Days of our Lives recap for Monday, January 2, 2023
In today’s Days episode, EJ and Nicole jumped into bed, Gabi pulled Stefan and Chloe out of bed, Johnny and Wendy shared a tender moment in Horton Square, while Eric and Brady scrambled to make their kidnapping plot work.
In the last Days recap, Li and Kristen were arrested at Gabi’s wedding and later, EJ admitted everything to Nicole, Gabi found Stefan and Chloe in bed and Kristen made the stunning discovery that Rachel was gone.
EJ and Nicole watch the fireworks on television in the DiMera mansion living room. They wish each other a Happy New Year and lean in for a kiss.
They pause and Nicole asks if this is just a traditional New Year’s Eve kiss. EJ says this kiss can mean whatever they want it to mean.
They kiss some more and take the party upstairs to Nicole’s room.
EJ zips Nicole out of her dress. She repays the favor by ripping his shirt open.
They fall to the bed with lips still locked, but Nicole stops.
She notes they’ve been here before. EJ says it’s their undeniable attraction, but Nicole doesn’t think they should give in to it.
She thinks they just use each other as a distraction from what they really want.
EJ tells her while she’s mooning over Eric, he’s probably making passionate love to Sloan.
Nicole doesn’t want to use EJ to get over Eric, but EJ encourages her to use him.
Nicole pushes him away and says she’s going to try restraint for once in her life. She reminds EJ she’s not over Eric and not divorced from Rafe yet.
Nicole says her New Year’s resolution is to stop making decisions she’ll regret.
EJ asks if she’ll keep his confession that he knew about what Li did to Stefan to herself.
Nicole agrees and EJ leaves the room.
Alone, Nicole takes out her phone and composes a Happy New Year message to Eric, but hesitates and deletes it.
Johnny and Wendy watch the fireworks from Horton Square, ringing in the new year with a kiss.
Wendy pulls away, but Johnny takes her hand to stop her from leaving.
Johnny says their act to make everyone think they’re a couple seems to have revealed they are actually a couple.
They both agree the kiss felt real.
Johnny wants to take a walk, but Wendy told Li she would stay with him since he’s probably about to lose his job and his wife.
Johnny understands. Wendy asks if she’ll see him tomorrow.
Johnny says the chances of that are excellent. He’s going to ask her on a real date.
They tenderly wish each other a Happy New Year and Wendy walks back to the Salem Inn.
Li paces his room at the Salem Inn, frantically calling Gabi. She’s not picking up.
Li leaves a voicemail for his new wife, desperately pleading for her to call him back.
He pours himself another drink and downs it all at once.
His phone beeps. It’s a message from Rolf.
Li calls the mad scientist back and has a screaming argument with him.
Li tells Rolf he’s ruined Li’s life and hangs up.
Stefan and Chloe ring in the new year making love in their Miami hotel room when Gabi suddenly bursts into the room.
Chloe tells Gabi to find Li and leave them alone.
Stefan tells Gabi she’s not making any sense.
Gabi tells them everything about Rolf drugging her to make her forget she figured out Stefan was brainwashed.
“Stefan, you still love me,” Gabi says. “If I remember that, so can you.”
Chloe isn’t buying Gabi’s story and demands to know the details. Why would Rolf brainwash a DiMera?
Gabi admits Rolf did it under orders from Li, Gabi’s brand new husband.
Stefan and Chloe get dressed as Gabi spells out the whole tale of Rolf transplanting Jake’s heart into Stefan.
Stefan can’t believe Li would go this far. Gabi tells him Li was the one who pulled the plug on the machines that kept Stefan alive.
Gabi wants Stefan to leave with her to find Rolf and get the brainwashing undone, but Stefan refuses.
“I’m staying right here with Chloe,” Stefan tells a stunned Gabi.
Gabi can’t believe he’d rather be in bed with Chloe than find out what happened to him.
Gabi tells Chloe Stefan is only with her because of the brainwashing and asks if that’s good enough for her.
Gabi adds Chloe is still on the rebound from Brady, but Chloe and Stefan are both unmoved.
Stefan grabs Gabi’s arm and physically escorts her out of the room. He slams the door in her face.
Gabi bangs on the door until she notices a message from Li has come through.
“This ought to be good,” she says as she goes to listen.
Stefan tries to pick things up with Chloe, but she pulls away. She reminds him of everything Gabi just said about his brainwashing.
Chloe asks if Stefan is even curious about Gabi’s claims, but Stefan says he’s tired of hearing about it.
Stefan assures her he only wants to be with her and can’t stand the sight of Gabi.
He reminds her they just made love for the first time and that’s what’s important to him.
Stefan asks Chloe what he needs to do to convince her he got over Gabi on his own.
Chloe says she doesn’t know, but she thinks Stefan should get his own room for the night.
Stefan says he’ll do what she wants. He gets dressed and is about to leave the room but asks Chloe if she’s sure this is what she wants.
Stefan tells her this was the best night he remembers having in a long time. They kiss before he walks out.
A distraught Kristen comes into John and Marlena’s living room to tell Brady little Rachel is gone.
Kristen calls Eric, who was babysitting, but the call goes straight to voicemail.
Brady flashes back to he and Eric hatching their plan to kidnap Rachel and force Kristen to hand over the lifesaving orchid.
Brady tries to calm Kristen down, which only upsets her more. She wonders why he doesn’t even look upset their daughter is missing.
Eric casually walks into the room, eating a sandwich. Kristen demands to know where Rachel is.
Eric says she fell asleep early, and he put her to bed, but Kristen says Rachel isn’t in her room.
“What happened to my baby girl, Eric?” Kristen asks.
Brady says Rachel sometimes sleepwalks and has probably fallen asleep in one of the other bedrooms.
Kristen leaves the room, calling out for Rachel.
Eric tells Brady Rachel is with Sloan.
Brady is not happy to hear Sloan is part of their scheme, but Eric says she’s his lawyer and they’re protected by attorney-client privilege.
Brady reminds Eric privilege doesn’t count when your attorney is part of your crime.
Kristen bursts back into the room and asks why Brady isn’t looking for their daughter. She pulls her phone out to call the police.
Brady reminds Kristen she’s not on good terms with the police, but she doesn’t care.
Eric slips out his burner phone and sends a text while Brady tries to calm Kristen down.
The anonymous text comes through to Kristen. It says the sender has Rachel and not to call the police.
Kristen lunges at Eric in a frenzy but Brady holds her back.
She wants to go look for Rachel, but Eric sends another anonymous text telling her to stay home and wait for instructions.
Kristen shows Brady the message. He says she should obey the demand to stay home and wait.
Brady vows to bring Rachel home safely and leaves the apartment with Eric.
The brothers confer outside the apartment door.
Brady tells Eric about Kristen’s connection to Stefan’s brainwashing. They wonder if Kristen will go back to prison.
Eric advises Brady to go back in and comfort Kristen while Eric goes to Sloan’s to see Rachel.
Brady says he’ll do whatever has to be the one to get Kristen out of their lives.
Brady returns to the apartment after Eric leaves.
Brady tells Kristen he was worried about her and didn’t want her to be alone.
A tearful Kristen wonders who would take their daughter.
They embrace as Brady assures her Rachel will be okay.
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Sloan and Rachel eat ice cream on the floor of her apartment and watch television.
Rachel says some people think ice cream is just for summer. “Those people are nuts,” Sloan says and the new friends fist bump.
Rachel tells Sloan she’s the best girlfriend Uncle Eric ever had.
Sloan seems to be surprised but not against that thought.
There’s a knock at Li’s hotel room door and he answers it to find his little sister Wendy.
Wendy tells him she and Johnny left Gabi at the airport to catch a plane to Miami.
Wendy tells Li he’s ruthless and he responds he got it from their father.
Li downs another drink and Wendy asks him if he really tried to kill Stefan.
Li tells her how he saw Stefan at Rolf’s lab and why he pulled the plug.
“You think I’m a monster, don’t you?” Li asks.
Wendy can’t believe Li would have let Stefan die if Kristen hadn’t shown up to plug the machines back in.
Li thinks he temporarily lost his mind. Wendy asks if that’s his legal defense.
Li reminds her the police commissioner is Gabi’s brother. When Rafe finds out Johnny and Wendy knew about all of this, he’ll want them to make a statement.
Wendy says she can’t lie to protect Li.
Just then, Li’s phone rings. It’s Gabi calling from Miami.
Li thanks his wife for calling him back. Gabi says she hoped the call would go to voicemail because Li would be locked up.
Li tells her Rafe let him and Kristen go due to lack of evidence.
Gabi tells Li she doesn’t need proof because she knows what he did.
“If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to make you pay,” Gabi vows.
She adds she told Stefan everything about what Li did.
Li asks if Stefan remembers loving Gabi. She admits he doesn’t, but it’s just a matter of time before they’re back together.
Gabi hangs up.
Li tells Wendy she can leave. He has nothing left.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Wendy asks.
She reminds her brother they are family and she will love him no matter what he does.
They embrace as Li looks wistful.
EJ is alone in the DiMera living room when Jonny walks in.
EJ says he was just about to have a toast with Stefano’s ghost but thinks Johnny will be better company. He pours his son a drink.
They toast to a happy new year and Johnny tells EJ they got Gabi to the airport and off to Miami.
EJ wonders if Li is talking to the police and telling them EJ knew everything about the brainwashing plot.
Johnny tells his dad he’s in luck because the police let Li and Kristen go.
EJ thinks Rafe won’t let this one go and will eventually come sniffing around.
EJ asks what’s going on between Johnny and Wendy. Johnny says it’s none of his business, so EJ knows there is something going on.
Johnny asks about Nicole. EJ says they’ll see what happens in the new year.
Father and son clink glasses.
Eric arrives at Sloan’s apartment, where Rachel is sound asleep in bed.
Sloan complains about ringing in the new year babysitting and watching mindless cartoons, but she’s happy Eric is back.
Eric tells Sloan she wasn’t babysitting Rachel. There’s something he needs to tell her.
Sloan is aghast that she helped kidnap Kristen DiMera’s kid, but Eric tells her Kristen deserves to suffer for the things she’s done to him and his family.
Gabi is still waiting outside Stefan’s room in Miami when he walks out.
She mistakenly thinks he’s come to his senses and will leave with her, but Stefan scornfully dismisses her and walks away.
“It’ll happen,” Gabi says as Stefan leaves. “It’s gonna take some time, but it’ll happen.”
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