Post by kris1907 on Aug 22, 2006 16:11:08 GMT -5
Chapter 2
Marlena stares at the grand piano, noticing the dust that seems to be piling up on the slick material. Her gaze doesn’t falter as she hears his light footsteps move closer to her. She can hear the movement of the cushions as he leans against the back of the couch. It is a natural movement for her hands to move up and take the warm mug that is currently hovering over her shoulder. He stays put and watches as she takes a delicate sip, “Hmm.”
“Kind of low on hot chocolate in there.”
“Yeah, haven’t bought much lately. Al-“ She stops her sentence there and mumbles, “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” He nods and lifts his own mug to his lips.
Marlena leans back and allows her body to relax back into the cushions. Hazel eyes close as a strong hand begins to kneed the muscles of her left shoulder. She can feel the heat from his own mug next to her cheek, “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed so much, but its this that I miss most.”
“Hot chocolate without anything in it?”
“Sorry, really need to go shopping, don’t I?” As her sentence finishes, she shakes her head to answer the question, “Its all the little things I miss most. Things you don’t realize you love until they are gone. You standing there- so many conversations we’ve had this way.”
Leaning down to kiss her neck, “So much has begun this way.” A giggle leaves her lips as he lightly bites down on the skin, “I love you.”
“I love you too... so much.” The constant tear slides down her cheek, as she angrily bats it away, “I am so sick and tired of crying. I want this all to end.”
“Me too baby. Me too.” He squeezes her shoulder one more time before moving around and sitting besides her. John pulls her close and kisses the top of her head, “We’ll fix this. Now that you have your memory back, we can fix this. I promise you.”
“Are you sure? I have made such a mess of everything. Belle has needed me so much. I tried to council her on how to deal with her feelings for both Phillip and Shawn, but it had to be hard for her. To know that her mother wasn’t really here for her.”
“Doc, you have been here for Belle. Everyday, you have been there and been strong for her. Nobody can ask for anything more.”
“But I couldn’t remember I was just... just... going with the flow. Spouting off all this bull that I wasn’t even listening to. Here I was telling her to follow her heart and figure out which man she wanted to spend her life with, and here I was planning a wedding with Alex. It is just all so messed up.” John begins to speak again but she puts her hand up to stop him, “Please don’t patronize me in this John. Doesn’t matter if I did the best that I could, because it wasn’t good enough. And granted, I was there for Belle often, but my family is larger than just her.”
“Fine, you don’t want me to patronize you?” He sees her shakes her head, “And you want the truth- you were there for Belle. There for her a lot and some of the other kids might be hurt by that. I’m not sure. Sami is so involved with her problems- with Lucus and Austin and Carrie back in town. She was just plainly happy to see you away from me.” John laughs harshly at the irony of the statement, “That girl never seems to get to win, does she?”
“No. No she doesn’t. But then again, she doesn’t give herself much of a chance.”
“So that’s the truth. Sami may have needed you, yet we all know Sami and if she wanted something badly enough, she would have kicked down your door.” Turning towards the door and pointing quickly, “And its still standing.” Marlena laughs lightly at the stupid comment, but stays silent. “What?”
“Wasn’t there for Sami when her wedding all fell apart.”
“As you said, she never makes it easy on herself.”
She stares into her dark liquid and whispers out, “Brady...”
“You were there. That is what is important. He had us both there.”
“But its not the same. He must be so crushed and hurt.”
“He would have if you hadn’t have come. But you did. The rest he can forgive.” John doesn’t falter as he receives her fierce glare, “I’m not patronizing. He wouldn’t have forgiven you, to some extent if you hadn’t shown up. But you did, the rest you can make up for. Its okay.”
“He... John...” Marlena wipes the tears off her cheeks and allows her hand to quickly wipe at the tip of her nose, “John our boy got married and I wasn’t there. I mean I was there but wasn’t. Neither of his mothers were there. That’s not fair. His wedding should have been perfect. He deserved that.”
John allows his hand to slide behind her neck to caress the tight nerves, “It was perfect and both of his mothers were there. In his heart, just like you taught him.”
“God...” Marlena allows her head to fall and her fingers run through her bangs, “My life is just so messed up. It has been for years now. When do I get a chance to breath? John, when do we get a chance to be happy? Can you remember a time when we were truly happy?”
He looks at her seriously, “Yes. Yes I do, Doc. I remember times all the time and we will get back to that.”
“How? Not with my life so screwed up. All the mistakes that I have made, seem to make it all impossible. Like I will never tred water again.”
“And Alex...”
Marlena groans and refuses to answer immediately as she focuses on her drink, “I don’t know what to do. Is he... were you... urgh.”
He kisses her head again and tells her to calm down, “Do I still think I am right about Alex? Yes. I am still worried about you. I don’t know what he will do when he finds out we’ve won.”
“So you honestly think that he has something to do with my amnesia?”
“I know it. I don’t think he caused it, but I think he kept your memories hidden and in some cases, I think messed with some of them.”
“Oh God...”
“Hey... hey Doc. No more tears, remember? Its going to be okay. But we will have to figure something out because I won’t let you stay here with Alex any longer. Its not gunna happen, Doc.”
Marlena’s hand reaches up to smooth out the tight muscles in his arms, “Now who needs to calm down? What do you suggest?”
“I am suggesting that you need to take a vacation. You, Belle and perhaps Claire should take a short trip.”
“But how... when...”
“Right now.”
Marlena sits up and faces him, “John I can’t just leave.”
“Yes, you can. And I need you to because then I will know you are safe. And you and Belle need time away to catch up. Invite Sami and Carrie too, if you’d like. But more importantly, it will allow me to figure out what that monster is up to. Marlena, he is up to something and it isn’t anything good. I may sound crazy but he wants to hurt you and I need time to figure out why. Also, I need to prove that I am right.”
Her eyebrow rises in question, “How caveman of you.”
His eyebrow rises to match her own, before a smile spreads across his face, “I need to prove that I am right to protect you.”
“Not for your ego?”
Leaning forward, John kisses her nose, “Ego has been a little bruised lately.”
“Yeah,” Her eyes drop down to her lap as the playfulness disappears from the air.
Using the tip of his fingers, he lifts her chin until her sad hazel eyes meet up with his own blue ones, “We’ll fix this. I promise. Together we will begin to heal-“ He taps a finger across her lips to keep her from talking, “I swear to you Doc, that we will fix all of this. We have a lot to talk about and a lot to work through and it won’t happen over night.”
“No, it won’t. But we’ll do it together, right?”
“And that’s a fact. You and I will be better and stronger than ever but...”
Her eyes search his own, “What John?”
“We need to solve this Alex thing first. We can’t heal or put our life back together until we figure out what his agenda is. He’s out to hurt you, Doc and I need to know why. And that’s why you need to go away.”
“But how will that help?”
“If it all works out the way I hope, you’ll be gone and Alex will do something stupid. He’ll mess up. He likes you here, with him, so that he can control you. He needs to know what is happening at all times, so if you are away with Belle, that will unnerve him. And our good ol’ Doctor North may make a mistake. I’m counting on it.”
“So you want me to go away.”
John takes her mug from her hands and sets it down in front of them. “Look at me,” He waits for her to turn towards him and look him straight in the eyes, “I want you safe. I don’t want you away from me for another second but we can’t just tell North you are cured, I’m moving back in and life is dandy. There is something wrong. There is something from your past that you don’t remember yet but Alex does and we need to figure out what it is.”
“Do you...” Marlena searches John’s face for answers before finishing her question, “Do you still think he was abusive or... or do you think we were never married at all?”
“I don’t know. I honestly dunno Doc. You want honesty?” At her nod, John takes in a deep breath, “He has me confused. He has been drugging you and trying to force you to forget, but I don’t know why. I don’t know what his agenda is. Did he really know you in school? Were you two really married? Did he hurt you and is now here to finish the job? I dunno. I just don’t know and I need to figure it out!”
Marlena places a gentle finger on his lips to not only quiet him, but soothe him. “Okay, I’ll go. I’ll leave Alex a note that I am going away with Belle for a girl’s weekend to help her sort out life. I’ll tell him that I have my medicines and that I will call and let him know where I am at.” She takes in a slow deep breath, “And then I won’t call. But, what if he comes after me? I don’t want Belle or Claire put in danger.”
“I’ll have protection for you ladies.” Putting a hand up in defense, “Just in the hotel or something. Not playing your shadow, honest. And I will be here with both eyes and ears on North at all times.”
“Okay, the not calling, if he is out to control and hurt me, should set him over the edge.”
A slight smile glimpses his lips, “Just like old times, huh?”
“Yeah.” Her smile drops suddenly as her chin dips low again. She doesn’t neeed him to ask what is wrong, “Will you come visit?”
“I can’t. Be too much of a risk.”
“If I have to stay away a long time, will you find a way to visit? We’ve been apart far too long already John.”
John leans down to kiss her lips gently. Pulling away, he stares at her and can’t help himself as he leans back down to capture her lips one more time. He allows his body to relax, as his arms slip around her shoulders and pulls her closer to him. As he pulls away, he lightly bites her lower lip before kissing the injured area, “I’ll take care of it all.”
Marlena’s mouth opens to comment further but a sound from the hallway causes them to break apart as John leans over to reclaim his hot chocolate. Just as he begins to take a sip, Alex opens the door and walks in. John can hear the man’s footsteps stop and knows that he must be staring at him.
“Welcome back. Did you have a good day shopping?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did you get us bread?”
Alex face drops slightly as he continues to eye the scene before him, “No. No, I didn’t. John, what are you doing here?”
Marlena, not allowing John to step in, stands up and moves towards her coat, “Oh no problem, I’ll grab some on my way home.” At Alex’s questioning look, “John came over to update me on Belle and seems my little girl needs a good shoulder to cry on. So I have to go over there to see if I can help.”
“But Marlena, its late.”
“Yeah but I won’t be able to sleep knowing that she can’t.” Kissing his cheek, “I won’t be long. Goodnight. Goodnight John.”
Marlena exits the room quickly before Alex has time to come up with anymore questions. Instead, he turns towards John, “This is all your doing, isn’t it? Have to use your own daughter to get some time with Marlena.”
“Belle needs her mother so I came here to get her. Nothing more. Now if you’ll excuse me Doctor. I have somewhere I need to be.”
Marlena stares at the grand piano, noticing the dust that seems to be piling up on the slick material. Her gaze doesn’t falter as she hears his light footsteps move closer to her. She can hear the movement of the cushions as he leans against the back of the couch. It is a natural movement for her hands to move up and take the warm mug that is currently hovering over her shoulder. He stays put and watches as she takes a delicate sip, “Hmm.”
“Kind of low on hot chocolate in there.”
“Yeah, haven’t bought much lately. Al-“ She stops her sentence there and mumbles, “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” He nods and lifts his own mug to his lips.
Marlena leans back and allows her body to relax back into the cushions. Hazel eyes close as a strong hand begins to kneed the muscles of her left shoulder. She can feel the heat from his own mug next to her cheek, “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed so much, but its this that I miss most.”
“Hot chocolate without anything in it?”
“Sorry, really need to go shopping, don’t I?” As her sentence finishes, she shakes her head to answer the question, “Its all the little things I miss most. Things you don’t realize you love until they are gone. You standing there- so many conversations we’ve had this way.”
Leaning down to kiss her neck, “So much has begun this way.” A giggle leaves her lips as he lightly bites down on the skin, “I love you.”
“I love you too... so much.” The constant tear slides down her cheek, as she angrily bats it away, “I am so sick and tired of crying. I want this all to end.”
“Me too baby. Me too.” He squeezes her shoulder one more time before moving around and sitting besides her. John pulls her close and kisses the top of her head, “We’ll fix this. Now that you have your memory back, we can fix this. I promise you.”
“Are you sure? I have made such a mess of everything. Belle has needed me so much. I tried to council her on how to deal with her feelings for both Phillip and Shawn, but it had to be hard for her. To know that her mother wasn’t really here for her.”
“Doc, you have been here for Belle. Everyday, you have been there and been strong for her. Nobody can ask for anything more.”
“But I couldn’t remember I was just... just... going with the flow. Spouting off all this bull that I wasn’t even listening to. Here I was telling her to follow her heart and figure out which man she wanted to spend her life with, and here I was planning a wedding with Alex. It is just all so messed up.” John begins to speak again but she puts her hand up to stop him, “Please don’t patronize me in this John. Doesn’t matter if I did the best that I could, because it wasn’t good enough. And granted, I was there for Belle often, but my family is larger than just her.”
“Fine, you don’t want me to patronize you?” He sees her shakes her head, “And you want the truth- you were there for Belle. There for her a lot and some of the other kids might be hurt by that. I’m not sure. Sami is so involved with her problems- with Lucus and Austin and Carrie back in town. She was just plainly happy to see you away from me.” John laughs harshly at the irony of the statement, “That girl never seems to get to win, does she?”
“No. No she doesn’t. But then again, she doesn’t give herself much of a chance.”
“So that’s the truth. Sami may have needed you, yet we all know Sami and if she wanted something badly enough, she would have kicked down your door.” Turning towards the door and pointing quickly, “And its still standing.” Marlena laughs lightly at the stupid comment, but stays silent. “What?”
“Wasn’t there for Sami when her wedding all fell apart.”
“As you said, she never makes it easy on herself.”
She stares into her dark liquid and whispers out, “Brady...”
“You were there. That is what is important. He had us both there.”
“But its not the same. He must be so crushed and hurt.”
“He would have if you hadn’t have come. But you did. The rest he can forgive.” John doesn’t falter as he receives her fierce glare, “I’m not patronizing. He wouldn’t have forgiven you, to some extent if you hadn’t shown up. But you did, the rest you can make up for. Its okay.”
“He... John...” Marlena wipes the tears off her cheeks and allows her hand to quickly wipe at the tip of her nose, “John our boy got married and I wasn’t there. I mean I was there but wasn’t. Neither of his mothers were there. That’s not fair. His wedding should have been perfect. He deserved that.”
John allows his hand to slide behind her neck to caress the tight nerves, “It was perfect and both of his mothers were there. In his heart, just like you taught him.”
“God...” Marlena allows her head to fall and her fingers run through her bangs, “My life is just so messed up. It has been for years now. When do I get a chance to breath? John, when do we get a chance to be happy? Can you remember a time when we were truly happy?”
He looks at her seriously, “Yes. Yes I do, Doc. I remember times all the time and we will get back to that.”
“How? Not with my life so screwed up. All the mistakes that I have made, seem to make it all impossible. Like I will never tred water again.”
“And Alex...”
Marlena groans and refuses to answer immediately as she focuses on her drink, “I don’t know what to do. Is he... were you... urgh.”
He kisses her head again and tells her to calm down, “Do I still think I am right about Alex? Yes. I am still worried about you. I don’t know what he will do when he finds out we’ve won.”
“So you honestly think that he has something to do with my amnesia?”
“I know it. I don’t think he caused it, but I think he kept your memories hidden and in some cases, I think messed with some of them.”
“Oh God...”
“Hey... hey Doc. No more tears, remember? Its going to be okay. But we will have to figure something out because I won’t let you stay here with Alex any longer. Its not gunna happen, Doc.”
Marlena’s hand reaches up to smooth out the tight muscles in his arms, “Now who needs to calm down? What do you suggest?”
“I am suggesting that you need to take a vacation. You, Belle and perhaps Claire should take a short trip.”
“But how... when...”
“Right now.”
Marlena sits up and faces him, “John I can’t just leave.”
“Yes, you can. And I need you to because then I will know you are safe. And you and Belle need time away to catch up. Invite Sami and Carrie too, if you’d like. But more importantly, it will allow me to figure out what that monster is up to. Marlena, he is up to something and it isn’t anything good. I may sound crazy but he wants to hurt you and I need time to figure out why. Also, I need to prove that I am right.”
Her eyebrow rises in question, “How caveman of you.”
His eyebrow rises to match her own, before a smile spreads across his face, “I need to prove that I am right to protect you.”
“Not for your ego?”
Leaning forward, John kisses her nose, “Ego has been a little bruised lately.”
“Yeah,” Her eyes drop down to her lap as the playfulness disappears from the air.
Using the tip of his fingers, he lifts her chin until her sad hazel eyes meet up with his own blue ones, “We’ll fix this. I promise. Together we will begin to heal-“ He taps a finger across her lips to keep her from talking, “I swear to you Doc, that we will fix all of this. We have a lot to talk about and a lot to work through and it won’t happen over night.”
“No, it won’t. But we’ll do it together, right?”
“And that’s a fact. You and I will be better and stronger than ever but...”
Her eyes search his own, “What John?”
“We need to solve this Alex thing first. We can’t heal or put our life back together until we figure out what his agenda is. He’s out to hurt you, Doc and I need to know why. And that’s why you need to go away.”
“But how will that help?”
“If it all works out the way I hope, you’ll be gone and Alex will do something stupid. He’ll mess up. He likes you here, with him, so that he can control you. He needs to know what is happening at all times, so if you are away with Belle, that will unnerve him. And our good ol’ Doctor North may make a mistake. I’m counting on it.”
“So you want me to go away.”
John takes her mug from her hands and sets it down in front of them. “Look at me,” He waits for her to turn towards him and look him straight in the eyes, “I want you safe. I don’t want you away from me for another second but we can’t just tell North you are cured, I’m moving back in and life is dandy. There is something wrong. There is something from your past that you don’t remember yet but Alex does and we need to figure out what it is.”
“Do you...” Marlena searches John’s face for answers before finishing her question, “Do you still think he was abusive or... or do you think we were never married at all?”
“I don’t know. I honestly dunno Doc. You want honesty?” At her nod, John takes in a deep breath, “He has me confused. He has been drugging you and trying to force you to forget, but I don’t know why. I don’t know what his agenda is. Did he really know you in school? Were you two really married? Did he hurt you and is now here to finish the job? I dunno. I just don’t know and I need to figure it out!”
Marlena places a gentle finger on his lips to not only quiet him, but soothe him. “Okay, I’ll go. I’ll leave Alex a note that I am going away with Belle for a girl’s weekend to help her sort out life. I’ll tell him that I have my medicines and that I will call and let him know where I am at.” She takes in a slow deep breath, “And then I won’t call. But, what if he comes after me? I don’t want Belle or Claire put in danger.”
“I’ll have protection for you ladies.” Putting a hand up in defense, “Just in the hotel or something. Not playing your shadow, honest. And I will be here with both eyes and ears on North at all times.”
“Okay, the not calling, if he is out to control and hurt me, should set him over the edge.”
A slight smile glimpses his lips, “Just like old times, huh?”
“Yeah.” Her smile drops suddenly as her chin dips low again. She doesn’t neeed him to ask what is wrong, “Will you come visit?”
“I can’t. Be too much of a risk.”
“If I have to stay away a long time, will you find a way to visit? We’ve been apart far too long already John.”
John leans down to kiss her lips gently. Pulling away, he stares at her and can’t help himself as he leans back down to capture her lips one more time. He allows his body to relax, as his arms slip around her shoulders and pulls her closer to him. As he pulls away, he lightly bites her lower lip before kissing the injured area, “I’ll take care of it all.”
Marlena’s mouth opens to comment further but a sound from the hallway causes them to break apart as John leans over to reclaim his hot chocolate. Just as he begins to take a sip, Alex opens the door and walks in. John can hear the man’s footsteps stop and knows that he must be staring at him.
“Welcome back. Did you have a good day shopping?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did you get us bread?”
Alex face drops slightly as he continues to eye the scene before him, “No. No, I didn’t. John, what are you doing here?”
Marlena, not allowing John to step in, stands up and moves towards her coat, “Oh no problem, I’ll grab some on my way home.” At Alex’s questioning look, “John came over to update me on Belle and seems my little girl needs a good shoulder to cry on. So I have to go over there to see if I can help.”
“But Marlena, its late.”
“Yeah but I won’t be able to sleep knowing that she can’t.” Kissing his cheek, “I won’t be long. Goodnight. Goodnight John.”
Marlena exits the room quickly before Alex has time to come up with anymore questions. Instead, he turns towards John, “This is all your doing, isn’t it? Have to use your own daughter to get some time with Marlena.”
“Belle needs her mother so I came here to get her. Nothing more. Now if you’ll excuse me Doctor. I have somewhere I need to be.”