Will and Paul hooked up. The south side project was a bust. Rafe confronted Chad about the letter. Daniel and Nicole became a couple. Serena had a secret. Melanie and Brady admitted their feelings. Victor invested in a new project. Hope remained clueless about Aiden. Theresa and Melanie realized they had a lot more in common than Brady. Kate rattled Abigail and Jordan about their hospital project. Clyde made a bold move against Victor.
It’s New Year’s Eve in Salem as Will and Paul were about to have a close moment in the latter’s hotel room. Sonny was about to happen upon them, but they were interrupted with a family call for Paul. He took the call, so Will could continue with the interview afterwards. He asked Paul about his future plans, since he could no longer play baseball.
At the same time, Sonny was stopped by Derrick, the bellhop, who informed the Kiriakis that Paul had a special visitor in his room. Sonny took that as a cue to go home and toast himself to being a failure in all aspects of his life. After Will left Paul, Derrick told the former pitcher a man matching Sonny’s description stopped by earlier to see him, making Paul hopeful for a possible future with him.
Melanie and Brady continued with their New Year’s kiss, leaving both of them surprised at the possible shift in their relationship. They were about to have a conversation about what happened when Victor and Maggie decided to celebrate with them. Things were awkward as Brady offered to drop Melanie off at home, so she didn’t have to call a cab. They tried to talk about their kiss, but Melanie downplayed what really happened. Both were surprised but hopeful about the kiss when they were by themselves.
Serena and Nicole bumped into each other outside the Brady Pub, leading to another argument between the women. Serena ripped into Nicole for snooping around her hotel room and belongings without her permission. Eric was mentioned, escalating the fight before Eric went outside to break it up. He told Nicole to stay out of his life before returning to the party with Serena.
Nicole went to see Daniel at the hospital and opened up about her personal insecurities. She hoped this would get him to change his mind about what happened between them earlier, and he promised to call her the following day. After the party, Serena went back to her hotel room to retrieve a mysterious manila envelope.
Back at the party, Kayla was on a disastrous blind date with a man named Bob, whom she met via an online dating site. He spoke very few words, leaving Eric to try to help out. Serena returned, livening up Bob for conversation.
Ben and Abigail had a quiet New Year’s Eve at his apartment where they exchanged “I love yous” for the first time.
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Sonny arrived at the DiMera mansion to inform his business partner the club expansion was a failure. He was willing to sign over his share to pay Chad back, but he was let off the hook. Little did Sonny know this was all part of a plan for him to be in Chad’s debt. He informed Stefano of his progress, making his father very proud of him.
After the visit with Chad, Sonny crossed paths with Victor who heard of the expansion failure. He expressed concern over what Chad would do, b ut Sonny bitterly assured his uncle he could count on his partner. He mentioned how Victor refused to help him when he needed it, leaving the Greek to ponder a new plan to help his nephew.
Jordan overheard Rafe was kicked off the police force and expressed her sympathies. Rafe met with Aiden on Hope’s request to work out a deal with the D.A. In order to avoid persecution, he cannot apply for reinstatement on the Salem PD or go for a private investigator job. He went to confront Chad about the anonymous letter implicating him in Gabi hiring Andrew. Jordan witnessed the exchange and confronted the DiMera after Rafe stormed out of the mansion.
Victor requested Brady to deliver a belated Christmas present to Melanie at the hospital. Since their New Year’s kiss, Brady was reluctant to be alone with Melanie as he wanted to give her space. Meanwhile, Melanie was conflicted with her own feelings and sought advice from Maxine. She got her to realize that sometimes being more than friends with someone can lead to good things. Brady arrived at the hospital, and Melanie escaped before things got awkward.
Theresa continued to have dreams about the night she was attacked in the park. John paid her a visit and warned her to stay away from Brady. She coolly told him to take his own advice and threw him out of her apartment. At the hospital, Melanie and Theresa got into a spat about a form for Melanie’s benefits. Brady tried to break it apart, but both women told him to get out. In an unknown location, Dr. Mandrake made a call to Kristen.
Hope received an unwelcome surprise when Kayla informed her of Aiden’s threats to Bree, warning her to stop making contact with Hope. She didn’t believe it, but Aiden confirmed what Kayla said when they were alone in the park.
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Paul and Sonny met up where they discussed Sonny coming to his hotel room on New Year’s. Sonny claimed to be there because he was going to ask for a loan, but he thought better than to do that. Paul told Sonny he would wait for him if he ever changed his mind about them. Sonny went to reconnect with Chad next by thanking him for his support after the collapse of the south side location.
Will met with Kate to show her his Sonix story on Paul. She expressed there was something missing in the article. Will decided on a last-minute effort to get more information on Paul. He went back to his hotel room and finally asked if Paul was gay.
Brady was upset at Melanie and Theresa for throwing him out of their fight. Theresa tried to mend fences with Melanie by saying they both thought Brady was a jerk. In true Theresa fashion, she took it too far, leading Melanie to rip into her some more. She then went to Brady, and they both realize they haven’t dealt with the possibility of taking their friendship to the next level. They admit their feelings to each other as being more than friendship.
At the same time, Theresa took a walk through the park where she was attacked and got a sudden strange feeling. Maggie found her looking shaken, and Theresa confided she was creeped out. Meanwhile, Dr. Mandrake spoke with Kristen, assuring her the Theresa situation was dealt with. Back at the hospital, Theresa found a baby rattle in the community room and reacted.
Aiden told Hope he threatened Bree, but with legal means. He was upset with her making insane accusations after his wife’s death that would only upset Chase. Hope understood, and they shared a romantic moment. When she left the park, Aiden was angry.
Chad told Jordan he had nothing to do with Rafe getting fired from the Salem PD. Jordan believed him, and they had a moment. Clyde met with Jeremiah and told him they would expand their territory to include Victor’s trucking property. Kate happened upon Abigail and Jordan at the hospital and warned them the board might not approve of their project.
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Paul responded to Will’s question by kissing the young writer. The kiss got heated as they took it to the bed. At the same time, Sonny approached the door with a baseball that Adrienne found from his past with Paul. Will and Paul had sex, while Sonny ran into Derrick, who believed Paul was not in his room. They entered and Derrick apologized as Paul was with someone who was in the shower. Will reflected on what happened as he realized he cheated on his husband.
Lucas arrived at Will and Sonny’s to comfort Adrienne about the distance between her and Justin. She confided that she couldn’t help but wonder if Justin met someone else abroad.
Nicole went to Daniel’s apartment, determined to fix the mess she made between them on New Year’s Eve. She apologized and insisted she wanted to be more than friends with him. At first, he resisted, but they wound up taking their passion to the bedroom.
Melanie was moved by Brady’s declaration of love as they made plans to talk about their relationship status. Both were giddy and nervous about the conversation. Meanwhile, Serena saw Theresa, who was still shaken from seeing the baby rattle. She couldn’t figure out why as Eric happened upon them. Serena left them alone to talk about it. Theresa told her cousin she was feeling a little off lately.
Later, Melanie returned to retrieve her form as she and Theresa got into it again. Theresa came across the rattle again and began to cry. Melanie went back to see her, while Serena, Eric, and Brady met for lunch. They made plans to get together with Melanie for a double-date.
Victor met with an agent to close a deal for a brand-new club. Lucas encountered Rafe and expressed his sympathies about him being fired. Victor then offered Rafe a job as his head of security.
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Sonny nearly caught Paul and Sonny together when Derrick let him in the hotel room. He returned the baseball and left without realizing Will was the other man. Will re-entered the room and made one final pitch for Paul to come out in the article. He believed it would make a big difference to a lot of people. Will left the room and pulled out his wedding ring. He put it on his finger just in time for Derrick to see.
After Daniel and Nicole made love, he warned her he wanted their relationship built on honesty and trust. He couldn’t deal with her being conflicted with her feelings for Eric. If it became a problem in the future, they were finished. Nicole swore she was completely over Eric for good. Later, Daniel admitted to Melanie he started seeing Nicole. She was worried because she knew of Nicole’s track record with men.
Nicole was in her office when she received an anonymous call from a man who claimed to have dirt on Serena. At the same time, things between Eric and Serena heated up before Eric put on the brakes. He wasn’t ready for a physical relationship, which Serena understood. Back in her hotel room, Serena was looking over the manilla envelope, expressing how she couldn’t blow this.
Melanie questioned Theresa about the rattle and inquired about her having a child. Theresa refuted her assumption and blasted her for her phony sympathy. Little did Theresa know she and Melanie had something else in common as Melanie was emotional over seeing the rattle. She spoke with Maggie in the square about the baby she lost with Philip.
Brady spoke earlier with Maggie about the major changes going on in his life without mentioning Melanie. He also saw Theresa at the hospital and blasted her for being so selfish. He thanked God he and Theresa were not pregnant, leaving her stung even more.
Adrienne admitted to Lucas he was the only one she could talk to about her problems with Justin. She also hinted at marital problems with Will and Sonny, but didn’t get specific as to what they were facing.