Marlena and John�s eyes met in a panic for their son. Trying not to disrupt the boy�s revelation, Marlena patted his back, asking him to go on. �He was just lying there. Icouldn�t see his face or nothin'. He was hurt really bad, but I didn�t know if he was alive or not.� Marlena leaned down to Brady�s level and caught his attention with her question. �Brady, what happened next?� He rubbed his face, fighting the sleep that was calling him again. �Same thing that happened last time. Someone came and took me away. And then I woke up.� His words drifted away, as he curled up between his parents and, once again, fell fast asleep. �Doc, what�s happening with him? I hate to see him like this.� Marlena ran her hand over the boy�s flushed face and shook her head.
�I don�t know, he�s had these dreams for a while now. Either it means something, or maybe it just too many of those action movies he�s seen. I don�t know, and they aren�t getting anywhere in his sessions either. The dreams always seem to follow the same pattern. He is in a fog, he can�t see, and then a horrific sight is shown to him and then he is whisked away. The only progress in these nightmares is that they are becoming clearer.� Brady�s body tensed and sweat beads seemingly popped out from nowhere. His parents looked at each other with horrified faces. His cries finally took their toll on the adults and they began to wake him. Bolting upright, the child�s face was ashen, lips trembled and his eyes glazed. �Grampa.�
Orpheus sat in the car, waiting the arrival of his mentor. His watch showed a bit past midnight, and he settled into his seat, knowing Stefano would be quite sometime. The wind tore through the car, as Stefano opened it and slipped inside. �Did you do it?� Stefano motioned the driver to raise the partition, before replying to the man. Stefano pulled off his gloves and stuffed them roughly into the pockets of his coat. �I have done as I said I would. The piece is eliminated from the game. The queen is in sight, and the pawn is soon to fall as well.� �Good. Now, we�ve played your game, time for my strategy.� Orpheus knocked on the glass and informed the driver to take them to Riverside Drive. �Now, here�s the fun part. We have eliminated a piece, now we let the royalty know who their enemy is.� Orpheus reached beside him and pulled out a brightly colored flower.
�And just what do you plan on doing with that?� �A little game I like to call �gaslight�. You see, this is a rare tropical flower, indigenous to the little piece of heaven that was once my home. My children used to bring these to Marlena every day, while she was there. Maybe a little reminder is in order.� Orpheus gently brought the fragrant bud to his nose and softly inhaled. Stefano shook his head in amusement. �You have a great many things to learn, my friend, but this is a stroke of genius.� The car came to a soft halt in front of the massive apartment complex. �Now how do you expect to do this without anyone seeing you.� �Watch and learn Stefano, you�re not the only one with an ace up his sleeve.�
John squatted in front of his son, gripping him by the hands. �Brady, what about grampa?� Brady�s face stayed concentrated on some point beyond his knowledge. �Brady,son, come on look at me!� John�s voice rose in panic. Brady finally snapped out of his trance and stared his father in the face. �Daddy, that man was Grampa Victor. He�s hurt.� Brady turned to Marlena and crawled into her lap, before breaking down in a fresh set of tears. �I don�t know what to do,Doc.� Marlena tried to soothe the frightened boy, trying to fight her own fears of what was happening to him. �I don�t know either, John. All I know is he�s afraid and hurting, and we can�t do anything about it. That breaks my heart.� Her tears plummeted down her cheeks despite her fierce determination to keep them at bay. Brady pulled himself out of Marlena�s arms,putting his chubby hands on her cheeks.
�Mama, you got to call Grampa and see if he�s okay. I think he�s hurt.� Marlena cupped the boys hands, still resting on her cheeks, in her own. �All right, baby. Daddy will call right now.� John nodded his head toward Marlena and patted the boy on the back. �Okay, slugger, we�ll call Grampa. You�ll see he�s okay, and then you�ll feel better all right?� Brady slowly turned his head toward his father�s voice. John was slightly taken aback at the adultness of his son�s baby face. �No,daddy, he�s not okay.�
Seeing the guard was occupied with other matters, Orpheus took that moment to slip in and place the brightly colored package that contained the delicate flower on his desk, then slipped out just as quietly. The guard returned to his post after helping Mrs. Wilson with her packages. �Oh, yet another gift for little Miss Black.� Nathan shook his head, remembering all the packages he had delivered to the Black penthouse. �Those children are as cherished as they come.� Arriving at the door, he straitened his tie, awaiting the door to open. �Just a minute.� The door tiny �peep� door opened to reveal the tiny cherub face of Belle Black, obviously standing on a chair to see out. �Nate!� She jumped off the chair and scooted it away with great effort. The door opened to find Belle jumping up and down, knowing that Nate had something to give to someone.
�Hello, little one. I do happen to have a package, and it�s foooor�� He took time, pretending he couldn�t make out the name on the card, making Belle giggle. �Well, I�ll be, it�s for Miss Belle Black.� �Yay!� She held out her tiny hands for him to place the package in. Bending over, he ceremoniously sat it in her hands. �There ya go. Now you run up and tell your mommy that you have a surprise so she can help you open it, okay?� Nathan patted her head and turned to go. �Wait Nate!� He stopped in his tracks and watched the little girl run to the desk and pull out a penny. �Here.� She gave him his tip and waved �goodbye� to him before shutting thedoor. Nathan�s face beamed in smile, and he had to give a chuckle when he heard the child�s feet rushing up the stairs and her high voice calling for her mother. �What a family.�
Marlena had finally got Brady to settle down, promising everything would be okay and that his father would get in touch with his grandfather. John had tried several times, only to be told by Henderson that Victor had left some time ago and had not stated when he would be back. Marlena stayed by her son�s side even complying when he requested she lay down with him. She laid with him until he fell asleep, and only got up when she heard Belle calling for her. Running into the hall, the fear ofBrady�s predicament still fresh in her mind, Marlena grabbed the little girl. �What, what is it baby? Are you okay, what�s wrong?� Belle�s eyes drew bigger as her mother�s nervousness worried her young mind. �Nuttin� mama. I got a present!� She pushed the box in between her mother and her, beaming with pride. �Can I open it?� Marlena sighed with relief and sat on the floor in front of her daughter. �Sure,let�s see who it�s from.� Belle backed into her mother�s lap and placed the box on her legs. Marlena took the card and opened it. �To Belle� was the only thing inscripted on the paper. �Hmm, who could this be from?�
Belle tore the ribbon away from the box,while Marlena held it. The fragrance the flower held was released when the lid was raised. Marlena�s hands released their hold on the gift when the scent reached her senses. �John.� Her voice was calm and light at first. �John.� The word became a bit more agitated. �John� John� JOHN!� With each call of his name her voice became louder and more frightened. Belle lifted the brightly colored bud from it�s hold in the box. �Mama, what�s wrong?� Marlena called John�s name once more. She picked the box back up and pulled the flower from Belle�s hand, placing it back from where it had come. John�s feet finally pounded the floor before them. He rushed to them, sliding the last few steps. �John take Belle, wash her hands.�
�Doc, what�s wr�� His words were cut off by Marlena�s biting tone. �Don�t ask, just get her out of here!� She scooted their daughter over to him and shut the box, running to the bedroom with him to get the little girls hands washed. Frantically, they rushed about, water spilling on the floor; John trying to figure out what his wife was in such a panic about, and Marlena trying her best to figure out the situation that just happened. Belle�s sobs brought both parents back to reality. �Belle, honey,it�s okay. Mama, just doesn�t know who that flower came from, and she doesn�t want you to touch it and get yourself all yucky.� Marlena met John�s eyes andheld her hands up, begging him not to ask right now. �That�s right. Now you�re all fixed up. Why don�t you run along and watch some Blue�s Clues, huh?� Belle sniffled as John rubbed her hands dry, nodding her head. John kissed her head and pulled her down from the sink, watching her go in silence. John turned toward Marlena and grabbed her shoulders, both to offer her support and to shake her out of her frightened stupor.
�Doc, what happened out there?� Marlena swallowed hard, looking down at her feet. �Someone sent Belle a present. She came up here, all excited and happy. When she opened it up, that flower was in there.� John�s brow furrowed in confusion. �What flower?� Marlena slipped past him and exited to the bedroom. Taking the box from the nightstand, she handed it over to her husband. �This flower.� John gingerly opened the flap and saw the brightly colored tropical flower. �It�s beautiful. Who sent it?� Marlena bit her lip and looked toward the eiling, not wanting to relive or reveal what she was about to say. �John, I know this flower very well. When I was being held captive after the house blew up�� Her voice broke and the memories brought her to her knees. John was at her side in an instant, holding her to him. �Marlena, what happened?� He hated to hear about this. Not only was it hard to hear her so upset and hurt, but hard for him to believe he�d left her there, not fought harder to find her.
�His children used to bring this flower to me. They were such innocent children and I looked forward to seeing them, not that they could ever take the place of my own. They filled a space in my heart that was empty from not being able to hold my children or see them. This flower was special between us, but I�ve never seen it anywhere else. Not until today.� John crushed her closer to him. �Damn it! Why didn�t he die? Why didn�t I do more to get you out of there?� Marlena wrapped her arms around him, feeling his pain mix with hers. �John, you did all you could, you thought I had died. I don�t blame you for any of this.� John pulled her from him and gripped her arms. �Maybe you should blame me. I left you for all those years, years you could have been raising your children, years you could have been with your family, years you could have been with me. I left you there, I let Stefano do God knows what with you, and I didn�t kill the man who ripped youfrom us. I failed you and you cannot deny that.� Marlena�s face crumpled into fits of tears. �Fine, fine. What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say that I waited for you everyday to come for me? That I would beg Stefano to let me see you, even if it meant just from a distance? Do you know how mad I was that you went on without me? That you let my children be raised by a melee of women. How I felt when you were going to marry another woman?� Marlena�s words shocked even her. �How do you know all of that?�
�I don�t know,seeing that flower must have dredged up some old memories. I thought I was in a drug induced coma all that time. Oh, God, what's happening to me?� The words that Marlena had spoken finally reached John�s ears. �Doc, I�m sorry. I should have known, I should have felt you weren�t gone. I�m so sorry.� He pulled her to him once again and stroked her hair, all the while crying along with her. �John, there was no way for you to know. I didn�t mean what I said. I just don�t know where that came from. I forgave all of that a long time ago. It�s over and done with. Now we have to deal with today. He�s back,John. We can�t deny it any longer. He�s back and he wants to finish what he started.� John started to protest her warning, but was interrupted by the phone�s ring.
The phone pierced the darkened living room, causing Belle to jump. Flicking on the light, she scurried to the phone and whispered a light �hello�. �Belle, is that you, honey?� �Uncle Abe?� �Yeah, it�s me. Listen, can you get your mommy or daddy on the phone, I need to talk to them.� Belle turned to find her father behind her. �Daddy, it�s Uncle Abe on the phone, he wants you.� John took the phone from her hand and scooted her off to finish her show. �Hey partner, what�s up?� John�s tired smile quickly turned to shock as he listened to Abe speak. Marlena came down the stairs, just as John hung up the phone with his friend. �John, who was that?�
�It was Abe.� His eyes never left the spot in space it occupied. �Oh really, is anything wrong?� "Marlena, he called to tell me they found Victor.� Marlena swallowed the knot that suddenly formed in her throat. �What do you mean they found Victor?� John turned his head to look at her, shaking his head in the process. �They found him in the stables. He�s dead,Marlena.�
To be continued...