Bo & Hope #86 November 9, 2015 - February 15, 2017: 8 hour original edit

#86A 11/9 Steve shows up at the hospital and tells Kayla that he has brought Bo back to town. Kayla realizes her mother was telling the truth about Bo’s phone call and admits she owes her mother an apology.

At the DiMera mansion, Stefano and Andre were furious to learn that Bo had returned to Salem just in time to save Hope, leaving Aiden the only casualty of their plan.

Later, Stefano overheard Andre talking to someone on the phone. "Yes, I believe in being proactive rather than reactive. That means that the next move is ours," Andre told the person before ending the call. When Stefano questioned Andre about the phone conversation, Andre explained that he was simply dealing with the fallout of Hope's attack and Aiden's death.

"And?" Stefano asked.
"Oh, you have nothing to worry about, Father. I have matters well in hand, as always," Andre replied.

As Bo comforted Hope, Rafe arrived with a few police officers. He questions what the hell happened here? He was shocked to learn not only that Bo was back in town but also that Aiden was dead. Rafe tried to question Hope, but she just stared at him numbly, so Bo explained what had happened. Hope approached Aiden's lifeless body again and began lashing out, first at him then at Bo, demanding to know why he hadn't been there for her when she had needed him. As Hope pummeled Bo's chest with her fists, she suddenly collapsed in his arms.

The paramedics arrived, and after they took Hope to the ambulance, Bo filled Rafe in on where he had been and why he had suddenly returned to Salem. Bo had detected a reaction when Rafe had learned that Aiden had been holding a necktie, and when he questioned Rafe about it, Rafe explained that a serial killer had been on the loose for the past few months and had used neckties to strangle people. Rafe was surprised that Steve hadn't mentioned anything to Bo about the serial killer, but he didn't explain why he was surprised, deciding that it wasn't the right time to tell Bo about Will's death.

The paramedics arrived at the hospital bringing Hope in on a gurney with a concerned Bo staying close by her side. Bo quickly filled Steve in on what had happened then he went into Hope's room to check on her. A nurse tried to convince Bo to get himself examined, but he assured her that he would be fine. "I just want to be here with my, with my wife," Bo added. After the nurse left, Hope woke up, and began screaming when she saw Bo, again mistaking him for Aiden. Bo calmed Hope down and assured her that she was safe.

t the hospital, Kayla tracked Steve down after hearing that Hope had been admitted, but before he could explain what had happened, Bo returned from his examination, wearing clean scrubs. After a brief reunion with Kayla, Bo went back to Hope's room and crawled into Hope's hospital bed so he could protectively cradle her in his arms as she slept.

11/10 Hope slept in her hospital bed with Bo asleep on the floor beside her. Bo woke with a start. As Bo leaned over his wife and kissed her, Victor stared through the window into the room. Bo met with Victor in the hallway. Victor apologized for putting Bo in danger. Shaking his head, Bo insisted that he had wanted to help Caroline and that Victor was not to blame for the kidnapping. As Bo stared through the window at Hope, Victor assured Bo that Hope had waited a long time before moving on.

Victor asked Bo what had happened to him. Bo explained that he had located Dr. Salinas and had set him up at a lab in Peru. Bo noted that the ISA had contacted him after that and had offered to provide Bo with evidence to take down the Dimera family. As Victor nodded, Bo explained that people that were interested in the serum work of Dr. Salinas had kidnapped him. Bo warned Victor that they would need to keep their guard up. Roman interrupted the conversation to hug his brother. Kayla joined in. Bo stressed that he wanted to focus on Hope. Nodding, Kayla thanked Bo for saving Hope's life.

In her hospital room, Hope dreamed about Aiden's attack, and she thrashed in her bed. Hope awoke screaming, and Bo rushed into the room to hold her and calm her down. Kayla sedated Hope. When Victor asked Bo to return to the mansion to clean up, Bo resisted. Kayla gently talked Bo into leaving Hope's side. Bo agreed, but he insisted on returning to his house instead.

When Bo arrived at home, he talked to a police officer who promised to get a crew to clean up the crime scene before Hope returned home. After the officer left, Bo stared around the battered living room. "This should not have happened. Not in my house. Not to my family," Bo growled.

At the hospital, Rafe visited Hope. Hope stirred awake and asked for Bo. Rafe informed her that Bo would return shortly. When Rafe asked Hope how she was doing, she started to cry. Rafe assured Hope that she was surrounded by loved ones. As Rafe held Hope's hand, Bo returned from home and watched them from the doorway. Bo said hello, and Rafe kissed Hope's hand and left.

When Bo asked how Hope was feeling, she said she did not know. Bo said he would stay by her side. Shaking her head, Hope said she did not know if Bo could help her. Hope hugged Bo tightly. Bo urged Hope to rest, but she was resistant. Hope asked Bo what had happened to him and why he had not returned home sooner.

11/11 Bo filled Hope in on what had happened to him while he had been away from Salem. Hope blamed herself for Bo's ordeal, but he assured her that he understood why she had lost faith in him during his absence. Bo promised that he would never leave Hope again. Doug and Julie entered Hope's room and were shocked to see Bo.

Ciara wasn't far behind, and she began sobbing as she embraced Bo, who was shocked to see that she had grown into a young lady during his absence. Julie began inundating Bo with questions, and Hope silently struggled with her guilt as he quickly explained that he had been held prisoner for a while and hadn't willingly abandoned his family.

Meanwhile, Chase arrived and wondered what had happened to Hope and where his father was. Hope assured Chase that she was okay, and when he gave Bo a puzzled look, Ciara explained that Bo was her father. At Julie's prompting, Doug ushered Chase out of the room, claiming that they were leaving to give Ciara some time alone with Bo. After saying goodbye to Hope, Bo and Ciara also left, leaving Hope alone with Julie.

Hope took her wedding ring off and set it aside as Julie explained that she and Doug knew what had happened but had managed to keep Ciara and Chase from finding out. As Hope began wondering how she was going to tell Chase about what had happened, Roman entered the room and revealed that he had an idea that might help Chase and prevent Hope from having to be the one to break the news to him.

Ciara was shocked when Bo told her about what Aiden had done. Ciara started to muse that Aiden had always been nice to her, but she stopped herself and decided that none of that mattered anymore and she was glad he was dead. Bo urged Ciara not to think like that and not to blame Chase for what had happened, since it wasn't his fault.

"You understand a little bit about not having a parent around, right? Imagine losing both your parents," Bo added. Conceding the point, Ciara tearfully stated that she was glad that Bo had returned home, and she hugged him tightly as she added that she was never going to let him out of her sight again.

Later, Bo took Hope back to their house, which had been cleaned up and filled with new furniture. A cop was there, doing one last sweep of the place, and he started to ask Hope how she was doing, but she quickly stopped him and assured him that she was fine. After the cop left, Hope identified him to Bo as Rollins, a relatively new, and good, addition to the police force.

As Hope looked around the living room, she recalled what had happened to her the previous night. Bo wondered if Hope was sure she was ready to be back in the place where she had nearly died. Hope confirmed that she was, adding that it was her home, and she couldn't let what had happened there change that. Bo wondered what was going to happen to Chase. "I will, we will [take him in]. He belongs with us; he doesn't have anywhere else to... I can't imagine not having him with me," Hope replied, and Bo nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Chase, Ciara, and Marlena emerged from the kitchen. Hope hugged Chase as Marlena said that she had just been about to explain why she was there. "You're a shrink, right?" Chase asked. Marlena confirmed the suspicion and began to say something else, but Chase impatiently interrupted and demanded to know where his father was. "And don't say you don't know. Just tell me what happened," Chase added.Nodding, Marlena admitted that no one was really sure exactly what had happened. Marlena gently explained that Aiden had suffered a mental breakdown because he had been under a lot of pressure and hadn't been able to handle it. "It's an illness; it doesn't mean that he was a bad person," Marlena stressed. Marlena added that Aiden had tried to hurt Hope after the wedding. Chase refused to believe that, but Marlena and Hope both assured him that it was true.

Hope admitted that she didn't know what had set Aiden off, adding that he'd had a lot of problems that no one had ever seen. Assuming that Aiden was in jail, Chase asked to talk to him, but Marlena apologetically informed him that he wouldn't be able to do that. "When your father attacked Hope, she tried to fight him off. Bo came in, and he tried to pull [your father] off of her, and there was a terrible fight that happened, and --" Marlena began. "Stop. I got it. You killed my dad, didn't you?" Chase guessed, glaring at Bo. Bo started to explain that he hadn't meant to do that, but Chase interrupted and wondered if his father's death was news to Ciara. Ciara admitted that she had found out what had happened earlier.

"So everyone knew? Everyone knew my dad was dead? My dad?" Chase asked. Hope knelt beside Chase, told him she was sorry, and assured him that he wasn't alone because he was still a part of her family. "That's bull. That's bull!" Chase shouted as he stormed out of the house. Bo rushed after Chase but was unable to catch him.

When Bo returned to the house, Ciara reluctantly informed him that Chase had a secret place he liked to go to when he was upset. Bo headed there, and Hope hugged Ciara and assured her that she had done the right thing. Hope also stressed that Ciara couldn't blame Chase for Aiden's actions. Bo winced and grabbed the back of his head as he approached Chase's secret place. Bo tried to convince Chase to return to the house, but Chase shoved him away and warned him to back off. "You got what you wanted! You killed my dad! You wanted him out of the way when you came back, [so] you killed him! You are a murderer!" Chase spat.

11/12 Bo dragged Chase back home and tried to talk to him, stating that the place was his home, too, and he had people who wanted to be there for him at that time. As Chase stared at the floor, Ciara apologized for revealing his secret place, explaining that she had simply been worried about him. Chase remained silent as Ciara added that she hoped he wasn't upset with her.

Ciara started to excuse herself so she could finish some homework, but Bo stopped her and pointed out that Chase could use a friend to talk to. Ciara said she wasn't ready to talk to Chase yet. Hope tried to reason with Ciara, but Ciara interrupted. "This is really hard for me, okay? Why can't you understand that? I don't feel safe around him!" Ciara admitted, prompting Chase to retreat to his bedroom and slam the door shut.

Bo understood how Ciara was feeling but reminded her that Chase wasn't responsible for what Aiden had done to Hope. Hope added that Chase had been through a lot in his life and wasn't just grieving the loss of his father; he was also in shock due to the traumatic realization that his father had been capable of murder. Hope knew that, at the very least, Aiden had loved Chase and Chase had loved Aiden, too. Hope said she was sorry that she had shown such poor judgment with Aiden, and she added that, while Ciara had a right to be upset and angry, she didn't want Ciara to take it out on Chase. Ciara replied that she didn't really want to take her anger out on anyone, and she promised to apologize to Chase, conceding that she shouldn't have said that she didn't feel safe around him. Ciara wondered, however, if Hope and Bo really believed that Chase was in the mood to hear them go on and on about how they felt sorry for him.

Ciara guessed Chase would probably prefer to be left alone for a while. Ciara wanted to shift to a happier topic, the "totally awesome and amazing" fact that Bo and Hope had finally been reunited. "I have a great idea, why don't you guys set up a date to get married again?" Ciara suggested. Bo seemed open to the idea, but he could tell Hope wasn't, so he asked Ciara to give them some time to talk privately. After Ciara left the room, Hope admitted to Bo that she felt like her mind was going one hundred miles per hour but her brain was only going twenty miles per hour. Hope added that, while she was relieved that Bo was back, she was still in shock because of what had happened. Hope apologetically explained that she didn't feel like she was capable of thinking clearly and making decisions at that time. Bo said he understood, and he promised that he wouldn't pressure Hope.

Bo suggested that he and Hope could discuss the future once the time was right, and he added that she could feel free to lean on him and talk to him whenever she needed to because he wasn't going anywhere. "Stop, please! Please, you're being rational. I just, I can’t, I can't process rational right now. I can't think, I can't plan; I'm not sure if I can even make it to the end of the day," Hope tearfully admitted. Bo hugged Hope and told her to focus on the feeling of his beating heart, since that was something real that she could cling to. Hope pulled away from Bo, and he took the hint and headed out so she could have some time alone, promising to check on her again later. After Bo left, Hope angrily tossed all the pillows off the couch then curled up on it, sobbing as she tucked herself into the fetal position.

Later, someone rang the doorbell. Hope, who had moved to a chair but was still curled up in the same protective position, cowered in fear and kept her head low as she stared at the door, waiting for the visitor to go away. After hearing a knock, Hope received a text message, which gave her the courage to answer the door. "You had to text me to get me to open the door," Hope mused as she hugged Jennifer.

Jennifer wondered how Hope was doing, and Hope admitted that she was struggling. Hope couldn't believe that she had loved Aiden and had actually agreed to marry him. Grabbing her neck, Hope started gasping for air, complaining that she couldn't breathe. Hope added that her head was spinning with memories of Aiden, and she couldn't handle being in the place where he had tried to kill her.

Jennifer understood and suggested that Hope and, of course, Ciara and Chase, as well could stay with her at the Horton house for as long as necessary. When Ciara joined Hope and Jennifer in the living room a short time later, they told her about their plan. Ciara wasn't happy about the idea, so Jennifer excused herself so Hope and Ciara could talk about it privately. Ciara wanted to stay right where she was especially since Bo had finally returned home. Hope explained that things were complicated because Bo had been gone for a very long time, and learning the truth about his absence had changed everything.

"It wasn't your dad who betrayed us, Ciara; it was me. I betrayed him," Hope added. Pointing out that Hope had been led to believe that Bo had stopped caring about his family and had left them behind for good, Ciara insisted that Hope needed to stop beating herself up about the decisions she had made as a result of that mistaken belief. Ciara added that it was obvious that Bo and Hope still loved each other. Hope confirmed that she still loved Bo and she always had loved him but she added that she wasn't sure if things would ever be the same between them.

Bo ran into Shawn in the town square and told him Hope wasn't doing very well. Shawn was confident that Hope would be okay, but Bo admitted that he didn't share Shawn's optimism. Shawn didn't like the idea of giving Hope some time alone, arguing that she needed her family's support, but Bo thought they needed to respect her wishes, since she had been very clear about what she wanted. Bo suddenly stumbled backward while talking to Shawn, who caught him and wondered if he was okay. Bo insisted that he was. Shawn helped Bo over to a nearby bench then went to get a bottle of water for him. When Shawn returned, he was on the phone with Kayla, telling her about what had happened. Bo took Shawn's cell phone and assured Kayla that everything was okay, but she wasn't convinced, so he reluctantly agreed to go to the hospital later that day so she could check him out herself. After ending the call, Bo started to complain that it had been unnecessary for Shawn to get Kayla involved, but before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed in Shawn's arms.

11/13 On a bench in the park outside Horton Square, Bo collapsed in his son's arms. When Bo insisted he was all right, Shawn started to dial 911, but Bo yanked the phone out of Shawn's hand. Bo insisted that he would get checked out, but Hope needed him. Shawn took the phone back and tried to convince Bo to go to the hospital. Bo joked that Shawn had always been bossy. After some jovial teasing, Shawn admitted that he, his mom, and Ciara loved Bo and wanted him around for a long time.

Shawn took Bo to the hospital, and Shawn told Kayla what had happened, although Bo claimed it had just been sleep deprivation. Kayla asked Bo to describe his symptoms. Before Bo began, he urged Shawn to go check on Hope but not to tell her about what was going on with Bo. Shawn reluctantly agreed. Once Kayla and Bo were alone, Bo insisted that whatever was wrong with him probably had something to do with what he'd been through.

"Oh, did you get your medical degree when you were away?" Kayla asked. While Kayla questioned him, Bo admitted that he'd been having headaches pretty much every day and sometimes more often that that, he'd been lightheaded and dizzy, and his vision was sometimes blurry. Kayla took Bo to an exam room and instructed him to put on a gown, after which she would run an MRI and CT scan. Bo tried to refuse because he wanted to get back to Hope, but Kayla pointed out that Shawn was capable of taking care of his mother while Bo got tested. After threatening to have her burliest orderlies put the gown on Bo, Kayla left.

At the Brady house, Hope urged Ciara and Chase to get packed to leave for Jennifer's. Chase asserted that the others didn't have to act like Jennifer was his family. Hope reassured Chase that he was very important to them and that she loved him. Chase lashed out at Hope and Ciara, complaining that they pitied him and thought he was "crazy and homicidal" just because his dad had been. Before Ciara started up the stairs, she angrily ordered Chase to stop putting words in her mouth. Hope leaned over on the couch and buried her head in her arms. Chase turned to her with concern, softly saying her name repeatedly, but Hope only sobbed without responding. Chase called Ciara downstairs, but she was unable to get Hope's attention, either. Tearfully apologizing for fighting with Chase, Ciara put her head on Hope's back and said, "I love you, Mom!"

At last, Hope sat up. Hope assured the kids that she hadn't been crying because of them. When Hope asked, Chase admitted that he didn't understand why they had to stay at Jennifer's. "Then we'll all stay here," Hope said, embracing Chase. The stain from Aiden's blood on the carpet caught Hope's attention, but she tried to focus on Chase. Shawn showed up and claimed that Bo was running some errands and would be there in a little while. Seemingly satisfied, Hope took her suitcase upstairs, despite Shawn's offer of help. Shawn agreed with Ciara that their mom was acting "weird" and overwhelmed. Ciara demanded to know where Bo was when Hope needed him, and Shawn explained that Bo was with Kayla. Before Ciara could send a text message to her dad, Jennifer arrived because she'd gotten a message from Hope about the change of plans. When Hope returned from upstairs, Jennifer offered to make some lunch for everyone. After Jennifer led Hope into the kitchen, Ciara pointed out Hope's behavior and asserted that Hope wouldn't be all right without Bo.

Later, Jennifer sympathized with what Hope had been through. Hope beat herself up for not knowing what Bo had been going through, trying to get back to his family, and for not realizing he had not deserted them. "Why did I think I had to move on? And with Aiden?" Hope continued. Jennifer asserted that there was no way Hope could have known that Bo was trying to find his way home, but despite Jennifer's assurances, Hope was inconsolable. "You need to heal with him, and you need to heal each other. He's the answer, Hope," Jennifer said gently.

Rafe showed up a little later and seemed a bit alarmed by Hope's demeanor. He offered to do whatever he could to help, but Hope said there was nothing he could do. Hope abruptly headed outside to get some air.

After Hope collected her mail, her eyes fell on the bloodstained carpet. After a moment, she perched on the edge of the couch and looked at the mail. In the stack, there was a letter addressed to "Mrs. Bo Brady." hen Bo's tests were finished, he was antsy to return home. Kayla made him stay in bed but assured him that she'd put a rush on the test results. Kayla expressed her sympathy for everything Bo had been through. She added that Hope was feeling guilty because she hadn't recognized what had been going on with Aiden, but because she hadn't believed that Bo would have been trying to get home, it only compounded the guilt.

Kayla explained that she understood Hope's feelings because Kayla felt the same way. Bo assured his sister that he didn't blame her or Hope, because he was the one who had screwed up. All he wanted to do was help his family heal and help Hope after everything she'd been through. Kayla got a page from the lab and went to retrieve Bo's test results. Kayla got the file containing Bo's results at the nurses' station and became distressed while she was looking at them. Bo stuck his head out the door as if attempting to sneak out of his room, but he paused when he saw Kayla's disposition. Upset, Kayla dropped her glasses on the desk and dialed Dr. Michaelson to ask for a consult on Bo's test results right away. Bo slipped back into his room with a worried look on his face. Kayla composed herself before entering Bo's room but he was gone.

Bo went to the park outside Horton Square and paced. Shawn showed up, carrying some takeout, and was surprised that his dad had already been released from the hospital. Bo claimed that he was "good to go." Shawn said he'd gone out with Chase and Ciara to get some food, and he'd sent the kids to see a movie. Bo said he couldn't decide whether to go home or give Hope the time she'd asked for. Shawn thought it would be all right to give Hope some space as long as Bo was ready to return the minute she was ready. "What's a few days...[when] you have your whole lifetime together?" Shawn added. Shawn headed for the house.

A few minutes later, an out-of-breath Kayla showed up, relieved to find her brother. Trying to laugh everything off, Bo joked that Steve would "laugh his ass off" when he heard about all the tests, since Bo had survived torture, drugs being pumped into him, and even a plane crash. Putting his arms on Kayla's shoulders, Bo choked up as he added, "And here I am, in this park, and my beautiful sister is about to tell me that I'm going to die. Right?"

11/16 At Bo and Hope's house, Ciara found Hope sitting in the living room, staring at an envelope that was addressed to Mrs. Bo Brady. After tucking the envelope under some other things she had received in the mail, Hope handed the whole stack to Ciara, numbly explaining that she wanted Ciara to put it somewhere because she wasn't ready to deal with it yet. "I can't stand seeing you like this," Ciara said with a sigh.

"I don't know any other way to be," Hope replied. Asserting that Hope needed to be with Bo, Ciara went to get Hope a change of clothes and some makeup so she could freshen up and go track him down, but Hope stayed curled up on the couch, unwilling to move. Hope pointed out that she didn't even know where Bo was, but that didn't discourage Ciara at all because she knew that Hope was a great detective. "Great detective? That's funny. I married a man who was planning to kill me, Ciara," Hope countered. Ciara said that was on Aiden, not Hope, and she insisted that Hope couldn't let her ordeal defeat her. Ciara left to give Hope some privacy so Hope could get ready to look for Bo.

In a secluded section of the town square, Kayla gently informed Bo that he had a pretty sizable brain tumor in his cerebrum. Kayla hesitantly added that, based on the size of the tumor as well as Bo's health, neither brain surgery nor chemotherapy would be a viable option for him. Kayla tried to remain optimistic, noting that the type of tumor Bo had developed had been known to go into remission, but Bo could tell she wasn't really hopeful. At Bo's insistence, Kayla reluctantly admitted that Bo probably didn't have much time left.

"What this tumor seems to be is a glioblastoma. They create their own blood supply, which makes them grow very rapidly," Kayla explained.

"Leave it to me to have a crafty tumor," Bo joked. Kayla said that if Bo were her patient, she would advise him to plan for the worst. Kayla tearfully begged Bo to let her take him back to the hospital or at least stay with him for a while so he wouldn't have to be alone at that time but he told her that being alone for a while was precisely what he needed at that time. Kayla nodded and gave Bo a hug, promising, at his request, that she would let him be the one to break the news to the rest of the family.

Bo went to a quiet, secluded section of the park and stretched out on his back on the ground, staring up at the sky. "You got some wicked, twisted sense of humor. I fight my way out of that hellhole you had me in, I make it back home, and I can finally be with my beautiful wife and daughter. I can be with my family for the rest of my days! But there's one teeny little catch, I can count those days on my two hands! Damn it! It can't be! It just can't! I mean, why? Just answer me that! Why now? Why me?" Bo demanded before breaking down.

Steve found Kayla crying in the town square, and when he asked her to tell him what was wrong, she tried to resist, explaining that she had made a promise to Bo, but she soon ended up telling Steve exactly what had just happened. Kayla thought Steve might be able to convince Bo to undergo chemotherapy in an effort to shrink the tumor. She couldn't guarantee that the time it would give Bo would be quality time, since sending radiation to the brain carried its own set of risks. Steve knew Bo would never agree to such a thing, and although she didn't want to admit it, Kayla knew Steve was right about that.

Steve tracked Bo down in the park and took a seat next to him on the ground. "Kay never could keep a secret," Bo muttered. Steve wondered if there was anything he could do for Bo, who replied that Steve had already done enough. "In the end, you know what to do," Bo added, and Steve nodded to confirm that he understood. Steve said he loved Bo, and after Bo returned the sentiment, Steve broke down while watching Bo walk away.

Bo went to the Kiriakis mansion and admitted to Victor that he was concerned that the people who had kidnapped him might eventually go after members of his family. He was especially concerned about Victor, who knew more about Salinas' experimental drug than anyone else. Victor assured Bo that he had Salinas under continual surveillance and would take care of himself and the rest of his family.

"Flush out those bastards [and] deal with them as you see fit," Bo encouraged Victor, explaining that he didn't want to seek vengeance himself because he had more important things to be concerned about. Victor assumed that Bo was talking about Hope, and Bo went along with that, adding his kids and Caroline to the list.

"You do what you have to do, son. I'll take care of the rest," Victor promised, and Bo thanked him with a Greek phrase. Bo said he appreciated the fact that Victor had never given up on Caroline.

"What haunts me is that I gave up on you," Victor admitted. Bo insisted that Victor didn't need to worry about that, since his captors had gone to a lot of trouble to convince everyone to give up on him. Victor protested that he should have known better. Bo pointed out that Hope knew him at least as well as Victor did, and she had bought his captor’s tricks, too. Bo insisted that none of that mattered anymore, adding that all that mattered was the future. Bo asked Victor to promise that he would always look after Caroline.

"You and I will do that together, right?" Victor replied.

"Absolutely. I will always look after the people I love, for as long as I live," Bo confirmed as he hugged Victor.

At Bo and Hope's house, Hope reluctantly forced herself to change into the outfit Ciara had selected earlier. Hope opened a compact but found it hard to look at herself in the mirror, so she closed it and blindly applied some lipstick. Hope went to the hospital to see if Kayla knew where Bo was. Kayla reported that she and Bo had gone to the town square earlier to talk privately, but she didn't know where he had gone afterward. Hope wondered how Bo was doing, and when she didn't get an immediate response from Kayla, she surmised that there was something that Kayla wasn't telling her. As Kayla started to respond, Bo arrived and greeted Hope, who said she had been looking for him.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I've been looking for you all my life," Bo replied, causing Hope to smile.

11/17 Bo suggests to Hope that they get out of the hospital and take a walk outside. Kayla calls after him that she wants to talk to him later, looking distressed at him leaving the hospital.

Steve arrived in Kayla’s office. She tells him that Bo is with Hope and is telling her about his diagnosis. Steve declares this is NOT how Bo & Hope should end! Kayla said she was grateful that Steve had returned Bo to Salem.

In the park, Hope apologized to Bo for not seeing through Aiden's charade. Frustrated, Hope said she was mad that Bo had not returned home sooner, but she understood that he had been kidnapped. "Will we ever be the same again?" Hope asked. Bo promised that nothing would destroy their relationship. When Bo asked Hope if she could forgive him, Hope asked him not to blame himself. Bo asked Hope to stop blaming herself first. Chuckling through tears, the lovers hugged. Bo asked Hope if she was ready to move on with him. With a sigh, Hope said she was struggling to make it through the day. Hope admitted that she could not let go of her guilt. As Hope started to cry, Bo hugged her again. Hope commented that they had all the time in the world to heal. Unnerved, Bo pulled away and said he was sorry. Confused, Hope asked Bo if he could forgive her. Bo's phone beeped. Bo remarked that Kayla needed to talk to him. Rebuffed, Hope told Bo to head over to the hospital and that she would walk home.

Once Bo left, Hope broke down in tears. Nearby, Bo fell to his knees, clutching his head. Fighting through the pain, Bo stood up and continued to walk on. Bo stumbled to the hospital and ran into Rafe as he walked inside. Noting that he had left an emotional Hope in the park, Bo asked Rafe to go meet with her while Bo talked to Kayla.

Bo went to Kayla's office, and he admitted that he had not told Hope about his diagnosis. Furious, Kayla asked why. Bo explained that Hope was experiencing a roller coaster of different emotions. "She can't take this news right now," Bo yelled. Kayla reminded Bo that Hope would learn the news soon. Bo promised to talk to Hope in his own time. Kayla apologized for yelling at her brother. After a hug, Bo left to find Hope. Overwhelmed with grief, Kayla swept all the items off of her desk and screamed.

As Rafe approached a crying Hope in the park, she wiped away her tears. Rafe gently placed an arm around his partner. Hope said, "I've lost Bo. I've lost everything." Rafe asked Hope if she was sure. Hope said that Bo had pulled away from her. Rafe assured Hope that there had to be more to Bo's reaction. Rafe reminded Hope that the whole town was there to support her. Citing the cold, Rafe escorted Hope inside the hospital and poured her a cup of coffee. As Rafe and Hope talked in the waiting area, Bo watched from nearby.

11/18 Bo and Hope returned home. Ciara offered to make lunch, but a tired Hope noted that she wanted to lie down. After Hope walked upstairs, Ciara suggested that Bo should not leave Hope alone in the bedroom. Bo wanted to keep his distance, but Ciara disagreed. Ciara asked Bo to move back home. With a sigh, Bo noted that he wanted to fix the family but that it would not be easy. Ciara hugged her father and said, "You're safe, and we're going to live happily ever after!" After a moment, Ciara asked Bo if he was resisting moving in because he was planning to leave town again. Bo said he planned to stay in Salem because all he wanted in the world was Hope and Ciara. Ciara encouraged Bo to make an effort with Hope. On her way out of the house, Ciara counseled Bo to "not be so dumb."

Upstairs, Hope looked around the room sadly. Hope saw a bag, and when she opened it, she found her bloody wedding dress. Shocked, Hope gasped and stumbled backward. Hope cried out, and Bo raced upstairs to find Hope cutting up her wedding dress with scissors. Bo grabbed Hope and urged her to calm down. As Hope berated herself for her stupidity, Bo reminded Hope that Aiden had been a psychopath. Hope argued that Aiden's presence was still in the house. Bo reminded Hope that Aiden would never be able to hurt her again. Crying, Hope said she could not live in their house anymore. While Bo disposed of her wedding dress, Hope curled up on the bed. Bo returned and spooned her.

"This is our house, Fancy Face. Where we raised our kids, where you made so many memories for them. I think you should stay and fight. Fight to make this home yours again," Bo said. Bo promised Hope that she would not need to fight alone. When Hope asked if Bo was back, he responded, "You will always, always have me."

Hope asked Bo why it felt like Bo no longer wanted to be with her. Bo firmly said that Hope was the love of his life and that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. Crying, Hope said she could handle anything with Bo at her side. Bo kissed Hope, and the two made love. After, Bo struggled with head pain while Hope slept. When Hope woke up, Bo was gone.

At the police station, Bo met with Rafe to talk about Hope's recovery. When Rafe noted that Bo would help Hope, Bo said he would not be around very long. Rafe bristled at the possibility of Bo abandoning Hope, but Bo explained that he was dying. Shocked, Rafe asked how. Bo informed Rafe that he had a brain tumor. Bo asked Rafe to stand by Hope after he was gone.

"I've seen her with you. She's grounded. She's calm. She trusts you. She knows that you'll never let her down," Bo said.

"I was Aiden's best man, so I think I already let her down," Rafe countered.

"See? There it is right there. I hear you talk about her. I see you with her. I know you love her. I appreciate you not denying it. It makes this a little easier. I know that you will always, always do what's best for her," Bo said. With tears in his eyes, Rafe nodded. Overwhelmed, Rafe sat down in a chair and commented that the situation was unfair. Bo said he was relieved that he had been able to return home to say goodbye. When Rafe asked Bo if he was sure, Bo admitted that even before Kayla had seen the test results, he had known he was dying. As Rafe nodded, Bo's phone rang. Caroline asked Bo for help. Bo rushed over to the pub and was shocked to find a surprise party waiting for him.

At her house, a frantic Hope ran downstairs, looking for Bo. Hope turned to look at the staircase, and she pictured a masked man descending the stairs toward her. Hope chanted over and over that the man was in her mind. After shaking her head, the man disappeared. Hope collapsed at the base of her front door, shivering in fear.

11/19 At Bo and Hope's house, Ciara tried to convince Hope to go to the pub. "[It] isn't a party; [it's] the family coming together to show the world that Aiden and those jerks that did that to Dad did not win. We won," Ciara stressed, prompting Hope to observe that Ciara looked just like Bo when fired up. Hope was still reluctant to attend the gathering, pointing out that she could barely function in her own house. Determined to change Hope's mind, Ciara offered a bribe, a silver, heart-shaped locket she had purchased for Hope earlier. The locket contained one of Bo and Hope's wedding photographs, and Ciara said that was why Hope needed to be at the pub.

At the Brady Pub, Caroline told Bo that the surprise party had been Ciara's idea. Caroline added that Ciara had gone to get Hope, and they would be arriving soon. Bo appreciated the sentiment but wasn't sure Hope was ready for such a thing. Caroline said she and Ciara had thought of that but had determined that being around the whole family was precisely what Hope needed at that time.

"And you know what Ciara called the party? 'The beginning of Happily Ever After,'" Caroline loudly announced with a flourish just as Steve and Kayla arrived. Bo forced a smile and hugged Caroline as she added that bad days were behind them. After the guests bantered with each other for a bit, Victor asked Bo to recount the details of his lengthy adventure, jokingly calling him Odysseus. Promising to share the whole boring story some other time, Bo instead opted to tell the guests how they had each helped him get through his ordeal. Caroline had urged him to eat even though the food hadn't been up to her standards; Victor had made the guards sound like they were speaking Greek to keep things amusing; Kayla, Roman, and Steve had encouraged him to keep trying to find a way to escape; and his kids had kept him motivated every time he had considered giving up hope. Bo told Doug he had named Hope well.

"I could not give up Hope. All I had to do was, um, picture her smile [and] her eyes, hear her voice... She got me through hell," Bo added, unaware, until Shawn alerted him, that Hope had just arrived with Ciara. Bo hugged Hope and told her she had perfect timing. Later, Julie proposed a toast to Bo, pointing out that many of the guests owed their lives to him. Recalling just one of Bo's heroic acts, Julie started talking about how he had saved people from Ernesto Toscano's cruise ship when a bomb had gone off on it. Shawn added that Bo had once hung from a helicopter to save his life. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Bo stood up and protested that enough stories had been told for one day. Bo stumbled as he spoke, and as he braced himself against a nearby table, he assured everyone that there was nothing to worry about, claiming that he had simply stood too quickly after drinking alcohol for the first time in years.

While hugging Bo, Caroline had a vision in which Hope was cradling him in her arms, sobbing as snow fell on them. Gasping, Caroline pulled away from Bo, and Victor and Maggie watched with concern as she excused herself to put away the pies, assuring Bo that nothing was wrong. Victor and Maggie followed Caroline and questioned her about what had just happened, guessing she'd had another vision. Caroline reluctantly revealed that she had seen Bo and Hope crying in the park. Bo stepped outside to contact Chelsea but kept the conversation brief so she wouldn't realize it was making him emotional. When Bo rejoined Hope, Shawn, and Ciara inside, he told them about the phone conversation. Surprised, Hope pointed out that it was probably around four in the morning in Chelsea's part of the world.

"Something that couldn't wait," Bo explained. Bo said he loved having Shawn back in Salem but wished Belle and Claire had been able to join him. Shawn joked that Bo was just going to have to settle for having him as a solo act. Feeling left out, Ciara wondered if Bo was glad she was around, and he reluctantly conceded that he was kind of, sort of happy about that. As Ciara started to protest, Bo gave her a hug and assured her that she had always been, and always would be, a huge part of his heart. Bo said he couldn't really take any credit for how smart, understanding, and beautiful Ciara was, since she had gotten all those qualities from Hope, but Ciara argued that she was actually a lot like Bo, too.

Ciara cited her ability to make amazing doughnuts and her love of motorcycles and baseball as proof, and Bo smiled as he conceded the point. Ciara suddenly decided that the gathering would be the perfect time for Bo and Hope to get remarried. Ciara suggested that Abe could officiate the wedding, and she added that it didn't matter if it was legal or not because Bo and Hope could always just go to City Hall later to make it official; the important thing, she reasoned, was that they symbolically acknowledged the fact that they were back together as a family again. Abe was willing to help out, and Hope seemed okay with the idea, too, but when she asked for Bo's thoughts, he abruptly left the pub, explaining that he needed a minute alone. Hope took that as proof that Bo hadn't really forgiven her for giving up on him, and she refused to listen when Kayla tried to convince her that wasn't true.

Steve followed Bo outside and wondered what was going on. Bo explained that he was suffering another headache. Changing the subject, Bo handed Steve the keys to the motorcycle they had ridden back to Salem, joking that he wouldn't need it where he was headed. Steve said Bo needed to tell Hope what was going on. Bo agreed but was frustrated because he didn't know how much time he had left, nor how to tell his wife he was dying.

11/20 After Bo's party, Ciara led Caroline inside the Brady house. Ciara said she'd hoped the party would cheer her parents up, but they had both still seemed very sad. Caroline offered to stay with Ciara until her parents got home. Ciara confessed that she was a bit "creeped out" to be in the house alone, and she wondered if things would ever be normal again for her family. She added that she believed her parents would work things out because they were supposed to be together forever.

Ciara beat herself up because she had given up on her dad. Caroline pointed out that she had been the reason Bo had left town in the first place. Caroline recalled how Bo had promised that he would get her back from California in time for Memorial Day, when Ciara had planned to recite something at the pub.

Ciara fretted that her dad might not be able to forgive her mom for falling in love with someone else while Bo had been gone. Caroline was confident that Bo would forgive Hope. Caroline related to Ciara the story of Bo whisking Hope away on his motorcycle from her wedding to Larry Welch. Caroline added, "Your father gave me back the gift of my memory. I will be forever grateful to him for that." A little later, Ciara noted that it was getting late, so Caroline should probably head home. Before Caroline left, Ciara admitted that she'd thought her grandmother had been out of her mind when she'd had visions of Bo. Caroline confessed that a part of her had, too. Ciara wanted to know who would ask her to prom, if Caroline really could tell the future. Chuckling, Caroline waved her hands as if to say that wasn't how it worked. Ciara asked if Caroline's visions had stopped since Bo had returned. "Not exactly," Caroline admitted, but she reassured Ciara that it was nothing to worry about.

Outside the Brady Pub, Steve firmly urged Bo to fight and beat his illness. When Hope and Kayla exited the pub, Bo said he needed to talk to Hope alone. He added that he needed to pick up something first and asked her to meet him at their spot in the park. The Bradys left in opposite directions.

Steve followed Kayla as she headed for the park outside Horton Square. On the phone, she pleaded with another doctor to pull some strings and get Bo into a study. The doctor obviously turned Kayla down. She fought back tears until she hung up then she began to cry. Kayla told Steve that she didn't want to give up on trying to save Bo if there were even a small chance that they could save him. Steve pointed out that the side effects of treatment would likely make Bo miserable. Admitting that she felt helpless, Kayla leaned against Steve and began to sob. Drying her tears with a tissue, Kayla remarked that after seeing Bo's MRI, she didn't know how he was even functioning. Unwilling to lose her baby brother, Kayla expressed her gratitude to Steve for not giving up on Bo. An emotional Steve admitted that, after searching so long for Bo, losing Bo that way would be terribly painful. Kayla pointed out that Bo would be alone if Steve hadn't found him and Aiden would have killed Hope.

"You've given me a chance to say goodbye to my brother. No matter how painful it is, it's a gift," Kayla asserted, taking Steve's hand gratefully. Kayla apologized and maintained that she didn't want Steve to get the wrong idea, because she had only been feeling vulnerable. Steve said he knew the two of them still had feelings for each other and Kayla knew it, too. Kayla sadly reminded Steve that she couldn't think about anything but Bo. Steve declared determinedly that Bo would fight with everything he had. Kayla was ready to leave, but Steve asked if she would stay to watch the sunset with him. Kayla joined him on the bench as the waning light reflected off their faces. After the sunlight had faded, a forlorn Kayla rested her head on Steve's shoulder.

Caroline returned to the pub and chuckled when she saw the party decorations in the dark room. She remembered Bo and Hope telling her that they'd bought a boat on which the two of them and Shawn-Douglas would live as they sailed away together. Although Caroline had assured Bo and Hope that she'd been happy for them, she'd also admitted that she would miss them very much.Alone in the house, Ciara sat by the fire, gazing at a photograph of her parents, taken just a few years earlier.

As Hope arrived at the park, she recalled the Fourth of July fair, where she'd worked the kissing booth and where she and Bo had shared their first kiss, after he'd bought two dozen tickets. Hope's remembrance slowly faded when Bo showed up, carrying a large burlap sack. He cryptically explained to Hope that the bag contained their future. Hope reminded Bo that they'd had their first kiss in that very park and it had made her realize how lucky she'd been to have him in her life. Laughing at some of their other memories, Bo said the teenage Ciara reminded him of Hope when they'd first met. Bo remembered meeting Hope for the first time and giving her a ride home on his motorcycle.

"Ten minutes that turned into the rest of our lives, amazing lives," Bo marveled. Hope suddenly recognized Bo's clothing, a black leather jacket, red T-shirt, and black jeans was the same thing he'd been wearing when he'd driven her home on his bike. Bo admitted that he was amazed at everything they'd been through since that day. Hope tearfully admitted that she'd always thought, because of their connection, she would be able to sense it and she regretted that she'd been unable to do so while he'd been gone. Bo reassured her that they still shared that connection. When he produced a fistful of carnival tickets, Hope laughed and kissed him. Still beaming, Hope wondered why Bo had run out of the pub when Ciara had suggested they get married again. Bo turned serious and suggested they sit on the bench because there was something he had to tell her. Bo said he'd always thought he and Hope could overcome anything, adding, "Ma always said, 'The meaning of a life is quality, not the quantity". I understand that now."

He explained that he hadn't been getting any stronger or felt any better since he'd returned, and he'd passed out earlier, so he'd gotten checked out at the hospital. Hope wanted to know why he hadn't told her. Bo reminded her that she'd been through a lot, so he'd wanted to find out if anything was wrong first. Fighting to keep from breaking down, Bo disclosed, "Kayla did some tests, and it turns out that I have a tumor. It's in my brain." Clutching Hope's hand, he continued, "Apparently it's been there for quite some time, and it's growing. And it's inoperable. There's nothing they can do." Distraught, Hope began to cry and hugged Bo tightly as she asked how much time they had. Bo said no matter how long it was, it would never be enough.

After a long while, Bo pulled away and said he wanted to talk about their future. He rose and escorted Hope over to the burlap bag. "I wanted to bring a little bit of Oak Alley back here to where we had our first kiss," Bo explained, opening the bag and pulling out a little oak sapling. He promised that, once it grew into a mighty oak, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren would play under the tree and perhaps a couple of "crazy kids" would carve their names into its trunk.

Bo and Hope recalled taking a sexy shower together outdoors at the Horton cabin. Hope smiled through her tears as Bo declared that they'd still been kids then, but Hope had taken his heart much earlier, in the park where they were. Feeling weak, Bo sank to his knees on the ground, and Hope sat with him.

"I thought I'd finally figured out how to live without you, but now I know I can't," Hope said tearfully. Bo reminded Hope that "can't" wasn't in her vocabulary. "I love you so very much. I'm so sorry you doubted that," Bo said emotionally. Hope cried that she was sorry for doubting him. Bo said there was no time for regrets, because all he wanted was to be with Hope. Kissing Bo and embracing him, Hope implored him in a whisper, "Please, Bo, don't leave me!" They held onto one another for a long while. Finally, his eyelids growing heavy as if he were sleepy, Bo broke away to get a spade from the burlap sack so they could plant the tree. Hope took the spade from him and said she would do it. Hope softly declared that she wanted them to get married again right away.

"Okay, how about right now?" Bo suggested with a wry smile. Grasping both of Hope's hands as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes, Bo noted that it had taken them a long time, and they'd overcome a lot of obstacles and doubts, to get where they were.

"I never thought I could have somebody in my life who would make me so happy, make me feel so alive," Bo stated earnestly. Hope and Bo reminisced about the vows he had taken at their first wedding in England.

"I love you, Fancy Face," Bo declared with a wistful smile, and he kissed the love of his life. Afterwards, Hope held him and smiled, despite the tears streaming down her face. Together, they remembered the joyful and romantic times in their relationship, the fun they'd had together, the kisses they'd shared, Shawn's birth. Hope suggested they move to sit against the bench. Kneeling next to Bo and stroking his face and hair, Hope beamed as she told him, "I guess I fell in love with you the first time I saw you."

Hope began to weep as she kissed Bo and continued, "It's taken me all this time to realize that what I was feeling then is nothing compared to what I'm feeling right now." Hope kissed Bo and clasped him closely to her while the two of them recalled Hope's wedding vows. Between kisses, Hope cried but beamed at Bo, declaring quietly, "I love you, Brady. I love you. I love you." Bo reached up to caress Hope's face and kissed her one final time before closing his eyes and going limp in her arms.

Hope gazed closely at Bo's face then she clutched him to her chest, wailing inconsolably, "No. No. No. No. No!" She sobbed as she begged, "Please! Brady, don't leave me! No, please!" She tenderly held his head up as she rested her face against his, weeping despondently. Light snowflakes began to drift down on them. "Don't leave me, Brady. Don't leave me," an anguished Hope implored.

11/23 As Caroline declared that having Shawn, Belle, and Claire back in Salem permanently would be "absolute heaven," she had another vision in which Hope was sobbing in the park while cradling Bo in her arms. Roman and Shawn suspected that something was bothering Caroline, but she dismissed their concerns, claiming that she was simply tired.

In the park, Hope gently lowered Bo to the ground and tucked her jacket under his head, tearfully begging him not to leave her. When Bo didn't respond, Hope went to the nearby flowerbed and ripped out the tree they had planted earlier. Hope considered tearing at the tree's roots but instead dropped it and returned to Bo's side, giving him a kiss as she stretched out next to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. Reluctantly, Hope reached for her cell phone and contacted Kayla. Unable to verbalize what had just happened, Hope just sobbed for a few seconds before dropping the device. Hope crawled back over to the flowerbed and put the tree back in the soil then returned to Bo's side, rested her head on his chest, grabbed one of his hands, and intertwined her fingers with his.

When Steve and Kayla arrived, Hope sadly informed them that it was too late to save Bo. Steve said an ambulance was on the way, and he offered to take Hope elsewhere so she wouldn't have to watch the paramedics take Bo's body away, but she insisted that she wasn't going to leave Bo. Hope guessed Kayla and Steve had known about Bo's brain tumor, and they confirmed that they had found out earlier that day. Hope hugged Bo tightly, tearfully wondering why he hadn't told her sooner. "Is this my punishment for giving up on him? Is this my punishment, Brady? I didn't want to give up on you. I didn't want to give up on you. I'm sorry," Hope sobbed. When the paramedics arrived, Kayla and Steve gently dragged Hope away from Bo. Hope continued to sob in Kayla's arms as Steve knelt beside Bo and kissed his forehead. After Steve stepped away, the paramedics went to work, and Hope, Kayla, and Steve watched as they draped a sheet over Bo's body and wheeled him away on a stretcher.

Steve and Kayla went to the Brady Pub to tell Caroline about what had happened. Kayla was relieved to see that Caroline was with Roman and Shawn, knowing they would be able to provide additional support. Steve offered to help Kayla break the news to Caroline, Roman, and Shawn, but she insisted on handling the task on her own. Nodding, Steve said he was going to go inform someone else who needed to be told the news right away.

Hope returned home and called out for Ciara. When she didn't get a response, Hope sank to the floor in the darkened living room, sobbing as she clutched Bo's leather jacket in her arms. Meanwhile, Steve went to the Kiriakis mansion and took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. "It's Bo," Steve gravely stated when Victor answered the door.

11/24 At the Kiriakis mansion, Steve informed Victor and Maggie that Bo had died. Victor was in denial. Steve told Victor and Maggie about the tests that Kayla had performed that had shown that there had been a brain tumor in Bo's head. As Maggie wept, Steve apologized then slipped out of the house. Victor and Maggie sat in the living room and talked about Bo. Victor noted that at the welcome home party, Bo had seemed to act more like someone saying goodbye rather than someone rejoicing at returning home to his family. Maggie admitted that she had heard sadness in Bo's voice.

"Damn it, Maggie. Why didn't he tell me?" Victor asked.

"He probably wanted his last moments around his family to be happy ones," Maggie suggested. Victor fretted that he could have helped Bo, but Maggie assured Victor that Bo would have asked for help if anything could have been done. Victor swore to find the people that had kidnapped Bo. Shaking her head no, Maggie said that Bo would want Victor to take care of himself and all the people he had loved. Nodding, Victor said he had promised Bo that he would take care of Caroline.

In the Brady Pub, Kayla told Caroline, Roman, and Shawn that Bo had died from a brain tumor. Shawn noted that Bo had said that he was fine. Kayla said Bo had lied because he had not wanted anyone to know that the tumor had been inoperable. Shaking his head, Shawn sat down next to Caroline. Angry, Roman blamed the men that had kidnapped and tortured Bo. Kayla explained that the tumor had been growing for a long time prior to Bo's disappearance. When Kayla mentioned that Bo had died in Hope's arms, a worried Shawn asked about his mother. Kayla said that Jennifer was checking on Hope. As Shawn asked about Ciara, she entered the pub and asked what was going on. Shawn escorted his sister outside, and Roman and Kayla wondered how Ciara would take the news. Kayla thanked God that Bo had been able to talk to Ciara before he had died.

Outside, Ciara cried out and Shawn hugged her tightly. After Ciara calmed, she and Shawn entered the pub and hugged their family. Worried, Ciara wanted to check on her mom, and Shawn wanted to join her. Roman asked Ciara and Shawn to tell Hope that her family was there to support her. After hugging their family, Ciara and Shawn left to find Hope.

Jennifer arrived at Hope's house, and she called out for her cousin. Upstairs, an overwhelmed Hope sat on the bed and stared at the wall. Jennifer knocked on the bedroom door, but she found it locked when she turned the handle. Jennifer pleaded with Hope to talk to her so that she knew Hope was okay. Hope cried out to Jennifer to leave her alone. Jennifer said she needed to hug Hope because she was worried about her. Hope sat quietly on the bed.

"Please let me help you. Let your family help you," Jennifer pleaded. "I'm fine! I can handle this on my own! Please go away," Hope responded as she clutched Bo's leather jacket to her chest. Hope muttered, "I just got you back and then I lost you all over again. It's not fair." Bo's voice asked Hope note to cry. Startled, Hope turned her head and saw a vision of Bo standing in the corner of the room. Bo said he was not alive. Hope chastised herself for not searching for Bo earlier and getting him the treatment he needed. When Hope said she could not forgive herself, Bo gently took her hand in his.

Bo said, "You can make things right. Believe in me. All that I stood for. All that was important to me.” Bo reminded Hope that the men that had kidnapped him were out there. When Hope asked Bo what she should do, he told her that she knew. The vision of Bo then faded away as Hope called out to him to stay. As Steve stumbled around drunk, Hope entered the park and asked him for help. Hope said she wanted to pursue the men that had kidnapped Bo.

At the pub, Jennifer told Caroline, Roman, and Kayla about her interaction with Hope. Fighting tears, Jennifer said she understand because she had gone through the same thing when Jack had died. Victor and Maggie arrived. When Caroline saw Victor, she broke down sobbing. Victor hugged Caroline. Once Caroline calmed down, Victor informed the group that he had spoken to Chelsea and told her the news. When Kayla asked Maggie about Steve, Maggie said Steve had disappeared. As talk turned to the funeral arrangements, Ciara and Shawn walked into the pub. Victor marched over to Ciara and hugged her and then Shawn.

11/25 Victor saw the looks on the faces of everyone around him, and he conceded, "I'm an ass." The others understood why Victor was cranky, but he admitted, "Maybe I should try and honor my son rather than embarrass his memory, to say nothing of the family who's still living here and deserve better." He apologized to everyone in the room. Addressing the group, Victor declared, "Bo Brady was a better man in his short life than I could ever manage to be. He was unique, what every father hopes for a son." The others raised their glasses in honor of Bo. Later, Victor reminisced about the "tree castle" that Bo had built for Ciara. "You got to know him, Victor. That's a blessing," Maggie softly pointed out. Victor concurred but noted that the time had been too short.

At the Brady house, Hope was dressed and ready before Ciara. While Hope checked her reflection in a mirror downstairs, a vision of Bo appeared behind her. "Give me something to be thankful for today... I love you," ghost Bo said. Hope asked Bo not to tell her that until she'd atoned for giving up on him. Ciara descended the stairs and said Chase was waiting in the car.

While Ciara went outside, Hope called Steve. Hope called Steve and told him to wait right where he was. A hung over Steve was guzzling water when Hope showed up. She announced that she was going after the people who'd locked Bo up and had been responsible for Bo's death, and she needed Steve's help. Steve thought it was a mistake, but Hope insisted that it was justice, not revenge. Steve suggested they go later, when they were both more clear-headed but first, they needed to take care of business at home.

The Brady clan, plus a handful of Hortons including Jennifer, J.J., and Julie, gathered at the Brady Pub to celebrate Thanksgiving. Caroline busied herself with putting glassware away behind the bar until Shawn insisted she join the others. Ciara and Chase arrived without Hope, who had dropped off the kids and left. As Hope and Steve arrived at the pub, an upset Hope paused outside before entering. Steve gently talked her into going inside for Bo and for her kids. Hope dried her tears and went inside with Steve. A thankful Ciara, Kayla, and Shawn embraced and welcomed Hope. Hope noticed Chase sitting by himself at a table and urged Ciara not to leave him alone. While Hope was talking privately to Shawn, Belle and Claire arrived. Everyone greeted them with warm embraces.

After Belle and Claire hugged everyone, Belle put her arms around Hope in sympathy. Caroline announced that dinner was served, so everyone gathered around the table. Caroline noted that there was an empty chair where Bo would have been, explaining that they all felt the big hole Bo had left but he had also left them many gifts to treasure. Raising her glass, her voice quavering, Caroline toasted, "To my son, who was larger than life. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand." She lifted her glass high and declared, "To Bo Brady." Everyone assembled echoed her words and gesture before taking a drink from their glasses.

Jennifer helped Hope sit down then Hope tenderly pulled Bo's empty plate and chair closer to herself. After dinner, Ciara introduced Chase as her stepbrother to Claire. Privately, Kayla suggested that Hope take Ciara out of town on a vacation so they could both heal. Hope quietly confronted Steve: "You told Kayla what we talked about, didn't you? She won't be able to stop me any more than you will."

Hope cautioned Steve not to stand in her way, even if he tried to make things harder for her. "All right. I get it. I can't be a part of if, but you do what you've got to do," Steve said. "I will," Hope agreed. In the doorway, ghost Bo smiled at Hope and gave her a small, proud nod.

11/30 Hope followed Steve back to his room at the Salem Inn to continue interrogating him about Bo's captors. When Steve realized that Hope wasn't going to give up, with or without his help, he reluctantly advised her to search for Claudia, the woman who had pretended to be Britta Englund's daughter in order to lure Bo to Mexico. Steve promised to send Hope the information he had on Claudia. Hope tried to convince Steve to team up with her, but he declined, opting to stay in Salem because he knew his family needed him to make them his top priority. Hope insisted that she was doing what she had to do for her family, adding that Shawn and Ciara needed her to avenge Bo's death. Steve argued that Hope's kids needed her, in the flesh, more, and he warned that she was considering heading down a road that could lead her to some things she wasn't ready to face. Hope left after stating that she would happily take that risk.

Ciara returned home just as Hope was loading her gun. Hope quickly hid the weapon behind her back, tucking it under the waistband of her pants and covering it with her shirt. Ciara didn't notice because her attention was focused on the suitcase Hope had left near the couch. Hope explained that she was headed out of town for a while to take care of something. Ciara protested that Hope couldn't miss Bo's funeral, but Hope insisted that her mission was really, really important. Ciara wondered if it had anything to do with Bo. Hope dodged the question, not wanting to give Ciara any details. Ciara tearfully wondered if Hope was really going to make her go to the funeral alone. Backpedaling, Hope hugged Ciara and clarified that she had simply been preparing for a trip, one she wouldn't take until sometime after the funeral.

Later, Hope had another vision of Bo while alone in the living room, toying with her gun. Hope apologetically explained to Bo that she wanted to make his captors pay but couldn't leave Ciara yet. Bo assured Hope that he understood. "If you can't get to Claudia, make her come to you," Bo advised before disappearing.

12/2 At the police station, Claudia waited at Hope's desk. Hope frostily greeted the woman and said she was Bo Brady's wife. Claudia politely asked about the reward that had been offered for information about the men who'd kidnapped Bo. Ignoring the question, Hope stated that Steve Johnson had informed the police that Claudia had lied about being Britta Englund's daughter to send Bo to the location where his captors had been waiting. Whipping out her handcuffs, Hope arrested a stunned Claudia, read her Miranda rights, and dragged her into the interrogation room. Claudia insisted she hadn't known what the men had intended to do to Bo. Hope declared that Claudia was under arrest for accessory to kidnapping and accessory to murder.

"But no one died!" Claudia protested. Her voice full of icy rage, Hope explained that Bo had died of cancer as a result of the kidnapping because he hadn't gotten the treatment he'd needed. Hope asserted that the only way Claudia could get out of the trouble she was in was to start talking about the men who'd paid her to lie to Bo.

"I know you want justice for your ex-husband, but I would rather die in prison than have those men after me," Claudia contended. "You want to know what they did to me for talking to Steve Johnson?" Claudia added, holding up both hands and revealing that she was missing her right thumb.

Dvd #86B Unmoved, Hope demanded to know what the man who'd cut off Claudia's thumb had looked like. Rafe entered and confirmed that Hope was doing things by the book. He offered Claudia something to drink, but she complained that she couldn't do anything with her wrists in the handcuffs.

While Hope stepped aside, Rafe removed Claudia's handcuffs and got her some water. He pointed out that unless the police knew what Claudia knew, they couldn't help her. Claudia immediately admitted to Rafe that after she'd talked Steve, a man had cornered her to get her and demanded she divulge what she'd told Steve. The man hadn't believed her when she'd claimed she'd lied to Steve, and that was when the man had taken out a knife. A sympathetic Rafe asked if Claudia could describe the man who'd cut off her thumb. "I could never forget that face," Claudia said through clenched teeth. Rafe left to get the sketch artist.

"What he said about keeping me safe, do you want the same thing?" Claudia asked Hope, who'd been observing silently while Rafe had talked to Claudia. Hope just took off her glasses and stared at Claudia. A uniformed cop escorted Claudia out, presumably to a holding cell. Rafe reminded Hope that it was time for Bo's funeral. Hope was more concerned with avenging Bo's death, with or without Rafe's help. Rafe gently pointed out that Hope's kids needed her, and at last Hope agreed. She got her purse and strode out.

Kayla, Roman, and Caroline were gathered at the Brady Pub before Bo's funeral. Kayla said Kimberly was stuck at the airport and probably wouldn't make it in time for the funeral. As Caroline went into the kitchen, Steve arrived. He tried to tell the others that he'd rented an SUV so more of them could ride together, but he broke down before he could finish. Kayla tried to comfort him with a hug. "I need you today," Steve said a little later as he took Kayla's hand. Kayla agreed, "I need you today, too."

Later, Bo's friends and family and some police officers congregated at the gravesite, where chairs had been arranged for the mourners. Hope took Ciara's hand as pallbearers Roman, Shawn, Steve, Rafe, Abe, and John carried Bo's casket and solemnly set it above the open grave. Chase arrived and sat in the back row as Father Louis began the eulogy. Caroline clutched the hand of a grim-faced Victor for strength. At the end of the service, Bo's immediate family, beginning with Caroline and Victor, placed a red rose on the casket. Instead of participating, Chase stood by to embrace Ciara when she and Shawn were finished.

Finally, Hope stood with her rose and stood for a long while in front of the casket. She was still there, holding the rose closely to her, after the other mourners had filed out. Slowly, Hope placed her rose on top of the others, and as her hand rested there for a moment, a vision of Bo appeared beside her and placed his hand over hers. The two beamed wordlessly at one another until Bo removed his hand and disappeared. Hope's expression transformed from one of grief to one of steely determination before she walked purposefully away from the gravesite.

After the funeral, everyone gathered at the Brady Pub. Marlena expressed heartfelt sympathy to Victor. As Caroline and Victor looked through a photo album, Victor affirmed, "[Bo] lived his life the way he wanted to. Caroline regretted Victor sending Bo to look for the drug for her, adding that the drugs had given her visions to help him, but they hadn't told her that he'd been sick. Victor thought that the drugs hadn't caused Caroline's visions but perhaps the visions had been "a special kind of communication between a mother and a son who love each other very much."

Victor urged Caroline not to blame herself for Bo's death but rather to hate the "bastards" who'd kept Bo from his family. Ciara knelt next to Caroline's chair and observed that the pub was really quiet, and Ciara didn't know where her mom was. Caroline assured Ciara that Hope would be all right.

Caroline stood up, marched over to the bar, and announced, "If my son Bo were here today, you know what he'd say? He'd say this party's tanking!" The tension broken a bit, the group chuckled. Caroline continued, "Victor reminded me, Bo lived the life that he wanted. I think we should celebrate that." She declared that they should tell stories and listen to music while celebrating the time Bo had spent with them.

Caroline turned to Roman behind the bar and ordered, "Set me up!" Laughing, Roman poured his "Ma" a very generous shot of Irish whiskey then poured one for himself. Raising her glass, Caroline toasted, "To Bo Brady, a great man who loved his family more than life itself!" The others echoed, "To Bo!" Caroline downed her shot, impressing everyone in the room, which quickly filled with boisterous laughter. Steve headed back to Bo's grave and stared down at the huge spray of red flowers that had adorned Bo's casket. As Steve began to cry, Kayla arrived and embraced him from behind. They clung to each other as they sobbed.

"You know he loved you like a brother," Kayla said, sniffling.

"I guess I'm on my own now," Steve said sadly. Kayla reassured him that he didn't have to be alone, adding softly, "I think my brother would be happy to know that something good came out of today.”

12/3 Ciara returned home and found Hope sitting in the living room, staring at a sketch artist's rendering of Malcolm. Ciara suggested that it was too soon for Hope to go back to work, but Hope disagreed, stressing that she needed to track down the people who had held Bo hostage because he would still be alive if they hadn't done that. Ciara pointed out that Hope couldn't be certain of that and it didn't matter, anyway, because punishing those people wouldn't change the fact that Bo was dead. Ciara complained that Hope was obsessed with finding Bo's captors and didn't care about anything else anymore.

"This has taken over your life, and I hate it! I can't stand what it's doing to you!" Ciara added before storming off, ignoring Hope's attempts to stop her. Hope revealed to Rafe that she had identified the man Claudia had described to the sketch artist, Seth Malcolm, a man who was from Wales but had last resided on the Yucatán Peninsula, where Steve had found Bo. Hope added that, according to flight manifests, Malcolm had arrived in Salem two nights earlier and was likely still in town. Hope had already instructed someone to check Malcolm's credit card activity, but she admitted that the whole thing seemed almost too easy. Rafe agreed and urged Hope to be careful. Hope promised that she would be but added that she felt like Bo was guiding her hand.

"I want this scum erased from the face of the earth. I will not have Bo's death be in vain," Hope stressed. Rafe understood but suggested that the risk might be too great. Hope asserted that, for the sake of her sanity, she had to take that risk, because she couldn't go on with her life until she had avenged Bo's death.

As Rafe continued trying to talk Hope out of going after Malcolm on her own, she checked her tablet computer and saw the Martin mansion's new PalPage account, complete with some photographs Julie had just uploaded including one of Malcolm. Rafe insisted on going with Hope to the Martin mansion, and she didn't bother trying to object.
 Hope and Rafe took Malcolm to the police station for questioning. When shown photographs of Bo and Claudia, Malcolm claimed that he had never seen either of them before, but Hope didn't buy that and when he stuck to his story after being asked more questions, she lunged forward and started shaking him as she insisted that he was going to tell her what she wanted to know, one way or another.

Rafe pulled Hope off Malcolm and explained to him that she was just distraught because she had recently lost her husband. Suggesting that it would be best to start over, Rafe politely offered to get Malcolm some coffee, and Malcolm accepted. After Rafe left the room, Hope pulled out her gun, prompting Malcolm to guess that he was getting a good-cop, bad-cop routine. Hope clarified that she wasn't the bad cop, she was "a grieving widow with a kick-ass aim." Hope emptied the chamber of the gun as she asked if Malcolm could guess what her favorite game was.

"It's Russian," Hope hinted as she returned one bullet to the chamber.

Hope reassembled the gun and pointed it at Malcolm's head, wondering if he was ready to talk yet. Malcolm remained silent, holding his breath. Rafe returned just as Hope pulled the trigger, and she lowered the gun and watched numbly as Malcolm nervously exhaled, relieved that nothing had happened.

12/4 Roman entered the Brady Pub on the pretense of wanting another slice of pecan pie, but Caroline knew that he was really there to check on her. She reassured her son, "I'm stronger than you think." Ciara showed up just then and confessed that she was worried about her mom. Ciara complained that she'd found Hope obsessing over "work stuff." Roman and Caroline tried to reassure Ciara that her mom's behavior had nothing to do with Ciara, who cried, "I thought Mom and were supposed to help each other through this! I swear, it's like I don't even know who she is anymore! Grandma, I feel like I'm going to lose them both." Caroline explained that everyone had their own way of dealing with grief, and Hope's was obviously throwing herself into work.

Caroline urged Ciara, "You should try to talk to your mother again, because a hug from you might be the gift she needs right now." A grateful Ciara hugged Caroline. As Roman rose to walk Ciara out, he remembered that he'd found a money clip fat with cash, which he assumed belonged to Victor. Caroline promised to return the money to Victor. After Roman hugged his mother, he escorted Ciara out.

Ciara headed to her dad's grave and placed a bouquet next to the large casket spray atop the marker. Crying, she said she'd convinced herself that she could live without him, but he'd finally returned, and she would have to live without him forever. "I'm so sorry I gave up on you. Why did you have to die?" Ciara asked pleadingly.

In the interrogation room at the police station, Rafe walked in as Hope began a game of Russian roulette with a terrified Dr. Malcolm. Rafe managed to wrest the gun away from Hope, who protested angrily that she was trying to get Malcolm to talk. Yanking on Malcolm by the lapels, she demanded that he tell them whom he was working for. Rafe pulled Hope off of Malcolm and shoved her out the door. Rafe assured Dr. Malcolm that they weren't after him; they were after Malcolm's boss and if he told them what had happened with Bo's imprisonment, Malcolm could walk out of there.

"Oh, I'm going to walk out of here, all right. You dragged me down to the police station, you advised me not to contact an attorney, and then your partner assaults me. I may not know much about your criminal justice system, but if I choose to act like a litigious American, I can assure you I won't be the one who ends up in jail, detective." Rafe apologized for Hope, who was clearly out of her mind with grief. Rafe tried to prevent Malcolm from leaving, but Malcolm threatened to call his lawyer and tell him exactly what had just happened. Rafe reluctantly let Dr. Malcolm go.

On his way out, Malcolm warned Rafe, "You'll still be hearing from my attorney, copper."When Dr. Malcolm walked into the squad room, Hope was angrily punishing her desk. She warned Malcolm not to return to the bed and breakfast, though he was disinclined not to. In a threatening whisper, Hope declared that she would get the answers she needed, no matter what. Unconcerned, Malcolm strolled out.

Rafe returned to the squad room and silently returned Hope's gun. "Next time you offer to help, remind me to tell you to go to hell," Hope hissed. Rafe pointed out that Hope couldn't get information out of a dead guy, but she insisted she hadn't planned to kill Malcolm. Hope snapped that Malcolm had been just about to crack when Rafe had walked in and ruined everything. Rafe countered, "Do you want Ciara to have any parents at all?"

Rafe said gently that he was sorry for what Hope was going through. When she became argumentative, he lowered his voice but angrily warned her that if Internal Affairs got involved, he wouldn't be able to protect her. Hope insisted that she would be worried about her entire family while Malcolm and the person responsible for killing Bo were walking around free.

"Why did Malcolm come to Salem? Oh, that's right, we'll never find out, because he's not here anymore," Hope noted snidely. Hope asserted that they didn't have forever to find out what had happened and she had promised Bo that she would get justice for him. "That's not what he wanted," Rafe said. Softening, Hope tearfully begged Rafe to tell her what exactly Bo had told him. A reluctant Rafe revealed that Bo had asked him to look out for Hope. Slamming her fists against Rafe, Hope cried, "Why didn't you tell me?"

She added through mournful tears that she didn't need anyone to look after her. Pulling her close to him, Rafe asserted that Hope was one of the strongest people he knew. Hope insisted that what she'd gone through was nothing compared to what Bo had endured, and nothing would stop her from getting justice for him. Rafe said he was there for Hope, but if she endangered herself, he would have to tell Roman. Hope argued with him, but Rafe said he refused to let her ruin her life.

"Don't you understand? How can you ruin what's already been destroyed?" Hope cried, burying her face in her hands. Putting his arm around Hope, Rafe assured her that, despite her heartbreak, her life was not destroyed, and she still had a lot to live for. Rafe encouraged Hope to get help, but she refused.

"This is my grief. It's mine. I will not share it with anyone," Hope insisted sorrowfully. Her tone shifting to anger, Hope asserted that the only thing that could help her was finding out who was responsible for Bo's death and she absolved Rafe of his promise to Bo to take care of her. His shoulders slumping helplessly, Rafe insisted that he'd also made the promise to Hope because he cared about her a great deal. Hope pulled on her jacket and warned Rafe to "back the hell off." As Hope headed for the door, Rafe demanded that she turn over her gun. Challenging him with a hard stare, Hope reminded Rafe that he wasn't her superior. She turned and marched out. Rafe appeared about to cry as he picked up the phone and dialed Roman. "Listen, we've got a big problem," Rafe stated.

Hope returned home and unloaded her revolver as she gazed solemnly at a photo of Bo. Ciara arrived a bit later and found her mom cleaning her service weapon. "Hey, Mom, about earlier, can we talk?" Ciara asked hesitantly. Hope put her arms around her daughter and reassured her, "Yes, I would love that, honey." Before they could begin talking, however, Roman knocked on the door. He asked Ciara if he could speak with Hope, so Ciara headed upstairs. Roman confirmed that he'd talked to Rafe.

In Horton Square Malcolm made a phone call, "I hate to tell you this, but I was picked up by the police this evening. Yes, it seems that they know of my involvement with Bo Brady. Of course, I kept my mouth shut! It was rather a harrowing experience, though. I had to make sure that they wouldn't detain me by threatening legal action. No, they don't know I'm connected to you, although they did want to know who I was working for. Well, what would you have me do?" Rafe peered around some bushes, apparently eavesdropping on Malcolm's phone call.

12/7 At Hope's house, Hope refused to apologize for what she had done to Malcolm earlier, insisting that her only regret was that Rafe had stopped her from pushing Malcolm further. Roman reminded Hope that her tactics had been illegal.

"That bastard, that son of a bitch, was my only chance to find out who was behind Bo being held prisoner for over a year and literally tortured to death. He doesn't get any rights!" Hope countered. Roman started to lecture Hope about the responsibility every cop had to follow the rules, but she interrupted and wondered how he could possibly care about such things when discussing Bo's captors, who had taken away the love of her life and the only brother Roman would ever have. Hope stressed that she only cared about one thing, making sure Bo's captors paid for what they had done to him.

"By the book or not at all, that's the way the system works, Hope," Roman maintained. With a shrug, Hope replied that Roman had left her with no other choice. "I quit," Hope added, offering her badge and gun to Roman. Roman refused to accept Hope's resignation at first. When she made it clear that she had no intention of focusing on anything other than her vendetta against Bo's captors, he decided to temporarily suspend her, effective immediately. Roman took Hope's badge and three of her guns, but after he left, she retrieved and loaded a fourth gun that had been hidden in a storage bench in the living room.

Malcolm called his contact back and reminded the person that they'd had an agreement with each other. Malcolm conceded that he had failed to get Bo to talk about the secret serum that Victor had been developing, but he stressed that Bo had been an extraordinarily tough nut to crack. He argued that he had still earned the money he had been promised because he had devoted a year of his life to interrogating Bo. Malcolm irritably gulped down some water as he listened to his contact's response.

"Yes, I understand. Okay. I'll do it. Now I know where I stand," Malcolm replied before ending the call.

Later, while Malcolm was enjoying a glass of beer in his room at the Martin mansion, Hope emerged from the closet, sneaked up behind him, and pressed the barrel of her gun against the side of his neck. Sighing, Malcolm wondered if Hope was planning to arrest him.

"Not today," Hope replied before zapping Malcolm with a Taser.

"No more rules, doctor," Hope added after watching Malcolm collapse.

12/8 In a dusty, dim industrial basement, Dr. Malcolm was tied to a chair. Malcolm pleaded with Hope to release him. After noting that she was no longer a detective, Hope explained that she did not have to go easy on Malcolm. Hope added that no one would hear Malcolm scream. As Malcolm quivered at the sight of Hope's Taser, Hope asked him to tell her everything he knew about Bo's kidnapping. Malcolm admitted that he had been hired to interrogate Bo. When Malcolm refused to say who his employer was, Hope used the Taser on him. After draining the battery on her first Taser, Hope pulled out a knife and threatened to cut off Malcolm's thumb. Malcolm laughed. As Hope raised an eyebrow, Malcolm explained that Hope was nothing like the sweet woman he had researched. Hope said that she had lost the man that she loved because of Malcolm. When Malcolm countered that Bo had died of a brain tumor, Hope held the knife to Malcolm's throat. Malcolm said he had not expected Hope to care so much because she had moved on with another man.

"I was tricked into believing that Bo had abandoned me," Hope said. Malcolm countered, "Bo told me that his wife would never leave him, never give up on him. I kind of feel really sorry for him right now." Malcolm cackled as he talked about torturing Bo while Hope had moved on. As Hope's hand began to shake with fury, Malcolm pulled at the plastic handcuffs tying him to his chair. Malcolm asked what Bo had been like. Distracted, Hope talked about the kind, loving man that Bo had been in life. Malcolm struggled to break free from his confinement. Hope talked about how much she loved Bo. As Hope sighed, Malcolm slipped a bloody hand free of the plastic handcuff. Malcolm began to work on freeing his other hand. Choking back her emotions and embracing her anger, Hope pulled her gun out of her holster and pointed it at Malcolm's head.

"Stop being so fixated on revenge. Nothing is going to bring your husband back," Malcolm said.

"That's right! And nothing is going to bring you back once I pull this trigger," Hope responded. As Hope counted down as a warning to talk, Malcolm freed his other hand and jumped to his feet. Hope and Malcolm wrestled over control of the gun. Malcolm gained the upper hand and started to choke Hope.

12/9 At the warehouse, as Dr. Malcolm was choking Hope, he offered to trade her the information she wanted, the name of the person who had tortured Bo, for the money he was owed. Hope demanded to know why she should trust Malcolm. As Hope eyed the gun nearby, Malcolm pointed out that if Hope killed him, everything he knew would die with him. Asserting that a name wasn't enough, Hope demanded solid evidence that the name Malcolm was producing was really of the person who'd tortured Bo. Malcolm promised that he could deliver that proof. "Five hundred thousand dollars, that's my price," Malcolm stated, and he was a bit surprised when Hope agreed immediately. She added that they would make the exchange that night. Malcolm guaranteed that Hope would be able to get revenge.

Hope arrived back at her house and paused on the front porch to try to cover the bruises on her face with some powder. She pulled her hair forward for even more concealment then headed inside. While Hope was looking wistfully at a photo of the whole family, Ciara descended the stairs. Hope embraced her daughter and apologized if she'd worried Ciara. Hope zoned out for a moment and worried Ciara. Ciara observed that her mom's clothes were "all messed up." Hope claimed that she hadn't been paying much attention to her appearance or anything else. With a hug, Hope apologized for snapping at Ciara earlier and promised that she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm glad you're home," Ciara said. Once she was alone, Hope called her banker. Next she phoned Dr. Malcolm and informed him that a bank officer was delivering the cash personally in a couple of hours, and Hope would deliver it as long as Malcolm had the proof she needed. Malcolm instructed her to arrive at their meeting alone.

Edited: 12/11 At the Brady house, Hope closed the lid on an aluminum briefcase filled with $500,000 worth of cash, while her banker remarked that it was an unusual transaction. Hope instructed the banker to keep his mouth shut. Hope escorted the man to the door. When Hope arrived at the warehouse, it appeared deserted, but a television had been placed on a table. Hope called Malcolm's name, but he didn't appear. Instead, the TV switched on, and an image of Ciara, bound to a chair, appeared on the screen.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Ciara called as she struggled against the zip ties.

"Oh, my God, no! Not Ciara!" a horrified Hope exclaimed.

12/14 Edited. At the abandoned warehouse, a distorted voice greeted Hope over a loudspeaker, promising to free Ciara in exchange for information about the experimental drug Victor had been funding. Hope reluctantly revealed what she knew about the drug, and she also gave up the name of the doctor who had developed it. As soon as Hope explained that she didn't know where Salinas' lab was located, the television shut off, leaving her unable to see what was happening to Ciara. Hope angrily knocked the television off its pedestal, shouting that she had already revealed everything she knew. When she didn't receive a response, Hope sank to the floor in despair, sobbing as she begged for Ciara to be released unharmed.

Again, no one responded, but after a few seconds, Ciara emerged from a nearby room and rushed over to Hope. As Hope and Ciara embraced, a hooded man quickly gathered up Hope's cash and left with it. Hope didn't bother trying to stop the man, who removed his hood once he was a safe distance away from her. Hope took Ciara home and tried to ask her about what had happened, but Ciara was too shaken to talk about it. Hope stressed that Ciara couldn't tell anyone else about what had happened because she needed to be the one to deal with it. Hope felt guilty for revealing information Bo had fought hard to protect, even after Ciara pointed out that Hope hadn't really had a choice in the matter. Ciara wondered if Hope was going to try to go after the kidnappers and make them pay. Hope replied that Ciara was never going to lose her -- and that was all Ciara needed to know.

Later, while Ciara was asleep on the couch, Victor arrived with a team of three men he had instructed to shadow Hope and Ciara until the matter was resolved. Victor assured Hope that he wasn't upset that she had revealed information about the drug, adding that no one would ever be able to find Salinas, anyway, because he had the doctor hidden away at a very secure location. Victor was sorry that Hope had gotten involved in the whole mess, but she stressed that she wanted to be involved. Hope asked Victor to stay with Ciara for a while. Victor agreed and didn't bother to ask any questions, knowing that Hope wouldn't answer them and that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of whatever it was that she was planning to do. Victor offered to send someone with Hope, but she declined.

In the park, someone shot Malcom once in the chest and calmly walked away.

Ciara was still sleeping when Hope returned home. Hope took Ciara upstairs then returned to the living room, removed her gun from the waistband of her pants, and stuck it in a lockbox that was built into one of the desk drawers.

12/16 Edited: At the PCPD, Rafe asked Hope where she'd been when Dr. Malcolm had been murdered. Hope insisted that she hadn't killed Malcolm, but she couldn't tell Rafe where she'd been. She cautioned Rafe to handle his investigation of her by the book, because Internal Affairs would be watching him very closely.

Rafe wanted to protect Hope but reminded her how she'd held a gun on Malcolm and pulled the trigger. Lani gaped in surprise. Hope firmly reiterated that she hadn't killed Malcolm. Rafe informed Hope that her gun had been the one used to murder Malcolm.

"Give me something so that I can protect you," Rafe pleaded in a whisper.

Keeping her voice low, as well, Hope said, "I can't! You're not the only one who needs protecting, Rafe."

Taken aback, Rafe asked, "How deep does this go? Who else is involved?"

Hope wouldn't say anything further, but she understood what Rafe had to do next. After Rafe read Hope her Miranda rights and left her in Lani's custody, he left. Roman, who had observed Rafe's arrest of Hope, demanded, "What the hell is going on?" Rafe quickly caught Roman up. Neither Rafe nor Roman believed that Hope had been so hellbent on revenge that she would have murdered Malcolm.

"This has 'setup' written all over it, but she's hiding something. Something big. And now we gotta fall for the damn setup," Rafe asserted.

12/18 Ciara returned home and found Hope going over some documents, which she quickly hid behind a pillow. Ciara's suspicions were aroused, but she didn't give the matter much thought because she was accustomed to Hope keeping secrets during the holidays. While on the subject, Ciara pointed out that she and Hope were seriously behind schedule on their holiday preparations. Hope tried to suggest that it might be best to just skip Christmas, but Ciara didn't want to do that, and she eventually managed to change Hope's mind. As Hope and Ciara were preparing to leave to pick out a tree, Rafe arrived and asked to talk to Hope for a few minutes. Hope told Ciara to go pick out a tree herself so they could decorate it later. After Ciara left, Hope tried to talk to Rafe about the research she had been doing on Malcolm, but Rafe stopped her and urged her to let him handle the investigation himself.

Ciara & Steve returned home with a tree, and Rafe quickly excused himself so she and Hope could start decorating it right away. Ciara, who had enlisted Steve's help to get the tree back to the house, insisted that Rafe had to stay because a man's help would be needed during the decorating process, and Steve had other things to do. Hope also thought it would be nice for Rafe to stick around and help out, so he agreed to do so. While Rafe was helping Ciara retrieve the decorations from the attic, Hope told Steve about Ciara’s kidnapping and being arrested for Malcom’s murder. Steve insisted that Hope needed to take a step back, focus on Ciara, and let Roman and Rafe, even Victor if necessary, clear the mess up themselves.

Later, after Steve left, Ciara found a snow globe while she, Hope, and Rafe were decorating the living room. Ciara excitedly started to tell Rafe the story behind the item, which Bo had given to Hope years earlier. "Mom and Dad had, like, this big adventure where they were looking for a prism or something, and Mom was ice-skating --" Ciara explained before letting her voice trail off, realizing that Hope seemed a bit distant. Ciara apologized and started to put the snow globe back, but Hope stopped her and urged her to place it in its usual spot.

12/28 Hope entered the police station in time to overhear Rafe instructing Lani to check into the three phone numbers that had been dialed from Malcolm's burner phone. After congratulating Lani for receiving a promotion, Hope tried to question Rafe about what he and Lani had been discussing, but he refused to reveal any information about the case. "Can't blame me for asking," Hope reasoned with a shrug.

Lani returned and started to tell Rafe something but stopped herself when she realized that he was still talking to Hope. Hope took the hint and stepped away so Rafe and Lani could talk privately. Pretending to be on a phone call, Hope eavesdropped as Lani informed Rafe that all three phone numbers had been disconnected. Rafe said he would contact the phone companies and get them involved in the investigation, and he instructed Lani to contact the Yucatán Peninsula authorities in the meantime to see if they knew what Malcolm had been doing there.

After Lani left, Hope pretended to end her phone call then asked Rafe to get a box from her car, explaining that she had bought enough peanut brittle for everyone but hadn't been able to carry it into the police station herself because she had tweaked her back earlier. As soon as the coast was clear, Hope began flipping through Rafe's case file, using her cell phone to take a picture of each page. Rafe returned with the box of peanut brittle a few seconds too late to catch Hope, who thanked him and quickly excused herself.

Later, while discussing the case with Lani, Rafe explained that there were plenty of suspects because Bo had made tons of enemies during his career. Lani mused that it would take "real brass" to inflict the kind of long-term torture that Bo had suffered.

Meanwhile, Hope returned home and, after making a quick phone call, learned that the three phone numbers hadn't just been disconnected, they had never existed in the first place. "How could they never exist?" Hope wondered after ending the call. As Rafe told Lani that any list of people with "real brass" who could have tortured Bo would have to start with one name in particular, Hope reached the same conclusion, Stefano DiMera.

1/6 As Hope dozed on her couch, she dreamed of searching the warehouse for Dr. Malcolm and finding a video of a bound Ciara instead. The dreamscape transformed into a memory of becoming furious with Stefano for showing up at her wedding to Aiden. Hope immediately awakened and sat bolt upright. Rafe got an urgent text message from Hope. Rafe called Hope instead of replying to her text. Her voice betraying her anxiety, Hope demanded to see Rafe right away. When Rafe hung up and headed toward Hope's, Gabi teased him for doing Hope's bidding.

When Rafe arrived at the Brady house, Hope recounted the events that had led up to Bo's kidnapping. Hope suspected that the kidnapper had used Claudia to lure Bo so he would lead them to Salinas' drug -- and the kidnapper was likely the person whom Dr. Malcolm had called before he'd been shot. "There's someone I kept eliminating because I thought it was too easy," Hope said. "Stefano?" Rafe guessed, trying to remain patient. Hope explained that they had ruled out everyone else, and she vowed to make Stefano pay, for good.

Hope said she would turn the DiMeras over to Rafe, but she knew they would keep going after the people she loved. Rafe gently pointed out that Hope had been through a lot in a short period of time. "I am fine!" Hope shouted. "You are not!" Rafe countered, noting that Hope had been a great cop who'd believed in the letter of the law. "That's not who I am anymore," Hope contended. "If you use Stefano's tactics to go after him, you are no better than they are," Rafe asserted. "Maybe I'm not," Hope said defiantly.

Rafe pointed out that there was no direct link between Malcolm and Stefano. Hope maintained that Stefano had been responsible for every terrible thing that had ever happened to the Bradys. She was determined to get justice for Bo and a confession from Stefano. As Hope became more and more agitated, Rafe gently grabbed her by the arms and urged her to let him find proof before she got into any more trouble.

1/7 At Hope's house, Rafe tried to convince Hope to let him handle the DiMeras himself, but she insisted that, while she appreciated his attempts to protect her, she wasn't going to stop until she avenged Bo's death. Realizing that he would never be able to change Hope's mind, Rafe reluctantly showed himself out. Ciara awoke from a nightmare and rushed outside. Hope went to see what was wrong with Ciara, who explained, between desperate gasps for air, that she'd had a dream about her kidnapping that had left her feeling like she couldn't breathe. Hope led Ciara back inside and calmed her down, promising to make sure that her captors never hurt her again. After Ciara fell asleep on the couch, Hope grabbed her gun, which, according to the nameplate on the lockbox, had once belonged to Bo and went to the DiMera mansion. "Get your father down here. Now!" Hope shouted at Andre as she stormed into the study.

1/8 With her hands planted on Stefano's chess table, Hope demanded to see Stefano. With false concern, Andre said Hope wasn't looking well and suggested she go home. A henchman rolled Stefano into the room. "What the hell are you doing here?" Stefano demanded. Hope informed Stefano that she was there so the two of them could "have a little chat." Andre taunted Hope about her mental health, but Stefano interrupted. After ordering Andre and the minion to leave, Stefano told Andre to find Chad.

Once Hope and Stefano were alone, Hope declared that she knew what Stefano had done, but he countered that she had no proof. "Which is exactly why I'm not leaving here without a full confession," Hope hissed. Stefano snorted that Hope's continued declarations that he was bad and she was good were boring. Hope angrily recounted all of the horrible things Stefano had done to her over the years. Through clenched teeth, Hope vowed, "Bo is dead, and I know you took him from me, you son of a bitch! But this time, you are going to pay."

Stefano ordered Hope to leave before he called security. "How? We're alone, and I'm armed," Hope pointed out. Stefano growled that he hadn't done anything to Bo, who had only gotten what he'd deserved. Hope spat that Stefano had put Bo "through hell." Stefano accused Hope of being crazy, but she defiantly declared that she was finally sane. Hope expressed incredulity that Stefano had framed her for murder and kidnapped a grieving Ciara. Hope asserted that Stefano's days of doing what he wanted with no repercussions were over. "It will never be over as long as I have breath in my body," Stefano warned.

Stefano declared that Hope was a terrible cop and only Bo had been worse. Stefano pointed out that despite their worthless efforts, all the Bradys had ever managed to do to him was make empty threats. Hope warned, "That's yet to be seen. This time, there's going to be a different ending. That I promise." Stefano was skeptical that Hope was really armed because she was no longer a cop. "You are going to get me to confess? With what? The force of your personality?" he asked, laughing at his own joke.

To "level the playing field," Stefano pointed Hope to a drawer where she would find a loaded gun but he guessed she didn't have the guts to follow through on her threats. Hope just stared at Stefano while he launched into a contemptuous tirade about how ineffective she and the "ape" she'd married had always been, even though Stefano had wished for worthier adversaries.

Stefano declared maliciously, "You won't leave without a confession, is that it? Then in order to get you the hell out of my sight, I must obviously resort to flat-out lying. So yes, yes, I did it. All of it: Bo's questioning, your daughter's abduction, your life sentence for a murder you didn't commit -- all me. All me. So there's your confession, bogus though it is. And there is nothing that you can do with it, because you are powerless; you are defeated. You are a joke." Hope reached into her waistband, under the back of her jacket, and produced a handgun, which she leveled at Stefano.

Stefano chortled as he pushed himself up out of his wheelchair. "We both know you don't have the guts to pull that trigger," Stefano said. Hope's hands began to shake. She lowered the gun and turned away. Stefano taunted her malevolently, "Predictable to the very end. You are, at heart, a coward, just like that banal dead husband of yours, may he rest in peace."

Screaming, Hope whirled around and shot Stefano in the chest. A shocked Stefano let out a strained guffaw, then Hope shot him again. As Stefano fell back into his chair, he knocked several of the chess pieces off the board. Even though Stefano's head lolled backwards and he let out what was clearly his final breath, Hope shot him one more time for good measure.

1/11 At the DiMera mansion, Rafe burst into the study and found Hope sitting on the floor next to Stefano's bullet-riddled body. "Oh, my God. What have you done?" Rafe asked Hope, who slowly looked up at him and wondered what had happened. After putting Hope in a chair and telling her to stay there, Rafe went to check Stefano's pulse.

"He's dead," Rafe announced.

"Did I do this?" Hope quietly asked.

Rafe covered Stefano's body then asked Hope to tell him what had happened. "I remember driving over here. Sitting in my car, watching people come in and out of the security gate so I could memorize the code. Then I broke in through the kitchen, and then, somehow, I made my way up here," Hope explained. Rafe got worried when Hope revealed that she had found Stefano with Andre, but she clarified that Stefano had soon sent Andre off to look for Chad. Nodding, Rafe told Hope to continue.

Hope revealed that Stefano had begun taunting her after she had accused him of killing Bo. "It was like my showing up here tonight, it made his night," Hope mused. Hope said she didn't know what had happened next because she had "started seeing white" at that point. "Oh, my God. I killed Stefano DiMera. I killed him. When Andre and Chad find out, they're gonna kill me or worse, they're gonna kill my kids. What am I gonna do, Rafe? What am I gonna do?" Hope asked, beginning to panic.

Rafe promised to help Hope. "I'm gonna take a page out of the DiMera playbook," Rafe added. Hope pointed out that Rafe would be breaking the law if he helped cover her crime, but he told her to let him worry about that. Hope tried to object, insisting that she didn't want Rafe involved. "I am not letting you take the fall for shooting a man that deserved to die," Rafe stressed. Hope wondered what Rafe planned to do with the dead body that had three bullets in it. "Stefano's famous for his vanishing acts. Looks like he's about to pull another one off," Rafe replied with a shrug.

"You were never here," Rafe added, but Hope fearfully reminded him that Andre had seen her. Rafe said that didn't matter because Hope had gone to the DiMera mansion to hash things out with Stefano a million times before and had left him alive and well at the end of each of those previous confrontations. Rafe reasoned that Andre would believe that Hope had again left Stefano alive and well because Andre believed that Hope was a "law-and-order type" who would never drop trash in the street, let alone shoot someone in cold blood.

Rafe was certain that Hope had only resorted to murder because she hadn't been thinking straight lately. Hope rejected Rafe's help, convinced that she was beyond saving, but he insisted that he wasn't going to let her rot in prison because that would devastate her kids. "Don't even think about it, because it's not an option," Rafe stressed. Rocking back and forth in her chair, Hope wondered what kind of person she had turned into. "You're just a woman who was pushed too far," Rafe reasoned. Hope wished that she had listened to Rafe's advice about staying away from Stefano, but Rafe understood that she hadn't been in the right state of mind to heed it.

"You're not thinking clearly. I am, okay? I've had a career of looking at crime scenes, and I have had plenty of run-ins with the DiMeras. I know how they think; I know how the cops operate. I can make them believe what I want to make them believe," Rafe assured Hope. Rafe urged Hope to trust that he would take care of everything, and he added that it was the right thing to do. Hope hesitated for a moment then nodded.

"Let's do it," Hope said.

3/18/16 Hope returned to present Ciara with her birthday gift: keys to Bo's 1967 Mustang. Hope explained that Bo had loved the car, and it hadn't seemed right to leave it in storage when his beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter was around to drive it. Ciara threw her arms around her mom in gratitude.

4/13/16 At the Brady Pub, Caroline clutched her Bible to her heart. When Hope arrived, Caroline noted that Eric had returned the Bible Caroline had given him. Caroline said she was worried that Eric would lose his faith. Hope assured Caroline that Eric would be ready to accept the love and support of his family eventually. Hope informed Caroline that Victor and Maggie were both doing well at the hospital. Caroline blamed Deimos. When Hope asked why, Caroline said that Deimos was evil. Caroline said that she had experienced a vision showing her that Deimos was to blame for Victor's heart attack. Caroline added that she still believed that Deimos had been responsible for Bo's torture and imprisonment. Hope grew pale.

When Caroline asked what was wrong, Hope walked to the door and placed the closed sign in the window. Hope confided to Caroline that she had killed Stefano and that she was not sorry for what she had done. Hope explained that she had murdered Stefano because she had believed that he had been to blame for Bo's torture. With a nod, Caroline commended Hope on what she had done. Caroline added that her only regret was that she had not shot Stefano herself.

When Hope raised her eyebrows in surprise, Caroline stressed that Stefano had been a monster. Hope told Caroline that an anonymous person had called Hope and told her that she had killed the wrong man. Fighting tears, Hope said she did not know if Deimos was to blame or not. Upset, Caroline told Hope that she had experienced a vision of Deimos with Dr. Malcolm but that Victor had dismissed her vision at the time. Caroline swore that if Deimos had been responsible for Bo's death, he would pay.

When Rafe and Roman arrived at the pub, they were worried when they saw the closed sign in the window. Hope assured them that everything was fine. Hope admitted that she had told Caroline that she had killed Stefano. Rafe groaned then asked what had prompted the confession. Hope said that she and Caroline were worried that Deimos was the real person to blame for Bo's imprisonment. Roman asked for proof, but Caroline did not have anything. With a shrug, Caroline blamed Deimos for Maggie's fall as well. Both Hope and Roman were concerned, and they noted that Victor had not said anything. Caroline had no proof of Deimos' involvement with Maggie's fall, so she stressed that they needed to keep an eye on Deimos.

4/21 At the police station, a cop entered Hope's office and handed her a bulging envelope, explaining that it contained something that Roman had found while cleaning out his desk. After the cop left, Hope opened the envelope and found Bo's badge inside. "Oh, Brady," Hope muttered with a sigh.

At the Kiriakis mansion, Deimos gathered up all the family photos that Victor and Maggie had left on display in the living room and tossed them in the trashcan. Deimos soon received a visit from Hope, who declined his offer to pour her a drink, explaining that she was on duty. Deimos was surprised that Hope had been assigned to investigate his recent acquisition of Victor's assets, given her connection to Maggie and Victor, but she clarified that she wasn't officially investigating anything yet; she was simply curious about the details of the deal.

Deimos pointed out that if Hope wasn't officially investigating him, he was under no obligation to provide those details. Deimos promised, however, that if Hope asked him a direct question, he would respond with a direct answer. "I have reason to believe that you were involved in Bo's kidnapping and torture. Is that true?" Hope asked.

"Yes, it is," Deimos replied. Hope started to lash out at Deimos, but he interrupted. "I was very careful. My hands are clean. There's no way for you to prove anything. So to save you a lot of time and effort, you need to know: there's absolutely nothing you can do," Deimos matter-of-factly explained. Deimos continued that he hadn't had anything against Bo; he had simply been paid to obtain the formula for the serum that had been developed for Caroline, and his employer had suspected that Bo could lead him to that information.

Deimos admitted that he and his employer had greatly underestimated Bo's determination to keep the formula a secret. "He could have come home to you so much sooner, if only he --" Deimos started to add, but Hope angrily stopped him from finishing the sentence. Regaining her composure, Hope wondered why Deimos wasn't concerned that she could be wearing a wire.

"You didn't think I was just gonna tell you the truth simply because you asked nicely, did you? You were completely unprepared for what you just heard. But you got what you came for, did you not?" Deimos reasoned.

"No, I didn't," Hope replied as she retrieved her gun and pointed it at Deimos. Seemingly unfazed, Deimos reiterated that there was no way for Hope to prove what he had done to Bo. "So what are you gonna do?" Deimos calmly asked. As Hope tearfully lowered her gun, Nicole entered the living room and wondered if she was interrupting something. Deimos assured Nicole that he and Hope had nothing more to discuss.

"What business do you have with Deimos?" Hope asked Nicole.

"None of yours," Nicole answered. Hope left after warning Deimos that she would be back later.

5/9/16 Aidan returns - Aidan arrives and shocks Hope! We then see a flashback from the night of Hope and Aiden's wedding, Aiden changed his mind while preparing to murder Hope, realizing that he couldn't do that to the woman he loved. Aiden started to leave Hope's house, but when he opened the front door, he was shocked and confused to find a man standing outside who looked exactly like him. As Aiden backed away from the impostor, Andre sneaked out of the kitchen and grabbed him from behind, injecting the contents of a syringe into his neck. "Father and I always thought you'd be too squeamish to finish the job you were hired to do," Andre muttered as Aiden collapsed in his arms. The impostor helped Andre stuff Aiden in the trunk of a car then returned to Hope's house to kill her.

Aiden made his way to Hope's house and checked a familiar hiding spot for the spare key, which he used to let himself in. While he was looking around upstairs, Hope returned home and went to the kitchen to make some tea. Later, Hope was stunned to find Aiden standing in her living room. Hope dropped her cup of tea and backed away from Aiden, trying to assure herself that he couldn't possibly be real. Insisting that he was, Aiden begged Hope to let him explain everything to her, but she refused to listen. After dialing 911, Hope shoved Aiden away then grabbed her gun before he could recover. "You're dead. Bo shot you! I saw your dead body. You're dead!" Hope protested while keeping her gun pointed at Aiden, who tried to explain that Stefano and Andre had been responsible for everything that had happened. Aiden begged Hope to believe him, but she ignored his pleas and proceeded to cuff him.

A couple police officers soon arrived and took Aiden into custody after Hope informed him that he was under arrest for attempted murder. "You have the right to remain silent, and I suggest you do so before I lose it," Hope warned, her gun still aimed at Aiden. After the police officers escorted Aiden out of the house, Hope finally lowered her gun and began to sob.

5/17 Hope went to the cemetery to visit Bo's grave. Hope told Bo that he had been her one true love. With a sad laugh, Hope said she could use Bo's advice. Hope said she was lost and confused. Hope said she no longer trusted her instincts as Hope pours her heart out to her husband's gravestone. She asks him to give her a sign as she is so torn (between her budding relationship with Rafe, and now Aidan has returned and didn’t try to murder her).

6/7/16 Hope went out to the Horton cabin on the island to do some thinking. Hope unpacked a bag of groceries, but she stopped in her tracks as she noticed the photos around the cabin. Smiling, Hope kissed a photo of her and Bo. Hope grabbed a pad of paper and started a pros and cons list. Shoving the paper away, Hope curled up on the couch to sleep. Bo appeared in the room. Bo offered to help Hope "figure things out.”

6/8/16 Hope’s Dream Episode - Bo visits her and they share a Last Dance together. The entire episode is about Hope. At the Horton cabin, Hope looked up from the couch and found a grinning Bo looking down at her. "The great part about being on this side is, I can come help you out whenever you need it." Kissing Hope on the head, Bo acknowledged that he knew what had happened with her. Clasping his face in both her hands and tenderly stroking his lips, a tearful Hope told Bo that losing him had devastated her. She continued that she'd killed Stefano because she'd wanted justice for Bo and she blamed herself for Ciara's rape. Bo reassured Hope that it hadn't been her fault. "It seems that everywhere in my life, there's pain and I don't know what to do," Hope cried.

"You were always my compass, you know, even when there was a huge storm and I couldn't see over the swells, let alone the landmarks. But you always knew. You knew where we were," Hope recounted.

"Yeah. I had a compass," Bo countered with a playful smile. He softly assured Hope that they would return her home, because home was within her, and his feisty "Little One" could battle her way back there. Hope was unsure she had the strength because she was so tired. "And I'm alone," she added mournfully. Pointing out that Bo would be gone as soon as she opened her eyes, and that hurt too much, Hope refused to look at him as she requested he leave.

As soon as Bo's specter vanished, Hope hugged herself as she pleaded with him not to leave. Bo reappeared behind her and teased her, "Come here, go away, no wonder you can't move. Is this how you treat all the guys in your life?" Bo looked at Hope's list and said that he'd thought things had been going well with Rafe. Hope agreed that Rafe was solid and always had her back, and the only problem between them was that Aiden had returned. She explained that, despite how it had happened, she had never thought she would love again until Aiden. Bo pointed out that he was there to help Hope figure things out, asserting firmly that the "strong girl" he'd known forever would get her life back. He took Hope's hand and led her toward the door to leave -- but after momentarily struggling to get the stuck door open, she found Larry Welch on the other side.

"Hello, gorgeous! Been a while," Larry greeted his ex-wife. Hope's greeting was much less friendly. While Larry poured himself an unoffered glass of wine, Hope ordered him to get out, hissing that he had been a criminal who'd deserved to be taken down. While Bo watched everything, Larry purred that Hope had been young and sweet. Hope declared that, while Larry had taken her girlhood from her, in that girl's place, she'd become a strong, fearless woman. Larry taunted Hope, but she stood her ground and again ordered him to leave. Larry guzzled the last of his wine, but on his way out, jaw set, eyes icily evil, he growled, "You know, the only difference now is you're more lethal than I ever was. You're worse than me, Hope. You took a gun, and you killed a man in cold blood and then had somebody else do the time for it!" As Larry began to chuckle, Hope shoved him out the door.

After the door was shut, Bo led Hope over to the full-length mirror and declared that he'd just witnessed the girl he'd fallen in love with. Hope flashed back to their early encounters, when she'd tried feistily, playfully, to rebuff Bo's advances: kissing him for the first time at her kissing booth at the fair; her insisting that he wasn't her type; riding on his motorcycle out to the country for a hot-air balloon ride, over her hand-biting; and Bo confronting her in the ladies' room to warn her that she hadn't been cut out to be a cop. Hope conceded that Larry had been right about her murder of Stefano. Bo maintained that Hope had been out of her mind with grief over his death and it hadn't been wrong to let Andre go down for it. Hope insisted that she'd sold her soul and had compromised Rafe and Roman in the process. Bo wanted to help Hope get a handle on that, but suddenly, Stefano appeared behind them.

"Turn yourself in!" Stefano commanded. "Did you really think that you could kill me? And then dump me in a pile of rubble? You'll never, never be rid of me. You are no better than me," Stefano growled with a chuckle. Bo continued observing while Hope spat that Stefano had been a monster, but she'd still had no right to take his life. Hope was ready to turn herself in, but Bo reminded her that she would also take Rafe and Roman down with her and she would put Andre back on the streets and leave Ciara all alone. He continued for a dubious Hope that she had to accept that she'd done the best she could, and she shouldn't beat herself up for it.

Hope turned back to Stefano and promised to look out for Stefano's son, Chad, the same way she looked after her own children and grandchild. She hoped that would give Stefano peace. Stefano vowed to hold Hope to her promise. After Stefano had vanished, Bo checked in to make sure Hope was feeling better then he said, "There's somebody else who's a little anxious to see you." Hope turned toward the door, and a full-grown Zack entered. Recognizing her late son instantly, Hope dissolved into tears and embraced him while Bo beamed at the two of them.

Marveling at the sight, Hope joyfully looked Zack up and down. "Oh, my sweet boy. I've seen you every day of my life. I have imagined you at every age," she said lovingly, looking into Zack's eyes. Hope declared that she'd missed Zack terribly, and he had been in her heart every moment of every day. "The day that you died, I thought I'd never get back up again," Hope lamented. "Seeing you is such a gift," she murmured, touching her son's face. She thanked Zack and Bo, but Zack insisted that Hope was the gift because she'd been such a good mother to him, and Shawn and Ciara were lucky to have her.

Hope wasn't convinced, maintaining that she'd let her children down. Zack assured her that Shawn and Ciara also felt as if she were a gift. More determined, Hope acknowledged that her kids would be fine someday. She ripped off the "pros and cons" list from her notepad and threw it in the wastebasket. Hope declared that she should be with her kids. Zack pointed out that her "kids" were adults, and Hope shouldn't give up the rest of her life for them; all Shawn and Ciara needed was for Hope to find happiness again. Zack hugged his mom and urged her not to cheat her children out of her happiness.

"Thank you for being here, my angel," Hope whispered to her son. Zack suggested that the three of them take a walk by the water, and Hope eagerly accepted but as she reached the door and tried to open it, she found it stuck again. With Zack observing, a puzzled, anxious Hope turned back to Bo and said, "Brady, there's nothing left!" Suddenly, the door opened wide behind her and Hope saw a radiantly smiling image of herself in the darkness on the other side. Before Hope could get an answer from Bo about what was happening, Zack had to leave.

"No, I want more time with you," Hope said a little desperately.

"You'll have all the time in the world someday," Zack reassured her. Zack and Hope shared one last embrace then Zack was gone. Bo followed while Hope went to the door. "So let me guess; my last obstacle is myself," Hope said, and her double responded, "Smart cookie."

Bo told Hope's image, "I'll take it from here," and she wished him luck. Bo closed the door and led Hope back inside. Upon gentle questioning from Bo, Hope surmised that the whole thing had been about her hanging on to him. Bo encouraged her to let go. Through angry tears, Hope berated herself for believing that Bo would ever have abandoned his family and for not fighting for him. Bo tried to reassure her that it hadn't been her fault, but Hope wailed that she had probably cost Bo his life.

"Should haves' don't get us anywhere," Bo noted, pointing out that anything could have happened, including the loss of her own life, if she'd gone looking for him, then both of them would have ended up dead.

"But here we are," Bo said, grasping Hope's hand tightly and looking into her eyes.

"No. Here I am!" Hope cried.

"Exactly! Finally!" Bo exclaimed proudly. "Yes, here you are! And you're alive! And I don't want you to waste this life of yours. It's very, very precious!" he urged. With a hint of revelation, Hope said she was finished second-guessing herself and that she would make mistakes and choices.

"Right! And most important: you'll live! And you'll be amazing!" Bo declared. When Hope at last seemed to agree, Bo kissed her on the forehead. Turning toward the door, Bo suggested that they "rejoin the world." Hope held Bo back because everything had happened too quickly before he'd gone but she acknowledged that at least they'd gotten to say goodbye. "And a kiss. That was the last thing I felt on this earth," Bo said, eyes twinkling. He told Hope that it was time to go, but she requested one last dance. Chuckling, Bo took Hope in his arms as their song, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love," began to play. Hope beamed at Bo, and he at her, as they swayed around the cabin together.

"I want to stay here forever," Hope murmured, her eyes taking in Bo's face.

"Fancy Face, you have to leave," Bo reminded her, promising that he would always be there if she needed him. Bo kissed his Fancy Face sweetly, tenderly, and she whispered, "I love you." Bo echoed her words and kissed her once more, and Hope led him to the door. With a big smile, Hope took one last blissful look at Bo, opened the door, and stepped outside. Taking a deep breath of air, Hope walked happily away from the cabin as Bo grinned after her.

On the couch, Hope awoke slowly and looked around the cabin. After wiping away a tear, she got her purse and cell phone and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway and looked back at the room with wonder before closing the door and walking down the path away from the cabin.

9/27 In the interogation room at the PCPD, Hope and Rafe believe they are having a private conversation. Hope worriedly guessed that Aiden was going to keep digging until he figured out that she had killed Stefano. Rafe assured Hope that Aiden couldn't prove anything. Rafe and Hope pulled Roman into the room and told him about Aiden's suspicions. "Well, last time I looked, suspicion doesn't trump evidence. Our cover-up is solid," Roman confidently replied.

Aiden soon returned and conceded that he had nothing to take to a grand jury to justify his desire to reopen the investigation into Stefano's murder. "Case closed," he grudgingly added, forcing a smile. Satisfied, Roman, Hope, and Rafe quickly excused themselves so they could get back to work. Aiden waited until they were gone then retrieved an extra cell phone from a briefcase he had left behind. The phone shows it had been recording the entire time.

10/28 At the Horton house, Doug and Julie laughed good naturally at Ciara when they saw her in Hope's old police uniform. Doug commented that Ciara was the spitting image of her mother. Hope walked into the room, dressed as Cleopatra, and she gasped when she saw her daughter. Hope hugged Ciara, and they complimented one another's costumes. Hope informed Ciara that Aiden and Chase had left Salem for good.

With a relieved smile, Ciara nodded. Ciara told Hope that she had dressed in Hope's old uniform because she was proud of her mother. Cautiously, Hope asked Ciara about Victor's offer of a trust fund. Ciara wanted to take the money, but Hope pleaded with Ciara not to accept the offer. Hope noted that Bo would not have approved because part of that money was blood money. Hope added that she did not think it was a good idea for Ciara to have access to that much money either. As Ciara frowned, Hope closed her argument by noting that Bo had fought with Victor about refusing his trust fund. Confused, Ciara said she would think about Hope's arguments.

Hope tracked down Ciara at the party. Ciara told Hope that she had decided not to take the money from Victor. When Ciara said she wanted to make her father proud, Hope assured Ciara that Bo was already proud of her. The deputy mayor took the stage and handed out medals for J.J., Rafe, and Hope. As Hope took the stage to accept her medal, an audio recording of her saying "I killed Stefano" started to play on a loop. Hope looked over at Andre, who watched her with a scowl.

10/31 Andre tauntingly waved a recorder at Hope as her confession continued playing on a loop. Rafe yanked the device out of Andre's hand and smashed it on the ground. "'Hernandez, our hero, rides to the rescue once again.' Only this time, it's too late. No one can save Hope now, not even you," Andre triumphantly declared. Andre pointed out that Rafe had just destroyed valuable evidence. "I'm about to destroy you, Andre!" Rafe countered, but Roman intervened before things could get physical. Andre praised Roman's quick thinking, noting that police brutality charges would have tarnished the commendation Rafe had just received. "What sick game are you playing now, Andre?" Roman asked.

"The game is over. Premeditated murder is a very serious crime, especially when it's against one of Salem's finest," Andre replied. He expressed confidence, however, that Roman and the rest of the members of the Salem Police Department would ensure that Hope received a suitable punishment. "And to believe that my father was considered to be Salem's most despicable villain!" he incredulously added, glaring at Hope. Hope didn't want Ciara to witness the aftermath of Andre's revelation, but Ciara refused to leave the town square. Julie started to insist that she and Doug weren't going anywhere, either; however, she changed her mind when Hope practically begged her and Doug to usher Ciara back to the Horton house. As Ciara reluctantly walked away with Doug and Julie, Andre impatiently wondered when Hope was going to be taken “downtown.

11/1 In the police station interrogation room, Hope confessed to D.A. Trask, the deputy mayor, Justin, Roman, and Rafe that she had killed Stefano.

12/27 At Club TBD, Shane informed Steve, Kayla, and Rafe that Hope was innocent of murder because Stefano was alive. Shane explained that agents had reports of sightings of Stefano in Europe. Shane was confident in the veracity of the information. Shane pulled a surveillance photo out of his pocket that looked remarkably like Stefano. Steve, Kayla, Marlena, Roman, Rafe, and Shane looked at the photo and discussed the poor quality of the photo. Rafe and Roman were not convinced. Shane argued that if there was a possibility that Stefano was alive, they should investigate the matter. Shaking his head no, Rafe countered that even if Stefano had survived the shooting, he had stage four colon cancer and should be dead already. Kayla noted that Stefano could have been in remission. After Shawn left the prison, he met with Rafe, Steve, and Marlena at the police station. Rafe updated Shawn on the new Stefano information. Shawn said he had examined the body, and the DNA had conclusively proven that Stefano had been killed. When Steve asked about the chain of custody of the DNA evidence, Shawn gritted his teeth and noted that he had handed the DNA sample to the lab technicians. Everyone agreed to keep the Stefano information secret from Hope.

12/28/16 Shortly after Marlena rejoined the others who were waiting at the police station for news about the exhumation of Stefano's grave, Rafe returned and reported, "The body in that grave is not Stefano DiMera."

2/9/17 Steve shares the story of him and Rafe finding Stefano in Prague and arresting him. He confirms he has been fingerprinted and mug shot taken. After ending a phone call, Rafe announced that although Roman would not be able to call off the search for Hope, he would be able to force Lieutenant Raines to apprehend her without the use of excessive force due to the fact that new evidence had been found that proved that she had never murdered anyone.

Marlena went to see Stefano in jail. She mused that she had concluded, after some contemplation, that fear was what had always made Stefano tick. "You know, you're going to hate prison. Hope won't even be there to welcome you, because she'll be home, with Rafe and her children. Did you know that Steve and Kayla are going to remarry? Valentine's Day, isn't that romantic? And me? I'm going home to John, the great love of my life. You know, at your memorial service, well, what we called it was a celebration of your death. John spoke, he said that all the things you had done to us to hurt us and separate us had only made us stronger. That was very true," she continued. She retrieved a chess piece from her purse, the white queen, and balanced it on one of the bars of the cell. "Checkmate," she said before walking away.

2/13 At a hotel in Prague, Steve and Shane cracked open a couple bottles of beer to celebrate the successful conclusion of their long con. "Boy, I tell you, we've pulled off some stunts in our time, but this one..." Shane mused with a sigh. "Oh, yeah. Well, we did what we had to do for Hope," Steve pointed out. Steve and Shane recalled how they had begun formulating their plan when they had run into each other shortly after Shane's return to Salem the previous November. "You know the moment I knew [it] was gonna work? The night we pulled Stefano's body out of that coffin and dropped in that other corpse," Shane noted.

Steve admitted that he had hated keeping Kayla and Rafe in the dark about the plan, even though he had always understood the importance of doing so. Shane complained about how Anna had almost ruined the plan the first time he had tried to get himself caught, forcing him to walk around Prague in his disguise for a while longer. Steve and Shane were both pleased that their plan was going to absolve Hope of the guilt she had been dealing with since Stefano's death. They agreed that from that point forward, they would carry the burden of that guilt for her so she could move on with her life.

Later, as Shane was looking through some of the surveillance images of him in his disguise, Steve noted, "Aw, that's pretty cute. Stefano feeding the pigeons!" Shane agreed, "Yeah, real cute, except it's not me." Steve reasoned that the ISA had obviously tasked another random person with the responsibility of impersonating Stefano to further ensure the success of the mission or the surveillance camera had just captured someone who happened to look a lot like Stefano.

“Just a coincidence," Steve insisted.

"Yeah. And I believe that, too," Shane sarcastically agreed.

2/15 Rafe entered the pub and revealed, after feigning disappointment, that Hope's conviction had been reversed. As everyone celebrated the wonderful news!

Later at Club TBD, Everyone was thrilled when Rafe entered the club a short time later with Hope, as everyone celebrated her freedom!