While Bo and Hope were dancing at Chez Rouge, Hope was worried that Bo might be overdoing things so soon after having surgery. Hope told Bo how happy she was to have him back healthy.
Morgan arrived at Chez Rouge and received a phone call from Stephanie who apologized to her because she and Max had to leave Nick's party early. Stephanie lied to Morgan to cover for Max's abrupt departure. Just then, Morgan's dad, Paul, arrived. Paul was happy to see Morgan and told her he was confident that he would be cleared of all charges against him very soon. Morgan asked her father if he had anything to do with the drug bust at the docks, but Paul denied it. Morgan told her father she heard rumors about him and had to ask if they were true.
Bo and Hope continued to enjoy their night out on the town. Hope heard salsa music playing in the background and asked Bo to dance, but he was reluctant. Hope teased Bo and told him that he was probably too tired to dance. Bo immediately jumped up and asked Hope to join him on the dance floor. Bo surprised Hope with his amazing dance moves. Bo convinced Hope he felt fine and told her she was an amazing wife and partner.
Bo and Hope noticed Paul Hollingsworth at the bar talking to his daughter and decided to join them. Bo asked Paul if he knew anything about what had happened at the docks. Just then, Philip called on Paul's cell phone. Paul told Philip that he could not talk but would get back to him later. Paul lied about the phone call and told Bo and Hope that he knew nothing about the drug bust and was confident the grand jury would reinstate him to his job. Bo and Hope left the restaurant convinced that Paul could not be trusted, but felt bad that Paul was lying to his daughter.
Chloe and Philip returned to Philip's bedroom. Chloe asked Philip what was going on with E.J. and Nicole who were together earlier having drinks at Chez Rouge. Philip was preoccupied and thinking about Morgan while talking to Chloe. Chloe asked Philip why he was distracted, but he brushed her off. Chloe told Philip it was a long day and she was going to leave. Philip reminded her that she was divorced and it was time to have fun. He offered her a no-strings relationship and encouraged her to stay with him for the evening. Philip kissed Chloe and they made love. Later, Chloe told Philip that she was concerned about what Victor would say when he found out they were sleeping together. Philip told Chloe not to worry about Victor.
As Chloe was leaving Philip's room, she bumped into the table and John's memory disk fell on the floor. Chloe asked Philip what it was, but Philip rudely told her to leave the disk where she found it. He abruptly changed the subject, asked Chloe if she was hungry, and said he was going to ask Henderson to prepare some sandwiches. Philip explained to Chloe that it was a sensitive business matter, and he hired someone to decode the encryptions on the disk before he could use the information.
Chloe asked Philip if he was involved in something that could get out of hand, but Philip convinced her that he had the matter under control.
Stephanie told Max that she did not like lying for him and demanded he tell her the truth about why he bolted from the restaurant. Max told Stephanie that he was not a mega genius, but merely the son of an immigrant pub owner and asked if that was enough for her to continue their relationship. Stephanie told Max that she loved him for who he was, but that she knew he was not telling her the entire truth. She begged him to tell her what was going on and encouraged him to level with her soon.
E.J. and Nicole decided to get drunk at Chez Rouge and downed one Margarita after another. Too much liquor prompted E.J. to confide to Nicole his plan to win back Sami. E.J. explained to Nicole that he and Sami's annulment was invalid because they had sexual relations while married. E.J. told Nicole that he was going to wait until the right moment before he told Sami the truth and then blame the judge for the error. E.J. insisted that Nicole keep this secret and then kissed her to seal the deal. To make sure she understood, Nicole repeated everything back to E.J. and warned him that his plan might backfire. E.J. said no one knew about it except Nicole and that he only told her because he was drunk. They both laughed about their secret and continued drinking.
Nicole told E.J. that she would keep his secret. She hinted if things did not work out with Sami, there were other women that would be happy to be with him. E.J. told Nicole that he loved Samantha and that it was the first time in his life that he had a family and he was not about to lose that bond. E.J. told Nicole that he was not worried about Lucas who was a boy, not a man, and not worthy of Sami's love. E.J. said that he told Sami he forgave Lucas for shooting him and did it to win her over. Nicole became very sentimental and felt love could not be forced and that E.J. was on a dangerous path.
Johnny and Ali would not go to sleep because E.J. was not home to sing them their special song. Lucas told Sami that he could sing the same song, but Sami did not believe him. Sami finally agreed to allow Lucas to try it. Lucas sang E.J's special song and Johnny stopped crying. Sami was impressed.
Shortly after Lucas put the twins to bed, Maggie called Sami and told her that E.J. and Nicole were making a scene at Chez Rouge. Sami apologized to Maggie, told her that E.J. was not her husband any more, and ended the call. Almost immediately, after she talked to Maggie, Sami left for Chez Rouge. Sami spotted E.J. and Nicole, both of whom appeared drunk and were making a scene. Sami quietly asked E.J. to come home with her, but he was incoherent. Sami told E.J. that he was Johnny's father and his behavior was inappropriate. Nicole insisted that Sami was upset because Nicole was with him. Sami denied it and tried to reason with E.J. She managed to get E.J. to leave the restaurant with her, and Nicole seemed to sober up after E.J. preferred to leave her and go home with Sami. Nicole was feeling sad and alone and wondered whether she should tell Sami about E.J.'s sinister plan to win her back.
Sami escorted a drunken E.J. back to the DiMera mansion and told Lucas that she promised Maggie that she would take E.J. home. Lucas accused Sami of being a jealous wife, but Sami denied it.
Abe questioned John about the drugs on his ship and told him the evidence was mounting up against him. John told Abe that he did not need his lawyer because Philip Kiriakis framed him. John continued to tell Abe and Roman he was innocent.
Roman and Abe showed John a manifest from one of his ships and the paper trail seemed to prove John's guilt. John kept to his story and told Roman and Abe that someone doctored the manifest. John reminded them that not only the old John, but also the new John was honest and spoke his mind at all times, and that they should believe him. He urged them to question Philip. Roman pressured John to come clean, but John said he had nothing more to say.
Abe and Roman escorted John to night court for his arraignment. Abe asked Roman if he believed John and they agreed John was probably guilty. The court granted John bail and John learned that Marlena put up his bond. John asked Roman where Marlena was but Roman told him that he did not know.
John returned home to the DiMera mansion and asked Lucas if he had seen Marlena. Lucas said that he did not know of Marlena's whereabouts. John went upstairs to look for Marlena and then returned to the foyer and told Sami, Lucas, and E.J. that Marlena left him.
Kayla sat on the couch in her new apartment thinking about baby Joe. Stephanie entered the living room, stirring Kayla from her reverie. Putting on a brave face, Kayla smiled and told Stephanie that Steve had gone to get them breakfast. When Stephanie asked if there was any news about Joe, Kayla's face faltered a bit, but she noted that the hospital staff was in the middle of a shift change so there was no news yet. With bags full of goodies, Steve bounded through the front door. As Stephanie dug into the bags of breakfast food, Steve quietly crossed over to Kayla and asked if there was any news about Joe. Before Kayla could answer, the phone rang and Steve answered it immediately. After a brief conversation, Steve hung up the phone and somberly informed Kayla and Stephanie, "Our baby boy has taken a turn for the worse."
A slow-moving and obviously hung-over E.J. stumbled into the Brady Pub looking for a cup of coffee. Caroline was about to pour E.J. a cup, when a perky Nicole popped up next to E.J. offering her special honey banana smoothie to help him feel better. Eventually E.J. agreed, and Nicole happily jumped behind the bar with Caroline's approval. E.J. fished for information about the previous night, asking Nicole whether he had done anything embarrassing. Nicole denied that E.J. had done anything but act like a gentleman. E.J. smiled in relief, but not quite reassured, he asked Nicole a few more times about what happened the previous evening. With no new answer, a satisfied E.J. kissed Nicole goodbye and ran off to do some errands.
Elsewhere in the Brady Pub, Bo, Hope, Chelsea, Max, and Caroline discussed the programs and guidelines that Caroline would need to follow in order to be approved as a green establishment. As the family worked on completing the conversion, Chelsea came out from the back room to inform the family that the new energy efficient cooler was a little smaller than the last cooler and, due to the limitation in space, there was no room for one of the kegs of beer. Caroline began to laugh and her eyes teared up when she realized that the keg was full of the last batch of green beer that Shawn Sr. had made before he died. The group agreed that it was a sign from Shawn Sr. and decided to drink a toast. In the midst of celebrating, Hope received a call from Kayla informing her that Joe had taken a turn for the worse, but that she wanted the family to stay put rather than crowd the hospital. While Hope explained to the family that the baby's lungs were filling with fluid, Max ran off to comfort Stephanie. Looking around, Caroline realized that Chelsea had disappeared. Bo looked toward the doorway and whispered that he had an idea where she went.
At the hospital, the nurse informed Steve and Stephanie that during the night Joe's heart rate and blood pressure had fallen and that, because of the fluid in his lungs, complications had set in. A worried Steve clutched Stephanie tightly in his arms as the nurse announced, "There is not a whole lot we can do for him and we have to hope that he responds to the medications." Steve set off to scrub in for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit just as Max ran in to console Stephanie. The two set off for the chapel, as Steve headed into the NICU.
Kayla stood next to her son's incubator, whispering encouraging words. Steve joined her and the two held hands on top of the incubator while they prayed for their son Joe. Through the window of the NICU, Chelsea looked in at Steve, Kayla, and the baby while she clutched her own stomach.
Later, Stephanie returned to the hallway outside of the NICU with Max and the two talked about her previous lack of religious faith. As Stephanie wondered if God would save Joe, she noticed Chelsea in the corner and rushed to hug her. Meanwhile, inside the NICU, the monitors beeped to life as a teary-eyed Kayla yelled with joy that Joe's heart rate and blood pressure had increased. As the nurse noted that the medications were beginning to work, a happy Stephanie watched through the window from the hall outside. When Stephanie and Max ran off to scrub in for a visit, a pale-faced Chelsea stood at the window, staring at Joe inside. Behind Chelsea, Bo cautiously approached from behind and hugged his daughter.
At the DiMera Mansion, Sami overheard Lucas talking to Mickey on the phone, begging to be moved to a different house. Sami tried to pitch the amenities of the mansion before settling on her giving Lucas the hard sell for reconciliation. Lucas said he felt like Sami was ordering him to forgive her, and midway through their argument, John lumbered into the living room and over to his desk. A tentative Sami inquired why John had removed his portrait of Marlena, but John ignored the question. Sami then acknowledged that she had talked to Marlena on the phone and knew why Marlena had left. Interested, John finally looked at Sami, waiting for an explanation. Sami told him that Eric had been in a terrible car accident and that Marlena had rushed off to be by her son's side. Suspicious, John said he thought that the story was an excuse and that Marlena actually left because she did not believe he was innocent of drug smuggling. Sami begged John not to jump to conclusions, but John refused to answer Sami as he walked out of the house.
While Sami fretted about what John might do, Lucas noted her concern for him. When Lucas seemed surprised by Sami's concern for John, Sami quipped, "I'm not the heartless bitch you think I am." "I beg to differ!" muttered Kate as she entered the mansion. Kate hurriedly rushed to hug her son, and when Kate complained about not being allowed to see him while he was in prison, a shocked Sami said, "I guess I'm not the only one." As Lucas complained about his house arrest, Kate offered to call Roman and have Lucas moved to another home. Sami argued that Lucas was staying with her and the twins, but Kate pointed out that Sami was spoken for. Defiant, Sami announced that her marriage was annulled. Kate seemed stunned for a brief moment before attempting to call Roman on Lucas' behalf. Lucas stopped his mother, explaining that "this is my family and I still have hope for us." Thrilled, Sami hugged Lucas and thanked him, just as E.J. entered the house and watched from the front hall. Kate began to bad-mouth Sami and Lucas pleaded with Kate to stop. Sami turned to Lucas and said, "I love you so much and I know we are gonna make this work." "I'm afraid I don't think it is gonna work," E.J. blurted as he strolled into the room.
E.J. explained that the judge had refused to grant the annulment because they had been intimate. Outraged, Sami asked why E.J. had told the judge about what had happened, but E.J. coldly dismissed recent events and explained that their child was the reason for the judge's conclusion. In giddy disbelief, Kate seemed to realize that this meant E.J. and Sami had sex recently, but Kate quickly became quiet as Lucas and Sami began to bicker. Sami promised to get a divorce, while Kate laughed and told them it was a sign that they should not be together.
While Sami talked to Lucas, E.J. took a phone call from Nicole. "Have you dropped your bombshell on Sami yet?" Nicole inquired. Nicole pressed on telling E.J. that she knew E.J. lied about the judge and that the annulment was granted. Confused, E.J. asked Nicole how she knew that. "I only know what you told me last night when you were drunk," Nicole purred into the phone. E.J. feigned ignorance about his plan, and Nicole informed him that E.J. had told her his whole plan the previous night. Frustrated, E.J. curtly hung up the phone and demanded that Lucas step away from his wife. Annoyed, Sami told both the men to cut it out before she headed upstairs alone. With Sami gone, E.J. turned to Lucas, smiling.
At Chez Rouge, Philip greeted an associate from Hong Kong named Yvonne Lee. As the two made small talk, Chloe walked into the restaurant and noticed them at a nearby table. Chloe wandered over to say hello, and Philip introduced the two women. Chloe excused herself in order to have her own breakfast meeting. As Chloe warmly greeted a gentleman in the corner, Philip seemed to be jealous. Curious, Philip walked over and Chloe happily introduced Philip to her real estate agent, Arthur Perkins. Startled, Philip took Chloe aside to talk about their living arrangement. Philip pleaded with Chloe to hold off on her decision to move out, but fearful of what Victor would do, Chloe proceeded to talk about condos with Arthur when Philip went back to his own table.
As Philip continued his meeting with Yvonne, he gave her the disk that he had stolen from John. Yvonne took the disk promising, "Consider it done. I've never met a code I couldn't crack"
Back at the Brady Pub, John ran into Nicole outside. John asked Nicole whether she had seen Philip, to which Nicole happily replied that she last saw Philip in bed with Brady's ex-wife. When John began to laugh, Nicole asked why the information was funny. John responded, "I find it useful." John then wandered into the pub for a cup of coffee. Caroline reluctantly served him before rushing off. Hope sidled up next to John and asked him a few questions. John wondered aloud whether Hope was asking as a friend or a cop, and she remarked that it was both. John headed outside, leaving Hope to talk to Bo about whether John was innocent of the drug smuggling charges.
Outside the pub, John called Philip and asked for a meeting. As John headed off to meet his nemesis, he again ran into Nicole. When John brushed her off, refusing to say where he was going, a smiling Nicole said, "Not telling me, Johnny-boy, just makes me curious."
At Chez Rouge, Philip hung up his phone and excused himself. Before leaving to meet John, Philip asked Yvonne whether she was clear on what he needed. Yvonne agreed, and Philip started to head out. Philip stopped in the corner of the restaurant to make a phone call, telling the person on the other end that he was on his way to meet John and that John was in for a big surprise. After hanging up on the call, Philip started to leave again but was stopped by Chloe who wanted to discuss their living situation. When Philip dismissed Chloe and kept walking, a curious Chloe grabbed her purse and said, "I'm going to find out what he's up to."
Sami is heading out with the twins when Lucas volunteers to watch them. E.J. says "over my dead body." Sami decides to take Johnny with her and leave Allie with Lucas. While caring for Allie, Lucas accidentally breaks the perimeter of his house arrest. The alarm on his ankle bracelet goes off and the cops show up and arrest him. Lucas and Allie are taken into custody and the baby is handed over to child services. Lucas is distraught and worried about his daughter.
Sami and Roman are at the Java Café when Nicole shows up. Nicole is ready to tell Sami what she knows about the annulment when Sami learns Lucas is in jail. Sami and Roman rush out. Sami goes off on Lucas. Lucas defends himself; he was trying to keep Allie safe. Sami is reunited with her daughter.
Daniel is having coffee with Lexie at the hospital. They have an easy-going, comfortable rapport. Lexie goes to a meeting as Abe comes in. Daniel praises Lexie as a doctor and an administrator. Abe thinks she works too much. Later, Abe and Lexie have a strained conversation about the problems Theo is having at pre-school. Lexie is worried and Abe dismisses it as nothing. They go off to meet Theo's teacher.
Nick meets with Dean Robbins about the testing of his fuel efficient prototype. Morgan and Chelsea are together as Stephanie arrives. They talk about their final grades and how happy they are to be out of school for the summer. Max comes in, sees them and then sees Dean Robbins. An upset Max tells the bartender he can't work his shift and hurries out. They are all twigged by Max's strange behavior. Max goes to the pier and gets into a fight with a longshoreman. Stephanie and Nick break it up.
Philip is at home when John storms in. He knows Philip set him up by planting that cocaine in his shipment. Philip denies it. The two men are at each other's throats when Chloe and Nicole come in. John leaves. Victor returns from Europe. He wants Chloe out of the house - now. Victor and Philip get into it over Chloe, and then John. Victor tells his son that from now on he will take care of John.
Max goes to work and runs into John, who is at the pier to check on a shipment. While arguing John pushes Max against a crate and the two of them face off, both ready to explode.
Nicole was at the DiMera mansion asking E.J. to speed up her divorce when Lucas and Sami walked in, escorted by police. Allie started crying, and E.J. picked her up, which calmed her down, much to Lucas' chagrin. E.J. demanded to know what happened. Sami explained that Lucas got arrested for leaving the perimeter to go after Allie. E.J. went off on Lucas and then told Sami that Lucas should be in jail for violating the terms of his probation. Sami explained that her father pulled some strings to give Lucas one more chance, and when Nicole made a wisecrack about giving Lucas a week before he messes up again, Sami told E.J. she didn't want Nicole in their house. E.J. told Nicole to leave and agreed to meet up later for dinner and drinks. E.J. said he would put the twins down for a nap, but Lucas said he didn't want E.J. near his daughter. E.J. told Sami to make sure Lucas wasn't left alone with the children. When E.J. left the room, Lucas asked Sami if she was going to do what E.J. told her. Sami said she thought it was best if Lucas wasn't alone with the twins, given what had just happened with his house arrest. E.J. got the twins to sleep, but before E.J. went to meet Nicole, he asked Sami to call him if she needed to leave the house for any reason. Sami wanted to go to the gym, but she refused to let Lucas watch the babies while she was gone, so she decided to stay home.
Outside the Brady Pub, E.J. told Nicole they needed to talk, and Nicole assumed he was talking about E.J. lying to Sami about their annulment being null and void. E.J. blamed it on being drunk, but Nicole told him she bet that Sami would like to know that E.J. planned to lie to her and tell her they were still married when they weren't. E.J. played dumb but asked Nicole what she planned to do about it. Nicole called Lucas and started to tell him what was going on.
Lexie confided in Daniel about her fears that something was wrong with her son, Theo. As they were hugging, Chelsea saw them. Chelsea told Daniel that Lexie was lucky to have a friend like him. Chelsea accused Daniel of lying to her about having a girlfriend, but Daniel said he didn't lie-he didn't have a girlfriend, he was just seeing someone who was unavailable to him. Daniel said he wanted a change from the way he used to live his life. He told Chelsea she was right about him trying to avoid serious relationships with women. He admitted his attraction to her and said he would deal with their age difference, his wife, and the woman he had been sleeping with on his own. Chelsea said she understood and would stop throwing herself at him.
Meanwhile, Abe met Lexie at the hospital with important news. He said he agreed that they should have Theo examined by a specialist. Lexie said she had some important news of her own.
Max and John were about to come to blows on the pier when Stephanie intervened. Max told Stephanie that John was trying to smuggle drugs into Salem and people could have died if the drugs ever made it to the street. Stephanie was able to convince Max to leave. After they left, John had a flashback of being tortured by Stefano. Ava wandered onto the pier and asked John if he was okay. He told her to leave, but she said she couldn't because she knew what he was going through. John recognized Ava as Martino Vitale's daughter who held people hostage, and she recognized him from the newspaper's portrayal of him as a drug dealer. Ava offered to help him. She gave John the chance to ask her about her life, and he asked her about her former psychiatrist. He said he could relate, because a doctor had a hand in making him crazy too. John said he liked the new version of himself. He also admitted he felt comfortable talking to Ava. While they were talking, Abe walked up and assumed that Ava used her father's contacts to help John get the drugs that were found on his ship. John asked Ava out to dinner, but she turned him down, saying she didn't date married men.
At the Brady Pub, Stephanie demanded to know what was wrong with Max, but he said nothing was wrong and that a lot of people had been pissing him off lately. Stephanie told him she didn't know how to handle him, so she decided to step back and let him deal with it on his own. Max said he loved Stephanie, but she said she didn't think he did because if he did, he wouldn't keep shutting her out. Stephanie called Nick to ask for advice about how to handle Max.
Victor told Philip he would take over control of the company immediately, when Chloe walked in saying she was moving out. Philip tried to convince her not to leave, but Victor told him he was forbidden from seeing her. Philip stood up to Victor and told him that Chloe was a friend and that Victor couldn't tell him who to see. Victor said he couldn't believe that his son would choose a piece of trash over his own family. Chloe decided to move into the Salem Inn until she could find a permanent place. Victor asked if Philip was sleeping with Chloe. Then, Victor asked if Philip thought Chloe would stay with him after she found out that Philip planted drugs on John's ship. Victor asked Philip where he got the drugs, and Philip told him he got the half a million dollars in cocaine from Victor's old connection in Mexico. Victor said he was displeased to see that Philip was sounding more like him everyday. He said Philip handled John the wrong way, but Philip said he had a legacy to protect.
Chloe met with Philip at the Java Café but refused to talk to her about his argument with his father. She wondered if that meant their arrangement was off. Philip told her their arrangement was still on, but he said he didn't tell Victor about their involvement. He said his father was having a hard time letting go of his control. Sami walked in, and Chloe tried to talk to her about Brady. Sami gave her the cold shoulder. Philip told Chloe about Lucas living at the DiMera mansion with Sami and E.J. He said he couldn't talk to Philip with everything happening with John. All of a sudden, Chloe got a look on her face and said she had to go.
Outside the Brady Pub, Nicole was on the phone with Lucas, about to tell him that Sami and E.J. were no longer married, when E.J. grabbed the phone out of her hand and hung it up. When she saw that E.J. really was angry, Nicole tried flirting with him, but he wasn't amused by her antics. So she got to the point: Give her what she wanted or she'd blab that the annulment had actually gone through. He chastised her for blackmailing him, but she tried to laugh it off until he accused her of only allowing herself to be vulnerable in situations she could manipulate or control, and of hiding her emotions behind things like booze and blackmail. Her eyes filled with tears as she apologized for not being the kind and caring person she was capable of being. She just managed to choke that she only wanted someone to talk to before walking off.
Inside, preparations were underway for the celebration of the pub's Green Certification. Max broke a glass as he was hanging a banner behind the bar, with Stephanie looking on worriedly. Nick soon joined her and asked why she'd sent him so many text messages. She admitted she was worried about whatever was going on with Max that he wouldn't share with them.
Chelsea rushed in and greeted Grandma Caroline and little Ciara, then wandered over and asked to speak with Nick privately. After Stephanie left them, Chelsea apologized for hurting Nick, and explained that she had been in love with Daniel, but it hadn't worked out. She said she regretted throwing away her relationship with Nick, and again apologized that she'd hurt him. Nick confessed that he was still in love with her. She asked if they could still be friends, because she missed having him in her life. He said he couldn't, and that he'd moved on-and urged her to do the same.
Lucas, who was working on his laptop in the DiMera living room, summoned Rolf and ordered him to take a message if Nicole called again. Rolf remarked that Nicole was "one schnitzel short of a picnic basket." When the doorbell rang, Rolf ushered Chloe in. She said she'd come to see Lucas because she was worried about him. He was skeptical of her motives because of what had happened with Brady. This riled Chloe, and they argued about whether it was men or women who drove their partners crazier-and toward addiction. Finally she'd had enough, but Philip showed up just as she was walking out.
Down on the docks, Rusty, the longshoreman, explained to John that, because of the federal investigation, the government had impounded John's shipments. Bo and Hope arrived as Rusty was leaving, and Hope cautioned John that they were building a strong enough case against him to get a conviction. John reiterated his claim that Philip Kiriakis had planted the cocaine on his ship. Bo warned him that continuing to swear he'd been framed just made him look guilty.
Bo and Hope dropped by the Kiriakis mansion to ask Victor if he knew anything about what was going on with John. Victor feigned sympathy for John's situation, and denied having any involvement with planting the cocaine on John's ships. He then tried to get Bo and Hope to stay for a visit to catch up, but they declined.
Philip told Lucas that he'd waited until John wasn't home to come by, and expressed his surprise at seeing Chloe there. They were interrupted when Philip's cell phone rang. It was an irate Victor, who would not be put off. Philip carried his phone into the foyer while Victor angrily informed him that Bo and Hope had been by to question him about the drug bust at the pier. Philip said he was handling the situation, but Victor shouted that he was taking control of it immediately. John returned home just in time to overhear Philip's angry words and demanded to know why Philip was in his house.
John let Lucas have it for entertaining Chloe and Philip, and threatened to send him back to prison unless he kicked them out immediately. Lucas countered that, since John had agreed to let Lucas live at the DiMera mansion, his family or anyone else should be able to visit him. As their argument escalated, Philip led Chloe out.
Chloe later returned to the mansion to ask Lucas again if they could try to be friends. She confessed that she had no one and could really use an ally. Though Lucas freely admitted he was suspicious of her motives, he agreed on the condition that she not hurt Philip. Chloe said she was more worried about Philip hurting her.
Steve and Kayla arrived at the NICU to see baby Joe. Nurse Maxine gave them the welcome news that their son would be taken off the respirator the next day.
Roman arrived at the pub and told Max he'd heard what had happened between Max and John, and asked what was going on with him. The rest of the Brady clan had arrived, and Caroline gave a brief speech thanking her family and employees for all their hard work in getting the pub's green certification. Max then toasted his mom, and began a speech about how going green with the pub had been a dream of his Pop's, but he got choked up and turned the floor over to Bo. Bo took over and declared that their Pop would be proud of what they'd accomplished, and as he raised his glass to Shawn, Max slipped out the back.
As Bo continued speaking about the environment and how they were fulfilling Shawn's wishes to make the world a better place, Steve and Kayla came in quietly. Caroline was officially presented with her framed Green Certificate, amid much applause and cheering, then stepped behind the bar to cut the ribbon. Steve and Kayla told a thrilled Stephanie that her baby brother was being taken off the ventilator. Kayla asked why Max wasn't there. Stephanie admitted she didn't know where he'd gone, so Nick left to look for him.
Nick found Max sitting alone on the pier and assured him that he'd always be there to listen if Max wanted to talk. When he saw that Max still wasn't ready to open up, he just urged him to get back to the pub before the Bradys worried any more.
As Stephanie was kissing Max hello, Steve clinked his glass to get everyone's attention. He told the group about how well baby Joe was doing, and as they cheered and applauded, he thanked them all for their love and prayers, adding, "Big Joe Johnson will be breathing on his own!"
Chelsea glumly confided to Hope that she'd once again made a mess of her life. Hope insisted that Chelsea give herself credit for the amazingly selfless way she'd saved Bo's life, and assured her that everyone made mistakes when it came to love-and that she'd find the right guy someday.
As he was leaving the pub, Nick ran into Dean Robbins out front. The dean invited Nick to come to his book signing that night at the Java Café.
Chelsea said her goodbyes to Bo and Hope and told them she was off to ask Victor for a favor. She sneaked out the back door so she could avoid running into Nick out front. Bo and Hope left Ciara with Caroline so they could get back to their investigation.
Victor ordered someone on the phone to double the security at all the Kiriakis ports until further notice. When Philip returned, Victor ordered him in no uncertain terms to stay away from John Black, that Victor would handle it himself-alone. Philip replied that he had been the one who had planted the cocaine on John's ship and would see his plan through to the end.
John met with Rusty on the docks again. The longshoreman was uncomfortable being seen with John, but John offered him a wad of cash in exchange for information. Rusty said he'd seen Paul Hollingsworth hanging out with Philip Kiriakis recently.
On the phone, Philip ordered Paul to lie low and keep his mouth shut, and assured Paul he wouldn't be investigated.
Back at the Kiriakis mansion, E.J. apologized if he'd hurt Nicole's feelings, but added that he was just being honest. As he urged her to stop hiding behind her façade, she pulled him into a kiss.
