Post by Tammy on Aug 17, 2006 12:09:04 GMT -5
John and I come running into the kitchen where everyone is gathered. I come to a stop in the doorway when I see Maria cowering behind Bo’s leg. She notices me and scurries over to me with out stretched arms. I pick her up and hold her to me tightly. She wipes her eyes and snuggles her head into my neck. John walks over to us. He puts one arm around my waist and the other hand comes up and starts rubbing Maria’s back while he talks to her, “Sweetheart what’s wrong? Honey why are you so upset…Marlena and I heard you scream all the way up stairs.” Maria didn’t say a word. I nodded at John signaling that I would take care of it, and he stepped away slightly. I started stroking Maria’s hair as I spoke to her in a soothing voice. “Sweet pea what’s the matter? What made you get so upset honey?” She raised her head off my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. Her little angelic face was all red and puffy from crying. She slowly turned her head and pointed to someone. Someone I didn’t even notice was there until Maria pointed them out. I looked at the person and then back at Maria, I still didn’t understand why she was so upset. “Maria… sweet pea I still don’t understand why you were screaming like that. What upset you that much that you would scream?” Once again Maria turned and pointed at the woman, “She did Mimi. She made me upset.” The woman walks in our direction, “Excuse me…you little brat…but I have a name.” How dare she, “EXCUSE ME…I don’t know who the hell you are…but don’t you dare talk to her like that.” John walks over to us and stands by my side as the woman begins to speak. “Well…I don’t know who the hell YOU are either…but I… am her mother.” I gasp slightly and look at John. He looks at me briefly and hangs his head. I look back to Maria who then yells at this woman, “You are NOT my mother!” I see the woman’s face flush at Maria’s comment. Gently I put my finger under Maria’s chin and turn her to face me. She looks at me shyly…I smile at her and kiss her forehead, “Sweet pea…why don’t you go find the boys…and go into the family room and watch that video they brought while the grownups talk okay?” She nodded her head and gave me a hug. I set her down and she ran off to find the boys. I turned back towards John, “I am going to leave you all alone so you can talk.” The woman looks at me with a snotty expression plastered on her face, “Yeah…why don’t you do that!” John glares at her, “SHUT UP Kristen!” He walks over to me and smiles, “Doc…you don’t have to leave. Really…it’s okay.” I nod at him. Kristen gets a smug look on her face, “Aww Doc…isn’t that so nauseatingly cute. Back to the matter at hand…John why don’t you teach that daughter of ours some manners? She is quite rude.” I take a deep breath, ‘Actually…she is very polite…when people are polite to her!” Kristen glared at me, “Excuse me…what was your name…Duck?” I tentatively take a step towards her but John blocks my path and looks at Kristen, “Kristen did you come here for a reason? I know it wasn’t to see Maria…so what is it? Are you out of money?” Kristen laughed bitterly, “No… I just came to share my good news.” “Oh what would that be…did you grow a heart while you were gone?” “Oh John… you are sooo funny. No actually I came to tell you that… I will be moving back to Salem in a few months.” John grunts, “And this effects me how?” Kristen smirks at him, “It doesn’t effect you…it effects our daughter.” “I don’t see how that news effects MY daughter in the slightest. You gave up your rights to her…you have no claim to her at all.” Kristen laughs bitterly, “Well see that is the other part of my news, when I return…I plan on suing for custody of our daughter.” John busted out laughing, “Who are you kidding Kristen? You don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of! Not to mention the fact that you have only seen Maria once or twice before tonight. So how do you plan on pulling this off?” Kristen steps up to John, mere inches from his face, “Money is a wonderful thing John. It can buy you almost anything.” “I know that… my money made you disappear didn’t it. “ I couldn’t help but to laugh. Kristen looked at me and then back over to John, “Not to mention the fact that my new husband is very powerful. Oh that’s right you haven’t heard. I recently got married…is anyone going to congratulate me?” Bo started laughing, “My condolences to your husband…poor bastard!” Kristen ignored him and keep talking to John, “So John I have money AND a husband on my side…what do you have.” John looks down at his feet. I step up between them and get about two inches from Kristen’s face, “John has ME!” John looks at me in shock as does Kristen. Kristen clears her throat, “Excuse me?” “You heard me the first time…uhhh…I am sorry what was your name again…Kritter?” John, Bo, Hope, Abe and Lexi all broke out into a fit of laughter. I smirked at them and looked back to Kristen, “You see John has the one thing that you will apparently never have…FRIENDS! Five of his friends are standing in this room right now…including me. We all care about him and his daughter. We ALL will do everything in our power to make sure that you never get your hands on that precious little girl. John did a wonderful job raising her…and I will be dammed if you are going to swoop into her life and ruin John’s hard work!” I was just getting started ripping into Kristen when Christian walked into the room. John walked over to him and scooped him up in his arms, “What’s up mister man?” he said as he tickled him. Christian caught his breath, “Maria wants Mimi to come and watch the movie with us.” John turned to me, “Oh Mimi…it seems that you have been summoned to watch Toy Story…for the one-hundredth time!” I walked over to John who was holding Christian, “Sweetie you tell Maria that I will be right there okay?” He nodded at me and then wriggled out of John’s arms and ran off. I looked at John and laid my hand upon his chest, “Do you have everything under control.” He nodded at me and tapped my nose playfully and I smiled back at him. I went to leave the room but first I turned to Kristen, “You mark my words Kristen…if you make trouble for John and Maria…we ALL will make trouble for you!” I walked out of the room as John approached Kristen. “You have been warned. Now get the HELL out of my home.” Kristen walked up to John and whispered in his ear, “This is FAR from over. Be sure to tell your little pit bull of a girlfriend not to get in my way…or I will make sure she regrets it!” Then Kristen turned on her heels and left. Bo walks up to John, “Hey partner…are you alright?” John nodded his head, “Yeah…everything will be fine. Kristen is just blowing smoke.” Abe, Lexi and Hope approach John. Abe slaps him on the back, “Well no matter what happens…you know that we are all in your corner no matter what!” Bo hold his hand out in the middle of the group, Lexi puts her hand on Bo’s, then Abe adds his hand followed by Hope. John looks at them and then adds his hand to the pile and they shake on it, sort of like a “All for one, and once for all” hand shake!
~~~~
About fifteen minutes later John finally came into the family room. I was wondering what took him so long…I was afraid that something had happened. I am sitting on the sofa with the kids. Maria on my lap and JJ and Christian on either side. John walks over and scoops Christian up and then plops down on the sofa with Christian resting in his lap. He sits there starring at Chris’s head lightly stroking his hair with a far away look in his eyes. “John…is everything okay?” He absently nods his head and whispers, “Fine…everything will be just fine.” When Maria hears his voice she lifts her head from my chest, “Daddy?” John answers her without looking at her, “Yeah, pumpkin?” “Is she going to take me away?” John’s head bolted up at his daughter’s question, “Who sweetheart?” Maria shrugs her shoulders, “Kristen…my…mother. Is she going to take me away from you?” John turned towards his daughter and lovingly stroked her cheek, “No pumpkin…no one will EVER take you away from us.” He glanced up at me and then back to Maria. I look at them both and smile, “Well I think it is time for the boys and I to head home.” John jumped slightly, “NO!” His tone startled me, “Uhh…it is getting really late John… it is almost ten o’clock!” John stood from the sofa, “Oh please you can’t leave yet.” “Umm why not?” He started fidgeting, “Well I had a surprise planned for you.” “For me?” “Yeah…you… and the kids. I was going to do it with everyone here…but well time sort of got away form me… and I forgot. But actually it will be better this way. Just the five of us!” He just stands there starring at me…I eye him curiously, “Want to tell me what the surprise is?” “Well if I did that it would defeat the purpose not wouldn’t it!” He started laughing. “Okay kids…I need you all to run upstairs and get two big blankets…one for all of you and one for me and Doc…and we need five pillows. Do you think you can handle that?” They all shouted yes and ran upstairs, with John shouting after them, ‘We’ll will met you in the back yard.” John looks at me with a smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear, “Are you ready Doc…your surprise awaits!” “In the backyard?” John stared laughing, “You know if you are going to become a doctor…you should acquire a little…patience!” “I hit him in the shoulder, “Oh you are soooo funny! Well what are we waiting for. Lets go!” John took my hand and led me outside.
About fifteen minutes had passed and everything was set up for my surprise. John lead us out towards the back of his estate where he helped the kids lay out the blankets and pillows. The kids all laid down on their blanket with their heads resting on the pillows. They looked so cute all snuggled up with Maria in the middle and the boys on either side. After a moment John joined me on the other big blanket, “Well is everyone ready?” he looked at me and smiled. “I was ready when you first said the word surprise.” I said smiling. “Okay then get ready.” John pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. ”Hello… yes…I am so sorry for the delay…yes we are ready now…Thank You!” John looked at me and flashed me that million dollar smile. Then he proceeded to lay back onto the blanket. I starred at him with a smirk on my face. Then suddenly I heard a large explosion and I jumped back and John sat up to catch me so I didn’t hurt myself. I looked of into the distance and saw the most…amazing site. There were fireworks…large massive fireworks being shot off in the distance. I brought my hand to my mouth in awe. After a moment I glance over at John who was watching me instead of the fireworks display. “Oh…John…this is so beautiful. You shouldn’t have…it must have cost a fortune!” “I don’t care about the money Marlena. Every penny was well worth it…I would have spent ten times as much just to see that dazzling smile on your face right now.” I tried my best to wipe the tears from my face. I glanced over at the kids who were watching the fireworks in awe. I starred up at the fireworks and smiled, as I spoke to John who was laying beside me on his back, “This is perfect!” I looked over at John who smiled lovingly at me, “Happy Birthday Doc!” My mouth dropped, “How…how did you know?” He laughed, “I have my ways.” I can’t believe that he did this for me. “How did you know that I loved fireworks?” He giggled, “I remembered from our game of twenty questions. You said that 4th of July was your favorite holiday. Because it was a day just to be…happy! Well that was what I wanted to give you for your birthday. Just a day to be happy!” I smiled at him with tears running down my face. He reached up from his laying position and wiped my tears away. “I will let you in on a little secret Doc.” I raised my eyebrows, “Hmmm what would that be.?” “I know that I said that New Years was my favorite holiday…but I changed my mind. TODAY…is my favorite holiday.” I laughed, “Sorry to break it to you but…my birthday…isn’t a national holiday.” “ John got a serious look on his face as he stared up at me, “It’s a holiday to me. It is the best holiday ever. Because you see…the day that god brought YOU into this world… my world became a better place. I care for you sooo much Marlena! I want to make everyday of your life…4th of July!” I am crying torrents of tears. This incredible man has gone to all this trouble just to make me feel special…to give me a happy birthday. I can’t believe he did all of this…FOR ME! I scooted closer to John and gently laid my hand upon his chest. I leaned down over him and smiled as I eased my face down to his. I came within a breath of his lips and I whispered, “Thank you…sooo much!” I gently leaned over and brushed my lips on his. I slid my hand up his chest and over his shoulder…drawing my hand to the back of his head…and gently ran my fingers through his thick black hair, while deepening our kiss. John ran his hand up my arm causing me to shiver with delight. He ran his finger along my jaw line proceeding to wrap them in my hair. He held me tightly to him and deepened our kiss further. I was getting lost in his touch. The feelings John stirred in me were feelings totally foreign to me. I was getting carried away by the feel of him next to me. Even though I was enjoy our kiss I decided to pull away slowly…I didn’t want things to go too far…too fast. I gently pulled away and gazed into his eyes. I stroked his cheek with tender care as I spoke to him from the bottom of my heart, “One… day at a time…okay?” He smiled at me and stroked my cheek and just nodded his head…he knew what I meant without any further explanation. I smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. I turned around and laid on my back to enjoy the fireworks that were being displayed for my benefit. After a moment I scooted over to John and rested my head on his chest…and my hand on his heart…which was beating as rapidly as mine was. I glanced over at the kids…who were starring at us with goofy grins on their faces. I waived them over. They rushed over and laid with us. We all snuggled together and watched the show. We were all content just to be together…it was almost like we were one little happy family in the making!
~~~~
About fifteen minutes later John finally came into the family room. I was wondering what took him so long…I was afraid that something had happened. I am sitting on the sofa with the kids. Maria on my lap and JJ and Christian on either side. John walks over and scoops Christian up and then plops down on the sofa with Christian resting in his lap. He sits there starring at Chris’s head lightly stroking his hair with a far away look in his eyes. “John…is everything okay?” He absently nods his head and whispers, “Fine…everything will be just fine.” When Maria hears his voice she lifts her head from my chest, “Daddy?” John answers her without looking at her, “Yeah, pumpkin?” “Is she going to take me away?” John’s head bolted up at his daughter’s question, “Who sweetheart?” Maria shrugs her shoulders, “Kristen…my…mother. Is she going to take me away from you?” John turned towards his daughter and lovingly stroked her cheek, “No pumpkin…no one will EVER take you away from us.” He glanced up at me and then back to Maria. I look at them both and smile, “Well I think it is time for the boys and I to head home.” John jumped slightly, “NO!” His tone startled me, “Uhh…it is getting really late John… it is almost ten o’clock!” John stood from the sofa, “Oh please you can’t leave yet.” “Umm why not?” He started fidgeting, “Well I had a surprise planned for you.” “For me?” “Yeah…you… and the kids. I was going to do it with everyone here…but well time sort of got away form me… and I forgot. But actually it will be better this way. Just the five of us!” He just stands there starring at me…I eye him curiously, “Want to tell me what the surprise is?” “Well if I did that it would defeat the purpose not wouldn’t it!” He started laughing. “Okay kids…I need you all to run upstairs and get two big blankets…one for all of you and one for me and Doc…and we need five pillows. Do you think you can handle that?” They all shouted yes and ran upstairs, with John shouting after them, ‘We’ll will met you in the back yard.” John looks at me with a smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear, “Are you ready Doc…your surprise awaits!” “In the backyard?” John stared laughing, “You know if you are going to become a doctor…you should acquire a little…patience!” “I hit him in the shoulder, “Oh you are soooo funny! Well what are we waiting for. Lets go!” John took my hand and led me outside.
About fifteen minutes had passed and everything was set up for my surprise. John lead us out towards the back of his estate where he helped the kids lay out the blankets and pillows. The kids all laid down on their blanket with their heads resting on the pillows. They looked so cute all snuggled up with Maria in the middle and the boys on either side. After a moment John joined me on the other big blanket, “Well is everyone ready?” he looked at me and smiled. “I was ready when you first said the word surprise.” I said smiling. “Okay then get ready.” John pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. ”Hello… yes…I am so sorry for the delay…yes we are ready now…Thank You!” John looked at me and flashed me that million dollar smile. Then he proceeded to lay back onto the blanket. I starred at him with a smirk on my face. Then suddenly I heard a large explosion and I jumped back and John sat up to catch me so I didn’t hurt myself. I looked of into the distance and saw the most…amazing site. There were fireworks…large massive fireworks being shot off in the distance. I brought my hand to my mouth in awe. After a moment I glance over at John who was watching me instead of the fireworks display. “Oh…John…this is so beautiful. You shouldn’t have…it must have cost a fortune!” “I don’t care about the money Marlena. Every penny was well worth it…I would have spent ten times as much just to see that dazzling smile on your face right now.” I tried my best to wipe the tears from my face. I glanced over at the kids who were watching the fireworks in awe. I starred up at the fireworks and smiled, as I spoke to John who was laying beside me on his back, “This is perfect!” I looked over at John who smiled lovingly at me, “Happy Birthday Doc!” My mouth dropped, “How…how did you know?” He laughed, “I have my ways.” I can’t believe that he did this for me. “How did you know that I loved fireworks?” He giggled, “I remembered from our game of twenty questions. You said that 4th of July was your favorite holiday. Because it was a day just to be…happy! Well that was what I wanted to give you for your birthday. Just a day to be happy!” I smiled at him with tears running down my face. He reached up from his laying position and wiped my tears away. “I will let you in on a little secret Doc.” I raised my eyebrows, “Hmmm what would that be.?” “I know that I said that New Years was my favorite holiday…but I changed my mind. TODAY…is my favorite holiday.” I laughed, “Sorry to break it to you but…my birthday…isn’t a national holiday.” “ John got a serious look on his face as he stared up at me, “It’s a holiday to me. It is the best holiday ever. Because you see…the day that god brought YOU into this world… my world became a better place. I care for you sooo much Marlena! I want to make everyday of your life…4th of July!” I am crying torrents of tears. This incredible man has gone to all this trouble just to make me feel special…to give me a happy birthday. I can’t believe he did all of this…FOR ME! I scooted closer to John and gently laid my hand upon his chest. I leaned down over him and smiled as I eased my face down to his. I came within a breath of his lips and I whispered, “Thank you…sooo much!” I gently leaned over and brushed my lips on his. I slid my hand up his chest and over his shoulder…drawing my hand to the back of his head…and gently ran my fingers through his thick black hair, while deepening our kiss. John ran his hand up my arm causing me to shiver with delight. He ran his finger along my jaw line proceeding to wrap them in my hair. He held me tightly to him and deepened our kiss further. I was getting lost in his touch. The feelings John stirred in me were feelings totally foreign to me. I was getting carried away by the feel of him next to me. Even though I was enjoy our kiss I decided to pull away slowly…I didn’t want things to go too far…too fast. I gently pulled away and gazed into his eyes. I stroked his cheek with tender care as I spoke to him from the bottom of my heart, “One… day at a time…okay?” He smiled at me and stroked my cheek and just nodded his head…he knew what I meant without any further explanation. I smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. I turned around and laid on my back to enjoy the fireworks that were being displayed for my benefit. After a moment I scooted over to John and rested my head on his chest…and my hand on his heart…which was beating as rapidly as mine was. I glanced over at the kids…who were starring at us with goofy grins on their faces. I waived them over. They rushed over and laid with us. We all snuggled together and watched the show. We were all content just to be together…it was almost like we were one little happy family in the making!
