December 2014NOTES- This is the only December that does not contain a Christmas or New Year's episode, because the story had just started at the beginning of December
- This month sees the introduction of three original characters, Marissa Hunter, Elizabeth Harper, and Jeff Adkins.
SUMMARYIn the library, Rory tries to convince JJ to steal an exam from a teacher’s office. JJ refuses, encouraging Rory to study instead, but Rory says he has real friends who will help him out.
Meanwhile, Hope’s phone call attempting to encourage Jennifer is interrupted when she and Rafe get a call to go out to the university. Since Hope is unavailable, Jennifer goes out for coffee by herself and runs into Maggie. She confides to Maggie that since JJ and Paige broke up, JJ has been spending every waking minute at the school library and she’s worried because this is just not like him, but when she asks he insists he’s fine. Maggie insists on coming over to spend the night so that she can try to catch JJ when he comes home and talk to him, as Jennifer is worried that JJ might have returned to drugs.
At the university, Rafe interviews a security guard to give Hope some privacy with the victim of a violent crime, Marissa. Marissa was mugged at knifepoint in her dorm room. The mugger left her bound and gagged on her bed and she was only freed when someone heard noises coming from her room and called campus security. She has physical injuries and tells Hope that the perpetrator of the crime pulled her skirt up but did not rape her. She is reluctant to go to the hospital because she doesn’t want her parents to make her leave Salem U. Hope convinces her to go.
At Eve’s, Paige tells Eve she is dropping a music class in order to avoid seeing JJ. Eve is not happy with this idea because Paige will get a W on her record. Paige leaves in a hurry to avoid discussing it and mumbles to herself that Eve will never accept the other thing she wants to do.
Nicole meets Daniel for coffee and tells him that Miles is insisting on hiring an intern from Salem U to help her. She’s not happy with anyone she’s seen. She wants Daniel to talk to JJ about applying. She knows JJ is not really interested in journalism but she thinks he has the instincts she needs and she’d rather work with him than the idiots she’s seen. Their conversation is interrupted when Daniel gets a call from Parker’s pre-school that Parker is complaining of dizziness. He thinks it’s nothing but Parker being clingy because he has to go to Chloe’s tomorrow, but since he has to see a patient he asks Nicole to wait in the waiting room with Parker til he’s done.
JJ goes to the music room early to practice and runs into an annoying classmate named Jeff, who excitedly tells him about some girl getting robbed and almost raped. JJ doesn’t like Jeff’s attitude, but Jeff says this will help him get that internship with Nicole and asks him if he can get him an interview with Hope. JJ tells him no and asks who it is who was hurt. He is secretly relieved that Paige is okay. Meanwhile, Paige tells Daphne that she’s not sure about moving in with her because of Marissa getting attacked in the dorms. Daphne says that that was a fluke and that the dorms are safe, and anyway Paige needs to get away from Eve so that next time she meets a guy Eve can’t get in her way.
In the waiting room, Parker asks where Jennifer is and Nicole thinks he’s just upset that she’s not here, but soon realizes that he is having trouble breathing and rushes him to the nurse’s station. Maxine gets him emergency care and when Nicole worries that he will be scared because he’s surrounded by strange doctors and nurses, Maxine tells her to go into the room with him and tell anyone who gives her a hard time that Maxine sent her.
Jeff continues trying to convince JJ to get him an interview with Hope. Paige comes into the room and JJ thinks she is a classy woman and reminds himself she is out of his league. Paige tells the teacher that she is dropping the class. JJ wants to talk to her but feels it will make things worse.
Hope and Rafe discuss the case. They are waiting for Kayla to call with the results of Marissa’s examination. Rafe wonders whether the security guard could be involved in the crime. They get a call that someone else was mugged in their dorm room.
Kayla calls Marlena in for a consult on Marissa. She tells her that Marissa has no physical signs of rape but seems to be suffering psychologically from the attack. Marissa refuses to talk to Marlena, saying all she needs is for the cops to catch the guy and she’ll be fine.
During English class, JJ is preoccupied with trying to stop Rory from cheating on the exam. He has an idea. After class, he cuts through the woods behind the dorms, looking for Rory, but instead runs into Hope, who is there on police business. Hope tells JJ there has been a second attack and acts suspicious of him. She softens when he asks who was attacked and reassures him it’s no one he knows. JJ hasn’t seen anyone suspicious so she tells him to get back on campus and tell his friends not to go through the woods either.
At the hospital, Parker is on oxygen. Maxine needs Daniel to sign off on a cardiology consult for him. Daniel also wants a pulmonologist and blood work done. He thinks Parker had some sort of asthma attack. Daniel wants to call Chloe and get busy on Parker’s case. He won’t listen to Nicole who is trying to tell him that he needs to slow down and deal with Parker’s illness, which he insists is not serious. Kayla comes in with news.
Rory and Bev get high on campus and Bev says that she is done with JJ because he didn’t come crawling back to her like he should have after he and Paige broke up. They see JJ heading towards the English building and follow him to make sure he’s not telling the teacher that Rory is planning on cheating on the exam. Bev gets a phone call and has to leave.
Paige spends her bus ride home agonizing about her potential move. She is worried she might run into JJ on campus. When she gets home, Eve is freaking out because she read online about the robberies at Salem U, which she assumes JJ and his friends are behind. She warns Paige to be careful on campus and is not happy that Paige wants to move in with Daphne. She thinks it’s too dangerous and that if Paige had gone to Stanford she would be around higher caliber people and not have to deal with potentially being mugged. Eve’s disapproval causes Paige to want to move right away. Eve convinces her to wait until the mugger has been caught.
JJ goes to the English office but the teacher isn’t there. While looking for paper to write him a note on, he accidentally comes across the exam - - just as a security guard comes in. The security guard doesn’t believe JJ was just looking for paper and threatens to detain him for attempted theft of an exam and let the administration decide whether to expel him. Rory sees. When the security guard refuses to believe JJ’s story, Rory lights a joint so that the guard leaves the room to look for the weed smokers. While he is gone, Rory gets JJ out of the room.
Kayla tells Daniel that the cardiologist wants to do some x-rays and CT scans because she is pretty sure that there’s something wrong with Parker’s heart. She also tells Daniel she will be treating him as a parent, not as a fellow doctor, when it comes to this.
Jeff shows up at the police station claiming to be Nicole’s intern and annoys Roman, who informs him that he can tell Nicole that he is now not going to give her anything because of him.
Miles calls Nicole while she’s waiting at the hospital because Roman called him complaining. She tells Miles she did not hire an intern yet. Kayla comes out as Nicole gets off the phone and implies that Daniel could use a friend. Daniel is on the phone with Chloe when she comes in. After Chloe gets off the phone he tells Nicole he will better when Parker awakens. Daniel wants to be alone to make the rest of his phone calls.
Daphne tries to convince Paige to defy Eve and move in with her. She says Eve will ruin Paige’s next relationship just like she ruined her relationship with JJ. Paige wants Daphne to tell Eve it’s safe in the dorms. Daphne tells Paige to stop hiding behind Eve and decide what she wants to do.
Rafe tells Hope he has a feeling there’s a pattern to the attacks at the dorms they’re not seeing. Kayla calls and gives Hope the go-ahead to interview Marissa again. Roman calls them into his office just then.
Rory and JJ argue. Rory wants JJ to come to the stoner circle in the woods with him and accuses JJ of trying to steal the exam for himself. JJ tells Rory that he did it to prove Rory’s idea was lame. Rory accuses JJ of not being grateful for his friendship and takes off.
Victor and Maggie talk while Maggie is packing to go to Jennifer’s. Victor doesn’t understand why Jennifer is so needy. Their conversation is interrupted by Daniel calling to tell Maggie about Parker.
Roman wants to know what Hope and Rafe have said to the press. They deny speaking to this intern. Roman orders them not to talk to the press and wants Rafe to tell Nicole to call off any investigation into what they’re doing. He has Rafe leave the room and tells Hope privately that he’s worried she’s spending too much time at work and that Ciara and Aiden are both going to suffer because of it.
At Club TBD, Paige struggles not to think about JJ. T comes up to her. Paige thinks he’s cute but tells herself that cute guys don’t work out for her. Paige is rude to T, but feels bad when he is hurt. She admits the world is weighing down on her. T offers to listen but Paige doesn’t understand why he would be nice to her when she doesn’t know him. He tells her that her problem is that she doesn’t believe people will be nice without an ulterior motive and walks off.
Hope goes to Marissa’s hospital room, but Marissa has signed herself out. Maxine says she was in a hurry to get back to the dorms.
JJ goes to Horton Town Square while awaiting a text back from Daniel. He stares at the bookstore window in an effort to remind himself that he can’t ever lose control like that again. Marissa sees him. She keeps trying to talk to him even though he wants to be left alone. She is interested in what’s going on in his head. JJ tells her the last time he met a girl in the Square it turned out really badly and that he wants to be by himself right now. Marissa says she will be at the frozen yogurt place if he changes his mind. She is very clearly smitten as she walks off.
Maggie interrupts Jennifer at work to apologize for her change in plans. Jennifer tells her that anything that is going on with Daniel is not her business anymore. She is upset when Maggie tells her about Parker’s hospitalization.
Hope sees Marissa at the frozen yogurt place but is interrupted by Eve, who wants her to tell Paige that it is too dangerous to move to the dorms. Hope promises to talk to Paige while keeping to herself that what she has to say to her doesn’t match what Eve wants her to say.
Parker is awake when Maggie comes to visit. Daniel asks her to stay with Parker for a few minutes so he can meet up with JJ. Maggie worries that Daniel is spreading himself too thin and is sure that JJ will understand if Daniel needs to put Parker first. Daniel doesn’t want to hear her opinion and takes off.
Hope sits with Marissa at the frozen yogurt shop. She realizes Marissa has a crush on someone and wants to know who but Marissa doesn’t want to be treated like she’s Hope’s daughter. Hope tells Marissa about the other victims and shows her photos. Marissa doesn’t know any of them. After Hope leaves, Marissa looks JJ up on Ewe Search because she’s worried he lives in the dorms and is in danger too.
JJ can tell Daniel is exhausted when he comes to see him. Daniel doesn’t want to talk about his own problems. JJ tells Daniel in vague terms about Rory. He wants to help Rory change his life and doesn’t know how to get through to him. He is discouraged when Daniel tells him to just keep trying but be aware that he may lose his friend. Daniel tells him if he wants to give him some specifics he’ll keep it confidential.
Jennifer goes to the memorial to Tom and Alice. She feels like she can’t go see Parker because she screwed things up with Daniel and as usual she doesn’t know where her son is and feels like she’s messed that up too. She calls JJ and leaves a message saying that she hopes she’s not bothering him but she misses him. Soon afterwards, she runs into Hope and Ciara. Hope invites her to the Brady Pub to catch up.
Daniel is upset with JJ when he hears about his near-arrest by campus security. He tells JJ that he’s doing the right thing by trying to help Rory but that he needs to think thing through and not get himself in trouble. He also tells JJ about Parker. JJ feels bad that he interrupted while this is going on, but Daniel is glad that he did. He tells JJ if he wants to help, just keep doing well. He’s proud of him.
Hope sends Ciara away to Caroline’s apartment so she can talk to Jen. Jen confides in her that she feels like she failed JJ and that she’s sure he’s in trouble again because since he and Paige broke up she barely sees or talks to him. She’s sure he’s not using drugs but he’s spending all his time on campus. Hope tells her about the robberies. She advises Jen to tell JJ to stay out of the woods and not to be on campus late at night.
Paige decides to move in with Daphne. Eve overhears her and confronts her.
At the stoner circle, Rory gets high with Bev, who doesn’t want to talk about JJ. They have a stoned conversation about cheating on the test and Rory thinks they should break into the school computers and change their grades. Bev gets a call from Cole. Rory isn’t happy she is meeting him. While he is watching them make out in the woods, the mugger grabs him from behind, holds a knife to his throat, and demands his wallet and his weed. Rory successfully fights off the mugger and leaves him tied up in the woods.
Nicole checks her files and finds that Jeff interviewed with her and was overly interested in big stories. He had told her that there were things going on at Salem U she didn’t know about. She investigates him online but finds nothing. Rafe calls and she makes plans to see him for breakfast, then prints out a photo of Jeff and says two can play at the game of pretending to be someone else.
JJ comes home very late and thinks he woke Jennifer, but she tells him that they need to talk and she’s not going to sleep until they do.
Paige and Eve argue. Eve threatens to call Hope to talk some sense into Paige and accuses her of talking to JJ. Paige doesn’t want Eve ruining any more of her relationships. Eve gets her to agree to wait until morning to decide. She gets on her computer, determined to do something to change Paige’s mind.
Rory goes home all shaken up and excited after his confrontation with the robber. However, his brother Kurt is passed out drunk and acts out violently towards Rory when Rory awakens him. Rory takes off.
Marissa has a flashback of her attack while trying to sleep. She awakens and looks at her phone. She finds an article about JJ breaking the bookstore window and doesn’t understand because she could tell how sensitive he is when she met him. The photo of JJ’s arrest makes her think of how the robber held her down. She tries to sleep again and has a dream that she is kissing JJ passionately at the bookstore.
Jennifer tells JJ that she knows she can’t make him do anything but she would like him to be home by 10 every night so that she doesn’t worry. JJ tells her that the robber only attacks people in the dorms so he’s safe. Jennifer insists he could be in danger. There is a crash outside and JJ worries that maybe the robber is out there. He takes a baseball bat and runs outside, where he finds a very high Rory has toppled a trash can. JJ asks why Rory came over high. Rory says he just got attacked in the woods and thought JJ would care but obviously he is wrong. He stomps off.
Elizabeth Harper, a social worker at the hospital, comes to see Parker but he is asleep. Daniel is unwilling to talk to her and suggests she comes back tomorrow though he doesn’t think Parker does well with strangers .Elizabeth assumes that Nicole is Daniel’s wife.
JJ chases after Rory and tells him he is just on edge because his mom is freaking out about the dorm robber. Rory tells him about being robbed in the woods. He thinks the robber isn’t right in the head. He needs a place to crash for the night. JJ stops him from getting high before they convince Jennifer to let him stay, though Rory doesn’t seem to take it seriously.
Bev hears someone crying for help while she and Cole make out in the woods. She insists Cole go to see what’s going on. He tells her to stay put but she follows to see what’s going on.
Daniel asks Nicole to check on his apartment and invites her to stay in the guest room. Nicole fills him in about Jeff. He tells her to be careful so that he doesn’t have to bail her out.
Jennifer is surprised to see Rory and asks JJ if the reason he’s never home is that he’s been hanging out late with him every night. Jennifer and Rory have words. Jennifer thinks Rory is a bad influence that caused JJ to get in trouble. Rory thinks JJ was the one who instigated trouble. He will put up with Jennifer if she’ll let him stay for the night. Jennifer tells him to leave. JJ tells her that if Rory had somewhere else to go he would. Rory tries to take off for the park but JJ tells him to wait five minutes while he talks to Jen.
Bev spies on Cole and the robber and finds out they are working together. Cole sets the robber free.
