Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Melanie wakes up to find Carly by her side. At first she’s confused and disoriented, not sure what she’s doing in the hospital. Then Melanie recalls Carly shooting her, and she freaks out. Daniel intervenes, and assures Melanie that Carly won’t hurt her. Carly explains Vivian, wanting revenge, tried to murder Melanie on her wedding day. Melanie doesn’t understand why Vivian targeted her. It’s not like she knows Carly. Carly says that’s not true, and informs Melanie that she’s her mother. Bo confronts Victor about Vivian. Victor doesn’t reveal anything except his glee that Carly will be charged with attempted murder. Later, Abe warns Bo that Carly should lie low now that she’s out on bail. Bo calls Carly, but she doesn’t answer. Philip takes Vivian to task over what transpired. Vivian tells Philip the reason she took Melanie to the roof was to warn her about her mother. Philip doesn’t buy it and, to Vivian’s horror, declares she’s dead to him. Victor shows up, and he informs Philip that Melanie is awake. Philip rushes off, and Vivian realizes she dodged a bullet. Victor warns Vivian that Melanie better live or she will suffer his wrath. A furious Rafe explains to Arianna that they found Sydney’s clothes in the river with her blood on them. Arianna is in shock, but Rafe believes that Sydney is still alive and he will prove it. He continues to say that EJ and Sami blame him for Sydney’s death. Arianna gives Rafe a pep talk and tells him to keep fighting and doing what he thinks is right. Anna doesn’t like how EJ is treating Sami EJ couldn’t care less about what she thinks and tells her everything is going perfectly. EJ meets Brady on the pier and asks him to tell Nicole that Sydney is dead. Brady is stunned. EJ knows Nicole loved Sydney, so she should know. Arianna approaches and EJ lays the blame on Rafe. It’s his fault Sydney is dead. Arianna disagrees, and defends her brother. After EJ leaves, Arianna is upset to learn that Brady is going to tell Nicole about Sydney. Arianna believes Nicole is to blame for Sydney’s fate, and that even in prison she is still present in their relationship. Meanwhile, Rafe, off of Arianna’s advice, goes to Sami’s townhouse, but is surprised when EJ opens the door.

Sami arrives, surprised to see EJ and Rafe at her house. EJ explains he wanted to grieve with her over their loss of Sydney while Rafe says he wanted to let Sami know he intends to find the baby’s abductors and bring them to justice. Sami doesn’t understand Rafe’s inability to grieve and asks him to leave. EJ “comforts” her. Later, Rafe goes to his office and starts to break down when he sees the remains of Sydney’s clothes. Sami walks in on him. Bo tells Vivian that Carly was released on bail and that Melanie is recovering. Lawrence makes an appearance to Vivian. He says if Carly manages to see her daughter and form a bond with her, then Vivian’s plan has failed. Vivian realizes he’s right and decides she must finish what she began and kill Melanie. Daniel tells Bo that Carly is at hospital. Angry Bo takes her away. Carly explains she risked her freedom to see her daughter, hoping if Melanie knew the truth, she’d be grateful. Instead, Melanie rejected her. Meanwhile, Melanie asks Philip if he believes Carly is her mother. Philip admits he isn’t sure. Melanie recalls her interactions with Carly, and tells Philip she made up her mind about something. Philip calls Carly and tells her Melanie wants to see her. Mia is thrilled when Chad comforts her over Melanie’s shooting. She’s crushed, however, when Gabi shows up, having accompanied Chad. When they’re alone, Mia tells Gabi that Chad will hurt her. Gabi thinks Mia is the one who will be hurt. When Gabi and Chad leave, Mia vows to get Chad back. Chloe thinks Carly is selfish for giving her baby away. Daniel realizes Chloe is reacting to her hysterical pregnancy, and assures her they will get through this together.

Sami comes upon Rafe in an unguarded moment and realizes that he is grieving as deeply as she is, just in a different way. They talk about everything that went wrong during the search for Sydney and agree that the thing that matters most is that they love each other. Rafe remains determined to find out what happened to Sydney. He takes Sami home. They fall into each other’s arms and make love. EJ makes his final farewell plans. Anna cautions him that Sami may go back to Rafe if he abandons her now, but EJ is sure she never will. Meanwhile, Stefano learns of Sydney’s apparent death and is devastated. Kate comforts him. EJ comes home and tells his father he is leaving town. He goes to Sami’s to pick up a toy for Johnny. He lets himself in, and finds Sami in bed with Rafe. In counterpoint, Stefano tells Kate something is amiss with EJ’s demeanor. Bo takes Carly back to see Melanie. Carly explains to her daughter the circumstances of her conception and subsequent “adoption.” Melanie is horrified when she realizes that her existence is essentially the cause of Lawrence’s murder and Vivian’s death wish on her. Melanie wishes she had never been born and is sure she’s cursed as a result of lousy biology. Carly says Trent is not her biological father, and Melanie asks who is. Bo and Hope share a close moment when they learn of Sydney’s apparent fate. This moment soon ends when Hope realizes that Bo has helped Carly break the law by letting her visit Melanie, and she gets upset. At the Kiriakis mansion, Hope grills Victor about Vivian and the comb, but he admits nothing. He tells Hope she is focused on the wrong person. The enemy is not Vivian, but Carly. He offers to help Hope get Carly out of Bo’s life for good, but she refuses. Hope returns to the hospital in time to overhear Bo and Philip arguing about Carly. Hope tells Philip to save his breath and puts Bo on the spot, forcing the issue once more of whether he truly loves Carly.

Melanie confronts Carly about the identity of her father. Carly realizes there is someone she must see and leaves Melanie in the dark. Bo confirms to Hope that he loves Carly just as she walks up. She tells him she needs to tell a special someone about Melanie. Bo will have Melanie’s door guarded. After moving to the police station, Hope offers to help Bo with Carly’s situation. Bo receives a call, and tells Hope she just might get her chance. After conducting business, Stefano and Victor discuss Sydney’s death. Stefano vows whoever is responsible will be punished. Vivian explains her decision to kill Melanie to Gus, and begins to prepare for the girl’s demise. She runs into Victor, who tells her to stick around regardless of what Philip has said. A business call interrupts Victor and Vivian, set on her mission, says goodbye. Back at the hospital, Melanie tells Philip he should have never married her because of her screwed up past. Maggie shows up, and after Philip leaves, she lends an ear as Melanie wonders about everything that has transpired since the shooting. Maggie comforts Melanie. As she leaves, Maggie feels a sudden rush of dizziness. She shakes it off, but later, realizes something might be terribly wrong… Daniel and Chloe discuss Carly’s life choices. Daniel relates Chloe’s dislike of Carly to her being unable to conceive child, and offers to go to a therapy session with her. Chloe protests, and later tells Philip that she hasn’t been going to therapy at all. She can’t tell Daniel the truth. Later, Carly waylays Daniel and in a painful sequence finally tells him that he is Melanie’s father. At the same time, Vivian has arrived at the hospital to kill Melanie. EJ is stunned to find Rafe and Sami back together. EJ covers and says he came by to retrieve the rest of Johnny’s things. EJ gives Rafe some lip about him being around. Rafe is suspicious of why EJ cares more about him and Sami being together than about Sydney. Sami asks them to stop fighting. EJ leaves, and Will shows up. Sami asks Rafe to leave so she can have a moment with Will. Rafe agrees. Sami explains to Will that Sydney is most likely no longer with them. Will refuses to believe it. Meanwhile, Rafe meets with Stefano. The two discuss EJ’s awkward behavior. At the cottage, EJ enters furious, but when Anna points out that Sami will always love a hero, he hits on a whole new idea. Will yells at Sami for even believing for a second that Sydney could be dead. Sami doesn’t want to, but it would take a miracle to bring her home. At the same time, EJ holds Sydney and tells her about his newly created plan. Rafe calls and tells him that he’s needed for a family gathering regarding Sydney’s passing. Realizing this is a perfect time for him to execute his plan, EJ agrees to show. They will have it at the pier. He orders Anna to get to work.

Rafe runs into Kate and Stefano, and asks them why EJ doesn’t seem to care about Sydney. Rafe tells them about the family gathering, and Stefano is pained to know he won’t be invited. He admits to Kate that EJ is hiding something. He tries to warn EJ about Rafe, but EJ refuses to listen. Fed up with EJ’s insults, Stefano lets his warning go unheard. Meanwhile, Rafe meets with Sami, Will and Allie for the family gathering. Rafe expresses his concern about letting everyone down, and Sami tells him that he did everything he could. EJ shows up, and tells Sami he needs to speak to her alone. He says that he received another ransom note. Sydney may not be gone, after all. Victor asks Philip how he’s holding up after Melanie’s near death experience. Philip admits he’s on edge about Melanie having Carly as her mother, and an undetermined father. Philip lays into Victor. He knows that Victor knew Carly was Melanie’s mother, and he had Vivian living here while she planned to kill his wife. Victor lays the blame on Carly. She’s the one who shot Melanie. Punish her. Philip sees through his trickery, believing Vivian did intend to kill Melanie. He storms off. At first, Daniel doesn’t believe Carly’s story that he is Melanie’s father, but through a brief discussion of their past, she convinces him. Daniel is furious with Carly for keeping this from him and from Melanie. Carly says it was the only way. Will Daniel forgive her? He runs off to see Melanie without giving her an answer. Vivian stands over a sleeping Melanie. She lifts a pillow and places it over Melanie’s face, smothering her. Weak, Melanie tries to fight it, but can’t summon up the strength. Vivian is unnerved when Melanie says she understands why Vivian has to end her life. Her existence has only caused people pain and trouble. Bo informs Hope the police have picked up Vivian’s man, Gus. After they interrogate Gus, they learn that Vivian may be on the attack. Back in Melanie’s room, Vivian is touched by her last words, and in a huge moment, decides to let her live. Philip and Bo burst in, but they are unable to prove any foul play. Bo and Hope share a moment, but Carly interrupts, needing to see Bo. Vivian returns to the Kiriakis mansion, and is able to put aside Lawrence’s wishes. She and Victor look forward to Carly being sentenced to prison for shooting her daughter. At the hospital, Daniel arrives to find a sleeping Melanie and sees her as his daughter for the first time.