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Episode #244 - Thursday, November 16th, 2006:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqQc5sKx0tc

- Shane and Steve sit in the trashed hotel room. Steve is devastated about what was just revealed. Shane tries to comfort him, but Steve throws him off.

- Abby tells Max that she can't do this anymore. She just can't! Max begins to tear up and he takes Abby by the hand. He tells her than he knows how hard this must be for her, but he begs her to reconsider.

- Bo and Kayla arrive back in Salem and rush to the hospital to be with their mother.

- Belle pulls out of the kiss with Shawn and slaps him! She asks Shawn where the hell he has been for months! Shawn tries to get Belle to listen. Belle demands Shawn show her to Claire IMMEDIATELY!

- Steve asks for details on why he would ever do this to himself or to Kayla or Stephanie. Shane tells Steve that he didn't understand it either he read extensive paperwork on it. Steve just cannot believe it. Shane reaches into his suitcase and pulls out a tape. It is labeled "Copy."

- Abby tells Max that they are through, they have to be! Abby tells Max that she thought they could overcome ANYTHING, but not this...not a baby! Not an innocent, little life. Abby and Max break down and tears stream down their face.

- Steve watches the tape in shock and awe. Steve looks at himself....sixteen years younger, lying in a hospital bed in a room at University Hospital. A voice on the tape asks Steve if he really wants to do this. Steve replies, weakly...."I have to do this. You just told me your contacts got word he's going to go after my family! My Sweetness.....my Stephanie. I can't let it happen. I can't. If he thinks I'm dead....if he thinks his secrets died with me, he'll leave them alone. I have to protect them. Bo can take care of himself. He'll find the proof to nail Lawrence....and once he is behind bars....you'll bring me home to my family?"....the voice on the tape replies with a soft "Yes."

- Shawn takes Belle to a hotel room where she re-unites with Claire! Claire is at the hotel with Claire and Trey (the baby Jan tried to pass off as Shawn's) with a babysitter. Belle has a touching reunion with Claire, and she is shocked how big Claire has gotten in just a short amount of time.

- Bo and Kayla pray by their mother's side, as does Victor. Bo is taken aback by Victor since he has NEVER seen him like this before. Bo learns the fire is being ruled an accident which squashes any theories of Victor's state being due to guilt.

- Abby and Max are a sight to be seen as they both hold each other. They stand, facing each other, forehead to forehead and tells Abby that he isn't sure he can live without her. Abby replies to Max that she KNOWS she can't live without him, but she has to because there is no way of escaping their heartbreaking fate now. Max tells them they can do this...they can get through this, together...and she can help raise his baby with Cassie. Abby says that they can't. Abby tells him that he knows they can't. She urges Max to comes to grips with this.

- Belle tells Shawn she might not be able to forgive him for kidnapping their daughter. Shawn says it's not kidnapping and explains that he needed time to get to know his daughter - time he was robbed of!

- At the hospital, Victor spies Jack and Billie...almost kissing!

- Steve tells Shane that he does not remember any of this. Steve asks Shane why the mission was never aborted and why Steve was never brought back to Salem. Shane explains that something went horribly wrong and that they could never get the evidence to nail Lawrence until just today. Shane also explains that they have been trying to hunt Steve down for years, but Steve was always able to outwit them and escape. Steve counters that he always thought he was running from bad guys. Steve says that Kayla will never forgive him for this.....and Shane silently agrees.

- Max and Abby stand in the park, silent. They are still forehead to forehead. Abby is the first to pull away. She wipes his tears from his face. He wipes hers away with his thumbs. Everything is said with a look...there are no words. They share a tender peck on the lips.

- Belle is shocked by Shawn's audacity when he broaches the topic of the him, Belle, Claire, and Trey being a family. Belle explains that she can never trust Shawn again after taking off with her child! Shawn reminds Belle that he and Jan were married and WON custody of Claire and how he was being generous by repealling the custody agreement. Belle leaves the hotel with Claire and tells Shawn to expect to her from her lawyer.

- Hope and Marlena each say very sad goodbyes to Lexie. Then, each says goodbye to Abe. Abe thanks Marlena and Hope for being such good friends. Abe just hopes and prays Lexie can come out of this coma-like state she is in so he can tell her how much he loves her. Marlena and Hope tell Abe that since she'll be at the facility outside of Chicago that Marlena recommended to him, that they will all be visiting Lexie very often. Abe, Marlena, and Hope re-call all of Abe and Lexie's very, very long and extensive memories of their lives in Salem together. Abe walks along a bed-ridden Lexie who is wheeled into the elevator. The door closes on Abe and Lexie...and on their flashbacks of their lives together.

- Steve begins pounding his chest and crying. He trashes the room even further and falls to his knees. He repeats over and over that he can't believe he has done this to his Sweetness. Steve is like Shane has never seen him. Shane wraps his arms around Steve and holds him as Steve grieves his own actions.

- Max and Abby grow further and further apart...they're hands are almost detached....and they finally are. Abby walks away from Max, leaving him in the park. Abe and Lexie board a jet destined for the facility in Chicago. Shawn holds Trey and looks at a picture of Belle and Claire. Meanwhile, Belle tucks Claire into bed, but can't keep her mind off of Shawn. Bo, Victor, and Kayla sit by Caroline's hospital bed...while Shane holds a numb Steve in his arms.