EPISODE: 10,500
DIRECTED BY: Herb Stein
TAPE DATE: 1/11/07

Philip and Willow strike a deal; Kayla tries to convince Steve to get psych help; Kate visits Roman with proof Sami didn't rescue Lucas and EJ takes off his gloves (so to speak).

PHILIP'S CANADIAN HOTEL ROOM
Philip is on the phone with the PI he hired to find Belle and Shawn. Willow arrives and he tells her to get lost, until she tells him she knows where Belle and Shawn are. He asks how she could know when his pricey PI doesn’t and she explains. After he kicked her out the night before she ended up staying at the same safe house that Shawn and Belle had been at. Merle thought she was a runaway and she got him talking and he told her what happened. She’ll sell the info to Philip. When he brings up how he caught her trying to steal from him, he asks about the 10K Victor gave her. She tells him she wired the money to her brother for his school fees and shows him the wire for proof, saying he’s a good kid and nothing like her. Feeling nauseous, she rushes to the bathroom to get sick. Afterward she tells him she needs the money for her baby. He isn’t even sure if she is pregnant and she offers to get a pregnancy test, but he tells her not to bother. He asks why he should pay for it, suggesting she just go to the john that knocked her up. Willow tells him it wasn’t a trick, it’s Shawn’s baby. Uncle Philip reacts differently to that news, surprised Shawn didn’t care she was pregnant. She tells him Shawn doesn’t know yet, but his mother (Hope) was a hypocrite. She was after Shawn to be a good father to Claire yet when she learned Willow was pregnant, told her to get lost. Philip says he doesn’t care either and Willow calls him a cold SOB and heads for the door, but Philip stops her. He realizes she might be of some help to him. He offers to put her up in a nice place to stay and pay for her medical and all other expenses. She says her baby isn’t going anywhere once it’s born and he assures her it won’t. She asks why he’d want it and he says Shawn’s got his and quid pro quo. He’ll arrange the details and the first one is get her back to Salem and get a pregnancy test done and an amnio to prove the baby is Shawn’s. (gee, what about YOUR baby that is about to be born to the surrogate Philip? Lost interest in having your biological child to just get revenge?) The plan leaves her well taken care of and she agrees. If she tries to steal from his or his father again, he’ll kick her out so fast her head will spin. She goes along with it until he refers to her as a whore, then goes to slap him. She makes him apologize or says he’ll never see his daughter again. Reluctantly he does so and then asks where his daughter is. She only knows Belle, Shawn and Claire are on a cruise ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean right now. Philip figures they have time and Willow figures she might even be showing by the time they find them.

SAMI’S APT.
Sami and Lucas are having breakfast. Lucas is all excited about Will’s basketball team, but Sami’s morose. He gets her to open up that she feels bad about not lifting that beam the day before, but he understands how adrenaline works and didn’t want her trying any more with her being pregnant. After breakfast Lucas is in no hurry to leave, but Sami tells him it’s his first day of work and shouldn’t be late. He’s worried that she’s still troubled and wants to give her some money for retail therapy, maybe something satiny for “daddy” later to enjoy (you horn toad you, LOL!). Sami has a different solution. She wants to call the show’s producer and ask him to edit out that scene and asks the operator for Extreme TV’s number. We return as Sami thanks the person on the phone before slamming it down. Lucas comes out dressed for work and asks if she got the footage cut, but she tells him how they had never heard of the producer or director and the show had been cancelled, angry that she had been set up by his mother once again. Lucas is frustrated that his mother lied to him yet again.

COP SHOP (office and cells)
EJ explains what happened at Chez Rouge to an officer when Kate strolls in. He’s touched she came down to see him, but learns she was there to see Roman. She won’t tell him why and he tries to smooch it out of her, reminds him they’re business partners and she knows she can’t trust him. She warns him not to push it or it would be a big mistake on his part.

Kate introduces a physics professor to Roman, pulls out the dvd of the footage shot with Sami trying to lift the beam. The professor studied it very carefully and doesn’t believe a woman that size could lift the beam even with an adrenaline surge. The professor continues with it’s obvious the woman in the video didn’t understand about leverage on the beam to support it as well. Kate paces like a cat that swallowed the canary as she listens and watches. The professor can’t believe someone who marched through the snow to and from the highway and sought help there could do such a feat as they surely were too exhausted. Kate thanks the professor and knows he has a plane to catch, so says he can leave. He shakes hands with them both and leaves as Kate smirks to Roman. Roman smiles knowingly and asks “Katie, Katie..what are you up to now?” He asks how she got that dvd and she tells him a producer friend of her asked to meet Sami and get the story for his show, so she obliged. She was there when they filmed it and she could lift it, but Sami couldn’t. It confirmed her suspicion that Sami was lying. Roman lets Kate know he can tell when she’s lying. Saying no wonder their marriage didn’t work, Kate admits she set the whole thing up to prove Sami was lying and didn’t save Lucas (ahh, but she DID Kate, in more ways than you really know!). Kate is angry that Sami was given the Good Samaritan medal (hmmm, I know she got a framed award myself, but don’t remember the medal) and she lied to Roman. Kate’s not going to let Sami get away with fraud. Kate tells him her theory that EJ helped Sami and she helped him get through the roadblocks. She’s lying about saving Lucas alone to avoid being arrested for aiding his escape. Kate knows she’s lying about something.

EJ finishes with the officer and calls Lucas at home. Lucas was just ready to leave for the office, but EJ asks him to call his attorney and they should both meet him at the police station. Lucas asks why, but EJ said he’ll explain when they get there. Lucas tells Sami where he’s going and that he’ll set his mother straight as well. He kisses Sami and patting her tummy, says he loves you guys (awww) and heads out.

Steve's in his cell and apologizes to Kayla, but she’s not hearing it. She gives him the tough love lecture, angry that he didn’t heed her advice to seek psychiatric help before this happened. She demands he get it now by admitting himself to the psych ward at Salem U. Hospital. Steve refuses to allow their “cranial cowboys” LOL, to mess with him. Kayla folds her arms (uh oh) saying he doesn’t have a choice. It’s either that or rot in jail. Steve says he’s rather stay in jail than commit himself to the house that nutjob built and making potholders, LOL. He says EJ had it coming, but she’s worried the next person might not, who knows, it might be her. Steve turns and swears he’d never hurt her, crushed she’d think so. She honestly tells him she can’t trust him to that and begs him to do as she asks. Benjy walks in the revolving door to the cell area and signs he had read about what had happened and came to see if Steve was okay. Steve asks Kayla to give them some time alone. Steve tells Benjy all that’s going on with him in his head (sounds, noises, memories of someone torturing him, etc.) and tells “Benjy Monkey” that he thinks it all started because of him. Benjy shakes his head no, but his facial expression says differently. A guard walks by and steps away. Steve tells Benji it started the night they went out to dinner. Benjy found him at the hospital later and put something in his hand, kissed him on both cheeks and ran. Steve grabs Benjy’s shirt and pulls him to the cell. He wants answers because he’s dying in there and might lose Kayla. Benjy removes Steve’s hand from his shirt so he can sign his response. He tells Steve he gave him the Devil Tarot card on Stefano’s orders. He was told to hook up with Steve and Kayla and give him that card when told. Steve wished Benjy had come to him earlier and he would have kept him safe, but Benjy signs no one is safe from Stefano, Steve should know that. Benjy signs he brought his wife to dinner that night to show Steve what he had at stake. Steve asks about his own family and what was at stake. Benjy knew there would be trouble when he gave him the card, but doesn’t know what kind. Kayla rushes in and tells Steve to stop it, asking if he hasn’t caused enough damage. Steve walks away and Benjy signs to Kayla. She tells him she loves him too and he leaves. Kayla repeats what Benjy signed to her, that he’s sorry for his part in all of this and hopes Steve and Kayla will forgive him one day. Steve fills her in on what Benjy told him, that Stefano had Benjy deliver the Devil Tarot card to him. Kayla’s response..”oh God.” Steve says Benjy did this, he betrayed them. He wishes he could help Benjy and his family, but Kayla says he needs to worry about himself now. Steve wonders what he’s gotten into. Kayla begs him to reconsider hypnosis and promises to be there with him every step of the way and she loves him. She asks him to do it for her, for them. Both are in tears and he turns and says he’ll commit himself after the arraignment.

Benjy tries to walk past EJ, but he stops him. He asks if Benjy told Steve anything. Benjy finally signs that he only told Steve that Stefano ordered him to give him the tarot card, but that’s it. (guess EJ reads sign language too) EJ speaks and signs back to Benjy, warns him that he has his eye on him and if he betrays him or his family, it will be the last thing he ever does, lightly slapping Benjy on the face and saying “comprende”?

BACK AT SAMI’S
She tries calling Kate and Roman calls at the same time. He orders her to come down to the station to tell him more about the night she saved Lucas and she tells him Kate’s just trying to start trouble.

Lucas and the lawyer arrive and EJ tells the lawyer he wants to file charges against both Steve AND Kayla. Kayla for negligence being she’s a doctor and didn’t see that Steve got help sooner. Putting her arm around Lucas’s shoulder, he warns him not to question the boss if he wants to continue his job with Mythic. EJ tells his lawyer he’s tired of being crossed in this city and now anytime someone does, they’re going to get exactly what they deserve…as Lucas listens concerned…

As the previews roll…

MARLENA is sitting next to John (who’s still in the coma and on a respirator), but we hear his voice saying “I’ve got to tell you what EJ said the night of the shooting”.

EJ finds Billie trying to get into her apartment and says “Do I hear the sound of a damsel in distress?”

KAYLA to STEVE (his prison suit is red) as she holds his hand through cell door: That is what you’re afraid of, isn’t it, that you might hurt me.”

SAMI is in Kate’s empty office crying and angry. She says “you want to know my secrets Kate? Then I’m going to find out yours”, and starts going through Kate’s files.

MARLENA to the doctors: “I don’t care about the arrangements. My husband is staying right here and that’s my final word.”

As the credits roll…
Linda