After leaving the hospital, Paulina insisted that Abe take her to her office. "It is incumbent on me to act mayoral. You can only let things slide for so long," Paulina said. "I'm not arguing that. I want you to know that I am here for you. I'm willing to help," Abe said. Paulina told Abe that she appreciated his support.

With a groan, Paulina announced that she wanted to start with the district attorney. Paulina complained that between Stefan's plea deal and the embarrassing press conference that E.J. had held, E.J. had too much free rein. Abe warned Paulina that a war with the DiMeras never ended well, especially with E.J. Paulina countered that E.J. had more to fear from her.

In the DiMera living room, E.J. and Nicole relaxed after dinner. Nicole asked about the DiMera stock, and E.J. confirmed that it had leveled out. E.J. asked if there was anything in the newspaper. Nicole told E.J. that the paper had published E.J.'s apology to Tate. "I'm just waiting for that to be yesterday's news," E.J. muttered. Nicole continued to read, and she noted to herself, "Now this is interesting." E.J. suggested that they watch a movie, but Nicole said she needed to go out instead. "There's something I need to take care of," Nicole said.

After Johnny and Chanel opened a wedding present from Allie, they went into the living room and showed it to E.J. and Nicole. Nicole complimented the present, then she excused herself to go run her errand. "Actually, I have a wedding present for the two of you, as well," E.J. said. E.J. handed Johnny a check. "Thanks, Dad. That's a lot of zeroes," Johnny said. E.J. said he was happy to help the newlyweds start their life together.

"I also have something else I would like to talk about," E.J. said. E.J. invited Johnny to work at the family company. Johnny thanked E.J. for the offer, but he reminded E.J. that he was not interested in "the corporate life." "Priorities tend to change when you become a married man," E.J. countered. Chanel echoed Johnny, and she said she did not want her husband to work at a job that did not inspire him. E.J. said he understood.

"If you ever change your mind, let me know," E.J. said. With a nudge, Chanel encouraged Johnny to tell his father the news. Johnny announced that he and Chanel intended to move into an apartment. E.J. wished the couple well with their apartment search.

After Johnny and Chanel left, Paulina called E.J. Paulina demanded to see E.J. "Well, let me check my schedule, and see when I have free time, let's say, next week," E.J. said. "I am in my office. I expect to see my district attorney sitting across from me posthaste," Paulina countered. Paulina ended the call so that E.J. could not object.

After Johnny and Chanel looked at a few apartments, they walked through the town square and spotted Abe in the café. Abe invited the newlyweds to join him. As Johnny and Chanel talked about the issues with the various apartments, Abe chuckled. "Coming from the DiMera mansion, everything must seem small," Abe said. "Yeah, but at least it will be ours," Chanel said. Abe asked Johnny and Chanel if they felt okay after the ordeal on the island. "No. We tested fine, both of us," Chanel confirmed. "Yeah. No harm done," Johnny agreed.

At the paper, Leo was working on a story about Stefan when Sloan called to ask about whether Leo had secured a job for Eric. "Need I remind you, Leo, that you will not be seeing a penny of that blackmail money if I don't have money to pay my bills," Sloan said. Leo reminded Sloan that he had already agreed to a pay cut. After a moment of silence, Leo relented. Leo promised to work on a solution.

Chad walked into the office, and Leo hurriedly ended his call. "Is the column ready to go live?" Chad asked. "Almost. The photos aren't ready yet. You know, our photographer has been less than reliable as of late," Leo said. Chad noted that he had not been aware of the issue. Leo suggested that they find a backup photographer. When Chad agreed, Leo pretended to have just remembered that Eric had been looking for work. "I've seen his photography firsthand. He's uber talented. Shall I send you a link to his portfolio?" Leo offered. Chad nodded yes.

After Chad reviewed Eric's portfolio, he agreed to give Eric a shot. "But you're not going to hire him right away?" Leo asked. Chad explained that his priority was to fill a vacancy for a reporter. When Chad asked if Leo would be interested, Leo declined.

While Chad continued to work, Nicole walked into the office. Nicole explained that she had seen the ad in the paper for a reporter. "Do you want to recommend somebody?" Chad asked. "Yeah. Me," Nicole said. Nicole argued that although it had been awhile since her TV reporter days, she had run E.J.'s mayoral campaign and that she loved to chase down stories. "That's a hell of a pitch. Do you have any experience in print media?" Chad asked. Nicole admitted that she did not have any experience or writing samples.

"Nicole, you have more experience than Xander, Leo, and myself when we started. And the newsroom is a little bit male-heavy at the moment," Chad admitted. "Does that mean you're willing to take a chance on me?" Nicole asked. Chad agreed, but he told Nicole that she could not report on any story that involved E.J. "Sounds fair to me," Nicole said. Chad offered Nicole the job on a trial basis.

When E.J. arrived at Paulina's office, he asked why Paulina had summoned him late on a Friday night. "Need I remind you that, as the D.A., you are a servant of the people?" Paulina asked. Paulina argued that E.J. had not only not told her about the press conference but that the press conference had been a debacle. "And then you cut a sweetheart deal with your reprobate brother after only a few measly weeks served for trafficking narcotics to our children. What the hell, E.J.?" Paulina said. E.J. asked if there was anything else. Paulina reminded E.J. of the drug epidemic.

"You work for me and the people of this city. And you're getting far too big for your britches to be thinking that you can make those kinds of decisions unilaterally. This stops now," Paulina warned. E.J. reminded Paulina that she was also a servant to the people, and she had recklessly left the hospital when she had still been irradiated. Paulina argued that it had been necessary for her to have left isolation to help find her missing daughter.

"These are private matters," Paulina said. "I do believe the good people of Salem would disagree," E.J. said. E.J. informed Paulina that several first responders had reached out to him about the incident and that at least one had requested criminal charges against Paulina for her actions.

"What? No one was hurt," Paulina said. "They certainly could have been. You were lucky," E.J. countered. Paulina said she had no regrets for what she had done to save her daughter. "I've been hearing quite a few murmurs from the people about how they are wishing for the good old days of the other Mayor Carver, the sane one," E.J. said. Paulina scowled.

After work, Abe escorted Paulina home. Paulina complained about E.J.'s attitude and his comments. "Well, E.J. does know how to push the buttons, not unlike my beautiful and feisty wife," Abe said. Abe and Paulina sat down on the couch and watched a movie. "It is good to have you home," Abe said. "It's good to be home. I just hope the kids and Julie are okay," Paulina said. Abe told Paulina about his conversation with Johnny and Chanel. With a sigh of relief, Paulina said she was happy that Johnny and Chanel had decided not to continue to live with "the creepy D.A."

Worried, Paulina asked Abe if the couple had looked okay. "No lethargy or anything?" Paulina asked. "They were fine," Abe said. In the square, Chanel wavered on her feet. "I'm suddenly just so, so tired," Chanel told Johnny. As Johnny led Chanel toward home, she covered her mouth and appeared uncomfortable.

At the DiMera mansion, Nicole listened patiently as E.J. poured a drink and ranted about Paulina. E.J. glanced over at Nicole, and he saw her disinterest. "I'm so sorry. I'm so caught up in the mayor and her drama that I forgot to ask you about your mysterious outing," E.J. said. Nicole informed E.J. that she had found a job as a reporter.

"Is that a good idea, given that I'm the D.A.? Not to mention you're adjacent to the goings-on at DiMera Enterprises. Isn't that a conflict of interest?" E.J. asked. Nicole explained that she had talked to Chad about the conflicts of interest. "I won't have anything to do with DiMera," Nicole said. Nicole added that she believed it was a job of which she could be proud.

"I love seeing that fire in your eyes again. So, I support you wholeheartedly," E.J. said. After a toast, E.J. pitched a story about Paulina's "unconscionable behavior during the Smith Island snowstorm." E.J. argued it would be a coup to get a story about the mayor's misappropriation of power. Nicole admitted she was unsure.

"To take off from the starting line with a potentially career-threatening accusation against our beloved mayor?" Nicole said. "Beloved by whom? Not the everyday citizens I've been talking to," E.J. countered. E.J. argued that Paulina had put the lives of other people at risk with her carelessness. "I think it is someone's duty to tell the truth. Even when the truth isn't pretty. Especially when the truth isn't pretty," E.J. said.

While E.J. stepped out to take a call, Nicole called Chad. "What's up? You didn't change your mind about the job already, did you?" Chad asked. Nicole said no. "Actually, I have a story to pitch," Nicole said. Chad told Nicole to go ahead. "Truthfully, it may be a little close to home for me to write. I'm not even sure if it's worth pursuing," Nicole admitted.

In the square, Eric sat on a bench and looked through the repeated credit card charges at the Salem Inn. "There can only be one explanation. Sloan is having an affair," Eric whispered. Eric called the credit card company.

Sloan was in her apartment when she received a notification that Dimitri was due to be released from prison. Panicked, Sloan called Melinda. "[Dimitri] knows about Jude! What if he talks?" Sloan asked. After Sloan's call to Melinda, she called Leo to ask to meet with him at the hotel.

In Leo's hotel room, he complained about his uninvited visitor. There was a knock at the door. "Sloan? Already? Did she fly over on her broomstick?" Leo said. When Leo opened the door, he was surprised to see Eric. Eric marched past Leo, despite Leo's protestations that he was waiting for his book club to arrive. "This is your room? And my wife is paying for it," Eric said. Leo's eyes went wide.

"Paying?" Leo said. Leo urged Eric to go home and let Sloan explain the situation. "I thought Sloan was having an affair, but after seeing you now, I realized I was wrong," Eric said. Leo nodded yes. Sloan banged on the door, and Leo opened the door a crack to tell Sloan to leave. "It's an emergency. It's Dimitri. He's about to be released from prison," Sloan hissed. "My Dimitri?" Leo gasped. Sloan pushed past Leo, and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Eric. Eric asked Sloan why she was there.

"I've come to tell Leo that his boyfriend is being released from prison. Why are you here?" Sloan asked. "I'm trying to find out why you bankrupted our family to pay for Leo's room here," Eric countered. Sloan played dumb, so Eric showed Sloan the credit card bill. "You opened my mail?" Sloan asked indignantly. When Sloan complained about Eric's investigation, Eric warned Sloan not to play any more games.

"I'm here for the truth!" Eric yelled. Sloan lied and said that she had paid for Leo's room out of a sense of guilt. "I couldn't get the love of his life out of prison. And the poor guy had no job, he had no money. I was just trying to get him back on his feet," Sloan said. Leo called Sloan a saint because of how she had helped him.

"Do you know that Eric thought you were renting this room because you were having an affair with me?" Leo said. Sloan laughed. "I can buy that you're not having an affair and why you're helping Leo out. But he has a job now, so why are you still giving him money?" Eric asked. Leo admitted that he was a shopaholic. Leo apologized to Sloan for having taken advantage of her generosity, and he promised to pay her back. Leo asked for forgiveness, and Sloan forgave Leo. "Stop! I'm not sure if you are telling me the truth or not, but this stops right now, right here. No more excuses, no more generosity," Eric said.

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