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On Days of our Lives , Stephanie receives the news she’s been waiting to hear about Everett: He’s been released from Bayview, where he underwent treatment for dissociative identity disorder.
Stephanie Has Hope
“She finds out from Marlena and is elated and filled with hope,” sets up Abigail Klein (Stephanie). “She thinks that his time in Bayview served him, obviously, well enough to be discharged. All she's thinking is, 'I need to get to him. I need to see him.' Stephanie needs to see for herself with her own two eyes that it’s really Everett, that he [and not his alter Bobby] is really back.”
Having come to terms with Everett’s complicated past, Stephanie sees a path to a potential future with him. “What’s interesting is that she has been thinking a lot about Abigail, because of the DID, and about the fact that Chad and Abigail made it through [Abigail's ordeal with the disorder],” explains Klein. “She’s thinking that she and Everett can make it through this, too. Stephanie is the kind of person that really respects and understands people's mental health. She's been so patient and supportive throughout this whole Everett/Bobby ride. She’s like, 'Finally, it's coming to a positive outcome.' She feels like her undying support is going to be [rewarded] in a way.”
Sadly, she has no clue that things are seriously amiss: The newly released Bobby is fantasizing about reuniting with Jada once Connie gets Rafe out of the picture. However, he’s forced to pretend he’s Everett when Stephanie shows up at his door.
“She throws her arms around him,” recounts Klein. “She is in such disbelief that [Everett] is there because the last time that she saw him, she had a run-in with his alter and it was terrible. She went from seeing him as Bobby, completely hopeless, and feeling like, 'Wow. He’s never going to let Everett out.' And now she’s seeing Everett. Stephanie believes he's Everett, so she is over the moon.”
Dreams Are Dashed
That is, until things suddenly shift . “As they're having a conversation, he seems to be backing off and pulling away,” explains Klein. “Stephanie is getting the idea that he's not picking up where they left off, which is where she was expecting to be. She doesn’t have any idea that it’s not Everett. She just thinks that he's trying to guard his mental health and continue his healing process, and she is all for that. But she's naturally gutted and disappointed that they can't pick up where they left off. In that sense, she was maybe a little delusionally optimistic, so her dreams are dashed. I mean, she feels like a knife went through her heart when he says that he doesn't want to date her and just wants to focus on his mental health.”
Yet, Stephanie doesn’t let on. “She tries to cover that from him,” notes Klein. “She tries to not make it about herself, but what she's saying with her eyes is, 'I have been here for you this whole time. I want nothing more than for you to lean on me. And it's breaking my heart, it's crushing me, that you're not leaning on me.' But she also respects mental health and knows that not everybody heals the same way. She has great understanding of the magnitude of what he has suffered from. So ultimately she says, ‘Do what you need to do, but just know I am here for you if you need me.’ ”
Stephanie leaves somewhat brokenhearted, realizing that a happily-ever-after with Everett may never come to pass. “What’s on the forefront of her mind is the fact that she has lost Everett, potentially forever, which is exactly what she didn't want to happen,” says Klein. “Everett’s back, but yet he doesn't want to continue this relationship. It’s almost like he’s someone who’s come back with no memory of her. Stephanie is just so deflated and disappointed. He's not the same Everett she knew. He is pulling away from her. She has this sinking feeling that’s carried over into the worst-case scenario, which is he doesn't want to be with her after all.”
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