After getting Lucas to the hospital, Sami learns that E.J. shot John. Roman asks if Sami saw anything when she was trying to flag a ride to the hospital, but she lies. She doesn't tell her father that she helped E.J. escape. Sami finds her mother in the hospital chapel. Marlena is furious with John for lying to her and endangering his life. After the promises he made to her in Italy, Marlena thought he would always put her first. Sami assures her mother that John loves her and will fight with everything in him to come back to her.
Steve has a profound reaction to the tarot card Benjy gave him - 'the devil' - but he downplays in front of Kayla. She insists that he have a complete physical to determine if something's wrong.
Abe reassures a shaken Lexie that Roman was just doing his job when he "interrogated" her regarding what she witnessed at the boathouse. Abe thinks Lexie fears that Stefano will exact revenge if she testifies against E.J. Lexie changes the subject. How did Abe's visit with the eye doctor go? Bad news. He's losing his vision and worries about Lexie having to take care of him. Lexie lovingly assures him that he'd never be a burden.
Chelsea asks Maggie for a waitressing job at Chez Rouge. She wants to better herself in the eyes of her internet dream-man. Maggie hires her on a trial basis.
Nick meets with Abby and says he's decided to tell Chelsea the truth; he is 'Lonely Splicer'. Nick heads to the Lockhart home, where Billie has just read Steve's 'Dear John' letter and downed a bottle of red wine. Chelsea calls Billie and tells her she'll be home later. Nick would leave but senses Billie is in a bad way. The two 'lost souls' commiserate, both realizing they want the same thing: someone to love, who'll love them in return. Without stopping to think of the consequences, passion ignites and they begin to make love.
Nick and Billie are in the throes of passion. Even Nick's admission that he's a virgin doesn't stop them from making love. When it's over, Nick feels like a new man, but is also guilt-ridden that he did it with Chelsea's mom. Billie asks if it was really his first time, and he confirms. She tells him practice makes perfect and they make love again.
Meanwhile, at Chez Rouge, as Chelsea auditions for her waitressing job, Willow shows up and says this is her job. Maggie breaks up the near fight. Willow tells Maggie the charges against her were dropped and she needs her job back. Maggie agrees, provided Willow train Chelsea. Willow does, but subtly sabotages Chelsea, forcing Maggie to fire her. Chelsea tries to act unaffected; she's thrilled to lose the job. Chelsea heads home where we wonder if she'll walk in on her mother and Nick.
Sami and Lucas are reunited in the hospital, where she continues to lie about saving him by herself. Kate hears the story and thanks Sami for saving her son, but later tells Roman she doesn't believe it and she hopes Roman will find out what really happened.
Lexie meets with Tek to find out if he's absolutely sure it was E.J. he saw shoot John. Tek is positive. Still worried, Lexie says when Roman shows her the photo line-up, she'll secretly send Tek the pictures, just to be sure. After that, though, she wants him out of her life. Abe calls and Lexie has to lie about where she is. Tek reminds her she needs him to save her marriage; they're in this together.
Abe tells Max and Mimi that the skeleton they discovered in the church basement wasn't a Civil War soldier. He was the victim of a murder that the police now have to solve. Max and Mimi explain how they found him. Mimi gives Abe the ring she found in the skeleton's pocket. Later, Abe tells Mimi that Patrick has been arrested.
Bo and Hope celebrate their new baby daughter, while trying to comfort Marlena. John is in surgery and Marlena fears he won't make it. She tells a relieved Bo that she doesn't blame him for John's attack; she knows that John wanted to be part of E.J.'s takedown. She is puzzled by what he was trying to tell her about a "killer" before he was rushed into surgery. Bo suspects he was trying to tell her who shot him. Later, John is safely out of surgery, but his prognosis is unclear.
Bo and Shawn bond. Shawn apologizes for not trusting Bo about E.J., and swears that he'll do better. Bo reminds Shawn that nobody is perfect.
Chelsea arrives home and almost finds Nick and Billie doing the deed. Nick takes cover in Chelsea's bedroom. Chelsea tells Billie she got and lost a job in the same day. When she finds Nick's belt, she realizes that Billie has been with a man. Nick overhears and tries to escape, but is unsuccessful. Chelsea grins at her mom, wanting to hear every detail – after she takes a shower. Nick hides under the bed and he sneaks out while Chelsea is in the bathroom. Chelsea soon catches him in the living room, and he quickly invents a story about having information about her internet lover.
Mimi and Bonnie visit Patrick in jail. Mimi promises she'll get him the best lawyer she can. Bonnie is upset about her son, but even more upset about the skeleton Mimi found in the church. She's worried because the police are investigating and a secret could be revealed that will damage her family. It's clear Patrick knows the secret, but he's more concerned about himself. Later, Bonnie calls her younger son Connor and instructs him to come home and help before the family implodes.
Shawn comforts Belle while she waits to hear about John's surgery. They draw closer together as a family, but Belle is surprised to see Beverly Healy at the hospital; she's the woman who fawned over Claire at the Java Café. Later, Belle becomes suspicious when she discovers Beverly is from Child Protective Services.
Steve has another incident where he hears the pounding in his head, and he collapses. Kayla insists he get an MRI but the results are normal. Kayla then reveals her worry about Steve to Hope.
Marlena is devastated to learn the doctor's diagnosis of John; his brain will never recover from the shooting incident. He suggests Marlena put John in a care facility, but she refuses. She won't dump her husband in one of those places, and she won't accept the doctor's findings. Marlena demands he do another EEG. Bo and Steve drop by to check on John. When John hears Steve's voice, his blood pressure shoots sky high, and the alarms on his monitors start to blare. After John is stabilized, Marlena tells Steve she thinks he was the cause of John's pressure rising. Steve agrees to help Marlena find out if this is true. As they talk, neither notices John's hand move slightly, trying to make contact with Steve's nearby hand.
Upset about Patrick's arrest, Mimi goes to Max for comfort. Caught up in the moment, they're about to make love when Shawn and Claire enter. Shawn says he's happy they found each other, and he apologizes for being a rotten friend. Max and Mimi also apologize to Shawn, who asks Max for his job back. Max agrees. Mimi takes Claire out for a walk, eventually letting her play near a pile of old tires. She freaks when she spots a photographer taking pictures of them. The man peels out before she, Max or Shawn can confront him. Later, Shawn tells Belle he fears the woman from Child Protective Services is investigating them. And he's right. The photographer gives the pictures to the woman from Child Protective Services, who says it's time to call Mr. Kiriakis so they can move ahead with the plan.
Bo and Hope dote over their new daughter, trying to choose a name for her, but have no luck. They decide to hold a baby-naming contest and invite their friends and family to join in. In the meantime, they'll call her by the nickname Bo has given her: doodlebug. Shawn officially meets his new sister and bonds with her.
Marlena continues her vigil at John's bedside. She has a disturbing dream that he's trying to communicate but can't get through to her. Roman offers comfort and support, but breaks the news that E.J. escaped to Mexico. Marlena is gut-punched. Dr. Tucker arrives with the second set of test results; they are the same as the previous. John is not responding to stimuli. Marlena doesn't want to hear it and clings to her belief in miracles. Roman worries that Marlena isn't taking care of herself and finally convinces her to go home and get some rest. After she leaves, John manages to whisper her name.
Shawn tells Belle what happened at Max's garage: a strange man was taking pictures of Claire. Belle reaches the conclusion that Victor is making good on his threat to take Claire away from them. Beverly (from Child sServices) arrives with a cop, and informs Shawn and Belle she has a court order to take Claire. Shawn and Belle barricade themselves inside the hospital chapel. Steve and Kayla arrive and try to persuade the kids to cooperate with the authorities. Finally, Belle surrenders Claire to Beverly and collapses sobbing in Shawn's arms.
Anticipating her son Connor's arrival, Bonnie tells Billie that she and Chelsea will have to move out. Meanwhile, Mimi and Max are about to make love again when Abby interrupts them. Mimi leaves to see her mother as Max asks Abby why she's so angry. Abby hedges, not wanting to admit she's in love with him. Max presents her with an overdue Christmas gift. Abby is heartened until she reads the accompanying card Max wrote, realizing he thinks of her as a 'little sister.' Furious, she tells him she's a woman, and then storms out.
Mimi catches up with Bonnie and learns that Connor was on his way home when he went missing. Mimi thinks her younger brother took the money Bonnie sent him and split. Bonnie receives a phone call from the police informing her that Connor has been arrested.
