Today’s Days of Our Lives recap for October 18, 2023, details Gabi and Stefan’s latest plans to take over the family company, as well as John and Marlena’s attempts to keep Abe and Paulina married.

Stefan and Gabi Fight EJ for DiMera

Stefan (Brandon Barash) was still angry at Gabi (Camila Banus) for turning Vivian into the police but Gabi brushed that off and tried to look on the bright side — they were so close to getting enough DiMera shares to take control of the whole company. They tried to make nice to EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) but also considered him the enemy when it came to business. EJ also wanted to know what Gabi and Stefan did to cause Dimitri (Peter Porte) to point a gun in their faces.

Surprisingly, Gabi told EJ exactly what happened. They blackmailed Dimitri after discovering his affair with Leo. They left out the part that it worked and they now have Dimitri and Megan’s shares of DiMera Enterprises. Their next step was blackmailing Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) to get her DiMera shares and take over the company. Too bad EJ showed up to tell them they’d have some fierce competition. They realized they had to speed up their plan before EJ also went after Kristen for her shares.

An Escape Plan for Leo and Dimitri

Leo (Greg Rikaart) and Dimitri spent more bonding time in his hospital room before Leo turned on Dimitri for ruining their whole plan. Dimitri went off the rails in his quest for money and power within the DiMera family and got himself shot for his efforts. Now, he may also have to go to jail. Leo couldn’t handle the idea of the love of his life going to prison but Dimitri was shocked and overjoyed that Leo called him the love of his life. They then declared their love to one another with Leo calling Dimitri his fairytale prince.

When the loving moments were over, Dimitri surprised Leo by asking him to break him out of the hospital right then and there. Leo didn’t even have a chance to answer before EJ showed up with some ice cream trying to make nice and talk about DiMera shares. He wanted Dimitri and Megan’s (Miranda Wilson) but was surprised to learn they were no longer available because they belonged to Gabi and Stefan. EJ left angrily so Dimitri went back to trying to convince Leo to break him out. Leo finally agreed to do it after Jada (Elia Cantu) and Rafe (Galen Gering) informed them Dimitri would be behind bars soon.

A New Start for Abe and Paulina?

John (Drake Hogestyn) was happy to have Timothy Robicheaux (Dick Van Dyke) in an assisted living facility where he could live comfortably. This got John and Marlena (Deidre Hall) thinking about family and all the kids and grandkids they had living with them. They wanted to visit Belle (Martha Madison) and see how she was doing but Paulina (Jackee Harry) came calling first. She needed Marlena’s help. It also turned out that Abe (James Reynolds) needed John’s help. He wanted to know where he could find Belle so he could file for divorce.

Abe was alarmed about how excited Paulina was when he knew where the decanter was but he didn’t remember anything else and was tired of getting Paulina’s hopes up. As for Paulina, she was sure that Abe was on the verge of getting his memory back and wanted Marlena to help him along. Marlena agreed the decanter incident could have been a memory but there was no real guarantee.

However, she did suggest that Paulina might want to try therapy for herself. She thought she was too fixated on Abe getting his memory back over getting to know the person Abe was now. She wanted her to be prepared for the possibility that Abe may never remember his old life. Over at the penthouse, John played devil’s advocate by suggesting Paulina date his dad. Abe realized the idea made him jealous and he rethought his divorce plans. By the end of the hour, Abe asked Paulina to join him for dinner at The Bistro.

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