Chad appeared in Salem on June 19, 2009 when he showed up at the Java Cafe looking for his ex-girlfriend, Mia. He wanted to reconcile with her, but Mia immediately refused. Not wanting to take no for an answer, Chad transferred high schools as well as got a job at the Java Cafe so he could spend more time with Mia, despite her discomfort over the entire situation.

Prior to his arrival, sometime in 2008, Chad and Mia had had a sexual relationship which produced a daughter born on January 26, 2009 (whom Mia gave to Nicole Walker to raise and whom Nicole subsequently switched with Sami Brady’s daughter thus Sami raised Mia’s baby named Grace, while Nicole raised Sami’s baby named Sydney). But, Chad had no idea that Mia was ever pregnant because his parents had sent him to military school because of his troublesome behavior which included drug use. When Chad returned and Mia rejected his reconciliation, he quickly became suspicious of the time they spent apart.

Chad went searching for answers. His friend Kinsey informed him that Mia was in rehab while he was away. Chad knew Mia wouldn’t do drugs as he had tried to coax into doing so on several occasions and she always turned him down. Mia lied and tried to assure him she was a recovering addict to ensure he didn’t find out about the baby, but he still held his doubt. On Mia’s behalf, Nicole posed as her sponsor and had a conversation with Chad. She warned him not to upset Mia as she was truly in recovery. Chad agreed to back off, but remained suspicious of Mia’s story.

By August, Chad decided to up his plan to get Mia back. He teamed up with Kinsey, who wanted Mai’s boyfriend Will all to herself. But their plan break up Will and Mia did not work. Still, Chad knew that Mia was lying about the rehab story, so he stayed close to her in hopes of overhearing something that would let him in on the truth.

One day he overheard Mia talking to Brady Black about "the baby". Chad demanded that Mia tell him everything. She confirmed to him that she had a baby -- his baby -- and that baby was now living with Nicole and E.J. DiMera. Chad went to EJ and demanded his daughter back, but EJ refused. On many occasions afterward, Nicole attempted to convince Chad that “his” baby would be better with her and E.J. Mia also tried to convince Chad of that, but he wanted custody of his child.

Finally, after months of back and forth, the devastating truth was revealed – Nicole had switched the babies and the baby Chad had with Mia, Grace, was dead. Chad and Mia were both crushed as well as appalled by Nicole’s actions. Together, they mourned for their daughter, which drew them closer together.

Although still mourning for Grace, Chad became optimistic that he and Mia would reunite. Despite the fact she was still dating Will, Mia encouraged Chad’s hopes by accepting his invitation to Salem High’s 2009 winter dance. The problem was she had already accepted Will’s invitation too. Chad was upset when he learned the truth and decided to move on with his life, without Mia. He then began dating Gabi Hernandez.

Chad and Gabi would find little peace thanks to a jealous Mia. Ignoring his relationship with Gabi, Mia began to play dirty and tried to win Chad back, all the while lying to him that she and Will – who had become exclusive – were about to break up. Mia cited that Will was going through a hard time and she would dump him as soon as he was in a better place. Although he cared for Gabi, he loved Mia and broke things off with Gabi to pursue things with Mia once again. Gabi, however, knew Mia was lying, and soon Chad discovered that too. He promptly broke up with Mia.

Although not officially a couple, Chad and Gabi began to spend time with each other once again. Things became a little strained for them when Chad’s father, Charles, was attacked on the pier. Charles blamed Gabi’s brother Rafe, but she remained adamant he didn’t do it. When Chad questioned his father’s accusations Charles verbally tore into Chad, stating, among other insults, that he should have left him in boarding school. Chad was deeply hurt by his father’s harsh words, but was comforted by his mother, Madeline.

A short time later, Chad became intrigued by his mother’s connection to Kate Roberts-DiMera. He had noticed them exchanging heated glances, but Madeline tried to assure Chad she simply has contempt for the DiMeras, a family of lifelong criminals, and didn’t want his involvement with them to hurt the Petersen-Woods’s good name. Chad became more skeptical of his mother’s story when she acted irrationally towards him going to a study group at Will Horton’s, who was now living at the DiMera mansion. The group later met at the Java Café instead, and Chad and Will began to bond over the secret Kate and Madeline shared.

Unfortunately, Chad found out Madeline’s secret, but was hardly ready for what she told him. She turned to prostitution to pay her way through law school. He was furious with his mother and the two got into a heated argument on the pier. As Madeline tried to explain, Chad walked away. She followed him up the stairs, but, when he tried to get away from, she fell.

While barely clinging to life, Madeline told Chad that she lied for him – everything she did was for him. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died. As it turned out, Madeline suffered from hypertension as well as aneurysms and one in her brain had ruptured causing her death. Chad was a wreck with guilt and sadness, and it didn’t help that Charles blamed him. Kate, however, knew she held Chad’s future in her hands’ by holding the key to Madeline’s secret-that Stefano was Chad's biological father.

When Stefano and Chad found out about their relationship, Chad was skeptical to join the DiMera family. But, Stefano kept trying. Eventually, Chad took the job with DiMera Enterprises and moved into the DiMera mansion. Neither move went over well with his girlfriend, Abigail.

Eventually Chad got caught at the wrong place in the wrong time. During a feud between the DiMeras and the Kiriakises, Chad was shot in the chest. He recovered, but realized that being so close to the family was not a good idea. He quit his job and moved out of the mansion. He focused on Abigail and his friends, Sonny, Will, Melanie, and Gabi.

Chad, Will, and Sonny decided to start a website together that covered sports at their school - SalemSportsFan.com. The site was a big hit and soon they began discussing how to monetize it. However, one day Chad noticed some suspicious activity going on in the chat rooms. Someone was using their chat room to post odds for an illegal gambling ring. Worried that the could go to jail, the boys decided to shut down the website.

But, the men behind the gambling ring were not happy. They kidnapped Chad and Melanie and held them hostage until Will and Sonny got the site back up. Terrified that they were going to die, Chad and Melanie confessed their true feelings for each other and shared a kiss. When they were rescued, Melanie told Chad that it was a mistake and they couldn't hurt Abigail by being together.

But, the damage to the relationship had already been done. Abigail began to have feelings for someone else and Chad knew that his feelings for Melanie weren't going away. On New Year's Eve, Chad and Abigail mutually decided to end their relationship. Chad told Melanie about the break-up, but Melanie was still worried about how Abigail would feel. When Abigail saw Chad and Melanie talking, Abigail knew that something was going on between them and was furious with both of them. Melanie told Chad that they can't be together until Abigail forgave them. Abigail was angry for a while, but finally decided that Chad and Melanie would make a good match. Chad and Melanie started dating.

Chad also got some attention from another woman, Kate DiMera, who cast him as a model in one of her cosmetic ads. Gabi Hernandez appeared along side him in the pictures. Their close photo shoots led to Gabi developing feelings for Chad. Gabi schemed to get rid of Melanie by planting an earring in Chad's bed during a platonic visit to Chad's apartment. However, Chad asked Gabi to explain the earring to Melanie. Chad and Melanie continued on their happy relationship.