Tate and his friend Aaron tossed a football in the park. Aaron encouraged Tate to try out for the football team, since Tate needed extracurricular activities for a scholarship. Aaron complained about student debt and listed off all the activities he'd joined, including prom planning. Tate asked about Aaron's date. Aaron wanted to invite Sophia, but he didn't think she knew he existed.
Tate cracked that Aaron's predicament was like the plot of an 80s teen movie. Aaron prodded a reluctant Tate to go to prom, since Aaron had put so much effort into the planning. Aaron also wanted Tate to volunteer for a blood drive so that Tate could meet a girl. Aaron realized Tate was still hung up on Holly and couldn't understand why Tate would give her "the time of day" after what Holly had done. Tate insisted he had forgiven Holly because he was "not a jerk," and Aaron snarked that that should be Tate's yearbook superlative.
Aaron and Tate started throwing the ball again, and Aaron remarked under his breath that Tate needed "a lot of work."
Holly and Sophia got caught up on schoolwork at the Brady Pub. Both lamented how late they were on their assignments, and Sophia suggested they talk about something fun like prom. Holly asked if Sophia had a date yet. Sophia said she had her eye on Tate. Holly acted surprised, and Sophia listed off that Tate was "cute," "hot," and "smart."
Holly reminded Sophia that "like five" guys had already asked Sophia to prom, and Sophia corrected, "More like ten." Sophia sighed and said she wasn't really "feeling" any of them, including the one who had left flowers all over her front porch. Sophia found Tate "alluring," and Holly agreed. Sophia wondered why Holly didn't want to attend prom if her mom would let her.
Sophia coaxed Holly to go with her to a retro dress shop so they could take a mental break and "catwalk" around the store "like Kendall and Gigi." Holly acquiesced, and they left. Later, they were at the park with Tate and Aaron. Tate apologized profusely as Sophia rubbed her face. Tate had accidently hit Sophia in the face with the football. She cried that Tate had been distracted because he had been looking at Holly.
Tate brought Sophia ice from the pub and apologized again. She snapped, "You said that already," and moaned about her "shiner" and her nose, which she insisted was probably broken. No one would want to "take a girl with a black eye" to prom, Sophia insisted. Tate asked what he could do, and Sophia suggested he make it up to her by taking her to prom.
Holly stepped in and talked up Sophia, so Tate accepted Sophia's invitation. Holly then asked Aaron to go with her and suggested the four of them have a double date. Aaron stuttered out a "yes." Sophia excitedly proclaimed it would be "the best night ever" as Tate and Holly exchanged a look.
Sloan got snappy with Eric before he left for work. She insinuated that Nicole would be happy to see Eric, and Sloan ignored him when he told her goodbye and said he loved her. After he left, Sloan called Melinda and stated firmly that she needed to talk. When Melinda arrived, she cooed over the baby before Sloan hit her with the news that Leo had told E.J. about the baby switch.
Melinda quickly downed a drink and grew more alarmed as Sloan brought her up to speed on E.J.'s visit. Sloan assured Melinda she would not say anything about Melinda's involvement, and Sloan was feeling more secure because E.J. had "backed off" when he had found out he wasn't Jude's father. Both Melinda and Sloan took a big gulp of wine at the thought of what E.J. would do next.
Melinda worried about prison time, but Sloan believed she had successfully persuaded E.J. to keep quiet. Melinda hoped Sloan had better success at reining in E.J. than Sloan had had with Leo. Sloan was tired of having to "put out fires" and wondered if all her effort had been worth it, since Eric was still entranced by Nicole, "the one that got away."
At the DiMera mansion, E.J. lashed out at Dr. Rolf over the phone. He demanded Rolf get him the DNA results as soon as possible. Nicole walked in as E.J. hung up, and she asked if everything was okay. She thought she'd heard him talking about DNA results, but E.J. claimed it was about a case. E.J. was happier to report the potential fallout from the paper's article about Paulina. Nicole scolded him as she advised him not to attempt to add "mayor" to his many job titles.
E.J. joked that if the people wanted him, he couldn't deny them. Johnny approached, carrying a cup of tea. Johnny reported that the tea was for Chanel, as she had been feeling sick. Johnny went back to the room, and Nicole left for work. Later, as E.J. ended a business call, Johnny returned and said he needed to ask his dad for a favor.
E.J. was glad to do anything for his son. Johnny told E.J. about Chanel's pregnancy, and E.J. was elated. When he happily made a remark about being a grandfather, though, Johnny hedged with, "Possibly." Noting Johnny's wording, E.J. asked what was wrong. E.J. became irate at Paulina after Johnny told him about the potential radiation complications.
Johnny tried to defend Paulina, which prompted E.J. to call Johnny "a Paulina Price apologist." E.J. backed down and listened as Johnny opened up about his worries and fears for the baby. Johnny was taken aback when E.J. implied Chanel should not go through with the pregnancy. Johnny explained that Chanel and he had discussed their options but hadn't made a decision yet. Johnny believed Chanel was leaning toward keeping the baby, and he vowed to support her in that decision.
Johnny wanted E.J. to help him get access to the best doctors like E.J. had done with Holly. E.J. assured Johnny that Chanel would have world-class care. He continued to press Johnny on moving forward with the pregnancy, however, claiming Johnny and Chanel were young and could have healthy babies in the future. E.J. believed the pregnancy was too much of a risk. Johnny was offended at the notion of telling Chanel what to do with her own body.
E.J. reminded Johnny that the child would be "a DiMera first and foremost," which further angered Johnny. Johnny thought E.J. was insinuating the baby would not be good enough if it did not have "superior genetics." E.J. insisted that was not what he meant and urged his son to think "long and hard" about the decision. Johnny calmed down and agreed.
Nicole found Eric packing his photography equipment in Horton Town Square. Eric updated Nicole on talking with Sloan, and he expressed optimism that they'd made a breakthrough. He had realized he had been treating Sloan the same way he had treated Nicole, and he regretted his actions in both relationships. He apologized to Nicole for the way he had acted in the past, but she assured him that their mistakes had given them perspective to make their current relationships "better and stronger." She told Eric she was "pulling" for Sloan and him.
Eric wanted the best for Nicole, too, and both were encouraged that they could move forward, since they had been honest with Sloan and E.J. about working together. They grinned at the notion of being "colleagues." Eric wondered what Nicole had in her shopping bags, and she admitted she'd bought soap and other supplies to give the unhoused people she would be interviewing. She made a remark about her own time on the streets, which caught Eric off guard.
Nicole confided in Eric about having lived out of her car when she had been younger. She attributed her resilience to her hardships, and she wanted to "pay it forward" as a voice for people like her. Eric marveled at Nicole's strength. He added that she still managed to surprise him, and they shared a warm smile.
In his room, Harris worked with frustration on cracking a code in Clyde's book. When Ava arrived from downstairs in the pub, Harris updated her about the lack of progress. He hoped for better results because he had sent the encrypted file to an old Navy friend. Harris vented to Ava about being unable to figure out the code and vowed he wouldn't rest until Clyde was back in prison. Ava received a call and answered with trepidation.
The call was from Clyde, who wanted an update from Ava about the book. Ava lied that she hadn't found it yet. She wanted Clyde to tell her what came next. After Ava hung up, she fretted about following Clyde's next directive: emailing the book to him. Harris insisted they needed a personal meet-up with Clyde, with the book as the bait.
Upon further reflection, Harris believed they could still track Clyde with email via Clyde's IP address. Ava expressed further agitation at being under Clyde's thumb, and she returned back downstairs for work.
An apron-clad Ava returned after her shift. She picked up the book while Harris worked on his laptop. Ava was puzzled that the book was sticky because it hadn't come into contact with food or actual wine. Ava and Harris were disturbed to realize the sticky substance was blood.
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