Abby went to Gina to find out information about Jennifer's fall. She was convinced that Eve was innocent. Gina tried to explain to her why Eve looked guilty. Abby wanted to see the footage of the fall, but she said she couldn't see it. Rafe wanted to know why she couldn't see it. Jennifer talked to Marlena about what was going on with JJ. She asked Marlena if she could help JJ. They ended up talking about what Nicole did to Eric. Eric talked to Roman about Nicole keeping the truth from him. Roman tried to convince Eric to forgive Nicole. He couldn't believe she made him miss so much of Mickey's life. Abby told Gina that Roman said she could see the footage since the case was closed. Rafe said they have enough evidence against Eve. Abby explained what Eve said to her. Rafe wanted to know why Gina had a problem with Abby watching the footage. She said she was thinking of Jennifer. Sarah told Xander that Eric will allow shared custody on one condition. Eric wants Xander out of the baby's life. Eric was walking Mickey in the town square and ran into Brady and Nicole. Nicole wanted to talk to Eric, but he walked away from her. Brady left to talk to him. Brady reminded him that Nicole loved him. He couldn't get over the fact that she lied to him. Sarah explained the terms of Eric's conditions. Xander didn't think Eric could win. He wanted to call Eric's bluff. She didn't want to take the chance with Mickey. Xander thought Eric was being selfish. She told him that Eric believed he was keeping Mickey safe from Xander. Eric believed he was the reason why Mickey was kidnapped. Marlena wondered when Jennifer was getting out of the hospital. She hoped to get out by Christmas. Marlena hoped Gina would leave too. She explained that Gina moved into the penthouse with John and won't leave. Gina continued to use Jennifer as a reason not to pursue looking at the footage. Brady tried to convince Eric that he and Nicole could get over what happened. Sarah thought the kidnapper wanted money from Xander. She wasn't sure why anyone else would take Mickey. He thought about the text he received. Xander decided to go after Eric. Jennifer assured Marlena that Hope wouldn't go after John. She trusted her with her life. Abby was finally able to convince Gina to let her see the footage. After Abby left, Rafe wanted to know what was going on with her. Rafe explained the weird way that Gina has been acting lately. Gina appreciated his concern and reminded him that they weren't married anymore. She wanted him to focus on his job. Marlena expressed to Jennifer how different Hope has been acting. Jennifer was sure she would leave as soon as her house was gone. Eric continued to tell Brady how much she hurt him. Brady asked him what he was going to do about Holly. He said that he would be there for Holly, but he was finished with Nicole. Eric walked away just as Nicole showed up. Xander changed his mind about going after Eric. He didn't want to make things worse for Sarah. He realized that he did so many things that could be used against her. He decided to walk away from her. He wanted to put her happiness first. Sarah kissed him before he left.
Abigail: I don't think that eve's the one who pushed my mother off that balcony. [Tense music] Hope: I am princess gina. Jennifer: [Screams] Hope: Who else could it possibly have been? Jennifer: Marlena. Marlena: I'm between patients, so I just thought, "oh." Jennifer: Hi. Both: [Laugh] Jennifer: It's good to see you. Marlena: Oh, you too. I, um-- I thought I would just check on you unless I'm disturbing you. I don't want to disturb... Jennifer: No, not at all. No, no, I was just going through some news summaries for "the spectator." Jack put them all on a flash drive for me so that I could get up to speed on everything that's happened while I've been in this crazy coma. Marlena: Wow. Must be overwhelming to try to absorb that much information. You know, so much has happened in the last year. I can barely keep track of it myself. Nicole: How many times do I have to say it? Basic black is clean, minimal, modern. You do know what the word modern means, right? Then why am I looking at designs that are right out of woodstock? Bring me something better-- a lot better--or you will be "blowin' in the wind" to the unemployment office. [Keypad beeps, phone thunks] [Sighs] Brady: You all right? Nicole: Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine. Oh, I'm gonna be sick. [Coughing] Xander: Do you have mickey? Sarah: No. Xander: Oh, my god. Someone took the baby again. Male announcer: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the "days of our lives." [Soft orchestration] Xander: Oh, my god. It must be the same people that kidnapped her before. Sarah: Xander. Xander: What? I have to call the police. Sarah: No, hey, mickey is fine. Xander: No, she's not. I just checked her crib. She wasn't in the nursery. Sarah: That's because I let eric take her. Eric: What do you think, grandpa? Roman: Whew, she is a beauty. Did you ever see such a pretty baby, kate? Kate: Oh, she's a precious one. But aren't all children really? Then they learn to talk, and they start saying hurtful things, and before you know it, they don't even call you. [Chuckles] Roman: Well, hello, debbie downer. You suppose you can get eric a cup of coffee? [Holiday music playing on radio] Okay, well, ignore the hired help, okay? All right. You out and about with mickey. Does that mean you and sarah have reached an agreement on custody? Eric: We're figuring it out. Roman: So you two are okay now? Eric: I wouldn't go that far. I'm extremely disappointed in sarah for not telling me the truth about our daughter's paternity for more than a year. I'm just hoping that we can work things out. Roman: What about working things out with nicole? Nicole: [Coughs] I'm sorry. I'm just a little-- Brady: You're a little hungover. I figured. Nicole: [Sighs] God. You told me to stop, and I didn't listen. I just kept throwing 'em back, and like the great friend you are, you just stood by me and let me go on and on about all my stupid problems. Brady: Nic, they're not stupid. Nicole: You're dealing with pain of your own, brady. You and kristen lost a baby. And drinking in front of you like that-- it was so insensitive, and I truly apologize. Brady: Thank you for that, but it's okay. I'm just glad I was able to be there for you. Nicole: Me--yeah, the idiot who thought getting wasted would make me forget about how I hurt the one person in this world I love the most. Brady: Any news on that front? Nicole: Oh. Eric doesn't wanna have anything to do with me. Brady: [Clicks tongue] Look, like I said, he's in shock still. It'll be fine. He'll clear his head, and he'll forgive you. Just give it a little bit of time. Nicole: I'm trying. I'm trying. [Stammers] I'm trying to lose myself in work, in booze. I can't, and I can't just sit around and wait and hope. Bra--I have to find eric and beg for him to forgive me and pray that he can find it somewhere in his heart to give me another chance. Abigail: I don't know who else it could have been, but I, um-- I did-- I went to talk to eve in prison. Hope: What? Why would you do that? Abigail: Because she asked for my help as an investigative reporter. Hope: Please, sit down. You wanna help the woman who tried to murder your mother? Abigail: I know how it sounds, and originally, I just went because I thought that eve was going to confess, but then when I got there, she swore on paige's memory that she's being framed. Hope: Abigail, why would you believe anything that woman says after everything she's put your mom through? Abigail: I know. Normally, I wouldn't, but eve made a really good point. She made the point that if she is being framed, then the person who did hurt my mom is still out there and could hurt her again, and that's not a risk I'm willing to take. We didn't have to stop the movie. Hope: Come on. Abigail, everyone says they're innocent in prison. Abigail: I know, but eve-- Hope: Honey, we're talking about eve. She had means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime. She hates your mother with a passion, and the surveillance footage-- it proves that eve was the only other one on the balcony when your mom fell. All the evidence puts eve-- Abigail: I know. I understand that. I do. I get it. I just--I-- I'd like to see the evidence. Hope: Well, I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. Rafe: Why not? Jennifer: Honestly, as anxious as I am to hear about everything that's happened in the past, I'm more concerned with what's happening right now, marlena. Marlena: Why is that? What's going on? Jennifer: It's jj-- he is in a really bad place. I think that he's in trouble, and I just was hoping maybe you could talk to him. Marlena: Of course. I'd be glad to. You know what? Maybe eric should do that. He's so fond of jj. Wait. Eric may be a little busy right now. He's got his hands full being a new father. Eric: There's nothing to work out with nicole. It's over. Roman: Are you sure? Eric: Dad, she kept me from knowing the truth about my daughter. Roman: Come on, you have every right to be angry. There's no doubt about that, but all right, come on, you said yourself. Nicole is the love of your life, and the most important thing is you've got your daughter now. Eric: Only because nicole couldn't live with the guilt. I have no idea what the long-term consequences will be-- me, you know, missing all that time with her, creating a relationship. Roman: You forget. I missed a lot of time with you--years, all right? And you and I have a great relationship. Eric: It's true, but this is different. Roman: Right. Nicole hurt you. I get that, and it's gonna take a while for you to get past that, and me too. But as hard as it is to say, we both know you two belong together, and as a result, we both know you're gonna find a reason to forgive her. Nicole: Mm. Brady: Good, huh? Nicole: Mm, what is that? Brady: That is my special, homemade hangover remedy. Nicole: Well, it's disgusting. You're gonna have to hand me that trash can again. Brady: No, no, don'T. Give it a sec. Let it sit. Give it some time. Just hang in there. Breathe. Feel better? Nicole: Yeah. Actually, I do feel a little better physically. Brady: Kay. Nicole: But do you have something to put my heart back together? Brady: Mm, no, but you need food. You need to eat. Nicole: There's stuff in the fridge. Brady: No. We're not doing it. We're going to go out. You need air. It'll do you some good. Come on. Come on. Xander: So you just let eric take the baby? Sarah: What do you mean? Xander: Well, he came barging in here demanding to discuss custody, and now mickey's gone. Sarah: She's not gone. She's just--she's spending time with her--eric. Xander: Well, how am i supposed to know what happened? You kicked me out of the room, and for all I know, eric took the baby without asking, or maybe you just feel so guilty about keeping him in the dark that you let him dictate the terms of custody. Sarah: Will you just-- will you calm down please? Xander: Will you listen to me, and get a lawyer? [Emotional piano music] Look, I just-- I just love that little girl so much, and all these months, I've been her dad, and now I'm this outsider, and I've no idea what's going on. Will you-- will you please just fill me in? Sarah: Yeah. Okay, so first of all, eric agreed to share custody 50/50. Xander: Well, that's good. Sarah: But there is one condition. Get ready for the insurance-themed experience Abigail: I talked to roman about this, and he said that since eve's case is officially closed, that means that journalists can have access to police evidence. Rafe: Mm, that's true, yes. But we have eve dead to rights pushing jennifer off that balcony, so why do you wanna dig into this? Abigail: I went to see eve in prison. Originally, I went because I thought she was just gonna confess, but then she swore on paige's memory that she's being framed, and she asked me to investigate. Rafe: Oh, she swore. Okay, well, look, if I were you, I wouldn't waste your time on this, but you are right-- the investigation is closed now. Why are you opposed to her looking at the files? Hope: I'm not thinking about myself. I'm thinking about jennifer. Jennifer: So nicole knew that mickey was eric's baby for a really long time? Marlena: She never said a word. Jennifer: I just can't even imagine all the mixed emotions that eric must've been feeling, but I do know that he always wanted to be a father. Marlena: Yeah, well, it's unfortunate that it happened this way. Jennifer: Listen, I'm not one to talk because I kept a huge secret from eric for a very long time, but I just wonder what made nicole wanna keep that from him. Marlena: Well, she was afraid she'd lose him, and the irony is now she has. Jennifer: Do you think they'll be able to work it out? Marlena: Oh, I don't know. Eric feels so hurt, so betrayed-- I'm not sure they can. Roman: Hey, it is what it is. You and nicole are destiny. You can't walk away from that. Eric: Dad, please. Kate: Coffee, two sugars, cream. Eric: Good memory. Kate: Mm-hmm. Well, actually, I have a memory about a lot of things, like how many times nicole has lied to you over the years. Roman: Kate. Kate: Well, it's true. Once a liar, always a liar, is what I say, and you will be crazy if you give that woman another chance. Roman: A little harsh, don't ya think? Kate: Well, that's one of the perks of the job here, you know, I can speak my mind. I don't have to worry about being polite. Roman: When have you ever been polite? Eric: I think it's time for me to go. Roman: Hey--no--wait--look. I barely had time with the baby. Eric: And you will have many more visits, I promise. But mackenzie has not met her grandmother yet, so we're gonna go spend some time with her. Roman: All right, buddy. See you later. Eric: Thanks for the coffee. Roman: [Clears throat] You just can't do it, can you? You just can't help yourself. You had to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong. That was a private conversation between me and my son. Kate: So what are you gonna do, roman? You gonna fire me? Xander: A 50/50 split-- that's surprisingly fair. Sarah: It is. Xander: Knowing how angry eric is that we kept his child from him, I half expected him to go nuclear and demand full custody. I'm glad. I'm glad he sees how important you are to mickey and that he wouldn't punish an innocent baby for something we did. Sarah: Thank goodness for that. Xander: And thank goodness we can skip the part where "father eric" gets all righteous. We can skip straight to, you know, discussing it rationally because we all want the same thing--what's best for mickey. Sarah: Right. Xander: So, what's eric's condition? [Tense music] Sarah, you can tell me. I mean, how bad can it be? Sarah: Uh... eric-- eric wants you out of our daughter's life. Eric: You're gonna kill me with that smile. You know that, right? [Laughs] [Soft dramatic piano music] My gums are irritated. Nicole: Eric. Eric: Excuse me. Nicole: I told you. He hates me. He's never gonna get past this. Brady: Wait here. [Dramatic music] Eric, stop. What's wrong with you, huh? You know how much nicole loves you. Eric: And I love her, but after all this time, I finally get it. Brady: You get it? What do you mean? You get what? Eric: The love that nicole and I have-- it just isn't enough. Roman: [Chuckles] [Groans] You know damn well I'm not gonna fire you. You're my best waitress, but I just wish you'd stick to the job description, all right? And keep your opinions to yourself. Kate: Okay, well, I can sling hash and dish at the same time, roman. Roman: I know you can. I just wish you wouldn'T. Eric is in a very raw place right now. Kate: Okay, look, look, I know that your heart is in the right place, I really do, but in this situation, you have to use your head. Roman: Meaning what? Kate: Meaning... [Sighs] That it's every parent's instinct to want to protect their child from pain, but if you're not honest about who nicole really is, you're just causing him more pain in the future. Roman: Okay, nicole is not perfect--not even close. I get that, all right? But she and eric love each other. Kate: Well, I don't care. I think that he deserves someone better. Roman: Really? Kate: Mm-hmm. Roman: You got somebody in mind? Kate: Well, I would have said the mother of his child, except she's worse than nicole. Sarah: Eric threatened to sue for full custody unless mickey and I move out of the house or you do. He said that he doesn't want his daughter and you to live under the same roof. Xander: So let him sue. He'll never win. Sarah: Actually, he might. I ran it by justin, and he said that a judge might not approve of the fact that i kept mickey's biological father in the dark. Xander: Well, I disagree. It was an unselfish act made out of love. I say we call eric's bluff. Sarah: And what? Hope for the best? Do you really wanna risk that with mickey? Xander: [Sighs] I just knew it was too good to be true that eric could be rational or reasonable. He is a spiteful, spoiled, selfish child, and he's putting his revenge ahead of his daughter's best interests. Sarah: That's the thing. Eric thinks that he is putting mickey first. He-- he insists it's the only way to keep her safe. Xander: From what? Sarah: You. Eric thinks that you're the reason that mickey got kidnapped. Marlena: I'm thrilled you're doing so well. Any idea when they might discharge you? Jennifer: Well, it is my christmas wish to be home for the holidays. Marlena: Yeah. It'd be my wish for hope too. Jennifer: What-- what do you mean? Marlena: Hope moved in with john while I was away in europe. Jennifer: Why? Marlena: Well, apparently, her place flooded. You know, we have a lot of room at the penthouse, and so john invited her to move in, and now we can't seem to get her to move out. Jennifer: Oh. I'm guessing three's a crowd? [Laughs softly] Marlena: Yeah, what you said. Hope: Abigail, I have nothing but the utmost respect for your duties as a journalist, but I--I'm just afraid that if you do pursue this, you run the risk of causing tremendous damage. Abigail: Damage to who? Hope: Your own mother. Honey, can you imagine her horror? Almost falling to her death, in fact, in the same place where she'd just exchanged vows with your dad? You have to ask yourself. Do you really want her to recover that agonizing memory? Abigail: What I want is-- I wanna find the truth. Hope: You have. Honey, rafe and I told you that all of the evidence against eve is conclusive. If you-- if you reopen those files, not only do I guarantee you'll traumatize your mom in ways that she may never recover from, but you'll be doing all of it for nothing. Rafe: Okay, well, I think abigail heard you. Why don't we just let her make up her own mind? Hope: Thank you, rafe. You're right. Rafe: Mm. Hope: Honey, you know that your mom is like a sister to me. When I think about how close we came to losing her-- god, she's okay, though. Thank god. And she's always going to get that--she's always going to get the happily ever after that she always wanted, deserved. Thank god. Don't you think it's best for her, for us, for-- to try to forget what happened on that balcony? Brady: Look, I get it that you're upset that you missed a lot of time with your daughter. Eric: It's not just that. The woman I love most in this world didn't trust in our love enough to tell me the truth. Brady: Eric, she was scared. Eric: Because she thought I was gonna leave her for sarah--that's insane. Brady: Look, take it from me. A child has a-- a child has a way of bringing people back together, eric. Eric: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive. Brady: You have-- you have to understand. I mean, kristen is gone. My baby is gone. I mean, if there was anything I could do to bring them back, I would. But eric, you're missing the big picture here. This does not have to be the end for you. Eric: Yes, it does. Brady: Look at everything that you and nicole have overcome. Look at the odds that you have beaten every single time. You don't get that far and just give up. Eric: I didn't give up. Nicole did. She lied to me. Brady: Sarah gave you a child-- something nicole could never do. She was threatened, eric. She was insecure. Eric: And like I just told you, I would have never left nicole for sarah. Brady: But she had reason to believe that you might. Eric: So this is my fault now? Brady: No. No, man, it's not your fault. It's my fault. It's my fault for blackmailing nicole in the first place for leaving town. It is xander's fault for blackmailing nicole into marrying him. It is kristen's fault for keeping her prisoner and posing as her. Eric, of all the times nicole thought that she might lose you, of all the times that something or someone got in your way of being together, can you really blame nicole for thinking it might happen again? Nicole: Well, you better get me the sketches by next week. [Keypad beeps] [Somber music] Kate: [Sighs] I'm sure you remember that sarah broke our son's heart. Roman: After rex broke hers. Kate: Okay, whatever. My point is sarah, nicole--talk about bad choices. Roman: Really? Really, you, kate, wanna throw stones in this arena? Kate: Okay, I think I made some good choices as well. I picked you, didn't I? Roman: Like I said. Smart woman. Kate: Okay, well, you know all I'm saying is that I hope that eric is smart too and he doesn't get sucked back into sarah's orbit. Roman: That's not gonna happen. Xander's the one pining for sarah now. Kate: Really? Roman: Mm-hmm. Kate: Poor bastard. Sarah: When mickey went missing, we were all wracking our brains trying to figure out why someone would take her and the only reason that we could come up with was money from you, ceo of titan. I mean, what other reason could there have been? [Foreboding suspenseful music] Xander: [Sighs] Sarah: Where are you going? Xander: To show eric I won't let anyone bully me out of my little girl's life. Jennifer: Okay, yes, I get it. That would be a little awkward, being a married couple and having your friend live with you together, same house, yeah. Marlena: Yeah... Jennifer: [Laughs] Marlena: A friend who always seems to be there when john and I really would prefer to be alone. Both: [Laugh] Jennifer: I mean, honestly, though, you're not really worried about hope with john, right? I mean, this is hope brady we're talking about. This is a woman I trust with my life. [Soft dramatic music] Hope: You know how much I love your mom. I just want to protect her. Abigail: Yeah, I know, and look, the last thing in the world I want to do is cause my mother more pain. Hope: Mm-hmm. Abigail: But I can't just blow off what eve said. I need to figure out for sure that eve is guilty. I need to do that. I mean, that's the only way I'm gonna know that my mom is really safe. I mean, you get that, right? Hope: 100%. Abigail: Okay, okay. So-- so can I see the evidence? Hope: Go down to the records room. Fill out the forms. I'd be happy to sign off on them. Abigail: Okay, thank you. Thanks for understanding. Thank you. Rafe: Yeah. So you wanna tell me what's going on with you? Hope: What are you talking about? Rafe: I'm worried about you. I have been for a while. Hope: Why? Rafe: Because a lot's gone on to the people that you care about. We haven't talked about it-- including your cousin's baby being kidnapped. Hope: Mickey was found. Rafe: Uh, yeah, it's--exactly. Um, and when we got the security footage, you acted--you acted almost like you didn't want to see it. And then you took priority with some meeting over the anonymous tip that we got, and I'm just--I don't know. Before, you always wanted to be on the front line of every investigation, especially-- especially when it included your family. And now, I just-- I don't know. Are you stressed out over work? Is it too much? Hope: First of all, I appreciate your concern. Rafe: Uh-huh. Hope: Thank you. Rafe: Yeah. Hope: Secondly, we're no longer married. Rafe: Okay, right. Thank you. Um, yes, you're right. I just--listen, all I'm trying to do is make things easier for you. That's all, okay? Hope: Then maybe you should focus a little less attention on me and more on your job, hernandez? Rafe: Right. [Door slams] Yeah. Jennifer: I--hope is one of our closest friends. Marlena: I understand. But you know, it-- it's what I said to john. It's as though the woman that we can't get out of our apartment is--well, she's not the same hope that we know. Jennifer: I know that I missed an entire year, but I haven't really noticed a difference in hope in just the few times that I've seen her. Marlena: Hmm. Well, I have. Maybe it's because I've seen entirely too much of her. Jennifer: [Laughs] Listen, I'm sure once hope's whole housing situation gets resolved, she'll leave. You and john will have your space back-- just the two of you. Marlena: I hope so. Jennifer: [Laughs] Marlena: And I'm gonna do all I can to hurry up that timetable. Jennifer: Oh, do you have a patient? Marlena: Oh, no, no. No, I don'T. I--I'm just about to meet eric. He's bringing his daughter by. Jennifer: Oh, marlena! This is so exciting. Congratulations, and I'm so happy for eric. I really hope that everything works out for him. Eric: I understand that nicole was afraid of losing me, but the fact that we overcame all the things that you mention is even more the reason why she should've trusted in herself to tell me the truth about my daughter. Brady: You know what it's like to be tortured by a secret, eric. Eric: Yes. Yes, I do. But I finally told nicole about my relationship with sarah. I did not steer away from that because my faith was stronger in our love than my fear. I cannot say the same thing about nicole. Brady: So that's it? You're just done? Eric: Brady, she's let a man that I don't respect or trust raise my little girl. She chose to lie to me, to keep a secret. She chose to keep a huge lie between us when we were supposed to be sharing our lives together, so I'm sorry. I just can't get past that. Brady: What about holly? You gonna turn your back on that little girl? Eric: I'll always be there for holly, but I'm never gonna be with nicole. [Mickey cries] [Dramatic music] Sarah: Come on, come on, come on. Pick up, pick up. Pick up, xander. Voicemail. Xander, I know that you are upset, but please. You have to stay away from eric. [Keypad beeps] Oh, thank god. I thought you were gonna just-- Xander: Beat some sense into eric? I was. It's long overdue, but I realized that I couldn't do that to you. Sarah: To me? Xander: I told you that I love you, sarah, and I've said it to women before, but this is the first time I actually understand what it means. If I fight eric over his demand that I stay out of mickey's life, he'll take it out on you and the baby. He'll sue for full custody. It's not because he's a bad person. It's because he's right. I do put mickey at risk. Sarah: It's not your fault that somebody tried to extort money from you. Xander: I've done so many awful things. It could all be used against you in court. Sarah: Yeah, but you're a better man now. Xander: Bottom line. If I don't meet eric's condition, you could lose your daughter. I saw what it did to you-- being apart from mickey, how scared and heartbroken you were. I-- I can't be the reason you ever feel that way again. Sarah: What about how you feel? Xander: [Chuckles softly] It'll probably kill me to walk out that door. All I've ever wanted is a place in this house and in this family. This time with you and mickey here has been the greatest happiness I've ever known. I love you. And because I love you, your happiness has to come first. [Laughs softly] Look. Can you just do me one favor? One promise before I go? Sarah: Name it. Xander: I need you to play "this little piggy" with mickey after her bath every night because I won't be here to do it. Mm? Sarah: Xander, wait. Abigail: [Sighs] Okay, let's see what we got. [Tense music] Kate: Coffee? Rafe: Yeah, yeah. [Soft holiday music playing] Kate: Do you really want some coffee or, uh, you wanna talk about what's on your mind? Rafe: [Chuckles] I was just-- just thinking about hope. Have you noticed lately that she's been a little...off? Kate: [Scoffs] Well, um, your ex-wife has always been a little off, so that's nothing new. What's going on? Rafe: Wish I knew. Seems like ever since she came back to work, she's-- she been a different person. [Monitor beeping] [Suspenseful music] Brady: Will you please eat something? Please? Nicole: I'm not hungry. Brady: Nic, eric will come around. Nicole: [Scoffs] Brady: He will. Nicole: Thank you for trying to get through to him. Brady: I'm not gonna stop trying. Nicole: No, brady, I-- I heard what eric said, and I know that my choice to keep his daughter from him broke us for good. I mean, I had one last chance, and I blew it. Marlena: [Squealing] Oh, look at you. Eric: She's beautiful, isn't she? Marlena: Yeah, um... Eric: Mom, what is it? Is something wrong with mackenzie? Xander: I have to go. We both know that's what's best for--for mickey, so... Sarah: I have something I have to say first. [Tender music]