Days of our Lives Recap, March 23: Rafe and Jada learn Vivian’s presumed fate

Here’s your Days of our Lives recap for Monday, March 23, when Stephanie and Jeremy’s trauma bond deepens, EJ thwarts the investigation, and Marlena lends a listening ear to Leo.

What happened on Days of our Lives

At the Horton house, Julie lauded Jeremy as a hero. She asked if he still planned to leave Salem. Jeremy revealed he’d had second thoughts and would be sticking around a while longer. Julie was elated, since the house had felt so empty without Jeremy. She intended to ensure he got an apology from everyone who had believed the worst of him.

Julie then confessed she’d temporarily lost her faith in Jeremy as well. Jeremy believed he’d made the perfect patsy for Owen for a reason. Even his own father had eventually questioned his innocence. He’d let his dad know he wouldn’t be coming home just yet.

At the police station, Alex paid a visit to Jada and asked for a favor. She obliged and offered reassurance to Alex that Stephanie and he would get through their latest struggle. Jada didn’t think the couple would meet the same fate as Rafe and her.

At the hospital, a restless Stephanie called out for Jeremy. She awakened from her nightmare to find EJ looming over her. He quickly apologized for startling her and gave his sympathies for her ordeal before pivoting to the real reason for his visit. EJ had wanted to request that Stephanie not pursue legal action against him or the hospital. He pledged that he had known nothing about Owen or about Dr. Rolf’s discovery of the kidnapped duo.

Stephanie questioned whether EJ was being completely forthcoming with her. The conversation didn’t proceed much further because Alex arrived and not-so-politely showed EJ the exit. Stephanie told Alex about the encounter but expressed doubt that EJ was telling the truth. Alex attempted to cheer his wife up by presenting her with his “favor” from Jada: the engagement ring that had been retrieved from the evidence room. When Alex slipped the ring on Stephanie’s finger, though, she visibly recoiled.

Stephanie explained she’d had a flash of when Owen had ripped the ring off her finger. Alex profusely apologized for not thinking about how the ring was now “tied” to Stephanie’s pain. She reassured him that the gesture was sweet and that she just needed time to readjust to normal life. She requested that Alex put the ring back on as the first step in that process. After some hesitation, he did just that and tenderly kissed Stephanie’s hand.

When Alex briefly left the room to get Stephanie a snack, though, she took the ring back off before haltingly sliding it on again. Stephanie’s demeanor seemed to calm when she received a visit from Jeremy. She welcomed him inside and indicated he was the only one who really understood what she was feeling. After asking about his thumb (which was on the mend), Stephanie again expressed her regret for how she had essentially turned the entire town against him.

Jeremy understood Stephanie’s feelings at the time, given their history. He suggested the treatment he had gotten might have been his comeuppance and what he had deserved. Stephanie stressed that no one deserved what Jeremy had endured.

Out in the hospital corridor, Alex briefly met up with Kayla. He opened up about how Stephanie seemed distant and “uneasy” around him and confided his fears that the abduction would drive them apart, just as it had with Jada and Rafe. Kayla gave her son-in-law a pep talk and referred to him as Stephanie’s hero. Alex seemed more upbeat when he returned to the room…until he overheard Stephanie say to Jeremy that she could have never gotten through the trauma without him.

In Leo’s hospital room, Kayla examined her still-loopy patient. She interrupted his rambling to inform Leo that he wasn’t ready to talk to the cops yet and that she had requested Marlena speak with him. Leo was initially taken aback when Marlena entered the room and blurted that she was looking at him with “disdain.” But when Marlena assured Leo how much she cared about him, he enthusiastically asked for a hug, which turned awkward.

Once he was alone with Marlena, Leo’s whimsical musings gradually grew more serious. He filled Marlena in on everything he had been through with Dimitri, including two near-death experiences. The misadventures had made his feelings for Dimitri “tap-dance” to the surface again, Leo acknowledged. But he felt guilty about those feelings because they were another betrayal of Javi.

Leo updated Marlena on his ill-fated call with Javi, whose rejection was probably for the best since Javi deserved better. Leo lamented losing Javi and possibly never seeing Dimitri again, and he feared being alone for the rest of his life. Leo pondered aloud if losing Javi would make him lose the part of himself that had been kinder, more honest, and “possessed by a Hallmark movie.” Marlena reasoned that Leo always had those positive qualities inside him, and he could keep them for as long as he wanted. Following Leo’s request for one final nugget of wisdom, Marlena promised her patient/friend that his capacity for loving deeply and “bravely” would one day lead Leo to love again.

In Horton Town Square, EJ finally returned Paulina’s frantic calls. Paulina demanded to know Lexie’s location, but EJ remained vague. He did want Paulina to ensure that a search warrant for the lab would not be granted. Paulina bristled as EJ subtly blackmailed her with the prospect of Abe finding out about her deception. She ended the call with a huff and turned to see Abe approaching.

Abe asked if Paulina was okay. She admitted she was having a hard time because of all the recent drama in town. After Paulina counted Liam being on the lam as one of those dramas, Abe conceded that he had a better understanding of why his former mentee had kept quiet for so long. The admission seemed to give Paulina pause. Abe also mentioned spending the day at the cemetery on his and Lexie’s wedding anniversary, which prompted Paulina to make another call.

In a closed Small Bar, Cat and Rafe talked about the search warrant they needed for EJ’s lab. While the pod had been scrubbed clean of any DNA evidence, Rafe still believed something of value could be found in the lab. The partners talked about Cat’s unsuccessful efforts to extract information from Mark and her successful attempt to distract EJ from intervening in Stephanie’s rescue. When Cat suggested EJ might not have known about Stephanie being held in the secret room, Rafe challenged her on whether she was developing a soft spot for EJ. Cat claimed she was just doing her job and that she had no feelings for EJ.

Rafe wasn’t entirely convinced, especially after Cat admitted she had kissed EJ as part of her distraction attempts. Rafe chastised his partner, but she argued the ploy had worked…except she wasn’t so sure that her lie about a prior “Sleeping Beauty” kiss with EJ in Italy had been a lie after all. She had begun having memories of just such a moment.

Later, Rafe convened with Jada at the police station. They updated each other on their investigations with EJ, Stephanie and Jeremy’s abduction, and Alamainia. On the latter front, the commissioner and the agent received a revealing bit of information. A death certificate had been filed for Vivian Alamain, and the supposed cause of death had been heart failure. Rafe put Andrew and Paul on the case to investigate.

At the DiMera mansion, EJ warmly greeted Cat. She apologized for the kiss and the timing of it. He was her boss, and she wasn’t ready for a relationship, so it shouldn’t happen again. EJ said he understood and would follow her lead, but he did acknowledge his attraction to her. EJ jokingly admitted he’d never been kissed just prior to being arrested.

EJ's comment gave Cat the opening to interrogate him about whether he had known about Stephanie and about what was in the pod. EJ claimed no knowledge of Stephanie and claimed “proprietary” confidentiality in regard to the pod. He did assure Cat that he had involved her brother in nothing illegal. The two shared a drink and a close moment, but they were interrupted by a text from Paulina.

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EJ breathed a sigh of relief when he read the mayor’s response: “It’s done.” Meanwhile, Rafe and Jada received the unwelcome news that their request for a search warrant had been denied.

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