Under The Waves
Chapter
Thirteen
"Uhm... Come in..."
Chloe waved Shane in with a hand motion and he smiled gratefully, moving to the side of the bed. Brady rejoined Chloe and stood on her other side.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Chloe..."
Chloe chuckled softly and nodded. "You too. Especially since you saved our lives tonight... I don't even know where to begin or how to say thank you."
"It's my job. No need to thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you. You've worked so hard over the past two months, and because of you, the DiMera family will never hurt anyone again."
"It's so hard to believe... He's really gone, right? Stefano is never going to rise from the ashes again..."
Shane nodded and smiled reassuringly. "You, and the rest of this town, have nothing to worry about anymore. He's dead and gone. That's not going to change."
Brady intertwined his fingers with Chloe's and looked at Shane curiously. "And what about Lexie?"
"Well, when you combine everything that Chloe has given us on the DiMera organization's many activities, and of course, what Lexie planned at the Penthouse Grill... I think it's safe to say, that she'll spend the rest of her life behind bars."
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "So, that's it? It's over... It's finally over."
Brady looked at her with a slight grin on his face. "That's what you've been up to all this time? Spying on the DiMeras for the ISA?"
"Ever since... Ever since I got my memories back. It was the only thing I could think of to do. To get out of that family forever."
Shane patted her other hand and chimed in. "And, you did a magnificent job, Chloe. In fact, if you ever want to work for the ISA again, we'd be more than glad to have you as one of ours."
Chloe laughed softly and shook her head. "I don't know about that. My secret agent ways almost got both me and Brady killed. I'm kind of looking forward to having a simple, quiet life again. You know, a life without a job, an education or a place to live now..."
"Just don't forget how many people you've helped. Stefano destroyed a lot of lives in his lifetime, and Lexie was definitely following in his footsteps. And now, it's over... There's no more DiMeras left to carry on Stefano's plans."
Brady raised his eyebrows and interjected. "And what about Chloe? And me? I know that I've never been accountable for what I did in the year I worked for Stefano, but that was just because there was no evidence. Everything we did was too clean. What about now?"
Shane looked at Chloe and gave her a wink before addressing Brady's question. "It's all part of the deal that Chloe made with the ISA. She helped us, and we give immunity to both of you. It was the only way she would agree to help us. Quite frankly, we really can't hold either of you accountable anyway. All of the crimes you committed were while under mind control. It wasn't really you that did them."
"Oh. Good. I wasn't really looking forward to prison life."
Chloe turned to him and shook her head. "Don't be silly... You know I would never intentionally do something that would cause you pain. Don't forget you're talking to the real Chloe now..."
Brady kissed her hand and nodded in appreciation. "I know... I know... So, Shane, how long are you planning on being in Salem?"
"For a while. We have a lot to still work on in the DiMera case. Plus, it's been a long time since I've been here, I've got a lot of catching up with old friends to do."
Chloe smiled at him and nodded. "And new friends... I uhm -- I don't even know how many times I'm gonna say this, probably every single day until the day I die, but thank you again for everything. Your timing was impeccable... Another second and Brady could have been dead."
Chloe paused and she felt tears come to her eyes, her voice wavering as she spoke. "You saved the love of my life... My reason for living... So that kind of makes you a saint in my book."
Brady nodded in agreement and squeezed her hand tightly. "That second shot... it went right past my ear... and then there was going to be a third, but... Shane. Thank you. I owe you my life."
"You two owe me nothing. Just be happy for the second chance you've been given, and don't waste it."
"We won't... We most definitely will not."
Shane smiled at both of them and leaned in to kiss Chloe on the forehead in a fatherly manner. "Chloe... I'm going to leave you two alone, I've got to get back to work. But, I'll call you tomorrow... Get some rest, you've had a long..."
Chloe interrupted him with a grin. "Four years?"
Shane laughed and nodded in agreement. "Well, I was going to say night, but yes, that's accurate as well."
Brady let go of Chloe's hand to walk Shane to the door. He shook his hand firmly and smiled sincerely at him. "Thank you, thank you again."
"Take care..." Shane nodded and made a quiet exit out into the hospital hallway.
Brady shut the door behind him and then turned around to look at Chloe. He crossed his arms over his chest and walked back towards the bed. "Chloe... Do you really think that you don't have a place to live? I mean, of course, you can come stay with me... It's your home just as much as it is mine. It's where you were supposed to be living all of this time anyway."
Chloe's forehead wrinkled up with worry. "Brady... I don't know... I mean -- so much has happened, so much has changed. I don't think we can just pick up right where we left off. Things aren't like they used to be, and no matter what, they never will be again."
"Chloe... What are you saying? That you... that you don't want to be with me anymore..."
"Oh. Oh God no, Brady... That's not it. I just -- I need some time to figure out what I'm doing with my life. I love you, I always will. That is the one thing that hasn't changed in these past four years. My love for you will never change. I just don't want to rush everything. I need time to adjust... Do you understand?"
Brady returned to her side and gave her a kiss on the forehead before sitting down. "I understand. I didn't mean to make you think I was rushing you. We both need time, to tell you the truth."
Chloe smiled at him and reached over the bed to lay her hand on his arm. "There is nothing in this world I want more than to be your wife and start our life together... But we need to take it slow."
"Of course. Of course. I was just offering you a place to stay, but I'm sure you'll be fine without my help. You could stay with your parents, or with Belle and Shawn, Mimi and Jason... Or... Well, you've got all that DiMera money all for yourself now."
Chloe shook her head vehemently and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't want anything to do with that money, or that name again. Nothing at all. I'd rather live in a crate underneath the pier than ever be associated with that name again."
Brady brushed her hair with his hand and smiled. He was about to say something when the door opened slowly revealing Nancy Wesley on the other side. She had one leg in a cast, and a few signs of her recent car accident, but the feature that stood out the most on her was her bright smile and eyes that twinkled with joy.
"Chloe...?"
Tears instantly sprang to Chloe's blue eyes and her hand flew to her mouth in surprise. "Mom... Oh my God, Mom... I've missed you so much."
Nancy limped towards the bed and pulled Chloe into her arms tightly, trying to avoid hurting her where the bullet wound was. Nancy was sobbing softly as she held on to her daughter.
"Oh my, Chloe... You're really back..."
Craig watched from the doorway as the two women held on to each other and cried for several minutes. Nancy finally let go of her, and both of them were sobbing messes. "Chloe... You look just as beautiful as you always were... I just can't believe you're real."
Chloe's body shook with her tears and she tried to wipe them away with the back of her hand. "I can't believe it either... I don't even know what to say... I just don't."
"You don't have to say anything. I'm so happy you're finally home."
Chloe nodded slightly and spied Craig standing in the doorway. Her tears continued to flow and she waved him in with her hand. "Dad? Dad..."
Craig came in and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Chloe sobbed into his shoulder and Craig gently stroked her hair. "Hey, sweetie... Welcome home. I've missed you so much."
Chloe slid out of his arms and gazed around the room. These were the people that had always mattered most to her, and she never wanted to be apart from them again.
"I -- I love you. I love all of you so much. I swear to you all that I will never leave you again. Never. I'm here to stay... I promise. And, I will NEVER take any of you for granted ever again."
The next thirty minutes was spent shedding a lot of tears, and with Chloe explaining the circumstances behind her return to her parents. She thought about how long it had taken for her to grow close to her mother, and then how she had been torn away from her. Chloe had loved Craig as if he was her biological father, and he was the only man she would ever call 'father' again. She was starting over with her life, and it all began now.
Chloe was anxious to catch up with them, but it seemed that they were all a bit too emotional to handle too much conversation. After a while, Craig decided that it would be for the best if both Nancy and Chloe could rest, so he decided to usher Nancy out of the room. They stood at the doorway as Nancy issued a teary goodbye to her daughter.
"Good night, sweetie... I'll come back in the morning."
"Good night... I love you both."
Craig winked at her and nodded. "We love you too, Chloe. By the way, I thought you both might want to know what I heard on the way up here a little while ago. Sami... She got out of surgery with no problems. She's going to be just fine."
Brady grinned slightly and nodded. "I figured she would. Sami may be down, but she's never out. What about the other people? There were a few other critical cases, right?"
"Everyone is going to make it. It was a very miraculous night all around. Every person at the party survived somehow... and we got our Chloe back."
Chloe smiled at him and waved as they walked out the door, leaving her alone with Brady again. Brady stood and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked towards the floor.
"So... maybe I should go too... You need sleep. You've been through a lot tonight. We both have."
"No -- no, Brady, don't go."
Brady lifted his head and looked at her with surprise. "You want me to stay?"
Chloe nodded and scooted over in her bed. "Please, please don't leave me. I just -- I can't be alone tonight. I have too much going on in my head right now... I don't think I'd be able to sleep unless you're here to hold me."
Brady sighed softly and scooted into the small bed next to her. He gently glided her into his arms and held her close. Even now he felt like this wasn't reality. So many nights he had dreamed and wished for her to be at his side again, and now she was. It just didn't seem possible.
"So all of that stuff that's going on in your head... Is it something you want to talk about?"
Chloe shook her head and snuggled in to him, being careful of her wounded shoulder all the while. "No, not really. I just have to -- have to put the past behind me and work on the future. That's why I need time. So much has happened..."
Brady nodded in agreement and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "But it's all going to be okay now... You're free now. Free to do whatever you want. The world is yours, Diva."
"Mmmmm... I like the sound of that."
"Which part? The Diva part, or the part about the world being yours?"
Chloe looked at him and smiled at him with all of the love in her heart. "Both."
They fell asleep in each other's arms for the second night in a row. But, this night was different. Their dreams were peaceful and content, filled with hope for the future. A future that was wide open for both of them.