Leo and Holly are in the square, excited about leaving for the senior lake trip. Holly’s going up with Ari and Tate will meet them up there. He’s a bit anxious about telling Sophia, though.
Sophia, meanwhile, reads through the note she wrote to her son in her room. “Letting you go was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” But then Leo knocks on the door and she starts to panic when he says he’s coming in.
She jumps into bed and covers herself with blankets. “You seem a little tense,” Tate notes, but she just asks what’s up. He eventually tells her he’s going up to the lake for the day. “Oh,” Sophia notes. “So you can be with Holly?”
Yeah, among others. Sophia admits it sucks to miss so much of senior year, but she really doesn’t want to waddle around on the beach and sends him off. She calls Melinda, saying the timing couldn’t be more perfect for them.
Gabi Worries About Ari’s Trip
Ari’s packing for the trip while Gabi frets over her daughter’s preparation. Then she warns her daughter that there’s absolutely no drinking or drugs at the lake. She runs off to grab something for Ari for the trip, while the teen gripes to Javi about how annoying her mom is. He just tells her to be careful, too, though.
Gabi comes back with a bag of condoms, much to her daughter’s horror. She sends Ari off, apologizing for being so extra, but it’s just because she loves her daughter. Javi says goodbye for himself and Tesoro, admitting he’s getting attached to the tot.
After Ari’s gone, Gabi has to run off to work; even though she hates it there. She’s stuck for another two years, though. The merger’s killing her. “What could be worse than having to answer to Xander Kiriakis?”
Leo and Doug Catch Up
Doug brings Leo’s mimosa over for breakfast at the pub. Doug takes his break and sits with Leo, who tells him that Julie never got her necklace back. Doug’s crestfallen to learn Gwen isn’t giving it back and gets a quick rundown of Leo’s falling out with Gwen and her vendetta against the Hortons.
Leo then asks for coffee and gets into him and Javi having a new baby. He asks about Doug’s problem with the loan shark and promises that if he could help, he would. It’s OK, Doug has an idea already.
Can Sarah Get Through to Xander?
Over at the mansion, Sarah’s losing it over Xander taking Victoria, while Maggie assures her it’s not her fault. Sarah tells her mom to stay and get ready for the trip. “Sarah, please be careful…” Sarah just storms out to take her husband to task.
Holly pops in after she’s gone, ready to head out for her trip. She can tell something’s up with her grandmother, though. Maggie assures her it’ll be OK, and turns the talk back to Holly’s trip, telling her to call if she needs anything. “There’s nothing to worry about,” Holly says. (Ha.)
Xander’s set up a crib in his office, while he tells Melinda on the phone that they’re going to make sure he’s never going to part from his daughter again. As he’s talking to Victoria, Sarah appears and flatly tells him to give her back to her mother.
She then lays into him about keeping her stuck in an office and Xander accuses her of trying to run off with his little girl. Victoria hears them fighting and starts crying, so Sarah comforts her then gets back to fighting with Xander. She says he’s paranoid and crazy, he tells her she was trying to entrap him.
No one believes he didn’t touch Philip, Sarah tells him. And he doesn’t believe she’s not trying to run off with Victoria. Her days of controlling him and his life are over. “I’m in control now.”
Sarah tries one more attempt, saying yes, she ran off with Rachel, and if she tried that again, she’d lose Victoria. Why would she take that risk? Because, Xander says, Maggie has the resources to make her vanish forever.
Sarah sighs and says she wants Xander in Victoria’s life. Xander looks like he might believe her, but then shuts down, saying she’s just buttering him up. It’s a no. “You’re mentally unstable.” He coldly recalls her thinking she was Rachel’s mother and how she thought she was an heiress and a little girl.
Sarah stares at him. “That’s really low.” She can do what she wants, Xander says, but Victoria is staying with him. Sarah’s tired of fighting, she’s just heartbroken for Victoria. Xander admits he hates this, too, but they’ll work this out later.
Ari spots him and runs over, and Doug admits he’s got something he has to tell her. She gets a text, though, before he can say anything, and tells him she’ll be gone for a week on her senior trip. Doug’s relieved and just tells her to have fun, then leaves with a kiss.
Holly runs over and the two girls head out while the loan shark follows behind them. They get to the park when a guy in a ski mask jumps out with a gun, takes their phones and tells them to move.
In the Show’s Final Moments
Sarah gets back to Maggie, saying she can’t go to Bermuda without Victoria. She’s just exhausted from fighting. At least Victoria’s safe. Maggie needs to go on that trip, she says, but her mom refuses. Bermuda’s not going anywhere. Sarah starts crying and Maggie hugs her, telling her it’s going to be OK.
Sophia spots Leo, Javi and her baby out in the square, and cautiously walks over and introduces herself. She says she saw his picture in the paper, and knows he took in the baby. She thanks them. For their service. “So, um, how is he doing?” She asks casually.
Javi and Leo assure her he’s doing well, and social services are inundated with adoption calls. They’re already attached, though. She gets emotional and runs off, leaving the confused guys behind.
The thug takes Holly and Ari to an alley, where Holly pulls off one of her rings and drops it behind her back while Ari tells the guy her uncle’s in law enforcement. Tate gets to the park, wondering where the girls are. The loan shark then takes off his mask and calls Doug, telling him he took out an insurance policy. He sends a pic of Holly and Ari and tells him not to tell the cops. He wants the money, or the necklace — or both, if Doug ever wants to see them again.
