08/18, Monday: 1.9/2,515,000
Sami tells Kate about the article Will wrote detailing their takeover of DiMera Enterprises. They worry how the board will react - and also fear this could push Stefano over the edge. Sami tries to do damage control with Shin, who strongly hints it would be best if Sami could say she and EJ reconciled. Sami later thaws a bit with EJ. Meanwhile, Will and Sonny anxiously wait for the online edition of Will's story to hit the web. Will gets testy when he feels Sonny isn't being supportive. They soon make up; then Kate arrives, demanding answers from her grandson. Earlier, Abigail (who's out with Arianna) and Ben run into each other in the park and share some romance. As they kiss, EJ enters, and things get awkward. JJ is stunned when Hope mentions that Jennifer had a date last night. JJ presses his mom, who admits she had plans with Aiden but they fell through - then makes clear it was intended to be purely platonic. Aiden arrives, and he and Hope are extremely uncomfortable around each other. When Jennifer reenters the room, Aiden quickly makes an excuse to leave. Jennifer explains to Hope about the non-date with Aiden, and Hope later asks Aiden why he misled her. Eve surprises Theresa by sending her on a mysterious mission to speak with Paige. Theresa visits her unsuspecting niece and pretends to be happy that Paige is dating JJ, reinforcing the idea of how fun and wild he is. Later, Paige confronts her mother, demanding to know if she sent Theresa to talk to her. Earlier, Eve interrupts JJ and Rory to tell JJ she's disappointed in him - he's much more like his father than she thought.
08/19, Tuesday: 1.7/2,264,000
At the police station, Kristen waits to hear her fate as the grand jury hears witnesses. Fresh from testifying at the courthouse, Nicole arrives, finally getting her chance to confront her enemy. Kristen taunts Nicole about losing Eric. Kristen then goes to court but is told the grand jury has one more witness to hear. She turns and comes face-to-face... with Eric. Daniel visits Brady, who is grateful Daniel has brought Kristen back to face justice - but Brady has no intention of seeing her. Victor vows he'll take care of Kristen in his own way if the courts do not. Privately, Daniel asks Maggie to help Jennifer with the Eve situation. Later, Daniel runs into Eric, surprised to hear he was given the opportunity to return to the priesthood, but declined. Meanwhile, Brady is tempted to drink. Paige confronts Eve over using Theresa to undermine Paige's belief in JJ. Paige insists she's committed to JJ. Meanwhile, Marybeth gives JJ a hard time about Paige's decision to delay Stanford, questioning whether he's really changed or not. Even Rory has doubts. Later, JJ and Paige watch Parker together, and it's clear JJ's past still eats at him. Jennifer meets with Aiden about her case when Maggie arrives with a proposal, offering to sweeten the deal so Eve will settle and drop the lawsuit. Jennifer's intrigued but has a mysterious rider she wants Aiden to attach to the proposal. Eve, already worried about losing and getting nothing, is presented with the deal by Jennifer: take it or leave it but it must be signed now. Earlier, Hope confronts Aiden, wondering if he had been trying to make her believe he was dating Jennifer. Aiden admits he was worried Hope had developed feelings for him. She denies it and claims she thought he was the one who had feelings for her. They go their separate ways, both in denial. Jennifer is surprised when Eric tells her he won't be returning to the priesthood. Later, he has more disturbing fantasies about Nicole, unable to eject her from his thoughts.
08/20, Wednesday: 2.0/2,731,000
Eric arrives at the courthouse to give his testimony to the grand jury and runs into Kristen. Against her lawyer's advice, Kristen waylays him and offers something of an apology. In court, a strong Eric recounts all he knows about what was done to him. Later, an indictment is handed down, and Kristen is arraigned. The D.A. asks that bail be denied. But the judge has other ideas - and Kristen allows herself a small smile. Brady, tempted to have a drink, finds his will power and resists... and then encounters Theresa who has heard about Kristen's return. The conversation takes an uncomfortable turn for Theresa when Brady says he's not giving up on John's eventual recovery. Later, Nicole connects with Brady, knowing that Kristen's return tortures him. Eric arrives, having given his testimony, and they all hope Kristen will eventually be convicted. Daniel grills Nicole about why Eric has decided not to return to the priesthood. Nicole reveals Eric feels he's not worthy because of the hate he feels for her. Daniel reiterates how betrayed he feels and tells her to keep her distance. Later, he picks up Parker from Paige and learns Eve has settled the lawsuit with Jennifer. He crosses with Theresa and lets her know he finds her story about what happened to John a little suspicious. Theresa is unsettled. Jennifer presents Eve with a final offer to settle the lawsuit - with the added ultimatum that Eve clam up in public about Jack, his book and the movie. Eve has realized it's settle now or risk getting nothing later - so she signs, but hates it and later tells Theresa she's doubling down on getting JJ out of Paige's life. Jennifer goes home and gives JJ the great news about the settlement, but the celebration is put on hold when Abigail returns home, clearly upset. Sonny and Will are waiting anxiously for Will's article to come online, but Sonny still feels guilty about how Abigail, though unnamed, is referred to in Will's takedown of EJ and Sami. To help assuage Sonny's worry, Will calls Abigail and alerts her to the story, saying she'll want to read it. When it finally comes online, she's curious and begins to read... Back at the apartment, Sonny gets to the article first and can't believe what he's reading. He turns to Will, furious.