Chelsea is such a great idea, but Caroline says Chelsea can use their spare bedroom, after all, she’s their granddaughter. Billie thanks her and resumes her apartment shopping.

CHAPEL
Shawn nods to Steve to open the door and Beverly storms in. Belle holds tight to Claire and mentions how nice she was to them at Java Café that time and how she said they were good parents. She mentioned having a son and granddaughter in Germany and can she imagine how she would feel? Shawn calls Beverly on being paid by Victor to do this and asks how she can destroy a family. Beverly appears to comtemplate this, but states she works for the county and not for Victor. Belle is frantic and Kayla comforts her, saying to make this as easy as she can for Claire. Belle tells Claire it’s going to be okay and she’s going with her friend and hands her over. Beverly smiles at Claire and glares at Belle as she walks away with her. Belle cries hysterically on Shawn’s shoulder. (hmmm, time to send Caroline to chat with Victor again me thinks)

MARLENA is lying on the bed next to John and tells him she’s going home to rest, but will return to hold him. She wants to know what he was trying to tell her that night. She leaves and after the door closes, his eyes move under closed lids and he softly says..MARLENA….as the previews roll…

SAMI to BILLIE: “I think I know a way you and Chelsea can live alone if you’re interested?”
BILLIE: “Yes”

ABBY to NICK: “You need to stop whining about Chelsea and find a girl who wants you for you. You’re not going to stay a virgin forever, right?”

VICTOR: “I’ll see you all in court.”
BELLE: “That man doesn’t deserve to live, does he?”

STEVE (ranting and furiously pounding on someones desk) as Bo watches helplessly behind him: “She’s his granddaughter!!”

As the credits roll…
Linda