Before we get into today's episode, I want to acknowledge that we lost Patrick Muldoon yesterday. He was 57 and it was sudden. If you watched Days in the early 90s, you know what he meant to this show. I wrote about him and the Carrie-Austin-Sami triangle in today's Bigger Picture, because some things deserve more than a headline.

Now, on to Monday's episode, which was one of those hours where not much blows up but a lot of fuses get lit. Stephanie leaned on someone who isn't her husband and asked him to keep it quiet. Theo left his feelings for Gabi sitting on a table at the Brady Pub. Rafe and Cat finally said Abigail's name out loud. And Lani walked back into Salem like she never left. None of these things are crises yet. Give it a week.

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Alex and Stephanie Find Their Way Back to Each Other

Alex shows up at Sweet Bits with Trey, and Chanel can see something's off. He tells her Stephanie wanted peace and quiet, then admits the real problem: Stephanie isn't sure she wants kids, maybe not ever, and he can't help thinking it's about him. Chanel talks him down from the ledge. She tells him to stop speculating about what Stephanie is feeling and go home and work it out with her.

While Alex is gone, Stephanie picks up the phone and calls Jeremy. He comes over and they sit together on the couch while she walks him through what happened with Alex. Jeremy gets it in a way Alex can't right now, because he's going through it too. He tells her he snapped at Julie for pampering him and flipped out on JJ for walking into the kitchen. They find comfort in not being alone in this. Stephanie asks him not to tell Alex he was there, and Jeremy agrees.

Alex comes home, apologizes for bringing Trey without asking, and tells Stephanie he's been trying too hard to give her what he thinks she needs and getting it all wrong. Stephanie meets him halfway. She says she doesn't know what she needs yet either, but there's one thing she does know she needs right now: him. They kiss and head to the bedroom.

Theo's Journal Lands in the Wrong Hands

Theo opens the episode writing in his journal at the Pub, flashing back to a conversation he had with Gabi. He's rattled by it. She's in a relationship with Philip, and he knows he shouldn't be thinking about her this way. Gabi arrives at the Pub and sits down with him, and he asks her for advice on breaking things off with Jada. Gabi tells him to just be honest and respectful, and that Jada probably won't be that surprised given how little has progressed between them. But she can tell something else is eating at him. He says he can't talk about it and takes off.

He leaves his journal behind. Gabi opens it. She sees that he wrote about her. Doh.

Rafe and Cat Connect the Dots on EJ's Secret

Rafe fills Cat in on the investigation into EJ. He has been cultivating Kristen as an asset, banking on Kristen's willingness to do her brother dirty at every opportunity. Kristen searched the secret room under the DiMera house but found nothing.

Rafe tells Cat that Marlena, Kayla, and Kate were held in similar pods a few years ago by Megan Hathaway, in a similar state between life and death. If the pods were used to revive the dead, and the pod they found was empty, then a dead DiMera is probably on their way back.

Rafe runs through the candidates. Not Stefan or Jake (too recent, and EJ never cared much about Jake). Not Stefano (his bones were positively identified). Cat says the name neither of them has mentioned yet: Abigail.

Rafe asks if Cat still has feelings for Chad. She says it doesn't matter. She wants him to be happy. He's a great guy and he deserves that. She also makes it clear that she would never tell Chad that they suspect Abigail might be on her way back to life, not after her whole I-pretended-I-was-Abigail fiasco.

Lani Comes Home

Lani’s back in town and surprises Chanel at the bakery! She tells Chanel that she and Eli got a crazy offer on their DC house, with the catch that they had to be out fast. Eli is staying behind to tie up loose ends while Lani came back early with Jules and Carver, they're staying with Julie at the Horton house. Chanel shares that she felt the baby move for the first time, and they've been calling him Quattro as a placeholder.

Over at the Horton house, Julie is in great-grandma heaven. She tells Jeremy about the morning she had with the twins, playing hide-and-seek up and down the stairs and their version of Dutch football (Dutch football?). She gets reflective, remembering how Doug used to sing them a funny Spanish song about chickens and tell them stories with little life lessons at the end. She tells Jeremy that having Eli's family back fills the house with life, and that when he has children of his own, he should treasure every minute because it goes by fast.

Patrick Muldoon died yesterday. He was 57. A sudden heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills on a Sunday morning, and just like that, the original Austin Reed is gone.

I know Muldoon went on to do a lot of things after Days. Melrose Place, Starship Troopers, dozens of other roles. But for me, and I think for a lot of fans reading this, he will always be Austin. The boxer with the good heart who loved Carrie Brady and could never quite shake Sami.

If you watched this show in the early to mid-90s, you know what that triangle meant. Austin and Carrie were the couple we all rooted for. Patrick Muldoon and Christie Clark had real chemistry, the kind that made you believe these two people belonged together even when the show kept throwing obstacles in their path. And then there was Sami. Alison Sweeney was doing some of the best villain work daytime had ever seen, and the three of them together created something that defined the show for years. You could not look away.

The triangle had everything. Sami's obsession with Austin. The drugging. The pregnancy lie. Will's paternity. Carrie finding out the truth. And then the moment that paid it all off: Sami exposed at the altar, Austin walking away from her and marrying Carrie the same day. If you were there for that, you remember where you were sitting.

Muldoon left the show in 1995, and Austin was eventually recast. He came back briefly in 2011 for a second run, but by then the show had changed and so had the character. The Austin I think about when I think about Patrick Muldoon is the 90s Austin. The one who made you believe a boxer could be gentle. The one who stood in the middle of one of the greatest love triangles this show ever produced and held his own against two of daytime's strongest actresses.

What's strange about losing someone from a soap opera is how personal it feels. These people were in your living room every day. You watched them fall in love, get betrayed, fight back, forgive. You spent more time with them than with most people you actually know. And when one of them is gone at 57, from something that came out of nowhere on a quiet Sunday morning, it hits differently than a regular celebrity death. It feels like losing someone from your own life, because in a way, that's exactly what it is.

Patrick Muldoon is survived by his partner Miriam Rothbart, his parents, his sister Shana, and her family. He was 57 years old and he left us way too soon.

Rest easy, Patrick.

When Sami's lies finally unraveled at the altar, two secrets were exposed in the same scene. One was that she'd been faking amnesia. What was the other? (Answer at the bottom of the email.)

Chad DiMera Returns With a New Face

Conner Floyd debuts as Chad tomorrow. Chad is coming home with Thomas and Charlotte, and his first order of business is apparently running into Cat in the town square. Given that Cat has spent the last several hours concluding that Chad's dead wife might be alive, that reunion is going to be loaded. Will Cat play it cool, or will Chad pick up on something?

Philip and Gabi Find Some Romance

Philip and Gabi carve out some couple time, which is notable mainly because Gabi just read Theo's journal and discovered he's been dreaming about her. Will she tell Philip? Will she sit on it? And how will this land for Gabi, who just spent the morning being Theo's confidante?

Leo Goes Full Internet Stalker on Javi's New Boyfriend

Leo investigates Javi's new boyfriend online. This has the potential to be very funny or very sad, depending on what he finds and how far he takes it. Either way, I don't think Leo is anywhere close to letting Javi go. I certainly hope he isn’t.

Finally, Chanel Confides in Lani About the Lump

Spoilers for this week suggest that Chanel's breast lump becomes a real storyline. Sarah gets involved and is concerned it could be serious. With Lani back in town, Chanel has her sister to lean on for the first time in a long time. How much does Chanel tell her, and how worried should we be?

Tomorrow is the day: Conner Floyd officially takes over as Chad DiMera. His debut story has been revealed as Chad returning to find Cat in EJ's bed, which sets up a triangle that feeds directly into the Stefano will reading later this week. Floyd also recently married his longtime partner Carly Frei, so congratulations are in order on both fronts. Alexander Elijah Bond also debuts as the new Thomas DiMera when Chad brings the kids home.

Speaking of returns, Sal Stowers has confirmed that Lani's comeback is permanent. In an interview, Stowers said fans will see "lots more of Lani Price Grant in the streets of Salem." Lani came back today and she's sticking around, which makes sense given that the show has been setting up the Eli and Lani return since February. I will be glad to have them back.

Looking ahead to Friday: AlexAnn Hopkins returns as Joy Wesley on April 24, and as we reported last week, Joy lied about the pregnancy test. She has Alex's baby. After today's episode, where Alex and Stephanie reconciled and went to bed together, Joy's arrival is going to feel like a grenade going off. The timing could not be worse for this couple.

Steve takes Stephanie to the shooting range later this week. Stephanie has wanted to learn to handle a gun since the kidnapping, and Steve apparently wants to make sure she does it the right way. Given everything Stephanie is dealing with right now, this feels like a storyline that could go sideways fast.

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