Chapter 25: Good News? – Friday, December 23, 2011

Nathan had just finished his shift and decided to head home to clean up and relax a bit before he met with Melanie at the Brady Pub. He spotted Daniel walking towards the coffee station and realized he hadn't talked to Daniel since the night they went out to Chez Rouge to celebrate his engagement with Melanie.

Walking over to Daniel, Nathan greeted him. "Hey, Dr. Jonas." Now that Daniel was going to be his father-in-law, Nathan felt a bit awkward calling him by his first name.

Daniel turned and thought it was weird that Nathan called him Dr. Jonas. "It's been a while since you called me that." Daniel didn't want to say anything else to Nathan because he didn't want to talk to Nathan about his disappointment in him at the hospital.

"Yeah, I guess," Nathan laughed. "I'm heading out now. I thought I would check in with you before I left."

Daniel gave Nathan a weird look. "Why? Look, you should get out of here while you can. Besides, I like to drink my coffee in peace."

Nathan sensed Daniel wasn't in the mood to talk to him. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I'm going to see Melanie later. I'll let her know I saw you." Nathan nodded his head to Daniel and headed for the elevator wondering if Daniel was just having a bad day.

Daniel turned back to make himself a coffee. He shook his head and thought about how Nathan never asked him for his permission. He wondered if he should make a big deal about it when he needed to focus on other things.

Jennifer walked out of her office and began to head over towards the doctors' offices hoping to talk to Daniel. As she walked out by the nurses' station, she noticed Daniel standing by the coffee station. "Daniel," she called out walking towards him. "I wanted to check in on you."

Daniel pretended he had no idea why she would feel the need to check in with him. "Who me? Why?"

"About yesterday – with the awkwardness with JJ." Jennifer could tell Daniel didn't want to talk about it. "I'm not going to ask about your feelings, but I want you to know that I am going to talk to JJ about you – about who you really are to me – so that he understands. Hopefully that will alleviate some awkwardness in the future."

Daniel took a sip of his coffee and gave Jen a concerned look. "Are you sure you want to tell him everything?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure he already knows, but it would be good if he heard it from me directly." Jennifer put her hand on Daniel's arm. "It's going to be fine. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I can't wait to see the tree and the ornaments. I wish that Gram and Grandpa Tom could be a part of it all, but I know they will be there in spirit."

Daniel smiled at how Jennifer described it all. He felt a bit guilty because he had already made plans. Maxine walked over to him with a paper in her hands. "Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Jonas, but I have your schedule for the weekend. Could you look at it and tell me if it's right?"

As Maxine handed Daniel the form, Jennifer realized that Daniel decided to work over Christmas weekend. "Daniel, are you really doing this? Are you really working this weekend so you can avoid any awkwardness with my son?"

Daniel didn't want to lie to her. "Jen, I am doing this for your family. I want you to be able to not worry about me so you can focus on your family over the holiday. I don't want to get in the way of your relationship with your son and ruin Christmas for anyone."

Jennifer looked into Daniel's eyes. "Daniel, you don't have to run away. Let me worry about my relationship with JJ. I want you to be there."

Maxine felt a bit uncomfortable standing there. "Dr. Jonas, I'll allow you some time to think it over, but please let me know as soon as possible, so I can plan accordingly."

As Maxine walked away and Daniel and Jen continued to talk, Colin and Ignazio walked into the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Ignazio turned to Colin. "My nonna is hoping for good news."

Colin smiled, "Don't worry. I have good news."

At the DiMera mansion, EJ and Sami began to discuss the best plan of action to approach Johnny, while the kids were upstairs with Mary. After showing and explaining Johnny's family portrait to EJ, Sami looked up to her husband and shared, "So Chelsea recommended we approach Johnny about this."

"I want to wait until after Christmas. We don't want to ruin Christmas by talking to him about his behavior and what he might have seen Will and Chad do under that table." EJ wondered if he should ask Chad and Will what exactly they were doing under the table. He could not believe what Johnny drew and said about the family picture he colored.

"Christmas might already be ruined for him because of how much he has been acting out." Sami sighed. "I think we should take care of it now, so he will have a better chance of moving on from it." Sami still wasn't sure which way would be best. "Three more days might not be so bad," she thought to herself.

Arianna walked into the main room from the back door. "EJ, you wanted to talk to me?"

EJ and Sami turned to face Arianna. They tried to pretend they had just finished having a regular conversation. "Yes, Ari. My family and I would like to formally invite you and your family to spend Christmas with us this weekend." Sami smiled to let Arianna know she was okay with spending Christmas with her.

"I really appreciate the gesture," Arianna started. "…but my family and I are going to do our own festivities and traditions for Christmas." Arianna hoped that they understood that she wanted to keep to themselves since this would be her mother's last Christmas.

Before EJ could respond to Arianna, Harold walked in and introduced Brady's presence. EJ smirked at Brady but was surprised to see him there. "Well, if it isn't my prodigal cousin. Are you here to pledge allegiance to your real family?"

Brady rolled his eyes at EJ. "I'm not here to see you. I'm here to talk to Arianna to see if she would like to join my family for Christmas."

"I hate to break it to you, but I highly doubt Arianna will agree to spend Christmas with you," EJ informed Brady with an even bigger smirk. Sami nudged EJ to knock it off as she knew he was only playing games with Brady, but it felt like they were fighting over Arianna.

"I didn't ask for your permission, EJ." Brady looked over to Arianna to wait for her answer.

"I can't Brady. I will be with my family." Arianna wondered why Brady would invite her but decided she had more important things to worry about. "Speaking of my family, I should get back to my mother to make sure she's okay."

As Arianna walked out through the back door, EJ turned to Brady. "Well, I guess you can now go back to your other family."

Brady rolled his eyes. "Sami, it was good seeing you." Brady walked out before Sami could respond.

With Brady and Arianna gone, Sami turned to EJ deciding that their son was more important than what just happened. "So what are we going to do about Johnny?"

EJ took Sami's hand and replied, "I'll let you take the lead on this one, and I'll follow whatever decision you make."

Sami thought about how close Christmas was. "I guess we should wait until after Christmas since Christmas Eve is tomorrow."

"Then we wait." EJ kissed Sami on the top of her head as he held her in his arms trying to assure her that everything would be okay.

At the European Castle, Jack laid in the bed in his holding room. He faced the wall so that no one could see that he was awake. He did not want to be sedated once again because he had to be conscious to figure out a way to escape. Jack wanted to hit his head to think harder, but knew he could not take the chance of being heard. He let out a quiet sigh as he could not remember the last thing that happened before he woke up in this room the first time.

Jack began to hear voices coming from the other room where he had seen the other guy. He heard a voice say, "Mr. DiMera is conscious."

Hearing the DiMera name, Jack decided he needed to take a chance to see if he could recognize who was now awake in the next room over. He slowly and quietly rolled out of bed. He peaked through the glass window into the next room and saw men and women looking over their patient.

Another voice said, "It appears that Mr. DiMera has fully recovered with the prototype, but he still seems out of it."

Another person responded before leaving. "I'll inform our boss now."

Jack ducked down quickly but slowly raised his head again so he could get a good look at their patient. The patient began to move again and finally became fully conscious. "Where am I?" the patient asked.

"You're in Europe, sir. We brought you here to recover from wounds you received in Salem, and it appears you have fully recovered."

The patient sat up to look around and to check his body. When Jack saw his face, he quickly lowered his head. He accidentally made a sound causing the men and women to look towards the window he was looking through.

One of the women yelled for security to sedate Jack right away. Jack tried to get into bed to pretend he was asleep, but a few armed men had already arrived to sedate him. Jack tried to yell for help, but it was too late. His will to fight disappeared. He was no longer aware.

The other patient began to yell out causing the others to ask what the problem was. The patient looked over to his examiners to inform them, "I can't feel my legs. What did you do to my legs?"

At the guys' apartment, Chad walked over to Will because he noticed Will grab his keys. "What are you about to do?"

"I'm heading to the airport to pick up my dad and sister. They're here for the holidays." Will wondered if Chad asked for a reason. "Do you want to come with me?"

Chad grabbed Will's hand and gave Will an apologetic look. "I wish I could, but I told Ignazio I would hang out with him today." Chad looked down wishing he didn't have something else to do. He knew it was important to Will that he finally get to know his dad.

Will pulled Chad closer and gave him a kiss. "Text me later so that we can meet up when you're done."

"Okay." Chad said with a smile. As he watched Will leave, his smile disappeared. He felt bad for lying to Will, but he wasn't sure how Will would react if Will knew Mia was back in town. She really pulled a number on Will before he knew he was gay. Chad told himself that was the only reason he decided not to tell Will. "It's for Will's sake," he lied to himself.

Colin and Ignazio arrived at Maddalena's mansion through the back. Once they walked into the back room, Maddalena made her way in from inside the house. She yelled back to her workers. "I need you to work faster!" When she turned her head to face Colin and Ignazio, she quickly put on a smile. "Figlio mio." She pulled both into a hug. "It is good to see my son and grandson together. Tell me you are here with good news, Colin."

After Maddalena let go of Colin and Ignazio, Colin gave his adoptive mother a cautious look to let her know there were complications. "I have good news, but first I must tell you that even though the shipment has arrived, it is now stuck in customs over the weekend due to the holidays which means we will have to wait a bit longer."

Ignazio looked at Colin. "How is that good news for us?"

"Well, this actually works in our favor because the shipment will be there all weekend." Colin tried to reword it in a way so that Ignazio understood. "Since it's the holiday this weekend, we have the opportunity to grab the real cargo before customs has a chance to inspect the shipment."

Maddalena was pleased that things were going well even if she had to be more patient. "Well, we will have to set up when we can get to our precious cargo."

Colin turned to Ignazio. "I'll set up a plan to make sure you and your grandmother's men go in unnoticed." Ignazio nodded his head in agreement.

"I am glad we will be able to improve the prototype that is based on my son's creation." Maddalena thought about André and how that was the only good thing he ever did in his life besides Ignazio and his other kids. "I got good news as well. I received a call earlier from overseas. Our first test subject has finally awoken." Turning to Colin, she continued, "My only issue with our success is that it took too long. I want a faster working solution as well as a slower one."

"I will get right on it when we are able to extract what we need from the shipment." Colin knew he had his work cut out for him, but he did not dare show it.

Suddenly, Ignazio got a text. When he read it, he looked up at his grandmother. "I need to check something out."

Maddalena gave Ignazio a hug. "Do what you need to do."

Abigail and Josh sat with her brother in the living room at the Horton house to talk to him about their parents. Josh told Abigail that he would be there with her to help her brother understand that sometimes things don't work out for two people when they are together. Abigail took a deep breath before coming straight out with it. "JJ, you need to accept the fact that our father is not coming back! He's been gone for almost two years!"

JJ was not happy to hear that his sister had given up on their father. "I know mom still loves dad. You used to believe that, too."

"Mom needs to move on, JJ. Our dad has run off before and returned in the past. I thought that would happen again, but I have a feeling that this time he won't. He's gone for good this time. He won't return any of our calls, letters, emails, but continues to write on his blog." Abigail gave JJ a loving look wishing she was wrong. She hoped she was able to get through to him.

JJ became even more upset. "So is that doctor supposed to take dad's place? Is he going to make everything all better?"

"Daniel is a good guy," Josh interjected.

Abigail stopped Josh from saying anymore. "To answer your question, no. Daniel is not supposed to or will even try to take dad's place. He loves mom and he actually treats her right."

Nathan began to walk down the stairs when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." When Nathan opened the door, he found Maggie on the other side holding a lot of bags. "Grabbing a few of them, Nathan asked her, "What is all of this?"

"Some groceries and necessities for dinner tomorrow night's Christmas Eve dinner." Maggie walked in and headed towards the kitchen.

Nathan followed her to the kitchen and put the bags of groceries on the table. "I was just on my way out to meet with Melanie at the pub. I'll be back later if you need any help."

Maggie gave Nathan a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You have fun with Melanie!" She was still excited by the fact that Nathan and Melanie were engaged. After Nathan left, Maggie walked back out into the living room to greet Abigail, JJ, and Josh. "Hey guys. What are you all doing?"

JJ looked up at Maggie. "My sister is trying to ruin my life."

Abigail gave JJ a look. "He's just playing around, Aunt Maggie."

Maggie decided to let it go. "Have your grandparents made it to Salem yet?"

"They are getting in later tonight." Abigail answered.

Maggie smiled and put her hand on JJ's shoulder. "I'm so glad that most of the family will be here for Christmas. I wish Sarah and Melissa could make it."

Sonny and his parents stood by the bar discussing Christmas plans. Adrienne and Justin continued to try their best to convince Sonny to spend Christmas with them. "I don't understand why you wouldn't spend time with us during Christmas. Where else would you go?" Adrienne asked somewhat rhetorically.

"Well, Will invited me to the Horton Christmas already. I think that's where I'll end up going." Sonny felt bad, but he did not want to step foot in the Kiriakis mansion for any kind of celebration. Kinsey's return brought back the betrayal that his great-uncle was responsible for.

Having overheard Sonny's conversation with his parents when he walked in, Dario decided to give Sonny advice. "I think you should spend Christmas with your family. You should cherish the time you have with family even if some of them have wronged you."

Everyone watched as Sonny began to ponder Dario's advice. Adrienne turned to Dario to see if she could help him with anything. "Did you need something, Dario?"

"Yeah, I do actually. I need my old job back. Is it still available?" Dario asked hoping he could find work.

"Of course, Dario." Adrienne was happy to have Dario back. "Does this mean you're staying in Salem for good? Not that it will change the availability of your old job."

Dario glanced over at Sonny before answering. "I'm definitely thinking about it."

"That's good," Justin said as he patted Dario on the back.

Sonny was excited as well. "Well, I hope something convinces you to stay for good."

Justin turned to Adrienne and gave her a kiss. "I have to head out to meet a client."

After Justin walked out, Adrienne turned to Sonny. "So will you come join your family for Christmas?"

"I'll think about it," Sonny let out softly.

"I'll see you there then," Adrienne rubbed Sonny's shoulder and winked at Dario before heading back to her office leaving Sonny alone with Dario.

Sonny looked down for a moment before looking at Dario. He thought about the last time he saw Dario. "I really do hope you decide to stay. It was really hard to see you leave the first time, and I'm not sure if I want to see you go again," Sonny admitted.

Dario smiled and appreciated Sonny telling him that. "This is where I belong. I know that now."

Sonny had been so wrapped up in Dario that he did not notice that Kinsey had walked in and took a seat at the table until now. When he saw her, his nervousness around Dario disappeared. Making his way over to Kinsey, he let out, "What the hell are you doing here, Kinsey? I don't want to see you unless you're ready to tell me the truth."

Dario quickly noticed how angry Sonny seemed with Kinsey and tried to step in, but Kinsey had Sonny's full attention. Kinsey gave Sonny a sad look and said, "You do need to know what happened that night. You need to know what happened between us." Dario and Sonny watched Kinsey as she stood up and took off her coat. Placing her hands on her stomach after putting her coat on the table, Kinsey smiled at Sonny and said, "Merry Christmas!"

Dario and Sonny stood there in shock as they looked at her protruding stomach.