Kristen revealed a drug that would help John recover. Brady tried to forget about Kristen with Theresa. Sami was shocked at Stefano's portrait being in the mansion. EJ and Sami continued to grow closer. Jordan remembered more of her past with Clyde. Ben and Abigail were uncomfortable around each other, since the storage closet. Will tried to mend fences with Abigail. Kate lied to prolong Stefano returning to Salem.
Brady stormed Kristen's hotel room, demanding to know why she was in his father's hospital room. She insisted she wanted to make things right with everyone in town, but he didn't buy it. Marlena dropped by, surprised to discover Brady with Kristen. She thought he agreed not to see her, but he informed her he wouldn't be dropping by anymore. As soon as Brady left, Marlena proceeded to rip into her enemy about spending the next two decades in prison. Kristen fought back as they traded barbs towards each other. She finally stunned Marlena with the reason she's in Salem; she wanted to save John. not hurt him.
Before the encounter, Kayla met with Eric and Marlena to explain that since every expert they've spoken to stated John's condition wouldn't change, they thought it would be best if he was transferred to a long-term care facility later in the day. Marlena was crushed as everyone was giving up on her husband. Eric offered support to his mother. Later in Daniel's office, Kayla and Daniel received a strange email.
Earlier, Daniel and Nicole literally ran into each other. Judging from Nicole's appearance, he assumed she was leaving town to accept a new job. She corrected her former friend, stating she turned down the offer. An idea came to her as she would "accidentally" let it slip to Eric that she was leaving for a job in another state. She wanted to get attention from her former lover, which backfired on her when Eric realized it was another move to manipulate him.
Anne comforted Theresa when her annulment papers from Brady came back with his signature. Theresa decided to go to the Kiriakis mansion to make sure Brady got his copy. Brady returned home to see her there, and fresh from his encounter with Kristen, surprised her with a kiss. The two proceeded to make love in his bedroom.
Sonny and Will had it out over the article, and Sonny going behind Will's back to get him a job with the magazine. Will spoke of how he was tired of people doing things for him. Sonny got Will to understand that it was his own writing that got him the job. Will gave into his husband emotional pleas, and the couple reconciled.
Daniel called Kristen to arrange a meeting at his apartment, regarding the email he and Kayla received. Kayla hated it, but agreed to be present at the meeting. Kristen and Marlena arrived, and Kristen revealed to everyone that Stefano came up with an experimental drug that would bring John out of the coma. The doctors only received half of the formula; they would get the other half if Marlena cooperated and talked Eric out of testifying against her. She was horrified, but Kristen insisted it was her father's wish. Marlena left, and as Kristen attempted to follow her out, Daniel stopped her. The former friends had a brief exchange about what Marlena would do, as she had a visit with John. Marlena decided to make Stefano's request to her son.
After their sexual encounter, Theresa questioned Brady about what happened, since he spent several weeks trying to put distance between the two of them. He dodged bringing up Kristen and played if off as a one-time mistake. He apologized for giving her the wrong idea, while she played it off like no big deal, despite being hurt. Brady left to visit with his father, so Theresa went to the club to inform Anne of what happened with Brady. Kristen tracked Theresa down and overheard her, prompting her to divulge more details.
Eric and Nicole were at the Brady Pub, arguing about her manipulating him. Sami was there and came to the aide of her brother. She and Nicole sniped at each other, which culminated with the latter predicting Sami's kids would grow up without a mother when Stefano returned to town. Eric was appalled, while Sami looked panicked at the possibility. He took his sister away, while Nicole tried to apologize. Eric pushed for Sami to open up about her fears at the possibility of her father-in-law returning to Salem.
Sami returned home to discover Stefano's portrait was back up on the wall. She dropped her drink and began to hyperventilate. Meanwhile back at the pub, Caroline blasted Nicole for being part of the reason Eric wouldn't return to the priesthood. Nicole fought back, stating she loved Eric, and she couldn't turn those feelings off. She stormed out, leaving Caroline speechless.
JJ and Paige were down by the lake celebrating and enjoying their last night of summer together. They were being watched as a mysterious figure took pictures of JJ.
Eric was stunned to learn Stefano had a cure for John, but will only give it to him if Eric didn't testify against Kristen. He commented on how much he lost already and refused to do it. He found refuge in the church gardens where he ran into Brady. He was unaware of what Kristen was doing, and he apologized to Eric for the way he behaved after it came out Kristen drugged him. Eric decided to call Kristen, saying they needed to talk. Marlena had another visit with John as she tearfully agonized over the request she made to her son.
Before meeting Eric in the gardens, Brady let it slip to Daniel that he recently slept with Theresa, but reassured him it was a one-time thing. Kristen confronted Theresa over Brady at the club, warning her to stay away from him. Theresa was not intimidated by her threats and used them to get closer to Brady. Kristen went to Daniel to get intel on her competition and discovered Daniel hated the woman with a passion. She made a comment to him before leaving, leading to Daniel asking Jennifer to get coffee with him.
Hope and Jennifer were talking about the latter starting something with Aiden, but Jennifer stated she was not over Daniel. A slightly drunk Aiden overheard and confronted Hope over setting him up with her cousin in order to avoid dealing with her feelings for him. The two spoke of loneliness, before Aiden leaned in and kissed Hope.
Sami was terrified to see Stefano's portrait on the wall and accused EJ of working with his father against her. He assured her it wasn't the case as he confronted Harold over putting the portrait up. He also learned Stefano was calling board members to set up an emergency meeting in Salem. Sami figured out he planned to get rid of her and Kate as CEOs, but EJ promised to remain loyal to her.
He called Rafe and arranged a meeting with him in the secluded area of the park. Rafe learned EJ was giving him information for the judge to rule against Stefano returning to town. EJ was acting against his father to protect Sami. Back at the mansion, Kate and Sami were having breakfast when Stefano decided to give his ex-wife a call. He told Kate the games have been fun, but they are over now. Kate informed Sami that Stefano wanted revenge against the two of them. They went to the police station to question Rafe about his hearing. Kate lied to Rafe about Stefano threatening her life, and Sami overhearing him as a way to prevent him from returning.
Abigail received advice from Marlena regarding her situation with Ben. They bonded over the outfit she got for Arianna. Marlena later blew EJ off when he tried talking to her about Sami.
Eric laid into Kristen for using the situation with John to get out of serving jail time. He agreed not to testify against her, once the drug has been administered and proven to work. Eric told his mother his decision, and she realized how much he gave up for John to recover. Kristen was on the phone to Stefano, making sure he sent the drug, which may or may not work.
Jordan had a nightmare about her life with Clyde after her mother died. She met with Ben in the club, where he assured her that Clyde won't ruin their lives again. In the park, Clyde learned from his investor that someone else is intruding on his territory for business. He demanded a meeting with this person, who turned out to be EJ.
Ben stopped by Will and Sonny's apartment to see Sonny, but things got awkward with Will. He apologized for possibly screwing up his relationship with Abigail. She later visited Will to see Arianna, and she and Will have a slight thaw in their relationship. She left to see Ben, who accused her of pucshing him away because she was thinking of EJ in the storage closet.