Love Me – By Ms. Goldie

Day 1

Treat me like a fool

Treat me mean and cruel

But love me

Wring my faithful heart

Tear it all apart

But love me (won’t you love me?)

~“Love Me”, Elvis Presley

Marlena woke with a start, confused by her surroundings. Glancing around the room, she took in the small round table with two chairs, a chest of drawers, her luggage tossed hastily in the corner, and the entrance to the bathroom. Suddenly she remembered everything, including the day before when Kristen had locked her in this room in the wine cellar. As she shifted in the bed, she felt a sharp pain in her forearm, and saw the bruise forming there, complete with teeth marks. In her desperation to lock Marlena down there, Kristen had bitten her. Marlena gingerly palpated around it, realizing that Kristen had broken the skin with her bite.

Slowly rising from the bed, she noticed that every muscle in her body hurt. She had spent hours, the evening before, trying to find a way to escape. Screaming, beating on the door, moving furniture, all to no avail. She was stuck. All she had was a television monitor in which to watch the goings on in the house. Kristen was more like Stefano DiMera than she would ever admit, but the television monitor, and taunting Marlena via video feed…that was definitely something a DiMera would do. 

Grabbing her luggage, and digging through it for her toiletry bag, and a set of clean clothes, so she could shower, she heard Kristen’s voice, “Well, good morning Marlena!”

Turning towards the television monitor, she saw Kristen standing on the stairs by the front door, with a small device in her hand. Marlena hated feeling trapped, and out of control, and this situation had her feeling both. “Damn you!” she yelled at the monitor. Kristen just laughed, and waggled her fingers at the camera, as if this were some massive joke. “You’re just like your father!” Marlena shouted.

“Now, now, now,” Kristen said in a condescending tone. “It’s not going to be so bad. Now, this is truly fascinating, I have cameras, and microphones hidden throughout the house, and in the garden, and I control them all with this little monitor here,” she said gesturing to the black box in her hand. “So, I can see and hear you anytime I want to, and you can see and hear anything I want you to. I promise, I will keep you entertained.”

“You’ll pay for this,” Marlena told her, but in her heart she wasn’t so sure. There was no way out of this room, she knew that.

“It’s your own fault you’re locked in that room, Marlena. You were just so determined to tell John that Susan had the baby, and it was Susan who married him. I begged you, and you refused.” 

The monitor switched, and Marlena no longer saw Kristen, instead she saw John, asleep on the living room couch. “John,” she gasped.

“He fell asleep waiting up for you last night on the sofa. Isn’t that sweet? The entire time, you were down there in the cellar, what do ya know?” Kristen said sarcastically.

“He will find me,” Marlena told her.

“Well…I’m sure he’s going to look for you, but he won’t find you…and certainly not before Stefano gets you, and takes you awaaaaay,” Kristen said in a sickening sing song voice. 

The monitor clicked off, and Marlena fell to the floor, still staring up at a black screen, with a growing sense of doom in the pit of her stomach. Stefano. Kristen was calling Stefano, if she hadn’t done so already. Marlena had spent the better part of the last year trying to get away from that man, and now she was trapped in a sound proof room in the wine cellar, with no way out, and no way to save herself from him. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Once she was alone, Kristen dialed the number she had for her father. Stefano needed to come get Marlena as soon as possible, because she needed that room for Susan. She didn’t bother to wait for a greeting when the person on the other end picked up the phone, and just began to speak, “Hi. It’s Kristen. Tell Stefano I have what he wants. He can pick it up whenever he’s ready.” She knew Marlena could see her, so she smirked, she’d made sure of that before she made the telephone call. The smirk on her face quickly fell, however, when she heard voice on the other end of the line.

“I’m not sure where the boss is right now. I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, but when he gets—”

“—Bart!” Kristen yelled, cutting him off. She snatched up the video monitor, and switched it off quickly before she continued. She certainly did not want Marlena to know that she had no idea where Stefano was. “I know it’s you. What do you mean you don’t know where he is?”

“Well, you see, he said he was going to his island a few weeks ago, and I haven’t heard from him since,” Bart said.

“You already said that! Have you called there? I mean he has staff at that property,” Kristen said trying to rein in what little patience she had left.

“I did. There ain’t no answer, so I figure he just doesn’t want to talk to anyone,” Bart said. He had called the island, and there wasn’t any answer, but Bart didn’t go out of his way to try again, because he was definitely enjoying his time without Stefano.

“What about Rolf?” she demanded.

“He went with him,” Bart told her noncommittally, wondering when she would stop talking, and allow him to hang up. He had a turkey sandwich, and some ice cold root beer in the kitchen waiting on him, and this phone call was irritating.

“And you don’t think that’s a problem? My father disappears with no word for weeks, and you aren’t worried?” Kristen asked him, with her voice rising.

“No. Not really…he’s done this before,” Bart responded, picking dirt out from under his fingernails.

“Shit!” Kristen yelled into the phone before hanging up, and dialing Vivian.

“Vivian Alamian,” Vivian said when she answered the phone.

“Thank G-d!” Kristen said into the phone in an exasperated manner.

“Kristen? Are you in jail?” Vivian asked her. She thought Marlena would have for sure told John everything by now.

“Of course I’m not in jail. Get over to the house right away,” she said.

“Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere near John. I value my life too much, besides, Ivan and I are just leaving for the airport,” Vivian told her. 

“Vivian, get over to the house right away, or you’re going to regret it. Now!” Kristen said, and then slammed the phone shut immediately disconnecting the call. She would be making an impromptu trip to her father’s island, and Vivian and Ivan would be doing some babysitting, because someone had to keep Marlena alive while she was gone.

Just as Kristen turned around, John entered the room. “Kristen, when was the last time you saw Doc?”

“Last night, honey. I think she was going to the hospital to see a patient,” Kristen replied innocently. 

“I called. No one has seen her for at least the last twelve hours. Somethings wrong. Shit! I told her I would protect her, and now she’s gone,” John said with frustration, running his fingers through his hair.

“Well, maybe she’s still with a patient, and can’t answer calls,” Kristen hedged.

“No. Something is wrong. I can feel it,” he said. “I’m going to call Abe. I can’t wait any longer.” 

Kristen watched him walk towards the phone, snatching it up, and dialing for Abe. She needed to come up with a plausible reason for leaving town for a few days. Something that wouldn’t be suspicious, since she would need to leave the baby with John. 

When John hung up the phone after speaking with Abe he turned to her, looking at her quizzically, “You okay, Kristen?”

“I needed to speak with you about something, and I know this is horrible timing, what with Marlena missing and all, but I need to go out of town for a few days,” she said.

“Out of town? Really? What for?” he asked her.

“I’ve been talking to this church in San Cristobal. You know, where father had that property that was an old monastery?”

“Yes. That’s where he held Doc in a coma for five years, and where he imprisoned Roman,” John said with a look of distaste.

“I was planning to donate the property to the church and give a sizable donation for them to set it up as an orphanage, and public assistance program,” she said with saccharine sweetness. “I’ve been meaning to speak with you about it, but you’ve been so busy.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I’ve been so fixated on Doc, and keeping Stefano away from her,” John said. “I haven’t had much time for you. I apologize.”

“I’m going to fly to San Cristobal for a few days, get the paperwork all settled, make the donation, and fly home,” Kristen said. “It should be fast. Will you be okay with the baby?”

“Kristen, I’ll be fine with the baby, but aren’t you breastfeeding?”

“I have extra breastmilk frozen in the freezer. You can use that, plus you have Susan to help you,” Kristen said. Having a baby was a lot more work than she realized it would be, and John wanted to be involved constantly. He thought she should want to as well, whereas she thought that’s what nannies were for. Stepping closer to John, and touching his chest lightly, she smiled up at him, saying, “It’s just a few days, honey.”

John smiled down at the woman he thought was his wife, and touched her hair softly, “You are such a kind hearted and amazing woman, Kristen. Nothing like your father at all.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Vivian and Ivan arrived at Kristen’s house approximately forty minutes later. Ivan had whined, and begged all the way there, to turn around, and go to the airport. Vivian said if they didn’t show up, that Kristen, via Stefano, would likely do something horrible to them, and so they had no choice. After ringing the doorbell, and waiting for a moment, John answered the door, obviously displeased with their presence. Vivian plastered a smile to her face. 

“John! We just stopped by to see the baby. We won’t disturb anyone,” Vivian said with false joviality. 

“Just the people I was hoping to see,” he said sarcastically. “Have either of you seen Doc recently?” John asked them.

“Marlena? I, um…no. Not since last night,” Vivian said, stumbling over her words.

Kristen stepped into the foyer, looking directly at Vivian, saying, “John, they don’t know about Marlena.” Making sure that Ivan and Vivian understood that her look said shut up, she told them, “We think Stefano has kidnapped Marlena again.”

Ivan sighed in relief, and Vivian gasped rather dramatically, “Oh no!” 

John looked at Vivian for a moment, as if he didn’t trust her reaction. Looking between Ivan and Vivian, and then to Kristen, he said, “I don’t have time for this. Abe and I are conducting an investigation.”

“We’ll just go into the living room,” Kristen murmured walking away with Vivian and Ivan behind her.

Watching them close the doors behind them, Abe looked at John saying, “You know, I don’t even want to know what those two are up to.”

“Me neither,” John said, staring at the closed doors to the living area. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Once the doors were securely closed, Kristen turned to Vivian and Ivan saying, “You two almost ruined everything!”

“My head is spinning! What…Stefano really kidnapped Marlena?” Vivian asked Kristen.

“No, but John will continue to think he did, until he comes for her,” Kristen said.

“Comes for her? Oh, my G-d…where is she?”

“Where do you think she is?” Kristen said with a sneer.

“I’m so confused. Ivan, I need a brandy,” Vivian said, sinking into the couch. “I thought that secret room was for Susan.”

“It is…well, it will be. As soon as Marlena’s gone,” Kristen said. “I have to go out of town to track down my father. I need you two to stay here, and periodically check on Marlena.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Ivan said, dropping the ice he was attempting to place in Vivian’s brandy glass. “Madame! We can’t!”

“Oh, you will, dammit. I have to track down Stefano, and you need to keep that head shrink that’s trying to steal my man, fed. Just bring her a sandwich, and some chips. A couple of bottles of water. I don’t care, but you are going to do it,” Kristen said. 

Ivan looked at Vivian helplessly, but Vivian shrugged her shoulders telling him, “We don’t really have a choice, do we Ivan? I mean, we know too much already, and I’m not willing to spend the rest of my life in prison.”

Susan had heard the whole conversation between Kristen and the vampires, and she was scared. Scared, scared, scared. As she tried to back away without being seen, she bumped into a large metal vase, tipping it over. It rattled and clanked across the hard wood floor, and before she knew it, Kristen was in her face seething. Susan looked up at her, and said, “I didn’t hear nothin’. I swear. You can talk to vampires, and you can plot stuff, but I didn’t hear any of it.”

“Don’t lie to me, Susan!” Kristen told her. “You probably heard it all.”

“No. No I didn’t. You didn’t say anything about a secret dungeon room, or having Dr. Marlena Evans locked in there. Nope. I didn’t hear any of that,” Susan said backing away from her.

“Susan, if you so much as breath a word of this. I swear to G-d, I will drive to Graceland, and burn it down!” 

“No! Not Graceland! You can’t burn down Graceland!” Susan cried.

“I will. Don’t test me, Susan,” Kristen said.

Ivan looked at Vivian, leaning closer to whisper in her ear, “You don’t think she will really burn down Graceland, do you?”

Vivian looked at him as if he were stupid, “Why would I care?”

“I just always imagined if we got married, that we might honeymoon there.” Ivan said.

“Shut up!” Kristen hissed. “One of you needs to come by once or twice a day, throw some food through the hole, seal it back up, and leave. I should be back in three days.” Turning to Susan, she says, “You…had better keep your mouth shut, or I will burn down Graceland. I swear I will.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kristen must have switched the monitor to the bedroom, and forgotten it. Throughout the day Marlena had watched as John entered his bedroom, to get things, such as a set of papers, a pen, or to call Abe, and see if there was any progress on the search for her. As Marlena sat on her bed staring up at the screen watching John go about his nightly routine, she couldn’t get over how much she loved him, as she watched him wander around the bedroom. He had come out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of the way the muscles rippled along his back, or his wet hair dripped onto his shoulders. Where was Kristen? She hadn’t seen her, or heard from her since earlier in the day. 

Marlena heard a rustle near the door and looked up to see uncertain eyes, peeking in at her. Jumping up, she rushed over to see a bag shoved through the hole by the door. Followed by three bottles of water. “Kristen, and Madame said to bring you this,” Ivan said reluctantly. “I don’t agree with this, but Madame said we could go to jail if we don’t do what Kristen says, and Kristen threatened to burn down Graceland.”

“She what?” Marlena asked incredulously.

“She told Susan and myself that if we told anyone of her plans, she would burn down Graceland,” he muttered.

“Ivan, you know that ridiculous,” Marlena told him, hoping that if Susan knew where she was, maybe there was still hope. “Please, just let me out of here. Please.”

“I can’t,” he said quietly. Before closing the small window and sealing it back up, he looked at her, and said, “I’m sorry.”

Walking back to the bed, she sat down slowly, glancing back up at the monitor. She saw John standing near the dresser, next to an open drawer, and staring at a photograph. A photograph of him and Marlena. Running his finger over it gently, he said, “G-d, Doc. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I said I would protect you…I promised…”

He didn’t hear her, but Marlena whispered back, “You didn’t know. You didn’t know the enemy was in your own home.” She watched as John slipped the towel from his hips, turned off the light, and slid into his bed naked. What time is it? She decided she should go to sleep as well, slipping on one of John’s old Salem PD shirts, that she had held onto for all these years, and climbing into bed. Just as her eyes were closing she heard rustling from the monitor, and John’s voice moaning, “Doc…Marlena…Doc…” Marlena smiled to herself as she drifted off, knowing that even while Kristen had her locked in a room, away from John, he still thought of her as he stroked himself to completion. It wasn’t Kristen’s name falling from his lips into the silence of the night…it was Marlena’s.

Day 2

Are you lonesome tonight?

Do you miss me tonight?

Are you sorry we drifted apart?

Does your memory stray?

To a brighter sunny day?

When I kissed you, and called you sweetheart?

~“Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, Elvis Presley

Susan Banks had a plan. She’d been working on it most of the night. She’d had a little bit of help from Lisa Marie and Elvis, but she was pretty happy, because most of the plan was hers. Step 1 of her plan involved the gathering of supplies. She’d need quite a few, you know, just in case. Looking at baby Elvis as he gurgled in his crib, she said, “Good morning my little pumpkin pie! We need to go shopping, and lookie here! I’ve got a list!” Her baby looked at her, and smiled, making her even more determined to follow through with her plan. There was no way she was going to allow that mean ole’ Kristen, and Stefano DiMera to steal her baby. No way. No how. Picking Elvis up out of his crib, she says, “Let’s get you dressed, and ready to go. It’s going to be a big day, but I still gotta keep all mean ole’ Kristen’s secrets, or she’s gonna burn down Graceland. She’d do it too. You know why? Because she’s that mean. She’s mean, mean, mean.”

Susan turned to the door as it opened, and John entered, looking at Elvis in her arms, and saying, “How’s my boy this morning?”

“Well, we were just getting ready to go out,” she said to John, befogging turning to the baby and saying, “Weren’t we?”

“I was hoping to spend some time with him today, with Belle and Brady. Chelsea was bringing the kids here until Marlena is found,” he said.

Susan felt the guilt gnawing at her, desperate to get out; desperate to tell John, so he would know that Marlena was locked in a room in the dungeon, and being fed by vampires, but she didn’t say anything. He would find out soon enough if her plan worked out, and she’d get herself, and her son, away from Salem, and away from the vampires. “Well…I could do the shopping without him,” she said slowly. “I just don’t want you to have too much.”

“Too much? No, my kids are the best thing in my life. With Marlena missing…well, I need to spend some time with them. I want them to have some sense of normalcy in their life right now,” he said. “You go ahead, and run your errands. I’ve got him.” Reaching for the baby, he took him from Susan’s arms, kissing his face, and saying, “Hey, slugger, time to get you dressed. What do you say?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Less than a full day alone, and Marlena felt like she was going to go crazy with the silence. Where is Kristen? Didn’t she promise to taunt me while I was in here? Marlena knew something was wrong, and she knew something else too…Kristen’s plan wasn’t working out the way she wanted. Marlena knew from her absence, and her lack of communication, that something wasn’t right. She also knew, because she’d seen Ivan yesterday, and Vivian came by with her food this morning.

She lay back on the bed with a book she had packed in her luggage hoping to finish it as a way to distract herself from the antics Kristen would pull with John when she knew Marlena was around. Always touching him, kissing him, sitting extra close, or talking about their wedding, or the baby…anything Kristen could think of that might irritate Marlena, she did it. The book was meant to be a distraction. Instead of reading, she found herself thinking of John, and the children. Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

John followed Shawn out into the pub, saying, “Shawn, please tell Caroline I said thanks again for watching the kids. I’ll drop by for them in a few hours, as soon as I finish up with Abe at the house.”

“No problem, John. We love those kids. They’re family, and we understand about ye tracking down Marlena as quickly as ye can,” Shawn told him, with a pat on the back. 

On the way to his car, John called Abe, “I’m on the way partner. I just had to drop the kids off with Shawn and Caroline.”

“That’s fine. I’m waiting in the living room,” Abe said, watching Susan walk through to the kitchen with her arms laden with groceries. As he hung up the phone he heard Susan sing to herself, “The best sandwich ever!” Shaking his head, and sitting down to wait on John, Abe snatched up a magazine, and started to read.

In the kitchen Susan was making a sandwich, and mumbling to herself, “Step 1 is done. Step 2…make the sandwich. I’m gonna make The King’s favorite sandwich, peanut butter with banana and bacon! Now sprinkle with a little of this…perfect!” Wrapping the sandwich, and grabbing a couple bottles of water, Susan made her way to the wine cellar, humming “Don’t Be Cruel” under her breath.

Marlena was awoken by the sounds of water bottles hitting the floor, followed by the dull thump of a the sandwich. The hole, in which the food was shoved through, quickly closed, and was sealed before she was able to see who it was. She was hungry, and the boiled egg and English muffin Vivian had left earlier was long gone. After unwrapping the sandwich, and lifting the top slice of bread, Marlena knew…this was Susan’s work. Peanut butter and banana with bacon could only be Susan. She vaguely remembered reading something about this being Elvis’ favorite sandwich. Biting into it, taking a nibble from the corner, Marlena decided it wasn’t horrible…but it was weird.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“Okay, Lisa Marie, Step 3, I’ve mailed the letters, and Step 4, I’ve told Ivan not to worry about coming by anymore…it’s been an hour…time for step 5,” Susan said after loading her and baby Elvis’ luggage in her car, and putting Lisa Marie beside it. “I’ll be back for you, and then we can go get little Elvis.”

Susan entered the house, and crept down to the wine cellar where she had piled stacks of canned goods with pop tops, bottled water, and other non perishable, as well easy to eat items. She opened the window into the secret room, and saw Marlena sleeping on the bed. Touching the intercom button, she said, “Dr. Marlena Evans? Can you hear me?” She got no response, so she yelled rather loudly, “DR. MARLENA EVANS CAN YOU HEAR ME!” and still received no answer. 

Opening the door slowly, she went in, and checked to make sure that Marlena was asleep. She was. “I’m so, so, so, sorry Dr. Marlena Evans. I sure am, but you see that mean ole’ Kristen is tryin’ to steal my Elvis, and she said if I tell her secrets she’s going to burn down Graceland,” Susan said, as she made trips back, and forth loading the room with crackers, pop tarts, and other foods. “I’m really sorry about this. I really am,” she said, and as she walked out, leaving the door open behind her, she whispered, “Step 6.” 

As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard John telling Abe goodbye. Just as John closed the front door, Susan came running breathless from the cellar, “You gotta come! You gotta come now! I found her, Dr. Marlena Evans! I found her!” 

“What? Where?” John said trying to figure out what she really meant. He had already searched the house, top to bottom, and there had been no sign of Marlena, although he had uncovered yet another secret room upstairs. Susan gestured wordlessly to the wine cellar, and ran down the stairs again. “Show me,” he said, following her down the narrow staircase.

Entering the back room, John was shocked to see that the wine rack built into the wall was left slightly ajar, and peering inside he saw Marlena lying on the bed. “Oh my G-d! Doc,” he said rushing inside. “Baby, Doc, please…wake up please,” he said, just as he heard the door slam closed behind him. He jumped up from the bed, rushing to the door, and realized he was locked in with Marlena. 

Susan’s face showed through the window, and he heard her voice over the intercom, “I’m real, real, sorry John. I am. I left a note in there with you, ‘cause I’m real sorry, but Kristen’s going to burn down Graceland, and I gotta take my little Elvis, and go. Dr. Marlena Evans is just sleeping. She’ll wake up soon. I promise.”

“Susan! Susan, open the door right now!” John shouted. “You have to let us out of here. Just tell me what’s going on okay? We can help you.”

“No one can help us. Cause that mean ole’ Kristen, and her daddy, Stefano DiMera, they are mean, mean, mean, plus the vampires. Nope. No way,” she said slamming the window closed and sealing everything back up. John turned from the silent door, and watched Marlena sleeping on the bed. Quickly looking around the small room, and noticing a stockpile of food and water in the corner, he finally walked to the table, snatching up the note from Susan. After reading it, John was more confused than ever.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“What do you mean he left?” Kristen roared. “Where did he go?”

“He mentioned going to Liechtenstein,” Dr. Rolf stuttered, backing away from Kristen’s obvious rage.

“What the fuck is in Liechtenstein?” she cried. “I need him!”

“That I do not know,” he responded. “Stefano would tell me nothing. I don’t even know where he is exactly, only a general location.”

“Well pack your bags, Rolf. We’re going on a little trip,” she said.

Day #3

When I first saw you

With your smile so tender

My heart was captured

My soul surrendered

~ “It’s Now or Never”, Elvis Presley

John wasn’t sure what Susan had given Marlena to make her sleep so long, but she didn’t start to rouse until the early hours of the afternoon. The night before, as she slept, he had discovered a trash bag full of sweat pants and t-shirts, as well as a tooth brush and a tube of toothpaste, tossed carelessly in the corner near Marlena’s luggage. John has searched every nook and cranny of the room, moving furniture where he could, to see if there was possibly any other way out. He gave up after a few hours. Following a shower, he had climbed into bed with Marlena, in the early hours of the morning, and was sound asleep himself within minutes, his arms wrapped around her body, and his face buried in her hair. 

As she turned in his arms, throwing her leg over his, she groggily ran her hand down his abdomen, and up under the bottom edge of his shirt. Thinking she was dreaming, she snuggled closer, threading her fingers through the hair on his chest, and moaning slightly. “I missed you,” she mumbled. “I missed you…”

John woke to feel of her small hand exploring the dips and ridges of his chest and stomach, causing him to tighten his hold on her, and push his leg up higher between hers, bringing her face closer to him. Both of them were still stuck in between waking and sleep, giving into desires they might not otherwise acknowledge. “Doc, Doc…” he whispered.

Marlena’s body responded to his innately, moving her center along his thigh roughly, and lacing her fingers into his hair, breathing roughly into his neck, “Oh, John…yes…harder…”

John thought this was the most realistic dream he’d ever had, as his hands cupped Marlena’s ass, pulling her higher, as he ground his rock hard cock into her, moaning, “Fuck yes…Doc…”

Lightly sucking and kissing at his neck, she whispered softly, “I love you…oh G-d, how I love you…”

John came fully awake upon hearing her voice so close to his ear. This was not a dream, and Marlena had just told him she loved him. As he went to try and untangle their limbs, he heard her again, “John, please, it’s been so long…” He wanted to, his cock was aching for her, but he knew, she was still partially asleep. She could still be under the influence of whatever Susan had given her.

“Doc, hey. Can you wake up for me, baby? Please?” he whispered, stroking over her soft cheek. He couldn’t bring himself to release his hold on her, however. He continued to hold her, as she softly moaned in her partial woken state.

Her eyes fluttered, but they were still glazed over, and not looking quite cognizant. She stared at John, with confused eyes, finally asking, “John?”

“Yeah, Doc. It’s me,” he said smiling at her gently, and smoothing the hair from her face. 

“How?”

“That, is an interesting story,” he told her softly, becoming more and more aware of the lips that were mere inches from his. “I’m confused about that as well. Susan put me in here…well, she tricked me, and now…how are you feeling?”

“Honestly? My head is pounding, I’m dying of thirst, and my mouth feels like cotton.”

“She drugged you. You’ve been asleep for hours,” he told her, and then looking at his watch, the one Marlena had given him years ago for Christmas, he said, “About eleven hours actually.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rolf looked over at a sleeping Kristen, and wondered how he might go about trying to stall her further. There was no way he could hold her back forever, but a wild goose chase into Liechtenstein had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now he was mentally scrambling over what to do with her once they actually reached the small German speaking principality. Why did I say Liechtenstein? It was too late now, so he’d take her to Stefano’s house in Vaduz, and then act surprised, when Stefano wasn’t there. Once there, he would secretly contact Stefano, even though Stefano had told him to make contact only in the case of an emergency. Rolf was not looking forward to that call.

Kristen was in the middle of a wonderful dream where her father had Marlena in some faraway country, and Brady, Belle, and John Jr. were being raised by an army of nannies, while she and John spent their time traveling the world. She rolled her head to the side, landing roughly on Rolf’s shoulder, and mumbled, “I love you…”

Rolf looked at her in distaste, planting the heel of his hand against Kristen’s forehead, and pushing her away from him in disgust. “I need to figure out what to do with her…and fast,” he muttered to himself. He spent the rest of the flight, with Kristen periodically mumbling about her love for John, and trying to rub her hands on his chest, formulating his next move in his head. First things first, get to the estate in Vaduz, and contact Stefano, because he would need to know that Kristen was searching for him as soon as possible. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Abe walked into the pub, and was confronted by a worried looking Caroline and Shawn Brady. “I came as soon as I could. You said you can’t contact John?”

“Last night his baby nurse, Susan, came by, and picked up John Jr. She said that John would be dropping by later to get Belle and Brady, but she was picking up John Jr. because the breast milk was at home in the freezer, and Kristen didn’t want the baby having formula,” Caroline said. “I didn’t see anything suspicious in that, because John Jr. had just finished his last bottle…it made sense…”

Shawn cut in, saying, “—but John never came, ye see. We tried calling him, and we keep getting the answering machine. It’s not like John to just leave the children with no contact. We got concerned, because, what with Marlena missing…”

“I understand. I tried to call John last night, too. He didn’t answer. I just assumed he was busy with the children,” Abe told them. “I’ll head over to the house, and check on him. Maybe the phone line is down, or the answering machine isn’t working. Are you okay with Belle and Brady? I can have Lexie help out if you need it.”

“No, Abe. We’re fine, but I know in me heart. Something ain’t right with this. John wouldn’t ever just leave the children without calling us,” Shawn told him. Abe was in one hundred percent agreement. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

As John listened to the water in the shower run, he tried to distract himself from the fact that Marlena’s naked body was less than fifteen feet away from him, just behind the closed bathroom door. Susan had left them an enormous amount of food, although it was a lot of foods that John would never choose for himself. Things like pop tarts, canned sausage gravy, canned pastas, crackers, a jar of peanut butter. There was also a can opener, bowls, two forks, three rolls of paper towels, and something that didn’t seem to belong…a toaster, even though there didn’t seem to be any electrical outlets. If Susan was anything, she was thorough. 

Marlena had spent the majority of the day sleeping. She would wake up for awhile, and then say she needed to sleep again. John had been hoping to speak with her about Susan’s note, which had left him with more questions than anything. The effects of whatever drug Susan had given her finally wore off late in the evening. It was at that point that Marlena felt stable enough to stand up for an extended period of time, and take a shower. 

Marlena stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bath towel, and looking embarrassed. “I forgot something,” she said, stepping towards the luggage carefully.

“Doc, I could have gotten it for you,” he said walking in that direction. “Go back in the bathroom. What do you need?”

“I can get it. It’s not a big deal,” she murmured, ruffling through her things. John watched as she tried to surreptitiously crumple up a pair pf panties into her fist, and look over her shoulder to see if he was watching. He was. He felt his breathing pick up, and his body begin to tighten, as he took in her near naked body.

Marlena couldn’t look away from him. She saw his breath coming faster, and watched as his eyes trailed up over her bare legs, and finally to where she held her towel securely around her body. He wanted her, that much she could tell. She wanted him to. She had for months. She finally couldn’t take it anymore, and she whispered, “John?”

His tortured eyes moved from her body to her face, and he said, in a roughened voice, “Go get dressed, Doc. Please.”

Nodding slowly, while maintaining eye contact, she mumbled, “I’ll be out in a minute, and then we need to talk.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Abe closed the door of John’s house behind himself as he left. John wasn’t anywhere to be found. First Marlena was missing and now John was missing. Pulling out his phone, Abe dialed Bo. Bo answered after the first ring, and all Abe said was, “We’ve got a problem, partner. Can you meet me at the station?”

Day #4

We’re caught in a trap

I can’t walk out

Because I love you too much, baby

Why can you see

What you’re doing to me

When you don’t believe a word I say?

~ “Suspicious Minds”, Elvis Presley

John noticed that it was a little past 1:00 am when he and Marlena finally sat down on the bed facing each other, with Susan’s letter on the bed between them. Both of them glanced at it, but John was the one who said, “I read it yesterday, and I’ll be honest Doc, it confused me even more.”

Marlena picked up the letter, and began to read through it: 

Dear Mr. John Black,

I’m real, real, real, real sorry that I locked you in the dungeon with Dr. Marlena Evans. I truly am. You see, Dr. Marlena Evans gave me a magic rock to keep away the vampires, but I lost it, and now that mean Kristen, who you think is your wife, but she isn’t, well, she threatened to burn down Graceland if I tell you her secrets, so I’m sorry. Me, and Lisa Marie have to keep Elvis safe. I told them nasty vampires to stay away, they don’t need to feed Dr. Marlena Evans no more, and I made sure there’s lots of food, and water. I mailed a letter to that nice man Mr. Abe Carver, and that other nice man, Mr. Bo Brady, telling them where you are, so don’t worry. They’ll come, and get you out soon enough. Please tell Dr. Marlena Evans thank you so, so, so, so much for being my doctor friend, and helping me, like when she would talk to me about my problems. I’m real sorry about locking you in there, but it’s the only way I can keep Elvis, and Lisa Marie, safe from that mean old Stefano Dimera, and Kristen, and those vampires. Dr. Marlena Evans knows all my secrets, and she can tell you, I’m telling the truth.

Susan Banks

Marlena looks up at John with tears in her eyes, and says, “She’s so scared, John.”

“Doc, we need to start from the beginning, because that letter makes absolutely no sense,” he told her. He was confused, and becoming more frustrated with every minute that went by. It didn’t help that this extended time with Marlena in such close proximity, was wearing down his resolve to focus on his life with Kristen, and the baby. Marlena wasn’t his anymore, and he had to let her go. 

Glancing at the note in her hand, and then back up to John’s deep blue eyes, Marlena says, “John, it makes more sense than you realize, but yes, I’ll start at the beginning,” she said softly. “You wrote me a letter in Aremid. You thought you lost it, but Kristen found it…and she hid it, from both of us.”

John’s heart started racing. She knew about the letter he’d written her, when he thought he was going to die. “You saw the letter? You read it?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Marlena said. “Kristen found it first, and she hid it in a book. I found it…in the book you loaned me one evening.”

John remembered giving Marlena the novel from the bookshelf in the bedroom. He also remembered wondering what it would feel like to run his palm over the curve of her hip in the satin nightgown she’d been wearing. If only he weren’t married. Suddenly, John asked her, “Wait…the note said that I think Kristen is my wife, but she’s not,” John said.

“You didn’t marry Kristen that day in the hospital,” Marlena whispered, taking his hand in hers.

“Doc, I was there. I married Kristen,” John said looking at her, and realizing that she was very serious. Pausing for a moment, he asked, “If it wasn’t Kristen…who did I marry?”

“Susan,” Marlena told him. “But since the name on the marriage certificate said Kristen, you’re technically not married to anyone.”

John rises from the bed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, and looking at Marlena with a lost, and helpless look, “I’m not married to anyone? I’m so fucking confused right now, baby.”

Marlena smiled slightly at him calling her baby, and then she said, “Sit down John…please? I’m going to start the story at the letter you wrote in Aremid, and it’s a very long story.” She watched him move back to settle before her, and she saw in his eyes, that no matter what she told him over the next few hours…he would believe her completely.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Vivian stood beside her bed, carelessly shoving the rest of her clothes in her baggage, and yelling over her shoulder, “Ivan, do you have the rest of the luggage?”

“Madame, are you sure we need this many bags?” Ivan asked her, poking his head into the room. “It seems a little bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“No. We don’t know how long we’re going to be exiled, and I am not going to jail!”

“Can we trust Susan? I know she said we don’t need to be checking on Dr. Evans, but…”

“Shut up, Ivan, and get the bags, and our passports. Marlena is fine. Susan told us she’ll take care of her. I’ll be waiting in the car,” Vivian said to him, as she walked out of the room.

Ivan watched Vivian walk from the room, with a sense of dread settling in his belly. This was too easy. There was something about this that didn’t sit right with him, but he chose to ignore it, and after ensuring that he had the passports, he started loaded their baggage in the car, wondering to himself why Vivian had decided they were going to Toronto.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abe looked up as Bo strode into his office later in the afternoon, saying, “Abe, I’ve checked with everyone he knows. No has heard from him since the day before yesterday.”

“This isn’t like him,” Abe responded. “We both know he would never leave the kids without word…and Marlena. We were in the middle of the search for Marlena. No. Something is definitely wrong here. Did you get a chance to go by Vivian Alamain’s place?”

“Interesting story there,” Bo said. “When I arrived, the housekeeper said that Vivian, and Ivan had left for an extended trip just this morning.”

“You know, Bo, they were at John’s house just the other day, acting odd. Vivian said they were there to see the baby, but they seemed nervous,” Abe said, as if pondering where this might be going. “I even told John that they seemed like they were up to something.”

“The housekeeper at Vivian’s place, said that they never explicitly told her where they were going, but that she did hear Ivan muttering about Toronto on his way out of the house,” Bo told him, sitting down in the chair at the other desk in the office, and propping his feet up on the edge.

“Canada? Good grief,” Abe muttered. “Why would they be going to Toronto?”

“I don’t know, but do you want me to go to the airport, and follow up on it?”

“I think we should both go to the airport, and follow up on it,” Abe said getting to his feet. “Because something about this whole mess, just doesn’t sit right with me.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John and Marlena had spent the entirety of the night, and early morning talking. Talking to the point of exhaustion. Before he’d fallen asleep, John’s head had continued to mull over everything he’d learned, even as Marlena’s soft breathing filled the room. The television monitor was still on, and once he’d seen the housekeeper in there, dusting. Over the last two days he and Marlena had heard messages being left on the answering machine by Bo, Shawn, Caroline, and Abe. All of them trying to locate John. He was at least reassured that they knew he was missing, and that Brady and Belle were taken care of. He now knew that John Jr., or Elvis, as Susan called him, was off with the rogue baby nurse somewhere…and that the baby likely wasn’t his son.

Processing the depths of Kristen’s deception would take time. The pain that came with it, would take time as well. As Marlena had told him the story, he’d found his heart at war with his mind. His mind kept saying that there was no way he wouldn’t have known, Kristen couldn’t have deceived him so obviously. He had trouble believing that Kristen could be that devious, but as he watched Marlena sleep…he knew. His heart told him, that Marlena was the most honest, and honorable person he’d ever known in his life, and she wasn’t lying. He ran his fingers softly over the mottled discoloration on her arm. The one with obvious teeth marks, and healing scabs. Marlena said Kristen had bitten her, and she wouldn’t lie. Was Kristen so desperate to keep him that she’d do something like that? Possibly. Probably. One thing he knew for sure, if ever he trusted anyone in his life completely, without thought, it was Marlena. 

He glanced to the television monitor as the telephone in his bedroom began to ring again. The answering machine picked up on the third ring, and John heard Kristen begin to speak, “John honey, it’s Kristen. You know this trip to San Cristobal is taking a little longer than I thought it would, so I’m going to be gone for a few more days. I’m so sorry. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer. I love you.” As he heard the click of her hanging up, his mind went back to something Marlena had said to him about Kristen telling Stefano what plane she would be on, when Stefano kidnapped her, and took her to Paris. Marlena said that Kristen had told her Stefano was coming for her this time as well. In that moment, John knew…Kristen wasn’t on some charity trip to San Cristobal. She was looking for Stefano, so he could come and take Marlena again, and she couldn’t find him. 

John got under the covers, next to Marlena. He was exhausted, but the kids were safe, Marlena, was safe…and that’s what mattered. Marlena mumbled in her sleep, sliding forward, towards his body, and linking her leg over his. Even in sleep they were drawn to each other. Wrapping his arm around her, and pulling her closer, he breathed in the scent of her lilac shampoo, and softly kissed her forehead, before he too, drifted off to sleep.

Day #5

Just the thought of her lips

Sets me afire

I reminisce, and I’m filled with desire

~ “Such a Night”, Elvis Presley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

He knocked on the door loudly, several times, in fact, and got no answer. So he knocked again, louder, and received a faint, “Who is it?” in response. 

Thinking to himself that this woman was beyond frustrating, he answered, “Mr. Patrick!, and waited even longer. 

When she finally opened the door, she looked at him with loathing, asking, “What are you doing here?”

He pushed past her, into her apartment, carrying his things, and replied, as if it were common sense,“Giving you the protection you need.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You refused police protection, that’s tough,” he told her while pulling a sleeping bag out of a sack. “…you’ve got it, as of now—”

“—oh, no I don’t!” she said loudly, trying to stop his movements.

John woke up suddenly, confused. John had woken several times during their sleep. He’d been having dreams, lots of dreams, but he hadn’t told anyone. The majority of his dreams were Roman’s memories. Some were memories he already had, but many of them were new ones. One’s that were likely planted, but just hadn’t ever surfaced. John cursed Stefano DiMera again for fucking up his life so badly. 

The one person he felt he would be able to talk to about them, was sleeping beside him. He hadn’t mentioned them to her before, because so much had been going on with Carrie, Sami, and Laura, that John considered his own problems to be inconsequential. He’d never felt comfortable talking about that type of stuff with Kristen. After what he’d learned about her yesterday, maybe that was why. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and rubbed it, flinching back in fear after he felt a lump. Something was in his neck. Something with a sharp edge, and it hurt.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kristen was enraged when she and Rolf got to Vaduz, and she realized that Stefano wasn’t there. Rolf had been able to make excuses as to where he might be, and she had settled down a little bit, but tomorrow morning, she would most certainly expect answers. After telling her goodnight, and watching her walk up the stairs to the bedroom she had selected, Rolf went into the basement, entered the code on the hidden keypad, and slipped into his secret laboratory. Using the satellite phone, he dialed the number that Stefano had explicitly told him was to be used in emergencies only.

“This had netter be important Rolf,” Stefano said by way of an answering of the call. “I’m very busy.”

“We have a problem, Stefano. Kristen found me, at the house in Paris. She’s demanding to see you,” Rolf told him. “I told her you were in Liechtenstein to stall for time, but now we are here. She’s not happy.”

“Stall her some more Rolf!” Stefano roared, looking over at his newest project, or more accurately, an old project gone rogue. “I am in the middle of a delicate operation…wait. I could use you on this. Can you send her home, and come here?”

“There is no way she will go home. She’s got Marlena locked in the secret room, she wants you to come get her…so she can lock Susan in the room,” Rolf said. “She’s making my head hurt.”

“Damn her! That room was for Susan,” he said. “Why is she so impulsive?”

“What should I do?” Rolf ask him helplessly.

“Bring her here,” Stefano said with reluctance. “I need your help. We’ll just have to hide what I have you working on.”

“And where exactly is ‘here’?” Rolf asked him.

“I’m on the estate in Bern.”

Rolf knew exactly what Stefano was working on if he was in Switzerland. That was the only property they had that was equipped with the devices necessary for memory alteration, and microchip placement. “Bern,” Rolf said with a smirk. “We can get to you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be expecting you,” Stefano said, before having up, and turning to the man in the chair near him. “We’ll be having visitors soon Roman, but you won’t be meeting one of them. Dr. Rolf is coming.” Stefano smiled slightly at the look in Roman’s eyes, fear mixed with loss.

“I’ve told you over, and over again!” the man yelled in an exhausted rage. “I’m not Roman Brady! I’m done being Roman Brady!”

“Ah, you say that now…but you will be Roman Brady again. Don’t worry.”

“I spent years under your control, and I was finally able to remember who I really was. I won’t go back to belonging to someone else again. I will fight you until I’m free, or I will die trying,” the man yelled, just as Stefano gave him another injection, and started the video of Roman’s memories playing again on the television monitor. The energy to fight drained from his body, as Stefano strapped his head to the headrest of the chair, so he couldn’t turn away.

“Dr. Rolf will be arriving tomorrow, Roman. Then you will know nothing. Nothing except you are, and will always be Roman Brady,” Stefano said with a laugh while pouring himself a drink.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Susan had taken all of her money out of the bank on Salem. She’d almost forgotten, but when she glanced at her master plan, there it had been, step 7. Of course step 8 had been “pick up Elvis”, and step 9 had been “drive to Canada”. In Susan’s mind, Toronto was bug, and it should be easy to get lost in a big city. She also wanted a different country…and Canada was the nearest “different country”. 

Dropping the last of their things on the bed in the hotel room, she smiled at Lisa Marie, and began removing Elvis from the baby carrier she had strapped to her front. “We made it, my little pigs in blankets! We’re in a new country, with new money, and new food! No vampires here! Nope!” She dropped onto the bed, after feeding Elvis, and then both fell into a sound sleep. Susan didn’t even notice when she rolled over, and knocked Lisa Marie to the floor. She was that exhausted.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His cock swelled, and lengthened against her belly, the heat of the water making the moment more sensual. Marlena rolled her head back allowing him to kiss, and lick along her neck, while his strong arms lifted her against him. They bobbed in the water, her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him closer, causing him to moan into her mouth, “Fuck, Doc, I’ve missed you.”

He couldn’t get enough of her. Sweeping his tongue into her mouth, he nearly devoured her, in his attempt to get closer to her. John watched his hand glide up, and around her neck, and he knew, if he didn’t stop this, it was obvious she wouldn’t, and later, she would be consumed by guilt if they did this again. Resting his forehead on hers, and looking into her eyes, he told her, “We gotta get out of this water.”

John had waited another two hours before he woke Marlena. In that time he had fallen asleep, and had another dream, but this time it had been his own memory, not one planted by Stefano. How many times he had fantasized about the hot springs, he couldn’t count. It had been absolute agony saying goodbye to her that night. Every time he said goodbye to her was like a small death, honestly. During their sleep, Marlena had found her way into his arms again. Watching her sleep he softly stroked the pad of his thumb over her cheek, causing her to mumble, “John…I love you…”

He continued to study her face. Did she love him? They hadn’t discussed it. Her body rolled into him, her lips kissing the skin of his neck. John’s whole body shivered with want, while he imagined flipping her onto her back, and biting at her mouth. Her continuance of the mumbled dialogue was making him hard, and he knew he had to get out of bed before he did something he’d regret. Just as he started to move, she whispered, “Don’t go.”

“Doc, baby, wake up,” John said stroking his hand over her face, and pushing her hair back.

“Hmmm,” she said, stretching her arm out to him, and running the tip of her nose along his neck.

“Doc, we need to talk,” John said, shivering again, as he felt his cock start to harden. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at him in that early morning, sexy way he has always loved. The deep hazel color of her eyes had always pulled him in, and he felt himself leaning in to kiss her, before abruptly pulling back. “We need to talk,” he said in an arousal roughed voice.

Marlena was tired of talking. They had been talking for days. She felt that while they got to the root of some significant points, they were still dancing around the elephant in the room…their feelings. She looked up at him, and said, “I’m so tired of talking, John.”

“Doc…G-d, Doc…we’ve been in here for days…” he said, not saying what he really meant, which was that the close proximity, the cuddling while they slept, the obvious sexual dreams they were both having, were taking a toll. He was in love with her. He’d always been in love with her, from the time he laid his eyes on her in the hospital, with his whole head wrapped in bandages. Earlier than that, if you counted the memories he held from Roman. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her, touching her, because it was becoming nearly impossible to hold back.

Marlena didn’t know what to do. She was scared. Scared to tell him how she felt, scared that he had come to feel differently in the time since Aremid. She was honestly scared to put her feelings out there, because if he didn’t love her too, she wasn’t sure she could handle the rejection. She rolled out of bed, to give herself space, walking towards the bathroom, fully intending to hide there until she got her emotions in check. “John, I can’t…I just can’t right now…” she said over her shoulder.

Can’t what?” John asked from behind her.

She turned to face him, with tears in her eyes, asking him, “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“What you wrote in the letter, in Aremid? Do you love me? Or did you love me?”

John stepped closer to her, pinning her body against the wall with his, and looking down at her, “What do you think, Doc?”

“I-I don’t know…I don’t know!” she said, crying. “I don’t know anything anymore. I thought I did, but Kristen…everything she did, everything she said…”

John used the tip of his finger to lift her face up to his, “You said you loved me, in your sleep. Do you love me, Doc?”

She said nothing for a long time, she simply stared up at him. Finally she answered. “Yes”, she whispered.

“Good,” he whispered back, before dipping his head, and biting at her lips. Marlena’s sharp intake of breath, and the trembling in her body, nearly caused him to lose what little control he had left. Licking across her lips, and kissing her soundly one last time, John leaned his forehead against hers, and said, “Then we need to talk.”

Day #6

You fooled me with your kisses

You cheated, and you schemed

Heaven knows you lied to me

You’re not the way you seemed

~ “You’re the Devil in Disguise”, Elvis Presley

Kristen wakes the following morning, and realizes that Rolf has been lying to her. He seems nervous, making up some story about how her father is now in Bern, Switzerland. He’d been nervous the whole time, and she’d been suspicious. Now he seemed confident, as if he were sure he knew where Stefano was, which meant, he’d spoken with him.

Kristen stared at Rolf for a moment before she demanded, “When did you speak to Father?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Rolf replied nervously.

“I’m not an idiot, Rolf. I was raised by Stefano. You’ve been nervous for days, now you’re calm, and collected. So, you’ve spoken with him. When?”

Rolf sighed, rubbing his forehead. Kristen was exhausting, and he would be glad to be rid of her. “I spoke with him last night,” he conceded.

“And he’s in Bern? You’re sure of it?”  she said.

“I am. I told him I would be bringing you today.”

“Probably after he told you to get rid of me,” she mumbled under her breath, and looking at Rolf’s face she could tell it was true. “I’m going to get my things together, and then we can go.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena sits across the table from John nibbling on a strawberry pop-tart, and looks at him glumly, “You know these things are barely palatable in the toaster. Straight out of the package, they are awful.”

John started laughing, while he picked at his own pop-tart,“You know, the kids love them, Doc.”

“Children are not known for well-defined palates,” she mumbled, thinking she would hear him snicker, but when she looked at John’s face, she could tell something was wrong, maybe something had been wrong this whole time. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked him. 

Sighing, he dropped his food onto the table, and said, “G-d, Doc, you read me so well. I’ve been having dreams, memories, actually, of Roman’s. New ones, that I haven’t had before. They wake me up, and then I spend the day with them rolling through my head.”

“Are they scary? Or overwhelming?” she inquired gently.

“Not exactly. I just get frustrated, because it’s hard to separate his emotions from my own. The hardest are the ones with the children, especially Eric and Sami. I felt so much like their father when I was raising them, but now-now I remember their birth, and bringing them home. It’s just hard, because Sami hates me,” John told her.

“Sami doesn’t hate you…or me. Not really. Her life has been complicated, John. You were the only father she knew, and you were essentially taken away from her. I blame myself for allowing that, but Roman wanted it. A clean break, and it worked…partially,” she said quietly. “But Eric left, and hasn’t returned, and Sami latched on to Roman like a lifeline. It was unhealthy. I could see it, but I just told myself she was adjusting.”

“These memories of Roman’s…I already love you on my own terms. Now I just feel like Roman’s memories muddle everything. They make me love you more…but they aren’t mine,” he whispered. 

“It sounds like it would be confusing for you,” she said.

“His love for you was so strong, it adds to my guilt over the affair…but…I never told you this, during the affair, it was right, Doc. It’s like being with you settled my soul, because when I lost you, a part of me was torn in half. It’s so fucking weird that I can appreciate Roman’s memories, and damn them at the same time.”

Marlena stood up, rounding the table to stand on front of John, “Emotions are complicated, and we don’t always understand them. Our affair left me so conflicted. I had Roman in my house, in my life…but he was so different. He was angry, judgmental, and condescending. I’ve never told anyone that. I kept forcing myself to make it work, accept his differences, because of what he’d gone through with Stefano for seven years. I made excuses for his behavior, and the guilt,” she said, touching John’s face softly, while looking into his eyes, “…the guilt was enormous, because all I wanted was you. You invaded my dreams, and every time I saw you, I was overwhelmed by memories of you. I had to hide that, because it hurt him, but I couldn’t stop it.”

“I dreamed about the hot springs last night,” he whispered, as his hands settled on her jean clad hips. “Pulling away from you was so hard that night.”

“If you hadn’t stopped us, John…”

“I know. G-d, I know…and I wanted it so bad,” he said leaning his forehead on her abdomen, and his fingers digging into her hips. “I still want you so bad, Doc.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Susan sat outside with Elvis at a small cafe in Toronto, enjoying the fresh air, and enjoying the food. “You know Elvis, these Canadian’s have got the right idea,” she said, eating another French fry. “Poutine has to be the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Who woulda thought to put cheese and gravy on fries? I mean the fries are real crunchy, and it’s got brown gravy, and little chunks of cheese. If you could taste this Elvis, you would know, I’m not lying to you. No siree. It’s like a bowl full of heaven in my mouth.”

Elvis just gurgled at her, waving his little fists in the air, and smiling. Susan looked at him lovingly, and continued speaking, “You know, I’ve got a lot of money, because Mr. Stefano DiMera gave it to me, but he’s gonna be real angry when he finds out I took you. Cause that money was supposed to be for me letting him keep you, but I couldn’t do it. No way, no how. I’m not going to leave my little Elvis boy with some mean man, and his even meaner daughter, and a couple of ole’ vampires! He’s going to be so, so, so, so, so mad, and another thing Elvis, this money I got, it won’t last forever. No it won’t. So I think it’s time to make another plan. What do you think?”

Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen from her enormous diaper bag, Susan sets to work. She’s just made it to step 3, when she hears a voice behind her, “Well, what do we have here, Ivan?”

“I don’t know madame, but if she’s here, who is feeding Dr. Evans?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Vivian said staring at the back of Susan’s head. 

“Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!” Susan exclaimed looking at Elvis. “The vampires found us in Canada!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kristen and Rolf enter the foyer of a large cavernous estate in Bern, Switzerland. Stefano is no where to be found, and Kristen turns to Rolf, “Is this another lie?”

“No. No! Just wait here, and let me find him,” Rolf mumbles, trying to figure out how to locate Stefano without Kristen learning all the secrets in the house.

“What’s going on? Seriously,” Kristen said in a voice that was increasing on pitch. “I’m not waiting here so you can disappear into the bowels of this house!”

“I’m just going to go find Stefano!” Rolf told her. 

“He’s in a secret room, or a secret lab. I’m not an idiot, he’s got at least one in every house,” Kristen shrieked.

“Ah, my dear Kristen,” Stefano said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So pleasant to see you. I heard your lovely voice all the way to my study.” He approached her, kissing her on the cheek, and said, “Lunch should be ready soon. Why don’t you go put your things in one of the guest rooms, and meet us back in the dining room in twenty minutes or so?”

Kristen looked at Rolf smugly, with a smirk on her face, flipping her hair, and heading towards the stairs, as if she was going upstairs. Instead she ducked around the corner, and waited. She heard her father speaking to Rolf in low tones, “Something is wrong with the micro chip!”

“Nothing can be wrong, Stefano. I placed it myself,” Rolf replied.

“Well, you idiot, something is wrong. It’s come loose or something, and he’s refusing to cooperate. Nothing is working!” Stefano said, with barely restrained frustration. “You had better fix this. I have plans for Roman, which won’t succeed if you don’t get him back on line.”

“Stefano! I will need to run tests, and do scans…those things take time!”

“You’ve got two days, Rolf. Two days before we go back to Salem. Don’t disappoint me,” Stefano told him.

Kristen crept up the stairs slowly, wondering what her father was up to this time. One thing she was sure of, it had better not interfere with him getting Marlena out of that secret room, because she needed that woman gone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena exited the bathroom in one of John’s old Salem PD t-shirts, which came to mid-thigh. John’s eyes trailed over the length of her legs, and back up, wondering how he was going to keep his hands off of her. Marlena had told him earlier that everything Kristen had been doing since Aremid, had left her feeling insecure. He could understand that. He’d made a decision to move on with Kristen because he thought Marlena wanted to remain friends, when in actuality he had created this whole mess. John has slowly come to the realization over the last hour that all of this was a direct result of him. If he had simply told Marlena he loved her after Aremid, possibly even sooner, since he knew he loved her after the possession.

In all of the planning done by Kristen and Susan, one thing had been forgotten…bath towels. John noted with a smile that Marlena had her wet hair tied in her shirt, thinking she was more beautiful every time he saw her. Approaching her quickly, he caught her off guard, and planted his arms on either side of her head, pinning her to the wall. John said, barely above a whisper, “I need to tell you some things. Are you ready to listen?”

She looked at him, deep in his eyes, and her breathing picked up. She whispered, “Yes.”

“There were so many times, Doc. So many times I wanted to tell you how I felt, and held back. After the possession, I knew I loved you, but I was so confused. You had so much guilt over the affair, much more than I did. I didn’t want to push you…and then Aremid. When Kristen left my side, she doubted me, and I realized you were there for me. Because, Doc, you would always be there for me. I knew I loved you then, and I should have told you. I probably would have told you,” he said harshly, breathing along her neck. “When we were laying in bed, I was so overcome with love for you, and then Mike came in… I told Abe you know?”

“Lexie knew I loved you,” she whispered, with a rueful chuckle, running her fingers softly over his hips, and lower back. “She told me to tell you.”

“You’d think a married couple would communicate,” John said with a twisted sense of irony. “I told Abe that my love for you was a burden…because of the affair. I didn’t want to put that on you. You’re so empathetic. If you didn’t return my feelings…it would have hurt you. I should have told you then. There’s a list of things I should have told you…” he said softly, leaning his forehead against hers. “When we kissed in Kristen’s hospital bed…I was dreaming of you. I lied when I said I was dreaming of Kristen. I lied, Doc. When I kissed you at the house, under the mistletoe. Do you remember? It was dark, and I said, I thought you were Kristen, but I knew it was you, as soon as I tasted you,” he said, licking her lips softly, before pulling back. He looked into her hazel eyes, and said, “My tongue swept into your mouth, and I knew it was you. I didn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop, and when I pulled back, and I said that I thought it was Kristen. I lied. There have been so many instances when I should have said something, and I was a coward.”

Marlena was crying softly, using the back of her hand to wipe at the tears on her cheeks, “There were times…when I thought I saw it, in your eyes. Especially after I read the letter. I was watching you for signs. I wanted you to love me so badly.”

John reached up, untangling the shirt from her hair, and letting her flaxen hair fall down around her shoulders, telling her, “I’m not holding back anymore, Doc. I will be honest and forthright from now on. I promise. I think getting locked in here, eating pop-tarts, and canned pasta with you…well that was the best thing to ever happen to us.”

Marlena felt his hands settle on her hips, and she began throbbing in her core. She remembered she was only wearing a t-shirt and underwear, when she felt the heat of his hands through the thin cotton fabric. She didn’t realize that she’d moaned out loud, until she felt the weight of John’s body settle against her, and his face nuzzle her wet hair.

“You smell so good,” he murmured, as his hands moved lower, over her hips to the hem of her t-shirt.

She felt his fingers flutter over the the skin of her thighs, and she sighed softly, “John.”

“I love you. I love you so much, Doc,” he moaned into her ear, licking over her lobe, and biting it gently. His fingers found the waistband of her panties, toying with the edge, and running his finger under it slowly.

Marlena was nearly panting with want, when she whispered, “Take them off.”

The pause was lengthy as they both struggled with the want overwhelming them. John finally said, “Are you sure?”

“Make love to me…please John…” she said. 

His mouth moved closer to hers. He intended to make this slow, and sensuous. It had been years since they’d been together, and he wanted to make this last, but he couldn’t. There was a small flame that ignited to a raging inferno as they looked at each other. His fingers fisted into the elastic of her panties, and when Marlena whispered again, “John, please, take them off”, he nearly lost his mind. 

“Fuck, Doc,” John said roughly, pulling her panties down her legs, and pulling his t-shirt over his head. “I wanted to take this slow…”

“Not slow, John. Not slow,” she panted, pulling his mouth to hers, and biting at his lower lip. “We can do slow later…” she said, pushing at his sweatpants.

John finished removing his bottoms, and grabbed the hem of her t-shirt, pulling it over her head. Her breasts bounced heavily, and he leaned the length of his body against her, pushing her against the wall. They both moaned. “Doc, oh…this is going to be a little rough,” he said.

Marlena shocked herself, when she moaned, “Fuck, yes.”

“That’s right, baby, fuck yes,” he said, wrapping his hands under her, and lifting her body against his.  Marlena wrapped her legs around him, sliding her wet pussy along his length, and making him grind against her roughly. The feeling of Marlena biting at his neck, and sucking his skin was making him crazy. He moved his head so his mouth could take her, kissing her deeply and sweeping his tongue over hers. The taste of her mouth brought a million memories to the forefront of his mind, causing him to kiss her more deeply, if that were possible.

Her hips bucked against his cock, the friction of him bumping her clit was driving her to madness. “John! Please,” she cried into his mouth, grasping at his hair, and pulling it roughly. “I need you!”

John slid his length into her slowly, allowing her to adjust. He knew from their conversations over the last few days, that she hadn’t been with anyone in years. He rolled his hips, to get deeper, and once he was fully seated, he just held still for a moment. He absorbed the moment, centering his mind, afraid that if he moved too soon, he would come prematurely.

“John, move. Please, move,” she whispered onto his lips. She was burning from the inside out, and she needed him. All of him.

John’s hips pulled out slowly, her pussy squeezing him tightly, the slickness of her causing his eyes to roll back in his head from the pleasure. “Fuck!” he said loudly, before slamming back into her.

She was in heaven. This moment had been a dream for over a year. “I love you,” she gasped. “I love you so much!”

“It’s you, Doc. Fuck! It’s always been you,” he said, moving to the bed with her. He laid her down, and continued to pound into her welcoming heat. Overcome with sensation and feeling the building pressure at the base of his spine, John lets go just as Marlena cries out it ecstasy. With a roar, his hips move frenetically, his own release washes over him, while her orgasm rolls, and squeezes over his cock. Both of them lie together, unmoving for several moments. John smiles into her hair, as her body periodically jerks and twitches, her breathing slowly coming under control. 

After he gets them both settled into the bed, he pushes the hair back from her face, he says, “It’s always going to be you, Doc.”

Day #7

I gave a letter to the postman

He put it in his sack

Bright, and early next morning

He brought my letter back

~ “Return to Sender”, Elvis Presley

It wasn’t hard for Kristen to find the room where Stefano and Rolf had been for hours. It also wasn’t hard for Kristen to figure out the password for the first door, the second door was a little more difficult…but not impossible. Kristen had, after all, grown up with Stefano. Once she had the second door open, she smiled deviously at the shocked looks on Stefano and Rolf’s faces; however, Kristen was the one who was shocked to see Roman Brady unconscious, and strapped into a chair with a laser pointed at his head.

“Kristen!” Stefano roared. “Get out!”

“But Father…” she replied with little conviction.

“Stefano! This is a very delicate operation! I can’t be distracted, or he could die!” Rolf said, without looking away from what he was doing.

Grabbing Kristen by the arm, and roughly pulling her from the room, Stefano turned her to face him, practically roaring, “You know not to bother me when I’m working!”

“It’s been hours! We have to get Marlena out of that room before John finds her!” Kristen screamed, worried about her problem. “That’s the only reason I came to find you. You’ve wanted Marlena for years, and I’m offering her to you on a silver platter!”

“I will get her, Kristen, but I will get her on my terms,” Stefano told her. “When Rolf finishes this project, we will go.”

“What exactly are you doing? I saw who you have in there. It’s Roman Brady,” she said.

“Who, and what, we are doing is none of your concern,” he told her. “Keep yourself busy until we leave.”

Stefano went back into the lab, watching while Rolf wiped his brow, and said, “I’m almost done. The microchip was dislodged, it’s back in place now. We should be able to reset the memories with the disc now without any troubles.”

“Then let’s do it,” Stefano said. “I’m losing my patience with this, and I need Roman back in Salem.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ivan finished hauling their luggage back into the house, saying, “Madame, I don’t understand why we are back in Salem. I thought we left to avoid being arrested, and put in jail.”

“According to Susan, no one knows anything,” Vivian said. “And you know, Ivan, I’d much rather be at home.”

“But Madame…”

“Run over to Kristen’s and just double check that Marlena’s okay,” Vivian said, pouring herself a brandy.

“Madame!”

“I know. Susan said she left food, but we both know that woman is one fry short of a Happy Meal,” Vivian said.

“Have you ever eaten a Happy Meal, Madame?” Ivan wondered aloud.

“No. Of course not, but sometimes Nikki liked them,” she said with nostalgia. “Go check on Marlena. If she dies, I can’t be blamed.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Abe sat at his desk rereading the letter in his hand with a look of shock, and dismay.

Dear Mr. Abe Carver,

Dr. Marlena Evans and Mr. John Black are locked in a dungeon room at Kristen DiMera’s house. Kristen locked Dr. Marlena Evans in there, ‘cause she was gonna give her to Mr. Stefano DiMera, but he never came, so she went to get him. But then I locked Mr. John Black in there, because I had to save Elvis and Lisa Marie from the vampires, and that mean, mean, mean, ole’ Kristen. It’s behind the wine cellar. I gave them plenty of food, so they have crackers, and noodles, and pop-tarts. Please tell them that I’m real, real, real sorry for locking Mr. John Black in there, and tricking him.

Sincerely, Susan Banks

Just as he finished reading, Bo rushed into his office with a piece of paper hanging from his fingers. Bo said, “Abe, I got this letter—”

Abe looked up at him, and said, “I got one too, buddy. You ready to go?”

“To the DiMera house? Damn straight,” Bo said, without missing a beat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John stood in the small shower with his hands against the wall, letting the hot water roll down his back, while he remembered the dream that had woken him early that morning, and stayed with him all day:

“I was having…I was having a dream. There were these people they were…they were yelling at me. Telling me that I was guilty!” he said breathlessly recounting the dream that had just woken him.

“It was a dream. That’s all. Just a dream” Marlena told him, smoothing her hands over his shoulders in calm reassurance.

“Yeah. Maybe,” he said, rolling out of bed.

“You’re not guilty of anything at all,” she told him. He sighed deeply, moving away from the bed. Marlena continued, by saying, “Maybe you’re guilty of being over tired, and over worked.” 

“Come on, Doc,” he said, putting his robe on, and facing her.

“And I’m not helping with that much, am I?” she said coming to face him. “Insisting on re-opening the crisis center, and all that?”

“Well, you’re, uh…gonna hold off on that?”

“Yes, I am. I’m straightening out my priorities…I wanna be with you,” she told him. “So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to see you through this.”

“Well, times have been tough before,” he said dismissively, as he walked around her.

“I know, and they always lighten up,” she said, following him. “And you are not alone. Do you know how much I love you?”

“I may have been doubting a few things here of late, but never that,” he told her softly, running his fingers under her chin. 

“Good. Don’t you ever, either,” she said quietly.

“You know, I love you too,” he said kissing her.

“I know you do,” she told him, leaning her forehead against his. 

John knew he was going to have to discuss it with Marlena. He knew it was a memory of Roman’s, but he couldn’t place the time period. Marlena looked very young, her hair cut short to frame her face. Roman’s memories were coming to him more and more frequently, and the pain in his neck was growing in intensity. He felt along his neck gingerly, and flinched slightly, as his fingertips ran over the sharp bump that had been agonizing him. He knew he couldn’t wait much longer. He was going to have to discuss this with her soon. 

He was just about to turn off the water, when he felt Marlena’s hand running up his spine. “Can I join you, Sailor?” she asked him.

“Anytime you want,” he told her, turning around, and slipping his arms around her waist. “Anytime. You. Want,” he said between bites along her collarbone.

“I swear, I can’t get enough of you,” she murmured, as his teeth nipped at her skin. The skin of his shoulders, wet, and hot under her fingers, drove her on. She wanted more. Stepping closer, her fingers ran up his neckline, and into his hair. She was going to pull his mouth towards hers, when she felt it. She gasped softly, “John? Have you felt this? Turn around.”

“Doc, I was going to mention it when I got out of the shower,” he said, as she gently pushed at the skin around the mass in the back of his neck.

“John, honey, there’s blood back here. Something is in there,” she said hesitantly.

“It’s been hurting most of the day. Like something is trying to come out.”

“Let’s get out of here. I need to look at that,” she told him.

“Could we do that after I ravage your naked body in the shower?” he said with a smirk.

“While that might have been my plan five minutes ago Mr. Black…that is not the plan any longer. Out,” she said.

Within minutes, Marlena was dressed, and had him face down on the bed. “John, I think I can get it out. Hold on,” she told him, scrambling off the bed, and rummaging through her luggage. Returning with a lighter, a pair of tweezers, and her nail scissors, she hands him a belt and says, “When I tell you to, bite this, but it shouldn’t hurt too much.”

“G-d, Doc, what are you about to do?”

“I’m going to make a small cut. It’ll pinch, but not too much,” she said, while he watched her use the lighter to sanitize the nail scissors and the tweezers. John trusted her with his life, so he didn’t argue, he just waited. There was no way he was going to disagree with her about this. “Okay, baby, bite down.” John bit down on the belt, as he felt a slight pinch, and a burning sensation in his neck, followed by a sharp pain, and a tug. “I got it…” she said softly, staring at the small square grasped solidly in her tweezers.

“What is it?”

“I have no idea. Hold on, I need to clean you up,” she said wiping a wet rag over his neck, and then using a dry one to apply pressure. “It wasn’t deep at all. A bandaid should be fine.”

John and Marlena moved to the table to look at the item she had removed from his neck. She said, “It looks like—”

“—a computer chip. Doc, I had a fucking computer chip in my head?”

“I don’t know…I think so…” she whispered, staring at the minuscule black square.

“I’ve been having all of these memories of Roman…do you think it’s related? Did Stefano put something in my head all those years ago?”

“We’re going to save it, and when we get out of here—”

“—if we get out of here,” he interrupted.

“John…” she started to say.

“John! Marlena!” they both turned towards the door to the secret room at the sound of Abe’s voice. “Thank G-d we found you!”

Day #8

If you’re looking for trouble

You came to the right place

If you’re looking for trouble

Just look right in my face

~ “Trouble”, Elvis Presley

Kristen was exhausted. She looked around her, at the ramshackle farm house with her nose crinkled up with distaste. “This place is disgusting,” she sneered. “Please don’t tell me you plan on staying here. It’s been deserted for years.”

“I own Lafferty Farms, and it’s never been deserted,” Stefano said, pulling a book on the bookshelf forward until he heard a soft click. “I just want it to look that way.”

Kristen watched as the wall slid to the side, exposing another room, and a set of hallways going in different directions, as well as a set of stairs going down. “I don’t understand why you just don’t come, and hide at the house,” she said looking at Stefano. “It’s not like there aren’t secret rooms all over that house.”

“Kristen, you have always been entirely to inquisitive, and impulsive,” he told her. Looking over at Roman, who stood there silently waiting for direction, Stefano said, “Rolf needs to finish with my project, and the items he needs are here. You can leave now. Have the driver take you home, and do not mention this to anyone.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The evening before, even though Abe and Bo had found John and Marlena, they were unable to figure out how to open the secret room. After an hour of trying they had decided to post a police officer at the house, and come back the following day. What they had learned from Marlena while they were there, was mind-boggling, and now they knew, they were looking for more than Stefano, and Susan…they now had to find Kristen for kidnapping, and false imprisonment. 

Abe had just arrived at his office to find Bo sitting at the desk with his feet propped up, reading the newspaper. “How many times have I asked you not to put your feet on my desk?” Abe asked him.

Bo laughed, and replied, “A few. You ready to head back over there?”

“I am—” Abe started, just as the telephone rang. Leaning over, he snatched up the receiver, saying, “Abe Carver.” Bo watched as a look of confusion came over Abe’s face, and then he said, “Ivan Marais? What is he doing there?” Another pause, followed by, “No, we’re coming now…Keep him there, because we have some questions.” Abe hangs up, and looks at Bo, saying, “This just got a lot more interesting. Officer Woolf just found Ivan Marais trying to get into the wine cellar at the DiMera place. Says he was pretty flustered, and had a lot of excuses that don’t add up.”

Bo took his feet off of Abe’s desk, folded up the newspaper, and said with a huge grin, “I’ll bet he knows how to get into that room.”

“I’m counting on it, partner,” Abe replied.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena rubs her hand slowly over John’s back, as he is wracked with another memory. It had been happening all night, and through the early morning. Memories, combined with sharp pains in his head and neck. Marlena was comforting him as much as possible, and then, when there was a pause, she tried to help him place the memories on some type of mental timeline. She felt like taking the microchip out, had triggered these episodes, and the fact that the computer chip was already working its way out of his body when they found it, was why she felt he had been having the dreams. In the back of her mind, she kept wondering why all of the memories he was having were Roman’s memories. Had they always been there? Why had he never remembered them before? She didn’t have time to consider it. She watched as John leaned forward, with his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands, and moaned. It was happening again, and as soon as they managed to get out of here, she wanted a head scan, and some blood work. Smoothing her hand over his face gently, she continued to monitor John as he got lost in another memory.

He was standing at the window in Marlena’s apartment, listening to the thunder, and watching the lightening streak across the sky. He loved thunder storms, and while many would disagree, he found the chaos, and the noise of them almost relaxing. He turned quickly, hearing Marlena’s frightened shout behind him. Walking towards her with his arms outstretched he said, “Doc. Hold on, hold on, it’s me! It’s Roman.” She grabs onto him in fear, gasping in relief. He tells her, “It’s alright. It’s only me,” as he continues to gently hold her, and smooth his hands over her back. “I know you’re afraid with that maniac on the loose out there.” Marlena pulls back, looking up into his face, and still breathing heavily. He’s overwhelmed with how much he cares about her, and how beautiful she is. Touching her chin softly with the tip of his fingers, he told her, “Don’t you know, lady, how I feel about you?”

Marlena stared up at him, wide eyed, with her mouth slightly parted. She looked so appealing, so sexy. His hands gently framed her face, his thumbs softly rubbing over her cheeks, and he leaned forward , kissing her. Her mouth was soft, and pillowy, leaving him feeling like he could get lost in her for the rest of his life. She pulled back, and the lightening flashed again, lighting up her face, which had a look of awe on it. She said absently, glancing out the window, “It’s raining again.”

He laughed, saying, “I know,” just before he leaned forward, kissing her again. 

Murmuring across his lips, Marlena said, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I told you, I could never leave you here alone,” he whispered.

“I know.”

“I’m not going to apologize now.”

“For what?” she asked.

“For showing you how I feel about you…” he said, moving to kiss her again.

The pain began to slowly subside, and he blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the harsh light in the room. Marlena got up from the bed, switched off the light, and returned to crouch in front of him, saying softly, “John…honey…are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I remembered our first kiss,” he said with a soft smile, reaching out to touch her face.

“Our first kiss?” she asked with confusion, thinking of West Virginia, and when she had smacked him.

“No, before that, during the thunderstorm…in your apartment,” he whispered, staring at her with awe.

“I remember, but…John, that was the first time Roman kissed me,” she told him gently, watching his face. He seemed disoriented, confused almost, stuck between his reality, and Roman’s. 

“It felt so real, and I loved you so much. I still love you so much…G-d, when I have these memories that were Roman’s…it just makes me love you more, but they aren’t even mine,” he said helplessly, watching her stand up. He felt so helpless, he grabbed for her, wrapping his arms around her hips, and pulling her closer, so he could rest his head in the softness of her body. “It felt so real,” he whispered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ivan knew it was all over when Abe Carver and Bo Brady walked in. He’d already known that when he’d been detained by Officer Woolf, but seeing them stride in added a sense of finality to it all. Before either of the men could say anything, Ivan blurted, “I had nothing to do with it!”

“And what would that be?” Bo said, coming to stand near him, while Ivan stayed seated on the couch.

“Madame thought it was a good idea to blackmail Kristen to get her Titan vote. I told her it would come to no good. Now we are in this mess!” Ivan said, with exasperation.

“Why don’t we start with why you’re here?” Abe told him.

Ivan looked around helplessly, as if he were wishing that Vivian would come in with some crazy story rolling off her tongue, because in terms of schemes, she was the schemer. Ivan never was, and never would be, a schemer. Realizing that there was no one to save him, he began to talk. “Madame sent me here to make sure that Dr. Evan’s had food,” he said reluctantly.

“We know where Marlena is Ivan. Do you know how to open the room in the wine cellar?” Bo said with what little patience he had left.

“Yes,” Ivan told them. “If I tell you everything…can I…are Madame and I…”

“We’ll see,” said Abe. “But right now, let’s go downstairs.”

As Abe, Ivan, and Bo headed down the stairs to the wine cellar, Kristen arrived home, and almost immediately left again. Her house was surrounded by police tape, and there were two armed police officers standing out front. What the hell happened when I was gone? She wasn’t going to sit there and find out. “We need to go. Now,” she told the driver.

Once in the basement, Abe removed the wine bottle covering the small window. A small smile came over his face. Inside the room, John sat on the bed with his arms around Marlena’s waist, as she ran her fingers through his hair gently. It’s about damn time. Looking at Bo, he said, “Let’s get them out of there.” 

Bo had Ivan step forward, as Abe tapped on the intercom, so as not to scare the inhabitants of the room, during what seemed to be a moment of reflection. Both of them glanced over to the door, and Abe saw John surreptitiously wipe tears from his face. “So we’ve got someone here who’s going to get you two out of there.” Ivan stepped forward counting three to the right, and two down. He grasped the bottle, then he counted two down, and four to the left, and grabbed the other bottle. Twisting them at the same time, the room filled with the soft snick of a door unlatching, and a crack appeared in the wall. They could all hear Marlena’s gasp of joy. John’s fingers slid around the edge as he pushed the door open. 

Bo pulled John into a hug, and then reached for Marlena, saying, “Before you ask, the kids are fine. Ma and Pop have them at the pub.”

Marlena quickly brushed the tears from her face, “Thank you so much, Bo. I want to see them.”

“You will,” he said to her, and then he turned to John. “We haven’t been able to locate Stefano, Kristen, or Susan, so—”

Ivan interrupted saying, “I know where Susan is…well I know where she was two days ago.”

Bo glanced at him quickly, saying “We’re going to need that information, Ivan…”

Abe stepped forward, putting his hand on John’s arm, “We’re taking you, Marlena, and the kids to a safe house until we get this straightened out, but we are looking for Kristen, and Stefano. We’re going to find them partner.”

“Commander Carver?” Officer Woolf said, entering the wine cellar. “They just spotted Kristen DiMera in the driveway. As soon as she saw the police tape, and the guards, she left.”

“So she’s back in Salem?” John said. “When you track her down, I want to talk to her, Abe. I’ve got a lot of questions, and she’d better have the answers.”

Day #9

And when you smile, the world is brighter

You touch my hand, and I’m a king

Your kiss, to me, is worth a fortune

Your love for me, is everything

~ “The Wonder of You”, Elvis Presley

Roman stepped into the Salem Police Department, and felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. He hadn’t been there in years, but since he had wrapped up his last ISA mission, he felt a strong impulse to come back to Salem, and see his family and friends. He knocked on the door of Abe’s office, and poked his head in, watching the look of surprise that came over Abe and Bo’s faces. “Roman!” Abe claimed in shock. “When did you get back in town?”

“I just got in last night. Thought I’d drop by,” Roman said.

“Have you been to see Ma and Pop yet?” Bo asked him.

“No. I haven’t gotten around to it yet,” Roman said dismissively.

Bo was surprised that Roman hadn’t gone to see their parents yet, especially since the Brady’s were so tight knit. “You might want to do that. Ma’s going to be pretty upset thinking you stopped by here before going to the pub,” Bo told him.

“I’ll stop by there when I leave here,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Bo was watching Roman rub over the skin on his hairline, where he had a bandage placed. The exact same location, where Marlena had just removed something foreign from John. “Have you spoken with Carrie or Sami yet?”

“No, Bo. Not yet,” Roman said shortly. “I thought I’d come see my annoying little brother first.”

Abe walked around his desk to hug Roman tightly, asking him, “How long are you here for, buddy?”

“I’m not sure yet, honestly,” he said. “I was hoping to go by Doc’s office and see her.”

“She’s out of town right now. Not sure when she’ll be back,” Bo said, looking sideways at Abe. “Where are you staying, anyway?” He asked Roman..

“I bought a place before I left last time. It needs some work, but I thought I could fix it up,” Roman told them. “Do you know where she went? I’m assuming she left a number?”

Bo was shocked. Roman had never mentioned buying a place. As far as he knew Roman decided to leave Salem on a whim, leaving the whole family in disarray, and Marlena, Carrie, and Sami, in complete shock. When had he had time to buy a piece of property? Completely disregarding Roman’s second inquiry into Marlena’s whereabouts, Bo instead said, “You bought a place? Where?”

“The old Lafferty farm,” Roman told him. “The one out on 95 South.”

“Yeah,” Bo said studying his brother closely. “I know where it is.” 

Abe watched with curiosity as Roman said, “So…Doc. You got a number?”

Bo looked at him with a straight face and said, “Nope, sorry, I don’t.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena woke to the feeling of John’s hardness pressed against her bottom, and his hand wrapped around her thigh, making its way up under the t-shirt she’d worn to bed the night before. “Mmmm, Sailor…what are you trying to do?” she murmured, still partly asleep. She could tell from the feel of him, the heat of his skin against her, that he was already naked.

“Oh, Doc, I think you know what I’m trying to do, and I think you’re going to like it,” he said when his fingers reached the cleft of her legs, and dipped inside her moist pussy. “Fuck, you’re still wet from last night,” he moaned, with desire.

“I feel like that was early this morning,” she said, gasping softly, and parting her legs for him. She tipped her head back, brushing her lips over his softly, gasping into his mouth as his fingers slid over her sex. The brush of his fingers over her clit, sent sensation shooting through her. “That feels so good, John.”

“Shhh…you don’t want to wake the kids before we’re ready, do you?” John pushed her shirt up over her breasts, and said roughly, “Take this off, Doc.” He pulled her shirt over her head, baring her naked body to his eyes, causing him to bite at her shoulder, and buck his hips against her. Rolling onto his back, he pulled her with him, saying, “Doc, c’mere.”

Marlena threw her leg over his hips, straddling his body, causing him to shiver, as the heat of her pussy settled on the hard ridge of his dick. “G-d, you feel so good,” she said, sliding her hips over his length, and grinding into him, so that the tip of his cock hit her clit.

Her breasts swayed with her movement. John wanted to taste her skin so badly that he pulled her forward, latching onto one of her nipples with his lips, and sucking deeply. “I need you…I need you…” he moaned pulling off of her breast. Gripping her hips tightly, he lifted her body, sliding into her with a deep groan. He pulled out almost immediately slamming back into her, causing her to cry out. “Baby, you feel so hot, and wet…I’m not going to last long.” Marlena gasped when John sat up, wrapping his arms around her body, and flipped her over on her back, saying, “Hang on, baby.”

“Oh, yes.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Vivian was not happy to be brought into the Salem PD for questioning, but she felt she had no one to blame but herself. After all, she sent Ivan to Kristen’s house by himself. As she sat in the chair facing Abe’s desk with Ivan beside her, she was prepared to tell all…for the right price. 

Abe faced her, leaning back against his desk, and said, “I’d like to hear your side of the story. Just how deep into this are you two involved?”

“I’ll tell you everything,” Ivan blurted. “I really do not want to go to prison.”

“Shut up, Ivan. Let me handle this,” Vivian said. Turning to Abe she continued, “We’re not as involved as you might think. We figured out that Kristen was faking her pregnancy, and using Susan as a double. I used that information to force her to vote for me at the Titan Publishing board meeting. Then Kristen, that manipulative shrew, decided that since I had blackmailed her…she could blackmail me. She stuck Marlena in that secret room, but then she couldn’t locate her father to come get the woman. Kristen went after Stefano, insisting that Ivan and I make sure Marlena had food and water. Susan overheard her—”

“—and Kristen threatened to burn down Graceland!” Ivan interrupted.

“Ivan! That doesn’t even matter,” Vivian said with a wave of her hand.

“It does matter, Madame, because—”

“—anyway, Susan came up with her own plan…which you know about. We went to Toronto, and ran into Susan at a cafe. She was sitting there with a massive plate of poutine, eating like it was Thanksgiving, and talking to that baby as if it was grown.”

Abe stood there for a long moment, processing everything Vivian had just told him, before he said, “Where was Susan staying in Toronto?”

“It was so weird,” Ivan said. “She was at the hotel down the street from ours.”

“The establishment was questionable, but if we can avoid jail time in this matter, the information is yours…” Vivian told him.

Leaning forward, Abe handed Vivian a notepad and a pen, saying, “If we don’t find her, you’re coming back in…so don’t leave town.”

“Oh,” Vivian said with a wave of her hand. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She and Ivan stood, with a flourish she grabbed her handbag, and they left the office.

Abe sat at his desk, and rested his head in his hands. Those two individuals had to the most exasperating people he’d ever had to deal with. He had no patience for people who acted entitled, and Vivian Alamain definitely acted entitled. Looking up at the sound of the door, Abe studied Bo as he dropped into the chair across from him. “Something bothering you, partner?” He asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said.

“It’s Roman, isn’t it?”

“Something’s not right, Abe. I can’t remember a time when Roman came home after being gone for so long, and didn’t go to the pub first,” Bo said, with something else nagging at his mind. Since he trusted Abe with his life, Bo continued, “And did you…did you see that bandage on his neck?”

“I did,” Abe said looking at him questioningly. 

“It’s located in the same place as John’s, and that bother’s me for some reason. I asked him about it, and he said he was cut by clippers at the barber shop.”

“Do you think that’s the only thing that’s bothering you?” 

“Yes…no…I don’t know, Abe, but something seems off, and buying Lafferty Farm…what is that? You remember who used to own that place?”

“Stefano DiMera…” Abe said softly.

“He’s saying he bought that place before he left Salem? That was almost three years ago!” Bo exclaimed. “Abe, that makes no sense, but I can’t explain why.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kristen and Stefano watched on the video monitor, from the secret part of the house, as Roman walked in the front door. He had been reset by Rolf and Stefano, because he had gotten outside of Stefano’s control while he was with the ISA. As soon as his last official assignment had ended, Stefano had snatched him up. Rolf had placed a new micro chip in his head while they were in Bern, throwing out the old one that had been placed in 1985. They had finished the reset in Salem. As far as Roman knew, everything he had told Bo was true. Stefano was impressed with the advances Rolf had made in his mind manipulation techniques. This new model of micro chip allowed them to meet with Roman, and have him report his daily interactions, without remembering it later. 

Kristen watched the monitor quietly for awhile, before she turned to her father, and asked him, “So, is that Roman Brady?”

Stefano looked at her, and responded, “Of course it’s Roman Brady. Who else would it be?”

“Why did you need a micro chip then? What is it for?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My plans for the Brady’s do not involve you, so you’d do well to stay out of it. You’re only here because you’ve gone, and messed up your own life so horribly,” Stefano told her with anger. “You should never have put Marlena in that room to begin with.”

“She was going to tell John everything! What else was I supposed to do?”

“Kristen, I would have come for her soon, but you had no patience, as usual, and you rushed off to find me. Now we have no idea where John and Marlena are. We need Roman to get that information,” Stefano told her.

“When you get him…when you find John, can you make him forget? I mean, does he have a chip in his head too? Can you make him forget whatever Marlena told him?”

“Of course he has a micro chip, Kristen! Why do you think he has been unable to retrieve any of his past memories? But, none of that matters, if we don’t locate them,” Stefano said. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Susan. Susan!” Bo practically shouted. She’d been found in Toronto within hours of them contacting the Toronto police. They had her flown back to Salem to expedite everything. “Calm down! I don’t know anything about vampires, what I do know is that we aren’t going to allow Stefano or Kristen to get you, and steal the baby.”

“You sure?” She said softly, holding the baby tightly.

“I promise. There’s some confusion about the baby though. We’re going to need a DNA sample from him, and then Abe and I are going to take you to the safe house, with John and Marlena,” Bo told her her as calmly as he could.

“Mr. John Black and Dr. Marlena Evans?”

“Yes, but we need the DNA first to see if John is the father,” Bo said.

“Elvis is my baby’s daddy,” Susan said.

“It’s just a formality,” Bo said, hoping she just went along with it.

“Will it hurt him?” she asked.

“No, Susan, but it’s the only way we can get to the bottom of this mess.”

Day #10

The Warden threw a party in the county jail

The prison band was there, and they began to wail

~ “Jailhouse Rock”, Elvis Presley

Marlena had offered to watch the baby while Susan took a nap. Her sleep was all messed up because between traveling, and the near constant stress, she hadn’t been getting much sleep. Marlena had spoken with her some the evening before. Since Susan had already been Marlena’s patient, she knew how to decipher what she was saying, and just prior to Kristen locking Marlena in the secret room, Marlena had figured most of it out. 

He shook his little fist, and babbled at her, while staring at her face, and Marlena smiled softly. He was such a beautiful baby. His eyes were turning an amazing shade of hazel, and his mannerisms reminded her so much of Brady and Belle, she wondered if John wasn’t the baby’s father after all. Everyone involved knew that Stefano DiMera was a deranged sociopath. The things he had done were already past the realm of comprehension. Contemplating what he might be capable of boggled the mind. 

Abe had mentioned that Susan allowed them to get a DNA sample from the baby, and they had gotten one from John last night for comparison. Marlena wanted the baby to be John’s so badly, simply because he was so bonded to the child. Finding out he wasn’t the father would break his heart; however, Susan was adamant that the baby’s father was Elvis. Everyone, except Susan, knew that Elvis was not the father.

John had just put Belle and Brady down for their naps, and stood watching Marlena from the doorway. She nuzzled her face in John Jr’s neck, and whispered to him about how handsome he was, and John felt like he fell in love with her all over again. She was so natural with him, when normally John Jr. didn’t take to people so easily. Walking towards her, John said, “If he’s not mine, it’s going to break my heart, Doc.” He reached out, and smoothed his hand over the baby’s face, in a gesture Marlena remembered from when Brady was a baby.

She watched him as he looked at the child in her arms with the saddest look, and it nearly made her cry. “John, we’re going to get to the bottom of this. We both know that Elvis is not the father of Susan’s baby. You know…she said last night that she would be willing to allow me to hypnotize her. It might be useful, honey. She remembers so little of what happened.”

“Do you know how much I love you, lady?”

“You’ve told me once or twice over the last few days,” she said, looking into his blue eyes with a small smile. “But, you know, you can always tell me again.”

“I love you, Dr. Marlena Evans, with all of my heart, and all of my soul,” he murmured across her lips, as he leaned forward, careful not to squish the baby. “I love you with everything I am,” he finished before his lips took hers, and his tongue swept into her mouth.

“Kissy, kissy, kissy,” Susan taunted, walking into the room all disheveled from her nap. “Dr. Marlena Evans and Mr. John Black sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a dead husband, then comes an affair, then comes a baby, then comes love again…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bo couldn’t shake it. Something was going on with Roman. It didn’t feel right. If he was honest with himself, it had never felt right. When Roman came back, he looked like his brother, he spoke like his brother…but he had never really behaved like his brother. Bo found it unsettling. He had watched Roman verbally, and emotionally abuse his family for years before he left to go back to the ISA. He said he left Salem because Marlena had broken his heart, but Bo had watched Roman push everyone out of his life starting almost as soon as he returned. He allowed Sami and Eric to go to Colorado. When Sami came home, Roman worked almost constantly, and rarely spent time with her, while John continued to play a role in her life…at least he had until the affair. Roman had been so hard on Carrie, she’d moved out at eighteen. Eric hasn’t come home, and instead chose to remain in Colorado. Eric still sometimes referred to John as Dad, and when Bo spoke to him, he never asked about Roman at all. In Bo’s mind, Roman’s anger, aggression, and controlling nature had pushed Marlena right into John’s arms. 

Bo wasn’t angry about the affair, because somewhere, in his subconscious, he thinks he expected it. He had seen the sadness in John and Marlena when they were in Mexico. Their choices to go with Roman and Isabella were simply too neat of a package, and while no one acknowledged it, it was obviously not what either of them really wanted. John and Marlena, did what they thought, everyone expected of them. So while their affair had created a tsunami in the family dynamics for awhile, Bo had never faulted either of them. After watching them together last night, it was obvious that while locked in the wine cellar, they had managed to find their way back together. 

Bo was pulled from his thoughts, at the sound of the door opening. Looking up he saw Abe enter, looking exhausted. Bo said to him, “How much sleep have you actually gotten over the last week, man?”

“Not enough,” Abe replied. “Benton said you wanted to talk to me?”

“I did something a little outside of procedure, and I needed to let you know,” Bo told him with a smirk.

“What’s new?” he said with a shrug. Bo was always doing things ‘a little outside of procedure’. “What is it this time?”

“So, this Roman thing is really buggin’ me,” Bo started, and Abe already knew where it was going.

Interrupting Abe said, “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what? I haven’t even said anything yet,” Bo said in his own defense. Abe stared at Bo with a blank face waiting for him to continue. Bo started speaking again, “So, it’s been bugging’ me. Last night I swabbed his coffee mug when he finished at the pub, and sent in his DNA, along with mine, when I sent in Susan’s, John’s and the baby’s.”

“That’s what I thought you were going to say,” Abe said. “What are you hoping to find?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. Abe continued to stare at him blankly, so Bo said, “I honestly don’t, but something ain’t right.”

Officer Benton poked his head in a moment later, and says, “You’ve got a call on line three.”

Abe looks to Bo, pointing at him, and saying, “Don’t leave. We aren’t done.” Abe answers the telephone, and Bo watches, while Abe’s face change from business, to confusion, to curiosity, and then to complete shock…all in the span of less than three minutes. By the time he hangs up, Bo knows something is wrong. Abe is silent for a moment, and then says, “That was Shane Donovan. The ISA is looking for Roman, because, according to them, he disappeared about a month ago with no word. Shane will be here tomorrow.”

“See, Abe. I told you. Something isn’t right,” Bo said smugly, putting his feet on the desk in front of him, while Abe Carver frowned.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena gazed at Susan in wonder. She laid silently on the bed in her room, her hands resting on her stomach, while Marlena sat in a chair beside the bed. She had never seen someone go under during hypnosis as fast as Susan Banks just did, but Susan was unique, so Marlena didn’t question it. “Susan, can you tell me about the night you got pregnant with baby Elvis?” Marlena asked her kindly.

“I went to an Elvis fan club meeting. They have those every third Wednesday. I was real happy ‘cause they had peanut butter, mayonnaise, and bacon sandwiches. You know that’s the King’s favorite,” she said in a distracted manner.

“Do you remember what you did at the meeting?”

“Well, it’s kinds fuzzy. After I ate, I felt like I needed to lay down for awhile. I was real tired. So, I laid down on a row of chairs…to rest my eyes for a bit,” she said.

“Can you remember anything else?”

“I woke up in a white room, and there was Elvis standing next to me! He said he was going to give me his baby. I was a little disappointed, ‘cause it was old Elvis. I do love young Elvis!”

“Did he say, or do anything else, Susan?”

“I told Elvis that I love, love, love him, and of course I’d have his baby!”

“Can you tell me about the room?” Marlena asked her softly.

“It was white everywhere, and the lights were bright.”

“Was anyone else in the room?”

“A doctor…Elvis said the doctor was going to put a baby in me…Elvis’s baby…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“Bo, I don’t think we need to follow Roman,” Abe said. “Shane will be here tomorrow.”

“He’s not acting right Abe,” was Bo’s only response, as they sat in Bo’s truck, and watched Roman walk down the pier. He and Abe had been tailing Roman for over an hour. They knew they should be at home getting some much needed sleep, but Bo insisted, and Abe wasn’t willing to let Bo do something impulsive and stupid all by himself. So here they were, in a truck, parked near the pier, at 10 pm. 

Bo smiled at Abe’s sharp intake of breath, when Kristen and Stefano stepped out of the shadows. Roman handed them a slip of paper, and walked away without a word. Almost as if he didn’t even know he was there. Looking at each other Abe and Bo get out of the truck, quietly drew their weapons, and approached Stefano and Kristen, as they turned to walk away.

“Stop right there,” Abe says to them. Glancing at Bo quickly, he tells him, “Call for backup.”

“Are you sure you want to do this Commander Carver?” Stefano drawled slowly.

“Absolutely,” Abe said with a smirk. “I’ve been waiting years for this.”

“Alexandra will be very upset.”

“Lexie was done with you the last time you kidnapped Marlena. Funny thing is, even though you were presumed dead…here you are, alive and well,” Abe told him.

“This is all a misunderstanding, Abe. If I could just talk to John,” Kristen said sweetly, while Bo placed her in handcuffs. 

“John’s busy right now,” was Abe’s short reply. “Very busy.”

She looked to Stefano, who was being handcuffed by Abe. He stood there with a bland look on his face, refusing to make eye contact with her, and saying nothing else to Abe. Given his recent treatment of her, Kristen wasn’t sure she’d be getting any help from her father. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marlena came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, the smell of soap, and the moist steam of the room following in her wake. John had been laying on the bed, reading the newspaper Bo had dropped off earlier. Tossing the paper aside, he rose from the bed, coming around, and reaching for her towel. “Don’t get dressed,” he said, pulling the towel from her body. 

She shivered involuntarily, because she was excited to see where this would lead. His eyes roamed her body, and eventually landed on the apex of her thighs. Her skin flushed in reaction to his prolonged stare, and he reached forward, cupping her mound, softly squeezing her soft flesh, and whispered, “You shaved.”

“I did,” she said breathlessly, looking up at him, her lips parted in anticipation. She knew it would drive him wild when she decided to do it.

“I used to fucking love it when your pussy was bare,” he nearly growled, while his middle finger dipped into her moist cleft.

“I know,” was all she said.

“Turn around, Doc.”

She faced away from him, and immediately felt the bare skin of his chest pressed against her naked backside. His mouth aggressively kissed, and bit at her neck, while his hands cupped her breasts, pulling at her nipples simultaneously. “G-d, John…” she moaned loudly.

“Put your hands on the bed, baby, and don’t move,” he told her roughly.

The rustle of fabric came to her ears, and she knew he was removing his sweat pants. Seconds later, she felt the heat of his palms smoothing of the skin of her buttocks, as his fingers kneaded her flesh roughly, and then slapped her ass hard one time. Marlena cried out, and pleasure shot to her core, causing her to start throbbing. Her breath started to come in quick pants. “John…” she moaned softly. 

“Don’t move,” he told her, lifting her leg, and placing her knee on the bed. 

She moaned louder, and longer, as just the thought of her being spread open, and bared to him, had her body reacting. She felt the warmth of liquid on the inside of her thighs. He’d barely touched her, but his words, and his actions, had her near ready to come. It was going to be rough, and it was going to be fast, and just the thought of it caused the walls of her pussy to clench in search of relief. She sighed in ecstasy, when his body lined up with hers, and his arm wrapped around her hips. She felt the length of his rigid cock sitting against her center, and she bucked back against him, moaning his name again, “John…please…”

Biting her shoulder sharply, he entered her one swift thrust, throwing his head back, and saying loudly, nearly shouting, “Fuck!” He never gave her time to adjust to his abrupt invasion of her body, and she didn’t want him to, he just started to pound into her, his hands gripping her hips so tightly, she’d likely have bruises.

It was intense, it was overwhelming, it hurt just a little, and it felt amazing. Marlena gasped out, “Harder.”

Looping his arms under hers, and holding her shoulders, John began to thrust into her harder, asking her roughly, “Is this what you want, Doc?”

And her only response before she exploded in full body bliss, was, “Fuck, yes!”

Day #11

“We’re lost in a cloud

With too much rain

We’re trapped in a world

That’s troubled with pain

~ “If I Can Dream”, Elvis Presley

Abe stepped off of the elevator at University Hospital, and walked down to the area where they kept secure patients. Stefano had been admitted early that morning for extremely high blood pressure, and headaches. Abe wasn’t sure Stefano was really ill. The man had already faked his own death several times over, but, as he looked through the window in the door to his hospital room, Abe had to admit that the man lying in the hospital bed did not look good. His skin was sallow, he had a fine sheen of sweat over his brow, and he seemed as if he was struggling to breath. Looking at the two officers at the door, Abe said to them, “Have you seen his doctor? Who is it?”

“This morning, it was Dr. Horton,” replied Officer Benton.

“Thanks,” Abe replied. “I’m going to have him paged. No one, and I mean no one, besides myself, or the doctor, gets into this room.”

“Yes, sir,” Officer Williams said.

Abe was rounding the corner to have Mike paged, when he ran into the man, “Hey buddy!” Abe said to him in surprise. “I was just on my way to find you!”

“You can follow me if you like, since I was on my way to check on Stefano,” Mike told him with a smile. “We were able to get his blood pressure down to 180/118 by this morning, but that is still considered well outside the normal range. The stress on his heart puts him in danger of a stroke, or even a heart attack.”

They entered Stefano’s room, and Mike was immediately even more concerned. Stefano’s face had a droop to it on one side, and when Mike tried to ask him questions his words were slurred, and unintelligible. Looking at Abe, he said hurriedly, “I think he’s just had a stroke!” Mike hit the nurse call button, and when he arrived Mike told him, “We need to get him up to CT for a brain scan, and I need tPA, stat.”

Mike looked at Abe and said, “I know you’re suspicious of his motives, but he can’t fake a stroke.” Upon further examination Mike realized that Stefano had lost most of his speech, as well as the use of the left side of his body.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Bo stared at Kristen through the bars of her cell at the Salem PD, with a dumbfounded expression. The woman was delusional. She was insisting that they have John come see her. According to her, this was all a misunderstanding.

“So you see, Bo. None of this is my fault! I simply went to San Cristobal to do some charity work, and while I was there, Susan, dressed like me, threw Marlena in a secret room in the wine cellar. I didn’t even know that room existed!” she said, with a pitiful whine. “You’ve known me for years. Does that seem like something I would do?”

“Look, we have Marlena and Susan’s versions of events. We also have Ivan and Vivian’s version of events, and they all line up,” Bo told her. He watched the emotions play over her face, as she struggled to maintain the look of innocence, but Bo saw that underneath it all she was seething. “Plus, Kristen, I don’t know if you’ve considered this, but Marlena was missing for nearly two days before you went on your charity trip.” 

“Please, I’m just asking that you have John come see me,” she said, switching tactics to meek and mild, since whiny and begging was working. “I love him so much.”

“Love? If everything they say you did is true…Kristen, that’s not love. It’s obsession, it’s controlling, and it’s evil.” They both turned toward the sound of footsteps, as Abe rounded the corner.

“Hey partner, I was looking for you. Didn’t think you be down here though,” Abe said.

“Kristen requested me,” Bo said simply.

“Abe, please! You’re married to my sister, we’re family. Can you please ask John to come, and see me? I know I can make him understand what happened. I know I can,” she begged.

“Kristen, listen, John is with Marlena and the children. He can’t come here right now, because of everything you, and your father, have done they are in protective custody.”

“Together? They are in custody together?” she practically screeched.

“They were locked in that secret room in your wine cellar for a week before we found them,” Bo said with a smirk, knowing exactly what type of reaction Kristen would have.

“What? How?” she yelled.

“Seems Susan tricked John into going in there, and then took the baby and ran,” Bo said with a shrug.

Kristen walked to the cot in the corner, and sank onto it in defeat. Looking up she said, “Can you still ask him to come? Maybe if I can explain…maybe, if…please?”

“Kristen, listen,” Abe said gently. “I came to tell you that your father’s in the hospital. He was admitted this morning, because his blood pressure was high. I’ve just come from there, and he’s had a stroke. I just wanted you to know.”

Kristen stared at him blankly, with no visible reaction to her father’s condition, and she said, “So can you ask him? John. Can you ask him to come?”

Bo and Abe look at each other with confusion, wondering if Kristen might need a psyche eval.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“So, Susan, yesterday you told me about how you ended up in the white room with Elvis, and a Doctor. Do you remember that?”

Susan was again lying on the bed, with her hands folded on her stomach. “Yes, I remember.”

“We’re going to try and remember some more details. Can you try, and help me with that?” Marlena asked her softly.

“Yes.”

“You said Elvis was there with you?”

“Yes.”

“Can you look at his face? Does he look familiar?” Marlena asked her.

“It’s Elvis…he looks like Elvis…”

“Could it be someone dressed up as Elvis, Susan? Maybe someone you’re familiar with? Look at his face, study it.”

Susan’s face scrunches up in concentration, and suddenly she shouts, “It’s Stefano! The mean ole’ Stefano DiMera dressed up like Elvis, and tricked me!”

Marlena sat back with a small smile, and said, “Can you tell me about the doctor that was there? What did he look like?”

“He was real tall, and skinny, and he talked funny…”

“Did he tell you anything?”

“He said he was putting Elvis’s baby in me,” she said simply, with a smile.

“That’s all?”

“He said it was all ready a baby, he made it before, in a lab, or something like that. He just needed me to grow it, and stay still so he could put it in there,” she said.

“Susan, do you know how babies are really made?” Marlena said.

“I do, but that’s not what happened. Elvis just held my hand, and sang sweet songs to me while the doctor put the baby in there,” Susan said with a nostalgic smile on her face. 

Marlena heard a soft knock on the door, and she told Susan, “Okay, Susan, I’m going to count backwards from five, and when I finish, you will wake up. You will remember everything you saw, and heard while you were in the white room. Five, four, three, two, one…”

Susan’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared at Marlena for a moment, before tears welled up in her eyes, and she said, “I don’t think I’m Elvis’s mama.”

Reaching for the woman’s hand, Marlena told her softly, “We’re going to figure this out, Susan. We are.” The knock sounded softly on the door again, and Marlena went to open it up. John stood there looking concerned, and he said, Abe’s here with some photos for Susan to look at at. Nodding that she understood, Marlena turned to Susan, and said, “Abe is here with some photos for you to look at. Do you think you could do that right now, or do you need a break?”

Scrambling off the bed, and wiping her eyes, Susan said, “You’re right Dr. Marlena Evans. We are gonna figure this out, and I’m gonna help. I can look at them pictures right now.”

Abe watched as Marlena, John, and Susan came out of the back bedroom. He had the baby on his hip, while Brady and Belle were playing with lego blocks on the floor. Marlena walked towards him, holding her arms out for John Jr., saying, “How the little man doing?”

Abe laughed, saying, “He drools a lot, that’s for sure.”

“He’s teething, Abe. There’s a lot more where that came from,” Marlena said chuckling, and wiping her hand over the baby chin to remove more saliva. Turning to Susan, she said, “I’ll take care of him, that way you can talk to Abe.”

“Mr. Abe Carver, I’m ready,” Susan told Abe.

“I’ve got some photos of people who are known associates of Stefano. I was hoping that if you looked at them, maybe someone would be familiar. Marlena mentioned that you said there was a doctor?”

“Yes. The doctor that put Little Elvis in me, but I was real sleepy Mr. Carver, cause I think that mean ole’ Stefano-Elvis drugged my sandwich,” Susan said, watching Abe lay out a series of photos. He hadn’t even placed the last one on the table, when she pointed at the third photo, and said, “That’s the doctor! Right there!”

Abe looked at the photo of Dr. Wilhelm Rolf, and then to Susan, asking her, “Are you sure.”

“That’s him. He talked funny, like he wasn’t from here, but that’s him,” Susan said excitedly looking at Abe. 

In the kitchen, John stepped close to Marlena, watching her feed the baby. “When I watch you with the children, Doc, I love you so much more. You’re amazing,” he said kissing her softly, and wrapping his arm around her. “You’re an amazing mother, and an amazing woman. If I could, I would have have a load more kids with you.”

Marlena threw her head back, laughing loudly, “John, we’re getting a little old for that, don’t you think? Why don’t we just focus on the two…possibly three, that we already have?”

“You’re right…but if I could,” he said against her mouth. “I’d make a lot more babies with you, lady. A whole houseful of children.”

“Mmmmm…” she moaned against his lips. “The process is so fun, but my body is out of the baby making business.”

“With you, Doc, the process is amazing,” John mumbled, licking behind her ear.

“Kissy, kissy, kissy,” Susan said when she walked into the kitchen, and right past them to the cabinet to get a glass for water. “Mr. Abe Carver wanted to talk to you. I can take Elvis now,” she said holding her arms out for the baby. “I don’t know if he’s mine, so I’m going to love this little corn muffin to pieces, until I know.”

Day #12

Well, please don’t ask what’s on my mind

I’m a little mixed up, but I’m feeling fine

~ “All Shook Up”, Elvis Presley

Abe and Bo sat at the desk with the DNA results between them, more confused over what the report said, than they had been before. Looking at Bo, Abe said, “We have to call Shane in on this. He’s going to want to know.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to arrive in Salem yesterday?”

“He was, but I think he’s been tailing Roman,” Abe told him, reading over the report again. “So, how do you want to handle this?”

“I barely understand it,” Bo said in frustration, running his fingers through his hair haphazardly.

“Ok, let’s see. John Jr. is John’s child…but not Susan’s, so we have an unknown mother. Roman is not related to you at all, which means he’s probably not Roman at all,” Abe said slowly. “But right here,” Abe finished pointing his finger at the report. “This is odd…”

“I know! Who ran this report anyway?”

“It’s not wrong Bo, I had them run the results twice for a double verification. Somehow, Bo, you are related to John Jr.”

“So John is the baby’s father, and I’m related to the baby?” Bo said. They both sat there, in dumfounded silence for a moment, before Bo just blurted out his concern, “Is John, Roman? Did we make a fucking mistake in Mexico? Didn’t the ISA do a DNA test?”

“They did, but that was under Chief Tarrington…oh my G-d, Bo…oh my G-d…” Abe stood abruptly, rubbing his hand over his forehead. If this was true, then they had all failed Roman in the worst way.

“Tarrington was as shady as sin, Abe. We both know that. Did he lie? Did he fucking lie?” Bo shouted, slamming his fist on the desk. “I hate this, because I knew. I fucking knew, Abe. Ever since Roman came back, I was unsettled about all of it, and now this? I mean if John is really Roman…he and Marlena never had an affair, Sami has hated both of them for no reason, Eric can come home…and Ma and Pop…this will kill them, Abe. How do you want to handle this?”

“Could we get a DNA sample from Kayla or Kimberly? Would one of them be willing, without telling your parents yet?” Abe wondered.

“If we want this done fast, I’m going to have to ask my parents. What if I just give them part of the story? I can tell them about the weirdness with Roman, and make up some story about the ISA needing it for comparison?” Bo offered.

“That will work, I think. We need it soon, like tonight, Bo.”

“I’ll go now. I’m assuming that you’re going to head over to the safe house?”

Before Abe could answer Bo’s question, the telephone rang, “Abe Carver…Really? Have Officer Benton bring him in. I’ve got some questions, and I’m hoping he has the answers.” He hung up the phone, and saw Bo looking at him with a raised eyebrow, so he said, “The one, and only, Dr. Wilhelm Rolf just tried to kidnap Stefano DiMera from University Hospital.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. That made our job easier,” Bo laughed, as he stood up. “Do you want me to wait around, or should I go to the pub now?”

“Go to the pub, partner, we need this figured out as soon as possible,” Abe told him. “I’m calling Shane in on this one…now.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bo entered the pub, breathless from walking so fast, and watched his mother behind the bar, wiping it down. She looked up at him, and smiled, saying, “Bo! I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

“Well, something came up Ma, and I really need to talk to you and Pop about it,” Bo replied, plopping down on one of the bar stools. 

“Go in the back, and get him, while I finish closing up,” Caroline told him, wiping her hands on her apron, untying it it, and folding it to set aside. She rounded the counter walking towards the pub entrance, while Bo went into the kitchen in search of his father. 

Twenty minutes, and one highly concocted story later, Bo left his family’s pub with DNA samples from Shawn and Caroline Brady. As he walked out the door, Shawn turned to Caroline, and said, “Ye don’t believe that cockamamy story any more than I do, Caroline.”

“No, no, I don’t, but I think he’s got a reason for it, and I’m not going to question it right now,” she replied softly, walking into the back. Shawn followed behind her quietly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Dr. Wilhelm Rolf, complete with large glasses, and fake facial hair sat in Abe Carver’s office handcuffed to a chair, when Shane Donovan walked in. He knew at that moment, that the gig was up. There was no other way to look at it. If the ISA was involved, they had probably already run DNA on Roman. Rolf decided that the only way to save himself from a lengthy prison stay, would be to give up enough information to get a short prison stay. Two to three years of incarceration would be tolerable, but twenty-five to thirty, and he’d die in there. He sat silently, while Abe and Shane conversed in the corner, likely working out a strategy to break him. They didn’t need one, he knew Stefano was beyond saving, if he couldn’t get him out of the hospital. Kristen was slowly losing her mind to her obsession with John. No, he was on his own, and it was time to protect himself. Clearing his throat, he says, “If you can get me five years or less in prison, I will tell you what you want to know.”

Both Shane and Abe turned to look at Rolf in surprise. “Now what, might I ask, would prompt you to do that Dr. Rolf?” Shane asked him incredulously, while Abe just stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I am willing to concede when I am beaten. Stefano is going to very likely die within the next week. Kristen is no help to me,” Rolf stated matter of factly. “It’s simple, I’m on my own. So in exchange for information, I am requesting a prison term of less than five years.”

Abe looked at Shane, and said, “I can’t promise him that, but you can.”

“You answer all of my questions, I’ll see what I can do,” Shane replied. “That’s all I can offer you right now.

Shrugging his shoulders and realizing he wouldn’t get much better than that, Rolf replied, “I will.”

“We have DNA results which prove that the person we all believed to be Roman Brady is not, in fact, Roman Brady. Who is he?”

“His name was Richard Mullins. Stefano selected him in 1985, because his body structure, and facial structure was similar enough to Roman’s that with plastic surgery he could be made to look exactly like Roman Brady.”

“How does that work exactly?”

“I placed a micro chip in his brain in 1985,” Rolf said. “It started malfunctioning almost a year ago, and we lost complete control about a month and a half ago. We were able to retrieve him, place a new chip, and reset him.”

“Did Stefano ever have the real Roman Brady, or did he die on that beach in 1984?” Shane asked him.

“Of course, Stefano had Roman. He was valuable to the plan! We needed him, because Stefano ultimately wanted to cause as much pain for the Brady’s as possible. Keeping Roman alive was part of the plan,” Rolf told them.

“Where is the real Roman Brady?” Abe cut in, getting frustrated with Rolf almost immediately.

Dr. Rolf started laughing, “He is right here in Salem, right under your very noses. You know him as John Black.”

“Fucking hell,” Abe said, walking around the room in long strides, unable to release his frustration. “So that thing Marlena took out of John’s neck…dammit!”

“So, you’re telling me that the man we know as John Black, is actually Roman Brady?” Shane asked him.

“It was the perfect plan, or part of the perfect plan…until Kristen fell in love with John Black, and ruined everything. Stefano took great pleasure in being able to make Roman forget who he was, and supplying the Brady’s with an imposter to love as their very own,” Rolf said smugly. “With my great skill, and intellect, I was able to do that for him. Although, if Marlena has removed the chip from him, he has most likely started remembering his life as Roman Brady, already.”

“Susan Banks remembers you inseminating her with a child she believed to be the progeny of Elvis,” Shane said. “We now know that she is not the natural mother, but John…or Roman, is the natural father. What do you know about this?”

“Stefano has an unhealthy obsession with Marlena Evans,” Rolf said with distaste. “I’ve never understood it. He wanted to continue to hurt the Brady’s, even though they were unaware, and find a way to control Marlena. After his failure in Paris, he was determined not to fail again.”

Abe looked at him blankly, finally saying abruptly, “Get to the point, Rolf! I’m confused. What does this have to do with the child born to Susan Banks?”

Dr. Rolf starts laughing, “That’s why the plan was so ingenious! That child is the child of Roman Brady and Marlena Evans. I made it in a lab! Stefano always keeps genetic material from his ‘projects’. He has had semen from Roman cryogenically frozen since 1984, and he took egg cells from Marlena in 1987. After his failure in Paris he decided that the only way to control her, was to control her children. He had me create an embryo, and implant it in Susan, fully planning to take the child later, and kidnap Marlena, again. He would use the child to keep her with him, because once she knew it was biologically hers, she would never leave him without it.”

“What a fucking bastard!” Abe shouted loudly. “He’s right Shane. If Marlena knew that Stefano had a child of hers, she would do whatever he wanted, and John Jr. is that child?”

“Exactly” Rolf said with a smile, and then leaning forward, as if he had a secret to tell he said, “And there are two more, identical twins, at the compound in Bern…”

Day #13

Finders, keepers, losers, weepers

The loser has to pay the score

~ “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers”, Elvis Presley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Do you have anymore information about them, or not?” Stefano shouted, waving the pistol in his face, furious that he’d just lost the only prism he had in the ocean below.

“You think I’d tell you? You can rot in hell first!” he told Stefano.

Stefano laughed sardonically, “You will tell me, my friend, believe me, you will tell me. You see, in time, even the strongest of men, weaken with the right kind of, uh, persuasion.”

“What I want to know, is why you stole the prisms in the first place?”

“I have many reasons,” Stefano tells him breathlessly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “None of which, you have to know.”

“You don’t look very well, Stefan—”

“Shut up, Sergeant! Oh, or should I say, Lieutenant Brady? Of course, your reward for sending me to my death, but you see…the phoenix rose again,” Stefano tells him, still holding the gun on him. 

“But he can’t forever…”

“We shall see about that, won’t we? Now that you are on my side.”

“What are you talking about? You’re crazy!”

“Oh, yes, but we’ll see about that too, because you are going to be with me, Roman. You, and your brother, who happens to be the one things that my lovely daughter Meagan seems to want. You see,” Stefano said, swaying slightly on his feet, “you and I care about family. About love. You, and I, Roman. A family like yours…any man would want a family like yours. A wife like yours…”

John stood over the sink in the bathroom, running cold water over a washrag to wipe his face. The dreams were coming more frequently, and not always at night. Yesterday he had been bombarded with memories of Roman’s life. His marriage to Marlena, when he had thought she was murdered, more memories of Eric and Sami’s birth, and the first time Roman made love to Marlena. He didn’t know how much more he could take. Marlena was begging him to go to the hospital, and have some scans done on his brain. She was worried that since she’d removed the chip they found in his neck, this had gotten progressively worse. Looking at himself in the mirror, he said, “Who the fuck am I?”

“The man that I love,” Marlena said from the doorway. Walking into the bathroom, and smoothing her hand along his back, she leaned her chin on his shoulder, and looked at him in the mirror, saying, “The man that I will always love.”

“You loved Roman, too. I remember,” he whispered.

“I did, and then he died…and I met you.”

“You thought I was Roman.”

“I fell in love with you before I thought you were Roman, John,” she told him. “Do you remember kissing me by the river?”

He smiled slightly, “I do.”

“You were still John Black then…we thought you might be Stefano. As much as I wanted to loath you, I loved you,” she said. “I was drawn to you from the beginning.”

“Doc, these memories…they make me so confused. They make me feel like…like I am Roman,” he whispered. “Do you know how confusing that is? My mind is telling me that I am Roman.”

“Abe says that forensics has the micro chip. We just have to be patient, although I would like for you to go to the hospital for some tests.”

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dr. Mike Horton signed the death certificate for Stefano DiMera at 2:34 pm. He looked at the face of the evilest person he ever known of, and pulled the sheet up over him. There would be no faking his death, or escaping death, this time. Stefano DiMera was gone. Mike walked over to the telephone in the room, and called Abe.

“Abe Carver,” he answered.

“Hey Abe, It’s Mike Horton. I just wanted to inform you that Stefano DiMera died of a heart attack this afternoon,” Mike said into the receiver.

“Damn. Okay, I guess Rolf was right. He said he wouldn’t survive the week,” Abe muttered.

“His blood pressure was exceedingly high. We couldn’t get it under control, and then the stroke…”

“Time of death?” Abe asked him, pulling a notepad over to himself, and grabbing a pen.

“2:34 pm,” Mike replied.

“Wow. Just a few minutes ago. Okay, can you get me a copy of the death certificate for the records here at the station?” Abe asked him.

“I can. I’ll get it sent over,” Mike told him before hanging up. 

Abe hung up the phone, and looked to Bo, “Stefano died a few minutes ago.”

“Are we sure?” Bo replied sarcastically. “That man never dies.”

“According to Mike, he’s gone,” Abe said. “I guess I need to call Lexie…damn! We need to go over to the safe house…”

“Abe, man, I’ll go to the safe house. I can fill them in,” Bo told him, standing up from the chair.

“Just be sure to tell them, we’re still waiting on the DNA. It’s not for certain yet,” Abe told him.

“Abe, you and I both know, even without the DNA report back yet…we know,” Bo told him.

Abe rubbed his hand over his forehead and his hair, and said, “I know we do. I just worry about how they are going to take the news. I worry about how your whole family is going to take the news. Also, please mention that after Shane took Richard Mullins to ISA headquarters for some scans and testing, he went to Bern to retrieve the twins for DNA testing. He has them, with an ISA trained nanny, and they should arrive in Salem very early tomorrow morning.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bo sat in a chair across from John and Marlena, who had seated themselves on the couch. Susan sat off to the side holding the baby, and doing some silly game with Brady and Belle that had them laughing uproariously. Bo watched Susan for a moment, and asked them, “How is she handling it…finding out she’s not the baby’s mother?”

“She’s very sad,” Marlena said softly. “She told me she’s going to love him as much as she can until she loses him. It breaks my heart honestly. She’s so good with all of them.”

“I’ve got some information I need to share with you, and it’s long, and it’s complicated. If you have questions, just stop me, but Abe, Shane, and I have been—”

“Shane Donovan?” John interrupted. “Why is the ISA involved in this?”

“John, honey,” Marlena said, reaching over, and taking his hand. “Let him tell us.”

“The first DNA report came in, we’re waiting on another one. So, according to the report Susan is not the mother of John Jr.”

Marlena glances over to see Susan crying, but still managing to hold it together. “What about John,” she asked him.

“John is the father,” Bo said slowly. “But we, um, well…we ran some other tests, and that’s where things are going to get a little more complicated. You see, Roman came back into town a few days ago, and he was acting strongly. Out of sorts, but I think he’s been acting odd since he came back in ’91. He had this bandage on his neck, and when he came home, he came to the station first, and not Ma and Pop. Roman always went to see Ma and Pop first, so I added his DNA, and mine to the ones that needed to be tested, because I just felt, in my gut, that something wasn’t right.” Bo paused for a moment to see how they were taking the information so far, Marlena looked confused, and John…Roman…was waiting. “The report came in yesterday. The Roman that we have known since 1991, is not Roman Brady. He never was. There was no DNA match between me, and Roman…but there was a DNA match between me, and John Jr.”

“How could that be?” John said.

Marlena gasped loudly, tears coming to her eyes as she looked at Bo, and he nodded his head. Looking at John, and touching his face lightly, she asked Bo, “Did they run yours against John’s?”

“No, but I sent in Ma and Pop’s last night,” Bo said.

John stood up abruptly, shaking his head, and saying, “No. No, they did a test. They did a test! I swore. I swore to them I was Roman Brady. I knew I was, and they did a test, and said I wasn’t!”

Marlena watched him, as he slowly lost control. Glancing over at Susan, she noticed that Susan was already ushering the children to the back. Marlena approached him slowly, touching his arm, and saying his name. Trying to pull him back from the negative headspace he was diving into.

“I fucking lost everything! Everything! All of it. My job, my house, my kids, and my wife,” he shouted. “It was ripped out of my arms, and it was mine! Sami hates me, because she thinks her mother and I had an affair! Eric hasn’t been home in years! I lost it all!”

“Listen, John—” Bo tried to say.

“Honey,” Marlena said softly, trying to calm him. “Can you-can you sit down, because I have a feeling there’s more.”

“So, Abe wanted me to say that we’re still waiting on the DNA, so it’s not for sure—” Bo tried again, but Marlena held up her hand, silencing him.

“I know there’s more. I can see it on your face,” John said.

“Last night we caught Dr. Wilhelm Rolf attempting to take Stefano out of the hospital. We brought him in for questioning, and he filled in a lot of the blanks. The man we have known as Roman Brady since 1991, is  actually a man named Richard Mullins. He’s with the ISA right now to have the chip removed from his head, and get some tests run. The chip Marlena took from your neck was placed there in 1985. We may be waiting for the final DNA report, but as far as we know, John, you are Roman Brady,” Bo finished.

“Is there more, because I don’t know if I can handle much more,” John whispered, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

Marlena looked at Bo, asking him so quietly it was almost a whisper, “If John is the baby’s father, but Susan isn’t the mother…who is?”

Bo looked at her, and said softly, “You are.”

“How?” she said, staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. 

“Stefano had yours, and Roman’s genetic material frozen. When he lost you in Paris, he already had a plan in motion to have a surrogate give birth to your child. According to Dr. Rolf, Stefano felt like you would be easier to control if he had your child. John Jr. is one of those children, but we’re going to need a DNA sample from Marlena to confirm Rolf’s story,” Bo told her.

John’s head jerked up quickly, and he asked Bo, even though he knew it was true, “He froze my sperm, and Doc’s eggs, and he impregnated Susan with our child?” Stefano DiMera would do something like that, because he would know that Marlena would never leave her child with him. He looked at her, touching her face softly, and whispered, “You’re his mama. If it’s true…if I’m really Roman, that means Sami, Eric, and Carrie are mine too.”

“Oh, G-d, the children! How are we going to tell them?” Marlena gasped, covering her mouth again. 

“There’s one more thing,” Bo said with apprehension. “And I honestly don’t know how to tell you this, but there are two more children.”

“That fucking lousy bastard!” John roared, standing up, and feeling like he needed to punch something.

Marlena began to sob, “Two more? Where are they? Oh, my G-d, Stefano has them!”

“No, not any more, the ISA has them. Shane is flying them here right now,” Bo said as gently as he could.

“John Jr. is only two and half months old,” Marlena whispered. “How old are these other children?”

“They are identical twins, girls, aged seven months. Stefano intended to use them to make you more cooperative when he had you in Paris, but you were rescued before they were born,” Bo told them.

“Where have they been?” She asked.

“In Bern, Switzerland, on one of Stefano’s compounds.”

John had sat back down on the couch, and was crying silent tears down his face. He couldn’t process any more on this night, and had essentially shut down. Marlena watched him with sadness, her own heart aching with everything they had lost, and gained, in the matter of an hour. “Bo, let’s get that DNA sample now. I think we need time to process this,” Marlena said softly.

Day #14 – Part I

I’m coming home, this time I’m gonna stay

I’m coming home, and I ain’t never goin’ away

~ “Goin’ Home”, Elvis Presley

Marlena snuggled into Roman’s side in the early morning hours, grateful to have some time with him before the children woke up. She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest, and sighed into him softly, breathing in the scent of his skin and the soap he showered with the evening before.

“Are you okay, Doc?” he asked her, smoothing his palm over the blonde hair spread out on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, tentatively. “I know we talked briefly last night, but there was so much to talk about, and it was exhausting. I don’t even know where to start…”

“I Know. G-d, do I know,” he sighed.

“Do you want me to call you John…or Roman?” she asked him, rubbing her cheek along his skin.

“It’s all so confusing. I knew, Doc. When the ISA did the DNA test, and they told me I wasn’t Roman…it felt so wrong. I knew, I was Roman, even if I lacked the memories to back it up. Do you remember when Caroline tricked me?” he said.

“The memory about the birthday party. I remember.”

“That hurt so much. I wanted to remember, and when I didn’t, she and Shawn took that to mean that I wasn’t Roman. Finding out that Stefano intentionally manipulated all of us isn’t surprising at all, but it still hurts,” he told her. “It felt like everyone turned on me so quickly, and accepted the new Roman, as if they had always doubted me. I understand that choices were made based on the situation at hand. Isabella was pregnant, and you were married to “Roman”. We made choices, but I lost everything. Every fucking thing I had was taken away from me because of a falsified DNA test done by ISA. I kept saying the ISA couldn’t be trusted, and no one listened to me.”

“You have a right to be sad, to be hurt. You’re right. We blindly accepted the word of an agency that you had repeatedly told us was corrupt. Not only that, we never checked the validity of it, even after Shane told us later, that Chief Tarrington was corrupt. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. We went through so much, fighting our feelings for each other. Thinking they were wrong, and it nearly destroyed us. It’s going to take time to work through all of this, but I will always be there for you…and so will your family.”

“I’m Roman Brady. I have always been Roman Brady.”

“Roman…” she said quietly, letting the name roll off of her tongue again. “It doesn’t matter what name you carry, John or Roman…I love you with my entire being. My heart, and soul belong to you,” she told him, propping herself up on her elbow so that she could look at him. 

Looking into her golden colored eyes, he said quietly, “Yeah, Roman.”

Marlena leaned forward, kissing him gently on his lips. “You know, we have another problem,” she said with a small chuckle. “We can’t have a child named Brady Brady.”

Roman started laughing, “Brady Brady…I can see how that could be a complication. We can do a name change, and still call him Brady.”

“You know, he’s nearly five. We could ask him what name he might like,” Marlena suggested. 

“As long as we keep Victor as part of his name, because Isabella would want that,” he said, remembering Isabella’s promise to Victor. 

“Do you have any ideas about John Jr.?” she asked him, laying her head back down on Roman’s shoulder.

“I know Susan calls him Elvis, and she has loved him like he was her child. She gave birth to him. What do you think of Eli?”

“I really like that,” Marlena said. “And I know that Bo said the twins were named Athena and Diana, but I won’t allow my children to carry names given to them by Stefano DiMera.”

“I agree with you on that. We can decide when we meet them.”

“We need to contact the kids, and get them all here as soon as possible…all of them.”

“I talked to Bo about it before he left last night. They’ll be here soon, Doc.”

“Even Eric?” she asked him softly.

“Yes, even Eric. Bo will get him here,” Roman told her. “I’m so worried about Sami. This is going to flip her world upside down. I don’t know if she can handle it. She’s always been the most sensitive out of all of the children.”

“It’s going to be hard on her. It’s hard on all of us, but it will especially be hard on her. She loved you so much. She idolized you, and then she was told that you weren’t her father. She attached herself to the new Roman with a fierceness that seemed almost unnatural, all in an attempt to hold on to the one thing she’d lost…you. Her rage over the affair…” Marlena paused for a moment, as she thought about their ‘affair’, and the futility of the situation at the time. “She viewed you and I as the reason she lost her father all over again. Finding out that we were all duped, she might not react well, or she might be relieved. As you know, Sami has never been the predictable one,” Marlena said with a smile.

“She’s more like your sister than anyone ever talks about,” Roman said with a smirk.

“She is, isn’t she?” 

“We’re going to need a nanny. Doc, there is no way that you, and I, can manage five children under the age of five. No way at all.”

“I wanted to ask you about that,” she hedged. “What do you think about seeing if Susan would want to stay on as their nanny? I think taking the baby away from her completely would hurt her so badly, and it would traumatize him as well. She’s adjusting to the idea that he’s not hers biologically, and Belle and Brady love her.”

“They do. Although she’s always been a little weird to my taste,” he told her.

Marlena laughed at the expression on his face, “Odd, yes, but dangerous…no.”

“Our kids are going to grow up eating bacon, mayonnaise, and peanut butter sandwiches, aren’t they?”

“As long as they aren’t drugged sandwiches,” Marlena joked.

They both looked up, as the door to their bedroom flew open, and Brady was standing there with a smile on his face. “I found ya!” he said loudly.

Brady ran across the room, and scrambled into Marlena’s waiting arms, “You did, my big boy!”

“I’s woke up, and I’s wanted to sees you,” he told her.

“Well, your daddy is here, too. Do you want to see him?” she told him.

“I’s sees him all’s the time. Ev’ry days I’s sees him,” Brady said. “I sees you now.”

“You know, Brady, Marlena and I were talking, and we have to give you an extra name, would you like to help with that?” Roman asked his son, reaching over, and ruffling his hair.

“I’s gets another name?” the boy asked curiously.

“Sure buddy. What do you think?”

“I’s gets to pick my’s name?”

“As long as it’s not too wild,” Roman said slowly, and with some apprehension.

“I’s be Bo,” the little boy said, pointing at himself. 

Roman laughed, thinking about how much Brady idolized Bo, “So you want to be just like Bo?”

“Uh-huh. I’s likes Bo.”

Marlena hugged the boy in her arms, and told him, “How about Victor Beau Brady?”

“No. I’s be Beau Brady,” he argued.

“Beau Victor Brady?” she said.

“Okay, but you’s calls me Beau or Brady?” he asked her seriously.

“What would you like us to call you?” Roman asked him.

“Still Brady,” he said with a shrug, “but me’s name is Beau Brady. Right?”

“I think we can handle that,” Roman said, reaching over, and tickling the boy into a fit of giggles.

Hearing a sharp rap on the front door, Roman reached for Brady, swinging him over the side of the bed, and placing him on the floor. Marlena scrambled for her bathrobe, and followed Roman out of the room. Opening the door, Marlena and Roman got the first sight of their girls. Marlena was instantly struck by how similar they looked to Sami as a baby, and wondered, with a smile, if they’d be the same handful that she was. Shane entered the house, holding one of the babies, while another ISA agent followed with her twin.

When Brady saw Bo coming up the steps to the front of the house, he shrieked, running into his arms. “Guess what? Guess what, Bo?”

“Wow, that’s a great greeting! What are you so excited about?” Bo asked him, swinging the boy up into his arms.

“I’s Beau. I’s gots a new name, and me’s going to be Beau Brady!” he said excitedly.

Bo looked to Roman and Marlena, and Marlena said, “Well, he can’t very well be Brady Brady, can he? We asked him what he wanted his name to be.”

Roman looked at his brother, and said, “Brady wants to be known as Beau Brady. So, say hello to Beau Victor Brady.”

“Yup! I’s is Beau Brady!” Brady said loudly, pointing at himself.

Bo smiled wide, and said, “I’m honored, Brady, to share my name with you.” He turned to Roman and said, “The second DNA report was rushed. You are Roman Brady, you’re my brother, and you, Marlena are a new mother, because John Jr., Athena, and Diana are your children.”

Marlena started crying, reaching for the baby in Shane’s arms, and said to her softly, “I’m your mama, baby girl…I’m your mama.”

Day #14 – Part II

Because of love, I’m a hundred feet tall

I can bounce this world like a little old ball

The heaven and earth are now all mine

I’ve jumped to the moon from cloud number nine

Because, because, because, because of love

~ “Because of Love”, Elvis Presley

Marlena and Roman stood next to the crib watching their daughters sleep. Reaching for Roman’s hand, and threading her fingers through his, she whispered softly, “I feel so guilty for missing the last seven months with them, even though I know, it wasn’t by choice.”

“Now that Stefano’s dead, maybe we can move on from this madness,” Roman said, looking down at the twin known as Diana, and sweeping her baby soft flaxen hair away from her face. “She’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” he said with a chuckle.

“She reminds me so much of Sami,” Marlena told him.

“I know we said, we might let Carrie and Sami name them, but I don’t think I can wait, Doc. I want to call her Brigit, after the Celtic goddess of fire, because this little one is going to keep us on our toes for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re right about that. She is full of fire, that’s for sure. Brigit,” she whispered, stroking her daughter’s cheek softly. “It’s quite beautiful, and she’ll have a name given to her by her father, instead of a raging sociopath.”

Roman looked at the other girl sleeping soundly, so different from her sister in personality, but identical in features, “Any ideas for this one?”

“Emmi? She’s so quiet, and caring. Did you watch her today? While Brigit was getting into everything, and exploring, she sat there, and watched it all with a smile on her face. She was content to watch her sister be the adventurous one.”

“Identical, and as different as night and day,” Roman whispered, pulling her from the room by her hand. “I’m extremely glad that Susan has agreed to stay. Brady, Belle, and Eli are very attached to her. Now with Emmi, and Brigit, well, Doc, we are definitely going to need the help,” he said, pushing her against the wall in the hallway, and caging her in with his body. “I need as much alone time with you as I can get.”

“Well, Sailor, you can have me whenever you want.”

“Right now?” he whispered across her lips.

Marlena stood up on her tip toes, and licked slowly over the seam of his lips, “The kids are napping, so absolutely.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bo found his parents at the kitchen table when he arrived. “Hey, Ma, hey Pop,” he said walking over to them, taking a chair, flipping it around backwards, and sitting down. He knew before he spoke another word that they knew he’d lied to them about the DNA samples, they just hadn’t called him on it.

“You goin’ to tell us what’s really goin’ on now?” Shawn asked him.

“I figured you knew something was up,” Bo told them laughing. “You agreed to the DNA testing way too quickly the other night, but I appreciate you waiting until I was ready to discuss it.”

“We figured, ye’d tell us what’s what soon enough, Bo,” was Shawn’s response.

“I don’t even know where to start, Pop. I really don’t,” Bo said, running his hand through his hair quickly in frustration. He stands up, and begins to pace.

“Just come out with it, boy. We’ll figure it out after ye tell us.”

Bo turned around facing his parents, and said abruptly, “There’s no easy way to say this…John’s really Roman.”

Caroline gasped sharply, swaying on her chair, and grasping at her chest, while Shawn reached out to steady her. “That can’t be, Bo,” Shawn said. “The ISA, they did the DNA test, and they said he wasn’t!”

“They lied. They lied, Pop. Chief Tarrington was running the ISA back then, and he was booted out a couple years later for corruption. We should have done another test then, because you remember when John was telling us…he swore, he was Roman! Turns out Tarrington was on Stefano’s payroll. I never felt good about Roman when he came back in ’91. He just wasn’t right, you know? He was angry, and controlling. I thought maybe it was because of what he’d gone through, but the way he was acting, Pop, you know it was different…and it’s because he wasn’t Roman at all!”

“If John’s our Roman, then who was the other guy?” Caroline whispered shakily.

“Someone Stefano kidnapped, and made to look like Roman. Someone he gave Roman’s memories too,” Bo said, finally sitting back down.

“Why couldn’t John remember he was Roman…it’s been years, Bo!” Caroline cried.

“Stefano had a microchip in head, Ma. It suppressed almost everything, only allowing him vague blurry images. It was perfect, really. Richard Mullins was given all of Roman’s memories, and Roman had a chip in his head suppressing everything he knew. As long as that stayed in his head, he was never going to remember. Never,” Bo told her. “We had a DNA report the other day, which showed a relationship between me, and Eli. That same test said John was Eli’s father. That’s why I needed samples from you, but I couldn’t say anything, not then at least. Not until we knew for sure.”

Caroline looked confused, “Eli?”

“John Jr., is now Eli. Fuck,” Bo said, thinking of everything else they didn’t know. Realizing that he’d cursed, he said, “Sorry Pop, it’s just…damn, I’ve got so much more to tell you…”

“Well, son, we ain’t goin’ nowhere, so ye best be gettin’ on with it,” Shawn says, taking his wife’s hand in his, and looking at Bo calmly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lying in Roman’s arms, Marlena’s naked body along the length of his, she whispers, “I know that you’re Roman, but you’re still John, too. You haven’t lost that, you know.”

“I was thinking that last night,” he replied, kissing the top of her head. “I am not the person I was in 1984. I grew as a person, over the last twelve years, without any knowledge of who I was.”

“When I met you, and you had amnesia, and you didn’t remember anything, there were glimpses of Roman. Small ones. Like when you sometimes called me Doc, and I would get so angry. Just a slip of the tongue really, but I couldn’t stand it, because it made me remember Roman…my husband who’d died…and you were not him. You were John. I know that you are that husband I lost, but while your memory was kept from you, you became John. All the same qualities I loved about Roman, but you became your own person.”

“I had to create an identity from nothing, and I know, Doc, I am not the same person today, that I was when I left you the first time. My life experiences, my lack of memory, it changed me. Everyday I find myself remembering more, as if that chip in my head held back the flood.”

“I love you more now, than I did then. I loved you then, but—”

“—Doc, you don’t have to explain it. I know exactly what you mean,” he said, rolling her onto her back, and looking into her eyes. “We aren’t the same people. That would be the most unrealistic expectation to have…but my heart, my soul, has never stopped loving you. It’s never stopped craving you, even when I barely knew who you were, I wanted nothing more than to be near you.”

“You started fights on purpose…” she whispered, sliding her foot along the back of his leg.

“I followed you to restaurants to start fights with you, if I remember correctly,” he said, biting at her earlobe, and pinning her arm above her head.

“That stupid sign-in/sign-out sheet,” she moaned, as her body languidly arched up against his.

Keeping one of her arms held fast above her head, Roman’s palm ran down over her ribs, and along the swell of her hip, “I would have followed you anywhere, Doc, just to get a response from you.” Marlena’s hips bucked against Roman’s body, she was so turned on. “Open your legs, baby,” he told her, running the tip of his index finger along the seam of her pussy, and plunging inside quickly. Rubbing his wet fingertip around her clit a few times, he growled in her ear, “I want you again.”

“The children, Roman, what if they—”

“Hard and fast, baby, hard and fast, but I need you again…now. Open your legs for me, please,” he groaned deeply, desperate to beside her again.

“Oh, G-d, yes,” she said, as he slid his throbbing cock into her wet center.

“Spread your legs wider,” he whispered, before biting at her bottom lip. Marlena bent her legs, pulling her heels up along the bed, and widened her thighs, causing Roman to pull out and thrust back in much deeper than before, “Fuck, yes.”

With both arms pinned above her head, and Roman pounding into the wet heat of her body, Marlena tipped over the edge into orgasm almost immediately, because with every thrust he went so deep he hit her cervix. When the flutter, and the rolls of her inner muscles started squeezing his cock with every slide, Roman fell over the precipice with her.

“I love you, Roman. I love you so much,” she whispered.

“I love you too, Doc,” he rasped against her neck breathlessly. “I fucking love you so much.”

Day #14 – Part III

Breeze sing a happy song

This heart of mine is singing right along

Don’t know where I’m going

Don’t know where it ends

Till the grass is greener, beyond the bend

~ “Beyond the Bend”, Elvis Presley

Abe arrived in the evening with Sami, Carrie, and Eric. He and Bo had brought them, along with Caroline, so that Roman and Marlena might explain what had happened to their lives over the last two weeks. Caroline and Susan took the children to the den, so they wouldn’t be a distraction, but the older children had already noticed the addition of Emmi and Brigit. Marlena was pleased to see Eric, and Sami looked as if simply being there was causing her extreme discomfort.

While Marlena welcomed them, and offered drinks and snacks, Abe and Bo caught Roman up on the most recent news on Kristen and Dr. Rolf. Kristen had pled guilty to being an accessory to kidnapping in the Laura Horton case, and she’d pled guilty to kidnapping and false imprisonment in the case of Marlena. She’d been sentenced to fifteen years, and would be sent to the state penitentiary within the week. Rolf had also pled guilty to attempted kidnapping in the case of Stefano, and practicing medicine without a license. He was sentenced to four years in a federal prison, since Shane had gotten him the plea deal he’d ask for.

Once everyone had settled, Abe, Bo, Roman, and Marlena caught them all up. They took turns explaining what had happened, cutting into each others accounts if they thought someone left something out, but eventually they had covered it all. Their reactions were varied. Eric was happy, a wide grin lighting up his face, as he walked to Roman, and hugged him tightly. “I knew, you know,” he whispered in his father’s ear. “That other guy would never be my dad, because you were my dad.”

“I love you, Eric,” Roman told him, and then reaching for Carrie, he pulled her into his arms as well, saying, “I love all of you.” He looked over to Sami, who sat sitting on the couch staring at her hands as if she were in shock. Roman watched her carefully, as silent tears trailed down her cheeks, before she suddenly stood up, and ran out the door onto the front porch. Looking to Marlena he said, “I’ll get her.”

Sami found herself on the corner of the front porch taking in great gasping breaths, as she tried to come to terms with the massive amounts of information she’d just had thrown at her. Everything she thought she knew, was wrong. All the anger that she had carefully grown and tended to over the last few years fizzled, and all she was left with as a dead garden of memories, and no idea where to go from here. She heard footsteps behind her, and then came his voice, “It’s confusing as hell, isn’t it?”

She turned to face him, her face ripe with fury, ready to yell something hurtful, but she stopped herself. Instead, her head fell, and she said, “My first instinct is to react with rage. It’s like I can’t stop myself.”

“You have a right to be angry, Sami. We all do,” Roman said softly. “You can feel whatever kind of way you’d like.”

“I’m confused…emotionally,” she whispered. “I’ve been so angry at you both for years, because you ruined my family…but now, we find out you are my family. You know, Eric refused to come back from Colorado because we’d lost you as our father. I used to get so angry at him, and I felt so bad for our Dad. I was so protective of him, because I was scared to lose someone else…”

Roman watched as Sami slid to the ground crying, and he asked her, “Can you tell me how you’re feeling? Don’t censor yourself…just talk.”

Looking up at him, she watched as the man who was the center of her life until she was eight, the man she had called Daddy, slid to the floor beside her. He had been her everything, and then he wasn’t. The man who replaced him, spent months berating her mother for loving him. He had been controlling, and verbally abusive. Eric had run away, and Carrie had moved out. Her mother had an affair…but now Sami was confused again, because had she? If the other man was an imposter, then there was no affair. 

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to think!” she cried out, shoving her fingers into her hair roughly. “He hated you. He made me hate you, too, because you were the one who was wrong. You were the fake, the imposter, the one who stole his life from him, and when he came home it was supposed to fix everything…but nothing was broken. Nothing was broken, because you didn’t steal anything!”

Roman pulled Sami into her arms as she continued with her heart wrenching cries into his chest, and he just held her. “Hey, hey, breath. Remember how we used to do it? In deep, honey, and out through your nose.”

How many times as a child had Sami been upset, her emotions taking over, and her father had gotten on her level, and calmed her down just like this? She had felt an emptiness inside herself since she was eight years old, and now she knew why. “I shouldn’t still be mad. Everything is right now…but I’m still mad. At Mom, at you, but I shouldn’t be,” she said, still trying to calm her breathing down.

“Sami, you’ve been angry at us for a long time. I don’t expect that will just disappear, because the really powerful emotions aren’t usually coming from the rational part of the brain,” he told her, smoothing his palm over her hair softly.  “The affair effected you. I didn’t know I was Roman. Your mother didn’t know I was Roman. We had an affair, and we have dealt with the guilt of that ever since.”

“But did you? I mean really? He wasn’t Roman Brady, you were. You were married,” she said.

“I’m not going to minimize your pain Sami. I’m not going to make excuses. Technically, you’re right, but we didn’t know that, and in that context…what we did, the affair, it was wrong. It hurt people. It hurt you,” he told her.

“Do you love her?”

“Sami, I never stopped loving her. You know that. Don’t you?”

“That’s why I was so angry. I would see you with Kristen, and I knew it was fake. You didn’t love her, not the way you loved my mom. You would watch mom, every time she came in the room. Sometimes I would watch you sniff the air as she walked by you…and…and, I would hate you so much! I wanted you gone so badly…now you two tell that everything we believed is wrong again.”

“This is going to take some time. We know that, honey. I’m just asking that we get through it as a family. Can you try? I’d like to get to know my grandson. I’d like the chance to be your father again.” 

Sami pulled out of his arms, and looked at him with a tentative smile, “Okay.”

“Hey Sami!” Brady yelled busting out the front door, and onto the porch. “I’s Beau Brady! You’s gotta call me that now, cause mom said that could be my’s new name.”

Sami looked at Roman, and he could see the questions written plainly on her face, so he laughed, and said with a shrug, “Brady Brady wasn’t going to work.”

“I guess you’re right about that, but Beau Brady?” she asked.

“I’s picked it myself,” Brady said smugly. “I’s said I wanna be Beau Brady, and theys said yes!”

“Well Beau Brady,” Sami said, getting to her feet, and holding her hand out to him. “Why don’t we go inside, and you can help me meet the rest of my family.”

“That’s good,” Brady says. “Cause we gots new babies, and baby John gots a new name too!”

“Sami,” Roman said, touching her shoulder lightly. “One thing has never changed, and that’s how much I love you.”

Smiling up at him softly, she said, “I know. I do. I’m just going to need some time to process it all.”

“Take as much time as you need. I just ask you to please be kind to your mother. Doc has had so much pain in the last few years…”

“I will. I promise,” Sami said, before following Brady into the house.

Day #15

All that I want is to be near to you

To spend my life making it clear to you

You are my heart, my soul, my dream come true

All that I am, I am because of you

~ “All That I Am”, Elvis Presley

The transfer to the state prison was going to take place later that day, and Kristen was heartbroken that John had never come to see her. She had thought that their love could overcome anything. She had thought that John would understand her desperation, and that she loved him so much she would do anything to keep him by her side. She sat on the cot in her cell, in a gaudy orange jumpsuit, with her legs pulled up, and sulked. Nothing had turned out the way she had planned, and in Kristen’s mind, Marlena was the cause of it all. If Marlena had never found the letter written in Aremid, if Marlena hadn’t been so obsessive. Why couldn’t that fucking woman mind her own damn business? 

Kristen looked up when she heard footsteps in the corridor, and was surprised to see Abe and John round the corner. Leaping to her feet with a massive smile on her face, she said, “I didn’t think you were going to come for me. I thought you had left me.”

Staring at her incredulously, Roman responded, “I have questions, Kristen, and you have answers. That’s what I’m here for. That’s all I’m here for.”

Her face fell slightly, but still she said, rushing on, “If you let me explain. You’ll understand why I did everything I did. I love you, John! I was so scared of losing you! ”

“Doc told me that you found the letter I wrote her in Aremid. If you found it, and you knew what was written inside…why did you hide it? What purpose would that serve? I don’t understand why you wouldn’t come to me.”

“You had decided to move on with me, remember? That letter, and its contents, were a non issue. You had decided to be with me, John!”

“Then why not burn it? Throw it away…but you hid it, Kristen. In a book in our bedroom! A book I loaned to Doc for some light reading. ”

“I wasn’t thinking clearly! You and Marlena were outside with the children when I found it. I was upset, scared, worried…I ran upstairs, and cried over it. Then I just shoved it in a book. I I wanted to forget about it, but Marlena found it, and she wouldn’t let it go,” Kristen complained. “I tried to explain to her that you were with me now, but she wouldn’t stop. She kept trying to find ways to talk to you about it.”

“So you used the pregnancy to keep her quiet? You know how caring she is, and you knew that she would never do anything to intentionally cause harm to a child, so you manipulated her,” Roman whispered harshly. “Do you know how fucked up that is, Kristen?”

“John, I was desperate! Our child deserved you too! But all she kept talking about was her love for you, and your love for her! As if our child wasn’t important!”

“I would have loved, and taken care of our child. You know that.”

“No! You decided to make a life with me!”

Roman stared at her for a moment, realizing that she had spent months rationalizing this in her own mind, and no matter what he said, she very likely wouldn’t ever accept fault. “So after you lost our baby, in Paris…after you lied to me, and pretended to still be pregnant…you allowed your father to replace it with the baby Susan had?”

“I didn’t know what else to do! I couldn’t lose you!” she cried. “He said he had a solution, and I followed the plan.”

“Did you know I was the father?”

Kristen became very quiet, as if she were surprised, and finally said, “What?” 

“I am the father of that baby, but Susan is not the mother,” Roman told her, watching her face for a reaction. Hope rose up in Kristen. Was the baby hers? Had her father and Rolf managed to pull off some sort of genetic heist, forever keeping her bonded to John? Roman watched the hope grow in her eyes, and he dashed it just as quickly by saying, “The mother is Marlena.”

Kristen was struck dumb for a moment, before she shouted, “No! Why would he do that?” Why would her father impregnate Susan with John and Marlena’s baby?

“You’re not the only one who thinks they can use Marlena’s caring nature to manipulate her, Kristen. The baby Susan gave birth to is genetically mine, and Marlena’s,” he told her. “And, your father had two more children of ours at his compound in Bern.”

Kristen’s head shot up, and before she could stop herself, she blurted, “Those were Marlena’s children! Not yours!” She realized her mistake as soon as the final words exited her lips, but it was too late, the damage was done. 

“You knew about the twins? My twins?”

“They were Marlena’s children,” was all she replied, as if their existence didn’t matter, because she thought they had no genetic link to him.

“No, Kristen, they are Marlena’s and my children,” Roman told her. “Your father wasn’t stupid. Marlena would never leave a child of hers with him, that’s true. No matter who the father was, but my child? Stefano knew that any child she had with me, was a guarantee.”

“I hate him. I hate him so much,” she said, sinking to the floor, and crying.

“Your father kept a lot of secrets from you, didn’t he?”

“What do you mean?” she said, gazing up at him from the floor.

Roman crouched down to her level, in front of the cell bars, and he said, “The history of your mother, Peter being alive, the parentage of the children…” Roman said. “But what I want to know Kristen, is what did you know about me?” 

Kristen averted her gaze quickly, afraid he would see it in her eyes, but it was already too late. John saw the truth before she turned away, and he asked her quietly, with barely suppressed rage, “How long have you known?” 

She refused to answer, and still wouldn’t look at him. Roman rose up on his feet, and screamed at her, “How long have you fucking known!”

Accepting defeat, she looked up at him, taking a deep breath to brace herself for the rage she knew would come, and replied, “I knew when I came to Salem. I was taught to hate you. I hated all of the Brady’s…but you have to know…I grew to love you! I love you!”

“You knew I was Roman Brady, and you allowed me to live in this continued existence of  confusion? That’s not love, Kristen! That’s not love! That’s control!” he roared at her.

“I grew to love you, John! I knew I could be enough for you! Please, you have to understand that! All I want in my life is to be with you!”

“My name is Roman…but you’ve known that for years,” he said sardonically, before turning and walking away from her for the last time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Sami sat on the couch with Emmi asleep on her lap, while Brigit played on the floor with Belle, Brady, and Will with Susan beside them. She watched as Eli slept soundly in her mothers arms, and Marlena’s hand smoothed over his baby soft hair. “Thing’s have changed so much, literally overnight. How do you handle that?” Sami asked her mother.

“Sometime’s I think, I can’t, but somehow…I just do,” Marlena told her.

Sami laid Emmi down on a blanket beside her on the couch, “I have a hard time thinking like that. I get stuck sometimes, I guess.” 

“I know this was a huge shock for you. Honestly, it was a shock for us all,” Marlena said softly. “I’ve known him as Roman, and as John…but one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s how much I love him. That hurt people at the time, mostly you, but I can’t change that. I’m sorry that it hurt you, Sami. We never intended for that.”

“When I was little, he would let me play with your jewelry, and tell me stories about each piece. I knew that my daddy had loved my mommy more than anyone in the world, and when he fell in love with Isabella…I told myself it was okay, because he could love her…but he would never love her the way he had loved my mother,” Sami said, looking at her hands. “When you had the affair, even though you didn’t know the truth, somehow you did…or at least your souls did. You kept finding your way back to each other.”

“Without him, I am lost, no matter what name he takes,” Marlena said softly.

“I know. I was up half the night thinking about this. An affair was so out of character for both of you, you know? But the man we thought was dad, this Richard Mullins, he was so abusive. I could see that he was, but I pushed it away, because I thought he was my dad, come back to life…for real.”

“It’s beyond complicated, and I know it’s going to take time for you to reconcile your emotions, with what, we now know, is the truth. It won’t happen overnight. It would be very unrealistic for your father, or I, to expect that type of change from you.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marlena noticed that Roman had been upset since he’d returned a few hours earlier. Now that the children were asleep, and Susan had gone off to her room as well, she found him in the shower. His arms were against the wall, and his head was under the the shower head, as the hot water ran down over his back. Stepping inside behind him, she ran her hand down his back softly, and said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Continuing to stare down at the water as it drained from the shower, he said roughly, “She knew, Doc. Kristen knew.”

Kneading her hands over the muscles in his shoulders, Marlena asked him, “She knew what?”

“She knew that I was Roman Brady. From the time she set foot in Salem…she fucking knew.”

Marlena’s hands stopped their movement over his skin, and she whispered, “I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t say much more than that. Their lives had been destroyed repeatedly by Stefano DiMera, and they had managed to pick up, and continue. They would do the same this time. Kissing his back softly, she told him again, “I’m so sorry.”

Turning to face her, she saw tears in his eyes, and she knew he was hurting from the betrayal. No matter what he and Kristen had gone through, he had loved her. Finding out all of the evil things she had done to keep him in her life, didn’t change that, it simply made the betrayal that much worse. Looking into her eyes, he said, “She had no real explanation. Ultimately, she hated me when she came to Salem, fell in love with me, and decided to keep the information to herself, and that’s not love Doc, that’s control and manipulation.”

Slipping her arms around his waist, Marlena laid her cheek on his chest, allowing her body heat to soak into him. Roman’s wet hands began to smooth over her hips and ass. Marlena hummed, low in her throat, at the sensations he was creating over her skin. “That feels good,” she whispered. She could feel his cock against her belly, as it lengthened and hardened.

“You are the most amazing woman,” he whispered. Dipping his head, he bit her neck roughly, and Marlena heard a low growl in his throat. It reminded her of the time they were together on the plane, and he’d bitten her jaw. He’d had an air of desperation about him then, and he seemed to be feeling that way now.

Kissing his lips softly, she told him, “Sit on the bench, Roman.”

“Doc, I want you…” he moaned.

She smiled, and told him, “Sit.” Watching him comply, gave her a rush, amping up her growing desire. Stepping in front of him, she leaned forward, rubbing her nipples over his lips, causing him to moan.

His lips tugged at her skin, pulling it into his mouth, and sucking deeply, while his large palms gripped her hips pulling her forward. He pulled off of her breast, and held his breath as he watched her straddle his legs and sit down on his lap. His turgid cock was pressed against her swollen, moist center, and the heat of her was almost his undoing. “Fuck, Doc, you’re so hot…” he rasped before latching onto her nipple again, and pulling her hips tight against him. She allowed him to roll her hips over his cock several times, the slide of her pussy over him bringing both of them pleasure. “You feel so good,” he said, tasting her lips with the tip of his tongue. Licking over her mouth once more, he bit at her lips, while she moaned into him. “Kiss me,” he told her licking at her mouth, and finally sweeping his tongue past her lips. 

Placing her knees on either side of Roman’s hips on the bench, Marlena lowered her body onto his cock, both of them moaning in pleasure and she sank onto him. She sat on him, seating him deeply within her, and she rolled her hips. With her arms looped around his neck, she rose up and lowered herself once more, whispering, “I love you…I love you so much.” Roman’s hands gripped the flesh of her hips tightly, helping her ride him. Her breasts rubbed over his chest, creating friction in her nipples. Marlena’s head fell forward resting, and she said, “I’m so close, Roman…I’m so close.”

“I’m ready to explode, Doc. I’m so fucking close.”

“Oh, G-d,” she whispered into his shoulders, as her fingernails dug into his shoulders. “I’m coming, I’m—”

Roman saw stars and everything went black for a moment, as he bit her shoulder roughly and pushed deeper into her body. They went over the precipice together, and sat there for long moments afterwards, holding each other, while Roman ran his hands over her body in a soothing manner, and Marlena, whispered her love for him. 

Day #16

Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be

~ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Elvis Presley

Roman and Marlena looked at Micky with equal looks of shock as he explained that they were still married. “The divorce in 1994 is not valid, because the man who filed was Richard Mullins. Therefore, the divorce isn’t legal. You’re still married,” Micky said.

“But the papers were filed by Roman Brady,” Roman said.

“Yes, your name is on them, but we now know that it wasn’t you. Believe me, I’ve spent the last few days at the court house. The divorce in 1994 is null and void, because Richard Mullins, under the guise of Roman Brady, filed the papers.”

Marlena looked at Roman, and said, “You’re still my husband…G-d that makes me so happy.”

“And you’re my wife,” he said softly, touching her face. 

“Well, that certainly makes things easier,” Carrie said with a smile, while balancing Brigit on her hip. Looking over at Sami cuddled up with Emmi on the couch, Carrie said, “Don’t you find it interesting that the twin who acts most like Sami is forever attached to me, and the twin who acts the most like me, thinks Sami hung the moon?”

Roman laughed when he realized how right she was, “Well, Punkin’, I think it will allow each of you to have a deeper appreciation of your differences.”

Sami laughed from the couch, and said loudly, “That’s a fact! Although for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Emmi laughs at almost everything I do.”

Marlena looked around the room, at her family, as she held Eli in her arms, and marveled at where they were in their lives. Susan was playing in the corner with Belle. Eric was running around the house with Brady on his shoulders screaming about capturing dragons, Carrie and Sami with Brigit and Emmi…all of it made her heart swell with more love than she ever thought she could possess. Her eyes caught Roman’s gaze, and he mouthed, “I love you” to her, making her eyes begin to tear up.

Leaning towards her, he whispered in her ear, “I’ll marry you again, if you want too.”

“I don’t need that. I really don’t. Another wedding won’t make my love stronger. Another wedding would be symbolic, and I don’t need that,” she said to him. “However, we do need a house, because we can’t stay here on the Salem PD’s dime forever.”

“Don’t you worry, Doc. I’ve already got that figured out,” he told her with a sly grin.

Micky smiled at that, and passed some paperwork over to Roman, saying, “I’ve actually got that right here for you.”

“Roman, what is this?” she asked him. Marlena could tell by the grin on Roman’s face, and the thick packet of paper that Micky passed him, that something had occurred without her knowledge.

“The deed to our new house, Doc. You know I met with Vivian to discuss my Alamain interests, since that was a huge mess too, genetically speaking. She wants me to continue running the companies I have control over, and I’ve agreed to give her a larger percentage of the revenue…since I’m not actually an Alamain,” he said. “But, she’s also informed me that she’s moving to Europe…so I bought her house.”

“You bought the Alamain estate? Roman!” Marlena explained in surprise. “That place is huge!”

“We needed a house, Doc. A big house, and Carrie, Sami, Eric, and I all agreed that it’s perfect. Once all of Vivian’s over the top art, and furnishings are removed, the house is beautiful. We can make it into a real home.”

“I guess…it’s just so large,” she said with reservation.

“We have eight children, five of them under the age of six. We need space for them, plus Susan…because let’s be honest, Doc, we need the help.”

When Roman stated so bluntly that they needed the space for eight children, the reality hit home, “Oh my G-d! We have eight children…”

“But three of us are grown,” Sami chirped. “So, you’ve got help. Plus the yard is huge, Mom. You can put a massive play structure out there, if you want. The pool is fenced, so that’s a plus for safety…and there are absolutely no secret rooms at all.”

“Do I even want to know how much you spent on this house?” Marlena knew that whatever price Vivian asked for that house had to have been exorbitant. 

“Definitely not, but don’t worry. While I was John Black, I became quite the businessman,” Roman said laughing. “Abe said they’re allowing us to stay here for another week, and I’ll have everything in order by then. I’m not sure what you want to do with the penthouse.”

“I don’t want it,” she said quickly, as she was bombarded with a million memories of the trauma she suffered at the hands of Stefano. “I would be happy to never see it again. I don’t even want to go back to pack my things.”

Roman looked to Micky and said, “Can we sell it?”

“I can arrange to have that taken care of, yes,” Micky responded.

Marlena nodded her head once, saying, “Okay, let’s do that then. I don’t want it.”

“Mom, you know Sami, Carrie, and I can pack it for you if you’d like,” Eric told her, as he walked into the room from the kitchen with Brady hanging from his leg. “I wouldn’t want you back there anyway, honestly. It must be very traumatic.”

Reaching over, Roman used his fingers to move Marlena’s hair back off of her shoulder, and wrapped them around the nape of her neck. The heat of his palm on her skin immediately calmed her, and she smiled to herself, realizing that the connection between them was so strong. “We’ll sell it, Doc. You’re right. There are too many bad memories in that place for us. Especially for you.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, lady.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that evening, when Marlena was getting ready for bed, Roman came up behind her and wrapped his arms snugly around her waist, burying his face in her hair. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of her, and whispered, “Doc, I would marry you again, you know. I would marry you as many times as you wanted.”

“I know that, Roman, but honestly my favorite wedding was when we married in 1986, and after the way everything has turned out…well, I want that to be our last wedding. Our official wedding,” she said, tipping her face back, and kissing his cheek.

“That was a pretty amazing day.”

“I want to spend the rest of our lives loving each other, and loving our children. I want to get to know Sami all over again, and watch Will grow up…and I want to do it all with you.”

“I want to do it all with you too. All I need you to do, is love me,” Roman told her, turning her to face him.

Looking up into his eyes, she whispered, “I do love you, with all my heart.”