Post by Mimi on Oct 22, 2006 18:04:03 GMT -5
“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”
Alex Haley
“Marlena,” John said as he rushed into the adjoining bedroom, towel draped haphazardly around his waist. She was sleeping soundly, covers tucked tightly beneath her chin.
“Mar,” he said as he sat down on the bed and slowly stroked the side of her face. There was so much that he needed and wanted to tell her. “Please wake up honey.”
“So tired,” she muttered as she turned to her side and buried her head deep under the covers. She knew that John was talking to her, but was too tired to engage in a conversation with him. The past twenty-four hours weighed heavily on her mind. She barely remembered what had happened, only glimpses of Dr. Gunther questioning her and then a flash of bright light. The next thing she recalled was waking up in car traveling towards Munich. Every conversation, every moment was a blur to her.
“I need to talk to you Mar.”
“Later, please…” she begged of him.
“It’s important.”
“Uh huh,” she mumbled, barely listening to John, as she drifted back to sleep.
“I remember my past.”
“What?” she asked as she sat up in bed covers falling down around her. “What?” she asked again, thinking that what she heard wasn’t correct. Did he just say that he remembered his past?
Smiling, he cupped her chin with his hand. “I remember everything Doc…Everything.”
“You remember being Forrest Alamain?” she asked not quite convinced that what he was saying was real. The words echoed in her mind, she just wasn’t sure that she didn’t make it up.
“Yes…I remember my childhood…”
“Tell me about it,” she said becoming more aware of her surroundings and John’s presence. He smelled of sandalwood, amber and patchouli, a stark contrast to the way that she smelled. Breathing in deeply, she took his hand and encouraged him to continue.
“I remember summers on the lake when I was about eight or nine. Lawrence and I used to get into so much trouble hiding from the nanny…one time it was his bright idea to hide in the boat house, only we didn’t know that the door locked from the outside.”
“Oh no,” Marlena laughed, knowing where he was going with the story.
“Lawrence locked us in and it wasn’t until hours later than we were rescued by our nanny. Of course our parents and everyone else were worried to death and assumed the worst.”
“I can imagine,’ Marlena said knowing that she would have been worried to death if one of her kids had been missing. “Eric,” Marlena thought as he eyes welled up with tears.
“What’s wrong Doc?” John asked noticing the sudden change in her demeanor.
“Eric,” she whispered as flashes of people talking to her in hushed tones invaded her mind. Not understanding what she was seeing or hearing, she closed her eyes tightly and tried to stop the memories. It was too painful remembering.
“Doc, you know that we’re gonna find our son….”
“I know John….I know….lets talk about you,” she said trying to change the subject. “What else do you remember?”
“Everything…I think,” he said, slightly confused. When he thought about his past, his childhood, he was able to recall people, places and things. But did that mean he had all his memories back?
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“Neither do I,” he admitted sheepishly as he got up from the bed and pulled the drapes on the window flooding the room with light. Marlena instinctively shielded her eyes. “You look like shit Mar.”
“You think,” she joked as she slowly got out of bed and approached him at the window. Her gait unsteady, she had to grab onto the windowsill to keep her balance.
“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
“I’ll be fine,” she lied as she looked out the window. Stefano’s words to John on the veranda weighed heavily on her mind, “You may not be able to trust me, but she can. Dimera blood is thicker than water and we never harm our own. She will always be under the protection of the family.”
“Talk to me Doc,” John asked as he placed one hand on her shoulder, while the other kept his towel in place.
“Later…After I take my shower I want to hear all about what you have remembered.”
“You have yourself a deal,” John said as he squeezed her shoulder and then let go. “Never did I imagine that I’d ever remember. I just sort of resigned myself over the years that this was what my life was, this what who I was…..a man without a past….but I’m not that person anymore. I have parents and a brother who I remember, cousins, aunts and uncles….I have an identity that was missing….not really missing, if you know what I mean….I know who I was, but not really who I was….Am I making any sense to you?”
“Completely…. Bridging that gap between who you were and who you are is going to take time John…it always does…the more you try to rush it, the harder it will be for you.”
“What would I do without my own psychiatrist?”
“I don’t know,” Marlena said coyly as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, “Good thing you’ll never have to find out.”
“Good thing,” he repeated as he slowly captured her lips with his with the gentlest of kisses. “Mar, you really need to get into the shower.”
“Are you telling me that I smell?”
“Yes,” he said, his bright eyes shining devilishly and lips pursed together to keep from smiling. Taking her hand he led her into the bathroom. “I’ll turn on the water while you get undressed. Your Uncle Steffie has good taste in personal care products,” John joked as he leaned into the large tile shower and turned the handle on. Instantly water poured out of the multiple showerheads.
“Is that the type of shower I think it is?” Marlena asked in wonderment as she stopped what she was doing and leaned over, looking into the shower.
“Why that would be the shower of your dreams Dr. Evans…of course in your dreams I’m in that shower with you naked doing unmentionable things….”
“John,” she moaned.
“I’ll stop…. seriously though honey,” John said as he leaned in close to her, “later tonight I wouldn’t mind test driving that shower with you.”
“Promises promises,” she joked as she stepped into the shower naked. John appreciatively eyed her body as he felt himself growing hard. Even though she was disheveled and filthy, she was still sexy as hell. Knowing that sex was not the solution to their problems nor proper at the time, John tried to get her naked image out of his mind. Picturing Stefano in a pink tutu dancing on the veranda, he opened the cabinet and extracted a pink razor. Leaning into the shower, but not looking, John held it out. . “Here….please shave your legs and armpits,” he joked.
“John Black,” Marlena yelled as she splashed water on his bare chest. As he ran away from her water assault his towel dropped preciously low, reveling his muscled and tanned backside. “You’re mine later,” Marlena whispered as she watched John close the bathroom door behind him.
Along in her solitude, the soothing beat of the water as it hit the tile a symphony of sounds; Marlena gave into her exhaustion and leaned against the wall. John remembered. She was ecstatic for him, yet jealous. So much of who she was, who Marlena was, lay hidden beneath of web of deceit. Would she ever remember and did she want to?
“Dimera blood is thicker than water and we never harm our own.” Stefano’s words continued to weigh heavily on her mind. How could she ever be a Dimera? She was Dr. Marlena Evans Black. Right? No. “I’m not Marlena,” she cried out into the fog of the shower. “I’m not…I’m not her…I can’t be her.” Marlena was a doting mother, a good daughter and a great friend.
At a loss for what to think and what to do, Marlena reached over and turned the swivel lever of the shower up, further absconding her view as steam quickly enveloped the inside of the shower. Alone in the fog, Marlena saw down on the shower bench and brought her knees up to her chest and cried. Although she wished she could share how she felt, she was physically and mentally unable to communicate what she was feeling to John.
“I don’t want to feel this way anymore,” she cried alone into her knees.
***************************
“Good evening,” Stefano said as he took Marlena’s hand and kissed it. “You look lovely.”
Marlena stood before him unsure of how to respond. Eyeing him suspiciously she nodded and quickly took her hand back and rubbed it again the sides of her white linen pants. The mere fact that he was touching her was more than she could take. Out of her element and unsure of her memories she wasn’t able to respond to him. She wanted to be strong, wanted to tell him to leave her and John alone, wanted to yell and scream at him for all that he and his family were but couldn’t. She wasn’t that strong woman, wasn’t Marlena, but a mere imposter who was trying to be Marlena.
“Please have a seat,” he motioned to her to sit down. She obliged his request and sat down slowly in the plush light brown suede chair. Nervously she looked over at John who was sitting silently at the end of the table staring at her. She wondered if he was remembering something about his past.
“Celia, we are ready to be served,” Stefano instructed the young woman who stood silently next to the buffet table. “Si Senor,” she responded meekly as she quietly left the room.
“I do hope you enjoy the meal,” Stefano told them as he took the bottle of wine and slowly opened it, slowly savoring the smell of the cork. “I’ve had the chef prepare Chateaubriand… I assume that you are hungry after the long day you’ve had.” Sitting back he watched the interaction between John and Marlena. They always seemed to say more with their eyes than most lovers ever say with their lips. Marlena slowly picked at her salad, eyes never leaving John. She seemed to draw life and strength from him, a fact that saddened Stefano. He’d never have that with her. Sitting and watching, he appreciated her exquisite features, fine porcelain skin, deep hazel eyes and long blonde hair.
“Ahem,” John said as he cleared his throat loudly, drawing Stefano’s attention away from Marlena. Eyes shifting from Marlena to John, Stefano saw the contempt and hatred behind John’s blue ones. John continued to stare at Stefano, not willing to break the contact. His hatred for his stepfather was greater than ever. All the lies told over the years, all the broken promises of a childhood stolen too soon.
“What do you want?” John finally asked.
“I want to savor this evening and I advise you to do the same…later we will talk,” he promised John as he poured himself another glass of wine. “How about a toast.”
“To what?” John asked.
“To family,” Stefano suggested.
“That’s rich,” John muttered facetiously under his breath.
“We are family after all.”
“Don’t remind us…” John started and then stopped when he saw that the maid had returned with a large tray of food. Elegantly displayed amongst a bed of thinly sliced potatoes, the meat looked wonderful. John watched as Celia placed the food before him. Picking up his knife and fork, John quickly cut into the meat.
“John,” Marlena finally spoke.
“What?” he asked as he looked up at Marlena and noticed that her food lay untouched.
“Did you think I would poison you?” Stefano asked Marlena.
“I’m….I’m….I’m….” Marlena started to stutter. She felt sick to her stomach and wasn’t sure why she was having such a hard time being in Stefano’s presence. She couldn’t look at him and was having a hard time talking to him.
“Not sure?” John asked trying to finish her sentence for her. Marlena’s behavior had been off ever since their arrival in Bad Orb. He had hoped to talk to her before dinner to find out what kinds of tests and questioning the ISA had conducted on her but they had been interrupted by Celia telling that dinner was ready to be served.
“You cannot be serious…. You are family….I don’t poison my family,” Stefano said as he brought a forkful of meat slowly to his lips and paused for a moment before he opened his mouth and placed it inside.
“You’ve tried to in the past,” John reminded him. Instantly his mind returned him to a similar room and a similar situation over 15 years in the past. ”Let me propose a toast to an evening that we will always remember…who knows what surprises it will bring,” Stefano told him, his voice and heart filled with malice. John shook his head, trying to return himself to the present. Setting down his fork, his pushed his chair back from the table.
“You are wasting a good meal.”
“I’ll take my chances….I’m not family.”
“No, not blood anyway….After all this time I would have thought that you would have leaned something and would be a little more grateful.”
“For what? You still haven’t answered my question and told me why we’re here.”
“It’s rather simple John….I can offer you protection and she can tell me the location of the money.”
“What money?” John asked as he looked over at Marlena. She was staring down at her plate, a vacant look on her face. “I’m disappointed that you are not more gracious in defeat,” Stefano told John.
“That’s because the war isn’t over yet,” John replied. She sat quietly watching the men, feeling helpless to do anything. It was obvious what Stefano wanted her body and soul. Although John told her that no matter what happened he wanted her to stay out of it, she couldn’t. She loved John more than she had ever loved anyone in her entire life and was willing to make any sacrifice for his life and safety.
“Whatever happens here please stay out of it,” John begged Marlena. Looking into his pained eyes she was willing to make any sacrifice and he knew it. She would not let him be killed, tortured or captured without a fight. Losing what memory he had was his greatest fear and she was desperate not to let that happen again.
“I can give you everything you want Stefano if you let Marlena go,” John said as he placed the soupspoon preciously to his lips. He was going to sacrifice himself for her.
Marlena watched in horror as he ingested the soup and proceeded to lose consciousness as the poison coursed through his veins. “John you have to wake up…you have to fight it…John stand up…get up…stand up and fight,” Marlena screamed at him begging him not to leave her. He was the strong one, he was her rock.
“He will never know what he’s lost Marlena once his mind is a clean slate…of course if there is anything from his past he might have missed it would be making love to you,” Stefano said as he leered over at her, eyes raking over her body. She felt numb as one of Stefano’s henchmen arrived to take John’s body away.
“Please don’t hurt him,” she begged Stefano.
“He is no use to me and never has been….has always been a nuisance.”
“He’s a good man Stefano, despite what you tried to do to him.”
“I made him better.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“Kill him.”
“No,” she screamed as she grabbed onto Stefano’s arm.
“Take him away,” Stefano instructed his henchman.
“No…I’m begging you…No.” Tears streaming down her face, terror in her heart, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save John.
“It’s too late Marlena.”
“No…you have to have medicine or something…you have to do something….you can’t let him die.”
“He is no use to me.”
“But I am,” Marlena desperately offered.
“What are you suggesting?”
“A trade….me for John’s life.”
“I have no use for you as a prisoner….I harbor no ill will towards you, only to John Black and Roman Brady.”
“Not as a prisoner Stefano.” She was sick to her stomach even suggesting it.
“I’m surprised by what you are willing to do to save John Black….I didn’t think that the upstanding and ever so proper Dr. Evans would have it in her.”
Swallowing hard and forcing herself to move closer to Stefano, she reached out and touched his clothed arm. “Don’t let him die….please.”
“I am not going to force myself on you Marlena….I am not a rapist.”
Closing her eyes, she forced herself to say the words, “I will willingly submit to you in return for you saving John’s life.”
“Alright, suppose I accept your offer…I let him live,” Stefano said eyeing her, wondering what game she was playing.
“…and keep his memories and not torture him.”
“Even though you are a beautiful woman and I’m sure are very talented in bed, your offer is not enticing…I want more.”
“What more can I give you?” she asked as she panicked at the surreal situation.
“Everything….I let John live and let him go and I want everything…all of you…including your heart and mind.”
“I can’t give that to you,” she honestly told him tears in her eyes. “I can’t give you my heart because it belongs to John.”
“Well I’m sorry then because unfortunately that’s the only way that he escapes unscathed…your offer, although it does interest me, is worth nothing more than keeping him alive.”
“What about his memories? What do I need to do for you leave them intact?”
“Agree to go away with me where you will be mine in every sense of the word including bearing me a child.”
“No,” she gasped as she moved away from him. “No.”
“That’s what I thought…. Your offer keeps him alive and nothing more.” Her soul dying from what she was about to do and her heart breaking for not having the strength to do more for John, Marlena moved closer to Stefano and took his outstretched hand. “One night,” she whispered to him, tears running silently down her face.
“What money?” John asked again, bringing Marlena out of the dark recesses of her memories. She was going to be ill as the memories of what happened that night long ago washed over her.
“The drug money that was stolen from the cartel by that low life Owens….Marlena knows where it is.”
“Do you?” John asked her; stunned that the great mystery of what was in Marlena’s head was money. All of this over money? He’d have willingly given them everything he had to have avoided all this unnecessary misery.
“I don’t know,” she whispered as pictures of her Stefano undressing her flashed through her mind.
“Did Owens tell you where the money was before he died?” Stefano questioned as he looked at Marlena with an uneasy feeling. Something was wrong with her. Sweat was trickling down the side on her face slowly; her hands shook as she held onto the table.
“Are you all right Marlena?” he asked, concerned about her.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t want to talk about this right now…. Can we talk about it later?” she asked as she got up from the table and placed her napkin down on her plate.
“Mar…what’s wrong,” John slipped and used his used nickname for her.
“Later John….I need some air,” she said not bothering to look at him as she moved towards the door of the room. The room spun faster as the oxygen was vacuumed out by an unseen force. Holding on the every once of dignity she possessed she ran the last few steps through the door.
“Mar,” John blurted out in concern as he followed her to the door.
“Let her go John…we need to talk,” Stefano said with an air of confidence, not bothering to get up.
Watching Marlena retreat towards the back of the house, John finally sat down in the chair that Marlena had been occupying. “Talk old man.”
“She’ll be fine…she always has and always will….she is much stronger than you give her credit for,” Stefano said cryptically.
“What the hell does that mean…you know nothing about her so don’t pretend that you do…You know nothing and you never will,” John said as he pointed his finger at Stefano in anger.
“I know more than you think…much more ”
“Don’t you ever talk about her and pretend that you know her…got that.”
“You are at my mercy John, so I suggest for your own safety that you start acting a little more considerate.”
“Considerate for what? Arranging some clandestine kidnapping from the ISA?”
“Don’t be a fool, you know nothing of which you are talking…you pride yourself on being such a good ISA agent, such a good defender of democracy, such a great husband and father…. You know nothing….NOTHING,” Stefano said in anger disgusted by John’s behavior. John didn’t deserve Marlena.
“I know everything Dimera….EVERYTHING,” John screamed at him as he stood up and shoved his chair back. “Memory is a funny thing old man and I know what you tried to take away from me and why.” John wanted to kill the man, strangle him with his bare hands and feed him to the wild animals that roamed the canyon.
Seeing John’s ire amused Stefano. Raising his glass of wine he swirled the burgundy liquid around and around. “Everything you are is what I wanted you to be…Everything you think you are, everything that you think happened is also because of me. The things that wake you up in the middle of the night and make you question everything that you are and can be is because I put it there. Your memories are not your own, they are mine and belong to me. Don’t you forget that.”
Alex Haley
“Marlena,” John said as he rushed into the adjoining bedroom, towel draped haphazardly around his waist. She was sleeping soundly, covers tucked tightly beneath her chin.
“Mar,” he said as he sat down on the bed and slowly stroked the side of her face. There was so much that he needed and wanted to tell her. “Please wake up honey.”
“So tired,” she muttered as she turned to her side and buried her head deep under the covers. She knew that John was talking to her, but was too tired to engage in a conversation with him. The past twenty-four hours weighed heavily on her mind. She barely remembered what had happened, only glimpses of Dr. Gunther questioning her and then a flash of bright light. The next thing she recalled was waking up in car traveling towards Munich. Every conversation, every moment was a blur to her.
“I need to talk to you Mar.”
“Later, please…” she begged of him.
“It’s important.”
“Uh huh,” she mumbled, barely listening to John, as she drifted back to sleep.
“I remember my past.”
“What?” she asked as she sat up in bed covers falling down around her. “What?” she asked again, thinking that what she heard wasn’t correct. Did he just say that he remembered his past?
Smiling, he cupped her chin with his hand. “I remember everything Doc…Everything.”
“You remember being Forrest Alamain?” she asked not quite convinced that what he was saying was real. The words echoed in her mind, she just wasn’t sure that she didn’t make it up.
“Yes…I remember my childhood…”
“Tell me about it,” she said becoming more aware of her surroundings and John’s presence. He smelled of sandalwood, amber and patchouli, a stark contrast to the way that she smelled. Breathing in deeply, she took his hand and encouraged him to continue.
“I remember summers on the lake when I was about eight or nine. Lawrence and I used to get into so much trouble hiding from the nanny…one time it was his bright idea to hide in the boat house, only we didn’t know that the door locked from the outside.”
“Oh no,” Marlena laughed, knowing where he was going with the story.
“Lawrence locked us in and it wasn’t until hours later than we were rescued by our nanny. Of course our parents and everyone else were worried to death and assumed the worst.”
“I can imagine,’ Marlena said knowing that she would have been worried to death if one of her kids had been missing. “Eric,” Marlena thought as he eyes welled up with tears.
“What’s wrong Doc?” John asked noticing the sudden change in her demeanor.
“Eric,” she whispered as flashes of people talking to her in hushed tones invaded her mind. Not understanding what she was seeing or hearing, she closed her eyes tightly and tried to stop the memories. It was too painful remembering.
“Doc, you know that we’re gonna find our son….”
“I know John….I know….lets talk about you,” she said trying to change the subject. “What else do you remember?”
“Everything…I think,” he said, slightly confused. When he thought about his past, his childhood, he was able to recall people, places and things. But did that mean he had all his memories back?
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“Neither do I,” he admitted sheepishly as he got up from the bed and pulled the drapes on the window flooding the room with light. Marlena instinctively shielded her eyes. “You look like shit Mar.”
“You think,” she joked as she slowly got out of bed and approached him at the window. Her gait unsteady, she had to grab onto the windowsill to keep her balance.
“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
“I’ll be fine,” she lied as she looked out the window. Stefano’s words to John on the veranda weighed heavily on her mind, “You may not be able to trust me, but she can. Dimera blood is thicker than water and we never harm our own. She will always be under the protection of the family.”
“Talk to me Doc,” John asked as he placed one hand on her shoulder, while the other kept his towel in place.
“Later…After I take my shower I want to hear all about what you have remembered.”
“You have yourself a deal,” John said as he squeezed her shoulder and then let go. “Never did I imagine that I’d ever remember. I just sort of resigned myself over the years that this was what my life was, this what who I was…..a man without a past….but I’m not that person anymore. I have parents and a brother who I remember, cousins, aunts and uncles….I have an identity that was missing….not really missing, if you know what I mean….I know who I was, but not really who I was….Am I making any sense to you?”
“Completely…. Bridging that gap between who you were and who you are is going to take time John…it always does…the more you try to rush it, the harder it will be for you.”
“What would I do without my own psychiatrist?”
“I don’t know,” Marlena said coyly as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, “Good thing you’ll never have to find out.”
“Good thing,” he repeated as he slowly captured her lips with his with the gentlest of kisses. “Mar, you really need to get into the shower.”
“Are you telling me that I smell?”
“Yes,” he said, his bright eyes shining devilishly and lips pursed together to keep from smiling. Taking her hand he led her into the bathroom. “I’ll turn on the water while you get undressed. Your Uncle Steffie has good taste in personal care products,” John joked as he leaned into the large tile shower and turned the handle on. Instantly water poured out of the multiple showerheads.
“Is that the type of shower I think it is?” Marlena asked in wonderment as she stopped what she was doing and leaned over, looking into the shower.
“Why that would be the shower of your dreams Dr. Evans…of course in your dreams I’m in that shower with you naked doing unmentionable things….”
“John,” she moaned.
“I’ll stop…. seriously though honey,” John said as he leaned in close to her, “later tonight I wouldn’t mind test driving that shower with you.”
“Promises promises,” she joked as she stepped into the shower naked. John appreciatively eyed her body as he felt himself growing hard. Even though she was disheveled and filthy, she was still sexy as hell. Knowing that sex was not the solution to their problems nor proper at the time, John tried to get her naked image out of his mind. Picturing Stefano in a pink tutu dancing on the veranda, he opened the cabinet and extracted a pink razor. Leaning into the shower, but not looking, John held it out. . “Here….please shave your legs and armpits,” he joked.
“John Black,” Marlena yelled as she splashed water on his bare chest. As he ran away from her water assault his towel dropped preciously low, reveling his muscled and tanned backside. “You’re mine later,” Marlena whispered as she watched John close the bathroom door behind him.
Along in her solitude, the soothing beat of the water as it hit the tile a symphony of sounds; Marlena gave into her exhaustion and leaned against the wall. John remembered. She was ecstatic for him, yet jealous. So much of who she was, who Marlena was, lay hidden beneath of web of deceit. Would she ever remember and did she want to?
“Dimera blood is thicker than water and we never harm our own.” Stefano’s words continued to weigh heavily on her mind. How could she ever be a Dimera? She was Dr. Marlena Evans Black. Right? No. “I’m not Marlena,” she cried out into the fog of the shower. “I’m not…I’m not her…I can’t be her.” Marlena was a doting mother, a good daughter and a great friend.
At a loss for what to think and what to do, Marlena reached over and turned the swivel lever of the shower up, further absconding her view as steam quickly enveloped the inside of the shower. Alone in the fog, Marlena saw down on the shower bench and brought her knees up to her chest and cried. Although she wished she could share how she felt, she was physically and mentally unable to communicate what she was feeling to John.
“I don’t want to feel this way anymore,” she cried alone into her knees.
***************************
“Good evening,” Stefano said as he took Marlena’s hand and kissed it. “You look lovely.”
Marlena stood before him unsure of how to respond. Eyeing him suspiciously she nodded and quickly took her hand back and rubbed it again the sides of her white linen pants. The mere fact that he was touching her was more than she could take. Out of her element and unsure of her memories she wasn’t able to respond to him. She wanted to be strong, wanted to tell him to leave her and John alone, wanted to yell and scream at him for all that he and his family were but couldn’t. She wasn’t that strong woman, wasn’t Marlena, but a mere imposter who was trying to be Marlena.
“Please have a seat,” he motioned to her to sit down. She obliged his request and sat down slowly in the plush light brown suede chair. Nervously she looked over at John who was sitting silently at the end of the table staring at her. She wondered if he was remembering something about his past.
“Celia, we are ready to be served,” Stefano instructed the young woman who stood silently next to the buffet table. “Si Senor,” she responded meekly as she quietly left the room.
“I do hope you enjoy the meal,” Stefano told them as he took the bottle of wine and slowly opened it, slowly savoring the smell of the cork. “I’ve had the chef prepare Chateaubriand… I assume that you are hungry after the long day you’ve had.” Sitting back he watched the interaction between John and Marlena. They always seemed to say more with their eyes than most lovers ever say with their lips. Marlena slowly picked at her salad, eyes never leaving John. She seemed to draw life and strength from him, a fact that saddened Stefano. He’d never have that with her. Sitting and watching, he appreciated her exquisite features, fine porcelain skin, deep hazel eyes and long blonde hair.
“Ahem,” John said as he cleared his throat loudly, drawing Stefano’s attention away from Marlena. Eyes shifting from Marlena to John, Stefano saw the contempt and hatred behind John’s blue ones. John continued to stare at Stefano, not willing to break the contact. His hatred for his stepfather was greater than ever. All the lies told over the years, all the broken promises of a childhood stolen too soon.
“What do you want?” John finally asked.
“I want to savor this evening and I advise you to do the same…later we will talk,” he promised John as he poured himself another glass of wine. “How about a toast.”
“To what?” John asked.
“To family,” Stefano suggested.
“That’s rich,” John muttered facetiously under his breath.
“We are family after all.”
“Don’t remind us…” John started and then stopped when he saw that the maid had returned with a large tray of food. Elegantly displayed amongst a bed of thinly sliced potatoes, the meat looked wonderful. John watched as Celia placed the food before him. Picking up his knife and fork, John quickly cut into the meat.
“John,” Marlena finally spoke.
“What?” he asked as he looked up at Marlena and noticed that her food lay untouched.
“Did you think I would poison you?” Stefano asked Marlena.
“I’m….I’m….I’m….” Marlena started to stutter. She felt sick to her stomach and wasn’t sure why she was having such a hard time being in Stefano’s presence. She couldn’t look at him and was having a hard time talking to him.
“Not sure?” John asked trying to finish her sentence for her. Marlena’s behavior had been off ever since their arrival in Bad Orb. He had hoped to talk to her before dinner to find out what kinds of tests and questioning the ISA had conducted on her but they had been interrupted by Celia telling that dinner was ready to be served.
“You cannot be serious…. You are family….I don’t poison my family,” Stefano said as he brought a forkful of meat slowly to his lips and paused for a moment before he opened his mouth and placed it inside.
“You’ve tried to in the past,” John reminded him. Instantly his mind returned him to a similar room and a similar situation over 15 years in the past. ”Let me propose a toast to an evening that we will always remember…who knows what surprises it will bring,” Stefano told him, his voice and heart filled with malice. John shook his head, trying to return himself to the present. Setting down his fork, his pushed his chair back from the table.
“You are wasting a good meal.”
“I’ll take my chances….I’m not family.”
“No, not blood anyway….After all this time I would have thought that you would have leaned something and would be a little more grateful.”
“For what? You still haven’t answered my question and told me why we’re here.”
“It’s rather simple John….I can offer you protection and she can tell me the location of the money.”
“What money?” John asked as he looked over at Marlena. She was staring down at her plate, a vacant look on her face. “I’m disappointed that you are not more gracious in defeat,” Stefano told John.
“That’s because the war isn’t over yet,” John replied. She sat quietly watching the men, feeling helpless to do anything. It was obvious what Stefano wanted her body and soul. Although John told her that no matter what happened he wanted her to stay out of it, she couldn’t. She loved John more than she had ever loved anyone in her entire life and was willing to make any sacrifice for his life and safety.
“Whatever happens here please stay out of it,” John begged Marlena. Looking into his pained eyes she was willing to make any sacrifice and he knew it. She would not let him be killed, tortured or captured without a fight. Losing what memory he had was his greatest fear and she was desperate not to let that happen again.
“I can give you everything you want Stefano if you let Marlena go,” John said as he placed the soupspoon preciously to his lips. He was going to sacrifice himself for her.
Marlena watched in horror as he ingested the soup and proceeded to lose consciousness as the poison coursed through his veins. “John you have to wake up…you have to fight it…John stand up…get up…stand up and fight,” Marlena screamed at him begging him not to leave her. He was the strong one, he was her rock.
“He will never know what he’s lost Marlena once his mind is a clean slate…of course if there is anything from his past he might have missed it would be making love to you,” Stefano said as he leered over at her, eyes raking over her body. She felt numb as one of Stefano’s henchmen arrived to take John’s body away.
“Please don’t hurt him,” she begged Stefano.
“He is no use to me and never has been….has always been a nuisance.”
“He’s a good man Stefano, despite what you tried to do to him.”
“I made him better.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“Kill him.”
“No,” she screamed as she grabbed onto Stefano’s arm.
“Take him away,” Stefano instructed his henchman.
“No…I’m begging you…No.” Tears streaming down her face, terror in her heart, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save John.
“It’s too late Marlena.”
“No…you have to have medicine or something…you have to do something….you can’t let him die.”
“He is no use to me.”
“But I am,” Marlena desperately offered.
“What are you suggesting?”
“A trade….me for John’s life.”
“I have no use for you as a prisoner….I harbor no ill will towards you, only to John Black and Roman Brady.”
“Not as a prisoner Stefano.” She was sick to her stomach even suggesting it.
“I’m surprised by what you are willing to do to save John Black….I didn’t think that the upstanding and ever so proper Dr. Evans would have it in her.”
Swallowing hard and forcing herself to move closer to Stefano, she reached out and touched his clothed arm. “Don’t let him die….please.”
“I am not going to force myself on you Marlena….I am not a rapist.”
Closing her eyes, she forced herself to say the words, “I will willingly submit to you in return for you saving John’s life.”
“Alright, suppose I accept your offer…I let him live,” Stefano said eyeing her, wondering what game she was playing.
“…and keep his memories and not torture him.”
“Even though you are a beautiful woman and I’m sure are very talented in bed, your offer is not enticing…I want more.”
“What more can I give you?” she asked as she panicked at the surreal situation.
“Everything….I let John live and let him go and I want everything…all of you…including your heart and mind.”
“I can’t give that to you,” she honestly told him tears in her eyes. “I can’t give you my heart because it belongs to John.”
“Well I’m sorry then because unfortunately that’s the only way that he escapes unscathed…your offer, although it does interest me, is worth nothing more than keeping him alive.”
“What about his memories? What do I need to do for you leave them intact?”
“Agree to go away with me where you will be mine in every sense of the word including bearing me a child.”
“No,” she gasped as she moved away from him. “No.”
“That’s what I thought…. Your offer keeps him alive and nothing more.” Her soul dying from what she was about to do and her heart breaking for not having the strength to do more for John, Marlena moved closer to Stefano and took his outstretched hand. “One night,” she whispered to him, tears running silently down her face.
“What money?” John asked again, bringing Marlena out of the dark recesses of her memories. She was going to be ill as the memories of what happened that night long ago washed over her.
“The drug money that was stolen from the cartel by that low life Owens….Marlena knows where it is.”
“Do you?” John asked her; stunned that the great mystery of what was in Marlena’s head was money. All of this over money? He’d have willingly given them everything he had to have avoided all this unnecessary misery.
“I don’t know,” she whispered as pictures of her Stefano undressing her flashed through her mind.
“Did Owens tell you where the money was before he died?” Stefano questioned as he looked at Marlena with an uneasy feeling. Something was wrong with her. Sweat was trickling down the side on her face slowly; her hands shook as she held onto the table.
“Are you all right Marlena?” he asked, concerned about her.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t want to talk about this right now…. Can we talk about it later?” she asked as she got up from the table and placed her napkin down on her plate.
“Mar…what’s wrong,” John slipped and used his used nickname for her.
“Later John….I need some air,” she said not bothering to look at him as she moved towards the door of the room. The room spun faster as the oxygen was vacuumed out by an unseen force. Holding on the every once of dignity she possessed she ran the last few steps through the door.
“Mar,” John blurted out in concern as he followed her to the door.
“Let her go John…we need to talk,” Stefano said with an air of confidence, not bothering to get up.
Watching Marlena retreat towards the back of the house, John finally sat down in the chair that Marlena had been occupying. “Talk old man.”
“She’ll be fine…she always has and always will….she is much stronger than you give her credit for,” Stefano said cryptically.
“What the hell does that mean…you know nothing about her so don’t pretend that you do…You know nothing and you never will,” John said as he pointed his finger at Stefano in anger.
“I know more than you think…much more ”
“Don’t you ever talk about her and pretend that you know her…got that.”
“You are at my mercy John, so I suggest for your own safety that you start acting a little more considerate.”
“Considerate for what? Arranging some clandestine kidnapping from the ISA?”
“Don’t be a fool, you know nothing of which you are talking…you pride yourself on being such a good ISA agent, such a good defender of democracy, such a great husband and father…. You know nothing….NOTHING,” Stefano said in anger disgusted by John’s behavior. John didn’t deserve Marlena.
“I know everything Dimera….EVERYTHING,” John screamed at him as he stood up and shoved his chair back. “Memory is a funny thing old man and I know what you tried to take away from me and why.” John wanted to kill the man, strangle him with his bare hands and feed him to the wild animals that roamed the canyon.
Seeing John’s ire amused Stefano. Raising his glass of wine he swirled the burgundy liquid around and around. “Everything you are is what I wanted you to be…Everything you think you are, everything that you think happened is also because of me. The things that wake you up in the middle of the night and make you question everything that you are and can be is because I put it there. Your memories are not your own, they are mine and belong to me. Don’t you forget that.”
