Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 251,952 times)

[heroicmuse]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. Not saying who Chloe's boyfriend is just yet but soon...

In the meantime previews will be up tomorrow!

[fluffysmom]

Yay!! Thanks heroicmuse! Looking forward to the previews and finding out more about Chloe's boyfriend.

[heroicmuse]

Next week...

-Marissa has her first session with Marlena.
-The DA wants to make an example out of Rory.
-JJ is surprised to see someone at Rory’s hearing.
-Eve puts a plan in motion to get rid of Jill that might incidentally make Eve look very, very good to someone.
-Daniel takes his fear for Parker out on Chloe
-Kayla tries to intervene with Daniel’s attempt to do it all

[fluffysmom]

Looks like an interesting week ahead. I'm intrigued by what Eve is going to do.

[André DiMera]

Looking forward to the week ahead! Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

This all sounds soooo good. Can't wait!

[heroicmuse]

I thought some of you might want to know what Marissa looks like. I fooled around with the character creator in Sims 4 last night. This is her:

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the visual of Marissa heroicmuse.

[unavitasegreta]

Oh no! I was afraid the DA would want to make and example out of Rory. It sounds like a fabulous week ahead!

[heroicmuse]

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Daniel said to Nicole.

“Scare me? Don’t flatter yourself, Jonas--I don’t scare that easily. I was just the tiniest bit surprised, maybe. I’ve been tiptoeing around, trying to make sure you don’t have any excuses for getting out of bed before you absolutely need to, and here you are. What are you doing, anyway?”

“Just brushing up on a couple of things.” Daniel’s eyes didn’t move from his screen. “I’m not up on the latest treatments for heart disease. It’s just not my specialty.”

“What? There’s something medical you don’t know?”

“I know. Shocker.” Daniel almost smiled. “I don’t expect to know enough to say definitively what Parker needs, but I figured instead of walking in there blind, if I can just get enough of this research into my head to form an intelligent opinion, maybe it’ll up his chances of getting the best care.” Nicole started to say something, but Daniel cut her off before she started, saying, “I have to do something, Nicole. I can’t just sit here waiting for the hospital to decide his fate.”

“So you keep telling me,” Nicole said. “Hurry up and wait’s not my style either. Want me to check into the cardiologist’s background to make sure she’s the best one for the job?”

“Nah, not necessary.” Daniel glanced up at Nicole for the first time. “You heading out?”

“You know me, I hate to say goodbye but I’m always rushing somewhere. Did you need me?”

“Not exactly.” Daniel looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.

“Okay then.” Nicole put her hand on the doorknob, then turned around. “It was kinda nice staying here last night,” she said. “It felt like things were almost the way they were before.”

“Yeah.” Daniel turned back to his computer.

“Daniel?” Nicole pretended to be looking for the right key while she waited for Daniel to look up again. “Uh...what happened last night...it’s not going to make things awkward between us, is it?”

Daniel’s eyes widened but all he said was, “Don’t worry about it. I was tired, you were tired...it’s already forgotten about.”

“Okay. As long as we’re on the same page.”

Daniel nodded.

“I’ll… I’ll check in later to see how Parker’s doing,” Nicole said. She hurried out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. Yeah, she thought, leaning against the wall. Same page but in a completely different book.


Marissa headed to her therapy appointment early. It was a nice day, and anyway, getting out of the dorm room instantly made her feel a little better despite the fact that once again she hadn’t slept very well. This time it was weird dreams where nothing really happened, but she kept jerking awake and sitting straight up in bed like something had terrified her.

As she walked across the town square, she saw JJ hurrying in the other direction. She smiled ruefully, telling herself, Keep walking. He’s going to think you’re stalking him, the way you keep popping up wherever he is. She found herself calling his name anyway.

JJ turned around. “Uh… hey… I’m kinda in a hurry, Marissa.”

“Okay,” Marissa’s heart sank--why was JJ being so cold to her all of a sudden? “But listen… instead of us running into each other at random times, why don’t we, like, plan something?” Her heart beat fast but she kept going. “I mean, you’ve owed me a conversation for a long time, and I’d really like to have it.” JJ didn’t answer and Marissa asked, “Where are you going, anyway?”

“Rory’s bail hearing.”

“Oh. I hope it works out for him. If I didn’t have this stupid appointment, I’d go too. Not… not cause of you… or not just cause of you anyway. What happened to him was a travesty and I want him to know he has my support.”

“I’ll tell him.” JJ glanced at his phone. “Listen, I don’t wanna be late...for all I know they close the doors when they start and I don’t want Rory to think I flaked on him. Can I catch up with you later?”

“Student center at like, 11?”

JJ nodded before hurrying off. Marissa sighed as she checked her phone and went off in the other direction.


As soon as Rory’s escort had sat him down at the defense table, Aiden approached the DA. “Aiden,” she said, surprised. “I can’t believe you’re taking such an insignificant case.”

“I could say the same thing.” Aiden gave her a half smile--it couldn’t hurt. “What do you say we make this go away? We plead guilty, he gets a couple days community service, maybe a required meeting or two, and we call it a day.”

“With his arrest record? I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Lindsay. Are you really going to waste the taxpayers’ time and money playing hardball on this while hardened criminals go free?”

“Look, if it were up to me, I’d be happy to plead out. But I’m under orders to make an example of this kid. The weed’s not that important, but he’s in and out of jail, plus with all the drug crime in Salem, the prosecutor’s office feels that overlooking minor offenses is just going to lead to even more major offenses. Someone has to start paying, and unfortunately for your client, that someone is him.”

Aiden crossed his arms. “So there’s no kind of deal we can strike here?”

“Not one that doesn’t include jail time. Now I know what you’re going to say, so don’t bother opening your mouth. I may be stubborn, but you’re the one who’s threatening to try a case he can’t possibly win without resorting to technicalities and other tactics. Your boy’s guilty, period. Let him do some time and we’ll call it even.”

Aiden crossed his arms. “Three days, with credit for time served.” The DA gave him a look and he said, “Come on, don’t tell me you’re looking for a long jail term over this.”

“He might have robbed somebody! Besides, a sentence that amounts to him going free is no sentence at all. He serves a full 30 days in addition to going to AA meetings, a year’s probation and submission to random drug screenings.”

“No can do. I guess we’re going to trial.” Aiden walked over to Rory, ending the conversation.

[Kpatch]

Genius dialog!
"It’s just not my specialty.”
“What? There’s something medical you don’t know?”

JJ really seems to be blowing Marissa off. I wonder if he'll even remember the 11:00 appointment.

Go Aiden!

[fluffysmom]

I liked Daniel admitting he's not an expert in all medical fields.

I hope Aiden can help Rory.

[heroicmuse]

Feb 16, 2015 9:24:41 GMT -5 Kpatch said:

Genius dialog!
"It’s just not my specialty.”
“What? There’s something medical you don’t know?”

Feb 16, 2015 10:19:23 GMT -5 fluffysmom said:

I liked Daniel admitting he's not an expert in all medical fields.

I thought you all might like that I think it's stupid that Daniel supposedly knows everything about every type of medicine, and one of the reasons I decided on this storyline for him is that I wanted to explore what it would be like for him to have to admit he was powerless over a serious medical problem in his own family. 

[heroicmuse]

JJ felt as nervous walking into the courtroom as he did during his own hearing. He looked around, trying to get his bearings, as he headed for the front row. Memories were flooding his brain… talking with Aiden right before his hearing began… Theresa coming up to him and trying to mess with him… the way the judge looked at him…

He shook his head. That was then, this was now, and he’d been out of trouble for over a year. There was nothing to be nervous about, not as far as his own freedom went, anyway. He could see Mr. Jennings up front with Rory, and the DA… the judge hadn’t come in yet.

JJ continued looking around as he slid into a seat in the front row. The room was mainly empty, which didn’t surprise him, though he was disappointed that Bev wasn’t there. She was probably being selfish, enjoying some time with Cole instead of supporting Rory. I know Cole set Rory up, JJ thought. I just have to find a way to prove it.

Someone else was coming in now. JJ turned to see who, and was shocked to see it was Jeff. The two boys locked eyes, then both turned away at the same time. Jeff came down and sat down next to JJ.

“Didn’t think I’d see you til class on Tuesday,” Jeff said.

“Yeah, me either.”

“You here supporting your friend?”

JJ nodded. Nicole hadn’t told him to keep his job secret, but he had this feeling he wasn’t supposed to tell anybody, especially not Jeff.

“Sorry to tell you this,” Jeff said, “but he doesn’t deserve your support.” He leaned forward. “See, Rory might put on this cool stoner vibe, but it’s all an act. Underneath that mellow exterior beats a black little heart. That boy robbed me and tied me up and they had better do something about it.”

“Why are you here?” JJ asked. “Don’t you have a big story to chase?”

Jeff laughed. “This is why you’re not a reporter like me. No instincts.” He leaned back. “This is the story, dude. Either they’ll lock Rory up til his trial or they won’t. Either way, I get to write about it, show how justice works or doesn’t work in this sleepy little town. Small comfort after what just happened to me, but it’s better than nothing. Just wait til I walk into Nicole Walker’s office with my write-up. She’ll see what I’m made of.”

“Yeah.” JJ swallowed the rest of what he really wanted to say, adding only, “I ran into her yesterday, dude. She’s looking for you.”

“Of course she is.” Jeff grinned. “I knew she’d see what she has in me eventually. I pulled a little trick, man, one she will be proud of.”

“You mean telling the cops you work for her?”

Jeff’s face fell. “How’d you know?”

“She was pretty pissed off about it. I was trying to get some peace, play my guitar in the park, and she comes along wanting to know did I know you. She was really gunning for you, dude.”

A scowl flashed across Jeff’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a smile. “She’ll get over it once she sees my write up. I’m telling you, man, this is my day. She’s gonna hire me by this afternoon. You’ll see.”

The bailiff announced Judge Walston just then. JJ looked at Jeff out of the corner of his eye as he rose. Jeff’s eyes were sparkling and a half smile crept across his face, giving JJ the chills.


“I’m so glad you decided to come see me today,” Marlena said, smiling at Marissa.

Marissa sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing. “Why?”

“Well, when we last spoke, you were determined to handle the after effects of your attack on your own. It takes a lot of strength to admit that you aren’t doing as well as you’d like and to ask for help.” Marlena picked up a pen. “Now, before we get started, I do want to tell you that the work we will be doing together is completely separate from the work we may do in order to help the police catch the person who did this to you.”

Marissa crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh. You must not have got in touch with Detective Brady yet. I’m going to be working with her--and perhaps with you--on some techniques that may help you remember more about what happened to you so that the police can more easily apprehend your attacker. But that’s not important right now. As I said, the work we’re doing together right now is completely separate from that.”

Marissa sat quietly biting her lip. Dr. Evans remarked, “You look like you have something to say.”

“I have a lot to say.” Marissa breathed deeply. “In answer to your unasked question, Dr. Evans, no I have not got in touch with Detective Brady, and I’m not going to, either. Maybe you can help me and maybe you can’t, but one thing’s for sure: expecting the cops to do anything for me is just a waste of time.”

“Oh?” If Dr. Evans was upset, her face didn’t show it. “What makes you say that?”

“Because it’s true.” Marissa blinked back tears. “They asked me the same, painful questions over and over like they expected me to have some different answer, and then they go and arrest the wrong guy. And okay, anyone can make a mistake, even a cop can make a mistake, but they don’t listen to the victim when she says in no uncertain terms that this isn’t the guy who did this to her? No, the only one who made a mistake was me… and that mistake was in thinking that Detective Brady gives a damn about getting this guy. All the cops care about is getting someone, anyone, so they can rest easy and say that we’re all safe when we’re not, when this guy is still out there…” Marissa suddenly felt like she was talking too much, revealing too much. She cut herself off abruptly. Her eyes refused to stop burning no matter how many times she blinked and she found herself wiping them with the back of her sleeve as if she were three years old again.

“I see.” Marlena made a note on her pad. “You know, Marissa, refusing to engage with the detectives on your case can make you feel in control again, in a way you haven’t since your attack. But consider this: your very refusal, your choice to do nothing to help put the perpetrator of the attack behind bars, may in the long run cause you to feel even less power in this situation. So why don’t we begin by talking about the real source of your feelings of powerlessness? Tell me what you experienced during your attack.”

[André DiMera]

Finally, Daniel admits that he's NOT a specialist in every field of medicine! Thank you so much for that, heroicmuse! I've been waiting for someone to say that for a long time!

Marlena actually gave some good advice?! Wow! That's really cool! I'm very interested to see how Marissa's talk with her goes!