BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: Anxious about the consistent hounding by the Aspen paparazzi, Hope takes refuge in her bathroom and pops a pill that she had vowed to never take again. Liam attempts to help Hope get her mind off of her worries by taking her skiing, not knowing that she has swallowed the pills. Dr. Barton fills Brooke in on the possible side effects of Hope's prescription. During an emotional confrontation, Hope confesses to Liam that she's been taking the anxiety medication again. Hope attempts to justify to Liam the fact that she resumed the pill-popping. Hope turns to Dr. Barton for guidance on the next steps she should take to gain back control of her life. Bill admits to Alison the true reason why he doesn't like Hope. Steffy tells Liam she loves him enough to stop him from being placed in the middle and will stop pursuing him. When Stephanie shows genuine concern about Brooke's agitation, Brooke reveals that Hope has been in therapy and has been self-medicating to ease her anxiety. Stephanie understands how much pain Brooke is dealing with concerning her desire to have Hope be happy. Brooke is unhappy when Ridge appears to be siding with Taylor over the Liam, Steffy and Hope triangle.

SNEAK PEEK: Bill continues to cause havoc.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Spencer reveals a duplicate coin has been sent to Stefano to keep him from discovering the real code. Harmon is a double agent working for Stefano. He informs Stefano the coin is a fake. Stefano is furious that he's been duped and orders Agent Harmon to deal with his enemies. Marlena is held at knifepoint by one of Stefan's thugs. Rafe, Roman and Carrie arrive on the scene, as John tries to save her. Marlena escapes harm, but the thug gets away. Roman is adamant that, until the threat from Stefano is dealt with, Bo, Hope, John and Marlena should move to a safe house to protect them and their families. John, Hope, Bo, Marlena, Rafe and Carrie find themselves trapped inside the safe house -- with no way in or out without detonating a powerful bomb wired to the security system. Roman arrives -- and at first they have no way to warn him away from the front door, until Hope thinks fast and writes out a note that alerts him to the danger. Quickly getting a sense of things, he manages to establish communication via radio and says he's rushing off to get the help they need to disarm this thing. And when he comes back, he brings hope in the form of a familiar face: Shane Donovan. Shane expertly guides them through taking the bomb apart, piece by piece. The final wire is cut, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. Moments later, the digital clock loudly engages and begins its countdown to zero. The bomb is armed, and there's nothing they can do about it. Kate runs into Madison, who admits she tried but failed to find some legal loophole to prevent her from working at Mad World. Ultimately, they realize that as much as they hate each other, they do have one important thing in common: their hatred for Sami Brady. Kate is horrified when she realizes Sami and Lucas are lovers. E.J. confronts Stefano. Both men are anguished, as E.J. realizes he's lost everything. Stefano swears he didn't want it to be true. He reveals that Alice Horton saved E.J.'s life when he was a baby and learned they could not be father and son. Stefano swears he doesn't know the identity of E.J.'s real father.

SNEAK PEEK: A deadly affair.

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ronnie is afraid that Dante realizes he has been attacking the women who works at Vaughn's and is the stripper serial killer. Sam realizes that Elizabeth has been telling Jason about her meetings with McBain. Anna warns John that he may destroy his marriage to Natalie by fixating on getting even with Sonny for causing his sister's death. Jason does not want to kill McBain's family. Connie cleans out Kate's office safe — and gets interrupted by Olivia hoping Kate will help hire Steve a lawyer. Heather assumes Maggie is talking about her being "crazy." Meanwhile, Maxie pleads with Spinelli to keep the secret about Matt for Patrick's sake. Sam and Carly confide in one another in rare girlfriend bonding. Sam presses Jason about whether he can love the baby as his own. Later, she runs into McBain. Sonny tells Jason about Kate's past but Jason knows there's much more to the story. Sonny tries to reach Ewen. Despite Johnny's urging, Connie has no intention of making nice in Port Charles. Heather lures Maggie home. Connie attempts to leave the country. Starr, horrified that Sonny was not held responsible for the death of Cole or Hope, decides to make him pay. Mac reminds Felicia that she was not there for Maxie when she needed her. Dante is concerned when Lulu does not arrive for Sonny's birthday.

SNEAK PEEK: Todd and Tea are back,

YOUNG AND RESTLESS: Adam and Chelsea's passionate kiss is interrupted by a knock at the door. Adam opens the door to Sharon, who gives Adam a birthday card and hurries out. Adam reads the birthday card from Sharon and debates calling her. Later, the birthday cake that Chelsea ordered for him is delivered. Adam arrives at Chelsea's room with the cake and offers to share it with her. After seeing how Adam is affected by Sharon, Chelsea decides to leave. Phyllis and Nick let the news sink in that they are going to have a baby. Phyllis excitedly tells Nick that she'll marry him. They decide to get married right away, and realize they have to tell their kids — and Sharon. Sharon is caught off guard when Nick tells her that he's engaged to Phyllis. She asks him if he's marrying Phyllis because she lost Lucy. Nick says that he doesn't want to fight about it, and Sharon offers him a resigned congratulation. Nikki approaches Kyle at the coffeehouse and apologizes for Diane's death. She tells him that she's leaving town so that he can spend time with Jack, but Kyle states that he doesn't plan to do any father-son bonding. Nikki stops by to see Jack. She tells him that she tried to reach out to Kyle, but he rejected her. Jack tells her that he doesn't think she should leave town. He states that Kyle will come around eventually, and he'll have to get used to Nikki being around. They agree to suspend their relationship and remain friends for a while. Michael arrives at Victor's office and asks to be rehired. Victor states that Michael is no longer needed at Newman Enterprises. Michael responds that he has dedicated his life to Victor and only made one mistake. Victor cannot be swayed, however. At Jabot, the SEC agents question Cane about where Genevieve obtained the money to purchase Beauty of Nature. Cane insists that he doesn't know anything about his mother's finances, but the agents tell him to think about his answer. Murphy informs Kay that he has made reservations for their anniversary dinner at a surprise location. He blindfolds her and takes her to Joe's Diner, where she's delighted as Pearl and Joe Jr. greet her. Murphy tells Kay that he loves her and he's grateful he met her. They happily dance to a song on the jukebox.

SNEAK PEEK: Sharon and Victor connect.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.