Thursday, August 15, 2024

by Hope Campbell

At the hospital, Fiona poured coffee for a worried Maggie and Xander as they waited for word on Sarah, who had been in surgery for five hours. Maggie blamed herself for what had happened. If she hadn't misplaced the Horton cabin key, Sarah wouldn't have returned to her car to drive to the Kiriakis mansion to help Maggie find it. Xander assured Maggie that the only person to blame was the one driving the car that had hit Sarah.

After Xander threatened revenge on the driver, a nervous Fiona urged her son to think positive thoughts for Sarah. While Fiona flashed back to the moment she'd realized she had hit someone, Kayla arrived with news about Sarah. Despite extensive internal injuries, Sarah's condition was stable. "Assuming that there's no complications, I think she will absolutely fully recover," Kayla said.

Maggie allowed Xander to visit with Sarah first while Fiona tried to be a comfort in the waiting room. Maggie was still dazed about what had happened. "Who would leave someone in the street, bleeding and alone, and not call for help?" Maggie asked a guilty-looking Fiona.

When Jada arrived, Kayla asked her to wait a bit to talk to Sarah. Maggie asked Jada if the police had any leads. Fiona looked frightened when she heard Jada tell Maggie that she hoped Sarah could identify the driver of the car that had hit her. Fiona continued flashing back to finding Sarah after the accident.

Sarah came to just as Xander walked into the room. Xander told her what had happened and assured Sarah that she would be fine. When Xander asked if there was anything Sarah needed, she said she just needed him. Xander promised Sarah the honeymoon of her dreams. Sarah was a little alarmed when she learned that Bonnie was watching Victoria, but she soon drifted off to sleep.

Xander left the room to let Sarah sleep, and he spoke with Jada in the waiting room. Jada told Xander that the city cameras didn't have footage of the accident, but she hoped to find footage from local businesses' security cameras. Jada asked Xander for any information he had about Sarah's whereabouts the night before, so he told her that Sarah had been going to help Maggie look for the Horton cabin keys. Xander had become alarmed when Sarah hadn't returned quickly, and he'd gone looking for her after Maggie had told him that Sarah had never even made it to the mansion.

As Jada and Xander spoke, they realized the driver had still been there when Xander had found Sarah, which had been about 20 minutes after Sarah had left Horton Town Square. They deduced that the driver had tried to help Sarah but had fled the scene when they'd heard Xander arrive. When Jada mentioned that she was going to see Sarah, Fiona piped up and said she didn't think it was a good idea.

Xander asked Fiona why she wouldn't want the police to question Sarah. Fiona said that Sarah had just been through a traumatic experience, and it wasn't the right time for her to answer questions. Jada argued that Sarah's doctor had said it was fine to question her and that the sooner Jada did it, the better chance they had of finding the driver.

Maggie was sitting with Sarah when Xander and Jada walked in. Jada asked Sarah what she remembered. Sarah said she'd heard a car coming, so she'd turned to look, but the next thing Sarah remembered, she'd been on the ground. Sarah said she thought the car was gray, but she didn't remember much more.

Kayla arrived just as Xander put warm blankets over Sarah's legs because she said her body was freezing. However, Sarah was alarmed when she realized she couldn't feel the blankets. As Xander touched Sarah's legs, she said she couldn't feel his hands. Sarah also couldn't move her legs. When Kayla checked Sarah's reflexes, Sarah felt nothing.

Brady woke up in his building's parking garage, sitting behind the wheel with a headache and not remembering what had happened the night before. He flashed back to drinking at Small Bar and was horrified to realize he might have driven drunk.

Before she got to the hospital, Jada was at the scene of the accident and told a fellow officer that they needed to keep the street closed while the Salem PD did a reconstruction of the accident. When Paulina stopped by, Jada told the mayor what had happened and assured her the police were on it.

Jada told Paulina that they didn't have an ID on the driver and that there were no witnesses, but the Salem PD was asking anyone who knew anything to come forward with information. They were also going to use footage from the security cameras. Both women were relieved when Kayla called to tell Jada that Kayla would be okay.

Marlena was surprised and excited when she opened her door and found Kristen standing there with Rachel. Kristen explained that Rachel had woken up crying and insisted she had to see Brady as soon as possible. "I had a nightmare that something bad happened to Daddy," Rachel said.

Marlena asked Rachel to tell her about the dream, but Rachel said she only wanted to see her daddy. Marlena assumed Brady was sleeping in his room, so Marlena suggested that she and Rachel make breakfast while they waited for him. After Marlena and Rachel left for the kitchen, a groggy Brady walked in the front door.

Brady was shocked to find Kristen sitting there. "Why do you look like a deer caught in the headlights?" Kristen asked. After Brady wondered why Kristen was there, Kristen told him that Rachel wanted to see him.

Brady was happy to hear that Rachel was in the kitchen with Marlena but lied to Kristen about what he'd been doing all night. He told Kristen that he had been working all night to cover for Xander. Brady also warned Kristen that Basic Black was making a comeback and would be new competition for Gabi Chic.

After Brady left the room, Marlena reentered, looking for Rachel. The little girl finally emerged to tell them that Brady wasn't in his room and hadn't slept in his bed the night before. Kristen told Rachel that where Brady slept was none of her business. Kristen suggested they leave. A defiant Rachel insisted she wasn't going home until she saw her father.

Just then, Brady walked into the living room. Rachel flew into his arms, relieved that he was okay. Brady told Rachel he had slept in his bed, but he had made the bed as soon as he'd awoken. Rachel didn't buy it, since that had never been Brady's habit, so Kristen tried changing the subject. Kristen told Brady that Rachel had had a nightmare that something bad had happened, so Brady assured Rachel that he was just fine.

Rachel asked to spend the day with Brady. He was all for it, but Kristen put the kibosh on the idea because she and Rachel already had plans. As Rachel said her goodbyes, she told Brady that she was glad he hadn't been "smushed by a giant steamroller," which was what she had dreamed about.

After Kristen and Rachel left, Marlena told Brady how upset Rachel had been when she'd arrived. Marlena told Brady she had also been worried about him, considering how late he had been returning home recently. Brady assured Marlena that he was fine, so Marlena left the room to give John his painkiller. Once Brady was alone, he called Fiona with one question. "What the hell happened last night?" Brady asked.

Brady told Fiona he remembered drinking at Small Bar, but he didn't remember driving home. Fiona told him that he had to have driven home if he had woken up in his garage. Fiona lied and said she'd tried to get him to take a cab, but he had insisted he could drive. Fiona wanted to get off the phone, so she told Brady that she couldn't talk because Sarah had been in an accident. After Fiona hung up, Brady heard the sound of a crash in his head. Brady was further alarmed when Marlena gave Brady details about what had happened to Sarah.

In Horton Town Square, Rachel chowed down some baked goods and admitted to Kristen that she'd tossed Marlena's pancakes in the trash. "I love Grandma, but she can't even make cereal taste good," Rachel said.

When Paulina happened by, she mentioned that she was there for a police investigation. Kristen asked what had happened. Paulina told Kristen there had been a hit-and-run. Paulina relayed that Sarah had been hit by a gray car, and the police believed that the driver had been drunk. Once Paulina was gone, Rachel said, "Lots of people have gray cars. Even Daddy."