Post by Mimi on Aug 18, 2006 10:18:29 GMT -5
John was floored. He stared at the door Marlena had just closed unable to speak. “What? … What just happened here Roman? …Did Marlena just say that she wasn’t Marlena?” Roman laughed nervously and sat down on the couch. “She’s Marlena, just not Marlena.” “What…help me out here pal…I’m just a little confused… please help me understand this?” John pleaded with Roman. He leaned forward on the couch and put his head in his hands. “Oh man…” “She’s Marlena, or as she refers to it, she became Marlena… John, how much has Marlena told you about her childhood?” “Bits and pieces…why?” John replied as he looked up at Roman Brady. “You’ll have to be more specific John…what exactly has she told you?” “Why the interrogation Roman? … I don’t know… the normal stuff… growing up with Samantha, birthday parties, Christmas presents… you know, the normal stuff people share about their childhood.” “What do you know about her family?” “Besides Samantha? Two parents - Frank and Martha…oh god, you aren’t going to tell me that she’s really Samantha, are you?” “No, Samantha was Samantha and Marlena is Marlena.” “You’ve lost me again…she’s not Samantha and she’s not Marlena, who the hell is she?” “God, how do I even begin this?” Roman asked as he stood up. “You’re scaring me here Roman… Is she a Dimera? Is that what you are trying to say?” John moved forward on the couch. “No, John… but being a Dimera might have been a better…okay, I’m trying to make this as simple as possible … Okay, Marlena and her sister were raised in an abusive environment...” “Abusive how?” John interrupted Roman. He looked back to the bedroom wondering if Marlena was listening to their conversation. He could still feel her presence and her pain, even though she was not in the room. “Oh, the usual, her biological parents were young, uneducated and volatile… from what she has told me, social services was a frequent visitor to their house…. One night Marlena and Samantha were removed from the house and put into the foster care system… I’m not sure how long they were initially in the foster care system…. Marlena never really wanted to talk about the experience…” “Why were they removed from the home Roman?” “Child endangerment, abuse and neglect, at least that’s what the official report stated… Both parents were court ordered to complete parenting and anger management classes…. the children were returned to the home, only to be removed a couple of months later…I believe at that time they both were placed with Frank and Martha Evans.” “Again, why?” “Their biological mother committed suicide…drowned in the lake on the family homestead…” “What?” John exclaimed rather loudly. “She killed herself?…That’s so tragic and must have been so painful for Marlena and Samantha.” “No tragic was the fact that she was eight months pregnant at the time.” “Oh my god…” John gasped. He felt immense pain and sadness for Marlena. The loss of her mother must have been devastating. Although he’d never seen a picture of Marlena as a child, he’d always pictured her as a cute child, wavy long blond hair and large hazel eyes, smiling and happy. In his mind he now saw that same child, wise beyond her years seeing and experiencing things no child should ever have to, an air of seriousness about her. “Marlena and Samantha spent a couple more years in foster care before they were reunited with their father…Being reunited with their father was devastating for Marlena and Samantha…The Evans’ had taken steps to legally adopt both girls… Social services had been telling them that there was no chance of family reunification…both girls had adjusted to a new life with new names…One day they were sent back to live with their father…. I don’t know the specifics, you’ll have to ask Mar…The records show that they spent two years with him before they were once again removed from the home and put back in foster care… Shortly after parental rights were terminated and they both were adopted by Frank and Martha.” “Why couldn’t she tell me this? None of this is her fault and is nothing to be ashamed of…I love her.” John was visibly pained by not knowing. “John, the Marlena we both know and love is a strong and proud woman… she has always seen her past as somewhat of an embarrassment, even though I never saw it that way… She is not now who she was then and she doesn’t want to be reminded…this has nothing to do with love.” “How could she keep something like this from me?” “This isn’t about you John… This is about Doc and her needs…my personal feeling is that she never told you because in her mind she put the whole episode behind her.” “Obviously she didn’t.” John got up from the couch and walked to the bedroom door. He reached out and touched the door, hoping to find some connection with Marlena. “Roman, you keep mentioning records…” John said as he turned around and faced Roman, one hand still on the door. “Yeah.” “Where are these records? I’d like to see them…. Did you hire a private investigator or use your police privileges to investigate her?” “Not exactly… something came up years ago and I came into possession of copies of the records…” “Someone sent them to you?” John asked as he sat down in the chair, his back to the bedroom door. “No…look, I don’t feel comfortable telling you this information about Doc in the first place… It’s not my life; it’s hers… I’ve told you this much because it’s what she wanted, but details about the records I won’t discuss.” “Why the fucking mystery Roman?” “John, there are things in the past that need to remain in the past…Got it.” “Fair enough… but if you are withholding a piece of information that can and will hurt my wife in anyway in the future due to your failure to disclose it, I will personally hurt you…do you understand?” “God John, I don’t see how Doc puts up with you and your attitude…. You must drive her nuts…. She always hated it when I told her what to do…” Roman wanted to choke John. This wasn’t about him. “She knows that I always have her best interest at heart and would never hurt her…I will do whatever is required, to make sure that my wife is happy and feels safe…I don’t care what I have to do or how much it costs, she is worth it to me….Now back to the topic…What was her birth name?” “I can’t tell you that?” “What the fuck…why can’t you tell me that?” John threw his hands up in the air in disgust. “You’ve seen the records…I know that you know.” “Please ask her that information…don’t ask me.” Roman has already disclosed more than he intended to. “Why do I get the feeling that there is so much more to this than Marlena, or whatever her name was, being raised in a bad home, removed from said home and being adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Evans?….I’ve got to talk to her, you’re giving me nothing.” John said as he got up off the couch. “John, wait…please sit down.” “Are you going to tell me what it is that has my wife so scarred and why that lunatic North is after her? Or are you going to give me the run around and plead the fifth on every question?” “Sit down and I’ll tell you the basics of what she wants you to know… the details I can’t and won’t talk about… It’s not my place…” “Fine,” John said as he tensely sat down on the couch. “Start talking pal… What has her so scarred Roman…why doesn’t she want to be touched at times… Stop beating around the bush and being so elusive… what happened to my wife?” Roman leaned forward in his chair and put his hands in his head. He took a deep breath before replying to John. “She was raped.” “I know that Roman, by Kellam Chandler… Why the secrecy, why is she remembering that now?” “God, if it were only that simple…He’s not the one that she is remembering but in my opinion he does play a part in all of this.” “What? Marlena was also raped by someone else? Was this when she was held captive by Orpheus…is that why you know about it? As ISA did you see the file? … You know what happened didn’t you? … Roman, why the hell didn’t you tell me back then? … She’s my wife, I should have been told.” John’s questions came quicker and quicker, and his voice louder and louder. He was frantic to get a grasp on this new situation. “Stop it John,” Roman said as he sat up and looked John in the eyes. He noticed that Marlena was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, tears streaming down her cheeks. He wondered how much of the conversation she had heard. “I can’t grasp this…I’m trying to understand… If it wasn’t Orpheus or Chandler, who raped her, who is she running from? Tell me who he is because I’m going to kill the fucking bastard.” “My father,” Marlena whispered.
