Days of our Lives Recap May 18: Kristen Ties Up Xander; Stephanie Devastates Alex

TL;DR: In today’s Days of our Lives recap, Kristen ties up Xander to the headboard and they fool around, but he is later injured and needs Sarah to pop his dislocated elbow back into place at the hospital. Chanel hides her pain and biopsy from Paulina, despite Lani’s urging. Stephanie drops a bomb on Alex, telling him she’s not ready to be a stepmom to Kelsey. Joy surprises Alex by making Kelsey’s middle name Adrienne.

Days of our Lives Recap May 18

In the square, Gwen cried to Leo that EJ screwed her over, and Lani met Joy. They bonded over their kids, and Joy told her the truth about everything. Lani suggested Joy give Chanel some time to come around, as she had a lot on her plate.

At the hospital, Brady got Victoria from Fran, the nanny, and brought her to the hospital to surprise Sarah. She was happy to see her daughter as she’d missed her the night before.

Brady told Sarah that he was off to work on his P.I. stuff, and she said she worried about him doing a dangerous job. Brady promised to be fine, so she told him he’d better, as she needed him.

Kristen Keeps Xander Tied Up For a While

Xander told Kristen that he’d worked too hard on being a better person to murder EJ now, but she had arguments ready. She told Xander that of all the things EJ had done, he would be doing the world a favor by preventing him from hurting anyone else, and that even Marlena would agree with that.

Xander told Kristen that the answer was still “emphatically and unequivocally” no. Kristen apologized for wasting his time, but he said it didn’t have to be. Pointing out that he originally thought it was a booty call, he didn’t see why they couldn’t still fool around. Kristen took him up on it immediately.

Before long, Kristen had Xander tied up to the headboard with his belt as she ran her fingers up his chest and kissed him. Later, after they were done, Xander managed to get himself free as Kristen slept naked beside him. “Mmm, that felt so good, didn’t it?” she purred. “No! My elbow…it hurts!” Xander complained.

Chanel Hides Her Pain From Paulina

At home, Chanel was in pain but hid it from Paulina. She asked if Paulina and Abe had discussed where Lexit would go when she was released from the hospital. Paulina said they hadn’t but decided that she wasn’t going to wait around for the inevitable to happen.

Lani came over to visit them both, but when alone, she checked in on Chanel and how she was holding up. Chanel said she hadn’t told Paulina about her biopsy.

Lani insisted that Paulina would want to know no matter what was going on in her life. Chanel said that she didn’t want to burden their mom, and that she was due for a miracle.

Stephanie Drops a Bomb on Alex

Stephanie told Alex that it was time they addressed the elephant in the room: Kelsey. Alex was stunned when Stephanie told him she still felt something she’d known for a long time: she wasn’t ready to be a stepmom.

Stephanie said she would never ask Alex to choose between her and his daughter, but it wasn’t what she’d signed up for. She added that the situation was making her not trust him.

Stephanie referenced how Joy told her Alex wanted her to stay in Salem, yet he’d told Stephanie it was Joy’s decision. Alex apologized and said that he assumed she understood how hard things were.

After Stephanie went out, Alex got a text from Joy who wanted to meet to talk about legal stuff, so he met her and Kelsey at the park. He was surprised when Joy mentioned that Stephanie had met Kelsey already but he wanted to set up a formal introduction.

Alex said when they did the legal paperwork, Kelsey could have the name Kiriakis. He was emotional when Joy suggested that Kelsey have Adrienne as a middle name.

Xander is Injured

Later, Xander showed up at the hospital, and Sarah was the attending physician. She advised it was dislocated and asked what happened when she saw the red marks on his wrists.

Xander made up an excuse about hurting himself at the gym, and Sarah lost interest in the real story. She said that she’d get X-rays to make sure it wasn’t fractured and then pop it back in.

When Sarah returned, she enjoyed putting Xander’s elbow back in place as he yelped in pain. 

Meanwhile, Kristen returned to her room at the Salem Inn and ran into Leo and Gwen in the hallway. Leo couldn’t help but comment on her disheveled appearance and guessed she’d been enjoying her afternoon in a delightful way.

Stephanie Confides in Brady

At the martial arts place, Stephanie showed up to meet Brady for training. He could tell something was off and asked if she wanted to talk about it.

Stephanie told Brady what happened with Alex. Brady advised that babies had a way of working their way into your heart, and reminded her that although Kelsey was Joy’s kid, she was Alex’s too.

Stephanie said that she would remember that, and noted she loved Alex. She hoped one day she would love his daughter, too.

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