Days of our Lives Recap Jan 16: Cat Uses Mark To Access The Lab, Johnny and Chanel Make Up

In the Days of our Lives recap for Friday, January 16, 2026, Leo offers Gwen a deal, Javi has to leave town, Johnny and Chanel reconnect, and Cat fools her brother.

Days of our Lives Recap

Cat took Mark out for breakfast, and he divulged that they were close to a breakthrough in the lab research. Cat made up a story about needing to find a binder for EJ, but the last time he had it was on his way to the lab before going to the airport. 

Cat asked Mark for the passcode to get in, but he said he couldn’t do that. Mark offered to take her there instead.

At the hospital, Johnny ran into Rafe on his way to visit Theo. He said he hadn’t talked to his dad, and that he wouldn’t be surprised if EJ was being investigated.

When Rafe confirmed that he was, Johnny offered up some information about the night of the delivery and how he had it on tape. He said it was odd enough for Leo to want to report on it and agreed to give Rafe the video of EJ and Gwen talking.

Johnny went in to see Theo and was surprised to find Chanel on her way out. Theo congratulated her before she left

Once alone, Theo told Johnny that Chanel had morning sickness, so he knew she was pregnant. He could also tell there was tension between them, but Johnny didn’t want to talk about it.

Johnny assured Theo he was just keeping his seat warm at work. Theo didn’t know how long he’d be off.

When Johnny went to leave, Chanel was still in the hallway. They finally talked about the pregnancy, and this time, Chanel understood that Johnny wanted the baby, but was scared of losing her.

Chanel was sure the odds were in their favor and wanted to think positively. She wanted Johnny to do the same. He agreed, and they went home to reconnect.

Cat and Mark walked through the hospital to go to the lab and saw Rafe. When Rafe told Mark he wanted to talk to him, Cat snapped that he didn’t have a warrant and all questions would have to go through her.

Mark was impressed that Cat stood up to Rafe the way she did on his behalf. They went to the lab, and Cat secretly recorded her brother entering his code.

At the Hernandez house, Javi got a phone call that his dad was having emergency heart surgery. Gabi insisted on helping with the airfare. Javi got ready to go but said he had to say goodbye to someone before leaving town.

Javi raced over to Johnny and Chanel’s, but Trey wasn’t there. However, when they found out why he was leaving, Chanel insisted that he saw his godson before he went away.

Javi said that they were sweet, but he wasn’t officially a godparent yet, and he couldn’t promise when he’d be back. Javi suggested they find someone else in his place, as he wouldn’t expect them to put Trey’s baptism on hold.

Johnny suggested that they have the baptism that day, before Javi had to go to the airport. 

Still drunk and wanting to drink some more, Leo showed up at the DiMera mansion to see Gwen. Leo told Gwen that he was going to do a story to expose EJ’s lab delivery, but he would spare her EJ’s wrath by squashing it — for a price.

Leo told Gwen that he wanted her to make Dimitri go away again. Leo pointed out that if Gwen shipped him back, he couldn’t divorce her, she could keep her money, and Leo could have Javi.

Gwen said that Leo was pathetic for loving Javi but lusting after Dimitri. Through gritted teeth, both Leo and Gwen admitted that they had a persistently annoying soft spot for each other. 

Gwen told Leo he needed to decide whom he wanted to be with: Dimitri or Javi. Leo didn’t know what he wanted, but knew the marriage certificate was going to expire soon.

Gwen thought his indecision was a way of forcing a decision. He could let it expire, and then Javi would dump him, and he could run off to Dimitri, playing the wounded victim. 

Gwen insisted she had nothing to do with Dimitri’s disappearance and wanted nothing to do with kidnapping. 

Leo told her that their momentary truce was over and he was going to get on with his life by returning to his hotel room. Gwen suggested he wait til Dimitri got home.

Leo was sure he did not, but had some parting notes. He told Gwen that it was ironic that she brought Dimitri back to destroy his life, but ended up destroying her own as well.

Theo fell asleep after Johnny left and had a dream about being on a date with Gabi and telling her he wanted to kiss her. When he awake, Paulina was sitting with him and asked if he’d had a nightmare.

Rafe came home to find Gabi on the phone, trying to book a one-way ticket for Javi to Corpus Christi, as it turned out, the online booking crashed before it confirmed his flight.

Gabi explained the situation to Rafe, then complained that everything was Leo’s fault. If not for him, Javi would guarantee he would come back, she said. Gabi hoped Javi would find someone better for him than Leo.

Later, Cat called Rafe and apologized for talking to him the way she did, but she had to keep her cover, and Rafe knew that. 

Rafe said he read Peter’s autopsy, and it was what they thought: heart failure after chest trauma. Gwen told him the first three digits of the lab entry code were 118.

However, Rafe said he figured out why Leo called her pretending to be an auditor. He told her about the delivery and said they needed to figure out what it was.