Under The Waves
Chapter
Three
She was having the same dream again. Over the past few years, she had one specific dream that recurred in her mind. Chloe was in a room unfamiliar to her, a bedroom decorated in a style that she would have never seen in a DiMera home. Each time, she would go to the closet and open the door to look at a dress hanging inside. An elegant white wedding gown, underneath a sheet of plastic for protection.
Chloe smiled at the dress, it was very beautiful, not extravagant in any way, just right. She smoothed her hand over the plastic and then walked away from it, heading towards the adjoining bathroom. She took a few moments to stare at her reflection in the mirror, before heading towards the shower.
Chloe opened the shower curtain where he was lying in wait. A man all in black complete with a black ski mask covering his face instantly threw his hand over her mouth to prevent her screams. He held on to her tightly and pulled a syringe filled with a clear liquid out of his pocket.
Her blue eyes filled with fear and a few tears began streaming down her face as she tried to scream into his gloved hand. He roughly jammed the syringe into her hip and she felt everything go black instantly, falling limply in the stranger's arms.
The next thing she knew, she would wake up strapped to a chair of some kind in a room that was mostly blackness. She was groggy from the drugs, and could barely see around her. But, she always felt Brady reach over through the fog and grab on to her hand. He would squeeze her hand tightly, and she could hear his voice tell her that everything was going to be okay.
And, that was it. She awoke with a jerk each time, trying to figure out what it meant or where the dream had come from. It was always like a nightmare but it always ended with a feeling of safety. A feeling that no matter what happened, Brady would always be there. But, in the past three years, he hadn't been there. Of course, that would all be changed now.
She opened her eyes and looked at his sleeping form. Their bodies were still wrapped up in each other, and she paused to listen to Brady's steady breathing. She ran her fingers up his bare arm, and lightly ran them through his hair. He really was the most stunning man she had ever met, with the kind of face and body that could make even the strongest woman's knees wobble.
Chloe detangled her legs from his and slipped out of his arms. She grabbed the phone on the bedside table and hit the button that would dial Bart.
"Bartholomew here."
Chloe spoke in a quiet tone, not wanting to disturb Brady's sleep. "Bart, it's me. Give Rolf my thanks, please."
Bart breathed in deeply. "So it worked? He's the way you wanted him?"
"Exactly the way I wanted him. How is everything else going?"
"Not bad... There's a storm brewing topside, but we're safe down here, Boss-lady."
Chloe nodded and twisted the cord with her finger. "And my father? There's been no word from my father has there?"
Bart stammered out a reply. "No -- no, not a word. You're still safe."
"Good, good. Thank you, Bart. I'll be in touch with you again soon."
Chloe didn't wait for a response, she just hung up the phone with a sigh. She slipped out from underneath the sheets and began picking up the clothes scattered about the bed to lay in the chair. She grabbed a blue satin robe out of the closet and threw it over her shoulders before walking into the moderately sized bathroom.
She turned the water on in the glass-enclosed shower and as soon as it was hot she threw the robe off to step inside. Chloe let the hot water run all over her, and she quickly washed and conditioned her hair. She had just finished soaping herself clean when a powerful headache hit her right between the eyes. The bath sponge fell from her hands on to the floor of the shower and Chloe put her hands on the tile wall to steady herself.
The water kept running over her, and she shut her eyes, hoping to make the pain go away. It only worsened and turned into a throbbing in her brain, causing images, more vivid than any she had experienced before, to flash over her eyes.
She saw herself on a pier arguing with Brady, and then a rapid set of scenes began running through her brain. Times spent with Belle and Shawn Brady, Mimi Lockhart, Phillip Kiriakis, but more prevalent than any of those memories, were the times she shared with Brady and the parents she had loved. The faces of Craig and Nancy Wesley were bright in her memory and she began trembling as she pressed her back against the wall of the shower.
She slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She was remembering everything, being in the gazebo with Brady, basketball games, BLTs and ice cream, staring at the stars together and most of all, their deep love and connection between their two souls.
Tears were rolling rapidly down her face, mingling with the warm water of the shower that was still hitting half of her. She began sobbing loudly, choking out her words of anguish. "Oh God... I remember. I remember everything... I'm Chloe Lane... Oh God..."
Her sobbing became louder, and she couldn't find the strength to move from the shower. Everything that Brady had told her had been true. She really was Chloe Lane, and she had lived a different life that what she had been led to believe. The recurring dream she had was just her vague memory of the night she had been kidnapped from her parents' home. The night before she was to marry the real Brady Black.
The water began to go cold, but Chloe couldn't move. It was all there inside her, the real memories of Chloe Lane and the false implanted memories of Chloe DiMera. And, it had all slammed into her like being hit by a bus. She tried to think, tried to move, but couldn't. So much was swimming through her, and she couldn't think past the thoughts in her head to figure out what her next move was.
Her sobbing must have woken Brady up, because he had thrown on his boxer shorts and ran into the bathroom. She didn't even notice him until he was lifting her in his arms and turning the shower spray off. He carried her back to the bed and sat down, holding her in his arms tightly.
"Chloe... What's wrong? What happened?"
Chloe held on to his arms and sobbed into his chest. "I -- I -- You said everything was going to be okay."
Brady stroked her wet hair reassuringly. "What? What are you talking about? When did I say that?"
Chloe lifted her head, her blue eyes wide with a mixture of fear and sadness, her face red with tears. "The night -- the night that Stefano DiMera kidnapped us."
Brady's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What? Your father has never kidnapped us..."
"Yes, yes, he did... But, you don't remember because I took your memories away again." Chloe put her hands on her forehead and choked out another sob. "Oh God, Brady... I'm so sorry."
"I don't get it... I don't understand what you're saying. Does this have anything to do with me being brainwashed for three years?"
Each word from her mouth came out tearfully, as a wave of guilt washed over her. "You weren't brainwashed. You were back in your real life, back where you belonged. And, now I've taken you away again... away from your family."
Brady gripped her arms tightly and shook his head. "No, Chloe... The DiMera organization, you, this job... This is my family. I don't know what you're talking about."
Chloe put her hands on his bare chest and stared into his eyes, hoping to reach an understanding of some sort. "Damnit, Brady... It's all lies... Lies fed to the both of us by the man who is my biological father. He lied to me about everything... he even lied when he said I didn't have a chip in my head. I do. I must have one. That's the only way any of this makes sense."
"None of this makes sense to me..."
"Think about it. Think hard, please, think... You leave one night to meet Stefano and then the next thing you know it's three years later. How does that make any sense?"
Chloe was shivering so Brady grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her tightly. He searched her eyes for a key to unlock the confusion that had just sprung up between them. "You explained it to me... You said that I was brainwashed and kidnapped."
"You weren't... For some reason, the chip in your brain... it must have been deactivated. But -- I don't know why."
"Chloe... You're talking crazy now... Maybe we need to find your father so he can explain this."
Chloe's eyes widened and she slid across the bed away from him. "No -- no, we can't. Oh God... I just -- I need to think. I need to figure this out. It's all happening so fast and I don't understand it either..."
She ran her hands through her hair, as her tears dropped on to the blanket covering her. For four long years she had trusted in Stefano DiMera, believed his lies, believed in the memories of a life he created for her. And now, without explanation something had triggered her real life to return to her. Their roles were reversed now, she knew her true self but Brady was under the control of a microchip, under her control.
She couldn't wait a second longer, she had to fix things; she had to return Brady to where he belonged. Her hands shook as she reached for the phone, and Brady stared at her in confusion.
"Damnit... Chloe... What the hell is going on?"
"I'm -- I'm gonna fix it. You just have to trust me."
Chloe hit the buttons and sniffled slightly, trying to put on her best DiMera facade so Bart would not suspect a thing.
"This is Bart."
"Bart..."
"Boss-lady, how's it swinging? Didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon..."
Chloe cleared her throat and glanced over at Brady. He looked almost as lost as she was, and although she could have spent time trying to draw him out on her own, she knew this way was better. Once and for all, she would free Brady of his ties to the man she used to call father. Severing her own ties would be an entirely different story.
"The -- the chip, Bart..."
"What's wrong? It didn't work? Something go wrong?"
Chloe shook her head and sniffled again. "No, the chip is fine. It worked exactly as I specified. But, I need to abort the mission."
Bart's voice sounded fearful and surprised at the same time. "Abort? What do you mean abort? W-w-w-why?"
"Don't ask me why. Just do it. And, I don't want you to reprogram the chip. I want you to destroy it. Take it out and smash it into a thousand pieces. That's a direct order from me to Rolf. Do you understand?"
Chloe found that she had no problem ordering around Bart, even though not an ounce of her was the same Chloe she had been just a few hours ago. She boiled it down to finding the strength to do anything when it came to saving Brady.
"Y-yes, ma'am... I don't understand why, but --"
"No buts. Just do it. Be here in ten minutes or I will perform a little brain surgery on you."
There was a hesitant pause but, as always, Bart gave in. "Of - of course. Fifteen minutes."
Chloe hung up the phone, glad that despite her emotional state she could still put the fear of God in Bart. She got up from the bed and grabbed her dress out of the chair, quickly throwing it on, and then turned to face Brady.
He looked absolutely dumbstruck, and she felt the same way. In just a few minutes, her entire world had changed, and although her heart was aching, she knew she had to stick to what her brain was telling her to do.
"Chloe... What is going on? Please explain this to me..."
"I'm trying, but I can hardly understand it myself. You need to get up now, and get dressed. There are fresh clothes in the drawer if you want those. Hurry..."
"Chloe..."
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him urgently. "Don't say anything. Just do it. Okay..."
Brady stood and grabbed a pair of black pants and a white button up shirt from the drawer, quickly dressing himself in front of her. She tried to hold back her tears, still in disbelief over suddenly regaining all of her memories. When he finished buttoning the last button on his shirt and tucking it in, Chloe walked over to him and put her hands on his arms. More tears welled up in her blue eyes, and she knew that at this moment she wasn't talking to the real Brady Black, but part of her hoped that he would at least remember this much when he returned to his family.
"Brady... I know this doesn't make sense now. But, everything is going to be okay soon. I'm sorry for what I've done to you... I'm sorry for bringing you here. It wasn't even really me that did it, but I still feel guilty... I love you so much."
She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and leaned up into him to place a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you... And, I'm about to do something else that's only going to hurt for a little while. If you remember it later, please forgive me..."
Brady looked at her in confusion, unable to form words or to even comprehend what was going on. Chloe took two steps back and balled up her hand into a fist. She remembered what she had learned in her four years as a DiMera and slammed her fist into his face, knocking him out cold. Brady fell softly to the bed behind him and Chloe felt the familiar stinging in her fist from her powerful punch.
But, the stinging she felt in her heart was even more painful. She leaned over him and planted another soft kiss on his lips. "I love you, Brady Victor Black... And we will be together again someday."
Her tears dropped on to his cheeks and she wiped them away with her hand. She stood up and paced as she waited for Bart to arrive, trying to organize the thoughts in her head. All she wanted was to have her old life back, the days when her and Brady had been happy together in Salem. But, she knew that wouldn't come easily to her now.
Bart finally knocked on the door and Chloe opened it to him, taking a deep breath in before she once again pretended to be her DiMera persona. Bart went towards the bed and looked down at the unconscious Brady.
"I'm -- I'm gonna need some backup. I don't think I can carry him myself."
Chloe nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, get a crew member to help you. And, when it's done... Take him home. Take him back where we found him. Hopefully, he won't remember that this day happened at all."
Bart looked at her curiously and then looked back at Brady. "Can -- Can I ask what happened? Why we're aborting now?"
"No, no, you can't. I'll be in the other bedroom if you need me. Please let me know when the operation is finished. I want to know it was successful."
"Of course... I'll call you as soon as Rolfksy is finished up."
Chloe chewed on her lower lip nervously and walked out of the room, rapidly heading into a bedroom down the hallway. She slammed the door behind her and curled up into the bed with a sigh. More tears flooded her eyes, and her body became wracked with sobs again.
All she wanted was things to be the way they had been. To have the life back that she had once known. A life where she and Brady were in love, living in Salem with all of the people they cared about. Brady would be going home to his family soon, but Chloe knew that she couldn't do the same. Her heart was aching to see the faces of Nancy and Craig again, to go shopping with Belle and Mimi, and to have the life that Stefano had stolen away from her. But, her mind told her that wasn't possible, not yet anyway. No matter how far she ran, or what she did, Stefano DiMera would always find her.