At what is for now Titan TV, Nick smiles smugly while lounging in a chair opposite Nicole's desk. Grabbing his laptop bag as he pulls out his tablet, he taps and slides his finger across the screen before showing Nicole footage of their exchange up to now.

 

NICOLE: You....what?
NICK: I have it all right here. See, I've got eyes, Nicole. Everywhere. You know, once you master the art of hacking, you really can do anything! It's crazy!

 

The colour drains from Nicole's face, as Nick puts his tablet back in his bag, and pulls out a flash drive from his bag, placing it on the desk before a stunned and terrified Nicole, who was just caught by Nick's surveillance equipment admitting to hiding the documents proving Eric was drugged. Nicole gulps audibly before responding to him with as strong, but cool a voice as she can muster, which comes off more upset and wavering than she'd like to believe.

 

NICOLE: What do you need me to do, Nick?

 

Nick nods, still smiling as Nicole squirms, hating cowtowing to her blackmailer's increasing demands.

 

NICK: Much better. Everything you'll need is on that flash drive. Just remember to destroy it when you're done. Have a great day, Nicole!

 

Nicole holds up the flash drive, looking it over as Nick grabs his bag and leaves Nicole's office. Nicole holds it firmly in her fist, silently cursing Nick. She sits down at her desk and thinks aloud.

 

NICOLE: There has GOT to be a way to trap that little rat in his own game. But he's on the side of the good guys...how the hell does that work?

 

Nicole shakes her head as she puts the flash drive into her computer and waits for it to load.

 

---

 

Will walks down the hallway towards his new office at EnerNext, holding a coffee mug in his hand, before stopping at the door. He turns the doorknob and steps in, jumping back upon seeing Alex standing inside.

 

ALEX: AH! Will! I was looking for you.

 

Will stands at his doorway, keeping a goofy smile on his face, stunned by Alex's presence in his office.

 

---

 

Laura walks off the elevator at University Hospital and stops at the nurses' station. Maxine greets her immediately with a warm smile.

 

MAXINE: Well! Good morning, Dr. Horton. How's it going?

 

Laura smiles, but with a tension in her face that Maxine can't quite put her finger on.

 

LAURA: Oh, just fine, Maxine. Uh...you haven't seen Dr. Jonas around anywhere, have you?
MAXINE: No, he's taken a late start today. In fact he's requested to work evenings all week. Should I have him get ahold of you when he comes in?
LAURA: Yes, if you don't mind. Thanks!
MAXINE: Anytime, Dr. Horton. Oh! And, uh, by the way, there's a very improtant meeting at 10:45 in the board room.

 

Laura looks up from her mail, a bit surprised, but smiles Maxine's way.

 

LAURA: Oh. Alright, thanks. Any idea what it's about?

 

Maxine shrugs dismissively.

 

MAXINE: I dunno, usually it's about not wasting paper in the photocopier and boring budget updates. I wouldn't worry too much.
LAURA: Heh, alright. Thanks again, Maxine.
MAXINE: Have a good day, honey.

 

Laura steps away from the nurses' station and over to the coffee machine. Pouring herself a cup, she sighs heavily while looking over to see none other than Liam talking with one of the doctors at the opposite end of the room. Laura looks on momentarily, before muttering to herself.

 

LAURA: Alright, Laura. Keep calm, and tread lightly. Daniel may be able to help you keep on eye on Liam, but don't overplay your hand. Jenn and JJ's safety depends on it.

 

---

 

Brady wakes up, pale and sweaty, to find a tray of breakfast food arranged beside his bed, a note laid down beside his plate of eggs, bacon and toast. Brady rubs the sleep from his eyes and reads the note carefully, his vision still not the greatest.

 

Figured you'd want a nice breakfast. If you need anything, just holler. Anita

 

Brady tries to get up from his bed but quickly realizes he can barely move them, after days of bed rest. As he tries to shuffle over to his breakfast, Anita walks in, hearing the rumbling.

 

ANITA: Oh good, you're up. Here, I wasn't sure if you'd be able to reach the food, but I knew that you'd better eat something or you'd shrivel up and die.

 

Anita rushes in and grabs the tray from the TV dinner table set up beside the bed. She quickly pops the tray on Brady's lap.

 

BRADY: Well, I'm not so sure I'm not gonna shrivel and die yet.
ANITA: Don't talk like that. You're looking better every day.
BRADY: You know, I'm...I'm still not hungry. I feel so...
ANITA: That's probably you coming down from your drugs.

 

Brady looks up, shocked that Anita was even aware of his relapse.

 

BRADY: What? How...? How did you even know I--
ANITA: The doctor told me during his house call. You had a rapid heart beat and dialated pupils. He figured you were high when you ended up in the water. Honestly, from what that doctor told me, it's a miracle you're even alive.

 

Brady looks up at Anita, alarmed by her sombre statement.

 

---

 

---

 

Anita sits at the edge of Brady's bed, conversing with him about his situation. Brady looks at Anita with a concerned look.

 

BRADY: What do you mean, lucky to be alive?
ANITA: You showed up washed ashore by the lake. Limp as a fish. I thought you'd drowned, but thankfully...I'm a retired nurse so...

 

Brady flops down, exhausted, in the bed. Looking at the ceiling before inhaling deeply and shutting his eyes, trying to soak in each breath.

 

BRADY: Why don't I feel so lucky?
ANITA: Probably withdrawals. And your body's probably weak. Lucky for you, I managed to get your body warmed up, or that cold lake water would've killed you before the withdrawal symptoms ever could.
BRADY: Great. (sigh) I don't think I wanna eat.
ANITA: I'll leave it here for you anyway. You might get hungry later. But you do need to eat.

 

Anita gets up and heads for the door, stopping and turning back, as though remembering something.

 

ANITA: I'll make you a pot of tea, that might help.

 

Brady continues to stare blankly at the ceiling.

 

BRADY: I...sure.

 

Anita stands in the doorway and smiles.

 

ANITA: I'll be back in a minute.

 

As Anita walks out, Brady summons the strength to sit up again in the bed. Looking around the room, he looks out the window overlooking the lake. 

 

The images flood back in his mind of the night of his accident. His harsh words for Theresa. The sound of his car speeding into the icy water. He shudders as he relives the moment of panic, recalling the impact. 

 

He flops back in bed, squinting his eyes shut, as if shutting his eyes will wipe the memories away.

 

---

 

Sami stands in the DiMera living room, standing before the desk. She closes up her briefcase after filing away some papers, and putting her tablet inside her purse, as she hears the living room doors swing open. She continues preparing, assuming EJ is at the door to motivate her to get a move on.

 

SAMI: I'll be there in a sec, EJ, just gotta...

 

Sami turns around and jumps back immediately upon realizing Nick is at the door, not EJ.

 

NICK: Oh come on, Sami! I'm way skinnier than EJ. But I appreciate the compliment. He's a looker, that one!

 

Sami looks on, eyes squinting with malice.

 

SAMI: What do you want, Nick?
NICK: Just wanted to have a little talk with you.
SAMI: Well, I don't have time right now. I have to get to the hospital, as a matter of fact.

 

Sami tries to walk out, appearing busy as she collects her things. Nick grabs Sami's arm to stop her, causing Sami to stop in her tracks, a bit of a shiver as she looks at Nick with an insane contempt. Nick looks back, an arrogant, dangerous nonchalance in his eyes.

 

NICK: Not so fast, Sami. This will only take a minute. And I think it's in your best interests, and Kate's...and Gabi's...if you stuck around for....just a minute. Don't you think?

 

Sami continues to stare him down as Nick retains his firm grasp on her arm.

 

---

 

Nicole sits at her office desk and looks down at the flash drive Nick's given her.

 

NICOLE: (sigh) Alright. Let's see what dirty little secrets you have locked inside you.

 

Nicole holds the drive in her hand before rolling her eyes.

 

NICOLE: Although, knowing Nick, he's probably just loaded a virus onto this thing to wipe my hard drive clean. Oh well, I'll just expense a new one with my new boss, I guess.

 

With a bit of a laugh, Nicole plugs the flash drive into her computer. She talks herself through the process as though she's at a slot machine in Vegas.

 

NICOLE: Alright, baby, show Mama the money....

 

Nicole looks on with laser-focus as the document list appears on her monitor. Clicking on the first document, she waits with baited breath as the document loads on her screen. She inhales deeply as she soaks in the information.

 

NICOLE: My God. Victor, you're going DOWN.

 

Nicole smiles a satisfied smile as she reads on.

 

---

 

Will relaxes a moment, miraculously keeping his coffee cup in tact as he steps inside his office toward Alex.

 

WILL: I...Alex. I...sure, what do you need?
ALEX: Come here.

 

Alex opens a folder as Will steps close to him. Alex leans in close to him, causing Will to tense up. Alex begins to show him a document for Will to work on.

 

ALEX: I'm gonna start you off slowly, just to get your feet wet, so...here...is a press release we'll be sending out tomorrow regarding the property acquisition problems we're having.

 

As Alex speaks,Will feels Alex's body move in close to him, his breath on his neck, and every touch, no matter how inadvertent, excites him. Will breathes in deeply to try to relax himself, all the while, so focused on holding himself back, that he barely listens to Alex.

 

ALEX: Okay, so...

 

Will sits himself down at his desk to look over the file, as Alex crouches down beside him. Will sets his coffee on the table and leans in close again, as Alex explains the file.

 

ALEX: So essentially, you'll be editing this for time, and we need this to read more like progress is being made on this front. We can't let the press see that we're stagnant on this issue.

 

Will moves his arm over to point to a piece of this document.

 

WILL: Right, so, here...

 

Will clips his coffee mug as he points over the folder and knocks it off his desk...and all over Alex's shirt. Alex jumps back and Will jumps up from his seat.

 

WILL: Oh God. I'm...

 

Alex looks himself over, holding back a curse as he tries to undo his tie and shirt before the heat of the coffee burns him.

 

ALEX: Ow Ow ow ow ow!
WILL: Ahhh I'm sorry, here, here, here, let me get that off...you...

 

As Will jumps over and helps peel Alex's wet shirt off him, they both stop a moment. Will looks down at Alex's body and swallows hard. He stutters as he tries to speak.

 

WILL: I...I'm so sorry. I just...I...

 

Alex laughs a bit, looking at an obviously embarrassed Will.

 

ALEX: Don't worry. I'm...a klutz half the time myself. Uh...look. Let me...go change. I bring a change of clothes usually just in case...a pen explodes...bit of my lunch falls on me...
WILL: Some idiot newbie spills coffee on you on the first day.

 

Alex smiles, putting a hand on Will's shoulder in reassurance.

 

ALEX: Nah, come on. Don't be so hard on yourself. Will. I'm not gonna fire you for this. If I was going to, I'dve fired myself last year. Okay?

 

Will nods sheepishly. Alex now puts both hands on Will's shoulders, looking up at Will to try to convince him to look up his way. Will finally does, and their eyes lock. Will's defenses go down and he smiles at Alex, they both laugh gently at their situation, as Will's eyes get distracted by Alex's shirtless body.

 

---

 

Marlena arrives at University Hospital's board room to find it filled with people from all over the hospital. She quickly walks over to Laura, who looks over and greets Marlena.

 

LAURA: Good morning. I take it you got word about the meeting?
MARLENA: Yes, I did. It's unusual of them to ask so many people to one of these meetings, so I'm rather curious what it could be about.
LAURA: Sounds serious.
MARLENA: It very well could be.

 

Laura looks over to see Jennifer walk into the room with Liam in tow. Laura stares with a deeply troubled look, which Marlena immediately picks up on.

 

MARLENA: Laura...are you alright?

 

Laura holds her gaze a moment longer before responding, looking Marlena's way only as she finishes speaking.

 

LAURA: I'm fine. I'm...just fine.
MARLENA: Why don't I believe you?

 

Laura smiles and tries to reassure her friend, but is barely able to reassure herself.

 

LAURA: Don't worry. I'll be just fine.

 

Marlena looks on, deciding to drop it, as the door closes behind a newly arriving Kayla, who calls out to the room for their attention.

 

KAYLA: Good morning, everyone! Let's get started!

 

Kayla walks over to the head of the board room table. She remains standing as she speaks to the crowd gathered in the room.

 

KAYLA: So...you're probably wondering why I've called this meeting this morning. And I do want to thank you all for coming out on such short notice....but I am...officially announcing my resignation as Chief of Staff at University Hospital.

 

The crowd look on, stunned by Kayla's announcement.

 

---