Being (Read 26,251 times)

[felineflash]

Chapter 106 - Breaking Point

They’d spent the drive back to the Kiriakis estate in pleasant silence. Philip had rolled down the windows, and even though it was unseasonably warm, the wind was chilly, and Chloe was glad to enter the warmth of the house.

“Do you want some coffee or something? It’s early for lunch, but if you’re hungry I can get Cook to make something,” Philip prattled as they walked in.

“No, I’m fine. I thought you were going to lie down, Philip,” she replied.

“Yeah, in a bit. I just need to check on some things.”

“Philip! Good, the cast’s off,” Victor greeted him with a smile. “Hello, Chloe,” he said dryly.

“Victor,” she nodded, “how are you?”

“Very well,” Victor answered, clapping a hand on Philip’s shoulder. “Good to see you back on your feet, son.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Philip said as he guided Chloe into the sitting room and broke into a coughing fit.

“Eesh. That sounds bad. I know you’re contagious, but with what?” Chloe asked.

“I didn’t tell you? Bronchitis,” Philip choked out. “at least I’ve got my voice back,” he finished before he started hacking again.

She put her hand on his forehead and scowled, “You’re warm, you know.”

“Chloe, don’t start, please. I’m fine. I’ve been like this for over a week, it’s nothing to worry about,” he grumbled.

She shrugged, “I’m just saying you feel warm. Are you feverish?”

“I’ve been feverish. It’s no big deal. I’ll take some aspirin in a minute. Please don’t start coddling me,” he grumbled as he pawed through the mail. “What the hell?” He intoned, and she turned to see him viciously tearing a greeting card into pieces.

“Philip?”

“I cannot believe the gall of these people!” He spat, tossing the bits of card into the fireplace. “Some ‘associates’ of my mother’s,” he hooked his fingers in the air in quotation marks, “have already written her off. That was a freaking condolence card. She’s not dead!” He yelled.

“Oh, God! I’m sure it was a mistake, and they meant no harm, really. A very unfortunate mistake,” she reached for him, but she could see that his mood had turned dark again. “Surely it was a mistake, Philip.”

“I don’t know, maybe we should check the paper, see if they published her damn obituary,” he snarled as his phone rang. “Kiriakis,” he answered. He listened for a few minutes, then said, “Spit it out, then. What’s the problem?” He paced as he listened some more, the color rising in his cheeks, “What do you mean, the deal fell through? They were ready to sign!” He was angry now, clenching his fists as he paced, “Do I have to hold everyone’s hand? Obviously not, if they went elsewhere,” he shook his head angrily and growled, “we’ll deal with this matter when I’m back in the office.”

Chloe turned from the window to look at him as he hung up, and was taken aback by the fury in his eyes as he hurled his cell phone at the wall. “Damn it to hell!” He yelled as he strode to the wall and surveyed the dent made by the now shattered phone. He kicked the pieces of phone across the floor, glanced at the dent again, and then punched it, putting his entire fist through the sheetrock.

“Philip!” Chloe cried, shocked, as she hurried to him. He leaned his head against the wall and let out a guttural moan that turned to a sob as he threw his hands up and slid down the wall to the floor. “Philip…” She fell to the floor beside him, holding him as he completely broke down into tears. “I’m here, Philip, let it out. I’m here.”

“What the hell is going on…” Victor stomped into the room and stopped in his tracks. “What happened?” He asked worriedly as he hurried to Philip’s side.

Chloe looked up at him and shrugged, but Philip moaned, “I can’t…take…this anymore. I just can’t. Stupid card, stupid Birgsten deal fell through…I can’t even see her, I can’t even go sit with her, and she’s going to die, and I’m not even going to be there…I just can’t stand this anymore,” he cried as he leaned his head against the wall.

“Philip, the Birgsten deal--” Victor began.

“Shut up! Just shut up! It’s my fault, OK? They wanted to deal with me, and only me, and I just happened to get too sick to deal with it. God, I’m just so tired…I just…God,” he sobbed.

Victor rocked back on his heels with a deeply concerned look on his face, “I don’t give a damn about the deal. I care about you, Philip, I love you. What is going on with you?” He asked gently.

“Nothing!” Philip yelled fiercely, turning to look at Victor. “Everything! I can’t take this crap anymore! Over and over and over, just…” He put his head in his hands and sobbed quietly. “It never ends. It never freaking ends,” he mumbled hoarsely.

“He’s exhausted,” Chloe whispered to Victor. “I think he’s both mentally and physically worn out.”

“What can I do?” Victor asked helplessly.

“Just be patient,” she nodded. “Philip, come on. You need to rest. Let’s go up to your room,” she helped him up and put her arm around him, guiding him to the door.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Dad,” Philip muttered as he allowed Chloe to lead him away, leaving a worried Victor to watch them go.


The whining sound had been penetrating the fog of sleep for some time now. He finally recognized it. If you love your damn leaf blower so much, marry the damn thing. I don’t care, just turn it off. The whining stopped, and he let the fog envelope him again, until…it started again. “How freaking long does it take to blow leaves off of the terrace?” He grumbled, opening his eyes.

Chloe lay next to him, stroking his hair. “Shhh, go back to sleep,” she told him, and he felt her leave the bed.

He flexed his right hand, which was throbbing slightly and sported a bandage across the knuckles. Oh, yeah. I punched a hole in the wall. I totally lost it. The windows were opened just a crack, and he could hear Victor barking at someone, presumably the gardener. Then Chloe was back, sitting beside him, stroking his hair again. “Did you do this?” He raised his hand.

“You punched the wall,” she told him calmly.

“I know that. Did you put the bandage on?”

“Yeah,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” he sighed.

“How do you feel?”

“Empty. Spent. Numb,” he looked up at her, catching her hand, “like a big weight just…disappeared. I lost it, huh?” He kissed the back of her hand gently.

“Sort of. It was about time. You can’t just internalize everything forever, or you end up exploding,” she said as she toyed with his fingers.

“I feel better, though. Like I let the beast out,” he chuckled softly as he began to cough. He glanced at the nightstand, where a brand new cell phone sat. “The cell phone fairy came?”

“The cell phone fairy, and the sheet rock fairy…whose name happens to be Brady. But I think you’re going to have to find a new gardener,” she nodded.

“Really, how long was he out there? How long was I out?”

“You’ve been out about two hours, not nearly long enough. He was out there for about one, entirely too long to be blowing leaves off the terrace, as you pointed out. Victor’s furious with him.”

“And Brady already fixed the wall?”

“Yep.”

He sighed and sank into the pillows. “Hey, I didn’t even change! Did I take my shoes off, or did you?”

“I did,” she told him.

“Is my dad OK? I scared the hell out of him, didn’t I?” He asked, coughing again.

“You shook him up, yeah. He’s OK, though. Just worried about you.”

“And you’re not?” He gazed at her.

“Everyone has a breaking point, Philip, and you reached yours. I know that you’re OK. But you do need more sleep. Here,” she handed him two aspirin and another pill, “I called Kayla….don’t worry, I just told her that you were running a fever and totally exhausted. She said you could take aspirin with these sleeping pills,” she then handed him a glass of water. “So down the hatch. Change your clothes, and I’m going to make you some chicken soup.”

“Chicken soup?”

“Mmm hmm. From scratch. It’ll be ready for you when you wake up,” she kissed his forehead and moved to leave the bed.

He reached out and caught her hand, “Chloe…will you stay? I mean, tonight. Come back and stay here tonight…for good, if you want to, I mean…but tonight?” With his hair falling in his pleading eyes, he resembled a little boy.

“I will. I’ll have to go by the inn and get some things, but you won’t even notice I’m gone. Now go on, go change. I’m going to take care of you today, whether you like or not,” she winked and kissed his forehead again.

“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned sleepily as he got out of the bed and went into the bathroom to change.

[fluffysmom]

Great chapter FF. I'm glad that Philip finally let it all out. I love Chloe telling Philip that she's going to take care of him. I'm so glad that Philip and Chloe are back together.

[MrsM]

Awww. Love that Chloe isn't scared of his outburst and is taking care of him.

[Kpatch]

Philip finally lost it. He had a breakdown. Or was it a breakthrough? He really needed to let it all out. He was holding it inside for so long and trying to be Mr Perfect (and failing). I'm glad he admitted that he felt a relief after all that.

My favorite part was when he asked Chloe to stay "for good." Yes, definitely for good.

Fabulous chapter, Fifi. Thank you!

[felineflash]

Got a little shout out in here to MacDonald Carey. Can anyone guess what it is???

~~~~~~

Chapter 107 - Chicken Soup and Movie Night

Philip padded out of the bathroom in pajama pants, feeling incredibly relaxed. It’s like a dam broke, and everything just rushed out. Like I can finally breathe again. I’ll call Mom tonight, straighten out the Birgsten problem tomorrow, everything will be fine. I honestly feel like everything will be fine. He removed the leg and flung himself on the bed, pulling the blankets up to his chin, breathing in their clean scent. My bed. My room. He sighed contentedly and scratched his ankle. Ahhh. Bliss. This is bliss. He picked up his phone and checked to make sure everything was in order, then languidly reached over and set it back on the nightstand. So tired. He closed his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze coming through the slightly opened windows, and drifted off to sleep.

Downstairs, Chloe made sure she had the ingredients she needed and assured Cook that she’d leave the kitchen in pristine condition before she set to work preparing the chicken and chopping vegetables. She yelped in surprise when Brady came through the doors and asked, “What are you doing? Oh, man, are you making Wesley chicken soup?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, looking up from her chopping, “for Philip.”

“Mmm,” Brady leaned over and lifted the lid off of the pot, sniffing. “I know it’s for Philip, but…can you please save me a bowl? Please?”

“Brady, don’t be ridiculous. I’m making it for Philip, but he’s not going to devour the whole pot! At least, I hope not,” she added. “It’s for everyone.”

“Great,” he smiled. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed this. You wouldn’t…” He stopped, blushing.

“I wouldn’t what?” Chloe asked cautiously.

“Would you mind giving me the recipe? I know it’s Craig’s grandmother’s and all…”

“Oh, shut up. She got it from a cookbook. It’s not like it’s some family secret. Of course I’ll give you the recipe. I’ll type it up for you tomorrow, OK? Here,” she handed him a carrot, “make yourself useful.”

“Thanks, Chloe,” he grinned as he peeled.

Brady helped with the rest of the vegetables, then excused himself to go out somewhere, and Chloe went up to check on Philip before going back to the inn for her things. It was mid-afternoon now, and the sky was starting to cloud over, the temperature beginning to drop. The room was chilly, and she closed the windows as she gazed at him, sleeping peacefully. He’d pulled the blankets up to his chin, and she was unsure for a moment if he’d even changed his clothes until she noticed the prosthesis beside the bed. I love him so much. I never stopped, never. But we had to take our journeys to end up here. And this is exactly where I want to be. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her sleepily. “Soup ready?” He mumbled.

“Not even close,” she laughed. “Go back to sleep.”

“I want to kiss you, but I can’t. I don’t want to give you bronchitis,” he told her groggily.

“I appreciate that, because I don’t want bronchitis. Go back to sleep. I’ll be back in a bit,” she whispered as she came to the bed and kissed his head. He’d already drifted back to sleep before she’d finished the sentence.

As she drove back to the inn, the rain began. Maybe it’s true. Maybe we will wake up to snow tomorrow, just like Philip and I are hoping for. The world pure and white, ready to start anew. She shook out her umbrella as she stepped through the revolving doors and headed to the elevator, suddenly feeling guilty. She’d left Nicole alone all weekend, and now she’d leave her alone again tonight, maybe even longer. Of course, Nicole insisted that she didn’t need her, but she’d been so happy last night with Chloe being back, they’d stayed up for hours talking about completely frivolous things. And now I’m going to leave her alone again, with her thoughts. But I can’t tear myself in two, and Philip needs me now…and I need him, even if that is selfish. She unlocked the door to the suite, trying to think of how she was going to break this to Nicole, and ran right into Brady as she walked in. “Hey,” she said, surprised.

“Hey. How’s the soup coming?”

“The chicken’s simmering…where’s Nicole?”

“Right here,” Nicole bounced into the room carrying a bowl of popcorn. “Popcorn?” She offered.

“No thanks,” Chloe declined.

“Pooks, popcorn!” Nicole tossed a piece at Pookie, who scampered to catch it. "We are about to begin movie night. Afternoon. Evening. Whatever, it’ll go long,” Nicole told Chloe excitedly. “Look at what we’ve got. We’ve got the best of the best of film noir…Laura, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice…don’t you just love Barbara Stanwyck? Such a bitch! And who’d believe Fred MacMurray could be anyone but you know, the dad on My Three Sons? And we’ve got I Want to Live!…Susan Hayward at her most awesome, I’m telling you. And then we’ve got some Hitchcock, if we’re still in the mood, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, you know, that’s the one with that actor from that soap opera? And Vertigo. What do you think?”

“I think you’ve got a full night of movie viewing ahead,” Chloe laughed.

“We’ve got sodas, popcorn, chocolate ice cream, doggie ice cream,” Nicole rattled on as Brady grinned.

“So, I guess you’ll be OK if I stay with Philip tonight?” Chloe asked, eyebrows raised.

“Honey,” she chuckled, “I’d be furious if you didn’t stay with Philip tonight. The man needs you, and you need him. Go,” she began to shoo Chloe out, “go.”

“Hey, not so fast! I need to get some of my things first.”

“Okey doke. We’re going to pop the movie in,” Nicole answered as she fiddled with the DVD player. As Chloe packed an overnight bag, she heard the strains of the theme from Laura, and Vincent Price intoning, “I shall never forget the weekend that Laura died…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Chloe called as she headed towards the door. Nicole paused the movie and scampered over to her, giving her a hug.

“Take your time,” she smiled.

[MrsM]

Awww. Thanks for the great chapter tonight!!

[fluffysmom]

I'm so glad Philip is finally getting some much needed sleep. I love Chloe making chicken soup from scratch for Philip. I like Brady and Nicole having an evening of movie classics together.

[felineflash]

So...anyone notice the MacDonald Carey mentionand which movie it is? Just wondering.

[fluffysmom]

I noticed the mention but I've never seen any of those movies.

[gapeach]

Haven't seen "Shadow of a Doubt", but may have to look it up!!

[Kpatch]

I just adore your version of Nicole. She may well be the most sensible and rational character in this story.

So sweet of Chloe to make Philip some soup from scratch. Apparently, it's world famous.

Thanks for the update Fifi. Looking forward to the next one!

[felineflash]

Mar 8, 2012 11:50:15 GMT -5 gapeach said:

Haven't seen "Shadow of a Doubt", but may have to look it up!!

You should! Joseph Cotten is deliciously evil in it (and I'm not giving anything away, we know that in like, the first 5 minutes). I love watching Hitchcock films and trying to find his cameo.

[felineflash]

Chapter 108 - First Snow

When she got back to the mansion, Chloe tiptoed into Philip’s room and deposited her overnight bag, careful not to make a sound. She smiled as she glanced over at him, sleeping peacefully, and quietly left the room to head back to the kitchen.

She was just setting the soup to simmer when Victor came into the kitchen. “Oh. Hello,” he nodded.

“Victor,” she greeted him. “Cook said she didn’t mind if I made some soup for Philip.”

“Hmm. I checked in on him a short while ago, he was still sleeping.”

“Yes. I think that’s what he needs most right now.”

“Yes, I agree. He’s been under a terrific amount of stress lately, I had no idea he was so…” He broke off, unsure of what to say.

“He internalizes everything. After awhile, it has to go somewhere,” Chloe said as she stirred the soup. “I guess that must be a family trait, bottling up emotions.”

“Perhaps. I trust you’ll leave the kitchen as you found it?”

“Yes, Victor, I’ve already promised I would to Cook,” she sighed.

“Very well,” he turned to leave. “What kind of soup are you making? It smells very good.”

A compliment? Is it snowing in hell? “Um, just chicken soup. My great grandmother Wesley’s recipe. I just thought it would be a nice thing to do for Philip.”

“It is,” again, he began to leave, and again, he stopped. “Chloe, I don’t think I’m ever going to like you much…”

“The feeling’s mutual, I assure you,” she smirked.

“But I’d be blind if I didn’t see that you and Philip belong together. And my love for Philip far surpasses my dislike for you.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you, Victor,” she replied. This time, she called out to him as he began to leave, and, washing her hands, she said, “Philip’s asked me to stay tonight. He’s actually asked me to stay...for good…and I probably will. I just wanted to let you know,” she told him as she dried her hands.

“I expected you to stay,” he gave her what looked something like a smile.

“I’ll…uh…I’ll have Henderson bring you a bowl of soup when it’s ready, if you’d like.” Now I’m offering him soup, like we’re best buddies. Scary.

“I’d appreciate that,” and with that, he left the room.


The soup left to simmer, Chloe went back upstairs and laid down beside Philip, listening to the rain. He turned over in his sleep and put his arm around her, and she put her head on his chest and dozed off. A little more than an hour later, she awoke to find him resting on his elbow, gazing at her.

“Hey. When did you get back?” He asked.

“Couple of hours ago,” she stretched. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How are you feeling?”

“Better. A lot better. Hungry. Is that soup ready?”

“It should be, what time is it?” She glanced at the clock, “Oh yeah, it should be ready.”

“Good. I’m going to take a shower, then we can eat,” he swung his leg over the side of the bed as she got out.

“OK, I’ll have it ready.”


A half an hour later, Henderson was bringing a bowl of soup to Victor and she and Philip sat in the dining room with theirs. “This is really good,” Philip marveled. “You honestly made this yourself?”

“Yes,” she said defensively. “Why, you didn’t think I had it in me?”

“Honestly? No,” he chuckled.

“Well, I’m no whiz in the kitchen, but this is one of the things I’m pretty good at. Although I have to tell you that Brady helped chop and peel vegetables. Mostly carrots, so if you want to be petty and avoid them…”

He burst into laughter, “Brady and I have put aside our differences,” he announced formally. “I thought the carrots looked funny,” he muttered under his breath. “You know how good it felt to take a real, long shower?”

“I can imagine,” she smiled. “You’re not sore from all the walking we did today?”

“Nope. I’ve been trying to work out and keep my muscle mass, anyway. It is just so awesome to have that damn cast off. I felt so lopsided. I mean, I always feel lopsided without the prosthetic leg, but when my real one has a ton of plaster on it? Really lopsided,” he finished his soup and coughed a bit.

She grinned, “Not lopsided anymore. But you’re still coughing up a storm.”

“This is nothing. Trust me. It was worse. You should have heard me on the phone with Shawn…Crap! Crap! I totally forgot!” He bolted from the table and into his office, flipping open his laptop as she followed him in. “Can you do me a favor? Can you get my wallet from my room, please? I completely forgot!”

She hurried upstairs to fetch his wallet. Whatever it is he forgot, it’s a pretty big deal. I really don’t want him getting stressed out again, damn it. Wallet in hand, she raced back to his office, where he was now leaning back in his chair.

“Thanks, Belle,” he said.

Belle? Chloe gaped. Oh boy. Maybe he really has lost it, he thinks I‘m Belle! Then she noticed his earpiece in place, and glanced at the website he was browsing, which prominently featured a toy kitchen set.

He turned to face her and mouthed “Thank you”. “Yeah, she’s hanging in there. No, I actually sound much better than when I talked to Shawn. I know! It just really got me when I was down. OK, I’ve got my credit card. You sure you have room for this? OK, if you say so. I’ve got color choices here…pink or yellow. Yellow? Really?” He furrowed his brow, “I thought pink was her favorite. OK, if yellow trumps pink, then so be it," he tapped away on his keyboard, "Alright, it’s a done deal. It should be there in a couple of days. Is she? Yeah, I would,” he smiled and winked at Chloe and coughed for a bit.

“Uncle Philip!” A child’s voice could suddenly be heard loud and clear through his earpiece, and Chloe giggled as he winced and held his ear.

“Hey, Princess! You just had your bath?” He grinned. “Good. You ready for Santa? You’ve been good for Mommy and Daddy, right? Uh huh. I sure did. Really? That’s too bad, why not? Oh. Well, then I guess Suzie’s right, you don’t want her to fall apart. Right. Good thinking. A knock knock joke? OK…who’s there? Olive juice who?” He broke out into a grin as he said, “I love you too, sweetie. That’s a good one! Yep, you put Suzie to bed. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you,” he was grinning from ear to ear, all dimples when he spoke again. “Yeah, thanks Belle. Yep. Merry Christmas to you guys too. I’ll tell her. I sure will. Take care, bye.” He disconnected, took off the earpiece and rubbed his ear. “I think she perforated my eardrum,” he laughed.

“How is she?” Chloe smiled.

“Good. She’s a little upset because her doll Suzie doesn’t like to go swimming with her. She falls apart in the water,” he shrugged.

“Ooh. Not good,” Chloe remarked as she rose and went to the window. “Philip,” she said quietly.

“Yep?”

She turned to look at him, smiling, “It’s snowing.”

“What?” He asked excitedly, jumping up from his chair and joining her at the window. “Finally! Come on,” he tugged her hand.

“Where?”

He led her to the coat closet and grabbed their coats, holding hers out while she slipped into it and then shrugging into his. “Outside, come on,” he pulled her to the French doors and flung them open, and they tripped out into the fresh snow. “First snow. There’s nothing like it,” he laughed, turning his face up to the sky to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

[Kpatch]

Oh that was nice. Just a really nice break from all the drama Philip has been living with. He's got Chloe back. He spoke to Claire. And my favorite part was his father admitting to Chloe that she and Philip belonged together.

Fabulous writing, Fifi. I love it!

[MrsM]

Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!