The car drove through the darkness of Salem, headed for the Penthouse Grill. r32;The driver peeked in the mirror at his charges and grimaced.
Mr Black was staring out one window while Mrs. Black was staring into space, her hands folded in fists on her lap.
Giving his head a shake, he turned on to Elm and hoped that his Boss’s party went well.
*~*~*~*
Marlena was standing off to the side, watching her husband handle the models and assistants with ease.
”He’s something isn’t he?”
She turned, a look of surprise on her face as she studied the face of Carrie, a very pregnant and happy Carrie Brady-Horton.
“Yes he is, when did you get here?”
Carrie smiled. “Mike and I just got here about four hours ago, gave us time to get settled and rest before coming for the first showing of Basic Black’s new line.”
They embraced. “Oh it’s good to have you home sweet girl.”
Carrie watched her former father for a moment and asked Marlena if she would join her at the family table.
Worriedly, Marlena glanced to John as well before nodding. “I’d love to.”
*~*~*~*
John watched the models as they came for final clearance and all he could see was the notes and reports.
Someone had been buying BB stock at a rate unheard of as well as making runs at Titan, Toscano and Alamain Enterprises.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he heard Sami calling him.
“Yeah?”
She came to him. “Are you still sure that you want Mom in the finale piece?”
For the first time in nearly four weeks, four weeks of ignoring his wife, alternating screaming and silence whenever she would ask what was wrong, John smiled.
“Yes I want your Mom in the finale piece. Could you…”
He paused, earning a gentle smile from their Sami.
“Could I what?”
”Could you please ask her for me?”
Sami nodded. “Sure.”
Thankful that their daughter wouldn’t push, John went to go get his speech from his makeshift office in the Titan boardroom.
*~*~*~*
He checked his watch, just a little longer.
Taught by the master that the best gift was the one that a person is taught to anticipate and savour, he smiled at the image of John Black not knowing where his gift would come and when it would arrive.
For four weeks, he had been planning this night. Buying stock, arranging the chess pieces to be in position for the final strike.
They would all be there to witness the resurrection of the Phoenix into something to be feared.
The Queen, the pawn and the newly resurrected King all in the same room.
Salem would never be the same…
He took a sip on his drink, enjoying the feel of it as it escaped down his throat. r32;For four years he had suffered through his illness and self inflicted injury.
Not for nothing was he Stefano’s son, taught by the best at being the master of illusion.
The Count Antony DiMera was ready for the game to begin, inch by inch making John pay for all he did.
Starting with taking his Kristen from him.
It was his memories of her that carried him through until he met his newest acquisition, which would be another instrument to carry out his revenge.
Billie stretched beside him, as elegant as a cat stretching in the sun.
“Why don’t we just show them that you’re here?”
He leaned across the table to caress her cheek, a smile slowly crossing his face as he admired the beauty of his little toy.
“Because that would take away the element of surprise.”
His words faded away as he caught sight of Marlena with Carrie and a quiet Samantha.
“And the key is always, always to have the element of surprise.”
*~*~*~*
”Dr. Evans?”
She looked up to find one of John’s various assistants come towards her.
“This came for you by courier.”
In front of her daughters, she took the envelope and thanked the young woman who Marlena remembered was named Debra.
Carrie asked her if she was going to open it, Marlena shook her head. “It can keep.”
Sami looked at the crest on the envelope. “I think that John better open it.”
Carrie’s eyes widened at the icon. “Yeah you know what, let me go find John.”
Looking down at the crest, Marlena paled. “This is a joke.”
“She’s gotten your note.” Billie turned around to find she was alone.
*~*~*~*
“They’re loving this!”
John grinned and turned back to watch the flashbulbs going off.
”I owe this all to you Kate, you knew the designers to hire.”
Kate nodded. “I owe it all to you, you hired me when Victor made it impossible to get a job in Salem.”
The colleagues looked at each other and then John reached into his tuxedo jacket.
“This will only take effect once you sign it, but I’m making you CEO of Basic Black.”
At Kate’s silence, John continued.
“I’m still the head of the company, but you’re going to be in charge.”
She nodded, the smile lighting up her face.
John checked his watch. “Excuse me, I need to go get my wife dressed.”
Kate chuckled. “Good luck.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena was sitting still in the hairdresser’s chair when he came in.
“Hello beautiful.”
She peeked up from under her bangs. “Do I know you?”
John drew his hand out from behind his back, presenting her with a bouquet of lilacs.
As she leaned into smell them, he hesitated before speaking. Waiting until she looked up at him in the mirror.
“I was an ass. I let the business take me over. There was NO cause for me to yell and freeze you out. Can you ever forgive me?”
She smiled and handed back the flowers. “I’m just going to remind you of one thing, the next time you do this, I won’t speak.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
She watched him put her flowers in the vase. “We’re a team John. I may not be a Chief Operating Officer or Executive Officer, but I am your wife. Your troubles are MY troubles, vice versa. It’s a nice gig if you remember that.”
He came behind her and laid his hand on her shoulder. “I do.”
She winked. “Repeat it over and over a few thousand times and I’ll consider the case closed.”
John was going to speak but he caught sight of the edge of her envelope that was on the table, covered over slightly by her wrap.
“Doc?”
She tried to distract him, but he was too quick.
Getting to the envelope first, his eyes widened.
“You weren’t going to show this to me were you?”
Marlena shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
He opened it. “With the old man, anything is possible. There’s NO such thing as nothing Doc and you know that.”
She stepped in front of him, cradling his face in her hands. “What I KNOW is that I love you and we can’t be chasing ghosts forever John. There has to be a reason for this. It could be from Lexie or even Peter. We don’t KNOW it’s from Stefano.”
He tore away from her grip, gazing at the envelope. “You didn’t open this?”
Shaking her head, she went to get into the gown. “I told you John, I’m not chasing ghosts.”
He looked at her. “I’m opening it.”
There was a knock at the door. “Dr Evans, it’s time.”
Marlena glanced back at John before leaving.
“Always remember that I love you John.”
*~*~*~*
He saw Marlena appear at the side of the walkway and moved quickly.
Grabbing a mask, he merged into the male models ready to escort the models for the final scene of the show, which was to be a “masquerade” theme.
*~*~*~*
“You were once mine, unknowing of fate or destiny. r32; I was once your champion, my heart forever yours.”
John’s eyes widened, rage washing over him as he continued to read.
“I let you go, knowing that it wasn’t fate that kept you at my side. r32;I let you go, keeping a piece of you with me always.”
His head spun to the side, as always his thoughts were on Marlena.
“I let you walk out of my life, coming back to your world r32;To keep you safe from harm, I kept the secret inside my heart, my soul. r32;I never spoke out loud my promise, r32;That one day, I would come back for you r32;Heaven, hell or the right hand of god cannot keep us apart.”
She was out there alone and he wasn’t there ….
Again.
*~*~*~* r32;His breath was tickling the back of her neck, making the stray curl that had escaped her upswept hairdo bounce merrily.
Tony remembered a time when he had held her this close.
“Memories right now are irrelevant.”
She didn’t turn around. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”
He caught himself. “No.”
There was something about his voice that niggled at her but before she could act on it, she caught the cue for her to go out as the finale showstopper.
*~*~*~*
John heard the crowd gasp and the flashbulbs were going off with a frantic speed.
Thinking they were loving the gowns, he came out and froze.
Marlena was in the arms of her escort and he had dipped her as planned.
But instead of the kiss as planned and rehearsed, he was looking right into her eyes.
*~*~*~*
“Let go of me, you’re supposed to be dead.”
Tony grinned. “Obviously I’m not.”
She began to struggle, her attempts only setting off the photographers worse.
John came flying across the stage, “Let go of my wife!”
Tony grinned. “I don’t think so. The Phoenix always returns for what belongs to it.”
Seeing the chaos, Kate grabbed Carrie and both got the guests and journalists to leave
John felt the automatic pilot turning on as he said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll say it again, let go of MY wife!”
Allowing Marlena to straighten up, Tony shrugged as she moved off the stage.
“What, no welcome home? No welcome back from the dead?” He shook his head.
“Not even going to ask me how I managed to beat my illness?”
Looking reflectively at John, Tony tilted his head.
It was a small gesture, but one that Marlena knew well from watching Stefano.
It was the gesture of a cat assessing it’s prey, it was the game well known to the DiMera’s and those they chose to attack.
A Game that would only end with one certainty.
Death
John sneered. “Who are you?”
Tony looked puzzled. “You know who I am.”
John turned to Alexandra, who was strangely silent. “Did you know?”
Abe looked at his wife. “Lex?”
She turned to Tony. “No, I didn’t. I was expecting Father.”
“I am now the head of the DiMera family and you’re going to have to get over that John.”
John simply crossed his arms. “Don’t think so.”
Tony went back to his table, noticing for the first time that Billie was nowhere in sight.
“I really don’t care about making you happy John, so get over it.”
“You should remember my motto, the only good DiMera is a dead DiMera.”
Lexie shouted out “That’s NOT fair!”
Bo silenced her. “No, what you had done was not fair Lexie.”
Tony drained his drink and came back to embrace his sister.
“Isn’t it better that your boy was loved rather than with someone who would have abused him mentally or physically?”
Hope defiantly called out. “Speaking as Stefano’s son, you of course would know all about wonderful home lives right?”
Marlena returned from changing her clothes back into her party gown.
“You died in Aremid, you let John go to the gas chamber for a murder he obviously didn’t commit!”
He shook his head. “Ah, my dear Marlena.”
She hissed. “Don’t CALL me that!”
John came to stand beside his wife.
“You see, John DID commit a murder in Aremid. His love for Kristen killed something in me. It was as if an evil force had come into my heart and soul. The Tony who you had known died and in his place was someone who didn’t care anymore about anybody or living and dying, and with that knowledge, I made the plan to make John suffer for causing me the greatest loss I had ever known, at least to that point.”
He smiled sadly. “You see, I did know the illness was fatal, that was what the doctors had said. But after I learnt of the diagnosis, I made a phone call after making the arrangements to frame John. A call to someone you know well Marlena.”
She felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand up. “Who?”
“Andre.”
He smiled as her eyes widened. “Ah, you do remember him.”
Bo broke up the tension. “And why would you be calling him?”
Tony chuckled. “Glad to see you haven’t changed Bo.”
“Get ON with it!”
Tony nodded. “You see, in exchange for knowledge I had of his activities it was easy to have him switch with me. It was Andre that died that night.”
Smiling at the intake of breath in the room, Tony continued.
“Stefano spirited me away to a clinic in Switzerland that deals with blood disorders.”
Marlena shook her head. “He was devastated, he thought he had lost you.”
Tony chuckled. “You should know better than to believe what you see a DiMera do.”
John wrapped an arm around his wife, remembering their solo ordeals from that time.
“Why have you waited this long?”
Tony smiled. “To make sure my disease was totally cured.”
He looked at his sister. “I want to take Alexandra home, if you wish to continue this discussion, I suggest a more suitable hour like say tomorrow morning. Good night everyone.”
He paused for a moment as Lexie gathered her things.
“Oh John, before I forget.”
John glared at him. “What?”
Tony smiled. “The Phoenix has died, long live the Phoenix.”
Marlena felt chills washing over her.
*~*~*~*
They came home, Marlena instinctively going upstairs to check on the children while John began to make phone calls.
Sitting beside Belle, Marlena methodically tucked in her daughter’s sidekick “Big Bunny” who Belle had tossed out of bed.
Stroking her daughter’s hair, Marlena remembered the last time that a DiMera came back to shatter her happy world.
She had been pregnant with this very little girl beside her.
It was for Belle and of course her Brady that Marlena began to pray…
*~*~*~*
“How in the hell couldn’t the sources have seen that it was TONY and not Stefano?”
Roman shook his head. “John, up until tonight we were acting under the impression that Tony was dead remember? We can’t be investigating ghosts.”
John ran his hand through his hair. “Roman, it’s a DiMera. We NEVER assume anything because they’re like rabbits, they just reproduce.”
Roman chuckled, the irony not lost on him.
“Even if we see the body, we still poke it before passing judgement and even then take it with a grain of salt.”
John sank into the couch. “Roman what do you think of all this?”
Roman closed the file in front of him, rubbing the back of his neck as he gazed across his office, where he had headed as the chaos ended at the gala.
“I think we’re in trouble here. If that IS Tony and he’s the head of the family.”
John glanced upstairs. “Then that means with his history with Marlena and I amongst others, we’re on his hit list.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena was in bed when John finally came in and quietly undressed as not to disturb her.
Not that it would have mattered as he soon noticed that she was having a nightmare and was lost in her own little world.
The flashes were strobe light quick as they hit her from all sides, nothing making any sense to her but all she could hear was a deep laugh and her pleading not to let this happen.
A word kept playing in her head.
“Gemini.”
*~*~*~*
Tony sat in the study long after Lexie went to bed.
Going to his laptop, he turned it on and double clicked on a file that was named with a touch of whimsy.
Upon opening “Long ago and Far Away.” He searched through the records until he found what he needed.
“Wouldn’t read the letter, I wonder what you would do with this Marlena?”
*~*~*~*
Cassandra sat quietly, her paintbrush in mid air as she studied the canvas.
She had woken up with a vision in her head, which usually meant to everyone who knew her that she would be in the studio until she got it out on canvas.
Since the age of 15, Cass had become a talented painter and it was a gift that her father indulged her in and so she had been given the best of supplies.
Tilting her head for a moment she gazed at the woman who had been floating just behind her eyelids as she had slept.
“Who are you?”
The blonde ghost remained silent and it only drove Cass nuts.
A fact not unnoticed by her brother, who stood in the doorway.
“Cass, paintings don’t talk remember?”
She smiled at him as he came closer. “She’s beautiful.”
Cass nodded. “She is. Woke up with her and I had to paint her. It’s weird.”
He turned. “What is?”
She gestured at the painting with her brush. “It felt more like a memory than an idea. It was like somehow I knew her.” She shook her head, brushing futilely at the stray hairs that escaped.
“Its crazy I know, but there’s the facts.”
Rex draped an arm around her shoulders. “The joys of being an artist.”
Cassandra grinned and turned back to look into the face of Marlena Evans Black.
*~*~*~*
John dreamt of the events of the past night.
The letter, the comments of Tony combined to take John even further, to Aremid where he and Marlena together nearly lost their lives at the hands of the DiMeras.
He couldn’t place his finger on it yet as to why he was feeling this way but he was fearful again over Marlena.
She had looked so small in that big bed in Aremid, he knew without question that he would always keep her safe and protected.
He would die keeping that promise to her.
Opening his eyes, he found Marlena wrapped in his arms with a soft smile on her face.
”Stop dreaming of the dark. We’re together and he can not hurt us.”
He closed his eyes, feeling her fingers against his lips.
“Promise me you understand what I just said.”
John nodded, his training sending off signals to watch over her.
*~*~*~*
“Father had done many things in his lifetime Lexie.”
She looked up from her breakfast to study her brother.
“One does what one can for family Tony, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
He chuckled, lying his napkin on the table. “Who said I was ashamed of it?”
Getting up, he went to look out the window at the garden.
“I did something that even Father doesn’t know about.”
“What?”
He smiled as he turned back around.
“I had no choice, I had always loved her.”
Lexie shook her head. “You’re losing me Tony.”
Tony brought his medallion up to eye level so he could stare at it.
“I stole from the Queen her precious gifts and made her love me for a time.”
He let go of the medal and Lexie noticed it was an astrological sign, Gemini.
“I took her children and raised them as my own.”
Lexie’s eyes widened. “You did WHAT?”
Tony smiled. “I took Marlena’s children and raised them as my own.”
“No you didn’t. All of Marlena’s children are here in Salem.”
He got up and left the room, leaving Lexie to follow him all the while demanding answers.
“When Orpheus sent her away, it was to be to the pre-arranged custody of Father. But the plane malfunctioned and I was able to spirit her away.”
He smiled. “Nobody knew that she was pregnant with Roman’s.” he paused.
“I mean she was pregnant with John’s children.”
He stretched. “How perfect was this, Father’s beloved Queen was pregnant with unknown to us at the time, the children of his most trusted mercenary.”
Lexie felt sick.
“You kept them?”
Tony smiled. “All this time, they’ve believed that their only family is me. Two DiMeras trained to hate our most dangerous enemy, John Black.”
Lexie shook her head. “God help them.”
He chuckled. “Why? Cassie and Rex are DiMeras in every sense of the word just as you and I are. They will be the key to ending the standoff between the families, once and for all.” r32;
The days following the arrival home of the DiMera prodigal son were tension filled at the Black house.
The standoff occurred when John passed on a playoff game for Brady’s team.
“I know I promised.”
Marlena turned around, distress evident in her features. “Well then the least you could do is tell Brady so that he’ll understand that Daddy isn’t deserting him on purpose.”
John ran his hand through his hair. “God damn it, Marlena what do you want me to do?”
She slammed her fist on the desk, scaring them both.
“What I want, you’re finally asking me that?”
Looking around the room, he watched as she began to shake.
“For weeks, you yelled or ignored your family as you fought the attempted take over, then from the night of the gala on, you’ve been focused on Tony. John, your son wants you at this tournament. Can’t you let go of the vendetta for one day?”
Counting to ten, he turned to the desk.
“I want my son to grow up without fear. To have our Isabella go from day to day and know that Mommy will be there, to not have the uncertainty of where’s Mommy and will she ever come home. If it means that I miss one game of Brady’s, then for that small happiness that I can get from giving them the certainty, that I will do.”
She shook her head. “Do you NOT think that I don’t want that? But do you what I want most for them?” She stepped closer. “I want their father with them. Not chasing after ghosts or stirring up trouble that maybe, just maybe he can’t get out of.”
She walked away from him, stopping to get the extra battery from the desk.
“You forget that I was married to Roman, I KNOW what the costs are and I also know what happens when the spouse you adore more than life feels the need to go about saving the world, all in the name of love and family.”
He sobered up. “Marlena.”
She shook her head. “No, you made your decision and I’ve made mine. Go get him. I hope we’re worth this.”
He waited until she left the penthouse, forgetting the camera and battery before throwing his fit, clearing off the desk with one hand.
What he was doing was right; it was to keep them safe, but god why the hell did she have to be right as well.
He had forgotten what it was like for her, trying to keep the family together while Roman had gone on his various adventures.
If she had have been in Salem while he was Roman, her hair would have been standing on end.
Straightening up his mess, he reached for the phone and punched in the number.
“She’s just left, make sure the guards are in place around her and the children.”
*~*~*~*
Caroline found Marlena sitting in the bleachers, eyes trained on Brady as her hand continued to rub Belle’s back.
“Let me take her from you, she must be heavy.”
Marlena shook her head. “She’s nearly asleep, besides holding her reminds me she’s still here and safe.”
Caroline nodded. “Understandable.”
“I nearly lost her once before. I couldn’t bear it if it was to happen again.” She looked at her friend.
”The last time a DiMera came home, my world ended. Now another has returned and I get this sense that something’s going to happen. I’m going to lose again.”
Caroline laid her hand on Marlena’s arm. “Don’t say that.”
Marlena glanced at her. “It’s the truth. Any one that I love goes up against a DiMera and we lose, it’s that simple.”
Aching for her, Caroline’s attention was turned to a little brown haired boy dynamo who scored.
“He’s really good.”
Marlena nodded. “Right now in my books, he’s got more on the ball then his father does.”
*~*~*~*
After she buckled Brady into the seat, she had gone to put a sleeping Belle into hers when Tony appeared.
“Let me help you.”
She shook her head. “I have it.”
He watched her gracefully get her daughter into her car seat and buckled in.
“You’re such a good mother Marlena.”
“Thank you.” She closed the door and looked at him. “What do you want?”
He blinked. “What makes you think I want something?”
She shook her head. “DiMeras never give compliments without wanting something.”
He nodded, a solemn look on his face. “I want my friend back.”
Marlena stepped away from him. “Sorry, that line ended when you allowed John to nearly die for a lie you told. I nearly died in finding that damned journal. That wasn’t friendship Tony. It was plain and simple obsession. Stefano for me, You for John and that’s just not healthy.”
He shrugged. “I told you.”
She cut him off. “I know what you told everyone. But I’ve learnt from the best. Your family lies as easily as deciding what to wear or eat in the morning. Tony, I don’t believe you and I don’t feel comfortable with you, not anymore. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”
Stepping away, he watched her get in and leave.
“My family lies.” He nodded. “Wonder what you would say if you met my family Marlena?”
*~*~*~*
Driving home from the game, Marlena was stuck behind several cars at Main and Elm when the first memory hit her.
“Let me see them, please?”
She could see herself leaning into someone and could feel his lips on the top of her head. But somehow she knew it wasn’t John.
Before she could delve into those memories, she caught sight of the lights changing to green and she drove home.
*~*~*~*
John came home to find the living room in semi-darkness with Marlena on the couch.
Calling to her, he got no response.
Coming closer, he found her staring into space, eyes closed and her breathing was shallow.
Worried, he began to shake her tentatively at first, his voice gentle as he called out. “Doc?”
As he got no response, his voice became frantic and as he called her by her name, he got a shock with her reply.
“Just let me see them, please don’t do this. I’ll be what you want, just let me see them. You say that you love me, I’ll stay … I’ll do what you want of me but let me see my babies!”
He froze. “Marlena, it’s John. Honey wake up.”
“Their not your babies, their mine and Roman’s. You can’t make me say something that isn’t true!”
Thinking quickly, he began to count from 10.
“When you wake up, you’ll see your safe in your own home. You’ll be with me and safe.”
As he counted, John found himself growing enraged. “Children?” r32;
Marlena sat quietly, her head leaned back on the couch as John paced.
“We’re going to have to talk about this Doc.”
She lifted her head slightly, but her voice was like ice. “No, no we don’t.”
He stopped. “Excuse me, but I just heard my wife saying.”
She sat all the way up. “I was under hypnosis, people say things all the time.”
John squinted at his wife. “Especially things buried well in their subconscious.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t true. I wasn’t pregnant. I would have KNOWN if I was!”
He was about to say something to that but she cut him off. “When I came home, I did have a complete physical and there was NOTHING there to indicate that I was ever pregnant or had even given birth while I was away.”
He knelt in front of her. “I know what I heard. You were in such pain sweetheart.”
She shook her head. “John, I would have known!”
She burst into tears; the memories long dormant came back with a vengeance as she withdrew from his embrace.
Clamping her hand to her head, she continued to cry as she talked herself through the imagery.
“I loved being pregnant with the twins and Belle, I remember DJ but there’s NO way that I would forget a child, especially if it was a child of ours.”
She turned around, her complexion now as white as her t-shirt. “I survived that plane crash and if I was pregnant then I would have been thrilled as the baby would have been my only link to you and our li …”
She felt to the ground, doubling over as the sobs shook her body.
John felt a long buried guilt that he hadn’t searched harder for her come rushing back at him as he finished her sentence.
“Our life together.”
He came and cradled her into his arms. “Doc honey.”
Gathering her up, he whisked her upstairs and got her into bed.
It had been after several minutes of each being locked into their thoughts that he finally chose to act.
“What are you doing?”
He reached for the phone as he looked at her from the side of the bed. “I’m calling Mike.”
“I don’t need a doctor John.”
Blue eyes locked on his wife. “Yes I think you do. Honey, you can’t do this to yourself.”
She tried to sit up but felt sick and so laid back. “I won’t try to hypnotize myself anymore okay, but don’t call on Michael.”
He looked at her. “You need to sleep and he can come and prescribe a sedative.”
She looked at him reflectively for a moment then rolled over.
“You can’t shut me out honey.”
Her voice was muffled. “I can if I try hard enough.”
*~*~*~*
John was sitting in the semi-darkness when Mike came downstairs.
“How is she?”
Mike closed his medical bag. “She’s finally asleep.”
John nodded, his mind obviously on something or someone else. “Good.”
Studying the face of his friend for a moment, Mike came around the back of the couch and sat down across from John.
“What’s going on?” John looked up. “With what?”
”Don’t lie please.”
John shook his head. “Ever since Tony’s returned, I feel like I’m going to lose that girl and I can’t have that happen. I went in search of information tonight and came home to learn that possibly Doc gave birth while in their captivity.”
His voice grew softer. “In the mess that was my pursuit of the past, I never stopped to think of hers, she’s missing five years.”
Mike nodded. “She’s never spoken of that time.”
John got up from the sofa and went to the collection of photographs that she kept on the top of the piano. Grabbing one in a delicate frame, he smiled at the frozen in time photo of his wife.
“She’s just been so happy that she had us back, her family and friends that she never pushed her past. She’s seized forward rather than going back.”
Michael smiled. “That’s the one thing that I love about her. No matter what has been thrown at her, she’s always managed to stand up and go again. I’ve never seen her have a dark moment since she worked through the possession aftermath.”
“We had a few rough patches there awhile back Mike. We, thank god, made it through. She was as you described her again. There was no more dark moments.”
John looked glum. “Until now.”
Mike nodded. “You’ll get through this though. You two are a team.”
John sighed. “Not right now we’re not Mike, it seems that we’re on two separate coasts.”
*~*~*~*
Tony sat in the middle of his leather sofa, enjoying his drink as he silently watched the summer storm wash over Salem’s skyline.
“Here’s to you John. May all you have crumble to the sea.”
*~*~*~*
It was the loud crashing of the lightning that sent Marlena spiralling into the memories of the crash.
She flailed in bed, her limbs becoming tangled into the bed sheets, confining her as she had been in the plane by the seatbelts. She was crammed into her seat, screaming that he had to stop.
The plane began its nosedive again and she began to scream as her mind went through the Lords prayer.
As the water met metal, she woke up and her gasps filled the room.
Clutching the comforter up to her, Marlena blinked as she looked around the room with a dazed expression. “I’m alive.”
*~*~*~*
John was at his computer when the icon flashed that he had mail.
Double clicking on the program, he was curious when the header read.
“Gemini Project.”
While waiting for the virus scan program to finish, his eyes wandered to the picture of Marlena that he had brought to the desk after Mike left.
“It will be alright again honey.”
He turned back to the email and opened it.
“It began with two worlds colliding and will end with the end of the golden age. r32;All that you have fought for will die.”
Clicking on the attachment, he opened the file to see a medallion with what looked like a zodiac symbol on it.
Opening his Internet browser, John went to the search engine and typed in zodiac symbols.
He clicked on the first link it provided.
Finding the one that looked like the one on the medallion, John clicked on it and was taken to another site.
The first photo showed the constellation “Gemini Twins.”
It was beside what appeared to be a sonogram.
“The Gemini Project, was founded in 1987 by the MEB Foundation.”
John’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is this?”
*~*~*~*
Tony, who had been monitoring John’s progress via the program that his man installed in John’s computer when John brought his computer into the I.T. lab at Basic Black the day before, grinned.
“Step into my parlour said the spider to the Phoenix’s dark knight.”
He punched a few keys. “You’ll be here a long time John.” r32;
Marlena was coming back to her office when Tony came at her from the opposite direction.
“Go away.”
Tony smiled. “I need your help.”
She tilted her head. “This is a first, a DiMera needs the help of a Black. Don’t think so.”
“I’m not my father, you know that.” He smiled warmly at her.
“We used to be friends Marlena.”
She moved past him to her office. “USED to be. Key phrase.”
Going inside, she moved around the desk and started going through her messages.
“Marlena please.”
She didn’t even look up. “Get out of here Tony. I don’t trust you and wouldn’t help you if you were the last person on earth.”
She didn’t see his eyes darken. “Oh that’s where your wrong my Marlena.”
Her head shot up. “I’m NOT in the mood for this little show Antony.”
He smiled. “You used to call me that.”
“You said I’m wrong, explain.”
He sat down in the chair across from her. “I AM the last person on earth. The last person who knows of YOUR missing years.”
He smiled, bringing a hand up to rest under his chin. “Want to reconsider?”
“Old friend, you should know that I don’t take kindly to threats or blackmail. That’s just the way I am.”
Tony smiled. “My memory isn’t as good as it used to be. But I remember a time well that you did take kindly to them. Explains so much of why the things happened as they did.”
Her voice was like ice. “What is the point Tony?”
He leaned forward. “Its as I said. I need your help.”
“You’re sure as hell not getting it from Marlena.”
Tony smiled at her reaction and turned slowly to find John standing at the door.
Closing it, John approached. “I’ll be damned if you get any help from my wife.”
Tony sneered. “You’re already damned in my eyes and I will get help from Marlena.”
The roar that escaped from Marlena made both men jump.
“Get OUT of my office. I don’t want to help you, I don’t NEED you and the further I’m away from the taint of you Tony, the better I’ll like it.”
Tony smiled and bowed slightly. “You will be coming to me for help sooner than you think. Remember now, I hold your past in my hands Marlena.”
The moment the door closed, she sank into the chair. “Oh god, please help me.”
John restrained himself from going after Tony, to come to his wife.
As she looked up, he took her hands and pulled her to him.
“I’m so sorry honey.”
She rested her head against his chest. “For what?”
He cupped her chin, making her look up. “For not being here.”
Marlena smiled. “You are now.”
*~*~*~*
Tony sat sullenly in the back of his limousine.
“John, you’ve screwed this up for the last time.”
Reaching for the phone, he punched in a few numbers.
Smiling, he talked to the person on the end for several minutes.
“I’ll be waiting.”
As he hung up, he lifted the medallion from around his neck.
Fingering it gently, he smiled.
“We’ll soon see how far from the tree the apple falls.”
*~*~*~*
They were walking hand in hand at Salem Place, enjoying the remainder of the afternoon, when Maggie called Marlena for a quick minute.
She went over to see her when a passer by jostled John.
As her packages were scattered, John bent down to pick up the packages.
“I’m so sorry, let me help.”
“She doesn’t need your help!”
Surprised, he looked up to find a young man standing there with defiant blue eyes.
“Did you hear me, I said my sister does NOT need your help!”
Marlena quickly moved in to settle the disturbance only to find the young man storming off a few feet from the girl and John.
Her first impression was that from behind it was Eric, but her son never carried himself with that much anger, it was radiating off of him in waves.
She quickly corrected herself. Eric HAD once carried himself with anger.
It was when he was mad at John.
The young woman straightened up. “I’m sorry, it was totally my fault.”
John looked at her and froze.
She was exactly how John dreamt Belle would look at that age.
“I’m Cassie and that moron who gave you that wonderful performance, well that’s my brother. You have to forgive him, he hasn’t been allowed in public since he failed his social management classes.”
John smiled. “Nice to meet you, I’m John Black.”
They stood up and John gestured to Marlena. “That’s my wife Marlena.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my.”
Before John could ask her about her reaction to his wife, Marlena and Cassie’s brother walked over to join them.
*~*~*~*
“Penny for your thoughts.”
He jumped to find Marlena standing at the foot of the stairs.
“Their not worth nearly that much.”
She came across the room to come settle on the couch beside him, a faint smile appearing on her face as John draped his arms around her, settling her even closer to him.
Nuzzling her head against his shoulder, she smiled. “I think their worth more than that. You’ve been lost since we came home from Salem Place.”
He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the delicate combination of her shampoo and the scent of her.
“John, I’m not little and I can fight just as well as you. Please don’t leave me.”
He straightened up and looked her in the eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She nodded. “So you say right now.”
Standing up, she distractedly walked around the room.
“I’m not dealing with this well at all honey. He’s making threats and I’m getting.”
She stopped and John called to her. “You’re getting what Doc?”
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “I’m getting to the point where I think that maybe I should play his game.”
John was off the couch like a shot. “What the hell are you saying?”
She lifted her eyes and he saw the beginnings of tears.
“I want to know what I’m missing. What WE are missing.”
He shook his head. “No.”
She bit her lip. “John, I had our children. I lost them and he knows.”
He pulled her to him. “You’re dreaming and he lies.”
Sinking her head to his chest, she shook her head. “One person’s lies are another’s truth.”
Framing her face in his hands, John forced her to look up.
“The ONLY truth is that I love you and I’ll be the ONLY one who helps you find the truth.”
She was silent for so long that John repeated himself.
Her only answer was to slowly melt against him, standing up on tiptoes to claim his lips with her own. r32;
I never felt the need to investigate this before today.
Marlena semi slouched in the oversized sofa in front of the French doors, pen gently resting against her lips as she studied the journal she had braced on her knees.
“I was just so happy to be home, so happy to be with Roman.”
She quickly scratched that out with one stroke of her pen. “John and the children. I had missed so much that there was never a need to look backwards, to do that would be regret because I would be missing what laid ahead, a lifetime of making up NEW memories.”
“I saw what a toll that the search for knowledge did to first John and then to Hope. I knew my decision had been right. Looking back only opened new wounds.”
She stretched and smiled at the shifting of muscles, the crack of the various joints before continuing.
“And now, here we are and we’re dealing with something that had been a nightmare of mine since the day I learnt that Stefano had kidnapped my twins. What if he had children of mine and never told a soul?”
Closing the book, she laid her head on her hands and watched the sun rise.
*~*~*~*
“Doc?”
John flew down the stairs and paused two steps down to find her curled up on the sofa fast asleep.
With an indulgent smile he came towards her, thinking that he could scoop her up and put in her own bed but as he began to come to her, the phone rang.
Rushing to get it before it woke her, he missed the tear that fell from her face as she was dreaming again.
This time it was in colour and was seemingly on rewind.
She walked closer to a crib, finding it empty and Stefano’s laughter ringing all around her.
”Did you really believe that I would LET you keep them?”
She fought the tears from coming, never wanting to give him an inch of satisfaction.
“Their not YOURS!”
He chuckled again. “Not yours either now. Did you really believe that I would allow HIS children to grow up safely in the cocooned embrace of their loving mother? How foolish do you take me for?”
John was just hanging up with Maggie when Marlena screamed “GIVE THEM BACK!”
Turning around, he saw her struggling to sit up and as he gathered her to him, crooning it had all been a dream, that it was alright, he heard her whimper softly as she tried to bury herself into him.
“It’s never going to be alright again.”
*~*~*~*
Tony sat going over the dossier that he got from the lawyers, totally unaware of the car pulling into the driveway with “Because We Can” by Fatboy Slim blaring.
As Eliana opened the door to investigate, Rex came in followed by a shaking her head Cassie.
“We’re TOTALLY sorry.”
He turned around. “Don’t apologize for what and who we are.”
Putting two fingers into his mouth, Rex let out an ear-piercing whistle that had Cassie glaring at him and the maid fleeing the room.
Tony appeared with a look of pure parental exasperation in his eyes.
“Did you ever hear of a phone?”
Rex flashed a smile. “Now why would I when that whistle cuts through any and ALL BS?”
Cassie came forward. “Sorry about this Father.”
Tony shook his head and hugged his daughter. “It’s alright, I’m glad you’re here.”
Rex was about to speak when Tony cut him off. “As for you, want to explain the small matter of a horse, a 30 thousand dollar sports car and an alien?”
Rex grinned. “I was bored.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena came back downstairs with her suitcase. “I really don’t want to do this.”
John looked up from his watch. “Yes I know you don’t but this is called being an adult baby. YOU need time away from Salem and all the stress.”
She looked hesitant. “You mean away from Tony.”
He nodded, reaching for her hand. “Yes I mean that too and so c’mon.”
She pulled her hand away. “Where’s your stuff?”
He grinned. “Already in the limo, now let’s go!”
*~*~*~*
Tony, watching from across the street quickly gave the package to the person at the side of his car.
“Make sure that you give this to Dr. Evans and ONLY Dr. Evans understood?”
As he drove away, the courier saw the Blacks coming out and so hurried across the street.
*~*~*~*
“I am NOT wearing that blindfold. Go stuff it!”
Wanting nothing more than to hear her laugh, John pulled her to him and began to tickle.
“STOP IT!”
Mimicking her made Marlena burst out laughing harder as the Black’s driver rolled his eyes at the antics of his bosses.
“Excuse me, Dr Evans?”
The couple broke apart and saw the courier coming towards her.
Glancing at John, she stepped forward. “I’m Dr. Evans.”
Tony listened to the conversation via the bug he slipped into the courier’s pocket.
“I was to deliver this to you personally.”
*~*~*~*
“Open it.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No, no I don’t think so.”
Returning to her book, she peeked to find John staring a hole through it.
“Doc, open that box.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t like the wrapping.”
John turned back to the gift. “Doc, since when have you NOT liked surprises?”
She threw the book on the other side of the limo, glaring at her husband.
“Since I’ve started having nightmares!”
He sobered up. “Doc.”
She glanced out the window. “I think it’s best to leave this alone. I don’t want to ruin your surprise.”
“Don’t be like that.”
She spun around. “Be like that?” She reached for the gift and threw it at him.
”You want it opened so bad, YOU open the dammed thing!”
With no further prompting form his wife, John did as he was requested to and opened the box.
On top there was a letter.
“It’s for you.”
Getting no reaction from his wife, John opened the letter.
“For my dear Doctor Marlena Evans, you and I have played many games with each other, some more against your will than others I’m afraid and none more than this role that I’m giving back to you now.”
Laying the letter beside him, John looked up to find Marlena now seated on the seat opposite him, eyes fixed determinedly out on the scenery.
“Oh my god.”
She turned around to find John lifting out an enormous pillow.
“For someone with taste, that’s absolutely hideous.”
She rolled her eyes. “No what’s hideous is that you actually gave him the satisfaction of opening that gift.”
John ran his hand over the pillow and spoke aloud. “La Belle au bois Dormant?”
Marlena laid her head against the leather of the seat. “Sleeping beauty in the woods.”
“Come again?”
She looked at him for the first time in 20 minutes.
“Loosely translated, it’s Sleeping Beauty in The Woods.”
Glancing at the lump in his hands, she made a face as she shivered.
“That is going to be the death of me.”
Puzzled, he laid the pillow down. “No it’s not.”
She nodded. “I don’t know why it is, but that’s a sign and I don’t like it and it’s another sign.”
Nudging the pillow with her foot, they saw the underside of the pillow was dark blue velvet and as they both stared at it for a moment, Marlena softly spoke.
”Gemini.”
John looked at his wife as if she had three heads. “What?”
She pointed. “It’s the Gemini constellation.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena stood watching the summer storm batter the windows of their suite as she listened to John take his shower.
From time to time, she would take a peek at the box then will herself NOT to go over to it and open it.
Pacing the room, she talked herself in and out of lifting that pillow.
“I can’t do this.”
Finally she ran out of excuses.
*~*~*~*
“Hey Doc, I was thinking.” John was finishing getting dressed.
“What about you and I mosey on downstairs and get a bite to eat?”
Getting no response, he figured she was still mad.
“Okay, how about a walk around the atrium?”
Opening the bedroom door, he found the box open and Marlena crumpled down behind the sofa, the pillow inches from her hands.
“DOC!”
Gathering her up, he noticed that the pillow was softly playing a tune and so with his foot gave it a kick that sent it scurrying along the floor.
“Doc, c’mon baby wake up for me huh?”
Checking for a pulse, he found it weak and skittish.
Rushing her into the bedroom, he reached for the phone on the bedside table.
”Hello, yes this is Mr. Black. We’re in suite 2918. Yes I need a doctor, my wife’s had an accident.” r32;
John was slumped in a chair outside of their hotel bedroom while the Doctor continued to examine his wife.
Raking his hands through his hair, John continued to try and figure out what exactly happened to Marlena while he was in the shower trying to think of ways to make up for the fight in the car.
His mind kept coming back to just how tiny she was as he laid her in the centre of the bed, her complexion an unearthly milky white, the only colour around her was the faint purple and blues of the shadows under her eyes.
“Dear god, please don’t let me lose that girl.”
*~*~*~*
She could hear an incessant little humming that danced around her head, cute at first but soon annoying.
As she tried to get up to get at it and make it stop, she felt hands force her to the bed and a monotone voice kept insisting that she needed to sleep.
Her mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton and she tried to speak.
“Sleep Marlena, just sleep.”
A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she finally got one word out.
“John.”
*~*~*~*
John leapt to his feet as the Doctor appeared.
“How is she?” He glanced at the opening of the door as it closed firmly behind the doctor.
”She’s sleeping, I gave her a sedative to help her. She’s been through an ordeal.”
John shook his head. “Yes, yes she has. But she shouldn’t have had a sedative.”
“Are you questioning my authority son?”
John blinked. “Uh, no. But I’m just wondering why you gave Marlena a sleeping pill when she hit her head. Isn’t it standard procedure to keep a head trauma victim awake to check for worse internal injuries?”
The doctor left, saying something about refusing to listen to the irrational concerns of a worried husband and left John to go after his wife.
John flew into the bedroom and scooped Marlena up into a sitting position.
She was as limp as one of Belle’s dolls and in no condition to help him at all.
“Baby, it’s me John and I’m going to need your help.”
Her head lolled back and he grimaced. “I never took you for a head banger there honey.”
Scooping her up, he leaned her against him and began to walk her around the room.
*~*~*~*
“Yes it’s me.”
The doctor was far enough from the Black’s room to avoid being caught.
“I did as you requested, I gave her the mind altering drugs and gave her the code words you asked me to.”
He smiled. “Of course, it’s always a pleasure to work for the DiMeras.”
The doctor hung up and left the hotel.
*~*~*~*
“I never did tell you how sorry I was that I sided with Brady.”
She sagged against John as if she was a bag of rice.
Pausing only to readjust her, he continued to apologize for everything that had gone on wrongly in their married lives.
“Shu..up.”
He paused and shifted her again so that she was lolling against his chest.
“What?”
Feeling as if her body was rubber, she tried to work her mouth again.
“I sai… shu up.”
If this situation weren’t as serious as he knew it to be, he would be laughing.
”Doc, I can’t hear you and right now you and I are going for a nice walk around the room.”
”Ugly.”
She peered at him. “Room f’ugly.”
John pressed his lips to her hair. “Once I get this drug out of your system, you’re going to sleep.”
Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, that flicked on a switch.
“No sleep.”
The more he pushed her, the more she began to fight the sleeping.
“Doc, you have to help me here. I can’t walk you all alone.”
She felt like a swimmer trying to get up through the various depths.
“No, no, no, no more sleep!”
John didn’t know what to do for her as she was becoming more and more frantic.
“Don’t make me sleep, please don’t give me that needle, don’t DO this!”
It seemed to John that no matter what he did, she wasn’t listening or comprehending that he was one of the good guys.
Scooping her up quickly, he got her into the shower and turned on the water full tilt and hoped that the cold would work on breaking the drug’s hold on her.
*~*~*~*
Tony came walking into the library as the clock stuck 11 to find his daughter sitting staring into the fire.
“What are you still doing up?” He leaned forward and gently kissed her head
Cassie looked down to find that she was still on page 5 of her novel and closed her book. “I can never sleep after flying.”
Tony came around and sat on the sofa. “You’ve been like that ever since you were a little girl.”
Cassie laid her hands in her lap. “Why are we here?”
Tony smiled and reached for her book. “Because a father missed his children.”
Cassie’s expression made Tony do a double take, if he hadn’t known who she was, he would swear that it was Marlena looking at him. “Right.”
Getting up, she gently kissed his head. “Good night father.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena glared at him from her cocoon of robe and towels.
“I can’t believe you did that!”
John shrugged. “I had no choice baby, you were hurt, sedated and totally incoherent. I had to throw you in the shower.”
She snorted and brought her cup of tea to her lips. “And you didn’t think to warm the water first?”
John shook his head and got up to grab a t-shirt from the dresser. “No, frankly I didn’t because the cold totally snapped you out of that little thing you were suffering from.”
“That “THING” was a nightmare.”
John slipped the shirt on over his head. “Marlena, we’re going to have to face it. We need to talk about this.”
She shook her head. “I’m scared.”
He knelt in front of her, cupping her hands in his. “Don’t be.”
Marlena looked at their hands. “I can’t help but be. John, this is the DiMeras we’re dealing with. They had me for all this time. What if we learn things that show I wasn’t what I … what WE know me to be?”
“Nothing could make me love you less.” He smiled. “You KNOW that.”
She shook her head. “John, I was pregnant during that time.”
He nodded. “So you’re saying.”
She blinked. “What?”
“You know as well as I do that the DiMera’s play mind games. They do it all the time. Who’s to say that their not doing this with you now. Maybe they planted suggestions in your subconscious to make you believe that you left a baby behind?”
She felt sick. “Why, why would they do that to me?”
“They would do it if they felt it would drive a wedge between us, that it would plant guilt in your mind. They win only with dividing and conquering.”
“I need a notepad.”
John blinked. “What for?”
“I want to write down just what dreams I have had.”
He smiled. “I brought my laptop.”
She looked amused. “What happened to two people totally alone?”
John grinned. “Well that WAS my idea, but I also had something else I wanted to show you. In the middle of all this, I just forgot.”
Curious, she followed him to the desk and watched him turn on the computer.
“I think honey, that all of this is tied into you and if we can just find the key, the ONE thing that could tie all of it together, we MAY learn just what went on in your past.”
Marlena wrapped her arms around him and gently kissed his cheek and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
She stood up. “For loving me, for helping me and above all else, for having the savvy to work the computer.”
John grinned as she went to dress.
*~*~*~*
Tony grinned, hearing the beep on his laptop.
”Let’s see just what you have up your sleeve John.”
John folded the map and looked at his wife who was fidgeting with her wedding rings.
“You’re sure about this?”
She looked across the car at him and smiled. “We need to know and you said that your source is impeccable.”
John nodded. “He is.”
She flashed him a bright grin. “Then so yes I’m sure that I want to be with you when we go see this house. It can’t be as bad as the compound on San Christobal or the townhouse of Jonesy and Vivian’s.”
They chuckled.
Feeling his worried eyes on her, she tilted her head and smiled again. “I really am fine. I told you, all I needed was a really good night’s sleep.”
John turned left and his eyes never left the road. “Okay, okay you win.”
She laid her head on the headrest. “I keep telling you, never bet against the psychiatrist. I win ALL the time.”
“Oh you do huh?”
She nodded. “Best gamble I ever took was the day I fell in love with you.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere my lady.”
“Oh I sure hope so.” Her smile faded as she caught sight of it. “JOHN!”
*~*~*~*
“Why don’t you ever listen to me?”
She grinned. “Because I’m the one who’s holding the flashlight smart man.”
John rolled his eyes. “Smart ass.”
She tilted the flashlight. “That’s MRS. Smart ass to you.”
Unlocking the door, he pulled them both inside.
*~*~*~*
Tony watched from a discreet distance as the two figures disappeared from view.
“You should never have brought her back here John.”
He smiled. “But you were never the smartest of men.”
Extinguishing his cigarette, he followed.
*~*~*~*
John had been talking, wondering why it was that this house had never been rigged with traps like the other DiMera compounds.
“Maybe cause it’s not?”
John turned to find her standing on the stairs holding the railing tightly.
“What do you mean Doc?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.” Sitting down on the steps, she watched John come to her.
“It IS but it’s NOT.”
He squinted at her. “You’re not making sense here honey.”
“I know, but I can’t explain it.”
John didn’t like the tone of his wife’s voice. “Maybe I should take you home.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t.”
John spun around to find Tony standing there.”
“How the hell!”
Tony grinned. “She stays.”
Marlena stood up, her hands resting on John’s shoulders. “Uh hello, woman with her own mind and voice here. I can make MY OWN decisions.”
John caught her hand and brought her around to face Tony.
“I’m here because your family had me for all those years.”
Tony smiled. “You’re here because you couldn’t leave well enough alone.”
Moving past them, he opened a door and gestured them inside.
“Lets have a drink.”
*~*~*~*
Marlena looked around the room while John and Tony glared at each other.
“You remember this place don’t you?”
She didn’t turn around, her hands moving along the fireplace.
“No, no I don’t remember.”
John glared at his enemy. “Leave my wife alone.”
“Marlena knows more than she is willing to tell. She’s the sleeper.”
As they began to face off, she reached for a figurine on the nearby bookshelf and as her fingers closed around it, she heard the music.
“Doc?”
She was standing very still, tears trailing down her face.
Brushing past Tony who was stunned at her transformation, John gathered her into his arms.
She looked to Tony. “Why didn’t you let me see them?”
John glanced to him. “Who?”
She looked startlingly calm. “You KNOW!”
With eyes that were cold, she repeated what he had said to her from the hospital.
“You will be coming to me for help sooner than you think. Remember now, I hold your past in my hands Marlena.”
“I’m here now, I know bits and pieces, and I know that I was pregnant. I don’t know where they are and I don’t know why in the world that the man who has claimed since his first day home that he is my friend would lie.”
She came closer to him. “What are you playing at here Tony?”
His voice was like ice. “I’m not playing any games. I’m here to win.”
John picked up on the verbal threat. “Win what?”
He looked first to John and then back to Marlena. “Win everything that was mine.”
Marlena saw the threat in his eyes and sank down into the couch.
“I want back my children, I want back my missing years.”
His eyes dropped to Marlena. “I want you back.”
John was like a panther. “You can’t have her.”
He slipped the letter from his pocket. “Oh, this … this says I CAN.”
“Tu m’emmerdes”
With that simple statement of fact that came out of her husband’s mouth, Marlena’s head shot nearly a full 360 while Tony’s face took on a near gargoyle like expression.
“For my wife, who didn’t know that I speak fluent French, I said that you are bugging the shit out of me.”
John snatched the letter out of his hands. “I don’t trust you as far as I can and would love to throw you. This is probably a forgery and don’t think I don’t know the extent of what you and your family would go to take my wife from me.”
Tony shrugged. “It won’t be what MY family did to take her from you. It’s going to be what YOU did to keep her from you, from her children, from missing all those years.”
Marlena remained silent while John colored red. “Come again?”
“You forgot didn’t you?” Tony grinned. “You chose Diana.”
He turned to look at a wide-eyed Marlena. “You with all the training in the world didn’t look hard enough. The fake was brought out because Marlena was still too sick.”
She shook her head as a flash came to her…
“Smelling his scent, that indescribable mix of his cologne and his body… she would know it just about anywhere. Carefully getting out of bed, she went to the window and began to scream, pounding on the glass as her voice gave out … still as her mouth kept repeating the one word…
Roman.”
John saw the tears in her eyes. “You’re lying again Tony. The woman was a fake, Shane’s brother Drew confessed all.”
“Drew was renegade and would have confessed to anything, including the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, if it meant saving his neck. You couldn’t trust him for the world, pretty much as you were saying about MY family. My father HAD your precious wife, who was carrying YOUR baby and you chose your little bit over Marlena.”
She shook her head and turned away, not willing to go back on that memory of his leaving with the rest of their family.
“You said she was pregnant, then what happened to the child?”
John’s eyes widened at Tony’s response. “It died, the very day she saw you go.”
Marlena crumpled at that and allowed the darkness to claim her.
*~*~*~*
John sat worriedly beside her as he continued to lay a cold cloth on her forehead.
“I have to get her to a Doctor.”
Tony shook his head. “I’m afraid you can’t. There’s a storm coming and you wouldn’t even get out of the driveway before being flooded. We’re stuck here, so be a grown up and live with that.”
As he walked away, John’s voice called after him.
“You lied and I’ll be damned if you continue to mess with my wife’s head.”
Tony shrugged. “I’m afraid that I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
John glared up after him. “I’m afraid you DO. What do you know about Marlena’s time away?”
Tony smiled. “I know enough to know that if the sleeper awakens, nothing in Salem is going to be the same.”
“What’s the MEB foundation?”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “Oh you’ve been a busy boy.”
John lunged for him. “Tell me what the hell you’re playing at!”
“The MEB foundation is Marlena. What went on here is tied into it and the guilt your going to have when this is all over is going to be beyond your imagination.”
John tightened his grip. “What are you talking about?”
“Lets just say, how much do you know about Genetics and experiments?”
With the bewilderment in John’s eyes, Tony wrenched away.
“That’s right. Figure out just what those have in common with a pregnant wife who was grieving a husband who chose another woman.”
John felt sick. “You just said the child died the day that Marlena saw me leave.”
Tony smiled. “Now I’m not giving you ALL the details, you know full well DiMeras enjoy a good game. Figure it out smart man that you are.”
He left. “You should check on her.”
John scooped up his wife. “Baby I’m getting us out of here, NOW.”
As he fled the house, he mentally reminded himself to have a little chat with Bernie.
Marlena woke up, a scream in her throat as she looked around the darkened room with tears threatening to spill down her pale cheeks.
She didn’t remember much from the night’s events, but she did remember that dream.
She had kids with Tony?
Before she could react, the door swung open and John appeared.
“Doc?” He came rushing to her side. “I heard you screaming, what is it?”
She shook her head. “It was so real.”
Thinking that it was the stress from the kidnapping, John gathered her close and pressed his lips to her cheek. “It’s over now. He can’t harm you.”
She sniffled. “It was so …” She looked around the room.
“Tony and I had twins and we thought they were aliens. You had slept with Hope and we thought that.”
John blinked. “Woah, Mike overdid the sedative. I knew he shouldn’t have given you it on top of the medication that Stefano gave you to knock you out.”
She looked disappointed. “I know it was a dream because you and I aren’t.”
“Aren’t what?”
With a sigh, she looked up. “In my dream, we were married.”
John blinked. “We … we were?”
Emboldened by the revelation, she nodded.
“John, I love you. I always have. Why can’t we try?”
He was speechless. “You love me?”
Marlena reached for the pillow and thumped him. “No, I’ve simply worshipped your body from afar for years.”
He grinned. “We could finally be together. No more pain, no more guilt.”
His enthusiasm was infectious as she grinned in reply.
“It’s awesome. We can be a family. I can wake up to see your face beside me and make love to you till I fall asleep.”
Marlena burst out laughing. “Oh now THAT’S romantic.”
His laugh was bubbling out. “What do you want from me woman. I mean I just got my second chance at life, the woman who rescued me and never stopped believing in me is now looking at me after I nearly lost her and is telling me she wants me. I can’t be expected to give you romance at the batting of YOUR eyelashes.”
Marlena grew serious. “What about Kristen?”
He cradled his hand against Marlena’s cheek. “Sitting in that chair, I had time to think and get my head in order. I got to really get things straight. YOU and the children were all that I saw, all that I wanted. Kristen didn’t come into the equation. I used her because I couldn’t get you.”
He gently leaned into kiss her. “I want you so bad, but I’ve been under orders to let you rest. So all I will say on Kristen is leave it to me.”
She studied his face and burst into tears. “I nearly lost you.”
“I owe you the world.” The look of wonder in his eyes was replaced by one of righteous anger. “I TOLD you to stay out of this.”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry, your life was at stake. For you, I would do anything.”
Drawing her to him and promising that he would stay with her while she slept, John rested his chin on the top of her head.
With a smile, he addressed the unseen master of his former destiny.
“You lost the endgame. Love wins, EVERYTIME.”
The Jarlena Journal 