As the fireworks begin to explode, Brady Black decides to do something he’s avoided all year: see Rachel.

Not as a hero, but as a father who once made mistakes.

Salem is brightly lit on New Year’s Eve, but the scene between Brady and Rachel is eerily quiet.

Brady brings a small gift box – the bracelet he gave her when she was a child.

“Do you remember this?” – the question is as soft as a breeze, but it brings Rachel to tears.

For months, their father-daughter relationship has been damaged by adult interference, misunderstandings, and pride. The scene of the two sitting by the window, listening to the distant fireworks, is both simple and profoundly poignant. Rachel says, “I used to hate you, but now I just want you not to disappear again.” And Brady responds with a line that brings tears to Salem’s eyes: “I will stay, even if only for this moment.”

This is one of the most humane scenes that Days of Our Lives ever made – gentle yet powerful. As the clock struck midnight, fireworks exploded, the light reflecting on Brady and Rachel’s faces – needless to say, viewers understood: Salem finally had a rare moment of peace.