You Belong To Me

Chapter Nineteen

[If I hadn't mentioned it already, I gave Mimi a job working for the Salem Spectator. For some reason, she strikes me as a journalism major in college... Don't ask why. I don't know.]

(Hours of naptime later... Evening-ish.)

Belle was startled out of sleep by the phone on her bedside table blaring loudly at her. Shawn was still curled up beside her, sound asleep, so she wriggled away from his embrace to reach out for the phone.

She yawned slightly as she answered. "Hello..."

Marlena's voice spoke to her from the other end. "Belle... Did I wake you?"

"Uh-huh... what's going on?"

"It's good news, sweetie. The infection is already starting to get better, they might even be able to take Brady off of the machines by morning."

Belle sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Oh, thank God... I knew he was going to fight it off... And, quickly too..."

"Well, you know your brother. He's always been a quick healer."

"Yeah, lightning speed... I'm gonna wake up the others and we'll be right over. Thanks for calling, mom."

Belle could almost hear a smile in her mother's voice. "You're welcome. We'll see you soon."

Belle muttered a tired, but happy goodbye into the phone and placed it back on it's handset. She scooted down on the bed and turned to face Shawn who was still sleeping like a baby. Belle chuckled quietly to herself, knowing that you could probably launch the space shuttle from the middle of the bed and he'd never wake up. Knowing full well that nudging him awake wouldn't work, Belle pulled a reverse Sleeping Beauty and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips.

Shawn sighed, but kept his eyes closed. He put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. Belle felt a tingle move from her head straight down to her toes and she grinned as she broke away from him. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty..."

"Hey yourself..." Shawn smiled at her sleepily.

"I got good news... Brady's infection is getting better already. They might take him off the machines by tomorrow."

Shawn kept the smile on his face and kissed the tip of her nose. "That is good news... I guess we're hospital bound, right?"

Belle nodded in the affirmative. "As soon as I brush my teeth, and do something with the dead animal living on top of my head.

"Your hair looks fine."

Belle nearly rolled off of the bed in shock. "What? What did you say?"

"I said, that your hair..." Shawn paused, suddenly realizing why she was shocked. In there many years of friendship, Shawn's constant mocking of her many different hairstyles had been well documented. "No, you're right... It looks terrible."

Belle laughed and sat up. "That's better... I don't want you going and getting all soft on me all of a sudden."

Shawn sat up and shook his head. "No way, not going to happen..."

Belle stood from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. She paused when she reached her makeup bag sitting on the dresser, and reached inside. Belle pulled out a small velvet pouch that she normally used to carry her jewelry in and quickly shoved it into her jeans pocket before heading into the bathroom.

***

(At the hospital...)

Belle peeked around the door to Brady's hospital room and grinned broadly. "Hey, you want some more visitors?"

Brady was sitting up, still attached to his machines, but already looking better. He waved Belle, Shawn, Phillip and Mimi in with a sweep of his hand. Chloe was still sitting at his bedside, perched in her usual spot, but now she was smiling happily. It was the first truly sincere happy moment that she had experienced in days.

Belle went to her brother's other side and squeezed his hand. "Mom called with the good news... We had to run right over here as soon as we heard."

The other three stepped closer to the bed, and Mimi interjected. "So, how are you feeling anyway?"

Brady smiled at her and answered. "Much better now. Now that I actually have a chance to get out of this hospital before my son is born."

Chloe cleared her throat and added. "Or daughter..."

Phillip nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we kinda thought you'd be stuck in limbo a lot longer than a day. You must have some pretty strong healing powers..."

Shawn nodded and grinned at Brady. "Like Wolverine..."

Brady laughed softly. "That's it, I'm actually a comic book super hero. Mild-mannered businessman is just my secret identity."

Belle rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, right. The day that ANYONE describes YOU as mild mannered is the day that I'm crowned Queen of England."

Chloe nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "She's got you on that one, Brady. Anyway, I don't care how you did it... I'm just glad that you're getting better."

Belle nodded and continued. "We all are."

Mimi briefly looked behind her, towards the door, then asked, "Hey... aren't you only supposed to have two visitors at once?"

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "Supposed to, but they've been pretty lenient about it. Earlier, we had my parents, Brady's parents and Victor in here at the same time, and we didn't get in trouble."

Belle interjected her own question, "So, I take it, you've heard the other good news of the day?"

"Uh-huh. And, they said I will eventually get my wedding ring back, after the investigation has run it's course... That's really the only thing that got stolen that I really care about anyway."

Brady nodded and looked at his wife with disappointment on his face. "And, they still haven't found mine... I'm not even sure that it was stolen, I might have just lost it."

Chloe scolded him quietly. "Brady, I told you to have that thing resized..."

"I know, and I should have listened to you."

Belle and Shawn exchanged an amused glance and nodded in agreement. Belle let go of Brady's hand and reached in her pocket. "You should always listen to your wife..."

Brady began muttering as Belle pulled the small velvet bag out of her pocket. "I know, and next time I will... I just got so busy with the wedding that I could never make it over there, and then..."

Brady closed his mouth as Belle removed the silver band from the bag in her hand and grinned at her brother. Brady held out his hand as she dropped it gently into his palm. He wrapped his pale fingers around his wedding band and smiled at his sister. "Where did you find this?"

"On your boat. It must have slipped off at some point and it just happened to catch my eye when we went on there to look at your maps. I've been holding on to it, waiting to give it back to you."

"Belle, thank you so much..."

"Yes, thank you..." Chloe reached across the bed and quickly snatched the ring out of Brady's hand. "I'll just hold on to that for you..."

Brady stared at her in surprise. "Excuse me? You'll hold on to it for me? It is MY ring. Maybe I want to wear it."

Chloe shook her head and began to put the ring on the silver chain around her neck. "Doesn't matter if you want to wear it or not, you can't. It's too big for you. I'll have to take it to a jeweler and get it resized, then you can have it back."

"Chloe... You are so damn infuriating sometimes..."

"I'm infuriating? You're the one who took us sailing around the mysterious isles of Greece, only to get shot and stranded on a desert island. It's not your fault, but next time we're picking a safer vacation spot."

"You know, if I didn't love you so much, I wouldn't put up with that kind of attitude from you."

Chloe grinned and quickly kissed him on the lips. "That's not true... It's my bad attitude that made you fall in love with me in the first place."

Mimi interrupted their mock quarreling with a groan and a disgusted roll of her eyes. "You two... are so gross. You act like..."

Phillip finished her sentence for her. "Like married people?"

"Yeah, exactly... And, ick."

"I think it's sweet, Mimi..." Phillip smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Maybe it is... but it's weird. I just don't want to accept that we're all old enough to be married and having babies and all that. It's weird, and gross and it makes me feel like a grown up."

Belle pointed a finger in her direction and replied. "I don't think anyone will ever mistake you for a grown up when you pout like you are right now. Besides, you have to face the facts. We are grown ups, whether we want to be or not."

Shawn nodded in agreement and continued Belle's train of thought. "She's right, Meems... First, Brady and Chloe get married and pregnant... Who knows what's next? Maybe you and Phillip will walk down the aisle next."

Mimi crinkled up her nose in disgust. "No way, Shawn Brady. Not going to happen."

Phillip frowned at her. "What? Are you saying I'm not marriage material?"

Mimi laughed out loud and waved her hand. "Oh no, that's not what I'm saying... You're exactly the kind of guy a girl wants to bring home to her parents. But, helloooooo? Two days ago we were just friends, I don't think it's time to start discussing marriage yet."

Brady nodded and stood up for Mimi. "She's right... I mean, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Chloe, but it took me almost 4 years to actually propose to her."

Chloe smiled and held on to her husband's hand. "Mimi, just because Brady and I have all of these adult responsibilities now doesn't mean we're going to act like a couple of old folks. We're still going to have as much fun as we've always had."

Shawn snickered loudly and interjected. "But no more fun that your friends have to rescue you from, please..."

"Yeah, I think we're going to try and avoid future disasters as much as possible..."

Belle grinned at them and nodded. "But you are from Salem, so there is no guarantee. Catastrophe is kind of a daily occurrence for the citizens of Salem."

Shawn nodded and put his arm around Belle's shoulder, holding her close to him as he spoke. "But, somehow we always come through it, don't we?"

Belle nodded in agreement, knowing that he wasn't just talking about this particular incident. Shawn's words and gestures referred to the five years they had spent apart. Belle smiled and laid her head on his chest. "We always have, and we always will. Even if it takes five years."

Belle glanced around the room, all of them coupled together, the way she knew it should be. Chloe did the same and then looked at Belle with a wink. "Maybe Shawn was wrong. Maybe Mimi and Phillip AREN'T the next ones to walk down the aisle."

Belle nearly choked at Chloe's words, but Shawn said nothing. "Oh, Chloe... You are just so so funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny. I was just making a statement based on my own observations."

Brady paused and thought it over in his head and grinned at Chloe. "You know, Belle's right... It IS funny. If they got married, then my sister's name would be Belle Black Brady. I guess she could never name her son after her beloved brother, because his name would be Brady Brady."

Brady and Chloe laughed in unison as Belle's face flushed red with embarrassment. "You two are so juvenile sometimes..."

They stopped laughing and Chloe stared at her with a smirk on her face. "I'm sorry, Belle... I was just trying to prove an earlier point to Mimi. Just because you're an adult, doesn't mean you have to act like one."

Mimi chuckled and shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "I guess your point was proven then."

Belle groaned loudly and looked up at Shawn with a pout. Shawn tried not to laugh at her and reassured her instead. "Brady is your big brother, and Chloe is your best friend. Embarrassing you is what they were put on this earth to do."

Belle sighed in defeat and nodded. "I guess so... But, do they have to do it so often?"

Brady nodded enthusiastically. "Of course... Besides, I have enough stories about my bratty little sister embarrassing me to more than make up for the times I've done it to you."

Belle shrugged slightly. "Fair enough... Now, can we change subjects, please?"

Phillip did his best to steer the conversation away from marriage, by pointing a question in Brady's direction. "So, how much longer do you think you'll have to be in here?"

Brady shrugged. "Hard to tell... As long as things keep improving, I'd guess... At least a week."

"A week? God, I hate hospitals..."

"They just want to make sure everything is okay before they let me loose... I can get all the follow up care I need back home in Salem."

Chloe groaned softly. "You can get all the care you need anywhere, anytime. It seems like every other person we know is some kind of health care professional."

Brady nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I know, and believe me, I can't wait to get home. I'm sure the rest of you probably agree."

Shawn waved his hand and laughed. "Oh, no, this is like a vacation... A walk in the park. Better than a trip to Disneyworld. And, of course, you know I am just kidding."

"Of course... And really, there's no reason for you guys to stick around as long as I have to. You should all go home, take care of yourselves..."

Belle shook her head defiantly. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not speaking for everyone else, but I'm staying as long as you are."

Shawn nodded in agreement. "And, I'm staying as long as Belle is..."

"Shawn, you don't have to stay just because I'm here. You have a job to go back to, remember?"

"It's no big deal. My boss is my dad... I think he'll understand."

Phillip ran a hand through his blonde hair and interjected. "Speaking of working for your dad... I'll probably be out of here in a few days, whenever it is that my dad leaves. As long as we know that Brady is going to be just fine without us."

Mimi smiled and nodded. "Me too... If I'm no longer needed here, then I should get back to work in a few days. I just got this job, and I don't want to screw it up."

Chloe nodded in agreement and smiled. "Besides, you now have an exclusive report on the disappearance and rescue of two prominent Salemites. Maybe they'll give you your first cover story."

Brady looked at her with surprise. "So, we're prominent now? Sounds impressive..."

"Sure we are. Your father is one of the most important people in Salem, your grandfather is Victor Kiriakis and your stepmother is the world renowned Dr. Marlena Evans Black. And, I am the daughter of the hospital chief of staff and his lovely wife, famed radio personality Nancy Wesley."

"Well, when you put it that way... I feel important."

Belle smiled and moved forward to give her brother a kiss on the forehead. "You are important. Even without all of the notoriety that your family brings you."

Mimi grinned at her friends. "Well, I hate to capitalize on personal tragedy to get ahead in my career, but it is going to be a HUGE story."

Chloe smiled in understanding. "See... Belle said to me this morning that bad things happen for a reason, even if we can't see what it is at the time. Maybe that's one of the reasons. So, that Mimi could get a break in her career."

Brady nodded in agreement and continued. "I think that's just one reason... Granted, you and I aren't benefiting from our personal tragedy, but it finally got Mimi and Phillip together, so that's a good thing."

"And the prayers I've been saying for the past few years have finally been answered. Shawn and Belle are back together..."

Belle looked at her in surprise. "You've been praying for THAT?"

Chloe nodded and smiled at her. "Of course I have. I care about both of you and I hated seeing you unhappy. And that's what you are when you're apart... dreadfully miserable."

Brady agreed with his wife. "It's true. It's what we've all wanted. You two have never been as happy apart as you were together. I just didn't think I'd have to get SHOT to see it happen."

Shawn chuckled and looked downward. "Sorry about that... But, I promise to make my feelings known every day of the week, not just in times of tragedy from now on."

Belle nodded in agreement. "Me too... Because, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don't want to do this again."

Mimi was about to reply when their conversation was interrupted by the same doctor that Belle had spoken to much earlier. Dr. Arnos entered and grabbed Brady's chart off of the end of the bed.

"I didn't mean to interrupt... I just wanted to check up on my star patient. How are you feeling?"

Brady nodded in acknowledgement. "Much better already. Anxious to get out of here."

Dr. Arnos nodded and looked at his chart for a moment. "I'm sure you are, but it's best that you stay with us for a little while. Don't want to send you off before this infection is a 100 percent cleared up."

Belle glanced and motioned towards the door. "We're going to go out in the hallway, let you do what you have to do."

The doctor nodded and smiled politely. "It should just be a few minutes. I want to go over his vitals, and a few other things."

Belle smiled back at him and dragged Shawn into the hallway with her as Mimi and Phillip followed. They shut the door behind them and stood in the hallway quietly.

Mimi grabbed Phillip's hand and pointed him towards the elevator. "I'm thirsty... Wanna go downstairs with me?"

"Sure..." Phillip looked back at Shawn and Belle and invited them along. "Are you guys coming?"

Belle shook her head. "No, I'm fine... You guys go ahead."

Shawn decided to stay with Belle and waved his two friends away. When the elevator doors closed on Mimi and Phillip, Shawn turned his attention back to Belle and grinned slyly at her. "So, I can tell that Brady and Chloe are going to be back to their old selves in no time."

"Oh yeah, how could you tell?"

"Because, they live to embarass you..."

Belle cringed and nodded her head in agreement. "No kidding... How come you didn't seem embarrassed by that whole marriage thing?"

Shawn shrugged it off nonchalantly. "Why should I be? Marriage is a good thing, it's nothing to be embarrassed by."

"Yes, it is a good thing. When, you've been with someone long time and you're both mature enough to make that kind of step... Not six hours after you've gotten back together with your high school sweetheart who you've barely spoken to in five years."

Shawn sighed and continued. "I know that, and believe me, I'm not asking. That would be... silly. I just... I've spent a long time thinking about what I want my life to be, and that's part of it. I want a long, happy marriage with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And, you're the person I've always wanted to have that with..."

"Shawn..." Belle opened her mouth, but Shawn stopped her sentence from finishing with a wave of his hand.

"That doesn't mean I want it right this second. So, don't get scared about it. I'm just telling you, that someday, eventually... that's what I want. I love you, Belle... and I've spent five years imagining what it would be like when the day comes that we can make that kind of commitment to each other."

Belle sighed and nodded in understanding. "I love you too, Shawn... And, believe me, it's not like I haven't imagined being your wife a million times in my head... But, I still need to get to know you again. I don't want this to move too fast."

Shawn nodded and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. "And it won't... Don't panic. I'm not going to let anything ruin this for us."

Belle smiled as Shawn kissed the top of her head. "Good, I don't want it to be ruined. I was just worried... Because, when the times comes that you do want to ask that question, I want to be able to say yes. I don't want to be forced to say no to you."

"Then we agree... Because, I certainly don't want to hear the word 'no' from you. So, how come little girls plan their entire weddings by the time they're twelve, but when the subject comes up for real, you go running for the hills?"

Belle laughed softly. "There's a difference, Shawn. Little girls plan their weddings... A wedding is not a marriage. A wedding is just a big party with cake and dresses that you'll never wear again. And not all girls go running, just me."

Shawn grinned at her and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I meant. Just you."

"Marriage is a big deal, and a lot of people don't take it seriously enough. You either do it the right way, or you screw it up and it ruins the lives of everyone involved. When I do it, I want to do it the right way. That's why I said no to Tom."

"You mean, Tim..."

"Yeah, that's what I said..." Belle grinned at him wickedly.

"Right, sure... Sure you did."

Belle stopped grinning and looked at him with seriousness on his face. "Listen, Shawn... Seriously... I can't promise that you and I are going to be together forever, or that we'll get to have the two car garage and the kids and grandkids. Fate is screwy, and sometimes things don't end up the way you want them to be. I can only promise you one thing for sure..."

Shawn looked at her curiously. "And what's that?"

"That I'm going to love you for the rest of my life, whether we're together or apart. That's all I can do."

Shawn smiled and quickly kissed her. "Then that's all I need."

Belle smiled back at him and then laid her head on his chest, hearing his heart softly pound underneath his skin. She knew that life took twists and turns, and there were no guarantees. But, Belle knew that no matter what, her love for Shawn would never end.

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