Days of our Lives Recap, September 1, 2025: A picture is worth a thousand words for Brady and Tate

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, September 1, 2025, Melinda panics, Marlena has another restless night, and the mini golf course becomes the site for reunions, apologies, and stolen kisses.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

In Horton Town Square, Chad and Thomas engaged in some back-to-school shopping. They reminisced about Abigail’s pre-school advice to Thomas: “erase your fear.” Noticing something was bothering Thomas, Chad got his son to open up about a fight he’d had with Rachel. Thomas had tried to make Rachel feel better about her mom going away, but Rachel had lashed out at him.

Chad assured Thomas that Rachel wasn’t actually mad at him and that she had plenty of supportive people in her corner, including Thomas. Chad handed Thomas a pack of erasers and suggested they get to work on “erasing” their fears together. Thomas hugged his dad.

At the Brady Pub, Marlena and Rachel greeted Tate his first day back on the job. Tate suggested he had something for Rachel, went behind the counter, and came back with a smores sundae. Rachel took a few unenthusiastic bites but did perk up when Tate invited her on a “great adventure.” When she raced away from the table to prepare, Marlena complimented Tate on how good he was with the little girl. Tate affirmed he loved his sister and that he could relate to having a mother in prison.

At Cat’s place, Cat and Felicity showed Aaron around the family’s new living space. Cat expressed how grateful she was to have her brother back and to have her mom settled into her new accommodations. The siblings were happy to be back together and talked about Aaron’s plans to move into the dorms and the family’s plans to go for a few rounds of miniature golf, with the loser springing for pizza. After light banter about preferred pizza toppings, the conversation took a more serious turn when Cat disclosed that their brother Mark’s parole hearing was imminent. The Green clan expressed their hopes for Mark’s release and then left for their mini golf excursion.

Later, at the mini golf course, Aaron and Felicity went ahead on the courses while Cat stayed behind to look for a scoring pad. When Cat turned around, she was greeted by Chad and Thomas. Father and son explained mini golf was their annual back-to-school tradition. Charlotte was on a playdate, so it was just the boys. After Thomas left to fetch some golfing equipment, Chad and Cat chatted, leading to Chad saying he had something he wanted to tell Cat.

Before Chad could make his confession, Tate and Rachel arrived, ready for their "adventure," and interrupted the conversation. Rachel worried she’d hurt Thomas’ feelings, but Chad reassured her that Thomas understood. Rachel and Tate left to find Thomas so she could apologize to him.

On the golf course, Aaron fetched a ball out of a windmill as Tate and Rachel approached. Tate was pleasantly surprised his friend was already back in town. Aaron said hi to Rachel and suggested she catch up to Thomas and Felicity on the next hole. Rachel took the suggestion, leaving Aaron and Tate to talk.

Aaron empathized with how difficult the summer had been for Tate. He believed that Sophia giving the baby up for adoption would ultimately be the best thing for both her and Tate, since being young parents would have upended their future. Tate hoped that belief turned out to be true.

Back at the beginning of the course, Chad said he wanted to apologize for giving Cat a hard time about working for EJ. He was confident she could take care of herself and handle his brother. Cat thanked Chad for the apology. He admitted he had been on edge because of Jack and Jennifer’s imminent arrival in town for JJ’s birthday.

Chad dreaded what they would say about his continued friendship with Cat. She lightly urged him not to mention her name “at any cost.” Holding her gaze, he questioned if he could take that advice since “the universe” seemed to keep bringing them together. Aaron reappeared and urged the “slowpokes” to get going with the game. Cat smiled at Chad and advised him to “stop keeping score” with the universe.

Later, at the windmill hole, Cat needled Chad about his bad aim. As she put her hands on his to show him proper form, their eyes locked. Chad stepped closer and revealed that he had lied about Cat not kissing him.

Cat was mortified and started to apologize, but he added, “It’s just not how I imagined kissing you the first time – for real.” With those words, Chad pulled Cat into a kiss. He broke the kiss and affirmed, “But that was.” Cat chuckled and returned the kiss in full.

In Patsy McGowan’s law office, Brady questioned the attorney about the adoption of Tate’s baby. She confirmed his suspicions by revealing she had never heard of Tate. As Brady started to explain the circumstances of the adoption, Patsy received a phone call. She ended the call after a brief exchange and returned her attention to Brady.

Patsy suddenly changed her tune and said she had handled the case. She hadn’t remembered Tate because she hadn’t personally met him. Patsy then “confirmed” she had placed the child with the adoptive parents. She claimed they might be hesitant to let Tate visit for fear he might change his mind about the adoption.

After absorbing Patsy’s story, Brady asked her if the baby had been a girl or a boy. Patsy said the baby was a girl. Brady then asked about getting a copy of the adoption papers, but Patsy refused on the grounds of client confidentiality. Brady thanked the attorney and took his leave.

Later, Melinda met with Patsy McGowan and was relieved to learn that their plan had worked. Patsy cautioned Melinda they might still have a problem. Brady had requested a copy of the adoption papers, and he had asked about the baby’s gender. Melinda was unsettled by the developments and frustrated that Brady nor Tate had let the matter go yet. She assured herself she’d find a way out of it.

When she left the office, Melinda made a call to Sophia and said they needed to talk.

Back in Horton Town Square, Brady ran into Marlena. She updated him on Tate and Rachel’s mystery adventure. Marlena got choked up when Brady remarked that Tate took after his “Grandpa John.” Marlena composed herself and presented Brady with a picture frame. She suggested Brady find a picture of Rachel and Kristen together and put the framed photo in the little girl’s room.

Brady was touched by the gesture and hugged Marlena. After they returned home, Brady offered to get Marlena food because he was worried about her keeping her strength up. She joked she’d already seen Rachel’s “addition” to the freezer: the mice for her snake. Marlena let Brady know how grateful she was to have Rachel and him staying there with her. When she left the room, Brady wiped away a tear.

Later, Tate arrived home with the news that Rachel had shooed him away from the golf course so she could play with Thomas. Chad would be dropping her off. Brady had been looking at the lawyer’s business card but put it away when Tate arrived. He did show Tate the picture frame Marlena had given him. It contained the picture of the baby and the adoptive parents.

Tate seemed surprised that Marlena had a copy of the photo. When Tate explained it was the photo of his “baby,” Brady uttered, “Oh, my God.” Recovering from his shock, Brady informed Tate that the photograph had come with the picture frame.

Meanwhile, in Marlena’s bedroom, she tossed and turned in her sleep as she dreamed again about her time as Queen of the Night. “My children need me,” echoed over the dream.

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