John said he'd use any means necessary to get into E.J.'s safe deposit box, but Abe wouldn't let him act as a vigilante. Tek was still irate over the desk duty Abe had been assigning him. Abe and Tek argued, and Tek stomped out. Roman reminded Abe the department was in disarray. Abe had to trust someone. Abe gave in; he wanted to hear John's idea for gaining access to E.J.'s bank box. John said all they needed was a death certificate and a probated will. Bo thought Frankie could help them get phony ones. Abe was wary but eventually gave in.
Meanwhile, E.J. got a message from Patrick that Bo knew about Eve. E.J. decided to take action. He went to Sami and pretended to seduce her, but his real goal was to find out if she had been covering for Bo when she'd kissed E.J. while his apartment was searched. Sami covered, but E.J. was suspicious. If she was innocent, he wanted to know why she wouldn't make love to him.
E.J. started to have his way with Sami, despite her protests. Lucas barged in and warned E.J. to get his hands off Sami. Lucas told E.J. to get out. Later, Lucas got revenge when he splattered paint in E.J.'s apartment. As Sami thanked Lucas, they started to make love. Meanwhile, E.J. cleaned up the paint mess and found a hidden surveillance camera.
Willow hid when Belle and Claire showed up unexpectedly. Belle thought it was odd Shawn wasn't there, since the door was open. Shawn showed up and was glad to see Belle and his daughter. After they left, Willow emerged from hiding and lashed out at Shawn. She couldn't live like that. She wanted to move out. Shawn, ever the good guy, told her he wanted her to stay, but he appeared troubled about the situation.
Kate showed Victor a newspaper photo of Marines shipping out to war. She feared Philip had signed up for another tour of duty. Victor dismissed the idea, but Kate remained suspicious. Later, Kate showed Belle the photo. Belle was shocked. She thought it had to be Philip. In counterpoint, Victor took Claire in to visit the bandaged man again. He wanted Claire to stay close to her papa, Philip.
Tek went to Chez Rouge and started drinking heavily. He saw Lexie at a table and invited himself to join her.
Bo and John faked legal documents with Frankie's help so they could access E.J.'s safe deposit box. While E.J. was accusing Abe and the Salem Police Department of planting surveillance in his apartment, Bo and John worked to find out what he was hiding at the bank. Abe told E.J. they knew he had a connection to the DiMeras. When Abe was called away, E.J. saw that his bank records were being monitored, and he took off for the bank.
Bo and John found Italian tarot cards in the lock box. It was a close call, but they managed to get out before E.J. found them there. Later, Bo, John, and Abe realized they needed to enlist Celeste's help to interpret the hidden meaning of the cards.
At Chez Rouge, a drunk Tek harassed Lexie. When things got out of hand, the bartender called Abe. Abe arrived, and Tek taunted him about his marriage and Lexie. Abe fired Tek then punched him out and sent him home. Later, Hope met up with Lexie and offered her a job caring for Kayla and Steve. Lexie, touched, gratefully accepted.
Sami and Lucas were in the midst of consummating their love when she questioned him about his feelings. Lucas admitted he wanted more from Sami than just sex. Sami thought they should wait to see where their feelings took them before they made love.
Hope discovered that Willow was staying with Shawn. She admonished him, but he defended his decisions and argued that Hope was hardly a role model. Her feelings hurt, Hope left. Shawn declared to Willow that he was his own man, and she encouraged him to live his own life. She suggested that he do something he'd always wanted. Shawn decided to blow his money on exactly what he wanted.
Bo told Shawn that E.J. was dangerous, and he wanted his son to quit his job. Shawn said he was going to keep working for E.J. until Bo had solid proof that the guy was crooked.
E.J. held a press conference to declare that the Salem police were besmirching his good name, and he planned to sue the department and Bo, Abe, and Roman for 40 million dollars. Later, he asked Kate if she'd searched his apartment on John's behalf. After some manipulation, Kate admitted she had indeed been helping John.
E.J. and his attorney went to the station, where they offered a deal. If the cops went on TV, apologized to E.J., and declared him innocent, he'd drop his lawsuit. Hoping to avoid that, Abe asked Celeste to tell him the meaning of the tarot cards found in E.J.'s safe deposit box. A nervous Celeste said she couldn't help him. With no other choice, Abe and Roman went on the air and complied with E.J.'s demands.
Afterward, Abe told Bo their investigation of E.J. was over. Meanwhile, E.J. met with Celeste, wanting to know if she'd kept her mouth shut. She said she had, and he reminded her to stay in line. After all, she was a member of his family.
Belle showed Max the San Diego newspaper and wondered if the man in the picture was Philip. Max couldn't tell for sure. They called Mimi and Shawn for their opinions. Shawn, feeling threatened, said that even if it was Philip, there was no way he was going to save him again. He could "go to hell" as far as Shawn was concerned. Belle laid into him for being cold and insensitive. It was as if he was jealous of Philip. Belle was very disappointed in him.
Frankie told Caroline and Grandpa Shawn that he'd gotten a job in Washington, DC, and would be leaving Salem in a week. Hope told Billie that Steve only had a few scattered memories of Kayla and that he wasn't emotionally attached to her. Billie was shaken by the news and wondered what would happen when Kayla learned the truth. Hope urged Billie to talk to Steve about it.
At Chez Rouge, Nick received an invitation to the Brady Thanksgiving. The family wanted to show their appreciation to him for finding the drug that had cured Kayla. Chelsea bemoaned the fact that Nick had been invited to the holiday dinner and she hadn't. Nick asked her to go as his guest, and she agreed.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the NBC Daytime lineup of soap operas -- Days of our Lives and Passions -- was preempted by various holiday programming.
This scheduled interruption was anticipated, and there were no "lost" episodes.
Regular programming resumed on Friday, November 24.
It was Thanksgiving Day in Salem. Caroline, Grandpa Shawn, Bo, and Frankie were at the pub, eagerly awaiting Kayla's homecoming with Steve. Hope arrived with Stephanie, who was excited by the prospect of her parents reuniting. Privately, Hope noted Bo hadn't gone to bed the night before, and she had missed him.
Chelsea arrived -- uninvited -- with Nick and saw Bo kissing Hope. Bo offered to throw Chelsea out, but Hope allowed her to stay. Nick told Chelsea that it was her chance to make a good impression on the Brady family, but she remained sullen. Max took Mimi, who felt out of place. Caroline, however, surprised Mimi with a warm welcome. Max and Mimi told Abby, Chelsea, and Nick about their efforts to find Philip. Nick suggested they call the newspaper photographer and pretend to offer prize money.
Steve arrived with an emotional Kayla, grateful to be alive to share another holiday with her family. Bo thanked Nick for his role in saving Kayla's life. As the Bradys showed Nick their love, Chelsea fumed. Nick encouraged her to apologize to Hope, which Chelsea did, but the moment was interrupted, and Chelsea felt dismissed. Hope told Steve that Billie still had feelings for him. Later, Steve called Billie and asked to meet her the next day. Meanwhile, Frankie bade his family farewell, and the Bradys sat down to a loving family meal.
Lexie asked Celeste why she'd refused to help Abe interpret the tarot cards, but she evaded the question. Lexie eventually forced Celeste to admit that the cards indicated the return of the DiMeras. Abe promised to protect Celeste, but her fears weren't assuaged. Later, it looked as though Celeste was willing to cooperate.
Billie was with Kate when she learned that Chelsea intended to crash the Bradys' Thanksgiving. She warned her daughter she was walking into the lion's den, but Chelsea was determined to be included. Billie confided in Kate that Steve was only pretending to have gotten his memory back and that he still had feelings for her. Kate encouraged her to "go for it," but Billie was conflicted.
Later, Chelsea returned, furious at the way she had been treated at the Bradys'. When she found out Billie had plans to see Steve the next day, she lashed out at her mother for blowing her chance to reconcile with Bo. Determined to take action, Chelsea emailed the damning photo of Bo and Billie in bed together to Hope, Steve, and Patrick.
