Days of our Lives Recaps: The week of May 17, 2004 on DAYS

Comprehensive daily recaps for Days of our Lives, dating back to 1996.

Monday, May 17, 2004

by Spalding

Jan, still dressed as old Mrs. B., caresses Shawn as he sleeps fitfully. Shawn dreams of kissing Belle and of getting back together with her. Jan misunderstands Shawn's nocturnal mutterings until he mentions Belle by name. Upset, Jan cuts off Shawn's shirt and begins to lick him again. Fortunately, Shawn wakes up and freaks out. A calm, giggly Jan then reveals herself to a stunned Shawn.

A still vengeful Sami blames Bo, John, and Kate for her mother's death. As John talks about remembering Marlena, Sami says he is faking. A worried Lucas tries to comfort Sami but she "just wants justice" and tells Hope and Bo to leave the church. John agrees with Sami and asks that they forego the autopsy since he knows exactly what happened and that Bo is to blame for it. When things get heated, a peacemaking Hope cools down tempers and agrees to skip the autopsy as long as John lets the funeral home take the body. John reaches out to comfort a crying Sami but she tells him not to touch her. The funeral home puts Marlena in a body bag as they all watch.

Celeste talks to Marlena's black cloak clad spirit who warns of more suffering and deaths. She asks Celeste to act as a messenger for Salem and tell them that they will all die. She then hops into Celeste's body and deals a whole table full of tarot death cards.

Bo tells Hope, "no matter what I said in the heat of the moment, I didn't want this to happen." Bo enters the Brady pub to find Shawn Sr. and John at the bar. John opts to throw his liquor in Bo's face instead of drink it. John blames Bo for Marlena's death and Bo blames Marlena for the death of everybody else. Hope intervenes again and reminds them of Marlena's last words: "nobody else to blame." John explains that as "classic Doc" and continues to drown his sorrows at the bar and think back to happier times with Marlena. Hope also informs John that Bo tried to call the shooting off but that the marksman couldn't hear the order. Celeste enters the pub to check on John and then tells Hope that she had a premonition. Without saying anything more, Celeste leaves so that she can "end it tonight." Meanwhile, Hope joins Bo, John, and Shawn at the bar for a toast to Marlena. Bo toasts "to a dear friend, a loving mother, a devoted and loyal wife."

The mortician is about to start the exsanguination of Marlena's corpse when Belle, Sami, Philip, and Lucas interrupt to bring some clothes and an old picture of Marlena to the funeral home. Belle and Sami ask to be left alone with the body so they can say goodbye. After a tearful farewell, Sami tells Belle that she must come to terms with the fact that Bo, John, and Kate planned Marlena's death. When she tries to convince her that the world is full of cruel, selfish people, she brings up the fact that Shawn is not around to comfort her. An anguished Sami and Belle kiss Marlena goodbye as Lucas and Philip come back in to comfort them. While the foursome hug, Celeste enters and claims she is there to pay her respects to Marlena. She sends the four home and once alone, lights some candles around the body. A wind blows and the body of Marlena sits upright and asks Celeste to make Salem understand that "everything that has happened; it's been a lie."

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

by Joan

Outside Brady's Pub, Rex commented to Mimi that a sudden wind was reminiscent of Halloween night when Maggie was murdered. Inside, the two offered condolences to a despondent John. Worried about Shawn not staying in touch, Hope followed Mimi's suggestion to call him, but still got his voice mail. Rex surprised John saying Marlena wasn't dead by virtue of the tributes paid to her at the funeral home.

At the morgue, Celeste asked God to deliver Marlena's soul from evil as Marlena's lifeless hand grabbed her and stood up. Telling Celeste "it's all a lie," Marlena suggested she might not be dead. Followed by the confusting statement that she wanted Celeste to avenge her death, Marlena said, "the worst is yet to come." Celeste asked if Marlena would kill the next victim and who it would be. Marlena shocked her with, "Everyone in Salem." Telling Celeste that "the evil lives on," Marlena added "but it has a plan."

In a corridor just oustide, John heard Marlena's voice and saw the shadows of two people. Hearing Celeste scream, John rushed in to revive Celeste as she nearly fainted next to Marlena's body. Celeste confirmed that she had spoken with Marlena when John said he'd heard her voice. At Celeste's suggestion that Marlena might be in a coma, John spoke to his wife, begging her to wake up. But as he attempted to get her heart pumping, the undertaker returned. Proving that Marlena was dead, Mr. Milbauer stabbed Marlena. Convinced that Marlena was alive, Celeste watched a candle flicker when she asked for a sign.

At the Loft, Belle continued calling Shawn's cell phone, speculating that Shawn's absence and refusal to commit to their future was because he didn't love her. But Philip felt sure that Shawn would be there if he knew about Marlena's death. Rex and Mimi arrived with exciting news about finding Shawn. After Shawn went through his computer, Rex developed a mini-tracking chip and planted it in Shawn's jacket. According to the device, Rex briefly determined Shawn was still in or around Salem before losing the signal.

At Jan's, Shawn desperately heard his ringing cell phone unable to answer. Refused Jan's seductions, he played along by talking. Shawn learned that he had been watched by Jan, and that she was the one stabbed in his bed by Marlena. But he was curiously suspicious when Jan compared the death of her parents, to Shawn and herself. "They were together when they died, just like we're going to be." Saying she had a lot of money, Jan said they could remain there till the end of time. Shawn's promise to return after seeing Belle infuriated a delusional Jan who believed she was getting advice from a talking Cupie doll.

At the Brady's, Hope reminisced over pictures of murdered family members as well as Marlena, saying she, too, had been part of their family. Later, Hope was startled in her sleep by recollections of Celeste's premonition not including Bo in her future happiness. But Bo's assurance not to worry any more did not encourage Hope.

And at the morgue, Celeste apologized to John, saying it was some sort of waking dream. As they consoled one another, they didn't see Marlena's finger move.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

by SPARKLELYNN

On the roof of the loft, with thunder and lightening all around, Belle was anguishing over Shawn leaving and worried over the fact that he had not called about her mom after numerous messages. She noticed a chalk picture and had a flashback of Shawn telling her he had traced Zack in the drawing and she remembered wanting to trace Shawn but he suggested she trace Mr. Bumper the bear in chalk. As she recalled the kiss they shared, rain began to fall and Philip, who had been watching her, told Belle to go inside. Belle cried to Philip that Shawn had promised to return and how badly she needed Shawn. Philip encouraged her to calm down and just go inside but Belle saw the chalk drawing begin to wash away and threw herself down on it, saying it was a promise from Shawn. Philip pulled Belle off the drawing and told her that she had done everything she could and would have to accept that it was now up to Shawn.

At Jan's country house, Shawn argued with Jan about being chained up and kept from Belle when she needed him so badly with Marlena dead. The more he talked about Belle, the angrier Jan became. He told Jan he WOULD get out and that she was totally psycho which enraged her as she kept insisting that Shawn tell her he loved her. He tried to reason with her and explained his heart belonged to Belle and that he had never loved Jan. She couldn't accept that, saying they had been through so much together, losing their love child because Belle had pushed her down the stairs. Shawn did his best to make her see that she was delusional but soon realized she had lost all sense of reality. Jan called Belle a liar, and reminded Shawn that Belle had lied to protect her mother. Shawn couldn't believe she knew about the lie until Jan confessed to be the person who had been stalking him for the past few months. Knowing she couldn't have built the cage by herself, he demanded to know who was her accomplice but Jan continued with her fantasy and explained to Shawn that the whole thing had been a very creative and long thought out plan. She promised he would never, ever see Belle again and decided they would have a marriage ceremony right there in the cage, as she held up her kewpie doll, pretending it to be their baby. Shawn told her that the fantasy was hers alone, that he didn't want any part of it and he was going to the police and Jan would pay for all she was doing to him. He told her she must be turned on by forcing herself on him but that he was so completely turned off and that it would be funny if she wasn't so pathetic. Jan's phone rang and Nicole was calling wanting another favor from her and ordered her to go and bail someone out of jail. All the while that Jan was talking to Nicole on the phone, Shawn was screaming his lungs out, hoping the person on the other end would call the police for him. He continued to scream out Belle's name as Jan left to carry out Nicole's demand. Crystal had called Nicole earlier and told her that if she didn't get bailed out immediately, Crystal was gonna tell the cops that it was Nicole who had masterminded the jail break and set Marlena up to die. Nicole decided to make Jan bail Crystal out, thus her phone call to Jan and her order to leave Shawn and go to the jail. Nicole knew she couldn't touch that much money, as Brady had already admitted he was monitoring her account, so Jan would be the one to save her from Crystal turning her in.

At the morgue, John and Celeste mourned Marlena and discussed if she could be alive, even as the scalpel was still sticking in Marlena's chest that had been stuck in her by the mortician, Milbauer. When Milbauer returned, he apologized to John and told him that he was a man of science and didn't like suggestions of the occult around his profession. John asked what the procedures were that the mortician had to perform on Marlena. Mr. Milbauer did not want to go into detail and asked that he be allowed to finish his work as it was very late. As Marlena's blood was replaced with the embalming fluid, her eyes suddenly opened wide but then closed. The mortician watched as he ate a banana and recited a quote about death then later, after he had finished his work on her, he looked at her picture, finished her makeup and straightened the collar on the blouse under her suit.

Brady had left a message for John on his cell phone when Nicole broke the news about Marlena's attempted escape and death. John went to the mansion to see Brady and told him how very hard it was to accept that Marlena was gone. Brady said John knew that his Mom, Isabella was going to die and therefore had time to deal with it. John said that was a good point, but there was something else about Marlena's death. John admitted to Brady that he could've sworn he heard Marlena talking to Celeste. Brady said that was not possible and that none of Celeste's premonitions had ever prevented any deaths. Nicole expressed her sympathy, but John would have none of it, and told her that he knew she had killed Victor.

Celeste was alone but remembered Marlena's warning to her that everyone in Salem would die. Marlena suddenly appeared to Celeste and once more told her that everyone in Salem will die. Celeste ran away, and upon finding John & Brady in the park, began to tell them what happened with Marlena appearing to her again. When they asked what she was talking about, she said, "Marlena -- her spirit walks. I just saw her. She told me that -- that everyone in Salem is going to die." John asked where Marlena was and Celeste said, "There -- she's -- she's there. She's coming!."

Thursday, May 20, 2004

by Joan

At the Kiriakis Mansion, Brady was surprised Nicole was planning to attend Marlena's funeral, which was for close family. Crystal called threatening to send Nicole to the Death Row if she didn't get her out of jail. After hanging up, a frightened Nicole composed herself thinking how to keep Crystal from talking. "Believe me, I know how to do that better than anyone."

At Jan's, Shawn changed from fighting Jan off to trying to dupe her into thinking he wanted to be with her. But at every chance he looked for means of escape. Convincing Jan that he couldn't hold her with his hands cuffed, Shawn was nearly freed when the doorbell rang. Nicole arrived looking for money from Jan to bail out Crystal.

Outside of St. Luke's, Sami was in disbelief telling Lucas her mother was not dead, and she wouldn't let them bury her. Asking Lucas who would keep her in line when she was wrong, Will said, "us" referring to them as a family. Belle stopped at the gravesite where Marlena would be buried next to Roman. Relying on Philip as a friend, she still blamed herself for keeping a secret, and questioned Shawn's silence. As Celeste approached, she heard insects buzzing and birds loudly chirping. Thinking the creatures were restless, she heard Marlena's voice whispering, "Don't let them take me. It's not my time to go." Asking what she should do, Marlena answered Celeste, "Help me before it's too late."

"I'm here, Marlena. I won't let them bury you."

Inside St. Luke's, Hope found John mourning at Marlena's casket, had been there since dawn. Saying he still felt Marlena's presence at home, John spoke of Celeste's vision at the morgue. Because the Police shot Marlena, an emotional Sami demanded that Hope leave. But she redirected her anger, recalling Caroline's prediction and blaming Bo, John and Kate for her mother's death. Confirming that Shawn had not called, she told a reluctant Philip to be more than a friend to Belle. Observing the two sisters, Kate told Brady that Sami would find a way to make Marlena's funeral "all about herself.

A phone call from Bo alerted Hope that Crystal had more information about Marlena's escape. As Sami wept at Marlena's casket, Celeste approached saying, "I'm hear, Marlena. I won't let them bury you." When Celeste's remark brought Sami to hysteria, John refused to let Celeste do it again. Saying she should be used to hearing dead people, John insisted Marlena was dead. Calling himself crazy, for searching Salem Park after Celeste saw Marlena's ghost the night before, John asked, "Why would it be you and not those of us who love her?" Celeste desperately explained Marlena was trying to reach John through her. But after telling Celeste not to stay if she was going to disrupt the burial, John knelt by Marlena. "I did the right thing didn't I, Doc? If I could just hear your voice one more time. Can you hear me, Marlena? I love you."

A resolute Celeste sat in a pew, again hearing, "Don't let them bury me." It's not my time." Explaining Eric and Carrie's absence due to the hurried arrangements, John eulogized Marlena, saying she would want people not to forget what she taught and how she loved. But Celeste could only hear what else Marlena was saying, "Don't let them bury me." Following words from Belle and Hope, Sami approached her mother's casket and addressed her. Apologizing for being a terrible daughter, she said she'd let Marlena down. "I knew that John was going to take you from us, and I didn't do anything to stop it." Sami stood angrily facing John. Lucas shook his head in disbelief and a grieving John in shock as Sami made a promise to her mother. "If it is the last thing I do, I will make sure that John and Kate and Bo all pay for what they have done to you

At the gravesite, the funeral for Marlena concluded with a prayer. As mourners left, Belle learned that Hope had not heard from Shawn either. Realizing she had forgotten to put Will's teddy bear in the casket, Sami stayed for some final words. As Sami touched the casket, Celeste heard the insect and bird sounds again. "I would do anything to hear you say 'I love you' one more time," Sami cried. Her face now on the casket, Sami wept, "Mom, you weren't supposed to leave me." As the deafening sounds stopped, Celeste said, "She's here!" In the darkness of the sealed coffin, Marlena's eyes opened as Sami's voice continued, "Oh, God, why did you let them take my Mom?" Hearing a thumping from within the coffin, Sami called out, "Oh, my God, Mom?" Putting her ear to the lid, Sami was shocked as she heard, "Sami, let me out of here."

Friday, May 21, 2004

by Joan

At the gravesite, no one but Celeste heard the deafening insect and bird sounds start and stop, while only Sami could hear Marlena pounding the lid of the casket. "Sami, can you hear me?" Calling everyone back, Sami screamed, "She's alive!" In disbelief, John was reluctant, thinking Sami was hearing what she wanted. But even Belle tried to convince John. Marlena's voice continued, "Sami, save me. It's getting hard to breathe."

As the sounds began again, Celeste declared the animals of the universe to be in a state of great discord. Desperately she said, "They are crying out that we must right this frightful wrong while we still have a chance!" With both his daughters pleading now, John listened at the casket but heard nothing. Marlena's hand grew limp, and her head dropped back as both Lexie and the mortician assured that she could not be alive. Sami's pleas, "She's in there, and she's dying!"

Confirming Sami's story, Celeste warned John that Marlena's life was in his hands. Burying Marlena would fulfill Caroline's prediction that he would kill her. At odds between his daughters and his own grief, John demanded the mortician open the casket. Despite the fact that Marlena had been embalmed, the mortician was ordered by Hope, as an Officer of the law, to unseal the casket. Marlena was still and apparently, dead. Once Lexie confirmed Marlena was dead, John gave a second order. "Close it. Bury her." Lucas placed Will's teddy bear next to Marlena, and the coffin was sealed. Saying it was like killing Marlena again, Sami begged Celeste to tell them she was alive. But Celeste finally said, "I no longer feel your mother's presence on this earth." I sense that nature is at peace now." The gravediggers stood by waiting to do their job, as Sami hysterically pounded on the coffin promising to save her mother.

At the secluded house, Nicole listened as Jan threatened Shawn with a whip for trying to escape. Threatening to release Shawn, Nicole insisted that Jan get the money immediately. Headed for the bank, Jan suggested not searching for the evidence from Victor's safe. Asking Nicole to keep an eye on Shawn, Jan left her with instructions. "If you try to come on to him ... I'll kill you." Thinking Jan hid the evidence in the cage, Nicole disguised herself in the "Mrs. B" outfit. Shawn mistook Nicole for Jan. As her imagination got the better of her, Nicole thought Brady was chained to the bed succumbing to her seductions. Caught between her fantasy and reality, Nicole was interrupted by the sound of Shawn's cell phone. Finding herself in the process of unlocking the handcuffs as Shawn was telling her to, she ran out. Once more, Shawn had missed a call from Hope.

Returning to the apartment, Lucas tried to console Sami who was convinced her mother had been buried alive. At the cemetery, John said a last goodbye at the now-covered grave. "I love you, Doc. Always have, always will." Lexie asked if the horror was over. Celeste replied, "There's more to come. I can't tell you what or when it's going to happen. I only know this madness we've been living is only just beginning." And beneath the floral pieces, in the stillness of her grave, Marlena's eyes opened to the sound of insects buzzing. Her gasps turned to screams as she found Will's teddy bear. "Oh no, no! They've already buried me! No! No! YOU'VE MADE A MISTAKE! Oh, NO !"