Days of our Lives Recap, September 11: Javi told Leo the truth about his daughter

Here is your Days of our Lives recap for Thursday, September 11, 2025.

What happened on Days of our Lives

At the Hernandez house, Leo found Javi deep in thought. When Leo asked what was wrong, Javi reminded him that Tesoro would soon be adopted and leave them. Leo admitted that he never thought he wanted to raise a kid, but he couldn't stand the idea of losing Tesoro.

As Javi spoke of all the people who wanted to adopt Tesoro, Leo wondered if they should be on the list. "Wouldn't we jump straight to the top?" he asked. Javi told Leo that he had the same thoughts and met with a lawyer, but did not get positive encouragement.

Javi admitted that the problem was him. After coaxing from Leo, Javi told the truth. "I had a daughter. And she died," Javi wept.

At the Brady Pub, Holly and Tate enjoyed breakfast and commented on how the coffee was so much better than dorm coffee. Tate admitted that he was nervous about the first day of classes, but looked forward to his film class. Holly would be taking the class, too.

Tate ribbed Holly about only signing up for the class cause Johnny was teaching it, reminding Holly that she once had a crush on Johnny a few years back. "I was never in love with Johnny. I was just dumb and young and had a stupid crush. That's all," Holly insisted.

Holly could tell that Tate was in a bad mood and didn't think it was just about dorm and roomie problems. Tate confessed that Sophia had lied about the adoption being an open one, and it was only semi-open. "I am just going to have to accept the fact that I am not going to meet or see a picture of my kid," Tate lamented.

He also told Holly that Sophia gave him a stock photo and claimed it was their baby. "Tate, that's so messed up," Holly correctly observed. Tate suddenly realized that Sophia had the adoptive parents' names and more details about them. He'd just have his work cut out for him getting the information out of Sophia.

Chanel greeted Johnny, who was hard at work preparing for his first day of teaching. Chanel wanted to talk, but noted how busy Johnny was. "Yes, I am busy today, and I am sorry about that, but for you, I have all the time in the world," Johnny said.

Chanel finally spoke up and told Johnny she had been thinking about having a baby. Johnny was all for the idea and was ready to go to the bedroom to start their little project, but Chanel stopped him. She reminded Johnny she was still not in the clear to become pregnant, but had been thinking about adopting.

When Johnny said he was all for the idea, he started looking for an adoption lawyer. Chanel stopped him and said she already had a baby in mind — the one who was abandoned at the firehouse. "When I saw him in the papers, I just felt this connection with him, this pull. Like I wanted to take him home and just take care of him and love him," Chanel said.

Chanel hoped that Mayor Paulina would have some pull to get them to the top of the list for potential adoptive parents. Johnny worried that Chanel would get her hopes up only to be crushed again.

In Horton Town Square, Rachel asked Brady if they could go to the pet store to get something for S'mores. Brady wanted to use their time alone before school to talk about Kristen. "Mom's going to prison, isn't she?" Rachel asked. She broke into tears when Brady confirmed the worst. She was further distraught when Brady told her Kristen would be in prison for six years.

To cheer her up, Brady suggested that they get treats and skip school, but Rachel insisted on going. "It would be nice to see Thomas," she said. Brady noted how proud he was of his daughter.

However, Holly later found Rachel alone on a park bench. She had snuck out of school to be alone and planned to run away. A tear-filled Rachel told Holly that her mom was in prison and "it was my fault."

"None of this would have happened if I hadn't helped my Grandma kidnap Ava so she would stay away from my dad," Rachel cried. She felt it was her fault Kristen was arguing with EJ.

Holly did her best to calm Rachel down and assured her that Kristen's imprisonment wasn't her fault. Holly convinced Rachel to let her take her back to school.

As for Brady, he ran into Tate after taking Rachel to school. Tate told him about he revelation he had. Sophia would know about the adoptive parents. Brady wondered how Tate could possibly know if the information Sophia gave him was true.

Tate also mentioned that Sophia had been acting odd in the few days leading up to the baby's birth, which made Brady suspicious. She wouldn't even let Tate feel the baby kick. After Tate left for class, Brady called Steve. "Do you remember when I told you that firehouse baby could not have been Sophia's, cause she was still pregnant when he was born? Well, what if she wasn't?" he asked.

Alex arrived at Stephanie's place and asked if she'd spoken with the person who was investigating the Titan-DiMera takeover. Stephanie insisted that the person was telling the truth when they claimed they hadn't planted the bug. Alex asked who the person was, so Stephanie tried to swear him to secrecy.

When Alex finally agreed, Stephanie told them the person she spoke to about the bug was her father. Alex was not happy to hear that Steve refused to tell her who his client was. Alex was still in a panic that someone now knew the truth about the forged letter. "I just wish you had told me when you knew what your dad was doing," Alex said.

Alex finally calmed down and apologized for making Xander's problems their problems. Stephanie was happy to hear that Xander was officially going to make Philip co-CEO.

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