Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 251,962 times)

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the previews heroicmuse. I'm worried about Parker. Looking forward to seeing what happens with Rory now that he's out on bail.

[Kpatch]

Hmmm. I wonder if Aiden finds Rory a new place to live.

I am so nervous about what Dr. Collins wants to tell Parker's parents.

Thanks for the previews!

[André DiMera]

Wonder what's gonna happen now that Rory's been bailed out of jail. Not sure that I like Jeff and Paige getting closer. Hope that this miscommunication doesn't cause more huge problems. Marissa already has enough to worry about. Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

“So,” Jill said, rolling her eyes as Eve came back into the living room, “are the cops on their way?”

“You bet they are,” Eve said, “and it seems that they’re really cracking down on girls like you, trying to clean up the streets. You know, with all this crime going on over at the school they’re doubly concerned about making sure all the parents think Salem is a safe little town for their sons and daughters to move to.”

“Good.” Jill leaned back. “Let them hear all about how you’ve been harassing the poor pregnant lady, not to mention how you blackmailed me into helping you protect little Paigey from her big bad boyfriend.”

Eve scoffed. “Like they’d listen to you. As far as they’re concerned, I’m a good citizen who tried to save a prostitute from life on the streets, and I feel so terrible about the way you paid me back.”

“I thought I heard that boy got a blood test,” Jill commented nonchalantly, “and it showed drugs in his system. I wonder who he got them from?”

“Why in the world would I drug him? My whole problem with him was that he was all about drugs, drugs, drugs, and I didn’t want my daughter exposed to that lifestyle. He probably took them his own damn self.”

“Just wait til they find out that you told me to, that you warned me if I didn’t drug him and make out with him you’d go straight to the cops. That makes none of what happened my fault and all of it yours.” Eve paled and Jill went on, “I can’t wait to see the look on your daughter’s face when she finds out her mommy’s in jail for extortion, drugging… maybe sexual assault too, I had to pull JJ’s clothes off while he was out cold just to get the picture you wanted. I bet she runs straight into his arms once I give her the news.”

“Paige won’t believe you,” Eve said. “She knows I love her. She knows I’d never do anything to hurt her.”

“Mmm hmm.” Jill rubbed her belly. “Just like I love this little one growing inside me. I’m going to need a nice, warm place to stay, with winter coming and all, plus I’m eating for two, so I’ll need some help with food.” She glanced up at Eve. “You didn’t call any cops, so let’s stop playing this game. Who’s on the way over?”


After Kurt paid the clerk, the guards took the handcuffs off Rory. “I’m free, right?” he said to Aiden, who nodded. “Thanks, man.” Rory grinned.

“Guess your friend got off easy after all,” Jeff said to JJ. “How the hell did someone like him get a slick lawyer like Aiden Jennings?”

JJ shrugged. “Maybe he has good luck.”

“Or good friends.” Jeff shot JJ an angry look.

“Dude, what are you so hyped up about?” JJ asked. “The judge wasn’t exactly happy with him. So someone stood up for him, so what?”

“He attacked me!” Jeff said. “He should be rotting in jail until his trial, but they don’t even press charges on the robbery. I’m telling you for your own good, JJ, you should stay away from that guy. He’s violent. Just ask your new friend Marissa what he does to people.”

JJ crossed his arms. “How do you know anything about Marissa?”

“I saw you guys talking in the square on the way over. If you’re hoping to score with her, good for you. She should be pretty easy to win over, since she’s pretty fragile after what happened to her.”

“JJ!” Rory called from the back of the courtroom. JJ turned for a second; when he turned back, Jeff was gone. JJ sighed as he went over to Rory and Kurt.

“Congrats, dude,” JJ said. He nodded at Kurt. “Thanks for coming through for him.”

Kurt laughed. “Like I’m ever not there for my bro.”

JJ bit his lip. Rory said, “Dude, listen, we’re gonna go celebrate. Don’t flip out, you don’t have to do any pot or anything, but you should be there.” It only half registered; JJ, looking over Rory’s shoulder, saw Jeff slide out of the courtroom.

He was supposed to go check in with Nicole, but if he followed the guy, she wouldn’t fault him for being late. “I’m sorry, man,” he said. “I gotta run, but how about we catch up later?”

Rory scowled. “Come on, man, stop having a fit of conscience. You’d think you’re the one locked up, the way you act sometimes.”

“It’s not that, dude. It’s just I gotta meet someone. “

Rory’s eyes widened. “Oh… it’s that new girl, right? Listen, if you wanna swing by with her, we’re gonna hang in the park. She’s totally welcome.”

Just then, Aiden came up behind them. “Before you disappear, I need to confer with you for a minute. There’s the matter of the actual trial, assuming I don’t get through that DA’s thick skull that you deserve a deal, but even more important… while it’s fresh on your mind, let’s talk payment.”

“I told you,” Rory said, “I’m not exactly swimming in cash like JJ is. My brother just paid most of his paycheck to cut me loose.”

“I’m not talking about money. There are other ways to work this out,” Aiden told him. “Would you mind crossing the street to my office for just five minutes?” He turned towards JJ. “We won’t be long. I promise.”

“We’ll wait,” Kurt said, laughing again. “It’s not like we have anywhere else to go today.”

Rory headed out with Aiden. “I really gotta run,” JJ said. “Tell Rory I’ll be by later.”

“We’ll save you a joint,” Kurt called as JJ hurried out. JJ turned, started to say something, then decided it wasn’t worth it and ran down the courthouse steps.

The street was practically empty by the time he got outside. Jeff couldn’t have got too far, JJ thought, but he didn’t see him anywhere. He headed in the direction of the square since you pretty much had to go through it to get anywhere.

[Kpatch]

I really hope Eve has a good plan for stopping Jill from blackmailing her any more.

I so wanted to bash Rory and Kurt's heads together. If this is the way Rory celebrates his temporary freedom, then he deserves to be locked up.

Loved this heroicmuse (but you knew I would!): He headed in the direction of the square since you pretty much had to go through it to get anywhere.

[heroicmuse]

Ha! Thought you would like that Kpatch. I like to provide meta-commentary like that when I can.

Rory needs to get his head on straight before his trial date. Kurt is not exactly helping, either...

[fluffysmom]

Rory needs to quit smoking pot. That's how he ended up in jail in the first place.

[heroicmuse]

Hope was in her office, looking over all the victim statements again while she waited for Rafe to come back from his meeting with the campus security officer. “Okay,” she said to herself. “Think, Brady, what do we know?” She turned the page and read another statement. “The guy attacks from behind. In all three cases in the dorms, he slipped inside the room while the victim was opening the door, and in the woods he grabbed Rory while his back was turned. So, okay… his crimes are crimes of opportunity, yet they seem methodical, planned out. So the question is, are these victims random, and if not, how he is he finding them?”

She flipped a page, remembering the interviews she’d had with the victims. I’d just come from my Economics class, one said. It was right after Classic Lit, another had told her. I went back to my dorm to study after Creative Nonfiction, another had said.

Hope’s eyes widened and she turned towards her computer. “Class lists… why didn’t we think of this before? Maybe he’s in classes with these victims so he knows their schedules, their habits, who seems like a good target…” She picked up the phone and started to dial a number.

Just then, Marlena knocked on the door. Hope put the phone down. “Marlena.”

“I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“No, not at all. I was just having a good old fashioned conversation with myself about this case.”

“Sometimes those are the most productive conversations.” Marlena smiled. “I had a few minutes, so I thought I’d come by and update you in person about the strategies we discussed yesterday.”

“Of course.” Hope gestured towards the empty chair across from her desk.

Marlena closed the door as she sat down. “I’ve met with all three victims,” she said. “They’re all handling what happened to them differently, of course, and they’ve all been significantly affected. I think cognitive re-enactment is a better idea than hypnosis, given all of their mental states right now. I’d like to oversee the process just in case it brings up unexpected feelings for anybody.”

“By anybody I assume you mean Marissa Hunter.”

“I’m not at liberty to comment, but I’m curious--why are you concerned about her in particular?”

“No reason,” Hope said, deliberately flipping through papers on her desk as she answered. “Well, no real reason, anyway. She was our first victim, and from the beginning I guess I’ve felt this connection with her. The more I try to question her, though, the more belligerent she becomes. The other two aren’t any happier about having to deal with this over and over, but they’re willing. Marissa isn’t even taking my calls at this point.”

“I see,” Marlena said. “I do think gaining her trust may be difficult, but once she understands that this is the best way to catch the person who did this to her, I’m sure she’ll get on board.” She stood. “I have to get going, but do you have any questions for me?”

“Actually,” Hope said, “I wanted to ask you about something else.”

“Of course.”

Hope took her glasses off. “How well do you know JJ Deveraux?”

“Your cousin’s son? I know more about his story than I do about him, I’m afraid. Why?”

“It probably isn’t my place to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. JJ’s been kind of...lost, and I don’t think Jennifer knows how to handle it. He’s not the only one, either. I keep running across kids who are on the wrong path or about to be, especially with this case. I was wondering, do you know of any after school programs, like maybe at the community center, any places where the kids can go if they need someone to talk to or something to do?”

“Well, as you know, nothing is going to change for JJ or any other young person unless they want it to change. But I’ll get a list of resources together for you and you can pass it on to Jennifer or any other parent who’s worried.” Marlena’s phone beeped. She checked it, saying, “My next patient is on the way, so I’d better get back to my office. Call me when you’re ready to do the cognitive re-enactments.”


Daphne and Paige were too late for breakfast in the cafeteria by the time Paige was ready, so instead they went to the student center and bought food at the food court.

“So how was your first night of freedom?” Daphne asked Paige as she put hot sauce on her breakfast burrito.

Paige shrugged as she took a spoonful of oatmeal. “I had a hard time falling asleep. There were all these weird noises and stuff.”

“Yeah, it takes a little getting used to. The walls are so thin you can hear everything that’s going on everywhere.” Paige sighed and Daphne said, “Paige, it wasn’t anyone breaking in to anyone’s room. I swear. The campus is safer than ever.”

“I know that.”

“Well, then why aren’t you smiling? You did it. You got away from your mom, got your own space...this is awesome, Paige!”

Paige stirred sugar into her oatmeal. “I’m not quite away from my mom yet. I still have to go pick up the rest of my stuff this afternoon.” Daphne started to say something and Paige said, “Don’t worry, she’s not talking me into moving back.”

“I know,” Daphne said. “I still don’t see why you have to do that right now, though. I mean, you just got here. Can’t you have a few days to get used to your new surroundings before you rush off to get your things?”


Jeff walked into the student center, his laptop under his arm, his eyes blazing. He was not pleased with the Rory situation--it meant his effort to pay Rory back for beating him wasn’t working, and for all he knew the cops were looking at him now. Well, he knew how to handle that, he thought grimly, heading for an empty table.

He didn’t notice JJ following a little behind him, though he felt like something was wrong. He looked around the room. Paige Larson was sitting at another table with that girl she was always hanging out with. What was up with the two of them? he wondered. Paige was never alone, like she knew Jeff was around and wasn’t taking any chances.

He headed for Paige’s table. JJ ducked into the corner so he could watch what was going on. His  phone buzzed. It was Marissa, texting through the Salem U Social site. Her message read simply, “I’m at the student center. Hope to see you soon.” She had added her real phone number in case JJ wanted to add it.


“Look,” Paige said to Daphne, “I know what you think, but my mom is still my mom, and she needs me. It’s going to take some time for her to adjust to me being gone. Ever since I can remember, it’s been just the two of us, except when I was a baby and we lived with my grandparents. It’s not fair to expect her to just get used to me being gone all at once.”

“What would she have done if you’d gone to Stanford? Moved to California just so she shouldn’t be alone?”

“Daphne - “

“I thought I recognized you,” a voice said behind them. Paige turned to see that reporter guy she’d met last night. “Paige, right?”

[André DiMera]

I'm glad that Paige has finally moved out. It takes a little getting used to, I'd imagine, but she definitely needed some space. I wonder what Jeff wants with her.

I'm glad that Hope thought to check the class lists!

[fluffysmom]

I hope that Hope can find a link between the victims that will lead to Jeff.

[Kpatch]

I loved Hope's brainstorming session with herself. Very productive. And that was the best Hope/Marlena conversation ever anywhere.

I have a feeling that JJ completely forgot he was supposed to meet up with Marissa.

Paige needs to let her mom go. Eve won't get used to Paige being gone unless she's really gone. LOL. They are extremely codependent.

[heroicmuse]

“I don’t remember giving you my name.” Paige’s eyes narrowed.

“We were in class together, remember? We talked about that last night, when your friend here was in the bathroom.”

“What do you want?” Daphne said. “We’re having a private conversation--nothing newsworthy here.”

Jeff laughed. “I don’t work 24 hours a day, you know. Actually, I’m working on something much more interesting than whatever you ladies were gossiping about. I was at the bail hearing for that Rory kid this morning. Can you believe they didn’t even charge him with robbing me? All he’s getting is some dumb charge for having a baggie of weed in his pocket. The judge was pretty pissed off too.”

“That’s weird,” Paige said. “Why would they do that? I mean, you’d think they’d wait til they had an iron clad case on the robbery.”

“Probably because - “ Daphne began, but Jeff raised his voice slightly to drown her out. “No clue,” he said. “But no worries, either. Being the intrepid journalist I am, I’m in a unique position to write about it. Maybe that’ll help the cops get their heads out of their asses.” Jeff smiled.

“Better go write it then,” Daphne said sharply.

“Yep.” Jeff adjusted his laptop in his arm. “I’ll be right over there working. Maybe you’ll want to read it when I’m done, Paige? I heard you were super smart.”

“She has plans,” Daphne said, “don’t you, Paige?”

“Well, yeah, but if it’s not too long I could probably look it over.”

Jeff gave her another smile before walking off.


Rafe had taken Roman along with him to meet Pete, the head of campus security, in Pete’s office. “I think we can all agree,” Roman was saying now, “that we want to put an end to this guy’s reign of terror. That way, we can get out of your way and your students can get on with their studies as normal.”

“I do agree,” Pete said. “I’m just not sure about this plan. It sounds dangerous--which I know is your place to worry about, not mine, since it’s your people who will be doing this--and also, don’t you think this will end up drawing more attention to the school? I mean, I know it’s all for show or whatever, but whatever person you stick in there as bait will be the fifth student attacked. If the press gets wind of this, it could ruin Salem U’s reputation for safety.”

“Everyone in the department understands that they aren’t supposed to talk to the press about this case,” Roman said.

“Be that as it may, sooner or later someone will go rogue, and then what?”

“With all due respect,” Rafe said, “until we catch this guy, Salem University isn’t safe. That’s just a fact. So let’s do this and restore your school’s reputation. In the meantime, we will keep this as quiet as we possibly can… but with cops crawling all over the premises and rumors flying around, we can’t make any guarantees.”

“All right,” Pete said. “Explain to me again exactly how this is going to work.”


JJ waited until he was sure Jeff was too busy to notice him before approaching Paige’s table. “Hey, Paige, I know we’ve been trying to steer clear of each other but - “

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want, JJ?”

“Look, that guy Jeff you were just talking to… he’s bad news. He - “

“Oh my God. You are so transparent.” Paige rolled her eyes. “I know you’re jealous that I’ve moved on, but guess what? You don’t have any say over who I talk to or who’s in my life. We’re broken up. And I’m not the one who got so wasted I don’t remember cheating on you with some random guy.”

“If you’re talking about Jill, I’m telling you for the last time, I never touched her! You really aren’t as smart as you think you are, are you Paige?”

“At least I’m smart enough not to get into a situation where I’m bringing a life into the world while trying to deny that I was ever with the parent of my child.”

“What?”

“Don’t try to deny it, JJ. Even you can’t be that ridiculous. I saw Jill, okay? And she’s pregnant--very pregnant, like about to pop out a baby pregnant. So your excuses about how someone drugged you or you picked up the wrong drink or whatever the story is today… they don’t matter anymore.”

“You obviously didn’t talk to her, or you would know that whoever her baby’s daddy is, it isn’t me. Where did you even see her, anyway?”

“It doesn’t matter. The point is, you’re not even man enough to take responsibility for your accidental child, but you dare tell me who to spend my time with?”

Daphne put her hand on Paige’s wrist. “Paige - “

Paige pulled away. She glared at JJ; the fire in her eyes made his heart beat a little faster and made something happen down there that he really didn’t want happening. “Damn it, Paige,” he said, “if you don’t get by now that you’ve got it all wrong, you never will. “

“Get away from me!” Paige said.

Just then Marissa called from a few tables down, “JJ! Over here!”

“Yeah,” Paige said, making a face, “go over there to your new girlfriend and leave me alone!”

JJ’s eyes flashed. “Don’t forget who tried to warn you when this all blows up in your face.” He stomped off towards Marissa’s table. As soon as he was gone, Paige turned towards Daphne, her eyes wide with hurt. She put her head down on the table so that Daphne wouldn’t see her cry.

[Kpatch]

Wonder what the police have up their sleeves to catch the attacker. Hopefully it's something more effective than we normally see on air.

Jeff is such a bozo. He loves to make himself seem so important.

I can't believe JJ told Paige she's not as smart as she thinks. I loved that! She really does have a tendency to be quite naive. She still gets to him though. I love that too. I am a big fan of this couple!

I am eager to hear news about Parker.

Great chapter heroicmuse!

[fluffysmom]

I liked Daphne trying to get rid of Jeff.

I wonder what Roman and Rafe have planned.

[heroicmuse]

Aiden gestured towards the extra chair in his office as he unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Rory looked around as he came in.

“Nice digs, I know,” Aiden said, coming in. He closed the door. “Have a seat.”

Rory, pulling out the chair, said, “Dude, I told JJ not to go hiring any fancy lawyer that I couldn’t pay for.”

“Relax,” Aiden said. “I understood that going in. The bail hearing’s on me, anyway, so don’t worry about that. But now that you’ve seen my ultra fancy lawyer skills at work, if you want me to represent you going forward, we’ll need to work something out.”

Rory slumped down in the seat. “I guess I could try to pick up some work at that store my brother works at, but they barely want one of him, so they’re probably not gonna go for two. Look, man, I appreciate what you did for me already, but it’s not like I have any money coming in. I don’t like owing anyone anything, not weed, not money, so I guess I’ll just take my chances.”

“I don’t think you’re listening,” Aiden told him. “I’m not talking about money. Do you think you’re the first client I’ve ever had who couldn’t pay my full rate? I’m going to offer you a special discount.”

“Like, what’s the price tag? Cause I still got that $5 that robber tried to take off me.”

Aiden smiled. “How does zero sound?”

“What’s the catch?”

“The catch is this. Instead of paying me in money, you and I, my friend, are going to trade services.”

Rory looked puzzled. “I don’t have anything I can give you. Unless you want me to hook you up with some weed. I always have access to the best in the state.”

“No,” Aiden said, laughing slightly. “I was thinking more along the lines of you coming in a couple times a week to, I don’t know, empty the trash, straighten up my desk, leave the place better than you found it. You do that for the next six months and we call it even.”

“I get it,” Rory said. “Like that community service JJ got stuck with.”

“I guess you could say that. So do we have a deal?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Good. So I’ll see you tomorrow evening.” Aiden stood. “One thing, though, Rory.” He leaned in close to him and said softly, “Do what you want on your own time, but don’t come here high or I’ll get ya.”


Chloe was sitting by Parker’s bed, watching him sleep, and practically falling asleep with her. Her phone beeped. She jerked awake and pulled it out to look at it.

It was a text from Philip:

Does Parker still like trains?

Chloe couldn’t help smiling, though her eyes were tearing up. Her phone beeped again. It was a picture this time of the outside of the Illinois railway museum; Philip had typed, When he gets better enough to come home, maybe we could take him here. My treat.

Just then, Daniel came back into the room, so Chloe quickly put her phone away in order to keep the peace. If things progressed with Philip, she’d eventually have to tell him, but now wasn’t the time.

“How’s Parker doing?” Daniel asked.

Chloe shrugged. “He’s sleeping for a change. Is it… is it normal for him to sleep this much?”

“I guess,” Daniel said. “With all the poking and prodding they do all night long, he probably isn’t getting a full night’s sleep.”

“I guess you’re not either.”

Daniel shrugged. “Look, Chloe, I’m… I’m sorry I jumped all over you before.”

“I know.” Chloe sighed. “We get along so well when we’re living in different cities. I guess parenting Parker in the same place just isn’t for us. I thought after all this time, maybe we could be friends for Parker’s sake, but I guess we still need that distance to stop us from tearing each other into pieces.”

“Maybe.” Daniel sighed. He turned his back to Chloe, thinking. “Or maybe,” he said slowly, watching Parker sleep, “maybe we’re just two ordinary people dealing with an extraordinary situation. I mean, splitting up holidays and visits, that’s a lot easier. This… this kind of illness… it wasn’t in the divorced co-parenting manual.”

“I guess not.” Chloe sighed. “Look, as long as Parker’s confined to this hospital room, we’re going to have to find a way to parent him together from the same space.”

“Yeah. So what do you propose?”

“I don’t know. I just think we have to present a unified front.”

“A unified front? What is this, a military intervention?”

Chloe laughed. “Well, you know what I mean. I don’t think we should fight in front of him. If he’s anything like me, he’ll eventually try to manipulate our differences to get his own way when he really shouldn’t. As it is, right now it terrifies him.”

“Yeah. I agree.” Daniel turned towards Chloe. “Listen, as long as we’re talking diplomatic relations, can you do me a favor? Call Nicole and try to make amends with her. She really didn’t mean to intrude.”

“I know she didn’t. Daniel, Nicole used to be my best friend. We’ve been emailing back and forth forever, and I’m probably one of the only people who gets why she shredded that evidence and doesn’t hate her for it. So if she thinks that little tiff we had the other day is the end of our friendship, she’d better think again.”

“I’m sure she knows on some level,” Daniel said, “but she’s had it rough. People in this town just won’t let go of her past, and I admit for a while I forgot how important she was to me cause I was so angry at her. So anyway, she probably figures you’re just another person who sees her as Nicole the Super Shredder and just between you and me, that probably cuts her deeper coming from you than from the people who get under her skin about it every day.”

Chloe nodded. “You’re right. I’ll call her. You… you really care about Nicole.”

“One of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I gotta live with the wrong I’ve done her.”

“Just friends?” Chloe asked.

“If you’re worried about Parker, believe me, Chloe, I’m very careful about having any type of relationship--including a friendship with a woman--around him. I don’t want him to get attached to someone who disappears.”

“No, it’s not that. I was… I guess I was just curious.” Chloe played with her phone, wanting to text Philip back but not wanting to do it in front of Daniel. Daniel gave her a puzzled look but said nothing.