Post by Mimi on Aug 18, 2006 10:26:15 GMT -5
The house was eerily quiet as John made his way up the staircase. He had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong, very wrong. For the last hour he sat on the veranda contemplating, evaluating whether or not he should go and check on Marlena. With her bizarre, out of character behavior for the last couple months he didn’t want to push her or annoy her. The hallway was dark and silent as he made his way down to her room. He paused outside the door, placing his ear against the wooden frame, hoping to hear her moving around inside. Dead silence.
“Doc, can I come in?” John said as he knocked on the bedroom door. “Doc, are you okay?” John continued knocking after receiving no answer. Roman peeked his head out from his doorway to see what the commotion was.
“What’s going on?” Roman asked as he slowly approached John. He looked at his watch to see what time it was. “John, it’s almost midnight…Marlena is probably sleeping.”
“Maybe, but I need to make sure she’s alright. She had a migraine earlier and came up to rest. I told her that I’d check on her. She might be sleeping, but for my own piece of mind, I’d like to at least know that she’s okay.” John put his hand on the knob and was grateful to find that the door was unlocked.
John slowly opened the door, immediately overcome by the smell of the room. All the lights in the room were on. “Doc, where are you?” John asked loudly, looking around the room frantically. He noticed that she was not asleep in the bed. Roman followed John into the room.
“Marlena,” John gasped as he found her on the floor of the bathroom. Roman looked on in horror. Marlena lay lifeless on the floor face down, phone in hand. Roman could hear the faint beeping of the dialtone. John knelt down beside her, checking for a pulse. “Thank god,” he muttered when he found one. He slowly turned her over.
“Oh Marlena,” he said with love and concern as he brushed her vomit encrusted locks away from her face. “Oh Doc, what’s wrong with you?”
“John, maybe we should call a doctor…she doesn’t look good to me. Do you think it’s the migraine?” Roman asked as he took in the scene. Vomit was everyone. Roman had to fight his automatic instinct to gag.
“I’m not sure…Could you get me a washcloth please and help me get her cleaned up…I don’t want anyone to see her like this…she wouldn’t want that,” John responded as he stroked Marlenas face gently, wishing that she would wake up.
“Sure,” Roman said as he got up from the floor and walked into the bedroom. He grabbed some clean clothes for Marlena and walked back into the bathroom. “Come on Doc, come back to me…I love you and need you, honey….I can’t do this without you,” John whispered to Marlena as Roman helped him remove Marlena’s dirty shirt. “Whatever we may have said to each other in anger in the past doesn’t matter….I just need you to be well…please wake up and be okay…It’s you and me together for the long haul…If you’re not beside me, I don’t know what I’d do…please open your eyes and be okay.” John slowly cleaned her face and hair with the washcloth.
Roman continued his task of removing Marlena’s shoes and socks. He was revolted by the contrast of the situation. Vomit was everyone and the room stunk, but there John was, whispering words of adoration and love to an unconscious woman oblivious to the mess. Roman just wanted to call the doctor and maid.
“Doc, remember that time when we took Belle and Brady on a cruise… you had planned this perfect family vacation for us, down to the last detail…Belle came down with step throat and Brady had an ear infection…It didn’t deter you for giving us the perfect vacation…you arranged with the cruise line to bring some of the kids programming to the room so that the kids wouldn’t miss it…They still talk about it today as being their favorite family vacation….I want more of those with you Doc.” John continued to stroke her face with the washcloth.
Roman noticed that John seemed so transfixed by her that he was aware of little else. Roman slowly removed her pants and replaced them with a pair of sweatpants that he guessed belonged to John.
“John, maybe you should take her to the bed and call the doctor,” Roman said surveying the scene.
“Oh,” John said, shaken out of his reverie. “Please call the doctor.” John slowly lifted his wife, making sure that her head was support against his chest, as he carried her to the large bed. “What happened?” Marlena asked as she slowly opened her eyes. The brightness of the light made it hard for her to focus. She raised her hands over her eyes, trying to block out the light.
“Doc, welcome back to the land of the living,” Roman said as he sat down on the bed next to Marlena, relieved that she was finally awake.
“What happened?” Marlena weakly asked, looking around the room.
“You passed out…John’s out in the hall talking with the doctor…he should be back in here in a couple of minutes.”
“Oh god,” Marlena said as she grabbed her head in pain. The slideshow in her head started again. She saw herself arguing with John about something and her slapping him across the face hard….she felt the anger and hate that she felt towards him in that instance….she felt the sting of the slap on the palm of her hand. She saw herself standing out in the snow, hiding from her father… she felt the chill of the wind against her bare arms, felt the coldness of the snow beneath her bare feet. She saw herself being held prisoner on some island, drugged and restrained….she felt the terror as the nurse administered the drug cocktail that kept her in a twilight state. She saw herself being held down by John. “Stop,” Marlena said loudly as she shook her head violently trying to stop the images and feelings.
“Doc, you want me to call the doctor back in…hold on let me get him,” Roman said as he got up from the bed.
“No…please don’t…I’ll be okay…Just a headache…I just need some rest and I’ll be okay.” Marlena laid back down on the large down pillow and closed her eyes, arm placed over her forehead. With time, she’d be okay.
“You don’t look okay to me…Mar, I know you’re not okay… How far along are you?” Roman asked as he laid down next to her on the bed and lifted her arm so that he could see her eyes. He wasn’t going to let her avoid this question. Marlena closed her eyes and breathed in deeply before responding. “How did you find out?”
“I helped John change your clothes earlier.”
Marlena paused before responding to Roman, her fingers slowly rubbing her temples. “Men…Even when I am on my death bed, both you and John still want answers…John…Does he know?”
“I don’t think so…I didn’t say anything to him…I didn’t know if he knew and you didn’t want me to know…so I didn’t say anything.”
“Thank you for not saying anything.” Things were not going according to plan. She felt like crap; her head hurt, she was sick to her stomach, mentally and physically exhausted and all John and Roman wanted her to do was to talk.
“So back to my original question. How far along are you Marlena?” Roman laid on his pillow, his head propped on his hand, watching her.
“I’m not sure…I don’t know…I’m a doctor, I should know but I don’t. I estimate being at least 18 weeks along but I can’t be sure. Please, I am begging you, please do not say anything to John about this.” She didn’t want to be having this conversation, but knew that Roman wasn’t going to let it go.
“John is your husband, you need to let him know,” Roman warned her. Memories of her last pregnancy and the subsequent miscarriage came to mind. He was saddened by the fact that she was carrying another mans baby and would make another man a father again. Not him.
“I’m sorry Roman, I wish things had turned out differently and our baby had lived,” Marlena admitted upon seeing Romans sad expression. She took his hand in hers.
“So do I, but that’s all in the past…Don’t repeat our mistake, tell John.” Roman squeezed her hand.
“I can’t, what if its not his baby?” The thought was inconceivable to Marlena but was a real possibility. She was getting her memory back, but there were huge gaps. What if she had been intimate with someone else? John would be devastated. This was something that their relationship couldn’t survive. John may have forgiven her for her dalliance with Roman once, but he wouldn’t forgive her twice.
“Whose else could it be Doc? Alex?” Roman asked. “Oh dear god, please tell me I’m wrong…please…Please tell me that you did not sleep with that man.”
“If I did, I don’t remember it Roman…I don’t know…I’m confused… How could I have let this happen? This is all so embarrassing and irresponsible of me. I’m a doctor and am not on the pill… I know too much information for you Roman, but what the hell was I doing? Not using protection once again. Don’t answer that.” Marlena was disappointed with herself. She had to be the most fertile woman in Salem. Every time she had sexual intercourse and didn’t use protection, she seemed to wind up pregnant. Sami and Eric, Belle, Roman and her baby that didn’t live, and now this one.
“Mar, maybe subconsciously you wanted to get pregnant and have a baby…” Roman replied before Marlena interrupted him.
“What…to replace the one I just lost? You’ve got to be kidding me…my mind may be a little out of sorts, but I’m not crazy…I am too old and set in my ways to even think about having another child Roman.”
“You’re not too old Doc.”
“Please Roman, I’m a grandmother…Yes, I know physically its possible for women in their fifties to safely have children, I never wanted that to be me…. My children are supposed to be having children now…I’m not supposed to be creating new life and making my children younger than their nieces and nephews…Could we please not talk about this right now?” Marlena asked as she pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and turned on her side, her arms protectively wrapped around her stomach.
“Talk about what,” John asked as he entered the room.
“Doc, can I come in?” John said as he knocked on the bedroom door. “Doc, are you okay?” John continued knocking after receiving no answer. Roman peeked his head out from his doorway to see what the commotion was.
“What’s going on?” Roman asked as he slowly approached John. He looked at his watch to see what time it was. “John, it’s almost midnight…Marlena is probably sleeping.”
“Maybe, but I need to make sure she’s alright. She had a migraine earlier and came up to rest. I told her that I’d check on her. She might be sleeping, but for my own piece of mind, I’d like to at least know that she’s okay.” John put his hand on the knob and was grateful to find that the door was unlocked.
John slowly opened the door, immediately overcome by the smell of the room. All the lights in the room were on. “Doc, where are you?” John asked loudly, looking around the room frantically. He noticed that she was not asleep in the bed. Roman followed John into the room.
“Marlena,” John gasped as he found her on the floor of the bathroom. Roman looked on in horror. Marlena lay lifeless on the floor face down, phone in hand. Roman could hear the faint beeping of the dialtone. John knelt down beside her, checking for a pulse. “Thank god,” he muttered when he found one. He slowly turned her over.
“Oh Marlena,” he said with love and concern as he brushed her vomit encrusted locks away from her face. “Oh Doc, what’s wrong with you?”
“John, maybe we should call a doctor…she doesn’t look good to me. Do you think it’s the migraine?” Roman asked as he took in the scene. Vomit was everyone. Roman had to fight his automatic instinct to gag.
“I’m not sure…Could you get me a washcloth please and help me get her cleaned up…I don’t want anyone to see her like this…she wouldn’t want that,” John responded as he stroked Marlenas face gently, wishing that she would wake up.
“Sure,” Roman said as he got up from the floor and walked into the bedroom. He grabbed some clean clothes for Marlena and walked back into the bathroom. “Come on Doc, come back to me…I love you and need you, honey….I can’t do this without you,” John whispered to Marlena as Roman helped him remove Marlena’s dirty shirt. “Whatever we may have said to each other in anger in the past doesn’t matter….I just need you to be well…please wake up and be okay…It’s you and me together for the long haul…If you’re not beside me, I don’t know what I’d do…please open your eyes and be okay.” John slowly cleaned her face and hair with the washcloth.
Roman continued his task of removing Marlena’s shoes and socks. He was revolted by the contrast of the situation. Vomit was everyone and the room stunk, but there John was, whispering words of adoration and love to an unconscious woman oblivious to the mess. Roman just wanted to call the doctor and maid.
“Doc, remember that time when we took Belle and Brady on a cruise… you had planned this perfect family vacation for us, down to the last detail…Belle came down with step throat and Brady had an ear infection…It didn’t deter you for giving us the perfect vacation…you arranged with the cruise line to bring some of the kids programming to the room so that the kids wouldn’t miss it…They still talk about it today as being their favorite family vacation….I want more of those with you Doc.” John continued to stroke her face with the washcloth.
Roman noticed that John seemed so transfixed by her that he was aware of little else. Roman slowly removed her pants and replaced them with a pair of sweatpants that he guessed belonged to John.
“John, maybe you should take her to the bed and call the doctor,” Roman said surveying the scene.
“Oh,” John said, shaken out of his reverie. “Please call the doctor.” John slowly lifted his wife, making sure that her head was support against his chest, as he carried her to the large bed. “What happened?” Marlena asked as she slowly opened her eyes. The brightness of the light made it hard for her to focus. She raised her hands over her eyes, trying to block out the light.
“Doc, welcome back to the land of the living,” Roman said as he sat down on the bed next to Marlena, relieved that she was finally awake.
“What happened?” Marlena weakly asked, looking around the room.
“You passed out…John’s out in the hall talking with the doctor…he should be back in here in a couple of minutes.”
“Oh god,” Marlena said as she grabbed her head in pain. The slideshow in her head started again. She saw herself arguing with John about something and her slapping him across the face hard….she felt the anger and hate that she felt towards him in that instance….she felt the sting of the slap on the palm of her hand. She saw herself standing out in the snow, hiding from her father… she felt the chill of the wind against her bare arms, felt the coldness of the snow beneath her bare feet. She saw herself being held prisoner on some island, drugged and restrained….she felt the terror as the nurse administered the drug cocktail that kept her in a twilight state. She saw herself being held down by John. “Stop,” Marlena said loudly as she shook her head violently trying to stop the images and feelings.
“Doc, you want me to call the doctor back in…hold on let me get him,” Roman said as he got up from the bed.
“No…please don’t…I’ll be okay…Just a headache…I just need some rest and I’ll be okay.” Marlena laid back down on the large down pillow and closed her eyes, arm placed over her forehead. With time, she’d be okay.
“You don’t look okay to me…Mar, I know you’re not okay… How far along are you?” Roman asked as he laid down next to her on the bed and lifted her arm so that he could see her eyes. He wasn’t going to let her avoid this question. Marlena closed her eyes and breathed in deeply before responding. “How did you find out?”
“I helped John change your clothes earlier.”
Marlena paused before responding to Roman, her fingers slowly rubbing her temples. “Men…Even when I am on my death bed, both you and John still want answers…John…Does he know?”
“I don’t think so…I didn’t say anything to him…I didn’t know if he knew and you didn’t want me to know…so I didn’t say anything.”
“Thank you for not saying anything.” Things were not going according to plan. She felt like crap; her head hurt, she was sick to her stomach, mentally and physically exhausted and all John and Roman wanted her to do was to talk.
“So back to my original question. How far along are you Marlena?” Roman laid on his pillow, his head propped on his hand, watching her.
“I’m not sure…I don’t know…I’m a doctor, I should know but I don’t. I estimate being at least 18 weeks along but I can’t be sure. Please, I am begging you, please do not say anything to John about this.” She didn’t want to be having this conversation, but knew that Roman wasn’t going to let it go.
“John is your husband, you need to let him know,” Roman warned her. Memories of her last pregnancy and the subsequent miscarriage came to mind. He was saddened by the fact that she was carrying another mans baby and would make another man a father again. Not him.
“I’m sorry Roman, I wish things had turned out differently and our baby had lived,” Marlena admitted upon seeing Romans sad expression. She took his hand in hers.
“So do I, but that’s all in the past…Don’t repeat our mistake, tell John.” Roman squeezed her hand.
“I can’t, what if its not his baby?” The thought was inconceivable to Marlena but was a real possibility. She was getting her memory back, but there were huge gaps. What if she had been intimate with someone else? John would be devastated. This was something that their relationship couldn’t survive. John may have forgiven her for her dalliance with Roman once, but he wouldn’t forgive her twice.
“Whose else could it be Doc? Alex?” Roman asked. “Oh dear god, please tell me I’m wrong…please…Please tell me that you did not sleep with that man.”
“If I did, I don’t remember it Roman…I don’t know…I’m confused… How could I have let this happen? This is all so embarrassing and irresponsible of me. I’m a doctor and am not on the pill… I know too much information for you Roman, but what the hell was I doing? Not using protection once again. Don’t answer that.” Marlena was disappointed with herself. She had to be the most fertile woman in Salem. Every time she had sexual intercourse and didn’t use protection, she seemed to wind up pregnant. Sami and Eric, Belle, Roman and her baby that didn’t live, and now this one.
“Mar, maybe subconsciously you wanted to get pregnant and have a baby…” Roman replied before Marlena interrupted him.
“What…to replace the one I just lost? You’ve got to be kidding me…my mind may be a little out of sorts, but I’m not crazy…I am too old and set in my ways to even think about having another child Roman.”
“You’re not too old Doc.”
“Please Roman, I’m a grandmother…Yes, I know physically its possible for women in their fifties to safely have children, I never wanted that to be me…. My children are supposed to be having children now…I’m not supposed to be creating new life and making my children younger than their nieces and nephews…Could we please not talk about this right now?” Marlena asked as she pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and turned on her side, her arms protectively wrapped around her stomach.
“Talk about what,” John asked as he entered the room.
